Act I

He'd been in the Time Vortex for only a few hours when the TARDIS made a sound that he hadn't heard in a while and always meant that something exciting was going to happen. It was a tiny beeping sound that sent him hurtling over to the console, long coat flapping behind him. A tiny beeping and a blinking light.

"Oh, someone's sending out a distress signal," the Doctor said, far too cheerily for the circumstances. "It's weak, though. But the TARDIS can latch onto the signal and take us right there."

"Who is it?" Donna asked, joining him at the console.

"Can't say," the Doctor said. "Don't recognize the signal, but it's always fun to meet someone new and we haven't done anything exciting in ages."

"What about that little sojourn on Peladon? If I recall, that was enough excitement for a week."

The Doctor grinned. "All in the past, Donna."

Donna opened her mouth but before she could say anything, the TARDIS lurched, sending the both of them sprawling on the floor. The Doctor stumbled back to his feet and grabbed onto the console.

"What was that?"

The Doctor flipped a switch on the console, took in the readings. "Something just tried to push us out of the time vortex, but that's impossible. What could –" He was cut off short when the TARDIS jolted again and he was slammed into the console.

Donna gasped, trying to stay on her feet. "You're a Time Lord from a super advanced civilization and this thing doesn't have any inertia dampeners?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous."

"Well."

"Seriously? You've been watching too much television."

The TARDIS gave one final jerk and was ripped out of the Time Vortex and sent spinning through space.

"The strain was too much for her. But what could do that? Who –?"

"Doctor," Donna yelled. "If you haven't noticed, we're crashing!"

"Right." The Doctor stumbled and turned on the viewscreen. "Right," he said again. He lunged across the console and flipped a switch, triggering a shower of sparks and a flickering of the lights. The TARDIS seemed to level out a bit but there was no returning to the Time Vortex and no materializing in the normal fashion.

With a thud, the movement stopped.

"We've landed," said the Doctor.

"Yes, I guessed that part, but what exactly happened back there?"

"Something pushed us out of the Time Vortex. Don't know what, don't know who, but it's definitely not good. We'll know more after a bit of exploring, what do you say?"

"Fine. I need to get out and kiss the ground anyway."

The Doctor sniffed. "Are you insulting my piloting skills?"

"Doctor, you can barely pilot the TARDIS anyway. The bloody whatever-it-was that kicked us out just helped."

"I resent that."

Donna grinned. "After you, then."

Shaking his head, the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and stuck his head out. "Seems safe enough," he reported. "A bit bleary. Atmosphere is breathable, that's a bonus. You coming?"

Donna followed him outside the TARDIS. The surrounding area was mostly rock, the sky a sandy color, mountains in the distance. There were two suns, one bigger and brighter than the other. Definitely not Earth, then.

A humming broke the silence as the Doctor waved the sonic screwdriver around. "That's interesting. There's some sort of temporal interference coming from this planet. Explains why we were kicked out of the vortex, though. But what could cause this – it's a bit like Time Lord tech, but they're gone and that's all died with them. It could – no, it can't be."

"Doctor."

"Someone's been messing around with time and it's centered around this planet."

"Doctor."

"And this – well, this is where the distress signal was coming from, but it's stopped now and –"

"Doctor."

"What…oh."

"Hello Doctor," said the man who'd stepped out from behind the TARDIS.

"It's you."

The man, wearing long brown robes, chuckled. "Very astute of you."

Donna wrinkled her nose. "Doctor, do you know this man?"

The Doctor kept his gaze trained on the newcomer. "I wish I didn't."

The man tutted. "Now that's very rude. After all the things we've been through and it's been such a very long time."

"You've regenerated," the Doctor said, ignoring this last statement. Donna raised an eyebrow. The newcomer wasn't that much to look at, that was for sure. Wearing old-fashioned robes, he was a squat figure with short dark hair and piggy eyes. "You're shorter."

"And you're a twig."

The Doctor was unfazed. "What are you doing here?"

"Doctor, who is that?" Donna said.

"Oh, how rude of me," the man said. "The Monk, at your service." He gave a sardonic bow.

"What kind of bloody stupid name is that?"

"This man delights in meddling with history and if he knows what's good for him, he'll leave," the Doctor said. "Now I'm going to ask you again, what are you doing here?"

The Monk smirked. "You ruined my TARDIS. You didn't think I'd just let that slide, did you? You don't know what it's like to be stranded in one place, in one time for so long."

"Oh, I think I do," the Doctor said, flashes of forced regeneration flitting through his mind.

"I was lucky. I managed to get a lift and lookie what I find. A TARDIS. A fairly old one, but I'll take what I can get. Still shaped like a police box, I see. How boring."

"There's no way you're getting my TARDIS."

"Don't be so sure," the Monk said and he pulled a gun out from inside his robes, training it on the Doctor. It was black and bulky and futuristic.

"Guns. Why is it always guns," the Doctor moaned.

"If I were you, I'd be moving. Doctor."

"And just where to?"

That smirk again. "You'll see."

The Doctor sighed, but turned and walked away from the TARDIS.

"Doctor, who is this?" Donna whispered. "Is he another Time Lord?"

"Yes. We were actually friends once. But he was always getting into trouble, always trying to interfere. Escaped Gallifrey about fifty years after I did." The Doctor didn't try disguising the disappointment in his voice. "He never respected our rules. Meddling in history became a hobby for him."

"Can't you do something?"

"Oh, yes. But I'd rather find out what he's really up to and I can't do that if I escape, can I?"

It had been a long time, so long, since he'd seen the other Time Lord. But seeing him here, now…it worried him. The Time Lords were gone, all of them. Gone. That one had escaped the Time War…it sent a chill up his spine. There was a reason all the Time Lords were gone and the Monk was one of the better ones, albeit one of the greedy, stinky ones.

"So…Monk, is it? Not Mortimer or Abbot or any of those?" the Doctor said. "That's sort of…blunt, don't you think? I mean, sure, a name's a name, but at least choose a good one. Anyway, I wouldn't think you capable of this except I've learned never to underestimate people, but was it you who caused the temporal interference? I'm awfully curious."

"Talk as always, Doctor," the Monk said. "Does that work on all your enemies?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Well, if you must know, it was me. And fairly soon, you're not going to care anymore."

"Now that would be quite a feat," the Doctor said, halting and turning to face the Monk who quickly raised the gun, a nervous look flickering in his eyes. "You know what I think? I think you're working for someone. And that temporal interference? You're messing around with time again and I will stop you. Time is not simply a toy to be tinkered with at your leisure."

"And yet you yourself have meddled with time more than anyone can count. Something's not to your liking? Simply pop into the past and fix it. By my reckoning, you're not that different from me."

"You know it's not the same. You do it for fun. Doesn't matter who gets hurt."

"Only you, in this case," the Monk said.

From behind the Doctor came the sound of marching feet. He hated the sound of marching feet. He especially hated the sound of mechanical marching feet which was exactly what it sounded like and the memories it brought up weren't good ones.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that gratefully they weren't Cybermen. He didn't recognize what they were, but knew they must be at least as dangerous. They were androids, white with long faces and slender limbs and they walked like upright dogs. They each carried some sort of bulky weapon, rifles. More guns. This day was just getting better and better.

They came to a halt several feet away.

One the Doctor assumed was the leader took a step forward. "Sir." It inclined its head at the Monk. "You will relinquish the prisoners."

The Monk fiddled with his grip on the gun. "Of course," he said and the Doctor knew he wasn't imagining the nervousness in his voice. "Of course. Just…ah, one thing first. I'll be needing the key."

The Doctor knew exactly what he meant. "You're not getting it."

"Aren't I?" He switched his aim so that now the gun was pointing at Donna. "You care about the humans, don't you? Well? Come on, Doctor. I need that key and I'm not leaving here without it. I'm not staying in this place any longer than I have to, not in this time."

"You better be pointing that somewhere else soon or you're getting it right in the eye," Donna growled.

"Ooo, I like this one Doctor, she's a keeper."

"Oi!"

"Well? Haven't got all day, now have I?"

When the Doctor spoke next, it was in a low voice, a deadly voice. "You don't harm her, Monk. I swear, if you harm her –"

"All I need is the key."

The key, his only way out of here. But Donna. No one hurts my companion. I promised myself I would keep her safe at whatever the cost. The Doctor reached into his pocket and removed the TARDIS key, flinging it at the Monk in disgust. The Monk fumbled, almost dropped it.

"Wasn't so hard, was it?" he said. The Doctor glared at him and he switched his gaze toward the androids. "Right, got what I need. You can have 'em."

The nearest droid nudged the Doctor with its rifle. "You will come."

The Monk continued to avoid the Doctor's menacing glare as he and Donna were lead away by the droids.

Meanwhile, the Doctor's mind was working a thousand miles a minute, thinking, calculating. He will take the TARDIS. He has a head start. There are twenty androids in this unit. The sonic could put them out of commission but they could get in a couple of rounds before I even manage to get it out and then I would regenerate. No, don't want to do that.

Wait and see what happens. Find out who their leader is. Find out what he wants. Forget the Monk. No, but he's got the TARDIS. Must deal with that later. Trust the TARDIS to keep him occupied until I can get back.

Right. Leader. Temporal interference. Distress signal. Possibly all connected. Find out how and why. Whoever is commanding these androids obviously doesn't want me killed outright so perhaps he is willing to talk.

Soon he could see buildings just up ahead. They were rather makeshift, probably hadn't been here for very long. A new settlement, then. A few small ships were parked around the perimeter. Never seen that design before. The Doctor was itching to get out his sonic screwdriver and examine them but another prod in the back reminded him of his situation.

The Doctor and Donna were lead into a building and nudged into a cell. A force field flickered into existence and then settled out. The droids left.

"Well. Right where we need to be." The Doctor leaned against the wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Just wait for a bit – they always make you wait, have to look incredibly busy and important – and then we find out what's going on, break out of here, find the Monk, and get the TARDIS back."

"That's it, is it?" Donna said dryly.

"Yup. Pretty much."

He'll be there by now. Should take him a bit to understand its workings. The TARDIS at least should keep him from dematerializing, hopefully long enough for me to get there.

Wasn't much to do here. Getting bored, the Doctor started to whistle.

Donna snorted. "Really? X-Files?"

The Doctor shrugged.

It was at least half an hour before the door on the other side of the room opened and more droids poured in, followed by a black-robed figure. The person approached their cell and threw back his hood, revealing a wrinkled face and a head of gray hair.

"Hello." The Doctor grinned. "I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"

"I know who you are," the man said, ignoring the question. "You've got…quite the reputation. Your…ah, friend has told me quite a lot about you."

"Really? That was good of him."

"He also tells me that you travel through time, that you know quite a bit about it."

"Oh…well, just a little."

The old man sniffed, displeased. "Perhaps you know a little something about communication through time. Such as…that between two, shall we say, versions of someone in time."

"No… You're talking to another version of yourself? That's…that's not impossible, no, but rare, so if you're doing it, why ask me about it?"

The man allowed a small grin, but there was nothing humorous about it. "It's getting to be a strain. I already know everything I need to know. Now I would like you to make it stop."

"Well I'm not surprised. Something like that is bound to cause a great strain on your own personal timeline, but honestly, all you needed to do was ask. Do you treat all your visitors this way?"

"I have very little patience, Doctor." With the press of a button, the force field flickered and fell. "You are going to make it stop. I'd much rather if you cooperated willingly, but I've found that threat of death," – he nodded at the droids, who pointed their rifles at Donna – "provides great incentive."

The Doctor took a step forward, the back of his neck burning. They always know my weakness, he realized. My companion. My companion is my weakness. It always hurt, it really did, and when his companions were threatened, it made him so angry. He'd had so many and he remembered every single one and they'd all left him, every one of them, leaving him to grieve. He was not going to lose another one.

"Fine," the Doctor said, his voice level. "I'll do it. But then you will let her go, you understand?"

"You are in no position to bargain."

"Do you understand?"

The man regarded him coolly. "That's curious. Apparently I've chosen my threats wisely. You demand your companion's release and not your own?" He watched for the Doctor's expression, but saw nothing new. "I will have no need of either of you after this."

It wasn't exactly a promise but it was the best he was going to get. "Hold still."

"Oh, and one more thing," the man said. "If anything should happen to me, my droids have orders to kill her. So if I were you…I'd be careful."

"Just hold still," the Doctor said again and raised his hands to place them on the man's face. He closed his eyes and suddenly he was no longer in his own body, no longer standing there with his companion's life on the line, light-years from her home.

He fell deeper and deeper within the man's mind, searching, searching. Seeking out that link. But he was unprepared for what he saw.

A flashing red blade, heaps of bodies, things burning, armies of droids marching on countless planets, destroying. There were so many deaths, a fierce battle. There were others with blades of blue and green, but they too were cut down. Nothing could stand before that red blade and the lightning and the endless armies.

The Doctor reeled from these memories of the future, memories this man couldn't have, memories he didn't have the right to have. And despite his strong mental discipline, he found himself being drawn in, recalling things he'd buried under hundreds of years of experiences, of memories, of trying to forget.

"EXTERMINATE!"

So many wars, so many deaths, he'd seen those monsters tear down civilizations. He'd seen them make war on the Thals and the Time Lords and the humans and countless others. They survived, they always survived.

And the Year That Never Was, the worst year of his life, having to deal with all the death, with the knowledge that so many humans were dying and it was all his fault and there was nothing he could do about it. He tried to escape, tried to forget, but it was so hard.

The Doctor gasped, realizing that this man, this evil, wicked person could see into his thoughts and he felt a cruel smile brush up against his mind and he cringed.

He had to do this. Versions of someone communicating through time were unnatural, he couldn't allow this to continue. More flashes in his mind. He saw a face that had been buried so deeply under the faces of countless others. An alien who'd splintered himself into a dozen fragments scattered throughout time and whose only goal was to fix himself and to bring back his people. The Doctor had tried to help, had really tried, but he couldn't condemn the human race that way and he'd seen the last of that race die.

Something snagged him, a stray thought, and pulled him closer and he felt the thin thread of the link between past and present. He had to sever it. Had to prevent this evil man from knowing the future, from manipulating it, from using that knowledge for his own gain.

He reached out to it.

Hello, Doctor. The voice sent a shiver down his spine.

I have already done what needed to be done, the voice said, an old voice, a voice full of cracks, a voice that hissed. And there is nothing you can do about that. The universe will be all the better for it.

Frantically, the Doctor searched.

The voice laughed. You will not find it here. I can see into your mind, Time Lord, and I know that you delight in preserving planets for your own amusement. But this time, you are too late.

What have you done? the Doctor demanded.

What I have done is perfect the universe, Doctor. My younger self now wields this knowledge and that is all I needed to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Now no one will be able to defeat me. The Sith Lords will soon rise and not even the Jedi will be powerful enough to stop us.

You cannot imagine how many times I have heard that line, the Doctor thought back. You do not want to test me and you know why? Because every time, every single time…I win.

That dry laugh again. Your arrogance is truly astounding. But I'm afraid that's all it is. With that, the voice was gone.

The Doctor cut the link.

His eyes flew open and he staggered. He willed his hearts to slow.

The man cocked his head to the side as if listening for something and then he smiled. "It's gone. Well done, Doctor." He spun on his heel to leave the room, but turned back just before the door. "Oh, and you're…free to go." He pulled his hood back up over his head and walked out.

The droids hefted their weapons so that half were pointing at Donna and half at the Doctor.

"Didn't you hear?" the Doctor said. "We're free to go."

"Our orders were to terminate prisoners," one of the droids said.

"Ah. Donna, drop when I tell you to."

"What?"

"Now!" The Doctor collapsed to the floor, the air above him lighting up with the bolts from the droids weapons. He rolled and shot back to his feet on the other side of them, shouting, "Drop your weapons! I'm armed!"

The droids shuffled uncertainly, unable to determine the function of the metal device the Doctor pointed at them.

"I said drop your weapons. I swear I will use this." He noted, with great relief, that Donna had dropped to the floor and appeared uninjured.

The droids did not lower their weapons.

"That is not important," one of them said at last. "You are trying to stall for time."

Well that didn't work out so well. Quickly flipping the setting on the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor activated it and the droid stiffened, falling in a heap on the floor. He switched the aim, taking out another and then another. He sensed one just behind him and ducked just as a bolt shot over his head and hit the wall, sending metal debris falling.

"Donna, the key!" he shouted.

She tossed it at him and he caught it, glad that he always had a spare TARDIS key for his companions. Another bolt shot just past his shoulder, searing the air and he adjusted the setting on the screwdriver again, aiming it at the sky. It glowed blue and whined a high-pitched whine that soon became inaudible to human hearing.

And then, the most glorious sound he'd ever heard, the sound that had accompanied him on ten lifetimes worth of voyages and he couldn't help but smile as a familiar blue shape materialized in the center of the room.

The TARDIS groaned and whooshed and finally thudded into position in time and space, that light on the top flashing in greeting. Bolts of energy ricocheted off its wooden frame.

Good ol' girl! the Doctor thought, turning the key and shoving himself and Donna inside the TARDIS, slamming the door behind them.

At the console, the Monk stared. "But what…how…?"

"Game's over, Monk," the Doctor stated, running to the console and fiddling with the controls. The Monk tried to take out the blaster again, but the Doctor knocked it from his hands. "And no more guns!"

"But he should have…"

"Should have killed me?" the Doctor finished. "You should know better than that, you were my friend back on Gallifrey. You should have known it wouldn't be this easy." He flipped a switch and the center column began to rise and sink as the TARDIS dematerialized. "You should also know that that man you were working for…he was never going to let you escape."

Without warning, the Monk lunged at the Doctor, trying to tear him away from the controls.

"I will not let you do this to me, Doctor!" he shouted. "I will not be stranded in time again!" The two of them crashed against the console and the Monk pinned the Doctor's arm down, trying to reach for the lever with his other hand.

"I tried to give you a chance, but you wouldn't listen." The Doctor easily escaped the Monk's grip and hauled him away from the console. "You could have left well enough alone, but you made a different choice and I made mine. I couldn't let you fiddle with time. You had to be stopped. That wasn't my fault."

"I-I'll return back to Gallifrey," the Monk stuttered. "I won't meddle anymore, I promise, I just don't want to be stranded anymore, you can understand, can't you? It's horrible."

"You get used to it," the Doctor said coldly. Memories flashed through his mind of UNIT. Of the Brigadier and Liz and Jo and Sarah Jane. The time he'd been stranded on Earth. It hadn't been so bad, really. He'd come to enjoy it.

"Oh, please, Doctor, please," the Monk said and it was amazing how fast he'd gone from smug captor to sniveling wretch.

"Oh for the love of – you're a Time Lord?" Donna said. "I've seen Adipose with more spine than you've got. Now get up!" For the Monk had fallen to his knees, hands clasped in supplication.

The Doctor returned to the controls in silence occasionally broken by the Monk's sniffling.

"Wh-where are you taking me?"

The Doctor didn't answer.

With a whooshing sound, the TARDIS materialized and the Doctor grabbed the Monk by the arm, hauling him over to the door.

"Wait, wait! Where is this? Y-you're not taking me back to the Time Lords, are you? Are we on Gallifrey?"

The Doctor opened the door. "Gallifrey is gone." He dragged the Monk out of the TARDIS and spun him around to face him. "You won't be causing any harm again," he vowed. And then he left him there, returning to the TARDIS and taking her back into the Time Vortex.

All throughout, Donna just watched. "Doctor," she said eventually. "Where did you take him?"

"Gaia," the Doctor replied. "Small planet home to a humanoid race of highly advanced pacifists. They should be able to handle him."

"Doctor…it's more than that, isn't it?" Donna said softly. "Back there when you…when you were inside that man's mind. What did you see?"

At first she thought the Doctor wasn't going to answer. "He's changed the future," he said finally. "I saw the damage he did. But I couldn't see what he did that changed it. I didn't have much time." He went over the readings on the console, adjusted one of the knobs. "I planted a seed of insanity that won't show itself for several years," he admitted.

"Wait…what?"

At that moment, the TARDIS materialized and the Doctor ran to the door. "We have to find out what he's done."

They were back on that first planet, the desert with the two suns and the mountains in the distance. And a circle of humans with tattered clothing and makeshift weapons, all staring wide-eyed at the place where the TARDIS had appeared seemingly from thin air.

The Doctor waved. "Hullo."

The humans exchanged glances, all of them wary of being the first to speak up. Then one of them said, "Hands in the air. No sudden movements, hear?"

Here we go again. The Doctor raised his hands, motioning for Donna to do the same once she'd closed the TARDIS doors. They were nudged into the middle of the group and they all set off across the sand.

"You look familiar. Have we met before?" the Doctor asked.

The leader's eyes flickered. There was just the slightest widening, the slightest flicker of recognition. "I-I don't recognize your face."

"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't, it's new." A pause. "What's your name?"

"David," the man said after a hesitation.

David, David… Now why does that ring a bell? "And…ah, where are you taking us?"

"Back to our camp." The man adjusted his grip on the rifle.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Never can be too careful," David said. "We've been under attack ever since we got here."

"Ah. Right."

They came to a small settlement built in the curve of the wreckage of a spacecraft. Shipwrecked, the Doctor realized.

"That…that blue box. Was that your space ship?" David asked tentatively.

"Yeah…well, she's a lot more impressive on the inside."

"Riley, keep your eye on them," David ordered a younger man who nodded. "I…I have to report this." Nearly tripping over his own feet, David retreated into the mass of tents.

Now David… That certainly does ring a bell. An ancient, cracked, out-of-tune bell, but a bell nonetheless.

"Did you come here from Earth?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," Riley answered, seeming uncomfortable holding the rifle on someone who looked very much human himself.

"Now this is important. What year?" Things were beginning to click in the Doctor's mind but he couldn't be sure, not yet, not until he had proof.

"2176."

"Twenty-second century, after the war with the Daleks…" The Doctor's eyes widened. "David. David! I know who he is!"

"Who?" Donna wanted to know.

But before the Doctor could answer, David emerged from one of the tents. A woman was with him. A slender woman about David's age and with curly hair. When she saw the Doctor, she froze.

"Did you…did you come here in a police box?" she asked.

For once in his life, the Doctor found himself at a loss for words. Slowly, he nodded.

The woman, a look of expectation coming across her face, took another step forward. Reached out as if to touch the Doctor, pulled back. "You've regenerated."

"Many times."

A slow smile began to spread across the woman's face, lighting up her features and creasing the skin around her eyes. Everything was in place now. Without warning, she lurched forward and wrapped the Doctor in a warm embrace. "Grandfather!" she exclaimed.

Behind him, Donna choked. "Grandfather?!"