.

~0~0~0~

Chapter One

~0~0~0~

.

"Scaredy ploc!" One of the older boys crowed from his point high on top of one of the massive boulders while the other children snickered.

The younger boy, Actom, gazed up at the others with a mixture of fear and anger, caught between the yawning darkness of the tunnel mouth and the ridicule of those half a head taller than him. "Am not!"

"Prove it, then!" Hawee, the boy that had originally called out, taunted. "Either you stole it, or you didn't!"

"Didn't!" He had, though. He'd stolen Hawee's most prized possession, a small wooden Arroc. It was only a wooden replica of the animal, vaguely horse-shaped and held together with a few pieces of string. Not worth very much, all in all. But Hawee liked it, therefore it was 'cool'. Actom really didn't see the appeal, but he'd borrowed it when the older boy wasn't looking. He'd always meant to take it back, of course; after he'd studied it enough to feel confident in building his own. But, unfortunately, the damned thing had been crushed when Actom had stepped on it 'accidentally-on-purpose'. Hawee couldn't know that, though. No one could. If Hawee found out, Actom would never hear the end of it. He was already an outcast as it was, so breaking the favorite toy of the big kid on the block would certainly ruin his chances of ever having another friend ever again. So when Hawee and his goons came around, asking if anyone had seen it, Actom had said no. Now, Hawee wasn't the brightest kid, but Actom was only five cycles old and a terrible liar. Hawee had seen straight through it and, in an attempt to prove Actom's guilt and get his toy back, insisted the younger boy enter the Labyrinth of Mercy.

"Then you don't have anything to worry about," Hawee snickered. "The creature will show you the way... if you're innocent!"

"My mother always said that the creature is just a myth!" Actom called back, balling his hands into fists. "And it's not if you're innocent, it's if you're worth forgiving!"

"Your mother's not here! She's dead! Your father killed her!"

Actom flinched. This was common knowledge, but it still hurt.

"Follow in his footsteps! Face your guilt!"

Actom took one last, poisonous look at the lush green forests, at the clear blue sky, and at the gaggle of children peering down at him. Mind made up, he took one step, and then another, and another; into the gaping darkness.

Maybe the creature would be kind.

~0~0~0~

.

.

~0~0~0~

"What do you think? You could stay here. Fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go… anywhere."

"Is it always this dangerous?"

He smiled. "Yeah."

"Yeah, I can't. I've gotta go and find my mum… and someone's gotta look after this stupid lump, so…"

"Okay." The Doctor relented, working hard to keep from sounding hurt. "See you around."

He held her gaze for a moment before stepping back into the blue box. The click the door made sounded so final to the Time Lord's old ears. It felt like he was closing the door on something else. A second chance, maybe. A second chance at being the man he used to be.

The Doctor heaved a weary sigh as he pulled a lever that started the TARDIS into motion. It had been a long shot, anyway. It wouldn't have made him feel any better. A band-aid on a bullet wound. Bubble-gum shoved into a crack in a dam. Temporary. Temporary. Temporary.

He wandered around the console distractedly, pressing buttons and flipping switches on instinct rather than intent. No real destination in mind, he let the TARDIS more or less steer herself while he buried himself in his own dark thoughts.

~0~0~0~

.