Chipped Paint

Then what were you talking about?

Theta cautiously inched closer to where he felt the voice was coming from, though it was impossible to tell exactly, with it being telepathic communication and all. He scanned the crowds of people (some of which were looking at him oddly for doing so then scurrying away), but never once did he think to look at the paintings. Specifically, 'The Borrower', which he was a little more than a dozen meters from.

Closer

What? Closer to what?

So beautiful.

No, no what's beautiful? Who are you??

Look deeper...

Theta tried to trace the source of the telepathic connection, and although he wasn't very good at such a thing, he could gather the general direction of the source. He turned in the direction of the painting, confusion in his eyes.

Beautiful.

Theta made a choking like noise, losing balance and falling upon the grass where he had been standing. He immediately curled up into the tightest ball he could manage and clamped down on his ears with a white knuckled grip, as if they were bleeding. Nobody around him acted surprised at his sudden drop, or concerned, even, except for a few people, which were quickly herded away and shushed by their friends. Almost. Almost like.

Like this had happened before.

Robin watched on, wary of the Time Lord's actions. He'd been looking confused for the past five minutes and hadn't really said anything. Just kind of... looked. It was frightening. She was very concerned, and thought perhaps it was best to go home now. "Theta, come on... Come on, you were right, let's ditch this place. Theta?"

And then he collapsed.

"Theta!" Robin's eyes were wide as saucers, and her heart skipped a beat. Dropping to her own knees, she scurried close to the Time Lord, completely lost on what to do. "Theta? Theta what's going on? Open your eyes, damn it! Theta!" She leaned down, trying to move his hands away before finding they were practically glued to his skull. She heard the whispering again, and it sent a shiver down her spine. Peeking over her shoulder, Robin felt as if her blood ran cold with icy water. 

The painting was showing Theta.

And that Theta didn't look too good.

It felt like there was someone by him, judging by the way someone tried to move his hands away from his skull; he refused to let whoever this was do so, though. For if he moved his hands, Theta was certain, his eardrums would burst. Or quite possibly his brain, judging by the way the screeching noise was hearing through his head like a chainsaw. But in the next moment, there was a burning sensation, then it just... stopped.

Opening his eyes cautiously and moving his hands away from his ears, the Timelord was confused. What had just happened; what had caused the noise to stop? Still wary and unknowing of his predicament, he wobbled to his feet, looking around. It looked like the park he was just in, just. Much emptier. He moved forward to the path where many of the paintings had been; only a few stood, their canvases with fist sized holes in them, as if someone had punched through them, or quite possibly stepped on them. Bewildered, he moved towards the small pond at the center of the lake, where an elderly couple were feeding some ducks (which, he noticed, looked rather worse for wear, with their feathers ruffled unpleasantly). He sat down on the bench next to the couple.

"Er, I know this is an odd question, but what day and year is it?"

The old woman turned to him and smiled sadly; to Theta's shock, she had a long blackened burn running from her neck to her eyebrows, as if someone had burnt her. The eye the burn went over was glassy and unseeing. When she spoke, her voice cracked with old age.

"Oh, you must be the new one, then. Mr. Borrower has been saying how he's wanted a new figure for ages! And a right good one, he's picked, with all those sparkles around you. Oh, but how rude of me, dear. I'm sorry for your loss" she went back to feeding a small duckling in front of her, which he could now realize, had a bloody gunshot wound to it's neck. He stumbled off the bench in horror. What was this place?

In a chance glimpse, Theta saw something out of the corner of his vision, something on his arm. He looked; and nearly had a hearts attack. Golden light, like dust, was racing over his skin, ebbing away and back again as he watched. It didn't burn, but it was easy enough to recognize; regeneration energy. The young timelord stumbled back in horror, back into a large oak tree that was next to where the elderly couple were sitting, watching his hands. It... they weren't changing. The energy swirled around them, and floated off into the air a little bit, but nothing changed. At all. He sunk to the ground tiredly, watching the lights dance around himself with a kind of numb, confused horror. He set his face into his palms, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the lights anymore.

Knowing what was going on right now would be good.

Unknown to him, there was one painting in the park that was not damaged; the Borrower. And through it, had he looked up, he could have seen Robin. And him. In an entirely different scene from here.

(so I. uh don't know what happened there but I hope it's okay? XD)

Robin was beginning to panic. At first, it was clear that Theta was there. He was in pain and curled up and absolutely pathetic looking, but he was there. Now, she wasn't so sure. He hadn't moved an inch. His muscles seemed more relaxed, possibly, and she tried her hand at moving his. Unsurprisingly, she was able to pick it up now, as his knuckles were clearly not so strained with effort. He certainly was putting a strain on her heart, though. "Theta? Hey, come on, wake up. Do something, huh?" She nudged his side, beginning to become panicked at what might have happened. Was he okay? Did it stop? Or... Robin didn't want to think about that option. 

Standing shakily, she gripped the Time Lord by his armpits, dragging him at least out of the way of the viewing, as much as she could. He was still very heavy, but at least she could be pleased he wasn't putting off eating as much as he was sleep. Robin huffed, dropping her friend near a park bench across from The Borrower and trying to lean him up against it the best she could. No way she was getting him up that high. Running a hand through her hair, she plopped down next to him, keeping a steady watch on... Well she wasn't quite sure. She was at a complete loss. And it was scaring her.

Meanwhile, in the painting's little realm, a figure was approaching Theta. A figure he might possibly find familiar. A hand came to tap on his, to try and get his attention. She tried again, this time reaching a hand out to shake his shoulder.

"Theta? Still with us?" Robin joked, taking a step back to give him the room she just realized he might be needing. There was a puncture wound in her abdomen, blood flowing slowly from it. 

"Mr. Borrower would like to see you, now." She stated, her face losing some expression, and her tone taking a serious edge. 


///UUHHHH I am like 99% sure there's at least one thing in this reply that I wasn't supposed to doooo......//////////

Theta shifted at the feeling of someone tapping his hand, and giving a sigh, he rose his face from his hands as, presumably, the same person shook his shoulder. He tried to ignore the lights at the corner of his vision as he looked up at... Robin? He jumped to his feet, grinning widely, barely stopping himself from hugging the poor girl in his relief.

"Robin! You have no idea how glad I am to see you. Have you seen everything around here? It...it's so... strange..." Theta's face whitened to a ghostly hue, just now noticing Robin's wounded abdomen; he stared at it with eyes like saucers, not able to tear them away from the dribbling spot of red, no matter how hard he tried. No matter how much he wanted to. Slowly moving his eyes from the wound to her face, Theta's voice shook. He sounded terrified. Disbelieving. But also, a little hopeful.

"...I-I. Are you my Robin?"

No, that was silly. The Robin he had just been with had been his Robin, his friend, his companion. But. She wasn't. There was so much that he couldn't tell her, adventures that he'd gone on but she hadn't, heck he had to hide her own death from her! Theta bit his lip, reaching out a hand as if she would disappear if he didn't confirm she was real. He didn't have to worry about all that, because this, this Robin with the wound in her gut. This was his Robin.

"You're... how are you here?"

"Mr. Borrower would like to see you, now," Robin repeated, turning and marching off for where Theta had parked the TARDIS earlier. Instead of his ship, however, there was a building on that side of the street. A home. A rather nice, one, too. All sense of emotion had flown out the window, and it was beginning to be clear that this was no Robin. She walked like a solider on a mission, and with assurance from her "employer", that was all she would have to do. There was no doubt that the Time Lord would follow. Or, perhaps there was, but that wasn't her problem. All she was told to do was grab his attention and lead. 

Mr. Borrower stood outside his door, leaning back with a cane in his hand. He was dressed in a snazzy purple suit, and found himself rather dashing, if not at least artistic. For after all, why else would he be here? He smirked at himself as he watched the copy he'd created come marching his direction. "Good, puppet. Come closer...."

Theta felt a pang in his hearts as he dropped his previously outstretched hand, watching the fake Robin, her back turned to him, walk away in a very soldier like manner. He always did things like this, cling to hope just to have it yanked out from under him; he should really stop. With an aura like a storm cloud hovering above his head, Theta trudged after 'Robin', small trails of gold being left behind him as he walked out of view of The Borrower.

After a moment of walking, Theta glanced up in the direction they were heading. There seemed to be an old man in a purple suit, waiting at the door of a very extravagant house. It looked like the Robin imposter was heading straight for him, or quite possibly the house; the man must be Mr. Borrower, then, whoever that was. He must be in charge of things, though, if everyone knew his name.

Theta suddenly got very angry at the man. Who would send a fake Robin after him? Who would toy with his emotions like that?? He marched right up the steps to Mr. Borrower, glaring at him in the eye with defiance.

"I don't know what you're trying to play here, but that" he pointed to fake Robin, eyes not drifting from the man "Is not funny" he redrew back onto the steps, crossing his arms, glare still partially in place "Now, what did you want? What is this place?"

Mr. Borrower watched on with a smirk, unflinching, as close as the Time Lord was getting to him. He knew that he'd gotten closer. Just... perhaps not in the same, physical sense. 

"This? Just my little land of beauties. I do people a kindness." Borrower gestured with his cane to the park around them, and more particularly, to the people wandering about. "Upon their, uh... Passing, shall we say? I take them here. I took you here. It's a much better alternative to the reality, I assure you. Why don't you relax and enjoy your stay, hm?"

In all honesty, Borrower was the slightest bit worried. Of course, he was aware this was a Time Lord. Anyone who hadn't been living under a rock knew what a Time Lord was. Then again, he'd never imagined to meet one in person. What a beauty he was, too. Such pretty golden swirls. A good find for his collection. But he knew what those meant, more or less. He'd be keeping a tight watch on that.

"Don't you like it here? With your friend? I'm sorry about her state. I just did some digging around. Hoped you wouldn't mind." He gestured towards Robin, who was now sporting a smile. A smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Perhaps I couldn't have gotten her in time, but I can still have you, can't I?"

"R-Relax?" Theta spluttered, looking at Mr. Borrower like he was crazy as he continued "No, you cannot 'have' me! I'm not dead, and I need to get back to my friend! This" he gestured to fake Robin "is pretty convincing, but I've got a real Robin waiting for me, back in the park where you snatched me from"

Theta's gaze softened as he looked at the old man. He saw what Mr. Borrower was trying to do, provide a place for dead people to 'live', in a sense. At least, that's what he'd gathered, from what he'd heard and seen. But he couldn't just give up and stay here, even if he wanted to, when his companion must be going out of her mind, wondering where he had disappeared to.

"I'm sorry, I really am. But I can't stay. Now, send me back"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't think I can do that." Mr. Borrower sighed, walking a circle around the Time Lord. "Look at how happy you've made the locals. They've been begging for new company, why wouldn't you want to give it to them?" He gestured towards the old couple by the pond, who happened to be glancing towards him, now and then, in curiosity. "I must admit, I do have... personal standards. I don't like to take the living. But the deed is done and... Perhaps you could stay a little while longer?" 

Mr. Borrower, opening the door to his home, gestured for him to come inside. "At least stay for tea, would you?" He shot Robin a look, and the puppet obeyed, moving to grab the Time Lord's arms and hold them behind his back.

"Because I don't belong here" Theta watched Mr. Borrower circle around him warily, making a random comparison between the old man and a shark. He glanced back over to the old couple by the pond; the old man quickly looked away in embarrassment, but the old lady with the burn on her face felt familiar enough with him to wave.

Theta turned back around to Mr. Borrower with a contemplative frown. They did seem nice. But that didn't mean that he could just stay, since Robin was still... somewhere, not here. Maybe if he knew what this place was, and Robin was with him, he could stay. But not now. He glanced over to the fake Robin with a wound in her abdomen.

Scratch that, not ever. He could go a lifetime without having to relive that memory, again.

At first, when the fake Robin grabbed him, Theta made to struggle. But then he realized, where would he go? So he let the girl lead him inside after Mr. Borrower without any struggle, though his expression was certainly sour, at being restrained in this way.

The house was just as extravagant on the inside as it was on the outside; there was a small hall from the door, which opened up into a large domed sitting area, plush chairs and couches in a circle in the middle of the room, underneath a chandelier made with what seemed like thousands of tiny crystal shards. The outer walls of the room had a few bookshelves, but mainly paintings hung, moving paintings at that, of various scenes. There was one of a busy city block, another one of a Victorian-styled lady reading a book. Somehow, there was even a picture of the old couple by the pond. Even though common sense said that it was probably just a recording, Theta was fairly creeped out by that one. Shrugging off the fake Robin's grip, he sat down in one of the chairs.

"You know, you never did tell me where this place is"

Mr. Borrower, while not pleased that the Time Lord would not cooperate, took a seat on a sofa and motioned for Robin to fetch the tea. "My sincerest apologies. I suppose the best way to describe it is... Creativity. You are standing inside of living creativity. I do believe some of the locals call it The Borrower?" He shrugged, leaning back and resting his cane on the cushion next to him. "It's funny, you know. People have all sorts of stigmas about what's right and what's wrong. Tell me, what is actually at fault here, hm? I give you a beautiful world. I give you an escape. From death itself, even. Here you will not be harmed. Although," Borrower nodded in acknowledgement as Robin returned and began to pour the tea. "I do see you are rather fond of this one. She could join you here, you know. Just as easily as you've joined me. Would you like that?" He smirked, sitting up to take a sip.

"How rude of me, I haven't even asked your name."

Theta crossed his arms and leaned back into the soft cushion, watching Robin's retreating back then returning his gaze back to Mr. Borrower.

"Sure, you can decorate a prison up very nicely, treat the inmates well, but in the end it would still be a prison. I can see the other people enjoy it here, but as I said before, I don't belong here" Theta barely kept himself from thanking fake Robin for the tea as she returned with it; she wasn't Robin, not really, and he couldn't treat her like she was his friend, otherwise he might start believing it.

He looked back at the old man as he began talking again. And as soon as Mr. Borrower had mentioned Robin, threatened her in a way, fury boiled up inside him, evaporating any thoughts that Mr. Borrower might be a nice guy, for the moment. He kept from doing anything rash, however, instead just clutching at the arms of the chair with white knuckles and sending a death glare at the man.

"I swear. If you even think of touching her, you'll regret it. Leave her out of this" he leaned back into his chair, still looking as if he wanted to kill the old man with his eyes alone "It's Theta, by the way"

"Oh, well... I'm sorry, Mister... Theta. But it doesn't seem to be up to you, does it?" Mr. Borrower nearly laughed, taking another sip of his tea before setting it on the table between them. "I had honestly hoped to show you the good here, but it seems you won't be having it. But I will not be letting you out." Standing, Borrower grabbed his cane and strolled off towards a spiral staircase in the back of the room. Stopping on the first step, he turned over his shoulder at Theta. "You can stay here for the night, if you wish. Until you get settled. I promise you..." He grinned, begging to climb the flight of stairs.

"It's a nice prison."

The Robin clone, now with very little purpose, simply seated herself in one of the chairs, staring blankly forward. 

Actual Robin, though, was having much less of a swell time.

At this point, she was panicking. It was clear he wasn't dead - she'd felt for his heart beat - hearts beat? It seemed fairly steady. He was just out cold. The TARDIS was too far for her to drag him without help, though. The most she could do right now is ask some kind patron to help lift him onto the bench instead of leaning him uncomfortably against it, and hoping they wouldn't ask questions. Robin remained sitting next to his sleeping form, leaning him against her side so he wouldn't topple over. "Come on, Theta. Wake up..." She murmured, her voice strained with worry. Her eyes remained locked on The Borrower, a very uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach at the collapsed form of her friend in the picture. Whatever was going on, she had a feeling it had to do with that. And it wasn't a pleasant one.

Theta sat there for a few minutes, staring at the tea in front of him, watching as it grew cold. Okay, so fact number 1; he was in a painting, apparently. Fact number 2; he didn't know where the 'exit' door was. Fact number 3; Robin was by herself back at the park, probably freaking out... well, the real Robin, anyways.

He glanced up at the fake Robin, more than a little creeped out by her, not just by the dribbling hole in her stomach (that was bad enough, alone), but by the blank stare she was giving the wall, as he wasn't there, as if she wasn't even there.

"Ugh, I can't take this"

Theta stood from his seat, watching the fake Robin to see if she would stop him. She didn't; he didn't have any way to get out of this place, after all. Regardless, Theta just was not comfortable sitting in the same house as the man that had trapped him here. He went over to the door, and opening it quietly so Mr. Borrower wouldn't hear and come back downstairs, he slipped out.

Even though it was afternoon when he'd last been in the park, it was already nearing sunset, now; at first Theta was startled at how much time had passed, before realizing time must flow differently in the painting. He sighed in relief at the thought. Still, the sight of the setting sun on the horizon made it feel like he was here longer than he had been. Shoving his hands into his pockets grumpily, Theta made his way across the street, the little man on the pedestrian sign perpetually on 'walk'.

The park was nearly empty, as with last time, but the couple was still there. They looked to be packing up, actually, putting what looked like the remains of their lunch and bread into a picnic basket. Theta neared them, suddenly very awkward. What did you say to a dead person? To his (relief?), the old lady started talking before the silence grew too long.

"Oh, hello dear, so nice to see you again! I see you talked with Mr. Borrower" she swung the picnic basket up onto her arm, not seeming to have any trouble with it like an old lady might "Does this mean you'll be staying?"

Theta gave the pair a strained smile, not really knowing the answer, himself.

"Perhaps"

The two smiled widely at this, and bidding him a fond farewell, headed off to their car. Theta sighed, watching them leave. How could they live like this, trapped forever in a fake world, and be so... cheerful? He sat on the bench, and after a moment, decided to trade his position for laying down. It wasn't the most comfortable spot, but it beat staying in the same house as that whacko. He supposed, being dead, this place must seem like a blessing. Like heaven. He placed his arms behind his head, breathing in the cool air of the almost night. How would they react if he told them he wasn't dead? ...Probably not well.

Now. How was he supposed to get out of here? Usually he'd be able to think up a solution, but this time, Theta was stumped. He knew next to little about how he was trapped here, other than Mr. Borrower held the key to getting in and out of the painting, and that everyone here (aside from Mr. Borrower himself) had died to get here. Well... except him. Which threw out the idea that he simply had to 'un-die' to get out of here. Which... would be pretty impossible without regenerating. That'd be more like dying than un-dying, anyways.

"Ugh... I hate this" Theta pounded a fist on the bench he was laying on, only to clutch at it as it started to throb. His frustration still stood, however.

Mr. Borrow sat back in his study, peering out a window that showed his little world. Actually, it showed quite the opposite. He stared with a smirk at Robin, leaning half asleep against her friend, her cheeks tearstained. It seemed she was getting exhausted out there. As much as he hated breaking his moral code, Theta was a true treasure. It would be a shame to let him leave. Of course, he didn't seem too intent on staying, so perhaps he'd give him some... persuasion. Leaning forward in his chair, Borrower put his hands to his temples and whispered.

Beautiful


Robin looked up, glancing around in a sort of panic for the voice. Who said that? There weren't exactly a ton of people around anymore. The sun was beginning to set and Theta was still out cold. Everyone else was going home, now. 

He's beautiful


Robin blinked her eyes, finding the sound to be coming from somewhere in front of her. She glanced back at the painting, her heart speeding at the sight of a silhouette near the unconscious form of her friend. This could not be good. They needed to get back to-

Be beautiful

Robin winced, putting a hand to her forehead as her vision started to dance. The words continued, and the painting seemed to be gaining clarity as she lost hers. Louder, louder, and louder. She grunted and hunched up on herself, cradling her head in her arms as she found herself blacking out. Well who was going to look after Theta now? Robin leaned him against her, and her against him, figuring if they could pass out on each other, no one'd topple down and hit their head. Just in time, too.

Next thing she knew, she was face up towards the sky, sprawled on the ground, completely disoriented. She blinked slowly.

Despite possible solutions to the predicament being far and few between, Theta remained lying on the bench, thinking on ways to get out. At some point, he'd noticed the replica painting and gotten up to inspect it, but to his disappointment, it was merely a mirror, reflecting what was going on in the painting and not what was happening outside it. And when he'd remembered Mr. Borrower's house, with all the moving paintings inside it (including the old couple that had just left), Theta didn't hesitate in hefting the heavy painting off it's stand and laying it in the grass; he didn't want Mr. Borrower spying on him, after all, even if it solved nothing in the end. With nothing to do after that, he'd returned to the bench to continue problem solving.

It seemed to be a little more than half an hour since he'd exited Mr. Borrower's house, though he had to keep reminding himself that he ought to judge time by his own sense and not by the movement of the sky, since the sky here seemed to move much faster than usual. As of now, the sky was no longer gold and orange; instead, the stars were starting to peek out of the receding purple glow of the 'sun', twinkling brightly in a way real stars really ought to not twinkle.

"I wonder, are those actual stars he's created in here? Or is it a dome... if it's a dome I wonder what would happen if you tried to pass past it..." so caught up in his thoughts of escape, Theta didn't notice a figure slowly fading into view near the face-down 'Borrower' till they were completely into view. It was a shock, then, when he glanced in that general direction and saw Robin, laying sprawled on the grass!

"Robin??"

In his surprise, Theta literally rolled off the bench, flailing as he traded the wooded surface for dirt and cobblestone. He scrambled to his feet immediately afterwords, coughing up the dust he'd accidentally inhaled, and also a slight bit of regeneration energy.

Theta inched towards the girl cautiously, not daring to get his hopes up just yet. Not that it'd be a good thing if she was really here; it would be a very very bad thing, in fact.

"Is... that actually you? You're not going to ask me to see Mr. Borrower or stare blankly at a wall, are you?"

Robin blinked at the face coming into her view. "Oh, hi Theta." She figured if he was above her and so was the sky, she probably needed to rotate her head. In some direction. Looking to her left, she found grass. Oh okay, the ground. Got it. All she needed to do was stand up. A+ problem solving. Pushing herself slowly to her feet, she took in her surroundings the best she could. It was night out, for one. Only sunset last she checked. Then again, maybe she was just unconscious for a long time. That was certainly a possibility. But as much as she wanted to believe the both of them just kind of woke up and everything was rad, she had a feeling something else was going on.

"Hm? Sorry? Think you asked me a question," Robin noted, turning towards Theta and finally giving him the attention he probably deserved. She yawned, stretching her arms over her head for a moment before doing just that. "Something about borrowing and blank walls. Which of course are completely relevant." For all she knew, they might be. "Alright, shutting up now. What was the question?"

Theta got a haunted look on his face as he realized, yes, this was actually Robin. And she was in the painting. Where just about everyone had died to get here. Panic gripped his hearts the instant the thought came to mind; he hadn't died to get here, but what was saying that the same was true for Robin?? She certainly didn't look harmed in any way, but he just... wanted to make sure. Needed to make sure.

"Robin" deep breath (oops, there goes more of that regeneration energy), serious face "I need you to tell me exactly how you got here. Did you just black out, or did you...?" he really didn't want to say that last word, so he just let the end of the sentence hang there, for Robin to pick up as she would.

Robin, finally getting her wits about her, decided to take in the situation for real. One, Theta was alive. Which was great and she wanted to cheer about for ages. Two, Theta was covered in golden dust. Which she completely did not expect. There was someone who did that before, right? All goldy and uh... dusty... Her mind was nagging her that this was an important fact. Her heart skipped a beat when she finally came around to remembering.

Regeneration energy.

"Did I black out? I might have blacked out, haha," Robin started carefully, her laughing oozing with worry, "Might have died, I don't know. You might have died, heheh... Sure looks like you died, and uh.." Robin began to back away, her hands in front of her defensively, "I just... Think there's something over this direction that needs tending to, don't you?" She rushed out her words just as quickly as she rushed away, running for what she truly thought was her life until she just couldn't anymore. The entire frigging place was just grass, where was she supposed to hide? Wherever she ended up going, it had to be quick and before he could find her again. Because one thing was for sure.

She was not going to just stand by and watch him become a monster.

"Wait, Robin!"

Theta jogged a few steps after the girl, but didn't go any further, just watching her with worry and confusion as she sprinted across the park with a speed that only terror could cause. Running after her wouldn't do any good; she was obviously spooked, though about what, he had no clue.

"Robin? What's wrong? Robin?" Theta checked around him for the source of Robin's terror, but he saw nothing. Absolutely nothing (unless you counted the zombie ducks, though they weren't that scary, just shocking). Which... meant it must be him she was scared of.

The thought left Theta reeling with confusion and sadness. What had he done? It had to have been something bad, if she ran away like that. He started down the path, glancing at the trees dotting the park and wondering if she had gone and run behind them, or perhaps climbed one (she defiantly looked spooked enough to do such a thing). He really hoped she hadn't flown away, or run so far that she was out of the park. He was pretty sure Robin had no idea the circumstances of where they were; he had to let her know before she came across Mr. Borrower, or a painting resident. ...or maybe, Theta thought with dread, the fake Robin. There would be no explanation for that.

Robin cringed, back to a tree trunk, peering over her shoulder. He was wandering around but was he looking for her? She felt a twinge of guilt, but she knew it wouldn't be him much longer. As soon as that energy ripped through him, anyone around here was in really big danger. Across the street, she spotted a sort of... small mansion-like building. Well that certainly wasn't there before. Something was really off here, and what did he mean about blacking out and... dying? Right now she didn't have the time to think about it. 

Making her way across the street as quickly as she could - which was fairly fast, considering the lack of cars - she knocked on the door desperately. "H-Hello? Anyone home? C-Could you let me in? Please?" Robin's eyes remained locked on the glowing form she was trying to hard to avoid, and before she knew it the door had opened behind her. 

"Oh, hello, Robin. Theta's told me oh so much about you. Please, come in," Borrower grinned slyly.

Theta frowned, continuing to look about. He was going in the wrong direction, admittedly, but he had no way to know that; Robin had disappeared not too long after she'd dashed away, after all. He continued talking to the air, just in case his companion was hiding behind a tree and could hear him; he really hoped she could.

"Robin? I promise I won't hurt you... please, at least tell me what I did?"

He waited for a moment, then sighed with defeat, leaning against an old willow on the left side of the path, grey-green branches reaching out to brush the murky surface of the pond.

"I... you don't have to come out. Just. This place is dangerous. We can't stay here" no response, not even a rustle of a leaf. Theta was forced to admit that Robin was just not here. He pushed off from the rough bark of the willow and continued walking, this time on a path that led out of the park and onto a surrounding sidewalk. He probably shouldn't stray far from the park, just in case she came back... he really hoped she hadn't gone too far.

Robin turned around, completely ignoring whatever it was he may have said, much more concerned with having shelter from whatever Theta's future intentions may be. She rushed inside, not too careful about manners right now, and took a look around for a moment to get a hold on the situation. Kind of a fancy place, she had to admit. Did it have a basement?

"S-Sorry to intrude, sir, but we've got a bit of a predicament on our hands. We're probably going to want some good shelter and-" She stopped talking, as upon her inspection of the room, she found... herself. But.. This self was definitely not her. This self was a zombie - just staring. There.. was nothing in there. Also, she didn't exactly recall being stabbed in the abdomen. "W-What... is that..." She murmured, arms covering her own torso in sympathetic pain. 

Mr. Borrower laughed, strolling forward with his cane. "It seems you've not been listening, poor girl. Our dearest Theta won't be what you're worried about...." Robin's face paled - things were beginning to look quite sinister. "It'll be me." With that, he swung his cane towards her head. Her shriek managed to send quite a few birds fluttering out of the nearby trees.

A shriek.

Theta felt all the blood drain from his face, terror clutching his hearts. Robin had just screamed... and judging by the direction...

Mr. Borrower had something to do with it.

Not wasting any time, the Timelord began to sprint in the direction of the Borrower house, though he wasn't going nearly fast enough; he'd wandered in the wrong direction, after all, so there was more sidewalk to burn than before. Eventually, he got to the house, but it had been far too many seconds after her scream for him to be comfortable. He leaped up the steps, grabbing at the door handle and shoving at the door with his momentum. The door flew inwards, and so did he.

The first thing he saw, was Mr. Borrower, holding his cane. Then he saw Robin, laying limp on the floor. He also noticed the fake Robin, but she was only an afterthought, as soon as he'd caught sight of the first two things. He flew over to Robin, standing between her and Mr. Borrower, cold fury on his face. He'd learned from... that one time, that he shouldn't attack blindly without keeping an eye on his companion. Which he certainly was doing, now. Though he definitely fighting hard to restrain the urge to strangle the man to death right here and now. Literally.

"This is going too far"