IT WAS 20,000 YEARS AGO TODAY

Chapter Fourteen

Pepa was surprised when they brought back extra people but he shrugged as he closed the hatch door.

"If they're willing to help, I'm willing to take them with me," he said as the Beatles gazed around the interior in amazement.

"Can you bring them back though?" the Doctor said.

"Not sure, I did an emergency jump and I'm not sure I can find this location again once we leave," Pepa said.

"That's what I was afraid of but they said they understood the risk and would accept it if we couldn't find a way back," he said to Pepa as he settled down in the co-pilot's chair beside him.

Pepa started up the ship and began to get them airborne.

"Everyone go back to the sleeping quarters because we're gonna make another jump," he said to them. "This one won't be as rough since I'm setting the coordinates for Pepaland but it'll still be bumpy going over the void."

The Doctor got up, took William in his arms and headed back to the sleeping quarters with the others. The Beatles followed behind the others and they all observed Bill as he walked beside Paul. Bill was giving Paul his wallet.

"Thanks, mate," Paul said to him, putting it in his pocket. "Did you find an ice cream shop then?"

"Oh yeah," Bill said. "Tya loved it. I think she's an ice cream addict now."

"Hey, after eating mammoth meat her entire life, I wouldn't doubt it!" he replied.

"Jane also took the liberty of getting her a ball and a doll," Bill added.

"I noticed that," Paul said as he looked down at Tya who was walking beside him, the doll in the crook in her arm and the ball in her left hand. "Good, at least she has something to distract her while we fight."

"I think Nog will look after her while we're fighting," Bill said to him.

"Good, because she needs a distraction as well," Paul said. "We volunteered to do this; they didn't so it's not fair to ask them to fight, especially since they're scared as it is."

Bill nodded and the Beatles glanced at each other.

"He seems like a decent bloke," Ringo muttered to George and John, "he certainly isn't an asshole like our William is. Maybe Paul was right about him."

They turned their attention back to Bill when they heard him speaking to Paul.

"You know, I've been thinking," he said to Paul as they reached the hatch and gathered around it.

He flinched and shut up when the other Beatles came up beside him.

"It's alright," Paul said. "I told them you're on our side and they promised not to harass you."

"We've been observing ya and listening in and I believe Paul now about you. You are definitely not like that arse over there," he said, pointing to William who was lying on the floor, still wrapped in the blanket. "We're not going to rough you up, believe me."

"Thank you, I'm not like him. I would never be that cruel, at least not if I was in my right mind," Bill replied.

"Well, let's hope that never happens," John said. "But go ahead with your thought, don't let us interrupt you."

"What were you thinking?" Paul said.

Bill looked at the Beatles.

"This won't make sense because you haven't seen the film but there's a Yellow Submarine film that the Beatles will make in a few years and this Pepperland we're going to is in it because the Diablons who we're fighting and who I think corrupted your Bill used the history of their invasion as the basis for this film."

"Okay," John said.

"Well, my thought is so far there have been many similarities between the film and real life," Bill said to Paul. "The way Pepperland looks, the pyramid, this ship looking like the Yellow Submarine, the invasion but now that I think about it, the similarities are continuing."

"How so?" Paul said while they waited for the others to go down.

"Well, if I remember correctly, in the film that captain took the Yellow Submarine away to find help when the invasion started and he found the Beatles. And now…"

He gave Paul a pointed look as he pointed to the Beatles beside him. Paul's eyes widened in understanding while John, George and Ringo gave him confused looks.

"And now, what?" John said.

Paul realized everyone else was down the hatch. He held up his finger and all of them followed the others down. Paul waited till the rest of them went down before he went down, grabbed the underside of the hatch and closed it. Once they were on the floor of the sleeping quarters, Paul led Bill and the Beatles over to the farthest bed and they sat down on it.

"He means that in the film, this old captain went searching for help and he found us, the Beatles, and we came back with him to help defeat the bad guys and save Pepperland…which is what we're doing, right now!" Paul said. "What's happening in this animated film is happening in real life."

"Which makes me wonder if this has all happened before and the Diablons put their defeat in the film because we did defeat them," Bill said.

Paul leaned back against the wall while he thought that over.

"If that's true, then we're at the part of the film where we entered the Yellow Submarine," he mused while the others listened. "Now…in the film, they didn't go directly to Pepperland, they went through all these different seas, yeah? Sea of Green, Sea of Science…"

"So you think that Pepa will make a mistake with the coordinates and we'll go somewhere else first before getting to Pepperland?" Bill asked while the Beatles glanced at each other.

"Dunno, but if we're living the film, we still have to find Jeremy, yeah? The little Nowhere Man bloke?"

"Isn't it fun when we come into the middle of something and have no idea what the hell's going on?" John said to George and Ringo.

"In the film, they end up in this blank place and they meet the Nowhere Man that lives there, a little beasty named Jeremy who also travels with them, that's what we're talking about," Paul said.

"So…we're about to end up nowhere and find a little beast person?" John said.

"If we're following the events in the film, yeah," Paul said.

"But wait," Bill said, "didn't they go through the Sea of Time first and age back and forth before finding Jeremy? I thought Jeremy came after the Sea of Monsters when the ship got sucked into that monster thing and he sucked up the world and his own tail and disappeared."

"And they're worried about us being on acid?" John said to George and Ringo, "sounds like they've been having a few trips of their own."

Paul ignored John and beckoned over the Doctor and John. He told them their thoughts and the Doctors glanced at each other.

"Blast, he's right," the Doctor said to John, "shoulda thought about that. Now I need to go up and make sure we do get to Pepperland on the first jump. John, look after everyone here."

"Aye aye, sir," John said, saluting him.

Jane was talking to Nog on the bed nearest the ladder while they babysit Tya.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Jane said when she saw him sprinting up the ladder.

"Let Paul explain," the Doctor said as he went up.

Jane looked at Rory and Amy who were sitting on the bed across the way. As one, all of them got up and walked over to Paul. Paul explained what was going on and Amy groaned when they were finished.

"Great, I can't wait to be a baby again and get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner monster," she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"But that's what happens next, right? The Sea of Time thing?" Bill asked.

Amy and Rory glanced at each other.

"I think so. I think they went through Sea of Time, then Sea of Science, then Sea of Monsters, then the nothing space where they met Jeremy and then they found the Sea of Holes and then the Sea of Green and that took them back to Pepperland."

"Wait, what about the part where John finds all the heads and sings Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and…"

Rory trailed off when he realized John was staring at him intently.

"Oh, don't mind me, do go on," John said with a wry grin as everyone laughed. "I'm eager to find out when I have to sing to a bunch of heads. When does that happen?"

"Gee, should we all go up and romp around the sub while we sing All Together Now?" Paul said dryly. "Because apparently our singing makes the sub go so we better get up there and do a song and dance routine before we break down again."

They paused when they felt the sub vibrating.

"Okay, I assume this is crossing the void," Rory said. "So everyone keep listening for the Doctor to start cursing and we'll know we didn't make it back to Pepperland."

They waited and Paul held onto Tya while they crossed. Then the vibration ceased and all of them listened for any sign of anger from the Doctor. After thirty seconds, Paul walked over, climbed the ladder and lifted up the hatch.

"Doctor, did we make it?" he yelled. "Did we make it to Pepperland?'

He didn't hear anything at first and then he saw the Doctor walking towards them. Paul leaned his head back when he got down on his hands and knees and looked inside.

"Everyone, get ready to experience a second childhood. I think we just jumped into the Sea of Time dimension," he said with a sigh.

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews and constructive criticism will be posted.