TimeTrap

by Generation Extant

Tis better to have loved and lost, Javis... (This story was originally published from July 1-25, 2008 at Generation Extant dot com)

The TARDIS was humming quietly, peacefully, happy to be free of the Escorix menace and the temporal strain of holding eleven Doctors, in one form or another, inside her dimensionally transcendent walls. Javis Nine, the bareknuckle boxer of New Earth, sat with her feet up on the console, reading a loved and well worn copy of Oliver Twist. The Doctor burst into the console room from the ship's interior with his usual burst of bombast and excitement, whipping his sack coat about him.
"Colleen's all right, but she says she wants to rest a bit more. Nasty things, those Escorix. Now! On we go, into the unknown!" He proclaimed, slamming levers, flipping switches, turning dials, and running maniacally around the ship's center console to do so. Javis, her legs being the only obstacle to the Doctor making a complete circuit, peeked out from the corner of her book as the strange, portly man flipped one switch, took her propped legs into account, and took the long way round to flip a switch on the other side of her feet.
"You look ridiculous," she said flatly, going back to her book. The Doctor stopped momentarily, appraising his own sack suit, plus fours, and long argyle socks to match a pullover vest. As an added flourish, the Doctor had amended his goatee into a Van Dyke topped with a waxed and curled handlebar moustache. After a moment's reflecting, the Doctor stood, arms akimbo, tall and proud.
"I don't care what you think," he said a little petulantly, "because today we're going to be going to a place where I will be appreciated for my… haute couture," he readjusted the Nicky knot on his navy blue necktie, smiling broadly.
"The Karron system?" Javis didn't break stride with her retort, turning a page nonchalantly. The Doctor furrowed his eyebrow and narrowed his eyes, drawing his face into a pout. Apparently bested, he returned to his switches and dials, allowing Javis a small laugh. He was like a child at times, this Doctor, never happy with staying still and always looking for the next adventure, the next source of amusement and intrigue. Still, she has seen things she never thought she'd seen, and she'd learned so much…and someone had to make sure this idiot didn't get himself killed, right?
Before she could answer her own question, the entire TARDIS bucked roughly to the right, sending Javis' feet up over her head and over the railing behind her chair. The Doctor, on the other side of the console, held on for dear life as the craft shook violently, sparks showering from every direction, warning sirens blaring. Finally, after what seemed like a terrified eternity, the ship righted itself and continued course.
"It's all right, it's all right!" The Doctor shouted, waving smoke away from his face and coughing, "just a temporary temporal fluctuation, a bump in the road, nothing to worry about!"
"I'm fine, thanks!" Javis screamed from a heap on the floor, "and next time tell me before we crash headlong into a bloody Time Cow!"
"What?" The Doctor poked his head around the time rotor, a column that extended from the console to the ceiling.
"Feels like we ran over something," Javis said, getting up and dusting herself off.
"Bosh, Javis!" the Doctor said with a dry chuckle, "there aren't physical obstacles in the time vortex, don't be ridiculous!"
"This coming from Captain Socks."
"It's always the socks, isn't it?" The Doctor sighed in exasperation, "why is it always the socks?"
"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."
"Brute."
"Ass."
The two glared at each other across the console, blue eyes locked on brown, unblinking and unflinching. Then, as if on command, both burst into grins, their faces tinged green by the console lights. Springing upright, both raced each other to the TARDIS door, pulling on a tan overcoat and a beaten black leather jacket, respectively. Pulling on a tan eight-panel cap, the Doctor reached the door first, holding a restraining arm out in front of an encroaching Javis. The fighter stopped in her tracks, humoring the odd fellow, as this was his favorite part of every journey. With clipped diction and carefully chosen words, the Doctor began.
"Outside this door will be Anno Domini nineteen hundred and aught five. The English countryside has never looked better, or more modern, yet untainted by the twin spectres of war and modern dischord. The Empire is still strong, and so is the tea, and the people have such an air of class about them that it will make your heart burst. These are your ancestors, Javis, at their very peak of refinement. Listen…and learn."
He threw open the door with a flourish, treating Javis' eyes to an impossibly green country pasture under a brilliant blue sky. Fluffy, white clouds scudded by and the sun beat down merrily, giving the panorama a might brighter hue than their overcast night spent in Ireland. All in all, the scene was gorgeous, picturesque, and unlike anything the New Human had ever seen in her life billions of years into the future.
"Doctor, it's beautiful."
"Isn't it just?" The Doctor stood beside her, hands in his pockets, inhaling deeply, "but then again, everywhere we go has a certain kind of beauty…don't you agree?"
"I'll let you know when the cyber-zombies start attacking just how beautiful this is," Javis scoffed. After spending this much time with the man, she knew to expect that a trip was usually more than just a trip.
"Oh, I don't think you'll find any of that here, Miss Nine," the Doctor chuckled, "after dealing with all of those aggravating past incarnations of mine, I thought we could use a bit of a vacation. Don't you agree?"
"Too right," Javis nodded, "But what about Colleen? Are you sure we shouldn't go get her? I feel bad leaving her all alone, and I know she's got a lot to sort out, but–"
The Doctor raised his index finger calmly, silencing Javis with a smile. He pointed the index finger to the starched collar of his white pinpoint shirt. Located beneath the knot of the necktie was a golden bar that attached itself to each of the collar points.
"This collar bar is harmonically linked and synced to Colleen's cybernetic brain. In the event she should want to contact us, or if she feels well enough to come along on holiday, I will know. Satisfied?"
"I guess," Javis said with a shrug, although you still look like a prat in that outfit."
Because the TARDIS tended to cause a bit of shock upon materialisation in the Edwardian period, the Doctor and Javis found themselves going for a stroll down the well-worn path, the Doctor using what Javis hoped was a compass to guide them. To her relief, a village began to appear on the horizon, but to her dismay, as she approached she realized with horror that the Doctor was right.
"Blimey," she said with goggling eyes, "all of these weirdos dress like you!"

Indeed, excluding the Doctor's personal flair for fashion, most of the men in the village were wearing similar sack suits. The few ladies Javis could see looked like walking cakes, taking tiny steps within great, voluminous skirts, their bodies twisted into all sorts of strange shapes under enormous hats. Even the workers in town, the labourers and some of the local farmers, all seemed to be wearing clothes that, frankly, looked like they shopped at the same stores as the Doctor.
"Are you sure," Javis began slowly, "that we aren't in the middle of some costume competition?"
"Ha ha," the Doctor laughed drily, "just wait, soon you'll see the virtue of the era. And who better to explain virtue than a vicar? Hello there, sir!"
A vicar had just rounded the corner near a bakery, looking to be in a bit of a rush. He was tall and handsome, with sandy brown hair and two of the bluest eyes Javis had ever seen. He brushed by them quickly but, not forgetting his manners, offered the appropriate apology.
"Sorry, so sorry, but I'm in a horrid rush, you see. Please come see me at the church if you'd like to chat, sorry."
And with that, he and his black vestments fluttered away on the breeze. Javis was stuck standing in the street, watching the man retreat out of town, taking another abrupt turn and hustling off to the east.
"I wonder what he's in such a rush for?" The Doctor poked his head into Javis' reverie, effectively dissipating the mood, "I wasn't aware that the Lord kept to a timetable."
"He's probably off to help someone," Javis shrugged, then added softly, "He's probably the kind of person who's always helping people…"
She couldn't explain it. There was something about that vicar, in just those few moments, that had taken her by surprise. The ridiculousness of the situation, with everyone dressing as daft as the Doctor, had sent her slightly out of reality, and perhaps her picture of that man was merely an extension of that false, dreamlike world…
"Well! No time to waste!" The Doctor clapped his hands together and set off down the cobblestone road, "I, for one, am eager to try one of the scones at this bakery. What do you think, Javis?"
He was halfway across the town square before he realized that his companion had not followed. Undaunted, he tried again.
"Javis?"
The fighter shook her head, as if shaking off a light dusting of snow.
"Sorry, my brain's just a little messed up right now," she said, hurrying to catch up with the Doctor, "maybe it's the result of seeing all these people wearing the same ridiculous get-up you do."
"Now now, to be fair," the Doctor held up a finger, "I'm a bit flamboyant compared to these folk. But then again, these are the good, hardworking backbone of an Empire. You may very well have not existed billions of years after this had people like Mr, erm…" the Doctor stopped outside the bakery to address a passerby, "Excuse me, my good man, but what's your name?"
"Lionel Barrington, sir," the middle aged man smiled, doffing a flat cap, "And now I might ask your name?"
"You can call me the Doctor," the strange man said with a similar cap-doffing, "and this is my friend, erm…Jane."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Jane," Lionel tipped his cap once again, an effort that made the Doctor beam with glee, "but you'll be hard pressed to find work 'round here, Doctor…there hasn't been anyone sick in this town for ages, apart from the occasional sniffle."
"Ah, well," the Doctor chuckled, "let's keep it that way then, shall we? I don't mind having a slow day at the job in my profession!"
The two men shared a laugh before Mr. Barrington went on his way. Grinning from ear to ear, the Doctor turned back to Javis.
"See, now? If people like Mr. Barrington here hadn't been so polite and diligent about their lives, humanity might never have survived long enough to create New Humans like you. I do feel bad about what will happen in around ten years," the Doctor's face fell momentarily, and he shook off the unsettling thought, "but it is the way of things, I suppose. You can't be happy all the time, either, Javis…remember that. If you're happy all the time, you won't progress. If you're unhappy all the time, you won't progress. It's all about balancing one with the other, and hoping to achieve perfection. Of course, the real laugh of it is that humans, try as they might, will never be perfect…but they do try so hard, don't they?"
He placed both hands in the pockets of his overcoat, looking around at the homey scene with relish.
"Magnificent."
"Oi, Doctor," now it was Javis' turn to ruin the reverie, "Why did you call me Jane?"
"Javis isn't exactly an Edwardian name, and I like to try to avoid those obstacles when I can. Luckily, Doctor is one of two words that almost every creature in the universe understands."
"What's the other?" Javis said with a cocked eyebrow.
"Food!" the Doctor said happily, "I'm fair famished, how about those scones?"
For what became the bulk of the day, Javis and the Doctor painted the town, the Doctor languishing in the atmosphere and Javis learning more about her ancestors than she ever thought she would. As they walked out of a local clothier, with Javis fitted into more appropriate clothing, the Doctor made a note of praising the TARDIS as
"Much better than a textbook, eh?"
"I suppose so," Javis muttered, finding it difficult to walk in the stiff ensemble, "Do I really have to wear this thing?"
"Well, I could have kept the TARDIS projecting a psychic illusion around you, but to be honest I haven't fully tested the device, and I'd rather not irradiate you, if you don't mind."
"I appreciate it."
"Plus," the Doctor continued, "I thought it would be a nice gesture, a bit of immersion into the time period. You are enjoying yourself, aren't you?"
"Of course," Javis scoffed. How could you turn down the hospitality of this man? "But I may need to sit down in a bit. These shoes are beastly!"
"Hmmm… I'm sure we passed an inn somewhere back there. Perhaps we could put ourselves up for the night in true fashion? And there's likely to be a lovely pork pie or two in the pub. Sound good?"
"I'd sleep on nails and eat broken glass if I could get off these clompers," Javis complained.
"Oh, nonsense," The Doctor said with an agitated wave of his hand, "your futuristic feet just aren't tough enough, this will do you a world of good. Besides," he headed off in the direction of the inn with a catlike smile, "I'm sure a certain chap out at the chapel would think you look rather lovely."
Javis couldn't help but blush as the Doctor lead the way. All she could see was his broad back, but Javis knew he was probably grinning to himself like a mad frog, thinking himself awful clever. That ass; she'd show him, she'd get her revenge. Just when he wasn't expecting, then…
"BAM!"
Javis reached out in her excitement to punch the air, but her fist instead found purchase on a nearby ladder. The wobbly old wooden thing wavered back and forth, and as Javis drew her fist back embarrassedly she heard the sounds of struggle some three feet over her head, where one of the local workers had been repairing a second story window. Finally, with a sickening crack, the leg on the old ladder snapped neatly, bringing man, ladder, and windowpane all falling toward the Earth. Before anyone could spring into action, it looked as if the man was could to land on his head, only to be further worried by a rain of shattered glass as the windowpane broke over him. The Doctor and Javis could only watch as the man seemed to fall in slow motion: slowly, slowly, agonizingly slowly to the cobblestones below, both of their mind's crying out to help but their limbs not heeding the call.
And then, when it seemed impact was imminent, the entire world seemed to bend and flex, as if someone had upset a sheet of gelatin. In a trice, the man went from falling to his doom to laying on his back, unhurt, with the windowpane lying innocuously beside him and a newly-repaired ladder. As if nothing had happened, the man stood, dusted himself off, and began once again to repair the window on the second floor. Side by side, the Doctor and Javis stood with their mouths agape. Finally, Javis managed to form her mouth into words.
"D…doctor?"
"Yes?"
"That just happened, didn't it?"
"Yes."
"Is that supposed to happen?"
"No."
"CAN that even happen?"
"No."
"So, I guess it's safe to say that…"
The Doctor's eyes narrowed. It seemed like he never got to enjoy a holiday.
"Something is not right."
At the sound of that, the words she had been waiting to hear, Javis' face broke into a joyous grin.
"Brilliant. I'll go change."

Javis returned with remarkable speed, clad once again the shirt, jacket, and trousers of her futuristic ensemble. No sooner had she arrived than the Doctor clasped a had to his throat, a quizzical expression coming over his face.
"You all right, Doctor?" Javis asked, straightening her lapels. Of course he was all right, he's the Doctor.
"Yes, yes, it's all right," the Doctor said with a little sigh, "but that resonation from the collar bar was a little jarring. It appears that Miss Ciradh would like a word with us back at the TARDIS. Shall we?"
The two hurried off to the countryside, leaving a few bewildered townsfolk in their wake. Soon enough, the strange man and his even stranger lady companion were forgotten into the mists of time, and the daily life of the village continued as usual. Meanwhile, at the TARDIS, Colleen was having a hard time living with all of the warning alarms and sirens that were sounding within the console room. As the Doctor burst through the door, she turned to face him, hands planted firmly on both ears.
"Oh, Doctor! Thank goodness you're here, what a racket this thing makes!"
"She's just worried is all, Colleen," the Doctor muttered, even though he was fully aware that she could not hear him. After twisting a few knobs, the alarms subsided, but a veritable tome of information began spewing out onto the console's integrated flatscreen display. The Doctor studied it intently as Javis saw to Colleen.
"You all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine…just a little headache, is all. Those alarms started almost as soon as you left. I kept trying to mash the buttons and so on, but I couldn't get them to stop, so I finally had to call you both back…I'm sorry. I didn't want to take away from your vacation."
The young Irish girl had had a proper upbringing, and bowed her head in shame.
"Oi, none of that," Javis nudged her in the side until her head went back upright, "you were right to call us, there's something weird going on here."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Like someone is manipulating reality," the Doctor said, his face still buried in the screen's content, "Someone is using this village, or this time period, or maybe an entire universe as play putty, molding it and shaping it to his or her will. No doubt we crashed through a shield on the way here, which explains the bumpy landing…but why here?"
The Doctor whipped off his cap and set about scratching his head, mussing the well-kept part.
"Why now?"
"Maybe it's a personal preference?" Javis shrugged.
"No, someone with a true love of the period would let things happen as they happen. No true lover of History goes about to change it, and there's hardly anyone with enough money and power in the universe to cobble together a temporal sandbox like this just for giggles."
The Doctor's voice was very serious. It was that voice he used when big things were in danger: planets, galaxies, all of creation, and so on. He wasn't jolly anymore, he seemed to be very disturbed at the situation. The entire scene was very…dark, but Javis had gotten used to his moods as they had traveled and fought. Colleen, on the other hand…
"I'll go make some tea."
Resorted to a classic coping mechanism to a tense scene. The Doctor and Javis were left alone, the former still poring over the TARDIS data, and the latter itching for action.
"Awwww, are we just going to read books all day? Don't I get to punch someone?"
"You may soon enough, Javis," the Doctor's voice had a grim, uncomfortable undercurrent, "because whoever is controlling this is doing a very, very bad thing."
"Very, very bad thing?" Javis was surprised at the Doctor's uncharacteristic lack of verbiage.
"Very…" the Doctor drew the words out for effect, "very bad. Things could get very dangerous. You see, when you manipulate time and space, there are colossal amounts of energy to be considered: energy of what was supposed to happen that didn't, energy of what did happen that wasn't supposed to, and a veritable hemorrhage of energy from the timestream itself from being ruptured and twisted…and so on. If left unchecked, all of that energy could spill out into existence with the force that could rend reality apart, piece by piece, disintegrating everything down to a subatomic level in an attempt to stabilize."
The Doctor, apparently satisfied with the readout, spun around to face Javis, leaning on the console.
"It's like cells of a body. Certain cells are allowed to take in certain amounts of certain things. For humans, it is salt and water. If there is too much salt in the cell and not enough in the water, the cell will let water rush into it to try and fix the problem. If there is too much salt, however, the water cannot equalize, and instead, the cell goes…"
he reached into a pocket of his coat and tossed something colorful into his mouth.
"Boom. Jelly baby?" he produced an old paper confectioner's bag from the pocket, "I found a whole mess of them in stasis near the kitchens, it's been so long since I've had one. Hm?"
He waggled the bag in front of Javis' face. The fighter sourly refused, frustrated at the Doctor's sudden flippancy.
"Why are you being so calm all of a sudden?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"Oh, it's just the magic of Jelly Babies," the strange man said with a smile, "Are you sure you don't want one? We can't take them into town, you know, they'll be more than a decade too early, and we have enough time hemorrhages in this town already."
"Just this town?" Javis asked, turning down the sweets a second time.
"Yes," the Doctor patted the console lovingly, "she's a smart old girl, she is. Found out that the disturbance is just located to this town and the surrounding areas. Perhaps your theory of personal involvement isn't too far off, Miss Nine," the Doctor said proudly before popping another sweet into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. What a good student she was turning out to be, asking all the right questions.
"So what's the plan, then?" Javis felt ridiculous constantly being the one asking questions, but the Doctor was being so ridiculous right now about his nostalgic candies that she had no choice but to keep prompting him. It was like his mind was on another planet sometimes!
"Ah, yes! Well, Javis, if the aberration is located only in this town, I suggest we go about this town asking the people of this town if there is anything about this town that is particularly queer or unique to this town."
"So, we're going to go interview people?"
"Well, 'we' in a sense…" the Doctor had a merry smile dancing in his eyes as Colleen returned with a tea tray, "Colleen and I will take a stroll around town, but I'm going to let you off on your own for a while. I have a good feeling that you'll know where to go for questions."
His knowing smile, along with Javis' blushing cheeks, gave the story away. It was true that Javis had wanted to speak more with the local vicar since seeing him rush by earlier in the morning, but did the Doctor have to make such a fuss about it? I suppose, if she'd have had a father, he'd have been like this.
"Does that sound good to you, Colleen m'dear?"
"Sounds lovely, Doctor," the Irish girl placed two sugars in the Doctor's cup, "I'd love to be getting me some fresh air…no offense to the TARDIS, of course."
"None taken. She's a tough old thing, aren't you, girl?" He gave the console a hefty thump, and the ship seemed to respond with a hum, which the Doctor seemed to understand.
"Oh ho ho, quite right, quite right."
"What's right?" Javis drained her tea in seconds, eager to go.
"Well, the TARDIS says that I'm a tough old thing as well!"
The Doctor collapsed into merry giggles as he stirred his tea silently, causing Javis to regard the man quizzically. She wondered what exactly was in that head of his that made him so strange… or maybe it was something that was put there.
"Biscuit, Doctor?"
"Oh! No thank you, m'dear," the Doctor patted an ample belly, "I've been trying to cut back on the sweets."
"And those 'jelly babies' are made from asparagus?" Javis said with a smirk, causing the Doctor to pull a face in response and Colleen to smile daintily to herself as she sat down to her tea.
"It should be all right," the Doctor announced after blowing on his tea, "The TARDIS is already working on its own to help cauterize the wound in time, and as an added bonus she's getting a full tune up on residual temporal energy! No doubt the person in charge of this little model village is worried now, perhaps that will make him easier to spot…or her? Yes, there always were a few her's, weren't there?"
He fixed his eyes on a far off location and sipped his tea thoughtfully. Javis, who had already finished, was fidgeting less than quietly. Finally, she stood up and headed for the door.
"I'm just going to go on ahead. You two enjoy your tea, or whatever."
"All right, young lady, but make sure you're back here by tonight! And don't let me catch you running around with that wild bunch of hooligans again!"
The Doctor was lavishing on the extra touches of the overprotective father as Javis opened the door. She made to step outside, but caught her foot on the threshold and quickly jerked it back in, her eyes goggling. Slamming the door with a nervous twitch, she skittered back to where the Doctor and Colleen were finishing their tea.
"Well, what now?" the Doctor said, relaxing casually against the console, "Decided you wanted a biscuit after all? I think I just may go ahead with one myself…"
"Oh, stick that biscuit in your ear!" Javis snapped. She grabbed the Doctor by the wrist and forcibly yanked him across the console room, causing the Doctor to put up quite a squawk.
"You know, Javis, you're lucky that teacup was empty! I could have stained my entire suit! And Colleen, she worked so hard to make the tea, how would you feel if someone dashed your tea all over the floor, hm?"
"I don't even like tea, you great, big crab," Javis was trying to keep her serious expression in light of the Doctor's ridiculous complaints. She hauled the portly man upright and opened the door, giving him a glimpse of what she had seen. The Doctor's eyes goggled accordingly, but for a shorter period of time than Javis'. Rather, the wide-eyed look soon faded into a narrow-eyed, catlike grin, as if the Doctor had just succeeded in nabbing a particularly juicy canary.
"A-ha…" he said, grinning, "It's a TimeTrap."

"A what?"
"A TimeTrap," the Doctor shook his head, still marveling at the scene before him with a small smile. The scene before him, of course, was no longer a charming English village in 1905, but an English village in 1950. Most of the rustic charm had been robbed away, but replaced with a certain postwar bounce that gave it an allure all its own. Where once carriages bounced on dirt roads, Vauxhalls and Rootes trundled down paved streets, the once open field where the TARDIS had landed being overrun by a petrol station.
"Lucky us," the Doctor droned sarcastically, "the old police box fits right in. Too bad it won't once I close this door."
He slammed the door with an agitated bang, causing both Javis and Colleen to jump. Yanking the door open, all three gazed out into a momentary scene of the late 20th Century, the village even larger and more claustrophobic to the TARDIS than before. With another bang, the Doctor slammed and re-opened the door a third time, this time showing a futuristic panorama, with most of the old buildings gone, with everything seemingly made out of shining plastic, even the hovercars that puttered by animatedly. With one more frustrated bang and creak, the door opened back into an open meadow once again, not completely unlike the day spent in 1905, although this time it appeared to be late autumn.
"Yes," the Doctor nodded curtly to himself, "A TimeTrap."
"And what the hell is that?" Javis scowled, furious at being left out. The Doctor turned towards the voice and seemed surprised when he remembered that others were there.
"Ah! Oh! Sorry, Javis, terribly sorry. What was that you said again?"
"What the bloody hell is going on?" she bellowed. Colleen gave a squeak and hid behind the center console.
"We're in a TimeTrap, Javis," the Doctor's voice was low and serious, "someone has stolen a piece of time."
"But…isn't that dangerous?" Colleen called out from her hiding place.
"Incredibly, Colleen…but it's a high gambling market, after all."
"Market?" Javis cocked an eyebrow.
"Fuel crises are not uncommon throughout History," the Doctor thrust both hands into his trouser pockets, heading up the ramp to the console, "cheap, clean energy is a thirst that goes unslaked for eternity, despite all sorts of beings attempting to circumvent it. There's always a problem."
He reached the console with that faraway look in his eyes, Javis bringing up the rear.
"A TimeTrap is a high-yield, and highly illegal, source of energy. Entire segments of time and space can be excised like tissue, and placed into a separate Petri dish where different rules apply. The most common practice is to speed up the passage of time in the segment, looping it continuously over and over. Each being in existence has a certain energy that it emits, and by burning through a life at an accelerated rate, more energy can be produced and harvested, and you can repeat the process almost hundreds of times before…"
"Before what?" Javis asked as the Doctor plunked a few buttons on the console. The Doctor heaved a heavy sigh.
"Before the very atoms and molecules of the individual wear out, reducing everything to its absolute smallest composite pieces, to be scattered back into the timestream and the horrible process repeated again."
"They're using them like cattle!" Javis' voice was pained.
"All for the greater good, no doubt," the Doctor snarled, "What's a few hundred lives of people who lived in the olden days, anyway, hm? We've got plenty of cheap power to run our lorries and computers and espresso machines!"
"I can't believe these things happen!" Javis shook her head violently.
"I can."
The Doctor and Javis turned to see Colleen rise up from the console, her face a mask of seriousness.
"I've seen our crops be taken from us to be sold abroad while myself and my family starved, all for the greater good. These things do happen…they do happen…"
The Doctor heaved a large sight and patted both of his companions comfortingly about the shoulders.
"It's all right, you two, we can still save this. Luckily, we've caught it early enough, there's still a chance to save these people."
"There is?" Colleen asked.
"Absolutely," the Doctor said with a sudden grin, "I'm here, aren't I?"
He flung one last switch and read through a rapid readout on the flatscreen.
"Ha-ha, As I thought! The TARDIS is a dimensionally transcendent ship, and as such it is unaffected by the accelerated flow of time around it! There has to be another, another similar organism that is operating outside of the rules of the trap!"
"You mean there's someone inside with us that's controlling everything?" Javis tried to read the scroll on the flatscreen, but the language was foreign and it flew by so fast it made her queasy.
"Exactly. TimeTraps take a phenomenal amount of energy to operate properly, but you can make energy hand over fist if you're doing it right…and this one's doing it right, let me tell you. I should like to talk with this one, I think, he seems very smart…ah!" The Doctor groaned as screen went blank, "he's very smart, smart enough to know we're here, and what I am, and how to hide himself…oh ho, he is very smart indeed!" He spun around from the flatscreen to look upon his assembled forces, "I can't track him with the TARDIS, but we can still put plimsolls to pavement! Javis," he issued the first order, "you've been round the town with me, you'll know if something looks suspicious or not, so go on by yourself."
"Right."
"Colleen, my dear, I'll have you come with me. You're not exactly what we'd call a hard-boiled investigator…" the little Irish girl blushed slightly at the common knowledge, "but I can use some of your other skills to see what I can see round town."
He spun back to the console and slapped a few more dials, and the flatscreen blinked into life again.
"I can't find our ringmaster, but I can still place the circus. If I can pinpoint exactly which time this mad roulette wheel will spin round to next, I can have some idea of what we're going to step into."
Years began wheeling by on the flatscreen like some kind of demented lottery. The Doctor stood hunched over the screen, his eyes transfixed.
"Javis, so stand by the door. When I give the signal, you get out that door as quick as you can. I'm going to try and put you as close to your own time as possible, but it's toward the end and you might wind up back in 1905 again, so be careful."
"I'm always careful," the boxer said with a roguish grin.
"Do you have your TARDIS key?" the Doctor said skeptically, "Don't think I'm going to bother picking you up in the future just because you forgot your way in!"
"I've got it right here, Dad," Javis pulled a face, dangling the key on a chain round her neck, "and who says I want to come back to this rotten old police box anyway?"
"Brute!"
"Ass!"
"Now!"
Javis ripped open the door and, in one swift motion, slipped herself outside. Suddenly, all was quiet inside the TARDIS again as the Doctor offered Colleen his arm. They calmly walked to the exit, stopping in front of the door long enough for Colleen to ask:
"Doctor, why do you keep tapping my arm?"
"I'm keeping the beat, my dear," the Doctor smiled, "I'm waiting for the right year to come round, and I've got it tied to a rhythm in my head. Try it with me now: one two three four, one two three four, parrum, parrum, parrum pum pum, parrum, parrum, parrum pum pum…"
The two suddenly found themselves bouncing gently to the beat, laughing a little to each other as they got closer and closer to hitting the right time round in the revolution.
"Are you ready?" The Doctor said, bobbing up and down.
"I'd better be," Colleen grinned back, "This is getting right tiring!"
And with a final "parrum pum pum," the two nicely slipped out of the TARDIS themselves, finding themselves in another open meadow akin to the one in 1905. The stopped to take in a few stolen breaths from the stolen era, before a familiar clip-clop of hooves sounded from behind them.
"Oi! Isn't that you? That Doctor chap?"
The Doctor turned around to see Lionel Barrington, now a bit older and grayer, guiding a carriage down the road.
"Blimey, you've barely aged these ten years!"
"Er, yes…" the Doctor muttered, "I have good skin."
"And who's this? Your daughter, come back to a visit to God's country?"
"Exactly, old friend, exactly! This is my, er, daughter, Colleen. I don't suppose we could hitch a ride into town, could we?"
The elder Barrington cracked a fully-wrinkled smile.
"Of course! You know, Doctor, your little visit all those years ago sure was something. We all remember you, you know, with your sharp clothes and your curiosity. You pestered almost everyone in town about their life stories, you did…but it was nice to have someone care, I suppose. No one much cares what goes on round here, after all."
"Yes," the Doctor mumbled, "I'm beginning to think that's why."
"Why what?" Lionel asked.
"Er…why I came back! I love a good, gentle town like this one. Soothes the soul!"
"Aye, that it does, that it does."
The carriage trundled into town, a little worse for wear, but nothing too bad. The Doctor and Colleen departed the grinning Lionel Barrington with Colleen regarding the Doctor warmly.
"You're just unforgettable, aren't you, Doctor?"
"Believe me, I'd like to forget how unforgettable I am."
The occasional automobile was now seen chunnering down the street, but on the whole the scene was unchanged, even down to the pasties. Something, however, was a bit off.
"Colleen," the Doctor said as they stood in the town square, "what year is it?"
"Well, that fellow said it'd been ten since you last saw him, so I'm guessing 1915?"
"Very good," the Doctor smiled, "and what is strange about this scene?" Colleen looked all about, trying to find something wrong, but everything seemed right down to the last detail: the people, the houses, nothing really seemed out of place.
"…I don't know."
"Let's see if you do," the Doctor said, leaning in close to Colleen's ear and whispering.
"Search memory banks. Earth History: 1914."
Immediately, Colleen's voice snapped into a fast, unadorned clip, even losing her Irish accent. Her eyes stared straight ahead as the words were torn from her lips.
"History record displays: 1914. Most prominent information: World War One. Nine million total casualties."
"And where those casualties old men?" The Doctor continued to whisper.
"Negative. Mostly young men between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five."
"Very good. Exit program."
Colleen's eyes snapped back into reality, causing her to blink violently and sway on her feet.
"Doctor…what did you do?"
"Just… testing," he steadied her on her feet before asking again, "Now, do you know why this scene is odd?"
"There's all these young men walking about…they should probably…all be dead, shouldn't they?"
"That is the way of time," the Doctor said solemnly, "but not the way of the TimeTrap. It also means that there will be all sorts of faces where they oughtn't be, which will make it harder to find our culprit. I suggest we begin."

Javis knew it was ridiculous, but she did it anyway. It was hundreds, possibly thousands of years into the future, but she still found herself gravitating to the old chapel on the hill outside of town. The building itself was as it had been in 1905, now enclosed in a protective dome, making it a quaint, stark contrast to the futuristic buildings that shone all around it. Once through the airlock, Javis found herself walking into a scene that would very much have been the same had it been ten, or twenty, or even two thousand years ago. The same old, oaken doors creaked open on the same old, iron hinges, and Javis padded softly into the same stone corridor. The only difference in the entire situation was the air, which seemed to have a highly rarified feel to it. Javis breathed deep through her nose, heaving a hefty sigh.
"It has that effect on people."
Javis started at the sound of another voice which, calm and gentle as it seemed, served to shatter the stillness of the chapel's interior. Javis whirled around to look into a face that was, surprisingly, not too unfamiliar. It was that same sandy-coloured hair, those same piercing blue eyes, even the same vicar's robes. The man looked almost to be a clone of the bustling young man she had seen in 1905…yet this one was just slightly different. His hair was longer (or was it just combed another way?) and he seemed to have a much calmer atmosphere than his predecessor. On the whole, Javis was very glad to see this man, or a man that looked like this man, again.
"Some people say it's just the recirculated air, but I like to think that there's a certain…atmosphere in here. After all, it's the only ancient building still standing from the old town." The vicar shuffled forward, throwing open another set of doors into the great main hallway of the Victorian building.
"As a spiritual, cultural, and historical center, the village chose this chapel to be preserved for all times, a constant reminder of where we have come from. I find it breathtaking, don't you?"
"I sure do," Javis said, although her breath was taken away more by the vicar than by the building itself. He seemed so in control, yet so calm and collected. Javis had always been used to controlling through strength, yet this man seemed to control all with a sanguine look and a loving smile. There was something about this that appealed to Javis, and for the moment her mission was forgotten.
"I love this place, I really do. My," the vicar gave a small, nervous cough, "sorry, but I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but one of my ancestors was the vicar here long, long ago, and I was always amazed how much I looked like him from some of those ancient photo records. I guess there was really no keeping me away from this job, eh?"
"I think it suits you," Javis said, feeling herself blush.
"I thank you," the man said with a devilishly charming smile, "So! What can I do for you today then, Miss…"
"Er…Nine."
"Nine? Bit of an exotic name, are you from abroad?"
"Greek," she sputtered, using the same excuse others had made for her appearance in the past. It sounded a little more romantic than saying her grandfather came from a tube underneath a hospital.
"Ah, that would explain it," the vicar said, smiling, "you do have a sort of exotic beauty to you, if you don't mind me saying."
Javis could feel her cheeks as if they were on fire. She scuffed at the old stone floor with a shoe, fumbling for a response.
"I'm just here to, you know, take it all in. Breathe the air, see the old building, maybe chat with the vicar."
"Well then," his eyes were like dancing sapphires, "I'd call this a success, then."
"How hard is it?" Javis blurted out, catching the man slightly by surprise. He gave an amused chuckle and leaned forward slightly.
"How hard is what?"
"Er…working in the church, and all, you know…" Javis was finding that her tongue appeared swollen, "How goes the old religions in these different days?"
"Well, I think the old buildings' seen days of better attendance, but the spirit is still strong," the vicar looked up at the ornate, rounded arches that formed the ceiling, exposing a long, white neck that Javis felt an urge to sink her teeth into. Romance was not much of a concept for Javis, who usually spent more time clobbering men than courting them, but something about this man confused her, even scared her, and she enjoyed every moment.
"Shall I leave you alone, then, for some quiet contemplation with the Lord?" the vicar asked, his face almost seeming to shine through with goodness.
"Er…no…that's all right." Javis fumbled for any excuse to keep the man near her, "Can you, I don't know… bless me or something?"
"I could," the vicar said with a laugh, "what would you like blessing for?"
"Sort of an all around…thing, I suppose…" Javis mumbled, feeling very childish, "and maybe a bit of forgiveness, too…"
"Forgiveness? What for?" The vicar's eyes sprang open, melting Javis' heart with a beautiful blue stare, "you seem a very nice young woman."
"I get into fights every once in a while, and I know, I know, it's the whole 'turn the other cheek' thing…but I've only got two, and they get sore after a while!"
Realizing what she had just said, and whom she had just said it to, Javis clapped both hands over her mouth, tears springing to her mortified eyes. The vicar merely laughed again, leaned forward, and gently ruffled her hair. As he got closer, Javis noticed the advent of just a few wrinkles around the eyes which, despite his otherwise young appearance, exhibited a depth of age that seemed appropriate for his calm wisdom, and for Javis' affections.
"Yes," the vicar said softly, "a very nice young woman…"
Not being one for subtlety, Javis quickly leaned forward and kissed the vicar. Much to her surprise, he answered back passionately, the two of them remaining intertwined for what seemed like a glorious eternity. Javis couldn't explain what she was doing, or thinking, but for the first time in her life, she had wanted a man. After all of the gruff and scarred fighters of New Earth, she had begun to discount the gender as a whole. Then there was the Doctor, whom Javis only assumed was male, such an eccentric overseer that struck her more like a finger-wagging uncle than anything else. But this man…this man was different, and interesting, and fresh and new…and Javis liked it. She didn't bother to think of the consequences, the before or after, she was living in the moment of bliss, just like the Doctor had said: to live before you die. She had been in life-threatening situations several times, in fights and with her travels in the TARDIS, but now she truly felt alive.
The two remained locked in an embrace, making their way toward the front of the chapel. The vicar pressed Javis up against the altar, and the fighter sought with her hands to find a steadying grip on the wooden ceremonial table. To her embarrassment, her hand slid across an ornate glass decanter, and in her excitement she toppled the thing over and off the altar, shattering it into fine pieces upon the stone floor. Immediately, the vicar released her, his face a mask of fury.
"Damn!" he shouted, immediately becoming agitated and nervous. With a flutter of his robes, he vanished into a back room with hardly another word, leaving Javis feeling particularly vulnerable. Not knowing what else to do, she set about sweeping up the bits of broken glass with her jacket, now looking over the last few moments in her mind with the scrutiny of hindsight. She chastised herself for being so weak and so easily swayed…but there was still a part of her that loved it, and wanted it to continue. By the time the vicar emerged, he was looking more like his counterpart in 1905: more embarrassed, more rushed, less calm. He swiftly replaced the shattered decanter with an identical one which, once into its place, seemed to be emitting a low hum.
"What's that noise?" Javis asked, scooping her jacket up into her arms carefully.
"It's just the air conditioning," the vicar replied swiftly, uncomfortably. Suddenly, it seemed, that the vicar felt himself caught, or as if he had made a mistake by shattering that decanter. He looked fearful of someone coming to chide him, discover him, perhaps bring their wrath down upon him. Javis had never been a religious person, but as she stared at the change come over the vicar, she couldn't help but wonder…was this the fear of God?

The Doctor and Colleen were just passing the local tea room in 1915 when the Doctor's right eye began to twitch violently, like some sort of spasm.
"Doctor, are you all right?" Colleen stopped in her tracks as the Doctor screwed both eyes shut tight in concentration.
"Yes yes yes, but please don't bother me right now, Colleen…"
The Victorian maid did as she was told, simply waiting for the Doctor to finish the episode. After a few moments of tense silence on what should have been a bucolic village street, the Doctor began speaking again, his eyes still closed.
"I can sense when time is out of alignment, Colleen…usually. Like I said, our quarry is very smart indeed, as his TimeTrap is almost flawlessly executed. I would be hard pressed to tell that we've been plucked out of the temporal flow, this technique is quite good. He's disabled the TARDIS scanners, and no doubt he's managed to disable most of your cybernetic sweeps, but there's one thing he won't be able to switch off, and that's my brain.
Something has happened, Colleen, something has happened to the fantasy world our foe has concocted here. Something has sent the tiniest ripple through its plans and calculations, throwing every calculation, every tiny temporal bit, into a slight realignment. If I'm right, and I'm rarely wrong, that 'something' happening is probably our friend Javis."
He smiled then, his eyes still closed, but seemingly more at peace that before.
"Good girl."
"So what do we do then, Doctor?" Colleen asked, amazed that no one seemed to notice the peculiar man standing stock still and blind in the middle of the village.
"If our foe is as smart as I believe it to be," the Doctor slowly opened his eyes, "It will now who I am, what I am, and that it cannot stop me. It will be scared, it will fear, and it will try anything to preserve itself and its operation. In other words, Colleen, there's not a moment to lose."
He offered the crook of his arm to the girl, who took it silently.
"Now, how does that old song go?" the Doctor glanced up at the sky, using his free hand to twirl one of his moustache's waxed tips, "Ah yes…get me to the church on time!"
And the two of them headed off at a fair clip through the town, towards the chapel. Colleen had no idea where they were going, but she felt confident enough with the Doctor by her side. After all, he had been the one who saved her and, even though she wasn't exactly normal, he appreciated her for who she was. In that sense, he had saved both her body and her soul. As they began to see the chapel up over the nearest hill, Colleen felt as if she could, and would, follow the Doctor anywhere.

"There," the vicar cooed, satisfied that the decanter was back in place. He turned back to Javis with a hungry look in his eyes, "Now…where were we?"
He approached her, but stopped only inches from her lips. Both backed away, the moment gone, the atmosphere shattered along with the glass decanter.
"I…I'm sorry," Javis stammered, fighting an urge to wipe her mouth on her sleeve.
"No, no…it's good that we did that," the vicar shrugged harmlessly, "it obviously means that there's something there…wouldn't you agree?"
"I think so," Javis began, "but isn't this all a little sudden?"
"Hardly," he smiled a knowing smile, but when confronted with Javis' baffled face, his smile fell short, "Oh my…I suppose it hasn't happened yet!"
"Excuse me?"
The vicar let out a long and weary sigh, shaking his head and blushing slightly.
"How embarrassing…a real temporal faux pas…"
"What are you talking about?" Javis took a step forward, ready to shake an answer out of him if she had to.
"You're a time traveler," the vicar said in an off-handed sort of way, as if he had just noticed she was wearing shoes, "and so am I. And…we're in love."
"Bollocks…" Javis scoffed, trying to keep her own face from being set alight.
"No, quite true, I assure you. Time's funny like that, isn't it? This is your first…no…second time meeting me, but this is not my first time meeting you."
"You're joking!"
"I would never joke about something like this!" the vicar seemed insulted, "we meet somewhere around the beginning of the twentieth century, in a manner of speaking, and our courtship spans the centuries!"
"But…how is this possible?" Javis' head was spinning
"I'm like you," the vicar's eyes were alluring and gentle, "I travel in time as well…but a little differently."
He turned from Javis and held his hands out wide, proclaiming to the entire chapel.
"All that you see, this entire village, from the twentieth century to the fiftieth, is under my control. I have been manipulating events, from the tiniest prattle to cataclysmic chaos, to yield the most energy: there are no wars, no unnecessary deaths, no great stress, merely pure and idyllic life pumping out cheap, dependable energy by the boatload. A simple hard-light holographic matrix keeps the very fabric of space and time in my hands, to play with like putty, ensuring not only a comfortable life for those in the year five billion, but a comfortable life for some of the nicest people to have ever lived."
"Think about it, Javis. A world without World Wars, Cold Wars, Wars on Drugs or Terrorism or Wars against alien foes. Worlds without strife, worlds without pain, worlds without grief. They live in utopia, contended and happy until the gentle end of their days, while we in the future simultaneously benefit from the energy their accelerated lives are producing! You and I, outside of the Trap, can live peacefully through the centuries, allowing our love to blossom and our lives to be enriched. Oh…" He put a finger to the subtle dimple on his chin, "what did they used to call it back in the old days…ah, yes! It's a win-win situation!"
"There is no such thing."
The clipped, well-articulated voice was like a hail of arrows through the vicar's expertly-woven web of fantasy. In the fading evening light, the Doctor stood in the open doorway, glaring through the entryway and into the great hall of the chapel with a look of chastising disdain. Behind him, the TARDIS could be seen in the churchyard, with Colleen peering nervously from behind one of the open doors. Calmly removing his eight-paneled hat, the Doctor stepped inside, his hard-soled brown loafers slapping on the stone floor, his plus fours and long socks belying the serious expression on his face.
"I should ask your name, sir," the Doctor's voice was cold, like the hard steel of a broadsword.
"Karl Urbina," the man said with an exaggerated sense of relish, "but I like to think of myself as the Moderator."
"I used to know a bunch of moderators," the Doctor droned, clearly unimpressed with the vicar's proclamation, "they're all dead now. So much for moderation."
"I'm going to assume that you are the time-pilot in this situation," Karl said, equally as pithy, "and that you are ferrying those two about," he gestured to Javis and Colleen, "and judging by your surly expression, I take it you do not approve of my little operation here."
"The only thing I approve of is your attention to detail and passion for perfection," the Doctor's eyes were hooded and dark, "however, one does not congratulate a murder on his method of killing."
"Oh, come on!" the vicar began incredulously.
"This is illegal," the Doctor cut him off, his voice unadorned, but still carrying past Urbina's shout, "You are in possession of illegal reality-tampering technology, and as such are in violation of the preservation of space and time."
"Preservation," the vicar spat out the word as if it were poison, "preservation! You speak of preservation, and liken me to a murderer…you are the murderers! You allow for millions to die in war, millions more from disease and heartbreak and depression and suicide and hatred…you allow this, for the sake of your beautiful preservation."
"Things are how things must be," the Doctor's voice was still level, "there is an order to things, and all things must pass. Your TimeTrap, although efficient and effective…is wrong."
"It's wrong…ha!" Urbina cackled, "Is that the best you have? 'It's wrong?' Don't make me laugh! As if I would be stupid enough to abuse this technology and incur the punishment of Reapers! I monitor the situation constantly," he swept a hand toward the altar and all of its humming vessels, the sleeve of his robes sweeping dramatically, "and when the risk is too great, I will cancel it, but for now I give these people paradise."
"You give them nothing!" the Doctor hissed through clenched teeth, "you give them an illusion, a life that is impossible, a perfection that humans cannot understand. You make them live a thousand lives, you give them so much perfection that they become sick of it! You make their lives so good they pray for it to be bad, but you'll never hear their prayers, vicar, because you simply warp reality into what you believe is right."
"I give them an ideal life," Karl insisted, his voice growing stringent and a sob choking his breath, "I give them something they will never have in the real world. This village is an exemplar of woe, it has endured more agony than almost anywhere else in the universe. War, pandemic, murder, rape, arson, theft, all of it! Surely you know of the fate of this poor village, don't you? A Time Agent like yourself, or are you one of the Equilibrium Force? Your garb is so authentic I can't see a stamp on you."
"I am not a Time Agent," the Doctor said with the ghost of a malicious smile, "nor am I a member of the TEF. I am…unaffiliated."
"Bah! Then you're a criminal like me, using stolen technology for your own personal whims!"
"If you only knew," the Doctor's smile was growing.
"Some kind of lone vigilante, then? Some kind of crusader for the wonderful, perverse preservation of time?"
"I am the Doctor."
All of Urbina's bombast and bravado shattered as easily as the glass decanter. Suddenly, his face was a mask of shock and horror, his mouth moving dumbly without finding words.
"You…"
"How else would I have been able to track you down so easily, Mr. Urbina? Yes, you managed to deactivate my TARDIS scanners, and yes, you were even able to deactivate my friends' cybernetic enhancements…but you can't deactivate me, Mr. Urbina. You can't switch off my brain, because it's not a machine, is it? I'm not a machine, am I?"
"N…no," The vicar was visibly shrinking from the portly man in strange socks.
"Then what am I?"
"No…" the vicar hit the stone steps leading to the altar hard, his head in his hands.
"What am I?" the Doctor shouted, his voice echoing off the stained-glass windows.
"…Time…lord…"
"Indeed," the Doctor wore a sickeningly satisfied grin, "now, Mr, Urbina…what do you say of my dogma, hm? My thoughts on preservation, hm? My thoughts on…murder?"
"Oh, God, no…"
"You know, don't you? Fiftieth century, of course you do. You know how many I've killed, and you probably know how many more I will kill. But most of all," the Doctor squatted down, his lips level with Urbina's ear, "you know that there is nothing you can do to stop it."
"No!" Urbina shouted, leaping upwards and cracking the Doctor across the jaw with a vicious right hook. The Doctor staggered back, dazed, as Urbina sought refuge behind the altar, pulling Javis with him.
"You will not destroy my creation, Doctor!" the vicar roared, "you will not destroy my paradise!"
"It must happen, Mr. Urbina. This dream cannot be sustained."
"But Doctor," Javis managed to find her voice through a haze of tears, "that village, he's helping them…"
"He broke the law!" The Doctor screamed like he had never screamed before, silencing Javis instantly, "You don't think I would have done the same, Javis? Put my home away in a little pocket before it was destroyed, played in the dollhouse like an idiot? Only a fool dreams of what he cannot have, and only an idiot risks destroying time and space to do it!"
"But, Docto," Urbina began, holding Javis close, "surely you cannot deny that the energy…"
"You are cooking your dinners on the roasted souls of those in misery," the Doctor's voice was thick with shame, "You have put such a stress on these people, on their souls! You have put their very eternal intangibility through the proverbial wringer!"
"And you honestly believe that tripe?" the vicar shouted back.
"I have to."
With that, the Doctor took his sonic screwdriver from inside his coat, pointing it at the altar. One by one, all of the glass vessels, decanters, and beakers began to shatter, leading to a great hum and wail erupting from within the bowels of the chapel. The whole of existence began to shake and jostle, like an ill-kept lift, being dragged back into the stream of time. Finally, with one last great, juddering swing, everything stopped moving. The silence that lasted after felt like an eternity in its simplicity.
"No…"
Urbina was bent over the altar, sobbing, his hands full of broken glasses and blood.
"No…why…why did you…why must you?"
The Doctor's shoes slapped the stones once more as he approached the altar.
"Because it must be done."
The vicar lifted his tearstained face to see the Doctor, whose face was no longer as jeering in battle, but comforting in victory.
"You can't change it, Karl. No matter how hard you try, you can't. It must happen."
"Then you must know what else has to happen."
With a hard swallow, Urbina locked eyes with the Doctor, blue on blue, as if communicating something. Then, in a flash, he swiped at the Doctor's hand with a shard of glass, gashing deep and causing the Doctor to drop the screwdriver. Before anyone could stop him, he retrieved the sonic device and pointed it to his temple.
"Enjoy our life."
He spoke those words to Javis, locking his eyes on her one more time before depressing the button and driving a sonic pulse into his brain, scrambling his senses and killing himself. The vicar fell to the stone floor of the church, his robes swirling about him like the idyllic clouds of his fabricated world.

Karl Urbina was buried beneath the chapel, laid in the anachronistic earth that still served as the floor of the TimeTrap's nerve center, and given a small marker of metal pulled from a pile of scrap. While the Doctor took back his coat, jacket, and hat from Colleen, Javis found herself both marveling and agonizing over the ingenious antechamber that had been hidden from all and had created, enacted, and maintained the masterful trap. The Doctor's sonic screwdriver, formerly a suicide weapon, was used to open the secret seal into Urbina's inner sanctum, a haven of high technology buried deep inside the old Victorian church.
Among its glistening and glowing array of panels, circuits, and cylindrical generators, there stood a very out of place looking red, six-paneled door, the kind one might find in the village's average household. It was placed into the wall and, flanked by two massive, humming generators, it looked almost like a Victorian leftover, some kind of cellar entrance. However, this church had no such exit to the outside, merely a red door that seemed to go nowhere, its deep red color clashing with all that was white and silver and gunmetal gray about it. On the doorknob was hung a simple sign, merely a sliver of pine with painted, rustic letters, only adding to its mystique in the room full of fiftieth century bric-a-brac. In plain, unadorned letters, the sign read:
"Jane"
"Doctor," Javis said with a quaver in her voice, "what is this?"
The strange man walked over, using his shovel as a walking stick.
"It looks to be an external sort of backup device, a fail-safe. In it is stored all of the information of the TimeTrap, but without the artificial speed and energy collecting capabilities. It's just memories, really…just dreams from a dream world."
"But why the sign?" Javis aimed her finger toward the humble placard, "You introduced me as Jane when we were in the past, didn't you?"
"I did."
"Is this…for me?"
"It's possible," the Doctor said, leaning on his shovel and smiling ever-so-slightly, "It's possible that the fail safe contains everything that was once all around us…and everyone. And it's possible that, having met him for the first time in the past, this is how your memories were created and retained by Mr. Urbina. It's possible, Javis, that he's in there waiting for you."
The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver, running it up and down the length of the doorjamb.
"1957. A good enough year. The wars are over…for now. You two will no doubt have quite an enjoyable life together."
"But…I don't want to leave you," Javis' voice was achingly heavy.
"You won't. It'll be moments for us, but a lifetime for you. Congratulations, Miss Nine," the Doctor's smile grew bigger, "you'll get to do what not many of your kind get to do: live more than once."
Javis head was full of so many questions, she felt as if it would burst. All she could manage was to relieve some of the pressure through tears. Would they marry? Would they have children? Would they have a life of their own? Would she…die? And, most importantly–
"Go," the Doctor said, seemingly to sense her vacillation, "Go to him. We'll be waiting."
Gathering all of her courage, Javis pulled the sign off the doorknob. With a sob, she tucked it safely inside the battered leather jacket she wore and pulled the door open. Once again, it was the same familiar meadow, though the road was paved and the petrol station's decor seemed to want to give the impression that rocket ships could dock there. With a great, shuddering, sobbing sigh, Javis took a step forward.
"We'll be waiting," the Doctor said again, "Just go."
She walked into the meadow and closed the door. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence inside the control room, until Colleen felt she had to speak.
"Doctor…why are you doing this? That man…he was a bad man, wasn't he?"
"Not bad, Colleen," the Doctor straightened up, thrusting both hands into his trouser pockets, "Just a confused young man who wanted to help, who would do anything to make the world a better place. We've all been there, we've all wished for it…but there is no changing the way of things."
"You knew he was going to kill himself, didn't you?"
"I knew he was going to die. I didn't know how."
"Doctor," Colleen put her eyes to the dirt floor, "I don't know if I… admire you, or not."
The Doctor gave a dry, sad little chuckle for that.
"Me too, girl. Me too."
The door re-opened into a meadow that was now full of prefabricated suburban houses, and Javis Nine walked back into the control room, looking no less worse for wear…except for her eyes. They were wide open: scared and amazed and worried and full of wonder all at once. She fixed her eyes on the Doctor and spoke as if in a trance.
"I…I was there. I lived it, Doctor. I lived a life, so many years! How long have I been gone?"
"A few minutes," Colleen offered, only affecting Javis more.
"But that's impossible…all of this is…impossible! I…I grew old, I died, and then I came back through the door, and I'm…me and here and that's not… It's gone now…isn't it?"
"It was meant for you," the Doctor placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "but yes, the energy is gone now. That world is gone now."
"If it's gone, if I lived an entire life, but now it's gone…is it…gone?"
The Doctor smiled gently and tapped a knuckle smartly to her forehead.
"If it's in there, it's never gone."
The sharp pain made her blink and start as the Doctor walked her back to the TARDIS. The sky outside was gray and cloudy. For the first time in nearly a hundred years, Javis saw clouds.