Chapter 29 - Crossroads

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, but sometimes, when I look at how far it's come and what it is today, I can't help but echo the words of Peter Capaldi. Because in lots and lots of beautiful little ways "Doctor Who belongs to all of us."

"Shhh..." Two whispered, holding a finger to his lips. The massive group of Doctors and companions hadn't needed to walk far before they came across a sealed door that appeared to be the source.

The Doctors looked at each other apprehensively, a silent question hanging in the air - would what they found here be the end of their troubles, or the start of something worse?

Ten took a deep breath and eased it open.

There was no sound - no creak of hinges, no sigh of wind. The room inside was dark, shrouded in shadow, with only a few blinking lights scattered here and there. A control panel.

Ten began inching his way inside, cautiously. He held out a hand, signaling that no one should follow., but just as he did so a simultaneous shudder passed through the entire group.

"ONLY... THE DOCTOR... MAY...ENTER."

The companions looked around in confusion, leaning in and around each other in an attempt to look into the doorway.

"Telepathic communication," Five murmured. "They're still using the nanobots."

"...which means they know we're here," Ten finished.

"Well gentlemen," said Six. "It appears I've been summoned. Coming?"

The Doctors all nodded in agreement. Ten began to shuffle inside again, the others following.

"Professor, wait, what if it's a trap?" Ace protested. Other companions seemed to agree.

"It's not safe, Doctor!"

"What if something happens?"

"I dinnae see why you should listen to tha' voice in any case!"

"Shhh!" One silenced them all. "If we want to get this sorted out, we've got to take a few chances, hm?"

There was silence, but a general, begrudging agreement seemed to be mutually understood.

"Excellent," he said, turning towards the open doorway.

The moment the eleven of them had crossed the threshold, the door swang shut. Eleven and Two whirled around in identical surprise, the other focused their attention elsewhere as the lights switched on.

And their observation was not without reason - in fact, very much the opposite. Because in the middle of the room stood exactly what they were looking for.

It was a Dalek, held down by an astonishing number of wires and cords that connected it to the interface of control panels spanning the room. Several of the Doctors stiffened at its presence.

"DO NOT... RESIST..." the Dalek croaked.

"Resist what?" Ten demanded.

"...COMMUNICATION"

"You mean that's all you want?" Nine said angrily. "Want to have a nice chat?"

"NO."

"What then?"

"YOU... HAVE NOT WON." the Dalek croaked. "AS LONG AS THE NANOBOTS REMAIN IN PLACE, YOU WILL... ULTIMATELY BE AT OUR... MERCY."

"So I was right?" Two demanded. "That's what this was, a complicated... assassination plot?"

"THE DOCTOR IS THE ENEMY OF THE DALEKS, THE DOCTOR MUST BE... EXTERMINATED."

The Dalek's words were harsh, but it's voice sounded strained, painful almost. Running the simulation was certainly taking its toll.

"But it went wrong," Ten said. "Something didn't go as planned."

"WE DID NOT INTEND TO PROCURE ALL YOUR INCARNATIONS - MERELY... THE FIRST."

The other Doctors swiveled to look at One.

"THE COMBINED FORCE OF YOUR PRESENCE WAS ENOUGH TO... BREAK... THE SIMULATION."

"And now you're the one trapped. Caught in your own snare."

"AND YOU ARE NOT SO... FREE... AS YOU WOULD BELIEVE... DOCTOR."

"As much as I hate to say it, there's a point in that," Five said. "We've still got a rather literal big in our own systems."

"That can be remedied," Seven said harshly. "This, however should not wait."

"We've got to disconnect it from the system," Three said. "Can't have an attempted murderer running around in our brains."

The Doctors stared at the failing Dalek.

"Not that difficult, really," Ten said. "Seeing as it provided us with the material itself."

"If you die in the sim, you die in real life," Eleven concurred.

The eleven men gave each other meaningful looks.

"Once more into the breach?" Eight offered.

"Quite right, my boy," One agreed.

"If our combined presence is enough to break us out," Ten said, "it's got to be enough to trap someone there. Permanently."

There was a collective breath all around, and the Doctors closed their eyes. It would take a bit of tricky telepathic fiddling to access the nanobot systems, but fortunately "fiddling" was quite possibly their specialty.

The world of the Dalek's simulation was a dark one, to be expected. There was no creativity in this landscape, only dark. The whispers of buildings haunted the edges of their vision, testament only to destruction.

"So this is what Daleks dream of..." Eleven muttered. "Not a pretty picture."

"Hardly a surprising one either," Nine added bitterly.

The Doctors stood in a circle, apparently having subconsciously ordered themself by age (though to complete the gap, Eleven stood, incongruously enough, by One) In the center of all their vision stood the Dalek, once again appearing strong and unfettered.

"YOUR INTRUSION IS USELESS," the Dalek protested. "YOU CAN ACHIEVE NOTHING HERE."

"But that's all we need to do," said Two sadly. "Nothing."

"EXPLAIN."

"You've lost your purpose," Nine shouted at it. "You've failed. You've got nothing left!"

"We're free, however," Ten reassured. "We're ready to run off, go throughout the galaxy. You haven't killed me off at all."

"AND THIS IS RELEVANT?"

"It's relevant because you can't hold it back!" Eleven cried, "You've already died - you just haven't accepted it!"

As he spoke, the world around them noticeably faded.

"I cannot be defeated by mere trickery!" Six bellowed. "The Daleks don't know who they're after if they think smoke and mirrors will be problematic!"

The background faded further.

"I... HAVE... FAILED?" the Dalek croaked, sounding weak once more.

"We'll live to die another day, all of us," Eleven said. "Because we've got things to live for. Can you say the same?

"YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR," the Dalek shrieked.

"Oh but that's where you're wrong," Eleven continued. "You're very, very wrong. Because all you've done, in all of this... you've showed me exactly what I've got. And the only thing more dangerous than an empty man is one who's bursting with life. Hope, friendship, adventures, wonder, that's what I've got to live for. All of me. And we've seen it today."

There was a shriek from the casing, and the background faded entirely. The Doctors were once again in the empty room - the lights on the console extinguished.

All was silent.

"So that's that," Four said, finally.

"Of course," said Five. "We're still left with the problem of purging the nanobots from our systems."

"Not that difficult, really," Seven said sadly. "All we've got to do is have the TARDIS to a telepathic wipe, and they'll be entirely powerless."

"A telepathic wipe?" Ten asked. "But that means we won't remember this - any of this! It'll take our memories along with the virus."

"A necessary precaution," Seven murmured.

"Maybe it's for the best," One said. "Can't have any of us knowing too much, hm? Best not to meddle with these things in the first place."

"I'd vastly prefer retaining my own recall!" Six protested. "This is ridiculous."

"Believe me," Eight sighed. "There comes a point where it's a luxury, not a natural right."

"Then we are agreed?" Seven asked.

"I suppose we must be," Two fretted. "I see no other choice."

"Best if we not tell out companions," Eleven said. "I've got a nasty feeling they won't be particular to it."

The others nodded solemnly.

"In any case, " he added, clapping his hands together, "it's not the time and place for good-byes yet. Shall we rejoin them?"

/

It was a strange mixture of glee and melancholy that accompanied the party's farewells. On the one had, the exhilaration of victory was running strong. That combined with newfound friendships couldn't seem to quite wear off. But the reality of separation was setting in - and even without the knowledge that it would be quite permanent, even in their minds, the companions were having a hard time saying good-bye.

"Sometime," Ian was saying to Rory, "sometime we'll track each other down again. Go to the pub or something. If I've learned anything with this mess, it's that time's flexible. You find yourself in the past, and we'll make it work."

"I'll mark the date," Rory smiled. "Whenever it comes up."

Next to them, Ace was saying her goodbyes to Susan.

"Don't let anybody push you around, okay? You've got a lot to offer yourself, hear me?"

At their right, others were making similar plans.

"You look me up, okay?" Sam said, giving Rose a wry smile. "If you ever stop running around with your bloke and I with mine... that is, if they don't need so much looking after sometime... we'll go do somthing else. No Doctors, just a bit of an adventure."

"It's a deal," she said, grinning. There was only a slight tone of regret.

Grace shook her head, smiling at them both. "My doors are apparently always open," she said. "Wouldn't be surprised if one of you just shows up on the doorstep again. Probably dragging one of them two behind you," she added, pointing at Nine and Eight.

Some were offering more words of advice to each other.

"You be careful now," Sarah Jane was saying to Adric. She'd grown rather fond of him through all the running about and getting trapped in labs. Thought he had a nice adventurous streak. "I'd hate to hear you got yourself into trouble."

"Isn't that what we all do?" Nyssa laughed.

Tegan smiled back, giving Martha a thumbs up. "You're going to ace your exams," she said. "Soon I bet there'll be two doctors in your TARDIS.

"Oh God," Martha laughed, "I'll never know as much as him."

"Oh, he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does," Romana said flippantly. "Isn't that right, K-9?"

"Affirmative, Mistress."

The companions all laughed.

Some were more optimistic about it all.

"Looks like we're saying goodbye again," Peri said to Jamie. "Wouldn't be surprised if you popped up again sometime, huh?"

"I hope so," he said happily. "Always a pleasure."

/

As everyone began to shuffle off into their respective TARDISes, the first Docto merely stood by his, alone. He was smiling and shaking his head.

"We really do need to have a talk, young lady," he said to her. There was an indignant flash from within.

"Yes, yes, of course I picked up on it," he laughed. "You were rather obvious, my dear."

More indignant flashing.

"Well it mostly clicked into place when the Dalek claimed they were only after me. Someone had to be interfering. And seeing as everyone was of the consensus that you brought them here, well, it all became rather obvious."

"Yes, yes, I understand exactly why you didn't cooperate - all that tosh about only three of you taking off. Rather silly, really."

The flashing turned a bit less belligerent and more sheepish.

"No, I don't mind in the slightest, dear girl. I can see exactly why. It's good to know you're looking out for me after all those years yet to come."

"Why? Because I know me better than anyone, I think, and the men who arrived here were not necessarily who I see myself becoming, hm?"

"I met a lot of broken men at the start of this," he sighed. "They're not leaving that way."

Sure enough, looking out across the room, the general interaction between Doctors was one of joy. Relatively. Two and Three were involved in a good-natured spat over something probably irrelevant. Eleven had stolen the end of Four's scarf to adorn his own neck, and was being coerced out of it by strategically offered jelly babies. Five was laughing at a joke or remark Ten had offered. Eight had wrapped Nine in a tight embrace and was, for once, finally getting something of a return (from an older Doctor with a genuine smile on his face). Six and Seven appeared to be involved in an umbrella duel, with Ace and Peri have taken their respective sides as commentators.

The TARDIS gave a noise that sounded an awful lot like a laugh. One chuckled in return.

"Yes, I do believe you'll take quite good care of me," he said. He raised his hand in a mock toast.

"To all our adventures to come, my dear. To all the adventures to come."

A/N: It's probably not the 23rd where you live anymore, but it is here. And so I just want to say to you all, after what I hope was an amazing day of celebrations and excitement... thank you. Writing this story has been an amazing adventure for me, and I can't thank you enough for your support.

But let's not forget what it was that brought you to that point - 50 years of an amazing work of fiction that endures mores strongly than ever. I look forward to seeing where it goes next. How perfect is it that a show about time travel has so much history, an amazing present, and a promising future, all of which have met today. And so I say to you all, my fellow wanderers in the fourth dimension... Happy 50th!

To all the adventures to come.