The Doctor grinned at Donna, who rolled her eyes at him in answer when they all entered his Tardis. He loved peoples first reactions after entering the Tardis and Maylene, Ayumi and John were no exception.
"That's impossible," John looked around, trying like the two women, to understand what he saw. "I mean... how?"
"Oh a long story," the Doctor replied cheerfully. "but we don't have time for it now. So just this: You live in one, did it never occurred to you that there is an awful lot of space for this small flat?"
"That would explain why Ay's room seemingly never gets smaller, although she cramped way to much stuff in there," Maylene gave back, which made the others laugh and Ayumi sticking her tongue out at her.
It was when the Doctor turned to his consoles that, out of nowhere, he heard this voice in his head repeating: "I don't want to die" like a broken record. He rubbed on of his temples with one hand, holding onto the consoles with the other while the dizziness passed and he was able to tune the sound of the voice down to an acceptable volume.
"Doctor," Donna asked worryingly. "What is it?"
The Timelord took a deep breath and when he looked at the others a small smile crept on his face.
"I know where to find Sherlock," he simply stated and then he started the Tardis.
"But how?" Ayumi wanted to know. "Is this a Timelord thing, some telepathic connection?"
"No, not really," the Doctor answered, while navigating the Tardis to their destination. "It's more of a personal thing."
„What's that supposed to mean?" John asked slightly irritated. "Can or can you not link yourself telepathically to Sherlock? And if so, why only you?"
The Doctor sighed, debating with himself, if he wanted to tell the others about Sherlock and himself.
"Yes," he finally started to explain. "I can hear Sherlock inside my head. He don't know that he's crying out for help, because he can't remember this technique actively. And I'm the only one hearing it because we're related"
"So you're brothers." Maylene drew the conclusion but the Doctor shook his head.
"No, he's my son," he stated simply, busying himself with landing the Tardis, while everyone, except from Donna, stared at him in shock.
"No way...," Ayumi didn't really know what to say. "I mean you look not older than...you're kidding, right?"
"I'm not kidding," the Doctor responded, grabbing his coat on the way to the door. "This already is my 10th regeneration and I'm well over 900 years old."
"Oh I can't wait to get my memories back," John mumbled, which made Maylene next to him chuckle.
As they left the Tardis, they found themselves in the remains of an old factory.
"Ok, any idea where to look?" Ayumi asked while letting her eyes roam around.
"The best way would be to make two groups, so we can cover more ground," John suggested, to which the Doctor nodded a yes.
"But be careful. Really, really careful," he warned the others. "If you encounter any kind of danger go back to the Tardis, you hear me?"
So after they agreed to be careful, Donna and the Doctor and John, Maylene and Ayumi began the search for Sherlock in opposite directions.
"I don't think it was a wise decision to split up," Donna said, walking through an empty storeroom with the Doctor. "I mean, staying together would have been safer, wouldn't it."
The Doctor shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe," he meant seemingly deep in thought. "Maybe not. It's hard to see at the moment. Everything is in motion, there's no way to tell, what's going to happen." For a second the Doctor seemed unsure but then he smiled at Donna. "Don't worry I keep you save. The others too, I keep you all save, I promise."