Where are you? I thought.
As if sensing my thoughts, it replied Just listen to me. I'll give you directions.
A few minutes later, I arrived at a stall with a young man selling watches. "Hello," he said, and I recognized his voice as the one I'd been hearing in my head. "I'm Merlin, and I know how to help you. I have the gift of magic, and I know how Time Lord science works."
"How does it work?"
"To simplify it, the chameleon arch rewrites every cell in a person (or alien)'s biology."
"What's a chameleon arch?" Merlin pointed to the watches.
"I just fasten one of these to that contraption over there," he said, pointing to a helmet thing.
Donna, who hadn't been paying attention until now, looked over. "I'm not going in that!"
"Donna, can you please just do this? It will make it a lot easier for us to not get captured again," I said. Donna sighed dramatically, then walked over to the helmet. Merlin put one of the watches on the helmet, then flipped a switch. Donna screamed in agony as I cringed in sympathy.
"Is there anything you can do?" I asked Merlin.
"Maybe, let me see." Merlin started muttering things I couldn't understand. I realized he was casting a spell. Donna stopped screaming and closed her eyes. "The magical version of an anesthetic, essentially."
"When will she wake up?"
"In a few minutes, when the change is complete."
"And what is the change, exactly?"
"She'll be a Time Lord. She'll have the influence of the Doctor back, and all her memories will return."
"How?"
"It's a closely guarded secret that a chameleon arch can restore memories."
"Why is it a secret?"
"The Time Lords often punished those who were considered 'a danger to society' by removing their memories. They considered it more humane."
"But wouldn't the Doctor have been dangerous? Seems like he was messing around and doing things the Time Lords didn't like."
"He wasn't quite dangerous enough for them to punish him. And besides, when you wipe someone's mind, their personality typically remains."
Donna opened her eyes. "What happened?"
"You're a Time Lord now."
"Like the Doctor?" She gasped. "I remember the Doctor! How could I ever have forgotten him‽ Oh, right... But everything's okay." She looked at me. "Hello, Catherine. Thanks."
"Let's get you back to where you belong," I told her with a smile. "Thanks for your help, Merlin." We left.
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