Month: April 2026

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

The Sontaran Mystic: Part 2

“Gallifrey already determined,” said the Doctor, “that you lot aren’t behind the current Grouping Crisis.”

“No, but we CAN take advantage of the chronal surges!” replied the lead Sontaran.

“So can Cybermen, apparently. Someone stole a chronal net from them.”

“The Cybermen stole the idea of the chronal net from us!” The Doctor couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, the Cybermen did a bit of espionage on the mightiest army in the-!” Her laughter was cut short as she felt an invisible hand clenching its fingers around her throat, cutting off her air!

“It would be wise, Doctor, not to choke on your aspirations!” joked the lead Sontaran as he held his hand in a choking motion. He then flicked his wrist and the Doctor collapsed to the ground, her breathing returning to normal after a few coughs.

“…F-Force…sensitivity!” she gasped. “You…you can…use the Force!”

“Indeed, Doctor! Since I am feeling uncharacteristically charitable, I shall give you the privilege of knowing my name and the name of my apprentice! I am General Stragg of the 27th Sontaran Army! Stragg the Night-breaker! But you can simply call me Darth Noctis! Lieutenant! Give the Doctor your name!”

“I am Skarr, second-in-command of the 27th Sontaran Army,” introduced the second-in-command. “Skarr the Bone-cruncher. Best known as Darth Fractus!”

“Sontaran Sith!” hissed the Doctor.

“Precisely, Doctor. But what good are impressive powers if they can’t be shared?” asked Stragg.

“That’s not the modern Sith way,” remarked the Doctor. “Haven’t you heard of the Rule of Two? Skarr’s gonna have to kill you before he takes on an apprentice!”

“That ridiculous rule,” replied Skarr, “was only implemented because Darth Bane could not properly check the ambition of the Sith when they were equal in number to the Jedi, thus proving the original Sith’s weakness and predilection to infighting. Sontarans have no such weakness. We know when to check our ambition for the greater good.”

“Easy, my apprentice,” directed Stragg. “You must remember that, in this time, the Rule of Two was only to enact Bane’s plan of revenge. …A revenge that will fail in due course.”

“Stragg, there’s more to this than you wanting to swing a lightsaber and throw lightning,” said the Doctor. “You chose Kamino because of its cloning techniques. But why? Sontaran cloning techniques outpace the Kaminoans’.”

“Nothing wrong with wanting to learn how previous cloning geniuses did it in their heyday,” replied Stragg. “Besides, every Sontaran that has studied the Clone Wars has always wanted to test their might against the Grand Arm of the Republic! Their courage was told in song and legend, and I see now that they do not give the Clones enough credit! Also…I wanted to test myself against heroes like Skywalker and Kenobi before time blunted them!”

“Alternatively, you could just walk away and return to your time. Leave the sacking of Tipoca to someone else.”

“History was very vague on what causes the fall of Kamino,” remarked Stragg.

“…Not as vague as you think, Stragg. I’m sorry to say that its fall will come from one man. …Just not here and now. Stragg, help me to preserve history and leave this time!”

“Not a chance, Doctor! The Clone Wars offer too many opportunities to ignore outright! I won’t be so cowardly as to turn away from it!” Stragg reignited his lightsaber and raised it. “TO GLORIOUS BATTLE! CHARGE!” Skarr ignited his own lightsaber as the Sontarans charged. The Clones opened fire with Anakin and Obi-Wan deflecting Sontaran fire with their own blue lightsabers.

When the battle began, the Doctor and Tysar returned to speak with Zelda as she covered her ears over the noise! “What kind of weapons are they?!” asked the Hylian Princess.

“Weapons uglier than swords or crossbows, I can assure you,” replied the Doctor. “We have to drive the Sontarans off of Kamino!”

“Doctor, what were those swords of light?!” asked Tysar.

“Lightsabers,” replied the Doctor. “The signature weapons of the Jedi and their splinter Sith. The Jedi, those that study the light side of a mystic energy called the Force, are usually identified with blue or green lightsabers while the Sith use red or crimson lightsabers to represent their studies of the darker aspects of the Force. The Jedi preach restraint while the Sith preach unleashing their full potential, but dogmatism infects both sides, leading to their eventual fall, first the Jedi, then the Sith utterly, leading to a reset for the Force at the battle of Exegol.”

“When is that battle supposed to happen?” asked Zelda.

“55 years from now,” said the Doctor. “The Sontarans presence will alter history too drastically!”

“So how do we get rid of them?” asked Tysar. “Sontarans follow no commands but their own!”

“I need some place to think,” muttered the Doctor.

Back with Obi-Wan and Anakin, the two were dueling the two Force-sensitive Sontarans. While, as a rule, Sontaran muscles weren’t designed for agility like most humanoid races thanks to the immense gravity of their home planet of Sontar, Stragg and Skarr were proving to be just as acrobatic as any Jedi, locking Obi-Wan and Anakin in a stalemate. “I must admit, General,” Obi-Wan remarked to Stragg, “I’m not sure how you intend to share your power because Sith, in general, DON’T share power.”

“Neither do you Jedi,” remarked Stragg. “But imagine the midichlorians you tap into being cloned!”

“You can’t clone midichlorians!” protested Anakin.

“Who’s to say the attempt won’t be made in this galaxy?” asked Skarr.

The Doctor was in a protected room, thinking. “How could Sith powers propagate throughout the Sontaran Empire?” she pondered. …Then she remembered her first adventure in this galaxy, a bit further into its future. “…With their cloning techniques, the Sontarans would make Project Necromancer a success.”

“Project Necromancer?” asked Palpatine’s voice, startling the Doctor.

“Didn’t know you were there, your Excellency,” she said mockingly once she caught her breath. “…This room is shielded from all forms of communication? No sound can enter or exit this room?”

“Yes, of course,” replied Palpatine.

“Good. Then here’s a bit of advice. Hold off on Order 66 until you’ve got Anakin fully in your grasp.”

“I’m sure I don’t-.”

“Palpatine, I’m a time traveler. Your history is known to me, especially when you murdered Plagueis in his sleep.” Palpatine pinned the Doctor to the wall and ignited his lightsaber, holding the blade near her throat.

“Tell anyone-!” he snarled.

“It won’t do me any good, Sidious!” hissed the Doctor. “I try telling the Jedi that you’re the Sith Lord they’re looking for, and the history of this galaxy is undone!” Palpatine looked into the Doctor’s eyes, then chuckled.

“Your own laws prevent you from altering history,” he guessed. He switched off his lightsaber.

“Sadly, yes. Much as I want to prevent it, your empire needs to rise, and General Order 66 needs to be carried out. …But Anakin is not yet ready to replace Dooku. …Oh well, enough about events of your future, let’s focus on the present. The Sontarans’ cloning techniques are far superior to Kamino’s. I’ll bet you any credits that they’ll try and clone the midichlorians in their commanders and turn this world into their cloning factory dedicated to making Sontaran Sith.”

“Then we must prevent that, because, as of now, this is a Republic protected world.”

“Can’t the inhibitor chips in the Clones do something?” asked the Doctor.

“There was never a contingency based on this event,” replied Palpatine. The Doctor then snapped her fingers in a eureka moment!

“Can additions be made to the orders on the inhibitor chips?!” she asked.

“Temporary ones, yes,” replied Palpatine.

“Excellent! I need Zelda down here! She’s got the head for command!”

The Sontarans were slowly pushing the Clones back as Stragg and Skarr continued to duel Obi-Wan and Anakin. The two Jedi were tiring. “Anakin, I know this isn’t your favorite,” said Obi-Wan, “but-!”

“We can’t retreat!” argued Anakin. “The Sontarans will swarm the city!” His communicator went off.

“Master!” came Ahsoka’s voice.

“Little busy here, Snips!” retorted Anakin.

“Master, the Doctor’s found a place we can lead the Sontarans to!” explained Ahsoka.

“…That makes the situation different,” decided Anakin. “EVERYONE! FALL BACK!” He, Obi-Wan, and Rex covered the retreat.

“COWARDS!” bellowed Skarr.

“…No, this is a strategic withdrawal,” said Stragg. “They’re leading us somewhere. …And that thrice-damned Doctor is behind all this, I’m sure. …We shall pursue!”

“Sir?” asked Skarr.

“We shall spring the Doctor’s trap early, my apprentice,” explained Stragg. “Even when she was a man, she couldn’t think clearly when her plans were accelerated.” He turned to his men. “Pursue them! SONTAR HA!”

“SONTAR HA! SONTAR HA! SONTAR HA!” chanted the Sontarans as they marched into Tipoca City.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

The Sontaran Mystic: Part 1

Lightning flashed as the rainstorms that were the central characteristic of this particular planet pounded the surface of the waters and the domed cities. At this moment, the long-necked inhabitants were being evacuated as their precious secrets of cloning and the cloning plants were being locked down. The younger Clones were being escorted away as the more adult and battle-ready clones in their white, Mandalorian-ish armor were readying weapons. Three beings, two human men and one orange-skinned young girl with white and blue head tails, were coordinating the defenses. “Master, there’s something I wanna know!” said the orange-skinned girl to one of the human men with a scar on his eye and a mechanical hand. “How did the Separatists get enough droids to launch a new invasion?!”

“Does it matter, Snips?” asked the man. “We’ll beat them back as usual!”

“General Skywalker!” called a Clone.

“Rex, what is it?” asked the man, Anakin Skywalker.

“The Chancellor’s escape ship was sabotaged!” replied the Clone, Rex. “He can’t get away!”

“What?!” protested Anakin.

“We’ll have to help him,” said the orange-skinned girl, Ahsoka Tano.

“I’ll get the Chancellor to safety,” said the other man, Obi-Wan Kenobi. “You focus on the defenses, Anakin. After all, the battlefield is your favorite place.”

“You know me too well, Master,” chuckled Anakin. Obi-Wan took some Clones and led the way.

In the depths of the city, Tipoca City, an old man in elaborate robes could hear the noise outside his quarters. He growled angrily. What was Dooku thinking? He ordered no attack on Tipoca City! Especially not while he’s here! He would be giving his apprentice a lesson in pain for this! …His grumbling stopped when he heard a noise. It sounded…like a strange whooshing noise, almost like…Vworp? He hadn’t heard that noise before. He looked outside his quarters to see a blue box! What in the name of the Force-?! His internal questions were halted as two women stepped out of the box. “You’re sure it’s here, Doctor?” asked one of the women, Tysar.

“It was centered around here,” replied the other woman, the Doctor. “Now, we’re somewhere during the Clone Wars, but whereabouts, I-.” The Doctor faltered when she saw the man. “…I…see we’re in the middle of an official visit,” remarked the Doctor. “Tysar, allow me to present Sheev Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.” Palpatine sensed that the Doctor knew something else about him. How much, he couldn’t say right now, so he simply smiled his usual politician’s smile.

“You’ve both come to Tipoca City at a rather perilous time, dear Ladies,” he said.

“Tipoca City?” asked the Doctor. “The capital of Kamino? What are you doing here, Chancellor?”

“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Miss…?”

“I’m usually known as the Doctor. And this is my assistant, Tysar.”

“A pleasure,” greeted Tysar. By then, Obi-Wan arrived with a few Clones.

“Chancellor!” he said. “Are you all right?”

“Quite well, Master Kenobi,” replied Palpatine. “The Doctor and her assistant, Tysar, had accidentally stumbled into Tipoca City.” Obi-Wan saw the two ladies.

“A pleasure to meet you, Doctor, Tysar,” he greeted. “I am-.”

“General Obi-Wan Kenobi!” whispered the Doctor. “Big fan of your work! Well, the peace-keeping side. I’m sure you understand why I’m a little hesitant to follow your battlefield reports.”

“It’s nice to be famous for something other than battles,” mused Obi-Wan. “Now, what ARE you doing here?”

“General Kenobi, this will sound like a threat in this period of war,” said the Doctor, “but has anyone noticed that someone’s gone missing? I mean, outside of the usual means of going missing during war.”

“No, we’re all still here, Doctor,” replied Obi-Wan.

“Might I ask why you want to know?” asked Palpatine.

“There’s an event called the Grouping going on,” explained the Doctor. “These energy waves called chronal surges are plucking people out of their native time zones and dumping them somewhere else in space and time.” Obi-Wan’s brow furrowed. He then pulled out his comms.

“Anakin, has anyone gone missing?” he asked.

“No, Master, why?” asked Anakin.

“A strange woman is saying that such an event might happen,” explained Obi-Wan. Another voice then chimed in.

“Masters, this is Ahsoka Tano! You’d better come here quickly!”

“On my way, Padawan!” replied Obi-Wan. He ended the call. “Chancellor, your ship was sabotaged. For your own safety, and yours too, Doctor and Tysar, come with me.”

“Very well,” sighed Palpatine. He’ll have to figure out who sabotaged his ship later.

Ahsoka was helping someone onto a stretcher by the time Obi-Wan, Anakin, and their groups arrived. Ahsoka saw the Doctor and Tysar. “Who are they?!” she yelped.

“I’d quite like to know that myself,” remarked Anakin.

“They’re not enemies, I assure you,” soothed Palpatine. “They answered a few of my questions and made no attempt against me.”

“They’re known as the Doctor and Tysar,” said Obi-Wan. “And they know about us.”

“Anakin Skywalker and Rex!” whispered the Doctor almost reverently. “And Ahsoka Tano as well!”

“You’re a medic, then?” asked Rex.

“Well, I have SOME medical knowledge, yes,” replied the Doctor.

“You should take a look,” said Ahsoka as she gestured to the person on the stretcher. The Doctor took a look and gasped. The person was a blonde woman in a blue dress with pointy ears.

“Zelda!” whispered the Doctor. “So that’s who got caught up in the Grouping! Link must be worried!” Zelda stirred and opened her eyes.

“Wh-where…?” she asked.

“You’re in a dangerous point in space-time,” replied the Doctor. Zelda looked at the Doctor, confused. “…You’re Zelda, princess of the kingdom of Hyrule,” said the Doctor. “When we met, you were also the sixth segment of the Key to Time, but the White Guardian restored you. You were quite surprised at my TARDIS and said that Amy Rose looked good in black.” Zelda’s eyes then widened.

“It cannot be!” she said. “…Doctor?!”

“Hello, Zelda,” replied the Doctor. Zelda sat up with a smile on her face.

“I don’t believe it! …But, why did you-?”

“Occupational hazard for a Time Lord,” replied the Doctor. “Now, this isn’t a safe place for you. You were taken by a chronal surge, an energy wave that plucks people out of their native time zone and into another. You’ve arrived to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”

“Well, I’m sure you can take me back,” chuckled Zelda. Just then, a Clone trooper arrived.

“Sirs!” he said. “The enemy is landing!”

“Battle positions!” ordered Anakin. “Doctor, you and your friends stay with us! Sorry to say, that goes for you too, Chancellor.”

“Very well,” agreed Palpatine.

Everyone had taken up positions to defend Tipoca City. Anakin had just received a call. “Sir, the enemy has punched through our fleet!” warned the Admiral coordinating the fleet. “They’re making planet-fall now!”

“Ready!” ordered Anakin. The Clones aimed their weapons at the skies. The ships broke through the clouds and made their way to the landing platforms. The Doctor and Tysar goggled in horror.

“They shouldn’t be here!” whispered the Doctor.

“Doctor, they can’t possibly have that level of time travel!” gulped Tysar.

“Don’t worry,” replied Rex. “We’ll take care of the Clankers!”

“Rex, you’re out of your depth here!” urged the Doctor. “These aren’t the battle droids of the Confederacy!” The enemy vessels opened and out stomped the soldiers of the enemy. The Clones were confused at seeing their domed helmets. They were as tightly coordinated as any Clone Battalion. The leader of the enemy soldiers took his helmet off as did his second-in-command. The Clones saw that they were organic and had heads shaped like potatoes…and had evidence of cloning like the Clone Army!

“Doctor, you know those creatures?” asked Obi-Wan.

“…The Sontarans!” replied the Doctor. “A clone army more dedicated to war than the GAR or the Battle Droids!”

“Breathe in the air, my soldiers!” said the lead Sontaran. “Their fear is rank in Tipoca City! Onwards! To domination!” He then pulled out a cylinder and pressed a button, creating a blade of red light! “SONTAR HA!”

“SONTAR HA! SONTAR HA! SONTAR HA!” chanted the Sontarans. All the while, the Doctor was stunned.

“That can’t be right! He must have stolen that lightsaber!” she shuddered.

“He’s picked the color of an easy target!” replied Anakin.

“General Skywalker, one single Sontaran is more clever than any battalion of Battle Droids!”

“Then we’re on equal footing,” replied Obi-Wan. “But let’s not go in lightsabers blazing.”

“Master, you can’t be serious!” protested Anakin.

“No, let’s let Obi-Wan and I talk to the Sontarans,” said the Doctor.

“You can’t-!” argued Ahsoka.

“Trust me, Ahsoka. I know the Sontarans of old.” The Doctor then strode forward. Obi-Wan followed her. The Sontaran leader’s second-in-command pointed the two out to him. The Sontaran leader then leveled his lightsaber at them. “I will be addressing the leader of the Sontarans!” called the Doctor.

“That would be me!” replied the Sontaran leader. “Your clothes do not match the time period of the Clone Wars!”

“Yeah, fashion evolves, even among us Time Lords.” The Sontaran leader goggled in surprise, then chuckled.

“I was wondering if you would be following the chronal surges plaguing the universe, Doctor!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Mission to the Mind: Part 3

Raz, Wander, and Sylvia goggled. “I ain’t never been inside this thing before, Doctor!” yelped Wander.

“All this inside a tiny box?!” asked Raz.

“How’s it bigger on the inside?!” protested Sylvia.

“Time Lord headache physics,” replied Tysar.

“OI! It’s not THAT much of a headache!” argued the Doctor.

“To Time Lords, maybe,” countered Tysar. The Time Rotor then moved up and down.

“Doctor, the Mooplexian homeworld’s on the other side of the galaxy,” said Wander.

“A short hop,” replied the Doctor. The TARDIS then made its usual arrival noise and the Time Rotor stopped. “Now, let’s see if I got it right.” She switched the scanner on and it revealed what the outside looked like. There were creatures on stems with open mouths and eyeballs spilling out of their sockets, feet on their heads, and stringy hair. Raz was holding his head.

“Man, I’m getting a lot of psychic readings here!” he said.

“We made it!” said the Doctor. “Now, let’s plead our case to them.”

“…Doctor, are these REALLY powerful psychics?” asked Tysar.

“Take it from me, they’re the most powerful in this galaxy, on par with Psychonauts like Raz and the Time Lords. …And, sadly, they take a dim view on Time Lords. They’re sure to lash out if I step outside the TARDIS.”

“…Then maybe you should-.”

“I can’t stay in here. I must make the case in person. …Now come along.” The Doctor opened the doors and the group stepped outside to speak with the Mooplexians. “Great Mooplexians,” called the Doctor, “I am the Doctor. I speak with you on behalf of-.”

“TIME LORD!” boomed a voice. All of a sudden, the area around everyone changed.

“HEY! WHAT’S WITH THE PSYCHIC SHOW?!” yelped Raz. The Mooplexians’ heads then lifted away from their stems and turned into neon colors.

“You and your ilk are not welcome here!” boomed one of the Mooplexians.

“I understand our species’ contempt for one another,” replied the Doctor, “but Lord Hater-!”

“The sad man is unimportant!” replied the lead Mooplexian.

“With respect, Great Mooplexians, he is VERY important! He’s gotten ahold of a machine that can clone psychic powers and uses YOUR mental energy as a power source!”

“He will be dealt with in due course! You, on the other hand-!”

“Wander, you and your friends will wait!” boomed another Mooplexian.

“What are you gonna do?!” yelped Wander, terrified at the Mooplexians’ behavior.

“She will represent her species in the trial!” replied the Mooplexian second-in-command. A stone wall then appeared, separating them from the Doctor.

“HEY!” protested Raz. He then fired a psi-blast at the wall, but no dice.

On the other side of the wall, the Doctor was on a podium. “Time Lord, your species stands accused of generating enemies and generally picking on the little folk when we taught Rassilon, Omega, and Tecteun all those centuries ago that such actions made them pathetic!” boomed the head Mooplexian.

“I can assure you, those lessons HAVE been learned!” urged the Doctor.

“Not true!” replied another Mooplexian. “The Last Great Time War and the resulting corrupted Shadow Proclamation is proof that your species would rather die than learn those lessons! Need we name your personal enemies, Time Lord?! You had no one to call friends, just enemies!”

“Not true! For every enemy you name, I shall name all those I call my friends!”

“Impossible!” retorted the head Mooplexian. “The Daleks, the Toymaker, the Cybermen! You had no one!” Images of those enemies appeared. They were images of when the Doctor first met those enemies.

“Then you haven’t probed deep into my mind!” The Doctor conjured images of her first incarnation’s friends. “Ian Chesterton! Barbara Wright! My granddaughter, Susan Foreman! Vicki! Steven Taylor! Dodo Chaplet! Polly! Ben Jackson!” The images of her friends overpowered the images of her enemies.

“…These…these are lies!” protested a Mooplexian. “Time Lords cannot have friends! The Ice Warriors! The Great Intelligence!”

“Jamie McCrimmon! Victoria Waterfield! Zoe Heriot! Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart!” countered the Doctor. Once again, the images of her friends overpowered the images of her enemies.

“The Nestene Consciousness! The Silurians! The Sea Devils! The Master! Omega! The Sontarans!”

“Dr. Liz Shaw! Jo Grant! Sarah Jane Smith! John Benton! Mike Yates!”

“The Black Guardian! Sutekh! Davros! The Rutans!”

“Harry Sullivan! Leela! K9! Romana! Adric! Nyssa! Tegan Jovanka!”

“The Mara!”

“Vislor Turlough! Kamelion! Peri Brown!”

“The Valeyard!”

“Mel Bush!”

“Fenric!”

“Ace!”

Raz clutched his head as the trial went on. “Raz?” asked Tysar.

“The Doctor’s engaged in a psychic duel with the Mooplexians!” replied Raz.

“Is she nuts?!” protested Wander. “She won’t survive a duel with them!”

“You don’t know her mind like I do, Wander,” said Raz. “It’s full of twists and turns even I can’t navigate.”

“RGH! TECTEUN!” challenged the lead Mooplexian as it and its fellows were straining against the Doctor.

“RGHGF! DAN LEWIS!” countered the Doctor, the strain evident on her mind.

“THE NOT-THINGS!”

“RUBY SUNDAY! JOY ALMONDO! BELINDA CHANDRA!”

“RITA REPULSA! GURAST! DARTH VADER!”

“WILLIAM DAVIES! AMY ROSE! LURRA RUS!”

“POISON IVY! LEX LUTHOR! LOKI! DR. DOOM!”

“RAZPUTIN AQUATO! WANDER! SYLVIA! TYSAR!” By then, the Mooplexians screamed both in the mentalscape and the real world. The wall collapsed as an energy wave erupted from the Mooplexian homeworld.

The energy wave washed over the planet Lord Hater and his Watchdogs had conquered. It was pandemonium aboard the Skullship. Commander Peepers saw something on the screen. “SIR!” he warned. “That energy wave’s affected the mental cloning machine we picked up! Its abnormal energies have set it into overload!”

“Flabdrassit, give it to me straight, Peepers!” complained Hater.

“It’s gonna-!” The machine exploded, sending debris across the room. Lord Hater summoned an electric force field in time, not lowering it until the noise stopped.

“…Don’t ask me how,” snarled Hater, “but this has Wander written all over it!”

“For once, I agree, Sir,” replied Peepers. “Written in big, red letters.”

Back on the Mooplexian homeworld, the Mooplexians were catching their breath as the Doctor’s friends were attending to her. “How is that possible?!” asked Wander. “The Mooplexians are the most powerful psychics in the galaxy! You shouldn’t be alive, Doc!”

“I have my ways,” panted the Doctor.

“You…you have friends…” panted the lead Mooplexian. “…How? Time Lords cannot make friends! They’re too arrogant for that!”

“…Did…did that thing just talk?” asked Sylvia.

“We had transcended physical form, Sylvia,” replied another Mooplexian. “Never, in all our lives, have we encountered a psychic so powerful.”

“You want powerful psychics,” remarked the Doctor, “you should be glad you didn’t fight Raz here. But, as you can see, your accusations against my people of us making only enemies instead of friends only hold water on a case-by-case basis. Even Rassilon is learning that lesson. Now, about Lord Hater’s psychic cloning machine-.”

“Our duel has already destroyed it,” said the head Mooplexian. “Now, with all that said…leave. While you, Doctor, proved to be an exception, Time Lords are not welcome on our quiet world. Take Razputin Aquato home and dare not trespass on our home again.”

“…As you wish,” sighed the Doctor. “Come along, everyone.” She gathered everyone into the TARDIS and it took off while the Mooplexians assumed their natural state.

“So, how do we bring Raz back to his time?” asked Tysar. “I don’t think Lord Hater would want us back on that planet.”

“Oh, the TARDIS has other ways,” replied the Doctor as she fiddled with the controls. “Let’s see, chrono-navigation’s calculated and…bingo!”

“So, now what?” asked Raz.

“Now you get sent back,” answered the Doctor. “Good luck, Razputin Aquato!”

“Bye, Doctor! Hey, when you visit the Motherlobe again, give us some warning if you changed your face again, huh?”

“I make no promises on that,” chuckled the Doctor as she flicked a switch. Raz then faded away, waving goodbye. After a few seconds, the TARDIS landed. “There we are! For Wander and Sylvia, I’ve set us on Zorbula V!”

“Ooh! Never been there before!” said Wander, giddy with excitement.

“I have,” replied Sylvia. “You’ll enjoy it, Wander! A nice, peaceful little place!” She let Wander jump on her saddle and take the reins, then they left the TARDIS.

“Bye, Doc!” called Wander. “See you later!” The door then shut.

“…Well, that’s a nice turn of events,” sighed the Doctor happily. “No death and destruction and the Mooplexians learned something. It’s always nice to see higher beings learn something new. Heck, that’s why I left Gallifrey! Us Time Lords never bothered to learn something new! …Granted, I was exiled for a time because of it, but-!”

“Doctor, I hate to interrupt,” said Tysar, “but the TARDIS found a new chronal surge! …Although it seems to be centered around this galaxy early in its history.”

“Let me see.” The Doctor checked the readings and goggled. “…Well, isn’t THAT a surprise! This is before he became Emperor!”

“Doctor?” asked Tysar.

“Hold onto your hat, Tysar,” warned the Doctor. “We’re going to the Clone Wars, a conflict that plagued this galaxy long before Wander was born.”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Mission to the Mind: Part 2

“I, Lord Hater,” began the skeleton, “planetary conqueror and number one superstar, hereby claim this planet and its famous Time Orbble Lake as mine, proving that I am the GREATEST IN THE-!”

“HEY, HATEY!” called Wander.

“…Ignore him, Hater!” Lord Hater growled to himself. “If you ignore him, he’ll go away!”

“That’s a rather lame way to solve your problems, Lord Hater,” remarked the Doctor.

“ARE YOU QUESTIONING ME?!” shouted Lord Hater. “…Wait a minute, who ARE you anyways?!”

“Oh, we met before,” said the Doctor. “That whole business with the Daleks and Lord Dominator and her modifications to the Movellan Virus?” Lord Hater goggled.

“How do YOU know the specifics?!” he demanded. “…Unless…Peepers!”

“Yes, Sir!” replied his right-hand man, Commander Peepers. He then pulled out a scanner and waved it over the Doctor. His singular eye widened. “Time Lord genetics confirmed, Sir!” reported Commander Peepers.

“Sir, that blue box the Doctor has is over here!” called one of the eyeball creatures, the Watchdogs.

“DOCTOR?!” yelped Lord Hater. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WITH WANDER AGAIN?!”

“Well, I’m trying to get this young man back to his proper point in space-time,” replied the Doctor as she indicated Raz. Commander Peepers checked his scanner again, then his eye widened in surprise.

“Sir, that kid’s psychic readings are off the charts!” he said.

“His psychic powers are not your concern!” urged the Doctor.

“…Oh, aren’t they?!” chuckled Lord Hater as a wicked grin crossed his face. By now, the Doctor and her friends closed ranks around Raz.

“You’re not touching him!” declared the Doctor.

“Watchdogs, EYES UP!” ordered Lord Hater. The Watchdogs leveled their weapons at the group. “I don’t NEED to touch him to get him to come aboard! Just to be on the safe side, you’d better join him and enjoy your five-star suite in the brig while I clone his mind powers!”

“Ha! You don’t have that kind of technology!” cackled the Doctor.

“…So, I HAVE been wrong before,” remarked the Doctor when she saw the machine in Lord Hater’s ship.

“That’s gonna clone my psychic abilities?” asked Raz. “…Looks an awful lot like the Brain Tumbler.”

“With this machine, puny creature,” Commander Peepers said with pride, “we shall clone all psychic abilities and implant them into our test subjects!”

“Psychic cloning is against galactic law,” remarked the Doctor.

“I’M the evil overlord here!” retorted Lord Hater. “I’M the one that decides what is or isn’t legal!”

“Other powers made that kind of thing illegal because of the untold damage it does to both the psychic having their powers cloned and the subject that’s having those powers forcibly implanted into their own mind! It will KILL them! BOTH of them!”

“My science team’s already taking the necessary precautions!” dismissed Hater. “Watchdogs, throw them in the brig! Make sure everything is ready for the kid!”

“Lord Hater, Raz is ten!” protested the Doctor.

“Eleven, actually,” interjected Raz.

“Not the point.” The Watchdogs were set on obeying their master as they leveled their guns at the Doctor and her group.

Everyone was thrown into separate cells in the brig block. “…Well, ain’t this cozy,” grumbled Sylvia.

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” Wander said to Raz. “Folks call me Wander.”

“Raz,” replied Raz. “Razputin Aquato. From Earth.”

“Never heard of it,” remarked Sylvia.

“It’s not a planet within this galaxy,” replied the Doctor as she fiddled with her cell’s force field. “Have to admit, Lord Hater’s a lot smarter than I gave him credit for.”

“What, for not only hiding the force field emitters,” said Tysar, “but taking your sonic screwdriver?”

“Yes, limiting my options,” remarked the Doctor. “Making me take longer to escape, that WILL put me in a panic…if the Skullship was running on top-of-the-line technology.”

“Yes, the power flow regulators aren’t very advanced,” remarked Tysar.

“Hater’s always focused on whether or not something is cool in his eyes,” said Sylvia. “So I’m not surprised to hear you say that.”

“Hm, primitive technology by anyone’s metrics,” said the Doctor, “but stubborn. …Actually, Raz, can you still use your powers? Simple telekinesis on the force field control panel should be sufficient.”

“Let’s see,” replied Raz. He held his hand to the side of his head, then concentrated. The control panel then sparked and the force fields vanished. The Doctor grinned.

“Rule one of containing a psychic!” she said.

“Always have something on hand to shut off their powers!” finished Raz.

“So what now?” asked Sylvia.

“Now I need to know what Hater’s plans are,” said the Doctor. “And, of course, get my screwdriver back.” She saw a console with a screen above it. “That might do it. Let’s see…password locked. Right then.” She tried the obvious password of “password” and all variations. “…No, looks like Hater’s not that stupid. …Wait, maybe something that strokes his ego.” She tried a variation of Lord Hater’s name and the fact that he considered himself the number one superstar. “…AHA!” she called. “Perfect!” She then called up the data of the mission to the planet. “…Hm…well, that WOULD be a prudent thing to do.”

“Doctor?” asked Wander.

“It seems Lord Hater, in a bout of paranoia, fears that Lord Dominator would use Time Orbble Lake to travel back to the past and undo her big defeat at his hands.”

“Well, you gotta admit,” remarked Sylvia, “losing to Hater would bruise anyone’s ego.”

“There’s something that just doesn’t add up, though,” remarked the Doctor. “Where does Raz fit into all this?” She triple-checked her research. “…Infernal cheek!” she muttered. “Raz was just a spur-of-the-moment plan!”

“Well, I guess I can be somewhat relieved,” remarked Raz.

“Doctor, what does it say about Hater’s machine?” asked Tysar.

“Haven’t found those files yet,” replied the Doctor. “Come on, come on! No, I don’t want to see tickets to Lord Hater and the Harbingers of Doom! No, the-! Aha! Here it is! …Huh. …It’s a Cluckon weapon.”

“Cluckon?” asked Sylvia. “Those chickens? Why would they want it?”

“It was intended to be a weapon to use the powers of the Mooplexians to psychically attack someone, but it looks like Lord Hater intended to use that power for his own purposes.”

“And Mooplexians are…?” asked Tysar.

“Well, they look like the dumbest creatures in the universe, but those are only shells of their real selves. Their actual intelligence is phenomenal, rivaling even the Time Lords. And using them as a power source for this psychic cloning machine WOULD give Hater a degree of control…right! We have to go to the Mooplexian Homeworld!”

“Doctor, we can’t just leave! The TARDIS is still by the lake!” protested Tysar.

“Lord Hater can guard that lake as much as he wants,” replied the Doctor, “but the weapon needs to be destroyed and the Mooplexians have that kind of reach.”

“Doctor, there’s sure to be Watchdogs…well, WATCHING the TARDIS!”

“Leave that to me and Wander!” replied Sylvia. Wander then took off his hat and rummaged around in it.

“Let’s see…aha!” He pulled out a Watchdog’s suit! “They’re about my height! I always wanted to see what being a Watchdog was like!”

“Perfect! Let’s go!” declared the Doctor.

The Doctor and her group arrived at the front of the Skullship where guards were placed for any attempted jailbreaks. Wander was dressed up in his Watchdog suit and had a super soaker in his hands. It looked like one of the Watchdogs’ usual laser rifles, so no one really blinked. “All right, as we planned,” the Doctor said to Wander.

“Right,” replied Wander. “And…sorry in advance.” He then “roughly” shoved the Doctor forward. “Come on, you!” he barked. “Get going! You too, Zbornak! And you apes!” Everyone marched towards the front.

“HALT!” called one of the guards. “What do you think you’re doing, Private? The prisoners are supposed to stay in their cells!”

“Lord Hater ordered me to give them some exercise as long as we’re on the planet!” replied Wander.

“It’s true,” replied Raz. “Go ahead and check with him.”

“Yes, he was quite insistent,” supplied the Doctor.

“Yeah, right!” scoffed the other guard. “Let me just check, huh?” He pulled out a walkie-talkie and called up Lord Hater.

“What is it, Bob?!” demanded Lord Hater. “I’m busy making my new torture room mixtape!”

“Lord Hater, one of the Privates said that he got direct orders from you to-.”

“ARE YOU MAKING ONE OF THE PRIVATES DISOBEY ME?!” shouted Hater.

“N-NO, SIR!” yelped the guard. “NOT AT ALL, SIR!”

“THEN LET HIM GET ON WITH IT! HATER, OUT!” Hater hung up.

“…W-Well, get on with it!” ordered the guard as he and his friend stepped aside.

“Thanks!” replied Wander. He then escorted everyone out. After a few seconds, one of the guards thought for a moment.

“…Hang on! Since when do we have orange beards?!” he asked his friend. The other guard goggled, then whirled around, blaster armed!

“HEY! GET BACK IN YOUR CELLS!” he shouted.

“RUN!” shouted the Doctor. The group rushed towards the TARDIS and made it inside as the Watchdogs fired!

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 6

Mission to the Mind: Part 1

On a distant planet, a blue dinosaur-like creature was carrying an orange furred creature on its back. They had arrived at what looked like a pool of bubble liquid. “There it is!” cheered the orange creature. “Time Orbble Lake! The place where Wilmur and Orbble found the secret to making Time Orbbles!”

“I still remember when we almost filled up on Time Orbble juice,” remarked the dinosaur-like creature as she shuddered. “That could have been a whole thing!” Just then, the lake started bubbling! “What the-?!”

“That’s never happened before!” yelped the orange creature. An energy wave then washed over them. The two stumbled a bit.

“Wander, are you okay?!” asked the dinosaur-like creature.

“I’m fine, Syl,” replied the orange creature, Wander. He then checked his hat. “…This thing’s okay. You?”

“Doing all right,” said the dinosaur-like creature, Sylvia. “What the heck happened?!”

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor checked the instruments. She was still tracking chronal surges, then…the TARDIS rocked as if it hit turbulence! The Doctor worked feverishly to stabilize things. Tysar stumbled into the console room. “Doctor, what was that?!”

“A chronal surge!” replied the Doctor. “It passed us while we were in the Vortex!”

“Can you get anything from it?” asked Tysar.

“Checking now…huh. Haven’t been to that galaxy in a while.”

“Doctor?”

“We’re going to a galaxy an old friend of mine lives in right now,” said the Doctor. “That’s where the chronal surge is putting its victim. Setting coordinates now and…”

Wander and Sylvia were still trying to puzzle out that energy wave. …Well, Sylvia was. Wander was still distracted by the Time Orbble lake. “Wander, can you please pay attention?!” complained Sylvia.

“I am!” protested Wander. Sylvia pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Look, it’s pretty, but that lake’s not as important as-!” She stopped when she heard a noise. “…As that, apparently,” she finished. Wander heard the noise too.

“What the heck’s going on?” he asked as a wind picked up. Just then, the TARDIS materialized on the planet. Wander’s face lit up. “DOCTOR!” he said. Sylvia goggled.

“No way is that all a coincidence!” she said. The Doctor and Tysar then stepped out.

“Doctor, what IS this planet?” asked Tysar.

“It’s where two people were inspired to make a form of transportation,” replied the Doctor. “A sort of soap bubble that keeps you alive in space and lets you wander-.”

“That’s the name!” interjected Wander. The Doctor looked down and grinned when she saw Wander’s face.

“Wander!” she greeted. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“You changed your face again, huh Doctor?” asked Wander.

“Doctor?” asked Sylvia. “Wander, I think that energy wave messed with your head. That’s not the Doctor.”

“So you’re saying I never helped you two against Lord Dominator and the Daleks?” asked the Doctor. “I had to modify the Movellan Virus to take them both down.”

“Good grief, it IS you!” yelped Sylvia. “But how?!”

“Her ability to change her face is known among my people,” said Tysar.

“Wander, Sylvia, meet Tysar, my current companion,” introduced the Doctor.

“Nice to meet you!” greeted Wander as he shook Tysar’s hand. “Folks call me Wander and that there is Sylvia!”

“How’s it going?” asked Sylvia.

“Random question,” said the Doctor, “but have you lot felt any strange energy waves?”

“Yeah, why?” asked Sylvia. “You tracking it?”

“All right, slightly related question,” continued the Doctor, “are you familiar with the Grouping?” Wander goggled.

“…Doc, I was a victim of that thing!” he said. “It took the Monan Host to get me back to my proper time!”

“Well, it’s happening again, Wander,” sighed the Doctor. “That energy wave was a chronal surge.”

“Um, could someone fill me in?” asked Sylvia.

“Chronal surges take someone out of one point in space time and put them somewhere and somewhen else,” explained Tysar. “I went through that myself. Ended up seeing the homeworld of one of the heroes of my people.”

“There are multiple chronal surges happening throughout space and time,” continued the Doctor. “The blending of those points is called the Grouping.”

“Well, Syl and I are still here,” said Wander.

“Meaning we’ll need to check for-.” The Doctor was interrupted by a groan somewhere nearby. “…That sounds familiar,” she said. “Fan out. We need to find this person and-.”

“Doctor, over here!” called Tysar near the edge of the lake. “It’s some kid with flight goggles!”

“Flight goggles?” The Doctor, Wander, and Sylvia rushed up to Tysar to see the kid she was talking about. The kid was face down and groaning in dull pain. The Doctor turned him over to see his features and gasped. “RAZ!” she yelped. The kid, Raz, scrunched his face and slowly opened his eyes.

“No, Mom,” he groaned deliriously, “psychic bears are a bad idea.” He then saw everyone standing over him. “HOLY-!” He fired a blast of mental concussive energy and knocked the Doctor off her feet!

“STEADY ON!” protested the Doctor.

“WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!” demanded Raz. “WHERE AM I?!”

“You’re in another time entirely, Razputin Aquato,” explained the Doctor. “As for who we are, well, you met ME before, but not in this body.”

“…Lady, I don’t know who you are,” said Raz.

“Then give me a mental checkup,” replied the Doctor. “You still have that Psycho-portal, yes?”

“…Okay, you obviously know about the Psychonauts,” said Raz. He then pulled out a little door. “So you consent to a mental checkup?”

“I do indeed,” confirmed the Doctor. Raz then put the door on the Doctor’s forehead. The Doctor shut her eyes. “Everyone, Raz is just entering my mind. There’s categorically no cause for alarm.” Raz then lowered his goggles over his eyes and projected his mind into the Doctor’s.

Raz found himself in a room with a hexagonal console in the center. “…That’s the mindscape of the Doctor!” he said.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” asked a voice. Raz turned to see a woman with long brown hair, a blue coat, a green pleated skirt, and a floppy hat.

“Doctor?!” he yelped.

“Yes, this is what I looked like when we first met, right Raz?” asked the woman, the Doctor’s previous incarnation.

“Wait, so that lady that looks like a supermodel is you?! You changed your face again?”

“An unfortunate hazard,” remarked the Doctor.

“So I’m gonna go through the door…and see her?”

“That’s the idea.”

“NO!” came a voice. A few short men in business suits with giant no symbol stamps arrived.

“Oh, lovely,” sighed the Doctor. “My Censors.”

“I’ll take care of them!” said Raz. He psi-blasted them as the Doctor practiced Venusian Aikido on them. She then opened the door for Raz.

“Through here,” she said.

“Thanks!” Raz entered the door and found himself in the current console room where the current Doctor was working on one of the console’s panels. “…Well, that just proves it,” he said.

“Hm?” The Doctor looked up from her work. “Ah, there you are! Didn’t meet all my previous incarnations?”

“I think I saw enough of them when I first met you,” remarked Raz. “Well, that’s all the proof I need.”

“Exit’s right behind you,” said the Doctor. Raz entered another door, then found himself lifting away from the console room.

Raz and the Doctor woke up as the psycho-portal fell off the Doctor’s head. “I’m convinced,” said Raz. “What made you change your body anyways, Doctor?”

“Occupational hazard,” replied the Doctor. “Now, I think I’d better fill you in on the current problem, hm?” The Doctor introduced Wander, Sylvia, and Tysar, then explained what happened to Raz.

“That explains why everything around me changed,” said Raz, taking it all in stride.

“We’ll get you back to your own time,” promised the Doctor.

“We’re at Time Orbble Lake,” said Wander, “maybe that can help him!”

“…No wonder that lake looks familiar!” chuckled the Doctor. “What a stroke of luck! Wander, do you have a clean Orbble Wand?”

“I should have one somewhere,” remarked Wander as he took his hat off and rummaged around in it. He then pulled out a warning beacon that was screaming!

“Okay, that’s a little worrying!” gulped Tysar.

“What’s that?” asked Raz.

“My Hatey Clock!” replied Wander. “It only goes off when Lord Hater’s coming!” A big smile crossed Wander’s face.

“Lord Hater’s coming?” asked the Doctor. She then face-palmed. “Of course the situation gets that complicated.”

“Is that as worrying as it sounds?” asked Tysar. Just then, a ship that looked like a skull with hot rod attachments arrived. It opened its mouth, unfurled its tongue like a carpet, and an army of small, diminutive creatures with giant eyes for heads wearing black suits marched out, chanting “HATE’S GREAT! BEST VILLAIN! HATE’S GREAT! BEST VILLAIN!” Their commander then arrived. He wore a helmet with a giant lightning bolt sticking out of it.

“By the authority vested in me by Lord Hater,” he called, “this planet now belongs to the greatest villain in the galaxy, Lord Hater!” That was when a skeleton with green eyes, black and red robes, and yellow gloves with tiny lightning bolt antennae on the hood arrived.