Chapter 10: Mostly The Same

"My tongue feels weird," Chris said. The Doctor snapped his fingers in front of Chris's face.

"Christopher," he said. "Focus here. Bigger issues. Alright?"

"Why does my tongue feel weird," Chris said, looking about.

"Look, when a Time Lord dies, his body rebuilds itself, atom by atom," the Doctor explained, "the result is a new man: new looks, new personality, but with the same mind and memories. You just mostly regenerated. I'd say you were about 75% of the way through. Your bones are probably mostly new, and all of your organs. There's even a few cosmetic changes, and you might find yourself thinking a little differently. But you are still, essentially, you."

"You mean you didn't actually stop him regenerating," Amy asked.

"No, no," the Doctor said. "We more sort of stalled the process. In a mostly literal sense, he's regenerating right now, just very, very slowly. It'll take less to bump him through the next time."

Chris stood up. "I'm calling myself Chris in my head," he said nonsensically. "I've always been a Christopher, not a Chris."

Chris caught a glance of himself in a mirror above the mantle. "My hair is thicker," he said. "And my eyes weren't blue before. I feel…"

"Bouncy," said the Doctor. "I know. But listen. There are sleepers at the doors. Thankfully they still can't work those, and I've locked them in case they work out the whole grabby-twisty thing. I need you to help us work out how to get out. Eventually one of them is just going to decide to detonate."

"What time is it," Chris asked.

"Half-six," said Rory, checking his watch. "Why is that important?"

"Helps with what side of the house the shadows will be on," Chris mumbled. He shut his eyes and thought, his mind suddenly feeling very Christopher-ish. Odd how it seemed compartmentalized into the two people.

"Okay," he said. "There's a second storey window that leads out onto the garage's roof. Noticed it on the way in. Probably a bathroom window. Frosted glass. Okay. Shadows will be on the…"

"West side," finished the Doctor for him. "However, getting off the roof…"

"Will be an issue, yes," Chris bit his lip. "Into the neighbour's yard. But we'll need…"

"A soft landing," said the Doctor. "I'd suggest a mattress, but fitting it through the window…"

"How about cushions and pillows and blankets," said Chris.

"You two sound like children planning on jumping off a roof," said Liz, "not grown men. I can't be more than a four-meter drop, at most. We won't get hurt."

"One twisted ankle and we're all screwed," said Chris. "Oh…now that is clever. I didn't know I could think like that."

"You couldn't," said the Doctor. "What is it?"

"We overlooked the garage entirely," said Chris. "What if there is a car?"

"We can't drive anywhere, the roads are jammed," said Amy.

"Yes, but maybe we can make a hole," said Chris. "Start the car, weight on the gas. Boom, we run out after it while the sleepers are all confused. And they will be. They don't have physical interaction. They idea of using physics at all will bewilder them. They can't even open doors.

They all looked at one another. Amy spoke. "That's so simple I feel stupid. The Doctor always makes things so difficult."

"I resent that," said the Doctor. "I make things elegant. And fun."

Chris was already off towards the door into the garage. It took three tries before he found it (broom cupboard, coat closet, garage), but, sure enough, there was a car inside. There was room for a second, but it had evidently been taken. The others appeared at his shoulder.

"Serendipity," Liz said.

"We don't have keys," said Rory.

"Keys," said the Doctor, "who needs keys?"

He strode forward and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He unlocked the door and leaned into it. A moment later, the car was humming.

"Can I drive this time," he said as he came out.

"No one's driving," said Chris. He went to the shelves on one wall and started lifting things, until he found a broken lawn statue that seemed heavy enough. The stone angel gazed up at him with a beatific grin as he went to the car.

"Sorry," he said. "You'll be weeping after this."

He leaned into the car and shifted it into neutral. He set the angel on the gas pedal and leaned out. "Be ready to run," he said, and the others nodded. He threw the gear switch into reverse and leapt back. The car slammed backwards, bursting through the garage door in a shower of splinters. The group ran through, hoping the plan had worked.

Sure enough, most of the sleepers had stumbled back, but one had been caught by the rear of the car and was being pushed to the other side of the street, a strange look on his face. Chris did not get a chance to savor it before he ran. For once, he wasn't huffing.

"A decade of smoking completely undone," he said, and Liz gave him a sideways glance. They were turning down another street before the sleepers could follow.

Five minutes later, they were leaping the wall of Chris' garden. Two sleepers paced about, evidently waiting for them. The creatures were rapidly becoming less clumsy, but still weren't quite quick enough to grab any of the group as they dashed and twisted between outreached hands. They slammed the doors of the TARDIS and collapsed.

"Well," said the Doctor. "That was informative. Now then, Chris…what exactly are you?"

Chris fell into a chair and sighed once. "Two hours ago I'd have said human," he said. "Now, I'm wondering why I'm so cavalier about not being human."

"Your new mind is just deciding to accept it," the Doctor said. "You only have doubts because your old one is still bouncing around in there. Who were your parents? Things like this don't just happen."

"He hasn't got any," Liz said. "Parents, that is."

"Hasn't got any? You can't just not have parents," the Doctor said. "Even I have parents. Amy dabbled in it, but she has them now."

"I'm an orphan," Chris said. "Or, I think I am. Maybe. My memories are a bit like a broken mirror right now. I can see pieces, but the whole image is sort of chopped up."

"Clever metaphor," the Doctor said. "Do you mind if I have a look?"

"A look," Chris remarked. "At what? My memories?"

"Exactly that," the Doctor said.

"You can't just look into people's memories," Liz said.

"That's why I'm asking first," the Doctor deadpanned. He looked at Chris. Chris shrugged. The Doctor reached out and grabbed his face, shut his eyes and…

Opened them again, a queer look on his face. "Now that is odd."

"What is," asked Chris.

"Lots of little pieces, but none of them really fit in continuity. All real, don't get me wrong. It's more like a big chunk of your life has been lifted from your head, but in such a way that you wouldn't realize. You wouldn't want to. Long story short, your memories have been tampered with."

"Tampered with," asked Chris. "By who?"

"That's a good question, now isn't it," the Doctor said. "And I figure the answer might help us find out what you are. However, I think that it has to wait."

"Wait," said Chris, "wait why?"

"Because until we deal with the Solace," said the Doctor, "everything else has to be secondary. So here's the question…how do you beat something you can't touch or interact with physically?"

"You have to beat them on their own field," said Rory.

"Mentally," finished Chris.

"Yes, but how," said the Doctor. "They won't sit down and talk, they won't set any terms. They are wholly dedicated to ripping minds from bodies. They've totally forgotten how…oh…oh, now that is very good. That is very, very good."

The Doctor spun and danced around the controls until he finally hit a button. A device sprang from the console, a sort of headvice mixed with a helmet.

"Doctor," said Amy. "What is that?"

"That, Mrs. Pond, is a Chameleon Arch," said the Doctor, immediately before ripping it from the console. He disconnected several cables and began tinkering with it.

"What are you doing with it," Amy pressed.

"A Chameleon Arch is designed to take a Time Lord's thoughts and memories, his whole self, and store them in an object, usually a watch," said the Doctor. "Essentially, it allows someone to pull out a mind and insert a different one. However, the device itself is more just a convenient pathway into a person's mind, allowing them to channel their mind into the object by choice."

"So you're deciding to go human…why?"

The Doctor looked at Amy quizzically. "Who said anything about 'going human'? Did it once, wasn't fun. No. This contraption is basically just a way for someone to send their memories and experiences somewhere. I'm rewiring it so that it doesn't pull them out, but let's a person convey them to someone else."

"Why," asked Liz.

"Because," said the Doctor. "The Solace have been bodiless for a long time. They've forgotten the good parts of it: sweet tastes, fresh smells, sparking touches. They've forgotten what it means to be in a body, and have decided that it must always be bad. We're going to prove to them otherwise. We're going to help them remember."