TTV Series Episode 7: Law and Order

The TARDIS dematerialised from the Moon. A few seconds later, it materialised. Crystal Harris stepped out, and examined the house as the Doctor followed.

“When are we?” she asked.
“10th of February,” the Doctor replied. “1542, England, and a Tudor house at that.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to the Tudor times,” Crystal grinned. “And you’re sure it’s here?”
“It?” the Doctor frowned. “It is a he. And his name is Rumpleton. But yes, I’m sure he’s here.”
“Remind me, why are we hunting Rumpelstiltskin?” Crystal asked.
“Because he is a human hunter,” the Doctor replied. “And he knows we’re after him, so he’s going to be hard to catch. Let’s split up – search the house and grounds, and if you can’t find him, return to the TARDIS.”
“Won’t that be a bit dangerous?” Crystal wondered. “If he’s a human hunter, I mean, cos he might come after us. Though I suppose you’re a Time Lord, and I can’t really be considered human anymore…”
“You’re still human,” the Doctor smiled. “But you should be safe – he only hunts the people he’s paid to hunt, and right now, that’s someone here.”
“You don’t know who, though,” Crystal summarised.
“No, but I bet we’ll find out. Ring me if anything happens, I want to be informed of anything, no matter how big or small, it could be a clue as to who we’re protecting.”

Crystal nodded, and walked down the corridor to the left side of the house. The Doctor looked back at her, before heading down to the right side of the house. Very quickly, Crystal found a staircase, and headed down the steps. At the bottom was a kitchen, full of people, all silent. She approached one of them, hoping to discover more about the house.

“Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?” Crystal asked the woman.
“You’re in Syon House,” the woman replied. “They’re about to take her away.”
“Who?”
“Catherine Howard, the Queen,” the woman said, with a voice of disgust. “To the Tower, I expect.”
“She was King Henry’s wife, right?” Crystal asked. “The… fifth one?”
“That’s right,” the woman nodded. “She’s been found guilty of treason, had numerous affairs, so I’ve heard. Oh look, there she goes now.”

Crystal heard a scream, and rush out of the house. In her haste to help, she hit the doorframe, and fell onto the ground. Several men pulled a pretty girl in a dress by her wrists. She screamed and fought, but they managed to drag her to the carriage, which poorly hid a cage inside its wooden panels.

“Get off her!” Crystal cried, running to help.

She shook the gravel out of her hair as she leapt at one of the men. Instead of landing on his back, she passed right through him. Falling backwards in terror, she realised that nobody could see or hear her.

“Oh God…” she muttered. “I don’t want to be invisible for the rest of my life!”

She chased after the woman, and passed through the solid metal of the cage bars. The door was closed, and one of the men bent down on the ground, picked something up and threw it in the cage.

“I believe this is yours, your majesty,” he said, mock-bowing.

The woman ignored the object, beginning to sob as the cage was driven away. Crystal looked at the object, and grabbed it.

“That’s my locket!” she cried.

The woman beside her jumped in fright, and clutched the bars once more. Crystal realised that she could see and hear her very clearly. She reached for the cage, and it felt solid once more.

“Ah, you can see me.”
“Who are you?” the woman asked, shrinking back into the corner.
“My name’s Crystal, I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, attempting a smile.
“I’m Catherine Howard,” Catherine replied. “How… how did you just… appear out of thin air?”
“I’m dead,” Crystal explained. “God, I’ve had to explain this so many times. I need to think of a word for dead, but not dead. Right, ignore all of that, okay? I’m an immortal.”
“An immortal?” Catherine gasped. “And that locket of yours, it can turn you invisible?”
“It’s keeping me alive, actually,” Crystal said. “I didn’t realise people wouldn’t see me without it. I’ve only recently become an immortal, and I guess I haven’t found everything out that there is to know.”
“Well, I know you’re lucky,” Catherine sighed. “I was stupid… had affairs with men I didn’t even like, and now… it’s the Tower, and then execution for me. You don’t understand what it’s like… Henry has a bad leg, it smells at night… do you really think I want to make love to that?”

Crystal shook her head, and grimaced. Suddenly, her phone rang, and she pulled it out. She’d completely forgotten about the Doctor.

“Oh, hey.”
“Where are you?” the Doctor asked. “I just found Rumpleton, but he scampered off to London.”
“You’ll never believe this, but I’m in a cage,” Crystal replied. “Going to London.”
“Rumpleton captured you?” the Doctor asked in disbelief.
“Not quite,” Crystal blushed. “I kind of… fell into the cage. Oh, and say hi to Catherine Howard.”
“The Catherine Howard?” the Doctor gaped. “Actual Catherine Howard?”
“Yeah, actual Catherine Howard,” Crystal laughed. “If you find the time, feel free to join us at the Tower of London, or perhaps the scaffolds.”

She put the phone down, and saw Catherine glare at her. She was obviously unimpressed with Crystal’s scaffolding remark.

“Sorry.”

***

The Doctor made his way through the crowds. All watched the scaffold, waiting for Catherine Howard to step out and put her head on the block. But the Doctor was there for a more serious matter – Rumpleton was looking for someone in the crowd.

“I wouldn’t normally use a gun, but this situation is serious,” the Doctor convinced himself. “You have to do it, Crystal could be in danger. She’s with Catherine right now, risking her life to help her, and you owe her that. You keep her safe. And don’t let Rumpleton kill Henry VIII either.”

He was pretty sure that his history was accurate, and that Henry hadn’t attended the execution of his fifth wife, but he wanted to make sure. History would seriously be skewered if Rumpleton succeeded in killing him. A hush fell over the crowd, as Catherine stepped out onto the scaffold. The Doctor squinted, and could just make out Crystal following her, holding her hand. He spotted the lump in Catherine’s pocket, where Crystal’s locket was keeping its owner invisible to human eyes.

“You all know why I’m here today,” Catherine called, addressing the audience.
“Don’t cry,” Crystal urged her. “I’m here for you.”
“My punishment is just and fair, and I have betrayed my king, and my people. I ask that my family grant me mercy, and that you pray for my soul,” Catherine continued, her voice cracking slightly.

She knelt down, and rested her head on the block. Crystal squeezed her hand, as the blow landed, and Catherine was killed. What happened next was over very quickly. Crystal was thrown off of her feet by a blast that was invisible to all but herself and the Doctor. Beside Catherine’s body, a second Catherine was forming, the small purple crystal in her brooch glowing. The Doctor knew he had to act before she became visible to the public’s eyes.

“Ah, Rumpleton, there you are!” he cried.

As he was watching Catherine, Rumpleton had forced his way through the crowd, and was preparing to kill the Doctor. With a bang, the Doctor shot Rumpleton, who collapsed. The crowd heard the noise and scattered, screaming and running in all directions. Crystal fumbled inside Catherine’s pocket, and pulled out her locket.

“Doctor!” she cried as the Doctor leapt up to the scaffold. “It’s happening again, Catherine’s becoming an immortal!”
“Let’s get her into the TARDIS,” the Doctor said, lifting the dead Queen’s new form up and carrying her off.

***

“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” the Doctor said.

He and Crystal were leaning against the TARDIS console, watching Catherine, who was just beginning to wake up.

“Yeah?”
“How did Catherine hold your hand and hear your voice up on the scaffold?” the Doctor frowned. “I can’t work it out.”
“She couldn’t before,” Crystal shrugged. “In the cage, she couldn’t hear me then. I guess it’s because she was close to becoming an immortal.”
“Nice name for it,” the Doctor smiled.
“It makes me feel special,” Crystal laughed. “What are we gonna do with old Catherine over there?”
“Can we keep her?” the Doctor asked. “No wait, why am I asking you? It’s my TARDIS, course we can. You don’t mind though, do you?”
“It’ll be nice to have someone to relate to,” Crystal smiled. “Perhaps I’d better do the explaining; she might try and kiss you if you’re then when she wakes up.”

***

King Henry VIII of England handed King Francis I of France a drink, and sighed.

“The Doctor told me I was very lucky,” he said. “Rumpleton had a weapon, apparently.”
“That Doctor is a fine man to be friends with, is he not?” Francis replied. “Now, I also heard about the commotion at Catherine’s execution…”
“I’d rather not speak of her,” Henry muttered, finishing his wine.
“Well I expect not,” Francis laughed, also finishing his drink. “After all… She hath done wondrous naughty!”

The End

TTV Series Episode 6: The Funeral

The TARDIS landed in the marquee, and the door opened with a small click. Crystal Harris poked her head around the door, to find that the small grassy area lined with tables was empty. She stepped out of the TARDIS, and closed the door behind her. The Doctor was busy at the console, examining the ‘broken’ scanner, which just so happened to be showing the football at the same time.

“This looks a bit posh,” Crystal muttered to herself.

She picked up a champagne glass, and drank from it as she headed down some stone steps. When she reached the bottom, she saw the funeral. There were rows of chairs, all filled with people wearing black. Sitting at the front was a family; a mum, a dad, and a blonde girl with a short dress. At the very front was a coffin and a priest saying something about the person inside it.

“I bet he’s saying ‘they had a very bubbly personality’, or ‘they were very cheeky’, which is codeword for ‘they’d be in prison in the next few years’.”

Her eyes were drawn back to the tarty blonde, who was looking at the sky. Suddenly, her head turned around, as if she sensed Crystal watching her. For a second, the pair’s eyes met, and the blonde screamed. Crystal fell to the floor, gasping. She recognised that blonde – it was her sister Chelsea. She’d just stumbled into her own funeral.

“Oh. My. God.”

***

Zoe Harris looked up at her daughter, who was standing with a horrified expression on her face. She frowned and stood up, her eyes following the direction of her daughter’s.

“What is it Chelse?” she asked.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Chelsea replied.

She left her seat and headed down the aisles, aware that everyone was watching her. One of her aunties was shaking her head in a disapproving manner, so she hitched her skirt up even further. She almost laughed when her great uncle spat his dentures out, but the image of Crystal was etched into her brain. When she reached the steps, she saw Crystal lying on the floor, with a petrified expression.

“Crys?” she asked. “Is that really you?”
“Oh God,” Crystal muttered. “You weren’t supposed to see me, I didn’t… I didn’t realise this was my funeral.”
“But if you’re here, who’s in that coffin?” Chelsea frowned. “You’re not dead. I gave you my best shoes; you’re flipping supposed to be wearing them to heaven!”
“You gave my body shoes?” Crystal laughed, shakily standing up.
“I’m confused. Are you dead or not? Don’t tell me you’ve been faking it. I knew you loved attention, but this? This is bad even for you. Christ, I forgot my sister was the world’s biggest lying bitch.”

She turned away, beginning to cry. She’d spent days mourning the sister she’d never properly spoken to in years, who’d constantly been fighting with her, whom she’d never said she loved, and now she was alive. And her shoes were on some other bitch’s feet.

“It’s complicated,” Crystal said. “I am dead, honestly. But my locket, the one you got me when I was little, it’s keeping me alive. Don’t ask how, cos I don’t know. But I could hardly come back home when my body was sprawled all over the pavement.”
“Your locket?” Chelsea asked. “With the purple crystal in it?”

Crystal nodded, and held up her locket. Chelsea’s eyes widened, and she hugged her sister.

“I’m so glad you’re alive,” she said. “Well, sort of alive anyway. Listen, can you sneak back home for the night? I want to talk to you about everything that’s happened since you died. I miss you, okay?”
“I miss you too,” Crystal sniffed. “You’d better get back to my funeral. I expect they’ll be burying me soon.”
“Oh no, they won’t do that,” Chelsea replied. “We’re cremating you.”
“WHAT?” Crystal yelled. “I wanted to be buried! They’re gonna burn your shoes!”

She moved to run down to the procession, but her foot slipped on the floor, and she hit her back on the stone steps. Suddenly, the ground cracked beneath her feet, and Chelsea fell into the bushes.

“What the hell?” she muttered. “What just caused that crack? Crys, what’s the matter?”
“Run Chelsea,” Crystal said. “Run, please.”

Chelsea turned and began to run; not down to the funeral, but up to the steps, where she ran straight into the Doctor.

“Hello,” the Doctor grinned. “Do you know where I might find Crystal Harris?”
“Down there,” Chelsea pointed. “But something’s wrong with her.”
“Doctor, stay back!” Crystal pleaded.

The Doctor ignored her, and bent down to get a closer look, slipping on his brainy specs as Chelsea followed suit. Crystal screamed in pain, clutching her chest. White light burst from her body, sending Chelsea flying somewhere to the right.

“What’s happening to me?” Crystal gasped.
“You’re in shock,” the Doctor explained. “And it’s making your body react in extreme ways. You could say you’re becoming a poltergeist.”
“Is Chelsea okay?”
“She’s groaning slightly, so she’s not unconscious,” the Doctor said. “What’s shocked you so badly, anyway?”
“It’s my funeral, down there.”

Crystal attempted to point down the hill, but ended up blasting the Doctor off his feet instead. He scrambled to his feet, groaning, to see Crystal rise into the air, light blasting from her body. Down the hill, the people seated at the funeral began to scream as the wind picked up around them. Somewhere to their left, a hurricane grew from the wind, rising up and consuming the funeral.

“Tim, Tim? Chelsea?” Zoe cried. “Where are you?”

Tim dodged a chair and grabbed Zoe’s arm, pulling her away from the hurricane. Someone behind them was pulled into the storm, screaming, and Zoe was forced to push a relative out of the way as they rushed to safety. Chelsea rubbed her head and sat up, screaming as the hurricane tore its way towards her. The Doctor grabbed her and pulled her out of the way as it moved in their direction.

“We need to calm Crystal down!” he shouted to her. “Come with me!”

He took her hand, and pulled her up the stone steps. Minutes later, the TARDIS flew from its spot and span through the air, twisting and thrashing to find Crystal, who was a few feet from the hurricane. The TARDIS doors opened, and Chelsea leant out, reaching out to Crystal.

“Please, stop!” she cried. “Look down there; mum and Tim are going to be pulled into that hurricane! You’ve got to stop before you kill our entire family! I know you’re upset, but if you calm down, I’ll tell everyone you want to be buried!”
“I… I can’t stop,” Crystal said, beginning to cry. “I’m sorry Chelse.”
“You have to try!” Chelsea yelled. “Think about when Tim took us to the park that day! He was trying to bond with us, cos he was moving in with us. We made him buy us ice cream, remember?”
“And you put yours on his head,” Crystal laughed. “I thought he was gonna go mad, but he didn’t… he just laughed.”
“That’s right,” Chelsea nodded encouragingly. “I bet you didn’t even notice, but the hurricane’s stopped.”

Crystal looked around, and saw the sun streaming through the clouds. She felt herself begin to sink to the ground, as if she were a feather. Chelsea reached out and pulled her into the TARDIS, before hugging her.

“Thank you,” Crystal smiled.
“You helped,” Chelsea grinned. “I’d better be getting back to mum and Tim, they’ll be worried. Tell that Doctor of yours to look after you, or he’ll have to answer to me.”
“I’ll visit every day,” Crystal said. “And if you get the chance… tell mum and Tim you had a dream about me or whatever… and that… Tim’s all right.”

Chelsea nodded and left the TARDIS, as the sunlight shone through the bushes, past the buffet tables and the champagne glasses, and Zoe and Tim as they hugged Chelsea, remembering the daughter they had lost, but knew was never really gone.

The End

TTV Series Episode 5: Fugitive

Finley pulled Crystal towards the nearest building, and into a shuttle car. With a noise like a saw, the shuttle began to fire up, and shot into the sky.

“What are you doing?” Crystal screamed, ramming a seat belt on.
“Getting us away from the Earth!” Finley shouted back. “Hold on tight!”

The Doctor clutched the TARDIS console in shock. Ryfo watched him nervously, unsure of what to say.

“The sun’s about to be destroyed,” the Doctor said quietly. “Crystal’s dead, and it’s my fault.”
“Maybe human girl survived?” Ryfo suggested.

The Doctor shook his head, and pointed to the scanner.

“She’d appear on here, she’s not alive anymore,” he sighed.
“Or, she not on Earth,” Ryfo pointed.

The Doctor frowned, and slipped on his brainy specs, gazing at the scanner. Suddenly, he gave a cry of happiness, and pointed a little way above the Earth, where two dots were moving upwards. Then he frowned once more, and shifted the zoom away from Earth. Just as he had suspected, Platform One, complete with Lady Cassandra, the Face of Boe, and the Moxx of Balhoon, was floating above the Earth, and Crystal and Finley were headed straight for it.

“We’ve docked, at some kind of space station,” Finley announced. “The computer’s calling it Platform One. Apparently, above us are several rich aliens gathered to watch the Earth burn.”
“Lovely,” Crystal said. “Shall we go and meet them?”

As they stepped through a door, several Judoon appeared behind them. They began to fire their lasers, but the door had already closed. Finley grabbed Crystal and pulled her along a corridor, and through another door. They ran down another corridor, then into a large suite. Crystal leant against the back of a large tank, catching her breath.

“We should be safe for now,” she said. “There’s nobody here.”

Suddenly, the tank began to move, and with a cry, Crystal fell to the floor. As the tank began to turn around, Finley gasped, as the Face of Boe turned to face them.

“Who are you?” the Face of Boe asked telepathically.
“Please, ignore us, we’re just dead beings,” Finley replied, bowing slightly.
“Everything has its time,” the Face of Boe said. “I know that better than most. Rise.”

Crystal and Finley climbed to their feet, wondering what would happen know. They heard footsteps down the corridor; a rhythmic marching from the Judoon.

“What do we do?” Crystal hissed at Finley.
“Hide yourselves behind me,” the Face of Boe said.
“Thank you,” Finley whispered.

The pair ducked behind the Face of Boe and waited with bated breath. The door to the suite opened, and a Judoon walked it. It began to spout orders, but hesitated when it saw Boe.

“Have you seen two humans?” it asked.
“I have not,” Boe replied.

The Judoon nodded, and left. Crystal and Finley came out from behind Boe, and smiled. He gave a slight nod, and the pair left the room. Just as they were walking down the corridor, an announcement informed them that ‘Earth Death is in 5 minutes’. Soon, the Earth would be destroyed, and, elsewhere on the ship, Lady Cassandra, the paper-thin last Human, was setting a plan in motion, and being very dramatic about it:

“The planet's end. Come gather! Come gather! Bid farewell to the cradle of civilization. Let us mourn her with a traditional ballad.”

As Crystal ran along a corridor, she heard music, specifically, Toxic by Britney Spears. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she began to laugh. Finley rolled his eyes and headed over to a terminal.

“There’s a sunfilter, programmed to descend,” he said. “Someone’s sabotaging the ship. The Judoon are gonna think we’re behind it, we need to get out of here.”
“But where are we gonna go?” Crystal asked. “I saw a sign earlier – all teleports are banned.”

Ryfo coughed impatiently. The Doctor briefly looked up, before returning his attention to the console. When Ryfo coughed once more, the Doctor sighed, and looked up again.

“Yes?”
“Are we not going to Platform One?” Ryfo asked.
“We can’t,” the Doctor sighed. “There’s already a version of me there, and, if we go the Reapers could appear, and, on top of Lady Cassandra muddling with the security systems, we’ll all be eaten.”
“That is not good,” Ryfo summarised.
“Not good, no,” the Doctor said.
“Maybe Doctor could return me?” Ryfo asked hopefully.
“Oh, alright then,” the Doctor sighed. “But let Finley Bradford go – he’s already dead, there isn’t much you can do to punish him.”

Ryfo thought about this, and reluctantly nodded. The Doctor let out a small smile, and aimed the Sonic Screwdriver at Ryfo, who disappeared in a blue flash.

“Earth Death in 2 minutes,” the computer announced.

Crystal and Finley watched the Judoon, from a hiding place, teleport away from Platform One. Suddenly, Crystal’s phone rang, and she answered it.

“Hello? Doctor? What, seriously? Okay. Two minutes, yeah, we’ll hurry. See you in a minute!”

Finley looked at, and she grinned. Taking his hand, she began to run down the corridor.

“The Doctor persuaded the Judoon to let you go,” she grinned. “We need to get to the confiscation office, it’ll have a teleport.”
“And it all sounds so easy,” Finley said. “What’s the catch?”

Before Crystal could reply, the glass wall along the corridor began to crack in several places. Rays of light shot through the cracks, and burned the wall opposite. Crystal dropped to the floor, pulling Finley down with her.

“Planet explodes in 3… 2… 1…” the computer announced.

Crystal closed her eyes, as planet Earth was destroyed. Finley looked above her head, and noticed the rays of light were no longer fizzing through the glass, which seemed to be repairing itself. He gave a laugh of relief.

“Exoglass repair, exoglass repair,” the computer exclaimed.

***

“Do you want me to take you back to the Inner Circle?” the Doctor asked.

He stood in the TARDIS, facing Finley, who shook his head. He smiled at Crystal, who was sat in a chair, and made a decision.

“I’d like you to take me to Earth,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been there and… seeing it be destroyed like that…”
“A wise choice,” the Doctor smiled. “Maybe you should wait for everything to calm down before you go back to the Inner Circle.”
“So you’re gonna go back to them?” Crystal asked, standing up as the Doctor set the TARDIS in motion.
“I’ve got to,” Finley replied. “They’re my family; they understand what its like to be dead, as do you.”

Crystal nodded thoughtfully as the TARDIS faded away. When it materialised on Earth, the Doctor hung back, nodding at Crystal to say goodbye. She smiled gratefully, and followed Finley out of the TARDIS and into a hotel room.

“I’ll be staying here for a while,” he said. “The Doctor paid for it, tell him thanks.”
“I will,” Crystal grinned. “What – what is that?”

As they were talking, a pair of golden gates rippled into existence, almost growing up the wall. Crystal headed towards it, believing it to be heaven, but Finley grabbed her arm.

“It’s not what you think,” he explained. “When a person the Death Collectors have targeted die, a pair of golden gates appear, and, obviously, the dead person thinks it’s heaven. They step through the gates, only to discover they’re in a world of pain – where the Death Collectors work them to death all over again. Get out of here – run!”

Crystal faltered, unsure. She looked once more at Finley, and screamed. His eyes were pure white – he was clearly possessed. She ran to the door, but it was locked. She was lifted off her feet by Finley, and dragged towards the gates.

“LET ME GO!” she screamed, clinging on to the bed.

Finley tugged harder, and her hand slipped. She screamed once more as she dropped to the floor. Her nails dug into the wooden floorboards as Finley continued to drag her to the gate. As they got closer, Crystal kicking and screaming all the way, the gates opened. Instead of wall where the gates were open, she saw a bright white light.

“Please, Finley, oh God, please!” she yelled. “I don’t want to die.”

As she began to cry, Finley let go of her. Her legs dropped to the floor, and she crawled away from him. His eyes were their normal colour, and he had overcome his possession.

“Get out of here,” he said quietly, dangerously. “GO!”

Crystal clambered to her feet, and ran to the door. When she realised what Finley was going to do, she screamed. There was nothing she could do – she was forced to watch as Finley headed towards the gate, the white light, the death, and the sleek golden doors closed behind him. There was a flash of white light, and the gates disappeared.

“Sorry.”

Crystal opened the hotel room door, which unlocked itself with a click, and headed back to the TARDIS. Finley Bradford was dead – he had sacrificed himself, and would now be living in a world of pain to save her life. Crystal Harris, the dead girl with red hair and tears running down her cheeks, was alive because of Finley Bradford. And yet, with his passing, she had never felt so dead.

The End