Chapter 11
The Doctor was focusing her attention on the second lock when all of them unlocked. The Doctor looked puzzled, then put her sonic screwdriver away before the heavy door opened. It swung open and the Doctor gasped, shocked at the face she saw.
"Oh my god, I never thought I'd see you again!" she said, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.
"Who is it?" Jennifer asked.
"Where's the Doctor?" said the person who unlocked the door.
"Right here. Oh, I'm so happy to see you," said the Doctor, hugging the person, "Mel."
"Aren't you lucky Sabalom Glitz and I happened to stop by Dargon to get some supplies," the girl with the fiery red hair said. "We heard the Doctor was here. Come on, let's get you out of this horrible cell," Mel said, and the Doctor stepped aside to let Jennifer and Faria out first, following close behind.
"We need to get to the TARDIS, move it out of the way to avoid further conflict with the soldiers," the Doctor explained.
"Doctor, can you introduce us?" Faria asked.
"Once we're out of here," the Doctor said as the four women snuck out of the building. The Doctor took the lead, waiting until the way was clear before leading Mel, Jennifer, and Faria to the TARDIS. She hung her hat and jacket on the hat stand before taking off.
"How are you the Doctor? Last I checked, the Doctor was a man," Mel said once everything was calm.
"I'm him. I've regenerated eight times since we last met, I just happen to be female this time."
"Wow, that's a lot. How old does that make you now?" Mel asked.
"2500."
"So it's been a long time. Care to introduce me to your friends?" Mel asked.
"Well, this is Jennifer Dunst, from Cardiff in 2014, and this is Faria McDonald, from London in 3596. Faria, Jennifer, this is Melanie Bush," the Doctor said.
"It's lovely to meet you. You can call me Mel."
"We've landed," the Doctor said as she carefully landed the TARDIS. She turned on the scanner and saw she had landed the TARDIS on the outskirts of a forest.
"Looks like we're safe," the Doctor said, pulling the lever to open the doors. She slipped her jacket back on and put her hat on before leaving the TARDIS.
"In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have taken those off if I was just going to put them back on again a few minutes later," the Doctor said as Mel, Jennifer, and Faria left the TARDIS.
"So what are we going to do now, Doctor?" Jennifer asked.
"If I remember properly, at this point in Dargonian history, the Women's Liberation Movement finally secured equal rights for Dargonian women. So that's what we're going to do. We're going to help free the women of Dargon."
"How? We're not citizens, just visitors, and we're all women. How are we supposed to do anything?" Faria asked.
"Oh, believe me, we can do it, we've just got to find the base of the liberation movement's headquarters and join them," said the Doctor
"Are you sure they need our help, Doctor?" Mel said.
"Oh, now you're making me second-guess myself. Stop it! We're out of the jail cell. How about we just get back in the TARDIS and actually go where I intended to go in the first place," the Doctor said, entering the TARDIS.
"Are you coming with us, Mel?" Faria asked.
"If the Doctor promises to bring me back to this point in time," Mel said, then heard a TARDIS landing. Another police box materialized a few yards away, and Mel saw herself leave it. "Guess I'm coming!" she said, entering the TARDIS after Jennifer and Faria.
"Damn it, I've got to move the TARDIS, is everyone in?"
"Yep!"
"We're going!" the Doctor said, flipping a switch and the TARDIS dematerialized.
"Doctor, if it's been so long since you last saw me, Why does the TARDIS interior look the same as it did when I travelled with you?" Mel asked.
"Believe me, it's been through some radical changes, but I decided I wanted a blast from the past to make me feel younger, so I recalled an old desktop theme, save for a few changes, the roundels are bigger, this switch is new, and I added a hat stand," the Doctor said with a smile. She noticed that the TARDIS had materialized and turned on the scanner. "Much better! Let's go!" the Doctor said, opening the doors and stepping out, the three humans following her. The Doctor stared at the view, which was roughly the same as when the group landed the first time, save for a tinge of pollution, as the Doctor had travelled a good 500 years into the planet's future. She then turned around to face her companions.
"I just realized I forgot that I had Mel with me," the Doctor said. "Want to go back to Sabalom Glitz yet?"
"I suppose so," Mel said with a smile.
"Okay, we're going to return Mel to Glitz, then we'll go do whatever you like," the Doctor said as the four ladies walked to the TARDIS, Faria pulling the lever to close the doors. The Doctor began flipping switches and pulling levers, and the center column began to rise and fall. After a minute, the center column stopped, and the Doctor opened the doors.
"There you are, Mel, Sabalom Glitz should be waiting right outside that door," the Doctor said. Mel left the TARDIS, rejoining Glitz and saying goodbye to the Doctor, who waved back before closing the doors and taking off.