"The chicken of the sea?" said the Doctor, baffled. "Isn't that like saying that chicken is the tuna of the land?"
"Concentrate Doctor," said John, fingers together, eyes closed.
"Right, sorry," she said bashfully, lying down in the strange symbol John had drawn into the ground. The pirate ship was slightly cramped, but seemed Auton free.
"I can give you ten minutes," said John. "Any more and there's a risk you'll be trapped there."
"I'll bear that in mind," said the Doctor. "Ready?"
John nodded, so the Doctor laid back and closed her eyes. John spoke the incarnation, and suddenly-
The Doctor found herself standing up in an impossibly large white room, with a white mist floating around her.
"Well this is new," said the Doctor brightly, looking around to get her bearings. "Now, where to start..."
"Hello," said a strangely familiar voice. The Doctor spun round to see her granddaughter staring back at you.
"Are you the Doctor?" she asked.
"Don't," said the Doctor. "I don't know what you're planning, or what your goal is, but don't this to me. Not unless you want to make me really mad."
"But grandfather-" began the Susan clone.
"Reading my mind, are you?" said the Doctor, spinning round, avoiding the gaze of the being in front of her. "Then you must know what I'm capable of if you push me, and I really do not want to be pushed."
"I'm sorry," said a new voice. The Doctor turned back to see...
"Well this is new," she said, face lighting up. "If I'm right than you're a... oh, what's the word. Tip of my tongue."
"A Baku," said the creature, a chimera with an elephant's trunk, rhinoceros' eyes, ox's tails, and a tiger's paws.
"That's right," said the Doctor excitedly. "Japanese mythology. You eat the nightmares of scared children to help them sleep... Also their hopes and desires as well, but why focus on just the bad parts."
"Please help me," said the Baku in the voice of a small child, looking up at the Doctor with its misshapen eyes.
"Of course," said the Doctor, her early anger gone. "Just tell me what's been going on. Why are you doing this?"
"It's the bad thing," replied the Baku. "It lured me here and trapped me in its mind, and has been using me to put everyone to sleep. I didn't want to do it, I swear."
"Bad thing?" said the Doctor, brow furrowed. "Bad thing... bad thing... Of course! The Nestene Conciousness! I mean it always had powerful psychic abilities, not totally out of the realm of possibility. But why? What does it need you for... Hang on, I'm getting an idea."
"Doctor," rasped a voice. She turned to see... well, something that looked like a giant octopus, with a massive round head, and one enormous eye. It appeared to just float in the air, tentacles swirling, pincers twitching.
"I see you've got your original body back," said the Doctor. "Well, here at least. I presume that in the real world you're still nothing more than a pile of sentient molten plastic? Tell me, what's going on here? Because I have some ideas, but it's always easier to hear it straight from the villain's mouth."
"Talk all you want Doctor," said the Conciousness. "But I have everything I need to fulfil my plan."
"I? There's no 'I' in the Nestene Conciousness unless... wait a moment! You've split from the main collective, haven't you? No doubt having somehow been detached from the main body and landed here, all on your own, no doubt thousands of years ago. Growing your own little mind... I'm sorry, that must have been awful for something like you, suddenly gaining self-awareness."
"It was tough," agreed the Conciousness. "But I bade my time. I waited. And at last, my opportunity arose. As soon as the creatures were free, I sought one out for my own purposes."
"So that's where the Baku comes into this... You may be a powerful psychic force, but you can only control plastic. But Baku here... he can give you much greater power over people. But why go through all this effort?"
"To be free," hissed the Conciousness. "This park will soon be the most popular place in all the world. It is here I can lure in those pathetic humans, replacing them with my more superior copies, so I can go out and experience the world!"
"Yeah but you won't stop with just one person, would you," replied the Doctor. "You're just going to keep taking and taking and taking, leeching off the life force of others, keeping them forever trapped in this fantasy world."
"But are they not happy?" asked the Conciousness. With a wave the Doctor's companions appeared, as well as the Legends, all but one enraptured with a loved one.
"Look at them" said the Conciousness. "We could keep them here, in this moment of happiness, for all time. After all, isn't that the point of this land? Where these humans can relive fond memories of the plans, in a place of joy and imagination? What could be happier than being with the ones they love?"
"What about the ones who don't have anyone to love?" replied the Doctor. "Who don't feel like they belong here? Or who might be resisting the lure of this place without even realizing it. What about those types of people?"
As the Doctor said this her eyes briefly locked with Rory, who stood there confused.
"I mean someone like that might be able to break themselves out of the illusion," continued the Doctor. "And once free could really set the place alight."
Slowly Rory looked around, seeing if the Doctor could be talking to anyone else. But no, it was clearly him. So if what the Doc was saying was true...
The Conciousness bristled. Something had changed, but he wasn't sure what.
"What if you had me instead?" said the Doctor quickly, gaining the Conciousness' attention. "Me and my TARDIS. Then you could go anywhere you want. We could travel together, you and I."
The Conciousness hung there for a moment, thinking it through. Finally, it focused back on her.
"Why would I do that?" it asked. "When I can just rule this planet instead!"
"Oh I was afraid you'd say that," said the Doctor. "Well, guess it's time for me to go." The Doctor stood there, smiling away... but nothing happened. Nervously she pinched herself, but still nothing.
"Ah," she said. "I don't suppose you could let me free?"
A massive laughter echoed from the beast indicated otherwise. The Doctor braced herself. Somehow, she was stuck here. And she had no idea what to do.