The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh

Chapter 31

"Can't you just, you know?" Clara asked.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"Fly the TARDIS into the parallel universe?"

"Ah, it's not a parallel universe. It's a pocket universe. Plus, it is collapsing. I mean, the TARDIS could get in there all right, but entropy would bleed her power sources, you see? Trap her there until the entire universe decayed back into the quantum foam. Which would take about three minutes, give or take, you know."

Elise patted Clara on the shoulder. "In other words, no."

The Doctor finished what he was doing and they went back to the music room where the Doctor rigged the crystal up.

"What is that?" Clara asked, reaching for it.

The Doctor slapped her hand. "A subset of the Eye of Harmony."

"I don't..."

"Of course you don't. Be weird if you did. I barely do myself." He turned to Emma. "Right. You, sit down. All the way from Metebelis Three." He put a headset with a blue gem on Emma's head.

"What does it do?" she asked.

"It amplifies your natural abilities like a microphone, or a pooper scooper."

"What exactly is this arrangement?" Palmer asked.

"A psycho-chronograph."

"Forgive me, but isn't it all a bit well, make do and mend?"

Clara helped the Doctor into a parachute harness.

"Non-psychic technology won't work where I'm going. Listen, all I need to do is dive into another dimension, find the time traveler, help her escape the monster. Get home before the entire dimension collapses and Bob's your uncle."

"Doctor, will it hurt?" Emma asked.

"No. Well, yes. Probably. A bit. Well, quite a lot. I don't know. It might be agony. To be perfectly honest, I'll be interested to find out."

Emma looked at Palmer, who nodded. "I'm talking to the lost soul that abides in this place. I'm speaking to Hila Tacorian."

All the clocks in the room started to spin backward.

The Doctor attached his harness to a thick rope as the black disc from earlier appeared.

Wind filled the room.

"See? The Witch of the Well! It's a wormhole!" the Doctor yelled over the noise.

"A reality well! A door to the echo universe. Ready?"

"Ready!" Emma yelled.

"Geronimo." The Doctor jumped into the wormhole.

Elise looked at the wormhole and made a decision. She grabbed the rope and let it pull her in.

"Elise! Doctor!" Clara yelled.

Elise hit the ground next to her father.

He pulled off the harness and helped her up. "What are you doing here!" he yelled.

"You and me, remember? If you go, I'm going with you."

The Doctor groaned. "Oh, you are loyal to a fault! We don't have time for this." He grabbed her hand and they started running. "Hila? Hila! Hila Tacorian!" the Doctor called.

Sticks and leaves around them snapped.

"One, two, three." The Doctor spun around as Hila cried, "Help me! Help!"