Alex looked on in horror and fright as, less than a few seconds after he had introduced himself, the Ganger Doctor started twisting and screaming uncontrollably. He fell to his knees, hands clutching at his newly full-formed face.
"Argh! What's happening?!" he cried. "I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day. . ." He started to get back on his feet, only to hunch over in agony a beat later. "Aaagh! I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow. . ."
"What's happening?" Alex asked frantically.
The Doctor's eyes never wavered from his Ganger counterpart. "The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations. Hold on!" he called to the Ganger.
The Ganger thrust his arm forward, palm up as though to offer something. "Would you like a jelly-baby?" he asked. His voice was lower and deeper, definitely that of a different person. Probably one of the Doctor's past incarnations if Alex had to guess. A split second later he dropped his arm, his face contorting painfully. "Why?" he asked. "Why? Why?!"
"Why what?" the Doctor demanded.
But the Ganger didn't answer. Instead, he straightened up and beamed. "Hello, I'm the Doctor," he spoke, his voice another incarnation's again. He shook his head and cringed. "No, let it go, we've moved on!"
"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor urged. "You can stabilize." But the Ganger continued to convulse and scream. The Doctor winced and glanced at Alex. She looked so terrified and worried at seeing the Ganger, a part of the Doctor himself, in pain. But that gave him an idea.
He gripped Alex's shoulders and guided her until she was standing directly in front of the Ganger. "Ally, go to him."
Alex gaped at him. She would have thought that the Doctor would want her as far away from the Ganger as possible while he was trying to cope with the memories of past incarnations. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. You've always calmed me down at my worst, love." He nudged her towards the still suffering Ganger. "You can do the same to him."
Alex studied the Ganger. He was shaking and muttering, the memories of his past incarnations overwhelming him. Every few seconds, he would flinch violently, as though something was being thrown at him.
That was all the encouragement she needed. She took a few steps forward. "Doc?" she said hesitantly.
The Ganger's head shot up. He reached out, grabbing Alex by her upper arms, and pulled her closer to him. Alex let out a squeal at the sudden action but allowed the Ganger to keep her in his grasp. He seemed to be drawing strength from her touch. Already, his flinching had stopped, as had his shaking.
"I've reversed the jelly-baby of the neutron flow," he babbled. His dark green eyes were filled with panic and tears. He stared into Alex's calm chocolate brown ones as he sank to his knees.
"Shh. . ." Alex murmured, crouching down beside him. She reached up and ran her thumb across his cheekbone, smiling when he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. It was something the Doctor hadn't done since discovering she was Flesh. Maybe because this one's also Flesh, he feels a deeper physical connection with me?
The Ganger Doctor's head pounded. He could feel more memories being pushed at him, but these were pleasant ones, ones that were nowhere near as painful as the previous ones. These memories were of the girl before him.
The first time they met, her in that oh-so-tempting kissogram outfit. . .
His eyes traveled over to look at one girl leaning up against the wall across from him. She was dressed in a policewoman's outfit, which he mostly noticed had a very short skirt. His eyes traveled up her long legs all the way to her eyes, where he blinked in surprise. The girl's eyes seemed to change color; one second they were brown, the next they were light green.
"I'm assuming you're Alex?"
Alex nodded and smiled. "The one and only," she chirped.
He looked at her outfit again and a smirk graced his face. "Lovely outfit, Alex," he said, causing Alex to giggle again.
Their first trip on Starship U.K. . . .
He watched Alex through his own pain. He felt his hearts sink as he watched her sink to the floor in pain, covering her ears. Her eyes were tightly shut but suddenly they opened, revealing her now dark green eyes clouded with recognition. He knew then that she had realized who had been tapping into her mind, who had been reaching out for help.
"Why send Amy back?" she demanded as he looked up at her, not even allowing him to get a word in. "Why? Because she made a mistake? One mistake? A mistake she doesn't even remember making?"
Other memories flashed before his eyes. Delving into her extraordinary mind for the first time, that revealing outfit of hers in Venice and all the flirting it caused, playing her version of Twenty Questions in Bristol. Seeing her weak and nearly helpless from Malohkeh's dissection, salsa dancing in Rio, watching her try on that beautiful dress while they were at Craig's flat. Kissing her in the Byzantium oxygen factory, dancing with her at Amy and Rory's wedding reception, relishing in the pure delight on her face when he gave her the sonic necklace. Watching in awe as she got along with his past companions. Watching her leave the TARDIS with a suitcase in hand. Seeing her beautiful face streaked with tears in that Utah diner and resolving to destroy whatever made her cry. Kissing and declaring his feelings for her. Watching her go through horrible pain attacks and being unable to stop them. Holding her in his arms just last night and realizing that he loved her.
Names poured into his mind, all of them different, but connected to the same girl. The girl standing before him, unafraid even though she had every reason to be.
"Alexandria, Alex, Ally. . ." He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "I'm. . . I can't," he whimpered.
Alex swore that her heart snapped at his distress. "Shh," she soothed. She ran her fingers through his hair, like he had done so many times to her in the past to calm her or himself down. "You can, I know you can."
The Ganger gasped for breath. "You really think so?" he asked, staring at her through skeptical eyes.
Alex nodded firmly. "Absolutely. You're the strongest, most stubborn person I've ever met."
The Ganger gripped her arms tightly. "Please . . . trust me," he begged. His eyes watered at the mere thought of his wonderful Ally not trusting him. "I'm him," he nodded over to the Original Doctor, "I swear."
"If you weren't in so much pain, I'd smack you for asking that," Alex declared, causing the Ganger to let out a chuckle. She moved her fingers down to his face, hands cupping his cheeks. "Of course I'm gonna trust you. You're still him, I know that."
The Ganger could feel the agony in his mind steadily decrease at her touch and words. "Rassilon, what would I do without you?" he murmured. It seemed to be a rhetorical question as before Alex could answer, the Ganger began struggling to his feet.
Alex hastened to help him up. "You alright now?" she checked once he was on his feet.
The Ganger smiled. He still felt a bit weak, but it dimmed to almost nothing when he looked upon Alex. "As long as I've got you by my side." Alex blushed, but was pleased, nevertheless.
"Doctor!" Amy called from her place by the door. "Alex! We need you! Get over here!"
The Ganger smiled at Amy. "Hello!"
Amy ignored him. "Doctor! Alex!"
Alex gave the Ganger an apologetic smile before rushing over to Amy and the other humans. They were all still trying to barricade the door as best as possible.
"Cybermats," the Doctor said as soon as Alex was by Amy.
The Ganger frowned at him in confusion. "Do we have time for this?"
"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me. Cybermats."
"Created by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brainwaves."
"Do we like Alex's hair pulled up or tied up?"
The Ganger wrinkled his nose. "No, can't play with it when it's like that."
Amy rolled her eyes at their questions and focused back on the door. "Are you sure there aren't any weapons we can get to? Like big guns with bits on?"
"Yeah, big guns would be good right now," Buzzer agreed.
"Why would we have guns?" Jimmy scoffed. He leaned against the door to help keep it shut. "We're a factory. We mine. . ." He trailed off when the door started hissing and smoking.
"Acid," Alex finished. A bunch of battering started up on the other side. It wouldn't be long until the Gangers got in, and then . . . well, she didn't really want to think about that part.
Meanwhile, the two Doctors were still talking, apparently not that concerned about the acid eating away at the door. "Rory and Amy, they may not trust both of us," the Ganger warned.
"Alex does," the Doctor pointed out. In his opinion, that was all that really mattered.
"They're not Ally," the Ganger countered. He didn't notice the Doctor's slight eye-narrow at him calling Alex by her nickname. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Inevitably."
"I'm glad we're on the same. . ."
"Wavelength," the Doctor finished. "You see, great minds."
"Exactly! So, what's the plan?"
"Save them all, humans and Gangers."
"Tall order. Sounds wonderful."
"Is that what you were thinking? It's just so inspiring to hear me say it."
"I know."
"Doctor, come on!" Amy snapped.
"So, what now, Doctor?"
The Doctor beamed. "Well, time to get cracking, Doctor!"
The two Doctors walked over to the others. "Hello!" they greeted together. "Sorry. . ."
"But we had to establish a few. . ." the Ganger began.
"Ground rules," the Doctor finished. He glanced up just in time to see Amy eyeing his and the Ganger's shoes. The only way to tell the two apart was by their shoes; the Doctor wore the loaned work boots while the Ganger was in his regular black boots.
"Formulate a. . ."
"Protocol."
"Protocol. Very posh."
"A protocol between us. Otherwise. . ."
"It gets horribly embarrassing."
"And potentially confusing."
Amy could just feel the migraine coming on. "I'm glad you've solved the problem of confusing," she retorted.
"That's sarcasm," the Ganger noticed.
The Doctor nodded. "She's very good at sarcasm."
"Much like Ally's very good at calming others down."
"Yes, she's marvelous," the Doctor agreed, tensing slightly at how someone else – even if it was technically himself – was calling Alex Ally.
"Remarkable."
The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Extraordinary."
The Ganger started to glower. "Phenomenal."
"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone," Amy muttered.
"Okay!" Alex cried, blushing heavily both at the Doctors words and Amy's comment. Still, it was nice to know that the two Doctors cared about her so much . . . even if they would likely kill each-other in their quest to outdo the other and impress her. "Can we get back on subject please?"
"For you, anything," the Doctor confirmed.
"Whatever you desire, love," the Ganger said, smirking at the Doctor when the man shot him a knock-it-off look.
The two Doctors then turned to Amy. "Breathe!" they shouted at her.
Amy nearly jumped out of her skin at their surprise move. "What?" she asked in confusion. She was breathing! Why the hell were they telling her to do something she was already doing?
Neither of the Doctors answered, doing as Alex had asked and getting back to the matter at hand. "We have to get you off this island," the Ganger said.
"And the Gangers too," the Doctor added.
"Sorry, would you like a memo from the last meeting?" Cleaves scoffed as she and her team struggled to hold the door shut despite the acid. "They're trying to kill us!"
"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" Alex countered. "Oh, wait, I know. Yours! We warned you they'd retaliate and," she pointed to the door, "there they are, retaliating!"
"They're scared," the Doctor jumped in while his Ganger wrapped an arm around Alex's shoulders to calm her down.
"Doctor, we're trapped in here," Amy reminded him.
He shook his head. "Right, see, I don't think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above."
"But where are the earthing conduits?" the Ganger questioned.
The Doctor almost didn't answer for his gaze was focused on his Ganger and Alex. The Ganger's arm was still wrapped around Alex's shoulders and Alex – his Ally – was leaning into him. She's supposed to do that with me! he thought. A thrum of jealousy ran through his veins. It was nowhere near as powerful as it usually was when he got jealous, but it was there, making itself known.
He then became aware that Alex was staring at him. "Doc?" she questioned. "Is there another way out of here?"
Focus! he snapped to himself. "Right, yes!" he exclaimed. There would be time to figure out how to keep Alex away from his Ganger later.
He looked at the piping above and followed its way down the wall. "All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes? With us?" He went to the wall directly in front of him and pulled away the paneling, revealing a nicely-sized grate. "Yowza!" he cheered. "An escape route!"
"Yowza?" Amy mouthed to Alex in confusion. Alex just shrugged.
"You know," the Doctor continued, "I'm starting to get a real sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me." He only said this because the Ganger had finally removed his arm from Alex.
"Do we tend to say 'Yowza'?" the Ganger asked.
"Remember the first time we saw Alex?"
The Ganger thought for a moment, then smirked. "Ah yes, the kissogram outfit."
Alex's cheeks turned scarlet, and her eyes widened. "Y-you. . ." She swallowed heavily, trying to control her embarrassed stuttering. "You . . . 'yowza'ed at that?"
"Not at the time," the Ganger clarified, "but looking back? Yes."
"But we say it now 'cause we're under stress." The Doctor turned back to the grate and quickly opened it with his sonic. The Ganger shoved Alex in and everyone else scrambled to crawl in after her.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
The humans, Amy, Alex, the Doctor, and the Ganger Doctor hurried down a tunnel after shimmying through the air-shaft away from the Gangers. The Doctor was beaming broadly as he walked at the head of the group, his hand clasped with Alex's. He had managed to get to her before his bloody Ganger. He'd seen his Ganger scowl a bit at that, but hey, his loss.
Alex looked up and saw his triumphant smile. She rolled her eyes. Honestly! Their little pissing contest – as her friend Mike would call it – was starting to move from cute if slightly embarrassing, to annoying. "Stop that," she scolded.
"Stop what?" the Doctor asked, still smiling.
Alex pointed to his upturned lips. "That. You do realize you're the same person, right?"
"Of course I do!"
"Funny, because you aren't really acting like it."
"He is acting rather juvenile, isn't he, Ally?" the Ganger commented from behind them.
Alex turned and shot him a look. But before she could point out that he was acting rather childish as well, Buzzer spoke up. "The army will send a recon team."
"We need to find a way to contact the mainland," Cleaves reminded him.
"What about Rory and Jen?" Amy cut in. "They are both out there!"
"No, this place is a maze," the Doctor remarked. "Takes a long time to find someone in a maze. I bet you lot have got a computer map, haven't you?"
Cleaves nodded. "If we can get power running, we can scan for them."
At that moment, a hazy white smoke rose up and around the group. Alex coughed as the gas reached her mouth and nose. Her eyes watered and she hastily pulled her scarf up, covering everything but her eyes. Around her, the others began coughing as well.
"Doctor," Amy choked out between coughs, "you said earlier to breathe."
"Very important, Pond," the Doctor confirmed through a bunch of hacking. He peered down at Alex. He did a mental sigh of relief upon seeing her covered mouth and thanked every deity out there for having her decide to wear a scarf today. "Breathe."
"Yeah, well, I'm struggling to."
"I think it's the acid," Alex said, her voice slightly muffled through the scarf.
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Acid interacting with the stone."
"Creating an asphyxiant miasma," his Ganger coughed.
"A what?" Cleaves choked out.
"Choking gas! Extra heavy. If we can get above it. . ."
"The evac tower!" Cleaves pushed past them and ran down the corridor. "This way!"
It took them only a few minutes to reach the evac tower. In the center of the room were a bunch of control panels, complete with several monitors, levers, and buttons. The Doctor, Amy, Alex, and Cleaves sprinted over to the controls. Cleaves pushed herself forward and began working them. The Doctor moved to check the front of the controls while his Ganger went to check the back.
"Oh!" Amy coughed. "I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something."
Alex looked at her worriedly. "Really?"
Amy shook her head. "It's okay," she assured. "It's better. It's easing off. What about you?"
Alex lowered her scarf and took a few deep breaths. "I think I'm good now."
A bell chimed the hour. Jimmy looked up. "It's midnight," he breathed. He smiled softly. "It's Adam's birthday. My son's five. Happy birthday, bud."
"Can you really get the power back?" Cleaves asked the Doctors, both of whom were now standing behind the control panel.
"There's always some power floating around," the Doctor on the right remarked. He ducked down behind the console as the Doctor on the left stood up.
"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint," the standing Doctor added.
Amy rubbed her head. She didn't mind it when the Doctor and Alex finished each-other's sentences or spoke simultaneously, but two Doctors doing it was getting a bit annoying. "Can you stop finishing each-other's—"
"Sentences?" the Doctor finished as he popped back up. "No probs."
"Yes," the Ganger nodded, giving her a smile before ducking back down.
Alex felt a bit of irritation rise in her as well. "Is this what's it like when the Doctor and I finish sentences?"
"No, no," Amy said. "When you two do it, it's cute."
"Thank you!" the Ganger popped back up, grinning wildly.
The Doctor sprang to his feet. "She was talking about me!" he said crossly.
"No, she wasn't!"
"No, hang on," Amy ordered before their verbal sparring could turn physical. "You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?"
"She survived getting blown up, didn't she?" Alex pointed out.
"She's right," the Doctor agreed. He gave Alex a wink and a grin for her faith in the time machine. "She's a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy."
"No," the Ganger disagreed, coming up to join him. "Tough, dependable, sexy."
"Not quite as sexy as Ally though," the Doctor pointed out. He winked at Alex again, smirking proudly when another red flush appeared in her cheeks. She really was quite adorable when embarrassed or flustered.
The Ganger scowled a little. He couldn't let the other Doctor be the only one to flirt with his Ally! "I prefer beautiful myself," he remarked, leaning over the upper part of the controls to smirk at Alex.
Amy shook her head while Alex just giggled. "Come on," Amy scoffed just as the Doctor opened his mouth to make what would surely be some kind of flirtatious retort. "Okay, how can . . . how can you both be real?"
"Well, because . . . we are. I'm the Doctor."
"Yeah, and so am I," the Ganger agreed. "We contain the knowledge of over 900 years of experience. We both wear the same bowtie, which is cool."
"Because bowties are."
"And always will be."
"But how did the Flesh read you?" Amy demanded.
"I'm guessing when genius over there," Alex nodded to the Original Doctor, "got the bright idea to stick his hand in the Flesh vat."
The Doctor shot her a look for the sarcastic remark but nodded in confirmation. "And a new, genuine Doctor was created."
The Ganger held up his hands. "Ta-da!"
But Amy, much to Alex's displeasure, still didn't look convinced. "But one of you was here first," she persisted.
"Well, okay," the Doctor shrugged. "After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now, new shoes, a situation which did not confront me learned self here."
"That satisfy you, Pond?" the Ganger beamed.
Amy just gave him a flat look. "Don't call me 'Pond', please," she requested, sticking her nose up rather snootily as she spoke. The Doctors and Alex stared at her. "What?"
"Why did you just do that?" Alex demanded, eyes wide in astonishment.
"Do what?"
"Tell him not to call you 'Pond'. He always calls you that!"
Amy tilted her head in the direction of the Original Doctor. "Yeah, HE does."
Alex felt her bubbling fury rise. What the hell was wrong with Amy?! How could she just casually dismiss the other Doctor like that? Sure, he was made of Flesh, but that didn't make him any less real than the other.
It didn't make him any less real than Alex herself.
"It is him, Amy!" Alex cried, desperate to make her friend see reason.
Amy shook her head and sighed as if Alex was the one not getting it. "No, he's not, I. . ." She turned to the Ganger Doctor who, up until this point, had been watching Alex's growing temper warily. "Look, you're fine and everything, but he's," she pointed to the Original Doctor, "the Doctor. No offense. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."
But the Ganger didn't look pleased. His expression was a mixture of offense and, much to Alex's upset, hurt. "Being almost the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all," he countered.
"Don't overreact."
"He has plenty of reason to overreact, Amelia," Alex spat.
"You might as well call me Smith!" the Ganger exclaimed.
Amy frowned, confused. "Smith?"
"John Smith!"
"You're the Doctor to me," Alex told him, her agitated expression softening into one of compassion and love.
The Ganger smiled a little. "Thank you, Ally."
Amy frowned at him calling Alex by the nickname the Original Doctor called her, but before she could comment on it, the lights on the controls lit up.
"Yes!" the Doctor cheered. "Communication a go-go!"
The Doctors, the humans, Amy, and Alex all rushed to the front of the controls. Alex made sure to put a few people between herself and Amy. While the redhead was one of her best friends, she was still incredibly angry at her. She didn't quite trust herself around Amy at the moment. Alex had never felt the desire to punch somebody senseless, but Amy was unknowingly starting to drive her towards that emotion.
Calm down, Alexandria, Alex mentally drilled as Cleaves keyed into the monitors. She shifted a little closer to the Doctor, trying to calm herself down with his close proximity. The Doctor, apparently sensing what she was doing, moved closer to her as well, up to where his jacket and her sweater were touching.
"Find Rory!" Amy pleaded, momentarily forgetting her Ganger Doctor prejudice. "Show me the scanny, tracky screen. Come on, Rory, let's be having you."
Cleaves pulled up a screen that displayed a layout of the factory. She shook her head. "There's no sign of him anywhere."
"Come on," Amy begged. "Come on, baby, show yourself."
Cleaves abandoned the monitor and moved to a radio that had only just come online. "St. John's calling," she said into it. "Emergency Alpha. St. John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain?" She paused for a moment. "Come in?" She waited another moment, then sighed in defeat. "We'll never get a signal through this storm. St. John's calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent."
"We're just about reading you, St. John's," a male voice suddenly crackled. "How are you doing? We've had all kinds of trouble here."
"Request immediate evacuation. We're under attack. The storm's affected our Gangers. They're running amok."
"Your Gangers?" the man repeated in shock.
"Yes, our Gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out." She didn't notice the Doctor, the Ganger, and Alex all frown at her.
"Copy that, St. John's. Shuttle's dispatched. Hang on."
"You'll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac tower. And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following code-word. I'm typing it in, in case they're listening in."
"Got it. We'll swing in, get you out, and decommission the Flesh."
"We've got to get out of here," Buzzer said the second Cleaves cut the transmission.
Alex shook her head. "We're not leaving without them."
"I want them found too, but it's about casualties, innit? Can't be helped."
"That's total bullshit and you know it!"
Amy sighed and turned away from the growing argument and her testier-than-usual friend. She now stood behind one of the Doctors. She glanced down and saw the brown work-boots the Original Doctor was sporting. She sat down beside him and did her best to ignore the holes being burned into her back by the Ganger's eyes behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Making a phone-call," he replied vaguely.
Amy's brow furrowed. "Who to?"
"No one yet. It's on delay."
"Right, not getting it. Why, exactly, are you making a phone-call?"
"Because, Amy, I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of impossible dreams." He spun around in his chair. "The wheels are in motion. Done," he finished, spinning her chair around as well.
Amy laughed, only to fall silent as her chair stilled, facing the Ganger. She shifted and looked over at Alex. Her friend was leaning against the wall, one boot propped up against the stonework. Her arms were crossed, and she was staring out blankly, not really seeing anything. She seemed deep in thought.
Amy turned away from her and murmured, "You know really there can only be one."
Alex stiffened, easily hearing Amy's words even though her head was clogged up with thoughts and worries. "Amelia, you have no idea what you're talking about," she hissed. Tears of anger and betrayal quivered in her eyes, but she pushed them down. "So shut the hell up."
Amy tensed at the anger in her voice. She eyed Alex's stiff muscles, her narrowed dark green eyes, and her slightly relaxed shoulders, ready to help her launch at someone in a nanosecond. The last time Amy had seen her friend like this, Alex had been angry that her grandmother had used her inheritance to invest in a power-plant being run by electricity-eating aliens. She'd been ready to get violent. This time was no exception.
Amy turned away. She didn't know what kinds of things would make Alex mad enough to lash out and throttle somebody and she didn't really want to find out. "Never mind," she murmured.
Alex sighed in relief as Amy turned away from her. So long as Amy kept her mouth shut (which she knew wouldn't last for very long), Alex could keep herself calm.
She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She'd always been an angry person, she knew. It was probably a side-effect from growing up with Carla, the Devil of Bristol, Kentucky. Carla had always been angry about something; being out of beer or wine-coolers or pot, her granddaughter's presence in her life, pretty much any and everything. As much as Alex liked to think those years with Carla hadn't affected her in any way, she knew that her short temper and fiery anger stemmed from those years of hate and contempt with the only blood relative she knew.
Her anger only seemed to intensify where the Doctor was concerned. He was one of the most important people in her life and after hearing all that he had suffered, she hated to see him hurt or mistreated in any way, shape, or form. And here was Amy, another one of the most important people in her life, a person who cared about the Doctor as much as Alex did, insulting and dismissing him. A Ganger him, but it was still him. Alex knew it was. She could feel it.
And it didn't help matters that Amy was essentially insulting Alex herself as well, even if she didn't know it. By saying that the Ganger Doctor wasn't real, she was technically saying that Alex wasn't real either. Alex knew, in a sense, that she wasn't, but it still hurt hearing Amy say it to the Ganger so confidently, so surely. She did feel real. She felt like she did before she had been kidnapped and programmed into a Flesh body.
But it was all a trick.
And it sucked.
Just as Alex was drowning herself in a bunch of poor-me thoughts, Amy let out a horrified gasp. Alex's head snapped up, causing her to nearly fall over in the process. Amy was staring at a spot on one of the walls and steadily backing away from it. Her skin was pale, and she was shaking more than a wet dog.
"Amy?" Alex called, her automatic concern for her friend rising up.
"What happened?" the Doctor demanded.
"It's her again," Amy trembled.
Eyepatch Lady, Alex thought. It has to be.
"It's who again?" the Doctor asked, confused.
"There's a woman I keep seeing," Amy explained. "A woman with an eyepatch, and she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me." She looked at the Doctor, waiting for words of comfort or an explanation, but none came. He just looked deep in thought. "Doctor?"
"It's nothing," he quickly dismissed.
"Doesn't seem like nothing."
"It's a time memory," the Doctor continued to wave off. "Like a mirage. It's nothing to worry about."
Alex knew he was lying. During another temporary psychic bond session, she told him all about the strange woman Amy kept seeing. The Doctor was sure the woman was involved in Amy and Alex's kidnapping, if not the mastermind, but he had no idea who she was.
He did promise her one thing though. The woman would pay dearly for taking her (and Amy) away from him.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A/N: Again I say, poor Alex. Now she's gotta deal with her best friend saying such demeaning things about the Gangers (the Doctor ganger, no less). But at least she's got two Doctors to take care of her. :}
Review Replies. . .
NicoleR85 - Thank you! Writing Alex's reactions to Amy's prejudice was really fun. We saw a bit of an outburst here but in the next chapter . . . whoo, watch out. :} Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
Sam Fraser - That is pretty interesting. It definitely doesn't excuse the way he was acting or what he said to Bill, but I'm glad the author of the book tried to put in some context to explain his actions. :)
ShadowTeir - That's alright. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of it either. It does fall a bit flat, especially since there are no standout moments or AU situations in it. Hopefully, I can try to fix that with future stories. :) Buzzer Ganger was definitely a shame to see go. If only they changed that to his original, lol. I'm definitely going to show the scene with Ganger Jimmy reuniting with his son and emotional effect it has on Alex. :) I hope you liked the flirting, bonding and jealousy in this chapter! They were SUCH fun to write! Alex's outburst at Amy was fun too. We'll see a bigger one tomorrow. }:} As we saw in this chapter, Alex is unable to tell the two Doctors apart except by their shoes, so expect a shock when they finally reveal all in the final chapter. :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
Thank you to everyone that reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story! Please review and see you tomorrow! :)