Chapter 29: End of the Line
Arty lounged across the jump set biting her tongue, trying to keep from busting out into laughter as the Doctor jumped away to another ship. Handles rested upon the console, staring off silently into the void.
"I bring proof of courage and comradeship. What is this ship and why are you here? Identify yourselves by species and planet of origin." The Doctor's voice rang through the console room. After a moment of pause, she could faintly hear the cry for the Doctor's demise in the distance. "ARTY?! Get me out of here?!" Arty chuckled as she kicked her feet in the air, letting him sweat a little. "Seriously, get me out of here. I'm sorry for stealing your cake, but is the punishment really equate to letting me get exterminated by Daleks?!" Arty rolled her eyes before jumping up hitting a button on the center console. The Doctor materialized on the stairwell behind her.
"Every ship I go on, they just shoot at me. Handles, I said put me on a ship. I didn't say put me on a Dalek ship. Don't put me on a Dalek ship, when I'm holding a broken bit of Dalek." He smacked the cyber head with the Dalek plunger, but it bounced back to smack himself in his head. He cried out in pain and alarm. Arty snorted in laughter as she slumped back into the jump seat.
"You did not indicate a preference." Handles stated with a monotone voice.
"Use your head!"
"Are you really arguing with a dismembered head of a cyberman?"
"Yes I am. It's not like he has got a lot of alternatives. They're all here. Daleks, Sonatarans, Terileptils, Siltheen. They're not even fighting, they're just parked. Why?"
"The message was received throughout the universe." Handles declared.
"Yes, yes, the message, the message. Even I can't translate it. I mean, why is everyone here if they don't understand it?"
"You're here."
Arty chuckled. "Called out by the dismembered head of a cyberman you've made you assistant … harsh."
"Shut up. I'm OCD, what's their excuse? What does this message mean?" The phone just outside the Tardis door began to ring. The Doctor sighed in frustration, plopping Handles back on his stand. "Oh, no. And remind me I've got to patch the telephone back through the console unit. This is getting ridiculous."
As the Doctor's hands touched the door, Handles interrupted. He turned on the spot and focused is attention back on the figure head. "Attention! Information available. You must patch the telephone device back through the console unit."
"No, no, no, not now! Remind me later!"
"When?"
"I don't know, just later, just pick a time."
"Will you never learn. You've got to be specific. It's a cybernetic head" Arty joked.
"When?"
"I don't know, just any old time just when you think I've forgotten."
"When?"
"Just pick a random number, express this number as a quantity of minutes, and when that time has elapsed, remind me to patch the telephone back through the console unit."
"Affirmative." Arty rolled her eyes at the pairs antics as the man she loved marched off to answer the telephone. The pair had been getting on each other's nerves since they entered the planet's atmosphere three days ago (well as much as you can get on the nerves of a cybernetic head). Shortly after dropping Matthew off at Coal Hill, Arty had hopped off to land with her current Doctor. Her muscle ached more with each passing day. The news of her condition pressed at the back of her mind, distracting her daily thoughts, and haunting her dreams. The Doctor tried to keep her busy to distract her, but not every moment could be filled with adventure. She often found her mind wondered to the figures hiding in the forest. The Angel lurking in her mind waiting to take over.
"Hello the Tardis." Arty jumped at the sound of the Doctor's voice, breaking through the ravine of her thoughts. "Ding Dong. Brilliant. However, I feel like Arty won't approve, and she would not participate in a thruple. She is a little territorial…." Arty raised her eyes at the man in confusion as he listens to his phone companion flittering about the room. "Oh, that was quick. It's a roller coaster, this phone call, but Arty would be grateful… Well, I hope you're nicer to the next one… So?"
"Well, you're quite dense, Theta." Arty chastised. "I can't even hear the other half of the conversation and even I know what she's insinuating."
"Yeah, I did that once. And there's no easy way to get rid of an android." He turned to his love. "And as for you, Arty. You would know anyway. You could probably quote every word she was saying if you tried."
"You are not wrong."
The Doctor got distracted by something on the Tardis display. "Handles, that a new ship. Okay, we'll take the Tardis this time…." As the Doctor flitted about the console while holding Handles, causing him to drop the phone. "Sorry missed that last bit. Gotta dash."
"Make good choices, my dear!" Arty yelled as he rushed out the door. She gently tapped her foot as she waited for the Doctor's mad dash, to escape homicidal humanoid machinery. The Doctor dashed through the door, only to stick his head back out the door to grab the ringing phone.
"I'm being shot at by Cybermen!"
"I told you to make good choices. You shouldn't have taken Handles." Arty chastised, turning to the figure head. "No offense, dear."
"I cannot feel offense, my Angel." Handles replied.
"Oh great. The cyberman is hitting on Arty. Fine! I'll be your boyfriend. We can do both. Yeah, why not? Dinner and Cyberman. What could possibly go wrong?"
"Oh famous last words, coming from the Doctor." Arty snarked.
*******TIME SKIP*******
Clara came racing into the Tardis doors to discover the Doctor standing in the middle of the console room sans clothing. "Oh Doctor! No! Why did you and Arty come here after that? At least get changed first!"
"Hey!" Arty barked from the jump seat completely clothed. "This is all him. I had nothing to do with it. Do you seriously think I would let that happen?"
"If it wasn't because of you and Arty… getting it on. Why are you naked?"
"Because I was going to church."
"Doctor, humans typically don't go to church in the nude.
The Doctor tapped a couple buttons on the console before there was a zap, and he was fully clothed. Well at least to Clara's eyes. "Better?"
"Huh? That was quick."
"Hologram clothes, projecting directly on to your visual cortex."
"So you're still naked underneath?"
"Everybody's naked underneath."
Arty adverted her eyes as the Doctor wondered past the jump seat. "Clara I can confirm he is still naked underneath. He only projected the clothes onto your visual cortex. Not mine."
"Ugh! Don't say things like that, why Doctor. Why must you too be all flirty in front of me? It's Christmas. Both of you come meet my family."
Arty leapt to her feet, racing to cut off the pair at the door, grabbing the pile of clothes under the chair. Obviously, Clara did not get the hint. Arty held up the pile of clothes to the Doctor. "Nope, Doctor. You are not walking out that door until you get truly dressed. No one wants to see you in the nude."
"But he holographic whatever his clothes onto his body." Clara protest.
"Oh, no, sweet Clara. He projected his clothes onto your eyes. Only your eyes. He would have run right into your family dinner full on nude, with no thought of how awkward it would be." The woman's eyes widen in fear. She grabbed the clothes and slammed them into the Doctor's chest.
"Go! Change! Now!" The Doctor huffed before stalking off to change.
*******TIME SKIP*******
Clara goes bouncing into the dining room. "Hello! So, er, here he is!"
"Hello, the Oswald's, hello! Merry Christmas. Hello, hello! Hello, handsome." The Doctor greeted each of his companion's family members individually, giving her grandmother a kiss on each cheek. "Anyone for Twister?"
"So. This is the Doctor. My boyfriend."
"Oh, and this is my girlfriend, Artemis."
She couldn't help but snort at the family's eyes as they widened in surprise. "Sorry, we're Swedish. Monogamy is a weird concept in our culture." Arty tried to justify the Doctor's crazy antics, but it obviously didn't make it any better. "Right. We should go check on the turkey. You all enjoy the food, thus far. We will be back shortly." Arty pulled the pair into the kitchen to avoid the stares. The trio raced through the hallway, with Clara thrusting the door shut behind them.
The Doctor tossed open the oven door. The turkey was bordering on raw as if Clara had just put it in the oven. "Oh, that's never going to work, is it?"
"What's wrong? Do you think it's not done yet?"
"I think a decent vet would give it an even chance."
"Okay, well use an app."
"An app?"
"On your screwdriver, app it."
"Most certainly not, it doesn't do Turkey. Nothing does Turkey, you'd need a time machine." Clara looked at him expectantly, while Arty rolled her eyes exasperated. "What?"
*******TIME SKIP*******
"You can't keep using the Tardis like this." The Doctor threw open the doors to his ship in frustration with Clara and turkey in tow.
"Like what?"
"Missed birthdays, restaurant bookings. And please just learn how to use iPlayer."
The pair skipped down the console stairs to the lower level. The Doctor opened one of the storage areas exposing the inner mechanisms of the Tardis control systems. "Ooh, vortex cooking?"
"Exposure to the time winds. It'll either come up a treat, or just possibly lay some eggs."
"Information available." Handles cried from the upper level.
"What's that?" Clara questioned.
"Just the head of a Cyberman that the Doctor has jury rigged into being his technical assistant. How the Tardis hasn't gotten jealous, I will never know." Arty commented as the hobbled back up to the main level. "Luckily the organics are all gone. It would be grotesque to still have parts of a living person in there. He bought it at a Maldovar market about a week back when I landed here. However, he really needs to get updated on his currency exchange rates. He accidently shortchanged the merchant by half. Nearly got his own head cut off in the process. But that's the Doctor, never a dull moment."
"Oi! Like you would have done any better?!" The Doctor yelped tossing the leaver to put them into flight. Arty hit the stabilizer switch as the entire ship lurched.
"Well at least I don't need an assistant to fly my own ship correctly."
"Planet identified, from analysis of message." Handles reported.
"Right cool, go on then tell us, what is the planet? Go on."
"Processing official designation…Processing…"
"Okay, in your own time, dear, don't rush."
"It's okay, Handles. Take your time. Doctor we really need to work on your patience." Arty snarked.
"So why haven't you just gone down there, had a look?" Clara inquired.
"It's shielded. Even the Tardis can't break through it."
"Gallifrey." Handles reported in a monotone voice. The Doctor's mindless button pushing stopped. He turned to the cyberman in surprise. Arty looked at him sadly.
"What did you say?"
"Gallifrey."
"What are talking about, Gallifrey? What do you mean?"
"Confirmed. Planet designation, Gallifrey." The Doctor ripped the head off the stand before walking over to Tardis monitor. The two women looked at each other sadly, before glancing back at their companion.
"You see that. Gallifrey is my home, I know it when I see it. That is not Gallifrey!" He slammed the head on the console unit before stalking off to the door.
"Doctor. Are you okay?" Clara questioned.
"It's not Gallifrey. Gallifrey's gone." He insisted sticking his head out the door.
"Nothing is impossible, Theta." Arty pleaded. "As long as you have hope. Not everything might be as it seems, but trust in Handles. The message is in fact from Gallifrey."
"I trust you Arty, but even if it survived, it's gone from this universe. That is not my home! It can't be." At the sound of a loud horn, the trio glanced back out the door to see square shaped ship hovering outside the Tardis. "It's the Papal Mainframe. It's like a great big flying church. The first ship to arrive. They're the ones who shielded the planet, they can get us down there." A large image of Tasha Lem appeared on the side of the ship. The Doctor bowed to the figure.
"Friend of yours?"
"Tasha Lem, the Mother Superious." The figure waved her finger towards them. "Oh, she's inviting us aboard.
"Why?"
"Because I asked her. Both of you, swallow this." The Doctor passed two capsules to the woman. Arty sighed in frustration.
"What is it?" Clara questioned.
"Your hologram projector. You can't go to church with your clothes on. Which thanks to Arty I now must get out of mine… Again."
"Hey! It would have been weird to show up to Oswald dinner without clothes. So, sorry for being the only person here to recognize the difference between human and time lord social cues." Arty snarked. "Now, I am going privately defrock since you insist on us participating in this ludicrous tradition. I think you can handle not crashing the ship."
Arty slipped just around the corner into one of the corridors to pull off her clothes. Even though she could feel like she was pulling her clothes off and could see the pile on the floor, visibly there was still clothes on her body. She faintly heard a knock at the turn behind her.
"Is it safe to come around?" The Doctor questioned.
Arty sighed. "I guess."
"I'm sorry. I know the last adventure was difficult for you. And the pain you are going through must be immense right now, if at any time you need to sit out just tell me. Because of the Weeping Angels you no longer have a choice in your life and I'm sorry."
"Theta, no matter what I will not abandon you. I love you with all my heart. I will be with you, until the end." She gently took his hand and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Now let's go met this crazy church lady."
He curled his nose in protest. "Just a little piece of advice. I suggest not calling her a crazy church lady to her face."
"I don't know. She seems like someone who might appreciate the honesty." Arty shrugged while leading the man out by their intertwined hands. Clara followed the couple out of the main doors into an open space which was parishioners. At the end of line, stood Tasha Lem.
"I don't feel like I'm wearing anything." Clara whispered.
"I know, relaxing, isn't it?" The Doctor replied excitedly.
"What is this place?"
"The Church of the Papal Mainframe, security hub of the known universe."
"A security church?"
"Yep. Keeping you safe in this world and the next. I venerate the exaltation of the Mother Superious." The Doctor gave a bow to the woman, while the two women gave a small curtsey.
"Welcome to the Church of the Papal Mainframe. Your nudity is appreciated." One of the soldiers dictated causing Clara to fidget awkwardly.
"Hey Babes! New Body, you're looking tight."
"Ah, Um haven't seen you since my eighth regeneration… yeah lot to catch up. Quite a few regenerations since then. This Tasha Lem, the Head of the Church of the The Papel Mainframe." He turned to Clara first. "This is Clara Oswald, my um… traveling companion. And this is Artemis Hansen, my Angel and love."
Tasha Lem scowled at Arty as if she was gum on the bottom of shoe. "Are you married?"
"Uh? Well… It's complicated."
"We'll go to my chapel. All honors in place, no sacrifices required. The trio followed the woman down a set of winding corridors towards her chambers.
"It was Tasha who shielded the planet. But you could sneak me down there, couldn't you, Tash?"
"I would have conditions. I have confidential matters to discuss with the Doctor." Tasha turned to the two women. "Would you excuse us?"
"Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of them. Well, correction everything you can say in front of Arty, most things to Clara. Maybe a smidge under… Actually, Clara can you wait outside."
"I would feel better if it was just, you and I, Doctor."
"Arty stays, there is no negations." Tasha scowled in jealousy before stalking into her chamber. The trio lingered in the hallway.
"Are you trying to anger the church?" Arty angerly whispered.
"I am trying not to anger you?!" He whispered back. All the tension blead from her shoulders. She gave him a small nod before going into the chamber with him at her heals.
*******TIME SKIP*******
Every time Tasha tried to flirt with the Doctor, he simply evaded her advances until Clara stormed into the room to escape the Silence. Arty felt like she was watching a game of cat and mouse that was going nowhere. "Right, this my personal teleport. I can put you down just outside the town. Find the source of the message and report back to me in one hour. But I can only send two at a time.
"Send the Doctor and Clara first." Arty commented. "I'll be fine on my own. I know what to expect down there and where to go. When you land Doctor, head straight to the town. I'll meet you there."
"Fine, but I would like to go on record that I am against this plan." The Doctor grumbled.
"Noted." Arty smirked.
"And on your life, Doctor, you will cause no trouble down there."
"When do I? Arty, don't answer that." He closed the curtain on the teleport, but Tasha reopened it, holding out her hand.
"I'm not an idiot. Everyone in this church is trained to see straight through holograms."
"Ah great." Clara grumbled.
"Give. Now. You are taking no technology of any kind down there."
"What can I do with a key? You, in, now." Clara reluctantly slipped off the altar bed and stepped into the other half of the teleport.
"You could summon your Tardis."
"The Tardis doesn't work by remote. But fine, if it makes you feel any better, there we are." He handed her the key reluctantly than snapped the curtain back. The pair disappeared in a flash of yellow light leaving Arty alone with Tasha.
"So, how long have you known the Doctor?"
"Well, that's a complicated question. I've known him for about seven years and eight months. He's known me for over a hundred years at this point in his life. While he calls himself the eleventh Doctor, he's technically in his 13th regeneration."
"Which means this is his last." Tasha replied solemnly.
"Yes. This is the end of the line. I jump back and forth along his timeline. Never meeting him in the right order. Today I could be with his eleventh incarnation and his ninth the next. It gives me a little bit of whiplash, but I love him all the same."
"And it seems that he loves you."
"I would hope so."
Tasha sighed. "Honestly, I don't want to like you. I'm jealous of you. But you seem like you are good for him and you make him happy. Protect him."
"Until the end of my days." Tasha gave her a firm nod as she stepped onto the teleportation platform. A flash of bright yellow light blinded her vision as she was transported onto the planet's surface below. Her eyes adjusted to see visage of an Angel staring back at her and feeling the pulsing surface of the Tardis at her back. She pushed open the Tardis doors and slipped inside. She slammed the door shut.
"Okay, homing in on the mysterious message." The Doctor monologued. "Oh, yes, I like that, the mysterious message."
"You shaved your head?" Clara questioned.
"Yep. Clever plan to get us past the shield."
"You got bored one night, didn't you?"
"Yeah, tiny bit bored. But in my defense, Arty got distracted in the Library of Alexandria for the third time and left me alone in the Tardis. Mistakes were made."
"Oh, don't you dare blame that on me." Arty argued. "You need to learn self-control."
"Is that what happened to your eyebrows?"
"No, they're just delicate. Right, setting us down near the signal source. I'm going to turn the engine on silent don't want to make a fuss." The Doctor flipped the wrong switch making the engines grind in protest. Arty reached across the console and turned the engines on silent. Clara took the wig off Handles and tossed it at the Doctor.
"Put it back on. Your ears are like rocket fins."
The Doctor looked at Arty in protest she shrugged sheepishly. "She's not wrong."
*******TIME SKIP*******
"Now, what do we make of this place?" The Doctor scanned the town with his sonic in curiosity. "It's two o'clock in the afternoon, must be very short days here. The message is coming from that tower…" The trio caught eyes with a couple which were approaching from a distance. "Right. Arty and I are a couple from the next town, and you are her sister. My name's probably Hank or Rock, something like that. Hello. Good to meet you. Nice snow."
"Most please to meet you too." The man smiled.
"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. I stole a time machine and ran away; I've been flouting the principle law of my own people ever since and my wife jumps back and forth across my timeline so half the time I see her we haven't been married yet and it kills me every time." He slaps his hand over his mouth in surprise. "That wasn't quite what I was meant to say!"
"I'm from another universe but was forced here by a touch of a Weeping Angel, where our DNA was merged together and I'm slowly turning to stone. I'm in love with Time Lord standing next to me, which I know I will be married to in the future, but I always feel guilty when I have to pretend, I don't know that cause you know spoilers." She slapped her hand over her mouth.
"I'm an English teacher from the planet Earth, but I've run off with a man from space because I really fancy…" She covered her mouth before she could continue.
"I think, perhaps, you should stop talking till you get used to it."
"Used to what?" The Doctor inquired.
"What did you say your name was?"
"Bubbly personality masking bossy control freak!" Clara squeaked out.
"Unstable Angel who can't emotionally deal with stressed caused by her situation."
"I'm wearing a wig. No, ah, I see. Yes. Of course. It's a truth field. Oh, that's so quaint, I haven't seen a truth field in years! I'm wearing a wig!"
"No one can lie in this town." The man stated. "Especially this close to the tower."
"Doesn't that make life a bit difficult?" The couple of course had conflicting answers as most would. "This town, what's it called?"
"It's Christmas." The man said.
"It's July."
"No, the town. The town is Christmas, that's what it's called. Be happy here. Be well." The couple raised a salutation and walked off to their home, leaving the trio to their own devices.
"How can a town be called Christmas?" Clara questioned.
"I don't know, how can an island be called Easter?" The Doctor recanted. "Maybe it's just nice here. I almost hate to find out what's wrong. The trio hiked their way to across town to the tower, and into the lower level. Just off the stairwell, hidden by the column was an image that started it all. A crack in the wall. A crack that was glowing gold. "There you are. What took you so long?"
"What's wrong? It's only a crack in the wall."
"Not all cracks we see are as they seem. Some span beyond the physical plane. Tear down this wall, that crack will still be there. This crack in reality itself, not in the wall." Arty mumbled as she placed her head on the Doctor's shoulder.
"I knew. I always knew it wasn't over. Someone must be using the scar tissue from Big Bang two to get through."
"I'm sorry, Big Bang two?" Clara questioned.
"Long story, we don't have time for that." Arty reasoned. "Handles was right when he said the planet of origin was Gallifrey. Your planet isn't gone, it's just in another universe, and they would be the first ones to try and get back home." She reached into his pocket to pull out a small disk. "We'll use the Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey to help Handles translate, and I promise Doctor, you will see." Arty placed the seal on Handles forehead. "But I don't promise you will like the message."
"Message decoding. Message analysis proceeding. Information available. The message is a request for information."
"It's a question. Why can't you just say it's a question?" The Doctor bellowed.
"It is being projected through all of time and space on a repeating cycle."
"The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight."
"Warning: translation will be available to all life-forms in range. Translation follows: Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who?" Arty gently laid her hand on Handles to shut off the translation loop before glancing over at the Time Lord. The man's shoulders had slumped in defeat against the wall above the crack.
"A question only I could answer, a truth field to make sure I'm not lying. The only other person capable of answering is Arty, and she wouldn't dare without my permission. If I give my name, they'll know they've found the right place, and that it's safe to come through."
"The Time Lords?" Clara questioned. "Okay, so what then? If you answer the question, and they come back, what happens?
The Doctor got a determined look on his face before digging something out of his pocket. "Ah, you need to take this to the Tardis, put it in the charger slot for the sonic. Take Arty with you."
"Why?"
"Hell. All hell, that's what happens if the Time Lords come back. There's half the universe is up there already waiting to open fire. Now please, go to the Tardis, and just so as I say! Both of you."
Clara raced off. Arty took a deep breath before calling; "I'll be right behind you."
"No Arty you need to go."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. You might think you have Clara fooled, but I'm not an idiot, Doctor. I know what's going to happen. You aren't sending me away, to live on Earth for the rest of my days. I am choosing to live them with you."
"Arty, this is the end of the line. There are no more adventures, no more traveling the world. This is the final stand. I will die here, which means so would you."
"And I'm alright with that. The towns nice quaint, I could see building a life here. With the Angel constantly pounding away at my head, it's not like a have many more days left.
"I need you safe."
"I can't lose you!"
"I can't be the one to bury you!" Arty took a sharp breath before giving a firm kiss on the lips. She firmly held his check before pulling away. She could hear the Tardis dematerialize in the distance, taking Clara with it. The couple pressed their forehead together solemnly, basking in the last moment of piece.
"Doctor! Speak with me." Tasha's voice echoed through the Tower from above. The Doctor dramatically tossed his jacket back on, and Arty reached up over smooth over his collar. "Doctor! Face me now." The pair turned to the stairwell and winded their way up the clock tower, hand in hand. In the sky above, resided the visage of Tasha Lem glaring down at the pair below.
"Mother Superious, there is only thing I need from you, this planet, what's it called?"
"Trenzalore." The Doctor's breath hitched, he squeezed Arty's hand tightly. "If you speak your name the Time Lords will return."
"If they return, they will come in peace."
"It doesn't matter, they will be met with a war that will never end. The Time War will begin anew! You know that Doctor!"
"They're asking for my help!"
"And if you give it, war will be the consequence. I will not let that happen… at any cost. Speak you name and this world will burn!"
The Doctor looked at Arty for confirmation before she nodded. She took his sonic and pointed it at the town bell. "No! This planet is protected." The Bell rang loudly, reverberating through the entire town, waking every man, woman and child causing them to gather in the town square looking for answers.
*******TIME SKIP*******
"So, you lot, quick word, thank you. Spot of news. Christmas has a new sheriff and deputy. Hello, everyone. I'm the Doctor and this is my…"
Arty could see the pain and struggle in his eyes. There would be enough of that in his future. A truth field is a funny thing when you're a time traveler. Something will be true in the future can technically be true now. "I'm his wife Artemis Hansen. But you can call me Arty." The pair smiled at each other gleefully before looking at the townspeople. The years passed in a blur, each getting harder and harder. Every new enemy finding new and creative ways to circumvent the Doctor and Arty's defense systems. The pair spent their times learning more about each other's past and hopes for the future (without spoilers of course).
Despite their close companionship, does not mean they were not without disagreements. "We have an opportunity here, Theta!" Arty cried. "Everyone else is scared. Lily is scared. She nowhere else to go. We have perfect little room off the clock tower that she can make her own. Her parents died in the last attack, she can't keep living with the Johnson's, their house is bursting at the seams as it is!"
"We aren't ready to raise a child! We have enough on our plate as it is."
"What are you so afraid of?"
"Lily is human. Are you ready to watch her die?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you haven't notice, Arty?"
The woman began to hyperventilate in confusion. "Theta, you better explain right now, what the hell you are saying."
He sighed in frustration. "Without the Tardis I can't confirm, and she's run off to god knows where but… you've stop aging."
"I don't understand."
"Okay. For all intent and purposes, Weeping Angels are immortal. They are made of stone and can absorb an abundance of potential time energy to regenerate any damage. This means they can live for a millennium or more. You will outlive any child we bring into our lives. Do you want to go through that? Can you go through that?"
Arty whimpered before stealing her nerves. "Theta, we can't keep living in fear. Whether we adopt these wayward children or not, we are going to watch them grew old and die. We are going to see generations come and go in this town and only have each other. So why can't we do a little good in their lives while we can." He gave a solemn nod in understanding and gentle kiss on the cheek. The couple didn't only adopt one child during their time on Trenzalore. The Doctor's enemies left many children orphaned and alone, searching for a place to call home: Lily, Thomas, Casper, Richard, Marley, Casey, Avery, and Caroline. Through their total of five hundred years on the planet, the couple have seen the children grow old and build their own families, building generations upon generations.
But not all moments were rainbows and sunshine. As the years progressed, Arty's health deteriorated. By year 300 she became paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair due to the Angel's continued attack. One afternoon, Arty was resting in her chair with little Marley in her lap reading a Christmas Carol when a bell rang in the distance. Her eyes caught with the Doctor working at his workbench. An enemy had breached their perimeter. An elderly Doctor hobbled out the door while Arty rolled out after him with Marley still in her lap. His arms clinging to her neck in fear.
"I'm scared, mommy." Marley whimpered.
"It's all going to be alright, baby. Your father's going to take care of the nasty old creature. Don't you worry."
"Now then, what do we have today?" The Doctor bellowed. "Don't you move one step further. Wooden cyberman. Nice, like it. Low-tech, doesn't set off the alarms upstairs."
"Props to figuring out how to not set yourself on fire while using a flame thrower." Arty snarked. "How many cyberman did you lose in early trials?" The cyberman clenched his fist like western gunslinger, ready for a duel. The Doctor followed suit. Arty wrapped her arms around Marley tucking his head into her shoulder. Simultaneously, the Cyberman raised his flame thrower arm while the Doctor varnished his sonic.
"Only bit of tech allowed in, got in before the truce. Now, I just sent an instruction to your firearm, to reverse the polarity and fire out the back end. Now, as we're standing in a truth field, you'll understand I cannot be lying. If you like, you can scan my screwdriver, verify that's the signal I sent."
The cyberman waited a moment to confirm before redirected his weapon. "Signal verified." He fired his weapon back at himself hitting himself in the chest.
"Yes, I probably should have mentioned, this doesn't work on wood! Send your friends up there a message from the Doctor. You tell them… The Doctor stays." He gave the cyberman a shove which tipped him over with his cane, finally shutting down from the damage caused. Marley slipped his head out of Arty's shoulder to look at the scene. Seeing that the danger had past, he jumped out of his mother's lap and raced to his father's side. The Doctor swept the boy into his arms giving him a kiss on the check. The years had not been kind to the Doctor but he tried to give his children as much as possible.
The celebration of the defeat of the wooden cyberman lasted all night long. As the Doctor lead the dance of the drunk giraffe, Marley giggled from his mother's lap. Arty raised the boys' arms in the air to get him to join in with his father. As the dancing party dispersed, the family approached a particular boy dressed in colorful overalls.
"How's your father's barn?"
"You've fixed the leak all right, but he says it's bigger on the inside now!"
"Doctor!" Arty cried. "I'd told you about over advancing during basic repairs. Barnable, don't tell the others. They will only get jealous."
A familiar wheezing sound caused a hush over the town. Everyone's attention turned to the magically appearing blue police box in the center of town. "Well, where have you been for 300 years?" The Doctor bellowed.
"What's that?" Marley mumbled.
"It's my ship." The Doctor cried. "It's my Tardis. That's how I got here in the first place."
"Mommy, does this mean that you are going to leave?"
Arty looked at the little boy in surprise. She could hear Barnable echo the same question to the Doctor. "Never, my child. We will not abandon you. Marley, while we did not give birth to you, you are our child. We love you and will never leave you." The Tardis gave a solid thump as it landed. Standing against the door was Clara frozen in shock from the time vortex. As the Doctor approached her, he poked her in the back with his cane and she took a sharp inhale.
"What are you doing here?" the Doctor howled.
"I was in space."
"You were in the time vortex. She must have extended the force field. No wonder she's late dragging you around."
"You tricked me. Both of you!"
"I saved you."
"You didn't even save goodbye."
"I'm am furious with you. Well, I'm not even talking to you." The two chuckled playful before jumping into each other's arms.
*******TIME SKIP*******
Arty lounged in her chair on the upper level of the bell tower. The Doctor and Clara climbed through the hatch to join her. Arty glanced up at her love. "Marley is sound asleep in his bed. Hopefully for the rest of the night. He put up quite a fight, but after an adventurous bedtime story he dozed off peacefully."
"I'm glad, it's been a stressful few day for him." The man replied.
"Is he your son?" Clara questioned.
"Not by blood, but in all the ways that matter." Arty replied.
"Is he the first child you've adopted?"
"No, he's the fifth. Marley is the youngest by far though."
"How has the battle been?"
The Doctor polished the silver on the head of Handles. "Well, It's a stand-off. They can't attack in case I unleash the Time Lords and I can't run away, because they'll burn this planet to stop the Time Lords. Aye after all these years, I finally found somewhere that needs me to stick around. Ha… A town called Christmas. Could've been worse." He gave one final polish and adjustment on cyber head. "Right, there you go, buddy. Comfy?"
"Comfort is irrelevant." He adjusted the head slightly.
"How is that? Better."
"Affirmative."
"You just take it easy, buddy."
"He's getting better. I do my best for him, but I just can't get the parts, you know? Know the feeling."
Clara picked up and sniffed a marshmallow in trepidation. "Where do you get these?"
"I have a supplier; the pink ones are the best." He took a solid bite out of a fresh marshmallow before handing the rest to Arty. It had become their tradition to always split them.
Handles made a whining noise stuttering: "I have developed a fault."
"Hey, don't you worry, Handles, you're just dreaming. Sun's coming up very soon, you just hang on in there."
"I have developed a fault, I…I have developed a fault."
"Eh, Handles." The Doctor picked up his Cyber companion to stare into his eyes. "Come on. Come on. One more dawn. You can do it. You've got it in you, just hang on in there."
"Attention! Emergency! Attention!"
"Handles? What is it, what's wrong?"
"Urgent action required! You must patch the telephone device back through the console unit." The cybernetic voice trailed off as the lights went out on their companion. The energy in the Doctor collapsed. Arty rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder.
"Goodnight, Handles." Arty whispered. "Sleep tight."
"Thank you, Handles, and well done, mate." The Doctor continued as he set the figure head back on the pillow. The trio quietly watched the sunrise together.
"How exactly did you get up the stairs Arty? No offense." Arty questioned.
"The Doctor is obsessed with making everything anti-grav. I've tried to stop him, but he just keeps doing it." She chuckled at his antics holding his hand.
As the sun crested over the hilltop, the Doctor posed the question "What do you think of my new place? Come up once a day, for a few minutes, remind myself of what it is I'm protecting."
"It's beautiful." Clara agreed. "Why did you send my away?"
"Because if I hadn't, I'd have buried you a long time ago."
"No, you wouldn't. I'd never let you get stuck here."
"Ha, everyone gets stuck somewhere eventually, Clara. Everything ends."
"Except you." Clara whispered.
"Have you been paying attention? I'm an old man now."
"But you don't die. You change. You pop right back up with a new face."
"No, not forever. I can change 12 times, 13 variations of me. 13 silly Doctors."
"Okay, so you're number 11, so.."
"No, Clara." Arty interrupted. "This is his 13th incarnation. There was the War Doctor, which we often forget even though he didn't call himself the Doctor. Then there was the time the tenth Doctor regenerated without changing his face."
"I had vanity issues at the time." The Doctor grumbled.
"At least you recognize you had a problem
"Twelve regenerations, Clara. I can't ever do it again. This is where I end up. Arty will most likely have to bury me here. I was so scared it would have to be the other way around, I never fathomed the idea of the opposite. This face. This version of me. We saw this planet in the future, remember? I didn't understand all the little gravestones surrounding mine at the time, but now I do. It's all our children, their families. Standing vigil above my final grave is an Angel. My guardian Angel. This is the end of our story."
"You got your Tardis back."
"Ha! You think we're going to fly away, abandon everyone?"
"'Course not! But you've been protecting this town for over 300 years, do you not think it's anybody else's go yet?"
"These is nobody else to protect it."
"There won't be a you forever. It's gonna end the same way, whatever you do."
"Every life I save is a victory. Every single one."
"What about your life? Just for once, after all of this time, have you two not earned the right to think about that? Be able to settle down in peace together."
"Clara, I have everything I want right here."
"Doctor!" The large figure head of Tasha Lem reappeared in the sky.
"Look who's woken up!"
"The Church of the Silence requests parlay. Your rights and safety are sanctified."
"I'll be right up."
"Nah, don't bother. I got me motor back."
"It's gone dark." Clara mumbled.
"Yeah, well the suns gone down."
"Already?"
"Everything ends, Clara."
Arty gently laid her hand on the Doctor's elbow. "I'm going to check on Marley. That was sure to have woken him. Please be careful Doctor."
"I promise, dear. I will."
*******TIME SKIP*******
Two parallel scenes were happening simultaneously, Arty rolled into Marley's bedroom to the boy sitting up wide eyed on the bed staring at his mother. He whimpered in sadness. "Mommy, are you two leaving me?"
"Us? Leaving you? Never! We might have to step away for a moment, but we would never leave you. You father just has to take a short trip to visit an old friend, but he'll be back shortly. Don't you worry." Arty used her arms to pull herself into the bed next to her son. The boy cuddled himself into his side under the blanket.
"But I don't want him to leave!"
"I know you don't sweetie, but we don't always get a choice. With a man like the Doctor, we sometimes must accept he isn't just our father or partner, but also savior of the universe. We share him with the world, but that's okay. He will be back soon, and we will give him big hug and kiss when he returns. Do you understand?"
"Yes." He pouted but nodded.
"Why don't I tell you a story about your father?"
"Can you?"
"Alright. Um… okay. Once there was a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey where the iridescent Orange sky glowed to highlight the two suns floating in the air. This man was a kind man. A man that spent his days traveling across time and space to save worlds and cultures without an expectation of repayment in return. One day he met a woman who would forever change his world. This woman's name was Artemis Hansen."
"That's you, mommy!"
"Yes Marley. She was special because she came from another universe. She knew everything about the Doctor. All his strengths and all his weakness. The two supported each other no matter what happened, or what trials they faced. After many years, they found themselves living in a quaint little town called Christmas. There they took in a little boy. This little boy was very brave and strong. He brought the couple together and made the pair stronger so they could face every struggle." She looked over to find that Marley had dozed off. She laid her head down to join him. As the time ticked by, she waited until she heard the faint sound of the Tardis materializing outside the clock tower.
Another 200 years passed by before Tasha Lem approached Arty, she was sitting in the main room of the clock tower watching the Doctor stare off into space. His energy had declined since they buried their most recent child Caroline a little over a month ago. "His time is almost up." Tasha declared.
"I know."
"And so is yours."
"I know. Breathing gets harder every day."
"If you go first, he shouldn't be alone."
"Clara should be with him. I can fly the Tardis. He is too lost in his thoughts to notice I am gone." Arty rolled away to the little blue box. Arty rolled about the console room setting the coordinates to pick up Clara. The woman burst through the doors holding a white and gold Christmas cracker. When she saw Arty and Tasha Lem, she deflated.
"You look horrible." Clara stated bluntly.
"Hey! You don't look any better yourself."
"Wait. If you're here, what happened to the Doctor."
Arty sighed. She reset the coordinates for the return journey. As they exited back in Christmas, fire burned all around them. Arty rolled off to the clock tower to rejoin her love as he waited. The man sat in a rocking chair carving a little wooden dog toy in front of the crack. "Caroline? Are you home, Sweetie?"
"No, it's Clara." The Doctor dropped the little toy and sat up to look at the pair. "Hello, Doctor."
"Were you always so young?"
"Hah. That was you." Clara walked over to kneel with the Doctor. They split the Christmas cracker. When the Doctor didn't have the strength to pull it, Arty gently laid her hand on top of his and helped him pull. Clara dug out the sheet of paper for the poem.
"Is there a joke? Huh?"
"Extract from Thoughts On A Clock by Eric Ritchie Junior."
"Is it a knock-knock one? Those are the best."
"I don't think so. 'And now it's time for one last bow, Like all your other selves, Eleven's hour is over now, The clock is striking twelve's.'" The Doctor's eyebrow's furled in confusion.
"I don't get it."
"Doctor! The Doctor will be brought! The Daleks demand the Doctor." The voice of the Dalek's echoed through the top of the tower. Christian, Caroline's grandchild came racing through the door.
"The Daleks, we can't stop them. They want you." Christian panted.
"Oh, all right, Barnable. Are you Barnable?"
"No, Doctor?"
"It's okay, Barnable. I have got a plan. Off you pop." The boy raced back off, leaving the trio in the tower's main room. "I haven't got a plan. But people love it when I say that!"
"Doctor, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Talk very fast, hope something good happens, take the credit. That's generally how it works. Not this time, thought. This is it. We saw the future, Clara. This is how it ends." The Doctor began hobbling up the stairs. Clara stared off helpless before whipping to face Arty.
"Stop him!"
"I'm sorry Clara, I can't. I don't have much longer. The Angel has almost completely taken over. I can barely breath. Even if I could reason with him, them minute I'm gone there will be nothing to stop him."
Clara raced to stop him, but the Doctor interrupted. "No, you will stay here. Grant me this. Let me save you. One last victory… my impossible girl." He gave her a firm hug. Before stepping away and looking over at Arty in her chair. "My sweet Angel. I love you. I'll see you on the other side."
"Goodbye my love. Stay safe, Theta." Arty whispered with her last breath. The Doctor let a single tear rolled down his face as Arty's muscles froze to stone. Her skin began to take on a stone like hue. He rolled back his shoulders and limped up the stairwell to the upper deck, leaving Clara in the main room. Clara paced the room searching for a solution. Her eyes caught the glowing golden crack before determinedly stalking over to kneel at it.
"Listen to me you lot. Listen. Help them. Help him change the future. Do it! Do something. You've been asking a question, and it's someone told you, you've been getting it wrong. His name, his name is the Doctor. And he must always have his Angel by his side. Everything you need to know about him. And if you love him… and you should… help them. Help them." Clara collapsed in defeat. The crack closed with a snap. The woman gave one last look to the sealed wall, and one last to a frozen Arty before racing out to the crowd outside.
Arty sat frozen in her chair, trapped in her mind. The Angel's form working through her body. She could faintly register the Doctor and the Dalek's argument on the platform above. With each passing moment she could feel herself slipping further away, until the crack reappeared in the wall. A wisp of yellow energy wrapped around her body and she took a breath of fresh air. He sore muscle ached but they released after years of miss use. After panting to regain her breath, she struggled to her feet using every surface in the room to keep herself from collapsing to the floor due to muscle atrophy. She slipped out of the tower to race across the empty town. She ducked out of the away of the Doctor's regeneration energy and into the Tardis.
As she waited for her love to appear, she raced around the ship preparing everything he could possibly need: a fresh pair of clothes, hairbrush, and fish fingers with custard. The man in question gingerly limped into the console room. Arty placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and guided him into the jump seat. She handed him the bowl of fish fingers with custard. The couple quietly past the odd snack back and forth between each other.
"How am still alive? Or I guess the better question is not stone?" Arty questioned.
"If I am right." The Doctor pulled out his sonic to scan her. "You can thank the Time Lords for that. The regeneration energy stabilized your DNA. Don't misunderstand me, you're still part Angel, but it's more of a 50/50 now."
"But if the regeneration energy is stabilizing my DNA, does that also make me part Time Lord." The Doctor scowled.
"Fine. 45/45/10." Arty chuckled playful at his antics. "But this doesn't mean you can regenerate, so please don't try."
"Wasn't planning on it, Theta."
"Thank you, Arty. For everything you have done. Without you, I feel like my world would have collapsed in a long time ago."
"Theta, you are my rock. It is always my pleasure."
"Oh, the beauty of the time we've had together."
"And the many more we have to come." Arty placed her head on his knee as he finished up his final snack. The man sighed in sadness, before lumbered to his feet taking the pile of clothes with him. He slipped off into a corridor to change. Arty stole the jump seat to wait. Clara hesitantly came in searching for any signs of the man. Having finished, the Doctor came walking up from the lower level, redressed in a new suit.
"You're young again, you're okay." Clara cried. "You didn't even change your face."
"Ha. It's started. I can't stop it now. This is just the reset, whole new regeneration cycle, taking a bit longer. Just breaking it in. Oh." The Doctor threw the Tardis into flight. "It all just disappears, doesn't it? Everything you are, gone in a moment. Like breath on a mirror. Any moment now. He's a coming."
"Who's coming?" Clara bellowed.
"The Doctor."
"You… You are the Doctor."
"Yep, and I always will be. But times change, and so must I." Arty watched as his eyes followed an imaginary figure. She stood and walked to his side. "Little Amelia Pond. Arty it's Amelia."
"I know, Theta. She would be so proud of you."
"We all change, when you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives. And that's okay, that's good, you gotta keep moving. So long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me." He leaned down and gave Arty a firm kiss on the forehead. She took a deep breath, felt a sharp pain in her head and disappeared.
Author's Note: Hello everyone. This is the last chapter of the first book! It's finally done. Hope you all like it. I'm going to start book 2 shortly so keep an eye out. -Writercrash