Scarves, Screwdrivers, & Schisms Left Untampered

Two figures bushwhack their way through a small woodland. They emerge from the bushes and arrive at a small cliff with a large yet quiet river below.

“I can do it from here,” one figure says.  It moves closer to the edge and peers out into the distance.

“Does it have to be done this way, Jack?” the figure to the left asks. It steps closer to the edge, the sunlight revealing River Song.

“At this point, it’s the only way,” Captain Jack Harkness replies.

“I’ve just been thinking, this whole thing started out as a happy accident. They didn’t mean any harm.”

“Remember the last time one of ours decided to get a little sentimental on the job? We have our orders. This is our mission. I don’t need to remind you of what failure results in.”

River remains silent as she nods and slowly steps back. A device beeps in her jacket’s right pocket. She removes the silver PDA-type device and reads it. “They just hit the bridge.”

“Showtime,” Jack mutters. He turns away from River and faces the large suspension bridge a few yards away. He closes his eyes in focus, and seconds later, a dark figure slowly appears on top of one of the bridge’s arcs.

A Shath.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

“There they are,” River shouts. As she does, a red Toyota Corolla-S drives off-course as it gets closer to the Shath and crashes through the bridge, plummeting toward the river.

“That should do it,” Jack says with a smile. But before it can hit the river, it disappears. “What the hell just happened?!”

“I don’t know, but according to my scanner, they’re in Rapid-Eye City now. Alive, but they’re there.”

Jack sighs. “You know what? No worries. In The City, this bridge is apparently home to an acquaintance of our boss. Reaping souls, allowing passage from that world to another, presumably the afterlife. Or an underworld. Who knows?”

“Are we good?”

“Yeah.  We’re good.”

A white force field quickly forms around the TARDIS, reflecting the lightning shots back at the attacking Knight Clones. Upon impact, there is a flash of red light, and the Knight Clones fall to the ground on impact, lifeless.

“Not bad,” Lea Tsar Kent says to Tara, who is facing the TARDIS doors.

“I have my moments,” Tara replies. She then turns to Lea and is silent for a few moments. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“No need to apologize. It probably would have helped if I wasn’t intentionally vague.” Lea makes her way to the center console.

“And why, may I ask, was that necessary?”

“Dramatic effect. Helps me focus.”

Tara chuckles. “Now that? You definitely got that from The Doctor.” She falls silent again and lets out a sharp sigh. “Tell me he’s going to make it.”

What happened to him? Belle RE-speaks to Pete, fighting back tears.

I…I… Pete is at a clear loss for words. He and Belle are both riddled with disbelief and fear, and the White Knight stands motionless.

We can’t stay here.

We can’t run fast enough. Even with whatever we can cook up to help us run, that Knight will get us. I’ve grown tired of running, Belle. Have you?

Hell, yes.

Good.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

Pete leaps from the tree he hid in and lands on the grass with a light stumble. As he makes his way toward the White Knight with increasing anger in every step, he extends his right arm. At the same time, his necklace begins to glow again. Tiny purple sparks dance across Pete’s hand before a large, staff-like object appears in his hands. Even in the darkness of the White Knight’s domain, the metallic purple finish of the staff and its four silver buttons shine with resplendence. At its upper end, a crystal orb contains a soft crimson cloud of smoke.

“Have I got a lecture for you,” Pete says.

The White Knight slowly turns around to face Pete.

“An associate of The Doctor has been located,” it says. “Engaging secondary target.”

The White Knight marches toward Pete, shaking the ground with every step despite Pete holding his own. The Knight lifts its scythe above its head and violently swings it at Pete. Pete shoulder-rolls out of the trajectory at the last second, narrowly avoiding The Para-Doctor’s fate. As soon as he recovers, he jumps backwards—the White Knight has attempted another attack. The scythe now comes crashing down to the ground, digging up chunks of concrete and debris that remain airborne.

Suddenly, the White Knight lurches forward, roaring as he falls to one knee. He swiftly turns around to face something, and something catches Pete’s attention.

Three blue arrows are embedded in the White Knight’s back in a vertically straight line. Occasionally, the Knight’s body convulses as if it is receiving electric shocks. Pete looks past the Knight to see Belle aiming a new longbow at the Knight. The Knight attempts to make its way to Belle, suffering a convulsion with every step.

Pete hangs back and studies the arrows for a few seconds before closing his eyes. When a brown waist holster forms just above his waist, Pete runs toward the Knight, places his staff in the holster and jumps for the lowest arrow. He grabs it with both hands and hangs on while the Knight keeps marching toward Belle, but the arrow stays in place. As if performing a chin-up, he pulls himself up and launches toward the middle arrow. He slightly misses his grip but quickly secures himself. He does this again for the third arrow as the Knight keeps moving. He is now feet away from Belle.

Pete removes his staff from the holster and holds it so that the orb is on the bottom. The other end quickly forms into a blade in the style of a broadsword. With a great shout, he pierces the Knight’s armor at the base of the neck and stabs it. The Knight roars loudly and lurches back, reaching for its neck. Before it can grab Pete, Pete lets go of the arrow and falls to the ground. He lands into a number of barrel rolls, grunting in pain on the last one.

While the Knight is still stunned, Belle runs past it to meet Pete.

“Nice moves, dear,” she says. “You read my mind.”

“Just the highlights,” Pete says. “The electric-shock arrows thing, that was a nifty idea.”

“I read it in a book.”

The ground begins to quake, breaking the tender moment and bringing the couple’s attention to the White Knight. Back on its feet, it swings its scythe behind its back, destroying all three arrows in the same swing.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

“Associates of The Doctor, you will accept your fate,” the White Knight shouts.

“Like hell,” Belle shouts, joining Pete in readying her weapon.

A loud crashing noise from behind causes them to about face and take aim. Materializing yards away from them is a large blue beam of light surrounded by silver lightning bolts that dance toward the sky.

“What’s that?” Belle asks. “A way out?”

“Only one way to find out,” Pete says, preparing to make a run for it.

“What about the Knight? We have to finish it.”

“No, we don’t. Not now, anyway. Doc said take the first opportunity to get out of here.”

“But we don’t know if that leads back to reality!”

“He didn’t say anything about going home. He just said to take the first opportunity to get out of here.”

Belle stares at the portal, and then angrily glances at the approaching Knight.

“Go!” Pete yells as he jumps in front of Belle and extends the orb end of his staff. The red smoke inside the orb expands and completely fills the space, causing the orb to glow red. Seconds later, a bright red laser shoots out of the orb and strikes the Knight with great force, launching it across the air and to the ground yards away.

Pete slowly lowers his staff, not taking his eyes off of the Knight. He softly caresses his necklace, unaware that it is glowing once again.

“Peter!” Belle yells from directly in front of the portal. “Come on!”

Pete snaps out of his apparent trance and runs to Belle’s side. He holds Belle’s hand and looks her in the eyes before heading into the portal together. A flash of white light blinds them and makes them shut their eyes as they are hit with a blast of air.

The air slowly subsides, and a familiar voice fades into earshot…

“Lea, wait! Lea? Lea, come back!”

Pete and Belle open their eyes and let out a scoff of relief as they realize they are back in the TARDIS, with Tara directly in front of them.  Tara looks at Pete and Belle, surprised.

“Oh, my…Peter! Belle!” Tara cries. “Thank heavens you’re alright!” She goes to hug them both, but her arms simply phase right through them. She looks at her arms as a short sigh escapes her breath. “The Doctor?”

“We don’t know,” Pete says.

“Remain at his side and find out.”

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

Lea continues to tinker with knobs and buttons on the center console.

“I must leave you now,” Lea continues. “I have met you at this point in time to deliver these messages, and the next step of my Passage is calling.” She then turns to face Tara. “The Doctor is in Freefall, Rapid-Eye City’s afterlife.  He was not meant to find that place yet, and now Joey may learn the secret. My Passage is in jeopardy…”

Lea’s head lowers, as if looking for answers—or even relief—on the ground. Tara slightly inches closer, waiting for her to finish her thought. Lea turns back to the center console and continues working.

“I have business to handle in Freefall. I’m setting up a two-way stream. I can get back to The City, while someone can get out. Or should I say…two?”

Tara’s eyes light up. “Peter and Belle?”

“I’m trying to get the portal as close to them when I can. Hopefully trouble doesn’t find them when it materializes.” Lea sees Tara nod in agreement from the corner of her eye as she pulls one final lever. A large beam of light materializes over Lea, covering her in a blue tint and surrounding her with a soft, white mist.

“Wow…” a wide-eyed Tara whispers.

“Once Pete and Belle enter the portal, the transfer will commence. They’ll be brought back here, but you must return them to the place where they were Force-Slept into The City. You have the amount of time they spent there to do it.”

Tara can only stare at this ghostly figure in wonder. Someone she knows, and yet someone she doesn’t. An important associate of The Doctor who he has never mentioned. Someone who is playing a large role in saving the day.

“Thank you, Lea,” Tara says.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Lea replies. “There’s still work that needs to be done. On both of our ends.”

“When will you come back?”

Lea smiles. “I’m already here.”  The smoke grows thicker and completely engulfs Lea as near-deafening crackling sounds fill the TARDIS.

“Lea, wait! Lea? Lea, come back!” Tara shields herself with her arms and takes a few steps back, a strong gust of wind brushing past her. With a few more thunderous booms, the commotion subsides. The mist softly dissipates, revealing two new bodies standing in the beam…

“Oh, my…Peter! Belle!” Tara cries. “Thank heavens you’re alright!” She goes to hug them both, but her arms simply phase right through them. She looks at her arms as a short sigh escapes her breath. “The Doctor?”

“We don’t know,” Pete says.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

The White Knight’s scythe was the last sight of The Para-Doctor. What he sees now, in the blink of an eye, is a large staircase leading up to a building lined with Corinthian columns. Surrounding the entire structure is a wall of rainfall that slowly ascends, rather than descends, to the clouds above.

“Right where I need to be,” The Para-Doctor mutters.

He looks down to check himself. His body is intact. That’s all he needs to know, so much that he doesn’t even notice his change of clothes. His brown longcoat and business attire have been switched with a red button-down shirt and a Nirvana tee. Only his jeans remain.

As he makes his way up the stairs, his gaze shifts back and forth between smaller yet similar surrounding structures in the distance. Once he reaches the top, The Para-Doctor dashes inside. The large lobby seems to only contain two things: a fairly-sized pool of water in the middle of the ground and an arrangement of colorful and detailed wall murals.

The Para-Doctor slowly does a 360 degree turn, taking in every sight. No sound escapes his open mouth, even after he is suddenly greeted by a peculiar humanoid at the end of his turn. He stumbles back a few steps.

“Welcome, Joey,” the creature says.

The Para-Doctor freezes in place at the sound of his true name, panic briefly setting in.

You came here as a human, you came here as a human, The Para-Doctor thinks to himself. As he calms himself down, he surveys the humanoid in front of him.

The most noticeable feature is its cat-like face, complete with sharp auburn eyes and whiskers. Its entire body is covered in soft, white fur, save for her four bare paws. Dressed in a large, silver robe that drags across the marble floor, the feline alien walks toward The Para-Doctor.

“Who are you?” The Para-Doctor asks.

“I am the Howl of The Moon,” she replies. “I’m here to help you.”

“And what exactly do I need help with?”

Just gotta make sure, The Para-Doctor thinks to himself.

“Your life,” she says. “I’m here to help you get it back.” She motions to one of the murals on the wall, and The Para-Doctor slowly looks in that direction. He studies the mural for a few seconds before his eyes widen.  He marches straight toward the wall and closely inspects the mural.

It is of a long-haired man inside a yellow beam of light that is being produced by a giant pocket watch.

As his jaw drops, he looks at some of the other murals. One is of the same man holding a guitar that emits numerous lines of color. Another depicts the man in the sky with a deployed parachute.

In a flash of blue light, Lea appears at the bottom of a marble staircase suspended in air. She looks around, past walls of ascending rain, to see all of the surrounding structures motionlessly hovering in the piercing blue sky.

Lea hovers above the staircase, landing at the top within seconds. She rushes inside the structure and surveys the lobby.

“Moon’s Howl!” Lea shouts. She centers herself and continues to look around. “Moon’s Howl! It is Lea Tsar Kent, I must speak with you.”

No response. The silence is deafening to Lea. After slowly pacing for a few steps, Lea marches forward until she reaches the edge of the pool. She slowly raises her hand, and as she does, some of the pool’s water snakes its way out and softly glides across the entire structure’s floor. When the floor is completely covered, Lea walks toward the center of the structure. She raises her right hand to eye level, and shapes begin to form in the water. By the time she reaches the center, a full-scale humanoid shape has formed.

With a cat-like head and limbs, the shape resembles the Howl of The Moon. It moves forward in a slow pace, while Lea slowly follows. Suddenly, water bubbles behind Lea and begins to shift in Water Howl’s direction. Lea watches as it slowly takes shape. First, a slug-like body, and then long, bony arms that rise and reach toward Water Howl.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

“Oh, no,” Lea mutters as she watches the newly-formed Water Shath attack Water Howl. Lea makes a sharp 180, and the two shapes come crashing down in a large blob of water.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

“You remember how to get there?”

“More or less, but Tara can fill in the blanks.”

Belle and Pete operate controls at the center console of the TARDIS as it moderately glides high above the soft, orange glow of Harrisburg’s streets.

“So,” Pete says, “we have to return to the place we were forced into The City within a certain time limit, or else we’ll return and get permanently sealed there.”

“That is correct,” Tara responds.

“Well, I’m not quite ready for the big sleep just yet.”

The TARDIS twirls in a zig-zag motion before continuing straight.

“Now, did this Lea say anything about The Doctor?” Belle asks.

“Just that he was in a place called Freefall, he wasn’t meant to be there, and Joey would learn the secret.”

Pete snaps his head up to face Tara with a strong face of concern. His eyes then face the ground and dart back and forth, slowly allowing concentration to take over.

“Son of a bitch,” Pete mumbles. “Oh, no, no, no, no, we have to move faster.”

“Pete, what’s wrong?” Belle asks.

“It’s about the life he left behind. It’s about Joey. He never went away. The Doc never rewrites his biology. He trades places with Joey in his dreams. All of these adventures that Joey is used for, Joey simply writes them off as dreams.”

Belle covers her mouth, shocked, and Tara can do nothing but stare at Pete.

“Joey finding out about what he’s really been doing when he rests his head at night could mean trouble for us all. Hell, for The Doc’s own existence.”

“We’re almost there,” Tara says.

“Okay, you and Belle keep pedaling.” Pete pulls away from the center console and makes his way toward the staircase to the bedrooms.

“Where are you going?” Belle asks. But it’s too late. Pete has already skipped up the stairs and disappeared behind the walls.

Pete runs down the hallway and into the bedroom he shares with Belle. He heads straight for a small three-shelf dresser and opens the top drawer, revealing a glass cube of ground marijuana and a small pipe with a turquoise tiger-stripe paint job. While staring at the gear, he caresses his necklace and lets out a long sigh.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

“Why are you showing me these images?”

Joey continues to survey the numerous images on the wall as the Howl of The Moon follows close by. She then walks ahead of Joey and turns to face him.

“This is not a dream, Joey,” she says. “You are not dreaming about being The Para-Doctor. You are The Para-Doctor.

Joey simply stares at The Howl before breaking into a moderate chuckle.

“Get out of town,” he says with a smile. “I’m The Para-Doctor?”

The Howl looks down at Joey’s body. He notices this and does the same, but lets out a scream when he realizes the civilian clothes he had thought he was wearing all along has now been replaced with a brown longcoat, a white button-down shirt, and a tie splashed with blue, red, and black.

“Holy shit,” Joey yells. His shouts of disbelief slowly transition into cheers of excitement. He proceeds to feel around his new wardrobe. “This is amazing!”

“No…it really isn’t,” The Howl says.

Joey looks up after having found his new Sonic Screwdriver. “What?”

“You have been The Para-Doctor for quite some time, and you have left a terrible string of chaos in your wake.” She turns toward a wall, and the mural painted on it begins to bleed into one giant splatter of color before forming a new mural. Joey’s jaw has dropped from watching.

The new mural depicts two men – one in street clothes, the other wearing a bowtie – standing in front of a number of Cybermen.

“We saved the world from those Cybermen,” Joey softly says.

“And what of those converted into Cybermen over the course of those two days? Could they have been saved…instead of sacrificed?” Joey is silent. The mural changes again; the Cybermen disappear and form the creature Daii. “So many are still waiting on you to cure their Dream Radiation. Is your search bearing fruit? Is there still a search?” Joey remains silent. “You think you aid in doing good and waking up, but you’re not around to witness the aftermath, to see the real lives you’re destroying.”

Joey holds his head as if it’s about to explode. He begins a sharp yet controlled pace. “What do I do?” The Howl slowly smiles and approaches Joey.

“Let us fix everything,” she says in a low purr. “Relinquish the Time Lord and start anew. All of the world’s horror started with the creation of The Para-Doctor. End it before it even begins. And imagine what it could hold? An opportunity to be the real hero your baby sister wanted? A steady, calm flow of life, never once escalating to insane levels?” Joey begins to shed a tear. The Howl leans in closer. “A chance with Stephanie?”

Joey’s eyes widen, and he turns to face a smiling Howl.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

“Joey, stay away!” a voice from behind calls. He spins around to face the source and sees Pete and Belle running toward him. Joey catches one last glance, directed at Pete’s glowing necklace and bizarre purple staff, before watching The Howl walk ahead of him to meet Pete and Belle.

“Enter the pool,” he hears The Howl whisper. She raises her voice for Pete and Belle. “You have no business here!”

“Neither does he!” Pete yells, motioning towards Joey. “Stay away from him.”

“No,” The Howl says. “He must surrender his Time Lord life. He has caused enough damage, and so much more is in our future if he continues. This is the way of The Moon. He must go back.”

“He’s going back with us,” Belle shouts, her bow and arrows materializing on her body. “The Moon can screw itself.”

The Howl smiles. “As the pathetic humans you love so much would say… ‘Say it to his face.’”

There is a thunderous crashing sound, followed by thousands of glowing white beams of light materializing in the air, all moving frantically to form a shape. The shape of a knight. A large knight wielding two shortswords.

“Christ, what is it with this White Knight?” Pete grumbles.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

The Moon violently swings its two swords at Pete, whose parrying is as fluid as a baton twirl. Every now and then, he fires red blasts from the orb end of his broadsword at The Moon. Some connect but do minimal damage.

Nearby, Belle is using two of her arrows as daggers to attack The Howl, but The Howl’s evades are too quick for Belle. Eventually, The Howl gets too close, and Belle shoots arrows at The Howl for space. The Howl backflips away, dodging every arrow.

Joey is oblivious to all of this. He can only focus on the pool he is walking toward. On all of the people he’s let down. On all of the people he’s going to save.

I told myself, he thinks to himself, at the very first opportunity to return, do so. This is it.

He reaches the edge of the pool and stands there for a second. He hears Pete shout Belle’s name. And then he hears nothing as he stares into the deep blue of the pool. And suddenly, he hears an eerie tune sounding off from an unknown source. His concentration breaks, and he starts to look around the pool. When he looks directly down again, he sees a figure. He concentrates on it, and then his eyes widen. Joey manages to let out a single word…

“Freefall…”

There is a flash of light that originates from the pool and covers the entire room. With his now-blue eyes, The Para-Doctor slowly looks up.

“I shouldn’t be here,” he says.

“Nooooo!” The Moon yells. The Para-Doctor turns around just in time to catch The Moon strike Belle and run towards him. The Para-Doctor quickly jumps to the side and shoves The Moon into the pool.

Following the large splash of water, a massive blast of air fills the room, catching everyone’s attention. Hair and clothing violently flap in the gust as the room slowly fills with the screams of Pete, Belle, and The Moon. Suddenly, the environment itself literally begins to peel away, strip by strip at first and then followed by larger slices. The woods are slowly revealed. The Moon has now become a large Shath with a glowing silver arm, while The Moon and the pool have become one Shath with another Shath halfway down its throat.

As The Para-Doctor watches the two lifeless Shath slowly disintegrate into neon dust, Pete uses his sword to dismember the silver arm from the Shath. It lets out a high shrill as it sprays black fluid all over the vicinity. Pete finally stabs the creature through the eyes, and there is silence once again.

Belle looks around and surveys the area. Pete, The Para-Doctor, loads of trees, a tire, red scrap metal…Sheila! Her eyes bulge as they fall on here totaled Toyota Corolla. She gasps, and then stops to think.

“Have we been here this whole time?” she asks.

“I did this,” Pete says. “We were about to crash into the river. I brought us here. Figured we could come back from a crash easier than drowning. The Shath must have had a plan. It was all to get to Joey.” He then calls to Joey, but he gets no response. After a few seconds, The Para-Doctor turns around and smiles at Pete and Belle.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

The Para-Doctor and Tara are outside of the TARDIS, which is once again parked outside the Fera apartment. The Para-Doctor is leaning against the doors, while Tara stands next to him. Both are watching the sun rise.

“Yeah, those Shath definitely wanted me to undo everything that is The Para-Doctor,” The Para-Doctor says. “I wouldn’t exist like this. Whoever is after me in Rapid-Eye City is going through hell to try and keep me out.”

“I almost didn’t get Pete and Belle to you in time,” Tara says. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You needed to take care of them first.”

“Would you ever go back, Doctor? To your old life?”

The Para-Doctor sighs. “I don’t believe in better days gone by. The best time to be is now, and that’s how I live. In each moment, for each moment, no matter what life I may be leading. So to answer your question…absolutely not.”

This makes Tara smile. This is the Doctor she worried so much about today.  Whether those words were from the heart or the mind does not matter to Tara. The Doctor is safe.

“So this Lea Tsar Kent is definitely someone I haven’t met yet,” The Para-Doctor says. “The question is, when?”

“You can imagine she wasn’t very vocal about the future,” Tara says.

The Para-Doctor chuckles. “Where do you think she is now?”

“Oh, no, not another girl-chasing fantasy.” Tara covers her mouth and hides a laugh and another smile, and The Para-Doctor joins in the laughter.

“Oh, come on, Tara,” he says. “You know at the end of the day, you’re the only girl for me.” He goes to kiss Tara on the cheek, but his lips pass right through her. Once he realizes this, he pulls away and frowns. Tara looks at him with a concerned look.

“Doctor, wait, what about the boat?”

Mike, Jill, and Brian are standing in between the TARDIS and a large news crew.  They are nearly blinded by the wave of camera flashes, and the shouting of the crowd threatens to drown out any other voices. The Para-Doctor, in his Rapid-Eye City form, stands in the doorway.

“You can’t see or hear me,” The Para-Doctor says, “but damn, I really hope that was a bad joke. Farewell, Jill. Stay beautiful. Brian, try not to brag about this to all of your friends…” Before The Para-Doctor walks into the TARDIS, he focuses on the design on Brian’s shirt, something that is just now catching his attention. On the center of the goldenrod tee is a peculiar-looking, silver-haired woman in a tight purple dress. “…and, uh…nice shirt.” He slowly steps back into the TARDIS, closing the door behind him. He walks to the light emerging from his Sleeping body and returns to the real world as the TARDIS begins to dematerialize.

“The TARDIS cloaking held out for the entire return, right?” Belle asks.

“Right,” Tara says. “So…we’re just gonna leave them there with the news crew?”

“Why, were any of you feeling up for hours and hours of interviews?” The Para-Doctor asks with a smile. “Possibly some interrogation?” Everyone scoffs and throws their hands up in protest. “I’m sure they’ll put in quite the good word for us. We did, after all, just save their lives.”

The trio is back inside Belle and Pete’s apartment. They are sitting at the table, sharing a glass pipe of bud.

“Where did you go, Doctor?” Pete asks. “You were gone for two days.”

“And to a guy like you,” Pete adds, “a lot can happen in two days.” He passes the pipe to The Para-Doctor, who takes a large hit and sits in silence for a few seconds.

“A time to mourn became a call to unfinished business,” he replies. “It’s all taken care of, though. No need to worry.” He passes the pipe to Pete.

“You know we have to sometimes,” Belle sighs. “You, River, Captain Jack, you’re all quite the mysteries.”

“Speaking of,” Pete asks, exhaling a cloud of smoke, “where are they? We haven’t seen them since they escaped that mega-Dalek on their own.”

“No idea. It would be nice to hear from them.”

“You miss them?”

The Para-Doctor falls silent again. He then stands up and slowly walks out of the apartment, with Belle and Pete following. As soon as they reach the bottom of the stairs, The Para-Doctor stares at the busy street in the far right distance.

“Let’s take a ride,” The Para-Doctor says. Belle and Pete smile and begin to walk toward the TARDIS. “No. An actual ride.”

“Like, with Sheila?” Belle asks.

“Like with Sheila. Let’s let the actual road clear our heads.”

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

A solid red Toyota Corolla-S makes its way down a quiet highway, with The Para-Doctor hanging his head out of the window. He smiles as his hair flaps behind him, violently but neatly.

“Or maybe we can refrain from drawing attention to ourselves,” Belle yells from the driver seat. The Para-Doctor pulls his head back into the car and fixes his hair.

“Sorry,” he replies. “I feel a little amazing right now.”

“I know how to take care of my Doc,” Pete says from the passenger seat. They reach a segmental bridge that stretches above a large river and continue to drive.

“So where exactly do you want me to go?” Belle asks.

Smiling, The Para-Doctor simply says to cruise. “When have we ever benefitted from a set destination?”

“He’s got a point, honey,” Pete says as Belle laughs. She looks to the left to catch a quick glance at the river, but something sitting on the ledge catches her eye. In that moment, everything goes black and all sound fades as Belle’s jaw drops.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

It is a Shath sitting on the ledge, glaring at Belle with a faceless expression.  It begins to hiss, and then…

“BELLE!”

The cries of Pete and The Para-Doctor snap Belle back to reality, just as she is about to speed off the bridge.

“Oh, my god!” she screams.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

Pete wakes up on the ground facedown. He struggles to rise to his knees as he surveys the area; he is in the woods with Belle recovering in front of him.

“Are you alright, Belle?” Pete asks, crawling to her side. She nods and rubs her head.

“How did we end up in the woods?” Belle asks. “We drove off a bridge, straight into the river.”

“Not straight into the river, clearly,” The Para-Doctor says from behind them. The couple turns around and sees The Para-Doctor staring at the now-wrecked Corolla, which had smashed into a thick tree. What was left of the front of Belle’s car took on an accordion-like appearance, and the radius was littered with metal and glass.

“Oh, god,” Pete says. He and Belle stand up to join The Para-Doctor. When they look inside the car, Belle lets out a terrible scream.

The Para-Doctor, Belle, and Pete are inside of the car, bloodied and seemingly lifeless.

“Holy shit,” Pete yells. Belle begins to shed a few tears.

“Are we dead?” Belle asks.

“I don’t think so,” The Para-Doctor replies, not taking his eyes off of the wreck. “Look around.” Upon closer observation, the duo notices that the moon is glowing with a yellow radiance. The sky and all of the trees have a vibrant, near-overbearing tint. The Para-Doctor scans the bodies with his Screwdriver.

“We’re in the City, aren’t we?” Pete asks.

“Somehow.” The Para-Doctor reads his Screwdriver, frowning. “We didn’t get here by the Stones, though. We were brought here by other means.” He puts his Screwdriver away and looks up. “Sure could use your help, Jack and River,” he mutters with a large sigh. “You know this place better than I do.”

“Hey, Doctor, look over there,” Belle says, pointing to a series of glowing lights that are shuffling on the outside of the woods.

“What is that?” The Para-Doctor asks.

“I don’t think there’s much use in staying here. Let’s look around, see what else we can find.”

~~~~Suggested Music~~~~

Tara walks silently and unnoticed among the civilians of Harrisburg near a shopping plaza. Looking like a lost puppy, she leans against a building and observes the actions of people passing by. A young couple is holding hands and cuddling as they walk. An older woman marches in the wind with her head held high as her hair floats in the breeze.

Tara looks down at her hand and lets out a long sigh, followed by an unenthused running of her fingers through her own hair. After staring at the couple for a little while longer, Tara gets up and walks out toward the street.

“I sure would like that feeling one day,” she mutters to herself.

Eventually, she walks down the street far enough to approach a bridge. She is looking into the woods to her left when something straight ahead catches her eye.

Slowly walking all along the bridge are what appear to be white ghost-like figures. Tara freezes in place as she focuses on the cloud of ghosts up ahead.

“Not of this world,” she says, “formerly of another, minimal threat level. What exactly are you? The Doctor will want to know about this.” She slowly spins around and starts to walk away.

“Tara!” a voice calls from behind. She quickly snaps back to face the bridge.

“Damn it,” The Para-Doctor says. “She disappeared before she could hear me. But you guys saw her there, right?”

“Yeah, we did,” Belle responds, “but what does that open portal mean? Was that the only one?”

“And are these ghosts of any immediate concern to us?” Pete says as the trio is caught within the moving lanes of the ghost creatures on the bridge.

“They’re picking up speed,” The Para-Doctor says. “They’re running away from something.”

“Which means?” Pete asks.

“We’ll be running soon.”

WHOOM! Rhythmic vibrations rumble deep within the ground, startling the trio. The trio also suffers contact with the tremors, violently shaking and trying to maintain ground. The surrounding ghosts break into a scurry.

“How do you want to handle this one, Doctor?” Belle asks.

“Poorly,” he says, arming himself with his Screwdriver. The vibrations become accompanied with what sound like footsteps rapidly increasing in volume. It comes from the right side of the bridge, to which the trio turns.

~~~~Suggested Music!~~~~

What emerges from the electric blue river is a sight to behold—a large humanshape creature of an unknown species, donning full white armor with maroon markings and symbols. It wields an impressive golden scythe that shimmers in the wicked light of The City.

The armored creature uses the ledges of the bridge to pull itself up, and it phases through the railings and cables of the bridge at the same time, smoothly positioning itself high above the trio and the panicked ghosts.

“Got a ‘fighting chance’ setting on that Screwdriver, Doc?” Pete yells.

“Ooh, no, I don’t,” The Para-Doctor replies, “but granted I’m still alive after this, or even alive at all right now, I’ll get to work on installing it!” As they are speaking, the armored creature observes the trio with sharp, robotic head movements, as if he’s analyzing them.

“An associate of Lea Tsar Kent has been located,” it says in a low, metallic voice. “‘The Doctor.’ Associates of The Doctor accompany him. Three associates, direct or indirect, of Lea Tsar Kent. All must be captured.” It then starts to march toward the trio, swinging its scythe like a pendulum. When it comes into contact with the ghosts, they silently dissipate into the air, brushing the giant knight as he passes.

The Para-Doctor runs behind Pete and Belle as they dart down the bridge, back in the direction they came.

“Who the hell is Lea Tsar Kent?” Pete asks.