The Orphan in the TARDIS

Chapter Twenty-Two

The voice of the Queen cuts through the trees, and the Time Lord once again takes off running toward it. They come across lying on the ground. The Gallifreyan takes her hand in his, as she demands, "That thing. Explain what it is. What does it want of us?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. Probably just your planet."

"Great, our planet, so not much then," Sophie grumbles, turning away from the two, only to find a second Elizabeth staring at her.

"Doctor. Step away from her, Doctor. That's not me. That's the creature," the new Queen says

The first Elizabeth glares at her, "How is that possible? She's me. Doctor, she's me!"

The Time Lord looks to Sophie, violently shaking his machine.

"I am indeed me," the second Queen plows on, "A compliment that cannot be extended to yourself."

"Extraordinary. The creature has captured my exact likeness. This is exceptional."

As the back and forth continues, Sophie moves her head between the two. As one speaks, her head goes to that Elizabeth, trying to decide which is real.

"Exceptional? A Queen would call it impertinent."

"A Queen would feel compelled to admire the skill of the execution, before arranging one."

The Doctor smacks his palm against the device, looking distraught, "It's not working."

"One might surmise that the creature would learn quickly to protect itself from any simple means of detection," the first Elizabeth states.

"Clearly you understand the creature better than I. But then, you have the advantage," the second one retorts.

In the air above the four of them, a large vortex appears. "Holy, sh*t," Sophie shouts, jumping back in shock.

The Doctor's eyes widen, "Language!" he states, while forcing both Queen's behind him.

"Shut up, you turniphead."

Rolling his eyes, the Time Lord plows on, "That's a time fissure. A tear in the fabric of reality. Anything could happen."

The vortex expands, and an object flies out, landing at the converse-clad feet of the alien. Cocking an eyebrow, he picks up the dome, "For instance, a fez."

Sophie sits down on the ground, crossing her legs over each other, simply leaning against a tree. Following the fez from the vortex in the sky is a lanky man in a purple, tweed, frock coat.

The man lands flat on his face, Sophie rolling her eyes, mumbling, "There's the other clotpole."

"Oof!" the new figure grunts, forcing himself to stand up.

The Doctor grabs the fez from the ground, placing onto his sticky-uppy hair.

"Who is this man?" one of the Elizabeth's asks the Time Lord.

"That's just what I was wondering," he states, purposefully.

"Oh, that is skinny," the tweed-clad Doctor says, standing up. He turns to the side, measuring the comparison of their waists, "That is proper skinny. I've never seen it from the outside. It's like a special effect." Reaching over, he knocks the fez from the pin-striped Doctor's head, "Oi! Ha! Matchstick man."

"You're not."

"He is," Sophie groans, climbing back to her feet. "What's up, Doc's?"

Choosing to ignore her, both Gallifreyan's reach into their inner pockets, pulling their screwdrivers out. Noticing that the newcomers is larger than his, the pinstripe Doctor smirks. "Compensating."