DIARY OF A HALF HUMAN TIME LORD
Chapter Twenty Two "Okay, this way," Rose said as she and Jonathon hurried down the hallway. While they were walking, Jonathon kept looking around, half expecting someone, particularly Pete, to appear out of thin air and stop them. He glanced up at the CCTV cameras positioned evenly along the corridor and wondered if Pete ever checked them. He hoped that they would be able to leave before Pete came in since he figured if he knew he was in the building, he'd instantly check the footage to see what they were up to. After five minutes, Rose led him to another locked door. This one had a scanner and she scanned her ID before the door opened for them. They walked inside and Jonathon saw the dimension cannon at last. There was another metal platform, only this one was bigger than the one in front of the recorder. The dimension cannon was indeed cannon shaped, white metal or painted white and it was positioned on a large steel tripod. In back of the tripod was a console with buttons, switches and a large monitor on it. Rose strode confidentally over to the cannon and turned on the console. It began to hum and she pulled a keyboard out of the front of it directly below the monitor. Jonathon walked over to her side while she began to type. "We used my artron energy as a way to pinpoint the Doctor in time and space since his TARDIS uses the same energy," she explained as she typed. "I'm asking the computer to try to locate a small gap that leads to the Doctor's universe and also to locate the TARDIS through the gap since I want to send the disc directly into it." "You can do that?" Jonathon said. "Yeah. I actually did send out a message that was locking in on the Doctor's own artron energy and at one point I managed to send one directly to the monitor in the TARDIS... at least I think I did, that's where this thing told me it was sent. So we can beam this disc directly into the TARDIS and give it... let's give him three hours, then the disc gets sent back to this platform here," she said as she typed. "And that's how you were able to find him?" Jonathon said. "Yup. I was beamed into different universes at first in a trial and error maneuver until we finally managed to get the right universe and save it in the database. I would go out for a set amount of time and when my time was up, I came back here." "Wait, trial and error. You could have died." "I know. But it was so important to me to find the Doctor again that I was willing to risk death," Rose said as the computer began its search. Jonathon waited impatiently while the computer searched. He kept glancing over his shoulder. There was another CCTV camera by the door that was positioned right on the cannon and Jonathon imagined Pete sitting in a computer chair at a row of monitors watching them. When ten minutes passed and the computer brought up a positive match, he was so relieved he thought he'd pass out. Rose took the disc and put it on the platform. Then she walked over to the cannon and lowered the front part, using sights similar to the ones on a high-powered rifle to target the disc. When she had the disc in the crosshairs of the sights, she pressed some buttons and the humming became louder. "Shield your eyes, love, this makes a very bright flash," Rose said. Jonathon turned his head to the side and Rose closed her eyes before pressing the last button. There was a bright flash of light out of the corner of his eye and then Rose told him it was safe. He looked back and noticed the disc was gone. Rose studied the monitor. "It should be on its way to the TARDIS now," she said to him. "There was a teeny tiny crack that was just big enough for the disc to get through. Don't know if the Doctor could get back through it. Unless he widens it?" "He could do that but it'd be risky," Jonathon said. "We'll have to wait and see if he'll actually take the risk for Suzanne. But for now, let's get the hell outta here before Pete finds us." (The Doctor's Universe...) The Doctor sat inside his TARDIS staring at the monitor while his ship flew through the vortex. His feet were up on the rim of the console, one foot lazily flicking while he thought to himself. He had just got done saving villagers from a rampaging demon named Darthum, yet another thing he was doing to keep him from having to answer the summons from Ood Sigma that had arrived a fortnight ago. He knew what it was about and that's why he was determined to have one last hurrah before he had to go and face his death. The TARDIS had tried to get him to go, several times changing the coordinates to the Ood Sphere before the Doctor discovered what she'd done and angrily changed the coordinates back to the ones he had inputted. After several tries, his ship gave up, figuring he would face up to what he had to do in time. She just hated that he was now so bitter and sullen, having sworn off companions, she now had to watch him try to fight off his depression by immersing himself in busywork. Ever since he left Rose with his clone and had to take away Donna's memories, he hadn't been himself and the TARDIS was growing weary of the constant sadness surrounding him. Then suddenly, the TARDIS detected something being beamed into the ship and she managed to warn the Doctor with a rapid beeping seconds before the bright light materialized beside the Time Lord. The Doctor jumped up from the seat when the light faded and he stared at the black disc as it clattered noisily onto the grate a few feet away from him. He froze, his eyes darting from left to right while he waited for something else to happen. Finally, he asked the TARDIS if anything else was coming inside the ship and the TARDIS grunted out a negative. The Doctor walked over, bent down and picked up the disc. He examined it for markings but there was none on it. He inserted the disc into the slot on his console and sat back down. He was shocked when he saw his own face staring back at him and it took a moment for him to work out who it was seconds before he identified himself. The Doctor listened to the message in silent shock, never thinking he would see his clone again. He was prepared to be hard hearted against him, figuring he was pleading for him to come back and take him back into the TARDIS but his hearts melted when he realized the plea wasn't for him and they melted further when he saw that Jonathon was close to tears as he begged him for help. He swallowed down the lump in his throat when he heard him say that he didn't care if he hated him, only help Suzanne. When the message ended, a robotic voice told him that he could leave a reply if he wanted to and he had three hours before the disc was recalled. The screen went blank while the Doctor sat and stared into space, thinking about the message and about Jonathon. He had to admit he was wondering what was going on with him and Rose. He swallowed hard again when he realized that instead of going through time and space with Rose, his clone was working a possibly boring job in a pizza shop. He sat for several more minutes before he got up and chose to leave a return message. He saw a countdown begin on the screen and he sat back down. When the countdown got to zero, there was a beep and the Doctor spoke. "Jonathon, I received your message," he said. "I want you to know that I do want to help you but I can't guarantee I'll find a way there or even if I'll be able to arrive there before Suzanne dies. I will try though. Even though I don't know Suzanne, if she means that much to you, I will try everything I can think of to get over there and help her before it's too late. I don't know how you'll know if I make it over there but I'll find a way to contact you if I do make it over there." He stopped talking and was about to end the message when he decided to say something more. "Jonathon, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I caused friction between you and Pete and Jackie. That was never my intention. I realize I was a bit rash doing what I did but you know as well as I that Rose can never be with me and because you're half human, she has a chance to grow old with you and be happy. That's all I ever wanted. I know I was angry at you for what you did but your heart was in the right place and you had good intentions and I apologize for blaming you for trying to save the universe. I don't hate you since you're me and I really don't like the thought of hating myself. Besides, what happened has happened and there's no reason for me to spend the rest of my lives hating you for one misplaced act of heroism. You helped defeat Davros and I'm grateful for that. If I find a way back, I'm going to give you a piece of TARDIS coral and try to speed up the process so you can quit your job at the pizza shop and travel the stars the way it was meant to be. Not to mention you need to get Rose away from Torchwood. Um... that's all I can think of to say. I can't guarantee anything except that I will try my best to get back over there and help Suzanne. I'm glad you found friends and have made a life for yourself. Again, that's all I ever wanted for you. If I don't make it over there, take care of yourself and look after Rose and have a brilliant life. I will look forward to seeing you again, my friend. Keep your pecker up and don't lose heart. Even if I don't make it over there, something might happen and Suzanne might go into remission. Don't lose faith, my friend. This is the end of my message. Goodbye." The Doctor got up, stopped the recording and took the disc out. He laid the disc on the jump seat while he looked up at the ceiling. "Right, I need your help, old girl. Find me a way back into the other universe so we can go help Jonathon and Suzanne."
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