The Almost People
The Ganger Doctor screamed and twisted as he absorbed all of the Doctor's memories, feelings, and experiences, "What's happening?" he cried, "I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day...agh! I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow."
"The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations," the Doctor realized as he held Evy's hand tightly, watching himself struggle, "Hold on!"
The Ganger thrust out his hand, his fourth incarnation speaking, "Would you like a Jelly Baby?" before pulling back, "Why? Why!?"
"Why? Why what?"
He straightened up, channeling his last incarnation's manner and speech, "Hello. I'm the Doctor," before wincing, "No, let it go, we've moved on!"
"Hold on, hold on, you can stabilize!" he ran to his Ganger's side as Amy tried to approach them, Jimmy pulling her back.
"I've reversed the Jelly Baby of the neutron flow," he grabbed the Doctor's jacket, "Would you like a...Doctor...Doctor...I'm...I'm the...I can't..."
"No, listen, hold on. Hold on!"
"No!" he shoved the Doctor away, hunching over, "Argh" and when he lifted his face it was only half-formed.
~8~
Buzzer looked over as the Ganger Doctor grabbed his head in pain, "I think I liked it best when they were being nosy."
Evy glanced over at the Doctor watching, not the Ganger, but her, with concern. She frowned and walked over to him, "What is it?" she asked quietly.
"He's me," he breathed, turning to look at his Ganger as he struggled to stabilize.
"Yes…he is. And?"
He took her hand, squeezing it tightly as he turned to her, "What's to stop you from being his as well?"
"That's what the pouty face is about?" she nearly laughed. He looked away and she tilted his head back, kissing him reassuringly, "Do you not remember 10.2?" he eyed her oddly at the name she'd give his half-human, meta-crisis self, "He was you as well."
He shook his head, "He was half human and formed from your regeneration energy. This one is exactly me."
She smiled at him softly, "I will tell you what I have told everyone else. There could be someone just like you, in every way, but I would still only love YOU," she looked at him pointedly, "YOU are my Link. I can feel it pulling me to YOU even now. And…" she reached out and put his other hand to her stomach, feeling the baby thump their hands which it hadn't done when she'd taken the Ganger's hand before, "YOU are the only one our child kicks for."
He smiled at her, genuine relief in his eyes as he leaned forward and kissed her, neither of them noticing the Ganger Doctor look up, smiling at them softly, though sadly as well.
~8~
Amy walked over to the Doctor as he stood, watching his Ganger wince, Evy patting the other him's back comfortingly as he felt the last pains of stabilization hit him.
"Doctor, we need you," Amy called, "Get over here!"
"Hello!" the Ganger looked up, nodding his thanks to Evy as she walked back to the Doctor's side.
"Doctor!"
"Cybermats," the Doctor continued.
"Do we have time for this?" his Ganger asked.
"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me. Cybermats?"
"Created by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brainwaves."
Amy rolled her eyes and turned back to the door, "Are you sure there aren't any big guns with bits on?"
"Yeah, big guns would be good right now," Buzzer had to agree.
Jimmy just turned and fell back against the door, "Why would we have guns? We're a factory. We mine…"
There was a hissing noise behind them as smoke rose through the door, "Acid…" Amy finished as the Gangers on the other side pounded on the door.
"Rory and Amy may not trust both of us," the Ganger Doctor commented quietly as he moved to stand beside the Doctor who was holding Evy's hand.
"For what it's worth, I trust you both," Evy told him.
The Doctor smiled at her proudly before glancing at his Ganger, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Inevitably," he nodded.
"I'm glad we're on the same..."
"Wavelength. You see, great minds."
"Exactly."
Evy shook her head as she eyed them, thinking back to the last time there were two of them, "I am so glad Jack isn't here right now," she could only imagine what he'd be thinking.
The Doctor laughed, "So, what's the plan?"
"Save them all, humans and Gangers," the Ganger shrugged.
"Sounds wonderful."
"Is that what you were thinking?"
"It's just so inspiring to hear me say it…"
"I know!"
"OW!" they both shouted, rubbing the back of their heads and turning around to see Evy was now behind them.
"Stop stroking your own ego," she told them, pointing a finger at the two of them warningly.
"Doctor, Evy, come on!" Amy called over.
"So, what now, Doctor?" the Ganger smiled.
"Well, time to get cracking, Doctor," the Doctor grinned.
They both stepped forward, "Hello! Sorry..."
"But we had to establish a few..." the Ganger began.
"Ground rules," the Doctor finished as Amy looked down at where the Doctor was wearing brown shoes and the Ganger black ones.
"Formulate a..."
"Protocol."
"Protocol. Very posh."
"A protocol between us. Otherwise..."
"It gets horribly embarrassing."
"Quite possibly testy," he cast a glance at Evy, who had walked over to Amy, unable to help himself from casting his Ganger a warning look.
"And rather tense," his Ganger nodded, catching the warning.
"And potentially confusing."
Amy shook her head, "I'm glad you've solved the problem of confusing."
"That's sarcasm," the Ganger pointed out.
"She's very good at sarcasm," the Doctor nodded.
"Breathe!" they both shouted at her.
"What?" Amy frowned, nearly jumping back.
"We have to get you off this island," the Ganger determined, casting a concerned glance at Evy.
The Doctor nodded, agreeing on that, "And the Gangers too."
"Sorry, would you like a memo from the last meeting?" Cleaves asked them, "They're trying to kill us!"
"We've said it how many times now?" Evy shook her head, "They're just scared!"
"Look, we're trapped in here," Amy began.
"No we're not," Evy cut in, looking around, "The Flesh Bowl was fed by cables from above…"
"But where are the earthing conduits?" the Ganger realized.
"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes?" the Doctor stepped to the back wall, pulling back a panel, "With us?" and then spotted a grate, "Yowza! An escape route."
Amy looked at Evy and mouthed 'Yowza?' and the woman could only shake her head and walk over to the Doctor.
"You know, I'm starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me," the Doctor grinned.
Evy wacked him on the back of the head again, "Focus on the grate."
"Do we tend to say 'Yowza?'" the Ganger called.
"That's enough, let it go, ok?" he winced, rubbing his head, "We're under stress."
~8~
The Gangers broke into the room, only to find it empty. Ganger Cleaves looked around, hearing the sonic whirring, and headed over to the back wall, spotting the Doctor and herself on the other side of the grate, and hissed at them as they got away.
~8~
The Time Lords and humans ran down a tunnel, trying to get away from the Gangers following them, "The army will send a recon team," Buzzer remarked.
"We need to contact the mainland," Cleaves reminded him.
"What about Rory and Jen?" Amy asked, "They're both out there."
"Takes a long time to find someone in a maze," the Doctor looked around, "I bet you lot have got a computer map."
"If we can get power running, we can scan for them," Cleaves nodded before starting to cough. Soon enough they were all coughing terribly.
"Doctor, Evy, you both said earlier to breathe," Amy commented.
"Very important, Pond," he nodded, his hand on Evy's back as she too started to have difficulty breathing, "Breathe."
"Yeah, I'm struggling to."
"Acid interacting with the stone."
"It's created an asphyxiant miasma," Evy nodded.
"A what?" Cleaves looked at them.
"Chokey gas!" the Ganger choked out, "Extra heavy. If we can get above it..."
"The evac. tower. This way!" she ran off, leading the way.
~8~
The Doctor and Evy were the first to enter the evac. tower, followed by his Ganger and Amy, and then the humans, who dashed past and headed straight for the control panels around the room.
"Oh!" Amy gagged, "I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something."
"You'll be fine," Evy walked to her side, rubbing her back, "It should be easing off by now."
The Doctor moved to check the front of a large panel while his Ganger ducked behind it. A bell chimed the hour.
"It's midnight," Jimmy looked up, "It's Adam's birthday. My son's five. Happy birthday bud."
~8~
Cleaves stood behind the console of a large control system, watching the Doctors work, Amy and Evy standing on the other side with Evy flicking on a few buttons here and there, testing their repairs, "Can you really get the power back?" Cleaves asked the Doctor as she walked around the panel, over to Evy and Amy.
"There's always some power floating around," the Doctor on the right of Amy said, ducking down as the Ganger popped up to the left of Amy.
"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint," he agreed.
"Can you stop finishing each other's..." Amy began.
"Sentences?" the Doctor popped up, "No probs."
"Yes," the Ganger nodded. They both ducked down.
"Hang on," Amy frowned, "You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?"
"Nah," the Doctor said, "She's a tough old thing."
Evy laughed, "Tough, old, sexy she is."
"No," the Ganger pointed at her with a smile, "Tough, dependable, sexy."
"Come on," Amy scoffed, "Ok, how can...how can you both be real?"
"Well, because...we are," the Doctor said, "I'm the Doctor."
"So am I," the Ganger added, "We contain the knowledge of over 900 years of experience. We both wear the same bow-tie, which is cool."
"Because bow-ties are..."
"And always will be."
"But you weren't linked up to the Flesh," Amy tried to make sense of it.
"He just had to go back and examine it again," Evy told her, having seen it in the Doctor's mind, "Probably happened then."
The Doctor nodded, "Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created."
"Ta da!" the Ganger grinned.
"But one of you was here first," Amy continued.
The Doctor sighed, "After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now new shoes, a situation which did not confront me learned self here."
"That satisfy you Pond?" the Ganger asked.
"Don't call me Pond, please," she remarked stiffly, making both Doctors and Evy looked at her, "What?"
"Interesting. You definitely feel more affection for him than me."
"No, I...look, you're fine and everything, but he is the Doctor. No offense. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."
"Being almost the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all."
"Don't overreact."
"You might as well call me...Smith."
"Smith?"
"John Smith."
"Communication a go-go!" the Doctor called. They dashed around to the front where Evy already had it powered up and was bringing everything online.
"Find Rory!" Amy urged them, "Show me the scanny, tracky screen. Come on, Rory, let's be having you."
Cleaves leaned forward and pulled up a screen, "There's no sign of him anywhere."
"Come on, baby, show yourself."
~8~
Cleaves spoke into the radio transmitter, "St. John's calling. Emergency Alpha. St. John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in. We'll never get a signal through this storm. St. John's calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent."
"We're just about reading you, St. John's," a man answered, "How are you doing? We've had all kinds of trouble here."
"Request immediate evacuation. We're under attack. The storm's affected our Gangers. They're running amok."
"Your Gangers?"
"Yes, our Gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out."
The Doctors exchanged a look as Evy frowned.
"Copy that St. John's. Shuttle's dispatched. Hang on."
"You'll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac. tower. And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following codeword. I'm typing it, in case they're listening in."
"Got it. We'll swing in, get you out, and decommission the Flesh."
~8~
Evy sat at the console, fiddling with a few controls, as the Doctor stood beside her, watching while the crew moved to prepare for evacuation. Evy cast a quick look down at the Doctor's shoes, seeing the brown pair he was wearing and shook her head, smiling, that Time Lord was clever.
"We've got to get out of here," Buzzer remarked.
"We're not leaving without them," Amy determined.
"I want 'em found too, but it's about casualties, innit? Can't be helped."
Amy turned to Evy, eyeing her as she worked, trying to ignore the Ganger watching them intently a few feet away, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to place a phone call," she replied.
"Who to?"
"No one just yet. I'm putting it on delay."
"Right, not getting it," Amy sighed, plopping into a chair beside her, making the Doctor step back. She looked up at him, "Why exactly is she making a phone call?"
"Because, Amy, we are, and always will be, the optimists," he replied, "The hopers of far-flung hopes, and the dreamers of improbable dreams," he spun Evy's chair, making her squeal a bit, "The wheels are in motion."
"And...done!" Evy smiled as the Doctor spun Amy's chair as well, making her laugh.
Amy settled back in her chair, looking at the Ganger standing in the back of the room, before looking up at the Doctor, "You know, really, there can be only one."
"Hmmm…I know," the Doctor remarked, before glancing down at Evy as he leaned against the console, "The Link only works with a single pair…" he smiled softly at her, "You know, I loved you even before we Linked, and I like to think I would even if it disappeared," she smiled sadly at him, "But…as it's still active, I just want to say, I'm rather glad that it was me in the end. I don't think either of us deserve you, but I know that, of all the beings in the Universe, no one could love you more."
Amy frowned, eyeing the two of them, "What are you two talking about?" she knew about the Link they shared, but there was something…off…about how the Doctor was speaking to her just then.
"Nothing," the Doctor told her.
Amy just shook her head, "Whatever, we should get back to work. So…carry on you two. Be amazing…" she trailed off, frowning at the back corner. She got up and slowly walked towards it, stopping and staring intently, unnoticing of the Time Lords watching her, all three of them. A moment later she jumped back with a gasp, looking back at them to see only the Doctor was watching her before turning to the wall.
"Amy?" the Doctor called, "What happened?"
Amy rushed back to the chair, plopping down and looking between him and Evy, who had turned to her, "It's her again."
The Ganger turned to the same wall, staring at it.
"Her who?" Evy asked her.
"There's a woman I keep seeing, a woman with an eye patch, and she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me. Doctor? Evy?"
"It's nothing," the Doctor assured her.
"Doesn't seem like nothing."
"It's a time memory. Like a mirage," he patted her shoulder, sending a concerned glance over her at Evy who was rubbing the side of her head a moment, "It's nothing to worry about."
"It's in my head..." the Ganger muttered, before closing his eyes in pain and heading out of the room.
"Hey, hold on!" Jimmy shouted.
"Don't let him go," Cleaves ordered.
"Leave it to me," Amy jumped up and went after him. She really needed to talk to him, without Evy or the Doctor hearing her, she had questions about the Flesh and who better to answer it but something made of it? She stepped cautiously into the hallway of the evac. tower to see the Ganger standing there, facing the back wall, "I'm sorry. What I said about you being almost the Doctor, it's just...really hard, because I've been through so much with the Doctor and Evy. I've even seen him...I've even seen the moment of his..." she swallowed hard, "Can you die? If you really are the same, then you can die. You can be killed, and...I might have seen that happen."
"Why?" he breathed.
"Why? Because you invited us to see it. Your death! Your suicide 'cos Evy was…"
He suddenly spun around and grabbed her shoulders, shoving her against the wall, "Why?!"
"You're hurting me."
"It's all the eyes say! Why? I can feel them as they work each day, knowing the time was coming for them to be thrown away again. 'Not again, please!' And then they are destroyed and they feel death, and all they can say is, 'Why?'"
He let her go and Amy ran off back through the door to the tower.
~8~
"Why?" the Doctor frowned in thought, hearing the words resonate across his mind. He looked at Evy who was hunched forward just a bit, massaging her temples, her face scrunched up in pain. She jerked back in her chair, dropping her hands as Amy ran in.
"Keep him away from me!" Amy shouted.
The Ganger stepped out behind her and walked right over to them by the controls, "Did you sense it?"
"Briefly," Evy nodded, trying to relax her face so the others wouldn't see the pain, she couldn't risk them noticing and making the connection between her and the Ganger, it would ruin the Doctor's experiment.
"Not as strong as you," the Doctor added.
The Ganger looked at Amy, "Amy, I'm sorry..."
"No, you keep away!" she backed up, "We can't trust you."
"It would appear I can connect to the Flesh."
"Well, you are Flesh."
"I'm beginning to understand what it needs."
"What YOU want. You are it."
"It's much more powerful than we thought. The Flesh can grow, correct?"
"Its cells can divide," Cleaves nodded, eyeing the Ganger warily.
He turned and approached her, "Well, now it wants to do that at will. It wants revenge. It's in pain, angry. It wants revenge."
"I was right," Amy shook her head, "You're not the Doctor. You can't ever be. You're just a copy."
"Amy, remember how the Dream Lord sent me back to the institute?" Evy asked suddenly. Amy looked over at her, startled, "That was all the Doctor, his subconscious, his darkness, yes, but that was him. We've both done things out of revenge or anger in our lives, don't fool yourself into thinking that we're above that," Amy frowned, stunned, "We're just as susceptible, and believe me, we can be even more cruel because our people, we don't just go out there and hurt you, we wait and we think and we come up with what would hurt you most. This Flesh? However angry it is, is nothing compared to the fury of a Time Lord. Keep that in mind before you start to talk about it yeah?"
Even though the Doctors looked proud at her defense of them, the crew looked at her, startled at her words which only seemed to increase their suspicion of the Ganger. Here was something that wanted revenge and the ability to extract the greatest form of it.
"Doctor, it might be best if you stayed over there for now, hmm?" Cleaves motioned to the Ganger.
"Hold on a minute," the Doctor stood, "Hold your horses. I thought we'd explained this. I'm him, he's me."
Buzzer just stepped forward, ready to force the Ganger down if necessary, "Doctor, we have no issue with you," Cleaves told him, "But when it comes to your Ganger..."
"You're being ridiculous," Evy shook her head at them.
"Buzzer?"
"Sure, boss," Buzzer moved an empty oil drum and set it before the Ganger, "Take a seat mate."
He straightened his bow-tie and sat, "Nice barrel, very comfy. Why not?"
"Is this really what you want?" the Doctor eyed them.
Amy crossed her arms, looking at the Ganger uncomfortably.
Evy sighed, "Oh honestly, humans!" she huffed, rolling the chair over to the oil barrel and sitting beside the Ganger.
Amy blinked, surprised at the woman's actions. Both she and the Doctor, while rushing into danger, were both far more cautious now that they had their child to worry about. To see her, willingly, sitting beside someone as dangerous as a Ganger, despite the child inside her no less, it was disconcerting, it made her question everything she thought about the Gangers…but she just…couldn't help it. That wasn't the Doctor, nothing else need be said.
'When did you do something out of anger or revenge?' the Doctor's voice whispered in Evy's mind.
She cast a glance beside her, 'Mars.'
That was all that had to be said for him to know what she was talking about. She'd been so angry at what he'd done, so furious. She truly had displayed the fury of a Time Lord then...only the person she'd hurt had been him. She'd been so...so...anger didn't do it justice. She'd been fuming, grabbed what she knew would hurt him, the high-level Perception Filter, and left him alone to deal with feeling as though the Link had nearly been severed. She knew what would hurt and acted. It had certainly hurt him, but more so it got through to him, taught him his lesson.
Evy smiled softly, feeling a small mental kiss in her mind. She wasn't sorry for what she did, but she did feel a bit lighter knowing that he understood and forgave her.
~8~
"This is the shuttle," the radio buzzed, "We're right above you, but we can't get low enough. Gamma static could fry our nav-controls. Sit tight. We'll get to you. Just..."
The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned Cleaves quickly as Jimmy made his way to the comm., "Hello? Can you hear me?"
"I can't find Rory," Amy sighed from where she was standing by a monitor, "I'm going out there."
"We could use the sonic to track him," the Doctor remarked, "Humans and Gangers give off slightly different signals. The sonic can tell the difference."
"Oh, so the sonic knows Gangers are different, so the other Doctor is different."
Evy rolled her eyes at the girl, "He is the Doctor."
"Not to me," Amy said stiffly, "Can't you tell?"
"I think you're just prejudiced to be honest..."
"Nice try, but I know, ok? We've all been through too much. He's our Doctor," she nodded back to the one at the control panel with the brown shoes, "End of."
"Hey, there's a camera up," Buzzer called from another screen, "We've got a visual."
Amy ran over, beaming when she caught sight of two people walking through a tunnel, "That's Rory and Jennifer."
"They're heading for the thermostatic room," Cleaves frowned.
"Let's go get them," the Doctor flipped his sonic and tossed it to his Ganger, "Hang on."
"We can't let him go. Are you crazy?"
"You actually think he isn't?" Evy asked the woman, genuinely shocked.
"Am I crazy, Doctor?" the Doctor smirked as his Ganger.
"Well, you did once plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet," the Ganger remarked, "Though that was to win a 'romantic evening' with Evy so…perhaps that doesn't count."
"Oh I think it should," he smiled, "We're crazy about her after all."
His Ganger laughed, "That we are."
"He can't go rescue them," Amy shook her head, "I'm going."
"Do you know, I want him to go," the Doctor stood up, looking Amy in the eyes, "And I'm rather adamant."
"Me too," Evy agreed as she and the Ganger stood.
"Well, then, he'll need company, right boss?" Buzzer offered, "It's fine. I'll handle it."
The Ganger snapped his fingers at him, "Thank you, Buzzer. It'll be alright. I'll find him," he turned and left, Buzzer following after him.
"I can't explain it to you now," the Doctor turned to Amy, "But we need you to trust him. Can you do that for me Amy?"
"And what if you're wrong?" she countered.
"Then he's wrong," Evy shrugged, "And I get to clean up the mess."
The Doctor laughed at that.
~8~
Cleaves's brow furrowed as she looked at the readings from the factory, "These temperature gauges are rising. Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents."
"Why do that?" Dicken shook his head, "They'll kill us."
"There's a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet..."
"And now it's heating up the whole island," the Doctor realized, "How long till it blows?"
There was an explosion in the distance that rocked the monastery.
"Gangers or no Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here," Dicken stated.
"Shuttle!" Cleaves ran to the radio, "We need evac.. Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you..." she winced and put a hand to her forehead.
"Cleaves?" Evy stood and moved to help the woman, "You need to rest, here..." she helped her down into a chair.
"I'm fine. I've had these migraines for a while, I'm waiting for results, so let it go."
"It's a very deep parietal clot," the Doctor told her, recalling his scan.
"Inoperable?"
"On Earth," Evy sighed sadly.
"Well, seeing as Earth is all that's on offer...hmm. I'm no healthy spring chicken, and you're no weathermen. Right?"
There was another quake.
"Something just cracked," Amy looked up, alarmed, "I heard it."
The Doctor nodded, casting a concerned look at Evy, "Yeah, we can't stay here, let's go."
"Let's shift!" Jimmy agreed.
Cleaves moved to the radio once more, "Cleaves to Shuttle. We need to move, and we can't be collected from the evac. tower."
"Give us the codeword," the radio called.
"The codeword is..."
Another quake rocked the building, sending the console up in sparks. Cleaves jumped back to avoid them before running back, trying to get through.
"Cleaves?" the Doctor called, moving back to her, "Cleaves, it's dead, it's dead," he grabbed her arm and pulled her away, "We need to get out of here."
"We have to get the vents working again," Evy called as they ran out of the room, "Come on!"
~8~
The Ganger Doctor scanned the sonic around the monastery with Buzzer following, frowning at the device, "I'm getting something..."
"Is it human?" Buzzer asked.
"Yeah, it's human, but it's fading. It's fading. This is bad. Fading is very...bad…" he turned around a corner and stopped short, seeing Jennifer lying on the ground, "Agh! The signal's gone," he touched her forehead, "She's...dead. She was hanging onto the edge of life and she just...just slipped away. Oh, Jennifer, I'm so sorry. She's been out here for hours."
"But if the real Jen's been lying out here..."
"Rory's in trouble."
And suddenly Buzzer whacked him on the back of the head with his torch, knocking him out, "Sorry, pal, it's boss's orders. Us and them, innit?"
~8~
Evy winced, rubbing the back of her head for a second, stumbling, as they ran through the tunnel, following the Doctor and Cleaves with Amy and the rest of the crew behind her. They stopped in another narrow hall to see eyes watching their every move in the wall before them, "Ah," the Doctor murmured, "The eyes have it."
"Why are they here?" Amy frowned.
"To accuse us," Evy replied.
"Ignore them," Cleaves ordered, continuing on, "It's not far," they kept going to the end of the hall, entering the thermostatic chamber, the Doctor, Cleaves, and Evy heading for the controls.
"These readings..." Evy shook her head, "It's too late. It's become a chemical chain reaction."
The Doctor sighed, "This place is going to blow sky high."
"Exactly how long have we got?" Cleaves turned to them.
"An hour? Five seconds? Er, somewhere in between," another explosion happened, a klaxon sounding as the machinery hissed. He turned, grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her out, "Out!"
Amy, being in the back, was the first out of the room, leading them down the tunnel, when they came face-to-face with Rory, "Alright?" he asked them.
"Oh, Rory!" Amy gasped, throwing herself into his arms, "Oh, Rory."
"There's a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt."
"From the crypt?" Cleaves frowned, "It's not on the schematics."
"It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS. Follow me," he turned and headed off with the others, Evy and the Doctor hesitating before joining him.
~8~
The Ganger Doctor woke up groggily on the floor to see the Gangers in their acid suits above him, "Got anything for a sore head?"
"This is how they'll always treat us," Ganger Cleaves remarked, "Do you see now? After all, you're one of us...Doctor."
He put his sonic in his pocket, "Call me Smith. John Smith."
~8~
Cleaves led the way into the Acid Room when Jimmy shook his head, "We can't leave without Buzzer."
Cleaves agreed, "I'll go back for him."
"Doctor, Evy, look..." Rory began, "I'd better tell you, I haven't been quite straight with you..."
Suddenly he was pulled back and the door slammed shut, locking. The Doctor ran to the small window, seeing Ganger Jen standing there, "Rory!" he shouted as he and Cleaves tried to open the door, but it was deadlocked, the sonic wouldn't help.
Rory turned to Ganger Jen, confused, "C'mon, Jennifer, we don't need to lock them up. We should just show them what we've found."
"I don't think so," she shook her head.
"Rory Pond!" the Doctor shouted, "Roranicus Pondicus!"
"Rory!" Amy banged on the door, "What the hell are you playing at?"
"They've been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot, alive!" Rory told them, "I think the world should see that."
"Rory, there is no time," the Doctor told him, "This factory's about to explode!"
Rory looked alarmed and turned to Ganger Jen, "Are you sure about this? 'Cos I'm not. Let them out."
"The little girl got strong," Ganger Jen remarked.
"What?"
"The little girl lost on the moors in her red wellies? Looking for a way home? Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?"
"But that wasn't...it was the other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl."
"Oh? What other Jennifer?" her eyes began to glow.
"Well, the...the...wait, you tricked me? Let me go, I'll open the door," he turned to try and grab the door but she pulled him away, "Let me..." he struggled to turn to Amy, "I'm sorry!"
Amy pounded on the door as Rory was dragged off, leaving only Ganger Cleaves behind, "We have to be free."
"I'm sorry too, Miranda," Cleaves remarked, "Of all the humans in the world, you had to pick the one with the clot. But hey, them's the breaks. Welcome to the human race," her Ganger eyed her a moment before turning to walk away.
"This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid," the Doctor muttered as he scanned the acid vat, refusing to let Evy anywhere near it, actually going so far as to steal her sonic to keep her back, "Just as a point of interest."
"And we can't stop it?"
"Just as a point of interest, no."
~8~
Rory stood, furious, before Ganger Jen and the others in the dining hall, "You created another Ganger just to trick me. You tricked me. When I found you, you were both Flesh and you tricked me into trusting you! Jen's dead, isn't she?"
The Ganger Doctor looked up from where he was sitting at the table, "She's gone, Rory. Gone."
"Shuttle, we're dropping down on our approach," the radio blared, "Stand by for evac.."
"The humans will be melted, as they deserve," Ganger Jen nodded, "And then the factory will be destroyed. Once we get to the mainland, the real battle begins. The humans won't stand a chance. You're one of us, Doctor. Join the revolution."
"I've got to go and get them out," Rory tried to stride past them but the Ganger Doctor stood and shoved him back, standing with the Gangers.
~8~
Dicken lowered the cap onto the vat of acid as Jimmy looked at a few readings, "It'll never hold her."
"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears," the Doctor turned to him, "In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where EVERYONE is all ears."
The lid slammed shut.
~8~
"Doctor, we can't just let them die," Rory shook his head at him, "Evy's in there!"
The Doctor looked at his watch, "Ring, ring!"
"Doctor!"
"Ring, ring!" he pushed Rory back once more
~8~
Cleaves watched the acid vat warily, "The acid's eating through..."
The building shook.
~8~
Rory tried to dart past them as the room quaked but the Ganger Doctor pointed at him warningly, "Stay!"
Rory stopped and put his hands up, "Ok."
A phone rang and the Ganger Doctor smiled, "Ah, that'll be the phone. Somebody get the phone. Jimmy, get the phone. No? Fine, I'll get the phone. Stay put," he walked over and picked up the phone, sonicing it so a hologram of a young boy appeared before them.
"Thank you for booking your holo-call with Morpeth Jet..." the operator began.
"Ha!" the Ganger Doctor smiled at the child, "Hello, Adam, I'm the Doctor. Well, Other Doctor," Ganger Jimmy stood slowly, "Or Smith. It's complicated and boring. Anyway, who cares, it's your birthday!"
"Yay!" Adam cheered.
"Yay! Now, have you been getting up very early and jumping on the bed?"
"Yes, really high."
"I expect chocolate for breakfast. If you don't feel sick by mid-morning, you're not doing it right. Now, I think you want to speak to dad," he turned to look at Ganger Jimmy.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Daddy?"
He walked over to him, "You'll do, Jimmy. What does the other Jimmy matter now? You're both the same dad, aren't you? Come on, Adam's waiting."
"Daddy?" another quake shook the room, "Daddy, what's that rumbly noise? What's going on, daddy? Daddy?"
Ganger Jimmy turned and bolted out of the room.
"You've tricked him into an act of weakness, Doctor," Ganger Jen glared.
"No, actually, Evy's helped him into an act of humanity, oh she's brilliant at backup plans, haven't I mentioned that?" he remarked, "Anyone else like the sound of that though? Act of humanity."
"Dicken, drain the acid well in crypt one," Ganger Cleaves ordered and Ganger Dicken left.
"Don't you dare!" Ganger Jen called after him.
"I've had it with this! What's the point in this ridiculous war? Look at you, Jen. You were a sweet kid. Look at you now. Stuff of nightmares. I don't want my world populated by monsters."
"You can't stop the factory from melting down, 'boss.' I'll take revenge on humanity with or without you."
"It doesn't have to be about revenge," the Ganger Doctor told her, "It can be so much better than that."
Ganger Jennifer just glared at him before pushing her way out of the room.
~8~
Jimmy struggled to keep the lid on the vat, Dicken trying to help from behind, but it was all too much. Just as the doors to the room opened, acid splashed out and hit Jimmy in the chest. He fell backwards with a cry as his Ganger dashed in, "Let me through!" his Ganger called, making his way to his side.
"You're too late," Evy said softly, scanning him with the sonic she'd snatched back from the Doctor, "It's reached his heart..."
"Hang in there, mate."
Jimmy looked up at him, "I'm quite handsome from this angle."
"I'm...sorry. I'm the fake. Adam deserves his real dad."
"Shut up."
"What do you want me to do? Anything, just say."
"The way things are, mate...it's up to you now," he pulled at a cord around his neck and pressed into his Ganger's hand, "Be a dad. You remember how," and then his head drifted to the side and he died, leaving his Ganger to look at his wedding band.
"Jimmy Wicks...you're a dad," the Doctor remarked softly.
~8~
Rory, the Ganger Doctor, and Ganger Cleaves stood in the dining hall, waiting for the others as Adam shuffled on his feet, trying to look past them, "Daddy? Where's my daddy?"
Just then Ganger Jimmy entered with the others. Rory went straight to Amy, hugging her tight before kissing her, as the Ganger Doctor walked over to where Evy and the Doctor were staying, Ganger Cleaves heading over to herself as well.
"Daddy, it's me!" Adam grinned, seeing his father.
Ganger Jimmy laughed nervously, "Hey, sunshine! What are you up to?"
"Opening all my presents."
"Ha ha, good lad. You have fun today. And remember, your dad...he loves you very, very much."
"When are you coming home?"
"Today," Evy called, smiling as she walked over to pat the man's shoulder, knowing he was still in shock over seeing himself die, "Your dad'll be home today Adam."
"Yay!"
Jimmy laughed, seeing his son do a little excited jig.
"Now, we need to move," the Doctor called from behind them.
~8~
The Doctor led the way down a tunnel of the monastery, stopping short when they came face-to-face with a misshapen, elongated Ganger Jen, "Run!" he shouted, turning around and ushering them back, "Run. Run!" they turned and ran, Ganger Jen chasing them on all fours until they made it around a corner, down another hall, and into a room.
"Ooh, roof's going to give," the Ganger Doctor looked up, rushing into the back of the room as the ceiling groaned.
Dicken and his Ganger shut the metal door behind the group, "We have to stop her," his Ganger shouted, "This door doesn't lock."
"No, but the far one does!" Dicken turned and ran down the hallway to the far door, pulling on it but it was jammed. Ganger Jen ran closer as he pulled the handle off. He finally got the door unjammed but it wouldn't lock, so he shut it behind him, staying on the other side to hold it closed.
"No!" Ganger Dicken shouted as he heard himself scream before slamming the door shut, Ganger Cleaves and the Doctor moving to help him.
"There she is!" Evy shouted as the TARDIS fell through the roof.
"Oh, she does like to make an entrance!" the Doctor remarked.
The Ganger Doctor opened the doors to the box, "Move!"
The Doctor nodded at Ganger Dicken, "Go, go, go, go!" and the man ran off into the TARDIS.
"Get onboard!" Ganger Cleaves turned to herself, "Go!"
"I'm not leaving," she shook her head as the door was pounded on.
"Go."
Cleaves nodded and ran back to the TARDIS as well.
"Now's our chance," Amy ran over to the Doctor.
He shook his head, "I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize."
"Oh, don't be crazy. Ok, what happens to you? What happens to Evy if something happens to you?"
"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her."
"Both of you can survive this, ok?"
"Or perhaps you think I should stay instead...Mr. Smith?" the Ganger Doctor stepped up behind her, Evy next to him.
"No, of course not," Amy turned to him, "But look, this man, I've flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you're not him. I'm sorry."
"Amy, we swapped shoes."
"He is the Doctor," Evy nodded.
"And I'm the Flesh," the Doctor by the door agreed.
"He can't be," Amy shook her head and looked at the Ganger Doctor, "You're the real him."
"He's not Amy," Evy stepped forward and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "He hasn't been since we arrived in the evac. tower."
"What?"
"I'm the original Doctor, Amy," the Doctor told her, "We had to know if they were truly the same. It was important, vital, we learn about the Flesh. And we could only do that through your eyes."
Amy looked at the Ganger Doctor at the door and moved to hug him tightly, "I never thought it possible..."
"What?" he asked, hugging her back.
"You're twice the man I thought you were."
"Push, Amy," he whispered to her, "But only when she tells you to."
Ganger Jen banged on the door and the Ganger jumped back to help Ganger Cleaves.
"Amy, come on!" Rory shouted as Amy ran past the Doctor and Evy, towards the TARDIS.
"Well, my death arrives, I suppose," the Ganger smiled at them.
"But this one, we're not invited to," the Doctor remarked, taking Evy's hand. She squeezed his hand in return, knowing what Amy had said to him, what she had implied about her, when she spoke to him outside the evac. tower, thinking he was the Ganger.
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
"It's possible that your molecular memory might survive," Evy commented as the Doctor nodded and tossed him the sonic.
"If I turn up to nick all your biscuits, you'll know you were right."
"She always is," the Doctor remarked.
He laughed and looked at Evy, "But…in the very slim, nearly impossibly small, chance that you're wrong…you should know..." he cast a glance at himself, "He doesn't pout for real. Half the time he fakes it so you'll give him a kiss."
"Oi!" the Doctor shouted.
Evy laughed, "Oh, I know."
The Doctor looked at her, stunned, "Really? You never said…"
"It gives me an excuse to kiss you," she told him simply.
"Doctor!" Amy called from the doorway, seeing the Ganger still at the door, "No, please..." Rory tugged her back.
"You too, Cleaves, off you pop," the Ganger turned to her.
"I'm staying."
"This is not the time for grand gestures."
"Says the king of grand gestures! This is my factory! I'm not going anywhere."
"Foreman Miranda Cleaves, marvelous!" he kissed her head, "Beware of imitations."
"Clear off out of here, the lot of you!"
The Doctor looked at Evy a moment and she asked him something silently. He smiled softly at her and nodded. She grinned and ran to the Ganger Doctor, hugging him a moment before pulling away, pressing her necklace into his hands, "I know it's a very slim, nearly impossibly small, chance, but...find a love of your own. Yeah?"
He smiled at her, kissing the necklace and nodding as he slipped it into his pocket.
The Doctor reached out and took her hand, the two of them running into the TARDIS, pushing Amy and Rory in as well.
And a few moments later, the TARDIS disappeared.
~8~
The Doctor leaned against the console, Evy beside him, feeling rather odd now that she was without her necklace. She couldn't help but chuckle silently to herself when she thought on how Jack 'felt naked' without his Vortex Manipulator...she felt the same now.
'I'll get you another one,' the Doctor murmured to her silently. It had been him, after all, who said he couldn't imagine her without one.
'Thanks,' she rested her forehead on his arm a moment before taking a breath and turning to Gangers Jimmy and Dicken, "You're real now. Proper people. Thanks to th energy from the TARDIS. It stabilized you permanently."
"And what happens to me?" Cleaves asked, gesturing to her head, "I still have this."
"Ah, that's not a problem," the Doctor snapped his fingers, "I have something for that. It's small and red and tastes like burnt onions, ha!" he pulled out a vial from under the console, "But it'll get rid of your blood clot," he tossed it to Cleaves and grabbed a red balloon, handing it to Jimmy, "Happy endings."
~8~
The Doctor and Evy stood on a beach, his arm around her waist, his hand resting on her stomach, watching Jimmy sneak up behind his son. He let one of the red balloons go, drifting past his son, "Hey!" he called, "Hello, bud."
Adam turned and ran to him, "Daddy, you're back!"
Jimmy lifted him up and twirled him around, "Hello, my boy! How are you doing?"
Evy smiled and rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder a moment, "That'll be you one day," she told him quietly, "Tossing your child about."
He beamed at the thought, "Our child," he corrected, dropping a kiss on her head before they headed back to the TARDIS.
~8~
The TARDIS sat in the back of the lobby of Morpeth-Jetsan HQ as the Doctor and Evy walked with Cleaves and Ganger Dicken, Amy and Rory behind them.
"You really want us to do this?" Cleaves glanced at a door that would lead to the press conference the company was holding.
"Your company's telling the world that the situation is over," the Doctor told them, "You need to get in there and tell them that the situation's only just begun."
Evy nodded, "They need to see what they're doing to the Flesh, how wrong it is to treat it like you were," she gave Cleaves a meaningful look to which the woman nodded.
"Dicken, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly good. Don't hate them, will you?"
"How can I hate them?" Dicken laughed, "I'm one of them now."
"Yeah, and just remember, people died."
"Don't let their deaths be in vain," Evy sighed, "Make every word count."
Cleaves took a breath and looked at Dicken, "Ready?" they headed towards the door, "Side-by-side."
"You got it boss," Dicken nodded.
Cleaves pulled open the door and flashes of photographers went off.
"Have the army dealt with the imposters?" a reporter called as they stepped in, shutting the door behind them.
Amy frowned and walked over to the Doctor and Evy, "You ok?"
"Remember how we told you to breathe, Amy," Evy looked at her, "Do it."
"Why?" she shook her head.
"Just breathe."
Amy suddenly doubled over in pain with a gasp, "Oh! Whoa. Oh!"
Rory ran to her side, "What's wrong with her?"
"Get her into the TARDIS," the Doctor said, striding back to the TARDIS, pulling Evy along as Rory helped Amy after them. The Time Lords walked up to the console platform as Rory and Amy entered.
"Doctor!" Rory shouted, "Evy! What is happening to her?"
"Contractions Rory," Evy told him softly, her hand absently falling to her bump at the thought.
"Contractions?"
"Typically happens when women go into labor."
"Did she say..." Amy began, "No, of course she didn't. Rory, I don't like this. Ow!" she gripped her stomach and bent over.
Rory shook his head, "You'll have to start explaining this to me…"
"What, the birds and the bees?" the Doctor asked, "She's having a baby."
"It's why we needed to see the early stages of the Flesh," Evy told them. The last thing they wanted to do was somehow harm Amy or the possible baby within her.
"That's why I scanned it. That's why we were there in the first place. We were going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened and there was stuff and shenanigans...beautiful word, shenanigans."
"It hurts!" Amy whimpered.
"But you're ok?" Rory looked at her.
"Breathe Amy," Evy called to her, "You need to breathe..."
"We needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh," the Doctor continued.
"A more humane way," Evy added, "Because we've seen what happens when that signal is cancelled out incorrectly," her mind flashed back to Martha's clone and how she had suffered, died…
"What signal?" Amy looked at them.
"The signal to you," the Doctor's jaw tensed.
"Doctor?"
"Rory...you need to get back," Evy told him gently, it could be traumatizing to be too close.
"Why?" he demanded, "No! And why?"
"Given what we've learned, we'll be as humane as we can, but we need to do this and you need to stand away!" the Doctor shouted.
Rory looked between Amy and then the Doctor and Evy before slowly backing away.
"No," Amy reached for him, "No!" she turned to the Doctor and Evy, tears in her eyes, "Doctor, I am frightened. I'm properly, properly scared Evy."
"It'll be alright Amy," Evy walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Just hold on a little longer yeah? We're coming for you, I swear we are."
"Whatever happens," the Doctor nodded, "However hard, however far, we will find you."
"I'm right here!" Amy grabbed Evy's wrist.
Evy shook her head sadly and stepped back, "You're not though."
"You haven't been here for a long, long time," the Doctor agreed as Evy stepped beside him.
They held out their sonics at her.
"Oh, no!" Amy gasped.
And activated them, turning Amy into melted Flesh.
A/N: Hmmm...so the Ganger has the necklace now? What does that mean for the Doctor at the Lake? It could be him...but then again...it might not. The Doctor gave Evy a Seal of Rassilon necklace once before, who's to say he can't again?
Thanks so much to those of you who have either voted on the poll or dropped a review about whether you'd like Evy and the Doctor to have a boy or girl. I now know the gender! Woo! Still a surprise to you all though. Also, big thanks to those of you who offered up Time Lord names for the baby. I really loved all the names you guys suggested, they were brilliant and thoughtful and lovely and just...you guys rock! I actually got so many of them that I had to cut down :( By last night I had a list of over 20 names for each gender, and that was just a bit too much to vote on. There's a poll up now, one with a list of names for girls (the one for names for boys to be voted on will be up in three days) of 10 names each. I took the names that fit to the Time Lord tradition, but first I made sure to keep whatever names that had been suggested more than one time (this happened twice for the boys and three times for the girls), and from there I filled in any names that stretch the tradition, unless there were enough traditional Time Lord names to fill up 10 slots. So here are the names to vote for:
For a Girl - Aurora, Ceres, Sao, Charon, Selena, Stella, Helia, Pandora, Io, and Rhea.
The results will not be announced either, until the baby is born, the gender and name will be a surprise. You can vote now on my profile for the girl names or drop a review if you don't have a profile to vote with. The poll will be open for about a three days and then we'll vote on boy names as I had trouble getting two polls up at once. But as for when the baby's coming...not saying :)
Also, I had a line in the last chapter about Dusty asking Evy out on a date but said 'he' asked her...sorry! I did look her up after that fact was pointed out in a review (thanks for pointing it out :)), seems like she doesn't swing in any one direction, so Evy's mention of being asked on a date by her still works. But I did fix that line to say 'she' :)
And I just want to apologize if Evy has started to seem too perfect, like a Mary Sue, as has been pointed out to me. I didn't intend for her to come across that way. I know sometimes Mary Sues can come about by making a character too unique or go beyond the norm of the species so I tried to keep everything within a believable scope for Gallifrey and the DW universe. She's as brilliant as the Doctor, being a Time Lady herself, can read minds because their people are telepathic to an extent but she's just more practiced in the art, she sees things differently because at the Untempered Schism she's one of the inspired, and her powers stem from human medicine adversely affecting her like human aspirin can kill Time Lords. I tried to make her different than the Doctor in personality as a way to balance out their relationship, he's childish so she's mature, she would be a bit more capable, has to keep him under control doesn't she? lol :) Series 5 and 6 were meant to really show her as a Time Lady, equal to the Doctor, because at first she was 'human' then keeping herself distant, but now she can really shine and prove herself.
There will be things coming up in later chapters that will show Evy's weaknesses, her making mistakes, as she'll also start to have to take a backseat because of her pregnancy. But, I'm open to any suggestions on how I can try and make Evy seem less like a Mary Sue :) It's hard though, isn't it, almost everything now-a-days can be seen as having a Mary Sue-like quality. I mean, in certain contexts, River Song or even Romana could be seen as Mary Sues. So any suggestions would be helpful :)
Next chapter...Evy's not just good at backup plans. Evy's issued the Doctor a challenge. Was Amy really the target of Kovarian's plot, or was she their own version of a backup plan?