Chapter 38: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
After getting a good amount of sleep, Iris dressed into a more casual dress before stepping out. Normally she didn't enjoy wearing them, but she had a sudden urge to do so after looking at the wardrobe options the TARDIS provided her. Once thanking her, Iris stepped out of her room, and walked towards the kitchen.
Perusing through the fridge, she grabbed a box of fresh strawberries, and started to rinse them when the Doctor sauntered in with some of the tips of his hair smoking. Once she turned to face the Time Lord, Iris stopped munching on her strawberry at the sight of a soot-covered Doctor.
She merely raised an eyebrow, still with one cheek poking out from the strawberry, when the Doctor blushed a little at the sight. He muttered out,
"I… I was trying to fix the blue button, but…"
Iris finished munching on the strawberry, and set the rest of them down on the table before going up to him and state,
"But turned out you completely mixed it up with something else, didn't you?"
The Doctor made a bleh sound, as if trying to refuse the claim, but Iris knew better. She could feel his slight embarrassment through their bond. Iris just slightly shook her head at the Time Lord before handing him a rag so that he could wash the soot off his face.
Iris then grabbed the box of strawberries again and started to eat the rest, when the Time Lord suddenly turned to face her mid-wash, as he suggested,
"I know I had mentioned Maras last time we talked, but how about a quick detour? I found some interesting readings."
Iris set down the now empty box of strawberries before asking,
"And where is this quick detour?"
The Doctor hummed out, "Some wedding venue… I think… but then I'm not sure if humans do weddings at venues. It's not like Donna's wedding."
Iris nodded, before a memory flashed in her head. She hesitantly asked,
"And is there a so-called wedding involved?"
The Doctor shrugged, and said, "It was near Sarah Jane Smith. You remember her!"
Iris nodded at the Time Lord, feeling his own excitement of meeting his companion again. And that was when it clicked. Sarah Jane Smith's wedding. The Trickster! Iris groaned before looking down at her dress. The casual dress definitely wouldn't do.
But then again, if she were to catch up with the Doctor, she couldn't really dress up, could she? But something urged her to go back to her wardrobe. The Doctor felt Iris' conflict before stating,
"Why don't you go change into something you want? I can feel it through the bond."
Iris blushed a little at that, before huffing and stomping back to her room. She eventually changed into a lace covered white shirt with a lilac skirt to match. The Time Lady then opted for stilettos as well. Iris liked her new outfit, but if she were to be completely honest, she begrudged the lack of pockets on the skirt.
With that, she stepped towards the console room, determining that her current outfit was enough.
While she was changing the Doctor had changed into his blue suit. But because he had either option of his brown or blue suit, he did not take that long to change. Once he was in the console room, he was taking a look at the readings more closely when something questionable came to his attention. As he started to grow impatient at the alarming readings he saw, Iris had stepped into the console room.
He turned to inform her of the urgent situation when he froze at the sight of her. There was no need to deny that Iris had always been beautiful, but the bond seemed to make it more so. He knew that Iris was in a relationship with Jack and Ianto, but the outfit Iris had decided on was not helping him as Iris's bond-mate.
However, Iris had not sensed this as she hurriedly hobbled over to the screen and read the strange readings. She was completely oblivious of the Doctor's reaction, which the Time Lord was secretly thankful for. As she read it, Iris looked over to the Time Lord and said,
"We need to stop that wedding."
That sentence was just enough to grab the Doctor's attention back to the real world again, causing him to shout quickly,
"Allonsy!" and set the TARDIS into motion.
But it was not too long after the TARDIS started to struggle to materialize in the location both Time Lords wanted. Iris grit her teeth as she tried to remain standing in her ridiculously high, high heels. She quickly regretted her decision to wear them, but there was no time to change shoes.
The ship shook severely, and the Doctor was rushing around the console trying to stabilize the TARDIS as much as possible. It felt like an hour until the ship finally managed to materialize so that the Doctor could rush out, grabbing Iris' hand to help her run through the doors.
The door slammed open and the Doctor yelled out, "Stop this wedding now!"
Iris gripped the Doctor's arms like her life depended on it, while Sarah's face paled as she could only manage a,
"What?"
That was when Iris noticed the group of people around them start to question everything, when K9 came over and yelled out in joy,
"Master!"
The Doctor didn't notice as his gaze focused on Sarah Jane Smith, while his hand tightened its hold on Iris's own hand. He firmly stated,
"I said, stop this wedding!"
But that was when strong wind began to blow around the room and K9 started to panic as he shouted,
"Alert! Alert! Danger, Mistress!"
But that was when both Iris and the Doctor saw the Trickster appear behind the couple at the front. As they were both Time Lords, they were able to notice this slightly faster, and Iris yelled out,
"Stop! Get away from him! Sarah!"
Alarmed, but wholeheartedly trusting the Time Lords, Sarah screamed out, and tried to pull away from her lover. But Peter grasped onto her and whispered to Sarah,
"Don't be afraid, Sarah Jane. It's the Angel."
And with that, everyone else noticed the Trickster as well, and Iris noticed Rani yell out,
"The Trickster!"
Luke stood up and screamed for Sarah Jane, when the Doctor finally let go of Iris's hand and yelled out,
"Sarah! Trickster, let her go!"
But as Iris ran up as well, the figure then smugly laughed before stating,
"Too late, Time Lords. You're mine, Sarah Jane Smith. Mine forever."
And with that, everyone could see Sarah, the man, and the Trickster start to fade away.
Everyone started to yell out for Sarah Jane, while the woman herself screamed for the Time Lords. But to no avail, Sarah Jane vanished.
~~ ….. ~~
There was a sense of an uncomfortable quiet, before the Doctor's eyes settled on a familiar looking boy, as he asked,
"Luke? Luke Smith."
That was when Iris gently checked if the boy was alright. He did seem fine, and she nodded towards the Doctor, who sighed in relief. Not too long after, the boy opened his eyes, and asked hesitantly,
"Doctor?"
The Time Lord smiled calmly and stated,
"That's me. Good to meet you in the flesh."
Luke's panic settled a little, though by not much, as he asked quickly,
"What, what happened? Mum and the Trickster."
Iris knelt down and grabbed Luke's shoulder as the Doctor said,
"Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, listen to me. Everything's going to be alright. I can find Sarah. I can bring her back. I promise. But I need you to be strong for me, just like you were before. I know you can do it."
That was when both Time Lords noticed the two other children start to wake and look at them with wide eyes. Instantly the children's eyes turned wary at the sight of strangers hovering around Luke, and Clyde asked,
"Who are you?"
Iris smiled gently at them and waved, as she introduced themselves with,
"Hello, Clyde and Rani. We're…"
But before she could finish, Rani exclaimed in realization,
"Wait a moment. You must be… it's you two, isn't it?"
Iris raised an eyebrow at that before looking to the Doctor in surprise when the Time Lord smiled widely and nodded as he said,
"That's me."
Rani whispered out in shock, "The Doctor and Iris."
Luke nodded and smiled, as Clyde managed to state,
"I hope you two are good as Sarah Jane says you are."
The Doctor smirked as he said,
"Well, you know journalists, always exaggerating. But yeah, we're pretty amazing on a good day."
Iris looked at the Time Lord in mild surprise. This was the first time he included her in self-compliments. The Doctor then sent a happy wave through the bond which Iris smiled back at him for. It almost felt like when someone would rub their thumb on the back of her hand comfortingly.
That was when K9 came over from under one of the tables and stated,
"Master, query. Where is Mistress Sarah Jane?"
Iris' eyes widened at the sight of the robotic dog, and she internally squealed at the dog. The Doctor apparently felt her fangirling over the dog, and couldn't help but chuckle at that as both Time Lords looked at the dog.
"K9! Did you miss me. Did you miss me, eh? This is Iris Kim."
K9's face focused on Iris, before calling her with a merry tone, "Mistress."
And that was when he asked both Time Lords, "Repeat. Whereabouts of Sarah Jane? Where is she?"
Clyde added on, "Where are we?"
The Doctor sighed as he stood up, stating, "There's been a dimensional shift. Time's moved on but us, and this entire building. We've been left behind."
Rani looked out of the window, stating, "There's nothing out there."
Iris could sense the slight fear in Rani's tone and rested her hand on the girl's shoulder. Clyde looked around as he tried to get a sense of understanding about their whereabouts as he said,
"I said all along, I knew there was something wrong about all this. And what exactly is going on?"
The Doctor waived the comment, and said, "I'll explain later."
That set the children off, as they all started talking to the Time Lords altogether. Iris quickly whistled out loudly, causing them to stop with wide eyes.
Iris looked at the three of them sternly and said,
"We need to work together to help Sarah Jane. So to answer your questions, yes that was the Trickster."
The Doctor continued with, "Yes, we're trapped. Yes, we're the only ones who can get us out of the trap."
Iris then stepped up with, "We're going to bring Sarah Jane, and your all of your parents, and others back safe."
And then, the two Time Lords said simultaneously, "But we can't do any of it without you."
Clyde's mouth was hanging as he asked, "You… you need us?"
Iris nodded with that, as she rested her other hand by stating, "Just like Sarah Jane needs you."
Rani asked at the two adults, asking with fear laced in her voice,
"My mum and dad, where are they?"
Luke looked at his friend with sad eyes as he said cautiously,
"Just go along with them, Rani. I saw them save the world."
The Doctor smiled warmly at that, as he responded,
"You helped us save the world, Lukey boy."
Then, the Time Lord clapped his hand and said,
"Right. Come on, we can use the TARDIS. I assume everybody knows what the TARDIS is, unless you've really not been paying attention. And, allons-y!"
Iris shook her head, while glancing sideways at Clyde a little worriedly. The Doctor seemed to not notice this for the moment as he ran into the reception room. But that was when she heard the noise of the TARDIS materialization, making the Doctor go,
"Oh, no, no, no, no. It was there. It was right there. Wait, wait, wait."
Rani looked at Iris with wide eyes once more as she exclaimed,
"That noise. I've heard it before."
The Doctor said in a rush,
"That was me, trying to break through. Got knocked back by the Trickster."
K9 rolled in as well, stopping by Iris, as if recognizing her as his other mistress, as he stated,
"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialization."
Clyde commented then, "Wait a minute. That's the TARDIS? It's just a wooden box."
Iris smiled and answered that with, "That's why we chose the look. Outside, it looks like some type of wooden box, but on the inside…"
Clyde could only stare in awe and shock as the Doctor struggled to persuade the TARDIS to fully materialize. But eventually the TARDIS faded away, and the Doctor stared a little awkwardly at the group, and then to Iris, as he said,
"Okay, got no TARDIS. It can't materialize here until time moves forward."
Rani shook her head, in disbelief, as she retorted,
"What, so we're trapped here, wherever this is?"
Iris answered, "No. We've got K9 here with us. We should have all that we need. It might take some time, but we can get through this together."
The Doctor nodded and added, "And any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of mine."
Clyde asked incredulously, "But where is this? What's happened to the rest of the world?"
K9 answered chirpily, "Our present location nowhere, no when."
Luke looked down at his mother's pet and asked, "No when?"
Iris pointed to a clock and said, "Look at the clocks."
That was when everyone noticed that time was in some form of a loop. Where they were all inside one second. Clyde looked up at Iris with some form of fear in his eyes as he asked her,
"But again, where is Sarah Jane?"
Iris whispered out, "She's right here. Some different time loop maybe."
The Doctor frowned a little at that, though he maintained a neutral facial expression as he asked her through their bond,
"Episode?"
Iris nodded subtly which the Doctor caught. He looked at her with interest, when she smiled a little at him, trying not to throw too much of an answer to him. He then looked down at the children as Rani stated,
"So we've been kept behind in this second."
K9 answered, "Affirmative Mistress Rani."
Rani continued on with, "But the rest of the world, Mum and Dad and everyone else, they've moved on from here, forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?"
Iris crossed her arms, leaning her back on a wall, as she answered that with,
"I think you three know the answer to that question better than anyone."
Luke muttered afterwards, "We're related to Sarah Jane… in some way."
The Doctor nodded, asking, "Yeah. Which means?"
Rani added, "Hostages. He can use us to get at her."
Clyde shook his head and said, "We've met the Trickster before, but we've never found out who he is."
The Doctor answered with,
"The Trickster is a creature from beyond the universe. Forever trying to break into our reality, manifest himself. He's one of the Pantheon of Discord."
Clyde muttered quietly, "that's a good name for a band."
Iris smiled as the Doctor commented,
"Yeah, actually, not bad. He's an external exile, who exists to wreak havoc. But we can fight him, the six of us. And we can win."
With that, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, which started to make a beeping noise. Iris watched on, as she was aware of the general happenings of the episode, but did not remember the details. The Doctor then exclaimed,
"Oh! Ha, that's it. A time trace. Just a hint of Sarah Jane. Oooh, she's close."
Iris led Clyde and Rani after the Time Lord, as he ran about. Suddenly, Rani shivered, and whispered out,
"What was that? Felt like someone just walked over my grave."
Iris looked at the girl with concern, before looking over to the Doctor and asked,
"Doctor? Could it be…?"
The Doctor smiled widely and said,
"She's here! Sarah!"
Rani muttered a little at that, "Sarah Jane. She doesn't like being called Sarah."
Iris frowned at that, and so did Luke, while the Doctor just hummed out, "She does by me. K9?"
The dog then affirmed that it was scanning, when they all heard a feminine voice call out,
"Doctor! Doctor!"
Luke raced over to the spot by K9, yelling out, "Mum! That's her."
Iris then told K9, "K9, isolate the time trace."
K9's metallic head bopped up and down as he said, "Affirmative, Mistress."
The Time Lords waited for K9 to do so, when the dog reported,
"Temporal schism divided into two, Master and Mistress."
The Doctor slapped his palm on his forehead, as he said, "Yes, of course. We're trapped here in 3:23:23 and Sarah Jane's trapped too, just in another second."
Clyde, clearly confused from the discussion and jargon, added on,
"Hold on. You both said you'd explain later. Well, it's later. Please explain."
Iris could only respond darkly with,
"The Trickster doesn't want us helping Sarah, so he's separated us, trapped us in two different second. And for me… well, me coming in with the Doctor must have been reason enough to send me with you here."
Luke looked sadly at the woman standing by him and his friends, almost like a protector, as the Doctor kept looking for signs of Sarah Jane, when he noticed something and added,
"Oh, oh, she's upstairs. Come on everyone. Luke, K9, watch for the TARDIS, you see it coming back, shout for us."
K9 confirmed he got the order while Luke merely nodded. Iris then sent through their bond,
"Doctor, I'll stay behind as well. Luke and K9 might need me nearby."
The Doctor looked into Iris' eyes, hesitating a little, before smiling and looked towards the other children before stating,
"You two with me. Spit spot."
And with that, the group separated. Iris smiled at Luke and then said,
"You heard him. Let's go sit down somewhere we will be more comfortable. K9, make sure to tell us if you sense something in regard to the TARDIS."
K9 bobbed his head once more while Luke followed her. They managed to find cushioned chairs of beige color. Iris straightened her lilac skirt before studying Luke a little bit. The boy definitely seemed to have grown more in the amount of time she had last seen him. But she could sense something was off, and asked him,
"How are you doing, Luke?"
The boy sighed a little and admitted, "I'm a little scared, to be honest. I don't know why the Trickster is going after my Mum."
Iris thought for a moment before answering with,
"I guess it's something we all sign up for when we travel with the Doctor more than once in our lives. We just can never manage to stop when we are supposed to. That does seem to rather make us trouble magnets, don't you think?"
Luke smiled tightly before stating, "Sometimes, I just wonder what it would be like to live without knowing all this stuff."
Iris laughed and said, "Trust me, I come from a different universe where aliens are supposedly not real. Life is a lot less entertaining and thrilling as it is in this world. I wouldn't change it for my lives."
Luke smiled and said, "The stories my mum told me, and our own adventures… I guess I will never stop enjoying them. So yeah, I can see that."
Iris chuckled and gave Luke a small pat on his shoulder, when they heard a wheezing sound. Iris immediately stood up when the Doctor ran in and said,
"TARDIS! Beautiful. Yes! It's homing in on me. Emergency program, protecting the pilot. Of course, partial materialization."
Luke asked Iris curiously, "What's happening?"
Iris quickly answered with a smirk,
"It's pure artron energy. TARDIS power. This is equal and opposite to the Trickster's power. Maybe this can be a way for us to fight him."
The Doctor then unlocked the doors, and yelled out, "Run!"
With that, the Doctor ran in but failed to guide everyone else inside. Iris tried to hold back Clyde, but something was preventing her from stopping the boy. The door to the TARDIS slammed shut and Iris backed off when Clyde was held against the door and artron energy flooded him. Iris' hair was being whipped around by the wind that was flying by and the TARDIS eventually dematerialized.
The other two children looked towards Clyde and asked Iris,
"What happens now? Will he come back for us?"
Iris opened her mouth, when Rani asked, "What if he can't?"
The Time Lady frowned at that and said, "He'll be back. And Clyde, he'll be alright in a few minutes. No after effects."
Though, Iris added on a small word after her sentence with a "yet" in her mind. In the hotel reception, Iris was watching over Clyde, while Rani was pacing and saying,
"Iris, you said that the power of the TARDIS could fight the Trickster. Something energy."
Iris answered, "Artron energy. It's the same energy Clyde was flooded with."
K9 further explained, "Artron energy. Residue of TARDIS engines. Known to be highly inimical to certain time-sensitive life forms."
Rani grumbled out, "There is no TARDIS."
Iris then stood up as Clyde fidgeted with his hand, where a small ball of electrical-looking energy was moving around in his palm. He could only gasp, and the younger girl asked,
"What's that?"
Iris smiled and pointed out, "Now that, is the artron energy, Rani."
K9 chirped, "Affirmative, mistress."
Iris fangirled a little bit at K9, but maintained her facial expression to be that of concern. Clyde then asked,
"I got a shot of it. Is it possible to fight him? I mean, Iris is here."
Iris looked at the children with a little shock before stating,
"Let's not resort to fighting. But I do think that artron energy will come in handy."
Rani looked at Iris and wondered, "But how?"
Iris smirked and said, "Well, who is ready to start out-tricking the Trickster?"
That caused both Rani and Clyde to look at each other in confusion, as they were not sure about what the plan was. Iris chuckled and said,
"We are going to call the Trickster here. As of now, the first person the Trickster will respond to is Clyde due to the artron energy. And once he's here, the only thing that can take us to Sarah Jane Smith is…"
Rani smiled widely as she exclaimed in joy, "The artron energy! It can help us get to her!"
Iris nodded and snapped her finger to indicate that Rani got the correct answer. Rani and Iris then stood by Clyde as he yelled out,
"Trickster!"
The white mist solidified into the Trickster and the creature stated,
"Clyde Langer. Why do you call me?"
Iris' grip on Clyde's shoulder tightened a little, as Clyde confidently stated,
"I wish to serve you. We wish to join the Pantheon."
That was when all four of them were transported through the Limbo, and the Trickster chuckled darkly before saying,
"You all are of no importance."
Rani shook her head and said, "We know something. A massive secret that could help you in your tasks!"
Trickster stared at them before stating, "You know nothing. You have the mind of a chittering insect. Be gone."
And with that, the Trickster tried to wave them out of Limbo, but Clyde managed to grab the Trickster with the crackling hand. With that, Iris smirked and stated,
"What a shame. It seems like you have been out-tricked, Trickster."
Rani and Clyde cringed at Iris' attempt at a joke, as the Trickster could only scream in frustration. That was when Iris gripped onto Clyde a little tighter, trying to lend him strength before the bright light took their place and the next thing all of them knew, was that they were surrounded by Sarah Jane, Peter, Luke, and the Doctor.
With that, Iris smiled at the Doctor, who looked at her with big relief, before turning to study the Trickster with some interest, his eyes spotting Clyde's crackling hand. Iris then caught Clyde as he went unconscious, causing Sarah to exclaim in worry for the boy. Afterwards, Sarah stated to Peter,
"Peter, I do love you, but the Doctor's right. There is another way out."
The Trickster growled at how Peter somehow hesitated at that statement, as he said,
"Do not listen to her lies."
Sarah shook her head and continued with,
"Your accident. He can only talk to people who are about to die. He comes to them in that final moment. He gives them back their life."
Peter's eyes widened at some form of realization, as he asked quietly, "What do you mean?"
Sarah responded,
"Clyde and Rani said your house was empty. Why did you never let me see your house? You died in that accident, Peter. But he needed you, so he kept you half alive. And if we got married the bargain would be complete. He would bring you back to life."
Peter then said firmly, "Your love brought me back to life. How can that be wrong, to save a life?"
Sarah shook as tears fell down her face, stating, "Look at this, this is what he'll do to millions of people unless, unless you break your deal with him."
Peter noticed that Sarah sadly looked at Clyde as he could only tearfully state,
"But I'll lose you. I'll die. I don't want you to be alone."
Iris shared a sad look with the Doctor, who seemed to not realize the sadness that he was feeling seeping through their bond. Having to watch this, she knew that the Doctor felt a form of regret at having moved Sarah Jane Smith's into this trajectory.
Sarah answered,
"I love you but I can't love you. You said you'd do anything to save me. If you love me, you know what you have to do."
Iris wasn't sure if there was a different way to resolve this, but she did know that the events were going the way she remembered going. They could all see that the Trickster was gritting his teeth in anger, while Peter said,
"You got one thing exactly right. Sarah Jane and I, we were made for each other. We're the perfect match. And I know what she would do."
The Trickster tried to cajole Peter back to his side by stating, "But I chose you because you didn't have strength."
That seemed to push Peter into anger as he said with hatred,
"You really don't know my Sarah Jane, do you? She gave me the strength. And I withdraw my agreement."
The Trickster screamed in dismay at that, before poofing into disappearance. Iris sadly smiled at Peter, who looked around the room, before focusing on Sarah Jane, whispering out wistfully,
"So, here I go. I wish I'd always known you."
Sarah cried out, "I love you, Peter."
Peter smiled in joy, though in tears, as he whispered out, "And I love you, Sarah Jane Dalton."
Iris felt Rani sniffle by her side, and hugged the girl to give her comfort as Peter disappeared in a shower of sparkles.
Luke went towards his mother, trying to provide her the comfort she needed as she cried in despair. But that was when the Doctor approached Sarah Jane as he said,
"My Sarah Jane. You did it. The trap's broken. Time's moving forward again, we're going home."
Luke looked frustrated, while Iris noticed that the other individuals were back in the wedding hall, murmuring in confusion. But Iris felt a small hand wrap around her own and she looked up to find the Doctor whisper to her,
"Let's go."
Iris smiled and bobbed her head in agreement. With that, the two Time Lords quietly walked into the TARDIS and dematerialized. Iris watched the Doctor silently, who noticed her glance and smiled at her. He then said,
"Should we look in on the Smith residence?"
Iris nodded, understanding that the Doctor wanted to state a proper goodbye to Sarah Jane, as if feeling guilty about this whole ordeal. Once they parked, and the Doctor leaned on the TARDIS door, smirking at Sarah Jane Smith, as he said,
"What do you take me for, Sarah? Just thought I'd go the quick way."
That was when the Doctor looked around the attic, before stating, "Oooh, I like it in here."
Rani curiously looked towards the two Time Lords, asking cautiously, "Can we have a look?"
Iris chuckled and the Doctor looked confused, before noticing the amused look on Iris, before stating,
"What, in the TARDIS? My TARDIS! Course you can, yeah."
The children squeaked in excitement, before running in to take a look at the interior of the spaceship. The three adults watched the sight in amusement, though the Doctor and Iris noticed the depressed emotions from Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah then quietly asked the two,
"Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you two?"
The Doctor shrugged and said, "I don't know. I hope not."
Iris smirked and said, "We'll all meet again. I know it."
Sarah's eyes widened while the Doctor smiled in gratitude. Sarah then said,
"Goodbye, Doctor… Iris. Until the next time."
The Doctor then said, "Don't forget me, Sarah Jane."
Iris winked at Sarah, who tearfully laughed. The human woman then said,
"No one's ever going to forget you two."
With that, Sarah called back the children and they all watched as the TARDIS started to dematerialize from the attic. And Iris stood next to the Doctor worrying about the future the 10th Doctor was about to face.