stay calm. it will be okay. you have my word. Episode Seven: Journey Into Mystery
This is episode seven! To start reading from the beginning, check out Pilot : The Season Two Ending We Deserved
Story Summary
Turn off “The Reality War” at 40:15 and start here instead. This is the story of what happened after—the story where the Doctor, Bel, and their extraordinary daughter Poppy get to live the life they deserve.
It’s about finding family across time and space. It’s the Doctor and Bel co-parenting like the besties they are, Poppy growing up splitting her time between 21st-century London and the far-future of the Preservation Alliance, and a Sanctuary Moon fanclub that spans across the universe. It’s Rogue getting the ending he deserves, Jenny finding her fathers, Murderbot reluctantly acquiring more humans, and a universe where love, in all its forms, is the most powerful weapon we have.
This is a fusion-fix-it full of gratuitous wish fulfillment, because sometimes the best way to heal is to rewrite the story. 💕💕
Episode Summary:
Poppy is just settling into her peaceful new life on Preservation when disaster strikes. Unfortunately UNIT has called the Doctor back to Earth and despite joining forces with his other self and their constant companions, they still end up trapped in yet another nightmare dimension.
Notes:
Thanks so much to everyone who has left comments and kudos, and special thanks to Fire_Phoenix2305 and tinysugacube for helping me bring this fic to life and to Marvin for his official seal of approval!
Episode Seven: Journey Into Mystery
Poppy had been nervous to move to Preservation full-time. While she had loved it there on her first visit, making a permanent move was still a big change. Still, she needn’t have worried. Everyone there was just as kind and accommodating as on her first visit, and adapting to life in her new world was easier and more delightful than she could have ever expected.
The oddest, and most exhilarating, aspect of her new life was the vastly differing education system. Rather than splitting up learning by age, the students at first landing were instead evaluated and taught according to their skill levels in certain subjects. There were people of all ages in her various modules, and there was no hierarchy or bitterness between students trying to get the best grades.
That’s not to say that everything was perfect—despite the kind nature of nearly everyone on Preservation there were still times when people had personalities that did not compliment one another well. But even when there was dislike fostered between people, they almost always sought a peaceful resolution to conflict. Poppy could easily understand why her father loved it here, especially as she found herself learning more about the Corporation Rim and how things worked outside of Preservation.
Despite her keen interest in the science and technology of this era, Poppy found herself also drawn to what in this world was history. As the daughter of time travelers, Poppy knew that she could simply ask her dad or her uncle John to take her for a spin through the time vortex, and she could see those times and places for herself. And yet there was also something so interesting and honestly quite lovely about seeing the past through the eyes of someone who could not make that journey. It was also incredibly funny.
Uncle John liked to point and laugh at archaeologists, but she knew her parents understood her curiosity and joy, which was what really mattered.
“Poppy!”
Poppy startled from where she had been daydreaming when Amena slammed into her room, out of breath.
“Amena, what’s wrong?” Poppy asked in alarm. She had never seen Amena looking so frantic.
“It’s my second mom. Something went wrong while she was on her survey. Another team on the planet tried to kill everyone else there, trying to illegally mine alien remnants.” Amena explained, speaking a mile a minute and somewhat out of breath.
Poppy gasped in shock. She was not as close with Ayda as she was with Tano and Farai, but she still cared about the older woman and was friendly with the rest of the people who had gone with her survey team. She had actually wanted to go herself, but despite the fact that she was nearly 18 her mother had forbidden her from going. To be fair, the Corporation Rim and the various planets under its control was a dangerous place. There was a reason that her parents had decided to raise her on Preservation and not within the Rim itself despite it being prominent in this era.
Part of her wanted to call up her dad and demand he take her to go see Ayda and the rest of the survey machine. A more logical part of her, however, realized just how bad an idea that would be.
One of the few downsides about living on Preservation was the intense lack of diversity in terms of its life forms. At some point before the creation of the corporation rim, the humans who had formed that society completely cut themselves off from all other alien life forms. Their early xenophobia had led to a society that had no substantial records of a time before when humans, if not co-existed, at least had a cultural understanding that other species existed. Also lost was the ability to travel instantly through time and space the way that a TARDIS was capable of. She needed more details before she could decide on a course of action.
“Is she okay now? Is everyone on the team alright?” Poppy asked worriedly.
“I think so. There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries. Apparently they were saved by their SecUnit. My second mom purchased its contract, so it’s going to live with us now that she’ll be its guardian.”
Poppy held back a grimace at the mention of the SecUnit. Not because she had any inherent dislike of it as a person—she did her best to never dislike someone just because of what species or manner of person they were. But the existence of SecUnits discomforted her, as did any mention of enslaved sentient creatures. It went against every fiber of her being to let it continue. Nevertheless, she knew she could not change an entire society overnight. Hopefully by studying the history of Preservation and the Corporation Rim she could help create a better future.
—
“Mum, is dad around?” Poppy asked as she walked into the kitchen where Belinda was making lunch. “I wanted his help with something.”
“You just missed him, love,” Belinda responded with a sympathetic smile. “What’s going on, can I help?”
“I’m not sure,” Poppy sighed, slumping into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “Amena and I were just talking. Have you seen the news about her second mom?”
“No, I haven’t looked at the news cycle recently, been trying to unplug as it were. What’s wrong with Ayda?” Belinda turned away from the pot she had been stirring.
“Someone tried to kill the whole PresAux team. All the news is pointing to corporate sabotage. The team’s okay though, their SecUnit saved them.”
“See now this is exactly the sort of reason why we don’t want you heading off into the corporation rim on your own,” Belinda pointed with her soup spoon and pursed lips.
“Mum, I’ve been to much worse places than the Corporation Rim. Besides, they made it out okay even without Dad around to save the day. You’ve raised me well enough that I’d be okay too,” Poppy argued.
“Arguing that we should let you go off on your own because your best friend’s second mom almost died, is not the flex you think it is, Poppy.”
“Alright, I’ll admit that was not my best opening. But come on it’s not like I’m asking to go into a warzone—”
Belinda coughed “Fifteenth birthday.”
“We agreed not to talk about that,” Poppy replied, hands on her hips.
“Sorry, continue with your impassioned speech that you’re attempting to change my mind with.”
“I feel like you’re not taking me seriously,” Poppy scowled.
“Pops, you know I always take you seriously. But I’m also not going to make a big decision without your father around to weigh in. He and I are a team, you know that,” Belinda replied, touching Poppy’s shoulder gently.
“Where did he go, anyway?” Poppy asked, turning away from Belina and flopping into one of the kitchen chairs.
“He got a call from Kate, some UNIT thing, I don’t know. Needed the Doctor’s expertise or something, I wasn’t paying attention,” Belinda waved her hand dismissively and went back to her soup.
“And she couldn’t ask Uncle John because…?”
“John continues to insist that he is retired,” Belinda replied before grabbing a spoon and scooping up some of the soup. “Come here and taste this.”
Poppy obediently walked over to fulfill her duties of official taste tester. “It’s good, but add a bit more garlic maybe? Just to add a bit of zip. And Uncle John is as retired as Uncle Jack, which is to say, not at all.”
Belinda got another spoon to taste the soup herself. “You’re right, garlic would be a good addition. In any case, your father promised that it will be a quick trip, and that if something timey-wimey happens—”
“Which is pretty much a given.”
“—he’ll make it up to you.”
—
The Doctor flitted around the console with his usual frenetic energy, flipping switches in ways that went above almost everyone’s head—aside from the other Doctor, who was leaning against the railing and watching with a mix of amusement and mild concern. He hadn’t wanted to be here, he was retired but when his other self had asked for help, he wasn’t exactly about to refuse.
“No, I’m telling you, that’s not how it works!” Donna glared at Rose, her arms crossed.
“Oh, so now you’re the expert,” Rose grinned.
“Oi, don’t look at me!” the Doctor who had been leaning against the railing held his hands up in defense, “I’ve watched your mum argue with Daleks.”
“And win,” the doctor at the console grinned.
Suddenly the TARDIS shuddered violently. The lights flickered, and the central column groaned as though in pain.
“That’s not right, what’s going on babes?” The Doctor at the console touched its central column in concern.
“We’re being pulled!” The other Doctor rushed forward, and just as he touched the console there was a brilliant flash, and they were gone.
—
Rose blinked her eyes open to see that they were in a void-like expanse of endless shifting corridors, fractured mirrors and half-formed landscapes. The sky? Ceiling? Pulsed with eerie, unstable energy.
“Where…” she coughed. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere we shouldn’t be,” Donna replied, tense.
The Doctors exchanged a look that ROse could not quite decipher before both pulling out their sonic screwdrivers. There was a whirr and a spark from each device before they fizzled out.
“No signal, no TARDIS. No way to call for help.”
“We’ve been cut off. Properly.”
A distant, distorted voice echoed around them—unrecognizable, almost mocking. The corridors shifted, walls closing in.
“Right.” Donna said sharply. “So we’re stuck in a nightmare maze with no way out. Brilliant.”
“But we’ve got two Doctors,” Rose said nervously. “How bad can it be?”
The Doctors shared another look—this time, deadly serious.
“That might be exactly why we are here,” the Doctor grimaced.
“Something wanted us together,” the Doctor nodded in agreement, “and now it’s got us.”
The ground shakes—something huge moved in the distance. The four braced themselves as the dimension itself seemed to laugh at them. Cautiously they moved through the maze of ever-changing corridors, the walls breathing like living things as strange, half-formed shadows flitted at the edges of their vision.
“OK, I take it back,” Rose whispered. “This is properly bad.”
“Told you,” Donna muttered.
The Doctor pressed a hand against one of the shifting mirrors—but his reflection didn’t move. Instead, it stared back at him with a cold, knowing smile. The Doctor backed up sharply, knocking into Donna. “Oi, watch it, spaceman!” she snapped, at the same time that he shakily said “Ohhhh, yeah that is, not good.”
The other Doctor peered into another mirror. “Same here. My reflection just winked at me.” Nevertheless, the Doctor could not help but wink back. It was in his nature.
“Maybe it’s just happy to see you?” Rose laughed nervously.
Suddenly the reflections stepped forward—pushing through the glass like it was liquid, four twisted doppelgangers now standing before them, their eyes dark, their grins too wide.
“Oh, Donna Noble, aren’t you a little old to be doing all this running around?” Donna’s double mocked.
“Oh I hate you already,” Donna replied with gritted teeth. “Doctor, why do you keep taking me to places with freaky doubles of myself.”
“Well, you can’t blame me for that one, it was all him,” the Doctor gestured at his other self.
“If I recall correctly that happened before you split and therefore I am holding both of you accountable,” Donna snapped.
“Well, she’s got us there,” the Doctor shrugged before turning to his double. “Let me guess—you’re the part of me that broods too much?”
His reflection chuckled darkly. “No, I’m the part that lets himself remember the time war. Remember all the people you left behind, living a life in hiding, in fear, who sacrificed his people in service of genocide only to have failed at that too.”
The Doctor looked stricken, only for his other self to scoff in the face of his counterpart’s double. “Maybe we failed to kill the Daleks, but we weren’t the one who killed the Time Lords. That was the Master.”
“The Master who you continue to love, despite all the wrongs they have done you,” the Doctor’s double crooned. “Despite all your other loves that you’ve left behind, to rot. River in the library. Rogue in the hell dimension. You never did find him Doctor, you let him slide in the pit, even as he waited for you.”
“Shut up,” the Doctor snapped. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”
“They always wait, until they are dust, and you never. come. home.”
“Oh and let’s not forget Rosie,” Rose’s double’s voice crooned in sweet cruelty. “Why are you even here? What have you ever accomplished for yourself? Always following in your mother’s footsteps, the only reason you’re even in UNIT is because your family, but what have you ever done for them? You don’t even have a family of your own yet, because who would ever want you?”
Rose’s fists clench but before she can retort the Doctor’s exchange yet another look, one of them grabbing Donna’s hand while the other grabbed Rose’s.
“Right, that’s enough of that then—run!”
As they bolted away, the reflections gave chase, their laughter echoing unnaturally, chasing them from not only behind but through their mirrored reflections as the maze twisted, trying to capture them.
Suddenly the Doctor skidded to a stop, grabbing his fellow Doctor’s leather coat. “This maze… it’s a mirror.”
“Yes, a psychic funhouse! It’s feeding on our doubts!”
“So what do we do, just stop doubting ourselves?” Donna asked, incredulous.
“Or we could,” Rose began, breathless, “laugh at them!”
The Doctor abruptly turned to his reflection. “Oh nooooo, you’re so scary. What’s next, you’re gonna tell me I’ve got bad hair? Because let me tell you, as a reflection you don’t hold a candle to what I really look like.” The Doctor gave the most disrespectful up and down of the reflection that he possibly could.
“Oi look, mine’s got wrinkles! Bet he’s really insecure about that, stuck all by himself with only his negative reflection to look in on.
The reflections were starting to flicker, their edges blurring.
“Mine’s just a knockoff. I’m the original Donna, this is just a cheap copy!” Donna added.
“Any real reflection of me would know that I’m perfectly happy with who I am!” Rose shouted. “I don’t need a relationship or kids, or anyone else to be true to myself!”
With a shriek of distortion the reflections shattered, the maze collapsing around them and reality rippling. There was silence as they stood in a white void, before a wheezing sound greeted them, and the TARDIS materialized in front of them, doors flying open.
The door was flung open, and Martha leaned out, beckoning them with her hand. “Well come on, then! Thought we’d lost you! I go to make a cup of tea and you all go disappearing from the middle of the console room!”
“Martha Jones, you are a star,” the Doctor grinned.
“And don’t you forget it, Mister!”
They piled into the TARDIS and breathed a sigh of relief when it dematerialized, leaving the fractured dimension behind.
The mood was anything but relaxed as they regrouped into the safety of the TARDIS—safe in theory, anyway. It had not stopped them from being snatched earlier. One Doctor was furiously recalibrating the console, while the other paced like a caged tiger. Donna, Rose, and Martha exchanged uneasy glances.
“Whatever that dimension was, it wasn’t natural,” Martha grimaced as she checked over the TARDIS’s readings. “It was constructed—like a spider’s web.”
“And we were the flies,” the Doctor added grimly.
The Doctor ceased his pacing. “No. Not us. Me.”
The Doctor looked up, realization dawning. “Oh,” he breathed softly. “Oh that’s clever.”
“What is?” Donna asked, slightly lost.
“It wasn’t just any trap,” Martha caught on, horrified. “It was designed for him.”
The Doctor exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Because I’m the one who shouldn’t exist. Living on after regeneration. A mistake.”