Doctor Who: The Nemesis Who Stole Time-Part 6

 

     

 

Hi! Dave-El here and welcome to I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses, the blog that reverses the polarity of your neutron flow.

Not a lot of pre-story rambling today but I do want to take a quick moment regarding the pictures used in these stories. They're mainly there to break up the text, to add a visual element to what would otherwise be just lines and lines of words. As such, there are no clues to be found in the pictures. For example, if the 7th Doctor is wearing his tan coat in one picture but his dark brown one in another, that's not a clue to anything. That just me being lazy. :-)

Now on to the recap.....

The 11th Doctor and Clara are on a mission to stop an unstoppable force of ultimate destruction, the Great Negation. With the help of the White Guardian, a plan is in place to gather the myriad pieces of the destroyed Key to Time which, at best, represents a slim chance to stop the destruction of all things. 
 

The Doctor has adapted a Hypercube, a form of Time Lord technology, and linked to the TARDIS to seek out the fragments. The Doctor and Clara have been joined in this quest by River Song, Jack Harkness and Martha Jones-Smith. 

 

But this desperate mission to save the universe has a unique and perplexing  distraction: key moments in the Doctor's timeline are being stolen. causing his regenerations to reverse, most recently to his 7th persona. 

 

Behind the Doctor's personal crisis and the threat of the Great Negation is the Master, the Doctor's long time arch nemesis whose appearance is that of his first incarnation.

 

Elsewhere, the 8th Doctor still exists when he finds himself on Bannerman Road and in the company of Sarah Jane Smith.  

 

Here are links to parts 1 through 5:   

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

 

And now, part 6 of....

 

The Nemesis Who Stole Time!

 

____________________________________________________

On the flagship of the 12^th Cyber Legion, a group of Cybermen are marching with determined urgency as they flank the Cyber Leader.

Cyber Leader: Cyberman, analysis from the Cyber Dominion.

 

Cyberman: Variables undetermined, Cyber Leader. Analysis unconclusive.

 

Cyber Leader: Unacceptable.

 

Cyberman: The force of dark energy has consumed 27.3457% of all planetoids in the Cyber Dominion. The force has defied analysis.

 

Cyber Leader: Still unacceptable. And this incursion into the core of the flagship?

 

Cyberman: Cyber Leader, the humanoid breached our defenses in Sector Alpha 9-2 Zed.

 

Cyber Leader: Impossible. Shielding for that sector is at optimal efficiency.

 

Cyberman: Cyber Leader, sensors indicated a surge in tachyon energy in that sector.

Cyber Leader: Tachyon energy.

Cyberman 2: Affirmative.

Cyber Leader: Time Travel.

Cyberman: Correlation between time travel and tachyon energy affirmed.

Cyber Leader: The Doctor

Cyberman: Statistical analysis indicates a positive indication of the Doctor’s presence.

Voice (off screen): The humans on Earth have an expression…

The Cybermen turn towards a hall where a figure stands in shadow.

Cybermen prime armaments.

A man steps out of the shadows but he’s still a figure of darkness: black suit, black hair and beard and shaded eyes.

Man: There are lies, damned lies….

Cybermen aim there weapons.

The man is in clear view now. It is the Master.

The Master: …and statistics. Your statistical analysis have failed you, Cybermen.

 

Cyber Leader: Identify yourself.

The Master: I am the Master.

Cyber Leader: The Cybermen acknowledge no man as Master.

The Master: Well, of course not! The mighty Cyber race. The ultimate masterpiece of man and machine and superior to all. Well, except me, of course.

Cyber Leader: You are a Time Lord.

 

The Master: Very good, Cyber Leader. But so much more. I am in the process of a little project that I like to refer to as “I take over everything.” Granted, it lacks a certain style but it gets to the point.

Cyber Leader: Why have you come here?

The Master: I am here for two things. One is to ask you a question.

Cyber Leader: A question?

The Master: Yes. That dark force that's eating away at your dominion. I'm sure you've noticed it by now. Do you know who it belongs to?

The Cyber Leader stares at the Master but does not reply.

The Master grins and points his thumb at himself.

The Master: Me!

Cyber Leader: You are the one responsible for the destruction of worlds belonging to the Cyber race.

The Master: Me? Destroy you? Perish the thought! It's more like I am here to offer salvation for the Cyber race if...well, that brings me to my second reason for coming here.

Cyber Leader: You are becoming most tiresome.

The Master: Then I best get to the point then.

I am here to make the Cybermen part of my grand scheme to rule the cosmos!

 

Cyber Leader: You are but one man. You have no power to make the Cybermen do anything.

 

The Master: No, no , no. You’re supposed to say, “You and what army?”

Cyber Leader does not reply.

 

The Master: Sigh! Fine. I’ll say it: "You and what army?"

 

The Master snaps his fingers and in a flare of light, the Master is surrounded by statues. Weeping Angels.

 

 

Cyberman: Cyber Leader, we are under attack!

 

Cyber Leader: Cease! These are only statues.

The Master: Of course they are only statues. Cyber Leader, will you and your Cyber forces acknowledge me as your Master and do as I command?

 

Cyber Leader: The Cybermen acknowledge no man as Master.

 

The Master: Of course you don’t.

The Master snaps his fingers again and darkness falls everywhere.

 

Cyber Leader: Darkness is not a deterrent. Cybermen can see in the---BZZZT !

There’s a sudden burst of energy as the Cyber Leader sparks and explodes. In the darkness we see bursts of light. Each time, we see the Angels in different places and positions. All the while, there is the sound of weapons firing, metal being torn, electricity sparking and crackling.

Then a snap of fingers and the statues are in different places, standing silent and still over the wreckage of dozens of Cybermen. Other Cybermen are still standing beyond the wreckage.

 

The Master (striding confidently towards the surviving Cybermen): Interesting quirk about Weeping Angels. They only move when they’re not being observed by humanoid eyes. Mechanical eyes that can see in the infrared or ultraviolet spectrums? Not really an issue.

The Master approaches one of the remaining standing Cybermen.

 

The Master: Cyberman, your designation.

Cyberman: I am Cyberman 67-Alpha Episilon-74-X

The Master: Congratulations! You’ve just been promoted to Cyber Leader. Don’t let it go to your…helmet.

The Master raises his arms.

The Master (shouting): Cybermen! Acknowledge me as your Master!

Cybermen in unison: You are the Master! You are the Master!
You are the Master!
You are the Master!

The Master stands tall, an evil grin on his face as he begins to laugh.  

Scene change: Inside the TARDIS:

 

River: You did what?

 

Jack: Doc, that’s crazy!

 

7^th Doctor: There was no choice!

 

Martha: Doctor, I don’t understand!

Clara: Me too!

River: Martha, Clara. The Doctor has turned the TARDIS into…

7^th Doctor: No! No, River. Let me. (Ahem!) Clara, Martha. When I adapted the Hypecube to seek out fragments to the Key to Time…well, when I plugged the cube into  the TARDIS console, it…turned the TARDIS into a…what you might call a…."Coincidence Engine”.

 

 

Clara: A what?

Jack: A Coincidence Engine, Clara!

Clara: I heard what he said, Jack. Doctor, what does that mean?

Martha: Yeah, that’s what I’d like to know.

River: What it means…

7^th Doctor (interrupting, snappishly): River! Please. (Taking a deep breath.) Look, the TARDIS is a remarkable machine, make no mistake but back on Gallifrey, it was virtually a museum piece.

 

Scene shift: a man in Time Lord robes who looks very much like the 1^st Doctor walks the halls of the Citadel of the Time Lords.

 

7^th Doctor (VO): When I…er, borrowed her all those centuries ago, she was in a work room ready to be stripped for display. The old girl deserved better.

We see the 1^st Doctor in the doorway and he smiles.

Scene shift: back to the TARDIS interior.

7^th Doctor: A top of the line TARDIS would have been much easier to navigate but it was also much easier for my fellow Time Lords to track. The Type 40’s major flaw was my solution to that problem.

Clara: Which is…?

River: The Type 40 doesn’t always go where you want it to go.

 

Martha (rolling her eyes): Tell me about it.

Jack: So that’s why you’re always working so hard to get this thing where you want it to go.

 

7^th Doctor: That and the Type 40 is optimally piloted by 6 people. By the way…

7^th Doctor raps Jack over the head with the handle of his umbrella.

Jack: Ouch! What…?

7^th Doctor: Kindly do not refer to my TARDIS as a "thing" again.

Clara: So what’s all this have to do with a “Coincidence Engine”?

7^th Doctor: There is an inherent danger in allowing a TARDIS to follow the currents of the Time Vortex. Such uncontrolled time travel can have serious impacts on the progression of history. Even fixed points in time which must never be changed….can be disrupted.

Martha: But we’re…oh!

Clara: Wait! “Oh?” What’s “oh”?

 

Martha (looking at the Doctor): You’re not piloting the TARDIS, are you?

The Doctor silently shakes his head no.

Clara: C’mon, that…(pauses) that makes sense. We’re ALWAYS arriving right where we can find a Key fragment. How long…?

 

7^th Doctor: Since we left the White Guardian and we landed on Zarathustra. And we’re not just riding the currents of the Time Vortex.

River: The TARDIS is being pushed into those currents by the contents of the Hypercube, the key fragments. 

Jack: The result is a near 100% probability that where the TARDIS wants to go....

Clara: ...is exactly where it needs to go.

Martha: Like a coincidence but planned. Sort of.

7th Doctor: So you understand?

Clara and Martha both shake their heads "no" 

Clara: No, not really.

Martha: Clear as anything ever is around here.

Clara: I've learned it's best just to roll with it.

Martha: Too true, Clara. Too true.

Clara (to the Doctor): But exactly how is that dangerous?

7th Doctor: In order to establish a high rate of probability of the TARDIS being in the right place at the right time, events have to be...manipulated.


River: The peril of a Coincidence Engine is that it's not just moving itself through time and space but a wide variety of factors across all of the space-time continuum.

Clara: Which is bad?

River: Very.
 

Suddenly the Time Rotor stops.

Jack: Well, we are…wherever we are.

 

River: Doctor, I know the Great Negation is the worst threat the universe has ever known but…

 

7^th Doctor: I did not enter into this plan lightly, River. I know that to solve the greatest threat ever, I’m risking a threat that is only slightly less dangerous

 

River: Only…slightly, my love.

 

Jack: Doc?

 

7^th Doctor (peeved): Jack, must you always address me as “Doc”?

 

Jack: Can I call you “Professor”?

 

7^th Doctor: Hmph! "Professor". Haven't heard that one in a long while. (sigh) All right, what's the matter, Jack?

 

Jack: External monitors are being jammed. We’re blind, Doc..er, Doctor. We have no idea what’s out there.

 

7^th Doctor: Yes, we do, Jack: another piece to the Key to Time and the only chance at salvation for this doomed universe.

The Doctor pulls a console lever and doors open.

Clara: Doctor, it’s not safe.

 

7^th Doctor: Clara, my dear, nowhere is safe.

 

The Doctor places his hat back on his head, tucks his umbrella under his arm and proceeds towards the doors. His companions silently and dutifully follow.

 

Scene shift: TARDIS exterior. The Doctor stops just outside the doorway as his companions stand around him. The companions look worried but the Doctor’s expression is resolute.

7^th Doctor: Of course, I should’ve seen this coming.

River (muttering): Oh, this is so not good.

Clara (in shock): This is the absolute opposite of good.

 

Scene shift: a close up on a crystal fragment of the Key to Time, grasped between black gloved fingers. The scene pulls out and we see it is the Master.

The Master: Hello, Doctor!

The scene pulls out and the Master is flanked on either side by hundreds and hundreds of Cybermen and Weeping Angels as well as Sontarans, Jundoon, Slitheen, Ice Warriors and more.

 

7th Doctor (with barely repressed rage): The Master! Of course, who else would be madman enough to destroy the universe?

Behind the Doctor, Martha and Jack whisper to each other.

Martha: The Master? He's changed his face again.

Jack: No doubt still the same evil bastard on the inside.

The Master (laughing): Oh my dear Doctor! How you wound me! I am here to SAVE the universe!

7th Doctor: For your own evil purposes!

The Master: Well, if I see fit to allow the Great Negation to NOT destroy a world, it seems only fair that I should rule it as a...gift...in exchange for my benevolence. But as much as I enjoy our delightful banter, Doctor, I have other things to do. So it is time...for goodbye! My army...ATTEND!!

 As the Master's assembled army (except for the Angels) raise their various weapons, Jack pushes past the Doctor and shoves him along with the others into the TARDIS.

Jack (yelling): Doctor, everybody! Go! NOW!

 Suddenly, a massive barrage of fire from a several hundred energy weapons blast forth. We see Jack Harkness take the total barrage point blank in the chest. The Doctor, Clara, River and Martha disappear into the TARDIS as the doors snap shut.

The Master and his appointed Cyber Leader approach the still form of Jack Harkness lying on the ground.

Cyber Leader: Scan completed. Termination of life confirmed.

The Master: Dead, yes. (Sighs.) He tends to do that. Jundoon?

Two Jundoon step forward.


The Master: Take this one to containment.


Jundoon: Action unnecessary. Life form is deceased.

The Master (angry): ANY action I tell you to take is never to be deemed "unnecessary".

Jundoon: Yes, Master.

Suddenly, a flare of golden light can be seen through the door windows of the TARDIS.

The Master (smiling): Ah, Doctor! You continue to dance to my tune! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Scene shift: somewhere very foggy.

 

We see the 7^th Doctor lying groggy on the ground. There’s a lot of fog around. We hear a woman’s voice.

Voice: Doctor?

 

The 7^th Doctor groans and blinks his eyes.

 

7^th Doctor: What…? What happened? Where…?

The 7^th Doctor stops as he recognizes the woman.

7^th Doctor: Sarah Jane? Sarah Jane Smith!

Sarah Jane (smiling): Yes, it’s me, Doctor. Here, let me help….   

 

The 7^th Doctor stumbles to his feet with support from Sarah Jane.

 

7^th Doctor: Well, as I live and breathe, I never thought….oow!  (7^th Doctor clutches his chest)  I hope I’m not being too presumptuous about living and/or breathing.

 

Sarah Jane: You’ll be fine.

Man’s voice off screen: I’ll be the judge of that!

We hear the familiar trilling of a sonic screwdriver.
 

7^th Doctor: What? Who?

Out of the fog and into view is….the 11^th Doctor.

11^th Doctor: After all, these things are best left to a Doctor.

11^th Doctor checks the readings on his sonic screwdriver.

11^th Doctor: Both hearts are a bit out of rhythm but they should sort themselves out after you’ve recovered from the shock.

 

7^th Doctor: Who….? Are you….?

 

11^th Doctor (grinning): Yes, I am! I’m your future!  And now that you’re here….

Behind the 11^th Doctor, 3 other figures step out of the fog. The 8^th, 9^th and 10^th Doctors.

11^th Doctor: We can finally get to work!

 

 

-----to be continued---


The TARDIS becomes a trap!
The Master's shocking discovery!
FIVE Doctors united to save the universe....but will it be enough?

Part 7 of....
The Nemesis Who Stole Time

...coming in TWO weeks.