1. Breaking the Pattern of Events
The TARDIS left the Earth, spinning around in the planet’s orbit. It whooshed and grinded, traversing through space and time itself. Inside, Clara and the Doctor were at the main console. The Doctor piloted the controls with Clara watching him.
“So, how exactly are we going to get to the source of this cool mystery?” Clara asked.
“Ah! Now that Clara,” the Doctor said enthused, pointing a finger in the air. “That is the question! A question which I don’t necessarily have the answer to. And even if I did, I wouldn’t use it since that would be too easy and a bit boring to solve the mystery.”
“Okay, so who are those shopping girls and the taxi driver that drove them home? What’s so special about them?”
“At the moment, nothing,” the Doctor answered. “They’re just humans living mundane lives with early Christmas shopping. But if we check the TARDIS data bank…”
The Doctor tapped away at a computer keyboard at the console of the TARDIS. He accessed all available records concerning the area they visited and just left.
“Bingo!” the Doctor cheered, showing Clara. “There we are! No. 7, Daring’s Close, Hartford, Chichester, Earth. The current residence of one Katy Moriston. Works at a finance agency and deals with current accounts. Bit of a rubbish job, but it earns its pay for Katy.”
“And those two other women,” Clara reminded him. “Who were they?”
“Let’s see if we can cross-reference their faces via the TARDIS data bank with the use of the photos we took on camera.”
“We don’t have photos on camera,” Clara stated.
The Doctor beamed brightly and plucked out a digital camera from his tweed jacket to show Clara.
“We have now! Installing them into the TARDIS data hard-drive with USB lead.”
“Isn’t that a bit prying though?” Clara wondered. “Taking pictures of people without them noticing it.”
“I do this in order to sustain my curiosity,” the Doctor grinned. “Shouldn’t take too long to store these into the TARDIS data bank already.”
Eventually, the photos were on display in an instant.
“Ah! There we are!” cheered the Doctor. “Let’s cross-reference their images to any social network sites they may have accessed. Facebook; Twitter; MySpace…”
The cross-reference check was soon complete and the Doctor clapped his hands excitedly
“There we are!” he laughed out loud in triumph. “Katy Moriston owns No. 7, Daring’s Close, like I told you. And her two friends Sian Grivas and Rita Myers are from West Wittering. Nice little café down there. Does good fish fingers and custard.”
“And the cab driver?” Clara asked. “I assume you took a picture of him.”
The Doctor tapped away at the keyboard to do another cross-reference. Eventually, the result came up and the taxi driver’s face was shown in full profile with name and taxi record reference on the TARDIS console’s scanner screen.
“And here we have him,” the Doctor declared. “Mr. Harry Rotten! Bit unfortunate and rotten, by there you go. Chichester taxi driver of all Chichester taxi drivers outside the bus depot. Taxi reference number MEJ 52Q.” The Doctor then became puzzled. “Strange. His face looks familiar.”
Clara noticed the Doctor becoming troubled as he peered closer at the face of Harry Rotten on the scanner screen. She nudged him gently.
“Anyway, what do these ‘not so special’ humans have in common with the current crisis we’re having?”
“What they have in common is nothing,” the Doctor answered, still focused on Harry’s image on the screen. “They’re just caught in a loop of time. A loop flowing at an incessant rate. With no knowing how it can be broken.”
“Bit like ‘Groundhog Day’ then,” Clara remarked. “You know? That film where Bill Murray lived through one day of his life every day. Love that film. Seen it loads of times. Bit ironic if you think about it.”
The Doctor suddenly came up with an inspirational idea as he turned to Clara delightedly and joyously.
“And that’s exactly how we’re going to break the pattern! Clara, you’re a genius!”
The Doctor kissed Clara on the cheek. She blushed radiantly.
“Good. Care to tell me what I’ve done to make you happy.”
“Like in the ‘Groundhog Day’ film, Bill Murray did things differently each day he lived through,” the Doctor explained. “We’re going to break the loop for those four people a bit. We’re going to step into that loop and change how they arrive back at Katy’s house.”
“And hopefully stop them going round and round in circles,” Clara said.
“That’s the theory. It worked in the film, perhaps it can work for this.”
“But the people or whatever it was that put them in this loop to go round and round in circles may come after us,” she pointed out.
“Maybe. But we never walk away, Clara Oswald,” the Doctor reminded her. “Never forget that, like I told you. We never walk away.”
“I’m not walking anywhere, Doctor,” Clara told him.
“Good. That’s good,” the Doctor said pleased. “Now if we set the controls back to where the loop started, we should be able to break through its vulnerable point and make contact with these people. In town where the girls got their taxi. That’s the best place to meet up with them before they return to Katy’s house.”
“We meet the taxi driver with the shopping girls first before returning to their house and untangle more of this intriguing web,” Clara realised, feeling pleased and rather excited by this prospect of this latest adventure they were having.
On the outskirts of the Chichester town centre, the three girls Katy, Sian and Rita made their way out of town to find a taxi after doing their shopping. They laughed and joked with each other, sharing all the gossip they had.
“So Mervin right,” Sian told her friends. “He’s got this deal for two lottery tickets for the price of one. Isn’t that tremendous?”
“I prefer having all the fashion items from ‘Next’,” Katy said. They got bargain prices I can’t resist.”
“Will you two stop going on about your lottery tickets and fashions?!” Rita complained. “I’m keen to learn more about what happened to Danny and Gilly on…”
“Oh please no,” Sian interrupted. “Not your favourite soap opera!”
“It’s a touch drab on ‘Coronation Street’,” Katy said. “Or ‘Emmerdale’. Mind you, ‘Emmerdale’ hasn’t been good lately with so many characters leaving and changing.”
“Tell me about it,” Sian agreed. “Like the one who murdered her boyfriend. What was her name err..Jas…”
Just then, Rita bumped into someone. She looked up and saw a pretty young girl with dark flowing hair before her. She was the same age as her.
“Oh. Hello,” the girl greeted.
“Hey!” Rita greeted back, startled. “Sorry. Didn’t see you. Hope I didn’t…”
“No, no. You’re okay,” the girl reassured her. “You haven’t seen my cousins, have you? Young ones. Go by the names of Angie and Artie. No?”
The three girls shook their heads.
“Sorry, we haven’t any kids about,” Katy answered. “We’ve been shopping, you see.”
“No matter,” the girl said. “They probably be back home, I should imagine. I’m Clara by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Clara,” Rita introduced herself before she introduced Sian and Katy.
Clara said it was nice to them all before she asked, “Do you mind if I tag along? Need to get a phone as I’ve lost my mobile as well as my wallet. Very silly thing to do, I know. But then again, I am a bit of an idiot. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No of course not, Clara,” Sian obliged.
“Feel free to come back to my house if you like,” Katy offered. “We can get you in touch with your cousins there if you like.”
“Thanks. That would really help,” Clara said. “I won’t forget this. You three are angels.”
With that, Clara joined Rita, Katy and Sian as they made their way to find a taxi rank to get out of town.
At the taxi rank, Harry the driver was ready to go. He saw the taxi before him drive off with its passengers. He soon saw four girls coming his way. He recognised them. Well, three of them at any rate – Rita, Katy and Sian. He didn’t recognise the dark haired girl with them. He surmised the girls wanted a lift.
“Any chance of a lift please, Harry?” Sian asked. “We really appreciate it.”
“Course not,” Harry answered cheerfully. “By all means. Happy to oblige.”
“You know him?” Clara asked the girls.
“Off by heart,” Katy answered, smiling. “Harry’s our favourite taxi cab driver!”
Rita did the introductions. “Harry, this is a new friend of ours. Clara, this is Harry. Helpful Harry as we call him. He’s a taxi driver who helps women in need.”
“Nice to meet you, Clara,” Harry said cheerfully.
“And you, Harry,” Clara replied.
Opening the door, Harry allowed the four girls to enter the cab. “Hop in, you four.”
The girls were about to hop in before a mad man in tweet and bow tie came running awkwardly towards them,.
“Wait up! Hold up!” the mad man cried. “Hold up, taxi! Taxi, hold up!”
“Sorry mate, we’re full,” Harry told the man. “If you could just wait for the next cab…”
“Oh don’t mind me,” the mad man said. “I don’t mind if the others don’t mind getting squashed. I’m the Doctor, by the way. Nice haircut.”
“Oh? You think so.” Harry said surprised.
“No actually, I don’t know why I said that,” the Doctor said. “Bit of a rushed day, I think. But anyway, don’t mind me. Let’s hop in.”
Harry was about to object before the Doctor got into the cab as he joined the four girls. Eventually, the cab door was shut and Harry drove off, leaving the taxi rank behind.
It was a bitterly cold night in Daring’s Close, Hartford, Chichester, Earth on the 23rd of November 2013. The area was empty; no sign of life. A taxi drove into the close. Its engine churning quietly as the driver turned around the corner. The taxi reached its destination. It parked outside No. 7 of Daring’s Close. The taxi cab door opened and out stepped Rita, Katy and Sian with their new friends, the Doctor and Clara. They stood on the driveway of Katy’s house. Katy fumbled through her purse before turning to Sian.
“You pay for it, ” she told her.
“No, you pay for it,” Sian told Katy.
“I paid for it last time,” Katy argued.
Rita was about to interrupt before the Doctor stepped forward and interrupted.
“Let’s talk about payment once we get inside,” he said. “It’s freezing cold out here and I could do with a cuppa. I love a good cuppa.” Turning back to Harry the taxi driver, the Doctor said cheerfully, “What do you say, Harry? Fancy a cuppa inside?”
Harry was hesitant. “I…don’t think I should, sir. I’m on call, you see…”
“Nonsense,” the Doctor interjected. “And it’s not sir, it’s Doctor. And your shift’s about to end, isn’t it?”
Harry thought about this for a moment. It was coming to midnight. He didn’t have any calls coming in for a taxi service. And it was time for his shift to end.
“I suppose so…Doctor,” he answered gradually.
“Excellent,” the Doctor clapped his hands, pleased. “Clara, you get the girls inside whilst I take Harry in. Come on, everyone! Hop to it!”
As the Doctor raced to meet Harry coming out of the cab, Clara turned to the three girls. “Well, you heard what the Doctor said. Let’s go in before it gets too cold.”
“Too right,” Sian agreed. “You’ll love my house, Clara. It’s the most comfiest house in the whole of Chichester.”
Clara flinched, puzzled. “Your house, Sian? I thought it was Katy’s.”
Sian frowned for a moment, confused. Then she brightened. “Yes, of course. Silly me. Of course it’s Katy’s house. Don’t know what made me say that. I was sure it was my house for a moment.”
“So did I,” Katy said.
“I’m sorry, Katy?” Clara enquired.
Katy looked to Clara, puzzled. “It’s funny. I did think it was my house for a while, but now I’m not so sure. I thought it was Sian’s house too for a moment.”
Looking at both Sian and Katy curiously, Clara’s thinking got interrupted as the Doctor turned up with Harry behind him. He gave Clara an accusing glare.
“What are you all still doing out here?” he demanded. “I thought we were going in.”
“That’s right,” Harry joined in. “Don’t you girl stay out too long in the cold.”
“Thanks,” Rita said cheerfully to Harry. “We won’t, Mr…”
“Harry. Friends call me Harry,” the driver replied.
“Come on, everybody,” the Doctor said impatiently. “Stop your gassing around and let’s us get in the house, shall we?”
The Doctor pushed Harry forward as he joined the three girls Katy, Sian and Rita. They opened the front door with a key before entering the house. Clara and the Doctor held back before they followed Harry and the girls inside.
“Doctor, the two girls, Katy and Sian,” Clara said quietly. “Something strange…”
“I know Clara, I know,” the Doctor interrupted her. “Already the mists are beginning to dissolve. Their minds are about to clear.”
“What are you up to, Doctor?” Clara became puzzled. “You know something’s going to happen to these four people, don’t you?”
“Oh not just to them, but to the whole of Chichester,” the Doctor told her. “The whole planet if it comes to it. Already we’ve broken the pattern of events. We’ve managed to change what’s happening in the loop.”
“Is this so we can attract our bad boys to come and show themselves on what they want?” Clara asked.
“Exactly!” the Doctor answered, approving of Clara’s quick-thinking. “And if I’m correct, they’re not going to be very happy whoever they are and when we meet them.”
It was at that moment that storm clouds began to gather. The Doctor and Clara looked up to see the sky. Rumbles of thunder echoed above.
“It’s starting to rain,” Clara observed. “Those rainclouds are approaching where we are.”
“And at a fast rate in case you haven’t noticed,” the Doctor commented. “Come on! Let’s go inside before our teas get cold.”
With that, the Doctor and Clara entered the house to join the others. Soon, the rainclouds covered the Chichester area. Small figures began to appear in Daring’s Close. They seemed to have the distinct shape and form of skeletons.
In the living room of No. 7, Daring’s Close, the Doctor and Clara enjoyed having cups of tea with Harry, Sian, Katy and Rita. They had jammy dodgers too. The Doctor loved a jammy dodger! The group laughed and joked about everyday things whether it was the weather; latest news or recent updates on ‘The X-Factor’ and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
Clara soon whispered to the Doctor as Harry chatted to the girls. “You do realise that the rainclouds are getting closer. I can hear the thunder rumbles more clearly outside.”
This was true. The thunder was getting louder outside.
“Don’t worry, Clara,” the Doctor assured her. “I’ve got everything in hand.”
“You have?” Clara said unconvinced.
“Watch and learn,” the Doctor said knowingly, tapping the end of his nose to Clara. He soon got up and made his way over to Harry, shaking him by the hand firmly. Harry became baffled by the Doctor shaking hands with him. “So, Harry? You’ve been a taxi driver all your life, have you?”
“Ever since I went into customer service training,” Harry answered. “It’s a family trait I hold sacred, you see.”
“How far does your family go back then?” the Doctor asked.
“Oh I don’t know,” Harry shrugged. “About a few hundred years.”
“A few hundred years?! I like that,” the Doctor chuckled. “Really, I do. Is that the past or in the future?”
Harry looked at the Doctor in surprise, confused by the question.
“I…I’m not sure what you mean, Doctor,” Harry stammered. “What do you mean…past or future?”
“I like your name, Harry,” the Doctor changed tact. “Your name Harry is so brilliantly likeable. Harry, Harry! Good choice of a name that your parents gave you. I knew your parents, Harry. Nice couple they were.”
“I doubt you would’ve known them,” said Harry unconvinced.
Clara nudged the Doctor slightly. “What is it you’re up to, Doctor? You’d better pack it in before you upset…”
The Doctor ignored Clara as he went on to address Harry. “Your first name I like, Harry. Your surname’s rubbish though. Rotten! I don’t like your name Rotten. It’s so Rotten, hence why it’s rotten. Get it? Rotten being rotten.”
“Doctor, stop it.” Clara hissed at him.
“I prefer a different name, though that’s rotten too,” the Doctor went on, standing up and towering above Harry. “Rotenhend would be a lot better suited to you. Wouldn’t it, Mr. Harry Rotenhend?”
At that, Harry got up out of his chair to face the Doctor. The three girls Sian, Katy and Rita became a little apprehensive as soon as Harry got up. They’d never seen him so white whilst facing the Doctor.
“How did you know?” he asked the Time Lord.
The Doctor looked closely into Harry’s eyes. “Your eyes gave it away. Same family trait. Your eyes just as much as your customer service. Though your taxi services are a bit run down to what your original family had. Space hotels. Hotels in space. Actual fun-filled space hotels in the future – around ooh…37th century I recall rightly.”
“You know of my family,” Harry became astounded. “You know I’m from the future.”
The Doctor smiled with benign approval upon Harry, patting him on the shoulder gently. “Harry Rotenhend, the son of Joel and Rachel Rotenhend; and grandson of Gordon and Elizabeth Rotenhend, who were founders of the Rotenhend Hotels from 1 to 400. I went to the 360 hotel where I met your grandfather. Bit of a twerp in my opinion, but his son – your father – great man he was. Couldn’t be more happier to have met him.”
“You’re him, aren’t you?” Harry realised. “You’re the Doctor. The Doctor who saved my family from all those great disasters.”
The Doctor grinned. “Hello!” he said cheekily, waving a hand.
“The Zondor Robbers and the madness of my mother who was a hologram that murdered people at the 360 hotel,” Harry declared. “You were there to save us.”
“Old man in frock coat and young man in cricket clothes,” the Doctor illustrated. “That was me and me back then. Now I wear a bow tie. Bow ties are cool!”
The Doctor adjusted his neckwear whilst Clara nudged beside him. “Doctor, you know who Harry is? And you never said before!”
“I remember my dad telling me stories about you, Doctor,” Harry said. “About you with your companions Ian, Barbara and your grandfather Susan. Then you came a second time to the 360 hotel with Nyssa and Billy. I’ve always wanted to meet the man who saved my family so many times in the past. And here you are.”
The Doctor beamed modestly.
Outside in Daring’s Close, the rain grew worse. It came down incessantly upon the No. 7 house. The rain became heavier over the roof surface. As the rain intensified, three armoured skeleton-like soldiers approached the house, walking up the driveway. They drew their swords from their sides.
Whilst the rain became heavy outside, back inside the house, Katy and Sian piped up.
“Don’t we get a look in?”
“Yeah. I feel we’ve been left out of the conversation here!”
“Yes, Doctor,” Clara interjected. “Not meaning to disrupt friendly reunions, but what exactly is happening here?”
“Clara, Harry is one of the descendants of a family from the far future and he shouldn’t even be here,” the Doctor explained. “The question I’d like to put to Harry is this. Why disguise yourself as an ordinary taxi driver of the 21st century where no one can suspect you? Why, Harry, why?”
“I’m being chased, Doctor,” Harry answered. “Across space and time. I need to find something. Something that my predators are hunting for. They’ve followed me to this place. And…I think they’ve caught up with me. They caught me in a time loop.” He paused for a moment before he realised. “But now I’m free of it! I’ve just realised! How?”
“Clara and me, that’s how,” the Doctor told him. “We broke the pattern of events. Don’t worry, Harry. You’re safe now. All of us are safe. But the question is…what are they hunting for?”
“Who are these predators?” Clara wanted to know.
“And what are they hunting for?” the Doctor repeated his own question again, taking Clara’s question into account. “Both very interesting questions, wouldn’t you say, Harry?” For a moment, it was like the Doctor was directing his question to Clara before he addressed Harry. The Doctor came to do that quite often, Clara found. “If it’s not you they’re after, then who or what else are they after?”
A moment’s silence ensued. Harry didn’t say anything else. He became utterly baffled. Rita then stood up.
“Me,” she said. “I think they’re hunting me.”
Another moment’s silence ensued. Everyone became confused.
“Hunting you, Rita,” said Katy, shocked. “How come? And why?”
“I’ve been running,” Rita answered. “I’ve been running for a long time. I think I’ve lost the energy to run any further.”
“What is it, dear?” Sian became concerned, standing up next to Rita to comfort her. “Who’s after you, Rita? What do you mean?”
Rita paused for a long while before she looked to the Doctor.
“I’m not what I seem,” she said.
Suddenly, the ceiling crashed in. Rainwater began to pour into the house. Everyone screamed. The Doctor pushed everyone back to one side.
“Stay back!” he cried out loud. “Don’t touch the rain, any of you! Once it touches you, you’ll fall asleep!”
“How can rain make you fall asleep?” Clara demanded, baffled. “It’s just rain, isn’t it?”
“Trust me, Clara,” the Doctor told her. “Contact with this rain is very, very bad!”
At that moment, Katy screamed.
“Doctor; Clara, look!”
Everyone looked to see the monstrous skeleton-like soldiers in metal armour jump down into the living room with them. They’d been caught in the rain literally. The rain didn’t seem to bother them. It was like they needed it. Clara, Katy, Sian, Rita and Harry became terrified. Only the Doctor stood firm.
“What are those things?” Clara demanded to know. “They’ve got swords! And they’re wearing armour! And they’ve got skull-faces!”
“Skeletrons,” the Doctor announced grimly.
“What?”
“These are Skeletrons, Clara! Half-skeleton; half-robot. They’re slave warriors.”
“This is for real then,” Clara deduced.
“Trust me, you don’t want to mess around with these guys,” the Doctor said wearily.
“They’re going to attack!” Sian cried. “They’re going to kill us all!”
Marching forward and gnashing their teeth, the Skeletrons advanced upon the Doctor and company.
“Clara!” the Doctor shouted. “We need to get into the TARDIS!”
“And leave everyone here?!” Clara protested.
“No. Don’t leave everyone!” the Doctor replied. “Just take Harry and Rita with us. The other two can stay here!”
“What?!” Clara was shocked. “You can’t be serious!”
“You; me; Harry; Rita; box – now!” the Doctor declared, as he took Clara’s hand, who in turn took Harry’s hand, who in turn took Rita’s hand. They ran towards the TARDIS which was nearby. The Doctor had parked it in a cupboard earlier.
“You parked the TARDIS in a cupboard?!” Clara was astounded.
“Well, what did you think was in there?!” the Doctor asked her irritably. “Bananas?! Inside, come in!”
Fumbling for the TARDIS key and unlocking the door, the Doctor forced Clara, Harry and Rita inside. Katy and Sian saw them going and they called out to them.
“No! Doctor; Clara, you can’t just leave us!” Katy complained.
“Come back!” Sian demanded. “Don’t let us be killed by these monsters!”
The two girls saw the blue box that was in the cupboard dematerialise right before them. The TARDIS whooshed and groaned as it went away. The rain became heavier in the living room. Katy and Sian were terrified. They clung to each other as the skeleton-like robot warriors advanced upon them with swords drawn, ready to kill.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was at the controls in an instant. Harry and Rita looked around, amazed and dumbstruck. They were seeing the ship’s interior for the first time.
“Bigger on the inside than it is on the outside,” Rita declared. “How strange?”
“I must be dreaming,” Harry said. “It’s like one of my father’s holo-stories.”
Whilst Harry and Rita were entranced, Clara was very angry with the Doctor as she joined him at the controls.
“You just left two girls back there in a house full of scary bone-men,” she protested.
“Robots,” the Doctor corrected her. “Scary bone-robots.”
“Fine – robots,” Clara acknowledged. “And it was raining! How did rain get inside the house? And you just left Katy and Sian back there!”
“The rainclouds intensified,” the Doctor elaborated. “They weakened the infrastructure of the house.”
“How can rainclouds weaken the infrastructure of a house?” Clara demanded bitterly.
“Because the rainclouds are getting stronger,” the Doctor said irritably. “That’s how.”
“And back to the major point,” Clara stressed. “You just left them back there – Katy and Sian. Get the picture, Doctor?”
“I get the picture, Clara,” the Doctor answered. “We will be going back for them, okay?”
“Oh, good news then,” Clara said, not pleased.
“We had to take only Harry and Rita with us because they’re important,” he explained.
“What, more important than Katy and Sian and saving their lives?” she challenged him.
“Yes! Very important in sorting out our problems with the Skeletrons,” the Doctor insisted. “Now shut up and let me handle things.” Making his way over to Rita, the Doctor confronted her. “Rita, you said you weren’t what you seemed. What exactly did you mean by that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Rita said sorrowfully. “Katy and Sian are dead. It’s my fault.”
“No, no. We can still save them,” the Doctor assured her, “but I need you to tell me now. This is important! What do you mean you weren’t what you seemed?”
Struggling to answer at first, Rita said through tears, “Because…I’m not human.”
A moment of silence ensued.
“What?!” Harry was shocked. “What do you mean you’re not human, love?”
Rita sniffed as she looked to Harry and said, “I mean….Like you, Harry, I’m not of this world. Not of this time. I come from a planet that’s far away. In the Migra system.”
“Migra-Minor, I hazard to guess, is it?” the Doctor checked.
Rita became surprised. “How did you know?”
“Remember me?” the Doctor prompted her. “From long ago? Me and Donna Noble?”
Confused at first, Rita’s eyes soon brightened up. She looked at the Doctor amazed. “You’re…you’re you, aren’t you? You’re…you’re my Doctor. As well as Harry’s Doctor! You’re the Doctor!”
“That’s who I am,” the Doctor smiled, adjusting his bow tie.
“Hold on. Backtracking a bit,” Clara interrupted. “You know Rita, Doctor?”
“Of course I know Rita,” the Doctor said, slightly annoyed. “Pay attention, Clara! Rita and I go a long way back. Though you’re not actually Rita,” he levelly addressed the girl. “You’re actually Lady Tari from the planet Migra-Minor, aren’t you?”
“You knew I was a lady?” the girl became even more surprised.
“Well, it wasn’t difficult. I’ve been checking up on you, Tari. Checking up on how you’ve been with growing up. You were a very precious little thing when we met. And still are. And you’re precious to another person who adopted you.”
“You became responsible for that, didn’t you, Doctor?”
“I most certainly was,” the Doctor smiled cheekily.
“You were the one who gave me to my new mother,” Tari said. “I went to the orphanage; felt like I was going to be abandoned and unloved; and then she came. The queen of Chumeria came.”
“The queen of Chumeria?” Clara said surprised. “I like the sound of her.”
“You would?” the Doctor told her. “She was an old friend of mine. Another old friend. Her name was Delta. Delta of the planet Chumeria.”
“She came to me and adopted me,” Tari went on. “Adopted me as one of her own. She took me back to Chumeria. There I met my new sister Beta and my new father Billy. They looked after me. When I fully grew up, I became a lady as you see me now.”
“And you haven’t aged a bit,” the Doctor grinned.
“I was a little girl, Doctor,” Tari reminded him.
“And you still are,” the Doctor rubbed her forehead gently. “I recognised you the instant I first saw you.”
“No, you didn’t,” Clara said cheekily.
“Oy!” the Doctor protested. “Clara, don’t spoil it!”
“But they’ve been hunting me, Doctor,” Tari brought everyone back to the present. “The Skeletrons have been hunting me lately. I can’t seem to shake them off. They’re always on my tail somehow.”
“Hunting you for what, Tari?” the Doctor asked.
Tari soon took out from her coat pocket a shining bright crystal. Clara and the Doctor were amazed to see it. Taking the crystal from Tari, the Doctor examined it in his hands. He smoothed around the crystal’s edges, gazing in wonder and amazement.
“Oh! Hello, you sexy thing!” he uttered.
The TARDIS engines groaned as if annoyed.
“You come first, my darling!” the Doctor called out to the TARDIS herself.
Clara watched as the Doctor eyed and held the crystal, mesmerised by it. “This crystal, Doctor. It’s very beautiful. You know what it is?”
“It is very beautiful, Clara,” the Doctor acknowledged. “And it’s extremely dangerous.” Pausing for a moment, he went on, “It’s the Zorbius star crystal!”
“Zorbius star crystal?” said a bemused Clara. “Never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t. It exists on the boundaries of time itself. Created by a mad man called Salvador and kept over the years by Lady Tari herself, since she’s the keeper of the Zorbius crystal.”
“I’ve kept it safe all these years,” Tari declared. “Waiting for the right moment until I found you again.”
The Doctor held the crystal in his hands for a little while longer before he handed it back to Tari.
Becoming serious as the Doctor adjusted his bow tie, he said, “The thing is, what connects you Harry and you Tari together? Why did you come to Earth to be caught in a loop by the Skeletrons?”
A moment’s silence ensued.
“Perhaps I should explain it to you, Doctor,” Harry suggested. “By going back to the Rotenhend Hotel 360 where I can give you all the information you need.”
The Doctor beamed appreciatively at Harry before he turned to Clara. “Fancy a trip to a space hotel, Miss Oswald? Wanna see what a hotel in space looks like?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Clara smiled.
Immediately, the Doctor went over to the TARDIS console and began to adjust the knobs, switches and controls. They were ready for take-off. They were ready to be on their way to humanity’s 38th century history.
“Hold on tight, everyone!” the Doctor cried. “We’re on our way! GERONIMO!!!!!”
As he pulled a lever, everyone held tight as the TARDIS lurched forward and zoomed off into space.
Eventually, the TARDIS materialised inside the Rotenhend Hotel 360. It was a hundred years since the Doctor was last visited it in Earth time. The hotel was currently owned by Mr. Harry Rotenhend himself. The Doctor, Clara and Lady Tari sat waiting in the hotel’s lounge area before Harry came over to join them, They had cups of tea while talking. No jammy dodgers this time, much to the Doctor’s disappointment.
“You own this large hotel?” Clara said sceptically. “All by yourself?”
“You seem surprised, Miss Oswald,” Harry said. “You think a young man like me would own such a place like this.”
“And yet you have no guests staying overnight,” the Doctor pointed out. “Hardly any guests at all. Business not running greatly, is it?”
“Had to close up shop, Doctor,” Harry told him.
“Why?” The Doctor sipped his tea.
“Because of the Zorbius business.”
A moment of silence ensued.
“Is any of you going to explain what or who Zorbius is?” Clara asked impatiently.
“Now you got that absolutely spot on, Clara,” the Doctor pointed at her. “Zorbius is a thing and a person.” Pausing for a moment, he went on, “Zorbius initially started as a crystal of time. It allows you to control any space-time event wherever and whenever you are in the universe. Imagine that! The power of controlling time at your fingertips.”
“So, I can save any person I ever loved from dying,” Clara realised. “Save any person who’s about to die and never be killed.”
“Saving ones you saw die right before your eyes,” the Doctor elaborated. “Letting them live forever. Perhaps not letting them die at all.”
“But isn’t that a good thing?” Clara asked inquisitively.
“Time doesn’t work like that,” the Doctor told her. “Not always. And the Zorbius crystal is a thing that corrupts the soul. It shouldn’t have been made into existence.”
“Then how did it ever get made?” Clara enquired.
Becoming grim, the Doctor answered, “Because my essence is inside it. My very being augmented from Salvador’s DNA is inside that crystal of time.”
“Who’s Salvador again?”
“Long story. A very long story. I’ll tell you about it another time.” the Doctor turned to Harry. “Harry, you said you would give me the information I needed.”
Taking a deep breath, Harry soon showed a box to Clara, the Doctor and Lady Tari. Inside the box were mementos. They belonged to Harry and seemed to be from the ancient long past.
“These once belonged to my father, Joel Rotenhend,” Harry said. “He asked me to keep them after he died.”
“They’re family records, aren’t they?” Tari realised. “Your family records from long ago.”
“More than that,” Harry replied. “They contain the historical records of my father meeting up with you, Doctor. Meeting up with you in the space of two years. With the Zondor Robbers incident and the murderous grandmother hologram incident. They’re all here in memory of you kept by my father.”
“Very sentimental, I’m sure,” the Doctor was beginning to lose interest, “but what has this got to do with Zorbius? Don’t get me wrong, I like looking through old scrapbooks; photo albums and such, but now’s not the time.”
“This has everything to do with Zorbius,” Harry said impatiently. “Don’t you see? Look closely at the photos, Doctor. And you, Clara. Look closely at them!”
With that, the Doctor and Clara looked closely at Harry’s photos. Clara was rather impressed by the quality of the photos. The Doctor however, had a different reaction to them. He became horrified.
“They’re nice photos,” Clara said. “Nice ones of you, Harry. Or is that your father?”
“Yes, that’s my father, Clara,” Harry smiled before he turned to the Doctor. “Well, Doctor? What do you think?”
“It’s impossible,” the Time Lord declared, gradually getting agitated. “This is just impossible! It can’t be like this!”
“What are you talking about, Doctor?” Clara asked, confused.
“I’m not there!” the Doctor pointed out irritably. “I’m not there in the photos! At all!”
“What do you mean?” Clara enquired. “Are you supposed to be in these photos?”
“Yes I am,” he reiterated. “And I tell you I’m not there! Not in any of them!”
Clara looked closely at one of the photos and said, “Well, isn’t this you, Doctor? You’re in a nice suit and looking very sixties…”
“No, no, that’s Ian,” the Doctor pointed out. “Ian Chesterton, my friend! And he’s with Barbara and Susan.”
Clara looked at another photo and said, “Well…isn’t this you then? The one in blue with the pretty girl?”
“No, that’s Billy,” the Doctor became irritated. “Billy Walker with my friend Nyssa.”
“Then…where are you?” Clara asked.
“I don’t know! That’s what I mean,” the Doctor said stressed. “I should be in those photos and yet I’m not! It’s incomprehensible!”
“That’s what I thought, Doctor,” Harry declared. “You should be in these photos that I have of you meeting me and my family. But…I can’t seem to find you anywhere. Not you as the old man in the frock coat in one photo and not you as the young man in the cricketing clothes in the other. It’s as if…as if…”
“As if I’ve been erased from existence,” the Doctor finished for him, before he groped his chest in pain. He soon fell to the floor, off the lounger he was sitting on.
Clara saw this and immediately knelt down beside him. So did Lady Tari. They were both concerned.
“Doctor?! What is it, what’s wrong?” Clara asked him. “Why are you suddenly in pain?”
“Cosmic-anxe!” the Doctor answered, struggling through batted breath. “I’m experiencing cosmic-anxe, Clara.”
“What does that mean? Is that some kind of Time Lord virus you’ve got?”
“My memories,” the Time Lord elaborated. “My past is being taken away. My history’s being altered.”
Soon, the Doctor got back up onto his lounger. He groaned and huffed, regaining his composure almost immediately.
“Are you okay?” Clara looked at him concerned.
“Do I look okay?” the Doctor asked irritably. “Honestly, do I look as if I’m okay?”
“Not really, no,” Clara admitted. “You don’t look okay, no.”
“Then shut up, then,” said the Doctor before he turned to Harry. “Harry, tell me! What’s going on? What information do I need to know?”
“It’s a mystery that’s been puzzling me, Doctor,” Harry said. “I remember seeing you in the photos one day. The next day, you weren’t in them. I couldn’t understand it.”
“And you went back to Earth in the 21st century to find out what it was all about,” the Doctor said sceptically.
“The scientists of this century reported on time disturbances detected in many sectors of the universe,” Harry explained. “Flucuations in the space-time continuum. Earth was being affected too. I had to go back in time to find out more. I had to find out what was happening. I hoped I would find you somehow. You usually know about these things.”
“It’s the same with me,” Tari said.
“What?” Clara turned to Tari, bemused.
“I sensed something was wrong with time,” Tari said. “My foster mother sensed it too with the bees. Everybody in the Chumeria community soon sensed it. I had to go to Earth in its past to find out more about what was happening.”
“And that’s when you got caught up in the time loop,” Clara realised. “You got yourselves trapped in the undercover lives you’d taken as a taxi driver and as an ordinary girl in 21st century Chichester before you could find out anything.”
“Time loop?” Tari was confused. “What time loop do you speak of, Clara?”
“They wouldn’t know of it, Clara,” the Doctor told her, struggling to maintain himself. “We broke them out of the loop, remember? Something’s already affecting the course of history though. The existence of every living being in this universe has been affected and the Zorbius crystal is at the heart of it.”
As the Doctor gasped for breath, Clara came beside him, cradling his head in her arms.
“Doctor, please tell me if there’s anything I can do,” she demanded. “Tell me what I can do to make you more comfortable.”
“I don’t know, Clara,” the Doctor answered, gasping for breath. “I don’t see how you can help me. I don’t even know how this is happening. I don’t know how to stop it.”
Suddenly, gunfire shot out in the hotel. Everyone got to their feet, except the Doctor who struggled to get up. Clara helped him up to his feet. The four soon saw Skeletron warriors entering the hotel lobby. They were tough and strong. Rain poured down upon them once they had teleported aboard. Drawing their swords and raising their guns at the Doctor, Clara, Harry and Tari, the Skeletron leader soon stepped forward..
“Stay where you are!” it commanded. “We have you as our captives. The Skeletrons have won! Zorbius is ours!”
The Doctor had never been more scared in all of his lives. Soon he, Clara, Harry and Rita were taken prisoner by the Skeletrons.
© Tim Bradley, 2020
| Go back to | Go next to |
| Return to The Horror of Time (Z) | |
| Return to Zorbius | |
| Return to The Eleventh Doctor by Tim Bradley | |
| Return to Doctor Who by Tim Bradley | |
| Return to Doctor Who | |
| Return to Sci-Fi |
Bradley's Basement 