Chapter 18

The Ganger Doctor cried out in pain.

The sound broke Elise's hearts. She started to walk towards him, but both the Doctor and Amy grabbed her arms and held her back.

"What's happening?" the Ganger Doctor cried out. He grabbed his head. "I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day. Argh. Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow."

"The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations. Hold on!" the Doctor told him.

The Ganger Doctor spoke in a voice Elise didn't recognize… "Would you like a jelly baby?" …before switching back. "Why? Why? Why?"

"Why, why what?"

The Ganger Doctor spoke in another voice. But this time Elise recognized it. "Hello. I'm the Doctor."

It was him! The Doctor who saved her all those years ago. The one who held her tight as the Timelords were sucked back into the Time War. The one she barely got to know before she lost him.

"No, let it go, we've moved on," the Ganger Doctor whimpered.

The Doctor rushed forward and grabbed the Ganger.

Amy rushed forward as well, but Jimmy and Buzzer grabbed her. Elise on the other hand, broke away and ran over to the two Doctors.

"Hold on, hold on, you can stabilize," the Doctor told him.

"I've reversed the jelly baby of the neutron flow. Would you like a…Doctor, Doctor, I'm…I'm the…I can't…"

"No, listen, hold on. Hold on."

"No!" The Ganger Doctor threw the Doctor off of him, but Elise stayed.

This Doctor needed help. Just like when he was dying in the Naismith Mansion. Just like he did when they crashed into little Amelia's backyard.

The Ganger Doctor stood there with his hands over his ears. Elise stood next to him, a small hand on his back to let him know she was there.

The Gangers were still trying to get in. But then they suddenly stopped for some reason.

"I think I liked it best when they were being noisy," Buzzer said.

"Doctor, we need you. Get over here," Amy told him.

The Ganger Doctor straightened up. "Hello," he said.

"Doctor!" Amy snapped.

"Cybermats," the Doctor said.

"Do we have time for this?" the Ganger Doctor 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 walked back over to Cleaves and her team. The banging started up again.

"Rory and Amy, they may not trust both of us," the Doctor told his Ganger.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Inevitably."

"I'm glad we're on the same…"

"Wavelength. You see, great minds."

"Exactly. So, what's the plan?"

"Save them all, humans and Gangers."

"Tall order. Sounds wonderful."

"Is that what you were thinking?"

"It's just so inspiring to hear me say it."

The Ganger Doctor laughed. "I know."

The Doctors looked down at Elise, who was smiling. "What?" they asked.

Elise giggled. "It's funny. You're like twins, finishing each other's sentences. You do the same with River."

"Do not!"

"Doctor, Elise, come on!" Amy yelled.

"So, what now, Doctor?" the Ganger Doctor asked.

"Well, time to get cracking, Doctor."

They walked up to the group. "Hello. Sorry, but we had to establish a few ground rules," they spoke in unison.

"Formulate a protocol," the Doctor explained.

"Protocol? Very posh," the Ganger Doctor said.

"A protocol between us. Otherwise…"

"It gets horribly embarrassing."

"And potentially confusing."

"I'm glad you've solved the problem of confusing," Amy quipped.

"That's sarcasm," the Ganger Doctor said.

"She's very good at sarcasm," the Doctor told him.

"Breathe," they said in unison.

"What?" Amy asked.

"We have to get you off this island. And the Gangers too," the Doctor said.

"Sorry, would you like a memo from the last meeting? They are trying to kill us!" Cleaves told him.

"They're scared."

"Doctor, we're trapped in here," Amy reminded him.

"Right, See, I don't think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above."

"But where are the earthing conduits?" the Ganger Doctor asked.

"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes? With us?" He walked over and found a grating in the wall. "Yowza! An escape route. You know, I'm starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me."

Elise rolled her eyes.

"Do we tend to say yowza?" the Ganger Doctor asked.

"That's enough, let it go, okay? We're under stress."

They all filed into the tunnel. It eventually led to a corridor and they climbed out.

The Ganger Doctor held out his hand and Elise took it as she crawled out. They starting walking down the corridor, but Elise didn't let go of his hand.

"The army will send a recon team out," Buzzer told them.

"We need to find a way to contact the mainland," Cleaves said.

"What about Rory and Jen?" Amy asked, "They are both out there."

"No, this place is a maze. Takes a long time to find someone in a maze," the Doctor said, "I bet you lot have got a computer map, haven't you?"

"If we can get power running, we can scan for them. Be a lot quicker," Cleaves told him.

Everyone started coughing.

"Doctor, you said earlier to breathe," Amy said.

"Very important, Pond. Breathe."

"Yeah, well, I'm struggling to."

"Acid interacting with the stone."

"Creating an asphyxiant miasma," the Ganger Doctor added.

"A what?" Cleaves asked.

"Choking gas. Extra heavy. If we can get above it…"

"The evac tower. It's this way," Cleaves told them.

They made it to the evac tower and everyone could breathe easily again.

"You okay?" the Ganger Doctor asked Elise. She still hadn't let go of his hand. Elise nodded.

"Oh. I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something," Amy said, "It's okay, it's better. It's easing off."

The church bell started ringing as they ran for the controls.

Elise sat in one of the chairs as the two Doctors worked.

They kept popping up and down that it was hard to keep them straight. But they were both the Doctor, so it really didn't matter.

"Can you really get the power back?" Cleaves asked.

"Oh, there's always some power floating around."

"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint."

"Can you stop finishing each other's…?" Amy asked.

"Sentences?"

"No probs."

"Yes."

One of the Doctors pouted. "But Elise thought it was funny."

The other rolled his eyes. "She always thinks we're funny."

"No, but hang on. You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?" Amy asked.

"Nah…"

"She's a tough old thing. Tough, old, Sexy."

"Tough, dependable, Sexy."

"Come on," Amy said, "Okay, how can how can you both be real?"

"Well, because we are. I'm the Doctor."

"Yeah and so am I. We both contain the knowledge of over nine hundred years of memory and experience."

"We both wear the same bow tie, which is cool."

"Because bow ties are…"

"And always will be."

"But how did the Flesh read you? Because you weren't linked up to it," Amy said.

"Well, it must've been after I examined it. Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created."

"Ta-da!"

"No getting away from it. One of you was here first," Amy told them.

"Well, okay. 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?"

"Don't call me Pond, please."

Both Doctor's looked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Interesting. You definitely feel more affection for him than me," the one who Elise and Amy assumed was the Ganger Doctor, spoke, "What about you, Ellie?"

"You're both the Doctor, so it doesn't matter," she said.

"Look, you're fine and everything, but he's the Doctor. No offense. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive," Amy told him.

"Being almost the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all."

"Don't overreact."

"You might as well call me Smith."

"Smith?"

"John Smith."

Elise smiled. So that's why her last name was Smith!

"Yes! Communication a go-go."

Cleaves ran to the console.

"Find Rory. Show me the scanning tracking screen," Amy told her, "Come on, Rory, let's be having you."

"There's no sign of him anywhere."

"Come on. Come on, baby, show yourself."

"Saint John's calling. Emergency Alpha. Saint John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in."

There was nothing.

"We'll never get a signal through this storm. Saint John's calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent."

Then a voice came through. "We're just about reading you, Saint John's. 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."

"Copy that, Saint 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."

"We've got to get out of here. We are, we're going to get out," Buzzer said.

"We're not leaving without them," Amy told him.

"I want them found too, but it's about casualties, innit? Can't be helped."

Amy turned back to the Doctor. "What are you doing?"

"Making a phone call," he said.

"Who to?"

"No one yet. It's on delay."

"Right. Not getting it. Why exactly are you making a phone call?"

"Because, Amy, I am and always will be the optimist." He spun in his chair. "The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams." He spun her around and turned back to the console. "The wheels are in motion. Done."

Amy laughed and turned to face the Doctor who she assumed was the Ganger, going off his boots. "You know really there can be only one."

"Hmm?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, nothing. Carry on. Be amazing." Amy stood up and walked towards a wall, but there was nothing there. She gasped and jumped back.

"Amy, what happened?" the Doctor asked.

She ran over to him and sat back down. "It's her again."

"It's who again?"

"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?"

"It's nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing."

"It's a time memory. Like a mirage. It's nothing to worry about." He patted her on the knee and turned back to the console.

"It's in my head," the Ganger Doctor suddenly spoke. He left the room.

"Hey, hold on," Jimmy said.

"Don't go!" Cleaves yelled.

"No, leave it to me," Amy said, going after him.