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Time had passed him by but no one had come into the room to check up on him. He did not really mind, since the time had allowed him to process the events in the strange dreamscape. It was not difficult to realise that someone had brought him back in time to witness the death of the clone. But who, the Doctor did not know. The voice had sparked a light of recognition, but little more. For the first time he wondered if he had been right to create a clone, and then to sacrifice it like a pawn on a chessboard. He had passed a lot of his own identity to the clone; he had to for it to convince. When he had borrowed the cloning tanks from the Qux he knew the risk he had been taking, but he did not know quite the effect of having a clone would be. The Doctor looked up at the ceiling, still haunted by the image of himself being burned alive. He knew it was only a clone, but it was sentient, and as far as the clone was concerned it had been the real Doctor. He shook the thoughts from his mind, since that way led only to madness, and returned them to Nick and Alf. The three of them had been through a lot together of late, and after everything they had been through recently, including their unexpected journey to Taureas II, the Doctor had decided that he should give them a good holiday. Once they had returned the “Earth’s Pride” safely back to Alpha Centauri he had intended on taking them both to Florana. That had not came to pass, however, since the “Earth’s Pride” had crashed into this... what was it? A planet, a large asteroid? The Doctor racked his brain but the memory was a little hazy. All he knew was that they had crashed and he had to get back to Nick and Alf. He is out of his body. At least, the Doctor assumes that he is. He can see himself pottering around a complicated looking machine. ’Where am I now?’ he asks out loud. Pay attention and you may learn, Doctor. The Doctor does not like the way the voice talks down to him. Grudgingly, though, he does as he is told. The machine sits in the middle of a vortex of colours. The Doctor recognises the vortex as the dimension beyond the Fifth Wall in his shop back on Alpha Centauri. He does not recognise the machine, however, although he feels that he should. Tubes flow out of the strange machine, snaking across the floor. He follows them with his eyes, but they trail to a place beyond his immediate vision. The Doctor looks at himself, as he turns around. He is given an odd look by... well, by himself. ‘Soon,’ the Doctor that is not him says. The Doctor has no idea what his other self is talking about, and says so. You will, Doctor, you will.
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