Doctor Who
Strangers in Time
The Cult of Stone
Part 1 – The Paradox Makers
"Right!" The Doctor bounded down the steps towards the console, two at a time. "The Eye of Orion. Lovely place – very tranquil. Waterfalls, mountains, volcanoes... Yeah, you'll love it." He grinned, flicking the appropriate dials and switches. The Time Machine rocked unappreciatively. "Oh come on old girl, I think they need a break." The TARDIS shuddered again, this time more violently. "What?" The Doctor grabbed the monitor hanging from the top of the console and brought it closer to him. "Oh..." He bounced around the hexagonal console, pushing as many levers as he could. "No, no, no no no no! Come on old girl... hold it together!" Explosions erupted across the circuits, and the Doctor was hurled backwards.
"Doctor, what's happening to the TARDIS?" Amy cried. Rory collapsed through the doorway behind her. "Doctor?"
"If I knew that, I'd be able to stop it!" He shouted back, struggling to make himself heard. "Something's drawn her off course – seems like it always happens whenever I mention the Eye of Orion." He muttered under his breath.
"Well, can you get her back on course?"
"No: but I can stop her being shredded to pieces!" The Doctor staggered back to the central console, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. Slowly, he lifted up one of the panels. An ethereal light spilled across the whole room, and the Doctor plunged his hand inside. "It's got to be around here... somewhere..." The console sparked again, and the Doctor screamed. His body coursed with electricity, and he collapsed to the glass floor.
"Doctor... Doctor? DOCTOR!" Amy shrieked. The TARDIS rocked violently, and everything was still.
"My Father." The hooded figure bowed.
"You may speak, my Child."
"He has arrived. The Healer has arrived on Veltrax VI, along with his friends."
"Excellent..." The other hooded figure purred. "Then this will be a day long remembered."
"Yes, Father." The hooded figure, the Child, turned to the stone wall. Its hand thrust out from under a jet black robe, and suddenly a screen was forming in the rock face. A small box formed on the screen, along with two people – a man and a woman. They looked around nervously, before vanishing back into the box.
"That's him?" The Father leaned forward in his seat.
"No. Those are his two companions. The Healer has yet to emerge."
The Father slumped back. "Very well. Inform me when we have a sighting of him."
"Yes, my Father." The Child bowed, before leaving the chamber.
"The Healer has come to Veltrax VI..." Beneath the hood, a faint smile was forming on a face that had been concealed for centuries. "The last child of Gallifrey – the Last Time Lord. Or so he thinks..."
If any human could have listened to the noise going on in the Doctor's head, then it is likely their ear drums would have shattered in seconds.
Fortunately for the Doctor, he was a Time Lord.
Unfortunately, he could still hear the noise.
"Ooh..." He rubbed his temples slowly. "Remind me not to do that again in a hurry. Ponds?" The Doctor looked around the empty Time Machine. "Ponds? Pond 1 and Pond 2? Earth to Mr and Mrs Pond?"
No response.
The Doctor sighed, clambering clumsily to his feet – by no means an easy task when your head feels like it's about to melt.
"Doctor!" The Doctor noticed Amy and Rory standing in the doorway. Almost immediately, Amy was by his side, wrapping him up in the biggest hug the young Scot could muster. The Doctor smiled, then promptly let her go when he realised her husband was standing metres away. "How's your head?"
"Sore." He sighed, wincing when Amy tried to put her hand on it.
"He could have a concussion." Rory said, inspecting the Doctor. Amy looked at him discerningly. "What? I'm a nurse – it's my job to look after people."
"Yeah, well he's a Doctor."
"Who flies around in a magic blue box, fighting monsters and drinking tea. I'm not sure if he wasn't concussed to start with."
"So, where are we then?" The Doctor asked.
"Some gravelly planet full of... well, gravel." Amy trailed off.
"Some gravelly planet full of gravel. Very helpful Pond." He turned towards the doors. "Well, let's go see which gravelly planet is waiting for us." He beamed, darting down to the doors. He grabbed his jacket and shrugged it over his shoulders, trying to make it look halfway respectable. "How do I look?"
Amy went to answer, but the Doctor held out his hand.
"Don't answer. Now, let's go."
He pulled the doors open, and gazed out at the alien landscape they had materialised on.
Amy was right – there was literally nothing outside but a gravelly desert.
"Ah! Veltrax VI! Sixth Moon of the planet Veltrax. Home to a small colony of farmers, who ended up accidentally winning the war for Tragedii in 189,999 ADD. But that's not for..." he glanced at his watch. "A couple million years, so we should be fine."
Just then, two hooded figures formed on the gravelly path ahead of them. They walked towards the TARDIS slowly, and the Doctor tensed himself.
"Welcome, Healer." Both of the figures bowed in perfect synchronisation.
The Doctor stared at them, his eyebrows rising into his floppy fringe.
"Come, Healer – we require your assistance on a matter of grave importance."
Ten minutes later, the Doctor, Amy and Rory found themselves in a breathtakingly complex temple – fashioned completely out of stone. The staircases were stone, the clocks were stone, the chairs were stone: everything.
"We have prepared for your visit for a long time, Healer. It is wonderful you have finally decided to visit the Cult of Stone."
"Thank you. Well, I didn't exactly decide to visit – more my ship was pulled off course..." The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks. "You brought the TARDIS here!"
"We desperately needed your help..." One of the figures mumbled – it was hard to tell which. "It wasn't done out of spite..."
The Doctor's body stiffened, before relaxing. "Show me the problem."
The hooded figures bowed again. "Right this way, Healer."
"Why are they calling the Doctor 'Healer'?" Amy whispered.
Rory shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they think he's an actual Doctor?"
"Well, you'll be able to help them then." She smiled, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Rory's cheeks burned, and he smiled a dopey grin. "Let's go see what all the fuss is about."
"Oh... Now this is interesting." The Doctor was standing at the edge of the small room, Sonic Screwdriver held aloft and lips pursed in concentration. "By the looks of it, a small rift in Time and Space was accidentally created millennia ago. It was sealed ages ago though, but occasionally fallout will spill through the temple and cause minor electrical faults. Nothing to worry about." He smiled, flipping the Sonic absent-mindedly.
"Thank you Doctor. Your services have helped restore order to the Cult."
Amy frowned. "He just waved the Sonic and told you that your computers would go a bit funny sometimes – hardly anything grandiose."
One of the hooded figures turned towards Amy. "It may not have been anything grandiose Miss-"
"Mrs." Rory interrupted.
The hooded figure paused. "Mrs Pond, but this news will reassure those of the Cult who were unsettled by the recent disturbances."
"Hang on. If this is the Cult of Stone, and everything inside is Stone, why do you need electrical equipment?" Rory asked, concerned.
The other hooded figure turned towards him. "We like to... monitor the surface of Veltrax VI, to see if the planet suffers any radical changes in environment or temperature. Then we will document said changes. It is purely a simple exercise."
"But that's the thing – Veltrax VI doesn't change, it doesn't terraform. It hasn't for the last 20 billion years, and it won't in your lifetime. Besides..." The Doctor waved the Sonic around in a sweeping arc, filling the room with the familiar Whirrrrrr. He flicked the tool, and the opening sprang outwards. "The only electrical readings I'm getting on the Sonic are those that are normally given off by..." The Doctor froze.
"By what?" Amy asked slowly.
"By nuclear fusion cannons." He stomped towards one of the hooded figures. "Why did you really bring me here? You want something from me, getting that – but what?" The Doctor turned on his heels, surveying the room for any clues. "This monastery is derelict and harmless: well, except for the preposterous amount of nuclear weaponry in the basement – but what could you want me for?" And then it hit the Doctor like a freight train. "Of course..." He glanced at his companions. "Amy, Rory – run!"
The trio sprinted through the doorway and down the stone corridor, as more and more hooded figures assembled behind them. The door was in site, the gate open-
And that was when the corridors filled with electricity.
The three time travellers had no time to react – their bodies coursed with energy as they jerked around hopelessly, as the whole world around them descended into stony silence.
The Doctor's eyes snapped open. It seemed, not for the first time today, that something – or someone – had knocked him unconscious. His eyes darted around the room, taking in the surroundings. Stone as far as the eye could see – clearly, they were still in the company of the Cult.
"Ah, Healer. Welcome back to the land of the living." Another hooded figure sat opposite him. They were sat at an elaborately carved table, sitting on finely crafted chairs. The hooded figure parallel to the Doctor was larger than the others, and even with the robe on the Time Lord could still make out the muscles bulging underneath. Amy and Rory also sat at the table, but they had yet to wake up.
"I must say, you have gone to a lot of trouble to make us welcome. From dragging the TARDIS forcefully onto this planet and nearly killing my companions and me, to electrifying us when I cracked your scheme, you've really made quite an impression." The Doctor leaned back in his chair, hands laced behind his head.
The hooded figure grunted. "I apologise for the hostility of my Children. They will learn their place soon enough."
The Doctor regarded the figure, his eyes cold. "The question remains, why go to all this trouble to get to the TARDIS? What do you need it for? You've got tonnes of nuclear weaponry hidden underneath this monastery – I'm afraid they just wouldn't fit inside. Besides, they'd be useless, even if you were able to. So what is it you're really after? A way off of this Moon? No... There's plenty of ways to signal a ship, even in as remote a sector as this. And I can't see you being able to raise an army from one ship, no matter how remarkable she is. So you're after something else... but what?"
A hooded figure emerged from the shadows as the Doctor finished his sentence, carrying a platter holding two stone goblets. Inside each goblet was a sparkling gold liquid. "Healer, if you would accept our hospitality." He gestured towards the goblet. "The finest drink this side of the galaxy. It has learning qualities, and specifically alters its flavour and consistency to the consumer's taste."
The Doctor smiled. "'The Drink of Champions'." He took a goblet from the platter, swirling the gold liquid around inside it. "You still haven't answered my question, um..."
"Father." The hooded figure finished. "Call me Father."
"You still haven't answered my question, Father." The Doctor sipped the golden liquid, which tasted exactly like Earl Grey the second it touched his lips.
"Healer, you are a veteran of the Time War, are you not?" Father also took a sip from his goblet.
The Doctor's expression hardened. "Yes." He muttered. "The last."
"Indeed." Father's tone changed – suddenly melancholy. "You are the Last of the Time Lords, the last guardian of the universe."
The Doctor smiled sadly. "Well, I wouldn't say the last." He gestured towards the still-unconscious Amy and Rory. "My friends are pretty good at saving the world."
Father laughed. "I'm sure they are. But Healer-"
"Call me the Doctor."
"-Doctor, don't you ever grow weary of the fighting and the saving? Don't you ever wish that you could hang up your mantle of Time's Champion, and live a peaceful life?"
The Time Lord regarded the statement. "To be honest, I-" He started, before stopping abruptly. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. "What have you done to Amy and Rory, why haven't they woken up?" The Doctor asked, his voice grave.
Father laughed again. "Your friends will be fine in due time, Doctor. Just give them time to rest."
"Time to rest..." The Doctor regarded his goblet again, noting the elaborate artwork. It was really rather beautiful – images of angels and kings, lovers and fighters. The only thing he didn't like was the stone finger that was plastered on top of one of the figures.
The stone digit where the Doctor's own index finger should have been.
He dropped the goblet, and it clattered to the stony floor, the golden liquid oozing out like blood. He stared at his finger – his stone finger. There really was no other way to put it. His finger had turned to stone.
"What have you done?" He snarled.
The Father stood up, indignant. "I am granting you your request, Doctor. I am giving you everlasting peace."
"But – I didn't wish for this!"
"Well, it's too late to stop it now!" The hooded figure cackled.
The golden liquid from the Doctor's fallen chalice was now no longer golden – nor a liquid. "You've poisoned me."
"Your body is shutting down, Doctor. Organs, bones, skin – all turning to stone. Think of this as our way of repaying you for all of your hard work over the millennia's."
"While you get the TARDIS to yourself."
"We will pick up where your race left off. We will become the new Lords of Time."
The Doctor stumbled over to Amy and Rory. "But you can't just become Time Lords! The weight of responsibility resting on you is maddening, you can't simply-"
"You say that Doctor, but legend says that the Time Lords never interfered in the events of others – only you."
The Doctor glared at the Father. "Because I couldn't stand the Time Lord ways! And neither will you – if nothing else, you'll be insanely bored!" He shook his companions frantically, willing them to awake from their slumber.
"We are many, Doctor, you are one. I feel that if reality ever needs someone to interfere, we have plenty enough numbers." He said darkly.
The Time Lord's temper was diminishing rapidly. "I can't let you do this." He reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out the Sonic along with two earplugs. He placed one in each ear, and held the screwdriver above his head. "Sorry!"
WHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRR.
The Father howled in pain, staggering backwards. The Doctor glanced at his companions, looking for the faintest sign of life.
The Doctor had never been so happy to see Amelia Jessica Pond open her eyes in all the time he'd known her.
He pocketed the Sonic, and grinned at her. "Welcome back." He whispered, as Rory jerked upright in his chair too.
"Roranicus Pondicus! Nice of you to join us – hang on, that rhymes!" He beamed.
"Doctor, in case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a monastery surrounded by crazy monks!" Amy snapped.
"Right, yeah – sorry. Come along, Ponds!" He bolted out of the doorway as the married couple tried to keep up with him. The Father snarled at them as they passed, hurrying after them.
"We need to get to the TARDIS!" The Doctor cried as the number of people following him grew. "And hopefully we won't get electrocuted this time!" He aimed the Sonic at the walls, preventing another painful escape attempt.
"Doctor!" Father snarled, grabbing Amy's wrist and pulling her back. "Make one more move and I kill the girl."
"Why do all of your enemies do that?" Rory asked, beginning to see a pattern.
"And then I will kill him." The Father added.
"And then they normally do that too."
The Doctor sighed. "Okay, fine. I give up." He raised his arms, placing them behind his head. "Rory, do exactly as I'm doing."
"But-"
"Just trust me! I have a plan." The Doctor grinned. "I'm afraid you've rather underestimated my Time Machine, Father." He snapped his fingers.
CLACK.
Vworp... Vworp... Vworp... Vworp...
A large blue box materialised behind the Doctor and Rory. The Father gasped at the sight. Using the distraction to her advantage, Amy weaved through his iron grip and hurtled towards her friends.
The Doctor snapped his fingers again, and the doors swung open.
"In, in, in, in!" He shouted as they piled into the Time Machine. "We haven't got long!" The Doctor hurtled up the stairs, flicking switches and pulling levers. "They were able to pull the TARDIS off course and onto this Moon; we can't give them the chance to do it again!" The console room juddered, as the Time Rotor shuddered into life. The TARDIS soared upwards, vanishing from the Moon's atmosphere and hurtling into the Time Vortex. The Doctor looked over to Amy and Rory, a mad grin on his face. Amy just laughed – Rory sighed with relief. "We made it!"
Amy wandered into the console room. The Doctor was underneath the glass floor, tinkering with the TARDIS' mechanics. A pair of goggles sat lopsidedly on his fringe. "Hello Pond. What can I do for you?" He smiled.
Amy smiled back, before folding her arms. "Something's up with you." She walked down the staircase slowly, never taking her eyes off the Doctor. "You were acting funny in the temple – you were furious. Like properly, properly angry. I know that we missed some stuff because we were drugged or whatever, but something had you spooked." She had his full attention. "And I'm not leaving 'till you tell me."
The Doctor sighed, dropping the power tool and collapsing back onto the see saw. "You can be very stubborn at times, Amelia." He glanced at his watch, tapping it twice to try and correct the time showing on it. "While we were in the temple, some stuff happened."
"What stuff?" She sat on the bottom step, gazing into his eyes. Even his eyes looked different – they were dull and tired, not sparkling and full of enthusiasm.
"The Father spoke to me about what he wanted." The Doctor sat forward. "The Cult of Stone want to become the new Lords of Time. That's why they wanted the TARDIS." He showed her his bandaged hand. "And they were willing to do anything to get it." He peeled back the cloth slowly, revealing the Cult's dirty work. Amy's hands flew straight to her mouth. "Oh my god..." She cradled his stony hand.
"The Cult slipped a poison into my drink – it's turning me to stone. Everything: blood, organs, tissue... All except for the brain. Turning to stone as I watch." At that moment, the Doctor both ancient and impossibly young at the same time.
"Well, we can fix it. We've got a Time Machine; we can just travel back and find a cure or something." Amy said, her voice cracking.
The Doctor flicked his fringe out of his eye. "According to the TARDIS, an antidote can be created using ingredients found across Time and Space," his shoulders slumped. "Unfortunately, she can't pinpoint their exact location."
Amy's frown deepened. "So what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to boost the signal, give the old girl a bit more power – that's the ticket!" He smiled as the Time Rotor groaned slightly. "Whatever the Cult did to pull us out of the Vortex, it drained a lot of her power – however, I've been able to refill her engines using only a Red Giant and a pair of garden shears: a pretty remarkable achievement really."
Amy didn't know whether to be impressed or concerned: but it was nice to have the Doctor back to his old self. "So, where's the first hit spot on our list?"
"Let's see." The Doctor jumped out of the see saw and raced up to the console. "Where's Rory, by the way?"
"Rory? Come on, Stupid Face!"
At that moment, Rory stormed down the steps to the Time Rotor. "Doctor, what is this-" He held Amy's cardigan aloft. "-doing in my room?"
"Well, that is your wife's cardigan, I'm sure she just-"
"My wife?" Rory interrupted. "But I'm not married?"
Amy spun around in horror. "What do you mean?"
"Who are you?" Rory asked, his eyebrow arched. "Doctor, this isn't funny."
"I know." The Doctor frowned as he walked towards Rory. He took the Sonic Screwdriver from his toolbelt, shining it in Rory's eyes. "Why don't you remember Amy...?" He flicked the instrument, and checked the readings. "Oh no. Oh dear. This is not good, not good at all!" He plugged the Sonic into the Console, and swung the monitor round to face him. "There's no memory of Amy – you don't know she even exists."
The Doctor turned to face the Ponds.
Amy sniffed as the tears rolled down her face. "Come on, Rory. I love you – I married you! You have to remember." She turned to the Doctor. "Why doesn't he remember me?" The Doctor glanced away, not wanting to meet her gaze. "Doctor, answer me!"
"I don't know!" The Doctor snapped, his eyes blazing. "Clearly what happened at the temple has affected all of us: Rory can't remember his wife and I'm turning to stone, I-"
"You're turning to stone?"
"Shut up a minute Rory, I'm thinking." The Doctor paced around the console, smacking his forehead repeatedly. "They wanted to become Lords of Time; they have tonnes of nuclear weaponry: what am I missing here?" He paused. "Oh..."
"What?"
"They're not just trying to bump me off, they're changing history. A whole, whacking great paradox unfolding before our eyes! I don't know how, but they're trying to break us apart before we can stop them." He turned to Amy. "And they're starting by erasing you from memory. That's why Rory can't remember you, and soon enough I'll forget too. Of course, I'll be a garden ornament by then, so don't take it personally." He sucked in air through his teeth, shaking his hand rapidly. The infection was spreading.
"Doctor, how long have you got?" Rory asked.
"Until I can't move? Ooh..." His head cocked to the side inquisitively as he pondered the question. "A day at the most? And until I'm completely turned to stone... 48 hours."
"Then we'd better get cracking."