Doctor Who

BodySwap

Featuring The Ninth Doctor and Tenth Doctor

Written by Mark Lomas

Hi. Sorry this chapter has taken such a long time to appear. I'm currently a third year university student so therefore have quite a lot of work to do. But hopefully this chapter will be worth it. Thank you for all the support people have given me; look out for some surprises coming up.

Simon Baker is played by Timothy West

Chapter Two: The Spying Game

"Since knowledge is but sorrow's spy, it is not safe to know" –William Davenant

The following takes place between Journey's End and The Next Doctor

The Tenth Doctor had reached the steps leading back up the cliff when his Time Lord senses sensed them. He stalled mid-step onto the first stone slab, and instinctively leaned forward an inch. Shoes and feet of various shapes and sizes scraped and slid on the same steps he'd transversed minutes before, yet these steps were more uniform and controlled.

Backing away slowly, the Tenth Doctor glanced upwards and from his POV saw legs of various designs rounding the corner that led round the final function on the steps to the beach. Nightcaps and dressing gowns flapped in the light of the morning dawn. He wasn't sure what part of his intellect told him to do what he did, but he retreated past the plank graveyard and surprised even himself by finding a man-sized hole in the cliff that offered a clear view of the surf.

He backed out of view and into the dank space that offered no wiggle room as they appeared before him. Men, women, children and even dogs appeared before him in the surf, dressed like they'd simply marched out of their beds and walked down to the beach. He reached behind him and judged that the cave space offered more room, so he retreated more making sure not to bang his elbows. He slipped his tortoise-shell glasses on his youthful face as he studied what was happening before him.

The people had collapsed onto their knees, sinking into the surf without any care of worry. The air almost invisibly sparked as their stared out across the sea; to the tanker in the far distance, the collection of rocks that almost blocked off the island from the rest of humanity. The Doctor had taken out his sonic screwdriver and immediately realised he'd picked up a signal. It was faint and buzzed rather than beeped, but something triggered in his mind and pulled his memory back, back to when he was all teeth and curls.

He absentmindedly shook his head slightly as he turned off the sonic, realising he needed to return to his TARDIS and analyse the signal. He knew that that was the key to beginning to understand what was happening to the people of the village. For the first time, he spun his head and took in the cave before him. About the same size as a moderately-sized living room of a middle-class home; shadows in the corners and in the back blocked out most of his vision.

Pulling a box of everlasting matches from his coat pocket, he struck it alike on the side of the box and glanced into the cave with the added aid. It was non-descript, save for the man-sized doorway in the very back outlined by a wooden frame similar to those seen in mines. There was nothing leading to it, no outline of a path or the long-long marks of tracks. He had found a way out, if events outside took an unseen way for the worse.

Holding the match behind his back at a safe distance, he returned to his vigil at the cave opening and saw that events had indeed moved forward. The people with their knees in the sand had continued praying in his absence, but some of them had gotten to their feet and had begun wading through the surf towards nothing in particular. The Doctor wanted to stop them, but aired on the side of caution and stalled with one foot on the sand and the other in pitch blackness.

Suddenly, like something was under the waves waiting, the people in the surf were suddenly dragged under one-by-one. It was almost beautiful in its pattern and symmetry. They had been stood in a 2 lines of 5, inches apart and separated by a small body of water. The first person in each line vanished first, and followed in this pattern down the line until there was no-one left in the surf. There was then a moment of sure silence, followed by an inaudible burst that the Doctor barely made out over the sound the people were making. Almost uniformly, like soldiers in a lost war without an end, they began to make their way back towards the cliff steps.

It was clear to the Doctor that they were returning to where they had come from, and judging from the area, he judged they'd come from the local village he'd spotted from the cliff top. The local villagers the Doctor theorised to himself due to the lack of friend and companion. Once the last villager had vanished from his view, he held his breath and counted to ten very slowly before he leaned back out.

The beach was empty once again, like it had been minutes before.

-Doctor Who-

The Ninth Doctor lay on his front in the wet grass, Opera glasses to his eyes. These small binoculars had allowed him to view the scene on the beach without having to get dangerously close. He'd picked a spot away from the main path to the beach so when the villagers had climbed back up the steps and returned to the village, they hadn't spotted him or even walked close to his location.

He'd ducked down more onto his stomach when they'd returned from down below, and from his angle, he could tell they were under some sort of influence. Their eyes were blank, their gazes vacant, their walk predetermined and without any fault. They weren't actually robots or slaves; they still had free will but a filter seemed to be consuming them and giving them subconscious orders that didn't counteract the human free will.

He was puzzled by the sight of the villagers vanishing under the waves, and had felt an urge to run to their aid when they'd been dragged under. However, something nagged at the back of his mind and he'd frozen to the spot, almost as if he'd been willed to do so. There was also the matter of his sonic screwdriver, which had picked up some kind of low-audible signal but seemed weaker than usual, almost as if a similar device was in play somewhere nearby. He theorized it was possible a signal from somewhere close-by was the cause.

He rose to his feet slowly and walked towards the cliff edge, glanced down and saw nothing but sand glittering in the early morning sun. Small pieces of shell and coral reflected the sun into his eyes, and he squinted as he suddenly became aware of someone staring at him nearby. Looking to his left, someone was standing beside him taking in the morning air.

It was a man in his late 50s, with a head of faltering grey hair covered by a brown flat-cap. He wasn't the smallest man in the world, but in no sense of the world would the Doctor call him fat. He had a figure that came with old age. He wore a ruby-coloured jumper with blue tie under a worn-brown winter coat topped off with a uniform grey scarf to protect against a non-existent chill.

For a few moments, neither man said anything to the other; they simply took in the view. Almost silently, the older gentlemen went into his coat pocket and pulled out a small white bag. He offered the bag to the Doctor, who froze almost in a stance to run. Instead, he removed his hands from his jacket pocket and looked inside, almost pleased to find sherbet lemons pilled inside.

"Take one, they're good" the man said, smiling as the Doctor took one without a word.

"I saw what happened, by the way" he replied to the silence, causing the Doctor to almost spit out the sweet he'd popped into his mouth.

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked, in his most non-threatening way. He wasn't sure who this person was, but knew he wasn't a threat in the most obvious way.

The man replaced the sweets into his coat pocket and pulled out some gloves, putting him on and tightening his scarf around his somewhat flabby neck. He glanced at the Doctor full-on, and the Doctor realised his eyes were sad and very much alone.

"My name is Simon Baker. I'm a local resident of Littlerock. This sort of thing has been happened for a while now, I thought I was going insane to be honest" he conspired, scratching his forehead as a weight seemed to be lifted off his shoulders.

Both men took a seat on a bench and stared out across the sea, at the tanker and the morning sky. Seagulls flew in pattern through the rays of light, flying down to catch breakfast from the surf. The air tasted of salt and the sea, but was soon replaced by smells from the village. The residents had returned, seemingly unaware of what had happened, and had gone about their morning ritual.

Milkmen and postmen making their rounds, bacon and eggs hitting frying pans in family kitchens with bread toasting in toasters. The normality of life had returned to the people of Littlerock Bay, except for the crumbled shape of Simon Baker. He looked weaker than he had moments before, perhaps hiding behind the façade that nothing was front. The normality seemed to scare him more, made him realise something was wrong.

"Start from the beginning" the Doctor began, touching Simon's shoulder.

"A few months ago, I was watching something on the television at home, some cop programme or something like that. I live by myself ever since Cheryl passed away in the summer; she went in peace at least"

Emotion seemed to grip him again in an iron grip, but he continued on in a sombre tone, almost wishing the last year of his life hadn't happened, but a bad dream wrapped in an unforgivable nightmare.

"I heard doors and windows opening through the village, and then a lot of movement and commotion in the street outside. Looking out my window, I saw people in the village, almost all of them by my reckoning, walking up the hill towards the beach. They were wearing pyjamas and slippers, and I went outside to see what was happening. But they walked past like they didn't notice me, even Helen who I've had drinks with every Thursday for the better part of a year"

"You said almost all of them? Do you know why you weren't affected?" the Doctor queried, putting his hands back into his pockets.

Simon shook his head. "No idea. There are only 4 of us in the village not affected. Me, the post office mistress Angela, headmaster of the local school Harold and the daughter of landlords of the Sheppard's Bush, Elizabeth"

It suddenly occurred to the Doctor that he hadn't seen Elizabeth in the throng, and realised she'd probably gone back to bed after her rude awakening by him this morning. Simon continued his story, rubbing his hands to keep warm in what was called a sudden chill wind.

"Those of us not affected followed them to the beach, and saw them march into the sea. Obviously we panicked and ran down to the beach, but there was nothing we could do. We tried to call the police, the coast guard, anyone. But none of the phones or internet was working; it was almost like a lockdown in our village. But then they returned"

The Doctor straightened up for a moment, and zipped up his leather jacket. It had indeed got colder, and the suddenly decrease in temperature worried him. Like it was the genesis of the end, that it was sign that the worse was about to happen. Simon didn't seem to notice, finishing his story.

"The people returned to the village, and suddenly acted like nothing had happened. Mr. Clarkson even went straight to the post box to post a letter. When we asked them about it and told them, they had no idea what we were talking about. Elizabeth even took photos on her phone; but they had mysteriously vanished. No evidence of what they're doing exists, except for our memory" Simon finished, almost relieved that his story was finally out and told to an outsider. Maybe this person could help.

The Doctor rubbed his chin, got to his feet and looked back down at the early morning beach. He stood there for a few moments, taking in the morning air once again. His lungs felt chilled, his bones ached and his brain wanted to scream. But it was obviously what he had to do.

He had no idea what was happening, only had sparse clues as to what was happening, but he had to admit he was curious. It took an incredible amount of technology to misplace memories and wipe out all evidence; in a scientific way he was excited. Maybe this sort of event would take his mind off what had happened, what could still happen.

"Protect them all.." Romana had whispered before the Dalek bolt took her life

Spinning around, the Doctor held out his hand in Simon's direction.

"Come along then, Simon my boy. We have a village to save"

-Doctor Who-

The Tenth Doctor was crouched down in the cave, in the centre staring up. He didn't know why, but he felt the cave was important. He'd checked the ground and found no secret holes or passageways, but something about where he stood was important. He imagined it was what people felt when they stood where his TARDIS had once been, almost like something extraordinary had taken place there.

Making a mental note of the spot, he stood up and walked towards the passageway behind him marked out by the wooden frame. His everlasting match showcased a narrow passageway straight ahead, into a dark unknown. He didn't know how far it went, but he judged it went as far as the village which was at least half a mile. But something deep down told him it could be longer.

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor entered the cave.

-Doctor Who-

The villains of the tale stood in their base, watching events through their spy's eyes. It saw the man in the suit and trainers and impossible hair watching the ritual, the abducting, whatever outsiders called it. They could tell he would be a problem, a fault in their over wise perfect plan.

"He needs to be dealt with" one hissed.

"Yes. Have any been processed yet?" one queried.

"Can we risk one? After all the work?" another pondered.

They looked at each other almost in fear of what suddenly occurred to them all. It was a risk, a danger that could ruin everything. It didn't take the stranger to spoil their plans and ruin their futures. They were more than capable of dooming themselves, and it was the riskier of the options.

"It would be a perfect experiment. Think of the data" the first one finally replied

"All the data we could gather? Make them better, increase our success" the second one salivated.

The third one, the leader perhaps, looking at the others in confidence.