The Doctors looked at one another, unsure of what their next move should
be. The Zodin had her left hand clasped over Susan's mouth and was pressing the
gun so tightly against her head it was beginning to draw blood.
‘Look,’ Eight said finally, ‘I've been through a hell of a lot in this
body. More than I could ever possibly hope to tell you about. So if you think
I'm going to let you terrorize my granddaughter like this, you're even crazier
than I thought. At least give us some answers. How did you find us?’
‘I've studied your personal history very closely, Doctor,’ the Zodin
replied. ‘It's a well-known fact that you left Susan on 22nd-century Earth
after the Dalek invasion was defeated. You swore to her you would return
someday and indeed you did. I was able to pinpoint the exact moment you stepped
out of the TARDIS expecting to reunite with her, knowing she'd be the perfect
bargaining chip to keep you on this side of the rift.’
Eight looked away from her in disgust and turned to his future selves.
‘Right,’ he said forcefully, ‘I don't give a damn about the blessed Laws of
Time anymore. You two have already lived through this mess. Just tell me what
happens to Susan. Will she be all right?’ Ten and Eleven looked at each other
in confusion.
‘Well, actually,’ Ten said, ‘I honestly don't know. I have no memory of
going to fetch Susan during the Time War. I just assumed she lived out the rest
of her life on Earth.’
‘Same here,’ Eleven said. ‘This is all, er, news to me.’
‘Of course,’ Eight said with a sigh. ‘The blasted Blinovitch Limitation
Effect. I should've known.’ He turned to face his horrified granddaughter. ‘I'm
sorry, Susan. There's nothing I can do.’
Eleven noticed the suitcase Susan had dropped to the floor when the Zodin
grabbed her. ‘Where were you planning to take her?’ he asked.
‘The safest place I could think of,’ Eight said. ‘An isolated planet that
very few races know of. One where she wouldn't have to worry about the Daleks
finding her. A planet called Trenzalore.’
Eleven's face turned white. He began sweating profusely. His previous
selves and companions looked puzzled.
‘Something wrong, Doctor?’ Jenny asked. Eleven opened his mouth as if to
answer but a thought occurred to him and he looked up instead. Sure enough, the
ceiling of the throne room was home to a nest of hibernating Silents.
‘All right, everyone,’ he said, keeping his eyes trained on the sleeping
aliens, ‘I need you all to look at the ceiling for me while I talk to the
Zodin.’
‘Why can't you talk to her now?’ Ten asked.
‘Because I'll forget what's on the ceiling the moment I look away. Just do
it!’ They did as they were told. Jenny gasped and Vastra hissed but the others
were intrigued.
‘What are those things?’ Jack asked.
‘They call themselves the Silence,’ Eleven explained. ‘You forgot you've
seen them when you're not looking at them so whatever you do, DON'T look away.
Got it?’
‘Got it,’ Eight replied.
‘Good,’ Eleven said and lowered his head. He immediately became confused. ‘Sorry,
what was I talking about just now?’
‘Those horrible creatures on the ceiling,’ Vastra said.
‘Oh, right,’ Eleven said and rounded on the Zodin. ‘I know you think this
scheme was all your doing, but it
wasn't.’
‘What do you mean?’ the Zodin said flippantly.
‘I mean you were manipulated by a religious order known as the Silence.
It's all part of a plan to prevent me from reaching Trenzalore. Now that I
think about it, you were the perfect vessel for their plot. Since you too have
the ability to erase memories, they could use you to cover their tracks.’
‘And you expect me to believe such a convoluted story?’
‘Look up at the ceiling and you'll see!’
‘You think I'm so gullible that you can distract me like that? Well, nice
try!’ She pushed Susan away and pointed the gun at the Doctor. ‘As you know,
Doctor, I am the last of my kind. You thought you were the last remaining
Gallifreyan until your friend the Master showed up and now your granddaughter
has been returned to you. But I'm afraid this reunion will be short-lived.’ She
advanced on him in such a way that the others averted their eyes from the ceiling
and focused on the Zodin. ‘We are both the killers of own kind. I did it
because they rejected me when only I had the authority to rule their empire.
And you did it to end the most destructive war the universe has ever seen. But
thanks to me, that war will now end in a Dalek victory!’
‘You're mad!’ Eleven cried. ‘Surely you know the Daleks exterminate all
other life forms. You're worth no more to them than a flea!’
‘Even if they do come after me, it will have been worth it just to put end
to your mucking about in time and space. You see, ever since you and she-‘ she
nodded towards Susan ‘-first left Gallifrey, you've been sticking your nose in
where it doesn't belong. Many rulers like myself have been dethroned simply
because that blue box of yours turned up on their planet. You had no business
meddling in their affairs and now I'm going to avenge them all by pulling this
trigger. Both your hearts will stop instantly so regeneration is out of the
question. It's been fun Doctor but now your time has-‘ The gun was suddenly
whipped out of the Zodin's hands by Vastra's tongue. It flew through the air
for a second before shattering into pieces on the floor. The Zodin screamed and
ran to where her only weapon lay in bits.
‘Not so threatening now, are you?’ Vastra said, brandishing her sword.
‘Damn!’ the Zodin cried, ignoring her. She was desperately trying to put
the gun back together, to no avail. ‘I knew I should never have trusted the
Ogrons to build me an indestructible weapon. They're even stupider than the
Sontarans!’ She suddenly realised that she was surrounded by the Doctors and
their companions. ‘Well then, you may have bested me but you still have the Daleks
to deal with. I'm sick to death of Karn, anyway. Seeing as Earth is still being
rebuilt, I believe it's ripe for the taking!’ Before anyone could stop her, the
Zodin ran back into the rift.
Vastra and Jenny looked at Eleven, who nodded silently. They nodded back
and followed her. ‘Let's find out if she's as easy prey as her guards were,’
Vastra said as she and Jenny slipped through the rift.
‘Who was that awful woman?’ Susan asked exasperatedly.
‘She called herself the Terrible Zodin,’ Eleven said. ‘She wasn't exactly
right in the head.’
‘That much is obvious,’ Susan said. She picked up her suitcase and examined
each Doctor carefully. ‘So you're all my grandfather? The last time there was
more than one of you, we ended up in the Tomb of Rassilon on Gallifrey.’
‘Yes, but this is not the time to reminisce,’ Eleven said. ‘We need to decide
what to do with you two.’ He indicated both Eight and Susan.
‘Oh, don't worry,’ Eight said. ‘We'll travel through the rift and be on our
way to Trenzalore.’
Eleven shook his head. ‘I'm afraid it's not so simple,’ he said. ‘You see,
there's a prophecy that involves me, Trenzalore and the Silence. To make a long
story short, I have to be there in my current incarnation in order for the
Silence to be defeated. So it seems the only course of action is for all of us
to take Susan to safety and then return you to the Time War so you can fix
whatever damage the Zodin's done. But we must hurry before the changes to the
timeline catch up with us. I don't how long we have before that happens.’
Eight looked at Susan who shrugged. ‘Why not?’ she said, ‘He may not look
older than you, grandfather, but he's obviously more experienced.’ She smiled
and the Doctors could not help but smile as well.
‘This whole day has been one surprise after another,’ Jack said, turning to
Ten. ‘You never told me you had a granddaughter. To be honest, I never really thought
of you as a family man.'
‘Yes, well,’ Ten said, rubbing the back of his neck, ‘we all have our
secrets don't we, Jack?’
‘You mean like your real name, for instance?’ Jack replied.
Eleven suddenly remembered something. ‘Oh, right,’ he said hesitantly. ‘Before
we drop Susan off, we have to pick someone up. Her name is River Song.’ Ten
stared at Eleven.
‘Why?’ he asked pointedly.
‘She's part of the prophecy, too,’ Eleven replied.
‘Is she your latest travelling companion?’ Susan asked.
‘She's, er, a bit more than that actually. She's, well, sort of my wife.’
‘WHAT?’ Eight cried.
‘That's what I was afraid of,’Ten said, hanging his head.
‘Goodness gracious!’ Susan said, her eyes widening. ‘What would grandmother
say?’
‘Congratulations Doctor!’ Jack said, slapping Eleven on the back. ‘I knew
you were still a ladies' man deep down!’
‘It's actually more complicated than that,’ Eleven said, brushing Jack off.
‘But regardless, I'm sure she'll be pleased to, er, meet you all.’
‘Yes,’ Ten said as he stared off into space. ‘I'm sure she will be.’ Vastra
and Jenny returned through the rift.
‘It's time to get back to the TARDIS,’ Eleven said to them. ‘We need to
make a slight detour on our way to Trenzalore.’
‘After you, Doctor,’ Jenny replied and they all followed him out of the throne
room and down the corridor.
‘I must say,’ Vastra remarked as she and Jenny wiped the blood off their
swords, ‘that Zodin woman was unlike anything I've ever tasted before. Not as
hearty as Jack the Ripper perhaps but then not as bland as your average kitchen
rat either.’
~~~