The Many Doctors - Chapters 40 - 42

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The Many Doctors – Chapter 40 – Thirteen Meets Ten
TARDIS (Thirteenth, with Daniel, Jia'hale, Sabrina, Sigrun and Tamsin)
It had been many days, possibly a week, since the Doctor and his companions had met the Eleventh incarnation of the Doctor and Clara Oswald at Coal Hill School.

“...And we have now left the Ood Sphere. We're on the right track,” the Doctor said.

“That's great!” Tamsin deadpanned. It had been over a week, possibly a fortnight, since she joined the later Doctor and they really hadn't got any closer to finding Felicia since then.

“She could have either joined me with Martha or Donna, I don't know how Rose would have responded.”

“Right...” Tamsin said.

“The Ood, creepy...” Sabrina commented.

“I agree. It makes no sense, having such a vital part of their anatomy so exposed,” Daniel said.

“It works, sure the weakness was exploited, but I dealt with those responsible...” the Doctor said.

“I don't want to know,” Sigrun commented.


Course plotted

“And the TARDIS has locked on.”

“I hope so. Is there any way to determine if Felicia is with your previous self without asking him?” Tamsin asked.

“I'm afraid not,” the Doctor said.

“So we're asking,” Daniel said.

“Yes,” the Doctor confirmed.

Tamsin heard a whisper from the door from the corridors. She turned and saw that it was Jia'hale. She beckoned her over.


“You heard?” Tamsin asked her fellow companion once they had gone down the corridor, out of earshot of the others.

“Yes. I know that it's a long shot. It may be months until we find her,” Jia'hale whispered.

“You can talk to me about it if you want. I wouldn't tell the Doctor, Sigrun, or the others.”

“I don't think so. I feel comfortable this way, even if no one understands. Even you don't.”

'That's true. I don't know how anyone would feel more comfortable without anything on. Sure her hair is longer than mine, but still,” Tamsin thought. “True,” she said.
“You can all talk to the younger and younger versions of the Doctor...”

“We'll find her.”

“I hope so.”



7 March 1399
York, England
The TARDIS landed in a deserted street near the Castle. “Where are we again?” Daniel asked.

“York at the end of the Fourteenth Century,” the Doctor said.

“Haven't been here before,” Sigrun said.

“I have, one or twice with my Doctor, and in my time,” Tamsin said.

“Sure,” Sigrun said.


The Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble, returned to the TARDIS after defeating the anachronistic presence of Parliamentarians (The Doctor had located and shut down a temporal portal in a nearby forest that had connected to itself over 240 years, he still wasn't sure how it had come to be there), to find it surrounded. “It's surrounded, Doctor!” Donna said.

“I see that!”

“Doctor?” One of them said.

“That's me,” the Doctor said. “Who are you?”

“Also the Doctor,” the older Doctor said.

“What do you mean?” Donna asked.

“I am a later version of him, D'na.”

Donna wasn't sure what to believe. “What?”

“When I'm close to death, I change, so I can survive,” the Doctor said. Seeing that Donna was taking that information in he turned back to his older self. “I suppose these are your companions?” he asked indicating the others. 'Two women and two men,' he thought.

“Most of them,” the older Doctor answered. There was a varience to his tone, as if he wanted to clue him in on something.
“Oh!” the Doctor realised. “You're looking for Felicia, aren't you?”

“Who?” Donna asked.

“A long story, D'na,” the older Doctor said.

The Doctor walked up to the TARDIS. “We'll continue inside,” he said.


Tamsin walked into the Tenth Doctor's version of the TARDIS. The console room was even more different than the Eleventh's. “This looks like coral,” she said.

“Yes,” the younger Doctor said.

The Thirteenth (she still thought of the Twelfth as hers) Doctor entered after her. “One thing you should know. Felicia has been altering our timeline as she goes back,” he said.

“I really don't know how she couldn't,” the younger Doctor said as he sat at the console.

“From D'na's reaction, I gather she met you earlier?”

“Yes, while travelling with Martha. In fact, while I was travelling back to her from the Eye of Orion.”

“Right before Lazarus.”

“Yes,” the younger Doctor said.

“Lazarus?” Sabrina asked.

“A scientist that wanted to 'change what it means to be human', and made himself into a monster in the process...” the younger Doctor answered.

“So that's what happened!” Donna said.

“You couldn't find out?” the younger Doctor asked her.

“The Master had got there before me,” Donna answered.

“Anyway. How did that end up?” the older Doctor asked.

“Lazarus was defeated,” the younger Doctor answered.

The older Doctor chuckled. “Obviously.”

“With the help of Martha, Felicia and Tish,” the younger Doctor said.

“Tish?” Sigrun asked.

“Martha's sister. I'm not sure if she was younger or older than Martha, but that's not important,” the younger Doctor said.

“I don't know either,” Donna said when Sabrina looked in her direction.

“Obviously,” Sabrina said.

“Lazarus secumbed to the Cathedral organ, after I enhanced it with the sonic,” the younger Doctor said.
“More details,” the older Doctor said.

“Martha, Tish and Felicia distracted him...”

“Mostly the same, just with Felicia. I guess she continued travelling with you after Lazarus?”

“Yes, to the ship falling into the living star, and then Voyager,” the younger Doctor answered.

“Both of those could have changed a lot.”

“Only Riley and Scannel survived aboard the Pentallian. Martha was going to fall into the star and I was temporarily possessed by the lifeform,” the Doctor answered.

“No difference?” Tamsin asked.

“None,” the older Doctor answered.

“As for Voyager, well we escaped the Borg, with Seven's help. Reminded me of the Cybermen, but less advanced.”

“True.”

The younger Doctor then explained more about what happened on Voyager.


After that the older Doctor and his companions left the younger Doctor's TARDIS. “You will keep searching?” the younger Doctor asked.

“Definitely,” the older Doctor said.

“Good luck,” the younger Doctor said.


“So, you travelled with the Twelth?” Donna asked.

“Yes, far longer than I would have apparently,” Tamsin said.

“I don't know why someone would stop travelling with him,” Donna said.

The older Doctor looked away from Donna.

“Things happen,” Tamsin said.

“Alright...” Donna said she started to ponder what those 'things' might be.

Soon, the Thirteenth waved goodbye to the Tenth.



Chapter 41: Twelve Meets Eleven
TARDIS (Twelve, with Laranna, Libby and Mandy)
It was many hours, possibly half a day, since they left Mercy. The Doctor would not clarify about their destination.

“What do you think this 'Trenzalore' is?” Libby asked Mandy once they were both in the console room again, after they had wandered the ship. Laranna was still sitting where she had sat after entering from Mercy.

“No idea,” Mandy said.

“We're almost there,” the Doctor said.

“Good,” Libby said.

“We're now in orbit, albeit quite a bit early,” the Doctor said. A sound like a bell sounded through the console room.

“Whatt's that?” Mandy asked.

“The Time Lords, sending a message throughout time and space,” the Doctor said.

“What is the message?” Mandy asked.

“If I've timed it right...” the Doctor said. As if on cue, the bell like sound became... “Doctor, Who? Doctor, Who? Doctor, Who? Doctor, Who? Doctor, Who? Doctor, Who? Doctor, Who? Doctor, Who...”

“OK...” Mandy said, pondering

“We're going forwards another few hundred years...” the Doctor said.

Laranna nodded.



19, Seventh Month 300th year of the Doctor
Christmas, Trenzalore
The Doctor was pondering how to send Clara back to Earth, after her earlier trick of clinging to the outside of the TARDIS.

Suddenly he heard the TARDIS engines. He ran down the stairs from the Tower.


Clara was already there. “Another TARDIS,” she said. The second TARDIS was near the TARDIS that was already there, albeit further away from the Tower.

“It could be anything,” the Doctor said.


Laranna and Mandy emerged from the TARDIS onto Trenzalore (the Twelfth thought it wouldn't be wise for the Eleventh to see Libby).

“Who are you?” the Doctor asked.

“You know who I am. I'm from Starship UK,” Mandy said.

“Now I remember,” the Doctor said. He turned to Laranna. “Who are you?”

“Her name is Laranna,” Mandy answred.

“I asked her,” the Doctor said.

Laranna backed against the TARDIS.

“Oh, she doesn't speak,” Mandy explained.

“Oh doesn't she?” the Doctor asked, his eyes on Laranna.

Laranna shook her head.

The Doctor turned to Mandy “Why are you here?”

“Felicia,” Mandy answered.


The Eleventh Doctor entered the Twelth's TARDIS. “No! Now I have to go looking in with the Tenth,” The older doctor said. (Libby had left the console room.)

“Should be impossible,” the younger Doctor said.

“Spoilers,” the older Doctor said.

“Felicia showed up after the Ponds, but before the real Clara,” the younger Doctor said.

“I see,” the older Doctor said.

“And the version of us she normally travels with, showed up some time later, at the School,” the younger Doctor explained. “Still doesn't explain how I manage to cheat the end of my regeneration cycle!”

“Spoilers,” the older Doctor said.

“And that was annoying enough when River said it...” the younger Doctor mused.


Outside the TARDIS, Clara was talking to Mandy and Laranna.
“...So you have been travelling with the Doctor for a while?” she asked.

Laranna nodded.

“But he was already looking for Felicia,” Mandy said.
“I see,” Clara said. She pondered Laranna, wondering why she wouldn't say anything. But there was another way... She took a piece of paper and a pen out of her pocket.


The two Doctors were silent, wondering what to do next.
Clara read what Laranna had written.

“...So, you didn't see Felica, but this Tamsin did?” she asked.

Laranna nodded.

Clara handed the paper back. “Did Tamsin say anything about her?”

Laranna wrote, and handed the paper back to Clara.

Clara read what had been written. “So, she continued travelling with the Doctor to find out what happened, but she isn't here now...”

Laranna gestured. Clara handed the paper back and she wrote again.

Clara received the paper again. “Oh, she's now travelling with the Thirteenth!” Clara then had a realization. “Oh! That Tamsin...”

“So, Tamsin is travelling with the Thirteenth, and you met her when the Thirteenth met the Eleventh?” Mandy asked.

“Yes. At my school,” Clara answered.

“School?” Mandy asked.

“I'm an English teacher,” Clara answered.

“OK,” Mandy said.

Clara turned to Laranna but saw her disappear into the Twelfth's TARDIS.

“Oh...”


“I guess I better be going,” the older Doctor said as he saw Laranna re-enter the TARDIS.

“Yes, the Papal Mainframe would know that you're here by now,” the younger Doctor said.

“You'll have to deal with that,” the older Doctor said.

The younger Doctor nodded.

“Send Mandy, back in would you?” the older Doctor asked.

“Certainly,” the younger Doctor said.


The younger Doctor exited the older Doctor's TARDIS.

“Mandy, your Doctor is about to leave,” he said.

“Sure,” she said. “Bye, Clara,”
“Bye.”


The Older Doctor saw, Mandy enter the TARDIS. As soon as she had closed the doors, he set the ship in motion. “We're looking for Felicia with the Tenth?” she asked.

“Yes, first stop, New New York...”



Chapter 42 – The 8th Doctor
The 8th Doctor's TARDIS, travelling through the vortex
The Doctor and most of his companions were sitting in the Victorian/HG Wells style console room, when suddenly the Cloister Bell began to ring.


The Doctor leapt to the console, looking at the readouts to discern the reason why the Cloister Bell would be ringing,
“Another TARDIS, very close by?” he asked.

“Is it colliding with us?” one of his companions, Daniel Howarth asked.

The TARDIS then lurched around and then the Cloister Bell stopped.
“What happened?” Another companion, Annie Moore asked.

The Doctor looked at the scanner. “We have been boarded, somehow” he said.

“Boarded? Isn't that impossible?” another companion, Erin Talbert asked.

“Apparently not. It could be a future TARDIS, though why a Time Lord would board a past TARDIS...” the Doctor mused.

“What is it?” Daniel asked.

“The only reason I can think of why a Time Lord would interfere with the timesteams is if there is a crisis in their version of Gallifrey. Or their Gallifrey is under a threat of some kind,” the Doctor said.

“I hope that's not the reason,” Daniel said.

The Doctor looked at the console again. “OK, it's near the main library.”


Felicia once more stood up as she recovered from her trip through the anomaly. The corridors looked more ornate, rather Victorian looking. 'Pre Time War. I don't think it would've looked like this during that War,' she thought. She knew that to try to find the console room with the differences in design would be futile, so she decided to wait for the Doctor. 'He wouldn't be like the Eleventh.'


The Doctor and his companions arrived at the spot, and found a person there. “Hi, I'm the Doctor. Who are you?”

“Felicia Lovell. I come from far in your future.”

“My future?” the Doctor asked dubiously.

“Yes. I came directly from a later version of the TARDIS, to this version ,” Felicia said.

The Doctor thought for a moment. “I see that you are telling the truth, but not the whole truth.”

“This is the fifth time I have done this.”

“I see,” the Doctor said. 'I can see why she's hesitant, she travels with my final incarnation,' he thought. “Come to the kitchen,” he said.

“Sure,” Felicia said.


Felicia looked at the five other companions. “I'm Felicia, I normally travel with a later Doctor,” she said.

“Is that all you're going to say?” the Doctor asked.

“Minimising spoilers,” Felicia said.

“Your very presence here has already altered my timesteam,” the Doctor said.

“True, but still, I'm trying to keep those alterations to a minimum.”

“Good, I will help you try to get back to your Doctor,” the Doctor said.

Felicia sighed. “That's what all the others said.”

“I'll still try,” the Doctor said.

Felicia gave a small smile. She turned to the other companions. “So, who's who?”


A brown haired teen boy stood up. “Hi, Felicia. I'm Daniel Howarth. I'm from a regional city in mid 1990's Australia,” he said.

“Cool,” Felicia said.

“I'll let Annie explain more,” Daniel said.

“Sure,” Felicia said, slightly disappointed.

Daniel looked at the girl who was sitting next to him.
She stood up. “I'm Annie Moore,” she said.

“Hi,” Felicia said.

“Daniel and I are friends. We encountered the Doctor when he was preventing an experiment gone wrong near our city from destroying that city,” Annie said. She seemed a little in awe of the Doctor. She ran her hand through her short dark blonde hair. “He took charge of the situation like one who knew what he was doing,” she continued.

“He's apt to do that,” Felicia commented.

Annie nodded. She sat back down. She seemed annoyed, like she had left out something important.

'I'll ask her about that later,' Felicia decided, as the next companion stood up.

“Hi, Felicia, I'm Erin Talbert,” she said. She flicked one of her blonde pigtails over her shoulder. “I'm from Oxford in the early 2000's.”

“I see,” Felicia said.

“A temporal experiment at the University went awry, and UNIT was called in. But UNIT wasn't able to deal with the problem,” Erin said.

“What happened?” Felicia asked.

“I helped him as he navigated the varying time zones in the university before shutting down the experiment,” Erin said.

“It was very touch and go,” the Doctor commented.

“I imagine that a situation like that would be,” Felicia commented.

“There were paradoxes involved,” the Doctor clarified.

“That makes it worse,” Felicia said.

The Doctor nodded.

“So, I have been travelling with him since,” Erin added.

“What were you studying?” Felicia asked.

“Computer Science,” Erin answered.

“Interesting,” Felicia commented.

“And you?” Erin asked.

“I was studying Economics at Norwich,” Felicia answered.

“Cool,” Erin said. She sat down.

The remaining female companion stood up. “I'm Robyn,” she said, in a monotone.

Felicia looked at the short haired gothic looking girl. She had a plain expression.

“How did you meet the Doctor?” she asked.

“It was the summer after I graduated from high school. The Doctor, Daniel and Annie appeared and began to help solve myteries in my hometown, in the middle of Nebraska.”

“Nebraska? Which decade?” Felicia asked.

Robyn didn't miss a beat, but simply glared and said. “The late ninties, some people had gone missing. The Doctor found the people, eventually. Some of them had changed,” she said, putting emphasis on the last word.

Felicia shuddered.

Robyn nodded. “There was nothing that could be done,” she said.

Felicia looked to the Doctor.

“You don't want to know. Suffice it to say that they were lost,” he said.

“Say no more,” Felicia said. She could think of many scenarios as it was. She turned back to Robyn. “So, you wanted to travel with the Doctor.”

“It seemed a better choice than going to a community college,” Robyn said, her voice even more of a monotone.

“I suppose,” Felicia said.

“It has been a great journey so far,” Robyn said, with a slight smirk on her face.

'I guess the TARDIS hasn't been back there yet,' Felicia thought. “How long have you been travelling with him?” she asked.

“How long have you?” Robyn asked in response.

“Fair enough,” Felicia said.

“Well?” Robyn asked.

“Five months, before I started going backwards through the TARDIS.”

“Four months,” Robyn answered.

Felicia nodded. 'A long time without going back,' she thought. “It's been four to five weeks, so actually six months.”

Robyn nodded, and sat down.


The last companion stood up. “Hi, I'm Thomas,” he said. “I'm from the late noughties, in a community in Maryland, close to Baltimore.”

“I see,” Felicia said. “Did anything unusual happen?”

“The community was always a little unusual, but I encountered the Doctor in a nearby community, when my sister and I were taking a short vacation,” Thomas explained.

“Your sister?” Felicia asked.

“Her name is Elisabeth, she traveled with the Doctor for a short time, but not now,” Thomas said.

“Right,” Felicia said, wondering why Elisabeth stopped travelling with the Doctor when her brother didn't.

“As for what I do, I work for a small investment firm. One reason why I'm travelling with the Doctor is that it has hit a rough patch,” Thomas said.

'I suspect the 'rough patch' is the Great Recession,' Felicia thought.

“So, economics, eh,” Thomas asked.

“Yes, but I'm not going to help your company past the 'rough patch',” Felicia said.

“I wouldn't dream of altering the timeline in that manner!” Thomas said.

“You better not,” the Doctor murmured.

“Good,” Felicia said.

The TARDIS then landed. Everyone got up.

“Where are we?” Felicia asked.