Forever, Always

by SamWritesStories

Summary:

A mysterious girl, looking for her missing wife and daughter, A time lord looking for a companion, a mysterious old woman who appears everywhere, and a young woman who just wants to go home.

Notes:

This is mainly just for me so I can put it onto my kindle... feel free to read anyway?

Chapter 1

Chapter 1
5 years B.T.W (Before the time war)
Palace of Citadel, Gallifrey
The palace bells rang, marking a new age. Gallifrey, a beautiful planet, was my home. The sun shone bright against the Arkytior. My father had the gardeners plant over 1,000 flowers. The planet was celebrating a wedding, my wedding. As my wife and I walked out of the palace doors, I could barely hear the sound of the people celebrating. All I could see and hear was her. Always her, forever. My wife squeezed my hand gently, and we finally looked out to see our people. I wave smiling to the people cheering, I look back at my wife kissing her gently.

We finish walking the path and enter the carriage as it starts taking us to our honeymoon spot, Southern Gallifrey. As the world grows quieter, I look at her, “Have I told you how beautiful you look, love..?” I whisper to her. She turns to me and gently holds my chin. “You’ve only told me 20 times already, my dear...” She gently brings me closer to her, rubbing my shoulder as we travel a little under 25 miles to our destination. I take her hand softly and trace my fingers along her palm,looking at the burns on them, ones that could only be caused by her experiments. “That one is new… You promised you’d be careful.” She looks at me and rolls her eyes, “I was… it just got a little out of hand.” She looks back at you and sighs, a little annoyed about this talk on the happiest day of your lives, “I’m fine, it’s fine. It happens now and again. Now focus on me, my love… I want to hear the creative ways to have you tonight.. And every night for eternity..” I blush, a nd bite my lip, scoffing at her scandalous talk, “Oh, you know what I like. Silly..” I smile. Everything was perfect now.

 

650 Years ATW (After the time war)
London, England
I kneel and whisper a Gallifreyan prayer. 649 years ago, at the start of the Time War, I fled Gallifrey with my wife. I didn’t want to leave, but when my wife was banished from an experiment gone wrong, and the threat of war, I left. I let myself run away from the problem, the people I should've saved. I was a traitor to my kind, I was a traitor to my homeland. Before I was separated from my wife, 620 years ago, she told me it wasn’t my fault for leaving, to blame her, for the mistakes she made. I stop and freeze as I hear the knock at my apartment door. I pause, wiping the tears staining my face. “Coming!” I call and blow out my prayer candles and open the front door.

I smile as I open the door for Mrs. Flood, only to see her face stained with tears .“Mrs. Floods, is everything okay?” She was an older lady, retired, mid-70s. She was always out and about, jogging at 5 am, bringing me cookies on my birthday. Which freaked me out the first time, I didn’t remember telling her that information, but maybe I had. Mrs. Flood looks softly at me, “I hope I’m not interrupting you, dear, but I couldn’t help but wonder if you say my cat. I’m afraid I thought I closed my door. Me and My Old Brain.” I smile sadly, “No, I haven't. But I can help you go look for…?” I didn't know she had a cat, nor the name of said cat. Mrs. Flood doesn't keep me thinking for too long, “Whiskers.” I nod, “Whiskers, right, I just wanted to keep you on your toes...” I motion to my bedroom door. “Give me a moment to change, and I'll go out and help look.” Mrs. Flood's nod, as I start making my way to my bedroom, is the last thing I notice before her face changes.

I finish changing and meet Mrs. Flood outside my door, and we start our search. I look around and click my tongue, looking for her cat. “Whiskers! I have treats for you…” I call out. I turn to the older lady, “Did he go by any nicknames that might draw him out?” Mrs. Flood shakes her head, I nod, “We’ll find him, don’t worry, what’s lost can always be found.” I turn back to start looking again, but as I look away, I don't notice the way she looks at me. Her look was almost curious, as if she was trying to figure out who I truly was.

I sigh after several hours of trying, we decided to call it a day. I could tell anyway that Mrs. Flood lacked the energy she had at the beginning of the search. “How about I try again before work tomorrow?.” Mrs Flood nods, “Yes, very well. Thank you anyway, Sam.” I smile back at her and head into my house.

1 hour later
Home
I draw myself a bath and throw in a random bath bomb, good god, I needed it. I needed a good cry. I quickly strip and step into the hot water. I lean on the ledge of the bathtub and close my eyes, letting the water lap around me. I slowly let myself fall asleep, letting dreams wander into my mind.

“You think you found a way?” My eyes go wide as I watch her rush around the lab room, mixing and pouring things into a container. “And you are 100% sure this is safe, and it isn’t going to kill me?” I ask my wife, a little skeptical. She rolls her eyes playfully, “I wouldn’t kill you, dear, I wouldn’t have gone through all of this and a wedding to kill you. Plus it has to… I’m smart, and we have no other options.” I nod, and watch her put it into a syringe and walk over to the metal bed I was sitting on. “Is it going to hurt..” I look at the pointy needle. She shrugs, gently inserts it, and pushes down on the plunger, as it’s injected into my womanly parts. I wince slightly as I feel some blood trickle. “Are you done yet..?” I peek, and I see her throwing the needle away. She nods and comes over to me, “Yes… and now we wait.” She rubs my cheek, “You’ll wait for me, right..?”

I gasp and come up from the water, I cough up the water i had accidentally indeed and wipe the water from my face. I stand up and grab my towel to dry off, allowing myself to regroup. I just needed sleep, I was having all these dreams because I was sleep deprived, that had to be it.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Next Day
Hospital A&E
I rush over to the patient being rolled in, putting on my gloves, and I lean down to the lady. “So who bit you? Was it a dog? Was it a man? Was it your wife?” I smile gently and run the tests, “She’s tachy at 120, Systolic at 70.. What has she been given?” I turn to look at Paramedic, “She’s had one gram of TXA, five milligrams of morphine, and she’s got a gram of IV paracetamol.” I nod, and take over the gurney and wheel the lady to a private room as Belinda keeps talking to the women, “I’m sorry, but I’ve phoned your daughter, and she’s on her way. Is there anything else I can get you? How about a nice cup of tea and a sandwich?” I smile at Belinda, and we watch the night nurses and a doctor tend to the women as we head to the nurses' station. Belinda and I went back all the way to the beginning of our employment at A&E. I was always helping her and taking care of her. One time i ever paid her rent. “You’re good at what you do.” I nudge her gently and rub hand sanitizer on my hands. Belinda smiles, “Thanks, Sam.”

I yawn and head out, throwing my coat over my shoulders and passing a man talking to the receptionist, who was completely annoyed at the man.. “No.” The man groans, just needing one name, “Just one little name.” The receptionist shakes her head again, moving her hands around, “I can’t give out home addresses, it’s not allowed.” The man points to the door, making a faux situation. “Oh! Look over there!” I chuckle to myself and walk out. I make my way to the bus stop, not noticing the hospital lights going black.

I stand next to Belinda as we both wait for the long-awaited bus ride home. Belinda shows me a funny dog video. I smile up at her, “I don’t understand your love for Dogs, cats are more reliable.” Belinda scoffs and keeps scrolling on her phone. I play with my wedding ring. Belinda frowns, looking at me, “Why do you wear a wedding ring? I didn’t know you had a..?” I smile, “A wife, but that was a very long time ago.” Belinda goes to speak again butt the bus pulls up and we get on.

I finally get to my apartment and get my keys out, only to hear a loud commotion several houses down. I look and see robots, Red, egg-shaped robots with two arms and legs, and a circular screen on the front. I rush over, dropping my things, and see Belinda panicking, “Is this some kind of joke? You’re not real, actual robots, are you? Cos that is just.. Ridiculous. Oi!! You’re wrecking the place! And my landlord is… not a nice man.” I watch a robot climb stairs as the second robot pins Belinda between the counters and the fridge. I tried to get to Belinda, but I had no way to without getting caught. I hide behind a wall and listen to their conversation. “Residents will stay in their rooms.” The robots downstairs say, Belinda tries to make light of the situation, 'Don’t tell me he needs the toilet.” I look around trying to find a way to help her, but it was either death.. Or death. The best way to protect Belinda was simply by making sure they didn’t attempt to kill her.

The robot walks downstairs and shows a certificate to Belinda, “You are Missbelindachandra?” Belinda looks at the robots, confused about how they knew her name. “What?” She asks confused, “How do you know my name..?” The robots responded to her, “Name confirmed—Your Majesty. “ The robot grabs her arm. “You will come with us.” Belinda tries to fight off the robot's grip, “You're what now?” The robot ignores her question, “You will come with us.” He says simply as he starts pulling her along. “What if I don’t!” Belinda yells as she once again tries to wiggle free. That’s when i see Mr. Whiskers, and one of the robots pointing a ray gun at the poor dear, and then zaps the senior cat.

Belinda yells, “You killed the cat!” She tries to stop them from taking her closer to the ship, shaking. “The cat is irrelevant.” Belinda retorts, “It wasn’t my cat!”. The robot responds to her simply, “The cat is still irrelevant.” Belinda starts crying, “What do you want from me!” The robot finally responds to her question, “We come from the star Missbelindachandra. We need you as our Queen.” My eyes brows narrow, what did they mean by that. I rush out towards Belinda, forgetting my whole plan of waiting till it’s safe. Belinda looks at the robots, “What do you mean, the star Belinda?” Then the robots shove a certificate in her face, “Oh, you are kidding me!"

As the robots start escorting Belinda again towards the ship, Mrs. Flood rushes out in her red robe. “Belinda? What’s going on?” Belinda looks at Mrs. Flood, “You had a cat named Whiskers, right?” Mrs. Flood nods, “Yes.” Belinda frowns as she tries to pull away from the robot, “I’m very sorry. But… you’re cat has gone to a very lovely place. I’m the queen of outer space, if you could tell the police. And my adopted mom and dad, Oh, my poor mum and dad. Tell them robots are kidnapping me. Tell them I love them!” I rush out, “Belinda!” I scream—Mrs. Flood waves to Belinda. Then the man from the hospital runs out yelling Belinda's name. I look towards where Mrs. Flood was standing, her eyes not leaving mine, until I get distracted by the man. “Who the fuck are you!” The doctor looks at me. “I’m the doctor, and you’re friend just got kidnapped by robots…”

 

The doctor grabs my hand and pulls me into a blue police box… a TARDIS. Holy shit, he had a TARDIS, he had to be a time lord. Could it be possible that my wife and I weren’t the only survivors? I kept quiet as he continued talking to himself and pressing buttons on the control center. When suddenly the TARDIS starts juddering, I look at the doctor, “What-a-a-a-a-... ..a-a-t is ha-a-a-..ppening?” The doctor looks over at me, “Well, this complicates things.”

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Unknown, Missbelindachandraplanet
The TARDIS lands with a shudder as I fall into the railing. I take a deep breath, looking around. “What on the absolute hell was that?” The doctor looks around, trying to press buttons, but the TARDIS doesn’t respond. I look at the doctor, “Y..you stranded us! You took me from Earth and brought me… wherever the hell this place is.” My voice cracks as I look around. I slam open the doors and look around the new planet. I turn back to the doctor, “I want my friend back and I want to go home!” The doctor frowns and tries to explain everything. But I don’t listen as I start crying. Leaving Gallifrey was supposed to bring me peace, to stay away from the ways of the Time Lords, to start a new life. The doctor touches my shoulder and makes promises to anyone who just kidnapped me and brought me to an unknown planet.

We decided to walk through the empty city, or more like the Doctor persuaded me to follow him. The doctor looks at me, “So.. you’re married?” I frown and fidget with my ring, “Was… I’m a widow in a sense… we got separated…” The doctor nods, “I... apologize for your loss.” I nod, holding in tears, I sigh as I realize the doctor wanted to know about her, “She was kind.. And a good mother for the time we had with our daughter. But she… was what you would call a mad scientist, her experiments didn’t always go to plan, and she had a darker side. But she was mine.. And it was perfect.” I play with my ring again, the doctor looks at me, “She sounds… entertaining.” I nod, “You could say that.” I smile, deep in thought.

We find a clearing and sit, to allow ourselves some time to rest, until we’re suddenly surrounded by 4 beings. They looked human, but something about them felt… different. The one female soldier points her gun at me, “What is your name?!” I hold up my hands, “S..sam!” I close my eyes. The doctor stands up and keeps his hands up high, “As she said, her name is Sam, and I’m the doctor. We got last while traveling and ended up here.” I nod, a tear rolling down my face, the last time I had a gun pointed at me was one of the 1st Dalek sightings. I had begged my wife to let me take our daughter to the outer city for charity purposes only for the daleks to attack. The palace guards were quick to put a stop to them, but it was the last time I was allowed outside my home walls.

The soldiers force us to start walking, their guns still pointed at our heads as they take us to their secret base. We enter the base and are quickly scanned for any unauthorized items. I look at the female soldier from before, “Where are we?” I whisper, she looks at me, “Welcome to North Point. The rebel base.”

 

Time Skip - 6 months
North Zone, MissBelindachandraplanet
I sit and tend to the wounded soldiers, “Your wounds are healing nicely, Jesper.” I finish wrapping new gauze around the male's ribs. “I say give it another week and you’ll be as good as new.” Jesper smiles tiredly, he looks at me and asks me to tell a story. The other awake soldiers nod. “Hmm… how about I tell you about a wedding, a beautiful one, Roses planted in thousands, and people cheering for a new chapter in their life.. The couple danced and danced in the ballroom until the reception was over and they had to walk to their carriage.” I finish my story, as they all keep smiling. Until I hear the doctor return. Only for there to be at least 10 fewer people, plus the addition of Belinda. The doctor talks to Belinda, introducing her to the base, “Now, then, Miss Belinda Chandra, we have got a world to overthrow!”

I get up and run to her, “Omg! You’re okay!!” Belinda hugs me tighter and nods, “Yeah… I’m okay… what is this place..?” I smile and bring her deeper into the base, “Welcome to North Zone, our haven. Belinda nods and notices the wounded rebels I hadn’t gotten to yet. She touches the IV bag and turns to me, “Is this IV? Do you have basic IV? Is it fluids or medicine?” I smile, pointing to a full IV bag, “That would be Simolin. It’s a type of fluid we give to the wounded.” Belinda nods, “Would I be able to replace it? It’s empty is all.” I nod, “Help yourself. Simon, IV kits, sanferric over there. Disinfect with mylos. ‘Your majesty.’” I smirk, using her nickname, watching her grab the medical supplies. “Simolin. Mylos. Got it.” She mumbles to herself.

I go and help the other wounded soldiers as the doctor simply watches me and Belinda. Belinda looks at the doctor, “What, happy watching? Some things don't change. There's always a doctor standing back while the nurses do all the hard work. So, what's your name? Doctor, what?” The doctor looks at Belinda, “Just the doctor.” Belinda scoffs, “What, you’re called the doctor?” I look at Belinda and laugh, “That was my same reaction.” Belinda smiles, “All right, then. I’m called the nurse.” I start snorting as I laugh. “Doctor and a nurse, what a good team,” I say to the two of them.

Belinda starts to tend to another wounded soldier, “How about your darling? Has anyone had a chance to look at you?” The soldier, named Scoley, nods, “I’m okay. They said it’s a dislocated shoulder.” Belinda goes to tend to him again, but the man shakes his head, “It doesn’t matter. There are people in a worse state than I.” Then he yelps as Belinda fixes his shoulder.

Belinda throws a blanket over the man, “Okay… Oh, my god!” She yelps as she realizes that the blanket is like an X-ray machine, “It’s like...” The doctor takes the words right from her mouth: “X-ray blankets.” Belinda nods, I turn and explain to Belinda, “Radiation-free. And look, the main difference between humans and Missbelindachandrakind. Instead of the kidneys and the liver, all the detox is carried out here in an organ called the pasculum.” I point to the differences, smiling. Belinda keeps looking at the blanket, “So like a second diaphragm?” I nod, “Exactly. The diaphragm kind of protects it like a sheath.” Belinda nods, “But is it better or worse than humans?” The Doctor shrugs, “If you start deciding which body is best. You’re going down a very dangerous path.” I chuckle, “That’s the truest thing I’ve heard all day!”

The doctor goes over and grabs the blanket, moving it to show his X-ray. “Ta-Da!” The doctor smiles. Belindas eyes widen, “Holy shit… You have two hearts?” The doctor hits his chest gently, “Padam, Padam.” Belinda points to his chest, “No way. Can I…? Do you mind if I..?” The doctor nods as Belinda listens to his two hearts beating. Belinda pulls away and looks at the doctor, “Wow! That’s… so weird. But the pasculum man, he hasn’t got two hearts.” The doctor laughs, shaking his head, “No, no, no. I’m not Missbelindachandrakind. I’m from a different planet.” Belinda nods, “Okay… another Alien. Add it to the list. You aren’t an alien, right, Sam?” I freeze slightly and laugh awkwardly, “Of course not. Human through and through…” Belinda smiles, “So what are you doing here, doctor?” The doctor's smile grows stern. “I came for you.” Belinda looks at him confused, “Why?” The doctor nods, sitting on a chair looking outside, “I was told about you by someone. It's kind of a long story, and I've got to be careful about timelines. But he told me your name, like you would be important….” Belinda frowns and walks over to a chair in front of the Doctor, “But I'm not. I'm not. I just don't get it. Why me?” I tap on an item resembling an iPad and point to the diploma, “Do you see? The problem is that. The diploma. Have you got yours?” Belinda looks at me, “I mean the original, yeah.” I smile, looking at her and the doctor, “But look, the AI generator has got the same thing! It’s not only a copy, but the same diploma! Look. It’s older because it’s been here longer, but it’s got the same tear, do you see?” I show her the tear in the diploma. Belinda looks at the one in the picture and in the doctor's hands, “Just like mine.” The doctor jumps and points to me, “Ah ha. It’s the same object twice!” Belinda looks down at the diploma, wrapping her head around it. “Do you mean it’s the same diploma, line in a time travel way?” The doctor nods, “Timey-wimey.” Belinda, “Timey-wimey? Am I six?” The doctor takes the iPad from me and keeps looking at it. “But it's fascinating. Cos I have waited for you for a long time, Belinda. And yet, when you were taken by the Robots, I was at your house. When was that for you?” Belinda shrugs and looks at the photo with him. “I don’t know, two hours?” My eyes widen, “2 hours…? It’s been 6 months for me and the doctor.. We saw the rocket. We were both in your garden…”

Belinda looks at the doctor, “You were in my garden?” Belinda backs up, a little disturbed at the revelation. The doctor ignores her reaction, “Yes, and I chased you, I followed you, but when you were on board the rocket, did you have a blip? Did you feel...a schwup?” Belinda stops for a moment and nods, “No, I-I did, yes, it all went schwup! We schwupped.” I look at the doctor, “So like a fracture in time?” Belinda turns to me, “Which means…?” The doctor looks at us both, “Everything is out of sync. The border between this world and Earth keeps jumping about in time. So you left Earth on May 24th, 2025. We followed you, and somehow we got split up.”

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

I sit down with Belinda as the doctor goes through his memory of how we came here. I look a Belinda. “We’re going to get out, I promise you that, Bell..” Belinda looks at me, nodding, “I just want to go home.” I look at her, “Me too..” Manny, a soldier, walks over and talks to the doctor quietly. Belinda watches and, after a few moments, asks the doctor what both of us have been up to. The doctor looks at him and nods, “We’ve been living down here in the Undercity for six months. And I met Sahsa, and she looked after me and Sam.” The doctor looks down, a tear rolling down his cheek. “I’m sorry.” Belinda whispers.

Manny looks over, “Yeah, she was,... Sasha was the best..” he whispers, “And she did. Helping you.” I look up and get a little too close to Manny, “It is not Belinda's fault!” Belinda scoffs, “I don’t need you to fight my battles, thank you.” Belinda looks at Manny, “And it’s not my fault, okay? I didn’t want any of this!” Belinda looks around the base, overwhelmed. Manny bites back at Belinda, “Is that an order from the queen? Is that a royal decree? You’re as bad as the robots!” The doctor motions for Manny to leave and take a breather. I look at Belinda and lead her back to a seat to rest. “That was Manny. He’s good, I swear… I think they had a thing going on. His parents were killed by the robots… I think the grief from that and Sasha has taken over… I’ll talk to him.” Belinda shakes her head, “It’s okay…” I bite my lip but nod, “If you’re sure.”

Belinda watches the doctor think, “So the diploma is the problem… have you always had it, Belinda?” She nods, “Yeah, it was on the wall. I mean, it didn’t mean anything.” The doctor shakes his head, “The robots must have gotten it from the future. But when they brought it back this planet…” I look at them, “It went schwup!” I make an explosion gesture with my hands. The doctor nods, “Right back to the past! It travelled further than six months. It went back 5,000 years and became a foundation myth.” Belinda frowns, “But I’ve seen films. When you get two versions of the same thing crossing over in time, don’t they explode?” I nod, “Yes…If you get the same atoms in the same space twice, the Laws of Time say no. Kaboom!” The doctor turns to me, “How did you know that...?” I swallow, realizing my mistake, “Wel.. i.. I’m a nurse, so I’ve studied these theories.” The doctor frowns but lets it go and looks at Belinda holding his hand out for the diploma, “I think I’ll take this, and I’ll keep it very, very safe.” Belinda hands him the diploma as he puts it into his coat pocket.

“So… is this, like, your job? Are you some sort of Time Detective?” The doctor laughs, shaking his head,” Ha.. No.. Er..” Suddenly, the base shakes. I fall off the chair and shield the closest patients I’m near. “Take cover!” I yell. The roof shakes, and I whimper. “Manny, hold the roof!” The doctor yells at the young blonde man. Manny looks at Belinda, “This is all your fault, ‘Queen Belinda.’” Manny spits and walks out angry. I go to Belinda, but she shoves me away and heads elsewhere. I frown, dropping my hands to my side. I turn to the doctor, “Take. Us. Home. I know people like you, doctor, far better than you think I do. I know what your type of people do. I won’t no part of it, ever.” I walk away, going to tend to the injured.

After several minutes to cool down, I join Manny and The Doctor, “I need to get to the Memory Banks. I told Sasha that that's the key.” The doctor points to the Memory Bank area of the map. I just laugh, “That's top security. It’s guarded by a full Robot Phalanx!” The doctor nods, “But it'll have a record of what went wrong. Because the people and the Robots have a great big long history. You have been friends for centuries, and then it all changed, in one night, ten years ago. But why?” The doctor turns to Manny as he thinks.

Suddenly, the roof starts to shake, and Manny tenses, “Wait... wait a minute. They’ve found us!”

I turn to Belinda, “We need to get you out!” Belinda shakes her head, biting her lip, “I.. I did this.” The doctor doesn’t hear her and yells at Manny to get the documents and for me and Belinda to go with a soldier named Shago. Shago turns to us, “This way.” He points to a quick exit point. Belinda shakes her head, “I’m telling you I did this.” Her voice is shaky as she looks at me, “I turned the robot on...” I cover my face as the Robots burst in. The robots point their guns at us, “Rebels, you will surrender!” Belinda yells at all of us, “Everyone, guns down! They’ve come for me. Manny, put your gun down. Right now.” Manny narrows his eyes at Belinda, “You betrayed us!” Belinda shakes her head, “No, I’m saving you.” She whispers to you. I look at Bell taking her hand, “Bel, what have you done?” I whisper. She looks at me, like a child looking at her mother if she did something wrong, “I’m sorry. But people are dying, and it is my fault. Because my name is Miss Belinda Chandra. And it’s about time I owned it.” I shake my head, “Belinda..” The robot yells at me, “Silence!” The doctor turns to Belinda, “B…” Belinda looks away and wipes her tears, “Robots! Now listen to the words of your Queen. Leave these people alone and take me.”

Time Skip
AI Generator Chamber
The robots push me and The Doctor into the Chamber. The room was full of golden wires as they connected to a creepy robot face. It had to have been about 2 floors high. Then the robot's mouth moves, “Queen of our great planet. Your heart may beg and weep, but I will bring elevation to you.” The doctor yells at AL, “But hold on! Can I just say? Boss? If you leave Belinda alone and you work with me, you will get a much better result!” The robot roars, “You are the Historian. You will witness events, not participate!” I yell, “But she won’t survive the process!” I yell, panicking. The robot turns his eyes to me, “You will be silent!” I stumble back. Belinda looks at me and smiles, a smile that was so familiar yet so far away. “It’s okay. Cos once I’m part of the machine. I can talk to it. Maybe I can lead it to peace.” The robot laughs, “Let the ceremony begin!!”

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

I flinch as he yells, and I look towards the doctor. I hear the cleaning robot, ‘Polish, Polish, Polish.’ As the little guy cleans the floor. Belinda kneels shakily, “All right, little fella.. I don’t think you want to be a part of this. But thank you. Off you go..” She smiles weakly, her eyes look up at me. Belinda then turns back to Al. “Conversion will be a world without sadness or pity. You will achieve serenity, peace, and joy. With me.” Belinda starts to shake. The doctor mumbles under his breath, “Serenity, peace and joy…” Belinda looks at the chamber. Then one of the robots holding my arm speaks, “Approach the Great AI Generator.” Belinda nods, shaking, “I’m doing this for you, remember? Once I’m gone, stop the war.” The robot doesn’t move. “We will honour you and remember your sacrifice, Missbelindachandra.”

Belinda nods as tears run down her cheek, “Okay. Just… remember me as Belinda. You can drop the Miss. I never liked it anyway. I said to Alan that night, “Who says miss?” She tries to make a joke to mask how badly she wanted to sob. AI questions Belinda, “Are you married?” Belinda raises an eyebrow, swallowing the lump in her throat, “What?” The doctor repeats AI’s words, “Are you married…” Belinda nods, “I know.. What he said.. Those were his exact words that night…” She looks at the machine, “Hold on.. Are you..?” Suddenly, the generator's casing opened to reveal a humanoid cyborg who used to be Alan, Belinda's ex-boyfriend.

Alan laughs, a disturbing smirk on his face, “Belinda, beloved, behold!” He opens his hands out, motioning towards the generator he is hooked up to. I whisper, “It’s not AI. It’s AL.” Belinda looks at him, shocked, “Alan Budd?” Her face scrunches up in confusion. Alan smirks, “Belinda..” Belinda shakes her head, “Oh, my god. Alan, are you all right?” Alan shakes his head, smiling, “I am supreme, I am beyond pain.” Belinda shakes her head, “I don’t understand. For God’s sake, Alan, what are you doing here? I thought you moved to Margate!” Alan corrects her, “Stargate.” Belinda ignores his correction, “but how did you end up…” She paused, looking around, “Here.”

Alan frowns, “They came for me.. I was playing a game on my computer when the robots came and showed me the same Diploma and then brought me here…” Belinda covers her mouth. “Oh, my god. It’s my fault. I told them about Alan when they kidnapped me. I told them… take him instead.” I laugh, “Okay.. Ha.” I chuckle nervously. So the Robots went to get Alan, but to do that, they went through the Time Fracture.” Belinda looks at me, “They went Schwup..” Alan nods, “They went back… ten long years ago.” The doctor paces, “He landed before the Robot Revolution.” Alan laughs, staring at Belinda, “I found happiness, beyond pain.” He looks at her manically. Belinda shakes her head, “But you’ve been killing people...” The doctor shakes his head, “Because he loved it… because this is all a game to him, like his stupid video games.”

I shake my head, “You started the revolution..” Belinda continues to my sentence, “But what for..?” I pause for a moment, “Bel, why did you finish with him?” Belinda swallows the lump i the back of her throat, “Cause all he ever did to me was correct me. And tut, and huff, and roll his eyes, and tell me off. Oh, my God, you’ve taken coercive control and made it complete control of the whole planet! How can you live with yourself!” I shake my head, “That’s the point… he can’t.” Belinda points to him, “He’s the king of the world!” The doctor shakes his head, realizing something, “No. No. Every ninth word. Your brain interfaces with the machine on an eight-part loop. So every speech, every ninth word, your mind is free. Every ninth word is telling us the truth..” My eyes widen, “The doctor's right… ‘Help me. Save me. Pain…” Alan looks at Belinda, “You were born to travel. Destined for me, Belinda. To the perfect wedding. Your mind subsumed within mine.”

Belinda shakes her head, “Planet of the incels…” Alan narrows his eyes at Belinda, “Say yes, Belinda, or the violence will rage forever!” The doctor walks closer, “Alan, I can help you. I can separate the bio-links…” Alan screams at the doctor, “NO MORE WORDS!” I got silent. The doctor nods, Belinda looks at me and the doctor, “I’m sorry. I’ve got no choice.” Her voice was just a mere whisper, her voice strained. I try to reason with her, “He won’t stop! His anger will go on and on!” Alan yells for Belinda to look him in the face, “Face me! You will obey me. Belinda, now hold the diploma. My bride. Join with me in ecstasy and freedom!” The doctor removes Belinda's version of the diploma and throws it on the ground, where the cleaning robot goes on top of it and puts it into its dust pan. Belinda whispers, “I’m sorry.” Belinda walks towards Alan, holding her diploma out to him, where they touch, and they start to ‘Schwup.’ The doctor runs forward and grabs Belinda, only to be thrown back along with a new human, Alan, and thrown into the Time Fracture.

I yell for Bel as I run to her and pull her away from it, and hug her tightly. Belinda looks at me, “What happened…?” The doctor cracks his neck and shoulder, “Ouch…” He then looks at Belinda and smiles, “You needed a Time Lord to take the kaboom! But wow! Oh, Bel, Baby! Ha! I just went through your entire life… and let me say all of it was confusing and it cut out a lot…” But you are amazing, Belinda Chandra. You and me, we go back years!” Belinda pulls away from me and looks around, “But where’s Alan… Where’d he go?” I look around with Belinda. Until the doctor points to the ground, “Er… well, I think it's microscopic…” I raise an eyebrow, “Do you mean..?” The doctor nods, “He’s a sperm and an egg.” The cleaning bot comes over and starts cleaning, including Alan. “Oh..” I freeze my eyes wide, I cover my mouth holding in a chuckle. “Oh.. goodbye, Alan…” Belinda looks at me, “This place is nuts!” The doctor nods, “Yes, Queen!”

Time Skip
The Walkway
Belinda and I stand next to each other as we watch the Robots (Now turned good) rejoice. “Robots rejoice. Free from Alan Budd Generator, we will make reparation and live in harmony with the people to rebuild this. New, Doctor, Behold!” I watch one of the robots roll in the TARDS. I smile brightly, “It’s time to go, Bel..” I squeeze her hand gently. The doctor laughs, “Oh! Oh-ho-ho, baby, gimmie some! Mwah!” Belinda looks at it, “I saw that box in space. Is that your… TARDIS…?” The doctor nods, “Isn’t she everything..?” Belinda hums slightly, “Well, I mean, it’s going to be a tight fit with the three of us.” I giggle, “Oh, I think we’ll have plenty of space.” The doctor rushes in with us, “Babe, there’s still a little bit of mystery left.. Like, how did the Robots get hold of this in the future…?” I quickly shut down the doctor's question, “You solve your mystery, after you’ve taken me and Belinda home.”

The doctor sighs, “Okay. Okay, okay, okay. You lot. Forgive. Rebuild. Maybe change the name of the solar system?” Manny shrugs, “Well, we thought we’d start with renaming this building, doctor, in honour of those that we lost. This will now be the Citadel of Sasha 55.” I watch the doctor smile, “Thank you.” Manny then looks at Belinda, nodding, “And I’ve got to say, all praise to you, Queen Belinda of Planet Earth.” I chuckle as the robots speak, “Ahh hail Belinda, Queen of planet earth..” Belinda rolls her eyes, I turn to look at her, “All hail Queen Belinda…” I chuckle. Belinda waves to everyone, “Thank you. And good luck!”

The doctor looks at both of us, “Lovely. Let’s go, okay?” We both nod and head into the TARDIS. I smile as Belinda walks in and looks out of the door, “Oh, now this is ridiculous..” She steps outside and looks at the ship. “If you thought this was mad… That is mad!” I bring Belinda back in and continue laughing, “It’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Now, Doctor, get us home. 24th of May, 2025. Our shift starts at 7:30 am. Thank you very much.” The doctor nods, “But… we don’t need to rush, Cause…” He points to himself, “Time Lord,’ and points to the control panel, “Time machine.” He smirks. I hand him the Diploma as he inserts it into the cylinder and puts it into the console. Belinda looks around. “This is a time machine?” The doctor nods, “Boom! Because there is something already connecting us, Belinda, way beyond Robots. I have been to the future, and I have met your descendant on a planet far away, in the 51st century. Her name was Mundy Flynn.”

Belinda lifts an eyebrow. “Did she look like me?” The doctor nods, “Absolute match.” Belinda rolls her eyes, “The 51st century? You’re saying 3,000 years’ time? Is that supposed to be some sort of coincidence?” The doctor sighs, “Well, that is what I am worried about..” The doctor scans Belinda and brings it up on the small TV screen. “The genetic link is amazing,” he points to the woman on the left who looks exactly like Belinda. “Is that just chance, or something more? Cause i can’t help thinking, Bel, that maybe we are meant to be connected somehow?” Belinda scoffs, “Like this is destiny? Is that what you say to all the girls? Is that what you said to Sasha? She trusted you, and she died. And you tested my DNA without even asking for my permission. God. You're dangerous.” The doctor frowns and touches his two hearts, “I'm sorry. Inexcusable. With both hearts, I apologise.” I roll my eyes, “Now do the right thing and please just take us home.” The doctor nods, “I will take you home.” Belinda nods, “Thank you.”

I watch the doctor pull on the lever to take us home, but it doesn’t work. Belinda lifts her eyebrow, looking around, “Well.. that was quick, are we there?” The doctor shakes his head, “No! No, er we’re..” He tries again, and then several more times. I raise an eyebrow, feigning ignorance. “Is this how it works? Do we just kind of… bounce our way home..?” The doctor shakes his head, worried, “Something is wrong. Like we are being repelled. We are bouncing off May the 24th, and that is impossible...” I rush to open the TARDIS door, but only to reveal we’re in space. I turn to the doctor. The doctor shakes his head, “This is all wrong!” Belinda shrieks, “Oh, my God. We’re in space. Doctor nods, “Halfway between Missbelindachandra and Planet Earth.”

I look at the doctor, “Is that because of the Time Fracture…?” The doctor shakes his head quickly, “No. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, I closed that. This is... this is... this... this is…” I look at the doctor, worried, as he closes the door. He rushes towards the lever, “I don't know what this is. Let's see. Right, er... Right.” he pulls down the lever again as a Cloister bell starts tolling. The doctor groans, “Oh! Something is stopping us! Something is bouncing us off Planet Earth on the day that we left. But why?” Belinda yells at the doctor, “Doctor, I told you. Get us home!” The doctor nods, “I am!” I rush to the doctor, “You are not!” The doctor looks at us, “Oh, this might be the long way round, Sam and Miss Belinda Chandra, but hold on tight. Because this is going to be quite a ride.”

I tried to grab onto something to be thrown into the control panel, and everything went black.

Gallifrey
654 years ago
I wait for my wife to exit her lab. I make sure the little gift box is perfect, my positive pregnancy test in the box, with a traditional Gallifrey onesie compacted into one box. I bite my lip and quickly sit down as I hear the doors open. “Hi baby..” I giggle. She smirks, an eyebrow raised. “Now what is this dear… hmm..?” She grabs the box and pats her lap for me to sit on. “Open it!” I squeal. She just giggles as she unties the ribbon. Her eyes widen, “Oh my..” She touches my cheek and then my belly, “It worked!” I nod my head, hugging her tightly, “It worked!! You did it!” She nods her head, “I knew it would… I’m a genius… We’re going to be mommies, Sam… me and you..” I giggle, “Me and my crazy scientist...”

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

I groan as Belinda shakes me, my vision for a while is blurry until I finally come back to reality, “What happened..?” I groan. The doctor kneels to me, “You got knocked out… partially my fault.” I nod, looking up at the doctor, “Are we finally home…?” Belinda shakes her head, “No… not yet.” I sigh and stand up, leaning on Belinda. The doctor looks at us both, “So we left Earth on May the 24th, 2025. And the one place the TARDIS cannot reach is May the 24th…” The doctor bites his lip, trying to figure it out. “We just keep bouncing off..” The doctor nods. Belinda looks at the doctor, “Well, can’t you just get this box of yours fixed? You’re a Time Lord. Take it back to planet… Timelordia.” I try to mask my facial expression, she didn’t just call it Timelordia… did she? Did I look like *I* was the princess of Timelordia?

The doctor chuckles, “Oh, I wish it were called that. The name is Gallifrey.” I did not wish it were called that, Gallifrey was more than fine. But then Belinda mentions going to Gallifrey, home. … I missed home.

The doctor starts making some sort of Gizmo. “What is that..?” I walk towards him, looking at the weird-looking thing. He looks at me, “A Vortex indicator. It should get us home… I think I’ll call this guy a Vindicator. Yeah?” I huff, “Sure, as long as it gets us to Earth.” Belinda nods, looking at it, “What does it do?” The doctor puts the vindicator down, “We need to land somewhere, anywhere, and the Vindicator can cast out a signal, like a fishing line - whoosh! - to May 24th, 2025, and we use it to pull the Tardis in like a hook. So we must land..” The Tardis shakes as we land on Earth. I look towards the door and nod. The doctor looks at the screen, “We’re on Earth. We bounced back to 1952.” Belinda points to the door, “That’s 1952 out there?”

The doctor nods, “We’re in actual 1952?” Belinda looks at him, not believing him right away. The doctor smirks, “Except you want to go home, so I’m going to pop out on my own.” I quickly block him for exiting the TARDS, “Er… not a chance! Out of my way. I’m not sleeping on this!” The doctor hums. Belinda then looks down at her clothes, “Could this get me arrested in 1952?” The doctor smiles and drags me and her towards the wardrobe room, “No, but this is the fun bit! The clothes! Ha! Ha! It helps if you run!! Woohoo! Get in there!!” I walk out of the room in a pale pink dress that complements my lighter skin tone. I spin around, “I love it!” I squeal. I look at Belinda, “And look at you..” I take her hands and spin her, “Like a princess!” Belinda giggles but only shakes her head, “Look at yourself… pure royalty.” I roll my eyes, smiling. I look away and watch the doctor grab the Vindicator, and we walk out.

Outside the Palazzo Cinema
Belinda walks out, spinning around, smiling like a little kid, “Oh, my God. We moved. We’re here.. Wherever we are!” I smile, looking around, plucking a rose from the garden bed, “Miami, Florida..” Belinda looks at me, “We’re in Miami?” I look around, “Nice and warm…” The doctor nods, smirks, and looks at the clock, “Exactly 4 am. We got dressed up for no one to see. 1952. That might be wise.” Belinda and I look at the main feature being advertised at the cinema. “Harvest Bringer..” I hum and look back at the doctor as he sets the Vidicator up.

Belinda looks away and turns to me, “Rock Hudson. It’s a good name, Rock.” I smile, “He took it from the Rock of Gibraltar.” The doctor chimes in, smiling, “The most beautiful man.” Belinda sits on a rock and watches the doctor play with the vindicator. “Sam and I worked on him in our HIV training course. And here he is, a big movie star. The time-travel thing is so strange.. Because we know what to him, poor soul.”

The doctor moves away from the Vindicator and smiles, “Well, do your thang, baby!” He smirks and then walks to Belinda, until he notices that the cinema doors are chained. He walks to them and kneels, looking at them. “Now.. who chains up a cinema? Hmm?” He tugs on them, “Those chains are strong. Like they are locking up a wild beast.” I frown, and then see several flowers with little messages lying around the cinema doors, “Hey, look. I think someone’s died..” The doctor comes over and picks up one of the flowers and reads the message, “Oh! ‘Come back, Tommy Lee? ’ Come back..?” He whispers Look at the cinema doors again, thinking. Belinda points at a government-signed paper on the door, A huge red ‘closed by city’ stamped in the corner. “Look… “Closed by city ordinance of the Dade Police Department..”

I kneel and read another message, “I love you, Christine.” More than one person. What happened here…?” I pause as the vindicator chimes, telling us it was done. Belinda looks up, “Is that it? Is it done?” The doctor nods, picking up the vindicator, “Yeah. That is a direct line back to 2025. We might need to land a couple more times, triangulate the signal.” He walks into the TARDIS as Belinda and I follow him in. Belinda looks back out of the Tardis, frowning, “Then we’d better go. Is that right?” The doctor nods, biting his lip, obviously wanting to go and solve the mystery, “Yeah…” Belinda nods, “We can go now.” The doctor nods, a little unsure smile appearing on his face, “I suppose..” Belinda nods again, motioning to the control panel, “You just need to pull the lever…” The doctor groans, “Except…” He points towards the cinema. I groan, “Oh, my god, you want to investigate that sooky old cinema? You’re… Scooby-Doo.” The doctor looks at us, smirking and looping our arms around his, “Oh, darlings, I’m Velma. And I’m just wondering… 1952. We could risk a coffee.” I look at Belinda and sigh, “Okay, but just a coffee…” My stomach rumbles, “and perhaps a sandwich..”

10c Diner
Miami, Florida
I continue to eat my sandwich as I listen to the waiter talk about what happened to the people in the cinema. “Some people say a boat came in and took them to Cuba, recruiting for Batista. But the fact is, 15 people went missing, sir, all on the one night three months ago. Just disappeared.” I raise an eyebrow and lean forward, “Actually, from the cinema?” Logan laughs, nodding, “Oh, I like your English ‘Cinema”. But the picture house, yeah.” Logan looks over to a woman sitting in a booth. “Mrs. Lowenstein? These folks have been asking about the Palazzo.” The older woman looks over at us, and Logan explains to us who she is. “This lady, her son went in there. Tommy Lee. Never seen again.” I frown, looking at the lady, who was like me. She lost everything. She lost her little boy, like I lost my little girl.

The lady looks over at us and then at Logan, “I’ll talk to anyone about that boy of mine… If you’ll bend the rules.” I look at the doctor confused, until I remember the ways of 1952. I keep my mouth shut. Logan looks around and shrugs, “I got no problem. This time of night, who’s looking?” Belinda looks at me and the doctor as we walk over, “Bend the rules?” The doctor looks at Belinda, “In 1952, Miami, the diner was segregated. No black, which includes you. We’re breaking the law just by being here and being near Sam.” I look over at Belinda and smile, “I’m a rule breaker.” Belinda shakes her head, looking at me, “But that’s… Oh, my god, I can’t…” I grab her hand softly, “Not right now… I don’t want you guys in danger.” Belinda frowns but nods anyway.

I sit down with the doctor and Belinda as Mrs. Lowenstein talks. “Sixteen years old. The kindest boy. He’d go to the pictures every night if he could, stay and watch a movie three times over. He liked those tales of outer space…” I smile gently.

Memory

‘“Mommy, Mama! I see the little dipper!” I smile, picking the little girl up and look up with her, “I see the big dipper too B..” She looks over and reaches her little hand up to it. I feel my wife wrap her arms around my waist, “Look at our little space genius over here.. She’ll be just like me..” I look at her and smirk, “I don’t think so, I think she’s going to be a perfect little princess like Mommy…” Our daughter looks at us, “I wanna be a princess, I wanna be a princess!” She wiggles around in my arms. My wife and I laugh.

10c Diner

Belinda nudges me as the doctor speaks, “Just.. things are different at night.” Belinda looks over at the Cinema, then back to the woman we now know as Renee, “How often do you come here?” Renee smiles sadly at the cinema, “All the time. I will sit and wait for that boy forever. I thought they’d given up till someone delivered that thing tonight.” She points to the TARDIS, “It says 'police box”.” She smiles with tears in her eyes. The doctor looks at her and touches her hand. “Does that give you hope?” Renee nods her head, “It does, sir.” The doctor nods, “Well, let me tell you, hope can change the world. Mrs Lowenstein, my name is the Doctor, and I will try to find your son.”

Memory
I run after our daughter, “Let her go!!” I screamed at the two men, I didn’t know where my wife was. She could be in her lab or in our TARDIS. I run as fast as I can go until someone grabs my arm. “No! BEL–” The man that grabs me pushes me into some sort of cylinder, gas emits into the cylinder, I pound on the glass screaming for my wife until everything turns to black. The next thing I know, I’m in a hospital, 300 years into the future. Alone and scared.

Outside the 10c Diner
We walk out of the diner and stare at the cinema. Logan walks out and joins us, nodding at the “picture house”, “Gives you chills, don’t it? You still hear those old movies late at night.” Belinda chews her cheek and looks at the teen, “You’re not saying it’s… haunted?” Logan laughs, shaking his head, “Pardon me, missy, that’s crazy talk. I mean, he’s still in there. Mister Pye. The old projectionist, Reginald Pye. He got arrested, but they had no evidence or nothin’, so they closed the Palazzo, he stayed on as caretaker, and every night the movies kept playing to an empty house…” Logan nods at us goodbye and goes back into the diner to continue his shift. I look at the doctor as he rocks on the balls of his feet, excited. “There is an old caretaker in a haunted cinema.” I look at Belinda as he looks towards us, Belinda nods, “Come on, Velma.” The doctor laughs and drags us towards the cinema. “Okay, Fred and Daphne.”

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

The doctor pulls out his sonic screwdriver, a metal object that mimics a tear drop. It hums as he points it at the chains that are locked around the exit door. “Stand back.” He tells us as he sonics the padlock and we slowly enter the cinema. I look around and a shiver runs up my spine, “I don’t like this…” I grumble. The doctor motions for us to go to the Auditorium stage. A movie is playing on the screen, an old western movie I haven’t seen before. The doctor looks around and starts calling for Mr. Pye, “Hello? Mister Pye, are you there? Mister Pye, I know this is a segregated space, but we just… We wanted to say… Hello.” I look around, not noticing the man in the projection room whispering at us. “Go away!” he whispers, scared. Suddenly, the projector stops, and an eerie silence enters. “Oh, no. No, no…” Mr. Pye tries to replay the tape, but it doesn’t work.

We walk up the steps to get to the projection room, but the curtains closing across the screen stop us. Belinda looks around, “Mister Pye? Logan from the diner told us your name. I’m Belinda, this is the doctor, and Sam.” She pauses and looks at the doctor, “Really..? Just the doctor… Always?” She scrunches her nose. The doctor nods, looking through the small window of the projection room, “Yeah..” I look at him, “Ridiculous..” Belinda shakes it off. I look around, trying the door, “Mister Pye, could we have a word…?”

Suddenly, we hear tapping from behind the curtains, “What was that...?” I turn to look at the curtain. We hear the tapping again. Belinda steps down a step, “Hello..?” The doctor walks down several more steps. “Is someone there?” Belinda looks at us, “Is that.. Tap dancing? Is someone tap dancing at us?” The doctor calls down to whoever is tap dancing, “Reggie? Reggie, is that you?” Suddenly, the spotlight turns on and the curtains open, revealing an animated figure with a pig nose and blue skin. He has a pink bowtie and a yellow shirt under his tux. “Ta-da!” A movie starts playing, and he starts dancing while singing. We all look at him, “What…?” Mr. Ring-A-Ding starts singing to us, “I'm Mr Ring-a-Ding. I make your heart bells sing. Please don't make me laugh.” We slowly start walking down the steps as he sings, “Just take my autograph. Now, take my jokes, my lovely folks, cos I know just one thing. For I am he! Oh, yes! I'm Mr Ring-a-Ding~!” He stops dancing and poses, “What a fine and dandy day. And who might you be?” He smiles eerily.

The doctor looks at us, “I’m the Doctor, this is Sam and Belinda. And who are you, good sir?” The animated figure smiles and looks at us, “I’m Mr Ring-a-Ding…” He starts singing again. The doctor starts walking towards him. “Oh, no, no, no. Cut, cut, cut.” The doctor freezes and looks at me.” Who am I saying 'cut' to?” He looks back at Mr Ring-a-ding. “I mean… you’re a cartoon.” Mr Ring-A_Ding frowns, “Don’t make me laugh…” The doctor walks up to him and looks around at him, “You are a living… cartoon…” Mr Ring-A-Ding smiles, “With a happy hello to you, too.” Belinda steps closer, looking at him confused, “But how’s it done? That technology is way beyond anything 1952.” Mr Ring-A-Ding turns and smiles. I don’t step near him, skeptical of him, “They didn’t have holograms..” The doctor moves and shakes his head. “He is not a hologram.” Belinda looks at he doctor, confused, pointing to him, “Hello? Yes, he is.” Her eyes flicker to the doctor, back to Mr. Ring-A-Ding. The doctor looks at me, “Look at him.” I shake my head, “I think I’m good..”

Mr. Ring-A-Ding shakes hit butt, “Take a good gander, folks. Ain’t got no surprises.” Then the doctor steps back, his eyes wide, “You’re not a celluloid.” I look at the doctor, “You’re made of light.. Light comes to life.” Mr Ring-A-Ding smirks at me, “I’m beaming at ya.” Belinda looks at me, “That is impossible…” The doctor looks up and down at the animation, “How do you exist…?” Suddenly, a violin starts playing ‘Hearts and Flowers’ by Theo Moses-Tobani, and he starts sniffing and wiping away animated tears, “I wish I knew. I’m all alone. Ain’t nobody else in this whole wide world like me. Does nobody care about Mr Ring-a-Ding?” He strikes a dramatic pose. I scoff, not believing this, “You’ve got your soundtrack.” The doctor looks at Mr. Ring-a-Ding and gets closer to him, getting a good look, “Fifteen people went missing…” Suddenly, the music stops, the needle scratching the record.

I step back. The doctor continues, “They vanished in this building. Do you know what happened to them?” Mr. Ring-a-Ding's smile turns eerie, “I appeared...” He motions with one hand, “They disappeared.” He motions with the other hand, “If they solve that mystery, those poor lost souls might come back.” I look at him, my eyes narrowed, I went through all of the beings and aliens I knew of because of the Gallifrey Academy, but couldn’t pinpoint it. “What are you a cartoon of? Are you supposed to be a man?” Belinda asks. Mr Ring-a-Ding looks at Belinda, “Don’t make me laugh!” Belinda looks closer, “You’ve got the nose of a pig.” Mr Ring-a-ding's smile slowly turns to a frown, “Don’t make me laugh!” Belinda then looks at his skin color, “And why are you blue..?” Mr Ring-a-Ding frowns fully, “Don’t make me laugh!”

The doctor lifts an eyebrow, stepping back, “Wait a minute. Is there a reason we shouldn’t be making you laugh?” Mr Ring-a-Ding steps forward, smirking, “And what could that be, sir?” The doctor waves to Belinda to get back and get close to me. “Belinda, get back. Trust me, get back.” He moves with us, “Get away from him.” Mr Ring-a-Ding slaps his knee, smiling eerily, “Gee willikers, you’re a clever old coot. Don’t spoil my surprise!” I look at the blue man, “Tell me. Who are you?” I look him up and down, having a bad feeling. Mr. Ring-a-Ding smiles, growing a little bit taller, “Don’t make me laugh, because it sounds like this…” He suddenly laughs a haunting tune. A tune I didn’t recognize, but The Doctor had.

The doctor whispers a name, “Harbinger..” He steps back. I look at the doctor, realizing who this thing was. Belinda looks at the doctor, “What does that mean? Who is he?” The doctor keeps looking at the animated figure, “The Gods of Chaos have harbingers.” Mr. Ring-a-Ding smiles wider than humanly possible, “And I am Lux. Lux Imperator, the god of light! I am the dazzle at the heart of the pantheon and the glint in the eyes of the mad. I am the last thing you see before you fall into the abyss.” The doctor turns and yells at us to run. Mr Ring-a-Ding yells at us, “Do you think you can escape from me? Do you think you can escape from light itself? Because…” Suddenly, he stops as the theme song for Mr. Ring-a-Ding starts to play. He starts singing, “I’m Mr Ring-a-Ding..” He groans, “Dagnabbit, I got no choice!” He then goes back to singing while skipping, “I make your heart bells sing. Please don't make me laugh, just take my autograph. Now take my jokes..”

We start running up the stairs, “Oh, well done, Reg. He's trapped. He's got to sing the song. Come on.” He motions for us to start running to the door again, “He's got no choice. He's got to complete the musical number!” The doctor makes sure both of us are in and sonic the door closed. The doctor then turns to Mr. Pye, “Reginald Pye. Thank you for the song. How long does it last?” Reginald looks at all of us, scared, “One minute, 36 seconds. But you were supposed to get out!” The doctor waves his hand, silencing him, “Reggie, baes, please. We haven’t got long. What happened?” Reggie looks at Mr. Ring-a-Ding singing. “I couldn’t stop him…” He shrugged, frowning. The doctor shakes his head, walking to the old man, “I’m not blaming you. But you play him movies in the dark.” He points to the rolls of tape. Mr. Pye shook his head, “He says.. It feeds him.”

Belinda looks at Mr. Pye, confused, “He’s two feet tall. Why don’t you just… run away?” Mister Pye looks at a certain tape and picks it up holding it close, “Because he showed me…” he smiles longingly, “So much joy. I was married for 20 years, and I’m telling you, sir, you never saw such a girl. I was the luckiest fellow in the whole wide world. And then one spring day.. She went to cross the road. And I’ve been alone ever since…” Then he looks back at the blue man, “Until he came.” The doctor looks at Reggie, “What did he do?” Reggie smiles, “He brought her back...” I pause, looking at the man. He brought his wife back… could Lux bring my wife back? Could everything that was taken from me be brought back? I quickly got the thought out of my head.

Mr. Pye points at the doctor, “And don’t tell me she’s not there. Because if that thing is real.” He points to the blue figure, “Then so is she.” I smile, starting to walk to the man, “She’ll always be real. Whether or not Lux shows you her. She’s here-” The doctor hushes me, “The song has stopped..” Belinda points to Lux struggling to get his 2-dimensional legs up the steps. “Well, I wouldn’t worry. It’s not much of a chase.” Mr. Ring-a-Ding groans, “Damn it. I was so big when I arrived. I should never have learned perspective.” Belinda turns to the doctor, not believing that this man could really be some light god. “Are you saying that… he.” She points to the struggling animation. “Is a god?” I scoff, “It’s all a game to them.” Then I turn to Belinda, “But their games are deadly.”

Mr. Pye looks at me, “But… tell me… How, Ma’am? What gods are these?” The doctor answers for me, unaware of how much knowledge I have of these things. “There are forces beyond this universe. And we think we are so clever. But we're like children. We are children. And when these vast creatures deign to look down on us, our entire reality is in danger.” Belinda then notices a particular film sitting on a wooden table near the storage door. “Fifteen people. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen..” She unrolls the tape rolls, counting each person in each frame. I stand beside Belinda, “Doctor… The police searched the building. But they didn’t look in here.” Belinda looks at me, “What, He photographed them?” I shake my head and look at the doctor, “No. No, that’s them.” I frown and show the doctor, “He’s trapped them… on film. The god of light has turned them into an image...” I whisper.

Belinda gasps, throwing the film down, “Oh, my god!” I quickly turn my head as there's a knock on the door. Mr. Ring-a-Ding knocks once more on the door and starts to sing, “Let me in, let me in! By the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!” But then he pauses, snickering, “Or is that a different cartoon?” The doctor rushes towards Reggie, “How did he enter this world? Was it on the big screen?” Mr. Pye nods, looking down. “Yes.” Suddenly, the knocking stops, and Mr. Ring-a-Ding goes flat and slides under the door. “Mister Reginald Pye, are you giving away my secrets? Cos you know how flammable old film stock is. What if your poor lady wife just burned?” Mr. Pye shakes his head, “No, please! Please, don’t do that!” The doctor steps forward, protecting Belinda and me. “You will talk to me, and tell me, how did you enter this world?”

Mr. Ring-a-Ding laughs, shaking his head, “I’m a two-dimensional character. You can’t expect backstory.” He chuckles. I step forward, “I know how the gods work. You are honour-bound to tell me.” The doctor looks at me, confused. Mr. Ring-a-Ding groans, “Light! The chance of moonlight with reflected electricity.” I narrow my eyes, “How do we stop you?” Belinda looks at me and then the doctor, “He isn’t going to tell you!” The doctor shakes his head, “He is bound by the rules… Sam is right. But how..” Mr Ring-a-Ding smirks, “If I must, then, princess…” He says omnisciently, “Just think. What have I not done?” The doctor shakes his head, pushing past me, “That is a riddle. It is not an answer.” Belinda yells at Mr. Ring-a-Ding, “I’ll tell you what you can do. Those fifteen people, let them go!”

Mr. Ring-a-Ding frowns, “But I've immortalised them, on film.” He feigns innocence. “I can do the same for you.” The doctor shakes his head, “No. No, don’t!” He pushes us back as he watches Mr. Ring-a-Ding point to the projectors. “Go get ‘em, girls. My lonely ladies of the light!” I step back, shaking my head, no, my wife and little girl were still out there, waiting for me. No, please not now. The doctor screams, “Lux! Lux, you want me! Don’t take them. You want me!” Mr. Ring-a-Ding shakes his head, “Wrong, I want the princess. Roll ‘em!” Belinda looks towards the doctor, “Doctor, what’s he doing?” I whisper, holding in tears, “I think we’re being…” Suddenly we’re sucked into a two-dimensional show, “Animated!”

Chapter 8

Cartoon Street
Unknown, Unknown
Belinda looks at herself and starts to panic, “Gosh, I’m all flat. And this waistline is impossible.” A pink car with Mr. Ring-a-Ding drives in front of us. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Belinda turns her head as much as she can towards the doctor, “But what do we do, Doc?” The doctor shakes his head, “I don’t know.” He starts to panic, “I’ve got a two-dimensional brain.” My lip quivers as I look at the stupid two-dimensional world. With the stupid Vegas-looking sign spelling ‘Cartoon street’ and the brick buildings in the back with deep purple accents. Belinda starts crying, “Gosh, I get so scared being with you, Doctor. Your life is terrifying. I don't think you'll ever get me home!” Suddenly, she becomes more three-dimensional. “Ah! What just happened?” I look at her, “You were sad, and you became more three-dimensional.” The doctor cuts in, “Oh, that's it! You acquired depth. Wait a minute. Let me try. I didn't tell you everything back in the Tardis. We can't ever go back to my planet, because Gallifrey is a ruin. My people are dead. I'm the last of the Time Lords.” Suddenly, he grows three-dimensional, too. “Oh! It’s working. I’m more rounded. Sam, try it!”

I frown, “My wife and daughter are out there somewhere, and I have no idea where...” I gasp as I look at myself, “It did work!” Belinda then continues, “But what you’re saying is, you aren’t widowed? And doctor, there are no other Time Lords. No one is coming to help us…” The doctor nods at us as Belinda grows more three-dimensional. “That’s it!” Belinda smiles, “Keep going.” I try to think of something to reveal that wouldn’t completely out myself as the Gallifreyen princess, and or the wife of… quickly I get back to reality as the doctor speaks, “And I’m terrified, Belinda, cos I can’t get you home. And I’m scared in case that means something really bad has happened in 2025...” Belinda nods, “I’m scared too..” Suddenly their back to their human forms. They turn to me, realizing I’m still two-dimensional. Belinda looks at me, “Sam, come on.” I shake my head, and I start to cry, “I’m scared. I’m scared that because I’m here, all of this is happening to you guys.” I turn more three-dimensional, “If you knew who I was, you’d kill me, doc.”

I become three-dimensional and run my hands through my brown hair, “We did it!” I smile, wiping away my tears. The doctor looks at me but is quickly distracted as Belinda runs to me and hugs me tightly, “We’re okay, we did it!” I smile, hugging her tightly. Belinda pulls away and looks around, “But we’re still inside a cartoon. How do we get out?” The doctor looks around, “We’ve been framed. Which means… if we break the frame…” He pulls the film down once, “...and get faster.” He pulls it again, “And if we get fast enough...” We pull down on the film several times, getting faster each time. A smell of burning paper surrounds us. We smile as we find ourselves back in the auditorium, “Oh, my God, we’re back!” I laugh, hugging Belinda again, kissing her forehead, “I... I don’t know why I did that… Sorry.” Belinda pulls away, “It’s… okay.”

The Doctor smiles, “We did it. We stopped the film!” We hug each other until a police man appears in front of us. “All right, both of you, don’t move! Just stay where you are!” Renee appears from behind the police man, “Their the ones! And that’s the man, Officer. I told you. I said he was acting all suspicious. Called himself a doctor, but I don’t trust him. The policeman points his gun at us, “Just raise your hands where I can see ‘em. All three of you!” I look him up and down, “Don’t you dare point a gun at us! We’ve done nothing wrong.” The police man ignores me and looks at Belinda and the doctor, “You’re inside a space reserved for white folk, and you're harboring these folks in a segregated place! I don’t know how things are done in the Caribbean, but they’re different here.” Belinda narrows her eyes, “I’m not Caribbean!”

Renee then points to the doctor, making sure the police man knows that he was the one she was reporting about. “He’s the one. He’s the troublemaker. He was asking all about Tommy Lee. I’m telling you, he knows something.” Belinda scoffs, “He offered to help you!” The police man jolts his gun forward, warning us, I give you ten seconds to explain yourself. This fine lady’s son he went and disappeared.” The man points to Renee. “What do you know about it?” The doctor looks at the man's uniform and rolls his eyes, “Seriously? Your continuity is terrible. This is Miami-Dade County, and that is the uniform of the NYPD. Try harder.” He pulls the frame down again. I look around and see nothing has changed except for a white background. I groan, combing my fingers through my hair. Belinda looks around, “We’re still in a bloody film! I hate it when they do that…” The doctor's eyes widen, “Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is never going to work. Scrolling up and down does not work. We need to go...” He starts walking towards the screen, “Out.” I follow behind Belinda, “If we’re the film.. And that’s the screen…” I touch the screen, “What happens if we…” The doctor smirks, “Push?”

The glass screen falls and shatters onto the ground, we walk out onto the stage, and I let out a sob of relief. Belinda smiles, “Oh, my god! We did it! We’re back. Wait, is it real this time? Is this real?” I look and see the doctor nodding as he stares at his hand, “Oh, is this real. Babes, look, my hand got burned!” Belinda smiles, “You all right? Come here…” She takes his hand, “Let me have a look.” The doctor waves her off, “I’m fine. I’m all right.” Belinda rolls her eyes, “I know, I know. Doctors always make the worst patients, but trust me, I know what I’m doing.” The doctor shakes his head, “I’m okay, Belinda. Okay? Time lords have their own medicine.” Yellow sparks float around his hand. I whisper to myself, “Bi-generation..” I hid my arm, which also had a burn, as the same yellow sparks floated around my arm. The doctor keeps talking, “Bi-generation. It’s left me with a little extra pocket of energy I’ve been saving just for this…”

Belinda looks at him and aw, “My hospital could do with you…” Before I could chime in, Lux appears, “I like it.”

The doctor turns to face Lux, “Whatever you have planned, Lux, I’ve matched you. Now, let Belinda, Sam, and Reginald go.” Lux bursts out laughing, “But you and Sam are the most amazing creations, my doctor, sir. You and Sam have light within you that builds a body. No wonder the gods of the pantheon fell, because they were saving you… for me!” The doctor turns to me, “Sam… what are-” Lux snaps his fingers, “Get them, girls!” Film breaks through the projector window and starts darting towards me and the doctor. Lux points to us, “The doctor and the princess, Light them up!! Reel them in, ladies!” I scream, “Let me go!” The doctor and I try to fight off the reels of film. Belinda yells our names. “Belinda!!” I scream.

Belinda… I could think of my daughter's name, Belinda, Princess Belinda, my baby, my princess. Belinda was my daughter, and she was given loving parents, but she didn’t remember me. Lux laughs manically, “The greatest story ever told!” The film holds the doctor and me against the wall, as it starts to take our time lord energy. Belinda looks at us, “What’s he doing?!” I shake my head at Belinda, “Get back!!” Lux looks at us both, “What's the one thing I never do? Let the light of a Time Lord build me a body! Doesn't every cartoon want to be a man? Cos that's what I never do, my lovely friends. I never go outside.” Lux chuckles as he raises his arms, as our energy goes into him, making him more three-dimensional.

I groan, as I start to cry, my wedding ring falling off my finger, as my hands shake. Lux walks closer to us, “Trapped in the dark. But the great out there holds such promise!” He looks towards Belinda, “I’ve seen it.” He snaps his finger as a projector shows the testing of the atomic bomb. “The most savage light of all - the glow of the atom!” The Doctor and I start screaming again as more of our regeneration energy escapes us. “Think of all the fun I will have. The blossom of nuclear light unfurling all over this tiny world.” I look at Belinda as I shake, “Think, think, my dear. You’re just like mama..” I whisper. Belinda looks at me and nods. Not knowing exactly what I meant, but she didn’t need to, as an idea ran through her mind.

I turn and see Lux starting to grow, “Behold!” He yells. Belinda runs to the film room and throws all of them on the ground, and then runs to Mr. Pye. She slams on the door, “Mister Pye! I need matches! This whole thing has got to burn!” She pounds on the door again, “I’ve seen your fingers, mate. That’s nicotine. I know you smoke! Give me your matches right now!”

I scream as the last bit of my regeneration energy escapes me, Lux laughs, “I… am.. Real.”

Belinda yells, “Mister Pye, please! Please!!” Mr. Pye grabs his matches and slams the door open. Mr. Pye and Belinda rush to the film room. He sets fire to the match and throws it into the film stock. Mr. Pye looks at Belinda, “Pardon me, Ma’am, but I think you’d better run.” Belinda shakes her head, “No, I know what I’m doing!” Mr. Pye narrows his eyes, “Young lady, go, you’re mother is waiting. Now I said run!” Belinda rushes out of the room as the room starts to explode. The explosion goes through the projection room and into the auditorium, freeing the doctor and me.. Belinda takes deep breaths as she looks over as the explosion goes through the theatre. “Mother? What did he mean, my mother..?” Lux looks up at the sun, “Ah! Sunlight!”

I fall to the ground unmoving. Belinda rushes towards me and looks at the doctor, “What have we done? He feeds on light!” The Doctor looks down at me and shakes his head, “But the light of the sun, two billion times more energy than the biggest nuclear bomb on planet Earth.” He turns to face Lux, “And it’s all yours, Mr. Ring-a-Ding! It’s all yours!” Lux still grows until he is past the ceiling, “I am light!” His eyes light up. The doctor helps Belinda lift me, and they rush outside. Logan rushes to us, not noticing my limp frame, “Did you see? There was this explosion! I was shaking right down to my boots. It was like an almighty…” His eyes widen as he sees Lux, “What the flip is that?” Lux grows taller, regeneration energy pulling out of him as the sunlight overcomes the regeneration energy. It travels back into me, and I let out a groan. Belinda shifts her weight, so I’m leaning against her as I regain consciousness. “But he’s never going to stop!” The doctor nods, “That’s the point.” The Doctor and Belinda watch Lux float into the air, “Ahh! The light of creation! I am everything! And I am nothing. Goodbye!”

Logan looks towards me and then Belinda, “Am I going crazy, or was that Mr. Ring-a-Ding?” Belinda ignores him and looks at the doctor, “But… he was made of light.” The doctor nods, and I look up at the sky, “Belinda, we’re sixty percent water, and we can still drown. That’s why Lux stayed inside. And we gave him all the light in the universe…” The doctor joins in, “And that’s why he became - light without end.” Belinda looks at the doctor, “So.. he’s a god now? Infinite…?” The Doctor hums, “Invisible. Intangible.” I add. The doctor chuckles, “Amen.” Suddenly, the doors of the cinema shake, the doctor sonics the locks, and the front doors open. Revealing all 15 missing people from the posters.

The doctor smiles, “Come back, Tommy Lee..” Logan rushes to an old lady, “I swear, it’s them! It’s the 15! Oh gosh. It’s all 15!” He rushes to all of them, who are looking around confused, “Welcome back. Welcome back, everyone! We’ve missed you so much.” He shakes a gentleman's hand, “Hello, Sir.”

Renee runs over, “Tommy!! Tommy Lee?” She gasps, crying. Tommy rushes to his mom, “Mom!” Renee smiles, holding him tightly, “You came back! I had faith, and you came back! Oh, my boy! Oh!!” She sobs.

The doctor looks at Belinda, “According to the laws of the land, babe, sunlight doesn’t suit us.” I look around as I stay leaning on Belinda, “Goodbye to you, ‘52.” The doctor hums. Belinda looks over at me, “What you said back there.. What did you mean..?” The doctor nods, “You.. you are a time lord…” I swallow a lump in my throat and nod. I grab something from my pocket secretly. “Let’s discuss it back in the TARDIS..?” They both nod. We walk away.

Tommy looks at Logan, “I don’t understand. What happened? It was night.” Logan looks at him, “That was three months ago, Tommy. You’ve been gone for three months.” Tommy looks around, shocked.

Mrs. Floods, disguised in a dress of the ‘52’s, “If you want to see a good show, darling. I can recommend this one…” She points to the TARDIS as it dematerialises. “Better warn you, though. Limited run only. Show ends May the 24th.” Tommy looks at Mrs. Flood, “How.. How did they..? That was like a special effect, like from the movies. How did they do that?” Mrs. Flood smirks, “Trick of the light.” She turns and walks away, holding the wedding ring that fell off my finger. She walks away as she talks to herself, “Found you, my love… and it seems you found our little girl. Now just stick to the plan.”

The doctor and Belinda go to the control panel, and the doctor pulls the lever. As their backs are turned, I pull out the two needles, “I’m ever so sorry…” I plunge the needle into the doctor's neck and do the same to Belinda. I gently let Belinda down, “Mommy wasn’t ready for that reveal… but soon enough we’ll be a family again…” I pull away and put Belinda and the doctor into their rooms and head to my own. What they don’t know, can’t kill them.