Chapter 1
The Childish Hour
"Funny thing is, you've always know how I was going to die," River gasped, her heart aching with the lies. The lies. "All the time we were together, you knew I was going to come here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean…... you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit."
And, oh, you are breaking my heart. Here in the library, you are handcuffed to the pole, looking so young, so sad, so desperate. Not understanding what's going to happen.
Oh, poor, poor Doctor. We are going to deceive you. The Future You and I. We will break your heart, for the sake of my life, and for the history.
I'm so sorry.
River's eyes tingled with tears as she recalled that night. "You took me to Darillium… to see the Singing Towers. Oh… what a night that was. The towers sang, and you cried."
Autodestruct in one minute, the voice said. River couldn't control her breathing. She was so scared, but her words kept flowing out like a jumble. "You wouldn't tell me why. But I suppose you knew it was time, my time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your Screwdriver. That should have been a clue." A teardrop slipped from the corner of her eye. "There is nothing you can do." Not at the moment.
"You could let ME do this!" The Doctor yelled. River bit her lips and shook her head, crying.
"If you die here, it means I've never met you!"
"Time can be rewritten!"
"Not those times." Oh, don't look at me with those eyes. Please. "Not one line. Don't you dare."
This must be the end, he had told her, looking at the tower. The beginning and the end. The first and last. I must think that this is the end. Lie, River. Cry your eyes out. But do, not, die. Never.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's not over for you. You will see me again. You've got all of that to come. You and me, time and space… you watch us run."
"River…..." His body was shaking, but those eyes were firm with hopeless determination. "River, you knew my name. You whispered my name in my ear."
10, 9, 8, 7…
River Song closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and picked up the cord, ready to connect. The Doctor clenched his teeth, knowing what was going to come.
"Shhh, no. Spoilers," She whispered. And she smiled. 3, 2, 1. Connect.
A blinding rush of white light, and her body arched in shock; billions of electricity shot through her, connecting her mind to the system while destroying the body. The Doctor turned away instinctively, fighting the urge not to sob out loud. And when the brilliant flash subsided, he turned his gaze once more, looking at the place where River had been sitting. His heart broke. The spot was empty. River Song, Professor and Archaeologist, the mysterious woman from his future, the One who Knew his Name, was no more.
Except that she wasn't.
DWDWDWDW
"Yes, that's basically the end of story," River nodded, holding her cup of tea with shaking hands. The fire was crackling in the hearth pleasantly; it was a cool autumn night, and the three Ponds were all gathered around the warmth. "The young Doctor, poor boy, left the Library, believing that I was dead. Four thousand and twenty two people were saved; the Library was locked down permanently. And the old Doctor came along, picked me up and gave me a ride on the TARDIS. He told me to wait here, and that he would come back sooner or later. Finite!"
"Oh, poor Doctor," Amy Pond shook her head, patting her daughter's shoulder. "But.….. how? I mean, how did you not die? Not that I'm not relieved or anything, and I'm still mad at the Doctor for not telling me all about this, but—I don't understand."
"Rule One, the Doctor lies, even to himself," River laughed, her hand steadily calming down. She glanced at the Sonic Screwdriver he had given to her with a rather fond smile. "It was just Lake Silencio, mom. Just the other way around."
"What… Oh," Rory realized, understanding dawning upon him. He scowled like a grumpy Roman. "And he never told us? We could've known, at least."
"Tell you what? That my death was a fixed point in history, just like his had been, and he was going to send me off to a library full of flesh-eating shadows? And get beaten up with a cricket bat? Nope. But he still saved me, with his same old trick, dad. Teselecta, you know."
River Song. You have to die at the Library. No, I have to see you die. Or else, the Universe would implode once more. Kaboom! We can't have that; it's too dangerous. We can't change it. Not one line.
But we can cheat death. I did it once, and you will do it, too. Here. Get into the Teselecta. I can't tell you the specifics, it will mess up the timelines too much. Nope, can't risk it. Just remember this. Something horrible will happen at the Library. When the time comes, connect the cords to the Teselecta Memory Tank. That will do good.
Remember, River. This is the beginning and the end, the first and last moment. I must think that this is the end. Lie, River. Cry your eyes out. But do, not, die. Never. Keep yourself safe at all costs.
…I'm sorry.
Her eyes tingled with tears at the memory, and Amy pulled her into a tight embrace. River leaned onto her mother's warmth wordlessly, letting herself wonder what the Doctor was getting himself into at the moment. She needed him to console her, to hug her tight, to tell her that it was okay. He said that he would take her out on a date, as soon as possible. He said that he would return in a minute.
But where was he now?
DWDWDWDW
"Damn it!" The Eleventh Doctor cursed loudly, slamming his fist onto the console. The TARDIS beeped and swayed dangerously, hurtling through time and space in a mad rush. The Doctor was still begging and yelling at the same time.
"Come on, you can do this, Sexy, please! AARGH, why WON'T THIS WORK!"
Okay, he had to admit that he was careless. He was so joyful that River didn't die after all; so sorry that he had to put her through the terrible nightmares of the Library, too. He meant to come right back, with a gift to lift her spirits and cheer her up. So he dropped her off at the Ponds', and hopped away to the twenty-seventh century Moon to buy her a cup of cocktail and a moonrock necklace.
He just didn't expect to crash land onto a Dalek Spaceship.
And he probably shouldn't have called them 'stupid pepper pots'.
Or 'deflated octopus in a can'.
…Okay, maybe it was his fault, yeah. But still—they did wipe out his people, and he just couldn't approve of their so-called 'extermination campaign'. He just couldn't show mercy or control his temper when it came down to the Daleks. Huh. Crazy killing machines. He huffed angrily and pulled a few handles, causing the floor to topple over. He crashed onto the ceiling, then back onto the floor, as the TARDIS fixed itself. Ow. That hurt a bit.
"Anyway! I just didn't expect them to have a Vortex Manipulator. Oh, great, just great! So now I have a whole spaceship, so eager to exterminate me, chasing me down through the entire time and space. What an honor. What do you suggest, Old Girl?" He glanced and tapped at the control panel expectantly. When nothing happened, he hollered in an annoyed voice. "Emergency situation; give me a Voice Interface, for God's sake!"
Almost immediately, the Voice Interface zoomed out, automatically taking the shape himself—his previous self. Oh Good Lord. Was that… pinstripes and snickers? Where were the bowties? Bowties are cool. He groaned inwardly, but the hologram of his Tenth incarnation hardly paid any mind to that.
"Allons-y! What is the problem? Do you want to completely erase the Dalek tracing?"
"Of course I do, idiot," the Doctor muttered, grabbing hold of the console as the TARDIS gave another flip, narrowly dodging a Death Ray.
"My name is not idiot. I am the Voice Interface."
"Same thing—Okay. Okay. Leave that and tell me; what are the options?"
"Searching…" The interface hummed for a few seconds, and the Doctor made the TARDIS swerve to the left, successfully evading a Dalek assault once more. Yeah, as I said, great, the Eleventh Doctor thought sarcastically. And all this for a simple moon trip and a present for River.
"Analyzing complete." The Interface announced. His head snapped up.
"At this rate, the TARDIS will be shot and you will be killed in twenty-seven minutes, maximum."
"Brilliant. Helpful." The Doctor replied, with only a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He gripped the lever and went on, grunting from the effort. "Well, I was supposed to go on a date with my wife tonight, and I would prefer the Not-dying option. Any alternatives, you say?"
The Interface replied after a pause. "There are four."
"Wonderful! Now, kindly tell me, please!" The Doctor cried in delight.
"One, abandon the ship."
"Oh. No, skip that one."
"Two. Activate the Invisibility Circuit for the TARDIS and use the Chameleon Arch to convert yourself into a human, which will successfully send them off scent."
"No, I don't have the watch anymore. Won't work!"
"Three. Accelerate the TARDIS and go to the end of the universe."
"Actually, there is a teeny-tiny little problem in that; I remember trapping billions of Toclafane there. I seriously doubt that they will welcome me with open arms." The Doctor winced, remembering. "For god's sake, don't you have a decent solution?"
"Four," the Interface went on, unabashed.
"Take the EETCR: Emergency Escape Time Crack Route."
Huh. That sounded okay, compared to the other options, which were rather appalling, to say in the least.
"Okay, OKAY!" The Doctor hollered, pushing a button or two. "And what IS that supposed to mean?!"
"The TARDIS builds up maximum energy charge and breaks through a weak point in the Time Vortex. The Crack will connect the TARDIS to one of your recent companion's current location. And in case that specific person be unable to help you, the TARDIS will automatically send out SOS signals asking for help to all the other companions."
"Oh, yes. Now I remember." The Doctor's eyes hardened. "I've heard about it—it is quite an effective escape route when your life is in extreme danger. But there is also a side effect, they said. If the Huon Energy should be too much for the TARDIS to block out, which is highly likely, it might influence my timeline during the escape. Which also means that I might end up in any age, any incarnation. My own memory can be fuddled timey-wimey!"
"Affirmative," the hologram answered, unconcerned.
Eleven frowned, deep in thought. He tapped the console rather uneasily, trying to think something out. He came up with nothing. The Doctor sighed and turned to the hologram.
"How many minutes do we have?"
"Twenty-five minutes, Doctor." The voice replied. Oh, he hated that voice. It was so emotionless and dry, even in this kind of dire situation, but still, it was his. Well, at least in the past.
"…We have no other choice then, do we?" Eleven squeezed his eyes shut, opened it again, and faked a cheerful smile. "What is the most probable destination, captain?"
"Donna Noble."
The Doctor froze for a second, then jumped up, his face contorted in dark fury.
"NO! You can't!" What was the TARDIS thinking? Of course it couldn't be her. If she saw the Crack opening… be exposed to the massive influx of Huon Energy….. The sheer power of the Time Vortex particles would bring the Metacrisis back. And with the Metacrisis back, she would burn down. Her brain would explode. Poor, poor Donna. He felt a stab of guilt, but barked nonetheless. "Change destination! Immediately!"
"It is not needed. The Huon Energy Influx—" The Voice Interface replied, and the sentence was cut off in the middle as the TARDIS crashed into the walls of the Time Vortex three times in a row. The Doctor stumbled, eyes wide, trying to interpret what he had just heard. 'It is not needed'? What was that supposed to mean?
Then he understood.
"OH! Oh, wonderful, brilliant! I want to kiss you, but that means kissing myself, which will be stupid and kind of creepy at once. I'm not that egoistic. Huh. Whatever! Oh, this is plain fantastic, you clever boy!" He jumped up in joy and danced a little. "So some good comes out of this mess, huh?"
It was simple. He didn't have the power to fully eradicate the Metacrisis from Donna's mind; so his solution was to erase her memory. But with all this enormous Huon Energy Influx, he could connect Donna's mind to the heart of the TARDIS! Huon Energy, traveling from vessel to vessel! The Metacrisis—the ability to see all the timelines side by side—would be transmitted from Donna's mind to the TARDIS, as soon as it came back, and her brain wouldn't explode, and her memory would be back. That was fantastic. Absolutely genius!
"Okay, so destination set to good old Donna—"
"Eleven minutes left."
"Eleven, eleven, that's a good number. All right!" He grumbled, furiously scribbling calculations down on the paper. Okay, check. The plan would work; Donna will be fine. And she would be her brilliant old self in no time at all, too. But he had another thing to do.
"Activate video recording." He commanded. "Once we arrive, show all our conversation to my friends. We don't know what state I will be in, and they need to understand the situation. And if this is the last thing I will remember, I want to make my last words nice and proper. Understand?"
"Video recording activated." The Voice Interface answered, staring at his face. But for a moment, there seemed to be a hint of… sadness crossing the hologram's features. Huh, that was impossible. Eleven angrily wiped away his tears and forced a cheerful grin onto his features. He had so much to say, and there wasn't just enough time. But he would have to make the most of it.
"Hi!" He gave a toothy grin, waving at the camera. "This is the New Doctor speaking. New Doctor, new face! Some of you guys would have never seen this one, but whatever. I seem to be getting younger and younger every time I regenerate—huh, I'm rambling again. But the thing is, well, I don't know how many of you have answered to my call, but if you are there, Sarah Jane, Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble, Amy, Rory… River…"
Oh, god, River. After all that, after both of them miraculously escaping death, it came down to this. His own stupidity. Sheer bad luck. And tonight… tonight was supposed to be their dating night. She would be waiting for him, along with Amelia Pond, the girl who waited. Good old Ponds. And here he was now, breaking his promise. Again.
He was going to act all carefree and joyful, but his sorrow was too great. Unable to manage his ever-present smile any longer, he looked up, his face full of sadness and regret. He pushed back his floppy hair, and—whispered hoarsely. Heavily. He said what he had meant to say all along, but couldn't up until now. The truth.
"I'm so sorry."
DWDWDWDW
River frowned. The Doctor was thirty minutes late; where (and when) was he? She whipped out her phone and started at it impatiently. The screen was blank.
"River, are you sure that he is not getting himself killed or something?" Rory said, his brows furrowed with concern.
"Yes, dad, of course! 'Cause if he gets himself killed, then I'm going to kill him, and for good this time. He'd better not…" Her voice trailed off, and Amy gently rubbed circles on her back. She was about to say soothing words when their phones all began to trill and vibrate loudly.
"What…?!" Rory said, confused, snatching out his phone. He stared at it, his eyes wide. Then he wordlessly held it out for his wife and daughter to see. They leaned in, squinting—
"Oh no," Amy breathed, stricken with horror. River's heart stuttered. On the screen, the black letters were blinking on and off.
'A message from the TARDIS: The Doctor is in danger. Currently heading the house of Donna Noble through EETCR. Help needed from Past and/or Present Companions. Come at once.'
And underneath it all, there was the Doctor's own handwriting, but the letters were clumsy, as if his hand was shaking. And that was what was wrong the most, for the Doctor would never say such things in normal circumstances.
"I'm so, so sorry. Help me. Please."
"Oh, Doctor," River breathed. "What have you gotten yourself into?"
And at that exact moment, back in the TARDIS-
"Thirty seconds left before being hit." The emotionless voice of the Interface brought the Doctor—who was staring blankly into the air, drained of his usual quirkiness—back to the reality. It took a moment for him to process the meaning; then he jumped right up and rushed to the control panel. He grabbed a big, yellow lever that said 'EETCR ACTIVATE' on it.
"Okay, I'm ready," he muttered to himself. Then he hollered. "Activate Emergency Escape Route immediately!"
"Allons-y!" the Voice Interface vanished, and the TARDIS engine roared to life, rocking left and right even harder. The Doctor inhaled deeply, securing his grip. The Escape Lever. Then he pulled.
"GEROMINO—!"
He shouted, and the TARDIS instantly shook violently. Then it exploded in a brilliant flash of white light. The Dalek spaceship was mercilessly shattered in the sudden outburst of energy; pieces of metal and remnants of the spaceship drifted aimlessly, lost in the stormy Time Vortex.
The Crack flashed one last time, and then, it closed.
And then there was silence.
DWDWDWDWDWDW
Yes! Hi, everyone. This is Silver Lined Spero speaking.
This is going to be about 50 Chapters long, with four parts. (Yes, I've written them all out already.) The Childish Hour, The Day of the Doctor's Daughter, Gallifrey Stands Wibbly, and The Good Man Goes Tour-ing. As you can see, this is going to be a mad mixture of Hurt, Comfort, Whump, Family, Adventure, Reunion, Doctor is so cool, and plenty of Crack and Humor, too, of course. (wink wink!)
This is a spoiler, but- the Doctor, while going through the Crack, is going to be exposed to a Huon Energy Storm. Which results in the Doctor being degenerated and de-aged. Now starring, Theta Sigma! And all, all the Companions are on their way!
This is my first Doctor Who fic, so please R&R! Review makes this writer so happy! :)