"What are you doing here?!" the Tenth Doctor asked his own past self.
"Sorry," the Eighth Doctor replied. "My ship is a bit temperamental - I think I might have been forced here, or dragged here. Was I not meant to be here?"
"Not when I am!" Ten said. This wasn't good. Judging by his appearance, and total lack of exclamation at the appearance of the Tenth Doctor (who he had already met in his Fifth Incarnation – wibbly wobbley timey wimey, and all that) meant that this was the Eighth Doctor at the time of his great amnesia, and he also seemed a bit like the post-Henrietta street version, without the slight pallor the pre Henrietta street version had.
At this point, the Fifth Doctor poked his head out of his door.
"Oh no," he said. "I wasn't hallucinating."
"Nope," the Tenth Doctor said.
"It really is you," Five added.
"Yep," said Ten. "But I've not met you yet."
"Oh?" Five said.
"Something to look forward to," Ten smiled. He really did – he had loved eing Five. He still hadn't found the blue suit, but he was searching.
Eight smiled politely, in his usual "I have no idea what you're on about, but I'll go along with it" kind of way.
At this point, the Third Doctor came out of his TARDIS, Jo Grant on his arm, cape flapping in the wind.
"Jehosophat," he cursed. "I thought I was dreaming."
"Hello to you too," Ten said. "I take it you…"
"Know that I'm talking to myself?" Three grinned. "Yes, I do." He rubbed his nose with his forefinger. "Jo," he said. "These fine gentlemen are another three of me."
"What?" Eight said, mildly curious. "I don't know who you are, old chap, but I am the Doctor, and I'm most definitely myself."
Three looked at him in shock for a moment, then Ten took his other selves aside.
"I'm from his future," he muttered. "He's suffering a bout of amnesia at the moment, so we'd best just indulge him…"
The others nodded comprehendingly.
"I have a question," Five added, after a moment. "Where are… the others?" he said at last, with a pointed look at Eight which he took the wrong way completely.
"Well I don't know," he said. "I don't know you people."
"We aren't interested in what you know or don't know old chap," Three said acidly. "Why don't you just pop off, eh?"
"No," Ten said suddenly. "We'll need him here."
"Why?" Five asked.
"Yes, why?" Eight added.
"Because if you were dragged here," Ten said, "then you're part of the problem, and that makes you a part of the solution."
"Solution to what?" Eight asked. "What's the problem?"
"Ah…" Five said, looking at his other selves for a moment. "Now. How do we explain this one…?"
"You are a member of a species that, when a member of said species dies, their body's cells regenerate, thus that person becomes a brand new person. I am the Third Doctor," Three said, annoyed at his other selves reticence, "and you two are…?"
"Five," Five said, smiling and waving.
"Ten," Ten said, "And you're Eight."
The Eighth Doctor looked at them and, for a moment, looked utterly bemused.
Then he burst out laughing.
"What?" Five asked.
"That," Eight said, "is like a stupid plot device someone came up with for a sixties kids show!"
The others looked at each other in dismay.
"You were joking of course," Eight smiled. "Right…?"
They looked at him as if he were a simpleton. He looked from one face to another, then stopped smiling.
"Ah."
--
Somewhere, in time and space, a man wearing a black suit with a blue rosette in its lapel smiled, as he looked at the six men dotted in the various display cases.
None of them were dead of course – he couldn't well kill them, that would upset the balance of everything and probably end with him being eaten or something – but they were in suspended animation.
It was this new Doctor that puzzled him – as far as he knew, there were only Eight Doctors, but this one was not a part of the established line.
"Maybe he regenerated?" the Master thought to himself. "Although – I don't know."
He smiled.
"Ah, Doctor," he thought, looking at the cases reserved for the Fifth and Third Doctors. "Soon you will be mine."
--
Once the Eighth Doctor had been convinced, the various Doctor had had to get their companions out for explanations.
Three had gone for the typical "they are some more of me" explanation. For Nyssa and Tegan however, it had been easy, as for Rose. Fitz and Anji got the talk from Ten…
"So not only does he have a time machine and two hearts and amnesia," Anji said, after Ten had finished explaining, "but he also turns into someone completely different when he dies."
"Yep," Ten smiled.
"He's nuts," Anji said.
"Definitely," Fitz smiled, "but that's the Doctor for you."
"Oh yes," Ten smiled, glad that Fitz was on side. "Tell you what, you guys go over to him – I'm talking to everybody now."
They nodded and went over to the shell shocked Eight.
"But…" he was stammering, "but… but I don't even like Cricket!"
Five rolled his eyes and said nothing, but Tegan and Nyssa smirked.
"So," Ten said, "since I'm the oldest, I say what happens now."
"Why you?" Three asked.
"'Cos he said so!" Rose yelled, always defensive of her Doctor.
"Shut up," Eight concurred. "Experience always counts."
"Says you, you don't remember any of yours," Three smirked.
"Doesn't mean it doesn't count," Eight said, mockingly, childishly.
"Please, you two!" Ten yelled. "Now, since we don't know why the others aren't here, we need to find them. I volunteer myself, since I'm the only one who knows what the all look like."
"More than fair," Five nodded.
"Now, to expedite matters, there's the fact that it's Eight who seems to be the centre of all this," Ten added.
"How do you figure that one out?" Tegan asked.
"Well, we all came here by choice," Three said, "but he was dragged, so presumably…"
"All of this was a trap to get him!" Jo exclaimed.
"Right!" Ten said. "Now, that means…"
"Hang on," Fitz said. "So if you're Ten, and these two are Three and Five, and our Doctor is Eight – where are the other Six?"
"Somewhere, presumably," Five smiled. "I imagine we'll find out."
"Quite," Three added.
"Can I continue?" Ten asked.
"By all means," Eight said, smiling now.
"So, I'll go in Eights' TARDIS," Ten outlined, "and we'll find the others. You two," he said, indicating Five and Three, "will wait here."
"Why?" Nyssa asked. Always the technically minded one, Ten remembered fondly.
"Because if I was dragged here," Eight said, "then presumably, someone is coming for me – so we'll give them more me than they can handle!"
"Exactamundo!" Ten said, then he grimaced. "Anyway – stir your stumps guys, we'd best be off! Allonsy!"
The others stirred. Three and Five sat down and started talking, while Eight and Ten headed for Eights' TARDIS, companions in tow. After a moment, the blue box dematerialised.
"Well," Five said. "Fancy a game of Cricket?"
Three, Jo, Nyssa and Tegan all groaned.
