Chapter 8
The bullets cut through Carol's AE suit and then into her skin. John watched her fall to the floor, there wasn't any blood, just water seeping out of her body.
"Tomorrow People can't kill," John said, "But you weren't alive."
The body started to disintegrate, a green gas rising from it. Kenny materialised beside him and looked at the body surprise.
"What happened?" he asked John.
"Well technically I killed her," John said.
"But Tomorrow People can't…"
"I know that, but she wasn't alive," John replied.
"Oh."
"What happened to the Doctor?" John asked.
"He was captured," Kenny replied, "I followed the guards that got him, they took him to a room with a red door. TIM said it was the same room that Carol went into when we lost contact while she was investigating the station."
"So you didn't jaunt inside then," John said.
"No," Kenny replied, "I heard your gunfire and jaunted over to see what had happened. I think there are some guards on the way."
"Right we'd better go then," John said and they both jaunted.
The Doctor woke up, he was inside a dark room and in front of him was a glass pyramid with four spokes coming off the top. Inside it was a green slime, and an eye.
"So you to be my next victim," the slime said.
"I doubt it," the Doctor said.
"Well you might disagree, but there is no way of resisting my power," the slime replied, "Not even the Tomorrow Person could resist me."
"Well I am neither homo sapien nor Tomorrow Person," the Doctor said.
"Ah…a different creature at my command, I expected one might be one."
"Yes, I am not from this system or galaxy, or time."
"Then you will be the hallmark of my army of replacements Doctor, you shall command them all, even Rosen."
"Well it wouldn't be the first time I was beside myself," the Doctor said with a slight chuckle.
"Humour Doctor, an attempt to lower your fear of me."
"No I'm not afraid of you," the Doctor said, "I've stuff much more terrifying than you on television."
"And I have seen you on television Doctor," the slime replied, "You not only do not come from this galaxy, you don't even belong to this universe."
"What's that supposed to mean?" the Doctor asked angrily.
"You Doctor are from a different…parallel universe, you are real there."
"So there is a universe we I exist and one where I don't," the Doctor said to himself.
"Many of the two, with many differences, some minor, others big differences."
"Oh, there's more of me than I thought there would be," the Doctor said.
"And soon there will be one more Doctor."
"Well if I'm about to be copied by an evil blob I wouldn't mind knowing its name," the Doctor said.
"If you should know Doctor, my name is Hxosifon, I am a known throughout the universe for my evil deeds, and there are stories, histories and sometimes legends of my existence."
"You certainly seem a major celebrity," the Doctor commented, "How would you feel about two weeks in the jungle hosted by Ant and Dec?"
"You do fear me Doctor," Hxosifon said, "Why try to hide it with attempts at humour, why not just admit you are afraid of me."
"Because I'm not," the Doctor said.
"Then fear me now Doctor," and a blinding light flared from Hxosifon's pyramid.
John and Kenny were now inside the TARDIS; John was reviving Victoria who was still unconscious while Kenny was communicating with TIM.
"Are you sure this will work TIM," Kenny asked.
"If you telepathically operate the TARDIS you should be able to get into the room where they took the Doctor," TIM said, "And you may be able to get out again in the same way."
"How? When Carry went in there her TP powers were blocked off," Kenny said.
"Yes I know," TIM said, "But since the TARDIS is separate from the outside world the blocking may not affect you inside the TARDIS."
"And if it does?" Kenny asked.
"The Doctor will have to operate to leave the area then you can telepathically bring it back here," TIM explained.
"Ok, I'll give it a try," Kenny said placing his hands on the circuits, and then the sound of dematerialisation filled the console room.
"Good luck," TIM said.
The Doctor was on his knees, he could just see his replacement coming into existence beside him, and he could barely hear Hxosifon's mocking remarks. He thought this would be the end of it all. The end of his travels. The end of his life. He wished he could have said goodbye to Jamie and Victoria before it happened. But what if they were dead as well, or if they weren't would Hxosifon kill them anyway? He thought about all his previous adventures, every time he'd faced death and every time, well almost every time, he'd escaped, and then he thought about the dangers his companions had been put through and how a few of them had been killed in their travels. The Doctor prepared himself to join them. He couldn't hear anything now, not even the sound of the TARDIS materialising behind him.
"TIM, can you hear me?" Kenny asked telepathically.
"Yes I can Kenny," TIM said.
"You were right then, the TARDIS is protecting us," Kenny said.
"Yes it is," John said out loud having managed to revive Victoria, "And now we have to get the Doctor."
The replacement Doctor was standing in front of the TARDIS doors. When they opened a hail of bullets went straight for him and he fell to the floor. John and Kenny both exited the TARDIS. Kenny fired his stun gun at Hxosifon while John picked up the Doctor.
"He needs to lose weight," John said to himself as they went back inside the TARDIS.
Carol materialised inside the station carrying a black cylinder about 2 feet long. She opened a panel in it to reveal a screen and some keys. Carol typed in a few numbers then closed the panel and jaunted away.
The lab door opened and the Doctor came in followed by Kenny, John and Victoria, then Carol materialised on the jaunting pad.
"I've set up the explosive TIM, it should go in about 3 minutes," Carol said.
"Good," TIM said, "We don't want those replicas around to carry out whatever plans they had."
"Yes well the only living creature up there now is Hxosifon," the Doctor said.
"Then why didn't I detect him when I scanned the station?" TIM asked.
"Because he was inside the room you couldn't get into TIM," the Doctor said.
Then they all heard a voice, "And I'm not in there anymore," it said, it was Hxosifon.
"Oh dear," the Doctor said to himself.
The explosive counted down, taking all the time it needed. Then it reached 0:00.
Hxosifon watched his station's silent explosion. A drift in space he glared at the Earth.
"We shall meet again Doctor," he said and then vanished.
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