The Four Doctors
Chapter Two: The Mission
Note: From this chapter onward, I will be referring to the individual incarnations of the Doctor by their respective number (Eight, Nine, etc.).
"What do you mean 'They're you?'" Amy asked Eleven. "You're you. You can't be them as well!
"It's a little bit difficult to explain." sighed Eleven. "When a Time Lord suffers potentially fatal damage, they can save themselves by changing every cell in their body. It gives them a new face, a new voice, a new everything The process is called regeneration, and it's happened to me a fair few times. These three just so to be three of my past forms. The three most recent ones, in fact. Clear?"
"Not in the slightest." admitted Amy.
"So, you're the latest model?" inquired Ten, looking his successor up and down.
"Yep." confirmed Eleven.
"Well, could have been worse." declared Ten. "The chin's a bit much, and the clothes are terrible, but I suppose you must make do."
"Oi!" shouted Eleven, greatly offended.
"The hair's terrible." Nine butted in. All wavy and floppy. You look like a girl."
"I rather like his hairstyle." chipped in Eight.
"You would, Liberace." said Nine scornfully. "Why don't you just swan off down the salon?"
"Oh, you're just jealous of my movie star good looks." Eight shot back, stroking his profile as he did so.
"I see you've done some work on the TARDIS." noted Ten. "Can't say I like it much."
"Well, I didn't exactly have a choice in that." replied Eleven. "You nearly blew the whole apart when you regenerated into me. If you'd been holding it in any longer, you would have killed yourself before you turned into me!"
"Oh, and what a frightful shame that would have been." said Ten sarcastically.
"If you ask me, you should have regenerated earlier." said Eleven. I could have dealt with the Swarm and the flood in half the time!"
"Keep dreaming, junior." snorted Ten.
"'Junior'?" repeated Eleven increduously. "I'm your future self! I'm older then you!"
"Well, you don't look it." said Ten matter-of-factly.
Meanwhile, Eight and Nine were involved in their own little disagreement.
"You know what your problem is?" Nine asked his predecessor.
"That I'm going to turn into you someday?" offered Eight.
"Doctors!" cried out Amy, exasperated. "Can you just stop all this stupid fighting? It's getting us nowhere!"
"Yeah, cool it, spaceman!" agreed Donna Noble, grasping Ten firmly by the shoulder.
"They've got a point." said Rose Tyler. "You're all supposed to be the same person, so why can't you get along with each other?"
"They're right, you know." said Eleven, chastisted.
"Well, they usually are, aren't they?" agreed Ten.
Nine noticed Eight smiling. "What are you sniggering at, then?"
"Oh, nothing." replied Eight. "It's just... us, getting told off by our companions. It's nice to see some things never thing."
"Right then," said Eleven, taking charge. "It's time we got to figuring out who brought us here. Shouldn't be too difficult, with four of me."
"It would have to be something or someone quite clever, to be able to pull our TARDIS right out of the Time Vortex." said Ten.
"It would have to be someone powerful." continued Nine. "Powerful enough not to care about breaking the First Law of Time."
"And above all, it would have to be someone who knows enough about us to bring all four of our different selves here." finished Eight.
"As far as I can see," hypothesised Eleven. That leaves us with only two options, and, considering we're all still alive, I think we can rule out the bad option."
"Excellent." said an ephereal voice from behind them. "I'm glad to see age has not dulled your sharp wit."
The group turned around, and saw what appeared to be a white-haired old man in a lawn chair. But the man was more then he appeared. In fact, he was not a man at all. He was the White Guardian.
"I should have known." tutted Eleven, shaking his head. "You always did call at the most inoportune times."
"Your tongue also seems to be as sharp as ever, old friend." chuckled the White Guardian. "But as much as I would like to catch up with you, I'm afraid I have urgent to discuss."
"Who are you then, mate?" demanded Donna.
"I am the White Guardian, my dear." stated the White Guardian. "Guardian of order."
"Well, that's just wizard." said Donna sarcastically. "And I'm Donna Noble, the red guardian of Chiswick."
"Your companions seem to be getting feistier and feistier, old friend." the White Guardian told Ten. "Now, we have business to discuss."
"It's the Black Guardian again, isn't it?" asked Nine.
"I'm afraid so." despaired the White Guardian. "He seeks a ancient weapon of unimaginable power. The Eye of Eternity, a weapon created by the Eternals, long ago. With the Eye's power, the Black Guardian could unleash untold chaos on the universe."
"And you want us to stop him, right?" asked Eight.
"Indeed, I do." confirmed the White Guardian. "I summoned you all here for that very purpose."
"But why four of us?" inquired Eleven. "Why break the First Law of Time?"
"Because the Black Guardian also has meddled in time." the White Guardian informed them. "He has pulled four of your oldest and deadliest foes in the instant before they perished, to act as his agents. The Eye, you see, can only be activated by a key that was long ago split into four pieces and scattered across the universe. The Black Guardian is sending his agents to locate the key pieces, so that he may activate the Eye, and unleash it's power upon the universe."
"And you want us to get there first, right?" asked Ten.
"Indeed I do." concurred the White Guardian. "Your success in finding the segments of the Key to Time has proven that you are capable of such a task. By that logic, four of you should be even more successful."
"Right then." said Eleven. "Best get cracking, then. Everyone, follow me!"
"Hang on." said Ten. "Who put you in charge?"
"Time did." replied Eleven. "I'm the oldest and most experienced of all of us. Ipso facto, I'M in charge."
"Okay." said Eight. "So what's the plan, boss?"
"Plan?" repeated Eleven. "Well... the plan can wait until later."
"You don't have a plan, do you?" asked Nine.
"Not as such, no." admitted Eleven. "But when has that ever stopped me before?"
"He's got a point there." admitted Ten.
"Perhaps I should have brought forth your seventh incarnation." lamented the White Guardian. "He was always quite skillfull in the art of cunning and deception."
"He was a miserable old fogey, if you ask me." said Eight. "I was quite glad to see the back of him, to be honest."
"You still could." Amy said to the White Guardian. "You could always bring in this Seventh Doctor. The more, the merrier, right?"
"Alas, I cannot." admitted the White Guardian.
"Why not?" inquired Rose.
"My dear, the forces of order and chaos are like the two ends of an hourglass." said the White Guardian patiently. "As one end fills, the other empties. The Black Guardian's agents have created much chaos in their search for the key parts. Consequently, order in the universe is quite sparse at the moment, and my power along with it. I had only the strength to summon four TARDIS's, no more, no less."
"So, how are we supposed to find these key parts, then?" asked Eight.
"The keys are constructed of a unique metal, of which I happen to possess a small sample." declared the White Guardian, holding up a tiny sliver of gold-like material. "With the technology at your disposal, I shan't say it will be difficult for you to construct a device for detecting such metal."
"No, it shan't" said Eleven. "come on, everyone! Into my TARDIS!"
"Why your TARDIS?" asked Nine.
"Because it's the most up-to-date." replied eleven. "It's got all the latest technology, just waiting for us to make use of."
"Did we ever find that swimmin pool again?" asked Eight.
"We did." replied Eleven. "It was in the library, of all places. But I lost it again, soon after."
"Good luck, Doctors." said the White Guardian, vanishing as the Doctors and their companions headed towards Eleven's TARDIS.
Meanwhile, within the darkest region of space, on a desolate asteroid, a man dressed completely in black spoke to his four agents. The agents consisted of a slightly portly, mischevious-looking Monk, a dark-haired man with a set of whiskers, a glamorously dressed woman, and an older man who was also dressed in black.
"It seems my counterpart has initiated a counter-attack." the Black Guardian hissed. "He has brought forth not one, but four versions of the Doctor to find the key parts."
"The Doctor?" the Meddling Monk repeated in shock.
"The Doctors." the War Chief corrected.
"What wonderful happenstance." declared the Rani. "Not only do we get freedom from death and a portion of the universe to rule over, but we also get to have revenge on the Doctor. Revenge, four times over!"
"You can have your revenge and your rule." snarled the Valeyard. "I want the Doctor's remaining regenerations. You can assure me that, can't you, Guardian?"
"Of course." said the Black Guardian, with a fake air of courtesy. "I daresay I would have no use for them. But first, my agents, you must find me the key parts, and bring them to the Eye of Eternity""
"Consider it done." smirked the Valeyard darkly, as his compatriots flashed similary evil grins.
To be continued...
(Doctor Who and all associated characters/objects are the propert of BBC Worldwide.)