HELTER SKELTER

Chapter Forty

Paul and Bill entered behind the Doctor and saw everyone else assembled in the console room, waiting patiently.

"Good, we have found the last two," the Doctor said, turning to address everyone. "Now I can tell you what I found out. I probed Yoko's mind first and she is indeed a spy for the Diablons."

Everyone groaned at that. The Doctor held up his hand.

"However, I found something curious when I probed her mind. She told Lucifer about us and about Paul changing his appearance but she neglected to mention his tattoos."

"Yes, why is that?" John said.

"Well, I awakened her subconscious just enough that I could speak to her without her waking up fully. I asked her that and she told me that she was programmed to betray everyone here but she actually ended up liking us so even thought consciously she felt like she was being a good little spy, subconsciously she withheld the information about the tattoo because she was still trying to help us."

"So she can be cured then?" George asked.

"I think so. I think all of them can…although some of the slaves are more like Ian and some are more like William. Some I can fix straight away while others will take a bit of doing but I think all of them can be saved," he said while everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Now as for the wedding. Paul and Jane, I need to show you several options so don't go anywhere once we're done here."

Paul and Jane nodded.

"Now, does anyone have anything to add?" the Doctor said, looking around.

Paul raised his hand and stood up. He told everyone what he told Jane and Bill and they beamed when he said that he was going to help mentor Bill.

"I'll help you as well, mate, when I get the time," George said to Bill.

"Yeah, me too," Ringo added.

"I won't. I'll just sleep while they slave over teaching you how to be a rock star," John said.

He winked at Bill when everyone laughed.

"Nah, I'll help ya as well. Nice to know you're gonna be one of us and not some factory drone, better life for ya!"

"And I agree with you, Paul," the Doctor said. "I also want all of us to become a family. I always encourage my companions to do that because as you said, it's dangerous out there and we need to stick together. Now, if no one else has anything else to add, I'll take John and Bill to get their eyes fixed."

He turned and set the coordinates and the TARDIS flew out of the vortex and landed on a planet. Everyone followed the Doctor outside and looked around. They were in the middle of a city that resembled a bunch of bubbles. Inside the bubbles they could see different floors, furniture and people going about their business. The sky above them was a rosy pink with two suns that were diagonal from each other. The Doctor led them about a block down to a large glass bubble that had three floors in it. They went inside when a door slid up in the front of the building. Once they were inside, it slid back down and they walked over to a blonde receptionist sitting behind a desk made out of the same clear material as the building. The Doctor told her that John and Bill had appointments and gave his name while everyone else walked off to the right to a little lobby. The furniture was also made of the same bubble material with bright red suede cushions in every chair. They sat down and noticed a holotelevision in the corner was showing what appeared to be a quiz show. John noticed a magazine on a table beside him and picked it up. He read the title of it aloud.

"Hovercars Monthly," he said. "Wait a tic, this is in English? Are we on one of those Earth colonies the Doctor talked about?"

The Doctor came over to them and John asked him about it. The Doctor grinned.

"Actually no, they don't use English here. However if the TARDIS is close enough, it can translate through low level telepathy any language into your native tongue and vice versa."

"So when we speak English, this lot hears their own language?" Paul asked.

"Correct. One of the nice things about my ship. You can travel around the universe and not have to learn two billion languages and dialects. The receptionist told me that you'll be taken back for your surgeries shortly. While you're doing that, I can take people home to Earth and also to one of the Earth colonies and come back for you when I'm finished. John, I'll help your family find a home so you can go there once you're through here."

"Thank you," John said.

"I wanna stay here," Paul said. "Make sure Bill and John are alright and there's someone to meet them when they get out."

"I'll stay as well," Jane said.

"Great. Amy, Rory can you come and help me since you probably have more knowledge of buying a home than I do."

They nodded and the Doctor wished both Bill and John luck before he and everyone else left them alone with Bill and Jane. John thumbed through the magazine while Bill leaned his head back and closed his eyes. While they were doing that, Paul and Jane talked quietly.

"Paul?"

Paul finished what he was saying to Jane and looked at Bill when he heard him speak.

"Yeah?" Paul said while Bill opened his eyes slightly.

"Had a thought," he said.

"Yes?"

"If we keep going, we'll be fighting a nonstop battle with the Diablons," Bill said as he stared up at the ceiling. "They said themselves they're too deeply entrenched."

"But we're disrupting them and their agenda," Paul pointed out.

"Yeah but I keep thinking. The Doctor has a time machine. Why don't we go back in time to when they were just starting out and take care of them then. If we stopped them at the beginning, it would be easier and they wouldn't be around by the 1960's."

Paul and John shared a look when he looked up from his magazine.

"I agree with Bill, mate. At the moment, you're fighting a losing battle," John said. "You don't know how many there are or where they are but if you go back far enough and get them when they're just starting out, that would erase them from the Earth."

"I think that's a good idea. We'll ask the Doctor when he comes back but I think that would be easier than just constantly trying to uproot them when they have a firm hold on the Earth," Paul said.

"Yes, but how far back do we go?" Jane said.

"I'd think the Doctor would know the answer to that one," Paul said to her.

"Not to mention," John said. "If you go back in time you won't have Diablons wanting your head since they won't know who you are."

"Oh God, that alone is worth the trouble of going back in time," Paul said while everyone laughed. "Yes, I think we should go back before anyone knew who I was."

The receptionist called to them and told them that they were ready for Bill and John and they needed to go with her. Paul and Jane wished them luck and watched while the two men got up and followed the receptionist across the room to a lift. The lift was see through and they continued to watch as the three of them got in, went up to the next floor and got out. They went straight ahead and after that, they lost sight of them. Paul and Jane settled back in their seats and talked quietly. Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and the Doctor, Amy and Rory came back inside.

"Wow, that was fast," Paul said.

The three of them chuckled.

"Bro, we're in a time machine," Amy said. "We've been away for three weeks getting everything sorted out."

They laughed at the stunned looks on Paul and Jane's faces. When they recovered from the shock, Paul told them about Bill's thought. The Doctor nodded.

"I had the same thought as well. We can't keep on fighting them in the 1960's, there's too many of them. We need to go back to when there were a few and stamp them out then."

"How far back then?" Jane said.

"Well, that's the tricky part. We can't go so far back that we have to jump over lava. I'm pretty sure the Diablons weren't around when the Earth was still being formed. We also shouldn't risk going back to the time of the dinosaurs since I don't feel like being chased by T-rexes while we search. I'll consult the files that the TARDIS downloaded from the Hades and see if I can determine an ideal time. John and Bill been in surgery long?"

"Bout twenty minutes, give or take," Paul said, checking his watch.

"It won't be much longer. The surgery is quick and efficient with a very short recovery time. I'd say about an hour in total, if that. Now, I wanted to talk to you about several planets for your wedding while we wait."

The five of them leaned in and spent the next forty minutes discussing locations and wedding plans. About forty minutes later, Paul cut short the conversation and pointed to the lift when he saw the receptionist bringing Bill back down. Everyone stood up and smiled when the lift doors opened and Bill got out. The receptionist closed the door and went back up while he walked over to his friends and family without his glasses.

"Mate, you look good," Paul said. "This is an improvement. How do you feel?"

"Much better but it feels weird without my glasses on my nose."

"I bet considering the lenses were as thick as jam jars," Paul said. "I s'pose it's John's turn then?"

"I think so," Bill said, sitting down next to them. "Did you sort everything out with the housing?"

The Doctor nodded and he filled Bill in on what they'd been talking about. He was telling Bill about Paul and Jane wanting to have their commitment ceremony on the ice planet, Hirgira when Paul pointed out John who was coming down in the lift with the receptionist. Everyone stood up and grinned when John walked over, a smile on his face while he pointed to his eyes.

"Clear vision, mates, I'm cured!" John said happily," and I see Bill has no glasses. So that makes two of us then."

"Yeah but you know what?" Paul said. "I think you should keep a pair of glasses with fake lenses. You hate the glasses but they do look good on you, believe it or not."

John stared at him while he thought that over.

"Really?" he said.

"Yes, they make you look distinguished," Paul said.

"Distinguished? You mean I look like an upper class toff with me glasses on?"

"Um…no, wouldn't go that far, mate," Paul said while everyone laughed.

The Doctor beckoned to everyone and they followed him outside.

"So now, I think we'll have the wedding which means we have to go get everyone again but I'll time it so it's been a couple of weeks since I dropped them off. That way they'll have time to adjust."

They reached the TARDIS and the Doctor opened the door for them. Once they were inside, the Doctor set a course for the planet their friends and families were residing on while everyone else went to the back to freshen up and rest. Paul and Jane laughed and held hands while they made their way back to their bedroom. When they entered, they were surprised to find two large white boxes on their bed along with a little black box in between them. Paul frowned and closed their door while Jane walked over to the white box nearest their pillows. She opened it and gasped when she reached in and pulled out a snow white wedding dress that had several crystal snowflakes all over the bodice. The dress was strapless and made of a satiny-like material that shimmered when the light hit it. Inside the box was a veil that was made of the same satiny material and white court shoes. While she was admiring the dress, Paul opened the other box and pulled out a grey morning suit with top hat and black shoes.

"Did the Doctor do this?" Paul said as Jane picked up the black box.

She opened it and gasped when she saw two gold wedding rings, each one had a tiny crystal embedded in the front and their first names engraved inside.

"Oh, Paul, they're gorgeous," Jane said as they took the rings out and examined them.

"The Doctor must have done a bit of shopping during those three weeks," Paul said to her.

Suddenly there was a flash and a letter appeared where the black box had been. Paul picked it up and read it aloud.

Paul and Jane,

This is my gift to you. I hope you have a wonderful wedding and a long and happy life.

TARDIS.

They shared a glance and looked up at the ceiling.

"Thank you," they said in unison.

They were rewarded with a grumble and Paul chuckled.

"Yup, said it before, say it again, love this ship," he said before he kissed his bride to be on the lips.

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