"Kate!" the Doctor called as he led Gabrielle, Clara, and Danny into UNIT's command center. "We have to talk about Winter Quay."
Standing with Martha and Osgood, Kate smiled and said, "Oh, so now you're going to let us…interview Gabrielle about it?"
Gabrielle frowned. "What could I know about it? I haven't been there since 1938."
"Even so," Kate said, "any intelligence you can give us would be helpful, especially considering the current situation."
The Doctor started, "What situ-" Then he broke off and said, "Kate, what did I tell you about Rory and Amy Williams?"
"Why does that matter?" Kate asked.
"Humor me," the Doctor said.
"All right," Kate said. "You said that right after you got to the roof, you were overwhelmed by angels. Amy Williams fell to her death. You and River Song were sent back in time…and don't ask me to explain how you got out of that jam until I've finished the wall chart-"
"Wait," Martha interrupted, "that's not what he said." She looked at the Doctor. "You said Amy and Rory jumped, and that created a time paradox that destroyed Winter-"
"No," Osgood interrupted, "it was what Kate said. I was looking right at you when you said it, Doctor."
"I'm sure that's what you remember," the Doctor said. "But everyone who was in the Tardis will remember different." He turned to Clara, Gabrielle and Danny. "That turbulence we went through on the way back from Victorian London. That could be when we jumped timelines."
Gabrielle swallowed. "That's one possibility, Doctor. There is another-"
"Let's not rush to judgment, Gabrielle." The Doctor turned back to Kate. "So, a quick update on the 'situation' you mentioned."
Kate said, "Capsulized version: The Angels have me and everyone above my pay grade scared to death. We know almost nothing about Winter Quay apart from unconfirmed rumors that there are hundreds of families in there."
Gabrielle gawked. "Families!?"
Kate nodded. "We've hypothesized that they're breeding the people that were sent back from the future. Some of them anyway. But the Americans deny it even exists; you can't even find it on their maps of New York, and New Yorkers can look right at it and not see it. We've also some intel about a Winter Quay being built in Hong Kong, and there's some construction going on here in London that no one knows anything about but it's the same style building. And surprise, surprise, some members of parliament want to shut down UNIT, and they just happen to be members with the PM's ear.
"So," Kate said to the now-horrified Doctor and Gabrielle, "can we talk to you now?"
The Doctor stammered, "I didn't know, I swear. We thought it was destroyed in-"
Alarms went off. Martha listened to her radio headset, then said to Kate, "Ma'am, we have a situation some kind of security breach-" Her eyes widened as she listened, then she added, "Angels. We're being attacked by the angels. Only they're not turning to stone. And nothing we have is slowing them down."
Kate said, "Evacuate!" She turned to the Doctor. "Doctor-"
The door slid open and angles charged in. As Martha had said, they hadn't turned to stone, and they all had silver helmets and armor. Martha fired her machine gun at one. It had no effect, and the angel charged her. She touched Martha, and Martha disappeared.
"No!" the Doctor cried. Two angles had his arms, and another two restrained Gabrielle. The Doctor could only watch helplessly as Clara, Danny, Kate, Osgood and everyone else in the room vanished.
An angel in golden armor entered, and followed by another one in silver. The new angel in sliver armor removed her helmet, revealing a head of red hair.
Gabrielle recognized her. "Lucielle," she gasped.
"Hello, Gabrielle," Lucielle answered. "You should have come back to us when you had the chance."
The angel in gold armor took off her helmet, revealing blonde hair and chiseled beauty. "So these were Earth's defenders?" she said. "If I'd known it would be this easy, I would have done it years ago. You must be the Doctor. We are the archangel Michelle."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the Doctor grated. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done here."
Michelle chuckled. "Really? Like you stopped Daleks and cybermen and – what were those red things? Oh, I remember – Zygons?"
"Yes. I've taken out bigger than you."
"Like the last Osirin, Sutekh? What year did you dispatch him?"
"1911."
"Ah, yes. Rory Williams had been living at Winter Quay for 14 years at that point."
"I sup—wait," the Doctor stammered, "what?"
"We make a point," Michelle said. "You have bounced around this planet's history, saving it from one conqueror or another. What you never realized it had already been conquered. This world is ours. The humans are ours. You think you can dislodge us? No. We are not invaders, Doctor. We are the top of the food chain. And with the exception of Sutekh, you dealt with annoyances we would have dealt with anyway. And you never knew because you dealt with adversaries who had no concept of subtlety. Learn this lesson: True power is not flaunted gratuitously. As we will now demonstrate."
Michelle nodded and the angels holding Gabrielle let her stand free.
Michelle said, "Gabrielle, we will make it very simple: submit to our judgment, or we will uncreate this city."
The Doctor growled, "You will do no such thing. And if you so much as-"
Gabrielle turned to the Doctor. "Doctor! Please. Don't embarrass yourself. Londinium still stands. That means she's already won. You know that as well as I." Gabrielle knelt. "Your Divinity, I submit myself to your judgement. I place myself at your mercy…and ask that you let me friend, the Doctor, go."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Michelle said. "To let your pet go free while you martyr yourself. No. It shall not be that easy for you. So, now we pronounce judgment. You wish to leave the Host. Your wish is granted. Henceforth, you are banished from the Host; no Choir will ever accept you. You wish to keep company with the Time Lord known as the Doctor. That shall be permitted…but we do not like his face. We shall change it. Now. Muriel. Come forth. You know what to do."
One of the silver-armored angle removed her helmet and stood in front of the Doctor. She touched his shoulder. He didn't disappear, and her eyes glowed. "I have it, Your Divinity."
"We will honor your sacrifice," Michelle said. She touched Muriel's shoulder, and Muriel disappeared.
8
8
Tegan, Adric, and Nyssa knelt around the Doctor, lying broken at the foot of the Pharos telescope, and called his name.
The Doctor's eyes cleared. He looked at his companions and smiled. "It's the end," he said, "but the moment has been prepared for."
He reached out and they saw The Watcher standing nearby. The glowing humanoid walked towards the Doctor.
"The Watcher!" Adric said.
Nyssa started, "He was the Doctor all the-"
The Watcher's foot touched the Doctor and began to melt into the Doctor's body…
…but then the Watcher opened his mouth and soundlessly cried it. His form dissolved, replaced by a stone angel. That angel melted into the Doctor's body. His companions gasped as the Doctor turned to stone. Then with a flash and a loud bang, the Doctor was lying there, flesh and blood and covered with dust. He groaned.
Tegan gawked. "What was that?"
Nyssa saw guards running across the grounds. "We can't worry about that." She looked at the Doctor. "He must have healed himself; looks like no bones broken. I think we can move him."
Tegan had also spied the running guards. "Like we have a choice. Adric, help me with him."
8
8
The two angels holding the Doctor let go and moved away.
"Wait," said the gaunt, Scottish-accented Time Lord. "What…" Then he slowly raised his hands and looked at them. His hands were glowing with what looked like a purple version of regeneration energy.
Then he collapsed as light burst out and enveloped his whole body, even his clothes. Purple lightening flashed out and struck the lights and some of the computer screens as the Doctor cried out in a distorted voice.
The light faded and the Doctor had…changed. Everything had changed. He wore a purple coat and a long scarf. His face and body were much pudgier; his white hair was curly. And he had a cane at his side.
"What, what…" he stammered as Gabrielle fell to her knees beside him, to help him. He had an English accent again, and his voice was deeper. "What have you-" He broke off and touched his own face. "This feels like my fourth incarnation."
Michelle smiled. "Indeed it is, Doctor. Muriel went back and affected your ability to regenerate. While you were able to heal from potentially fatal injuries, complete cellular transformation hasn't happened since. For all anyone knows, this is the face you've worn for centuries."
"But Michelle, that would create a paradox!"
"It did, Doctor, which Muriel ate, sacrificing herself to preserve the space/time continuum. And this is but a fraction of our power. So you see? In the end, most of your jousts with your 'enemies' were for our amusement. Although we will give you credit for Sutekh. We will take our leave of you now. Show some intelligence and don't try to stop us."
Gabrielle helped the Doctor to his feet as the angels filed out of the ruined command center.
Michell paused in the door. "Oh, Doctor. Just to show I am not heartless, you may now see one of your companions one more time."
She gestured down the hall. A little old lady in a baggy, worn coat shuffled in, giving Michelle a glare as she walked by. Then she came in (as Michelle left) and squinted at the Time Lord and the weeping angel. "Doctor?" she asked. "Is that you?"
The Doctor recognized her at once. "Clara!?"
The elderly Clara Oswald shuffled into the Doctor's arms, and the Doctor realized she was using all her strength to stand up. "Clara," he said, as lowered her to the floor.
"Doctor…is there something wrong with your face?"
"You tell me."
"Not sure." She coughed.
"Clara…" the Doctor breathed, "what happened to Danny and the others?"
"No idea. And those winged bitches found me a few weeks ago and they've been…been keeping me alive. I knew they wanted to torture you…but I wanted to see you one more time."
"Clara…no…don't go…"
Clara smiled. "Just run. Run, you clever boy…and…remember…me…."
She sagged into the Doctor's arms and breathed her last.
8
8
The regular army soon arrived and took over what was left of UNIT. The Doctor and Gabrielle watched as Clara's body was taken away. Then the Doctor exchanged words with the officer in charge. Though the man was polite and respectful, his words and demeanor boiled down to, 'Don't call us, Doctor, we'll call you.' Once that conversation was done, the Doctor didn't hesitate to get in the Tardis with Gabrielle and leave.
As the Doctor busied himself at the console, Gabrielle made a show of inspecting the bookcase on the upper catwalk. "Doctor…I don't have words. I never dreamed they'd go that far. I am so terribly-"
*THUD!*
Gabrielle spun and saw the Doctor had collapsed to the deck.
"DOCTOR!" Gabrielle half ran, half glided down the steps and knelt by the Doctor's side, helping him to a sitting position. "What happened?"
"I don't know," he said. "Body doesn't feel right-" He broke off, then went on: "I need a doctor. And there's only one man in the universe I can call."
8
8
The Doctor and Gabrielle waited by the Tardis on an empty plane on a desert planet.
Gabrielle said, "Will he come?"
"He'll come," the Doctor said. "He won't pass up the chance to-"
Silver light flashed near them, and Davros appeared, flanked by two Daleks.
Davros said, "So, Doctor. This is a surprise. A parlay at the time and place of my choosing. I am intrigued. What do you want?"
"First, a question," the Doctor said. "Have you ever seen me with a face other than this one?"
"No," Davros answered. "I found that curious, since Time Lords are known for their ability to regenerate, and I saw it during the war. I wondered why you never did it. You asked me here for that?"
"No. During the Time War, you interrogated Time Lord prisoners. You also conducted medical experiments on Time Lords."
"Yes."
"That makes you, by default, the foremost authority on Time Lord physiology in the Universe."
"I object to 'by default,' but the point is taken. What of it?"
The Doctor took a deep breath and said, "I'm ill, Davros. Terribly, terribly sick. I need you to find out what's wrong with me. I…need your help."
8
8
Davros and the Daleks escorted the Doctor and Gabrielle back to Davros' ship. After Davros conducted tests on the Doctor and drew some blood, the Doctor and Gabrielle were conducted to a small room with some human amenities. "Probably for slaves," the Doctor said.
When Davros came by an hour later, just the way he rolled in said something was wrong.
The Doctor said, "Well?"
"Doctor," Davros said, "in spite of being at odds for many years, I have respected you as a man of science, with an intellect equal to my own. And you have been a worthy opponent of my Daleks. So it gives me no pleasure to say this. You have cancer. Wherever it started, it has metastasized to almost all your major organs."
Gabrielle gawked. "How can he have cancer?" she stammered.
"How could he not?" Davros said. "Centuries of travel to diverse environments, exposure to chemicals and radiations…the man has run afoul of carcinogens wherever he went. Had he regenerated, the early damage would have been erased…"
"I did regenerate," the Doctor said, "several times. But the weeping angels sent one of their number back to prevent that."
Gabrielle hissed, "Michelle knew."
"Indeed," Davros said. "And ironically, even if it were possible for him to regenerate now, it would not save him. If anything, in his current condition, the strain of regenerating would be as fatal as the disease."
The Doctor asked, "How long?"
"A year," Davros said, "eighteen months at the outside. I am sorry."
The Doctor nodded. "All right. Well, you've got me. I walked right in her under guard with no plan of getting out. So what now?"
Davros pondered and said, "You came in peace and asked for my help, Doctor. You and your companion will be allowed to leave in peace."