A/N: Been a while, hasn't it? Hope you like this next chapter.
Disclaimer: I still don't own. No profits are made off this, blah, di, blah.
They arrived in a dark cavern beneath the Tower, where dozens upon dozens of paintings were leaned against the cave walls. There was glowing, blue sphere in the centre, sat atop a stalagmite, and the four Doctors, Clara and Elizabeth emerged on a sort of balcony overlooking the whole thing.
"The planet that the Zygons lived on burnt in the first days of the Time War." Elizabeth started.
"So they want this one?" Clara asked.
"Clever girl." Eleventh muttered to her.
"Miss me?" She asked him.
"Yes." He replied.
"No, not yet. This world is much too primitive." Elizabeth corrected. Thirteenth's eyes widened.
"So they hop in the paintings for a while, and wait?" She asked.
"Yes." Then, there was a hissing sound from the corridor that they had emerged form onto the balcony.
"Commander…" It hissed. "Why are these creatures here?"
"Because I say that they should be." Elizabeth replied. "It is time that you too were translated." Then, Thirteenth realised. She sickened, trying to keep it silent. "Observe this. I believe you will find it fascinating." The Zygon placed his hand atop the blue sphere, and it hummed, and he disappeared, reappearing inside the painting. Clara looked at Eleventh, then back at the Zygon, in the painting.
"That's him!" She gasped. "That's the Zygon in the painting now."
"Very clever, Elizabeth. I must hand it to you." Thirteenth said. The other doctors thought she was talking about the paintings, but Elizabeth looked at her, and realised that she had figured it out.
"Really?" She asked Thirteenth.
"Yep. Are you going to tell him?" She asked. "He nearly went ballistic on me earlier when I told him I'd forgotten."
"I think I shall drag it out just a little longer." She said.
"Well aren't you a bad girl." Thirteenth muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Tenth turned to look at the two conversing.
"Nothing." Thirteenth said. "I just had some questions, and Zygon Elizabeth here was answering them." Meanwhile, Eleventh was talking to Clara about how it was possible.
"It's not a picture. It's a stasis cube. Time Lord art; frozen instances in time. Bigger on the inside, but could be deployed as…" The War Doctor began.
"Suspended animation! Brilliant!" Eleventh said, clapping his hands together. "The Zygons hop inside the pictures, wait a few centuries until the planet is ripe for the taking, and then they hop out again and take over!"
"You see, Clara, they're stored in the paintings in the Under Gallery, like cup-a-soups. Except you add time, if you can picture that. Nobody could picture that. Forget I said cup-a-soups…" Eleventh said, talking to Clara.
"Cup-a-Soups?" Thirteenth questioned. "Are you trying to confuse the poor girl?"
"He does that a lot." Clara replied. "I think I get it, though. But now the world is ripe for the taking!" She realised.
"So they're invading, in your time." Thirteenth finished for her. "I think." Tenth groaned, and turned to Elizabeth. Thirteenth walked over to the two, and locked eyes significantly with Elizabeth.
"And you know why I know that you're a fake?" He asked. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. Thirteenth could see that she was hiding a smile. "And do you know why I know that you're a fake? Because you're such a bad copy. It's not just the smell, or the unconvincing hair, or the atrocious teeth, or the eyes just a bit too close together, or the breath that could stun a horse. It's because my Elizabeth, the real Elizabeth, would never be stupid enough to reveal her own plan. Honestly, why would you do that?"
"Aww, go on." Thirteenth gestured to Elizabeth, putting a hand on her hips. "Tell him. Watch his face. This is going to be hilarious."
"Well, that's because it's not my plan, and I'm the real Elizabeth!" She told him, her voice getting progressively louder and louder.
"Right." He blanched white. "Just to backtrack, and give my comments some context?" He asked, politely. Thirteenth smiled.
"My twin is dead in the forest." She began lifting her skirt, and revealed a golden dagger, which she pulled out. "I am accustomed to taking precautions." Tenth whirled on Thirteenth.
"How long have you known?" He asked her. She put her hands up, as if surrendering.
"Damn, Sand Shoes, your temper is almost worse than mine!" She said.
"How long?" He asked, again.
"Only since she told the other Zygon why we were here." She replied. "Honestly, I had forgotten. And I am also no closer to figuring out why I am here." Tenth sighed.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.
"Because I wanted to test your love for her." She murmured.
"Why would my love be tested?" He asked.
"I wanted to know, in the end, who your loyalties lie with." She muttered. "With your wife to be?"
"Is that all you are here for?" He spat. "To test us?"
"I don't know why I am here!" She told him. "And this?! This is my best bet." This time, Eleventh got between the two.
"Come on, everyone!" He said, rubbing his hands together. "We have worlds to save! We can't afford to argue now!"
"My love, the future of my kingdom hangs in the balance. Can I count on you to save it?" Tenth sighed, and turned to Elizabeth.
"I'm going to need my TARDIS." He said. She smiled.
"I already have it." She said. "But first, my love, you have a promise to keep."
The pseudo-wedding was not lavish, and there were no wedding dresses, or long and complex vows. Just the other three doctors and Clara. And the priest.
"Do you, the… er… Doctor, take Queen Elizabeth Tudor as your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest intoned.
"I do." Tenth said, smiling at his almost-wife.
"And do you, Queen Elizabeth Tudor of England, take the… er… Doctor, as your lawfully wedded husband?" He asked, in a gravelly tone.
"I do." The priest bobbed his head.
"Now, by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife." He intoned. "You may kiss the bride." Elizabeth practically flew into Tenth's arms, and Thirteenth laughed as he was overwhelmed by her forcefulness. She smiled at his wide eyes, as Clara threw petals over the couple, and the War Doctor leant over to Eleventh.
"Is this going to happen a lot in my future?" He asked.
"It does start to happen, yeah." Eleventh replied. "Especially with him. He's a real ladies man."
"Fantastic." The War Doctor rolled his eyes, just as Elizabeth stepped back from Tenth.
"I will be right back." Tenth promised, and then ran towards the TARDIS, and the other three doctors followed in his wake. Elizabeth stepped back, as the TARDIS began to disappear, with a whirring, wheezing sound.
Thirteenth looked around at the old TARDIS, interested to see it once more. The details of it had slipped from her mind, and for that reason she felt kind of guilty. Then, the TARDIS rocked, and it seemed to just stutter.
"What's going on?" Tenth asked. "It's never done that before."
"Four of us. One TARDIS. Think really hard, if your tiny brain is capable of that!" Thirteenth practically yelled at him.
"Yes!" Eleventh cried. "It's trying to compensate. Four of us, all from different timelines, so it's…" The TARDIS shuddered, and sparks flew, then the TARDIS seemed to change on the inside.
"Look!" Tenth said, excitedly pointing. "The circle things are back!"
"Ah yes. The circle things." Thirteenth cut in. "They are boss."
"Love the circle things." Eleventh said, regarding them like he was about to point his Sonic at them. "What are the circle things?"
"No idea." Tenth shook his head, and looked at Thirteenth. "You seem to be Miss Know-It-All, what are the circle things?" She shook her head.
"Even I don't know that one." She replied. "And I know lots of stuff." Then, there was a great siren, and it whirred throughout the TARDIS. "Oh my god, the time fluctuation capsules are destabilising." She ran around the console, looking for a switch, which she promptly flicked up. The TARDIS flashed a bright white again, and then it changed. The console turned metallic black, and it had rows of blinking blue lights and neat lines of switches. It was circular, with two balcony walkways above it, and four black, metallic bridges leading away from the console to four platforms with white, leather seats on them. They had straps on them, and a circle thing floating above them. Thirteenth ran to a row of switches, and flicked them all up. A blue light in the centre column blinked on, and then she ran down one of the walkways, to a chair. She sat down in it, and brought the floating, circle thing down around her seat. Tenth, Eleventh and the War Doctor followed her.
"What on earth have you done?" He asked.
"Oh, you know, just changed it to my interface." She replied.
"I see you've redecorated." Eleventh muttered. "I don't like it."
"Of course you don't, sweetie." She said, sarcastically. She placed her hands on the circle, and it lit up with blue lights, and then an interface.
"Hello, Doctor." It said, sweetly. Eleventh jumped, and turned around.
"How did you do that?" He asked.
"Do what?" Thirteenth replied.
"How is the TARDIS speaking?" He asked.
"I did some upgrades after I regenerated. Took me a while, but I managed to figure out how to re circuit her internal chronometer and rewire the hard drive so that there was enough data space. I kind of liked this voice, so I decided that it would be the best one." She replied.
"Do you know who this voice is?!" Eleventh turned to Thirteenth, and she looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.
"No. I don't think I've heard it before I programmed her with it, why?" She asked. He got right up in her face, and looked at her, and Thirteenth could see that she was pushing his buttons. Why, she wanted to know.
"How could you forget?!" He asked. "How could you forget? How could you forget her?!"
"Her who?!" Thirteenth stood, and yelled right back. "I have no idea what you are talking about! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to save your future, Kate Stewart, your London, Clara!" She pointed to Clara, who backed away a little. Thirteenth cast her a look, then looked back at the furious Eleventh.
"Nephew. Idris. The meteor. House. Aunt. Uncle. Sexy." He shot off, quickly. Thirteenth's eyes widened.
"You… I… The TARDIS… Idris…" She stuttered. "That's where I know that voice from… This isn't important right now!" She sat back down, and Tenth leaned over her, then saw something glistening in the corner of her eye.
"You're crying." He pointed out.
"No, I'm not." She furiously wiped the tear away, then her fingers began to dance across the metallic circle, now displaying numbers, figures, images of time periods, dates, facts, and a blue, glowing keyboard. Then, a blue light flashed, and Thirteenth slapped her forehead. "Where do we need to go?" She asked Eleventh.
"We need to go to the under gallery of the…" He was cut off by Clara, who quickly spoke up.
"No, we need to go to the Tower of London. The Zygons followed us there to the Black Archives." She said, quickly. All four doctors turned, and gave her a look that was almost dread. Even Thirteenth stopped what she was doing, and looked at Clara with dread.
"The Black archives?" Eleventh asked her. "Are you sure, Clara?"
"Very sure. What's the look for?" Thirteenth stood, raising the circle, and they all followed her as she walked back towards the centre console.
"Even I can't land the TARDIS in the Black Archives. It's practically impossible." She said. "Also, if the Zygons get their hands on that tech, the world is pretty much done for."
"Why can't you land he TARDIS?" Clara asked.
"Alien technology plus human stupidity? It's unbeatable." He replied.
"Did you just call humans stupid?" Clara asked. "I'm a human!"
"Yeah, he pretty much did just call you stupid. Keep up." Thirteenth said, gleefully.
"I didn't mean it." Eleventh muttered. "And I really don't like the way you've redecorated."
"I don't care what you think. It divides up the controls, and doesn't cut corners like it did when I regenerated. When I found it, it was cutting so many corners that I'm surprised it didn't blow up." She said. Eleventh got a dark look in his eyes.
"It did." He muttered. "Why do you keep forgetting things?"
"I don't know, okay?!" She replied, turning and walking down yet another walkway, to another seat. "You." She pointed to Clara. "I need you to sit here."
"Why?" Eleventh asked.
"Be quiet." Thirteenth snapped. Clara sat down in the chair, and Thirteenth brought the circular panel down around her, where it floated.
"What is this?" Clara asked, pushing the circle. It stayed where it was floating in midair, and she looked around, trying to figure out how it was floating like that. "How is it doing that?"
"How is it floating?" Thirteenth clarified. When Clara nodded, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Touch activated anti-gravs." She replied. "It's a highly sensitive interface, which I've keyed to accept a stranger's touch. The one I was at before is keyed to my touch, and the one on that side is for Ronan."
"So who is that one over there for?" Tenth asked, curiously, pointing to the fourth one.
"That's… That's… Never mind. We have a job to do." Thirteenth told them, leaning over behind Clara and pushing a blue, pulsing electronic light on the touch display of the circle. A small wire poked out of the side of the chair, and floated towards Clara's head. It had a white patch attached to the end, and Eleventh grabbed it in a fist.
"What's this?!" He demanded. "Are you trying to kill her?" Thirteenth sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She reached out, and grabbed the electrode, and the placed it carefully on Clara's temple. Her eyes slid shut, and she gasped. Eleventh moved to take it off, but Thirteenth grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Clara, I need you to picture the Black Archives, the inside." She told Clara.
"Okay, I'm on it." A look of concentration crossed her features as she tried to picture them.
"And you." Thirteenth addressed Eleventh. "Need to shut up, sit tight, and let me try all the ways I know to help you." She released his wrist, and he stared at her balefully, rubbing the marks that she had left.
"You have a strong grip." He muttered.
"Understatement." She replied. "I remember this moment."
"Why do you remember nothing else?" He asked.
"Not sure. Probably forget less stuff than you do, though." She replied.
"Point taken." He muttered. He was interrupted by the TARDIS making a wheezing sound. It seemed to jolt, then stop. Clara cried out, and Eleventh ran forwards and wrenched the electrode form her head.
"For once, you've actually done something half intelligent." Thirteenth muttered. "Are you okay, Clara?"
"I'm fine, just a bit of a shock is all." She replied. "What was that?"
"I think it's just the Black Archives preventing us from landing." Tenth replied. He was by the centre console with the War Doctor, and staring at one of the blue tinged screens.
"Damn. I thought it might have worked, too." She muttered. Then, she spotted something. The ball, the crystalline, blue one, that was glowing slightly. It was from the Tower, where the Zygons had been going into the pictures. The stasis cubes. She picked it up, and began to play with it, rolling it around in her hands. That was, until Eleventh snatched it out of her hands, and stared at it, as if he was contemplating something. "Hey!" Thirteenth protested. He ignored her, walking towards Tenth and the War Doctor by the console. Thirteenth followed.
"What are you doing?" Tenth asked, as Eleventh placed the ball down on the side of the console.
"I'm thinking! So don't interrupt!" Eleventh shot back. Tenth raised his hands, as if he was surrendering.
"Fine, fine." He replied. Eleventh stared at the crystalline blue ball, which was, if Thirteenth listened hard enough, humming just slightly. It was kind of like a camera, she guessed, except it changed living beings into paintings.
"I have an idea. Not sure if it will work, but it's worth a shot." He said. Thirteenth shrugged.
"What's your idea?" She asked.
"If we move a painting into the Black Archives, then fly the TARDIS into the painting using the… the thing, then we can come out in the Black Archives." He replied. Thirteenth's eyes widened, her mind working at double speed.
"We would only have a short window of time in which we would be able to do it…" She said, thinking.
"I know. But we have a time machine, it is completely possible." He replied. Tenth nodded.
"I think it just might work." Tenth said. The War Doctor nodded.
"I agree with him." He said.
"It's so crazy, it probably would." Thirteenth said. "There's only one way to find out, hey?"
"Oh yes!" Tenth smiled, gleefully. "I'm all about trying something crazy!"
"Of course you are, loverboy." Thirteenth rolled her eyes. Tenth looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Loverboy?" He questioned. She smirked.
"Don't deny it. Let's see. First there was Rose, then Elizabeth I, then Nurse Joan Redfern, then there was also Martha Jones, and then there was Astrid Peth, Clare Pope, and of course, there was always Christine de Souza, and Minnie Hooper, and we can't forget Reinette, or Madame de Pompadour, and you had a thing for River too, didn't you?" She asked, then backtracked. "Wait a moment, that was you, wasn't it?" She pointed to Eleventh.
"Hey!" He protested. "I actually married her, unlike him. Now he was really a player!"
"Right here, you know!" Tenth exclaimed. Then Thirteenth gasped.
"Damn Loverboy, Reinette sure did like you, didn't she?" She exclaimed, gleefully.
"Who's Reinette?" Clara asked. Thirteenth snickered.
"Well, let me tell you…" She began, but was cut off by Tenth.
"NO!" He exclaimed, shoving a hand over her mouth. She frowned, and gripped his wrist. He gasped, and took his hand away, hissing.
"As I was saying, Clara, he found…" She was interrupted.
"Crashed on!" Tenth corrected.
"…Found a 51st century cargo transport, which he then found was tearing a hole in the space-time continuum, to places in the life of Reinette Poisson, later Madame de Pompadour. You know, you probably studied her in school. She was the ill mistress of King Louis XV of France. Well, loverboy here decided that, on the night that she was to become the mistress of the King of France, it would be a good idea to… er…. seduce her." Thirteenth said, gleefully, while Tenth blushed a violent shade of scarlet.
"Actually, she seduced me." Tenth corrected.
"Didn't see you complaining, loverboy." Thirteenth replied, raising an eyebrow. Tenth blushed, again, and then walked around the console. Clara looked at Eleventh.
"Is what he said true? Did you really seduce Madame de Pompadour?" She asked.
"No. Yes. Maybe." He waved his hands around dismissively. Tenth looked at him, as if Eleventh was betraying him somehow. Thirteenth snickered, but then turned back to what she had been doing.
"We need to get the painting moved from where it was when you found it to the Black Archives." She muttered. Eleventh nodded.
"I think I know how." He said. "I'll call one of Kate's secretaries, they can move the painting."
"Here." Thirteenth walked to the door, and pushed it open, reaching outside. There was a creak, and then she pulled a phone back into the console room. She handed it over to Eleventh. "Call the secretary." She watched him walk to the door, and pull it open again, where she could see, just past him, was the stars and the blue and white ball that was Planet Earth. Clara walked up beside him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She found herself irrationally missing Ronan. She felt Tenth place a hand on her shoulder.
"He is one lucky Doctor." He muttered.
"Well, you'll get to meet her soon." She replied, turning away, back to her console, where she flicked up a series of switches.
"Something in your eyes…" She heard him murmur.
"What?" She asked.
"You know what happens to Clara, don't you?" He asked, gently. She turned to him, with a haunted look in her eyes, then looked back down to the controls.
"Spoilers." She replied, flicking a few more switches. "But… But after I lost her, I found Ronan. He was but a young child. In a way, I became his parent. Then I regenerated, and I was like a child. Now, he's my companion, and I don't know what I would do if I lost him. Tell me, who is your companion now?"
"My companion?" He questioned, just checking that she had asked what he thought she did.
"Yes." She replied. "It's very hazy, I can't quite remember. I have a theory. I think that you forget this afterwards, because I remember this from his perspective." She gestured to Eleventh. "But not yours. I don't think that you'll be able to retain it, seeing as our timelines have crossed."
"You are probably right." He replied. "So tell me, what happens to Clara?"
"What happens to me what?" Clara walked in on their conversation, and the two doctors jumped. Thirteenth looked at Clara.
"How long?" She asked. "Clearly, Chinny over there hasn't regenerated, but tell me, how long have you been with him?"
"Where did that come from?" She asked.
"Just answer the question." Thirteenth demanded. She shrugged.
"I don't know, six months or so?" She looked back at her Doctor. "Why?"
"Just… Just be careful. There is something that is going to happen. Soon, I suspect. But, just be ready." Thirteenth walked down one of the walkways, towards the cream chair. She pulled the circle down around her, and then her fingers began to fly across the circular screen surrounding her. The War Doctor and Tenth walked over and looked at what she was doing over her shoulder. She appeared to be stabilising the core of the TARDIS. "It was destabilised by the time stream mix. It's what I've been trying to take care of since we first changed." She muttered.
"Why don't you try the coolant?" Tenth asked.
"Insufficient." She replied. "I may have to go down there…" She was interrupted by Eleventh.
"It's done." He said, walking over to them. "What's going on?"
"I'm just trying to stabilise the core." She replied. "The coolant wasn't sufficient."
"What do you mean?" He asked. "There is a lot of coolant down there."
"I don't know why it hasn't been restocked." She muttered. "I know there's enough on my actual TARDIS, so why there isn't on this one is beyond me." Everyone looked at Tenth. He shrugged.
"I may have forgotten to restock after I crashed into the Titanic." He replied. The War doctor stared at him.
"You crashed into the Titanic?" He questioned. Tenth smiled.
"Oh yes." He replied, quirking his head a little.
"Astrid Peth… Loverboy." Thirteenth was heard muttering. Tenth shot her a dirty look. "Damn, Loverboy, if you're gonna shoot me a dirty look every time I mention one of your girlfriends, then we are going to be here a while!"
"We need to focus. We need to go to when the painting was made on Gallfrey." Eleventh said.
"Already on it. I think I've figured out how to temporarily stabilise the core, but as soon as we land, all four of us need to leave it so that it can fix itself without having to worry about conflicting time streams." She said. "Door!" The door swung open, and all four doctors looked out. Thirteenth walked briskly over to the door, and went out, looking at the destruction around her.
"EXTERMINATE!" One Dalek was in front of her, and she raised her gun, shooting it in the eye stem. It fell back with a final dazed cry. "EX…TER…MIN…"
"Shut up. I'm not in the mood." She muttered. "All of you, come out here. Stay in there, Clara, it's safer. The painting will be made in about half a minute." The other three doctors walked out to stand beside her. Tenth stood to her right, Eleventh to her left, and the War Doctor to his left. "Explosion in three… two…" She didn't finish. The painting was taken, and they were all sucked into the picture.
Please review, everyone! You have no idea how much it means to me!