The Many Lives of Annika Orxis: Volume 01 Chapter 3: Episode 3, a doctor who fanfic

The Wrong Man

The prisoner woke with a startled cry. He was burnt completely, the bare husk of a man left behind by some savage accident. His eyes looked into the eyes of Interrogator Annika and Annika could see how strange the prisoner really was.

"Why does Gallifrey want me locked up?" the prisoner eventually said, his voice the vocal personification of evil.

"Because you have a tendency of doing the wrong thing, Doctor." Annika replied, referring to the prisoner's name, "You're a criminal and we all know that."

"So why have they sent an Academy graduate to interview me?" "Who are 'they'?"

The Doctor smiled.

"You know who 'they' are. The President's most trusted advisers. How is she getting on, by the way? I unfortunately never have managed to meet them yet."

Co-Ordinator Telkina watched the interrogation go on from behind a hidden viewing window, fearing that Annika was doing the wrong thing. The Master was beside her, ready to attack if he needed to.

"I know the Doctor of old." the Master had said to her, "I will protect you." Now though, they were watching on in silence.

The Doctor had been arrested after an incident on Yrska where he attempted to manipulate the planet's history, assassinating one of Yrska's greatest leaders. Annika was trying to ask the Doctor why he had tried to assassinate Redolf Gruger however he seemed to be wanting to talk about other things.

"Annika is a very old name you know." he explained, "I remember that name for some reason. Why would I remember that name?"

"I don't know. The name's just a coincidence."

"I like coincidences. Why do you seem so scared of me? I won't bite."

Annika thought about this and stood up, sitting down closer to the Doctor. He didn't know how but somehow he felt that he was doing the right thing.

"Good." the Doctor said with a smile, "I like your spirit, Annika." "Why, Doctor?"

"You can be easily influenced, which is good."

The Doctor shut his eyes and, with his back to the Master and Telkina, Annika did the same. This silence lasted for a few seconds before both individuals opened their eyes.

"That was very interesting." the Doctor suddenly said, in a tone of voice that neither the Master nor Telkina had heard him speak in before. After this strange turn of events, Annika walked to the entrance to the interrogation chamber and left, leaving the Doctor alone with his thoughts.

The Master and Telkina headed over to Annika after he had been screened for any mental changes. There were no changes. He still had the brain pattern of a Time Lord and none of that brain pattern had been compromised.

"Hello Telkina, Master. Anything to report while I've been away?" Annika asked them, sitting down comfortably on a nearby stool.

"Nothing much, no. We just came to see if you got anything from the Doctor and, annoyingly, you didn't. Why did you fail, Annika?" Telkina demanded.

Annika gazed at the Doctor for a few moments and looked back at Telkina.

"The Doctor is a very difficult individual to get answers from. Asking him questions is hard enough, when he has the ability to hypnotise anyone he encounters if he wishes. How could I have won?"

The Master and Telkina shared a look and nodded. Annika could leave.

As soon as Annika left the Detention Centre, the Doctor fell asleep for a few seconds before sitting up and staring at the Master and Telkina.

"He is the Doctor and he will make things better." he repeated, as if he was praising a beneficent god.

"I have not seen this before." the Master commented, "Is this screen protecting us from his influence?"

"Yes. This is telepathic glass, shielding our thoughts and minds from him." Telkina replied, "But why would the Doctor be praising himself?"

Suddenly, the Doctor's features reformed into those of Annika and Telkina and the Master realised what had happened.

The Doctor had now reached the TARDIS bays, still in the body of Annika, and had chosen a Type 40 TARDIS to steal. He felt that he could easily keep it chugging along if the Doctor could keep it chugging along.

"Excuse me, Interrogator Annika, what are you doing here?" a member of the Chancellory Guard asked him, "You're supposed to be interrogating the Doctor, aren't you?"

"I have finished my duties. Now I wish to take a holiday. Excuse me."

He strolled into the TARDIS and locked the doors, his form decaying into its previous state as he walked up to the console.

"Why can I never have a proper form?" he snarled angrily, as he activated the dematerialisation control and watched the time rotor rise and fall.

The Master and Telkina reached the TARDIS bays just in time to see the Doctor's TARDIS wheeze and howl away into the Time Vortex.

"He has gone!" the Master exclaimed, "We need to pursue him."

"Sir, we have more important issues at hand." announced a nearby Gallifreyan soldier, handing the Master an electronic tablet which depicted a model of Gallifrey's timeline. Normal timelines would be smooth horizontal lines running from one end of time to another. This model split off into two new timelines early on.

"What is happening here?" he wondered.

"It seems, sir, that time has gone wrong and we have isolated the individual to which this focus of temporal disruption is on."

"And who is it?"

The soldier looked gravely at him. "The Doctor."

The Master and Telkina reached the TARDIS bays just in time to see the Doctor's TARDIS wheeze and howl away into the Time Vortex.

"He has gone!" the Master exclaimed, "We need to pursue him."

This model split off into two new timelines early on. "What is happening here?" he wondered.

"It seems, sir, that time has gone wrong and we have isolated the individual to which this focus of temporal disruption is on."

"And who is it?"

The soldier looked gravely at him.

"What is happening here?" he wondered.

"It seems, sir, that time has gone wrong and we have isolated the individual to which this focus of temporal disruption is on."

"And who is it?"

The soldier looked gravely at him.

"What is happening here?" he wondered. "It seems, sir, that time has gone wrong-"

"I know, soldier. You've said that before. Something is going wrong with time if this section of history is repeating. We need to fix this and get the Doctor back."

The soldier frowned, a bit confused by this. "Err, sir, isn't the Doctor a good person?"

"Well, well, I don't know. I think that's a bit hazy. Good and bad do get blurred when time goes wrong."

"No, no, not here again!" the prisoner eventually howled, his voice the vocal personification of evil.

"You have a tendency of doing the wrong thing, Doctor." Annika replied, referring to the prisoner's name, "You're a criminal and we all know that."

"So why have they sent an Academy graduate to interview me in prison? Why can't they release me and let me save the universe?"

"Who are 'they'?" The Doctor smiled.

"You know who 'they' are. The President's most trusted advisers. How is she getting on, by the way? I unfortunately never have managed to meet them yet."

"Excuse me, Interrogator Annika, what are you doing here?" a member of the Chancellory Guard asked him, "You're supposed to be interrogating the Doctor, aren't you?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake. It's the Time War, the different Time War. That evil voice brought

the Time War back and now the whole universe is at risk. And if this is what sort of temporal disruption can occur, then we're all in-"

"No, no, not here again!" the prisoner eventually howled, his voice the vocal personification of evil.

"You have a tendency of doing the wrong thing, Doctor." Annika replied, referring to the prisoner's name, "You're a criminal and we all know that."

"So why have they sent an Academy graduate to interview me in prison? Why can't they release me and let me save the universe from a Time War?"

"Who are 'they'?" The Doctor smiled.

"You know who 'they' are. The President's most trusted advisers. I need to speak with them now. You have to listen to me, please."

But he wasn't listened to.