CHAPTER 55

FRACTURED TIME

It turned out that Jason was only half right. The alarm on the telepathy circuits was signaling that the Doctor was in trouble, but he did not feel as if he were. He knew at once what had happened. The unstable temporal corridor had flared around him and closed, trapping him inside. He was confident that, given time, l'X'el would be able to reopen the entrance and get him out.

The total darkness gave way to a shimmering light that slowly appeared in the distance and the Doctor cautiously moved towards it. After what seemed like only a few steps he found himself looking out at what he realized, with a start, was his own timeline. Even as he watched it continued to move away, splitting and fanning out into the future; each choice leading him onto a different path, one of which he knew ended with him spiraling into the dark persona that was the Valyard. Even as this thought crossed his mind, a single path darkened. No, he thought, I could avoid that path. Change it, here and now. Mel was missing in time and without her at his side, he could avoid descending into the twisted creature of evil that dogged his every waking moment. What if he simply left her wherever it was she was stranded? What if he couldn't retrieve her anyway? Should he even try? Grant was an amiable companion and had settled in nicely the first time around. Why not let him stay in this future? Would that be so bad?

As the Doctor stood mesmerized by his own choices he overlooked the reality that some choices were not his to make. Some were made by those around him and he simply reacted, his own reactions sending him down a different path. And sometimes, his inaction.

The Wieonol youths were shocked and delighted when Grant emerged from the TARDIS supporting the semi-recovered Jason. K'ell'k rushed over to help guide the Alterran to the manipulator's stone base where he could sit down.

"I want to know exactly what's been happening out here," Jason said in the authoritative voice he rarely used. "And I want it in as concise a manner as possible."

The trio exchanged glances and l'X'el nodded, silently agreeing to act as spokesman. He gave a rundown of what had occurred, explaining about the fissure getting out of control and flaring suddenly. "It's closed itself off at both ends," he said in a frightened voice.

Jason had listened in silence, hearing not just the panic in the young man's voice but feeling it in the atmosphere of the room. He drew a deep breath when the boy finished his story and turned toward the globe beside him, holding out a hand. "Is this thing still on?" he asked, receiving an affirmative from all present. "Good. l'X'el, get back to your station and tell me exactly what the readings are. I need you to act as my eyes."

l'X'el exchanged a dubious look with the others before doing as he was told, reading off exactly what the computer displayed and its position on the screen. "I don't know what you expect me to do," he said in a helpless tone.

"I expect you to do exactly what I tell you to do," the Alterran replied tersely. "If you're half as good as I think you are, you should be able to restabilize the time fissure at this end. With any luck, the Doctor will see it and find his way out."

Grant was glad Jason could not see the skeptical looks he got in response to this statement.

l'X'el listened carefully and did exactly as instructed, marveling at the same time at how Jason could visualize the input as he described it. After several minutes of work, the time fissure stabilized and reopened in the corner of the room.

"You did it!" l'X'el gasped, not quite believing it himself.

"No, you did it," Jason corrected pointedly. Turning slightly towards the corner, he held out a hand in its direction. He could feel the temporal energy that was now flooding into the room. "Cee, get the link with the TARDIS stabilized before you all turn into old men."

"I don't know how," Pr'Ce'el replied helplessly.

"That's alright, I do."

Again the Alterran amazed his audience by walking the nervous Wieonol through the steps needed to stabilize the entrance to the fractured time corridor.

"Jason, the far end is still very unstable," l'X'el informed worriedly. "It looks like it's fading in and out."

"With any luck the Doctor will see the opening and we won't have to worry about it," Jason replied, waving a hand vaguely in the direction of the time corridor where they hoped the Doctor would suddenly appear acting as if nothing had happened.

After five minutes, Grant sighed heavily. "He's not coming out, is he?"

Jason cursed under his breath. "Can you see him?"

Grant took a step toward the fissure, stopping when Jason reached out and cautioned, "Not too close."

"Don't worry," Grant replied, moving only close enough so he could see into the opening. He was surprised to see it looked like a stone tunnel stretching out into the distance. Far in that distance he could just make out the Doctor's multicolored coat. "I see him! But he's turned away. I think he's looking at something. There's something…shining in front of him." His tone became less certain as he added, "I think it's in front of him. The walls are all shiny. It looks like the aurora borealis going on down there."

Jason cursed a second time. Suddenly his legs were shimmering. "I hate transmuting piecemeal. It plays havoc with my energy reserves," he muttered darkly, going on to stun the trio by rising to his feet without aid. "Somebody help me over there," he said, holding out a hand.

No one moved.

"Jason, what are you going to do?" Grant said suspiciously as he crossed back to him.

"I'm going in."

"I was afraid you were going to say that. Can't you at least wait until you can see?"

Shaking his head, the Alterran replied, "That'll take too long. It's not just my eyes; it's my whole sensor array. It's probably the most complex thing I have to repair."

"If you kill yourself I'm not going to be held responsible," Grant said forcefully as he took his outstretched hand. "You're still not strong enough and you know it."

"Probably. But even like this I'm still stronger than any of you at withstanding the energies inside an unstable temporal corridor. I can take a century here or there, but you can't," the Alterran pointed out. "Lix, you work on stabilizing the far end."

"Sir, I really think you should listen to Grant…" the boy stated hesitantly.

"If the Doctor's hurt, he'll need someone to guide him out," Jason replied forcefully. "And no cracks about the blind leading the blind!"

Had he been paying attention, the Doctor would have seen the entrance to the time corridor reopen. But he was oblivious to this, unable to take his eyes from the hypnotic scene that continued to spread out before him. He could feel the ebb and flow of time around him as he watched the changing timelines and knew somewhere in the back of his mind that it was all the unnatural result of the damage to the temporal corridor. He could feel himself being drawn into the power radiating from the fractured reality, the whole of time rippling forward and backward, swirling around the mesmerized Time Lord.

The Doctor marveled at the symmetry as the timelines continued to spread out. The whole of his life laid out in neat lines and with them the tantalizing possibility that he could rewrite the future. He scowled at this last thought. Rewrite the future? That's not right. He shook his head to clear it and get control of himself. It would be very easy to lose oneself in the raw temporal energies swirling around him. If one knew what they were doing, they could very easily recreate the past, present, or future.

The Doctor's reverie was finally broken when the interior of the fissure flared momentarily. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and was startled to see a second set of timelines had appeared, some of which intersected with his own. He scowled and turned, seeing Jason approaching. It occurred to him in a vague sort of way that he should be surprised to see the Alterran, especially since he seemed halfway between life and death. His hair was still snow white, as were his skin and clothing, which, like his eyes, were covered with fine fracture lines. He was walking unaided, and seemed to be having no trouble breathing. Uncertain why himself, the Doctor dismissed his presence and turned back to the panorama of time before him.

"Aren't you even going to say hello?" Jason said in a quiet bewildered tone. He had a hand on one wall, the other outstretched. He could feel the Doctor's time aura in the air and was using it as a beacon, following it to its source.

"Hello," the Doctor said blandly.

Jason was puzzled by his friend's lack of reaction "I thought you were in trouble. Was I wrong?"

"Do I look in trouble to you?"

"Doctor, I'm blind. You don't look anything to me. Are you alright?"

"Perfectly. I'm just enjoying the view. That's not a crime, is it?"

"No, of course not." Jason paused. "Is it nice?"

"Nice? Nice!" the Doctor replied sharply. "It's absolutely exquisite."

"Really? I wish I could see it. What does it look like?" As he was speaking, Jason finally managed to reach the Doctor, his hand lightly touching his shoulder. He felt what he thought was a static shock and jumped, withdrawing his hand in surprise.

The Alterran's touch caused a great deal more than a static shock. It was the catalyst that triggered an influx of raw temporal energies, concentrating them on the unsuspecting Time Lord and swamping his senses, overwhelming any resistance to what happened next. The Doctor suddenly faded in and out of existence; pulled through several dimensions at once and the contradictory timelines each contained. When his body finally solidified, it was not the Doctor that Jason knew who stood before him. He spun around, pushing the Alterran away. "Keep away from me," he snarled. "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work."

Jason was sent reeling back against the opposite side of the corridor. He hit the wall with his back and grabbed out with both hands to keep from falling. He barely managed it, the surface beneath his hands was nearly as smooth as glass. "What?"

Were he able to see his friend's face, he would have been shocked by the cruel expression that suddenly contorted his features. He regained his balance and stood with one hand reaching back to the wall. "What are you talking about? It's me. Jason."

"And you've come to take me away from all this."

"All what? I thought something went wrong."

The Doctor's angry, accusing tone became even more malicious. "So you raised yourself from your deathbed, like some grand messiah, and walked on the water to save me."

Jason's head was already buzzing with the effects of the temporal energies surrounding him, his damaged sensor array picking up nothing but jumbled signals. He struggled to understand what was happening, only to come up blank. "Doctor, I don't know what you're talking about," he replied in a patient tone. He stepped slightly away from the wall and in the direction of his friend's voice. "I used the energy tube to partially heal myself," he said, pulling it from his pocket and holding it up in way of explanation. His voice hardened as he added, "Anyway, I thought you were the grand messiah around here. You've got everybody else believing you can walk on water."

"Like a god," the Time Lord whispered. "Yes, I am a god. In here, I have the power to manipulate time. Just think, all of infinity laid out in neat lines. Nothing random. No more coincidences. It's all a matter of choice."

"Choice? Doctor, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't. How could you? It isn't your choice to make, is it? It's mine and mine alone," the Doctor replied grandly.

"Great. That's all I need. More bombastic nonsense," Jason said under his breath.

The remark was still loud enough for the Doctor to hear and he whirled around, a snarl escaping him. He lashed out, striking Jason with the back of his hand. The blow was not as forceful as it could have been, but it did not need to be. It took the already physically weak Alterran completely by surprise. He crashed to the ground, his head striking the hard stone-like surface, the energy tube rolling from his hand.