Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 77 - Meet and Greet

"So... what do you suppose we do from here?" the Doctor asked slowly, staring at the bright blue police box in front of them. 

"Well, speaking from my overall experience with strange doors, I suggest we knock," Lyssa quipped, eyeing him mischievously.

"Well, generally, yes, that is what you do," he retorted in exasperation. "But this isn't just any door, Lyssa, it's a TARDIS. My TARDIS. In another universe!"

"Yeah? And?"

He stared at her. "Lyssa, the Time Lords have never found another universe with Time Lords in it in all their millennia of exploration. This isn't just a parallel universe where stoplights are blue or Rose Tyler's dad is a millionaire. This is a completely different universe where no Time Lord has ever been. Whatever is inside this box is outside of all Time Lord knowledge."

"Or, you know, it's you," she pointed out flatly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Blue police box? That doesn't sound familiar at all? Your TARDIS led us here."

"You're not getting it, Lyssa," he said in frustration, keeping a wary eye on the box. "Even if it is another version of me in there, which is virtually impossible; it's a completely different me, with completely different experiences. He might as well not even be me! He's not going to know you, or the Time War, or anything else that I've experienced! He might even be like the Master! We could be walking right into his trap!"

"Tirdis told me that there are universes out there so vastly different that the Time Lords couldn't access them even at the height of their power," Lyssa informed him. "And that some of those universes - including this one, presumably - have extremely powerful entities in them. She also told me that she'd be sending me an ally or two to help us when we face the bad guys. Which is who I think this is." She jerked her head at the blue box.

"Anyways, according to her, the big bad dude in our universe, while still physically trapped, was able to team up with some bad guys in this universe. Apparently they hope to use me and this Creator person to create a weapon capable of crumbling reality. You know, something world-ending like that. The usual."

The Doctor stiffened, blanching at her words. He turned away from her suddenly, spitting a steady stream of unhappy words under his breath in a language she could only assume was his native Gallifreyan as he paced angrily across the sand. His hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles were white, he spun around to face her before he got more than a few yards away. 

Striding up to her until he was inches away, he snapped, "Fine. We go, find out who's in this TARDIS, figure out how to stop them, and we leave. But I'm not letting you leave my sight while we're here. I'm not losing you. Not like this. Not again."

"Again?" she frowned, not willing to get angry at him yet - not now, when she could see the bitter fear hiding in his eyes. "Doctor, what's going on?"

He glared at the blue box in front of them. "You have a constant, open connection to the entirety of the Time Vortex. I can name a few thousand species who would love to take advantage of that if they knew about it off the top of my head."

"Like the Daleks," Lyssa whispered, eyes widening in realization as she remembered how they had tried to use her connection to rebuild their ship and revive their species. No wonder he was so upset. The Daleks had taken her before, and tried to use her to bring back their entire species. They had almost killed her before the TARDIS had saved her. 

He jerked his head in a sharp nod. "Exactly like the Daleks. So be careful, and don't tell anyone about your abilities unless you absolutely trust them."

She nodded, not willing to fight him on this while he was so upset. She still thought he was being overprotective - understandably so, but still - but she would go along with it for now. "All right. I'll follow your lead," she promised, sticking out her hand in a silent offer of support.