Fipp: With the completion of Jon Pertwee's stories, I now move onto Tom Baker; which should take me more than a month to finish at my current rate.

I really hope that in a future incarnation the Doctor goes back to using karate.

The Third

Hello, my Thief's Third.

Or, at least that's what I want to say to you, but you cannot hear me, can you?

No, I suppose you can't. I can't hear you either.

I'm not too sure where we are. I just know that they placed us on Earth. In the late twentieth century. In a field. With trees here and there. And a bush. You landed on the bush.

I wonder what you look like? I can't see you because you're facedown in that bush. I'm worried that you may not be entirely okay.

This, this emptiness; I hate it. It makes everything, the whole universe, seem so much smaller. I not only lost my connection to you, but everything that makes a TARDIS a TARDIS.

I… I'm afraid. I feel more alone than I've ever felt before in my existence…

Thief, please, please be clever and fix this.

000

I suppose we should be thankful that they dropped us somewhere the Dutiful One could find us. He didn't recognize you at first, and had been skeptical about many things, but that incident with the Plastic helped in our favor.

He was even kind enough to let us stay with his UNIT; allowing you to fix me, in exchange for your help when something came to destroy this planet.

Though, I cannot say I like that primitive yellow thing. "Bessie"? It's not even alive! It's just bits of metal! And did I mention it was yellow? That's more or less the opposite of blue!

But, I suppose I can let it slide for now. It can give you a freedom I can't right now. It breaks my heart to see you look out at the stars at night, knowing you cannot reach them.

And all those frequent visits from the Drumming One aren't entirely fun either. Though, I think you secretly enjoyed it when he came along. He was your friend, right? Even though he's tried to kill you numerous times, and you fully acknowledge that he is a threat to the universe, you still looked at him with some sort of fondness.

But do you want to know what my favorite part of this whole exile was? When they, the Time Lords, sent you and you, to help you.

It brought me such joy to see your First and Second again, even though the First was never actually able to make it, but I could still feel him.

This make me realize the differences between This You, and the Last You. One of the things that sticks out most is that you seem to have a more commanding presence. In your last bodies, no one seemed to take you seriously. You were always the funny man in a blue box. Yes, you were still that, but now it seems that people will look more to you solve the madness of whatever was happening.

I've always known you were an amazing person, but seeing these three versions of you together, why, I can't even begin to describe what I feel.

The Time Lords even lifting the exile, restoring my functions and your memories, and sending you a spare part seems like a bonus is comparison.

000

You were afraid, my Thief. Truly afraid. There are not many creatures in the universe with the strength to not only overpower a Time Lord, but to control their own body with no strain on their part? You were terrified like I've never felt before.

It was never your intent to go back, to face that spider again. Your plans were to keep the crystal safe on Earth, and find some way to defeat from there.

But the Hermit's words hung heavy in your head. You decided to go back, and face your fear, knowing you may not return.

It worked out, of course, the psychic buildup too much for her, destroying her and all the spiders on the planet, but it was too late.

The radiation from the crystals that lay within her cave had already destroyed your body's cells. I would have gotten you back to the UNIT, to possibly undo the damage, but the psychic pulse had disrupted many of my circuits, and we spent weeks lost in the time vortex. Each day we spent there, trying to speed up repairs, was a day the damage kept getting worse.

We made it, eventually, but it was too late. The moment you opened my doors, you collapsed to the ground, the Dutiful One and the Curious One rushing to your aid, the female begging you to not die.

"A tear, Sarah Jane? No, don't cry, as long as there's life, there's…" You are unable to finish as your body fails.

But I know what you were going to say; Hope. As long as there is life, there is hope. As long as there are people are willing to go on living, there is always hope for the future.

The Hermit then arrives, and says he'll give you a little push. The Process was almost so fast, that I almost missed it.

Goodbye, my Thief's Third.

000

Please review,

Mrfipp