THE VICTORIOUS TIME LORD AND THE BATTLE OF 9 11
Chapter Four Rory looked up at the time rotor when the TARDIS powered down. He stared at the door and swallowed hard, wondering where the ship had taken him. Unlike Amy, he hadn't spent as much time with the Doctor and he was still getting used to time travel and the dangers they found. Normally, the Doctor was with them and he felt safer with the seasoned time traveler. This was the first time he was stepping out of the TARDIS alone but he knew his wife and friend's lives were counting on him so he summoned his courage and bolstered his spirits and walked towards the front door. He opened it and stuck his head out. He noticed he was on another planet. The grass at his feet were a lemony color and there was a rocky planet and a blazing sun in the pale blue sky above him. What surprised him though was about 500 feet away, he saw another TARDIS. His TARDIS was behind some trees but the other one was out in the open. "You brought me to another Doctor?" Rory said, looking back into the interior of the TARDIS. "But…what good will this do? My Doctor couldn't defeat his other self so how will another Doctor be able to do it?" The TARDIS was silent. Rory didn't expect her to answer and he knew he'd never be able to interpret what she said if she did speak to him. Figuring the TARDIS knew something he didn't, he stepped outside, made sure his key was in his trouser pocket and closed the door before he headed towards the other TARDIS. "Come on, Doc," Jack said as he and Rose stood by the console, "it's a beautiful, sunny day and you're not gonna go see the planet?' The Ninth Doctor slid out from under the console and sighed. "For the last time, Harkness, I need to make emergency repairs. Because if I don't, the TARDIS might materialize in the middle of a sun and then I'm betting you'll rethink your, it's a sunny day remark. Take Rose and go explore. And when I say that, I mean explore the surface of the planet and not the surface of Rose's body." Rose bit her lip to hold in her laughter while Jack gave him a dirty look. "I'll do my best to keep my roaming hands off Rose," Jack said dryly. "Good. You keep your hands off Rose and I'll keep my fists out of your face, now off you go!" he said airily. Nine slid back under the console, ignoring Jack who was muttering "How did you manage to stay sane around this guy?" to Rose while they walked towards the front door. He resumed his repairs while his companions went down the ramp and opened the door. Jack opened the door wide. "After you, madam," he said to Rose. "Much obliged," Rose said as she came outside. Jack shut the door and made a point of putting his hands in his trouser pockets while they walked side by side. Both of them looked around at the scenery and that's when they noticed the man standing several feet away from them. Jack smiled as he looked the man over and came to the conclusion that he was very sexy in a scruffy sort of way. Rose, however, was giving the man a wary look as he approached them. "Stop right there," she said, holding out her hand when he was about twenty feet from them. "Don't come any closer. What do you want?" "I need help. My name is Rory Williams and I'm a companion of the Doctor." Rose and Jack shared a look. "Past companion? Because I've never seen you before in my life," Rose said. "No, I…um…I'm not quite sure where my Doctor fits in. What life is your Doctor on?" "His ninth," Rose said. "Mine is on his eleventh life." Rose and Jack's eyes bugged out. Rose approached him. "I'm Rose Tyler," she said, smiling warmly. "Rose? The Doctor's Rose?" Rory said. "Yes. You sound shocked. You've…never seen me before?" Rose asked with a twinge of fear. "No, but the Doctor's mentioned you before. Actually, you're the reason I'm here." "I am?" Rose said. "Why? What's wrong? Is your Doctor in trouble?" "Yes. It's a bit complicated but the tenth Doctor has gone off his trolley and the eleventh Doctor tried to stop him and instead he and my wife ended up prisoners of the tenth Doctor so I think the TARDIS brought me to your Doctor when I asked her to find help." He pointed back to the trees and Rose and Jack saw the TARDIS. Rory also showed them his TARDIS key as proof that he was who he said he was. "I think you need to speak with the Doc," Jack said while Rose nodded in agreement, "follow us." Nine finished reconnecting a wire and slid out when he decided to take a break. He sat up and rubbed his back which was aching slightly after spending a couple of hours against the hard metal grille. He sighed and stared at the front door, debating on whether or not to take Jack up on his offer after all and go out and explore the planet for an hour or two before getting back to work. He was staring at the door when Jack opened it and he, Rose and Rory came inside. Nine leapt to his feet when he saw Rory. "Who is that?" he said angrily. "No one comes in here without my permission." "He's from the future, Doctor," Rose said. "From your future. He showed us his TARDIS and TARDIS key. He needs help." "Does he now?" Nine said, coming towards him. "What is your name then?" "Rory Williams, companion to the eleventh Doctor," Rory said proudly. Rory showed him his TARDIS key. Nine took it and examined it closely. He walked outside, shut the door and locked and unlocked it with Rory's key. He came back inside and gave the key back to Rory. "Very well, you're either a companion or a very good thief," Nine said. "What do you want?" Rory glanced at Rose before he explained what he knew about what happened between Ten and Eleven. Rose was shocked and Nine knew that eventually he would have to go in and erase the memory of this meeting from her mind so she wouldn't know what was in store for her. At the moment though, he had no time especially if his future self was proclaiming himself Lord of all Time and Space and making a bid to control all reality. He trusted his TARDIS and if the TARDIS brought Rory back to find him, he knew that it was up to him and possibly his eleventh self to stop their tenth self before he made a horrific mistake. He glanced at Rose. He might be able to take Jack with him but not Rose. He made the mistake once of putting Rose in a situation where she was too close to her past self and he would not make the same mistake with her and her future self. Besides, he wanted Rose to know as little as possible so it would be easier to erase it once he was finished helping to set things straight. So he told Rose that he was taking her to her mother's while this was going on and he would come and get her when he was finished. Rose nodded, knowing that he was thinking of the Reapers and she understood completely his fears that seeing and interacting with her other self would make things worse. The Doctor looked at his TARDIS and thought for a moment. "Listen," he said to Rory, "I was doing repairs because the steering is off, so to speak, and I don't completely trust my TARDIS at the moment so why don't we take yours. I'm assuming since you got here intact, it's working?" "As far as I know it is," Rory said with a shrug. "Good. Rose, Jack, follow Rory to his TARDIS while I power down here and make everything secure." They nodded and Rory led them down the ramp. They followed him back to his TARDIS. Jack raised his eyebrow when he saw it more closely. "Is it me or does his TARDIS look newer than ours?" he said to Rose. "Yeah, it does. It's brighter like he put a fresh coat of paint on it," Rose said. "Looks nice." Rory pulled out his key, opened the door and both Jack and Rose's mouths hit the floor when they saw the interior. "Whoa! The interior is nice too," Jack said as he and Rose stepped inside. "It's nice and shiny. This is what the interior of a spaceship should look like." Jack and Rose felt someone behind them and turned to see Nine staring at the interior in shock. "He changed it," Nine said, incensed, "he changed the interior!" Jack was about to say how he liked it better than their TARDIS when Rose shot him a warning look. Nine closed the door and sprinted up the steps. He walked around the console, studying the layout for a moment and then satisfied, he began to power up the TARDIS. "First stop, the Powell Estates," Nine said as he raced around the console, "and then I'm going to go have a little chat with my future self."
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