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{{real world}}
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{{title|''{{PAGENAME}}''}}
{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox CD
|image             = Scherzo cover.jpg  
|image = [[File:Scherzo_cover.jpg|250px]] Cover Art - [[Steve Johnson]]
|range            = Main Range
|cd name = Scherzo
|number in range  = 52
|series = [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories]]
|series           = ''[[Main Range]]''
|number = 52
|number           = 52
|doctor = [[Eighth Doctor]]
|doctor           = Eighth Doctor
|companions = [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley Pollard]]
|companions       = [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley]]
|enemy = [[Sound creature]]
|featuring =        [[Daqar Keep]]
|year = [[Divergent Universe]]
|enemy             = [[Sound creature]]
|writer = [[Robert Shearman]]
|setting          = [[Evolution chamber]], [[Interzone]], [[Bortresoye]], The [[Divergent Universe]]
|director = [[Gary Russell]]
|writer           = Robert Shearman
|producer = [[Andy Hardwick]]
|director         = [[Gary Russell]]
|publisher = [[Big Finish Productions]]
|producer         = Gary Russell, [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]
|release date = [[December]] [[2003]]
|music            = [[Russell Stone]]
|format = 4 Episodes on 2 CDs
|sound            = [[Andy Hardwick]]
|production code = [[List of production codes|8M]]
|cover            = [[Steve Johnson]]
|isbn = ISBN 1-84435-035-5
|publisher        = Big Finish Productions
|previous story = [[The Wormery]]
|release date      = 14 December 2003
|next story = [[The Creed of the Kromon]]
|format           = 2 CDs<br/>Download
}}{{audio stub}}
|production code   = [[List of production codes|8M]]
|isbn             = ISBN 978-1-84435-035-3 (physical); ISBN 978-1-78703-875-2 (digital)
|prev              = The Wormery (audio story)
|next             = The Creed of the Kromon (audio story)
|made prev        = The Twilight Kingdom (audio story)
|made next        = Master (audio story)
|soundcloudtrailer = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/doctor-who-scherzo-trailer
|epcount=4}}'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the fifty-second story in [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]'s [[Main Range|monthly range]]. It was written by [[Robert Shearman]] and featured [[Paul McGann]] as the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[India Fisher]] as [[Charlotte Pollard]].
 
Released in 2003, this was the first Big Finish audio drama to only feature two cast members — the whole story is carried by McGann and Fisher as the Doctor and Charley respectively. This story also serves as the first story of eight that form part of the Divergent Universe arc, although it is not until [[The Creed of the Kromon (audio story)|next story]] that the Doctor and Charley first interact with major elements of the Divergent Universe, given their total isolation for the vast majority of this story.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
[[File:Scherzo_Comic_Preview.jpg|thumb|250px|Comic preview from [[DWM 338]]. Illustration by [[Martin Geraghty]].]]
Once upon a time...
Once upon a time...


Line 33: Line 42:


Once upon a time. Far, far away.
Once upon a time. Far, far away.
==plot==
According to legend, a wise old king once passed on into the world of infinite darkness, and before he died, he advised his son and heir to rule his subjects with love as well as fear. But his son chose to ignore his father’s advice, and demanded that his subjects subsume their wills to his own. Even the animals were ordered to obey their king’s commands. Soon all in the kingdom lived in perfect harmony, according to the whims of their lord...
The TARDIS is about to enter a new universe, and Charley is disturbed by the noises coming from the console -- and by the fact that the Doctor is hiding underneath it. He claims that there is nothing outside the TARDIS now, and that’s what he’s hiding from: nothing, everything, death, pain, fear, and perhaps even Charley. He does not believe that Charley is really here, insisting that he left her safely behind and that she would never betray him by coming along with him. He then begins to convulse; Time does not work the same way in this universe as in the universe of the Time Lords, and the Doctor’s temporal senses are shutting down, leaving him blind to the passage of Time. Suddenly he’s experiencing it just as humans do; there is no way to travel back and forth through it, and all he can do is experience it as it passes on, never to return.
The background hum dies away, as if the TARDIS has realised there is no place for her in this universe. The console room begins to dissolve into darkness, and to Charley’s horror, the Doctor seems content to let it happen. Charley refuses to surrender, and insists that they leave the TARDIS before it is destroyed. The TARDIS doors open, giving them a chance to escape, but the Doctor freezes in fear, unwilling to risk going out into the blinding light of a whole new universe. As he hesitates, the darkness surrounds him, and for a moment he’s lost, terrified and alone in the dark. But Charley enters the darkness, takes his hand, and leads him out of the TARDIS as the rest of the console room vanishes into the pitch black.
Outside, the light itself is blinding, so bright that Charley can still see it with her eyes shut. She begins to panic and tries to flee back into the familiar safety of the TARDIS, but it dematerialises, leaving her and the Doctor stuck. And as the Doctor well knows, there are no second chances in this new universe; they’ve made their choice and must stick with it. The Doctor tells Charley to take his hand so she doesn’t get lost, and they start walking, hoping that they will get somewhere.
As they walk, Charley finds that her eyes are not adjusting to the light. The Doctor points out that they don’t know the physical laws of this universe; perhaps their eyes will never adjust at all. Perhaps their brains aren’t wired to process the visual stimuli provided in this universe. In fact, it’s surprising they can even breathe here. When the Doctor asks Charley to describe the smell of their surroundings, she finds them faintly musty, but when the Doctor prompts her she recognises the smell of fruitcake -- or so she thinks. In fact, their surroundings smell of nothing at all, and her brain is just filling in the gaps. They cannot see, hear, smell, taste or feel anything at all in this new world, apart from each other.
Charley and the Doctor seem to hear the TARDIS materialising nearby, but the Doctor fears that it’s only a shared delusion. Nevertheless, Charley rushes off to investigate and trips over something on the floor. The blinding light fades momentarily, revealing that she’s fallen over the body of a creature like a giant amoeba. It appears to be dead, but the Doctor and Charley can hear a squeaking voice, apparently asking them for help. The voice repeats its request at various pitches and volumes, and the Doctor and Charley then hear the sound of the TARDIS once more. An invisible force tears the amoeba creature apart, and then the brightness returns and there is once again nothing to see.
Charley turns to the Doctor for suggestions, but he has none to give, and she thus outlines a plan to find out what’s killing the amoeba creatures while they wait for the TARDIS to fight off the darkness and return for them. However, the Doctor cuts through her desperate and ill-conceived notions, and coldly reminds her that they are doomed to die here, in a universe in which they do not belong. Their deaths here will have no meaning, and he lashes out in fury when Charley suggests that they can give each other meaning. He wanted to die nobly and alone, and she’s robbed him of that dignity. Deeply hurt, Charley tells the Doctor that she did so because she loves him, and starts to storm off. However, the Doctor knows that they’ll never be able to find one another again, and apologises, admitting that he lashed out at her because he was frightened. After a moment, Charley reaches out and takes his hand again, and the two of them begin to walk once more, hand in hand, through the endless light...
Part Two
Though the people and the animals obeyed the King’s whims without question, he still was not content. At his command, the waves, the wind, and even Time itself were brought to heel. But music refused to be disciplined or constrained, and in his rage, the King ordered it banished from his kingdom forever, into the outside world of infinite darkness...
The Doctor and Charley have been walking in silence for some time, and Charley finally begins to hum Frere Jacques, unable to bear the silence. The Doctor asks her how long they’ve been silent, and is amused when she suggests it’s been half an hour; actually, they’ve been walking in silence for over 32 hours, and in total have been walking for the better part of a week. Stunned, Charley realises that she can barely feel the Doctor’s hand in hers, even when he squeezes it as hard as he can. With no external stimulation, their senses are atrophying; the Doctor can only tell the time because he’s been counting his heartbeats.
Charley is somewhat relieved to learn that the Doctor had a reason for being silent, at least until he reveals that he is angry with her after all. He believes that she made the wrong decision back in the TARDIS, and that they should have entered the darkness instead of the light. He’s also puzzled by their continued survival in this entirely alien environment, and suspects that somehow it’s been arranged for them. But if someone is deliberately keeping them alive, why is it doing so, and why has it removed all that makes that life worthwhile? Charley tells the Doctor that even this is bearable so long as he’s with her -- but the Doctor doesn’t wish to discuss that, and they resume walking in silence.
Only a few seconds later, the silence is broken by humming -- but this time, though it sounds like Charley, it isn’t. The Doctor tries speaking to the new presence, and it replies to his soothing tone by repeating the words which the Doctor and Charley have spoken to each other since they arrived. However, the words themselves convey no meaning; the creature is responding to the intonation and the emotion expressed through them. It seems to be asking a question of the Doctor and Charley, but it’s unclear what it wants, as it only repeats the words “I love you” over and over until they lose all meaning.
The Doctor now has a puzzle to solve, but Charley soon has something else she wants to discuss, as the Doctor refers to the “embarrassing” moment when she claimed to love him. She meant it, and it seems the Doctor doesn’t share her feelings. Irritated, the Doctor stops trying to work out the nature of the environment in which they’re doomed to spend the rest of their lives so Charley can discuss her feelings. He claims to consider her love inappropriate and pointless, and though he once told Charley that he loved her, those feelings are now as dead as all of his other senses, and he only said them to comfort her when he thought she was going to die. Charley, furious, orders him never to speak those words again unless he really means them.
The Doctor promises not to toy with Charley’s emotions, but realises that this is what someone else is doing. Their prolonged sensory deprivation has left them in a suggestible state, open to emotional manipulation. Music is known to affect the emotions, and there’s music in every sound, even the rhythm of footsteps or heartbeats. Just by being here, the Doctor and Charley are making music together, and that music is being turned against them. However, the Doctor senses no malice in the creature’s attempts to communicate with them -- at least, not yet. Perhaps it’s merely toying with them, like a child with a new plaything. But if they resist its attempts to manipulate them, they run the risk of boring it -- and what will it do with them then?
As the Doctor and Charley ponder what to do, the voice hums Frere Jacques and giggles, and the blinding light begins to decrease. Suddenly, the Doctor and Charley can make out some of the shapes around them -- and Charley collapses, exhausted, as her senses return and her body reacts to the fact that she’s been walking non-stop for days without food. As she rests, the Doctor explores their surroundings and determines that they’re in a moderately curved tube of glass; however, it’s still too bright for him to see what lies outside.
Another dead amoeba creature lies nearby, and the Doctor borrows Charley’s brooch to dissect it. This creature appears to be more highly evolved than the first, but even as the Doctor examines the body, something invisible cuts across its throat, accompanied by the sound of the TARDIS engines. The invisible creature then turns on the Doctor, but as it gnaws at his neck, Charley desperately begins to sing Frere Jacques once more, and the creature releases the Doctor. The Doctor realises the truth; this creature is not their captor, and it’s not just using sound against them as a weapon. It is sound itself, living music assembled from every sound the Doctor and Charley have made since arriving in this environment. They can’t stop themselves from making sound, and the music cannot be reasoned with, as it’s a simple organism driven by simple animal desires such as hunger.
The brightness begins to increase once more, and Charley begins to feel less tired -- but the Doctor knows that they’ll continue to grow hungrier and more exhausted, even if they can’t feel the sensations. He slices chunks of raw flesh from the dead alien and offers it to Charley; it may be poisonous, but they have no other source of food, and they must eat something or else starve without even noticing it’s happening. Charley has no choice but to begin eating the alien flesh as the blinding brightness envelops them once more...
Part Three
When the foolish King banished music from his land, life became a drab thing with no harmony or rhythm. The slaves could not sing their troubles away, the torturers were haunted by their victims’ silence, and even the King’s wives had no love in their voices. Finally, the King pardoned music, but it did not return, nor did the messengers he dispatched into the outside world of infinite darkness. The King was thus forced to make the journey himself by slowly draining the blood from his body, and as he lay halfway between life and death, he begged the music to return to his land...


The Doctor and Charley have fallen into a routine. They walk together, hand in hand, for an indeterminate period of time until the music arrives to “perform” for them; they demonstrate their approval, like parents to a talented child; then, the brightness dims just long enough for them to slice open one of the dead alien animals and eat. Occasionally, the music gnaws at their throats, but it does not cause serious harm; furthermore, the corpses have been evolving as well, and not only do they appear more mammalian and taste more appetizing, but their blood now acts as a salve on the Doctor’s and Charley’s skin.  
== Plot ==
=== Part 1 ===
After [[Zagreus (audio story)|being exiled]] into the [[Divergent Universe]], [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] makes rapid beeping noises, scaring [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley]]. Charley searches for [[Eighth Doctor|the Doctor]] within the TARDIS and finds him lying on the floor. He is actually hiding and asks Charley to hide with him behind the console from whatever's on the other side of the door. However, nothing is behind the door. The Doctor explains that he is hiding from the inevitable feelings of pain, fear and death but should confront them. The Doctor then asks who Charley is, thinking that she is an [[hallucination]]. The Doctor says that Charley is safe and wouldn't "betray" him. The Doctor steadily rises on his feet in pain. The Doctor explains that [[Time Lord]]s have many different senses than a [[human]] and that his sense of [[time]] itself is being eradicated from him because they are in the Divergent Universe — a place where time goes by with no way of retrieving it, causing the Doctor to ask Charley how can she live like this. Charley tells him that it's the way it works for humans and he'll get used to it "in time". The Doctor remarks that the TARDIS feels it too for it can't function in a universe where time is lost. Charley sees the TARDIS doors opening, revealing nothing but darkness. The Doctor explains that the TARDIS is slowly disappearing seeing how it serves no purpose. Charley tells the Doctor that he shouldn't stand by and do nothing about it. The Doctor then remarks that he'll stand and watch it happen like a captain going down with the ship. Charley asks the Doctor if they can explore the new universe, but the Doctor thinks that the darkness is better than what awaits for them in the uncharted universe. Charley tells the Doctor to take her hand and they are attacked by a very bright light. Charley can't see in the light and listens to the Doctor's voice until they meet. The TARDIS suddenly vanishes away from them. The Doctor sadly remarks that now that the TARDIS is gone, the rest of their lives will be spent with time running on with no way of going back, thanks to Charley. The Doctor sceptically tells the Charley that she wanted to explore the Divergent Universe, so now is the time.


Theirs is a tolerable existence, but when Charley claims to appreciate it for what it is, the Doctor harshly reminds her of all she’s lost. They may be treated well here, but they’re still slaves, and their pain and regret is the part of them that made a full life of mere meaningless existence. Charley admits that her brooch, which is now clotted with blood after cutting open countless alien bodies, was a family heirloom, passed on from her grandmother to her mother and on to Charley herself; however, Charley will never be able to pass the brooch on to her own daughter, for she will never have one.  
They decide to walk away from where they are, but the light doesn't seem to fade. The Doctor [[deduce]]s that their eyes won't adjust to the way this universe works since their bodies aren't made for this world. The Doctor tells Charley to smell anything and Charley tells him that it's dusty and faint, but now getting stronger. The Doctor says that there is nothing to smell, but Charley's [[brain]] won't accept it. The Doctor tells Charley to feel for anything, but Charley only feels the Doctor's hand, seeing how the Doctor is all she has in the world. Charley hears something in the distance — the sound of the TARDIS engines. The Doctor warns Charley to not let go of his hand, but Charley trips and falls. Suddenly, to Charley's eyesight, the light starts to fade and believes that the TARDIS is guiding them. Charley then sees that she tripped over a body. The Doctor examines it and finds that its organs are exposed and it has no limbs, surmising that it's some sort of [[amoeba]]. Suddenly, the organism makes a noise that seems to say "help". It repeatedly says "help", but then lowers its voice as its [[body]] is decomposing. Suddenly, the light reappears, rendering Charley and the Doctor's eyesight useless. Charley decides that the TARDIS is blocking out the light to help them and they should find a way to get back inside the TARDIS and go somewhere else that's not so bright. The Doctor says that it's a good plan, but there's one problem — they're going to die in this universe. There is no escape from the Divergent Universe and they are going to die in a world they were never born in and never meant to exist in. Charley then says that no matter what happens they'll be together since she came back for him. The Doctor angrily tells her that he wants to die alone, but Charley betrayed that. Hurt by his words, Charley walks away from the Doctor in tears, telling him to leave her alone. The Doctor tells her to follow his voice, but Charley asks why he would care. The Doctor apologises and Charley returns to him, depressed and takes his hand. Charley asks what they are going to do now and the Doctor answers that there is nothing to do except keep walking.


The brightness fades once more, but Charley is in for a shock; she and the Doctor have been holding hands for so long that they’ve fused together. Charley begins to panic, but the Doctor calms her down, warning her that her fear is affecting him as well. He tries to counter the fear with reason, and deduces that this environment was designed to accelerate the process of evolution -- in which case, the alien corpses are all that remains of the species which should have evolved here had the Doctor and Charley not brought the music with them. If this is true, it means that their true captor is something with a reasoning intelligence, and also implies that there must be a way out of this laboratory environment. The Doctor starts walking again, but Charley digs in her heels, forcing him to stop. Just as he saved her from her fear, she saves him from his burst of unfounded enthusiasm, by reminding him that they’ve already been walking for weeks, perhaps months. This tube may be as large as the universe itself, and even if the Doctor’s deductions are correct, they’re still no closer to finding a way out.  
=== Part 2 ===
As the two continue walking, Charley hums "[[Frere Jacques]]", for something to keep her going. Charley then asks the Doctor why he hasn't talked to her for a while, but he remains silent. Charley then rants that the Doctor won't say anything and they are in a world where she can only hear, not see. Frustrated, Charley decides to keep humming Frere Jacques and ignore the Doctor. The Doctor then interrupts and asks how long it's been since he talked to her. Charley guesses half an hour, but the Doctor says 32 hours and 40 minutes and explains that Charley's perception of time doesn't work and that it may have been longer than 32 hours. Charley is not hungry, thirsty or tired because she hasn't even thought about it. Charley can't even feel his hand, despite the fact that the Doctor is still holding on to it. The Doctor's senses failed five hours ago, and he has been counting his own hearts beating to calculate the time, hence why he was silent towards Charley. Realising this, Charley asks the Doctor if he's angry with her, but he refuses to answer. The Doctor casually asks aloud how long it would take to lose his senses entirely, and states that she shouldn't have come here. Charley insists that she couldn't leave him and the Doctor says that they may have made a mistake, stepping into the light. The Doctor and Charley wonder if they really are dead and this is a delusion of the afterlife, but another possibility is that someone is keeping them alive. The Doctor and Charley decide to continue, but the Doctor requests to do it silence since he doesn't have anything to say to Charley.


The Doctor concedes Charley’s point, and when she claims that she can feel him calming down, this gives him an idea: if evolution is pushing them together, perhaps they can speed up the process. The Doctor and Charley push their hands together, and their hands and arms flow into one, enabling them to share each other’s senses and see more clearly. The Doctor eagerly peers through the side of the glass tube they’ve been walking through... and, to his horror, sees that the tube is in the shape of a torus. He and Charley have been walking in circles all this time, and there is no way out.  
As they continue, they both hear Frere Jacques being hummed. The Doctor tells Charley to stop, but she tells him that she isn't responsible. The Doctor decides to speak out to whoever is doing that and introduces himself. The humming stops, and the Doctor assures the being to not be afraid, as they mean no harm. Soon, the humming starts again and the Doctor realises that it understands them. The humming stops again and the Doctor asks if it's still there. Suddenly, the being says "help me!" Charley says that they'll help it, but then it says "help you" because it's only taking words and probably doesn't know what help is. Then they hear both their voices, which are saying words from earlier. The Doctor deduces that the creature's words aren't its way of communication. The creature's imitation of the Doctor and Charley begins to overlap, much to Charley's irritation, and she tells it to stop. Silence follows, and Charley asks if it's still there. The Doctor and Charley wonder if it's another amoeba like the one they saw earlier, or if it's the one thing that killed it, but it didn't want to harm them. The Doctor then realises that the words of the creature didn't matter, but its tone and emotion, and doesn't respond to meaning. Charley recalls that the creatures' words were "I love you" and asks the Doctor of he loves her back, but the Doctor dismisses this, saying that she's missing the point. Charley laughs to herself that the creature got the point rather than the Doctor, but the Doctor says he was trying to understand the nature of where they are. Sceptical, the Doctor asks if Charley loves him and the Doctor asks what love would ever do to him. In tears, Charley asks if the Doctor meant he loved her in return and the Doctor coldly responds that whatever part of him said that he loved her is gone. Angered, Charley tells him to never say those words again if he doesn't mean them because those words are too precious. The Doctor understands and wonders if something is trying to control them where they are. The Doctor sees that music may be the only thing they can use left for their senses. The Doctor and Charley walk in a rhythmic like pattern to see if anything helps, but Charley still hears nothing. The Doctor can still hear his hearts beating, so whatever is out there is using whatever sound they're making against them. The Doctor sees that it hasn't done anything to harm them and might as well be curious like a child with a new plaything, leaving two options – oblige to it or try to resist it. Charley seems to go for an obvious choice, but the Doctor reminds Charley what a child would do to a toy that doesn't entertain them anymore. Suddenly, the brightness fades and Charley collapses, suddenly feeling tired: their senses are now returning, and Charley hasn't slept in a long time. The Doctor takes off his [[coat]] and wraps it around Charley for comfort and the Doctor decides to look around more.


Stunned, the Doctor lashes out at Charley, blaming her for their situation; were it not for her, he’d have a whole universe to explore, but instead he’s trapped in this endless half-life. He reveals to the stricken Charley that the Time Lords believe his companions to be memento mori, reminders of the Doctor’s own mortality -- and if this is so, then Charley, a companion who was already dead, would be the ultimate fashion accessory. And yet, when forced to choose between Charley’s life and the entire web of Time, the Doctor sacrificed his own life to save the Universe so she could live. But then she followed him into this universe, giving up her life so she could be with him, just as he gave up her life for her sake. Their love for each other has condemned them both to death, so what was the point of it? The Doctor gave up everything to save Charley, but she cheated him of that success -- and now that he’s stuck with her, literally as well as figuratively, he wishes he’d never met her at all.  
The Doctor comes across a [[wall]], but it seems to be curved like a tube and made of [[glass]], and beside it he finds another body. It appears to be the same species as the one they saw earlier, but the Doctor wants to dissect it to find out more. The Doctor opens it up and sees that it is the same species but more advanced and an evolution compared to the earlier body. Suddenly, they hear a whooshing sound. Charley thinks it's the TARDIS, but the Doctor feels a bite on his neck: the creature is hungry. Charley decides to hum Frere Jacques to distract it. Then the Doctor is free and the creature is gone. The Doctor then realises that the creature isn't using sound as a weapon, but the creature itself is sound. Soon, Charley feels energetic because her senses are now fading once more as the brightness returns. The Doctor then gives Charley a piece of meat from the body he dissected and tells her to eat it. Charley is disgusted and doesn't feel hungry because her sense of hunger is insignificant. The Doctor insists that she must eat it, or she will starve to death.


Now that this is out in the open, the Doctor and Charley have little more to say to each other, and the Doctor thus prepares to cut the flesh off the dead animal for their next meal. But when he examines the animal closely, he reveals that it’s evolved again -- and since it’s taking its cues from its environment, it has evolved into a copy of Charley. Repulsed, Charley realises that this means they’ve effectively been eating the only daughter she’ll ever have, and she refuses to eat any more of her “offspring,” though this may mean her death from starvation.  
=== Part 3 ===
After eating, the Doctor and Charley decide to applaud and give the creature a sense of appreciation. The Doctor learns that whenever it performs it learns something new and if the creature is humoured, the brightness would fade and their senses will return. Charley then says that this place isn't so bad so long as the creature keeps them well fed and it seems to care for them. The Doctor jokes that, if forced to choose between travelling in time and space and spending the rest of his life walking and listening to a creature that would nibble on his neck on occasion, he would choose the former, but the latter's a close second. The Doctor then tells Charley that despite the now friendly environment, she will never see her family again, or even her own species, and will never fall in love, marry or have children with someone. If they are going to spend the rest of their lives in this world, the Doctor tells Charley to not let them regret missing her universe. Charley takes out her [[brooch]], something her grandmother passed down to her mother and now to her. Charley vowed that she would pass it down to her children and sadly states that she won't be able to pass it down to anyone. Charley then feels that her senses are returning because she's feeling frightened. Suddenly, Charley can't find herself to let go of the Doctor's hand. As they both struggle, the Doctor realises that their hands are fused together, seeing how that everything else around them is evolving, so are they. Charley panics and tries to free herself, but the Doctor, who is now mentally fused with her as well, calms her down. The Doctor sees that the creature is not responsible for this and sees that evolution is accelerating in this universe and someone is observing the evolving development until they arrived. The Doctor and Charley realise that them making noises such as talking and the sound of the TARDIS engines are teaching the creature how to talk. Desperate to find a way out of this environment, the Doctor walks away, but Charley stops him and reminds him that they've been walking for weeks and possibly months at a time, lowering his mental enthusiasm within her. In defeat, the Doctor is calmed down and Charley feels it. The Doctor then has an idea and orders Charley to push her hand into his. She obeys and their arms are now fused. As this happens, their senses are shared and can now see through the brightness. The Doctor and Charley look through the glass of the tube they are in and to the Doctor's realisation and horror, they are not in a tube or a corridor; they are in a glass ring, meaning that they have been walking in circles all this time. The bodies they saw were one of the same and were differently made every time they came across it.


The music returns, apparently curious, and once again it slices open the dead animal itself. But now that the “animal” has a recognisably humanoid form, the Doctor realises that the music is -- and always has been -- slicing open its throat to reach its vocal cords. The music feeds on sound, which is why it’s been chewing at the Doctor’s and Charley’s throats; it’s trying to get to the source of the emotionally-charged sounds they’ve been producing. The music begins to gnaw at the Doctor’s throat again, and the Doctor, playing a hunch, gives Charley the brooch and orders her to cut his throat open to expose the vocal cords. Despite the risk, he feels sure that the music won’t let him die. Charley reluctantly cuts the Doctor’s throat, and a rising crescendo of sound and music explodes into their environment...
As the Doctor realises this, he lashes out and yells at Charley, saying that this was all her fault because, had it not been for her, he would have had the rest of the universe to explore. Charley argues that he took her onboard his TARDIS in the first place, but the Doctor angrily responds that the Time Lords have a theory that all his companions are "[[memento mori]]" - meaning that they are reminders of death and that no matter how powerful one was, death was inevitable. As every companion left the Doctor, he wondered if they had a point in his lives until Charley, who was supposed to die and didn't expect to care about Charley, seeing that as a mistake because he put her first before the Web of Time. The Doctor rants that he sacrificed himself to save her life so she would live her life without fearing the consequences of the paradox; now that she's with him, his sacrifice was pointless and he is in the Divergent Universe for nothing. Charley reminds the Doctor that they love each other and she couldn't bear to leave him behind. The Doctor scoffs, saying that her love for him has killed her as well and he doesn't want to see her again for she will be a reminder that he have failed. Charley profusely apologises in tears and the Doctor wishes that he had never seen her. As they finish their words to each other, Charley emotionlessly hands the Doctor her brooch so he can cut open the next body for another meal. The body is revealed to have a face — Charley's face. The Doctor [[deduce]]s that it's evolving again and now it has copied a face. Charley is disgusted and decides not to eat it, choosing starvation. They hear the creature's voices nearby and it is wondering why they won't eat. The Doctor realises that the creature has been slicing open the body's throat to reach its vocal cords, hence why it was nibbling on the Doctor's neck earlier. The creature begins to gnaw at the Doctor's throat again, and the Doctor orders Charley to cut his throat with the brooch. Charley is reluctant, but the Doctor is confident that the creature won't let him die. Charley cuts the Doctor's throat and the creature makes a loud noise...
Part Four
When the foolish King awoke, he found that music had returned to his kingdom -- a savage, bitter and violent music that tore the throats out of his subjects as they sang. As the birds fell from the sky and the waves crashed and died on the shore, the music told the horrified King that, in the outside world of infinite darkness, it had learned to inspire fear as well as love. And so the music killed the King and became the new lord of the entire world...  


The burst of sound and music suddenly stops. The Doctor’s vocal cords are exposed but intact, which is all the music ever wanted; they thought it was chewing at their throats, but only in the sense that a breastfeeding baby may bite too hard. The Doctor has now given it all of the sounds it ever desired, hoping to accelerate its development so he can reason with it. But when the alien animal disintegrates before his and Charley’s eyes, he realises that he’s made a terrible mistake. This environment is designed to accelerate the process of evolution, and any creature which is out-evolved by its competitors must die out. Charley’s hand begins turning to stone as the Doctor speaks; unless he acts quickly, he and Charley will be out-evolved as well. The Doctor thus urges Charley to continue the process which has already begun by pushing herself into his body; they must each give up their individual self for the sake of the other. The Doctor and Charley push together and merge into a single body, but the change is too much for Charley to handle. Swamped by the new sensations, she loses her sense of self, and her screams fade away, leaving the sound of a giggling child...  
=== Part 4 ===
The sound suddenly dies without a trace. The Doctor's throat is still cut, but he is still able to speak. It becomes apparent that the creature is trying to ensure the safety of the Doctor's vocal cords. Every time the creature came by, it was trying to devour what it could from them and absorbed noises from them and never intended to hurt them in the first place. Charley wonders if they should continue giving the creature what it wants and let it evolve into an adult as it now has the mind of a child. Suddenly, the creature devours another creature and the Doctor realises that they are being "out-evolved". The sound creature is evolving further than the others and because all other creatures will be behind on the evolution process, it will devour them. The Doctor and Charley's shared hand suddenly turns into stone, as they are now behind in the evolution process. The Doctor tells Charley that they are falling behind on evolution and must complete the process of them merging into each other. Charley pushes herself into the Doctor and together, they become a new being.


Charley regains her senses to find herself in the drawing room of her parents’ house. Much to Charley’s surprise, her daughter arrives, speaking with the voice of the Doctor and thanking her mother for giving it the gift of life. Now Charley must hand over her brooch and make way for her child, as did her parents and grandparents before her; this is the nature of evolution, as the child understands it. Charley prepares herself to die so her perfect daughter may live, but when she remarks how beautiful the brooch will look when the child wears it, she realises that her daughter does not understand what the brooch is for. To the child, it’s just a symbol of tradition to be passed on from generation to generation, but Charley insists that it’s more than that -- and if the child doesn’t understand that, then it’s not old enough to deserve the brooch. Charley takes the brooch back, and the furious child abandons her, setting off to find its father and make him die for its sake.  
Charley wakes up to find herself in what seems to be the drawing room at her parents' house. The door opens and something stands before her. It has the voice of the Doctor, telling her that she summoned him and is calling her "Mama". The figure reveals itself that it is Charley's daughter and Charley always wanted a daughter and hand the brooch over to her. Charley gladly hands the brooch over to her "daughter", but it then says that Charley is getting old, meaning that she's being out-evolved and won't be needed anymore. Charley is prepared to accept this, because she now has a daughter and someone to pass down the brooch to keep the tradition alive, until the figure states that it doesn't understand how it could wear the brooch. Charley demands the brooch back, but the figure insists that it's grown up and deserves it. Charley takes the brooch, saying that it's not old enough to have it and is not ready to die yet. Charley boasts that she is an original and has no daughter and will never have a daughter. The figure's voice suddenly becomes big and demonic, but Charley holds her ground and tells it to go its room without any supper.


The Doctor seems to be back home in the TARDIS, with the entire Universe to explore once again -- but then Charley arrives to remind him that he’d promised to give up his life to save that universe. Shouldn’t he be getting on with it? The Doctor realises that this is not Charley, but the music creature, his child, transformed into an amalgam of all of his past companions -- his memento mori, for whom he would gladly have given up his life. Now he must do so for his child’s sake. The Doctor points out that the child’s birth was an accident which wiped out an entire species, but the child reminds him that this isn’t its fault. In any case, the Doctor is constantly putting his life in jeopardy for the sake of others, whereas the child is determined to hang onto its own life now that it has one. The TARDIS falls silent as the child urges the Doctor to make the choice he’s always wanted to, and give up his own life so that another may live.  
The Doctor wakes up to find himself in the console room of the TARDIS, and he is enlightened to travel anywhere else. Suddenly, a figure with Charley's voice appears and reminds him that he gave his life and his world to save everything including Charley. The figure encourages the Doctor to die for Charley and it. The Doctor responds that he gave up everything for not just Charley, but the universe a chance to give Charley a full life. The figure taunts the Doctor, by saying that he gave up everything just for one girl and not anybody else. The Doctor calls out to the figure and says that it's not Charley. The figure then claims that it's a representation of all those who have travelled with him, but the Doctor dismisses this and asks how the creature got in to his head. The figure answers "through his ear" with a snark and thanks the Doctor for giving it the sounds it wanted to fully understand him. The Doctor then says that the figure's birth was a mistake, as it killed off an entire species, but the figure counters him by asking why it should be the Doctor who will live on rather than it. The figure then tempts the Doctor, saying that he gave his life so Charley could live on, and that she's not even part of his family and has done this many times. It asks the Doctor if he was prepared to sacrifice everything for Charley's sake because if life meant so much to him, why would he want to defeat the creature. Only one of them can live on and whoever it is has to be gripping on to life itself the most and the figure confidently refuses to give up. It taunts the Doctor, saying that he is willing to die for anyone, and dares him to die once again for the universe, Charley and all those who he travelled with in the past and "discarded".


The Doctor accepts that his experiences mean nothing if he can’t give them up for the sake of another who deserves life. This is why he sacrificed himself for Charley, and he now makes the same decision, agreeing to give up his life for the sake of the music. But the real Charley arrives and stops him from doing so. She is part of the Doctor now, and she will not allow him to give up his life -- not for her, and not for the child. As the music rages, Charley turns her back on her past life and gives her brooch to the Doctor, with all that symbolises. The child begs its parents one last time to give up their lives for it, but again, they refuse. The music dies away, squeaking a cry for help; the first words the Doctor and Charley heard from it are also the last.  
As figure states these words, the TARDIS disappears and the real Charley appears and tells the Doctor not to do it, but the creature tells Charley to stay out of it and let the Doctor make his own choice. After everything the Doctor has seen for a thousand years, exploring the universe with freedom and savouring the memories of every adventure, it would mean nothing if the Doctor would sacrifice himself again. The Doctor declares that he loves Charley and he is willing to die so another will live. The creature is delighted to hear this, but Charley objects and says that this is not the same thing. Charley then tells the creature that she is part of the Doctor's body and she is refusing to let the Doctor lose to the creature. She angrily tells  the creature that she'll burn in the R101 or be executed by the Time Lords, but will live on. Whatever happens, Charley lets the Doctor live. In agony, the creature lets out a pained cry and begs Charley to give her the brooch so it can live. She stands up and says that she'll never have a daughter because the doors to that possibility will be forever closed and instead, she'll hand it to the Doctor, accepting that she will die for him. The creature screams again and fades as the Doctor and Charley emerge triumphant.


The Doctor and Charley have out-evolved the music and survived, but the Doctor is prepared to go even further. In his current state, he already seems to have some inkling of the creatures they will encounter in this new universe, but why explore it when they can become it? Just by flexing his muscles, the Doctor shatters the confines of the glass tube, but Charley stops him from doing any more damage. She doesn’t want everything there is; she just wants herself and the Doctor, separate but together. The Doctor seems afraid to let go of her, but she promises that she’ll always be by his side. She and the Doctor thus push against each other, separating into their two individual bodies once more.  
The Doctor tells Charley that they can evolve further and see where it could take them and be part of the universe rather than explore it. He shatters the glass tube, but Charley wants the Doctor back and doesn't want everything. All she wants is the man who had everything and was willing to give it all up just for her. The Doctor confesses he needs her too and he can't be alone. He orders Charley to separate from him and they find themselves separate from each other's bodies. The Doctor finally thanks Charley for saving his life as he saved hers. He hands her back the brooch, but Charley doesn't need it anymore because that was her previous life in the regular universe. The glass wall is broken and the Doctor and Charley are prepared to step outside and ready to explore whatever is outside the glass tube. Charley tells the Doctor to take her hand as they step outside. The Doctor points out that, since they can see now, this is unnecessary. Charley responds that she is aware of this, but asks him to take her hand nonetheless.


Charley drops her brooch, knowing that she’ll no longer need it where she’s going. Exactly where that is, however, remains unclear. Inside the glass tube was a deliberately engineered environment, but outside there could be anything -- and without the TARDIS, the Doctor and Charley must take this universe as it comes. Nevertheless, Charley takes the Doctor’s hand, and together, they step into their new world to see what will happen next
== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Paul McGann]]
* [[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Paul McGann]]
* [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley Pollard]] - [[India Fisher]]
* [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley Pollard]] - [[India Fisher]]


== References ==
== Crew ==
* Time Lords have senses other than the usual five, all of which are related to time.
* Cover Art - [[Steve Johnson]]
* Time Lords are capable of living thousands of years.
* Director - [[Gary Russell]]
* The Doctor has lived a thousand years.
* Executive Producer - [[Jacqueline Rayner]]
* The Doctor claims that when he dies, he wishes to do so alone.
* Music - [[Russell Stone]]
* Producers - [[Gary Russell]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]
* Sound Designer - [[Gareth Jenkins (sound designer)|Gareth Jenkins]]
* Writer - [[Robert Shearman]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
 
== Gallery ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" widths="250">
Scherzo cover.jpg|Original CD cover
Scherzo_Comic_Preview.jpg|Illustrated preview from [[DWM 338]] by [[Martin Geraghty]]
</gallery>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* At the time it was released, this was the only piece of performed ''Doctor Who'' fiction since [[DW]]: ''[[The Edge of Destruction]]'' in [[1964]] to feature only the regular cast.
* At the time it was released, this was the only piece of performed ''Doctor Who'' fiction since the television story ''[[The Edge of Destruction (TV story)|The Edge of Destruction]]'' in 1964 to feature only the regular cast.
* This story features the Doctor and Charley in one of the most intimate exchanges between a companion and Doctor in performed ''Doctor Who''. They come fairly close to having sex. However, in both [[MA]]: ''[[The Dying Days]]'' and [[BFA]]: ''[[Benny's Story]]'', it is implied that the Eighth Doctor and [[Bernice Summerfield]] had sex on one occasion.
* Each of the four episodes begins with [[The Tale of the Foolish King|a pre-titles monologue]] from [[Paul McGann]], possibly as the Doctor. These were the only parts of the story to contain incidental music, with the principle parts of the story only containing sound effects and a duologue between Paul McGann and [[India Fisher]].
* This audio drama was recorded on [[16 May]] [[2003]].
* This story features the Doctor and Charley in one of the most intimate exchanges between a companion and Doctor in performed ''Doctor Who''.
* An illustrated preview for this story appeared in [[DWM 338]] by [[Martin Geraghty]].
* This audio drama was recorded on [[16 May (production)|16 May]] [[2003 (production)|2003]] at [[the Moat Studios]].
* The term "two-hander" refers to a work of drama with only two roles. This was, at the time of production, the first two-hander story in performed ''Doctor Who.'' The cover art could be seen as a visual pun on this term.
* From the Doctor and Charley's perspective, there are significant gaps between episodes 1 and 2 and episodes 2 and 3 of this story. Having multi-part stories taking place in non-immediate succession is reasonably frequent in post-2005 Doctor Who, and can also be seen, for instance, in [[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]''/''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'', and [[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]''/''[[Day of the Moon]]'', but was a fare rarer occurrence in the "classic era" (although another early use of this technique can be observed as far back the first cliffhanger to [[TV]]: ''[[Marco Polo (TV story)|Marco Polo]]''). Episodes 3 and 4 of this story, however, occur in immediate succession, and is more typical for multi-part stories.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Charley refers to the fact that she should have died in the crash of the British airship [[R101]] on [[5 October]] [[1930]]. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Storm Warning]]'')
* Charley refers to the fact that she should have died in the crash of the British airship ''[[R101]]'' on [[5 October]] [[1930]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]'')
* Paradoxically, due to the timeless nature of the [[Divergent Universe]], the Doctor refers to the [[Kromon (species)|Kromon]] and the [[Kro'ka]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Creed of the Kromon (audio story)|The Creed of the Kromon]]'') the [[Censor (The Natural History of Fear)|Censor]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Natural History of Fear (audio story)|The Natural History of Fear]]'') and [[Koth (The Twilight Kingdom)|Major Koth]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Twilight Kingdom (audio story)|The Twilight Kingdom]]'') all of whom he and Charley will encounter at a later point in their personal timelines.
* During their visit to [[Light City]] in the [[Divergent Universe]], the Doctor and Charley's memories were contributed to the pool of information used to programme the Proles. An edited version of the Doctor reciting a fable about a wise king who passed the reins of power to his foolish son and heir was included in an infotainment broadcast which the Proles were obligated to watch. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Natural History of Fear (audio story)|The Natural History of Fear]]'')
* It was the [[Cave creature]] on [[Setarus]] which transported the TARDIS away, having been attracted by its psychic properties. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Twilight Kingdom (audio story)|The Twilight Kingdom]]'')


== Timeline ==
== External links ==
* ''Scherzo'' occurs after: [[BFA]]: ''[[Zagreus (audio story)|Zagreus]]''
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* ''Scherzo'' occurs before: [[BFA]]: ''[[The Creed of the Kromon]]''


== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150325214206/http://www.chakoteya.net/8Doctor/main52.html Scherzo Transcript]
* {{bigfinish|52-Doctor-Who-Scherzo|Scherzo}}
{{dwrefguide|who_bf52.htm|Scherzo}}
* {{dwrefguide|who_bf52.htm|Scherzo}}
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* {{tetrap|8/scherzo.html|Scherzo}}
{{BFA monthly}}
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[[Category:Eighth Doctor audio stories]]
 
[[Category:Doctor Who monthly audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Divergent Universe]]
[[Category:2003 audio stories]]
[[Category:Audio stories that use the David Arnold theme]]
[[Category:Divergent Universe arc]]
[[Category:Charlotte Pollard audio stories]]
[[Category:Eighth Doctor Main Range audio stories]]
[[Category:2003 Main Range audio stories]]

Revision as of 23:12, 17 November 2024

Error creating thumbnail: Read-only mode

Scherzo was the fifty-second story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Robert Shearman and featured Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and India Fisher as Charlotte Pollard.

Released in 2003, this was the first Big Finish audio drama to only feature two cast members — the whole story is carried by McGann and Fisher as the Doctor and Charley respectively. This story also serves as the first story of eight that form part of the Divergent Universe arc, although it is not until next story that the Doctor and Charley first interact with major elements of the Divergent Universe, given their total isolation for the vast majority of this story.

Publisher's summary

Once upon a time...

There were two friends, and together they travelled the cosmos. They thwarted tyrants and defeated monsters, they righted wrongs wherever they went. They explored the distant future and the distant past, new worlds and galaxies, places beyond imagining.

But every good story has to come to an end.

With no times or places left to explore, all the two friends have now are each other. But maybe that's one voyage too many. Maybe they'll discover things they'd rather have left undisturbed... hidden away in the suffocating, unfeeling, deafening brightness.

Once upon a time. Far, far away.

Plot

Part 1

After being exiled into the Divergent Universe, the TARDIS makes rapid beeping noises, scaring Charley. Charley searches for the Doctor within the TARDIS and finds him lying on the floor. He is actually hiding and asks Charley to hide with him behind the console from whatever's on the other side of the door. However, nothing is behind the door. The Doctor explains that he is hiding from the inevitable feelings of pain, fear and death but should confront them. The Doctor then asks who Charley is, thinking that she is an hallucination. The Doctor says that Charley is safe and wouldn't "betray" him. The Doctor steadily rises on his feet in pain. The Doctor explains that Time Lords have many different senses than a human and that his sense of time itself is being eradicated from him because they are in the Divergent Universe — a place where time goes by with no way of retrieving it, causing the Doctor to ask Charley how can she live like this. Charley tells him that it's the way it works for humans and he'll get used to it "in time". The Doctor remarks that the TARDIS feels it too for it can't function in a universe where time is lost. Charley sees the TARDIS doors opening, revealing nothing but darkness. The Doctor explains that the TARDIS is slowly disappearing seeing how it serves no purpose. Charley tells the Doctor that he shouldn't stand by and do nothing about it. The Doctor then remarks that he'll stand and watch it happen like a captain going down with the ship. Charley asks the Doctor if they can explore the new universe, but the Doctor thinks that the darkness is better than what awaits for them in the uncharted universe. Charley tells the Doctor to take her hand and they are attacked by a very bright light. Charley can't see in the light and listens to the Doctor's voice until they meet. The TARDIS suddenly vanishes away from them. The Doctor sadly remarks that now that the TARDIS is gone, the rest of their lives will be spent with time running on with no way of going back, thanks to Charley. The Doctor sceptically tells the Charley that she wanted to explore the Divergent Universe, so now is the time.

They decide to walk away from where they are, but the light doesn't seem to fade. The Doctor deduces that their eyes won't adjust to the way this universe works since their bodies aren't made for this world. The Doctor tells Charley to smell anything and Charley tells him that it's dusty and faint, but now getting stronger. The Doctor says that there is nothing to smell, but Charley's brain won't accept it. The Doctor tells Charley to feel for anything, but Charley only feels the Doctor's hand, seeing how the Doctor is all she has in the world. Charley hears something in the distance — the sound of the TARDIS engines. The Doctor warns Charley to not let go of his hand, but Charley trips and falls. Suddenly, to Charley's eyesight, the light starts to fade and believes that the TARDIS is guiding them. Charley then sees that she tripped over a body. The Doctor examines it and finds that its organs are exposed and it has no limbs, surmising that it's some sort of amoeba. Suddenly, the organism makes a noise that seems to say "help". It repeatedly says "help", but then lowers its voice as its body is decomposing. Suddenly, the light reappears, rendering Charley and the Doctor's eyesight useless. Charley decides that the TARDIS is blocking out the light to help them and they should find a way to get back inside the TARDIS and go somewhere else that's not so bright. The Doctor says that it's a good plan, but there's one problem — they're going to die in this universe. There is no escape from the Divergent Universe and they are going to die in a world they were never born in and never meant to exist in. Charley then says that no matter what happens they'll be together since she came back for him. The Doctor angrily tells her that he wants to die alone, but Charley betrayed that. Hurt by his words, Charley walks away from the Doctor in tears, telling him to leave her alone. The Doctor tells her to follow his voice, but Charley asks why he would care. The Doctor apologises and Charley returns to him, depressed and takes his hand. Charley asks what they are going to do now and the Doctor answers that there is nothing to do except keep walking.

Part 2

As the two continue walking, Charley hums "Frere Jacques", for something to keep her going. Charley then asks the Doctor why he hasn't talked to her for a while, but he remains silent. Charley then rants that the Doctor won't say anything and they are in a world where she can only hear, not see. Frustrated, Charley decides to keep humming Frere Jacques and ignore the Doctor. The Doctor then interrupts and asks how long it's been since he talked to her. Charley guesses half an hour, but the Doctor says 32 hours and 40 minutes and explains that Charley's perception of time doesn't work and that it may have been longer than 32 hours. Charley is not hungry, thirsty or tired because she hasn't even thought about it. Charley can't even feel his hand, despite the fact that the Doctor is still holding on to it. The Doctor's senses failed five hours ago, and he has been counting his own hearts beating to calculate the time, hence why he was silent towards Charley. Realising this, Charley asks the Doctor if he's angry with her, but he refuses to answer. The Doctor casually asks aloud how long it would take to lose his senses entirely, and states that she shouldn't have come here. Charley insists that she couldn't leave him and the Doctor says that they may have made a mistake, stepping into the light. The Doctor and Charley wonder if they really are dead and this is a delusion of the afterlife, but another possibility is that someone is keeping them alive. The Doctor and Charley decide to continue, but the Doctor requests to do it silence since he doesn't have anything to say to Charley.

As they continue, they both hear Frere Jacques being hummed. The Doctor tells Charley to stop, but she tells him that she isn't responsible. The Doctor decides to speak out to whoever is doing that and introduces himself. The humming stops, and the Doctor assures the being to not be afraid, as they mean no harm. Soon, the humming starts again and the Doctor realises that it understands them. The humming stops again and the Doctor asks if it's still there. Suddenly, the being says "help me!" Charley says that they'll help it, but then it says "help you" because it's only taking words and probably doesn't know what help is. Then they hear both their voices, which are saying words from earlier. The Doctor deduces that the creature's words aren't its way of communication. The creature's imitation of the Doctor and Charley begins to overlap, much to Charley's irritation, and she tells it to stop. Silence follows, and Charley asks if it's still there. The Doctor and Charley wonder if it's another amoeba like the one they saw earlier, or if it's the one thing that killed it, but it didn't want to harm them. The Doctor then realises that the words of the creature didn't matter, but its tone and emotion, and doesn't respond to meaning. Charley recalls that the creatures' words were "I love you" and asks the Doctor of he loves her back, but the Doctor dismisses this, saying that she's missing the point. Charley laughs to herself that the creature got the point rather than the Doctor, but the Doctor says he was trying to understand the nature of where they are. Sceptical, the Doctor asks if Charley loves him and the Doctor asks what love would ever do to him. In tears, Charley asks if the Doctor meant he loved her in return and the Doctor coldly responds that whatever part of him said that he loved her is gone. Angered, Charley tells him to never say those words again if he doesn't mean them because those words are too precious. The Doctor understands and wonders if something is trying to control them where they are. The Doctor sees that music may be the only thing they can use left for their senses. The Doctor and Charley walk in a rhythmic like pattern to see if anything helps, but Charley still hears nothing. The Doctor can still hear his hearts beating, so whatever is out there is using whatever sound they're making against them. The Doctor sees that it hasn't done anything to harm them and might as well be curious like a child with a new plaything, leaving two options – oblige to it or try to resist it. Charley seems to go for an obvious choice, but the Doctor reminds Charley what a child would do to a toy that doesn't entertain them anymore. Suddenly, the brightness fades and Charley collapses, suddenly feeling tired: their senses are now returning, and Charley hasn't slept in a long time. The Doctor takes off his coat and wraps it around Charley for comfort and the Doctor decides to look around more.

The Doctor comes across a wall, but it seems to be curved like a tube and made of glass, and beside it he finds another body. It appears to be the same species as the one they saw earlier, but the Doctor wants to dissect it to find out more. The Doctor opens it up and sees that it is the same species but more advanced and an evolution compared to the earlier body. Suddenly, they hear a whooshing sound. Charley thinks it's the TARDIS, but the Doctor feels a bite on his neck: the creature is hungry. Charley decides to hum Frere Jacques to distract it. Then the Doctor is free and the creature is gone. The Doctor then realises that the creature isn't using sound as a weapon, but the creature itself is sound. Soon, Charley feels energetic because her senses are now fading once more as the brightness returns. The Doctor then gives Charley a piece of meat from the body he dissected and tells her to eat it. Charley is disgusted and doesn't feel hungry because her sense of hunger is insignificant. The Doctor insists that she must eat it, or she will starve to death.

Part 3

After eating, the Doctor and Charley decide to applaud and give the creature a sense of appreciation. The Doctor learns that whenever it performs it learns something new and if the creature is humoured, the brightness would fade and their senses will return. Charley then says that this place isn't so bad so long as the creature keeps them well fed and it seems to care for them. The Doctor jokes that, if forced to choose between travelling in time and space and spending the rest of his life walking and listening to a creature that would nibble on his neck on occasion, he would choose the former, but the latter's a close second. The Doctor then tells Charley that despite the now friendly environment, she will never see her family again, or even her own species, and will never fall in love, marry or have children with someone. If they are going to spend the rest of their lives in this world, the Doctor tells Charley to not let them regret missing her universe. Charley takes out her brooch, something her grandmother passed down to her mother and now to her. Charley vowed that she would pass it down to her children and sadly states that she won't be able to pass it down to anyone. Charley then feels that her senses are returning because she's feeling frightened. Suddenly, Charley can't find herself to let go of the Doctor's hand. As they both struggle, the Doctor realises that their hands are fused together, seeing how that everything else around them is evolving, so are they. Charley panics and tries to free herself, but the Doctor, who is now mentally fused with her as well, calms her down. The Doctor sees that the creature is not responsible for this and sees that evolution is accelerating in this universe and someone is observing the evolving development until they arrived. The Doctor and Charley realise that them making noises such as talking and the sound of the TARDIS engines are teaching the creature how to talk. Desperate to find a way out of this environment, the Doctor walks away, but Charley stops him and reminds him that they've been walking for weeks and possibly months at a time, lowering his mental enthusiasm within her. In defeat, the Doctor is calmed down and Charley feels it. The Doctor then has an idea and orders Charley to push her hand into his. She obeys and their arms are now fused. As this happens, their senses are shared and can now see through the brightness. The Doctor and Charley look through the glass of the tube they are in and to the Doctor's realisation and horror, they are not in a tube or a corridor; they are in a glass ring, meaning that they have been walking in circles all this time. The bodies they saw were one of the same and were differently made every time they came across it.

As the Doctor realises this, he lashes out and yells at Charley, saying that this was all her fault because, had it not been for her, he would have had the rest of the universe to explore. Charley argues that he took her onboard his TARDIS in the first place, but the Doctor angrily responds that the Time Lords have a theory that all his companions are "memento mori" - meaning that they are reminders of death and that no matter how powerful one was, death was inevitable. As every companion left the Doctor, he wondered if they had a point in his lives until Charley, who was supposed to die and didn't expect to care about Charley, seeing that as a mistake because he put her first before the Web of Time. The Doctor rants that he sacrificed himself to save her life so she would live her life without fearing the consequences of the paradox; now that she's with him, his sacrifice was pointless and he is in the Divergent Universe for nothing. Charley reminds the Doctor that they love each other and she couldn't bear to leave him behind. The Doctor scoffs, saying that her love for him has killed her as well and he doesn't want to see her again for she will be a reminder that he have failed. Charley profusely apologises in tears and the Doctor wishes that he had never seen her. As they finish their words to each other, Charley emotionlessly hands the Doctor her brooch so he can cut open the next body for another meal. The body is revealed to have a face — Charley's face. The Doctor deduces that it's evolving again and now it has copied a face. Charley is disgusted and decides not to eat it, choosing starvation. They hear the creature's voices nearby and it is wondering why they won't eat. The Doctor realises that the creature has been slicing open the body's throat to reach its vocal cords, hence why it was nibbling on the Doctor's neck earlier. The creature begins to gnaw at the Doctor's throat again, and the Doctor orders Charley to cut his throat with the brooch. Charley is reluctant, but the Doctor is confident that the creature won't let him die. Charley cuts the Doctor's throat and the creature makes a loud noise...

Part 4

The sound suddenly dies without a trace. The Doctor's throat is still cut, but he is still able to speak. It becomes apparent that the creature is trying to ensure the safety of the Doctor's vocal cords. Every time the creature came by, it was trying to devour what it could from them and absorbed noises from them and never intended to hurt them in the first place. Charley wonders if they should continue giving the creature what it wants and let it evolve into an adult as it now has the mind of a child. Suddenly, the creature devours another creature and the Doctor realises that they are being "out-evolved". The sound creature is evolving further than the others and because all other creatures will be behind on the evolution process, it will devour them. The Doctor and Charley's shared hand suddenly turns into stone, as they are now behind in the evolution process. The Doctor tells Charley that they are falling behind on evolution and must complete the process of them merging into each other. Charley pushes herself into the Doctor and together, they become a new being.

Charley wakes up to find herself in what seems to be the drawing room at her parents' house. The door opens and something stands before her. It has the voice of the Doctor, telling her that she summoned him and is calling her "Mama". The figure reveals itself that it is Charley's daughter and Charley always wanted a daughter and hand the brooch over to her. Charley gladly hands the brooch over to her "daughter", but it then says that Charley is getting old, meaning that she's being out-evolved and won't be needed anymore. Charley is prepared to accept this, because she now has a daughter and someone to pass down the brooch to keep the tradition alive, until the figure states that it doesn't understand how it could wear the brooch. Charley demands the brooch back, but the figure insists that it's grown up and deserves it. Charley takes the brooch, saying that it's not old enough to have it and is not ready to die yet. Charley boasts that she is an original and has no daughter and will never have a daughter. The figure's voice suddenly becomes big and demonic, but Charley holds her ground and tells it to go its room without any supper.

The Doctor wakes up to find himself in the console room of the TARDIS, and he is enlightened to travel anywhere else. Suddenly, a figure with Charley's voice appears and reminds him that he gave his life and his world to save everything including Charley. The figure encourages the Doctor to die for Charley and it. The Doctor responds that he gave up everything for not just Charley, but the universe a chance to give Charley a full life. The figure taunts the Doctor, by saying that he gave up everything just for one girl and not anybody else. The Doctor calls out to the figure and says that it's not Charley. The figure then claims that it's a representation of all those who have travelled with him, but the Doctor dismisses this and asks how the creature got in to his head. The figure answers "through his ear" with a snark and thanks the Doctor for giving it the sounds it wanted to fully understand him. The Doctor then says that the figure's birth was a mistake, as it killed off an entire species, but the figure counters him by asking why it should be the Doctor who will live on rather than it. The figure then tempts the Doctor, saying that he gave his life so Charley could live on, and that she's not even part of his family and has done this many times. It asks the Doctor if he was prepared to sacrifice everything for Charley's sake because if life meant so much to him, why would he want to defeat the creature. Only one of them can live on and whoever it is has to be gripping on to life itself the most and the figure confidently refuses to give up. It taunts the Doctor, saying that he is willing to die for anyone, and dares him to die once again for the universe, Charley and all those who he travelled with in the past and "discarded".

As figure states these words, the TARDIS disappears and the real Charley appears and tells the Doctor not to do it, but the creature tells Charley to stay out of it and let the Doctor make his own choice. After everything the Doctor has seen for a thousand years, exploring the universe with freedom and savouring the memories of every adventure, it would mean nothing if the Doctor would sacrifice himself again. The Doctor declares that he loves Charley and he is willing to die so another will live. The creature is delighted to hear this, but Charley objects and says that this is not the same thing. Charley then tells the creature that she is part of the Doctor's body and she is refusing to let the Doctor lose to the creature. She angrily tells  the creature that she'll burn in the R101 or be executed by the Time Lords, but will live on. Whatever happens, Charley lets the Doctor live. In agony, the creature lets out a pained cry and begs Charley to give her the brooch so it can live. She stands up and says that she'll never have a daughter because the doors to that possibility will be forever closed and instead, she'll hand it to the Doctor, accepting that she will die for him. The creature screams again and fades as the Doctor and Charley emerge triumphant.

The Doctor tells Charley that they can evolve further and see where it could take them and be part of the universe rather than explore it. He shatters the glass tube, but Charley wants the Doctor back and doesn't want everything. All she wants is the man who had everything and was willing to give it all up just for her. The Doctor confesses he needs her too and he can't be alone. He orders Charley to separate from him and they find themselves separate from each other's bodies. The Doctor finally thanks Charley for saving his life as he saved hers. He hands her back the brooch, but Charley doesn't need it anymore because that was her previous life in the regular universe. The glass wall is broken and the Doctor and Charley are prepared to step outside and ready to explore whatever is outside the glass tube. Charley tells the Doctor to take her hand as they step outside. The Doctor points out that, since they can see now, this is unnecessary. Charley responds that she is aware of this, but asks him to take her hand nonetheless.

Cast

Crew

Worldbuilding

to be added

Gallery

Notes

  • At the time it was released, this was the only piece of performed Doctor Who fiction since the television story The Edge of Destruction in 1964 to feature only the regular cast.
  • Each of the four episodes begins with a pre-titles monologue from Paul McGann, possibly as the Doctor. These were the only parts of the story to contain incidental music, with the principle parts of the story only containing sound effects and a duologue between Paul McGann and India Fisher.
  • This story features the Doctor and Charley in one of the most intimate exchanges between a companion and Doctor in performed Doctor Who.
  • An illustrated preview for this story appeared in DWM 338 by Martin Geraghty.
  • This audio drama was recorded on 16 May 2003 at the Moat Studios.
  • The term "two-hander" refers to a work of drama with only two roles. This was, at the time of production, the first two-hander story in performed Doctor Who. The cover art could be seen as a visual pun on this term.
  • From the Doctor and Charley's perspective, there are significant gaps between episodes 1 and 2 and episodes 2 and 3 of this story. Having multi-part stories taking place in non-immediate succession is reasonably frequent in post-2005 Doctor Who, and can also be seen, for instance, in TV: The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords, and TV: The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, but was a fare rarer occurrence in the "classic era" (although another early use of this technique can be observed as far back the first cliffhanger to TV: Marco Polo). Episodes 3 and 4 of this story, however, occur in immediate succession, and is more typical for multi-part stories.

Continuity

External links

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Fifth Doctor
Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Nyssa
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Turlough
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Evelyn
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Frobisher
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"Jamie"
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Constance
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Mel
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Ace, Benny
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Ace, Hex, Lysandra, Sally
Ace, Hex, Sally
Ace, Mel
Mags
Klein
Klein, Will
Jo
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Mary Shelley
Charley
Charley, C'rizz
Solo & other travels
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