Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Rise of the Machine: Part 1

The TARDIS drifted lazily through the Time Vortex as the Doctor and Amy were taking a well-deserved spa day. They were in a warm mud bath and sighing contentedly. “Does a TARDIS usually have a spa room?” asked Amy. “Not that I’m complaining, you understand.”

“Not really,” replied the Doctor. “A TARDIS is supposed to be used for temporal research. But, when a TARDIS lives long enough, it acquires rooms designed for creature comforts. The TARDIS is an old girl, mechanically speaking.”

“And still an awesome machine,” said Amy.

“She always has been,” agreed the Doctor. She then saw something near Amy. “What’s that stack of books there?”

“Oh, I found them in the library,” replied Amy. “A few romance novels. I’m a bit of a sucker for them still. I saw the library cards in them, so I’m guessing you borrowed them. I suppose the advantage of having a time machine is that, even if you forget them for a while, you’re never late with them.”

“That really depends on the library,” said the Doctor. “I once borrowed from the library of Kar-Charrat and, sadly, I couldn’t just arrive on the due date. …Pity the Daleks destroyed it.”

“Those monsters have something against books, huh?”

“Well, they have something against non-Daleks having any knowledge and given that the library of Kar-Charrat once housed the entire knowledge of the universe, the Daleks needed that knowledge for themselves to launch an assault on the universe. …Which library did you say the cards came from?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Amy. “It’s not any library card I recognize.”

“Well, I’ll just have a look, then,” said the Doctor. She washed the mud off her arms, then opened the cover of one of the books. Her eyes slowly widened, then she checked another one, then another, then the last. “…Oh no!” she groaned. “They’re from the Comet Observatory.” Amy goggled.

“The Comet Observatory? Rosalina’s home?” asked the hedgehog.

“You’ve been there?” quizzed the Doctor.

“I’ve made some friends there like I did on Hyrule,” explained Amy. “You borrowed from Rosalina’s library?”

“And, sadly, I can only land the TARDIS in the present day,” replied the Doctor. “These books are long overdue.”

“We better get there now, then,” said Amy.


Drifting in orbit around a blue and green planet, four ladies were having tea on a fantastic-looking observatory while two men were stargazing from the balcony. The ladies each wore dresses in different colors, one pink, one yellow, one sky-blue, and one red. The two men wore overalls and hats, one with red and an M on his hat, the other with green and an L on his. The men were the famous Super Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi. The ladies were Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Princess Rosalina, and Mayor Pauline. “Boys!” called Peach. “Are you sure you don’t want to join us?”

“We’re good,” replied Mario. “Some of the stars formed new constellations and Luigi and I always liked tracing them.”

“You girls should try it,” offered Luigi.

“You know, I could make it a challenge, see if you can recognize the constellations from a new angle,” chuckled Rosalina. At that moment, a noise familiar to her filled the air inside the Observatory’s atmospheric shields. “…The TARDIS?” she muttered.

“Rosie, you know what that noise is?” asked Daisy.

“It heralds the arrival of a Time Lord,” replied Rosalina. “If it’s the same Time Lord I know…” She briefly looked around to see the TARDIS materializing at the launch pad off the Terrace. “Aha! The Doctor has arrived! I wonder if his ears shrank finally?” The doors opened and out stepped Amy and the Doctor. “Oh! Miss Rose!” greeted Rosalina.

“Amy!” called Peach.

“Hey, you look good!” observed Daisy. “Trying out being goth?”

“Just the clothes, Daisy,” replied Amy.

“It’s great to have you here, Amy!” called Mario.

“Nice to see you boys too, Mario and Luigi!” said Amy.

“What brings you here?” asked Luigi.

“Just a visit with old friends. The Doctor over there brought me here.”

“Hello!” called the Doctor.

“Ah, so you regenerated again,” observed Rosalina. “Pity. I rather like the leather.”

“I don’t know, I like the skirt I’ve got on,” replied the Doctor.

“Everyone, this is the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet of Gallifrey,” introduced Rosalina. Everyone introduced themselves to the Doctor in short order. “Now, Doctor,” asked Rosalina, “what brings you back to the Comet Observatory? Social call?” The Doctor winced.

“Erm, I may have accidentally taken some of your books,” she explained. “Possibly for somewhat longer than I anticipated.”

“…Books? Missing from my library?” asked Rosalina, her eye twitching.

“Hoo boy,” gulped Mario.

“Let me see them!” hissed Rosalina. The Doctor surrendered the books.

“It must have been from when I was last here,” she explained. “A few reference books, just a bit of light reading.”

“Heavy reading, you mean,” remarked Amy. “Those novels got a bit…saucy at the end.”

“Thank you SO much for defending me, Amy,” muttered the Doctor, sarcasm heavy on her voice.

“So THAT’S where the Star-Crossed series went!” snapped Rosalina as she inspected the books. “Doctor, you have no idea how many times I turned the Observatory upside down! You’re lucky this is part of my private collection! …If you want to make it up to me, perhaps you can help us with something.”

“Miss Rosalina, are you sure?” asked Pauline.

“The Doctor is the expert on these matters,” replied Rosalina.

“…Oh, very well,” sighed the Doctor.

“I’m heading back to Sarasaland,” said Daisy.

“Mind if I come?” asked Amy.

“I-I want to come with!” stammered Luigi.

“Me too!” said Peach. “Mario? You want to come?”

“I think I’m gonna stay here and help brief the Doctor on our problem,” replied Mario.

“All right. Join us when you can!” called Peach. She and Daisy led Amy and Luigi to a Launch Star and they all spun inside it, then they were launched towards the planet below.

“…I still say your Launch Stars are inefficient,” muttered the Doctor. “Now, what seems to be the problem?”

“Well, several civilizations reported power loss at the same frequency,” explained Pauline. “We lose about 20 percent more moons than usual.”

“Moons?” asked the Doctor.

“Power Moons,” explained Rosalina. “Similar to the Power Stars that fuel the Observatory or Peach’s castle.”

“Ah. So, there’s a power loss crisis going across the globe?” the Doctor summarized.

“Yes,” replied Mario. “But I think I saw the culprit once.”

“Oh?” asked the Doctor.

“It was a robot talking to a Koopa. It said that it drained enough power from the Mushroom Kingdom for Bowser’s purposes. I already told Peach about it.”

“Ah, good,” said Rosalina.

“So it’s a Bowser scheme,” mused Pauline. “What would he want with Power Moons this time? That sham wedding went kaput.”

“And what did the robot look like?” asked Rosalina.

“Well, it looked like a salt-shaker for one thing,” replied Mario. “It had a plunger and a long whisk-.”

“What?!” asked the Doctor. “Did it have a camera eye on top of a dome?!”

“Y-Yeah!” gulped Mario. Rosalina dropped her wand in fear.

“…How did they get past my sensor net?!” she whispered.


“Why did I wear black here?!” complained Amy as she fanned herself as she and her team trekked through the Sarasaland Desert.

“Come on, guys!” called Daisy, wearing her new Oasis outfit. “The ziggurat’s over here!”

“You said it just rose out of the ground yesterday?” asked Peach as she wore her vacation outfit complete with floppy-brimmed sunhat.

“Yep! Over here!” The group approached what looked like a sandstone ziggurat. “If that’s breaking your brain, take a feel!” Peach approached it and felt the stonework…or what SHOULD be stonework.

“This…this is bizarre! It doesn’t feel like stone at all!” That was when she heard something!

“G-G-Girls!” stammered Luigi. “Th-Th-The door!” The door was opening from the inside!

“There’s something inside!” whispered Daisy. Amy looked deeper into the dark of the ziggurat’s entrance…then heard a noise, a rhythmic pulsing that she heard before. She thought for a few seconds, then her eyes widened with fear as her heart dropped to her stomach! She knew the sound! She heard it before!

“…Skaro!” she whispered.

“Amy?” asked Peach.

“Everyone, get out of here! That ziggurat’s not safe! MOVE!” called Amy. As she tried to herd everyone away at top speed, a crackling buzz filled the air! Amy collapsed in pain and grabbed her leg!

“AMY!” yelped Daisy as everyone ran to help her.

“M-My leg!” gasped Amy. “I can’t feel my leg!”

“Your condition is temporary!” came a familiar harsh, grating, metallic voice. Amy looked back to see who spoke. Exiting the ziggurat with the same ugly grace she saw on their homeworld was a silver Dalek! “Your leg will recover!” barked the Dalek. “Disobedience will result in permanent paralysis! Failure to obey past total paralysis will result in your extermination! Into the ziggurat!”

“If you think-!” argued Daisy.

“Move! Move! MOVE!” ordered the Dalek.

“Everyone, do as it says!” begged Amy. “Hopefully the Doctor will figure things out.”

“The Doctor will not save you, Amy Rose!” argued the Dalek as Daisy and Luigi helped Amy to her feet and carried her into the ziggurat with Peach behind them. “She will fail!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Martian Lunacy: Part 3

“A Time Lord and her compatriots have proven to be more of a nuisance than I anticipated,” reported Marvin. “But this particular Time Lord has a preference to Earth, so I’m having the Illudium Q-39 Explosive Space Modulator retrieved so she can watch her beloved Earth be destroyed as a result of her interference.”

“No, the Q-39 doesn’t have the right explosive yield for that kind of punishment,” dismissed Tyr’ahnee. “Have our production lines construct the Illudium Q-41 Explosive Space Modulator immediately.” Marvin and the Instant Martians gasped in horror.

“Y-Your Majesty!” stammered Marvin. “We’d have to install the core of a hyperdrive engine to engage the command deck’s centrifugal functions! The formula for the Q-41 isn’t stable! The forces unleashed could-!”

“Commander X-2, have you finally become the Earth Creature known as a chicken?” asked Tyr’ahnee coldly. Marvin twiddled his thumbs a bit, then grabbed a communicator.

“…P-PREPARE PRODUC…!” He then took a breath after his voice cracked in terror. “…Prepare Production Lines for construction of the Illudium Q-41 Explosive Space Modulator! Fasten all seat restraints! Seal all doors! Close all shops in the mall! Cancel all movies! Secure all personal belongings! Make sure-!”

“Give me that, you pathetic excuse for a commander!” Tyr’ahnee grabbed the comms unit and spoke into it. “Production Lines, report status on hyperdrive engine core!”

“Engine core installed, Your Majesty!” replied the person on the other end.

“Good! All hands, begin-!”

“Your Majesty,” begged Marvin as he buckled himself into his seat, “you may want to strap in!”

“Ah, strap this!” dismissed Tyr’ahnee. She resumed addressing the complex. “All hands, begin production of the Illudium Q-41 Explosive Space Modulator!” The control room part of the complex then extended and spun like a machine that simulates g-forces! Tyr’ahnee found herself being lifted off the floor and grabbed a nearby control console. “WHAT HAVE I DONE?!” she cried over the roar. “MY BRAINS…ARE GOING INTO MY FEET!” A warning light then flashed.


Over in another part of the complex, Amy reunited with the Doctor. “Doctor!” she said. “Thank goodness! Where’s Bugs?!”

“Over in there, I presume,” replied the Doctor as she pointed out the control room still acting as a centrifuge. “The rotational speed is being fed into a hyperdrive core to make the currently unstable Illudium Q-41 Explosive Space Modulator. Once it blows, then the Ice Warriors will attack.”

“…Is Bugs gonna be okay?” asked Amy, worried.

“He’s gone through worse, oddly enough,” answered the Doctor. Just then, an explosion erupted from part of the complex. “That’s the signal!”


“THE PRODUCTION LINES BLEW UP!” called an Instant Martian.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!” shouted Tyr’ahnee. “STOP THE RIDE! I WANNA GET OFF!”

“WE CAN’T STOP!” replied Marvin. “IT’S TOO DANGEROUS! WE HAVE TO SLOW DOWN!”

“HORSE HOCKEY!” ordered Tyr’ahnee. “STOP THIS THING! I ORDER YOU! STOOOOOOOOOOPPPP!!!” Marvin couldn’t bring himself to disobey his Queen, so he reached for the emergency stop lever and pulled it. The control room suddenly stopped spinning and Tyr’ahnee flew forward into a control bank! A pair of Instant Martians then helped her up.

“Your Majesty! Are you okay?!” called Marvin as he unbuckled and went to help her.

“…Fine,” mumbled Tyr’ahnee. “How are you?”

“Doing fine, given the circumstances,” replied Marvin. He then saw something on the floor. “Oh! Your hair!” he said as he picked it up.

“Oh, my personality,” said Tyr’ahnee. “Thanks.” Marvin then realized something. …Tyr’ahnee’s hair wasn’t a wig. So… He looked up at Tyr’ahnee…and saw rabbit ears on the top of her head. His eyes became filled with fury. “Tyr’ahnee” noticed this, then realized her…or rather HIS disguise had worn off! It was Bugs Bunny in drag! “…Uh…new Earth fashion?” he tried.

“Oh, that’s not nice!” seethed Marvin as his breathing speed increased. “Impersonating my Queen and sabotaging the production lines makes me angry, Rabbit! Very angry indeed!” As Marvin pulled out a pistol, something knocked on the door.

“Who’s out there?!” demanded an Instant Martian. His question was answered as Taxona, Skaldak, and their armed and very angry Ice Warrior compatriots stormed the command deck and fired their sonic blasters.

“YIPE!” yelped Bugs as he dodged the Ice Warriors’ weapons fire and fled, leaving his disguise behind.


Bugs reunited with the Doctor and Amy. “Doc! Amy!” he called.

“Bugs! How goes the battle?!” asked the Doctor.

“Skaldak and Taxona swarmed the command deck,” replied Bugs, “but now we gotta know if the Ice Warriors win or lose! I can’t just leave them to Marvin!”

“Erm, Bugs, I think we have bigger things to worry about!” replied Amy as she pointed behind Bugs. He then heard breathing and felt air on his tail. He looked behind to see Gossamer ready to charge like a crazed bull.

“Stop steaming up my tail!” snapped Bugs as he smacked Gossamer. “What are you trying to do, wrinkle it?!” Gossamer then gave Bugs a swift kick in the rear! Bugs went tumbling forward, then stopped when he hit a wall.

“BUGS!” yelped the Doctor. She then turned to Gossamer. “I think you need to get the hair out of your eyes!” she said to the monster as she rifled through her pockets. “Let’s see, yo-yo, psychic paper, aha! Acme Clippers!” She pulled out a pair of electric hair clippers and switched them on. Gossamer spluttered in fear.

“CLIPPERS!” he cried before running from the Doctor.

“Come back here, you big baby!” protested the Doctor. “A haircut never hurt anyone!” A baseball bat then hit Gossamer in the face!

“Of course, you realize, Gossamer,” said Bugs as he stepped out of the shadows, holding the bat, “this means war!” That was when the Doctor’s clippers got to work on Gossamer. All that was left was Gossamer’s eyes and sneakers.

“…Good heavens, he really IS all hair!” said the Doctor. She then noticed that the roar of battle had dimmed significantly. “

“…Is that good or bad?” asked Amy.

“Come on!” called the Doctor as she ran to the command deck. Amy and Bugs joined her while Gossamer’s eyes took control of the sneakers and headed off somewhere to reconstruct his hairy body.


The Doctor and her team burst into the command deck. “Skaldak! Taxona!” called the Doctor.

“We’re here,” replied Taxona. The Doctor gasped as she saw Taxona kneeling next to a gravely wounded Skaldak. The Ice Warrior Hero was still as stone. “…He intercepted a killing shot meant for me,” explained Taxona sadly. “…He saved my life by sacrificing his.”

“…And Marvin?” asked the Doctor.

“Being tended to by our medics,” replied Taxona. “I need him healthy for what I’m about to do to him and his ilk. He’ll only wish I had killed him. He have to experience the embarrassment of reporting his failure to Tyr’ahnee.”

“Then the revolution was a success,” said the Doctor.

“And Skaldak will be honored properly once I’m finished with Marvin.”


A few hours later, the Ice Warriors formed an aisle leading to Marvin’s ship, a golden rocket-style ship called the Martian Maggot. Taxona and her people frog-marched Marvin and the surviving Instant Martians to the ship’s airlock, then blocked any means of escape. “Our two races would have made Mars stronger by working together,” Taxona snarled at Marvin. “You and Tyr’ahnee chose to treat us as cattle. Go. Tell Tyr’ahnee that she and all those that rally to her cause are banished from Mars!” Marvin briefly considered trying to escape, but with so many armed and angry Ice Warriors, there was too great a chance he would be killed in the confusion. He then spotted the Doctor blocking his escape route along with the Ice Warriors.

“Don’t look at me,” said the Doctor. “Your people’s exile is a fixed point in Martian history. It’s on you.” With that, Marvin the Martian just fixed everyone with a glare.

“…Tyr’ahnee won’t take this lying down and neither will I, ‘Your Majesty’!” he hissed at Taxona. “Instant Martians, with me!” The exiled Martians boarded the Martian Maggot and it left the spaceport and Mars entirely.


Taxona led the Doctor back to the TARDIS as Ice Warriors set it down carefully on the floor of the old command deck. “I know that was all you asked of me,” said Taxona, “but I would reward you handsomely for what you’ve done for my people, Doctor, Miss Rose, Mr. Bunny.”

“Trust me, freeing the TARDIS from that debris is more than enough,” assured the Doctor.

“And all I need is a ride back home,” said Bugs.

“Very well. But know this, by the Moons, all of Mars honors thee, Doctor!” pledged Taxona.

“By the Moons, we honor thee, Empress Taxona,” replied the Doctor. She and her friends entered the TARDIS and it dematerialized.


The TARDIS returned to the American Woodlands that was Bugs’ home, a few feet from his hole, even! Bugs stepped out. “Hey! Right back home!” he said. “You girls sure you can’t stay? I make a mean carrot juice!”

“Thank you, Bugs,” replied the Doctor, “but Amy and I need to take a vacation. We’ll see you around, though not necessarily in the same order.”

“All right. So long, Doc!” Bugs descended back into his hole while the TARDIS took off, looking for a nice vacation spot.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Martian Lunacy: Part 2

The saucer arrived at a spaceport near Olympus Mons. Amy was surprised at something. “…Doctor, how are we breathing and walking like we’re on Earth?” she asked. “I thought the air was different to Earth and the gravity’s supposed to be lighter.”

“A combination of technology and something that people like you and Bugs tap into,” replied the Doctor.

“What’s that?”

“Cartoon physics, the reason why you can pull your hammer out of thin air.”

“Earth Creature and extra-temporal friends,” greeted Marvin as he arrived with two lizard people. The Doctor goggled.

“…You stole their armor!” she hissed. “The Ice Warriors place a lot of honor in their armor and you stole it!”

“Those are Ice Warriors without armor?” asked Amy.

“Yes, and Marvin’s playing with fire!” replied the Doctor.

“I have my means of keeping these Ice Warriors on a leash,” dismissed Marvin. “Now, to finally clear my view of Venus! Warriors! Ready the Illudium Q-39 Explosive Space Modulator!” A massive cannon rose from the floor and was aimed into the Martian sky. Marvin carefully adjusted the cannon and centered Earth in the targeting lens. An Ice Warrior then handed Marvin a red stick of dynamite. Marvin inserted the explosive into the end of the cannon with the fuse sticking out, then pulled out a lighter. He had a bit of trouble getting the lighter to light. “Oh, drat this lighter! It’s so stubborn!” he grumbled. “I could pinch it!” A flame then appeared. “Oh goody! Everyone, plug your ears and close your eyes! It’s going to be loud and bright!” Everyone except the Doctor and her friends did so. Bugs licked his fingers, then extinguished the fuse, then twisted the dynamite out.

“Come on! We gotta scram!” hissed Bugs. The Doctor and Amy nodded and followed him, leaving all the Martians assembled still with their eyes closed and their ears plugged. Marvin then blinked.

“…Where’s the kaboom?” he asked. “There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!” He then spotted where the explosive should have been. His eyes bugged out when he realized what happened! “The Illudium Q-39 Explosive Space Modulator! The Time Lord and her friends have stolen the Space Modulator!” He pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Delays, delays!” he grumbled as he made his call. “…Gossamer, there is an Earth creature with a Time Lord and her companion from the future at liberty within the base and carrying the Illudium Q-39 Explosive Space Modulator! Return them and the explosive to me and I shall reward you with that spider goulash you like so much!”


“All right, Doc! What’s the plan?!” asked Bugs.

“Well, obviously,” replied the Doctor, “we have to keep Earth from being blown up so Amy can be born five billion years after Earth’s natural death. We also need to free the Ice Warriors and get Marvin and his ilk off this planet. Too many things happening at once!”

“We’ll have to split up somehow,” muttered Amy. The Doctor skidded to a stop when she saw a pair of Ice Warriors, one male and one female. She goggled in surprise.

“…I recognize that face!” she said. The male Ice Warrior looked.

“A new slave?” he muttered, his spirit broken.

“…I recognize that voice!” whispered the Doctor. “You remember, sir? On that sub? 5,000 years in the ice? You and I stared each other down in that mad state.”

“…It cannot be!” realized the Ice Warrior man. “Doctor?!”

“Grand Marshal Skaldak,” replied the Doctor. “By the moons, I honor thee.”

“You know this guy, Doc?” asked Bugs.

“Sovereign of the Tharseesian Caste and Vanquisher of the Phobos Heresy,” replied the Doctor. “He is THE greatest hero the Ice Warriors have ever produced! …Who is she?”

“The woman with me?” asked the old Ice Warrior. “…She is the Empress’s daughter, Princess Taxona.”

“Taxona?!” gasped Amy. “…Now we REALLY need to save the Ice Warriors!”

“Why bother?” asked the young Taxona.

“Because we’ve seen your future,” replied the Doctor. “And it is an honorable and glorious one for not only Mars, but the entire solar system.”

“…We break the chains?” asked Taxona.

“Yes. But we need to rearm the Ice Warriors,” replied the Doctor. “Skaldak, Taxona, do you know where your armor was stashed? Or if they were destroyed?”

“Marvin and his ilk couldn’t destroy our armor,” replied Taxona, “so he displays them in the lower gallery.”

“Be warned, Doctor,” said Skaldak, “there is a monster lurking around down there that guards the place. Marvin calls it Gossamer.”

“Gossamer?” asked Bugs. “Big hairy monster with sneakers and bad fingernails?”

“That’s him,” replied Skaldak.

“We gotta split up,” muttered Amy.

“…All right, here’s what I’ve got,” said the Doctor.


Amy ran through the lower levels, trying to find the gallery where the armor was stashed. She barreled down a corridor, then skidded to a stop when she saw a trapdoor open ahead of her! Her toes were just hanging over the edge of the hole as she quickly regained her balance. She looked down to see strange monsters snapping like starving alligators in a moat! Amy clasped her hands in prayer, thanking Chaos that she was blessed with good brakes as she backed up. Her progress backwards was halted by something…furry. She then noticed that the shadow being cast was bigger than her! She looked up into the eyes of a monster that had red-orange fur all over the body, burly arms with ugly fingernails, sneakers, and angry eyes! The fur covered its mouth. “…G…Gossamer?” asked Amy. The monster nodded. “Hoo boy! Think fast, Amy!” She then turned fully to face Gossamer. “Sweet Chaos, what is that smell?! It’s coming from your feet!” Gossamer blinked in confusion, then pulled one of his sneakers off and sniffed inside.

“WHOOO!” he yelped, realizing that she was right! Amy immediately sat Gossamer down in a chair and began giving him a pedicure. As she rubbed a pumice stone over Gossamer’s feet, Amy spoke as if she were a salon worker.

“Such an interesting monster you are!” she said. “My stars, if an interesting monster can’t have an interesting foot care routine, then I don’t know what this world is coming to! In my business, you meet so many interesting people! But the most interesting people are the monsters!” She finished rubbing the stone over his feet and getting rid of the dead skin. “Now let’s give our feetsies a little wash!” She brought out a dish of water. Gossamer dipped his feet in…then the mousetraps in the dish snapped shut on his feet

“EEEYYYOOOWW!” screamed Gossamer. Amy took advantage of Gossamer’s predicament to escape. After running down a corridor for a while, Amy saw a sign. It read “Lower Gallery. Do not use the display pieces to rearm the lizards.”

“…No way are they really in there,” said Amy in disbelief. She tried the handle. …The door wasn’t even locked. “…Complacency or a trap?” Amy looked inside to see various suits of Ice Warrior armor and a big red button that read “Lizard Armor Recall.” She decided pressing the button from a distance would be a good idea, so she summoned her hammer and threw it at the button. …The suits then teleported and she could hear happy Ice Warrior roars from far off in the mines of Olympus Mons. “…Complacency!” cackled Amy. “No wonder Bugs beats him so often!” She pulled out a comms unit the Doctor had constructed. “Doctor, Bugs, this is Amy. Did you hear those roars?”

“More than that,” replied the Doctor. “Skaldak and Taxona just slipped into their suits. They’re ready to go on your signal, Bugs.”

“That might be a problem,” said Bugs. “Marvin’s just watered his instant Martians. I’ll have to disguise myself somehow.”

“…You know about that show Daffy made about him in the 24½th Century?” asked the Doctor, shuddering at the unfortunate butchering of a century’s name.

“You mean Duck Dodgers? That old Cartoon Network show? What about it?” asked Bugs.

“The Martian Leader there is real.”

“…I see what you’re saying, Doc! Give me a sec!”


“What is taking so long?!” Marvin complained to one of his Instant Martians, a green, bird-like creature. “Can’t you capture an Earth Creature?!”

“This Earth Creature displays a level of intelligence not usual to the rest of the planet,” replied the Instant Martian.

“Sir!” called another Instant Martian. “We just received a transmission! Her Majesty is here!”

“The Queen?!” yelped Marvin. “Roll out the carpet now! Royal Guard, fall in!” The Instant Martians lined up as a carpet rolled out from the door. The door opened and in stepped Queen Tyr’ahnee Mirkin, the Ruler of Mars. She had the Egyptian-style royal clothes, inky-black body, and the transparent purple skirt of the Martian Queen, but something seemed off. No matter. Marvin had other things to tend to than oddities. “Your Majesty!” greeted Marvin. “Welcome home! I trust your mission was successful?”

“Given what I heard was happening to my planet,” hissed Tyr’ahnee, “I had to leave the mission’s cleanup in the care of the commander I took. What is happening? Why are the Ice Warriors’ suits missing from the lower gallery?! And why is Venus still obstructed by Earth?!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Martian Lunacy: Part 1

A song floated through the TARDIS halls from a shower in the bedroom Amy was using. “Sweet, you’re so sweet, yeah!

Sweet sweet, you’re so sweet!

Sweet sweet, you’re so sweet!

Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Once the song finished, Amy shut off the water, dried off, then got dressed and put on her makeup. With all that done, she headed over to the dining room for breakfast. She looked around, then sighed. “Is she STILL tinkering?” she asked the TARDIS while she keyed in what she wanted from the food synthesizer. The TARDIS warbled a confirmation of the Doctor’s whereabouts as it made Amy’s breakfast appear. “Look, you two like each other, but do you ever just…go off without the Doctor?” The TARDIS didn’t reply, but the humming indicated it was actually considering it. “Who knows? You might find some point in space-time the Doctor’s never been to.” Before the TARDIS could reply, the sound of sparking and a certain Time Lord cursing in her native Gallifreyan filled the air. “Speaking of!” Amy quickly finished her breakfast and headed to the Console Room, the one she was used to instead of the bog-standard one Professor Paradox was in. There was smoke coming from the base of the console. “Doctor?!” called Amy.

“Down here!” coughed the Doctor. She came up the steps and emptied the contents of a fire extinguisher onto the smoking area. Whatever fire was there was put out.

“Doctor, what were you doing?!” protested Amy.

“Trying to see if I could fix navigation again,” replied the Doctor. “After that business with the Sontarans, I figured we’d go to Samur after it was repopulated and declared neutral territory.”

“There’s a bit to unpack there,” remarked Amy.

“Samur is a refuge from the Sontaran/Rutan war in the Madillon Cluster,” explained the Doctor. “The Citadel of Samur stretches the length of the planet along the equator and, post-repopulation, maintains a symbiosis between the buildings and those who dwell within them.”

“And why is it repopulated? What happened to the original population?”

“The Sontarans happened. They encountered a gestalt entity known as the Witch Guard that could split itself into seven bodies and combine them into one. They destroyed them and Samur by unleashing a biological agent labeled Z/002 that created a purple moss with roots that sucked things dry on the molecular level, even the Samurians. After an adventure of mine involving the Sontarans and surviving Witch Guard, the moss receded and Samur was repopulated.”

“And Samur’s now Sontaran-free?” asked Amy incredulously.

“Sontaran AND Rutan-free,” promised the Doctor. The TARDIS made its usual arrival noises. “Aha! We’ve landed! Oh, Amy, one last thing, shoes, boots, slippers, and footwear of all kinds are strictly forbidden within the precincts of the Citadel.” The Doctor took off her own shoes and socks.

“Ooh, Mobians love going barefoot when they can!” said Amy as she took off her shoes. The two left their shoes by the door and the Doctor stepped out…

“OUCH!” she said.

“Doctor?!” yelped Amy.

“I’m fine, I just stepped on a sharp stick,” assured the Doctor. She looked around…to find she missed the mark as usual. “…Ah.”

“This isn’t Samur, is it?” asked Amy.

“No, decidedly not,” sighed the Doctor. She picked up the stick she stepped on and licked it. “…Mid-Summer, 2025, one of America’s forested areas, one that hasn’t been touched by humans yet.”

“America? Are we near William’s home?”

“Cosmically, yes, but we’re hardly within walking distance.” The Doctor pondered. “…Though, given the atmosphere, maybe we can relax here.”

“It DOES have a peaceful air around here,” remarked Amy. “But I’m putting my shoes back on.”

“Really?” asked the Doctor.

“If I’m gonna relax in the great outdoors, no way am I doing it in bare feet. I don’t wanna step on a sharp stick.”

“Fair enough.” The two put their shoes back on…then Amy’s ear twitched.

“…Doctor, is that some Time Lord breathing exercise?” she asked.

“That’s not me,” replied the Doctor. “That’s…a saw?” She looked around, then saw, on the floor, a handsaw blade coming up from below the TARDIS and making a circle.

“What the-?! How-?!” spluttered Amy when she saw the saw. A long, gray-furred arm with a white-gloved hand pushed the sawed-out circle from below, then the owner of the arm pulled himself out of the hole. It was a male, gray-furred humanoid rabbit with white gloves on his hands and long ears pointing up. The rabbit pulled a carrot out of his pocket and munched on it a bit.

“Eh, what’s up, Doc?” he asked.

“…You’re about one syllable off from guessing my name, Mister…” replied the Doctor.

“Bugs, Bugs Bunny,” introduced the rabbit. The Doctor’s eyes went wide.

“Bugs Bunny himself?!” she asked. “Oh, this is just brilliant! Amy, Bugs Bunny and his animal friends and rivals are considered the Early Mobians!”

“…That’s Cream’s ancestor?” asked Amy.

“Pardon me, Doc-,” said Bugs.

“Actually, it’s Doctor,” corrected the Doctor. “And this is my friend, Amy Rose.”

“Hello,” said Amy.

“Charmed, I’m sure,” replied Bugs. “But, listen, you parked yourself on top of my home and-.”

“Oh, good heavens! Is my TARDIS blocking your hole? No wonder you had to saw through! Hang on one moment!” The Doctor fiddled with the console. “I’ve adjusted the relative gravity. We’ll just pick it up and move it. I do apologize.”

“Hey, no worries, Doc!” assured Bugs, relieved that this lady was a lot more polite than most land developers or hunters. Everyone stepped out of the TARDIS and Bugs blinked. “Hang on!” he said.

“Oh, don’t you start,” replied the Doctor. “You lot can pull holes out of your pockets and survive a deadly explosion.” She managed to dig her fingers under the TARDIS. Bugs went to the other side and did the same, then they both lifted the TARDIS up. “All right, I think we should go to the left,” suggested the Doctor.

“Right!” agreed Bugs. They both then moved to their left…though Bugs’ left was the Doctor’s right. They ended up circling.

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” protested the Doctor.

“You said left, right?!” argued Bugs.

“And I was going left!”

“No, you’re going right!”

“That’s my left! You’re the one going right!”

“Watch yourself! You’re gonna trip on the hole!”

“You’re the one with the big feet here! This way! THIS WAY!”

“LOOK OUT!” warned Amy. She rolled out of the way as Bugs and the Doctor lost their grip on the TARDIS and it toppled onto its side. Bugs looked at where the TARDIS sat and smiled.

“Well, on the plus side, my front door’s open,” he said.

“Yes, but now MY home has a problem!” muttered the Doctor.

“All right, all right, we can fix this,” soothed Bugs. “Let’s see…Doc, does your home usually float like that?” The TARDIS was rising above the ground.

“I didn’t think I adjusted the relative gravity THAT much!” remarked the Doctor.

“Um, Doctor!” yelped Amy. The Doctor and Bugs looked to see Amy floating up while holding her dress down!

“Okay, that’s a tractor beam!” realized the Doctor. In line with her point, she and Bugs then started floating! They all looked up to see a silver saucer pulling them and the TARDIS inside. “A Martian Drone Saucer!” whispered the Doctor.

“The Ice Warriors or the Aresians?” asked Amy.

“No, no, this is one belonging to a third species of Mars,” explained the Doctor. “He’s a more polite member of Bugs’ rogues gallery.”

“Marvin?” asked Bugs. “You mean this is one of Marvin’s saucers?”

“Yes, though why he’s using a drone ship is beyond me.”

“I think we’re about to find out!” said Amy as everyone was pulled into the ship. The tractor beam switched off once the hatch closed beneath them and they all landed on their bums. At that moment, a hologram of a person appeared. The person was about Amy’s height, had a black ball for a head, wore a red shirt, a Roman Centurion’s helmet and armored skirt, sneakers, and gloves. There were only eyes on the head, no mouth or nose to speak of.

“Welcome, Earth Creatures,” greeted the person somehow. “I am Marvin, Commander X-2 of Mars. You have been selected to work the mines of the volcano your primitive Earth scientists called Olympus Mons. Unfortunately, the Earth will be gone soon. You see, I’m going to finally unleash my new Illudium Q-39 Explosive Space Modulator.”

“It’s just a stick of dynamite,” muttered Bugs.

“This hologram has two-way communications enabled, Rabbit!” snarled Marvin. “It’s not just a stick of your primitive Earth dynamite!” He then calmed down. “In any event, I direct your attention to the ‘Explosive’ part of the name of my new weapon. You see, I’m going to blow the Earth up. It obstructs my view of Venus.”

“Destruction of a civilized world for anything other than last resort,” warned the Doctor, “is against Convention C of the Shadow Proclamation.” Marvin blinked in surprise.

“…You’re an Earth Creature,” he said. “What do Earth Creatures know of the Shadow Proclamation? Your world is a class C civilization; undeveloped!”

“I’m not from Earth. I’m from Gallifrey,” replied the Doctor. “And Miss Rose here is from an Earth Colony that lasted long after its death five billion years from now.”

“A Time Lord? Then the blue box is your TARDIS?” asked Marvin. “Oh peachy! I’ve always wanted to study a Time Lord and see if their ability to regenerate is true!”

“…That’s a bit morbid!” shuddered Bugs.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Revenge of the Sontarans: Part 4

The Sontarans seized control of the Chimeran Hammer and aligned it with the fleet. The Doctor, her team, Dr. Psychobos, and Vilgax were brought to the Command Ship as prisoners. They were all brought to the command deck. “The Hand is charging, General,” reported a Sontaran. “It will be ready for use in two hours.”

“Very good, Commander,” replied Skrem. “This will be the last disgraceful day of the 10th Sontaran Fleet’s existence.”

“As long as we have time,” remarked the Doctor, “I confess I’m curious.”

“When aren’t you?” scoffed Skrem. “What troubles you now, Doctor?”

“Why have us here? We’re obviously not going to remember it.”

“Your fellow prisoners, no. But you, Doctor? It will live on in the back of your mind, even when you regenerate into new forms!”

“Then why don’t you tell me how this whole operation intends to work once the Hand reaches full charge? I mean, we’re all prisoners here.”

“I have a better idea, Doctor, than blabbing about our plans and giving you a chance to undo it all. While we wait for the Hand to reach full charge, why don’t we FIGHT!”

“…Fight?!” repeated the Doctor.

“What do you say, my warriors?!” Skrem called to his men.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” chanted the Sontarans.

“I’ll take up that challenge!” called Amy.

“Hold on!” roared Vilgax. “They were MY allies! I’LL be the one to kill Skrem!”

“Such ardor!” cackled Skrem. “New plan, Doctor! I’ll fight your companion! Of course, I’ll have an ally with me! Commander Velt!”

“Yes, sir!” replied the Sontaran Commander. “Will I be facing Vilgax or the pink thing?”

“Hm, good point,” remarked Skrem. “Who will be taking on the pink thing?

“The pink thing has a name, you know!” snapped Amy.

“Amy, I sure hope you know what you’re doing!” hissed the Doctor.

“Doctor,” Amy whispered so the Sontarans couldn’t hear, “this might be our only shot at stopping them! While they’re distracted-!”

“I know what the goal is, Amy, but fighting a Sontaran might prove fatal!”

“Then you and Ben better hurry and figure this out!” Amy wouldn’t be dissuaded, much to the Doctor’s chagrin.

“…Stay alive, will you?” muttered the Time Lord.

“Naturally,” assured Amy. She and Vilgax then approached Skrem and Velt. “How are we doing this?”

“With gravity clubs!” replied Skrem.

“You Sontarans use those things in duels?” grunted Vilgax. He turned to Amy. “Gravity clubs have a relative weight of ten pounds, but the weight doubles every few swings until its wielder cannot lift their club to defend themselves or their skull is split open by their opponent’s club.”

“…Charming,” muttered Amy.

“Bring forth the clubs!” ordered Skrem. A Sontaran carrying a case came forth. He opened the case to reveal four metal clubs. Skrem, Velt, Amy, and Vilgax took up their clubs. “I shall take the first swing!” cackled Skrem. He swung his club hard, but Amy and Vilgax leapt out of the way. “Velt, let’s see your swing!” said Skrem.

“Yes, Sir!” replied Velt. He swung his club, but Amy and Vilgax dodged again. “A gymnast, hm?” chuckled Velt.

“You two will not be so agile after a few rounds!” cackled Skrem. “Your turn!”

“Your mistake!” snarled Vilgax. He swung his club and made a dent in the floor once his Sontaran opponents dodged.


While Amy and Vilgax were fighting their Sontaran opponents, the Doctor snuck away with Ben and Rook following. “Why’d you need us?” asked Ben.

“Because I have a theory,” remarked the Doctor. “You being discovered on Vilgax’s ship seemed to be like the lot of you were going through the motions. And Skrem’s talk of the entire 10th Sontaran Fleet being desperate also looked like they said it so many times. On top of that, my TARDIS detected unusual chronon activity before Professor Paradox grabbed it and forcibly landed us in front of Rook’s squadron. …What if the Hand of Eon put everyone into a time loop to defend itself?”

“A time loop? How would we know?” asked Rook.

“Clockwork might check,” said Ben.

“…Ben, I have a better idea. Scan me,” directed the Doctor.

“Huh?”

“I know what I said, but I need another Time Lord’s help. Now scan me!”

“…Well, if you insist,” said Ben. He aimed the Omnitrix at the Doctor and a scanner light surrounded the Doctor briefly. It vanished after a few seconds.

“New alien DNA now available,” reported the Omnitrix.

“All right, let’s test this out.” Ben selected the new alien hologram, slid the Omnitrix’s cover back, then pressed down on the core. The watch then sunk into his arm…then the Omnitrix symbol appeared on his chest.

“…I think you accidentally unlocked the human form,” remarked Rook.

“No, no, hang on,” said Ben. “There’s two hearts in here. …And telepathic powers. …And temporal sensitivity. I’m a Time Lord like the Doctor here. …And there’s definitely temporal energy looping back on itself, but it’s fading around Rook and the rest of us.”

“So the Hand of Eon DID put you all into a time loop,” remarked the Doctor. “Well, we’ll have to minimize the time loop’s field around the Hand so it only loops on itself and not everyone else around them. I did a similar trick with Axos and the Vardans.”

“And that’s why you needed another Time Lord’s help,” realized Ben, “to double-check your work.”

“It’s very delicate work. Mind if I walk you through it? Telepathically? It’s a bit involved and we’re pressed for time.”

“All right. Contact.”

“Contact.” The two closed their eyes and workshopped the plan telepathically. They then opened their eyes.

“All right,” said Ben, “let’s get to it. It’s most likely down this corridor.”


Back on the command deck, the duel still went on. Amy and Vilgax were moderating their swings a lot better than their Sontaran opponents. “Stop…prancing about, Pink Thing!” panted Skrem. His and Velt’s clubs were now at 320 pounds, heavy for a Sontaran, but not impossible to lift. Amy’s and Vilgax’s were only at 80 pounds, rather light for Amy, considering how heavy her hammer is.

“…How is this possible?” asked Vilgax. “I know this is my first time dueling Skrem, yet I feel as though I fought him before and the fight is different somehow!”

“Might I offer my two cents?” asked a voice. Amy dodged a blow from Velt and looked behind her.

“Professor Paradox!” she yelped.

“Good afternoon, Miss Rose,” greeted Professor Paradox.

“What are you doing here, Time Walker?!” demanded Vilgax.

“Oh, clearing things up, as usual,” replied Professor Paradox. “Now, let’s see, the Doctor will most likely be theorizing, correctly, I may add, why I brought her TARDIS into this time loop.”

“Time loop? Ridiculous!” scoffed Skrem.


“It’s really simple,” the Doctor said to Rook as she and Ben worked around an armored hand in purple, “the Hand of Eon is the literal hand of a temporally-powerful madman.”

“And any ‘sane’ madman,” said Ben, “would take steps to protect themselves.”

“So it created a time loop to protect itself?” asked Rook.

“Specifically to prevent anyone other than its owner to use it,” summarized the Doctor.


“So anyone that ISN’T Eon,” realized Gwen, “would be imprisoned until Eon came back for it.”

“Precisely, Gwendolyn,” confirmed Professor Paradox. “And Vilgax and his poorly-chosen allies served as the perfect prisoners. …Although, you lot getting involved upset my calculations.”


“Obviously, since you lot are his friends,” continued the Doctor, “he needed to get you out. But the time loop was causing too much temporal turbulence for him to safely enter.”

“But he knew what the power source for the time loop was,” Ben summarized, “so he needed something with enough strength to break into the loop and stop it from the inside.”

“Cue him hijacking my TARDIS without asking,” grumbled the Doctor.

“Well, the outer plasmic shell could break through it, but it would be nice to have a shell with shields, like a TARDIS.”

“Still, without asking!”

“…Ben, how are you able to keep up with the Doctor?!” protested Rook.

“I don’t know, how do I know what gas I use when I’m Gutrot?” asked Ben.


“Lies! All lies!” snarled Skrem as Paradox finished his explanation.

“And why would I lie about the time loop?” asked Paradox. “Or about Eon? He’s too much of a paranoid genius to leave things to chance. But, no fear, the time loop will be broken-,” a wave of energy then bowled everyone over, causing a cascading effect directly to where the Hand of Eon was held! “…Right about now!” chuckled Paradox.

“It won’t matter!” snarled Skrem. “My club will flatten you all!” He and Velt raised their clubs, straining under the weight!

“640 pounds,” chuckled Vilgax darkly. “That’s too much for a Sontaran.” That was when the two Sontarans fell to the floor in convulsions. “Thankfully, my 80 pound club is enough to paint the floor in your blood and brains!”

“NO!” shouted Amy. She whacked Vilgax in the ankle, toppling him.

“You DARE!” roared Vilgax.

“There’s no point! The duel is over!” insisted Amy.

“Miss Rose is quite right,” remarked Professor Paradox. “You’re about to have more immediate problems to deal with.”

“BOOSTERS!” called a Sontaran. “REVITALIZERS! NOW!” A Sontaran Trooper then arrived with a medical kit and tended to his fallen commanders.

“Amy…Rose…!” gasped Skrem. “You…did this! …I shall…form…a phalanx…of engineers…tasked solely with designing…new and exotic…ways to torture you!”

“They’ll have to have time machines for that,” remarked Amy. “Or standing orders.” That was when alarms rang throughout the ship!

“The air attack warning!” called a Sontaran.

“Air attack?” asked Vilgax.

“Mr. Levin DID ask for a heavily armed Plumber fleet to assist during the time loop,” replied Professor Paradox.

“After getting caught in the crossfire of Sontarans and Rutans,” remarked Kevin, “I didn’t wanna take any chances.”

“We better get the others and get out of here!” called Gwen. Her friends agreed and followed her. Vilgax, meanwhile, snarled as he decided to return to his ship and punch an escape hole. Thanks to Sontaran bungling, there was no way the Chimeran Hammer could handle a battle between the Plumbers and the Sontarans.


Gwen and her group ran through the corridors, dodging Sontarans all the way. They then bumped into the Doctor and her group. “Amy!” said the Doctor.

“Doctor, you’re all right!” said Amy. She then spotted someone…that looked like Gwen in Ben’s clothes. “…Did…Did Ben add your DNA to his watch?”

“She was okay with it,” replied the Gwen Clone. “I’m thinking of calling this form Time Walker.”

“Much as I appreciate the discovery of a Time Lord’s abilities,” said Professor Paradox, “we’re rather pressed for time. Everyone, gather around!” Everyone gathered and Professor Paradox opened his Chrononavigator. They all vanished as the Plumber fleet arrived to deal with the Sontarans and Vilgax.


They had returned to Plumber HQ, right in front of the TARDIS. Rook checked with the Plumber fleet. “…Skrem and his men have been arrested,” he reported. “Vilgax had returned to his ship and escaped. Dr. Psychobos fled in a Sontaran Scout Sphere.”

“Oof, arrested!” muttered the Doctor. “That will chafe a Sontaran. There’s no chance of him or the fleet regaining their honor.” She was then interrupted by a beeping noise.

“Sorry, that’s me,” said Time Walker as the Omnitrix symbol flashed.

“Ah, a cool-down period?” guessed the Doctor. Time Walker forcibly returned to being Ben Tennyson.

“Yeah, sometimes it happens at the worst time,” he said.

“Well, I’m sure you have a lot to do,” said the Doctor. “In the meantime…” she then swiped the Chrononavigator.

“I beg your pardon!” protested Professor Paradox as the Doctor fiddled with the Chrononavigator. “That’s delicate, Doctor!”

“I can’t have you,” replied the Doctor, “barging into my TARDIS like that. Next time you need my help, you call.” She finished her work on it and handed it back. “Speaking of TARDIS, let’s get going, Amy.”

“Goodbye, everyone!” called Amy.

“Oh, Doctor,” called Rook.

“Yes, Rook Blonko?”

“While Gallifrey as a whole is still banned from travelling to Revonnah, you, specifically, are no longer banned.”

“Are you sure you can make that decision?” asked the Doctor.

“I did not make that decision,” replied Rook. “My planet did.”

“…I’ll ask how later. For now, goodbye!” The Doctor and Amy entered the TARDIS and took off.

“…Goodbye, Doctor,” remarked Professor Paradox. “Until our next meeting.”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Revenge of the Sontarans: Part 3

“Men, prepare arms!” ordered Skrem. His Sontarans aimed their weapons at the group.

“Wait a minute!” called Max. “You can’t just shoot us!”

“I want to see good, clean shots to the head and the heart!” Skrem said to his men. “Think you can manage that, Trooper?”

“Easily, Sir,” replied the Sontaran Trooper.

“Better make that ‘hearts’ plural,” interjected the Doctor. “I’m a Time Lord and we have two hearts.”

“…She has a point, Sir,” a Sontaran said to Skrem.

“Indeed. So, how do you want to do this?” asked the Doctor. “One shot in each heart for me? Four in the head?”

“One shot in one of the hearts and a shot in the head during the regeneration process will suffice, Doctor!” snapped Skrem.

“Ah, read up on when you lot invaded Gallifrey, huh?” muttered the Doctor.

“Just a second, General!” called Rook. “This is against the Galactic Code of Conduct! Who among you has claimed us as your execution targets? Benjamin Tennyson is the object of Vilgax’s vengeance!”

“Of course!” recalled the Doctor. “Article 7, Section 4, Subsection 6, Paragraph 3!”

“…Paragraph four, actually,” corrected Rook.

“The young Plumber and the Doctor are correct,” said Vilgax. “You would kill the Doctor, I would kill Tennyson. That was the agreement in accordance with Article 2, Section 3, Subsection 4, Paragraph 2.”

“Ah, but Paragraph 5 dictates that, in the event of evasion of capture, all targets are viable,” replied Skrem.

“Do you see them evading capture?!” snarled Vilgax.

“Oh, who cares about the rules!” complained Psychobos. “Just do the smart thing for once and k-k-k-kill them!”

“And wound Sontaran honor? Never,” replied the Doctor. “Rook, it’s been a while since I read the Galactic Code of Conduct. Which part of it concerns surrendered prisoners?”

“Article 2, Section 1, Subsection 1, Paragraph 1!” answered Rook. “Vilgax, Skrem, Psychobos, we all surrender in accordance with all that I have outlined!”

“You little-!” snapped Skrem.

“Doc, Rook, what are you two doing?!” protested Ben.

“Doctor, you better have some sort of plan!” hissed Amy.

“No, but I have breathing space to make one,” replied the Doctor. “Sontarans have two basic weaknesses. One is the probic vent on the backs of their necks, the other is their love of military protocol. Rook selected rules concerning surrendered prisoners and those rules are a little more involved than the ones involving fugitive combatants.”

“Ah, the ol’ tie-them-up-in-red-tape trick!” realized Amy.

“They’ll kill us once they figured out that particular knot,” said the Doctor, “so let’s keep adding more. Rook, do you have any electronic form of the Galactic Code of Conduct?”

“Yes, right in my-!” Rook’s smile faded as he remembered. “…Oh… Bralla Da! It’s in my quarters in Plumber HQ!”

“All right, new plan,” said the Doctor. “Follow my lead.” She cautiously led everyone out of the brig as Skrem and Vilgax loudly discussed the finer points of the Galactic Code of Conduct while Psychobos tried to shut them up about it.


The Doctor and her friends approached the bridge’s doors. A few guards were at the doors. “Blast. Knew it was too easy,” grumbled the Doctor. The robots spotted them.

“Intruders!” shouted one. “Put your two hands behind your backs!” Ben grinned, then selected an alien. He slid the Omnitrix’s cover back and pressed the core down. Green light surrounded him and he grew while gaining another set of arms. The light faded and in his place was a four-armed alien with four eyes and red skin.

“FOUR-ARMS!” he shouted. He put his right arms behind his back and used his left arms to punch the robots hard enough to scrap them. The Doctor blinked at the brutality. “…What?” asked Four-Arms. “I put two hands behind my back like he said!”

“That name’s on the nose,” remarked Amy.

“No, it’s Four-Arms,” corrected Four-Arms. “I don’t have an alien called On the Nose, not yet at least. If I did, I’d shout ON THE NOSE!”

“Why DID you shout that name anyways?” asked the Doctor.

“To strike fear into those rust buckets!” replied Four-Arms.

“Believe me,” sighed Gwen, “it was bliss when you stopped doing that, Doofus.”

“Oh, whatever, Dweeb!” scoffed Four-Arms as he used all four of his hands to tear the door off…and he immediately got shot at from the robots already on the bridge. “OW! HEY! THAT’S DIRTY FIGHTING!” protested Four-Arms as he tore through the robots. Once the bridge was cleared, the Doctor got to work. “Doc, whatever you have planned, probably wanna be quick about it,” warned Four-Arms. “Vilgax and his goons are sure to come here soon!”

“I need to find the ship’s archived monitor data,” said the Doctor.

“The what?” asked Kevin.

“Black box, flight recorder,” replied the Doctor. “Professor Paradox said Skrem’s after the Hand of Eon to undo a victory I gained over his clone ancestor, Staal, the original General of the 10th Sontaran Fleet.”

“When was that?” asked Max.

“2009. They were responsible for the ATMOS crisis. While the devices DID reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the cars they were installed in, the Sontarans’ purpose for them was to use them to introduce clone feed into Earth’s atmosphere, turning it into a cloning world, where they would make new Sontarans to fight against the Rutans. I managed to stop him by igniting the clone feed introduced into the atmosphere. …So why would a Clone Descendant use time travel to undo that? Sontarans have strict codes of honor against that.”

“I think the question is why is he so desperate?” asked Kevin.

“…You’re quite right,” remarked the Doctor.

“Um, guys!” warned Amy as she pointed out the screens displaying the footage outside the bridge. Vilgax, Skrem, Psychobos and their men had arrived!

“Well, any chance for answers, I suppose,” muttered the Doctor as she keyed in a command on the console. The comms activated. “I will speak to General Skrem in accordance with Jurisdiction 2 of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement!” The camera footage showed Skrem step towards the camera.

“Under Convention 5,” he said, “that will be the last bit of protocol you and your friends will ever spit at me!”

“That’s agreeable,” said the Doctor. “I never liked red tape in the long run. So, tell me, General Skrem…since when did the 10th Sontaran Fleet become a pack of cowards?”

“HOW…DARE YOU!!!” roared Skrem. “Doctor, you impugn my honor!”

“I’m glad you chose the words Staal used. Because if you said ‘belittle’, I’d have a field day. But time travel to undo a defeat? Sontaran High Command branded that to be the action of a desperate coward and you know there’s a good reason for that. Skrem, you’ve got an entire fleet at your command, with all the bells and whistles, yet you want to use time travel to undo a defeat and kill Earth in the past! Where’s the fight in that?! Where’s the honor?! …Or, is there a reason behind such desperation? This isn’t the usual Sontaran warfare. How would this contribute to Sontar’s war effort?”

“If only we were permitted to contribute to the war effort, then we wouldn’t be so desperate!” The instant Skrem finished that sentence, the Doctor laughed.

“So,” she said, “the sins of the father are visited upon the son, eh?! Exiled from not only Sontar, but the entire war! That’s how much of a setback the terraforming project of ’09 was!”

“What war?” asked Ben. “I didn’t get that when I was Trohll.”

“The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans,” explained Amy, remembering what the Doctor said. “Who knows who started it and who really cares? All we want to know is how it ends.”

“It will end with Sontaran victory once I undo Staal’s defeat!” insisted Skrem.

“And the Hand of Eon will give you that mastery over time?” asked the Doctor.

“Naturally. …Failing that, though…a Chronosapian’s temporal mastery will serve!” Skrem’s ominous statement made Ben back up a bit.

“…Ben, why are you so scared?” asked the Doctor, worried.

“Just a minute, Skrem!” snarled Vilgax. “We had a deal! You don’t need the Omnitrix’s power!”

“Not its full power, no,” replied Skrem, “but the DNA sample of a Chronosapian will suffice!”

“Hold on, there’s Chronosapian DNA in that thing?!” the Doctor asked Ben.

“The form’s called Clockwork,” replied Ben.

“Azmuth made an agreement with the Time Lords!” hissed the Doctor. “All temporally-sensitive life-forms will be locked unless in dire circumstances! How often have you used Clockwork?!” Ben was denied the chance to answer. Vilgax and Psychobos were thrown through the door, smoking all over their bodies.

“You pitiful, barely sentient root v-v-vegetables!” snarled Psychobos. “And I use the term loosely!”

“You will regret crossing me, Skrem!” promised Vilgax.

“I very much doubt it,” replied Skrem. “I will fade from this timeline, as will the rest of the 10th Sontaran Fleet as it stands, but Staal will make the original iteration of the fleet more powerful and more honorable with its victory through our sacrifice! For the glory of Blessed Sontar!”

“Sontar HA! Sontar HA! Sontar HA!”

“Sir!” called a Sontaran. “Primary objective obtained! It’s on the Command Ship!”

“Oh no!” whispered the Doctor.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Revenge of the Sontarans: Part 2

“How many times have we been in a cell again?” Amy asked the Doctor as they sat in Plumber Lock-up.

“I’ve lost track, as I usually do on my adventures,” sighed the Doctor.

“…Doctor, what ARE the Sontarans like, anyways?” quizzed Amy.

“Nasty, brutish, and short, for one thing,” explained the Doctor. “They’re a clone race that, in this time, is engaged in a war with the Rutan Host. Around this time, it’s been raging for fifty thousand years.”

“Fifty thousand?!” yelped Amy.

“Yes,” confirmed the Doctor. “Thankfully, it fizzled out long before your time.”

“Who started the war? What’s the end goal here?”

“Both sides forgot.”

“…Knowing our luck, they forgot within the first year of that war,” muttered Amy.

“I don’t personally know, I never bothered to check,” said the Doctor, “but I think that would be an accurate assessment, Amy.”

“So what does a Sontaran look like?” asked Amy. The Doctor opened her mouth, then saw someone approaching their door.

“…That. That’s a Sontaran.” She pointed out a Sontaran in full armor, as usual…but the green eyes seemed off to her.

“That’s a Sontaran?” asked Amy. “But he’s-.”

“Free for some odd reason,” remarked the Doctor. “Oi! Soldier!”

“That’s Trohll to you,” replied the Sontaran.

“Well, what’s a troll like you doing in a place like this?”

“Let’s just say we have the same goals, Madame,” replied Trohll. He then opened the cell door! “Come on. We have work to do.”

“Hold on, you should know me!” protested the Doctor. “I’m not exactly a friend of the Sontarans!”

“Well, if you’re who I think you are, then I need your help in keeping the Hand of Eon away from the Sontarans,” said Trohll.

“Keep it away from the Sontarans. Right,” scoffed the Doctor. “We’ll play along for now.”

“Doctor?” asked Amy. The Doctor pulled Amy aside.

“There’s something not right about that Sontaran and I need to know what,” she explained. “Now, either we dither here and hope against hope that the Plumbers will release us, or we follow him and take care of this business quickly for Professor Paradox.”

“Doctor, if the Sontarans are as dangerous as you say they are,” said Amy, “should we trust that one?”

“Oh, Amy, where’s your faith?” asked the Doctor. “Who said we’re trusting him?” She then returned her attention to Trohll. “We’ll follow you for now.”

“Excellent,” replied Trohll. “Now, this way.”


The trio snuck out of the base quickly and arrived on the surface of Bellwood. The Doctor looked up to see Sontaran Battle Spheres. “Good grief! It’s a full invasion force!” she whispered.

“And we need to get up there,” muttered Trohll. “Four allies of mine are prisoners aboard the Chimeran Hammer.”

“Vilgax’s ship?” asked the Doctor. “Why would he need prisoners? …Unless he’s still looking for that watch.”

“The Omnitrix, yes,” said Trohll. “Ol’ Squidface has a one-track mind.”

“…Squidfa…” The Doctor was really confused now. No Sontaran ever talks like that! She then spotted something.

“Tell me, Trohll,” she said, “do Sontaran Scout Spheres go to Vilgax’s ship?” She pointed one out.

“They do,” replied Trohll. “And the robots that make up his crew will believe that I’m taking you as prisoners. Just long enough for me to get you to my friends.”

“Right then, we’d better take it,” said the Doctor. “Amy, it’s gonna be a bit…tight in there.”

“Can’t we steal another that can hold the two of us?” asked Amy.

“Too risky,” replied Trohll.

“Yes, I could conceivably fly a Scout Sphere,” explained the Doctor, “but what would Sontaran Command say if they discovered that prisoners of the Sontaran Empire were driving their own Sphere?” Amy had to concede that point. The trio then entered the Scout Sphere and, even with two small people, it was cramped.

“Trohll, get your foot off mine!” snapped Amy.

“Sorry, I think that’s me,” replied the Doctor as she shuffled away from Amy as best she could.

“Hey! That’s my head you’re touching!” protested Trohll as he checked the instruments. “Fuel…full tank. Oxygen…good enough for three on a journey to Vilgax’s ship. Hull integrity…at maximum. Right. Here we go.” He closed the Sphere’s door and took off. Once the Sphere breached the outer atmosphere of Earth, a Sontaran patrol intercepted them.

“Halt! State your business!” barked the Sontaran in charge of the patrol.

“This is Lieutenant Trohll of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet,” replied Trohll, “bringing prisoners to the Chimeran Hammer for interrogation. Sending verification codes now.” Trohll keyed in the codes and sent them.

“…Verification codes confirmed,” said the Sontaran. “Proceed.”

“Acknowledged. Sontar HA!” Trohll ended the call and the craft made its way to the Chimeran Hammer. It then docked with the ship. “Right…Alien Scum! Out NOW!” Trohll was pretty good at barking orders and making threatening gestures. The Doctor and Amy got out with Trohll marching behind them, heading for the brig.


On the bridge, Vilgax sat in his chair. “Get me Psychobos!” he barked. A robot obeyed and activated a hologram of what looked like a giant purple crab with a moustache, a large cranium, and a large left claw.

“What is it, V-V-V-Vilgax?!” snapped the crab-person, Dr. Psychobos. “I’m very busy trying to reverse engineer Sontaran Technology for your proud vessel! And I use that term loosely.”

“Be warned, Psychobos!” snarled Vilgax. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be stuck in that universe! Your genius wouldn’t have saved you! …And I use that term loosely.”

“I AM a genius, thank you very much!” barked Psychobos. “You’ve been constantly harassing me for updates on how t-t-t-to destroy the Hand of Eon, setting back my work significantly! If there is an update, I shall inform you personally! And it’s DOCTOR Psychobos! Good day!” Dr. Psychobos ended the call.

“Insolent Cerebrocrustacean!” snarled Vilgax. “If I didn’t need his help-!” An alarm sounded. “Now what?!”

“Lord Vilgax, Trohll has arrived. Sontaran Command maintains that he’s a spy.”

“Of course he is,” sighed Vilgax in annoyance. “The only thing green about a Sontaran is their blood! Where is he?”

“He’s on his way to the cells with the Time Lord known as the Doctor.” That piqued Vilgax’s interest.

“The Doctor escaped?” he asked. He then grinned. “I knew she was too clever! Now is the time to settle all scores, both with the Doctor and with Ben Tennyson! Send security to the brig immediately! And tell Skrem he’d better get here quickly if he wants to see the Doctor executed!”


Once they made it to the brig, the Doctor, Amy, and Trohll made their way to a group of four cells. The prisoners were an old man in a red Hawaiian shirt, a ginger girl in a blue skirt, a muscular man with long, black hair, and the Revonnahgander that arrested the Doctor and Amy. Trohll approached the Revonnahgander’s cell. “Flushing out evil…” said Trohll.

“You call the Ten Plumbers,” replied the Revonnahgander with a smile.

“Then you got it!” said Trohll happily.

“Naturally,” said the Revonnahgander. He looked to the Doctor. “I must apologize for the arrest, Madame Doctor.”

“So it was all to get me near to Trohll here,” said the Doctor. “You must be Rook Blonko. I trust your family’s harvest has been bountiful?”

“Very, Doctor, thank you,” replied Rook. “I presume you know my prison-mates?”

“Let’s see, the ginger girl,” guessed the Doctor, “is Gwen Tennyson, also known as the Anodite Hero, Lucky Girl, the muscular man is the half Osmosian, Kevin Levin, the man in the Hawaiian shirt is Magister Max Tennyson, semi-retired Plumber, and given how non-Sontaran Trohll is, I’d deduce he’s-.”

“Tennyson!” snarled a voice. Everyone looked to see Vilgax, Psychobos, and Skrem with robots and Sontarans aiming their guns at them.

“…Hang on, Squidface,” said Trohll, “you didn’t ACTUALLY know ahead of time, did you?”

“We all knew, T-T-T-Tennyson!” replied Psychobos.

“For a start, Sontaran eyes don’t glow green,” explained Vilgax.

“And another thing, it’s pronounced LEF-tenant,” said Skrem. “Not LOO-tenant!”

“Then where’s the F?!” protested Trohll. “…Oh well, since we all know…” he keyed in something on his wrist computer and a badge shimmered into view on his collar. The badge was a black circle with a green hourglass design in the center.

“Perception filter to hide the Omnitrix core, huh?” asked the Doctor.

“That’s the idea,” replied Trohll. He then tapped the badge. “Command Code: One, Zero, One, Zero. Tennyson, Benjamin. Disengage life-form lock!” He then slapped the badge and was surrounded by green light. The light then grew into a more human shape before vanishing to reveal Ben 10 himself, a brunette man with green eyes and an alien smartwatch.

“Your intelligence gathering mission was the most uncoordinated one I’ve ever seen!” scoffed Skrem. “And, honestly, perhaps you…Americans should learn how to pronounce ranks correctly!”

“Oh, whatever!” retorted Ben.

“Tennyson, you’ve failed already!” boasted Vilgax.

“And gave the Sontarans the opportunity to enact our standing orders!” cackled Skrem. “To seek out, capture, and execute that sworn enemy of the Sontaran Empire, the Vanquisher of my Clone Ancestor, Staal the Undefeated, the traveler in time and space designated…Doctor!”

“We goofed, didn’t we, Doctor?” asked Amy.

“Looks that way,” replied the Doctor.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 3

Revenge of the Sontarans: Part 1

The hum of ancient machinery echoed throughout a room with hexagonal designs on the walls and a central hexagonal console with a transparent cylinder moving up and down in the center. The room was the control room for a machine capable of traveling through time and space. As the cylinder moved up and down, a pink hedgehog girl stormed in and glared at the console. “…Where?” she asked it. The console beeped in surprise. “Don’t ‘Where’s what?’ me!” snapped the hedgehog. “I know what happened! I just came back from the bathroom (thanks for that ugly hologram of Eggman, by the way), and went back along my usual path to MY bedroom, only it was WILLIAM’S room that replaced it! Where’s MY bedroom?!”

“A rather good question, Miss Rose,” replied a voice. A brunette woman in a nightgown stormed up to the console.

“…The TARDIS moved YOUR bedroom too, Doctor?” asked the hedgehog, Amy Rose.

“Yes, unfortunately,” sighed the woman, the Time Lord known as the Doctor. She faced the console of the machine, the TARDIS. “So, dear? Where are our bedrooms?” The scanner in the wall then displayed a map. “…Oh, very funny,” groaned the Doctor. “She put them near the zoo, just past the default console room.”

“The zoo? The TARDIS has a zoo?!” asked Amy.

“The TARDIS is bigger on the inside, remember?” reminded the Doctor.

“How much bigger inside IS the TARDIS?!”

“How big is big? Remember what the RD stands for in TARDIS. Relative Dimensions.”

“That’s not an answer!” chuckled Amy.

“Well, how big are you?” asked the Doctor.

“Just an inch shy of three feet, and that’s still not an answer!”

“Listen, listen,” interjected the Doctor, “there are no measurements in infinity. You Mobians and Humans have such limited little minds! I don’t know why I like you so much!”

“Because you have good taste!”

“True, true,” conceded the Doctor. “I…now that’s odd.” She saw something on one of the console panels. It looked like a gold-plated fob watch. “…Now that IS peculiar.”

“Where’d that watch come from?” asked Amy.

“I’m not sure this is just a watch,” replied the Doctor. “I think…yes, there’s some form of temporal radiation from it. Harmless to us, but…” The Doctor’s brain raced. It wasn’t a chameleon arch, otherwise there’d be circular Gallifreyan on it. She had to figure it out. She wired the watch into the TARDIS console and took some readings. “…A chrononavigator!” she yelped.

“A what?” asked Amy.

“A chrononavigator! It’s a personal time travel device! So much better than a Vortex Manipulator! It can even cross the boundaries between universes! …But there’s only one and the person that has it is-!” She then realized something. “…That’s why our rooms were moved! There’s an intruder in the TARDIS! And I think I know who!”

“Hammer time?” quizzed Amy.

“Not with this person, he’s a time-travelling hero,” assured the Doctor. “Although sneaking into the TARDIS is a bit rude of him! He could have knocked! Now where is he? …Aha! In the default Console Room! Come on, Amy!” The Doctor led Amy out of the Console Room.


“Madame, I must protest this!” argued a man in a white coat as he stood in a white room with roundels in the walls and a hexagonal console in the center. The console in this room was a bit more…simplistic compared to the one in the current Console Room. At that moment, the Doctor and Amy entered the room.

“BRIGHT!” yelped Amy.

“I had forgotten why I went with mood lighting,” grumbled the Doctor. Once their eyes adjusted, the Doctor looked at the man. “Professor Paradox, what an unexpected pleasure. You should have knocked.” She tossed the chrononavigator to the man, Professor Paradox.

“So that’s why your TARDIS teleported it away, to get your attention. My apologies, Doctor,” said Professor Paradox. He then pulled out a bag. “Gumball?”

“Before I go accepting any gumballs,” said the Doctor, “perhaps you can explain what you’re doing here?”

“I’m a bit confused on that point myself,” supplied Amy Rose.

“Ah, so you must be Miss Amy Rose! …But where’s William?” asked Professor Paradox. “Still sleeping?”

“He parted company a few weeks ago,” replied the Doctor.

“Ah. No matter, there IS a reason why I’m here.”

“If you’re here to assign me a mission, I won’t do it! I’m not an errand girl!”

“Sontarans,” answered Professor Paradox.

“…The Sontarans?” asked the Doctor, her expression changing to a serious one. “What are they up to that’s got YOU of all people worried?”

“The Sontarans are after the Hand of Eon, my old nemesis,” explained Professor Paradox. “General Skrem the Avenger of the 10th Sontaran Battle Fleet wishes to use it to undo your victory over them in 2009, during the Atmos Crisis. They’ve teamed up with Vilgax and Dr. Psychobos to retrieve the Hand.”

“Skrem? I wasn’t aware he was promoted,” remarked the Doctor.

“He was only given the position in a bid to regain his ancestor’s honor. He’s a clone descendant of Staal.”

“Oh dear, that WOULD be a good reason for a Sontaran to go after a time travel device.”

“Right now, the Hand is in Bellwood, the United States of America,” explained Professor Paradox. “If unchecked, the Sontarans will conquer Bellwood in late June of 2025.”

“Any safe points we should make for?” asked the Doctor.

“Well, early June of 2025 would be best,” answered Professor Paradox.

“…All right. Just one thing, the coordinates. Give them to me and I’ll get us there.”

“Oh, no need, Doctor,” said Professor Paradox. The TARDIS then made its usual arrival thud. “I’ve learned Gallifreyan from the Time Lords after the Last Great Time War before the Master performed his heinous act against them. Toodle-oo!” He then vanished!

“OI! DON’T GO PLUCKING TARDIS’S OUT OF THE TIME VORTEX!” shouted the Doctor. She then groaned at Paradox’s antics. “…Right, well, we’d better get dressed and go. Our bedrooms should still be near here.”

“Now we gotta go all the way back to the current Console-,” grumbled Amy.

“Oh, no need for that,” assured the Doctor. “I’ll just move the door to here. But let’s do that after we get into our normal clothes, hm?”


The Doctor and Amy stepped outside the TARDIS once they were in their usual clothes. “You can move rooms around?” asked Amy.

“Oh yes. Like I said, infinity. No measurements. And, maybe this is a bit unhealthy, I always save the bedrooms of previous companions.”

“Hey, whatever helps you bring them to the front of your mind when you want to re-.” Amy’s reassurance was cut off when high-energy weapons switched on. The two women found themselves staring down the barrels of energy blaster rifles from people in white armor. One of them, a furry humanoid, wore blue armor.

“Hands where we can see them!” said the person in blue armor.

“…You’re a Revonnahgander, aren’t you?” remarked the Doctor as she raised her hands.

“And you are one of those cursed Time Lords,” replied the Revonnahgander. “I presume that is your TARDIS, given the means of arrival and the noise it made.

“I can assure you, whatever damage we caused to Revonnah, it was purely unintentional-!”

“It still happened!”

“Sir, much as I wish to fix what we’ve done to your people, there’s a Sontaran-!”

“Paradox told us about these Sontarans,” dismissed the Revonnahgander. “We will deal with them.”

“He also told ME about them! We have to work together!”

“My people will never work with Time Lords! And neither will the Plumbers! Time Lord, in accordance with Paragraph 2, Subsection 6 of the code that unites both the Plumbers and the Shadow Proclamation, you are under arrest!”


Up in space on an approach to Earth’s solar system, an immense ship, brown in color with orange egg-like constructs all around, used to accent the body and some used as portholes, shaped almost like a taser or stapler, with the two long extended pieces making up the bow constantly generating orange electricity between them, a propulsion system that resembled wires holding a ball of red energy, and visible turrets and antennae, was leading a fleet of Sontaran Battle Spheres and a Sontaran Command Ship. On the bridge of the brown and orange ship, the Chimeran Hammer, a green, muscular figure with a tentacle beard and glowing red eyes was sitting in his chair as a hologram of the Sontaran General spoke to him. “You are sure the Hand of Eon is on Earth, Vilgax?” asked the Sontaran General.

“I have seen it with my own eyes, General Skrem,” replied the muscular alien, the alien warlord, Vilgax. “It is within the Plumbers’ Vault.”

“I shall take your word for it for now,” said the Sontaran, Skrem. “Your predilection for betraying more…organic and free-spirited allies is legendary.”

“The Hand of Eon is not my prize, as you well know, General,” insisted Vilgax. “I’m still after the Omnitrix.”

“…Very well. We’ll leave you to your prize, Vilgax.” Skrem ended the call.

“Once the invasion starts, confirm the Hand of Eon is still in the Plumbers’ Vault, then destroy it!” Vilgax ordered his robot crew. “I will not let the Omnitrix be accidentally discovered by those bumbling walking root vegetables!”

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 2

Temporal Trifecta: Part 4

Miss Tarae and Ganondorf were in the throne room, discussing plans. “…So…” said Miss Tarae. “…About the inherent power struggle over the Key…”

“I was wondering how to broach that topic,” replied Ganondorf. “We obviously have our own designs, but I have armies at my command. How could YOU wrest the Key from me?”

“Now, now,” chided Miss Tarae. “Let’s not go into spoilers. For now, let’s see how our guests are doing.” She fired up several monitors. “All right, Doctor, let’s see if you’re more coopera…Doctor?”

“…Why did you trail off?” asked Ganondorf suspiciously.

“Where are they?” quizzed Miss Tarae. She started checking more monitors. “Doctor, who took you out of your cell?” She then spotted the Doctor and her friends racing down the corridor with the last segment in their hands. “DOCTOOOORRR!” screamed Miss Tarae. Ganondorf turned to his forces.

“Which of you idiots let Link in?!” he demanded.

“B-But, he solved the gate puzzle!” whimpered the Bokoblin. “He HAS to be an ally to you!”

“FOOLS! THOSE PUZZLES ARE WHAT ALLOW LINK TO ADAPT ON THE BATTLEFIELD! AND HE’S A BLONDE WEARING A GREEN TUNIC! HIS APPEARANCE HASN’T CHANGED!”

“Stop them, you IDIOTS!” shouted Miss Tarae. “Do NOT let them reach the blue box!”


“WHO’S THE ASS WHO SOUNDED THE ALARM?!” yelped William as he dodged a Bokoblin’s flaming spear.

“Miss Tarae set up security cameras along the walls,” replied Rassilon as she overturned a table and shoved it into a Moblin. “See those green things on the walls?”

“At this stage in Hyrule’s development?!” protested the Doctor.

“Oh, lovely!” complained Link. “Ganondorf’s discovered that technology! Must have had help from a Yiga Clan spy in Purah’s workforce!”

“…You…know what-?” Amy’s question stopped when she saw something blue and familiar! “THE TARDIS! OVER THERE!”

“QUICKLY! INSIDE!” ordered the Doctor as she got the TARDIS key out of her pocket.

“We can’t all fit in that tiny-!” The Doctor opened the door and pulled Link inside. Link goggled when he saw the interior. “…Box?” he finished. “…Is this…? I mean, are we-?!”

“Time and Relative Dimensions in Space,” said the Doctor. “The TARDIS! Designed by Rassilon over there!”

“Well, I had help,” replied Rassilon.

“…It’s like a Zonai Shrine!” said Link.

“…Sorry?” asked the Doctor.

“Yeah! The Zonai made shrines that took you into another dimension!” explained Link. “Is this another-?!”

“You mean the Zonai engineered dimensions too?!” complained Rassilon. The TARDIS then shook.

“What’s going on?!” yelped Link. William checked the scanner.

“Hoo boy!” he said. “We’ve got uglies outside with Ganondorf firing purple fireballs!”

“Don’t panic, the TARDIS is virtually indestructible!” replied the Doctor.

“‘Virtually’ being the active word here!” said Rassilon. The Time Rotor then moved.

“And that would be the HADS kicking in,” sighed the Doctor.

“HADS?” asked Amy.

“Hostile Action Displacement System,” explained Rassilon. “If a TARDIS is facing enough force that can destroy it, it will simply move to a relatively safer location with all defenses switched on.” The Doctor checked the console.

“And the safer location,” she reported, “happens to be on the Inner Wall of Hyrule Castle. William, the segments we have, please?”

“Got it!” William went to a nearby room and retrieved the segments. Once William returned, Link pulled out the segment that was Zelda.

“All right, we need to assemble all six segments and stick the tracer into the completed Key,” instructed the Doctor.

“Leave that to me,” said Link.

“Seriously, do leave it to him, Doctor,” suggested Rassilon. “He’s good at puzzles.”

“…All right, Link. It’s your show.” Link nodded and quickly assembled the segments into a perfect crystal cube with the tracer sticking out of the top.

“Done and done!” he said.

“Good work, Link!” praised Amy.

“Excellent!” sighed Rassilon. “Time to get this to the Black Guardian?”

“…Why the Black Guardian?” asked the Doctor.

“…That’s who assigned me this quest, remember?” replied Rassilon.

“But we have the Key to Time,” remarked the Doctor. “We have the power to do anything we like. …Absolute power over every particle in the universe…everything that has ever existed or ever will exist.” Now her friends were getting worried.

“Doctor…” said William.

“As of this moment…are you listening to me?” continued the Doctor.

“Y-Yes,” said a terrified Amy. The Doctor then suddenly grabbed the hedgehog girl by the shoulders, a crazed look in her eyes!

“Of course, if you’re not listening, I can make you listen!” hissed the Doctor. “I can make anyone do anything!” Her eyes were rolling into the back of her head with the pleasure of power at her fingertips! “From this moment onwards, there’s no such thing as free will in the entire universe! There’s only MY will…because I possess the KEY TO TIME!” During the Doctor’s rant, Link reached for his sword as Rassilon opened a drawer in the console, reaching for a mallet.

“Doctor, you’re spouting the same nonsense Miss Tarae would speak if she got ahold of it!” warned Rassilon. “The same nonsense I spouted during the Time War!”

“Well, I had to,” replied the Doctor, her demeanor changing at the speed of light! “Imagine if I really WAS that power-hungry, or if you still were.” Everyone’s mood went from concern to annoyance. Rassilon smacked the Doctor upside the head with enough force to knock her hat off!

“Don’t scare us like that!” protested William. “Most of us have only one heart here! We can’t afford a heart attack like you and Rassilon can!”

“So, the real plan?” asked Link.

“We have to use this Key to restore the balance ourselves,” replied the Doctor. “Can you imagine what would happen if the Black Guardian got ahold of it?”

“Not really, but nothing good can come of that,” remarked William. Amy then saw something on the scanner.

“…Doctor, there’s a blonde lady in black Time Lord robes outside the TARDIS,” she said. Rassilon froze in fear!

“The Black Guardian!” she whispered. “She’s here!” The Doctor headed to the scanner and flicked a switch.

“Well, well, well!” she said. “It’s been a long time since we last met. When was it, when you had a bird on your head and tried to have Turlough kill me?”

“Enough with the pleasantries, Doctor!” hissed the Black Guardian. “I know you helped my slave gather the Key to Time for me! Lower the TARDIS’ defenses and give me the Key or I shall pick it out of the wreckage!”

“You really intend to restore balance, then?” asked the Doctor.

“Naturally! Entropy must accelerate according to MY whims! Not the whims of ants like those humans you seem to have an affinity for!”

“And the segments of the Key?”

“I will have no further use of the Key! It will be dispersed and scattered across time and space!”

“And the items and people?”

“Yes, yes, they shall be restored! Now surrender the Key!”

“…One second,” replied the Doctor. “I must test it.” The Doctor turned to the Key. “Key to Time, I command you…to stay where you are while I let her in!”

“WHAT?!” yelped everyone. Rassilon saw what the Doctor was doing.

“Doctor, you’re lowering the TARDIS’ defenses!” she protested.

“Are you really rolling out the carpet for someone that’s supposed to be evil incarnate?!” yelped Amy.

“Why, Miss Rose, Rassilon, you two are color-blind!” chuckled the Doctor. “Unable to tell the difference between black…and white!” The Doctor snapped her fingers and the TARDIS doors opened. A bright light then flooded the console room from outside.

“MY EYES!” cried Link.

“WHO REMADE THE FIZZGIG?!” shouted William. The woman then stepped into the TARDIS…and her robes went from jet-black to sheet white while her skin and hair’s melanin increased to give her African features.

“My congratulations for seeing through my little deception, Doctor,” said the woman kindly. “It turns out you’re still able to tell the difference between me and my black sister.”

“W-Wait a minute,” said William. “What’s going on?”

“The REAL Black Guardian wouldn’t care about Zelda’s life or getting rid of the Key when she was done with it,” explained the Doctor. “Nor would she care about the balance of the universe. She’d hold onto the Key and accelerate the stagnation of order to make way for perpetual chaos.”

“Then, it WASN’T the Black Guardian that put me on this quest?” asked Rassilon.

“No, Rassilon,” replied the White Guardian. “It was me disguised as my sister.”

“…Why me?” asked Rassilon.

“Because you have a long labor to perform,” explained the White Guardian. “But I needed to make sure you were humble enough to do it. That’s why I gave you a quest that required the Doctor’s help. You needed to learn from her how not to be a power-mad dictator like you were during the Time War.”

“A labor?” asked Rassilon. “What’s that?”

“With Tecteun gone, your planet can be restored.” The Doctor and Rassilon’s eyes widened.

“…Restored?” whispered the Doctor. “The Time Lords? …B-But they-!”

“Miss Tarae didn’t purge the Matrix of previous Time Lords,” realized Rassilon. “…Connect the Matrix to the Looms again…”

“…Gallifrey can be restored!” A happy tear rolled down the Doctor’s cheek. She looked at the White Guardian. “It’s your show right now, Ma’am,” she said.

“Key to Time,” said the White Guardian, “I command you to stop the universe for a bit, reset the balance between order and chaos, then disperse yourself to six new corners of time and space, restoring that which your segments once were.” The Key floated into the air, everything then stopped, then the Key exploded into its six segments, vanishing into time and space. Once that was done, Zelda faded into the console room. Link gasped.

“Z-Zelda!” he whispered.

“I told you I’d be back, Link,” replied Zelda. The two Hylians then kissed as the White Guardian faded away.

“…I won’t lose you again!” promised Link.

“…I think I’d better take some self-defense classes, then,” mused Zelda. “…Until then…perhaps that cute Gerudo outfit could grace my chambers?” Link grinned.

“As you wish, your Highness,” he replied.

“Oh, good grief!” complained the Doctor. “And I thought the Ponds got freaky in their bedroom.”

“Link, Zelda,” called Amy, “you sure you don’t want one trip?”

“Oi! My TARDIS!” protested the Doctor.

“…No thank you,” said Link.

“I think we’ll stick to present-day Hyrule,” said Zelda. “Goodbye, Doctor. And thank you.” The two Hylians left.

“…Well, Rassilon,” mused the Doctor, “going to take up your position as President of the Time Lords again?”

“…Not this time. Gallifrey will someone more free-thinking,” said Rassilon. “I’m going to retire from public life. Time for the Madness of Rassilon to be consigned to our planet’s history, as it should, with every act discussed in the Academy.”

“Then there’s one more stop on this trip,” declared the Doctor. “You don’t mind if I bring Amy and William along, do you?”

“Does this mean my exile is lifted, Doctor?”

“I think you’ve learned your lesson, Rassilon.”

“…Dr. William Davies, Miss Amy Rose, you two are cordially invited to come to Gallifrey, such as it is right now,” said Rassilon.


On a distant world, far off the edge of time and space where only time-travel capable people could access, the ruins of a citadel stood. The main citadel was suspended over a pit with a broken glass dome while buildings lined the edge of the pit. There was no noise except the wind. …Right up until the TARDIS announced its arrival in the usual manner. Once it fully materialized, everyone stepped out. Amy and William, still taking into account that this was after a massive war and Miss Tarae’s machinations, gasped in surprise and wonder. “So…this is…” whispered William.

“Gallifrey,” replied the Doctor. “Specifically, the Citadel of the Time Lords in between the mountains of solace and solitude on the continent of Wild Endeavor.”

“It was here that I founded Time Lord Society,” said Rassilon, “here that Gallifrey had its final battle with the Daleks, here that Miss Tarae destroyed what was initially rebuilt…and it is here I shall restore the Time Lords and pass on the lessons you taught me, Doctor. I swear, this won’t be the stuffy Gallifrey you and your granddaughter ran away from. It shall be as fluid as Earth.”

“…I’m going to hold you to that, Rassilon,” chuckled the Doctor.

“…I guess this was it, huh?” asked Amy. “The Doctor once said Gallifrey was off-limits to non-Time Lords.”

“…Tell you what, any non-Time Lords that are friends of Time Lords can come see it,” decided Rassilon. “You’ll see Gallifrey restored to a new glory, one that isn’t so stuffy!”

“You call if you need help, all right?” said the Doctor. “Video or telepathic makes no difference. …Goodbye, Rassilon. And good luck.”

“It was nice seeing you, Rassilon,” said Amy, “even with the rough start.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thanks for roping us into that quest,” chuckled William. The trio then reentered the TARDIS and it took off.

“…Goodbye, everyone,” said Rassilon. “…Right. Better get to work.”


The Doctor fiddled with the console controls as the Time Rotor moved up and down as usual. “So,” she said, “where to next? The Eye of Orion? The Moons of Kaska VII? Ooh! Raxacoricofallapatorius! You’d love that!”

“…I was thinking…Earth,” said William. “June. 2025. Outside Avengers’ Tower.” The Doctor’s hand stopped.

“…Why?” she asked, though she guessed the answer and so did Amy.

“William, are you…?” asked Amy.

“It’s time for me to leave,” explained William. “I need to help guide Earth to the future of the 30th century, hell, to the point where we have a colony that produces YOU, Amy.”

“…I…I see,” muttered the Doctor.

“I won’t tell anyone about the future,” promised William, “but I can at least guide them to it, help Earth with the growing pains.” The Doctor stepped to William…then brought him into a hug.

“…It’s been great travelling with you, William,” she said. “I’m so glad you could join me, even after that mess with Dr. Doom and Loki.”

“…You’re not gonna forget us, are you?” asked Amy, her eyes welling with tears as she joined in the hug.

“Not in a million years,” promised William. “As long as you guys don’t forget me.”

“Never,” promised the Doctor.


Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov were in the Avengers’ training room, working on their usual skills. As they trained, a noise they heard five months ago filled the air. “Is that the-?” asked Natasha. The TARDIS then appeared just as an arrow flew through the air. The arrow embedded itself into the door!

“Computer, cut training!” called Clint. The room switched off as the TARDIS door opened, revealing a very annoyed Doctor and William.

“First Lady Peinforte, then Queen Elizabeth I’s guards, now YOU, Hawkeye?! Is there a bullseye on the door?!” snapped the Doctor.

“Looks like your coordinates slipped a little, Doctor,” remarked William.

“Is there trouble again?” asked Natasha.

“Nope, just coming home after a fun ride with the Doctor,” replied William. He turned back to the Doctor as she removed the arrow from her door. “See you later, Doctor! And do let me know if and when you regenerate, okay?”

“Will do, William!” replied the Doctor. “And make your life the best one!” She returned to the TARDIS and it took off again.

“…Still missed my chance,” muttered Hawkeye.

“Maybe later,” chuckled Natasha. “So, Dr. Davies, what sights did you see?”

“Hoo boy, do I have stories!” cackled William.


Inside the TARDIS, Amy sat in one of the chairs as the Doctor worked the console. “He’ll keep his promises of not revealing the future,” remarked the Doctor. “I might check on him from time to time.”

“…You’re sure?” asked Amy. “I couldn’t imagine keeping track of all my friends if I lived as long as you. I’m sure to forget.”

“…I can’t forget my companions, Amy. …I won’t.” The Doctor sat down next to her.

“Doctor, can you even remember your family? And I mean the one that made you into what you are, not Rassilon’s old friend.”

“Oh, I remember both when I want to. And that’s the point, really. I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they sleep in my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes, you will. You’ll find there’s so much else to think about. So, remember, our lives are different to anybody else’s. That’s the exciting thing. There’s nobody in the universe that can do what we’re doing. …Now, come on. Where shall we go?”

“…How about…one of the worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea’s asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice.”

“And somewhere else the tea’s getting cold!” finished the Doctor as both she and Amy stood up, grinning.

“Come on, Doctor! We’ve got work to do!” declared Amy. The Doctor fiddled with the controls once again, letting Amy pull a few levers and press a few buttons. Deep in the heart of the TARDIS, the old time machine chuckled to itself, happy that its pilot was happy.

Categories
Doctor Who: Crossings Series 2

Temporal Trifecta: Part 3

Southwest of Central Hyrule, there was a plateau, the Great Plateau, the location of the Shrine of Resurrection where Link slept for a full century, losing a good portion of his memory in the process. The shrine travel gate was reactivated and three figures of blue light appeared. The blue light then faded into Link, Rassilon, and William. “…The Sheikah Tribe’s ancestors made teleporters?!” asked William.

“Technically, the Zonai did, but the Sheikah made better ones,” explained Link. He then looked at his right arm. “Sorry, Rauru.”

“So why are we here?” asked Rassilon. “We have to find a way into Ganondorf’s castle and rescue Zelda.”

“Rassilon, we have the tracer and…well…we ARE on a quest,” sighed William.

“And as to why you’re here,” said Link, “it’s because there’s a discovery we made that might give us a clue.” Link led everyone out of the old Shrine and brought them to the base of a small mountain, Mount Hylia. Rassilon and William goggled once they saw a familiar structure.

“…Rassilon, isn’t that-?!” asked William.

“A bowship! …MY bowship!” confirmed Rassilon.

“Is this from after you sent it away from the TARDIS?” Rassilon checked her key fob.

“…Temporal origin confirmed. That IS from directly after I sent it away and roped you all into my quest for the Key to Time.”

“That’s impossible,” said Link. “The Sheikah say it’s been buried for 12,000 years, longer than the Imprisoning War.”

“And we’ve been searching for the Key for only weeks,” replied William. “Perspective is relative when you’re time-traveling.”

“And it looks like it was forced open recently,” remarked Rassilon. “And there’s only three that could do that.”

“But only one of those three was here early enough to do it,” deduced William. “So, the question becomes what did Miss Tarae learn?”

“Let’s check the flight logs,” replied Rassilon. “They’ll be the first thing she’ll look for. They wouldn’t have stopped recording until the ship landed here without a pilot.” The three entered the bowship. “This is a new development,” chuckled Rassilon. “To my knowledge, you two are the first non-Gallifreyans to enter a bowship.” She headed to the main computer and keyed in a few commands. A screen switched on and an old man appeared. He was bald, wore red and gold Time Lord robes without the skull cap, held a staff with an elaborate design on top and a silver gauntlet on his left hand.

“This is the Bowship of Rassilon!” barked the old man. “Intruders, you shall be executed for this!”

“Security Override Gamma,” replied Rassilon as she looked into an apparatus for scanning eyes. “Passcode: Omega, Tecteun, V, One, One, Seven. Execute retina scan.” The apparatus scanned her eyes.

“…Security Override confirmed,” reported the old man. “So, Rassilon, you regenerated from that Victorian woman. What’s this, Spanish Dancer? You’re letting the Doctor’s favorite planet influence you.”

“Oh, shut up, Rassilon,” scoffed Rassilon.

“Hang on, did you just call him Rassilon?!” asked William. “That’s one of your previous incarnations?!”

“That’s the current human that’s travelling with the Doctor, isn’t it?” asked the old man. “The one with the pink and black hedgehog girl that listened in to the briefing about our circumstances?”

“Yes, Rassilon, it is. And yes, William, that computer program’s avatar IS based off of one of my previous incarnations,” confirmed Rassilon.

“Incarnations?” asked Link.

“Time Lords stave off death by changing their bodies completely,” explained William. “A side effect includes a different personality. So, Rassilon, you Time Lords can change your sex?”

“Of course,” replied Rassilon. “If I may boast, we Gallifreyans were the most advanced civilization in the universe. Social constructs like gender were beneath us.”

“…Yet you were the founder of Time LORD society.”

“…Yeah, shut up,” grumbled Rassilon.

“A bit disrespectful, isn’t he?” remarked Old Man Rassilon.

“He’s earned that right,” replied Present Day Rassilon. “Now, did you get any intruders here before us?”

“The Master in a new female body, yes,” confirmed Old Man Rassilon. “She discovered our begging the Doctor for help and tracked the TARDIS’ flight path, sending a message about the Key to Time to various threats in those time zones.”

“So that’s how people like the Autons and the Weeping Angels knew!” realized William. “And she’s probably told Ganondorf!”

“All readings taken passively,” explained Old Man Rassilon, “indicated that the current monarch of this time, Zelda, is the last segment. Subsequent research of local history and legends confirm it.”

“Told you,” said Link. Present Day Rassilon sighed.

“That’s really all we needed to know,” she said. “Rassilon, get this bowship out of here. Hyrule’s had enough cultural contamination. Await this signal.” She keyed in the frequency. “That will let you know that my mission is complete and that I am ready to be picked up.”

“Understood, Madame President Eternal,” replied Old Man Rassilon. The ship then powered up.

“Come on, everyone, we need to leave,” called Present Day Rassilon. Everyone left, then the bowship rose into the air and left the atmosphere of the planet.

“…We could have used that to get to Ganondorf’s castle,” remarked William.

“That would have resulted in cultural contamination,” replied Rassilon.

“Oh, we don’t need that anyways,” said Link. “I’ve got a better flying machine in mind!”

“…You guys are making-?” muttered William. “You know what, later. Right now, we’re in a bit of a conundrum, what with Zelda being the last segment!”

“If the White Guardian gave me this mission, I wouldn’t be so worried,” said Rassilon. “Once finished, the Key would disperse, the items or people the segments once were would be restored, and the segments would find new forms. …But it was the Black Guardian instead.”

“You think the Black Guardian would try and keep the Key?” asked William.

“I know they will. …We need to get to Ganondorf’s castle to figure out what to do with the Doctor and Amy involved as well as Zelda.”

“And if Ganondorf or Miss Tarae get the tracer?”

“Well, we’d better hope the Doctor can fix it on the fly. Link, you said you had a means of making us a way to get there?”

“Watch this!” replied Link. He thrust his right hand out and several devices and panels appeared, creating a crude flying machine. “The Hyrule Sky King!” said Link proudly. “Hop on!”

“…There is no way this thing is aerodynamic enough!” replied William as he and Rassilon hopped on. Link then grabbed a control bar and the machine took off! He made it bob up and down, cackling all the while. Rassilon looked a little green in the gills. “Hey, quit waving bye-bye!” complained William. “I’m getting sea-sick here!”

“Oh, you’re as bad as Zelda! This is fun!” laughed Link as he continued flying the contraption.


The Doctor and Amy were brought to Zelda in her cell. The poor princess looked pensive. “Your Highness?” asked the Doctor.

“…I take it Miss Tarae and Ganondorf told you who or what I was?” sighed Zelda.

“Yeah, they did,” replied Amy. “…It’s…it’s put us in a pickle.”

“I really don’t want to do that with one of Amy’s friends, but I also don’t want the Black Guardian’s wrath. …What would be the wise thing to do?”

“…You’ll have to turn me into the last segment,” said Zelda. “I know my duty.”

“But if the Black Guardian uses the entire key-!”

“The balance will be restored.”

“But we’ll lose you! LINK will lose you!”

“…It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make, Doctor.”

“If there’s no choice involved, then it isn’t really a sacrifice! Zelda, you’re not facing a choice! You’re facing an ultimatum! I can’t-!”

“Doctor!” snapped Zelda, shutting the Doctor up. “…My mind is made up. …Just…find some way to keep the Key to Time out of Miss Tarae and Ganondorf’s hands.”

“…As you wish,” sighed the Doctor.


Link’s flying machine attracted the attention of the guards outside Ganondorf’s castle. “…I thought he gave up that arm,” remarked a Bokoblin.

“Never mind that!” snapped a Lizalfos. “Fire!” The monsters fired arrows of various kinds at them. Link dodged them all and brought his passengers to a part of Ganondorf’s castle that wasn’t that great at security. “All right, let’s be careful,” warned Link as he drew his sword and shield. “I’d rather NOT have everyone here aware of our presence.”

“Link, you stick out like a sore thumb, what with that tunic and gear!” hissed William.

“Hold it!” called a Bokoblin’s voice. “Only Ganondorf’s allies can enter here! You look too stupid to be one of them!” The Bokoblin leveled a club at them.

“…How do we prove we’re smart enough to be your master’s allies?” asked Link, changing tack. The Bokoblin tossed Link a nine-by-nine-by-nine cube with various symbols on each side.

“Match all the glyphs with the glyphs in the center of each side,” instructed the Bokoblin. William and Rassilon realized what it was.

“Isn’t that a puzzle toy from Earth?” Rassilon asked William.

“A Rubik’s Cube, yes,” replied William. Link grinned and rotated each face of the cube until all the glyphs were the same on each side.

“Boom,” he said.

“…Huh, you ARE smart enough,” remarked the Bokoblin. “Sorry about that. Gotta watch out for that Hero of Hyrule, you know.” He opened the gate.

“Oh, we completely understand,” soothed Link as he led his team inside. The group then made their way to the dungeon and found the Doctor and her cellmates.

“Doctor!” hissed William.

“William! Get out of here!” replied the Doctor. “And take Rassilon with you! Zelda’s-!”

“She hasn’t accepted her fate, has she?!” whispered Rassilon.

“…You know?”

“I told them,” replied Link. “Zelda, is that true? You’re REALLY letting yourself be turned into the last segment?!”

“Link, please understand-!”

“What kind of plan involves giving Ganondorf what he wants?!” Zelda gestured for Link to come closer. Link obeyed and Zelda whispered something in his ear. Link goggled, then sighed. “…We’ll keep you out of Ganondorf’s hands,” promised Link. “You and the other segments.”

“Thank you,” said Zelda. “Now, my friends, your…tracer, please?” Rassilon sighed as she reluctantly pointed the tracer at Zelda. It crackled, then Zelda was surrounded by a bright light before becoming the last segment of the Key to Time.