In the wake of the couple's regenerations, the TARDIS was tumbling out of control throwing her passengers around like ragdolls. At one point the Doctor had fallen out and was hanging on for dear life. Alyssa managed to make her way towards him and grabbed his wrists. With some effort, she began to haul him back inside the ship. "Ali!" the Doctor exclaimed when he noticed that they were getting perilously close to Big Ben. Thinking quickly, she let go of one of his wrists and raised her hand to the console. A lever shifted and TARDIS moved up out of the way just in time to avoid the Doctor from getting severely injured. Now that they weren't on a collision course with any of London's landmarks, Alyssa pulled the Doctor back in the TARDIS. He shut the doors and slumped against them exhausted. Alyssa sat next to him resting her head on his shoulder, she too was tired from being tossed about. Suddenly the TARDIS lurches and spins out of control. The newly turned Time Lady screamed as she fell through the TARDIS no idea where she was going to end up.
Splash! The red head had landed in the pool which was probably the only thing that had stopped her from smacking against the wall or the ceiling. Alyssa struggled to get out as the blue box was still spinning out of control. There was a second splash as the Doctor also landed in the pool. He grabbed onto the side with one hand and wrapped his other arm around fiancée.
"This is some day we're having, huh love?" the Time Lord lightly remarked acting as if they hadn't just fallen into the swimming pool from the console room.
"You said it", Alyssa agreed. There was a loud thump telling them both that the TARDIS had landed…or more likely crash landed somewhere. The Doctor climbed out of the swimming pool first and then helped his fiancée out. The empath wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, taking in their surroundings. "You know…I do believe we're on the library", she commented.
The Doctor stopped squeezing the water out from his tattered shirt and glanced around. "I do believe your right Ali", he agreed "but I don't think that's our main problem".
"Ok", Alyssa said slowly "what is our main problem?" she asked.
"Getting up to that door", the Doctor said pointing up. The Time Lady raised her eyebrows.
"Oh…that's gonna be a challenge", she stated.
~Leadworth 1996~
Little Amelia Pond stared as a soaking wet man with floppy hair and green eyes pokes his head up from the police box "Could I have an apple? All I can think about. Apples. I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving? That's new. Never had cravings before" he stuck his head inside the box "have you had any cravings yet?"
"No, not yet!" a female voice called up "but do you think we could have this conversation when we're not soaking wet?"
"Yes, quite right", the man agreed "I'll be back in just a second", he added to Amelia before disappearing into the police box. The man reappeared a moment later with a red haired woman.
"Hello. Sorry about that. It was a heck of a climb up from the library", she said.
"You got that right", the floppy haired man agreed.
"You two are soaking wet", Amelia commented eyeing them both.
"We were in the swimming pool", the man explained.
"You said you were in the library", Amelia said confused.
"So was the swimming pool", the man countered.
"Are you a policeman?" Amelia asked.
"Why?" the man questioned leaning forward a bit, eyeing her "Did you call a policeman?"
"Did you come about the crack in my wall?" Amelia questioned.
The man opened his mouth to say something but instead he cried out in pain and fell off the edge of the police box. "Doctor!" the woman exclaimed jumping off and kneeling next to him.
"Are you all right, mister?" Amelia asked looking at the man worriedly.
"No, I'm fine. It's okay. This is all perfectly norm-" he broke off, a wisp of golden light escaping from his mouth.
"Who are you?" Amelia asked looking at the man with mild curiosity.
"I don't know yet" the man replied looking at his hands which briefly shimmered with the same golden light "I'm still cooking" he looked up at Amelia "Does it scare you?"
She shook her head "No, it just looks a bit weird", Amelia answered honestly.
"No, no, no. The crack in your wall", the man corrected "Does it scare you?"
"Yes", Amelia answered.
The man jumps to his feet pulling the red haired woman with him. "Well then, no time to lose. I'm the Doctor and this gorgeous woman is Alyssa. Do everything we tell you, don't ask stupid questions, and don't wander off" he strode away and promptly walked into a tree.
Amelia resisted the urge to laugh as she looked down at the Doctor. Alyssa on the other hand, shook her head at him with a fond smile on her face. "Are you all right?" Amelia asked.
"Early days. Steering's a bit off", he replied "even upside down, you really are beautiful Ali".
The woman gave him a small smile "come on you mad man. Let's get you inside before you end up knocking yourself out", Alyssa said holding her hands out. The Doctor took them and she pulled him to his feet.
~Kitchen~
"If you're a doctor, why does your box say 'Police'?" Amelia questioned picking up an apple from the fruit bowl. She gave it to the Doctor who took a bite before spitting it out.
"That's disgusting. What is that?" he coughed.
"An apple", Amelia replied.
"Apple's rubbish. I hate apples", the Doctor said tossing the apple behind him.
"You said you loved them two minutes ago", Alyssa reminded him.
"No, no, no", the Doctor shook his head "I love yoghurt. Yoghurt's my favourite. Give me yoghurt".
Amelia ran to the fridge, picked up a small yoghurt pot and went back over to the Doctor. He took the pot, opening it and poured the contents into his mouth. That too was spat out.
"I hate yoghurt. It's just stuff with bits in", the Doctor said disgusted.
"You said it was your favourite", Amelia said getting confused by this man. Why would he ask for those things if he was just going to spit it out? Didn't make sense.
"New mouth. New rules" the Doctor explained wiped the back of his hand across his mouth "It's like eating after cleaning your teeth. Everything tastes wro-Argh!" Amelia watched with concern as he twitched violently on the spot, slapping himself on the forehead in the process. She wasn't only one who was worried, Alyssa was too.
Is this what regeneration was supposed to be like? she thought. Was this the way she was going to act too? She hoped it wasn't the case, she felt perfectly fine at the moment.
"What is it?" Amelia asked now getting really worried about the man "What's wrong with you?"
The Doctor frowned at her "Wrong with me?" he scoffed "It's not my fault. Why can't you give me any decent food? You're Scottish. Fry something".
Alyssa lightly whacked him on the arm "you're being rude, dear. To a child no less", she scolded.
"Well, unlike some people I'm still not ginger, love", the Doctor said reaching out, winding a finger around a strand of her wet hair "so not fair" he pouted.
Alyssa swatted his hand away "As you've said before, regeneration is a lottery", she said.
"Yeah, one that doesn't seem to go my way", the Doctor grumbled.
"I don't know why you're throwing a wobbly about not being ginger", Alyssa said "wet look aside, you're actually rather handsome".
The Doctor brightened "Really?" he asked. Not that he was vain, unlike some people he knew, but he had secretly hoped that he would be handsome for her.
"Yeah", Alyssa replied "without a doubt".
The Doctor grinned and then kissed her. He half expected it to feel a little strange considering that they were both new people with new…everything. But it didn't. It felt no different from all those other times he'd kissed her which was quite frankly a blessing. Although he wouldn't have minded if it took some getting used to. Any excuse to kiss her. "I love you", he declared and settled his hands on her hips "both of you".
"I love you too", Alyssa said with a smile. They sat down at the table and waited for Amelia to be done with cooking the bacon.
"Ah, bacon!" the Doctor said happily when the ginger haired girl set a plate down on the table. He only tried a mouthful before spitting that out too "Bacon. That's bacon", he stated with disgust "Are you trying to poison me?"
"Why would she try to poison you Doctor?" Alyssa asked "she needs our help". The Doctor just shrugged. She turned to the girl "maybe try something else", she suggested "beans". Amelia nodded and went to the cupboard to get out a can.
She put them into a saucepan and heated them up. She then popped them onto a plate and set it in front the Time Lord. Once again the Doctor spat that out, into the sink time. "Beans are evil. Bad, bad beans", he declared. Amelia then buttered a piece of bread. The Doctor didn't like it either. Alyssa watched with mild amusement as the Doctor walked to the front door with the plate and tossed it out. "And stay out!" he shouted before he slammed the door. "What?" he asked when he came back into the kitchen and saw Alyssa barely supressing a smile.
"Nothing dear", she replied, not even bothering to hide the amusement tone in her voice "is that evil bread safely outside?"
"Yep", the Doctor answered popping the p.
"That's good", Alyssa commented. Amelia watched this interaction with a smile on her face. The Doctor was weird but funny and Alyssa didn't seem to phased by it.
"We've…um got some…carrots", Amelia spoke up.
"Carrots? Are you insane?" he asked staring at the girl as if she was crazy.
"This is coming from the mad man with a box", Alyssa commented. The Doctor turned to her, pointed his finger and opened his mouth. Alyssa just looked at him waiting to see what he'd say. She wasn't surprised when he closed his mouth and turned to the fridge/freezer instead.
"I know what I need… I need…I need…I need…" he looked in both "I need…" the Doctor took out a carton of custard and a box of frozen fish fingers "fish fingers and custard". Amelie glanced at Alyssa but the red haired woman just shrugged. She had no idea why he chose those two particular items.
A while later the Doctor is sitting at the table eating his fish fingers and custard. Alyssa sat next to him eating a bowl of ice cream. Amelia sat opposite them, also eating ice cream but straight out of the tub. The two females watched as the Doctor picked up the bowl of custard and drunk the remains of it. When he set the bowl down, the girls saw the line of custard above his top lip, like a moustache.
"Uh…dear, you've got a little custard", Alyssa said tapping her top lip. She was surprised when the Doctor pecked her on the lips. "Really! Again?" the red head exclaimed, wiping away the traces of custard off her lips.
"Couldn't resist", the Doctor said wiping away the remains of the custard from his top lip.
"What's your name?" the Time Lady asked Amelia.
"Amelia Pond", the girl replied.
"Oh, that's a brilliant name", the Doctor commented "Amelia Pond", he repeated "Like a name in a fairy tale".
"Are we in Scotland Amelia?" Alyssa questioned.
The girl shook her head "No. We had to move to England, it's rubbish", she answered honestly.
"The weather can be rather rubbish at times but England's not that bad. Where I lived was pretty exciting, never a dull moment", Alyssa said "especially when you have the Doctor around".
"Thanks love. So what about your mum and dad then? the Doctor asked Amelia "Are they upstairs? Thought we'd have woken them by now".
"I don't have a mum and dad", Amelia replied sadly "Just an aunt".
"I don't even have an aunt", the Doctor commented "But I do have Ali. She and our baby are all I ever I want or need". Alyssa blushed at his compliment.
"So, your aunt, where is she?" she asked the girl.
"She's out", Amelia replied.
Both Time Lords were very surprised at that. Neither of them wouldn't have expected a girl as young as Amelia to be left alone "And she left you all alone?" he said incredulous.
"I'm not scared", Amelia said.
"Course, you're not" he agreed "You not scared of anything! Box falls out of the sky, man and woman falls out of a box, man eats fish custard, woman eats ice cream and look at you, just sitting there. So you know what I think?"
"What?" Amelia asked.
"Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall", the Doctor said seriously.
~Bedroom~
The Doctor crossed Amelia's room to the wall with the crack in it "You've had some cowboys in here" he remarked, examining the crack.
"You've said that before", Alyssa remarked.
"I have? When?" the Doctor asked turning to her.
"Steve's first trip in the TARDIS. The ship with all those time windows", the red head reminded him.
"Ah", the Doctor nodded vaguely remembering that trip.
"You know, I used to hate apples, so my mum put faces on them", Amelia explained showing them an apple with a smiley on it. The Doctor took the apple and popped it in his pocket.
"My mum used to create faces with the food on my dinner plate when I was your age", Alyssa told her "she did it so often that I'd refuse to eat my dinner if it wasn't in the shape of a face. Mum's are brilliant like that aren't they?"
"Yeah they are", Amelia agreed. The Doctor smiled as he watched them both. His fiancée was pretty good with children…he couldn't wait till their child was born.
He turns back to the crack "This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it", he explained "So here's a thing. Where's the draught coming from?" he takes out his sonic, runs it along the crack and checks the readings "Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey. You know what the crack is?"
"What?" Amelia asked.
"It's a crack" the Doctor ran his fingers over the crack "But I'll tell you something funny. If you knocked this wall down, the crack would stay put, because the crack isn't in the wall".
"Where is it then?" Amelia questioned.
"Everywhere. In everything. It's a split in the skin of the world. Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together…" he traced it with a finger "right here in the wall of your bedroom" the Doctor put his ear against the wall "Sometimes, can you hear…"
"A voice?" Amelia asked "Yes".
The Doctor grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand, emptied it and went back to the wall. When he pressed it against the wall and put his ear the other end, the voice came through clearer "Prisoner Zero has escaped"
"Prisoner Zero?" the Doctor questioned glancing at Amelia.
"Prisoner Zero has escaped", Amelia recited "that's what I heard. What does it mean?"
"Prisoner Zero has escaped" the voice repeated.
The Doctor stepped back from the wall "It means that on the other side of this wall, there's a prison and they've lost a prisoner" he explained "And you know what that means?"
"What?" Amelia asked.
"You need a better wall" he moved Amelia's desk out of the way "The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert and it'll snap itself shut. Or…"
"What?" Amelia asked.
"You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?" the Doctor asked the girl.
"Yes", Amelia sighed.
"Everything's going to be fine". The Doctor held out his hand but Amelia didn't take it. She grasped Alyssa's hand instead. Alyssa shrugged when the Doctor gave her a look.
The red haired woman held onto Amelia's hand, keeping the girl firmly beside her while the Doctor stepped forward and used his sonic to open up the crack. The trio watched as the crack grew wider, flooding the room with bright light.
"Prisoner Zero has escaped" the voice repeated. The Doctor took a step towards the crack "Prisoner Zero has escaped".
"Hello?" the Doctor called "Hello?"
A giant blue eye suddenly appeared making them all three of them jump "Doctor what is that?" Alyssa asked nudging Amelia behind her in case it was some kind of threat. Before the Doctor could answer her, a small ball of light shoots out of the crack, striking him, making him fall back onto the bed.
"Honey are you ok?" Alyssa asked.
"I'm fine", the Doctor assured her, getting up. That's when he saw that the crack had sealed itself up "There, you see? Told you it would close. Good as new".
"What's that thing? Was that Prisoner Zero?" Amelia questioned.
"No. I think that was Prisoner Zero's guard. Whatever it was, it sent me a message" the Doctor pulled out his psychic paper from his pocket "Psychic paper. Takes a lovely little message. 'Prisoner Zero has escaped'" he read aloud "But why tell us? Unless…"
"Unless what?" Amelia asked.
"Unless Prisoner Zero escaped through here" The Doctor looked around the room "But he couldn't have. We'd know". He ran out of the room.
"Doctor's what's wrong?" Alyssa asked as he looked around the hall, confused.
"I don't know…it's difficult. Brand new me. Nothing works yet", the Time Lord replied. While he was speaking, Alyssa's gaze slid over to spot near the stairs. There was a door, she hadn't noticed it when they first came upstairs but she could see it now. She frowned. There was something…off… like she couldn't quite focus on it.
Alyssa walked towards the door. She raised her hand to grasp the door handle when…
Sweetie! Help!
"Sexy", she breathed. Alyssa turned for the stairs and ran down them. The Doctor quickly followed suit, Amelia hot on his heels. As the Time Lord neared the backdoor, they heard a warning bell go off. The Doctor very nearly pulled the back door off its hinges as he yanked it open, rushing outside.
~Garden~
"We've got to get back in there", the Doctor said racing towards the box "The engines are phasing. It's going to burn!"
"But…it's just a box! How can a box have engines?" Amelia exclaimed.
"It's not a box" the Doctor freed the grappling hook and gathers up the rope "It's a time machine".
"What, a real one?" Amelia asked in disbelief "You've got a real time machine?"
"Not for much longer if we can't get her stabilised", Alyssa told her.
"5 minute hop into the future should do it" the Doctor added, looping the rope though the door handles.
"Can I come?" Amelia asked.
"Not safe in here. Not yet. Five minutes. Give us five minutes, we'll be right back", the Doctor replied climbing up to sit on the edge of the TARDIS.
"People always say that", Amelia mumbled, looking down.
Alyssa took off her bracelet. "This is my most prized possession", she said holding it out "I want you to hold onto it for me until we get back".
"Why?" Amelia asked looking up at her confused.
"Because it is my promise to you that we will come back for you Amelia Pond", Alyssa replied with a smile. Amelia returned the smile. Alyssa turned to the TARDIS where the Doctor held out a hand. She grasped it and he helped her climb up to sit on the edge of the TARDIS.
"Geronimo!" he shouts as they jump into the blue box landing once again in the swimming pool.
Alyssa and the Doctor ran around the console trying to stabilize the ship. One point she fell, tripping on some debris. "Ali!" the Doctor exclaimed rushing over and helped her up, flashing his sonic over her "you're fine", he breathed utterly relieved about that "you're both fine".
The Time Lady suddenly noticed a door appear where there didn't used to be one. "I'm such an idiot!" she exclaimed as they stumbled over to the console to continue to try and stabilize the ship.
"No you're… ouch!" the Doctor cried, burning himself.
"No I am. I should've realised it", Alyssa said "something about that door felt off. There's a perception filter around it!"
Bang! The TARDIS shook again causing them both to fall, the Doctor landing on top of Alyssa. As he stared at her, it finally clicked. Her words made him realise what he was missing. "Oh you beautiful, brilliant woman!" the Doctor kissed her "that's what I was missing!" He grabbed her hands and jumped to his feet, pulling her with him. The Doctor quickly worked at the console and a thud sounded, indicating that they'd landed.
The Time Lord took hold of Alyssa's hand and headed for the door. He pulled it open and they stumbled out of the box. The Doctor ran over to the back door and used his sonic to open it. "Amelia you've got go out of this house right now!" Alyssa shouted as she and the Doctor bounded up the stairs "Prisoner Zero is here!"
"She's right. Prisoner Zero is here!" the Doctor added trying the door that had the perception filter around it "Do you understand us! Prisoner Zero is…" they both heard a floorboard creak behind them. The Doctor and Alyssa turned around and the Time Lord was whacked across the face with a cricket bat.
"Whoa! Easy there!" Alyssa exclaimed to the young ginger who raised the bat to strike her as well "listen we're not here to…" she broke off when she got struck as well. The Time Lady dropped to the floor next to her fiancé, unconscious.
The first thing the Doctor heard when he regained consciousness was the tweeting of birds. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as his vision was a little blurred from being knocked out. The Time Lord felt something rest on his right shoulder and glanced over to see that it was his fiancée's head! She'd been knocked out too!
He tried to move his hands to check her head to see how bad she got hit, only to find that his left wrist cuffed to the radiator they were both leaning against. "Oi! You, sit still", a British voice spoke up. The Doctor looked over to see a police woman wearing a rather short skirt, standing there.
"Why we restrained?" the Doctor asked, not liking it one bit. It was a bit too much like the last time with River and the Library.
"You were breaking and entering", Amy told him.
"And you knocked us both out", the Time Lord stated with a glare "Me, I don't mind but my future wife…my pregnant future wife? That was a BAD move".
There was a brief flicker of fear crossed Amy's face but she quickly composed herself. "Do you want to shut up now? I've got back up on the way", she said sternly.
"Why should I?" the Doctor shot back, angrily "you hurt Ali which has made me very upset so it would be wise to uncuff us, now".
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You two were breaking and entering", Amy reminded him, keeping up the pretence of being a police woman "So you see how this works?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to say something when Alyssa started to stir. "Ow", she groaned, as she lifted her head from his shoulder "my head…"
"Ali, love are you ok?" the Doctor asked, looking at her concerned.
"Yeah, fine", Alyssa replied but her fiancé didn't look convinced. She blinked several times before eyeing the police woman "Did you knock us out?"
"I did", Amy confirmed.
"Why, we weren't doing anything wrong. We were coming to check on Amelia", the Time lady told her "please tell me she's ok".
"Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time", the ginger haired woman replied.
"How long?" the Doctor asked really hoping nothing bad had happened to the little Scottish girl.
"6 months", Amy answered.
"No. No. No. No! we can't be six months late!" the Time Lord said in disbelief "Ali is a much better pilot than me…probably because Sexy likes her better than me and she talks to her in her head…" the Doctor broke off when Alyssa her placed her cuffed hands over his.
"As much as I love to listen to you ramble, you're making the nice police lady confused", Alyssa said nodding to Amy. She looked back at the ginger "what he was trying to say was that we'd promised her 5 minutes".
"Right", Amy said slowly before she turned and walked a little ways down the hall.
"What happened to her? What happened to Amelia Pond?" the Doctor called after her but she didn't answer him.
"We need to talk to whoever owns this house. Warn them that they're in danger", Alyssa said to him quietly gesturing to the door at the end of the hall. The Doctor nodded.
"I need to speak to whoever lives in this house right now", the Doctor said loudly.
Amy turned back to him "I live here", she answered.
"But you're the police", the Doctor pointed out.
"Even police have to live somewhere dear", Alyssa said.
"How many rooms?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm sorry, what?" Amy asked, confused.
"On this floor. How many rooms on this floor? Count them for me now", the Doctor instructed.
"Why?" Amy questioned.
"Because it will change your life", the Doctor answered. Amy sighed and counted off the rooms, pointing to the doors as she did so.
"6", Alyssa corrected.
"6?" Amy repeated getting rather confused. This was the home she grew up in. she knew there were only FIVE doors on this floor.
"Look", Alyssa said.
"Look where?" Amy asked, still rather confused.
"Exactly where you don't want to look. Where you never want to look. The corner of your eye. Look behind you", the Doctor said.
The ginger slowly turned around and did a double take when she saw a door by the stairs. "That's…that is not possible", Amy breathed, staring at the door "How's that possible?"
"There's a perception filter all around the door", the Doctor explained.
"I kinda sensed there was something off about the door", Alyssa spoke up "didn't realise that's what it was until a bit later".
"But that's a whole room", Amy continued "That's a whole room I've never even noticed".
"The filter stops you noticing", the Doctor said "Something came a while ago to hide. It's still hiding, and you need to uncuff us now!" He had to get Alyssa and this woman out of the house right now!
"I don't have the key. I lost it", Amy replied as she slowly started to walk towards the door.
"How can you have lost it?" The Doctor called at the same time as Alyssa said
"Stay away from that door!"
The ginger didn't listen to them. Alyssa glanced down at her cuffs which were on her wrists and she focused on the cuffs, smiling when they sprung open. She didn't waste any time jumping to her feet. The Doctor watched worriedly as she stumbled into the wall as she made her way over to Amy.
"Don't go in", she said.
"But it's a whole room I didn't even know was there", Amy argued "how can I not go in?"
"Look just wait out here, I'll go in", Alyssa said.
"Ali don't you dare!" the Doctor called having heard what she said "seriously? Do I have a face that no one listens to?" he added when she ignored him and went inside the mystery room. The Doctor frantically searched his pockets for his screwdriver, his hearts hammering away in his chest. He had to get her out of there! She had no idea what kind of danger she'd just walked herself and their unborn child into...he had no idea what was in that room and it terrified him. He'd already lost her once. He was NOT going to lose her again. "My screwdriver, where is it?" he called, having come up empty in his search of his pockets "is it in the room Ali?"
"No", Alyssa said taking in the room. It was dusty with a few old boxes on the floor; spots of water damage on the walls and a table in the middle of the room. She slowly turned in a 360, confused. While she couldn't see anything sonic screwdriver or Prisoner Zero...there was something in the room. She could sense it. And then she spotted his sonic screwdriver. It was on the table.
"That's weird", Alyssa murmured. She was pretty sure that it wasn't on the table a second ago. "Doctor I found your sonic", she called.
"Must have rolled under the door", The Doctor's voice came from the open doorway.
"Yeah. Then it must have jumped up on the table", Alyssa said which the Doctor heard. His eyes widened when he realised that Prisoner Zero must've put it there.
"Ali get out of there. Now", he said loud enough for her to hear.
Alyssa was about to pick up the screwdriver when she sensed something behind her. She picked up the screwdriver and slowly turned around. Hanging there was an eel like alien with a mouthful of sharp teeth hanging there.
She stared at the alien. Not moving, not making a sound. Suddenly there was a piercing scream making the alien whip around to face a rather shocked Amy. Alyssa took the opportunity to duck underneath the alien, grabbing Amy's hand and dragging her out of the room. She slammed the door behind them.
Alyssa quickly handed the Doctor his sonic. What's the bad alien done to you?" he grumbled looking at his beloved sonic as it wasn't working properly.
"Will that door hold it?" Amy asked eyeing the door warily.
"Oh, yeah, yeah, of course. It's an interdimensional multiform from outer space. They're all terrified of wood", the Doctor said sarcastically.
"You're being rude dear", Alyssa said crouching down reaching for the handcuffs.
"Well...I'm still not ginger love", the Doctor countered.
A bright light flashed around the edges of the door "What's that? What's it doing?" Amy questioned.
"I don't know. Getting dressed?" the Doctor guessed as Alyssa took hold of his cuffs. "Run. Just go" he added "Your back up's coming. We'll be fine".
"There is no back up", Amy said.
"I heard you on the radio" the Doctor said looking at her surprised "You called for back-up".
"I was pretending. It's a pretend radio", Amy told him.
"You're a policewoman", the Doctor frowned.
"I'm a kissogram!" Amy exclaimed, pulling off her hat freeing her long ginger hair. Suddenly the door to the mystery room falls into the hallway, revealing a workman in overalls holding onto a leash which was attached to the collar of the black dog standing next to him.
"But it's just…"Amy began.
"No, it isn't. Look at the faces", the Doctor said. Alyssa's eyes flickered between the dog and the man when the former started to bark and growl.
"What?" Amy asked looking down at the Doctor in surprise "I'm sorry, but what?"
"It's all one creature. One creature disguised as two", the Doctor explained quietly to the women as the man and the dog moved their heads in unison "Clever old multi-form. A bit of a rush job, though" the Doctor raised his voice as he asked "Got the voice a bit muddled, did you?" the man and dog looked straight at the Time Lord "Mind you, where did you get the pattern from? You'd need a psychic link, a live feed. How did you fix that?"
The multiform didn't answer, instead it advanced towards the trio "Stay, boy!" the Doctor said sternly and the multiform halted "them and me, we're safe. Want to know why?" the Doctor patted Amy on the feet "She sent for back-up"
"I didn't send for back-up!" Amy shouted.
"I know. That was a clever lie to save our lives" the Doctor said to Amy. To the multiform he said "Okay, yeah, no back up. And that's why we're safe. Alone, we're not a threat to you. If we had back up, you'd have to kill us!"
Attention, Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded. Attention Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded.
"What's that?" Alyssa asked.
"Well, that would be back up", the Doctor replied "Okay, one more time. We do have back up and that's definitely why we're safe"
Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated
"Well, safe apart from, you know, incineration", the Doctor amended.
"Maybe you should just stop talking dear", Alyssa suggested lightly "I think you're jinxing things". The multiform turned and walked into one of the rooms. As soon as it was gone, Alyssa grabbed the Doctor's cuffs and concentrated. A moment later the cuffs fell to the floor with a clatter.
The Doctor pecked Alyssa on the lips. "Thanks love", he said before he got to his feet.
The trio then made a run for it down the stairs. "Kissogram?" the Doctor asked flashing his sonic on the lock of the backdoor.
"Yes, a kissogram. Work through it", Amy said angrily.
"Why'd you pretend to be a policewoman?" the Doctor asked her.
"You broke into my house!" Amy exclaimed "It was this or a French maid!" the Doctor walked off, Alyssa and Amy following him. "What's going on? Tell me!" The ginger demanded.
"An alien convict is hiding in your spare room disguised as a man and a dog, and some other aliens are about to incinerate your house", the Doctor explained rather quickly "Any questions?"
"Yes", Amy replied as Alyssa reached out for the handle of the TARDIS.
"Me too", the Doctor said he turned to his fiancée who was still standing there, the box's door where still firmly closed "aren't you gonna open the door?"
"I can't. She's still rebuilding", the Time Lady said regretfully, leaning against the ship.
"Well that's just fantastic", the Doctor grumbled. The time when they needed the TARDIS, they couldn't get in!
Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated
Amy grabbed the Doctor by the arm and tried to pull him away but he resisted when he noticed the shed. "Hang on. That shed" he ran over to it "We destroyed it last time we were here. Smashed it to pieces".
"So there's a new one", Amy said.
"Doctor, we need to go now", Alyssa urged casing a glance at the backdoor worriedly. She could sense the multiform on the other side. The Doctor heard the urgency in her voice but the shed was bothering him.
"Yeah, but the new one's got old. It's 10 years old at least" he sniffed the wood before rubbing his finger along the wood and tasting "12 years. We're not 6 months late, 12 years late" the Doctor turned and walked back to Amy "You said 6 months. Why did you say 6 months?"
"We've got to go", the ginger said avoiding his question.
"This matters. This is important" the Doctor pressed "Why did you say 6 months?"
"Why did you say 5 minutes?!" Amy shouted back, her Scottish accent slipping out in her anger. The Doctor gaped at her. The ginger in front of him was Amelia Pond, the little Scottish girl he'd met before, now all grown up.
"What?!"
"Come on!" Alyssa said stepping up, grabbing hold of his hand and pulled him towards the side gate, past the multiform that was now standing in the doorway. Amy hurried after them.
Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.
"You're Amelia", the Doctor stated hurrying after the angry Scottish woman.
"And you're late", Amy retorted.
"Amelia Pond. You're the little girl", the Doctor continued.
"I'm Amelia and you're late", Amy shot back.
"What happened?" the Doctor asked.
"12 years", Amy reminded him.
"You hit Ali and I with a cricket bat", the Doctor reminded her.
"12 years", Amy repeated giving him a glare.
"A cricket bat", the Doctor countered.
"12 years and 4 psychiatrists", Amy retorted.
"4 psychiatrists?" the Doctor asked.
"I kept biting them", the ginger admitted "they kept telling me that you weren't real. Alyssa's charm bracelet was the only thing that reminded me that you weren't some figment of my imagination".
"You kept it", Alyssa said softly, eyes now trained on the piece of jewellery on the ginger's wrist.
"Of course. I never took it off", Amy said, unclasping the bracelet and held it out. The Time Lady took it from her and replaced it around her own, running her fingers over the charms with a small smile on her face. The Doctor watched her fondly as he knew the stories behind each and every charm.
Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat. Echoed out from the speakers of an ice cream van several feet in front of them, catching their attention.
"No, no, no, come on…What?" Amy asked staring at the van "We're being staked out by an ice-cream van". She'd thought they'd left that voice behind at her house along with the multi-form.
The Doctor ran over to the ice cream van, followed by the women. "What's that? Why are you playing that?" he demanded.
"It's supposed to be Claire De Lune", the Ice cream man explained. He was just a surprised as they were. Alyssa whipped around when she heard it coming from her left. The message was playing on a jogger's IPod and woman's mobile phone.
Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat. Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.
There was something familiar about the message, like she'd heard it before. But she couldn't recall where. "Doctor, what's happening?" Amy asked.
Repeat, Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.
The Doctor didn't answer her, he just turned and leapt over a low white into the pretty front garden. Amy and Alyssa ran around the front.
"Hello!" the Doctor said cheerfully entering the living room of an elderly lady, Mrs Angelo, who was currently flicking through the tv channels, closely followed by Amy and Alyssa "Sorry to burst in. We're doing a special on television faults in this area..." he glanced at Amy's outfit "Also crimes. Let's have a look" the Doctor took the remote from her.
"I was just about to phone. It's on every channel" the woman then noticed Amy "Oh, hello, Amy dear", the woman greeted "Are you a policewoman now?"
"Well, sometimes", Amy said.
"I thought you were a nurse", Mrs Angelo said remembering the time she saw the ginger dressed as a nurse.
"I can be a nurse", Amy said with a shrug.
"Or actually a nun?" Mrs Angelo continued.
"I dabble", Amy said quickly.
"Amy, who are your friends?" Mrs Angelo asked eyeing the Doctor and Alyssa.
"Who's Amy?" the Doctor looked at the ginger "You were Amelia".
"Well she's Amy now", Alyssa spoke up "I don't see anything wrong with it".
"Thank you Ali", Amy said pleased that she had the red head on her side in terms of her using the name Amy.
"Amelia Pond was a great name", the Doctor argued.
"Bit fairy tale", Amy shot back, using what he said to her about her name all those years ago.
"I know you two, don't I?" Mrs Angelo asked eyeing the Doctor before turning her gaze to Alyssa "I've seen you both somewhere before".
"Not me. Brand new face…" the Doctor makes a face earning a shake of the head "First time on".
"I haven't met before either, ma'am", Alyssa added.
"I'm not surprised if you think you've seen Ali before", the Doctor glanced at Alyssa lovingly "She's kind of hard to forget considering how lovely she is". A dusting of pink appeared on Alyssa's cheeks at his compliment making the Doctor smile. He loved the fact that he was the only one who could make her blush like that. But he what he loved even more was the fact that one day she was going to be his wife. Well…technically that was one of the things he loved more. The second being that she's the mother of his child. He turned to Amy "And what sort of job's a kissogram?" he asked.
"I go to parties and I kiss people", Amy cleared her throat "With outfits. It's a laugh".
"You were a little girl five minutes ago", the Doctor said in a disapproving tone.
"You're worse than my aunt", Amy complained.
"I'm the Doctor. I'm worse than everybody's aunt" the Doctor looked at Mrs Angelo, adding "And that is not how I'm introducing myself".
"I should hope not", Alyssa spoke up "its kind of a mouthful".
The Doctor picked up the radio and used his sonic to go through all the channels, revealing that the voice was being broadcast to the whole world. "Okay, so it's everywhere, in every language. They're broadcasting to the whole world". The Doctor went over to the window, opened it up, sticks his head out and looked up at the sky.
"What's up there? What are you looking for?" Amy asked.
The Doctor pulled his head back inside "Okay. Planet this size, 2 poles, your basic molten core… they're going to need a 40 percent fission blast" a young man enters the room and the Doctor walked up to him "But they'll have to power up first, won't they? So assuming a medium sized starship, that's 20 minutes. What do you think, 20 minutes? Yeah, 20 minutes" the Doctor turned to the others "We've got 20 minutes".
"20 minutes till what?" Alyssa asked. Before the Doctor could answer her, the young man spoke up.
"Are you the Doctor?"
"He is, isn't he?" Mrs Angelo cheered "He's the Doctor! The Raggedy Doctor. All those cartoons you did when you were little Amy. The Raggedy Doctor. It's him". Mrs Angelo looked at Alyssa "which means you're Alyssa. You're the one who supposedly gave her the charm bracelet that she's worn everyday".
"She did give me the bracelet", Amy insisted slightly embarrassed that Mrs Angelo brought up the cartoons.
"Cartoons?" the Doctor asked looking at her bemused before going to sit on the sofa.
"Gran, it's them, isn't it? It's really them!" the young man cheered.
"Jeff shush", Amy hissed, giving an annoyed look "20 minutes to what?" she asked the Doctor who was looking at the TV where the alien's warning was still being played.
"The human residence. They're not talking about your house, they're talking about the planet. Somewhere up there, there's a spaceship, and it's going to incinerate the planet" the Doctor looked at Alyssa and Amy "20 minutes to the end of the world".
Alyssa looked at the TV and the eye on it. Then it finally clicked. She knew why the message was familiar. She'd heard it before in Greece while she was on holiday with her ex. She fished out her mobile from her pocket and held it out to the Doctor. "We don't have time for a phone call", he said looking confused.
"You're going to have to make time. Long story short, there is another me currently on holiday with Ben in Greece. She's just seen the message on her phone and is going to call the Doctor to find out whats going on. She gets you instead of previous you", Alyssa explained. The Time Lord still looked confused "just call her and explain the situation", Alyssa said. Now that she remembered why the message was so familiar, the memory of that day came rushing to the surface. So she also knew that she'd received a phone call from the Doctor that was sitting on the sofa. The Doctor took the phone from her and dialled.
"Hey D-", early-Alyssa said before he interrupted her.
"Ali I know you've seen the message but there's no need for concern. Sure I've only got 20 minutes to save the world before it gets roasted but don't you worry just enjoy your holiday", he explained and then hung up. "Well that was a first for me", the Doctor remarked handing the phone back to Alyssa.
"Tell me about it. It was weird getting that call from you", Alyssa said.
"So where exactly are we Amy?" The Time Lady asked as they walked down the road.
"Leadworth", Amy answered.
"Where's the rest of it?" the Doctor asked looking around.
"This is it", the ginger replied.
"Is there an airport?" the Doctor questioned.
"No", Amy said.
"A nuclear power station?" the Doctor continued.
"No", Amy repeated.
"Even a little one?" the Doctor queried.
"No", Amy said for the third time.
"Nearest city?" the Doctor asked.
"Gloucester. Half an hour by car", Amy answered.
"Do we have a car?" Alyssa asked.
"No", Amy told her.
"Well, that's good. Fantastic, that is. Twenty minutes to save the world and I've got a post office. And it's shut", the Doctor said crossly. He then noticed an empty pond. "What's that?" the Doctor asked running over to it.
"It's a duck pond", Amy answered.
"Why aren't there any ducks?" the Doctor asked.
"20 minutes to save the world Doctor and you're wondering about a duck pond", Alyssa spoke "One word: priorities".
"You're right Ali. Prior…" the Doctor broke off with a painful cry "This is too soon. I'm not ready, I'm not done yet", he panted, scared that he wouldn't be able to protect his future wife and their baby, not in his current condition. Alyssa crouched next to him, looking at him worried.
"What's happening? Why's it going dark?" Amy asked looking up as the sky darkened. Alyssa also looked up and saw the sun blocked over. Instantly her mind went back to her holiday.
"Ali look at the sun", Ben said looking up and seeing the sun darken. The red head looked up at it along with everyone else that was there at the pool.
"Whats wrong with it?" Alyssa asked.
"I've got no idea", Ben replied.
"So what's wrong with the sun?" Amy asked as she didn't get any answers from her previous questions.
"Nothing. You're looking at it through a force field. They've sealed off your upper atmosphere. Now they're getting ready to boil the planet", the Doctor replied getting to his feet with the help of Alyssa. "Oh, and here they come. The human race. The end comes, as it was always going to, down a video phone", the Doctor added noticing all the people pulling out phones and taking photos of the sun.
Alyssa felt the phone vibrate in her pocket and pulled it out "it's for you. Other me has just seen what happened to the sun", she said. The Doctor took it from her.
"Ali this…" the Doctor started when early-Alyssa interrupted him.
"Shut up. I don't know who you are or why you have the Doctor's phone but I want answers. You said that you only had 20 minutes before the earth gets roasted and now something has happened to the sun. What is going on?"
"I'm sorry but I can't tell you. It's kind of a Spoiler", he replied. It was weird talking to an Alyssa who didn't yet know who he was while the red head was standing there watching him.
"That's not an answer", early-Alyssa said.
"Listen I've now got less than 20 minutes to save the world. You're just going to have to trust me", the Doctor told her.
"Guess I've got no choice", early-Alyssa sighed.
"Not really. Got to go Ali", he said hanging up. The Doctor turned to Alyssa "Any more calls I should know about?" he asked.
"Nope. That was it", Alyssa replied.
"Good. Now we can get on with saving the world. Again", the Doctor said with a slightly grumble.
"This isn't real, is it? This is some kind of big wind up", Amy said.
"Why would we wind you up?" the Doctor asked.
"You told me you had a time machine", Amy said.
"And you believed me", the Doctor reminded her.
"Then I grew up", Amy said.
"Oh, you never want to do that", the Doctor told her "No. Hang on. Shut up. Wait. I missed it", he smacked his forehead "I saw it and I missed it".
"Missed what?" Alyssa asked.
"I don't know", the Doctor answered "it was something I saw…something important…"
Alyssa slowly looked at their surroundings wondering what it was that he saw. She frowned slightly seeing a young man wearing scrubs facing away from the sun. He wasn't even looking at it unlike everyone else. Alyssa edged around to try and get a better look at what had captured the young man's attention. Her eyes widened when she saw it was none other than Prisoner Zero!
"What did I see?", the Doctor muttered.
"Uh…Doctor? That young man is taking pictures of Prisoner Zero", Alyssa said pointing at the young man. The Doctor spun around and looked at who she was pointing out.
"That's what I saw!" he cheered "Ali, I love you".
"I know", Alyssa said with a smile "shall we go say hi?"
"We shall", the Doctor answered. He took her hand and they ran off across the green towards the scrub wearing man. The Time Lord snatched the phone out of his hand. "The sun's going out, and you're photographing a man and a dog. Why?" he demanded.
Before Rory could reply, Amy ran up, slightly slower than Alyssa and the Doctor due to the skirt she was wearing "Amy", he said to his girlfriend.
"Hi Rory", Amy greeted.
"Man and dog. Why?" the Doctor demanded knowing they were wasting valuable time by chatting. He needed to know why Rory was taking pictures of Prisoner Zero.
"Oh my God, it's them", Rory breathed staring at Alyssa and the Doctor when he realised that was who was standing in front of him.
"Just answer his question, please", Alyssa said sensing the Doctor's growing annoyance.
"It's him, though. The Doctor. The Raggedy Doctor", Rory continued "and the woman who gave you her 'prized possession'".
"Yeah…they came back", Amy said.
"But they were just a story. They were a game!"
The Doctor grabbed Rory by the shirt, just wanting to get some answers "Man and dog. Why? Tell me now", he ordered. He didn't have time to mollycoddle the human, not when his family was in danger and was the entire planet.
"Sorry. Because he can't be there. Because he's…"
"In a hospital, in a coma" the Doctor and Rory said in unison.
"Yeah", Rory said rather dumbfounded at what had just happened.
"Knew it. Multiform, you see?" The Doctor let's go of his shirt "Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a life feed. A psychic link with a living" he poked Rory in the forehead "but dormant mind".
Prisoner Zero barks at them, catching their attention. "Prisoner Zero", the Doctor said stepping forward.
"What, there's a Prisoner Zero too?" Rory asked Amy.
"Yes", she replied.
There is an electrical buzzing overhead and they all look up to see a star shaped spaceship fly over the green, the eye in the middle, the same eye that they'd seen on Mrs Angelo's TV, swivelled back and forth.
The Doctor subtly pulled out his sonic from his pocket "See, that ship up there is scanning this area for non-terrestrial technology. And nothing says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver" he held it up above his head and presses the button, turning it on.
Streetlights shatter; car alarms around them started blaring and people starting shouting at the chaos. Alyssa clapped a hand over her mouth trying to hold back her laughter at firemen chasing after their fire engine that was driving down the road, on its own.
"I think someone's going to notice, don't you?" the Doctor asked. He pointed his sonic at the red telephone box making it explode. The Time Lord's plan seemed to be working as the eye started to look over in their direction. But suddenly the sonic sparks, causing the Doctor to drop it "No, no! No, don't do that!" he shouted annoyed that his sonic just had to give out at that moment.
"Look, it's going", Rory said watching the ship fly away.
The Doctor looked up "No, come back. He's here!" he called "Come back! He's here. Prisoner Zero is here. Come back, he's here! Prisoner Zero is…"
Prisoner Zero turns into a mist and escaped down the drain, unnoticed by everyone except Amy. "Doctor! The drain. It just sort of melted and went down the drain", she stated.
"Well, of course it did", the Doctor muttered, still annoyed over the loss of his sonic.
"So what do we do now?" Alyssa asked as they walked over to the drain.
"Prisoner Zero is hiding in human form so we need to drive it into the open" the Doctor replied "No TARDIS, no screwdriver, 17 minutes. Come on, think. Think!"
"So that thing, THAT hid in my house for twelve years?" Amy questioned as she glanced down the drain.
"Multiforms can live for millennia. Twelve years is a pit-stop", the Doctor replied.
"So how come you both show up again on the same day that lot do? The same minute!" Amy said crossly.
"They're looking for him, but they followed us", the Doctor said "They saw Ali and I through the crack, got a fix, they're only late because we are".
"What's he on about?" Rory asked confused.
"Nurse boy, give me your phone", the Doctor demanded.
"How can they be real?" Rory asked Amy "they were never real".
"Phone. Now. Give me", the Doctor ordered. Rory gave the phone over to the Time Lord.
"He was just a game. We were kids. You made me dress up as him", Rory said to Amy as the Doctor flicked through the photos "you dressed up as Ali".
"These photos, they're all coma patients?" he asked Rory.
"Yeah", Rory confirmed.
"No, they're all the multiform" the Time Lord corrected him "Eight comas, eight disguises for Prisoner Zero".
"He had a dog, though", Amy reminded them "There's a dog in a coma?"
Alyssa shook her head "there isn't a dog in a coma. The patient dreams that he's walking a dog so Prisoner gets a dog", she explained.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, love, the Doctor said proudly. He turned to Amy "Laptop! Your friend, what was his name? Not him" he gestured to Rory "the good-looking one".
"Thanks", Rory said offended.
"Jeff", Amy replied quickly.
"Oh, thanks", Rory said even more offended that his own girlfriend thought Jeff was better looking than him.
"He had a laptop in his bag", the Doctor said "A laptop. Big bag, big laptop. I need Jeff's laptop. You two" he gestured to Rory and Amy "get to the hospital, get everyone out of that ward. Clear the whole floor. Phone us when you're done". Without waiting for Amy or Rory to respond, the Doctor took hold of Alyssa's hand and rushed off.
~Jeff's bedroom~
The Doctor burst into Jeff's bedroom, startling the young man who was lounging on his bed, using his laptop. "Hello. Laptop. Give me!" the Time Lord grabbed the laptop but Jeff was reluctant to give it up.
"No, no, no, no, wait", the young man said struggling to maintain his grip on the laptop.
"It's fine. Give it here", The Doctor pulled harder.
"Hang on!" Jeff tried, but lost his grip. The Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes widening when he saw what the man had been looking at on his laptop "Blimey. Get a girlfriend, Jeff", he said, quickly slapping the lid down when Alyssa tried to have a look "it's not appropriate for you", he told her. The Doctor waited for her to move back before he opened the lid, closing down the page. A moment later, Mrs Angelo entered the room.
"Gran", Jeff said in a panic.
"What are you doing?" the elderly woman asked the Doctor who was now typing away on the laptop.
"The sun's gone wibbly, so right now, somewhere out there, there's going to be a big old video conference call" Alyssa sat next to him watching him type away "All the experts in the world panicking at once, and do you know what they need?"
"Let me guess…he has floppy brown hair, green eyes…very handsome…oh and happens to be my future husband", Alyssa said earning a smile from the Time Lord.
"Got it in one, love", the Doctor said.
"And here they all are. All the big boys. NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Centre, Patrick Moore", the Doctor said pointing at various lines of code.
"I like Patrick Moore", Mrs Angelo remarked.
"I'll get you his number. But watch him, he's a devil", the Doctor warned.
"You can't just hack in on a call like that", Jeff protested.
"I think he just did", Alyssa said as 6 faces appeared on the screen.
The Doctor held his psychic paper to the webcam.
"Who are you?" Patrick Moore asked.
"This is a secure call, what are you doing here?" another expert questioned.
"Hello. Yeah, I know you should switch me off, but before you do, watch this", the Doctor started typing again.
"It's here too, I'm getting it", another expert said as a visual of what the Doctor was typing in appeared on their screens.
"Fermat's Theorem, the proof. And I mean the real one. Never been seen before. Poor old Fermat, got killed in a duel before he could write it down" the Doctor looked up at Mrs Angelo, still typing "My fault. I slept in" the Doctor looked down at the laptop screen, continuing his typing "Oh, and here's an oldie but a goodie. Why electrons have mass. And a personal favourite of mine, faster than light travel with two diagrams and a joke. Look at your screens. Whoever I am, I'm a genius. Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas, pay attention".
Alyssa watched as the Doctor typed something into Rory's mobile a few minutes later "Sir, what are you doing?" Patrick Moore asked watching him on the screen.
"I'm writing a computer virus. Very clever, super fast, and a tiny bit alive but don't let on" the Doctor explained quickly "And why am I writing it on a phone? Never mind, you'll find out. Okay, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, radar dish, whatever you've got. Any questions?"
"Who's your lady friend?" Patrick Moore asked seeing Alyssa.
"Mine", the Doctor replied winding an arm around her waist, tugging her closer to him.
"Possessive much?" Alyssa asked with a smile.
"Well, since you're the love of my lives, my future wife and the mother of my child…then yes, I'm possessive", the Doctor said "is that a problem?"
"Nope, not at all", Alyssa said.
The Doctor kissed her temple "good", he said.
"What does this virus do?" another expert questioned.
"It's a reset command, that's all. It resets counters. It gets in the WIFI and resets every counter it can find. Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time. But yeah, I could be lying, why should you trust me? I'll let my best man explain…" there was silence at that. The Doctor looked at Jeff "Jeff, you're my best man", he said quietly.
"You what?" Jeff was rather taken aback by that. He didn't expect the Doctor to call him 'his best man'.
The Doctor closed the laptop lid partway "Listen to me. In ten minutes, you're going to be a legend. In ten minutes, everyone on that screen is going to be offering you any job you want. But first, you have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working. This is it, Jeff, right here, right now. This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world"
While the Doctor spoke, a smile appeared on Alyssa's face. It seemed this regeneration was quite good with speeches, as much as he was with rambling. "Why me?" Jeff asked.
"It's your bedroom" the Doctor replied standing up "Now go, go, go", he urged. Alyssa got up and they hurried out of the room. Once they'd gone, Jeff opened up the laptop.
"Okay, guys, let's do this", he said.
Jeff barely started to type when the Doctor stuck his head through the open door way "Oh, and delete your internet history", he said and then left.
"Right we gotta get to the hospital", the Doctor murmured "in less than 10 minutes".
Alyssa glanced around and brightened when she spotted a fire engine, abandoned. "And I've a found us a way to get there", she said and pointed at the fire engine. The Doctor grinned.
"Brilliant", he said giving her a peck before they hurried over to it.
It didn't take long for the Doctor and Alyssa to reach the hospital with the fire engine they commandeered. They climbed up the ladder and in through the broken window. "Hello. Am I late?" the Doctor asked Amy and Rory. He looked at the clock above the door "No, three minutes to go. So still time", he said answering his own question.
"Time for what, Time Lord?" prisoner zero asked disguised as a mother with two girls.
"Take the disguise off. They'll find you in a heartbeat. Nobody dies", the Doctor replied walking forward.
"The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire", Prisoner Zero said.
"Okay. You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again. Just leave", the Doctor ordered.
"I did not open the crack", Prisoner Zero said.
"But someone did", Alyssa spoke up.
"The cracks in the skin of the universe, don't you know where they came from? You don't, do you?" Zero asked. When the Doctor didn't answer the other alien taunted him in a little girl's voice. "The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. Doesn't know. Doesn't know!" it switches back to the woman's voice "The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall"
"And we're off! Look at that. Look at that!" the Doctor said pointing at the clock. The time now showed 0:00. Alyssa looked at the clock and remembered the text she received. She took out the Doctor's phone and sent a message to herself. One word: 'Geronimo'.
"Yeah, I know, just a clock. Whatever. But do you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team are working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing? They're spreading the word all over the world, quantum fast. The word is out. And do you know what the word is? The word is Zero. Now, me, if I was up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd probably take that as a hint. And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able track a simple old computer virus to its source in, what, under a minute? The source, by the way, is right here", the Doctor explained holding up Rory's phone.
"I think they just found us", Alyssa added when a bright light shined through the window.
"The Atraxi are limited. While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not me", Prisoner Zero said.
"Yeah, but this is the good bit. I mean, this is my favourite bit. Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you. Every form you've learned to take, right here. Ooo, and being uploaded about now. And the final score is, no TARDIS, no screwdriver, two minutes to spare. Who da man?" the Doctor asked holding his arms out. He looked at Alyssa, Amy and Rory none of whom looked at all impressed. "Oh, I'm never saying that again. Fine", he said disappointed.
"Then I shall take a new form", Prisoner Zero stated.
"Oh, stop it. You know you can't. It takes months to form that kind of psychic link", the Doctor reminded it.
"And you've brought your own powerful physic", Prisoner Zero retorted. Alyssa collapsed onto the hard hospital floor.
"Ali!" the Doctor exclaimed hurrying over. "Ali love, don't sleep. You've got to stay awake, please", he said cupping her face.
"Uh…Doctor", Rory said noticing that Prisoner Zero had changed into a copy of Alyssa. The Doctor glanced up at it for a moment before turning his attention to the unconscious Time Lady.
"Ali, listen to me. You're stronger than Prisoner Zero, you can beat it", the Doctor said.
"Oh, Doctor…she's not as strong as you think. And that's your all fault. You never really encouraged her with her full potential…you were too afraid of her", Prisoner Zero mocked. The Doctor just ignored it, focusing on Alyssa. He took her hand.
"Love. Think about that room you went in. Think about what you saw", the Time Lord urged. He watched as her face twitched.
"No. No. No!" Prisoner Zero cried. The Doctor glanced up and watched as Prisoner Zero transformed from Alyssa into the eel like alien that both the Time Lady and Amy had seen.
The Doctor smirked, standing up to face Prisoner Zero "Well done, Prisoner Zero. A perfect impersonation of yourself"
A white light shines through the window, trapping the alien "Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained", the Atraxi declared.
"Silence, Doctor" Prisoner Zero hissed as it started to fade "Silence will fall".
There was a whoosh as the ship started to leave. "The sun" Rory glanced out the window seeing it go back to normal "It's back to normal, right? That's…that's good, yeah? That means it's over". Alyssa then started to stir, catching his and Amy's attention.
"Doctor, Ali's coming around", Amy called.
The Doctor turned and hurried over to her side "hey love", he said softly.
"Hi", Alyssa said "is it over?"
"Not quite, there's one tiny thing I've got to do first", the Doctor said and helped her stand. He then took out Rory's phone from his pocket "Sorry, in advance Rory", he said as he started to type.
"About what?" Rory asked.
"The bill" the Doctor put the phone to his ear "Oi, I didn't say you could go! Article 57 of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established level five planet, and you were going to burn it? What…? Did you think no-one was watching? You lot, back here, now!" The Doctor hung up the phone and tossed it to Rory "Okay, now I've done it".
He took Alyssa's hand and strode out of the ward. Amy and Rory followed after them. "Did you just really call the Atraxi back just to give them a telling them off?" Alyssa asked the Doctor as they walked.
"I did", the Doctor replied "that a problem?"
Alyssa shook her head "Nope. They deserve it as they did threaten to burn this planet", she said.
"Where are you going?" Amy called to them.
"The roof" the Doctor replied "No, hang on" he veered off course into a changing room. He let go of Alyssa's hand to sift through the clothes, tossing aside any items that didn't appeal to him.
"What's in here?" Amy asked.
"I'm saving the world - I need a decent shirt. To hell with the raggedy. Time to put on a show!" the Doctor said.
"You just summoned aliens back to Earth. Actual aliens, deadly aliens, aliens of death, and now you're taking your clothes off", Rory said as the Time Lord started removing his ruined clothes "Amy, he's taking his clothes off", he said to his girlfriend.
"And this is where two to leave", Alyssa stated, all but pushing Amy and Rory out of the room, closing the door behind her. She then walked over to the lockers to find something that she could wear until she could get into the TARDIS.
It didn't take long for her to find a decent button up shirt and a pair of jeans in her size. Alyssa set the clothes down and began to remove her ruined ones. The Doctor happened to glance at her as she was taking off her top. He quickly adverted his gaze. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her…but he knew that if he let his gaze linger for too long he might get the urge to start something…and they really didn't have time for that right now.
~Roof~
The Doctor and Alyssa walked out onto the roof a few minutes later having put together an outfit each from the items that were available. "So this was a good idea, was it? They were leaving", Amy called hanging back with Rory while the Time Lords walked forward to address the Atraxi that was hovering over the roof.
"Leaving is good. Never coming back is better" the Doctor replied "Come on, then!" he shouted "The Doctor will see you now".
The eye disconnected from the ship and scanned the pair "You are not of this world", the Atraxi stated.
"Well technically I am of this world", Alyssa corrected "I just had a bit of a species change, that's all".
"And I've put a lot of work into this world", the Doctor added examining one of the ties around his neck "Oh, hmm, I don't know. What do you think love?"
In response Alyssa tugged the tie from his neck and tossed it behind them. "Is this world important?" the Atraxi asked.
"Important? What's that mean, important?" the Doctor asked "6 billion people live here. Is that important? Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi?" he showed Alyssa another tie and she shook her head. The Time Lord threw that one over his shoulder "Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. Is this world a threat?"
The Atraxi projects a hologram of the Earth with scenes from history "No"
"Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?" the Doctor asked.
"No"
"Okay. One more. Just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first lot to come here" as he spoke numerous different aliens appeared one after the other on the projection "Oh, there have been so many! And what you've got to ask is…what happened to them?" the projection showed all his incarnations from his first all the way to his tenth. The Doctor stepped through the image of his tenth incarnation "Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically…run!"
They all watched the ship fly away pretty fast. Alyssa gasped when she felt the TARDIS key heat up against her skin. She pulled the chain out from under her t-shirt. The key was glowing. Alyssa looked at the Doctor who was also holding his key which was glowing too. The Time Lord held out his hand to Alyssa and she took it. Together they ran out of the hospital towards Amy's house, hand in hand like they had done many times before.
"Ready to see what Sexy looks like now?" Alyssa asked.
"Yep", the Doctor said and unlocked the blue box. Alyssa let out a small noise in surprise when the Doctor picked her up, bridal style.
"Shouldn't you waiting to do this on our wedding night?" Alyssa asked.
"Thought I might as well get the practice in", the Doctor replied before he stepped over the threshold of the TARDIS. "Look at you. Oh, you sexy thing!" the Doctor remarked taking in the console room "Look at you", the Doctor glanced at the woman in his arms "Ali what do you think?"
"It's different", Alyssa answered.
Good different?
"Absolutely Sexy", Alyssa replied "you know, since the console room has changed…I wonder if our room has changed too". The Doctor smiled at her before he took off into the depths of the ship to look for their room. Alyssa had to stifle a laugh at how eager he was.
~bedroom~
"Is that really what I look like?" Alyssa asked regarding her reflection. She was incredibly surprised to see that essentially she was still the same person. Ok, there were some differences. She was pretty sure that she was a little taller. Her hair had strands of gold running through it which she could guess was maybe as a result of her merge with the TARDIS. Even her green eyes had little speckles of gold in them too! But aside from that and the fact that her hair was closer to her elbow and the fact that she was now a Time Lady…she still looked like herself prior to the regeneration. "I thought I would've changed completely, like you did", she added turning to the Doctor.
"Well it is your first regeneration and you were once a human so maybe that's got something to do with it", the Doctor guessed. He really didn't know if that was actually that case or it was something else. Secretly he was grateful that she hadn't changed completely like he had. It was a big deal to have gone from human to Time Lady…and at least this way she only had to get used to a few physical differences, appearance wise. "How do you feel?" he asked. Alyssa hadn't reacted the way he had to the regeneration. She seemed perfectly fine. Which he was also pleased about.
"I feel fine", Alyssa replied "though having an extra heart feels a bit…weird. But I'll get used to it".
"Good", the Doctor said "that's good".
"So…what did you want to do now?" Alyssa asked.
"Well, I have an idea", the Doctor stated, his gaze going over to the bed.
"Oh, I don't know Doctor. You sure you're up for it?" Alyssa teased, knowing fully well what he wanted to do. The Doctor just smirked at her as he moved forward, taking her face in his hands and kissed her.
"I'm more than up for it", the Doctor murmured against her lips.
~Amy's garden~
"Sorry about running off earlier Amy", Alyssa said apologetically "we were just pretty excited to see what the new TARDIS looked like".
"And then we had to run her in: quick hop to the moon and back", the Doctor added. It wasn't technically a lie. They did go to the moon to make sure that the controls were working properly but it wasn't all they did. But he wasn't about to share the rather…intimate moment…or 3 that he'd had with his fiancée. Nope, that was been him, Alyssa and the four walls of their bedroom. "She's ready for the big stuff now", the Doctor pattered the TARDIS.
"It's you. You came back", Amy stated staring at them both.
"Course we came back", the Doctor "Something wrong with that?"
"And you kept the clothes", Amy added eyeing his outfit. She noted that Alyssa had changed hers.
The Doctor glanced down at himself then back up at Amy. "Well, I just saved the world. The whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot me. I kept the clothes", he said.
"Including the bow tie", Amy said nodding to it.
"Yeah, it's cool" the Doctor fiddled with the Bow tie "Bow ties are cool".
"Are you two from another planet?" Amy suddenly asked.
"I am, Ali isn't", the Doctor replied.
"Bit of a long story", Alyssa said "short version: born a human. TARDIS changed me into a Time Lady".
"Uh huh", Amy said though she was still a bit confused.
"So what do you think?" the Doctor asked.
"Of what?" Amy asked.
"Other planets. Want to check some out?"
"What does that mean?" Amy asked wondering if by his question, he was asking her to travel with him in the TARDIS.
"It means…well, it means…come with us", the Doctor elaborated.
"Where?" Amy asked.
"Wherever you like Amy", Alyssa answered "it's a big old universe".
"All that stuff that happened. The hospital, the spaceships, Prisoner Zero…" Amy began.
"Oh, don't worry, that's just the beginning" the Doctor cut in "There's loads more".
"Yeah, but those things, those amazing things…all that stuff…" Amy took a step forward, now angry "That was two years ago!"
Alyssa smacked the Doctor over the back of the head. "Ow!" he cried rubbing his head.
"I told you not to distract me while I'm piloting", she said sternly "Do you want me to put you on another ban?"
The Doctor's eyes widened "No! There's no need to do that. I won't distract you next time, I promise", he said quickly.
"I'm holding you to that", Alyssa said before she turned to Amy "I'm really sorry. If someone hadn't distracted me…" she threw a look at the Doctor "we would've been here a few hours after we left" she regarded the young woman "Amy Pond you've waited 14 years. That's long enough in my opinion". Alyssa lightly touched the TARDIS door and it swung open, bathing the ginger in a warm orange glow. "Go on in", Alyssa urged seeing her hesitation "there's plenty of room, don't worry".
Amy stepped inside the TARDIS and her mouth dropped open. It was bigger on the inside! The Doctor and Alyssa entered behind her, the Doctor closing the door. "Well…? Anything you want to say? Any passing remarks? I've heard them all", he said.
He walked up the steps to the console, Alyssa following him. Amy on the other hand, stayed put as she was still rather overwhelmed. "I'm in my nightie", Amy breathed unable to come up with anything to say.
"Oh, don't worry. Plenty of clothes in the wardrobe", the Doctor assured her "And possibly a swimming pool. So…all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will…where do you want to start?"
"You are so sure that I'm coming", Amy said coming up the stairs to stand by Alyssa.
"Yeah, I am", the Doctor said confidently as he walked around the console.
"Why?" Amy asked.
"Cause you're the Scottish girl in the English village, and I know how that feels", the Doctor replied.
"Oh, do you?" Amy asked brow raised.
"All these years living here, most of your life, and you've still got that accent" the Doctor pointed at her "Yeah, you're coming" he tapped a on a bell a couple of times.
"Can you get me back for tomorrow morning?" Amy challenged.
"It's a time machine. I can get you back 5 minutes ago…" the Doctor began when Alyssa cut in with
"I can get you back 5 minutes ago. As long as I'm not distracted. So what's tomorrow?"
"Nothing. Nothing", Amy said evasively "Just you know, stuff".
"All right, then. Back in time for stuff", the Doctor said. A new sonic then popped up from the console's surface "Oh! A new one!" the Doctor said delighted, picking it up and trying it out "Lovely" he pocketed the sonic and patted the console "Thanks, dear".
"Why me?" Amy asked after taking another look around the place.
"Why not?" the Doctor asked looking up from where he was working at the controls.
"Well… you are asking the me to away with you in the middle of the night", Amy pointed out.
"Us", the Doctor corrected "you're running away with us".
"Right, yeah…", Amy said "So why me?" she asked wanting to change the subject.
"I don't know", the Doctor replied "Fun. Do I have to have a reason?"
"People always have a reason", Amy countered.
"Do I look like people?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes", Amy replied "really though…what's the reason?"
"So, are you okay, then?" the Doctor suddenly asked, avoiding answering her question "Because this place, sometimes it can make people feel a bit…you know".
"I'm fine", Amy answered a little put out that he'd avoided her question "It's just…there's a whole world in here, just like you said. It's all true. I thought. Well…I started to think that maybe you were just like a madman with a box".
"Amy Pond, there's something you'd better understand about me, because it's important, and one day your life may depend on it…" the Doctor said seriously.
"He is most definitely a mad man with a box", Alyssa interrupted. She kissed his cheek "my mad man".
"My brilliant Ali", the Doctor countered "want to do the honours love?"
"Sure", Alyssa said moving over to the lever that'll send them off into the vortex "As your last self would say…allonsy!"
She pulled the lever making the Doctor and Amy grab hold of the console TARDIS jolted.