The prisoners were brought to Zim and Tyr’ahnee. “You caused quite a lot of noise, Doctor!” hissed Zim.
“So the rumors of Time Lords changing their faces are true, then?” asked Marvin.
“Well, I seem to recall you falling for Bugs Bunny’s disguise as Tyr’ahnee over there,” replied the Doctor, “so-.”
“Bunny?!” asked Tyr’ahnee. She turned on Marvin. “Our exile from Mars was because of a BUNNY?!”
“That rabbit’s clever, Your Majesty!” protested Marvin as he blushed, remembering the incident with the Ice Warriors. “…All right, so that IS the Doctor. What happened to the pink hedgehog?”
“She’s back in her home time,” replied the Doctor. “I think the real question is what are you lot doing on Irk? When did you make an alliance with the Irken Empire?”
“Desperate times forge strange alliances, Time Lord,” replied Tyr’ahnee.
“Well, take it from someone who’s been in your future, you should abandon the idea and get off of Irk as quickly as possible.”
“You should be familiar with the human expression ‘fat chance’, given your reputation of defending them, Doctor.”
“Let’s just say that-,” said Tysar. The Doctor clamped a hand over her companion’s mouth.
“Just trust us, all right?” asked the Doctor.
“I’m going to need more than the word of an enemy,” said Zim, “to convince me that sending the Martians away is a good idea.”
“My Tallest!” called an Irken. “A ship from Foodcourtia has arrived! It is heavily damaged and its pilot is asking to speak with you about the destruction of Foodcourtia!”
“What?! Bring the pilot here!” ordered Zim. He growled as the Irken obeyed. “Foodcourtia! Of all planets!”
“How did it get destroyed?” muttered Tyr’ahnee. “I heard the gravity field increases thanks to so many customers that it creates a time dilation.”
“Some master of time, perhaps?” guessed Marvin. Zim’s antennae twitched.
“…You know, you’re not the first Time Lord to visit the Empire recently,” he remarked to the Doctor.
“You make it sound like Gallifrey is responsible for its destruction,” replied the Doctor.
“Why not? Your TARDIS’s can handle the effects of the Great Foodening Queen Tyr’ahnee was talking about.”
“Tallest Zim, I can assure you, we are NOT responsible for the shrinking of your empire. We’re still in a state of reconstruction.”
“Then why would this Omega character be on Foodcourtia?” The Doctor’s gaze darkened.
“Omega is a renegade,” she explained. “He’s behind the Grouping, yes, but not behind your current problem. Let me send Ariel, Zelda, and Link back to their proper points in space-time, then give me any information you have on Omega and I’ll stop him from messing up your empire’s timeline.”
“Doctor, a word,” said Tysar. The Doctor and Tysar went to a corner to whisper to each other. “Are you sure Omega’s not behind this?”
“The Irken Genocide had evidence of conventional weaponry, not Gallifreyan,” replied the Doctor. “Something else will be behind what’s coming.” Just then, the door opened. The Irkens were helping a tall and fat Irken in a fry cook’s uniform with an apron and hat walk into the room, thanks to all the battle damage he sustained.
“Fry Lord Sizz-Lorr,” greeted Zim.
“M-My Tallest!” gasped Sizz-Lorr. “T-Terror is…is coming! F-Foodcourtia…destroyed! Gravity…resulted in…black hole! I was…only survivor!”
“Sizz-Lorr, who would destroy Foodcourtia?” asked the Doctor.
“D…D…D…the sauce…!” Sizz-Lorr collapsed before he could reveal anything.
“Get him to the medical center!” ordered Zim. “He can explain himself when he’s awake!” Tysar, having overheard everything like the others, had a nasty theory in her head.
“…God, I hope not,” she muttered.
The Doctor and her group were locked up in a cell with the TARDIS being taken away. “Drat,” muttered the Doctor. “Now we’re in for it. History says that only the Irken race dies today. If Tyr’ahnee and Marvin die, time is fractured!”
“Doctor, are you absolutely sure that-?!” urged Ariel.
“I can’t…interfere with history like that. …Not again.” The Time Lord Victorious went to the forefront of the Doctor’s mind.
“Can’t you save SOMEONE?!” asked Link.
“…All I can safely save is Zim,” sighed the Doctor. “And you lot. Everyone else, I’m…I’m bound by the laws of time not to.”
“That’s not fair!” protested Ariel.
“In an ideal world, I wouldn’t give a second thought to saving them!” snapped the Doctor. “…But tragedies need to happen! Ursula and Morgana’s respective schemes are a part of YOUR history! Zelda’s kidnappings are a part of her history, no matter how many times the timeline is reset! Power and heroism being forced on Link when he’d rather have a simple life is a part of his history! Tysar landing in Gotham is a part of her history! My stumbling on Skaro and giving my greatest enemies a shot at becoming a temporal power is a part of my history! Ariel, we can’t undo the tragedies of our lives, otherwise we fail to learn the lessons from them and something worse will taint our world-view! Maybe…somehow…we can prevent future tragedies like what’s coming from happening. …You all should be safe in the TARDIS when we get out. I brought this mystery to Irk…and I’ll solve it alone if I have to.”
“You will not!” protested Zelda. “You’ll probably make a beastly mess of things.”
“And you’ll need me around to tidy that mess up!” urged Tysar.
“…Looks like we have to solve the mystery before things get out of hand,” decided Link.
“…We’d better get on with it then,” sighed Ariel, feeling helpless. “And we better figure it out quickly before our names are added to the list of casualties.”
“…Thank you. All of you,” said the Doctor. “…Come on!” She then pulled out her sonic screwdriver.
“…They didn’t take it?” asked Tysar.
“Well, they didn’t take my shield and the Master Sword,” replied Link as he drew his sword.
“Their arrogance is usually their undoing,” remarked the Doctor. She buzzed the lock again and the door opened. “There we go! Come along! We’ve got work to…” She trailed off when she saw Sizz-Lorr walking down the hall, seemingly without pain despite all the scarring. “…Shouldn’t he be laid up in the medical lab?” pondered the Doctor aloud.
“Something’s not right with that man,” remarked Zelda.
“Come along. We’ll follow him.” The group cautiously followed Sizz-Lorr until he arrived at a storage barn. There was a hissing sound and his belly opened up!
“That’s not the real Sizz-Lorr?” asked Ariel.
“No,” confirmed the Doctor. “Some robotic duplicate? …Hang on. …That word he used just before he collapsed. …Something about sauce…and he was trying to say something that started with the letter D.” The Doctor then saw Sizz-Lorr take parts for something out of his belly and assemble something. Her eyes widened. “A transmat!”
“A what?” asked Ariel.
“Matter transmission, teleportation,” explained Tysar. “But from wh-?”
“Your people’s ancestral home-world!” replied the Doctor. “Sizz-Lorr’s a duplicate! The real one must have been killed during the destruction of Foodcourtia!”
“Doctor, you don’t mean-!” protested Tysar.
“Transmat complete, Masters,” droned Sizz-Lorr. He then stood silently as he received orders. “…I obey. Termination in three…two…one.” He then sparked and collapsed as the transmat warmed up!
“I obey!” shuddered Tysar. “The words of their slaves and what they say to their superiors!”
“Who?!” asked Link. “Who’s got you so spooked?!” Link got his answer as several shapes appeared on the transmat. The shapes solidified into a foe the Doctor and Tysar know all too well.
“Transmat transference complete!” barked the Battle Commander. “All Duplicates have reported successful sabotage of Irken Homeworld Defense Network! Proceed! Crush all resistance! Exterminate all life-forms! EXTERMINATE!”
“We obey!” replied the subordinates. They all then chanted “SEEK! LOCATE! EXTERMINATE! SEEK! LOCATE! EXTERMINATE!”
“Daleks!” hissed the Doctor. “We have to get out of here!”
“They’re just machines!” protested Link. “I can-!”
“Link, the Daleks have the superior weaponry and strategic advantage!” protested Tysar. “We have to go!”
“There’s a transport over there!” called Zelda as she pointed out an Irken supply vehicle.
“Everybody, to the transport! NOW!” ordered the Doctor. Everyone ran towards the transport.
“Life-forms detected!” called a Dalek.
“Halt! HALT!” shouted the Battle Commander. “EXTERMINATE!”
“EXTERMINATE! ANNIHILATE! DESTROY!” chanted the Daleks as they opened fire! Unfortunately, a few Irkens got caught in the crossfire!
“What’s all the rack-?!” Sty demanded as she arrived. One look at the invading force answered her question! “DALEKS!”
“Listen, Invader…!” called the Doctor.
“Invader Sty!”
“Invader Sty, we need to evacuate Zim from Irk! And the Martians too!”
“…Ordinarily, I’d throw you back into your cells and do what the guards should have done,” said Sty, “but we’re all united against the Daleks! Get on that transport!” Sty bundled them all onto the transport.
“Biological reports compiled!” reported a Dalek aboard one of the Daleks’ Saucers. The commanding Dalek was the Black and Gold Dalek Supreme.
“Summarize!” barked the Dalek Supreme.
“Non-Irkens were detected! Martians were the primary discovery as they were in the process of forming a mutual defense compact with the Irken Empire! Five other humanoids were detected! Pathweb has discovered a familiarity of one of the humanoids!”
“Display humanoid!” The Doctor’s image appeared via hologram. “Identify!” Just then, holograms of the Doctor’s previous incarnations appeared, along with all the titles the Daleks gave her.
“IT IS THE DOCTOR!” shrieked a Dalek.