Under the waves of another world, a man opened his eyes. He yawned and stretched as he took the covers off to reveal that he had a fish tail instead of legs. Yes, this was a merman! He swam over to a closet and\u2026you\u2019d think he was going through a lady\u2019s closet, given that there were skirts in there. But no, they were his clothes. The merman\u2019s name was Lukas and, years ago, he had become a femboy servant and lover for a powerful sea witch, the great Madame Calliope. He pulled out his daily clothes, put them on, and fluffed the petticoats of his skirt. He then swam over to a vanity and looked himself in the mirror. \u201c\u2026Not just yet, but soon,\u201d he said to his reflection. He then teased his hair, adorned the left of his head with a fascinator hat consisting of eight blue flowers and a veil, then he put on makeup. After all that, he smiled at his reflection. \u201cNow you look good, Lovely Lukas!\u201d he said to his reflection. Just then, his mirror went screwy as his reflection distorted itself. \u201cWhat the-? Who\u2019s calling me?\u201d he pondered aloud. He put his finger to the edge of the mirror and two women appeared. One looked like an anthropomorphic bunny and the other looked like a green-skinned woman. They both wore a blue rose in the right of their hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLukas, is that you?\u201d asked the bunny woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBea!\u201d yelped Lukas. \u201cAnd my Divine Coilzette!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood morning, my dear Lukas,\u201d greeted the green-skinned woman, Coilzette Mentalia Goldcoil, the Divine Naga that ruled the lands of Coilusa. She then gave her attention to the bunny girl, Bea Cottonhop Goldcoil, Coilzette\u2019s adopted granddaughter. \u201cBea, is everything all right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, Mama and Madame Calliope share a birthday and we\u2019re supposed to set everything up, right?\u201d asked Bea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d confirmed Lukas. \u201cYou\u2019re in charge of the banquet, your grandmother\u2019s working on accommodations for us water-folk since the venue\u2019s gonna be in your home citadel in Serpentia, and I\u2019m in charge of the decorations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, the food\u2019s all good,\u201d said Bea. \u201cI\u2019m down to the cake and I just had a few questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll your mother and Calliope wanted,\u201d interjected Coilzette, \u201cwas a sheet cake that acknowledged the two of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI got that,\u201d replied Bea as she held up a sheet cake with a desert and underwater theme that said \u201cHappy Birthday, Ssylphiel and Calliope\u201d on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat looks perfectly lovely,\u201d said Lukas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQuite right,\u201d agreed Coilzette. \u201cSo what\u2019s the issue, Bea?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, the issue is, put together, Mama and Calliope have just over 10,000 years of collective life,\u201d replied Bea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Okay, what\u2019s the issue with the cake itself?\u201d asked Lukas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe issue is that there\u2019s not enough room on the cake for 10,000 candles!\u201d answered Bea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou sweet, summer child!\u201d laughed Coilzette. \u201cYou weren\u2019t planning on indicating their ages, were you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026W-Well, yeah,\u201d confirmed Bea, confused. \u201cThat\u2019s what you do on a birthday cake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost of us Ageless folk don\u2019t care for that when we hit our thirties,\u201d explained Lukas. \u201cJust put a fancy candle on each end of the cake so they both can blow one out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026I thought the whole point of candles on a cake,\u201d muttered Bea, \u201cWAS to indicate how old someone was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, it was originally thought,\u201d explained Coilzette, \u201cthat the smoke from the candles would carry your wishes and prayers up to the Gods. Humans may have popularized birthday cake candles, but we really owe this tradition to the Dwarves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Grandma, are you telling me that birthday candles are culturally appropriated?!\u201d gulped Bea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTechnically, yes, but since most modern-day Dwarves like Nora don\u2019t know that bit of history, I think humans are okay grandfathering that one in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Well, that\u2019s really all I had for the cake,\u201d muttered Bea. \u201cI\u2019ll see you guys later today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLooking forward to it!\u201d cheered Coilzette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSee you later!\u201d bid Lukas. The call ended and a blue skinned woman with purple hair and eight black octopus tentacles instead of legs then swam into the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLukas, my lovely?\u201d she asked. \u201cWho were you talking to?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust Bea and Coilzette, Madame Calliope,\u201d replied Lukas. \u201c\u2026Is it true that the Dwarves are the actual inventors of birthday candles?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d confirmed Calliope as one of her tentacles snaked its way over to Lukas and started coiling him. \u201cSo, a little issue with the cake, then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe cake itself is lovely, Bea just wanted the issue with the candles settled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh yes, she was a member of the Ageing Folk.\u201d By now, Calliope had pulled Lukas close to her. \u201c\u2026Well, you look delightful as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks to you, Mistress,\u201d replied Lukas as he hugged Calliope. Calliope kissed the top of his head lovingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat say we head to Serpentia, then? For all our differences, a good meal in Ssylphiel\u2019s palace is something we all can agree on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQuite true, Mistress,\u201d agreed Lukas. The two then headed off to say their goodbyes to the rest of Calliope\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another dimension of swirling energy, a blue London Police Box spun through the energy, its lamp flashing. Inside the box\u2026the laws of interior geometry were torn up as it was bigger on the inside! It was a spacious room with a central hexagonal control console with a cylinder going up and down. A woman with African features worked on the console. She wore a burgundy rose-themed outfit, complete with a rose headband. Her gloved fingers drummed one of the console panels as she growled to herself in frustration. \u201cCome on! Come on! Where are you?!\u201d she snarled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo chronal surge, Doctor?\u201d asked another woman\u2019s voice. The speaker stepped into the console room, brushing her platinum blonde hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t get it, Tysar!\u201d replied the pilot of the machine, the Time Lord known as the Doctor. \u201cThe TARDIS has her sensors at capacity and so does Gallifrey! Where\u2019s the next chronal surge?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoctor, there\u2019s always a lull between them,\u201d replied Tysar, a Thal from New Davius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd we need to take advantage of it!\u201d retorted the Doctor. She checked the TARDIS\u2019s instrument\u2019s again. \u201c\u2026Still nothing! I-!\u201d A green flash then appeared. \u201c\u2026What-?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoctor, isn\u2019t that the button Grand Zeno gave you?\u201d asked Tysar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is,\u201d replied the Doctor as she grabbed the source of the flash, a circular device with a green button on one side, a yellow button on the other, and purple material making up the circumference. The green button was flashing. \u201cThis thing is only supposed to flash when Grand Zeno or one of his staff has a mission that requires mortals to solve. \u2026Welp, in for a penny and all that!\u201d The Doctor pressed the green button. A new flash of light then appeared and then faded away to reveal a woman in a blue dress with blue costume fairy wings and blue hair. The Doctor goggled in horror as she remembered that woman!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExcellent!\u201d praised the woman. \u201cSo you\u2019re not too busy, Doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoctor, who is that?\u201d asked Tysar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTysar, get out of the console room!\u201d hissed the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, come, come, Doctor!\u201d replied the blue woman. \u201cThere\u2019s no need to fret. As you promised, Grand Zeno is a much better playmate than you or any mortals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Doctor, who IS that woman?\u201d insisted Tysar. \u201cWhy are you so afraid of her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026That\u2019s the Celestial Toymaker,\u201d answered the Doctor. \u201cHer sick games result in you being her prisoner forever!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot these days, Doctor,\u201d replied the Toymaker. \u201cI\u2019m afraid the Grouping has caused considerable damage to not only your universe, but to the multiverse at large. And it\u2019s spawned new universes outside of Zeno\u2019s ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo you want me to help you destroy them, is that it?\u201d asked the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHardly!\u201d scoffed the Toymaker. \u201cI easily convinced Zeno that such an act meant new games to play! No, this is something else. Someone intends to take advantage of this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are quite a number of people that would jump at the chance for multiversal travel. You\u2019ll have to narrow it down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s just say that this particular person would cause trouble somehow if he continued putting his newfound knowledge of multiversal travel to his own ill purposes, trouble that has given Grand Zeno and I pause.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re afraid of this person?\u201d The console room darkened for a brief moment, making the Toymaker look scarier than she usually does. It brightened up later when the Toymaker sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Yes, we are,\u201d she admitted. \u201cDoctor, this person would seek the eradication of all things, from us gods to mortals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, come on!\u201d argued the Doctor. \u201cWho could possibly worry you-?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDavros!\u201d The console room went silent, even the TARDIS stopped making its usual noises at the mention of Davros\u2019 name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Davros?\u201d the Doctor asked in confirmation. The Toymaker nodded. \u201c\u2026What is he doing that has you so worried?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s already learned about multiverse theory,\u201d replied the Toymaker. \u201cI\u2019m sure you recall his reality bomb. It really would have worked against us had you not stopped him in time. As for the current crisis about him, we foresee a time where he will have destroyed all other life in the multiverse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s always been his aim. Go on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter your last encounter with him, he used his DARDIS to flee and gather allies, then he altered his craft to go between universes and go after one who went to a foreign universe during the Time War.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs he in that universe now?\u201d asked the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s made an alliance with a local tyrant,\u201d replied the Toymaker. \u201cRight now, what he seeks is in the hands of that tyrant\u2019s enemies. So I want you, Doctor, to send Davros and his allies back to their correct universe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026All right, I\u2019ll do it,\u201d declared the Doctor. \u201cJust one thing, give my TARDIS a means to get there and back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoctor, you forget,\u201d chuckled the Toymaker. \u201cThe yellow button will get you there and the rim of the device will get you back once your mission is complete. I\u2019ve already put the coordinates into the yellow button, so press it when you\u2019re ready. Good luck.\u201d The Toymaker then vanished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Under the waves of another world, a man opened his eyes. He yawned and stretched as he took the covers off to reveal that he had a fish tail instead of legs. Yes, this was a merman! He swam over to a closet and\u2026you\u2019d think he was going through a lady\u2019s closet, given that there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[959,1067],"tags":[35,963,962,482],"class_list":["post-7876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doctor-who-crossings","category-the-specials","tag-doctor-who","tag-fan-companion","tag-fan-doctor","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7877,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876\/revisions\/7877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}