Survivor's Hearts

By Michael Weyer

Had thought of a different start to adventures but wanted to get to this tale so hopefully you'll enjoy.

The Doctor whistled under his breath as he adjusted the TARDIS console. He was dressed in his usual tan suit with tennis shoes, upbeat as he watched the rotor move up and down. He enjoyed these periods of silence, the expectations of the next journey and where the TARDIS would take him this time. At the sound of footsteps, he smiled a bit wider. Despite himself, he had to admit, it felt good traveling with someone else. Even her.

The Rani entered the room, her hair cut a bit shorter now. She was clad in a nice fitting outfit, red and black vest coat over a dark shirt, matching pants and was slipping on a pair of black gloves. "One might make some intriguing observations about you having an entire female wardrobe closet in various sizes in a permanent place," she intoned.

"Comes in handy," the Doctor noted. "Doesn't matter what time period or species, women always have a need to look fashionable." He smiled at her. "That includes you as well. Well, most of the time. I remember that ridiculous hairdo you had when you kidnapped me after my sixth regeneration…"

The Rani glared at him as she came up to the console, flicking some switches. "Lovely as it has been reminiscing, Doctor…"

"We spent three hours arguing the ethics of what I did."

"I think I'm ready to stretch my legs a bit." She flicked some switches as the rotor moved up, then slowed to a stop. "There we go."

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"We've landed."

"No, we haven't."

"Yes, we have," the Rani patiently replied. "I just landed us."

"But…what about…" The Doctor made an odd noise with his mouth. "You know, that sound it makes when we land?"

The Rani stared at him with an expression of "how are you still alive?" "It's not supposed to make that sound! You leave the brakes on!"

The Doctor frowned. "Really?" He shrugged. "Well, I like it."

The Rani rolled her eyes as she followed him to the door. The Doctor paused to slide on his long coat from a hanger nearby before opening it. "Where are we, anyway?" the Rani asked. She took a moment to adjust to their surroundings. They were in a huge grey corridor which led to a even larger chamber. Aliens of various types mingled about the railings and tunnels of the circular chamber, heading into various rooms. All around the area, from walls to ceilings, were a series of clear tubes in which packages, envelopes and other objects whisked about at high speed.

"Welcome to Cornerstone," the Doctor announced with a wave of his hand. "As the name implies, it's a central hub of this particular spot in space/time, communication center and outpost for message gathering."

"I'll be sure to pick up a brochure," the Rani said. "Why are we here?'

"Oh, I need to check my mail."

The Rani was positive she hadn't heard correctly. "I beg your pardon?"

The Doctor walked down a corridor toward one room. He had removed a card and held it up to a scanner, the light playing off the card surface. With a loud beep, the white door slid open, allowing the two Time Lords access. A green-skinned figure was seated behind a desk, glancing up as the Doctor held the card up. He took it, holding it with one hand as the other two typed on a computer before him. After a pause, he nodded, handing the card back. He turned to press some more keys and a whisking sound was heard from a room behind him. A billow of air blew through the large tube next to the desk and in seconds, a large box was landing at the bottom. The Doctor lifted it up, taking it to a table and with the tap of a few keys on the metallic surface, it snapped open.

The Rani just stared as the Doctor began going through the envelopes inside the box. "You actually have mail delivered here?"

"Well, not like the TARDIS can always pick it up," the Doctor noted. "I had this set up a while ago, drop by when I can. Like I said, Cornerstone is a focal point in both space and time so I'm generally up to date on things." He paused at one envelope, frowning. "Drat, forgot Truman's birthday party. Ah, well, made it up by going to his funeral."

The Rani looked over the large amount of envelopes inside. "You haven't checked in a while, I assume."

"Oh, I try to be regular but it piles up," the Doctor shrugged. "I'm a popular fellow, you know." He didn't see her stare as he flipped through the mail quickly. "Hmmm…bill….bill….membership for the Thule Society, have to renew that…Ouch, Oceanic Air, have to remember to avoid that…bill…Hold on." He paused as he lifted up a nice white envelope. "What is this?" He opened it to remember a white glossed card and stared at the lettering. "Cordially invited…" His eyes widened in surprise.

"What is it?" the Rani asked with curiosity.

"Sarah Jane getting married," the Doctor whispered with wonder. "I never expected…"

"Who?" the Rani took the card to look at it, seeing the invitation to the wedding of Sarah Jane Smith and Peter Dalton.

"Sarah Jane Smith," the Doctor explained. "A very old and very dear friend." He shook his head. "I didn't even know she was dating."

"I believe your considerations weren't in mind when she embarked on this," the Rani dryly noted. "So…are you attending?"

The Doctor paused, furrowing his brow. "Hmmm." He quickly pulled the rest of the envelopes out, slipping them all into the pocket of his overcoat. The Rani didn't even bother asking how he could fit them all in. She had long suspected the Doctor had figured out how to use the TARDIS' mass-shifting technology to fit items into his clothes. She herself was planning to do the same as soon as she was more settled in. She followed the Doctor as he exited, hurrying back to the TARDIS. "If we are going, I'll need to change," she said as they entered the craft. "It may have been quite a while but I do know it's important to look good at these things."

"One moment," the Doctor remarked as he began to throw some switches to set the TARDIS off. He examined a screen as he made some adjustments. "I need to check up on him first."

The Rani blinked. "What?" She stepped forward. "You want to check up on the man your…friend is marrying? That doesn't strike you as just slightly obsessive?"

"I want to make sure he's the right sort," the Doctor defended as the TARDIS flew on. "You don't know Sarah. She deserves the best."

"Like you?"

The Doctor smirked. "Well, I wouldn't brag…"

"Yet you somehow manage the effect quite startling on a regular basis."

The Doctor shrugged as the TARDIS slowed. "Look, just a little check-up first, make sure it's all right, then we'll see the girl off right." He walked to the door, the Rani sighing as she followed, realizing that putting up with the man's foolishness was going to be a price to be paid for her travels.

They exited onto a small street the Rani instantly recognized as London. The city was just so distinctive, no matter what time period or spot in it, you instantly knew where you were. The Doctor was walking across the street toward a nondescript flat that mixed in perfectly with the neighborhood. He knocked on the door, pausing for a moment. He knocked again but still no answer. He stood up on his toes to peek into the window. "Hmmm…" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, holding it above the door handle and with a buzz, unlocked it.

"And now we add breaking and entering to your objectives of the day," the Rani drawled as the Doctor opened the door. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind too much. It certainly decreases the danger of you launching into one of your irritating lectures."

"This place doesn't look like it's been lived in recently," the Doctor said. The Rani glanced about and instantly saw the layers of dust and even a few cobwebs in corners. The Doctor's feet kicked at the pile of mail beside the door, under the slot built into it. He knelt to examine them as the Rani walked about, studying for anything out of the ordinary.

"Some of these are a few weeks old," the Doctor called out as he examined the bills and letters in his hands.

"Vacation?" the Rani asked. "Or perhaps he moved?"

"Perhaps," the Doctor mused. "But something just seems so…off about this." He paused, expecting her to make a comment. Hearing no response, he walked over to see her kneeling by the main stairway. "What is it?"

The Rani removed what looked like a compact from her coat. Twisting it, she let a beam of light play over the stairs, illuminating dark stains. The other side of the "compact" showed a readout of data she studied. "Human blood, looks to be about three weeks old." She swept the light over the stairs. "Checking for residue…Let's see…" She adjusted a readout and the beam shifted, sending light to the stairs. It began to form a shape based on her readings. It was a human male lying on his back on the stairs, limbs askew. The details could not be made out but the angle of the neck made it clear his fall was hardly a small affair.

"I'm guessing it'll be difficult to get the deposit on the place back after that," the Rani remarked as she closed her compact. The Doctor had his sonic screwdriver out, scanning it around the room. "So our mysterious occupant died," the Rani went on. "And yet the place appears to haven't been visited by the police. Curiouser and curiouser."

The Doctor frowned as his screwdriver let out a series of beeps. "Something in the air here….Something is not right…" He checked the readouts and his eyes widened. "No…" he whispered. "No, it can't be…"

"What?" The Rani asked. "What is it?"

The Doctor looked at the stairs as if still seeing the image. His head whipped around to the pile of mail, to the dust covering the area and then the photographs on the nearby mantle. He moved to one, picking it up seeing a white-haired man smiling at the camera. He reached into his pocket to pull out the invitation and held it to the photo, seeing the dual images on each. "Trickster," he gasped out.

In a blur, the Doctor dropped the photo and raced to the door. The Rani followed him as he ran across the street, avoiding an oncoming car and made a mental note that in the future, she was going to have to avoid wearing heels. The Doctor was tearing open the TARDIS door and entering, bounding up the stairs to throw switches. The Rani barely entered before the door closed and the TARDIS was underway. "What the devil has gotten into you?" she demanded.

"The Trickster," the Doctor rasped as he furiously threw switches to set the TARDIS off. "That signature, I'd know it anywhere."

"Trickster…" It was the Rani's turn to widen her eyes. "Wait…the Trickster?"

The Doctor nodded as he pulled a knob. "He's been after Sarah Jane before, he must be using Peter to get close to her and thus to me." He tapped a key. "It's his ultimate goal, to remove me from history and feast upon the chaos."

The Rani took that in. She knew of the Trickster of course. A being said to exist beyond time and space, who loved nothing more than chaos to subside upon. It only made sense that such a creature would target the Doctor and the Rani knew the damage that would take. Whatever she felt of the man, she recognized how vital a part in history the Doctor played. To remove him would cause massive destruction, death, perhaps even the end of reality as everyone knew it. A scale such as that was not something the Rani wanted to touch.

"So he's using this girl to get to you?"

"Not just that," the Doctor noted. "Sarah Jane has been doing a lot on her own to protect this planet. Get her away from all that and things can go very badly." He pulled a lever, studying a scanner. The TARDIS motor began to grind as it prepared for landing…only for it to start up again. "Oh, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor yelled as he turned a crank.

The Rani moved to the other side of the console, studying her own screen. "We're having trouble materializing," she noted. "It's hitting us hard, some sort of interference."

"Trickster," the Doctor snarled as he adjusted his controls. "Dammit!" He punched the console hard, letting it shake. "Calm down," the Rani snapped as she adjusted some controls. "You just need to alter the materialization frequency. Honestly, how you've lived so long letting your emotions get in the way…"

"Not in the mood," the Doctor snapped at her as he nonetheless adjusted the knobs. The Rani was taken aback at the excitement in his voice. Whoever this Sarah Jane was, she evidentially meant more to the Doctor than the average human.

The Doctor let out a yell of triumph as the TARDIS went on its journey again. He threw a pair of switches to adjust it, checking the screen. "Can't get to her early….we'll have to be quick." He pulled back the knobs to stop the rotor and was moving to the door before it even ground down. Taking a deep breath, the Rani followed as the Doctor ran out the door and into what looked to be the foyer of some sort of inn, a desk next to the TARDIS with nice decorations. The Doctor was on the move, racing up a flight of stairs, the Rani cursing her heels as she followed him. He bounced down two halls before slamming through a pair of doors and yelling out at the top of his lungs "Stop this wedding now!"

Knowing the Doctor's luck, the Rani was worried they were interrupting someone's birthday party. However, it appeared they were in the right place as the hall was filled with guests in nice suits and dresses on chairs covered with white sheets. At a red-carpeted altar stood a priest before two people gazing at the Doctor. The Rani recognized the man from the photo with an attractive woman in her fifties wearing a rather fetching white dress. "What?" she gaped at the Doctor.

"Master!" came an electronic voice as a figure moved out from beneath a tablecloth. It looked for all the world like a mechanical dog, its antenna waving back and forth.

The Doctor ignored it as he gazed at the altar, his face set and voice deadly serious. "Stop this wedding, right now."

Before anyone could speak, a wind whipped up through the hallway. "Warning, Mistress!" the mechanical dog called out. "Alien activity detected!"

"Sarah, get away from him!" the Doctor yelled, reaching for her only to be blown back by the wind.

She seemed confused but wanting to follow his word, only for Peter to grip her arms. "It's all right, Sarah," he said softly, not worried at all. "It's the angel."

A form materialized out of the air, a figure without face or eyes clad totally in a white robe and hood, its mouth twisted in an evil smile. "The Trickster!" a teenage girl from the front row cried out.

"Mum!" her companion, a teenage boy yelled to Sarah.

"Trickster, let her go!" the Doctor yelled.

"Too late, Time Lord," the creature snarled, pointing at him. He moved to Sarah, who was being held by Peter. "I take her as mine forever." He touched her and Peter, the two vanishing into smoke as Sarah screamed for the Doctor's name.

"Saaaarah!" The Doctor raced to the altar too late. The wind continued, now with beams of light that swept over the wedding guests. "Oh, no," the Rani muttered, recognizing a time wave when she saw it. In a flash, the guests vanished, except for the three teens in the front row. "Mum!" the girl cried out in horror. "Dad!"

"Everyone, hold on!" the Doctor yelled, gripping the altar. The Rani moved to join him, yanking a small tube from her pocket. She twisted it as she held it up, emitting a wave of light that collided with the one sweeping the hall. It formed a makeshift bubble over the group, fighting back as the wind howled more. The Doctor had to smile at her. "Sonic lipstick. Love the classics."

The Rani just grunted as a blast of white light filled the hallway, forcing her to close her eyes. When she opened them, she saw the three humans lying on the ground as she and the Doctor knelt by the altar. The Rani turned off her device as she sighed. "Not bad," the Doctor noted as they rose. "What was that?"

"Trick I picked up a century back," the Rani matter-of-factly stated as she replaced the tube. "Capturing a millisecond of time, compressed in one field, just the thing to combat a time wave, albeit for a short distance."

"It did the job," the Doctor noted as he knelt by the young man in a nice suit. "You all right, lad?"

The boy's eyes slowly opened, blinking up. "Doctor?" he asked. "You…it's you, isn't it?"

"And you're Luke." The Doctor smiled. "Good to finally meet you in person."

Luke sat up, his eyes wide. "No…Mum, the Trickster…"

"It'll all right," the Doctor was quick to say. "Luke, Luke, Luke, it's ok. I'll find Sarah, I'll bring her back, everything's okay but I need you to be strong for me. Just as you were before."

"You shouldn't be so sure," the Rani stated as she studied the area. "If I'm right, which I invariably am, then she's far off from where we are. Not to mention that getting her back will be nigh impossible given his power."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her. "You never were one for the greeting card company business, were you?" He noticed how the other teens were recovering. The girl was of Indian descent, clad in a pink dress while the other male was a black-skinned teen in a suit. "Who…who are you?" the girl asked.

"Hello, Clyde!" the Doctor said in a boisterous tone, shaking the startled boy's hand. "And that will be Rani, nice to meet you."

"Excuse me?" the Rani's eyes bugged outward at the mention of the girl's name. The Doctor ignored her as he began looking about the room, searching for something.

"How'd you know our names?" Clyde asked.

"Wait…" the girl named Rani said. "It's…it's you, isn't it? The Doctor!"

"Are you as good as Sarah Jane says?" Luke asked.

The Doctor was kneeling on the floor, his ear to the ground. "Well, you know journalists, always exaggerating." He got to his feet. "But yeah, I'm pretty amazing on a good day."

Normally, such a comment would elicit an eye roll from the Rani but this time she was too thrown by the young woman's name. "I beg your pardon but that name…"

"Master!" The electronic dog moved out from under the table to head toward the Doctor. "Query: Where is Mistress Sarah Jane?"

"K-9!" the Doctor beamed broadly, kneeling down to rub the dog's face. "Did you miss me? Hmmm? Who's a good boy? Who's a goooood boy?"

The Rani just stared in disbelief, wondering (not for the first time) if so many regenerations in a short span had affected the man's mind. The three teens seemed just as jarred as the Rani turned to gaze out the window. "Doctor," she called out. "I hate to distract you from your…pet but we have a bit of a situation."

The three humans turned to stare out the window, realizing that the brightness wasn't sunlight. Rather, the entire outside was nothing but pure white oblivion, no sign of any other objects at all. "Wha…what happened to the world?" the girl called Rani asked.

"Dimensional shift," the Doctor remarked as he walked up behind them.

"Time has moved on for us," the Rani added. "But not for the rest of the world."

Clyde looked at her. "Who are you?'

"Ah, this is the Rani," the Doctor introduced her.

"Rani?" Clyde frowned. "She's Rani." He motioned the girl at his side.

The Rani looked at the teen, who was as baffled as she was. Without a word, she grabbed the girl's arm, lifting it up as she pulled out her compact, opening it and pressing it against the Rani's hand. "Hey, what are…" the girl started but the Rani played the scanner across her eyes, the girl blinking. The Rani held the compact's screen up, studying it. "What was-" The Rani cut her off, holding up a finger as she gazed at the readout. She finished the scan and studied the results, her face tight. She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Rassilon, you're not me."

"Excuse me?" Rani blinked in confusion.

The Rani replaced her compact. "Just had to make sure one of my future regenerations didn't go horribly wrong and stick me like this. I should have known better, I have much better taste in appearances."

"Hey!"

"Wait…you're…a Time Lord?" Luke frowned at the Doctor. "But I thought you were the only one left."

"So did I," he shrugged. "Two Ranis, this could get confusing."

"Just refer to her as Little R," the Rani said. "Name to suit the no-doubt lesser intellect."

"Hey!"

"I knew something was wrong," Clyde was saying. "I knew it all along." He turned to where the Doctor was gazing out another window. "And how's the Trickster fit into this?"

"I'll explain later," the Doctor remarked.

The three teens began talking at once, each blurting out questions. The Rani closed her eyes, reminding herself that the level of justifiable homicide had not yet been reached. The three were all still talking as the Doctor pulled his hand out of his pocket and began whipping a noisemaker around, the crackling noise interrupting the trio."Here's the answer to all your questions," he calmly began. "Yes, that was the Trickster. Yes, we're trapped. Yes, I'm the only one who can get us out of the trap. Yes, I'm gonna bring Sarah Jane and your mum and dad and all the others back safe, but I can't do any of it without you."

"You….need us?" Clyde asked in surprise.

"My sentiments exactly," the Rani inserted.

"Just like Sarah Jane needs you," the Doctor said.

"But my mum and dad…" Rani started.

"Currently no longer existing," the Rani told her as if it was no importance. "Assuming we can defeat the Trickster, a large assumption at that, they'll come back into our reality. Otherwise, they'll be lost in the cosmic ether."

Rani's face looked like it was about to erupt into tears as the Doctor moved to take the Rani's arm, talking over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, give us a moment." Leading the Rani a few steps away, he hissed into her ear. "I know personal interactions have never been your strong suit but for heaven's sake, try to let your emotions actually take hold of your mouth now and then."

"The key difference between us, Doctor, is that I allow my train of thought to actually take time at the station rather than run roughshod."

"These children are already frightened, Rani. We can't be adding to that."

She arched an eyebrow. "They strike me as the type to already grow rather fast, Doctor. Innocence is always the first casualty of maturity."

"That's always been the difference between us," the Doctor dryly remarked. "I don't automatically count people as casualties." He turned and made a smile at the trio. "Don't worry, we'll fix this."

"Trust him, Rani," Luke said. "I saw him save the world."

"And you helped me, Lukeyboy!" the Doctor noted as he marched down the aisle toward the doors. "Right, come on! We can use the TARDIS!" He stopped, turning to them with a frown. "I assume everyone knows what the TARDIS is. Unless you really were not paying attention." As the trio made small nods, the Doctor nodded and raced through the doors. "Allons-y!"

The five ran down a flight of stairs and into the main foyer of the boarding house, stopping at the area before the desk. "Wait…it was right there!" the Doctor yelled, waving at the space before them.

A grinding filled the air as they all backed up. The TARDIS slowly came into view before vanishing, flickering in and out like a bad TV signal. "That's the TARDIS?" Clyde moaned in disappointment. "Oh, it's just a wooden box!"

"I keep telling you, fix the damn chameleon circuit," the Rani muttered.

"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialization," K-9 remarked.

"Come on…come on…" the Doctor muttered as the blue box flickered in and out of existence. "You can do it. Come on, more power!"

"Tell me you're not giving a pep talk to a TARDIS," the Rani said with disbelief.

The Doctor ignored her as the TARDIS flickered and, with a final groan, vanished completely. "Right, no TARDIS," he said in a surprisingly calm voice. He turned to the others, smiling. "Well, we'll just have to make this work the hard way then."

"You mean, we're trapped?" Rani gaped.

"Of course not!" the Doctor said. "I've got K-9!"

"Affirmative."

"And I've got all of you. And the Rani….Rani?" He looked over their shoulders to where the woman was heading toward the front door. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, if we're relying on the infants, I thought I'd just throw myself out into oblivion, save myself some time and stress."

The Doctor grinned at the uncertain looks on the three teenagers' faces. "Can't beat confidence like that, can you?"

Had to break this into two parts due to its size, hopefully not long before I get the next part up. All comments welcomed.