Collision - 3rd/11th Doctors/Amy/Rory/Jo/UNIT, Pg-13, 4 of 4
Title: Collision
Author: darkestboy
Characters: The Doctor (3rd), The Doctor (11th), Jo Grant, Amy Pond, The Brigadier, Rory Williams, Sergeant Benton, Mike Yates, The Master (Delgado), The Meddling Monk, Daleks, Cybermen, Axons, Sontarans.
Rating: PG-13
Spoiler: Set between The Daemons and Day Of The Daleks for the 3rd Doctor and between The Vampires Of Venice and Amy's Choice for the 11th Doctor.
Notes: The Doctor, Amy and Rory find themselves a part of battle between a former incarnation and the deadly duo of the Master and the Meddling Monk as further cracks begin to emerge. Directly ties into Gentlemen (http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=34392).
Previous Chapters: http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=37289
The Brigadier and Benton both heard the whirring of the TARDIS as it faded out of the laboratory. As the two of them rose to their feet, the familiar sound of their own Doctor accompanied by the others was a comfort.
“Doctor,” the Brigadier said. “We’re sorry, he was too fast.”
“We’re too late,” Amy said miserably. “Where could they have gone?”
“They can’t have gotten that far,” the third Doctor protested, then looked at Amy and Rory. “We’ll find them both.”
“How?” Rory asked. “I don’t mean to be rude but isn’t your TARDIS unable to leave the planet? If they’re off world, then we’re stuck here.”
“Not necessarily,” Jo said. “There is something we can do.”
“What?” Mike asked, echoing the same word that Benton himself had been tempted to ask.
Both Amy and Rory looked at the young woman with interest. The older Doctor had realised that Jo was in fact right and that something could be done in spite of the obstacle of an earthbound vessel.
The Doctor had folded his arms and kept to a corner in the TARDIS as the Master whizzed around the controls, excitement akin to a child opening their Christmas presents early but also using one hand to keep the time manipulator pointed at him in case the Doctor tried to do anything stupid.
“I must say, this is impressive,” the Master smiled at the Doctor. “I can’t believe this Type 40 actually improves with age, though I’m not entirely sure if the same can be said of you. You look about twelve.”
“Where have you set the co-ordinates?” the Doctor interrupted him, walking up to the controls and placing his hands down on them. “If you’re thinking of starting any interstellar wars with my TARDIS, you can forget it.”
“Why would I bother?” the Master smirked, waving the time manipulator at him. “With this little gizmo, I’ve made enough cracks in time to see most of your precious Earth succumb to it’s own destruction. Well, the Monk did his bit. Maybe I should’ve left him somewhere safe but you can never tell with this thing.”
“That’s how you brought me here, isn’t it?” the Doctor stared at his old enemy in the eye. “By manipulating with time but more to the point, what did you mean about Amy?”
“You were just a happy accident,” the Master smiled. “I didn’t think I’d actually be able to get a future you.”
“And Amy?”
“I was wondering when you’d get back to that. Interesting little thing, isn’t she?”
“She’s human,” the Doctor pointed out curtly. “Not a thing.”
“But not an equal either, Doctor,” the Master threw back. “My, my, several incarnations later and you still view those backward primitives as equals. They have their uses, I don’t deny that and their technology can be helpful but they are not our equals.”
“Amy,” the Doctor pressed even further, this time coming close to the Master. “What did you see?”
“Inside her head?” the Master mused, “not a lot to be honest. Apart from the fact that you’ve made one hell of an imprint in her life, there’s also the words of ‘Pandorica’ and ‘Silence’ floating about there as well but as someone called River would say, that’d be a spoiler, wouldn’t it?”
The Doctor swallowed a breath for a moment and noticed that something was appearing on the monitor, something rather familiar and welcomed at this point. He was being tracked by the others back in the base and to keep the Master from looking at the screen, he needed to keep him talking for a bit longer.
“Is that it?” the Doctor scoffed. “I thought you were actually going to tell me something useful for a second. The Master I knew would’ve genuinely surprised me with some big reveal but then again, maybe I underestimated you after all this time.”
“Meaning?” the Master raised an eyebrow. This younger version was suddenly getting a little too smug for his own good.
“Just in the past, you’ve been far more clever about these sorts of things,” the Doctor looked around the place, feigning disinterest. “You never would’ve needed coincidence in order to break out of a prison and there was a time when even something as simple as a time manipulator wouldn’t have been a glaring problem for you.”
“You underestimate me, Doctor,” the Master snapped, anger seething within him as he pointed the time manipulator at him. “I was willing to give you a stake in the universe but I think I’ll send you into another one instead.”
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the Doctor smiled.
“You had your chance.”
The Master ignored the smile and aimed the device to shoot at the Doctor. The Doctor dodged the blast but used the diversion to push the Master out of the way, whilst grabbing the device and taking over the controls.
“Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” the Doctor fiddled with the controls, setting the co-ordinates back to the UNIT base.
As the Master got up from the ground, it was the Doctor’s turn to point the manipulator at the renegade Time Lord.
“I am not going back to jail,” the Master vowed.
“It’s either jail or wherever this thing will send you,” the Doctor cuffed the Master’s hands behind his back. “Your choice.”
“You never used to be this way,” the Master mused. “There would’ve been a time when you would’ve let me go. That girl is dangerous, Doctor.”
“Not anymore,” the Doctor looked at his old enemy, knowing that their future events together were going to be far more disastrous than this one. “We’ve landed.”
It had taken less than an hour for the Brigadier’s men to safely (and carefully escort) the Master back to prison and while Amy, Rory and Jo had found themselves clearing most of the mess that had been made to the laboratory, it had been up to both Doctors to have fixed the time manipulator and correct everything. Every monster that had resurfaced was now back in its own time but both Doctors were now examining the wall where Amy had told them about the crack.
“These cracks in time,” the third Doctor glanced at the eleventh Doctor. “How serious do they become? I wouldn’t ask but if one’s come here, then I need to know if there’s something I can do at this end.”
“I don’t think you can,” the eleventh Doctor looked at his younger incarnation. “They seemed to have appeared here because of myself, Amy and Rory being here. The Master for once, isn’t to blame.”
“And Amy?”
“That is something I don’t know for myself,” the other Doctor straightened his bowtie. “We should leave.”
“Yes, you should,” the velvet Doctor shook the younger man. “Goodbye me.”
The Doctor watched as his future walked off slowly into the TARDIS with both Amy and Rory following him from behind. As they took off, Jo had firmly grabbed a hold of his hand and smiled.
“What are you so cheerful about?” the Doctor smiled at her, as she began to lead him outside to the rising of the sun as the snow continued to fall.
“It’s Christmas Day,” Jo smiled, then took a minute. “And we’re still alive, most of us anyyway.”
“Indeed we are,” the Doctor smiled as from the corner of his eye, another blue box with three strangers peering out of it, also were smiling and waving. After all, it wasn’t everyday, you could see your future self.
Back in the TARDIS, both Amy and Rory had gotten themselves cleaned up as the Doctor had been staring at the Time Rotor, almost trance like. Something felt off with it but he couldn’t detect what it was.
“And that is definitely a way not to spend Christmas,” Rory smirked as he looked at the Doctor. “I think one of you is more than enough. No offence.”
“None taken,” the Doctor smirked back at the nurse.
“Could’ve been worse,” Amy mused. “Apart from the being kidnapped, nearly killed and succumbing to the will of a mad Time Lord, it was actually fun enough. It’s definitely given me a better insight into you, Doctor.”
“Is that so?” the Doctor smiled as he tried to stifle a yawn. “Well, I’m glad to see your curiosity about me has been sated, Amy because right now, I think there are more important issues to be getting on with such as why is Rory falling asleep -,”
Amy turned to look to see that Rory had fallen to the floor and then noticed that the Doctor and herself were both feeling more than fatigue. “Doctor, what’s happening to us -,”
The Doctor could only look as Amy fell to the ground in a heap, unconscious. As he began to lose his footing and succumb to the thrall of sleeping, the Master’s word had rang in his ears again. Of course the Doctor had underestimated him and now he was going to pay whatever price this sleep state would induce.
---- The End ----