The Broken Man

Part 1

900 Year Video Diary.

Entry #1. TARDIS Console Room

Hey Charlie it's your big sister Teddy here making you a whole new set of video diaries. The last ones I made, well I was a different girl then...

In more ways than one.

Yep, that's my uncle again...or rather OUR uncle, the Doctor. He's fiddling with the TARDIS again. Annabelle is here too. She says 'Hi.'

"Hi Aunt Charlie."

"A lot to take in. So young and you're an aunt to a girl well over 300 years old or so. Amy and Rory are still here...having a night. We're still travelling as you can see. But I guess you are wondering why I'm making video diaries again.

Well, I kind of missed doing them. And I came across my Uncle's old 500 year diary and thought I could do one better. A 900 year video diary. Of course he does a 900 year diary now, but I could do a 900 year video diary. A little one-upmanship if you will.

But I also wanted to leave a little something to show how our travels can be. Who knows? You may find yourself travelling yourself, and it helps to stay in contact with Mom and Dad. I know how they worry, even if I'm over 500 years old. Still they have reasons to. One I'm about to get into now.

This entry involves a man and his family. The man's name is Patrick Lake. He has a wife named Heather, and a daughter named Annabel. Yeah, I know. Kind of like Aunt Annabelle's. But ours spells her name with two 'l's and an 'e' at the end of her name. Annabel Lake just has the one 'l' at the end of hers.

But this story is about Patrick Lake and his family. Officially Patrick works at the British Embassy in Prague. Unofficially, he has a...different line of work. A line of work that has him in the crosshairs of Yuri Azarov and his...um...'Bodyguard' named Joseph.

Don't worry, I'll say what Joseph is later. As for Yuri...well it all starts in the month of November in 1989. In the city of Prague in Czechoslovakia.

And no matter what Bill Murray says, going into Czechoslovakia is NOT like going to Wisconsin.

Prague, Czechoslovakia. November 1989

Teddy's POV.

"…and coming in at number 7 in my 'top ten thousand cities in the Milky Way' list—ladies and gentlemen." The Doctor was going into a long drawn out rant about where we arrived. "Give it up for the golden city, the heart of bohemia….."

"In other words…..Prague!" I said cutting to the chase. "Humanity's finest minds have been drawn here for centuries."

"Yeah." Annabelle added. "Kafka wrote here. Mozart played here."

"Einstein thought really, really, hard here." The Doctor then said trying to get back into the conversation. A step behind us were Amy and Rory taking is the sights. "Rory said "I like these tour guides."

"Yeah, let's keep them." Amy added. Rory then asked the next magic question. "What year is it?"

As usual the Doctor tried to evade it. "Oh, who cares? Rory, you're getting so nitpicky! It's always 'What year is it?' 'Where's all the oxygen?' 'Why is Samuel Pepys making that bleeping sound?' Just enjoy the ride."

"You have no idea what year this is." Amy said smugly. The Doctor tried to be smug saying "Of course I do it's….."

"One of the more serious ones." Annabelle said as she pointed to a tank rolling down the street. "Mid to late 80's by the look of that beast." I knew the soldier was kicking in with her as she saw the tank. She kept up studies on military weaponry. We also saw armed troopers marching down the street.

"ATTENTION! MOVE ALONG! ALL GATHERINGS IN THIS AREA ARE ILLEGAL!" one of the soldiers blared in his megaphone. Amy called it when she said "Oh great. The empire's striking back."

Before we could say anything else a young girl with glasses ran through us saying "OUTOFTHEWAYEXCUSEMESORRY!" Clearly she was in a rush.

"Hey where's the fire?" Rory asked. The Doctor just said "Shhh! Follow her quick!" But before we could a soldier came running towards us. "You! Stay where you are! A girl came past here. Which way did she go?"

"Sorry." The Doctor said. "Didn't see. I was distracted by the fellow with the megaphone. Was he trying to sell me something?"

The soldier was getting….agitated as he brought his billy club to the Doctor's face. "You think you're funny clown? Maybe a week in a cell would help you stop laughing, eh? Show me your papers now!"

"With pleasure." The Doctor said bringing out the psychic paper. "I am Doctor Zhivago of the party security directorate! Do you still plan to imprison me comrade?" The soldier immediately got tongue tied and stuttering. "I….I'm sorry comrade Doctor! I had no idea…."

"Well I have an idea." I said joining in and flashing my paper. "Assistant to Doctor Zhivago. Baroness Theodora Anastasia DeCobray. There's a wild goose at large on the Vltava river. Go and arrest it man. It's deadly!"

"Y…yes comrades." The soldier said as he took off for the Vltava. Annabelle, Amy and Rory went to check on the girl who was hiding behind a crate.

"Hello." Annabelle said. "Don't worry about it. He's gone."

"Phew!" the girl said holding her posters. "The whiteheads don't usually run that fast. I knew I should have taken that aerobics class." She then took notice of Annabelle's accent and asked "Hey, are you guys American?"

"No, not all of us." Rory said speaking in his accent. The girl then perked up and said "Wow! English! That's really cool."

"I'm Scottish and that's even cooler." Amy then said. "She's Annabelle. He's Rory. I'm Amy." The girl then introduced herself.

"I'm Rhoda Hoffman. Thanks for your help." Rory then asked Rhoda "Why was that bloke chasing you?"

"He spotted me putting up posters for the rally." Rhoda held up a poster for us to see. "Not bad, huh? It's my own design." Rory and Amy were trying to read it as Amy whispered "Wait for the TARDIS translator to kick in."

Soon the poster was translated. It was a hand holding a lit candle that said "TRUTH PREVAILS. DEMOCRACY NOW!" The Doctor and I walked up as I said "Catchy slogan."

"But dangerous too." The Doctor added. "Hello Rhoda. I'm the Doctor. This is my niece Teddy. You're obviously very brave. Good stuff bravery. I approve!"

"We're on loan to the BBC from….ABC reporting on the student demonstrations." I added in hopes of explaining our different accents. "You are a student I take it?"

"Yeah." Rhoda said. "I'm in my first year at Art College."

"Let's get you home Rhoda." Amy said. "You can tell us all about it over a nice cuppa."

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We soon hopped a rail through the city to get to where Rhoda was staying.

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Teddy's POV

Amy and Rhoda were chatting up a storm while the Doctor, Rory, Annabelle and were trying to determine when we were and what mess we'd be in. "They've stopped jamming radio free Europe so we hear everything now." Rhoda said. "And the BBC World Service is fantastic. I'd love to study at St. Martin's college. Maybe I'll see the Rembrandt museum in Amsterdam."

"He's pretty good." Amy said. "But my favorite's always gonna be Vincent Van Gogh." Off to the side Rory asked the Doctor "So, have you worked out the date yet?"

"It's November 1989." The Doctor answered. "Turbulent times for Czechoslovakia."

"This is still a communist state." I added. "But the Soviet Union is crumbling. Poland and Hungary have opted out, and the Germans have just taken a big sledgehammer to the Berlin Wall."

"Rhoda and her friends are campaigning for Democratic rule." Annabelle added. Rory then asked "Are they going to get it?"

"Of course." The Doctor said. "Don't you remember when it happened?"

"I'm sleeping in a cot in Leadworth right now Doctor." Rory said. "I wasn't really following news at ten." The Doctor nodded and said "Ah yes…" before continuing.

"The Czech communist government resigns before the end of the year. Best revolution ever. Just for once, nobody dies." Rory then asked "Well that's great isn't it?"

"This is a major turning point in history, but it isn't fixed." I said.

"Teddy's right." The Doctor said. "Everything could change, Rory. There's something in the air, I can taste it. Something unreal…."

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We soon found ourselves arriving to where Rhoda was staying. A synagogue where her grandfather was the Rabbi. Rhoda's parents died in a fire and she was the only family he had left. So he got a little overprotective.

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"Rhoda!" the Rabbi said as he hugged his granddaughter. "Little one, where have you been? I've been going out of my skull with worry!"

"I had to sleep at the college, grandpapa." Rhoda explained. "The whiteheads were getting twitchy last night. They made a lot of arrests." At the mention of arrests Rabbi Hoffmann was sick with worry for his granddaughter.

"Please stop this Rhoda. Please." Rabbi Hoffman begged. Rhoda however couldn't. "You mean give up, just like that? How could I ever face my friends?" Taking notice of us Rhoda added "Hey, you're being rude. We have guests!"

The Rabbi came to us and shook our hands. "Forgive me friends. Thank you for bringing my Rhoda home. I'm Saul Hoffman, welcome."

"I'm the Doctor, these is my nieces Teddy and Annabelle." The Doctor said. I added "Lovely place you've got here."

Amy agreed. "This is really beautiful." Rabbi Hoffman then crossed to where Amy was standing and looked at some Jewish artifacts in a glass case. "The relics of a lost age." He said sadly. "Rhoda thinks change is coming, but Russian tanks crushed the hope from this city twenty years ago….and before them, the Nazis. Prague has not been free for a very long time."

A knocking on the door sent Rabbi Hoffman into a panic as he pushed us out of the main room. "No! All of you hide! Quickly!" he whispered. We didn't argue. Rabbi Hoffman then answered the door where a man greeted the Rabbi.

"Rabbi Hoffman!" he said. "So good to see you again. You look well. The book I have been seeking. Have you located it yet?"

"As I told you Comrade Azarov." The Rabbi had said. "If it was ever part of the synagogue's archives, it is long since lost. I cannot help you." The man, now known as Azarov did not seem convinced.

"Oh, but my sources say otherwise Rabbi. They insist it is somewhere in Prague, and you know more about Jewish artifacts than any man in the city. Think hard. Perhaps it is closer than you realize." The Doctor motioned us to keep quiet as Rabbi Hoffman held to his guns. "I am certain the book was destroyed over a century ago."

"Honest men never lie well Rabbi." Azarov said as he turned to leave. "Search your heart. Bring me the book and I promise you will be rewarded. Failure would be….unfortunate." And with that Azarov left the synagogue. And we came out of hiding.

"What a pig!" Rhoda had said. She clearly did not like Azarov.

"Who was he Saul?" the Doctor asked. Rabbi Hoffman answered. "A powerful man. He is searching for 'The Sorrows of Prague' written by Gerhard Frankel."

"That was from Emperor Rudolf II's reign in the 16th Century wasn't it?" Annabelle asked. The Rabbi nodded. "You are correct Miss Annabelle. It is hidden in the cellar."

"She gets it from me." I said as we walked down into the cellar. Once we were down Rabbi Hoffman gave the book to the Doctor who asked "Why are you trusting me with this?"

"Honest men may not lie well, Doctor—but they can always recognize one another." The Rabbi answered. "My Synagogue has protected the book for centuries. The reason has been lost in time. But I have pledged to keep it from men like Yuri Azarov."

"Well now we have a first name to call him." I said.

"But calling him by his last name is more insulting." Annabelle said. "Especially if you leave out the 'Mister' before it." I told Annabelle "Don't be rude sweetpea…much."

The Doctor then brought his sonic to the book's lock which did not open. "Oh, look at that. A four hundred year old padlock that can't be undone by a brand new sonic screwdriver. Tell me more about this Gerhard Frankel fella." Rabbi Hoffman went one better.

"I can show you where he's buried."

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So we went to the graveyard to find the grave of Gerhard Frankel.

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"Little is known of Gerhard Frankel." Rabbi Hoffman said as we walked through the rows of tombstones. "A kind man they say. He was a scholar in Rudolf's court."

"And that court attracted all sorts didn't it?" the Doctor asked.

"Artists, astrologers, alchemists…" I said.

"Scientists, sorcerers, soothsayers," Annabelle added.

"Mix 'em all together and who knows what you might get." The Doctor said. As we approached Frankel's grave we heard Yuri Azarov speak. "Something extraordinary perhaps. Something intended for a new age." Looking off to the side, sure enough, there was Yuri and two henchmen.

"Oh hello!" the Doctor said. "You must be Yuri Azarov. You haven't been following us have you Yuri?"

"Naughty-naughty!" I added.

"The habits of a lifetime, comrades. Forgive me." Yuri then held out his hand saying "The book, if you please."

"Sorry, Yuri. I'm the Doctor, and I don't. Please, that is. Well, I try to please people who please other people but people who only please themselves never please me. So I….."

"Focus!" Amy whispered trying to get the Doctor to stop rambling.

"I digress." The Doctor said trying to get back on topic. "So what's the big attraction? Witty dialogue? Narrative structure?"

"Does it at least have a happy ending?" I asked.

"Not for you Doctor. Or you girl." Yuri then said. "Joseph, I want that book!" As if on cue some big hulking behemoth in a hat, overcoat and bandages ripped through trees and came the Doctor's, and my, direction.

"He's only after me!" the Doctor said. "Everyone scatter!" Everyone did as they were told, but I stayed by my uncle's side, especially as we vaulted over a brick wall.

"With breathtaking agility, the handsome Doctor and beautiful Miss Duncan ascended the cemetery wall in a single fluid motion." The Doctor said in commentary. I finished with "And then dropped with cat like grace to the street outside."

"Ha! Let's see big bruiser do that!" the Doctor boasted.

Well….the bruiser named Joseph didn't go over the wall. He plowed right through it as he shattered it. We quickly started running again as the Doctor and I both shouted "CHEAT!" to Joseph.

As we ran the Doctor complained "'Let's go to Prague Ponds! We'll see the sights, feed the swans, take in a show! It'll be a fun weekend!' I will never, ever learn."

"Yeah, like 'Come to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs!' would be any better." I said. "We'd still run into trouble." The Doctor couldn't help but nod as Joseph stayed on our tails. Rounding a corner we came face to face with a brick wall."

"Oh, goodie a dead end." I said.

"No I'm calling it a cul-de-sac. Sounds more hopeful." The Doctor said. "Come on there's always a way out." Looking at a drain pipe the Doctor found our escape. "Or a way up."

We started climbing like crazy with Joseph at the bottom. When we reached the top the Doctor called "Forget it Joseph, that pipe won't support your weight."

"Yeah just go back to your boss and tell him…" It was then that Joseph sunk his hands into the wall like a mountain climber getting ready to climb a rock. "…better luck….next time….? I barely finished.

Meanwhile Joseph was scaling the wall climbing up it getting closer to us. "Okay, that is impressive." The Doctor said as we tried to find somewhere to run to only to find no place. And Joseph was on the roof.

"Say, Joseph did you know the word 'robot' was invented in Prague?" the Doctor started.

"Yeah." I added. "Karel Capek coined it in 1920. It means 'forced labor' in Czech!"

"Don't know why we said that." The Doctor said. "I thought you might be interested." We then brought out our sonics to stop Joseph. They didn't work.

"Oh come on. Fall down. Go bzzzz!" the Doctor said. I added "At least say 'does not compute!'" The Doctor said how this was not the Sonic Screwdriver's night as Joseph destroyed the chimney next to us.

"Klaatu barada nikto?" the Doctor then said reduced to the quote from 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'. Even that didn't work. Not that I expected it would.

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Annabelle then came forward to speak. "While mom and the Doctor were running from Joseph Yuri was trying to capture us at the cemetery.

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Annabelle's POV

Many of us tried to hide, but Yuri grabbed Rhoda as she shouted "Let me go you stinking fascist!"

Yuri dismissed her saying "You don't know what the word means child." Looking around he then spotted Rory and Yuri ordered his goon Sergei to 'get him'.

Amy, Rabbi Hoffman and I remained hidden but Sergei had a gun drawn on Rory, and Amy and I decided it was best to remain hidden so we could rescue Rory and Rhoda. I had no idea how much trouble the Doctor and mom were in, but I thought it was a lot.

"Do not move a muscle Tovarisch." Sergei said to Rory. "This place has enough dead bodies, da?" Rory nodded "Yeah, good point."

Yuri seemed to be miles away mentally as he said "Excellent Joseph….your eyes are my eyes….now take the book….and tear those two fools apart!

My hearts were racing. Yuri was going to kill mom and the Doctor….with whatever Joseph was.

END OF PART 1

Author's Note: Yep, I'm back. Hopefully someone is reading out there.

I just finished second drafting my story on the other archive, and will return to final drafting once I get Hunters done, at least that's the plan. I'm also experimenting with a new format using italic narration to serve as a 900 year video diary combining the video diaries of Good Luck Charlie with the 500 year diary from Doctor Who. Well, right now the 900 year diary from Doctor Who. The reason for this is there is a lot of action later in this story and I wanted to see if I could do a form of narration as it would have been too much to spread the Doctor, Teddy and Annabelle throughout this story. We shall see if this experiment works or not.

Take care everyone. Part 2 will be starting soon.