Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

One man’s song was about to end, while another’s was about to begin. 

A man with spiky hair let out a painful grunt and collapsed to his knees in the snowy street. At the end of the empty road, an Ood stood, ready to impart a final message.

“We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep.”

The Doctor stood on shaky legs, teeth gritted, as he staggered back toward his constant companion, the TARDIS. 

“This song is ending, but the story never ends,” Ood Sigma told him. 

The Doctor pulled out the TARDIS key and stepped inside for the last time as this version of himself. His face saddened as he closed the door behind him, leaning heavily against them for a moment to catch his breath. 

He took hold of the railing and carefully made his way up the ramp. Once at the top, he slipped off his brown overcoat and tossed it over one of the coral constructs, where his successor would later take it and throw it into the closet, never to be worn again. 

A tingling sensation began under the skin of his right hand. He lifted it to his face and watched as golden regeneration energy started shining through. He stared at it for a moment, his eyes clouding with sadness.

Letting his hand fall, he moved toward the TARDIS console. As he walked around it, he stroked the console affectionately, he would miss doing that. Reaching the dematerialisation lever, he paused for a brief moment before pulling it down, setting the TARDIS into motion. 

His gaze fell on the time rotor, watching it rise and fall. He took in the sight with these eyes for the last time, wishing it wasn’t the last. He wished he could have watched the rotor move up and down for many more years. 

His head lowered, tears threatening to fall, but he blinked them away quickly. His face remained solemn as he moved along the console, his eyes sweeping over the room one last time. 

He came to a stop beside the console, his eyes filling with tears again as he uttered his final words.

“I don’t want to go.” 

His breathing grew heavier as golden regeneration energy began to escape from his hands and head. He lifted his arms, staring at his glowing hands. A tear threatened to fall, but before it could, his arms stretched out, and the full fury of the regeneration he had held off for years was unleashed upon the console room.

The TARDIS erupted into flames. Sparks flew from the console, and the force of the regeneration shattered the windows. As the chaos unfolded, The Tenth Doctor’s memories flashed before his eyes.

Rose Tyler.

“So how long are you staying with me?” He asked Rose as they stood on a clifftop overlooking prehistoric London. She turned to him with a smile. “Forever.” He smiled back, and together they gazed over the ancient landscape.

He remembered holding onto the lever at Canary Wharf. Rose slipped, and she screamed for him. He reached out to her screaming her name, Pete appeared, and Rose vanished in a flash. The breach closed, and he pressed himself against the wall, listening desperately for any sign of her. There was none.

Martha Jones.

He lay in the hospital bed, watching Martha as she examined him. “That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?” he hadn’t been outside that morning. She asked if he had a brother, and he told her he didn’t anymore.

Later, in The TARDIS, he was listing places they could visit. Then his gaze shifted to her, and he knew, he knew she would leave him. 

“Keep that, because I'm not having you disappear. If that rings, when that rings, you'd better come running. Got it?” He watched her disappear through the doors, and just like that, he was alone again.

Donna Noble. 

“Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone.” Donna begged him. He listened, and he went back. He opened the TARDIS doors and told the man and his family, “Come with me.” Caecilius extended his hand, and together they boarded the TARDIS, escaping Pompei's destruction. 

He remembered watching as Donna’s mind was breaking because of the meta crisis. She begged him not to do it, not to erase what they had shared. “I was going to be with you forever,” She said. He reached up towards her temples. They exchanged a few final words before he erased her memories. “No!” she screamed, collapsing into his arms. 

Companionless.

He remembered everything he had done after losing Donna, how he hadn’t been The Doctor for a long time, how he’d done things he regretted. 

“I could have done so much more!” he screamed. Then his eyes were opened by Wilf, the kind old soldier, and he saved him. 

He had held off his regeneration for years, visiting old friends, watching them from afar. occasionally interfering.

Regeneration. 

The last words that crossed his mind before his face began to morph into the next man’s were “Am I a good man?” 

A scream escaped his lips as the regeneration reached its final phase. As the golden energy faded, he stumbled forward, grabbing onto the console for support. 

As he gripped the console tightly to steady himself, one hand shot to his face, and he slid it down over his features. 

“Oh, I’m old!” he exclaimed. 

Then, catching his new accent, he added, “And Scottish.”

The room shook violently, nearly knocking him off balance. 

“And very much crashing,” he muttered, dashing around the console, flipping switches and pressing buttons in a frantic attempt to stabilize the TARDIS. 

Suddenly, the buttons on his jacket snapped off. 

“This doesn’t fit anymore,” he noted, throwing the jacket off and tossing it onto one of the railings that hadn’t caught fire.

“Haven’t used you in a while,” he muttered, eyeing one of the buttons on the console.

“Let’s see what you do!” He pressed it, and the TARDIS doors flew open. 

He quickly tried pressing it again, but the wind howling outside refused to let the doors close.

With a sigh, he ran over to the doors, grabbing at them in an attempt to close them, but the wind’s strength was too much. As he struggled, he heard a loud creaking noise above him. 

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked up to see one of the panels on the wall beginning to come loose. “Curse me and regenerating inside!” he muttered under his breath. 

The TARDIS let out a pained groan, almost as if in response. 

“I’m sorry, old girl!” he called out apologetically, but just as he said it, the loose panel gave way, falling and knocking him out of the doors. 

The Doctor’s hands shot out, grabbing hold of the left door. He dangled unstably, the wind hitting at his face and the door still moving violently.

He was beginning to lose his grip when he heard the loud chime of a clock. Turning his head, he saw it, Big Ben, looming in the distance.

“Brilliant,” he muttered, his teeth gritted. 

He let go of the door with one hand, risking everything as he fumbled in his pocket for the sonic screwdriver. His fingers brushed against it as he was about to lose his grip entirely. “There you are!” he exclaimed triumphantly.

The time rotor creaked as he aimed the sonic at the console, activating it. One of the levers flipped on its own, causing the TARDIS to veer sharply to the left, narrowly avoiding Big Ben.

Using the sudden momentum of the turn, The Doctor swung himself back through the open doors, crashing onto the floor of the TARDIS. The doors slammed shut behind him as he caught his breath. 

As he started to push himself upright, the console exploded. Sparks flew everywhere, and the glass of the time rotor fully shattered. He rushed towards it, assessing the damage, but the console was completely fried.

“Great!” He screamed in frustration.

“Gravity regulator damaged. Shut off imminent!”

A fake smile played on his lips “Even better!”

The gravity shut off, and he started floating toward the ceiling of the console room, or no, that didn’t feel right to say in this body. “ Flight deck , yes, back to the old!”

Briefly distracted, he barely caught the next warning, “ -gency room shift in- ” He glared down at the console.

 “ 3! ” 

He tried swimming his way to the hallway entrance and failed utterly. 

“2!”  

He crashed into the ceiling, stuck to one of the panels now. “Oh, I should clean here more often,” He muttered, inspecting the roof panel, which was covered in dust.

“1! Emergency shift initiated. All life forms inside will be transported to the nearest available room.” 

The shift left him floating in the library, the air littered with the books he had neatly organized only a week before. 

“Great! if you want to read a book, put them where they’re supposed to be, don’t leave them floating around,” He scolded the TARDIS.  

An unhappy groan came from the TARDIS, and before he could say another word, an announcement echoed through the air. 

“Temporary Gravity globe initiated!”

And so began his free fall straight to the library couch. 

“I could do some reading, I think,” He muttered as he yanked a book out of mid-air. “No. This one is rub-” He was cut off as he landed on the couch. 

He swiftly moved upright, trying to catch his breath. 

Standing from the couch, he made his way toward the hallway but stumbled straight into a bookshelf. 

“My senses are still off from regenerating,” He explained to himself out loud, rubbing his forehead. 

“Right!” He exclaimed as he reached the hallway. “Priority one: find the backup flight deck.” He raised a second finger. “Priority two: find a mirror.” And with that, he dashed through the halls, throwing open every door around him. 

He made a sharp left turn as the hallway shuddered, throwing him off balance once more. “Right! not this way,” he muttered, turning on his heels and heading in the opposite direction. 

He took a right turn instead and found himself at the end of the hall, where only one door awaited him. Opening it, he let out a groan. 

“If I wanted the library, I would have stayed in it!” He exclaimed, slamming the door shut behind him.  

“Gravity globe failing!” 

He frowned once more. “Again?!” He shouted in exasperation. “See? Now you’ve got me all frowny!”

Alarms blared suddenly, and he put his hands over his ears, though it did little to drown out the noise.

With the gravity off once more he was launched straight into the library door.

He gritted his teeth in frustration, and that's when he heard it, the sound of water rushing down the hallway.

“I hate this day!” He yelled as the torrent of water crashed into him, sweeping open the library door. 

The library, now filled with water, transformed into a massive pool. 

°°---0o0---°°

A little red-haired girl sat in front of her bed, hands clasped together in prayer. 

“Dear Santa, Thank you for the dolls and pencils and the fish.” 

She paused for a moment. 

“It's Easter now, so I hope I didn't wake you,”

“But honest, it is an emergency. There's a crack in my wall.” 

As she finished speaking, she glanced over at her bedroom wall, where a long crack stretched across it. She turned her head forward again, closing her eyes. 

“Aunt Sharon says it's just an ordinary crack,” she said, her eyebrows furrowing briefly, “but I know it's not, because, at night, there's voices”

“So please, please, could you send someone to fix it?” 

She paused, thinking. 

“Or a policeman. Or a-” 

She stopped mid-sentence, her brows furrowing as a strange noise reached her ears from outside. It continued for a few seconds, followed by a loud crash. 

She opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder toward the window. Closing her eyes briefly again, she said, “Back in a moment.” 

She stood up from her kneeling position, grabbed a flashlight from her nightstand, and walked over to the window. 

Pulling the curtains to the side, she peered out into the garden. Her eyes fell on the spot 

where the shed used to stand. 

In its place lay a smoking box. 

She frowned, her gaze moving upward to read the words on the box. 

As her eyes landed on the word Police , her face lit up with a smile.

“Thank you, Santa.” 

°°---0o0---°°

“Didn’t know I had a sauna.” 

The flight deck had flipped sideways, steam drifted through the air. The TARDIS had vented all the fire out, but it left an overwhelming heat behind,  filling the space with a thick cloud of steam. 

The Doctor climbed onto the grating of the floor, gripping the railing tightly. As he dragged himself upward, his tie slipped off, floating down into the sideways hallway. 

“Great, I won't be seeing that again.” 

He glanced down at himself, taking in what remained of his predecessor's outfit. The only parts left were the sandshoes, the pants and the dress shirt that was scorched all over. 

“As soon as this is over, I am getting a new outfit.”  

With that, he resumed climbing, making his way toward the end of the railing near the doors. The TARDIS, sensing his struggle, opened them for him. 

“Thank you!” He called out to his beloved ship. she hummed in response.

“Let’s see where we crashed,” The Doctor said aloud as he pushed himself through the doors, holding onto the bottom of the exterior. 

The Doctor felt the air hit his skin, and from it, he knew exactly where he was. 

“England, 1996. Could’ve been worse.” His eyebrows shot up. “Oh, my Time Sense works. Only took eleven lifetimes. No rush.” The Doctor swung his legs over the bottom of the exterior landing on the grass. 

He started inspecting the area around him when the TARDIS suddenly slammed both doors shut. 

“Do you have to be so loud? I already have a headache,” He scolded his ship. As expected, he got no response.

Sighing, he rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe the lingering pain caused by the regeneration. “One day, I’ll have no after-effects from regenerating,” he muttered. “I really am the worst at it.”

His head shot up as he heard a twig snap behind him. “Are you okay?” a little Scottish girl asked as she approached him. 

“Hello!” The Doctor’s hand shot up in a single wave. 

“Don’t mind this old man-” He paused, thinking of a quick explanation “My… uh, my box and I are just investigating the area.” 

He stepped closer, crouching to meet the girl at eye level, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the psychic paper “James McCrimmon, landscape investigator.” 

“If you are a landscape investigator why does the box say Police?” She said pointing between the word and the paper. 

“Good question!” The Doctor jumped back up, moving toward the TARDIS.

“I made a career change. The blue didn’t suit me.” He tugged at his singed and wet shirt. “See? Bit rubbish on me.” 

The girl giggled. “Why are you wet, Mister? Did you fall in a pond?” 

“No, just had to investigate a pool, and stupid old me forgot about gravity.” 

The Doctor slumped against the TARDIS, letting out a deep breath as a burning sensation flared up in his chest. His breathing grew heavier, and he moaned in pain.

The girl ran toward him, worry spreading across her face. “Are you alright?” 

Before he could answer, his mouth opened, releasing a burst of golden regeneration energy.

“Oh, I’m just dandy, don’t you worry” He said with a forced smile. 

Then it hit him 

“I never asked your name. What is your name?” 

“Amelia Pond” She responded with a smile. 

“Why are you out at night, Amelia?” 

“I came out because I thought you were the police,” Amelia said, sitting cross-legged in front of him. 

“Do you need the Police?” 

She nodded, moving her hands apart to form a big gap in front of her. “There’s a scary crack in my wall,” She whispered.

“A scary crack in the wall, you say?” He quirked an eyebrow, making her smile. “Let’s go take a look at it, shall we, Miss Pond?” 

He stood up and started walking toward the house. 

Hearing no footsteps behind him, he turned his head. “Come on, Come on! We’ve got a scary crack to inspect” 

She hesitated for a second, then ran after him, following him into the house.

“Lead the way, Amelia.” 

The girl nodded and started climbing the stairs. The Doctor followed, only to stumble head-first into the railing. 

“Why is this so impractically placed? No wonder a man would walk into it.” 

Amelia glanced down at him from the top of the stairs with a deadpan look. 

“Never mind,” He muttered, shifting to the left and actually making his way onto the stairs.

As he walked up, his eyes drifted to the pictures on the wall. Most of them were empty landscapes, with the occasional one featuring only Amelia. 

“Where are your parents, Amelia?” he asked as he reached the top. he didn’t want to accidentally wake them if they were asleep, he had no desire to get slapped again. He could still feel the sting from Francine’s slap… and Jackie’s. And Jackie’s one was two bodies ago. 

“I don’t have parents,” She said, her voice quieter now.

“Who cares for you, then?”

“My Aunt.” 

He opened every door, peeking inside for said Aunt, but she was nowhere to be found. 

“You won’t find her,” Amelia said. “she’s at work.” 

He nodded. “And she usually leaves you alone?” 

Amelia nodded “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” She struck a confident pose, making herself look taller. 

He still had doubts, but he knew she wouldn’t give any other answer.

“Alright, Miss Pond, show me the wall. It’s time it saw a Doctor.” 

Everything felt very wrong.

Time was screaming. He could feel it from the moment he set foot through the door. His Time Sense was telling him to run and not look back, but he wouldn’t. If time was this off, he couldn’t leave a little girl alone to deal with it. 

He took a good look around the room, taking in every detail. Nothing was out of place except for the crack in the wall.

“Ah hello!” He exclaimed, moving towards the crack. “I’ll be your Doctor today. Don’t be afraid, I’m only going to inspect you.” 

A giggle sounded from behind him as he finished speaking. 

He ran a finger along the cracked line and immediately felt a draught through it.  That didn’t make sense. He knocked on the wall… solid. So where was the draught coming from? 

“Come over here, Amelia,” he said, motioning for her to step closer. She hesitated but obeyed.

“Tell me something, can you feel the draught too?” He took her small hand and guided her fingers along the crack in the wall. 

“Yes.” She looked up at him, eyes filled with curiosity. “Where is it coming from?” 

“Let’s find out,” he said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. He switched it on, and the device released a loud beep. The Doctor glanced at it, eyebrows furrowing into a deep frown.

“What is it?” Amelia asked.

“A crack,” he began “But not in the wall.”

She blinked at him. “Then where is it?”

He looked at her, voice quiet but serious “Everywhere. In everything.” 

He turned back to the crack. “It's a split in the skin of the world. Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together right here in the wall of your bedroom” 

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a stethoscope and pressed it against the crack. 

“Sometimes, can you hear voices?” he asked.

“Yes.” 

The Doctor could hear faint sounds but couldn’t make out what they were saying exactly.

“Do you know what they say?” he asked Amelia, turning around to look at her.

Amelia took a moment to think. “ Prisoner Zero has escaped. That's what I keep hearing. What does it mean?”

The Doctor pressed the stethoscope against the wall again, focusing. And now, he could hear it too, the same words Amelia had heard.

“ Prisoner Zero has escaped. I heard it, just like you said.” He pulled away from the wall, his expression darkening. “That means that on the other side of this wall, there's a prison, and they've lost a prisoner.”

He moved away from the wall and stood next to Amelia. “Let’s close this crack, shall we? Can’t have any prisoners coming through and making your room filthy.” 

“How do we close it?” she asked as the Doctor moved her desk away from the wall. 

“The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert, and it'll snap itself shut” He paused, grinning as he made a splat motion with his hands. “Or we’ll all be paste against the other wall.”  

Amelia wrinkled her nose. “That would take days to clean,” she whined. 

The Doctor’s grin widened for a second before his face turned serious again. He knelt beside her. 

“You don’t have to be here for this, in case it turns.” He made a splat motion again.

“I’m not scared. I want to be here with you”

 He nodded and stood back up, flipping on his sonic screwdriver. He glanced at Amelia one more time. “Ready?” 

She nodded.

He pressed a button on the sonic. it sparked slightly as it activated.

A bright white light flooded Amelia’s bedroom, blinding them both for a moment. 

When the light faded, the crack had opened, revealing a dark room beyond it. The Doctor moved cautiously forward to get a better look, Amelia peeking out from behind him. 

“PRISONER ZERO HAS ESCAPED” 

“Seems like we won’t become paste,” The Doctor muttered, glancing at Amelia. 

“PRISONER ZERO HAS ESCAPED.”  

“Yes, yes, we’re aware. Thank you,” The Doctor called into the dark room. “Now, come on, show yourself! who’s saying that?” 

Amelia and The Doctor flinched as a large floating eye appeared on the other side of the crack, inspecting them.

“And who might yo-” The Doctor was cut off as a beam of white light shot toward the psychic paper. he could feel it burning into the card, leaving a message behind on it.

The white light flared up again, and suddenly, the crack began to close.

His time sense stopped screaming and Amelia’s room felt normal again. 

“Is it gone forever, Mister McCrimmon?” Amelia asked, sitting down next to him on the bed.

“It is. We made it run away. No more scary crack, just a boring old wall.” She hugged him then and he flailed around in protest.

“No hugging please, I’m not a hugging person.” 

Amelia pulled back immediately. “I’m sorry.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder “Don’t be. you didn’t know.” She looked up at him, and he attempted a reassuring smile. She burst into laughter. “You look constipated.”

“I do not!” he said, offended. She laughed even harder. The Doctor stood up from the bed, leaving her to her giggle fit.

Pulling out the psychic paper, he read the message the eye had sent him. 

“What does it say?” Amelia asked, now standing on her tiptoes, trying to see.

The Doctor handed it to her. 

“Prisoner Zero has escaped” 

The Doctor’s brows furrowed. Why had the eye sent him this if they had already heard it multiple times? ‘Oh, come on, stupid brain, work!’ he groaned in frustration.“ Argh! Regeneration is annoying!” 

“What’s regeneration?” Amelia asked, pocketing the psychic paper. The Doctor didn’t notice. 

“It’s a hiring procedure, you wouldn’t get it” 

He grabbed an apple from her nightstand, one with a smiley face carved on it.

“Mister McCrimmon? Was the eye Prisoner Zero? Is that why he put that on the paper?” 

“No” 

“Then what was it?” 

The Doctor spun around to face her. “It was Prisoner Zero’s guard. Not a very good one, seeing as Zero escaped.” But why the message? his brain screamed at him again. 

“Do you like apples Mister McCrimmon?” Amelia asked, stepping up to him. 

“What?” 

She pointed at the apple in his hand. “I don’t know. Haven’t had one in this body yet.” He studied the apple’s carved-on face.

“Did you make this?” he asked, showing Amelia the apple. 

She took it from him. “No. I used to hate apples, so my mum put faces on them.” 

The Doctor’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘She said she didn’t have parents… interesting. The mystery grows.’

“ Did it work, or did the smiles make you think it was a person?” he asked, plucking the apple back out of her hand and pocketing it for later. 

“What? Why would I think it’s a person? You’re strange, Mister McCrimmon” She said with a smile.

“Strange is good” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, making her giggle. 

Then her stomach growled. 

“Can we go to the kitchen now? I am hungry.” 

“Kitchen yes! Need to test my new taste buds!” 

The Doctor grabbed Amelia’s hand and dragged her behind him as he ran down the stairs. He almost stumbled into the wall again as a sharp pang shot through his head. 

Letting go of Amelia’s hand, he stepped into the kitchen and started searching through the cupboards, though he wasn’t sure what for. 

“Any suggestions?” he asked, turning back to Amelia. 

He spotted her at the stove and frowned immediately. “Are you trying to set the house on fire, I’ll cook, go sit down.” 

He picked her up and placed her in a chair at the kitchen table.

“Hey! I can cook perfectly fine! I do it all the time when Aunt Sharon leaves!”

She pouted at him, arms crossed. 

He ignored her.

“Don’t ignore me!” She huffed and kicked him in the shin. 

“Oi! You want food or not?” he asked, rubbing his leg.

“I do.” 

“Then you will let me cook. Understood, Miss Pond?” 

She turned away with an exaggerated pout. “Fine.” 

The Doctor turned the stove on and asked once more, “Miss Pond, any suggestions?” 

And suggestions she had, each one weirder than the last. 

Eventually, he settled on porridge, and Amelia got her wish to eat ice cream.

“Are you actually a landscape investigator?” She asked, spooning up some ice cream. 

The Doctor looked up from his food, letting his spoon fall back into the bowl.

“No.” 

“Then who are you?” she asked curiously. “Are you Santa’s helper?” 

His eyebrows furrowed “Do I look like one of his elves? I might… I haven’t looked into a mirror yet.” 

He paused, suddenly unsure. “Do I look like an elf?” 

Amelia studied him seriously before shaking her head. “No. You just look old.” 

The Doctor gasped, mock-offended. “I’m very much not old! I’m 906 years old, that’s very young.” 

Amelia’s eyes widened, her curiosity growing. “906! Are you an Alien?”

The Doctor scoffed. “That’s rude. To me, you pudding-brains are aliens. My race came first, you know.” 

Amelia was practically vibrating in her chair now, her ice cream lying forgotten. 

Before she could barrage him with questions, he answered every single one he could think of.

“I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the Constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 906 years old. I travel through time and space in my ship called the TARDIS, Time and Relative Dimension in Space.” 

He took a breath. 

“Any more questions?” 

She stared at him for a few seconds seemingly lost in thought.

“While you figure out whatever you’re figuring out, I’m going to eat this,” he said scooping a spoonful of porridge. 

“Can I see inside of it?” Amelia asked as he was about to eat the last of his porridge.

“Inside of what?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Your ship.” 

“No.” 

“Why not?” she whined.

He moved his hand up to his shoulder. “You have to be this tall to enter her. Sorry, Miss Pond.”  

“Please,” She begged, giving him puppy-dog eyes.

He stared at her.

“No.” 

“I’ll behave I promise!” 

He pretended to think it over. “Well, If you promise…” he trailed off, watching as her face lit up with hope. 

“...No.” 

“Then I’ll just sneak on board,” she said, her face defiant. 

He quirked an eyebrow. “Will you now?”

She nodded firmly.

“Good luck then, Miss Pond. Maybe you’ll do a better job than the assembled hordes of Genghis Khan.” 

“I will,” She told him with a confident tone. 

He ate his last spoonful of porridge and stood up, heading to the sink. “Are you going to drink that?” he asked, looking into what was once Ice cream. 

“Yes.” And in one big gulp, Amelia swallowed all of her ice cream. “Come on and do the dishes with me. look at the mess you made.” 

Before she could retort, he dropped a towel over her head, muffling her response. “Chop, chop, Miss Dishwasher. We don’t have all night… Well, we could have all night if someone hadn’t dropped the time bubble down an elevator shaft… idiot.” 

They argued the whole way through washing the dishes. She splashed him with water, saying he was already wet, so it didn’t matter. So he retaliated, and so it took even longer to clean everything. 

He tried catching glimpses of himself in every shiny surface but couldn’t get a proper one. So when they were done, he said, “Show me where your mirror is.” 

“Why?” Amelia asked, tilting her head sideways. 

“Mirror,” he said again. Amelia didn’t budge and crossed her arms.

“Wh-”

He interrupted before she finished. “I’ll explain later. just take me to the mirror.” 

She took his hand and led him upstairs to the bathroom, where he finally got a good look at himself in the mirror. 

“The length is fine. Less grey would have been better,” he said, sliding a hand through his curly grey hair. He then ran two fingers over his eyebrows. “These are mighty fine attack eyebrows. These will come in handy.” He wiggled them a bit. 

“A lot more wrinkles than I’d hoped. Thought I would be younger this time around, seeing as it's my la-” He cut himself off. He didn’t want to think about it… less he had an existential crisis with Amelia around. 

“La-” 

He immediately cut her off with another remark on his appearance. “No big ears this time either. Two regenerations without big ears… seems number nine got unlucky.” 

He could faintly hear a northern voice screaming in his head that they weren’t big, but he shrugged it off. 

“Overall, could’ve been worse. At least I don’t have two heads, constantly bickering with myself would have been tiring.” he rubbed his face with his hands one more time and took one good last look at his face. 

And that’s when he spotted it, in the corner of his eye, where nobody wants to look, a door hidden by a perception filter. And then it hit him. “Prisoner Zero has escaped.”

The Doctor’s face took on a serious edge. Amelia noticed and asked “Doctor?” 

He made a shushing motion to Amelia. She wanted to protest but stopped when she saw him being fully serious. 

He went to the bathroom door and closed it, pressing his ear against it for a moment, listening for movement, but heard none. 

“Okay, now you can ask,” he told Amelia.

“Doctor, what’s going on?” she asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Basically, Prisoner Zero has escaped through here. They’re in the house. Don’t panic.”

“Where, Doctor?” she asked. He could detect no fear coming from her. Who was this girl? Surely, a mystery worth solving. 

“At the end of the hall, there is a door an-” 

“There isn’t. I’ve lived here for a while, I would know if there was.” Amelia protested.

“Listen, Miss Pond. You just learned Aliens exist, a hidden door shouldn’t be impossible.” He frowned momentarily.

“Before you ask, the door was hidden by a perception filter, something that shifts your focus away from the place it’s hiding. It’s very complicated, I won’t explain now. Just know that now that I’ve seen it,  I’ll know where the door is.” 

He started tapping his foot as he thought of a plan when suddenly an alarm rang.

“Did you leave the stove on?” 

“No,” Amelia responded.

Then it hit him. “The Cloister Bell!”

He threw the door open like a madman. As he ran down the stairs, taking two steps at a time, he kept yelling “No!”

Amelia, running behind him, was confused as to what was going on. 

“Don’t take off without me!” He yelled as he stormed into the garden, “Doctor, wait!” Amelia yelled after him as she threw on her coat. He didn’t answer and kept running. 

It was too late just as he reached the spot where the TARDIS had crashed it vanished. The Doctor fell to his knees.

“Great. I’m stuck in England.” 

Chapter Text

“Doctor?” Amelia asked as she approached the man. 

He was sitting on his knees in front of the broken shed, his head down, she couldn’t see his face. 

“Doctor?” she asked again, stepping closer. 

She was starting to grow concerned, he hadn’t been this quiet since he arrived at her home. She placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Are you alright?” 

He looked back at her, and for a split second, she swore she saw a defeated look in his eyes. But she wasn’t sure if she imagined it or not. 

“Oh, Amelia! Didn’t notice you there. Seems my hearing is going now that I’m old.” 

He moved her hand from his shoulder and stood up from his kneeling position. 

“Where’s the TARDIS?” 

The blue box that had been lying in the shed was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, she’s just popped out for a walk. She’ll be back later.” 

She could hear the fake cheer in his voice, and she would have none of it. 

“You're lying,” she said, crossing her arms and giving him the most serious look she could muster.

“I am not lying! If I was lying, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that I was.” 

The Doctor was pacing about as he said that. 

“You're a bad liar. I don’t like liars. Are you going to tell the truth, or am I going to have to kick you in the shin again?” 

Amelia started moving towards him, winding up her leg. 

The Doctor stepped back as she advanced. 

“You wouldn’t kick an old man!” 

She quirked an eyebrow. 

Then she sprinted towards him. 

The Doctor quickly held her back and shouted, “Fine! The TARDIS has left me stranded here! And I’m not sure if she’s ever going to return!” 

“Happy now?!” 

He let go of her, moving away to let out a frustrated shout. 

“I’m sorry,” Amelia said, looking down at her feet. She hadn’t meant to make him mad.

Was he going to leave her now?

“Miss Pond.” 

Amelia looked up. He was now kneeling in front of her, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Sorry for what? It’s not your fault that the TARDIS took off.” 

She met his eyes, and she could see the moment his demeanour softened. 

“I’m sorry for making you angry,” she said, still a bit afraid she had messed up.

“Don’t be. I was being stupid. I should have told you, it was very obvious the TARDIS had gone. The shed’s empty, after all.” 

She smiled at that, happy she hadn’t messed up. But one question still lingered in her mind. 

“Will you leave?” 

He frowned again. 

“No, not yet. There’s still a Prisoner in one of your rooms to deal with, and I can’t really go anywhere without the TARDIS, you see.” 

She just about caught the bitterness in the last part of his sentence. 

“You promise?” she asked, holding out her pinky to him.

“What’s that you're doing? Why are you holding your pinky out like that?” he motioned at her hand.

“It’s a sign that you will keep a promise,” she explained.

He made a disgusted face. 

“Well, that’s stupid. There are a multitude of better ways to do it.”

“Do you promise?” she asked again, her tone flatter this time. 

He huffed and held out his pinky. She hooked hers around his.

“I promise to you, Miss Amelia Pond, that I will stay.” 

She was about to throw a hug his way again but remembered just in time, instead, she jumped in the air with joy. 

“Humans.” 

And with that, he stood up. 

°°---0o0---°°

“I’m awake!” Amelia shouted as the Doctor snapped his fingers in front of her face. 

“Sure you are, Miss ‘ I Drool on the Kitchen Counter. ’ ” 

There was a small wet mark on the counter, just like he had said. 

“I think it’s better if you went and slept, Miss Pond. Your feeble human body needs it.” 

He waved his hand toward the staircase. 

“Go!”

“I’m not tired.” She crossed her arms, then yawned. 

“Clearly, you're not. My mistake.” 

“I really am not, Doctor. I can still help you make a plan to stop Pri-” 

And then she yawned again. 

“Okay, that’s enough out of you, Amelia.” 

He stalked towards her.

“Why are you coming closer?” Amelia jumped off the kitchen stool.

“Oh, just coming to take a closer look at you. I am a Doctor, after all. And you know what I recommend?” 

He moved both hands toward her temples. 

“Wha-” 

“Sleep.” 

His hands landed, and Amelia immediately dozed off.

°°---0o0---°°

Tucking Amelia in, he was suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia. The scene in front of him felt so familiar. 

He tried to push the thoughts away, but he couldn’t. His mind flooded with memories of tucking in his children, of Susan. 

He sat down heavily on a small chair beside Amelia’s bed. He had suppressed these memories for so long that he had almost forgotten their faces. 

For just a moment, it felt good to revel in them again, to see them again. 

Rassilon, how long had it been since he’d seen them? 

He missed them so much. He wished he could tuck all of them in again, telling them about all the Gallifreyan myths he had learned during his time at the Academy. 

His Susan had loved those stories the most. She would, just like Amelia, deny being sleepy, just so she could hear him finish the stories. 

“Please, Grandfather, one more story.” 

She would look at him in such a way that made his hearts swell with so much affection. He could never deny her anything. 

Why had he been so stupid? Why had he left her behind? 

Would she still have been with him if he hadn’t?

Could he have sav-

He buried his head in his hands, as if trying to push the memories away. 

He couldn’t dwell on these thoughts, nor the ‘what ifs.’ If he did, he wasn’t sure if he could keep going anymore. He wasn’t sure if he would break down, if he would have to face every single one of his thousand years' worth of traumatic experiences. 

He had destroyed Gallifrey. 

He had ended the Time War.

And along with it, he had ended his children’s and granddaughter’s lives. 

He wasn’t allowed to feel sad about it.

It was his own decision that had caused all this pain. 

He placed his hands on his forehead, forcing his mental blocks back into place. 

They had broken during the years of regeneration energy coursing through him, and look where that had led him. 

Look at the almighty Doctor having a breakdown in a human child’s bedroom.

Pathe-

With his barriers up, the darker thoughts faded, leaving only the solemn emptiness behind.  

He sat there for what felt like hours, head in hands, trying his best to keep it together. 

Until.

SLAM.

The Doctor jumped up, startled by the sudden sound. 

He briefly looked back at Amelia.

‘Still in bed.’

So it wasn't Amelia who had sneaked away during his gloomy moment.

That left two options. 

One: Amelia's aunt returned from work.

Two: Prisoner Zero. 

The Doctor quietly made his way out of Amelia’s room, closing the door behind him, mindful not to wake the girl. His telepathic sleep trick would only hold for so long, and he still wasn’t the best telepath. 

As he turned around, he spotted it immediately.

The hidden door was open. 

Prisoner Zero was ready to play. 

He pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and quietly pressed the scan button. 

The Sonic beeped as the results came in, and he frowned.

The perception filter was gone.

The room had no life signs.

That meant th-

SLAM. 

He whirled toward the stairs and glanced down at the front door.

It had slammed shut.

Prisoner Zero was escaping. 

“Oh no, you don’t,” the Doctor said as he stormed down the stairs, ready to give chase. 

Making it outside, the Doctor scanned the entire area around the house for life signs. 

A blue map popped up, briefly distracting him.

“That’s new. But very handy.” 

He examined the sonic screwdriver as if it were new to him. 

“I built you, so why do I still not know all your functions?” 

In the bushes of the garden, there was a sudden rattle.

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the map. It showed a red dot.

“Bingo!” he said, a crazed smile spreading across his face. 

“Oh, are we playing hide and seek? I do love me some hide-and-seek. But now’s not the time.” 

He got ready to face Prisoner Zero, stepping toward the bush. 

“Let’s meet face to face, shall we?” 

A bunny looked up at him, frightened. 

“Not Prisoner Zero, I assume? Sorry, my mistake, my eyes haven’t fully calibrated yet,” he told the bunny as an excuse. 

The Doctor let go of the bush, ready to look at his map again, when he was suddenly hit in the head. 

He whirled around just in time to see the bunny land. 

It stared at him.

 As if taunting him.

“Seems that I was not mistaken. Hello there. Was hitting me in the head really necessary?” 

Bunny Zero tilted its head at him, then ran. 

“Ah, back to chasing. There’s always a lot of chasing.” 

The Doctor took off after Prisoner Zero, running through Amelia’s yard.

Prisoner Zero kept evading capture, leading the Doctor to dead ends.

He was starting to get very annoyed.

Suddenly, particles began to surround Prisoner Zero’s bunny form.

They shimmered, swirling into its body. 

And then, its form shifted into a sparrow. 

The Doctor, catching his breath, grinned crazily once more.

“Multi-form, I see. What a coincidence. I’ve changed, and now I’m fighting a shape changer. it’s almost like the universe is laughing at me.” 

He made an attempt to grab Prisoner Zero, but it ran. 

Wait, ran ? 

“Why are you running? You're a bird! You have wings to fly! It’s great for me that you're not, because I wouldn’t be able to follow, but you're a bird, fly!”

Sparrow Zero frowned at him.

And that looked awful. 

The Doctor waved his hand over his face.

“Don’t do that. That just looks wrong.” 

Prisoner Zero squawked at him angrily. The Doctor began to run faster because he was really getting sick of the running. 

“Next adventure, no running!” he yelled as he almost ran headfirst into a hedge. 

Now, on the gravel path leading toward a sleeping Leadworth, the Doctor rummaged through his pockets for anything useful. He threw out anything useless toward Prisoner Zero to stall it. 

Prisoner Zero effortlessly dodged all the projectiles.

The Doctor's frustration grew. 

“Why are your reflexes so good?! Nobody should have such good reflexes! I’m a Doctor, believe me, I should know!” he yelled, irritated. 

“Finally!” 

Out of his pants pocket, the Doctor produced a small net with stones tied to the corners. 

“Thank you, Shakespeare!” 

The Doctor had picked this up when he revisited Will after Martha had left him. 

He quickly moved on from that thought and refocused on his surroundings.

To his left, the path led into the forests of Leadworth.

To his right, the main road.

The path he stood on was only gravel.

That gave him an idea. 

“Hey, Zero!” 

The alien in question looked back at him, unknowingly slowing down.

It squawked in confusion.

“I think we’re ready for a marathon, so let’s just stop, eh?”

The Doctor crept forward. 

Prisoner Zero backed up, eyeing him warily. 

It flapped its new wings, trying to escape. 

“No, don’t do that! Focus on me.” 

The Doctor pulled the net from behind his back. 

“It’s time for you to meet my friend.” 

Prisoner Zero squawked again. Particles shimmered around its form. 

“No!” 

The Doctor kicked up gravel, creating a dust cloud, and threw the net. 

Prisoner Zero dodged, just in time to finish transforming into a cat. 

The Doctor's face contorted into an angry frown. 

He cursed in Gallifreyan. 

Prisoner Zero lunged, claws at the ready.

The Doctor dodged, attempting to grab its neck to pin it down. 

But he failed. 

Zero landed on its paws and took off, sprinting even faster than before. 

The Doctor hit his head with his palm. 

“Idiot!” 

And then, he gave chase again.

Prisoner Zero took the path into town, leaping onto the walls in front of the gardens.

The Doctor was starting to lag behind, his stamina failing him. 

“Come on! Go faster! My legs are long enough! Come on!” he yelled in frustration.

And then. 

He fell. 

Face-first. 

into concrete. 

Pain shot through his body, leaving scrapes and bruises, which were quickly healed by the remaining regeneration energy.

By the time the Doctor looked up, Prisoner Zero was gone.

He cursed in Gallifreyan again. 

For a moment, he refused to get up.

When he finally did, he found the sole of his shoe had torn off, making him stumble. The damage from the burning TARDIS had finally caught up. 

The Doctor started listing his problems in an irritated shout.

“Just great! Now, there’s an alien on the loose in an English town! The TARDIS is gone, so I can’t do a full scan! The Sonic can’t scan everything at once! My outfit is almost in tatters! Am I missing anything?!” 

“Shut up! People are trying to sleep!” a woman yelled, leaning out of her window. 

“Good for you!” he yelled back, then swiftly departed in the direction of Amelia’s home. 

On the way, a thousand and more plans flashed through his mind.

Most of them, he deemed utterly useless. 

The Doctor knocked on his forehead a few times.

“Working now?”

He could almost picture his first incarnation looking at him in disapproval. 

For all he knew, all of his past selves were watching from inside his brain, laughing at him. 

“Some help would be nice. Leaving me with all these issues to deal with. Bunch of hypocrites, that’s what you all are.” 

Self-scolding over, he went back to planning. 

He almost missed his turn onto the gravel path, stuck on a particularly hard part of the plan. 

“Listen! We stick with Amelia because something is seriously off with that girl.” 

He stuck up his second finger.

“When it’s daylight, we search everywhere for that damn prisoner, doesn’t matter if we have to flip everything upside down.” 

A third finger went up.

“After that, we have the Sonic Screwdriver try to track the TARDIS. Still can’t believe she left me like that. Ungrateful ship.”

He sighed.

“If all else fails, we contact Alistair. With U.N.I.T involved, it’ll be a military nightmare, but-” 

He pointed to a bush near Amelia’s front door as if addressing an invisible audience.

“-I’d have a better chance of, one: finding the TARDIS, and two: dealing with Prisoner Zero.”

He paused.

“But only if all else fails. Get it? You do? Great!” 

And then, he lapsed into silence as he entered the home. 

°°---0o0---°°

“ Ah, Amelia, good morning! Did you sleep well? Great, how did I sleep? Fantastic, glad you asked.” 

Amelia, who had just woken up in her bed without any idea how she got there or when she had gone to sleep, looked at the Doctor with suspicion. 

‘He did something, I’m sure,’ she thought to herself.

The Doctor was fiddling with his device. What did he call it? A ‘Sonic Screwdriver’. 

On his face, he wore a pair of glasses that didn’t seem to fit his face structure. 

The screwdriver displayed a screen that glowed blue. 

Amelia took a good look around her kitchen. It was filled to the brim with random materials. 

A few, she recognised, a rubber ducky, a fishing net- 

And then, alien stuff. Probably. 

But where had they come from? 

Was the TARDIS back? 

Had he gone inside to get these things?

Amelia observed the Doctor as he worked. He looked exactly the same as last night. ‘If the TARDIS was back, he would have changed clothes’ she reasoned.

No, he had gotten them from somewhere else. 

But where? 

And now that she was really looking, the Doctor was shoeless. ‘What has this man done while I was asleep?’

He had a lot to explain. Things he had promised to explain later.  

And he’d better have a damn good explanation for how she fell asleep. Or she will bite him.

“What are you doing?” Amelia asked as she sat down across from him, mirroring the night before. 

The Doctor didn’t look up but answered, “You wouldn’t understand. Your tiny brain couldn’t possibly contain the great things I am doing.” 

And then- 

The screwdriver zapped him. 

The Doctor shook his finger, a black mark was left behind on it. 

Amelia was completely unimpressed. 

“Try me. I’m not just a little girl, Doctor. I’m smart. My teachers always tell me that.” 

Now, the Doctor gave her a skeptical look. 

Amelia quickly glanced at the clock. She was on a time limit, she had school in an hour. She couldn’t be late again. 

Miss Jones would give her detention again. 

“Really? Are you, Miss Genius?” 

The Doctor tapped his chin in an exaggerated way. “Very well, see this button?” 

Amelia nodded, paying close attention. 

“It recalibrates the Diothanine crystal.” Amelia didn’t recognise that, but she was intrigued.

“Now, when the crystal is done recalibrating, you press this button at the bottom.” 

“And then?”

“It changes the settings of the sonic screwdriver. Right now, I’m on setting 34A, which makes-” He pointed the sonic at a water bottle from a brand Amelia didn’t recognize.

The water inside began bubbling. 

The Doctor changed the setting again. “And now, we go to setting 168B.” 

He lifted the screwdriver and shined it at the ceiling.

A colorful array of lights appeared.

Amelia looked up in awe. 

“What is that?” 

The Doctor glanced at her. A small smile formed on his face. 

He didn’t like how much he was talking, but Amelia seemed genuinely interested, just like-

No.

He cut himself off before he could finish that thought. Instead, he leaned into the moment.

“This,” he said, “is the constellation of Marander, a long-dead star system. what you are seeing now is an afterimage the Sonic Screwdriver absorbed” 

Amelia’s eyes widened. The colors flowed beautifully into each other. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

“What happened to it?” 

She wanted to know why the beautiful star system was gone. 

Her explanations could wait a little longer.

The Doctor mulled it over. 

He didn't want to talk about the war. But, Amelia’s hopeful look swayed him. He would tell her a brief version, without the horrors.

“The Marander system used to be a thriving hub of intergalactic trading. it was greatly respected; even the Shadow Proclamation recognized it as a major asset to the universe.”

 The Doctor adjusted the lights, displaying planets among the stars. 

“But then a terrible war came. One by one, the planets in the system turned to dust. The civilizations wanted no part in the war, so they decided to go out on their own terms.” 

He adjusted the display again. The ships, planets, and starlight began fading. 

One by one.

Until all that was left.

Was darkness.

The last lights flickered out.

Amelia watched in shock.

“In here,” the Doctor tapped his sonic screwdriver, “is the last part of that system. I absorbed it into the Sonic Screwdriver so those people wouldn’t be forgotten. And as long as they’re in here, they won’t be.” 

The Doctor’s expression turned mournful. 

For just a second, he saw the face of a young boy. 

A boy he had once promised all of time and space.

A boy who, like the stars, had turned to dust.

Amelia missed the moment the Doctor’s expression darkened. 

She didn’t see the way he quickly wiped away a tear. 

They sat in silence for a while, the Doctor battling with dark thoughts while Amelia pondered everything she had just learned. 

She figured it was about time she got some answers. 

“Doctor?” 

The Doctor snapped out of his spiralling thoughts.

“Yes, hello, Miss Pond.” He greeted her with fake cheer. 

Amelia crossed her arms and leveled him with a stare. “I think it’s time you explained some things.” 

The Doctor frowned.

Explain what?”

“And what should I be explaining exactly, Miss Pond?”

“Whatever is going on here. Yesterday, you were acting weird and mentioned something. What was it? Regeneration.” 

The Doctor frowned.

‘Ah.’ He had told her he’d explain later .

“Did I? I don’t remember that. Probably your imagination; forget about it.” 

Amelia made herself look threatening. To the Doctor, it just looked like a pouty human child. 

“Explain.” Her tone was angry.

“I’ll explain later.” 

The Doctor, thinking the argument was over, went back to fiddling with the Sonic Screwdriver, trying to understand settings he hadn’t used before.

‘If I change to setting 7-’ 

Suddenly, Amelia snatched the Sonic Srewdriver out of his hands and placed it in front of her. 

“Oi! I was working on that!” The Doctor looked up in frustration. He had been so close to figuring it out. 

“I want an explanation now, Doctor.” 

Amelia opened her mouth-

“I will bite you.”

The Doctor paled. 

“Fine!” He threw his hands up. “I’ll explain!” 

Amelia glanced at the clock. She had half an hour left.

 The Doctor noticed.

“Why are you looking at the clock, Miss Pond? Do you have somewhere to be?” 

“No.” 

Amelia made a terrible attempt at lying. 

“A-ha!” The Doctor jumped up from his seat and pointed at her.

“Now you have some explaining to do. Where do you have to be, Miss Pond?” 

Amelia avoided his eyes. Then, her expression hardened. 

“No. You explain first!” She stood on her chair, trying to make herself look taller.

 The Doctor smirked. “I’ve got all day, Miss Pond. I’ll wait all day to explain Regeneration, but you don’t have all day. So hurry up, will ya?” 

He turned his back to her and started making ticking noises.

“Tick, Tock.” 

Amelia remained stubborn. She sat back down.

Ten minutes passed.

The Doctor didn’t give up. He kept making ticking noises.

 It drove Amelia crazy. She wanted to tear her hair out.

“Fine! I’ve got school in twenty minutes!!!” 

She could practically feel the glee radiating off the Doctor as he turned around with a crazed smile.

“Do you now?”

“Well, then, you’d better go get changed, Miss Pond. Then I’ll explain.” 

Amelia narrowed her eyes at him. He was planning something.

But he was also right, she needed to get dressed.

“Stay right here.” She ordered him as she stormed off.

“Got nowhere to go, Miss Pond. I’ll be right here when you come back.” 

The Doctor cackled in his head. Another argument won. he was the best. 

“Now, let’s continue with you.” He grabbed the Sonic Screwdriver back.

Glasses back over his eyes, the Doctor rotated the button. A glowing blue screen appeared, displaying all the settings in Gallifreyan.

He scrolled through the list.

The red numbers were the ones neve r used.

“Section 201C, hello! Let’s see what you have hidden.” 

He tested a few settings. 202C, a blue energy wall appeared in front of him. The Doctor knocked on it. 

“Oh, this could have been so useful all the times I’ve been shot at! Could you not have shown me sooner?” He glared at the Sonic Screwdriver.

The Doctor grumbled as he tested the next setting. 

204C- 

“I’m back!” Amelia’s sudden yell startled him out of his focus.

 “Don’t you see I’m busy?! I could’ve been doing something dangerous for all you know!” 

Amelia, now dressed in her school uniform, quirked an eyebrow.

 The Doctor shut up. 

“Alright, Miss Pond, how long left?” 

Amelia checked the clock. 

“Fifteen Minutes.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Miss Pond.” The Doctor shook his head dramatically.

“Regeneration will take longer to explain. It’ll have to wait” 

Amelia frowned.

She knew it.  

He had purposefully made her go change so she wouldn’t have enough time.

“Give me a brief version, then.” 

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, I’d be delighted to do so.” 

Amelia frowned harder.

Why was he eager to explain now? 

“Regeneration makes me change my face. There, that’s a brief explanation. And look, twelve minutes to spare.” His voice was filled with cheer.

Amelia was pissed.

“No.” 

The Doctor tilted his head. 

”No?” 

“No. I need more information.”

“I don’t think so. You wouldn't understand the intricacies anyway.”

“Once again, I’m not stupid. Educate me, Doctor.”

The Doctor pointed a finger at her. “Now those are words I like to hear.” 

The Doctor picked up the sonic screwdriver and created a blue board. Then, he clicked something, and the sonic screwdriver turned into a marker.

“Listen!” The Doctor said seriously, pointing the marker at her.

“Regeneration is a way for me, as a Time lord, to change every molecule in my body.”

Amelia listened intently, wanting to catch every word. 

“If a Timelord gets fatally injured, the regeneration process starts.” While he explained, the Doctor wrote it down, drawing diagrams as reference.

“While we are in that process, we can still die. For example, if I were to get shot in the middle of it, I would die forever. The end of the great old me. ” 

The Doctor’s voice turned grim, startling Amelia. But she understood what he meant.

“As a Time Lord, you can also halt the process, but it would lead to unbearable pain. Believe me, I tried. And I was being very stupid.” The Doctor frowned at his past self. 

“A true idiot, I was.” 

“The process can also be stopped. Let’s say I was captured with no chance of escape. If I was in the middle of regenerating, I could stop. And, well… die.” 

The Doctor paused, searching for the right words.

“In my society, it’s frowned upon to do so. It’s considered a great sin. You could compare it to what you humans call suicide.” 

Amelia gasped. 

The Doctor looked at her, suddenly concerned.

“You alright? I can stop if you want.” 

Amelia shook her head. She could handle it. 

“Very well.” 

The Doctor swiped across the board. A holographic image of himself appeared. A strange feeling overtook him. He couldn’t quite put it into words. 

“This is me. Handsome as ever, if I might say.” 

Amelia scoffed.

“Oi!” 

The Doctor scolded, but continued. 

He swiped again, and his face changed.

A man with spiky brown hair appeared, wearing the same glasses as the Doctor. Then, that face morphed into a man with short hair and big ears.

And then- 

A man with curly brown hair.

A man in a hat. 

A man in a clown suit. ‘That one looked horrible’  

A young blonde man. 

A man with a long scarf and a hat. ‘She liked that one’s smile. He looked kind.’  

A man with white hair.

 A man with a flute.

 And lastly-

An old gentleman with white hair.

“The people you saw were all me.” The Doctor explained, scrolling back through to his current face.

“Hello. I’m The Doctor.” He smiled.

“Do you understand, Miss Pond?” 

Amelia mulled over everything she had just learned. 

“So, your race changes their faces when they die.” She recapped out loud. 

“Correct.” The Doctor nodded, waiting patiently. 

“And you can halt or stop it?” 

“Correct again.” 

“But stopping it is illegal.”

 The Doctor thought for a moment. “In a way, yes.” 

Amelia nodded. “And halting isn’t, but it hurts very much.”

“It hurts very, very much, Miss Pond.” The Doctor frowned again, like he was scolding himself.

“And can you choose your face?” Amelia asked, genuinely curious.

“Some can, yes.” 

“Some?” 

The Doctor wet his lips, preparing another explanation. 

“I had a friend who could control which face she chose. Most of my people can do this, but not all. It varies from Time Lord to Time Lord.” The Doctor kept his face straight. He thought of Romana.

“I am not one of them. My face is not chosen by me, but I do get a face that fits me… On a subconscious level.” Why this face? The thought flashed through his mind. And he frowned.

“Is there training involved?” Amelia’s question snapped him out of his thoughts. “No, there is not.” 

“Then how do they do it?”

 The Doctor glanced at the clock. 

And then-

He snapped the board off.

“End of lesson.” 

“What?! Why?” Amelia whined.

The Doctor tapped his wrist.

She looked up at the clock and immediately scrambled out of her seat. 

She ran to the door. 

“That was quick, Miss Pond. I thought there’d be more arguing.” 

Amelia looked up as she pulled on her shoes. 

The Doctor was leaning against the doorframe, watching her.

“No time. I don’t want detention for being late.” 

“Alright. Have fun at school, Miss Pond. I’ll be searching for Prisoner Zero.” The Doctor paused.

Then his face fell.

Realization hit him like a train.

“Searching for Prisoner Zero?”

The Doctor turned back “....Did I say searching?” 

Amelia gave him a flat look. Her shoes were on now. 

“Yes.” 

The Doctor froze.

“...Prinsoner Zero escaped.”

“WHAT?!” 

Chapter Text

“You weren’t lying. There really is a room here,” Amelia said, touching the white door for the first time. Her mind was blown; she had lived here for almost a year, and yet she had no idea this room was right under her nose, hidden by some alien trick. 

“Who do you take me for?! Of course I didn’t lie,” the Doctor said from behind her, his voice laced with mock offence. 

‘Rule One: The Doctor Lies, ’ an amalgamation of all his previous voices, reminded him in his head.

“Oi, what was that for!?” The Doctor exclaimed, jumping back. He snapped out of his thoughts when Amelia kicked him in the shin.

“Kids nowadays, no respect for their elders,” He grumbled, his forehead furrowing.

Amelia whipped around, a glare fixed upon her face. The Doctor, still nursing his shin from her previous attack, took a tentative step back.

“That was for letting Prisoner Zero escape,” She told him dryly. Then she wound up her leg again, and before he knew it, she kicked him again. 

“And that’s for not waking me up to help you chase after it!” The Doctor jumped back, pain shooting through his leg; his shin briefly glowed golden and in a matter of seconds, the pain faded.

‘Fifteen-hour Regeneration period comes in handy once more,’ The Doctor thought cheerfully. The Doctor’s posture then straightened as he positioned himself to be on eye level with the Scottish girl.

“Your little human body needed sleep, and I was on a time limit, just like you are now, Miss Pond. You’re late for school” His words held as much gentleness as he could muster. 

Amelia's eyes momentarily widened in panic, but not even a second later her eyes glittered with glee, wiping the smile from the Doctor’s face. 

“I’m not going; I’m going to help you find Prisoner Zero,” Amelia said with confidence, her posture reflecting as much. Her arms were both clasped behind her back as she flashed the Doctor a cheeky smile.

“Nice try,” The Doctor said, clapping her on the shoulder. Jumping back up from his kneeling position, he whipped around and strolled down the stairs, a cackle coming from him as he did.

Amelia’s posture deflated as he slid down the staircase, her arms crossed, her face scrunching up as his laughter reached her ears.

At the bottom of the stairs the Doctor jumped off the last step, quickly orientating himself; he took a left turn back into the kitchen to prepare himself to explore Leadworth. 

He lowered his head, his glasses slipping off his nose straight into his outstretched hand,   as he took sight of the glasses again, he conjured up a mental image of him with them on and then he stuffed them away into his pants pockets. 

‘No more glasses; they look horrible. What was I even thinking of picking these? I clearly wasn't thinking at all,’ he mused as he shook his head.

Distracted, the Doctor almost stumbled over a stray piece of equipment as he tried to head back towards the exit. Steadying himself by leaning on the arm of a chair, he went back to heading for the exit only to be stopped in his tracks by Amelia standing in the doorway.

“I want to come,” She told him defiantly, her hands firmly planted on her hips.

“No,” The Doctor’s lips pressed together as he dismissed her. He tried to stride past her, but she moved to block his way, her arms having joined in the effort. He twisted his neck and looked back at the clock.

“School, Miss Pond, you’re already ten minutes late” Thinking he had made his point, he tried to move past again, but Amelia held firm and kept blocking the way.

“I. Want. To. Come” Amelia pushed against his legs, emphasising every word. The Doctor rolled his eyes and effortlessly picked the little redhead up instead of answering.

Amelia kicked at him, trying to make him let go. The Doctor couldn’t lie; he was rather amused at the situation. He put her down once they were at the front door. Amelia huffed as he did so and he couldn’t help but let a small smile break through.

Amelia smoothed down her school uniform, then she lunged at him to bite. The Doctor dodged out of the way, already having perceived she would try something again. 

“Oi! No biting,” He scolded her. Amelia snapped her teeth at him in response.

“Listen, Amelia” He bent down and gently put his hands on her shoulders. Amelia stopped pouting and looked The Doctor in the eyes, a puzzled look now in place on her face.

“Let me deal with this situation.” He pointed towards her bag “I want you to focus on your studies. Prisoner Zero is a serious threat, I’ve identified them as a Multiform” Amelia didn’t know what that meant, but she was intrigued. 

“They’re not a singular species. Prisoner Zero could be any type of Multiform, and my understanding of which one right now is very limited, and I don’t like that” He frowned and his jaw clenched at that part; he hated admitting things like that. 

“I don’t want to put you in any danger” His mind briefly flashed across every person he had lost in his life, all the people he had failed and all the people that got left behind. 

And then it settled on Amelia’s face. 

The mysterious girl that he had only met a few hours prior had managed to worm her way into his hearts, and he couldn’t allow anything to happen to her, not while she was under his care.

He allowed Amelia a brief glance at his real emotions; her posture softened, her eyes holding something new, compassion? 

He wasn’t sure.

“Alright”, she conceded, her voice quieter now.

The Doctor jumped up a fake smile, jumping back in place, willing the moment before to not have happened.

Amelia could see through the smile having seen the real part of the man she had only just met. He had looked so much older than he already was and so exhausted, she really wanted to hug him to make him feel better but she knew he didn’t like it.

“Now then, run along to school, Pond,” He ordered her once more, a most serious expression displaying across features. But the thumb flicking he was doing reflected his true feelings, impatience. He really needed to get moving with this search.

Amelia nodded, a half-smile on her lips; she would listen and go to school even if she didn’t want to. Suddenly her body leaned forward as an idea popped up in her head, she was beyond excited by the idea.

“Can you pick me up from school, please?” She gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the idea of doing that. “Can’t your aunt do that?” he asked, trying to get out of it.

A mental light bulb ignited suddenly as it struck the Doctor “Speaking of her, where is she? Shouldn’t she be back from work by now?” 

Amelia’s eyes glossed over, and her response came fast, “She won’t be back until noon.”

The Doctor’s mouth snapped shut as the gears in his head started turning; that was too fast of a response. The human mind should be incapable of formulating an answer in such a short time.

“What work does she do, Amelia?” He asked, wanting to see if the same thing would happen again.

“What?” Amelia blinked at him as if she hadn’t been aware of what had been going on around her. 

The Doctor’s mind raced with questions, then he reminded himself there was no time to get answers for them. He’d have a better chance in the evening when she came back home from school. 

Perhaps it wouldn’t be needed if the aunt does return at noon. 

The corner of his mouth moved up, He’ll just have to briefly return to the house at that point, won’t he? Goals set, he focused back on the present.

“Come on, Doctor, answer already! Will you pick me up from school?” Amelia’s question sounded whiny now, she was starting to grow impatient, her posture reflecting as much she was bouncing on her feet. 

The Doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead at the prospect of it all, he had fought gods and here he was agreeing to picking up a child from school. 

“Fine, I will pick you up from school.” 

Amelia was ecstatic, her eyes glittered with glee once again. She held out her pinky towards him “Promise?” 

“The Pinky again, I told you already didn’t- ugh! Whatever” He hooked his pinky in hers, rolling his eyes as she squealed.

 “I promise to you, Amelia Pond, that I will pick you up from school” 

Amelia jumped for joy, and The Doctor rolled his eyes once more, ‘I hope this doesn’t become a habit’.

The Doctor, slapping his knees, gained Amelia’s attention, who was still vibrating in place. He produced something out of his pockets and handed it to Amelia.

“You take this with you, it is a phone, yes i know it doesn’t look like one you’ve seen before, no I don’t have time to tell you when it’s from, just call me by doing this-” He showed her how to turn on the phone and how to call the phone he had gotten from Martha. 

“Only call in emergencies. Prisoner Zero so far has transformed into animals only, but we don’t know if they can shift into anything else. If you see any suspicious people, animals or pencils, you call me immediately.” 

He levelled her with a serious look “Do NOT approach them alone, am I clear?”

Amelia nodded rapidly at all the information he told her. She was just so happy she was still being allowed to help even if she had to be stuck in boring school all day, she had even gained a phone from the future. 

The Doctor’s gaze shifted back to neutral, “One more thing, when does your school day end?”

Amelia blinked, startled by the normal question coming from the alien man.

“Half past three”

“Very well, then I’ll be there. Now of you, pop!” He waved his hands towards the door.

Amelia smiled at him and nodded. She picked up her bag and quickly threw it on. 

“Bye, Doctor!” She waved back at him as he stood in the doorway, watching her run off.

He gave a singular salute in return.

Focusing back in front of her and running off to school, she was already formulating an excuse for why she was late.

The Doctor watched her until she was out of sight, a brief fond smile forming on his lips until he clapped his hands, making him focus back on the situation at hand. 

“Alright! Let’s get started” He stepped onto the path outside and then felt it.

“Oh, I don’t have shoes”

°°---0o0---°°

“Welcome!” The shopkeeper greeted the Doctor as he entered. He pocketed the Sonic Screwdriver; he had used it as a map to get directions to this place.

He had walked in circles for a good half hour due to the map being a future version. He had to hit the Sonic quite a few times to downgrade it, but in the end, he only needed to take one more turn. 

“Can I help you with something?” the woman asked, eyeing him up and down. The Doctor glanced down at himself to see what was wrong, but he couldn’t see anything in particular. 

“No help needed, I’ll just browse”, he dismissed with a hand wave and then started his track through the aisles. 

‘For a tiny town, they have a big clothes shop,’ he noted as he observed his surroundings.

Multiple different aisles, a whole section dedicated to changing stalls and the front was quite the size as well. 

He slid his hands through some of the clothes while mumbling, “The things humans would wear, I don’t get it.” his hand brushed past a pair of high-heeled shoes. “Why would you even wear these?” The Doctor wondered, picking one up and tapping his finger against the heel.

He lifted it to his eyes, inspecting the density of the heel. ‘It could snap at any moment, it could do with a multitude of improvements, and it certainly isn’t up to quality.’ 

He had seen a lot of high heels, more than he’d liked to admit, Donna had quite a lot of thoughts on them ‘Prada this, Prada that, Narys said this-’ so and so forth, a small smile lit up his lips as he thought of his best friend.

Thinking back on all of it, he spoke his thoughts out loud, finally airing them out like he should’ve before. “They are so impractical. What if you’re being chased? You’d just put yourself in even more danger” He chucked the heel back onto the shelf where it had been placed; they landed just as they had stood before.

The Doctor’s hands swung wildly as he continued through the aisle, ranting and going into a full-blown lecture. The brown-haired shopkeeper watched him with intrigue, her head cradled in her hand. 

“Far worse even, wearing them hurts your feet” he started counting his fingers “Ankles,” second finger, “Further up the leg it can hurt the knees,” third finger, “And then finally your spine.”

“The human race, the species with the most injured spines, and then they invent a shoe to make their spines even worse, unbelievable.” he frowned at that, putting a hand on his spine and pushing against it.

“Idiots!” he switched into a different aisle, not even filled with the thing of his lecture, but on he went. 

He absent-mindedly browsed through it. “Although heels do have one good use I’ll admit,” he stopped mid way through an aisle, tapping his chin “they are good for staying on a horse.” 

“Ah, then you have the nobility of this world, the kings wearing heels to show their power!” he emphasised the last word, and he stopped in his tracks, launching his hands out to show an example of power.

“Men used to love heels, and then they stopped because women started wearing them.” his lips tightened into a line at that.

The Doctor’s face twisted into a frown as he paused by the dresses, “Men never change. I don’t get why they are so afraid of being associated with women. It’s utterly ridiculous, on Gallifrey; you would’ve been ridiculed for such things.” 

So caught up in his rant, he hadn’t even realised he had talked about his home planet. The shopkeeper was smiling, her eyes shining with nostalgia, almost like she had seen this happen before. She leaned deeper into her hand, her round eyes observing the Doctor’s every move. 

“And then to today, they are worn to make you look taller, to look good when you go out,” he deadpanned, turning towards a mannequin.

“I can’t even begin to understand the ideal of it, and I don’t want to; in my eyes, they are completely impractical.” 

His fingers snapped, and his mouth slammed shut. His rant was over.

“You’re a clever boy, aren’t you?” the shopkeeper asked with a giggle.

 The Doctor, momentarily having forgotten that he was in the company of another, whipped around. He waved a hand in front of his face and stepped behind a clothing rack. 

“You can’t see me,” he quipped.

“Oh yes, I can” The Doctor’s grey curls stuck out above the rack; he shuffled away to a different aisle, and the woman burst out laughing, her whole body shook due to it.

The Doctor stood up from his kneeling position. “What am I doing?” he reflected on what he had just done. “That was childish of me. never doing that again, understood!” he pointed at his reflection in the mirror at the end of the aisle, “Good.” 

“Clothes!” he clapped his hands, regaining the focus he had lost. “That was rather enjoyable, I must say, a good lecture to keep the brain awake,” he smiled briefly. “Amelia would’ve loved that.” 

Now back in the aisle with shoes he absentmindedly picked up converse. The converse were in a TARDIS blue shade, with stars covering the sides. The Doctor shook his head, “I am done with the sandshoes, new me, new footwear.” 

‘They’re not sandshoes!’ he paused in putting them back as he heard the familiar voice.

‘Hello?’ he asked in his mind, his eyebrows drawing together. He sighed as he received no answer. 

He scratched at his right cheek ‘why do I keep hearing my past selves?’ he mentally sighed ‘ a mystery for later’ and so the later pile grew.

He headed further down the aisle, browsing through shoe after shoe. “Seven would’ve liked you,” he said as he slid a finger over brown and white dress shoes. 

The Doctor, now at the end of the aisle next to the mirror, became overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of uncomfortableness that came over him as he saw his face. The Doctor bit his lip as he stared at his face, why was he feeling like this? 

After a handful of minutes, he shook his head and moved away from the reflective surface, shifting his focus back in front of him to some boots.

He saw some his Ninth self would have worn, and he admitted his taste was drifting to those again. He picked up a particular pair of black boots with grey heels, he slid his finger over the bottom and then leaned in closer to inspect the minuscule details.

“These seem to be good quality for running. I sure as hell will need them, with how my life goes.” his gaze drifted down to his dirty grey socks, “Can’t keep walking around like this.” 

“Socks!” he pointed to the shopkeeper who was still watching him from her place at the cash register. 

She quirked an eyebrow and parroted the word “Socks?” his face morphed into a disappointed look at her lack of immediate help.

“Yes, socks! Where?” he repeated as he approached the register, she spotted the boots in his hands and then pointed to a rack, getting the idea of what was going on “Right there.” 

The Doctor turned his head and wanted to smack himself; he had walked right past them, seems like his senses still hadn’t fully calibrated to his new body yet, ‘Once again, I hate regeneration.’

He turned back around, heading for the rack “No, thank you for the information; you hurt me, sir,” he looked back, eyebrows raised, the woman had a hand over her heart. 

“Humans and their theatrics,” he muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Why do you keep saying Humans like you’re not one?” 

The Doctor didn’t bother to respond. He desperately needed to get out of these clothes. It had started to itch staying in them so long, by now he usually had a new outfit picked out.

“Ignoring a lady- how rude,” the woman said with a playful smile. 

The Doctor picked out some simple grey socks and walked away from the front again.

Passing a mirror once more, he stopped in his tracks, unable to quell the urge to inspect his face. The nagging in his head began again. ‘why?’

 The Doctor gritted his teeth as his face began to unsettle him; he clenched his fists and reluctantly moved on.

He wandered from aisle to aisle, picking up pieces of clothing like they were flowers that were being plucked out of a field, by the time he got into one of the clothing stalls his hands were filled to the brim with clothing options. 

Outfit one consisted of similar looking pants to his previous self, ‘Too tight ’ he noted a hand running over the fabric. His feet now wore the black boots he had picked out ‘Comfortable’ , and his upper half was covered with suspenders, a simple black shirt and a brown jacket, ‘I look childish’ he pulled back the suspenders and let them snap back, wincing at it. 

He got another proper look in the mirror; he swished the jacket back, but it lacked the usual grandiosity of it, “The Boots, yes, the rest…. no,” he turned around and walked back into the stall.

Outfit two consisted of the black boots; this time, he had opted to go with some regular black pants with a TARDIS blue belt keeping it in place ‘A reminder of home’ he noted with a silent longing. His eyes fell upon his upper half. It was covered in a green sweater with a v-neck and a long black coat lined with blue velvet. 

He swished the coat back and deposited his hands in his pockets, and it felt right.

The swish was up to his standard, feeling just right. The pants fit rather well over the boots, and they felt comfortable enough to run. He made a few movements to stretch them out, and he nodded.

“Almost there!” he said with a smile, his smile faltering as his gaze landed on his eyes, they looked familiar, he swore he’d stared into those eyes before. 

He snapped his gaze away and swiftly went back into the stall, looking through the pile for the last pieces that would complete the outfit. 

“A-ha!” he shouted as he found what he was looking for.

The Doctor, back in front of the mirror, hands in his pocket, smiled at his reflection. 

“Handsome as ever, Doctor,” he smiled 

“Thank you, Doctor. I’d say you looked rather dapper yourself.” 

He rubbed and adjusted his feet, inspecting his black boots again, then his gaze slid up his legs to his black pants and belt. He adjusted them a bit, strengthening the hold, the sonic screwdriver in his pocket moved around a bit. 

Then he adjusted the lapels of his black coat. smoothing out the grey-black dress vest that hugged his form and lastly he straightened the collar of his white dress shirt. 

“Hello, I’m The Doctor,” he said, giving a small wave. 

He finally felt a bit more comfortable in his body. 

One last time before moving away, his gaze landed on his face. He had to restrain his fists from smashing the mirror.

“I’m going to figure out why you look so familiar,” and with that sentence, he walked off to the exit, paying no mind to the cluttered clothing stall.

“Oi, you’ve got to pay, and who’s going to clean the mess of clothes you left in that stall?” the shopkeeper exclaimed, exasperated at his actions. 

The Doctor stopped midway through the door, “Paying, yes!” he flashed her a sheepish grin and moved up to the counter, patting his pockets.

“Ugh! I hate normal pockets, that damned TAR-” He shut himself up, he had revealed enough, he needed to keep a shred of his cover.

“Hold a moment!” He beelined it for the stall.

“You run like a penguin with your ass on fire!” the woman yelled after him, he sputtered at the nerve of the woman.

“I do not!” The remainder of the way, he looked at his movements. 

In the stall, he closed the curtain and took hold of the Sonic Screwdriver. “Alright, haven’t done it manually in a while” he flipped from setting to setting until he landed on the right one, he flicked his hand out and took a hold of his old burnt pants. 

He put the sonic inside, and it made creaking noises. 

“What are you doing that for?” he smacked his hand against it, and it started making the normal noise again. “You need an update,” he said, shaking his head. 

Then he moved his sonic screwdriver into his new pants pockets and did the same process. 

“Alright, time to test” he put his hand in and then further and further his hand came out of his burnt pants pocket. 

“Alright! Bigger on the inside.” he pulled his arm out. “Linking it up to the system wasn’t as hard as I remembered. I am truly a genius,” The Doctor boasted as he picked up the pile of clothes.

“There you go cleaned up” he leaned on the counter after he deposited the pile of clothing . His old clothes, safely stuffed into his pockets. 

“What am I supposed to do with them?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow and patting the pile. 

“I don’t know; let that clever brain of yours figure it out.” 

He smirked and then produced a grey stick. “Do you take credit stick?” 

“That’s a joke, right?” she asked, genuinely baffled, looking at the little grey bar held in between the Doctor’s index finger and thumb.

“Yes….” he said, slowly putting it back in his pocket. 

She put a hand on her head; she was dealing with a lunatic. “Pay with pounds, for goodness sake. Who did you say you were?” 

The Doctor was baffled at himself of course they didn’t take credit stick he was in 1996, he rummaged through his pockets and took out some bills. “It doesn’t matter who I am. Now, how much do I owe?” 

She stared at him for a moment longer and then told him how much. He counted the bills and handed them over. 

“No need for change; keep it.” She was about to hand it to him but quickly put it back. He had severely overpaid, not that she was complaining. 

“If that’s all, I shall take my leave” the Doctor moved away and exited through the door.

She scratched her head “That was strange,” She said as she started to pick up the pile of clothes.

“Strange is good!” the Doctor yelled from his position right outside the door.

She dropped the pile of clothes, startled by the shout, and then she grumbled as she bent down to pick them up again. 

The Doctor smirked, pleased. 

Then, he moved away, now unable to hear what was happening inside the shop. He stopped briefly, turning back to get a good look at the name of the shop. 

“ Clever ” 

“What type of name is that!” he put his head in his hands. “Humans!” His gaze slid off the sign, and his focus returned to the front to track Prisoner Zero.

°°---0o0---°°

“You are late, Miss Pond.” 

Amelia stopped in her tracks; she thought she had snuck in unnoticed. Miss Jones put her chalk down and turned to face her. Her face showed no emotion; she didn’t find her creepy, no definitely not.

The teacher crossed her arms and cleared her throat. Amelia got ready to face the worst but was surprised at her calm tone “Care to explain your lateness?”

“Uhm.”  

Amelia’s mouth opened, but she had no words that could get her out of this. And then she had an idea. She pulled her backpack off her back and rummaged inside of it. Her hand brushed across a worn leather wallet, and she was quick to pull it out.

"How does it work?’ she thought, inspecting it. flipping it open, her eyes searched the blank paper for an answer.

Everyone in class stared at her, it was starting to get annoying. The teacher cleared her throat again, impatience now clearer on the woman’s face. 

Amelia met her eyes and was once again met with cold, piercing eyes. She averted her gaze as fast as she could. 

“Well, Miss Pond?” Miss Jones was tapping her fingers on her arm.

Amelia held the paper out in front of her, hoping that it would work.

“I was helping my Grandad move his stuff into the house. He came to take care of me” Amelia pointed at the wallet she had snagged off the Doctor ‘Old man hasn’t even noticed it’s gone’ she snickered internally.

Miss Jones walked up to her, face scrunching up as she put on her glasses that were around her neck. She took a closer look at the paper. 

“I see,” she said, her tone going softer. 

Amelia wondered how she had done it. She actually got it to work, ‘Another thing the old man has to explain.’

“Next time, let your Grandfather call the school to tell them you're late. Now go sit down” Amelia nodded eagerly, ready to get away from the old teacher. She put the wallet into her bag and speed walked to her seat at the back. 

All the eyes of the other kids fell off her, and she let out a breath of air; she hated the attention. 

One pair of eyes followed her entire journey, one Rory Williams. 

“Good morning, Amelia. I almost thought you wouldn’t come,” Rory greeted her shyly as she sat down. He was twisting his fingers, trying to avoid gathering attention. 

Amelia looked at him and his face was always covered by the bangs of his bowl cut, he was also a little bit smaller than her.

She and Rory had quickly become friends due to getting sat next to each other in class, she liked Rory, he didn’t look at her the way the others did, he didn’t mind being friends with the ‘weird’ scottish girl. 

“No, just had to help Gramps,” she explained as she pulled out her pencils. The teacher started droning on about maths equations, She averted her gaze from the front back to meet Rory’s gaze, who was now looking at her. 

“I didn’t know your Grandfather was coming to town” Amelia smirked, her eyes glinting with unhidden mischief. “I don’t have to tell you everything going on in my life, Rory.” 

Rory hid his face behind his hands and then shook his head. “I didn’t mean it like that, Amelia,” he said in an apologetic tone.

“I know, I’m only teasing you,” she hit him on the shoulder and he looked up at her with wide eyes “Amelia!” he whined “That hurts” 

She giggled, bumping his shoulder. “You are such a wimp, Rory” 

He started to retort, until they both froze up when someone cleared their throat. They both looked to the front of the class and simultaneously let out breaths of air in relief; it wasn’t directed at them. 

“Good morning, everyone!” a bald man greeted cheerfully. A girl followed behind him as he came to stand at the front of the class. 

“Good morning, Principal Peters!” They all greeted in unison. Amelia rolled her eyes.

Principal Peters was a bald man. She didn’t know his age but would guess he was in his forties; he always wore some type of blazer and a bowtie, and the silliest of his traits was the curly moustache all the kids made fun of him for. 

“I hope you don’t mind me interrupting your lesson?” he asked Miss Jones, who had walked from behind her desk to stand next to the principal.

She adjusted her skirt, making herself look more professional with a fake smile plastered on her face. “Of course not, sir. What can I do for you?” The teacher asked cheerfully. 

Amelia could hear the fakeness of it, she really hated when people did that. 

“I won’t be long. I’m just here to announce that there will be a new student in your class” he gestured to the girl beside him, motioning for her to introduce herself. 

Amelia caught the small fond look he had when doing so. 

Then her gaze flitted to the new girl and Amelia was amazed that the girl stood in front of the class in such a confident way and yet she looked bored out of her mind simultaneously.

The girl pushed away from leaning against the desk rolling her eyes at the bald man“I’m Mels.” she picked at her nail “Nice to meet you or whatever.” 

The class was utterly silent, everyone’s eyes lingering on the new girl. 

The principal coughed into his hand to grab everyone’s attention. Amelia's eyes lingered on the girl a little longer, seeing the small smirk that grew on her face. Their eyes briefly met and Amelia swore she could see something familiar in them, but she couldn’t place what. 

“I leave Miss Zucker in your capable hands, Miss Jones” he tried to pat Mels’ shoulder, but she sidestepped him easily and slunk into a seat without a care. She then lazily saluted him “Smell ya later, Patrick.” 

The class sniggered at that, and the Principal's face scrunched together. 

He let out a breath of air and adjusted his bow tie. “That is Principal Peters to you,” and then he was off, not waiting for a response, yet a bit of hesitation was in his step. 

Miss Jones watched the principal go, and her fake smile slid off real quick.

“Get your feet off the desk, Miss Zucker, and pay attention” Miss Jones pushed her legs off the desk and then returned to her place at the board. 

Mels stuck her tongue out at the teacher’s back and then promptly put her legs back on the desk. 

Amelia liked the girl, she wished she could be as confident as her.

°°---0o0---°°

“It’s you!” 

The Doctor took a small glance back and recognised the woman; it was the lady who had shouted at him through her window. 

So he kept walking; he had no time for this. 

“Oi! I’m talking to you!” he heard a quick shuffling behind him. He smirked, and he started moving faster in a way that the human eyes shouldn’t be able to see. 

“You turn around!” 

The Doctor was about to turn a corner when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. ‘How did she catch up!’ he exclaimed in his mind, his eye twitching at being interrupted. 

“You’ve got some apologizing to do,” the angry woman told him. He had to bend his head to look at her. 

“Really? Me? I thought you were talking to him,” he pointed at a dog locked behind a fence, “Dogs and all, they do a lot that needs apol-” 

The woman was as red as a tomato now.

“Listen here, you bastard! You woke me and my children up with that screaming you did.”

Her hands flew about wildly, and he swore he could see steam come out of her ears. 

The Doctor leaned against the hedge, putting his hands in his pockets. He could care less, he had much more pressing issues to deal with, these human problems didn’t even come to scale with it.

“I don’t recall that happening,” he scrunched up his eyebrows on purpose, faking bewilderment. 

“I do,” she retorted, scoffing.

“You should get your head looked at by a Doctor” he pushed off the hedge and put his hands on her forehead. 

“You will forget this interaction and do what I say next” he poured his mental energy in, and her eyes immediately turned glassy. He manoeuvred his way into her subconscious mind and pulled out the interaction they just had.

“Ah, Miss Powell, your head seems fine. I suggest a good afternoon nap, Doctor’s orders” he awkwardly patted her on the shoulder, snapped his fingers and off he went. 

“Uhm… Thank you,” the woman said, looking at her surroundings in confusion, ‘Why am I out here?’

The Doctor was pleased with himself, “This body isn’t that bad after all, but not the greatest either. Which one is it, you ask? Can’t tell you Time Lord secret” 

To passersbyers, he must have looked insane. 

“Well…” he took another turn and ended up at his destination. 

“Let’s see, Aunt of Pond if you are truly here or….” he left the or ambiguous unsure of what it meant himself.

He swung open the door “Daddy’s home! Anyone here?” he waited a few seconds and then stopped the cheerful act.

“Very well, waiting it is.”  

He strode back into the kitchen “What a mess; I wonder who made it,” he quipped and manoeuvred his way through the mess. 

He slid back into his previous seat at the table and took a quick glance at the clock. “Thirty minutes to noon, thirty minutes for knowledge” a small smile crept on his face.

“Thirty minutes of experimenting.” 

He pulled the Sonic Screwdriver out of his pocket and quickly pressed the button combination to pull up the settings manual.

The Doctor let out a melodic shout as the Sonic shocked him, leaving another burn mark behind on his hand. 

He smacked it against the table, and it started working. 

He quickly rubbed away the mark and faced the manual “Where was I?” 

°°---0o0---°°

“Hurry up, Rory!” Amelia hissed at him. Rory was falling behind, they really needed to sneak back into the building. 

“I’m coming!” 

Amelia stopped at a corner and peeked from behind it towards the entrance, teachers were smoking outside of it they only needed one of them to open the door and then.

“Now Rory!” 

Amelia sprinted for the door, unnoticed by the teachers. It was about to close, but she managed to stop it in time. 

“Amelia!” Rory whined as he caught up. He put his hands on his knees and huffed in all the air he could get. 

Between breaths, he managed to say, “I can’t run that fast.” 

She ignored him in favour of seeing if the coast was clear, after seeing that no one was there she motioned him inside.

Once inside, they both slipped onto the cold, tiled floor. 

“Usually, you’re faster. Rory, what’s going on?” she asked, her eyebrows scrunched together. Rory was usually the best runner in the class, not that he would admit to it. 

Rory wiped away the sweat from his brow. “I got woken up last night by a loud banging and wasn’t able to sleep after” he rubbed his eyes, the cold underneath his legs, soothing his aching legs. 

“Okay, you could have said earlier, dummy.” She nudged his shoulder, a teasing smile in place on her face. 

Rory nodded and stood up. He shyly offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. 

“I thought it wasn’t relevant.” 

They started moving through the halls. The empty halls were well-lit, but Rory couldn’t help but feel uneasy. They passed by a row of colourful lockers, and he just had to ask. “Why are we doing this, Amelia?” 

“Can’t tell you,” she said seriously, and Rory’s mouth shut instantly.

They slipped down another corridor, the one where their usual classes took place. 

“Why do I need to help?” He asked if he wasn’t allowed to know, why involve him at all, not that he wasn’t happy to be included; he liked being around Amelia. Yet he also didn’t want to get caught and get detention. 

Amelia briefly glanced at him “Because I need a lookout, and who else would I choose?”

Amelia peeked into a classroom, shook her head and moved on to the next one.

“But what if we get caught?” he asked her, fidgeting nervously, his head whipping around from place to place.

‘Was that a giggle’ he shuddered ‘My imagination’ he nodded. that must’ve been it.

“Then we’ll get detention,” Amelia replied bluntly, shrugging. She then turned to face him and put her hand on his shoulder “That’s why you keep a lookout, if we get caught it’s your fault” she said cheekily, clapped his shoulder and then ran down the hall. 

“Amelia, wait up!” he yelled after her. 

“Not so loud!” she yelled back.

 “You’re loud as well.” He hissed.

Amelia laughed at that and then looked into the next classroom. 

“So what’s your granddad like?” Rory asked, wanting to know more about him and to keep his thoughts distracted.

“He’s sarcastic,” Amelia replied, shrugging. 

“And?” he asked, wanting her to tell him more; she usually shared everything. 

“He’s old,” she offered. 

Rory laughed at that “Obviously, he’s your Grandfather.” 

Amelia stopped him; she thought she had heard a voice. She peeked around the corner but saw no one. 

“Alright,” she let go, and they moved again. 

“What does he look like?” Rory asked, would he also have Amelia’s red hair? His cheeks flushed for a moment at that thought. 

Amelia let out a humming noise “He’s real tall,” she motioned with her hand. “He has these long eyebrows that he can do all sorts of things with.” 

She tried to mimic it but wasn’t able to properly convey the extent of it, and Rory still laughed, more out of nervousness than actually finding it funny. He swore he had seen a shadow move past.

“He calls them attack eyebrows,” she informed. 

Rory found that strange “Why?” 

“No idea he’s weird like that.” 

Amelia opened the door to the science lab and motioned Rory inside.

“Stay at the door,” she told him. She swore she had heard a noise coming from there, she slowly moved about the room. 

“What job does he do?” Rory kept questioning, Amelia liked that about Rory; he was always interested in everything she talked about. 

“He used to be a Policeman; now he’s a Landscape Investigator,” Amelia chuckled; how had she believed that lie? It was so silly, weird old man. 

“Landscape investigator?” Rory parroted back.

“Yes,” Amelia said. She came closer to the closet and she could hear rustling inside. 

“But what even is th-” 

Amelia motioned for him to shut up. He briefly pouted until she motioned she had heard a sound in the closet. 

She cautiously approached. She knew the Doctor had said not to do that, but to her, it was more of a suggestion than a rule. 

She counted down with her fingers ‘One’ ‘two’ ‘three’ She pulled open the door and.

“Nothing.” 

She peeked in, and it was just the supplies. 

Rory let out a breath of relief.

Amelia frowned; she swore she had heard something. 

She peeked back out, disappointed, her shoulders deflating. 

“Alright, let’s go,” she told Rory. 

They both turned back to the door, and then there was a bang. 

They turned back around, and then something jumped out.

 “AAAAAAAHHH!!!” 

They both screamed, latching onto each other in fright.

°°---0o0---°°

The kitchen table was covered in wiring, the Doctor’s coat now neatly folded and occupying the kitchen counter. His long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and in his hands were a multitude of tools that were working on the sonic screwdriver. 

“If I adjust the wave connector-” he pulled his finger back just in time to avoid getting sparked “-I’ll be able to connect to the Itekh grid” The blue light of the sonic blinked, and the Doctor closed the side panel.

“On to the next part” The Doctor pulled down the bottom panel of the sonic screwdriver.

“Now to put in” he picked up what looked like a micro SD card “Now this connector should be able to track down the residual, vortex energy left behind by the TARDIS” he put it in and closed the bottom, adjusting the black piece at the bottom and locked it back up. 

“Now the final stage” he held his finger on the sonic screwdriver’s button and held it for ten seconds “The Sonic screwdriver should now be emitting tylon beams that will track the vortex, and when the TARDIS passes through” 

He clapped his hands together “I will have a visual on where the TARDIS ran off to” he reached behind him, swiftly pulled on his coat, pulled down his sleeves and pulled out a gadget out of his pockets in a smooth movement. 

“To be sure, not that it’s needed. I’m a genius, after all.” 

He grinned as the gadget started whirring. “Sublime!” he exclaimed, beyond proud of his accomplishment. He was relieved that this body still had the same knack for tinkering as his previous one. 

He laid the sonic screwdriver in the middle of the table “You do your work, I’ll do mine” he said as he jumped up from his chair, almost toppling it over, then he strode out of the kitchen. 

The Doctor glanced back at the clock for a moment and frowned. It was well past noon and still no sighting of the aunt. “Would’ve expected at least something more….” he fell silent, staring at the front door expectantly, willing it to make something exciting happen. 

After what was a solid minute, his time sense informed him so, he stopped his body deflating at how lackluster this had been “Rassilon, this is boring,” he grumbled.

He turned around and was met with a mirror on the wall. “That’s less boring,” he stated, his eyes flitting across his reflection for the umpteenth time. He moved up to it, flicking his coat behind him. He gripped onto the edges of the mirror and smiled that familiar crazed smile. 

“Bye!” he told his reflection and then laid the mirror down. He scratched at his right cheek absentmindedly. 

“Overreaction?” he asked himself. he started flicking his hands about and pointed upstairs. 

“No,” he answered his question and then followed his point. “Moving on!” he exclaimed and then started climbing the stairs. 

Upstairs, he pulled out a pen and sticky notes. “I wish I had a blackboard around,” he said longingly, “The sound of chalk moving across the surface of the board and the accompanying sounds of it” he paused dramatically.

“It's majestic,” he sighed and then snapped his fingers “Back to now.” 

He opened every door on the floor, his head popping in between the gaps of the doors. 

After he scribbled something down on a note:

“Amelia’s room.” 

“Bathroom” 

“Zero’s Room” 

“Then there is you” he stepped inside and was met with another bedroom and an adult adult-sized bed took residence inside of it.

“From observation, I can tell that this bed hasn’t been used” he leaned down his face almost touching the sheets, “Since yesterday morning” his brain started working as he inspected every inch of the room.

“Closet filled with clothes for a man and a woman” his hand touched the fabric of the clothes “Rich fabrics, not cheap. These people had a respectable amount of money.” 

He closed the closet and went to the nightstand at the right side “Once again, a picture of Amelia” he pulled it open “Clearly from some years ago, Amelia looks tiny” 

“But this is odd” he rested a hand on his hip, his eyebrows drawing together as he scrutinised the picture. “She’s in a position of holding hands with people,” he snapped his fingers. “Yet there are no other people there.” 

He put the picture back in the frame and back on the nightstand, he passed by the window with a vase of flowers on it, he picked them out and smelled them.

“Lovely. Flowers are good, a fantastic smell as well.” he pulled a glass of water out of his pocket and poured it on the flowers. 

“Can’t have you die,” he said with a smile, “From what I can see these were last watered yesterday” 

“Yesterday last slept in,” he pointed to the bed. “Last watered yesterday!” Every piece was a new connection, the puzzle was falling into place.

“Obviously, something happened yesterday. This is clearly Amelia’s Parents' room” 

He tapped his foot and tapped his cheek, “But why doesn’t she remember them!” he exclaimed “If they were here yesterday, she should” looking for answers gave him more. 

He stood up and strode out of the room. 

“Now you,” he pointed to the last room, which obviously should’ve been the aunt’s room.

“Empty”, he stated, gesturing inside with his pen. “Something is seriously wrong.” he couldn’t say what “My time sense isn’t telling me anything” he wanted answers. 

“There is one way” he closed the door to the empty room and walked to Amelia’s room, opening it with his elbow, his hand occupied scribbling down his thoughts. 

“Listen! When Amelia gets home, we mind walk her” he picked up a stuffed animal and talked to it.

“See, doing a mind walk will allow me to look through her memories” he paced about the room, his right hand flying about wildly, it almost hit a corner, and he toned down the flapping. 

“It could provide me with the answers I need. Like why doesn’t she remember her parents, or what happened yesterday and who is this aunt, and why is there no sign of her?” 

“So many questions” he put the animal down. He gestured to the stuffed animal. “You’re a great listener.” 

“It has been a while since i’ve done it, But i see no problem with that,” he said striding down the stairs.

“My telepathic abilities are bigger than before, there will be no peeking into my memories like with Reinette. No, not again” he frowned, his body tensing at the memory.

“I was foolish to allow it, it’s against all the rules. Consent is everything” 

He reached the front door.

“So I will certainly ask Miss Pond for permission.” 

As he was about to open the door, he realised. He quickly ran into the kitchen, almost forgetting the Sonic Screwdriver.

“Idiot!” he exclaimed and then walked out.

“The Mystery of Amelia Pond,” he smiled, “A mystery worth solving.” 

°°---0o0---°°

“ You should’ve seen your faces; absolutely priceless!” Mels was wheezing from laughing so much, holding on to the closet door for dear life. 

“I mean I expected Red to scream like a girl, but you,” she pointed at Rory and burst into another wave of laughter. 

“Listen here”, Amelia gathered herself up, smoothed out her uniform and approached Mels with as much confidence as she could muster “You can make fun of me,” She said, pointing at herself, and then she glared up at the taller girl. 

“But under no circumstances will you make fun of Rory,” she said, walking closer with every word.

Rory looked at Amelia in awe. Rory had stumbled after screaming and was now sitting against a desk. The cold tile floor was making his legs go tingly, but his legs didn’t want to get up just yet.

“I- it’s alright, Amelia, you-” Rory was cut off by Amelia, her hand up to signal that he needed to shut it. 

“No, I do. You are my friend; nobody makes fun of my friends.” and then she let out a harsh breath of air. She closed her eyes and counted to ten and calmed herself somewhat.

Rory reluctantly nodded and let Amelia do what needed to be done, he wished he was as confident as her. Amelia always stood up for him, and for once, he wanted to do the same for her.

Mels, regaining her composure, glanced between the two, hands on her hips. Seeing that they were both done talking, she spoke up.

“Alright, sorry didn’t mean it like that. It’s just who I am” She turned around for a moment, closing the door and then walked up to Rory and extended her hand to him; she was quite excited about this, meeting them. 

“Let me help you up, man” Rory looked up at her through his bangs, unsure what to think of the girl. He cautiously took her hand, wary of another trick. 

“Thank you”, he said as she pulled him up to his feet, pleasantly surprised by the move.

Mels then turned back to Amelia, who was standing a little away with her arms crossed, a frown still set upon her features.

“Alright, just don’t do it again,” Amelia said after a moment, making her way to the both of them, her features softening somewhat.

“The scaring or the teasing?” Mels asked, the corner of her lips moving up slightly and her eyes glinting with mischief.

“The teasing. Only I’m allowed to tease Rory,” Amelia replied, her eyes carrying the same mischief, just more subdued. She patted Rory’s shoulder, and he couldn’t help but smile; Mels noted the interaction. 

“Alright, Red” Amelia gave a nod in acknowledgement, and they both smiled at each other. 

“Let’s get out of here bef-” Amelia began but was interrupted by a door creaking open. 

“Consider yourself caught,” an adult voice spoke up from behind them, the three of them slowly turned around facing the newcomer.

“Uhm, Miss Roberts, we can explain,” Amelia tried, but faltered by the hardened stare from the older lady.

“No need” She stepped into the classroom, approaching them.

“You know you’re not allowed to be inside during lunch” She looked at each of them, and then her gaze landed on Rory “I didn’t expect this from you, Rory.” 

Rory looked down in shame, Amelia patted him on the back comfortingly.

“As for you two”, she pointed between Mels and Amelia, “I’ve heard of your reputation, Miss Zucker, and it’s proving itself right” The woman’s nose scrunched up, making her look like a snob.

Her gaze drifted then “As for you, Miss Pond, detention is a returning friend, is it not? 

“Whatever lady” Mels spoke up, then flipped the woman the bird and ran like hell. “Come on you two!” she yelled and motioned them to come with her. Amelia and Rory hesitated a second and then bolted.

“You get back here!” the woman shouted after them. 

Mels held open the door whilst Amelia and Rory slipped through. Mels paused for a moment, turning back to the woman “Get rid of the makeup lady, you ain’t fooling anyone” she then saluted her and was off.

She could hear an offended shout coming from the room and considered it a win. She pumped her fist in victory.

“We’re in so much trouble,” Rory shouted as they ran through the halls.

“What’s life without trouble?” Mels replied, grinning.

“It will be alright, Rory,” Amelia told him, trying to be comforting. 

“It won't,” Mels offered instead and then ran through the front door. 

Amelia nodded. She guessed it wouldn’t.

Once outside, the three of them crashed on the nearest bench, catching their breath and enjoying the wind that wafted across their faces. 

“That was fun; let’s do it again sometime,” Mels said excitedly, already back on her feet.

“No, thank you,” Rory replied. He had enough fun for one day, he was even more tired than before, he needed sleep.

“We’ll see about that,” Amelia said. She did quite enjoy it; it was thrilling.

“Want to be friends?” Mels asked, extending her hand. 

Amelia glanced at it. The girl wasn’t bad; she had teased Rory, but she promised not to again, so she was fine in her book.

“Sure,” Amelia replied and shook the other girl's hand. 

“Sweet!” Mels exclaimed, overjoyed. She then turned to Rory, who was slumped over on the bench. 

“Whatcha say, friends?” Amelia bumped his shoulder to get his attention, and Rory looked up, startled, “What?” 

Mels offered her hand and repeated herself, “Friends?” 

Rory looked at her warily, and then to Amelia who was flashing him a smile, and he nodded his head and shook her hand.

“Not bad for a first day. Got in trouble and made some new friends,” Mels said with a big smile, her arms behind her head as she leaned against the wall. 

“So, why did you move to Leadworth?” Rory asked if they were going to be friends; he’d like to learn some more about her. 

Mels hummed her eyes closed. “I got adopted,” she offered, which caught Amelia's attention. 

“Really? Are your new parents fun?” she asked. She wanted to know what it was like to have parents.

“Only a dad, and he’s fine. He can be quite annoying, but he’s trying.” 

Amelia nodded, not quite the answer she had expected.

“Can’t help but hear you’re Scottish. Why did you move to Leadworth?” Mels offered a question of her own.

“Moved here a year ago. As for why, I don’t know” 

Mels nodded, rolling her eyes “The adults didn’t give a reason, typical” Amelia didn’t respond, stuck in her thoughts.

“And you?” she nodded at Rory. 

“I was born here,” he replied easily. 

“Ah, a true leadworther,” she joked. It got both of them to smile. 

“So,” Mels began, “You know my name.” She jumped in front of them “But I don’t know yours, so come on, we’re friends, let’s hear them.” 

“Amelia Pond, nice to meet you,” Amelia said, giving her a half-smile. 

“Rory Williams, uhm, nice to meet you, I guess,” Rory said, rubbing his eyes, a yawn escaping his mouth after the introduction

“You already know mine, but. Melody Zucker, but I prefer Mels.” 

She sat in between them, flinging her arms around them, “And I can already tell we’re gonna have a lot of fun” 

They all smiled- Amelia and Mels big smiles and Rory a tired smile. 

The moment was broken by a shout.

“There you are!” a fuming Miss Roberts approached, and Rory’s colour drained from his face.

“We’re in trouble,” he said, panicking.

“No shit” Mels said, standing up.

“The first one to get caught is a rotten egg!” Mels shouted as she sprinted off.

“Mels!” the other two shouted as they ran off after her. 

°°---0o0---°°

“ Work, you damned thing!” he hissed as he smacked the sonic screwdriver, “Why aren’t working!” he said frustrated. 

It had been malfunctioning ever since he regenerated, and it’s certainly not DNA-locked; he’s not the Master. A pang of hurt shot through him at the brief thought of his old friend.

“Always unreliable when you need it, I wish K9 was here” he missed that old tin dog of his, he should really go visit Sarah Jane when all of this was over, he shook his head, willing all of the memories away. “Later.” 

He smacked the sonic against a mailbox box, and it worked again.

“There you go, that’s it!” he exclaimed joyfully. The doctor adjusted the screwdriver back to the right setting.

He was walking through the main square of Leadworth, it was bustling with all sorts of people.

“A duck pond without ducks” He rubbed his face. “This town is something else, and I’ve been to space.” 

He received some weird stares from an old couple sitting on a bench near the pond. 

“What, do I have something on my face?” 

The Doctor moved on without waiting for the answer, the sonic screwdriver let out a low hum. 

“Not a bad place to hide,” he said, appreciating the smartness of it all. “Tons of people around, lots of things to do, lots of places to hide” he smiled crazily, a few people started moving quicker.

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow at the behaviour and then shrugged. “Humans” he put one hand in his pockets.

From in the duck pond, a fish-like creature came up to the surface, its yellow eyes following the Doctor’s retreating form, its mouth opened, revealing a sharp row of teeth, the mouth moving into a smile. 

It slithered out of the pond, heading in the direction of a less populated street, doing the exact opposite of what the Doctor had just concluded.

“You’re leading me in circles!” the Doctor exclaimed as he ended back up at the ice cream van he had stood at before. “I mean, Ice cream is nice and all, but it doesn’t even have any good flavours!”

The man inside the van frowned at him. “Right, if you’re not ordering anything, move on.” 

The Doctor looked up, his nose wrinkling at the smell that wafted from the man.

“Gladly,” and then he was off again, moving with purpose.

The Doctor strode across the grass, the sonic leading him towards the direction of the church. 

“Ah, Prisoner Zero is praying,” he quipped as his eyes landed on it. “Can’t say it’s a bad hiding spot. Church mostly abandoned during the week.” ‘Let’s hope there are no reapers this time,'  he shuddered, thinking back on it ‘Never again.’

His stride became a bit faster at the prospect of finding the multi-form, his senses unaware of the irregular beep that the Sonic Screwdriver emitted.

The Doctor moved through the graveyard out front of the church. “Quite small,” he noted, looking at the handful of gravestones scattered across the grass. 

Coming up to the big wooden doors, he pushed them open with his shoulder, unwilling to take his hand out of his pocket.

“Oh, church smell, I haven’t missed it.”

He got a good look around the church; the floor was made of some type of marble patterned in black and white.

“You can play chess here. Great idea, should copyright it.” 

His eyes landed on some of the tapestries that depicted moments out of Christ’s life. 

“Oh, I was there,” he noted at one particular tapestry that featured a familiar-looking old man.  

“That was quite the day. Susan was so excited” he smiled at that, his Susan, he shook his head, clearing away the memory. ‘What’s up with all the nostalgia?’ he asked himself, his face scrunching up.

Shaking his head, he looked down at the screwdriver. “Right, what have we here?” 

The beep had become more audible due to the silence of the church.

“Is that a beep for yes, Zero is here or...?” The Doctor was unsure, he had never heard the beep before in his life.

“Okay, I really should have made a proper manual” he slapped his forehead. “Idiot!” 

A man with curly blonde hair who was sitting on a bench shushed him for interrupting his reading. 

“We’re not in a library”, he said in a quieter tone.

The person ignored him, having gone back to reading. 

“Rude,” he said.

The sonic screwdriver suddenly began to feel extremely hot, giving the Doctor a burn. He held in a yelp of pain and dropped it.

The beep became louder, and the sonic’s light began flashing red. 

The Doctor realised what was happening and jumped behind a chair, shielding himself. The beeping became frantic. 

And then 

BOOM!!!

The sonic screwdriver exploded, and smoke wafted from it. 

The Doctor peeked from behind the chair, and his eyes landed on the smoking and burned shell of what was once the Sonic Screwdriver.

“Ah. Just great.” 

Chapter Text

[INT. LEADWORTH CHURCH]

Smoke billowed upwards from the broken sonic screwdriver. 

The once pristine tiled floor of the Leadworth church had soot and ash strewn across it, cracks rippling through the white marble where the broken device lay. 

The Doctor looked at his prized tool in defeat—he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The musty church smell attacked his senses at once.

He scrambled up—grabbing at one of the wooden chairs. His black boots tapped on the floor as he dusted off his coat. 

In one smooth step, the Doctor stood in front of the burned shell of his trusted device. ‘How am I going to track Prisoner Zero now?!’ 

He squatted down to pick it up—he cradled the device within his hands. As he rubbed at it, black marks were being left behind on his fingers. 

‘More importantly, how will I track down the TARDIS now?’  The Doctor dragged a hand down his face in frustration, a groan slipped past his lips—the sound reverberated through the holy building. 

The Time Lord quickly stashed away the broken screwdriver, then a glimmer caught his eye, “Ah!” 

“I see now-” he slapped his forehead, “ Idiot!” he placed his fingers into a pinch and pulled the tiny SD card out of the broken shell. 

“I should’ve welded you into the case better,” the Doctor’s fist clamped down onto the tiny chip that was meant to track the TARDIS; instead, it had lost him his one way out, his fist tightened until it broke. 

The Doctor’s face turned emotionless as the tiny dust escaped through his closed fingers, ‘Good riddance.’  

He cradled the broken screwdriver for a second longer before putting it away into his pocket to fix it later. 

He clapped his hands together, the sound booming through the church, bouncing off the age-old stone walls. 

“Right! Time to do this the old-fashioned way.” 

‘Contact U.N.I.T’ echoed through his head as he took his first step. He scoffed, rolling his eyes at the thought.

“Absolutely not. That plan will be shelved, on the highest shelf possible, next to Pinocchio,” he continued in his stride, approaching the blonde curly-haired man who had shushed him earlier.

The man sat on the wooden church chairs in the middle of the aisle. 

The blonde wore a blue vest with a checkered dress shirt and brown hiking boots; in his hand, he cradled a green, two-hundred-page book. 

The Doctor leaned over the man’s shoulder, reading the book, “That’s factually incorrect, the author is actually a woman, and the book gets banned… thirty years from now.” The Doctor was pretty sure he was the indirect cause of it getting banned; he scratched his nose, ‘Can’t fault me for exposing centuries-old lies,’ 

The man looked up at him with his brows creased together. The Doctor flashed him a toothy grin—then gave a small wave, “Hello, I’m the Doctor.” he slid into the chair next to the blonde. 

The Blonde observed him with a frown and closed his book, “Can’t you see I’m trying to read?” 

The Doctor lifted a brow, crossed his legs over each other, and leaned one arm over the other chair. He gestured to his eyes, “Of course I can, I’m not blind.” 

The man’s lip formed a thin line as he drummed his fingers on his closed book in annoyance. 

“Can you leave so I can continue?” he inclined his head to the doors. The Doctor followed his gaze, “I am afraid I can’t.” The man’s drumming stopped. Sighing, he stood up.

“Right,” his mouth formed a hard line, and he departed, leaving the Doctor behind on the red, cushioned chair. 

The Doctor was flabbergasted at the man's audacity, unwilling to leave it be; he followed, “You can’t just simply leave!” he said indignantly as he strolled next to the man. 

The man looked at him from the corner of his eye, “This is me, leaving,” he slid in between the stone supporting pillars, trying to cut off the Doctor’s pursuit—but the time traveller had already predicted such an action. 

The Doctor slid back into the blonde's path. He gestured to himself with a wave, “You don’t even know why I approached you!” 

The curly blonde looked back, scrutinising the grey-haired man—he looked odd. 

“Alright, why did you approach me?” The man crossed his arms over his vest. The Doctor leaned against the wooden doors, putting his hands inside his pockets.

“I’m new in town and I require a guide,” the man’s face lit up with readiness, he flashed a professional smile, “A guide you say,” he came closer while adjusting his collar, “That just so happens to be what I am… Sort off” he extended his hand, in full business mode “Brian Williams, nice to make your acquaintance.”

The Doctor looked at the man, perplexed. He tapped his index finger on his arm in thought ‘That was a quick mood change. If I couldn’t see his neck, I’d swear he was wearing a mood patch.’ The Doctor shook his thoughts away, pushed of the doors and shook the man’s hand. 

“The Doctor,” he introduced, with an air of smugness around him. 

They let go, and Brian smiled, his nose scrunching up slightly at a black mark that had been left on his hand. He wiped it off and then quirked a brow, “Doctor Who?” 

The Doctor felt a rush of ecstasy as Brian asked; it was the first time someone had asked that since he’d regenerated. Whenever he was in a new body, it felt just so exhilarating.

The Doctor smiled crazily and pointed at him, “Exactly!” 

The curly blonde blinked at the response, ‘Who is a rather rare last name,’ Brian was ready to get moving, “Alright then!” 

“Come along, I know exactly where we can start the tour,” Brian waved with his hand for the Doctor to follow. 

The curly-blonde pushed open the double church doors—the Doctor dipped through them first.

[EXT. LEADWORTH CHURCH]

Now, in the church’s front yard, Brian took the lead. “Leadworth is lovely, just you wait and see,” Brian said with some pep in his step as he walked.

 The Doctor followed behind, keeping a keen eye on the Leadworth resident.

“This is going to be something,” he muttered as excitement began to bubble up.

°°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. U.N.I.T HEADQUARTERS | OFFICE #3]

“I shouldn’t have agreed to come back,” an older gentleman complained. He rubbed his brow as he scrutinised the contents of a file.

With his other hand, he took hold of a cup of tea and took a sip, his moustache hanging into the liquid a bit. He put the cup down and wiped his lip—a smile coming onto his face, all previous tiredness gone.

“Who else would it be?” He said fondly, he put down the file and smiled at a photo on the wall, of himself and a white haired man dressed in a velvet blazer. 

“Where trouble is, he follows.” The grey-haired man reached to the left side of his desk, grabbed a military green cap and placed it on his head. The man prepared to push himself out of his chair when his door was opened a bit too quickly. 

“Brigadier!” a young man in a military uniform exclaimed as he stumbled through the door. “You could have knocked Officer Knight” The young man took on a formal pose and saluted. “I apologise, sir!” 

The Brigadier sat back down and folded his arms on his desk, “What is it? That’s so urgent, Officer?” The Brigadier asked in a calm tone, while he was in no rush, he was also not eager to stay around; he wanted to go home and crawl into bed with Doris. 

The Doctor would be just fine; from all the reports of the activity he had received, he saw no reason to interfere just yet. He shook his head briefly. That man would bring trouble no matter what; it would only be a matter of time before they were needed.

He would prepare for that time, “We have received a report that there was a small explosion detected within Leadworth. No injuries or destruction have been reported, but the Colonel requests we monitor the town.”

The Brigadier sighed, rubbing his forehead, ‘How did he manage to escalate it that quickly?’ the old leader thought exasperated, “Very well.” Lethbridge-Stewart cleared his throat, grabbing Knight’s attention, “Relay these orders.” 

The young officer nodded, eager to get into action. The Brigadier wetted his lips, “Have an observation party settle on the outskirts of Leadworth, have them observe the situation from afar,” he jotted down his orders as he spoke them, “Send a team of five officers with them just in case. The observation team is to report every hour, and from their observations, we will determine if further involvement is needed.” 

He looked up with a stern gaze, “No prior interference allowed, or there shall follow disciplinary actions. Am I understood, Officer?” Knight nodded, yet the brig could see the anxiety in his posture. “At ease,” he told the boy and handed him the file.

“Now bring these orders to Colonel Bright. You may take your leave,” Officer Knight nodded. “Yes, Sir!” he exclaimed, saluted his superior officer and left, closing the door behind him. 

Officer Knight let out a breath of air, ‘I think I did well,’ he thought with a smile and then sprinted off to meet with Colonel Bright. 

The Brigadier drank his remaining Tea in one big gulp. “This is going to be a long day,” he said, taking another glance at the picture. “You never fail to amuse, Doctor.” The corner of his mouth lifted as he fondly thought back on all his adventures with the Time Lord.

He looked at his white hair, “I wonder”, he stroked his moustache in thought, “Will your face be different, or will it be one I recognise?” he hummed, “I have a feeling it won’t be long until I find out.” 

He let out a deep chuckle at that and reopened the file on the escalating situation.

°°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE]

“I am very disappointed in the three of you!” Principal Peters told the three students who had been dragged to his office. 

He had to postpone his lunch because of them; “You know you are not allowed inside the building during lunch.” His stern gaze made them fidget; his eyes looked like they were burning, reminding Amelia of the Doctor’s gaze when the TARDIS had left him behind. 

She gulped and pulled at her skirt. “During Lunch, we teachers want to have some silence and you three disturbed that”, he sighed, looking at the three individually, “Just tell me why you came into the building?” 

Rory’s gaze shifted to Amelia, who shot him a glare for it. Mels was picking at her nail uninterested. 

The redhead met the principal’s gaze, who gave her an inquisitive stare. She couldn’t tell anyone the actual reason.

They wouldn’t believe her, and the Doctor might get mad. She mustered up her courage and came up with a lie, “We came to look at the frogs in the science lab. I had some snacks for them.” 

There were frogs in the lab, but she didn’t like frogs; they were too slimy, and they stared weirdly at her. The principal’s stare became unbearable as he looked at her to see if she was lying, but Amelia knew how to hide it well. 

He turned to Rory, who hid behind his bangs in shame, causing the principal to think he was saying it was true. Amelia giggled inside her head. Principal Peters's posture relaxed.

“Why didn’t you say that to Miss….. I forget her name, but why didn’t you tell her?” his gaze took on a more compassionate look. 

“We’re not allowed to bring food. So I got scared.” Amelia faked wetness in her eyes.

Inside, she was cackling; she always used this on…. Who did she use it on? Her face scrunched together in thought, almost giving her away. 

Then her thoughts faded, and she internally shrugged. Who cares? She made her lip quiver, which made the man hand her a tissue. 

“Okay, okay,” he smiled at her, “It’s alright, Miss Pond, next time you want to feed the frogs ask one of the teachers and don’t sneak in,” he laced his hands together, “I will let you three off the hook this once, don’t let me hear that you were inside during lunch again, alright?”

Rory sniffled and nodded, Amelia smiled and nodded eagerly, and Mels just stared. 

“Sure, Pat”, he shot her a glare. Mels didn’t care and went back to picking her nails. The man’s eye twitched as he smiled.

“Amelia, Rory, you are free to go,” he gave a dismissive wave, and the two left his office. Amelia grinned the whole way.

Mels was about to follow when Principal Peters spoke up, “Not you, Melody. I want to have a private word,” Mels groaned. Amelia and Rory looked back at her. 

Mels winked, “Don’t go doing anything fun without me!” Amelia smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

Rory shyly waved, then Mels kicked the door closed, leaving Rory and Amelia to themselves.

“Let’s quickly eat. We have ten minutes left. I’ll race ya,” Amelia nudged him and sprinted away. Rory scrambled after her, “Amelia!” 

Back in the office, Mels was waiting for Patrick to speak up; he always had to ruin all her fun. “What is it, Patrick? I’ve got trouble to bring. So go on,” She cupped her hand around her ear and urged him to start.

The man’s face scrunched together. “That’s no way to talk to your father, young lady,” he scolded the black haired girl. Mels scoffed and kicked her legs onto his desk, “Adoptive Father,” she corrected.

Patrick’s heart ached at her words, ‘How do I win her over?’ he really wanted to connect with her, but there was nothing that made her warm up to him; they had been together for four months, and he had tried everything.

He had tried listening to what she wanted, tried buying her things, and he even took her on bonding trips, but nothing worked; he was beyond exhausted, but he would not give up. 

He put on a stern front, “Melody, it is your first day here. I fought the board to get you in.” They had seen her record; it was less than stellar, so to say, “And here you go, causing trouble on day one!”

He shook his head, “And you already dragged other students along with you, why?” He twirled his moustache as he awaited her answer. He hated his nervous tics, but at the moment, he needed them. 

“Oh, Red and Rory?” She smiled, and that was the first time he had seen her properly smile, why at two children and not him, his fingers fidgeted, he hated to admit he was jealous of them. 

“They were already in the room when I got there,” she shrugged and smirked “And then we got into trouble together—now we are friends, not a bad first day,” He might not have gotten what he wanted but she didn’t care, she had achieved her goal of getting close to those two and that’s all that mattered in the long run. 

“So what were you doing there?” He asked, observing her every action, she was hiding something, “Pranking”, Mels replied smugly. She rolled her shoulders, “It failed, though, so don’t get your panties in a twist, baldy.” 

Melody sprang up, slapped his desk and pushed off, “Nice talk,” he opened his mouth to tell her to sit down, but she had already left through the door, his lips parted like a fish, then he uselessly spoke.

“Wanna grab lunch together?” Patrick’s face fell, his hand nursed the oncoming headache, he threw his head back and groaned, “I can’t do anything right with that girl!” 

He looked out the window at the blue sky, “I only want to help”, the Principal pondered for a moment longer before grabbing his lunch and departing from his office.

Mels hid behind the open door—Patrick walked by, not noticing her, Mels watched his retreating form with a frown. “What does he mean he wants to help?” 

“I don’t need help, everybody else needs help”, she dismissed his words and stuck up her middle finger in the direction he had left in.

 “Help this dickhead,” she kicked over his trash can and then left. “I’m fine on my own. Always have been, always will be.” 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. OUTER SPACE]

Six hundred and thirty-eight million light-years away from Earth lay the Goldilocks zone. 

Its system, filled with the brightest stars—stars that burned hotter than any other.

Stars that repelled any sort of envoy without the right shielding against their burn power—leaving the zone untouched for most of the universe's existence. 

One of the few planets inhabited within its system was Kepler-22b. 

Hundreds of years ago, the confederate alliance between Zhar and Artrax found the planet by accident. 

As a diplomatic deal, they travelled to the planet's surface, where they claimed it as part of their alliance and finalised their deal. 

Now, hundreds of years in the future, it is used as a prison planet governed by the Atraxi. 

[INT. ARTRAX-PRISON]

“Prisoner Zero has escaped!” a Giant eyeball announced on repeat. 

The eye floated near an empty prison cell. Escape was not unheard of within the prison’s walls, but this particular culprit did it undetected, which was rare. 

The Prison had security systems that scanned the cells every nanosecond, making escape possible but rendering success impossible…. until now. 

The now empty prison cell flashed with white light, disorientating the guard.

Disoriented, it crashed to the ground rolling away like a ping pong ball while the automated voice blared, “PRISONER ZERO HAS ESCAPED!” 

“Seems like we won’t become paste,” a male’s voice echoed through the prison—the other prisoners wailed at all the noise coming from the cell’s direction. 

The Atraxi Guard received a message from their superior, ordering them to inspect the escaped convict's cell. 

It floated near the cell once more, “Now, come on, show yourself! Who’s saying that?” The eye sped up to the gaping wall, scanning the room beyond the crack for Prisoner Zero.

The room was displayed on its senses. Traces of Prisoner Zero’s presence were all over it. 

“And who might yo-” the eye felt a psychic presence and shot at it, leaving behind a message, the blinding light started again—the gap closed. 

“Prisoner Zero has been found!” 

The alarms stopped blaring, and a female voice came through the communication network, “Location, Sol-3!” 

“Exact coordinates unclear!” the comms crackled—the female voice being replaced by a deep voice, “Running analysis!” 

The Atraxi guard floated up to the sky, heading for the mothership. It settled within the middle, hooking itself back up to the hive. 

Thousands of voices rang through calculating. “Destination found!” The eye gained a visual, a sonic explosion, drawing them to their escaped convict. 

“Destination, Leadworth, England, Sol-3.” Through their shared connection, the hive started gathering and then began travelling to their target destination. 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. LEADWORTH]

“Here we are!” Brian announced as he rummaged through his pockets, giving the Doctor time to inspect his surroundings. 

A sign at the front caught his gaze; “Leadworth Travels.”

The Building itself was small and made of red bricks. The Doctor sniffed the brilliant red rose bushes near the entrance. ‘Always a lovely smell,’ a smile befell him. 

“Ah! Here it is,” Brian held a tiny metallic key, which he used to unlock the door.

“Don’t mind the clutter, haven’t had the time to clean recently.” 

[INT. LEADWORTH TRAVELS]

The Doctor stepped in behind Brian—the place was a mess. The Doctor had left the flight deck in quite the state himself, so he wouldn’t criticise unless the man proved himself to be an idiot. 

“And how will this travel agency help?” the Doctor asked skeptically, plopping down on a cyan couch. “Nice couch, might have to steal it from you.” 

Brian turned to him with a disapproving gaze, “I’d rather you not do that.” 

“You’d never see me coming,” the Doctor responded seriously. 

Brian thought of it as a joke and laughed. The Doctor shot him a stare as he lounged on the couch, “Why are you laughing like a madman? Go on, tell me what are we doing here?” 

“Oh, right,” Brian excitedly walked behind a small grey desk. He riffled through the cabinets with a puzzled look. “Hold on a minute,” he bit his lip, then pulled out the cabinet—falling onto his behind.

He smiled as he pulled out a map from the fallen pile. “Here it is, my trustworthy map of Leadworth!” 

The Doctor jumped up from the couch. He had lost his digital one; paper would do. The Time Lord snatched it from Brian and pointed out everywhere he’d been, which apparently wasn’t far or much.

The Doctor frowned, “That's ridiculous!” he slapped the map, “How do I keep walking in circles?!” 

Brian patted him on the shoulder. The Doctor scrunched up his nose at the unprompted contact. 

“Leadworth can be confusing,” he said comfortingly, “It’s funny I got lost when I moved here with my wife, spent half a day searching for our new place, the Police had to help us.” 

The Doctor didn’t like that at all, “Well, this map should do, thanks!” he was about to leave when Brian stopped him, “Oh no, no, I will be your guide like you wanted, it's no trouble really.”

The Doctor noted a bit of desperation to his voice, he looked the man in his eyes and saw emotions he had seen in himself before, the Doctor sighed and nodded, handing over the map, “Alright, Mister Williams, lead the way,” he pointed his finger, “Don’t get us lost, or I will steal that couch.” 

Brian smiled in thanks. He motioned for the Doctor to look at where he pointed, “I'll give you a proper tour of the town square first, it’s always busy there.” 

“Great, more human interaction.” 

Brian quirked an eyebrow, “Not the social type?” The Doctor shook his head, “Not when I’m around bumbling humans.” 

Brian quirked an eyebrow at the use of the word humans. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he took another look at the older gentleman—the blonde got even more intrigued by the minute, ‘I love mysteries!’ 

[EXT. LEADWORTH STREETS]

“So, Doctor, where are you from?” Brian asked, so the journey would be more comfortable, for him at least, he liked small talk. 

“Hm…” The Doctor quickly cycled through all the human places he knew, “Glasgow!” he yelled out. Brian quirked a brow at the response, “Glasgow?” he parroted. “Yes, Glasgow, have any problem with that?” The Doctor asked, wanting to mess with the blonde. 

Brian tried to placate the man, “No, no, of course not!” The Doctor slowly turned his face angrier, which made Brian fiddle with his watch. The Doctor suddenly smiled, “Just messing around, got you good, didn’t I?” 

Brian scoffed at the Doctor, which made the Doctor’s mood go from light to sour, “Right! Can’t take a joke, good to know.” The traveller crossed his arms; he desperately needed something exciting to sink his teeth into. 

Brian didn’t bother asking more questions; he was only getting joke answers and being ridiculed, no, sir, not him. 

[EXT. LEADWORTH TOWN SQUARE]

The trip stayed silent until they got to their destination, the Doctor already knew the town square, his eyes met a familiar face, “Oh look, it's the smelly Ice Cream man!” The Time Lord smiled with fake cheer, lacing his words.

The Ice cream man sneered at him, “Just leave me alone, will ya?” The Doctor bowed mockingly, “Your wish is my command.” 

The Doctor straightened and frowned, “No, it is not, I don’t take orders, and don’t become a sour puss, I’m only here on a tour.”

He pulled Brian next to him and motioned at the blonde, “I assume you know this man?” The ice cream man looked unimpressed while cleaning his scooper.

“I don’t,” he stated, “Now scram, I’ve got customers!” The Doctor cursed the man in his head. Brian looked at him, “I don’t know everyone in Leadworth.” 

“Really?!” the Doctor exclaimed, surprised. “I hadn’t noticed,” he rolled his eyes, making Brian angrier. “Right!” he stashed away his map.

“If you’re going to be so antagonistic, I won’t help you anymore.” he turned his face away and crossed his arms in defiance. The Doctor weighed his options; he could go on his own and get lost, or he could act nicer and get a proper tour.

“I’ll try to tone it down,” he gritted his teeth. Brian peeked an eye open. “I don’t believe you.” 

The Doctor dragged a hand down his face. “What will convince you!?” 

Brian smiled, “You have to say you promise.” 

The Doctor screamed internally, “What do you humans have with promises, I swear to Rassilon!” 

Brian smiled in glee, another puzzle piece, ‘Who is Rassilon? Not an Earth name,’ “Come on, Doctor, promise!”

The Doctor, stone-faced, looked him in the eye, “Fine, I promise I will be less antagonistic towards you!” 

“That should do,” Brian pulled out the map again, “You pointed out that you’ve seen most of the square already, so let’s see,” he looked at the map, “Let’s go through the park.” 

“Great,” the Doctor followed the man, “Now I can have the excitement of seeing a Dog!” he said cheerily. Brian could hear the fakeness; he didn’t mind that.

The Doctor’s mind was running a mile a minute, ‘Could Zero be hiding, as an animal in the park?’ he blew air out of his nostrils in frustration. ‘He really hated not having the Sonic Screwdriver.’

The Doctor briefly looked at Brian’s watch, ‘Two more hours, then Amelia’ he dreaded it, but he had promised, and he couldn’t break that little heart of hers. ‘Humans so weak with just one, how do they cope?’

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. LEADWORTH STREET]

Prisoner Zero slithered out of a sewer hole, their golden eyes scanning every corner for minds to feed on. It took a big inhale—it could sense a faint smell coming from a house in the middle of the street.

It slithered unnoticed between civilians; the door held a small hole through which they slid in.

[INT. ANITA AND BERNARD’S HOME]

“Bernard, come on, get your shoes, we’ll be late to Susie’s!”  Prisoner Zero ducked into a pile of clothes as the old lady yelled upstairs. They inhaled again, ‘No, this human is too mentally strong.’ 

The sweet taste of deterioration came from upstairs; their jaw opened, and drool dripped all over a red sweater, ‘Bernard,’ they thought, overjoyed. 

As the old woman moved away, grumbling, Zero dashed up the stairs following the sweet smell of doom.

An old man sat in a rocking chair looking out of the window, his hands interlocked together, beads interwoven between them.

“Dear lord,” Prison Zero narrowed his eyes and took a large whiff of the sweet smell. The man’s prayer would be his last. 

“I know my time on earth is lessening each day,” he frowned, “I can feel my body wither away.” 

Prisoner Zero smiled that toothy grin, ‘How right you are, old one.’ 

“Please watch over Anita when I’m gone, let her find her own way, and most of all let her stay happy, amen.”

The man took a long breath, and then Zero pounced impatiently, their teeth sank into the top of the old man’s head—they started sucking. 

Blood dripped onto the old man’s glasses and down the back of the rocking chair. Right as Bernard was about to scream, Zero sliced his throat with his tail—blood gushed out.

The man’s hands grasped at his neck, as the blood drained out of his body, his attempts to call for help futile, with each second, the man began to grow weaker.

Zero reached into the man's skull and demolished his brain, sucking up all his psychic energy in the process.

The man’s eyes rolled back, his skin pale white—he lay dead in his rocking chair.

Zero slithered off the empty corpse, invigorated. He looked at his work proudly, the blood still gushing from the man’s throat covering the carpet in stains, ‘That poor lady, what will she do now?’ he sniggered to himself and slid back down the steps. 

He left the house behind, not waiting for his actions to be discovered.

“Alright, Bernard, that’s enough, I’m coming up!” Anita announced her patience had ran out. Slowly, she made her way up the steps.

“Bernard?” she asked. His rocking chair was still, yet he was sitting in it. “Don’t ignore me!” she berated. She touched his shoulder, but he didn’t move. When she caught sight of him, she screamed in terror.

As Zero slithered back towards his shelter, a thought crossed his mind, a sinister smile befalling him, ‘If only that Doctor man hadn’t let me escape, then none of this would’ve happened.’

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF LEADWORTH]

Officer Knight had won; he had managed to convince the Colonel to let him come with. He took a large gulp of air as he stepped out into the wheat fields of Leadworth, the survey team's station already set up. 

This was his first mission, and he was excited. He had read so many reports on prior missions, he was ready to be a hero. 

The team consisted of three scientific officers who would lead the survey team—all three had their own guard. Knight, shadowed the one called Malcolm; he seemed the same age as him.

Knight scoffed, ‘Like science is going to do anything against an alien threat,’ he smiled as he imagined himself fighting off a big tenacled monster, then all the girls flocking to him after he had saved the day. 

Colonel Bright watched them from his small tent. “Get your ass moving, Knight!” he barked at the young man, who stood with his eyes closed. Knight saluted and stationed himself behind Malcolm once more. 

Malcolm adjusted his glasses as he shifted one of the sonic-signal manipulators, a piece of tech they had salvaged from a fallen Sontaran ship. He had brought it back to full operational prowess. 

His fellow team members were assigned a station each. Malcolm was in charge of all sonic waves. Due to suspicion of the Doctor’s involvement, he had heard a lot about the man, and he was a big fan; he hoped he would get to meet him.

The others were in charge of the psychic fields and artron readings. 

Malcolm glanced behind him at the officer stationed with him. He hated guns; he knew that at U.N.I.T., he’d come face to face with them, but there simply wasn’t any other organisation more suitable for his mind, so he learned to live with it. 

The sonic manipulator beeped softly in the background, illuminating all the areas that had been affected. There were three; he waved the Colonel over.

“Yes, what is it, Malcolm?” Bright asked, leaning in, Malcolm’s nose scrunched up as he smelled the man’s breath. He cleared his throat and pointed at three illuminated areas, “These areas are the only ones where recent activity of sonic equipment has been detected.”

The Colonel slapped him on the back and laughed in joy, “That’s very good!” he smiled at Malcolm, “Keep up the good work, lad!” Malcolm nodded with a big smile. He turned back to his station, eager to continue.

Knight sneered at the man, ‘He only typed on some keyboard, hardly work worth praising.’

“What was that, Knight?” Colonel Bright asked, stepping in front of him. He gulped, “I haven’t said anything, sir.”

Bright stared at him with a piercing gaze. He stroked his chin, his gloved hands giving off a reflection from the sun, “Must’ve been the wind,” he turned around, and Knight released a breath of air.

‘I hate that man,’ he thought as the superior retreated back to his tent. 

Suddenly, one of the machines started whirring, “Colonel!” 

The man came sprinting back, “What is it!? I just left” The Brownley jumped up, saluting, “We just got a big drop in psychic energy” 

Bright’s face hardened “And?” the scientist pulled up a graph, “While the energy dropped, we also got a huge spike in primal psychic energy.” 

Bright nodded, “Anything else?” The short-haired man nodded, “The location has been narrowed down to two points,” he dragged his finger over a map of the town.

“Very well, I shall reach out to the Brigadier for further orders. Just man your stations until I have received them,” - “Yes, sir!” they all exclaimed.

Knight sneered, and as soon as the Colonel was gone, Knight turned to the short-haired scientist. “Right, what happened? Explain now!” he took hold of the man’s shoulder, making him wince “You're hurting me.”

“Explain!” he hissed out. The man nodded, unsure, “These abrupt drops usually mean that either someone got killed or another person has gone over the human-psychic limit.”

“Which means?” Knight asked, “Trouble.” The scientist answered, Knight let go, satisfied, “Good.” 

The Officer walked away to speak with Officer Bishop, “I’m going to town to investigate.” 

The other’s hand stopped Knight, “Colonel said-” Knight cut him off, “I don’t care, if someone else dies, I’ll be there, not sitting here like a coward!” he shrugged the man off and stalked away.

Officer Knight smirked, ‘The Brigadier will commend me for my bravery for sure.’ he jumped inside the jeep and drove off to town, ready to end all of this himself—be proven a hero and snag himself a promotion. 

[INT. COLONEL BRIGHT’S TENT]

Bright’s comm sprang to life, “Brigadier, we have news.” 

“Is that so?” the Brig's voice said attentively, “Good or bad?”

“Bad,” Bright confirmed, “There have been psychic fluctuations, and I know very well that spells trouble, sir.” 

“That is why I sent you, Colonel”, the Brigadier’s static voice announced, “I’m well aware, sir. My thanks to you for that. What are your orders?” 

The line stayed quiet for a while, until a hum came through, “Any sign of him?” 

“No, not yet,” Another hm came through, “Keep monitoring for now, if anything else significant happens, contact me for further orders.” 

“Very well, sir, I shall keep you posted,” the walkie crackled off. Bright adjusted his lapels and moved back outside. 

[EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF LEADWORTH]

“What pray tell is going on!?” he yelled as he spotted his Jeep gone and Knight not manning his station.

Officer Bishop approached nervously. “Knight has taken off, sir!” Bright grew infuriated. “To where?” 

“To town,” He dragged a hand down his face. “I knew that boy was trouble. What was his plan, Bishop?” 

Bishop fidgeted with his gun, “He wanted to investigate and, in his words, ‘not sit around like a coward’.” 

Bright suddenly smiled, “Is that so?” Bishop gulped at that face, “Yes, sir!”

“You are free to go, Bishop,” he saluted and went back to his station. Bright's hand stroked his chin, and he smiled sadistically, “I’m going to have fun later.” 

“Malcolm!” Colonel Bright yelled as he approached the man, “I have new orders for you.” 

Malcolm turned as he pushed up his glasses, “What are those, sir?” 

“I permit you to tap into Officer Knight’s tracking chip” Malcolm made a surprised face and nodded, “Very well, sir.” 

“Send a link straight to my monitor,” Malcolm nodded hastily, already hacking in.

Bright walked away smiling as he rubbed his hands together. “Today has been rather good, but it’s about to get even better.”

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. LEADWORTH PARK]

“Brian! Stop gawking at those ducks!” The Doctor waited impatiently as the curly blonde stood in front of a pond–ducks slowly drifted by, watching to see if Brian would throw them bread crumbs. 

“I’m sorry, little ones, I don’t have any crumbs with me today.” The squawking became louder as Brian said that—it was like they could understand him. 

“I’ll bring some tomorrow,” Brian got ready to stand up when a frumpled brown bag was deposited at his feet. 

“Here!” The Doctor tapped his foot impatiently, “Give the ducks those crumbs, and then we will be heading off!” 

Brian nodded, “Thank you, Doctor!” Brian opened the bag and scattered the crumbs out for the ducks—they flocked to it immediately, eagerly devouring them all. 

Brian turned his head towards the Scot, “Where did you get these from?” 

“My pockets, where else?” the Doctor pulled at his pant pocket, which made Brian frown in confusion, ‘How did the bag fit in there?’ 

The bag of crumbs was too thick and heavy to fit in a simple pocket like that. Just who is this man? ‘Yet another piece to the mystery,’ 

“Take your gawking back to the ducks,” The Doctor told him with a pointed stare. 

“Right, I’m sorry!” 

The Doctor huffed, “I know I’m intriguing, so I don’t fault you for staring.” Brian rolled his eyes. Books were far more intriguing—even if he did find the man interesting, he wasn’t going to feed his ego by telling him that. 

Brian crumpled the bag as the last crumbs were thrown—he quickly launched to his feet—they had to depart quickly or the ducks would demand more.

“You want the bag back?” Brian asked as he approached the Doctor. The man’s hands fell to his side. “Why would I want it back?” 

“I don’t know—uhm—to reuse?” the Doctor stared at the tears in the bag, “I think I’m going to pass, just bin it.” 

Brian nodded and put it in his vest pocket so he could throw it away later. While he was reaching into his vest pocket, he quickly pulled out the map again. “We’ve seen about half of the park, do you want to continue here or do you want to go somewhere else in Leadworth?” 

The Doctor swished his coat out of the way, “I’d like to see the other half.” 

Brian quickly folded up a large part of the map, leaving only the last half of the park. “There’s a flower patch not far from the path we're on; we could go there.” 

“Flowers, you say.” The Doctor’s eyes shone with intrigue, “Yes, take me there!” 

“Do you like flowers?” Brian asked, a tilt to his lips, the Doctor nodded, “I do! Flowers are the true epitome of beauty; they wilt but always grow back in the end.” 

The Doctor’s hands flapped about, “Even if the landscape has been devastated, they grow back! Usually, on what used to be a battlefield, poppies grow, and that’s a sign of life always finding a way to return even after such devastation.” 

Near the end, the Doctor’s eyes turned stormier, but that storm was quickly replaced with sadness.

“You are quite the flower expert,” Brian commented, trying to lighten the man’s mood. 

The Doctor’s hands wrung together, “I am indeed! I’m a floral expert after all.” 

“Really?” the Doctor nodded, “Yes, really, I am adept at many things, knowing flowers is just a tiny splash in the humongous sea of knowledge I possess.” 

“If you say so,” Brian wasn’t sure if any of it was true, but he’d just go along with it for now. 

They walked off the path in the direction of the flowers, when the Doctor stopped and stared at a bush. 

“Everything alright?” Brian asked, but the Doctor shushed him and stealthily approached the bush. 

Brian quirked a brow at the man’s behaviour. The grey-haired man crouched by the bush and pulled something out. 

“Ah! Not what I was looking for!” The Doctor had in his left hand a red plastic snake, one with many joints. He had tried buying Rory a similar one, but Rory was scared of it, and so Brian placed it back on the shelf. 

“That’s just a toy, Doctor,” Brian said, crossing his arms. The Doctor rolled his eyes, “I can see that now, Brian!” 

“What are you searching for?” The Doctor frowned, “An animal.” 

Brian quirked a brow, “Just an animal? Or are you searching for a specific one?”

The Doctor lifted his hand and counted his fingers, holding up three, “A sparrow, a cat or a bunny.” 

“Those are odd choices,” the blonde commented. For what purpose could he need those? “Well, they’re an odd creature,” the Doctor sighed. 

Brian's brow furrowed at the man’s words, ‘What?’

“THERE HE IS, MUM! HE’S GOT MY TOY!” 

Brian whipped to the direction of the screech and paled— an angry woman and a sobbing child came walking toward them. 

The Doctor's face was impassive, but as they came closer, he quickly tossed the toy to the boy and his mum and then told Brian one word. 

“Run!” 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. CLASSROOM]

“Can anyone tell me what page we were on?” 

Amelia lazily opened her book; she was so done with being in class. 

The redhead glanced to her left at Rory, who was paying attention to the lesson—she would leave him alone; she had caused him enough trouble today. 

As for Mels, she hadn’t shown up to class. ‘Is she still with the principal?’ Perhaps they should have waited for her after all. 

“Everybody, please pair up, and fill in the exercises from pages ten to twelve.” 

Before she could react, Rory had dragged his chair over to her desk, “Everything alright, Amelia?” 

She nodded her head, “I’m just bored.” 

Rory gave her a sympathetic smile, “Just hold on for one more hour, and then we can go home.”  Amy groaned a little at that, “You don’t wanna go home?” Rory asked, pencil wobbling on his hand. 

“What? I do wanna go home, my grandfather is picking me up after all,” Amelia’s face immediately filled with excitement, and her foot started tapping impatiently, “That’s nice of him, my dad’s picking me up like usual.” 

“How is your dad?” Amelia asked—a softer edge to her tone, Rory’s bangs hid his eyes, “He’s fine, I guess.” 

“That’s good…” Amelia didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t good at sappy stuff, “Where do you think Mels is at?” she asked, so the prior topic could be forgotten. 

Rory looked up with a frown, “Oh, she isn’t here, I hadn’t noticed,” he said sheepishly. Amelia huffed, “Wow, Rory! Already forgetting our new friend.”

Rory flushed, “Th- that’s not what I meant!” 

Amelia snickered at his reaction, “Just teasing, you, Rory,” Rory pouted, “Amelia.”

After a few seconds of silence, Rory started, “You think she’s skipping class?” 

Amelia shrugged, “She seems like the type.” Rory nodded at that, then the two started working on their exercises. 

Twenty minutes later, everyone looked up as the door creaked open. “Miss Zucker, you are thirty minutes late! Explain yourself at once!” 

Mels rocked on her feet innocently, “Yeah, sorry, lost track of time.” 

The teacher’s gaze became furious, “Miss Zucker, after class, you will accompany me to the Principal, now go sit down.” 

Mels rolled her eyes and then locked eyes with Amelia, her lips lifted into a smile, and she started walking a bit quicker, “Miss Zucker!” the teacher called—Mels stopped in her tracks. 

“You will take a seat at the front. Kenny, please inform Melody what she has missed.” A boy with black hair nervously eyed Mels, who glared at the teacher from her position in the middle of the room. 

“Now please, Kenny,” He nodded and pulled a chair up to his desk. Mels took it with a large huff. 

Amelia gave Mels a sad frown—the black haired girl shot her a small smile back. Rory glanced at both girls and then jotted down something in his book. He really didn’t want any more trouble today. 

Amelia glanced out of the window for a moment and almost choked on her spit as she saw the Doctor run by, ‘He has new clothes!’

Amelia’s eyes became even larger as another man scrambled behind the Doctor. She knocked Rory on the head, eliciting a pained yelp. He pouted at her and then followed her gaze, “Dad?!” 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. LEADWORTH STREET]

“I’m with U.N.I.T., sir, now tell me what happened here?” Officer Knight asked one of the police officers standing around a small house. 

“U.N.I.T. is that a branch of the military?” the grey-haired man asked, inspecting the name card. “Yes.” 

Knight replied; his patience was already running thin with the man. The officer handed the badge back, “Very well, about half an hour ago, we got a report of a murder, male victim in his early eighties, his wife found him upstairs.” 

Knight nodded, ‘Just a murder?’

“Show me the body.” The Police Officer nodded and moved up the police tape. Knight crouched underneath it and followed the officer towards an ambulance. 

“His throat has been slit, and at the top of his head, there are small puncture holes.” The officer's hand hovered over them. 

“It’s an odd shape,” Knight noted. He leaned a bit closer, ‘Not human.’ 

“Any other injuries?” The Officer shook his head in the negative, and a white tarp was dragged over the body. 

[INT. ANITA AND BERNARD’S HOME]

Knight jumped out of the ambulance and headed for the house. He flashed his badge to another officer, who led him upstairs. The carpeted floor was littered with blood stains, all coming from the direction of a rocking chair. 

“His wife found him in the chair. After that, she fainted.” Knight nodded and dismissed the officer; he wanted to investigate alone. 

His focus was on the rocking chair, the back had blood trails going down it—the front had stains most likely from the neck slit. 

Knight pulled on gloves and got a cotton swap from his vest, ‘Luckily, the jeep was well stocked.’

“That’s not blood,” he quickly swiped the translucent substance, “Drool?” 

‘Some type of animal? Or Alien?’ Knight smiled victoriously. He had been lucky and had stumbled onto exactly what he wanted now; the Brigadier must promote him, and he can rub it in Bright’s face. 

Knight pulled out a pen light and shone it on every surface—he found a trail, he followed it downstairs, straight into a pile of laundry, “Certainly not human,” 

He picked up a soaked shirt and stuffed it away into his vest, ‘My evidence, the police won’t be able to track it down anyway.’

[EXT. LEADWORTH STREETS]

Once back outside, Knight discreetly shone his light, but the trail went cold, “Dammit,” he muttered under his breath. He ignored the police officers as they tried to talk to him. 

[INT. BRIGHT’S JEEP]

He jumped back into the jeep and searched through the duffel bag for something he could use to track down his target. ‘Maybe this is linked to the psychic whatcha ma call it that happened.’

Knight smirked. If he could solve both at once, surely his promotion would be to Colonel, then he wouldn’t have to listen to Bright any more. 

“DNA-Scanner,” Knight read from a small card attached to a black cylinder. He shrugged and quickly shoved the cotton swap into it. 

The scanner started glowing green, and a timer started, “Five minutes, very well.” 

He threw it on the dashboard and sped out of the neighbourhood, ignoring the shouts from angry pedestrians as he nearly ran them over; he had better things to do. 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. LEADWOTH STREETS]

Brain huffed as they came to a halt, sweat dripped down his brow, “Wh- why did we run? They didn’t follow us.” 

The Doctor wasn’t out of breath at all and was noting down things in a notepad, “Oh, that is not why we're running.” 

Brian shot him an incredulous look while pinching his side, ‘I’m too out of shape for this.’

“Then why were we running?” The Doctor quirked a brow, “Wasn’t it obvious? I was running out of time for this little excursion of ours, so I sped it up, and it worked perfectly. Now I know at least half of Leadworth like the back of my hand.” 

Brian's brain short-circuited, “So you’re telling me we ran down all those streets not because you had angered a mom but because you were running out of time?!” 

“That’s what I said yes.” Brian let out a laugh, “You couldn’t have told me this?” 

The Doctor smirked and clapped him on the back, “Where’s the fun in that, hm?” 

“Why were you running out of time?” 

The Doctor quickly came up with an excuse, “I have to pick someone up from school.” 

“Oh, who? I have to go pick up my son as well.” The Doctor hesitated, but relented; he knew Brian well enough now, and he didn’t mean bad. “Amelia Pond.” 

Brian's eyes flashed with recognition, “Oh, that’s Rory’s friend.” 

“Who is she to you then? Now that I think about it, she’s also Scottish. Are you related?” The Doctor nodded quickly, “Yes, we are.” 

“Oh, that’s delightful, poor girl always looked so lonely, I’m glad she’s got some family with her now.” 

The Doctor perked up at that, “Do you know much about her living situation?” Brian smiled, “Not much, just know the girl lives alone with her aunt, or so she says.” 

‘So it isn’t just Amelia that thinks this aunt Sharon exists; the mystery grows.’ The Doctor nodded and started moving, “Yes, her aunt, she won’t be around anymore. Amelia is under my care now. I’m between jobs at the moment.” 

The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, but as long as he didn’t have the TARDIS, he’d have to say he was between jobs. 

“Oh! I thought you were retired.” 

“I’m not that old!” The Doctor exclaimed, offended. Brian shot him an apologetic smile, “I didn’t mean to offend.” 

“Well, you failed, I am offended.” The Doctor sped up, leaving Brian to catch up. 

The Doctor consulted his mental map, occasionally frowning at his little notepad.

‘Take a left down the street with the blue house, then a right at the end of the street, follow the road until you're at the berry bush and then cross the street and you're at the school.’

[EXT. SCHOOL GATES]

“How long until they’re let out?” the Doctor asked Brian. Brian looked at his watch, “Ten minutes.” 

“Hm, very well.” The Doctor jotted some more notes down in his pad, ‘Rassilon, I need to clean my pockets, I’ve got too much in here,’ 

“What are you noting down?” Brian asked, trying to peer over the pad. The taller man lifted it up, “A cleaning list.” 

“Ah, that’s very handy indeed…” Brian's words trailed off as he noticed a mop of brown and red looking out of a classroom window. 

“Seems the kids have spotted us.” The Doctor followed his line of sight and face-palmed as he saw Amelia stick her face to the window. 

“Well, isn’t she excited to see you?” The Doctor’s lips lifted the tiniest amount; he couldn’t help but feel fond of Amelia. How long had it been since someone looked that excited to see him? 

“Yes, she is,” he replied. Amelia mouthed to him, ‘What happened to your clothes?!’  

‘I changed them obviously.’ 

‘They look good!’ Then she got distracted by the boy next to her, both kids paled as an adult came up behind them, the teacher’s eyes met his, he lifted his hand to wave—the teacher's face turned into a frown—she then pulled the kids away from the window. 

“Well, isn’t she in a good mood?” The Doctor commented. 

“They’re very strict here,” Brian informed the Time Lord, the Doctor hm’ed. He could tell as much.

Slowly, more parents arrived, and not long after the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. 

Brian quickly gave a final look at his map. The Doctor followed his gaze, “We will continue tomorrow, when the kids are back in school.” 

Brian shot him a sheepish smile, “Oh, I can’t tomorrow, I volunteer at the library on Wednesdays.”

The Doctor nodded, “Very well, then we continue on Thursday, you can do Thursday, can you not?” 

Brian nodded a smile on his face, while the man was quite a handful, he did enjoy the day they spent together—to think his visit to the church would end up like this, perhaps this was his sign from god that he should get back out there into the world. 

“Yes, we can finish our tour of Leadworth on Thursday,” the Doctor gave a satisfied hum, and then his gaze went back ahead to the kids that rushed out, his eyes scanning for a familiar red head. 

“Oh, look here they come!” Brian said, bringing the Doctor’s attention to Brian’s son, Amelia and a teacher walking in their direction. 

Both kids had subdued looks on their faces, and when Amelia met the Doctor’s gaze, she grimaced. The Doctor quirked a brow at her. What had she done? 

“Mister Williams, nice to see you again.” 

“Miss Turner,” the man greeted back—then he shot his son a glance—the boy ducked his head in shame. 

Then the teacher turned to the Doctor, “Are you Amelia's grandfather?” The Doctor shot Amelia a look that said, ‘You’re going to be answering some questions later’ 

The Doctor nodded and started searching for the psychic paper. He turned his pockets inside out but didn’t find it—until—Amelia held it out for him, “Here’s your ID, gramps!” 

The Doctor snatched it from her. He shook his head in disbelief. The cheeky girl had snatched it from him while he had been distracted by the closing of the crack in her wall. 

“Thank you, Amelia,” he said, tone sickly sweet, then the Doctor held the wallet out in front of him so Miss Turner could see, “James McCrimmon, nice to meet you.”

As the teacher got a look, he stuffed it away in his coat pocket, his hand briefly sliding against the sonic; he needed to fix it fast. 

“Nice to meet you, Mister McCrimmon, I just wish it were on a more pleasant occasion.” 

“I’m here to inform both of you that the children have been quite the troublemakers today.” She grabbed both children by the shoulders and dragged them in front of her. Rory stiffened, while Amelia snarled at the contact.

Brian’s frown grew even larger. “What did they do?” he crossed his arms, showing how unpleased he was. 

Miss Turner cleared her throat, “While I was not present during these occurrences, I have heard enough about them to share them with you.” 

“First of all, Rory and Amelia snuck inside the building during lunch time, which the pupils are not allowed to do. We like our quiet during that break, and they disturbed that. To make matters worse, they snuck into the science lab unsupervised,” Her eyes did soften then. 

“It was nice of them that they wanted to feed the frogs we keep, but they should’ve asked for permission to do so.” 

The Doctor didn’t believe for a second the little redhead had snuck inside to feed frogs—NO—she was doing what he had told her not to, investigating Prisoner Zero. 

Amelia shot him a sad look as his face turned disappointed. He didn’t have long to dwell on it as the teacher continued, “After that, they made an escape from the teacher who had caught them and after a long time of giving chase, Amelia—bit—multiple of our colleagues.”

‘Ferocious beastie,’ the Doctor’s tenth voice commented in his head, ‘Oh now you are making your presence even clearer.’ he had never had his past selves in his mind talking this clearly. Something was wrong, and he needed the TARDIS to figure it out. 

“The principal let them go without punishment, but he did instruct me to tell you what has occurred today.” 

Brian was nursing his head, a headache coming on. The Doctor, while disappointed by the investigation Amelia had launched, was proud of all her other achievements. He hadn’t been much better in the academy—him and Koschei had been dragged to the headmaster’s office a lot, he’d be a hypocrite if he got angry at her for what she had done. 

“I see,” the Doctor commented, “Thank you for letting us know. Come on, Miss Pond, we have things to do.” 

Amelia happily scurried away from the lady—she practically lunged for his hand, he gave her a silent stare for a second before squeezing her hand, ‘So small,’ his hearts ached. 

The Doctor bumped into Brian on purpose and whispered, “Don’t be mad at the boy, he was just going along with Amelia from what I’ve heard.” 

Brian gave him a side glance and sighed, “I know.” Brian motioned for Rory to come over. He crouched down as the boy approached, his eyes were teary as he met his dad’s, “I-I’m sorry, Dad.” 

Brian placed a hand on Rory’s shoulder, “Just don’t do it again, okay?” Rory wiped at his eyes and gave a firm nod. Brian ruffled his son’s head and then picked him up, placing him firmly on his shoulders. 

“Dad!” Rory whined, surprised by the act, “Let’s go home, Rory, it’s been a long day, I’ll even make your favourite tonight.” 

Rory blinked, “Really? But-” Brian laughed, “Don’t worry, son, I don’t mind, as for that, my eyes have been… opened.” 

Rory’s hands found a firm grip on his dad’s head, “Let’s go!” he exclaimed excitedly and then the two walked down the street. 

The Doctor looked at Amelia, “Forget it, I’m not doing that.”

Amelia pouted but was happy enough with just holding hands for now. The two walked off in the opposite direction from Rory and Brian, leaving behind a stunned Miss Turner. She had expected some more stern words—not acceptance. 

[EXT. LEADWORTH STREETS]

A few blocks away, the Doctor cleared his throat, “You went to look for Prisoner Zero, didn’t you?” 

Amelia refused to look up, “No….” she tried to lie, “Liar, you went against me and tried to find a dangerous alien.” 

“Yeah,” she admitted quietly. The Doctor sighed, “One day someone will listen to my orders, one day!” 

“Amelia, I didn’t set those rules to thwart you in any way; I did it to protect you. Prisoner Zero is dangerous. What if you had found them? Yes, you had my number, but who says I would’ve made it before something had happened to you or Rory?” 

Amelia nodded, “I only wanted to help you, though! Make it easier for you to capture them.” 

The Doctor nodded, “I understand that, but that isn’t your job, that’s my job as the adult. As a child, you should be worrying about what games to play and how stupid others' hair looks. Not about a potentially dangerous alien.” 

“I won’t do it again, I promise, and seriously thinking about how stupid hair is? Have you ever been a child?” 

The Doctor looked both ways before crossing the street and then fixed Amelia with a glare, “No, you better not do it again, and for your knowledge, I was a great kid, the best actually! And hair defines a person, look at me, it looks absolutely fabulous on me!” 

Amelia shot him a sceptical look. “Oi!” the Doctor shouted, and then the two smiled.

Halfway down the gravel pad of Amelia’s home, the Doctor remembered, “You stole my psychic paper!” 

Amelia immediately ran as she heard that, bolting through the hedge gateway, the Doctor sighed, “Kids.” 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. COLONEL BRIGHT’S TENT]

“What for god sakes are you doing?” Bright stood in front of a thick monitor, Officer Knight’s location displayed on it. His movements had been strange; at first, he had stopped in a seemingly random neighbourhood. 

From police comms, they had found out that a murder had occurred there. 

Then Knight had sped out of the neighbourhood and was now speeding toward a neighbourhood filled with abandoned houses, his movements just did not make sense, why stop at a murder investigation if you’re not staying, he must’ve found something at the scene of the crime, was he locating the purpetrator of the muder, ‘No he’s tracking something else down, I see your intentions kid, and over my dead body will they succeed.’ 

Bright’s attention was caught by the opening of his tent ruffling. Malcolm stepped in, clipboard firmly between his gloved hands—he awkwardly saluted the Colonel. 

“Sir! We’ve got the audio link ready for you.” Another man stepped in with a pair of headphones. Bright nodded and took off his beret. “Very well, set all of it up.” 

He went to a walkie-talkie and pressed a button, “Colonel, I take you located the AWOL Officer?” 

“Affirmative, Brigadier!” the older man sighed, “What have his movements told you, Colonel Bright?” 

“They make no sense, sir.” The Brigadier laughed, “Well, they must not make sense to an average person, but not you, Colonel, am I right?” 

Bright smiled, “Correct, Brigadier.” 

“Well, what have you learned? Do be quick, this old man wants to rest.” Colonel Bright straightened and started an account of Knight’s movements, “My theory is he found some evidence at the scene connecting to our psychic fluctuation, and now he’s chasing it down so he can have glory within our ranks.” 

“Hm, I see,” the Brigadier rubbed at his moustache, “Well safe to say I’m displeased with Officer Knights actions so that won’t come to pass, Bright as soon as you locate the boy, do reprimand him and then send him my way… seems that for the first time I’ll have to demote someone instead of promote.” 

“If those are your orders, sir, I will follow them, Colonel Bright out!” the walkie crackled off, and Bright smiled, pleased, hands rubbing together. 

“Audio link ready, sir!” Malcolm announced from his crouched position. Bright clapped him on the shoulder, “You have done very well, Malcolm. Take a break, you’ve earned it.” 

“Thank you, Colonel!” Malcolm shook the man’s hand firmly and then scurried off, happy to take a break. He had some tasty lunch he had been unable to eat due to the extra work, and he was looking forward to it now. 

Once the tent flap closed again, Bright lifted the headphones. “Adjusting volume,” the other scientific officer announced, “Tapping into Officer Knight’s comm.” 

“Target’s bio-signature has been narrowed down to three possible locations,” an automated female voice announced. 

Bright’s gaze narrowed at the sound. Knight was using one of the confiscated alien devices—the ones they had been provided for on-field testing.

“Brownly! Get me a list of the devices we brought with us. I need to know what Knight has in his grasp.” The scientist quickly got up and out of the tent. 

“Dammit!” Knight slapped the wheel harshly, “Narrow it down to one location! I can’t afford any error.” 

“Your request could not be processed.” A ding rang, “Three possible locations found.” 

“Fine!” Knight snarled, the car came to a screeching stop, “I’ll do it the hard way.” 

Bright followed the glowing red dot that was Knight. The boy was moving to one of the three abandoned houses on the street. Over the comm, he could hear the crunching of twigs and leaves. 

“You are nearing one of three possible locations,” the warbled voice announced over the device. “I’m not blind,” Knight snarked, gun trained in front of him. 

Brownley stepped back into the tent, a clipboard in hand, “Here is the list, sir!” Bright nodded and quickly flipped through, “Ah! Genetic-Locater.” Bright quickly scanned the other information surrounding the device.

‘Taken in for testing ten years ago after an Alien bounty hunter came for the CEO of Teck Industries. Brian Teck was an alien warlord hiding out on Earth. The bounty hunter had been sent to take his head; he was supplied with the Genetic Locator. U.N.I.T. took both parties into custody; both remain within the U.N.I.T. vault.’ 

‘Knight is trying to locate something, I was right,’ Bright shrugged, ‘Perhaps both things will take care of each other… win-win’ for now all he could do was speculate and observe, if it came to it they’d move in and do what was needed afterwards, wheter that was apprehend Knight or take care of the potential threat the officer was chasing. 

Bright’s attention went back to the audio as Knight’s footsteps began echoing. 

“Initiating scan for target,” 

“Fuck!” Knight yelled as the rotten staircase gave way beneath his feet, “Not upstairs then.”

Knight moved his way through the house, clearing every room—there was no sign of anything living. “Target not located.” 

“Clearly.” Knight said as he moved on to the next house, “Strong presence of target within ten meters.” 

Knight whipped his gun around him to see if he could find what he was looking for. His light shone on to the next house. Knight smirked, “Let’s get this over with.”

Bright rubbed at his brow at the brat’s cocky voice. He was going to get himself killed; safe to say, he was going to run the next batch of rookies through the ringer so that no mistakes like that could ever happen again. 

“Wakey, wakey!” Knight banged his gun against the front door, which caused it to creak open. The atmosphere inside the house was eerie, and his light was beginning to flicker. He set his first step inside and immediately recoiled because of the stench. 

“Ugh, did a fucking animal die in here?” he steeled himself; he had to do this so he could get his glory. He took a large breath and walked in. 

SLAM

Knight janked at the door handle, but the thing wouldn’t budge, “Crap! Fucking locked in.” 

“It’s like he hasn’t been trained at all, kick the door down!” Bright was reaching his boiling point. How they could have let an incompetent fuck like Knight into their ranks, he didn’t know, but he was having a serious word with his T.O. 

“Target within two meters,” Knight aimed his gun ahead again, and crept forward, “One point five meters.” 

He slowly edged closer, then—BANG—something was thrown at his head, Knight fired his gun, and the comms went dead with a sizzle. 

“BROWNLEY, GET THE AUDIO LINK BACK UP STAT!” Brownley frantically adjusted cables, but all that could be heard was a sizzle. Bright threw the headphones across the tent. 

“DAMMIT!” 

Brownley quickly scrambled up, “I- I’m sorry, sir, but it seems something has interfered with his comm link.” 

Bright rubbed at his eyes, “Dismissed.” 

“Excuse me, sir?” Brownley hesitantly asked, Bright turned bright red, “DISMISSED SCIENTIFIC OFFICER BROWNLEY!” 

“YES, SIR!” the man saluted and quickly scrambled out of the tent. 

The Colonel’s furious gaze went to the glowing red dot, “You better be alive, you incompetent little dick, so I can kill you myself!” 

Bright took a deep breath, flipped on his beret and left his tent. 

[EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF LEADWORTH]

“Men prepare the trucks! Be ready to move out when I give word.” Bright then sped in the direction of the scientist's station. 

“Lewin!” the short-haired man glanced at the Colonel, “Y-yes, sir!” They did a sloppy salute. 

Bright approached, “I need you to come with me.” 

Bright turned back to his tent without a word, and Lewin scrambled after him. 

[INT. COLONEL BRIGHT’S TENT]

Bright motioned at the moving red dot, “How quickly can you start tracking life signatures around Knight and have them appear on the monitor?”

Lewin rubbed at their goatee, “Uhm… within ten minutes, sir.” 

Bright nodded, “Very well, start working!” 

 °°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. AMELIA’S KITCHEN/THE DOCTOR’S ‘WORKSHOP’]

“Agh! For crying out loud!” the Doctor recoiled as another of the Ionisers exploded. Seems that he needed to start from scratch; his old Sonic Screwdriver was beyond salvation. 

He quickly took off the remaining casing and threw it in the bin—with the wiring laid out in front of him, the Doctor removed all the unsalvageable parts. In the end, you couldn’t call it a Sonic Screwdriver any longer. 

“Parts! I need parts!” The Doctor rifled through the piles on the floor, cables were slung over his shoulder, metals were thrown onto his table, electrics were ripped from useless devices and the rest of the parts he pulled out of his pockets. 

“You will rise again, my creation, you will rise!” The Doctor quickly started reconnecting wires—with his memory on how to fully create a new sonic screwdriver being shoddy, he decided to look for the manual in his pockets. 

[TWENTY MINUTES LATER]

The Doctor worked on a tiny sound relay, his fingers delicately welded on the components.

”I’m done with homework!” 

The Doctor's hand shot out, and his finger slightly dislodged a speaker, “I’m working on something, Amelia! Tone your volume down!” 

“Sorry,” she said as she navigated her way through the cluttered kitchen, “You're really messy, you know?”

“Me messy? I could never.” The Doctor, with his teeth gritted, connected the sound relay. He held up his work, “Behold! The inside of the Sonic Screwdriver it’s magnificent.” 

Amelia rolled her eyes, “It looks like wires to me, not very magnificent.” 

The Doctor shot her a frown, “I’ll have you know these ‘wires’ are very sophisticated, I’ve wo-” 

Amelia rifled through the fridge, “Yeah, yeah, can you tell me later, please, I’m hungry!” 

The Doctor scoffed, “Humans and their dismissive behaviour.” The Doctor put his work down, “I’ll make dinner if that’s what you desire, Miss Pond.” 

“Yeah, I’m starving!” Amelia closed the fridge and hopped on one of the stools. 

“Say, Amelia,” she hm’ed at him, “When is your Aunt coming home?” 

Amelia’s eyes went glossy. “She works nights, so she’ll be home in the morning.” 

The Doctor’s brows furrowed, “You said that she’d be home by noon,” he motioned around himself, “I was here and she didn’t show up.” 

“Who didn’t show up?” Amelia asked, she had no idea what the Doctor was on about. “Your Aunt!”

“My Aunt?” Amelia asked, baffled none of her aunts lived near Leadworth. “Yes, your Aunt Sharon, where is she?” 

“She works nights, so she’ll be home in the morning.” The Doctor frowned even more. She was just repeating the same thing over and over again. 

“You alright? My mom always says that when you’re not alright, a nice nap helps. Maybe you should nap. I can make my own food.” 

The Doctor fully sighed, “I’m not tired! What I do need is answers. Amelia Pond, tell me, do you know who Aunt Sharon is?” 

“Yeah, she’s my Aunt, silly.” Amelia was growing concerned, “Do you remember talking about her just now?” 

“Yeah, you asked me who she was, that was five seconds ago, you sure you’re not getting dementia?” Amelia asked with a teasing smile—the Doctor's lips briefly twitched. 

“You little-” he shook his head, “No, before that, when you said she’d be back in the morning, do you remember?” 

Amelia quirked a brow, “Doctor, I never said anything like that.” 

“Oh yes, you did, you somehow don’t remember,” the Doctor sighed, “Amelia, I didn’t want to do this, but I have to, do you trust me?” 

Amelia bit her lip. Did she trust the Doctor? He was really kind, and he was taking care of her; he even offered to feed her, and he did let her eat Ice cream last night—he had even picked her up from school. 

“I do!” she replied with a massive smile. 

The Doctor’s hearts swelled at her words. No, he didn’t have time; he had to figure this mystery out. “Come closer, Miss Pond.” 

Amelia hopped off her stool and approached. Her hands were firmly placed on her dress. The Doctor bent down and laid his hands on her temples gently, “This won’t hurt, but before I do it, I need your permission.” 

“I will enter your mind and walk through your memories if there’s anything you do not want me to see. Imagine a locked door, do you understand?” 

“Uhm… you can walk inside my brain?” she asked, confused. Her face was scrunched up in thought. 

The Doctor smiled, “Sort of, I’m psychic and that’s how I can make a connection to your brain. I can see that look in your eyes, Miss Pond. I’ll teach you about psychic energy later. All you need to know right now is that everyone has it and that’s what I’ll be using to enter your mind, or as you put it, your brain.” 

“Okay! You can do that!” she then glared, “And you better keep your promise of teaching me about it, you have a lot of things left to share,” she narrowed her eyes, “I didn’t forget.” 

“Is that so, then I will inform you of those matters later, together with the lesson on psychic energy.” Amelia's mood flipped, and she smiled, “Okay!” 

The Doctor sighed and then started, “Ready?” 

[AMELIA’S MINDSCAPE]

Amelia nodded, and like that, the Doctor found himself in Amelia’s mind; it looked like her house. 

“Very interesting,” he rubbed his chin, the details weren’t exact one-to-one to the actual house, but they were pretty close, “Smart child. Oh, Amelia Pond, how your mystery keeps growing.” 

The Doctor approached the first door on his left, he tried it and found it unlocked, he stepped through and found himself inside Amelia’s bedroom. “Dear Santa-”

The Doctor observed as Amelia made a prayer, “I see, this was last night.” 

He quickly followed the girl to the window, and there she was, his TARDIS, ‘Where are you? Why did you leave?’

No time to dwell on it, he had to move before the memory ended. He opened her bedroom door and stepped back into the hallway. Now the hallway was longer more doors on each side—the house had warped so he could more easily access her memories. 

“Aunt Sharon! Come out, come out wherever you are.” The Doctor opened quite a few doors, none of which included the woman he was trying to find answers on. 

“What?” The Doctor opened a door and was met with a glowing white void inside—he cautiously edged his hand closer, but before he could touch it slammed shut. ‘Where have I seen a light like that before?’ 

“Anyway, that shouldn’t be happening; something is wrong.” The Doctor ran to other doors, all of them the same—white void. 

That’s until he stumbled on a door that was beginning to engulf itself, but he quickly entered. 

What he saw bogged his mind. It was Amelia standing in front of a tree, two glowing figures next to her, “Say cheese!” a brown haired woman said as she pressed a button on a small grey camera. 

She let the camera dangle around her neck and approached Amelia and the figures. “You look like such a happy family.” 

The Doctor looked at the camera and the picture; the figures didn’t glow. It was two adults; the woman had red hair like Amelia's, and the man had the same eyes as hers. 

“Your parents! Oh, I’m thick!” the Doctor slapped his forehead, “Something happened to them to erase them from existence,” then he realised where he had seen the white voids before, “It must be related to the tear in reality, it can’t be anything else.” 

The background was beginning to warble. The Doctor looked at the brown haired woman, that’s why Amelia always referred to Aunt Sharon; she was part of the final memory she had with her parents, and with her unable to remember them, her mind replaced them with Sharon.

The Doctor sighed. Amelia was well and truly alone, no one left to take care of her.

His eyes steeled, he’d take care of her until he could find a way to bring back her parents from whatever the crack in her wall had done to them; that tear in reality hadn’t seen the last of him. 

The Doctor was launched outside of Amelia’s mind as the void took over, his body in the real world launched back, the lights started flickering, and with a silent poof, all of the power went out, blanketing the kitchen in darkness. 

Chapter Text

[##LOCATION ERROR##]

“My head,” The Doctor slowly dragged himself into a seating position, “I feel like I was just stampeded by a thousand bulls.” 

As the Time Lord nursed his head, his eyes adjusted themselves to the bright white light around him. Slowly, his surroundings began to become clearer, and a moment later—

“Oh!” The Doctor took in his surroundings with a wide-eyed look. Each detail he observed made the smile on his face grow bigger.

 “You’ve gone retro!” 

The Doctor reached for a grip and dragged himself to his feet. When his gaze latched onto what had helped him get upright, he turned even more delighted.

 “And you’ve brought back the roundels, I love the roundels.”

“Don’t we all? Hm?” 

That voice, he’d recognised that voice anywhere. The Doctor slowly slid his gaze to the flight console, “It’s you!” 

The wizardly man chuckled softly at the response, “Who else would I be, my boy?” 

The old man tapped his chin, “Of course, I would be you. Would I not?” The man chuckled once more. The cheerfulness infected the Doctor, brightening his mood.

The Doctor’s brow scrunched together, and he slowly started to pace closer, “How are you here? We shouldn’t cross our personal timeline.” 

His first incarnation waved his concerns off, “Fret not, my fellow, none of the sort is happening.” 

The Doctor huffed at the response; his wandering had brought him right next to his first self.

The Firsts face scrunched together—he took a step back, ”Do wipe that sweat off your brow, it's undignified, hardly something becoming of us.” 

The First Doctor ruffled inside his coat and produced a handkerchief, which was swiftly dropped in the Doctor’s hand. 

The Doctor stared, dumfounded at the cloth for a moment, his first self shot him a pointed look, and so he started dabbing away his sweat.

The Doctor's hand brushed across the console while he stashed away the handkerchief—she lacked warmth.  ‘Where has she gone?’ 

The Doctor's gaze drifted upwards, strange, he couldn’t reach her either—no humming and no whirring? 

“I don’t understand,” the First hm’ed at the statement, “We do not understand a lot of things, but that has never stopped us before, has it, my dear fellow?” 

The Doctor dragged a hand through his hair, “Look, if we’re not crossing our own timeline. Then what in Rassilon’s name are you doing here?” 

The First Doctor’s hand lifted to his lips as he chuckled mischievously.

The Eleventh crossed his arms, “Stop being cryptic. It impresses humans but not ourselves.”

His past self interlocked his fingers and gained a thoughtful expression, “Have I not always been here, my boy? It does not matter how many faces go by; I am the base template, and as such, my traits will always be within our mind and soul.”

The Doctor’s face scrunched up in confusion “What does that have to d-” The Doctor’s lips parted to form the next word, but realisation struck instead. 

“Oh!” He slapped his forehead, “I’m an idiot.” His hands fell to the console, “Of course! I was linked to Amelia’s psyche, and when the whiteness engulfed me, I got flung out.” 

The Doctor’s head whipped to his first self, “No, don’t tell me. I can’t be within my own mind,” Both Doctors spoke together. 

The First chuckled, “A bit slower in intelligence, you are, it seems, Hm?” 

The Eleventh didn’t listen and pushed away from the console, “But this can’t be! A mental manifestation of a past face isn’t possible!” 

The First hobbled to the wooden chair that was kept within the console room. He happily observed as The Doctor paced through theories. 

“You say impossible,” The First’s finger lifted, “But anything is possible. And I’m living proof of that, my boy.” 

The Doctor clicked his tongue and turned around to face number one, “See, is that just my own thoughts manifesting themselves? Or are you acting separately from me?”

The First tapped the arms of his chair, “The unknown makes a companion of us all.” 

The Doctor waved dismissively at his first self and turned back around. 

The First sighed, “Disrespectful, the lot of you.” 

The Doctor’s pacing carried him around the flight console as his mind tried to discover a reason as to why his mind was manifesting his first self. 

The Doctor rubbed his hands together. Was he missing something about the situation? Maybe the tear in reality? He waved himself off he was being purposefully dense with that. 

Perhaps he was forgetting something from back when he still was One?

The Eleventh circled back and halted by the first’s chair, “You’re here to remind me of something. A thing that’s going to set me back on the right path?” 

The First met his Eleventh self's gaze, “Not quite.” The Doctor sighed; he was sure he was on to something.

The First Doctor vacated the wooden chair, “You’re close, but it is not the whole reason as to why I’m here. But I’m not the one to share what that reason is. You have to wait for that explanation.”  

Before the Time Lord could retort, the First put up a commanding hand, “However, you are correct that I am here to remind you of something.” The First motioned to the chair with his arm. “Do take a seat and listen to this old man.” 

The Eleventh sighed; he was beyond confused. He swiftly sat down in the old wooden chair, deciding it was best to cooperate. 

“My dear fellow, let me first sketch the situation for you.” The First Doctor moved in front of the Eleventh.

The Doctor leaned forward, ears ready to take in each piece of information. The First put his hands behind his back and wet his lips. It was odd seeing his old quirks from the outside. 

“You have run quite the distance, haven’t you? Hm?” The First pursed his lips, “But of course you have. You are me, and I started the running—then all of you that succeeded me ran harder and further.”

The old man’s face turned solemn. “But is that what we are destined to do forever?”

The Doctor flicked his hand out, “What else are we supposed to do? There’s always someone in need of help out there. And so we keep running.” 

The First tapped his cane thoughtfully, his face flipping through a few expressions. 

The Eleventh sighed impatiently and crossed his legs “But do go on. What else are we supposed to do? Because I don’t see anything else to do.” 

The First met his gaze with glimmering eyes, “That is exactly my point, dear boy! We’ve become blind to other routes and reasons.” 

“What routes? Because we are standing in the only one!” The Doctor motioned around the empty console room. 

“We’ve been in the TARDIS for centuries. And when we step out, all we see are people in tight spots that need help to wedge them free!” The First’s lips parted—Eleven’s finger shot out, silencing himself.

“Okay, I admit, we have the odd adventure here and there where that doesn’t happen. But those don’t even make up eighty per cent. We always seem to land in places where events take a precarious turn.” 

The Doctor pulled a hand through his hair and sighed, “It’s like a never-ending loop. Like one that our people used to design to keep the especially rowdy species in line.”

The First Doctor leaned forward with a pointed gaze “Then, is it not best we break that pesky loop? And take some time away from it?” 

The Doctor launched out of the chair, snarl on his face, “AND LEAVE ALL THOSE PEOPLE DEFENCELESS?!”

“Do you even hear the words you're spouting? Words of a coward, they are!” he held a hand near his chest. “Truly, how are we the same person?”

“Hm, that is the point, my boy. You have lost sight of what it was like when you were me. Answer me this then, are you still me?” 

The Doctor's face went blank, and his posture went rigid,  ‘Am I still me?’

The Doctor took a step back and heavily sat back down in the chair. His eyes displayed all of his years. 

The Doctor met his first self's eyes, and the wizardly man gave him a compassionate look. 

The Doctor shook his head solemnly, “I honestly can’t say. I don’t even think I’m worthy of being called the Doctor anymore.” 

He dropped his head in his hands, “Maybe everybody was right, maybe it would’ve been for the best if I had stayed and burned with them.”

“Do get yourself together, there is no use in dwelling on the past, is there? What you need to do now is move on and re-learn how to be the Doctor.” The First moved right in front of Eleven, lifting the man’s head like one would do to a pouting child. 

“I know exactly what the first step is that would help you in relearning.” 

The First let his hand fall away and positioned it on his Eleventh shoulder, “Take care of that little girl who has welcomed you into her life.” 

The First's eyes shone with nostalgia, “Does she not remind you of that girl who so bravely left with us all that time ago?” 

The Doctor nodded; Amelia and Susan's faces swam through his vision.

The First chuckled, “What a brave little flower that girl was. Abandoning all that she knew on the whim of an old man.” 

Both Doctors’ shoulders slumped, “Do what I could not, protect that little girl. Raise her into a right young lady.” The First Doctor let go and hobbled away,  “By doing this, I firmly believe that you will find your way back onto the path. And re-discover who you are.” 

Clapping came from the hallway beyond the double doors which were positioned to the right of the console. 

A cheerful face popped from behind them, “Very well spoken, me!”

The short man pushed both doors open and left them like that. He then faced towards number one, “But now that that has been so splendidly said. I think it's my time to have a word with the new chap. Don’t you think so?” 

The First pushed past the second, his face turned up in displeasure, “Ever the impatient one aren’t you?” 

The Second shrugged as the First stopped at the doors to the living quarters, “Leaving the man no time to ponder is not going to help, will it?” 

The Second pulled at his bowtie—face likewise turning displeased, “Do you always have to talk to me that way? It will do you good to remember we are the same person.” 

The First fell into a chuckle—CLAP, CLAP, CLAP—The First's chuckle fit ended as Two’s hands parted for a final clap.

“If you’re that concerned about the fellow. I will ask my question once he’s pondered on your matter.” 

The Second approached and grabbed the door handle—he waved the First through. “Now, if you’d give us some space.” 

“Very well, my fellow, I’ll depart.” The Second pushed the doors shut behind the man; the only sign that One was still out there was the fading sound of cane taps.

The Eleventh was stumped. Would raising Amelia really be enough to become like he used to be?

He had, before appearing where he was now, already resolved to do so. Was he too rash in doing so? He wiped at his brow ‘No,’ It had been the right choice to make. 

The girl needed someone to take care of her, and he dared not risk leaving her with anyone else in case the tear in reality appeared once more. It had already taken her parents away; he didn’t want to risk making someone else disappear; it was a fate he would only allow himself to befall.

And in the end, continuing his investigation into why it had appeared inside a child’s bedroom, in the first place, was easier done by staying around. 

Then once his investigation came to an end, and her parents were recovered from the tears' grasp. His duty of care towards the girl would be fulfilled, and he could leave with both hearts at ease… and perhaps even with his image of himself restored.

The Eleventh wiped his face down with his hands, then let out a tired sigh, but he had someone else to talk to; his gaze drifted towards his second incarnation

The black-haired man sat cross-legged on the white floor, recorder in hand—soft tunes drifted from the musical instrument.

The Doctor gave the man a second. He didn’t dislike the music; It had slipped from his mind how talented he used to be at playing the recorder. 

When assessing his memories, it became clear that only one of them had ever come close to this—his Seventh self had played a small amount of the musical instrument and had become proficient, but not as proficient as the Second Doctor.

The Doctor cleared his throat—screech–“Had enough time to ponder then?” 

The Second jumped up from the ground swiftly, both feet landing firmly on the floor. He stashed his recorder back within his pocket—his hands wrung together.

“Let’s have a chat!” 

As Two stopped in front of the chair, he gave Eleven an appreciative once over, his head bobbed up and down, “Your fashion sense is quite exquisite. That aside, it’s nice to finally see the new model in person.” 

The Second’s face lit up, “We never actually get to do that, do we? That would be something if we did.” He started to wave his hand frantically, “No, no, no! A big mess that would be!” His lips pressed together.

“But we have a myth like that, don’t we? It would be bizarre if it happened,” His left hand awkwardly adjusted his bow-tie.

“Oh, now I remember! Bi-generation it was called,” His face screwed together, “A whole lot of nonsense that is. Regeneration energy simply doesn’t flow that way.”

The Doctor shot his past self an amused smile. Two met his eyes and instantly frowned.

“Anyhow, Bi-generation is not why I’m here. But from that look, I see you’ve figured out the reason is because we’re in our mind.” 

Eleven’s reply wasn’t allowed as the short man chuckled in delight. “Of course you did, you’re me of course!”

Two then clapped his hands together, ending his ramble, his eyes met his successors, “Now, where was I? Oh yes! Let’s talk, dear chap!” 

The Eleventh let out a short huff, “Forgot my mouth used to run that fast, no wonder everyone always asked to elaborate.” It was still odd to see his past traits at work; most of them he had forgotten as time went on.

“Well, not everyone is quite on the same intellectual level as us.” The Doctor nodded, in agreement. 

“Now, back to the task at hand, because I’d like to be home by midnight.” 

The Second plopped down on the ground in front of the wooden chair, then slapped his knees in a rhythm. “Tell me,” he left a dramatic pause, “In recent memory, when did you last have fun?”

“Define fun,” The Second rolled his eyes at his question. Then rolled his hand, “Fun as in enjoyment, being amused, merriment, excitement. Do I need to go on?” 

Eleven ah’d, “Right, fun. Let me think.”

The flight deck fell into silence as the Doctor sifted through his memories to find a recent time he had fun.

“Meeting Agatha Christie with Donna was lots of fun…” 

“How long ago was that?” Eleven jaw tensed, “Now you are just looking for something to grab on to.” 

“Just answer, how long ago was that?” The Second Doctor motioned with his hand for him to fess up. The Doctor’s face scrunched together, “Roughly… three hundred years ago.”

“Now, was that so hard, my chap?” Two bounced up to his feet, standing on his heels as he landed. “And you are certain you have had no fun in between then?” 

“Of course, I’ve had fun in between, but usually in small bursts.” His gaze drew distant, “But all that time with Donna was the most fun I’ve had in a long while.” 

The Doctor’s mind then conjured up another time. “Not as much fun, but still quite a bit of fun was today with Brian. Bantering and strolling through Leadworth was exciting to do.”

The Second Doctor's face lit up in delight, “There we go! That is exactly what I want you to see. Doing casual things like taking a stroll or talking with someone can be fun! But-” the Second Doctor’s finger lifted into the air and paused dramatically.

“Running around the universe experiencing all the horrors of it, while it can be riveting. It does not compare to the fun you have when around the ones you love. The terror and running that is a chore, more so a job, even.” 

“Yes maybe that is so. But it's our duty as Time Lords to do so!” the Doctor retorted. Why couldn’t his othersleves just agree with him for once?

The Second scoffed, “You say that, but we’ve met so many people fighting the same battles we are. Let me give an example,” Two’s face lit up in fondness, “Brigadier Allistar Gordon Lefth-Bridge Stewart. Now that man has single-handedly made UNIT a force to be reckoned with.” 

The Second Doctor leaned back on his feet, “Would you say that UNIT isn’t capable enough to handle the Earth’s affairs?” 

“More than capable, I didn’t say it wasn’t.” The Doctor scowled, “But what about all those other places in the universe that aren’t Earth and that don’t have an organisation like UNIT to protect them?”

The Doctor threw his head back and laughed, “What? Do I just pop round and say, ‘I’m here to inform you that I’m retired. From now on, handle all urgent matters yourselves?’ No! I won’t do that.” 

Two turned around and jumped in place in the middle of the room, waving around him crazily, “You have a time machine, my dear chap! Don’t you get that I’m trying to make you see that helping and running doesn’t have to be constant?” 

The Doctor’s feet landed. “Rest, partake in merriment, explore the things you love.” His face then turned serious, “And care for that little girl you’ve stumbled upon.” 

The Doctor's fingers snapped, “And like that, when the TARDIS is found or comes back. You can save the universe whenever you have a moment to spare.” 

The Second Doctor’s gaze turned disapproving, “Just don’t do it, every possible moment, like we have been doing. Break away from the mould, redefine what it takes to be the Doctor!” 

“Easier said than done,” The Doctor sprang up from his chair. He couldn’t sit anymore; he had to walk.  

“Our name comes with expectations.” He threw a hand up in the air, “And it’s all fine and dandy having a time machine, but she doesn’t always arrive at the right time or location!” 

Two chuckled nervously and rubbed at his neck, “I won’t be the one to talk to you about that. I was not the best in flying the old girl,” He cringed “And I admit, I neglected her a bit. So I’ll let our Third talk to you about that.” 

The Second hopped over to the flight console and flicked the door switch; the white double doors at the front of the room slid open—accompanied by a buzz. 

“Come on! Get out here, it’s your time to talk now!” 

Footsteps echoed from beyond the open doors, the Elventh’s pacing stopped, and he gazed into the darkness. 

The dark gave way to a head of white hair. The man's feet planted firmly within the white flight deck. The man smiled handsomely as he adjusted his green coat.

 “I was called upon?” 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. POND HOUSE | KITCHEN — EVENING]

Amelia peeked open an eye—nothing had changed. The Doctor stood there like before, hands holding onto her shoulders. 

“Doctor?” she asked, then counted to three—she got no response. 

Did he do it? Was he inside her brain? She didn’t know. Amelia rolled her eyes up to try and see if he was in there, but she gave up when she couldn’t get her eyes further up.

Amelia shuffled on her feet. How long was this going to take?

Amelia picked at her nails. What would it look like in her brain? Would it be all pink and squishy? Amelia belched at the thought. No, she decided it would be a pretty blue room, with all sorts of toys! 

POP

The lights fizzled out, leaving nothing but darkness—CRASH—The Doctor clattered to the ground together with a cabinet door. 

Amelia gasped and sprinted over to the unconscious Time Lord. She shook the Doctor rapidly, panic gripped her heart, “Doctor! Doctor!?” 

No matter how hard she shook or yelled, the Doctor stayed motionless. Amelia was unsure what to do. Did she go get help? No, the Doctor was an alien, and if they discovered he was—they might take him away from her, and she’d be all alone.

But what did she do? Amelia then remembered something she had seen on TV. She leaned in close to the Doctor’s mouth and listened—then recoiled. She rubbed at her ear.

“He breathed into my ear!” A smile overtook her as she realised. But why wasn’t he moving when he was still alive? 

‘Is he asleep?’ Amelia poked the Doctor; he didn’t move, then listened for snoring, but she didn’t hear any.

She stood up, “Not asleep! Then why won’t he wake up!” She threw her hands up in frustration. 

A devious smirk crept onto Amelia’s face. She opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a bucket. 

She shoved the Doctor’s feet to the side and climbed up to the sink and began to fill the bucket. 

“Whoa!” Amelia struggled to get herself and the bucket off the counter, but in the end, she did it. 

“Wakey, wakey!” 

Amelia dumped the cold water over the Doctor’s face—but she didn’t get the reaction she expected, the bucket clattered to the ground, and Amelia sighed.

She moved out of the way of the encroaching pool of liquid—then giggled as she saw the Doctor’s hair, “Looks just like last night.” 

Amelia’s face twisted up in thought, ‘What else will wake him?’ She tried to recall anything on methods to wake people, and in the end, she thought of one effective method that had woken Rory up once or twice. 

Amelia’s feet launched out and kicked the Doctor firmly in the side. 

She watched hopefully for a few seconds, but huffed,  “Ugh! Fine sleep!” If he wasn’t going to wake up, she would just eat by herself. 

She quickly wiped away the water she had spilt over the Doctor and shoved a tiny pillow under his head, she gave him a quick pat on the head like her…. Whoever would do when she was put to bed. 

She tried the stove a few times, but just like the light, it didn’t want to turn on, so in the end Amelia settled on eating strawberry yoghurt… but she would demand better food when the Doctor decided to wake up. 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. BRIGHT’S TENT — EVENING]

Bright’s fists clenched together; not one thing was going right; he could deal with the audio link not being able to be set up again… But a town-wide power outage was pushing it.

“Lewin,” The superior officer began, “Do get to the point, I have had it up to here with…” Bright trailed off and waved his hands about. 

Lewin nervously fiddled with a loose button on his coat. “Just tell me,” Bright’s face carried signs of tiredness—Lewin straightened.

“Yes, sir.” Lewin took a swift stride to the table and pushed a piece of paper in front of Bright. 

The man blinked a few times as he scanned the contents of the piece of paper. 

“Seriously?”

Lewin pushed his glasses up as he nodded, “Totally, sir, that’s where the outage originated.” 

“That’s just a normal residence!” Bright double checked the piece of paper, flipping it over to check the back. 

The scientific officer fiddled with the hem of his coat as his superior dropped his head in his hands. 

Bright then let out a low sigh. “Very well,” the man pushed away from the table and approached rapidly. 

Lewin dodged out of the man’s path—Bright didn’t stop his stride—Lewin scrambled after the man as he left the tent. 

[EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF LEADWORTH]

“Bishop!” 

Activity around the encampment stopped as the name echoed through the field—then got replaced by rapid footsteps.

Officer Bishop stopped a few meters away from Bright and saluted, “Officer Bishop at your command, sir!” 

“Bishop, with me, I’ll brief you on the way.” Silence reigned again for a moment, then Bright departed—Bishop scrambled after him.

“LEWIN, GET YOUR ASS MOVING!” 

Lewin flinched but sped off behind the man, “Yes, sir!” 

Bright sighed as the two fell in line with him, “We’ve located the location of the outage, Officer Bishop.” 

Bright pulled his leather gloves on tighter. “Our mission is to investigate said location.” Bright side glanced at the scientist with them, “As for why you will be accompanying us.” 

Lewin paid rapid attention, “You will locate the fault upon our arrival and, if possible, fix it.” 

“I don’t need a response, just nod,” The scientific officer’s mouth slammed shut—then both officers gave a firm nod. 

Bright smirked at their obedience, “At least not all of you are disrespecting little shits.” he slowly clapped his hands, “Good job.” 

The two officers' postures straightened, and their mouths lifted the tiniest amount. 

The three members of UNIT crossed the threshold of the farmland and the road and quickly found themselves in front of the Colonel’s personal ride. 

“Get in.” 

The two didn’t have to be told twice and climbed into the roofless back of the truck, while Bright climbed into the front. 

The Colonel leaned out of his window and tapped his door to gain attention from his subordinates, “I suggest holding on tightly.” 

The man’s smile turned sadistic, and before the words had fully registered, he slammed his foot on the pedal—they were off like a speeding bull. 

The colonel took a sharp turn and smirked as he looked into his rear-view mirror, “COME NOW, BOYS! WE’RE NOT GOING THAT FAST!”  

Bright sighed wistfully. Speed was all he needed. Then after that, all left to be needed was the case to be done with an officer’s ass to be kicked and a nice drink. 

Oh, and a stern talk with a certain training officer, after that, all would be right in Bright’s world. 

°°—-0o0—-°°

[THE DOCTOR’S MIND]

“I guess you will be sticking around?” the Eleventh asked as the Second made no move to leave.

Two pulled at his suspenders and was about to reply when Three shushed him, “Do keep that mouth closed, will you? We’re on my time now.” 

Two’s face scrunched up like a kicked puppy at his successor's words, “It wouldn’t hurt you to be nice to me sometimes.” 

Three scoffed but otherwise didn’t deign him with a reply, “Now, my dear fellow, walk with me.” 

Three held his arm outwards for the Eleventh. 

The Doctor pushed out of the wooden chair and strode up to his third self; the third slung his arm over his shoulder. 

“You have read the TARDIS manual, have you not?” Three asked curiously as they walked around the console. 

The Eleventh pressed his lips together, “Plenty of times.” 

“Then tell me. Why do you think you can’t fly her perfectly?” The two came to a halt by the dematerialisation switch. 

Eleven shrugged the Third’s arm off and stroked the console, “Because she’s made to fly with six. Do I look like a six-handed person?” 

Three scoffed—he was not impressed, “That’s what you think, but that number is just exaggeration.” he then began walking around the flight console, flipping switches and levers. 

“Tell me, what did I just do?” Both previous incarnations peaked out behind the centre column with serious expressions. 

The Doctor sighed but obliged. He surveyed the console, “You set her up to fly.” 

Three smiled handsomely, “Correct! And if I know how to do that, then why don’t you?” 

The Doctor rubbed at his brow, “Well, I obviously do know how.” 

“Then why don’t you do it!” the previous Doctors exclaimed in synchronised frustration.

“BECAUSE I LIKE SHOWING OFF!” Eleven’s hand slammed harshly down on the hexagonal console. 

The Third Doctor shook his head in disappointment, “That’s why I hate all of us.” He threw a thumb back, “Especially that fool behind me.” 

Two threw up his hands at the stray he caught. “Well, excuse me.” 

Three rolled his eyes, “Oh, don’t be so pissy, you know exactly what I mean.” 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t dislike it!” 

Three shook his head and caught Eleven’s attention, “Why did we find the need to show off? We used to properly check our controls before flying, and now you just willy nilly run around and hit stuff.” 

Eleven’s face went glum. “Because it distracts us.” 

Three snapped his fingers and shot him a smile, “Tell me, would you rather arrive on time or be distracted?” 

“Arrive on time.” 

“Then stop putting up a show and set the old girl up properly beforehand,” he clapped his hands together, “And isn’t that strange? Suddenly, you have all the time in the world to stick around on Earth and still be on time for tea with Shakespeare.” 

Eleven laughed incredulously, “That’s it! That’s the argument you are making for me to take a step back?” 

His eyebrows scrunched together as he began to undo the set-up flight path, “It is simple, I admit,” His hand paused on the fault locator, “But I see your point.” 

Then he flicked off the flight path indicator. As his gaze flickered up, he found himself reflected in the centre column.

Three crossed his arms, “Oh, and what point would that be?” 

“I need to think and prepare before I do things,” Eleven waved his hand about, “Not run into things blindly.” 

“Exactly. I tried to rush getting my knowledge on how to fly the TARDIS back, and in the end, it only helped in pushing people away. Don’t be like me and don’t rush out into the universe unprepared.” 

Eleven sighed, “I don’t like sitting still.” It was hard to say the next part, “But I’ll try not to leave the moment the TARDIS returns.” 

“Good! Because you can’t just leave little pond on her own.” Two yelled giddily. “And maybe when you do have the itch to run and save a planet, take her with or even better, set a limit for yourself for when to return.” 

Three then butted in, “And before striding out of those TARDIS doors, check the scanner and the Geiger counter, wouldn’t want a repeat of Skaro, do we?” 

All three Doctors shuddered at the thought, “Fine, fine, I’ll do it, and I’ll also set the TARDIS up properly from now on.” 

“And prepare yourself properly!” Two and Three echoed. 

“And prepare myself properly.” Eleven parroted—then dragged a hand through his hair, “Honestly, I should be lecturing you guys, I’m the older one.” 

Two and Three looked at each other, humorously, “It doesn’t feel that way.” 

“Seriously? Now you’re teaming up!?” Eleven asked incredulously. 

“Well, you did say a ridiculous thing.” Two nodded at Three’s words.

Eleven reached across the console and reopened the doors, “Seeing as it's still my mind and I am still you, respectfully get out!” 

The two held their hands up in surrender, “Yes, that seems like a good idea! We finished our points anyway, see ya later, old chap! Oh, and do listen to the rest of us.” 

Two then skipped through the double doors, three stood in place a moment longer, “How close are you to discovering what’s actually going on?” 

Eleven raised a brow, “I’m fifty per cent sure I know what’s going on, but seeing as I’m still stuck in here,” he waved at the flight deck, “I’m going to assume one of my other faces will give me the final puzzle piece sometime soon.” 

Three crossed his arms, “You sound like a man who is trying to talk his way out of an answer.”

Eleven tilted his head and smiled, “I don’t know, am I?” 

“Fine, keep your answers, I’ll hear it from the others anyway.” Three then gave a singular wave and departed, the double doors swinging shut behind him—the deck fell back into silence.

°°—-0o0—-°°

[EXT. ABANDONED NEIGHBORHOOD — EVENING]

Knight panted—he slid behind a brick wall, hiding from whatever the creature was; he gripped at his hair, he was in over his head, nothing had gone like he had planned. 

CRACK

Knight was off in an instant. He slammed through branches and slapped away foliage as he sprinted through a small forest area. 

He didn’t dare to look back, but he felt an itch in the corner of his eye. “Shit, shit, shit!” 

Knight breathed anxiously as a metal fence thwarted his escape. 

HISS—Knight’s eyes widened as the blue snake creature slid down from a tree. His hand flew to his hip, but he didn’t find his gun; he had lost it in his escape. 

He held his hands up in surrender, “You don’t have to kill me, I can help you. I work for an organisation called UNIT. We have intelligence all over this country. I can help you use it!” 

The creature’s approach didn’t stop; it slithered forward slowly, the dark blue spikes on its back straightened, and its yellow eyes pierced through Knight. 

Knight desperately looked for a way out—he kicked up leaves and darted off.

Prisoner Zero was not blinded by the poor attempt—he pounced—then sank his teeth into the meat of Knight’s thigh. 

“Agh!” Knight tumbled to the ground and flipped over, “Plea-please don’t!” 

Zero’s maw opened even wider, briefly releasing Knight, the young man scrambled backwards—the forest underground slowly became covered with blood droplets. 

Zero unperturbed by Knight’s escape licked the ground clean off his blood, sobs began to ring through the woods, “You motherfucker leave me alone!” 

Knight gripped his thigh tightly and tried pulling himself up by a branch—SNAP—he fell right back onto the ground.

Zero’s approach halted—and a shrilling laughter echoed from the multiform's throat. The soldier was so pitiful; if all of Earth’s soldiers were like this, then he’d have control within the month. 

Zero slithered underneath the leaves and waited. 

Knight's head whipped around for any signs of the blue alien, “Yes, stay away, you piece of shit! Nobody kills Thomas Knight!” 

Knight's shaky hands pulled out a bandage from his belt pouch—he flinched as he bandaged up the puncture holes. “Motherfucker,” he groaned out. 

Bandaged up, he once again pulled himself up by a branch; this time, he didn’t fall. Back on his feet, he wiped off all twigs and leaves and hobbled away. 

Knight slapped himself on the cheek, “Pathetic, next time I see that thing I’m killing it.” 

SNAP

Knight swirled around—” Just a rabbit, get it together, officer.” 

The rabbit scampered off as Knight took a step. “I still got this. I can still finish this mission myself and rub it in everyone’s face.” 

Thomas squinted his eyes as he neared the end of the canopy of trees, “The car!” 

He hobbled quickly, dragging leaves behind him with his leg. 

Knight pulled the door open and rifled through his bag for a spare gun, DRIP, DRIP.

Knight slowly wiped two fingers down his cheek—slowly, his gaze slid up—his eyes widened in horror.

“AGH!” Knight screamed in terror as Prisoner Zero pounced at his face. Knight's right hand shot out at Zero; the alien’s maw closed on it, puncturing it.

Knight wrestled Zero off and threw the snake-like alien out onto the grass. His right hand fell limp to his side. He scrambled into the car and quickly locked the door. 

“AND STAY OUT!” he yelled victoriously. Zero’s eyes narrowed, and lightning fast, he sprang forward.

SMASH. 

The glass scattered through the air, flying straight into Knight as it bounced off Zero’s skin—Thomas was distracted by the glass, allowing Zero to wrap his tail around his neck—choking him. 

Knight's vision began to swim with black dots. His good hand clawed at Zero’s tail—his effort was futile, “HISS” Zero sniffed near Knight’s cheek, the officer let out a choked whimper.

Zero let out a low growl, and then its sharp tongue launched into Knight’s ear. The man began to trash as Zero began to establish a connection.

Knight was terrified and then—‘Give in, let your body rest.’ 

His eyes began to grow heavy, ‘Embrace the peace, let me in.’

Slowly, the thrashing began to die down, Knight’s eyes rolled back, and his skin began to pale. 

Zero’s form began to extend and twist, bones formed around the snake, and tissue slowly grew until an exact copy of Thomas Knight sat in the passenger seat. 

The fake Knight tenderly touched Knight’s neck; a low pulse was all that could be felt. 

“Good boy.” 

Prisoner Zero’s yellow eyes observed his transformed form in the rearview mirror, “Soon,” he smirked and then with unbelievable strength hauled Knight into the back seat. 

He looked back at Thomas, “Oh and thank you for sharing your knowledge, I wouldn’t have known how to drive otherwise.” 

The motor started up, and Zero hit the horn, “Oh, I like that.” His foot then hit the pedal, and he was off.

°°—-0o0—-°°

[THE DOCTOR’S MIND]

“Sorry, I’m late. I was looking for my pack of jelly babies.” The Fourth Doctor walked through the double doors, munching on said jelly babies.

“I guess you’re all coming in order?” The Eleventh asked as he pushed up off the ground. 

“Clever one, aren’t you? Stating that which is obvious.” The scarfed man adjusted his hat as he settled upon the empty wooden chair.

Eleven lifted a brow and motioned at himself, “Of course I’m clever, I’m you.”

“Oh yes, I am aware of that.” The Fourth scratched at his nose, “But are we really the same? If you look deep inside yourselves, do we carry the same principles?” 

“Getting right to it, I see.” Eleven leaned against the console, “Well, I am older than you and have seen more than you. Some of our principles have changed, yes, but most have stayed the same.” 

“And what are our principles again? Do share them.” He cupped his ear. 

“Never be cruel, never be cowardly, hate is always foolish, love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind. And we must never share our name; nobody will understand it anyway.” 

“So you do remember.” Four exclaimed in surprise.

“Of course I remember them.” The Doctor gave him an incredulous look, “It's what I live by.” 

“Do you? Did you live by it when you saved those people on Mars?” Eleven reeled back in surprise at the contempt on his Fourth self's face.

“No, I didn’t.” 

“Did you live by it when you left Captain Harkness behind in that space station? Was that you being kind?” 

The Doctor floundered, “I-I had to leave! He felt wrong. He became a fixed point.” 

“You could have taken him with you and dropped him off somewhere safer. But you left him stranded.” Four shook his head disapprovingly, “I can keep going.” 

“No, that’s not necessary.” Eleven fiddled with his hands, “I get it, I strayed away from our morals. But don’t act like you didn’t.”

Four laughed, but no actual humour was in it. “Oh, I’m not saying I did not. But I didn’t let it overtake me, did I? I stopped myself. I could’ve ended the Daleks before they were created, but I chose not to. If you were in my place, I am afraid you would’ve taken the chance.” Four gave him a pointed saying not to argue.

Eleven wasn’t going to, he knew as just as much that he would’ve tried to. 

The Doctor heavily sat back down on the floor, “I screwed up last regeneration, I know, but No More, I’m not going to be like that again.” 

Four munched on his jelly babies, “Let’s hope you don’t, we’ve had a lifetime enough of anger and deceit behind us, we don’t need more.” 

Four sprang up from his chair and in one swift step slid down next to Eleven, “Jelly baby?” 

Eleven peeked up and nodded; the two munched on them in silence. Four patted him on the shoulder, “No use dwelling in the past, just put in an effort to change and not fall back into old ways.” 

“I know, I know.” Four placed his hat on Eleven’s head. 

“The Universe doesn’t like you right now, you know.” Four began, “So, like the others said, it's for the best you stay on Earth for a bit, let it all calm down up there.” 

The Doctor stared ahead, dumbfounded, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

The Fourth Doctor laughed, harshly patting his successor on the back, “Well, it’s good I’m here then.” 

Eleven mindlessly stroked the brim of his old hat. “They’ll be gunning for my head, won’t they?” 

Four gave him a grim nod, “I’m afraid so, you put a glowing target on your back. Best to not mention that you’re a Time Lord for a while.” 

Eleven scoffed, “You act like I’ve been shouting it from the roof every chance I get.”

“Also, don’t tell them you’re the Doctor, just use your alias,” The Doctor rolled his eyes, “I’m not an idiot, I know what to say and NOT to say.” 

“Great! At least we’re still intelligent!” 

The two fell back into silence, both munching on jelly babies; were they even real? Then something struck.

“I saw Sarah Jane, you know,” Eleven glanced at Four mischievously.

 “Shush! I have your memories, I know exactly what you’re gonna say.” 

“Oh, and what is that?” Eleven asked as an innocent smile bloomed on his face.

“I left her in the wrong place, I was in a bit of a hurry, you know, didn’t have the time to check.” Four excused his screw up, he tugged at his scarf, “And what does it matter in the end she got home fine, didn’t she?” 

Eleven nodded his head, ending the teasing; “Our Sarah Jane,” both smiled fondly, remembering the brown haired reporter. 

“Say hello to her for me,” Four then stood up and did a mock bow, “Until next time, Doctor.” 

The Doctor tipped his newly acquired hat, “Yes, until next time, don’t trip over your scarf on the way out.” 

Four gave him a thumbs-up and dipped through the living quarters’ doors. 

Then the blonde Doctor walked in not a moment later. Eleven climbed to his feet, “Watching again, are we? You don’t seem to be as pale as back then, though.” 

“Ha ha ha, yes, I was a watcher, very funny, can we all just move on from that?” 

“Has the moment been prepared for?” Eleven asked as he drew near to the console.

“Depends. What moment?” Five asked with a grim smile.

Eleven shot him a warning glare, “Don’t even go there!” 

Five held his hands behind his beige coat, “See now you know how it feels.” 

“Yes, teasing the new guy is very funny. Let’s get to it, shall we?” Five approached Eleven and for a first shook his hand. 

“You’re the polite one,” The Doctor noted as they faced each other. Five tilted his head, “Well, we will be spending some time together from now on as separate beings, so it's best to stay polite, hm?” 

“As separate beings?” Eleven lifted a brow and rubbed his hands together, “Is that a clue as to what’s going on? Have we separated?” 

Five gave a tight-lipped smile, “Can’t say we have, I’m very much still not back to running around the universe,” then shrugged, “But technically we all are running around right now. It’s all a bit Timey Wimey, isn’t it?” 

“I clearly remember you not liking that phrase; please don’t use it. I don’t want to hear it.” The Fifth held up his hands placatingly, “I won’t.” 

Eleven tapped his foot impatiently, “Now go on, what did you wanna impart, oh wise Doctor?” 

“Adric.” 

“What about him?” 

The Fifth’s eyes saddened “Well, he was a sort of student to us, wasn’t he? And you’ve just encountered another intelligent child. See what I’m getting at here?” 

Eleven crossed his arms, “I do, but the two aren’t remotely similar.” 

Five paced around a bit as he continued his part, “Well, they could end up similar if you don’t instil in her how to properly protect herself.” 

The Doctor turned the Fifth back to face him and snarled furiously, “I’m not letting anything like what happened to Adric happen to Amelia!” 

Five pulled away from his successor's harsh grip, “Good, I didn’t expect you would.” 

Eleven patted his Fifth self awkwardly as an apology for his snap and for… past events “I’m sure Adric doesn’t blame us, wherever he might be.” 

The Fifth hm’ed, “I do hope so.” The Fifth bounced on the heels of his feet, “Let’s talk lessons, how will you teach Amelia?” 

Eleven made a mocking expression, “Well, obviously, by providing as much knowledge about the universe as I can provide.” 

The Fifth moved his hand, “Yes and to what amount? Alien species? Planets?” 

“Were you always this stupid?” The Doctor leaned in and moved his mouth slowly, “I. am. going. to. teach. her. everything. Alien species, Time Lord knowledge, Planets and alignments, constellations, space travel. Do I go on?” 

“No, you’ve quite made your point,” Five pushed his successor away. “Well seems I don’t have much else left to talk to you about. Oh, do visit Tegan and Nyssa, say hello for me.” 

Eleven groaned, “Are all of you going to ask me to say ‘Hello’? Do you want me to sound crazy? ‘Oh, hello, Tegan, Nyssa, my Fifth self says hello from inside my head.’”

Five chuckled, “I’d very much like that, yes. Now, goodbye.” Five was swift; before the Doctor’s face could switch expressions, he had gone through the doors and dragged them shut behind him.

The Doctor leaned one hand onto the console and waved his other in confusion, “How was I any of you?” 

”I ask myself that all the time?” The curly-haired Doctor popped through from outside the main doors.

“Oh, look, it’s Mr Rainbow.” 

“Oh, look! It is Mr Grump.” 

The Sixth Doctor pulled at his lapels and held his head high. “Now, please be quiet and listen to what I have to say, and don’t interrupt. I’d hate to have to repeat myself.” 

 °°—-0o0—-°°

[INT. WILLIAMS RESIDENCE — EVENING]

“That should be the last of them.” Brian lit a candle—the kitchen was full to the brim with them.

“Rory. Please be careful, we don’t want the house to burn down.” Rory anxiously gazed at the lit candles—then scooped up stew with his spoon.

“Thank you for making potato stew, Dad.” 

Brian left his spoon in the bowl. “My pleasure, Son.”

The kitchen became silent except for the sound of Rory’s spoon scraping inside his bowl. Brian gazed at his son’s face for a while. Rory shot his dad a worried frown.

“Everything alright, Dad?” 

Brian nodded, “Yes, everything is alright.” The blonde gazed down and let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, Rory, for not being the best dad recently.” 

Rory dropped his spoon into his bowl, “But you are the best Dad!” 

“No, no, Son, you don’t have to pretend, I haven’t been myself since your Mom passed.” Brian wiped his eyes with his sleeves. 

“I just want you to know, Rory, that from now on, that is going to change. I’ll be the best Dad, I promise.” 

Rory stared at his dad for a while, then gave a determined nod, “Then I’ll be the best son!” 

Brian chuckled at his son’s determination, “Well, if that’s true then finish your stew.” 

“Yes, Dad.” Rory then began shuffling food back into his mouth. 

Brian's gaze slid to a picture on a dresser next to a red candle, ‘We have the best son, Margret.’ 

Brian then cleared all of his tears; it was about time he started living again; he had been a shell of a man for too long. The Doctor was just the wake-up call he needed. 

Tomorrow, after he was done at the library, he’d go back to the Travel Agency and clean up. It was about time he started the business up again. He could also do some research into Leadworth before he lived here and then share some fun facts with the Doctor on Thursday, yes, he would do that.

“All done!” Rory exclaimed as he proudly showed his cleaned-out bowl. Brian reached over and tussled his son’s hair, “Good.” 

Rory pouted and slapped the hand away, “Dad! Don’t do that.” 

Brian held his hands up in surrender, “Okay, okay, I won’t, now come, let’s clean the dishes.” 

Rory dragged his chair with and positioned it next to the sink; Brian collected all the dishes and dropped them in the sink. 

“Dad?” 

“Yes, Rory?” 

“Do you think the water even runs? Maybe everything stopped working, and we have to live life like in medieval times.” Rory’s voice turned anxious—Brian simply turned the faucet on and water streamed out.

“I don’t think it’s gone that far, Rory,” the boy blushed, embarrassed, “Sorry.” 

“Nothing to apologise for, Rory, it’s just your imagination, nothing wrong with that.” 

Rory nodded happily, “Okay!” then grabbed a towel.

VROOM

Brian frowned at the loud noise, his gaze went to the main road outside the house, what flew past baffled him—a truck was being driven by a man with a baret. He seemed to be pleased, but that wasn’t the baffling part; two men were dangling from the truck's railings, the slightest slip and they’d fall.

“I never knew Leadworth had nutters like that running about.” 

 °°—-0o0—-°°

[THE DOCTOR’S MIND]

‘Okay, now I see it, that suit is indeed an eye sore.’ The Doctor couldn’t take his eyes off it; it grabbed all of his attention. It was just that striking.  

“I said to pay attention!” Six exclaimed, frustrated—his hands slammed down on the hexagonal console—bringing more attention to his words. 

The Eleventh gave him an apologetic smile, then waved a hand near his head “Got a lot on my mind, you know,” he then motioned his hand at Six, “But do go on.” 

Six huffed and rolled his eyes, “I understand your predicament, but all I need is five minutes of your attention, then you can twiddle your thumbs for all I care, okay?” 

“Rude.” 

“Very well, as I was saying, you mustn’t let arrogance overtake you.” 

“And you think I need to know that? Why?” Six chuckled at his question and flicked up the scanner, “Let me show you something.” 

“Pay attention,” the scanner crackled to life—the Doctor’s face paled. 

“THE LAWS OF TIME ARE MINE, AND THEY WILL OBEY ME!” 

“I'm the doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's going to save the lives of all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?”

“I could have done so much more!!!”

“Just walk around like you own the place. It works for me.” 

“ENOUGH!” Eleven ran up and flipped the scanner off. Six gave an amused smile, “I’m going to assume that I’ve proven my point?”

“Yes. Yes you have.” The Doctor gazed into the time rotor for a second, “How many times do I have to say I messed up, I can’t take it all back. All I can do is move forward.” 

Six patted him on the shoulder, “Yes, yes, I’m aware, my dear fellow. I just wished to show you some moments to hammer it in that we’ve become very arrogant in our day-to-day.” 

Eleven sighed and looked up, “I’m not the same incarnation anymore, okay? What happened during my Tenth won’t be repeated. I just have to find a way to control myself, be my own Doctor.” 

“Like me.” Six agreed, “I’m sure you remember how I acted after first regenerating. I was all high and mighty, but the longer I lived, the more I found my own style, and learned how to be kinder and calmer.” 

The Doctor tapped his forehead, “Yes, I’m aware, it’s all in here. A bit scrambled, but it's all there.” 

Six leaned forward and whispered, “Then use that knowledge and humble yourself.” 

“Yes, to be humble, better said than done.” Six tapped his fingers on the console, “Learn it then. Follow the example of that Brian chap, he seems humble enough.” 

“He is just a simple human, of course, he’s humble right now, but would he be if he saw what we saw?” The Doctor shot back.

Six shrugged, “Who knows? But right now, he is a humble man, spend time with him. Be reminded of what humbleness looks like. Rassilon, you could even go volunteer at the library with him, start easy.” 

The Doctor’s face scrunched up in distaste, “And interact with people?” 

“Interact with people, yes. Isn’t that the best way?” Six’s eyes turned humorous.

The Doctor grimaced, “I’ll look into it, but don’t expect me to make much progress at first.” 

Six flipped his frock coat back, “Oh my fellow, admitting that you are arrogant is the first step and progress in and of itself. Now all you have to do is keep reminding yourself.” 

“Hm, I guess so.” Eleven and Six stood side by side, “I wish you much luck, do try not to repeat your old mistakes, it would be oh so bothersome to have to lecture you all over again.” 

“I’ll try not to.” The two shook hands, ending the conversation in good faith. 

“It was nice seeing you, but I must be off.”  Six did a theatrical bow and then—BUMP—”Oh, it’s you.” Seven smiled up at Six.

“Yes, and it seems to me that you are in my way.” The two glared at each other, bringing tension back into the room. 

Six gave his successor a clipped smile, “Do try not to force this one into regeneration, old chap.” 

Seven’s face scrunched up together, “Are you still holding onto that grudge, Sixie? Do I need to have a talk with you about it?” 

Six walked off backwards and shook his head, “No, I think I’m good.” 

As Six walked out, the doors closed behind him—a chuckling Seven had his question mark cane at the door controls. 

He sighed peacefully, “Some privacy.” 

Eleven shot his seventh a pleased smile,  “Two Scottish Doctors, hm?” 

Seven gripped at his lapels, “Oh indeed, and we make the best of us, don’t we?” 

The two met in front of each other. Eleven towered over the Seventh—Seven being the second shortest Doctor behind Two. 

Eleven pretended to think, “Let me guess, you’ll be talking about manipulation.” 

Seven’s face went blank instantaneously. Eleven chuckled and walked backwards, “I’m right, aren’t I? Always with the manipulating with you, hm?” 

Seven waved him off, “Oh, do be quiet.” 

“Is that an order?” 

Seven lifted his brow, “No, that’s a request.” 

Eleven crossed his arms “Request denied, but do talk, I’d love to hear it.” 

Seven leaned up against the wall and began to tap his foot. “Will you listen to any of it?” 

The Doctor sighed and brushed a hand across his chin, “Depends on whether it’s relevant. Don’t want to listen if it's you spouting about happy primes.” 

“Anyhow, manipulation.” Seven began to tap his cane, “Don’t use it.”

Eleven’s eyebrows shot up in shock, “What?” he blundered out.

Seven turned his head to the side “I told you not to use it; it all leads to people distancing themselves from you anyway. That’s how you end up dead in allayway.” 

“....” Eleven was lost for words; this was wholly out of character for his seventh self. “You did some reflecting, didn’t you?” 

Seven took off his hat and ruffled his hair, “I did, I’ve had plenty of time in here,” he waved around the space.

“We’ve all experienced what happened after we regenerated. It's safe to say my eyes were opened.” 

Eleven made an impressed face and clapped, “Good for you!” 

His index finger shot out at Seven, “And thank you, that actually… gives me hope, if-” he motioned at Seven, “You can change, then so can I.” 

Seven flipped his hat back on, “That’s all from me, I have more to talk to you about, but we can do that later, there are three more to talk with.” 

Seven reached into his pocket and produced a spoon. His mood flipped tremandously, as he began to play with the spoon. 

Eleven approached, compelled by the sight, “Here it’s yours now.” Seven handed him the spoon, “Fun fact, this body of yours is very good at spoon fighting.” 

“Oh,” The Doctor stashed the spoon inside his pocket, “Thank you, it’s good to know that, very useful indeed.” 

Seven winked, “Very wicked if you ask me.” 

“Wicked indeed,” a new voice announced. The familiar man approached them, “Hello, gents.” 

The Eighth Doctor smiled pleasantly at them, “Doctor,” the two incarnations greeted back. This time, no hostility was in the air between incarnations. 

Eleven, remembering he still had Four’s hat on, took it off and flipped it onto Eight’s head, “Now! You look good in that hat. Especially with that coat of yours.” 

Eight rubbed the brim of his hat and brushed down his long coat “I look good in anything.” 

Seven rubbed at his own hat, and his lips pursed up, “Hats do suit us.” 

Eleven stashed his hands in his pockets and wobbled on his feet, “Honestly, I don’t feel like wearing a hat. Don’t like them.”  

The two predecessors shared an amused smile, “Good for you, already distinguishing yourself.” 

Eight then clapped his hands, “Now for why I’m here. Honestly, not for much, I’m only here to say don’t give up, persevere, take all that we have told you and run with it.” 

Eleven stared at Eight’s smarmy smile owlishly, “That’s all you have to share? You're the longest living one of us all.” 

Eight tugged at his blueish ascot, “What more can I say?” His eyes glimmered with morose humour, “I made mistakes during my time, but I didn’t give up… not fully at least. Or do you want me to talk about how to lose companions or how to lose memories because I’m very good at those.” 

Eleven pursed his lips, “Well, if you say it like that, then no, I guess you don’t have to say much.” 

Eight patted Eleven on the shoulder, “I’m not a teacher. All I can say is, do your best and live long and prosper.” 

He then extended his arm out for his Seventh self, “Let’s go me.” 

Seven quirked a humorous brow at Eight but took the arm nonetheless, “Yes, let’s go me.” 

The two chuckled on their walk to the doors, and Eleven dragged a hand down his face in exasperation, “Have fun meeting the wizard of Oz!” 

Eight smirked at the comment and began to sing, “~We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!~” 

“OH SHUT UP!” Eleven called out, but the two were out of sight already. 

Eleven moved away from the wall and approached the flight console once more, “I do say my mind really is detailed.” The Doctor leaned in to inspect a small indent Ian had caused when they first started travelling. 

The Doctor’s ears perked up as heavy footsteps approached.

“I’m home!” his leathered self swanned into the room. 

“Well, what do you call this hour?” Eleven asked with a stern expression. His Ninth self shrugged his shoulders, “Lost sight of time, was saving the universe like usual.”

Nine stopped on the other end of the console, his hands touching the cold panels, “I like my console room better.” 

Eleven’s face turned grim, “I don’t think she will have it anymore when she gets back,” He nervously rubbed at his ear. “It’s a bit wrecked.” 

Nine shook his head and sighed, “Fantastic! I leave you two one thing, and you break it.” 

Eleven eyes went anywhere but Nine’s face, “Well, our regeneration was a bit… explosive.” 

Nine shot him a pointed glare, “Do it outside next time.” Nine then crossed his leather-covered arms across his chest. 

His face turned grim, “But that’s not what I’m here for.” Eleven nodded, “I assumed as much. Let’s talk.” 

Nine leaned heavily on the console, “The Time War is over. Why are you still fighting it?” 

“You ended it, found new things to care for, stop letting it influence all of your actions.” Nine’s tone turned disappointed. 

Eleven sighed mournfully, “How can I? Every time I close my eyes, I see all of it, the death and the destruction.” 

Nine rubbed at his eyelids, “Keep it behind your eyes, stop letting it run things.” 

Eleven likewise rubbed at his eyelids, “Easier said than done.” Nine scoffed, “I get that I was in your shoes not that long ago.” 

Nine licked his lips, “But spending time with Rose changed all of that. But look what happened the moment she went. You fell right back into it. Embrace the love she gave you, and carry it forth into the future. Find someone who will make you want to live like Rose did.” 

Eleven’s lips curved up at the thought of a certain curly-haired woman, “I already found someone like that.” 

“Good,” Nine commented, “Now live. For yourself, for those we lost and for that little girl out there, she needs a father, be that for her.” 

Nine then turned on his heel as quickly as he’d come, “Oh and get ready for number Ten.” 

Eleven wiped at his eyes; that man was his trauma given shape. If he told him to move on from the Time War, all he could do was listen and give it effort—serious effort. 

While he’d try to do what the others had talked to him about—moving on from the war was priority one. 

“Oh, the roundels! I love the roundels!” 

Eleven froze mid forehead rub; his gaze slowly flicked up—Ten was observing the flight deck with a giddy expression. 

“What are the roundels?” 

“No idea,” Eleven stated, his tone slightly cold. Ten stared at Eleven wide-eyed, “Sorry! How rude of me, hello!” he gave a wave with his left hand.

Eleven heavily pushed down on the console; the manifestation of everything that had gone wrong stood in front of him. Nine may have told him to be prepared, but he couldn’t be. He had been that man only one day prior; everything that had gone wrong recently was when he was him—it left behind a lot of contempt

“Look, Ten. Drop the puppy dog act, if you want to talk, talk.” Ten’s eyebrows shot up, “Rude one, aren’t you?” 

Eleven shook his head in exasperation, “Says you.” 

Ten tilted his head sideways, “True.” he then took a step forward, “As for why I’m here, it's uh a bit… No, let me rephrase that, I’m here to explain why you're talking with us all.” 

Eleven groaned, “Let me guess, it has something to do with our regeneration.” 

“Well,” Ten rubbed at his earlobe, “Sort of. It’s a tiny bit related. Actually, it's tied together. Right, I’ll just get to the point.” 

The Doctor held up a silencing hand, “I’m gonna take a seat for this, I’d rather not fall to the ground when hearing what you have to say.” 

Ten bobbed his head, “Fair.”

Eleven navigated his way back to the wooden chair; it had more use today than it had ever seen when it was actually rea l. He rubbed his hand down his face and then nodded, “Okay.” 

“We sort of developed mild regenerative dissonance.” Ten smiled at him sweetly. Eleven stared ahead, dumbfounded. 

“Let me get this straight,” Eleven pointed to his eyes, “I’m seeing all of you because we have a psychological illness. One that only three out of ten Time Lords develop?” 

“Exactly that, yes.” Ten paced on his feet, face weary at every move the current Doctor made. 

Eleven snapped his fingers and his face lit up, “I’m going to assume that’s because of you.” The Doctor pointed at Ten.

“You, held in your regeneration energy for so long, that our mind suffered because of it? So you being vain made this happen? Am I right?” 

Ten rubbed at his earlobe and squeaked, “Well, I wouldn’t call… it vain, necessarily more so that I didn’t want to die. But otherwise you’re bang on.” 

Eleven laughed incredulously and slapped his knees in humour, “Thank you!” Eleven sprang up from his chair and approached Ten, then poked him in the chest.

“No, actually, thank you.” Eleven waved a hand in front of his face “You opened my eyes, I see it all now, you’re the absolute worst.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say the worst-” he trailed off as Eleven shot him a heated glare. He held his index and thumb slightly apart, “Okay, maybe a tiny bit the worst.” 

Eleven let out a yell in frustration, “Honestly, Doctor! This is why everyone leaves us! We’re so selfish.” 

Ten wanted to retort but got shushed immediately, “Don’t. Just don’t.” 

“Let me tell you, because of YOU! I don’t know who I am anymore.” The Eleventh clasped the Doctor by his sleeve, “Look at me, my face is all wrong! I can’t even look at my reflection for a second without feeling wrong!” 

“All because of your vanity issues, ‘I don’t want to go.’ Boo, Hoo” He fake wiped tears away, then– “YOU DON’T GO! You're still me!” 

Eleven pushed Ten away, “You're always with me, doesn’t matter which face we have.” Eleven snarled at him, “You became too human. Too afraid.” 

“Because of you, I need to earn the right to be called The Doctor again. You tainted our name, even more than HIM.” 

“Whoa! That’s going a bit too far!” Ten yelled furiously and made an X with his arms, “I’m in no way like that man!” 

Eleven took a threatening step forward, “Oh, really? At least he didn’t try stopping fixed points from happening, you DID!” Eleven poked the spiky-haired man harshly, making him snarl. 

“I only wanted to help!” He slammed his hands down on his chest, “I did what we always do! Save people.” 

The Doctor scoffed, “Tell that to Adelaide, to her daughter, to her granddaughter. Did you even think for a second? Don’t respond because we both know you didn’t.” 

Ten stood rooted on the spot, face flashing with anger and sadness, “I apologised, didn’t I! I wrote them a letter explaining how brave she was; her legacy is fixed, the human race still spreads to the stars in the name of Adelaide Brooke!”

“BUT YOU CHANGED THE REASON WHY!” 

“DOESN’T MATTER, IT ONLY MATTERS THAT THEY DO!” 

Eleven laughed and laughed until his face turned blank, “Get out.” 

“What?” Ten asked, confused, his step faltered. 

“I said, get out, leave now, and please don’t show your face for a while… I just can’t deal with you… not now.” 

Ten bit his lip and turned, “If that’s what you want.” He glanced back one more time, “Good luck with rediscovering yourself and for what it matters, I’m sorry.”

The Doctor scoffed, but otherwise didn’t reply.

“Take care, Doctor.” 

The Doctor took a deep breath and then, “AGH!” threw the wooden chair across the room. 

“No more.” The Doctor composed himself and met his reflection head-on, “I’ll earn people’s respect back—earn my name and most importantly of all, I’ll discover why you are familiar to me, and let go of my disgust.” 

A gravelly voice echoed through the room, “Be the Doctor.” 

The Doctor spied the man in the corner of his eye, and then—COUGH, COUGH.

[INT. POND HOUSEHOLD | KITCHEN — EVENING]

“FINALLY YOU'RE AWAKE!”

“Umf!” The Doctor’s hands flayed about “AMELIA NOT THE HUGGING!” 

Amelia jumped off the Doctor’s chest. “Sorry,” she gave him a sheepish smile. 

The Doctor groaned as he slowly sat up, “Why am I wet?” he pulled his hand away from his hair. 

“Uhm.. I can explain.” Amelia slowly backed up. The Doctor shot her a lifted brow, “Do go on, Miss Pond.” 

“YouwereasleepsoIdidn’tknowwhattodosoipouredwateroveryou I’m sorry!” 

The Doctor let an amused smile overcome him. He crossed his arms, “Is that all? I thought you popped a water balloon over my head. You did well, Amelia. Just be careful, I could’ve drowned if it had entered my lungs.” 

Amelia scratched at her cheek, dumbfounded, “You’re not mad?” 

The Doctor pushed the fallen cabinet door away from him with his foot and then approached the redhead, “Why would I be? You were in an unknown situation, you just did what you thought would be best.” 

Amelia huffed, and her nose scrunched up, “That’s not how I thought this would go.” 

The Doctor chuckled and then walked towards the light switch; he flicked the switch—nothing— the man frowned, “That’s not right.” 

His gaze slid back to the Scottish girl, “Amelia, what happened?” 

Amelia shrugged at his question, “I don’t know, the lights went out when you crashed into the cabinet.” 

The Doctor’s brow shot up in realisation, “Oh.” 

Getting forcefully removed from Amelia’s mind had caused an uncontrolled wave of psychic energy, which then overpowered all the energy in the surrounding area. 

SCREECH

The Doctor’s head whipped to the window. He swiftly navigated through the cluttered kitchen to the closest window. 

He flicked open one of the blinds—the sight beyond the window made his face fall. 

“Great! Just what I ordered, UNIT.”