Doctor Who Fan Fiction ❯ DOCTOR WHO: APOUKALUPSIS (Revelations) ❯ BACK TO THE FUTURES ( Chapter 11 )

Episode11

BACK TO THE FUTURES

With a new recruit in tow, the group answer a distress call. But a freak accident sends time in reverse. With the Doctor out of commission, and Layla out-cold, Daniel must save the day and engineer his path back to the future!

Scene 1:

The scene starts with the Master, in all his glory. Battling through the groups of Autons. Pushing, shoving and physically reacting and repelling the enemy. With cruel intent in his eyes, he goes about firing and demolishing his enemies, with a crude sonic device. Sparks fly everywhere, helter and skelter. Cargo and doors are on fire. The command node is burning, shut behind a sealed door, melting down Auton productions. Beams hanging overhead. There is battle damage evident from all corners, as the Master stands over the disassembled and destroyed bodies of several Autonomic beings. We see more of his scenes in succession. Destroying a village of elf-like creatures, in full force. Painfully choking an Ood and probing the secondary brain with one hand. Working something on his prosthetic arm, in his lab. And then we shift into the Tardis-

A grave pair of eyes. Narrowing down on its' enemy. There is conviction and rage in those bloodthirsty eyes. Nobody knows what comes next. A hand raises, along with a sonic in it. And the Master raises his new sonic device and the counter goes Binngg!

Tardis automated-voice[OC]: Geiger-counter slab-repair done!

[To the quick tunes of Mozart: Overture - 'Le Nozze Di Figaro]

A fast-paced series of scenes showing how life is progressing, traveling with the Master in tow.

His Type 45 Tardis is parked within the Doctors, shaped as an escape pod from outside. The Artron Energy bars are still glowing and self-repairing on the Doctors Tardis.

Scenes of the Doctor helping the Master concentrate in the Isolation chamber and Zero room to regain his memories.

Followed by them solving problems together. While the trio hide behind doors to make an approach, they find out the Master has already made his approach and tied up the alien and is about to use Tissue Compression. The Doctor rushes in and nods him not too. [cue eye-roll from the Master].

A few scenes of the Master breaking bones and raising hell on enemies, with sparks flying around the battlefield. The Master raises his hands, in a stance about to vaporize the defeated Sontaran (New Who), who faces the shame of his defeat and closes his eyes. Finally stopped by a timely intervention of the Doctor. While the companions stand sheepishly, far-away near the tents of the battlefield.

[A scene of Daniel and the Master arguing]

Daniel: It so is. It is a cyborg.

Master: A non-humanoid being driving a tank does not make it a cyborg.

Daniel: Daleks are cyborg. Their shell is multi-functional. The Doctor said so.

Master: You are not wrong. The shell does function as a substitute for a proper limb and body.

Layla: What do you mean? How?

Master: It has sensory systems wired, surface sensors, a digestive tract, thermal detectors and repellents, anti-bodies. It has fiber-optical sensors.

Daniel: See...so basically a cyborg. The shell essentially acts like a living mechanism, supporting the mutant inside. Would you stop calling a cyborg if they just opened up their cybernetics and prosthetic arm for charging? The arm is as much a cyborg as the person...wait, but that means-

Layla: Uh, oh!

Daniel: Oh, oh! You are a cyborg! You are a cyborg too!

[The Master scoffs and uses a tissue compression device and zaps it near Daniel, missing him by inches. His food gets zapped and shrinks down to the size of a bubble gum; a blue and green organic gooey residue!]

Daniel: What the frag!

[Later on]

Doctor: You could have just told him. You did not have to-

Master: What? That the galactic laws of Cybernetic augmentations state that to be a cyborg, the entity has to be fully integrated with the cybernetic part or organism? He is an oaf! With brain the size of a peanut...what would he possibly do with that such information!?

As the weeks pass the tone gets lighter. The Doctor compares a before-and-after image on his scanner, showing the Masters' neural activity. There has been significant changes, but the memory cortex is a bit wobbly and red.

Next Daniel is about to go into the bathroom, where he is startled by an Ood tied up inside and the Master about to do something to him, with some gadget in his hand.

Another chase. Another group of Aliens. But incapacitated by the Masters raggedly-driven Tardis, bashing them from side to side (Like 10s post regenerative driving in The Christmas Invasion). And the Master standing over them, out of his Tardis, about to use Tissue Compression. The Doctor rushes to him and snatches it.

Daniel: Is he mad!? Is he proper mad? Oh, what am I even asking? Of course he is…

Doctor: Stop it! It’s over.

Daniel: And you...Doctor. You are even more mad to put up with him! He nearly blew my head off.

Master: Well there was nothing much to blow anyways, only the empty shell.

Daniel: [Rushes him] You…!

[Layla giggles]

[A box has been made out of thick glass near the Tardis console that says 'Do not touch'. Housing the Tissue Compression Eliminator of course].

[A few more progressive scenes going by fast of the Doctor and Master concentrating.]

[ Later on, at an unknown time, the Master works at the console, glancing sideways and seeing the trio talk and enjoy themselves. After a whil, even he lets himself smile a little.]

[A few more little progressive scenes going by fast of the Doctor and Master concentrating.]

Later on -

The Master is hanging up a big edited poster of different versions of him standing over the Earth. And the another of Missy. Like deadly propaganda. Over Daniel's bunk bed. And a few traps and shock-pads set in his room. Later at an undisclosed time the Doctor taking them down in a more dimmer environment. He sonics the traps and detaches the poster. On second thought, he rolls up the Missy poster.

Doctor: You feel okay, old pal?

Master: I do not know...I feel light-headed is all. Less murdery even. Like I can control my instincts a little better. Is that good or bad?

Doctor: With you...we might never know.

Master: That is comforting.

A few more montages of them concentrating in the isolation chamber, and other scenes.

Over the course of quite a few days, The Master seems to show progression to memory recall techniques [as shown by the Tardis diagnostics]. But on the other hand, he shows out-of-characteristic traits. He has gone light-hearted and humorous. He mixes up events from long ago and sometimes his mind goes blank. This concerns the Doctor. But overall everything seems to be okay.

Scene 2:

A few weeks later....in the unknown past.

Near Thorbius Trifecta Section of the Medula Eliptica, a medical station is swiveling round and round, out of balance.

Larson[over sounds of alarms]: This is Medical Officer Bronx Alpha Larson from the Medical Center at Thorbius Minor. We are stuck at the Gas clouds of the Thorbius Trifecta Section. The station is out of control. Please send help. Can anybody hear me? Hell[wavering static]- Hello!? This is Medical Officer Bronx Alpha La-

[The Tardis sound]

Larson: What in the blazes of Holy Rookamool-

The Tardis doors open up with cinematic suspense....And out peeps the Master!

Master: Hello, I am the Master. Master Who is gonna save you. And I am here to sa- [looks into the Tardis again] Doctor! Can I do this again? I am getting a serious case of Deja Vu here!

[Cue Title Theme]

In the near past-

Layla [at console]: Which one is it again?

Doctor: Thorbius Trifecta. T-H-O-R-B-I-U-S. Section 21A4. The Tardis has been redirected towards an alarm she sensed coming from that area. A level 2 gas cloud is nearing a medical station. You two are gonna monitor everything from here. I have diverted powers from some rooms into the communications array. Shouldn't be a problem once within the Gas Cloud. On that note, do not go into the pool. It's freezing right now.

Layla: We are going IN the gas clouds?

Doctor: No. Probably. Well I don't know yet.

Daniel[pointing]: And what is HE going to do?

[The Master makes an angry face]

Doctor: HE is coming with me. I am not making the same mistake twice. We will solve this one together.

Daniel: Praise the lord above!

Doctor: Do not take this for granted...We are not friends. We are not best pals, or space buddies. You are a probationary traveler. I am willing to forgive and forget...well more like ignore and override and outlive, if, you behave properly. If and only if.

Master: Do I get to kill?

Doctor: What did I just say?

Master: Oh, joy! So maybe just hurt a little bit.

[Present time]

Doctor: This is not a joke!

Master: Sure it is. It is to me.

Doctor: Well it isn't.

Master: Well it's to me. We have our lives turned upside down. A Sage and some savior on our heels and we are out saving again! Third time in two days. And this fellow-

[Larson looks at them sheepishly]

Master: Looks perfectly normal and yet creeps me out. Are you cross or something? Are you going to shoot a hole in our chest if other people come running out of that door[Tardis]. We have two samples- Girly Exposition and Male humdrum Comic Relief. I am getting serious Deja Vu vibes in here....

Doctor: Shut it.

Larson: Who are you?

Doctor: Sorry,.. Hi. I am the Doctor. We heard your distress call and have come here to help.

Larson: So..the Medical cruiser sent YOU!?

Doctor: Yes. I suppose they did.

Master: So. What is the problem? Other than the Gas clouds and the broken weather and gunnery array? Hordes of Cybermen coming up the lift-? WHAT is happening to all these bundle of memories and words just flooding in[whooshes a gesture with his hand]?

Larson: WHAT Men-? No. The arrays. They are broken. Like you said. The right corner also took hull damage and the gyroscopic sensor is damaged. It's a Mark 1 Thobiaan Gyroscopic sensor. Rest Mark 1s are uncharged and I have only one Mark 2.

Doctor: What then?

Larson: It's untested.

Doctor: And?

Larson: Well, t-

Master: There's a superstition. Among the Thobiaan black market dealers, a light year from here. After the Zaatakul battlecruiser incident. They do not use untested Mark 2s.

Doctor: How do you know that?

Master: Well, I-! I, don't remember exactly. Must be streamlining. Saving actual minutes here.

Doctor: What did you say?

Master[Clutches and knocks at his temple]: Nothing to you. Oof! That's quite a shrill one.

Larson: The Mark 1s are going to take longer to charge than we have right now. I have already lost few friends to the Mark 2s. They say there is a sentient virus within the Mark 2. I am not going to risk my life and my crew like that!

Doctor: And…? What else?

LARSON [Murmurs]: Oh...this is. This is not supposed to happen.

Master: Oi! You!

Larson: Huh?

Doctor: What else?

Larson: I am...was. I was reading a dimensional storm type. Back when I had functioning equipment. But the screen froze.

Doctor: Show me.

Larson [points]: There...That one.

Master: How much?

Doctor: 27 over 32. Average.

Master: All gradients?

Doctor: Yes. And it froze.

Larson: Well...what now?

Master: Wait...wait. There’s something else. Doctor.

Doctor: What? What is it?

Master: Look at your hands...the goosebumps. The sensation behind the ears.

Doctor: Whoa!

Master: Feel that?

Doctor: Yeah.

Master: Time Storm?

Doctor: Yeah.

Master: Here too…? For the Time Webs?

Doctor: I should hope so...otherwise we would happen to have even another bigger problematic concern dangling over our heads.

Master: Maybe we should just kill this one and call it a day. He does not look very fruitful to the society anyways.

Doctor: What have I told you?

Larson: Wait what?

Scene 3:

[Soon they realize the Level 2 Gas Clouds is not just a typically mundane one. It's a Time Storm. Like the other time fluctuation fields opening up at places due to the sudden increase in the reaches and vastness of the Time Webs, one such fluctuation field has opened up here, in the middle of a planetary storm. The planet was eaten away. All that's left is the atmosphere burning away in round revolving turns within the storm, causing some of the gas clouds created to dissipate away. With each turn, the Storm is getting exponentially bigger. Realizing the imminent danger they are in, the Doctor and the Master hurry up and help Larson to get all the crew into the Tardis. While the Doctor does the labor, the Master helps raise the shield at the mainframe, internally willing to leave everybody behind and get out of this predicament soon as he can. However, things get complicated when the middle of a hall pathway is struck by a random lightning-fast discharge of ion clusters, from the Time Storm. Things start to go peculiarly odd for everybody on the ship but outside the Tardis. Everybody starts seeing atleast another version of themselves. Other members of the crew who are not Time Lords, see even more versions. The Master realizes that they have not had Time Variation trainings: Cosmic Survivalist Training 101.]

[Some of the crew seem unable to cope with the after effects of this; they experience gradual convulsive feats and faint. Although hesitant and ignorant, the Master vibes what the Doctor wants him to do and helps the crew onboard the Tardis. But with each passing second, things get more dizzy and more confusing, even for the Time Lords. They soon realize another fact; their other selves are not just some random Time Mirages they see moving about or future selves on that day. The 'Other' selves are acting in exact reverse. They find out that the Mark 2s do not have a sentient virus. They have a live, artificial intelligence, running a subprogram to turn and warp back physical conditions when in imminent forms of physical danger, installed by the market merchant. The subprogram has spread to the most nearby counter-node it could find, which turns out to be ambiance and temporal-stability controls of the halls and lodgings.

With both Time Lords exhausted and almost soon-to-be-incapacitated, the companions face their most extreme challenge yet - guide them through their own time stream of the day, but in reverse.]

Scene 4:

[With hands in the telepathic circuitry gel pads, they (mostly Layla) link up the optical and navigational guide arrays to their own eyes. They see how the Tardis sees the Time Lords. They map them in reverse and gradually build up a daily timestream for the Doctor and Master to follow. The strain proves too much for Layla, who all but passes out. It is up to Daniel to keep her awake long as he can, and guide the others to safety. Out of his depths at first, Daniel doesn't surrender and continues the task.]

[He also has an unlikely ally – Xylok. 1B says he only has to put up with him in order to save Layla Robbins. And Daniel is irritated at the very way of explaining that 1B indulges in, which he is completely unfamiliar to. While they butt heads at first, 1B and Daniel come to terms of mutual and beneficial endearment in order to get the task done.]

Scene 5:

[As if things were not complicated enough, The Master starts glitching out rapidly but randomly, due to being within a Time Storm. The memory loss has adverse effects on him. He oozes out a form of Hybrid Regeneration energy (multi-color), and with each such glitch he acts a little bit differently, playing to the tunes of all his past selves. To stand the Master even on a normal day was bad enough for Daniel, but now, with every different version of the Master chiding and berating his intellect, he just goes mental. So it naturally falls up to the Doctor to tackle him.

When things get really out of hand while controlling and manipulating the Master, the Doctor forcefully mind-melds with him once more, and shows him all their worst experiences, their battles, their squabbles and wars. Stopping each other's agendas and plans. Duels(with the 3rd), to chases, to lack of trusts(The Five Doctors), to bloodlust(Saxon). To friendship(Missy). A mind-melded vision of Missy's near-death experience breaks the Doctor's hold and stops the connection. But luckily enough, the Master has regained most of his marbles. The last of the Hybrid Regeneration energy leaves his body.]

[Spent and exhausted, the Master asks why the Doctor chose all those moments too, the worst moments between them to kickstart his memories. He says that he is taking his advice. If the Master is truly his friend, he should consider all of him, the good and bad, equally. A whole package. Plus you do not arrive at 'Missy' unless you have being the Masters.]

[Daniel does a near-perfect job at guiding them back to safety, even though the beginning of the reversed-video footage is barely visible. Everybody makes it to the Tardis, except for the two Time Lords. Turns out the visibility issue is because by now the storm has caught up to them. The Doctor urges them to leave in the Tardis but Daniel refuses. He stays adamant about leaving the Doctor behind. The Doctor says they don't have time to argue. The Tardis can still make the flight with the power diversion within-]

Master: Oh, just stop it you two!

[Presses a hidden button in his prosthetic elbow. And the Doctor's Tardis starts to dematerialize]

Daniel: What!? No! No, no, no, no, no! Don't you worry Doctor, We'll come back for you. Both of you! Just when I was starting to like that wretched gu- [Dematerializes]

[With sparks form parts blowing out in the background]

Doctor: When?

Master: After Gamma. Old habits I guess. Gives a sense of purpose and regularity to do something not entirely good once in a while. Staying within the old bounds of conformity of being the 'Master'. Installed a subroutine to your Tardis recall function and linked it to me [shows him, and instantly gets zapped by the pointed sonic].

Master: Ooaawwww!

Doctor: Next time, DON'T. We still have a crash to overcome.

[After a quick brainstorming session, they refit deflator panels from the safety decks of the wrecked station with the minimally charged Mark 1s, for gyroscopic stability which provide them with robust safety of a Rescue Pod of the early 2000 Earth Space Programs. They hold on tight while the remains of the station revolve inside to the innermost part of the Time Storm, chipping away like sawdust. Soon, once they reach the Centre, they are violently thrown into an unknown part of the Time Vortex. More dark and denser. Travelling through the vortex zooms in and drives them to upper atmosphere of an unknown planetoid, where they manage to crash land.]

Scene 6:

[After recovering]

Doctor[efforts while panting]: Told you we'd make it!

Master[stretching down to his knees]: I didn't doubt you Doctor. Only the outright fanatismo and confidence you have towards your plans! [Stands up] So,..Where have you taken us now?

[A very monochromatic and humid planet, with green-filtered atmosphere.]

Doctor: I don't know [Beep]. That's odd. Apparently neither does the Sonic. No spatio-temporal coordination, or disturbances! We are nowhere!

Master: We are definitely somewhere. That is odd. Can you not call your Tardis here? Mine isn't responding.

Doctor: I cannot even sense my Tardis. I can call it anywhere now. No clicking and talking and gesturing and faltering. Just think straight and it responds back. But I cannot even feel her presence here. It's like she has gone out of this universe.

Stranger: No, Doctor. You have!

Both: AAaaaarggghhhh!

[They collapse down with a shrill mind-touch]

Master: He is here Doctor!

Doctor: Aaarrggh! Wh-Who iss? Aaaar

Master[on his knees]: The one who started everything. I remember what happened to me. What. What he did. Why I was shot and who I was shot for.

[We get introduced to very familiar eyes]

Stranger[OC]: BWwaahahahahahahahahaha!