THIS STORY WAS VOTED THE BEST OUT OF SEASON ONE
Day of the Doctor
A tiny light appears in the sewers of New York where a deserted laboratory was hidden. It slowly grew over the next few hours until it covered the entire lab before contracted rapidly and exploding. Light flew throughout the sewer of New York covering the whole sewer system. Anything or anyone unfortunate to be in the way was roasted or simply vanished. Manholes flew off as the light passed them. Cars and people tried to dodge the falling lids.
Somewhere in Space
The TARDIS was in orbit of a supernova just casually spinning. Inside the control room looked like a small concert hall complete with seating and a stage. There where three screens above the center console. The one in the middle was larger than the two on its side. Below the center control console was in the middle of the TARDIS's stage. The stage was only five steps above the rest of the control room floor. At the back of the stage there were two sets of doors, one on each side of the control console.
The calm was shattered when the control room turned red and the cloister bell started sounding. Out of the set of doors to the control console's left, the Doctor flew through the doors and ran to the control console. The Doctor wore a red jacket zipped up to the chest and an orange undershirt. His pants were blue sport sweatpants. His shoes were yellow tennis shoes. On his head he wore a pair of glasses and short hair. He stood at a height of 6'3".
When he reached the console the TARDIS calmed down.
"What's all this about?" he asked the TARDIS. The Doctor looked at what the TARDIS had picked up. "That can't be. Underneath the city of New York. I have to get there and find out why the heck that thing is there?"
The Doctor set a course for Earth in the year 2010 AD. The spinning TARDIS vanished from its orbit and entered the Time Vortex. On the way there the Doctor wondered why a Time Rift would open in New York. He didn't like that that was happening. Earth already had one Time Rift in Cardiff, Wales and he didn't want to think what would happen if the two Rifts met. That could have devastating consequences.
Sewers of New York
A silhouette started outlining from a section of the New York sewers. The shadow was six feet tall and looked human until its shape started forming. It wore silver metal for armor and had hands with claws not nail. It's head had two black eyes and a massive carnivorous mouth without any lips. It looked scaly and the creature howled in hunger and ran off into the sewers.
The creature ran for a few miles before it encountered a sewer worker who was investing the events of the day before. The creature stopped and crouched down hissing. The worker turned around and was face to face with the beast.
"Oh my god!" he said as he shone his flashlight on the monster.
The creature roared and slashed its claws at the man tearing into his chest. The creature slashed again with its other hand, tearing out more flesh. The man fell backwards out of shock and pain. The creature pounced on him and bit into his neck. The man screamed as the creature started to eat him.
TARDIS
The TARDIS crossed the threshold of New York City at 3 am before the cloister bell went off again and there was an electrical explosion in the control console. The Doctor ran and grabbed a fire extinguisher and opened the bottom of the console and put out a small fire that started in the circuits.
"Let's see the damage," said the Doctor. He was working underneath in the console when he saw what had happened to his dematerialization circuit. "Oh that's no good." The circuit was damaged and could possibly have only a few more dematerializations left before it blew.
The Doctor jumped up to start landing the TARDIS when he noticed the landing circuit was also damaged. "Oh this is going to be bumpy."
The TARDIS appeared above a street in New York before crashing down and sliding across the street before resting next to the front door of a place called Waverly Sub Station.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor picked himself up off the floor. He ran out of the control room into a room down the hall. He started putting things in his pockets, but left out a red device that looked like the letter Y. He picked it up and ran out of the room.
"I'll fix you after I figure out what's going on here. Okay Old Girl?" the Doctor said as he left the TARDIS, locking it as he left. The Doctor ran down the street until his red device lit up like a Christmas tree and squealed loudly. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, a small device with a blue light at the end of it, and used it on the red one. He stuck both devices in his pocket and started walking down a deserted street.
A dog started barking in the distance. The Doctor just kept walking, looking around for anything, ignoring the dog until it yelped and stopped barking. Another dog started barking and another one. Then around a dozen dogs just started barking and growling. The Doctor stopped and started heading in that direction. In the middle of the dogs there was another howl but it wasn't a dog or any other animal. The Doctor took off in the direction of the animals, the dogs started quieting one by one.
The Doctor ran into the alleyway where the dogs had been. Fourteen dogs were laying around dead and eaten. The Doctor walked to the dog closest to him, a muscled up pit bull. The Doctor looked into the eyes of the dead dog.
"What did this to you dog? What did this?" asked the Doctor.
A light flashed behind the kneeling Doctor and a police officer ran up behind the Doctor. The Doctor put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his ID. The officer didn't notice his hands moving.
"Sir, put your hands up!" yelled the officer.
The Doctor held out his ID and said, "Dr. John Smith, UNIT."
"I don't care who you are! What are you doing over that..." the officer's trailed off as he saw the eaten dog, "Oh my god. What happened?"
The Doctor stood up and looked at the cop in the face and said, "That's what I'm here to find out. Oh and by the way UNIT supersedes your authority."
"I don't even know what..." the cop stopped talking when he was thrown down to the ground by the same creature that was in the sewers.
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the creature and used it. The creature grabbed its head and ran off dazed. The Doctor ran after it but it jumped back into the sewers using a nearby manhole. The Doctor stopped when he reached the manhole and decided not to chase it in the middle of the night. The Doctor turned around and walked back to where the cop was.
When the Doctor reached the cop, the cop stood up and asked, "What was that thing!"
"That was a Hoix. You don't know how lucky you are that I was here when that thing attacked."
"Who are you?" asked the cop.
"I'm just a doctor," said the Doctor as he walked off.
The cop walked to where the Doctor chased the Hoix. The cop used his flashlight and pointed it at the hole. What he saw made him jump back and fall over. A white light came out of the manhole and engulfed the cop. When the light receded, the cop was gone.
The Doctor continued walking when a slight tingle ran up his spine before leaving just as fast as it had come. The Doctor continued walking for a few more hours getting a feel for what the new Rift felt like. As dawn started to break the Doctor decided to head back to his TARDIS which was a good few hours away by walking.
As he was walking the Doctor had a spasm and whispered, "Why is this thing here? It shouldn't be here."
As dawn broke over Waverly Place on Saturday morning. The new blue Public Police Call Box, that appeared out of nowhere during the night, went unnoticed by most people. A slight breeze was being sucked into the TARDIS as the ship refueled on the seeping time energy.
Hours passed by and the Doctor returned to his TARDIS and rubbed his hand on its front door. He felt the stream of time energy pass by him and he knew his ship was refueling. "Getting your energy back. That's good because I have an unsettling feeling that this is not a natural Rift like its Cardiff counterpart." The Doctor just ignored the people walking by thinking he was crazy.
The Doctor turned to see a few people watching him. The Doctor smirked and told them, "Anyone the least bit interesting is a little bit insane. Believe me I know I've met tons of nut jobs."
The Doctor turned his attention away from the people he was talking to and for the first time looked at the restaurant the TARDIS had landed next to. He read Waverly Sub Station and realized how hungry he actually was. He hadn't eaten in over 24 hours, but being a Time Lord his body was able to cope. His stomach started growling and he could eat anything. What he really wanted to eat was not even from Earth, a fried Zamba lizard, but he would make do with what he had.
The Doctor walked into the sub station and looked around. To his left there was an actual subway car in the restaurant. He smiled when he saw that, but his eyes were then drawn to the counter and beyond. There was something in the kitchen that had caught his attention like the north and south ends of two magnets. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. His body started to tingle and he knew that feeling from several of his travels. It was pure time energy. It was a different feeling than what he had felt when he stood next to his TARDIS. This was much older and in face he had felt this kind of energy once before, a long time ago. Centuries ago actually. Way back in the War, but he couldn't figure out what that feeling was doing here in a small restaurant of a planet that won't reach the ability to wield time for another few thousand years.
The smell of food snapped him out his trance and he walked down the steps and made his way to a stool at the bar. He sat down and started taking in the smells of the food. His sense of smell far exceeded that of humans and could sense the difference of every kind of food in the kitchen. It was a symphony of smells.
Once again his attention was once more drawn to the same spot and he couldn't figure out why. The feeling was stronger than when he walked in so he knew he was closer to its source. He had to get back there somehow, and being the ever cunning man, he definitely would.
"Welcome to Waverly Sub Station."
The Doctor snapped out of his trance. "Wh-What?"
"Welcome to Waverly Sub Station. How may I take your order?" asked a teenage boy around eighteen years old.
"Oh I don't know. Surprise me," said the Doctor.
"Um okay."
As the kid left the Doctor lowered his head rubbed his forehead. There was something about this place that made him feel like he was back home on his own world. That was something he hadn't felt in over a thousand years.
Oh Gallifrey I miss you so much. The Doctor thought to himself.
"Here you are. Your Surprise Me Sandwich."
The Doctor looked up and took the sandwich and asked, "You seriously have a Surprise Me Sandwich?"
"Yes we do."
The Doctor shrugged as he took a bite and his face lit up. It tasted just like his favorite food, the fried Zamba lizard itself. The Doctor swallowed his bite when a teenage girl walked in the room from a spiral staircase from the Doctor's right. She walked over to the one who took down the Doctor's order. It looked like they were getting into a little argument. The Doctor closed his eyes after he finished his sandwich and was trying to find out why the feeling he felt was so familiar.
"Alex no."
"But Justin!" said Alex. She glanced out of the window between the kitchen and the restaurant part and noticed the Doctor sitting there with his eyes closed. "What's he doing?"
"I don't know, but he's been staring at in the same direction for most of the time he's been here," said Justin.
"Where?" asked Alex.
Justin pointed to the freezer door.
"Do you think he knows?" asked Alex.
"Do I think he knows that our freezer is actually a secret wizard lair? I don't know."
"I'm going to find out," said Alex and she walked out of the kitchen.
"Alex don't," Justin tried to stop her, but failed.
Alex walked up in front of the Doctor and just stood there.
"Yes Alex?" asked the Doctor.
"Oh nothing," said Alex, "Hey wait a minute how do you know my name?"
"I heard you two arguing," said the Doctor as he opened his eyes. In front of him was a Hispanic girl with black hair down to her shoulders, a year or two younger than her brother.
"Oh we do that a lot," said Alex.
"I figured that part. You're brother and sister aren't you?"
"Yeah but still you know my name what's yours?"
"Doctor. Doctor John Smith," said the Doctor.
"Oh your a doctor. What do you doctor?" asked Alex.
"Everything," said the Doctor.
"Well Doc why are you staring into space?"
"First of all its Doctor, not Doc. And secondly I'm looking for something."
"What are you looking for?" asked Alex.
"Something very important." When he said that a screeching noise erupted out of his pocket. "Crap! I thought I turned that off!"
"What is that noise?" asked Alex.
The Doctor ignored her as he piled his stuff out of his pockets onto the counter in front of him. After a massing a pile of stuff that seemed to have no use at all which included a rubber duck, a dozen or so mints, coins that were not from Earth, a digital wrist watch that kept switching between four and nine, another rubber duck, a silver thing with a blue light at the end of it and a wallet. Finally the Doctor got what he wanted. It was the red Y shaped device that went insane earlier in the morning. The Doctor pushed a few buttons on it and it shut up.
"What was that?" asked Justin as he ran out of the kitchen.
"It was this, don't worry about it," said the Doctor holding up the device.
"What's that?" asked Alex.
"It's my Timey Wimey Detector. It goes ding when there's stuff," said the Doctor.
"Okay? What kind of stuff?" asked Alex.
"All kinds of stuff," said the Doctor, "It squealed like that earlier before I met..." The Doctor's eyes widened and he jumped off the stool he was sitting on. He put everything back in his pockets except the Timey Wimey Detector. He picked it up and looked in the direction it was pointing. It pointed to the staircase and he ran towards it and ran up.
"Hey that's are house you can't go up there," said Justin as he ran after the Doctor, Alex right behind him.
Upstairs the door to the Russo family's home was opened silently and the Hoix walked in. There was no upstairs, but the creature could sense the presence of the Doctor. It wanted to find out more about the Doctor, but it was too hungry to concentrate. It ran to the fridge and tore the door open and started feeding on what was inside. Nothing was safe, not even the racks.
A girl walked into the room around the same age as Alex, but was white and had red hair. She saw the Hoix and she screamed and fainted. She woke up screaming and kept repeating that. The Hoix smacked its head as it realized it had a fresh meal inside the same room. It started to make its way to the girls, but from another entrance the Doctor burst in followed by Justin and Alex.
"HOIX!" he screamed.
The Hoix turned his full attention to the Doctor before howling and running to the glass doors to the terrace.
"Oh I don't think so!" said the Doctor as he chased it and held out the sonic screwdriver. He used it the same moment the Hoix broke through the glass doors. The Hoix grabbed its head and tripped over the brick terrace wall before falling off and crashing on its head on the concrete. The Hoix died a few seconds later.
"Harper are you okay?" asked Alex as she went to her friend.
"What was that!" asked a frantic Justin.
The Doctor ignored him and ran out the front door, Justin in hot pursuit. The burst onto the street and ran to where the dead Hoix was. He took out what looked like a wallet and held it out saying, "Dr. John Smith, UNIT. Everything is under control here."
"What is this thing?" asked Justin.
"It's called a Hoix," said the Doctor as he closed its lifeless eyes saying, "Before your time, rest in peace."
A white light surrounded the Hoix and it vanished.
"What was that?" asked Justin.
"Nothing good," said the Doctor as he walked back the Russo's front door, "But I'll explain everything."
Back in the Russo house, Justin and Alex's parents, Jerry and Theresa, walked into the room to find out what all the commotion was about. They saw the broken doors and totally destroyed fridge. They were ready to blame Alex until they saw her terrified look as she sat next to a crying Harper.
"What happened in here?" asked Jerry.
"A Hoix is what happened," said the Doctor as he walked into through the front door.
"Who are you?" asked Jerry.
"The Doctor. Just the Doctor."
"Why are you here?" asked Jerry, "I don't know you and your in my house."
"I was downstairs eating when this thing went off," explained the Doctor holding up his Timey Wimey Detector, "If it weren't for this thing and me, little redhead there would have been eaten."
"What?" ask Harper horrified.
"It's what a Hoix is, the ultimate garbage disposal of the Universe. It will eat anything and it can digest anything."
"How do you know so much about it?" asked Justin.
"It's an alien," said the Doctor.
"Alien?" asked Theresa, "They don't exist, do they."
"Well there was that time with Merlin's hat and they tried to take our milkshake maker," said Jerry.
"Oh that's true," said Theresa.
"Well anyway," said the Doctor, "I want to know why there was a Hoix here, they usually don't come this far, but well this one is more volatile than the one in Cardiff."
"What is more volatile?" asked Justin.
"Oh a Time Rift. It's a tear in the universe where anything can slip through. Anywhere from the universe and anytime. There is a naturally occurring one in Cardiff, Wales. And now there is one lining the entire New York City sewers. It wasn't there yesterday. Now did any of you feel strange during the night? A change in the atmosphere a slight tingle down your spine you can't simply just throw away? Anyone?"
"Yes," said Alex, "About 10:30 last night. I didn't like it so I just dismissed it."
"That must have been when the New Rift opened. Now that is what's disturbing me. There are hardly, if any, races in the universe capable of tearing a hole in reality itself. That would take fearsome technology."
"Doctor how do you know so much about aliens and Time Rifts, as you call them," asked Theresa.
"I'm also an alien," the Doctor said without a missing beat.
"You're joking. He's joking right," said Theresa.
"Do I look like I am joking?" the Doctor said coldly.
"I don't think he's joking," said Justin.
"Then what are you?" asked Alex.
"I come from a race of people known as Time Lords. We have a unique outlook on the universe. We know a lot about almost every race in all creation," said the Doctor.
"Time Lord? What are they, Lords of Time Travel?" smirked Alex.
"That's exactly what we were, are," said the Doctor.
Alex's smirk melted away which cause Justin to smirk at her.
"Your a time traveler?" asked Jerry, "How?"
"Through my TARDIS. That stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It's right outside the door to the sandwich shop."
"How come we haven't seen it," asked Theresa.
"That would be the perception filter. It filters the area around it and makes it somewhat invisible. You might have noticed it, but not realized that it didn't belong. It is a big blue Police Call Box."
"Oh you mean that blue box. I saw that when I walked in," said Harper, the first since the whole Hoix incident.
"You noticed it?" asked Alex.
"Yeah I just thought it was one of your things you do," said Harper.
"Harper don't," said Justin.
"No Harper don't. I want to know from the family of this place," the Doctor said as he turned to Jerry and said, "What's in your freezer? Don't say nothing because I have felt it since I walked in the doors to the sub station. Just a little tingle that runs up and down my spine."
"What do you mean 'fifth self'?" asked Alex.
"That's another story for another time," replied the Doctor.
They all walked downstairs and when the Doctor was out of view, Justin pulled out his wand and fixed the screen doors and fridge.
The Doctor stood against the door and pulled out his sonic screwdriver and used it on the door. "No deadlock seal. That's very good." The Doctor then opened the door and the Russo family's wizard lair was right there. The Doctor walked in ignoring everything and went to the far wall and put his hands out in front of him. "Time. Pure, untainted time. It's beautiful."
"What's he doing?" asked Alex to her dad.
"I have no idea, but he is close to your magic fuses," answered Jerry.
The Doctor sniffed the wall and then of all things to do he licked the wall, making everyone else in the room flinch.
"What was that for?" asked Alex, "That's disgusting."
"I haven't tasted or felt time energy like this since Gallifrey. Oh Gallifrey."
"Gallifrey?" asked Theresa.
The Doctor's face saddened and he turned around to face the family. "Did you know that you have pure, untainted time energy in that section of wall and if your genetic structure is right, you guys could control it. Kind of like Rose did when she was the Bad Wolf, but not to that extent. That's how Justin there fixed the doors and the fridge."
"But how did you know that?" asked Justin.
"I felt it. I can feel whenever you use the energy," said the Doctor.
"Who's Rose and the Bad Wolf?" asked Alex.
The Doctor smiled, "Man you guys have a lot of question. That's why I like humans. You're a curious group of people. Well anyway Rose was once a traveling companion of mine during my ninth and tenth self. She eventually got trapped in a parallel world after the Battle of Canary Wharf, another story for another time. As for the Bad Wolf, I'm still not sure. First I thought it was just the Time Vortex flowing through Rose's head, but then Ashton, another companion, absorbed it and then I realized that it might be some kind of transcendental being. Somewhat like the Eternals, but I think more powerful than even them. If the Bad Wolf stay inside a body too long that body will burn, just like Ashton's did, but I was able to save Rose. It cost me my ninth life, but willingly did it anyway."
"How many lives do you have?" asked Alex.
The Doctor didn't acknowledge her question and noticed a glass door and his face lit up even more. He ran over to it felt it and opened it. He peered inside and closed the door again. He looked back at the people watching him and said, "That's a transdimentional transport. It creates a separate world from this one, but not powerful enough to become an alternate reality. Am I right? There is another world when you enter that transport isn't there? No use in lying to me. I wouldn't be the first time since I've seen one of them, plus there is not much I don't know in the universe, but tell me anyway."
"Yeah," said Jerry, "That's what it is. How do you know this stuff?"
"Simple. I'm a Time Lord, and plus I'm a genius."
"Well isn't someone high on themselves?" mocked Alex.
"It can't be arrogance if it's true can it?" asked the Doctor as he made his way to the door to the lair.
The Doctor walked back into the restaurant and sat at one of the stools again. The feeling of the pure time energy in that rooms wall made the Doctor's mind go back. It went far back to when he was under 1,000 years old. His mind went to a planet with a burnt orange sky and twin suns. There were mountains over most of the planet, slopes of deep red grass capped with snow. There trees that towered compared to those of Earth trees. Their bark was the same, but all the leaves were silver. The second sun's light hit those leaves and the forest erupted into a light displays that looked like a massive forest fire. The Doctor's mind flew over an ocean and there he was looking at the continent of Wild Endeavor, his home. He saw the two mighty peaks of the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, and in between them there stood a mighty glass dome and inside the dome was a massive city. The sadness started to creep into the Doctor once again.
The Russos and Harper just stared at the Doctor's wandering eyes from the kitchen. Then for the first time they noticed how old his eyes actually looked. They looked far older than anything they previously met. They looked ancient but how. The man couldn't be that old. He was young, but the eyes of an ancient man.
"What do you think he's thinking of?" asked Jerry.
"Whatever it is, he misses it," said Justin.
"Maybe it's what he said in there," said Theresa, "What did he say. Gallifrey."
"What's Gallifrey? Dad do you know?" asked Justin.
"I've never heard of it," said Jerry.
"He's in pain," said Alex.
"What do you mean? He looks fine to me," said Harper.
"Not in physical pain, but emotional. I could see it when he talks about the Time Lords and now. He may seem like he's happy, but he's sad. A sadness that seems to take over his actions," said Alex.
"How do you know that?" asked Justin.
"I don't really know. It's more of a hunch, but looks at him," said Alex, "I think he's cried so much that he doesn't have any tears left."
"What could cause anyone that much sadness to where they can't even cry anymore?" asked Justin, "I've been sad, but never like that."
"Do you think he was in love with someone and now there gone?" asked Harper.
"No, it's much deeper than that," said Alex, "He's lost more that just someone he loved. A lot more."
The vision of the planet in the Doctor's head started to grow dark. A shadow came across the horizon. Screams and cries tore through his mind and then he heard the ominous and terrifying battle cry "Exterminate." Alarms and sirens blared. Ships took off from the planet's surface. The planet went through a time lapse from a beautiful place that could have been heaven itself turned into a fire and blood stained planet. The glass dome was barely standing and the city was on the verge of collapse, but the war still raged on. Millions upon millions were dead or dying, but it was about to end. A massive fire came across the planet and engulfed it. All that remained was a burnt husk of a planet that turned to dust when the solar winds blew right through it. The once beautiful and gorgeous planet was now dust in space.
A tear came to the Doctor's eye that he wiped away. His mind went back to the present and he stood up from his seat and walked to the entrance as the others walked into the restaurant.
"Where are you going?" asked Justin.
"To my TARDIS," said the Doctor, "It's right here next to the front door."
"What do you need to do in there?" asked Alex.
"Hopefully find out why there is a Time Rift lining the sewers of this city," said the Doctor.
"You know you can stay here if you want," said Theresa.
"What?" said Jerry to only where she would here.
"You saw what he was remembering. I have a feeling he didn't just lose someone he lost, but I think he lost his home. That was the face of a homeless person. Anyway that Rift thing he was talking about and the things that come out of it. You apparently don't know anything about it, but he seems to know everything about it, except for why it's here. I would like to have an expert, wouldn't you?"
"I guess your right," said Jerry.
They both turned back to Doctor.
"So what do you say?" asked Jerry.
The Doctor looked around and answered, "I will need a place to put my TARDIS until I can get it repaired. Yeah I guess so. Why not?"
"That's good," said Theresa, "I'll see about getting you someplace to sleep."
"That won't be necessary," said the Doctor. He walked over to a section of the floor three steps above the rest of the floor and close to the spiral staircase. He walked out a certain area, and asked, "Do you care if I use this area right here?"
"That's a small place and plus this will be opened most of the day," said Theresa.
"That's fine. This is more than enough room, believe me. I won't be noticed and I won't notice the daily activities. By the way I never got to pay that sandwich I ate."
"I think saving Harper's life was more than enough payment," said Jerry.
"That's good," the Doctor smiled, "Well can I use this piece of space?"
"I guess so, but are you sure?" asked Jerry.
"Oh yes," said the Doctor, all smiles. The Doctor ran to the entrance and walked out. He peered back in and said, "I think you're going to love this." He vanished behind the door.
From outside, there was strange sound that could best be described as a vworp. After a few vworps the noise ended. A few seconds later, the vworps returned but with a slightly different tone. A strong breeze blew throughout the sub station and a giant light appeared out of now about eight to nine feet off the ground. Underneath the light a blue police call box appeared but disappeared. It appeared again but then became transparent. It went through that a few more times before a solid police call box appeared accompanied by a large thud. Napkins and other things were all over the floor of the sub station.
The door the box opened and the Doctor stuck out his head and smiled before he completely stepped out of the TARDIS. "That my new friends, is the TARDIS."
"That is where you're going to sleep? It's pretty small," said Alex.
"It's bigger on the inside," said the Doctor.
"Why is it a police box?" asked Justin.
"That would be because of the Chameleon Circuit. The TARDIS would usually appear to something that would naturally appear in the area it landed in, but my TARDIS has a faulty Chameleon Circuit and it's stuck on the police box. Plus she kind of likes it."
"She?" asked Alex.
"Oh yeah the TARDIS is a girl," said the Doctor.
"You call your ship a girl?" asked Alex.
"Most sailors or other people call ships girl pronouns," chimed Justin.
"I didn't ask you," snapped Alex.
"Yeah but there is a difference here Justin," replied the Doctor, "The TARDIS is alive. Every TARDIS is alive and they are either male or female."
"So you chose a female TARDIS," said Jerry.
"Well it's a little more complicated than that," said the Doctor.
"You stole her didn't you?" asked Alex bluntly.
"Yes, yes I did steal her," said the Doctor, "But I wouldn't be able to fly her if she wouldn't allow it. In order for a Time Lord to fly his or her chosen TARDIS, that TARDIS has to choose the Time Lord as well or at least trust him or her. So I chose her and she chose me. It was he best thing we both could have done."
"You said it's bigger on the inside," said Alex.
"Yes I did," said the Doctor.
"Can I have a look?" asked Alex.
"Yeah I don't see why not," said the Doctor. He opened the door and invite Alex in. None of the others wanted to go in yet, so the Doctor shut the door and walked to the control console. Alex just stood there looking around in amazement in how a concert hall could fit in that small phone box she had just scene.
"The TARDIS seems to like Alex," said the Doctor.
"Thank you," said Alex in shock, "This place is huge."
"This is just one room," said the Doctor.
"There is more than one room?"
"It's actually about the size a castle," said the Doctor, "You can have a look around later if you want but I need to do some tests and..." The Doctor was cut off by the red lights turning on and the cloister bell ringing.
"Doctor! What's that?" asked Alex worried.
"The TARDIS has picked up something. The Rift! The Rift has caused an explosion several miles from here!"
"What?" asked Alex.
"This is not good! There will be panic throughout the city. I have to call in for some help," said the Doctor.
"Who are you going to call?"
"Some old friends my dear Alex," said the Doctor, "I'm calling in UNIT."
"What's UNIT?" asked a worrying Alex.
"It's the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. They used to be called the United Nation Intelligence Taskforce, a name which I like better," said the Doctor.
"Will they help?"
"That's what UNIT is supposed to do, but I need them to more or less try to contain the situation until I can stabilize the Rift," said the Doctor, "Who's the UNIT leader in New York? Who is it? Who is it? Who is IT!" The Doctor to pace saying, "God, my head is so full. So full of useless facts! I need a bigger head. OSAGE!"
Alex jumped when the Doctor screamed, "What was that for?"
"I just remembered his name, General Bolton Osage," said the Doctor as he made his way to door.
"Where are you going?" asked Alex.
"I can't do anything from in here except watch and don't like to just watch. I have to get involved," said the Doctor as he exited the TARDIS, Alex following close behind.
The two stepped out into the sub station and the look on the Doctor's face was not once of reassurance.
"What happened?" asked Jerry.
"The Rift caused an explosion a few miles away," said the Doctor as he pulled his cell phone out and moved away from the humans.
"An explosion!" panicked Theresa, "Doctor..."
"No mom," said Alex, "The Doctor is calling for some help. I think he called them UNIT."
"UNIT? UNIT's coming?" asked Jerry.
"You've heard of them?" asked Justin.
"Yes, they are an organization that was set up by the United Nations in the sixties to investigate things of alien or supernatural origin," said Jerry.
"So you mean like us?" asked Justin.
"Yeah, but they have a good track record," said Jerry, "They only capture and contain things that are dangerous."
The Doctor dialed the number to UNIT headquarters in New York City. A woman answered the phone, "This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, how may I help?"
"I need to speak to General Bolton Osage," said the Doctor.
"I'm sorry, but the General is busy can I take a message?"
"I need to speak with him now. I have an authorization code," said the Doctor.
"You can give me your code and I will tell him you called," said the operator.
"Okay. My code is One Four Delta Omega One Nine Six Three One One Two Five Zero Seven One Five One Four," said the Doctor.
There was a moment of hesitation from the line but the operator said, "It's you! I'll get the General right away."
"Thank you," said the Doctor.
After a few minutes, a man spoke, "Doctor?"
"Yes."
"This is General Osage. How can I be of assistance?"
"Well General..."
Back near the bar, Alex looked at her family and told them, "You have got to see it in there. It is amazing. I have never seen anything like it."
"How can that small box be amazing?" asked Justin.
"Because its bigger on the inside," said Alex.
"So we have stuff that's bigger on the inside," said Justin.
"Not like that. The room I was in was bigger than this entire sub station," said Alex, "And the Doctor said that it was only one room and that the TARDIS was the size of a castle on the inside."
"Okay your right, now that is amazing and impossible," said Justin.
"I don't know," said Jerry, "The Doctor seemed to know a lot about what we are and that could hint to him knowing a lot more about things than us."
"So what did the room look like you were in? Was it all space ship, futuristic stuff?" asked Justin excitedly.
"Actually no it wasn't. It was a concert hall. There were screens, instrument, sections of seating, and a stage. There wasn't any future things you would think would be in there," said Alex, "It was nice, I liked it."
"Of course you would," said Justin disappointed.
"But there was something else. The air in there was peaceful. The Doctor noticed it too and he told me the TARDIS really liked me," said Alex.
"Wait until it gets to know you," said Justin.
"I don't care, I just liked it in there," said Alex.
The Doctor stopped pacing and hung up the phone. He turned to the bar and said, "UNIT's coming to help contain the panic and anything that might try to come through, but this city is huge and they don't have enough man power to do a clean and complete sweep, but they are going to have head quarters near the explosion site."
"So there not coming here?" asked Jerry.
"No they're not," said the Doctor, "You can still run your sandwich place, speaking of which, why is it empty?"
"I close early on Saturdays," said Jerry.
"Oh okay," said the Doctor, "Well anyway, UNIT will be at the explosion site and I'm going to stay here and monitor the Rift from the TARDIS. If they need me, I will just transport there."
"With what?" asked Alex.
"With this," the Doctor pulled out his watch that was going between nine and four.
"Your watch?" asked Alex.
"Yes my watch," said the Doctor, "Well actually it's not a watch, but a transporter watch which is still not true, but you get the point."
"What's with the numbers being nine and four?"
"That's how I transport. It's the base code for transportation, an oscillating four and nine," explained the Doctor.
"We just use these," said Justin as he pulled out his wand.
"Is that what I think that is?" asked the Doctor.
"This is a wand," said Justin.
"So you must think that the time energy you wield is magic," said the Doctor, "Which is pretty smart I guess. You don't know what to call it so you call it magic, which is an accurate description to a point, but true magic no longer exists."
"What do you mean true magic?" asked Jerry.
"The power of words instead of numbers," said the Doctor, "The Carionites were the last race to use true magic, but before they got too powerful, they were banished into the Void by the Eternal's themselves. That was way back in the Dark Times of the universe."
The faces looking back at him were practically blank. The Doctor just smiled.
"What was all that stuff you just said?" asked Harper.
"Carionites, they were evil aliens. The Void is the gap of nothing between parallel universes. The Eternals, an ancient race that transcend time and cause and effect," explained the Doctor.
"Okay," said Justin stopping the conversation from being one sided. The Doctor knew what Justin was doing and stopped talking about those things.
The Doctor warmed face melted and an icy chill flew down his back and he looked toward the door to the restaurant, "The Rift."
"Doctor, what is it?" asked Alex.
"Something just came through the Rift," said the Doctor.
"How close?" asked Theresa.
"Whatever street this place is on," said the Doctor.
"Waverly Place."
"Well then, on Waverly Place."
Out of the windows of the sub station, four Hoixes walked could be seen walking down Waverly Place. They smelled around and caught the scent of a very tasty meal, a Time Lord. They ran to the door and opened it and the four Hoixes walked in and stared down the Doctor. They made their way over slowly teeth dripping with saliva driven by the hunger.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and Justin and Alex pulled out their wands. All three fired at the Hoixes, but nothing happened. The Doctor shook his head knowing that the screwdriver still needed to be charged before it could be weaponized again.
The Russo siblings had no idea why there wands or magic didn't work, but the Doctor did. He told them, "The time energy used to get the Hoixes here is canceling out your ability to do magic." The Doctor picked up and chair and was going to bash a Hoix's head in, but the closest Hoix smacked the chair away and snarled at the Doctor before picking him up and throwing him across the room, smashing him into chairs and tables. The other three Hoixes had their sites on the defenseless humans. The Hoix hunting the Doctor opened its mouth and roared in triumph.
Time slowed down for the Doctor and he felt the same feeling that he had when the Hoixes came through moments ago. Something else came through the Rift. The Doctor was powerless to stop the oncoming blood bath.
The Hoix raised its hand to slash at the Doctor but howled in pain. White electricity swarmed over its body and the Hoix fell over dead as did the other three. The Doctor looked up and saw an alien standing over him. It was dressed in a black jacket, pants, black leather gloves and shoes. The alien was bald, but had pointed ears. There was no nose or mouth, instead their where dozens of mini tentacles. Out of the tentacles, there was a cord that was connected to a glass orb the alien clipped to its chest pocket.
The Doctor got up and looked at the alien in the face and smiled widely. A sense of relief was all over the Doctor body language. The Russos and Harper, however, looked freaked out at the aliens standing there in front of them.
"Ood Sigma," said the Doctor, "I thought I would never see you again."
"As did I, Doctor," said Ood Sigma now holding the orb in his hand. It was glowing a brilliant white whenever the Ood talked. "But this Time Rift attracted us. We heard your screams from across the stars and came here to help. Our naturally powerful psychic abilities were magnified because of the new Rift. We came here to help you. The Hoixes are only going to be the first in a line of creatures coming through the Rift, but once stabilized, the threats will decrease."
"Um, excuse me Doctor, what are these?" asked Jerry just staring at the Ood.
"They're called Oods. Their usually peaceful, but they become aggressive when they or others they trust are threatened."
"And we are from the future. That is where the Doctor becomes our friend and savior," said Sigma.
"Savior?" asked Theresa.
"He liberated us from the tyrannical rule of slave traders and business men," said Sigma not telling the family that the Ood are a slave race to humans in the future.
"Sigma," said the Doctor, "Why have you come here? You could have done something else I'm sure."
"We could not, but we do have a way back. When the Rift is stabilized we will return, but until then we are to guard you from any Hoixes that may or may not appear, but it is better to safe and sound than unsafe and eaten alive, is it not?" asked Sigma.
"True that," said the Doctor, "Wait a minute, how did you even know there was a Rift here, Sigma."
"We could sense it. We are time sensitive. Remember when time was bleeding and the shadow fell over all creation," explained Sigma, "We saw what would have happened if they succeeded. We can also send messages back through time. Don't you remember, Doctor, we sang you to your sleep all those centuries ago."
"I remember," said the Doctor, "Thank you for that. I wouldn't have made it to the TARDIS if you hadn't helped me and doing that in the middle of the street would have been terrible considering how explosive it was."
"What was explosive?" asked Justin.
"Oh nothing," said the Doctor, "I'll tell you later." The Doctor turned his attention back to Sigma, "You can see portions of time. Can you see how this ends up?"
"No Doctor," said Sigma, "But I see that you will have to make a choice that will strand you."
"What do you mean?" asked the Doctor.
"Your TARDIS will need repaired," said Sigma, "Dematerialization will be impossible for months to come after tonight."
"What happens tonight?" asked the Doctor.
"Battle," answered Sigma, "Battle between UNIT and us against a horde of Hoixes."
"What!" asked the Doctor, "What are you talking about?"
"It's history Doctor," said Sigma.
"I can find something that can stop this can't I," said the Doctor, "There is no need for this bloodshed."
"You are right, Doctor," agreed Sigma, "But this has to happen. You may not be able to feel it, but to us it's history to us. This tear in reality has put a strain on time and it must always happen like this so that time can reorder itself in the future."
"Wait, are you saying this is fixed?" asked the Doctor.
"Yes, Doctor, this is fixed," said Sigma, "If you will excuse us, we have to form a counter to the Hoixes." Ood Sigma and the other Oods vanished in a blue light.
"Oh the Oods have teleports," said the Doctor, "I can really say that I did not see that one coming."
"What's with the spaghetti faces?" asked Alex.
"They're called Oods," said the Doctor, "They are race from the future, so what they said was not a prophecy, but a history listen."
"What did you mean that this was fixed?" asked Justin.
The Doctor sat down in one of the chairs that was still standing, "You guys can sit down."
The others sat down and looked at the Doctor waiting for more explanations to why there already unnatural life was being thrown upside down by this man in a red jacket and blue sports pants with his big blue box and his unlimited knowledge of practically everything.
"There are certain moments in time that are fixed, but everything else is in flux anything can happen. Those certain moments, however, they have to stand. They cannot change because if they do things will turn out terrible. I tried to alter a fixed point once in the 2050s on Mars. Bowie Base One, the first off world colony. Anyway back to point, fixed points cannot, under any circumstances must be changed. If it is, reapers will come. Not the kind you think of. They're more like time bacteria. They cleanse the wound and that is never good," the Doctor rattled off.
"The one you were talking to, Sigma, he said tonight was fixed. What happens tonight?" asked Theresa.
"Battle, just like Sigma said," replied the Doctor, "And whatever happens tonight always has to happen, no matter what. There is going to be a fight between the Ood and Hoixes with UNIT thrown in. This sucks. Not only that my TARDIS is going to have to be damaged in order to stabilize the Rift."
"Sigma said you'll be stranded," said Alex, "If you do this, you will be stuck here?"
"Yeah, my dematerialization circuit was damaged already and now it will be shot when this night is over, but there is a shot I can fix it if I have the proper materials. Before you ask the dematerialization circuit is how I travel through time. I can travel throughout space with out it but it takes a lot longer. Even then I wouldn't trust the TARDIS because she's been on the fritz lately," explained the Doctor.
"How bad is it going to be?" asked Justin.
"I have no idea," said the Doctor, "If the Hoixes are stopped before they get loose, then this will be a lot less deadly. I have to get to the TARDIS and find out when the Rift will spill the Hoixes and..." the Doctor trailed off. "OF COURSE!" he blasted.
Everyone else in the sub station jumped.
"I'm so thick! The TARDIS. That's the answer. I can use the TARDIS to stop the Rift and stabilize it. I mean I sealed the Rift in the Medusa Cascade when I was just a kid, 90 years old. That's how I sealed it, I used the heart of the TARDIS, but she was not an old girl then, she was more of young girl," said the Doctor as he jumped up and ran to the TARDIS.
He got the doors and told her, "We have to do something that will damage you for a few months to maybe even years, but we have to do it. This city is a risk and if the two Rifts meet it could tear this whole planet apart and the future of so many civilizations would be in danger. We have to do this."
"She says yes Doctor," said Alex.
"What?" asked the Doctor.
"Alex what are you talking about?" asked Jerry.
"I can hear. She knows she will be hurt and she is willing to do it if can save lives in the present and the future," said Alex she was choking up and a tear was coming to her eyes, "I can hear her singing. It's beautiful."
"Alex are you okay?" asked Theresa.
"I'm fine," replied Alex, "The sadness is much."
"Not yet Old Girl, not yet," said the Doctor to the TARDIS.
"The sadness is leaving," said Alex, "Why was it there in the first place?"
"I'll tell you later Alex," said the Doctor as he entered the TARDIS.
"Your not leaving me here," said Alex as she ran to the TARDIS.
"Alex where are you going?" asked Theresa.
"Mom, I just have to go. Everything will be okay," said Alex as she walked in and closed the door behind her.
"Just be careful," said Theresa as the TARDIS dematerialized.
"There's nothing we can do now," said Jerry, "The best we can do is clean this mess up and go wait upstairs until tomorrow."
"I hope she will be okay," said Theresa, "A fight between those two creatures and soldier boys and girls is going to be deadly and my daughters is going to be in the middle of it." She ran up the stairs crying and Jerry started to run after her but stopped and looked at Justin and Harper just standing there.
"Dad go," said Justin, "We'll clean this up."
"Thank you," said Jerry as he ran upstairs.
Justin walked over and picked up a table as Harper asked him, "Do you think Alex will be okay?"
"I don't know, but there is something about that Doctor that I trust. He'll protect her. I'm sure of it."
The two continued to pick the chairs and tables up in the sub station as dusk was approaching. Both of them had worries, but didn't want to tell the other. They would just have to trust this Doctor that came flying in their lives a few hours ago.
The Doct was oblivious to Alex when she entered into the TARDIS. He put in the coordinates of UNIT's field HQ and the TARDIS dematerialized from the Waverly Sub Station. When the TARDIS entered the time vortex, part of the stage caught on fire. The Doctor picked up a hammer and smacked the TARDIS control console. The Doctor tossed the hammer onto the ground and he ran to the other side of the console and pressed several buttons. The Doctor flew away from the console and down the stairs to the main floor. He entered one of the doors near the seating and pulled out a fire extinguisher. He ran back up the stage and sprayed the fire, snuffing it out. He put the extinguisher down on the floor.
Alex just watched as the Doctor kept flying across the TARDIS stage and controls. She got to the base of the stairs at the left of the stage before the Doctor noticed her, "Alex! What are you doing here?"
"I came with you," she answered, "I wanted to come."
"You do realize that this is very dangerous and possibly deadly," said the Doctor, "You do know that right?"
"I thought so, but I felt I had to come," replied Alex.
"Why?" asked the Doctor.
"She asked me to," said Alex, "I heard her."
The Doctor looked at the control console and walked over to it. He put his hand on the glass surrounding the top of the console. He put his head down and told the TARDIS, "She's only just a kid. She's in her teens. I already have the blood of billions on my hands. I don't need or want to have anymore. I hope I know what you are doing."
The Doctor put his head down and turned back to Alex. He looked at her in the eyes with his. Alex had seen it earlier in the sub station, but now she saw them dead on for the first time. She saw the eyes of the Doctor and for first time she saw how old they were. They were ancient. She snapped out of it when the TARDIS's alarm went off and the Doctor ran to the controls and his face was unnerving.
"Alex! Sit down in one of those chairs and hold on tight," ordered the Doctor, "This is going to be bumpy."
Alex sat down as smoke billowed out of several places on the walls and the TARDIS started shaking. "Doctor what's happening!"
"The materialization is going a little rough," the Doctor replied fighting to stand up, "COME ON Old Girl!"
The TARDIS materialized inside the UNIT HQ, sending papers flying all over the makeshift tent. UNIT soldiers got up and watched as the TARDIS door opened and the Doctor stepped out. Behind the Doctor, Alex walked out into the command center. The Doctor walked over to the crater left by the explosion. As he walked by, the UNIT soldiers and personnel started to salute him.
"Don't salute," the Doctor said annoyed not even looking at anyone but the crater which was a mile wide itself, "Whoa, that was a blast. The Rift must have absorbed most of the energy because I didn't feel a shockwave."
"Let me go! I didn't sneak in!" snapped Alex as was being apprehended by a couple UNIT soldiers.
The Doctor turned around and saw the commotion. "Let her go. She's with me."
"Sir?" asked a private.
"You heard the man," a voice sound from behing the TARDIS.
"General," said the private, letting go of Alex and saluting General Osage.
Osage saluted back and walked over to the Doctor, "So how do you think this thing got here?"
"I have no idea, but I intend to find out before more lives are lost," said the Doctor.
"That this is huge," stated Alex, stading at the edge of the crater. She heard a faint noise in the distance. It continued to grow louder but she didn't know what it was. After a few seconds she started hear singing. It wasn't the singing that she heard from the TARDIS. It was different song. A song much different, but still beautiful. Alex looked over to the Doctor and General Osage, but they didn't seem to notice. They were too busy talking about the plan of attack. She heard the Doctor describing the Oods and how they were friendly so don't kill them, but anything else that gets through is lethal and should be taken care of.
Alex looked back at the crater as the sun was setting on the horizon. There was something about today that was different than any other day, and it all started when this Doctor showed up. She stood there thinking about how crazy and unnatural her life was already and she actually met someone who threw her world upside down. Her world of all things, but there was something else about this Doctor, something he hadn't told her or anyone else. Something deep and hidden in his past, but it was dark.
The Doctor walked up beside Alex without making any noise.
"What are you hiding?" asked Alex staring as the sun was about to fall completely below the horizon.
"What are you talking about?" asked the Doctor as the lights around the UNIT camp started to turn on one by one.
"You know what I'm talking about. I see it your eyes and on your face. It's the look I have when I do something that doesn't end up with anything good," said Alex.
"I don't think now's the best time Alex," replied the Doctor.
"Now the best time I think, before whatever is supposed to happen tonight," said Alex.
The Doctor looked at Alex and said, "I'm alone."
"What do you mean alone?" asked Alex as she turned her attention to the Doctor, "I'm right here."
"Not like that," said the Doctor, "I'm alone in a larger sense."
"Which would be?"
"I'm the last of my kind," said the Doctor.
"Last of your kind?"
"I'm the not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. There is no one else. It's just me, it's only me," said the Doctor.
"What happened?" asked Alex.
"There was a war, a time war, the Last Great Time War. My people fought a race of beings called the Daleks for the sake of all creation and they lost. We lost. Everyone lost. Now they're all gone. My family, my friends, Gallifrey's sky. Gallifrey, huh, you should've seen that planet. The sky was a burnt orange, a citadel gleaming under the twin suns. Beyond that the mountains go on forever and when the second sun would rise in the south those mountains would shine, slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow. The forests of trees with their leaves of silver looked like a forest on fire when the sunlight hit those leaves at the right time in the morning."
Alex just looked as emotions flooded to the Doctor's face. There was something about this person standing in front of her that stopped her from being her apathetic self. She knew that what he was talking about was true. She had sensed it from the first moment she entered the TARDIS. Then it hit her. The sadness of the TARDIS that she felt was the feeling of loneliness. She felt the TARDIS's pain and she felt her eyes grow watery.
"And on the Continent of Wild Endeavor between the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords, the oldest and most mighty race in the universe. They looked down upon the galaxies below vowing never to interfere, only to watch, but then the Daleks came. A horde across the stars, slaughtering everything in their path. They got so powerful that my people were the only ones that could stand up to them. We did and both sides were destroyed."
Alex saw the hatred in the Doctor's eyes when he mentioned the Daleks. It was terrifying. She had never seen such hate and mixed in with that unbridled rage was fear. Hate and fear was all she saw. She had never seen such fury before and it scared her.
"But that's all in the past now. Don't tell anyone what I just told you," said the Doctor, his eyes melting back into the kind, old thing she saw when they first met.
The two just stood there looking at the crater and UNIT helicopters watched from above illuminating the massive hole with spotlights.
"Doctor," said Alex after a few minutes.
"What?"
"I heard singing when you were talking to the General, but it wasn't the song of the TARDIS. It was another song."
"I know I heard it too," said the Doctor, "It was the song of the Ood. They sing more than they talk. The only reason that some can talk is because the slave traders that owned them made the Ood that way. Natural Oods don't speak as often, but sing. They only speak when it is necessary," explained the Doctor.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"It wasn't the first time that I've heard the Ood sing. They even sang to me when my tenth self was dying. The reason the Ood were singing is because it calms them down and prepares them for the things to come. They are preparing for battle. A battle against a hostile, hungry group of creatures. I just wish there was some way that this bloodshed could be avoided."
There is a way. Alex heard a woman's voice in her head. She shook her head, thinking she was just hearing things.
"Are you okay?" asked the Doctor.
"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Alex.
I can fix this. I can stop the blood bath that is to come, but you have to listen. Alex heard the voice again.
"Doctor can you hear her?" asked Alex.
"Hear who?" asked the Doctor.
Only you can hear me. Alex heard.
"Nothing Doctor," replied Alex.
"What do you want?" Alex asked under her breath.
I need you to convince the Doctor to open my heart. It is the only way to fix this and stabilize the tear. I can absorb the energy and restore the damaged section of the city back to it's former state and everything that died will be brought back to life. The Doctor just needs to open my heart.
"Who are you?" Alex asked.
You heard my voice once before back in the sub station.
Alex looked over to the TARDIS and realized that's what was talking to her. The TARDIS was telling her how to stop what was going to happen. Why her? Why her and not the Doctor? The TARDIS was his ship after all, but she knew she had to listen to the TARDIS. She knew that the only thing that needed to be done was what the TARDIS had asked her to.
"Doctor," said Alex.
"Not now Alex," panicked the Doctor, "Look."
Alex looked to where the Doctor was pointing and she saw dozens of Ood lining around the crater's edge. In the crater, a light appeared and the Doctor's expression went cold. It was time.
"General!" yelled the Doctor, "It's time. Just fire on anything down in the crater. Don't let any escape. Use lethal force."
"Yes sir," said Osage as he grabbed an assault rifle and radioed the UNIT forces to get to their posts and take aim against the Hoixes in the crater.
"Doctor," said Alex frantically.
"Alex can you use your magic?" asked the Doctor.
Alex saw the soldiers go and take arms all around the two of them standing there. She knew she couldn't. She felt the magic leave her when the Rift let the Hoixes through. She was helpless. She was just a teenage girl in the middle of a war zone and she couldn't do anything.
"Alex can you use magic?" repeated the Doctor.
"No I can't," said Alex.
"Then get to the TARDIS and stay inside until I say it's safe to come out," said the Doctor, "Don't argue. This is going to be terrible."
Alex did what the Doctor asked, reluctantly though. She knew she had to help. She had to get the Doctor to open the Heart of the TARDIS. She just didn't know anyway to do it. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of massive gunfire. She could here screams coming from the crater and she saw the Ood run into the crater, blasting their orbs at the Hoixes. The Doctor was standing tall where he was giving order to people as more and more Hoixes slipped through the Rift.
Alex was overcome with fear and she did go and hide in the TARDIS. She sat in one of the back rows, crying. She could here the howling, crying, guns, growls, shouting and many other noises coming from outside the TARDIS. When she woke up this morning, this was not on her to do list. She never thought that she would be witness to an actual battle between two alien people and all the fighting in her home town. She curled up in a ball in and just sat on the chair, trying to wake up from this nightmare she was in.
Outside the TARDIS, the Hoix horde seemed like it would never end. For everyone that died, two would just take its place. The Ood blasted away with their orbs, but they were outmatched. It was frail versus powerful. The Hoix would win the battle against the Ood. All that was left was the UNIT forces surrounding the crater. The bullets rained down on the Hoixes, but that didn't seem to stop the monsters from coming. Slowly but surely, UNIT was also loosing.
The Doctor watched, realizing, that part of this Rift was on the Hoix homeworld and nothing that UNIT could do could stop this city from being overrun. He kept that to himself and still barked out orders as UNIT was dying off.
General Osage went down to reload his rifle when a Hoix grabbed him and bit into his shoulder. That Hoix threw him into the crater and the Doctor knew the General was dead. This was a battle that the Hoixes would win, but Sigma told him that the Hoixes were going to lose. The Doctor thought about what would be able to stop the Hoixes and save all of these people who were still alive, but the Doctor was at a lose.
Inside the TARDIS, Alex could hear the battle and knew it was not going well for the good guys. She tried to move, but was paralyzed with fear. The reality hit her: she was going to die. This would be her last few moments to live. She never thought about how she would die, but this was something no one would think about.
You're not going to die.
"How can you be so sure?" Alex asked the TARDIS.
Because I know how to fix all this to where no one dies. Just get the Doctor and make him open my heart.
"He won't listen."
He has to and he will.
"How can I help? I'm powerless," said Alex.
No you're not.
A wand appeared in front of Alex and she asked, "What use will this be? I can't use magic with the Rift pumping out land piranhas."
There is more than kind of magic. Use my energy. It is not effected by the Rift negatively. My energy feeds off of Rift energy. The more Hoixes that come through the more powerful you become, but only until this night is over with.
"Okay," said Alex, "What do I do?"
Go and save the day.
A yellow light surrounded Alex and she felt a power she never felt before. She grabbed the wand in front of her and walked to the TARDIS doors.
"Thank you," she told the TARDIS.
The Doctor was with a group of soldiers huddled around him. The Hoixes had surrounded them and were going in for the kill. The soldier's were almost out of ammo and there was nothing that anyone could do.
The doors to the TARDIS swung open and yellow light erupted into the night. Alex's silhouette could be seen. She stepped out of the TARDIS and the doors shut behind her. The Hoixes saw an opportunity to for an easy kill and charged Alex. She raised her hand with the wand in it and she blasted the Hoixes and they vanished. The Hoixes saw her as a threat and charged her. Dozens of them jumped at her, burying her under a massive pile of carnivores.
The Doctor looked on in horror. Nothing could have survived that kind of crushing weight and plus the massive snapping jaws of the Hoix. He lowered his head knowing that one more had joined the dead, but something caught his eye from the pile up.
Yellow light shined through the cracks in the Hoix pile up and the Hoixes went flying in the air before vanishing. Alex just stood there shining, arms down at her sides, a wand clutched in her right hand. Her hair was blowing around because of the pure power surrounding her. She held out her wand and said, "Time to go home." A massive wall of energy blasted its way across the crater and most of the Hoixes vanished.
Alex walked over to the Doctor and the soldiers. The wind around her calmed down and the light disappeared and Alex was once again Alex. The Doctor just stood there in shock. He had no idea what just happened, but he was incredibly grateful for it.
Alex smiled and told the Doctor, "The TARDIS helped me."
"She must really like you," said the Doctor.
"You have no idea," said Alex, "But we have to hurry. I know how to fix this. I know how to bring all the dead alive again, the city back to the way it was, and how to stabilize the Rift. That won't be all the Hoixes. The ones I sent back home will probably want through again."
"How do you know what do to?" asked the Doctor.
"The TARDIS told me," answered Alex, "She said to open her heart. If you open the heart of the TARDIS, everything will be restored."
"That's insane," said the Doctor, "But what choice do I have."
"None," said Alex running back to the TARDIS doors, "Come on and let's do this."
The Doctor followed her into the TARDIS. He walked up to the stage and stood next to the door to the TARDIS's heart. Alex stood there next to him.
"This is very dangerous," said the Doctor, "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes," assured Alex.
The Doctor grabbed the handle, but did push. He just had his head down. He felt another hand over his and saw Alex standing there with her hand on his and the other on door. She just looked at him knowing that this was the only way.
"I'll do it with you," said Alex. The Doctor smiled and the two pushed the heart open. Time slowed down as a strong wind blew through the TARDIS. A blinding white light engulfed Alex and the Doctor. Noise was drowned out and then there was nothing.
The crater and Hoixes vanished. The Ood came back to life and flew away back home. The humans who died came back as well. The area of the city destroyed was restored. The Rift in the sewers convulsed before becoming consistent and stabilized. Everything returned to the way it was just like the TARDIS said it would, but when the dust settled, the TARDIS was no where to be seen.
Waverly Sub Station
The Waverly Sub Station was closed Sunday because of yesterday's events. It was three in the afternoon and there had been no sign of Alex or the Doctor. Theresa didn't sleep most of the night and just sat on on the chair in the Russo's living room. Jerry had fallen asleep on the couch during the middle of the night. Harper and Justin had fallen asleep in their own rooms. None of them could really sleep, not knowing what happened to Alex.
Now at 3pm on Sunday, they were getting restless and no one left the building. Justin and Harper were sitting in the sub station, not saying anything to each other just staring at where the TARDIS left the day before. Jerry and Theresa were upstairs in the Russo home sitting around ing the living room. It was dead silent, no one had said anything for most of the day.
A light breeze started to go through the sub station. Justin and Harper looked at each other. They heard that vworp from yesterday and they jumped to their feet, but they were concerned the noise actually sounded sick. There was that light, but it was brighter than before and with big boom the TARDIS landed sending a shockwave across the sub station. Justin and Harper were knocked off their feet and the chairs and tables were all messed up again.
Theresa and Jerry ran down stairs when they heard the TARDIS but were scared when they saw it smoking.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor grabbed a gas mask and put it over Alex's face. He used his jacket to keep the smoke out.
"What about the TARDIS?" asked Alex.
"The smoke will clear on its own. Don't worry about it! I'll repair it," coughed the Doctor.
The two made their way to the door and exited the TARDIS. The Doctor came out coughing and Alex took off the mask when she was clear of the smoke.
Theresa came and hugged her daughter as soon as she saw her, "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"
"No mom, I'm fine," replied Alex.
"Thank you," said Jerry as he walked up to the Doctor, "Thank you for keeping our daughter safe."
"No problem, but it wasn't me," said the Doctor.
"What do you mean?" asked Jerry.
"Alex is the one who saved me and countless other lives," said the Doctor.
Theresa let Alex out of her hug and asked, "Is that true?"
Alex smiled and just nodded.
"Oh my dear Alex," said Theresa, "How did you do it?"
"I had help," said Alex, "The TARDIS told me what to do and she lent me some of her power."
"Why?" asked Justin.
"My magic was gone because of the Rift and I was useless, but the TARDIS gave me some of her power and I got rid of most of the Hoixes."
"I never saw anyone have that much power that wasn't possessed by the Bad Wolf itself," said the Doctor.
"Yeah well I just did what I had to do," said Alex.
"I know," said the Doctor, "You had all that power. You could have killed all the Hoixes off right then and there, but you didn't. You sent them back home to live. I'd be proud."
"Proud of what?" asked Alex.
"I'd be proud if you were my daughter," said the Doctor. This caught everyone off guard, everyone but Alex.
Alex looked touched and she ran to the Doctor and hugged him. He hugged her back. They let go off each other and the Doctor saw a tear coming to Alex's eye, "What's wrong?"
"I was so scared Doctor. I was so scared when those things attacked. I ran and hid in the TARDIS. I was curled in a ball hoping I wasn't going to die. Even when I opened the TARDIS doors I was unsure."
"That's what makes people great," explained the Doctor, "Standing up against things while your are scared inside. That's true courage."
"I have a little TARDIS energy left," said Alex, "I need to get rid of it." She held out her hand and the sub station suddenly turned spotless. Everything was upright and clean.
"Well I'm hungry let's get something to eat," said Jerry, "Where should we go?"
"How about Buck's," said Justin.
"Oh that sounds nice," replied Theresa.
"I was actually hoping to eat here," said Jerry.
"Jerry give me your credit card," said the Doctor.
"Why?"
"Just trust me."
Jerry handed the Doctor a credit card. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and used it on the piece of plastic. The Doctor handed it back to Jerry and told him, "You have no limit on that and they won't bill you later."
"Thanks," said Jerry, "I guess we can go to Buck's then."
Everyone was getting ready to go except the Doctor. The Doctor just stood there as the humans did their thing. He didn't want to get in the way. A couple hours passed before they were ready to go to dinner.
"Doctor," said Jerry, "You can come with us."
"Oh that's fine," said the Doctor.
Alex walked up next to the Doctor, "Doctor come with us. I mean this is going to your family, no matter how strange, until you get your ship fixed. You need to come with us."
"Okay I guess I will," said the Doctor smiling. For the first time in centuries, he had a family he thought. Sure they may be a little dysfunctional, but that was fine. He never really had a family. All he really had were traveling companions. For once he was happy. The Doctor walked out and joined the Russos and Harper. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and turned the lights off and lock the door to the sub station. The group of six made their way to the subway for a night out to eat.
Sewers of New York
In the deserted lab, a faint voice seeped through the Rift, "We have sta-bil-a-za-tion of Time Rift. Make prep-a-rations for e-scape."
Another voice replied, "I obey."
The End