AN: I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Sometimes I begin to lose gusto for a story, and it helps to see other people taking an interest in the story. Let me know what you think of this chapter, or if you find any problems with it.

Salamander was woken by someone entering the room. Opening his eyes, gently, he saw one of the nurses enter.

"Hello, Doctor." She smiled warmly. "How do you feel?"

"Very well, thank you." He said, slowly. The accent was becoming easier and easier for him. It almost felt natural now.

"We wanted to tell you that we found your friends. They were very worried about you. They said you disappeared. Do you remember what happened?"

Salamander did his best to look confused, which in this moment was not terribly difficult. Disappeared? The Doctor? How strange... "No, I'm afraid not. Are my friends here?"

"Yes. They wanted to see you. Is that okay?"

Inwardly, Salamander cursed. Outwardly, he smiled.

"That would be splended!" He said happily. "I was terribly worried, you know. I had no idea what happened to them."

The nurse smiled. "I'll bring them in." She left the room.

Salamander frowned, thinking hard to remember everything he knew about this incarnation of the Doctor. He didn't get far before the door opened, and the nurse brought in two young people he recognized.

"Jamie! Victoria!" He said, happily, though internally, he loathed the very sight of them. The two young people that had helped the Doctor abandon him in the time vortex. He squinted slightly. The golden energy around them was almost as bright at the Doctor's.

Jamie's face lit up when he saw him.

"Doctor, thank goodness!" Victoria almost seemed to cry for joy.

"We were worried sick about ye, Doctor." Jamie said. "What happened?"

Salamander put his hand to his head as if struggling to remember. "Its hard to say, Jamie. I don't remember much. What do you remember?"

As Jamie began recounting the day's events to the Doctor, Victoria couldn't help feeling as if something were off. The Doctor was acting much more passive than normal and his usually bright eyes seemed to be emotionless. Something was wrong.

Jamie hadn't seemed to notice as he finished. "...and then he told us he was you, but that cannae be true, can it?"

"Fasintating..." The Doctor frowned. "He may be a future regeneration of me, Jamie. He told the truth about regeneration."

Again, an alarm went off in Victoria's mind. The Doctor's hands remained on his lap. They hadn't moved once since they had first seen him. The Doctor was extremely animated, and he would have been moving his hands right and left. It looked to strange to see him so still.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Then again, I don't know what I'll look like in the future. It's quite possible he's a Time Lord imposter trying to gain our trust."

Victoria watched him closely.

"Time Lord?" Jamie asked, confused.

The Doctor seemed to look slightly panicked for a moment before covering it up with calmness. "Nevermind, Jamie. I'll explain it later. In the mean time, I must rest. I'm still not recovered. Tomorrow, we must find a way to get out of here and back to the Tardis."

"Aye..." Victoria noticed that Jamie was beginning to look slightly unsure himself. He spoke slowly. "Well... we'll leave ye then... Come on, Victoria." He took her hand an pulled her from the room.

As soon as they were out of sight, Jamie turned to her, a suspicious look on his face. "The Doctor, if that's even him, is acting verra strange, did ye notice?"

Victoria nodded, frowning. "Do you really think it's not him?"

"Well, if it is, they must've done something tae him, like that hypno-thingy the Doctor has talked about afore. He's nae acting right." Jamie put a hand on his chin. "These other people might be part of it, or they might nae. I do nae ken if we can trust them."

Victoria remembered the way the other Doctor looked at her. "I don't think... I mean, I believe that the other man Is the Doctor, though I don't know how. Jamie, his eyes are the same. He told me about some of our adventures too, like the horrible Dalek creatures and the Cybermen. He told me he remembered it."

Jamie looked uncertain, his confidence wavering. "He... He might be a verra good imposter."

Victoria shook her head. "I know it's the Doctor. We need to trust them."

Jamie didn't reply, looking away.

"Anyway, he rescued you from the guards. I don't know if you'll trust him, but I think we should tell him what we think about the Doctor. I'm going to."

Victoria turned from Jamie, and started toward the other Doctor. She hoped Jamie knew she meant well. She knew how difficult it could be for him to trust people. He had been brought up in an environment of loyalty, and had a natural distrust for anyone he knew nothing about.

The other Doctor was talking to the Brigadier over near the table covered in files.

"Doctor..." Victoria called, gently.

He turned to her, and looked momentarily surprised. "Victoria!" He grinned. "How's the old man doing?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you. Jamie and I... We think something's terribly wrong with the Doctor. He's not acting himself at all. Jamie thinks it's an imposter, but I don't know..."

The Doctor was frowning, his eyes thoughtful. "I thought something was wrong, but it's been so long since I was him that I couldn't tell for sure."

"But if he's not your earlier incarnation, Doctor, where is your earlier incarnation?" The Brigadier asked.

The Doctor frowned. "That's a good question; one I don't have an answer for yet. But if this is an imposter, why wouldn't they try to replicate him exactly, or at least in a way that made sense? His life signs don't show up as anything I've ever seen, and that's saying something. He's not a clone. I'd recognize one a mile a way."

"Do you think maybe he's been brainwashed?" Martha suggested.

"Possibly, but I'm a bit hard to brain wash. Even back then I had strong mental shields." The Doctor rubbed his hands through his hair, making it stick out in all directions.

It was a fact that Victoria had been surpressing a yawn for a while now. She wasn't used to walking so far in one day and she had been up early that morning. She found, suddenly, that she could no longer hold it back and it came out full force, interrupting the conversation.

She blushed slightly. "I'm terribly sorry, but it has been rather a long day for Jamie and I. We followed the Tardis all the way here, and we woke very early this morning."

The Brigadier looked at her watch. "Yes. We're sorry about making you walk. we didn't know you were waiting there. Steinfeld, show these two young people to somewhere they can sleep." She motioned to Victoria, and Jamie, who was now yawning too.

"Yes, ma'am." The soldier motioned to the two of them, and led them to the room across the hall. Victoria didn't even bother taking her shoes off, just sinking down into the bed provided for her. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

...bright light. The Doctor. Fighting. The controls. Falling into the never ending vortex, burning him like a thousand acid sins on his shoulders. Screaming, until-...

Salamander woke, very suddenly. He was sweaty and cold. He took a deep breath calming his breathing. His heart rate began to calm, and he pushed away the awful feeling left over from the nightmare. Looking around, he was surprised to find that even though it was obviously the middle of the night and there were no lights, he could see perfectly well.

He checked himself over, finding that his ribs no longer ached at all, and his wrist was only aching a bit. The burns on his arms and legs were gone.

Now was his chance.

Quickly, he slipped out from under the covers. He looked at the heart monitor for a moment, frowning. Then an idea came to him. Carefully, he slipped around the back of it and pulled the plug from the wall. It instantly lost power, cutting the sound off.

He ripped the monitor from his arm and snuck to the door, opening it only slightly. in the next room, the only people awake were the Doctor and the Brigadier. Salamander watched them, waiting for an opportune moment to slip past.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Doctor said something to the Brigadier, and she nodded. The the Doctor left the room. The Brigadier was studying one of the files, with her back turned to Salamander. Now was his chance.

As quiet as a mouse, Salamander slipped in and snuck to the door. He cast a glance at the young woman, asleep on a cot in the corner. She reminded him of someone...

"-She took the job because she was hungry. The only problem is now she has so much food she has lost her apatite." Salamander watched after Fariah as she left. He laughed on the inside, knowing he had her under his thumb. Anything he told her to do, she would do, or he would spread that lie about her family.

He was saddened to hear of her death, but she was working with the rebels. He supposed she deserved it-...

Salamander felt a sudden strange guilt for how terribly he had treated his assistant. She hadn't deserved what he had done. He frowned. Where was this feeling coming from?

The Brigadier stirred slightly, once again reminding Salamander to continue. Carefully, he slipped out the door. Strange, he thought, that there were no guards outside. He slipped down the hallway, pausing when he reached a dressing room. He thought for a moment and then entered.

As soon as he had aquired a practical outfit, which had taken some time (Really, it shouldn't be that hard to find a pair of shoes that fit!), he poked his head out of the room again. No one seemed to miss him yet. He quickly continued.

Once outside, he saw there were still guards around the Tardis. He ducked behind a shrub, thinking what to do, but before he got far, his thoughts were interrupted.

"Don't be alarmed." A voice said, suddenly.

Salamander whirled around, coming face to face with a man. He had a goatee, and wore all black. He held up his hands in surrender. "I mean you no harm."

"Who are you?" Salamander hissed, no longer trying to hide his accent.

"I'm called the Master. You're known as Ramon Salamander?"

Salamander's eyes narrowed. "How did you know that?"

"I am a Time Lord like the Doctor." The Master said, instead of answering. "But I assure you, I hate him as much as you do. I trust you had an easy escape?"

Salamander watched the man a moment. He had more golden haze around him than anyone else, aside from the Doctor. "You got rid of the guards?"

The Master smiled. "A tissue compressor. I'm sure you understand how it works."

Salamander had a sudden sick feeling. This man had killed to help him escape. He shook the feeling off, telling himself it was necessary.

"I have seen similar devices, yes. Why would you help me? What do you want from me?"

"You wish to capture the Doctor's Tardis and exact revenge, as do I. I can help you. You have aquired some unique abilities in your time in the vortex, that you have only begun to realize. I can help you develop them, and in turn, you can use them to help me."

Salamander stared at the man for a moment. He searched his memory, and sure enough, he saw the Master along side the Doctor in several situations, always against him.

"How can I trust you?" Salamander asked.

"I give you my word."

Salamander inwardly smirked. Word didn't mean much to him, but he couldn't see any reason not to go a long with this man, at least for now. "Alright. I will work with you, on one condition." He found the words coming out of his mouth, as if by their own accord.

"Yes?"

"That no more innocent people are harmed." The words surprised Salamander, but they felt right, so he stood by them.

The Master frowned. "Very well. Come with me."

The Doctor had managed to get his right hand slightly worked out of the restraint. He had been pulling and twisting it for what felt like hours, and now was nearly free.

"Just... a... bit... farther... There!" he pulled his hand free, and immediately grasped the other restraint, trying to open it.

Almost at that very moment, the door to the room opened, and the Master walked in. He frowned when he saw the Doctor's free hand. "Hmm. It seems the restraints were not tight enough. No matter. I've come to release you."

The Doctor glared at him. "Forgive me if I doubt you."

"Come, Doctor! There's no reason for you to stay chained up like an animal. We just wanted to let you think a while. You're a guest!"

The Master began unfastening the restraints. "Don't try to run," he said, as he finished the last one. "I didn't come without protection." He held up a gun-like device. "Do you recognize this?"

The Doctor shifted, uncomfortably. "Is that a tissue compressor? How brutal."

The Master laughed. "Ah, Doctor! I wish I had gotten to know this incarnation of you better! You make me laugh, something your replacement does so rarely."

The Doctor didn't look amused, only dusting himself off. "So you know fancy pants? That doesn't explain what you are going to do with me. What exactly are you going to with me?" He demanded.

"I am inviting you to have tea with me." The Master said. "I would like to talk with you."

"Yes, but my mouth wasn't shackled. Why release me?"

The Master smiled slightly. "No, no, I'll explain over tea. Come along now, after you." He motioned with the gun, and the Doctor did as he wanted, walking infront of him with his hands in the air.

The Doctor sat in a chair opposite the Master, a table between them. On it were two cups of tea, one untouched, and a plate of crumpets, also untouched.

The Master silently sipped his tea, watching the Doctor closely.

"Why, Doctor, you haven't touched your tea." The Master smiled.

The Doctor sat with his arms folded. "If you think I would accept tea from you, you're not as smart as you appear. How do I know you haven't put any number of things in it? For all I know, it could be poisoned!"

The Master laughed. "There are simpler ways to kill you, Doctor." He took a sip of his tea, and gently set the cup down again.

"Yes, I suppose so, but you still haven't explained why I'm here as you said you would." The Doctor frowned.

"Because, my dear Doctor, you would spoil everything, getting in the way. And besides, that is the way my colleague remembers it."

"Who is this mysterious colleague of yours?"

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to introduce you two. I believe you've met before." The Master motioned behind the Doctor.

Standing in the doorway stood an identical figure to the Doctor, albeit with his hair combed to the side and neater clothing on. His face was emotionless, aside from a slight smile on his face.

"Hello, Doctor." Salamander smiled, slightly.

The Doctor stared in disbelief. "...Salamander! But... You were... You fell into the Time Vortex, unprotected! You should have been vaporized!"

Salamander shrugged. "It is strange and unexplained to me as it is to you Doctor, but as I was not, I can now exact revenge for what you did to me."

The Doctor's disbelief turned into a frown, and he clenched his hands into fists, frowning defiantly. "What happened you brought upon yourself. I had nothing to do with your actions!"

Salamander couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt and regret, and he knew the Doctor was right, but he pushed those feelings away. If the Doctor had not interfered, he never would have been found out, and he could have become world controller.

"No!" He found himself shouting. "You destroyed everything I worked for! For years I worked and slaved, trying to help the people! And what did I get in return, hm? A couple of thank you's and a plaque in my honor! I learned that I must take what I earn, because no one will give to me what I am owed!"

Salamander took a step closer, his voice low and intense. "You have no idea what it is like, Doctor, to live your life as if everything you do is second rate. You go around with your human friends so you can impress them and show them how amazing you are. You have never been anything but the best. In your world, you are all you really think about. Well, Doctor, I had to build that world for myself. I had to work hard to make my way up to where I was. And then you came and destroyed it all!"

Salamander moved close enough to the Doctor that the Time Lord took an uncomfortable step back, his unwavering defiance breaking down. Something about that gave Salamander a thrilling feeling.

"I worked so hard, and you destroyed it! Well, now I will do to you what you did to me!"

Salamander suddenly grasped the Doctor by the collar, pulling him closer. The other man tried to look into his face defiantly, but Salamander could sense fear behind that. He stared into the man's crystally blue eyes, anger seething in his own heart, and he longed to kill him then and there, but instead he roughly let him go, turning away, quickly.

He took a deep breath, and ran his fingers through his hair. The other two were awkwardly silent, the Master silently sipping his tea, and the Doctor breathing hard and staring at Salamander, shocked.

Salamander turned back to the Master, having smoothed his hair and suit. He tucked his shaking hands into this suit pockets. "I will go... check the controls..." He left the room, quickly.

The Doctor stared after the man, his eyes still wide in surprise. When Salaander had toucjed him, he had felt pure hate boiling just under the surface, but rhat wasn't what had bothered him.

He hated to admit it, but he had been genuinely frightened when Salamander advanced on him that way. The man was a freak of nature. He simply shouldn't exist, yet he did, and when Salamander touched him, he felt untold power seething inside him like a caged lion, ready to break out any moment and destroy.

"Well, Doctor? You seem rather quiet."

"Master, do you have any idea what has happened to that man?" The Doctor said in a low voice. He turned to his fellow Time Lord, worry filling him.

The Master laughed. "Why of course, Doctor. That is why I asked him to work with me. That power he holds could help me conquer the entire universe!"

The Doctor frowned, rubbing his hands together nervously. "Yes, of course. I should have guessed. But I still don't understand why you need me!"

"Salamander and I transported you from an earlier time. A time where Salamander was still in the Cardiff Hospital, and your friends needed to believe he was you for a little while. We couldn't have you showing up there and ruining everything, now could we?"

"Now that you have me, what are you going to do with me? Kill me?" The Doctor chuckled mirthlessly.

"Oh, no, of course not, Doctor. You see, one of your other selves has shown up as well. One from far in your future, I believe. He still stands in the way of our plan. We can use you to help us get him out of the way."

"Oh, really? And what plan is that, then?" The Doctor sat, and rested his feet on the table, twiddling his thumbs, nervously. "World domination?"

"Exactly, Doctor. Salamander has helped me to construct a device to control the population of earth. Once it is activated, we can easily take over."

"A very cliche plan, don't you think? My other self will likely see right through it."

The Master laughed. "I doubt that." He stood. "But I'm afraid I will have to bring you back to your cell now." He pointed his Tissue compressor at the Doctor. "Come along."

Salamander watched the readings on the console. Nothing had changed, and nothing would for a while, but he was trying to distract himself. His outburst at the Doctor had been bothering him. Something about the mixed emotions he had felt. It reminded him-...

"...-can't put up with all your stupid school!" Brian took another swig. "I never got none of that useless schooling, but I turned out alright! You should make yourself useful for once in your life! Give up your stupid imaginary ideas of being anything more! You'll never be more than a useless bastard child who-..."

Ramon's fist hadn't let the man finish the sentence. He stared in surprise at what he had done, looking at the drunk form of Brian, dazed and on the floor.

"Stop!" Ramon said, feeling much stronger than he ever had before. Being eighteen, now he was strong enough to put up a fight. He knew he could take this old drunkard. "It's because you never got schooling that you're a useless drunkard now! I'm trying not to turn out like you, a stupid abusive drunkard who can't even stand on his own two feet when someone pushes him around. I will never be like you!" Ramon stepped back. "I'm done." Quickly, he grasped his backpack, and ran out the door, never looking back-...

Salamander leaned on the console. He was beginning to see that he had become everything he hated. His mind was filled with images of his past, and he closed his eyes, trying to push them away.

I am not like him! I am not like him!

He repeated this over and over, but the more he did so, the more he was convinced it was wrong. Yes, he had gotten an education, but he had turned out just the same, with no thought for human life, save his own.

"Salamander." The Master entered the room. He paused when he saw Salamander leaning on the console. "You don't look well."

Salamander looked up. "I will be alright. Just a headache." He waived the Master off. "I apologise for my outburst. I do not know what came over me. Did you give him the information?"

"Yes. He thinks he knows our plan. We still must construct the device to help convince them though. I trust you have taken care of leaving your calling card for the other Doctor to find?"

"Si... Yes."

"Good. That should set the false plan in motion. In the meantime, I will see to our real plan."

Salamander nodded, puting a hand on his forehead. His head was throbbing again, with the same splitting pain.

"Perhaps you should rest." The Master suggested. "You will be no use to the operation in that condition."

"Yes, perhaps you are right. I will go lay down." Salamander left the console room, and began walking to his room. He paused as he passed the detention area. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and went inside.

Jamie woke to commotion. He was out of his bed in a moment. Outside, the UNIT personnel were much more active than they had been.

"What's going on?" He asked the nearest guard.

"The Doctor's gone missing."

"What?!"

Jamie's shout woke Victoria with a start, and she sat up, groggily. "Jamie, what's wrong?"

"The Doctor is gone, if he even was the Doctor..." Jamie clenched his fists. "Och, what good are soldiers if they cannae even watch one man?"

The other Doctor and the Brigadier were walking over to them. When the Doctor saw Jamie he walked faster.

"Jamie, did you hear anything at all last night?" He asked, quickly.

"Nae, I slept like a log..." Jamie frowned as he realized this himself. "Hey, that's strange. Normally, I am a verra light sleeper."

"So two soldiers have gone missing, as well as my previous self, and no one heard so much as a sneeze last night. Not even me, and I was wide awake the whole time." The Doctor frowned. "Very strange."

"Aye." Jamie rested a hand on his chin. "What d'ye suppose happened? Could he 'ave been teleported?"

The Doctor frowned. "There are no traces of anything. Not even a struggle. It's almost like he and the two guards just... walked out."

Jamie sighed, exasperated.

"Doctor..." Victoria pointed at the air behind him.

They all followed her finger to a shimmering blue shape coming into existence. It solidified into a piece of thick paper with messy words scrawled onto it. The blue light vanished, and the paper fell to the floor, gently.

The Doctor quickly picked it up, and read, "Your other self is safe, so long as you do not interfere. Signed, Salamander."

Jamie and Victoria both looked at each other in alarm.

"Then it was nae the Doctor, it was Salamander all along!" Jamie exclaimed.

Victoria was equally alarmed. "Yes, and He's got the real Doctor as a hostage. Oh dear!" She grasped Jamie's arm, standing close to him.

"What do we do?" Martha asked. She understood enough about regeneration to know that if the little black haired Doctor was in trouble, her Doctor was in danger too. If by chance the other one were killed, hers would die too.

The Doctor's face is hard. "We need to get to the Tardis."

"What are ye planning?" Jamie asked.

The Doctor spoke quickly. "If I can scan the area around here for any technology out of its time, temporal anomalies, or non-terrestrial energy sources, I may be able to find them. Salamander would have all sorts of strange energy and timey wimey stuff hanging around him if he just got back from a trip in the Time Vortex. Allons-y!" He dashed down the hall, his long coat flowing out behind him.

Martha followed, and after glancing at each other, Jamie and Victoria followed.

Outside, the Doctor ran to his younger self's Tardis, shoving the key into the keyhole, and going inside. The others followed.

"Will you be able to control this Tardis?" Martha asked.

"Of course! Its the same machine, just the layout is a little different. Piece of cake!"

The Doctor began moving around the contols maniacally, pressing buttons and flipping leavers. He pressed his sonic screwdriver up to one pannel, activating it.

The monitor up on the wall flickered into life, displaying a map of the city as well as the nearby country.

Two dots flickered into existence.

"What are those wee dots on the scanner, Doctor?" Jamie asked, pointing at the screen.

"Those represent temporal anomalies, or in this case, Tardisis." The Doctor explained, still fiddling with the controls.

"But how can there be more than one Tardis?" Jamie asked, frowning.

"My Tardis is parked a few miles away. It and this one will be showing up." The Doctor answered, absently.

"Och, why are there three wee dots, then?"

The Doctor looked up at Jamie, suddenly paying very careful attention. "What?" He looked up at the map. Sure enough, a third dot had appeared a little way away from the others.

The Doctor looked like he had seen a ghost. "Thats impossible..." He looked back down at the controls, messing with them.

"What is it, Doctor?" Martha asked.

"The energy signals are showing up differently from my Tardisis. It's... not the same Tardis." The Doctor's face went white, and his eyes were wide.

They were all silent for a moment. Jamie and Victoria looked at each other, confused.

"Whats wrong with that?" Victoria asked, but her question seemed not to reach anyone's ears.

"So... it's someone else with a Tardis?" Martha asked.

"...Yes."