I'm Dave-El and today is the weekly appearance of Doctor Who Saturday and the wrap up of the three part fan fiction, All Roads Lead to Trenzalore.
Here's a quick summary:
The 11th Doctor, aged after centuries of defending the planet Trenzalore and with no more regenerations left, is faced with a dilemna. The Daleks have bypassed the anti-technology barrier put in place by the Papal Mainframe with a weapon made of stone. The stone weapon is a form of Pandorica that contains a radiation deadly to all organic life; when the Pandorica is completely open, the radiation will kill everything on Trenzalore.
There is a way out: there is a control accessible only by the Doctor which will stop the stone Pandorica from opening. But with no more regenerations, the Doctor will be dead forever, Trenzalore will no longer be defended and the Daleks will massacre the population. A no-win situation for the Doctor.
Then across the centuries from his own past, the Doctor receives an unusual visitor: himself in his first incarnation.
For Part One, click here.
For Part Two, click here.
Before we get to the Part Three, the disclaimer:
This is a work of fan fiction. The author (that's me!) does not receive any compensation except for the love and adoration of my many... This author does not receive any compensation. This story is not intended as part of the official Doctor Who canon. It is just a story that is told by a long time fan of Doctor Who. My thanks and appreciation to all the hard working creators who make the real thing happen with skill and brilliance.
And now....
Doctor Who
All Roads Lead To Trenzalore
Part Three
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Scene opens: Space, in orbit over Trenzalore. Dalek spaceships are amassed over the planet.
Scene change: Interior of Dalek ship.
Dalek One: ANALYSIS CONFIRMS: ENTITY KNOWN AS THE DOCTOR IS PRESENT ON TRENZALORE IN TWO SEPARATE FORMS.
Dalek Two: THE DOCTOR IS CROSSING HIS OWN TIME STREAM IN VIOLATION OF THE FIRST LAW OF TIME!
Dalek Three: THE TIME LORD DOES NOT HEED HIS OWN LAWS! DOCTOR IS CHAOS! THE DOCTOR IS ANARCHY!
Dalek One: THIS IS WHY THE DOCTOR IS THE ENEMY OF THE DALEKS!
Dalek Two: THIS IS WHY THE DALEKS WILL DESTROY THE DOCTOR! WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE STRATEGEM?
Dalek Three: THE PANDORICA OF STONE PROCEEDS TO UNLOCK! THE DETERIUM RADIATION WILL BE UNLEASHED IN FIVE RELLS!
Dalek One: THE FALL OF TRENZALORE IS CERTAIN! THE DOCTOR WILL DIE! THE TIME LORDS WILL BE DESTROYED ONCE AND FOR ALL!
Dalek Two: AND THE DALEKS WILL BE THE SUPREME RULERS OF ALL EXISTENCE!
Dalek Three: AND ALL THAT IS NOT DALEK WILL BE EXTERMINATED!
All the Daleks Chanting: EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
The scene changes from the bright and loud spaceship interior to the cold and silent night time landscape outside of the town called Christmas on the planet Trenzalore.
Three figures are standing by a large, strange stone structure: the 11th Doctor, aged by the centuries defending Trenzalore; the male companion the Doctor calls "Barnable" despite the man's insistence that it's not his name; and the 1st Doctor as he tentatively explores around the edges of the large stone object, faintly glowing blue, that has embedded itself into the ground.
1st Doctor: Hmmm! Most interesting! Most interesting indeed! A machine made entirely from stone, eh? And designed by the Daleks to only be controlled by the Doctor, hmmm?
Barnable: That's what the Doctor says...er, Doctor. (turns to the 11th Doctor) You say the two of you are the same person?
11th Doctor: Yep, pretty much sums it up, Barnable.
Barnable: Again, my name isn't...oh never mind. See here, you two don't look a thing a like.
11th Doctor: Oh God I hope not!
The 11th Doctor hobbles closer to the 1st Doctor who turns to face him.
1st Doctor: I say, given your current state, you're in no position to be critical of appearances. The years have not been kind to you at all.
11th Doctor: So people keep telling...Oy! Hold on! You remember me?
1st Doctor: Of course I do now, my boy! Once our time lines intersected again, I remember our previous encounter with the so-called Dalek Time God.
The 11th Doctor reaches out his hand to grasp the 1st Doctor's arm.
11th Doctor: And when you're back in your own time stream, you can go back to forgetting.
The 1st Doctor pushes away the 11th Doctor's hand.
1st Doctor: I think not until we resolved this problem of yours, hmmm!
11th Doctor (testily): No, you need to go and go NOW!
Barnable: Wait, Doctor! If he's another version of you, can't you...well, you know...two heads are better than one, right?
1st Doctor (smiling): Exactly, Barnable!
Barnable (muttering): Oh great, they're both doing it.
11th Doctor (really agitated now): There's no time for discussion! I'm the elder Doctor and I'm finally looking the part! Go back to your TARDIS now!
The 1st Doctor stares at the 11th Doctor sternly. Barnable in the background has NO idea what to make of this.
1st Doctor: Listen to me! I did not leave Gallifrey to have people give me orders, even if they're coming from myself. NO, especially if they're coming from myself!
The 11th Doctor slumps, his cane bearing his weight. He sighs.
11th Doctor: It's one thing...for me to die here. But you...you are the beginning of...well, everything. Putting yourself at risk is...oh, I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging but the temporal anomaly created by such an event....would be catastrophic.
The 1st Doctor leans forward, looking into the eyes of his future self. Then he takes a step back, momentarily startled.
1st Doctor: You...you are at the end, aren't you?
11th Doctor: ...yes.
1st Doctor: I see. Hmph! Alpha and omega, eh? (chuckles)
Barnable: I don't see what's so funny.
11th Doctor: Same here.
1st Doctor (actually smiling a bit): Oh, the irony. The wonderful mad...mad irony of it all. I'm facing my first ever regeneration and I must admit, I'm a bit...I'm a bit frightened. Yes, just a bit. And here I am, face to face with my future. My future's end.
Barnable: Look, I'm not going to try to understand any of this but....(turns to the 11th Doctor but gesturing back to first)...he's here for a reason, Doctor.
1st Doctor: I agree.
11th Doctor (puzzled): Since when am I so philosophical?
1st Doctor (confused): Since when am I so dismissive of miracles, hmmm?
The 11th Doctor looks at his past self for a moment, then turns away.
11th Doctor (sadly): After too many centuries of not seeing any.
1st Doctor: I think...my boy...
The 11th Doctor turns back to the 1st Doctor who nods with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye.
1st Doctor: I think that I've...that you...have forgotten what a miracle looks like.
The two Doctors stand facing each other for a moment. Then the Dalek's rock weapon begins to glow brighter.
Barnable: Doctor...er, Doctors, we're running out of time.
1st Doctor: Clearly I am destined to regenerate. I'll...I can just do that here and now after I've sorted this Dalek weapon...
11th Doctor: Except the time of that first regeneration is a fixed moment in time. If that's altered...I've seen what happens when someone tries to alter a fixed moment in time. It's devastating!
Barnable: Doctor, that rock's gonna blow any moment now. We gotta do something!
11th Doctor: I know, Barnable! I know! But I just don't know...what...to do.
Barnable: Why, Doctor?
11th Doctor (snaps): WHY?! Because sometimes I just don't have the answers!
Barnable (pointing at the 1st Doctor): Well, ask him!
1st Doctor: Me, boy? I've only just arrived on this world. I don't have my future self's centuries of experience or....or...
Barnable: Or his memories. But you're here now. You're his past. Maybe I don't understand this time travel stuff that well but... (turning back to the 11th Doctor) why don't you just remember what your past self experienced?
11th Doctor: Because... (pauses) Because...I...don't?
The 11th Doctor walks closer to the 1st.
11th Doctor: I've been through a few of these...events before, crossing my own time stream.
1st Doctor: How many times do I wind up breaking the first law of time?
11th Doctor: Shhh! Quiet! Thinking!
1st Doctor: Oh good, I'm apparently still rude in the future.
The 11th Doctor begins pacing, hobbling on his cane.
11th Doctor: The memories of a Time Lord are...compartmentalized, a necessity when one keeps changing faces, even personalities. Still, it is part of one chain. While we...these two versions of one self...are in one place, our shared mind...I should remember what I did here. I should but I don't! Why?
The 11th Doctor stops pacing, turns to face the 1st Doctor.
The 1st and 11th Doctors: This moment is in flux!
Barnable: What?
11th Doctor: I think I know why I....why you...Doctor...are here. But....
1st Doctor: But?
11th Doctor: But I can't ask you to do what happens next.
The rock pulses again.
1st Doctor: My boy, I don't think we have the luxury of time to discuss this further!
The 11th Doctor raises his sonic screwdriver which trills as he scans the rock. With a practiced flip of the wrist, he checks the readings on the screwdriver.
11th Doctor: There's a inset in the rock...here...
The 11th Doctor points to a place on the rock. The 1st Doctor touches that part of the rock and stones pushes loudly against stone as a very narrow portal opens in the rock.
1st Doctor: What next?
11th Doctor: Through that access there is an inner chamber. There's a stone slab that when you move it from right to left will stop and reverse the inner unlocking mechanism and contain the radiation indefinitely. But you must move quickly! At that range, the radiation will begin affecting you fairly rapidly.
1st Doctor: Then I best not dilly dally. (Nods towards Barnable) Barnable. (And he disappears into the rock.)
Barnable: But my name's not...never mind, good luck....Doctor?
The 11th Doctor is bending over, grasping his temples. Barnable puts is hands on the Doctor's shoulders.
Barnable: Doctor! What's...?
11th Doctor: I'm...I'm....
Barnable: Doctor?
11th Doctor: I'm....remembering.
Scene change: A narrow stone passage lit in an eerie blue light as the 1st Doctor inches along. We hear the 11th Doctor's voice over.
11th Doctor (VO): I'm remembering...the fear. Oh, I've faced certain death so many times over the centuries but at this point in my lives, this is the first.
The 1st Doctor is sweating. His expression does reflect grave concern but there is a resoluteness there as well.
11th Doctor (VO): I'm remembering....
Scene change: outside the rock with the 11th Doctor and Barnable.
11th Doctor (clutching his chest): Remembering the pain.
Scene change: interior of the rock, the 1st Doctor clutching his chest in the same manner. Then he looks up and sees the stone slab, laid in a groove of the rock. The 1st Doctor stumbles through the narrow passage and grasps the slab and begins pushing on it, to move it along the groove from right to left.
11th Doctor (VO): I remember the struggle. The rock is...so heavy.
The 1st Doctor is exerting himself to move the stone slab.
Scene change: exterior of the rock. Barnable stares at the 11th Doctor who has his eyes closed tightly.
11th Doctor: C'mon, it's designed to be moved by the Doctor only! Push, Doctor! Push!
Scene change: left side of the screen is the 11th Doctor outside the rock, the 1st Doctor inside the rock on the right side of the screen.
11th Doctor and 1st Doctor (simultaneously): The Daleks...must be stopped! The people...of Trenzalore...must be saved!
Scene change: interior of the rock. The stone slab moves to the other end of the groove with a loud thunk. Very quickly the blue glow of the radiation fades away and the 1st Doctor is lost in pitch black darkness. Then he begins to glow with a golden light.
The 1st Doctor looks at his hands as they glow with this light and he looks bemused.
1st Doctor: Oh...my. So this is... regeneration, eh?
Scene change: exterior of the rock. Barnable is thrilled while the 11th Doctor seems unsure how to react.
Barnable: Woo-hoo! You did it, Doctor! The rock's stopped glowing! You saved us all!
11th Doctor: For one more day. But....
Barnable: Doctor, your past self. What's happened?
Suddenly, the 11th Doctor slaps his own forehead.
11th Doctor: Thick! I am so thick! (shouting at the rock) Doctor, get out here! NOW!
Barnable: What is it?
11th Doctor: I remember! I know what to do! But I need to act...
At that moment, the 1st Doctor comes out of the rock. He's suffused with a golden glow and he looks happy as he walks towards Barnable and the 11th Doctor.
1st Doctor: This is...a most remarkable experience! I feel...rejuvenated. I...
11th Doctor (interrupting): Can't be doing this, not right now.
The 11th Doctor takes the 1st Doctor's head in his hands and closes his eyes.
1st Doctor: What's this, hmmm?
11th Doctor: Shh!
1st Doctor: Again with the shushing!
11th Doctor: I need to concentrate. I've been through this a few times, I think I can....
Suddenly the glow around the 1st Doctor subsides and the 11th Doctor releases him and steps back.
1st Doctor: My regeneration. You...stopped it?
11th Doctor: No, you're still...regenerating, still...cooking. Once begun, it can't be stopped. But I've imparted some of my experience to help control this event. It's a reset to restore your current form before the next form takes over.
1st Doctor: Fascinating! And how much longer...?
11th Doctor: At this point in your time line, who are you travelling with?
1st Doctor: Polly and Ben.
11th Doctor: I believe you have more one adventure for those eyes to see. I'm afraid the reset will fade and you will experience some weakness and...
The 1st Doctor raises a hand.
1st Doctor: I get the picture. But this maintains our timeline as you remember it?
11th Doctor nods yes.
1st Doctor (nodding back): Good! Well, I better be on my way, eh?
The 1st Doctor extends a hand to Barnable who shakes the Doctor's hand.
1st Doctor: Barnable, it was a pleasure to meet you.
Barnable: Likewise.
1st Doctor (letting go and grasping his lapels): And Barnable?
Barnable: Yes sir?
1st Doctor (nodding towards the 11th): Try to keep the old fellow out of trouble.
Barnable: I'll do what I can.
1st Doctor (bowing slightly towards the 11th): Here's to years to come.
11th Doctor (nodding towards the 1st): All my love to long ago.
The 1st Doctor walks towards his TARDIS, then enters. Then we hear the familiar VWORP! VWORP! as the TARDIS dematerializes.
The 11th Doctor and Barnable stand in the snow against the star dappled night sky. Then they begin to walk towards the lights of Christmas.
Barnable: Well, that was interesting. How often does one get to meet one's own self?
The Doctor: Me, distressingly too often.
Barnable: Still, it was fortunate this past self came here.
The Doctor: Fortunate? Yes, I suppose so. Well, time travel does funny things like that. I suppose for me, all roads do lead to Trenzalore. You know, I thought I knew where my future was taking me. And it wasn't a very good end, I'll tell you that. But maybe...just maybe....
Barnable: Yes, Doctor?
The Doctor: Maybe I should believe in miracles again, Barnable.
Barnable: Again, Doctor, my name isn't...
The Doctor ignores Barnable as he begins to sing.
"Sleigh bells ring; are you listening? In the
lane, snow is glistening. What a beautiful
sight, we're happy tonight walking in a winter
wonderland."
The Doctor and Barnable continue walking through the snow towards Christmas as we...
Fade Out
----the end------
_______________________________
Tomorrow on the blog:
This (Non) Sporting Life looks at USA vs. Canada and the Worst Bet Ever!
And next week, more Doctor Who Saturday as we find out the TARDIS has something to say*.
*Besides "VWORP!"
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