Sorry it's been a while, here's Chapter Ten! =] I feel like I set the bar high earlier. I know where the plot is going, but figuring out how to get there is proving to be quite tricky =P Anyway, please enjoy and review!

Chapter Ten
A Meeting of the Minds

"Fantastic…"

Nine felt the blood on his finger tips as he slowly rose to his feet, swaying as he did so. His mind was cloudy, but the last thing he remembered was seeing a great claw in front of him. He picked up his sonic screwdriver, which had landed a few feet in front of him, and scanned the area in front of him. Stooping down, he glanced at the tracks.

"Bloody big paw print," he mumbled to himself, staring at an enormous patch of ground on which the beast had pounded. His screwdriver whirred softly as he examined further. "What on Earth are you?"

An hour ago, all he wanted to do was step back into his TARDIS and get as far away from here as possible, but now his curiosity was gnawing at him. At least, that's what he assumed - part of him felt the need to take revenge on the wild animal that had tried to cut him up like steak for dinner.

"First thing's first," he muttered, dragging his leather jacket over his shoulders once more. He might have hated himself, but he was still The Doctor, and The Doctor looked good when he was saving the world.

Before he even took another step forward, the sound of gunfire echoed throughout the trenches. Ignoring the eponymous flashbacks to the war he'd just left, Nine shook his head and ran forward at full speed. He followed the sound of gun fire, noting the roaring sound in between - clearly the beast had encountered some less than friendly soldiers.

He paced around another corner, but as soon as the fighting had started, it had seemingly stopped. Suddenly there was complete silence, although Nine was still pointing his screwdriver in front of him. He searched for life signs, and it pointed him West.

Before long, he heard voices and at the end of a final corner, he saw his two previous incarnations surrounded by soldiers.

"…just look at him." Eleven was saying. Nine followed their gaze and noticed Ten cradling a boy in his arms. He grimaced as he noticed the blood, and stifled a cough. Ten was crying.

Moments passed but they felt like hours, and eventually Eleven walked away slowly. Nine watched Ten cradling the boy in his arms and wondered how a Time Lord could ever have become so emotional. Was this what he was to become? A gibbering wreck reduced to caring so much about a race that were just as stupid as they were violent?

"Oh, get over it," he announced himself roughly to both the Tenth Doctor and the soldiers who quickly raised their guns at him. Nine raised his hands, keeping his eyes fixed on Ten's. "He was just a boy. Probably going to die tomorrow anyway. The amount of deaths you've seen, and you're lying there in the dirt crying over an insignificant ape. Don't you remember what happens in war?"

Ten did not reply, instead lowering Gregory's body on to the ground slowly. He took one look at Nine and quietly he whispered. "All too well."

Nine lowered his hands and just for a moment, he felt remorse. The feeling was gone as soon as it had arrived though, and he swiftly followed Eleven's footsteps.

Those footsteps were slowly coming to a halt, as the Eleventh Doctor turned and faced his Ninth counterpart.

"Leave him be," he said softly. Nine shrugged.

"Fine. Doesn't matter anyway, what I want to know is what the hell attacked me." Looking down at his blood-stained jacket, he sighed.

"It's definitely not of this Earth," muttered Eleven, arms folded and bow tie askew. "How the hell it found its way into the trenches of the First World War is beyond me, but if we can, we can help it find a way home." Nine raised his eyebrows and stood with flat feet, towering over his future incarnation.

"Y'what? You want to bloody help it?" He laughed in disbelief. "It ruined my shirt, I'll have you know!" Eleven let a sad smile escape his lips.

"I knew you'd say that," he swayed gently. "Look, it's alone. Friendless. Maybe even dying. Whatever it is, it's landed in the wrong part of time and space. It's terrified." He hesitated. "Just like you."

Nine unfolded his arms, glaring at Eleven.

"I am not the same as that thing."

"But it's time for us to see each other for who we really are. We have to accept what has happened to us, and what we have done. And we can help each other." He extended his hand to Nine. "Please. I can't do this without you. We were all thrown together for a reason, whether for good or bad."

Nine hesitated, apprehensively staring at Eleven's outstretched palm. "I just want to go back to the TARDIS," he mumbled. Eleven nodded.

"I know. But you won't be able to unless you help us." He smiled warmly and wiggled his fingers. "C'mon then!"

Nine rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. Fine!" He took Eleven's hand in his own and shook it firmly. "We still need to get that one -" he thrust his head in Ten's direction, "- to stop blubbing and give us a hand too." Eleven bowed his head.

"Be gentle on him. He's been through a lot."

"Great. Can't wait to experience all that." Nine rolled his eyes and folded his arms, watching as Ten slowly approached them with his eyes covered. Eleven smiled at him.

"Come on, then.' he nudged Ten's shoulders firmly. "We can do it, eh?" Ten didn't reply, instead just nodding half-heartedly. "Right then," Eleven rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I'm sorry to say, gentlemen, that we have a winner, and I think you'll find that that winner is me!"

Nine and Ten glanced at each other and shrugged, nonplussed. "What you on about now?"

"I've figured out what The Valeyard wants with us. With all of us. This is no mere coincidence, all three of us - of me - being here at once. Now," he closed his hands and pointed them at Nine, "You have just been thrown out of the biggest Time War that the universe has ever seen, and it's safe to say you're a little bit…er, well…" Eleven bobbed from side to side to find the right adjective. "A little bit…annoyed?"

Nine raised his eyebrows. "I can think of a more colourful way to put it but yes, I'm quite annoyed." Eleven nodded and continued, nodding at Ten.

"Now, you," he said softly. "We both know where you've just got off. Mars. A tragic event in time that you desperately wanted to change." They clocked eyes and Ten nodded again. "I'll go no further, but I know how you felt. Angry. Upset. Willing to take drastic action." His lips closed solemnly. "Alone."

Still Ten said nothing, his spiky hair bristling in a small breeze. Eleven stepped back and looked at both of them.

"As for myself, well…I've just lost a pair of very dear friends, and of course I'm more than a little upset -"

"Are you going to get to the point any time soon or are we going to be standing here until the morning?" Nine said, agitated. "It's depressing me having to listen to how bloody miserable I'm gonna be." Eleven smiled sadly.

"Yes, yes…you're right, yes. The point is," he licked his finger and held it in the air. "Ah, I've got it! The point is, that The Valeyard has brought us out of our timelines when we felt most vulnerable."

Nine's arms unfolded and he took a step forward, and Ten's brow furrowed. "You mean to say -" he began.

"I mean to say, he wants us to be angry. He wants us to fight. He wants us to get upset at this particular event in history, and he wants us to change it."

"But why?"

"Evidence," Eleven held his arms wide and grinned, but his audience weren't so ready to cheer. "Applause? Congratulations? Well done, Doctor?" His smile faded comically. "A jammie dodger?"

Ten suddenly burst into action.

"Of course! The Valeyard tried to prosecute us and have us tarnished in the eyes of the Time Lords - he's broken free of the trial and he's travelled in time to make sure that we alter events - the most punishable crime in the laws of time." He ran his hands through his air, a wild light in his eyes - he was alive again, rejuvenated, like a fire with a fresh spark. "He's chosen to grab us out of our lives at our worst moments because - obviously - we're most likely to do stupid stuff. Or, well, you are, I'm not." He smiled widely.

"Keep telling yourself that," Eleven pointed at Nine, "Fresh out of battle and desperate to avoid another one," he pointed at Ten, "The time lord victorious - 'nuff said," he pointed at himself, "Er, upset, about stuff" he shrugged. "We have to make sure that we don't interfere with events, or The Valeyard will be able to gather more evidence to make us look even worse at that trial." He clapped his hands together madly. "Now then - what we need to do next is find out how he did it, and how we can stop him. Plan H: we find The Valeyard. Let's go! Feel free to say that other thing as well." Ten grinned and looked at Nine, who gave him a huge smile.

"Fantastic!"

Without another word, he bolted down the trench, sonic screwdriver in hand. Eleven and Ten followed him, understanding finally shooting across their minds like lightning in the Time Vortex.

"Allons-y!"

Thanks so much for reading =]