Part 2- We're Waddling through Time

Club Penguin, 24 October 2019

The breach opened up onto an island of snow and ice. As the breach closed, the Doctor was left behind and fell to the ground, as she had materialised a short distance above it. She fell onto her back on a pile of snow, surrounded by snow-covered trees and rocks. Mountain ranges rose up in the distance.

'Well, at least it was a soft landing,' she muttered to herself. She turned her head and saw a herd of small, furry creatures with two eyes and a mouth. There were several colours of them: blue, pink, black, green, purple, red, yellow, white, orange and brown. The blue one looked at her and squeaked.

'Oh, hello there,' said the Doctor. 'Is this your place? It's very nice.' The creatures just looked at her, until the Doctor realised that they weren't looking at her, but a bush with round berries growing on it that was behind her.

'Do you want some of these berries?' asked the Doctor, standing up and pointing at the bush. The creatures squeaked excitedly, as the Doctor plucked a handful of berries and threw them, one at a time, to the creatures, who jumped up and caught them in their mouths. The Doctor watched in surprise as the black, furry creature in the herd swallowed its berry and caught on fire, turning red and flying in a circle around the Doctor before landing and returning to normal. The creatures suddenly darted off in different directions, leaving the Doctor alone. She plucked another berry from the bush.

'What an interesting fruit,' the Doctor commented, popping it into her mouth. Almost instantly, she gasped for air, as the berry left a very bitter taste in her mouth. 'Oh, that is not good.' The Doctor started checking the readings on her device. 'No anti-matter readings? That can't be right.'

Unbeknownst to the Doctor, she was being watched. Behind a nearby bush stood a polar bear and a crab, watching her intently. The crab clicked its claws a few times.

'I agree, Klutzy,' said the polar bear, to the crab. 'She does seem very smart. She can help us.'

'Maybe I should just move on to another universe,' the Doctor thought out loud. 'I'm not going to learn anything-'

The polar bear and Klutzy stepped out from behind the bush. 'Hello, there,' said the polar bear, grabbing the Doctor's attention. 'I am Herbert P. Bear, Esquire, and this is my loyal accomplice, Klutzy,' he finished, gesturing to the crab.

'Hello, there,' said the Doctor. 'I'm the Doctor.'

'Welcome to Club Penguin, Doctor,' said Herbert. 'Would you like a hot drink?'

The Town

The Doctor followed Herbert to a group of deserted buildings, one of which was called the Coffee Shop. As they entered, the Doctor stooped down to fit under the door. Herbert stepped behind the counter and started using the drinks machine.

'So, Herbert, I can't help but notice you call this place Club Penguin,' said the Doctor, sitting down on a sofa by the window. 'But I haven't seen any penguins. Only polar bears. And there's only one of you.'

'Up until a few years ago, penguins and polar bears shared this island,' explained Herbert. 'It was a place of fun and kindness. There were games and parties. It was paradise.'

'Then where is everyone?' asked the Doctor.

'They all moved on,' said Herbert, sitting next to the Doctor, handing her a cup of hot chocolate. 'Except me. I never had anywhere else to go. So, what brings you to Club Penguin?'

'There's a Crisis building up, out there in the Multiverse. I'm trying to figure out what's happening, so I can stop it,' said the Doctor. 'But there's no anti-matter signature here, so I'm going to move on to the next universe.'

'Before you do that,' said Herbert. 'Could I ask you for a favour?'

'Sure,' said the Doctor.

'There was a security agency that protected this island,' Herbert said. 'They were called the EPF. Since everyone left, I have been living in their former headquarters. Unfortunately, the last time I left, I forgot to check the security code that allows me to re-enter. Could you help me get back in?'

'Easily,' said the Doctor, pulling out her sonic screwdriver.

The Ski Village

'This way,' said Herbert. 'The entrance is hidden in that building there.' Herbert pointed at a building, next to a log cabin. The Doctor looked up at the sign above the door.

'The Everyday Phoning Facility?' read the Doctor. 'Seems fairly inconspicuous.'

'Indeed,' said Herbert, as they entered. 'The entrance is hidden behind the waterfall.' Herbert pointed to a waterfall, with a large badge in the centre.

'Let's get you into the top secret headquarters,' said the Doctor, aiming her sonic at the waterfall, opening up a secret lift. 'Let's go.' The Doctor, Herbert and Klutzy entered the lift, as the door closed, taking them down to the EPF Command Room.

'Oh, this is so cool,' said the Doctor, stepping out of the lift. 'Do you mind if I take a look at those computers?'

'Go right ahead,' said Herbert, as he turned to Klutzy. 'It worked, Klutzy. We got in! Now, to find what we came for.'

The Doctor was using the computers to check the Multiverse. 'I need to find a universe that's about to be threatened by anti-matter. That's where I'll get some answers.' An alert started beeping on the screen, and the Doctor pulled it up. 'Hostile presence detected?'

Meanwhile, Herbert had found what he was looking for, a large object hidden by a sheet. He pulled it off, revealing a large vehicle with a clock on the front. The Doctor stepped behind him.

'What's that?' she asked.

'This is the Time Trekker 3000,' said Herbert. 'The key to changing history to my liking.'

'So, it's true,' said the Doctor. 'You are the island's number one enemy. You lied to me.'

'You figured it out,' Herbert said. 'I knew you were smart. But not smart enough! Now, Klutzy!'

'Now, Klutzy, what?' asked the Doctor, confusedly. Herbert pointed up, and the Doctor looked upwards, seeing Klutzy in the roof supports, drop a VR headset that fell onto the Doctor's head, and it downloaded a VR program.

'The Missing Puffles?' The Doctor read out loud. 'Mission: Aunt Arctic… Famous Reporter for the Club Penguin Times… has lost two of her pet puffles. It is your assignment to find and rescue them. No, I don't have time for that!' The Doctor pulled the headset off, seeing Herbert and Klutzy already in the Time Trekker 3000.

'Thanks for helping me, Doctor,' said Herbert. 'Now, I shall stop the penguins ever coming to this island, so that I can do whatever I like with it! Ha, ha, ha!'

'Herbert, no!' cried the Doctor, taking out her screwdriver to shut down the Time Trekker 3000. However, it was too late as the Time Trekker disappeared in a flash of light. The Doctor ran back to the computer.

'I've got to track his temporal trajectory,' said the Doctor. 'Find out where he's going.' The Doctor bought up the trajectory, along with the relevant information about the destination. 'July 2000? The month the Experimental Penguins test run came to the island? Herbert's trying to stop Club Penguin before it even happens! I have to stop him. But how? He took the only time machine on the island!' With that, the EPF logo flashed up on the screen, as a video message started playing.

'Hello. My name is Gary,' said a blue penguin, wearing a lab coat and glasses. 'I am recording this message on March 28, 2017. If you are watching this, then Herbert has broken into the Command Room of the Elite Penguin Force, and he has stolen the Time Trekker 3000. That is not a good scenario. With the Trekker's technology, he will most likely go back in time and prevent penguins from ever coming back to this island. To that end, I have devised a plan. First, take the EPF Spy Phone that is about to teleport onto the desk.'

The Doctor watched as a device teleported onto the desk, and she picked it up. 'There are pre-set coordinates wired into the device,' Gary continued. 'They will take you to the Puffle Berry Mall, formerly known as the Stage. There was a play, called The Penguins that Time Forgot, that featured a time machine called the Time Travel 1000. That prop, along with everything from the Stage, is in the basement of the Mall. Little does anyone know, but I actually turned it into a fully functioning time machine, to be activated should the Time Trekker ever experience unauthorised use. All you have to do is press 'Go', and it will follow the Time Trekker 3000 through time. Good luck, agent.' The message ended as the EPF logo appeared once more, before the screen turned black.

The Doctor pressed the button at the bottom of the Spy Phone, and was instantly surrounded by a holographic box, with pairs of spinning arrows on each side. The box shrunk, taking the Doctor with it.

Puffle Berry Mall- the basement

The holographic box materialised the Doctor in the basement of the Mall, where all the Stage props, scripts and costumes were kept. She instantly started looking around for the Time Travel 1000. Her search was quick; for she soon set eyes on a large cardboard box with Time Travel 1000 written on the top, with a clock drawn on the side, sitting next to a control device with the words Switchbox 3000 on the side.

'Completely inconspicuous,' said the Doctor, smiling at Gary's ingenuity. 'I wish I could have met you, Gary. You're brilliant.' The Doctor got in, and saw the button marked 'Go', and, having closed the cardboard doors, pressed it, sending the Time Travel 1000 off through time, following the Time Trekker.

Experimental Penguins, 1 July 2000

The Time Travel 1000 arrived at its destination, landing next to the Time Trekker 3000. The Doctor clambered out.

'I'm late,' said the Doctor, worriedly noticing that Herbert and Klutzy had already left. At this point in time, the island was essentially a wilderness, so the Doctor was able to easily follow Herbert's tracks. She walked for a while, coming up to a red and white striped pole, with a white sphere on top. The Doctor stopped here for a moment, leaning on the pole to catch her breath. She was able to see the tracks leading in the direction of the Lighthouse, its beam of light shining brightly out to sea.

'So that's the plan,' the Doctor said. Clearly, Herbert planned on sabotaging the Lighthouse so the ship that was bringing the penguins here would never find the island. It was actually a solid plan. But the Doctor knew that she still had to stop him. She got up and started running, knowing that she couldn't waste a second.

The Lighthouse

'We're nearly ready, Klutzy,' said Herbert. He had been busy since arriving at the Lighthouse. He had taken the six barrels of cream soda stored inside the Lighthouse and positioned them in two stacks of three next to the side of the Lighthouse. He held up a device in his paw, with wires connecting it to each barrel. 'When I press this button, Klutzy, the fizziness of the cream soda will be increased so much that the barrels will explode, destroying the Lighthouse, so that those silly little birds never find their precious island! Then, we can go back to the future, and see how we got on with making this island suitable for me without them! Mwah ha ha!'

While Herbert had been explaining his evil plan to Klutzy, the Doctor had slipped round the back of the Lighthouse. With her sonic screwdriver, she had managed to disconnect five of the wires from the barrels.

'Now, Klutzy, it is time!' Herbert exclaimed, getting ready to press the button. The Doctor quickly tried to remove the sixth wire, but she was too late, as Herbert pressed the button, the barrel of cream soda exploding, blasting the Doctor over to Herbert and damaging the Lighthouse, though not as badly as Herbert had intended.

'Huh? Doctor?!' Herbert exclaimed in shock. 'How did you get here?'

'What can I say?' replied the Doctor. 'Gary outsmarted you.'

'It doesn't matter,' said Herbert. 'There's still time for me to stop the penguins getting here.' No sooner than he had said this, Herbert started to fade away. 'What's happening?'

The Doctor scanned him with her device. 'Well, you succeeded in your little plan,' she said. 'You changed the timeline. Club Penguin. Rewritten. But not in the way you'd intended.'

'What are you talking about?' Herbert demanded.

'Let's see,' said the Doctor, consulting the changes on her device. 'Some events delayed, some events erased. Long story short, the penguins never leave. And now, the universe is returning you and Klutzy back to where you should be in this new timeline. You won't even remember being here.'

'What? No,' Herbert cried, raising his arms and looking up to the sky, as he and Klutzy faded away from view. 'NOOOOOOOO!'

The Doctor consulted her device, confirming that both the Time Trekker 3000 and Time Travel 1000 had been returned into their proper places in the new timeline, before checking the damage to the Lighthouse.

'Not too bad, 'she said to herself. 'Six years or so, it'll need some major fundraising to fix that.' As she looked, the Doctor noticed the ship heading for Experimental Penguins. Although they couldn't hear her, she walked towards the shoreline and gave them a message.

'Make this island of snow and ice a place of fun and friendship,' the Doctor said. 'A place for games and laughter. A place where you can achieve anything together.'

The Doctor tapped on her device, getting it ready to open a breach, before she gave the last part of her message to the penguins.

'Waddle on.'