Fable Fusion (short story)

Fable Fusion was the seventeenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Destination Prague. It was written by Gary A. Braunbeck and Lucy A. Snyder. It featured the Seventh Doctor and Ace.

Summary
In the TARDIS, Ace dreams of a little girl listening to violin music coming from a pit.

The Doctor and Ace respond to a call from Dr Elizabeth Holub, the granddaughter of Liz Shaw. She and her team of scientists in Prague are working on cold fusion. They report that they have been experiencing power outages at night, power surges at dawn, and weird sightings of things like dragons and ogres. When Elizabeth mentions that she hears music, Ace responds, "A violin?"

As the Doctor and Ace begin to investigate, she tells him about her dream. They stop by a dragon, who mentions the word "Hynek". The Doctor realises that they need to head to a library or bookstore. Before they reach the National Library, their car dies and they find a lad who can make himself invisible. The Doctor figures out he is Sleepy John from Czech Folk Tales. Sleepy John takes them to his mistress.

Sleepy John's mistress is a little girl named Nápev. Her father used to read Czech Folk Tales to her every night. Then he was killed during the petrol riots, and since then she has used the energy of the sun and Prague to create characters from the book.

Ace, who has felt a deep sympathy for the little girl, convinces her to stop creating these characters, and the Doctor takes the girl to Gallifrey.

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Ace
 * Elizabeth Holub
 * Viktor
 * Nápev
 * Sleepy John

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor mentions Rabbi Loew and the Golem of Prague.
 * The Doctor mentions Kepler and Tycho Brahe, as well as Magister Kelley.
 * Ace calls the Doctor a "right old Monty Python".
 * Ace mentions the Fountain of Youth.
 * Elizabeth mentions cold fusion experiments at UCLA.
 * Landmarks in Prague include the Little Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, Dalibor Tower, Charles Bridge and Prague Castle.
 * Ace brings along her Nitro-9.
 * Ace has been to Clacton.

Continuity

 * Ace was made aware of Liz Shaw in TV: Battlefield.
 * Ace is aware of UNIT. (TV: Battlefield)