A Captain And A Madman

Interlude One

"Wait here," the Doctor murmured, tongue flicking across suddenly dry lips as he gave a nervous little chuckle, patting Picard on the back. "Do not get too close to it, under any circumstances; I know your people have discovered it before, but you'd be as well off standing in a puddle of petrol as you might be getting too close to it. Understand?"

When the Captain of the Enterprise nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly, the Doctor gave a brief, approving smile. With a deep, shuddering breath, the Time Lord seemed to draw upon some inner reserve of nerve, a confident swagger settling into his stance as he sauntered up to the Guardian, trying his very best to look directly at it without flinching.

"There you are," the Doctor drawled. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes," the Guardian replied, its voice unconcerned, uncaring. "Time Lord. Doctor. But displaced. A stranger to this place."

"Smart as a whip, you are," the Doctor replied, but a lot of his bravado seemed... subdued. "You know why I'm here, then."

"Yes. The Time Lord seeks the Key. The Knowing. The Window."

"You did it once, for my people, a long from now, but a long time ago," the Doctor replied. "You probably did it for the Time Lords of this reality as well-"

"I have done it for all Time Lords, in all realities."

"Wonderful. Loads of practice, then. Can you do it for me, now? Give me... the Key?"

"The displaced Doctor should not pursue this course. The displaced Doctor may return to his own reality through the Arch."

The arch shimmered, and just like that, images began to flit across it, faster and faster; Cardiff, a Dalek saucer, U.N.I.T, the interior of Torchwood, countless places, people and events from his own universe forming such a tantalizing lure. Despite himself, the Doctor actually edged another step closer... but something, some deep, protesting cry deep in his heart stopped him in place, glancing over his shoulder to consider his big blue box.

"And my TARDIS?" the Doctor's eyes narrowed, just a little as he turned back to the Guardian. "Can I bring her through as well?"

"The TARDIS is incompatible with the Arch. It cannot pass through."

Despite his unease, the Doctor's lips twisted in scorn. "No deal."

"The displaced Doctor should reconsider."

"Why?" his breathing was growing a bit ragged, as if the fight-or-flight instinct were pulling at him. "Why d'you want me to leave this reality?"

"A Kindness to a fellow being of Time." The Guardian seemed almost to hesitate before continuing. "If the displaced Doctor does not depart, the displaced Doctor will seek answers all his own. The displaced Doctor will find those answers. The displaced Doctor will wish he had not."

"Answers? Answers to what?" the Doctor's jaw clenched. "To the differences in this reality? Can you tell me what happened here to make history progress so differently?"

There was a long pause as the arch hummed, seeming almost to process the request. When it finally spoke again, its tone seemed almost regretful.

"Such revelation is beyond the scope of my gaze," came the sonorous reply. "I display that which is. I display not that which has been."

"What?" the Doctor blinked, glancing at Picard before turning his attention back to the Guardian. "Of course you do, you've displayed the past before, according to the stories you won't shut up about it, so-"