Series 27 Episode 5: Identity Theft Part 1

Appleby Manor, 1865The wind howled outside the estate. Night Time had arrived. Everything seemed peaceful. The clocks were ticking. The Appleby’s were sitting down for dinner with some esteemed guests. Every year on this exact night, Alexander Appleby, the keeper of the house, would invite over four respected guests to join his family over supper. It was nigh on 10 O'clock, and the butler was about to serve them food. They were expecting haddock and chips. Only two of these four guests had found their way to the table, with the whereabouts of the other two left to be unknown.

There were many respected faces over the Dinner table, who were well known within the local community. Alexander Applegate, of course, sat himself at the head of the table, as he was the key figure within the family. His wife, Joanna, found herself at the other side, awaiting her food. Both of them watched over, eagle eyed, at the other members of the party, who all found themselves at the edges of the table. Alexander and Joanna’s two children, Lizzie and Maxwell, were both sat on the two seats next to their father. The two guests that had joined the family found themselves on the two seats next to Joanna.

These two guests had found themselves randomly selected, as the annual guests often did. Harold Summerfield was a local business owner who had played a key role in the industrial revolution. He was ageing now, nearing his seventies, but he was still able enough to pay a visit to the Appleby family. Although he was not a close family friend, his paths had crossed with Alexander rather frequently, and he had visited the house once before hand. Mary Thisledale was a young widow in her late twenties, who was the daughter of a profitable business man who resided in London. Both of them had found themselves in the Manor, and both of them were rather delighted to be there.

Alexander and Joanna had a rather tempestuous marriage which was currently on the rocks. The two of them did not always see eye to eye, and there had been many times, such as the last Dinner, where they had publicly verbally abused one another, which was a shock to the guests of the previous dinner. They had to address the matter in a formal statement, and their reputation was nearly destroyed, which meant they had to be more careful than ever this year round in order to protect their position in society. Lizzie and Maxwell were both always there to cause trouble. They had a very strong bond, unlike their parents, and were rather inseparable. Both of them were still rather young, as Alexander and Joanna had them in their late thirties. They were narcissistic, and self centered, just as upper class civilians often were. They wanted everything for themselves, and nothing was good enough for them.

Alexander rose from his chair and departed the room without warning, swiftly opening the door and strolling out into the vast corridors that surrounded the Dining room. He grabbed a light from above him, and moved through the dark and empty surroundings. He was walking through, and came across a figure, who was shrouded by the darkness. Alexander did not recognise him, which was odd. His figures were unrecognisable at this time. He shone the light in the mans face, revealing a blank template: An empty figure shrouded in white, lacking any features whatsoever. Alexander jumped out of his skin. He was never usually scared, but this was such an unusual sight that it shook him.

“What are you?” Alexander asked, terrified. 

“There is no need to be fearful,” The figure said, reaching out his vacant hand towards the man, “I will not harm you. I may look different to anything you may have come across, but I am only here as a figure of kindness and goodwill.”

“I don’t care, you are in my house! Get out!” Alexander aimed the light towards the being, causing the unoccupied form to step aback hastily.

“Light is like a poison to us. I am not harmful to you. I am here to help you.”

“I don’t understand what you are,” The man replied, “Get out of my house.”

“What is your name?” The template questioned. “If I know your name I can make you better. I can help you.”

“My name is Alexander Appleby. I thought everybody would know that.”

Suddenly, the empty husk transformed itself. Its lack of features turned into eyes, and a mouth, and a nose, and ears. All the elements of the body changed and rotated. What was a lack of form transformed itself into an identical copy of Alexander. Now, there were two Alexander’s standing opposite each other.

“How-How is that possible?” Alexander asked, confused about how the creature had taken his form.

“All I needed was a body,” The being said, now embodying the form of Alexander, “Thankyou for your aid. There is no need for you anymore.”

The being grabbed Alexander’s neck and snapped it, causing the real Alexander to drop to the floor. The creature, which now resembled Alexander, walked himself back towards the direction he came from, and back into the dining room.

“I am so sorry,” the new Alexander claimed, “I just needed a little walk.”

“There’s no time for that!” Joanna snapped. “You must get to know our new guests.”

“Oh, I know that, my dear. I’m sorry, my memory deceives me, but I have to ask the names of my esteemed guests that are joining me at the table tonight.”

Suddenly, the doors swung open from behind them, and three figures materialised. There was a man with dirty hair and a lower class aesthetic. He was joined by two figures who were dressed in outfits that went beyond the time period of Victorian England.“May I welcome our two last guests, sir?” The man addressed, making it clear that he was some form of butler, “This is John Smith, and his associate, Gina.”

“Welcome!” Joanna exclaimed, “Please take a seat, both of you!”

“It is very nice to meet you,” The Doctor responded, placing himself down on a seat in the centre of the table, as Gina did the same. “I cannot put into words how much of an honour it is to be here. Really, it is quite the joy.”

“What is the relation between the two of you?” Asked Lizzie.

“The Doc-John is my uncle. He’s a very rich man. I’m assuming that’s why he’s here,” Gina hastily responded. “My last name is Smith, too. That’s easier than remembering a made up name of my own. I joke! I do that a lot.”

The Doctor chuckled. “Excuse my niece. It is an honour to have the opportunity to meet the lot of you. May I ask what your names are?”

“I’m Mary!” One of the guests began. “I’m the daughter of Joseph Thisledale, the famous entrepreneur. I was invited here today because of it. I’ve never met the Applegate family before, and if I’m honest, I am quite nervous.”

“Mary Thisledale!” Alexander exclaimed in response. “It’s very nice to meet you. There’s no need to be nervous. We’ll try to be as hospitable as possible.”

“I am Harold Summerfield,” The other man revealed, “I am a wealthy businessman who played a key part in the Industrial Revolution. The world would not be the way it is today without me. You should all be lucky. Your lives have been so much better as a result of the actions I have done.”

There was an awkward silence, as this self expressive moment became clear. The Doctor was the first one to break this silence. “You know what, sir, I am not a fan of people like you. Those who think the world revolves around them.”

“I beg your pardon,” Harold responded, rudely, “It’s Mr John Smith, is it not?”

“You will be begging nobodies pardon but yourself. I can tell the two of us will not be getting on. I’ve had quite the day of it and I’d rather if this was a relaxing and peaceful evening with no feuds or no problems or no troubles.”

Joanna stared at Alexander sarcastically. “You heard the man, no trouble.”

“You have no right to come in here and judge me,” Harold addressed the Doctor bluntly. “You just storm in here and criticize me for no good reason. I think that gives us all the impression of the sort of person you are.”

“Ace isn’t here, Doctor,” Gina whispered into the Doctor’s ear, “Shall we leave?”

“No! No! We shall find Ace, but not now!”, The Doctor commented on his missing friend to his temporary companion. “I’d rather like to deal with this narrow minded, upper class fool.”

“I think it’d be good if you left now,” Alexander demanded, “We can deal without you.”

“I think he’s right, Doctor, I mean John, we don’t need to cause trouble,” Gina responded.

“I always cause trouble, but you’re right, Gina. Maybe I shouldn’t waste my time here. Maybe I should set my priorities straight and go and find my friend. If you could show me the way out, Butler, that would be fantastic.”

The Doctor rose from his seat, and Gina did the same. They left the Dinner Party, and were escorted out of the room by the Butler, who led them out of the doorway and back into the endless corridors in the interior of the house. The Doctor could see the TARDIS, and ushered the Butler to head back. He opened the doors of the ship, and Gina went through. The Doctor was about to do the same, but he spotted Alexander in the distance.

“Excuse me, Sir, we need a word,” Alexander demanded, “Where is your friend?”

“She is inside our transport,” The Doctor responded, “What is it that you need to talk about?”

“You were rather rude in there to our guests, but I smelt something from you.”

“That’s a bit odd. Do you go around smelling your guests often?”

Alexander snorted. “You are not like the others inside of the room. You are not human. You are much more. I could sense more than one heart. Am I right?”

“How could you tell?” The Doctor questioned. “You’re not who you make out to be, are you?”

“I think you knew that. I sensed that your box is a time machine.” Alexander crept up to the TARDIS and banged on it. “Tell your friend to come out of there. It is Gina, is it not? Gina Smith? And your friend is John.”

“That’s what you know me as, yes. What do you want here?”

The doors of the TARDIS opened, and Gina’s head popped through. She departed from the ship. Alexander sniffed his surroundings, taking in both Gina and the Doctors scents in the process. Alexander raised his hands, and two white, hollow, silky silhouettes dawned on the room, similar to Alexander’s true form. Gina gasped.

“I thought there’d be aliens along the way somewhere,” The Doctor remarked. “There’s never a time when it isn’t aliens. I can’t say I recognise your forms. Maybe it’s because you lack them. What is your race?”“Our race has no name. We are nothing.” Revealed Alexander. “And soon, John and Gina, you will both be nothing as well.”

Gina sighed, and glared at the Doctor. “Do you ever catch a break?”

The Doctor shook his head. “I can’t say that I do. In the TARDIS, now.” The doors of the TARDIS swung open, as Gina and the Doctor hurried inside. The Doctor rushed to the console and began to press some buttons. “I think it’s time we found Ace. We may have taken so long that she’s in danger.”

“What were those things?” Gina asked. “Shouldn’t we save the family? I mean, they’re obviously in danger. Those creatures will kill them if you don’t stop them.”

“What gives you to the right to tell me what to do?” The Doctor snapped. “We only met today, and you’re only here because I need help. If you feel that’s best, then go out there and do it yourself, but do not dare question me.”

Gina was taken aback. “Don’t you dare use that tone with me.”

The Doctor moved closer to her. “And what are you going to do if I do?”

Gina did not respond. She hovered away into the distance. The Doctor looked angry, and had taken out his upset towards events with Destari and Ace on Gina, despite her not deserving it. He did not make any sign of apology. He looked over towards her, and began to pilot the TARDIS away. Gina placed herself down and began to cry. The Doctor did not make an attempt to console her. He just carried on.

Suddenly, the TARDIS was thrust off its course, as the creatures from the manor began to sift their way through the walls of the ship. Gina rose from the floor instantly and became terrified. The shapeless, lifeless organisms found their way into the machine, and moved their way towards the Doctor and Gina.

“I thought this place was safe?” Gina said, while slowly moving backwards. “Just now we had Destari manage to get in, and now this.”

“It’s fine, Gina. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about!” The Doctor remarked.

The creature bellowed: “We will take your form. We need your form. You shall comply.”

“Oh no we won’t. You are going to get off my ship now, or else I’ll force you, and trust me, you don’t want to do that. Leave this TARDIS at once.”

“We shall not leave until we have your forms.”

“Ah, so you want our forms! There are lots of perfectly adequate beings back at the house. Why don’t you just go and harvest them?”“You both have such complex energy within you. You have been through so much and are about to go through so much more. We shall take your forms. You shall not resist. You will feel pain if you do not resist.”

Gina noticed something. “Wait a minute, Doctor, they’re not moving.”

She was right: They were not moving. The creatures were just hovering in the same place, and not moving any distance forward. They were not even making an attempt to harvest the forms of the Doctor and Gina. The Doctor’s attentions were piqued as he noticed this. He stepped forward a second, and let out a gasp of intrigue.

“You need to know our names to kill us and take our forms,” The Doctor exclaimed, “I think that must be it. I don’t know why, but I think that’s why you can’t kill us. You need to know our names before you can.”

“We know your names,” The creatures claimed, “You are John and Gina Smith.”

“Except we aren’t. Not really. It’s lucky that I still use the John Smith guise. The thing is, we are not going to tell you our names, because then we will be safe.”

“We will find your names. We always do.”

The creatures dissipated into thin air, leaving the Doctor and Gina alone in the TARDIS. The Doctor was wearing the usual cocky expression that he often wore, while Gina’s tears continued to collapse from her face. He was unaware that she was still feeling hurt by the comments he had made a few moments ago.

“There we are,” The Doctor said, clutching his hands over the console, “I think we should head back to the Manor. Make sure that none of the guests hand over their names. I’m guessing the leader of the family still will need their names to harvest.”

Gina pulled his hand away from the console. “Before you do, we need to talk. You upset me earlier. You have no right to talk to me like that. I don’t want to be here, you know?”

“And I don’t want you to be here much either, but I have no say in that matter because I have a duty to protect you and get you back to your home safe and sound. Once I’ve found Ace. and once we’ve saved everybody in that manor, I will drop you home, I assure you.”

“It’s not just that-It’s the way you talked to me earlier. The way you snapped at me.”

“I’ve not had a good day today. I’ve been through so much in so little time. Somebody managed to change everything I knew about me. I have so many pieces of the puzzle. Destari, the six, Ace’s whereabouts. I need to find out the truth behind them all. Everything is swirling around my head a million miles per hour, and I’m sorry if I snapped at you, but I have been through so much today that I don’t have the energy to care.”

Gina retorted, “And what about me? I lost Nathan. I lost my job. I lost my home. My life was changed forever. Things for me today have been a whirlwind. I’ve been thrust into this unimaginably unbelievable world, and I’ve got no choice but to just go along and accept it. Don’t you dare think that you are the only one who Destari affected, because you aren’t. She affected me and hurt me in so many ways. More than you are even aware of.” Gina reflected for a second. “It came back to me when you remembered Ace. She was there, at the Snowzone base, before you both arrived.”

The Doctor tutted. “We really don’t have time for this. You moan that you wanted to get home and yet you witter away like this.”

“This is important, Doctor. I thought you wanted to know more about her.”

“I do, Gina, but this isn’t the time. There are people at the Manor who have their lives on the line, and we need to do all we can to stop them from handing over the information these beings need to manifest them. Then, we need to save Ace. Then, I need to get you home. And then, and only then, you tell me all of this.”

The Doctor moved his hand back onto the lever, but Gina grabbed it and pushed it away again, before continuing from where she left off. “Is that what this is? You’re scared of her, and you’re trying to run away, and use this as a distraction? Destari is coming back for you. There is no way you can possibly escape that.”

“I always escape. Taking my mind off of these things with adventures always works. I say always, it never works, but I try my best. I know Destari is coming for me, but there are much more pressing matters to deal with. Come along, Gina!”

The Doctor pushed the lever back as the TARDIS descended back into the time vortex, heading back into the direction of Appleby manor. Gina’s expression was one of dread and fear, as she began to realise the sort of man that the Doctor was. -In a deserted landscape a long, long way from Applebey house, Ace woke up on the dusty and empty surface. Everything in sight was dead and in ruins. Her head rose up from the floor, followed by the rest of her body. She looked around, as her attention turned to the granite sky above her, as the wind blew through her face, catching her by surprise. Ace began to trudge through the endless, almost apocalyptic wilderness that awaited her. There was nothing around them bar the barren wasteland. She was fed up of barren wastelands by now, as she had been to quite a few of late. She saw in the distance a woman, with short black hair, who had her head turned away from her. Ace hurried towards her, and tapped her on the shoulder. The woman turned ahead, looking startled.

“I didn’t expect to see anybody else here ever again,” The woman claimed, “Wait a minute, I’ve seen you somewhere before. I don’t know where. Maybe you just have one of those highly recognisable faces that people tend to have.”

Ace looked confused. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. Where am I?”“This is Beta Caprisis. This is my home. It used to be such a nice place, but now it’s been turned to nothing.” She reflected for a moment. “I know where I saw you now-You were the woman in Antarctica, when it had been destroyed.”

“It’s you? You’re the hooded woman?”

“Yes. I found myself there accidentally, you see, but I managed to find a way back here. I’ve got a way out of this planet.” She revealed from the pocket of her leather jacket a teleportation device. “It only has one charge left. When I transport myself away, I will never be able to come back here again, and I’m not ready for that.”

“I need to find my friends. We got seperated. He’ll probably come and find me, but I don’t know whether they will. I would ask to use it, but I don’t know where they would be.”

The woman nodded. “So you remember what Destari did to Earth?”

“Yeah, I do. The Professor made things go back to the way they should be. The problem is that he still doesn’t know who I am.”

“The Professor? You don’t mean the Doctor, by any chance?”

Ace bobbed her head. “Yeah. How did you know? Do you know him?”

“I told you the last time we met, I have an encyclopedic knowledge on the course of the Earth's timeline, and the Six, and everything that relates to them. The Doctor plays a key part in the whole thing. He’s quite the legend. If you’re his friend, you probably know that.”

“Of course I do! He’s the most wicked person in the cosmos! The Doc’s awesome!”

“But you also know he isn’t just the amazing person everybody says about? He may have saved Antarctica inadvertently, and nobody knows how, but he is a darker being than you could ever have imagined. I’ve read up on what happens next, or indeed what happened before. I told you that the last time. The other, the Timeless child, the hybrid. All of it shows just how complicated, and corrupt, the Doctor really is.”

Ace looked confused. “Alright then. All I want is to get back and find the Doctor. I think Destari has put him in danger again, but she sent me flying before I could rescue him. I’m usually the one that ends up rescuing him. I’m Ace, by the way. What’s your name?”

“I’m Bernice,” The woman announced, “Bernice Summerfield.”

The TARDIS found itself at Appleby manor, where it had departed just a mere few moments beforehand. The Doctor and Gina stepped out, and rushed back towards the main lobby. There was no sign of the creatures, or Alexander, and it did not seem like they were lurking outside. The Doctor burst through the doors into the Dining room, followed by Gina. The room was erupted with anger and rage.“Back for more, are you, sir?” Harold questioned.

“I thought I made it quite clear that you needed to leave,” Alexander claimed, “I thought you had left. I thought we had some time alone.”

“Should I tell them what you all are, Alexander?” The Doctor asked, “This man you all admire and respect, is an alien. Alexander Appleby is an alien.”

Maxwell spat out his drink. “Who is this madman?”

Joanna coughed. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he was.”

Lizzie chuckled away to herself. “I think you need professional help, John, if you ask me. Aliens don’t exist, and if they didn’t, they would not come to Appleby manor.”

“He’s right,” Gina announced, “He is an alien, and he wants you all dead.”

“That’s preposterous!” Mary exclaimed, “I think you need to force them out, Alexander.”

“Am I wrong, Alexander?” The Doctor questioned. “I don’t know whether you have some sort of protocol but you haven’t spoken for a while. Can you honestly tell me, truthfully, that everything that I said was 100% incorrect.”

“It is true,” Alexander admitted, “There’s no point me being here anymore.”

Alexander vanished suddenly, disappearing into nothingness. Everybody was in shock. Lizzie and Maxwell’s breaths were taken away as their father departed from before their eyes. They were too taken aback to cry. Joanna appeared to be slightly relieved. Harold and Mary were struck with disbelief.

“Right, that wasn’t what I expected him to do,” The Doctor confessed, “I will warn you though, I doubt this is over. Those things are coming for you. All of you. Oh, and I’m sorry for your loss, all of you.”

Mary turned towards the Doctor. “What is going on?”

“I don’t know, but you’re going to trust me with your lives.”

Harold sniffled. “Why should we trust a fool like you with our lives?”

“Because they’re all in danger, and I’m assuming all of you are too stubborn and flawed to save them yourselves. I thought, if I’m honest, there’d be more tears.”

“Good riddance to him,” shouted Joanna, “He was a stain on this family.”

Lizzie agreed. “It’s better that he’s gone. Hopefully he’s down in hell to get punished for all the stuff he’s done.”

Maxwell chuckled. “Alien hell.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t want to be there,” The Doctor added, “Trust me, I’ve been.”

Harold turned towards the Doctor. “Are you a madman?”

“Yes, yes, of course I am, but I’m quite a brilliant one. I think it’s best you stick with me at all costs. Now, may I ask, did you tell Alexander at any point any of your names, during the dinner party at any point? There’s no confirmation of how long Alexander was taken by those creatures for, but I’m assuming it was tonight.”

Mary nodded. “I told him, of course. He asked me. I don’t know why I shouldn’t have.”

“I’m so sorry, Mary, but when they come for you, you will die. There are more creatures like the true form that possessed Alexander tonight, and they are coming for you. If you haven’t already, do not hand your names over to them. They will kill you and take your forms at whatever chance they can. They are shapeless, formless beings who desire a shape and form more than anything else. They tried to take mine and Gina’s forms too.”

“How come you survived?” Lizzie questioned. “Wouldn’t they kill you instantly?”

“It’s interesting how quickly you have come to believe all of this,” Gina remarked, “I mean, I still don’t believe any of the alien stuff and I’ve been with the Doctor for a whole day.”

The Doctor followed, stating that “The creatures arrived when me and Gina attempted to go home. They managed to shift their way through solid matter. I’m assuming they can find themselves into any building. Nowhere is safe. I never handed over my real name to them, so they couldn’t kill me.”

“They couldn’t kill you because you didn’t give over your name? How does that work?” Joanna continued, listing off a series of questions. “This is just all too much to take, and now we find out John is not even your real name.”

“I need to take precautions! It’s lucky that I didn’t tell you my real name, and nor will I. For all I know, the creatures could be lurking around here, or the creatures could be within this room. Any one of you here could be one of them.”

“And who’s to say the two of you are not one of those things?” Harold interrogated, “Not that I believe in any of this trickery that you are throwing at me.”

“There’s no way for you to tell, just as I have no way to tell that you aren’t one of them. Now, those creatures are probably lurking through the house, so I suggest we leave this room and head to my ship. It may not be safe from them but we can still escape.”The Doctor and Gina headed back towards the direction of the TARDIS. Suddenly, Harold pulled a gun swiftly from his pocket, and shot out a bullet towards the Doctors direction. He turned around, and found himself hit by the shrapnel. He collapsed to the ground.

“What have you done?” Asked Gina as she knelt down on to the floor. “He’s the only one who will be able to save us.”

“He was one of them, I know he was” Harold concluded, “And so were you.”

Gina raised her hands in surrender, as Harold’s gun moved towards her direction.

To be Continued...