"Merlin!" The Doctor coughed out dust. "Merlin! Are you alright? Can you hear me?"
"I'm alright, I'm not hurt," came the reply, to the Doctor's relief. "What happened?"
"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. He had only kept out of the way of the falling stones just in time, he hadn't had time to see what happened. "Where are you?"
"Here!" The Doctor turned to his left to see a hand waving out from behind a pile of rock a few meters away.
"Stay there, I'll come to you," the Doctor navigated through the mess of rock toward the boy.
"That's a good idea," Merlin replied, "seeing as I'm stuck."
The Doctor stood over Merlin, who was lying on his stomach with his left lag caught under the heavy rock pile.
Merlin gave a weak smile. "Could have been worse. It doesn't feel broken, not badly, I don't think."
The Doctor kneeled down beside him. "You can feel it?"
"Yeah," Merlin answered. "Something's poking me. I think it's one of the crystals."
"Alright, I'm going to try an' get you out," the Doctor began to clear away stones.
"How did that happen?" Merlin asked.
"I don't know," the Doctor said. "Seemed stable enough when we came in. I checked."
Merlin let the Doctor work in silence for a minute, then asked. "If they aren't crystals, what are they?"
"Young TARDISes."
"Hello Morgana," he said.
He looked no older than the day she last saw him. Maybe his mousy-brown hair was a bit longer, his bright green eyes a little sadder- the latter made him look much older.
"You grew up," he noted.
"Yes," Morgana said. "I did."
"What'd you do that for?" He joked half-heartedly.
There was a tense silence.
"Who is he?" She asked.
"Who is who?"
"The man who just escaped from the dungeon. Who said he was the Doctor. Who said he was you."
The Doctor barely reacted. "That is me. That's me long before I met you."
Morgana shook her head. "That's impossible."
"So are a lot of things," the Doctor shrugged, hands in his pockets.
After another silence, he said, "You don't have to do it, Morgana."
"What?"
"You don't need revenge. You don't need to take the throne."
Morgana gave him the winning smile that charmed the king and court. "What makes you think–"
"Don't lie to me," he interrupted her, his soft tone becoming fierce. "I know when I'm being lied to."
Morgana had stopped mid-sentance, mouth still open. Now she shrugged off her courtly demeanor, allowing her hate to fill her eyes. "You're the only one, then."
"Morgana, what happened to you?" He pleaded. "What happened to that little princess who wanted to see the stars?"
"She grew up," Morgana snapped. "As you observed."
There was another silence. Morgana glared at the Doctor, her Doctor, who never came back, while the Doctor just gazed sadly back at her.
"Don't try and stop me," Morgana warned him.
The Doctor shook his head. "I can't. You have to do that for yourself. You have so many chances to turn back."
"Why should I turn back?" She scoffed.
""You have friends in Camelot–"
"If they are truly friends, they won't stand in my way," she said. "And now I have my sister. My only real family left. She can't live in this Camelot."
"Then leave," he suggested. "Together."
"No," she turned her back. "I'm not going to argue this with you. All you know is how to run away."
A year ago it would have hurt her to see the pain in his eyes. She didn't turn to see it. Or she wouldn't. She was a storm of anger, confusion, and if she turned around she feared she might feel regret. No, she told herself, she just didn't care. She didn't care anymore.
And he turned and walked away.
"Now I'm sure you're mental," was Merlin's reply. "A TARDIS," he explained slowly, "Is that big blue box. Not a Crystal."
"A TARDIS," the Doctor retorted, "Is not a box, it's a ship, it's a sentient ship. TARDISes aren't built, they're grown, over thousands of years. These are little ones."
"That's ridiculous," Merlin said. "Why's yours a box then?"
"It's a disguise," he said. "Can you move you leg now?"
Merlin drew his leg out from under the remaining pile of rock slowly. "I think so."
"That's how they show you the future, Merlin," the Doctor said, "They're mimicking crystals, you can see straight through them into the Time Vortex itself."
Merlin shook his head. Whatever you say. "How are we going to get out of here?"
The Doctor sat back against the rocks. "We could try clearing the tunnel, but that might bring more rocks down. Is there another way out?"
"I don't know," Merlin admitted. "The last time I was here I came and went by the same route."
"Let's explore, then," The Doctor stood. "Can you walk?"
"I think so," Merlin eased onto his feet. His leg was a little sore, but he could stand alright.
"Let's go, then."
A/N: Hmm.. I feel like that wrapped up far too easily. The story does continue, however, and we might be seeing a little more of Morgana's Doctor.
Production note, I didn't know until I sat down to pen this chapter whether I was going to use Ten or Eleven as Morgana's Doctor. It seemed like a very Moffat story, mirroring the story of Amy notably. But it also mirrors "The Girl in the Fireplace" somewhat. I really like Ten better than Eleven, but when I wrote a draft of the above conversation with Ten in it it just seemed a bit clunky. So, though he isn't my favorite Doctor, he worked best for this scenerio. So I give you Eleven.
And the TARDIS thing... THATS ALL I COULD THINK DURING MERLIN OK. AM I ON TO SOMETHING OR AM I JUST NUTS? Either way, it's part of the plot now.
Let me know what you think!
