The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh

Chapter 24

The Doctor stormed into the TARDIS and pulled the monitor around. "She's just a girl. How can she be?"

The monitor showed them the girl from the Dalek Asylum, along with a number of different photos from the current Clara's past.

"She can't be. She is. She can't be." He shoved the monitor away. "She's not possible."

"We'll figure it out. We always do," Elise reassured him.

They picked up Clara and set off on her first real adventure.

"So we're moving through actual time? So what's it made of, time? I mean, if you can just roll through it, it's got to be made of stuff, like jam's made of strawberries. So what's it made of?"

"Well, not strawberries. No. No, no, no. That would be unacceptable." The Doctor straightened his bowtie.

"And we can go anywhere?"

"Within reason. Well, I say reason..." He'd ended up in a myriad of odd places.

"So, we could go backwards in time."

"And space, yes."

"And forwards in time."

"And space. Totally. So, where do you want to go, eh? What do you want to see?"

"I don't know. You know when someone asks you what's your favorite book and straight away you forget every single book that you've ever read?"

"No. Totally not."

"Well, that's a thing that happens."

"And? Back to the question?"

"Okay. So...So...So..." Clara ran towards the doors. "So I'd like to see...I would like to see...What I would like to see is..." She spun around. "...something awesome."

The Doctor ran around the console and then led Elise and Clara out of the TARDIS.

Clara had her eyes closed.

"Can you feel the light on your eyelids? That is the light of an alien sun. Forward a couple of steps. Okay. Are you ready?" the Doctor asked Clara.

"Yes. No. Yes." Clara opened her eyes.

"Welcome to the Rings of Akhaten."

The Rings of Akhaten was an asteroid belt orbiting a huge star.

"It's..."

"It is. It so completely is. But wait, there is more."

"More what?"

"Wait, wait, wait." The Doctor looked at his watch. "In about five, four, three, two..."

The asteroids parted to reveal a golden pyramid.

"What is it?" Clara and Elise asked.

"The Pyramid of the Rings of Akhaten. It's a holy site for the Sun Singers of Akhate."

"The who of what?"

"Seven worlds orbiting the same star. All of them sharing a belief that life in the universe originated here, on that planet."

"All life?"

"In the universe."

"Did it?"

"Well...it's what they believe. It's a nice story."

"It's beautiful," Elise said.

"Can we see it? Up close?" Clara asked.

The Doctor held out his hand.