4. A Friend to the Bitter End
“So, you’ve managed to catch me out in the end,” the Doctor said, an edge of bitterness to his voice. Taking out the Zorbius crystal fragment he had in his frockcoat pocket, he began to hand it over to Salvador. “You must be very pleased with yourself.”
“Give me the crystal fragment and I’ll show you how pleased I am,” Salvador told him, reaching out for the crystal fragment.
The Doctor took it back however, “But that’s just the thing, isn’t it? You never appear to be pleased with anything. There’s no happiness in you, Salvador. No sense of joy; no sense of fulfilment.”
“Something which you took away from me!”
“No! No, Salvador! I may have been hard on you. Perhaps I made you go through hell. But taking away your sense of joy and happiness, I don’t think so.”
“You may not have realised it at the time, but it’s exactly what you did!”
“No!” the Doctor contradicted him again. “When I ‘experimented’ on you all those years ago, I was very proud of what I had achieved so far. I was looking forward to the next stage of making you become a Time Lord. I got it wrong in the end, but at the time, I was thrilled with the prospect of making a human become a good Time Lord. I’d like to think I made progress. With all your knowledge of space and time and the ability to travel far across and wide to many parsecs of space, anything was possible.”
“Stop it, Doctor,” Salvador snapped furiously. “Just give me what I want…”
“But the Master got in the way, didn’t he?” the Doctor interrupted. “He manipulated you into believing that I was a bad person. In the end, he made you a bad person. Something I didn’t want to happen. But it did. And here we are. You’re the commander and chief of the Daleks. But long will it last, Salvy boy? How long before you learn how treacherous the Daleks are.”
“They will obey me!” Salvador insisted. “The Daleks will follow my orders!”
“Hail Salvador!” the Doctor raised an arm in mocking salute. “Not the same as “Hail the Daleks!”, is it? You don’t have to keep doing this. I told you, you can have a chance of redemption. The vault I’m protecting on Earth. It’s keeping a prisoner that you and I know well. She’s having a chance of redemption.”
“How can I know this prisoner that you claim I know so well?” Salvador enquired.
Gradually, the Doctor answered, “Because she was there when I experimented on you all those years. Granted, she was the Master back then, but now she’s regenerated and become a woman. Time Lords can do that. You should know with the prisoner Maximus you’ve got here.”
Salvador looked down on Maximus before looking back up at the Doctor. “You’re keeping the Master as a woman in a vault as your prisoner on Earth?!”
“Missy, she’s now called,” the Doctor told him.
“That’s a ridiculous name,” Salvador scoffed.
“It’s what she wants to be called. I respect that. Just as I’d respect you if you came back to Earth with me. To get a chance to redeem yourself.”
Salvador considered this offer made by the Doctor. It seemed genuinely tempting at first. Eventually, he slammed his fist on a table and said, “Hand over the crystal fragment, Doctor. I wish to destroy you and everything that you love dearly. I don’t wish to be redeemed. My vengeance is everlasting!”
The Doctor threw up his arms annoyed and ranted, “You know something, Salvador! You’re a moron! A complete and utter moron! I don’t know why I bothered trying to raise you up to become a Time Lord! You’re a waste of space for all I care!”
“Yes, YES!!!” Salvador screamed with delight. “That’s the Doctor I want to see! Insulting, arrogant and bitter. It’s what you always are, Doctor! It’s what you always shall be!”
“Yeah, but you deserve my insults,” the Time Lord told him. “You deserve to see me arrogant and bitter. I try to be kind but you just won’t listen. If you did listen and tried not to refuse me, you wouldn’t be such a spoilt brat. Well, I won’t stand for it any longer! I’ve had enough!”
“Then give me the crystal fragment, Doctor!” the dark lord demanded thunderously. “That is all I want!”
“Why bother?” the Doctor challenged him. “Why not fight me for it? You have a Zorbius crystal fragment; I have a Zorbius crystal. Let’s fight it out with each other via mind and thought. Let’s see who the better man is around here!”
“You wish to fight me,” Salvador barked back. “You wish to fight the might and power of Salvador?!”
“If I have to, yes,” the Doctor retorted.
“Then you shall,” Salvador said. “I accept your challenge! Don’t think you’ll be able to survive this fight just like you survived your fight with Omega all those years ago. I won’t show you any mercy!”
“The real reason why I’m challenging you is so that you can release Bill and Maximus,” the Doctor told him. “You’re keeping them in this state they’re in using the crystal fragment you’ve got in your hand. You can’t fight me and drain the life-force out of them at the same time. It’ll be too much of a strain for you.”
“When I fight you, Doctor, I’ll be too much for you and will overpower you!” Salvador declared. “Are you willing to risk a fight with me to preserve your friends’ lives?”
“They’re my friends. They deserve a chance to live. Something you wouldn’t understand.”
“Very well! I shall release my hold on your friends. Just so you can fight me to a bitter end!”
Just then, Salvador vanished from sight. The Doctor wondered where he had got to.
“Salvador?!” he called out. “Salvador?!”
But soon, the Time Lord began to slumber. He gradually realised his mind was being taken out of his body by Salvador. The Doctor started to collapse to the floor. He soon saw Bill and Maximus waking up from their bunk beds. Salvador kept his word it seemed. Soon, the Doctor was about to fight Salvador somewhere outside space and time. He didn’t look forward to it.
“Bill,” the Doctor managed to whisper just before he lost consciousness. “I’ll be back for you. I promise.”
With that, the Doctor ended up on the floor unconscious. No-one noticed something falling out of the Doctor’s hand as he collapsed to the floor.
Meanwhile, Bill and Maximus were fully awake. Taking in their surroundings, they realised they were on the bunk beds of Salvador’s chamber. They soon spotted the Doctor, lying unconscious on the floor.
“Doctor!” Bill cried as she went over and kneeled beside him. “Doctor, are you alright?” Bill patted the Doctor’s face to wake him up. He didn’t respond. “Please wake up, you idiot!” Even that didn’t work.
“He might be in some telepathic conference,” Maximus suggested as she stood nearby Bill. “Perhaps that’s why he’s unresponsive.”
“Can you be sure of that?”
“Hold on a minute, I’ll check.” Very soon, Maximus placed her hands gently on the Doctor’s head, attempting to do a mind-meld with him. After a few moments, Maximus let go. She was startled.
“What is it?” Bill asked. “Is it a telepathic conference?”
“Yes. And it’s not a good one, I’m afraid,” Maximus said grimly.
“What do you mean, what’s happening?” Bill enquired anxiously.
Eventually, Maximus said, “Bill, the Doctor is fighting for his life with Salvador in a void. And they’re both using the Zorbius crystal fragments against each other.”
Bill clasped her hands to her mouth. She feared for the Doctor’s life in that instance.
Meanwhile, the Doctor struggled to get his bearings. Everything around him was misty and incomprehensible. Checking that he still had the Zorbius crystal fragment which he kept in his hand, the Doctor was relieved to see it mostly intact. A small piece had been chipped off which must have happened when he collapsed to the floor in Salvador’s chamber.
Eventually, the Time Lord saw the dark lord standing in front of him. He too held the Zorbius crystal fragment he took from Maximus in his hand.
“So, Doctor! What’s it going to be?” Salvador began challenging him. “Pistols or swords?”
“Do I have a choice?” the Doctor remarked glumly.
“Oh I know how much you like your swordplay,” Salvador said. “So, I won’t break with tradition.” With that, he produced a sword from his outstretched right hand and laughed maniacally.
At last, the Doctor thought. I’ll get a chance to use my spoon. Very soon, the Doctor produced his own big metal spoon from his outstretched right hand. The two started fighting each other. It seemed a fair fight at first. The Doctor was almost enjoying himself in the sword/spoon fight he had with Salvador. An easy stage at first. It was about to get worse.
Elsewhere, Princess Gigihana, Emsterdon, Azkai, Nomark and Sparta made their way cautiously through a corridor aboard the Dalek saucer ship in the hopes of trying to find the Doctor, Bill and Maximus.
“You didn’t make sure Bill was with you when you and Sparta escaped,” Cigihana criticised Nomark.
“It was very difficult, your majesty,” said Nomark defensively. “We were under heavy Dalek attack!”
“For your sake, Nomark, I hope the Doctor, Bill and Maximus are alive,” Cigihana retorted. “They seem to know more about what’s going on and how we can beat these Daleks.”
“And if we find them dead, what then?” Azkai asked.
“I don’t know,” Cigihana replied. “I don’t know how we’re going to defeat these Daleks it comes to that. There won’t be any more Tendrasta if we don’t. No more curry nights with my girlfriends and certainly no wedding with whoever I choose to marry.”
“Oh dear,” Emsterdon said. “So we’d better pray the Doctor, Bill and Maximus fast aren’t dead once we’ve found them.”
“Exactly,” Cigihana said. “There’s so much at stake here we can’t afford unnecessary chances.”
“Excuse me,” Sparta interrupted monotonously, making sure everyone heard him. “There’s a door here in this corridor. According to my sensors, it’s been recently manufactured.”
Everyone saw the grey-looking door in the corridor. They were surprised to see it. It seemed to have materialised without them realising it was there.
“What, you think the Doctor, Bill and Maximus are behind that door?” Azkai enquired.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Emsterdon suggested.
Just then, Daleks appeared in the corridor. They began opening fire at Cigihana’s group. The group ducked down to the ground once the Daleks fired upon them.
“Halt! Halt!” grated the lead Dalek. “Do not escape! You will be exterminated! Exterminate! Exterminate!”
Cigihana and the others slowly made their way towards the wall where the grey-looking door was in the corridor, dodging the Daleks’ firepower.
“What are we going to do?” Emsterdon panicked. “How are we going to avoid these Daleks shooting at us whilst we’re trying to get inside whatever’s behind that door?”
“I’ll hold them off,” Sparta declared, his thermal-induced hands becoming charged up and ready as if to fire at the Daleks. “Leave this with me.”
Nomark looked at Sparta anxiously. “Are you sure, Sparta?”
“I’ll give you time,” Sparta told Nomark as well as to everyone else. “You and your kind are easily dispensable. My mechanical body should be impregnable against Dalek firepower.”
“You can’t be certain of that,” Nomark told him.
“Go no!” said Sparta insistently. “I shall hold them off! There’s very little time!”
“He’s right,” Azkai agreed. “This is our chance to get inside! Let’s not waste it!”
“Yes, come on,” Emsterdon insisted urgently.
After much hesitation, Nomark said, “Very well. You do your bit, Sparta. We’ll get inside.”
Cigihana stepped forward. “Thank you, Sparta. You’re doing a good service! Take care and good luck!”
“Go now, your majesty!” Sparta insisted. “Time is pressing!”
Cigihana turned to everyone else. “Come on! Let’s get inside!”
With that, Sparta stepped out and fired upon the Daleks in the corridor. Firing bolts of fire from his thermal hands, Sparta soon blew up quite a number of Daleks in the process. Other Daleks retaliated whilst they were being fired upon. So far, the android was unaffected by the Daleks’ firepower. Meanwhile, Cigihana, Emsteron, Azkai and Nomark made their way to enter the room behind the grey-looking door in the corridor.
Inside Salvador’s chamber, Cigihana and her group found Bill and Maximus kneeling over the Doctor’s fallen body.
“Bill; Maximus,” Cigihana said relieved. “You two are alright! Thank goodness!”
“What’s happened to the Doctor?” Nomark asked. “Why is he on the floor like that?”
“He’s fighting Salvador in a void somewhere,” Maximus explained. “Their minds are locked in combat whilst using the Zorbius crystal fragments.”
“They’re fighting each other with their minds?!” Azkai reacted perplexed.
“How’s he doing?” Emsterdon wanted to know. “Is the Doctor winning?”
“I don’t know,” Bill said, teary-eyed and distressed. “We don’t really know what’s going on in there. I wish I was there to help him. If Salvador’s bad as the Doctor makes him out to be, anything can happen.”
Maximus placed a reassuringly hand on Bill’s shoulder. “There’s nothing we can do for the Doctor at the moment, Bill. Right now, we can help him by stopping the Daleks taking control of Tendrasta. That’s what he would want, isn’t it?”
After Bill dried up her tears, sniffing as she did so, she eventually nodded and said, “Alright. What can we do to stop the Daleks?”
“Ah,” Maximus gradually said. “That I’m not so sure about.”
Just then, Maximus noticed something on the floor beside the Doctor’s feet. She leant over to pick it up, examining the little item in her hands.
Bill noticed. “What is that? Is that a bit of crystal you got there?”
“Indeed it is,” Maximus replied. “A small piece of Zorbius crystal. It must’ve chipped off from the Doctor’s crystal fragment when he collapsed to the floor.”
“That could provide us with an advantage,” Bill suggested.
Maximus looked at Bill approvingly. “Yes, you could be right.” Pausing for a moment…
“What have you got in mind?” Bill asked.
“Well, if we distract the Daleks long enough on their command deck, we can attach this piece of Zorbius crystal to a power source, boosting it up in order to initiate a command to blow the Daleks up. That way the planet Tendrasta will be saved as well as the Goseker system itself.”
“So, no more Daleks will be roaming freely on my planet,” Cigihana deduced. “They’ll have all been destroyed once you use that piece of crystal fragment.”
“Exactly,” Maximus replied, rather happily.
“Is it right though?” Bill asked. “To blow up Daleks when we’d be committing murder ourselves?”
“Don’t worry, Bill” Maximus reassured her. “I’ll take full responsibility. I’ll initiate the destruction of the Daleks myself. You and the others won’t have to do anything.”
“But is it right though?” Bill persisted. “Are we right to kill Daleks in order to save a planet?”
“They’ve killed hundreds of people in the Goseker system,” Nomark pointed out. “They’re the ones who’ve been committing murders.”
“They deserve to be blown up,” Cigihana joined in. “Would you rather have them roaming freely?”
“Bill, I know this isn’t ideal,” Maximus told her. “But it’s the only way we can stop them. Unless you can think of a better way.”
Bill became silent. At the moment, she didn’t have an alternative plan to this.
“What power source had you in mind to use once we were on the command deck?” Azkai enquired.
“Oh, a power feed from their engine core of something,” Maximus replied. “That should be ideal under the present circumstances.”
“But how are we going to get to the command deck when there are Daleks outside already?” Emsterdon asked fretfully.
At that moment, the door to Salvador’s chamber opened and Sparta entered.
“I have taken care of the Daleks,” he announced. “I have blown them up. I have taken possession of their weapons should we need them.” The android showed the discarded Dalek weapons to everyone.
Maximus became pleased, looking at Bill. “Well, I think our predicament has been sorted, hasn’t it?”
Bill wasn’t certain. She still wasn’t happy with the idea of committing mass murder to Daleks, even if they did exterminate many people across the Goseker system. Did they have the right to do it? Would it make them like the Daleks if they killed them? What would the Doctor do? Bill wondered.
Meanwhile, outside space and time, the Doctor continued to fight Salvador. They were still fighting with sword and spoon, but the Doctor was being overpowered. The dark lord seemed to have the upper hand whilst the Time Lord struggled to fight back.
“Give up, Doctor,” Salvador told him. “In the end, you will weaken! My power is greater than yours!”
“Don’t be too sure about that, Salvy boy,” the Doctor said, struggling to get back onto his feet. “Your illusions may frighten me for a second or two. But I’m made of sterner stuff and you know it!“
The dark lord wasn’t to be swayed. “Oh really.”
“Yes, really!”
“Not even me creating a hundred Daleks would scare you, Doctor?”
With a snap of his fingers and using the Zorbius crystal fragment in his hand, a hundreds of Daleks came at Salvador’s command. They charged straight at the Doctor, chanting, “Exterminate! Exterminate!!!”
“You can’t escape your death, Doctor,” grated one Dalek at him.
“You will face your own death and stay dead forever,” another Dalek grated.
The Doctor didn’t even flinch. He just smiled. “Not as much as I can create a hundred Doctors to terrify you, Salvador.”
At that, the Doctor clicked his fingers and used his own Zorbius crystal fragment. Soon, a hundred versions of himself charged forward. They were the same as he – grey haired, wearing a velvet outfit as well as a white shirt underneath. He also wore black boots. They all had maniacal grins on their faces. They approached Salvador, towering above him.
“No!” Salvador cowered away, terrified, “You can’t mock me like this, Doctor! It’s not fair!!! It’s not…”
“Doctors,” the Doctor cried, interrupting Salvador. “Destroy the Daleks!”
At the Doctor’s command, the hundred Doctors used their sonic screwdrivers to blow up every Dalek in sight. The Daleks screamed out loud in pain once they exploded into millions of pieces. The hundred Doctors laughed out loud once they destroyed the Daleks and mocked Salvador, towering above him. Only the real Doctor who had created the hundred Doctors didn’t laugh. He had a sad smile on his face.
“You’ve gone too far, Doctor,” Salvador told him, still cowering away from the hundred Doctors advancing upon him. “It makes no difference! You still won’t defeat me! I’m still more powerful than you!”
“Prove it,” the Doctor goaded. “Let’s see how you can deal with more of us!”
Utilising the Zorbius crystal fragment he had, the Doctor soon had more Doctors were created. It wasn’t just of his ‘twelfth’ self though. There was also the crotchety old man, the scarecrow, the dandy, the bohemian, Cricket boy, Joseph multi-coloured coat, the question mark umbrella man, the Bryon one, the warrior, the Northerner, Sand shoes and Bow tie, duplicated by the hundred and more. Even the Doctor’s future blonde woman self was created and duplicated. Salvador was soon surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of Doctors that hurled insults and mocked him.
“NO!!!” Salvador screamed. “I won’t let you have the upper hand of me! I must win! To prove you cannot defeat me! Let me win, Doctor! LET ME WIN!!!”
“I can’t stop this, Salvador,” the Doctor told him. “Not unless you let me help you. Allow me to be kind to you. Let me end this torment you’re going through. Let me finish this and help you to live an ordinary life.”
“NO!!!!!” Salvador yelled, enraged.
At Salvador’s thunderous yell once he rose up from the ground, the millions of multi-Doctors that had been created, taunting and ridiculing the dark lord, were disintegrated in an instant. The dark lord had let out a massive shockwave due to his rage. A ravaged battlefield was left for the dark lord and the Time Lord to stand and walk on. It was like standing in one of the photographs from the First World War on the planet Earth. A deathly silence ensued between Salvador and the Doctor as they stood on the battlefield.
“You’ve become ridiculous, Salvador,” the Doctor eventually said. “Many people will see you as a farce in the years to come. Do you really want to be like that? A farce? Once you’ve found a way to destroy me forever, do you want to really live with the notion of people laughing at you because you’re ridiculous?”
“It’s better than being a called a murderer of your own people,” Salvador hissed at him.
That stopped the Doctor in a heartbeat. He stared at Salvador, utterly shocked and disgusted. “What did you say?”
“You heard me! You murdered your own people once you used the Moment to destroy Gallifrey! That’s what happened! You didn’t freeze Gallifrey like you tried to do. Gallifrey was blown up in an instant! You know it, don’t you, Doctor? Don’t you, Doctor?!”
“It’s not going to work, Salvador,” the Doctor told him. “I was there on Gallifrey when I ended up in my own confessional dial. I walked and interacted with Time Lords. So there’s no way you can tell me that I destroyed Gallifrey, because I didn’t.”
“Really?” Salvador challenged him. “Then how do you explain this!”
At a click of his fingers and with the use of his Zorbius crystal fragment, Salvador showed the destruction of Gallifrey before the Time Lord. Gallifrey was in big view for the Doctor to see. Close to his face in fact. The Doctor fell to his knees, horrified to see the destruction of Gallifrey at a close range. He saw cities being blown up as well as Daleks pounding the planet apart. The Daleks were also being destroyed by the effects of the Moment as the same time that the Time Lords were being destroyed.
“You’re cruel, Salvador,” the Doctor muttered under his breath. “You’re very cruel! This isn’t what happened! Gallifrey wasn’t destroyed!”
“Are you sure about that, Doctor?” Salvador goaded him. “Are you really sure?!”
“Yes!” the Doctor cried. “I am sure! Gallifrey was not destroyed!”
“Really, Doctor?” Salvador pushed dangerously with venom.
The Doctor was beginning to falter. Weaken. Just as Salvador wanted.
“No, I…I’m…I’m not sure,” the Doctor lamely replied. “It’s…it’s all…getting…hazy somehow.”
“You’re becoming forgetful, old man,” Salvador told him. “You can’t remember whether you’ve saved Gallifrey or not! Your own guilt is proof of that. You’re becoming guilty again, aren’t you, Doctor! Aren’t you, you rotten Time Lord!”
The Doctor knew Salvador was feeding him lies about what happened to Gallifrey. But he couldn’t shake off this guilt he felt. He remembered how it felt to destroy Gallifrey in the first place. He thought he’d gotten over it. When he thought he didn’t destroy Gallifrey after all, he thought he’d gotten over it. He had, hadn’t he? Gallifrey wasn’t destroyed! Wasn’t it? The Doctor grew weaker whilst Salvador laughed mockingly at him.
Meanwhile, on the command deck of the huge Dalek saucer, the Command Dalek glided about giving instructions to many Dalek units at their command posts.
“Initiate drilling sequence into Tendrasta’s planetary core,” it commanded. “We will burrow into the planet and remove the planetary core, inserting a power system that will allow us to pilot the planet anywhere in the universe!”
“We obey,” the Daleks replied.
Just then, Bill, Maximus, Cigihana, Nomark, Emsterdon, Azkai and Sparta entered the command deck. Nomark and Azkai opened fire with the Daleks weapons that had been given to them by Sparta. Sparta used his thermal-induced hands to fire at the Daleks. The Daleks went into hissy fits and panic attacks once Bill and the others boarded the command deck.
“Alert! Alert! We are under attack!” grated one Dalek.
“Do not let the invaders overpower us!” commanded the Command Dalek. “We will defend ourselves! The Daleks will be victorious!”
The Daleks fought back whilst Nomark, Azkai and Sparta fired upon them. Bill, Maximus, Cigihana and Emsterdon hid behind control panels to protect themselves from the Daleks whilst Nomark, Azkai and Sparta distracted them.
“They were going to blow up the planetary core of Tendrasta!” Cigihana realised once they had discovered the Daleks’ plans. “Disgraceful!”
“Time to worry about that later,” Maximus said. “Right now, we need to connect this piece of crystal fragment to a control panel.”
With that, keeping under cover, Maximus went to a nearby control panel and began to dismantle it. She managed to disconnect a number of wires from the control panel and placed them onto the piece of Zorbius crystal fragment. As Maximus worked away, Bill came beside her.
“So, what exactly are you about to do here?” she asked. “How do you use that piece of crystal to blow up the Daleks?”
“It’s quite simple,” Maximus replied. “Once the wires are connected and the power flows through the crystal piece, it should glow brightly enough to indicate enough power inside. Then I give the command to have the crystal piece blow up the Daleks. Thus Tendrasta and the Goseker system should be free of the tin pot vermin once and for all. At least, I hope that’ll be the case.”
“Isn’t there a better way to solve this?” Bill enquired. “Rather than blowing them up?”
“Bill, we’ve talked about this,” Maximus told her. “There’s no other way!”
“But if we blow up the Daleks, surely we’re as bad as they are…?”
“I’m sorry, Bill. This has to be the way.”
Bill sulked whilst Maximus did the finishing touches to her plan. She connected the wires from the dismantled Dalek control panel to the Zorbius crystal fragment piece perfectly. Once the wires were connected, power flowed through the crystal piece, causing it to brighten.
“There,” Maximus said satisfied. “That should do it! We’ll be free of these Daleks in no time.”
Nomark, Azkai and Sparta continued their fight against the Daleks with their weapons, but they were getting overwhelmed and rather low on power.
Bill then realised something, turning to Maximus. “Wait a minute! You came from the Time War, right?”
“Don’t remind me,” Maximus told her.
“And the Daleks came from the Time War too, right?”
“Yes,” Maximus said impatiently. “Now don’t interrupt me, Bill. The crystal piece is fully charged up. What I have to do, I must do it quickly!”
Very soon, the crystal piece was at full power. Before Maximus could touch it however, Bill took the crystal piece first and said to it instantly, “Quick! Send the Daleks on this planet as well as in this sector of space back to the Time War! Now! Do it quickly”
“Bill, what do you think you’re doing?!” Maximus cried admonishingly at her.
In an instant, the Daleks were zapped one by one out of their base. The crystal piece responded to Bill’s command. It was sending the Daleks back to the Time War. The Daleks cried enraged and panicked.
When it came to the Command Dalek, it cried out enraged, “Salvador has betrayed us! He shall pay for this! We shall hunt down down…”
The Command Dalek was cut short as it got zapped out of the saucer base. Once all the Daleks were zapped out, the fighting finally ceased. Everyone was astonished by what just happened. Silence ensued as Cigihana and Emsterdon came out of hiding. Nomark, Azkai and Sparta lowered their weapons.
“What was that?” Emsterdon asked nervously as she broke the silence. “What just happened?”
“Bill, what have you done?” Maximus told her off. “You stopped me from blowing up the Daleks!”
“And I stopped you from being a murderer,” Bill told her. “I sent them back to the Time War, didn’t I? Don’t you get it? A ‘Thanks very much, Bill’ and ‘You’ve saved our lives’ would be nice!”
“I could’ve blown up the Daleks forever had you not interfered,” Maximus said. “They wouldn’t have caused any more damage to this planet and this sector of the galaxy!”
“And now they won’t, thanks to me putting them back in the Time War,” Bill said. “They have no Salvador to help them escape this time! They’ll probably be blown up by the time your Time Lords deal with them.”
Maximus was about to argue further but then she conceded. She saw that Bill had a point. She couldn’t help be disgruntled, but she guessed that Bill did better than what was originally planned. “Very well, Bill. I hope you’re right about what you did. By Gallifrey, Bill Potts, I hope you’re right.”
“I know I am,” said Bill confidently.
Eventually, Maximus said, “And err…Thanks very much, Bill. You’ve saved our lives.”
“You’re welcome,” Bill smiled. “Much appreciated.”
Azkai then interrupted. “So that’s it? Tendrasta and the Goseker system are free of the Daleks forever.”
“For now, I should think so, yes,” Maximus replied.
Everyone cheered, except Sparta course. Everyone, except Sparta, gathered around to form a group hug. Cigihana gave Emsterdon and Azkai kisses on the cheek and she also gave Bill a kiss on the cheek. Bill felt flattered and honoured to be kissed by a princess. Her cheeks glowed. Nomark shook hands with Sparta. The android appreciated the gratification he received from Nomark.
Just then, Bill remembered. “Wait! What about the Doctor? We’ve got to get back to that room he’s in and help him. Stop him from being roasted alive by Salvador or something.”
“How do you suggest we do that?” Maximus asked.
“I don’t know,” Bill retorted. “But we’ve got to do something. At least I’ve got to do something!”
“If I may,” Nomark interjected, “I might be able to help you.”
“Really?” Bill reacted surprised.
“With your help as well as your Time Lord lady friend here. And some equipment I’ve got back aboard the princess’ ship, which is still in the nebula, I believe.”
“It certainly is,” Maximus recalled. “How are you going to get your equipment from there to here?”
Gradually, Nomark turned to Cigihana. “Your majesty! If what Bill did worked, the crew aboard your sailing ship can pilot it out of the nebula. Make its way to Tendrasta. The nebula’s not far from here.”
Smiling, Cigihana nodded as she took out a communicator from her pocket and switched it on, speaking into it. “Cigihana to sailing ship! Cigihana to sailing ship! Can anyone hear me? The princess of Tendrasta summons you.”
Bill hoped it wouldn’t be too late. Her chances of saving the Doctor were more optimistic than ever.
A while later, Cigihana’s sailing spaceship, piloted by its low-ranking crewmembers, finally came to Tendrasta. Equipment was soon set up in Salvador’s chamber by Nomark. The Doctor was gently placed onto a bunk bed by Sparta and Maximus. Bill lay nearby on a bunk bed next to the Doctor. Wires were attached to the Doctor and Bill’s heads. Maximus stood between them, ready to establish a telepathic connection between the Time Lord and the human girl. Princess Cigihana, Azkai and Emsterdon were also present as Nomark explained things to everyone.
“This equipment I’ve set up here. It’s monitoring the Doctor’s condition – blood pressure; heart rate; respiratory system; etc. This is something I do in my spare time by the way. I’m not a medical doctor.”
“Remind me to grant you more lessons in the medical field,” Cigihana told him. “It’ll be good to have a medical doctor aboard my ship as well as a pilot, bodyguard and advisor should an emergency arise.”
“Thank you, your majesty,” responded Nomark. “Much appreciated.”
“Does this equipment of yours affect me by any chance?” Bill asked Nomark, prompting to get attention.
Nomark turned to Bill. “I will be monitoring your medical conditions from here too, Bill. Whilst you’re inside the Doctor’s mind and trying to save him.”
“Tell us how the Doctor is, Nomark,” Bill demanded. “Is he stable?”
Nomark checked the medical instruments on hand. Gradually, he felt grim. “It doesn’t look good, Bill. The Doctor’s condition is worsening. His heart rate is slowing and the respiratory and blood systems aren’t ideal at this point.”
“Then we’d better get started. Waste no more time.”
“Bill, are you sure you want to do this?” Maximus asked. “Once I establish a telepathic connection between you and the Doctor, your mind-set and your bodily functions are at risk as well…”
“I’m sure about this,” Bill answered. “The Doctor has saved lives before. Now it’s my turn to save his. I can’t let him down. Not after all he’s taught me.”
After a moment’s silence, Maximus said, “Very well. Be it on your own head.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll do my best to protect your mind with energy barriers in order to soothe your way through and survive the pressure and stress inside the Doctor’s mind. It’s not a hundred per cent viable, but you should be able to move around the Doctor’s mind whilst he’s confronting Salvador wherever he is.”
“Thank you, Maximus,” Bill smiled. “I really appreciate this.”
Taking a deep breath, Maximus said to Nomark, “I think we can get started.”
“I’ll monitor both the Doctor and Bill’s conditions once you begin,” Nomark told her.
Maximus nodded before she turned to Bill. “Close your eyes, my dear.”
Acknowledging, Bill laid her head back and closed her eyes. Maximus soon began to place one hand on Bill’s head and the other on the Doctor’s head.
“Sorry, should’ve warned you,” Maximus then said. “The first part of this could come as a shock to you.”
In an instant, Bill gasped and convulsed before she slumped into unconsciousness in an instant. Both she and the Doctor convulsed simultaneously for a moment whilst Maximus established an telepathic connection between them. Eventually, Maximus let out a gasp once this happened.
“Contact has been made,” she breathed to say.
Cigihana turned to Nomark at his medical set-up. “Nomark, tell us good news. Is Bill stable?”
Nomark checked. “Yes. Bill’s lifesigns are still intact. It’s like she’s sleeping whilst Maximus is keeping the mental balance between her and the Doctor in check.”
“Thank goodness,” Emsterdon breathed a sigh of relief.
“What about the Doctor?” Azkai asked. “Any change at his end.”
“Afraid not,” Nomark replied, shaking his head. “The Doctor’s condition is getting worse as we speak.”
“Let’s hope Bill will be able to save him in time whilst inside the Doctor’s mind,” Cigihana declared.
“I don’t understand how any of this Time Lord-human mind-link setup works,” Emsterdon admitted.
“Me neither,” Nomark said. “But one thing’s for certain. Unless Bill can get the Doctor’s lifesigns to a normal level, both will be brain-dead in an instant. Both lives will be lost.”
Everyone in the room reflected on the grim reality that befell Bill and the Doctor.
Sparta eventually broke the silence. “The Doctor has two hearts. Bill has twice the amount of work to get the Doctor’s condition back to a normal level.”
Azkai looked Sparta disapprovingly. “Have to be such a party-pooper, Sparta.”
Meanwhile, the Doctor was getting weaker by the second as he knelt to the ground. The Time Lord’s despair was getting greater. The destruction of Gallifrey loomed larger into view.
Salvador continued to tower above the Doctor, laughing maniacally and terribly than ever. “You cannot win, Doctor! Don’t you see? I’ve put you through your endless torture at last! Once you yield to me and you give me the Zorbius crystal fragment I most desire, I shall have the satisfaction of giving you endless death. It’s more than you deserve. Salvador has triumphed at last!”
The Doctor cried out in further despair. He was on the verge of giving up altogether.
But soon, the Doctor’s salvation came once Bill appeared before him. The Doctor didn’t register Bill immediately however. She came by and knelt beside him on the ground they stood upon.
Salvador was greatly annoyed by her presence. “Get out of here, girl! Leave this domain at once! You’re ruining everything!”
“Back off and shut it, big bully,” Bill told him before she turned to her Time Lord friend. “Doctor, please wake up! It’s me, Bill! You remember Bill, don’t you?”
Gradually, the Doctor opened his eyes. He looked to see Bill’s determined and eager face. “Bill,” he managed to gasp. “Hello Bill.”
“That’s right,” Bill smiled. “You remember me, don’t you?”
The Doctor began to slumber again, saying, “Goodbye Bill.”
Bill was confused. “Goodbye? What do you mean ‘goodbye’? I’ve come to save you, haven’t you? Get you out of this place…”
“Don’t you see, Bill?” the Doctor interrupted her. “I’m a monster. I’m a bloodthirsty monster. If I stay here, I can’t harm anyone else ever again! I mustn’t harm the universe. I won’t do that, I won’t!”
“What are you talking about?” Bill asked, perplexed. “You’re not a monster, Doctor! You save people! You’re a hero! Don’t let this bully Salvador tell you otherwise.”
Salvador was enjoying the despair he inflicted upon the Doctor lately.
“I destroyed Gallifrey,” the Doctor continued. “I made my people suffer by blowing them up as well as the Daleks using the Moment. I can’t go back to the universe trying to protect it when I’ve done so much harm to others. It’s too much for me to bear. I can’t go back, Bill, I can’t!”
“Doctor, you didn’t destroy Gallifrey!” Bill told him. “Maximus told me you froze the planet! You saved the Time Lords, remember?”
“Don’t listen to her, Doctor,” Salvador thundered. “She’s lying to make you feel better! You don’t deserve to feel better! You should suffer for your actions!”
At that, Bill went up to Salvador and said, “I told you to shut up!” She gave him a punch on the shoulder.
Salvador was unaffected by Bill’s punch. He laughed in her face. “That won’t work on me! Your acts of violence are nothing against my power!”
“It made me feel better,” Bill told him before she turned back to the Doctor.
“Just leave me, Bill,” the Doctor said to her. “Go back to the TARDIS. Press the fast return switch…”
“I’m not leaving you, Doctor!”
The Doctor acted like he didn’t hear her. “Maximus should be able to help you out. She can provide assistance with any piloting controls that will enable you to get back to Earth…”
“Didn’t you hear what I said, you old man?!” Bill said forcibly. “I’m not leaving you!”
“Why?!” the Doctor questioned her. “What’s the point in hanging on to me?”
“Because you’re needed, Doctor,” Bill said. “Whatever Salvador plagues you to believe or whatever guilt he’s making you feel, people still need you.”
Seemingly surprised by that remark, the Doctor looked up at Bill. “You’re going to have to do better than that, Bill Potts. At present, my morale levels are very lukewarm.”
Bill knelt down to the Doctor. “Think of the lives we’ve saved. All the people who wouldn’t be around whatever time and place they come from. That’s down to you, Doctor. And I suppose I helped out a bit too, but it’s mostly you. People need someone like you to give them hope. You give them that hope! Not Salvador. He just wants to drain people’s hope away. To make them despair. He doesn’t save people! You do, Doctor!”
“How dare you blaspheme in my presence,” Salvador bellowed angrily. “No one dares blasphemes in the name of Salvador who is your saviour!”
“People need lesser monsters like him and more heroes like you,” Bill continued. “You can overcome the despair he’s inflicted on you! I know you can! Trust me, Doctor! Trust me and don’t listen to the lies made up by him!”
At that, Bill was forcibly brought up from the Doctor’s side as Salvador grabbed her by the throat. Bill gasped for breath, suffocating as Salvador tightened his grip around her neck.
“You won’t ruin my victory, insignificant human girl,” Salvador spat at her. “I am Salvador victorious! I am the saviour everlasting! I will free people of the Doctor’s influence! People don’t need the Doctor! And they certainly don’t need you!”
As Bill struggled for breath, almost to the point of death, all she could think about was, “Mum! I love you so much!”
Whether anyone heard her through her gasping breaths, it was hard to tell. Salvador didn’t care. Nor did he want to know. Eventually, someone patted Salvador’s right shoulder. Salvador turned to see, losing his grip on Bill’s neck slightly. He saw the Doctor standing before him, gradually recovering.
“In the words of Michael Keaton,” the Time Lord declared, “have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”
With that, a massive fist was created by the Doctor, using the Zorbius crystal fragment he had. The fist slammed into Salvador’s face, knocking him out for the count. Letting go of Bill, Salvador collapsed to the ground in an instant. Bill regained her strength, overcoming the coughing fit she had. She soon re-joined the Doctor as they looked down at Salvador on the ground.
“Seriously? 1989’s ‘Batman’?” Bill queried him.
“Thanks for the distraction,” the Doctor said. “My despairing moments managed to fool him.”
“You don’t mean to say you were putting that on?” Bill checked. “About feeling guilty about destroying your home?”
“Oh that wasn’t me you heard,” the Doctor told her. “That was someone else impersonating me.”
“Well, can’t imagine how fooled I was,” Bill scoffed, quite irritably the Doctor thought.
As Salvador lay on the ground unconscious, the Doctor knelt down and took the Zorbius crystal fragment stolen from Maximus from him. The Doctor held the two crystal fragments he now obtained together in his hands, grinning with delight.
“Time to go back home, Bill?” the Doctor checked.
Bill gave the Doctor a hug, something which he reacted to with mild surprise. Very soon, they and Salvador vanished out of the miserable realm they were in.
The Doctor and Bill soon woke up to find themselves back in Salvador’s chamber. Maximus, Cigihana and the others were there. Salvador had returned too as he lay on the floor. Getting up from their bunk beds, the Doctor and Bill joined the others whilst Salvador woke up. The dark lord had become very angry. Everyone backed away once Salvador got angry. The Doctor made sure he had the two Zorbius crystal fragments he collected secured in his frockcoat pockets.
“This was supposed to be my victory!” Salvador declared angrily. “Hand over the crystal fragments, Doctor! They belong to me! You know they do!”
“Enough is enough, Salvador,” the Time Lord told him. “You had your chance. It’s time to end it. I can’t change your ways, but I can at least prevent you taking the Zorbius crystal fragments from me.”
“You can’t defeat me, Doctor,” Salvador cried. “I have my Daleks to support me!”
“Oh?! And where are they, may I ask?” the Doctor challenged the dark lord goadingly.
“I…they…where…”
“Oh! They’ve gone, haven’t they?” the Doctor continued. “Back to the Time War where you tried to convince me that I destroyed Gallifrey. Well, that didn’t work, did it?” The Doctor nudged Bill. “I assume you and Maximus sent the Daleks off back to the Time War with the piece of Zorbius crystal that was snapped off from the fragment I had.” Yeah, the Doctor had planned that as he explained later to Bill.
Gradually, Bill passed the chipped piece of Zorbius crystal over to the Doctor. For a moment, she didn’t want to hand it over. It seemed tempting to keep it. The Doctor took the crystal piece from her.
“Yeah, all sorted, thanks,” Bill said. “I did most of the work. Maximus was there hanging around.”
Maximus said nothing. She was relieved that Bill didn’t get her into trouble about when she initially planned to blow up the Daleks on Tendrasta. She saw now that the Doctor wouldn’t have approved.
The confrontation between Salvador and the Daleks resumed.
“This isn’t over, Doctor,” the dark lord said. “I’ll go back to the Time War and bring back the Daleks! We’ll sort you once and for all!”
“Go ahead, try it,” the Doctor defied him. “I doubt the Daleks will listen to you though. They’ll think you betrayed them once they were sent back to the Time War. You know what Daleks are like.”
“They did actually,” Bill told the Doctor. “The Dalek leader said that Salvador betrayed them once it was zapped out back to the Time War.”
“There you are, you see,” said the Doctor pointedly at Salvador.
The dark lord became despairing. “No! This cannot be! This wasn’t how it was supposed to end!”
“I gave you two choices, Salvador,” the Doctor went on. “A life to show compassion to others; or a life where you ended up with Daleks. Look where this life with the Daleks got you. I can still give you a life of compassion, Salvy boy. I am merciful. Whatever you may think of me, I can be merciful to anyone who lacks it. Perhaps you should do the same.”
Still bitter and enraged, Salvador couldn’t let go of the hatred he had for the Doctor. “Never!” he proclaimed. “You’ve not heard the last of me! I shall ruin you forever, Doctor! Next time we meet, it’ll be twice as worse!”
With that, Salvador soon vanished into thin air. Everyone became surprised at this.
“Doctor, he’s gone,” Bill pointed out.
“Where did he go?” Cigihana asked. “Is he still on Tendrasta?”
“No, your majesty,” the Doctor told the princess. “You’ve no need to worry about Salvador. Or any Daleks for that matter. Salvador’s gone to find his other self.”
“Other self?” Nomark became confused.
“Yes, when I said I gave Salvador two choices, I literally divided him into two halves. There’s another Salvador out there somewhere ruling an alien planet. The Salvador we met today will try to meet up with that Salvador in an attempt to form an alliance. So that they can both oppose against me.”
“So there are two Salvadors out there in space?!” Azkai exclaimed, exasperated. “Oh great!”
“Shouldn’t you be chasing after the Salvador that just left then?” Emsterdon asked. “Aren’t you worried he might be causing trouble?”
The Doctor shrugged. “With any luck, one of my future selves will be sorting it out. I did see a future version of me – a blonde woman – where I partake in the events of Zorbius.”
“A blonde woman?” Bill reacted surprised.
“Regenerations come in many shapes and sizes,” the Doctor commented.
Perplexed, Bill eventually checked, “So, are you expecting a confirmation from your future self – who happens to be a woman – about her sorting out Salvador and the other one he’s meeting?”
“I’ll send her a message to let me know everything’s okay at her end once we get back to the TARDIS,” the Doctor said.
“When do you expect to hear from her then?” Maximus asked.
Just then, the door to Salvador’s chamber slid open. There was nobody there. All that was there was a paper note on the floor in the doorway. Gradually, the Doctor and the others went over to the doorway. The Doctor picked up the note from the floor and opened it to see what was inside.
“Ah! Here it is,” the Doctor declared happily. “A note from my future self.” Out of the corner of his eye, the Time Lord noticed a blonde-haired woman in a hooded, lilac-blue trench coat making her way out of a corridor and turning around the corner. A brief glimpse was enough for the Doctor to be certain the woman was his future self that had travelled back in time to give him the note he needed.
“What does it say?” Cigihana asked eagerly.
The Doctor read the note out loud for people to hear. “Hello Doctor. The Doctor here. Don’t worry about future Salvador business. I’m dealing with it. Hope you’re well. Love the Doctor. Also send my love to Bill too. P.S. Make sure you properly send me a message to send you a note about future Salvador business once you get back to the TARDIS. Bye!”
Bill looked at the note herself and became pleased. “Aww, that’s sweet.”
The Doctor scrunched the note in his hand, slightly annoyed. “The cheek of it! Asking me to properly send her a message to send a note back to me. Who does she think she is?”
“So that’s it then?” Emsterdon checked. “Are we free from the menace of the Daleks and Salvador?”
“For today, yes,” the Doctor told everyone. “For the future, well, that’s a different matter.”
“It still means you can celebrate, guys,” Bill told everyone.
“Thank goodness for that,” cheered Emsterdon relieved.
Everyone cheered, including Bill, Maximus, Cigihana, Emsterdon, Azkai and Nomark. They danced about in the corridor outside Salvador’s chamber, celebrating their victory over the Daleks and Salvador. Sparta didn’t join in the dancing. Neither did the Doctor. He was becoming concerned about his future and the current circumstances of Zorbius with the two crystal fragments and the chipped piece he had in his possession. He wondered whether things would be dangerous from now on regarding Zorbius.
A few days later, people gathered at the king’s court in Tendrasta’s major city. Princess Cigihana stood on a podium, addressing everyone. Emsterdon and Azkai stood beside her on one side whilst Nomark and Sparta stood on the other side. The Doctor, Bill and Maximus watched in the crowd.
“The past few days have been difficult,” Cigihana said to everyone. “But be assured, everyone! The Daleks have been defeated! They can’t hurt anyone anymore!”
People cheered in the crowd, clapping their hands. The Doctor wasn’t keen as Bill and everyone else cheering and applauding. The Daleks may have gone for now, but what was to stop them coming back.
The princess went on to address the issue of the Goseker system. “I’ve made contact with the other planets in the Goseker system severely affected by the Daleks’ attack, thanks to Nomark, my pilot, bodyguard, adviser and upcoming physician aboard my sailing ship.” Cigihana indicated him nearby for people to see.
“Thank you, your majesty.” Nomark nodded appreciatively.
Cigihana continued. “On behalf of my father who can’t be here today because he’s got a bad cold, Tendrasta has agreed to help rebuild those planets in the Goseker system severely damaged by Dalek attack. In return, the people of those planets will help to rebuild our world.”
The crowd cheered and applauded again. The Doctor applauded too, approving of the way Cigihana was handling this matter. He didn’t consider a Crown Cow so much now.
“Isn’t this great?” Bill nudged the Doctor. “The people on this planet working together after all they’ve been through with the Daleks.”
“Oh Bill,” the Doctor replied, “it’s about to get even interesting.”
At that, the princess continued, “I also have a special announcement to make. Since my father can’t be here, I’ve decided on who I want to marry as future queen of Tendrasta.” Pausing for a moment, she went on, “I’ve decided… to marry… Emsterdon of Zangy… and Azkai of Yack.”
Everybody gasped astonished and confused. Emsterdon and Azkai were astonished and confused too.
Nomark approached Cigihana and whispered, “My princess. Pardon me for mishearing it, but did you say you intend to marry both Emsterdon and Azkai at the same time?”
“That’s right, Nomark,” Cigihana whispered back. She then addressed Emsterdon and Azkai. “Come forth, you two. Let everyone see my future bridegroom and future bride.”
Emsterdon and Azkai nervously stepped forward. They eventually waved to the crowd with nervous smiles on their faces. The crowd’s reactions were mixed. Some were happy and intrigued; some weren’t so happy. Emsterdon and Azkai still weren’t sure what to make of Cigihana’s announcement either.
“Your majesty; my dear Cigihana,” Emsterdon began. “With all due respect, this isn’t part of your Tendrastan tradition. Your father won’t approve.”
“Yeah, having a husband and a wife at the same time isn’t ideal,” Azkai added. “It’s bound to cause a lot of complications.”
“I don’t care,” Cigihana smiled happily. “I’m making a new tradition today. I want to marry you both as my husband and wife. After all we’ve been through; you two have proven to me how brave you are. How you’re willing to protect your future queen of Tendrasta.”
“But I…we…” Emsterdon stammered, pointing to herself and Azkai.
“Yeah. We…” Azkai stammered too, pointing to himself and Emsterdon.
“Come on,” Cigihana said coyly. “If I can fall in love with you two, surely the two of you can love each other in this arrangement.”
Emsterdon and Azkai looked at each other rather peculiarly.
“Us?” queried Emsterdon.
“Love each other?” Azkai added.
“You do like each other, don’t you?” Cigihana asked.
Emsterdon and Azkai looked at each other again. There was a time when the two resented each other. That seemed such a while ago now.
“I suppose I could get used to you in this arrangement,” Emsterdon said to Azkai.
“Yeah,” Azkai agreed. “Likewise with you too.”
“See,” said Cigihana cheerfully. “Our married lives as a trio are going to be great together.”
There was more of an outcry amongst the people in the crowd. On the podium, Cigihana, Nomark, Emsterdon and Azkai looked to see the unhappy faces. Sparta remained stoic still whilst all of this was happening. People yelled protests about this marriage arrangement. Some said things like “It can’t work!”; “Never heard of such a thing!” and “It’s most disgraceful”.
Cigihana was irritated by this outcry. She called for silence, demanding attention. “Listen, everyone! This is the arrangement I choose to go for! I ask you to respect my wishes! If you don’t like it, you can leave this planet and never come back! Do I make myself clear?”
With those words, Cigihana managed to silence most of the crowd. There was still disgruntlement but some had been put in their place.
Maximus became confused. She looked to the Doctor. “I don’t recall the Matrix on Gallifrey recording this incident in Tendrasta’s history”.
“History’s still being made,” the Doctor told Maximus.
“This is taking diverse marriages to a whole new level,” said Bill said, rather pleased. “I imagine it could work out well, couldn’t it?” She addressed her last question to the Doctor. “Couldn’t it, Doctor?”
The Doctor didn’t answer. He took out his TARDIS key and said to Bill and Maximus. “Come on, you two. Let’s get back into my TARDIS.”
“What about my TARDIS?” Maximus enquired. “It’s still on Cigihana’s sailing ship.”
“We’ll go back there and pick up what’s left of it,” the Doctor told her. “Probably a wreck by now. Come, let’s slip away quietly.”
With that, the Doctor, Bill and Maximus slipped away quietly.
This is before Cigihana announced further, “But of course, let’s not forget that our victory wouldn’t have happened without the support of Tendrasta’s new friends, the Doctor, Bill and Maximus.” She then became confused, calling out, “Doctor; Bill; Maximus! Where are they? Has anyone seen them lately?”
Everyone in the crowd and everyone on the podium looked around to see where the Doctor, Bill and Maximus were. They weren’t in sight. It was as if the trio had vanished completely. The princess became sad. She didn’t even get to say goodbye to Bill. She quite liked that girl who complimented her so nicely.
Bill was sad she didn’t get to say goodbye to Princess Cigihana either. A short while later in the TARDIS, she, the Doctor and Maximus were leaving Tendrasta. They checked in on Maximus’ dishevelled TARDIS and the Doctor was right. There wasn’t much of her TARDIS left. In the end, they were on their way back to Earth. The Doctor hoped to be back in time before anyone like Nardole noticed that he was gone. After all, he was meant to be protecting a vault under his study at St. Luke’s University in Bristol.
“Seriously though,” Bill continued to discuss. “It could work. The marriage between Princess Cigihana, Emsterdon and Azkai, couldn’t it?”
The Doctor was very reluctant to answer Bill as he pulled a lever. Eventually he said, “There will be resistance and rebellion in the ranks, especially from the princess’s bigoted family. But I imagine it could be successful between those three young people in the end. Two who love the princess and the princess guiding her two admirers to love each other? It’s quite a unique arrangement.”
“You can’t be certain it’ll be successful,” Maximus warned the Doctor. “Not when history’s still being recorded about Tendrasta and the Goseker system.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll be checking up on that planet and its system from time to time,” the Doctor argued. “It’s always good of me to check up annually how a planet and how a system’s doing. To prevent any disruption that’s happening in the universe.”
“How can you check up on Tendrasta and its system when you’re meant to be guarding a vault on Earth,” Bill cheekily challenged the Time Lord.
“There’s a future version of me, Bill,” the Doctor told her, smiling knowingly. “A blonde-haired woman, remember? I’ll find a way eventually.” He paused for a moment before he went on. “But here’s a question I’d like to put to you, Bill Potts.”
“Really, what’s that?” Bill enquired.
“Diverse marriages. They happen on Earth and they happen on other planets. Many would regard them as ridiculous and not adhering to traditional values. What say you to that?”
“Well, you know the answer to that already,” Bill replied. “I’m up for diverse marriages.”
“But what about other people’s opinions,” the Doctor challenged her.
“What do you mean?”
“You think they’re justified in the arguments they make for and against those kinds of arrangements?”
Bill didn’t know how to answer that question. There seemed to lot to cover answering it.
Eventually, the Doctor clicked his fingers. “Write a 3,000 word essay on the subject. I expect it to be on my desk a week Tuesday. Whatever week we end up being back in that is.”
Bill sulked. She should’ve known essay work would be involved.
“What about the Zorbius crystal fragments?” Maximus asked him. “And the chipped off piece? Where do we go from there?”
Taking out the two crystal fragments and the chipped piece he had in his frockcoat pocket, the Doctor held them out for Bill and Maximus to see. He eyed them curiously for a bit. “Ah, yes. The Zorbius crystal fragments and the chipped piece. That’s something for me to attend when it comes to encountering Zorbius next time. Hopefully I’ll give them to Lady Tari at the hotel she’s running and staying at with her husband. She currently owns the main crystal, you see.”
“Lady Tari?” Bill queried.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” the Doctor told her, pocketing the crystal fragments and the chipped piece back into his frockcoat. “In the meantime, I’ll put the fragments and the chipped piece somewhere safe in my TARDIS.” Turning to Maximus, he said, “The thing is though, what are we going to do with you, Maximus? Now that you’ve escaped the Time War and Gallifrey, where do we go from here?”
Maximus thought about this, not sure how to answer. “I don’t know, Doctor,” she eventually answered.
Suddenly, the TARDIS began to go out of control. Everything shuddered and juddered violently. The Doctor, Bill and Maximus held onto the console whilst everything was shuddering and juddering.
“Doctor, what’s happening?” Bill asked out loud. “What have you done?”
“I haven’t done anything,” the Doctor replied, slightly annoyed. “I was just standing here and the old girl started to go kablooey.”
At that, the console room exploded all around the Doctor, Bill and Maximus. They continued to hold on whilst the TARDIS went out of control.
“Are we still heading back to Earth?” Bill enquired. “Where the vault is?”
The Doctor checked. “Nope, we’re not!” He looked up at Bill from the scanner.
“Then where are we heading?” asked Bill anxiously.
“I’ve absolutely no idea,” the Doctor replied. “But it’s bound to get really exciting!”
As the Doctor grinned away, Bill couldn’t help admitting that she was thrilled by the prospect of another adventure getting in the way of their return journey home. She wondered what waited for them. What new adventure would lay in store for the Doctor, Bill and their new friend Maximus? The TARDIS continued to go out of control, journeying through the time vortex at a tremendous rate.
© Tim Bradley, 2020
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