This story/episode is based on: A Better World (short story)

Fictions Mentioned: Doctor Who/Faction Paradox, When They Cry, Shinza Bansho Franchise, Child's Play Franchise, Terminator Franchise, Zettai Karen Children, The Works of Makoto Shinkai, Star Wars Franchise

Episode 18 - Turn Left: A Better World

OP Song:

Kono Yo No Hate De Koi Wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO Opening 2 | MOTHER by Konomi Suzuki

Auteur POV:

It was in a busy street on a busy planet that I first met the most important woman in the universe. Shan Shen was all colours and scents and shouts and music. A land of opportunity for an initiate of the ways of Paradox. And as good a place to hide as any if one wished to avoid the notice of the Last of the Lords of Time, the meddlesome traveller, with the blue box and the outrageous hair.

The most important woman in the universe had red hair. A kind, ordinary face. And, visibly, an attitude. That was not all I smelled on her, however. Concealed in the shadows, I followed, and felt the timelines converging on her. Just Destiny, perhaps, or another influence than mine at play. It mattered not. To one such as myself, a causal nexus with free will is an opportunity in the making. With the end of the War and the fall of the Shining World, the Time Vortex was nearly free. Just one remained. That foolish physician. Trip a wire here, change an event there… perhaps then, the Lords of Time could fall once and for all.

I hadn't the power, myself, enfeebled as I was. But somebody else in this street did. No, forgive me — something else. One of the Brigade. Yes… The girl was but its agent. Its puppet.

"Her Name is Noble," I whispered in the ear of the fortune-teller. "Easy prey. Use her. Feed her to the Beetle. You won't regret it."

But she would, of course. She had no idea. No idea at all how strong the red-haired woman was. She was the most important woman in the universe. And through her, I would make a new world. A better world.

The hungry Beetle gnawed at the red-haired woman's timeline. I jumped a time track, leapt with her down the time corridor. Not the most pleasant method of travel, and it earned my dusty old bones a few more cracks, but this I had to see.

What now? It was Christmas. A Christmas Star descending upon the Earth, and she was not there to stop it. No, she was celebrating. The fool. I was there too, just out of sight, wearing a human guise. Drinking to what was to come. The Death of the Lonely God.

I shared some of my drink with another woman there, a time-sensitive. I think she could see my handiwork, the burden on the woman's back. A blonde girl called Alice, seeing impossible things. It was no threat. Who would believe her? And after all, an Auteur is nothing without an audience.

He died.

I rejoiced. The timelines kept diverging. This was more than a prank, now, more than an experiment. Run through the whole story again, retell it from the ground up. Add more grit, more death, more tragedy to it, make it grander and darker and sadder. That was what I had done, through the Beetle. And I thought it good. Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned dystopia?

I tried to talk to her again, the red-haired woman. I wanted her to know.

She seemed so unhappy, so discontented, as I watched her from afar. Didn't she know? Didn't she feel that this was all her story, that it all revolved around her? She was the most important woman in the universe, now more than ever. Oughtn't she to know? Wouldn't she be proud? Every death, every catastrophe, every tear was her work. Her choice. That power should have set her up above the gods!

I couldn't reach her, though. Standing in my path, time and again, was her. Another blonde time-sensitive — did somebody co!ect them? She was a stranger to my designs, that Wolf-girl. One hadn't been in this world when I'd set the Beetle on Donna. I tried to push her aside, out of my world, of Donna's World. And she punched me in the face.

Curses.

I'd lost track now. The narrative was accelerating. I felt a threat — something not quite dead — the timeship, the last timeship! How could I have forgotten? Who held it? No. The Taskforce?! Where? I looked. I found the lonely warehouse.

Had I had tears to shed, I would have spared one for the spectacle of the blue box in mourning for her pilot. To think I'd done this to her. But it was necessary. For the world. For Paradox. For my Bella Donna.

I had to do more yet. Sabotage the system the humans had jerry-rigged. I knew they could — they would — free my Donna of the Beetle's curse, very soon now. I had to act quickly. Shift a decimal here, skew a mirror there; they had to think it worked, but failed. Then the wrong turn would be Fixed in Time once and for all, and the death of the Renegade would be sealed.

I heard footsteps. There she was. Must hide now. Run. Wait. Watch. Would it work?

I'd shifted the coordinates by a mile. Would that be enough? It would give us a chance. To this world of Paradox, to the Beetle. To her. She'd have another choice to make.

This was her world, she could see that now, I was certain. And sure, it was wrought of pain, of the death of stars.

But it was hers.

Could she trade all that, could she trade herself — for him

For his world?

The answer.

She did.

But at a great cost.

Third Person POV:

Somewhere in the Known and Unknown Multiverse, where the concepts of time and space seemingly didn't exist, there stood vast white walls of marble, giant glass windows that looked to seemingly nowhere as the outside world was like a white void which was devoid of any surroundings.

Fancy tea sets and tables were scattered throughout the area.

Two powerful individuals, beings of great authority, two of the most feared, were now seated from the chairs.

The Lord of Time.

The Witch of Miracles.

Bot of them were simply enjoying their tea in silence and contemplation.

Simply bliss.

Simply silence.

One that stretch to an infinity.

Then, after the seeming silence.

"I'm truly sorry for your lost, my Lord Doctor." said the Witch of Miracles, in a (surprisingly) genuine tone, while sipping her tea with grace.

The Lord of Time looked up to the Witch of Miracles, with his brown ancient eyes, only saying one simple word that would summarize everything that had happened.

"Yeah."

The two just continued drinking their tea in humble silence, with one of them sporting a long grieving look on his face.

They always leave, he thought to himself. Always. He has no choice. No choice. Otherwise...

Otherwise, the alternative would be far too grave to contemplate.

Whether they leave of their own accord. Or they die. Or they ceased to be.

"How did it pass?" asked the Witch of Miracles, referring to the events surrounding Davros, the Daleks, and the reality bomb.

The Lord of Time could only say two simple words.

"Dealt with."

"Have you dealt with him?" asked the Witch of Miracles, referring to Godfather Auteur, member of the dreaded Faction Paradox.

The Lord of Time could only say one simple word.

"Yeah."

He won't be a problem anymore.

The Witch of Miracles could only sport a subtle knowing smile.

"I expected nothing less," The Witch of Miracles sipped her tea before continuing in a grave tone. "For what is worth, I am somewhat gladdened and relieved that you did not die on that fateful Christmas night. The night when you confronted the Empress of the Racnoss and defeated her. In one dreaded possibility, you would have died by drowning. It was only through the intervention of your companion that you managed to survive. The prospect of you being gone for good is not something that even I would dare to contemplate. For the Known and Unknown Multiverse would be a far more darker place without your shining light of inspiration. Lord Setsuna, President Connor, Agent Barclay, Minamoto-san, Tachibana-san, the rest of the League, and many countless Children of Time, family and friends, would all inevitably be very grieved when you suddenly just gone up and died. Think about it more delicately the next time you contemplate such thoughts of discomfort."

The Lord of Time could only sport a sad smile on his face.

"I didn't think you'd care if I had lived or died, my Lady."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I would leave such thoughts for you to contemplate. Either way, you were always my favorite person to come to for private conversations, whether if they were of the cosmic order or in order to relieve my boredom which has exasperated to the former. All that paper work is going to make me feel my age. In all that is said and done, I'm still a woman when it counts."

"Is that so?" said the Lord of Time with a subtle knowing smile.

"I know so," said the Witch of Miracles with a subtle knowing smile, then suddenly, the tone turned grave. "And as with regards to the latest incident surrounding the Daleks of Skaro, this could not be ignored for much longer due to said context. One reality bomb was devastating enough of it's effects, erasing one multiverse from it's path. You of all people should know of the terrifying effects that could result from this weapon as you yourself have witness it with your own eyes. For this weapon was used by the Daleks during the Time War, replicating these monstrous devices, erasing many countless multiverses, many among the Higher and Younger Races. The Senate is in major uproar, my Lord Doctor. A majority vote was recently cast with regards to this. To deploy the 501st Legion and the 7th Sky Corps to your multiverse clusters, hunting down any remnant or replication of this dangerous weapon, and any remnant of any surviving Dalek. It would be you who would ultimately lead this operation. Find all of these weapons, contain them, destroy them, erase them, it matters not. Either way, this is a very dark day for all of us. One that we must all face. Surely you understand?"

The Lord of Time nodded with a determined look.

"Of course, my Lady."

ED Song:

Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU NO Ending 2

Characters:

The Tenth Doctor - A: David Tennant

Lady Frederica Bernkastel - A: Yukari Tamura

Godfather Auteur

Donna Noble - A: Catherine Tate

Rose Tyler - A: Billie Piper