TURLOUGH'S TALE
Chapter Four
We materialize in a gully. "This will be dangerous," the Doctor tells Tegan. "I only intend to be gone for a matter of minutes, if I can find… him soon enough and avoid… certain people."
"Oh, that's not mysterious or anything," snarks Tegan. "I'm going with you."
"You most certainly are not! You stay here!" Tegan huffs off to the TARDIS interior and the Doctor turns to me. "It's up to you, Turlough. Come with me or stay, but I was telling the truth. It is a dangerous situation, but if things work out the way I expect, it may solve your problem, at least long enough for us to figure out a more permanent solution."
I want to huff off to the interior too, but the Doctor is putting himself in harm's way for me; even a coward such as I has some pride. "I'm with you," I say.
We step out into the gully and look around. "What or who are we looking for?" I ask.
"Me," says the Doctor. "Well, a former me. You won't know me but I will. If you see anyone in a space suit, it's not me. If you see a Sontaran, run like hell."
"What's a Sontaran?"
"Squat fellow, warrior, dangerous. Oh, you'll know. If he's wearing a helmet, he's a Sontaran. If his helmet is off, you'll know. Trust me, you'll know. Ah, here it is." The Doctor brushes aside some foliage and there it is: a tunnel of sorts. He ducks and goes on in, so I follow him, thinking, if only I hadn't gone for that joy ride.
At the other end of the tunnel is a slight rise, and stretched out there, face down, is a motionless man, apparently unconscious, taller than the Doctor, coiffed in abundant curls and not dressed in a space suit; space suits don't feature impossibly long scarves. The Doctor and I turn him over and see that his eyes are open and focused. He smiles at us and pulls a scrap of metal from his breast pocket. "Sometimes being a scavenger comes in handy," he declares. "By the way, who are you? You're not from Nerva. How did you get here?"
"We came in our…" I begin and the Doctor shushes me.
"Never mind that. Are you all right?"
"I will be. But you had better hide. This is a dangerous place."
"I know," says the Doctor. "And we'll be leaving shortly." To me he adds, "It didn't work. No zap."
"I could use some zap," sighs the scavenger, sitting up and brushing some grass and leaves out of his curls. "I have to stop a shipload of Sontarans from invading Earth before it can be repopulated, not to mention rescuing some friends of mine."
"Well," offers the Doctor, "if you want my advice…"
"I am all ears."
"… challenge the Sontaran. Wear him out. Don't let him recharge."
"Excellent idea. Who are you? How do you know about Sontarans?"
"You just said," I point out.
"No, no." The scavenger shakes his curls. "I didn't mention recharging."
The Doctor grins. "I'd ask you to give my regards to Sarah Jane and Harry but they haven't met me. Just… be good to them!"
The scavenger stands up so we do too. "I am going to make a wild guess. You have one of these in your pocket." He pulls out a sonic screwdriver. The Doctor, I mean my Doctor, shrugs and confesses,
"The Teraleptils destroyed mine. I miss it so."
The other Doctor makes a sour face and says "Oh, I'd hate to be you." Then both Doctors burst out laughing and I look around nervously, expecting someone to come and demand to know what's so funny. Soon the two Doctors are just standing, grinning at each other like idiots. The other Doctor asks, "You expected some kind of… zap?"
"It's complicated," says my Doctor. "The Black Guardian is after my young friend here."
"Oh." The other Doctor whistles. "Bad fellow, that. Evil incarnate. Good luck." He turns to me and adds, "And good luck to you, my young friend."
"Thank you," is all I can think of to say. I am disappointed but not terribly surprised. To my Doctor I say, "Now what?"
"Back to the TARDIS," he says, reaching out to shake his former self's hand. Instead of shaking, the larger man grabs my Doctor in a huge bear hug and squeezes before releasing him.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he grins, and off he goes to rescue his friends and defeat the Sontarans, or so I assume, since we are here to tell the tale.
On the way back through the tunnel, I tell the Doctor, "I wouldn't want to meet that you in a dark alley," Upon the Doctor's quizzical look I add "He's bigger."
"I'm faster."
As we approach the TARDIS we see Tegan just popping out, presumably to look for us.
"Get back in," shouts the Doctor, breaking into a run. "We're leaving!"
"Doctor," cries Tegan, not obeying him. "the TARDIS is dark!"
"What?" The Doctor pushes Tegan back inside, I join them, and sure enough, there is no light in the TARDIS, and it is eerily silent in there, nothing humming, nothing clicking, just darkness and silence, but for our breathing and the Doctor's footsteps as he circles the console, trying to see dials that aren't lit, monitors that show nothing. He straightens and looks at the two of us, his face just a shadow. "We're not going anywhere. The TARDIS is dead."