Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 67 - The Lab

When Lyssa opened her eyes, she saw stars floating around her.

At first glance, it seemed like she was back in the Time Vortex, jumping to some other random place. The gold mist of the Vortex was swirling around her, and she could see nebulas and galaxies slowly passing her beyond that.

"Someone is interfering with the walls between universes."

The unexpected voice startled her, and she jerked back before swinging her head around until she saw the graceful form of Tirdis floating off to the side, staring out into the vast distance of space, looking worried.

Awkardly propelling herself to Tirdis' side - half floating, half walking - she tried to see what she was looking at, but saw only the usual expanse.

"What's wrong?" she asked uncertainly.

The woman pursed her lips, wings fluttering gently. "You are aware that there are other universes out there, correct? Universes where your Doctor and myself do not exist, universes where evil runs rampant without check, universes where time travel and heroes do not exist?"

Lyssa furrowed her brow. "Yeah," she said slowly. "I mean, didn't I come from one where humans were the only species that existed? And didn't the Time Lords used to visit them all the time before the Doctor Time Locked Gallifrey? And didn't he end up in one with Rose and Mickey at some point?"

"A parallel universe, yes," Tirdis affirmed, still not looking at her. "Universes that have a similar timeline to this universe, but a few key factors have been changed. Such as Rose's father still being alive. Others have larger differences. The Time Lords could easily cross to the smaller universes. But some of the larger universes, where things are fundamentally different, could not be accessed even at the height of their power. And nor should they have been!" she added strictly.

"There are some things out there that no one, mortal or immortal, should have access to. And others... there are some entities that must never learn of each other. For should they join together, their power would be so great that there is not a force in the universe - in any known universe - that could stop them."

Lyssa shifted uncomfortably. "I'm getting the feeling that one of said evil entities has learned about or teamed up with another evil entity?"

Tirdis inclined her head. "Our foe, the one responsible for so much of the evil in this universe, and who seeks to rewrite time itself, and who trapped myself and all my sisters, is himself physically trapped. He ever seeks to escape and carry out his heinous plan. Unfortunately, his influence did not end with his imprisonment. The age-old foe of my thief, the Master, is himself a servant of the Darkness, though perhaps he does not yet recognize it himself. It would seem the height of irony to our foe that a man who prides himself on fooling others is himself fooled."

"Okay, wait, wait, wait." Lyssa held up her hands, brain swimming with all the new information. "So - the Big Bad Guy is physically locked up, but can still somehow trick and influence people, like the Master? Does that mean that the Master is really a good guy who's been hypnotized or whatever into doing all this awful stuff?"

Tirdis shook her head. "The Master chose his path a long time ago. Yes, he was influenced by both the Time Lords and the Darkness, but his actions - and his love of evildoing - are his own. However, some of his actions are guided by our foe, some more subtly than others." She sighed. "I realize that this is a lot of information to understand at once, but time is running out, and you need to know."

She pursed her lips. "As I have already explained, the Darkness is not the only powerful entity out there in all the universes. This one in particular, has a good one, a female known as the Creator... and many wicked ones. Those who would devour all worlds and time itself if they could.