From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun,
There's more to see than can ever be seen,
More to do than-
Hold on . . . . Sorry, that's The Lion King. Who cares, keep going!
More to do than can ever be done!
There's far too much to take in here,
More to learn than can ever be known,
But the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small in the endless flow.
It's the River of Time!
Zazu soared over the animals gathering at Pride Rock; elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelope, monkeys, birds, and more as far as the eye could see.
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope,
The colorful hornbill alighted in front of the huge lion, Mufasa, and bowed.
Through faith and love,
Mufasa nodded and smiled down at him.
Till we find our place
A fluctuating mechanical sound began, faint at first, and growing louder. A tall blue box began to appear, its opacity wavering in time with the sound.
On the path unwinding,
The box fully appeared and a man in a tuxedo stepped out and smiled at Mufasa, his wild hair kept in check after much persuasion.
In the River . . .
The Time Lord broke into a grin and crouched to hug the lion.
The River of Time.
The friends looked up at a lioness cradling her newborn cub. Mufasa walked over and bumped heads with her. The Doctor smiled down at baby Simba and shook his sonic screwdriver in front of him. Simba batted at it. The Doctor broke a fruit over his head. He rubbed his thumb in the juice and smeared it across Simba's forehead. He grabbed a handful of dust from the ground and sprinkled it over Simba's head. Simba sneezed. Sarabi stifled a giggle and rested her head on Mufasa's shoulder. The Doctor carefully lifted Simba and looked at the proud faces of the cub's parents. He turned away and walked slowly past the TARDIS to the edge of Pride Rock.
It's the River of Time!
The Doctor held Simba high above his head for all to see.
And it moves us all,
Through despair and hope,
Through faith and love!
All the animals cheered in their unique animal voices. Monkeys danced and zebras reared in jubilation.
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding!
A shaft of light broke through the clouds and shone down on the newborn prince. All the animals bowed deeply.
In the River . . .
The River of Time!
The Doctor muttered to himself as he used his fingers to paint a simple picture of Simba on the wall inside the TARDIS. He stood back and chuckled to himself. He waved the sonic screwdriver across the picture. "Simba," he said as bioluminescent particles in the paint lit up, causing the drawing to glow.
"Mufasa's death is a terrible tragedy. But to lose Simba, who had barely begun to live," Scar began, "For me it is a deep, personal loss."
Sarabi lowered her head, completely shattered. Zazu laid a wing on her paw. Nala nuzzled her mother's leg, a tear dripping down her face.
"So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne. Yet out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era," Scar said, jumping onto Pride Rock as hyenas slithered behind him, "In which lion and hyena come together in a great and glorious future!"
The lions looked on in shock and fear. The hyenas laughed eerily and their eyes glowed with greed.
The Doctor watched from a distance through the doorway of the TARDIS. He turned away and closed the door. He leaned against the console in the middle of the TARDIS, his head lowered. Mufasa had been a faithful and wise companion. He had grown attached to Simba too. He couldn't believe he wasn't there to save them. The TARDIS could do a lot, but could he really have saved them from a stampede? He couldn't stop a tear from escaping. He growled at the tear before wiping it away and looking up at the glowing painting of Simba. He sadly waved his sonic screwdriver over it. The light dimmed.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS. She had brought him to this place of her own will. He watched a stream of flower petals and leaves flow by in the wind. It didn't quite seem like normal wind or normal flower petals. He reached up and snatched a sample. He looked at them a moment and stepped back inside. He dropped the bits into a small container and slipped it into the console for the TARDIS to analyze. He looked at the scanner. It registered as normal until something caught his eye. Lion fur. The wind had not come from Pride Rock. He pressed some buttons to analyze the lion fur.
His eyes widened in shock. "Simba? He's-he's alive?" He turned to the painting on the wall. "He's alive!" He laughed with joy as he grabbed more paint. He laughed maniacally as he painted a mane onto the picture of Simba. He waved his sonic screwdriver over it, lighting it up again. He grinned like a maniac and pumped his fist enthusiastically. "It is time!"
"You said you'd always be there for me!" Simba shouted at the sky. He lowered his head. "But you're not. And it's because of me. It's my fault. It's my fault." His great head heaved with stifled sobs.
The Doctor watched from a short distance, reclining in a tree, wearing sunglasses, his tie around his forehead, and a stupid grin. "Wibbly wobbly timey wimey, molto bene, brilliant, blimey," he chanted.
Simba turned to look at him with an annoyed expression. He walked slowly away, his head hung. The Doctor dropped out of the tree and watched him, grinning from ear to ear. Simba walked across a log and sat halfway, looking gloomily into the water below. The Doctor tossed a rock into Simba's reflection. Simba looked up at him with frustration.
"Wibbly wobbly timey wimey, molto bene, brilliant, blimey!" the Doctor chanted, stumbling drunkenly.
Simba rolled his eyes. "Come on, will you cut it out?" he said, getting up to leave.
"Can't cut it out, it'll grow right back!" the Doctor said, following him.
Simba tried to walk away from him, but the Doctor kept following with a wacky grin.
"Creepy little guy," Simba said to himself, "Will you stop following me! Who are you?"
The Doctor leaned into Simba's face. "The question is, who . . . are you?"
Simba opened his mouth to retort, but looked away sadly. "I thought I knew . . . . Now I'm not so sure."
"Well, I know who you are. Come here, it's a secret." The Doctor pulled Simba's ear and leaned in to whisper. "Wibbly wobbly timey wimey."
Simba pulled away sharply.
"Molto bene, brilliant, blimey!" the Doctor finished, stumbling away.
"Enough already! What's that supposed to mean anyway?" Simba asked.
The Doctor pointed at Simba. "It means you're a mad man." He pointed to himself. "And I'm not." He chuckled.
"I think you're a little confused," Simba said through his teeth as he walked away.
The Doctor popped out of the grass in front of him, pushing his nose with his finger. "Wrong! I'm not the one who's confused. You don't even know who you are!"
"Oh, and I suppose you do?" Simba said, walking by a tall blue box.
"Sure do. You're Mufasa's boy," the Doctor said.
Simba stopped. He turned and looked at the Doctor in shock.
"Bye," the Doctor said, stepping into the TARDIS.
It began to disappear.
"Hey, wait!" Simba shouted.
The TARDIS reappeared and the door opened with a creak, painting a patch of light on the grass. Simba stepped inside and looked around in awe. His lion eyes scanned the huge room, taking in the off-world technology. He had more important things to think about. He walked up to the Doctor leaning against the console in the middle, suddenly sober, his eyes closed and his tie down.
"You knew my father?" Simba asked.
"Correction, I know your father," the Doctor said without opening his eyes.
Simba looked away and lowered his head. The Doctor looked at him.
"I hate to tell you this, but he died . . . a long time ago," Simba said.
"Nope! Wrong again!" the Doctor said, running to the other side of the console, "He's alive, and I'll show him to you! You follow the ol' Doctor! Allons-y!" The Doctor fired up the TARDIS.
Simba crouched, his ears pinned back, as the TARDIS shook. He slowly relaxed after the spaceship landed.
The Doctor ran to the door and opened it. "Look down there," he whispered.
Simba ran to the door, happy to get out of the box of weirdness, but stopped, realizing he was going to see his father. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the TARDIS. He walked through some reeds and stopped at the edge of a rock hanging over a pool. He crouched and looked into the pool. He sat up, disappointed. "That's not my father. It's just my reflection."
"Nah," the Doctor said, laying a hand on Simba's head, "Look harder." He pointed to the water.
Simba looked harder. He concentrated on his reflection. His eyes widened as his reflection changed to one of his father.
"You see?" the Doctor asked, "He lives in you."
"Simba . . . ." a voice from the sky whispered.
Simba looked up. "Father?"
A cloud rolled unnaturally quickly through the sky. It billowed into the shape of a lion. Slowly the outline and details of Mufasa appeared, standing proudly in the sky. The wind blew Simba's mane wildly.
"Simba. You have forgotten me," Mufasa's voice rumbled.
"No! How could I?"
"You have forgotten who you are, and so, forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the River of Time."
"How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be."
"Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember who you are." Mufasa's face began to fade.
"No, please! Don't leave me!"
"Remember . . ."
Simba chased after the fading image. "Father!"
"Remember . . ."
"Don't leave me . . . ."
"Remember . . . ."
Simba came to rest on a hill, staring at the sky. The breeze blew the grass and his mane fluttered in the wind.
"What was that?" the Doctor questioned, walking up to him, "The weather." He chuckled. "Very peculiar, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Simba answered, "Looks like the winds are changing."
"Ahh . . . change is good," the Doctor said, saying the exact words he himself needed to hear.
"Yeah, but it's not easy," Simba said, "I know what I have to do, but . . . . Going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long."
The Doctor buzzed his sonic screwdriver at a piercing pitch in Simba's ear.
Simba jerked his head away. "Ow! Geez, what was that for?"
"It doesn't matter! It's in the past!" the Doctor said.
"Yeah, but it still hurts," Simba said, rubbing his ear.
"Ah, yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or, learn from it." Once again, everything he himself needed to hear. The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver again, but Simba ducked. "Hah! You see? Now what are you going to do?"
"First, I'm gonna take your stick." Simba lunged at the Doctor's hand, his teeth bared.
The Doctor flinched away, and Simba caught the sonic screwdriver in his teeth and threw it aside. "No, no, no, no! Careful!" The Doctor ran after it. "It's a sonic screwdriver!" He found it in the grass and picked it up. "It's a delicate technological . . . ." He looked up to see Simba running away. "Oi! Where are you going?"
"I'm going back!" Simba called.
"Brilliant! Go on! Get out of here!" The Doctor laughed and hollered with joy. At least his failures allowed him to help someone else avoid the same mistakes.
"Have you guys seen Simba?" Nala asked Timon and Pumbaa.
"I thought he was with you," Timon said, holding a hand to his head.
"He was, but now I can't find him. Where is he?" Nala asked.
"You won't find him here," the Doctor said, mysteriously appearing from nowhere. He laughed and bowed. "The king has returned."
Simba ran across Pride Rock, knocking hyenas off both sides. He clawed one off his back and knocked another down. A hyena jumped from above and bit Simba's neck. Simba reared and roared. A shoe smacked the hyena in the face and he fell off. Simba looked up and saw the Doctor with only one shoe. The Doctor let out a war cry and jumped into the battle. Hyenas formed a ring around him. They rushed toward him. He punched and kicked them, trying to remember his old Venusian aikido. Hyenas lay unconscious in a circle around him.
He looked at his feet. "I look daft with one shoe . . . ." He pulled off his other shoe and threw it over his shoulder, where it smacked one last approaching hyena in the face. He wiggled his toes. "Barefoot on Pride Rock."
Simba and Sarabi bumped heads in the rain. Nala stepped toward Simba and they nuzzled each other. The Doctor gently cleared his throat. The lions looked up at him. He motioned toward Pride Rock. Simba turned and walked up to him. He stood on his back legs to hug the Doctor, nearly knocking him over.
The Doctor stepped back and laid his hands on Simba's shoulders. "It is time," he said.
Simba turned and walked majestically up Pride Rock. Rain streamed off his fur and his rich, thick mane hung heavy with water. He strode like the king he was and held his head high. He stood at the top and looked into the sky, rain pelting his face. The clouds parted, revealing the stars.
"Remember . . . ." Mufasa whispered.
Simba looked inside himself. He knew who he was. He was Mufasa's son, and the one true king. He unleashed a mighty roar from deep inside his soul that spread across the Pridelands. The lionesses roared with him. The Doctor gave it his best shot. Simba roared again, cleansing the land once more.
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
The Doctor walked between Simba and Nala, holding their newborn daughter, Kiara. The TARDIS stood in the background.
In the River . . .
The River of Time!
The Doctor held Kiara high.
River of . . . Time!