Sacrifice
Cleaves frowned at the readings. "These temperature gauges are rising. Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents."
Dicken shook his head. "Why do that? They'll kill us."
"There's a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet."
The Doctor nodded. "And now it's heating up the whole island. How long till it blows?" There was an explosion and a rumble that shook the entire monastery.
"Gangers or no Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here."
"Shuttle, we need evac. Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you…" she grimaced, putting a hand to her forehead.
"Cleaves?" the Doctor hurried over, Adelaide arriving a few moments after. "Cleaves? Cleaves, sit down."
Cleaves waved them off. "I'm fine. I'm waiting for results, so let it go."
Adelaide raised her eyebrows. "It's a very deep parietal clot."
"How can you possibly…" Cleaves shook her head. "Inoperable?"
"On Earth, yes."
"Well, seeing as Earth's all that's on offer…hmm. I'm no healthy spring chicken, and you're no weatherman. Right?"
There was another large rumble and Amy looked up. "Something just cracked. I heard it.
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, we can't stay here. Let's go."
"He's right. Let's shift."
Cleaves moved back to the radio. "Cleaves to Shuttle. Respond. We need to move, and we can't be collected from the evac tower."
"Give us the codeword"
"The codeword is…" There was another rumble and the console sparked, sending Cleaves jumping back.
"Cleaves?" the Doctor called when Cleaves attempted to get back. "Cleaves, it's dead. It's dead. We need to get out of here."
"We need to get downstairs and get the vents working again," Adelaide reminded them, the entire group running out of the room. "We need to go!"
|C-S|
They ran through the tunnel, stopping in a second hall when they saw eyes watching them from the wall. "Ah," the Doctor whispered, "the eyes have it."
"Why are they here?"
"To acuse us."
"Ignore them," Cleaves said, continuing to walk. "It's not far." She brought them to the thermostatic chamber, both her and the Doctor hurrying to the controls, Adelaide looking at the readings over their shoulders.
The Doctor shook his head. "It's a chemical chain reaction now. I can't stop it. This place is going to blow sky high."
"Exactly how long have we got?"
He shrugged. "An hour? Five seconds? Er…somewhere in between." A klaxon sounded and the machines hissed. "Out!"
They rushed back through the hallways, Amy in the lead, and she nearly ran directly into Rory. "Thank God," Rory said, grabbing Amy. "All right?"
"Oh, Rory." She threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. "Oh, Rory."
"There's a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt."
Cleaves frowned. "From the crypt? It's not on the schematics."
"It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS. Follow me." Now Rory led the way, though the Doctor and Adelaide exchanged a curious look before following.
He brought them back to the acid room, and Jimmy shook his head. "We can't leave without Buzzer."
Cleaves nodded. "I'll go back for him."
Rory stepped up closer to the Time Lords. "Er, Doctor, Adelaide, look. I'd better tell you. I haven't been quite straight with you." But before he could say any more, he was pulled backwards and the door was slammed, locking shut.
The Doctor ran to the window, spotting Ganger Jenny standing there. "Rory!" he reached for Adelaide's sonic, but she shook her head; it was deadlocked.
Rory turned to Ganger Jenny, and they could still hear what was being said. "Hang on, Jen. We don't need to lock them up. We should just show them what we've found."
"I don't think so."
"Rory Pond! Roranicus Pondicus!"
Amy came up beside him, banging on the door. "Rory, what the hell are you playing at?"
"They've been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot. Alive! I think the world should see that."
The Doctor shook his head. "Rory, there is no time. The factory's about to explode."
Rory's eyes widened, and he turned back to Ganger Jenny. "Are you sure about this? Because I'm not. Let them out."
"The little girl got strong."
"What?"
"The little girl lost on the moors in her red wellies, looking for a way home? Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?"
Rory backed away, shaking his head. "But that wasn't…it was the other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl."
"Oh? What other Jennifer?"
"Well, the…the…wait, you tricked me? Let me go, I'm opening the door." He moved to try and open the door, but Ganger Jenny pulled him away. "Let me…" he looked to Amy. "I'm sorry!" Ganger Jenny dragged him away, leaving only Ganger Cleaves looking at them.
"We have to be free."
Cleaves stepped forward. "I'm sorry too, Miranda. Of all the humans in the world, you had to pick the one with the clot." She shrugged. "But hey, them's the breaks. Welcome to the human race." The Ganger eyed her, but walked away.
Adelaide turned and walked closer to the acid vat, only for the Doctor to grab her arm to keep her back. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Yes? I'm not going to touch it." She held up her sonic and he, still looking uneasy, let her go and scan it. "This is going to overheat," she informed the room, "filling the entire room with acid."
Cleaves looked to her. "And we can't stop it?"
"No."
Dicken, looking uneasy, lowered the lid of the vat onto it. "It'll never hold her."
The Doctor spun to look at him. "If you have a better plan, I'm all ears. In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears."
Adelaide didn't even bother telling the Doctor to keep calm.
|C-S|
In the dining hall, Rory tried to convince the Ganger Doctor to stop what was happening. "Doctor, we can't just let them die. Adelaide is in there!"
He looked at his watch. "Ring, ring!"
"Doctor!"
"Ring, ring!" he pushed Rory back again.
The whole building shook again and Rory tried to run past the Ganger, but he pointed at him. "Stay!"
Rory put up his hands. "Okay."
A phone rang and the Ganger Doctor ginned. "Ah, that'll be the phone. Somebody get the phone. Jimmy, get the phone. No? Fine, I'll get the phone. Stay put." He walked over and picked up the phone, sonicing it so that there was a hologram of the young boy on the other end of the line before them.
"Thank you for booking your holo-call with Morpeth Jetsan, bringing the world together," the operator said.
The Ganger waved at the child before them. "Ha! Hello, Adam, I'm the Doctor. Well, other Doctor. Or Smith. It's complicated and boring. Anyway, who cares. It's your birthday!"
"Yay!" Adam cheered.
"Yay! Now, have you been getting up very early and jumping on the bed?"
"Yes, really high."
"I expect chocolate for breakfast. If you don't feel sick by mid-morning, you're not doing it right, though don't tell Adelaide I said that." He tapped his nose. "Now, I think you want to speak to dad." He looked at Ganger Jimmy.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Daddy?"
"You'll do, Jimmy. What does the other Jimmy matter now? You're both the same dad, aren't you?" he jerked his head back at the hologram. "Come on, Adam's waiting."
"Daddy?" Adam asked, the room shaking again. "Daddy, what's that rumbly noise? What's going on, Daddy? Daddy?"
But Ganger Jimmy turned and ran from the room.
"You've tricked him into an act of weakness, Doctor," Ganger Jenny glared at him.
"No, I've helped him into an act of humanity. Anyone else like the sound of that? Act of humanity."
"Dicken, drain the acid well in Crypt One," Ganger Cleaves ordered, and Ganger Dicken left as well.
"Don't you dare!"
Ganger Cleaves turned to Ganger Jenny. "I've had it with this. What's the point in this ridiculous war? Look at you, Jen. You were a sweet kid. Look at you now. The stuff of nightmares. I don't want my world populated by monsters."
"You can't stop the factory from melting down, boss. I'll take revenge on humanity with or without you."
"It doesn't have to be about revenge," the Ganger Doctor told her. "It can be so much better than that."
Ganger Jenny glared and ran from the room.
|C-S|
Jimmy attempted to keep the lid on the boiling vat of acid, with Dicken attempting to help him from behind, but they could only do so much. The doors had just opened when some acid splashed out and hit Jimmy directly in the chest. He fell back as his Ganger ran in. "Let me through!"
Adelaide shook her head, scanning him with her sonic. "The acid has reached his heart, there's nothing we can do."
"Hang in there, mate."
Jimmy chuckled. "I'm quite handsome from this angle."
"I'm sorry. I'm the fake. Adam deserves his real dad."
"Shut up."
"What do you want me to do? Anything, just say."
"The way things are, mate, it's up to you now." Jimmy pulled a cord from his neck and pressed it to his Ganger's hand. "Be a dad. You remember how." His head fell as he died, and his Ganger looked down at the wedding ring in his hand.
"Jimmy Wicks," the Doctor said quietly, "you're a dad."
|C-S|
The Ganger Doctor, Ganger Cleaves, and Rory stood waiting in the dining hall with Adam still there behind them, trying to see if anyone was coming. "Daddy? Where's my daddy?"
Ganger Jimmy led the rest of them in, letting Rory go straight to Amy and Ganger Cleaves to herself. "Daddy, it's me!" Adam cried, spotting his father.
Ganger Jimmy laughed. "Hey, sunshine. What are you up to?"
"Opening my presents."
"Ha ha, good lad. You have fun today. And remember your dad, he loves you very, ver much."
"When are you coming home?"
The Doctor wrapped his arm around Ganger Jimmy's shoulder. "Daddy's coming home today, Adam."
"Yay!"
"We need to move," Adelaide reminded them.
|C-S|
The Doctor brought them through a tunnel, though he stopped quickly when they found a Flesh form of Ganger Jenny, turning her into some sort of creature. "Run!" he ushered them backwards. "Run. Run!" Ganger Jenny chased them until they managed to make it to a room, Dicken and his Ganger working together to close the door.
"We have to stop her. This door doesn't lock," Ganger Dicken said.
"No, but the far one does!" Dicken turned and hurried down the hallway to the far door, but it was jammed. Ganger Jenny came close as he managed to pull the handle off, but he managed to get the door closed, even if he couldn't lock it.
"No!" Ganger Dicken shouted, hearing himself scream, but shut the door, Ganger Cleaves and the Doctor coming to help him.
"Here she comes!" the Ganger Doctor cheered as the TARDIS fell straight through the roof.
The Doctor laughed. "Oh, she does like to make an entrance."
Ganger Doctor opened the door. "Everyone move. Go, go, go, go!" Ganger Dicken ran into the TARDIS.
"Get on board." Ganger Cleaves turned to her human self. "Go."
Cleaves shook her head. "I'm not leaving."
"Go!" Cleaves ran to the TARDIS.
Amy turned to the doctor. "Now's our chance."
He shook his head. "I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize."
Amy scoffed. "Oh, don't be crazy. Okay, what happens to you?"
"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her."
Amy looked back towards the Ganger Doctor, who was standing with Adelaide. "Both of you can survive this, okay? There has to be a way."
"Or perhaps you think I should stay instead?" the Ganger Doctor said. "Mr. Smith."
"No, of course not. But look, this man," she pointed at the Doctor, "I've flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and, yeah, I misjudged you, but you're not him. I'm sorry."
"Amy," Adelaide said carefully, "they swapped shoes."
"I'm the Doctor," the one standing next to Adelaide nodded.
"And I'm the Flesh."
Amy's eyes widened, looking at what she'd thought was the real Doctor. "You can't be…you're the real him."
But the Doctor who was actually the Ganger shook his head. "No, I'm not, and I haven't been all along."
"What?"
"They needed to know if they were truly the same," Adelaide explained. "Honestly, I'm quite impressed with their technique. They came up with the idea themselves." The Doctor grinned at her. "It was extremely important that we understand the Flesh, and we needed to do that through your eyes."
Amy hugged the Ganger Doctor tightly. "I never thought it possible."
"What?"
"You're twice the man I thought you were."
"Push, Amy," he whispered. "But only when she tells you to."
"Amy, come on!" Rory called, running towards the TARDIS, and Amy joined him.
The Ganger looked towards the other two Time Lords. "Well, my death arrives, I suppose."
The Doctor cringed, forcing himself not to look towards Adelaide, but reaching for her hand none the less. "Your molecular memory can survive this, you know. It may not be the end." He tossed him the sonic.
"Yeah, well, if I turn up to nick all your biscuits, then you'll know you were right, won't you." The Ganger looked to Adelaide. "Thank you, for everything."
"Doctor! No, please!"
"You too, Cleaves. Off you pop." The Ganger turned to Ganger Cleaves, nodding towards the TARDIS.
Ganger Cleaves shook her head. "I'm staying."
"This is not the time for grand gestures."
She scoffed. "Says the king of grand gestures. This is my factory. I'm not going anywhere."
"Foreman Miranda Cleaves, marvelous. Beware of imitations."
"Clear off out of here, the lot of you!"
The Time Lords, giving the Ganger Doctor a final nod, turned and ran into the TARDIS, sending it away a few moments later.
|C-S|
The Doctor leaned against the console, thinking, as Adelaide fiddled with a few things before turning to look at the Gangers. "The energy from the TARDIS stabilized you. You're people now, for good."
"And what happens to me?" Cleaves gestured to her head. "I still have this."
The Doctor straightened and forced a smile. "Ah, that's not a problem. I have something for that. It's small and red and tastes like burnt onions." He pulled a vial from under the console. "But it'll get rid of your blood clot." He tossed it to Cleaves and then, somehow, pulled a red balloon from practically thin air, and handed it to Jimmy. "Happy endings."
|C-S|
Once they'd left Jimmy with his son, they brought the TARDIS to Morpeth-Jetsan. The entire group walked through the lobby of the building together, though Rory and Amy were behind the group of four.
"You really want us to do this?" Cleaves looked towards the room where the press conference was.
"Your company's telling the world that the situation is over," the Doctor said. "You need to get in there and tell them that the situation's only just begun. Make them understand what they're doing to the Flesh. Make them stop." He turned to Dicken. "Dicken, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly good. Don't hate them, will you?"
Dicken shrugged, laughing. "How can I hate them? I'm one of them now."
"Remember that people died," Adelaide said. "Make whatever you say in that room mean something."
Cleaves looked to Dicken. "Ready? Side by side."
Dicken nodded. "You got it, boss." They stepped forward and stepped into the conference room, the group of time travelers just able to hear a few of the reporters before the door shut.
Amy frowned as she looked at the Time Lords. "You okay?"
The Doctor looked at her. "We said breathe, Pond. Remember? Well, breathe."
"Why?"
"Breathe."
All of a sudden, Amy doubled over with a gasp, clutching her stomach. "Oh!"
Rory rushed to her side. "What's wrong with her?"
"Get her into the TARDIS." The Time Lords led the way back in, standing at the console by the time the humans entered.
"What is happening to her?"
Adelaide clasped her hands behind her back, the Doctor's new sonic already in hand. "Contractions."
Rory's eyes widened. "Contractions?"
She nodded. "She's going into labor."
"Did she say…" Amy shook her head. "No, no, no. Of she didn't. Rory, I don't like this. Ow!" she clutched her stomach again.
"You're going to have to start explaining some of this to me…"
The Doctor frowned. "What, the birds and the bees? She's having a baby."
Adelaide raised her eyebrows at him. "We needed to see the Flesh in the early days, that's why the Doctor scanned it. It's why we were there in the first place."
"We were going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened and there was stuff and shenanigans…beautiful word, shenanigans."
"It hurts," Amy winced.
"But you're okay?"
"Breathe," the Doctor told her again. "We needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh."
"What signal?"
Adelaide nodded at her. "The signal to you."
"Adelaide?"
"Stand away from her, Rory."
Rory shook his head. "Why? No. And why?"
"Given what we've learned, I'll be as humane as I can, but I need to do this and you need to stand away!" Rory stepped back when the Doctor shouted, expecting Adelaide to rest a hand on the Time Lord's shoulder to calm him, but she didn't.
Amy reached for him. "No. No, Doctor, I am frightened." There were tears in her eyes now. "I am properly, properly scared."
"Don't be. Hold on. We've coming for you, we swear it."
Adelaide nodded. "Whatever happens, however far, we will find you Amy, I promise."
"I'm right here!"
"No, you're not. You haven't been here for a long, long time." The Doctor aimed his sonic at Amy, and Amy's eyes widened as she realized what they were doing.
"Oh, no…"
And she turned into melted Flesh.
A/N: I mean, we all knew this was coming, but this scene always frightens me just a bit.
Next...demons run when a good man goes to war, but what about Adelaide?