The Doctor frowned at the signal he saw on the TARDIS console. It was a message from another capsule. He hung up his question mark umbrella on the hat-stand and decoded the message.
"What you doing, Professor?" Ace asked, bounding into the control room.
"It's a message. From another TARDIS, Ace." The Doctor pressed a sequence of buttons. A series of high frequency squeals and pops emitted from a speaker. The Doctor nodded and set the co-ordinates.
"So, Professor, where are we off to now?"
"Earth. A lake in what will be the state of Minnesota," the Doctor replied, absently. "It's just like him to be there," he mumbled.
"Who?"
"You'll meet him soon enough."
***
The TARDIS landed on the shores of a lake surrounded by trees. The sunlight was hidden by the trees, giving the area the permanent look of dusk. The Doctor and Ace exited the TARDIS and savoured the scenery for a moment.
"This looks rather pleasant. No aliens about, Professor."
"For once, things should be calm," the Doctor replied, distracted. "Ace, go on and take a walk. The person I'm here to meet - well, what he has to say is for me only."
"Professor -"
"Ace, I'll explain later. I'm sorry. It has to be this way."
"Oh, bollocks!" Ace stormed off.
***
The Doctor walked along the shore of the lake, using his umbrella as a cane. He was troubled by the message he'd received and more troubled by the fact that the messenger hadn't arrived yet. He stared into the lake, hoping to take his mind off his worries.
The visions came swiftly, as if his mind had been plugged into a television with thousands of channels. Visions of friends and foes, past present and future. The images were jumbled, incoherent. He clutched his head, closed his eyes tightly, hoping to cancel out the never-ending wave of images. Yet, they kept coming: Daleks in England, the destruction of a planet, an old friend turned foe, bizarre time travel rituals, moves on a chess board, ancient evils, wolves, Cybermen, faces from his own past....
The Doctor cried out in pain, and fell to his knees by the lake. He opened his eyes, saw nothing but the calm blue waters, heard nothing but the sounds of the forest.
"It's a bit of a shock, isn't it?" a deep voice said.
The Doctor turned around. Standing there was a tall man with a mop of curly brown hair, topped off by a floppy hat that had seen better days. He wore a long grey coat and a multicoloured scarf that wrapped around his neck and body several times.
"I didn't want to do it this way, but it was the easiest route to take," he said calmly.
"Well, I haven't seen you at many of the reunions," the Doctor said.
"Yes. I've been meaning to catch up with my selves over the years. How's Dorothy?"
"She hates being called that, you know," the Doctor replied.
"And you hate being called Professor."
"Not really. I've gotten used to it."
The tall Doctor sat down, stretching out his long legs. "It's time for some serious business. I've dipped into the future, so to speak, and there's a lot of work ahead of us."
"Now I see," the Doctor replied. "But why are you telling me? I should know this myself."
"Each of our incarnations has its part to play. My role is to be the source of knowledge for all of us. Your job is to be the agent of change."
The Doctor saw his past self-smile. It was quite disarming. "And you know this to be true?" he asked his younger self.
"I was the only one who became one with the Matrix."
"That doesn't necessarily mean it will come true."
"I know. But we should be prepared just in case." The tall Doctor took off his hat and ran a hand through his curly mop. "I think I rediscovered our purpose to exist, our reason for doing what we do. Your role is clear, as is mine."
The two Doctors locked eyes and stared at each other. The older Doctor absorbed more memories, more visions. Finally, they both closed their eyes.
"Time's Champion," the Doctor replied.
"Exactly," his past self replied, a wide smile on his face.
"But again, why me?"
"If I had an answer for you, I'd tell you." The tall Doctor stood up. "It's time for me to leave. I think you know where to start."
The Doctor nodded. "Coal Hill School."
"A little something we picked up along the way. It needs to be retrieved."
"I know. It was nice meeting you, by the way," the Doctor said.
"As you. I should make more of the reunions, you know." The tall Doctor put his hat back on and walked into the trees. "By the way, don't think of it as fulfilling our destiny. Just let things happen, and the pieces will fall into place." The tall Doctor disappeared into the woods.
***
The Doctor, feeling renewed, walked back to the TARDIS. He knew the road ahead would be hard, but he accepted the mission.
If he was to be Time's Champion, so be it.
He saw Ace standing by the TARDIS, a scowl on her face.
"Did you meet who you were supposed to, Professor?" Ace asked with an acid tone.
"Yes. Come along," the Doctor said, opening the door to the TARDIS, "We have work to do."
***
SOME TIME LATER:
The TARDIS materialised in Washington Square, New York City, 1953. The Doctor exited the ship, saw the bright sunshine, and pulled out his trusty umbrella. Despite the pleasant weather, the Doctor was deeply troubled. He slowly wandered through the square, taking in the sights of the people, sunning themselves, playing Frisbee, listening to music. There were two competing street musicians on either side of the large monument that dominated the centre of the park, and the sounds of trumpet and acoustic guitar clashed with the other lively sounds of Washington Square.
He made his way to the chessboards on the south end of the park. Finding one of the concrete tables empty, The Doctor sat down and set up his board.
"Fancy a game I see." The Doctor looked up and saw his past incarnation standing behind the bench opposite his.
"I'm glad you came," the Doctor said, the relief in his voice evident.
"No problem. I'm meeting Bobby Fischer later on." The past Doctor sprawled out on his bench after taking his hat off. "Go ahead, I'll be black."
"You seem very relaxed."
"I'm on holiday."
The Doctors began play. The current Doctor studied the board carefully, his hands hovering over the pieces. Finally, he moved a pawn. The past Doctor smiled and immediately moved his knight.
"That's a bit impulsive."
"Works for me. Besides, it's more fun this way."
"So, the reason I called you is that I have doubts about the mission."
"There's no reason to."
"How do you know?" the Doctor shouted. "You aren't actually fulfilling the role."
"Am I?"
The Past Doctor found a small advantage in their game and began to exploit it, to the chagrin of his older self.
"I think you can be direct with me. You owe me that much."
The past Doctor took the current Doctor's Queen with his knight. "What do you think we've been doing since we left Gallifrey? Think about it."
"So why go through all the trouble of telling me?"
"Well, between you and me, there were a couple of us who weren't really ready for the job, at least not the major ones. And then you came along."
"And?"
"Well, you really didn't get off to a great start. I was a little concerned."
"Hmm. So what you're saying is -"
"It comes down to the inalienable fact that we've always been Time's Champion and always will be." The past Doctor captured a rook. " But some of us are better at it than others."
"So why am I having doubts?"
"You're thinking all the time about the role, rather than being the role," the past Doctor said triumphantly.
"That's a bit simplistic -"
"But when you think about it -"
"I see what you mean," The current Doctor said with a sigh. "How do you manage? How do you deal with the guilt?"
"I have been around a bit you know. Not as much as you have. But enough to get me through. I may know everything, but I don't dwell on it. Mostly I let it come to the surface when it's needed."
"And you don't feel tempted to change things?" the Current Doctor asked.
"No. I made peace with myselves a long time ago." The Doctor smiled. "By the way, Checkmate!" he announced.
"Damn." The Current Doctor reset the board, while his younger self pulled out a bag of Jelly Babies. "Care for one?"
"Um, no. Since you are my, well, what are you?"
&qu`t;Spirit Guide is the closest."
"Yes, of course. Joseph Campbell. Smart chap that one. Anyway, I had to do something painful -"
"If you're referring to your predecessor, you can let him back out."
"What about the Valeyard?"
The Doctor's younger self smiled. "He's not what you think he is."
"What do you mean?" the Older Doctor asked, puzzled.
"I'll leave it at that. I can't say anymore. It'll ruin the surprise." The past Doctor stood up and put away his yo-yo. "I'd love to play a second game, but I promised Bobby I'd be on time for once. You know how he is."
"Yes, I do. Thanks for the pep talk, such as it was."
"I'm here to help. If you ever need me, get in touch."
The past Doctor walked away, his large stride chewing up the sidewalk. The current Doctor smiled. The doubts about his role were still there, but he did feel better.
The Doctor was about to put his chess set away, when a strange young man sat down in front of him. He had dark eyes and short black hair. His clothes were functional, but looked like they'd been slept i`.
"Feel like playing?" the strange man said. His accent was thick Bronx.
"Sure," the Doctor replied.
"Buck a game?"
The Doctor checked his pockets and found a small money roll. "Why not? I'm the Doctor. And you are?"
"Stanley." Stanley laid a buck on the edge of the chessboard table. The Doctor did the same.
The Doctor moved first after careful thought.
"So, Stanley, what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a photographer for Look Magazine." Stanley countered with a move of his own. "I also have made a couple of films. Movietone documentaries. What do you do?"
The Doctor smiled, realising who his opponent was. "Just living the Bohemian life-style, Stanley..."
