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Nick just wasn’t sure what to think. He looked over at the man in the Time Lord robes - a personification of the TARDIS - who was fiddling with controls on the console. The Figure had explained everything to Nick. About how the TARDIS has survived its destruction on Ossobos two years ago. About the Doctor stealing the cloning tanks from the Qux. About how the Doctor had died on Nova Mondas. And worst of all, how Nick and Alf had been travelling through time and space with a clone of the Doctor. Nick looked over at the clone. The rapidly deteriorating figure sat beneath the statue of the Time Lord. It (Nick could not think of the clone as a he) stole a quick glance at Nick, but quickly returned its attention to the floor when Nick just glared back. Seeing that ruined body that looked so like the Doctor caused all kinds of feelings to well up inside of Nick. Feelings he did not know he could possess. ‘Sod it,’ he said aloud. The Figure looked up from his task and watched as Nick stalked over to the clone. He shook his head but Nick ignored it. The Figure returned his attention to the console. Nick shoved the clone with his foot. ‘Why did you lie to me?’ The clone looked up. Nick almost pulled back at the sight, but he held his ground. The right side of the clone’s face was suffering the most. The skin hung like ribbons, revealing the bone underneath. It shook its head. ‘I don’t remember.’ ‘Yeah, right, and I’m supposed to believe that.’ Nick narrowed his eyes. ‘You could have told me. You could have told me you were a copy!’ ‘He didn’t know he was a clone, Nick,’ the Figure called out. Nick glanced back. ‘He? It, you mean!’ He turned back to the clone, his jaw muscles tightening in anger. ‘Bollocks to you!’ he shouted. The clone remained where it was, uncertainty written all over its features. Nick walked away. ‘So why didn’t the Doctor tell me?’ he asked no one in particular. ‘He could have told me when he made contact on Mars! But he didn’t! He just let himself die and allowed this thing to carry on in his place.’ The Figure sighed, but did not look up from the console. ‘He was too busy trying to defeat the Cybermen, Nick. At least he made sure you were okay on Mars before he made his sacrifice.’ ‘HE SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!’ Nick yelled. The three people remained silent as the words echoed around the great hall that used to be the Capitol. A bleeping from the console interrupted the silence. The Figure glanced down at it and smiled. Nick shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. ‘Nice one, Doctor,’ he whispered. ‘You created a clone so you could really screw yourself. Thanks for telling me.’ Head hung low, Nick walked over to the doors leading outside, putting as much distance between himself and the clone as possible. ‘I’ve found it,’ the Figure said, trying to get Nick’s attention. Nick ignored him, so he continued anyway. ‘I have accessed the technology that will restore us.’ He flicked a switch and turned away from the console. Nick slumped onto the floor, his back against the doors, and watched. A small ball of light appeared. It hung in the air and slowly expanded. The Figure smiled, recognising the plasmic shell that was beginning to form. Alf remained in the shadows as she approached the mouth of the tunnel. For a little while the guards had tried to pursue her, but she had had a good head start and was soon out of their reach. She poked her head out and gasped in awe. The Temple before he was huge, and very beautiful. Alf had never seen anything like it in all her travels. At the base of the Temple Vogans were gathered in their hundreds. Alf wondered how she would get to the Temple, for she was sure that inside she would find the Doctor and Nick. A tall opaque box had grown from out of the ball of light. Nick, still sitting by the doors, watched as the Figure walked towards it. His attention was distracted by an image that appeared in the ice-crystals above the console. It showed Alf making her way deeper into the cavern outside. ‘Alf!’ Nick exclaimed and scrambled to his feet. ‘We have to get her...’ His voice tailed off as he realised that the Figure was no longer anywhere to be seen. The tall plasmic box was contorting as if it was trying to find a new shape. Nick rushed over to the console and looked down at all the controls blankly. ‘Damn!’ He turned his attention to the clone. ‘Oi, do you know how to work this thing?’ The clone was pealing skin of its face, showing no sign of having heard Nick. Nick ran over to him and roughly grabbed his clothes. ‘Do you know how to get Alf in here?’ Nick pointed at the image. The clone shook his head. ‘Damn you then!’ Nick rushed back over to the console and rubbed his hands together, preparing himself to make a few random guesses. He was interrupted by a loud thud. He span around. Standing before him, in place of the strange opaque box, was another box. This one was also tall, but it was blue. On top of the roof a light was flashing. There were windows on each of its four sides, as well as small square panels. Nick could not help but smile at the words above the doors. POLICE public call BOX. It was the TARDIS, restored. The doors swung inwards. Nick went to step forward but stopped as he noticed the clone. There was a blank look on the clone’s face. It stood up and walked towards the TARDIS like a puppet being moved by an unseen puppeteer. Nick watched as the clone entered the TARDIS and the doors closed behind it. ‘Hey, what about me?’ He walked over to the TARDIS and banged on the doors, but there was no answer. Nick turned back to the console. ‘Fine, then.’
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