Mickey carried Alex back inside while Jackie and Rose heaved the Doctor in after. Mickey had stopped in the hall as the two tried to get the Doctor back into the spare room. They had gotten the two too close it seemed and they had grabbed each other's hands, refusing even in their unconscious state to let go. This meant that the only course of action was to squeeze the two into the one bed, but they didn't seem to mind. Despite this, they were both rather restless in sleep.

"Oh come on Sweetheart. What do you need? What is it you need, tell me…" Jackie's voice begged softly. Alex felt bad for putting the three of them through this. Is was her fault the Doctor had to regenerate, and then she had to go and pass out too. But that didn't mean she couldn't hear them. But she couldn't focus on them, not now. What she needed to do was focus on piecing her memories back together. The sooner she did that, the sooner she could wake up.

It was a while later and Alex was nearly finished when she heard shouting from outside. She tried to listen but she couldn't make out any words. She could just barely hear the door open and Rose and Mickey talking before they left. She waited and listened to what was going on until they returned some time later. Harriet Jones was on the TV some time later, reminding Alex that she needed to sort out the memories of her too. She was working on those before she started listening in on the televised announcement.

"…but I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there… we need you. I don't know what to do, but if you can hear me Doctor. If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us, please Doctor, help us"

Her attention was drawn from Harriet to the sound of crying. Rose, standing in the doorway of their room, crying.

"They're gone" She sobbed to someone. "Both of them are gone. They've left me, mum. They've left me…" Jackie shushed her gently, whispering to her. "He's different" She went on. "It's wrong, he hurt her, Mum"

"Hurt who?" Jackie asked in a cautious tone.

"He hurt Alex"

Jackie didn't respond but the sound of Rose's soft crying continued. There was a sudden loud crash and mass shattering from all around them. Alex was close enough to the edge for it to wake her properly if that was what she'd wanted. And it was.

Alex sat up with a gasp, looking around to try and find some way to see outside. Seeing that there was none she jumped off out of bed and ran out the door, right past the startled Tylers. She swung the door open and ran out onto the balcony, looking around at the smashed windows everywhere. She ran to the stairs, going straight down and ignoring the fact that she was wearing some of Rose's pyjamas and had no shoes on the same way she ignored the voices calling her name.

She stopped in the courtyard space in front of the Powell Estate, looking up. And there it was, perhaps the biggest spaceship Alex could ever think she'd see. And yet, simultaneously, she'd already seen bigger. She looked over what she could see of the ship, continuing to walk around the empty concrete space with her eyes up. She couldn't tell much about the ship itself, but she knew from both her memories of the show and what she had heard of the television, what they were facing.

Sycorax

Someone put a hand on her shoulder to stop her walking when she neared the building once more. Bad move. She turned, grabbing hold of the person and trapping them against the wall before she had time to register the face.

"Ricky" She said softly.

"Hey, Alex" He returned, just as quiet, and surprisingly seeming unafraid. "We've got to go now, we've got to get to the Tardis, okay?" He explained. Alex gave a curt nod and started off in the direction of where she remembered the Tardis was. Mickey followed along behind her, walking silently but watching her closely. She walked into the Tardis, looking around.

"I'll be back in a bit" Mickey told her.

"Will Rose Tyler be here" Alex asked quickly.

"Yeah, she will" Mickey told her. He seemed to pause, like he wanted to say something more, but left without another word. The ship hummed softly around her and Alex walked slowly around the console, trailing her fingers along the metal. Alex hummed softly to herself and the Tardis hummed along with her. Alex took another moment before retreating to her regular spot on the repair platform. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall as she reviewed the last few out of place memories.

It was strange, she thought, trying to find the reason they didn't fit. She had two sets of memories for some things. The autons under the London eye, Rose being locked in a room with the Gelth and then Alex in her place, Rose standing with a Dalek then replaced by Alex, Rose with the Doctor and Jack, then Alex standing in her place watching her with the infected. Rose surrounded by the light of the vortex, her face flickering and changing between her and Alex. The memories were doubled, because she had seen them happen, then she had changed them. The timeline had been altered.

The doors creaked and Alex's eyes snapped open to look as Rose and Mickey struggled to get the Doctor inside. They looked around a moment, almost panicked, before Rose spotted her, tapping Mickey on the shoulder to point her out. Alex, however, had her gaze focussed on the man they had laid down on the grating. She jumped down and moved to sit beside him without a word to either of them. Alex crossed her legs as she took the Doctor's hand in both of her own.

"You, um… fixed your head?" Rose asked hesitantly.

"I've come quite close" Alex told them, not looking up. "But some are strange, doubled in a way. I've got as close as I can, think I'll have to make do" There was a moment of quiet before Jackie walked in, her grocery bags bustling about as she placed them down but otherwise quiet.

"Any chance either of you can fly this thing?" Mickey asked, looking around at the console.

"No clue" Rose shook her head.

"Can't" Alex told him. "Not with that ship up there, they'll find us instantly. We're actually much safer remaining on Earth"

"So what do we do, just sit here?" Mickey asked, looking at her. She gave a small shrug, her attention back on the Doctor as she stroked his hair from his forehead.

"That's as good as it gets" Rose huffed, clearly frustrated.

"Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea" Jackie announced, handing Mickey the thermal flask.

"Hmm, the solution to everything" Rose muttered under her breath.

"Now stop your moaning" Jackie admonished. "I'll get the rest of the food" With that, she left the Tardis, leaving the thermos balancing on the console. Alex looked over her shoulder at it for a moment before looking back at the Doctor.

"Tea, like we're having a picnic when the world comes to an end. Very British" Mickey commented. Alex gave a small nod of agreement, her hand still brushing through the Doctor's hair.

"How does this thing work?" Mickey asked then. "It picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered" he pressed a couple buttons, frowning at the still blank screen. "What did you do to it?"

"I dunno, it sort of tunes itself" Rose replied, still snappish. Alex looked over at Mickey.

"Didn't I tell you we'd be better not doing anything?" She asked, suddenly annoyed. Mickey stopped touching the buttons and glanced down to where she sat. "I was trying to tell you, they can track us if we do some things, that's why I was saying we shouldn't try to take off. Blimey, Ricky, do you ever listen?" He looked almost like a chastised child by now, not meeting her eyes and shifting as he stared at the floor.

"Sorry" he mumbled.

"So it's not just the Doctor" Rose concluded, watching the man. "You have this effect on everyone"

"When I want to" She shrugged. "Comes in handy" It was then that she noticed the beeping of the console. She narrowed her eyes at it, patting the Doctor's hand gently before standing up to walk over.

"Maybe it's a distress signal" Mickey suggested.

"Fat lot of good that's gonna do" Rose scoffed.

"Are you gonna be a misery all the time?"

"Yes"

Alex rolled her eyes at the two, looking over the buttons Mickey could possibly have pressed.

"You should look at it from my point of view. Stuck in here with your mum's cooking" Mickey told Rose, who frowned at the thought of her mother.

"Where is she?" She asked suddenly, standing as Mickey shrugged. "I'd better go and give her a hand, it might start raining missiles out there"

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine" Mickey called after her as she headed for the door.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Rose shot back.

"I'm not that brave"

"Oh, I don't know" Rose replied almost suggestively, stopping at the door. Alex frowned slightly, absolutely no idea what she was going on about, while Mickey grinned. Rose opened the door and stepped out as it closed behind her. She screamed suddenly and it took everything Alex had to not run off to her with Mickey. Maybe if she waited a little longer she could provide a little more distraction before the Doctor woke up. All the same, she moved out of the way as Mickey ran past, knocking the thermos onto the ground and spilling the contents through the grating.

Alex watched as steam rose from the machinery, making sure a good amount surrounded the Doctor. Mickey had closed the door and no doubt the two of them wanted both her and the Doctor protected. She had been quite different to the girl they knew, she had gathered that much. But she was better suited to face danger now than she was even before. She smiled slightly as the Doctor took a deep breath in his sleep, shifting as his mouth opened and a piece of the vortex floated away.

Alex walked over to the door, pausing as she listened to the voices on the other side. She slipped out, managing to be unnoticed as she leaned against the Tardis doors.

"The yellow girl, she has the clever blue box. Therefore she speaks for your planet" A young man beside Harriet translated.

"Excuse me, who has the clever blue box?" Alex spoke up, sounding offended. "Blimey, always being overlooked, me" She must have looked quite a picture, young girl seemingly appearing, calm and collected, wearing pyjamas with her hair all messed up. She was quickly grabbed by one of the Sycorax and scowled as she was shoved in the direction of the others. She straightened the pyjama top, glaring at the one who had shoved her. The Sycorax she assumed to be the leader started talking again.

"You are the owner of-" The young man began translating.

"Yes" Alex nodded before he finished. The humans all looked at her in surprise but Alex ignored them. The leader spoke again.

"Guess I should" She nodded, taking a step closer.

"Alex, they'll kill you" Harriet protested, trying to pull her back. Alex shot her a look and she let go.

"Now, of course, before I try telling you why not to invade Earth, how about you tell me why you should" She started, standing in front of the leader. He spoke again and the Sycorax around them spouted out random words in agreement. "That's no reason" Alex scoffed. "Come on, try again" The leader didn't speak. Alex laughed. "Alright then, proposal time. You leave Earth in peace, I let you leave with your dignity intact, how about that?" The leader laughed. "I mean, how can it look for the leader of a mighty civilisation" She gestured to all the creatures around them. "To lose to someone still in their pyjamas at this time of day?"

The leader rambled off angrily at this and Alex merely raised an eyebrow as she listened. The young man in the background started translating again for the others.

"We are the Sycorax, we stride the darkness. Next to us you are nothing but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet will offer as a champion, then your world will be gutted… and your people enslaved" He faltered as everyone stared at the leader in shock. Alex simply continued watching him.

"Hold on, that's English" The young man pointed out.

"He's talking English" Harriet confirmed.

"You're talking English" Rose repeated.

"I would never touch my dirty tongue with your primitive bile!" The leader shouted, enraged, but also in English.

"That's English" Rose said again, turning to the others. "Can you hear English?" They all nodded.

"Yeah, that's English" Mickey agreed.

"Definitely English" The young man nodded.

"I speak only Sycoraxic!" The leader exclaimed angrily.

"Well you're right about that" Alex agreed, nodding. "But the thing is, you've not been right about everything. You see, this is not my planet, and I am not the best it can offer" She turned with a smug smile, causing the small group of humans to also turn to the Tardis, just in time for the doors to open. There, in all his striped pyjamas and dressing gown glory, was the Doctor. He grinned.

"Did you miss me?"

The Sycorax leader roared in fury, lashing out with his whip at the Doctor, who simply caught the end of it on his arm, throwing it to the floor.

"You could have someone's eye out with that" He scolded. The leader tried once more to attack him using his staff, but the Doctor simply snatched it from his hand and snapped it over his knee. "You just can't get the staff. Now you, just wait, I'm busy" He pointed at the leader threateningly before turning to his friends.

"Mickey! Hello! And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North! Blimey, it's like 'This Is Your Life'! Tea!" He turned to the girls who were smiling at him. "That's all I needed! Good cup of tea. Superheated fusion of free radicals and tannin, just the thing for healing the synapses. Now" He lowered his voice, seeming serious now and quiet for just the two of them to hear. "First things first, be honest, how do I look?" Rose seemed stunned by his question while Alex just grinned at him.

"Great actually. Nice face" She nodded. He smiled at her, glancing at Rose for her opinion.

"Um… different" She decided on.

"Good different, or bad different?"

"Just… different"

His voice turned deadly serious, as if his next words were a matter of life and death.

"Am. I. Ginger?"

"No, you're just sort of brown" Rose told him, gesturing to her own hair.

"Aww, I always wanted to be ginger, I've never been ginger" He whined, turning to walk a few steps away. He turned back suddenly, pointing violently in Rose's direction. "And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were, you gave up on us. Oh" He stopped suddenly. "That's rude, is that the sort of man I am now? Am I rude?"

"Kinda rude yeah" Alex confirmed.

"Rude and not ginger" The Doctor seemed to ponder this a moment.

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Harriet spoke up.

"I'm the Doctor" He told her.

"He's the Doctor" Alex and Rose repeated in synch.

"But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it just a title that's passed on?" Harriet asked, watching the man confusedly.

"I'm him, I'm literally him" He told her, stepping closer. "Same man, new face, well, new everything"

"But you can't be" Harriet frowned.

"Harriet Jones" He started, standing right in front of her now. "We were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, wasn't the war. It was the thought of your mother being on her own"

"Oh my god" Harriet breath out.

"Did you win the election?" The Doctor asked with a grin, crouching slightly to bring his tall self closer to her level. Harried smiled.

"Landslide majority" She answered. He beamed

"Oh fanta…" he paused with a frown. "No, hold on. Fanta…" He continued, turning to wander around in a wide circle as he tried to speak. "Fantas… Fantas… Ah, fa… fa…" He trailed off, simply making sounds now. Alex chuckled softly to herself.

"Ooh, didn't expect this" She muttered to herself. Rose frowned at her.

"What do you mean?" She asked quietly in return. Alex grinned at her, holding back more laughter.

"Deleted scenes" She managed to get out, still holding back more giggled as the Doctor began his complaining.

"No, I can't say it anymore, doesn't fit the teeth" He realized, clicking his new teeth together a moment. "Aw, I like that word. What am I gonna say now? B- b- b- brilliant? Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant! No, um, excellent. Oh, that's- that's- that's excellent. Nah. Uh, superb. Uh, marvellous. Uh. M… m… Molto bene, ooh I don't know. Let's just settle for very very good. That's very very good. That's really very very- Oh, no that's not taking off, is it?"

"If I might interrupt" The Sycorax leader spoke up, seeming annoyed at having been forgotten. The group all turned their attention from the Doctor to him.

"Yes! Sorry! Hello, big fella!" He greeted happily, turning to him.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Well that's the question"

"Here it comes" Alex whispered to Rose, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched the Doctor with amusement of what he was about to do.

"I demand to know who you are!" The leader shouted.

"I DON'T KNOW!" The Doctor yelled in response, imitating the same tone. The leader looked taken aback and the group of humans blinked in surprise while Alex simply smiled. "See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally don't know who I am. It's all untested"

He began pacing around as he spoke, addressing everyone.

"Am I funny? Am I sarcastic?" He looked to Alex. "Sexy?" He winked and she responded with a smile, suddenly finding her bare feet rather interesting. "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed? Left-handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob" He smiled suddenly, a slightly insane smile. "And how am I going to react when I see this?" He pointed to a rather large red button on a slightly elevated platform. "A Great Big Threatening Button" He pointed out, running up the stairs with a laugh. Alex grinned, the only person to follow him up.

"A Great Big Threatening Button Which Must Not Be Pressed Under Any Curcumstances. You think?" He asked, looking over at Alex as she joined him.

"Seems so" She nodded.

"Let me guess, it's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?" He crouched down to open a little door in the front of the machine, raising his eyebrows at the puddle of red in the middle. "And what've we got here? Blood?" He dipped his finger in it and tasted it as he stood. Alex made a disgusted face as he seemed to consider the taste. "Yeah, definitely. Blood. Human blood. A positive. With just a dash of iron. Ahh" He made a face, waggling his tongue around in distaste as he wiped his finger on his dressing gown.

"That's gonna stain" Alex pointed out scoldingly. He glanced at her, seeming about to apologise when he realised what the machine was.

"But that means… blood control! Oh! I haven't seen blood control for years!" He grinned, seeming absolutely delighted. "You're controlling all the A positives!" He stopped then, his face and tone turning serious.

"Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. 'Cos… I really don't know who I am, I don't know when to stop. But I do know Alex. And if we see a Great Big Threatening Button Which Should Never Ever Be Pressed…" He grinned at Alex and she grinned back. "Well we just wanna do this" The two of them slammed a hand down on the button, earning a horrified chorus of 'no!'s from the small group of humans.

"You killed them!" The young man shouted up at them, horrified as the rest.

"What do you think big fella? Are they dead?" The Doctor asked the Sycorax leader.

"We have allowed them to live" He replied, seeming put out.

"Allow?" The Doctor questioned incredulously. "You've no choice. I mean that's all blood control is. Cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis, you can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis but you can't hypnotise them to death. Survival instinct's too strong"

"Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force" The Sycorax spat, growling at them.

"Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that" The Doctor nodded. "But why? Look at these people" He gestured at the small group who were watching him, leaning on the barrier near the steps. "These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun. There is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than- No hold on" he paused, thinking for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry, that's 'The Lion King'. But the point still stands, leave them alone!" He told the creature, standing up straight again.

"Or what?" The leader challenged.

"Or…" The Doctor grabbed a sword from the nearest Sycorax and ran down the steps to stand in the empty space in front of the Tardis. "I challenge you" At this, all the Sycorax burst into laughter. Alex looked around from her spot still up the steps before looking back to the Doctor, who was doing the same. "Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right to assume that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?" The leader moved forward, drawing his sword as he did.

"You stand as this world's champion?" He questioned.

"Thank you, I have no idea who I am but you just summed me up" The Doctor told him in confirmation, shrugging off his dressing gown. He tossed it to Alex just as she was coming down that stairs and she caught it, watching him carefully from the sidelines. "So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel csacree slvak?" The humans all looked confused but Alex's eyes widened and she snorted in amusement as she Sycorax hissed in anger. The two kneeled on the ground with their swords in front of them, watching the other tensely.

"For the planet?" The leader asked.

"For the planet" The Doctor confirmed darkly. They stood and a moment later ran at each other, beginning their fight. The Doctor was thrown aside at some point and the leader laughed as he stumbled into Alex. She steadied him and gave him a nod which he returned before re-joining the fight.

"Look out!" Rose called out suddenly.

"Oh, yeah, that helped. Wouldn't've thought of that otherwise, thanks" The Doctor called back sarcastically. Alex rolled her eyes but a smile made its way onto her face despite the situation. The Doctor seemed to be leading the fight away somewhere towards the side of the ship and Alex realised what he was doing a second before he did it.

"Bit of fresh air?" He asked, whacking his hand down on a button and a door opened in the wall, leading to a relatively flat space outside. The two continued outside and a small group of both humans and Sycorax rushed out to watch from the side. Alex stood beside Rose, handing off the dressing gown without looking. The leader caught the Doctor on the nose and Rose started forward but Alex put an arm out to stop her just as the Doctor was calling out.

"Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet" He told her before going back into the fight. The Doctor was knocked down and then Rose and Mickey had to hold Alex back. The leader slashed downwards and everyone lapsed into shocked silence as the Doctor's sword fell off the edge. He looked up at the creature above him.

"You cut my hand off"

"Ha! Sycorax!" He cried triumphantly.

"And now I know what sort of a man I am" The Doctor started, getting to his feet. "I'm lucky. 'Cos quite by chance, I'm still within fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy… to do this" He held up his arm that now ended just below his wrist and, before the eyes of the observers, a whole hand grew back, good as new.

"Witchcraft" The leader accused.

"Time Lord" The Doctor corrected. Rose moved to snatch a sword from one of the Sycorax, turning back to the Time Lord in question.

"Doctor!" She called, getting his attention before tossing him the sword. He caught it by the handle and swished it around a moment, grinning at her.

"Oh, so I'm still the Doctor then?"

"No arguments from me" Rose returned with a grin.

"Wanna know the best bit?" The Doctor asked, turning back to the Sycorax leader. "This new hand" He suddenly donned a Texan accent. "It's a fightin' hand!" He rushed forward and they fought again, swords clashing together loudly. The Doctor got in close and jabbed the Sycorax in the stomach with the handle of his sword. The onlookers winced as the creature groaned in pain. The Doctor managed to do the same twice more before he fell to the ground and the Doctor's sword was at his throat.

"I win" He said simply, his tone dark.

"Then kill me" The leader spoke, his voice strained. The Doctor paused. Alex watched him a moment, her eyes going wide. She didn't remember him doing that in the show. He refused to kill him immediately. He almost looked like he'd considered it a moment. The Doctor's gaze flickered upwards, his eyes landing on hers. Alex was staring at him in disbelief and his expression softened. She shook her head softly and he looked back down.

"I'll spare your life if you take this champion's command" He told him, making Alex breathe a sigh of relief. "Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes" The leader responded simply.

"Swear on the blood of your species" The Doctor growled, his sword pressing down. Alex watched him, unsure whether to take a step forward or back, so just stood where she was.

"I swear" The leader managed.

"There we are then!" The Doctor smiled cheerily, moving his sword. "Thanks for that! Cheers, big fella!" He stuck his sword into the ground as he walked off.

"Bravo!" Harriet clapped.

"That says it all, bravo!" Rose agreed. The Doctor walked straight up to Alex, looking down at her, his eyes searching hers.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. Alex paused a moment, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She responded, unsure why he was asking. He moved to brush some of her hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing her temple lightly. In that split second she saw three images, three moments in time from his mind. Her, backing away and looking terrified, looking at him instead of the Daleks surrounding them. Her, on the ground in the Tardis, her eyes shut tight against the pain of hitting her head. Her, watching him in disbelief only moments earlier. Alex took the Doctor's hand from her head, holding it tightly in her own. "We're good" She told him, nodding. He smiled and she smiled in return.

"Nice fighting hand by the way" She commented, laughing to herself at his antics from earlier.

"Yeah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams" He agreed. Rose passed the dressing gown to Alex who helped the Doctor get it on. "Very Arthur Dent" He continued, beginning to walk off with the girls on either side of him. "Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here?" He pulled his hand from the pocket of the dressing gown, smiling bemusedly at the fruit in his hand as the girls laughed. "A Satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mother's" He shook his head at Rose. "He does like his snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas?"

"You go through all those presents, and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's a Satsuma. Silly old Satsuma" Alex joked, making the Doctor grin at her.

"Exactly. Who wants a satsuma?" He agreed. Behind them, the Sycorax leader had gotten to his feet and pulled out the sword the Doctor had left behind. He roared in rage, ready to charge at them. Alex turned just as the Doctor threw the Satsuma, just in time to see the creature fall through an opening hole in the ground. She turned back to see the Doctor was no longer smiling.

"No second chances. I'm that kind of a man" He stated darkly. Alex hesitated before taking his hand slowly. He held hers tightly in return, looking down at her as his expression softened. She gave him a small smile and he managed on in return.

"Fair enough" She told him softly. Because she felt the very same. She always tried to think the best of everyone. But sometimes, people just didn't deserve second chances.