The Two Doctors and Hatters
Countryside
As Shockeye's hands came closer and closer to the Fifth Hatter and Peri's throats, they tried to scramble backwards, ignoring the dry grass that scratched the back of their legs and dug into the palms of their hands.
"Steady, my little beauties," he caught Peri's arm and the Hatter's shoulder, yanking them back towards him as they desperately tried to get away.
"Let go!" the Fifth Hatter shouted, trying to kick at him, but it made little difference even when she did manage to connect with his shine. He hardly flinched, "I'm warning you, let us go right now!"
Shockeye seemed more amused by her shouting and struggling, "Ah, come to Shockeye!" he grinned hungrily at them, chuckling as he pulled both women closer to him.
"No!" Peri cried fearfully, trying to pull against him as he held them tighter, almost hitting their heads together.
The Hatter swallowed nervously, grimacing as Shockeye's breath hit her face, her mind racing. She and Peri were trapped, their only possible chance of escape was if the Sixth Doctor and Jamie were to find them, something she wasn't holding her breath out on. The only possible chance of getting out of this without being cooked was if Shockeye was to choose Peri instead of her, though she hated to even think about it. He would only be able to take one of them back up to the house with him, which meant that if she could be left behind, then she might be able to get back up to the house and save Peri. It wasn't an ideal plan, so many things could go wrong, but it was the only one she could think of. Still, she had to try one last time.
The Time Lady carefully reached inside the pocket of her skirt, glad that Shockeye hadn't grabbed her wrist, and withdrew a silver pen. She awkwardly brought it up to aim at Shockeye's face, or as close to it that she could manage, "Let us go, or I'll use this very powerful laser on you!" she threatened.
Shockeye simply laughed harder and smacked the pen out of her hand, causing her to yelp painfully, automatically moving to cradle her hand. He hadn't broken it, as far as she could tell, luckily. He grabbed her and Peri's wrists, eyeing the skin on them, "Oh, what fine, fleashy beast!" he remarked happily as he examined Peri's wrist, "Just in your prime, and ripe for the knife!" he suddenly hit Peri on the top of her head, letting her collapse onto the ground, unconscious before turning his attention onto the Time Lady. He eyed her wrist closely, making the Hatter feel ill, "Hmm, lovely and soft…" he sighed slightly, looking disappointed, "Not a lot of meat, though".
And the next thing the Hatter knew, his hand was coming down hard on top of her head, and everything faded to blackness.
….…Cellar…..…..…
The Sixth Doctor stood calmly before the two Sontarans, while Jamie had his hands up, having placed the Second Hatter on the floor leaning against a pillar. She was still fast asleep, but she had stirred slightly when he had sat her down.
"Val!" the first Sontaran turned to the second, his eyes fixed the Sixth Doctor, "Inform Chessene that we have another Time Lord for her collection".
Val nodded, lowering his weapon that he had aimed on the two men, "Very good, sir," he turned and left the room, making his way upstairs.
The first Sontaran aimed his weapon at the Sixth Doctor and Jamie, stepping closer to them, "I am Group Marshall Stike, Commander of the Ninth Sontaran Battle Group," he introduced himself.
"Long way from the war, aren't you, Stike?" the Sixth Doctor commented, raising his eyebrows at him, "Going badly, is it?" he added with a hint of mocking in his tone.
"On the contrary," he said quickly, narrowing his eyes at him, "And thanks to the information you've just given me, I shall be back in time for the crucial battle".
He shrugged slightly, "My money's still on the Rutans".
Stike, not looking pleased by what he had said, gestured with his weapon over to the Kartz-Reimer module, "Into the machine, Time Lord," he ordered.
"Why?" the Sixth Doctor asked, frowning at him. He paused, taking a moment to think about it, his eyes drifting across to the module, "Oh, of course," he sighed before giving Stike an incredulous look, scoffing, "You don't really expect me to give the Sontarans the power of unlimited time travel, do you?"
Stike suddenly grabbed Jamie's arm, twisting it across his throat, almost strangling Jamie in the process as he groaned painfully, trying to struggle against him. Stike looked back over to the Sixth Doctor, pressing his weapon against Jamie's head, "Do it, or you comrade dies," he warned, seriously. The Doctor's eyes widened, hesitating as he looked back and forth between them, "Get in!" he demanded.
The Sixth Doctor slowly edged around them, eyeing the Sontaran warily as he stepped over to the module, and opened the door, sitting down inside. Once the door was closed, Stike leaned over to the outside controls and used his weapon to press the buttons, before pulling Jamie away from the device as it started up. The device began making echoing, beeping sound as it faded away, dematerialising. A moment past and the noise sounded again, before the device reappeared again with the Doctor still inside in exactly the same spot.
Calmly, the Doctor stood and opened the door, stepping out as Jamie closed his eyes briefly, relieved that it had apparently worked, "Satisfied?" the Doctor questioned, raising an eyebrow at Stike.
Stike eyed him carefully, "So, the machine is now primed?"
"Yes".
"Excellent," he smirked, not noticing Jamie's hand slowly moving down towards his right leg, "I shall execute your comrade…"
"Wait!" the Sixth Doctor called urgently, a note of panic entering his tone, noticing what Jamie was doing, knowing that he needed to buy them some more time. Carefully, he stepped closer towards the pillar that the Second Hatter was leaning against as he continued speaking, "Now, that's why you Sontarans have no allies!" Jamie grasped the handle of his knife stuck inside his boot, getting ready…, "You can't be trusted!"
"We have no need of allies," Stike glared at him, oblivious to what was really happening, "Sontaran might is invincible!"
Jamie thrust the knife back into Stike's thigh, stabbing him, even through the thick armour, causing him to cry out in pain. The Sixth Doctor ran forward and pulled Jamie out of Stike's grip, before shoving the Sontaran into a wall.
"Run, Jamie!" he shouted, hurrying back over to the Second Hatter, and picking her up.
They run frantically back toward the passageway that they had entered through, just as Stike managed to stand, and started firing widely at them with his weapon, missing them as they escaped back into the dimly lit tunnel. They quickly reached the ladder, Jamie going first, reaching a hand down to help the Sixth Doctor climb up while carrying the unconscious Time Lady, both trying hard not to bump her head on anything.
Once they had finally reached the top, they dashed outside the ice house and into the courtyard. The Sixth Doctor paused, carefully looking around for any sign of someone, before hurrying across the courtyard and over to the houses front door, and into an large, tiled entrance hall, still listening closely for any sign of footsteps approaching.
The Second Doctor, having recovered from his little sleep, looked up at the sound of footsteps outside the small room that he had been wheeled into, just off the entrance hall, from what he could tell from looking out of the open doorway. He watched as a tall, blonde curly headed man in yellow, red pinstriped trousers and a white shirt covered by a brightly coloured, floral waistcoat past the doorway, and much to his surprise, he was carrying the Second Hatter in his arms. The man didn't notice him, too busy looking around as he past the door.
Another pair of footsteps followed close behind and Jamie appeared, looking completely fine. He came to a quick stop as he caught sight of the Second Doctor strapped to a wheelchair in a small room off from the entrance hall, breaking into a broad smile at the sight of him as the Second Doctor looked just as delighted and relieved.
"Doctor," Jamie breathed, stepping into the room, and over to him.
"Jamie!" the Second Doctor smiled happily at him, before quickly turning serious once more as Jamie pattered his shoulder. He frowned over towards the doorway, not liking the fact that another man had been carrying his Hatter, "There you are, Jamie…"
They both looked up as the Sixth Doctor doubled back and entered the room, pausing in the doorway to eye the Second Doctor with haughty expression. The Second Doctor returned the look, taking in the man's appearance, his eyes briefly running over the Second Hatter, wanting to make sure that she was okay.
The Sixth Doctor slowly walked towards him with a heavy sigh, almost sounding exasperated as he leaned closer towards him, "Snap!" he called.
"Snap!" the Second Doctor exclaimed in unison, realising just who the Sixth Doctor was. He felt much better about the Second Hatter being carried now, though, not completely.
They looked at each other for a long moment before the Sixth Doctor gave him an accusing look, "I've come a long way for you," he told him, annoyed as Jamie began untying the Second Doctor's restraints.
"Naturally," the Second Doctor sniffed, not looking very thankful for the rescue, "Don't expect any thanks," his eyes came to rest on the Second Hatter, looking concerned, "You did give her the antidote, didn't you?" he asked dubiously.
"Of course," the Sixth Doctor said sharply, giving him a quick glare, "They must have given her a more concentrated dose to keep her asleep longer, that's all".
"Hmm…" he hummed, still not looking entirely convinced.
As if on cue, the Second Hatter's eyes began flickering as she stirred. The Sixth Doctor gently placed her on the ground, not wishing to panic her should she awake to find herself in someone's arms. All three of them watched as she blurrily opened her eyes, looking very confused as she raised a hand to her face.
"I don't…" she began, her voice thick from sleep and lack of use as she narrowed her eyes. All she could make out was a blurry shape of a person leaning over her, but strangely, she didn't feel threated by them, as if she knew them somehow. She cleared her throat, "Where are my glasses?" she questioned, growing slightly panicked, "I can't see without them, I must have my glasses…"
"Shh, it's alright, Hatter," a man's voice that she didn't recognise answered, sounding quite soothing as she felt a hand tentatively touch her shoulder, "We'll sort that out later, just relax. You're safe".
She frowned at the shape and tried to sit up, stopping quickly as she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, "Where am I?" she asked, still feeling mildly panicked. She noticed two other shapes close by, one appearing to be sitting down in something, "I was…" she frowned, trying to remember, when it suddenly all came flooding back. The space station, the Doctor and Jamie, Dastari, the attack…
"Everything is alright, Hatter," the Second Doctor's voice came suddenly, and she immediately felt herself break into a relieved smile.
"Doctor, you're here?"
"Of course," he replied, sounding as if he was smiling, too, "I couldn't possibly let my best friend have all the fun, now, could I?"
She laughed slightly, feeling the panic subside. She still wasn't happy that she couldn't see more then blurry shapes and colours, but if the Second Doctor was here then she knew that he would make sure she was safe. He was annoyingly over protective of her, after all. But her laughter quickly died as she remembered Jamie, "Where's Jamie?" she frowned, worriedly.
One of the shapes moved closer to her, "Right here," Jamie's Scottish accent came, sounding pleased to see her.
"Oh, I'm so very glad that you are both here," she smiled broadly, hoping she was at least looking in the direction of their faces, before she focused her attention back to the stranger, who she guessed must have been kneeling beside her, "I must apologise, I don't believe we've meet before," she said to him, "You are?"
"The Doctor," the stranger informed her, making her blink, startled, most certainly not having expected that, "A future one, I'm in my Sixth regeneration now".
"Goodness," she breathed, wishing that she could see him. He had quite a haughty tone to his voice, even now when he was clearly trying to not frighten her, and from what she could make out he seemed to be dressed very colourfully with lots of yellow, "Things are worse than I had thought," she sighed tiredly, raising an eyebrow, "Is there any more of you around here?"
"No…" the Sixth Doctor hesitated slightly, "But your Fifth regeneration is here with me".
The Second Hatter's face fell, "Oh no, please tell me she's not like the other one?" she said warily, thinking about the time she meet her Third regeneration, "You know, the sarcastic, dark haired one who has absolutely no sense in fashion?"
The Sixth decided it would probably be unwise to point out that she wasn't exactly the best dressed Hatter either, "No, not that one," he assured her, adding, "But she does have brown hair".
She sighed again, almost resigned, "Well, I suppose I'll have to wait to serve judgment on her, then. After all, not everyone can pull off my sense of style," she remarked, adjusting the collar of her dress and reaching up toward her hat…her eyes widened when she was met with thin air, "What have they done with my hat?" she demanded at once.
"Probably the same thing as your glasses, Hatter," Jamie commented, sounding almost amused by her reaction.
"How dare they?" she exclaimed, outraged as she pulled herself back onto her feet, stumbling slightly, but the Sixth Doctor steadied her…or, at least she presumed it was him, "A Hatter without a hat isn't a Hatter at all!"
"I'm sure you have plenty of spares," the Second Doctor said soothingly, more then used to hearing her talk about her hats as if they were her children.
"It's not the same…"
Suddenly, something creaked outside, making the Second Hatter stop suddenly, listening.
"I think someone's coming," Jamie hissed urgently.
They froze, all listening as something else creaked outside.
"You wheel him," the Sixth Doctor told Jamie, nodding to the Second Doctor as he took the Second Hatter's hand, making her jump slightly in surprise, "I'll guide her."
Jamie quickly wheeled the Second Doctor into the entrance hall, while the Sixth Doctor led the Second Hatter after him, when they paused, looking over to the door as a grunting sound came from behind the door, "Too late!" he looked frantically over to the Sixth Doctor.
The Sixth Doctor looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide, "Upstairs," he turned to his past self, "Extemporise."
The Second Doctor let his head fall limply, pretending to still be asleep as the Sixth Doctor pulled the Time Lady along with him up the stairs, and out of sight. They peeked over the edge of the railing, watching as the male Androgum that the Sixth Doctor and Jamie had witness strapping the Second Doctor into the wheelchair earlier entered the hall, carrying Peri over his shoulder, appearing to be unconscious.
"Wake up, old Time Lord," the Androgum called to the Second Doctor as he past him, smiling broadly, very pleased with himself. Jamie moved to run back down the stairs to go after him, but the Sixth Doctor pulled him back with a stern look, "Supper will soon be served!" he laughed gleefully, walking through into another room.
The Sixth Doctor and Jamie exchanged a long look, both wondering just what had happened to the Fifth Hatter?
…..…Countryside….…..…
The Fifth Hatter groaned as she slowly woke to find herself lying on her back, the top of her head pounding painfully as she tried blinking against the suns glare. She slowly sat up, wincing as a wave of dizziness came over her, making her feel slightly ill as she looked around. Shockeye had obviously chosen Peri to cook, which meant that he would probably return soon to collect her.
She reached up to touch the top of her head, her hat having fallen off at some point, and carefully let the tip of her fingers lightly brush over the spot that ached the most to find a raised lump. She quickly dropped her hand, closing her eyes against the sharp pain that shot through her head just from touching it.
She knew she couldn't stay sitting on the ground for very long, she needed to get back up to the house and try and save Peri, or at the very least try and find the Sixth Doctor and Jamie. She caught sight of her floppy hat sitting on the dirt beside her and picked it up, sighing heavily as she noticed a patch of dirt on the brim, but she shook her head and carefully put it on, wincing slightly as the top of the hat brushed against the lump.
Slowly, she climbed onto her feet, trying to ignore the dizziness and sickly feeling that it caused her as she tried to brush her hands and skirt clean of dirt, but it was little use. Her entire back was covered in dirt and bits of grass, it had even ended up caught in her hair, making the usually wavy hair now look slightly frizzy, luckily, the floppy brim of her hat helped to hide some of it.
Stumblingly slightly, she managed to make her way back up the hill and up towards the house, even managing to move faster as the dizziness faded. Eventually, she reached the gate into the courtyard and carefully hurried over to the main door, peeking inside, only to blink as she caught sight of the Second Doctor strapped to the wheelchair sitting in the middle of the entrance hall, appearing to be sleeping.
She moved into the room, cautiously looking around as she went, before frowning slightly as she neared the Second Doctor. It was a good act, had she not have known him as well as she did, she would have thought that he was sleeping, but his breathing wasn't quite a deep as it should have been.
"Almost fooled me," she remarked quietly, smirking as she noticed him tense, obviously not recognising her voice, "But as for someone who has known you for most of your life, you're going to have to do better than that".
His eye cracked up and he turned his head enough to see her, looking surprised, "You must be a future Hatter?" he said slowly, taking in her appearance. She was shorter than his Hatter, around 5'7 with wavy brown hair with a red tinge to it, but it looked mussed and frizzy under her large sun hat, and pale skin.
The Fifth Hatter smiled fondly at him, dimples forming in her cheeks, "It's good to see this version of you again," she told him.
"Hatter!" someone hissed down to them, making her look up to find the Sixth Doctor and Jamie leaning over the railing of the staircase, while her Second regeneration stood beside the Doctor, looking confused.
She pattered the Second Doctor's shoulder as she past him, hurrying over to the stairs and up them, joining the three.
"What happened?" the Sixth Doctor asked at once, running his eyes over her, concerned as he noticed the dirt covering her clothing.
"Peri and I had a bit of a run in with Shockeye," the Fifth Hatter informed them, sighing, "He knocked us out and took Peri back up here, I assume, to cook," she glanced at her Second regeneration, frowning at her, "She's very quiet".
"She's missing her glasses," Jamie cut in.
She turned back to the Second Hatter, "Ah, yes, of course. I forgot I used to wear glasses".
"You wouldn't have them still on you, would you?" the Second Hatter asked hopefully, squinting her eyes at her future self.
"Actually, I might," she said slowly, thinking about it, "My companion wears glasses, I believe she gave me her spare set in case she lost hers," she began patting down her skirt, reaching inside her pocket, searching around before she finally withdrew a black glasses case, and popped open the lid, "They might not work," she warned, grabbing the Second Hatter's hand and sitting the glass into her palm.
The Second Hatter slipped the black framed glasses on, almost poking herself in the eye as she did so, but luckily the glasses seemed to work. They weren't perfect, things weren't quite as clear and focused as they should have been, but at least she could now make out people and things around her without seeing blurry shapes.
"Oh, that's much better, thank you," the blonde Time Lady nodded, smiling in relief as she had the chance to see just what her future regeneration looked like. She eyed her slightly, not overly impressed with her clothing. She was shorter then she would have preferred, but she had pretty forest green eyes, "So, you're my future".
"One of them," the brunet replied, preparing herself.
"Hmm…" she hummed, still eyeing her, "That skirt and top don't match".
The Fifth Hatter rolled her eyes, "You just had to find something to complain about, don't you?"
"That's how this works, does it not? You meet a past or future regeneration, you critic something about them".
"In that case…" she narrowed her eyes at her, "You act like a child on a coffee binge".
The Second Hatter scoffed at her, "I've been quite good today in that regard, though, I have only been awake for a short time".
"Plenty of time to prove my statement right, then".
They're discussion was cut off by the sound of footsteps down stairs, and the four of them leaned carefully over the railing to see Dastari and the darked haired woman that had claimed to have owned the house when the Fifth Hatter and Peri had spoken with her, entered the entrance hall. They watched as the two stepped over to the Second Doctor, Dastari checked his pulse.
"Now that the Time Lords have located us, Dastari, we must move quickly," the woman said, a note of urgency in her voice.
"The operation cannot be hurried, Chessene," Dastari reminded her patently, looking up from the Second Doctor.
"I'm aware of that," Chessene waved him off slightly, purposely moving around the Second Doctor, casting him a thoughtful look as she brought her hands together, "But I have a contingency plan," she informed him, "It's been in my mind for some time".
He frowned at her, "What contingency plan?"
"I want you to turn this Time Lord into an Androgum," the Sixth Doctor and the two Hatter's looked at each other, horrified, "You could do that, I know," she smiled at Dastari.
"Well, if I had the genetic material…" he began thoughtfully, moving to stand around behind the Second Doctor's chair.
"Take it from Shockeye".
He blinked at her, looking surprised, "Shockeye?"
"I want you to make me a consort for me…" Chessene looked down to the Doctor, and even from above them, overlooking the scene, the Sixth Doctor and Hatters could see her face light up just thinking about it, "Leave him the power of time travel, leave the symbiotic nuclei within, but turn him into an Androgum, by blood and by instinct," the Fifth Hatter swallowed thickly, looking ill just thinking about it as Chessene turned back to Dastari, "How long would that take?"
The Second Doctor raised his head slightly, opening his eyes, completely horrified by everything he was hearing.
"Not long," Dastari answered after a moment of consideration, "Two simple operations. The first to implant the genetic material, and then a second operation to stabilise his condition".
The Second Doctor remembered that he was supposed to be asleep and quickly dropped his head, closing his eyes, forcing the horrified expression off his face with difficulty.
"Good," Chessene smiled, nodding to Dastari, while the Sixth Doctor, Jamie, and the Hatter's exchanged a very concerned look, "Then that is what we shall do," and with that, she turned and walked over to the door that Shockeye had disappeared into with Peri, "Shockeye!" she called, disappearing from sight.
A moment past and she returned, Shockeye following close behind her, and he and Dastari wheeled the Second Doctor over to the basement door, and out of sight.
…..….Cellar….…...….…
"No!" the Second Doctor shouted, trying to desperately struggle against his restraints as Dastari and Shockeye wheeled him closer towards the operating table. There was no point to pretending, not now, "You know what this precious pair have cooked up for you, don't you, Shockeye?" he looked around to the man.
"That's enough!" Dastari said sharply, grabbing his shoulder, giving it a shake.
"No!" he cried, panicking as they brought him to a stop by the edge of the bed, "I don't wanna be turned into an Androgum!"
Suddenly, a flash of light came from behind the Second Doctor's shoulder, while Dastari began undoing his bounds.
"Ah!" Shockeye yelled painfully, clutching at his chest as the light him, "Chessene!" and whirled around, collapsing onto the bed, unconscious.
…..…Kitchen….….
Jamie and the Second Hatter stood by the kitchen door, looking out at the entrance hall in case anyone should come back up from the cellar, while the Fifth Hatter and Sixth Doctor hurried over to the middle of the room where a large table was with Peri lying on top of it, still unconscious, but otherwise unhurt.
The Fifth Hatter examined her quickly, checking her pulse and head, glancing back to the Sixth Doctor, "Try and find some water, that ought to wake her," she told him once she was finished.
He nodded and began looking around the room, trying to find something, when he noticed a small milk jug with water inside. He grabbed it, turning back around, and splashed some of it over Peri's face.
"Ugh!" she cried, jolting awake, her hand immediately flying up towards her face, trying to wipe the water away.
"Peri!" the Sixth Doctor quickly sat the jug back down on the kitchen bench, moving back to the table as the Fifth Hatter helped Peri sit up. He looked at, concerned, "Can you stand?" he asked her.
Peri blinked, looking very confused, "Ugh, my head," she groaned, scrunching up her face, "What happened?"
"Shh, don't worry about that now," the Fifth Hatter smiled gently at her, lightly pulling her off the table with the Sixth Doctor's help, and wrapping an arm around her back to help her stay upright, "Let's just say that we both got a lump on our heads," she looked at her worriedly, "Can you stand, Peri?"
"Yes, I…think so," she nodded slowly, still looking very confused.
The Second Hatter looked back around the kitchen door to them, "It's all clear," she informed them, casting Peri a curious look.
"Come on, then," the Sixth Doctor urged, guiding Peri towards the door with the Fifth Hatter following closely behind, "Let's get out of here".
They ran out through the entrance hall and back outside to the courtyard, hurrying out through the gate, looking back over their shoulders as they went, half expecting to get caught at any moment. They made a dash for some trees and bushes off to the side of the road leading into the courtyard, crouching down so that they were hidden.
"What now?" Jamie questioned at once, looking to the Time Lords, looking worried, "They've still got the Doctor".
"And they're turning him into an Androgum!" the Sixth Doctor added, sounding alarmed as he exchanged a look with his Hatter.
"What a terrifying thought," the Fifth Hatter commented, shivering slightly as she tried picturing her best friend as an Androgum. It was simply to terrible, "I'm sorry, Doctor, but if you start developing a taste for human or Time Lady flesh, that's the end of our friendship. You thinking that coat is stylish, I can handle, but you wanting to eat me or our friends is simply too far".
The Second Hatter laughed, but quickly turned it into a cough as she realised that the Fifth Hatter was being perfectly serious, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly.
Jamie shook his head, trying hard not to smile, "How long will it take?" he asked them, growing serious.
"You heard Dastari, two operations," the Sixth Doctor answered, his eyes drifting over towards the house, lowering his voice, "I thought Stike would have acted by now," he sighed slightly.
"How?" Peri frowned at him, as both Hatter's looked at him curiously, too, wondering just what he meant.
"I mean, he has a functioning time machine," he explained, making the Fifth Hatter blink slightly in surprise, trying to figure out exactly what his plan was, "I would expect him to try and kill both Chessene and Dastari before he leaves, so why isn't my plan working?"
Jamie blinked at him, seeming just as confused as the others, "Your plan?" he repeated.
He raised his eyebrows at him, his tone condescending, "Jamie, you don't think someone of Stike's build can sneak up behind me without my hearing him, do you?"
His eyes widened as the Hatter's looked in-between them, putting the pieces together on just what they had missed, "You knew he was there!" he exclaimed in realisation.
"That's why I said what I did," he nodded, smirking slightly as he glanced at the Hatter's, "None of it was strictly true…but he believed it because I was talking to you".
"But the machine worked! I saw it".
"Oh yes," he agreed, his eyes twinkling, "It worked for me, just as it would work for the Hatter…"
"Or both of us, in this case," the Fifth Hatter cut in, casting her past self a quick look.
"Exactly," the Sixth Doctor pointed to her, turning back to Peri and Jamie, a sly look crossing his face, "But it won't work for him because…I have…" he reached inside his waistcoat pocket and withdrew a small circuit, holding it up for them to see.
"…the Briode Nebuliser," the Time Lords finished in unison, sharing a smile.
….….Cellar…..…..….…..
The first thing the Second Doctor became aware of when he awoke, was that he was starving. Nothing else seemed to matter, not that fact that he was strapped to the operating bed again with his head covered by a white cloth, nor did it even seem to matter to him anymore what Chessene and Dastari had planned for him, food was the only thing he could think of.
He smiled to himself as he imagined consuming plats full of roasted meats, glasses of wine, and deserts piled high, all for him. All thoughts of what might have happened to the others vanished from his mind as food and eating seemed to become the only thing that mattered to him anymore.
Suddenly, the cloth was pulled back and he looked up, still smiling, to find Shockeye leaning over him, surprise written across his face as he took in the Second Doctor's appearance, the bushy red eyebrows and little warts that were scattered across his face.
"Capercailzies in brandy sauce," the Second Doctor remarked, almost licking his lips at the very thought.
"What?" Shockeye asked, frowning at him.
"With the stuffing of black pudding made of live pig's blood, herbs, and pepper!" he continued hungrily, slowly sitting up with Shockeye's help, "The breasts of the birds should be slit and studded with truffles".
Shockeye's widened greedily, pointing eagerly at him, "You know the cuisine of this planet?"
"Of course I do! I have eaten pressed duck at the Tour d'Argent," he broke into a wide smile, licking his lips, "They are fed only on corn, fruit pulp, and molasses. They're exquisite, Shockeye…" he trailed off slowly, frowning deeply as he suddenly realised that something wasn't quite right, "Why am I thinking of food?" he questioned, confused.
"Because you are now an Androgum!" he told him, and the Second Doctor nodded slowly as it all made sense. He looked at him eagerly once more, "Can you lead me to one of these eating places to sample the local dishes?"
"Of course I can," the Second Doctor agreed, sounding arrogant, before casting his eyes over Shockeye's clothing, "But you will need proper clothes…"
He looked down at himself, "Proper clothes?" he repeated thoughtfully.
"A collar," he went on, nodding, "A neck tie, at least".
"Oh," Shockeye sighed, looking concerned down at his own clothing, until his eyes lit up. He grinned broadly at the Second Doctor, "I know where there are clothes…" he said slyly.
The two of them exchanged excited smiles.
…..…Outside the ice house….…
The Sixth Doctor, the two Hatter's, Jamie, and Peri watched quietly as the two Sontarans patrolled the grounds of the house, both of them carrying large guns in their hands. Dastari stepped out of the house, moving towards the courtyards gate, and beckoned them to come to him.
The Sixth Doctor smiled, exchanging a look with his Hatter, "Action, at last," he commented, very pleased as the Sontarans made their way over to Dastari.
Carefully, they edged along the fence line, keeping an eye of the Sontarans and Dastari as they moved closer towards the three, trying to get a better look.
"Stike, Varl, this way," Dastari was saying to the Sontarans, gesturing for them to follow him over to the ice house's closed door.
While he turned his back, Varl raised his gun, aiming it at Dastari's back, but Stike quickly pushed it back down, "Not yet," he whispered to him, and the Sixth Doctor and Hatter's could only just make it out from they're position, "Chessene first, she's more dangerous".
Varl nodded, following Stike over to Dastari, while the others watched from in-between the metal railing along top of the brick fence a short distance away.
"What is it, Dastari?" Stike asked as they reached him.
"The Time Lord has returned," Dastari told them, looking worried, keeping his voice low.
"Where is he?"
"He's entered the passage," he said at once, glancing at the ice house's door, "Chessene's waiting in the cellar," he turned back to them, gesturing to the door, "Now, if you go in this way, we have him trapped".
"Ooh, how curious," the Fifth Hatter murmured to the others, the corner of her mouth twitching as she glanced back to the others, "It would seem that we have a double-double cross going on".
The Sixth Doctor's eyes lit up, smiling, "Gets more interesting by the minute," he agreed, exchanging a look with her.
"Typical, really," the Second Hatter remarked softly, shaking her head.
The Sontarans looked at each other, nodding slightly as they moved closer to the ice house door, pulling it open, and disappearing inside. A moment past and Chessene walked out of the main house, holding two large, silver canisters and walked over to the ice house door, stepping inside.
A few minutes passed before Chessene emerged, empty handed and looking very pleased with herself, smiling smugly as she returned to the main house, forcing the group to duck out of sight as she walked past their hiding spot. Once she had entered the house, they stood and stepped around the fence, looking towards the front of the house.
"Well, looks like Chessene's won," Jamie commented, sighing slightly, already having guessed that whatever was in those canisters couldn't have been good for the Sontarans.
"Yeah," the Sixth Doctor nodded.
"It would appear so," the Fifth Hatter said warily, not entirely sure whether she was pleased or not. While she certainly didn't like Chesene's method in dealing with the Sontarans, it did help solve the problem with them hanging around, making things easier for them all.
"Doctor!" Peri suddenly whispered, grabbing the Fifth Hatter and Sixth Doctor's arms, catching their attention as she looked back through the courtyard gate to something, "Hatter!"
They followed her gaze and were startled to find the Second Doctor and Shockeye, both wearing top hats and matching frock coats, walking along with their arms linked together from another gate leading to the back of the house, completely oblivious to them watching. The Second Doctor said something to Shockeye as they headed off down the gravel road as the others stepped out of the courtyard gate, staring after them.
The Sixth Doctor put his hands on his hips, looking annoyed, "Now where are they going?" he wondered aloud.
"And do you think they would let me borrow one of their hats?" the Second Hatter said thoughtfully, a touch of hopefulness in her tone, not appearing to be the slightest bit concerned by what was going on. Everyone looked at her, even the Fifth Hatter, who shook her head, crossed between amusement and exasperation. The blonde blinked, realising they were all looking at her, "Sorry," she gave them a sheepish smile, "Not really the time".
Jamie coughed, trying hard not to laugh as he looked back to the retreating forms of his Doctor and Shockeye, "They look quite pally," he frowned, pointing at them.
The Fifth Hatter grimaced, holding up a hand to shield her eyes against the sun's glare, "What a frightful thought, Jamie".
And the Hatter's have finally meet, I loved writing that scene with those two. They are just so much fun to write banter for, I just feel sorry for the Sixth Doctor. Tell me what you thought, please review :)