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Doctor Who: Reemergence
by Charles Mento
"Doctor!" Sam yelled loudly as the familiar form of the 8th Doctor fell.
"So sorry, Sam," he said, "I think that Ice Warrior heat barrier gun was just..."
The Doctor was on his back and in the TARDIS. Sam leaned over, "No, Doctor! You saved my life, you can't die! Not now! Not this way..."
"So sorry to have been...." The Doctor's voice faded away.
His eyes closed. Sam's tear dropped off her left cheek and landed on the Doctor's mouth which closed but not in time to escape the tear. Sam knelt down over him and had her hand on one of his hearts. She could feel it stop beating, the other heart beat but also stopped. "No..." Yet something did move under her palm after a moment. Power. Throbbing.. "Wha?" She put her ear to one of his hearts. No beating. But something surging and getting stronger. "But what?" Sam stood up and looked at the scanner. Ice Warriors were gathering around the TARDIS hitting it with everything they had. It did not matter much. Sam didn't care...not only couldn't they do anything to the TARDIS but with the Doctor dead...
Before her eyes a bright light came about and am image of a body outline...it seemed like the Doctor's but it looked smaller... "Doc...tor?"
More body outlines appeared and spiraled about and then formed slowly one at a time. An old man with long white hair...a taller man with curly locks and lots of teeth, smiling. A long scarf. A small man with a straw hat and a red handled umbrella yelling. But not being heard. A distinguished white haired man in a purple-red cape. A chubby guy in a multi colored coat and blond hair. A smaller man with checkered trousers and a flute. He was the only one who spoke, "It will be allright! All right. You will be allright, my boy." The images floated and spun, changed back and forth. A nice looking blond man in a yellow cricketeer jacket with a a bit of celery on it. He waved. Waved?
Sam moved back, totally confused. The bright images faded and then appeared stronger. They formed on outline, smaller as it began and the entire image went into the Doctor's dead body. The rivlets of Sam's tears dried and the Doctor bounced up and stood fit and tidy on his feet, seemingly doing a kick up as a karate expert would. "Doc? Doc-tor?"
"You know, my former selves hated being called Doc. I kind of like it." There was a blond...boy standing in the Doctor's clothes. With short blond hair and a small mole on the left side of his neck. And a thick British accent, "Of couse, it beats being called..." He smiled and put his face right into Sam's, "...Doc--Tor...sounds like the way that other Master spoke it, you know...Doc...." He caught Sam's face of confusion, "Sorry, you weren't there. It was Grace."
"You once told me...you regenerated!"
"Yes," he moved to take off his vest and tossed it into Sam's hands, "Several times."
He moved to the exit of this room, "And this TARDIS needs an overhaul. Too dark, too big, too, well," he turned back and ran up to her to whipser in her face, "Actually I like big." He chuckled and ran to the door again, "I...I like white better too not all this darkness. The candles and all will have to go. Love the roof window though. Needs more roundel thingies."
"Doctor!" Sam yelled.
"Yes, Sam! Sam!" The Doctor yelled back.
He literally ripped the white shirt off his back and chucked it into Sam's face, "Catch!"
He was shirtless now and Sam noticed no body hair. She chased him out, dropping his clothes as she did. He stopped short at a clothing room door and Sam careened right into his smooth back, noticing he was undoing his belt at the same time that he was taking off both shoes. "Doctor!"
"Sam!" The boy yelled, "Stop doing that," he laughed and yelled.
"You seem very hyper!" Sam looked, "Residue?"
"No, it's my new self, quick, fast thinking, a large does of willie..."
Sam nodded in exasperation, "Willie?"
"Oh, I mean wittie," he smiled as he ran into the door, dropping his pants!
"Doctor!"
"Sam!"
"You just took off your pants..."
"Yeah and here's some more," he chucked off his underwear and she ducked. It was very clean. "I wish I could just go like this. All my previous self's clothing was so constricting. I would prefer nature's way."
Sam tried not to look. "Will you please put some on..."
"What, nature's way?"
"No, pants or something..."
He looked at a pair of sweat pants on the rack. He threw it and picked out a long leather set of pants, all black, "Too bad they don't have this in yellow...or red...black...blaaargh!"
Sam looked at him fully, "Doctor...you seem about 16."
"Well, thanks," he smirked, "I'm not."
"I know you told me when we first met that you were like...what 1018 or..."
"Well I dropped some years since then. I am about...about 15 now."
"15!? Put some pants on! And I mean now!" She looked away again.
He did. He found a set of denim jeans, bright blue and put them on. "Oh this looks so right," he felt them and found some white sports socks laying in some sneakers, "And these...oh my." He quickly put them on. "That oughta do for now."
"What do you mean? You don't have a shirt on!"
"So? Many a person who helped people went this way."
"Name one!"
"Well, there's Lord Greystoke, Conan..."
"They're just fictional characters, Doctor."
"Who told you that?" He smiled and tapped her on the head.
"Hey," she said as he passed her for the door, "You have to..." He stopped and looked at her quizzically.
"What?"
"A hat?"
"Oh my no, I hate the things."
"But..." She touched his hair and felt pain and winced back.
"Oh Sam, please don't touch my hair! I hate that too!"
"It's so short...your..."
"This new persona is me. It's the idea that less is better. Less is good. Less...is faster and more interesting."
Sam murmered something like, "Well, what's between your legs this time is definitely not less."
"What?"
"Nothing, so what now?"
"Oh well if a shirt is what you need..." He went back into the room with the clothes, "I will find something..." He found a red pull over sweater with an insignia of an alligator on the left pec, "Like it?" Sam smiled and nodded affirmative. The Doctor smiled and nodded also and then threw it aside. "I don't." Sam frowned. The Doctor tossed a pile of clothes as he leaned down. It looked like a dog tossing dirt between his legs. Clothes rained up at her and a few hit her. One smelled like it was made of liquorice. Sam threw them as they rained on her. "Yeeeesssssss!" He found a red polo sweater with short sleeves and threw it over his head so fast that Sam couldn't see him
do it. It was a bit short and revealed his navel each time he moved a bit. "The new me likes fun and likes to move." He shook his pelvis quite readily.
Sam tried to ignore this, "So where to now?"
"Now? Your home."
"What?"
"Your time and your home."
"You're dropping me off?"
"Well yes."
"Well why?"
He put his hands on her shoulders, "Now, now, Sam, don't take this the hard way."
"But..."
"I have lots to do on Gallifrey. Those stuffy old Time Lords and their Looms and that whole thing about no sex in the Panopticon or was it the coatroom?"
"Gallifrey---I can't miss Gallifrey..."
"Oh maybe some day, you will get to do it...go there I mean..." He walked out to the big room and set the TARDIS on course. "Now aliens aren't permitted there." He raised an eyebrow hoping she wouldn't catch this lie.
Sam protested some more, "That's not right. You..one of your former companions is there...Lalla?"
"Ahhh, yes, Leela....marvelous lady," the Doctor smirked, "Nice big..." Sam hit him on the back lightly... "What? Nice big knife she has there...and I can't wait to see K-9...I think I'm going to make another one of him...and link all of the K9's together."
"What I mean is...stay on one topic at one time..."
"Why? Oh that's so dull."
"What I mean is...if Leela can be there, why can't I?"
"Allright Sam, this new me isn't good at lying...here, listen to the truth..."
"We've landed..."
The Doctor opened the doors and lead Sam by the hand, "You are just too dark for me. Even Dark Sam would admit that. I mean...you're also way too old for me now. And while I would like to break some Gallfrean laws, I don't want you in the middle of it all."
Sam swung her shoulders and laughed, "I'd like to..."
"No, no, no," he took her from behind and shoved her out the doors, "I wouldn't like you with me." As she piled out, "Goodbye," came from him and a tall man was at the doors.
It was Fitz, "Hey, you guys, came back..." Sam bounded into Fitz. "Who is that?"
"Who? The 9th grader? That, Fitz, is the Doctor!"
"Nice to see you again, gruff guy, bye!" The Doctor went back into the TARDIS. The doors shut and the TARDIS vanished...
Sam and Fitz watched incredelous...Sam said, "He's going back to Gallifrey. I wonder what harm they will do to him this time..."
TO BE CONTINUED...