Turlough's Tale

by genesssa

Set between "Terminus" and "Enlightenment" (with a hint of "The Sontaran Experiment") this novella is narrated by Turlough, who's still obligated to kill the Doctor (and nearly succeeds) or forfeit his own life to the Black Guardian. The Doctor tries to save both their lives. Can ghosts be involved? Ends on a cliffhanger that leads into TV episode "Enlightenment."

18. Chapter Eighteen

TURLOUGH'S TALE

Chapter Eighteen

Burying Danny was the easy part of my mission. Now for the hard part: I must invoke the being I least wish ever to see again in my life. The Doctor knows I still have the crystal and yet he didn't chastise me for that, instead asking me to use it, as if it were not the reason all his plans might be in vain.

The Black Guardian might already know about Danny. For all I know, he knows the whereabouts of every Time Lord in the universe. All right, Danny, not I, killed the Doctor and buried him. I went Doctor-hunting with murderous intent, diligently tracked him to Danny's igloo, found his body and summoned the Black Guardian to offer proof that the Doctor is dead. Pros: As far as the Black Guardian can tell, the Doctor is indeed dead. Cons: I am not the killer so I get no reward, which is all right with me if the Doctor can whisk me back home, but not all right if the Black Guardian decides to punish me for letting someone else do the Doctor in.

The Black Guardian wants me to dig up the corpse to prove it belongs to the Doctor. Danny doesn't resemble the Doctor in the least. All right, the Doctor regenerated but, not having the strength to complete the transition, he died. Why isn't he dressed for cricket? He had changed into a wetsuit to keep warm.

The Black Guardian is completely taken in and so pleased with my success that he decides to demand more of the same. I am to become his personal surrogate assassin. All right, I refuse, he is angered and I am dead.

The Black Guardian can tell who's who without any fuss at all and knows immediately, before he even appears, that this is not the Doctor, and nothing I can say or do will convince him otherwise. All right, then, I am dead.

I reach past the small flares in my pocket, past the knife, past the TARDIS key, to the crystal buried amid all that. I pull it out and raise it up in both hands, like a supplicant offering a sacrifice. "I did it," I call. "The Doctor is dead. Come see."

The Black Guardian materializes so close to me that I jump back, fortunately not into the mound I've built over Danny. He is smiling, not a pleasant sight, and not reassuring either, as he often smiles while he threatens me. "You have done well, boy!" he booms, chortling over the cricket ball. He doesn't seem the least bit suspicious. Can he be so easily fooled? I underestimated the Doctor; am I underestimating the Black Guardian?

"May I go home now?" I ask, mildly.

"Not yet," he says in that oily manner he assumes when barely bothering to disguise the fact that he's lying. "Soon. Soon. First, tell me where the TARDIS is."

"I don't know," I say, truthfully. "I am so lost."

The Black Guardian is not happy about this but doesn't press. "I must prepare. I shall find you." With that, he vanishes. I sit down in the snow, amazed. How can it be that I am still alive? How did I manage to pull this off?

Snatching the Doctor's cricket ball from Danny's hand, I circumvent the mound and reenter the igloo. Slipping the ball back into my pocket, I head for the basins, take one of the fur covers and set it skin-side-up on the floor. Into it I place some bread and all of the smoked fish. This I secure within the fur with the bungee cord and secure that to the now thin bundle of long flares. Then I select a few books from the library basin and tuck them into my pockets. Pretty well laden now, I leave the igloo, bid farewell to Danny, who meant nothing to me but whose loss appears to have meant a great deal to the Doctor, and follow the path and the unactivated torches back to the house.