Chapter 9

Hoffman gaped, mouth opened almost comically wide. "The inside...it's bigger than the outside." He glared at the Doctor who had been mouthing the words with him. "Yes, you've probably heard it before, but there's no need to make fun of me – I've got a massive headache."

The Doctor shrugged. "Yeah well, you did volunteer. And ta-da!" He did some jazz hands over the console. "My twisted magic trick paid off: everyone's alive, the right people are with the right people, the world is saved AGAIN...and no John, you cannot take samples of my TARDIS technology."

John looked disappointed. "But – "

"Uh-uh. No way. If you use it to make any more weird traps then I'd be forced to take you down like a boss."

"'Like a boss'," Rory smirked. "Doctor, you badman."

"Brap." Amy added.

The Doctor looked indignant. "I am not a 'bad man', I generally try to see myself as a rather good, if slightly flawed, one."

"Fine then, you're a legend."

"Now THAT I can agree with."

Jill's disembodied voice came floating out of the bowels of the TARDIS. "You have a swimming pool? In a library?"

"You listen to Coldplay?"

The Doctor turned the hot and cold taps on the console, hit it merrily with a hammer he'd kept from his past incarnation and rounded on Lawrence. "Surprise at finding a swimming pool in a library, I can understand. But at the fact I listen to Coldplay?"

"Well it's not something you'd expect an alien to listen to is it?"

"Enlighten me, what DO aliens listen to then?"

"Err...Ziggy Stardust? David Bowie?"

"Starman. Life On Mars. Oh thanks, thanks a bunch. I do like those songs, but that's beside the point." The abnormal grating sound of the TARDIS in flight stopped abruptly and the Doctor beamed. "Right, out we get. Jill," He called as he led the way out the door. "Unless you're lost, you'd better come out now."

The place where they'd landed was no more than a field, with a few cows that chewed thoughtfully as they checked out the newcomers. To any observers – and there were none – it would've been obvious that the newcomers were just as confused as the cows.

"Doctor," John said slowly. "Why are we here?"

The Doctor jumped up and down on the muddy grass. "Well, I'd say we're somewhere in the country...but that wasn't your question. You are all here for your second chance. Basically, you're getting the opportunity to live again."

"Yes, but...isn't that counted as normal?"

The Doctor blinked. "Yes. And?"

"John has a point," Amanda said as Jill left the TARDIS and stepped right into a cowpat. "Amy tells me that you said something about nothing returning to normal for awhile, so there must be something else."

He looked blank for a second, and then he gave an 'oh' of realisation before slapping himself round the face. "Silly Doctor...well, when the hazma energy converter went off I'm pretty certain that the Nightmare Children took DNA from you guys and made basic clones of the four people already seen as threats to known civilisation."

It only took a moment for John, Jill, Amanda and Hoffman to understand the implications of this. "Oh hell."

"Hang on a sec," Lawrence was confused. "Why didn't they make a clone of me?"

"Apparently they don't think you're evil enough."

"Woo-hoo!" He caught the dirty look the foursome were giving him and winced. "Uh...I don't think you guys are evil."

"Sure you don't." Jill glared.

"Anyway," The Doctor continued, apparently oblivious to the heated atmosphere. "Those clones will try to kill each other and continue to hurt other people in an effort to resuscitate their dead race, but it will be in vain; they'll keep on trying though, and that's where you guys come in."

Hoffman clicked before everyone else. "You want us to stop them?"

The Doctor smiled. "Well, the best person to stop you is you. I remember this time when a duplicate me was made out of my severed hand..." He noticed the blank looks from his reverie. "But that isn't important. What is very important is that you stop these things without causing too much harm to anyone else."

"And why exactly aren't you doing this?"

"See this as a test: I want you to prove that you're fully changed, and that you're capable of making decisions that DO NOT involve hurting other people. Do you accept this?"

"So let me get this straight: we're doing the work for you while you three go running off doing other things as 'a test'? Isn't that slightly unfair?"

Rory patted him on the back. "Not really mate. You see, we generally spend our time running around doing this stuff all the time. You guys get to stop after just one job."

"But you get to travel."

"And we get all the life-threatening danger that comes with it. Not that it isn't fun, but I'd rather not have to do it."

Hoffman thought for a moment, and then turned to Amanda. "You up for it babe?"

"I am NOT your babe," Amanda smirked as she kissed him on the cheek. "But yeah, sure, whatever."

"Then I'm in."

"I suppose that means we're up for this crazy mission too." Jill sighed.

John grinned. "Let the games begin." Amy glared at him. "What?"

"Never," She growled. "EVER say that again."

"Seconded," Rory added. "Or I'll ignore the fact you're an old man and punch you in the face."

John gulped. "Uh, ok." He turned to the Doctor. "I thank you, Doctor. Clearly you're someone who has more of a right to judge people than I do."

The Doctor grimaced. "Well I suppose, but I really try not to. That is, as long as they're not trying to destroy or take over something, or doing anything I don't like. And even then I try to give them a fair chance to turn it around – the main difference between your methods and mine though are HOW we try to turn them around."

The old man nodded, then shook the Doctor's hand. "Farewell Doctor, I hope you have a good life."

"You too, Jiggy me old mucker." He turned to Amanda and Hoffman. "Have fun you two, and don't do anything I wouldn't do...well, hardly anything."

"Goodbye Doctor." Amanda said, and surprised everyone by hugging him round the waist. The Doctor patted her awkwardly, and when she released him she whirled round to meet Hoffman's questioning look. "Oh come on, he deserves a hug once in a while. I don't think he gets much hugs at all if he runs around that much. Do you get many hugs?"

"No, and it's a real shame. Hugs are cool."

"Well, I might as well give you something 'cool' to remember me by." Jill said, wrapping her arms around him for a quick hug. When she stepped back, John was giving her an odd look similar to that given to Amanda by Hoffman. "What are you being so possessive for? We're not even married!"

"I feel so popular and loved." The Doctor said happily, clapping his hands together. "Right Ponds plural, let's be off. The rest of you, the nearest town is only a short walk away; you should be able to get a bus or something from there."

"Bye, guys!" Amy called as she and Rory followed the Doctor back into the TARDIS. "Stay safe!"

"And don't kill anyone!" Rory added as the door slammed shut.

"Yeah, like we'd EVER do that." Lawrence smirked.

The group watched the TARDIS fade with a groan from that particular part of time and space before making their move towards the nearest town, which turned out to be a two-mile walk through the mud that made all of them curse the Doctor's habit of parking in the wrong place and Jill to step in a few more cowpats. But hey, it was all worth it. Because they were about to do what the Doctor did best: an adventure with a lot of running.

END! So sorry I didn't update sooner, ended up working on loads of stuff at the same time. Hope this was a fitting ending and if not I apologise; I haven't really been putting as much effort into my writing as I used to *denies self muffins as a way of self harm* and have become addicted to energy drinks *wants one right NOOOOWWWWW*. Anyway love all you guys and hope to be putting up more stuff soon!