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Alf slowly edged her way around the base of the Temple, doing her best not be to seen by the Vogans. All she wanted to do was find the door and enter. It was not going to be that simple. ‘It’s the alien!’ A voice called out. ‘Stop her!’ Before she even think about where to go Alf was surrounded by more Vogans than she could count. Two Vogans held her arms behind her back. She grunted as they applied pressure. ‘Take it easy. I don’t want any trouble,’ she said. ‘Too late for that.’ Alf recognised that voice. A small gap appeared in the crowd and three Vogans stepped forward. Alf recognised two of them. Judging by his robes, one of them was an Elder, and he looked at her in disgust. The second was Megrig, who looked at her with pity. And the third; Thohum. He looked at Alf with undisguised hatred. She recognised it as the worst kind. Racial hatred. ‘You dare to try and profane the Temple of the Gods? And on the day that the Gods return?’ The racist Vogan stepped away from the Elder and Megrig and struck Alf across the face. ‘You will be sacrificed to appease our Gods.’ He snapped his fingers. ‘Take her!’ The Vogans dragged her away. Alf glanced back at Megrig. ‘Speak to them!’ Megrig averted his eyes and lowered his head in shame. Nick was sweating. He watched the image and saw Alf being dragged away by the Vogans. He wanted to do something, but he was scared to touch the controls. ‘Help me,’ he whispered. ‘Somebody help me.’ ‘Anything you want, Nick, lad.’ Nick turned around. His heart missed a beat. Standing before him, next to the TARDIS, was the Doctor. Dressed in his blue coat and scarf, the Doctor was beaming at Nick. Nick wanted to rush forward and hug him, but then realised the man before him was the clone. The Doctor-clone frowned at the change in Nick’s expression. ‘Oh, Nick, we really do need to sit down and talk. But not right now. Now we must get Alf away from those Vogans.’ He stepped towards the console. ‘Such an intensely xenophobic society,’ he said as his hands worked over the console. ‘A pity, really.’ With a low thumping sound, Alf materialised in the giant hall. She looked around, making sure that there were no Vogans about, then noticed Nick and the clone. She went over to them. ‘Doctor! Man, am I glad to see you.’ Nick took her by the arm to stop her from hugging the clone. ‘He isn’t the Doctor. The Doctor is dead,’ he said, his face dark. Alf did a double take. ‘Huh?’ The Doctor-clone clapped his hands. ‘We’ll discuss this later. Come on.’ He walked over to the TARDIS and threw open the door. ‘All aboard. Time we were getting back to Alpha Centauri. The old girl has been through a lot and needs a proper rest. As do I.’ He looked back at Nick and Alf and ushered them inside. Once they were in he looked around the remains of the Capitol one last time. He staggered backwards and grabbed onto the TARDIS for support. ‘The change hasn’t finished yet,’ he mumbled and entered the police box. The door closed behind him. For a few moments the inside of the Temple was silent, but that silence was soon disturbed by a loud wheezing and groaning sound as the TARDIS faded from sight. The mirror in the center of the wooden console stops spinning, the grinding sound of the ship's engines fading into the background. Nick and Alf looked around uncertainly. It had been a long time since Nick had last stepped into the TARDIS, but he remembered enough to know that it had not sounded so... wounded. He also did not remember the console room being wooden. The walls, the console, everything was made of a dark wood. 'Are you sure about this? Doesn't sound like the TARDIS can get us anywhere, let alone back to Alpha Centauri.' The Doctor-clone looked up from the console, sweat forming on his forehead. He looked almost as bad as the TARDIS sounded. 'Trust not to... erm, well, to how things sound, Nick. One short-hop is the best she can manage.' He coughed and staggered. Alf reached out but he gripped the side of the console for support. 'I'll be fine,' he said as he registered the look of concern on Alf’s face. 'I'll be hunky dory, I just need a bit of a rest.' The Doctor-clone walked around the console, his hands never leaving it. It was almost as if he was drawing strength by being in physical contact with the TARDIS. He pulled open a flap in the console and pressed a red button. 'Go outside, and you'll see where we are.' Nick narrowed his eyes, suddenly feeling very uncertain about the Doctor. Only it isn't the Doctor, is it? Just a fake! Nick turned away. Alf shook her head. She had no idea what was going on between Nick and the Doctor, but she intended to find out. Later. She took the initiative and stepped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor-clone watched her go with a smile, but the smile soon faded when he noticed Nick staring at him with a dark look. 'Nick...' he began. 'What?' Nick snapped. 'What do want me to think? My best friend is dead and I've been travelling around with an impostor all this time!' He walked up to the big man and poked him in the chest. 'You're a pissing phoney!' The Doctor-clone nodded sadly. 'Yes, I know.' He sighed. 'I understand exactly how you feel, Nick. I feel the same way.' 'Bollocks do you!' Nick turned and stormed out of the TARDIS. He didn't know what he would find outside, but anything was better than being in the same room as the clone. The Doctor-clone coughed again and pressed the red button. The interface between the interior of the TARDIS and its out plasmic shell was terminated. Nick came to a full stop upon stepping out of the police box. He looked around, and smiled. There was something very comforting about being back inside the old curio shop on Alpha Centauri. At the far end of the shop, by the doorway in the fifth wall that led to the impossible upstairs, stood Alf and someone else. ’Enalc!’ Nick exclaimed, and rushed over to the old shop manager. ‘Nick, it is very good to see you again.’ EnalcKarnip embraced the young man. Alf looked at them, smiling. She still wanted to know what was going on between the Doctor and Nick, but it seemed to her that Nick was not in the mood to talk about it. She glanced over at the TARDIS, standing as it was in between the counter and the door that led outside. If Nick would not talk, then there was one man who would. She walked over to the police box and pushed on the door, with every intention of just stepping back inside. But the door did not move. She pushed harder. 'Oi!' she shouted at the TARDIS. 'Doctor!' Nick came over to her side. 'What's going on?' Alf shrugged. 'No idea. He's locked us out, though.' They turned to EnalcKarnip who had quietly joined them. He smiled softly. ‘The Doctor needs to be alone. He is undergoing a great change, and only the TARDIS can help him.’ The Doctor-clone watched his three friends on the scanner for a few moments longer, and then deactivated it. Nick was hurt, but he had Alf to help him. EnalcKarnip would keep on an eye on both of them. At least that was something the Doctor-clone did not need to worry about. He looked around the console room. The Doctor-clone let out a sudden gasp and dropped to his knees. For a moment he remained like that, kneeling before the console. He opened his mouth to take a breath, but none came. Without warning he slumped to the ground. For a while his body lay there in the bright light of the console room. Slowly the light dimmed until all that remained was the soft glow coming from behind the stained glass roundels. The steady background hum faded into nothingness. A soft light from the console cast a shadow throughout the console room, as if the TARDIS was unwilling to shut itself off to the Doctor. A guardian angel keeping watch. Regular breaths coming from the Doctor's unconscious body echoed around the six walls. And then the light from the roundels dimmed. Despite its best efforts the TARDIS was unable to continue its vigil. Blackness.
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