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A day had passed since Sara was confined to the stasis field, still unable to move as she found herself dwelling on her thoughts in order to keep herself sane. She tried to find reassurance from her dream of the eleventh regeneration that she wouldn't be forced to endure the presence of the Time Lord Victorious indefinitely. Even if he became the Doctor again, could I ever trust him? Sara wasn't sure and she found herself often closing her eyes, praying for a miracle. A way out of this horrible situation into the once normal life she had before he abducted her.

It was during this time, confined as she was, that the TARDIS shuddered around her, the floor seemed to pitch violently as medical tools clattered to the floor. The only thing that kept her prone was the stasis field but she felt a renewed sense of terror. What's happening? Whatever was happening, she could feel the time machine falling beneath her and she heard a crash while all the lights went dark.

She was suddenly free from the wretched stasis field and she immediately bounded off the table, yanking the IVs out of her skin as she struggled to find the console room. A few minutes later proved successful and she was briefly pleased to find the Doctor dazed and nearly unconscious on the floor. Her pleasure grew immensely to see that the door having lost power had swung open.

It's just like that time when the Doctor, Rose and Mickey were stranded in another dimension. It made complete sense and if that was the case, she could be in a reality where aliens were once again relegated to fictional concepts. She could ultimately disappear and that thought filled her with hope. First things first. Sara leaned over and wrenched the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. He couldn't track her without it and his TARDIS had no power for the next twenty-four hours at least to complete the task. In addition, she could likely figure out the simple functions as to how get cash out of an ATM so she could survive.

He let out a stiff groan as he attempted to reach for her and she back-pedaled. "No," she told him. "No more, have fun getting home," she said sarcastically before she immediately turned and ran out the door.

With those words, she fled out of the TARDIS hearing the Doctor call out her name in anger. She was alleviated to once again smell the outdoor air and see the sky above her, its color of blue a slightly different shade then the one she was accustomed to seeing in his dimension. "I'm really free," she told herself as she continued to leave distance from the TARDIS. The town of which she was in wasn't familiar but that didn't perturb her at the moment as she examined the screwdriver attempting to garner its many functions while she jogged down the sidewalk.

This task was so fervently occupying her that she wasn't paying attention, finding herself crashing into another young woman a few years her junior. The sonic fell out of Sara's grasp onto the ground as the other girl looked at her in surprise. No, she was looking at the tool Sara dropped, her eyes focusing on it rather intensely before looking back at Sara.

"A-are you part of the apparition t-too?" The girl asked her.

"Apparition?" Sara asked startled.

"Well, the D-Doctor's not real...which makes that not real either." She pointed at the device that Sara was picking up. "I think that's his sc-screwdriver. I dreamed he k-kidnapped me from the hospital and held me onboard the TA-TARDIS, but I think I'm waking up now, since-"

"The Doctor kidnapped you?" Sara looked around in panic. Did she just go into another dimension only to meet another version of the Doctor? Her stomach clenched at the possibility. This did not bode well for her as she took a closer look at the girl. Maybe she escaped this Doctor as well and was trying to reconcile what she endured within her mind to that of a fantasy. Sara couldn't particularly blame her for that since she had spent a considerable effort trying to wake herself from the nightmare she was in.

"Well, I dreamt it, but-but now I'm here. Wh-where is here anyway? Are you j-just an illusion too?" The girl asked.

"Believe me, I wish I was. I would have liked to have it all be a dream too." She focused on this younger woman. "I came from a place where the Doctor was fiction. Are you from a reality like that? It was all a TV show?"

The girl glanced up at her. "Yes, it was fiction and then the light a-ate me. The psychiatrists told me it wasn't r-real, so I tried to write it all down, to make it real...Then he came for me."

"The light? You fell through a crack? Do you remember cracks?" Sara prompted. Could this be another survivor of her universe? If so, she couldn't just abandon her especially not in the state she was in. What did the Doctor here do to her?

"Cracks in the tree." The girl paused narrowing her eyes on Sara. "You...you came the same way?"

"I think we're from the same place." Sara told her. "I promise you, I'm real. It was a TV show, Doctor Who, all fiction where we were from. My name is Sara."

Some clarity started to appear in the other girl's brown eyes. "You're real but that…" She pointed at the screwdriver.

Sara shook her head. "Unfortunately, what was fiction to us has become reality here. I don't think you dreamed the Doctor kidnapping you," she said. "If it was a dream, wouldn't you wake up back at the hospital?" Sara bit her lip, noticing the Welsh on some of the street signs around her. "I don't think you would be in Wales."

"W-Wales? I'm in Wales?" The girl was starting to panic but Sara took her arm leading them to an obscured row of tables in the shade.

"We can work it out." Sara tried to express reassurance as she still looked around nervously. "What's your name?"

"Penelope Elaine Carter, but-but I usually like to be called Penny, only he uses my full name." The girl was clenching her hands in anxiety.

"Okay, Penny, do you know if the TARDIS you came from is close by?" Sara asked.

"N-no, I just woke up and was here." Penny seemed skeptical. "Are you sure we d-didn't just have the same dream? Maybe...maybe we should try to find the hospital."

"The only one that needs a hospital is him." Penny glanced up at her and Sara sighed. "The two of us can leave, make a fresh start. No time traveling, no crazy Doctors-"

"Oi! I heard that," a familiar voice resonated from behind her and Sara turned to see the Doctor only a few feet away, his sonic in one hand, as he seemed to evaluate her with steadfast eyes. Immediately, she started to back away in panic.

"Didn't have to scare her like that, Space-man." Donna had approached, coming up to his side as she looked at Penny. "Sweetheart, you had us really worried."

"Th-they're actually real?" Penny asked Sara. "It-it wasn't just in my head?"

"Believe me, I wish it was." Sara grit her teeth, clenching the sonic tightly. The Doctor often brandished it like a weapon on the show. Could she bluff and make him think she knew how to use it?

"Artron readings from her are nearly off the scale." He seemed to be saying this to himself before glancing at Sara registering her sudden anxiety. "It's alright. We can work this out if-"

"No!" Sara felt threatened as he made to get closer and the memory of being strapped to a bed surged through her mind. "I'm not going to be pinned down on a lab table again! Not going to be locked in a room again because you said I don't get a second chance." Immediately, she raised the sonic with a shaking hand, threatening them both with it. "I already got away from one sociopath. You think I'm afraid of another?" Her heart was beating frantically as she glanced back at Penny who managed to get to her feet. "Stay away from us! I know how to use it!"

I was startled to find myself out in the open, not in the TARDIS hallway as I had originally been. I looked around with a strong sense of confusion. How did I get here? Did I simply fall asleep? But that wouldn't explain where I was. I searched the area around me for the familiar sign of the tall, blue police public call box, but saw no trace of it. Stumped, I continued to survey the area befuddled by my predicament.

I was all alone; there were only strangers here and no TARDIS, Doctor, or Donna.

Did I merely imagine the whole thing? Possible, I mean, I was only going to be there temporally in the first place. I even told them as much. I concluded I must have reached the end of my delusion, the same way as all my visions finished, but that still didn't explain where I was.

Maybe I proceeded here while I was in a trance? Is sleepwalking even possible when you weren't asleep in the first place? With my luck, I wouldn't be surprised. Either way, however, I needed to go back to the hospital; I needed to call for someone to retrieve me. I didn't have a phone, so I needed to borrow one from a stranger.

I spotted what appeared to be a convenience store. Surely they would allow me to call my psychiatrists, wouldn't they? No doubt they would help me through this particularly difficult situation? Regardless, I needed to make the attempt.

Just as I was making my way to that location, I ran directly into another young woman. I initially thought she was just an extension of the delusion, an appearance of another apparition, but she swore to me she wasn't. I didn't recognize her from 'Doctor Who,' so I was inclined to believe her, even if she did have a sonic screwdriver in her possession.

She led me away to a nearby café and assured me in a comforting tone that I didn't go crazy, that the Doctor was from a TV show and not just something that I conjured up. I liked her, she seemed to know what was happening and appeared to be so organized. She knew how to proceed, what questions to ask and consider. She seemed to know exactly what was occurring and she reminded me a bit of Donna.

But then she asked me about the TARDIS and I felt the smallest bit of doubt. "A-are you sure we d-didn't just have the same dream? M-maybe we should try to find the hospital."

"The only one that needs a hospital is him," she said vehemently, obviously upset with the Doctor. I frowned at her and she sighed, calming herself down slightly. "The two of us can leave, make a fresh start. No time traveling, no crazy Doctors-"

"Oi, I heard that!" I looked behind the woman to see the Doctor fast approaching with his sonic pointed right at us. The woman, Sara, her name was Sara, scrambled out of her chair, looking distinctly alarmed. Donna was quick to appear behind him and I could already feel myself relax, even though I was befuddled by their appearance.

"Didn't have to scare her like that, Space-man," Donna scolded him as she came up to his side. She turned to look at me, gently reprimanding, "Sweetheart, you had us really worried."

"Th-they're actually real?" I asked Sara instead, unwilling to face Donna yet, feeling a bit of guilt and shame for leaving, even if I didn't remember doing it in the first place. "It-it wasn't just in my head?"

"Believe me, I wish it was," Sara muttered, never taking her eyes off of the Doctor, as if he was a dangerous animal that would strike at the slightest hint of weakness.

"It's alright," the Doctor said in a placating manner, trying to calm her down. "We can work this out if-"

"No!" She cried, startling me into rising from my seat. She sounded so scared, why was she so frightened? He was only the Doctor, wasn't he supposed to be good? "I'm not going to be pinned down on a lab table again! Not going to be locked in a room again because you said I don't get a second chance!" I looked at the Doctor horrified, wondering whether he would he really do that. Would he really trap someone inside his TARDIS in that manner? No, he wouldn't, he would never-

I don't want to trap you in the TARDIS, but if it will ensure your safety, I will.

He would. He would do it if he thought it was best option. This Doctor wasn't safe anymore; he would lock us in the time machine especially since I disobeyed his rule, one of only three he gave me.

…You have free rein of the TARDIS. Only rules are that you can't leave it, don't touch the console, and you have to return to the sickbay to receive your medicine.

No second chances, I'm that kind of man.

We couldn't stay here, we had to run, and we had to flee as if our lives depended on it. He wouldn't kill us, no, but there are fates worse than death, if Sara's terror was any indicator. I grabbed her hand and suddenly pulled her inside the café at a dead sprint. We weaved through the tables and ran through the 'employees only' section of the café. "Hey!" Called an angry voice, but in my rush, I couldn't tell who it belonged to and I didn't dare stop to see who it was. Through the kitchen and out the back door into an alley way that split up into several different sections like a maze.

Running side-by-side, we turned various directions, getting thoroughly lost and reaching a dead end. "No," I said despairingly. "No." There was no way out, none that I could fathom.

Behind me I heard something rattle and turned to see Sara pull the lowered fire escape ladder. "We're not beat yet," she grunted, yanking it down completely. "Come on, hurry up before he catches us." She started her ascent, motioning for me to follow with a jerk of her head. I worriedly glanced back the way we came before hurrying to join her on the climb.

I grimaced at the disgusting feeling that the rusted and slimy metal ladder left, but kept my complaints to myself, quickly scrambling up the rungs to clamber onto the walkway that was at least twenty feet off the ground. Sara instantly moved to pull the ladder back up the moment my feet touched solid ground, and with my help, we were soon flying up the stairwell as quietly as we could muster to the roof.

"Wh-what are we doing?" I asked with no little apprehension.

Sara glanced at me briefly before looking at the alley below her directly over the ledge. "Hiding. As soon as the Doctor doubles back to find a way to enter this building, we're leaving."

"Do you think we can make the jump?" I asked anxiously, eying the distance between this building and the next one.

"We won't have to," Sara muttered.

"What do you mean? We can't just go b-back the way we came, can we?"

"Look the other way," Sara whispered, pointing the other direction. "See? The building there connected with this one. It's just not as tall. We'll have to jump down and go from there."

"…'Kay," I said hesitantly. "But why not n-now? Why not just lose the Doctor and Donna, make more d-distance?"

"Because he'd just follow my signal and he'll figure it out if we did that. I know him; he won't leave anything to chance. I'll bet he'll have Donna stand watch around here to make sure we don't try to backtrack. He'll have to find another way inside the building and reach us that way. That will buy us time."

"But won't Donna see us?"

"Too high up and if we go far enough to the left, the building will provide us with some cover, just got to be quiet." I made to ask another question, but Sara silenced me. "Shh, here they come."

Faintly, I could hear the sound of people running in our direction. From around the corner emerged the Doctor and Donna, sprinting down the alley with his sonic screwdriver in hand leading the search. Sara and I ducked down, hiding behind the small lip of the wall for cover.

"What?" The Doctor voice rose incredulously. "What?!"

"They're gone!"

"What?!" The Doctor sputtered, unable to say much else. The sound of the sonic whirling could be heard. "They just…what? …How did they…?" There was a couple of taps.

"That ladder's too high up, Space-man. If a tall, skinny alien-boy like you can't reach it, they most certainly couldn't," Donna deadpanned.

"Probably already did and just pulled it up out of reach," the Doctor countered.

"Where are they anyhow?"

"…Inside this building or on the roof, either way, they're not moving right now," the Doctor huffed. "Donna, I'm going to need you to come here."

"What for?"

"I'm going to give you a boost up."

"I don't know if I'll be able to reach it…" Sara and I looked at each other in alarm. I jerked my head towards the opposite side the building and my new friend nodded slowly. Quiet as church mice, we scurried over and started to clamber over the side. I peered over the edge and bit my lip in anxiety.

This would not be pretty.

Bracing myself and giving Sara an encouraging smile that she returned, I let go. The fall was short and the jarring impact wasn't as bad as I anticipated. My ankles tingled briefly but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Looking back up at Sara, I gave her the all clear.

"Go," she mouthed, gesturing towards the other side of the building where another fire escape peeked out. I waited until I saw her climbing over the side of the wall in preparation to drop before I followed her orders, jogging as noiselessly as possible to our newest route of escape.

I saw her land as I climbed on the metal walkway. I gave her a thumbs up and started climbing down. I noticed that the alley opened to a road where there were crowds milling about, which provided the perfect camouflage. Grinning, I hopped off the last rung and walked over to the street, peering out to make certain the way was clear.

"Got you, Sa- Oh, my mistake," a voice said, at first grabbing my shoulder before then releasing it. I looked up in alarm to see the Doctor.

"N-no," I gasped, pushing him away. "Just-just get away from me, Doctor!" I shoved by him and ran out into the crowd, heart beating frantically. I heard him give pursuit and glancing behind me; I could see Sara watching in horror from her spot on the roof before the crowd obscured my view.

The chase was on.

Sara had just managed to reach the fire escape, only to be stunned to see the Doctor lying in wait, firmly grasping Penny's shoulder. How did he get there so fast? If Time Lords could move at lightening speeds, how was she able to outrun the Doctor before? The concept to her seemed grim and she frantically searched her mind for a solution. Then she heard him speak.

"Got you, Sa-" He had taken a closer look at Penny and then automatically relinquished her. "Oh, my mistake," he said flatly glancing around and Sara knew he was looking for her. Penny won't know about him. She'll-

"N-no!" She watched as Penny instantly shoved him away from her, catching him off guard. "Just-just get away from me, Doctor!" She pushed by him and ran as Sara watched horrified while her Doctor gave Penny a calculating stare she deemed all too familiar. He started to give chase while Penny gave her one fleeting glance before disappearing into a crowd of tourists with him swiftly in pursuit.

She pushed herself from the ledge of the building, heading over to the side, alleviated to find another roof several feet below her. The jump would no doubt be a bit jarring, but all she had to do was steady herself to brace for the impact. It would give her better proximity to determine Penny's direction. He was practically unconscious and I stole his screwdriver. How did he-?

"Wait, stop," a voice commanded behind her and Sara turned, feeling her panic starting to overwhelm her. The Doctor was behind her and she shook her head frantically. Was it the Time Lord Victorious? But she had just watched him pursue Penny, so how could he have gotten back on the roof so fast?

"Just leave me alone!" She told him fiercely.

"We can work this out." His voice was calm and compelling while he appeared to be attempting to make eye contact. "It's alright, why don't we just talk?" He offered her a disarming smile.

What the hell is this? "Talk? You strapped me to a bed for two days, weren't so interested then. What did you do to Penny?" She demanded.

"Strapped you to a bed?" The Doctor repeated in shock. Indeed, he had picked up the tear in reality on his TARDIS and could feel the presence of the second time machine within his mind almost as readily as he could determine his own. What equally fascinated him, was the girl seemed to emit the same biosignature as Penelope, which meant the two could be the remaining survivors of the same dimension. It was impossible to verify without doing a thorough scan on the newcomer and she didn't seem likely to give consent. If his duplicate had tormented her in the way she accused, then the Doctor felt justified in relieving him of his custody over her.

The girl was backing away, preparing to jump. If he could just establish eye contact with her, he could compel a trance as he was forced to do with Penelope. Of course, he detested the option, but in the state she was in, she appeared utterly terrified and was clearly a danger to herself. It seemed like the only conceivable option at the moment, but she looked reluctant to meet his gaze.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he tried. "The Doctor you came with, we're not the same-"

"Oh, don't give me that," she snarled. "Donna is still with you and I know how your path ends. You'll be no better then him." She swallowed. "I warned him too. He didn't listen, so-"

"You're precognitive?" The Doctor asked and she looked back at him stubbornly, albeit without looking him directly in the eye. "Why don't we start with your name?"

"Just stay away from me!" She retaliated before she stepped off the ledge.

"No-!" He protested running to the edge, certain he had witnessed the girl's demise, only to see that she navigated the jump onto a building several feet beneath her that was out of his line of sight. The Doctor sighed, shoving his hands into his coat pockets as he observed the direction of which she ran before he backtracked. He already knew a detour, which, with all luck, would help him to locate Penelope as well.

Sara had navigated down another fire escape and sprinted amidst the crowds near the railing overlooking the water. How do I find her? The only other survivor of her dimension and she lost sight of her already. Then she saw the Doctor already on the ground, rapidly surveying the crowd and she could tell by his singularly cold expression it was the Time Lord Victorious. She took a deep breath, stepping backwards, nearly tripping over some loose, lead piping on the ground. It gave her an idea, although a risky proposition, but what choice did she have? She couldn't let Penny fall into his hands, and Sara knew that whatever slip the other girl had given him would only be temporary.

She seized one of the pipes and started to advance from behind him, keeping her movements furtive, and at the last moment, when he turned in her direction, it was too late. The pipe made contact with his head and he collapsed at her feet as onlookers stared in her direction. "Let's see how you like being knocked out," she hurled at him in anger as the crowds looked at her with surprise. "He, well, he mugged me," she started in her attempt to pacify them and they looked sympathetic.

"Should call the police," someone advised.

"Right, good idea." She swallowed. "I'll just go find a phone." She was backing away, when she felt a hand on her arm. Sara turned startled, already brandishing the lead pipe in preparation. She let out a sigh of relief seeing Penny right before her who flinched in reaction to Sara's makeshift weapon. "Oh, thank God," Sara said, lowering the pipe. "I'm sorry, I thought you were the other one." She was referring directly to the Doctor she encountered on the roof.

"You actually hit him, hit the Doctor," Penny observed in wonder. "I m-managed to hide, but he was getting so close…" Her voice trailed off.

"He wasn't the same one that took you," Sara told her. "But believe me, he's far worse. We have to get away." She grabbed the other girl's hand pulling her along, knowing if she was going to survive this dimension, she needed ready access to cash. She needed to determine which setting on the sonic would provide that and made haste to a local ATM she spotted.

"What are you doing?" Penny asked looking befuddled as Sara tried one setting after another discreetly on the machine.

"We need cash to get out of town. They can track us, but if we run far enough, the signal should fade." That was Sara's hope anyway as she kept pressing the button, hoping with each new setting, it would be the right one. She was starting to get frustrated when the ATM clicked and whirled to life in front of her, and for the first time in weeks, Sara smiled when she saw the cash being dispensed. Removing the pounds, she stuffed them into her pocket, making a mental note of the setting she used.

"But-but Sara, what about our v-void matter? Won't he-" Penny started to ask.

"Sara," the Doctor's voice said from behind them and Sara turned in panic. "I like it, a good, strong name. Mind you, one of favorite companions was also called Sarah, Sarah Jane." She glanced at Penny who looked at her in fear. "Oh, now, Penelope, I know this is scary, but I need you to listen to me," he tried. "Please, just trust me and-"

"You-you kidnapped me," Penny murmured, looking down at the Doctor's shoes as she backed away. "You f-forced me into that fog in the hospital...I-I was so scared." She glanced towards Sara. "Why would he do that to me?"

Sara realized that Penny finally admitting that the Doctor was real brought with it the ramifications that the girl realized her kidnapping and confinement on the TARDIS was a disturbing actuality. She took Penny's hand, attempting to pull her in a different direction, only to be faced with Donna closing in next to her. "So, you're helping to imprison her?" Sara asked her point blank. "What would your 'gramps' think about that?" She was referring directly to Wilfred Mott.

Donna let out a gasp. "How did you know-"

The Doctor was quick to cut her off, "I brought Penelope onboard the TARDIS to ensure her safety as I would like to do for you." He looked directly at Sara, who shook her head fervently. "I promise, I'll protect you, but you need to give me a chance."

"Why?" She demanded. "He never gave me one." She paused. "But you would know all about that, you and your 'no second chances.'"

"Sara, I can help, I give you my word. Just look at me, you can trust me." His tone was compelling and Penny felt alarmed at his words. Surely, he wouldn't try to do it again, but she swallowed seeing the Doctor's relentless gaze upon Sara, knowing, indeed, he would. "I know you're scared, and after what you told me, I don't blame you, but can you be strong enough and just look at me for a bit?" His tone was casual, but he was using the power of his words to engage eye contact with the girl. In her state, she wasn't likely to accompany him to the TARDIS willingly.

The pull of his words were hard to ignore and Sara felt herself compelled as she started to look him straight in the eye. What am I doing? I can't-

"Yes, just like that," the Doctor affirmed. "Sara-"

"N-no!" Penny protested, pulling on her new friend's arm and Sara startled, breaking free of his gaze. "Don't look at his eyes, th-that's how he got me." She warned as Sara met Penny's eyes in realization.

Immediately she turned, clutching the girl's hand and started to run only to crash into another figure that had been advancing on her. She shrieked in protest as the Time Lord Victorious ripped her away from Penny. "Didn't I tell you not to wander off?" He posed sarcastically, pulling her forward, instantly pressing his fingers to her temples.

"No, stop!" Penny protested as she ran to assist, only to feel the Doctor, her Doctor, grip her arm, while shuttling her back in Donna's grasp.

"Let go of her," he ordered his counterpart in a dangerous tone, feeling sickened at the display he just witnessed. Sara had already collapsed, been rendered unconscious, and the Doctor inhaled, meeting the other Doctor's eyes as anger surged through him.

"Not really your business, is it?" The Time Lord Victorious retorted icily.

"My dimension," the Doctor told him. "My business." At that moment, Penny managed to break free from Donna's grasp, instinctively running and shoving the Time Lord Victorious so hard, he lost his grasp on Sara as she fell to the ground. "Penelope!" She heard her Doctor cry out behind her.

Sara simply lay there, unmoving and I fell to my knees next to her. "S-sara? Sara?" I asked her worriedly, gently propping her up. "P-please, please w-w-wake up."

"You need to get away from him," my Doctor said lowly, never taking his eyes off the Other Doctor who, I realized with a shiver, was standing directly behind me. I could feel his gaze but didn't dare look up to meet it.

"N-not w-without S-s-sara," I answered shakily, my stutter becoming far more pronounced in my fear. I could hardly form the words. The Other Doctor's leg brushed against my back and I let out a small whimper, hugging Sara closer to me. She tried to protect me from my Doctor, now it was my turn to return the favor. She was all I had of home; I wasn't so alone anymore, not with her here too.

"My property," the Other Doctor countered darkly. "My business." A pause. "You already seem to have your hands full with this one." A hand landed on my arm. "It shouldn't be too hard to fix."

"No, don't you dare, Space-man," Donna shouted, sounding angry beyond belief. "Don't you touch 'er."

I could feel the hand twitch reflexively, almost jerking away, but it remained where it was. "This hardly concerns you, Donna Noble," came his withering voice. "Not when it comes to them."

"Oh, come off it, neither of them would harm a fly, you-"

"Donna, now is not the time. You're talking to a dimensional duplicate." my Doctor warned. "One that doesn't appear to have any morale left."

"Like you're one to talk, using primitive human antipsychotic drugs to subdue your ward and didn't even offer a chance before imprisonment on the TARDIS."

"That was different," the Doctor standing next to Donna refuted. "I only did it for her own prote-"

"And you think I wasn't? Sara has made repeated attempts on her life, something I've been trying to preserve."

"Strapping them to a bed seems a bit extreme, doesn't it?"

"So does addling their senses."

"…I've forgotten just how dark I could be," my Doctor finally muttered.

"And I forgotten how weak-minded I used to be," the Doctor next to me said disdainfully.

"Let them go, Doctor, I won't ask you again."

"Why should I if you can't even keep your own under control?"

"Because unlike you, I'm not unfit." A pause. "Look, we're drawing in a crowd, let's just discuss this. You're out numbered and already took a blow to your head, don't deny it. You can't run with both girls and Penelope doesn't look like she's going to let go anytime soon. Come with me, we can work this out."

"He won't listen," Sara's voice piped up. "He never does, why do you even bother?" She was awake now but barely, looking disorientated and scared. That made two of us.

"Because he's my dimensional duplicate and therefore my responsibility. I can't let just let him go free." He replied.

Sara's Doctor let out a hollow laugh, "Look at you, thinking you have any control over me, but no, the rules of time are finally mine and they will obey me." An undercurrent of scarcely concealed anger entered into his voice. "Everything will be made to obey me."

"This is who I might become?" My Doctor asked. "You disgust me."

"No," Sara said, shaking her head. "This is what happens because I arrived, this is why it's dangerous to have people who know the future. Penny and I," she swallowed hard, avoiding my worried gaze. "Our world is gone. I would have killed myself too, tried already. He's kept me under lock and key since."

"You had your chance," her Doctor informed her.

"You should have let me die!" Sara retaliated.

"I can't do that, you know as well as I do that I won't allow it."

"It's not your choice to make," she cried.

"Speaking of choices, Doctor, make yours before I do it for you. We're running out of time," my Doctor interjected suddenly. "It looks like the authorities have been called."

Too late. The police were approaching the group, looking unduly suspicious since Sara still wasn't able to get to her feet. "We had reports of an assault and a mugging." The officer eyed the two Doctors suspiciously before turning to Sara. "Witnesses reported you were rendered unconscious by one of these men. Is that the case?"

Her Doctor's face was darkening at the accusation while glaring at Sara in resolute warning. The other Doctor was starting to open his mouth but Sara saw her chance and quickly cut him off. "Yes, that's exactly what happened," she said before looking at the other Doctor in disdain, remembering that he attempted to use telepathy against her will. "And he tried to kidnap me."

"That's not true," Penny's Doctor attempted to retort. "She-"

"Oh yeah?" Sara challenged. "You chased me up on the roof and cornered me on the ledge for the fun of it? You were going to knock me out before, so don't even deny it." She pointed to Penny. "She only barely saved me from that."

"Working together," the officer deducted, concluding they were identical twins apparently using their extreme similarities to cause this disturbance by abducting tourists. "You're both under arrest," he said while immediately other police joined him, seizing the two Doctors who protested vehemently in response. "I'll need the two of you to come and make a report," he told Sara and Penny. Donna appeared stunned by the turn of events but Sara managed to push herself to her feet, glancing at Penny.

"We'll be right behind you," she told him, having no intent on keeping her word. Other witnesses were being rounded up to make a statement about the event and Sara knew that she could effect a disappearance in this crowd. They were starting to depart and Sara looked at Penny who also appeared in shock by what just took place.

They had taken two steps when Donna gripped Sara's arm as she yanked it away in response. "Are you out of your bloody mind?" Donna protested. "He did nothing to you and-"

"Nothing?" Sara repeated, glancing at Penny. "He tried to use telepathy on me against my will." She was gritting her teeth. "I know that's exactly what he did to Penny. I told them the truth, I'm not going to let what happened to me happen to her."

"He was trying to help you. We rescued Penny from that hospital and-"

"Oh, I see, a rescue," Sara said before turning to Penny. "Tell me what happened when they came to collect you at the hospital." Penny met her gaze uncertainly. "Please, we don't have to be locked up anymore. Do you want to spend the rest of your life confined in the TARDIS?"

Penny shuddered and seemed to reach a decision. "He-he chased me down the hallway. I tried to hide under my bed, b-but they found me and…" Penny swallowed. "He asked m-me to look him in the eyes and-and I lost all control of my body." The girl started to tremble, remembering her terror as her silent plea, when she asked the Doctor why he was doing this to her, fell into the abyss. "I-the fog, I couldn't move in the fog."

Sara looked at Donna, shaking her head. "Hardly sounds like a rescue, does it?" With that last remark, she took Penny's hand and departed past the woman who looked affronted.

"Wh-where are we going?" Penny whispered. "The police-"

"Have quite a bit on their hands," Sara concluded while hailing a taxi, climbing inside. "The train station," She ordered the driver. "We're getting out of here, have the life we wanted. No hospitals or Doctors," she said fervently.

"I always thought-they always told me I made it all up. I-I let myself think being on the T-TARDIS was a delusion." Penny wrapped her arms around herself.

"I thought it was a dream too," Sara confessed to her as Penny looked at Sara for reassurance. "Nearly jumped off a bridge to wake myself up."

"My family, my friends." Penny was on the verge of tears at the sudden realization. "They're just gone. They're all dead?"

"I'm sorry," Sara murmured. "The Reality Bomb…" She shook her head. "Our dimension didn't make it. The Doctor told me it was running ahead and the daleks…" She remembered her own despair at hearing the news and she clenched her hands together, feeling tears come to her eyes.

Penny took her hand. "B-but we survived the cracks, the void space," she offered. "Maybe there was a reason."

Sara looked at the girl's hand holding her own. "Yeah, maybe." Her voice was faint. "Still trying to figure out what that is." She thought that however she lived, she could hardly account it as a blessing after enduring what the Time Lord Victorious had already done. Sara had truly wanted to die only a short while before, but now that she met another survivor of her universe, she may have found something to live for. Some hope had returned and, if she could maintain her hold on that, life might not be so bleak after all.

They had arrived at the train station and Sara paid in cash for two tickets to London, knowing their chances of obtaining fake identities would be more prosperous there. While on board, Penny seemed fervently engaged at seeing the countryside swiftly passing their window and Sara smiled in reaction to her enthusiasm. This was her first taste of freedom and, she had to admit, watching the sights pass her window was, indeed, thrilling. She even started to feel hungry again for the first time in days and she smiled briefly at the sensation.

"I'm going to the beverage car, grab something to eat. You want anything?" Sara asked.

"I always wanted to try a meat pie." Penny seemed thoughtful as Sara laughed in response.

"I'll see if they have one, be right back." Sara was making her way there, passing the vicinity, which held surplus baggage and supplies, hidden by a curtain when her arm was suddenly seized from behind and she was yanked inside. "No!" She started to shriek seeing the TARDIS looming in front of her.

The Doctor instantly meeting her gaze didn't waste a moment. "Sara Thomas, I need you to trust me." Her eyes started to dull, although the Doctor had to profess that holding control over her mind was a different experience then he previously encountered. It almost feels like home. But she was fighting him, trying to resist the contact and despite the terror coming off in waves, he had to continue in his task. "Where is Penelope?" He intoned.

The question resonated in her mind even though she heard him speak the words vocally at the same time. No, I can't! She found to her horror that her own voice betrayed her giving up the other girl's location. Her own head felt congested as though she were suffering the onset of a migraine and she agonized as though she was being restrained, suffocated within the depths of her own mind. She struggled in terror for her freedom hearing the Doctor ordering Donna to locate Penny as he turned back to Sara, his expression filled with regret. "I'm sorry, Sara. I'm so sorry."

He raised his fingers to her temples as she tried to plead with him internally. No, please don't. Please… Her thoughts began to dissipate as she felt her body collapsing in his arms. Penny. She had failed again and the girl's name was her last inward plea before she lost consciousness.

The Doctor, upon securing his newest passenger safely inside, left the TARDIS in order to retain Penelope. Upon seeing her, he felt more desolate inside with the look of fear his ward paid to both Donna and him. It left him with a grim certainty of what his counterpart had done to Sara to instill such terror that she was able to convey it to Penelope.

He had managed to use telepathy to leave the police station with the help of his psychic paper, but he lost his visual on his duplicate when they were separated and interrogated. It was through him that he garnered Sara's last name, which he let slip on the way to the station. He could only fathom with what the other Doctor was capable of, since his brief visit to Sara's mind had given him snippets of her ordeal. He was truly disgusted with how far his counterpart had allowed himself to fall, but he knew this was his responsibility. I have to fix this.

I had only gotten up to help Sara, thinking that four hands might be better than just two in the case of holding goodies, but I was distressed in only finding Donna heading straight towards me. "N-no," I choked out, backing away farther down the hall.

"Sweetheart," Donna tried. "It's me, Donna, I swear we're only here to help, nothing else!"

"Sara, where's Sara?" I countered, anxiously looking around for her. She would know what to do, she always did. Instead of my friend, I saw the Doctor and quaked in fear. "Wh-what did you d-do to her?" I demanded feebly.

"She safe," the Doctor said, holding his hands up in surrender, carefully picking his way ever closer to me. Skittishly, I backed up, away from them both.

"What did you do?" I asked again, voice high with fright.

"She's in the TARDIS, waiting for us," the Doctor answered carefully.

"L-liar," I accused. "Sh-she wouldn't, doesn't like you, n-not after what you did."

"Penny, that wasn't him," Donna exclaimed. "Not this Doctor, it's the other one, the one that's off his rocker."

"Well," the Doctor said. "I wouldn't go that far, but he's forgotten what it means to be the Doctor. That's my responsibility, but first I need to help Sara, and I can't do that without you, Pen-"

"N-no!" I interrupted, backing farther away. "J-j-just let us go. We didn't do anything w-wrong. We don't n-need to be locked up, please, let us go." My back hit a wall; I could heard the klackety-klack of the rails as the train went over them and knew that I could escape, if I was crafty about it.

"We're not locking you up," Donna implored. "We just didn't want you to get hurt while you were still taking those drugs. Your mind might've started burning if we weren't careful."

"We won't lock Sara up either," the Doctor continued. "I'm really sorry." He hesitated. "I can't let you two go, but I don't intend to be cruel about it. I'm not going to strap you down on a bed for days on end. I won't be a coward. Just let me help you." He stretched out his hand enticingly.

For a moment, I was inclined to believe him and was hesitantly reaching out my hand to accept his, when I heard it, the brakes. It was subtle at first, a quiet hiss that gradually increased in volume. I knew then, that this would be my only chance. I thought about Sara, what she would do, and I realized then, that she would jump without a doubt. She would jump and run and find help.

I had to do this, for Sara.

Quick as a wink, I open the door behind me and popped into the small divider between railway cars. I heard the Doctor and Donna stumbling to hurry after me, so I did the only thing I could.

I jumped.

"No!" Came the Doctor's anguished cry as I briefly flew through the air. I slammed into a wall and fell to the ground, rolling rapidly downhill. Eventually, I rolled to a stop, dazed and dizzy, the sky tilting oddly, going sideways. My head, ribs, and right arm hurt, badly. Laboriously, I rolled onto my left side, weakly looking back the way I rolled. There was a large tunnel, I noted as I watched the last of the train cars disappear into it. Trains had to slow down for safety reasons and it wouldn't be easy for the Doctor and Donna to give chase.

I couldn't stay here, though, not when they had a TARDIS, I had to get moving. I had to run, had to get help, now, for Sara. Feeling sick, I got to my feet, stumbling away, following the railroad tracks back the way I came.

Escaping was pitifully easy, the Time Lord reflected. All he had to do was trip and grab the guard for support. The moment the man's eyes looked into his, it was all too easy to establish a hypnotic suggestion, ordering the guard to release him and let him go free.

Although it had been simple, it left him with an even bigger headache than before, one that was becoming downright unbearable. The Time Lord decided at this point that the best thing he could do at this moment in time, was rest. A nap in the zero-room would restore him to full health and would give his TARDIS even more time to charge. His time machine needed more power to create another sonic so he was better able to pursue his wayward passenger.

He was under no delusions that he would be lucky enough to find Sara or Penelope, a second time without assistance from the device. He knew his dimensional duplicate would make the same mistake by underestimating Sara. Actually, his counterpart would be saving him the effort of rounding up the two girls.

All he would have to do was just keep track of his duplicate's location and wait for Sara to run, most likely with the other girl in tow. If he waited for his TARDIS to fully charge and let the other Doctor do the running for him, it would be a simple matter to swoop in, collect both girls, then seal the tear between dimensions behind him. With both Sara and Penelope under his control, he would remain victorious, firmly in control of the last vestiges of the girl's destroyed universe. There was something significant lingering in the depths of Penelope's mind, something latent and powerful. He fully intended to find out what it was.

I had run into a farmer, an overall friendly man, on his way to town who was willing to give me a lift. It wasn't Cardiff, like I had originally been heading with the intent to find Jack, but it created distance at the very least. He looked worried and asked if I was okay or whether I needed help.

I wanted to tell him that I had been kidnapped along with my friend, I didn't know where those that abducted me were now holding her, and I had just jumped off of a train to escape. Of course I wasn't okay, of course I needed help. I couldn't tell him any of this, however, that much I knew.

I ended up telling him I had been horseback riding and had fallen off by accident. I needed to get to a phone to call relatives to pick me up. He was sympathetic when I said that I couldn't borrow his cell-phone because I didn't know my uncle's work number by memory. The ride to town was pleasant, if a bit stressful, but I managed to keep my alias intact. He dropped me off near a phone booth and I waved goodbye to him as I stepped into it, closing the door behind me.

The irony was not lost on me.

Flipping through the pages of the phonebook, I was distressed to find neither Torchwood nor a number for Jack Harkness. With a groan, I thumped my head against the glass panels. Clearly, this whole "on-the-run rescue mission" would be much harder than expected.

And most certainly not how it was portrayed in the movies.

The Doctor thought he had Penny as she shyly reached out for his hand before she stiffened. He frowned, about to ask her what was wrong, when she suddenly opened the door behind her and slipped inside. He had thought that she was going to run to the next car and take to hiding somewhere else on the train.

He never, ever suspected for one moment that she would jump.

It was to his horror that she did leap and run into the side of the tunnel, hard. He saw her body collapse on the ground and roll down the hill before his vision of his ward was obscured by the tunnel. "No!" He yelled, running down the train car, back to the TARDIS. How could he have lost her when he promised to protect her and keep her safe? She couldn't be dead, not now; she much too young to die. He simply wouldn't allow it and he grit his teeth in determination.

His day only got worse when he found the doors to the TARDIS wide open and Sara gone.

"She couldn't have gotten far." The Doctor assessed, pulling out his sonic to ascertain Sara's signature. True to his prediction, she was still on the train and he carefully navigated through two adjoining cars intent on locating her.

"How'd she unlock the doors?" Donna asked and the Doctor grimaced.

"She precognitive like Penelope. I should have anticipated that," he said as he made his way through the beverage car at last spotting her next to the door of the train operator.

"Please stop the train, this man, he's trying to kidnap me. My friend and I aren't safe here. Just for a minute so I can get off. That's all I ask," she pleaded.

"Miss, the next stop is in five minutes and you'll be safe here. Why don't you sit down and-?"

"No!" Sara shrieked jumping back seeing the Doctor advance on her position. "Get away from me." She looked at the operator in desperation. "He's the one that attacked me, you have to stop the train!"

The operator looked at him suspiciously. "Is that true? Who are you?"

The Doctor flipped open his psychic paper. "Dr. John Smith with MI-6 from London. She's a witness that fled our custody, suffering from acute post traumatic stress disorder."

"No! He's lying, you have to believe me. Don't let him take me!"

The operator looked at the girl sympathetically after seeing the Doctor's credentials and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I hope you get better." He certainly didn't want trouble from that division of the government and if the girl was suffering from a shock, it explained her previous behavior.

"No!" Sara exclaimed. "Don't do this!" She pleaded. "Please help me!"

"There's nothing I can do." He told the girl before glancing at the Doctor and Donna and nodded in their direction, retreating back to his car as Sara looked at the two in terror.

The Doctor spoke carefully, "We can talk about this, just relax."

Sara shook her head. "I won't let it happen again!" She protested. "I can't!" She bolted for the train side door but the Doctor wouldn't let the same mistake that might have cost him Penelope's life happen to Sara. He anticipated her inclination and moved swiftly, wrapping his arms around her tightly, pulling her back against him. She struggled fiercely in his hold.

"It's all right, just calm down. We're not here to hurt you," he said in a soothing tone.

"Then just let me go!" She shrieked. "You have no right to do this to either of us!"

"Sara, just-" She attempted to jam her foot into his knee, which he was barely able to side step before turning and pinning her to the wall with one arm so she was facing him, swiftly placing his fingers on her temple, quickly ordering her to sleep. Sara collapsed in his arms as Donna looked on in shock. "I'm sorry," he said to her. "I had no choice. I couldn't risk losing her as well." He lifted Sara up in his arms as they made their way back to the TARDIS.

"Penny could still be alive, right?" Donna had to remain hopeful despite seeing that sickening plunge Penny had taken off the train.

The Doctor was quiet as he approached the door to his TARDIS. "I'll check for her void matter signature in the area." He didn't want to calculate the odds of her survival with a jump from that velocity and he grimaced, glancing down at his newest ward that he acquired. He just knew she would prove to be a challenge in engendering trust but he had no choice in this regard.

He quickly made his way to the infirmary placing Sara on one of the medbay beds, watching it spring to life with streaming Gallifreyian on the monitor just above. This time, he activated the neural dampener, ensuring that his newest ward couldn't leave the confines of the sickbay for the next several hours, while also initiating a series of scans from his ADT. He needed to know precisely what he was dealing with and his eyebrows furrowed taking note of her energy wavelengths. Three separate wavelengths and all in one human, should be impossible. But then, from encountering Penelope, he knew not to discount anything.

He made a mental note to change the settings of the deadbolt switches, knowing in the interim he would program the TARDIS to bar her access from the sickbay until he had a chance to speak with her directly. Returning to the console room, he started to sweep the area looking for Penelope's biosignature. "C'mon, tell me you're still alive, don't do this to me."

"How's the search going?" Donna looked at him worriedly.

"Still looking," the Doctor replied. His eyes narrowed in on the monitor as he felt a faint hope surge within both his hearts. "Wait, right there, near Cardiff."

"You think you found her?" Donna clasped her hands together, staring at the monitor. She refused to accept the possibility of Penny's death, even if practicality told her otherwise.

"Our luck just might have changed," he answered, entering in the dematerialization sequence, programming his TARDIS for nearby coordinates. Upon arriving, he deadlocked and left the TARDIS, releasing a deep breath of air, alleviated to see his ward alive and currently occupied within a nearby phone booth.

Noiselessly, he crept up; blocking her exit as she suddenly became aware of his presence and turned, looking at him in fear. "No, please, wh-why can't you let me go?!"

"Penelope, it's dangerous for you to be out here on your own." He shook his head. "For a moment I thought I lost you." He was referring to her jump from the train. "I just need you to trust me-"

"N-no!" She protested. "You lied to me. You took Sara 'cause she'd never go with you, n-not on her own. You-" She cut herself off and fiercely tried to shove past him but he got a firm hold on her arms.

"Penelope, please calm down and listen to me," he tried. "I have Sara right in the sickbay and you can see her. She'll need our help to-"

"You used hy-hypnotism and k-kidnapped her," she protested as the Doctor lowered his eyes.

"I had to," he confessed. "I needed to make sure she was safe."

"You're just like him," Penny whispered referring to the Time Lord Victorious. "H-how could you…?" Her voice trailed as she cast him a glare before stomping on his foot for all she had worth.

His grip loosened, caught off guard by the pain she dealt him and she bolted free, managing a few steps until Donna caught hold of her, attempting to reassure her. "Sweetheart, listen, we wouldn't hurt either of you. You know us and-"

"N-no!" Penny protested. "I don't want to be locked up again. S-Sara said we could live a normal life! No hospitals, no Doctors, none of this!" She twisted in Donna's grasp. "Y-you shouldn't even be real," She shrieked, struggling vehemently. The Doctor sighed, knowing her words would be futile and Penelope was already pulling herself free. His hand was forced and he swiftly laid his fingers on his ward's temples as her eyes widened in protest just before he ordered her to sleep. He let out a sigh as she collapsed, immediately hoisting her up in his arms, knowing he would have his hands full settling in both of his very unwilling passengers.

"You had no choice, space-man." Donna told him as he looked at her with regret.

"Didn't I?" He muttered. How am I going to get them both to trust me?

To Be continued...

Explanations:

*Just so you know, this is all an AU of both my and Emptyvoice's stories, a crossover. The facts and how character responses and all that are cannon, but the setting...not so much. Basically a 'what if' scenario.

*My returning readers know that Penny's perspective is always in first-person, but the majority of you probably won't know that. So, this is my head's up, if it's in first person perspective, it's Penny.

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TITLE: Lost in Time

AUTHOR: Emptyvoices

ID: 10106809

SUMMARY: A story about a girl from our universe crossing over to the Dr. Who universe but with untold consequences. She is pulled into a dimension of insanity where fiction comes to life in frightening ways and wants to find her way back to the real world that she knew. She becomes tangled up in a mystery for the 10th doctor to discover on his journey. Will she find her way back home?

OPINION: Part of the whole reason why 'Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust, and Man-eating Trees' even exists. It is the only reason why FTPDMT has gone on as long as it has. It's a realistic look at how a girl from our Universe would survive in the Doctor's. Features a much, much darker Doctor than what most people are used to. Amazing stuff and completely original plot idea that few have taken and run away with. A must read. Like now. Like right now. Like immediately after you read the rest of this author's note. Or skip the author's note and just go read this fan fiction. You won't be disappointed. :)

Thinking Process:

Hello, everyone! It's been a while for some of you (you people who've read my other stories on this site or have read Emptyvoices's), but to new readers, hello and welcome! I bet you're confused. To rectify that, I would recommend reading the story advertised above as well as the other story mentioned in said advertisement which you can find in my profile.

So anyway, it's official, I'm a college student now everyone! I won't be starting until August fifth, so we have some time before I go MIA on this site once again. Don't feel too bad though, Emptyvoices, the co-author of this story and my lovely beta and friend, will keep me in line, so you won't be completely and utterly without updates.

I'll try to update my other stories, but it'll be a slow going process... might have to take a few off the site and put them in storage or recycle them or something. Either way, the next update will be sometimes next week, probably, cheers!

Happy Friday,

Emptyvoices

FFA, the Fan Fictional Authoress

Date Submitted: Friday, June 27, 2014.