David Tennant and the Multiverse of Insanity

by ShinGodzilla98

Summary:

David Tennant, fresh from his time performing Macbeth at the Harold Pinter Theatre, is suddenly thrust into the world of Rivals! He and loyal fan, Sheryl Silverman, have to help navigate Corinium Studios, figuring out how to reactivate the mysterious object that sent them crashing into the presence of Lord Tony Baddingham so suddenly. There's a lot at stake as David and Sheryl work to solve the mystery!

Chapter 1: Reliving the 80s

David Tennant and the Multiverse of Insanity

Chapter 1: Reliving the 80s

   London, England, 2024. Harold Pinter Theater was sold out. David's performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth captivated audiences from around the world along with his amazing co-stars. Sheryl was at the forefront of the audience, getting a front-row view of the entire thing, even feeling very light spray from the actors at times when they'd gotten thrown around or had a horrible aim with their spitting scenes. The sight of her favorite actor of all time being right in front of her was a dream come true. David was on his final scene of Macbeth, wowing the crowd with the final act. After the completion of the story, he gathered on stage with the other actors, standing by the wonderful Cush Jumbo, and taking his bows with the audience to the sound of applause for their hard work. It wasn't an easy life, even for a hardcore fan of Shakespeare. 

   David heads backstage and begins to clean up from his stage outfit, changing into a fresh set of jeans, shirt, sweater and a light overcoat. He dons his glasses, now finally able to see clearly and says his goodbyes to his fellow actors, even giving a little hug to young Casper on the way out. After leaving, he sees the crowd of fans gathering, wanting to sign a few autographs and briefly speak with a few. Who knew that one of those fans would change his life forever! Sure, some were simps, wanting to be close to their celebrity crush... Some were also fans of Shakespeare... Some genuinely admired and looked up to the man before them and wanted a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He was happy to speak with them all though, keeping a good light when in public. He was always seen as a kind and caring individual to his fans.

"So, ye enjoy the show?" David asks as he got to Sheryl and begins to sign a Macbeth program.

"Yes sir. You were all amazing. Well-worth the trip from America." Sheryl replies, a bit star-struck at the tall Scotsman before her.

"Well, thank yeh very much an' safe travels to yeh. I hope ye'll have time to do a bit of travelin' before ye have teh leave here." David returns as he finishes the signature and hands her the program back.

"I certainly will. Thank you for everything you do for us. I really appreciate it and I hope you're giving yourself time to rest in between. Please don't burn yourself out for our sake." She continues. Being a former medic, she knows the price of overworking yourself personally, and wouldn't want to see her favorite actors get hurt.

"Oh, thank ye for yer concern. I assure you that my wife makes me take breaks. Take care an' thanks for comin' by teh see us." David finishes with a smile and walks away to finish up with his fans. 

   The Scotsman eventually finishes his fan interactions, now ready to drive home and enjoy some fresh cooking from his wife, Georgia. He gets into his car, ready to drive home and spend time with his family, but when he inserts his key to turn on the ignition, nothing happens. Nothing is turning on in the car, and he hadn't even noticed the dome light that didn't turn on when he initially entered the vehicle. "Oh, come on! Not now..." He says to himself, trying to start the car again, but failing. "Well, this is utter shite." David pulls his phone out, ready to phone Georgia and calls her. "Yeah, something is wrong with the car. I hate to ask, but can ye have Ty watch the kids and come pick me up? I'll phone for a tow in the morrow." He asks his wife. "Sure, I'll be right down. Hang tight." She replies, but before they can finish their talk, David sees something in the distance.

"Georgia, I think I see somethin' in front of me..." He says over the phone, leavin' his wife a bit concerned.

"David, just stay in your car, I'm comin' right over." Georgia returns, grabbing her keys and begins to head out to the car.

   Suddenly, the light David saw got closer, and closer, until it finally crash lands right in front of the car. The streetlights go out, along with the electricity to all the nearby buildings of the West End. David's heart is pounding in his chest as his curiosity begins to peak. He looks around, noticing that not too many people were around, but returns his gaze upon the mysterious object. He cautiously approaches, testing out the saying of 'curiosity killed the cat' with each step. He looks into the small crater in the middle of the street, seeing a feint teal glow. It was almost as if his time as The Doctor was, for now, a reality in his head. Of course, The Doctor himself would want to investigate if this happened in the show. 

"Babe, what's goin' on? Talk to me." Georgia speaks up, worried about the lingering silence over the phone. "I thought I heard a bit of a crash. Are you alright?" She was beginning to panic slightly, pressing a tad harder on the acceleration pedal. 

   David reaches the object, crouching down, not feeling any heat radiating from it. Many scenarios from Doctor Who are running through his mind, wanting to investigate further. Suddenly, he's surprised from behind. "FUCK!" He yells out, falling onto his ass from the surprise, still clutching the phone in his hand, but accidentally pressing the hangup option. "Babe? David?.... Is everything okay? David? David!" Georgia frantically calls out, hearing her husband shout and then suddenly disconnect. Her nerves were really shot now as she gets closer to the Harold Pinter Theatre, the car's tires now screeching into turns.

"Shit, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you were hurt from...whatever this thing was." Sheryl says, holding a hand out to help the actor up, though David didn't see the hand, simply looking at his phone and realizing he hung up on his wife.

"Shit, she's goin' teh kill me for that." He says, breathing heavily and his heart is still pounding, though beginning to slow. He puts his phone into his pocket, figuring Georgia was due in at any second and begins to look at the object, now on his hands and knees.

   Sheryl crouches down at his side, wanting to know more about this object, crystalline in appearance and about the size of an American football. "What do you think it is? This is almost like it's right out of Doctor Who or something? Definitely something I hadn't planned on experiencing during my stay here..." 

   David extends his hand towards the object slowly, still not detecting any heat. "DT, I don't think you should do that..." Sheryl says to David, having seen enough sci-fi movies and shows to know it's a bad idea to touch something like this. "One lil' poke shouldn't hurt anythin', eh?" David responds, finally lightly touching the object. "It's... It's cold." He says, poking it a bit more firmly, deciding to do something rash and pick it up. "And light too." He continues, standing with the object in his hands. Sheryl looks at the object, feeling something a bit off. "DT, I got a bad feeling about this. Put it back down and we'll call London Metro. They'll know what to do or can call someone that can handle this." Sheryl goes on, feeling like her hair was standing up on her body, almost like static electricity. David could feel it too, even feeling a bit tingly on his hands.

   Georgia arrives in the other family car, but her car also dies as soon as she gets close to them. Frustrated that she too will now need a tow, she gets out of the car and begins to approach David and Sheryl, her face concerned, but glad to see David is okay after the scare. "Babe, are you okay? What happened?" Georgia calls out as she begins to carefully navigate all the cracks in the street to approach her husband. Suddenly, the object begins to glow a bright blue color in David's hands. "David, put that down! NOW!" She shouts, but before David could suddenly release it, it begins to crackle with electricity, spreading to both David and Sheryl, who was still standing right beside him and briefly distracted by Georgia Tennant's arrival. Both David and Sheryl begin to tense and shout from the current being sent throughout their bodies, and then a bright light suddenly flashes, stunning Georgia and lighting up the entire street. As quickly as the light appeared, it disappeared, along with both David Tennant and Sheryl Silverman.

   Georgia finally regained her senses after a couple of seconds, suddenly not seeing the presence of David, nor the mysterious woman that was beside him. Panic was now really setting in. "DAVID! DAVID!" She calls out, desperately looking for her husband. She pulls out her phone, wanting to use the flashlight feature, but her phone was now dead too. "SHIT!" All that remained was a darkened street and silence in the immediate vicinity. Her husband and this mysterious woman had now disappeared before her eyes.

   Cotswalds Region, England, 1987. David and Sheryl suddenly appear on the streets of a beautiful countryside, both people briefly collapsing from the sudden pain of the shock and the transport, laying on the ground and the object falls in between them both. Groaning and finally moving after a couple of seconds, David is the first to rise to a sitting position, looking at his surroundings and then to Sheryl at his side, still out of it. "Shit..." He says to himself, leaning over to press a couple of fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse to see if she was still alive. Finding a pulse, he gives her a light shake. "Hey, wake up." He says, finally stirring Sheryl awake. He then looks back at the object, which isn't emitting a glow anymore and he's no longer feeling the static-like feeling around it. Sheryl rises to a sitting position as well, looking down at the object and then back at David.

   "DT, what happened? Did we seriously get... transported???" She asks, once again scanning her surroundings. She has a strange feeling that she's seen this exact scene before. "This area looks... strangely familiar." She continues as David rises to his feet, extending a hand and helping Sheryl stand as well. Both individuals dust themselves off, then David looks at his surroundings. "Well, this area is certainly familiar to me. I was here when I filmed the Rivals series." He says, thinking back to his time in this area of the UK. "Rivals? Yes, that's it. This was supposed to be the Cotswalds region, right?" Sheryl mentions, recalling scenes and locations from one of her favorite shows. "Heh, maybe we'll run into Rupert Campbell-Black or somethin'." She jokes, trying to find a little light in their situation. 

   David was a bit unimpressed, giving her the "Alec Hardy" glare, but then finally lets out a light chuckle himself. "I ken you may be correct. At least I'd have an easier time if this be truly the Cotswalds region." He then continues, leaning down to pick up the object, inspecting it. "This thing sent us here, but I ken whatever energy it used was spent by the transport." He continues, beginning to sound like he was The Doctor. "Hmm, maybe you're right." Sheryl responds, hearing something in the distance. A car is seen in the distance and pulls up. It was an older car, but had a ginger man driving it. He definitely looked familiar to me as he rolled his window down. 

   "Tony? What in the blazes are you doing out here? Did your car break down on you?" The man asks. Sheryl looks at David, then back at the man. David looks just as confused. "Antony? Is that you?" David asks, thinking the man was his Rivals co-star. "Who the hell is Antony?! Get in the car Tony, we got a situation at the station. I'll run you by The Falconry so you can change." He says, giving me a look of confusion. "Who's this?" Ginger asks. "Erm...she's... my new station medic?" David replies, looking not totally confident in his answer, but he plays along for now. "Fine, get in." Ginger replies, letting both David and Sheryl into his car. It was the exact car from the show too. Sheryl listens in on the music playing on the radio, noticing it was definitely dated. She pulls her phone slightly from her pocket and sees it's still dead and will be completely useless. She leans back into the backseat, looking at David on the passenger side.

   "Erm... Is there something going on that I don't ken about? This has to be a prank..." David says to Ginger, his expression clearly one of surprise and confusion. David looks around, thinking he's being taken to a set location, knowing Rivals Season 2 was due to be filming soon. "Bloody Alex or Aiden. Maybe even Claire. This has to be one of them." David continues, Ginger looking even more puzzled at the names. "Tony, are you okay? And when did you start having a bloody Scottish accent? Maybe I should cancel this meeting and have Joyce reschedule it." Ginger continues, shaking his head in disbelief. David looks at Sheryl in the backseat a bit wide-eyed, shrugging at her. "Okay?... Umm, I was just trying it out, I guess. My...son gave me this stupid dare. Just get me home and I'll see how I feel after I change." David says, now using his English accent from the show. 

   As they approach the Falconry, David and Sheryl exit the car with Ginger opting to remain inside the vehicle. David looks around at the familiar setting, entering through the door as if he truly had been living there. "It's... like I'm playing him all over again. This can't be real. That thing killed me, it did. I ken it did." David says as he runs a hand through his hair, going up the stairs to Tony's room with Sheryl following behind. The entire time, David was hoping this was all just a prank from his Rivals co-stars or that he truly was just dreaming, and he'd simply wake up at Georgia's side in bed. He still can't get the image of her panicked face out of his mind, even in the very brief moment he'd witnessed before the shock took him over and he slammed his eyes shut. 

"DT, is everything okay?" Sheryl asks. 

"This is... all just unbelievable. I feel like I'm on set again." David responds, pulling out one of Tony's suits from the closet. He's trying not think about his family, though he was considering the possibility that he may be trapped here in this wild world of his latest show. "These even feel like the ones I've worn on set."

"Well, just play along for now. Who knows? Maybe everyone will surprise you in the end. I'm honestly just excited to be here. I've always wanted to be a part of the show." Sheryl returns, smiling and heading for the door. "I'll be having a look around. I am wondering where Lady Monica and the dogs are?"

   David was curious as to where Claire was with the dogs he remembered from the set. Even his on-screen son. After Sheryl had left the room, he took another look at the dark blue suit with the pin stripes, the red tie. Even Tony Baddingham's gold ring with the red Corinium logo on it. He shook his head and slipped it on, now taking on the role of Tony Baddingham once more. David walks downstairs after donning the attire of the Corinium Television station manager, his hair now done up and styled as such. Sheryl was just re-entering the main lobby from the living room, looking David up and down. "Wow, it's like I really am on set. And to think I had only just seen your Macbeth performance tonight. Now I'm watching a live performance of Rivals." She says, crossing her arms and was clearly starstruck. 

   "If this was Alex pulling another prank, I'll make sure to pay him back later. Well, let's head to the station then and see what Antony's up to." David says, adjusting his cuffs and tie one last time and exits. "When we get there, I'll see about having some Corinium attire delivered to you." Sheryl nods and they both get inside Ginger's car and head off to Corinium. The ride there felt awkward, and the two oddballs scanned the town for all the 1980s and earlier vehicles there. The fashion was also definitely of the 1980s and the music as well.

   As the car pulled into the car park of Corinium Television, David exits the car, noticing Tony's familiar red car already in his parking space. Ginger heads inside as both David and Sheryl look at the giant slow-spinning logo on the front lawn. David looks between that and the front entrance to Corinium Television, his heart pounding and sweat beginning to form on his brow. "You got this DT. You're Lord Tony friggin Baddingham! The King of Corinium! Just act like Tony, like you have before. We'll see what's up later. Maybe I could help ask around and gather some answers? Also, where did you put the you-know-what?" Sheryl asks, trying to help give David a peptalk, seeing his anxiety beginning to emerge. "Uhh, it's locked inside my...Tony's room. It's safe." He answers, opening the door for Sheryl, but Sheryl quickly takes a hold of the door almost in an emergent manner.

   "Tony is a misogynist, remember? Plus, he's the boss. You first." Sheryl instructs, reminding David of Tony's mannerisms from the show, especially when he's at the office. "Right. Thanks." David replies, heading inside, being greeted by the front receptionist with Sheryl following close behind, heading into the elevator together. "So, where do the set medics hang out?" Sheryl asks. "Usually on the main floor, down the hall from where the various shows are filmed. Just wait for me in Tony's office until I come to find you." David replies just before the elevator door opens, and the all-to-familiar set of the main Corinium offices appear before them with the giant "CORINIUM" sign hung high, overlooking the employees. Sheryl heads towards where Tony's office is, trying to look like she belongs there. Joyce, Tony's secretary, looks up briefly and greets her, just assuming it was Tony's next meeting showing up according to her schedule book.

   Meanwhile, David heads to the conference room just down the hall, Ginger waiting with an envelope in his hand. "Right, so, what's this situation you've dragged me all the way back here for?" David asks Ginger, using Tony's tone and English accent as if he were acting in the role again, trying to look annoyed. "Well, you sent me out to spy on everyone, remember? I got some information you might want to see." Ginger says, pulling out photos of Cameron Cook and Rupert Campbell-Black walking into Cameron's flat together, hand-in-hand. "Campbell-Black and Cameron have been seen together on multiple occasions. She's working with those Venturer swine, Tony..." Ginger continues. David chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Okay, tell me what's REALLY going on. This is all just a prank, innit? I don't remember this being in any script." David answers, being dismissive about the situation. "Tony, this isn't a bloody script! Cameron is fucking Rupert." Ginger sternly reinforces. "Thanks Ginger. I'll take it from here." David simply replies, taking the pictures from Ginger's hands. "Anything else? Also, I'll need a set of station medic attire delivered to my office for the new hire." He finishes, a stunned Ginger simply nodding his head and departing the room. "David shakes his head, looking at the pictures again, thinking these were just unused pictures of Alex Hassell and Nafeesa Williams from the set that were never used. He sits in a nearby chair, looking around the room. The feeling of being back on the Rivals set hadn't yet fully sunk in. "Well, one scene down, I suppose. But where's the bloody cameras? Where's the lighting equipment? The production crew? This is all wrong..." David says to himself.

   Sheryl waits in the char in front of Tony's desk, looking across at the Corinium ram head model on the counter. She then turns her attention to Tony's desk stuff, noting how it looked exactly as it did on the show. Suddenly, she hears a familiar voice outside the door, and then the sound of the door opening. She turns and stands to see David standing in front of her, but he wasn't wearing the same attire he was when they arrived at the station. He had his coat off and was sporting his white undershirt, his gold arm cuffs, dark blue tie, and his red suspenders. Even the hairstyle was slightly different. "Oh? Changed, have you?" Sheryl says to him, giving the man a smirk as she crossed her arms.

   "Who the bloody hell are YOU? You aren't my next appointment?!" Tony scoffs, especially at the obvious disrespect she was showing to Corinium's main boss. The realization hit. The REAL Tony Baddingham was standing before her. This wasn't David Tennant. "F-fuck..." She thought in her head. "I-I'm Sh-Sheryl Silverman. The new head Station Medic, sir. I guess HR thought I should meet the main boss, and well... I thought I had seen you earlier." Sheryl replies, trying her best to fix the situation she was now in. "Get the fuck out of my office and just do your bloody job. Preferably NOT in whatever the fuck you currently got on. Welcome to Corinium." Tony snarkly replies, gesturing for her to leave. "JOYCE, bring my ACTUAL next appointment in!" He shouts to his secretary as I promptly left the office, running into Ginger as I exited, who handed me a uniform to wear. Ginger looks at Tony confused. "Tony, did you change?" He says, Tony looking not at all impressed at his asking the same question as the new girl. "You too? I swear, has everyone gone bloody mad today?! This isn't the correct time for such stupid fucking questions. I need to have a little chat with our Director of Programs, so have Cameron Cook sent to my office, NOW." He commands Ginger quickly departing to look for her. Tony was clearly having one of those days, though he did feel a bit odd. 

   As Sheryl departs the office, she quickly spots David down the hall. She runs to him, dragging him into a nearby storage room. "Bloody hell woman!" David shouts at the sudden grab as Sheryl flips the light switch on. "Whatever happened to playing along?" He continues, his brows raised in surprised and slight annoyance. "DT, you're not going to believe this... I just ran into Tony! TONY BADDINGHAM! The REAL TONY!" She loudly whispers as she locked the door to avoid interruptions. "I swear, it was like a carbon friggin copy!" She continues, though David didn't look amused. "There's no way yeh ran into me in that office. I was just on me way back." David replied, back in his Scottish accent for the time being. "Look, new set photos of Nafeesa and Alex." He says, holding the photos up with a dorky smile on his face. Sheryl takes the pictures, flipping through them and looks back up at David as if she were making that "....really?" face. "This is nothing new. We both know her and Rupert been messing around on the show. Heck, who HASN'T Rupert been with at this point?" She continues, to a chuckle from David. "I suppose you're correct about that. Quite the wanker. Antony's REALLY into his character today, along with everyone else in here. But I haven't seen one single set camera, boom mic, nor any production staff. I ken there's something more to this." David continues, in a thinking gesture with his hand on his chin, his thumb brushing over his freshly shaved skin. "How was the real Tony then? Does he... really look like me? Like voice, face an' such?" He asks, genuinely curious if he had a twin in the same building as him. "He was an asshole, just like he was in the show. He gave me some strong words before kicking me out of his office, but Ginger did give me a uniform. I suppose now I can look legit and begin going around to ask questions. But everything in my gut is telling me that this is the REAL world of Rivals. Keep your head up and stay aware. We can't let you and Tony see each other." Sheryl continues with David nodding his head.

   "Right, like those paradoxes I always mentioned in Doctor Who. Oooo, this means ole Sylvester McCoy is currently The Doctor!" David continues, a bit more enthusiastic about this potential that they actually time-traveled. "I guess, but we got bigger problems, like how to get back to our own universe and you can get back to your family." David's heart shrunk at Sheryl's words. Now reminded that his family is currently without him, and Georgia was left traumatized by what she probably witnessed that night. His wife, his five kids, and their two dogs were definitely worried about him. Surely, even the media could be reporting David Tennant being missing by now, probably making national headlines due to his popularity around the world. "You're right. I apologize. So, we just work through this day, and at the end of the day we simply get back to my...erm...home, and figure out how to get the crystal to send us back?" David asks. "That's the spirit. We can handle this. It's just one day right?" She replies, the two seem to be in better spirits and more confident about the situation. "Right. Back to bein' ol' Tony then." David says, now back in his British accent as he straightens out his attire. "Umm, the real Tony is in different attire though. Just be careful." Sheryl reminds him as David nods and opens the door to leave, leaving Sheryl alone in the storage room to change into her new Corinium medic uniform. 

   The gossip was spreading like wildfire. That there was something up with Tony, and that he'd seemed more aggressive than normal today. Even poor Joyce was confused at seeing her boss in multiple areas of the office and in different attires. Eventually, it came time to air another round of How to Stay Married with James and Lizzie Vereker and David's world was about to collide. 

   David enters Cameron's office to use her computer after she'd left to go handle the show. He was really confused about how to operate a 1987 based operating system. "Well, this is utter shite. And me own phone isn't even werkin'." He says to himself in his original Scottish accent, pulling out his phone, still not seeing any signal on it and decides to turn it off to save battery. He definitely wasn't finding one in this timeline. Suddenly, Cameron Cook appears through the other side of the door, seeing her shadow walk up through the window. "Shit..." He whispers to himself, quickly getting out of the chair and hiding his work, just before Cameron enters. "Tony? What are you doing? It's time to begin the show." Cameron says, wearing her form-fitting red blazer with red skirt. "Right, let's go then and get this over with. I might be leavin' a bit early tonight anyway." He says, strolling out of the door with Cameron following close behind, trying to remember how to get to the set's control room.

   David casually lets Cameron walk slightly ahead of him to avoid being caught. But as they entered the control room, his gut felt like it gotten punched. Tony Baddingham was already inside the control room, smoking his cigar when he glanced over towards Cameron. "About fucking time Cameron. Let's begin." Tony commands, only seeing Cameron initially due to David's quick reaction and stepped back out of the control room before Tony could notice him. "Wait... Tony?" Cameron says, looking at Tony with a surprised look and then back towards the doorway where David once stood. David quickly ran into a nearby room and closed the door behind him, hiding from sight right before Cameron looked outside the control room, scanning in each direction before popping back into the room. "That was weird, I was just walking with you..." Cameron says as she re-entered the control room with Tony looking perplexed and then he let out a huff. "Cameron, what the fuck are you on about? Do your job, we have the committee watching in the crowd tonight. We need this to run flawlessly." Tony instructs, folding a leg over his other as he sat back in his chair, taking another drag.

"Shit, that was close." David says to himself, his clutched hand over his heart and beginning to sweat from the near-miss.

    He leans against the wall and closes his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. Fatigue was starting to set in now, and David was beginning to feel the effects of it. His body was getting weak from lack of sleep and food after being yanked into the 1980s after his Macbeth performance and he needed to at least grab something to snack on. Realizing that he was very much trapped in the fictional world of Rivals, he carefully peeks outside the door of his room, wanting to be more cautious, especially after his near-run-in with the real Tony. David then heads back to Tony's office, passing by a still-confused Joyce as she took another double-take at her boss. This was basically like being back on set, right? This was something he asked himself in his head. He was a professional actor; he could handle this. At least this was also a recent show too, so it wasn't like he was out of touch with Tony's persona. When he sat by Tony's desk, he saw a file that he recognizes as the Corinium file to keep the television license for the region. Today was the big day of the arguments between Corinium and Venturer. Meaning, Tony was definitely going to be in quite the mood today. It also meant the confrontation between he and Cameron would be happening soon too, something David was not looking forward to experiencing for real. 

   He now has the timeline of events he's mixed up in, and he was sure Sheryl had probably figured it out by now. David gets up from the chair and heads to his secretary. "Joyce. I need my new station medic up here to have a little chat." He instructs with Joyce quickly pulling up the phone to make the call. He shuts the door and returns to his seat and stares at the little Newton's Cradle on his desk, flipping two of the balls out to get it going. He scans the office, noting how extremely accurate everything was. The reality was beginning to sink in even more. Even the local newspaper had the year set in 1987. His face flushed pink at thinking where he was in 1987, and suddenly recalled his anti-smoking ad he'd done for the Glasgow Health Board. He even sported a rad mullet during those days. God, if only he could see his 16-year-old self again. David shook his head and laughed at the thought. He sees Tony's remote and decides to turn on the telly, seeing the live filming of Vereker's show. "I cannae believe this is actually the REAL Corinium. I have teh be dreamin'..." David says to himself, leaning an elbow on the top of the desk and resting his head in his hand. He was thinking back to filming on the set of Rivals, trying to recall every bit of detail.

   Suddenly, Sheryl comes into the office with a big smile on her face. "What are you lookin' so happy about?" David says as he straightens himself out in the chair. "I just met your wife... Well, your on-screen wife that is..." Sheryl says. "She was quite nice. She's definitely known about your...I mean, Tony's little affair for quite some time. We got into quite the girls talk." She continues, sitting in the chair in front of the desk. "Ooooh, you should've seen her! It was like meeting Claire Rushbrook herself! And to think I've seen her work with you in Doctor Who before..." 

   "So, I nearly ran into the real Tony." David interrupts, wanting to get her back on the issue at hand. He was starting to become a bit restless, having not slept in quite some time now. "We need teh find somewhere to crash for now. I'm not sure I can keep me eyes open anymore." He continues, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes tight, trying to shake off his fatigue. "Right, well, we can always crash here. I can go get us some food as well, since no one really suspects me here. Too busy deep into their work to notice" Sheryl says. "Also, I might have nicked a few pounds from Penny's bag earlier while he was in the loo." David was surprised and raised his brows at Sheryl. "Ye did what???" He says with a shocked, but almost stern tone, not at all impressed with Sheryl's thievery. "Relax DT, the old bastard deserved every bit of this after what he did in episode 5. At least Declan gave him a bit of that Irish punch..." She responds, rolling her eyes. "Oi, it's still wrong. Even in this false reality we're currently stuck in." David harshly says, leaning forward and giving a stern point in Sheryl's direction, almost as if he were to scold one of his own kids if they ever did the same thing. "Fine, I'll find a way to give it back. But know that we'll need currency from this timeline if we're to get some food." She responds, crossing her arms and furrowing her own brows in his direction stubbornly. Suddenly, David looks up at the telly and notices the show is over and his jaw drops. They got distracted in this heated moment that he'd completely lost his attention to the filming. "Shit! The filming has wrapped!" He says, rushing to the door, leaving Tony's chair pushed away from the desk. Sheryl gets up as well, following David. Then David opens the door and is suddenly frozen in place. Sheryl looks around David's skinny frame and sees none other, than Tony Baddingham himself. "Oh, fuck..." 

   "What...?! What the fuck is this?" Tony says, looking David up and down, almost as if he were looking at his own self in the mirror. His heart was skipping beats, and feeling light-headed. Tony looks at Sheryl for a split second with his jaw slightly dropped and then returned his gaze back to David. "Who are you?! And don't tell me my fucking twin brother." 

   "Erm... uhh..." David starts out, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm... your... body double?" He responds to Tony, using his posh English accent again, though with a bit of a shaky voice. Sheryl pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and shook her head behind him. Tony didn't look impressed at the answer once again, enters the office, sizing David up as he walked around, closing the door behind him. "Don't lie to me you bloody lanky matchstick wanker!" He shouts, getting into David's face. David could practically feel Tony's spit hit his face as he yelled those words out. "Hey, don't speak to..." Sheryl was about to interrupt before Tony immediately interrupted her. "No one was talking to you, darling! So be a good girl and shut the fuck up while us men are talking!" Tony immediately shouts, his finger pointed at her, his gold and red ring visible on his finger. David wasn't going to stand for Tony's misogynistic shit though. He firmly grasps Tony's blazer lapels with his hands and shoves Tony against the wall. His eyes fiery and his gaze resembled that of an angry time lord. "Listen here yeh right lil' piece of shite! You do not get teh speak to her like that again, I dinnae care who the fuck ye are around here!" David snarls at Tony, while Tony's eyes widen at the sheer audacity of this copycat in front of him. "And who the fuck do you think YOU are? You forget who the real boss is around here? I'm Tony fucking Baddingham!" He snaps back, smacking David's hands off him. "You and that fucking bitch of yours need to get the fuck out of Corinium... NOW!"

   It didn't take much, but Tony fucking deserved it, in David's mind. He had been awake far longer than he expected to be, he was hungry, and he wasn't putting up with Tony's shit. David angrily clenched his right fist and swung hard at Tony, connecting square at Tony's left temple, sending him staggering to his side and to the floor. "Listen here, ye right cunt! I'm not here to start trouble! I'm stuck in this world, and I very much would like to return to my own, and to my own family!" David angrily shouts at Tony as he crouched down to Tony's level. Tony rose his hand to his temple his vision blurry at the punch from the angry Scotsman in front of him. He looks up at David, not at all impressed, and seemingly more angry. Sheryl definitely wasn't going to stop David from kicking Tony's ass, finding it amusing, though she stands by the door and listens for anyone approaching. "Well, I don't remember this happening in Rivals..." She says to herself as she watches the two men in front of her. 

    "How fucking DARE YOU!" Tony shouts, swinging at David, but David manages to lean back just enough for Tony to miss completely. David quickly rises to his feet, shoving Tony forward with a foot to Tony's ass in his brief moment on his hands and knees. Tony falls forward, but quickly rose to his feet. David was ready for Tony's next move, ready to throw hands if Tony came at him again. "Dammit Tony! I didnae come here teh fight with you!" David shouts. "You fucking twat! You're with Venturer aren't you?! Those bastards have finally done it! They will NOT win this fucking license! I've already ensured that!" Tony snaps back, his face red with anger and his normally well-groomed hair was a mess, some of it hanging in front of his face. "Let me guess... You swiped Eddie's copy of the Venturer application?" Sheryl says to Tony, her arms crossed. Tony looked at Sheryl in surprise. "How... How the fuck did you know?! You're the mole I've heard about, aren't you?!" Tony scoffs at Sheryl, looking at David and then back at her. "No, Tony. David's right, and I'm getting a tad impatient myself." Sheryl says and then David relaxes his stance. "Right. We both ken to your plans an' we want no part in it. Only to return to our own homes." David adds as Tony slowly heads to his chair behind his desk and slowly sits in it, still covering his left temple. Sheryl sees the two men beginning to relax and she leaves the office, wanting to go fetch an ice pack for the Corinium boss. "I'll be back. You two behave, for your own sakes." She adds right before she closes the door behind her.

   "So, you're not with Venturer." Tony says as he continues to inspect David, feeling like he's in a bad dream. He reaches into a drawer of his desk and pulls put a cigar, lighting it and taking a drag. "So, you're obviously not with that Irish traitor, Declan. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Tony continues, puffing out some smoke from his mouth. David sits in the chair opposite from Tony in front of the desk, folding one of his legs over his other and rests his intertwined hands in his lap. "I am you... sort of. I'm David Tennant, an actor." David answers, his demeanor now calm, though guarded. "An actor? I've never heard of you, heh." Tony snorts and takes another drag from his cigar. "You may look...a TAD like me. But that doesn't make you me." Tony continues dismissively. "Aye, it sounds quite mad, but it's the truth. I'll even prove it. I ken ye've been shaggin' up with Cameron Cook." David says, and then Tony chuckles. "Who at Corinium doesn't know at this point. People here don't think I'm not aware of the office gossip? Ginger tells me everything." Tony says, nonchalant about Davids...proof. 

   "Yeah? Well, how about you nickin' Venturer's application at ol' Freddie's place? Or how ye've been plannin' teh leave Monica to marry Cameron? OR even how ye covered up what happened teh Daisey?" David saying that last part with a flare of anger. Even recalling acting during that part disgusted him greatly, but he knew he had to get through to Tony somehow. Tony definitely looked ticked at that last bit, pausing his cigar smoking and angrily glared at David. "Oh, that last bit got to ye, eh?" David says with a smirk. "Now, you listen teh me. I need yer help. I have this...thing. It sent me and that wee lass crashing inteh here. We'd very much like to return to where we came from, and then we'd be out of yer hair." David finishes.

   Tony ponders David's words, taking another drag from his cigar and puffing it off to his side. "You seriously expect me to believe you? Especially after your pitiful attempt to blackmail me? I didn't get to where I am from letting others get the higher ground, so let's get that straight." Tony snarls, snuffing out his cigar and leaning forward on his desk. "You need help getting back to wherever the fuck you came from? Well, I want to take down those twats at Venturer. Maybe we can come to a sort of arrangement? I might even forgive your little outburst too." Tony says with a devilish smirk. David knew Tony's character though. Tony was definitely not a man to trust. "Oh... and does your situation have anything to do with...this?" Tony says, pulling out the mysterious object that David thought he had hidden back at the Falconry. David's eyes grew wide at seeing it in Tony's hands. "Oh? Now, who's struck a chord?" Tony sneered. "One of my dogs just happened to pay special attention to the location in which you hid this in MY house. Now, I know where you've nicked my clothing."

   David's heart was pounding. How could Tony have possibly discovered this? Unless he sent that rat, Ginger, to his estate to go looking for evidence of a break-in, since Ginger probably told him about their first meeting. Tony definitely had his way with finding things out, but now the jig was up. David's growing fatigue hadn't helped either. It was probably around 0400 back in London, he thought. All the years in playing The Doctor, he never thought he'd wind up in timey wimey shenanigans himself. 

   "Oh, you can have yer bloody clothes back once I figure out how teh restart the bloody thing in yer hands." David responds. "Beware, that does give a rather good shock teh yer system." Right about now, David was hoping the thing would just spring to life and send Tony away, just as it did to himself, though he couldn't subject his wife to Tony Baddingham, not for real. It was a risk, he didn't want to take.

   "This looks expensive. You nick this too?" Tony asks. "What's stopping me from changing my mind and calling the coppers on you? Especially when you're wearing evidence of your earlier thievery." 

   "Because ye would've done it already. Now, if ye'll be requirin' me help, then I'll be needing that back." David says with a stern glare, not at all wanting to make deals with the likes of Tony Baddingham.

   "Very well. But, only AFTER you do something for me first. I might even let you have your own private room to figure your shit out too. I don't know how you know about everything I've SUPPOSEDLY done, but I want you to put those nosy fucking skills of yours to use and be my second spy." Tony says with a stern and unforgiving tone. David rolls his eyes. There's always something with Lord Baddingham. "Now, I've seen some rather interesting footage of my Director of Programs and Rupert Campbell-Black while watching the raw unedited reels of Great Gardens. I want you to observe her movements and take as many photographs as you can. She's probably taken off to meet up with him already." Tony writes down Cameron's address onto a sheet from his notepad and rips it away, sliding it across his desk to David. "I trust you can find your way around here." 

   "Aye, you need more pics teh wank off to, is that it?" David scoffs back. "And what if I say no?"

   "Then I'll have you escorted away in shackles. And don't worry about your pretty little companion. I'll ensure she's well taken care of." Tony responds with a smirk and a wink. That seemed to anger David once more. "You had better not lay a single finger on her. Oh, I'll get some pictures for you. When I get back, I'll be takin' back me rock." 

   Sheryl finally arrives with the ice pack for Tony right as David stands up. To her surprise, she noticed Tony with the mysterious rock on his desk and looked between Tony and David. "Well? Is my station medic going to tend to her boss' injury or not?" Tony snarkily says, knowing it'll piss of David even more. Sheryl looks disgusted, but cautiously approaches the seated Tony as she positions by his bruised left temple and presses the ice pack to his injury. Tony gives a light hiss and wince at the sharp initial pain, but returns to his usual disgruntled look. "Not so fucking hard, damn." He scoffs. "I've got to run a bit of an errand. I will be back though, it won't take long." David reassures to Sheryl, but Tony clearly has his own plans for David's absence. "I can handle myself. Stay safe. I'll try to figure out this thing while you're gone." Sheryl replies, giving a light intentional shove to Tony's ice pack as she steps away. David gives her a nod and Tony, a stern glare, flipping the two fingers Tony's direction as he walks out of the office, leaving Sheryl to solve the mystery of the rock, hoping Tony doesn't do anything stupid while he's away. 

   As soon as David disappears from sight and closes the door behind him, Tony couldn't help but eye his new station medic up and down. Obviously frustrated from what's been happening, and now he has to deal with two potential invaders to his war with Venturer, wanting to squash that bug before it even has a chance to emerge from the ground. But Tony's current thoughts were on a new potential mistress he could use to his advantage. "So... You want to study this special rock of yours? You know, I got something more interesting to study. You might enjoy it more too." Tony says with a smirk, leaning forward and resting his elbows onto the desk as one hand kept the ice pack help against his left temple. "Ugh, really, Tony? That's got to be the lamest pickup line I've ever heard." Sheryl replies, not at all impressed with Tony's attempt as she looks over the rock, giving it a light touch as Tony looks on, obviously looking in places one's boss shouldn't. "Don't you have a station to run?...sir." Sheryl says, clearly feeling Tony's predatory gaze. "What is this thing... REALLY?" Tony asks. "I have no clue. It just sort of showed up from the sky. It landed in front of David, and then it lit up, shocked us and sent us here. I have no idea why and we had just left the theatre too." Sheryl replies, still inspecting the rock, picking it up and inspecting all angles of it.

   "HAH! You're even more mad than I had initially thought. You're sayin' this thing's a fucking space rock? What a load of rubbish..." Tony scoffs, rolling his eyes in disbelief. "And an actor, eh? Well, he's also rubbish at trying to be me. He may...somewhat... look like me, but he certainly does not have my sharp wits and forward-thinking strategy. The Scottish wanker has no backbone, and he won't go very far in this industry." Tony continues. Sheryl looks at Tony with a smirk. "He literally IS YOU, you idiot. You wouldn't be you without David, so you can either help me or shut it." Sheryl sharply replies back. Tony chuckles, enjoying getting to her head. "Is that any way to speak to your boss? After I've so kindly allowed you and my...body double, to remain here and work on finding a way back to wherever you came from? Maybe someone should teach you some fucking manners." Tony deeply scoffs as he slams his ice pack onto the table and quickly rises to his feet. Sheryl flinched and briefly lost control of the rock, dropping it to the floor and then suddenly it began to glow a feint teal color again, making the lights in the office flicker. Tony quickly scans around and then back at Sheryl. "That thing better not blow up on me, darlin'." He continues, walking to Sheryl's position. He very lightly brushes Sheryl as he walked by, positioning behind her to her right, leaning in to where he was lightly pressing against her right side. He raises his hand to brush her hair from her shoulder and leans in, his breath hot on her neck as he looked down on the rock. "You know, you could do MUCH better than that kilted twat. I'd reward you well for helping me with those traitors at Venturer." He whispers into her ear, but Sheryl quickly realizes what Tony was doing and quickly got away from him, now standing opposite of Tony on the other side of the rock. "No, thanks. Plus, you're BOTH married. I am not about to ruin such a 'happy relationship' with you and nor David either. Lady Monica deserved way better than you." 

   "Oh, so you're David's mistress then? His bit on the side? Maybe my alter ego does have some taste after all." Tony snickers back, crossing his arms. Sheryl couldn't help but very slightly enjoy it, but she was never going to let the REAL Tony know. Which Tennant fangirl wouldn't be even SLIGHTLY aroused at the thought of most of his characters coming onto them like that? "Umm, NO! I'm not David's mistress! I do respect his marriage and I want no part in ruining it. I'm also sure his wife is probably panicking up a storm right now, and he has five kids to take care of!" Sheryl scoffs back. "Bloody hell, FIVE kids?! The slag certainly puts his time in with the lady I see." Tony responds, looking up at the ceiling and shaking his head. "At least I learned when to..." 

   "Oh my fucking god, enough of THAT talk!" Sheryl quickly interrupts with a raised hand. "Now... IF you don't mind... BOSS... This rock has glowed like this before... right before it suddenly transported David and I to this world." She sharply continues, crouching down to the rock, running her hand on it. It was cool still, not glowing as brightly as it had before. Sheryl tries to recall the conditions surrounding them the last time this thing activated. "Hmmm, it lands roughly in the ground, surrounded by city lights and cars, blacking out the general vicinity... But nothing is powering down now? Maybe there's not enough power in this room for this thing to charge..." She hypothesizes. 

   "Charge? We do have our own little power station behind the Corinium main building here. Go give it a bit of a shock, but if you get fried, well, I will refuse all liability." Tony says with a smirk. "And you will owe me for this later." He continues, giving Sheryl a wink as he headed towards his door, opening it and standing outside the doorway. Sheryl picks up the rock and heads towards the doorway. As she reached the doorway, Tony briefly grabs her arm firmly, leaning into her ear once more. "I'll be in my office later awaiting your return. If I don't see you get back here in the next two hours, I will come find you... and David too. And trust me, David will be having it rough, but not as roughly as you when I eventually find you." Tony puts extra emphasis on that last bit, releasing her arm and giving a kiss gesture with his lips as Sheryl scoffs and walks away. "Keep up your shit, Tony... and someone will eventually do something about it." Sheryl finishes and then disappears down the hall. Tony simply chuckles and shuts the door behind him, then flips the telly sets on in his office and begins to review footage from the big debates between Corinium and Venturer.

   Eventually, David returns to Corinium, now dressed in his original attire with his glasses on, and seeing Sheryl outside with the rock. He was quite surprised to see she had left with it, worrying Tony had done something to make her "earn it". He quickly approaches, a brown folder in his hands. "Sheryl, lass, are ye okay?" He asks. Shery smiles and nods her head. "Nothing I couldn't handle." 

   "He didnae hurt you, did he?" Tony asks, concerned.

   "No, he was being...well, he was being Tony. But no, nothing went THAT far." Shery responded, walking towards the gate to the power station with David following. "So, what did Tony have you do for him?" 

   "Oh, he thinks I went to Cameron's house to take photographs of Cameron and Rupert. But he doesn't ken to what I've really got in this folder." David says with a wide grin as he shows Sheryl the actual pictures and Sheryl's eyes widens and then she bursts into laughter. "DT! That's hilarious! I can't wait to see Tony's face after you give this to him." Sheryl says as David closes the folder and giggles like a child pulling a prank on their teacher. "So, what did you figure out with this rock?" David asks.

   "I'm testing out a little theory. That this might just need some charge. It seemed to glow again after Tony made me drop the darn thing. It made his office flicker, and then I think he just wanted it out of his office after that, thinking it might blow up." Sheryl replies, though this was the 1980s. Sci-fi was just that... Science FICTION. But she knew her and David could figure this out together and he could get back to his family. "I reckon you're tired as all hell right now. Have you even eaten yet?" Sheryl asks David with a concerned look on her face.

   "Aye, I feel like utter shite right now. Sometimes, I swear I hear the voices of one of me kids. Ye know, I thought I heard Georgia right when the shock happened." David says, looking at Sheryl as she approaches an electrical panel, hearing the buzz from the currents going through it. "But, at least I got something teh eat while I was out. Speakin' of..." David pulls out a wrapped object from his coat pocket. "Fish and chips?"

   Sheryl smiles and sets the rock down, taking the food from David. "You sure? I did eat right before your play after all, so I could go a bit longer. And you'll be back with your family soon enough. I have a good feeling about tonight. Plus, Tony didn't give me much time out here."

   "You need to eat too. Tony's arse can wait." David playfully scoffs, giving that wide smile through his beard stubble. Sheryl rolls her eyes and sits, opening the wrap to take a bite of the fish, giving a soft hum as she chews. She gives a satisfied sigh after, looking at David appreciatively. "Thanks DT. This is pretty good."

   "Aye, well, Colchester had a nice place teh eat. It's so weird, it even looks just like the real village of Tetbury where we filmed those town scenes." David says, recalling more of those days. He was definitely very shocked to see this real world, drawn up from the brilliant and saucy mind of Dame Jilly Cooper, in a real-life setting. Sheryl was clearly starving, having eaten half of the food by the time David looks back at her. "Blimey, I knew you were hungry, but damn." David says, looking at her in surprise. He sees her smile and shake her head, keeping in silence with a full mouth and he then looks up at the darkening sky. "Shit, I've been up for a bloody day and a half at this point." 

   "Take a nap then, while I eat. I should be able to figure this out for myself. Don't worry, I'll cover for you." Sheryl says, finishing up the food and tossing the wrapper into a nearby rubbish bin. "And thanks for the food. It was delicious." 

   "Aye, you're very welcome. I suppose I could shut me eyes for a tad." David says, looking around and getting into a decently covered position before finally leaning his back against the building, crossing his arms and shutting his eyes. "Thanks lass." He finishes, then it doesn't take him long to begin snoring.

   Sheryl rolls her eyes and shakes her head while smiling, picking the rock up and holding it by the electrical panel. Suddenly, the rock seems to glow brighter, starting to get warm. Of course, she wasn't going to make direct contact with the rock and the panel. She looks inside a nearby storage locker, and inside, she sees extra cable. The exposes the ends of each side of a piece she cuts off, letting some of the copper be exposed. She wraps one end of the cable to the live portion of the panel with gloved hands, and holds the other end over the rock. She looks over at David, seeing he's still passed out, and she looks at Corinum's main building, seeing few lights turned on, and employees beginning to leave for the day. It was now or never with the shift being over now. She then touches the other end to the rock. As soon as the coper hits the rock, a spark flashes before her and then it's followed by many more from the entire panel. She backs away from the sudden reaction, tripping over David's leg in the process and startling him awake.

   "Bloody hell!" David shouts, rubbing his eyes, and then looks at all the sparks before him. "What did ye do?!" David shouts again to Sheryl, quickly standing back up and pulling Sheryl up with him. He looks over at the main building, seeing the power flicker in the main building and then a small explosion happens, sending both David and Sheryl flying back, and then suddenly... everything stops. The power is on a generator to the main building, and the rock is glowing brightly. David and Sheryl rub their heads, rising to a seated position, looking at each other, and then back to the rock. "Did... Did it work?" David says. Sheryl shrugs and gets to a standing position, slowly approaching the rock. "I... think it did. It's even brighter now. Like the other night." Sheryl replies. She looks back at David with a confident and hopeful smile. "I think we just might be able to go back home tonight DT!" 

   David's eyes widen and he too rises into a standing position, his hands running through his hair as he reaches Sheryl's side. "Oh, thank heavens. I'm goin' to tell Georgia that she's havin' a day with the kids, because I ken I'll be out an entire day after this." David says, his tone relieved and excited to get back home at the earliest convenience. David then hears something in the distance, looking back towards the main building, seeing what looked to be Cameron Cook and Tony in one of the rooms, probably Tony's office. Tony seemed to have his blazer off and Cameron was in her red dress, and looked rather distressed. "Oh shit... I think I know what's about to happen." David knew this moment all too well, and so did Sheryl. This was the final confrontation from the season 1 finale. Sheryl quickly approaches the glowing rock and picks it up with the electrical cloth she'd taken from the storage locker. "Come on, we need to get back inside." Sheryl says to David and they both began to run back inside the main building.

   But when the elevator opened, Cameron was waiting at the elevator opening, in obvious distress. She took one look at David and her eyes widened, letting out a strong gasp. "It's okay Miss Cook. Just leave, we'll handle this." Sheryl says to Cameron, gently leading her to the elevator. The traumatized woman then let the doors close after she entered and disappeared from sight. David and Sheryl then quickly reach Tony's office, seeing the Corinium boss on the floor, laying on his right side, with blood on the floor below his head. "Shit, she's whacked him with the TV award." Sheryl says, handing the rock to David and leaning down, checking on him. She runs outside quickly to fetch a first aid kit and promptly reenters to begin treating Tony's injury. "Fucking prick deserved it, but I can't just leave him like this."

   "Umm, lass? This thing is glowing brighter again." David says as Sheryl briefly looks up, keeping Tony's posture properly supported, while holding pressure on Tony's gaping injury. The rock is steadily getting brighter and brighter. It makes the lights in the office flicker again with each bright flash. David then begins to feel it buzzing. "Do ye think it's trying to activate again?" David asks, crouching down beside Sheryl. As Sheryl begins to wrap some roll gauze around Tony's forehead, she feels a strong flinch and hears an intense gasp of air from Tony. His hand twitches up and knocks the rock from David, making him drop it. The rock then begins to spark wildly, enveloping all three people in Tony's office. David grips Sheryl's right shoulder, while Sheryl grips onto Tony's hand. Her other hand still pressing the soaked gauze to hold pressure against the wound. "Shiiiiiiit!" Sheryl shouts, with David yelling out beside her. Suddenly, a flash is seen with all three individuals disappearing along with the rock. It left Tony's office vacant, and with a pool of blood where Tony once laid. 

British Countryside, England, 2023. David and Sheryl land in the backyard of a home. David is the first to regain his senses once more. Once his vision clears after rising into a sitting position, he looks up and sees a VERY familiar sight. "No bloody way!" He shouts, hearing Sheryl moaning and slowly coming around. David hears the clanking of silverware and plates to his right, and when he looks right, a VERY familiar sight appears before him. "...WHAT?!" He hears from a very familiar face, sitting next to a ginger woman with long red hair. The same sideburns and ruffled hair as he had on that very day. This was his very last moment as The Doctor on TV.

To be continued with Chapter 2!

   

 

Chapter 2: Into the Whoniverse

Summary:

David Tennant and Sheryl Silverman have now been thrust into the world of the Doctor Who universe after finally finding a way out of the Rutshire Chronicles world of Rivals. Now, it's time for David to gain the help of the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble to see if the genius of a real-life Gallifreyan can solve the mystery behind the mysterious rock that landed David and Sheryl into trouble in the first place. Will they be able to solve it? Or, will David have to survive against the very foes he had to encounter in the show, only with real-life consequences?

David Tennant and the Multiverse of Insanity

Chapter 2: Into the Whoniverse

  British Countryside, England, 2023. David's signature eyebrow raise, and his widened eyes definitely mirrored that of The Doctor himself. He slowly approaches the Gallifreyan and looks him up and down, as Donna looked on. Why did this remind Donna of something? Was it something she'd experienced the day she became the Doctor Donna? 

   "No... No, not again!" The Doctor spoke as he continues his shocked expression, but he definitely takes a mental note of David's rough appearance.

   "David, where's Tony? Tony's not here." Sheryl asks David, though, David was still staring at the Time Lord in front of him.

   "Oi, it's...it's...the...Doctor!" David stutters softly, his legs becoming as wibbly wobbly as time itself, and then passes out in the lawn, right in front of the entire Noble family and Sheryl. "Well, that could've gone better." Sheryl says as she leans down to check on David, with Tony still in her mind. "I think he's just really fatigued. Got somewhere, where we can crash for a bit?" She asks the still-surprised Doctor. "Well, umm... yeah. Right?" The Doctor responds, looking at Donna for a bit of backup. "Yes, he... you two can stay in our guestroom. Don't worry, it's got two separate beds, so no shaggin' it up in our home, got it?" Donna responds, pointing her fingers at David's unconscious form and Sheryl, as Sheryl widens her own eyes. "Hey, him and I....we ain't.... he's already married, it's not like that with us!" Sheryl says in a panic with her hands raised. 

   "Oi, you all knock it off and let's get this other Doctor inside!" Donna's mother, Sylvia, interjects. She definitely didn't want their evening ending in any conflict, especially after sharing such a sweet moment with The Doctor. 

   "Right." The Doctor says as the Noble family, along with Sheryl, help carry David inside and into the guestroom, gently setting him down inside the bed and placing a blanket over him. Sheryl sits on the bed across from his, looking towards The Doctor, Donna and Sylvia, giving a light smile. "I promise you all, I will explain by the time we wake up. Thanks for your hospitality." Sheryl says to the trio as they simply nod and leave her to her sleep. It doesn't take long for her to slip into a slumber after one last check on David.

   The Doctor though, he had to study this new situation, figure out what happened. Did the Metacrisis Doctor find a way out of that universe? Was there yet another bi-generation that he didn't yet know about? He had way too many questions, and he wasn't about to wait for the two newcomers to wake up. He walks outside to where the two first appeared, scanning the area with his sonic screwdriver. The Doctor picks up a couple of foreign objects, one small and the other a bit larger. The smaller object, he finds near the TARDIS. It's a gold ring with a reg logo on it, resembling a charging ram. Donna appears behind him, leaning down to see the ring. "That belong to them?" She says curiously. "I don't know. That could be a possibility, but, then again, I've seen instances similar to this. This particular one though feels different... off." The Doctor replies as he looks at his readings on the sonic. "And the signatures I'm picking up don't resemble the last time this happened too." 

   Rose walked up and looked on as well. "The last time? This has happened before?" The Doctor looks at Rose and nods his head. "Yes, though it had resulted in significant losses. I was very fortunate to... well... rectify one of those." He replies, recalling the moment in which he had to modify Donna's memories. He then spots something mostly hidden by the bushes. He crouches down beside it and pulls it from the cover. It's the mysterious rock. "Oh? What is this?" The Doctor says, scanning the rock with his sonic. Donna approaches from behind, watching him do his work. "Is that... Is that alien too? Some kind of space rock?" Donna asks, definitely having had her fair share of her own experiences with him. "My sonic isn't able to identify it. It's almost as if..." He turns to Donna. "...it isn't from this universe." 

   Donna and Rose look between each other. Then, Shaun and Melanie approached. "Goin' on another adventure?" Shaun says to Donna, his hand patting her shoulder. "What? And leave Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum here with you? Absolutely not." Donna replies. "We're not goin' anywhere without those two. Right?... Doctor?" 

   The Doctor continues looking at the rock, looking over more findings on his sonic after a couple more scans and seeing more results being displayed on a projection screen. "Right... Well... I suppose we could have a little study in the TARDIS, to see if we can figure out how this thing works. Or even if this had anything to do with why there's another me here, though this other me is human. Ooooh, why did this have to happen today? Of all days? Maybe I'm just not meant to... retire." The Doctor continues, looking up at the sky in disappointment. He'd finally had the happiest day of his life and suddenly, this random event happens. It's usually the TARDIS that took him to these events, not usually do the events come to him instead.

   Donna could tell something was bothering her friend. She too had hoped the Doctor could finally rest. The Doctor takes the rock into the TARDIS and both Donna and Rose follow him inside. Shaun and Sylvia elected to remain outside and clean up from their dinner. Once inside, the Doctor places the rock on a small platform on top of the center console and begins attaching different wires to it. "Let's see if the TARDIS can better analyze this. I must know more about this AND... what universe this rock came from." The Doctor says as he begins to examine the rock. He then places the ring beside the rock, scanning it with his sonic as well. "Interesting. This is also from a different universe. Its signature doesn't seem to match the rock nor the visitors.

   Meanwhile, David begins to stir in the bed. He winces a bit, his body sweaty from the recent experiences. He still can't get Georgia's last panicked expression out of his head. Flashes of her shouts, her widened eyes, her frantically running towards him appearing before his eyes as if he were reliving the experience again. He begins uttering her name in his sleep. The sounds were stirring Sheryl awake in the next bed over. David began hearing the voices of his kids calling out for him. He was suddenly standing in his home as if he were the ghost of Christmas past, listening as each one called for their missing father. David was frantically approaching each one, trying to comfort them and let them know he was there, but his hands simply went right through the shoulders. His voice was never heard by any of them, his touch was never felt. David could only stand there, eyes widened in sorrow and panic, yearning to be with his family again. He hadn't been gone very long, but this wasn't like another trip out of town for filming a scene or attending a ComiCon for the weekend.

   Suddenly, a shadow appears behind his family. It's the same height he is and the same build. He can't see a face, nor can he see what this shadow seems to be wearing. Literally nothing else can be identified visually. David looks at his family, which were now lined up suddenly in front of this shadow. The shadow was standing behind the kids, it's arms around Georgia's back. "Who are you? What are ye doin' with me family?" David calls out strongly, wanting answers. "Correct... control... corrupt... coerce..." The shadow whispers eerily. "What?" David responds, pinching his nose, trying to process the words the shadow had just spoken. He lets his hand fall back to his side, both of his hands now clenched. He then glares at the shadow defensively. "Step away from me family." He commands, his tone stern and almost dark. The shadow seems to emit a dark chuckle, sounding evil in nature, but sounding very David Tennant-like as if it were a villain in one of his portrayals. But which villain could be responsible for this? Why was this happening to him? David had too many questions and not enough answers. The shadow simply whispers those same four words, further frustrating David. He was desperately trying to control his growing frustration, not wanting to have an outburst in front of his kids and wife. His inner Scotsman was ready for a brawl though. He took a single step forward, his fists still clenched, before hearing suddenly from his youngest daughter, Birdie.

   "Daddy?" She utters, looking straight up at him. "Darlin', I'm right here. Daddy's right here, sweetheart." David responds, his voice shaky and his eyes watering up. "I'll come back to you..." He says, looking at the rest of his family. "...all of you." He continues, the tears beginning to fall from his eyes, running down his face and over his growing beard stubble. "No, you won't." Georgia says. David's entire family just blankly staring at him as if this were a sick nightmare. "But, I will..." The shadow utters, sounding more and more like David himself. "All of us will." It continues, beginning to laugh eerily. "What are you talking about?!" David responds to the shadow in a panic, his heart pounding. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" He shouts, his face flushed and pale. The figures before him slowly disappearing. His surroundings evaporating away, and then he sees nothing but light. "DT? David? You okay? Wake up. I think you're having a nightmare." Sheryl calmly says, trying to coax David awake by a gentle shake of his shoulder.

   "Fuck...." David simply says, his body covered in sweat and his covers hanging over the side of his bed as if he'd kicked them off in his sleep. He rises into a sitting position, runs his hands over his face and then through his hair, holding their position as they reached the back of his head. "I... I saw them. My... my family. They were all just... looking at me like, like... like I was..." 

   "Shhh, it's okay. It was just a nightmare. It's not real." Sheryl says, sitting on her own bed. "You'll see them again."

   David looks over at Sheryl, giving a slight smile and a head nod before he swings his thin legs around over the side of the bed. "Yeah, I suppose so." He says, finally looking over himself and gives a slight chuckle. "Blimey, I feel like I've been in a marathon under a wee rain shower." 

   "Yeah, I suppose you could use one right about now." Sheryl responds.

   "Oi, I cannae be reekin' that bad." David playfully scoffs, but then he gives a slight sniff under his arms and crinkles his nose. "Aye, ye might be right." 

   Both of them began to laugh at David's self-assessment. He stands up, noticing a couple stacks of clothes and a set of towels on the dresser. He grabs a towel and walks towards the guest bathroom. "I'll go first, so I won't be pollutin' the room." He jokes. "And thanks... for bringing me out of that nightmare." He finishes, giving her one last look with a small grin before closing the door behind him and locking it. Sheryl walks towards a window, looking outside to see the backyard where she and David had landed. All she could see was the cleaned-up table, but no sign of anyone else. 

   In the bathroom, David finds bottles of unused shampoo, conditioner and body wash sitting on a shelf. They weren't exactly his preferred brands, but they'll do for now. He turns the shower on, waiting for it to get to the right temperature to his liking. He takes a big breath, recalling those images from his dream as he removed his clothes and enters the shower, letting the water begin to wash away the sweat. The bathroom begins to fill with steam and David closes his eyes, trying to decipher what he saw in the dream. Who was the shadow? Was it him? It resembled him, had his form, and even sounded like him. What was the meaning behind those initial four words? Correct, control, corrupt, coerce. Why did they all sound so dark, like they were a bad omen? Also, what did it have to do with his current situation, now in the world of The Doctor himself. Unlike Rivals, he didn't know how this story was going to go. This was beyond what he had filmed, a continuation of his saga as the fourteenth incarnation of the time lord. He even wondered if this meant Ncuti Gatwa making an appearance as Fifteen. This situation was definitely out of this world, and knowing the wild world of the Whoniverse, he could only hope that the darker aspects of it wouldn't make an appearance. That's all he needed was running into the likes of the Daleks, Cybermen, or even the Weeping Angels.

   After a few minutes, he leaves the bathroom, all cleaned and changed up into fresh clothes. He knew they had to have come from the TARDIS' wardrobe. He sets his soiled clothing into a hamper in the corner of the room and walks passed Sheryl, who had passed out in her bed again. While he was tired himself, he felt like he couldn't go back to sleep, especially after having that dream. Instead, he goes downstairs and out the back door, approaching the TARDIS. He raises his hand to give the door a knock, but the door opens on its own to his surprise. He sees The Doctor, Donna and Rose by the center console, gathered around the platform where the rock laid. The Doctor turns his head towards the door, adjusting his glasses as he spotted David. "Oh, hello again. I see the other me has awoken." He says with a smile as David looked around, slowly entering the TARDIS. The Doctor waited, seeing if that signature line would be uttered, or if David felt like he was reuniting with the actual TARDIS herself. He wanted to see if this look-alike were truly the Metacrisis Doctor, or someone else. David couldn't believe his eyes. It was as if he were on set once more, only the TARDIS really was bigger on the inside. The large, bright white room, the platforms and stairs, the center console. It was all as it were during filming. 

   "It's....it's..." David utters as The Doctor's grin begins to widen, ready to hear those famous first words anytime a new companion entered the TARDIS. Donna and Rose remained silent with Donna crossing her arms. "It's exactly as if I were on set! I cannae believe it!" He finally lets out. The Doctor's grin goes away, turning into slight disappointment. Donna let out a small laugh at the sight. "Not the words you were expecting, Doctor?" Donna playfully jokes with The Doctor. "Well, I suppose not. But, now that this other me is here, we can figure out how he got here! Now, other me, shall we?" The Doctor continues, returning his focus to the rock and the ring on the platform. "So, obvious first question... and it's rather... ironic. But, who are you?" The Doctor asks, glancing at David. "Oh, umm, I'm... David. David Tennant." David answers, reaching a hand out. The Doctor looks David up and down before reaching his own hand out and grasping David's in a handshake. But the time lord can't help but look at the shaking hands. The grip on each other matching strength, almost feeling as if every hair were in the exact place as his own. It felt like he was shaking hands with himself. Images of him looking upon the Metacrisis Doctor on the beach during that fateful day were beginning to appear in his head. 

   David couldn't help but feel intrigued, shaking hands with himself in his own mind as well. "Ye know, my hand is the same. Ye don't have teh keep hold." David finally says with a smirk and the Doctor finally lets go. "Right. So, how did this rock come into your possession?" The Doctor asks, quickly returning to his center console, twiddling with the different knobs and buttons. David approaches the console, which is all-to-familiar to him. He walked around the console, every button and every lever in the exact position as it were on the show. He hadn't known this setup long, but he did remember it. "The rock just sort of... fell upon me, I suppose." David answers. "It came out of the sky after a performance I was playin' in and crashed in the ground."

   "A performance?" Rose utters. "You some kind of actor?" 

   "This bloke? An actor? I think he's a bloody Zygon." Donna says, intrigued, but also suspicious. "Or worse, one of those not-things." She continues, still horrified from that experience. It was straight out of a horror movie to her.

   "Oi! I'm not a Zygon, I'm a human. Just like you." David says, his face showing slight offence, but in an almost comical manner as he then assisted the Doctor with the rock. "No, David's not a Zygon, otherwise this would've went 'ding'..." The Doctor says, pulling out a very familiar device. "See? I still have it. The machine that goes 'ding'!" He continued with a wide grin. "Ah, I remember that. I thought I had broken it." David says, forgetting where he was for a brief moment. "Oh? How do you remember then?" The Doctor asks David, pausing his inspection and resting his hand on his hip while leaning against the console.

   "Well, erm... I'm a... big fan." David responds, though the Doctor, Donna and Rose look amongst each other in confusion. "Funny, I don't see you as an employee of any organization that would have that kind of access." The Doctor responds, though David rolls his eyes. "Oi, I thought we were goin' teh be examinin' the rock, not barge into me personal history." David scoffs back. "Will you two just SHUT IT!" Donna finally interjects to the surprise of the Doctor and David. "I swear, dealing with two of you once again is already bringing up nightmares of the not-things we encountered. At least THIS not-Doctor isn't crawlin' around like some bloody spider." She continues, referring to David as the 'not-Doctor'. Donna even shivered a bit as she thought of the horror scene on board that ship. She never told the Doctor, but she did have nightmares about that at times. It was almost as if they were the monsters under her bed at times.

   David noticed a familiar ring on the platform beside the rock and immediately picked it up. "I ken who's ring this is. Did ye find a third along with us?" David 
asks the crew. The Doctor looks at Donna and Rose, then looks back at David. "No, it was just you and the woman. Was there supposed to be another?" The Doctor replies, giving David his full attention. "Though, that ring did have a different signature when I scanned it with my sonic. Almost as if this were from a different universe of sorts. I've traveled between universes before, sure. But this feels a bit... different. How did you and your lady friend get here?" David shrugs at the Doctor's question. "I dunnae ken how. This rock here seems to be a sort of vessel. All I've been able to figure out with Sheryl is that it does charge up with a massive shock of electricity, and then it zaps ye into another world. It just sort of crash landed in front of me in my world, and then next thing I ken, I was in the world of a show I act in." David explains as the Doctor seems to be fidgeting with a display from his sonic. "Well, maybe if we can narrow down how the locations were chosen, maybe we can get this rock to take you back to your world. It is quite hard on the TARDIS though as she wasn't meant for multi-universal travel." The Doctor responds, his lips tight and flat as he thinks back to what happened with his former companion, Rose Tyler.

   David went right back to his original question. "Look, there was a third man with us. He... also looked like me, and was injured really bad. Sheryl was tending to his injuries when the rock sent us here suddenly." David explains. "His name was Tony Baddingham, and that was his ring." Donna's eyebrows rose. "Tony Baddingham?! You expect me to believe the arsehole boss of Corinium from Jilly Cooper's novels is a real person. You're even madder than the Doctor." Donna scoffed, while the Doctor rolled his eyes, but she wasn't entirely wrong about him. He was the madman in a box. "I'm not foolin' ye. We were in the Rivals universe right before we landed here. That ring even has the Corinium ram's head emblem on it." David responds, showing Donna the ring. "Yeah, and you probably bought that off Berry's for all I know." Donna continues with Rose taking the ring. "But, the Doctor did mention the ring had a different universal signature. Even different than our own, or even David's. I think he's telling the truth, mum." Rose says as she hands the ring back to the Doctor for continued examination. 

   "Right. Well, it seems we have more than one mystery to solve here. Find this... Tony Baddingham... and find a way to get David and Sheryl back to their own universe." The Doctor says with a smile, finally having a better sense of direction. "Well, and return Tony teh his universe as well... Where I hope he can get treated. Gosh, I hope he's okay, wherever he is." David finishes. "Well, here's to another adventure. So much for the retirement plan." Donna says, though she looks at the Doctor and smiles. This couldn't possibly be as dangerous as the Doctor going to an alien planet, the other side of the universe or even landing on a frozen planet full of Ood...right? 

   As the Doctor began to work some switches, levers and buttons on his TARDIS console, Sheryl comes running in through the doors. "WAIT! You seriously weren't going to leave without me, were you?" Sheryl says, panting from running to the TARDIS, hearing the signature 'VWORP'. "Noooooo, of course we weren't I was just about to tell the Doctor to wait a tic." David says non-chalantly, looking at an unimpressed Donna and Rose while the Doctor was seemingly ignoring David's remarks, keeping his focus on the TARDIS. "Well, we'd need a location anyways, though, the TARDIS hasn't exactly been known for her accuracy. So, where are we going?" The Doctor says. "Umm, that's something we should probably figure that out BEFORE we just randomly push a bunch of levers?" Sheryl replies, with her arms out in a WTF gesture. "Right..." The Doctor responds, looking at Donna and Rose, who are staring at him with their own arms crossed. 

   Before anyone could respond, the TARDIS beings to VWORP on her own. The Doctor began to work more switches and levers suddenly in response. "NO, no, no, no! What are you doin'???" The Doctor shouts, desperately trying to reset the TARDIS trajectory. The rock even begins to glow. "Oh no... Last time that thing glowed, it sent us to your world." David says to the Doctor, holding onto a railing tightly along with the rest of the crew. Lights begin to burst, and the TARDIS beings to VWORP loudly and shake violently. "Hold on, I think she's taking us for a ride!" The Doctor shouts as the rest of the crew continue to hold onto the railing tightly. The lights in the room change to a dark blue and the rock shoots a spark right at the central column time rotor of the TARDIS console. It sends the TARDIS into a frantic state. David holds onto the railing with one arm and Sheryl in the other. "Ye ken... We usually fake this part for the filmin'. It's usually the camera effects that do this." David says, giving a frantic, but comedic chuckle, looking at Sheryl. "Ah, yes. I'm aware. Let's just hope we don't land in the middle of Skaro, or some pond on Mars..." Sheryl says with her own frantic chuckle. 

   Suddenly, the TARDIS crashes, sending all the people inside breaking away from their grip and flying into a room to the side of the console room with a splash. They've landed in the TARDIS pool room. "Right... This has definitely happened to me before." The Doctor says as he swims to the surface and pulls himself out, helping Donna, Rose and Sheryl out of the pool with David following soon after. David walks outside the pool room and back into the TARDIS console room and looks around. He can't see the rock, nor Tony's ring. "We need teh find that rock." David tells The Doctor as he desperately begins to search the damaged control room. Sheryl looks around at everyone, checking for injuries and sees that everything is minor. The Doctor's mind was more focused on where they've landed. Looking for a rock would do them no good if they've landed in the middle of danger. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to scan around the room, then at the console. "Well, at least it wasn't coffee this time." The Doctor says. "Oi, I heard that!" Donna replies sternly from in front of the doors leading outside the TARDIS with Rose at her side. Donna opens the TARDIS door and pokes her head out. But, what she sees shocks her to her core. She suddenly closes the door and turns around, backing against the door with wide eyes and an even paler face. "Mum, what's wrong?" Rose asks, looking at her mother concerned. "You're not goin' to believe this..." Donna replies, her voice shaky. The Doctor looks towards Donna while David and Sheryl raise their heads and pan towards Donna as well.

   David goes towards the door, curious about what Donna had seen. "Mind if I take a look?" He asks, with Donna reluctantly stepping aside. "Very well, but you might not understand just yet..." Donna replies. As David peeks out, the very first thing he sees is a large poster on the wall with the words "Vote Saxon" on it. He then sees several spherical orbs hovering in the distance, flying in formation. He recognizes this scene all too well. He retreats back into the TARDIS and closes the door behind him. "Shit. I ken where we are... and when we are. You're not goin' teh like this Doctor." David says to the approaching Time Lord. The Doctor peeks outside, giving a slight scan of his surroundings with his sonic, and his eyes widen at the sight of the familiar Saxon poster. He knew this would be big trouble if they were caught. "Right, so if this Master is here... This means that yer previous version be here as well." 

   "No. I... I don't think I can go through that again. Plus, if I interfere, it'll risk a major paradox. Especially since the Master had already been playing with the timeline at the expense of my TARDIS during this time. Not to mention this...well... my earlier face that also happens to look like this." The Doctor explains. "Well, with less trauma."

   As the Doctor closes the door behind him, a spark emits from where the rock was and the TARDIS began to shake. "It's the rock! It's messing with the TARDIS!" Donna shouts as the TARDIS begins to emit painful VWORPS and seems to materialize again. David could only imagine where the rock was taking them now, especially with the power of the TARDIS as well. He begins to crawl towards the sparking rock from the TARDIS doors. "I must reach it! Get it away from the console, or it'll just take us anywhere in space an' time again!" David shouts. The Doctor looks towards Donna and Rose, ensuring they're okay and that they're bracing for their next sudden trip. Donna and Rose seem to be holding onto the railing once more. The rock is beginning to spark even more, seemingly joined with the time rotor. The TARDIS is in obvious pain and is erratically moving throughout the time vortex. It was definitely a very dangerous trip for everyone aboard. The Doctor can feel her pain and it's hurting him as well, forcing him to clench his teeth together as he tries to hold it all in and resist the urge to shout.

   The TARDIS control room begins to shake more violently, her VWORPS practically shrieks. David can almost reach the rock. "Christ, why did this console room have to be so....roomy?!" David shouts, struggling against the rough shaking of the TARDIS, fighting against the smooth floors and trying to use the railings as something to brace against. His long arm begins to reach for the rock, his fingertips feeling the tingle from the rock's emitting static. Then, the TARDIS once again crashes, sending the TARDIS' crew flying into each other once more, and the rock slips away from reach again. "Ugh, almost had it!" David painfully says as he pulled himself off of Sheryl. Donna and Rose had landed on the Doctor. "The rock is doing something to the TARDIS. We can't keep it in here. It's picking up the time energy in here and is sucking it out. Feeding it..." The Doctor says, scanning the console with his sonic and reading the results on the emitting screen. "Maybe we shouldn't have ever let it into the TARDIS in the first place." Donna says, though, she was growing concerned if they could even make it back to their own time.

   Sheryl looks down at her feet and spots Tony Baddingham's ring. She picks it up and inspects it, still in the same condition, though with a couple of scratches and what seems to be a small speck of blood from Tony's injury. She wonders where he went. "David, I found Tony's ring. I can't help but think of the guy. I know he was a bit of an ass on the show, but I just can't let him suffer like that." Sheryl says to David. David offers a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Aye. We'll find the bloke. I promise. " David says with a smile, giving her a confident smile. Sheryl finally forms a smirk and sticks the ring in her pocket, so it doesn't become lost again. "Well, we'll need him in Season 2 after all. Can't be losing our King of Corinium this early now, would we?" She says as David gives a chuckle with resting his hands on his hips. "Right. Well? Who knows? Maybe the rock will take us back to the Rivals world?" David jokes. "We can't go without Tony though. If his ring is here, it must mean Tony teleported with us, right?" Sheryl asks. "I cannae begin to ken, lass. But, I'm sure we'll find out." David finishes, looking to his side and seeing Donna, Rose and the Doctor looking at them. "You both done flirtin'? Or, can we find where the rock went now?" Donna snarkily says, but in a playful tone as Rose held the same smile her mother had. Even the Doctor had a sly smirk on his face. David's face immediately blushed red with Sheryl's. 

   "No! What? This isn't... It's not what it looks like." Sheryl stutters out. "We're just mates." David continues from Sheryl's comments.

   "I bet you two are." Donna says, nodding her head. "Mum, let's see where we've landed." Rose says, pulling at Donna's arm as everyone begins to head towards the TARDIS door, except David. "No, we need teh find this rock. Otherwise, it could zap the TARDIS again. Who kens how many times she can take it?" David says, stopping short of the ramp leading to the exit doors. "I think we should stay inside until we find it." Sheryl then says. She knows David's right. As much as she'd love to join the Doctor and crew on investigating the outdoors, she knows she needs to remain behind and help David search for the rock. 

   "Fine. I'll take a little peek outside then." The Doctor says as he takes a peek out the TARDIS doors to see where they've landed. "...WHAT?! But... HOW?" He loudly speaks out. He's looking into the TARDIS repair yard. The same place on Gallifrey that his first incarnation had initially taken the TARDIS from. He can see the lineup of the other TARDISes to his side and suddenly, a worker enters the room. It's the TARDIS repair chief. "YOU there! Time Lord! You are not authorized to be in that!" The Chief shouts, signaling for security to join her. "Yeah, well.... Me and her are rather attached. Plus, she chose me! ALLONS'Y!" The Doctor playfully says with a wide grin and retracts back into the TARDIS, closing and locking the door behind him. "Aye, do NOT go out there. We've sorta landed on Gallifrey." He then announced to the rest of the crew. "Gallifrey? Your home? But... I thought you missed it?" Donna says, walking up to her friend. "I've got a new home now. One that we all need to return to after we've solved this rock mystery." The Doctor replies, gently resting a hand on Donna's and Rose's shoulders and giving each of them a comforting look.

   David was observing them. He thought back to the time he filmed that final scene at the end of his run as the fourteenth Doctor. That moment at the dinner table outside their home. David couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness in his heart for the Doctor. The Doctor was finally at peace with a family and a home, and these events with this mysterious rock had ruined the Doctor's peace. He had to find this rock, so that he could bring that peace back to the Time Lord. One, that David knew the Time Lord had rightfully earned after many generations of time travel and saving many lives and worlds. Plus, he had to get back to his own family. To Goergia and his kids. David missed his family greatly. This wasn't like going out of town for filming or going out of country for fan events. This was new territory for him. David had to be strong... for them. He kept sifting through the various parts of the console room and debris from the other TARDIS rooms, wanting to find the rock and fast.

   The Doctor scans the console room with his sonic, but there's too much interference and the sonic turns up nothing. "I see this isn't going to work. The TARDIS console room is just flooded with leaking time energy and universal energy that the rock is giving off. There's too much of it in the room to narrow down the source." The Doctor says, stowing his sonic back into his vest. "Universal energy? Would that stuff drive anyone mad too?" Donna asks, concerned that it could result in another DoctorDonna episode. "Nah, this feels different. Not so... contagious." The Doctor replies, briefly sticking his tongue out as if he were tasting the air. 

   David finally spots the rock as he lifted a wall panel. "I've found the rock! Wait..." David announces, before noticing something. The rock was broken into two pieces. He picks up the pieces and brings it to the rest of the gathering crew by "Well, this cannae be good." 

   Sheryl takes one of the pieces, holding the broken end of the rock to the broken end of the other, as if seeing if they'd somehow magically join back together. "Well, I guess there was only so much of a beating this thing could take. Do you think it'll still be able to get us back?" She asks David, looking at him and then the Doctor, who begins to scan it with his sonic. "Hmmm, it doesn't seem to be emitting anythin' anymore. From either part." The Doctor says as he examines the pieces. A loud set of knocks can be heard at the TARDIS doors. "DOCTOR! Come out of that TARDIS by the order of Rassilon!" The TARDIS Repair Chief loudly commands from outside the TARDIS. David held tightly onto the rock, not wanting to let them out of his sight. He had an idea though. "Sheryl, hold onteh these. I've got a plan teh be rid of them for a wee bit." He says with a sly smirk. "Doctor, come with me. Let's mess with their noggins." He directs to the Doctor as both of the men head towards the TARDIS door.

   The Repair Chief and four Gallifreyan security guards await them as the TARDIS door opens. David pokes his head out the door first. The Repair Chief looks confused as she inspected his different face and hairstyle. "Oh, fixin' your hair in there are we?! The TARDIS isn't a bloody salon! I should..." The Chief scoffs, but got interrupted when the Doctor suddenly poked his head out just above David's. "Oi, no need for all of this attitude. As you can see, we're in a wee bit of a situation." The Doctor says to the very surprised security and the Chief. "The Doctor gets a good look at the Chief, seeing the Gallifreyan inscription on her nametag. "Ah, Mechie! Pleasure to meet you! Long time, no see, eh? Sorry about runnin' away with the TARDIS. Funny thing is, well... I never really fancied the life here. I just had to get out, I'm sure you can understand." The Doctor continued.

   "But, before we go... What do you call it when you meet not one, but TWO of us?" David asks Mechie.

   "Uhhh, I don't know, what?" Mechie replies as she looked at her security for a potential answer, but they looked just as puzzled. 

   "A pair-a-DOCS!" Both of them shout and then retracted back into the TARDIS after seeing the very cringe faces of Mechie and the guards.

   Mechie didn't look impressed at all. "That was a horrible joke!" She shouts through the TARDIS doors as both David and the Doctor begin laughing at each other and doing a few victorious bounces with their legs. "That was bloody brilliant! Did you see their faces?" The Doctor says to David. David was giggling up a storm. "That was fun! Oh, if only Georgia an' me kids could've seen that." He says, pausing his bouncing and looks up. 

   "You both are acting like some little toddlers." Donna says, but Rose looked like she was enjoying the sight. "Oh mum, leave 'em alone. It's nice to see him havin' a bit of fun." Rose says, giving her mum a playful nudge. Sheryl was in deep thought as she held the two halves of the rock. More knocks can he heard on the TARDIS doors. "Open up and surrender yourself! And I might let you off easy to Rassilon!" Mechie shouted from outside the doors. "Come out and face us, funny man!"

   Sheryl looks around the TARDIS and sees just how much in disarray she was. She places the rock halves in front of her on the console and places her hand on the console itself. She can almost feel what the TARDIS was going through. The rock really did a number on her. "Doctor, I think something is very wrong with the TARDIS." Sheryl calls out to the Doctor, as the Doctor puts his fun on pause and comes up to her side, scanning the console with his sonic. "She's...dying." The Doctor says, looking at Sheryl with worried eyes. "Dying? We must do something, or we'll all be stuck here, and at Rassilon's mercy no less." Sheryl says, knowing full well who Rassilon was and what he was capable of. "Can we save her, Doctor?" She continues on.

   The Doctor seemed very concerned as David, Donna and Rose joined him. "I... I'm not sure. There's only so much I can do." The Doctor shakily says. David seemed to spark an idea though. "Maybe she took us here for a reason? She always took ye where ye needed to go, remember? She took us to a TARDIS repair yard." David says, as the Doctor looks at David with hope. "You're right on there, David. Maybe she did... and I believe the answer to our hopes is right outside the doors." The Doctor says. He then runs to the TARDIS doors and swings it all the way open to the surprise of the rest of the crew. "Right, I will surrender myself to you. But, only if you save the TARDIS. Please, I beg of you. She's badly damaged and she's dying." The Doctor tells Mechie. "And I will only give myself up to you. Not your companions."

   Mechie looks at the companions and figures she can handle the Time Lord on her own, dismissing the security. "Very well. But if you try any funny business, I do have the ability to block any further transports from this facility. Got it?" She says, and then the Doctor nods. Mechie enters the TARDIS, scanning the destroyed room around her. "Bloody hell, what have you done to her?! This is the worst I've ever seen a Type 40! And I've repaired some badly damaged Type 20s and even 5s. I've got my work cut out for me for sure." Mechie says in shock and anger as she sees the terrible physical condition the TARDIS is in. She pulls out a device and scans the console. It seems to look similar to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, but it has more gadgets on it, and the tip resembled that of a crescent wrench of sorts. Mechie opens a panel below the control console and attaches her device to it. She pushes a button on her device and then her device emits a bright spark. Not long after the entire room goes dark. Mechie quickly grabs her maintenance goggles from around her neck and puts it on over her eyes, using her special goggles to see in the dark. "Hmmm, you're right. She's running at very minimal power right now. According to her logs, you've taken her across multiple universes?! Even... multiple different timelines and even multiple Time Wars?? How's any of this possible?! Especially in a Type 40?! I haven't even added these abilities to the newer Type 100s." Mechie says in shock as she reads her device's findings. She works a few wires on the console and then the lights grow in brightness once more.

   "Well, we've been all over... here and there." The Doctor says, looking at Mechie's device. "What is that? A different sonic screwdriver model?" 

   "A sonic screwdriver? No, those things are a bit obsolete. This is a sonic wrench. MUCH more advanced and meant for more complex readings. It can even repair wood." Mechie says to the Doctor's surprise. "It can... repair wood??? Fascinating..." The Doctor says, rather impressed that this Gallifreyan has solved the wood mystery with the sonic devices. "It was quite... as a great detective once said... elementary." Mechie says with a smile as she continued to examine the TARDIS. "I need to speak with her..." Mechie says, standing back up and taking her sonic wrench from the panel. She stows it in her jacket and approaches the symbiotic nuclei of the TARDIS. She then closes her eyes and slips her hands into the goo, focusing her mind and forming a connection with the TARDIS.

   David watches Mechie in action, rather impressed. "Hmmm, how come we've never seen her in the show?" 

   "I don't know. But I kind of like her already." Sheryl answers. "Maybe Chibnall or RTD should add her character in, eh?" David seems to smile at the idea. Maybe David would have enough pull to make it happen? Who knows?

   Meanwhile, Mechie seemed to tense up. Her teeth clench and she let out a slight wince. Her head archs back and her body begins to shake. Inside her mind, she was feeling the same shock the TARDIS felt each time she got zapped by the mysterious rock. Screams can be heard in her mind, seeing the human form of the TARDIS collapse onto the ground, trembling greatly as the zaps continued. The TARDIS' eyes opened briefly, looking towards Mechie as Mechie ran up to her in the vision. "Danger. The rock... must get the rock away... Please, save me, and I can get everyone back home. But they must get the rock out before... ahhh!" The TARDIS says to Mechie, before being cutout by another round of zaps, torturing the TARDIS' human form further. Mechie is in shock at the sight, horrified even. Mechie cares for every TARDIS greatly, knowing their sentience. She feels the pain of the TARDIS as if the electricity were running through her own body. She tries to maintain control over herself while in this state. "Before what? Please... tell me! Before what?!" Mechie cries out, needing more information. "I'll save you, I promise! I'll do everything in my power!" Mechie is then suddenly pulled out by David and the Doctor, disconnecting her from the symbiotic nuclei and pulling her hands from the goo. 

   "Are ye okay, lass? You were practically convulsin' there and screamin' somethin' wicked." David asks as he and the Doctor then helped her to a seated position on some nearby rubble. Mechie, still breathing heavily, runs her hands over her short brown hair, lowering her goggles back to hanging from her neck and looks up at David. "What is this rock? The TARDIS mentioned a rock, and it was torturing her... forcing her to go places." Mechie says in between breaths. "Well, it sort of just landed in me life... literally." David answers back. "It zapped the lass and I into a different world, once I acted in as part of a show. Ye see, I'm an actor. Someone who, entertains. Then when we were helpin' someone, it zapped us again, inteh the Doctor's world here." He explains in the best way he can. "I see, so this rock is capable of universal travel." Mechie formulates, looking towards where Sheryl had placed the two halves. "But, why are there two of them? The TARDIS mentioned only one." She asks. "Well, it sort of broke during the trip here. It seemed to take the first crash but then broke during the crash landing here. Is there a way to fix it?" David asks. "Well, I might have a way, but for now, I'll focus on saving your TARDIS here. The rock seems to be too damaged to do anything at the moment, so it'll give me time." Mechie says as she then grabs her sonic wrench and begins to dig into the panels under the console. The Doctor joins in with helping her. "First, I'm going to have all the leaking time energy restored to the TARDIS. Then I'll have to go fetch a new temporal modulator, as this one is completely fried." Mechie went on. She seemed to recover fast from her connection with the TARDIS. Maybe it was the way a Gallifreyan body works? Even David couldn't help but observe how she shrugged it off.

   "Tell me what it looks like, and maybe I could get it for ye." David offers. Mechie looks at David and the Doctor. She had gotten so caught up at the state of the TARDIS that she was completely oblivious to the fact that there were two with the same face. "Wait... There... are TWO of you?! Bloody hell, why didn't I see this before?" Mechie finally says. "No, oh, I'm not the Doctor... I mean, sort of, but not now, erm..." David hesitantly says, trying to figure out how to explain it. "I dunnae ken you'd understand." He continues. "Well, you do sound completely different. Almost like you're a northerner." Mechie says with a shrug and continues working on the console. "Well, lots of planets have a north." David just HAD to say. He was in the Whoniverse after all and couldn't resist throwing in some Whovianisms.

   "Look, I'm not here to make friends. My life is dedicated to the TARDISes. They've been my only friends. They come to me in need, sometimes even by themselves. I've had them just show up here without their Time Lord crew too. They definitely have a mind of their own. I take care of them all. I was extremely upset when this TARDIS was stolen by the Doctor, worried that a lone Time Lord wouldn't be able to properly run with one of these. Rassilon thinks I'm nuts, and that these should be treated like equipment. He just doesn't understand that they have feelings too." Mechie explains, sharing some of her perception to David. 

   David listened into Mechie's little story, almost as if he were learning something completely new. Why wasn't this in the show? The TARDIS itself was such a huge mystery, and it would be nice to have a little more insight. "Wow, you really do know yer way around them. I'm glad the TARDISes have someone like ye to take care of 'em." David says. Before they could continue the talk, the TARDIS emits a light groan that echoes in the room, the lights shutting off once more. "No, no no! Stay with me, old girl!" Mechie shouts, throwing on her repair goggles once more and works a few wires, soldering some with her sonic wrench. "Go and get me the TARDIS flux defibrillatrix. It's in the emergency repair cabinet on the bottom shelf." Mechie asks David, with David quickly making his way to the TARDIS door, seeing the light going through the windows. "You'll know it when you see it!" Mechie finishes as David exits the TARDIS, running towards the cabinet. He opens it and scans the shelves for the defibrillatrix.

   "Shit, which device is it. I've never even heard of such a device in the show. I dunnae reckon I've even heard of it in the original run." David says to himself as he looks at the bottom shelf, where Mechie told him, and he sees a green bag with a Seal of Rassilon and crossed sonic wrenches. He opens the bag, and it seems to have a piece of charged coral in it. He takes the bag with the device in it and runs it back into the TARDIS. He pauses at the door, seeing the outside of the TARDIS and it seemed to be cracking and splintering. He could tell time was of the essence and ran inside, quickly delivering the device to Mechie. "Here ye go. This is it, correct?" David asks. Mechie snatches the bag and pulls out the device. She then opens up an internal panel and looks inside to find the connection to the heart of the TARDIS was barely hanging on, no spark at all. "Shit, we're losing her!" She says, grabbing the charged coral. The Doctor, Donna and Rose gather around, with the Doctor assisting with the wires.

   "Doc? When I say 'now', aim your sonic screwdriver along with my sonic wrench right at the defibrillatrix. We must supercharge this." Mechie says, with the Doctor nodding in acknowledgement. "Ready?... NOW!" She shouts as she shoves the device into the TARDIS' heart connection and then both Mechie and the Doctor fire their sonics at the device. It begins to glow. "That's it, keep it up!" Mechie shouts as the others look on. "Come on, old girl!" Mechie continues. The Doctor could feel the device pulling at his sonic, drawing it in, but he kept a tight grip on it. "You can do it, sexy!" He finally shouts. Then, the TARDIS seems to emit a loud shriek, the lights coming back on and begin to brightly glow, almost blinding everyone, especially Mechie with her low-viz mode on her goggles, making her shut her eyes tight, sweat dripping from her face. "That's it, we're doing it!" Mechie shouts, the defibrillatrix sparking wildly. The connection begins to quickly heal, fully reconnecting the Heart of the TARDIS. The entire ship begins to rumble. "We're doing it! She's coming back! Atta girl!" Mechie praises, continuing to motivate the TARDIS.

   David watches in awe with Sheryl, seeing this incredible teamwork by the Doctor and his fellow Gallifreyan. David turns to his right though and sees that something else is also glowing. It's the two halves of the mysterious rock, and the supercharged energy in the TARDIS console seems to be having a residual effect, swarming the halves with the same repairing energy. The halves begin to fuse back together, and the rock begins to glow. "Shit! Not now!" David shouts in surprise. Sheryl also sees the rock repairing itself. "If it repairs, it can shock the TARDIS again! We can't let that happen!" Sheryl shouts. Mechie and the Doctor are nearing completion of their teamwork in repairing the TARDIS and didn't notice what was going on with the rock. Donna and Rose spots David and Sheryl running to the rock though. "Stay away from that! What if it zaps you too! Don't be daft!" Donna shouts at the duo. 

   The rock finishes repairing itself right as the TARDIS healed, sending Mechie and the Doctor flying backward and the TARDIS shook awake, emitting a VWORP as it quickly disappeared from the TARDIS Repair Shop. The TARDIS had been sprung alive, filled with supercharged time energy from Mechie's repairs. "What did we do?!" The Doctor shouts to Mechie. "I gave her energy from a Type 100 TARDIS! If I felt she couldn't handle it, I wouldn't have used this device. The TARDIS flux defibrillatrix I've invented is made from the coral from the Type 100." Mechie explains. The Doctor looked surprised. 

   "You mean...?" The Doctor asks.

   "Yes, your TARDIS now has an upgrade." Mechie quickly answers with a smile, looking at the TARDIS quickly repairing the interior console room. The entire room was forming back together and it was quite the sight. Both of the Gallifreyans looked in awe at the sight, but as David and Sheryl reached the rock, the smiles would quickly disappear. The rock had completed its repairs as well and glowed a bright blue, beginning to form a strong static field as if it were coming alive once more. "WHAT?! No! Don't go near that!" The Doctor shouted, finally noticing it and not wanting the rock to destroy the TARDIS again. The rock began to zap David and Sheryl once more as they tried to get it away from the TARDIS console. "STAY BACK!" David shouts to the rest of the crew, knowing full well what was in store for them. The TARDIS was ready for this though, suddenly landing in the backyard of Donna's house in their original timeline. The TARDIS then threw David, Sheryl and the rock outside to the shock of the Doctor, using a very narrow gravity flux where David and Sheryl were standing. The Doctor ran towards the duo, but the TARDIS shuts the door, blocking the Doctor from leaving as if protecting him from the rock. 

   When the TARDIS does finally open the door after a few more seconds, the Doctor, Mechie, Donna and Rose exit the TARDIS, scanning around the area. David, Sheryl and the rock were now gone. "Where did they go?! What happened?!" The Doctor shouted, looking around and then between his friends and fellow Gallifreyan. 

  Soho District, London England, 2023. David and Sheryl recover from this transport a bit quicker. Sheryl's eyes widen and she gasps when she realizes where they're at. They're in a bookshop! "David! I can't believe it! Look where we've landed!" Sheryl says in a state of surprise and shock as she shakes David. David's vision begins to clear and as he looks up, he sees a tall, skinny and dark figure looming over him. "Well... This is a surprise." Says the figure with bright red hair, sunglasses and a small tattoo of a snake just below his right-side sideburn. "Hi new people! I'm Jim!" Shouts another figure from behind Sheryl, wearing what looked like a tartan toga. Then a third figure appears, seemingly emitting a much more welcoming energy. "Oh dear... This is quite unexpected." Says the man with the white hair and older white suit that reminds Sheryl of the Victorian era. David looks at the trio and then back at Sheryl. "Welcome to Good Omens." David says to Sheryl with a big smile.

To be continued with Chapter 3! 

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of David Tennant and the Multiverse of Insanity