Huh, It Really is 'Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey'

by Trace Carter

A casual day after work was what Alex wanted, but a mysterious letter addressed to him by 'The Consultant' changed all that, leading him to be flung headlong into The Doctor's timeline with the task to fix what he can and avoid screwing things up beyond all repair. Despite his misgivings, he does learn one thing: The Doctor was right. It Really is 'Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey.'

Huh, It Really is 'Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey?'

Chapter 1

So, this fic is inspired by Lunammoon's fic Celery, Long Scarves, Fezes, and other Questionable Fashion Choices, and written with the original author's permission and advice. It focuses on New Who and has similar themes, but I will try to keep things original so I am not stealing the original work.

Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

When Alexander 'Alex' Drake arrived home from work that day, he did not expect to be flung headlong into a life of adventure, danger, mystery, and aliens, but sometimes things don't always go as planned.

It had been another boring day at work and he had been looking forward to kicking back on his couch with a bowl of popcorn and binging some of his favorite episodes of Doctor Who, but when he sat down, he noticed something on the coffee table that hadn't been there earlier. It was an envelope sealed with wax and addressed to him, looking normal enough, though there was no address, return or otherwise, just his name written on the front, and the color of the envelope was the exact shade of blue as that which had appeared on the envelopes sent out by the Eleventh Doctor in the episode The Impossible Astronaut. Scotland Yard Blue. Aka: TARDIS Blue.

Deciding that there was no harm in seeing what it said and letting his curiosity get the better of him, Alex broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the letter inside and began to read.

Hello Alex,

You're wondering why there's this strange envelope sitting on your coffee table like in the episode 'The Impossible Astronaut' aren't you? Well, it is because, like in that episode, I am inviting you on an adventure, well, less inviting and more, 'I need you to come along' kind of thing. I know this all seems quite strange and unusual, but rest assured, everything will be explained in time.

See you soon.

The Consultant.

PS: Remember the Conference Call letter from 'Name of the Doctor'? Sweet dreams.

Alex's eyes widened upon reading that last line, but before he could toss the envelope aside, darkness encroached on his vision and he lost consciousness as the soporific the paper was laced with took hold.

xXsceneXx

When Alex opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in a rather comfortable chair in a small sitting room decorated in a Victorian style with no idea how he had gotten there. He noted that the walls were decorated with several types of timekeeping devices, ranging from clocks to hourglasses, with even an astronomical clock sitting mounted on a mantle.

"Ah you've arrived," said a voice, surprising Alex as he noticed a figure sitting on a chair across from him, though Alex was certain said chair had been empty moments before, "excellent."

The man wore a black hoodie over a red shirt and black pants. On his feet were combat boots and he wore fingerless leather gloves on his hands along with some sort of high-tech smartwatch on his right wrist and a pen tucked into one of his pockets.

"Who are you?" asked Alex, "What is this place?"

"Tea?" asked the man as he motioned to a tea set sitting on the table, "It's one of my favorite blends. Helps with stress."

"Um, sure," said Alex, a bit caught off guard, allowing the man to pour him a steaming cup which he took with a nod of thanks, "but what is going on here?"

"You're not going to try the tea?" asked the man, "Don't want it to cool too much."

Alex sighed and took a sip from the cup in his hand, eyes widening at the intricate mix of fruits and spices that provided a soothing and invigorating flavor.

"I thought you'd like it," chuckled the man, "now, to answer your questions. As I'm sure you surmised from my letter, you are currently participating in a Conference Call similar to the one Madame Vastra hosted…or was it, will host? Tenses can get rather confusing after all this time."

"But why am I here?" pressed Alex, "Why me?"

"Well," shrugged the man, "it kinda needed to be you. As for why, well, are you sure you don't recognize me? Take a good look."

Once he looked past the casual clothes and fancy accessories, and looked at the man's physical features, who he was was obvious. His eye color was a clue, and so was his wild yet fashionable hair. The clincher though, was a tiny scar just above his lip on the right side, an identical match to one Alex had gotten as a child when he slipped and cut his face.

"You…you're me," breathed Alex, "but how?"

"You forget where we are," said the man with a smile, "time travel is involved."

"But how can we simultaneously exist in the exact same moment in time?" asked Alex, "Doesn't that violate the laws of temporal mechanics?"

"Eh," shrugged Alex's future self as he waved his hand, "the Doctor was really correct when he described it as 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey'. In any case, I've been around his timeline, and our existence has become a bit of a paradox. As for why I brought you here, I need to close your end of the Paradox in order to ensure it doesn't unravel and damage the space time continuum."

"That sounds a bit ominous," said Alex with a frown.

"It isn't really," said Alex's future self, "and look on the bright side: you'll finally get that life of adventure you wanted. Popping in on the Doctor's adventures certainly qualifies."

Suddenly Alex felt a weird sensation building within him, as if a static charge was filling his body and growing steadily stronger while at the same time his body began to feel lighter and lighter, like he might float away.

"I see it's beginning," said Alex's future self, causing Alex's head to snap towards him.

"What's beginning?" asked Alex frantically, "What's happening to me?"

"Oh," said the man calmly, "it just means my future self has finished forming the connection between you and the Doctor's timeline in the real world and you're about to be pulled out of your own time and into his."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Alex in surprise.

"Don't worry," laughed his future self, "you're gonna have a grand old time. Trust me. See you later. Oh, and don't tell him about the show!"

And with that, Alex felt a great tug that caused his body to lurch backwards and then everything was dark.

xXsceneXx

The next thing Alex knew he was staggering forward, feeling like the world around him had been spinning and had suddenly and abruptly come to a stop, but before he could hit the ground, he felt a pair of hands firmly gripping his shoulders, keeping him steady.

"Woah woah woah, careful now," said a man with a Scottish accent, his voice being extremely familiar to the young man, "Can't have you taking a tumble when you've just arrived. Didn't expect you to pop in, though, in all honesty, I rarely ever do."

"Doctor?" said Alex a little shakily as he tried to get his bearings.

As his vision began to clear, he began to recognize his surroundings, the metallic walls decorated with blue and orange roundels, the hexagonal console surrounding the glowing orange time rotor, and of course, the various chalkboards and bookshelves on the walls.

Add that in with the older man with greying hair wearing a dark colored suit and overcoat, and Alex was now certain he was no longer in Kansas. He had traveled through the looking glass, so to speak.

"Trans Temporal Shifts can be disorienting," said the Doctor; number 12 to be exact, "So, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I don't understand," said Alex as the Doctor stepped back, noticing that the displaced human was no longer off balance.

"Memory lapse," nodded the Doctor, "one of the usual symptoms. Just give it a bit and it'll pass."

"Right," said Alex hesitantly as he looked around. Based on the appearance of the Control Room, specifically the lack of roundels on the lower parts of the wall, he could assume this was before 12 encountered Missy and Danny sacrificed himself to save earth, "so what's going on?"

"That depends," said the Doctor.

"On what?" asked Alex warily.

"On your journal of course," replied the Doctor, "you made a point to tell me to check current events against your journal entries to avoid 'spoilers' as you put it."

"Right…" said Alex hesitantly, wondering where the heck this journal was, "My journal."

"Ah," said the Doctor with an understanding nod, "I see. The Consultant mentioned this time might be a bit more severe. Not to worry, a trip to your room usually sorts things out."

"I have a room here?" said Alex in surprise before he could stop himself.

"Of course," chuckled the Doctor, "it kind of moves around every once in a while, but the TARDIS should show you the way. She always does. I think you're her favorite person aside from me…oh and Rory. Never really understood that one."

"Ok then," said Alex, "I'll go and find my room and rest up a bit. Maybe when I come back the memory lapse will have passed."

"It usually does," nodded the Doctor, prompting Alex to head out of the Control Room and down one of the corridors.

xXsceneXx

"I really should have asked him how the TARDIS was supposed to lead me to this room of mine," muttered Alex as he looked around the various corridors, wondering how in the world the Doctor and his Companions navigated this place, what with how the corridors all looked the same, "it's not like I can ask the TARDIS for help, right?"

He suddenly paused as he felt a thrumming, almost like a sort of pulse, echo through the corridor he was in, "Wait, you can understand me? No, of course you can. You are alive, if what I've seen is to be believed."

Another pulse, this time giving him the feeling of approval if that made sense, "So…would you be willing to show me where my room is?"

Alex felt another pulse and suddenly several of the wall-lights began to flicker on and off in a sort of pattern, almost as if it was indicating a path for him to follow.

"Thanks, luv," said Alex with a smile as he began to follow the gentle guiding pulse. He got a feeling of amusement and approval, "You like that nickname? It was just a random thing." Another pulse thrummed through the corridor, "Alright then. I think I'll keep it then. After all, I can't call you sexy. That's his name for you."

Another pulse passed and Alex suddenly realized the lights had come to a stop at a door that seemed rather unassuming except for the fact that there seemed to be a perception filter in place around it considering, to paraphrase Martha Jones, he knew it was there, yet his mind didn't seem to want to know it's there. Remembering how he had seen these doors work in the show, Alex pressed the control on the bulkhead, causing the door to slide open with a hiss, allowing him to walk inside as it closed behind him.

Once the doors closed, lights turned on around the room revealing a study and a bedroom, decorated in a Victorian era theme, surprising Alex, as he had not expected the TARDIS to have a room pre-decorated to perfectly match his tastes. As he looked around, he heard a beeping sound from his left, causing him to turn and see a tablet computer sitting on a desk with a letter attached to it. Curious, he walked over and saw the words READ ME FIRST written upon the envelope, so, again letting curiosity get the better of him, he broke the wax seal and removed the letter inside and began reading.

Dear Alex,

If you're reading this, then you've made it to your room in the TARDIS successfully. Before you worry too much, I haven't laced this envelope with any soporifics this time.

Alex felt his eyebrow twitch at the reminder of how he'd basically been shanghaied into this journey across time and space, but pushed it aside and continued reading.

I know you have a lot of questions about what's going on, after all, I've been in your shoes before, literally, so I'll try and explain. As I mentioned in our last meeting (in your perspective) our existence in the Doctor's timeline is a bit of a paradox. You are here because your future self (me) went back to send you on your journey, and the reason I did so, is because I remember it happening when I was you. It can give use a bit of a headache when we think about it too hard, so don't worry. To put it simply, our bodies were infused with a large amount of Tachyon particles that have been charged with Artron energy gathered due to frequent exposure to the Doctor's TARDIS. Again, paradox. I know. But because of that, you'll be pulled across the Doctor's Timeline to events you've probably seen in the show, though not necessarily in order.

Be sure to remember the sensation you felt before being flung here the first time. It will be an indicator that you're going to be pulled to another point in time.

Now, the Doctor will have had interactions with me (your future self) prior to meeting you, but the Doctor and his(her (13)) companions will refer to me as The Consultant, and I encourage you to do the same. It helps differentiate us and our actions.

Now, more about what's going on. You can try and help the Doctor and fix things that went wrong in the show's timeline, but be careful. Time needs to happen. And sometimes, Time cannot be avoided. You'll need to remember that, and you might need to remind the Doctor about that sometimes. You can save some people, but you can't save everyone.

To that end, I've gathered a few items from our travels across the timeline to help you in our adventures. I've placed some things in this Desk, the most important being the Sonic Pen in the top center drawer. It was originally the property of Matron Covelia, but we picked it up after our encounter with her. I've made some adjustments to the design, giving it some new features, including a squareness gun feature and a telepathic interface, along with several settings that the Doctor's sonic has. Just think it and it'll do it. The second important thing I've left for you is your journal: the tablet under this letter.

You will need to make regular entries in the journal about your adventures, as it will be how other Time Travelers you encounter will keep from giving/receiving spoilers about their/your future. Kind of like River's Diary, except its digital and double deadlocked via your pen to keep people from reading it.

Finally, I've left a specially modified watch. It runs on a perpetual motion battery and is synced to the TARDIS so that it will always tell you the exact time, no matter what time or place you end up in. Keep them safe as they are essential to getting you out of danger in the future…past? Tenses will be really annoying soon.

In any case, good luck, and DO NOT tell the Doctor or his companions about the TV show.

Trust me, it ends badly.

Best Wishes,

The Consultant.

PS: this letter will combust not long after you finish reading, so you might want to drop it in 3. 2. 1…

Alex's eyes widened and he tossed the letter to the ground just as it spontaneously combusted, not even leaving a single ash. Sighing, Alex knew he was rather far past the point of no return, so he opened the drawer of the desk to see the familiar looking Sonic Pen, though it had had the black body replaced with a blue lacquer. Picking up the tablet he pointed the pen at it and mentally asked it to unlock, smiling as the light on the end turned on and emitted the familiar buzzing sound as the tablet turned on, showing an empty screen with a blinking cursor, indicating that it was ready to begin transcribing. Finally, he picked up the watch which looked like a metal wristband with a small digital screen, with the date and time displayed in glowing green letters.

"Well," said Alex with a smile as he turned off the tablet and pocketed the sonic, "let's get started." Placing the watch on his wrist he turned towards the door, "As 10 would say, Allons-y."