4. The Final Fates of Salvador
Back on the space hotel, Harry, Tari, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta were ready. They kept the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens in check within their glass prisms whilst the other enemy ships attacked the hotel in outer space.
“You should probably get back downstairs to Level #59 with our children,” Harry told Tari.
“I wish you were downstairs with me,” Tari said, placing a hand on her husband’s shoulder.
Harry embraced Tari. “Me too, dear. Me too.”
Cigihana turned to her android. “Update on the Tendrasta fleet, Sparta!”
“Just received a notification, your majesty” Sparta declared flatly. “The fleet will be here in thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes?!” Emsterdom exclaimed. “By then, we’ll probably be dead.”
Just then, they were interrupted as Other Salvador appeared in the main lobby. Everyone backed away once they saw him. Salvador laughed mockingly at Harry, Tari, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta. Harry trained his firearm at him.
“There’s no way out, insignificant beings!” he taunted. “I will destroy this hotel and get what I want!”
Tari stepped forward. “You’re too late, Salvador! The Doctor’s gone! You’ll have to catch her up!”
“Oh believe me, my dear,” the other Salvador said. “King Salvador is taking that matter in hand. We’re mentally linked, him and me. He’ll let me know when he’s confronting the Doctor on Earth. I’ll tell him to tell the Doctor that I’m threatening your lives. She’ll hand over the Zorbius crystal to us then!”
“Should have suspected it when he’s being so smug and arrogant,” Harry whispered to Tari.
“I heard that, weakling!” Salvador told Harry scornfully. “You can’t hide your whispers from me!”
Tari continued to be defiant. “The Doctor won’t give you the Zorbius crystal. She’ll find a way to outwit you again! I know she will!”
“She can try all she wants to,” Salvador snorted. “I’ll be stalking her throughout the universe despite her trying to outwit me again and again.”
“The Doctor’s getting tired of your stalking,” Harry said.
“It’s what she deserves,” snapped Salvador. “I don’t care if she hates me stalking her. “Good” is what I say. The more I keep annoying her; she’ll come to understand how much I hate her so.”
“You’re despicable and disgraceful,” Cigihana told him off.
“The word of Salvador is law! I don’t care what you say!”
“So you’ve made clear, you disgusting person,” Emsterdon said annoyed.
Salvador ignored everyone as he continued. “Whether you like me or not; whether you hate what I do or not, I say what needs to be done to secure the universe! The Doctor doesn’t deserve to exist anymore! I will see to that! And you will all be servants of Salvador in the end! My servants shall bow before me!”
“You’re deluded,” Harry remarked.
“She will stop you, Salvador,” Tari declared. “All of us will help the Doctor so that she can stop you!”
“Bah! Not when my soldiers can break out of their prisms!” Salvador snorted.
At that, Salvador clenched his fists and the glass prisms smashed to pieces. All the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens broke out of their prisms and marched forward. Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta backed whilst the enemy soldiers marched forward towards them.
Salvador laughed out loud mockingly. “You will all suffer for your defiance against me! My soldiers will slaughter you the more you continue to oppose me! Unless you worship me! Worship me forever!”
“I’d rather die fighting than serve you!” Harry said boldly.
“Well said, Harry,” Tari commended her husband as she turned to Salvador. “We believe in the values of goodness and decency, my husband and I.”
“Same goes for us,” Cigihana joined in.
“Here, here,” Emsterdon added.
“It’s clearly something you don’t believe in, Salvador,” Tari went on. “My husband and I can’t serve a man who would rather hate than love. The Doctor has more love in her than you do! We follow her!”
“I prefer the people of Tendrasta to be ruled by me rather than you, Salvador,” Cigihana declared. “After all the harm you’ve caused to my planet long ago with the Daleks. After all the harm you two Salvadors have caused, I’d rather stand against you than be for you.”
“Me too,” Emsterdon joined in. “I’m with my queen and true love in this matter.”
Sparta also joined in with Cigihana and Emsterdon. “My place is at the queen’s side and her wife’s. I’m loyal to them. They don’t wish to serve you. Therefore, I won’t serve you either.”
The other Salvador considered the five people that defied him for a moment. He then shrugged. “Very well! Soldiers, advance!”
With that, the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens opened fire at the little group that opposed Salvador. Harry, Tari and the others ducked once this occurred.
“Hurry,” Harry called out. “Downstairs to Level #59 where we’ll all be safe!”
“Let’s be quick about it!” Tari said encouragingly. “And don’t get shot on the way!”
Going steadily, Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta made their way out of the hotel lobby. They managed to get into a turbo-lift and escape for their lives without a scratch. The Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens led by Other Salvador pursued them. The attack from outside in outer space where the hotel was being pounded upon by enemy firepower went on.
On Earth in the year 1797, the TARDIS materialised on the beach. The ship whooshed and grinded before it made a loud thump to land. Eventually, the TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor and her friends stepped out. Ryan and Yaz recognised the beach they stood upon.
“Doctor, this is the beach where Salvador was as a little boy,” Yaz said. “Where he entered the portal to end up on your planet, meeting your people and you.”
“Why have we ended up here?” Ryan asked. “Is this the dreamscape again?”
“No,” the Doctor replied. “No dreamscape this time. This is definitely for real. We’re on Earth in 1797.”
“Sorry, is there something I should know?” Graham asked, out of his depth which wasn’t unusual.
The Doctor started to explain. “This is Santa Cruz de Tenerife. As you can see, it’s getting close to the end of the day. This is where Salvador as a little boy runs away from a terrifying battle nearby. He cries out for his mum. He then comes across a portal that opens for him.”
“And this portal belongs to your people, Doc?” Graham checked.
“Right! It’s a gateway into Gallifrey itself,” the Doctor said. “My people regretted opening that portal on that day, but it’s a significant point in time and space where I’ll be meeting Salvador at a young age. Where I trained him to become a Time Lord. And it ended with disastrous results.”
“So what are we going to do then?” Graham asked confused. “Stop this from ever happening by stopping the little boy Salvador entering the portal.”
“That’s exactly what the Doctor has in mind,” Yaz said disapprovingly. “Isn’t it, Doctor?”
“It most certainly is,” the Doctor said as if she was giving Yaz top marks in a school test. “Though you shouldn’t be surprised as it has been building all up to this.”
“You can’t do this, Doctor,” Yaz implored her. “You can change Salvador’s history.”
“Indeed no,” Ryan joined in. “After all we’ve been through, what with preserving Rosa Parks’ timeline as well as Yaz’s nani’s. Shouldn’t this be the same with no interfering Salvador’s timeline? He’s a bad egg, but even a bad egg can’t be changed.”
“I’m adamant about this!” the Doctor declared. “I’m going to make sure Salvador doesn’t end up on Gallifrey. Make sure he won’t suffer anymore. Make sure he stops following me about the universe. Stop him tormenting me. It’s gone on long enough and his suffering and mine should end.”
“This isn’t like you, Doctor,” Yaz commented. “I’ve never known you to flout the laws of time.”
“I agree, Doc,” Graham tagged in. “Shouldn’t we think this through a bit more?”
“It seems all rather hasty. Like Treebeard would say.” Ryan chuckled at that.
“You what?” Yaz reacted confused.
“Treebeard. You know. ‘Lord of the Rings’.”
“This isn’t the time to talk about your favourite movies, son,” Graham told Ryan.
“I’m sticking with my decision,” the Doctor told her three friends firmly. “I’m going to change Salvador’s history and I need you three to trust me on this. Really, really trust me!”
At that moment, King Salvador appeared before the Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz on the beach.
The Doctor turned to King Salvador. “Ah! There you are; your majesty! I wondered when you’d show up!”
“Cease this action you’re about to take, Doctor,” King Salvador commanded. “Don’t change my story! Don’t stop me going to Gallifrey!”
“Only if you change your heart and stop your revenge against me,” the Doctor said. “Then I might change my mind about changing your history.
“Never!!!” King Salvador bellowed. “NEVER!!!”
“Tough luck then,” the Doctor said, as she took out the Zorbius crystal and her sonic screwdriver from her trench coat pockets. She held them up for Salvador to see. “If you won’t change your ways and become a better person, I’ll have to change your existence. This is all for your own good, Salvador. I’ve tried to be nice to you but you won’t listen!”
“Nice?! NICE?!!!” Salvador thundered. “You were never nice to me, Doctor! You say you treated me well but you treated me abominably. You just won’t admit it! You were cruel! During the experiments, you were never easy. You were so hard on me!”
“Yes, yes, Salvador” the Doctor admitted. “Granted I was arrogant and insensitive, but I was young back then. I didn’t know any better. But look at me! I’m a better person than I was before. I’d like to think I’ve learnt from my mistakes! That’s what I’ve been trying to teach you. A person can be better themselves than what they were years ago. If only you had regeneration abilities like me, you’d understand.”
“You didn’t give me regeneration abilities though, did you?” Salvador argued. “You gave me immortality. Immortality that’s long and cursed. I can’t stand it anymore! I’m so divided and it’s driving me insane! Curse you, Doctor! Curse you for making me like this!”
“I’m sorry I did that to you, Salvador,” the Doctor said. “But I can change what I started years ago. You can have a better life if I stop you entering the portal and reaching Gallifrey. Stop you meeting me.”
“No, Doctor,” Yaz stepped forward. “What you say is true. We all make mistakes. But like you said, we have to learn from them. If you stop Salvador going to Gallifrey, you will never become the person that you are today. You will never learn the lessons you need to learn to become a better person.
Graham and Ryan stepped forward.
“Yaz is right, Doc,” Graham said. “We all need that in our lives. Life lessons. Even the painful ones. If we change them; prevent from ever happening; we forget what we were supposed to have learnt. There’s got to be a better way out of this.”
“Yeah, we don’t want to forget the things we’ve done with you either,” Ryan said. “We’ve learnt important things along the way, Doctor. We want to remember them. Please don’t take them away from us by trying to change something that you did in your past that you would rather forget.”
The Doctor was moved by her three friends’ words. She still kept the Zorbius crystal and her sonic screwdriver firmly in her hands whilst she confronted Salvador.
“But how can I stop this?” the Doctor asked her friends. “How can I stop Salvador tormenting me throughout all space and time? I want peace from him. And I want him to have peace from me.”
“I don’t want peace from you, Doctor,” Salvador snapped. “If you wish me to have peace from you, you’re going to have to force that choice down upon me!”
At that, the Doctor looked up at Salvador, surprised by his remark. “What did you say?”
“You heard,” Salvador snorted, not wishing to elaborate.
The Doctor stared at Salvador for a bit, before she pondered whilst holding the Zorbius crystal and her sonic screwdriver.
“So, Doc,” Graham enquired eagerly. “What are we going to do now?”
A moment of silence ensued as the Doctor struggled to think.
“You’d better hurry up with a decision, Doctor,” Salvador told her. “Otherwise my counterpart, the other Salvador, will have your friends aboard the space hotel crushed and slaughtered. You could give me the Zorbius crystal to make things a lot easier.”
The Doctor registered the threat made by King Salvador. She considered her options further. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the small Spanish boy who would later become Salvador running towards them, away from the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife nearby.
Back on the space hotel, Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta entered the simi-suite on Level #59 where Tari and Harry’s babies were. After deactivating the holographic babysitter, Harry and Sparta saw to it that the simi-suite doors were locked. Holographic barricades were formed to protect everyone from the Skeletrons; the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens about to come in and attack. The enemy banged on the doors from outside. Harry had his firearm ready whilst Sparta had his thermal-induced hands ready.
After what seemed like hours but was only ten minutes, Tari and Harry spoke to each other whilst protecting their babies.
“They seem to be alright,” Harry remarked. “Fast asleep, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Tari agreed. “That holographic babysitter I gave Donna and Clara did them a world of good.”
“Perhaps we should have the babies in here forever with the holographic babysitter,” joked Harry.
Tari and Harry laughed before a heavy thud from the outside the simi-suite doors interrupted them. The two became nervous.
“I don’t think their sleeping is going to last long the way the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens keep on breaking down the doors,” Tari remarked.
“No,” Harry agreed. After a moment’s silence, “Listen, Tari dear. If we don’t survive this…”
“Don’t say that…”
“If we don’t survive this,” Harry interrupted, “I want you to know…I love you, Tari. I love you so much.”
Tari was touched by Harry’s words. “Thanks, Harry dear. I love you too. I’m so pleased I ended up with a fine husband.”
At that, Harry and Tari kissed each other as they cradled their babies.
Whilst this happened, Cigihana turned to Emsterdon. “I know sometimes I haven’t been a good wife to you, my dear. Just as much as I haven’t been a good queen to you and Tendrasta.”
“Oh I think you’ve done a splendid job, your majesty,” Emsterdon interjected.
“Less of the ‘your majesty’ part, Emsterdon,” Cigihana said firmly. “And don’t interrupt me when I’m telling you something important.”
“Sorry, my love,” Emsterdon said apologetically.
Eventually, Cigihana placed a comforting hand on Emsterdon’s shoulder. “What I’m trying to say is…I really do love you, Emsterdon of Zangy.”
Emsterdon smiled at her queen. “I love you too, Cigihana of Tendrasta. So very much.”
With that, Cigihana and Emsterdon gently kissed each other.
Once finished, Emsterdon looked up at Cigihana. “Azkai would say he loved you too, you know.”
“I know, Emsterdon,” Cigihana nodded appreciatively. “I know he would have.”
The two women then turned to Sparta. He was keeping a watchful eye at the simi-suite doors that were being pounded upon from outside as his thermal-induced hands were still at the ready.
“We love you too, you know, Sparta,” Emsterdon told him.
Cigihana couldn’t help giggle a bit.
Sparta turned back to Cigihana and Emsterdon. Despite the blank look, there is a hint of appreciation in his face. “Thank you, your majesties. Much appreciated.” With that, he turned his attention back to the simi-suite doors.
Cigihana and Emsterdon continued to giggle before an explosion occurred. The simi-suite doors were blasted open. It was so unexpected. Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta were thrown off back across the floor by the explosion’s shockwave. The babies Donna and Clara were really upset as they cried out loud. Tari did her best to comfort the two babies, but it wasn’t easy.
The group soon saw the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens charging through the blown-up simi-suite doors. They trained their weapons on Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta. The group got up to their feet. Tari kept the babies close to her chest as they cried away.
“I should’ve guessed,” Harry said glumly. “They had to blow a hole in the simi-suite doors, didn’t they?”
“They didn’t,” a dark voice told him. “I did.”
Very soon, a dark figure came forth through the smoke of the blown-up simi-suite doorway. It was the other Salvador himself of course. He was smug, proud and arrogant, after he used his matter reality controlling powers at his fingertips.
“Salvador,” Tari said bitterly. “I should’ve known you’d show up sometime.”
“I was getting impatient with my Skeletrons, my Lou-Arms and my Clo-Zens getting around to blasting through the doors,” Salvador said.
“Should’ve got better soldiers, shouldn’t you?” Cigihana taunted.
“Why do you need soldiers at all if you have matter reality controlling powers?!” Emsterdon queried.
“Silence!!!” Salvador bellowed thunderously. “You will all suffer for your defiance against me! The Doctor can’t save you now! My counterpart has already made the ultimatum to her.”
“Don’t say it, Salvador,” Tari said.
But Salvador went on. “She’s going to agree to my terms and hand over the Zorbius crystal!”
“She won’t,” Tari told him defiantly. “The Doctor won’t do that. She’ll find a way to outwit you, I know it! You mark my words!”
“I SAID SILENCE!!!” Salvador bellowed more thunderously. “The Doctor can’t outwit me anymore! She has lost! I know she has! There’s nothing she can do to overthrow Salvador’s power!” He laughed out loud mockingly before he turned his attention to Tari and Harry’s babies. “Yes! The babies shall die first!”
“Leave them alone!” Harry stepped forward, protectively in front of Tari and the babies. Little Donna and little Clara cried incessantly whilst this happened.
“Stand in my way! You continue to stand in my way?!” Salvador bellowed.
“Did you ever have any compassion in you once?!” Harry asked, pleading him not to harm the babies.
“COMPASSION?!!!” Salvador thundered. “The Doctor’s lesson in compassion fell on deaf ears! There’s nothing you can do to stop me killing your babies! They will die! All of you will die unless the Doctor gives me what I want!”
Other Salvador laughed out loud mockingly again as he tried to touch Tari and Harry’s babies. Tari and Harry did their best to keep their babies away from him.
Back on Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Earth 1797, King Salvador laughed at the Doctor. She continued to struggle with the decisions she had to make based on the choices she was being given. She could defy Salvador by not giving him the Zorbius crystal; defy him by changing his history which was now out of the question, thanks to her friends’ intervention, or give him the crystal that her dark enemy desired most.
“I’m still waiting, Doctor,” Salvador taunted reverently. “Give me what I want or else I’ll destroy your friends! Whether it’s on the space hotel or here on this beach, I don’t care.”
Looking again out of the corner of her eye, the Doctor saw the little Spanish boy still a fair distance away. But he was getting steadily closer and closer. She had to act now.
“Alright, Salvador,” the Doctor said as she handed out the Zorbius crystal to him. “Take it! Take the Zorbius crystal from me. I don’t care anymore either.”
Graham, Ryan and Yaz were surprised by the Doctor’s behaviour. Salvador was also a little surprised before he laughed out loud in triumph.
“This is unbelievable!” he declared. “The Doctor surrenders to me! At last, my triumph has come!”
“Just take it, Salvy boy,” the Doctor said impatiently. “I’ve had enough of your voice for long enough.”
“Temper, temper,” Salvador taunted.
“Doctor, what are you doing?” Graham protested.
“Don’t you three interfere,” the Doctor told her friends sharply. “None of you interfere with what happens here today! Salvador must have the Zorbius crystal! I see that now.”
“But Doctor…”
“I’m being serious here, Yaz! Do as I say!”
Finding it hard to comprehend, Graham, Ryan and Yaz did as they were told and didn’t interfere.
“We hope you know what you’re doing, Doctor,” Ryan said.
The Doctor nodded as she turned back to face Salvador.
Salvador continued to laugh out loud triumphantly as he advanced forward towards the Doctor. “Oh, Doctor! I’m afraid you’re going to be hearing my voice for a very, very long time to come!”
“Yes,” the Doctor acknowledged. “I know that, Salvy boy. I know that.”
“And you were so keen to not let me have the crystal,” Salvador goaded. “One up on me, I think.”
Soon, Salvador reached out and touched the Zorbius crystal in the Doctor’s hand. Once he touched it, the Doctor closed her eyes, buzzed her sonic screwdriver onto the crystal and concentrated hard. Salvador quickly realised that he couldn’t let go of the crystal. He tried to free his hand from it but it wouldn’t budge. The Doctor had him trapped. Graham, Ryan and Yaz were confused and surprised.
“What’s happening?” Ryan asked.
“I dunno,” Yaz replied. “The Doctor must be doing something clever, I think.”
“But what?” Graham was getting perplexed by the minute.
Salvador continued struggling to get his hand free of the Zorbius crystal in the Doctor’s hand. “What have you done, Doctor?!” the king shouted. “Let go! Let go of me this instant!”
“But I thought you wanted the crystal, Salvador,” the Doctor taunted him. “I thought you wanted it to keep following me around the universe.”
The Doctor closed her eyes again. She focused on what she wanted the Zorbius crystal to do for her as she applied her sonic screwdriver to it firmly in her right hand.
“Set me free, Doctor!” King Salvador begged before he screamed. “SET ME FREE!!!!”
She wouldn’t let go however. Salvador tried to reach out for the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver with his other hand, but it was as if an invisible energy barrier prevented him from doing that. He couldn’t reach the sonic screwdriver.
“Oh I don’t think so,” the Doctor told him. “You’re not going to get yourself out of this one so easily!”
“What have you done?!” Salvador thundered. “Tell me what you’ve done, Doctor!”
“You gave your consent,” the Doctor answered. “You wanted the Zorbius crystal so badly that I’m giving it to you. But in doing so, I asked for you and your counterpart to be merged together. You and the other Salvador should be joining together anytime now!”
“NO!!!!” Salvador screamed enraged. “Enough of this! Stop this thing you’re doing to me, Doctor! I won’t have it! I won’t!!!”
“Won’t you show compassion to others, Salvador?”
“NEVER!!!! I TOLD YOU NEVER!!!!!”
“Then you leave me no choice!”
“STOP! In the name of Salvador, the almighty one, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, I command you to stop, Doctor! I COMMAND YOU TO STOP!!!!!”
The Doctor wouldn’t stop. She was going to see it through to the end. She was going to change how things were between her and Salvador, whether he liked it or not. And a little differently to how she originally planned it. It was looking serious from Graham, Ryan and Yaz’s point of view. Salvador screamed frantically whilst he had his hand trapped on the Zorbius crystal being held by the Doctor. It was almost as if his hand was burning severely.
Back on the space hotel, the result was happening there too. The other Salvador found himself being dragged away and was crying out loud in tremendous fury.
“NO!!!” he screamed. Everyone including Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta watched him. He seemed to be talking to someone who wasn’t in the simi-suite with him. “You fool! You let the Doctor trap you! Why can’t you be clever as me?! Why can’t you…?!!!!!”
Just then, Salvador’s enraged scream became louder as his body started to phase in and out of existence. He soon vanished into a puff of logic. Tari, Harry, Cigihana and Emsterdon were surprised by this happening. Sparta just stared blankly.
“Most extraordinary,” Harry remarked.
“Why did he go like that then?” Cigihana demanded to know.
But before anyone could answer, Tari passed her babies over to Emsterdon, “Hold these for me, please.”
Emsterdon reacted surprised as she took baby Donna and baby Clara from Tari. Thankfully the babies weren’t crying so much now.
Meanwhile, Tari took out the Zorbius crystal pieces given to her by the Doctor. “Before anyone else says something,” she said, “I need to use these on this lot!”
Everyone watched as the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens marched towards them. They had their weapons trained and ready. The Skeletrons snarled viciously whilst the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens seemed to have eager faces, ready to kill.
“Now you lot!” Tari cried. “Off you go and bother us no more!”
With that, she closed her eyes and the crystal pieces glowed brightly in her hands. Very soon, the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens reacted as if contorting in pain. They gradually vanished as if they were being erased from existence. Once that was done, Tari opened her eyes and became pleased at getting rid of the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens.
“There! That wasn’t so hard, was it?” she said. She soon placed the crystal pieces back in her pocket.
Harry was amazed. “Well done, Tari! I’m amazed you managed to do that!”
“Thank you, Harry,” said Tari appreciatively. “I aim to please.” She then took the babies from Emsterdon. “Thank you for looking after these, Emsterdon. Sorry I had to force them upon you.”
“No matter,” Emsterdon replied, rather hesitantly. “It was…an honour to hold them.”
“You’re a natural mother, Emsterdon. As always,” Cigihana told her, before she turned to Tari and Harry. “But where has Salvador got to? What just happened?”
“A certain possibility is that the Doctor happened,” Sparta said blankly.
“Quite right, Sparta,” Tari said. “I believe you’re correct.”
Back on Earth, the merging was already taking. The other Salvador from the space hotel had been drawn into the Zorbius crystal and was now merging with King Salvador who had his hand still trapped on the crystal held by the Doctor. The Doctor focused hard, using her mind power as well as her sonic screwdriver to buzz away at the crystal in order to generate power. Already though, the toll was beginning to show. The Doctor struggled in concentration.
“I can’t keep this up,” she muttered. “It’s too much power.”
“Come on, Doc!” Graham cried encouragingly. “You’re doing it! I know you can do it!”
“What exactly is she doing?” Yaz wanted to know, asking Graham and Ryan.
“Merging the two Salvadors back into one person I reckon,” Ryan guessed.
“Top marks there, Ryan,” the Doctor told him through gritted teeth. “Remind me to give you a gold star!”
Just then, the Doctor’s concentration slipped. She stumbled forwards.
“No!!!” Graham, Ryan and Yaz cried out in unison.
The Doctor thankfully managed to regain her balance. “It’s okay,” she reassured her friends. “I’ve got this! I’m still keeping the two Salvadors in place!”
“NO!!!!” King Salvador roared furiously. “I won’t be kept a prisoner here! I won’t!”
“Me neither!” Other Salvador added. “I’m off back to the space hotel!”
“Salvador, don’t,” the Doctor cried.
But it was too late. The other Salvador broke free whilst the Doctor kept King Salvador in place. Already though, she was struggling to maintain the hold she had on King Salvador.
“You can’t save your friends now,” Other Salvador taunted her. “They’ll be dead the moment you return to the space hotel! I promise you that!”
With that, the other Salvador vanished in a puff of logic.
“No!” the Doctor cried, despairingly.
It was too late however. It seemed like there was no chance of the Doctor saving her friends aboard the space hotel with the other Salvador going off to kill them.
Meanwhile, King Salvador taunted her. “Give up, Doctor! Very soon, I shall be free of you! You can’t stop me getting away!”
The Doctor found King Salvador getting too strong for him as she struggled to re-establish control over him. She told this to Graham, Ryan and Yaz.
“So what are we going to do?” Graham asked anxiously. “What can we do?”
The Doctor couldn’t answer at first. She struggled with resolving what should be done to prevent King Salvador escaping her grasp. Eventually though, she had the answer.
Shutting her eyes; buzzing her sonic on the crystal and concentrating hard, she cried out loud, “And…Baby Salvador!!!”
With that, the Zorbius crystal glowed brightly. In an instant, King Salvador was regressed to a baby, ending up collapsing on the ground. The baby cried out loud in pain once that occurred. Graham, Ryan and Yaz were shocked to see it happen.
“What…what was that?” Ryan was lost for words.
“Was that…?” Graham stumbled for words. “Was that King Salvador being turned into a baby?”
Yaz soon ran over. “Poor little mite!”
The baby continued to cry as Yaz picked him up, wrapping him in King Salvador’s now empty dark robes.
Once the Doctor had recovered, she rubbed her throbbing head and said, “Sorry. I should have asked someone to catch him before he fell to the ground. Didn’t think of that, did I?”
“But is that really Salvador?” Graham asked, still surprised. “Did you just turn him into a baby?”
“Yes, I did,” the Doctor shrugged before she said urgently. “No time to explain.”
“Is there ever going to be a time?” Ryan asked sardonically.
“Quick, everyone! Back inside the TARDIS! Quick before little Salvador gets here!”
“Little Salvador…?”
“Come on, Graham! Get in, I said!”
With that, the Doctor hurried everyone into the TARDIS. Graham and Ryan went in first whilst Yaz, carrying Baby Salvador, came in afterwards. The Doctor followed suited and soon closed the TARDIS doors behind her once she was inside. Very soon, the TARDIS dematerialised, whooshing and grinding as it went. Once the TARDIS was gone, the little Spanish boy Salvador, running barefoot and crying for his mama, came to where the TARDIS had been. He was unaware of it being on the beach.
Meanwhile, back on the space hotel, Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta entered the lobby. They were rather pleased that they managed to defeat Other Salvador and his army when he came and attacked the hotel.
“And our little babies Donna and Clara are safe!” Tari cheered delightedly. “I’m sure the Doctor had something to do with it.”
“I’m sure she did,” Harry agreed. “I’m looking forward to thanking her and her friends for saving our lives as well as the babies.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing them too,” Cigihana joined in. “Emsterdon and I can carry on with our honeymoon at last.”
“Oh yes!” Emsterdon said pleased. “That’ll be nice to get back to, won’t it?”
“Excuse me, your majesties; Mr. Rotenhend and your ladyship,” Sparta interrupted. “I’ve received word that the Tendrasta reinforcements have finally arrived.”
This got confirmed once a fleet of Tendrasta ships zoomed in and came out of warp drive. They orbited around the hotel itself.
“Fine time for them to arrive late,” Cigihana said despondently. “I shall have a firm word with the captain.”
“Indeed!” Emsterdon joined in. “Where were they when we needed them?”
Of course, they didn’t need the Tendrasta fleet after all since Tari used the Zorbius crystal pieces given to her by the Doctor to defeat their enemies. Tari was about to point this out when the group got interrupted. Other Salvador appeared before them in the main lobby. The five heroes became horrified. They came to a halt once they saw the other Salvador.
“Not so fast, your curs,” the king snorted.
“Oh no!” Emsterdon became fretful again. “I thought we saw the last of him!”
“Don’t worry, Emsterdon,” Cigihana said, reassuring her. “Tari here will sort out Salvador with those crystal pieces of hers.”
Happy to oblige, Tari took out her Zorbius crystal pieces from her pocket. She began to focus using them on Salvador. But Salvador was too quick for Tari. With his fist clenched, he summoned the crystal pieces to him. Tari became startled and reacted in pain once the crystal pieces were snatched from her hands.
“Tari, are you alright, my dear?” Harry asked concerned.
Tari reassured Harry she was alright. They all looked to see as Salvador holding the crystal pieces in his right hand. He laughed out loud triumphantly, feeling the power of the crystal pieces as he held them.
“And now,” he declared. “I shall use the crystal pieces to destroy you five meddlers once and for all! You’ve defied me long enough! Helping the Doctor is a sacred crime! No-one supports the Doctor under Salvador’s rule! No-one! Salvador commands it!”
At that moment, the TARDIS materialised inside the hotel lobby, whooshing and grinding as it did so in-between Salvador and Tari’s group. The TARDIS made a loud thump once it had landed. Eventually, the TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor stepped out with Graham, Ryan and Yaz behind her. Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta came round the TARDIS to join the foursome.
“Not on my watch, Salvador,” the Doctor told him. “You’re not going to hurt anyone else whilst I’m here!”
“I will kill people, Doctor, in order to have the satisfaction that I’ve upset you,” Salvador declared. “I will do everything to hurt you in any way!”
“Look, Salvador!” the Doctor told him off. “Look what Yaz is carrying here.”
Yaz came forth and showed the Baby Salvador in her arms to Other Salvador. “It’s his majesty, the King Salvador, but now as a baby,” she said.
Baby Salvador goo-goo-ga-gaed whilst he was being held by Yaz. Everyone except Salvador and Sparta went “Aww!!!!” once they saw the cute Baby Salvador.
King Salvador was disgusted by the sight of his counterpart as a baby. “What a sight! An abomination! I shall destroy it!”
“Wait, wait,” Graham protested. “You can’t kill him, Salvador. He’s just a baby!”
“I don’t care,” King Salvador thundered. “I despise it! It represents everything I abhor! It mustn’t live!”
“He’s you, Salvador,” Yaz argued. “You can’t just kill your other self as a baby!”
“Him being me makes it worse!” snapped Salvador. “He’s embarrassed himself by becoming a baby!”
“Bro, do us a favour and grow up!” Ryan told him.
“That’s exactly what the Doctor wants me to do,” Salvador thundered louder. “But, I won’t give in. I won’t let the Doctor have the satisfaction! I will remain as I am. I will not change! I will be vengeful and hungry for power! It’s what I always want to be! What I should be! I am your lord and saviour and nothing’s going to take that away from me!”
“I warn you, Salvador,” the Doctor began to tell him off.
“Don’t start, Doctor,” Salvador shouted. “I will kill the baby me as it pleases me…”
“I warn you, Salvador,” the Doctor stressed. “Unless you spare this baby’s life, I shall imprison you for eternity! And I mean it, Salvador! The choice I give you is clear! Don’t choose the wrong option! Please be kind for once in your life…”
“NO!!! I will not submit, Doctor! I WILL NOT SUBMIT!!!”
With that, Salvador lunged forward, ready to kill Baby Salvador in Yaz’s arms. Yaz held the baby protectively in her arms. Cigihana and Emsterdon came to her defence too.
“You leave me no choice, Salvador,” the Doctor said sadly.
With that, the Doctor buzzed her sonic screwdriver at the Zorbius crystal which she held in her left hand. She took it out of her trench coat pocket without Salvador realising it. Just as Salvador was about to touch the baby in Yaz’s arms, he realised something was happening to him. Something very wrong. He screamed furiously before he was being zapped inside the Zorbius crystal itself, held by the Doctor in her left hand. All became silent after that. Soon, the Doctor stopped buzzing her sonic screwdriver at the Zorbius crystal whilst Yaz and the Baby Salvador were safe.
“Doctor, what just happened?” Graham asked. “Where did Salvador go?”
“Did you just trap him inside that crystal?” queried Ryan.
“You could say that, yeah,” the Doctor said, exasperated as she placed her sonic screwdriver back into one of her trenchcoat pockets. She still kept holding the Zorbius crystal in her right hand.
Graham, Ryan, Yaz, Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta came round beside the Doctor as she held the Zorbius crystal. There was hint of darkness at the centre of the crystal now.
“Salvador didn’t expect you to trap him inside the crystal, did he?” Yaz realised.
“It was a last option,” the Doctor said gravely. “I gave him too many chances for redemption. But it seems Salvador can’t be redeemed. At least, not the one I’ve managed to trap inside the crystal.”
“Are you going to keep him in there?” Graham enquired. “Will he stay alive inside that crystal?”
“Yeah, there may come a point when he’ll actually get out,” Ryan said.
The Doctor turned to Tari. “What do you think, Lady Tari? The crystal is still yours and Harry’s. Should we dispose of him or should we let him stay alive inside the crystal?”
Tari thought about it for a moment. Everyone was on tender-hooks about the decision being made.
Eventually she said, “Let him live, Doctor. I can’t be cruel to have him killed inside the crystal. I’m sure he’ll stay inside so long as someone watches over him. I don’t know about inside the crystal, but certainly on the outside by Harry and me.”
“Oh don’t you worry, Tari my dear,” the Doctor reassured her. “I have that all in hand.”
Tari and Harry were puzzled by that remark for a moment.
Harry then recalled. “Doctor, I’ve just realised! Salvador snatched the crystal pieces you gave to Tari which we used to defend ourselves! Salvador could use those crystal pieces to try and escape…”
“Don’t worry about that either, Harry,” the Doctor reassured again. “I have that in hand too.”
“Why Doc, what do you mean?” Graham wanted to know.
The Doctor smiled, tapping her nose knowingly.
Inside the Zorbius crystal, the other Salvador was trapped. He tried to use the crystal pieces he stole from Tari in order to escape. But they seemed to have vanished. All glittered around Salvador. There seemed to be no way out. Salvador became enraged, thumping his fists on the crystal walls around him. They were impenetrable.
“What is this?!” he demanded out loud. “What’s happening?! Where am I?”
“Don’t you know?” a voice said behind him.
Salvador turned around to see the Doctor. She smiled at him. He became furious.
“What have you done, Doctor?!” he shouted. “Answer me! Tell me what you’ve done to me?!”
“Alright, calm down! Don’t get your knickers in a twist!”
“Tell me where am I?!!!”
“Exactly where you want to be,” the Doctor said. “You’re inside the Zorbius crystal!”
“I didn’t want to be inside the Zorbius crystal,” the dark lord thundered. “I wanted to hold the crystal! You know that, Doctor! You know that!”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t going to let you have the Zorbius crystal, was I?” the Doctor retorted. “I’m not that thick, you know. This is as close as you’re going to get with having the Zorbius crystal for yourself by being inside it! And having me to keep your company!”
“I don’t want to be your prisoner, Doctor,” Salvador whimpered. “I won’t be your prisoner!!!”
“Tough luck! This is how it’s going to be,” the Doctor said. “I’m going to keep you here inside the crystal and make sure you never get out. Make sure you never escape; never unleash your vengeance towards me and never cause harm to many people in the universe.”
“You can’t deny me that right!” Salvador snapped. “I demand to be set free! I demand to continue my crusade against you, Doctor! It’s what I want! It’s all I desire!”
“Fine! Have your vengeance upon me inside the crystal!”
“It isn’t enough,” Salvador whimpered further, screaming incessantly as he started thumping the crystalline ground with his fists. “It’s not enough! I’m going to get claustrophobic in here!”
“The tables are turned, Salvador,” the Doctor declared. “You wanted to me to be tortured by you for an eternity. Well, it’s now me keeping an eye on you for an eternity. And I wish I was out there travelling the universe instead.”
“I’ve got to get out!”
“There’s no way out, Salvador.”
“I’VE GOT TO GET OUT!!!”
The Doctor watched Salvador thumping his fists on the ground in a total frenzy. It seemed to last a long time. Salvador was also on the verge of breaking his teeth and banging his skull on the ground when nothing happened for him. It was like his power had been removed from him. As if it had been absorbed by the Zorbius crystal itself.
“You’re going to do yourself an injury,” the Doctor commented.
“Shut up,” Salvador roared. “I hate you, Doctor! I hate you so much!”
Salvador got up from the ground and tried to reach for the Doctor’s neck. But as much as he tried, he couldn’t get to strangle her. His outstretched hands were being held back. No matter how hard he tried, Salvador couldn’t get a grip on the Doctor.
“This is insane!” he shouted. “Why can’t I kill you?! I must kill you! I must in order to unleash my anger and hatred!”
“You’re in a state of temporal grace, Salvy boy,” the Doctor explained cheerily. “The Zorbius crystal is doing that. It’s preventing you from killing me at my command.”
And at that moment, Salvador was broken. He soon ended up on the crystalline floor, kicking and screaming. He sobbed and moaned, whimpering away like a total wretch. This was the real Salvador under all that dark mystery that surrounded him. He was the stunted Spanish boy who wouldn’t grow up in a man’s body. His hatred of the Doctor had finally taken its toll.
“I want to kill you,” he sobbed wretchedly. “I want to kill you so much.”
The Doctor couldn’t help feel but sorry for Salvador, despite the hatred he had for her. Eventually, she knelt down beside him and tried to comfort him.
“I know, Salvador,” she said simply. “I know how much you hate you.”
He didn’t register it when she placed her hand on his shoulder as he lay there on the crystalline ground. Perhaps Salvador was coming to accept the fact that the Doctor was going to be with him forever and he had to get used to it. She wasn’t sure.
“We’ll get through this, you and me,” she tried to reassure him. “I’ll help you to become a better person. I’ll help you to learn compassion. I’ll be a better teacher like I should’ve been when I was training you to be a Time Lord all those years ago.”
“I don’t want your teaching,” Salvador sobbed wearily. “I don’t want to be taught by you.”
“You may not want my teaching, Salvador, but you definitely need it,” the Doctor said. “You’ve needed my teaching for a very long time. I’m sorry I’ve neglected you all these years. I won’t do that anymore. Not while you and me are together inside this crystal.”
“I despise you, Doctor,” Salvador whimpered bitterly. “I utterly despise you!”
The Doctor nodded. “I know.” She paused for a moment. “But maybe over time, you may come to love me. And I suppose in time, I may come to love you. So long as we have each other, I think we’ll be a good teacher-pupil couple, you and I.”
Salvador gradually ceased his whimpering and sobbing as he looked up at the Doctor who looked earnestly at him. He was starting to listen to her for a change. He still didn’t like the Doctor, but he couldn’t help be willing to hear what she had to say.
“Now then,” the Doctor soon broke the silence. “Where do we start? What shall I teach you first?”
Meanwhile, the real Doctor was holding the Zorbius crystal in her hands. She soon gave it to Tari and Harry for them to keep aboard the space hotel. They were now in their private office behind the reception desk where the safe was. Tari and Harry accepted the crystal graciously from the Doctor.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Tari said happily. She then made sure, “It is alright, isn’t it? Us taking the crystal from you whilst another you and that other Salvador are inside it.”
“Yeah,” the Doctor assured them both. “The other ‘me’ inside the crystal will be guarding Salvador to ensure he doesn’t escape. With you two looking after the crystal for me and keeping it inside that safe with a secure combination lock, I doubt Salvador will get away too easily and far away.”
“But it is a copy of yourself that you’ve put yourself in the crystal,” Harry checked. “Not the real you.”
“Of course it’s not the real me,” the Doctor said. “But I have to keep Salvador company whilst he’s inside the Zorbius crystal. Don’t want him to be lonely. He shouldn’t be lonely despite all the bad things he’s done. I hope the other me will train him to become a better person by the time he gets out of the Zorbius crystal. Whenever that may be. And should it happen at all.”
“Well, until that time comes,” Tari declared, “the crystal with Salvador and ‘the other you’ inside it stays inside the safe.”
Tari then opened the safe, placing the Zorbius crystal that contained Salvador and the other Doctor inside. Once Tari was satisfied, closing the safe, Harry made sure it was securely locked with a combination in place so that the crystal couldn’t be stolen or be broken out of. Harry and Tari of course kept changing the combination lock a number of times since the safe had been used.
“The thing is,” Harry then went on, “what are we going to do about Baby Salvador?”
The baby goo-goo-ga-gaed nearby with Yaz holding her outside the office.
“Ah,” the Doctor realised. “I wondered when one of you was going to bring that up.”
Summoning Yaz over into the private office, the Doctor soon took Baby Salvador from her and showed them to Tari and Harry.
“Would you two be willing to raise Baby Salvador up yourselves?” she asked.
Tari and Harry were startled by the request. They hadn’t expected to raise Baby Salvador themselves.
“You two are great parents,” the Doctor told them. “I’m sure Baby Salvador would appreciate a lot of love and attention from you two. You can look after Baby Salvador at the same time you look after your babies Donna and Clara. Have a son as well as two daughters! I can sort out the adoption papers for you. Save you having to go through all that palaver.”
“But Doctor,” Tari argued. “I’m not sure we can raise Salvador to be a good person.”
“We don’t know whether Salvador will end up being a good person or something worse,” Harry added.
“Just be yourselves,” the Doctor assured them. “I know you two can be good parents to Salvador. Certainly much better than I ever did trying to raise him up. Just keep reminding him the value of goodness and decency. Maybe on the way, he won’t try to be vengeful or hurt people. Do you think you can do that for me? Lead Salvador on the road to goodness rather than on the road to hell?”
Tari and Harry considered. They looked at each other for a moment before looking at Baby Salvador who goo-goo-ga-gaed away. They smiled at each other. The Doctor saw that they had come to a decision and was very pleased about it.
“Of course, Doctor,” Tari said happily. “We’ll do our best to raise him up and become a good person. We’ll make sure he doesn’t go down on the wrong path.”
“We’ll let you know if anything bad happens of course,” Harry said.
“That won’t be necessary,” the Doctor said cheerfully. “I’ll know when something bad will happen in the universe the moment my TARDIS cloister bell rings. Besides, you two will make good parents for Salvador.” She paused for a moment. “Thank you, both. You’re doing a good thing in the end.”
“I sure hope we are,” Tari said nervously.
Eventually, the Doctor handed Baby Salvador over to Tari and Harry. They took him and the Doctor could see they were getting good at being Baby Salvador’s parents already.
Smiling, the Doctor soon went out of the office as she approached Cigihana and Emsterdon in the lobby. “And now you two?”
Cigihana and Emsterdon looked at each other in puzzlement before they looked back at the Doctor.
“What about us two?” Emsterdon asked.
“If we’ve done something wrong,” Cigihana began to argue, “I don’t know what it is we’ve supposed to…”
The Doctor interrupted. “Would you two consider being Baby Salvador’s godparents?”
“What?!” reacted Cigihana and Emsterdon in unison.
“It will mean having to leave Tendrasta at times,” the Doctor went on, “but I hope you two will be willing to visit the Rotenhend Hotel 360 now and again to see Tari and Harry as well as the Baby Salvador.”
Cigihana and Emsterdon considered. They were rather surprised, pleased and honoured by the request.
Eventually, Cigihana said, “Any excuse to come back to this hotel for more honeymoons is fine by me.”
“I’m happy to be a godparent, yes,” Emsterdon joined in. “We’re parents too, you know. We have a son back on Tendrasta. I’m sure he’d like to have Baby Salvador as a brother as well as Baby Donna and Baby Clara as sisters.”
“Your son will be most welcome to come to our hotel,” Harry said.
“Yes indeed,” Tari joined in.
“Of course,” the Doctor remembered. “You have a son, Cigihana and Emsterdon. From the late Azkai of Yack of course. You’re ideal to be godparents for Baby Salvador, knowing what parenthood is like.”
Cigihana was still flummoxed by how the Doctor knew so much. “How do you know about our son, Doctor?” She then became sad. “And how do you know so much about what happened to Azkai?”
“I have been checking on you two from time to time,” the Doctor said simply. “Sorry to hear about Azkai. I’m sure he’ll be very proud of you two becoming godparents to Baby Salvador as well as being parents to your son too as well as his. You’ll be doing a great service honouring him that way.”
“Yes,” Emsterdon agreed happily. “And I’m looking forward to me, Cigihana, Tari and Harry getting to know each other more.”
“Me too,” Tari smiled at Emsterdon.
“Me three,” Cigihana joined in.
“Me four,” Harry finished.
Everyone laughed, including the Doctor, Graham, Ryan, Yaz, Tari, Harry, Cigihana and Emsterdon. Sparta didn’t laugh.
“Well, Doctor,” Cigihana then said. “We’ve seen how you sorted out the Salvador business, which started many years ago on Tendrasta. I’m glad you’ve sorted it out in the end. It’s a good thing you informed your previous self about it when we were fighting Daleks on Tendrasta at the time.”
The Doctor shot to attention. She remembered. “Of course! A message to send to my twelfth self! Well, thirteenth self actually. Wait, no…No! Not important right now! Got to get going!”
“Wait, hang on, Doc!” Graham called out as she went. “Where are you going?”
“I’ve got to go sending a message to myself in the past,” the Doctor explained, confusing Graham even more. “I’ll be there with my old friend Bill, won’t I?”
“Yes, how is Bill doing?” Emsterdon enquired eagerly. “We didn’t get a chance to ask you.”
“She was a nice girl when I met her.” Cigihana recalled Bill fondly. “I hope she’s well.”
Sadness came across the Doctor’s face and she didn’t answer. Cigihana and Emsterdon noticed this.
The Doctor snapped out of it. “Sorry! Got to dash somewhere! I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“No wait, Doctor!” Yaz called out. “Let us come with you!”
“Yeah, is it something dangerous?” Ryan asked, intrigued.
“No! Nothing at all dangerous,” the Doctor said. “You three stay here! I’ll be back to join the party!”
Before Graham, Ryan and Yaz could enquire any further, the Doctor was soon off for her TARDIS in the lobby. The TARDIS eventually dematerialised, whooshing and grinding as it went. Graham, Ryan and Yaz were completely befuddled as to why the Doctor had to leave in such a hurry.
A day or so later, celebrations ensued aboard the space hotel. A disco dance took place inside one of the simi-suites on Level #59. Tari and Harry enjoyed the disco dance as well as Cigihana and Emsterdon. Sparta agreed to babysit the babies elsewhere, including Donna, Clara and Salvador. He didn’t want to get involved with the dancing. Graham, Ryan and Yaz weren’t enjoying themselves however. They sat at a table in the holographic disco hall. They were anxious about where the Doctor was.
Eventually, the Doctor came up behind Graham, Ryan and Yaz, pulling up a chair at their table. She was cheerful. A goofy grin on her face. “Hey gang! Miss me?”
“Doc, what have you been?” Graham asked. “We’ve been worried sick about you.”
“Hey, I’m back, aren’t I?” the Doctor declared. “Sorry for being so late. I managed to message myself in past by the way. Got side-tracked however. With no lasting repercussions I hope.”
“So it’s all done?” Yaz checked. “Have we dealt with the two Salvadors and the Zorbius menace at last?”
“Yep,” the Doctor replied cheerfully. “We definitely have.”
“Oh thank goodness for that,” Ryan said relieved.
“For now anyway.”
Graham, Ryan and Yaz groaned at that.
“Come on, be fair,” the Doctor pointed out. “There were tough hurdles to overcome, but we got there in the end.”
“Especially when there’s so much about you we’ve still yet to learn,” Graham commented. “What with the Zorbius crystal and Salvador.”
“And I’ve a lot to learn about you three,” the Doctor cheerily said. “But that’s the fun of friends isn’t it? Getting to know each other. And I’m very happy to have you three as a good gang of friends by my side.”
Graham, Ryan and Yaz were touched by the Doctor’s words.
“Yeah, I suppose it is good we get on so well,” Ryan remarked.
“Definitely,” Yaz concurred. “If we’d been arguing the whole time on our adventures, I don’t think we would’ve gotten anywhere with sorting out the two Salvadors.”
“Indeed not,” the Doctor said. “I’m so chuffed that you three still trust me after all we’ve been through.”
“Yeah well, after all the lives you’ve saved in the past,” Graham said, “it’s kind of difficult not to trust you, Doc. You did everything you could to stop the two Salvadors from causing harm to others. He still claims that you hurt him. Even if there are elements of truth in that, I don’t you are the kind of person that Salvador makes you out to be. Cos you’re a better person than he is. And I’m glad we can stick around to have these amazing adventures with you and see the amazing worlds we’ve visited.”
The Doctor was pleased to hear Graham say that. “Thanks Graham. That means a lot to me.”
The foursome soon looked to Cigihana and Emsterdon dancing with each other on the dance floor as well as to Tari and Harry.
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Ryan asked. “Tari and Harry with their parenting as well as Cigihana and Emsterdon with their godparenting.”
“As well as looking after the Zorbius crystal,” Yaz added.
“I hope so,” the Doctor reflected. “I’ll be coming back to check up on them now and again. I hope they’ve learnt some lessons along the way.”
“They seem to be good pairs of parents,” Ryan commented. He then became sad. “Much better than how my Dad parented me.”
Yaz placed a comforting hand on Ryan’s houlder. “Your dad’s made it up for you recently, you know.”
“Yeah,” Ryan nodded. “I just wish my dad was like Tari and Harry. As well as Cigihana and Emsterdon.”
“Your mum and your nan looked after you, sunshine,” Graham told him. “And I suppose I had a small part to play in your upbringing too.”
Ryan laughed. “Yeah, I suppose so.”
Laughing together, the foursome continued to watch Tari, Harry, Cigihana and Emsterdon dancing on the dance floor for a while. They soon joined them on the dance floor as well.
Whilst they danced, the Doctor said, “I look forward to seeing babies Donna and Clara before we go. As well as Baby Salvador of course. They look so cute and awesome-looking.”
“Where do we go from here, Doctor?” Yaz asked as they danced.
“Oh you know,” the Doctor replied. “Back in the box again. There’s loads to see!”
Team TARDIS danced happily away to the disco music. The four were pleased that they saved the universe again. They hoped it wouldn’t be the last time that they saved the universe.
© Tim Bradley, 2020
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