II: The Doctor
It was silent in the pod for nearly five minutes. Not even Auto spoke. Jo stared out into the endless space. Now the only things visible were very distant planets and stars. Tareh was gone – two billion people wiped out just like that.
Would anyone miss it? Jo wondered. Would relatives from other planets attempt to contact people on Tareh, only to hear that they and everyone else were gone?
"Tareh blew up." Junie said sniffily, breaking the silence.
Jo gasped, looking at the little girl in amazement. How could she possibly speak that well? She must be the 'unknown' life form Auto had talked about, Jo decided. No Tarehen baby could talk this well at only a few months old.
"Y-yes," Jo finally stammered. "Tareh is gone, but so is The Warrior. The universe is safe now."
Junie nodded as if she could understand her. Jo wondered…
"Junie? Do you – do you understand what I'm saying?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes." Said Junie clearly, though in a baby-talk slurred voice. "I'm not stupid."
It was Jo's turn for her eyes to go as wide as teacups. It was one thing for Junie to know a few words, but quite another for her to talk as if she were six or seven years rather than months.
"But before," Jo said, slightly hysterically. "Before you just – you acted like a baby!"
"I am a baby." Junie said, looking at Jo as if worried she was going mad. "See?" she held up her hands. "Little hands."
"You're not like a – like an alien in a baby's body?"
Junie laughed. "No! I'm a baby…something in a baby's body."
"Baby something?" asked Jo.
"I'm not sure what species," Junie admitted, starting to play with Baeleef. "But I've noticed that I'm not very much like Tarehen children my age."
"No kidding." Agreed Jo.
"I only acted like a Tarehen baby when you found me because I wanted to be sure you wouldn't give me to scientists or something to experiment on." Junie informed.
"Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense…" Jo said, reaching over to unbuckle Junie and then Henry. "So, um...Auto?"
"Yes?" the computer asked.
"Where are you programmed to take us?" Jo asked, kneeling on the settee-like seat and looking out into space. "Another planet?"
"No." said Auto. "I am taking you to Him."
Jo, Junie, and Henry all shivered slightly at the dramatic way the computer had said 'Him'.
"Who's 'Him'?" asked Jo.
"I am not authorised to disclose that information." Auto replied coolly.
"Under whose order?" demanded Jo, frustrated.
"Res Rovgni." Auto said promptly.
"Who?" asked Jo, momentarily stunned out of her annoyance towards the computer.
"Res Rovgni." Auto repeated. "She programmed me."
"Is that the woman I met?" asked Jo.
"Yes." Auto said. "We will be at our destination at two hours or less, warp speed. You may move about the pod freely. Do you require nourishment?"
It was indeed two hours before they got 'there' – or at least they assumed it was 'there'; it was the first thing they had seen since Tareh was destroyed.
A blue police box.
"Is that where you're taking us?" asked Jo. "Are we supposed to, like, call for help from there?"
"Negative." Answered Auto.
"Oh – is this 'Him' in there, then?" Jo asked.
"Yes." The computer said. "I will alert Him to your arrival and create an air corridor."
"A what?"
Inside said blue box was 'Him' himself – the Doctor. He was clutching his chest as he stumbled inside, preparing to regenerate for the tenth time. He had just absorbed a large amount of radiation while saving a friend of his, and he knew it was time. Just as he was about start the process, a loud ding sounded from the TARDIS.
Completely confused – he should be floating in deep space! – the Doctor went over to the monitor and pressed a button.
"What in the name of–" he gasped, the pain in his entire body momentarily forgotten.
Outside his TARDIS floated a teenage girl, an infant, and a large dog.
Out of pure instinct, he dove for the doors and pulled them open, standing back quickly. The three beings immediately zoomed into the TARDIS, landing in a heap on the floor: the older girl on the floor, the dog on top of her, and the baby on top of the dog.
The dog jumped up quickly, and the girl picked up the baby as she sat as well.
"I'm so sorry," she said immediately to the Doctor. "Auto just kind of…shot us into space. Are you 'Him'?"
"Whoa," the baby said, glancing around the TARDIS. "Bigger on the inside."
"It is," agreed the girl, glancing around and grinning. "Brilliant."
The Doctor simply stared at them, open-mouthed, his hand still clasped around his chest. As the baby – who looked quite young to him, but talked strangely well – and the girl debated whether they were on a space ship or in an alternative dimension, the Doctor slowly shut the TARDIS doors. The sound seemed to re-alert the baby and the girl to the Doctor's presence, and they both turned to him.
"Sorry, I should have made introductions," said the girl sheepishly. "I'm Jo, and this is Junie–" she indicated tha baby. "–And Henry." She indicated the dog.
"Right," the Doctor said slowly, eyes wide. "Well I'm the Doctor. Now, if you don't mind, could you three please move as far away from me as possible?"
Jo, Junie, and Henry all looked at him in shock.
"Now." He stressed, grabbing his chest again. "Trust me."
Jo sensed that it was very important for them to listen to this man, so she picked up Junie and they and Henry ran through the strange space ship to the other side of what must have been the control centre. Just as they crawled behind some type of beam across from the Doctor – at least a dozen metres away – it started.
The Doctor's hands started to glow an orange-ish gold. He glanced down at them with a look of mingled surprise and resignation. There was a sad look on his face as he stared at nothing, saying almost to himself. "…I don't want to go."
Then, as Jo, Junie, and Henry watched, his face began to glow as well. The glow grew brighter and brighter, and Jo had the sudden foresight to pull off the long, trench-coat like jacket she was wearing and cover Junie and Henry in it.
Just in time, too. The Doctor's head jerked back, his arms raised outwards and the glow grew so bright it was almost like fire. And then it was fire – the glow turned into flames, and the flames shot through the ship, lighting the beams and floor on fire. Beams began to collapse, flames erupting from where the Doctor stood nearly all over the ship – except where they were, luckily. Jo was suddenly reminded of Tareh – burning, exploding…everyone dying. Though Jo barely knew this man, she sensed that this – whatever was happening to him – was hurting him, even though he didn't make a sound (or at least she couldn't hear it over the roar of the flames). It was like…like Jo had known the Doctor her whole life, like he was an old friend whose emotions she could read.
The light seemed to turn brilliant white, the shinning gold closing in on itself as the room once again turned silent, the form of the Doctor's body lying still on the ground. The fires flickered brightly, leaving destruction in their wake. Jo, ignoring previous instruction, ran across the room to the Doctor just as he shot to his feet, looking completely different. His hair was longer, his eyes green rather than brown now, and he had a chiselled face with high cheekbones, a strong chin, and eyes less wide than before.
What in the world is going on? Wondered Jo dazedly, but before she could voice this, the man spoke.
He wobbled a bit on his feet, then said hoarsely, "Legs! I've got legs!" he grabbed one of them, looking relieved, and kissed it. "I've still got legs! Good." He ran his hands over his chest and arms, breathing heavily. "Arms. Hands. Ooh, fingers!" he examined them carefully. "Lots of fingers." His hands flew to his head next (Jo was getting dizzy just from watching him). "Okay, ears – good. Eyes – two. Nose…I've had worse. Chin…blimey." Next his hands went to his hair, and he felt along his neck. "Hair…I'm a girl!" he cried in a squeaky voice. "No! No!" he felt the front of his neck and decided: "No – I'm not a girl." He pulled a long chunk of hair in front of his eyes. "And still not ginger!"
He glanced around wildly for a moment, still not noticing Jo, who was standing right behind him, still shocked into silence.
"There's something else," he said. "Something important. I'm…I'm…"
"Who are you?" demanded Jo, backing away slowly. She had finally gotten her powers of speech back, and was properly frightened as she scooped up Junie from under her coat in the one area the fire hadn't touched. Henry followed obediently, tail between his legs, glancing nervously at the growing flames.
"Oh! Right!" the man said, turning towards her. "Right, right – picked you three up from space. Girl, talking baby, and dog. Nothing strange at all."
"Who are you?" Jo cried, nearly in tears. She was scared – this ship was on fire, a man had just exploded in front of her into another person, not to mention that today she had killed her entire race and became a mum. This was much more than she could handle.
"I'm the Doctor, remember?" he said, smiling and brushing his now long hair from his face. "We just met. I'm the Doctor, you're Jo, and that's Junie and Henry. Right?"
"But – but – you don't look anything like him!" Jo said as she backed away again. Junie was shaking in her arms. "He had short hair! And – and those bug eyes! What did you do to him?"
Suddenly the ship shook violently, and Jo and Junie nearly fell into the flames around the centre. The Doctor reached out and pulled them back just in time.
"I know, and I'll explain later," he promised. "But right now we're crashing!"
And he rushed to the consul, pressing buttons and pulling levers.
"Right then," he said, rubbing his hands together briskly. "You three might want to hang on to something. This is going to be a bumpy ride."
He yanked a lever straight down, and the ship began to spin, twirl, flip, and shake violently.
Jo and Junie screamed. Henry yowled. The Doctor grinned in a slightly mad way.
"Geronimo!"
