(AN) Hello, and welcome to the next chapter of this fan novelisation of Doctor Who: Genesis. I hope you all enjoy, and remember to Read and Review.
In the last chapter, our two Doctors found themselves having to evade the real I.M. Foreman. Will they be able to escape? And who exactly is this James? Stay tuned to find out.
Disclaimer; I don't own Doctor Who. All characters and locations are owned by the BBC. What if Doctor Who Wasn't Axed is owned by DaDoctorWhoFan.
Chapter Three
A Time Meddler
The Two Doctors watched in silent horror as James and Foreman came even closer to their hiding spot.
"Follow me!" hissed the Doctor.
She and her first self scurried away from the torchlight and made a beeline for a nearby wall that had a pile of crates stacked against it.
"Quick, over this wall!" ordered the Doctor.
"Now hold on a minute, young lady, I'm no mountain goat!" hissed the First Doctor in irritation.
"There's no time to argue." retorted the Doctor.
"I thought I heard something from over there." came James's voice.
The Doctor quickly clambered on to the stack of crates and over the wall. The First Doctor reluctantly did the same, but as he reached the top, the stack of crates fell to the floor.
"What was that?" barked Foreman.
James and Foreman quickly turned to the wall, but only caught a glimpse of a head with long white hair disappearing over the wall.
"I think that's your rough sleeper taken care of." drawled Foreman sarcastically.
James snarled in frustration before running over the wall and peering over it, but couldn't see anybody or anything. The man then walked over to the Doctor's TARDIS. "Mr Foreman?" he called out.
"Yes?" replied Foreman grumpily
"You've got a police box in the junkyard?" asked James with innocent curiosity, "How long has it been here for?"
"Oh, that old thing," replied Foreman, "It's been here for the past few months. Come to think about it, I don't actually remember how it got there. Tomorrow, I'm going to get a policeman to see if the police box is one of there's, and to ensure that that so-called rough sleeper doesn't come back. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bed!"
James watched as Foreman marched out of the junkyard, muttering angrily about time wasters. James then turned and gave the TARDIS a sharp kick.
On the other side of the wall, the Doctors were crouching beneath it before standing up. The two then ran out on to the street; the First Doctor catching his breath.
"Thank you for the assistance, my dear," said the First Doctor, "But I can handle it from here."
"It's probably not a good idea to go back to the junkyard just yet," warned the Doctor, "I'd recommend going somewhere else for the time being."
"Thankfully, I know just the place." stated the First Doctor, "Thank you. Now get yourself home before you catch your death out here."
"I will." replied the Doctor.
The Doctor watched her first incarnation walking away in the direction of the graveyard. The Doctor then turned and headed back towards the junkyard. Upon reaching it, the Doctor spotted Foreman storming back to his house with James just behind him: the two were having a heated argument over James wasting Foreman's time.
The Doctor gently opened the door to the junkyard and slipped inside, she then dashed over to the TARDIS, took out her TARDIS key and unlocked the door before entering.
The Doctor entered the console room and was instantly hit with a feeling of nostalgia. The console room was a bright white room, with roundels on the green walls and a large computer bank taking up a large part of the back wall; various pieces of furniture were strewn about the room, and the scanner was a small television monitor mounted on the wall. The TARDIS hummed quietly.
The Doctor walked over to the console and flicked the switch for the doors, causing them to close with a loud whirring noise. The Doctor quickly ducked under the console as Susan entered, looking confused. "He must've came and went again." she muttered to herself before walking back through the door.
The Doctor heaved a sigh of relief before slowly prying open a panel underneath the console and putting her hand in to feel for the coding unit. "Sorry about this, old girl." she muttered to the TARDIS.
After a few moments she found the unit and pulled it out, which caused the console to spark and emit a loud noise, which was followed by the lights dimming.
"Strange, I don't remember any circuits in the TARDIS being damaged when I left," muttered the Doctor to herself before suddenly grinning mischievously in realisation, "The Chameleon circuit, of course. It's all falling in to place."
The Doctor quickly pocketed the unit.
"Grandfather, is that you?" came Susan's voice.
The Doctor banged her head underneath the console, which responded with a few noises. The Doctor patted the bottom of the console before quickly crawling out from under it, scrambling to her feet, flicking the door switch and dashing out of the TARDIS.
Susan entered the console room. "Grandfather?" she called out in confusion before walking over to the console and flicking a switch, which turned the lights back up.
Susan went over to the doors and peered out into the junkyard, but could see nothing, she then went back to the console and flicked the door switch, causing them to close. "I wonder where Grandfather is?" she asked to herself before picking up the panel.
Outside, the Doctor had her back pressed against the left side of the police box, she then silently crept away from the TARDIS, grabbed a rickety old trolly and started picking up various bits and bobs.
Over at the graveyard, the First Doctor walked quietly amongst the graves, peering at each of the names. A thick fog was beginning to settle. He was hoping that Foreman and that young man hadn't found Susan; the First Doctor felt annoyed at leaving her behind, but he had no choice; the strange man who had been with Foreman also bothered him, but he couldn't quite figure out why.
The First Doctor stopped at a grave that was quite unlike all the other ones. While all the other tombstones were well looked after, this one had remained untouched: it was old and cracked in several places; cobwebs and dust covered almost every inch of it; there were also no flowers surrounding the grave. The First Doctor bent down slightly and put an eye glass to his eye so that he could read the peeling gold letters.
Heather Holdop
1791-1845
"Well, my dear Heather Holdop, I have no idea who you were, or what sort of life you lived, but I would hope that it was a good one," lamented the First Doctor sadly, "But, judging by the fact that nobody has touched this grave in quite some time, you must have had a lonely life; I can relate. I was alone for a very long time, abandoned and betrayed by those who I once called friends. I had then as I have now a strong desire to explore the universe and experience all the wonder and mystery that it brings. Me and my granddaughter were outcasts from our own people for believing in such dreams. It is sad that you never got to live long enough to see the wonders that this planet can bring."
The First Doctor suddenly jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Is that you, Doctor?" came Father Parkinson's voice from behind.
"Yes, it is me, Father," panted the First Doctor as he turned while clutching at his chest, "Please, don't sneak up on me like that again."
"Sorry, Doctor," apologised the vicar, "Hmmm, Heather Holdop. You know, in all my time working here, not one person has visited her grave: no family, no friends; she died alone and forgotten."
"Such a shame." lamented the Doctor.
Parkinson nodded before pulling out a couple of daisies, he placed one of them in front of Heather's grave before handing the other one to the First Doctor, who did the same. The Time Lord then turned to Parkinson. "Well, I must be getting back to my granddaughter," he stated, "She'll start to worry. Goodbye, Father."
"Goodbye, Doctor," replied the vicar, "Have a safe trip."
The two went in opposite directions.
Flashback
Theta was sitting under the tree with Cerrel. A few months had passed, and Theta was beginning to feel better.
"My deepest desire is to see the universe," said Theta before sighing, "We Time Lords have all this great power and knowledge, yet all we're allowed to do is sit back and observe. I just want to get away from here and see all the beauty of the universe first, see every event in history."
"I'm sure you'll achieve that one day, my boy." assured Cerrel, "Fate always has a way of guiding us to our true purpose in life."
"I wanted to see the universe with Zita," sighed Theta, "But he seems to have different priorities."
"Indeed," replied Cerrel worriedly, "From all that you've told me, I fear that that boy will go down a very dark path."
End Flashback
The Doctor silently wheeled her trolly into the spare room at Ian's flat; managing to avoid waking Ian up. She then silently dumped the junk she had collected on to the bed. Slowly but surely, the Doctor put the machine together. The machine resembled a miniature, crudely computer with several buttons and levers; all made from the junk that she had collected.
The Doctor gave the machine a light pat before activating her coms.
"The machine is nearly ready," informed the Doctor, "I just need to activate it. After it's activated, I won't have long to phase my TARDIS into the room in this period, then I have to dematerialise the TARDIS within two minutes, or else it'll cause a massive explosion on the scale of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
"That's all very well and good, but you must focus on getting that DNA first," stated Omega, "Blood would be the easiest way to get the DNA."
"And of course, it'll have to be from your first self, and as soon as possible." said Caitrin.
"That might be a bit tricker than you think," smirked the Doctor, "My older self was grumpy, impatient and very difficult to negotiate with. Plus, he's paranoid, and likely won't believe that I'm his future self."
"Hmmm, that is a problem," said Caitrin, "But there is an easy solution. When your granddaughter is at school tomorrow, locate your first self, paralyse him with the needle I gave you; it contains a sedative. Then take him somewhere quiet and perform a blood transfusion."
"I hate the idea of hurting myself, but it'll have to do." said the Doctor before deactivating the coms.
Flashback
A few years had passed. Theta walked up the hill in full Time Lord Prydonian robes; beaming.
"Cerrel, you'll never believe it, I-
Theta suddenly stopped as he saw Cerrel lying on the grass, not moving at all. Theta, now filled with concern, raced over to Cerrel, knelt down next to him and rested his hand under the elderly Time Lord's head. "Cerrel?" he said in concern.
Cerrel opened his eyes slightly and looked up at Theta before smiling weakly. "Theta … my old friend … I see that you graduated … congratulations."
"I only scraped by with fifty-two percent on the second attempt," remarked Theta dismissively before blushing slightly.
"Still … better than nothing, eh … my boy." chuckled Cerrel weakly.
"A-are you sick?" asked Theta in concern.
"No," replied Cerrel quietly, "I'm dying … I've lived through all thirteen lives, and I … don't have long left. Soon, I will vanish into the cascade of the machine known as the universe."
"P-please, let me help you. There must be some medicine or something." pleaded Theta in a distraught voice, not wanting to believe what was happening.
"Oh … you've done more than enough, my boy. You've made a lonely old man happy, and have given him faith in the Time Lords for the first time in years," said Cerrel softly, "Thank you for being here with me and sharing the secret of life with me. You are a truly good and noble man in every capacity, so here this: never be cruel and never be cowardly. Never give up and never give in. Help people share the secret of life, be a doctor."
"Please … don't die." pleaded Theta, tears welling up in his eyes.
"A tear … Theta-Sigma?" said Cerrel, who reached his hand up and gently brushed away the tear sliding down Theta's cheek, "come on now, don't cry … while there's life still left to live … live a good life."
Cerrel's eyes finally closed, the Time Lord let out one final breath before going limp. Tears streamed down Theta's face as he sobbed and hugged the hermit's dead body.
End Flashback
James entered the car park of the block of flats containing Ian's flat. James whistled to himself as he approached Ian's car.
The next morning, Ian entered the kitchen in his dressing gown, where he saw the Doctor fully dressed and making bacon and eggs. "Oh, Jone, you didn't have to go to the trouble of making breakfast!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Nonsense," replied the Doctor, beaming, "See this as thanks for letting me stay the night."
The two were soon sat down and enjoying breakfast.
"I've got to leave early for this meeting with Jeff." informed Ian.
"That's good, because I need to get into the town early," said the Doctor, "I've managed to get in touch with some friends, and they've helped me to find a permanent residence."
"Well, I must say that was quick," said a surprised Ian, "I'm glad you've managed to find somewhere. If you ever need anything, you know where I am, and Barbara Wright is always willing to help."
"You've been more help than you'll ever know." thanked the Doctor.
While Ian got ready, the Doctor snuck over to the coffee table and grabbed the spare flat key before pocketing it.
Soon after, Ian got dressed, and he along with the Doctor headed out to the car and got in. Ian started the engine, but the car refused to start. A confused Ian hopped out and went round the side of the car. "That's funny, there's a flat tire," he sighed in annoyance, "I could've sworn it was fine last night. Not to worry, I have a spare."
A short distance away, James was watching, grinning wickedly, but his grin quickly faded when Ian came back with the spare tire.
After Ian fitted the new tire on, he got in the front and drove off.
James looked on in frustration as the car sped away. "Don't get too comfortable, Doctor, there's more where that came from!" he muttered angrily.
Ian and the Doctor soon arrived at Coal Hill School. The two got out of the car and shook hands.
"Well, goodbye, Ian, I'm sure we'll meet again soon." said the Doctor, "Thanks again for all that you've done."
"Not a problem," replied Ian, "Well, I must be off now, farewell Jone, and the best of luck."
The two shook hands again and parted ways.
Ian entered the school and headed towards the headmaster's office, he then knocked on the door.
"Come in!" came Jeffery's voice.
Ian entered, closed the door and sat behind the desk. Sitting on the opposite side was a middle-aged man with balding grey hair, and wearing a blue shirt underneath a black waistcoat and blazer. The man also wore thick round glasses.
"What can I do for you, Jeffery?" asked Ian.
"It pains me to do this, Chesterton, but after today, you're fired!" stated Jeffery firmly, "You will do one more day of work here, then I want your desk cleared out. A substitute will take your place before a more suitable and permanent replacement is found."
"What!" exclaimed Ian in disbelief, "B-but, I don't understand. Why?"
"I'm not pleased with how you've been getting on," answered Jeffrey, "You are not up to the required adqiuises of the other teachers. Also, I've heard rumours that you picked up a hitchhiker; a very bad example for the children, I must say."
"This is ridiculous!" shouted Ian, who was bewildered and flabbergasted, "Well, I'll be filing a complaint over this!"
"There's no need to be so dramatic." said Parsons before suddenly staring into space.
"Sir, are you all right?" asked a concerned Ian.
Jeffery didn't respond. Ian simply stood up and left the office. After a few moments, the door opened, and James entered, smiling.
"Well done, Parsons, you did exactly as I asked," stated James triumphantly before suddenly gripping the man's shoulders and glowering at him, "Except for the fact that you were supposed to fire him straight away you blundering buffoon!"
"I-I." mumbled Jeffrey in confusion.
"Go to sleep and wake up in a few minutes," ordered James, grabbing Jeffrey's face and staring into his eyes, "When you wake up, you will forget that any of this ever happened."
James let go and laughed as Jeffrey slumped forward on to his desk and snored loudly. James quickly exited the room.
Over at the junkyard, Susan exited the TARDIS; her music cassette in hand. "Bye, Grandfather." she called out before closing the door and walking away from the TARDIS.
A few hours later, the First Doctor poked his head out of the door to the junkyard and looked around, he then left and walked down the street, passing a policeman, who was heading towards the junkyard.
The Doctor poked her head round the corner and spotted her first incarnation, she began following him. As he reached the end of Totter's Lane, the First Doctor stopped abruptly, turned around and saw the Doctor. "My dear young lady, would you please stop following me!" he hollered.
"I'm sorry, young man." apologised the Doctor sarcastically as she walked up to the First Doctor and quickly jabbed him in the shoulder with the sedative.
"I am much older than you re-
But before he could finish, the First Doctor suddenly became rigid and fell backwards. The Doctor hauled her earlier self to his feet and supported him down the lane.
Over in Ian's classroom, the science teacher was demonstrating cause and effect by turning red liquid into blue liquid. "And so, when I add the blue liquid to the red, it reacts and changes blue and vice-versa." he was explaining before sighing at the sight of Susan raising her hand. "Yes, Susan?" he asked.
"Yes, I can see red turns to blue, Mr Chesterton, but that's because we're dealing with two inactive chemicals that only act in relation to each other." said Susan in a matter-of fact tone.
"But that's the whole point of the experiment, Susan." replied Ian hotly.
"Yes, it's a bit obvious isn't it?" said Susan, "Well, I-I'm not trying to be rude. Couldn't we deal with two active chemicals? Then red could turn blue all by itself, and we can get on with something else."
Ian simply gave Susan a stern look.
"I'm sorry, it was just an idea." apologised Susan sheepishly.
Outside the room, James was standing at the door with his ear pressed against it.
Over in a derelict warehouse, the First Doctor was lying on an operating table: his cloak and hat lying on the ground. The Doctor was standing over him. She activated her comms.
"Alright, what do I do now?" asked the Doctor in confusion.
"It won't be easy. You'll need to transfuse some of your first self's blood without proper equipment." explained Caitrin.
"Well, I am a doctor, so I should be able to come up with something." said the Time Lady.
Over in Barbara's classroom, Barbara was attempting to teach her class about the history of the UK currency.
"Now, who here can tell me how many shillings there are in a pound?" asked Barbara.
Susan raised her hand.
"Yes, Susan?" said Barbara.
"Did you say shillings?" said Susan in confusion.
"Yes." replied the history teacher.
"I-I thought the UK used the decimal system?" informed Susan in bewilderment.
The rest of the class erupted into roars of laughter before calming down.
"I'm sorry, Miss Wright." apologised Susan, who was blushing with embarrassment.
"Don't be silly, Susan!" barked Barbara sternly, "The United States has a decimal system, you know perfectly well that we do not!"
"Of course, the decimal system hasn't started yet." said Susan in realisation.
Barbara just gave Susan a bewildered stare.
Just outside the building, James was peering through Barbara's classroom window, but quickly ducked down when Barbara glanced at the window. James then got up and walked out of the grounds, smiling with pride.
Back at the warehouse, the Doctor collapsed to the floor as golden regeneration energy surged across her skin. "No … I won't die, NO!" she yelled, causing the regeneration energy to vanish. Hands shaking, the Doctor jabbed the needle into her arm; transfusing her First self's blood into her bloodstream. The Doctor pulled the needle out and fell back against the wall; taking in huge gulps of air. Golden regeneration energy glowed softly across her skin. The small wound in her arm closed up.
"Doctor? Doctor, are you alright?" asked Omega in concern.
"Yes, I'm fine," panted the Doctor, "The blood transfusion was a success, the regeneration has fully stabilised."
"That's brilliant." said Caitrin.
The Doctor got to her feet, walked over to the table, gently took the First Doctor's arm in her hand and healed the small wound with regeneration energy, which glowed softly on the Doctor's hand and her first self's arm.
"Right, now all I need to do is get back to Ian's flat, use the machine to summon my TARDIS, and then I'll finally be able to get out of here," informed the Doctor, "But before that, I need to make sure that my first self gets back to his proper place in the timeline. He needs an hour's rest after that transfusion. I'm going back to Coal Hill to make sure that everything else goes smoothly. I've got a funny feeling that somebody doesn't want my first self to meet Ian and Barbara."
The Doctor deactivated her comms, pocketed the needle and exited the warehouse before locking the doors.
The Doctor walked down the street and spotted James walking just a few feet in front of her. "Hey you!" she called out, "I'd like a word with you!"
James turned his head and suddenly started running. The Doctor perused the man before grabbing his arm, pulling him into a nearby alleyway and ramming him against the wall.
"Alright, I've had quite enough of you!" hissed the Doctor furiously, "Who are you, and why do you keep following me?"
"I-I don't know what you mean," lied James before seeing the look in the Doctor's eyes and sighing, he then spoke in a different, but still posh voice, "Oh, Doctor, don't you see? I simply want to destroy your life, avert the path you've been on for so long and take away all meaning."
As he said the last part, James's whole face began to morph as he laughed wickedly. After a few moments, there was a new face leering back at the Doctor. He appeared slightly younger and had short black hair. The Doctor stepped back in shock, recognising the man. "The Master." she said in a low growl.
(AN) So, another long chapter, and what a cliffhanger.
For context: this is an alternate incarnation, who in WIDWWA is played by Jason Issacs. In the series, this Master showed up a few times prior to Genesis.
In the next chapter, we get the big showdown between the Doctor and the Master, and more scenes from An Unearthly Child.
Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.