'I was a member, remember?'
'Anyway, what's he doing here? Shouldn't he be on stage or something?'
The Doctor walked up through the carriage back towards the rear carriage. He opened the door and quickly looked out and above. He turned and came back in. He stood staring a head back at the other door which lead out into the other carriages beyond and the train engine. All the occupants including Rose were looking at him.
'Hello. Who are you?'
Rose turned to see stood before them was a man dressed in a uniform of sorts. She stepped cautiously back towards the Doctor.
~~~
'Tickets please.' the figure suddenly asked.
The other passengers had returned to their seats as if nothing had happened and promptly produced their tickets for inspection.
'Doctor, it's happening again. Everything's repeating, as if nothing happened.'
'Yes, except for him.' the Doctor pointed at the new arrival before them and moved slowly towards the figure.
'Tickets please.' the figure asked.
The Doctor checked his pockets as a matter of routine, knowing full well that he had no tickets to show. 'I think I've mislaid them somewhere,' he said and suddenly produced a leather wallet containing the psychic paper.
The ticket inspector looked at the plain paper. 'That is not a ticket.'
The Doctor was slightly taken aback by the response, 'What?' he said examining the psychic paper. The paper was blank. He replaced it into the inside pocket of his leather jacket and again began to search his pockets.
'No ticket?'
'The Doctor looked at Rose.
'What? Don't look at me, you got us here.'
'Then I must insist that you leave at the next station, sir.' the Inspector stated, 'I shall return shortly.'
'Erm, where?' the Doctor stumbled over his words, as the Inspector left the carriage the way he had entered.
'I thought that was locked?' asked Rose, she moved to follow the Inspector and pulled at the door. 'It won't budge!'. She continued trying, the Doctor moved to her side and tried for himself. He pulled the sonic screwdriver form his jacket pocket and tried in vain, the door simply would not open.
'The Time Bubble we're in is stretching even more, allowing normal events to continue beyond what we've already seen.'
'But the passengers, they never remember us.'
'Time just reverts back to a point when the bubble was created.'
'So why doesn't it affect us?'
'We broke in and became part of the events it's captured but as we're not really of this time, we're able to move around at will, unlike the passengers or that ticket Inspector.'
'Will we be able to get out?' Rose asked, a concerned look crossed her face, 'Or are we going to be stuck here until the bubble bursts?'
'Rose!' the Doctor suddenly declared, 'That's it!'
'What?'
'Come on!' he turned and headed back to the rear of the carriage towards the luggage compartment of the train, but his exit was blocked by the strange man they had seen earlier.'
'Stay back Rose,' he whispered to her.
The Doctor moved slowly towards the figure before them. 'Hello.' he said, 'and who might you be?'
The other passengers had again gone through their routines of reading the paper and playing cards, and the elderly ladies again began to catch the attention of Rose for refreshments.
'What?' Rose snapped.
'I beg your pardon?' said Lady Carstairs.
'Erm, sorry, but bit busy right now.'
'Young lady, my companion and I require some refreshments.'
'Well ask the ticket Inspector.' said Rose at which point the Inspector had returned and asked for them for their tickets.
While he was examining the passengers' tickets, the Doctor continued towards the figure at the end of the carriage. 'Who are you? What are you doing here?'
The man looked at the Doctor and began to speak, struggling to get the first words out from what Rose could see. 'I am Richard Henrick,'
'No you're not. Who are you really? The man before me is quite dead in the luggage compartment of this train, my friend here and I saw what remained of Richard Henrick stuffed inside a suitcase.'
'And you are not of this time.'
The ticket Inspector approached the Doctor and Rose. 'Tickets please.'
'We told you before, we don't have any.' Rose snapped back.
'Then I must ask you to leave-- '
'...at the next station! we know !' interrupted Rose, at which point the ticket Inspector pushed by her and approached the Doctor.
'Not now.' said the Doctor.
'But, sir. I must insist. Please produce a ticket or I may have to ask you to disembark at the next station.' He pushed past the Doctor.
'Wait!' shouted the Doctor, but it was too late, the ticket Inspector had already begun to approach the imposter.
'Sir, your ticket please.'
Within moments the imposter grabbed the Inspector by the arm and an eerie green glow encapsulated the figure of the Inspector who screamed as his body burned in the fiery glow.
'Get back!' shouted the Doctor, the other occupants of the carriage had stood up with a start at the piercing screaming of the Inspector. Rose pulled at the Doctor's jacket urging him to retreat also but he stood his ground as he watched the lifeless body of the Inspector fall to the ground.
'You will release me.'
'Relaese you?' asked the Doctor.
'From this time trap.'
The Doctor turned to look at Rose. 'Get the others into the next carriage.'
'What? How? The door won't open.'
'The Inspector just came through it, the Time Bubble is expanding remember. You should be able to pass through it into the next carriage.'
'Right,' Rose ran to the door and to her surprise opened the door. 'Quickly, this way!' Looking at the other passengers. They looked at her with blank faces unable to comprehend what was going on. 'Come on!' she shouted.
Sir Charles Wyndham turned to his companion Mary Morris, 'Come my dear.' he took her hand and led her towards the door. He then looked at the lady passengers, 'Ladies, quickly. Let's do what the young lady wants.' he held out his hand to help Lady Carstairs who declined, her companion hesitating but reluctantly gave in and took Sir Charles' hand.
'Lady Carstairs, please.' insisted Cynthia.
'Very well, but I shall be making a formal complaint.' and Lady Carstairs followed her companion and the others through into the next carriage.
The Doctor had observed them leaving and slowly stepped backwards to follow. 'Well?' he asked, 'Who are?'
'I could ask of you the same. You're not of this time, therefore alien to this world.'
'Well, I'm the Doctor, so are you going to tell me who you really are?' He heard the door to the other carriage close behind him, Rose stood waiting for him.
'I told you to go,'
'I'm not going without you,' she said, 'who's our freaky friend here?'
'Well, I suspect he, or it is a Rutan.'
'A Rutan?'
'Yes, usually doing battle with a race called the Sontarans, but this one seems to have got itself lost.'
'You know of our race?' the imposter asked.
'I've had encounters with your lot before, yes.'
'Then you wont be offended by our natural state,' said the alien as a greenish glow engulfed the form of Richard Henrick and with the blurring of light the creature revealed its true form.
Before them was a giant mass of what could only be described by Rose as a giant green jelly fish with long tendrils that floated all round its body. It pulsed giving an eerie sound like that of a giant heart beat.
'Ha ha!!' laughed the Doctor and clapped his hands as the creature revealed its true self.
'You mock us,' The creatures voice gave off an electrical crackle as it spoke. 'You shall die, and the Rutan will take this planet for their next stage of the battle in the war against the Sontaran war machine.'
'Ha! You've got a bit of a problem there. You're stuck here with us in this Time Bubble.' he paused for a moment and then continued, 'But why? Why are you in this Time Bubble? Who put you here?'
'These questions are pointless.'
'But they're relevant.' said the Doctor. 'There's a reason for you being here.'
'And you, Doctor. Where do you originate from? You're not of this backward planet.' The Rutan's body crackled with energy as it spoke, startling Rose, who had moved to be at the Doctor's side grabbing his arm for some support.
'Let's get out of here, Doctor.'
'I need to know what our friend here is up to.'
'Isn't it obvious? It just wants to kill everyone and take over the world. So what's new?'
'That's true of most,' said the Doctor as he smiled back at her.
'Well, Doctor?'
'I'm a Time Lord.'
The creature's body seemed to rattle, crackling at the mere mention of the Doctor's race. 'The Time Lord scurge. Their agents do nothing but interfere in the affairs of others. Are you one of their agents, Doctor?'
'No, I'm the last of my people.' the grin disappeared from the Doctor's face as the thought of the Time War crossed his mind.
'So, the Time Lords are no more.' the creatures crackle of energy seemed to increase as if in pleasure at the knowledge of the Time Lords demise.
'They may well have gone, but I've no intention of letting you continue with your plans.'
'Then you too shall die, with the rest of your kind and these backward apes.' the Rutan rattled and moved towards the Doctor and Rose.
'Quick! Back!' shouted the Doctor and dragged Rose to the door but the door no longer opened.
Panic struck Rose as she struggled with the door, pulling on the handle to no avail as the creature moved ever closer towards them. 'Doctor!'
'What? It's just a glitch.'
'A glitch?' shouted back Rose.
'It'll right itself.'
'When? We'll be dead!' Suddenly the door opened and they both moved through into the next carriage and together they pulled the door close behind them.
'I don't get it. The Time Bubble, I thought it returns to the beginning?' gasped Rose.
'We've broken through it by taking out those that were trapped out.'
'Except the giant jelly fish thing in there.'
'But it won't hold it for long,' stated the Doctor as he turned towards the bewildered occupants of the carriage. He looked around them. 'Is this it?'
'That's everyone except the Inspector.'
'But where's the other occupants of this carriage?' The Doctor moved towards the opposite end to another door, which to his surprise opened with no problems at all. Beyond the next door lay the coal truck from which the train driver obtained its supply of coal to keep the engine running. He moved out on to the coupling and to a ladder, which he promptly climbed. He peered into the tuck and saw the several remains of passengers, slain by the Rutan creature. He turned in disgust and descended the ladder to return to the others.
~~~
He closed the door behind him. 'Don't go out there.' he said.
'What is it, Doctor?' asked Sir Charles.
The Doctor didn't answer but turned to Rose, 'Make sure no one goes through there.'
'Doctor, we've got to get out of here.'
'I know, and there's only one way.' he looked up at the ceiling of the carriage.
'You mean...' Rose pointed upwards.
'Yep, afraid so.'
'You there!' snapped Lady Carstairs, 'What on Earth is happening here? Why aren't we in London yet?'