The Feast of the Stone (short story)

The Feast of the Stone was a short story featuring the version of the Doctor who had been introduced in the 2003 animated webcast adventure Scream of the Shalka. This marked one of the character's only appearances outside the original webcast before the "Shalka Doctor" was taken out of mainstream continuity by Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor.

It also marks the only official return appearances of companion Alison Cheney and the android version of the Master, as introduced in the animated serial.

Synopsis
The Ninth Doctor and his companions encounter a Vampire entity.

Plot
The TARDIS materialises in a dank cavern. When the Ninth Doctor and Alison emerge, they immediately fall victim to a force which causes them to relive old memories with strong emotional resonance. The Master, realising what's happening, opens up the doors and calls out to the Doctor, who fights free of the illusions and returns to the TARDIS.

The cave is the home of an intangible force like a psychic vampire. It is still feeding off Alison's emotions. The Doctor taps into the psionic resonance of the cavern. He finds Alison is somehow reliving some of the Master's memories and realises that the dormant vampire was woken by the Master's arrival; his mind holds memories of evil greater than anything the vampire had encountered before.

The Doctor switches off the Master, but this only causes the vampire to redouble its efforts to drain Alison's life. The Doctor connects the Master's android body to the TARDIS' telepathic circuits, feeding the vampire such a surge of hatred and evil that the entity explodes into nothingness. Alison is saved, but realises the Doctor did not hesitate to switch off the Master when he felt it necessary. What shall he do to Alison if he believes it's necessary?

Characters

 * Ninth Doctor
 * Alison Cheney
 * The Master
 * Vampire entity

Story notes

 * Discounting several occasions on which the BBC published "e-book" online versions of previously published novels, this was the first original Doctor Who short story to be published exclusively online. The next exclusive-to-Internet Doctor Who short story would not appear until the webcast 42 Prologue in May 2007. This would become a more common format in later years.
 * The story appeared in a special webpage devoted to "Cult Vampires" by BBC Online. The page has not been updated since September 2005 and has been mothballed by the BBC. It remains accessible as part of the BBC's aim to leave pages accessible as a reference source.