David Tennant and the Multiverse of Insanity

Chapter 2: Into the Whoniverse

  British Countryside, England, 2023. David's signature eyebrow raise, and his widened eyes definitely mirrored that of The Doctor himself. He slowly approaches the Gallifreyan and looks him up and down, as Donna looked on. Why did this remind Donna of something? Was it something she'd experienced the day she became the Doctor Donna? 

   "No... No, not again!" The Doctor spoke as he continues his shocked expression, but he definitely takes a mental note of David's rough appearance.

   "David, where's Tony? Tony's not here." Sheryl asks David, though, David was still staring at the Time Lord in front of him.

   "Oi, it's...it's...the...Doctor!" David stutters softly, his legs becoming as wibbly wobbly as time itself, and then passes out in the lawn, right in front of the entire Noble family and Sheryl. "Well, that could've gone better." Sheryl says as she leans down to check on David, with Tony still in her mind. "I think he's just really fatigued. Got somewhere, where we can crash for a bit?" She asks the still-surprised Doctor. "Well, umm... yeah. Right?" The Doctor responds, looking at Donna for a bit of backup. "Yes, he... you two can stay in our guestroom. Don't worry, it's got two separate beds, so no shaggin' it up in our home, got it?" Donna responds, pointing her fingers at David's unconscious form and Sheryl, as Sheryl widens her own eyes. "Hey, him and I....we ain't.... he's already married, it's not like that with us!" Sheryl says in a panic with her hands raised. 

   "Oi, you all knock it off and let's get this other Doctor inside!" Donna's mother, Sylvia, interjects. She definitely didn't want their evening ending in any conflict, especially after sharing such a sweet moment with The Doctor. 

   "Right." The Doctor says as the Noble family, along with Sheryl, help carry David inside and into the guestroom, gently setting him down inside the bed and placing a blanket over him. Sheryl sits on the bed across from his, looking towards The Doctor, Donna and Sylvia, giving a light smile. "I promise you all, I will explain by the time we wake up. Thanks for your hospitality." Sheryl says to the trio as they simply nod and leave her to her sleep. It doesn't take long for her to slip into a slumber after one last check on David.

   The Doctor though, he had to study this new situation, figure out what happened. Did the Metacrisis Doctor find a way out of that universe? Was there yet another bi-generation that he didn't yet know about? He had way too many questions, and he wasn't about to wait for the two newcomers to wake up. He walks outside to where the two first appeared, scanning the area with his sonic screwdriver. The Doctor picks up a couple of foreign objects, one small and the other a bit larger. The smaller object, he finds near the TARDIS. It's a gold ring with a reg logo on it, resembling a charging ram. Donna appears behind him, leaning down to see the ring. "That belong to them?" She says curiously. "I don't know. That could be a possibility, but, then again, I've seen instances similar to this. This particular one though feels different... off." The Doctor replies as he looks at his readings on the sonic. "And the signatures I'm picking up don't resemble the last time this happened too." 

   Rose walked up and looked on as well. "The last time? This has happened before?" The Doctor looks at Rose and nods his head. "Yes, though it had resulted in significant losses. I was very fortunate to... well... rectify one of those." He replies, recalling the moment in which he had to modify Donna's memories. He then spots something mostly hidden by the bushes. He crouches down beside it and pulls it from the cover. It's the mysterious rock. "Oh? What is this?" The Doctor says, scanning the rock with his sonic. Donna approaches from behind, watching him do his work. "Is that... Is that alien too? Some kind of space rock?" Donna asks, definitely having had her fair share of her own experiences with him. "My sonic isn't able to identify it. It's almost as if..." He turns to Donna. "...it isn't from this universe." 

   Donna and Rose look between each other. Then, Shaun and Melanie approached. "Goin' on another adventure?" Shaun says to Donna, his hand patting her shoulder. "What? And leave Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum here with you? Absolutely not." Donna replies. "We're not goin' anywhere without those two. Right?... Doctor?" 

   The Doctor continues looking at the rock, looking over more findings on his sonic after a couple more scans and seeing more results being displayed on a projection screen. "Right... Well... I suppose we could have a little study in the TARDIS, to see if we can figure out how this thing works. Or even if this had anything to do with why there's another me here, though this other me is human. Ooooh, why did this have to happen today? Of all days? Maybe I'm just not meant to... retire." The Doctor continues, looking up at the sky in disappointment. He'd finally had the happiest day of his life and suddenly, this random event happens. It's usually the TARDIS that took him to these events, not usually do the events come to him instead.

   Donna could tell something was bothering her friend. She too had hoped the Doctor could finally rest. The Doctor takes the rock into the TARDIS and both Donna and Rose follow him inside. Shaun and Sylvia elected to remain outside and clean up from their dinner. Once inside, the Doctor places the rock on a small platform on top of the center console and begins attaching different wires to it. "Let's see if the TARDIS can better analyze this. I must know more about this AND... what universe this rock came from." The Doctor says as he begins to examine the rock. He then places the ring beside the rock, scanning it with his sonic as well. "Interesting. This is also from a different universe. Its signature doesn't seem to match the rock nor the visitors.

   Meanwhile, David begins to stir in the bed. He winces a bit, his body sweaty from the recent experiences. He still can't get Georgia's last panicked expression out of his head. Flashes of her shouts, her widened eyes, her frantically running towards him appearing before his eyes as if he were reliving the experience again. He begins uttering her name in his sleep. The sounds were stirring Sheryl awake in the next bed over. David began hearing the voices of his kids calling out for him. He was suddenly standing in his home as if he were the ghost of Christmas past, listening as each one called for their missing father. David was frantically approaching each one, trying to comfort them and let them know he was there, but his hands simply went right through the shoulders. His voice was never heard by any of them, his touch was never felt. David could only stand there, eyes widened in sorrow and panic, yearning to be with his family again. He hadn't been gone very long, but this wasn't like another trip out of town for filming a scene or attending a ComiCon for the weekend.

   Suddenly, a shadow appears behind his family. It's the same height he is and the same build. He can't see a face, nor can he see what this shadow seems to be wearing. Literally nothing else can be identified visually. David looks at his family, which were now lined up suddenly in front of this shadow. The shadow was standing behind the kids, it's arms around Georgia's back. "Who are you? What are ye doin' with me family?" David calls out strongly, wanting answers. "Correct... control... corrupt... coerce..." The shadow whispers eerily. "What?" David responds, pinching his nose, trying to process the words the shadow had just spoken. He lets his hand fall back to his side, both of his hands now clenched. He then glares at the shadow defensively. "Step away from me family." He commands, his tone stern and almost dark. The shadow seems to emit a dark chuckle, sounding evil in nature, but sounding very David Tennant-like as if it were a villain in one of his portrayals. But which villain could be responsible for this? Why was this happening to him? David had too many questions and not enough answers. The shadow simply whispers those same four words, further frustrating David. He was desperately trying to control his growing frustration, not wanting to have an outburst in front of his kids and wife. His inner Scotsman was ready for a brawl though. He took a single step forward, his fists still clenched, before hearing suddenly from his youngest daughter, Birdie.

   "Daddy?" She utters, looking straight up at him. "Darlin', I'm right here. Daddy's right here, sweetheart." David responds, his voice shaky and his eyes watering up. "I'll come back to you..." He says, looking at the rest of his family. "...all of you." He continues, the tears beginning to fall from his eyes, running down his face and over his growing beard stubble. "No, you won't." Georgia says. David's entire family just blankly staring at him as if this were a sick nightmare. "But, I will..." The shadow utters, sounding more and more like David himself. "All of us will." It continues, beginning to laugh eerily. "What are you talking about?!" David responds to the shadow in a panic, his heart pounding. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" He shouts, his face flushed and pale. The figures before him slowly disappearing. His surroundings evaporating away, and then he sees nothing but light. "DT? David? You okay? Wake up. I think you're having a nightmare." Sheryl calmly says, trying to coax David awake by a gentle shake of his shoulder.

   "Fuck...." David simply says, his body covered in sweat and his covers hanging over the side of his bed as if he'd kicked them off in his sleep. He rises into a sitting position, runs his hands over his face and then through his hair, holding their position as they reached the back of his head. "I... I saw them. My... my family. They were all just... looking at me like, like... like I was..." 

   "Shhh, it's okay. It was just a nightmare. It's not real." Sheryl says, sitting on her own bed. "You'll see them again."

   David looks over at Sheryl, giving a slight smile and a head nod before he swings his thin legs around over the side of the bed. "Yeah, I suppose so." He says, finally looking over himself and gives a slight chuckle. "Blimey, I feel like I've been in a marathon under a wee rain shower." 

   "Yeah, I suppose you could use one right about now." Sheryl responds.

   "Oi, I cannae be reekin' that bad." David playfully scoffs, but then he gives a slight sniff under his arms and crinkles his nose. "Aye, ye might be right." 

   Both of them began to laugh at David's self-assessment. He stands up, noticing a couple stacks of clothes and a set of towels on the dresser. He grabs a towel and walks towards the guest bathroom. "I'll go first, so I won't be pollutin' the room." He jokes. "And thanks... for bringing me out of that nightmare." He finishes, giving her one last look with a small grin before closing the door behind him and locking it. Sheryl walks towards a window, looking outside to see the backyard where she and David had landed. All she could see was the cleaned-up table, but no sign of anyone else. 

   In the bathroom, David finds bottles of unused shampoo, conditioner and body wash sitting on a shelf. They weren't exactly his preferred brands, but they'll do for now. He turns the shower on, waiting for it to get to the right temperature to his liking. He takes a big breath, recalling those images from his dream as he removed his clothes and enters the shower, letting the water begin to wash away the sweat. The bathroom begins to fill with steam and David closes his eyes, trying to decipher what he saw in the dream. Who was the shadow? Was it him? It resembled him, had his form, and even sounded like him. What was the meaning behind those initial four words? Correct, control, corrupt, coerce. Why did they all sound so dark, like they were a bad omen? Also, what did it have to do with his current situation, now in the world of The Doctor himself. Unlike Rivals, he didn't know how this story was going to go. This was beyond what he had filmed, a continuation of his saga as the fourteenth incarnation of the time lord. He even wondered if this meant Ncuti Gatwa making an appearance as Fifteen. This situation was definitely out of this world, and knowing the wild world of the Whoniverse, he could only hope that the darker aspects of it wouldn't make an appearance. That's all he needed was running into the likes of the Daleks, Cybermen, or even the Weeping Angels.

   After a few minutes, he leaves the bathroom, all cleaned and changed up into fresh clothes. He knew they had to have come from the TARDIS' wardrobe. He sets his soiled clothing into a hamper in the corner of the room and walks passed Sheryl, who had passed out in her bed again. While he was tired himself, he felt like he couldn't go back to sleep, especially after having that dream. Instead, he goes downstairs and out the back door, approaching the TARDIS. He raises his hand to give the door a knock, but the door opens on its own to his surprise. He sees The Doctor, Donna and Rose by the center console, gathered around the platform where the rock laid. The Doctor turns his head towards the door, adjusting his glasses as he spotted David. "Oh, hello again. I see the other me has awoken." He says with a smile as David looked around, slowly entering the TARDIS. The Doctor waited, seeing if that signature line would be uttered, or if David felt like he was reuniting with the actual TARDIS herself. He wanted to see if this look-alike were truly the Metacrisis Doctor, or someone else. David couldn't believe his eyes. It was as if he were on set once more, only the TARDIS really was bigger on the inside. The large, bright white room, the platforms and stairs, the center console. It was all as it were during filming. 

   "It's....it's..." David utters as The Doctor's grin begins to widen, ready to hear those famous first words anytime a new companion entered the TARDIS. Donna and Rose remained silent with Donna crossing her arms. "It's exactly as if I were on set! I cannae believe it!" He finally lets out. The Doctor's grin goes away, turning into slight disappointment. Donna let out a small laugh at the sight. "Not the words you were expecting, Doctor?" Donna playfully jokes with The Doctor. "Well, I suppose not. But, now that this other me is here, we can figure out how he got here! Now, other me, shall we?" The Doctor continues, returning his focus to the rock and the ring on the platform. "So, obvious first question... and it's rather... ironic. But, who are you?" The Doctor asks, glancing at David. "Oh, umm, I'm... David. David Tennant." David answers, reaching a hand out. The Doctor looks David up and down before reaching his own hand out and grasping David's in a handshake. But the time lord can't help but look at the shaking hands. The grip on each other matching strength, almost feeling as if every hair were in the exact place as his own. It felt like he was shaking hands with himself. Images of him looking upon the Metacrisis Doctor on the beach during that fateful day were beginning to appear in his head. 

   David couldn't help but feel intrigued, shaking hands with himself in his own mind as well. "Ye know, my hand is the same. Ye don't have teh keep hold." David finally says with a smirk and the Doctor finally lets go. "Right. So, how did this rock come into your possession?" The Doctor asks, quickly returning to his center console, twiddling with the different knobs and buttons. David approaches the console, which is all-to-familiar to him. He walked around the console, every button and every lever in the exact position as it were on the show. He hadn't known this setup long, but he did remember it. "The rock just sort of... fell upon me, I suppose." David answers. "It came out of the sky after a performance I was playin' in and crashed in the ground."

   "A performance?" Rose utters. "You some kind of actor?" 

   "This bloke? An actor? I think he's a bloody Zygon." Donna says, intrigued, but also suspicious. "Or worse, one of those not-things." She continues, still horrified from that experience. It was straight out of a horror movie to her.

   "Oi! I'm not a Zygon, I'm a human. Just like you." David says, his face showing slight offence, but in an almost comical manner as he then assisted the Doctor with the rock. "No, David's not a Zygon, otherwise this would've went 'ding'..." The Doctor says, pulling out a very familiar device. "See? I still have it. The machine that goes 'ding'!" He continued with a wide grin. "Ah, I remember that. I thought I had broken it." David says, forgetting where he was for a brief moment. "Oh? How do you remember then?" The Doctor asks David, pausing his inspection and resting his hand on his hip while leaning against the console.

   "Well, erm... I'm a... big fan." David responds, though the Doctor, Donna and Rose look amongst each other in confusion. "Funny, I don't see you as an employee of any organization that would have that kind of access." The Doctor responds, though David rolls his eyes. "Oi, I thought we were goin' teh be examinin' the rock, not barge into me personal history." David scoffs back. "Will you two just SHUT IT!" Donna finally interjects to the surprise of the Doctor and David. "I swear, dealing with two of you once again is already bringing up nightmares of the not-things we encountered. At least THIS not-Doctor isn't crawlin' around like some bloody spider." She continues, referring to David as the 'not-Doctor'. Donna even shivered a bit as she thought of the horror scene on board that ship. She never told the Doctor, but she did have nightmares about that at times. It was almost as if they were the monsters under her bed at times.

   David noticed a familiar ring on the platform beside the rock and immediately picked it up. "I ken who's ring this is. Did ye find a third along with us?" David 
asks the crew. The Doctor looks at Donna and Rose, then looks back at David. "No, it was just you and the woman. Was there supposed to be another?" The Doctor replies, giving David his full attention. "Though, that ring did have a different signature when I scanned it with my sonic. Almost as if this were from a different universe of sorts. I've traveled between universes before, sure. But this feels a bit... different. How did you and your lady friend get here?" David shrugs at the Doctor's question. "I dunnae ken how. This rock here seems to be a sort of vessel. All I've been able to figure out with Sheryl is that it does charge up with a massive shock of electricity, and then it zaps ye into another world. It just sort of crash landed in front of me in my world, and then next thing I ken, I was in the world of a show I act in." David explains as the Doctor seems to be fidgeting with a display from his sonic. "Well, maybe if we can narrow down how the locations were chosen, maybe we can get this rock to take you back to your world. It is quite hard on the TARDIS though as she wasn't meant for multi-universal travel." The Doctor responds, his lips tight and flat as he thinks back to what happened with his former companion, Rose Tyler.

   David went right back to his original question. "Look, there was a third man with us. He... also looked like me, and was injured really bad. Sheryl was tending to his injuries when the rock sent us here suddenly." David explains. "His name was Tony Baddingham, and that was his ring." Donna's eyebrows rose. "Tony Baddingham?! You expect me to believe the arsehole boss of Corinium from Jilly Cooper's novels is a real person. You're even madder than the Doctor." Donna scoffed, while the Doctor rolled his eyes, but she wasn't entirely wrong about him. He was the madman in a box. "I'm not foolin' ye. We were in the Rivals universe right before we landed here. That ring even has the Corinium ram's head emblem on it." David responds, showing Donna the ring. "Yeah, and you probably bought that off Berry's for all I know." Donna continues with Rose taking the ring. "But, the Doctor did mention the ring had a different universal signature. Even different than our own, or even David's. I think he's telling the truth, mum." Rose says as she hands the ring back to the Doctor for continued examination. 

   "Right. Well, it seems we have more than one mystery to solve here. Find this... Tony Baddingham... and find a way to get David and Sheryl back to their own universe." The Doctor says with a smile, finally having a better sense of direction. "Well, and return Tony teh his universe as well... Where I hope he can get treated. Gosh, I hope he's okay, wherever he is." David finishes. "Well, here's to another adventure. So much for the retirement plan." Donna says, though she looks at the Doctor and smiles. This couldn't possibly be as dangerous as the Doctor going to an alien planet, the other side of the universe or even landing on a frozen planet full of Ood...right? 

   As the Doctor began to work some switches, levers and buttons on his TARDIS console, Sheryl comes running in through the doors. "WAIT! You seriously weren't going to leave without me, were you?" Sheryl says, panting from running to the TARDIS, hearing the signature 'VWORP'. "Noooooo, of course we weren't I was just about to tell the Doctor to wait a tic." David says non-chalantly, looking at an unimpressed Donna and Rose while the Doctor was seemingly ignoring David's remarks, keeping his focus on the TARDIS. "Well, we'd need a location anyways, though, the TARDIS hasn't exactly been known for her accuracy. So, where are we going?" The Doctor says. "Umm, that's something we should probably figure that out BEFORE we just randomly push a bunch of levers?" Sheryl replies, with her arms out in a WTF gesture. "Right..." The Doctor responds, looking at Donna and Rose, who are staring at him with their own arms crossed. 

   Before anyone could respond, the TARDIS beings to VWORP on her own. The Doctor began to work more switches and levers suddenly in response. "NO, no, no, no! What are you doin'???" The Doctor shouts, desperately trying to reset the TARDIS trajectory. The rock even begins to glow. "Oh no... Last time that thing glowed, it sent us to your world." David says to the Doctor, holding onto a railing tightly along with the rest of the crew. Lights begin to burst, and the TARDIS beings to VWORP loudly and shake violently. "Hold on, I think she's taking us for a ride!" The Doctor shouts as the rest of the crew continue to hold onto the railing tightly. The lights in the room change to a dark blue and the rock shoots a spark right at the central column time rotor of the TARDIS console. It sends the TARDIS into a frantic state. David holds onto the railing with one arm and Sheryl in the other. "Ye ken... We usually fake this part for the filmin'. It's usually the camera effects that do this." David says, giving a frantic, but comedic chuckle, looking at Sheryl. "Ah, yes. I'm aware. Let's just hope we don't land in the middle of Skaro, or some pond on Mars..." Sheryl says with her own frantic chuckle. 

   Suddenly, the TARDIS crashes, sending all the people inside breaking away from their grip and flying into a room to the side of the console room with a splash. They've landed in the TARDIS pool room. "Right... This has definitely happened to me before." The Doctor says as he swims to the surface and pulls himself out, helping Donna, Rose and Sheryl out of the pool with David following soon after. David walks outside the pool room and back into the TARDIS console room and looks around. He can't see the rock, nor Tony's ring. "We need teh find that rock." David tells The Doctor as he desperately begins to search the damaged control room. Sheryl looks around at everyone, checking for injuries and sees that everything is minor. The Doctor's mind was more focused on where they've landed. Looking for a rock would do them no good if they've landed in the middle of danger. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to scan around the room, then at the console. "Well, at least it wasn't coffee this time." The Doctor says. "Oi, I heard that!" Donna replies sternly from in front of the doors leading outside the TARDIS with Rose at her side. Donna opens the TARDIS door and pokes her head out. But, what she sees shocks her to her core. She suddenly closes the door and turns around, backing against the door with wide eyes and an even paler face. "Mum, what's wrong?" Rose asks, looking at her mother concerned. "You're not goin' to believe this..." Donna replies, her voice shaky. The Doctor looks towards Donna while David and Sheryl raise their heads and pan towards Donna as well.

   David goes towards the door, curious about what Donna had seen. "Mind if I take a look?" He asks, with Donna reluctantly stepping aside. "Very well, but you might not understand just yet..." Donna replies. As David peeks out, the very first thing he sees is a large poster on the wall with the words "Vote Saxon" on it. He then sees several spherical orbs hovering in the distance, flying in formation. He recognizes this scene all too well. He retreats back into the TARDIS and closes the door behind him. "Shit. I ken where we are... and when we are. You're not goin' teh like this Doctor." David says to the approaching Time Lord. The Doctor peeks outside, giving a slight scan of his surroundings with his sonic, and his eyes widen at the sight of the familiar Saxon poster. He knew this would be big trouble if they were caught. "Right, so if this Master is here... This means that yer previous version be here as well." 

   "No. I... I don't think I can go through that again. Plus, if I interfere, it'll risk a major paradox. Especially since the Master had already been playing with the timeline at the expense of my TARDIS during this time. Not to mention this...well... my earlier face that also happens to look like this." The Doctor explains. "Well, with less trauma."

   As the Doctor closes the door behind him, a spark emits from where the rock was and the TARDIS began to shake. "It's the rock! It's messing with the TARDIS!" Donna shouts as the TARDIS begins to emit painful VWORPS and seems to materialize again. David could only imagine where the rock was taking them now, especially with the power of the TARDIS as well. He begins to crawl towards the sparking rock from the TARDIS doors. "I must reach it! Get it away from the console, or it'll just take us anywhere in space an' time again!" David shouts. The Doctor looks towards Donna and Rose, ensuring they're okay and that they're bracing for their next sudden trip. Donna and Rose seem to be holding onto the railing once more. The rock is beginning to spark even more, seemingly joined with the time rotor. The TARDIS is in obvious pain and is erratically moving throughout the time vortex. It was definitely a very dangerous trip for everyone aboard. The Doctor can feel her pain and it's hurting him as well, forcing him to clench his teeth together as he tries to hold it all in and resist the urge to shout.

   The TARDIS control room begins to shake more violently, her VWORPS practically shrieks. David can almost reach the rock. "Christ, why did this console room have to be so....roomy?!" David shouts, struggling against the rough shaking of the TARDIS, fighting against the smooth floors and trying to use the railings as something to brace against. His long arm begins to reach for the rock, his fingertips feeling the tingle from the rock's emitting static. Then, the TARDIS once again crashes, sending the TARDIS' crew flying into each other once more, and the rock slips away from reach again. "Ugh, almost had it!" David painfully says as he pulled himself off of Sheryl. Donna and Rose had landed on the Doctor. "The rock is doing something to the TARDIS. We can't keep it in here. It's picking up the time energy in here and is sucking it out. Feeding it..." The Doctor says, scanning the console with his sonic and reading the results on the emitting screen. "Maybe we shouldn't have ever let it into the TARDIS in the first place." Donna says, though, she was growing concerned if they could even make it back to their own time.

   Sheryl looks down at her feet and spots Tony Baddingham's ring. She picks it up and inspects it, still in the same condition, though with a couple of scratches and what seems to be a small speck of blood from Tony's injury. She wonders where he went. "David, I found Tony's ring. I can't help but think of the guy. I know he was a bit of an ass on the show, but I just can't let him suffer like that." Sheryl says to David. David offers a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Aye. We'll find the bloke. I promise. " David says with a smile, giving her a confident smile. Sheryl finally forms a smirk and sticks the ring in her pocket, so it doesn't become lost again. "Well, we'll need him in Season 2 after all. Can't be losing our King of Corinium this early now, would we?" She says as David gives a chuckle with resting his hands on his hips. "Right. Well? Who knows? Maybe the rock will take us back to the Rivals world?" David jokes. "We can't go without Tony though. If his ring is here, it must mean Tony teleported with us, right?" Sheryl asks. "I cannae begin to ken, lass. But, I'm sure we'll find out." David finishes, looking to his side and seeing Donna, Rose and the Doctor looking at them. "You both done flirtin'? Or, can we find where the rock went now?" Donna snarkily says, but in a playful tone as Rose held the same smile her mother had. Even the Doctor had a sly smirk on his face. David's face immediately blushed red with Sheryl's. 

   "No! What? This isn't... It's not what it looks like." Sheryl stutters out. "We're just mates." David continues from Sheryl's comments.

   "I bet you two are." Donna says, nodding her head. "Mum, let's see where we've landed." Rose says, pulling at Donna's arm as everyone begins to head towards the TARDIS door, except David. "No, we need teh find this rock. Otherwise, it could zap the TARDIS again. Who kens how many times she can take it?" David says, stopping short of the ramp leading to the exit doors. "I think we should stay inside until we find it." Sheryl then says. She knows David's right. As much as she'd love to join the Doctor and crew on investigating the outdoors, she knows she needs to remain behind and help David search for the rock. 

   "Fine. I'll take a little peek outside then." The Doctor says as he takes a peek out the TARDIS doors to see where they've landed. "...WHAT?! But... HOW?" He loudly speaks out. He's looking into the TARDIS repair yard. The same place on Gallifrey that his first incarnation had initially taken the TARDIS from. He can see the lineup of the other TARDISes to his side and suddenly, a worker enters the room. It's the TARDIS repair chief. "YOU there! Time Lord! You are not authorized to be in that!" The Chief shouts, signaling for security to join her. "Yeah, well.... Me and her are rather attached. Plus, she chose me! ALLONS'Y!" The Doctor playfully says with a wide grin and retracts back into the TARDIS, closing and locking the door behind him. "Aye, do NOT go out there. We've sorta landed on Gallifrey." He then announced to the rest of the crew. "Gallifrey? Your home? But... I thought you missed it?" Donna says, walking up to her friend. "I've got a new home now. One that we all need to return to after we've solved this rock mystery." The Doctor replies, gently resting a hand on Donna's and Rose's shoulders and giving each of them a comforting look.

   David was observing them. He thought back to the time he filmed that final scene at the end of his run as the fourteenth Doctor. That moment at the dinner table outside their home. David couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness in his heart for the Doctor. The Doctor was finally at peace with a family and a home, and these events with this mysterious rock had ruined the Doctor's peace. He had to find this rock, so that he could bring that peace back to the Time Lord. One, that David knew the Time Lord had rightfully earned after many generations of time travel and saving many lives and worlds. Plus, he had to get back to his own family. To Goergia and his kids. David missed his family greatly. This wasn't like going out of town for filming or going out of country for fan events. This was new territory for him. David had to be strong... for them. He kept sifting through the various parts of the console room and debris from the other TARDIS rooms, wanting to find the rock and fast.

   The Doctor scans the console room with his sonic, but there's too much interference and the sonic turns up nothing. "I see this isn't going to work. The TARDIS console room is just flooded with leaking time energy and universal energy that the rock is giving off. There's too much of it in the room to narrow down the source." The Doctor says, stowing his sonic back into his vest. "Universal energy? Would that stuff drive anyone mad too?" Donna asks, concerned that it could result in another DoctorDonna episode. "Nah, this feels different. Not so... contagious." The Doctor replies, briefly sticking his tongue out as if he were tasting the air. 

   David finally spots the rock as he lifted a wall panel. "I've found the rock! Wait..." David announces, before noticing something. The rock was broken into two pieces. He picks up the pieces and brings it to the rest of the gathering crew by "Well, this cannae be good." 

   Sheryl takes one of the pieces, holding the broken end of the rock to the broken end of the other, as if seeing if they'd somehow magically join back together. "Well, I guess there was only so much of a beating this thing could take. Do you think it'll still be able to get us back?" She asks David, looking at him and then the Doctor, who begins to scan it with his sonic. "Hmmm, it doesn't seem to be emitting anythin' anymore. From either part." The Doctor says as he examines the pieces. A loud set of knocks can be heard at the TARDIS doors. "DOCTOR! Come out of that TARDIS by the order of Rassilon!" The TARDIS Repair Chief loudly commands from outside the TARDIS. David held tightly onto the rock, not wanting to let them out of his sight. He had an idea though. "Sheryl, hold onteh these. I've got a plan teh be rid of them for a wee bit." He says with a sly smirk. "Doctor, come with me. Let's mess with their noggins." He directs to the Doctor as both of the men head towards the TARDIS door.

   The Repair Chief and four Gallifreyan security guards await them as the TARDIS door opens. David pokes his head out the door first. The Repair Chief looks confused as she inspected his different face and hairstyle. "Oh, fixin' your hair in there are we?! The TARDIS isn't a bloody salon! I should..." The Chief scoffs, but got interrupted when the Doctor suddenly poked his head out just above David's. "Oi, no need for all of this attitude. As you can see, we're in a wee bit of a situation." The Doctor says to the very surprised security and the Chief. "The Doctor gets a good look at the Chief, seeing the Gallifreyan inscription on her nametag. "Ah, Mechie! Pleasure to meet you! Long time, no see, eh? Sorry about runnin' away with the TARDIS. Funny thing is, well... I never really fancied the life here. I just had to get out, I'm sure you can understand." The Doctor continued.

   "But, before we go... What do you call it when you meet not one, but TWO of us?" David asks Mechie.

   "Uhhh, I don't know, what?" Mechie replies as she looked at her security for a potential answer, but they looked just as puzzled. 

   "A pair-a-DOCS!" Both of them shout and then retracted back into the TARDIS after seeing the very cringe faces of Mechie and the guards.

   Mechie didn't look impressed at all. "That was a horrible joke!" She shouts through the TARDIS doors as both David and the Doctor begin laughing at each other and doing a few victorious bounces with their legs. "That was bloody brilliant! Did you see their faces?" The Doctor says to David. David was giggling up a storm. "That was fun! Oh, if only Georgia an' me kids could've seen that." He says, pausing his bouncing and looks up. 

   "You both are acting like some little toddlers." Donna says, but Rose looked like she was enjoying the sight. "Oh mum, leave 'em alone. It's nice to see him havin' a bit of fun." Rose says, giving her mum a playful nudge. Sheryl was in deep thought as she held the two halves of the rock. More knocks can he heard on the TARDIS doors. "Open up and surrender yourself! And I might let you off easy to Rassilon!" Mechie shouted from outside the doors. "Come out and face us, funny man!"

   Sheryl looks around the TARDIS and sees just how much in disarray she was. She places the rock halves in front of her on the console and places her hand on the console itself. She can almost feel what the TARDIS was going through. The rock really did a number on her. "Doctor, I think something is very wrong with the TARDIS." Sheryl calls out to the Doctor, as the Doctor puts his fun on pause and comes up to her side, scanning the console with his sonic. "She's...dying." The Doctor says, looking at Sheryl with worried eyes. "Dying? We must do something, or we'll all be stuck here, and at Rassilon's mercy no less." Sheryl says, knowing full well who Rassilon was and what he was capable of. "Can we save her, Doctor?" She continues on.

   The Doctor seemed very concerned as David, Donna and Rose joined him. "I... I'm not sure. There's only so much I can do." The Doctor shakily says. David seemed to spark an idea though. "Maybe she took us here for a reason? She always took ye where ye needed to go, remember? She took us to a TARDIS repair yard." David says, as the Doctor looks at David with hope. "You're right on there, David. Maybe she did... and I believe the answer to our hopes is right outside the doors." The Doctor says. He then runs to the TARDIS doors and swings it all the way open to the surprise of the rest of the crew. "Right, I will surrender myself to you. But, only if you save the TARDIS. Please, I beg of you. She's badly damaged and she's dying." The Doctor tells Mechie. "And I will only give myself up to you. Not your companions."

   Mechie looks at the companions and figures she can handle the Time Lord on her own, dismissing the security. "Very well. But if you try any funny business, I do have the ability to block any further transports from this facility. Got it?" She says, and then the Doctor nods. Mechie enters the TARDIS, scanning the destroyed room around her. "Bloody hell, what have you done to her?! This is the worst I've ever seen a Type 40! And I've repaired some badly damaged Type 20s and even 5s. I've got my work cut out for me for sure." Mechie says in shock and anger as she sees the terrible physical condition the TARDIS is in. She pulls out a device and scans the console. It seems to look similar to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, but it has more gadgets on it, and the tip resembled that of a crescent wrench of sorts. Mechie opens a panel below the control console and attaches her device to it. She pushes a button on her device and then her device emits a bright spark. Not long after the entire room goes dark. Mechie quickly grabs her maintenance goggles from around her neck and puts it on over her eyes, using her special goggles to see in the dark. "Hmmm, you're right. She's running at very minimal power right now. According to her logs, you've taken her across multiple universes?! Even... multiple different timelines and even multiple Time Wars?? How's any of this possible?! Especially in a Type 40?! I haven't even added these abilities to the newer Type 100s." Mechie says in shock as she reads her device's findings. She works a few wires on the console and then the lights grow in brightness once more.

   "Well, we've been all over... here and there." The Doctor says, looking at Mechie's device. "What is that? A different sonic screwdriver model?" 

   "A sonic screwdriver? No, those things are a bit obsolete. This is a sonic wrench. MUCH more advanced and meant for more complex readings. It can even repair wood." Mechie says to the Doctor's surprise. "It can... repair wood??? Fascinating..." The Doctor says, rather impressed that this Gallifreyan has solved the wood mystery with the sonic devices. "It was quite... as a great detective once said... elementary." Mechie says with a smile as she continued to examine the TARDIS. "I need to speak with her..." Mechie says, standing back up and taking her sonic wrench from the panel. She stows it in her jacket and approaches the symbiotic nuclei of the TARDIS. She then closes her eyes and slips her hands into the goo, focusing her mind and forming a connection with the TARDIS.

   David watches Mechie in action, rather impressed. "Hmmm, how come we've never seen her in the show?" 

   "I don't know. But I kind of like her already." Sheryl answers. "Maybe Chibnall or RTD should add her character in, eh?" David seems to smile at the idea. Maybe David would have enough pull to make it happen? Who knows?

   Meanwhile, Mechie seemed to tense up. Her teeth clench and she let out a slight wince. Her head archs back and her body begins to shake. Inside her mind, she was feeling the same shock the TARDIS felt each time she got zapped by the mysterious rock. Screams can be heard in her mind, seeing the human form of the TARDIS collapse onto the ground, trembling greatly as the zaps continued. The TARDIS' eyes opened briefly, looking towards Mechie as Mechie ran up to her in the vision. "Danger. The rock... must get the rock away... Please, save me, and I can get everyone back home. But they must get the rock out before... ahhh!" The TARDIS says to Mechie, before being cutout by another round of zaps, torturing the TARDIS' human form further. Mechie is in shock at the sight, horrified even. Mechie cares for every TARDIS greatly, knowing their sentience. She feels the pain of the TARDIS as if the electricity were running through her own body. She tries to maintain control over herself while in this state. "Before what? Please... tell me! Before what?!" Mechie cries out, needing more information. "I'll save you, I promise! I'll do everything in my power!" Mechie is then suddenly pulled out by David and the Doctor, disconnecting her from the symbiotic nuclei and pulling her hands from the goo. 

   "Are ye okay, lass? You were practically convulsin' there and screamin' somethin' wicked." David asks as he and the Doctor then helped her to a seated position on some nearby rubble. Mechie, still breathing heavily, runs her hands over her short brown hair, lowering her goggles back to hanging from her neck and looks up at David. "What is this rock? The TARDIS mentioned a rock, and it was torturing her... forcing her to go places." Mechie says in between breaths. "Well, it sort of just landed in me life... literally." David answers back. "It zapped the lass and I into a different world, once I acted in as part of a show. Ye see, I'm an actor. Someone who, entertains. Then when we were helpin' someone, it zapped us again, inteh the Doctor's world here." He explains in the best way he can. "I see, so this rock is capable of universal travel." Mechie formulates, looking towards where Sheryl had placed the two halves. "But, why are there two of them? The TARDIS mentioned only one." She asks. "Well, it sort of broke during the trip here. It seemed to take the first crash but then broke during the crash landing here. Is there a way to fix it?" David asks. "Well, I might have a way, but for now, I'll focus on saving your TARDIS here. The rock seems to be too damaged to do anything at the moment, so it'll give me time." Mechie says as she then grabs her sonic wrench and begins to dig into the panels under the console. The Doctor joins in with helping her. "First, I'm going to have all the leaking time energy restored to the TARDIS. Then I'll have to go fetch a new temporal modulator, as this one is completely fried." Mechie went on. She seemed to recover fast from her connection with the TARDIS. Maybe it was the way a Gallifreyan body works? Even David couldn't help but observe how she shrugged it off.

   "Tell me what it looks like, and maybe I could get it for ye." David offers. Mechie looks at David and the Doctor. She had gotten so caught up at the state of the TARDIS that she was completely oblivious to the fact that there were two with the same face. "Wait... There... are TWO of you?! Bloody hell, why didn't I see this before?" Mechie finally says. "No, oh, I'm not the Doctor... I mean, sort of, but not now, erm..." David hesitantly says, trying to figure out how to explain it. "I dunnae ken you'd understand." He continues. "Well, you do sound completely different. Almost like you're a northerner." Mechie says with a shrug and continues working on the console. "Well, lots of planets have a north." David just HAD to say. He was in the Whoniverse after all and couldn't resist throwing in some Whovianisms.

   "Look, I'm not here to make friends. My life is dedicated to the TARDISes. They've been my only friends. They come to me in need, sometimes even by themselves. I've had them just show up here without their Time Lord crew too. They definitely have a mind of their own. I take care of them all. I was extremely upset when this TARDIS was stolen by the Doctor, worried that a lone Time Lord wouldn't be able to properly run with one of these. Rassilon thinks I'm nuts, and that these should be treated like equipment. He just doesn't understand that they have feelings too." Mechie explains, sharing some of her perception to David. 

   David listened into Mechie's little story, almost as if he were learning something completely new. Why wasn't this in the show? The TARDIS itself was such a huge mystery, and it would be nice to have a little more insight. "Wow, you really do know yer way around them. I'm glad the TARDISes have someone like ye to take care of 'em." David says. Before they could continue the talk, the TARDIS emits a light groan that echoes in the room, the lights shutting off once more. "No, no no! Stay with me, old girl!" Mechie shouts, throwing on her repair goggles once more and works a few wires, soldering some with her sonic wrench. "Go and get me the TARDIS flux defibrillatrix. It's in the emergency repair cabinet on the bottom shelf." Mechie asks David, with David quickly making his way to the TARDIS door, seeing the light going through the windows. "You'll know it when you see it!" Mechie finishes as David exits the TARDIS, running towards the cabinet. He opens it and scans the shelves for the defibrillatrix.

   "Shit, which device is it. I've never even heard of such a device in the show. I dunnae reckon I've even heard of it in the original run." David says to himself as he looks at the bottom shelf, where Mechie told him, and he sees a green bag with a Seal of Rassilon and crossed sonic wrenches. He opens the bag, and it seems to have a piece of charged coral in it. He takes the bag with the device in it and runs it back into the TARDIS. He pauses at the door, seeing the outside of the TARDIS and it seemed to be cracking and splintering. He could tell time was of the essence and ran inside, quickly delivering the device to Mechie. "Here ye go. This is it, correct?" David asks. Mechie snatches the bag and pulls out the device. She then opens up an internal panel and looks inside to find the connection to the heart of the TARDIS was barely hanging on, no spark at all. "Shit, we're losing her!" She says, grabbing the charged coral. The Doctor, Donna and Rose gather around, with the Doctor assisting with the wires.

   "Doc? When I say 'now', aim your sonic screwdriver along with my sonic wrench right at the defibrillatrix. We must supercharge this." Mechie says, with the Doctor nodding in acknowledgement. "Ready?... NOW!" She shouts as she shoves the device into the TARDIS' heart connection and then both Mechie and the Doctor fire their sonics at the device. It begins to glow. "That's it, keep it up!" Mechie shouts as the others look on. "Come on, old girl!" Mechie continues. The Doctor could feel the device pulling at his sonic, drawing it in, but he kept a tight grip on it. "You can do it, sexy!" He finally shouts. Then, the TARDIS seems to emit a loud shriek, the lights coming back on and begin to brightly glow, almost blinding everyone, especially Mechie with her low-viz mode on her goggles, making her shut her eyes tight, sweat dripping from her face. "That's it, we're doing it!" Mechie shouts, the defibrillatrix sparking wildly. The connection begins to quickly heal, fully reconnecting the Heart of the TARDIS. The entire ship begins to rumble. "We're doing it! She's coming back! Atta girl!" Mechie praises, continuing to motivate the TARDIS.

   David watches in awe with Sheryl, seeing this incredible teamwork by the Doctor and his fellow Gallifreyan. David turns to his right though and sees that something else is also glowing. It's the two halves of the mysterious rock, and the supercharged energy in the TARDIS console seems to be having a residual effect, swarming the halves with the same repairing energy. The halves begin to fuse back together, and the rock begins to glow. "Shit! Not now!" David shouts in surprise. Sheryl also sees the rock repairing itself. "If it repairs, it can shock the TARDIS again! We can't let that happen!" Sheryl shouts. Mechie and the Doctor are nearing completion of their teamwork in repairing the TARDIS and didn't notice what was going on with the rock. Donna and Rose spots David and Sheryl running to the rock though. "Stay away from that! What if it zaps you too! Don't be daft!" Donna shouts at the duo. 

   The rock finishes repairing itself right as the TARDIS healed, sending Mechie and the Doctor flying backward and the TARDIS shook awake, emitting a VWORP as it quickly disappeared from the TARDIS Repair Shop. The TARDIS had been sprung alive, filled with supercharged time energy from Mechie's repairs. "What did we do?!" The Doctor shouts to Mechie. "I gave her energy from a Type 100 TARDIS! If I felt she couldn't handle it, I wouldn't have used this device. The TARDIS flux defibrillatrix I've invented is made from the coral from the Type 100." Mechie explains. The Doctor looked surprised. 

   "You mean...?" The Doctor asks.

   "Yes, your TARDIS now has an upgrade." Mechie quickly answers with a smile, looking at the TARDIS quickly repairing the interior console room. The entire room was forming back together and it was quite the sight. Both of the Gallifreyans looked in awe at the sight, but as David and Sheryl reached the rock, the smiles would quickly disappear. The rock had completed its repairs as well and glowed a bright blue, beginning to form a strong static field as if it were coming alive once more. "WHAT?! No! Don't go near that!" The Doctor shouted, finally noticing it and not wanting the rock to destroy the TARDIS again. The rock began to zap David and Sheryl once more as they tried to get it away from the TARDIS console. "STAY BACK!" David shouts to the rest of the crew, knowing full well what was in store for them. The TARDIS was ready for this though, suddenly landing in the backyard of Donna's house in their original timeline. The TARDIS then threw David, Sheryl and the rock outside to the shock of the Doctor, using a very narrow gravity flux where David and Sheryl were standing. The Doctor ran towards the duo, but the TARDIS shuts the door, blocking the Doctor from leaving as if protecting him from the rock. 

   When the TARDIS does finally open the door after a few more seconds, the Doctor, Mechie, Donna and Rose exit the TARDIS, scanning around the area. David, Sheryl and the rock were now gone. "Where did they go?! What happened?!" The Doctor shouted, looking around and then between his friends and fellow Gallifreyan. 

  Soho District, London England, 2023. David and Sheryl recover from this transport a bit quicker. Sheryl's eyes widen and she gasps when she realizes where they're at. They're in a bookshop! "David! I can't believe it! Look where we've landed!" Sheryl says in a state of surprise and shock as she shakes David. David's vision begins to clear and as he looks up, he sees a tall, skinny and dark figure looming over him. "Well... This is a surprise." Says the figure with bright red hair, sunglasses and a small tattoo of a snake just below his right-side sideburn. "Hi new people! I'm Jim!" Shouts another figure from behind Sheryl, wearing what looked like a tartan toga. Then a third figure appears, seemingly emitting a much more welcoming energy. "Oh dear... This is quite unexpected." Says the man with the white hair and older white suit that reminds Sheryl of the Victorian era. David looks at the trio and then back at Sheryl. "Welcome to Good Omens." David says to Sheryl with a big smile.

To be continued with Chapter 3!