2005, Jul 1- Time Crashing for Beginners

[The 9th Doctor]

She said no. She said no, well he should be surprised, but he was oh was he. The Ninth Doctor had seen so much potential in that pink and yellow ape and she threw that away for what? Ricky the Idiot? For beans on toast and sleeping your life away? She had been a reason to continue on and not simply will himself to die right then and there. So, he had left her there and he never asked twice, it wasn't his style to, he never had to ask twice before and he was not the type of man to beg for anything in his life. Even he hadn't begged for death, he ran straight towards it! At least until a little ape had to go and be interesting and save his life.

The Doctor went to work as he set off for his next adventure, but he doubted it would be much fun. He had always enjoyed the company, someone to distract him from the memory of the death caused by a combination of his and Omega's hand. All of it had destroyed his people and if he was honest, he wasn't able to handle lonleiness very well, still it felt like Hell to be alone if there was such a thing. He rubbed his face as he set to work on getting into the Time Vortex, that was until all the alarms went off!

Bloody hell, what was going! The TARDIS was crashing, but into what? He knew he remembered that in his fifth life he had met a future version of himself. Though he had no real idea of how far away that regeneration was and he didn't want to find out. The bloody shields weren't working, dammit. Something was coming through and he made quick work of it all, trying to stop what coming through before something big happened. As he hit a series of control, the alarms stopped sounding.

The Ninth Doctor had no idea, it was too late, it had already come through, himself. When he looked up he yelled, "You! What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

[The 10th Doctor]

A claxon was sounding somewhere above him.

No. No! A level five alert. No. Nonononono. The Doctor bashed his head on the bit of console he was stretched out under in his haste. That wasn’t possible!

Time was going all wibbly around him as he fought the controls, forgetting that he had, in fact, disabled a good many of them for his repairs.

He looked up, straight into a pair of icy blue eyes he knew all too well.

“Oh, look at you! All ears and short hair and ...” He was circling himself, his younger self, the console momentarily forgotten. Not every day you got to see some of these things. Your own backside, for instance. And hadn’t something like this happened before, when he was a bit more…beige? Hard to remember after nine hundred years, even for him.

“Mind you, we’re twenty seconds to a universe destroying disaster, but now I know why Jack and Rose always wanted to walk behind me.”

He paused, mid-thought. Rose and Jack.

“Right then, where are they? Rose and Jack? Or is it still Rose and Ricky the Idiot?”

The alarm tone changed, the shrieking becoming a deeper, more ominous tone that reverberated through his very core. Still, things could sit for a bit if it meant the chance to say hello to Rose and still-mortal Jack one more time.

[The 9th Doctor]

Nine immediately went into defensive posture as he watched the hyper idiot. He couldn't bloody well stay still. The reality was on the verge of collapse and he was dancing around and did he have to point out the ears? He was halfway tempted to shake his future self until he calmed down. It would sure make Nine feel better.

"Why the bloody hell would she be here? She just said no travelling the universe. We don't ask anyone twice to come with us." He said harshly and gruffly. He may have been a little upset about that, that they didn't ask anyone twice, they didn't go back, but as the idiot clearly said Rose, it had to be a different Rose. It was a common name and apes had a habit of naming their daughters after plants.

He mentally filed it about companions following behind him. It did boost his ego on many levels. Though he had no idea who this Jack was. "And Jack who?" He asked turning to the controls as he tried to remember the sequence that he had done back in his fifth life. It wouldn't do to end the universe after all.

He could really use a bannana right now.

Then it returned to him and he was working rather quickly on the controls to get things back on target. Nine knew that after this would have to take the old girl to Cardiff, get things fixed and do some maintenance. She obviously needed it right now.

[The 10th Doctor]

“Oh.

“Stupid me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Great big stupid head. Forget I said that." He ran a hand through his already disarrayed hair, then gestured sharply.

"Yes, she did say no, didn’t she? A lot of work, that Rose Tyler.” He was smiling, as though proud of all the work that had gone into cultivating and enlightening one pink and yellow human, and the whole mess of humans that came with her. Still, should warn himself about Jackie while he has the chance. For a moment, a fraction of a second, really, a section of the console flashed ‘b4dw -- 0-- £F’ across its display.

Still, wouldn’t do to make a causal loop. Unless he already had, and if he already had, then that’s exactly what he was supposed to do. Timey wimey. Of course, if he hadn’t asked Rose again, then that put him early in the Ears and Leather regeneration-and was that Fitz’s jacket? He couldn’t seem to remember where he’d found it, now-fresh from...well...

“Course, you did forget to mention the time travel bit. Right, then. Hole in space the size of, oh, Belgium, is it?”

Yes, it was coming back now, trainers and specs and decorative vegetables, and he really did have a gob on him this time, didn't he? Still, he'd managed well enough. Survived from Beige and Crickity all the way to Rude and Not Ginger, even when he didn't particularly want to.

[The 9th Doctor]

What his hyper future version of himself was doing was making him curious and he did love a good puzzle. Something or someone to figure it out. The Doctor couldn't help and he knew he wouldn't forget it, it was like a scent you couldn't get out of your nose and consider of his, it was like a very strong one for him. What would make him go back, he never looked back, that was the bloody point. He refused to watch them grow old and perish, if he wasn't so much a coward, he would have gone back to Susan moments after his first incarnation had left her there. It hadn't set right with him since the second inccarnation to abandon her like that, but she likely had a family now and he had no right to interfere in her life, especially if she was happy now. It was why no one had gone back for her, what if she as happy?

"Hmm," he replied in agreement to the very stupid and hyper version of him right now. It was then he pointed out of the answer to why she didn't say yes, time. Apes always seemed obsessed with it, it was in all their stories, what they all craved, to see past, present, and future. For a moment he considered going back to the moment he last saw her but he mentally shook himself. He wouldn't do that.

It was when the console flashed, he was in a hurry. He rubbed his face as he remembered the sequence from his Fifth life. Bloody--He began typing in that same sequence and had very much a feeling one of them would disappear any moment now-- Δᵱ∏∑₪♯┼∂ⅎ⅜‡. It was then the alarms shut down. "And there we go," He said turning around at his older self with a manic grin written all over his face.

"Mimicking our fifth life aren't you, you are such a fan boy."