It was messy after that. He's not sure exactly what happened next. He knows he and River get out of the tunnel, finding the Doctor, Amy, and Rory trying to wake up Canton as the Silence already surround them. He remembers an astronaut—him from the past—reaching for them, calling for help.

He remembers feeling confused, scared, and disoriented. He knows someone dragging him away, telling him to not look at his past self, and then…

Nothing.

He rubbed his neck again, at the injection the Doctor had put into him 3 months ago, leaving him with a message to stay inside the Tardis and get them back to the coordinate he put on the console.

"Here goes nothing," he mumbled and set the Tardis to the destination.

The Doctor enters first. "Arthur?" He called and hugged him. "Are you okay?" He checks his head. "Did your head hurt? Did the anaesthetic work too much?"

"You don't have to inject me," he mumbled with pouty face before setting off to their next destination. "I'm 42, you know."

Everyone was slowly staring at him. Oh, crap. He spoiled his age. "Uh, nothing," he added.

"42?" The Doctor repeated, looking at him with a demanding expression. "What do you mean, you're 42?"

"I told you, it's nothing," he insisted. He can't tell them that he got stuck in Manhattan for 31 years before coming here.

"What about Doctor Song?" Canton wondered, trying to shift the topic away. "She dove off a rooftop."

"In a minute," the boy remarked as he opened the door so River could enter the Tardis and land on the swimming pool.

The Doctor pointed his finger at him. "You and I are going to talk later," he said before pressing several buttons on the console. "So, we know they're everywhere," he remarked. "Not just a landing party, an occupying force, and they have been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, because no one can remember them."

"So what are they up to?" Canton enquired as River enters the console with a towel on her shoulder.

"No idea. But the good news is, we've got a secret weapon." He opens the door and shows them where they landed, which is Cape Kennedy, where Apollo 11 is standing not far from their location.

"But how are you going to use the first spaceship to stop them?" Arthur frowns, not understanding what use Apollo 11 to counterattack the Silence.

"No, no. It's not Apollo 11, Arthur, that would be silly," the Doctor shook his head. "It's Neil Armstrong's foot."

With that, he enters the Tardis, leaving everyone in confusion, including Arthur.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The Doctor has injected something into Canton's palm, which makes him yelp in pain. "So, 3 months. What have we found out?" The Doctor inquired.

"Well, they are everywhere. Every state in America," Rory informed as got his injection. "Ahh!"

"Not just America, the entire world as well."

"There's a greater concentration here, though," River clarified before the Doctor injects Amy's hand.

"Ow!" She hissed.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor inquired.

"All better."

"So we see them, but we can't remember them?" Arthur concluded, narrowing his eyebrow, confused. If that's the case, then how on earth can he remember them?

"You've seen them, too, Sunny. That night at the warehouse," River noted. "While Canton was pretending to hunt us down, we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like."

"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away," Rory pointed out. "The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything."

"Sometimes you feel a bit sick, though, but not always," Amy shared.

"So that's why you marked your skin," Canton realised.

"Only way we'd know if we'd had an encounter."

"How long have they been here?"

"That's what we've spent the last 3 months trying to find out."

"Not easy, if you can't remember anything you discover," Rory addressed.

Canton looks at the Doctor. "How long do you think?"

"As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye, or creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall. They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head. We are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution. And today, the battle begins."

"How?"

"Like this," the Doctor quickly injects River as she winces. "Ha. Nanorecorder. Fuses with the cartilage in your hand." He injects himself. Ow. "And it tunes itself directly to the speech centres in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what. Telepathic connection. So, the moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it, and describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."

He presses his palm, and his voice echoing, "And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."

"Whoa," the boy said, amazed.

"Cool, right?" The Doctor beamed. "Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened. The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand if you've had an encounter. That's the first you'll know about it."

"We should have used this device before. Won't waste our time. And I didn't fall asleep for 3 months," Arthur remarked.

"If only that was simple," River sighs.

"I did, Arthur, but even information about these creatures erases itself over time. I couldn't refresh it because I couldn't talk to you or Canton," he added while pressing some buttons.

Canton looks away then turns back, adjusts the Doctor's bow tie. "What? What are you staring at?" He asked, noticing how they stared at him.

"Look at your hand," Arthur gestures at his palm that was beeping with a red dot.

"Why is it doing that?"

"Play it."

Canton presses it and the recorder plays.

"My God, how did it get in here?" Canton wondered.

"Keep eye contact with the creature and, when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie," the Doctor ordered.

Canton turns back and sees a Silence. "What? What are you staring at?"

"Look at your hand."

"It's a hologram, extrapolated from the photo on Amy's phone. Take a good, long look," the Doctor turns off the image. "You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting. Describe it to me."

"I can't."

"No. Neither can I." He glances at Arthur. "Except him."

"How?" Amy frowns.

"The best guess I can make is Arthur's ability," he sighs, trying to explain without giving too much information. "His power… it might enhance his memory capacity, to the point of remembering the Silence. That might explain why they targeted him." He looks at Canton again, deciding not to mention regeneration in front of him. It will be hard to digest that there are two versions of Arthur in the warehouse who look absolutely different from each other. "You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature."

"So they could do that to people," Amy noted. "You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it."

"Like a post hypnotic suggestion," Rory shuddered.

"Creepy," Arthur commented.

"Now then, a little boy and girl in a spacesuit," the Doctor pressed another issue. "They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the children?"

"Orphanage?" Arthur guessed, thinking of any possibility that makes sense. If the Silence want to take two children and hide it somewhere without raising suspicion, an orphanage would be the best solution. After all, that's where he came from too, before dragging himself into this life.

"Exactly. Which is why, me and Arthur will be off to NASA. You and Amy should check the orphanage," he points at a location on the monitor. "Here."

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"I think I found one!" Arthur whispers as he catches a wire on his hand while gesturing his other hand so the Doctor can handle some tools. As he works on it, he hears a calling.

"Keep going," the Doctor told him before answering the call as Arthur listened to the earpiece he had on his left ear. "Amy?"

"I think we've found the place she was taken from," Amy shared.

"How do you know?"

"Because those things have been here. But the whole place is deserted. There's just one guy here and I think he's lost it."

"Repeated memory wipes fry your head eventually. Find out what you can, but don't hang around."

"Where are you?"

"Got to go. Got company," he finished, patting Arthur so he stopped working on the wires and forced him to sit up.

"What?" He asked and realised that there were two people looking at them in utter confusion. "Oh, sorry. I'll put everything back the way I found it," he assured them while there's a piece in his hand. "Can I put these back first?" He quickly asked with a nervous smile.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

One hour later, they're sitting in a chair as two men are interrogating them in a lecture hall. Both of them had their wrists handcuffed, though Arthur was given a small one, since he was physically still 11-ish.

"One more time, sir. How the hell did you and that boy get into the command module?" He repeated.

"I told you! Both of us are on a top secret mission for the President," the Doctor responded and bit the chain of the cuffs.

"We really are," Arthur added. "And again, I'm not joking. I phoned Mr. Nixon so he'll come here."

He scoffed. "As if I would believe a word uttered by an 11-years-old boy."

"He's 42," the Doctor mumbled, just as the double doors behind him open and the president himself walks into the room. Rory and River—in period dress—are acting as his personals. Behind them is the Tardis.

"Hello, I believe it's Mr. Gardner, is that correct? Head of security?" Nixon asked and shook his hand.

"Ah, yes, sir. Yes, Mr President," he replied stammerly.

Nixon looks at the second man. "Mr. Grant, is it?"

"Yes, Mr. President," Grant replied and shook his hand as well.

"The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today, at Cape Kennedy, and you are the men who guard those dreams. On behalf of the American people, I thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. President," Gardner said,

"I understand you have a baby on the way, Mr. Grant?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

"What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?"

"Just a healthy American, sir."

"A healthy American will do just nicely," he assured him and gave Grant a friendly shoulder punch. "Now, fellas, listen. These two people here, codenamed the Doctor and the Explorer, are doing some work for me, personally. Could you cut them a little slack?"

"Er, Mr. President," Gardner interjected, "this man did break into Apollo 11 and that boy messed with the mechanic of the spaceship,"

The Doctor mouths "Sorry" while Arthur shrugs with a sheepish smile.

"Well, I'm sure they had a very good reason for that," Nixon remarked. "But I need you to release them now, so they can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?"

"Well…"

"Son, I am your Commander-in-Chief."

Arthur tries to hide his snort as Gardner replies, "Then I guess that would be fine, Mr. President."

"Glad to hear it."

The guards behind them unlock the handcuffs and they both stand up. "Thank you!" The Doctor shakes Grant's hand and does the same to Gardner. "Bye-bye," he added,heads for the Tardis, holding Arthur as they enter the blue box, before Nixon, River, and Rory follow them.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The Doctor checks on the phone inside the Oval Office as Arthur sits on the chair near the desk, while Nixon sits on his chair. "You have to tape everything that happens in this office, every word, or we won't know if you're under the influence," he told him.

He slowly entered the room. Amy looks behind, and leans backward, afraid. "Who are you? I don't understand, so just tell me who you are!" Amy insisted.

He lifts up the visor. "Please help me," he croaked.

"A-Arthur?" Amy approaches him, which he instinctively walks back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shoot you. I'm glad I missed it." She looks around. "How did you get here? Where's the girl?"

"Doctor, you have to give me more than this. What were you and Mr. Jonas doing to Apollo 11?" Nixon asked while Arthur rubbed his head with that memory.

"A thing. A clever thing. No more questions. You have to trust me and nobody else."

"You have to run," a girl suddenly said. Both Amy and Arthur turn back, as the girl in a nightgown, trembling while two Silence enter the room.

Amy screams.

"Amy!" Arthur shouted, standing up in panic as River opened the Tardis' door.

"Doctor, it's Canton! Quick, he needs us!" She warned.

The Doctor wasted no time to wait, grab Arthur's hand, and enter the Tardis.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

They quickly run into the stairs as Amy's crying for help keeps going. They find Canton already standing on a door, ready to fire his gun.

"Okay, gun down. I've got it," the Doctor stops him and uses his sonic screwdriver to unlock it.

"Amy, we're here. Are you okay?" Rory yelled.

"I can't see!" Amy shouted.

As the door unlocked, they rushed into the room, but Arthur stopped his foot from moving in, sensing something else on the corner of this hallway.

The boy slowly switched on his torch, stepping to the corner and nearly forgot how to breathe as he saw the children pressing against the wall, hiding. They look at him with immense fear, especially his younger self, who looks extremely shocked to see him, as if he can also sense him as his future self. The young girl looks relatively fine, despite her terrified expression. But the same cannot be applied to him. There's a nasty scar on the left side of his face and two burning scars on both of his hands. His face looks sickly and pale, even breathing seems hard for him to do.

"Come on," the little girl dragged First Arthur into the hallway, forcing First Arthur to follow her and run into the stairs, never looking back.

"Sunny? Sunny?" Someone called him and Arthur finds himself looking at River. "What are you doing here?"

"They're gone," he managed to say, still feeling disoriented.

"What?"

"The children. They're running away from here."

"Who is running away?" Canton asked as he and the others walked away from the room.

"Me," the boy muttered as he disappeared from the hallway.

Canton's mouth opened wide. "Where did he go?" He asked, even more confused than ever.

"I'm afraid that's going to wait," the Doctor responded.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The Osgoods are sitting behind a desk with an 18 inch square box on it, making a video. The one on the right has a long scarf looped around her neck. The one on the left is wearing a sweater with question marks motif.

"Hello," the Second Osgood greeted.

"Hello," the First Osgood follows, looking at her doppleganger. "Do you want to?"

"No, you can, if you—"

"Shall we do it together?" They said in unison before looking back at the camera. "Operation Double. The Zygon peace treaty."

"I'm Osgood. But you can call me Petro," the Second Osgood introduced.

"I'm also Osgood. But you can call me Nella," the First Osgood said.

"Remember that. It'll be important later."

"Operation Double is a covert operation, outside of normal UNIT strictures, to resettle and rehouse an alien race in secrecy on planet Earth."

"With UNIT's help, 20 million Zygons have been allowed to take human form, been dispersed around the world, and are now living amongst us."

"We're making this in case something goes wrong. In case UNIT is infiltrated. In case something occurs to unmask the Zygons."

"Or in case one or both of us dies."

Arthur glances around as he sits on a swing beside the Doctor, the man having a conversation with someone. He focused back on the video on the phone.

"The Zygons are a peaceful race," Nella continued.

"Their shape-changing ability should not be considered a weapon," Petro denoted.

"It's a survival mechanism."

"They embed themselves in other cultures, and live out their lives in their new bodies in peace and harmony. Mainly."

"Any race is capable of the best and the worst."

"Every race is peaceful and warlike."

"Good and evil."

"My race is no exception."

"And neither is mine."

"If one Zygon goes rogue—"

"Or one human—"

"Then the ceasefire will break," Nella finished as she and Petro put their hands on the box. "That's why the Doctor and you left us this, Explorer."

"The Doctor called it the Osgood Box," Petro remarked.

"If you've been paying attention, you'll be able to guess why, past or future."

"This is the last resort."

"The final sanction."

"Pray this box is never needed."

"Because if it is, that means the ceasefire is breaking—"

"And with 20 million shape-changing Zygons dispersed around the world—"

"That is the Nightmare Scenario."

"And it's broken," Arthur realises as he finishes watching, answering the situation he's in the moment he landed inside the Tardis with the Scottish, and watches as the Doctor speaks to twin girls on a monkey bar before they climb down.

The Doctor goes down the slide and approaches them. "Fine. Fine, bury your heads. Listen to me. Listen! There are other factions. I know that there are other blobby factions that you don't control. They're planning something. And if we don't get together and stop it, it'll be the end of this. Of all of you."

"This is our jurisdiction, Doctor," the first girl claimed. "These are our creatures. We are close to finding them."

"They are our children, and we will deal with them," the second added.

"Your kids are out of control. I'm taking this out of your hands," he pointed out.

The phone on Arthur's hand suddenly rings. "Hello?" He asked as he ran to them. "This is the Explorer."

"Arthur, where's your father?" Kate asked. "Tell him I've just sent him a distress signal."

"Doctor!" Arthur gives him the phone. "Kate just gave you a distress signal."

"Don't even think about going anywhere," he warned the twins before walking away to answer it.

Arthur glances at the twins. "How long has this happened?" He asked.

"Two months," the first one answered. "Like we said, we will deal with them, Explorer. You don't have to do anything."

Suddenly, a red smoke appears in the park, causing everyone to panic and run without direction. One of them pushes Arthur away, hitting his head as two Zygons take the twins to a black van, leaving the park before the Doctor or Arthur can stop them.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"UNIT troops will be destroyed wherever they are in the world," Osgood read as two Zygons stood behind her, guarding. "The enemies of our race will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The war is about to begin. There will be truth… or there will be consequences."

As the video finishes, The Doctor uses his phone to call Clara, only to receive a voicemail. "Call me now. Your girlfriend is in danger," he stated.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"This is where the Zygon High Command had their secret base," Kate said as the Doctor, Arthur, and Clara (who came just 10 minutes ago) followed her.

"A junior school?" Clara frowns as Arthur notices photographs of the twins are on a wall collage.

"Terms of the settlement, Operation Double, were these. 20 million Zygons, the entire hatchery, were allowed to be born and to stay on Earth. They were permitted to permanently take up the form of the nearest available human beings," Kate explained.

"In this case, a large percentage of the population of the UK," Jac added as they entered a dark room.

"You and your family left us with an impossible situation, Doctor."

"Yes, I know. It's called peace," the Doctor denoted. "What about the two little girl commanders? Weren't they helping you?"

"They've been almost impossible to deal with since Osgood and Claudia left," Kate mentioned. "Secretive, uncommunicative. We've known there's something going on. Some radicalisation, some… revolution in the younger brood. They said they had it under control."

They go through a hole in the brick wall to an area festooned with red cords or cables. A giant sized polyp stands proud.

"What's that?" Arthur gestured.

"The Zygon command centre," the Doctor answered. "That's the control polyp for all Zygons on Earth."

"It's horrible," Jac remarked.

"Arthur, Would you mind…?"

"Sure," Arthur takes his torch and gives it to him.

The Doctor splashes liquid from the pool in the centre of the polyp onto its fronds, then caresses some horns. "If this has been compromised, the Zygons are wide open." He frowns. "They'll be starting to panic. Starting to worry."

"Doctor, do you want to be alone with that thing?" Clara asked.

"It's a command computer. You operate it by titivating the fronds."

"Are you enjoying that?"

"I snogged a Zygon once. Old habits."

"Ew," Arthur makes disgusting noises, before some screens come to life, booting up with Sapphire.

"Still got the old magic," he noted.

"So, Osgood and Claudia have been kidnapped, right?" Clara asked. "I thought Osgood was dead."

"There've always been two of her, ever since the ceasefire. We never knew which one was real," Kate clarified.

"Both of them," the Doctor answered.

"Okay, which one was Zygon?"

"Both of them. They would have maintained a live link. They were both Zygon and human at the same time. They not only administered the peace, they were the peace."

"When the other Osgood died, the survivor went pretty much mad with grief," Jac denoted. "Then she just disappeared. Went undercover in the States. A week ago, we sent Claudia to look after her, to make sure she's safe. Now, of course, the rebels have them."

"Ah ha!" The Doctor suddenly exclaimed. "Okay. Zygons hatched and dispersed all over, but something's gone wrong. Mexico border, North Asia, West Africa, Australia. Panic. Paranoia. What would happen if they knew who we were?"

"We've received another video," Jac informed as everyone gathered around to look at Jac's tablet.

"That's the Zygon High Command," Kate noticed the twins from the video. "It's Jemima and Claudette."

"We have been betrayed," a Zygon declared. "We were sold. Our rights were violated. We demand the right to be ourselves. Normalise. Normalise!" The twins transform into Zygons, then are zapped to dust by electricity from two other Zygon hands. "We are now the Zygon High Command. All traitors will die. Truth or consequences."

"So, we have a Zygon terrorist," Arthur remarked. Great. Why can't they just stay in peace?

"We need to open negotiations," the Doctor proposed.

"I'm not negotiating with them," Kate disagreed. "As far as they're concerned, everyone's a traitor."

Clara looks at her. "If you're not going to negotiate, what are you going to do?"

"They're holed up in this settlement in Turmezistan. It's where they've taken Osgood and Claudia. I'm going to order Colonel Walsh to bomb it."

"Isn't there a solution that doesn't involve bombing everyone?" The Doctor grumbled.

"The treaty's been comprehensively violated, Doctor."

"This is a splinter group. The rest of the Zygons, the vast majority, they want to live in peace. You start bombing them, you'll radicalise the lot. That's exactly what the splinter group wants."

"'Truth or consequences'," Arthur repeated. "Isn't there a city by that name?"

"Yeah. It's a town in New Mexico. Truth or Consequences," Clara agreed, noticing the confusion on everyone else. "Er, they renamed it after a TV show, for a bet or something. It's a Trivial Pursuit question. I used to memorise Trivial Pursuit questions so I could win."

"That's the last place we received a signal from Claudia's phone, isn't it?" Kate recalled. "New Mexico."

"Okay," the Doctor nods. "Kate Stewart, no bombs for you. Go to Truth or Consequences. See what you can find out. Sunny and I will go to Turmezistan. Negotiate peace, rescue Osgood and Claudia, and prevent this war, cos that's what we do. Clara, Jac, you stay here. This is your country. Protect it from the scary monsters. And also from the Zygons."

"Fine," Clara agreed. For some reason, Arthur senses something's weird on Clara, but he can't explain what it is.

"Oh, and do you still have the presidential aircraft?"

"I thought you didn't like being President of the World."

"No, but I like poncing about in a big plane. Especially with Sunny."

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Arthur looked up at the night sky as he wrote his journey so far in his diary. Occasionally he looked at the Doctor, who somehow looked nervous as he sat across from him, not caring that there was a pile of jelly babies on the glass table.

"You don't want to ask?"

The question made Arthur turn to him. "Ask what?"

"What happened after you jumped from Graystark Hall Orphanage. There are many things that don't make sense to you now."

Arthur took another look at his biological father's face. There was an expression of nervousness and unpreparedness as he thought about the situation they were facing.

"I can guess what happened there," he admitted, looking at the clouds and moon beside his chair. His memory of the six months in their grasp had not fully returned, but he still remembered the screams and cries he had let out as they savagely dissected him. "I guess I won't fully know what happened until it's time."

"You never told me what they had done to you."

"I have a feeling that whatever happened in those 6 months should not be tampered with," he shrugged and sighed. "Did you know Bad Wolf warned me and River beforehand?"

"River confessed after..." the Doctor paused, "after we rescued Amy and fought the Silences. I have a suspicion she still plays a role in maintaining my timeline and making sure you survive."

"Why would she want to help me?" Arthur asked. To him, Bad Wolf's identity was quite confusing. He didn't have many clues as to who Bad Wolf was and why she was so willing to help Arthur.

"She helped me once," the Doctor began. "And you could say... she was a necessary family member. Without her, you might not have been born."

Arthur looked at the writing in his diary. He remembered something. "Your future self," he started to say, "says my powers have been unstable since Skaro. Why?"

The doctor furrowed his brow. "How much did my future self say about that?"

"Only a little. Said that my powers opened up on their own and that it overwhelmed my body and made it difficult to control my abilities."

"Naturally," he murmured before looking at Arthur. "I think I can shed a little light on your abilities. How much do you know about your abilities?"

"I can jump into your timeline at random, see visions of the past, present, and future, and am sensitive to some things," Arthur recalled. "But I'm not sure why."

"Your abilities are directly linked to the Tardis. Since birth, your abilities have been there, but they were locked away for 10 years. When you entered the Tardis for the first time, the Tardis began to unlock your abilities. But because your energy is too powerful, it does so slowly. First, your ability to travel through my timeline. It's a simple ability that it can stabilise without shaking you, physically or mentally."

"So these visions I'm having... Basically, I got them too early?" Arthur surmised.

"More or less. Maybe because you were too shocked to see Clara and Claudia's 'death' in Skaro, your body was shaken and you had a blackout. I guess it was Bad Wolf who helped you regain consciousness?" The doctor guessed and Arthur nodded in confirmation. "And I supposed, the same can be said with your sensitivity with your surroundings. You'd just need to adjust them, adapt those abilities and it will be natural for you."

"Is this normal for Time Lords?" Arthur wondered and took a glass of water.

"Time Lords can do many things, but seeing the future is very rare. It can happen to many gifted Time Lords, but usually, it comes with a great price. Most of them rarely stay sane," he denoted, recalling the Visionary, the one Time Lady who can foresee the future, but lost her sanity. "Your case is… unique, Sunny, even to Time Lords. You have the potential to do many things no Time Lords can do regularly."

"And that means, I'll be targeted," he concluded, clutching his diary in his fingers. "Now and then."

"Yes," he replied sadly, leaning back on his chair, thinking back what Kovarian had warned in the Pyramid, the things she had done in the name of peace and sanity, of saving the universe, and how she's one of many enemies he had to face. "Dangerous enemies, who'll hunt you and use your gift for their own benefit."

"Like the Silence?" He asked.

The Doctor looks at the sky. "Like… them," he answered solemnly, but also with a hint of rage.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"At ease," the Doctor said as he and Arthur entered the UNIT base in Turmezistan. "I'm the President of the World. This is the Explorer, the Vice President. We're here to rescue people and generally establish happiness all over the place." He looks at the woman in charge. "The Doctor. Doctor Funkenstein."

"Yes, we know who you are," the woman denoted, although she looked at Arthur weirdly, not used to seeing a child in this kind of place.

"Going to strike altitude," a soldier stated. Colonel Walsh, from what Arthur sees on her nametag.

"What's going on here?" Arthur asked.

"We're 700 metres lower, 700 metres lower than planned. Over," a pilot informed.

"You're not bombing that town," the Doctor pointed out. "That's where they're holding my friend and Claudia."

"They're dangerous. And your friend and your granddaughter is almost certainly dead. I'm not going to allow them to disperse. You can't track a shape-shifter," Colonel Walsh retorted.

"Visual on the target," the female soldier stated.

"Confirm strike."

"Colonel, stop," Arthur begged, but since he's not an adult, she won't listen to him.

"Confirm strike."

But the female soldier is looking at the image on her screen, and seeing a man and boy waving at her. Arthur gasps as he glances at the console near her, noticing the picture that shows the same man and boy on the screen and what it means.

"Confirm strike. Confirm strike!" Colonel Walsh demanded.

But the female soldier said otherwise. "Strike aborted. Strike aborted," she ordered before taking off her headphone and looks incredibly shock.

"Well, that's interesting," the Doctor mumbled as he cast a glance to his son, sharing the same thought.

There's a mole in UNIT.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Not long after, Colonel Walsh began an assault operation on a village near the UNIT base. The Doctor of course joined the operation, but unfortunately, Arthur was not allowed to participate and had to wait in the car to be guarded, in case the Zygon was also targeting the boy as well, and because he was still seen as a child.

Still, UNIT had allowed him to use the drone to keep an eye on everyone, while also knowing the status of their situation.

"Okay, listen carefully. Once we get to the village we have a 30 minute window before the airstrike," Colonel Walsh ordered from the laptop screen that connects to the drone. "We all know what a rabbit warren this place is, but we've got intel they're holed up inside the church. Hitchley, you take the front, storm it, draw their fire. The Doctor and I will take the back."

The Doctor holds out a photo of Osgood. "This is our object. We need to get her back, safely. Try to kill as few of them as possible. I need have to have someone to negotiate with."

"You know what they're capable of," Colonel Walsh reminded them. "Do not fall victim to it. Truck open. Code Green."

"Let's move out!" A man named Hitchley gestured to other soldiers.

As Colonel Walsh and the Doctor go through the graveyard to the back of the church, Hitchley fires three shots into the air at the front church. "Come out! Throw down your weapons! Come out! We have you surrounded! Come out of there!" He demanded, but nothing happen. "Come out, we have you surrounded!"

The carved church door opens and an old woman comes out. "I don't have any weapons. Please," she begged.

"Take aim. On my command," he commanded.

"No. No, don't, please. Johnny, you don't understand."

"You're not my mother. Don't use my name."

"They took us here. They came to the house and took us. They took your sister. Me," she pointed out and walked down the steps.

Hitchley aims his gun at her. "Stay where you are."

"It's not us who are the impostors. Don't let them trick you. It's your commanders, your chief. They're the aliens."

"Do not fall victim. Ask for details. She's a copy. Ask something only your mum could know," Colonel Walsh ordered.

"Mom, I'm going to have to ask you some questions."

"Don't do this. You know it's me. Don't let them trick you," she pleaded.

"Date and place of my birth."

"They brought us here. They're using us against you. I'm scared. Please, I'm so scared."

"Ask something else," Arthur suggested, using the comm.. he had, looking at the church from the different angle of the drone. "Your favourite food, why you joined UNIT. Anything personal. If she still deflects, that means she's not your mother."

"What's my favourite food?" He asked.

"I don't remember. I'm sorry, I don't. Don't kill me because I can't remember!"

Arthur can see the look of panic and uncertainty at Hicthley's face. He pats an agent from the front seat. "Can you contact his mother?" Arthur asked. The man looks confused, but nods. "Connect the call to Hitchley's comm.., let him know that she's not here. Actually, contact all soldiers' relatives here as well. I'll be back."

"What—"

The brunette quickly opens the door and shouting, "Hey!" He stares as all soldiers and the woman frown at him. "Is this what you really want?!" He demanded her. "Manipulate these people' feelings just so you can kill them later? Is this truly the path of freedom your species needs?"

He finds the Doctor quietly entering the church, while also gesturing to him to keep continuing. Though, judging from his face, he seems rather shocked and quite annoyed with the stunt he had pulled now.

"Why are you here?" She gazes at him.

"Does it matter?" He asked back. "I want to help. I want peace on both sides. I hate violence," he closes his eyes, calming himself so the painful memories won't return. "Just… stop, please," he looks at the soldiers. "Put your weapon down."

"But—"

"Just do it!" He snapped, which made all the soldiers comply.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"Doctor?" Claudia called, sensing him nearby. "Doctor?"

"Claudia! Osgood!"

They hear a stomping voice from above.

"Doctor, there's a trap door nearby," Claudia informed.

They hear more noises before they find the Doctor jumps down the ladder and turns on a torch. "Osgood! Claudia!" He called, relieved that they're alive. "Got to get you out. Arthur's stalling both sides. What do the Zygons want?"

"They're training, practising new skills," Osgood replied as the Doctor sonics the manacles on her and Claudia. "Doctor, what are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you two. In quite a dashing way, I might add."

"Some of them fled already running through the tunnels," Claudia informed as she's helping Osgood to stand up. "They're going back to the UK." She frowns. "If you're here, who's left in the UK?"

"Clara."

"Clara!" A voice snarled and the Doctor uses the torch to show the source of the voice.

"Oh, hello," the Doctor greeted before they heard an explosion and some rocks fell on top of the Zygon. "Of course," he muttered in annoyance.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"Are you out of your bloody mind?!" Arthur yelled at the comm.., at the woman who had initiated the bomb. He had just made a peace between the Zygons, convincing them to stop and help them. But nope. This woman just had to butchered everything!

"You're just a brat! Get lost!" The woman barked before cutting off the comm..

Arthur let out a shrieking yell, frustrated that Colonel Walsh is that stupid. Now he can understand why the Doctor sometimes calls humans pudding brains. They're brain is seriously as dull as pudding!

As the chaos between the UNIT soldiers and Zygon armies, the boy slowly sees Osgood, Claudia, and the Doctor approaching the van while avoiding getting injured.

"Start the engine!" The Doctor yelled as he let Osgood and Claudia enter and quickly shut the door. "Take us away!"

Arthur looks at Claudia. "So how's New Mexico?"

"Chaotic," the bluenette replied as the van took them away.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Arthur watches sideways as the soldiers put a Zygon on a plane, wheeled in tied to a box trolley.

"Clara, we're safe, call me as soon as you can," Claudia said before ending the call, looking at Osgood who sat next to her. "Nice shirt," she gestures to the question mark motif on the collar.

"The old question marks," the Doctor remarked, nostalgic, turning back.

"You used to wear question marks," Osgood recalled.

"Oh, I know, yes, I did."

"They were nice. Why don't you wear them any more?"

"Oh, I do. I've got question mark underpants."

Arthur scrunches his nose. "I don't need to know that," he pointed out.

Osgood snorts at the boy's reaction. "Makes one wonder what the question is."

The Doctor pulls up another chair beside Arthur and sits down. "Which one are you? Human or Zygon?" He asked her.

"I don't answer that question," Osgood replied.

"Why not?" Claudia frowns. She never got a chance to ask her, not after the whole kidnapping.

"Because there isn't a question to answer. I don't accept it. My sister and I were the living embodiment of the peace we made. I will give all the lives that I have to protect it. You want to know who I am, Doctor, Claudia? I am the peace. I am Human and Zygon."

"Like a hybrid," the Doctor muttered.

"A hybrid, if you like."

"Well, I'm proud to know you, Osgood. And I promise that I won't tell anyone that you're a human. Zygons need to keep the human original alive to refresh the body print. If you were a Zygon, you'd've changed back within days of your sister's death."

"Those were the old rules, before Zygons could pluck loved ones from your memory and wear their faces. Zygons only need to keep the original alive if they need more information from them. If the interrogation is over, then the original can die."

"Which is a problem itself," Claudia denoted, tapping her feet worrily. "We've been tracking down several locations where they hid the originals in New Mexico. I asked several Zygons' agents who had cooperated with Operation Double. But even they didn't know for certain."

"How come?" Arthur pondered.

"Their commanders are afraid that they will be a danger, from humans and Zygons, so they often move the location to avoid detection," Osgood added, fixing her glasses.

"So, our clue now is," Arthur glances at the Zygon in the plane. "This one?"

"Afraid so," Claudia mumbled as she, the Doctor, and Osgood approached the Zygon, while Arthur remained on his seat. "What's your name? What's your objective?"

"You are the daughter of Dame Redwood?" It asked her.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Your mother… was a fool. She wanted us to hide the truth, hide our identity. We want the truth of who we are to be acknowledged. We want to live as ourselves. At any cost. We want a home."

"Well, you can't have the United Kingdom. There's already people living there. They'll think you're going to pinch their benefits," the Doctor retorted, sensing how tense Claudia becomes, despite her calm expression.

"And don't start with America," Arthur added. "You don't want to mess with them."

"We're already there, Doctor. The invasion's already taken place, bit by bit, over the last year. We've won the first battle. And now, we are going to begin the war."

Claudia's phone suddenly rings. "Clara?" She called, still looking at the Zygon.

"Claudia."

She grips her phone. Her tone… it's too soft for Clara. "You're not Clara Oswald. Who are you?"

"Very sharp. And brave. I can see why she calls you Gallant Girl."

"Where the bloody hell is she?!"

"I'm sorry, but Clara's dead. Kate Stewart is dead. The UNIT troops are all dead."

Claudia snorts as the Doctor takes a parachute from a hidden floor. "You'd think I buy your lie?" The bluenette leered. She knows Clara's still alive. There's no way they'll kill her on spot. Especially if their objection is using the Osgood box. "Stop this now. We don't need violence."

"I don't think so. Truth or consequences," Fake Clara simply replied.

"So be it," Claudia mumbled and ended the call, looking at the Doctor. "How much parachute?"

"Three," he grumbled as the plane started shaking. "Bad Wolf, send Sunny away!"

Arthur's eyes wide open. "Wait—!" He only yelled before disappearing.

"Come on!" Osgood called and led them into the emergency door.