Series 27 Episode 6: Identity Theft Part 2

“Let me tell you a little story about when my distant relative met the Doctor,” Bernice said to Ace, “It’s a long story, but I think we may have some time.”

“You’re relative met the Doctor. Ace!” Ace declared.

“It’s not an Ace story, Ace. He was from the 1800s, but its a story that has passed on through the generations, and one I always tended to admire. Things happened during the incident at Appleby house that changed the lives of everybody there. They encountered aliens.”

“There’s always aliens when the Doctor is involved.”

“Oh, I know that. That’s what the legends often tend to describe. I am an archeologist, you see, so I have done my digging.”

“An alien archaeologist? So alien everything exist? Are there alien shops?”

Bernice gave a slight chuckle. “Yes, there are alien shops, but there are none on this world anymore, nor will there be ever again. Anyways, let me tell you the story. My distant relative had found himself at Appleby house, at a time when he was growing old, well into his sixties. He had been joined there by many esteemed guests who had joined the Appleby family to dine. The mansion was a rather luxurious place, one that I could not imagine after wandering apocalyptic sands for the recent proportion of my life. There were things there. Things that could kill you, but only if they knew your name. The Doctor and his friend arrived, I think she was called Gina, and claimed they could save the day.”

“Wait a second-Gina? That must mean that is where the Doctor is now. Either that or he never comes back to me.” Ace stared down at the teleportation device in Bernice’s hands. “Is there any chance that I could use that?”

“I was telling you a story. I actually thought you were interested for a moment. It’s been about three years since somebody was actually interested in what I had to say. Well, it’s been about three years since I came into contact with any significant forms of life.”

“I need to use it. I need to find the Doctor again. Don’t worry, Bernice, I’ll tell the Professor about you and we’ll come and find you, pick you off, and drop you somewhere better, but as you’re staying for a while, I’d quite like it if I could use it.”

“If you go to Appleby house, beware of the creatures that stalked the Manor,” Bernice warned, “Not everybody managed to survive.”

Ace nodded. “Beam me down, Scotty.”

Bernice clutched onto her teleportation device causing Ace to be beamed away into the distance. Bernice looked down for a second, before speaking to herself, “Come to think of it, there was an Ace in the story. I remember now.”

In Appleby house, the Doctor lay on the floor, reeling from a recent fatal gunshot that had been delivered to him. Gina knelt down on the floor in order to aid him, as the man who fired the gun, Harold Summerfield, hovered his weapon around her direction. Harold believed that both the Doctor and Gina were treacherous, and that they were evil aliens, in the same way that the head of the family turned out to be. The survivors of the Appleby family, Joanna and her two children Lizzie and Maxwell stood in shock, alongside their fellow guest, Mary. They all appeared innocent and confused by all these events.

“Tell me your real names,” Harry demanded to Gina, still hovering his gun precariously towards her direction, “I will not shoot you if you tell me your real names.”

“But those creatures will kill me then, so no, I won’t tell you,” Responded Gina.

Harold prepared to shoot Gina, but Joanna hastily moved towards him and pushed the gun away from her direction, causing the gun to be fired towards the ground. She tried to prevent him from lifting up the weapon once again.

“These people are a danger to your house and its residents, Mrs Appleby,” Harold suggested. “I think it’s in your best interest for them to be killed.”

“We’ve already lost a life, and we don’t want to lose any more,” Answered Joanna, “Now then, we need to get this man some help. He is one of our guests, and he seems to know what he’s talking about. Unless this is some form of common trickery, it is expected that this man could be the key for us to get out of this alive.”

“You don’t seriously believe there are aliens involved here, Mum?” Questioned Maxwell.

“There is no way to tell, Maxwell, but it is ignorant to just assume from what we know, when there is potentially a wider universe out of there. Aliens must exist, and I for one do not find it too unbelievable that it is the case.”

The Doctor managed to speak with the last ounce of energy in his body, “You seem to be the most sensible one here, madam, and less narrow minded than the rest.”

“We need to get you some help. And Harold, I suggest you remove the weapon from your hands immediately or I will force the Butler of the house to do so. I thought we made it clear that no weapons are allowed in this Dinner Party tonight.”

“I needed to protect myself,” Harold explained, “Maybe I can’t trust any of you.”

“Calm down, Harold, please,” Mary demanded, getting frustrated by his tone.“Who are you to dictate my actions, young lady? You have no right. You should respect your elders. It’s either John and Gina go, or we all go.”

“Please, Harold, you need to calm down,” Gina insisted, “The only way we’re all going to get out of this alive is if we work together.”

“Of course you’ll say that. You’d say everything you could to survive.”

The Doctor reached out his hands. “It’d be nice if somebody could help me up. I don’t think the gunshot was too fatal. I think I can walk now. I’ve recovered.” Gina followed by lifting the Doctor up from the floor. The Doctor strolled towards Harold and went close up to his face in order to address him. “My friend here is right: Teamwork means survival, and if we don’t work together, then not everybody can survive. Most likely, you cannot survive. Today will be difficult, and trust me, it’s been one of the hardest days of mine and Gina’s lives, but if we work together, and trust each other, and you trust me, then it’ll all be fine.”

Lizzie interrupted. “What if we can’t trust anybody? Even if we can trust you, something brought whatever is here tonight here. According to you John, Dad only got killed earlier on in the night. I haven’t seen those creatures yet, but I think they aren’t here of their own doings. I think there’s someone else responsible.”

“Who else would it be but the Doctor?” Harold asked.

“You, potentially,” Mary claimed, turning towards Harold. “We know you want us all dead, and it seems to me like you are so stuck up about yourself that you’d have an ulterior motive to be here.”

“You’re a guest here too, Mary,” Maxwell recalled. “There’s an equal chance it could be one of the four of you, or you’re all working together.”

“How dare you, Maxwell. What’s to say it’s your family who are behind this. You didn’t seem exactly shocked or saddened by Alexander’s death. It’s like you saw it coming.”

The Doctor shouted. “Calm down, everybody, right this instant!”

“I’m not dealing with my name being dragged through the mud,” Harold replied, waving his gun around in the air, “I will kill every single one of you in this room if I have to, to guarantee my own safety. I do not care about the rest of you. You can die for all I care. If anybody stands in the way of my survival, then I will kill them.”

“I think it’s best you put the gun down now,” suggested Joanna.

“No. If you dare come anywhere near me I will kill you all!” Harold exclaimed, swinging his gun about in all directions imaginable. “I will do anything for my own survival. You have no idea just how far I will go to secure my safety.”

Suddenly, the hollow templates of creatures sifted through the walls of the building, disrupting the initially seemingly safe confines of the Dining room. Harold used his weapon to shoot at the creatures, but it was no use. The silhouettes continued to move towards them. The Appleby family, alongside Mary, stepped back, as the Doctor and Gina followed. The creatures continued to move closer and closer towards them, making every corner unsafe. Harold stepped out in front, making himself clear.

“I would like to offer you a deal.” Harold declared. “In exchange for my life, I will provide you with the names of everybody standing in this room, and you can kill them.”

“We want your body,” The creature revealed, “We want all your bodies.”

“If you let me live, I will tell you all their names. I promise you. Please let me live.”

“Your name is Harold Summerfield. We shall find out all of their names. We have our methods. We shall have all of their bodies. There will be no harm done to you or to any of them once we do: Only death.”

“No, you can’t kill me! I’ve got so much left to give! I’m not done yet.”

The formerly blank forms of the creatures transferred into the very familiar features of Harold, creating two identical figures face to face. The guests stared on in shock and astonishment, as did Gina, who had still not gotten used to the extent of the adventures she had been thrust upon. The new Harold shifted over to the real man, twisting his neck, causing him to fall to the floor and immediately die. Everybody else took another large step backwards, conscious that the danger they were in had been intensified.

The new Harold began to trounce around for a little while. The room was in deathly silence: Nobody even had the guts to talk or move or speak or question. Everybody was just in fear and worry about their situation. One of the Creatures pointed out what would have been their hand towards Mary’s direction, causing it to suddenly take her form. 

“I thought it couldn’t take the forms unless it knew their names,” Gina observed.

“I told Alexander my name earlier,” Mary explained, “Does this mean I’m going to die?”

The Doctor turned towards her, and nodded regretfully. “I’m afraid so, Mary. I’m so sorry, there was nothing I could do.”

As Mary, Harold and the two other creatures shifted towards her direction, Mary darted out of the door behind her in order to escape. The uninhabited forms moved past the other members of the Dining room while the embodiments of Harold and Mary slowly followed, while keeping a cautious eye on the Applebey family, the Doctor and Gina. Mary continued to race through the vast corridors of the building until she reached a dead end. The room was filled with darkness, and she let out a brief cry. The Creatures forcefully managed to elevate her back towards the main room, where the new forms of Mary and Harold confronted her. Harold grabbed the gun that was in his pocket and shot the real Mary, causing her to bleed out rapidly on the floor. Harold shot at her again, but she still managed to hold on for a little while longer. She reached out her hand. Gina and Maxwell leaned down on to the floor in an attempt to support her.

“Oh, this hurts even more than I expected it to.” Mary stated. “You promise me that you will not hand over your names to these creatures and you all get out alive.”

Gina grinned, and bobbed her head. “John will save the day, I promise you.”

Mary’s head dropped down as her life ended. There was a moment of grief and silence, which was quickly intervened by the realisation of their deathly situation. Lizzie began to run, however the Doctor pulled her back towards the rest of the croud.

“That’s your last victim tonight.” The Doctor claimed bluntly. “We shall not hand over our names and therefore you will not be able to take our lives.”

The Creature which had taken Harold’s form stepped forward. “We have our ways. You will hand over your names eventually, we know you will. Tonight will be the last night of every one of your lives. I can promise you that.”

“Not going to happen I’m afraid, not while I am here.”

“One of you brought us here.” The creature which had taken Mary’s form revealed. “One of you were responsible, and you do not even know it.”

“I know full well that I was not responsible for bringing you to this house.” Joanna responded. “I still don’t believe you are here. Aliens, in my house. It’s quite frankly absurd! I still believe this is some form of common trickery.”

“This is not trickery,” The Doctor announced, with the ‘t’ rolling off his tongue, “This is my life. What else is true is that one of you is responsible.”

“It may have been you, John, and you did not even realise.” Harold suggested. “We know who was responsible, but we shall let you figure that out by yourselves. With any luck, you will hand over your names. Over the course of the night, we will be forceful if you refuse to hand over your identities to us.”

“And what exactly are you going to do?” Questioned Maxwell.

“We will show you what we are going to do,” Mary announced, as she revealed a small object. She pressed a button, causing a countdown to be revealed. “Luckily, we had a chance to operate this bomb. You have two ways to die: Hand over your identities to us, or be blown up slowly and painfully. It is your choice. It’d be an awful shame to waste such healthy and marvellous bodies, do you not think.”“Five minutes, everybody,” Harold continued, “Five minutes!”Lizzie’s jaw dropped. “We’ve got to get out of the building, as quickly as we can.”

“There is no way out,” Harold claimed, “Trust me, we’ve made sure of it.”

“Follow me!” The Doctor shouted, as he darted through one of the doors. Gina, Joanna, Lizzie and Maxwell followed him hastily, as Harold and Mary slowly followed after them. The Doctor saw the TARDIS directly in front of him, and opened the door swiftly. He directed the others inside first before following. He noticed the shapeless forms coming from both directions. He closed the door, and rushed towards the control panel. He typed in some coordinates, and the ship began to dematerialise.

“I thought I’d seen it all today, but I always seem to be proven wrong.” Maxwell stated as he glared at the vast and spacious console room that surrounded him. He could not believe his eyes, nor could the other members of the Applebey family.

“It’s beautiful.” Commented Lizzie on the chalky area around her.

“I still don’t believe any of this.” Protested Joanna. “It can’t be possible.”

Gina chuckled. “I’ve been saying the same thing all day, but it sure is.”

The Doctor began to explain: “This is the TARDIS, Time and Relative Dimension in Space. This is the portal to anywhere and anywhen in the universe. Those creatures managed to get inside of here earlier, and they may manage to again. That’s why I’m trying to transport us away from the Manor as quickly as we can.”

“You can’t be serious? That’s my house back there. I cannot just let it be destroyed. It’s rather valuable, you know. It’s worth millions of pounds.” Joanna responded.

“You should just be grateful that I’m saving your life. Sorry about the house. There’s not much I could do about that, I’m afraid.”

Harold, Mary and two other creatures popped out of nowhere, descending into the room suddenly without warning. Joanna, Lizzie and Maxwell jumped back, frightened by this unexpected move. Harold and Mary both simultaneously chortled, but the reason for this was not imminently clear. The Doctor and Gina looked at each other with a face of grimace. Harold and Mary strolled around the console room.

Mary spoke first. “Sorry about our intrusion, John, but we just had to see this extraordinary ship in person. You are not a human being. You are much more than that. You are a time lord. You would be the best possible form for us.”

Harold picked up. “Tell us your name, John. Tell us your real name. All we need is your form. If we take your form, we shall let the others go free.”

The Doctor laughed. “Do you really think I’m going to believe that?”“It’s up to you whether you do, but I suggest you do. If you want your friends to survive, then all you have to do is hand yourself over. We shall let your friends go, we will deactivate the bomb, we shall release ourself from Applebey house.”

“I do not believe you. You want all of us. Even if you leave, you’ll go elsewhere and take innocent forms. I’m sure not everybody here is innocent. I’m sure everybody here has their sins and wrongdoings. But I am not for a second believing that.”

Mary sighed. “It’s rather a shame that you’re all going to die now when you don’t have to. You should just hand yourself over and then we’ll be done with it.”

Joanna interrupted. “Do it. Hand yourself over, John.”

The Doctor’s head turned towards Joanna. “What? Excuse me?”

“If it means we all get to survive, then that could only be a good thing. Our lives are much more valuable than yours could ever be.”

“Excuse me, have you actually seen him?” Gina asked. “He’s saved your life.”

“I don’t see how he’s saved our lives. He’s put them in more and more danger. I think you should just hand yourself over, John, and then we can all survive and be in peace for the rest of our lives. Three people have died today anyway.”

The Doctor’s expression turned. “If you are not happy about me trying to save your life, then go out there and die. You getting blown up won’t even be a minor inconvenience to me. I don’t have to save your life. I’d just rather I did.”

Joanna sighed. “Fine then. I’d rather die out there with the bomb and my house than give up myself like my husband and my guests foolishly did.” She turned towards her children. “I understand that this is goodbye.”

Lizzie looked devastated. “You’re going out there? You’re really going out there?”

“I’m not going to let those things take my form.”

“And I’m not going to either.” The Doctor promised. “You are not going out there, Joanna.”

“I am, John I understand that’s the only way for me to escape this, aside from you giving up your life, but I doubt that’s going to happen any time soon.”

“It’s not the only way to escape this. I always find a way. I promise you that.” The Doctor moved towards Harold and Mary. “Do your worst.”

Mary chuckled away to herself. “Oh we will, John, we will.”Suddenly, everybody inside was flung from one side of the TARDIS to the other, as a loud ‘Bang!’ signalled the detonation of the bomb. The Doctor and Gina clutched onto the console while Joanna, Lizzie and Maxwell attempted to hold on tightly to the surrounding walls. Harold, Mary and the other creatures dispersed themselves into the atmosphere and vanished without any prior warning of them doing so. The Doctor hurried out of the door, opened it and spotted the ruins of Applebey Manor, which had now been completely decimated. Gina hurried out, followed by the Applebey family.

Joanna looked visibly shaken and distraught at the sight that awaited her: The empty and desolate ruins of the building that stood in front of her. This was the place she had lived in since she was a child. All of her possessions were inside, and everything she had ever owned had been destroyed. She looked at her children, as tears began to trickle down her face. Everything she had been through dawned on her. Not even the death of her husband managed to be effective in doing so. Lizzie and Maxwell did not look too saddened by the destruction of the house, or at least not as much as she did.

Joanna strutted up to the Doctor. “This is all your fault, John. All your fault. My whole life has been destroyed as a result of you. You didn’t even let me die alongside it.”

The Doctor looked at her. “Maybe it’s a lesson to you: Not to take advantage of what you have got. You seem like a rather spoilt family if you ask me.”

“And you seem like a random stranger who destroyed my life. It’s not just that you destroyed my life but you destroyed my childrens lives, and you destroyed my husbands life. Yes, maybe I took them for granted, but here we are at the end of the Applebey family.”

“Look at it like this, you had a butler, did you not?”

Joanna nodded briefly. “Yes, yes, I did.”

The Doctor searched in the ruins and pointed out the dead body of the Butler. “There he is, the man that welcomed me into Appleby house and served you food and drinks all night long. He lived his life for you.”

“It’s what he was paid to do. He died with a deservant salary.”

“He died with you not even being bothered to know his name. Tell me, ma’am, what is the name of your Butler that served you for a fortunate salary?”

“I-” Joanna paused for a moment, stuttering. “I don’t know. He never said.”

“Or you could never be bothered to ask him. All you ever cared about is yourself. You didn’t even care when your husband died, but you cared about when your house was destroyed. It just exemplifies everything. It just proves what a selfish, narcissistic, horrid group of people you all really are.”Gina looked shocked. “Doctor, please stop it!”“And to top it all of, one of you was responsible for bringing those creatures here.”

Lizzie butted in. “And who’s to say that it wasn’t you who did that? You’re a random stranger who wormed your way into our lives and tried to dictate us about how we need to be better people. Who do you actually think you are?”

“I’m John Smith, that’s who I am.”

Maxwell continued. “Except you’re not even that, are you? You’re just living a lie.”

“Only because for today, I have to in order to survive.”

Joanna turned towards Gina. “And your little friend here, who is she? Is she telling us the truth? Is she really who she seems to be?”

Gina laughed sarcastically. “You’re bringing me into this now, are you?”

“You’re as much a part of this as John is. You came here and were one of the reasons that our lives were ruined, and you think you have the right to lecture us. You destroyed us. You destroyed everything. You destroyed our family.”

“You brought this upon yourselves. My life meant an awful lot to me as well, and I lost it all today. I lost my home, I lost my friend, and I found out that everything I had ever been told about the universe was a lie. I found out that aliens existed today just the same as you did. I met John here today just the same as you did. I found myself thrust upon an adventure I didn’t want to be on just the same as you did.”

“Don’t you dare act like you’re like us.” Joanna said, still adopting a rude tone. “We’re better people than you could ever be.”

The Doctor laughed slightly. “Nobody is better than anybody else, my dear.”

“Well we’re better than you, John, and that’s fact. Now that our lives are over, I see no reason why we should continue living them. I think it’s only right if we just handed them over to those creatures. How do we signal them here?” Harold and Mary materialised immediately as if a signal had somehow been broadcast to them to bring them here.

“You’re ready to give yourselves up, are you?” Harold asked Joanna.

“Yes I am.” Joanna confirmed. “I am going to give up the lives of myself and my family.”

“No, Mum, you can’t?” Maxwell retorted. “I don’t want to die, and I certainly don’t want these creatures to get my body. What are you achieving in letting us die?”

“I’m just admitting defeat. This is the end of our family heritage. We may as well just end our family full stop. My name is Joanna Appleby, and this is Maxwell and Lizzie Appleby. Take our forms. Go ahead. Kill us. Do your worst.”

“No, mum! No! How could you!” Maxwell exclaimed in response.

“Please, don’t kill us! Take our forms, but don’t kill us! We’re only young!” Lizzie demanded, but it was too late. Three of the Creatures transformed themselves into Joanna, Maxwell and Lizzie, as they stood alongside the embodiments of Harold and Mary. The real Joanna, Maxwell and Lizzie were also standing for the time being.

“Do you see what you’ve done?” The Doctor asked Joanna. “You’ve given them what they want. You’ve given them even more power than they had in the first place.”

Joanna turned around, still tearful. “I know, John, but me and my family will go together, and if you have any sense, you will hand over your names too, rather than attempt to escape.”

The creature, now in Joanna’s form, smiled cockily. “Thankyou for this, Joanna. You have been wise in cooperating with us, and now we have your forms, there is no need for you to survive. We have no need for you anymore.”

The Creatures moved towards Joanna, and broke her neck, and then proceeded to do the same thing for both Lizzie and Maxwell. The five embodiments stood in front of the Doctor and Gina, grandly, and were appearing victorious, as they were. The Doctor and Gina looked at each other deeply in the eye, and then looked towards the TARDIS. All five of the creatures pointed towards the TARDIS, causing it to dematerialise. 

“Hand over your real identities to us now, before we torture you in order to make you do so.” The form of Maxwell revealed. “There is no way to escape from us.”

The Doctor raised his hands. “Alright, we surrender.”

“Doctor? No you can’t!” Gina exclaimed.

The Doctor turned towards Gina in realisation. “You’ve just given me up.”

“So your name is Doctor. The Doctor?” Mary responded. “Now we know your names, I assume that we can take your form, unless this is a lie. Thankyou Gina for your help. Now, Doctor, you are ours.”

To be Continued...