The Sun Below, Part 2: A 16th Doctor Adventure

Star Born

Written by Zara Day

VI

"I don't see how anyone is fixing that. You'll need a new generator, I reckon." The repairman looked to the supervisor like he was an idiot for calling.

"There are people down there," the supervisor said, holding his body.

"I'd be surprised if they survived if I'm being honest. Best get a generator soon if they are, and let these men go home."

"Like hell," said the Congressman, sitting on a lawn chair brought for him. "I'd rather these men dig a new mine than waste a day like this."

"Sir, they won't need to pay if they go home now," said the supervisor.

"Neither will you," said the Congressman severely. "Get that generator fixed, now."

VII

The Doctor was struggling to even see the full body of the creature before her. It was so bright and hot that she and Jim had to cover their eyes with their arms. "Let's see what you are real quick." She withdrew her sonic and began to scan the thing. She only had it on for a few seconds before it burned red hot in her hand, and she had to drop it, the screwdriver melting on the cave ground. "My sonic! You broke my sonic!" The Beast hissed a gurgling, bubbling sound in reply.

She patted her pockets quickly and withdrew a pair of sunglasses, placing them on her face. "Avert your eyes, Jim! I only have one pair." Jim turned round, though he was still uncomfortable as he felt the back of his neck overheating. "Much better," she said, walking back while pulling on Jim's arm for him to follow. "Maybe I can figure out what you are just by looking at ya." The Beast was surprisingly thin for how bright and full the light appeared. Its face looked goopy, like cheese on nachos, its eyes moving slowly in place. There were no feet on its sluggish body, and there were three pairs of hands.

"Tempalagora," the Doctor whispered incredulously.

"Time Lord," the Beast hissed in return.

"You don't exist. You're a bedtime story parents tell their children to instill a sense of duty in us." The Beast hissed at the sentiment.

"You know what it is?" Jim asked, looking to the Doctor out of the corner of his eye.

"Absolutely not. Because if it is what I think it is, it can't be what I think it is because it wouldn't be here."

"What?" Jim asked, exasperated.

"A tempalagora is a creature formed at the same time as a star, a natural byproduct of the energy required to ignite a star. The star feeds off the energy of a Tempalagora, and the Tempalagora feeds off the warmth and comfort of a star, like being wrapped in a heated blanket."

"If you know so much about them, why can't it be here?"

The Doctor looked to the Beast puzzlingly. "Tempalagora's don't leave their stars. They physically can't, because leaving that warmth would be like sailing without the kitchen stocked. You'd starve. They are born in, live in, and die with their star. For a Tempalagora to leave its star is impossible enough, but then even if it could, why come to Earth?" This question was pointed at the Beast in front of her.

The Beast didn't make any movements to get closer to the two of them, holding back. "Time lord, I need a new home."

"Why here? You need a star. This planet is getting hotter, sure. All the carbon being emitted into the sky by this coal is suffocating it slowly, but it will never get hot enough to support a Tempalagora."

"I don't need a sky."

A chill ran down the Doctor's spine. "You can't! That would kill every living thing on this planet, two and a half billion humans, millions of species, everything wiped out by earthquakes and the magnetic poles of the Earth erased."

"Doctor, what does it plan to do?"

"Replace the core of the Earth," the Doctor replied gravely.

"You are not of Earth. You have no say, Time lord."

"Doctor, you're from the future!" Jim exclaimed. "How can the Earth be destroyed in 1955 if you said the laws of time-"

"That only applies to cause-and-effect things. Humanity and Earth are not tied to my personal time stream. Think of time as a big ball-"

"It's not?" Jim asked, now panicking. "Are you saying you're not human?"

Now wasn't the time for all that. The Doctor shouted to the Beast. "How can you be here? You should be in a star!"

The Beast hissed. "My star died. Why should I with it?" It moved towards the pair.

"Because you just being here is killing people, and your plan would have everything die!"

"What happened yesterday is regrettable, but I am no killer."

The Doctor scoffed. "You've been killing for months." The Beast looked at the Doctor inquisitively. "Jim, I'm sorry you got caught up in this, but right now I need you to run. Go back to the elevator and evacuate."

"And leave you here?" Jim asked, turning to her despite the brightness the Tempalagora gave off even from further away.

"Jimmy, I can manage. Worst case, I get to see what it was like to be a friend of mine for a while, all gooey-faced."

"I'm not running."

The Doctor groaned. "I appreciate your stubborn energy-"

"It's not about you," Jim said shortly. "If you aren't human, I'm not going to leave the fate of Earth solely in your hands. You can jump in your space airplane and fly back to Mars if things go wrong. But for my ma, my brother, and me, this is our only home." The remark about Mars made the Doctor smile unexpectedly, a little reminder of a friend he was glad to be in the care of an older face.

"In that case, I need you to speak to it." She reached up and took off her sunglasses and placed them in his hand. "It says I have no say in the fate of Earth, and it sounds like you agree. I'm sorry to ask you to do that."

"You want me to speak to that? Does it even speak English?" Ah, right. Jim hasn't been in the TARDIS. He can't hear the Tempalagora.

"I'm sure it will get the gist."

The Beast eyed the Doctor carefully. Jim too looked to the Doctor, put on her sunglasses, then turned to the Beast. This was the first time seeing the Beast's form other than a big bright light. The Doctor turned her back to the Beast and gave Jim a pat on the back.

"Uh, hi. I am Jim. Jim of Cedar Grove. Do you know what that is?" The Beast didn't take its eyes off the Doctor, almost like it was trying to determine if it could kill her while her back was turned. "Excuse me," Jim said, trepidatious. The Beast began to crouch, like a cat ready to pounce. "Listen to me!" Jim exclaimed. The Beast turned to Jim with a hiss. He had its full attention, which seemed scarier, truthfully. There was a gurgling sound that came from its mouth, and magma-like drool fell onto the ground.

"It said, 'How dare you?'" the Doctor translated.

"Sir... or madam. You think, you. I won't let you take the Earth." The tempalagora moved towards him a bit, and the air around him increased by a few degrees. "I mean, I don't want you to. The Doctor here, she said, has a ship that can travel like an airplane through time and outer space. Maybe-"

"Jim, the TARDIS can't handle a Tempalagora's heat. It would melt the inner panelling."

Jim looked to the Doctor desperately. "Doctor, I can't insist it kill itself. It would never listen." The Tempalagora hissed again and turned to walk further down the coal mine. "What was that? What did it say?" The Doctor looked to Jim with worried eyes. "What did it say, Doctor?"

"It said it's getting cold waiting around. It's about to descend."

Jim looked to the Beast, whose light was fading. "There is a patch of ground over there that some of the guys say sucks your hand in if you try digging."

The Doctor began jogging towards the Beast. "That would be a Silurian transport tunnel! One trip through that, and it's only kilometres from the core!"

"I have an idea, Doctor," Jim said, jogging alongside her. He was impressed she could run like this. Must be part of her job as an alien time traveller.

"What would that be?" The Doctor asked as they were quickly approaching the end of the tunnel, and the Tempalagora was still up there, thankfully.

"You said it would melt the inside of your spaceplane. What about the outside?"

The Doctor looked over to Jim inquisitively. "Not that long ago, I would have said that was crazy, but I just found out a big dog has been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS for hundreds of years, and that wasn't that bad." She looked to the Tempalagora and yelled. "Did you hear that, Tempy? I might be able to get you somewhere warm if you let me get my TARDIS real quick!"

"I do not have time to wait, Time Lord." The Beast hissed down at her. "I grow colder by the moment, and if I do not find shelter, I will die. I am not ready to die."

"I only need a few minutes! I parked very close to the elevator. Basically in eye sight." The Doctor was smiling, though Jim sensed it was a desperate ploy to act confident in the face of danger. She did seem to care about Earth. Interesting.

"Doctor, I can't wait long."

"Ten minutes!" The Doctor chirped. "Maybe twelve. Definitely no more than sixteen."

"You have five." The Tempalagora announced. The Doctor released her breath and looked to Jim. "You stay here and keep it busy."

"Doctor, it doesn't understand a word I say."

"You'd be surprised." The Doctor whispered, patting him on the back and running down the tunnel, in the dark.

VIII

A new generator was found at the factory down south. It was quite a relief to the supervisor who feared, whether he knew it or not, that the Congressman might do something to him if he didn't. In the meantime, the men were doing busy work, organizing the storage locker to avoid digging holes.

"Hello? It seems I might have broken the lift!" yelled a woman from down in the mine.

"I'm glad you're alive, Ms. Smith. But I'm afraid the lift isn't going to be operational for at least an hour. A new generator is coming-" Screaming could be heard from down in the mine. The wires began to jiggle as grunting could be heard down there. As the grunting continued, a woman began to emerge from the darkness, red-faced and pained.

"What happened to your shoes, woman?" the supervisor asked, bewildered at her being in her socks.

"Harder to grip the cords with those shoes on. Had to use the friction of these cotton fibres." The Doctor smiled. Two guys moved to grab her and help her out of the hole. "Thanks!" she said, before bolting down the road.

"What about Mr. Kim?" the supervisor yelled.

"Jim Kim? He's fine." The Doctor yelled, still running. She didn't have time to chit-chat. That climb took a lot longer than she'd have hoped, and her hands hurt. She saw the TARDIS, still sitting next to the church. She pushed her way into the box and to the console in the center, twisting nobs and pulling a lever. It would be a tight squeeze getting into that tunnel with almost no room for error. Well, no room for error. When she was as sure as possible she had the right coordinates, she took a breath and hit the button to travel. The engines roared and whined as it set forth. She made her way to the doors, and suddenly the TARDIS jerked, knocking her to the ground. As she feared, the cave's roof was too low. The TARDIS would need to shrink a few inches to make it in. She got up and walked to the door that was now shorter than her height. She crouched a tad and opened the door.

"Daddy's here!" she yelled to the two other occupants in the cave. Jim turned to her, his face perplexed. "Right, yes, not daddy anymore and anyway, that sounded ridiculous. Get in here, Jim. Watch your head."

"Tiny plane you have here."

"Let's just say there is a surprising amount of leg room." Jim didn't laugh as he ducked his head to enter. "Sorry, I think you're a little too early for that joke. Your kids will love it."

"Where will you take me, Time Lord?" The Tempalagora said, its voice much shallower and its light dimmed.

"Somewhere warm," the Doctor answered, gesturing for it to take hold of the TARDIS wall. "Try not to melt the paint too much. TARDIS blue is out of stock." The Beast looked warily at the Time Lord, but came forward and gripped the wall. The Doctor nodded reassuringly and closed the door.

"I will admit, its outside is small but the inside is enormous," Jim remarked, staring all around the wide, bluish white coloured console room.

"You think that's cool?" the Doctor said, as she pressed buttons on the controls. "Tell us your favourite colour."

"Purple," Jim said, and the TARDIS inside became a pastel purple.

"Pretty neat, huh?" The Doctor asked with a smirk as she examined the screen in front of her.

"Doctor, where are you taking it?" Jim asked, clearly not in the mood for this.

The Doctor's smile dimmed a touch, and she swung the monitor to face him before she hit the control to take off. There was the sound of sizzling happening outside the TARDIS doors, no doubt the Tempalagora reacting to the vortex outside. "I managed to identify the original star of the Tempalagora. I'm taking it home."

"Doctor, it will die with the star," Jim said, his tone angrier than she'd expected.

"Jim, that is where it belongs."

"Doctor!" the Beast roared from outside as the TARDIS landed. "I won't go back!"

The Doctor straightened out her vest and sighed. She walked to the doors, which were thankfully back to normal size, and opened them. The warmth from the Tempalagora wasn't hot enough to burn anymore, just whimpering now.

"You tricked me!"

"I promised you a nice and warm place. This is your home. You've burned here for billions of years, lighting this solar system and twinkling in the sky of many civilizations. On Earth, this star is part of the constellation Phoenix. You're beautiful and strong."

"Doctor, I don't want to die."

"We all die. You know of my species, which means you know I've experienced a lot of deaths. But just like the bird your constellation is named after, we renew ourselves and keep going. You're the first non-human these eyes have seen. I haven't even gotten a chance to look in a mirror, that's how new I am. I don't know how your species creates offspring, but I'd bet this next part is part of it."

"I'm scared."

"That's why your kind are legends to the Time Lords. Tempalagora are brave."

"Didn't you hear me? I'm scared, not brave!"

The Doctor laughed grimly. "How silly to think one can't be both. Bravery doesn't mean having no fear. It means facing danger in spite of those fears. Facing danger without fear isn't brave, it's foolish. And you've shown you're no fool." The Beast looked to the Doctor, its eyes clear and unshielded by light for the first time, and they looked to understand. It looked to the star and let go of the TARDIS, floating through space towards it. Jim walked up and joined the Doctor at the doors, mesmerized by the sight. When the Tempalagora hit the star, the star almost looked to be imploding for a moment before rapidly expanding, letting out a burst of colours. Jim gasped at the sight, watching it grow all around the TARDIS, which took it like a champ.

IX

"Would you like to see more amazing things?" the Doctor asked. He hadn't noticed she had walked away and was at the controls already. "I can show you anything in space or time."

He wiped his eyes and walked to the Doctor. "We need to save my brother."

The Doctor looked to Jim sadly. "I can't. His death is a fixed point in your time stream."

Jim furrowed his eyebrows. "Then you know my answer. If you can't fix what was broken, this machine isn't worth a damn thing to me."

The Doctor nodded, understanding and turning the knobs to get back to the small town in West Virginia. This wasn't the ending she wanted, but what could she do? Then a thought came to her mind.

"One pile of ash," she whispered.

"What?" Jim asked, slumped on the ground.

"You saw no other piles, did you?" Jim shook his head. "The Tempalagora said it wasn't a killer and that yesterday was a mistake. But if it was killing people this whole time, how many times can it make the same mistake?"

"I don't know."

The Doctor looked to the panel. "When did your brother go missing? What day?"

Jim looked up to the Doctor and sniffled. "September 5th."

"Labour Day," The Doctor remarked. "What was he doing in the mines?"

Jim shrugged. "I think he thought it showed initiative. What are you asking for?"

"Well, I just think it's funny there was only one set of ashes. Perhaps, if we're lucky, that means I've saved them?"

"But you haven't saved them, have you?" Jim asked, confused.

"Not yet, but this is a time machine, remember." She turned the destination to September 5th and smiled. "I've done things I will do."

"You're being enigmatic again, Doctor." The machines began whining and turning again, and the Doctor rushed to the door, tapping her left hand with her right nervously.

The door shrank again, and the Doctor opened it. The sound of footsteps racing could be heard, and in the distance, sizzling. The Doctor tapped more as she waited. Jim watched, beginning to understand. From around the corner, a young man with coal dust all over his face came into view, and Jim jumped up.

"Jacob!" Jim screamed. "Get in here, quick!" The doctor was already running to the control panels, ready. Jacob was bewildered by the sight of a blue police box in the tunnel, but his brother's face reassured him. He crouched to get into the box, and the Doctor slammed the doors and pressed to move forward a few days before the Beast could see.

"Jim? What is this place? Who is she?" Jim was crying, hugging Jacob with deep joy.

"It's a long story. I'm just glad you're alive."

"And we can save the others. All but the last person." The Doctor said severely. "His ashes were a part of the investigation." Jim looked to the Doctor, and she struggled to read it.

"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you." The look had been marvelled at as it turned out.

"Save that for after we help the other workers." The Doctor said, bashfully.

X

The TARDIS materialized right out in front of the coal mine, screeching that sound that brings joy and hope to so many who hear it as it did that day. When the Doctor opened the doors, the coal miners, many of whom were hurt, were nonetheless alive and anxious to get out to the light of day. None were happier to see them than their coworkers, who ran to lift them away to get treated and see their families. The Kim brothers were the only ones left behind when the others cleared out, walking out of the TARDIS past the Doctor.

"Jim, I want to thank you." The Doctor said. "Properly thank you."

"Thank me for what?" he asked as his brother stopped a few feet further up.

"The Earth is still habitable because of your quick thinking down there." It was deeper than that, though she was struggling to put it into words. "These men, your brother, are alive because you pushed me to think fourth dimensionally."

"I'll accept your thanks, though I don't feel like I deserve it."

"I'll let you get your brother home, and later tonight I'll be here waiting. If you feel up to it, come here tonight, and I'll take you anywhere in the universe at any time. If not, I'll understand."

Jim's face was hard to read. "Ok." He grabbed his brother's arm and led him away. She couldn't be sure if she should be hopeful, but she wanted to be. She smiled, satisfied at least that the Earth was once again saved from an alien threat. As she was about to close the door and set her destination for later that night, after all, she was nothing if not impatient, she met the eyes of a man in formal dress, hair cut to hide his balding in the front, and wearing a US flag on his lapel. He was smiling, but the expression didn't reach his eyes, which looked determined and hostile. She stuck her tongue out at him, ungrateful as he seemed, and closed the TARDIS door. Those eyes haunted her head for a while, though. She dematerialized the TARDIS, and the man walked to the car that had been waiting for him all afternoon.

XI

The Doctor had, of course, changed while in the time vortex, replacing the last guy's clothes with stuff she had in the closet she connected to more. Right away, she felt compelled to a pair of boots she'd picked up while in the 70s disco scene, white leather with blue toes and a raised heel in the back. She also found a white blouse, black suit jacket and khaki skirt combo she liked quite well. She put it all on and ran around the room to make sure it could handle that before getting to the mirror. Her hair had some blonde in it, her face was feminine, and she was taller than she'd expected to be. Maybe the heels wouldn't be a good idea, but bearing shrunken Tardis doors, it wouldn't be bad at all. The blonde, though, might have to do something with that.

By the time she was arriving later that evening, just after dusk, she'd coloured her hair purple in honour of the potential new companion. He wasn't there when she opened the doors, which made her hearts sink. She said she'd wait, though, so she stepped out of the TARDIS and took a stroll around the grass. Minutes turned to hours, and before long, all the light of the sun was gone, and the Doctor was sure Jim had decided against it. She turned to step back inside when she heard running from down the street. She turned and saw Jim being pursued by Jacob.

"Don't you dare!" Jacob yelled out.

"It's going to be a real quick trip! Ma said it's fine," Jim hollered back. He was smiling as she caught sight of the TARDIS and the Doctor. The Doctor waved to him. "Doctor, I know where I want to go! I'll close the door when I get in, just get me out of here!"

"Ma hasn't seen that thing! Plus, you conveniently forgot to tell her it was a woman driving it!"

"It's better than your driving!" Jim yelled, almost to the TARDIS. "Doc, take me to the year 2000! I want to see flying cars and robots." The Doctor raised her eyebrow. They'd need to go a lot further than Y2K to see any of that. But perhaps that point would be better demonstrated than told. When Jim got in, true to his word, he shut the door, and the Doctor, true to hers, set the TARDIS in flight.

"Well, Jim Kim, I'd like to formally welcome you to the TARDIS. I'll be your pilot this evening." Jim looked at the Doctor, finally taking in her ridiculous appearance and mismatch of colours. "Let's have some fun."