Episode 2: TimeSpan Part 5

“What are you?” the Doctor asked the giant slug creature.
“My Earth name is Mr Faraday. My intergalactic name is Hoskintonflorate,” Mr Faraday, the fat slug croaked.
“Blimey, that suit doesn’t fit,” the Doctor said, nodding at Mr Faraday’s attempt at human clothing. “What species are you?”
“I’m a Splurge,” Mr Faraday said.
“Nasty,” the Doctor grimaced. “But why are you here? The Splurge normally set up businesses on planets, not build whole prison ships! And what do you gain from all this? There’s no business here, Mr Faraday.”
“Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Mr Doctor,” The Splurge gargled.
“Locking people up? What, do they pay you to be set free?” the Doctor said. “Yes! No! Yes… They don’t pay you to free them; Earth pays you to lock them up! But Earth isn’t overcrowded yet! That’ll take years to happen! Why are you doing it now? Earth are wary of aliens, they don’t do business with them! So how have you managed it?”
“The business hasn’t started yet,” the Splurge said.
“What do you mean? Ohhh,” the Doctor said. “You used some sort of time machine. You secured a contract with Earth in the future, and you go back in time and start then!”
“Exactly.”

The Doctor moved back to the gravity platform.

“But what about the aliens in the cells…? You’ve got quite a collection,” the Doctor said.
“All were trying to invade the Earth. I couldn’t have them damaging the livestock,” Mr Faraday croaked, grinning.
“Well, I’ve heard all I need to know,” he said, stepping back further.
“You will stay,” the Splurge demanded.
“I will not!” the Doctor said. “All I need to do is break your time machine and problem solved! After all, all of your prisoners have gone…”
“Close gravity platform,” the Splurge ordered, and the blue light went away.
“Oh, but that’s not fair!” the Doctor complained.
“Life’s not fair Mr Doctor, get used to it.”

“The Doctor’s been gone ages,” Kirsty said.

The conversation had ended a while ago, and Georgia, Conner, Holly and Kirsty had sat against the walls of the corridor in silence.

“Well what do you propose we do?” Conner asked.
“We should go and see what’s taking him so long,” Holly said. “He might be in trouble.”
“How are we going to get up there?” Georgia asked. “The gravity platform’s gone.”
“What?” Conner asked, jumping up.

He ran over to the hole in the ceiling. He peered into the darkness, but couldn’t make anything out. Georgia and Holly joined him, and they all stared up into the hole. Kirsty ran down the corridor to the door of Mr Braithwaite’s office, and went inside. On the floor lay a gun, and Kirsty smiled, knowing this was just what they needed. She ran back out to join the others.

“Mum!” Georgia cried, hugging her mother as she opened the door.
“Georgia, you came back to me!” Elizabeth smiled. “Do you know what that awful racket was earlier? It was like the big bang! I bet it was Mr Perkins with those distasteful fireworks again. I tried to call the Vicar round for tea the other day, but he didn’t answer. I don’t think he ever does, mind you. He’s probably to busy with his sermons. Anyway, come in, come in! I expect you’ll want a cup of tea, and some fruitcake. Your father’s gone down to the store. I do wish he’d go to Sainsbury’s instead of Tesco; we don’t want to give a bad impression to the neighbours! Hurry inside, dear. We mustn’t let Mrs White see I’m keeping you on the doorstep!”

Georgia walked into the house. She decided to break the news gently. Her mum obviously had no idea! Mr Perkins had died a long time ago!

Kirsty stood on top of Georgia’s knee, and Conner pushed her up into the hole. Holly handed Kirsty the gun. Kirsty peered out of the hole.

“Are you coming up?” Kirsty asked. “Or should I go and help the Doctor alone?”
“I dunno, how are we all gonna get up?” Georgia asked.
“We can’t all lift each other up,” Conner said.
“I’ll go on my own,” Kirsty said, disappearing from the hole.

Guards Pokaski and Kristoph appeared in the corridor beside Georgia, Conner and Holly. The pad fell off Pokaski’s chest. Conner turned around and saw Kristoph.

“It’s the shadowy man!” Conner cried, running at Kristoph.

Kristoph activated his teleport, and vanished into thin air.

“Are you sure it was him?” Georgia asked.
“Definitely,” Conner said.
“Why is he here?” Holly asked. “Whoever he is…”
“I think he knew the Doctor was coming. There had been rumours for ages, before you came,” Conner explained.
“I’ve worked with him, and he seemed ok,” Guard Pokaski said.
“Who are you again?” Holly asked.
“Guard Pokaski,” he said.
“Weren’t you there when the Doctor released the prisoners?” Georgia asked.

“Mum, I’ve got something to tell you,” Georgia said.
“What is it dear? You’re not on drugs are you?! Oh the shame for the family! Georgia, why do you do this to your poor mother?” Elizabeth asked, wringing her hands.
“Mum I’m not on drugs,” Georgia assured her.
“Are you pregnant? God only knows what you do out there. Mrs White will have a field day…”
“I’m not pregnant. It’s Mr Perkins, he’s dead,” Georgia said.
“Oh dear. What happened?” Elizabeth asked.
“Mum he died ages ago! Mrs White’s living next door! He died before she moved in!” Georgia said exasperatedly. “And that crashing! It was a spaceship, and it hit the Earth! The world’s been destroyed! And I think… I think Dad’s dead.”
“But he only went to Tesco! He’ll be back any minute!” Elizabeth said.
“I don’t think he will mum,” Georgia said. “And I’m sorry! The Doctor’s not here and I don’t know what to do.”
“It’ll be alright sweetie, it’ll be all ok,” Elizabeth said, before slyly slipping in “You’ll be able to redo your GCSE’s now!”

The Doctor held his hands up in surrender. The Splurge cackled at the Doctor’s apparent defeat.

“But what’ll you do know?” the Doctor asked. “You’ve got no prisoners!”
“I can get more,” Mr Faraday said.
“The Earth’s not gonna take it anymore! They’ll find out about you!” the Doctor said.
“Then I’ll crash the TimeSpan complex into the Earth!” the Splurge cackled.
“No! You can’t!” the Doctor said. “That’s murder!”
“Oooh,” the Splurge teased. “Murder murder murder!”

Suddenly, Kirsty ran into the Doctor, carrying a giant gun. She stopped and grinned at him.

“Am I dreaming?” the Doctor asked. “Since when did my life become so Hot Fuzz?”
“Nobody tells me nothing these days,” Kirsty grinned.
“It has!” the Doctor sighed.
“Anyway… Where was I? Oh yeah! Stick ‘em up froggy!” Kirsty said, pointing the gun at the Splurge.
“And you just killed it…” the Doctor said.
“Killed what?” Kirsty said, lowering the gun and turning to the Doctor.
“The moment!” the Doctor said. “Stick ‘em up froggy? Froggy…? Henry the Eighth did better than you!”
“You’ve met Henry the Eighth!” Kirsty grinned.
“I know! What a laugh!” the Doctor grinned.

Silence fell as a gun shot rang out.

“Bang!” Mr Faraday said, grinning.

“Conner?”
“Yeah?” Conner said.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Georgia asked. “By the lifts?”
“Sure. What about?” Conner asked.
“About what’ll happen now,” Georgia said, leading him over to the elevators.
“What will happen now?” Conner asked.
“Well, I just wanted to say, it’s not your fault,” Georgia said.
“What isn’t?” Conner asked, confused.
“What happened on the Spidership,” Georgia said. “But I think that maybe travelling in the TARDIS is dangerous…”
“I know! I love it!” Conner grinned.
“I know you do,” Georgia smiled. “But if I don’t say this I’ll regret it.”
“Say what?”
“I don’t think you should travel with us anymore. It’s too dangerous. I don’t want to see you hurt, of all people. I’d feel like it was my fault,” Georgia said.
“Why are you saying this? I thought we had fun?” Conner said.
“Yeah but you’ve died, and I’m not sure how lucky you’ll be next time,” Georgia said.

There was a ping as the lift doors opened. Georgia gently pushed Conner back into the lift. She pressed a button, and the door shut on him.

“Georgia you can’t!” Conner shouted.
“Georgia? What are you doing?” Holly asked, walking over to her. “Georgia! Stop it!”
“I’m sorry Conner,” Georgia said quietly.
“I’ll just come back up here!” Conner said. “You can’t leave me!”
“You won’t be able to do that,” Georgia said.
“Why not?” Conner asked.
“Cos it’s a time machine…”

The lift descended into the darkness.

“GEORGIA!”

Kirsty collapsed on the floor with a shocked expression. The Doctor knelt down beside her. Kirsty was crying.

“You’re gonna be alright!” the Doctor said. “We’re gonna go and meet Henry the Eighth! We’ve got so much to do!”
“You could at least let me shoot Froggy,” Kirsty grinned, tears still falling down her face.

Kirsty raised the big gun, and shot Mr Faraday. He exploded into ashes. Kirsty fell back down against the floor.

“I love you Doctor,” Kirsty said, smiling weakly, before she died.

The Doctor closed his eyes in pain, the loss of everyone precious to him over the years in his memory. Georgia slid down the wall next to the lift, crying. Holly realised now wouldn’t be the best time to say anything. The Doctor dropped through the hole, crying as well. Holly looked and saw Kirsty wasn’t with him. He shook his head to indicate she wouldn’t be coming at all.

Georgia dialled her dad’s number into her phone, and rang it. Her dad picked up, and Georgia began to cry.

“Dad! You’re ok!” Georgia said.
“Of course I am,” Colin said. “I don’t think I’ll see you for a while though, sweetie.”
“Why not?” Georgia asked, tears running down her face.
“Because I’m stranded in Tesco. Still, when they let us out, I’ll come running,” Colin said, getting teary eyed too.
“I know you will, daddy.”
“Is there anyway you can stop it?” Colin asked. “You and the Doctor?”
“The Doctor’s not here,” Georgia said. “And I’m useless without him.”
“You’re not! And don’t let anyone tell you that!” Colin said sternly.
“Well, there is someone who could help, he’s called Ben,” Georgia said.
“Well, I’d give you a lift to his house, but I can’t,” Colin said, trying to stop crying.
“Wait! Say that again!” Georgia said, standing up.
“I’d give you a lift…?” Colin asked.
“Yeah! The lift! I went in a lift, and then I arrived here!” Georgia said.
“What does it mean?” Colin asked.
“I think I went forward in time!” Georgia said. “If I can activate the lift again, I can go back to when the Doctor shut me in the lift!”
“Well good luck!” Colin said.
“Thanks dad! I’ll see you later!” Georgia said.
“Bye!”

Georgia ended the call.

“Mum I’ve got to go!” Georgia told Elizabeth.
“Where? You should pop round to Mrs White’s. She’d be really pleased if she saw our family helping!” Elizabeth said.
“Yeah ok, whatever. I’ve gotta go! Really gotta go! I love you! Bye!” Georgia hugged her mum, and ran out of the house.
“Goodbye Georgia!”

Georgia ran back to the park, hoping Ben would still be there. Holly turned to the Doctor.

“I think I’d better go home,” she said.
“Of course,” the Doctor said.
“Conner said I might be able to go in your time machine, but Georgia sent him away,” Holly said, making Georgia blush.
“I didn’t want him to get hurt!” Georgia protested.
“It’s ok, I understand,” the Doctor said.

He pressed the button for the lift next to the one Conner went in. The door opened with a ping, and the Doctor ushered Holly inside.

“It’ll take you home,” the Doctor said. “And, where is home then, Holly Black?”
“London,” Holly replied.
“Well, you might see Conner sometime!” the Doctor grinned.
“Maybe,” Holly said, closing the door. “I’m sorry about Kirsty.”
Yeah,” the Doctor said.

The lift descended into the darkness. White light shone through. The lift doors opened, and Holly stepped out into her sunlight filled street. Her dad was in the garden.

“Dad!” Holly cried.
“Holly!” Mr Black cried back.

Holly ran over to her dad, and hugged him. She remembered how she had hugged Conner, and it took all of her strength not to cry. Leading his daughter inside, Mr Black smiled.

Conner stepped out into the sunlight. He was in a graveyard. He looked at the names on them sadly, and thought of the Doctor and Georgia out there in space, possibly with Holly. He saw one gravestone with a name he recognised:

Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister and loving daughter. Yes, you knew who she was.

He read another stone. He put his hand to his mouth in shock. It read:

David and Sue Bennet, loving husband and wife, and parents of Conner. They will be sadly missed.

“Sad, isn’t it?” a voice said from behind Conner.

Conner turned around, and was surprised at who he saw.

Ben! Ben!” Georgia cried, running up to Ben.
“Georgia!” Ben cried.

They hugged, and Georgia led Ben up the mound of rubble she first stepped out on. The lift was there, in pieces.

“It’s not enough!” Georgia said angrily.
“What isn’t?” Ben asked.
“The lift’s broken. I can’t use it to go back in time, and stop TimeSpan from crashing into Earth,” Georgia said.
“It’s lucky I found a second one then?” Ben asked, grinning.
“Where?” Georgia asked.
“Follow me.”

The Doctor hugged Georgia.

“Shall we go home?” the Doctor asked her.
“What’ll happen to TimeSpan?” Georgia asked.
“It’ll drift in space for a bit, and then I expect Torchwood will shoot it down,” the Doctor said, grinning.
“Come on then, back to the TARDIS,” Georgia said.
“We’ve just got to pick someone up first,” the Doctor said, leading the way.

Georgia stepped into the lift.

“Well this is it,” she said.
“Good luck,” Ben said.
“Cos I understand now,” Georgia said. “I don’t need to save the Doctor’s life. I just need to be there for him! Me and him, time and space, forever! It will last forever, won’t it? I’ll be with him forever, won’t I?”
“Of course you will, now get going,” Ben said.
“See you later,” Georgia said.
“If I’m lucky,” Ben replied.

Georgia pressed the button on the lift, and the doors shut. The lift rocked, but Georgia stayed on her feet. She grinned as the lift began to work. There was nothing to make it rise up in the air, so now it was just a time machine.

“It’s a time machine!” Georgia said, as a bright white light shot through the air.

Georgia laughed as she realised it worked. She was back on the TimeSpan ship! She stopped laughing as she heard scratching on the outside of the lift. She screamed as a massive dent appeared in the lift. Outside the very same lift a hungry Werewolf tried to get in. Somewhere on the ship, the Doctor had just released the prisoners.

“You’re me….” Conner said.
“Yep,” Conner said back.

Conner had turned around to see himself.

“I’m from the future. I haven’t got long,” future Conner said.
“How future?” present Conner asked.
“Two days,” future Conner replied. “Here’s a teleport.”

He handed present Conner the teleport, and was careful not to touch him. Present Conner grinned as heard he noise of the TARDIS materialising.

“That’s your lift,” future Conner said.
“They’ve come back for me?” present Conner said, amazed.
“You don’t think they’d leave you, do you?” future Conner grinned.
“I guess not,” present Conner replied.
“Anyway, don’t miss your flight,” future Conner said.

Present Conner turned away, and began walking back to the TARDIS. He looked back at himself one more time. In two days, he would be over there, where the other Conner stood, and another Conner would be here, in his place. The TARDIS doors opened, and Georgia stepped out of them.

“Oh, and Conner,” future Conner said, sounding serious. “Beware of the clowns.”

Present Conner stopped in his tracks. He turned around, but future Conner had gone. Present Conner grinned, and ran all the way to the TARDIS.

The end.

NEXT TIME:

"Dark secrets are hidden here, at the fair!"
"I see death! You will die tonight!"
"You just meant for a visit, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"He was covered in face paint..."
"Is that the Spidership?"
"Err, I'm a Ghost come to haunt you?"
"That's creepy."
"Why do you want to go to a dead man's house?"
"I just came round for a cup of tea."
"Thank you, and goodnight!"