Bouns Chapter – Return to the Edge
The Doctor yawned trivially as he entered his bedroom. Tucking in his rolled up dark navel trench coat in his left arm. Whispering a small tune in his lips. The man clearly was ready to take upon the rest and bed which resided in his own personal room within his lovely ship.
Except this wasn't exactly his room.
Entering his new personal confides. The 14th Doctor reviewed the decor and possessions his previous female-self had left behind before her regeneration into him.
A standard bed shaded in a browned metallic shading. A small table filled with a cold tea cup and a few books for reading for the owners pleasure. "Structures : Or Why Things Don't Fall Down, Frankenstein's monster, Sherlock Holmes: Moriarty Lives." The Doctor mused recalling the titles.
The Doctor noticed a DVD on his drawer. Renewed man picked up the decadent item "Practical magic." He grinned sadly. "Yaz loved that one. Always wanted to watch it with me. Well with her rather." The Timelord stiffly confessed.
If one believed the Doctor's bedroom's was the eighth Wonder Of The World. They would be seriously mistaken. To be blunt his bedroom was probably the least interesting room within the Tardi's hallways. Not any different from an average three roomed apartment one could get anywhere. Bed, shelves, wardrobe and a small carpet. Nothing at all fascinating. So why had this new Doctor avoided coming into this room for rest?
For the entire day the Doctor revisited each hall and chamber he gained and developed throughout the totalled fifteen regenerations he had processed through since the day he and Susan ditched Galifrey all those centuries ago.
The library swimming pool he accidently created when he crashed into Amy's garden. The ten multi-screened cinema he built for Jo or was it Harry? An Yorkshire styled pub he formed as an excuse for his old UNIT brigade to come inside his ship for a nice drink after a hard days grind in the Garrison during the days of his Third-self's exile. The old chapel Romana visited to chill out from his Fourth-self's abrupt nature.
Frizzling his arms lazily with one final groan the Doctor laid down on his former-self bed. Recounting the uneventful day's events. Aside from exploring his ship, the new incarnation had gone to America's colonial times to face off against the Headless Horseman who turned out to be an exiled Zygon in hiding. The trip afterwards he journeyed to a militant space station guarding a raspberry coated mountain in the depths of a nebula. Lastly he surprised himself by finding a rouge Tardis pretending to be a store room chest which sucked people inside its tiny world.
Normally the Doctor would be thrilled with such adventures but now. For some reason he couldn't click onto any new escapade. His mind still troubled due to the regaining of his former-self's face and his journey's however beneficial to others didn't bring him any closer to finding out why this regeneration had turned out this way.
Perhaps that was why he became so addicted to his re examinations of his ships various quarters. He was trying to regain some self interest or desire to feel like he was in a past incarnation. A person he had been before. To make this recent transition more bearable for himself. Regardless how futile he knew it would be.
Throwing off his trainers. Snuggling into his blanket. The Doctor hummed a few tunes to himself before finally releasing his mind to the bowls of sleep and dreams. Bidding for a few hours of problematic release.
The Edge
The Doctor tenderly opened his eyes to the new holdfast surrounding him. Feeling the dusty hot sand bounce around his legs. The electric hazed static emitting from the metal poll ahead of him. The Texas brushed blue sky wearily swaying tyrannously above his small figure.
"Oh." A freckled northern voice cooed for their new visitor.
Fourteen turned his attentions to the new person who was his welcoming committee. His former female self-stood before him. Sitting on the same creaked rock she herself had seen during her visit towards the edge. A woman in her mid-thirties, with hazel-coloured eyes surrounded by crow's feet wrinkles. She had jaw-length blonde hair with dark roots parted to her right and curled around her ears, bearing a black Japanese garb bearing red facings.
Thirteen was surprisingly quit and tad speechless. "Which is strangely unusual for this specific incarnation" Fourteen told himself recalling Thirteen's excitable and intrigued nature.
"Not to be funny you really are not in a position to use the unusual card." She rebuked her successor through her gasp. Eyeing her new self bizarrely. "Well this is new?" She whistled briskly.
"Tell me about." Fourteen showing off his trench coats flap.
"What happened to my digs?" Thirteen asked examining her next-self's new wardrobe.
"In a weird way...I'm….I'm….kinda wearing them." Fourteen awkwardly confessed. "They morphed when you became me,"
"What!" Thirteen gawked almost standing from the rock. "They never change!" She accused. "Aww just typical." She groaned.
"Why you complaining!?" Fourteen wailed. "Your turns over! Your cloths doesn't matter anymore!" Fourteen debunked eerily.
"Oy watch it." Thirteen waged her finger like a disappointing mother. "I had a ton of great stuff in that coat."
"Like what?" Fourteen berated crossing his arms.
Thirteen cheekily smiled forming her response "Blackpool fair tickets."
"Dam it!" Fourteen mentally cursed. He completely forgot about the fair tickets he brought when he still was her. Dan had convinced the former Tardis crew for a day trip. Not to attend the 2022 Blackpool carnival fair rather the future 10033 fair. They sold cotton candy which made you lighter than air.
Checking his own new pockets. He sighed. It would seem the tickets had vaporised during the regeneration with his other personal items. Only the sonic screwdriver and physic paper survived the clothed conversion.
Fourteen shook his head. "The outfit really is the least of my worries. The least of our worries." He swaged his hands around to sceptically dramatize his facial features "Can we go back to this."
"Oh right." Thirteen hoveringly agreed. Eyeing ghostly the distance.
"Your still thinking about the tickets aren't you?"
"For God's sake." Twelve stepped in taking over Thirteen's place on the rock and dressed in the same garb. "This isn't getting us anywhere." He cooly derigged. "Aww come on your back seriously?"
"Why jealous?"
"No." Twelve shot back defensively. "Its not like I didn't have anything better to do after Mondas. Its not like I wanted to go to Precises eight for a gig. Not like I wanted to team up with an old companion. No, no that all goes to "I don't want to go" Twelve mocked twitching his fingers. "If I knew it what that easy for a second shot I would have made sheltered twenty two year old college student speech."
"Somebody, sounds insecure." Eleven chimed in taking over.
"Oh you're the one talking about insecurity." Twelve chortled. "Wern't you meant to be the last one?"
"Why do you think I treated everyday like our last?" Eleven reaffirmed his case. "Besides I don't think your one to talk about ugly faces. Your whole life was built on copycatting Caecilius"
"I didn't copy it I inherited it." Twelfth forcibly but failingly overrule.
"Em you know. We never discussed why I looked like Commander Maxil." Six abruptly catted in.
"Oh no one cares." Twelve lashed out.
"That's what we all thought about you." Six countered.
"Now, now, now." Two entered doing his best to keep the peace. "Lets not turn nasty gents. Our young friend here already has a midlife crisis he doesn't need anymore."
"Wise as always." Third sided in.
"Oh don't start." Two defended.
"Enough." Fourteen shouted silencing his former selves. "I came here for answers. Mainly from her." Pointing the reintroduced thirteen. "I want to know what exactly she was thinking before I changed."
Fourteen got to the point. "What did you think about? Was it John Smith? Was it Rose? Was it Donna? Was it how much we screwed up on Mars. Tell me what were you thinking?"
Thirteen sighed. "Your wondering if my subconscious connected to the regeneration?"
"Been there done that." Twelve countered.
Ignoring him Thirteen continued with her explanation. "The last thing I thought about was Yaz." She omitted. "I thought about the last thing I ever did with her. The last thing I said to her. The things I wasn't going to miss out on."
She then smiled sweetly. "I also thought about how I was excited. Excited about you. How new you were. The new things you were going to experience. The adventures you would undertake and the new people you would meet. I thought how much a amazing time you were going to have being the Doctor."
"Ah a courageous last rights to the very end." Four agreed in respect.
"Better than being randomly shot in San Francisco." Seven grimaced.
"Try, wakening up in a morgue." Eight sighed.
"You were just starting out? Weren't you?" Five questioned.
"Yeah I was. Unfortunately my regeneration as we all know didn't start smoothly."
"Did any of them." Nine agreed Moreso.
"I need to talk to him." Fourteen pressed on.
"Who?" Four asked frowning.
"You know who. Other one of us who can help me with this." Pointing to his sideburns. "I need to speak to him." Fourteen smoothly demanded. His order was neither malicious nor bossy. Yet still a very powerful order.
"Very well." Four conceded.
Taking over their four incarnations place on the sea salted rock now laid reposted the tenth doctor. The original life who bore the very face fourteen now had on his features. A tad younger and a bit less tired in his appearance. The younger only started timidly at this new look alike. Staring oddly and inexplicitly at the new birthed regeneration.
"So here you are." Ten pressed on.
"So here I am." Fourteen stiffly concurred.
The warm air slighted the already unconfutable issues forming. The two Doctors viewing each other less like one person and more like two cowboys in Clint Eastwood film. Wating, for the enemy's first draw.
"Why did you come here?" Ten quizzed.
"You know very well why." Fourteen chastised. "You're here, your really here. In the edge." Fourteen highlighted waving his hands around their mental surroundings. "Your not out or free. You haven't turned into me. I am me and you are you. Why?"
Ten glinted his eyes down. No sarky comments or highlighted interests. Just thinking and thinking. Finally when he had come towards the answer it was not one Fourteen took in or accepted positively.
"I don't know."
What ever calmness Fourteen had previously maintained. Immediately disappeared from the response. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!" Fourteen roared kicking a piece of dirt. "WHY IS IT THAT WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! TELL ME. FIVTEEN REGENERATIONS AND A ENTIRE GOD'S WORTH OF GARBARGE AND WE STILL DON'T KNOW A DAM THING!"
"Pretty much." Ten Boldy agreed.
"AHH." Fourteen fumed squashing his hair. Taking in a few deep breaths. Restoration and unsatisfaction waving over his mind. Feeling a new horrible query, beginning to form.
"Am I, am I…am I him?" Fourteen pleadingly asked.
"Who?" Ten asked.
"You know him." Fourteen drippling questioned. Looking less of a Time Lord and more of a slapped puppy. "Am I the Valeyard?" Crossing his hand one last time. "Is this how it starts? How he is born? The Master forewarned us he would be born between our twelve and final life's."
Fourteen composed himself. Wiggling away the embarrassing moment he felt. "For a long time we thought he was referring to our thirteenth try but what if we got it wrong? We still don't how far the Master travelled when he was still inhabiting Termnas body? What if he knew we could gain a second cycle after Trenzelore? How do we know I am not the genesis for the Valeyard."
"I match his origin story. Something has gone wrong with the regeneration. Am I the last day of the Doctor? Am I the first Day of the Valeyard." Fourteen finally confessed his fears.
Ten smiled. Not a mean smile rather a fatherly gentle smile. "You know. Talking to you. You remind me so much about the first rule about our regenerations."
"What's that?" Fourteen asked.
"We never, conform to our destines." Warrior answered for his future-self.
"We never surrender to our outcomes." First continued.
"We never allow danger to deter us from the right thing." Two confirmed.
"We never allow our self-punishments to affect others." Three continued.
"We never play god." Four came in.
"We never take a loved one for granted." Five down casted. Memories of Addric coming to him.
"We never allow a wound to expand. We always find a way to heal. If not for ourselves but those we care for." Six furthered on.
"We always keep learning and growing. We keep moving forward." Seven concluded.
"We learn to feel, we learn to be open with others. We never crave in no matter what villainization we maybe dammed for later on." Eight accepted.
"We learn the value of our names and promises." The Warrior vowed.
"We learn to be the Doctor again. No matter how many times we want to quit we must never stop being the Doctor." Nine defiantly broadcasted.
"We, never are alone. We gain a new family member every where we go." Eleven graciously confirmed.
"We, know the value of changing but we also know what to never leave behind." Twelve put forward.
"We, see so much beauty and so much wonder in the universe. We remember how lucky we are to be the Doctor. Only the Doctor could ever have a chance to be apart of the most brilliant things ever. But we must always share that wonder with someone who is more worthy of being the Doctor." Thirteen finalized.
Ten took over and smiled. "You are still new. You are still writing your story. You might be the Valeyard or you might be someone else. There was never a rule book to being the Doctor. You like the rest of us. Just need to make the best from the time you have."
A gentle hand took Fourteen's shoulder. Making the new Time Lord face a stranger. Standing at 5'10, this new comer had dark skin, with a "nice" new face which fitted well into place, his hair being short and his nose being "just right". His legs were firm and his eyes were bright and brown in colour. A thin black moustache rested on top his upper lip, and he had a faint scar around his right eye. Primarily he wore a burnt orange double-breasted leather trench coat, complete with pockets and belted cuffs, he also wore blue trousers, with long black socks under a pair of colourful trainers on his feet.
Before Fourteen could talk this new person pressed the tip of his finger on fourteen's lips. Normally, Fourteen being the Doctor would never allow such a silence to be insulated upon him. Yet, for some reason he felt at peace with this stranger. Somehow, being around gave him a assurance he found so incredibly comforting.
"Don't worry honey, trust me you're going to be spectacular as the Doctor." The beautiful man smiled.
THE END