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The Fifteenth Doctor was exploring his Tardis. If anyone were to tell him that he was a product of a Bi-Regeneration, he wouldn’t have believed it. But yet, here he was. Unlike his predecessors, The Fifteenth Doctor was free of all guilt and lingering doubts.
He was like a newborn child. The only difference being is that his mind was already fully matured. He was more than ready to see what the wider Universe had in store for him.
He made his way back to the Tardis console room. He looked at the Tardis jukebox and looked back at the console.
“Alright old girl, let’s see what’s out there” The Doctor exclaimed.
He then pressed the buttons and the Tardis was off flying to a new destination.
It was December 2023 and it was only a week until Christmas Day. Trevor Barns was a man who worked in a Garage. He was in his mid 30s and had a family. His wife was named Lisa and had a young daughter named Emily. The shop was surprisingly busy around the holidays as there were lots of customers.
Much to Trevor’s dismay, he was put on night watch. That means he couldn’t get home to be with his family. He was standing around the cashier stall, when he saw something peculiar.
Right outside the store, there was someone dressed as Santa Claus. He was dressed in the familiar clothes right down to the black boots. However, his face was covered in what looked like a hard plastic Santa mask. He was soon joined by two others. The other two looked the same except the masks which looked more obviously fake. The three wore red hoods over their heads and strangely were carrying brass instruments like Trumpets and a Trombone. They then started playing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
“Oh great, nut jobs!” Trevor muttered to himself.
The middle Santa with the Trombone and hard plastic mask entered the shop. The other two then followed suit.
“Can I help you out, sir?” Trevor asked.
The figure remained silent. The only sounds made were the sounds of the instruments.
“Hello, is anyone home?” Trevor then waved his hand over Santa's face.
“I don’t mean to be that guy, but can you tell your friends to get out, that music is giving me a headache”.
The figures were motionless and kept on playing their song.
“If you're not going to buy anything, I suggest you get out or I will call the police!”.
The three figures didn’t look pleased at that. They stopped playing and pointed their instruments at Trevor.
“Is that meant to scare me?” Trevor sarcastically asked.
Just then, the conversation was interrupted when someone else came through the door. He was a black man with short hair, burnt orange Leather trench coat, yellow shirt and blue trousers. He looked apprehensive with the current situation.
“Sir, I kindly suggest you back away from those Santa’s” the Man warned.
“Who are you?” Trevor asked.
“Please, just trust me”.
The Santa figures then stepped forward. They aimed their instruments at the man. Bullets then came out of the trumpets. The man darted to the side, avoiding the attack.
“What the?” Trevor asked in disbelief.
The middle Santa with the Trombone fired at the passing man. The blast from the Trombone was like a mini bomb. It left the store looking like a wreck. Shelves were destroyed and sweets were littered everywhere.
“What’s your name?” the man asked while running.
“Trevor”.
“Trevor, I’m going to need you to hide in the supply closet” The man ordered.
“But first, I need to know your name”.
“You can call me The Doctor” the man exclaimed.
The three figures stopped and looked intently as if they recognised the name.
“Hello boys, talk about Christmas past” The Doctor stated.
The figures were about to move when the Doctor got out his Sonic screwdriver. He pressed the button and it made a high pitched sound. The figures looked around as if they were looking for someone. They didn’t realise that the Doctor was right in front of them.
“That should keep you busy for a bit” The Doctor said.
The Doctor had caused their visions to glitch. He then went towards the stall and climbed over it. He joined Trevor in the supply room.
The Doctor and Trevor were in the supply room. They were hiding from the three Santa’s.
“I imagine you must have a lot of questions,” The Doctor said.
“Yeah, like who and why are there three men dressed as Santa trashing my store?” Trevor asked.
“First off, they aren’t even men”.”They are robot scavengers called Roboforms who dress up as Santa and apparently only invade around Christmas”.
“Wait, they’ve been to Earth before?”.
“Yeah, but it’s been ages since I last saw them”.
“And how do you know these “Robforms?” Trevor asked.
“You wouldn’t believe me”.
“Try me”.
“Okay then, well I’m The Doctor and I travel all over time and space”.
The Doctor then stopped and put his hand over his face. It was as if he just realised something.
“What’s wrong?” Trevor asked in confusion.
“I’ve only just regenerated and those Roboforms must have traced my signature somehow” The Doctor explained.
“But what do they want with me?”.
“I think it’s safe to assume that you just got in their way”.
“Well that’s comforting”.
Trevor then sat down against the wall.
“Do these things have any weaknesses?”.
“Well from what I remember, amplified sound wrecks them up” The Doctor said optimistically.
“Well we don’t have those kinds of speakers, is there anything else that we can do?”.
The Doctor was in deep thought. Suddenly, a thought came to him. He remembered it was snowing outside. What if The Roboforms were fully exposed to cold temperatures.
“I think I got an idea!” The Doctor exclaimed.
The Roboforms were walking around the store head to toe. They were going to get The Doctor no matter the cost. With a Time Lord’s regeneration energy, they could power themselves up for decades to come. Just then, the man of the hour appeared at the front doors.
“I hear that you’ve been looking for me,” The Doctor said.
The three Roboforms then turned to the Doctor and nodded.
“What if I said I would surrender if you leave this store alone, all you have to do is come outside” The Doctor explained.
The three Roboforms huddled together and looked like they were thinking the terms over. Two of the robots then stepped forward while one stayed behind. The duo were walking towards the exit.
“That’s it, you're nearly there”.
Just as the two robots were about to leave the store, the third robot spotted Trevor hiding behind a rack of sweets.
“Now Trevor!” The Doctor shouted.
Just before The Roboform could react, Trevor pulled off its fake mask and beard. Trevor got a good look at the Robot’s true face. It was a skeletal looking yellow face with two oval shaped black eyes. Trevor then shot the fire Extinguisher into its face. The robot was soon covered in white foam. The liquid was seething into its circuits. The robot then short circuited and fell onto the floor.
The Doctor had lured the other two by running away. He had led them to a nearby forest. He then sprayed water on the floor and used a machine to freeze the water into a frozen state. The two Roboforms caught up to the Time Lord.
“Come on then, take me” The Doctor held his hands in the air.
The Roboforms then moved forward. They slipped on the ice and fell. Their hoods slipped off, exposing their yellow heads. The Roboforms went to get up. They were getting wet from passing snow and short circuited. While one fell, the one with the Trombone remained firm, despite short circuiting.
The robot then fired a blast at the Doctor. The Doctor however, dodged the shot and it instead fired at the bark of a tree.
“I wouldn’t have done that if I was you” The Doctor stated.
The large tree then fell over. It fell right onto the Roboform and crushed it. The Santa mask could be seen next to the fallen tree.
The Doctor had returned to the shop and found Trevor. Trevor then went up to the Doctor.
“Thanks for the help Doctor”.
“It was no problem, I’m just sorry that your store had to suffer”.
“Don’t be sorry, I'm insured anyway” Trevor said.
“Well in that case, Merry Christmas” The Doctor said as he was about to leave.
“Wait” Trevor said.
The Doctor turned around.
“Don’t you want to get something for the road?” Trevor asked.
The Doctor looked at the repaired stalls. He might as well get something. He then saw something familiar that caught his eye. It was almost as if seeing an old friend.
“I’ll take those jelly babies please”.