There was an odd banging sound, but Felix ignored it. Narrath was standing in front of him.

Narrath.

"Hello," He said, smiling the smile that could make Felix's heart skip a beat. His skin was a beautiful shade of blue- a blue Felix hadn't been able to find anywhere else.

"I thought you- didn't you-" There was something, something in the back of Felix's mind, trying to tell him that this wasn't possible, but it couldn't quite get the words out. The scene blurred slightly as there was another bang, but then came back into focus.

Narrath reached out his hand and Felix took it gratefully; he'd missed the feeling of the little grooves and bumps that covered Narra's palm. At first, he'd found it unnerving, to hold the hand of something so obviously inhuman (though he hadn't dared to say this aloud, in case it seemed racist), but he'd grown accustomed to it and, eventually, he'd started to like the feeling. He'd found the next hand he held a little disappointing, to be frank, what with its relative smoothness and lack of potentially poisonous spikes.

Felix realised they were walking. Narrath seemed to be leading him somewhere; Felix tried to get a look at his surroundings, but they weren't quite finished. Another bang and everything went fuzzy for a second, with images from another room bleeding in where it was least solid.

"Where are we going?" Felix asked, though he didn't really care.

"Somewhere important." He'd forgotten how silky Narrath's voice could be- the smoothness made every word a joy to hear. "There's something you need to understand about all this."

"Your horns are getting big," Felix commented.

"I thought I'd let them grow out a bit," Narrath explained, glancing back, "Really catch the boy's eyes, you know?"

"You look like an ibix."

"You sure do know how to make a man feel special," Narrath chuckled.

A bang shook the scene apart temporarily, but then it reconstituted itself and Felix could once more enjoy the sight of the man in front of him. He'd forgotten how gorgeous Narrath was. No, he hadn't. He'd just tried to trick himself into thinking that his ex was ugly.

His ex.

"You left." Felix suddenly realised. He stopped in his tracks.

Narrath sighed, "Damn, and we were almost there, too." Felix looked up and realised that the background was finally complete and they were outside the club- the old club, before it had burnt down, when Narrath and Felix had been happy- and there was an extremely tall figure in a black cloak standing at the perimeter. Another bang disintegrated the wall and this time it didn't come back together. Felix tried to look into Narrath's eyes, but they were gone.

Someone was clicking at him. Felix hated being clicked at. It normally meant an order was late.

It was the man with the bowtie. He was the one clicking. Felix tried to grab the man's hand, but just ended up lazily swatting at it. His body felt heavy. He was tired.

"Oh good, you're awake," the man grinned. "I thought you might have given up."

Felix tried to look around, but his neck was stiff. He could see the freezer door lying on the floor with one of the shelves next to it. He realised he was sitting in the pantry corridor, propped up against the wall. He tried to stand, but the man put a hand on his shoulder, and gently kept him down.

"Drink this. Don't worry, I'm a doctor," the man said and Felix realised that he was whispering. He proffered a tiny hip flask and when Felix failed to grasp it in his hand, he simply opened his mouth and let the man pour it in. Instantly, the thick woolen wrapping around Felix's brain evaporated. He felt alert. Energy flowed to the tips of his fingers and the soles of his feet. He felt brilliant. He felt alive. He sprang up.

He went to ask just what had been in the flask, but the doctor clapped a hand over his mouth, put a finger to his lips then pointed up the stairs. Felix looked up to see the dark silhouette of the robot, but without its telltale red triangle, perched at the top of the steps.

"It's sleeping," the doctor breathed, "let's let it rest, eh?"

Felix nodded. "How long will it be like that?"

"I don't know. It might think we're dead. Normally, Apponaptic Killbots won't stop for anything." He pursed his lips slightly in consternation, "But then they're also normally not in dingy clubs in east Birmingham, so I'm guessing this is its holiday or something."

"What is a Killbot?" Felix asked, glancing at the machine.

"You know the word 'kill'?"

"Yes."

"And you know the word 'bot'?"

Felix could see where this was going, "Yes."

"Well, do the maths." The doctor took out his gray cylinder again and pointed it at the robot. It whirred and clicked. "Oh, working now, are we?" The doctor chastised the cylinder. "Nice plan with the shelves, by the way." The doctor said to Felix.

"Well, it was rather obvious."

"Yeah, so obvious an idiot could have figured it out."

Felix blushed slightly, "Sorry."

"It's alright, I've said worse things at minus fifteen. That's how three of my weddings took place."

Felix cocked his head to one side; the man looked deadly serious.

"You've lead an interesting life, haven't you?"

"Says you," The doctor replied. "You dated a centaur."

Felix blinked at the ridiculousness of the accusation, "No, I didn't."

"You said you did." The doctor replied, looking affronted, like a small child who'd just found out that he wasn't, in fact, borne from a stork.

"I was doing stand up." Felix explained. The man raised his eyebrows, clearly nonplussed, so Felix added, "Trying to make people laugh."

"Oh!" The doctor exclaimed quietly, "Well, you didn't."

"I'm aware." Felix sighed.

"I mean, if that was your intention, you failed completely."

"Okay."

But the doctor was just warming to his theme, "I mean, there was no laughter in that room at all. I mean, I've been to the Soundless Pits of Feras, where they literally mine silence, but even those were more-"

"Why is that thing after me?" Felix pointed at the killbot, changing the subject.

The man was stared up at it and his face darkened. "That is a very good question." He turned to Felix and glanced once more at the ring, then looked Felix in the eye and explained "Queen Apponapse of Thrid (She of the Umpteenth Tentacle) noticed that her planet was overpopulated. She wanted to do something, but Thrid was a peaceful planet, built on fairness; there was no one easy group of people to sacrifice. So, she did the fairest thing she could think of and decided to leave the choice to fate. Specifically, the FATE engine built into each killbot which means that they only target one in every trillion beings that they encounter." Here the doctor narrowed his eyes at Felix, "And it targeted you."

"Mother always said I was one in a trillion." The doctor snorted- Felix appreciated the laugh. He asked, "Why does it shoot wine glasses?"

"I think that's its idea of blending in."

Felix looked up at the hulking, slanting, square block of obsidian black metal at the top of the stairs- it was at least four foot wide and seven feet tall. "Does it know what 'blending in' means?"

"Well, it's being positively stealthy for a killbot. I mean, welding someone inside a freezer? That's creative. That takes...art. God, I do hope they aren't developing a sense of subtlety."

Felix was staring at the thing's 'arms' (for want of a better word), "How did it hold a welding torch?" But something was annoying him more, "And how did it get here?"

The doctor shrugged. "Fell through a hole in space and time."

"Can that happen?"

"I used to think so, but as an answer I'm starting to find it less and less satisfying." The doctor glanced up at the killbot- "Of course, there is another possibility"- and then back to Felix, "It followed you."

Felix reeled slightly at the hidden accusation. "I've never been to Thrid."

"That-" The doctor pointed at Felix's right hand, where his ring sat, "-is a Formlock Ring. Used to keep someone in one shape, even if biology has other ideas. What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything." Felix drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't really all that impressive.

"So, take off the ring."

"No," Subconsciously, Felix twisted it on his finger. He was scared the doctor would try and take it.

"If you have nothing to hide-"

"I don't have to prove anything to you." Felix spat.

"You do if you want my help." The doctor said, his voice laced with just an edge of anger.

"I never asked for your help."

"You'd be dead without it." The doctor countered.

The only thing Felix could think of as a response was, "Maybe that thing followed you, whatever you are."

"Why are you so defensive about that ring?"

"Why are you so obsessed with it?"

"Just take it off." The doctor commanded.

"No."

"Why?"

"BECAUSE IT'S ALL I HAVE LEFT!"

There was a rumbling sound at the top of the stairs. The killbot was waking up. The red triangle began to reappear.

"Oh nice going, laughing boy." The doctor chided.

"Throw the shelf at it," Felix suggested, his voice getting high pitched.

"I can't lift it anymore!" The doctor said.

"What?"

"It's heavier in the heat: it's bazoonium."

"I guarantee you its not." Felix snarled, but he saw no sense in arguing. "Well, you can disintegrate the glasses, yeah?"

The doctor pointed the cylinder at the robot and it just started to glow before once more going out. "It's not working again."

"What?"

"Resume murder," The robot intoned.

It lifted the plastic chute and Felix just had time to throw himself behind the felled shelf before a glass exploded inches from his head.

"Grab the door!" The doctor yelled, as more and more missiles shattered around them.

Felix dived towards the freezer door and managed to prop it up in front of him. The doctor crawled over to join, more and more razor-sharp pieces raining down on the floor all around them. The sound of the smashing was deafening.

"How much ammo does it have?" Felix yelled over the roar of the crashing.

"Enough to drown us in shards!" The doctor shouted back.

"Oh, God." Felix said, "This can't be happening." Unconsciously, he rubbed the ring.

"Take it off!" The doctor yelled. "The killbot works on sight- if you change forms, it won't recognise you. It'll stop shooting."

"I've told you- I don't have another form! I'm human!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" The doctor shouted, as a particularly eager missile dented the metal door.

"It's getting stronger." Felix whispered, terrified.

Boom! Another dent appeared and the metal seemed to be cracking. The doctor furiously banged the gray cylinder against the side of the door, "It's just stopped working!" and then suddenly his eyes widened triumphantly with a revelation. He stood up, stepped out from behind the makeshift shield and then lobbed the cylinder right at the robot's triangle. Much like the glass before it, its arc was interrupted by a glob of red light, it hung suspended in the air for a second, spinning gently, and then was dragged by an invisible hand into the triangle.

The smashing stopped. The robot faltered, its 'arms' shuddering and it seemed to shake slightly from side to side. Then the triangle went out and it slumped forward. It was out.

Gingerly, Felix looked out from behind the door. "What happened?"

The doctor turned to him, his face a picture of cold fury. "Someone has been messing with me." He folded his arms and looked up the stairs. "And I am not to be messed with."