Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

552 AD/CE

Kathy, at 22 years old, sits by the fire, the flickering light casting long shadows across the small stone room. The scent of burning wood mingles with the dampness of the late summer evening. She pulls her knees closer to her chest, staring into the flames, her mind wandering once again to the strange, impossible thing she's come to realize about herself.Two hearts. Two.

How is that even possible? It isn’t something she can explain. Impossible, she thinks, even though the evidence is right there, buried deep in her ribs. The only other situation Kathy knows of a being having two hearts is in the TV show Doctor Who. Kathy was highly doubtful of that being real at first but she soon realised that having two hearts and seemingly having time travelled, was it really outside the realm of possibility? She questioned what this meant for her lifespan. If her father was a Time Lord, how Time Lord was she? Could she regenerate? Or was she a different species altogether? What did this mean for any children?

She runs her hand over the spot, her fingers brushing against the familiar rise of her chest, as if reassuring herself that the hearts are still there. She can’t tell anyone about it—not in this time. People here, in this dusty, hard world of the 6th century, would think her cursed or possessed. The people of Amore-burh are good folk, but superstition runs thick through their veins like blood.

But Kathy isn’t sure she even believes in the same things anymore. She doesn’t really understand her place in the world. She has come from one life, and now she’s living another. Kathy was born on the 14th of February 2000, and yes, she knows—Valentine's Day. Her name changed to Arantxa, which she later learnt meant thorn bush in old English. The name felt foreign, even as she got used to hearing it every day.

She has memories of a family, a house, a world full of technology and noise that she could barely hold on to now. And then—this. A new family, a new world, one where people worked the land and where children died far too soon. Payton. God, it still stung. The pain of watching her child slip away after only three short years was a pain that felt like a shadow hanging over her soul.

Kathy had married Barden, a man who, to anyone else in Amore-burh, seemed like just another face in the crowd—steady, reliable, hardworking. He was the kind of man who didn’t speak much, preferring to let his actions do the talking. He had broad shoulders, hands that were rough from years of working the land, and eyes that seemed to see everything, yet said little.

Kathy had married him in the way most women did in this time: out of necessity, out of duty, but also a quiet hope. Her family had not been wealthy, and Barden was, at least, stable—a good provider. His father owned a modest plot of land near the village, and Barden would inherit it someday. Not much, but enough. Enough to keep a roof over their heads, enough to ensure their survival.

At first, their marriage had been a quiet affair. Kathy wasn’t sure how to be a wife, how to fit herself into this role in a time that seemed so foreign. But when they had their first child, Payton, something shifted in him. He became softer, more protective, as if the weight of their little family was now something he wanted to keep safe, something he could hold together.

And then, when Payton died, Barden had been there. He didn’t say the wrong things. He didn’t try to make her feel better with empty words. He simply held her in the long, dark nights when the grief threatened to swallow her whole.

And her father? Kathy wasn’t even sure what to make of him. He wasn’t like other fathers she had known in her previous life. This one was distant, cold—had been since the moment she was born. She had learned about her true parentage in a hushed conversation between her mother and her aunt one night when Kathy was just old enough to understand. Her mother’s affair with another man. A different man.

Her mind wanders back to her siblings—three older siblings and two more after her—who seem so ordinary to her now. But she is different to them. Not just because of the strange, alien sensation of two hearts beating in her chest, but because her father who doesn’t treat her the same. Not like the others. And maybe, just maybe, it is because she isn’t entirely his daughter.

A wave of emotion rolls over her—frustration, anger, and something else that feels like grief—but it is all so confusing. She doesn’t know where she belongs anymore. She’d been born in 2000 in England to a mum and dad as well as two younger siblings, lived out her life pretty normally till she died just a few months after her 21st birthday. Well, Kathy thought she died, didn't really remember, bit fuzzy. Was she supposed to just accept this life?

“Arantxa, child, come,” her mother calls from the door, her voice warm despite the cold of the evening.

Kathy blinks, startled from her thoughts. Her mother’s face appears in the doorway, her features softened by the low light of the fire.

“I need your help with the washing, child. And your father—he wants to speak with you.”

Kathy nods, pushing herself to her feet. Her legs feel heavy, like the weight of a thousand unanswered questions is tied around her ankles. As she walks toward the door, she pauses, one last thought flickering through her mind.

She steps outside, the chill of the night air biting at her skin. Maybe she will never fully understand what has happened to her. Maybe she will never know who—or what—she truly is. Kathy wonders if she is ever meant to be just human at all.

——

555 AD/CE

Kathy stumbles over a fallen branch as she makes her way through the woods, her hands resting on her growing belly. At 25 weeks pregnant with Carlyle, her second child and son, the weight of it all feels heavier with each passing step. She’s out here collecting firewood, the cool air biting at her skin as she breathes in the quiet of the forest. It's a peaceful morning—until something breaks the silence.

A sound—something deep, familiar, almost mechanical—cuts through the stillness. A whoosh. It’s so distinct, it sends a shiver down Kathy’s spine. Her head jerks up, eyes darting around. For a moment, she wonders if she’s just imagining it, the early stages of pregnancy playing tricks on her mind. But then, she sees it.

A blue box. It’s sitting there, in the middle of the woods, as though it had always been there. Its tall shape is unmistakable, with the words "Police box" emblazoned across the top. Kathy’s heart skips a beat. She’s seen this before—on a screen, in stories, in fiction—but never in real life. She blinks rapidly, convinced she’s hallucinating. She can’t be seeing this.

The box is real. It’s here. And it’s... making that sound again.

As the box lands with a soft thud, she feels an odd tug at her mind, as though something is trying to make a connection—a presence, distant but undeniable.

Kathy freezes. She can’t look away.

The door swings open. Wrong way, she thinks briefly, but that thought quickly fades as a man steps out. He looks... exactly like the 10th Doctor. She takes in his long tan trench coat, his brown spiky hair that seem to defy gravity. Beside him, a woman steps out, and Kathy’s heart lurches. She looks like Rose Tyler. Exactly like Rose Tyler.

Kathy blinks again, unable to process what’s happening. She’s sure she’s dreaming. She must be.

The man spots her almost immediately, his eyes widening as he grins from ear to ear. He’s staring at her like he’s seen her a thousand times before, his excitement bubbling over. 

“Kathy!” he calls. 

Her breath catches in her throat. How does he know my name?

“When are we?” he continues, his voice speeding up. “Have you been to platform one yet? Wait, no—can’t be right, not the right time. Or maybe—”

He’s rambling. A rapid-fire stream of questions that make absolutely no sense. Kathy’s mind struggles to catch up, but it’s impossible. She’s pregnant, tired, and utterly confused. This can’t be happening.

The woman, who she reluctantly calls Rose in her head, gives a sharp, exasperated sigh and slaps the man’s arm. “Doctor!” she says, her tone cutting through his babbling like a knife. The man stops mid-sentence, blinking as though he’s just realized he’s been talking too much. 

The Doctor looks at Kathy with a sudden realization dawning on his face, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. His smile falters for just a second, but then it’s back. “Oh,” he says, his voice softer now. “Oh, you’re so young, aren’t you? You haven’t met any of me, have you?”

Kathy blinks, her mind spinning, trying to make sense of the nonsense spilling from his mouth. Her chest tightens, and before she can stop herself, she lets out a sharp, incredulous scream. 

“What???!!!”

The Doctor looks at her with a mix of sympathy and amusement, as though her reaction is entirely expected. “Yeah, don’t suppose you have,” he replies casually.

And just like that, it all begins.

Chapter Text

"Okay, you're telling your real! You're telling me that this…" Kathy swings her arms around gesturing to the console room of the TARDIS that she's standing in with the Doctor and Rose in front of her, "is real! You two are real! This is—"

Ten then quickly cuts her off. "YES!" Kathy shuts her mouth as she tries to stop herself from hyperventilating. "Blimey, I thought I had a gob."

"Oi!"

"You alright?" Rose then asks her worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah fine. Perfectly fine. Nothing wrong." Kathy ramble. Then a thought comes to her. "Wait when did we meet? You two know me. How?"

"Well… wait I can't tell you that! Spoilers! It's your personal timeline." The Doctor cries, seeming a bit tense. Kathy sees Rose looks mildly upset but it quickly goes and is replaced by a smile. What was that all about?

"Right okay, I know you can't tell me everything but you could at least tell me something, like who I am, what I am. Cause I'm pretty sure I have two hearts which isn't exactly human."

"Well, you haven't explained everything really but you did say to explain to you what we know when you first meet us…" Rose murmurs. "Y-you said that um your father was half Time Lord, half Apa-apalu- ugh can't say it! Doctor?"

"Apalapucian. They are dominant over your human side."

"Yeah that. But anyway, you said you didn't know anything else." Wait, what?!

"Hold on, does this mean I regenerate? Do I change faces?" Kathy asks well, more like demands.

"Well… not exactly." The Doctor says. "You explained that you don't heal the way I do, that your face stays the same because of your Apalapucia side."

"Huh…" Well, at least she knows now.

"Also, that bit about being from a different dimension. So, you basically know a load about us anyway." Rose then adds. "God that was a lot of information then, wasn't it?" She smiles cheekily.

The Doctor and Kathy laugh at that.

"Yeah… wait!" Kathy says startling the other two. "How many of you from your point of view have I met?"

"Well only the current one," he points to his face smiling, "and my last one. No one before then as far as I know."

Kathy nods. That's good considering she hasn't really seen the show before that point.

"Right now, that is out of the way, how about we go somewhere?" The Doctor says cheerfully.

Rose laughs. "Why not? Kathy needs more evidence."

"I'm pregnant." Kathy blurts out as if they couldn't already see that from her stomach.

"It'll be fine. I won't take you anywhere unsafe. I promise." The Doctor reassures her but she doesn't believe him and she thinks her silence says everything. "W-well, uuuuhhhh, I-I'll try my best?" He awkwardly scratches the back of his head.

Kathy purses her lips. "Fine." Rose whoops.

"Well how about the 70s? Eh? You two could get charged." The Doctor proposes.

"Yeah, alright sounds like a laugh," Rose says. She goes to grab her bag to change into while Kathy just stands there watching the Doctor put the TARDIS into flight mode.

"Hello." Kathy hears the word spoken in her head that sounds like the Doctor. Kathy's head jerks up and she stares at him with wide eyes.

"What… I-how?" Kathy stumbles.

He smiles. "Because you are part Time Lord, it is a thing we can do. Did you get a certain feeling once we landed?"

"Uh… yeah I did. What was that? Can we seriously talk to each other in our heads?" Kathy questions trying to understand. It sounded pretty handy. Would her child be able to do this as well?

"Yeah, as well as sensing each other. It's quite faint though considering you're not full Time Lord. Unnoticeable usually unless you're looking, like a perception filter."

"Ah." She says in response. "Can I try?"

"Go for it."

Kathy closes her eyes to concentrate. "Potatoes." She opens her eyes and sees the Doctor scrunching up his face.

"Potatoes?! Is that really all you can think of?" He whines. She shrugs. He huffs and turns away.

It's not long until he starts speaking again. "Here look at this." The Doctor shows her a CD by a band called Ian Dury and the Blockheads that he must have picked up. "What do you think?" He grins.

"No idea who they are but sure," Kathy says.

"Ugh, no taste." He complains.

Rose enters the console room again and finishes zipping her bag up and shoves it out of the way. She stands, showing then what she is wearing, which is a rather short dungaree skirt. The outfit is suddenly very familiar. Is this the Queen Victoria episode cause if it is… oh Rose.

"What do you think of this? Will it do?" She asks. Kathy chews her lip but tries to smile encouragingly at her.

"In the late 1970s? You'd be better off in a bin bag. Hold on, listen to this." The Doctor bungs the CD in the player and some song by Ian Dury and the Blockheads blares out. The Doctor wanders around the controls. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979."

"You're a Punk!" Rose accuses as the Doctor continues moving, singing along. "That's what you are. A big old Punk with a bit of Rockabillly thrown in."

"Would you like to see him?"

Rose's mouth hangs open. "How'd you mean? In concert?"

"What else is a TARDIS for?"

Rose pulls Kathy into their funky little dance around the console, probably having noticed that she was just standing there and not getting involved.

The Doctor continues, "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar... the first anti-gravity Olympics... Caesar crossing the Rubicon... or... Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November 1979. What do you think?" Yeah, definitely Queen Victoria.

"I think Rose wants Sheffield." Kathy pipes up.

"Right Kathy strap yourself in, you're pregnant," She goes to do just that, "Rose hold on tight." He pulls a lever just as Kathy tightens the straps and they both lurch forward as the TARDIS shudders and spins through the Vortex. The Doctor whacks the console with a hammer to the beat of the music, shouting. Kathy cringes thinking how the TARDIS is probably not enjoying that. The TARDIS makes a noise, probably agreeing with her.

"Stop!" Rose yells.

The movement stops and they both fall onto the floor, laughing their heads off.

The Doctor pulls himself up as Kathy then unbuckles herself and walks over to them. "1979. Hell of a year!" He pulls Rose to her feet. She then grabs Kathy's hand and she gets pulled along as they bound towards the doors. The Doctor grabs his jacket as he rambles, "China invades Vietnam... The Muppet Movie! Love that film. Margaret Thatcher... urgh... Skylab falls to Earth... with a little help from me... nearly took off my thumb."

The Doctor steps out of the doors, Rose and Kathy behind him into a field.

"I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to..." He falters as he notices that they are surrounded by Scottish soldiers on all sides, guns raised. He puts his hands up and Rose and Kathy follow suit. "...my thumb."

The guns click ominously.

"1879. Same difference." Ten mutters to himself.

"How?!" Kathy whisper yells at him but he simply shrugs.

The man on the horse next to them, who seems to be the leader of the soldiers, speaks, "You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl." He gestures to Rose, who is standing between Kathy and the Doctor. Rose looks down at herself probably realising her outfit is inappropriate for this time period. Kathy, on the other hand, is a bit more so as despite it not being good quality, is wearing a dress that covers pretty much all her skin.

"Are we in Scotland?" The Doctor then says putting on a Scottish accent. Kathy always found this funny considering how the actor himself was Scottish.

"How can you be ignorant of that?"

"Oh, I'm... I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this... this wee naked child over hill and over dale. In't that right, ya... timorous beastie?" The Doctor 'explains'.

Rose then speaks with an absolutely hilariously terrible attempt at a Scottish accent. "Ooch, aye! I've been oot and aboot."

"No, don't do that." The Doctor tells her.

"Hoots mon!"

"Oh my god Rose please stop," Kathy says. She quietens.

"Will you identify yourself, sir?" Horse pointing gunman orders.

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon. From the... Township of Balamory. Eh... I have my credentials, if I may..." He gestures towards his pocket and the man nods. They lower their hands whilst the Doctor fumbles in his pocket and produces the psychic paper. He shows it to them, moving it around as he talks. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

A muffled voice comes from the carriage behind the soldiers. "Let them approach."

The Captain, however, is still suspicious. "I don't think that's wise, ma'am."

"Let them approach."

The Doctor gestures towards the carriage and the Captain has no choice but to let them approach. "You will approach the carriage. And show all due deference."

The Doctor does an 'aye aye, Captain' sort of signal, and they approach the carriage. Kathy begins to get quite excited knowing she is going to meet her first historical figure. One of the footmen opens the door to reveal Queen Victoria.

The Doctor continues in his Scottish accent, "Rose, Katherine...," so he knows her full name as well, huh, "might I introduce her Majesty, Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

Kathy curtsies as best as she can with her stomach. "Katherine… uh Davis Ma'am." Kathy had made the decision then that despite her new name, she still feels more connected with her old name and would introduce herself as such in the future when not with her life in the 6th century (cause that'll get confusing and messy).

Rose curtsies herself. "Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies... for being so naked." She laughs nervously.

Queen Victoria looks unshaken. "I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me." Kathy feels slightly upset with the mention of daughters. "But you, Doctor... show me these credentials." The Doctor obligingly hands the psychic paper over, and the Queen studies it for a moment.

"Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."

"Does it?" The Doctor asks surprised before quickly recovering. "Yes, it does! Good! Good! Um... then let me ask... Why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

"A tree on the line."

"An accident?" Kathy asks knowing the answer already. The Doctor gives her a look as if saying he knows that she already knows.

"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned." The Queen says.

"An assassination attempt?" The Doctor assumes.

"What, seriously? There's people out to kill ya?" Rose wonders.

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun." Victoria remarks.

The Captain comes over on his horse, behind them. "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We'll send word ahead, he'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor, Mrs Davis and their... timorous beastie will come with us. Due to her condition, Mrs Davis can join me in the carriage." The Queen declares. Her eyes widen. She’s going to be on her own with Queen Victoria?! Rose sends her a grin.

"Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving, it's almost nightfall."

A different footman offers his hand to help Kathy into the carriage and Kathy awkwardly shifts around, trying to get comfortable as the Queen speaks, "Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!"

And with that, they are in their way.

"Mrs Davis," the Queen says, drawing Kathy’s attention to her after a short while, "I wonder why you are traipsing around with those two in your condition. Wherever is your husband?"

"Uh… away ma'am. On business. The Doctor is my companion, to keep me company while he's away." Kathy says, feeling proud of herself for coming up with that on the spot.

"Hmm. Is it your first? I could not imagine you would be leaving your children on their own."

The thought of her dead daughter makes Kathy’s eyes water. "No, my second. B-but she died young, you see."

"Oh. I am sorry." She says apologetically.

"It's alright, you were not to know ma'am," Kathy says.

——

They arrive at Torchwood house with Kathy being the only one that knows the significance of its name.

One of the footmen opens the door of the carriage and helps Queen Victoria down then Kathy down.

Kathy walks over to stand with the Doctor and Rose.

"So, carriage ride with Queen Victoria…" the Doctor trails off invitingly.

"Eh it was alright," Kathy says casually with a grin. The two next to her chuckle.

Sir Robert emerges from a doorway and approaches her with one of the monks, that had taken over the house, behind him.

"Your Majesty." He bows.

"Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?" She asks.

"She's... indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her, the kitchens are barely stocked... I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on." Sir Robert says. Kathy feels sorry for him as he clearly is being forced to do this.

The Doctor cocks his head to one side, watching him, he has also recognised that Sir Robert would rather the Queen stayed away.

Queen Victoria, on the other hand, responds cheerfully, "Oh, not at all! I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is... charming. If rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside?"

Sir Robert is evidently reluctant, but the Queen does not notice.

"And please excuse the naked girl." She adds.

"Sorry." Rose mumbles. Kathy can't help but snicker at the situation and Rose nudges her in the side. Honestly, she’s surprised that she hasn’t had a meltdown over this whole thing, she must be in shock still or she’s just weird. Probably the latter.

"She's a feral child. I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It was her or the Elephant Man, so..." The Doctor says all Scottish again.

"Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused." She looks pointedly at Queen Victoria. "What do you think, Ma'am?" Ah the bet, Kathy remembers that. It seems her not totally human brain, which means her memory is better cause she shouldn't remember this much usually.

The Queen looks unfazed by the comment. "It hardly matters. Shall we proceed? Sir Robert nods and they begin to make their way into the house."

"So close," Rose mutters. She then turns to Kathy, "Do I need to explain?"

"Nope," Kathy replies.

She laughs. "Of course."

"Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the Property. Hurry up." The Captain orders.

"Yes, sir." They both respond. One of the soldiers takes a small wooden box from the carriage and carries it carefully to the house.

The Doctor looks at it interested. "What's in there, then?"

"Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir."

The Doctor pulls a face to Rose and Kathy.

The Captain continues, "The rest of you go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions."

"You heard the orders. Positions, sir."

The Doctor nods towards the house and he, Kathy and Rose follow the others.

——

Sir Robert guides them to the Observatory. There is what looks like an enormous telescope in the middle of the room.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour." Queen Victoria says.

"All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession... he spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself." Sir Robert explains.

The Doctor smiles, "I wish I'd met him, I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I um...?" He gestures towards it.

"Help yourself."

The Doctor and Rose move forward to examine the telescope and the wheel next to it, Kathy trails after them.

"What did he model it on?" The Doctor asks.

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little... shall we say, eccentric." Sir Robert answers. The Doctor gives a dopey laugh. "I wish now I'd spent more time with him. And listened to his stories."

The Doctor, as he peers through the telescope, then forgets how to be polite, "It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top, that's stupid kind of a..." he trails off and walks over to Rose and Kathy seeing the looks on their faces and speaks quietly dropping his Scottish accent briefly, "Am I being rude again?"

"Yep," Rose replies.

"Just a little bit," Kathy adds using her fingers to mimic a small gap.

The Doctor quickly tries to recover as he stands, "But it's pretty! It's very... pretty." Rose pats him fondly on the arm.

"And the imagination of it should be applauded." Queen Victoria says.

"Mm! Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty," Rose remarks. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful?" Queen Victoria stares at her. "You could easily... not be amused, or something...? No?"

"This device surveys the infinite work of God." The Queen says instead.

Kathy presses her lips together in an attempt not to laugh while the Doctor shakes his head at Rose with a vague smile on his face.

"What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath. Steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairy tales." The Queen adds.

"Stars and magic. I like him more and more." The Doctor says. He wanders around the telescope to examine it some more.

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," she walks over to Rose and Kathy, "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

The Doctor comes over to murmur in Rose and Kathy’s ears, "That's Bavaria."

Queen Victoria turns to Sir Robert. "When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."

"So, what's this wolf, then?" Kathy asks, trying to push everyone along a little though the Doctor probably would have asked anyway.

"It's just a story."

"Then tell it." The Doctor says possibly catching on to what she’s doing.

Sir Robert glances around at the monk men very uncomfortably. He then speaks very haltingly, "It's said that..."

But he is interrupted by one of the monk men, "Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

"Of course. Yes, of course."

"And then supper. And... could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness." Queen Victoria says.

"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose asks pointedly. Queen Victoria glances around at her and decides to ignore this comment and turns back to Sir Robert. Kathy lets out a snort causing Rose to poke her in the chest.

"And despite her being the opposite, could Mrs Davis have a more proper dress for dinner. Sir Robert, your wife must've left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven. And talk some more of this wolf. After all... there is a full moon tonight."

"So, there is, Ma'am." Sir Robert replies. He bows, and the Queen leaves the room followed by the rest of them.

——

Rose and Kathy go to one of the bedrooms to look for something to wear at dinner.

Rose goes to one of the wardrobes and opens the door, finding a brown dress which she holds up to herself in the mirror.

"Maybe not," Kathy tells her.

"Yeah." She immediately puts it back.

Rose holds a frilly blouse up to her then, they laugh, and she puts it back in the wardrobe. Kathy is soaking in the calm they have before everything kicks off.

Next Kathy pulls out a pretty blue dress and hands it to Rose.

"Yeah, that looks better," Kathy says. Rose holds it up to herself and twirls around a bit.

"Mmm… fancy."

Rose places the dress down on the bed, crosses the room and opens another wardrobe door. She screams as a young maid is crouched inside, breathing heavily with fear.

Rose and Kathy bring the frightened girl to sit on the bed.

"They came through the house. The incitements, they took the Steward and the Master. And my Lady." She shakily explains. Kathy squeezes her hand comfortingly.

"Listen... we've got a friend, he's called the Doctor, he'll know what to do. You've gotta come with us." Rose says.

"Oh, but I can't, Miss." The girl replies.

"What's your name?" Kathy asks her.

"Flora."

"Flora, we'll be safe. There are more people who've arrived downstairs; soldiers and everything, and they can help us. I promise. Come on. Okay? Come on." Kathy says comfortingly. She knows it may not be safe straight away, but she knows that Flora will be alright so technically she didn't lie.

Rose peers cautiously out of the door and seeing that the coast is clear, takes Flora's hand and leads her down the corridor while Kathy follows behind. Just around the corner lies an unconscious guard.

"Oh, Miss. I did warn you!" Flora cries.

Rose kneels and feels for a pulse. "He's not dead... I don't think, he must be drugged or something."

Suddenly something grabs Kathy from behind and the same is done to Flora. Hands stifle any noises they would have made and they are dragged away. Before Rose can react, she too is grabbed and dragged away. One of the Monks drags the guard away.

——

Three of them are pushed into the cellar and chained up with the rest of the servants and Sir Robert's wife, Lady Isobel. They leave and Kathy frowns after them. Do they not understand how to treat a pregnant woman?!

"Are you okay?" Rose quietly asks. Kathy nods and that is when she notices the figure who'll turn into a wolf sitting quietly in his cage.

"Don't make a sound. They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us." Lady Isobel says sobbing.

"But... he's in a cage. He's a prisoner. He's the same as us." Rose says.

Lady Isobel's voice is full of fear, "He's nothing like us. That creature is not mortal."

The figure, the host, raises his head slowly and opens his eyes... which are completely black. Lady Isobel and her household staff whimper, and Rose and Kathy stare, scared.

After a short while, Rose stands. She's going to approach the Host. Kathy wants to join her but with her large stomach and all the physical strain she will go through, she thinks it best to rest and let Rose lead this.

"Don't, child." Lady Isobel calls.

Rose ignores her. She edges slowly towards the Host, chains rattling slightly. When she's as close as the chains will allow her, she kneels.

"Who are you?"

"Don't enrage him." One of the male servants calls, the steward Kathy thinks.

Rose continues. "Where are you from? You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?"

"Ohhh... intelligence..." The host whispers. Its tone creeps Kathy out.

"Where were you born?"

"This body... ten miles away... a weakling, heartsick boy. Stolen away at night by the brethren from my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."

"All right... so the body's human... but what about you? The thing inside?” Rose probes.

"So far from home." The host replies.

"If you wanna get back home, we can help."

"Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose."

"How would you do that?"

"I would migrate to the Holy Monarch." It explains.

"You mean Queen Victoria?" Rose realises.

"With one bite, I would pass into her blood. And then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf! So many questions..." It suddenly lunges forward, making all of them jump and gasp. "Look! Inside your eyes! You've seen it too!"

"Seen what?" Rose asks, afraid.

"The Wolf! There is something of the Wolf about you!" Bad wolf. Kathy wonders if she'll be there for that.

Rose stares at him, breathing heavily. "I don't know what you mean."

"You burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon." The doors of the cellar are thrown open and the moonlight floods in, over the Host's cage. He presses his face against the bars with a blissful smile. "Moonlight..."

The other prisoners shift around uncomfortably, not knowing what to make of this. The Host sheds his cloak. A wind blows through the cellar. The Host grasps the bars of the cage.

Kathy urgently turns to everyone knowing that she should get on with it. "Everyone! Stop looking at it! Flora, don't look. Listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull! C'mon Rose!"

Rose joins her in pulling on the chain. "Come on! With me! Pull!"

There are growling sounds emitting from the cage, and Lady Isobel is just staring at it in horror.

"I said pull! Stop your whinging and listen to us!" Kathy yells at them. Do they honestly think that being pregnant, she can do this with so little help?

"All of you! And that means you, your Ladyship! Now come on, pull!" Rose adds.

They all stand and help them pull on the chain, trying to free it from the wall. The Host is slowly transforming into a wolf. He screams in pain as his skin bulges horribly. His screams turn into growls as he begins to look more and more like a wolf.

"One... two… three... Pull!" Kathy and Rose yell.

They all tug on the chain, desperately trying to free themselves. The transformation is all but complete.

"One... two... three... pull!"

The werewolf's transformation is complete. It growls and flexes its claws as the prisoners scream.

"One, two, three, pull!"

And finally, the chain comes free. The Doctor kicks down the door to the cellar and enters with Sir Robert.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose yells at him.

The Doctor turns and stares at the werewolf with wide-eyed awe as it grabs hold of the bars of the cage. "Oh, that's beautiful!"

Sir Robert turns to his wife, "Get out!"

The wolf begins to bend and break the bars, throwing the cage off. The household staff are all clamouring to get out of the room. The Doctor suddenly remembers the urgency of the situation and turns back to them.

The Doctor begins ushering everyone, "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!"

"Come on..." Kathy cries. "Doctor c'mon!"

The werewolf stands tall, free of the cage. He throws the top of it across the room, narrowly missing the Doctor who finally stops staring and makes a run for it. He slams the door behind him and locks it with his sonic screwdriver.

——

The Steward hands guns to all the men. "Arms... and your strife... ready everyone?"

Lady Isobel leaves with the maids as the Doctor is using the sonic screwdriver to relieve Rose and Kathy of the handcuffs. All the while he is rattling off what he thinks, "It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?"

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne... you name it." Rose answers. Kathy stays quiet as she still feels shaken at what is happening. She feels her child kick and she remembers it is not only her she’s got to protect.

"Any hints?" The Doctor turns to me.

Kathy blinks at him, surprised for a moment. "Uhhh… well I- mistletoe is important?"

"Right." He nods.

There is a thumping sound from the direction of the cellar and they both look around. The Doctor ventures out into the corridor to investigate with Kathy and Rose behind him. The wolf has managed to knock down the door and is standing at the other end of the corridor. He and the Doctor stare at one another for a few moments before the werewolf growls and the Doctor runs back into the room. He grabs their hands and pulls them behind the line of men with guns poised and ready.

"Fire!" They shoot at the wolf, who stumbles back a few steps. "Fire!" Kathy flinches as they fire again.

The room with the firing squad is full of smoke. There is no sign of the wolf.

"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs, come with me." Kathy notices then that the Doctor has lost his Scottish accent.

"I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault." The Steward says.

The Doctor angrily responds, "I'm telling you, come upstairs!"

"And I'm telling you, sir, that I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall."

"Please listen to him," Kathy begs.

"I'm sorry madam." He says and strides across the room to look down the corridor, checking for the wolf. The Doctor watches him, looking extremely angry and concerned. Apparently seeing nothing, he strides back looking mildly triumphant. "Must've crawled away to die..."

And he is lifted clean through the ceiling by the wolf and they hear him being devoured.

"There's nothing we can do!" The Doctor cries. He grabs hold of Rose and Kathy and pushes them from the room with him.

——

Kathy rushes into a room along with the Doctor, Rose and Sir Robert. The Doctor slams the door behind them and locks it with his sonic screwdriver.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Sir Robert yells.

Queen Victoria comes down the stairs, "Sir Robert! What's happening?"

The Doctor dashes off somewhere.

"I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?" Sir Robert asks.

"Captain Reynolds disposed of him." Kathy briefly glances at her knowing that isn't true.

The Doctor comes back and speaks in his non-Scottish accent, "The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty, you'll have to leg it out of a window."

He gestures through a door and Queen Victoria obliges with her head held high. Sir Robert follows and they find themselves in another upstairs room.

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress." Sir Robert says.

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh." The Queen says.

The Doctor, however, is impatient, "Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?"

Sir Robert climbs onto the window sill and has to immediately dodge out of the way as he is shot at by the Monks standing outside.

The Doctor stares out of the window, eyes wide. "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside."

"Do they know who I am?" The Queen exclaims.

"Yeah, that's why they want you, it's why they are doing this. The wolf's lined you up for a... a biting." Kathy tells her.

"Now, stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf." The words are no sooner out of her mouth than howling rings through the house. All of them spin around, alarmed, and leave the room hurriedly. They run into a hallway and the wolf is battering on the door.

"What do we do?" Rose asks.

"We... run!" Kathy knows he was going to say this but that doesn't mean she doesn’t grumble a little.

"Is that it?!"

"Again! Pregnant!" Kathy reminds him.

"You got any silver bullets?" The Doctor asks sarcastically.

"Not on me, no!" Rose replies.

"There we are then, we run. Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog." He jogs on the spot to demonstrate. "Good for the health. Come on!"

He grabs the Queen's hand and leads her from the room. They run as fast as they can up the staircase. Kathy is struggling to keep up with her stomach but the Doctor just pulls on her hand and cries, "Come on! Come on!

Having reached the top of the stairs, they run through the corridors, the wolf closes on their tails. It is nearly upon them, mostly Kathy and the Queen as both of them are at the back as they are finding the most difficult, ready to pounce when Captain Reynolds appears holding a gun. He shoots and the wolf reels backwards down the corridor. The Captain ducks behind the corridor where they are standing, out of breath.

"I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty." Captain Reynolds says.

"I have it. It's safe." Said woman replies.

"Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown." He cocks his gun.

"Bullets can't stop it!" The Doctor warns him.

"They'll buy you time. Now, run!"

He positions himself at the end of the corridor, gun held ready. Queen Victoria and Sir Robert have already started running in the opposite direction, followed by the Doctor, and finally by Rose and Kathy as they stare at Captain Reynolds in dismay for a few seconds. The Doctor, Sir Robert and Queen Victoria run into the library with Kathy behind them. Rose stops outside the door and watches as Captain Reynolds shoots at the werewolf then pounces upon him and then rips him apart. Kathy grimaces at the sounds of his screams.

"Rose!" The Doctor rushes out into the corridor, grabs her round the waist and pulls her into the room just in time to slam the door shut.

——

Sir Robert and Rose help the Doctor barricade the doors with chairs and bits of wood. Kathy quickly sits down to rest; she can feel the baby moving so she knows it's okay though probably mildly distressed from all the moving.

"Wait a minute, shh, shh, wait a minute..." The Doctor urges. The wolf howls into the silence. "It's stopped." He stands on the chair and presses his ear against the door. There are sounds indicating the wolf has turned and left. "It's gone."

Footsteps can be heard padding around the outside of the room.

"Listen..." Rose murmurs.

The Doctor climbs quietly down from the chair and there is dead silence in the library as they follow the wolf's progress around the room, absolutely terrified. The Queen is shaking violently.

"Is this the only door?" The Doctor whispers to Sir Robert.

"Yes. No!" And he dashes to the other door with the Doctor and they barricade it shut.

"Shh!" Rose silences them.

They look around uneasily as they hear the sounds the werewolf is making, and then it stops. Footsteps pad away into the distance.

"I don't understand. What's stopping it?" Rose wonders.

"Something inside this room?" The Doctor says turning to Kathy.

"Not exactly," Kathy says, still feeling exhausted. Sir Robert sits on one of the chairs barricading his door and puts his head in his hands.

The Doctor's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What is it? Why can't it get in?"

"I'll tell you what, though..." Rose says.

"What?"

"Werewolf...!"

"I know!" The Doctor exclaims.

Rose half laughs and they throw their arms around each other. Kathy glares at them feeling slightly annoyed. She now understands the fear that Queen Victoria felt… or is feeling… or will. God tenses are confusing.

"You all right?" The Doctor asks her.

"I'm okay, yeah!"

Queen Victoria stares at them, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault." Sir Robert says from behind them, drawing their attention. "I should've sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong, I... thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Well, they were bald, athletic... your wife's away, I just thought you were happy." The Doctor quips.

"Not the time Doctor," Kathy tells him. He pouts at that.

"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now." For god's sake Rose, not now!

"Rose!" Kathy exclaims at the same time the Queen says angrily, "Do you think this is funny?"

"No, Ma'am, I'm sorry," Rose answers meekly.

"What, exactly, I pray someone please, what exactly is that creature?" Queen Victoria demands.

The Doctor scratches his head. "You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

"And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"

The Doctor then realises he has lost his Scottish accent, "Oh... right, sorry..."

The Queen has clearly reached the end of her tether. "I'll not have it. No, sir, not you... not that thing... none of it. This is not my world."

——

The Doctor touches the woodwork. Noticing the carving of mistletoe on the door.

"Mistletoe..." He murmurs. "Kathy, you said mistletoe! Sir Robert, did your father put that there?"

"I don't know, I suppose..." The man replies.

The Doctor begins thinking out loud, "On the other door, too... a carving wouldn't be enough... I wonder..." He licks the woodwork. Kathy pulls a face. "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe, it's been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him! Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asks.

"Well, it thinks it is. The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things."

"Also stops them from being eaten," Kathy adds.

"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon." Sir Robert moans.

"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" The Doctor says.

"Being rude again." Rose points out.

"Good. I meant that one." He strides towards the bookshelves.

"Well, you shouldn't." Kathy reproaches.

The Doctor rolls his eyes. "You want weapons? Kathy, what's the best weapon we have?" Points at her.

"Books?" Kathy answers though it sounds more like a question.

"Brilliant! We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world." He puts his glasses on. "This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." He pulls some books off the shelf and chucks some to Rose. "Arm yourself."

——

Kathy, Rose, the Doctor and Sir Robert are frantically flicking through the books, talking over one another.

Suddenly the Doctor jumps down from the ladder, holding a book which he puts down on the table. Kathy knew he had found it then.

"Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth. On the open page, there is an illustration of a rock falling to Earth from the sky." They gather around.

"A spaceship?" Rose questions.

"A shooting star." Sir Robert says reading the page. ""In the year of our Lord, 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit." That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the Monastery."

"But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?" Rose asks.

"Could've been developing." Kathy hints to the Doctor and Rose hoping not to give it away to the other two in the room.

"Yes!" The Doctor exclaims. "Only a single cell survives. Adapting slowly down the generations. It survived through the humans. Host after host after host."

"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert asks.

"That's what it wants. It said so, the... the Empire of the Wolf." Rose says, glancing at Kathy to see if she's right. She nods back.

The Doctor speaks with foreboding, "Imagine it... the Victorian Age accelerated... starships and missiles fuelled by coal and driven by steam... leaving history devastated in its wake..."

Queen Victoria stands, "Sir Robert!" Sir Robert goes to her. "If I am to die here..."

"Don't say that, Your Majesty."

"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself." She opens her bag; Kathy remembers what's inside.

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables." The Doctor calls over to her.

"Sssh Doctor." Kathy hisses at him as she walks over to Queen Victoria.

The Queen doesn't look too pleased either. "Thank you for your opinion. But there is nothing more valuable than this." And she takes the Koh-I-Noor from her bag and holds it in the palm of her hand.

Rose looks at it amazed. "Is that the Koh-I-Noor?"

"Oh, yes... the greatest diamond in the world." The Doctor says. The Doctor and Rose shuffle forward for a closer look.

"Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die." The Queen utters.

"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I...?" The Doctor holds out his hand for the diamond. Queen Victoria gives it to him. He pushes his glasses down his nose to look at it closely. Rose prods it, eyes wide while Kathy just stares afraid that if she’ll even breathe on it, it would shatter. "That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?" Rose wonders.

"They say... the wages of the entire planet for a whole week."

Rose peers at it. "Good job my mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"And she'd win."

"Now that's an image," Kathy says despite not having even met the woman.

Rose laughs.

"Where is the wolf?" Sir Robert asks as he walks away. "I don't trust this silence." Kathy shifts nervously glancing up but she can't see anything yet.

"Why do you travel with it?" The Doctor asks.

"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting." The Queen answers.

"Oh, but it's perfect." Rose murmurs.

"My late husband never thought so."

The Doctor removes his glasses. "Now, there's a fact, Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting."

"He always said... the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished." Queen Victoria adds.

"Unfinished... oh, yes!" The Doctor tosses the Koh-I-Noor back to Queen Victoria, who catches it. Kathy flinches. He begins to speak very fast, working it out, "There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond, hold on, hold on..." He ruffles his hair violently in his eagerness to work it out. "All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected! Oh, my head, my head! What if, this house, it's a trap for you, is that right, Ma'am?"

"Obviously."

"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But! What if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourself, Doctor." The Queen demands.

"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true. And they planned against it. Laying the real trap not for you... but for the wolf."

A fine sprinkling of plaster falls from the ceiling. They all look up, and the werewolf is walking over the glass dome above their heads, looking down at them and growling.

"That wolf there..."

The glass of the dome starts to crack, the Doctor and Rose throw down their books and they all run to the door.

"Out! Out! Out!" The Doctor cries. Kathy cringes thinking about all the running she still has to do.

As the Werewolf crashes through, smashing the desk, the Doctor, Rose and Sir Robert destroy their barricade and run out into the corridor. The Doctor slams the doors closed.

——

The five of them run down the corridor.

"Gotta get to the observatory!" The Doctor says.

They careen around a corner, the werewolf close behind. Kathy is huffing and puffing as she goes, trying to keep up. The wolf is almost on Rose then and she screams but Lady Isobel and the maids appear and throw the pan of mistletoe water onto the wolf. The werewolf bounds back down the corridor away from us.

"Good shot!" The Doctor exclaims.

"It was mistletoe!" Lady Isobel explains.

The Doctor follows the wolf a way down the corridor with Rose behind him. Kathy takes this moment to rest.

"Isobel!" Sir Robert and Lady Isobel kiss as the Doctor and Rose make sure the wolf has gone. "Get back downstairs."

"Keep yourself safe."

He nods and they kiss again.

"You go." He tells her.

Lady Isobel and the maids go past Sir Robert and make their way back to the kitchen. "Girls, come with me. Down the Back stairs, back to the kitchen. Quickly!"

As they run off, Sir Robert stares after his wife. Kathy knows if everything goes as it was in the episode, he'll die but maybe she could change that?

The Doctor runs back. "Come on!" They set off running again down the corridor.

"The observatory's this way!" Sir Robert tells them.

They reach the central staircase and hurry up it as fast as they can but the werewolf is recovering and soon returns to the chase.

——

They finally arrive at the observatory, the Doctor in the lead. Rose and Queen Victoria step inside with the Doctor while Kathy lingers next to Sir Robert.

"No mistletoe on these doors, your father wanted the wolf to get inside! Get inside I just need time! Is there any way of barricading this?!" The Doctor exclaims.

"Just do your work and I'll defend it." Kathy looks at him in worry.

The Doctor seemingly ignores Sir Robert. "If we could bind them shut with rope or something!"

"I said I'd find you time, sir." Sir Robert says more assertively. Rose and Queen Victoria stare at him, aghast.

"No!" Kathy exclaims. "Maybe there's another way?!"

"Now get inside." And with that Sir Robert pushes Kathy inside.

"No no wait! Please no!" Kathy cries.

"Please Kathy think of your baby." The Doctor tells her as he tugs her inside.

Sir Robert closes the door and the Doctor runs to the Queen. Kathy stares at the door sobbing.

"Your Majesty, the diamond." The Doctor says, quickly turning to the Queen.

"For what purpose?" She asks.

"The purpose it was designed for."

Queen Victoria hands over the diamond from her bag. The Doctor runs over to the mechanism for the telescope.

"Rose!" Rose runs to the Doctor. "Lift it! Come on!"

The Rose and Doctor struggle to turn the wheel, but the cogs start to shift and the telescope to rise.

"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose says sarcastically despite straining against the wheel.

"Yes, it is." The Doctor declares.

Kathy cringes and covers her ears then as she hears Sir Robert's final screams from outside. Queen Victoria holds up her crucifix. The werewolf can be heard battering the door. The gears continue to grind while Queen Victoria murmurs a prayer under her breath.

"You said this thing doesn't work!" Rose says.

"It's a light chamber, Rose!" Kathy yells to her trying to distract herself from the panic and fear inside of her.

"She's right! It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is! It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up!" The Doctor explains.

"With what? There's no electricity!"

The Doctor grunts and turns to the light chamber.

Rose then works it out. "Moonlight! But it needs moonlight! It's made by moonlight!"

"You're seventy per cent water but you can still drown. Come on!" The Doctor cries. "Come on!"

At last, it is properly aligned. Rose and the Doctor step away from the gears as the moonlight bounces off the prisms. Just as the Werewolf breaks through the door, the light spews forth from the end of the light chamber onto the floor far short of the werewolf. Kathy runs back as the werewolf advances on the Queen but the doctor dives across the floor and throws the Koh-I-Noor into the beam of light. A fantastic, prismatic beam of light hits the werewolf. He is lifted off the floor and hangs there, caught in the wash of moonlight. As they look on, the werewolf retakes human form.

"Make it brighter. Let me go." The host says quietly.

The Doctor slowly walks across to the light chamber and flicks a switch. With a final howl from the wolf form, the creature vanishes and the light shuts off. Kathy breathes a huge sigh of relief. No more deaths than what originally happened so at least she didn't make things worse.

The Queen, however, is staring intently at some wound on her wrist.

The Doctor notices her. "Your Majesty? Did it bite you?"

"No, it's... it's a cut." The Queen replies.

"If that thing bit you..."

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart."

"Let me see." The Doctor reaches toward her arm.

Queen Victoria pulls her hand away sharply. "It is nothing."

The Doctor stares at her, obviously not believing her.

——

The next day in the hall, Kathy, The Doctor and Rose step forward and kneel before Queen Victoria. Everyone is present including Lady Isobel, in black, and the maids.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Sir Doctor of TARDIS." Quiet Victoria taps him on each shoulder with a sword.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Rose of the Powell Estate." She taps her on each shoulder with the sword.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Katherine of the Amore-burh." She taps Kathy on each shoulder with the sword.

"You may stand." They rise.

"Many thanks, Ma'am." The Doctor says.

"Yes, thank you," Kathy adds though she knows she is not happy with them.

Rose grins. "Thanks! They're never going to believe this back home."

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving a message from the great beyond; I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now Ma'am, even from beyond the grave." The Doctor says.

"Indeed. Then you may think on this, also: that I am not amused." The Doctor groans whilst Rose looks jubilant and Kathy tries to hold in a snort as this bit is actually quite funny.

"Yes!" Rose cries.

"Not remotely amused." The Queen makes an effort to wipe the smirk off her face. "And henceforth... I banish you, Sir Doctor and Dame Rose."

The Doctor and Rose look stunned. Kathy is surprised. Why not her?

"I'm sorry...?" The Doctor eventually says.

Queen Victoria is very angry as she speaks, "I rewarded you, Sir Doctor. And now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars, and magic, and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death and I will not allow it! You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you managed to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you will survive this... terrible life." Queen Victoria steps away from them angrily. "Now leave my world. And never return."

She then turns to Kathy, "I hope you, Dame Katherine, will not fall too far into this life and bring your child into it. There is hope for you."

——

Kathy, Rose and the Doctor have hitched a lift on the back of Dougal's cart to get back to the TARDIS from the house. It comes to a halt in a field.

"Woah!" Dougal cries.

They jump off the back of the cart back in the highlands near the TARDIS.

"Cheers, Dougal!" The Doctor waves as they walk away and Dougal drives off.

"You know, the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood!" The Doctor muses. "It's historical record haemophiliac. It used to be called the Royal Disease! But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it her dad didn't have it, it came from nowhere!"

"Well, history says maybe her father was someone else." Kathy points out. "Some Irish guy in her mother's household. But maybe not in this world."

"What, and you two are saying that's a wolf bite?" Rose wonders.

"Well, maybe Haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism." The Doctor says.

"For werewolf?" Rose asks in disbelief.

"Maybe!" Kathy replies. She is happier with this lighter conversation, it put her mind off Queen Victoria's words.

"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?" Rose is still in disbelief.

"Could be! And, her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip." The Doctor adds.

"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?" Rose wonders. She clearly can't take it in still.

"Well... maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take... a hundred years to mature... might be ready by... oooh... early 21st century...?" The Doctor hints.

"Nah! That's just ridiculous! Mind you... Princess Anne...!" Rose muses.

"I'll say no more." The Doctor says.

"That's mean!" Kathy laughs.

"And if you think about it... they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They, they could schedule themselves around the moon, we'd never know!"

The Doctor and Kathy snigger as they reach the TARDIS and he opens the door.

They bundle in as Rose keeps talking, "They like hunting! They love blood sports!" They laugh as the TARDIS starts to dematerialise. "Oh my God, they're werewolves!"

The two of them howl and cackle. Kathy creases over laughing as the two of them howl and cackle as the TARDIS flies away.

——

The Doctor opens the doors and Kathy follows him out to see that they had landed in the exact same area of the forest that she was last in before stepping inside the TARDIS.

"Now you better have gotten the year and date right," Kathy tells him.

He scoffs. "I promise! It's only been half hour since you left."

"Good cause it be difficult to explain otherwise." She replies with a smirk.

"Well, I suppose this is it then. Till the next time!" He speaks.

"Whenever that is. I suppose you don't know?" Kathy asks.

"Nah. How would I know? So far you've been all over the place!" He exclaims.

Kathy laughs. "Great to know thanks."

A thought then comes to her. "Wait, Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"You say I don't regenerate that same way you do but to be able to, wouldn't I need to look into that schism?"

He frowns. "You once told me that you had looked but you wouldn't say how… or showed you…"

"Oh… well that's confusing."

The Doctor then snaps out of his thoughts, "Well! Goodbye then."

"Bye Doctor."

Chapter Text

Kathy gave birth to a beautiful little boy, who they called Carlyle. She would sit by the hearth, cradling her son in her arms. He would sleep, oblivious to the complexities of his own existence. She would gazed down at him, her heart full, yet heavy with a knowledge only she could carry. Kathy would check his pulse—just to be sure. Two hearts, one in perfect sync with the other.

She had checked as soon as she was alone with him and found the beating of two hearts. She would lose her family, her human family, to their human life span, she knew, and know, she'll still have him.

One afternoon, as Kathy worked in the garden, her mother arrived unexpectedly at the doorstep, holding a small wooden box. The sight of it made Kathy's stomach twist in an odd way. It was familiar—too familiar. She had seen it before, she was sure of it. But how? She couldn't remember.

“Your father left this for you.” Her mother said, her voice soft. “Before he... before he left.”

Kathy had taken the box, her hands shaking slightly as she held it. She felt a strange sensation in the back of her mind, as though something was trying to push its way into her consciousness, something she had forgotten—something important. She opened the box slowly, and inside, found a chameleon circuit or something similar and when she opened it, she was looking into a fraction of the untempered schism. It was from her biological father.

When seeing the box, she then remembered having seen it before but clearly, something about it had made her forget. Was it possible it was one of those perception filters or something even stronger?

As she touched it, a flicker of memory ignited in her mind. She was eight years old again, standing in her childhood home, her mother handing her this very same box. It had given Kathy her apparent ability to regenerate though not in the same way a Time Lord would. It also gave her son the same ability.

As the years slipped by, Kathy's life settled into a quiet rhythm. Barden, her husband, had passed when Carlyle was only fourteen. She had been 39—and yet, Kathy had not aged a day since her early 20s.

Years passed. Kathy continued to care for her son, watching him grow into a young man of quiet strength and fierce independence. She knew that one day, she would have to leave—before the years of her and her son’s youth would drew too much suspicion. When Carlyle became eighteen, Kathy made the decision to leave. This was so as not to take Carlyle away from his extended family too soon.

Kathy checked on her half siblings and their own offspring as well as her parents as they lived out their own lives to make sure they were okay. She hoped that she would be able to check in on their line in the future.

The first time Kathy needed regeneration to save herself was for the stupidest reason, one she will never tell anyone. She had been alive for a century in this world now when she’s on a walk and she trips and falls down a hill. Not one of her finest moments.

Kathy and her son are not always together as he often likes to live out his own life, which means that at times she’s going off on adventures on her own, sometimes it's together.

It was the beginning of the 9th century and after the invasion of the Vikings onto the English shores where she had re-lived, she decided to go off and explore Scandinavia, particularly in an attempt to find a village with a future immortal.

Kathy searched for years until she found the correct village. In the meantime, she learnt Old Norse along the way, finding herself drawn to a remote village in Norway. It was there, amidst the fjords and mist, that she finally found what she was looking for. They found her odd but because she spent time assimilating into similar cultures to theirs, they welcomed her in. Kathy intentionally grew close to Ashildr as she knew that she could help her and keep her company in the future years.

——

9th Century

The fighters of the village had headed off pillaging and exploring but it was not long before they return. In the village, the horn blasts causing the residents to start clamouring, yelling and cheering.

Kathy hurries behind Ashildr to see them enter the village.

"See it's okay," Kathy says to her, she's been worried. Ashildr nods as her face breaks out into a smile.

"You're back! All of you! Are all of you back?" Ashildr asks Nollarr as she runs up to him with Kathy still following.

"I suppose so, I haven't counted." The man says.

"I'm back!" Hasten cries grabbing onto Ashildr and Kathy.

"I had a dream you'd all died. It was so real, I thought I'd made it happen." Ashildr says.

"Well, if it ever does, I'm sure you'll a find some way to blame yourself," Nollar says, chucking something into her hands. Kathy looks over her shoulder, her eyes widening.

Kathy pulls it out of Ashildr's hands as she says, "I wish none of you had to go!"

Kathy analyses it and realises, yes, it is Twelve's sonic glasses or some of it anyway. So, this means that he and Clara had finally arrived, and the episode will begin. She glances over her shoulder to see if she can spot them.

She notices them then in the middle of the crowd wearing chains and Clara in a spacesuit. The Doctor’s appearance, Kathy recognises, is his casual look he took on in season 9. Him embracing his ’idiot in the box’ revelation he had at the end of the season 8 finale. His hair is longer, his clothes are less formal and in the episodes of this season, he shows his sillier side more. Rediscovered who he is.

Kathy catches eyes with the Doctor, whose face breaks into a smile causing Clara to look and have a similar reaction as they go past. Well, it's good to know that he still likes her further on and Clara does as well. She feels the familiar faint pull of the mental link she shares with the Doctor.

The Doctor's smile drops as his eyes trail over to Ashildr and he stares at her in confusion.

"Who are they?" Ashildr asks Kathy as they follow the crowd further into the village. "Have you met them before Arantxa?" Kathy had decided to go by the name she was given in this life as she felt her other one would sound too odd to them.

"No, I've never met them," Kathy replies, which technically isn't a lie. She hands the broken glasses back to her.

Kathy goes over to them, catching the last of their conversation.

"We meet the boss man and we do the usual." The Doctor says.

"Which is?" Clara asks.

"Replace him."

"Sure, that's a good idea?" Kathy speaks.

"Kathy! How did you get here?" Clara exclaims with a wide smile.

"Wandering around, here and there. Got curious about Vikings. Here I am." Kathy explains with a smile excited to meet them.

"It's good to see you again." The Doctor says with a kind smile.

"Well, it's the first time I'm meeting you," Kathy speaks. Their smiles dim but they look understanding.

"Well, you can help with our plan." The Doctor says. All this while Nollarr has been talking in the background.

"How do we replace the leader?" Clara asks.

"Yes Doctor, do tell us," Kathy says with a smirk.

The Doctor gives an 'I'm not impressed look' before explaining, "To the primitive mind, advanced technology can seem like magic."

"It's going to be the yo-yo again, isn't it?" Clara says.

"Yeah. It's in my pocket somewhere." The Doctor then shows the removed handcuffs.

Clara gapes at him in shock, "How did you do that?!"

"Magic."

"Miracle, and much treasure." Nollarr continues but the Doctor then chucks the yo-yo towards the Chieftain, hitting him on the chest causing shouting and jangling, swords are drawn.

"How dare you attack our Chieftain!" Nollarr cries.

"I am very, very cross with you. I am very disappointed. I have taken human form to walk among you." Kathy covers her eyes and cringes at the Doctor's performance.

"Who are you, old man?" Nollarr asks.

"Do you not recognise the sign... of Odin?" The Doctor says as he parades around.

"You are not Odin, and that is not Odin's sign." Millard dismisses.

"Oh, and you would know that how, exactly? Have you met Odin? Do you know what Odin looks like?"

It is then that we all hear thunderclaps causing most around Kathy to whimper. Then there is the sound of a heavenly choir and a giant face appears in the sky.

"Oh, my people." The man in the sky booms. "I am Odin. And now your day of reward has finally dawned."

"Do not believe this foolish trickery!" The Doctor tries to throw his yo-yo again but it flops. "It's supposed to do that." Oh, dear.

"Your mightiest warriors will feast with me tonight in the halls of Valhalla." Suddenly some robots with massive helmets are teleported to the ground, the Mire. Those with weapons form a battle formation as they cry in confusion. They charge forward as the Doctor, Clara and Kathy hide behind them. The Mire charge with guns toward the crowd.

"Stay still. Stay very, very still." The Doctor mutters.

"That's not really Odin, is it?" Clara says in more of a statement.

"He hasn't even got a yo-yo." The Doctor replies.

"Oh yeah, that's how you know," Kathy says sarcastically.

Both sides meet in the middle.

"So, this is an invasion." Clara suspects.

"Shh. No, this is a harvest. The strongest, the fittest... The weak and young, they'll leave behind." The Doctor realises.

One Mire pushes away some members of the village to the floor before teleporting up some of the more 'fitter' members.

"Any hints?" The Doctor asks. This seems to be their thing.

"Uh… well um… Ashildr – that girl – is important." Kathy replies. He nods.

"We have to help them," Clara says.

"We have to not get chosen." The Doctor says.

"Bide our time," Kathy adds. Clara doesn't listen and rushes over to Ashildr, who's cowering. Kathy tries to grab her but she slips away so she feels she has no choice but to follow her.

"Clara. Kathy. Clara, Kathy, no!" Kathy hears the Doctor hiss.

"Have you still got the eye-patch thing?" Clara says crouching by her. Kathy tries to give Ashildr a reassuring smile.

"Clara, maybe this isn't the best way. There's nothing we can do, maybe we should wait." Kathy tries. She knows that if she follows this route then Ashildr will be living forever.

"It'll be fine." Clara holds half of the sonic glasses up to Ashildr. "Point it at my chains and think the word open. Say it with your mind." She explains. More people are beamed up.

It is then Kathy sees the Mire take notice of them. She was stupid to think they wouldn't and before she can alert the other two, they are beamed up themselves.

——

Kathy looks around and notices they are on the ship.

She hears Hasten say, "Welcome to Valhalla, my ladies." And she looks up to see the warriors surrounding them.

Kathy hears grunting and straining and she sees a door being pried open by Nollarr with an axe.

Clara turns to her. "I'm assuming it's a bad idea to go in there."

"Yep."

"No, wait! Wait!" Clara cries when seeing Nollarr step through.

"There's nothing to fear, strange maiden," Nollarr says as Kathy hears propellers whir. "We are Odin's chosen."

"Please Nollarr come back!" Kathy cries.

But it is too late and electricity seems to shoot out of the shields in the wall and zaps him and he evaporates. The others cry out in fear and horror. Then there's creaking and the wall behind them begins to move.

"The wall, it moves!" Hasten cries. The warriors try to push against it to no avail.

"Odin! Odin!" Ashildr cries.

"Use your blades, try to jam it!" Clara orders them and they listen.

"We need to try the other door as well!" Kathy yells. She pulls on Clara and Ashildr's arms towards the other door past where Nollarr had been. "Come on! Come on!"

"Quick! Pull!" Clara says as the three of them pull at the door.

"I'm trying!" Ashildr replies.

The warriors give up and begin moving into their section and Kathy hears the propellers begin to whir again.

"Quickly!" Kathy cries.

——

Kathy wakes up to see three of them are now in a different part of the ship.

"Ssh!" Clara says to Ashildr as she wakes up. There is hissing and bubbling around them. Kathy ventures forward and she sees tubes full of liquid. She cringes remembering what this means. When they all spot the helmets of the warriors, Ashildr asks the obvious question, "Why are we still alive?"

"Because of this." A voice says. They all turn to see 'Odin' there with two of the Mire. Kathy sees he holds the broken half of the sonic glasses. "Explain."

Clara pulls herself and steps forward. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you afraid."

"I have no reason to fear you."

"Except you've already analysed that and you know it's a technology from a civilisation vastly more powerful than your own. And er, you will have also noticed that... I'm wearing a space suit. So, I'm not from around here, and it's highly unlikely I will have come alone. You see, you haven't killed us because killing us would start a fight you didn't come here to have... and you're not sure you can win." Clara is acting too much like the Doctor and it is making Kathy uncomfortable.

A robot then walks past them with a tube that he hands to 'Odin'. "Ooh, hello. Time for your medication?" Clara remarks.

"Adrenaline. Testosterone... extracted from the finest warriors." He drinks and exhales. "Ah! Nec...tar."

"OK, you mash up Vikings to make warrior juice, nice," Clara says.

"They what?" Ashildr asks, sounding close to tears.

"Clara, maybe you should stop." Kathy tries but she’s ignored.

"Why play God?"

"What is a god but the cattle's name for farmer? What is heaven but the gilded door of the abattoir?" 'Odin' replies.

"You're not a farmer. You're a thief, caught in the act."

"I don't understand. "Mashed up"? What are you saying?" Ashildr tries to ask again.

"It's nothing, Ashildr." Kathy attempts, trying to avoid what is to come.

"Hush!" Clara hisses at her before turning back to 'Odin'. "Go, now. Go and find Vikings on other planets. The universe is full of testosterone. Trust me, it's unbearable. We won't follow you, see? We don't need to fight."

"War is our way."

"Ask yourself, is this a war you really want?"

"Yes!" Ashildr exclaims. "You'll pay for what you have done here today. I am a Viking. Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. You have mocked our gods. Killed our warriors. And we will crush you on the field of battle."

"That's better!"

"Look what you have done Clara!" Kathy snaps. "You really shouldn't have said anything."

"We were about to leave," Clara says.

"You almost had me talking. Talk is for cowards." 'Odin' says.

"No, no, no, listen to me." Clara says but is ignored.

"I accept your challenge."

"We will crush you!" Ashildr declares.

"Oh, please. Shut up." Clara says.

"Shall we say this time tomorrow? Ten of my warriors versus the best of your village." 'Odin' offers.

"You will beg for mercy!"

Odin laughs. "I will send you back. You can inform your people of their impending destruction."

"Why are you doing this?" Clara asks.

"Why else? The joy of war! Can't you see it on my face?" He presses a button on his arm to reveal his true gruesome face.

——

Ashildr, Clara and Kathy are then teleported back to the village.

"My child!" Einarr says and Ashildr runs into his arms.

"Clara! Kathy! Clara! Kathy!" The Doctor calls as he runs over to them. He suddenly stops. "I'm not a hugger... Ahh! Let's hug!" He then grabs Clara causing her to cry out in surprise before doing the same to Kathy. Considering this is the second time she’s met the Doctor and the first with this face, she feels a bit surprised when he grabs her.

"Where are the others?" Einarr asks.

"I'm sorry, Father."

"I looked them up in my two thousand year diary." The Doctor says flicking through said book not realising that they are trying to tell him about what happened.

"OK."

"Doctor…"

The Doctor continues, "They are called the Mire."

"Listen..."

"They are one of the deadliest warrior races in the entire galaxy..." Oh, she didn’t remember that.

"OK."

"…but they're practical. They get what they want and go. You persuaded them to go, didn't you? I knew that you would!" The Doctor beams.

"The deadliest warrior race in the galaxy?" Clara says.

"One of them, yes. Why?"

"Cause this village just declared war on them," Kathy speaks. The Doctor's face drops.

——

Everyone who's left in the village gathers in the Meeting House to get the rundown.

"They're coming here tomorrow, ten of them, to kill everybody in the village," Clara explains.

"Ashildr, Arantxa... is this true?" Einarr asks.

"It's my fault," Ashildr says.

Kathy sighs. "No, it isn't."

Her father agrees. "Not every misfortune that befalls this village is down to you." He sits next to her. "She thinks she brings us bad luck," Einarr says to the Doctor.

"What bad luck? You haven't had any bad luck. You're fine." The Doctor mutters.

"We are about to be attacked by..." Limpy, though that's not his name, it's just what the Doctor has been calling him, says but gets interrupted.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. With a whole day to spare! So, leave! Hop it, take off! Into the woods, split up, hide. Hang about there for a week, come back home, make puddings and babies; that's basically what you do, isn't it?"

Einarr stands. "We cannot leave this village."

"Yes, you can. Just pick a direction. Fly like a bird, run like a nose. That's probably a Viking saying, I haven't checked that." The Doctor remarks.

"No. We will fight!" Not Limpy declares.

Everyone around Kathy clamours and yells, "Aye!"

"Really? Well, I don't know if you remember, but they actually took away all your fighters. So, what are you? Farmers, fishermen, web designers." The Doctor rattles.

"Maybe not that last one," Kathy tells him, taking in the confused looks around her. The Doctor shrugs and throws swords on the floor causing them to clatter.

"We are Vikings!" Einarr cheers. They cheer.

"OK... tell me this. How many people here have actually held a sword in battle? By a show of hands? Mmm hmm. Yeah, baby." There's silence in the crowd as no one raises their hand except Clara and Kathy. The Doctor raises his hand and looks around smugly before noticing them. He frowns for a moment before shrugging.

The Doctor picks up a sword and starts pointing at the crowd as he talks. "The Mire are coming for each and every one of you. So, what you going to do? Raise crops at them?"

"If necessary." Not Limpy says.

"I think he was being sarcastic." Not Heidi murmurs to him.

"We're not cowards. We do not run. A death in battle is a death with honour." Einarr announces.

"Aye!" They all yell. A baby then begins crying.

"Do babies die with honour?" The Doctor questions. He walks away and closes his eyes. He then begins translating, ""I am afraid, Mother. Hold me, Mother... I am afraid.""

"Um... he speaks Baby," Clara tells them awkwardly. Kathy had forgotten that but that doesn't stop her from cringing with mild embarrassment.

The Doctor continues, ""Turn your face towards me, Mother, for you... you're beautiful. And I will sing for you. I am afraid... but I will sing." Babies think that laughter is singing. Did you know that? I applaud your courage, but I deplore your stupidity. And I will mourn your deaths, which will be terrifying, painful, and... without honour." The Doctor walks to the door.

Ashildr follows him. "Stay. You could help us. I know you could."

"I told you to run. That's all the help you need. And that's all the help you're getting." The Doctor says and walks off.

——

Clara and Kathy follow him outside.

"The earth is safe; humanity is not in danger. It's just one village." He speaks.

"Is it ever only "Just one village?"" Kathy remarks. She just needs to make sure he stays now that they are on the course to fight the Mire.

"Suppose I saved it... by some miracle. No TARDIS, no sonic. "Just one village" defeats the Mire. What then? Word gets around. Earth becomes a target of strategic value, and the Mire come back. And God knows what else. Ripples into tidal waves... until everybody dies."

The baby's cries can be heard when he finishes talking. Clara and Kathy walk to stand by him.

"What's it saying?" Clara asks.

"She. She's afraid. Babies sense danger. They have to." The Doctor replies.

"Tell us," Clara demands.

Kathy couldn't help but be quiet, not wanting to take away from Clara's role. Maybe it's a confidence thing.

""Mother, I hear thunder. Mother, I hear shouting. You are my world, but I hear other worlds now. Beyond the... unfolding of your smile... is there other kindness? I'm afraid. Will they be kind? The sky is crying now. Fire in the water." Fire in the water?" The baby stops crying suddenly.

Clara puts her hand on his cheek, "You just decided to stay."

The Doctor looks at Kathy in question, "The baby stopped crying." She shrugs.

——

The training began the next day and people were lined up with wooden sticks. Clara, Ashildr and Kathy stand at the side watching.

The Doctor paces in front of them. "So, when I say "Move", you move. When I say "Jump", you say "How high?" Unless it's across a gap of some kind which, of course, means you jump horizontally. Yes, what is it, Lofty?"

"Sorry, my name's not actually Lofty, it's Bro..." Not Lofty tries.

"No, it's not, it's Lofty." The Doctor dismisses. "I've got too much to think about without everybody having their own names, so it's Lofty. You're Lofty, you're Daphne, you're Noggin the Nog, ZZ Top... and you're... Heidi. So, we'll try that again. Lofty, what is it?"

"Sorry, sir, it's just... why aren't we practising with real swords?" Not Lofty asks. Kathy has taken quite a liking to these new names.

"Yes, perhaps you'd like to field this one, Limpy?" He points to the man sitting behind him.

"Because we can't be trusted with them."

"That's right, yes. You'll be given your real swords back when you can prove that you can wave them around without lopping bits off yourselves. Heidi, why are your eyes closed?"

"Sorry, sir. Just not that good with the sight of blood." Not Heidi replies.

"No... of course, you're not." The Doctor's tone is exasperated.

"Swords against those creatures. That won't work, will it?" Ashildr says to Clara and Kathy.

"He's just warming up. He hasn't got a plan yet. But he will have... and it will be spectacular." Kathy gives Clara an odd look at that. The amount of faith she has in this man. It reminds her of how reckless she is in this season, after the loss of Danny. Would she be there for that?

The Doctor whistles loudly. "Enough theory. I'm handing out the real swords." They all rush forward to grab just that. Kathy winces knowing what's coming.

——

The difference between experiencing an episode and watching it on a screen is seeing the lead up to the running and screaming, the rush to throw buckets of water onto burning buildings.

The Doctor mopes as he sits down on a box. "Well, that could have gone better."

Not Heidi groans as he wakes up from being unconscious. "Morning," Kathy says to him walking over.

"What happened?" He asks.

"The Big Bang, dinosaurs, bipeds, and a mounting sense of futility." The Doctor rattles off.

Kathy rolls her eyes at him. "Anyway… more recently, Not Chuckles hit Not Lofty over the head, on his helmet, with his sword, which knocked him out. There was a little blood, which you saw and... did that." Kathy vaguely gestures to him as he flips over once again. "But don't worry it gets better as the first time you did it, you knocked a torch onto some hay, which spooked a horse, who kicked open a gate, and er, I'm... sure you can fill in the rest."

——

Everyone is inside eating except the Doctor so Clara and Kathy join him outside. They reach him when an odd thunderclap goes off.

"Weird sounding thunder." Clara remarks.

"That's not thunder," Kathy explains. "It's the weapon forges of the Mire. They're being noisy on purpose."

"Well?" Clara questions after a moment.

"Well, Heidi faints at the mention of blood, not just the sight anymore. He's actually upgraded his phobia. Chuckles... he questions every single order you give him, which is going to be a little bit difficult, a little bit tricky, in the heat of battle." The Doctor lists.

"I keep waiting to hear what your real plan is," Clara says. "Kathy won't tell me. She says he doesn't know yet. That and spoilers."

"Yeah, drag me into this," Kathy mutters. Clara nudges her with her elbow at her comment.

"Because teaching them to fight is the only plan I've got." He replies.

"Turning them into fighters? That's not like you." Clara says. Kathy sits there uncomfortable, not really sure what to say as she doesn’t know either of them well. Don't know the Doctor well enough personally to weigh on his morals.

"Yeah. I used to believe that too." The Doctor remarks.

Clara chuckles, "What happened?"

"You. Oh, Clara Oswald what have I made of you? Katherine Davis over there is all brand new." Kathy blinks in surprise when he points at her.

"It doesn't matter how well you train them; it's not going to make difference," Clara tells him.

"They'll die fighting with honour. To a Viking, that's all the difference in the world." The Doctor says.

"A good death? Is that the best they can hope for?" Clara says doubtfully.

"A good death is the best anyone can hope for unless you happen to be immortal." Kathy frowns at that comment, even after a few hundred years she wonders if immortality has really hit her yet.

Of course, Ashildr walks by at this moment. "Sorry."

"No problem," Clara says.

"Night." The Doctor calls to her.

"Night night," Kathy adds. Ashildr walks away to her home.

"You've made an impact there." Clara quips.

"Stop it."

"Well, she is nice," Kathy speaks. That's safe to say, doesn't give too much away, well done Kathy.

"Fight you for her." Clara jokes.

"The human race, you're obsessed. You all need to get a hobby." The Doctor complains.

"I've got a hobby, thanks. It's you, by the way." More like a lifestyle.

"Well, get a new one." He then moves and Kathy knows he's going to try and get her to leave.

"Not this," Clara says before he can start.

"Tomorrow it's going to be a bloodbath." He reminds her.

"Don't even ask."

"These people all died hundreds of years before you were born..." Kathy’s eyes dart between the two of them.

"I'm not running."

"I have a duty of care." The Doctor tells her.

"No, you don't, because I never asked for that," Clara exclaims. Kathy really feels like she’s intruding here.

"Every time we do something like this, I keep thinking, what if something happens to you? I know Kathy will be fine but…"

"Well, stop thinking about either of us and start thinking about them, because you're missing something. The plan Kathy says you don't have yet." Clara says.

"What?"

"How you're going to win. You always miss it, right up until the last minute. So put down your sword, stop playing soldier and look for it. Start winning, Doctor. It's what you're good at." Clara walks off.

"You should go to Ashildr," Kathy tells him once she's left.

"Ah, your hint. Why?" He frowns with those huge eyebrows.

"Cause she's important, you know that." Kathy then follows Clara.

She catches up with her, turns to her, and says, "Nice hair, you know."

She laughs. "Random but thanks. You told me how I had it."

"I did? How long do I have to wait for that?" Kathy asks.

"About 700 years?" She speaks.

"Oh right…"

——

The Doctor is soon yelling across the village from the boathouse for Kathy and Clara so they run over to see what is happening.

"We hear, we hear," Kathy says bursting in to find the Doctor, Not Loft and Not Lofty's baby. "You figure it out then?"

"So, he hasn't trapped his finger in something again?" Clara wonders.

Kathy laughs. "No." Einarr and Ashildr appear as well.

"Chuckles, bedtime is cancelled. Everybody, off the hard stuff. We've got a long night's work ahead of us. I need a blacksmith. Who's the blacksmith?" The Doctor rambles.

"I'm the blacksmith." Not Lofty says.

"You're the blacksmith and you've got a baby too? He's been at it hammer and tongs." The Doctor remarks.

"Doctor, Kathy, explain. What's happening?" Clara demands.

"There's going to be a war tomorrow." Kathy sees more of the village filter in. "And here's some news, this just in: We're going to win the hell out of it."

"How?"

"Ashildr, this is your village, and you will never have to leave it, I swear." The Doctor says.

"Seriously, how?" Clara asks again.

"I told you that we were basically doomed. Did no one in this two-horn town think to mention that you had... eels? Why didn't you tell me, Kathy?"

Kathy shrugs. "Cause I knew you would figure it out."

"Eels?" Clara questions.

"I give you... fire in the water!" The eels light up and the sounds of electricity zap. "Electric eels!" Baby cries. "Yes, yes! I know exactly how you feel. Well, not exactly. She needs changing."

"Plan, then?" Clara asks.

"And it is a doozy!"

——

They all move to the Blacksmith's Forge. The Doctor begins talking as everyone goes around doing their job.

"We need to pull that silvery stuff out of Clara's space suit. We can use it to magnify the electrical charge. Stop looking confused! Look happy! Winning is all about looking happier than the other guy…"

"Always walk briskly. Makes you a moving target." He gets handed a sack. "Oh, that's for Lofty. Lofty! And talk with confidence, even if you're terrified. Act as if you know their plan, and sometimes, if you're very lucky, they'll actually tell you it." He picks up a cloak. "Ah, this is for Ashildr."

They are then in the Meeting House where the Doctor finishes explaining his plan. "Then we deploy the anvil. Now, at this stage, getting me one of their helmets is key. We get a helmet, and this is over. Then we can mop up the rest using Ashildr's monstrosity."

The girl smiles and reveals what she has built.

"That is rubbish." Clara comments.

"That's the point!" Kathy replies.

——

Morning dawns and they all gather in the Meeting Hall to begin the plan. Kathy is excited and scared for what is to come.

When the Mire come through the doors, they are greeted with a party with upbeat music playing and games.

The Doctor, Clara and Kathy all slip down the middle to face 'Odin'.

"Hey, hello, hey! I'm the Doctor. It's lovely to meet you face to... convincing hologram. You could always go "bzzz" and get rid of it, no? No, on second thoughts, don't. That, that, that suits you."

"It is time to fight." Comes the reply.

"No, no, no. We decided against that. We thought we'd just have a party!" They all cheer.

"Let me put it another way. You fight or you die."

"We're unarmed. There isn't a single weapon in this room. Is there Kathy?"

"Nope," Kathy replies. "I'm sure your systems are telling you this."

"You wouldn't open fire on unarmed civilians, would you?" The Doctor says.

"It wouldn't be the first time."

A clunk echoes as Not Lofty had 'accidentally' thrown a hoop at one of the Mire's helmets. There's silence as the that was Mire hit sees a wire that is attached to the hoop dangling from the ceiling.

"Chuckles, now!" The Doctor yells. Electricity zaps from the barrels where the eels are to the wires across the room, eventually reaching four of the Mire and causing them to shake and malfunction.

"Run, run, run-run-run-run!" The Doctor orders and everyone runs to the sides of the room. "That's four down, six left."

"Go!" 'Odin' cries.

"Chuckles, switch!" There is more electricity zapping, but this time to the wires attached to the magnets. This causes the Mire to lose their weapons and helmets, revealing their horrible appearance. "Chuckles, off!" Then everything falls back down and the Doctor catches one of the helmets.

"Don't move." Clara orders having picked up one of their guns. Kathy stands next to her doing the same.

"Go!" 'Odin' orders. The Mire begins shooting.

"How's it coming?" Kathy asks the Doctor, who is fiddling with the helmet.

"Reversing the polarity of the neutron flow. I bet that means something. It sounds great. Ashildr!" The girl goes over and sits in a chair. "Are you ready?"

"I'm scared." The young girl confesses.

"You were born for this. Show them a story they'll never forget." The Doctor places the helmet on her head. Kathy watches her sadly; was what to come worth it to save a village?

The door falls down and Ashildr's construction appears through the door though Kathy knows that it looks different for the Mire.

"What is this beast? It's impossible!" 'Odin' cries in panic.

"Withdraw. Withdraw."

"Stand and fight!"

"Withdraw."

"See how they run." The Doctor mutters. Clara and Kathy share a smile.

"Withdraw." The Mire begins teleporting away.

"Cowards!" 'Odin' yells.

"Withdraw." The last of them leave.

"That's enough, Ashildr," Kathy calls to her. "Story's over. Happy ending."

"What trickery is this?" 'Odin' demands.

"Ha! Says the man with a fake face." The Doctor says. "But you see, that's the trouble with viewing reality through technology: it's all too easy to feed in a new reality. A story to save a town, and a puppet from a nightmare. You see, you've just seen the world through the eyes of a storyteller. The mighty armies of the Mire... Brutal, sadistic, undefeated. Even I believed the stories. But after today, no one will again. An army like yours, it lives or dies on its reputation... its story. And today, you were sent packing by a handful of farmers and fisherman. Not to mention the whole "wetting your pants and running away from a puppet" debacle." Everyone lets out their own chuckles.

"See, that was really funny," Clara says laughing.

"That was hilarious. It's just lucky that nobody recorded that." The Doctor.

"No, no wait, Doctor. I think we did do that." Kathy jokes.

Clara plays the recording on her phone. "See, all it needed was the Benny Hill theme."

"The Benny Hill theme, yes." The Doctor says. "Now, you see, we could just keep this as a funny little film and play it every year at the Christmas party, or... I could upload it to the galactic hub and get a second opinion. So, the question you need to ask yourself is this: Just how important is your reputation to you? Here's a little sneak preview, piped straight into your helmets, free of charge."

Benny Hill theme plays with the video.

"If you don't leave right now, I'll put it out there for all to see and no one will fear you again." The Doctor finishes.

"This humiliation will not go unpunished. We will meet again." 'Odin' teleports but it appears distorted.

"Oh, I hacked your teleporter. Sorry." The Doctor remarks.

Everyone begins cheering and hugging. Kathy lets out a shriek when she’s lifted in the air by a few people.

"You did it, Ashildr. You did it. You saved us all." Einarr says running over to his daughter but he then realises something is wrong. "Ashildr... Ashildr? Ashildr!"

"Get the helmet off her." Kathy quickly orders. "Get it off, now."

Einarr takes it off and his daughter falls into his arms. "Ashildr?"

"No pulse," Clara says. "I think. Doctor, is she dead?"

"I'm sorry. I'm really terribly sorry." The Doctor murmurs. Einarr cradles his daughter in his arms as the Doctor flees the hall.

——

Kathy tells Clara to just let her follow him into the Boathouse. She cautiously walks inside, scared of his reaction.

"Why didn't you stop me?" He asks quietly. She doesn’t know what's scarier, him yelling or being quiet. "You knew that when I plugged her into the machine, I was going to use her up like a battery."

"I didn't know another way to succeed," Kathy replies at the same level. "I wish I could have but I didn't know how."

"It's not your fault." The Doctor pauses then exhales. "I'm so sick of losing."

"But you didn't lose. Not completely, you saved the town." Kathy argues though she knows it is pointless.

"I don't mean the war. I'll lose any war you like. I'm sick of losing people." The Doctor says. "You haven't been through it all yet but one day- one day you'll get as tired as me. But unlike me, you've always stayed; not me. No, I do what I always do. I get in my box and I run and I run, in case all the pain ever catches up... and every place I go, it will be there."

"You did your best. She died. There's nothing you can do. But what you can do is realise what has been staring in your face ever since you got it." Kathy replies.

"I can do... anything. There's nothing I can't do. Nothing. But I'm not supposed to. Ripples, tidal waves, rules. I'm not supposed to—" He suddenly cuts himself off when it dawns on him. "Oh. Oh!" He grabs his face and runs over to one of the containers of water.

"Realising now, are you?" Kathy remarks with a smile.

"My face." He says looking at her before looking back at his reflection.

She smirks. "Yeah, your face." He gapes at her again with his hands back on his cheeks again.

"I think I know why I chose it." He whispers. "I think I know what I'm trying to say." His face then picks up. "I know where I got this face, and I know what it's for."

"Go on, tell me then," Kathy says beaming.

"To remind me. To hold me to the mark. I'm the Doctor, and I save people. And if anyone happens to be listening, and you've got any kind of a problem with that, to hell with you!" He runs out of the Boathouse back to the Meeting House with Kathy close behind. She had been working on her fitness ever since she saw him the last time, she knew there would be running.

——

They return and while they had been gone, Ashildr was moved to lay on a table covered in fur. The Doctor begins fiddling with the helmet.

"What's he doing?" Einarr asks.

"Saving her... I think." Clara replies.

"He is," Kathy confirms.

"It's from the Mire helmet." He holds out a slim square object in his hand. "Battlefield medical kit. I've reprogrammed it for human beings." He places it on Ashildr's forehead and it's absorbed by the skin.

"It's gone. It's inside her." Einarr says.

"It's repairing her. It will never stop repairing her, if it works. Come on, Ashildr. Come on. The story's not over yet." The Doctor whispers to her.

"Daughter..." Einarr tries, his voice is all watery. "Listen to me. This town has lost so much. If we lose you too... there'll be nothing left." There's nothing until she gasps awake. "Ashildr!"

Everyone gasps in relief. Ashildr stays groggy and barely conscious.

"She'll be conscious in a day, up and about in three. No swimming for a week. Now, we're going to need a longboat and some of your best rowers. We're two days' sail from the TARDIS. Come on, Clara." Clara goes over to The Doctor, who turns to leave.

Einarr stops him. "Wait, no. She'll want to see you when she wakes."

"Oh, no. Well, she'll, she'll see me often enough once she understands." Kathy knows he probably doesn't want to be there when she realises, to deal with the consequences of what he's just done.

"Understands what?"

The Doctor hands another medkit to him. "Second dose."

"Will she need to take this?" Einarr asks.

"No, no, no, it's not for her." The Doctor replies.

"Then who's it for?" Clara questions.

"Er, whoever she wants." The Doctor explains.

"Doctor... thank you." Ashildr gasps.

"Oh, don't thank me yet, Ashildr. Not yet." The Doctor and Clara leave and Kathy quickly follows after them.

"So, this is goodbye again?" Kathy says to them.

"Yes, it is." The Doctor says.

"It's nice to see you again," Clara says, she gives her a hug.

Kathy gives her a squeeze back. "And it's nice to meet you." Clara laughs at this and steps back.

The Doctor goes over to her then. "You understand why I gave the second one." Clara frowns confused but Kathy knows that the Doctor will explain to her later.

"Yes," Kathy replies. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"Yes, that's smart." The Doctor says. "Anyway, good luck till the next time."

"Till the next time."

Chapter Text

The setting sun bathes the land in a golden hue as Kathy and Ashildr sit on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a sprawling forest. It’s a peaceful moment, but Kathy knows it won’t last long. There are still truths that need to be told, things that Ashildr doesn’t fully understand yet. She has to explain it all—the Mire repair kit inside her, her functioning immortality. A Human-Mire hybrid.

Ashildr’s gaze hardens, a flicker of disbelief passing through her eyes. "So... I’m stuck like this? Forever?"

Kathy sighs. "I wish I could say that’s not the case, but yeah. You’re stuck. You can’t die from age, from sickness, not even from wounds—unless something big happens, something that bypasses the repair kit. And I don’t think there’s much that can." Her voice softens. "I know it’s a lot to take in. But I’ve seen it all, Ashildr. I’ve lived through centuries, and I’m right here with you."

Ashildr stays silent for a long moment, digesting the information. Her eyes seem to glaze over as she thinks about the implications. Kathy doesn’t push her, letting the silence hang for a bit. She knows how overwhelming this must feel.

Like with her son, Kathy stays in contact with Ashildr over the centuries. She can't remember everything that happens, so Kathy often tells her stories of their past adventures. For example, Kathy recounted the time Ashildr became a medieval queen, and Kathy had to help her fake her death and escape from the coffin through a window. Kathy suggested that perhaps Ashildr should write down her life story, so she can look back on all she’s accomplished.

After the medieval queen incident (and possibly a strange episode in 1140s Worcester involving Krillitanes and a terrified population haunted by the legendary Devil's Huntsman), Kathy introduces Carlyle to Ashildr. It doesn't take long for her to notice the spark between them, and they've been together ever since—though not without their off years, during which they argue and don't speak.

In their spare time, Carlyle, Ashildr, and Kathy join another group of Vikings and journey to the New World, which will one day become the United States of America. Ashildr is particularly excited to explore beyond Europe, something she hasn’t been able to do in her previous life. The trip is mostly uneventful, except for a brief incident where they anger a local tribal leader. Long story short, Kathy ends up on the wrong side of one of their weapons, forcing her to use her regenerative energy to heal herself. She can’t help but wonder if there is a limit to her regeneration, or if her added Human and Apalapucia genes make the process different.

Kathy doesn’t know much about the Doctor's travels through Earth's history before his ninth incarnation, so she often worries she might accidentally bump into him. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened—at least, not yet.

In the 12th century, Kathy decides to travel to Nottingham, England, specifically Sherwood Forest, to meet another legendary figure. She knows that, in the Doctor Who universe, Robin Hood exists and that she will eventually meet the Doctor at the right point in his timeline. When she first encounters him and his companions, they seem a little judgmental, but she proves her worth with her skill with an arrow, having had centuries of practice—though she doesn’t reveal this to them. Kathy introduces herself as Daveigh. She arrives a few years before the Doctor and Clara show up, and while it is exciting, it is also stressful. She knows she can’t stay too long, or they will start questioning why she isn’t aging. It is fascinating to meet them and experience their world outside of the show.

——

1190 AD/CE

Kathy had witnessed Marian taken away from her village, away from Master Quayle, who is murdered, by the Sheriff and his men when out scouting and I hurry back to camp to report to Robin what she has seen. The scene reminded her of the Doctor Who episode so she knows that it likely has begun or will soon.

When she gets to camp, the raised voices alert her to the fact that something is happening, that and the familiar faint snap of the mental link.

"Let me introduce you to my men." Kathy hears Robin say. She peeks her head over the edge where the land dips down to the hideout to see Clara, in 12th Century clothing, and Twelve there along with the gang. Kathy smiles at the sight; it had been a few centuries since she had last seen them. "This is Will Scarlet. He is a cheeky rogue with a good sword arm and a slippery tongue."

Will bows. "My lady." They laugh though the Doctor then plucks at Will's hair and scans it with his sonic. "Argh!" Will exclaims. Kathy remembers the Doctor being a sceptic for most of the episode. "What do you want with my hair?"

"Well, it's realistic, I'll give you that." The Doctor says.

"And this is Friar Tuck." Robin continues. "Aptly named for the amount of grub he tucks into."

"You skinny blackguard." Tuck thumps Robin on the arm laughing but he stumbles as the Doctor grabs one of his sandals. "What are you doing?"

"This isn't a real sandal." The Doctor tells him.

"Yes, it is," Tuck yells, annoyed.

The Doctor sniffs it. "Oh. Yes, it is." Tuck grabs his sandal back.

"This, er, is Alan-a-Dale. He's a master of the lute, whose music brightens up these dark days." Robin says gesturing to the next man there.

Alan strums his instrument and sings, "Stranger you are welcome here, in Sherwood's bonny glade. Ow!"

The Doctor holds a syringe. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Blood analysis. Oh. All those diseases. If you were real, you'd be dead in six months."

"I am real," Alan says, unsure of what is happening.

"Bye."

Robin gestures to Much, who is a large and dominating figure. "And this is John Little. Called Little John. He's my loyal companion in many an adventure." Kathy rolls her eyes knowing what he is up to and she’s right as the actual Little John then appears causing Clara to jump.

"Oh!" They all laugh and Kathy joins in quietly.

"Works every time," Will remarks. Kathy decides to head down to them to say hello.

"Isn't there someone else?" Clara then asks.

"Here," Kathy says. Everyone spins around to look at her.

"Kathy!" Clara exclaims cheerfully. Kathy smiles at her but gives the gang an awkward glance as that wasn't the name she had told them. The Doctor is now frowning at her, probably cause she’s buying into this 'false' world.

"Ah this is our loyal but sneaky and mysterious companion, Daveigh," Robin says gesturing to her.

"No way! You're Daveigh of Doncaster!" Clara says.

Kathy raises an eyebrow, "Well that's interesting to know."

"Another alias!" The Doctor complains. Considering this Doctor is younger than the one she had last seen; she must have a few names. "Why are you part of this?"

Kathy shrugs and gives him a smirk. "Why not?" He rolls his eyes at her.

Clara is extremely excited. "Oh, I cannot believe this. You, you really are Robin Hood and his Merry Men."

"Aye!" Robin cheers. "That is an apt description. What say you, lads?"

"Aye!" They cry, including Kathy.

The Doctor on the other hand is very annoyed. "Stop laughing. Why are you always doing that? Are you all simple or something? I'm going to need a sample."

"Of what?" Robin asks.

Clara clears her throat and pulls the Doctor away, "Excuse me. Sorry. What are you doing?"

"Well, they're not holograms, that much is obvious. Could be a theme park from the future. Or we might be inside a miniscope." The Doctor rambles.

"Oh, shut up." Clara hisses to him. She looks to Kathy for help but she says nothing and simply rolls her eyes at him.

"A miniscope. Yes, of course. Why not?"

"Or not," Kathy remarks.

"Your friend seems not quite of the real world," Robin says.

"No. No, he's not really. Not most of the time. Dark days?" Clara questions trying to move the conversation along.

"My lady?"

"You said that these were dark days. What did you mean?"

"King Richard is away on crusade, my lady. His tyrant of a brother rules instead." Will explains.

"And the Sheriff. Cos there is a sheriff, right?"

"Aye," Alan says. "It is indeed this jackal of the princes who seeks to oppress us for ever more."

"Or six months in your case." The Doctor remarks.

"It is a shame to dwell on murky thoughts when there is such beauty here," Robin says.

"Why are you so sad?" Clara probes.

"Why do you think me sad?"

"Don't lie, Robin, you gave yourself away when you began laughing too much," Kathy speaks.

Robin sighs. "You know, I do not live this outlaw life by choice. You see before you, Robert…"

"…Earl of Loxley." They both say at the same time.

"Yes."

Robin looks at Clara shocked. "Yes."

Kathy laughs awkwardly, "Oh Clara you say too much!" she looks pointedly at her.

"Sorry." She mutters. "Do go on."

"I er, I had my lands and titles stripped from me. I dared to speak out against Prince John. But I lost the thing most dear to me."

"What was she called?"

Robin startles. "You're so very quick. How does the Doctor stand it?"

"Marian?" Clara asks instead.

"You know her?"

"Oh, yes. I have always known her."

"It was Marian who told me that I must stand up and be counted. But I was afraid." Robin explains. "Now this green canopy is my palace and the rough ground my feather bed. Maybe one day I will return home but until that day. Until that day, it is beholden on me to be the man Marian wanted, to be a hero for those this tyrant sheriff slaughters."

"What time is it, Mister Hood?" The Doctor buts in.

"Somewhat after noon." Comes the reply.

"No, no. Time of year? What season?"

"Oh, Dame Autumn has draped her mellow skirts about the forest, Doctor. The time of mists and harvest approaches." Robin answers.

The Doctor dismisses this remark, "Yeah, yeah. All very poetic. But it's very green hereabouts, though, isn't it? Like I said, very sunny."

"So?" Clara asks.

"Have you been to Nottingham?"

"I did. Uni." Kathy pipes up.

"Was it like this in autumn?" The Doctor asks.

"Well, no but different time," Kathy says, dismissively waving her hand. She knows why the weather is off, she just needs to get the Doctor to realise.

"Climate change?" Clara suggests.

"It's 1190." The Doctor points out.

"You must excuse me." Robin interrupts. "The Sheriff has issued a proclamation and tomorrow there is to be a contest to find the best archer in the land. And the bounty, it's an arrow made of pure gold."

"No! Don't, don't go. It's a trap." Clara exclaims. He needs to go for the plot to move along and to save everyone.

"Well, of course, it is!" They all laugh. "But a contest to find the best archer in the land?" Robin chuckles. "There is no contest." They all laugh.

"Right, that isn't even funny." The Doctor snaps. "That was bantering. I am totally against bantering."

"Banter is bullying." Kathy quips unhelpfully, thinking about the talk she had at school about it.

"How can you be so sure he is not the real thing?" Clara questions him away from the others.

"Because he can't be. Right, Kathy?" The Doctor says rhetorically, expecting her support.

"No." He looks surprised. "But, hint, you're right something is wrong but it's not them."

"When did you stop believing in everything?" Clara asks, diverting the Doctor's attention.

"When did you start believing in impossible heroes?" He demands.

"Don't you know? In a way, it's rather sweet."

——

The crowd cheer as more attempt to win the golden arrow into the targets. Kathy watches it standing next to Clara and Robin, who is wearing a large hat and cape. The Doctor has wandered off but she knows he's only preparing for his overdramatic entrance. She doesn't really need to do much in this scene and they do need to be arrested to even start learning what the Sheriff is up to.

The Herald speaks, "In the contest for the golden arrow, after ten rounds, the battle is betwixt our Lord Sheriff..." The man waves a hand from his seat in the stand to muted cheering. "And the stranger known as Tom the Tinker." There is raucous cheering as Robin steps forward, bowing to the crowd. Kathy observes the guards surrounding the competition knowing many of them aren't human nor is the Sheriff, not completely.

"Take your places." The Herald says. The Sheriff walks down the steps of his stand to stand next to Robin.

"Shall we make the contest a little more interesting, my Lord? The targets seem a little close." The Sheriff collects his bow and arrow from a guard, a normal one. "What say you? Another twenty paces?"

"Why not?" The Sheriff waves his hand and a target is moved further back.

The Sheriff draws back his arrow, aims, fires and hits the target dead in the middle. "Now, Tinker. Let us see thy true face."

Clara shakes Kathy’s arm excited. "This is tense!"

Kathy rolls her eyes. "Not really for though, is it? I know what's going to happen."

She tuts. "Don't ruin this for me!"

Robin draws back his arrow and fires, splitting the Sheriff's arrow. Clara jumps up and down cheering and Kathy laughs and joins her infectious cheering.

"Ye Gads! He has split the arrow! Truly, he is the finest archer in all England. Come forward, Tinker. And claim your prize." The Herald announces. Robin bows to him as the cushion with the arrow is presented. But as he reaches for the arrow, another shoots through the air and splits Robin's arrow on the target.

Kathy looks away from Robin to see the Doctor holding a bow and smirking smugly. She groans irritably even though she knew this was going to happen.

"I'm the Doctor. My skills as a bowman speak for themselves. I claim my reward." The Herald turns to him and kneels, presenting the cushion. The Doctor picks it up and after a moment says, "A mere bauble." Kathy shakes her head laughing quietly at his theatrics. He chucks the arrow causing the crowd to gasp. "I want something else."

"Name it." The Sheriff says daringly.

"Enlightenment." But as soon as he says this, Robin fires an arrow splitting the Doctor's. The crowd cheers.

The Doctor, realising the challenge, fires another arrow from a different angle and it pings off a guard and splits Robin's arrow. More cheers erupt. However, Robin doesn't back down and instead succeeds in splitting the Doctor's arrow without looking.

"This is getting silly." The Doctor turns and buzzes his sonic at the target causing it to explode. The crowd gasps and crouches in fear. Kathy, instead, rubs her head, feeling a headache coming in from all this showing even though it isn't all true on the Doctor's side.

"Fascinating. Seize him!" The Sheriff orders. The guards draw their swords.

"C'mon Clara!" Kathy exclaims, pulling over to the spears. She and Clara grab big spears each and huff as they drag themselves over to the Doctor.

"What are you doing? Put that down." The Doctor demands.

"I'm fine. I take Year Seven for after school Tae Kwon Do." Clara says.

"And I've had centuries of practice." Kathy defends. "With these skills, we are clearly going to save us all."

Robin has his sword drawn and stands between them and the guards. "Don't worry, Doctor. I'll save you."

"I don't need saving."

"Your honour is safe."

"I know." The Doctor mutters, irritated he's not being listened to.

"For I am Robin." He throws off his hat and the crowd cheers. "Robin Hood!" Robin is clearly in the running in beating the Doctor when it comes to over dramatics.

Robin rushes forward and engages the guard in battle. After a few clashes, Robin slashes the guard's arm and it falls revealing the machinery behind the chain mail. Clara glances at Kathy anxiously.

"Witchery! Witchery!" Somebody cries.

The Doctor runs forward and Kathy follows him. He picks up the arm. "Robot." It turns to him and opens its helmet to reveal a metal face. A noise of a weapon preparing itself with a purple light in the middle of its face. "Now we're getting somewhere." Kathy then hears him speak in her head. "You're right Kathy, something else is wrong too."

"Well, technically I said that it wasn't Robin and his gang that was wrong but something else. Not both!" She cries indignantly though it doesn't matter right now.

"Whatever."

"Take them. Kill the rest. Kill them all!" The Sheriff cries and the robot guards step forward and begin shooting. People scream and flee. The Merry men group together ready to fight.

"He surrenders!" The Doctor says.

"What?" Robin exclaims. Clara and Kathy simply put their hands up, going along with the plan though Clara doesn't know what it is.

The Doctor hits him in the stomach. "Hai!"

"You miserable cur. I had them on the run." Robin whines. He calls to the gang, "Flee, lads, flee! Live to fight another day!"

They are grabbed by the robot guards and the Sheriff orders, "To the dungeons with all of them."

Clara questions the Doctor and Kathy as they are led away, "What are you up to?"

"Quickest way to find out anybody's plans, get yourself captured." The Doctor replies.

——

"Splendid. Enchained." Robin complains as the four of them sit on the floor of their cell in chains that are attached to a few wooden posts.

"Yep," Clara mutters.

"Trussed up like turkey-cocks. Thanks to your friend." He whines.

"Shut it, Hoodie. I saved your life." The Doctor snaps.

"I had the situation well in hand."

"Long-haired ninny versus robot killer knights? I know where I'd put my money."

"If you had not betrayed me, I would have been triumphant," Robin responds. After this, they can't seem to stop and Kathy just feels a headache begin to creep up on her as she listens to them.

"You would have been a little puff of smoke and ashes."

"Oh, ha!"

"You'd have been floating around in tiny little laughing bits in people's goblets."

"Balderdash. Ha!"

"Oh, right, here we go. It's laughing time."

"Well, you amuse me, grey old man."

"Guard! He's laughing again! You can't keep me locked up with a laughing person."

"Oh, I find that, I find that quite funny. Do you know, I feel another laugh coming on. A-ha-ha-ha!"

"Guards, I cannot remain in this cell. Execute me now."

"You heard him. Execute the old fool."

"No, hang on. Execute him."

"I do not fear death, so execute away."

"Execute him. I'd like to see if his head keeps laughing when you chop it off!"

"Oh, Robin Hood always laughs in the face of death."

"Yes, rolling around the floor laughing, I would pay good money to see that."

The Doctor & Robin start yelling together, "Guard! Guard! Guard! Guard! Guard! Guard!"

Finally, Clara snaps, "Oh, you two, SHUT UP!" They fall silent.

"Thank god!" Kathy exclaims. "I was tempted to split my head open by banging it on the floor."

"No, you weren't." Clara retorts.

"You don't know that."

Clara rolls her eyes. "Do either of you understand, in any way at all, that there isn't actually a guard out there?"

"Oh."

Robin takes the chance to one up the Doctor. "I did, in fact."

"No, you didn't."

"I said, shut up." Clara snaps. "The Doctor and Robin Hood locked up in a cellar. Is this seriously the best that you can do? You're determined to starve to death in here squabbling."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing. I'd last a lot longer than this desiccated man-crone." Robin says.

"Really?" The Doctor says disbelievingly.

"Really."

"Jesus," Kathy mutters. How could she have forgotten how irritating this would be?

The Doctor leans over to him. "Well, you know what? I think you'll find I have a certain genetic advantage." Clara yanks the chain, pulling him towards her. "Oh!"

"It is not a competition about who can die slower," Clara says.

"They're men Clara. It's all they can do." Kathy pipes up.

"Not helping!" Clara utters.

"It would definitely be me, though, wouldn't it?" The Doctor says, reminding them of the other two's competition.

"There was supposed to be a plan. Do either of you two have a plan?" Clara demands. "I would ask Kathy but I don't think she's had a chance to think with all this squabbling."

Kathy sees Robin look confused then. She then realises she had forgotten that he only knows her as Daveigh. This is definitely going to help with how much he trusts her.

"Yeah, of course, I have a plan." The Doctor says.

"I too have a plan," Robin says though whether he is just saying cause the Doctor did or he actually has one, is unknown.

"Okay. Robin, you first." Clara orders.

"Why him?" The Doctor demands.

"Doctor, shut up." Kathy snaps. "Robin, your plan."

"I am biding my time."

"Thank you, Prince of Thieves." Clara sasses. "Last of the Time Lords?"

"Yes, I have a plan." The Doctor says smugly.

"Can you explain your plan without using the word sonic screwdriver?" The Doctor's smugness dims as Clara speaks. "Because you might have forgotten the Sheriff of Nottingham has taken your sonic screwdriver, just saying. It's always the screwdriver."

"Okay, let, let, let, let's hear Robin's plan first."

"Oh, for God's sake!" Clara groans.

The sound of the door being unlocked diverts their attention.

"See? There was a guard. There was guard listening the whole time, I knew it. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Robin cackles.

A guard enters. "The Sheriff himself commanded me to listen, to find out which of you is the true ringleader."

"Ah, so he can do the interrogating. Very wise." The Doctor says.

"Excellent. He will get nothing from me." Robin adds.

"No, no, no, no. no. He will get nothing from me, because interrogation, that's where I always turn the tables. You see, that's my plan."

"Just hurry up and take me to him."

"No, no, chop-chop, come on."

Instead, the guard unchains Clara and helps her up with his hand wrapped around her arm. Kathy lets out a snort at the two men's faces.

"Seriously," Clara says to them.

"Come on." The guard pulls her to the door.

"No." The Doctor whines.

"What are you doing?" Robin demands.

"Don't be ridiculous!" The door slams shut and locks.

"You only have yourselves to blame," Kathy tells them. They both grumble.

——

"I'm sorry?" The Doctor says in disbelief.

"No. Beat your breast. Moan. Groan as though twenty devils possessed your guts." Robin says.

"What for?"

"He thinks it'll attract the attention of that guard," Kathy explains. It's nice knowing what will happen, particularly when it's funny.

"Well, it's your plan. You moan." The Doctor states.

"No, no. No, it won't work." Robin decides.

"Why?"

"Oh, because you're clearly more advanced in years and you have a sickly aspect to you." Robin comments.

"I have a what?" The Doctor's face screws up to resemble an offended look.

"You're as pale as milk. It's the way with Scots. They're strangers to vegetables."

"Now you're being rude Robin," Kathy speaks.

"Exactly! So, with that attitude, you moan." The Doctor declares.

"Oh, like you have a better attitude," Kathy adds.

"Fine. If you want something doing." Robin moans loudly. "Can I rely upon you to do the rest?"

"Yes, yes, I know the drill." The Doctor mutters. Kathy nods in agreement. Robin continues moaning.

Guard peaks his face through the little window on the door. "What is this din?"

"No business of yours, cur." The Doctor calls to him and then speaks loudly to Robin. "Speak up. I can't hear you." Robin moans in response.

"What ails him?" The guard asks.

"None of your business," Kathy calls this time.

Guard enters. "I said, what ails him?"

"Well, if you must know, he's having a nervous breakdown." The Doctor answers. Kathy lets out a snort.

"A what?"

"He's like this whenever he's in any kind of danger. He just can't seem to cope. He gets so afraid. He goes into a kind of fit." Robin glares at him through his moaning. "I honestly believe that he may die of sheer fright, like some tiny, shivering little mouse." Robin lets out an irritated groan. "Oh, God, I think he's soiled himself."

"Let him die. It will save us the trouble of executing him." The guard turns away.

"And what will happen to the reward?" Kathy yells.

"Reward?"

"Oops," Kathy shrugs, "shouldn't have said that."

The guard rushes over to them. "Tell me!"

"He carries a vital message. The Prince has promised a bounty." Kathy explains.

"A big one?" The guard leans close.

"An enormous one." The Doctor adds this time.

Robin grunts, catching the guard's attention and he goes over to him. "What's that? Say again?"

Robin mumbles something. "What?"

Robin sits up and looks directly at him. "Your breath stinks like a serpent, has anyone ever told you that?" Robin's head hits him and the guard falls. "Soiled myself?" He demands.

"Did you?" The Doctor remarks. "That's getting into character. Okay, keys."

"I'll get them." Robin stretches out his leg.

"No, no. I'll get them." The Doctor stretches out his own. Kathy watches in amusement.

"I'll get them. I'll get them."

"I'm fine, no, no worries. I've got them!"

"I've got them! I'll get…" The keys rattle then fall tapping as they fall then they land in the water at the bottom of the cell.

"Well, there is a bright side." The Doctor comments.

"Which is?" Robin asks hopefully.

"Clara didn't see that."

"But I did!" Kathy singsongs.

——

They are able to get out of the dungeon but they are all still chained to one another.

"Now what?" Robin pants as they walk through a passage. He's carrying the weight that holds their chains together.

"First, a blacksmith's forge." The Doctor says.

"So as to remove our chains?"

Kathy rolls her eyes. Due to how irritated she’s become, she seems to find every little thing annoying now. "Obviously."

"No. So, I can knock up an ornamental plant stand. Of course, it's so we can get rid of our chains. I don't want to be manacled to you all night." The Doctor snaps. Robin laughs. "Oh, no. Please, don't do that."

"Ornamental plant stand." Robin chortles.

"It's not even that funny." The Doctor complains.

"For once today I agree with you," Kathy says to him.

"You're an amusing fellow, Doctor!" Robin continues.

"Oh, don't! Can you just stop?" The Doctor snaps. The laughter continues. "You'll give yourself a hernia."

——

Kathy knows they are getting somewhere when they reach the door that leads to the spaceship the Sheriff is hiding.

"At last. Something real. No more fairy tales." The Doctor says as he walks in.

"What is this place?" Robin asks, gaping at the unknown world.

"A spaceship," Kathy explains. "People can travel in them."

"More twenty ninth century than twelfth. Data banks, data banks, data banks. Where was this ship headed?" The Doctor reads the information the ship provides. "The Promised Land again. Like the Half-Faced Man, but more sophisticated." Robin and Kathy walk over to watch the computer display how the ship disguised itself. "It disguised itself as a twelfth century castle. It merges into the culture, tries to keep a low profile, so no one notices. That explains the robot knights."

Kathy looks over at the glowing dome that is the engine. "But the engines are damaged. They're leaking radiation into the local atmosphere."

The Doctor snaps his fingers in her direction. "Of course! It's creating a temporary climate of staggering benevolence."

"I beg pardon?" Robin splutters.

"I told you. It's too sunny. It's too green. And there is even an evil sheriff to oppress the locals. This explains everything, even you." The Doctor declares.

"It does?"

"No, it doesn't Doctor, I keep telling you!" Kathy exclaims but she gets ignored.

"Well, what does every oppressed peasant workforce need? The illusion of hope. Some silly story to get them through the day, lull them into docility, and keep them working. Ship's data banks. Full of every myth and legend you could hope for, including Robin Hood." The Doctor continues. The computer displays images made on the legend.

"Isn't it time you came clean with me?" The Doctor demands. "You're not real and you know it. Look at you. Perfect eyes, perfect teeth. Nobody has a jawline like that. You're as much a part of what is happening here as the Sheriff and his metal knights. You're a robot."

"Doctor!" Kathy calls.

"Don't worry Kathy, I've got this!"

"You dare to accuse me of collusion with that villain, the Sheriff?" Robin exclaims.

"I dare."

"You false-tongued knave. I should have skewered you when I had the chance. Do not get me started on so called Daveigh." Robin cries.

"Hold on!" Kathy exclaims, holding up both of her hands. "I'm not the one accusing you of being in league with the Sheriff and a robot!"

"He wouldn't succeed in skewering me anyway." The Doctor declares. Before Robin can utter a response, lasers are heard and flames light up around the door, which collapses. "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Robots walk in with the Sheriff dragging Clara with him. "Surrender, outlaw."

"Very good." The Doctor casually says.

The Sheriff ignores him. "Kill him. Kill Robin Hood."

"You can drop all that stuff now, Sheriff."

"Doctor?" Clara calls. "Kathy?"

"He's in fantasy land, Clara." She replies. "I tried to talk him out of it."

"No, I'm not!" The Doctor exclaims, behind him, one of the robots prepares its weapon to fire at Robin. "He is not what you think he is. This is all play-acting."

Clara barges past the Doctor. "We can't just let them kill him!"

"I agree!" Kathy follows her. Hopefully, Robin will see she’s still trustworthy.

"You're not fooling anyone, Sheriff." As the words are out of his mouth, the robot fires at Robin, who rolls out of the way.

Clara stands in front of Robin to protect him with Kathy beside her but he wraps his arms around her. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Surviving." Robin then throws himself out of the window they had been backed up against.

"No!" Clara cries as they fall.

"No! Clara!" The Doctor shouts. The Doctor, Sheriff and Kathy all go over to the window. There is a loud splash and no one rises.

"Yeah, sorry about the girl. Such a pretty thing. What a queen she would have made." The Sheriff walks away.

"It's okay Doctor. She's alive." As Kathy tells him this, Robin is seen carrying Clara out of the water at the edge of the moat.

The Doctor turns to the Sheriff. "Stop pretending. You and your fancy robots. I get it. I understand."

"Oh, so you too know my plans?"

"You and your robots plundering the surrounding countryside for all it's worth. Gold." Then he realises and clicks his fingers. "Gold. Of course. Gold. You are creating a matrix of gold to repair the engine circuitry."

"This is the scheme the Mechanicals have devised. Soon this skyship will depart." The Sheriff explains. "Destination, London. There I will obliterate the King and take my rightful place as ruler of this sceptred isle."

"Why does the bad guy always tell you their whole plan?" Kathy calls to the Doctor.

"I don't know but it sure is handy." Comes the reply. Out loud he says, "It won't work. There's not a chance. I've seen the instruments. There's been too much damage. You are stoking up a gigantic bomb!"

"Shush." The Sheriff then points to the side and they see the fist of a robot coming towards us. Oh, she had forgotten about that.

——

They wake up in the lower part of the castle in chains and on the floor.

"Engine capacity at forty eight percent." A man screams. "Engine capacity at forty eight percent." Kathy sees gold shaped to fit the ship being carried around.

"It's not enough. That's not enough. It'll never make orbit." The Doctor mutters. People wail, there is a small explosion, electrical pulsing.

"Yep," Kathy replies, wiggling into a sitting position. "And that's the engines, building in power."

"Ah. Stupid, stupid Sheriff." He grunts pulling at his chains. "Argh! Go on, give! Give, you stupid things. Why didn't you tell me this would happen?"

"I forgot," Kathy says sheepishly.

"Well, that's stupid." She rolls her eyes. The Doctor strains at his chains but collapses due to the effort. "What are you looking at?" He says to someone behind me.

Kathy turns and sees a very familiar girl staring at her. "Marian." Lunging towards her but due to the chains, she doesn't get far.

She smiles at her. "Daveigh."

"Of course, she's Marian." The Doctor murmurs irritably to himself.

Despite his grumblings, the Doctor is happy to explain the situation, with my help, to Marian. The woman is very receptive in listening to them explain what the Sheriff is actually up to.

"I think I understand you. The Sheriff's using the gold to replace something." Marian concludes afterwards.

"That's the principle. But he's a moron. If he tries to fly this ship, it'll explode and wipe out half the country." The Doctor replies.

"Exactly so what we need is a little riot," Kathy adds.

"Time to reflect on lasers and gold. Spread the word." The Doctor remarks.

——

A robot walks over to them. "You are fit for labour. Stand aside while these peasant units are freed."

"I'm afraid you're a little late." The Doctor says.

"Explain."

"We are already free!" Kathy cries as all of them show their free hands. The robot’s weapon, which had been preparing, fires but Kathy grabs a gold plate next to her and holds it up in front of them. The laser reflects and hits the wall behind the robot as it had moved out of the way. However, they are ready when it fires again when Marian takes her turn in deflecting and the laser hits the robot in the head, destroying it.

They beam at each other and quickly stand but they are then confronted by another robot and more and more, however, they had been ready for this as every captive around them holds up their plates and they begin to fight back.

There is screaming as lasers shoot everywhere causing fires as well as the robot's destruction.

"Everyone, the last one!" The Doctor calls. They rush forward with their plates. They form a circle, which causes the robot's laser to fire around repeatedly until it hits it. Everyone cheers.

"Right out you go everyone." Kathy cries.

"Out, out!" The Doctor adds. The people listen and begin fleeing.

"You've saved us all, clever ones." Marion kisses the Doctor's cheek and hugs Kathy. "Thank you." She runs away.

"Engine capacity at eighty two percent."

"You are indeed an ingenious fellow, Doctor." The Sheriff calls to them, he stands a few metres away with two robots behind him. Kathy rolls her eyes. She helped as well! "But do you really think your peasants' revolt can stop me?"

"I rather think you're the revolting one around here." The Doctor says before muttering to himself. "I'm bantering. I'm bantering."

"Doctor focus." Kathy turns to the Sheriff. "Listen to us. You don't have enough gold content to seal the engine breach. If you try and take off, you'll wipe out half of England."

"Liar!" The Sheriff exclaims, holding one of the robots’ helmets. "From my sky vessel, I shall rule omnipotent."

"You pudding-headed primitive, shut down the engines." The Doctor cries. "What you're doing will alter the course of history."

"I sincerely hope so, or I wouldn't be bothering." The Sheriff chucks the helmet underneath the pot of melting gold. He gestures for the two robots to come forward and likely grab the Doctor and Kathy.

"Listen to me. It doesn't have to end like this. Shut it all down, return Clara to me and I'll do what I can." The Doctor offers. He is seriously still on the same wavelength.

"I don't have Clara." The Sheriff tells them.

"Robin's one of yours." Kathy rubs her forehead, feeling a headache come on.

"What did you say?"

"He's one of your tin-headed puppets, just like these brutes here." The Doctor continues.

"Robin Hood is not one of mine." The Sheriff replies.

"Told you!" Kathy says to the Doctor.

The Doctor isn't detected. "Of course, he is. He's a robot, created by your mechanical mates."

"Why would they do that?" The Sheriff asks looking genuinely confused.

"To pacify the locals, give them false hope. He's the opiate of the masses." The Doctor explains.

"Why would we create an enemy to fight us?" The Sheriff questions- quite logically she might add. "What sense would that make? That would be a terrible idea."

"Yes! Yes, it would. Wouldn't it?" The reality seems to dawn on the Doctor then. "Yes, that would be a rubbish idea. Why would you do that?"

"Exactly," Kathy utters.

"But he can't be. He's not real." The Doctor mutters.

"But he is Doctor! We can't you get that in that supposedly big brain of yours!" Kathy exclaims, poking his forehead with her finger as she does so.

"He's a legend!" The Doctor is desperately clinging to his fading reality.

"Too kind!" They look up to see Robin on one of the upper platforms. "And this legend does not come alone."

"Hiya!" Clara calls, stepping out from behind him.

Robin and Clara climb over the railing, Robin sticks his sword into a flag draped on the fall and they both slide down.

"You all right?" Robin asks.

"Hell, yeah."

"Good." Robin disarms the Sheriff with his sword. "My men have taken the castle."

"No!" The robots prepare to fire.

"Now I'm going to take you."

"This one's all mine!" The robots wind down. "What do you say, outlaw? A final reckoning?"

"Oh, yes." The two face each other with their swords. Clara rushes over to the Doctor and Kathy.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor asks.

"Fine, yeah." Comes the reply.

"Told you she would be." Kathy reminds him.

"Well, we don't have long." The Doctor says. There's rumbling in the background.

"I shall avenge every slight, outlaw." The Sheriff cries.

"Doctor, Kathy," Clara says looking around concerned.

"I know. The whole castle's about to blow." The Doctor replies.

"He's right, we need to do this quickly," Kathy adds.

The Sheriff and Robin move around the room as they fight. The Doctor, Clara and Kathy stand and watch. Robin suddenly cuts the rope next to him and he is flung up in the air until he lands on an upper beam that is directly above the large pot of melting gold.

"I'm too much for you, outlaw." The Sheriff shouts. "The first of a new breed. Half man, half engine." He too cuts a rope and lands opposite Robin and their swords begin to clash with one another again. "Never ageing. Never tiring."

"Are you still talking?" Robin sarcastically remarks. However, the Sheriff gets the upper hand and cuts Robin's right arm causing him to let go of his sword and it falls to the floor in front of them. After a moment of silence, Robin straightens up and holds his arms wide. Kathy smirks as she recalls what he's doing.

"Bow down before your new king, you prince of knaves!" Sheriff lunges towards him but Robin spins so they are back to back and push the Sheriff into the car of gold. There is screaming then a splash.

Robin uses the rope to land back on the ground. "Sorry. Was that, er, was that showing off?"

"That was amazing," Clara says, but then rumbling returns, only this time it's louder and the walls begin to crumble.

"Run! Come on, run!" The Doctor yells. They all bolt from the room.

——

Robin, the Doctor, Kathy, Clara, the Merry men and anyone else who made it out gather at the edge of the woods as the castle falls apart as the ship takes off.

"It's never going to make it. Not enough gold. It'll never make it into orbit." The Doctor yells over the noise and wind.

Kathy turns to Tuck hoping to hurry them along. "Tuck we need the golden arrow!"

"You took it?" The Doctor exclaims as he takes the arrow and gets a bow.

"Of course, we did. We're robbers." Tuck replies.

"I love you boys." The Doctor says.

"Doctor, what are you suggesting?" Clears questions.

"Golden arrow. It might just be enough gold content to get the ship into orbit and out of harm's way." The Doctor explains then hold up the arrow and bow to Robin.

The man shakes his head. "No, it has to be you. My arm is injured." The Doctor raises them towards the ship but struggles.

"You're good at this. I saw you. You won the tournament." Clara encourages.

"I cheated. I made a special arrow with a homing device." The Doctor admits.

"Oh, brilliant. Right, let me have a go." Clara says taking them.

"You? You do Tae Kwon Do. That's not the same thing as this." The Doctor says.

"Well, I shall do it then!" Kathy exclaims and she grabs the bow and arrow from Clara.

"You?" The Doctor questions.

"I've had a lot of practice." She remarks as she aims the arrow toward the ship.

"Go on Lady Daveigh! Or should I say, Kathy?" Robin cries. She flashes him a smile as she lets go of the arrow and it shoots through the air towards the ship. It successfully hits it and the ship increases in power and shoots out into outer space where it explodes. They all cheer.

"One awful day in Nottingham, Brave Robin Hood was in a jam." Alan sings on his lute. " The arrow flew it true... "

Will steals it from him. "Give it a rest, Alan."

"Give me my lute!" Alan cries. They all laugh.

"Still not keen on the laughing thing?" Clara remarks at the sight of the Doctor's disgruntled face.

"No, no, no, no." Clara and Kathy laugh at him.

——

They return to the river where the TARDIS sits. Robin is giving Clara some archery lessons and says goodbye as the Doctor and Kathy chat to the other Merry Men.

"Goodbye, Kathy. Always good to see you." The Doctor says.

Kathy smiles. "Goodbye Doctor. Till the next time."

The Doctor nods and walks over to Robin as Clara has stepped inside the TARDIS. Kathy had said her goodbyes to her earlier. They briefly talk and shake hands then the Doctor turns and steps inside the TARDIS.

The metallic thrumming sounds as the TARDIS fades away. Kathy watches with a small smile on her face knowing what the Doctor has left behind for Robin. It full fades to reveal Marian.

"Robin? I've found you at last." They run towards each other.

"Marian?" After a moment they kiss and the rest of them all cheer. Robin runs to a hillier part of the ground and calls, "Thank you. Thank you, Doctor! Ha-ha-ha!" He shoots an arrow into the sky.

Chapter Text

Kathy wiggles against the ropes that tie her to the dunking chair. Ashildr, next to her, is in a similar position—both of them staring out at the rowdy villagers. The crowd has gathered around the riverbank, murmuring in disbelief, their eyes burning with suspicion and anger.

Kathy and Ashildr have been accused of being witches after their tireless efforts to cure an entire village of scarlet fever. But now, instead of gratitude, they are being punished—accused of witchcraft, of magic too powerful to be anything but the devil’s work. And now, they are going to pay the price.

The villagers shout now. The elder raises his hand to silence the crowd. "Let the waters decide their fate."

Then, without another word, they are pushed under the water. The cold hits Kathy like a slap in the face, but she remains still, breathing slow and controlled. The water surges over her face, and her lungs scream for air, but she controls the panic, slowing her breath. Her body relaxes, her heart rate slowing, as the bypass system kicks in, allowing her to survive underwater for far longer than any human should. Ashildr, however, has no need for such biological tricks. Her lungs are capable of holding her breath for unnatural stretches of time, a skill honed over centuries of experience.

Kathy hears the muffled sounds from the surface—yells from the villagers, confusion, shouts of triumph—but the farther down they go, the quieter it becomes. Kathy, along with Ashildr, makes quick work of getting out of their binds. With one final tug, the ropes around Kathy’s chest and legs snap.

The two women drift through the water silently, moving with a grace born of decades of experience. The villagers above them are still shouting, still debating whether the women are dead or not. The cold water stings Kathy’s face as they break through the surface at the bank of the river. Ashildr gasps for air as they pull themselves onto the riverbank, their soaked clothes clinging to their skin.

As they stand there, dripping wet, the sounds of the village grow faint behind them. The two women exchange a glance—there’s no doubt they’ve made it.

"Well," Kathy says, shaking off the water from her hair, "that went better than expected."

Ashildr wipes the wet strands from her face and smirks. "Indeed." She sends a glare in the crowd's direction. "Ungrateful peasants," Ashildr mutters under her breath. "They’ll never learn."

——

1207 AD/CE

Kathy is living in Cumbria when she meets the Eleventh Doctor for the first time. She had gotten into the wool trade and was working on one of the machines when he suddenly runs into the home she's currently living in.

"Kathy! I knew the TARDIS would find you! I need some help, future you told me to find you here." He immediately exclaims without even saying hello. She raises an eyebrow trying to hide her excitement at meeting another of his faces particularly this one he was the Doctor when she started getting into Doctor Who in her old world. "Where's Carlyle?" So he had met Carlyle?

"He met a girl a few centuries ago, I believe he's with her right now." He opens his mouth to ask more questions but she diverts the conversation before he can get any more spoilers. "What's happened?" She observes his clothes and can see that this is post Ponds but since there is no Clara with him, it's pre-her as well.

"There's this woman – well you probably already know. She's died twice! The same woman!" He rambles. His arms wave about as he speaks.

"Ah," Kathy answers. "I do know. Clara/Oswin?" She hasn't told him she hadn't met this face yet as she didn't know how to explain that she had been with a future face of his when he believes that he has no regenerations left.

"Yes!" He cries jubilation. "I need to be somewhere quiet, a little girl told me to. To think. Where do I go? Unless you can tell me?"

Kathy shakes her head. "No, spoilers, but I can give you a hint: you need to wait for the bells of Saint John to ring. There's the monastery nearby that could house you and you can wait there. It'll let you do a lot of thinking." She replies.

"Then that is what I'll do. Come come." He starts running out of the room.

"But Doctor," Kathy runs after him. "I'm a woman, I can't be a monk!"

"Pretend then!" He dismisses.

And that is how she ends up pretending to be a man so she can be a monk and join the Doctor in his solidarity confinement.

——

Kathy ends up at the monastery with the Doctor for about a month. She thinks during that time he might have realised she hadn't met this face before or he already knew but none of them acknowledged it.

One day she hears the Abbott talking to another monk as they walk down the hall to the cavernous room that the Doctor and Kathy had taken up residence in.

"They call them the Mad Monks, don't they?" The monk states rather than asks.

"They shouldn't. They're definitely not monks."

The two men enter the room but the Doctor and Kathy stay seated in front of the painting of Clara in a Victorian outfit.

The Abbott clears his throat. "I'm sorry to intrude. The bells of Saint John are ringing." That piques their interest.

The Doctor stands up next to the Abbott and removes his hood. Kathy stays seated with the hood over her face to continue hiding her identity. "I'm going to need a horse!" The Doctor walks away - dragging Kathy with him - to a smaller room to the back.

——

In the woods, they dismount from their horses and walk with the monk as another stays with the horses. Another monk is waiting with a torch outside a stone doorway into an underground cavern. The monk leads the way with the torch and the ringing of a telephone can be heard. At the end of the tunnel is the TARDIS, its light shining like a beacon. That is the source of the ringing.

The Doctor looks at Kathy and the monk. "That is not supposed to happen."

She rolls her eyes. "Well technically yes as it is a phone."

He ignores her and runs up to TARDIS with Kathy behind him and opens the panel with the phone. He looks back at them pointing at it excitedly, she shakes her head at him as she would with a child. "Hello?"

They hear Clara's voice come through. "Ah, hello. I can't find the internet."

"I'm sorry?" The Doctor says in surprise.

"It's gone, the internet. Can't find it anywhere. Where is it?" Clara asks. It's funny how clueless Clara was at first with the internet.

"The internet?" The Doctor repeats as if to check he's hearing her right.

"Yes, the internet. Why don't I have the internet?"

The Doctor walks away from the TARDIS and stands next to the monk. "It's 1207."

"I've got half past 3. Am I phoning a different time zone?" Clara asks.

"Yeah, you really sort of are." The Doctor walks around the monk until he is standing in front of the TARDIS.

"Will it show up on the bill?" Kathy snorts. Yeah, a little bit Clara.

"Oh, I dread to think." The Doctor paces the room, tangling the cord. "Listen, where did you get this number?"

"Woman in the shop wrote it down." Clara answers. "It's the helpline, isn't it? She said it was the best helpline out there. In the universe, she said."

"What woman? Who was she?" The Doctor demands. Kathy chews her lip thinking of who she knows it is.

"I dunno, the woman in the shop. So why isn't there internet? Shouldn't it just sort of... be there?" Clara says.

The Doctor stops in front of the TARDIS again. "Look, listen, I'm not actually... this isn't..." The Doctor tries but then gives up. "You have clicked on the Wi-Fi button, haven't you?"

"Hang on. Erm... Wi-Fi?"

"Click on the Wi-Fi. You'll see a list of names. Is there one you recognise?"

"It's asking me for a password." Clara then sounds like she's answering someone, one of the kids she looks after if Kathy remembers correctly. "Sure. What's the password for the internet?" There's an answer that Kathy can't hear. "How am I supposed to remember that?"

"Is it an evil spirit?" The monk questions fearfully. This all must seem really confusing to him but Kathy is not currently in the mood to explain to someone from the early 13th century what a phone is.

"It's a woman." The Doctor tells him. The monk crosses himself.

"Hang on. Just a mo." Clara types each letter as she speaks. "Run. You. Clever. Boy. Remember. And. Keep. Her. Safe. One!"

Kathy frowns. That wasn't what Clara originally said. Why did it change? She shakes those thoughts away as she watches the Doctor's face as he remembers when he had heard the phrase before. "Two! Three!"

"What did you say?" The Doctor demands suddenly as she types the last number.

"Don't shout, you made me type it wrong." Clara complains. "It's thrown me out again. What do I do, how do I get back in? It was just a thing to remember the password. Run, you clever boy, remember and keep her safe. Oh, hang on!" She puts down the phone but the Doctor doesn't wait and puts down the phone.

Kathy throws the hood off her head. "We need to go then?" She gives a wide smile as she takes in how excited he is plus it means going to the early 21st century, a place she hadn't been to in almost 700 years.

"Is it her Kathy?" She nods.

Kathy had forgotten the monk was there until he cries, "You're a woman!"

She lets out another snort. "Really? I hadn't noticed." She sarcastically replies.

The Doctor doesn't care. "Let's go!" He drags her into the TARDIS.

——

2013 AD/CE

They track Clara's call to exactly when she called them and they arrive at the Maitland house and immediately begin ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door without changing out of their monk outfits.

Kathy hears Clara going down the stairs yelling, "Hello, yes, I hear you. Yep. Uh-huh." The door opens to reveal her. Kathy is a bit nervous as this Clara hasn't met her before so this is important with first impressions. "Hello?"

The Doctor stands there, grinning while trying to appear calmer.

Kathy gives her a wave. "Hi Clara."

"Clara? Clara Oswald?" The Doctor questions.

"Hello?" The woman replies in a confused tone.

"Clara Oswin Oswald?" The Doctor continues.

"Just Clara Oswald. What was that middle one?" Clara answers. She glances at Kathy as if to ask for help but she just shrugs.

"Do you remember us?" The Doctor exclaims excitedly.

"No. Should I? Who are you both?" Clara questions.

The Doctor takes a step inside but Kathy doesn't as she doesn't believe in shoving herself into people's homes when they don't know her.

"The Doctor, that is Kathy. No? The Doctor? Kathy?" The Doctor looks at himself in a wall mirror.

"Doctor who?"

"No, just the Doctor." The Doctor tells her. "Actually, sorry, could you just ask me that again?"

"Could I what?"

"Could you just ask me that question again?"

Clara goes with it. "Doctor who?"

"OK, just once more."

"Doctor who?"

"Oh, yeah." He steps back outside and does a little dance. "Oh! D'you know, I never realised how much I enjoy hearing that said out loud, Kathy doesn't do it enough or ever."

"Charming." Kathy utters.

"Thank you." The Doctor says to Clara.

Clara's face clearly shows how odd she thinks he is. "OK." She closes the door.

The Doctor pounds on the door. "Hey, no! Clara, please."

"Doctor you're not helping." Kathy warns him.

"Clara, I need to talk to you! Listen, please." The Doctor continues with less pounding. "Please! I just need to speak to you!"

The intercom is switched on. The Doctor smiles and waves at it and nudges me to do the same. Kathy rolls her eyes fondly and joins in.

"Why are you still here? Why are you here at all?" Clara demands to know.

"You phoned us." He waved his thumb between the two of them. "You were looking for the internet."

"That was you?"

"Course it was us." Kathy says.

"How did you get here so fast?" Clara asks.

"I just happened to be in the neighbourhood." The Doctor moves out of the way to show the TARDIS. "On my mobile phone."

"When you say "mobile phone", why do you point at that blue box?" Clara questions.

"Because according to him it's a surprisingly accurate description." Kathy remarks.

"OK, we're finished now." The intercom is switched off.

"Oi, no, look..." The Doctor cries.

"Come on ." Kathy says pulling his arm. "Let's get looking your usual normal. And I think I need some modern clothing to get around better." They needed to hurry as well as to save Clara.

——

The Doctor enters the TARDIS and strips off his habit. "The TARDIS will show where the wardrobe is if you don't know already. I've got to stop being monk. Monks are not cool!"

Kathy just nods and walks out of the control room. The corridor lights up as if to guide her. She glances up at the ceiling to murmur a thank you and she got some happy whirring back. She gets to the wardrobe and pulls out a pair of jeans, a green hooded jumper and a leather jacket on top thinking they were simple enough though it felt weird putting them on after centuries of not using these kinds of materials.

Kathy walks back into the console room to see the Doctor appear from underneath the console in his later era clothing.

"Yes cause that's cooler." Kathy remarks.

"Oi!" He fiddles with his bowtie and then runs out of the TARDIS with Kathy behind him.

——

They exit the TARDIS and hurry over to the front door though Kathy's reasoning differed from the Doctor's.

"Clara?" The Doctor knocks on the door. "Clara?" He moves to the intercom.

Clara's voice comes over the intercom. "Hello?"

"See? Look, it's us! De-monked." He spins while Kathy stares at the intercom anxiously, wondering if it had happened yet. "Sensible clothes. Erm, can I come in now?"

Clara speaks again over the intercom. "I don't understand." Oh no.

The Doctor doesn't notice. "Could you just open the door?"

"I don't know..."

"Of course you can!" The Doctor replies.

"Um Doctor something's not right." Kathy tells him. He turns to her frowning then Clara speaks confirming my suspicions.

"…where I am." The Doctor stares at the intercom realising something has happened.

Clara's voice doesn't stop. "I don't know where I am. Where am I? Please tell me, where I am! I don't know where I am." The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver on the front door and they enter the house. Clara is lying unconscious on the floor at the base of the stairs.

Despite this Clara's voice continues and Kathy looks toward the Spoonhead. "I don't know where I am!"

The Doctor kneels beside Clara. "Clara! Clara?" The Doctor gently puts a hand under her head and uses the sonic.

"Doctor…" Kathy calls.

"I don't know where I am! I don't understand." The Doctor looks up and sees the Spoonhead standing on the stairs. "I don't know where I am! I don't know where I am!" In the dish, they see Clara looking around, lost. He slowly stands. "I don't understand! I don't know where I am! Where am I? I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am."

The Doctor uses the sonic on the Spoonhead and the visage of the girl disappears to show the most basic of a humanoid shape in robotic form. The Doctor lowers the sonic.

"A walking base station. A walking Wi-Fi base station, hoovering up data. Hoovering up people! Kathy stay there! I need a laptop!" He runs upstairs and soon comes back down with a notebook in his hands. The Doctor kneels beside Clara, his fingers flying over the keyboard, trying to hack into the Spoonhead to free her. Kathy sits anxiously watching Clara, not sure what else she can do.

"Oh, no, you don't. Oh, no, you don't." The Doctor continues to type away. The people on the other end try to counter his input. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Not this time, Clara, I promise you." The Doctor and the other person continue to fight each other via their keyboards. Clara's upload is stopped. Kathy feels for Clara's pulse. There is a whirring sound from the Spoonhead and a beam shoots from the dish to Clara. She takes in a deep breath and coughs as she rolls over. Kathy gently strokes her hair and lifts her head.

"It's OK, it's OK. You're fine, you're back." Kathy murmurs to her though she probably can't hear her. "Yes, you are." She wraps her in a tight hug.

The Doctor smiles. "Yes, she is."

——

They place a sleeping Clara in her bed. Kathy takes a pitcher of water and pours a glass before setting it on the bedside table. The Doctor finds another vase and puts in some hand-picked flowers and sets that on the table. He remembers something else and returns with a package of Jammy Dodgers. He peels off the wrapper and inhales its delicious scent before placing them on a plate. He takes a bite of one, savouring the taste, and offers Kathy one, which she has as she hasn't been able to have one in centuries.

He spots a book on the shelf beside the bed, "101 Places To See". He flips through the book. At the front, in a child's handwriting, it reads "Property of Clara Oswald, Age 9". The age is crossed out as another year follows. The ages missing are 16 and 23. Opposite the page is a pressed leaf. The Doctor takes it out by the stem, twirls it, sniffs it and then licks it. He seems puzzled by what that tells him. He puts the leaf back in the book and the book back on the shelf.

He decides to potter around the house so Kathy leaves him to it.

——

The Doctor and Kathy are sitting in folding chairs outside the TARDIS in the Maitlands' driveway. The Doctor has Clara's notebook and they are working on the Spoonhead. He's helping her develop her knowledge of machinery.

"Hello?" They look up to see Clara leaning out of her window and stand.

"Hello. Are you all right?" The Doctor asks.

"I'm in bed."

"Yes." Kathy replies.

"Don't remember going."

"No."

"What did I miss?"

"Oh, quite a lot, actually." The Doctor reaches into his inner jacket pocket and pulls out a small notebook. "Angie called, she's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do, for God's sake, get off her back." He flips a page. "Also, your dad phoned. Mainly about the government. He seems very cross with them, I've got several pages on that." He turns multiple pages.

"I said we'd look into it." Kathy tells her.

The Doctor continues, "I fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine, indexed the kitchen cupboards, optimised the photosynthesis in the main flowerbed and assembled the quadrocycle."

"Assembled the what?" Clara asks.

"I found a disassembled quadrocycle in the garage." The Doctor explains.

"I don't think you did," Clara replies.

"I invented the quadrocycle!" The Doctor says in an awed whisper then turns to Kathy. "Why didn't you stop me?"

She shrugs. "You seemed to be having fun plus when I realised, you had already started."

"What happened to me?" Clara questions, drawing their attention back to her.

The Doctor walks forward. "Don't you remember?"

"I was scared. Really scared. I didn't know where I was." Clara replies.

"Do you know now?" Kathy asks.

"Yes."

"Well, then, you should go to sleep, because you're safe now, I promise. Goodnight, Clara." The Doctor turns on his heels and heads back to the chair by the TARDIS with Kathy behind him.

Clara closes her window. Moments later, she opens it again and sticks her head out. "Are you guarding me?"

"Well, yes. Yes, we are." The Doctor says.

Clara smiles. "Are you seriously going to sit down there all night?"

"Yes. I promise. I won't budge from this spot." The Doctor sits back and crosses his legs.

"Well, then. I'll have to come to you." Clara closes her window.

The Doctor stands. "Eh?" Kathy laughs to herself.

——

Clara exits the house and has changed her clothes. She has a chair hooked over her right arm and three cups of tea in her left that she is somehow able to carry.

"I like your house." The Doctor tells her as he stands working on the Spoonhead.

"It isn't mine, I'm a friend of the family." Clara sets the chair down across from them.

"Do you look after the kids? Oh yes, you're a governess, aren't you," the Doctor taps his forehead with a wrench, "just like..."

Clara hands them their cups of tea. "Just like what?" She sits backwards on the chair.

Kathy tries to cover it up. "Yeah just gathered that from everything. Context."

Clara nods. "Are you going to explain what happened to me?"

The Doctor picks up the laptop and sits. "There's something in the Wi-Fi. OK. This whole world is swimming in Wi-Fi. We're living in a Wi-Fi soup! Suppose something got inside it. Suppose there was something living in the Wi-Fi, harvesting human minds, extracting them. Imagine that."

"Basically human souls trapped like flies in the World Wide Web, stuck for ever, crying out for help." Kathy explains.

"Isn't that basically Twitter?" Clara remarks. Kathy raises an eyebrow at her and the Doctor, who had started typing on the notebook, looks up at Clara's comment. "What's those faces for?"

"A computer can hack another computer." The Doctor utters. "A living, sentient computer... Maybe that could that hack people. Edit them. Rewrite them."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because a few hours ago you knew nothing about the internet." Kathy points at her. "And you just made a joke about Twitter."

"Oh. Oh." It dawns on Clara. "That's weird. I know all about computers now in my head. Where did that come from?"

"You were uploaded for a while. Wherever you were, you brought something extra back. Which I very much doubt you're going to be allowed to keep." The Doctor and Kathy slowly turn their heads and see a figure standing across the street under a lamp. The Doctor gets up and stands beside the TARDIS, still staring at the figure, a Spoonhead.

"All of us inside that box, now." The Doctor orders.

"I'm sorry?" The look on Clara's face is one of incredulous disbelief.

"Just get inside." Kathy hurries over to her and she stands to get out of her way as Kathy moves the chair. Kathy goes to the TARDIS door.

"All of us?" Clara questions.

"Trust me, you'll understand once we're in there." The Doctor says not helping with how it sounds.

"I bet I will!"

"Clara, please!" The Doctor begs.

"What is that box, anyway? Why do you have a box?" Clara asks instead.

"Clara!" Kathy exclaims.

"Is it like a snogging booth?"

This causes the Doctor to stop in his frantic movements. "A what?!"

"Is that what you do, you bring a booth? There's such a thing as too keen. And more than one! Down boy." She sips her tea. The lights in different rooms in different houses come on. Too many to be a coincidence.

"Clara, look around you!" Kathy says.

Clara looks around the street and sees for herself. "What's going on? Is the Wi-Fi switching on the lights?"

"No. The people are switching on the lights. The Wi-Fi is switching on the people." As the Doctor says this, the Spoonhead turns around.

"What is that thing?" Clara asks.

"A walking base station, you saw one earlier." Kathy explains.

"I saw a little girl." Clara insists.

"Must have taken an image from your subconscious, thrown it back at you. Active camouflage." The Doctor smacks his forehead. "They could be everywhere!" We all look around, worried.

"Doctor! Kathy!" Clara pulls them over and in the distance, they see the lights of London are going off. "What's going on?"

Eventually, they are looking at a dark London.

"All our lights on, everyone else's off. Why?" Clara asks.

"Some planes have Wi-Fi." The Doctor says instead.

"I'm sorry?"

"We must be a very big target right now." Kathy says. They hear the roaring of engines and look up to the sky where they see a plane heading straight for them.

The Doctor grabs Clara's hand. "All of us, box, now!" He pulls her into the TARDIS and Kathy follows.

——

The Doctor hurries towards the console and Clara is pulled along in his wake. She holds onto the rail with one hand to steady herself. The teacup remains in the other.

"Yes, it's a spaceship. Yes, it's bigger on the inside. No, I don't have time to talk about it." The Doctor rattles.

Kathy starts casually sipping her tea as she watches her.

"But... but... but... it's..." Clara moves around in shock at her surroundings.

The Doctor uses controls on a side panel. "Shut up, please, short hops are difficult." He's back at the console. Kathy gets curious and touches the console. She feels a zap and all the information on how to fly the TARDIS suddenly flies into her head. Oh. Was it literally that simple? Such an undramatic moment.

"Bigger. On the inside. Actually bigger." Clara rattles.

The Doctor throws a lever and the TARDIS sparks a little. The Doctor jumps back a bit.

Kathy stares at him. "You did it wrong."

"Shut up." He hurries for the door. "Right, come on!"

"Are we going back out there?" Clara exclaims nervously.

"We've moved. It's a spaceship, we flew away." The Doctor explains.

"Away from the plane?" Clara asks hopefully.

"Not exactly!" Kathy opens the door and she and the Doctor practically tumble from the TARDIS into the body of the plane. Clara follows, leaning against the galley wall.

"How did we get here?" Clara questions.

The Doctor heads for the cockpit battling turbulence. "It's a ship, I told you, it's all very science-y!"

"Is this the plane, the actual plane?" Clara continues questioning as Kathy pulls her along after the Doctor. "Are they all dead?"

"Asleep, switched off by the Wi-Fi, never mind them!" The Doctor uses the sonic on the cockpit door. A bout of turbulence causes the Doctor to tumble and nearly fall on an unconscious female flight attendant seated by the exit. He stands and tumbles into the cockpit followed by Kathy and Clara.

The Doctor is between the unconscious pilot and co-pilot using the sonic on the various panels. Clara and Kathy stand behind him in the cramped area.

"What is going on? Is this real? Please tell me what is happening!" Clara yells.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm an alien from outer space. I'm 1,000 years old. I've got two hearts. And I can't fly a plane." The Doctor lists.

Kathy turns to her to also explain who she is. "And I'm Kathy, nearly 700 years old and part Human, Time Lord and Apalapucian as well as being from a different dimension with zero knowledge on how to fly a plane, do you?"

"No!"

"Oooh! Fine, team effort then." The Doctor pulls back on the throttle and they hold onto him as if to help him. They all scream as the plane gets closer to the houses. The plane skims over the house, barely clearing them. The Doctor laughs in relief and excitement. Kathy lets go but Clara still clings to him and still holds the teacup in one hand. Kathy realises she doesn't know where hers is.

"Do you think a victory roll would be too show-off-y?" The Doctor asks.

"Yes." Kathy tells him and he pouts.

The pilot starts to come around. "What the hell's going on?"

"Well, I'm blocking your Wi-Fi, so you're waking up for a start. Tell you what," he pats the pilot on the arm, "do you want to drive?" He stands and leaves with Kathy following before she realises Clara is still in the cockpit so she reaches in and grabs her collar, pulling her from the cockpit.

——

The Doctor works the controls. Clara finishes her tea and sets the cup down purposefully on the top of the console.

"OK. When are you going to explain what the hell is going on?" Clara asks determinedly.

"Breakfast." The Doctor throws a switch and the TARDIS lurches a bit.

Kathy snaps her fingers at him. "Great idea." The Doctor and Kathy grin at each other and head for the door.

Clara runs around the other side to confront them. "What? I ain't waiting till breakfast."

"It's a time machine. You never have to wait for breakfast." The Doctor opens the door and sunlight streams through as he and Kathy step out. They are greeted with a group of people applauding their "performance".

"Thank you! Thank you." Kathy bows.

"Yes, thank you. Yes, magic blue box." The Doctor pulls out fez from under his jacket. "All donations gratefully accepted." He passes it around to collect. "Roll up, roll up, give us your dosh. Pennies, pounds, anything you've got." He gives the fez to Clara, who had joined them. "Keep collecting, we need enough for breakfast. Just popping back to the garage." He goes into the TARDIS.

It takes a moment for Clara to register what he just said. "Garage? What does he mean?"

Kathy waves her hand dismissively. "You'll see."

Clara shakes the fez as more people drop coins into it. "So, this is tomorrow, then? Tomorrow's come early." The Doctor comes out of the TARDIS on a motorcycle that has a sidecar wearing a helmet. People applaud and take photos.

"No, it came at the usual time." Kathy replies. "We just took a short cut."

"Thank you, thank you. Tomorrow, a camel!" The Doctor says to the crowd. Kathy climbs on behind the Doctor and Clara gets in the sidecar.

The Doctor gives them their helmets. He empties the money from the fez before placing the hat on the head of a young boy standing by the motorcycle. Kathy sees a girl pose for a photo with the TARDIS in the background. Good.

The Doctor drives the motorcycle towards Westminster Bridge.

"If you've got a flying time machine, why are we on a motorbike?" Clara asks.

"I don't take the TARDIS into battle." The Doctor says.

"Because it's made of wood?" Kathy laughs at her statement.

"Because it's the most powerful ship in the universe and I don't want it falling into the wrong hands." The Doctor holds up his hands before realising he needs them both on the controls. "OK?"

He drives the motorcycle over the bridge. They drive by Horse Guards Parade then under Admiralty Arch.

——

The three of them sit at a table at a rooftop café overlooking St Paul's Cathedral. The Doctor has the notebook open.

"So if we can travel anywhere in time and space, why did we travel to the morning? What's the point in that?" Clara questions.

"Whoever's after us spent the whole night looking for us. Are you tired?" The Doctor responds.

"Yes."

"Then imagine how they feel." Kathy says. "They've probably spent the whole night trawling through hours of cctv and multiple pictures to try and find us."

The Doctor types. "They've got to be close, definitely London, going by the signal distribution. I can hack the lowest level of their operating system, but I can't establish a physical location, the security's too good." He mutters frustrated.

"Are you both aliens?" Clara asks.

The Doctor leans. "We are, yes. OK with that?"

"Fine, yeah. I think I'm fine." Clara mutters.

"Oh, good." Kathy jokes. "Though technically am I really considering my mother was human and I was born and grew up on this planet?"

"Good point." Clara remarks before turning back to the questions. "And you are from another universe?"

Kathy nods. "Yeah. This is a TV show for me then I was reborn in this world."

Clara nods in a daze. "Right. So what happens if you do find them? What then?"

"I don't know. I can't tell the future, I just work there." The Doctor answers. "Kathy will know before me."

"You don't have a plan?" Clara asks dubiously.

"You know what he always says about plans?" Kathy remarks.

"What?"

"He never has one."

"People always have plans." Clara slurps the remains of her drink through a straw.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose they do." The Doctor admits as he closes the notebook. "So tell me, how long have you been looking after those kids?"

Kathy could see what he is doing. He is trying to figure this Clara out, how much she knows.

"About a year, since their mum died." Clara answers.

"OK. But why you? Family friend, I get that, but there must have been others." The Doctor probes. "Why did it have to be you? I mean, you don't you don't really seem like a nanny."

Instead of answering him, Clara pushes aside her empty glass and reaches for her notebook. "Gimme!"

The Doctor puts his hand on the computer and pulls it back. "Sorry, what?" Kathy leans back in her chair, ready to watch.

Clara leans forward. "You need to know where they physically are. Their exact location."

"Yes."

"I can do it." She grabs the notebook and holds it out of his reach.

"Oi! I need that!" The Doctor cries.

"You've hacked the lower operating system. I'll have their physical location in under five minutes. Go and get a coffee. Take Kathy with you so she doesn't get bored."

"Not a bad plan. I would like a muffin. Particularly chocolate chip." Kathy adds. She hadn't had one for centuries.

The Doctor grabs the notebook as Clara laughs at Kathy's comment. "If I can't find them, you can't."

"Don't misjudge Doctor," Kathy adds. He looks at her. It was funny how she's distracting both of them.

"Don't distract me with your hints!" The Doctor pouts.

Clara, seeing his diverted gaze, pulls the notebook towards her. "They uploaded me, remember. I've got computing stuff in my head."

The Doctor pulls the notebook towards him. "So do I." The Doctor and Clara play tug-of-war with the notebook as they argue.

"I have insane hacking skills."

"I'm from space, and the future, with two hearts and... 27 brains."

"And I can find them in under five minutes, plus photographs. 27?" Clara asks in disbelief.

"He's exaggerating." Kathy explains.

Clara rolls her eyes. "Coffee - go get. Five minutes, I promise." She grabs the notebook from his loose hands.

The Doctor leans back and checks his watch. "The security is absolute."

"It's never about the security, it's about the people." Clara starts typing fast. The Doctor sits there for a moment, legs crossed, before reluctantly getting up, pulling Kathy with him despite her protests, and heading inside. He stops by the door and looks back at Clara.

Clara feels his gaze and looks up. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Sorry, no, it's nothing. It's just... you're a nanny. Isn't that a bit... Victorian?" The Doctor stumbles.

"Victorian?"

"You're young, shouldn't you be doing, you know, young things?" The Doctor attempts the Twist and a John Travolta impression. "With-with-with... young people?"

"Oh, Doctor." Kathy mumbles to herself. Does he not realise how that looks? Particularly to Clara.

She's right. "What, like you, for instance? Down, boy!"

The Doctor walks toward Clara, hand out placating. "No, no, I didn't..." He lowers his hand. "Shut up!" The Doctor heads back inside and stops halfway with an affronted gasp before continuing with Kathy behind him.

She's anxious but how else will they defeat those after her? She personally doesn't see the point of constantly running.

——

The Doctor and Kathy walk up to the coffee bar that is loaded with pastries. He picks up a plate holding a chocolate cake and inhales the scent. He sets it down on the counter.

"Ooh! Two more cappuccinos over there and a chocolate chip muffin, please." The Doctor orders. Kathy looks around the room anxiously. She wonders where the Spoonhead, who gets Clara, is.

"One moment, sir." The Barista, an older man, walks over to the machine to start the process. The Doctor, intent on the pastries, misses the electricity crackle and lights flicker but Kathy sees it.

"You realise you haven't the slightest chance of saving your little friend?" Kizlet is speaking to them through her tablet.

The Doctor pauses, a scone at his mouth. "Sorry, what?"

There is a flash of blue around the Barista as he continues. "I said one moment, sir." He stops and stares ahead, towel over his arm. "I said, there is not the slightest chance you can save your little friend. And don't annoy the old man, he isn't, in fact, speaking." He resumes work. The Doctor leans forward as the Barista speaks, studying him.

"They're using them." Kathy says. The Doctor nods as a Waitress comes up behind them, holding a tray against her body.

They turn to her as she starts to speak. "I'm speaking. Just using whatever's to hand. Oh, she's rather pretty, isn't she? Do you like her? I can make her like you too, if you want." The electricity crackles and the Waitress leans away from the Doctor who is practically in her face. "You all right, sir?"

Kathy grabs the Doctor's arm to pull him away. "Yes he's fine, thank you." She quickly pulls him outside. She feels like cornered prey in there.

——

They come rushing out of the café and skid to a stop seeing Clara typing away.

"You OK?" The Doctor asks.

"Sure, setting up stuff, need a user name." Clara responds not noticing their agitation.

"Learning fast."

"Clara Oswald for the win! Oswin!" Clara exclaims.

The Doctor looks as if he is remembering when he first heard the name. Kathy hadn't met any other versions of Clara but for the Doctor, this must all be very trippy for him. After a moment of hesitation, they go back inside.

——

The Waitress comes up to them as soon as they enter. Kizlet speaks through her again as the woman walks around them.

"Now I want you to take a look around. Go on. Have a little stroll. And see how impossible your situation is. Go on. Take a look, I do love showing off." Electricity crackles and the Waitress continues working. They look around, suspicious of everyone, it's not even fake on Kathy's side.

The electricity crackles again and a young girl stands up from the table she shared with her family. "Just let me show you what control of the Wi-Fi can do for one. Stop!" Everyone in the café stops in their tracks. You can see blue digital "energy" passing over them.

"We saw what you can do last night." Kathy states trying not to look bothered about what they can do.

"And clear!" The energy dissipates and everyone leaves the room.

Energy crackles again and the Newsreader on TV speaks as Kizlet. "We can hack anyone in the Wi-Fi, once they've been exposed long enough."

"So there's one of your walking base stations somewhere close." The Doctor states.

"There's always someone close. We've released thousands into the world. They home in on the Wi-Fi like rats sniffing cheese." The woman on the tv replies smugly.

The Doctor strides toward the TV. "I don't know who you are or why you're doing this but the people of this world will not be harmed, they will not be controlled, they will not be..."

"The people of this world are in no danger whatsoever." The woman dismisses as if talking to a child. "My client requires a steady diet of living human minds. Healthy, free range human minds. He loves and cares for humanity. In fact, he can't get enough of it."

Kathy wrinkles her nose, "He's killing them. Funny way of showing you care."

"It's life. The farmer tends his flock like a loving parent. The abattoir is not a contradiction. No-one loves cattle more than Burger King."

She rolls her eyes. "I hardly see the comparison."

The Doctor strides toward the TV. "This ends. I am going to the end this today!"

"How? You don't even know where we are." Kathy smirks to herself knowing that Clara has probably already worked it out.

"Who's doing this? Who is your client? Hmm? Answer me." The Doctor demands.

——

The Doctor hurries out to the patio with Kathy behind. "Clara! Clara!"

They stop when they see the Doctor's own face staring back at them and Clara is slumped unconscious on the table. The head turns around and Kathy can see Clara in the dish.

"Doctor? Kathy?" She begs. "Kathy, Doctor, help me. I don't know where I am. I don't understand. I don't know where I am! Please help me. I don't know where I am! I don't know where I am. Kathy, Doctor, please, please, help me. I don't know where I am."

"We need to get her out and save the rest of them." Kathy says.

The Doctor steps forward, looks at Clara at the table and then whips out his sonic screwdriver, using it on the Spoonhead.

They grab Clara's notebook to set up control and proceed to send the Spoonhead of the Doctor to the Shard to trick Kizlet into saving not only Clara but the rest of them. The place Clara had identified as their headquarters. The tinkering they had done with one not too long ago is helpful.

——

The Spoonhead Doctor rides across the bridge on the motorcycle, a determined look on his face. The Doctor and Kathy watch its progress. It pulls to a stop across the street from the Shard.

A man standing there with fish and chips comes to attention as Kizlet speaks through him. "Really, Doctor, a motorbike? It hardly seems like you."

"I rode this in the Anti-Grav Olympics, 2074. I came last." The Doctor replies through the Spoonhead.

Kathy sits next to him typing. It seemed in this life, particularly technical stuff is easier for her to learn which is helpful when you are in the company of the Doctor. She plans on taking some books from the library after this.

"The building is in lock-down. I'm afraid you're not coming in." The man points out.

"Did you even hear the word anti-grav?" It slams a red button on the control panel, twists the throttle, and drives towards the Shard. The Spoonhead Doctor rides the motorcycle up the side of the building. As it gets close to the 65th floor, it takes out the sonic and uses it. It smashes through the glass window of Kizlet's office.

——

They watch Kizlet open the door to the office to see the Doctor's motorcycle lying on its side on the floor amongst shattered glass. The Spoonhead Doctor is sitting at her desk, legs crossed and feet resting on its surface.

"Do come in." Kizlet says casually.

"Download her." The Doctor says through the Spoonhead. Kathy keeps quiet in order not to give the game away but nibbles on her muffin.

"Sorry about the draft." Kizlet motions to the smashed window.

"Download her back into her body, right now." The Doctor insists.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"She's a fully integrated part of the data cloud now. She can't be separated." Kizlet argues.

"Then download the entire cloud. Everyone you've trapped in there." The Doctor counters.

"You realise what would happen?"

"Yes, those still with bodies to go home to would be free." The Spoonhead Doctor stands up with arms out wide.

"A tiny number. Most would simply die." The Spoonhead and Kizlet come face-to-face in front of the window.

"They'd be released from a living hell." The Spoonhead checks its watch. "It's the best you can do for them," it taps Kizlet's nose, "so give the order."

"And why would I do that?" Kizlet asks.

"Because I'm going to motivate you. Any second now."

"You ridiculous man! Why did you even come here? Whatever for?" Kizlet quizzes.

"I didn't."

Kizlet is startled. "What?"

"I'm still in the cafe." The Doctor sips his cup of coffee. Clara still lays unconscious across from them. "I'm finishing my coffee. Lovely spot. And Kathy her chocolate chip muffin."

"What are you talking about?" Kizlet asks not quite understanding.

"You hack people. Me?" The Spoonhead unclips the helmet. "I'm old-fashioned." It removes the helmet. "I hack technology. Here's your motivation!" The Doctor presses a button on the notebook. The head of the Spoonhead spins revealing it to be what it really is.

Kizlet backs away towards her desk. "No. No. No! Not me! Not me!" A beam shoots out from the dish and downloads her.

The Doctor Spoonhead picks up Kizlet's tablet and uses it to increase Mahler's obedience to listen to Kizlet's demands to be free.

The Doctor closes the notebook as Clara takes a deep breath but doesn't wake. Standing, the Doctor gently lays a hand on her head, stroking her hair, before leaving with Kathy behind him throwing a glance back at Clara. The note she had left sits beside her.

——

Kathy and the Doctor arrive the next day outside the Maitland house. The Doctor is sitting on a set of stairs that lead to the upper floor in the console room reading a book. He has on the glasses that used to belong to Amy. While Kathy is analysing the console, going over her new knowledge, when there is a knock on the door.

"Come in." The Doctor calls.

Clara enters. "So. They come back, do they?"

"You didn't answer my question." The Doctor says.

"What question?"

"He said you don't seem like a nanny." Kathy answers.

"I was going to travel. I came to stay for a week before I left and during that week..." Clara trails off.

The Doctor closes the book. "She died, so you're returning the favour. You've got 101 places to see, and you haven't been to any of them, have you? That's why you keep the book."

"I keep the book cos I'm still going." Clara skips over to the console and stands on Kathy's left.

"But you don't run out on the people you care about." The Doctor takes off the glasses. "Wish I was more like that." He puts the glasses into an inner jacket pocket. "You know, the thing about a time machine," he swings down to the floor using the railings, "you can run away all you like and still be home in time for tea," he slides over to the console on Kathy's right.

"Side note, I'm not here all the time." Kathy points out quickly before he can continue.

"You're not?" Clara asks.

"No I'm off doing my own thing then I hang out with this one," Kathy just out her them towards the Doctor, "now and again so you'll meet me out of sync if you decide to join this him."

"So what do you say? Anywhere. All of time and space, right outside those doors."

Clara laughs. "Does this work? Eh? Is this how you got Kathy?"

Kathy scrunches up her nose. "Ew."

Clara walks around the two of them, ignoring Kathy's remark. "Do you just crook your finger and people just jump in your snog box and fly away?"

"It is not a snog box!" The Doctor exclaims.

"I'll be the judge of that!" Clara crosses her arms.

"Starting when?" He tries to act casual and leans against the console.

Clara pauses for a moment. "Come back tomorrow, ask me again."

"Why?"

"Cos tomorrow, I might say yes. Some time after 7.00 OK for you?" Clara heads for the door.

Kathy follows her laughing. "I think he'll be fine with that."

"See you then." Clara hugs Kathy. "See you whenever."

Kathy smiles. "You too."

"Clara?" The Doctor calls.

Clara stops from opening the door. "Uh-huh?"

"In your book there was a leaf, why?"

"That wasn't a leaf, that was page one." Clara leaves.

The Doctor turns and heads back up the stairs, stopping partway. "Right then, Clara Oswald. Time to find out who you are."

"Drop me off first!" Kathy yells.

He grins and runs back to the console and sets the TARDIS in motion.

Chapter Text

14th Century

The air in their small French village was thick with grief. The stench of death lingered in every corner, creeping between the cracks of the crumbling houses, over the damp cobblestone streets. It was spring, but there was no sense of new life. The Black Death had swept across Europe like a shadow, its darkness closing in on them, one life at a time.

Kathy stands at the foot of the small bed, her hearts breaking into a thousand pieces. It takes another century for Carlyle and Ashildr to get around to it and decide to get married, officially making the latter Kathy’s daughter. Carlyle and Ashildr had three children: Essie, Jean, and Rue (their names reflecting the country of their birth).

Her granddaughter, Essie, barely fifteen years old, lies still, her breath shallow and ragged, her eyes sunken in feverish delirium. Jean is not much better off, though she has slipped into unconsciousness some hours before, while Rue has already passed. The children were strong and vibrant just days ago, but the plague spares no one, and now it is a matter of time.

"Grandmère…" Essie’s voice is weak, barely a whisper. Her hand reaches out, trembling, and Kathy gently clasps it, though the coolness of the young girl’s skin sends a shiver through her spine.

"I’m here, sweet girl," Kathy says, her voice thick with emotion. She squeezes her granddaughter’s hand, her own heart breaking as she watches the last of the children she helped raise fade before her eyes.

Behind her, Carlyle is pacing. His hand is pressed to his temple, and though he is trying to maintain his composure, his worry is palpable. Even after all these years, the weight of loss is no less heavy. And though the children are not fully human, as Ashildr has said repeatedly, Kathy now knows that it doesn’t matter. They are too human; the Time Lord or Apalapucia genetics will not work. Even though they have the second Mire medical kit, they ultimately decide not to use it on any of them. How could they make that decision?

Ashildr has been beside them when the sickness began to take hold. She herself had fallen ill, but now, she is hunched over, scribbling frantically in a journal by the window, her face a mask of grief and frustration.

"Are you sure this is the right thing, Ashildr?" Kathy’s voice is soft, but laced with the weight of unspeakable sorrow.

"I’ll write it down, Kathy," Ashildr continues quietly, a tremor in her voice now. "This will be my last entry, I think. I’ll keep it in the diary, so I can remind myself... remind myself to never—" She stops, wiping away the lone tear that has escaped her composure. "Never again."

Kathy walks to her side, placing a hand on Ashildr’s shoulder. There is no need for words; they both know the magnitude of the decision Ashildr is making. It is not just about the loss of their children—it is about understanding the fine line they have walked for so long, that line between life and death, between the human and the timeless. They have been together for so long now, yet in the end, it is still not enough to shield them from this.

"Do you regret it?" Kathy whispers, though she isn’t sure if she is asking Ashildr or herself.

Ashildr shakes her head, her eyes tired but resolute. "No. But I will remember. We won’t make the same mistake again."

Carlyle, his hearts heavy, stands in the doorway, the weight of the years pressing against her. Time can heal, but some wounds never fully close.

——

It is not long after that Kathy meets someone new.

“Hi, honey.” Kathy spins around in her home where she is currently living in Italy. River Song stands there in a stretchy black outfit and clutches a rolled up piece of paper. Is this the Pandorica/big bang?

“Uuhh hi? River?” Kathy says cautiously. She hasn’t met the woman before so she doesn’t know how to react.

River smirks softly. “I see your confused. I’m right in thinking this is the first time you’re meeting me.”

“Yes.” Kathy replies slightly relieved they are getting on with it.

“So you already know a lot about who I am already.” River says.

“Yeah but probably not everything. I don’t know anything about the relationship between us.” Kathy wonders how much her presence has changed things but from what River is implying, what she saw in the show holds true and Amy and Rory are still her parents.

“You’re right. But I can’t tell you anything you don’t know.” Kathy feels annoyed by her answer but understands.

“Spoilers?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know to come to this point in my timeline?” Kathy asks her.

“You told me I do.” River tells her smirking.

Kathy rolls her eyes. “Of course I did. Another thing to add to the list.”

Carlyle walks in. “Mom, who’s this?” He asks noticing River.

“River song.” Kathy tells him. “I think I mentioned that she might turn up.” She had told him all about her foreknowledge.

“Oh right.” He walks up to River holding out his hand. “Carlyle Arantxasson.”

River shakes it. “I know.”

Kathy snorts. Of course she does. “You should go back to Ashildr, she still needs you.”

Carlyle nods. “Right yes. I’m assuming you’re leaving for a bit.”

“Seems so if River explains.”

“Right. Goodbye mom, nice meeting you River.” Carlyle turns to leave.

“Nice seeing you again.” River winks.

He goes and Kathy turns to her. “How did you get here? Are you in prison currently?”

River smirks. “Yes but I got out then bought a vortex manipulator.” She lifts her arm showing it. Kathy raises an eyebrow wondering how she did that.

“Churchill had informed me of a painting by Vincent Van Gough that is a message to the Doctor so I broke out of prison and broke into the royal collection in 5145 and Liz 10 allowed me to take the painting.” River explains, showing Kathy the painting by spreading it out on the table. Kathy wonders if she’ll meet any of these three historical figures though she knows for certain that she’s right about which episodes this is.

“You really need to stop being so illegal.” Kathy reprimands her as she analyses the painting of the exploding TARDIS. It is somewhat unnerving.

“I wonder who I learnt that from.” River remarks. Did she mean Kathy?

Kathy shakes her head. “We need to get the Doctor there.” The explosion will and is happening. Getting the Doctor to the right place will save everything.

——

They cannot get hold of the Doctor so Kathy makes the decision to deface the oldest cliff face on the oldest planet in the universe – planet one. Really she was being a hypocrite for telling River off for illegal activities then Kathy pulls her into graffitiing.

In large letters, it reads "HELLO SWEETIE" with ΘΣ meaning Theta Sigma, the Doctor’s nickname, and ΦΓΥΔζ as the co-ordinates at the bottom.

They travel to the correct time 102 AD/CE England and set up camp with a Roman Legion though Kathy knows they are Autons. River uses her lipstick to convince them that she is Cleopatra VII and her sister, the future Arsinoë IV.

——

102 AD/CE

Kathy senses that the Doctor had arrived (likely with Amy as well) so they sent a hypnotised soldier to go and take him to their tent.

The Eleventh Doctor, younger than the one she had previously met, walks into the tent with Amy behind him to see River, dressed as Cleopatra, and Kathy, dressed as Arsinoë, being waited on by two servants.

“Hello, sweetie.” River greets. Kathy does a little wave trying to cover up how excited she is to meet Amy.

“Kathy! River! Hi.” Amy utters in surprise.

“You graffitied the oldest cliff-face in the universe.” The Doctor reprimands them.

“You wouldn't answer your phone.” Kathy counters.

River claps her hands and the servants leave. She then holds out the scrolled canvas.

“What's this?” The Doctor asks.

“It's a painting. Your friend Vincent.” The Doctor snatches the painting and begins to unroll it.

Kathy stands with River following. “One of his final works.” The Doctor spreads it out on a table and they all gather to look. “He had visions, didn't he? We thought you ought to know about this one.”

They examine the painting. It depicts the TARDIS exploding in Vincent's usual style.

“Doctor? Doctor, what is this?” Amy questions. “Why's it exploding?”

“It’s a warning.” Kathy replies. The Doctor sits down, his thoughts heavy.

“Something's going to happen to the TARDIS?”

“It might not be that literal.” River says though Kathy knows that is not true. “Anyway this is where he wanted you. Date and map reference on the door sign, see?”

“Does it have a title?” The Doctor asks.

“The Pandorica Opens.”

“The Pandorica? What is it?” Amy asks.

“A box. A cage. A prison. It was built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe.” Kathy explains to her.

The Doctor paces. “And it's a fairy tale, a legend. It can't be real.”

“It is real, it's here and it's opening.” Kathy tells him. “And it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding.” The Doctor pulls out local maps.

“Hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map.” River tells him.

“No. But if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe, you'd want to remember where you put it.” The Doctor says.

——

They are riding on horses towards the Salisbury Plain to Stonehenge. River and Kathy have changed into something a little more "modern".

“Come on. YA!” The Doctor yells.

They run inside. The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver on some of the stones lying on the ground. River takes out a scanner and types in some information while Kathy uses hers to scan the area. River had given the scanner to her saying that Kathy herself had told her to.

“How come it's not new?” Amy asks.

“Because it's already old. Been here thousands of years. No-one knows exactly how long.” Kathy explains.

“OK, this Pandorica thing. Last time we saw the two of you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of the Byzantium.” Amy tells them.

“Spoilers!” River puts a finger to her lips.

“No, but you both told the Doctor you'd see him again when the Pandorica opens.” Amy insists.

“Maybe we did. But we haven't yet. But we will have.” Kathy says before calling out to the Doctor. “Doctor, I'm picking up fry particles everywhere.” River had given her a rundown of how to use it plus she had been doing a bunch of reading since she last saw the Doctor from books in the TARDIS.

“Energy weapons discharged on this site.” River adds.

The Doctor stands on a large stone in the centre. “If the Pandorica is here, it contains the mightiest warrior in history. Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it.” He jumps off the stone and puts an ear to it. “We need to get down there.”

——

It is nighttime by the time they are ready. River places a device on the corner of the large stone. They had placed large standing lights placed around the area.

River walks over to the Doctor and Kathy. “Right then. Ready.” River presses a button on her scanner and the rock slides to the side revealing stone steps underneath.  The Doctor steps forward as River takes a torch from her pocket and switches it on.

“The underhenge.” He mutters. The Doctor takes out his sonic screwdriver and uses it as a torch as they enter.

The Doctor steps out of a narrow passage and uses the screwdriver to light a torch. Kathy goes to the opposite wall and brings a torch over to light it. The Doctor lifts a large board that was acting as a lock across a huge set of doors. With a nod and a smile to River, they push open the doors and find themselves in a cavernous room. In the centre stands a large box with an intricate circular pattern on each side.

“It's the Pandorica.” The Doctor utters.

“More than just a fairy tale.” River adds.

The Doctor walks forward and steps on something, He looks down to see the arm of a Cyberman. Kathy's eyes flicker around as she knows there is a Cyberman sentry somewhere. The Doctor continues towards the Pandorica and places a hand on it.

“There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.” The Doctor says as he feels the outer shell of the Pandorica. Kathy winces knowing that the Pandorica story is actually referring to him, it’s for him.

“How did it end up in there?” Amy asks.

“You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it.” The Doctor walks around to the other side of the Pandorica as Kathy hands Amy her torch as she and River take out their scanners.

“I hate good wizards in fairy tales. They always turn out to be him.” River complains.

Amy looks around. “So it's kind of like Pandora's Box, then? Almost the same name.”

“Sorry, what?” The Doctor calls.

“The story. Pandora's Box, with all the worst things in the world in it.” The Doctor puts his torch in a holder then uses the screwdriver on the Pandorica. “That was my favourite book when I was a kid.” The Doctor stops and walks over to Amy, a concerned look on his face. “What's wrong?”

“Your favourite school topic, your favourite story. Never ignore a coincidence, unless you're busy. In which case, always ignore a coincidence.” The Doctor walks back to Pandorica.

“Yeah I don’t think that’s wise.” Kathy remarks. She looks at Amy worriedly.

“Busy.” The Doctor replies.

“So can you open it?” River asks.

“Easily.” The Doctor answers. “Anyone can break INTO a prison, but I'd rather know what I'm going to find first.”

Kathy looks at her scanner. “We’re not going to have to wait long cause it's already opening. There are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled, one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside.” She places the scanner on the Pandorica.

“How long do we have?” The Doctor asks.

“Hours at the most.” River reads from her scanner.

“What kind of security?”

“A bunch.” Kathy answers. “Deadlocks, time-stops, matter-lines.”

“What could need all that?”

“What could get past all that?” Rivet counters.

“Think of the fear that went into making this box. What could inspire that level of fear?” The Doctor rambles. “Hello, you. Have we met?”

“So why would it start to open now?” River asks.

“No idea. Any hints Kathy?”

“Maybe think about why the signal is being sent out and who can hear it.” She replies.

“Hmm good point cause how could Vincent have known about it? He won't even be born for centuries.” Amy suggests.

The Doctor takes out the sonic screwdriver once again and uses them on the stone pillars. “The stones! These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone. The Pandorica is opening!”

“Doctor... everyone, everywhere?” River asks.

“Even poor Vincent heard it in his dreams. What's in there, what could justify all this?” The Doctor ignores her as he rambles.

“Doctor, everyone?”

“Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?” The Doctor complains.

“Doctor!” Kathy shouts getting his attention. “You said everyone could hear it. So you have to think, who else is coming?”

“Oh.”

“Oh? Oh, what?” Amy questions not getting it.

“Of course.” River presses her scanner against a pillar. “OK, if it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal.”

“Doing it.” The Doctor uses his sonic on all pillars.

“Doing what?” Amy asks.

“The Stonehenge is transmitting, for a while... so who heard?” Kathy explains to her.

“OK, should be feeding back to you now. River, what's out there? Getting anything?” The Doctor calls.

“Give her a moment.” Kathy tells him.

“River, quickly, anything?”

River looks at her scanner stunned. “Around this planet, there are at least 10,000 starships.”

“At least?” Amy gapes.

“10,000, 100,000, 1 million, I don't know. There's too many readings.”

“What kind of starships?” The Doctor asks.

A Dalek transmission comes through. “Maintaining orbit.”

“I obey. Shield cover compromised on ion sectors.”

“Daleks. Those are Daleks.” Amy says.

“Scan detects no temporal activity.”

“Soft grid scan commencing.”

“Reverse thrust for compensatory stabilisation.”

“Daleks, Doctor.” Kathy says. She’s scared as she hasn’t met any Daleks yet or any of the other aliens that have arrived to defeat the Doctor.

“Launch preliminary armaments protocol.”

“Yes, OK. OK, OK, OK.” The Doctor paces. “Dalek fleet. Minimum, 12,000 battleships, armed to the teeth. But we've got surprise on our side! They'll never expect three people to attack 12,000 Dalek battleships, ‘cos we'd be killed instantly. So it would be a fairly short surprise. Forget surprise.”

“Doctor, Cyber-ships.” River announces.

“No, Dalek ships, listen to them, those are Dalek ships.” The Doctor insists.

“Yes. Dalek ships AND Cyber-ships.” Kathy adds.

“Well, we need to start a fight, turn them on each other. It's the Daleks... they're SO cross...”

“Sontaran. Four battle-fleets.” River reads.

“Sontarans! Talk about cross, who stole all their handbags?” The Doctor exclaims.

River continues reading from the scanner. “Terileptil. Slitheen. Chelonian. Nestene. Drahvin. Sycorax. Haemo-goth. Zygon. Atraxi. Draconian. They're all here. For the Pandorica.”

The Doctor turns to the Pandorica. “What are you?”

The ground begins to shake and the Doctor runs to the stairs, Kathy, River and Amy following. They look up to the sky and see lights from a number of ships flying above them.

“What do we do?” Amy asks.

“Doctor, listen to me! Everything that ever hated you is coming here tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it. Doctor, this once, just this one time, please, you have to run.” River cries.

“Run where?”

“Fight how?” River counters.

The Doctor takes out binoculars and looks back the way they came. “The greatest military machine in the history of the universe.”

“What is? The Daleks? “ Amy asks.

“No!” Kathy cries as cheerfully as she can. “The Romans!” The Doctor snaps his fingers in her direction gleefully.

——

Kathy decides to join River in her recruiting. They ride back to the Roman encampment. However, their way into the tent is blocked by two guards.

Once inside, they are being guarded by two soldiers as the Commander paces.

“So, I return to my command after one week and discover we've been playing host to Cleopatra and Arsinoë. Who are in Egypt. And dead!” The Commander exclaims.

“Yeah funny that but I can tell you that had nothing to do with us.” Kathy remarks. The ground shakes again as a ship flies overhead.

“The sky is falling, and you make jokes. Who are you?” The Commander demands.

“When you fight Barbarians, what must they think of you?” River asks instead of answering.

“Oh, riddles now?”

“Where do they think you come from?”

The Commander draws his sword. “A place more deadly and more powerful and more impatient than their tiny minds can imagine.”

River pulls out her disintegrator gun and uses it on a cabinet. The Commander and guards are stunned and point their weapons at Kathy and River.

“Where do we come from? Your world has visitors. You're all Barbarians now.” River declares.

“What is that? Tell me, what?” The Commander questions.

“A fool would say, the work of the gods. But you've been a soldier too long to believe there are gods watching over us.” River tells him.

“There is, however, a man.” Kathy says. “And tonight he's going to need your help.”

“Sir?” A voice calls from the entrance to the tent. Rory. Well, plastic Rory but Rory all the same.

“One moment.” The Commander goes to the entrance to the tent where he holds a whispered conversation with Rory whose face is in shadow. They turn to look at Kathy and River. “Well, it seems you have a volunteer.”

——

She doesn’t get an option to talk to Rory as he is soon leaving with 50 volunteers to go to the Doctor and Amy.

Kathy stays with River. Maybe she can help, protect her. She knows she can’t stop the explosion. She’s glad she made this decision as she wouldn’t have been able to get out of Stonehenge judging by the ships surrounding it with their beams of light on it.

Kathy and River watch from a distance on horseback.

River calls the Doctor on her communicator. “You're surrounded. Have you got a plan?”

“Yes! Now hurry up and get the TARDIS here. I need equipment!” The Doctor rudely yells.

River rolls her eyes and rides off with Kathy sniggering behind her. They enter the TARDIS and immediately go about setting the coordinates to take it to the Doctor. It’s great how they automatically work well with one another.

“OK...” River pulls the lever and the TARDIS dematerialises with a jolt.

“What's the matter with you?” Kathy questions. Though she kind of knows so she doesn’t know why she asked.

The TARDIS continues not behaving for them. River and Kathy take turns in trying to correct her but it doesn’t seem to work.

“What are you doing, what's wrong?” River asks.

“Hold on let me…” Kathy tries as they make another attempt at trying to get back on track. Then the TARDIS stops with a jolt.

“OK? You OK now?” Kathy asks but doesn’t get a response.

The monitor acts up and River whacks it a few times before leaving. Kathy glances back knowing the monitor will show the location as Earth and the date as 26/6/2010. The moment of the explosion.

——

“She’s brought us to Amy’s house.” Kathy fearfully mutters. She hoped it wouldn’t but the explosion seems inevitable. She honestly doesn’t know why she tried. Maybe she should’ve stayed with Amy, the Doctor and Rory?

River holds out her scanner and Kathy holds a torch as they slowly walk towards the door. The scanner begins to beep and Kathy sees alien symbols burned into the grass.

“OK, so something's been here.” River murmurs.

“Seems so.” Kathy turns to see the door is off its hinges. They share a look before they proceed carefully into the house.

They proceed up the stairs to Amy’s room with River’s scanner beeping. Kathy sees Amy’s childhood "Raggedy Doctor" dolls and- oh my god. Kathy picks up a doll that seems to have her light brown hair colour and blue dots where the eyes would be but is dressed in torn Tudor clothing. Is this her?

“Amy... Oh, Doctor, why do I let you out?” River asks herself.

“Mmmh…” Kathy hums. She then sees a children's book on Roman Britain, a soldier featuring prominently on the cover, the Commander. “Look.” She hands it out for River to look.

River then sees a book on Pandora's Box. Amy’s favourite book as a child.

“Oh no... Kathy am I right in thinking this is a trap?” River questions.

“Yes. I’m afraid so. I thought we could stop it.” Kathy replies sadly.

“We can still try.” River declares and they run out of the room.

——

“The TARDIS, where is it? Hurry up!” The Doctor says through the communicator.

“Don't raise your voice, don't look alarmed, just listen.” River replies.

“Somethings been here. To Amy’s house. And something is going on with the Romans.” Kathy quickly explains.

River follows. “They're not real, they can't be. They're all right here in the story book,” she flips through Amy’s book, “those actual Romans, the ones we sent you, the ones you're with right now. They're all in a book in Amy's house, a children's picture book.”

“What are you even doing there?” The Doctor asks.

“The TARDIS brought us here for a reason. I think it’s connected but something else is going on.” Kathy tells him.

“Doctor, how is this possible?” River asks.

“Something's using her memories, Amy's memories.” The Doctor replies.

“But how?”

“You said something had been there.” The Doctor says.

“That’s what burn marks on the grass outside, the landing patterns, say.” Kathy says.

“If they've been to her house, they could have used her psychic residue. Structures can hold memories, that's why houses have ghosts. They could've taken a snapshot of Amy's memories. But why?” The Doctor thinks out loud.

“Who are those Romans?” River asks.

“Projections. Or duplicates.” The Doctor lists.

“Autons.” Kathy adds.

“But they were helping us. My lipstick even worked.” River insists.

“They might think they're real. The perfect disguise. They actually believe their own cover story, right until they're activated.” The Doctor argues.

“Doctor, that Centurion...” River holds up a photo of Rory and Amy. Rory is dressed as a Roman soldier.

It wasn’t wrong not stopping this though Kathy doesn’t know how she could’ve. Kathy being too afraid to change things massively, going down a certain route gives her certainty that everything will turn out okay.

“It's a trap, it has to be. They used Amy to construct a scenario you'd believe, to get close to you.” River says.

“Why? Who'd do that? What for? It doesn't make sense.” The Doctor says.

Kathy goes to answer him but the console sparks and the TARDIS shudders.

“River? Kathy? What's happening?!”

“It’s the engines. Doctor, there's something wrong with the TARDIS, something else is controlling her.” River says.

“You're flying it wrong.”

“We’re flying it perfectly. The TARDIS taught us.” Kathy cries irritably.

“Where are you? What's the date reading?” The Doctor asks rapidly. They check the monitor.

“It’s the 26th June, 2010.” Kathy says. This confirms it. She immediately tries to get out. Why did she linger so long?

“You need to get out of there now! Any other time zone, just go.” The Doctor orders. They try but it doesn’t work.

“We can't break free.” River replies.

“Well, then, shut down the TARDIS. Shut down everything!” The Doctor orders.

“Didn’t you hear, we can't!” Kathy retorts. She flicks multiple switches.

Then she hears a voice. “Silence will fall. Silence will fall.” Okay, that’s creepy.

“Someone else is flying it. An external force. We’ve lost control.” River tells him after more tries.

“But how? Why?”

Kathy honestly can’t remember what was causing the TARDIS to explode but that it just did. There is then a high-pitched whine. The Autons are activating.

“Listen to me, just land her anywhere. Emergency landing, now.” The Doctor orders. “There are cracks in time, I've seen them everywhere, and they're getting wider. The TARDIS exploding is what causes them, but we can stop the cracks ever happening if you just land her!”

“It's not safe.” River tells him.

“Well, now. Ready to come out, are we?” The Doctor says faintly meaning he’s lowered the communicator but also the prison is now opening.

Sparks are flying as Kathy and River attempt an emergency landing, which eventually works.

“Doctor, we’re down. We’ve landed.” Kathy tells him.

“OK, just walk out of the doors.” He sounds like he’s holding the communicator closer again. “If there's no-one inside, the TARDIS engines shut down. Just get out of there.”

“We’re going.” River says.

“Run!”

They run to the TARDIS door. Kathy tries to open the TARDIS door but it won't budge. She grunts in frustration and they run back to the communicator.

“Doctor! Doctor! We can't open the doors!” River cries.

All they hear is the Doctor yelling, “Amy!”

“Doctor, we can't open the doors! Doctor, please, we’ve got seconds!” River cries into the communicator but there’s no response and Kathy can’t hear what’s being said at the other but she knows that they’ve got him now.

“River, River!” Kathy cries getting the woman’s attention and placing her hands on her cheeks to hold her. “It’s okay we’ll be okay! The TARDIS will protect us but that doesn’t mean we can’t try.”

Kathy doesn’t understand it as she has only just met the woman, but she feels a stronger draw to her than any others from the Doctor Who world. It’s as if the universe is trying to tell her something.

River nods and they immediately get back to work. Kathy connects the wires as the TARDIS continues to spark and explode. River opens the doors to the TARDIS only to be met by a stone wall.

“I'm sorry, my love.” River looks back over her shoulder, to Kathy, who stands in the steps, as the console explodes with a bright light.

Chapter Text

2010 AD/CE

Kathy knows that 1,894 years are supposed to pass and that her and River are in a time loop. Thank goodness that it actually doesn’t feel like that long though Kathy can feel the time loop and is sort of aware of it happening but can’t really recall how many times or what she was doing.

Due to the TARDIS exploding, everything in the sky would’ve gone. Rory had likely killed/harmed Amy unintentionally so she would have been placed in the Pandorica where the Doctor had been so that little her 1,894 years in the future could revive her, which coincidentally revives a Dalek.

Kathy connects the wires as the TARDIS continues to spark and explode. River opens the doors to the TARDIS only to be met by a stone wall.

“I'm sorry, my love.” River looks back over her shoulder, to Kathy, who stands in the steps, as the console explodes with a bright light.

The sequence starts over again and Kathy finds herself going through the motion of connecting the wires feeling like she had been doing this before. The knowledge that they must be going through the time loop that happened at the beginning of the episode kept her sane. But this time as River runs to the door, the Doctor appears.

“Hi, honey. I'm home.” He casually says leaning against the door with a fez on his head.

River looks at her watch. “And what sort of time do you call this?”

“Tell me about it!” Kathy yells from behind them.

——

The Doctor uses River’s time vortex manipulator and they appear on the roof of the museum to find Amy and Rory in front of them.

“Amy! And the plastic Centurion?” River greets. Kathy commends her acting talent for acting like she’s never met her father before.

“It's OK, he's on our side.” The Doctor reassures. “Kathy could tell you that.”

“Yep.”

“Really? I dated a Nestene duplicate once... swappable head, it did keep things fresh.” River says.

Kathy lets out a snort. “Seriously?”

“What? So did you!” Kathy gapes at her. Jesus, what will she get up to?

“Spoilers!”

Rory waves awkwardly. “Hi Kathy.”

Kathy waves back. “Hi Rory, never met you before but hi.”

Rory frowns. “You haven’t?”

“Nope!”

River claps her hands together. “Right then, I have questions. But number one is this... What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?”

“It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool.” The Doctor remarks as if it’s obvious, which it is.

Kathy grins. “Very cool.”

With a look from River, Amy grabs the fez from the Doctor’s head and throws it into the sky and River shoots it before Kathy can stop her.

“Oh!” The Doctor cries.

“Seriously?!” Kathy exclaims at the same time.

“Exterminate!” A Dalek appears, levitating up the side of the building.

“Run, run, move, move. Go! Come on!” The Doctor yells. The Doctor covers their retreat by holding up the satellite dish as a shield as the Dalek fires. They climb back through the stairwell.

——

The Doctor stands on the ladder and uses the sonic screwdriver to seal the hatch. River has her gun aimed at it, just in case.

“Doctor, come on.” River urges.

“Shh. It's moving away, finding another way in.” He climbs down the ladder. “It needs to restore its power before it can attack again. Now, that means we've got exactly,” he checks his watch, “four and a half minutes before it's at lethal capacity.” He continues downstairs past them.

“How do you know?” Rory asks.

The Doctor pauses. “Because that's when it's due to kill me.” Kathy remembers that the comment isn’t the whole truth.

River whips round in alarm. “Kill you? What do you mean, kill you?” She looks at Kathy in alarm. Kathy shakes her head to indicate no questions as they all follow the Doctor.

“Oh, shut up, never mind. How can that Dalek even exist?” The Doctor moves into the hallway. “It was erased from time and then it came back. How?”

“You said the light from the Pandorica...” Rory reminds him. They reach the exhibit hall.

“It's not a light, it's a restoration field, but never mind. Call it a light. That light brought Amy back,” the Doctor stops causing the rest of them to as well, “but how could it bring back a Dalek when the Daleks have never existed?”

“Do tell great maestro.” Kathy says dramatically. River smirks and shakes her head.

“When the TARDIS blew up, it caused a total event collapse. A time explosion. It blasted every atom in every moment of the universe. Except...” the Doctor trails off.

“Except inside the Pandorica.” Amy slowly realises.

“The perfect prison.” The Doctor continues. “Inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was. In theory, you could extrapolate the whole universe from a single one of them, like cloning a body from a single cell. And we've got the bumper family pack.”

Rory shakes his head. “No, too fast, I'm not getting it.”

“The box contains what the universe used to be, and the light thingy transmits it.” Kathy explains.

“Yes! And that's how we're going to do it.” The Doctor exclaims.

“Do what?” Amy questions.

“Relight the fire. Reboot the universe. Come on!” He continues on. Kathy and River catch up to the Doctor in the museum hallway with Rory and Amy trailing behind.

“Doctor, you're being completely ridiculous.” River reprimands. “The Pandorica partially restored one Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life form properly, how will it reboot the whole of reality?”

The Doctor stops. “What if we give it a moment of infinite power? Transmit the light from the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?”

“Well, that would be lovely, dear, but we can't, because it's completely impossible.” River says.

“You’re wrong, River.” Kathy pipes up.

“Exactly, you see, it's not.” He taps River on the forehead. “It's ALMOST completely impossible. One spark is all we need.”

“For what?” River asks.

The Doctor whispers. “Big Bang Two! Now listen...” The Doctor is shot by the Dalek and falls to the floor.

The Dalek trundles down the hall. “Exterminate! Exterminate!”

River is at the Doctor’s side while Kathy stands there in shock; she hasn’t seen some shot by a Dalek in person before. Rory takes Amy out of the way. “Get back. River, Kathy, get back now!”

“Exterminate!” Rory fires through his gun hand at the Dalek and it is drained of energy.

“Doctor. Doctor, it's me, River. Can you hear me? What is it? What do you need” Struggling, the Doctor activates the manipulator and disappears. “Where did he go?” River stands. “Damn it, he could be anywhere.”

“He went downstairs. 12 minutes ago.” Amy tells her solemnly.

“Show me!” River yells.

“River, he died.”

“Technically no.” Kathy says.

Before anyone can question her, the Dalek speaks, “Systems restoring! You will be exterminated!”

“We've got to move. That thing's coming back to life.” Rory says.

“You go to the Doctor. I'll be right with you.” Amy and Rory leave. Kathy pauses. “You too Kathy.”

“But—”

“Please. I’ll be fine.”

Kathy reluctantly nods and follows Rory and Amy.

——

Kathy, Amy and Rory arrive on the stairs where the latter two had left the Doctor’s "body". Rory’s jacket is there, but no body.

“How could he have moved? He was dead!” Rory runs down the stairs yelling, “Doctor? Doctor!”

“But he was dead!” Amy protests.

“Yeah but who told you that?” Kathy remarks. River joins them.

“He did.”

River walks calmly down the stairs. “Rule one. The Doctor lies.”

“Where's the Dalek?” Amy questions.

“It died.”

——

Kathy, River, Amy and Rory make their way through the exhibit hall. Ahead of them, Kathy sees the Doctor inside the Pandorica in the room ahead.

“Doctor!” Amy tells as they rush over to him. Rory and Amy stop while River and Kathy go to check on the Doctor. He was slumped and unconscious.

“Why did he tell us he was dead?” Rory questions.

“We were a diversion. Long as the Dalek was chasing us, he could work down here.” Amy concludes.

“Exactly.” Kathy says nodding to Amy. The redhead smiles.

“Doctor, can you hear me? What were you doing?” River demands, cradling his face.

“What's happening?” Rory asks and Kathy steps out to see the "sun" is closer, brighter through the window in the ceiling. She also sees that the displays are empty around them and in the exhibit hall. They need to get moving.

“Reality's collapsing. It's speeding up. Look at this room.” River explains. Amy and Rory begin to look around and notice themselves.

“Where did everything go?” Amy asks.

“History is being erased, nothing happened. Ever. We don’t have much time.” Kathy explains.

River turns back to the Doctor, trying to wake him. “Doctor, what were you doing? Tell us! Doctor?”

The Doctor slowly comes to. “Big... Bang... Two.”

“The Big Bang. That's the beginning of the universe, right?” Rory says.

“What, and Big Bang Two is the bang that brings it back? Is that what you mean?” Amy asks. The Doctor gives a small nod.

“He’s preparing the Pandorica to go into the TARDIS.” Kathy adds. Might as well just point blank tell them.

“Oh!” River realises the plan.

“What does that mean? What will it do?” Amy asks again.

“The TARDIS is still burning and is the centre of the explosion of every point in history. So throwing the Pandorica into the explosion with the light…” Kathy trails off in her explanation.

“Will what?” Amy questions.

“The light from the Pandorica would explode everywhere at once, just like he said.” River concludes.

“That would work? That would bring everything back?”  

“It’s a restoration field and the TARDIS, which is exploding at every point in history, will power it.” Kathy finishes.

“Oh, that's brilliant. It might even work!” River exclaims. She pulls out the sonic screwdriver and runs it along the wires. “He's wired the vortex manipulator to the rest of the box.”

“Why?” Amy asks.

“So he can take it with him. He's going to fly the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion.” River realises.

The sky becomes a brilliant orange as Kathy and River help the Doctor finalise the Pandorica. Amy and Rory are standing together, just watching.

“Don’t know me too well right now, do you?” The Doctor murmurs to Kathy.

“Only had a handful of meetings.” She answers simply as she doesn’t want to give anything away. River glances at her sadly before carrying on with what she is doing, giving them a semblance of privacy.

“You will still get to see many wonderful things.”

“So will you.” Kathy insists.

“I’ll be on the wrong side. I won’t exist.” He argues. Kathy feels like there’s more to what he’s saying by the look he gives her. More than what she knows.

“You will.” Kathy counters. “You just need the mind of a brilliant red head that waited.”

He nods. “I need to speak with Amy.”

River and Kathy come out of the Pandorica. Amy and Rory are hugging.

“Amy... He wants to talk to you.” River tells her.

“So, what happens here? Big Bang Two? What happens to us?” Amy asks sniffing.

“We all wake up where we ought to be. None of this ever happens and we don't remember it.” River answers. Kathy knows that the River they know won't exist without the Doctor though she'll be able to cling on long enough to give Amy the book.

“River, Kathy... tell me he comes back, too.”

“The Doctor will be the heart of the explosion.” Kathy says.

“So?”

“So all the cracks in time will close, but he'll be on the wrong side... Trapped in the void between the universes. Every memory of him will disappear from the universe as he will never have been born.” Kathy explains. “Please Amy, he wants to talk to you before that happens.”

“Not to either of you?”

“We’ve talked.” Kathy replies.

“And he doesn't really know me yet. Now he never will.” Kathy sees she’s hurt by this and puts her arm around her.

Amy walks slowly to the Pandorica. “Hi.”

The Doctor replies weakly, “Amy Pond. The girl who waited. All night in your garden. Was it worth it?”

“Shut up. Of course it was.” Amy snaps.

“You asked me why I was taking you with me and I said..."No reason". I was lying.” The Doctor prompts.

Kathy remembers she had found a doll of herself in Tudor wear so she knows it’s going to happen to her in a couple hundred years. She walks away fearing she’ll hear too many spoilers. The ground shakes after a couple of minutes.

“Doctor! It's speeding up!” River cries.

Amy places the sonic screwdriver in his pocket.

“There's going to be a very big bang. Big Bang Two. Try and remember your family and they'll be there.” The Doctor says to her.

“How can I remember them if they never existed?” Amy asks.

“Because... you're special. That crack in your wall, all that time, the universe pouring into your head. You brought Rory back... you can bring them back, too. You just remember, and they'll be there.” Yeah and we never see them again after this episode.

Amy backs away. “You won't.”

“You'll have your family back. You won't need your imaginary friend any more.” The Doctor laughs weakly. “Amy Pond... crying over me, eh? Guess what?”

“What?”

“Gotcha.” Kathy smiles tearfully as she watches.

The Pandorica closes. Amy walks slowly backwards, not taking her eyes from the Pandorica, even as it begins to glow.

“Back! Get back!” River pushes Amy out of the way. The Pandorica launches into the sky.

Kathy, River, Rory and Amy are sitting on the floor against a wall as they watch the Pandorica shoot further into the sky.

River receives the message on her communicator. “It's from the Doctor.” She looks skyward.

“What does it say?” Amy asks.

“Geronimo.” Kathy replies without looking.

The Pandorica shoots on its collision course with the TARDIS. When the TARDIS and Pandorica meet, space explodes. And, just as suddenly, time reverses.

——

Next thing Kathy knows is her waking up and seeing a bright blue sky above her. Where is she?

“Kathy!” Kathy turns to the voice to see River running over to her. She sees she’s in a field.

“You’re okay, you will be okay.” River wraps her in a tight hug. Why is River so worried? She looks over Ricer’s shoulder to see what she thinks is Leadworth in the distance.

“What do you mean River?” Kathy asks.

River pulls back. “I gave Amy my diary that is now blank. It’ll help her remember so the Doctor will return soon.”

Oh right of course. Though Kathy is mildly miffed that River hadn’t answered her question, she brushes it under the rug. “Are they having the reception yet?”

River shakes her head. “Not yet, they’re still in the church but will be out soon.”

Kathy nods. “Good.” She then gives River a smirk. “Are you going to the reception or will I be heading over on my own?”

River laughs. “You know the answer. I’ll hover outside but you can join me later.”

Kathy stands and looks down at what she’s wearing. The leggings, top and jacket she’s currently wearing don’t exactly scream wedding. “I’ll need something to wear.”

“Already sorted.” River winks. She holds out a floor length blue dress with short sleeves.

——

Kathy waits outside the reception hall all done up and waiting to make her entrance once the Doctor returns and everyone remembers.

She hears Amy begin yelling to her father to shut up.

“Sorry. Sorry, everyone. But when I was a kid, I had two imaginary friends. The raggedy Doctor and tattered Kathy. My raggedy Doctor and tattered Kathy. But they weren’t imaginary. They were real. I remember you! I remember! I brought the others back, I can bring you home, too. Raggedy man and tattered woman, I remember you, and you are late for my wedding!” Amy finishes.

Well, nice to know how important she is to Amy but also less pleasing is her name.

In the silence, Kathy hears the glasses start to tinkle against each other as the ground starts to shake.

“I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story... the brand new, ancient blue box. Oh, clever. Very clever.” The wind begins to blow and Kathy hears the TARDIS. “Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue.”

The TARDIS noise indicating it’s beginning to materialise is heard by Kathy and she hears when it fully lands.

“Hello, everyone. I'm one of Amy's imaginary friends, but I came anyway.” The Doctor calls to everyone. Kathy excitedly waits for her entrance as she peaks into the room. The Doctor is wearing a top hat with white tie and tails with a white scarf loosely draped over his shoulders. The TARDIS sits in the middle of the dance floor.

Amy charges to him. “You absolutely, definitely may kiss the bride.”

The Doctor plants a finger on Amy’s puckered lips. “Amelia! From now on, I shall be leaving the... kissing duties to the brand new Mr Pond.” He shakes Rory’s hand.

“No, I'm not Mr Pond. That's not how it works.” Rory corrects.

“Why not?” Kathy calls to them as she walks into the hall and past the tables of the guests so as to get to the trio in the middle.

“Kathy!” Amy wraps Kathy in a tight hug and Kathy laughs at her reaction.

“Right then, everyone. I'll move my box. You're going to need the space. I only came for the dancing.” The Doctor disappears inside. The box dematerialises and all the guests continue to sit in their seats in shock.

“Good to see you Kathy.” Rory says to her.

Kathy smiles at him. “You too. You both look brilliant.” She then does a spin as she looks at the guests. “Hi everyone! I’m the other imaginary friend! So sorry I missed the ceremony but I am here to show off my amazing moves.”

——

The party begins and Kathy is having a great time. Particularly when after the cake was cut, she shoved a slice into the Doctor’s face.

They move onto the dance floor and Kathy tries to dance with the Doctor and Amy but she’s too busy creasing over with laughter, along with the latter of the two, at the Doctor’s own dance to Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love".

“You're terrible. That is embarrassing!” Amy yells just as he does the giraffe move. Kathy snorts and joins in with doing that move because how could she not?

Amy’s accusations don’t keep the Doctor from teaching the dance to all the children at the reception.

“That's it. That's good. Keep it loose.” The Doctor instructs.

“Yes, keep it high. High up.” Kathy adds.

——

Kathy slips away from the party, after saying goodbye to Amy and Rory, to find River at the Pond house to get her trip home to the 14^th century.

She arrives to hear River ask, “Did you dance? Well, you always dance at weddings, don't you?”

Kathy comes round the bushes to see the Doctor standing in front of the TARDIS with River in front of him.

“You tell me.” The Doctor responds.

“Spoilers.”

Kathy appears next to River. “Oh he danced.”

The Doctor huffs and hands River her journal back. “The writing's all back, but I didn't peek.”

“Thank you.”

The Doctor gives back the vortex manipulator. “Are you married, River?”

River puts the vortex manipulator on. “Are you asking?”

Kathy tries to hold in her giggles. This scene is too funny.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The Doctor then realises how that could sound. “No, hang on. Did you think I was asking you to marry me, o-o-or asking if you were married?”

“Yes.”

“No, but was that "yes", or "yes"?”

“Yes.”

Kathy finally lets out her giggles. River gives her a smirk.

“River... who are you?” The Doctor finally asks.

“You're going to find out very soon now. And I'm sorry, but that's when everything changes.” River says instead.

“Do you know?” The Doctor asks Kathy.

“A lot but not everything and what I do know well, spoilers.” Kathy replies.

“Come on Kathy.” River interrupts, holding out her arm.

Kathy sighs and links her arm with River. “Till the next time Doctor.”

The Doctor smiles. “Till the next time Kathy.”

River activates the vortex manipulator and they disappear.

Chapter Text

When Kathy returns, she puts all her energy into doing lots of things with Carlyle and Ashildr to help them after their loss. One of the brilliant ideas Kathy had was to take part in the 100 year war between England and France, which had begun in 1337 and will continue till 1453. To keep it entertaining they would swap sides and sometimes be on opposite sides. It probably doesn’t sound that fun but when you are immortal, this is how you make fun for yourself.

It is after the end of the 100 year war, Kathy receives a visit from the Eleventh Doctor saying he had been failing at finding a good place for Amy and Rory to have their honeymoon and decided to come to ask her to see if she knows where they go. Kathy remembers he had once mentioned something about them being on a planet that itself is on a honeymoon as it married an asteroid.

Things go bad after dropping off Amy and Rory as the Doctor declared that they should go somewhere without telling Kathy where. He really should’ve told her as it end up that a rouge group of Shansheeth from the Sarah Jane Adventures had lured them to the Wasteland of the Crimson Heart, where they proceeded to steal the TARDIS, which leaves them stranded.

Kathy tells the Doctor that they need Clyde and then Jo and Sarah Jane to stop them and get the TARDIS back. Thankfully the planet has lots of wreckage to build a space swapping doo-dah thingummy wotsit (as the Doctor calls it).

Eventually, the Doctor gets through. Well, Kathy assumes so as she can’t hear the other side of the conversation but the Doctor can as he’s begun the biological swap. “Of course I'm still alive, Jo. I thought that was obvious. Catch up.” The Doctor says.

He continues after a pause. “Course it's not. It's me. I'm using Clyde as a receiver. I've keyed into his residual artron energy so I can organise a very complicated biological swap across ten thousand light years. Hold on.” 

The Doctor gives Clyde a big dose of artron energy, and it likely hurts. It doesn’t work straight away.

“Ah! I’ve lost it.” The Doctor grumbles.

“Doctor your hand!” Kathy says. One of the Doctor’s hands is darker, just like how Clyde’s was or is lighter.

The Doctor strengthens Clyde’s artron energy and slowly begins to take over Clyde, which is interesting to watch from the other side.

Clyde then appears in front of her.

“Doctor? Doctor!” He yells.

“Hi Clyde!” Kathy greets. He spins around to look at her and blinks in surprise. She wonders if he’s met her yet.

“Kathy!” Well, that answers that question. “Where am I?”

“Great question! Uh different planet. The Wasteland of the Crimson Heart to be more specific. Planet Earth is that way.” She points over her shoulder. The machine starts beeping again and she turns back to it. “Ah no! God I need a sonic! Don’t have the Doctor’s either since they nicked it.”

“What’s going on?” Clyde asks her.

“Long story short. Shansheeth nicked the TARDIS after luring the Doctor and I here so he’s been using your residual artron energy so he can do a biological swap across ten thousand light years.” She explains before fiddling with some wires. Hopefully that fixes a few things.

“Right…” That explanation didn’t seem to help much on Clyde’s end.

“So how’s school?” Kathy cheerfully asks. Clyde gives her a look.

“Bad time?”

Clyde raises an eyebrow. The device continues to beep.

“Sounds like a countdown.” Clyde remarks but before Kathy can explain, he vanishes and the Doctor returns.

“Ah!” He cries.

“How’s things?” Kathy casually asks.

“The Shansheeth tried to kill me!” The Doctor cries indignantly.

“So not too bad then.”

“Why didn't you warn me?”

“Spoilers.”

The Doctor groans and turns the device and jiggles it. “Come on, come on.”

Kathy rocks back on forth on her feet as she watches the Doctor and Clyde swap again.

“No, no, no! Don't slow down. Take me back. Kathy?!” Clyde cries.

“Don’t worry Clyde. You’ll go back in a sec.” Kathy reassures, patting him on the shoulder.

True to her word, Clyde disappears and is replaced by the Doctor, Jo Grant/Jones and Sarah Jane Smith.

“Hello!” Kathy says brightly. The two women look at her.

Sarah Jane smiles. “It’s good to see you Kathy!” She gives Kathy a hug. Kathy meanwhile is trying not to have a meltdown over the fact that the Sarah Jane Smith is hugging her.

“Well nice to know I’ve met you as well.” Kathy remarks as Sarah Jane lets her go.

“What?” Kathy looks at Jo, who had spoken.

Kathy goes over and holds out her hand. “I’m Kathy, 900 years old and part Human, Time Lord and Apalapuciam as well as being from a different dimension. Nice to meet you Jo!”

Jo tentatively shakes her hand. “Um, yes nice to meet you too dear.”

The device beeps loudly causing the Doctor to Fidel with it again. “No, no, no, no. Let's get you working properly. Stop.”

“Yeah that’s happening.” Kathy says joining him. “I’ve tried my best to stabilise it but we need a sonic.”

“That’s why I’ve got these two.” The Doctor says, pointing at the new strivers.

“I know that.”

The women in question then seem to take in what is in front of them.

“Where are we?” Sarah Jane asks.

“The Wasteland of the Crimson Heart. Planet Earth's that way.” The Doctor spins around and points behind them. “Bit of a long walk. Sonic, please.”

They turn to look at where the Doctor had pointed.

“It's so many years since I was on another planet.” Jo says as she gapes at what’s in front of her.

“Me too.” Sarah Jane murmurs.

——

The Doctor, Kathy and Sarah Jane are working on the device.

“There, and there.” The Doctor points to where Sarah Jane needs to zap with her sonic lipstick.

“Did it hurt? I mean, the regeneration. That last body of yours, was he okay in the end?” Sarah Jane asks. Kathy goes back to wondering if she’ll be there when it happens.

The Doctor doesn’t answer for a moment and if she didn’t know what happens, Kathy would’ve thought he’d brush past it, but answers quietly, “It always hurts. And there.”

“So how did you end up in this place?” Sarah Jane asks, moving on. She stands and Kathy and the Doctor follow.

“The Shansheeth lured us. A mighty old battlefield, just begging to be explored. Because I'm travelling with Amy now. And Rory. They got married.” The Doctor replies.

“We dropped them off at a honeymoon planet, though it’s not a planet for a honeymoon, it's a planet on a honeymoon. It married an asteroid.” Kathy continues.

“Then they nicked the TARDIS. The Shansheeth, not Amy and er,” The Doctor hurriedly explains, “fortunately, we had all this wreckage to build a space swapping doo-dah thingummy wotsit.”

“Very scientific name.” Kathy jokes. Sarah Jane laughs.

“So, you've a married couple in the TARDIS.” Jo pipes up cheerfully from her seat on a rock but Kathy can tell something else is there in her tone.

“Mister and Mrs Pond.” The Doctor beams.

“I only left you because I got married. Did you think I was stupid?” Jo asks.

The Doctor turns to her in disbelief. “Why do you say that?”

“I was a bit dumb. Still am, I suppose.”

“Now what in the world would make you think that, ever, ever, ever?” He walks over to her. Kathy watches them out of the corner of her eye as she and Sarah Jane continue on the device.

“We'd been travelling down the Amazon for months, and we reached a village in Cristalino, and it was the only place in thousands of miles that had a telephone, so I called you.” The Doctor sits next to her. “I just wanted to say hello. And they told me that you'd left, left UNIT, never came back. So I waited and waited, because you said you'd see me again. You did, I asked you and you said yes. You promised. So I thought, one day, I'd hear that sound, Deep in the jungle, I'd hear that funny wheezing noise, and a big blue box right in the middle of the rainforest. You see, he wouldn't just leave. Not forever. Not me. I've waited my whole silly life.”

“But you're an idiot.” The Doctor tells her.

“Well, there we have it.” Jo laughs tearfully.

“No, but don't you see? How could I ever find you? You've spent the past forty years living in huts, climbing up trees, tearing down barricades. You've done everything from flying kites on Kilimanjaro to sailing down the Yangtze in a tea chest. Not even the TARDIS could pin you down.”

Jo gapes at him in disbelief. “Hold on. I did sail down the Yangtze in a tea chest. How did you know?” 

The Doctor simply smiles as he says, “And that family. All seven kids, twelve grandchildren, thirteenth on his way. He's dyslexic but that'll be fine. Great swimmer.”

“So you've been watching me all this time?”

“No.” The Doctor replies. “Because you're right, I don't look back. I can't. But the last time I was dying, I looked back on all of you. Every single one. And I was so proud.”

“It really is you, isn't it?” Jo remarks.

“Hello.”

“Sorry,” Sarah Jane interrupts, “but we've got that lot back at home with the Shansheeth.” 

Kathy remembers that the kids get trapped and heated so they need to hurry.

“Yes, yes.” The Doctor stands walking back over. “And I still need you, Jo. Now, that bag of yours, I can smell blackcurrant. Is it buchu oil?” 

Jo brings out a jar from her bag. Kathy finds it funny that she would just have that on her. “Hand-picked in Mozambique.”

“Oh, perfect. These circuits need connectivity. Wonderful. Little tiddly drop. That's it.” The Doctor puts some on the device. “What a team.”

Kathy puts up a hand. “High five!” The others reciprocated.

Now that they have the connectivity, there only needs to be a bit more fiddling before they are ready.

“There. That should work. Intergalactic molecular streaming, with just a hint of blackcurrant. The Doctor steps back and they begin taking each other’s hands.

“But what'll happen to Clyde?” Sarah Jane asks.

“No, no, no, I've fixed it. All we needed was you two. Oil and sonic. Now we can go back and Clyde can stay where he is. Hold tight.” The Doctor explains.

——

Clyde yelling, “Get us out of here. Doctor! Kathy!”, from the direction of a grate is the first thing Kathy hears as the four of them land in a corridor in the UNIT base.

“Then again, maybe leaving Clyde in the same place wasn't such a good idea.” The Doctor mutters, crouching by the grate.

“Look out, stand back.” Sarah Jane sonics off the grill.

“Ah! Ventilation shafts. That takes me back.” The Doctor nudges Sarah Jane.

“Or even forwards.” Kathy comments.

The Doctor clambers in with Kathy getting in after him though regretful once greeted with the view she gets.

“Hurry up. We're getting boiled alive.” Clyde yells.

“Hold on. We're coming.” The Doctor calls. He and Kathy move forward.

“Don't worry, Santiago, I'm here.” Jo yells.

After a moment, Kathy hears Sarah Jane yell, “Doctor! Kathy!”

Kathy’s eyes widen. How could she forget that this is the point that the Shansheeth grab Jo and Sarah Jane?!

“Jo? Sarah?” The Doctor calls.

“They're roasting us.” Clyde yells.

“Let us out!” Rani yells.

“Sarah. Argh!” The Doctor cries frustratedly.

“We’ve got to get the kids. They are priority right now. Sarah Jane and Jo will be fine.” Kathy tells him. They continue forward down the shaft.

The Doctor fiddles with wires. “And release.” Another door opens to reveal a Groske, Clyde, Rani and Jo’s grandson, Santiago.

“Blimey.” Clyde comments as soon as he sees the Doctor. “You really have changed faces, haven't you? I couldn't see you before, I was too busy swapping.” 

“Oi, we're still cooking back here.” Rani huffs.

“Where's my gran?” Santiago asks.

“Yeah she’s in danger so we've got to get moving!” Kathy calls, trying to poke her head around the Doctor as best she can.

“Yes we'd better er.” The Doctor shuffles about realising he can’t turn. “Can't turn round.” 

“You'll have to shuffle backwards.” Clyde says.

“Oh, yes, okay. Thank you, Clyde.”

Kathy begins shuffling back with the Doctor doing the same and the kids and Groske get in the shaft and follow.

Clyde begins his questions. “Even your eyes are different. It's weird, cos I thought the eyes would stay the same. Can you change colour or are you always white?”

“I could be anything.”

“And is there a limit? How many times can you change?” 

“Five hundred and seven.” 5+0+7=12, everyone.

“Oh!”

——

They reach the room where they can hear the hum of the Memory Weave.

“They've started.” The Doctor says. “They've sealed it off.”

“Jo, Sarah Jane, can you hear us?” Kathy tries to call to them. Maybe she should have done more to stop this? Though she remembers that she can only be in so many places at once and things happen with or without her.

“They want the key. They've got the TARDIS, and a Memory Weave.” Sarah Jane yells to them though it is faint.

“Try to find a way in.” The Doctor darts away to fiddle with the control unit and the panel on it that sits next to the door. The kids rush forward to try – Santiago with the Groske to the door while Rani fiddles the keypad. Kathy goes with Clyde to grab some stuff to bang the door down though she knows it won’t work.

She returns along with Clyde to see the Doctor by the door yelling, “I've got the original here. You can have it if you let them go.”

It is difficult to hear what’s being said in the room but it is clear that they don’t want them in when the door remains shut. The Doctor goes back to the control unit.

Kathy and Clyde try hitting the steel doors with fire extinguishers.

“It's not shifting.” Clyde cries. “What do we do, Doctor? Kathy? What do we do?” 

“We need to make them remember.” Kathy states. She hadn't wanted to do this as it will going to kill the others in the room but they weren't giving them much choice and they can't get in any other way.

“Remember? How will that help?!” Clyde exclaims.

“No, we make them remember too much.” Kathy explains though the others still look confused but the Doctor gets it.

“Yes!” He leaps up and starts tapping on the panel. “The Shansheeth are making them remember so we do the same. Opening comms. Sarah, Jo, can you hear me?”

“The key, it's almost ready.” Sarah Jane yells but this time it is clearer.

“Listen to us, both of you. We want you to remember.” Kathy says.

“We are doing. That's the trouble.” Jo cries. The Groske goes to the control unit.

“No, no, no, no.” The Doctor dismisses. “I want you to remember everything. Every single day with me. Every single second.”

“What's he doing?” Karim, the dodgy UNIT agent, questions from inside the room.

“Because your memories are more powerful than anything else on this planet. Just think of it. Remember it. But properly. Properly. Give the Memory Weave everything. Every planet, every face, every madman, every loss, every sunset, every scent, every terror, every joy, every Doctor. Every me.” 

“I remember.” Sarah Jane announces.

“No!” Karim wails.

“Memory Weave overloading.” Says an automated voice.

“I remember.” Jo parrots.

“We need that key. What is happening? What's happening?” Karim demands. 

“Initial target lost.”

“The device is overloading. Too many memories. Too many.” The Shansheeth observe. Kathy can hear the memory weave begin to self-destruct.

“Reverse it. Bring that key back.” Karim orders.

Kathy turns to the three kids. “You lot can help as well. Tell them about all your different adventures!” They run up to the door.

“Think of us, Sarah Jane. Remember Maria and her dad, and all the stuff we did, like the Gorgon.” Clyde prompts.

“And the clowns, and the zodiac. And the Mona Lisa.” Rani adds.

“All of it. All of it.”

“Just think, Gran. All the countries you've been to.” Santiago prompts.

“Every country in the world.”

“Weave starting to self-destruct.” The computer says and Kathy can hear lots of small explosions happening inside.

“It's blown a circuit.” Sarah Jane yells.

“I can't get out.” Jo cries. Kathy listens anxiously.

“I've got you.”

“Now we're in trouble. The Weave's going to blow up and we can't get them out.” The Doctor says. 

“What?” Rani utters.

“Can't escape.” Kathy murmurs.

“I need the key.” A Shansheeth whines from inside.

“Weave now entering detonation phase.”

“I can't unseal the doors. The power line is gone. Argh!” Karim cries.

Kathy can hear Sarah Jane trying to use her sonic lipstick on the door but failing. “We've drained it. Doctor? Doctor, I can't get out.”

The Doctor, along with Kathy, yanks on the door trying to open it. “I can't open it.”

“No sonic screwdriver.” Sarah Jane states rather than asks.

“It's inside the TARDIS.” Kathy tells them.

“And we can't get in, because guess what? We stopped ourselves getting the key. Oh, that was clever.” Sarah Jane says sarcastically.

“Get in the coffin!” Kathy says before there are any goodbyes as she doesn’t want to risk the chance that they don’t realise in time or they have less time than they did in the show.

“What?” Jo blurts out. “No, uh Doctor, I just want to say—”

“No, no, no, no, she’s right. My funeral. Don't you see? It's my funeral.” The Doctor interrupts.

“With a lead-lined coffin!” Jo and Sarah Jane exclaim.

“How much time have they got?” Kathy asks the Groske. 

“Big bang, 30 seconds.” The Groske replies. Kathy is relieved that they’ve got more time this time.

“Come on.” The Doctor urges and they all take cover behind the control unit except the Groske who stands there counting down.

“Total destruction imminent.” The automated voice tells them.

“Hurry up, Gran.” Santiago calls.

The Groske begins counting from 10. “Ten, nine eight.”

“Five, four, three, two.” The Groske moves from the front of the door, which is a good thing as the fireball caused by the explosion blows the doors off. 

They all get up coughing through the smoke.

“What do you mean, the Mona Lisa?” The Doctor asks Rani.

“Loved that episode. Still do even though I’m not a kid anymore.” Kathy remarks as they walk into the room.

Rani blinks at her. “How old is she?” She asks the Doctor.

“Right now? About 900.” The Doctor replies.

“Smells like roast chicken.” The Groske comments. Kathy cringes at the comment.

“Now then. Smith and Jones.” The Doctor opens the coffin lid to find the two women hugging each other. “The coffin was the trap. The coffin was the solution.” The two in the coffin start giggling in relief. “That's so neat, I could write a thesis. Come on then, you two. Out you get.”

Their laughter causes the rest of them to start chuckling.

——

“Whoa. It's Bannerman Road. It's like everything moved. I'm never getting used to that.” Clyde says stepping out of the TARDIS and into the attic in Sarah Jane’s house. 

“Mister Smith, you're in big trouble. Those Shansheeth were bad.” Rani admonishes to the very large computer in the wall.

“It transpires that you encountered a rogue element, and the Wide Wing of the High Shansheeth Nest sends apologies.” Mr Smith replies. Kathy stares from around Santiago at him in barely contained excitement

“No way. On top of everything else, you've got a talking computer? That is it. I'm giving up.” Santiago comments stepping out of the TARDIS. The two other kids laugh.

Kathy takes her chance to step out of the room. “Oh my god this the attic. The attic! With Mr Smith!!” She bounces on her toes in excitement as her eyes take in everything around her.

“Hello Kathy.” Mr Smith says causing Kathy’s eyes to bug out.

“How do know so much?” Clyde asks. “You never said.”

“Didn’t I?”

“No.” Rani tells her.

“Oh.” Hmmm… got to note that down. “Well basically I’m from a different dimension where all of this was a Tv show before I died and was reborn into this world.” The three kids stare at her.

“Oh, cool.” Clyde comments.

“I seriously give up.” Santiago says causing them all to laugh.

——

Kathy steps back into the TARDIS to find the Doctor laughing with Sarah Jane and Jo. They turn to leave and spot her.

“Goodbye then.” Kathy greets them.

Jo grabs her and pulls her into a hug before pulling back and grabbing her by her face. “Oh you’re lovely you are!”

Kathy laughs. “Thanks.”

Sarah Jane chuckles before giving a hug of her own. “It’s lovely to see you Kathy.” She pulls back. “You have so much to do.”

“I look forward to it.” Kathy replies. The two women leave and Kathy turns to the Doctor and goes over to him by the console.

“Back to where you were?” The Doctor asks smiling though somewhat sadly. Kathy feels bad but knows she must go.

“Yes I think so.” Kathy agrees. The Doctor sets the coordinates and they are on their way.

“Ah but first…” The Doctor grabs something and hands out to her an object, which she realises is a sonic. “For you.”

Her?! Kathy grabs the sonic and analyses it in her hands. It’s like the current version for this Doctor but red. “A sonic for me?”

The Doctor nods. “Thought you should have one and you told me you didn’t have one until now.”

Kathy wraps him a hug and he chuckles. “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

Kathy, Carlyle and Ashildr keep busy over the next century. The trio finds themselves in 1461 England during the War of the Roses. Hiding from the conflict, they encounter Yorkist soldiers who are suspicious of their origins but ultimately let them pass. They then travel to 1480s Florence at the height of the Renaissance, where the Medici family reigns. Lorenzo de’ Medici, intrigued by their mysterious nature, invites them into his world of power and art. Their final stop brings them to Tenochtitlan, the heart of the Aztec Empire in 1519. The travelers are confronted by priests who demand an offering to the gods. The family refuses, stating that they cannot be sacrificed. They manage to escape the situation by asserting their immortality, leaving the Aztecs confused but unharmed. 

——

1537 AD/CE

Kathy follows the chaos of Amy, Rory and the Eleventh Doctor as they flee the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court and into the Duke of Suffolk’s bedroom.

Take a guess at what happened.

Kathy had been spending the last 11 years living in the Tudor court in England because how could she not? Plus, that date was the beginning of King Henry and Anne Boleyn's explosive relationship. She had been obsessed with the Tudor dynasty for years so of course, now she has the chance, she's going to try and meet them.

She had arrived at the English court at Hampton Palace, which was where they were currently stationed at the time, and introduced herself as a wealthy but widowed English woman known as Lady Joan Davazat from Venice, Italy and needing shelter and support from King Henry VIII and his then wife Catherine of Aragon. Kathy was given a position among the Queen’s ladies and that is when she met Anne Boleyn. Now Kathy didn’t exactly plan this but she may have gotten a bit closer to Anne than she meant to. She really didn’t intend to be involved in an affair but things happen.

The King’s next wedding, to Jane Seymour, was going well until someone, as the vows were being spoken, says “yes”. It doesn’t take Kathy long to realise that it was Amy and watches the three flee the room with Kathy barging through the crowd to chase after them.

Kathy gets distracted when she spots what appears to be a phone charger lying on the floor and picks it up before continuing on her quest. She sees the King ahead of her. She gets into the room as the King does. She knows that the three time travellers are under the bed. Suddenly there is a sneeze from that direction, the Doctor, and a whispered “Sorry”, causing the King to pause. 

“Your Majesty!” Kathy cries barging into the room. “There you are!”

“Yes Lady Joan?” The King asks irritably.

“The uh… the Queen is asking for you. I-I’m sure you can leave this mess for someone else to sort.”

The King lets an irritated huff. “I suppose you are right.” He leaves the room and Kathy turns to the bed.

She then dips down to face the three under the bed. “I think you dropped this.” She holds up the phone charger that one of them, Rory most likely, had dropped while running.

“Kathy!” The Doctor cries happily.

Kathy rolls her eyes. “Come on we need to get you guys out.”

Rory reaches out to take the phone charge from her hand. “Um… thanks that was mine.”

“You should know better than to leave things like this around, you know.” Kathy admonishes. “Why are you carrying it around in the 16th century anyway?” Kathy grabs a candle and guides them down the corridors that are out of view of the public.

“I thought I might need it.” Rory defends.

His wife lets out a huff. “Yeah right.”

“When was the last time you saw us?” The Doctor asks.

“Those two,” Kathy points at the two humans, “when we left them on their honeymoon,” she points at the Time Lord, “you I last saw was that thing with the Shansheeth.”

“Oh, so you haven’t been—”

Kathy rolls her eyes. “Spoilers!” She knows that these three are during season 7, nearing the end of Amy and Rory’s time on the TARDIS and Kathy wonders what happened to her during their adventures.

“Right.”

“Why here?” Amy asks later on.

“You are talking to the girl who, as a history nerd, was and is obsessed with the Tudors. Of course I’m here!” Kathy retorts.

“She’s got a point.” Rory tells his wife.

“Thank you, Rory.” Kathy says. “Ah, the TARDIS should be down here if you’ve remembered rightly where you put her.”

“When am I ever wrong?!” The Doctor whines. The other three just stare at him. He huffs and they continue.

It’s only a few more moments before they find the TARDIS and with a quick goodbye, they leave and Kathy turns back to sorting out the mess left behind though she’s planning on leaving soon anyway.

——

1562 AD/CE

Kathy sits on a hilltop on a chilly English day. The sound of the flag flapping in the wind behind her as she folds the skirts of her Tudor style dress. A large blanket and pillow get up with goblets of drinks, fruits, cheeses, and other such things are next to where she currently sits. 

She glances over when hearing the galloping of a horse's feet going across the grass. Coming up the hill was the Tenth Doctor and Queen Elizabeth I, riding on a white horse and laughing together. Kathy raises an eyebrow at the two. She knows the Doctor is investigating the signs of Zygons present in this time period as he had asked her to help and she is in the area so she thought why not, but he seems to be enjoying himself a little too much. The Doctor's way of avoiding things as it is near the end of his run. It is weird seeing Ten again as she has not had much experience with him, not since the first time she met him.

She had left the Tudor court in 1537 and did not return until the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s reign in 1558. This is so no one is none the wiser over her not ageing and Elizabeth does not know as she had been young when Kathy had last been at court.

Kathy stands up, going over to the horse as they ride up to the hilltop. She smiles lightly at them, finding their laughter funny. It is nice seeing the Doctor enjoy himself so much. Even if it is with a suspected alien invading Zygon. Though it is funny to watch him being uncomfortable and fidgety as when he was forced to stand for a painting with Elizabeth. He had pouted and itched at the outfit Queen Elizabeth had practically ordered him to wear the whole time.

“Enjoy the TARDIS, your Majesty?” Kathy asks Elizabeth politely as they approach, holding out a hand to help the Queen down from the white horse.

“Oh, it was splendid!” Elizabeth laughs merrily once she has hopped down, smiling at Kathy gracefully as she adjusts her golden dress from all the horse riding. The ginger Queen then smiles slyly at the Doctor as he hops down from the horse. “That, and other things.” The Doctor glances at Kathy when seeing her raise an interested brow at him. He clears his throat nervously.

“Uh… picnic time!” The Doctor suddenly exclaims, dashing over to the food.

——

Kathy sits awkwardly to the side as the Doctor spreads himself over the blanket, leaning against the cushions with the Queen slumped across his lap. She seriously feels like she’s third wheeling. It’s more Elizabeth that’s been making her feel like this and not the Doctor though. Kathy keeps herself happy by stuffing her face with the food.

“Tell me, Doctor, why I'm wasting my time on you. I have wars to plan.” Elizabeth says.

“You have a picnic to eat.” The Doctor replies. “Though Kathy is eating most of it.”

“Shut up.” Kathy quips and stuffs a few more grapes into her mouth. She watches the horse from the corner of her eye, knowing that the creature is the real Zygon.

“You could help me.” Elizabeth replies to the Doctor’s statement after a quick laugh.

“Well, I'm helping you eat the picnic.” The Doctor feeds her a grape. Kathy wrinkles her face at the adoring gaze on the Queen of England’s face.

“But you have a stomach for war. This face has seen conflict, it's as clear as day.” Elizabeth strokes his face.

“Oh, I've seen conflict like you wouldn't believe. But it wasn't this face. But never mind that, your Majesty.” The Doctor leaps up. “Up on your feet. Up, up.” 

“Christ.” Kathy mutters, she knows where this is going.

“How dare you? I'm the Queen of England.” Elizabeth exclaims in disbelief.

“I'm not English.”

“Funny cause you sound it.” Kathy retorts as the Doctor drops to his knees.

“Sssh!” The Doctor hisses before turning to the royal. “Elizabeth, will you marry me?”

“Oh, my dear sweet love. Of course I will.” Elizabeth replies happily.

“Oh Lord.” Kathy hopes she is there when the fallout happens when he’s with Martha and Shakespeare.

“Ah, gotcha!” The Doctor yells triumphantly, leaping to his feet again before she has the chance to grab him for another kiss.

“My love?” Elizabeth asks. She turns to Kathy in confusion but Kathy just shakes her head. She’s really not explaining this one.

The Doctor ignores this. “One, the real Elizabeth would never have accepted my marriage proposal. Two, the real Elizabeth would notice when I just casually mentioned having a different face. But then the real Elizabeth isn't a shape-shifting alien from outer space. And,” he holds out a clockwork gizmo, “ding.”

“What's that?” Elizabeth questions now more bewildered.

“It's a machine that goes ding.” The Doctor replies. “Made it myself. Lights up in the presence of shape-shifter DNA.” He pulls out a very long, metal antenna from it. “Oooh. Also, it can microwave frozen dinners from up to twenty feet and download comics from the future. I never know when to stop.” 

“No, you don’t.” Kathy winces.

“My love, I do not understand.” The Queen utters desperately.

“He’s being an idiot, your Majesty.” Kathy remarks.

The Doctor looks at her confused. “Why are you still calling her that? She’s a Zygon, she doesn’t need an explanation!”

“No, she isn’t.” Kathy replies. “My hint was that it isn’t who you think.”

“A Zygon?” Elizabeth questions, bringing their attention back to her.

“Oh, stop it. It's over.” The Doctor shoves the gizmo into his pocket. “A Zygon, yes. Big red rubbery thing covered in suckers. Surprisingly good kisser. Think the real Queen of England would just decide to share her throne with any old handsome bloke in a tight suit,” Kathy doesn’t like the look on Elizabeth’s face at that comment, “just cos he's got amazing hair and a nice horse? Oh.” No more white horse. Instead, there's the Zygon. “It was the horse. I'm going to be King.”

“Told you so. Run!” Kathy cries and the three of them bolt.

“What's happening?” Elizabeth cries.

“Zygomatic, shapeshifter, big suckers, angry alien from outer space, wants to kill us.” Kathy replies. 

“What does that mean?”

“It means we're going to need a new horse.” The Doctor replies. They run into a ruined building, hiding behind the arched walls of what is left. The Doctor and Kathy on one side and Elizabeth on the other. They hold their breaths as the shapeshifter wonders about and then goes off into the woods instead.

“Where's it going?” Elizabeth asks fearfully.

“I'll hold it off. You run. Your people need you.” The Doctor urges.

“And I need you alive for our wedding day.” Elizabeth kisses him though it doesn’t look like a comfortable feeling for the Doctor, then runs.

Kathy slow claps causing him to turn to her. “Great work Doctor. Not one for preserving history, are you?”

“Shut up.” The Doctor mumbles and wipes his mouth. “Right, you go one way, I go another. That should corner it.”

Kathy rolls her eyes and lets out a snort. “Yeah, cause splitting up always works.”

“Just do it!”

——

Kathy runs through the woods and eventually finds Ten talking to a lop-eared rabbit.

“I am the Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Darkness, and…” 

“An idiot as that’s just a rabbit.” Kathy calls causing him to look at her. “You’re really bad at this.”

“No, I’m not and I knew that! Just a general warning.” The Doctor defends. “Though maybe I should have calibrated this with a few less side features.” He whacks the device.

“Whatever.” Kathy picks the rabbit up. “Oh, you’re a lovely one, aren’t you? Yes you are!”

“Kathy put the rabbit down.”

Kathy clings to the rabbit. “No! I can’t leave Franklin!”

“Franklin?” The Doctor echoes disbelievingly. 

“Yep!”

“Doctor!” Elizabeth yells. 

“And now let’s save another Queen.” Kathy mutters. They bolt and run to the noise.

“Elizabeth!” They find her lying on the ground in a clearing and the Doctor helps her up.

“That thing. Explain what it is. What does it want of us?” The Queen questions.

“Probably just your planet, your Majesty.” Kathy tells her.

“Doctor.” A voice calls. They turn to see another Elizabeth emerge from the woods. 

“Jesus.” Kathy mumbles, rubbing her forehead.

“Step away from her, Doctor. That's not me. That's the creature.” Elizabeth 2 declares confidently.

“How is that possible? She's me.” Elizabeth gasps looking astonished at what’s in front of her. “Doctor, she's me!”

“I am indeed me. A compliment that cannot be extended to yourself.” Elizabeth two remarks.

The Doctor tries to use his gizmo by extending the antenna and waving it around the two women. The thing merely whirled, just as bewildered. All the while the two Elizabeths circle one another, throwing retorts at each other. A time fissure then appears in the air.

“Finally!” Kathy exclaims.

“Back, all of you, now!” The Doctor tries to get the three women behind him but Kathy doesn’t and steps forward as she knows what’s going to happen and therefore doesn’t worry. “Are you ever going to listen?”

“Nope!”

“Kathy that’s a time fissure!” The Doctor contends. “A tear in the fabric of reality. Anything could happen!” A red fez drops out of it.

“A fez!!” Kathy cries happily and shoves it on her head. She honestly feels as if all her life goals have been completed. She makes sure there’s a distance between her and the fissure so that the Eleventh Doctor doesn’t land on her.

A cry of “Geronimo!” is heard and then Eleven flies through the fissure and lands face first, flat on the ground. “Oof!” Eleven then lifts himself back to his feet and blinks as if adjusting his eyesight for a moment before grinning. “Hello!”

“Hi!” Kathy waves.

“Who is this man?” Elizabeth one demands to know.

“That's just what I was wondering.” Ten mutters.

Eleven observes his past self. “Oh, that is skinny. That is proper skinny,” he looks his past self up and down. “I've never seen it from the outside. It's like a special effect.” He looks down at his own body as if to do a comparison then charges toward Ten. “Ha! Matchstick man.”

The two stare at each other. “You're not.” Ten mutters.

They both get out their sonic screwdrivers, ready to do another comparison. Each held them in hand, making the devices pulse. Eleven flicked his out, extending it to full size. Ten frowns for a moment, sliding his up all the way. Eleven’s is bigger and better.

“I wonder if I should whip mine out.” Kathy mutters to the Elizabeths, who both give her a look of disgust.

“Compensating?” Ten remarks sarcastically.

“For what?”

“Regeneration. It's a lottery.” Ten replies slickly, trying not to show his smirk.

Eleven takes offence. “Oh, he's cool. Isn't he cool?” The Doctors flip their sonics and put them back in their pockets. “I'm the Doctor and I'm all cool. Oops, I'm wearing sandshoes.”

“Sandshoes?” Kathy had to laugh at that. “Is that really the best you can come up with?”

“Shut up.”

“What are you doing here? I'm busy.” Ten points behind him to the Elizabeths.

“Oh, busy. I see. Is that what we're calling it, eh? Eh?” The Doctor grabs the fez from Kathy’s head, causing her to pout, puts it on his head and turns to the two Elizabeths. “Hello, ladies.”

“Don't start.” Ten grumbles at his future self.

“Listen, what you get up to in the privacy of your own regeneration is your business.” Eleven remarks. 

“One of them is a Zygon.” Ten explains.

“Urgh. Kathy how could you allow this to happen?” Eleven accuses.

“Oi! Don’t blame me! I tried to stop him!” Kathy defends.

The time fissure reappears and the three time travellers turn their full attention towards it as it swirls in the air. The two Doctors frown at it while Kathy just observes it as she knows she doesn’t need to do anything right now. They both put on their glasses, then notice each other and go “Oh, lovely!” at each other. Kathy gives Franklin, who’s still in her arms, a rub on the head.

“Your Majesties… probably a good time to run.” Eleven suggests as he turns to them, placing his glasses in his inner pocket.

“But what about the creature?” Both ask in perfect sync.

Ten puts his own glasses away and turns to them. “Elizabeth, whichever one of you is the real one, turn and run in the opposite direction to the other one.” Eleven mimics that with his hands.

“Of course, my love.” Both say.

The first Elizabeth steps forward. “Stay alive, my love. I am not done with you yet.” She pulls Ten down for a hard kiss. Once done, she takes off to their left. Kathy pulls a face at the scene.

“Thanks. Lovely.” Ten mutters. 

The next one comes up. “I understand. Live for me, my darling. We shall be together again.” There’s another kiss and a run to the right.

“Well, won't that be nice?” Ten grimaces.

“One of those was a Zygon and the other the Queen of England from 1562.” Kathy remarks.

“You forgot the that a Zygon is a red rubbery thing covered in suckers.” Eleven points out. 

Kathy looks at him with a deadly straight face. “Oh yes, I forgot. I should also mention the venom sacs in the tongue.”

“Yeah, I'm getting the point, thank you.” Ten snaps irritably while the two next to him grin. “Kathy please put down that rabbit.”

Kathy looks at him aghast. “He’s not just a rabbit! This is Franklin!” Ten rolls his eyes while Eleven nods in approval.

Kathy then remembers that Clara and Kate Stewart are currently on the other side of the fisher. She turns away from the two Doctors and yells, “Hi Clara!”

“Kathy, is that you?” Comes Clara’s voice.

“Ah, hello, Clara. Can you hear us?” Eleven asks.

“Yeah, it's me. We can hear you. Where are you? And how is Kathy there?” Clara calls.

“Where are we?” Eleven asks Ten.

“England, 1562.” Ten calls.

“Who are you talking to?” Clara asks.

“Myself.” The Doctors say in unison before grinning at each other.

“Can you come back through?” Kate asks.

“No, that’ll be difficult but we do need to let them know we’re here and ready for them.” Kathy grabs the fez from Eleven’s head, after having reluctantly put down Franklin to let him chew on the grass, and throws it into the fisher. “There that should do it.”

“Who were you signalling?” Ten asks curiously.

“Was it Clara?” Eleven asks.

“Nothing here.” Clara calls.

Kathy shakes her head. “No someone else but don’t worry you’ll see soon. Trust me.”

Ten turns to his future self. “Okay, you used to be me, you've done all this before. What happens next?”

Eleven shakes his head. “I don't remember. Kathy?”

“Spoilers!”

“How can you forget this?” Ten gestures between them.

“Maybe it’s the paradoxes at work?” Kathy suggests.

“Yeah!” Eleven violently points at Kathy. “And also, it's not my fault. You're obviously not paying enough attention. Reverse the polarity!”

They both aim their sonic screwdrivers at the fissure. Kathy doesn’t bother to bring hers out as there’d be no point. 

After a moment of nothing, Eleven leans towards Ten. “It's not working.”

Ten lets go of the button in his sonic, frowning. “We're both reversing the polarity.”

“Yes, I know that.”

Kathy snickers as she watches before pulling herself together to speak, “There's two of you. He’s reversing it, you're reversing it back again. You’re confusing the polarity.”

“Oh.” 

Suddenly the fissure makes a swooshing sound and out comes the War Doctor and in his hands is the fez that Kathy had thrown. 

“Ah, hello.” Kathy greets.

“Anyone lose a fez?” The War Doctor politely asks but Kathy can see he’s curious as well. Her eyes flickering around him, wondering if the interface for the moment is nearby.

“Yes, thank you.” Kathy cheerfully takes it from him and puts it on her head. She turns to the other two Doctors. She frowns when she realises Franklin had hopped off. Rude.

The two Doctors stare at their previous self with a mixture of awe and disbelief with their jaws slack and eyes wide but Kathy can see the anger growing. This is a man that the two of them have tried to forget. 

“You.” Ten breathes. His tone changes as his teeth grit together. “How can you be here? More to the point, why are you here?”

“Good afternoon. I'm looking for the Doctor.” The youngest, which is funny as he physically appears the oldest, Doctor says politely. Kathy snorts while the two older Doctors glance at each other with raised eyebrows.

“Well, you've certainly come to the right place.” Ten mutters.

“Good. Right. Well, who are you boys?” The War Doctor asks curiously. “Oh, of course. Are you his companions?” Kathy barks out a laugh at the looks on Ten and Eleven’s faces.

“His companions?” Eleven mutters in disbelief.

“They get younger all the time. Well, if you could point me in the general direction of the Doctor.” Ten and Eleven both demonstrate their sonic screwdrivers.

“Really?” The newcomer utters in surprise.

“Yeah.”

“Really.”

The War Doctor looks at Kathy. “Who’s she?”

“Oh, I’m Kathy.” She replies. “And these two next to me are you.”

“Even that one?” The man gestures to Eleven.

“Yes!” Eleven exclaims offended. 

“You're my future selves?”

“Yes!” The three in front of him cry.

“Am I having a midlife crisis?” He steps forward, but his future selves stumble back and pull out their sonics, pointing them at him so he doesn’t move any further, and shove Kathy behind them. Kathy shakes her head at them but in a way she can’t blame them, not with what they believe. “Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that? They're scientific instruments, not water pistols. Look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Still, loving the posh gravelly thing. It's very convincing.” Ten mumbles snidely.

“Brave words, Dick van Dyke.” Eleven scoffs. A troop of soldiers run up from out of the woods shouting and clanking, led by a nobleman and surround them.

“Encircle them.” The nobleman orders as the soldiers lower their pokes and swords at the group of four, forcing the two Doctors to lift their sonics once more in a defensive manoeuvre with Kathy pressed between them. “Which of you is the Doctor? The Queen of England is bewitched. I would have the Doctor's head.”

“Well, this has all the makings of your lucky day.” The War Doctor remarks.

“There's a precedent for that.” Comes Kate’s voice from the time fissure which still swirled above their heads. All the humans stare in shock and horror at the sight of it.

“What is that?” The nobleman asks fearfully.

The War Doctor glances back and sees what his future selves are doing and scoffs, “Oh, the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do, assemble a cabinet at them?”

“You heard the man.” Kathy pipes up. “Put them down.” Eleven and Ten glance at each other before reluctantly lowering their arms and slipping their sonics away.

“That thing, what witchcraft is it?” The man in charge of the Queen’s men demands.

“Ah, yes. Now that you mention it.” Eleven speaks rapidly, stepping away from the group, which Kathy takes as her chance to follow him, “that is witchcraft. Yes, yes, yes. Witchy witchcraft. Hello? Hello in there. Excuse me. Hello! Am I talking to the wicked witch of the well? Clara?”

“Hello?” Clara calls after some muttering.

“Ah, Clara there you are.” Kathy remarks, having walked over. “Could you possibly tell these prattling mortals to get themselves begone?”

“What she said.”

“Yes, tiny bit more colour.” Eleven prompts.

“Right. Prattling mortals, off you… pop, or I'll turn you all into frogs,” comes Clara’s voice. The armed men flinch and take a step back, now seeming fearful as to them the weak threat feels very real.

“Oooh, frogs. Nice.” Eleven mutters, turning to the men around them and pointing at them. “You heard her.” Kathy nods with a completely straight face but on the inside, she’s laughing at the whole situation.

“Doctor, what's going on?” Clara asks.

“It's a timey-wimey thing.” Eleven answers offhandedly.

The War Doctor looks at his future self in disbelief, as if Eleven had lost his marbles. “Timey what? Timey-wimey?”

“I've no idea where he picks that stuff up.” Ten tries to deflect with a shake of his head as if disapproving as well.

Kathy snorts. “You know full well where he got it.”

“The Queen.” A soldier cries and Kathy sees Elizabeth enter calmly as if she had just been on a walkabout. “The Queen.” The soldiers fall to their knees, bowing while the time travellers continue standing. Kathy notices the odd behaviour, the smirk on the woman’s face, but she knows that there’s nothing to worry about as it’s the real one and not a Zygon.

“You don't seem to be kneeling. How tremendously brave of you.” Elizabeth remarks coolly.

“Which one are you?” Ten narrows his eyes as if trying to determine it. “What happened to the other one?”

The Queen smirks darkly. “Indisposed. Long live the Queen.” She grins as the soldiers echo her words.

“Arrest these men and that woman.” Elizabeth eyes Kathy in distaste, “Take them to the Tower.”

“That is not the Queen of England.” Ten declares, jabbing a harsh finger at Elizabeth, “that's an alien duplicate.”

“And you can take it from him, cos he's really checked.” Eleven mutters.

“Oh, shut up.”

“Venom sacs in the tongue.” Kathy adds.

“Seriously, stop it.” Ten grumbles. Eleven and Kathy smirk and give each other an under-hand high five.

“No, hang on.” Eleven calls, his eyes widening as he realises what Elizabeth had said and steps forward with a grin and immediately starts flapping his hands about as he speaks. “The Tower. Did you say the Tower? Ah, yes, brilliant. Love the Tower. Breakfast at eight, please. Will there be Wi-Fi?” 

“Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?” The youngest of the Doctors asks gruffly, probably still feeling baffled that he would become this.

“Yes.”

“No.” Kathy says easily, smiling slyly at him.

Eleven then proceeds to continue to flail his arms around as he speaks, spinning around to Elizabeth, “I demand to be incarcerated in the Tower immediately with my co-conspirators Jesus, Sandshoes and Granddad.”

“Granddad?” The War Doctor exclaims, looking put out.

“Jesus?” Kathy murmurs to herself.

“They're not sandshoes.” Ten sighs.

“Yes, they are.” The youngest retorts.

“Silence. The Tower is not to be taken lightly.” Elizabeth barks crossly, appearing annoyed that they all were not threatened in the slightest. “Very few emerge again.”

——

“Come on, you lot, get in there.” The Warder orders as he shoves the four of them into the cell.

“Ow.” The War Doctor complains, straightening himself and tugging on his jacket.

The Warder leaves, shutting the door behind him though Kathy knows it hasn’t been locked. Kathy, the only one that hadn’t been manhandled, looks around the floor for a piece of a metal bar, finds it and hands it to Eleven, who starts scratching on a stone pillar. The War Doctor starts using his sonic screwdriver on the wooden door. Ten leans up against a wall with his hands in his pockets.

“Three of us in one cell? That's going to cause some nasty anomalies if we don't get out soon.” Ten comments, he turns to his future self. “What are you doing?” 

“Getting us out.”

“The sonic won't work on that, it's too primitive.” Ten calls to the War Doctor.

“In other words, it doesn’t work on wood.” Kathy smirks.

“Shall we ask for a better quality of door so we can escape?” Eleven tries to joke. He continues scratching.

“Okay,” Ten shakes his head, “so the Queen of England is now a Zygon. But never mind that. Why are we all together? Why are we all here? Well, me and… Chinny,” he waves a hand at Eleven, “we were surprised, but you,” his eyes narrow, “you came looking for us. Kathy already knew, obviously, but you knew it was going to happen. Who told you?”

Kathy knows that the Moment Rose is holding a finger to her lips 

Eleven saves his youngest self from answering when he realises what Ten had just called him, “Oi, Chinny?”

“Yeah, you do have a chin.”

“Remember that you’re the leggy one.” Kathy warns Ten with a smile on her face. The man lets out a huff of annoyance. Eleven is still scratching his message. 

The War Doctor is still scanning to get them out and while Kathy knows that it isn’t locked and they could just leave, but the youngest Doctor needs to see this, needed to see this future.

“In theory, I can trigger an isolated sonic shift among the molecules, and the door should disintegrate.” Said man says.

“We'd have to calculate the exact harmonic resonance of the entire structure down to a sub-atomic level.” Ten disagrees. “Even the sonic would take years.”

“No, no,” the War Doctor shakes his head and lets out a long sigh, “the sonic would take centuries. Oh, we might as well get started.” He sits on the bench beside the door. “Help to pass the timey-wimey. Do you have to talk like children?”

“Trust me, if you think this bad, just you wait.” Kathy comments.

The War Doctor glances at them all with an odd look. “What is it that makes you so ashamed of being a grown up?” Kathy notices that while the other two Doctors had turned to look at him, both seem unable to actually hold his gaze and look away, returning to their scratching and fiddling with the sonic. “Oh, the way you both look at me. What is that? I'm trying to think of a better word than dread.”

“It must be really recent for you.” Ten finally manages to hold his past self’s gaze for more than a few seconds. Eleven stops scratching.

The War Doctor seems confused about what he is speaking of. “Recent?”

“The Time War.” Eleven clears his throat, tensing. “The last day. The day you killed them all.”

Kathy feels sorrier for the War Doctor as he hadn’t actually committed the atrocities that these two had believed he had done and hopefully he will not if everything continues as it should.

“The day we killed them all.” Ten corrects.

Eleven winces as if having to actually remind himself that they are the same people is painful for him. “Same thing.”

Elevens goes back to scratching and Ten paces while Kathy observes the third Doctor in the room. The War Doctor’s expression grows harder as he hears that he did apparently kill them all. Kathy wishes she can tell him otherwise but not yet.

“I don't talk about it.” The youngest Doctor suddenly says. Kathy’s flicker to next to Ten and next to the War Doctor, knowing Moment Rose is in either place.

“You're not talking about it.” Ten casts him an odd look. “There's no one else here other than Kathy and she either already knows or won’t tell.” 

“Did you ever count?” 

“Count what?” Eleven’s voice is slightly muffled as his back is towards the rest of them.

“How many children there were on Gallifrey that day.” Both men freeze in their workings. Kathy feels herself tense. 

“I have absolutely no idea.” Eleven remarks as if he doesn’t know and the question hadn’t affected him but Kathy can tell he's trying to force emotion out of his voice. She watches as Eleven resumes his scratching, putting more effort, force and concentration than is strictly needed.

The War Doctor frowns. “How old are you now?”

“Ah, I don't know. I lose track. Twelve hundred and something, I think, unless I'm lying. I can't remember if I'm lying about my age, that's how old I am.” Eleven replies casually.

“Four hundred years older than me.” The War Doctor muses, “and in all that time you've never even wondered how many there were? You never once counted?”

“Tell me, what would be the point?” Eleven spins round to angrily face him.

“Two point four seven billion.” Ten says, contradicting his older self.

“You did count!” The War Doctor exclaims. Kathy hears a hint of an amused laugh, which makes her frown. Eleven lets out a disgusted noise at both of his past selves and turns back to the pillar to finish scratching.

“You forgot? Four hundred years, is that all it takes?” Ten snaps at Eleven.

“I moved on.” Eleven says gruffly, glaring back.

“Where?” Ten barks. “Where can you be now that you can forget something like that?”

“Of course he hasn’t forgotten!” Kathy snaps at Ten, honestly, he irritated her at this bit. “How could he? Just leave, him alone.” She sees the misty look in Eleven’s eyes.

Ten frowns contemplatively then shakes his head. “No, no, no, no. For once, I would like to know where I'm going.”

“No, you really wouldn't.” Eleven retorts.

“I don't know who you are, either of you.” The War Doctor half throws his hands up in the air in surrender. “I haven't got the faintest idea.”

After a few moments, the youngest Doctor murmurs, “No.” 

Kathy knows he’s just talking to the Moment interface but Ten looks at him in confusion. “No?”

“Just… no.” The War Doctor shakes his head. Eleven lets out a laugh, drawing their attention.

“Is something funny? Did I miss a funny thing?” Ten snidely quips.

“Sorry.” Eleven turns around with a smile on his face causing Kathy to smile herself, happy to see him in a better mood. “It just occurred to me.” He looks at Kathy and nods to the two men. “This is what I'm like when I'm alone.”

Kathy lets out a slight chuckle. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“Four hundred years.” The War Doctor suddenly says.

“I'm sorry?” Ten asks.

“At a software level,” the War Doctor pulls out his sonic in demonstration, “they're all the same device, aren't they? Same software, different case.” 

“Yeah.”

“So…”

The War Doctor beams and strides to the door. “So, it would take centuries for the screwdriver to calculate how to disintegrate the door.” He quickly flicks his sonic on, moving it along the edges of the door, getting a full scan. “Scanning the door, implanting the calculation as a permanent subroutine in the software architecture and,” he spins around and points at the men, “if you really are me, with your sandshoes and your dickie bow,” Kathy snorts and he shoots a smile at her, “and that screwdriver is still mine, that calculation is still going on.”

Kathy turns to Ten. “Go on. Check.”

Ten blinks at that and quickly brings the sonic up to examine the readings, holding it to his ear to listen, “Yeah, still going.”

Kathy looks at Eleven. “And you?”

“Calculation complete.” Eleven cheers.

“Hey, four hundred years in four seconds. We may have had our differences, which is frankly odd in the circumstances, but I tell you what, boys. We are incredibly clever.” As soon as Eleven finishes speaking, Clara opens the door and nearly falls in. Kathy tries not to laugh at the Doctors’ shocked faces.

Eleven gapes at her, “How did you do that?”

“It wasn't locked.” Clara explains.

“Right.”

“Hi Kathy!” Clara waves.

Kathy smiles. “Hi Clara.”

“So, they're both you, then, yeah?” Clara then asks Eleven in a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

“Yes. You've met them before. Don't you remember?” 

“A bit.” Clara glances at Ten. “Nice suit.”

“Thanks.” He frowns, staring at Clara intently. “Wait, she looks a lot like—”

Kathy’s confused as Ten didn’t have this reaction to Clara in the show, maybe he’s noticed her echoes. Ten looks to Eleven who quickly shakes his head, glancing at Kathy.

“Hang on. Three of you in one cell, and none of you thought to try the door?” Clara questions.

“It should have been locked.” The War Doctor defends near petulantly.

“Why did you assume that for?” Kathy asks smirking.

“You could’ve said.” Ten complains.

Kathy shrugs. “You needed to chat.”

“But why wasn't it locked?” Eleven realises.

“Because,” a familiar voice begins and all of them look to see Elizabeth sauntering up to the door, “I was fascinated to see what you would do upon escaping. I understand you're rather fond of this world. It's time I think you saw what's going to happen to it.” She crooks her finger and turns to walk away.

——

Kathy looks over a small balcony and down into a deeper part of the Tower’s basement where the Zygons have set up some sort of base. There’s a great quantity of machinery, 3D paintings and Zygons walking about in their own skin

“The Zygons lost their own world. It burnt in the first days of the Time War. A new home is required.” Elizabeth explains as she walks along the balcony with them following her. 

“So, they want this one.” Clara concludes.

“Not yet. It's far too primitive. Zygons are used to a certain level of comfort.” Elizabeth replies.

“Why do they always want the earth?” Kathy sighs.

They are interrupted by a hissing voice. “Commander, why are these creatures here?”

Kathy turns around with the others to see a line Zygon had joined them and is glaring at the five of them. She grimaces when she sees a sort of yellowish green slime coating the Zygon’s mouth.

“Because I say they should be.” Elizabeth lifts her chin, giving the Zygon a hard look, challenging it. Kathy has to give her credit for this performance. “It is time you too were translated.” The creature growls but abruptly turns and stalks off down to where a glass cube is sitting on a small table before a 3D portrait. It places its hand on the cube and closed its eyes, waiting. “Observe this. I believe you will find it fascinating.”

They, other Kathy who knows what’s going to happen but follows along, move to the edge of the balcony to watch curiously. The cube begins to hum and rattle, the Zygon fades then vanishes as it is sucked into the painting and becomes a shadowy figure in the painting.

“That's him!” Clara exclaims stepping forward, closer to the picture. “That's the Zygon in the picture now.”

“It's not a picture, it's a stasis cube.” The War Doctor explains. “Time Lord art. Frozen instants in time, bigger on the inside, but could be deployed as…”

“…suspended animation.” Ten realises, Eleven snaps his fingers at him then Ten steps closer to the painting. “Oh, that's very good. The Zygons all pop inside the pictures, wait a few centuries till the planet's a bit more interesting, and then out they come.”

Eleven follows with the War Doctor and Kathy. “You see, Clara, they're stored in the paintings in the Under Gallery, like cup-a-soups. Except you add time, if you can picture that.”

“I doubt you could, Doctor.” Kathy says.

“Right.” He agrees. “Forget I said cup-a-soups.”

“And now the world is worth conquering. So, the Zygons are invading the future from the past.” Clara concludes.

“Exactly.”

“And!” Ten cheers, rounding on Elizabeth, spinning on his heel. “Do you know why I know that you're a fake?” He saunters over to her, grinning as though he’s worked out some fantastic mystery but really he hasn’t. “Because you're such a bad copy. It's not just the smell, or the unconvincing hair, or the atrocious teeth, or the eyes just a bit too close together, or the breath that could stun a horse. It's because my Elizabeth, the real Elizabeth, would never be stupid enough to reveal her own plan. Honestly, why would you do that?”

Elizabeth seems unimpressed, quite offended and a tad murderous when she responds, “Because it's not my plan. And I AM the real Elizabeth.”

Kathy snorts. “You just insulted Queen Elizabeth I.”

“Yeah, thanks, got that.” Ten clears his throat and steps back from a displeased Elizabeth. “So… backtracking a moment just to lend context to my earlier remarks…” 

“You should never insult a woman, no matter their species.” Kathy chastises him. Ten winces.

“My twin is dead in the forest. I am accustomed to taking precautions.” She produces a small bejewelled dagger from the garter beneath her skirts. “These Zygon creatures never even considered that it was me who survived rather than their own commander. The arrogance that typifies their kind.”

“Zygons?” Clara guesses.

“Men.” Elizabeth huffs.

“You killed one dressed like that?” Kathy knows she did but looking at Elizabeth in that big dress makes her feel doubtful.

“I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but at the time, so did the Zygon.” Elizabeth smirks before turning serious. “The future of my kingdom is imperilled. Doctor, can I rely on your service?”

“Well, I'm going to need my TARDIS.” Ten replies.

“It has been procured already.” Elizabeth tells him, smiling.

“Ah.”

“But first, my love, you have a promise to keep.”

Kathy stifles her giggles at Ten’s fearful look.

Chapter Text

“I now pronounce you man and wife.” The Clergyman announces to Ten and Elizabeth, who stand arm in arm, in the courtyard of the tower with Clara, Kathy, Eleven and the War Doctor watching on. The clergyman stands in front of a large tent. 

“Woo hoo!” Clara cheers.

“You may kiss the bride.”

Ten gives his ‘wife’ a strained smile but this doesn’t deter Elizabeth, who grabs his face and does the enthusiastic kissing. Clara cheerfully throws confetti at them but even she pulls a face at the display though all of them are.

“Is there a lot of this in the future?” The War Doctor asks his future self next to him sceptically, raising his eyebrows at the sight in front of them.

“It does start to happen, yeah.” Eleven replies.

“It’s quite funny when you think about it.” Kathy giggles. They stare at her in disbelief. “Or not?”

Ten eventually pulls himself away.

“God speed, my love,” Elizabeth says.

“I will be right back.” Ten runs into the TARDIS in quick speed, not looking back. Kathy waves at Elizabeth as she follows the others inside the TARDIS.

“Right then, back to the future.” Eleven declares.

——

“You've let this place go a bit.” The War Doctor mentions as he glances distastefully around Nine and Ten's console room.

“Ah, it's his grunge phase. He grows out of it.” Eleven replies with a shrug.

“Oi, never dis the TARDIS!” Kathy exclaims. The TARDIS lets out an appreciative hum.

An alarm suddenly sounds and the console begins to spark. Kathy pulls Clara away from the TARDIS as Ten receives an electric shock from the console. The walls around the control room change in a blink, turning from bronze-coral to a white, lit up appearance with round circles in the wall.

“Ow!” Ten exclaims. “The desktop is glitching.” 

“Three of us from different time zones. It's trying to compensate.” The War Doctor speaks thoughtfully.

“Hey, look, The round things!” Eleven points out with excitement, grinning widely.

“I love the round things.” Ten catches his excitement.

“What are the round things?”

“No idea.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you know anything about TARDISes.” Kathy shakes her head at them smiling.

“Yes, we do!” Eleven exclaims offended. “I’ll show you!” He darts over to the console. “This is the friction contrafibulator.” He fiddles and the controls spark again and the desktop outlook shifts into Eleven’s later control room look. “Ha! There, stabilised.”

It is Ten’s turn to give the room a once over, “Oh, you've redecorated.” Eleven starts to smile but then, channelling the Second Doctor, Ten pulls a face and mutters, “I don't like it.”

“Oh. Oh yeah? Oh, you never do.” Eleven pouts. 

Kathy shakes her head. “Listen, the Zygons have access to the Black Archive through using Osgood and Kate’s appearances. We need to get there.”  All three Doctors go quiet and look at each other in trepidation.

“Okay, so you've heard of that, then.” Clara mumbles.

“Well then.” Eleven straightens his bow tie. “Best stop them.”

“Uh, no, TARDIS-proof,” Kathy tells them.

“Brilliant.” Eleven rushes into action, setting up the space-time telegraph. A gift from the Doctor to Kate’s father. It is very needed at this moment considering that Kate will be trying to detonate the nuclear warhead 20 feet beneath to save the world. 

Kathy twists a knob and static fills the room before a voice that sounds very much like Kate, echoes around them, “…destroy London?”

“To save the world,” a second Kate speaks, the real Kate, “yes, I would.”

“You're bluffing.”

“You really think so?” Real Kate challenges. “Somewhere in your memory is a man called Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart. I am his daughter.”

“Go!” Ten nods to his future self, managing to get the audio going both ways.

“Science leads, Kate.” Eleven calls. “Is that what you meant? Is that what your father meant?”

“Doctor?” Kate has a surprised quality to her voice.

Kathy steps forward. “You know your father was given the space-time Telegraph by the Doctor so there’s be a hotline straight to the TARDIS for emergencies. It goes both ways.” She’s not going to let Kate do this.

“And I also know about the Black Archive and I know about the security protocol,” Eleven adds. “Kate, please. Please tell me you are not about to do something unbelievably stupid!”

“I'm sorry, Doctor.” Kate breathes, her voice growing softer as she orders someone else to, “Switch it off.”

“Not as sorry as you will be. This is not a decision you will ever be able to live with!” Ten tries. There’s a sombre look shared between the Doctors. 

“I said, switch it off!” Kate demands and the feed is cut to static before either of them can say another word.

“Great.” Ten huffs. “Not only can we not talk to her but we also can’t get in there because it’s TARDIS-proof.”

“How can they do that?” Clara asks.

“Alien technology plus human stupidity. Trust me, it's unbeatable.” Eleven mutters.

“We don’t need to land.” The War Doctor remarks. Kathy sees that he has noticed the stasis cube they had taken from the Zygons.

“Yeah, we do. A tiny bit. Try and keep up.” Ten mutters patronisingly.

Kathy shakes her head at him. “No, he’s right we don’t.”

“What do we do then?” Eleven asks.

The War Doctor picks up the cube. “Cup-a-soup.” All of them begin to grin. “What is cup-a-soup?”

Ten and Kathy pilot the ship while Eleven stands at the open door of the TARDIS as he uses the phone to contact personnel back from the National Gallery. He manages to get a hold of McGillop, the man that had been there when it had been revealed to Eleven, right after Eleven had viewed the Time War painting. Current Eleven orders McGillop to have the painting to be transported to the Black Archive.

“Okay! So, all we need to do now is connect the stasis cube to the Gallifrey Falls painting and we’ll be able to get inside.” Kathy says to the group.

The Doctors seem a bit reluctant to relive old memories of the day or the same day for the War Doctor, but they need to do that so they can save London.

——

The TARDIS had been placed into the battle of Arcadia painting. They all stay inside until they need to, listening to the blasts sounding and Daleks crying “Exterminate!” The Doctors open the doors and rush out, sonics in hand.

“Exterminate!” A Dalek cries as it trundles towards them, its laser arm powering up.

Three sonic screwdrivers resonate together to create a sort of shield, merging together and powering each other’s up to create a blast that strikes out at the Dalek and sending the unhappy pepper pot crashing out of the painting and into—

——

—the Black Archive, followed by three of the same Time Lord while Kathy and Clara quickly follow behind.

“Hello.” The youngest Doctor greets.

“I'm the Doctor.” Ten remarks.

“Sorry about the Dalek.” Eleven finishes.

“Also, the showing off,” Clara adds with a huff as she steps out.

“Tell me about it!” Kathy exclaims as she struggles to step out because of her dress, Clara helps her.

Kathy sees two sets of Kate, Osgood and McGillop gathered around a table in the middle of the room. She glances at the Dalek as it’s the first time she’s seen one in person.

Eleven strides over to the humans/Zygons. “Kate Lethbridge Stewart, what in the name of sanity are you doing?” 

Kate, human Kate, stands up from the table. “The countdown can only be halted at my personal command. There's nothing you can do.”

“Except make you both agree to halt it.” Ten shrugs.

“Not even for three of you.”

Kathy can’t believe how easily this woman will do this, to kill all those people.

The War Doctor shares her thoughts as he frowns as he says, “You're about to murder millions of people.”

“To save billions.” Kate lifts her chin, not disagreeing with him. “How many times have you made that calculation?”  

“Once.” Eleven agrees. “Turned me into the man I am now. I'm not even sure who that is anymore.”

“You tell yourself it's justified, but it's a lie.” Ten declares as he moves over to the head of the table, placing his hands on the edge to lean and look both Kates in the eye. “Because what I did that day was wrong. Just wrong.”

“And, because I got it wrong,” Eleven adds. He and Ten drag chairs over to the end of the table. “I'm going to make you get it right.” Both Doctors plonk themselves on the chairs and cross their legs on the table. Kathy walks over to stand behind them.

Kate seems unimpressed. “How?”

“Any second now, you're going to stop that countdown.” Ten informs, waving his hand between the two Kates. “Both of you, together.”

“Then you're going to negotiate the most perfect treaty of all time.” His future self adds. 

“And it’ll be a fair and safeguarded on both sides,” Kathy says.

“And the key to perfect negotiation?”

“Not knowing what side you're on.” Ten finishes. Both Doctors push away from the table with their feet and stand. 

“So, for the next few hours,” Eleven says as he and Ten pull out their screwdrivers, “until we decide to let you out.”

“No one in this room will be able to remember if they're human…”

“…or Zygon.”

“Whoops a daisy.” Eleven cries as the two jump onto the table and point to the ceiling, using their sonics. The two sets of Kates, Osgoods and McGillops look up and realise too late that one of the memory wiping devices is positioned on the ceiling right above them. Kathy and the War Doctor join in with their own sonics. The memory device sparks and as the countdown reaches 7, the humans and Zygons look befuddled before noticing the countdown.

The two Kates look at each other in horror, they turn to the countdown on the wall and shout, “Cancel the detonation!” The ticking time bomb stops at 5 seconds to go.

“Peace in our time.” Eleven declares.

“Cutting it a bit close though,” Kathy remarks.

——

Kathy leans against a shelf, taking in the scene of the Zygons and humans working together in discussions of a treaty. While she knows this will work overall, she also knows of the future rebellion of some of the Zygons. The Doctors had gone their separate ways to let them discuss, one of them is bringing the TARDISes close by. Clara explores the photo array of past companions. Then she goes to the Warrior, who is sitting in the Seventh Doctor's big leather chair.

Kathy sees the War Doctor disappear when Clara turns her back. Clara looks around confused and looks at Kathy to see her reaction. Kathy nods her head towards the other two Doctors, who are chatting together, as it is time to get moving.

The two Time Lords had raced to their TARDISes to follow where the War Doctor had gone after Clara, and Kathy, insisted that the youngest Doctor had not destroyed Gallifrey yet. Kathy knows Clara hopes they’ll stop him but the other two Doctors are not intending to do that, just do not want the War Doctor to do it alone. 

Two TARDISes park themselves in the barn. Enter the Doctors, Kathy and Clara stepping out of them. A red, rose-like button that glows, stands on a stalk above the Moment box with the War Doctor standing before it, his hand hovering over it.  

Kathy observes him for a moment before glancing out through the cracks of the walls knowing that out there, out in the desert, is Gallifrey. The planet where she got part of her DNA from.

“I told you.” Clara smiles, looking relieved. “He hasn't done it yet.” 

“Go away now, all of you.” The War Doctor commands, sounding very tired and doesn’t even look at them. “This is for me.”

“These events should be time-locked.” Ten mutters to those next to him, his eyes gazing around the barn tensely. “We shouldn't even be here.”

“So, something let us through,” Eleven concludes, staring around just as warily.

Kathy looks back at them all. “Of course, there’s a reason why the three of you were brought together.”

“Go back.” The War Doctor says, drawing the Doctors' attention away from her before they can ask her what she means. “Go back to your lives. Go and be the Doctor that I could never be. Make it worthwhile.” 

The two Doctors stare at their younger self with sympathetic eyes. Slowly, together, the two began to walk over to the man while Kathy and Clara stay back.

“All those years, burying you in my memory.” Ten says quietly.

“Pretending you didn't exist.” Eleven continues. “Keeping you a secret, even from myself.”

“Pretending you weren't the Doctor, when you were the Doctor more than anybody else.” 

“You were the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right.” Eleven comes up beside the War Doctor, staring at him steadily.

Ten comes up on the other side and lifts a hand over the War Doctor’s, which is still hovering over the red button. “But this time…”

Eleven does the same, placing his hand over Ten’s. “…you don't have to do it alone.” 

“Thank you.” The War Doctor breathes quietly.

“What we do today is not out of fear or hatred.” Kathy hears the emotion in Ten’s voice that is trying to escape and she herself gulps down tears threatening to spill. “It is done because there is no other way.” 

“And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save.” Eleven whispers sombrely. The three Doctors are unmoving, staring at the button they have yet to press. 

Eleven glances toward Kathy and Clara, who shakes her head. “What? What is it? What?”

“Nothing.” Clara murmurs.

“No, it's something. Tell me.” He insists. Kathy keeps quiet for this bit.

“You told me you wiped out your own people. I just... I never pictured you doing it, that's all.” Clara tearfully admits. It suddenly goes dark.

“What's happening?” Clara questions.

“Nothing. It's a projection.” The War Doctor replies.

The scene shifts to what is happening on Gallifrey at this exact moment, the children and people in the middle of the war.

“These are the people you're going to burn?” Kathy asks.

“There isn't anything we can do.” Ten replies.

“He's right. There isn't another way. There never was. Either I destroy my own people or let the universe burn.” Eleven adds.

“Look at you,” Clara says. “The three of you. The warrior, the hero, and you.”

Eleven walks over to her. “And what am I?”

“Have you really forgotten?”

“Yes. Maybe, yes.”

“We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero.”

“Then what do I do?” Eleven asks desperately.

“What you've always done. Be a doctor.” Clara answers. The fighting seems to have stopped on Gallifrey; people emerge from their hiding places. “You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was the promise?”

“Never cruel or cowardly.” Ten speaks quietly.

“Never give up,” the War Doctor joins him, “never give in.”

“Doctor…” Kathy swallows and steps over. “You can’t do this…”

The three men look at her, startled. The images vanish and they are back in the barn.

“You're not actually suggesting that we change our own personal history?” Ten gapes at her.

“Not change it as such...” Kathy replies. “…but you never remembered what happened, did you?”

“Well… I remember getting the Moment, and then… big red button…” Ten starts to say but keeps trailing off as if his memories are not exactly lining up. He looks at his future self with wide eyes.

Eleven swallows and closes his eyes. “…then Gallifrey was gone and I was regenerating…”

“So, you don’t remember actually pressing the button?” Kathy presses.

“No… I—” Ten frowns. “History said Gallifrey had been destroyed from the war. I knew I had been getting ready to use the moment, but…” 

Eleven grins, clearly having clocked what Kathy is trying to say. He sonics the big red button back into the Moment box. 

“There's still a billion billion Daleks up there, attacking.” The War Doctor says confused.

“Yeah, there is. There is.” Eleven replies.

Ten begins to grin as well. “But there's something those billion billion Daleks don't know.” 

“Because if they did, they'd probably send for reinforcements.” 

“What? What don't they know?” Clara asks them, looking confused and excited.

“This time, there's three of them,” Kathy explains.

“Oh! Oh, yes, that is good. That is brilliant!” The War Doctor exclaims. “She didn't just show me any old future, she showed me exactly the future I needed to see!”

His future selves look at him blankly while Kathy grins.

“Eh? Who did?” Eleven asks.

He gets ignored. “Oh, Bad Wolf girl, I could kiss you.”!”

Ten looks at him in surprise. “Sorry, did you just say Bad Wolf?” Ten asks. He glances at Kathy unsure.

“So, what are we doing? What's the plan?” Clara excitedly butts in.

“The Dalek fleets are surrounding Gallifrey, firing on it constantly.” The War Doctor explains to her.

“The Sky Trench is holding, but what if the whole planet just disappeared?” Ten adds.

“Tiny bit of an ask.” Clara remarks.

“The Daleks would be firing on each other.” Eleven cheers. 

“They'd destroy themselves in their own crossfire.” Kathy nods.

“Gallifrey would be gone, the Daleks would be destroyed, and it would look to the rest of the universe as if they'd annihilated each other.” The War Doctor concludes.

“But where would Gallifrey be?” Clara asks.

“Frozen. Frozen in an instant of time, safe and hidden away.” Ten replies serenely. 

“Remember the painting?” Kathy asks, Clara nods. “Well, basically we’ll be doing that, but freezing a planet in a moment in time, away from everyone.”

Clara beams at the news.

——

Kathy joins Ten in his TARDIS and Clara with Eleven as the three TARDISes patch through to the War room. Kathy watches as Eleven and Clara appear on one half of the monitor screen and the War room on the other. She knows that they’ll all be appearing on holo-monitors in the War room.

“Hello, hello,” Eleven calls as they get through. From the monitor Kathy is looking at from Ten’s TARDIS, she can see the Time Lords under siege and Eleven and Clara in different squares. “Gallifrey High Command, this is the Doctor and Miss Clara Oswald speaking.” Clara does a little wave.

“Hello!” Ten greets as they get through. For the other TARDISes, they’ll be appearing as a square on their screens while being another hologram in the War Room. “Also, the Doctor along with Miss Katherine Davis. Can you hear us?”

“Also, the Doctor,” the screen splits again as the War Doctor appears, “standing ready.”

“Dear God, three of them!” The General seems utterly and completely horrified. “All my worst nightmares at once.”

“General, please listen to what they have to say first,” Kathy warns. “They have a plan to save you all.”

“We should point at this moment, it is a fairly terrible plan.” Eleven has to add.

“And almost certainly won't work.” Ten agrees.

“Yeah, 'cause that’s how you get someone to help you.” Kathy shakes her head to herself. Ten ignores her.

“We're flying our three TARDISes into your lower atmosphere.” Eleven continues, also ignoring her.

“We're positioned at equidistant intervals around the globe.” Ten informs. “Equidistant.” He grins. “So grown up.”

“Focus, Doctor.” Kathy nudges him.

The War Doctor is clearly in a good mood and ignores the extra comment. “We're just about ready to do it.”

“Ready to do what?” The General asks, looking fearful.

“We're going to freeze Gallifrey.” Eleven declares.

“I'm sorry, what?!”

“Using our TARDISes, we're going to freeze Gallifrey in a single moment in time.” Ten adds.

“You know, like those stasis cubes? A single moment in time, held in a parallel pocket universe.” The War Doctor continues.

“Except we're going to do it to a whole planet.” Eleven explains.

“And all the people on it.” Ten finishes.

The General looks aghast. “What?! Even if that were possible, which it isn't, why would you do such a thing?”

“Because the alternative is burning.” Eleven answers solemnly.

“And I've seen that.” Ten inserts.

“And I never want to see it again.”

“We'd be lost in another universe, frozen in a single moment.” The General argues. “We'd have nothing.”

“You’d have each other.” Kathy points out. “You’d have your planet, your people, your safety, your lives and hope.”

“It's delusional.” The General spits. “The calculations alone would take… hundreds of years,” Kathy smirks and looks at the stasis cube on the console that will also be on the other consoles as well.

“Oh, hundreds and hundreds.” Eleven smirks.

“But don't worry, I started a very long time ago.” Ten winks. The image on the monitor shifts and shows all of the Doctor’s past incarnations appearing. All calling out to each other for help and all have the same calculations done by the War Doctor’s TARDIS and finished in Eleven’s. Same software, different case.

“You might say I've been doing this all my lives!” Eleven whoops.

“I didn't know when I was well off!” The General sounds ill. “All twelve of them!”

“No, sir.” An unfamiliar voice chimes in. The screen splits one more time, only revealing a set of rather angry eyes with bushy eyebrows to match. “All thirteen!” Kathy sees the Doctors looking at each other confused. The War room shakes as a blast is heard, which distracts them. 

“Sir!” The man beside the General cries out in warning. “The Daleks know that something is happening. They're increasing their firepower.”

The General closes his eye, gathering his strength for the final decision. “Do it, Doctor. Just do it.”

Eleven nods seriously. “Okay. Gentlemen, we're ready.” He reaches out to put a hand on a lever. Clara puts her hand over his.

“Geronimo?” She asks grinning. Eleven nods and they pull the lever down.

“Come on, Kathy!” Ten laughs as they grab their own lever. “Allons-y!”

Kathy laughs. “Allons-y!”

The War Doctor rolls his eyes. “Oh, for God's sake. Gallifrey stands!” He pulls down his lever.

TARDISes rush towards the planet and surround it, then whiteout. Pieces of Dalek scatter in space as though they had been blasted apart and no planet remains.

——

The Doctors, Kathy and Clara are in the under gallery of the National Gallery and gather before the painting of the Time War. They all have their own cup of tea. Ten and Eleven stand by the painting and Kathy stands by Clara and the War Doctor, who sit on the bench. Three TARDISes are lined up by one wall. The opposite is decorated with a collection of roundels.

“You know you should give yourself a trim.” Kathy casually remarks to Clara, remembering what Clara had said to her 700 years earlier.

Clara grins unquestionably. “Really? Would it look good?”

“Yeah, you’d suit a bob, but not yet.” Kathy points a finger at her with a fake serious face. Clara laughs.

“I don't suppose we'll know if we actually succeeded.” The War Doctor sighs sadly as he muses. “But at worst, we failed doing the right thing, as opposed to succeeding in doing the wrong.”

“Life and soul, you are.” Clara remarks as she sips her tea.

“You may one day,” Kathy says.

“Do you know something?” Clara asks.

Kathy shrugs. “Maybe. Spoilers.” She then wanders over to the painting.

“What is it actually called?” Ten asks as he squints at the 3D painting of the Time War. He’s wearing his glasses as if that’ll help him find a clue.

“Well, there's some debate.” Eleven replies, taking off his own glasses. “Either No More or Gallifrey Falls.”

The War Doctor forces a smile. “Not very encouraging.”

“Maybe you’re all looking at it wrong?” Kathy supplies.

Eleven frowns at her in thought while Ten asks, “How did it get here? Kathy?”

She shrugs but really, she can’t quite remember herself as she always got a bit confused by this bit, which is annoying for her. 

Eleven smiles. “I really don’t know.”

His past self smiles at that. “There's always something we don't know, isn't there?”

“One should certainly hope so.” The War Doctor stands. “Well, gentlemen, it has been an honour and a privilege.”

Ten nods at him. “Likewise.”

Eleven smiles at him. “Doctor.”

The War Doctor turns to Kathy. “It’s my greatest pleasure to get to know you, Kathy. I look forward to everything.”

“I look forward to it,” Kathy replies.

“And if I grow to be half the man that you are,” the War Doctor turns to Clara, “Clara Oswald, I shall be happy indeed.”

Clara startles slightly as she takes a sip of drink but straightens and stands cheerfully. “That's right. Aim high.” She kisses his cheek gently.

The War Doctor sighs. “I won't remember this, will I?”

Kathy shakes her head. “I’m afraid not. Time streams being out of sync and all that.”

“You can't retain it,” Eleven adds.

“So, I won't remember that I tried to save Gallifrey rather than burn it.” He lets out a long sigh at that. “I'll have to live with that. But for now, for this moment,” he nods to himself, smiling with his hands on his lapels, “I am the Doctor again. Thank you.” He turns to the TARDISes. “Which one is mine? Ha!” He goes into the shabbiest TARDIS. It dematerialises.

“I won't remember either,” Ten pulls off his glasses, “so you might as well tell me.” Kathy plonks herself next to Clara so as to let the two have this chat.

“Tell you what?” Eleven inquires as though he doesn’t already know what his past self is asking.

“Where it is we're going that you don't want to talk about.”

Elevens sighs. “I saw Trenzalore, where we're buried. We die in battle among millions.”

“That's not how it's supposed to be.” Ten denies.

“That's how the story ends.” Elevens shrugs as if he doesn’t care. “Nothing we can do about it. Trenzalore is where you're going.” Kathy knows that isn’t quite how it all plays out.

“Oh, never say nothing.” Ten determines. “Anyway,” he shakes Eleven’s hand, “good to know my future is in safe hands.” He places his cup next to Clara. “Keep a tight hold on it, Clara.”

“Hmm. On it.” Clara agrees as she places down her own cup and stands. Ten takes her hand and kisses it. Kathy shakes her head at it as she trails after him to the TARDIS but not before hugging Clara goodbye.

“Till the next time, Clara.”

“Till the next time.”

Kathy gives a nod to Eleven, who nods back.

“Trenzalore.” Ten mumbles, turning back to Clara and Eleven as he is half in the box. “We need a new destination because I don't want to go.” He steps inside with Kathy following, groaning to herself at the last bit of his sentence, as she needs to be with him so that the timeline stays on the right path. 

“Onwards?” Ten asks.

Kathy nods. “Onwards.” She smiles at him sadly knowing that as they leave, he’ll forget.

——

2013

A figure walks into the room that Eleven had just vacated. It was a young woman wearing 21st century clothes, brown hair poking out. Blue eyes look around the room as if to double check that no one is there, particularly a certain half Time Lord, before taking off the hood of her coat to reveal that it is Kathy.

She smiles as she walks up to the painting, recalling how she had been standing here 500 years earlier from her perspective. Kathy glances over her shoulder when hearing steps rapidly heading towards the room. Osgood runs in and halts quickly as she takes in Kathy standing in front of her. Kathy knows she’s probably confused for a moment by Kathy’s appearance at first.

“Kathy!” She exclaims. “You’re here! Well, again. Is it safe?”

Kathy smiles at her kindly. “Of course. I wouldn’t be that careless.” She looks back at the painting. “I assume it fulfilled its purpose?”

Osgood nods eagerly. “Yes. But how did you get a hold of this in the first place?”

“I couldn’t possibly say,” Kathy replies, smirking. “But you should really put a plaque for the name of the painting otherwise people will get confused.”

“What’s its name?”

“Gallifrey Falls No More.”

Chapter Text

Kathy travels with the Doctor for a little longer, believing someone should be with him as it is nearing the end of this regeneration. There’s a trip to the Yorkshire Moors in the 18^th century where there were vanishing livestock and strange lights. Then a harmless trip to the Chelsea Flower Show that had Chelsea 426, a city-sized future colony floating on the clouds of Saturn and a confrontation with Sontarans. Soon the TARDIS picks up a disruption in the universe. After some digging and Kathy explaining, it is discovered that the Trickster is once again trying to use Sarah Jane Smith to break through into this reality and create chaos by using her falling in love. They try to break through, to stop it but they get knocked back by the Trickster and are unable to break through until finally, they do.

They burst out of the TARDIS and into a reception room in a hotel and Kathy hears the sound of the register talking. Kathy and the Doctor bolt into the wedding room, drawing the attention of the congregation. Sarah Jane and Peter stand in front of the register.

“Stop this wedding now!” The Doctor yells.

“What?” Sarah Jane gasps in surprise.

“What's going on?” Gita exclaims.

“Who the hell is that?” Her husband mutters.

“I don't believe it,” Luke says.

“Who's they? What is she wearing?” Rani questions. Kathy gives her an offended look though she can’t blame her because what would you say if two unknown people barge into a wedding ceremony and one is wearing a dress from the 16th century?

K9 appears from under a table. “Master! Mistress Kathrine!” Kathy spares him a quick, but excited, look but diverts her attention back to the front.

“He said, stop this wedding.” Kathy declares. She knows that they’ll not be able to stop this until Peter understood what he had agreed to and they needed time to do so but they could try. A strong wind blows through the room causing Kathy and the Doctor to stumble. Kathy tries not to get her legs tangled up in her dress.

“Alert! Alert! Danger, Mistress!” K9 cries as he spins in circles.

“Stop! Get away from him!” The Doctor yells.

Sarah Jane tries to but Peter holds onto her. “No! Peter, no!” 

“Don't be afraid, Sarah Jane. It's the Angel.” Peter calmly replies. A faceless figure in white appears in the corner of the room. The Trickster.

“The Trickster!” Rani exclaims in shock.

“Mum! Mum!” Luke cries in panic.

“Sarah! Trickster, let her go!” The Doctor yells. He and Kathy struggle to walk forward due to the wind.

“Too late, Time Lord and halfling.” The Trickster replies as he walks over to Sarah Jane and Peter. “You're mine, Sarah Jane Smith. Mine forever.” 

“Sarah Jane!” Kathy yells desperately.

“Doctor! Kathy!” Sarah Jane cries. The Trickster, Peter and Sarah Jane vanish.

“Sarah!” The Doctor is yelling. The Doctor and Kathy are now able to bolt forward towards the altar. “Sarah, no!”

Then the shaking picks up again and the congregation begins screaming and panicking before they disappear.

“Mom! Dad!” Rani exclaims. The rumbling continues.

“Hold on! Hold on!” Kathy yells as she and the Doctor cling to the furniture in the room. There’s a flash of light. 

——

Kathy wakes in the same room she was in before but knows that is not entirely true.

Kathy sees the Doctor crouching over Luke, who’s lying on the floor, and the damaged furniture around her.

“Luke? Luke Smith.”

Luke wakes up. “Doctor?”

“That's me. Good to meet you in the flesh.” The Doctor grins.

“And nice to meet you for the first time,” Kathy says as she gets on her feet to walk over to them.

Luke begins to panic and sits up. “What, what happened? Mum and the Trickster.”

“Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, listen to me.” The Doctor interrupts. “Everything's going to be all right. We can find Sarah. We can bring her back. I promise. But we need you to be strong for us, just like you were before. I know you can do it.” Kathy notices Clyde and Rani wake up.
 
“Who are you two?” Clyde asks abruptly.

“Hello, Clyde.” The Doctor cries cheerfully, pulling Clyde up by the hand and then doing the same with Rani. “And that will be Rani. Kathy has told me all about you.”

“Yes, it’s great to see you two again!” Kathy says.

“What? How'd you know my name?” Clyde demands. The Doctor starts analysing the room.

The dots connect quicker for Rani. “Wait a moment. You must be— It's you, isn't it? And you’re…”

“That's me.” The Doctor says absentmindedly.

“Affirmative,” Kathy adds.

Rani gapes at them in shock. “The Doctor. And Kathy.”

“That's them.” Luke answers. “Wait if Kathy has met Clyde and Rani, where was I?”

“Ah, can’t tell you that!” Kathy replies. “Spoilers!”

“I hope you two are as good as Sarah Jane says you are.” Clyde remarks.

The Doctor has an ear to the floor. “Well, you know journalists, always exaggerating.” He stands. “But yeah, we’re pretty amazing on a good day.” 

K9 emerges. “Master, Mistress Katherine, query. Where is Mistress Sarah Jane?” 

“K9!” The Doctor exclaims joyfully.

“Oh my god! It’s K9!!” Kathy cries.

The Doctor is crouching in front of K9. “Did you miss me? Did you miss me, eh?”

“Repeat. Whereabouts of Sarah Jane? Where is she?”

“Where are we?” Clyde asks and Kathy looks up to see that the kids had taken notice of what’s outside the window. The Doctor and Kathy walk over.

“There's been a dimensional shift. Time's moved on but us, and this entire building, we've been left behind.” The Doctor explains.

“There's nothing out there,” Rani utters. She’s right as the hotel they’re in, and the bit of ground it stands on, are floating in white limbo. 

“I said all along, I knew there was something wrong about all of this,” Clyde says smugly before turning to Kathy and the Doctor. “And what exactly is going on?”

“I'll explain later.” The Doctor says dismissively as he looks about the room. The three of them start speaking at once. The Doctor silences them with a football rattle.

“Shush.” Kathy hisses. “Here's the answer to all your questions.”

“Yes, that was the Trickster. Yes, we're trapped. Yes, we’re the only ones who can get us out of the trap. Yes, we’re going to bring Sarah Jane, and your mum and dad, and all the others back safe.” The Doctor explains.

“But we can't do any of it without you.” Kathy finishes.

“You, you need us?” Clyde asks in wide eyed surprise but also a little bit of smugness.

“Just like Sarah Jane needs you.” The Doctor says.

“My mum and dad, where are they?” Rani questions.

“Just go along with them, Rani. I saw them save the world.” Luke tells her. It feels weird for Kathy to have someone with so much faith in her and she’s only just met them.

“You helped us save the world, Lukey boy.” The Doctor exclaims, patting Luke’s cheeks.

“Though technically that hasn’t happened for me yet,” Kathy adds.

“Right. Come on, we can use the TARDIS.” The Doctor declares before abruptly stopping. “I assume everybody knows what the TARDIS is, unless you've really not been paying attention. And, allons-y!”

——

They run out into the hotel reception to find the TARDIS no longer there.

“Oh, no, no, no, no. It was there. It was right there.” The Doctor cries out in frustration but then you can hear the sputtering of the TARDIS’s engine. “Wait, wait, wait.” The TARDIS starts to materialise but struggles.

“That noise. I've heard it before.” Rani realises.

“That was us, trying to break through. Got knocked back by the Trickster.” The Doctor explains.

“Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialisation.” K9 analyses.

“Wait a minute. That's the TARDIS? It's just a wooden box.” Clyde wines.

“Don’t diss the TARDIS.” Kathy reprimands.

“Come on, you can do it. More power. Come on!” The Doctor urges but the TARDIS fades away. “Okay, got no TARDIS. It can't materialise here until time moves forward.”

“What, so we're trapped here, wherever this is?” Rani asks.
 
“No, look on the bright side, because look at what we’ve got,” Kathy argues. “We have K9.” 

“Affirmative.”

“And you three.”

“And any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of ours.” The Doctor finishes.

“But where is this? What's happened to the rest of the world?” Clyde questions.

“Our present location nowhere, no when.” K9 answers.

“No when?” Luke repeats.

“Look at the clocks,” Kathy tells them. There is little she can do currently until Clyde gets the artron energy from the TARDIS, which is crucial for when they next see her and the Doctor.

“Time's stopped,” Luke concludes as he takes in how the clocks are struggling to move forward.

“What? You're joking.” Clyde mutters as he looks at his watch.

“No. Time hasn't stopped. This second's on a loop.” Luke corrects. “Twenty three seconds and twenty three minutes past three o'clock.” The horses on a small screen repeats the one second of the race. 

“And we're caught inside it. In this one second.” The Doctor adds.

“But again, where is Sarah Jane?” Clyde asks.

“She's right here,” Kathy tells them.

——

“So, we've been kept behind in this second.” Rani thinks out loud.

“Affirmative Mistress Rani.” K9 agrees.

“But the rest of the world, Mum and Dad and everyone else, they've moved on from here, forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?”

“Oh, come on, Rani. You know the answer to that.” The Doctor replies.

“We're Sarah Jane's friends, all of us. Her best friends…” Rani trails off.
 
“Yeah. Which means?” Kathy prompts. The Doctor runs up the stairs.

“Hostages!” Rani exclaims. “He can use us to get at her.”

“We've met the Trickster before, but we've never found out who he is,” Clyde says.

The Doctor walks down the stairs as he talks. “The Trickster is a creature from beyond the universe. Forever trying to break into our reality, and manifest himself. He's one of the Pantheon of Discord.”

“That's a good name for a band.”

“Yeah, not bad,” Kathy says.

“He's an eternal exile, who exists to wreak havoc. But we can fight him, the six of us. And we can win.” His sonic screwdriver starts beeping and he pulls it out to have look. Kathy fiddles with hers that sits in a discreet pocket of her dress. “Oh! Ha, that's it. A time trace. Just a hint of Sarah Jane. Oooh, she's close.”

The Doctor continues fiddling and analysing with his sonic when Rani suddenly shivers. “What was that? Felt like someone just walked over my grave.”

The sonic then goes haywire. “Oh, oh, oh, she's here. She's here! Sarah!” The Doctor yells.

“Sarah Jane. She doesn't like being called Sarah.” Rani corrects.

“She does by me.”

“K9?!” Kathy yells when suddenly Sarah Jane appears for a brief moment when passing a window.
 
“Scanning, Mistress Katherine.”

“Doctor! Doctor!” Comes Sarah Jane’s voice, echoing.

“Mum!” Luke exclaims.

“That was her,” Clyde says.

“The temporal schism has been divided in two,” Kathy tells them. No harm in hurrying them along a bit.

“Mistress Katherine is correct,” K9 says.

“Yes, of course. We're trapped here in 3:23:23. and Sarah Jane's trapped too, just in another second.” The Doctor realises.
 
“Hold on. You said you'd explain later. Well, it's later. Please explain.” Clyde demands. Kathy finds it funny how all three straighten up and two cross their arms.

“The Trickster doesn't want us helping Sarah Jane, so he's separated us, trapped us in two different seconds,” Kathy explains.

“Doctor!” Comes Sarah Jane’s voice again.

“Oh, oh, she's upstairs. Come on. Luke, K9, watch for the TARDIS, you see it coming back, shout the place down.” The Doctor orders.

“Orders accepted, Master.” K9 replies.

“You two with us,” Kathy says to Clyde and Rani.

“Spit spot!” The Doctor yells and the four of them run up the stairs.

——

The Doctor, Kathy, Clyde and Rani run back into the room where the wedding was instead of another room upstairs.

“How did we end up here again?” Rani questions.

“It's a spatial loop mixed up with a temporal loop,” Clyde replies.

“Spot on, Clyde,” Kathy says. Clyde smiles.

“How did you work that one out?” Rani asks.

“Well, we've been doing this for a while now. I have taken notes.” Clyde says smugly.

“Come on, come on, come on, Sarah. Let me find you.” The Doctor mutters.

“Hang on, though. This is mad.” Rani says. “The Trickster, he's this all-powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos throughout the stars, and he wants Sarah Jane to get married. What does he get out of that?”

“She's here. If I can narrow the link ratio.” The Doctor pulls out his sonic.

“Doctor. Ms Davis.” They turn to see the Trickster back in its black robe. 

“Ah. You look better in black. Or is white the new black?” The Doctor remarks cheekily.

“At last. Doctor. Ms Davis. I could feel this moment reverberating back through the ages. The meeting of the Pantheon of Discord and the last of the Time Lords and the abomination.” The Trickster says.

“Hey!”

“I've known the legends of the Pantheon since I was a little boy. I've fought your shadows and your changelings. I never thought we'd actually meet.” The Doctor says.

“I definitely didn’t think I’d ever meet him either,” Kathy mutters. 

“And I know the legends of the Doctor and Katherine Davis. The man of ice and fire, who walked among gods, who once held the Key to Time in his hands. And the woman of many lives that will live on and on until the end. Now they are surrounded by children.” Kathy frowns at his words. Until the end of what?

“They're our friends.” The Doctor argues. “Which reminds me, you're looking a bit lonely for a Pantheon.”

“I embody multitudes. And who are you, the man who has lost everybody, to talk to me of loneliness, when the Gate is waiting for you?” The Trickster counters.

“What do you mean?”

“Sarah Jane Smith is my prize. Even you, Doctor, Ms Davis, didn't realise how wonderful she is.”

“What do you want with her?” The Doctor asks.

“What he always wants from any of those he visits. Her agreement.” Kathy explains.

“Exactly. Goodbye, Doctor, Katherine.” The Trickster vanishes.

“Her agreement. The power of words. She says I do, and…” The Doctor mutters as he realises. “Yes, that's it!”

“That's what?” Clyde questions.

“She promises to love and honour her husband, the wedding ring goes on and then she's agreed to it. She's totally under the Trickster's power.” The Doctor explains. “Marital bliss, but she forgets all about this. She starts living a new life.”

“Forgetting about her old life, protecting the Earth.” Rani realises.

“And the planet's wide open, so aliens can just barge in?” Clyde questions, aghast.

Kathy nods. “Exactly. Without Sarah Jane, without you lot saving the world from your attic in Ealing, there'll be chaos and destruction.”

“Meat and drink to the Trickster.” The Doctor concludes.

“As if she's gonna say yes,” Clyde says.

“But she will, won't she? Because we're here.”

The TARDIS engines sound and the TARDIS fades in. “TARDIS! Beautiful. Yes!” The Doctor cries cheerfully. “It's homing in on me. Emergency program, protecting the pilot. Of course. Partial materialisation.”

“What's happening?” Luke comes into the room. The room shakes and the wind picks up.

“Look, that's pure artron energy. TARDIS power. Equal and opposite to the Trickster's power. That's how we can fight him.” The Doctor unlocks the TARDIS door. 

“Wait, Doctor!” Kathy yells. A strong wind is pushing them back. 

“Doctor!” Rani yells.

“Come on, all of you, get in. Come on now.” The Doctor manages to grab Clyde's hand, but he can't pull him in. The door slams shut and Clyde is held against it with artron energy playing all over him before he falls to the floor. 

“Clyde!” Luke cries. The three of them pull him up. The TARDIS dematerialises.

“Right okay then.” Kathy mumbles.

“You alright?” Luke asks Clyde.

“Yeah. I think. He'll come back for us, won't he?”

“What if he can't? 

“He will. Luke, wait here for him. We’ll check with K9.” Kathy orders. Luke nods and the other two follow her out of the room.

——

The three of them run into the Hotel reception and Rani starts talking, “The Doctor said the power of the TARDIS could fight the Trickster. Something energy.” 

“Artron energy.” K9 corrects. “Residue of TARDIS engines. Known to be highly inimical to certain time-sensitive life forms.”

“There is no TARDIS.” Rani snaps.

“No, but we have Clyde.” Kathy interrupts.

“What do you mean?”

Kathy points at Clyde, who has a ball of energy in the palm of his hand.

“Whoa.” He mutters in wonder and confusion.

“What's that?” Rani asks.

“Artron energy, Mistress Rani.” K9 explains.

“And I got a shot of it,” Clyde adds.

“Then we can fight him?” Rani says.

“No. I can fight him.” Clyde argues.

Kathy chews her lip anxiously. “Clyde, I know what you’re going to do and I must warn you that it’s dangerous.”

“But this’ll stop him, won’t it?”

Kathy sighs and hesitates before nodding. “Yes, you’ll end up where Sarah Jane is and it encourages Peter to withdraw his agreement, which defeats the Trickster and you’ll be back where you were.”

“So, all I have to do is get close to the Trickster with this,” Clyde says.

“Clyde, you can't.” Rani pleads.

“When has that ever stopped us?” Clyde argues. “It's what Sarah Jane would do. It's what the Doctor taught her. Kathy says it’ll defeat the Trickster. I've got no choice.”

“Please, don't do this.” Rani blocks the door but Clyde pushes past.

Clyde opens the front doors of the hotel. “Trickster!”
 
The Trickster appears in the white mist of limbo. “Clyde Langer. Why do you call me?”

“I wish to serve you. I wish to join the Pantheon.” Clyde replies and steps out.

“Clyde, no!” Rani cries and the doors slam shut.

——

Things begin shaking. Luke runs out into the Hotel reception room as well as the Doctor from his TARDIS. The clocks now being in a different second makes Kathy realise that Peter had withdrawn his agreement with the Trickster. The Doctor, Kathy Luke and Rani run into the wedding room, followed at a distance by K9. Sarah Jane sits on the floor with an unconscious Clyde on her lap on the verge of tears.
 
“Mum!” Luke cries. They all crouch around Sarah Jane.

“Luke. Doctor.” Sarah Jane sobs. “Oh, Doctor.”

“My Sarah Jane. You did it. The trap's broken. Time's moving forward again.” The Doctor says as the room begins to shake. “We're going home.”
 
“Hold on!” Luke says.
 
“We're all going home.”

There’s a flash of light and the Doctor and Kathy find themselves in the Hotel reception room standing by the TARDIS.

——

“Sudden disappearing acts. That's him all over.” Kathy hears Sarah Jane say as the TARDIS begins to land in the attic.
 
The TARDIS finds a place to park herself and the Doctor and Kathy open the door to see the attic. Sarah Jane, the kids, Mr Smith and K9 are in front of them.

“Doctor.” Sarah Jane gasps.

“What do you take me for, Sarah? Just thought I'd go the quick way. Oooh, I like it in here.” The Doctor remarks.

“Can we have a look?” Rani asks excitedly.

The Doctor’s face forms into a very serious expression. “What, in the TARDIS?” The kids’ expressions drop as his voice rises. “My TARDIS!”

Kathy rolls her eyes: “Ignore him. Come on in.” She receives bright smiles then the kids dart past.

“Oh, wow. It really is, isn't it? It's bigger on the inside.” Clyde gasps.

“It's beautiful,” Rani says in equal wonderment, darting around the corals.

“Transcendental dimensions,” Luke observes excitedly.

“Wow, what does this do?” Clyde reaches toward the console.

“Hey, don't touch.” Sarah Jane scolds, she turns to the Doctor and Kathy. “You came all that way for me.”

“You're so important,” Kathy says. 

“And not just to us.” The Doctor adds. “The Trickster wanted to end your story, but it goes on. The things you've done, Sarah, they're pretty impressive, but, oh, the things you're going to do.”

“The future. How about we could go for a ride?” Luke pipes up.

“Or back. To the dinosaurs, yeah?” Clyde supplies.

“Another planet?” Rani says this time.

“No way.” Sarah Jane denies. “For one thing, you were grounded by the Judoon. And your parents would never forgive me. Go on.” Luke, Rani and Clyde pout but leave. “Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you? I know Kathy will see me again as there is much she hasn’t done yet.”

“I look forward to it,” Kathy says.

“I don't know if this is the last time.” The Doctor answers her. “I hope not.”

“Goodbye, Doctor, Kathy, until the next time.”

“Don't forget me, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor warns her.

“No one's ever going to forget you.” Sarah Jane replies then leaves. Kathy winces as she knows that this is Ten after Donna. His face looks sombre for a moment before turning to Kathy with a cheerful face.

“So where next then?” The Doctor asks cheerfully.

Kathy looks at him sombrely. “You know where. The place you have been avoiding.”

It was time for him to face his fate.

Chapter Text

4226 AD/CE

The TARDIS materialises in the snowy landscape of the Ood Sphere, and the Doctor and Kathy step out with the former wearing a Stetson and a lei and the latter wearing a Tudor dress. Ood Sigma is waiting for them. 

Kathy had decided not to change as she knows that after this adventure and the Doctor regenerates, they meet Amy and Kathy remembers that little homemade doll.

“Ah! Now, sorry. There you are.” The Doctor greets them casually though Kathy knows he’s likely feeling the opposite. “So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I? An Ood in the snow, calling to me. Well, I didn't exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know. Travelled about, did this and that, Kathy joined in at one point. Got into trouble. You know me. It was brilliant. I saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt, saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw, named a galaxy Alison. Got married. That was a mistake. Good Queen Bess. And let me tell you, her nickname is no longer.”

“Uuugghh,” Kathy grumbles, screwing up her face.

“Ahem. Anyway, what do you want?” The Doctor quickly asks.

“You should not have delayed.” Ood Sigma replies.

“The last time I was here you said my song would be ending soon, and I'm in no hurry for that.” The Doctor argues.

“You will come with me,” Sigma instructs.

“Hold on. Better lock the TARDIS.” The Doctor points a remote key at the TARDIS. The door locks and the light flashes at it beeps. Kathy snorts. “See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like. It's funny. Kathy laughed. No? Little bit? Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh. Met an Ood yet Kathy?”

Kathy shakes her head. “Nope.”

“Well, now you have.” They walk along. “So how old are you now, Ood Sigma? Ah.” Kathy and the Doctor see the Ood city. Kathy gazes at its beauty.

“Magnificent. Oh, come on, that is splendid.” The Doctor compliments. “You've achieved all this in how long?”

“One hundred years.”

The Doctor looks worried. “Then we've got a problem. Because all of this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the twenty first century. Something's accelerating your species way beyond normal.”

“And the Mind of the Ood is troubled,” Sigma explains.

“Why, what's happened?”

“Every night, Doctor, Kathy, every night we have bad dreams.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Kathy says.

——

The Ood Council sit in a circle in an ice cave. Kathy and the Doctor quietly enter as the Elder, one where the brain on the top of his head is exposed, talks, “Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning through the dark and the fire and the blood. Always returning, returning to this world. It is returning, and he is returning, and they are returning, but too late. Too late. Far too late. They have come.”

“Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming,” Sigma instructs.

“So, right. Hallo.” The Doctor awkwardly greets them as he and Kathy take their seats.

“Uh, yes, hello,” Kathy adds, not wanting to be rude to a new species.

“You will join. You will join.” All the Ood repeat. “You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join.” The Doctor and Kathy link hands with the Ood and see the Master laughing.

“Bwahahahahahaha!” Kathy abruptly pulls away, she expected it but it still freaked her out and the Doctor looks shocked as he too pulls away.

“He comes to us every night. I think all the peoples of the universe dream of him now.” The Elder tells them.

“That man is dead.” The Doctor gives her a worried look which she’s confused by. It’s like something that happens in her own future is worrying for him.

“It’s the Master,” Kathy explains.

“There is yet more. Join us.” The Elder says and the Doctor and Kathy take the hands of the Ood again. “Events are taking shape. So many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man so scared.” There is the echo of the Master’s laughter and a scene of Wilf, Donna’s grandfather, sitting at his table looking frightened.

“Wilfred. Is he all right?” The Doctor questions. “What about Donna, is she safe?” Kathy is excited to meet Wilf but is sad that right now she can’t meet Donna to not hurt her.

“You should not have delayed,” the Elder answers, “for the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth. Even now, the king is in his Counting house.” The Doctor and Kathy are given images of a man and his daughter being photographed.

The Doctor frowns. “I don't know who they are.”

“Joshua Naismith and his daughter Abigail. Meddling far out of their depth.” Kathy tells him.

“And there is another. The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten.” A woman, whom Kathy recognises as Lucy Saxon, sits in a cage.

“The Master's wife.” The Doctor confirms.

“We see so much, but understand little. The woman in the cage, who is she?” Sigma asks.

“She was. I-It wasn't her fault, she was. The Master, he's a Time Lord, like me. I can show you.” The Doctor side eyes her again. Kathy gathers that she was also there in the year that never was and something happened with or to her.

The Doctor shows the Ood images from Last of the Time Lords. “The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. I reversed everything he'd done so it never even happened, but Lucy Saxon remembered. I held him in my arms. I burnt his body. The Master is dead.” Kathy is relieved to not see any particular spoilers about her in the images as she doesn’t want to have that foreknowledge on her mind.

“And yet, you did not see.” The Elder argues.

“What's that?”

“Bwahahahahahaha!” Echoes again as a woman picks up the Master's signet ring.

“Part of him survived. I have to go!” The Doctor tries to leave but Kathy and the Ood pull him back.

“But something more is happening, Doctor.” The Elder continues. “The Master is part of a greater design because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark.” All the Ood gain red eyes. “The Ood have gained this power to see through time because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil, and these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future, and the present, and the past.”

“What do you mean?” The Doctor asks.

“This is what we have seen, Doctor. The darkness heralds only one thing.”

“The end of time itself.” All the Ood say. The Doctor and Kathy run outside and back to the TARDIS.

——

2009 AD/CE

Kathy and the Doctor run out of the TARDIS to see the ruined shell of Broadfell Prison signalling they are too late like Kathy expected but she knows there are been an attempt to stop him. Kathy takes a moment to mourn the loss of Lucy.

“We need to find him!” The Doctor declares and turns to dart off but Kathy stops him.

“No, hold on! Before we do anything, there’s something you’re keeping from me.” Kathy calls to him.

“It’s nothing.”

“Doctor!” Kathy snaps.

“Fine. You did say I could tell you. The Master had a child with an Apalapucian who then had a child with a human, which, well, um, resulted in you.”

“What?!” Kathy screeches.

“Well, now that’s done, let’s find him!”

“Doctor you can’t—” Kathy tries to say but the Doctor has already run off. She huffs, hikes up her dress, and runs after him.

——

A little later, the Doctor and Kathy stand on a small cliff in a derelict site. The Doctor sniffs deeply and Kathy looks at him funny but the Doctor simply gestures to her to do the same. She rolls her eyes and does so and actually detects a smell, one not too dissimilar to the Doctor, in the distance. The sound of metal clashing in a rhythm of four beats sounds. The Doctor and Kathy run through piles of girders on the dockside until they see the Master up against the skyline. Kathy swallows tightly at the sight of him. This man is actually her grandparent?

The Master does his Incredible Hulk impression then and leaps into the air. The Doctor and Kathy give chase. The Master waits for him on a pile of girders, and his skeleton briefly flashes.

“Please, let me help. You're burning up your own life force.” The Doctor yells. They run again, and then Wilf appears in their way, with the rest of the Silver Cloak close behind.

“Oh, my gosh, Doctor, Kathy. You're a sight for sore eyes.” Wilf exclaims.

“Out of my way!” The Doctor pushes him aside Kathy knows that the Master will be nowhere to be seen so she doesn’t follow and stands by the group.

“Did we do it? Is that them?” One of them, Winston, asks.

Another, Oliver, answers, “Tall and thin, big brown coat with a shorter female with brown hair. Though you didn’t mention that outfit, Wilf.”

“Yes, they are! Oh, Kathy, you said if I tried hard, I’d find the two of you and I did!” Wilf says.

Kathy laughs awkwardly. “That’s great Wilf though I haven’t met you yet.” 

“Private Wilfred Mott at your service.” Wilf salutes and Kathy nods with a smile.

“The Silver Cloak. It worked.” Minnie cries joyfully. “Because Wilf phoned Netty, who phoned June, and her sister lives opposite Broadfell, and she saw the police box, and her neighbour saw this man and this woman heading east.”

The Doctor turns to Wilf. “Wilfred?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you told them who we are? You promised me.” The Doctor hisses.

“No, I just said you were a doctor and his friend, that's all.” Wilf answers. “And might I say, sir, it is an honour to see you again.” Wilf salutes. The Doctor salutes back.

“Oh, but you never said he was a looker, her too.” Minnie remarks. “They’re gorgeous. Take a photo.” She hands a camera to Oliver.

“Not bad, eh? Me next.” Oliver says.
 
“I'm Minnie. Minnie the Menace.” The woman introduces herself. “It's a long time since I had a photo with a handsome man and woman.” She stands next to them with her arms wrapped around them. 

“Just get off him. Leave him alone, will you?” Wilf tries but everyone else joins in.

“Hush, you old misery. Come on, Doctor, Kathy. Give us a smile.” Minnie stretches their cheeks to get them to smile. “That's it.”

“Hold on. Did it flash?” Oliver asks after trying to take a picture.

“No, there's a blue light. Try again.” Minnie tells him.

“I'm all fingers and thumbs.”

“We’re really kind of busy, you know.” The Doctor tries to say.

“Oh, it won’t take a tick. Keep smiling.” Minnie says. 

“Is that your hand?” Kathy can tell the moment Minnie squeezes his bum as the Doctor jumps, yelping, “Minnie?!”

“Good boy.”

——

The group’s minibus drops Kathy, the Doctor and Wilf off.

“Come on, then. Here we are, hurry up.” Wilf calls as they get out and wave to the group. “Bye. You behave, bye.” The minibus drives off with the rest of the Silver Cloak. As she stands on the street, Kathy knows she’s probably drawing attention with her outfit but she honestly doesn’t care.

“Over here, come on,” Wilf says as they walk over to a café.
 
“What's so special about this place? We passed fifteen cafes on the way.” The Doctor questions. Kathy knows why. Her eyes flicker about to see if she can see her.

“Yeah. Afternoon.” Wilf greets the people passing instead of answering.

——

“Oh, we had some good times, didn't we though?” Wilf says as they sit at a table, him on the opposite side on his own. “I mean, all those ATMOS things, and planets in the sky, and me with that paint gun. Though Kathy probably hasn’t done any of that.” Kathy smiles and shakes her head. “I keep seeing things, Doctor. This face at night.”

“Who are you?” The Doctor abruptly asks.

“I'm Wilfred Mott.” Comes the confused answer.

“No.” The Doctor disagrees. “People have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours.”

“Well, I'm just lucky I suppose.”

 “Or the fact he lives in London, you’ve got to stop that,” Kathy says to the Doctor.

The Doctor shakes his head. “No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again like something's still connecting us.”

“What's so important about me?” Wilf asks.

“Exactly. Why you?” The Doctor pauses before continuing. “I'm going to die.”

“Well, so am I, one day.” Wilf jokes.

“Don't you dare.” The Doctor warns, his voice rough with emotion.

“All right, I'll try not to.” Wilf lets out a slight chuckle.

“That’s the spirit,” Kathy adds.

“But I was told. He will knock four times. That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then…” The Doctor’s voice drifts off.

“Yeah, but I thought, when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body,” Wilf argues.

“I can still die. If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead. Even then, even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away, and I'm dead.” The Doctor says. Kathy looks down sombrely, he has a point. The Doctor notices Wilf looking elsewhere. “What?” The Doctor looks over his shoulder.

Kathy looks out the window and sees Donna outside in the street getting out of her car. Her eyes widen at the sight of the Donna Noble.

“I'm sorry, but I had to. Look, can't you make her better?” Wilf begs.

“Stop it.” The Doctor hisses to him before looking back at Donna.

“No, but you're so clever,” Wilf argues. “Can't you bring her memory back? Look, just go to her now. Go on, just run across the street. Go up and say hello.”

“If she ever remembers us, her mind will burn, and she will die. Do you want that?” Kathy warns him, pleadingly.

They hear Donna speak to the traffic warden. “Don't you touch this car!” They chuckle.

“She's not changed.” The Doctor says.

“I look forward to meeting her properly.” Kathy grins.

“Oh, there he is.” Wilf points out. A man meets Donna. “Shaun Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring.” 

“Another wedding.” The Doctor says.

“Yeah.”

The Doctor frowns. “Hold on, she's not going to be called Noble-Temple? That sounds like a tourist spot.”

“No, it's Temple-Noble.” Kathy nods pleased.

“Right. Is she happy? Is he nice?” The Doctor asks.

“Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer.” Wilf answers. “Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face, like she's so sad, but she can't remember why.” Kathy feels tears building up, she sniffs and looks away.

“She's got him.” The Doctor points out.

“She's making do,” Wilf says.

“Aren't we all?” Kathy wonders.

“Yeah, how about you, Doctor? Who have you got now other than Kathy?” Wilf questions.

“No one. Travelling alone until Kathy. I thought it was better. But I did some things. It went wrong. I need—” The Doctor starts crying. 

“Oh, my word. I'm sorry.” Wilf gasps. Kathy places her hand on the Doctor’s arm.

“Merry Christmas.” The Doctor says, recovering.

“Yeah, merry Christmas.” Kathy mumbles.

“Yeah, and you.” Wilf returns the greeting.

“Look at us.” The Doctor lets out a watery chuckle.

“But don't you see? You know, you need her, Doctor.” Wilf pleads. “I mean, look. Wouldn't she make you laugh again? Good old Donna?” Donna and Shaun drive away. “Eh?”

The Doctor and Kathy soon get up to leave. They need to find the Master.

——

They arrive at an abandoned warehouse. The Doctor tells Kathy to stand back as he approaches the Master. Kathy had noticed that the Doctor has been tense when faced with the idea of her and the Master being near one another.

The Doctor walks towards the Master, who fires bolts of energy at him from his hands. He misses and sets fires burning behind the Doctor. The third try hits the Doctor squarely in the chest, stopping him from moving forward. Finally, the energy stops and the Doctor falls to his knees. The Master catches him and then lets him fall to the ground.
 
“I had estates. Do you remember my father's land back home?” The Master speaks, sitting next to the Doctor who’s on the floor. “Pastures of red grass, stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition. We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky. Look at us now.”

“All that eloquence. But how many people have you killed?” The Doctor retorts.

“I am so hungry.” The Master replies.

“Your resurrection went wrong. That energy. Your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself.” The Doctor explains.

“That human Christmas out there.” The Master says almost slavering as he talks. “They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food. Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot. It's so hot.” Kathy grimaces at him.

“Stop it.”

“Sliced. Sliced. Sliced.”

“Stop it.”

The Master doesn’t listen. “It's mine. It's mine. It's mine to eat and eat and eat.”

“What if I ask you for help?” The Doctor questions after he stops. “There's more at work tonight than you and me.”

“Oh yeah? Where’s that granddaughter of mine?” The Master asks. Kathy recoils back. The Doctor doesn’t reply. The Master inhales and grins. “She’s nearby.”

“She’s not your concern right now.” The Doctor warns. “I've been told something is returning.”

“And here I am.” The Master proclaims.

“No, something more.” The Doctor disagrees.

“But it hurts.” The Master groans.

“I was told the end of time.”

“But it hurts. Doctor, the noise.” The Master groans louder. “The noise in my head, Doctor. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Stronger than ever before. Can't you hear it?” 

“I'm sorry.”

“Listen, listen, listen, listen. Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is, calling to me. Please listen.” The Master begs.

“I can't hear it.” The Doctor replies.

“Listen.” The Master mind melds with the Doctor. The Doctor hears the beats and pulls away.

“What?”

“But—”

“What!”

“I heard it. But there's no noise. There never has been. It's just your insanity. What is it? What's inside your head?” The Doctor gasps.

The Master cackles with relief. “It's real. It's real. It's real!” The Master flies off and the Doctor runs after him and Kathy follows. They run out into the derelict site. They stop when they find the Master standing still on a mound. 

“All these years, you thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor. What is it? What is it? What is it?” The Master demands. A bright light shines down on the Master, then two more illuminate the Doctor and Kathy. A pair of SAS types come down on ropes, grab the Master and inject him with something to knock him out. Kathy groans in annoyance at rich people putting their own priorities over the safety of others.

“Don't!” The Doctor cries. Others fire their guns at the Doctor and Kathy to make them stay back, and the Master is hoisted up into the helicopter. The Doctor and Kathy run anyway. “Let him go!” Something hits the Doctor and Kathy in the back and they fall down.

——

Kathy and the Doctor soon get on their feet and use the TARDIS to arrive outside the Nobles' home. The Doctor throws some rocks at a window causing Wilf to poke his head and then join them. As he walks over, Kathy remembers that he is carrying his gun.

“We lost him. We were unconscious.” The Doctor tells Wilf as soon as they are close enough. “He's still on Earth, I can smell him, but he's too far away.”

“Listen, you can't park there. What if Donna sees it?” Wilf hisses.

“You're the only one, Wilf.” The Doctor continues. “The only connection I can think of and Kathy says you’re important, it’s the only hint she’ll give me. You're involved, if I could work out how. Tell me, have you seen anything? I don't know. Anything strange, anything odd?”

“Well, there was a…”

“What? What is it? Tell me.” The Doctor demands.

“Well, it was. No, it's nothing.” Wilf dismisses.

“You can tell us, Wilf. Anything is important. Out of the blue maybe? Connected to you?” Kathy encourages.

“Well, Donna was a bit strange,” Wilf admits. “She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book.”

“What book?” The Doctor asks.

Wilf walks inside and comes back with the book and a man Kathy recognises from the Ood vision and on Tv. “His name's Joshua Naismith.” Wilf shows them the book.

“See? Told you.” Kathy says to the Doctor. “He’s the man the Ood showed us.”

“By the what?”

“By the Ood.” The Doctor replies.

“What's the Ood?”

“They're just the Ood,” Kathy says. They really don’t have time to explain.

“But it's all part of the convergence.” The Doctor realises. “Maybe? It may be touching Donna's subconscious. Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now. The Doctor Donna.” 

“Dad, what are you up to?” Sylvia asks as she steps outside and freezes for a moment as she takes in who her dad is with. Kathy notes that she’s literally meeting one of the many angry mothers. “You two. But. Get out of here.”

“Merry Christmas.” The Doctor says.

“Merry Christmas.” Sylvia automatically says before continuing. “But she can't see you two. What if she remembers?” 

“Mum, where are those tweezers?” Donna calls from inside. Kathy has to control her excitement at that voice.

“Go.” Sylvia hisses.

“We’re going,” Kathy says. “Lovely meeting you, Sylvia.” The Doctor follows her as she leaves.

“Meeting? Wha—”

“Yeah, me too,” Wilf says, following.

“Oh no, you don't,” Sylvia grumbles and follows the rest of them. “Dad, I'm warning you.”

“Bye, see you later,” Wilf calls.

“Stay right where you are,” Sylvia yells.

“You can't come with me.” The Doctor says to Wilf as he unlocks the TARDIS.

“You're not leaving me with her,” Wilf replies, pointing to his daughter, who stands in front of the house looking angry.

“Wilf, that’s your daughter!” Kathy exclaims though she’s not really telling him off.

“Dad!”

“Fair enough.” The Doctor says and the three of them step inside and the TARDIS dematerialising.

——

“Naismith. If I can track him down.” The Doctor says as he and Kathy get to work on the controls. The Doctor pauses when Kathy pokes him and points at a bewildered Wilf. “Ah. Right. Yes. Bigger on the inside. Do you like it?”

“I thought it'd be cleaner,” Wilf replies.

“Cleaner?!” The Doctor cries offended. “I could take you back home right now.”

“Honestly, when will people stop disrespecting the TARDIS?” Kathy mutters. The TARDIS sounds like she’sgrumbling in agreement.

“Listen, Doctor, Kathy, if this is a time machine, that man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?” Wilf asks.

“I can’t go back inside my own timeline. I have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus.” The Doctor explains.

“Understand?” Kathy asks cheekily.

“Not a word.” Wilf answers.

“That’s the spirit.”

“Welcome aboard.” The Doctor shares a brief handshake with Wilf.

“Thank you.”

——

The TARDIS materialises in the stable block and Kathy knows the Master smells it. 

“We've moved. We've really moved!” Wilf exclaims as they step outside.

“You should stay here.” The Doctor tells him.

“Not bloody likely.” 

“And don't swear. Hold on.” The Doctor points the key at the TARDIS, which disappears. “Just a second out of sync. Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS. That's the last thing we need.”

They slip onto the Mansion grounds, trying to find a way in as well as hiding from patrols.

“Down here,” Kathy says and opens a small door in an archway with her silver sonic screwdriver, its red tip glowing faintly as she points it.

They scurry down to the basement. The voice of the female Vinvocci, Miss Addams, trails up to them, “The shatterthreads have harmonised, the friable links have densified and the multiple overshots have triplicated—”

“Nice Gate.” The Doctor cuts her off as he sticks his head in.

“Hello. Sorry.” Wilf pipes up from the other side. Kathy just waves her hand and smiles.

“Don't try calling security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer.” The Doctor says as he steps inside the room. “Because I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed, or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place.” 

“I'm sorry. What's a Shimmer?” Addams says the words oddly as if to show she has no idea what they are talking about.

The Doctor points his sonic screwdriver at her. “Shimmer.” Addams turns green.

“Oh, my Lord. She's a cactus.” Wilf exclaims.

“Miss Addams?”  The male Vinvocci, Mr Rossiter, calls.

 “He's got it working, but what is it? What's working?” The Doctor questions as he darts between the machines.

“The device can restore the body forever. The Immortality Gate. It’s what Joshua Naismith wants for his daughter.” Kathy explains.

“That can’t be what the Master wants.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“What are you doing here?” Rossiter exclaims when he sees them.

Without turning around, the Doctor points the screwdriver at Rossiter. “Shimmer!” Rossiter turns green. “Now, tell me quickly, what's going on? The Master, Harold Saxon, Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?”

“I checked the readings. He's done good work. It's operational.” Rossiter insists.

“Who are you, though? 'Cause I met someone like you. He was brilliant, but he was little and red.” The Doctor questions.

“No, that's a Zocci.” Addams retorts.

“We're not Zocci, we're Vinvocci. Completely different.” Rossiter explains.

Kathy rolls her eyes. “Obviously.”

Addams glares at her. “And the Gate is Vinvocci. We're a salvage team. We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it. And as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship.”

“But what does it do?” The Doctor asks.

“Well, it mends. It's as simple as that.” Rossiter replies. “It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better.”

“No, there's got to be more.” The Doctor disagrees. “Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal.”

“So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?” Wilf asks.

“More or less,” Addams replies.

“Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?”

“Oh, good question. Why's it so big?” The Doctor asks.

Addams lets out a chuckle in disbelief. “It doesn't just mend one person at a time.”

“That would be ridiculous.” Rossiter snorts.

“It mends whole planets. It transmits the medical template across the entire population.” Kathy butts in. The Doctor runs out of the room and Kathy darts after him as they go through the corridors. She knows Wilf is following behind but further back.

——

They run into a room lit by a domed glass roof. The Naismiths, the Master in a straightjacket, scientists and security litter about around the Immortality Gate.

“Turn the Gate off right now!” The Doctor yells.

“Ah, my lovely granddaughter.” The Master smirks. Kathy flinches at his tone.

“Please don’t do this.” She begs him.

“At arms.” A man orders. The soldiers in the room aim their weapons at Kathy and the Doctor.

“No, no, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device.” The Doctor pleads.

“Oh, like that was ever going to happen.” The Master scoffs and throws off the straitjacket and leaps over their heads on pillars of energy from his hands, into the Gate. “Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now.”
 
“Deactivate it. All of you, turn the whole thing off!” The Doctor cries. But the humans around the room seem unable to concentrate and are shaking their heads. It had started. Kathy realises that while she’s part human, she’s not human enough to be affected.

“Bwahahahahahaha!”

“He's inside my head.” Joshua Naismith complains.

“Get out of there!” The Doctor runs forward but the Master's blast of energy knocks him down.

“Doctor!” Kathy exclaims. She turns to the Master.

“Don’t make me, Katherine.” He warns.

“Doctor! Kathy!” Kathy turns to see Wilf entering the room and holding his head in his hands. “Doctor, Kathy, there's, there's this face.”

“What is it? What can you see?” The Doctor questions him as he and Kathy huddle around Wilf.

“Well, it's him. I can see him.”

“There's something wrong.” The anchor woman says on the TV. “It seems to be affecting the President.” The TV shows the President of the United States has his face in his hands.

The Doctor goes to the computer and tries to shut down the Gate. “I can't turn it off.”

“He’s locked it.” Kathy points out.

“Of course, idiot.” The Master retorts.

“Wilfred! Get inside. Get him out.” The Doctor drags Wilf over to the glass cubicles. Kathy swallows tightly, remembering their significance. The Doctor enters one of a pair of glass sided cubicles, and Wilfred swaps places with a technician in the other. “Just need to filter the levels.” The Doctor fiddles with the filters.

“Oh, I can see again! He's gone.” Wilf tells them.

“Radiation shielding,” Kathy explains.

“Now press the button. Let me out.” The Doctor instructs.

“You what?”

“I can't get out until you press the button. That button there.” Wilf does. Wilf's cubicle is now locked and the Doctor's is open.

“Fifty seconds and counting.” The Master says.

“To what?”

“Oh, you're going to love this.”

Wilf's phone rings. He pulls the revolver out of his pocket instead. “Hello? Oh, Gawd.” He pulls out his phone. “Donna?” There’s a response. “But wait a minute. I mean, what about you? Can't you see anything?” Wilf's phone beeps for a call waiting. “Not now, Winston.” He picks up. 

“What is it, hypnotism? Mind control. You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?” The Doctor questions.

“Oh, that's way too easy. No, no, no. They're not going to think like me, they're going to become me.” The Master mocks. “And, zero!”

A blast of energy moves out from the Master and the Gate and spreads across the entire planet. Everyone's face becomes blurred except for Donna and Wilf, and the Doctor and Kathy of course.

“You can't have.” The Doctor gasps.

“What is it?” Wilf cries.

“Doctor? Kathy?” Wilf calls after a moment. “She's starting to remember.”

Everyone's face resolves into the Master's.

“What is it? What have you done, you monster?” Wilf yells to the Master.

“Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?” The Master in the gate asks.

“Or to me?” Joshua Naismith-Master asks.

“Or to me?” Abigail-Master asks.

“Or to me?” Asks the security man.

“Or to us?” The Master-guards ask.

“Breaking news.” Kathy looks to see that the news anchor has also become the Master. “I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!”

“The human race was always your favourite, Doctor.” The original Master says. “But now, there is no human race. There is only the Master race. Bwahahahahahaha!”

Kathy knows the worst is coming.

Chapter Text

In Joshua Naismith's study, Kathy and the Doctor have been bound and gagged, strapped upright to two trolleys. Wilf is tied to a chair nearby.
 
The Master leans toward the two of them. “Now then, I've got a planet to run.” He walks away. “Is everybody ready?”

Joshua Naismith-Master appears on the screen in the room. “Six billion, seven hundred and twenty seven million, nine hundred and forty nine thousand three hundred and thirty eight versions of us awaiting orders.”

Barack Obama-Master then appears on the screen in the room. “This is Washington. As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defences.”

“UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir.” Says a Master in a general’s uniform on the screen.

“And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir, with over two point five million soldiers, sir. Present arms!” Says another Master in a different uniform.

“Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship. Nothing to say, Doctor? Kathy? What's that? Pardon? Sorry?” The Master mocks their inability to be heard.

“You let him go, you swine,” Wilf warns.

“Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss.”

“Yeah? Well, I'd be proud if I was.”

“Hush, now. Listen to your Master.” He turns away but his attention is diverted back to Wilf when the man’s phone rings. “But that's a mobile.”

“Yeah, it's mine. Let me turn it off.” Wilf tries to dismiss.

“No, no, no, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me.” The Master argues. “And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?”

“It's nobody. I tell you, it's nothing. It's probably one of them ring-back calls.” Wilf tries again.

The Master searches Wilf's pockets and finds the revolver. “Oooh, and look at this. Good man!” He tosses it on the floor and gets the phone. “Donna. Who's Donna?”
 
“She's no one. Just leave it.” Wilf tries.

“Gramps, don't hang up. You've got to help me. I ran out, but everyone was changing.” Donna sobs through the phone once the Master presses to answer.

“Who is she? Why didn't she change?” The Master demands. While she’s concerned for Donna, Kathy bides her time, waiting.

“Gramps, I can't hear you.”

“Well, it was this thing the Doctor did. He did it to her. The Metacrisis.” Wilf replies.

“Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls. Ugh!” The Master grumbles.

“Are you there?”

“Find her. Trace the call.” The Master tells the Joshua Naismith-Master.

“Trace the call.”

“Are you still there? Can you hear me?” Donna continues.

“Say goodbye to the freak, Granddad.” The Master presses the phone to Wilf’s ear.

“Donna, get out of there! Just get out of there. I'm telling you, run!” Wilf instructs.

“She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick. Open the phone lines. Everyone on Wessex Lane. Red alert.” Joshua Naismith-Master reports.

“What do I do?”

“Run, sweetheart, that's all. Run for your life!” Wilf tells his granddaughter.

“There's more of them,” Donna tells him.

“Donna? What's happening? Are you still there?”

“They're everywhere.”

“Look, I'm telling you to run, Donna,” Wilf orders her. “Just run, sweetheart. Just run.”

“It's not just them. I can see those things again.” Donna cries. “Those creatures. Why can I see a giant wasp?”

“Donna, don't think about that. Donna, my love. Don't!”

“And it hurts. My head. It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!” There’s a scream then silence.

“Donna? What was that? Donna? Donna, are you there? Donna! Donna! Donna!” Wilf weeps. The Doctor and Kathy begin smiling, and the former winks. The Master storms over and removes their gags.

“That's better. Hello. But really, did you think we’d leave our best friend without a defence mechanism?” The Doctor explains.

“Kathy? Doctor? What happened?” Wilf asks.

“She's alright. She's fine, I promise. She'll just sleep.” Kathy tells him. She’s thankful that her memories of the show are helping her keep up with all this.

“Tell me, where's your TARDIS?” The Master asks the Doctor.

“You could be so wonderful.” The Doctor replies.

“Where is it?”

The Doctor continues. “You're a genius. You're stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honour. Because you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough.”

“Would it stop, then? The noise in my head?” The Master asks vulnerably and it’s in one of these moments Kathy feels sorry for him.

“I can help.” The Doctor turns to Kathy. “We can.”

“I don't know what I'd be without that noise.”

“I wonder what I'd be, without you.” The Doctor says.

“Yeah.” The Master adds, teary eyed.

“I know where I would be,” Kathy mutters.

“What does he mean? What noise?” Wilf questions.

“It began on Gallifrey, as children. Not that you'd call it childhood.” The Master explains. “More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism.” Kathy remembers her box. The pain.

“What does that mean?”

“It's a gap in the fabric of reality. You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts.” The Doctor explains.

“They took me there in the dark.” The Master continues. “I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums. The never ending drums. Listen to it. Listen.”

“Then let's find it. You and me.” The Doctor pleads.

“Except.” Kathy sees the realisation dawn on the Master. “Oh. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that's good.”

“What? What is?”

“The noise exists within his head, and now within six billion heads,” Kathy explains. A signal the Time Lords had sent.

“Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes.” The Master cackles as his skeleton becomes briefly visible again. He bends over in pain.

“The Gate wasn't enough. You're still dying.” The Doctor tells him.

“This body was born out of death. All it can do is die.” The Master retorts. “But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said the end of time.”

“I said something is returning.” The Doctor answers. “We were shown a prophecy. That's why we need your help.”

“What if I'm part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away. From the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source. Oh, Doctor. That's what your prophecy was. Me!” He slaps the Doctor. “Where's the TARDIS?”

“No. Just stop. Just think.”

The Master points to Wilf. “Kill him.” A helmeted guard goes over to Wilf. Kathy tries not to smirk knowingly. “I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead.”

“Don't tell him.” Wilf pleads.

“I'll kill him right now!” The Master yells.

“Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid.” The Doctor remarks casually.

“Take aim.”

“You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you’ve missed what’s right in front of you.” Kathy continues.

“Like what?”

“That guard is one inch too tall.” The Doctor tells him.

The guard knocks out the Master with his rifle butt and then removes his helmet to reveal a green spiky head. “Oh my God, I hit him. I've never hit anyone in my life.” Rossiter exclaims.

Green Addams runs in. “Well, come on. We need to get out of here fast.” She frees Wilf while Rossiter releases the Doctor and Kathy.

“God bless the cactuses!” Wilf cries.

“That's cacti.” The Doctor corrects.

“That's racist!” Rossiter admonishes.

“I am sorry.” Kathy apologises.

“Come on! We've got to get out.” Addams warns as they struggle to free Kathy and the Doctor.

“There're too many buckles and straps,” Rossiter tells her.

“Just wheel them.”

“Really?!” Kathy grimaces at the thought of being pushed along like the Doctor had in the episode.

“No, no, no. Get me out. No, no, no, don't. Don't! No, no, no.” The Doctor complains as they are pushed out of the room.

——

“Which way?” Rossiter asks as they make it into the corridors. He pushes the Doctor with Addams pushing Kathy upfront and Wilf bringing up the rear.

“This way.” Addams instructs.

“No, no, no, no, no. The other way. I've got my TARDIS.” The Doctor yells. Kathy just lies back and lets herself be pushed without complaint as there’s not much she can do right now except take in what’s happened in the past day.

“I know what I'm doing,” Addams replies.

“No, no, no, just, just listen to me!”

“Not the stairs. Not the stairs!” The Doctor yells as they reach the stairs to the basement, but it’s no use and Kathy experiences a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride down. “Worst rescue ever!”

They make it to the Vinvocci lair where they pause.

“Just, just stop and listen to me!”

The Master runs in with armed guards. “Gotcha.”

“You think so?” Addams presses her wristwatch.

“No, no, no, no, don't!” The Doctor cries but they all get teleported anyway. 

——

They appear in the teleportation room on the Vinvocci ship.

“Now get me out of this thing!” The Doctor immediately yells.

“Don't say thanks, will you.” Addams snaps.

“Thank you. Now get us out please.” Kathy tries to say more kindly though she knows they need to get a move on.

“He's not going to let us go. Just hurry up and get me out! Come on.” The Doctor wines.

“All right!” Addams snaps.
 
“Oh, get a move on. Come on!”

“All right.”

They finally get Kathy and the Doctor free. The latter leaps up and zaps the teleport controls with his sonic screwdriver. Kathy relaxes at that.

“Where's your flight deck?” Kathy demands.

“But we're safe. We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth.” Addams argues.

“And he's got every single missile on the planet ready to fire.” The Doctor counters.

Addams grumbles. “…good point.” Addams, Rossiter, Kathy and the Doctor run out. Kathy returns to gently lead Wilf away from the window.

“But we're in space!” Wilf gasps.

“I know buddy.”

Wilf laughs gleefully.

——

They reach the flight deck and the Vinvocci begin working on the controls.

“We've got to close it down!” The Doctor declares.

“No chance, mate. We're going home.” Rossiter replies.

“We're just a salvage team. Local politics has got nothing to do with us. Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better.” Addams adds.

“We're not leaving,” Kathy says. She sonically sabotages the flight controls. The whole spaceship goes dark.

“Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush.” The Doctor murmurs as they stay quiet so as to not get picked up by the scans.

Addams looks out the window of the flight deck after a while and Kathy knows a sarcastic remark is coming, “No sign of any missiles. No sign of anything. You've wrecked the place!”

“The engines are burnt out. All we've got is auxiliary lights.” Rossiter turns on some lights. “Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck in orbit.” 

“Thanks to you, you idiots!” Addams storms off.

“I know you, though. I bet you've got a plan, haven't you? Eh? Come on. You've always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flim-flam,” Wilf does Tommy Cooper impression, “sort of thing? Eh?” The Doctor looks at him solemnly. “Oh, blimey.”

“Don’t worry, Wilf,” Kathy says. “We just have to wait.”

——

It is just Kathy and the Doctor in the teleport room, fiddling with the wires, when, what looks to be a small meteorite, goes across space and towards the earth.

“Kathy?”

“Soon.”

——

“Aye, aye. Got this old tub mended?” Wilf asks as he approaches them.

“Just trying to fix the heating.” The Doctor answers.

“Oh.” Wilf huffs as he sits next to them and gazes out the window. “I've always dreamt of a view like that. Hee, hee. I'm an astronaut. It's dawn over England, look.” Wilf points and Kathy looks and takes it in. “Brand new day. My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now. Do you think he changed them, in their graves?”
 
Kathy doesn’t want to tell him. “I'm sorry.” She says.

“No, not either of you two’s fault.” Wilf denies.

“Isn't it?” The Doctor counters.

“Oh, 1948, I was over there. End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot, I was. Stood on this rooftop, in the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad.” Wilf contemplates. “Yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?” 

“We’re older than you,” Kathy tells him. 

“Get away.”

“I'm nine hundred and six.” The Doctor tells him.

“I’m one thousand and thirty-two,” Kathy says.

“What, really, though?” Wilf gapes.

“Yeah.” Kathy chuckles.

“Nine hundred years and one thousand years. We must look like insects to you both.” Wilf says.

“I think you look like giants.” The Doctor argues.

“Listen, I-I want you to have this. I've kept it all this time, and I thought…” Wilf offers his revolver to the Doctor.

“No.” The Doctor denies it.

“No, but if you take it, you could—”

“No.”

“You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then.” Kathy points out.

“Too scared, I suppose,” Wilf says.

“I'd be proud.” The Doctor says instead.

“So would I,” Kathy says. Honestly, she adored Wilf when watching the show but she adores him even more now that she’s met him.

“Of what?”

“If you were our dad.” The Doctor replies.

“Oh, come on, don't start.” Wilf huffs, holding back tears. “But you said, you were told he will knock four times and then you die. Well, that's him, isn't it? The Master. That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you.”

“It’s not him.” Kathy corrects.

“Then who is it?” The Doctor asks intently.

“I can’t tell you. Spoilers.”

“Then kill whoever it is first.” Wilf offers the gun again.

“And that's how the Master started.” The Doctor says. “It's not like I'm an innocent. I've taken lives. I got worse. I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long. I can't. I just can't.” Kathy frowns at what he’s saying.

“If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?” Wilf asks.

“I don't know.”

“Doctor, Kathy, what happens?”

“The template snaps.” Kathy answers.

“What, they go back to being human? They're alive, and human. Then don't you dare, sir. Don't you dare put him before them. Now you take this. That's an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and he might not be the one who kills but someone will and this will save all the people. Please don't die. You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die.” Wilf sobs, placing the Doctor’s hand on the gun.

“Never.”

“A star fell from the sky.” The Master’s voice startles them. “Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor, Katherine.” Kathy puts her finger up to indicate to Wilf to be quiet.

“The whole of my life. My destiny.” The Master continues. “The star was a diamond. And the diamond is a Whitepoint star.” The Doctor gasps. “And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching, Doctor, Katherine. This should be spectacular. Over and out.”

“What's he on about? What's he doing? Doctor, what does that mean?” Wilf questions.

“A Whitepoint star is only found on one planet. Gallifrey. Which means it's the Time Lords. The Time Lords are returning.” The Doctor answers, struggling to contain his emotions.

“Well, I mean, that's good, isn't it? I mean, that's your people.” The Doctor takes Wilf's revolver and runs. Wilf turns to Kathy. “Isn’t it?”

“There was a war, Wilf. No, it isn’t. Not right now.” She gets up and follows the Doctor.

——

Kathy runs into the flight deck. The signal can be heard here. Four beats. The Doctor is rushing around, working on bits and pieces. Kathy immediately runs to help.

“But you said your people were dead. Past tense.” Wilf says.

“Inside the Time War. And the whole War was Timelocked.” The Doctor explains. “Like, sealed inside a bubble. It's not a bubble but just think of a bubble. Nothing can get in or get out of the Timelock. Don't you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there.”

“The signal. Since he was a kid.” Wilf realises.

“They can follow the signal; they can escape before they die,” Kathy explains.

“Well, then, big reunion. We'll have a party.”

“There will be no party.” The Doctor retorts.

“But I've heard you talk about your people like they're wonderful,” Wilf argues.

“That's how I choose to remember them, the Time Lords of old.” The Doctor replies. “But then they went to war. An endless war, and it changed them right to the core. You've seen my enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them.”

“Time Lords, what lords? Anyone want to explain?” Addams whines.

“Right, yes, you. This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?” The Doctor rapidly asks.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“So, you've got asteroid lasers!”

“Yeah, but they're all frazzled.” Rossiter points out.

The Doctor throws a lever and two gun alcoves open on either side of the flight controls. “Consider them unfrazzled. You there, what's your name?” He points at Addams. “I'm going to need you and Kathy on navigation.” Then points to Rossiter. “And you, get in the laser-pod. Wilfred.”

“Yeah?”

“Laser number two. The old soldier's got one more battle.” The Doctor says. Wilf nods and pats him on the arm.

“This ship can't move. It's dead!” Addams snaps.

Kathy rolls her eyes and steps up to the machinery. “Fix the heating?” She throws two levers forward, and the ship powers up.

“But now they can see us,” Addams exclaims.

“Oh, yes!” The Doctor cries joyfully.

“This is my ship, and you're not moving it. Step away from the wheel.” Addams demands.

“There's an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in times of need.” The Doctor narrates.

Kathy sighs and puts her head in her hands. “Oh god.”

“What's that, then?”

“Allons-y!” The Doctor powers the spaceship down towards the Earth. The spaceship dives through the atmosphere. “Come on! Come on!”
 
“You are blinking, flipping mad.” Addams cries and gets to work. 

“You two. What did I say? Lasers.” The Doctor says to Rossiter and Wilf.

“What for?” Rossiter asks.

“Because of the missiles!” Kathy snaps. Sometimes she can’t deal with stupidity. “We've got to fight off an entire planet that’s aiming missiles at us!” Rossiter and Wilf run off to their station.

“We've got incoming,” Addams warns.

“Look at this one! Oh, my God!” Rossiter exclaims from his pod.

“You two, open fire!” The Doctor skims the ocean, dodging the missiles.

“Oh, my word!” Rossiter exclaims.

“Whoa. Whoa!” Wilf yells.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Rossiter continues.

“Open fire! Come on, Wilf!” Kathy cries. She sees the moment Wilf shoots down a missile through the front wind.

“Whoo!” Wilf yells. “Oh, I wish Donna could see me now.”

“And there's more. Sixteen of them. Oh, and another sixteen.” Addams warns.

“Then we’ve got to get on the rear gun lasers!” Kathy yells.

“You two, open fire! Now!” The Doctor orders. Rossiter and Wilf continue destroying lasers while Addams and Kathy fall about, struggling to stand with how the Doctor is moving the ship.

“No, you don't!” The Doctor cries. The ship spins all the way round causing Kathy to scream as she struggles to hold on. 

Suddenly the front window gets blown in. Addams and Kathy find a station.

“Lock the navigation!” The Doctor orders.

“Onto what?!” Addams asks.

Kathy starts doing what he says. “England. The Naismith mansion. Coming up.”

“Destination?” The Doctor calls after a few minutes.

“Fifty kliks and closing. We've locked onto the house.” Addams replies. “We are going to stop, though. Doctor? We are going to stop?” The Doctor doesn’t reply.

“Doctor?!” Wilf calls as he stumbles in along with Rossiter. “Doctor, you said you were going to die.”

“He said what?!” Addams exclaims in alarm.

“But is that all of us? I won't stop you, sir. But is this it?” Wilf questions but again there’s no reply. Kathy knows the Doctor won’t but she can’t help but look at him in concern.

——

The spaceship is heading straight for the mansion before the Doctor pulls the spaceship's nose up at the last moment, then opens a hatch in the floor and, with the revolver ready, jumps down.

Kathy quickly stands and runs over to the hatch and jumps herself. She falls through the hole the Doctor had created in the glass dome and lands hard on the marble floor of the Gate room next to him. She struggles to stand and sees the Doctor struggling to do the same.

Kathy looks past him and sees five Time Lords have arrived - the Gate has been replaced by a white space, raised up by two steps. She slowly turns her head and sees the Master staring at her. She doesn’t understand the look in his eyes.

“My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master and his lesser descendant. We are gathered for the end.” Rassilon, Lord High President of Gallifrey, greets.

“You’ve got a bad superiority complex. Has anyone told you that?” Kathy grunts.

The Doctor drags himself onto his knees while Kathy is able to turn and plonk herself onto her behind instead to get a better view of everything. 

“Listen to me. You can't!” The Doctor pleads.

“It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child,” Rassilon says. 

“Oh, he's not saving you. Don't you realise what he's doing?” The Doctor warns as he still leans his weight in his arms.

“Hey, no, hey! That's mine. Hush. Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them, because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mister President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me.”

The Lord President holds up his metal gauntlet. It glows and everyone who looks like the Master goes through the head blur thing again.

“No, no, don't. No, no, stop it! No, no, no, don't!” The Master cries. Finally, everyone on Earth is restored to themselves. 

“On your knees, mankind.” The people obey looking terrified.

“No, that's fine, that's good because you said salvation. I still saved you. Don't forget that.” The Master says desperately. There’s the sound of rumpling.

“The approach begins,” Rassilon says instead.

“Approach of what?”

“Something is returning.” The Doctor explains through clenched teeth.

“Don't you ever listen?” Kathy snaps.

“That was the prophecy. Not someone, something.”

“What is it?” The Master asks.

“They're not just bringing back the species. It's Gallifrey. Right here, right now.”

Kathy sees the big burning planet appear in the sky. The tidal forces of the new planet make the Earth shake. The people run from the room. Kathy winces in pain the vibrations are causing.

“But I did this. I get the credit. I'm on your side.” The Master says desperately.

Wilf pushes his way in. “Come on, get out of the way. Get out of the way! Doctor? Kathy?”

A technician is hammering on the door of his locked glass booth. “Help me, please. Somebody, please.”

“All right! I've got you, mate. I've got you.” Wilf goes into the open booth.

“Wilf, don't. Don't!” The Doctor tries.

Wilf unlocks the other booth. “I've got you. Come on. Go on.” The freed technician runs. 

“But this is fantastic, isn't it? The Time Lords restored.” The Master tries.

“You weren't there in the final days of the War.” The Doctor replies. “You never saw what was born. But if the Timelock's broken, then everything's coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres. The War turned into hell. And that's what you've opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending.”

“My kind of world.” 

“Just listen! Because even the Time Lords can't survive that.”

“We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart.” Rassilon confirms.

“That's suicide.” The Master argues.

“We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be.”

“You see now?” The Doctor says to the Master. “That's what they were planning in the final days of the War. I had to stop them.”

“Then, take me with you, Lord President. Let me ascend into glory.” The Master offers.
 
“You are diseased, albeit a disease of our own making. No more.” Rassilon prepares his glove but the Doctor is on his feet, aiming the revolver at the Lord President. “Choose your enemy well. We are many. The Master is but one.”

Kathy scrambles to her feet and stands at the side to watch.

“But he's the President. Kill him, and Gallifrey could be yours.” The Master argues. The Doctor turns and aims at the Master. “He's to blame, not me. Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back. You never would, you coward. Go on then. Do it.” The Doctor aims at the Lord President again. “Exactly. It's not just me, it's him. He's the link. Kill him!”

“The final act of your life is murder. But which one of us?” Rassilon goads.

“Doctor!” Kathy interrupts. “There’s a third way. There’s always a third way.”

Behind the Lord President, the Woman lowers her hands. Kathy knows that this Woman had opposed Rassilon's plan to destroy time itself, along with the Patriarch of the House of Stillhaven. Rassilon condemned her and the patriarch to stand behind him in the Panopticon and cover their faces ‘as monuments of their shame, like the Weeping Angels of old’ and had her name erased from time as further punishment. The Doctor's gaze falls on the Woman. The Woman stares at the Doctor. But then, her eyes flicker just a fraction to the right. Meaning, behind the Doctor. Meaning the Master. And the Doctor pivots round, one last time, switches the gun to his other hand, now aiming it right at the Master.

“Get out of the way.” The Master smirks, realising, and moves and the Doctor shoots the diamond in its gizmo. The link explodes and the Time Lords begin being sucked away. “The link is broken. Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell.” 

“You'll die with me, Doctor,” Rassilon says.

“I know.” Rassilon aims his gauntlet at the Doctor. The Woman covers her face again. 

“Get out of the way.” The Doctor steps back next to Kathy and the Master attacks the Lord President with his energy. “You did this to me! All of my life!” He hits them again. “You made me! One! Two! Three! Four!” He hits Rassilon with a new blast at every count. The president is forced to his knees. The Time Lords and the Master disappear in a bright light and Gallifrey fades away from the sky. The force of it all knocks Kathy and the Doctor down.

“I'm alive. I've. There was. I'm still alive.” The Doctor gasps. Kathy sadly looks toward Wilf and watches as he knocks. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Kathy sees the Doctor’s face fall. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock.

“They gone, then? Yeah, good-o. If you could let me out?” Wilf asks.

“Yeah.”

“Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise.”

“The Master left the Nuclear Bolt running. It's gone into overload.” Kathy explains sadly. She gets up along with the Master.

“And that's bad, is it?”

“No, because all the excess radiation gets vented inside there.” The Doctor explains. “Vinvocci glass contains it. All five hundred thousand rads, about to flood that thing.”

“Oh. Well, you'd better let me out, then.” Wilf says.

“Except it's gone critical. Touch one control and it floods. Even our sonics would set it off.” Kathy explains.

“I'm sorry.” Wilf apologises.

“Sure.” The Doctor mutters. “There’s no other way is there?”

“No,” Kathy replies.

“Look, just leave me,” Wilf tells them.

“Okay, right then, I will.” Kathy can hear the emotion building up in his voice. “Because you had to go in there, didn't you? You had to go and get stuck, oh yes. Because that's who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me all this time.”

“No really, just leave me. I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time.”

“Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important.” The Doctor snaps. “But me? I could do so much more. So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair!” He screams and pushes off stuff on a table. “Oh. Oh. I've lived too long.”

Kathy thinks about her own life, and how long she has lived. She’d probably have to use up her own regeneration energy like the Doctor had except she wouldn’t have to change. This makes Kathy tempted to take his place but she worries she’ll alter the Doctor’s timeline too much if she stops this.

“No. No, no, please, please don't. No, don't! Please don't! Please!” Wilf cries tearfully as the Doctor slowly walks toward him.

The Doctor opens the other chamber door. “Wilfred, it's my honour. Better be quick. Three, two, one.” The Doctor quickly goes into the open booth and unlocks Wilf's side. Wilf runs out and a red light floods the Doctor's booth. Kathy winces at the Doctor’s pain. He curls up into a ball on the floor. Then the power shuts down. 

“What?” Wilf mutters. After a few moments, the Doctor gets up. “Hello.” 

“Hi.” The Doctor replies.

“Still with us?”

“The system's dead. I absorbed it all. Whole thing's kaput.” The Doctor pushes at the door, it creaks open. “Oh. Now it opens, yeah.” He comes out of the booth. Kathy watches him sadly. She knows she’ll see this face again but that doesn’t stop seeing the end of this one hurt any less.

“Well, there we are, then. Safe and sound. Mind you, you're in hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there.” Wolf says. Kathy looks at her own scrapes and knows they’ll take a bit longer. The Doctor rubs his face and the cuts vanish. “But they've- your face. How did you do that?”

“It's started,” Kathy says as the Doctor gazes at his now unmarked hands. Wilf hugs the Doctor.

——

They arrive outside the Noble home again and Kathy sees a happy Sylvia at the front door, beaming as they step out of the TARDIS. Wilf gives her a wave, which she returns.

“Oh, she's smiling. As if today wasn't bad enough.” The Doctor grumbles causing Wilf and Kathy to chuckle. “Anyway, don't go thinking this is goodbye, Wilf. I'll see you again, one more time.”

“You know you’ll see me again. All that stuff we’ve got to do.” Kathy says.

Wilf nods. “Yeah. But what do you mean Doctor? When's that?”

“Just keep looking. I'll be there.” The Doctor replies.

“Where are you going?”

“To get my reward.”

——

Kathy watches at an abandoned factory as Mickey and Martha, two people that she hasn’t had the chance to meet yet, have their backs to a Sontaran, who has a clear shot. The Doctor hits him on the probic vent with a hammer, knocking him down. Kathy stands by him as they look down at the two.

She sees when they notice them. Mickey steps forward and yells, “Hey!”

Kathy and the Doctor look at them before walking away.

——

Next stop is Bannerman Road. A young Luke Smith is on the phone and crosses the road without looking, and the Doctor drags him away from being run down. Kathy gives him a stern look.

“But it's you two! You're…”

“You need to look when crossing the road, Luke.” Kathy admonishes him.  Then she and the Doctor walk back to the TARDIS.

“Mum! Mum!” She hears Luke yell.

The Doctor and Kathy look back as they stand at the TARDIS doors and wave goodbye to Luke and Sarah Jane.

——

At a downtown drinking hole in Zaggit Zagoo, capital of Zog, Kathy’s eyes look past the Slitheen, Graske, Judoon, Hath, Judoon and a little Adipose and land on another companion she hasn’t met yet, Captain Jack Harkness as he drinks alone.

The barman puts a piece of paper in front of Jack. Jack looks at the Doctor and Kathy, puzzled. The Doctor nods to the note and Kathy smiles and waves. Jack smiles, a little, but stays where he is. He looks at the note and then salutes them before turning to Alonso, the man from the Titanic replica.

——

Kathy lets the Doctor go into the bookshop on his own to meet and talk with Joan Redfern’s great-granddaughter Verity Newman. Kathy didn’t feel right intruding but also, it’s not something she has a personal connection to.

——

The bells are ringing for the end of a wedding ceremony. Donna yells gleefully as shows her ring. The wedding guests are throwing rice and taking pictures. The Doctor and Kathy watch in front of the TARDIS just outside the lych gate. Sylvia turns and spots them, getting her father’s attention before they walk over.

“And here you are, eh? Same old face. Didn't I tell you you'd be alright?” Wilf greets. “Oh! They've arrested Mister Naismith. It was on the news. Crimes undisclosed. And his daughter. Both of them, locked up. But I keep thinking, Doctor, there's one thing you never told me. That woman. Who was she?”

The Doctor glances toward Donna before reaching into his pocket. “I just wanted to give you this. Wedding present. Thing is, I never carry money.”

“And I don’t have any modern day money so we popped back in time, borrowed a quid off a really lovely man. Geoffrey Noble, his name was.” Kathy says with a smile. Sylvia gasps and covers her mouth with her hand. 

“Have it, he said. Have that on me.” The Doctor says. Sylvia is nearly in tears; her father puts his arm around her.

Donna frowns at the envelope she’s handed but shrugs and tucks it into the top of her dress. Wilf salutes the Doctor and Kathy before they leave.

——

The Doctor and Kathy stand in the shadows of an alleyway on the snowy Powell estate. It's been so long since she's seen Rose and it'll be odd not to talk to her. Kathy casts the Doctor a worried look in the dim light as she has her arm wrapped around his waist in an attempt to help support him as he leans most of his weight against the side of a wall.

“Doctor?”

He grimaces as he inhales sharply. “Just need a minute.” He mutters, trying to hold back the pain that is spreading throughout his entire body, growing stronger and harder to control. “I've managed to say goodbye to almost everyone…”

She sighs heavily, hating to see him in so much pain, but nods.

A familiar voice cuts in, “I'm late now, I've missed it.” Kathy can hear Rose's and another set of footsteps approaching, sounding annoyed. “It's midnight. Mickey's going to be calling me everything, this is all your fault.”

“No, it's not!” Jackie Tyler argues. “It's Jimbo. He said he was going to give us a lift, then he said his axle broke. I can't help it.”

“Get rid of him, Mum. He's useless!”

“Listen to you, with a mechanic!” Her voice turns sad. “Be fair, though. In my time of life, I'm not going to do much better.”

“Don't be like that.” Rose sighs as they come to a stop just before the alleyway, giving the Doctor and Kathy a chance to see them as she rubs her mother's shoulder. “You never know, there could be someone out there.”

Jackie shrugs. “Maybe… one day.” She tries to sound hopeful, her face brightening. “Happy New Year!” She smiles broadly.

“Happy New Year!” Rose grins, hugging her. “Don't stay out all night!” She tells her as they pull apart.

“Try and stop me!” Jackie shoots her a look as she walks away.

Rose crosses her arms across her chest, trying to keep warm as she begins walking over towards her flat stairwell as Kathy lets go of the Doctor and steps further back into the shadows, knowing that it is important for the Doctor to say goodbye to Rose by himself, but as he steps forwards, he groans in pain, slipping slightly down the wall.

Rose turns around, looking surprised. “You all right, mate?” She asks, sounding concerned.

The Doctor quickly straightens, “Yeah.”

“Too much to drink?”

“Something like that.”

She eyes him. “Maybe it's time you go home.” She suggests.

“Yeah…” He agrees.

“Anyway… happy New Year!” She tells him cheerfully.

“And you!” He grins as she turns, heading towards the stairwell again, “What year is it?” The Doctor calls after her.

Rose turns back to look at him, her eyes widening, “Blimey, how much have you had?” She laughs and he shrugs slightly. “2005, January the first.” She informs him in a clear, slow voice.

“2005.” The Doctor repeats, nodding. “Tell you what… I bet you're going to have a great year.” He smiles at her.

“Yeah?” She raises her eyebrows, looking amused. “See ya!” Rose shoots him a grin and runs over to the stairwell, opening the door, and looking back at him over her shoulder, before stepping through and hurrying up the stairs.

The moment she is out of sight, Kathy runs forward and wraps her arm around the Doctor, just as he grunts painfully, leaning heavily against her as he places a hand on the wall, “Shh, it's okay.” She breathes soothingly to him. “We can do this. Come on, let's get you to the TARDIS.”

He is breathing heavily as they half stagger out of the alley, one hand on the wall for extra support, but soon enough the Doctor is forced to let go and lean on Kathy as they struggle across to the other side of the complex to where they had parked the TARDIS. He winces in pain, grimacing as Kathy continues muttering soothing words to him, just trying to keep him going, when his knees suddenly give out and he collapses onto the snow covered ground with a loud cry, taking her down with him.

Kathy, ignoring the pain that the fall had caused to her own body, immediately pulls herself upright, her eyes fixed on the Doctor as he groans in pain. “Just a little bit further.” She murmurs to him, her voice breaking slightly as she felt tears burning the corners of her eyes. “Just a few more steps…” She trails off as she looks up to see Ood Sigma standing a short distance away.

The Ood raises his communication orb and it lights up. “We will sing to you, Doctor.” He tells them, his voice calm as the Doctor lifts his head to look at him. “The Universe will sing you to your sleep.”

The Doctor takes a deep breath and forces himself back to his feet, leaning against Kathy again as they stagger determinedly over to the TARDIS as the sound of the Ood singing sound in their heads.

“This story is ending, but the story never ends,” Sigma says as they reach the doors.

Kathy snaps her fingers and the doors swing open and they step inside. She helps him up the ramp, pulling his coat off as he tosses it over the Y-beam, before glancing down at his right hand and it glows with golden, yellow regeneration energy. He swallows and looks up at Kathy, who tries to give him a comforting smile.

“Everything is going to be okay, Doctor.” She assures him gently. “I'll be right here the entire time, you won't be alone for a second, understand?”

He closes his eyes tightly before opening them, his voice trembling, “I'm… I'm afraid.”

“Oh, Doctor. Don't worry your next self isn't too weird.” Kathy reassures causing him to laugh wetly. The Doctor steps over to the controls. She watches as he hits a lever, sending them off into space.

He stares at the Time Rotor, watching as it goes up and down before moving back around the console, coming to stand in front of Kathy, his eyes filled with tears. “I don't want to go.” He whispers to her, sounding heartbroken.

She swallows a sob, almost shaking as badly as he is. “I'll be right here.” She forces her voice to sound strong as she tries to smile through the tears. “I will see you on the other side.”

The regeneration energy begins swirling around his face, growing brighter and brighter as Kathy takes a step back, preparing herself, knowing that because of how long he put it off and watching the episode, it is going to be violent. He takes deep breaths and looks down at his right hand and then to the other to see that they are both glowing. He looks back at her when he suddenly throws his head back, and the energy pours out of him.

The energy shoots out so violently that it explodes the windows on the doors and causes the console to spark violently, fires shoot up everywhere as Kathy jumps back, covering her head with her arms as debris begins raining down, and the beams all around the room begin collapsing, one just missing her as she throws herself to the floor.

She winces as she can hear the Doctor shouting in pain when his voice suddenly changes, and the regeneration cuts off. She quickly lifts her head to find herself looking at the Doctor… well, the new him. Eleven. 

“Legs!” The Doctor cheers almost at once as he looks down at himself, examining his new body. “I've still got legs!” He grabs his leg and kisses his knee. “Good!” He drops his leg and begins patting his chest. “Arms!” He quickly finds his hands, holding them close to his face. “Hands! Ooh, fingers!” He wiggles them excitedly, “Lots of fingers!” He moves up to his face, checking the side of his head. “Ears, yes!” He presses his fingers to his eyes. “Eyes, two!” Down to his nose. “Nose…” He seems to frown slightly at its size. “…I've had worse. Chin…” He feels his chin, his eyes widening slightly. “Blimey!”

Kathy pulls herself to her feet, brushing dust from down her front as she steps in front of him, grinning up at him as he immediately focuses on her. “Yeah, it's huge.”

“Kathy!” He cries joyfully and grabs her, pulling her into a tight hug before jolting back. “No, no, no.” He shakes his head quickly. “More important things first. Am I ginger?”

Kathy laughs slightly and ruffles his dark hair. “Nope.” She replies and his face falls.

The Doctor frowns slowly as he begins shifting around the spot. “There's something else, something important, we're, we're, we're…” He begins tapping the side of his head when something bangs loudly, jolting them as he automatically grabs the console like Kathy does. 

“Crashing!” Kathy groans loudly, grimacing as she takes in the mess the controls are in.

The Doctor, on the other hand, grins and runs around the other side, looking across to her as they plummet towards the Earth. “Ha, ha! Whoo hoo hoo! Ah! Geronimo!”

Chapter Text

1996 AD/CE

The TARDIS flies out of control over London.  The centre console sparks and the control room is in flames and is exploding. The whole ship is turning upside down, spinning them around and around. The doors fly open, Kathy manages to grab onto the railing on the console but the Doctor doesn’t manage to do the same. She looks around to find the newly-regenerated Doctor outside the TARDIS and hanging onto the edge by his hands, sonic screwdriver in his mouth. 

The Doctor begins to pull himself into the TARDIS. Kathy runs over to help pull him back in, narrowly missing the top of the tower of Big Ben. There is another explosion, sending them both tumbling down. They manage to get up but are thrown once again and further into the TARDIS.

“Not the swimming pool!” Kathy whines just before they fall in. 

She pulls her head up to see that the room is sideways. Kathy remembers that the Doctor had to climb out of the room with some rope. When she turns to him, she finds that he has already gotten the rope with the grappling hook on the end. He grins at her as he throws it as high up as he can. The Doctor tugs it and it seems secure. She notes that his clothes, Ten’s clothes, are ripped and singed.

“Feel like climbing?” He asks.

Kathy smirks at him. “Don’t have a choice, do I?” He carries on smiling. “Well, after you. I’m in a dress.” A dress that is falling apart at this point. She understands why Amy calls her tattered.

The Doctor starts climbing, using the bookshelves. As they climb up the rope through the control room, Kathy sees that the TARDIS doors are already open for them. Everything feels weird to her seeing the whole place sideways.

The Doctor finally reaches the outward open doors and pops his head over the edge. “Can I have an apple?” He asks to, who Kathy can assume is, little Amelia. “All I can think about - apples. I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving. That's new, never had cravings before.” 

“Can you ask for an apple when I’m not hanging in some rope?” Kathy calls from underneath him. “I can’t hold on much longer.” 

“Sorry.” The Doctor replies, straddling the TARDIS and leans back inside with an offered hand to pull Kathy up. She sits next to him on the TARDIS frame. Kathy turns to see little Amelia standing in front of them wearing a red jacket and matching wellies over her nighty.

“Are you okay?” Little Amelia asks them, her Scottish accent heavy with her words.

The Doctor puts both legs over the side, sitting on the edge and Amelia does the same, heaving her wet and heavy 16th century dress with her.

“Oh, just fine.” She huffs.

“Just had a fall.” The Doctor adds in. “All the way down there, right to the library. Hell of a climb back up.” 

Amelia frowns and looks them up and down as if to double check that the two odd people in front of her are actually soaked. “You're soaking wet.” She points out.

“We fell into the swimming pool,” Kathy explains.

“You said you were in the library.” Amelia counters.

“So was the swimming pool.” The Doctor tells her. Amelia rolls her eyes in apparent frustration.

“Are you police officers?” She asks them.

The Doctor stares at her in bewilderment. He leans forward. “Why? Did you call for police officers?”

“She has a crack in her wall,” Kathy explains. “Don’t worry we’re here to help.” Amelia beams and Kathy returns it.

The Doctor’s expression holds great confusion. “What cra—” He starts to say, but cries out in agony, falling forward, off the frame of the TARDIS and onto the ground as he withers in pain.

Kathy gasps in alarm and hurriedly jumps down next to him. “Are you alright?” She helps him sit up. Amelia states in concern as the Doctor leans against the TARDIS underside, panting and wheezing. He’s quick to give them a reassuring smile.

“No, I'm fine, it's OK. This is all perfectly norm...” He is cut as his body gives another spasm and opens his mouth and releases regeneration energy. Kathy pats his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Amelia stares in amazement and wonder.

“Who are you?” She asks, staring back and forth between the two strangers. “Both of you?”

The Doctor holds up his hands, energy rising from them. “I don't know yet. I'm still cooking. Does it scare you?”

Amelia frowns and shakes her head. “No, it just looks a bit weird.”

“He means the crack in your wall.” Kathy corrects. “Does it scare you?”

There is a slight hesitation before Amelia nods. “Yes.”

The Doctor smiles brightly and jumps up, pulling Kathy with him. “Well, then, no time to lose. I'm the Doctor and this is Kathy. Do everything we tell you, don't ask stupid questions and don't wander off.” He strides away with purpose. Kathy casually stands looking at her fingers, waiting for the impact. The Doctor walks into a tree, knocking him to the ground.

 “You all right down there?” Kathy asks him.

“Early days. Steering's a bit off.” The Doctor grumbles from the ground.

“Let’s get you inside,” Kathy says, pulling him up.

——

The Doctor and Kathy eventually get inside Amelia's house and watch as the little girl grabs an apple and then goes over to where they linger by the doorway of the kitchen. Kathy dries herself with a towel as Amelia hands over the apple.

“If you're a doctor, why does your box say "Police"?” Amelia asks as she stares at them curiously.

Kathy rolls her eyes as the Doctor takes a bite of the apple, chews and then spits it out before coughing. Amelia jumps back a step to avoid the food flying at her. “That's disgusting. What is that?” 

“It’s an apple, Doctor. Just like you asked.” Kathy disputes. “Now because I don’t want Amelia and I having to clean up your mess, I going to make this easier for you.”

“Go on then, what do I like?” The Doctor grumbles.

“Well, not yoghurt, beans, bread and butter or carrots,” Kathy answers as she goes over to the freezer. “But do like this.” She pulls out a box of fish fingers and then pulls out a container of custard from the fridge. She shoves them at the Doctor, who gleefully takes them.

“You know my name,” Amelia says to Kathy as the Doctor actually is sorting his food out like an adult. “How do you know that?”

“Well,” Kathy hesitates as she doesn’t want to freak out a 7 year old. “I am from a different universe and I was shown a version of this one.”

“Can you see the future? Are you a psychic?”

“No, just like someone has given me a list of things that could happen but doesn’t mean they’ll happen or happen in that way.” Kathy tries to explain.

Amelia frowns. “Okay.”

——

Later, sitting at the table, the Doctor dips a fish finger into a bowl of custard and then takes a bite. Across from him, Amelia eats ice cream from the container. In the middle of the table, Kathy snacks on some Cherry Bakewells that she had found and feeling nostalgic, she had to have some. The Doctor then picks up the bowl and drinks the custard from it. It leaves a moustache which he wipes away with his hand. 

“Funny,” Amelia says as she watches him. The Doctor takes a bite of his custard covered fish finger.

“Am I? Good. Funny's good. What's your full name?” The Doctor asks.

“Amelia Pond.”

“Ah, that's a brilliant name. ‘Amelia Pond’, like a name in a fairy tale.” The Doctor replies, beaming. “Are we in Scotland, Amelia?”

Amelia lets out an exasperated sigh. “No.” She grumbles. “We had to move to England. It's rubbish.”

“So, what about your mum and dad, then? Are they upstairs?” The Doctor questions. “Thought we'd have woken them by now.”

“I don't have a mum and dad. Just an aunt.” Kathy gives the young girl a sympathetic smile thinking of her own parental loss.

“I don't even have an aunt.” The Doctor says with a smile.

“I had a few aunts once,” Kathy mumbles sadly. “Gone now.”

“You're lucky.” Amelia declares. Kathy gives Amelia a small smile.

“So, your aunt, she must be out then?” Kathy prods.

“As if you don’t know already.” Amelia retorts.

“Not everything is set in stone. I have to check.” Kathy argues.

The Doctor looks surprised. “Your aunt left you all alone?” 

“I'm not scared.” Amelia retorts.

“‘Course you're not. You're not scared of anything! Box falls out of the sky, strangers fall out of box, strangers dig through your kitchen and eat your food,” he takes another bite of a fish finger covered in custard, “and look at you, just sitting there. So, you know what I think?” 

“What?”

“Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall,” Kathy says. Amelia gulps at her words.

——

Hesitantly and cautiously, Amelia leads the Doctor and Kathy up to her bedroom. Kathy smiles when she sees the young girl grab an apple on the way and begins carving a face.

Kathy looks curiously around the bedroom when they enter, noting how different it seems from when she was last here, particularly the lack of Doctor and Kathy drawings and dolls. The most startling aspect of the room is the large crack in the wall.

The Doctor examines the crack, trailing his fingers along it. “What are you thinking?” He asks quietly.

“It shouldn’t be there,” Kathy says as she stands by him. 

“You've had some cowboys in here.” The Doctor says, glancing over at Amelia who remains standing by the door. “Not actual cowboys, though that can happen.”

After a moment, Amelia walks over to the Doctor with an apple in her hand and hands it over to the Doctor. “I used to hate apples, so my mum put faces on them.” She hands the Doctor an apple with a smiley face carved into it.

“She sounds good, your mum.” He tosses the apple into the air and catches it then puts it into his pocket. “I'll keep it for later.” He goes back to examine the crack, tapping his fingers lightly over the surface. “This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it. So, here's a thing - where's the draught coming from?” He whips out Ten’s screwdriver and runs it along the crack then checks the readings. “Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. You know what the crack is?”

“What?” Amelia asks.

“It's a crack.” The Doctor runs his fingers along the crack. “I'll tell you something funny. If you knocked this wall down, the crack would stay put, ‘cos the crack isn't in the wall.” 

“You going to tell us where is it or not?” Kathy retorts with a raised eyebrow.

“Everywhere. In everything. It's a split in the skin of the world. Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together...right here in the wall of your bedroom.” He presses an ear against the wall. “Sometimes, can you hear…”

“A voice? Yes.” A voice echoes through.

Kathy decides to hurry them along. “Prisoner Zero has escaped. Which means that on the other side of that wall is a prison and they’ve lost a prisoner.” She takes Amelia’s hand tightly.

The Doctor steps back from the wall, a grin working its way onto his face. “Do you know what that means?”

“What?” Amelia asks.

“You need a better wall.” The Doctor moves her desk out of the way as he talks quickly, “The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert and it'll snap itself shut. Or...” The Doctor is standing next to Kathy and Amelia and now looks uncertain about his plan.

“What?”

Kathy kneels down, getting eye level with her. “You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?” She asks.

“Yes.” Amelia sighs, nodding as if she is used to this.

“Everything's going to be fine,” Kathy reassures, smiling at the girl. She retakes her hand and the Doctor grabs Amelia’s other hand. 

The Doctor holds up his screwdriver before turning to Kathy. “I think it’s best if we do this together.” 

Kathy nods and holds up her screwdriver. Together they use their sonic screwdrivers on the crack. Amelia hides behind them but peers around them as a bright light shines through the crack as it widens. In the dim light, they can see what looks to be cells. 

“Prisoner Zero has escaped.” The Doctor takes a step closer to the crack. “Prisoner Zero has escaped.”

“Hello? Hello?” The Doctor calls. Suddenly, a giant blue eye peers at them through the crack. Kathy jumps along with the other two despite expecting it.

“What's that?” Amelia asks, sounding frightened. Kathy squeezes her hand and gives her a smile and gets a small one in return.

A small ball of light or electricity shoots out from the crack, strikes the Doctor and he falls against the bed. The crack then seals once more. 

“There. You see, told you it would close. Good as new.” The Doctor says. 

“What was that thing? Was that Prisoner Zero?” Amelia asks.

“No. I think that was Prisoner Zero's guard. Whatever it was, it sent me a message.” The Doctor looks at the message. “Psychic paper, takes a lovely little message. ‘Prisoner Zero has escaped.' But why tell us? Unless...” He stands.

“Unless what?”

“Prisoner Zero escaped through here it seems,” Kathy says.

The Doctor frowns. “But he couldn't have. We'd know.” He runs out of the room with Kathy and Amelia. The Doctor stands on the landing and looks around, confused. “It's difficult. Brand-new me, nothing works yet. But there's something I'm missing... in the corner…” he turns to face one of the doors at the other end of the hall, “…of my eye.”

There is an echoing sound of machinery along with a deep bell. The Cloister Bell. Kathy and the Doctor share a panicked look.

The Doctor runs down the stairs yelling, “No, no, no, no, no, no!” With Amelia and Kathy following.

——

They run back into the back garden to the TARDIS.

“I've got to get back in there! The engines are phasing, it's going to burn!” The Doctor yells.

“But... it's just a box! How can a box have engines?” Amelia asks, not understanding.

Kathy frees the grappling hook and gathers the rope. “It's not a box. It's a time machine.” She quickly explains.

Amelia replies disbelieving, “What, a real one? You've got a real time machine?”

“Not for much longer if I can't get her stabilised.” The Doctor grabs the rope from Kathy. “Five-minute hop into the future should do it.”  He loops rope through door handles. 

“Can I come?” Amelia asks hopefully.

“Not safe in here, not yet. Five minutes. Give me five minutes, I'll be right back.” The Doctor hops onto the edge and prepares to go inside.

“People always say that,” Amelia says sadly.

Kathy turns away from jumping onto the TARDIS as well and looks into her face. “Look we’ll come back, even if we take longer than 5 minutes. Okay?” She knows it won’t take 5 minutes and hopes what she says will help.

“Trust us. We’re the Doctor and Kathy.” The Doctor adds with a wink.

Amelia smiles and Kathy climbs onto the TARDIS next to the Doctor. Holding onto the rope, they give Amelia one last look before jumping. 

“Geronimo!” They yell. The TARDIS doors slam shut and dematerialise. 

——

2008 AD/CE

The TARDIS gives them some problems but eventually materialises in Amelia’s back garden. Kathy had tried repeatedly to get there earlier but the TARDIS doesn’t let her, determined to arrive 12 years late. The door opens and the Doctor and Kathy emerge amid billowing smoke, cloth held over their noses and mouths. 

“Amelia! Amelia!” The Doctor runs towards the house, while Kathy walks at a slower pace. She glances at the not-so-new shed. It still has been way longer than 5 minutes. 

“I worked out what it was. I know what I was missing! You've got to get out of there!” The Doctor uses his screwdriver on the door lock and it opens after a few tries. Kathy doesn’t know why he didn’t just use hers.

“Amelia?!” The Doctor runs upstairs with Kathy cautiously following, expecting a cricket bat at any moment. 

“Amelia, are you all right? Are you there?” He goes immediately to the door that troubled him before and tries to open it with the screwdriver it doesn’t work so he reaches into Kathy’s pocket and grabs hers. “Prisoner Zero is here. Prisoner Zero is here! Prisoner Zero is here! Do you understand me? Prisoner Zero is...” he turns and is hit on the head with a cricket bat.

Kathy turns to the frightened woman. “No, Amelia, Amy, please!”

Amy pauses in surprise before whacking her as well.

——

Kathy slowly comes to, and, as her vision clears, she sees a female police officer in a very short skirt speaking into her radio. 

“White male and female, mid to late 20s, breaking and entering. Send me some backup, I've got them restrained.” Amy, Kathy realises, is speaking into a radio in a not-so-Scottish accent as the Doctor groans awake. “Oi, you! Sit still.” 

“Cricket bat. I'm getting cricket bat.” The Doctor mutters.

“Me too.” Kathy agrees. She rattles her wrists looking down at the handcuffs that are attached to the radiator. Mother like daughter.

“You were breaking and entering.” Amy retorts.

The Doctor tries to stand seemingly not having noticed what Kathy had and gets caught causing him to stumble. “Well, that's much better. Brand-new me, whack on the head. Just what it needed.”

“Do you want to shut up now?” Amy barks out in irritation. Kathy winces at the volume. “I've got backup on the way!”

“Hang on, no, wait- you're a policewoman.” The Doctor says, now taking in her appearance.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Kathy remarks.

Amy gives her a sharp look before turning to the Doctor. “And you're breaking and entering. You see how this works?”

“But what are you doing here? Where's Amelia?” He retorts. He looks around as if expecting the little girl to pop out any second.

“Amelia Pond?” Amy questions, staring at him in interest.

“Yeah. Little Scottish girl. Where is she?” The Doctor demands to know. “We promised her five minutes but the engines were phasing.”

“You promised her.” Kathy retorts.

“Fine, I promised her.” He grumbles. “I suppose we must have gone a bit far. Has something happened to her?” 

“Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time,” Amy states curtly. Technically not a lie as Amelia is now Amy but still a bit of a lie.

“How long?” The Doctor questions.

Amy stares him down with an even expression. “Six months.” 

The Doctor’s eyes widen dramatically and shakes his head in disbelief. “No, no, no! I can't be six months late! I said five minutes. I promised.”

Amy narrows her eyes slightly, looking like she wants to retort angrily to this but she walks away, reaching for her radio. 

The Doctor leans forward looking panicked as he pulls on the cuffs causing Kathy’s wrist to bang sharply on the radiator. “What happened to her? What happened to Amelia Pond?” 

“Sarge, it's me again. Hurry it up, this guy knows something about Amelia Pond.” Amy says curtly into her fake radio. 

Kathy groans rubbing her head. The cricket bat has given her a horrible headache and is making her feel irritated with Amy’s performance. “Please Amy, will you just drop the act and the English accent? It sounds weird.”

Amy whips round, looking pointedly at Kathy as if to tell her to shut it.

The Doctor glances between them, looking confused. “Amy? Who’s Amy?”

“She is.” Kathy points with her free hand.

“Your name’s Amy?” He questions.

“Yeah. What of it?” Amy retorts, staring heatedly at them.

The Doctor frowns and shakes his head quickly. “Names aside, we need to speak to whoever lives in this house now.” He says firmly.

“That’s her.” Kathy points at the woman who shoots her another look of irritation. Kathy is enjoying getting on her nerves, payback for the cricket bat.

“But you're the police.” The Doctor states, frowning in confusion. Kathy decides to keep the whole kiss-o-gram thing quiet for a bit longer as it’s too funny when it’s revealed.

“Yes, and this is where I live. You got a problem with that?!” Amy retorts.

Kathy checks her pockets and her eyes widen in panic. “Uh, guys, I think I’ve lost my sonic, I can’t find it.” 

The Doctor frowns and checks his own. “Mine too.” He yanks on the cuffs and then turns to Amy. “Get us out, please?”

“I can't… I lost the key.” She admits looking embarrassed.

The Doctor looks at her in disbelief. “How could you have lost it?!” He asks, exasperated.

“Look I know where the sonics are.” Kathy interrupts. She gazes down the hallway to the sixth door. The Doctor looks straight at the door while Amy looks blankly. “They both went under the door though why mine since it was in my pocket, I don’t know.”

“That thing has pockets?” Amy questions doubtfully, staring at Kathy’s Tudor dress that is falling apart.

“Yes!” Kathy snaps.

“We’re going to have to get them out somehow.” The Doctor mutters.

Amy looks around before turning to them, furrowing her eyebrows heavily. “What are you two on about?”

“The sixth door at the end of the hallway.” The Doctor answers, he points with his free hand.

Amy narrows her eyes, giving the floor another quick look and then turning back to him. “There’s only five rooms.”

“No, there’s six,” Kathy says evenly. “It’s always been there. Sometimes you’ve noticed it. You’ve heard strange noises that you’ve passed off as your imagination. Look where you never want to look, the corner of your eye. Look behind you.”

Amy slowly looks and freezes at the sight of the door. “That's... That is not possible.” She breathes fearfully. “How's that possible?”

“There's a perception filter round the door.” The Doctor explains quickly. “Sensed it the last time we were here. Should've seen it.”

“But that's a whole room,” Amy states, still sounding frightened. “That's a whole room I've never even noticed.”

“The filter stops you. Something came a while ago to hide. It's still hiding.”

Amy starts walking towards the door. 

“Stay away from that door!” The Doctor instructs but she keeps steadily walking. 

“You said your tools were in there, right?” Amy asks. “Someone needs to get them.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Kathy warns the girl but Amy reaches for the doorknob. 

“Do not touch that door!” The Doctor orders but Amy simply sends him a glare before stepping inside. “Why does no one ever listen to me? Do I just have a face that nobody listens to? Again...?” 

“Apparently, I have one too,” Kathy grumbles.

“Do you have anything?” He quickly asks her.

She shakes her head. “Nothing except a scanner, which isn’t useful.”

“There's nothing here. Those things you were looking for… what do they look like?” Amy calls out to them.

“Silver, blue at the end.” The Doctor answers.

“Same but it has a red light and metal claws,” Kathy replies.

“Found them. They’re here.” Amy tells them, sounding nervous.

“Must have rolled under the door.” The Doctor decides.

“Yeah. Must have… and then it must have jumped up on the table...” 

The Doctor and Kathy look at each other in alarm. “Get out of there!” They yell. “Get out!”

“Amy, please, you have the sonics, get out of there!” Kathy pleads while the Doctor stretches as far as he can with the handcuffs.

“There's nothing here, but...” Amy speaks with a wavering voice.

“Don't try to see it.” The Doctor commands urgently. “If it knows you've seen it, it will kill you. Don't look at it.”

Kathy tenses when she hears a gasp from Amy then a loud growl and a scream. Amy runs out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She dashes down the hall to them, handing back their screwdrivers. 

Kathy wipes the slime from her silver, red-lit sonic while the Doctor tries his own to work on locking the door. The tool buzzes weakly. He turns it to the handcuffs. It doesn't work. “What's the bad alien done to you?”

“Will that door hold it?” Amy asks.  

“Oh, yeah, yeah, course! It's an inter-dimensional multi-form from outer space - they're all terrified of wood.” The Doctor retorts sarcastically.

“Still rude,” Kathy mutters. Fortunately, hers is still working and she manages to unlock the cuffs from their wrists. They both stand quickly as a bright light is seen coming from under the doorway.

“What's that? What's it doing?” Amy questions.

The Doctor wipes his screwdriver with his finger. “I don't know, getting dressed? Run. Just go. Your backup's coming, I'll be fine.” 

“There is no backup,” Kathy says anxiously as she watches the door.

The Doctor looks at her, surprised. “But I heard her on the radio, she called for backup.” He insists.

“I was pretending. It's a pretend radio.” Amy replies.

“But you're a policewoman.”

“I'm a kiss-o-gram!” She removes her hat and her ginger hair falls free. The Doctor gapes in shock while Kathy sniggers.

At that moment, the door to the mystery room is kicked down roughly into the hallway to show a man in blue coveralls holding the lead to a large Rottweiler. He walks forward into the hall. 

Amy blinks dumbly. “But it's just...” She trails off as if unable to understand exactly what she is seeing.

“No, it isn't. Look at the faces.” The Doctor says steadily. The man growls and barks while the dog remains impassive. 

“What?” Amy scoffs. “I'm sorry, but what?”

The Doctor smirks. “It's all one creature. One creature disguised as two.” He explains. Man and dog turn heads in unison. “Clever old multi-form. A bit of a rush job, though. Got the voice a bit muddled, did you?” The man and dog’s heads whip back to stare straight at the Doctor, who gazes back curiously. “Mind you, where did you get the pattern from? You'd need a psychic link, a live feed. How did you fix that?” 

It snarls loudly. The multi-form advances on the Doctor, Kathy and Amy and opens his mouth showing the same teeth as in its previous form. Amy backs up frightened while Kathy goes to stand in front of the girl to make sure the creature doesn’t go for her.

“Stay, boy!” The Doctor barks. The creature halts its advance and closes its mouth. “We're safe. Want to know why? She sent for backup.”

“I didn't send for backup!” Amy exclaims in aggravation and fright.

Kathy rolls her eyes and turns to look at her over her shoulder. “He knows that. It was a clever lie to save our lives.”

Amy winces in embarrassment. “Oh.”

The Doctor gives her a sharp look before gazing back strictly at the creature. “OK, yeah, NO backup! And that's why we're safe. Alone, we're not a threat to you. If we HAD backup, then you'd have to kill us!”

They all suddenly stiffen when a booming voice rings loudly outside the house, echoing. “Attention, Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded.” It bellows. It’s the same voice from the crack. “Attention Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded.”

Prisoner zero gazes around robotically before marching off to look outside from another room.

“What's that?” Amy asks as the voice, the Atraxi, continues to bellow.

“Not backup,” Kathy says.

“Yes, it is!” The Doctor says in a panicked tone.

Kathy shakes her head, exasperated. “No, it really isn’t.”

“Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.” 

“Okay, I see your point.” The Doctor admits. The voice repeats its warning. 

“I vote we leave,” Kathy says.

“Great idea.” The Doctor cries, his tone full of panic. He turns to Amy. “Run. Run!” He pushes her and he and Kathy follow her down the stairs.

——

They run outside and Kathy uses her screwdriver on the door. 

“Kiss-o-gram?” The Doctor questions Amy.

“Yes!” Amy snaps.

“Why'd you pretend to be a policewoman?” The Doctor asks.

Kathy huffs and shoves the two of them. “You broke into her house!” She snaps.

“Exactly!” Amy exclaims as she goes along with Kathy’s shoving. “It was this or a French maid!” She follows them to the smoking TARDIS. “What's going on? Tell me! Tell me!”

The Doctor stops outside the TARDIS. “An alien convict is hiding in your spare room disguised as a man and a dog, and some other aliens are about to incinerate your house.” He says in one breath. “Any questions?”

Amy blinks before furrowing her eyebrows. “Yes.” She states.

“Me too.” The Doctor mutters as he tries to open the door but the key to the TARDIS won't work. “No, no, don't do that, not now!”

“She’s still rebuilding, Doctor,” Kathy says. “It won’t do her or us any good if she lets us in now.” She hears a thankful hum coming from the ship.

Prisoner Zero, still in the form of the man and dog, watches from the window, barking at them. 

“Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.” The Atraxi repeats.

Amy grabs the Doctor and Kathy by the arms. “Come on.” She urges. She pulls them along but the Doctor digs his heels.

“No, wait, hang on, wait, wait, wait. The shed.” He runs to the garden shed, looking over it hurriedly. “We destroyed that shed last time we were here, smashed it to pieces.”

“So, there's a new one. Let's go.” Amy retorts as she and Kathy follow.

“Wrong,” Kathy states, giving Amy a pointed look. “That’s an older shed.”

“She’s right. It got old.” The Doctor responds. He taps at the side of it. “It's ten years old at least.” He sniffs the wood before rubbing his finger along the wood and tasting it. “Twelve years. We’re not six months late, we’re 12 years late.” He turns, looking suspiciously at Amy.

“He's coming.” Amy tries weakly to change the subject. The Doctor steps toward her with narrow eyes.

“You said six months.” He states. “Why did you say six months?”

“Because you said five minutes,” Kathy says casually, catching his attention. She shrugs and tilts her head towards Amy. “She’s Amelia Pond. Grown-up, hasn’t she?”

The Doctor’s eyes widen, staring at them in shock and disbelief with his mouth hanging open. “What?” He gasps.

Amy rolls her eyes and grabs Kathy and the Doctor’s hands to drag them with her. The Doctor continues to stutter “what?” as they run along with Amy, past Prisoner Zero, who is standing at the door. They rush away from the house to put some distance between them and Prisoner Zero.

——

They reach a good distance away when the Doctor halts them so he can look at Amy. “You're Amelia.” He states, clearly trying to process that the little girl he had met 5 minutes ago is now twelve minutes older.

“You're late.” Amy snaps, glaring, as she turns to stomp down the road. The Doctor and Kathy hurriedly pace to keep up with her.

“Amelia Pond, you're the little girl.” The Doctor says.

“I'm Amelia and you're late.” Amy retorts as she marches on.

“Technically I’m not, I just promised we’ll arrive eventually,” Kathy says, causing them to pause. “So, I didn’t break any promises, unlike him.” She jabs a thumb at the Doctor, who lets out a huff.

“I suppose,” Amy mutters, rolling her eyes.

“Forgive me?” Kathy tries to pull her best pout.

Amy gives her a pointed look as if to pretend to be angry and annoyed but a smile slips. “Okay, I forgive you.” Kathy beams and throws her arms around Amy. Amy chuckles before turning to the Doctor and frowning at the Doctor, who is still gaping like a goldfish. “I’m still cross with him though.”

“B-but that’s… what happened?” The Doctor snaps.

Amy turns around and continues walking, linking her arm with Kathy’s. “12 years.” She snaps.

“You hit me with a cricket bat.” He says dumbly.

“12 years.”

“A cricket bat.”

“12 years and four psychiatrists.” Amy counters.

“Four?” The Doctor parrots.

“I kept biting them,” Amy replies, embarrassed.

“Understandable.” Kathy comforts. Amy gives her a smile.

“Why?” The Doctor asks.

“They said the two of you weren't real,” Amy explains quietly.

Atraxi’s voice is then heard coming out of the speakers of an ice cream van sitting in the centre of the village. “Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.”

Amy’s eyes go wide in fright and alarm. “No, no, no, come on… What? We're being staked out by an ice cream van?” 

The Doctor and Kathy head for the van followed by Amy. 

“What's that? Why are you playing that?” The Doctor questions.

“It's supposed to be Claire De Lune.” Comes the reply. The man looks uncomfortable by how far the Doctor is sticking his head into the window.

Kathy looks wide eyed at the ice cream; she hasn’t had any in years. “Oooo!” 

“No.” The Doctor says. Kathy pouts. He picks up the player and listens as the message is repeated. 

They begin to notice the message being played across other devices as well. People of the village stand around in confusion at their mobile phones or music players.

“What's happening?” Amy breathes in a panic. The Doctor and Kathy don’t answer as they bolt towards a nearby house. The Doctor leaps over a low white fence into a pretty front garden while Kathy runs around to the front with Amy following. 

——

They run into a house of an elderly woman, Mrs Angelo, trying to change the channel on her TV but they all show the Atraxi’s eye and say the same message. 

“Hello!” The Doctor and Kathy greet brightly together as the woman notices them.

“Sorry to burst in, we're doing a special on television faults in this area.” The Doctor explains.

“Also, crimes,” Kathy adds, smiling. The woman blinks at them in shock.

“Let's have a look.” The Doctor takes the remote from her.

“I was just about to phone.” Mrs Angelo tells them, getting over the surprise as Kathy and the Doctor go over to the TV. “It's on every channel.” The Doctor begins banging the remote and Mrs Angelo sees Amy. “Hello, Amy, dear. Are you a policewoman now?”

“Well, sometimes,” Amy replies, looking embarrassed.

“I thought you were a nurse.” Mrs Angelo states, frowning in puzzlement.

Amy shifts on the spot. “I can be a nurse.” She mutters. Kathy gives her an amused smirk.

“Or, actually, a nun.” Mrs Angelo continues, digging Amy into a bigger hole.

“I dabble.” Amy chuckles nervously.

“Amy, who are your friends?” Mrs Angelo asks. 

The Doctor frowns and turns away from the telly. “Who's Amy? You were Amelia.” He questions curiously.

“Yeah, now I'm Amy,” Amy grumbles, still looking slightly flushed from the embarrassment earlier.

“Amelia Pond. That was a great name.” The Doctor argues, shaking his head in disapproval.

“Bit fairy tale.” Amy retorts.

“She’s got you there,” Kathy mutters.

“I know you two, don't I?” Mrs Angelo suddenly asks. “I've seen you both somewhere before.”

“Maybe her but not me. Brand-new face...” The Doctor makes a face and Mrs Angelo blinks in bewilderment. “First time on.” He turns to Amy and looks at her like a strict parent. “And what sort of job's a kiss-o-gram?” Kathy rolls her eyes at him.

“I go to parties and I kiss people.” Amy tries to casually respond, clearing her throat. “With outfits. It's a laugh.” 

“You were a little girl five minutes ago.” The Doctor argues.

“You're worse than my aunt.” Amy retorts. 

“I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt.” He counters harshly before calming down and turning to Mrs Angelo. “And that is not how I'm introducing myself.” The Doctor picks up a radio and uses the sonic screwdriver on it. They hear the same message about Prisoner Zero in French and German before it turns it off. “OK, so it's everywhere, in every language. They're broadcasting to the whole world.” He opens a window and looks up.

“What's up there? What are you looking for?” Amy questions.

The Doctor pulls his head back inside. “OK, planet this size, two poles, your basic molten core... They're going to need a 40% fission blast.” The Doctor rambles as Jeff enters and the Doctor walks up to him. 

“They'll have to power up first though. So, with a medium-sized starship, that's 20 minutes.” Kathy says.

Jeff is tall, which Kathy can tell the Doctor is not pleased with as he has to stand on tip-toe to meet him and then goes back down. “20 minutes? Yeah, 20 minutes. We've got 20 minutes.”

“20 minutes to what?” Amy questions the Doctor and Kathy. Jeff blinks in astonishment and confusion as the Doctor walks away to answer Amy’s question.

“Are you the Doctor and Kathy?” Jeff asks, interrupting the Doctor before he can speak. 

Mrs Angelo’s face brightens. “They are, aren’t they? They’re the Doctor and Kathy!” She states merrily. “The Raggedy Doctor and the Tattered Kathy. All those cartoons you did when you were little. The Raggedy Doctor and Tattered Kathy, it's them.” Kathy grins while the Doctor stares in confusion.

Amy blushes and grumbles a “Shut up” as she averts her eyes in humiliation. 

The Doctor now looks bemused. “Cartoons?” He goes to sit on the sofa.

“Gran, it's them, isn't it? It's really them!” Jeff lets out a slight laugh in disbelief.

“Jeff, shut up!” Amy snaps then turns to the Doctor. “20 minutes to what?” The ‘eye’ is still on the TV, broadcasting its warning. 

“The human residence. They're not talking about your house, they're talking about the planet. Somewhere up there, there's a spaceship and it's going to incinerate the planet. 20 minutes to the end of the world.” The Doctor explains.

“What?!” Amy exclaims in panic.

“Don’t worry, Amy. We deal with this kind of thing all the time.” Kathy casually replies. Amy scoffs.

Chapter Text

A young boy runs down the road with a toy helicopter. The Doctor, Kathy and Amy are walking fast in the opposite direction. 

“What is this place? Where am I?” The Doctor asks Amy.

“Leadworth.” Amy answers.

“Where's the rest of it?” He continues to ask.

Amy rolls her eyes. “This is it.” She says curtly.

“Not much except a post office that’s shut. Oh, and a duck pond.” Kathy states, coming to a halt when seeing the small pond they had been walking past.

“Why aren't there any ducks?” The Doctor questions.

Amy stares at them in disbelief, scoffing even louder. “Will you two just focus?” She barks. “It doesn’t, okay? There's never any ducks.”

“Then how do you know it's a duck pond?” Kathy points out.

“It just is. Is it important, the duck pond?” Amy retorts.

The Doctor has another regeneration tremor. “I don't know. Why would I know?” Kathy catches him, holding him up as he clutches his chest and twitches. “I'm not ready, I'm not done yet.”

The sky darkens and they both look up. The trio gaze up at the sky that has a strange shimmer covering it. The sun itself appears grey and flickering before becoming an odd shade of yellow and red.

“And there’s the force field.” Kathy mutters. “Great. Just great.”

“The what?” Amy questions, squinting at the sky. “What's happening? What's wrong with the sun?” 

“Nothing.” The Doctor states. “You're looking at it through a force-field. They've sealed off your upper atmosphere, now they're getting ready to boil the planet.” Amy looks at them sharply, Kathy knows the freakout is coming. The Doctor stands and looks at the green where the villagers are taking photos of the sun. “Oh, and here they come, the human race. The end comes, as it was always going to- down a video phone!” 

Kathy turns and pulls out the apple from the Doctor’s pocket. The Time Lord jumps at the intrusion.

“Before you freak out, take a look at this.” Kathy states, tossing Amy the apple. 

Amy catches it and turns it around to find the smiley face carved on there. She gasps before looking back up at Kathy and the Doctor. “This-this isn't real, is it? It can’t be real. You told me you had a time machine and you said you knew the future.” 

“Technically not everything.” Kathy corrects.

“And you believed us.” The Doctor adds.

“Then I grew up.” Amy retorts still staring at the fresh apple.

The Doctor groans. “Oh, you never want to do that.”

Amy stares at the two, looking uncertain and seems to be having an internal debate on whether to stay put and stand her ground or run. “Who are you two? Really, who are you?”

“I’m Kathy, short for Katherine.” Kathy says gently, trying to ease the girl into believing them.

“I'm the Doctor.” The Doctor says evenly. “We’re time travellers. Everything we told you twelve years ago is true. We’re real. What's happening in the sky is real, and if we don't do something now, everything you've ever known is over.”

Amy shakes her head. “B-but, how can Kathy see the future?”

“I’m originally from a different universe Amy, where all of this is a TV show and I don’t always see the Doctor in order.” Kathy explains, she gently cups the young girl’s hands and gives her a reassuring smile. “I know it’s insane and trust me I thought that too at the beginning, but right now we need you for 20 minutes, just 20.”

Amy nods. “What do we do?” She asks.

“Stop that nurse!” The Doctor exclaims. 

——

The Doctor runs onto the green with Kathy right behind him.

Kathy lets out a loud squeal once she spots the companion and runs full sprint after the Doctor. “Rory!” She exclaims gleefully as she throws her arms around him. Kathy hadn’t seen Rory that much but she always loved his character. The Doctor looks unfazed by Kathy’s behaviour as he takes Rory’s phone and looks at it while Rory and Amy look bewildered.

“Uuuhhh… h-hello?” Rory stutters. He cranes his neck to look at her. “C-can I help you?” 

“Ah, sorry.” Kathy chuckles, embarrassed. “Just happy to see you again.” Rory blinks at her as she pulls away.

“The sun's going out, and you're photographing a man and a dog. Why?” The Doctor questions Rory rapidly before handing the phone back to him.

“Amy?” He greets the girl who’s just caught up with them.

“Hi!” Amy exclaims with a plastered smile on her face, grabbing his arm. “Oh, this is Rory, he's a... friend.”

“Boyfriend.” Rory corrects.

“Kind of boyfriend.” Amy mutters.

Rory’s face drops slightly in disappointment though does not look too shocked. “Amy!” Kathy feels sorry for him.

“Man and dog, why?” The Doctor continues to push.

Rory’s eyes slowly widen, blinking greatly now with his mouth opening in shock as he stares at Kathy and the Doctor. “Oh, my God, it's them.” He states in disbelief.

Amy’s eyes and smile twitch. Kathy can see another blush coming on. “Just answer his question, please.” Amy says.

Rory points a stunned finger at the two. “It's them, though. The Doctor. The Raggedy Doctor and the Tattered Kathy.” Kathy is enjoying being on the receiving end of this shock.

“Yeah, they came back.” Amy mutters, looking like she wants to disappear.

“But they were a story.” Rory continues. “They were a game.” 

The Doctor looks frustrated at the lack of focus on his questions and grabs Rory by the shirt, shaking him. “Man and dog, why? Tell me now.”

Rory blinks rapidly. “Sorry.” Rory says, taken aback. “Because he can't be there. Because he's—” 

“—in a hospital, in a coma.” Rory and the Doctor say in unison.

Rory’s eyes go wider in shock. “Yeah.” He nods quickly.

The Doctor grins in triumph. “Knew it. Multi-form, you see?” He states knowingly. He lets go of his shirt. “Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a live feed, a psychic link with a living but dormant mind.” He pokes Rory in the head. 

“Well done, Rory.” Kathy congratulates. “That Dr. Ramsden should’ve listened to you.”

Rory blinks in astonishment. “H-how do you know about that?” He questions.

“She’s a psychic.” Amy states.

“No, I just know a version because I’m from universe where this is a TV show.” Kathy corrects. “I just told you, Amy!”

“What?!” Rory exclaims.

Prisoner Zero then snaps and snarls, drawing their attention. It’s still dressed as the man and dog from the house with the man still doing the dog sounds.

The Doctor walks closer. “Prisoner Zero.” He states lightly.

Rory looks even more startled and steps forward to Amy. “What, there's a Prisoner Zero too?” He asks.

“Yes.” Amy says quickly.

There is an electrical buzzing and they look up to see a spaceship fly over the green. The eye begins to swivel back and forth with a silver crystalline structure of spires forming a circle around it. 

The Doctor slips his screwdriver from his pocket discreetly. “See, that ship up there is scanning this area for non-terrestrial technology.” He tells Prisoner Zero. “And nothing says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver.” Prisoner Zero gives him a confused expression as the Doctor holds it above his head and turns it on.

There is chaos as streetlights shatter, car alarms blare, sirens wail and everyone begins shouting. A fire engine drives away on its own, chased by the firemen. Amy laughs and Kathy joins in at the sight of them while Rory looks around in disbelief. Prisoner Zero’s expression turns to worry as the Atraxi begin to move closer as they continue scanning.

“I think someone's going to notice, don't you?” The Doctor remarks sarcastically. Prisoner Zero begins to bark and snarl in rage.

The Doctor lowers the screwdriver, aiming it at the phone box, which explodes causing the group to jump. The screwdriver itself then sparks and fizzles, causing the Doctor to wince and drop it on the ground. It lies charred and smoking.

“No, no, no, don't do that!” The Doctor cries, crouching down to look at his sonic screwdriver in utter dismay. He glares at the tool as he picks it up before throwing it down again. “Kathy, your sonic, quick!”

Kathy digs into her pocket to get her own but she’s not fast enough and the ship heads away. She knows she should have had it out but at the same time, she knows that the next part of the plan will definitely work. Using a sonic could’ve gotten them confused with Prisoner Zero for all she knew.

Prisoner Zero smirks at them and turns into a ‘mist’ and escapes down the drain. 

“Kathy! Doctor! The drain. It just sort of melted and went down the drain.” Amy tells them. 

“Well, of course it did.” The Doctor retorts.

“What do we do now?”

“It's hiding in human form. We need to drive it into the open.” Kathy quickly explains.

“No TARDIS, no screwdriver, 17 minutes. Come on, think. Think!” The Doctor mutters desperately.

——

The Doctor, Kathy, Amy, and Rory are standing above the drain. 

“So that thing, THAT hid in my house for 12 years?” Amy asks in disbelief.

“Multi-forms can live for millennia. 12 years is a pit-stop.” The Doctor explains distractedly.

“So how come you two show up again on the same day that lot do? The same minute?” Amy questions suspiciously.

“They're looking for him, but followed us.” Kathy argues. “They saw us through the crack, got a fix. They're only late cos we are.” 

“What's she on about?” Rory questions.

“Nurse boy, give me your phone.” The Doctor demands suddenly, thrusting out his hand for Rory beside him.

Rory doesn’t pay attention to it and looks across the Doctor and Kathy to his girlfriend. “How can they be real? They were never real.” He questions.

“Well, you and Amy were never real, either. But look at all of us now.” Kathy adds.

“Phone, now, give me!” The Doctor exclaims in aggravation. 

Rory gives the Doctor the phone though still looking distracted as if still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Amy’s imaginary friends have appeared. “You were both just a game.” Rory says to Kathy as the Doctor and Amy are focused elsewhere. “Amy and I were kids. She made me dress up as him and she as you.” Kathy raises an eyebrow at Amy who blushes.

“These are all coma patients?” The Doctor asks Rory, ignoring the conversation around him.

“Yeah.”

“No, they're all the multi-form.” The Doctor corrects. “Eight comas, eight disguises for Prisoner Zero.”

“He had a dog, though. There's a dog in a coma?” Amy questions confused.

“The coma patient dreams he's walking a dog, Prisoner Zero gets a dog.” 

Kathy thinks they’re lingering too much. “Laptop!” She exclaims. “Jeff had a laptop. We need it.”

“Right, laptop! The good looking friend Jeff.” The Doctor speaks rapidly. “Big bag, big laptop. Yes, we need Jeff's laptop.” The Doctor pats Rory and Amy’s shoulders brightly. “You two, get to the hospital, get everyone out, clear the whole floor. Phone me when you're done.” He grabs Kathy’s hand and runs off with her half being dragged and half running behind him.

——

Kathy beats the Doctor to Jeff’s room after getting out of his grip, making sure to say hello to Mrs Angelo again before throwing open the bedroom door. Jeff is lying on his bed using his laptop. 

“Jeff, we need your laptop!” She shouts. The Doctor appears behind her.

“Kathy?!” Jeff shouts, his voice cracking. “W-what are you doing?”

“Sorry, would be more polite but we’re in a hurry.” Kathy replies quickly.

“Laptop, give it!” The Doctor adds.

“Hang on!” Jeff yells, he refuses to let go as Kathy tries to pry it from him. “No, no, no, no, wait, hang on!”

Kathy eventually is able to get it out of his hands and proceeds to the bottom of the bed with the laptop. She’s aware of Jeff looking anxiously over her shoulder and she understands why when she takes in the images in front of her.

“O-oh.” She stutters. A hand flies over her eyes.

“Blimey! Get a girlfriend, Jeff!” The Doctor shouts, pulling the laptop out of Kathy’s grasp. “Kathy, just, uh, be patient another minute. No need to see any more of that!” He removes his hand.

Kathy snaps around to look at Jeff. “Really?!” She hisses. “With your grandmother in the house?!”

The door opens and Mrs Angelo enters. 

“Gran.” Jeff gasps. 

“What are you doing?” The woman asks the Doctor as he begins typing.

“The sun's gone wibbly, so right now, somewhere out there, there's going to be a big video conference call.” The Doctor answers, looking up as he keeps typing as he talks. “All the experts in the world panicking at once, and do you know what they need? Me.” 

“Show off.” Kathy grumbles. The Doctor grins.

A long list appears on the screen. Kathy notes that Jeff is poking his head in between her and the Doctor’s shoulders. 

“Ah, and here they all are. All the big boys. NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Centre, Patrick Moore.” The Doctor says.

“Ooh, I like Patrick Moore!” Mrs Angelo pipes in.

The Doctor points a finger at her. “I'll get you his number, but watch him, he's a devil.”

“You can't just hack in on a call like that.” Jeff protests

“Can't I?” The Doctor holds his psychic paper to the webcam as multiple faces appear.

“Who are you?” A voice demands from the computer.

“This is a secure call! What are you doing?” Another adds.

“Hello.” The Doctor greets. “I know, you should switch me off. But before you do, watch this.” Very rapidly, the Doctor begins to type out a code.

“It's here too, I'm getting it.” One says. 

“Fermat's Theorem,” the Doctor continues, “the proof, and I mean the real one, never seen before. Poor old Fermat, got killed in a duel before he could write it down. My fault, I slept in.” Kathy snorts, she’s enjoying watching this. “Oh, and here's an oldie but a goodie- why electrons have mass. And a personal favourite of mine, faster-than-light travel with two diagrams and a joke. Look at your screens. Whoever I am, I'm a genius. Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas, pay attention.”

——

The Doctor moves to Rory’s phone, typing away as Kathy and Jeff sit on either side of him, watching. 

“Sir, what are you doing?!” A voice shouts from the computer.

“I'm writing a computer virus. Very clever, super-fast, and a tiny bit alive, but don't let on.” The Doctor responds, brandishing his finger at the computer screen. “Why am I writing it on a phone? Never mind, you'll find out.” Kathy can’t help but roll her eyes. “OK, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, radar dish- whatever you've got. Any questions?” 

“I do.” A voice pipes up. “Who was your lady friend?”

“Patrick, behave!” The Doctor exclaims with a smile.

“What does this virus do?”

“It's a reset command, that's all. It resets counters, it gets in the wifi and resets every counter it can find.” The Doctor answers. “Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time.”

“But, yeah, he could be lying, why should you trust him?” Kathy says. “Well, we’ll let our best man explain.” There’s silence as everyone stares at her confused. “Jeff,” she whispers, “you're our best man.”

“Your what?” Jeff looks startled and terrified.

The Doctor closes the laptop partway and places a hand on his shoulder. “Listen to me. In ten minutes, you're going to be a legend. In ten minutes, everyone on that screen is going to be offering you any job you want. But first, you have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working.” Jeff nervously nods. “This is it, Jeff. Right here, right now. This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world.”

Jeff sits there in awe. “Why me?”

“It's your bedroom.” Kathy retorts.

“Now go, go, go.” The Doctor grabs Kathy and pulls her out of the room.

“You’ll be great Jeff!” She calls.

The Doctor stops, causing Kathy to crash into him. He turns back and opens the door again. “Oh, and delete your internet history.” He leaves again.

——

The Doctor and Kathy run out of the house. The Doctor pauses and looks around then runs off towards a fire engine. Kathy runs after him.

“Um, I’m unsure about this!” She yells after him.

“It’ll be fine!” He yells back. 

“Yeah, you said that when we meet Elizabeth I.” She mutters to herself so he can’t hear. The Doctor jumps into the driver’s seat and Kathy jumps into the passenger.

Kathy frowns at him. “No, wait, maybe I should drive.”

“It’s been a thousand years since you drove!” The Doctor retorts.

“At least I’ve had lessons on how to drive in this country, bet you do whatever you want!” Kathy argues.

“So?”

Kathy huffs. “We need to get to Amy and Rory as quick as possible plus there’s no time like the present to brush up on my driving.”

The Doctor concedes and Kathy is driving them toward the hospital.

Rory’s phone starts ringing and the Doctor picks up. “Hello?”

Kathy keeps her eyes anxiously on the road as the Doctor pauses and listens to what Amy is saying on the other end.

“Oh, come off it. Can’t get through. Look in a mirror!” He shouts then pauses before speaking again. “Don’t worry, we’ve commandeered a vehicle.” The Doctor shuts the phone, tossing it to his side. He leans across Kathy and turns on the fire engine siren. She had been expecting it but considering how anxious she has been while driving, it causes her to cling to the wheel for dear life while the Doctor laughs.

Amy phones the Doctor again. “Amy? Are you in?” Kathy knows the young girl is telling him Prisoner Zero is inside. “You need to get out of there!”

“Amy? Amy, what's happening?” Kathy floors it to get them there quicker despite everything telling her that she should really slow down for safety reasons. “Amy, talk to me!”

“They’ll be fine, Doctor.” Kathy reassures him despite not feeling calm herself. “They’re trapped in ward but we’ll get to them.”

The Doctor ends the call with a quick goodbye before turning to Kathy. “Which window?”

“First floor on the left, fourth from the end.” She answers. The Doctor pulls out the phone and texts quickly. Kathy breathes deeply as she tries to stay calmer despite being about to crash into a hospital.

Kathy sharply turns the wheel and rams the fire engine into the hospital wall. The ladder from the fire engine breaks through the window. The Doctor climbs up the ladder and joins Amy and Rory in the hospital. He drags Kathy behind him.

“Did you just crash into the hospital?!” Amy splutters as she hurries over to them. Rory stares at them in complete bafflement. Kathy can see Prisoner Zero watching them but in the form of a woman with two little girls.

“No…” Kathy mumbles, feeling like a child being told off by her mother.

“Right! Hello! Am I late?” The Doctor glances at the clock. “No, three minutes to go. So still time.”

“Time for what, Time Lord?” Prisoner Zero mocks. The Doctor steps forward with Kathy next to him.

“Take the disguise off.” The Doctor says. “They'll find you in a heartbeat. Nobody dies.”

Prisoner Zero grits its teeth together and glares at him. “The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire.” Prisoner Zero declares.

The Doctor chuckles but he speaks again he doesn’t sound amused, “OK. You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again, just leave.” He instructs.

“I did not open the crack.”

The Doctor frowns. “Somebody did.”

Prisoner Zero grins. “The cracks in the skin of the universe, don't you know where they came from?” It asks mockingly. The Doctor doesn’t respond and it grins even more. “You don't, do you?” The voice changes to a little girl’s in a sing-song tone. “The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. Doesn't know, doesn't know!” The ‘woman’ goes back to her normal voice. “The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall.”

Kathy shifts uncomfortably as she knows who did and recalls that time loop she had been stuck in as well as whose silence the creature is referring to. There is a clicking sound. Kathy looks up at the clock and sees it's all zeros. She grins.
 
The Doctor smirks in victory as he looks up at the wall. “And we're off! Look at that.” Prisoner Zero looks at him blankly. He points behind the multiform to the clock. “Look at that!” Everyone else turns to look.

“Yeah, I know, just a clock, whatever.” The Doctor retorts when greeted with silence. “But do you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team are working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing? They're spreading the word all over the world, quantum fast. The word is out.” Prisoner Zero turns its head back around looking confused and frightened. The Doctor has a victorious smirk. “And do you know what the word is? The word is zero.”

“And right now, high up in the Earth’s atmosphere, the Atraxi ships are monitoring and listening to all Earth commutations and have probably taken the hint.” Kathy states brightly, grinning. “And will in no time at all, be able to track this simple old computer virus to its source, which seems to be…”

“…right here!” The Doctor finishes. He takes out Rory’s mobile from his pocket and holds it up. The Doctor gives a sly smirk and Kathy grins cheekily as the precarious situation dawns on the multi-form. A bright light shines through the windows. “Oh! And I think they just found us!”

Prisoner Zero’s expression remains calm but Kathy can see the fear in its eyes. “The Atraxi are limited.” It says coolly, smirking. “While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not me.”

“Yeah, but this is the good bit.” The Doctor responds, waving the mobile at the creature. 

“I mean, this is always my favourite bit.” Kathy agrees. 

“Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you.” The Doctor remarks. “Every form you've learned to take, right here. Ooh, and being uploaded,” he scrolls with his finger across the screen, “about now. And the final score is - no TARDIS, no screwdriver - two minutes to spare.” He gives his most triumphant and cheeky smile yet, throwing out his arms. “Who da man?!” He is greeted by silence. Kathy presses her lips together so as to not laugh as she takes in the Doctor’s deflated expression as Prisoner Zero looks at him with a displeased expression and Amy and Rory look at him as if he is mad. “Oh, I'm never saying that again! Fine.” 

“Then I shall take a new form.” Prisoner Zero says, gaining everyone’s attention. Kathy knows what’s coming and doesn’t like the smirk on the multi-form’s face.

“Oh, stop it, you know you can't.” The Doctor scoffs. “Takes months to form that kind of psychic link.”

“And I've had years.” Prisoner Zero’s form glows a golden colour. Kathy hears a body fall to the floor and sees, as she expected, Amy lying unconscious on the floor. Rory falls to his knees beside his girlfriend, gripping her hand. Kathy and the Doctor hurriedly run over to kneel beside them.

“No! Amy?” The Doctor puts his hands to Amy’s face. “You've got to hold on. Amy! Don't sleep! You've got to stay awake, please.” He tries calling.

Rory looks up at Prisoner Zero. Kathy turns to it as Rory says, “Doctor?” The Doctor joins them in staring at the multi-form now in the form of the Doctor in his new body.

The Doctor stares at his image in bewilderment. “Well, that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?” He asks Kathy and Rory. 

“It's you.” Rory says confused. Kathy gets it cause most know what they look like.

“Me? Is that what I look like?” The Doctor replies dumbly.

Kathy snorts fondly. “Yes, it is.”

“Why me, though? You're linked with her. Why are you copying me?” The Doctor asks rapidly, walking over to the creature.

“I'm not.” Comes the voice of Amelia Pond. The little girl appears from behind the image of the Doctor with a cunning Lear on her face. “Poor Amy Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor and Kathy she knows will return to save her. What a disappointment you've been.”

Kathy narrows her eyes at Prisoner Zero, trying to hold back from retorting and instead turns to the unconscious girl next to her.

“Look, Amy, I know you can hear me.” Kathy whispers, cupping Amy’s face. “Focus on my voice and listen.” She glances up and sees that the image of the Doctor had been replaced with her own. Kathy grins knowing that it’s working. Little Amelia Pond frowns in confusion while the Doctor grins. Kathy turns back to Amy. “I need you to concentrate. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see? Remember you went inside. Remember that big and ugly eel with needle teeth. Now show us that image, let everyone see.” Kathy smirks at Prisoner Zero’s wide eyes.

“No... no... No!” The multi-form screams as it glows and transforms. It fades and reveals the eel-like creature that seems to be hanging from the ceiling.

“Well done, Prisoner Zero. A perfect impersonation of yourself.” The Doctor mocks as he smirks at the creature. The multi-form hisses, showing its sharp teeth and growls in rage at him as it is caught in the light and writhes. 

“Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained.” The Atraxi announces from outside. 

Prisoner Zero stops fighting and turns to the Doctor. “Silence, Doctor. Silence will fall.” The creature snarks. Soon it vanishes as it is beamed up to the ship. There is a whoosh of air as the ship leaves. 

Kathy sees the confusion on the Doctor’s face as he probably is trying to figure out what the multi-form meant. She knows she can’t say anything right now. To her relief, he shakes his head and runs over to the window. Kathy follows him as they look to see if the ship had indeed left earth and the sky turned to normal. The Doctor then pulls out Rory’s phone from his pocket and begins to dial quickly while Kathy moves back to Amy and tries to gently nudge her awake.

“The sun, it's back to normal, right? That's... That's good, yeah? That means it's over.” Rory asks.

“Yep. Sort of.” Kathy confirms as Amy comes back around. Kathy helps the disoriented girl sit up

“Amy? Are you OK? Are you with us?” Rory asks her. Kathy watches the Doctor with Rory’s phone knowing he’s calling the Atraxi back.

“What happened?” Amy groans.

“He did it. The Doctor did it.”

“No, I didn't.” The Doctor corrects, focused on the phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Tracking the signal back. Sorry, in advance.” The Doctor remarks.

“About what?” Rory questions. Kathy winces.

“The bill.” Rory opens his mouth to speak when he says that but already the Doctor is speaking into the phone. “Oi, I didn't say you could go! Article 57 of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established, level 5 planet, and you were going to burn it? What...? Did you think no-one was watching? You lot, back here. Now!” He tosses the phone back to Rory. “OK. Now I've done it.” He turns on the spot and marches out of the ward and Kathy and Amy follow.

“Did he just bring them back? Did-did he just save the world from aliens and then bring all the aliens back again?” Rory questions in disbelief.

“Come on Rory!” Kathy calls to him. She hears Rory scrambling onto his feet to follow them.

——

The Doctor strides down the corridor, determined. Amy, Kathy and Rory follow. 

“Where are you going?” Amy asks him.

“The roof. No, hang on.” He enters the changing room. Considering she’s in front of them. Kathy sticks out her arms to stop Amy and Rory from following.

“Nope. We wait here.” Kathy says. She turns so her back toward the door and uses her body as a barrier.

“But the Doctor’s in there.” Amy interjects, trying to step around her. “I want to know what he’s planning.”

“Why’s he in there anyway?” Rory questions frowning. 

“Getting changed.” Kathy explains. Amy raises an interested eyebrow. Kathy points a finger at her. “No.” Amy huffs.

“He is stealing clothes now? Those clothes belong to people, you know.” Rory argues.

“Look, he needs to look less raggedy.” Kathy says. This placates them but neither looks pleased though for different reasons.

——

The Doctor leaves the changing room now wearing a long-sleeved shirt, trousers with braces and a number of ties draped around his neck. Amy and Rory try to demand answers as they all head to the roof.

He strides to where the Atraxi ship is waiting. Amy and Rory stand back a bit. 

“So, this was a good idea, was it?” Amy asks as they step out onto the roof. The Atraxi ship hovers above it. “They were leaving.”

“Leaving is good.” The Doctor states.

“But never coming back is better.” Kathy adds. The Doctor walks up close to the ship. Rory and Amy keep their distance but Kathy hovers behind the Doctor just to his right.

“Come on, then!” The Doctor loudly calls. “The Doctor will see you now.”

The eye disconnects from the ship and scans the Doctor. “You are not of this world.” It concludes.

“No, but I've put a lot of work into it.” The Doctor replies, placing the braces onto his shoulders. He fiddles with the ties. “I don't know. What do you think?” He holds up the different ties, he looks to Kathy for her opinion. She shakes her head and he throws the ties over his shoulder, letting Rory catch them.

“Is this world important?” The Atraxi ask.

“Important? What's that mean, important?” The Doctor retorts in disbelief. He tosses a tie and Rory catches it. “6 billion people live here - is that important? Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi?” He throws another tie that lands on Amy’s shoulder, and she gives it to Rory. “Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. IS this world a threat?”

The Atraxi projects a hologram of the Earth with scenes from history. “No.” The alien concludes.

“Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?”

Another series of images and videos run through the projection. “No.”

“OK.” The Doctor nods, staring the alien down. He begins placing on a tie, adjusting it around his neck. “One more. Just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first lot to come here.” As he speaks, the projection shows Cybermen and Daleks, the Queen of the Racnoss, Ood, Sycorax, a Sontaran, a Sea Devil, Reapers, the Hath and the Vashta Nerada in the spacesuit. Kathy watches, knowing she hasn’t met them all. “Oh, there have been so many! And what you've got to ask is... what happened to them?” The projection now goes from the first incarnation to the others. The Doctor shrugs on his tweed blazer and gives a quick adjustment to his bow tie. Standing tall, he walks through the Tenth Doctor as his image appears. “Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically... run!”

The eyeball zooms back into the main structure and departs quickly. Kathy laughs and cheers. She has always loved this moment. She throws her arms around the Doctor and gives him a hug and he laughs. Kathy hears Amy begin laughing as well. The Doctor suddenly jumps back and reaches into his pocket and pulls out the TARDIS key and it's glowing. 

The Doctor grins brightly and bounces away and runs from the roof as he drags Kathy behind him. She huffs as she has to yank up the Tudor dress she’s still wearing, falling to pieces, as to follow without falling on her face.

——

Kathy and the Doctor ‘borrow’ another vehicle to get to Amy’s from the hospital. Both of them get to the garden and observe the new exterior of the TARDIS. Kathy affectionately strokes the door and smiles when she hears a hum coming from the ship.

“OK! What have you got for me this time?” The Doctor says. He unlocks the door and they open the doors and stand amazed. 

“Look at you!” The Doctor smiles. “Oh, you sexy thing! Look at you!”

“Just like I remember.” Kathy adds. The console room no longer has the grunge look and has glass flooring and stairs that go off in multiple directions. It glows warns colours and has more room under the console. They step inside and send the TARDIS off.

“Right off we go. Gotta get Amy that well deserved trip. Can’t leave her waiting.” The Doctor says cheerfully as he darts around the console.

Kathy purses her lips. “Yeah, about that.”

“What?”

“You need to drop me off and you’re going to be late again.” Kathy says quickly.

“Drop you off?! Late?!” The Doctor exclaims, looking distraught.

“Yeah. You know I don’t stay with you, not for long and I can’t control when you turn up! It happens out of your control. Plus, Amy said it happens again.” She explains.

“Please tell me it’s not twelve years again.” The Doctor whines.

“No, just two.” Kathy replies, trying to soften the blow.

“Uuuhhgg…”

“Also, just noticed, don’t think I’ve got a key yet and it’s been a thousand years since I stepped aboard!” Kathy exclaims.

“Ah, well.” The Doctor rubs the back of his neck, reminding her of his past self. He pulls out a key for her. “Welcome aboard.”

“Only a bit late.” Kathy smirks.

Chapter Text

1599 AD/CE

Kathy arrives in London a couple of years before the Tenth Doctor and Martha arrive, so as to settle herself into this life. She gets a job at the Elephant Inn under Dolly Bailey.

Carlyle and Ashildr are still off doing their own thing though they did pop in after Kathy arrived in London. Kathy warned them that they can’t stay for long as the Doctor that will be arriving hasn’t met Ashildr yet.

There is a performance of Loves Labour's Lost at the Globe and once she hears that William has announced that Loves Labour's Won will be performed the next night instead of next week, Kathy knows that the Doctor and Martha have arrived.

As she serves up the three men at the inn, she’s buzzing with excitement at meeting a new companion. It’ll be odd and emotional seeing this Doctor after saying goodbye not long before. It will also be the second youngest she has seen the Doctor.

——

“Here ya go, Will. Drink up.” Kathy says as she walks into the room and places down a tray of tanks of beer. “There's enough beer in this lodgings house to sink the Spanish.” She doles out the tanks to three men at the table.

“Kathy Davis, you've saved my life.” Will remarks.

“I’m sure Dolly Bailey will do more than that later tonight.” Kathy replies. She turns to Lilith, one of the witches pretending to be a maid. “And you, girl, hurry up with your tasks. The talk of gentlemen is best not overheard.” She knows this is one of the witches but she does not want to give the game away.

“Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am.” Lilith says. Kathy watches her leave with narrowed eyes. She knows the Doctor will turn up soon,  she felt the pull when he arrived.

“You must be mad, Will.” Richard Burbage, otherwise known as Dick, declares. “‘Loves Labour's Won’? We're not ready. It's supposed to be next week. What made you say that?”

“You haven't even finished it yet.” Will Kempe points out.

“I've just got the final scene to go. You'll get it by morning.” Will reassures. He drinks his beer.

“Hello!” Kathy sees the Tenth Doctor appear and knock on the open door. “Excuse me! I'm not interrupting, am I? Kathy?” He faults when he sees her before grinning. “Hello!”

“Hello there.” Kathy says.

“Brilliant!” The Doctor turns to Will. “Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?”

Will groans, putting a hand to his forehead. “Oh no, no, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove...” he then sees Martha standing behind the Doctor. “Hey, nonny nonny. Sit right down here next to me.” Will turns to Dick and Kempe. “You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go.”

“Come on, lads. I think our William's found his new muse.” Kathy remarks to the two men.

Martha sees Kathy and gives her a hug. “Kathy! It’s great to see you again. How are you here?”

“Well, firstly for me it’s the first time and secondly, why not?”

Martha frowns, confused. “What?”

“I’ll explain later.” The Doctor mutters.

“Sweet lady.” Will says in awe as Martha and the Doctor sit at the table. “Such unusual clothes. So... fitted.”

“Um, verily, forsooth, egads.” Martha stumbles. Kathy can see she’s nervous and excited. It reminds her of Rose. Kathy looks at the Doctor sadly knowing this is him just after his loss.

“No, no, don't do that. Don't.” The Doctor says to her before holding out the psychic paper to Will. “I'm Sir Doctor of TARDIS and this is my companion, Miss Martha Jones.”

Will observes the paper. “Interesting, that bit of paper. It's blank.”

The Doctor stares at him impressed. “Oh, that's... very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius.”

Martha peers at the paper. “No, it says so right there. Sir Doctor, Martha Jones. It says so.”

“And I say it's blank.” Will retorts.

“Psychic paper. Um, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch.” The Doctor complains to Martha. He puts the psychic paper away.

“So rude.” Kathy remarks.

“Psychic. Never heard that before and words are my trade.” Will wonders. “Who are you exactly? More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?”

Martha is shocked at his words. “What did you say?” She asks, aghast.

“Oops.” Will says though he doesn’t look sorry. “Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric...”

“Hey, Will.” Kathy quickly interrupts. “The lady does not like it, so stop.” Martha gives her a thankful look. Will shrugs carelessly but stops speaking.

“Um, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia.” The Doctor explains.

“Excuse me!” Mr Lynley, the Master of the Revels, enters the room. “Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed.”

“Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it 'round.” Will reassures.

“I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine.” Lynley snaps. “The script, now!”

“I can't.”

“Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled.” Lynley announces.

“It's all go, 'round here, isn't it?” Martha remarks.

“I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, ‘Love's Labours Won’ will never be played.” Lynley declares. He leaves. Kathy wishes to stop it but she doesn’t know how as she can’t help but think of the consequences if the witches learn they’ve been caught too soon.

Martha takes a sip of her beer. “Well, then... mystery solved. That's ‘Love’s Labours Won’ over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know... more mysterious.”

Just as she says those words, they hear screaming from outside. Oh no, she had failed. They rush out to the street where Lynley is staggering and spitting up water. Dolly Bailey joins them.

“It's that Lynley bloke.” Martha says.

“What's wrong with him?” The Doctor questions.

“He’s drowning.” Kathy tells him.

“Drowning? Leave it to me. I'm a doctor.” The Doctor says. He goes to Lynley's side.

“So am I near enough.” Martha joins him.

Lynley falls to the ground despite Martha and the Doctor holding him. Kathy squeezes her eyes closed so as not to look at another life she has failed to save. The Doctor stands and runs to look down the street.

Martha listens for a heartbeat and breathing. “Gotta get the heart going. Mr Lynley, c'mon, can you hear me? You're gonna be all right.” She prepares to start mouth-to-mouth as the Doctor returns and Kathy joins them. Water gushes from Lynley's mouth. “What the hell is that?”

“I've never seen a death like it. His lungs are full of water, he drowned and then... I dunno, like a blow to the heart, an invisible blow.” The Doctor observes in disbelief. “Kathy?”

“There’s something else at play that we can’t tell these lot.” Kathy replies.

“You’re right.” He stands and addresses Dolly. “Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away.”

“Yes, sir.” Lilith joins them. Kathy gives her a stony look.

“I'll do it, ma'am.” Lilith says. She walks away. The Doctor crouches back down beside the body.

“And why are you telling them that?” Martha asks.

“The Dark Ages has only just finished.” Kathy explains.

“If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft.” The Doctor adds.

“Okay, what was it then?” Martha asks.

“Witchcraft.”

——

They all walk back into the Elephant Inn, digesting what has happened.

“I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You and Miss Jones are just across the landing.” Dolly Bailey says. She leaves.

“Poor Lynley. So many strange events.” Will says. “Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?”

“Where a woman can do what she likes.” Martha replies.

“And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?”

“I do a lot of reading.” The Doctor replies shortly.

“A trite reply. Yeah, that's what I'd do.” Will shrugs off and turns to Martha. “And you, you look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me. While Kathy is unsurprised. Understandable as she’s always been a mystery herself.”

Kathy shrugs with a smirk.

“I think we should say good night.” Martha quickly says. She leaves.

“I must work. I have a play to complete.” Will announces as the Doctor and Kathy walk to the door. “But I'll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours.”

The Doctor stops at the doorway. “All the world's a stage.” Kathy rolls her eyes and leaves as they continue to talk.

——

“How do you know who I am if we’ve never met?” Martha questions Kathy as the latter joins the former in her room. “Last time I met you, you said you had met me before and I thought maybe that’s how you knew what was going to happen with the Judoon but this time you seem to know a lot more than you say and I can’t have told you. So, what gives?”

“You’re good Martha Jones.” Kathy casually remarks.

Martha huffs and puts her hands on her hips. “Well, come on! You’re not just an alien, are you?”

“No, I was human once.” Kathy explains. It’s getting confusing who she’s told what.

Martha’s eyes widen in disbelief. “What, how? How did you change?” She asks.

Kathy shrugs. “Don’t really know, just that I was human, living my life and watching this Tv show called Doctor Who.”

Martha feels back in shock. “What?!”

“Yeah.” Kathy chuckles. “Then one day I die just after my 21^st birthday and reborn into a different world and suddenly I am meeting the alien that I had watched on Tv so much and everyone he’s travelled with it seems.” She knows she’s met a lot of them but there’s still some to go even with just new who companions.

“So, you’re from a different dimension?”

“Yeah, seems so.”

“How did you die?” Martha asks. Kathy pulls a face, about to avoid it when the Doctor walks in.

“It's not exactly five-star, is it?” Kathy says to quickly change the conversation. Taking Martha’s line seemed a quick way to do it. The Doctor looks at her softly. She knows he probably heard the tail end of their conversation but also wonders if she ever tells him what she dares not to think about.

“Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse.” The Doctor casually replies.

Martha, unhappy about the change in conversation, moves on. “I haven't even got a toothbrush.”

“Ooh.” The Doctor pats his pockets and pulls out a brush. “Contains Venusian spearmint.”

Martha takes it. “So, who's going where? I mean, there's only one bed.” She points out. Kathy winces. This is the bit she didn’t like about the time Martha travelled with the Doctor, the unrequited crush.

“Well, I already have a room so don’t mind me.” Kathy says.

“We'll manage. C'mon.” The Doctor flops onto the bed. Martha continues standing.

Kathy knows she needs to get moving if she wants to try to save Dolly, the next victim. “I’ve got to go. There’s something to do. Hopefully I’m successful.” She says, turning to leave the room.

“With what?” Martha asks.

“Spoilers.”

——

“Dolly.” Kathy greets her once she finds the woman.

“Kathy.” Dolly greets back. “You go to bed now. Nearly finished with the cleaning then Will be getting his special treat tonight.” Dolly does a wink.

“Maybe you should go to bed?” Kathy suggests. “Will has a long night of finishing the play and he might be too tired.”

“He better not.”

“Dolly please.” Kathy pleads.

Dolly huffs irritably. “I know you worry for me Kathy but I can look after myself.”

“Dolly…” Kathy pushes despite the growing irate coming from Dolly.

“Go to bed Kathy! I’m in charge, you’re not.” Dolly storms off towards Will’s room.

Kathy doesn’t know what to do except to wait. Before long she hears Dolly scream and bolts to the room.

——

She arrives to see Will slumped over. Dolly lies unmoving and Kathy quickly attempts to do CPR but soon realises it isn’t doing anything. Will wakes with a start when the Doctor and Martha enter and stop to examine Dolly's body.

“Wha'? What was that?” Will slurs sleepily.

Kathy lets out a small sob. “I tried to save her.”

“It’s not your fault, Kathy.” The Doctor says, putting a comforting hand on her back. Martha meanwhile runs to the window.

“Her heart gave out. She died of fright.” The Doctor observes. “Kathy, what happened?”

“Lilith did this.” Kathy tearfully replies. She really shouldn’t have grown attached to this woman, knowing what was coming, but she couldn’t help herself. It seems Kathy always seems to be hurting herself when it comes to this. “She’s a witch. The one Martha is watching fly away.”

“Doctor?” Martha calls. The Doctor and Kathy join her at the window.

“What did you see?” The Doctor asks.

“Just as Kathy said.  A witch.”

——

They gather in Will’s room in the inn at dawn the next day. The Doctor and Martha sit at his desk while Kathy leans against the wall feeling guilty though she does feel glad that despite living over a thousand years of this life, she can still feel sorrow when someone dies.

“Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey.” Will says as he looks out the window before turning to them. “She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place. We all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit.” He sits.

“‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’” The Doctor murmurs.

“I might use that.” Will remarks.

Kathy huffs. “Not the time.”

“You can't. It's someone else's.” The Doctor dismisses the writer. But not for a couple more hundred years if Kathy remembers correctly.

“But the thing is, Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright and they were both connected to you.” Martha says contemplatively.

“You're accusing me?” Will asks, frowning.

“No,” Martha denies, “but I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away, and you've written about witches.” Kathy winces.

“I have? When was that?” Will asks, flabbergasted.

“Not, not quite yet.” The Doctor tells her in a low voice.

“Peter Streete spoke of witches.” Will murmurs.

“Who's Peter Streete?” Martha asks.

“The builder.” Kathy explains, drawing their attention. “He sketched the plans to the Globe.”

“The architect. Hold on.” It begins to dawn on the Doctor. “The architect! The architect!” He slams his fist on the table and jumps up. “The Globe! Come on!” He rushes off, followed by Martha, Kathy and Will.

——

The Doctor is in the pit of the Globe while Martha, Kathy and Will are onstage. Kathy watches as he darts about, thinking it best to let him work things out naturally as much as she can. She still fears messing things up too much sometimes.

“The columns there, right? 14 sides.” The Doctor contemplates, gazing around him. “I've always wondered but I never asked... tell me, Will, why 14 sides?”

“It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. Said it carried the sound well.” Will shrugs as he answers.

“14. Why does that ring a bell? 14...”

“There are 14 lines in a sonnet.” Martha points out.

“So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design.” The Doctor paces. “14 lines, 14 sides, 14 facets... Oh, my head. Tetradecagon... think, think, think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!” He hits himself on the top of his head.

“This is just a theatre.” Will argues.

“The Globe is not just a theatre.” Kathy argues. “It’s a powerful place where the right words with the right emphasis at the right time could make people weep, or cry with joy, change them. You would have the ability to change people's minds just with words in this place. And if you exaggerate that...” She can see the dots connecting in the Doctor’s mind.

“It's like the Doctor’s police box. Small wooden box with all that power inside.” Martha adds.

“Oh. Oh, Martha Jones, I like you.” The Doctor remarks joyfully. “Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?”

“You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place... lost his mind.” Will explains solemnly.

“Why? What happened?” Martha asks.

“Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled.”

“Where is he now?” The Doctor asks.

“Bedlam.” Kathy winces at his words.

“What's Bedlam?” Martha questions.

“Bethlem Hospital.” Kathy answers her. “It’s where those deemed mentally ill go.” That’s putting it lightly.

“We're gonna go there. Right now. Come on.” The Doctor declares. He heads out. Martha and Kathy follow as does Will.

“Wait! I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand!” Will calls. Two young actors enter that Kathy recognises but doesn’t know their names. Will hands one the script. “Ralph, the last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round. Learn it. Speak it. Back before curtain up. Remember, kid, project. Eyes and teeth. You never know; the Queen might turn up.” He walks out.

Kathy looks back at him with a smirk. “As if. She never does.”

Will points at her. “You know something.”

Kathy shrugs, “Spoilers,” and they hurry to catch up with the Doctor and Martha.

——

In the street, Will starts questioning Martha. “So, tell me of Freedonia, where women can be doctors, writers, actors.”

“This country's ruled by a woman.” Martha argues.

“Ah, she's royal. That's God's business. Though you are a royal beauty.” Will flirts. Martha stops causing Will and Kathy, whose just behind them, to stop.

“Whoa, Nelly! I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country.” Martha laughs.

“But Martha, this is Town.”

The Doctor runs over to them, annoyed. “Come on! We can all have a good flirt later.”

Will gives the Doctor a once over and smirks. “Is that a promise, Doctor?”

Kathy laughs. “Oh, brilliant Will.” She pats him on the shoulder. “You’ve made some academics very happy.”

The Doctor groans and rolls his eyes. “Come on!”

——

They enter Bedlam and are greeted by loud screams and moans sound. The Doctor, Kathy, Martha and Will are led through the halls. Kathy can’t help but think it looks like an old-time dungeon.

“Does my lord, Doctor, wish some entertainment while he waits?” The Jailer offers. “I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for ya. Bandog and Bedlam!” Kathy flinches as a man reaches for her from his cell (what other word should she call it?), begging to be free.

“No, I don't!” The Doctor snaps, disgusted.

“Wait here, my lords, while I make him decent for the ladies.” The Jailer walks away.

Martha turns on Will. “So, this is what you call a hospital, yeah? Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?”

“Oh, and it's all so different in Freedonia.” Will mocks.

“But you're clever! Do you honestly think this place is any good?” Martha argues.

“I've been mad. I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose.” Will counters. Kathy can see him looking around the place, the look on his face is a mixture of appalled and fearful.

“Mad in what way?”

“You lost your son.” Kathy says softly. She remembers losing her little Payton so many years ago. She looks at the sad look on the Doctor’s face, recalling he knows the loss of your own children far too well.

 “My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there.” Will confesses sombrely.

“I didn't know. I'm sorry.” Martha apologises.

“It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be...” he continues before stopping. “Oh, that's quite good.”

“You should write that down.” The Doctor remarks.

“Hm, maybe not. A bit pretentious?” The Doctor shrugs at his words.

“Nothing wrong with that now and again.” Kathy argues with a small smile. The whole place seems to be getting to her.

“This way, m'lord!” The Jailer calls. They walk down the hall to Peter Streete's cell. The Jailer unlocks the door. Peter is sitting on a bench in rags with his back to them. “They can be dangerous, m'lord. Don't know their own strength.”

“I think it helps if you don't whip them! Now get out!” The Doctor snaps. The Jailer looks shocked at his words and leaves and the Doctor and Kathy approach Peter slowly. The Jailer closes and locks the cell. “Peter? Peter Streete?”

“He's the same as he was. You'll get nothing out of him.” Will tells them.

“I beg to differ.” Kathy says. She lays a hand on Peter's shoulder. “Peter?” Peter's head jerks up and he looks at the Doctor and Kathy with wild, glassy eyes and seems like he wants to speak.

The Doctor places his fingertips along Peter's face. “Peter, I'm the Doctor. Go into the past, one year ago. Let your mind go back, back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A winter's tale. Let go. Listen. That's it, just let go.” He lies Peter down on his cot and stands with Kathy. “Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches.”

“Witches… spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered.” Peter speaks. His body jerks and his hands come up to his gear as if to mimic the whispering. “Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. Their design! The 14 walls, always 14. When the work was done… they,” he laughs manically, “they sapped poor Peter's wits.”

“Where did Peter see the witches? Where in the city?” The Doctor prompts. Peter struggles to respond, panting heavily, his mind slipping. He crouches beside Peter. “Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me where were they?”

“All Hallows Street.”

“Too many words.” Hisses one of the witches that appears next to the Doctor. Kathy leaps in surprise though she knew the creature was going to appear. She follows the Doctor as he goes to stand beside Martha.

“What the hell?” Martha exclaims in shock.

“Just one touch of the heart.” The creature holds up her pointer finger.

“Noooo!!” Kathy leaps forward to stop her but the creature is too quick and lays a hand on Peter's chest.

“Ahhhhh!” Peter cries as he dies. Kathy feels tears pricking her eyes, the consolation is that Peter will no longer be tormented by the cruel world.

“Witch! I'm seeing a witch!” Will cries in disbelief. Kathy almost finds it funny that this is probably what is going to inspire him to write Macbeth.

“Who would be next, hmm? Just one touch.” The witch mockingly jests. “Oh, oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals.”

Martha turns to shout at the door. “Let us out! Let us out!” Kathy stays calm as she knows they’ll be fine.

“That's not gonna work.” Kathy tells her. “The whole building's shouting that.”

“Who will die first, hmm?” The witch asks.

“Well, if you're looking for volunteers.” The Doctor offers. He walks towards the creature.

“No! Don't!” Martha exclaims.

“Doctor, can you stop her?” Will questions fearfully.

“No mortal has power over me.” The witch says smugly.

“Oh, but there's a power in words.” Kathy argues. Her expression drops. “If he can find the right one, if he can just know you...” She herself doesn’t name her as she wants the Doctor to work it out himself.

“None on Earth has knowledge of us.” The creature, the Carrionite, protests.

“Then it's a good thing I'm here.” The Doctor remarks. “Now think, think, think... Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy... ah, 14! That's it! 14! The 14 stars of the Rexel planetary configuration! Creature, I name you Carrionite!” The Carrionite wails and disappears.

“What did you do?” Martha asks.

“I named her. The power of a name. That's old magic.” The Doctor answers.

“But there's no such thing as magic.”

“Well, it's just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead.” The Doctor explains.

“Use them for what?” Will asks.

“The end of the world.” Kathy states. Will and Martha look at her wide eyed.

——

They retreat back to the Elephant Inn. Will begins cleaning himself in a bowl as the Doctor talks.

“The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend.” The Time Lord paces.

“Well, I'm going for real.” Will remarks as he pats down his face with a towel.

“But what do they want?” Martha questions, leaning against a cabinet.

“A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft.” Kathy answers.

“But how?”

“I'm looking at the man with the words.” The Doctor looks pointedly at Will.

“Me? But I've done nothing.” Will argues looking bewildered at the accusation.

“Hold on, though.” Martha says thoughtfully. “What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?”

“Finishing the play.”

Kathy raises an eyebrow. “What happens on the last page?”

Will shrugs. “The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual,” he frowns, “except those last few lines. Funny thing is... I don't actually remember writing them.”

“That's it. They used you.” The Doctor realises. “They gave you the final words. Like a spell, like a code. "Love's Labours Won", it's a weapon! The right combination of words, spoken at the right place with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes, you can have that.” Will smirks.

A map is pulled out and the Doctor looks at it. “All Hallows Street. There it is. Martha, Kathy, we'll track them down.” They nod. Kathy knows she’ll be no help going with Will. “Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play!”

“I'll do it.” Will shakes the Doctor's hand. “All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing.”

“Oh, don't complain.” Martha remarks.

“I'm not. It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor.”

“Good luck, Shakespeare.” The Doctor heads for the door with Kathy and Martha behind him. “Once more unto the breach!”

“I like that.” Will compliments before realising, “Wait a minute... that's one of mine.”

Kathy pokes her head around the door. “Oh, just shift!”

——

“All Hallows Street, but which house?” The Doctor murmurs as they wander down the street. Kathy struggles to remember which house it is as they all look the same.

“The thing is, though... am I missing something here? The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me, I'm living proof.” Martha argues.

“That’s not how it works Martha.” Kathy protests. “Not everything stays the same. Like the film "Back to the Future" where Marty McFly goes back and changes history meaning he starts fading away.”

Martha’s eyes widen when it dawns on her. “Oh my God, am I gonna fade?”

“You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it.” The Doctor declares. “But which house?” The door to Lilith's house slowly opens. “Ah, make that witch house.”

They walk inside to where Lilith is waiting. The place is filled with chains, whips and other decorations from a horror film. Lilith stands at the end of the room smirking maliciously at them.

“I take it we're expected.” The Doctor remarks.

“Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time.” Lilith calmly replies.

“Right then, it's my turn.” Martha steps forward. “I know how to do this.” She points. “I name thee, Carrionite!” Lilith is unaffected and chuckles. Martha frowns in confusion. “What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?”

“The power of a name works only once. Observe.” Lilith points at Martha. “I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones.” Martha collapses and Kathy lowers her to the ground.

“What have you done?” The Doctor cries kneeling down next to them.

Lilith looks mildly annoyed. “Only sleeping, alas. Curious, the name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time. And as for you, Sir Doctor!” She points, expecting a reaction but nothing happens. “Fascinating. There is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair? Oh, but look. There's still one word with the power that aches.”

“The naming won't work on me.” The Doctor snaps.

“But your heart grows cold.” Lilith continues, pleased she’s caught him. “The north wind blows and carries down the distant... Rose.”

The Doctor stands. “Oh, big mistake 'cos that name keeps me fighting! The Carrionites vanished! Where did you go?” He demands to know.

Lilith huffs. “The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness.”

Lilith and the Doctor begin a back and forth of how they escaped and what the Carrionites’ plans are. The Carrionite boasts about how their species will return. Kathy stays by Martha, watching over her.

“Hmm... busy schedule... but first you gotta get past me.” The Doctor now stands face-to-face with Lilith.

“Oh, that should be a pleasure considering my enemy has such a handsome shape.” Lilith runs her fingers along his face seductively.

“Now, that's one form of magic that's definitely not gonna work on me.” The Doctor retorts.

“Oh, we'll see.” She yanks a lock of hair from his head and backs away. Kathy worries that if she tries to stop the Carrionites’ current actions, she might do much worse.

The Doctor fingers his head. “What did you do?”

“Souvenir.”

“Well, give it back!” Lilith throws up her arms and the window behind her opens and she flies out backwards, levitating outside. The Doctor runs to the windowsill. “Well, that's just cheating.”

Lilith practically cackles. “Behold, Doctor. Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets.” She pulls out a doll and wraps his hair about it. Kathy sees Martha waking slowly.

“Wha—”

“Ssh.” Kathy quietly murmurs. “Not yet.” Once Lilith leaves, they can help the Doctor and save the earth.

“What use is your science now?” Kathy hears Lilith says as she stabs the doll. The Doctor lets out a cry and falls to the floor as Lilith cackles and flies away.

Kathy and Martha rush to the Doctor.

“Oh my God! Doctor! Don't worry, I've got you.” Martha rolls him onto his back

“Martha, he’s fine.” Kathy tells her. “Two hearts remember?”

“Right.” Martha sighs. “Come on mister.”

“You're making a habit of this.” The Doctor murmurs, he quickly stands and nearly falls. “Aahh!” He cries. Kathy and Martha support him. “I've only got one heart working. How do you people cope?”

“I used to cope just fine.” Kathy retorts.

“I've got to get the other one started. Hit me! Hit me on the chest!” The Doctor orders. Martha hits him. “Aahh! Other side!” Kathy hits him this time. “On the back! On the back!” Martha does so. “Left a bit!” Kathy does it. “Ahh, lovely.” The Doctor stands. “There we go! Ba-da-boom! Well, what are you standing there for? Come one! The Globe!” He rushes out followed by Martha and Kathy.

They run out through the streets but the Doctor begins running in the wrong direction. Kathy stops once she realises while Martha continues to follow.

“We're going the wrong way!” Martha yells.

“No, we're not! Running down a different street.” The Doctor argues. Kathy stands and waits for him to realise.

“We're going the wrong way!” They run back the way they came, past Kathy. “Come on Kathy!”

Kathy rolls her eyes and follows.

They all hear screaming and see a red glow of energy pouring from the Globe. The play had already done its part. People on the street run around screaming while a preacher cries, “I told thee so! I told thee!” Thunderclouds and lightning form over the Globe mixing with the red glow as the three run into the theatre to stop the chaos.

——

They enter the theatre through the back door to find Will sitting on the ground, holding his head.

“Stop the play! I think that was it. Yeah, I said, "Stop the play"!” The Doctor yells at him.

“I hit my head.” Will groans.

The Doctor rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Yeah, don't rub it, you'll go bald.” He remarks. Screams can be heard from out front. “I think that's my cue!” He runs out with Kathy. Martha grabs Will's hand and they follow.

“Now begins the millennium of blood!” The Carrionites cackle as Kathy and the Doctor run onstage with Martha and Will behind them. Kathy winces at the force of the wind. Lilith holds up the crystal orb.

“The Doctor! He lives! Then watch this world become a blasted heath! They come! They come!” Lilith cries. The remaining Carrionites freed from the crystal fly about the Globe.

The Doctor grabs Will. “Come on, Will! History needs you!”

“But what can I do?” Will asks, bewildered.

“Reverse it!” Kathy yells. “You need to say the right words and the Globe will give it power!”

“But what words? I have none ready!” Will protests.

“You're William Shakespeare!” The Doctor reasons, swatting his arm.

“But these Carrionite phrases, the need such precision!”

“You can do this Will. Trust yourself.” Kathy cries. “When you're locked away in your room, the words just come, don't they? Like magic. Words that last forever!”

“That's what you do, Will! You choose perfect words. Do it. Improvise!” The Doctor persuades.

Will takes a moment to compose himself as he turns to the flying Carrionites. “Close up this den of hateful, dire decay! Decomposition of your witches' plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Doctor tells me I am not!”

“No! Words of power!” Lilith wails.

“Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points...” Will looks to the Doctor.

“7-6-1-3-9-0!” The Doctor replies loudly so as to be heard over the screeches.

“7-6-1-3-9-0! And banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee...” Again, looks to the Doctor who is at a loss. Kathy decides not to say anything, to let Martha have her moment.

“Expelliarmus!” Martha cries.

“Expelliarmus!” The Doctor reiterates.

“Expelliarmus!” Will finishes. The Carrionites scream in anguish.

“The deep darkness! They are consumed! Ahhh!” Lilith cries. The wraith-like Carrionites get sucked up into the cloud, tornado fashion, as do all copies of the play.

“‘Love's Labours Won’. There it goes.” The Doctor says as the papers fly past them. The cloud dissipates and the audience sighs in relief and then begins applauding. The Doctor ducks out as the actors take their bows.

“They think it was all special effects.” Martha says in disbelief.

“Your effect is special indeed.” Will flirts. Martha pulls a face.

Kathy fakes being sick. “Awful Will.”

Martha laughs. Kathy joins Martha and Will as they take their bows as well.

——

The next morning, the Doctor and Kathy emerge from backstage. Kathy is wearing a ruffed collar and the Doctor takes off a hat while carrying an animal skull. Martha and Shakespeare are sitting at the edge of the stage.

“Good props store back there! I'm not sure about this though.” The Doctor looks at the skull. “Reminds me of a Sycorax.” Kathy opens her mouth to ask. “No.” She pouts, worth a try.

“Sycorax. Nice word. I'll have that off you as well.” Will murmurs.

“I should be on 10%. How's your head?” The Doctor asks, putting down the skull.

“Still aching.” Will replies.

“Here, I got you this.” The Doctor removes the collar from Kathy’s neck and puts it on Will’s. “Neck brace. Wear that for a few days till it's better, although you might wanna keep it. It suits you.”

“What about the play?” Martha questions.

“Gone,” Kathy answers her. “We looked all over, every single copy of "Love's Labours' Won" went up in the sky.”

“My lost masterpiece.” Will says sombrely.

“You could write it up again.” Martha suggests.

“Yeah, better not, Will.” The Doctor quickly says. “There's still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten.” That and how history says it’s a lost play.

“Oh, but I've got new ideas.” Will dismisses. “Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons. In memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet.”

Martha’s expression morphs into one of confusion. “Hamnet?”

“That's him.”

“Ham-net?”

“What's wrong with that?” Will asks.

“Anyway,” the Doctor quickly interrupts, “time we were off. I've got a nice attic in the TARDIS where this lot,” he holds the crystal carrying the Carrionites, “can scream for all eternity and I've gotta take Martha back to Freedonia.”

“You mean travel on through time and space.” Will corrects with a knowing smirk. The Doctor and Martha look stunned while Kathy simply smiles at Will.

“You what?” The Time Lord looks at the Bard in disbelief.

“You're from another world like the Carrionites and Martha is from the future. And Kathy is older and more widely travelled than she appears like she’s from a different world. It's not hard to work out.” Will concludes.

The Doctor is flabbergasted. “That's... incredible. You are incredible.”

“We're alike in many ways, Doctor.” Will says to him before turning to Martha. “Martha, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse. A sonnet for my Dark Lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate...”

Kempe runs in, interrupting the moment, which Kathy is relieved with. “Will! Will! You'll never believe it! She's here! She's turned up!”

“We're the talk of the town. She heard about last night! She wants us to perform it again.” Dick adds. Kathy knows who and slips a quick and amused glance in the Doctor’s direction.

“Who?” Martha asks.

“Her Majesty! She's here!” Dick explains. As soon as he finishes, fanfare sounds as Elizabeth I enters with some guards.

“Queen Elizabeth I!” The Doctor exclaims excitedly.

Elizabeth, however, is not pleased as she glares at him and growls, “Doctor!”

The Doctor looks at her in a dumb daze, his smile vanishing. “What?”

“My sworn enemy!” Elizabeth continues.

“What?”

“Off with his head!” The Queen cries.

“What?!”

“Never mind "what", just run! See you, Will, Kathy! And thanks!” Martha and the Doctor run off the stage with guards following.

“Stop that pernicious Doctor!” Elizabeth exclaims while Kathy and Will laugh.

“Hello, Your Majesty.” Kathy greets with a grin.

Elizabeth takes her in and looks shocked. “Katherine.” Kathy can’t blame her as she looks the same after 30 years though the Queen already knows all about aliens so she shouldn’t be too shocked.

Kathy gestures to Will. “May I introduce Mr William Shakespeare.”

Will bows before turning to Kathy. “Should I be surprised that you know Her Majesty?”

“No.” Kathy grins.

Chapter Text

1612 AD/CE

The Thirteenth Doctor, Yasmin Khan, Ryan Sinclair and Graham O’Brien step out of the TARDIS and soon walk into a village that is not what they have come for. The people who surround them are dressed in early 17th Century rustic clothing.

“I'm sure it's somewhere around here.” The Doctor murmurs as she looks about her. She’s distracted by a familiar presence in her mind, one she only felt with other Time Lords and a couple of others.

“Come on, Doc, admit it.” Graham says. He looks around him in annoyance.

“I dunno what you mean.” The Doctor insists though she knows what he means.

Graham looks at her in disbelief. “Well, look at it! This ain't the coronation of Elizabeth the First, is it?”

“It's like a street party.” Ryan observes as he takes in the gathering crowd and multiple stands. “Ye olde hipster pop-up happening.”

“The TARDIS is being a bit stubborn at exact readings.” The Doctor defends as they walk into the crowd. A woman hands Graham a tankard, and nobody is taking a bit of notice of their strange clothing.

“So where are we?” Yaz asks. But the Doctor gets distracted and doesn’t answer her.

“Apple bobbing!” She cries as she runs over to it. “I love apple bobbing.” The Doctor sticks her head in the barrel of water to get an apple with her teeth.

“Is this Halloween?” Yaz asks the boy minding the stand.

The boy looks at her confused. “No. It's Sunday.”

“Yeah, but what's the party for?”

“We do this every Sunday.”

“Oh, Happy Sunday.” The Doctor says through the apple in her mouth before taking a bite.

“Northern accent. We must be close to home.” Graham murmurs to the group.

An older man with a white beard rings a handbell and everyone stops to listen. “Mistress Savage demands your presence. The ceremony will begin.” He announces. The people quietly follow.

“Anybody else missing the party vibe all of a sudden?” Graham remarks.

“Come on.” The Doctor says and follows the people with her companions following.

As the travellers join the tail end of the villagers, a mysterious masked figure dressed in high-quality black clothes watches them go.

“Where are they all going?” Yaz asks.

The Doctor turns to them, walking backwards. “Whatever this is, I need you all to remember the most important thing about dips into the past. Do not interfere with the fundamental fabric of history.”

“Even if something's not right?”

“Yep. And judging by the vibe here, something is definitely not right.”

The mysterious figure watches from behind a tree.

Yasmin goes up to a girl who is crying as she walks. “Are you okay? Can you tell us what's going on here?” The girl hurries away.

—— 

The villagers and the time travellers reach the river to see an old woman chained to the branching end, which forms a handy seat and two arms, of a long tree trunk, swung out over the water and balanced on a fulcrum. An elegantly dressed woman ascends a small pulpit flanked by men in leather armour.

Graham notices a hill in the distance and points to it. “Guys, that's Pendle Hill. We're in Lancashire.”

The elegantly dressed woman speaks to the crowd assembling on the other bank of the river. “People of Bilehurst Cragg, we are forced to meet here once again. Satan stalks this land. We must continue to root him out, and do whatever it takes to save the soul of our village. Let us put the accused to the test.”

“Granny...!” The crying girl from earlier cries out.

“Hush, Willa.” The old woman calls back.

“It's a witch trial.” The Doctor realises.

“Old Mother Twiston.” The woman on the pulpit continues.

“Must be early 17th century.” The Doctor murmurs.

“You stand accused of witchcraft, and shall be tried by my ducking stool, hewn from the mightiest tree on Pendle Hill. If you drown, you are innocent. If you survive, you are a witch, and shall be hanged.”

“Duck the witch!” A villager cries.

“This is way too dark for me.” Ryan says fearfully.

Yaz turns to the woman next to her. “We've got to do something, Doctor.”

“Ah, the Doc said don't interfere.” Graham argues. “You said don't interfere, right?” Yet the Doctor’s face is conflicted.

“Don't cry, Willa. I will still be with you.” Old Mother Twiston calls.

“I will still be with you.” Willa repeats. “In the water…”

“In the fire.”

“In the air.”

“In the earth.”

“Duck the witch!” The woman on the pulpit orders.

“Duck the witch! Duck the witch!”

The human time travellers look around at the crowd fearfully.

“Doctor.” Yaz calls distressed.

There’s a splash and Old Mother Twiston is under.

“Granny!” Willa cries fearfully.

The Doctor can’t take it anymore and takes off her coat and hands it to Ryan. “Meet me on the other side!” She yells.The Doctor goes to dive into the river but before she can, a familiar light brown haired woman goes into the water and swims towards where Old Mother Twiston has been ducked.

“Is that—” Graham begins to say.

“Quick other side. She might need help.” The Doctor yells. She begins running.

“Over the bridge! Run!” Yaz yells as the three companions follow.

“So much for not interfering.” Ryan remarks.

“Not interfering Ryan. Helping.” The Doctor retorts.

“Who dares interfere with this trial?” The woman on the pulpit growls. “Thirty five witches we have tried, and still Satan surrounds us. We shall not be stopped!”

Old Mother Twiston is hauled onto dry land by the woman who had dived in. The Doctor helps her and then takes in that it’s Kathy.

“Kathy!” The Doctor exclaims.

Kathy smiles despite looking cold and wet. “Hi Doctor.”

“Doctor, we’re here.” Yaz calls as she, Graham and Ryan arrive.

“Kathy…” Ryan murmurs in surprise.

“Hi, Ryan.” Kathy greets.

“Katherine Davis, you have interfered again and you will be punished!” The woman on the pulpit cries angrily. “The trials are sacred. They are the will of God!”

“Not sorry as always Mistress Savage.” Kathy remarks as Yaz crouches down to check on Old Mother Twiston.

“Is she alive?” Willa yells to them from across the water. Yaz checks for a pulse in her neck and shakes her head.

The Doctor looks at Willa. “I'm sorry.” 

“Now we have no way of knowing if Mother Twiston was a witch or not. Guards, whip these wanderers off this bank, and then seize Willa Twiston and Katherine Davis. We can take no chances.” Mistress Savage orders as she steps off the pulpit.

The Doctor steps forward at the order and the guards point their weapons at her. “Leave them alone. I'd bet my life neither of these women are witches. But you, Mistress Savage are, without question, a murderer.” She declares.

Mistress Savage looks aghast. “Who are you to address me this way?”

“I'll tell you who I am.” The Doctor checks her trouser pockets then realises it’s not there and turns to search her coat. Her strong attitude is gone and instead is showing her more clumsy and chaotic side. “Sorry, one sec.” She holds the psychic paper up.

“Witchfinder General?” Mistress Savage reads, shocked.

“That's right. Witchfinder General, with my crack team, taking over this village.” The Doctor declares. “Right, gang?” The three companions stand there confused and shocked.

Graham is the first to recover. “Yeah, cos you are in special measures.” 

“And Kathy is part of the team. She was sent ahead.” Yaz quickly adds. She receives an appreciated smile from Kathy.

“Now do you recognise our authority?” The Doctor questions.

Mistress Savage drops into a very small curtsey. “I do beg your pardon, Mistress Witchfinder. Please, come to my home. We must talk in private.” The guards sheathe their swords.

“If you swear not to hurt that girl, or anyone else.” The Doctor demands.

“If that is your wish, you have the command.”

“Everybody, go home. This trial is over.” The Doctor calls to the crowd.

“I have to bury her.” Willa says.

The masked figure has seen everything.

——

Kathy walks with the fam, as they will call themselves, towards Becka Savage’s home.

“What are you doing here?” The Doctor asks.

“I arrived here a couple years ago when suddenly Becka Savage begins hunting down innocent women like no tomorrow. Had to stick around.” Kathy remarks.

“Seems reasonable.” Graham comments.

Kathy realises that while this group of companions have met her, she needs to check how much they know about her. “Nice to meet you guys by the way. Have I explained who I am yet?”

“Yeah, part Human, Time Lord and Apalapucian as well as being from a different dimension.” Ryan speaks.

“The Doctor has also met ya at different points in your life and so will we.” Yaz adds.

“Good.”

“One of her grandparents came from my planet and was a school mate.” The Doctor adds.

Graham is shocked. “How? She doesn’t look a day older than you.”

“They’re different species to us Graham.” Yaz points out. “I’m sure she works differently.”

“She’s right and right now I have haven’t met you three before and I haven’t seen this Doctor’s face.” Kathy says.

They begin walking up to the hall below Pendle Hill and the Doctor picks up her pace to catch up with Becka.

“Please forgive me, Mistress.” Becka apologises. “If I'd known who you were, I'd have bowed to your authority immediately.”

“So tell me. Who exactly are you, and what gives you authority here?” The Doctor questions.

“I am Becka Savage, landowner of Bilehurst Cragg. It belonged to my late husband, passed to me when he died.” Becka explains. “I've tried to be a benevolent leader but it's very difficult in these times, especially for a woman.”

“If you're the landowner, why are you walking? Where are the horses?” The Doctor asks.

 “Horses are banned in Bilehurst. They are creatures of Satan. I had them all shot.” Becka explains. The Doctor slows down, letting Becka get ahead and the rest of them catch up.

“Hey, Doc.” Graham says. “I've done the old Pendle Witches Walking Trail. Nobody ever mentioned Bilehurst Cragg. Never heard of it. And she's killed thirty five people.”

“Thirty six now.” Ryan corrects.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe she wipes this whole place off the map.” Ryan suggests.

“We're going to find out what happened, and how we can make her stop.” The Doctor declares. “And that hall looks like the best place to start.”

“Not the only place.” Yaz points out. “I want to find that girl who's just lost her gran.”

Kathy nods. “We'll deal with Her Ladyship, if you go do some family liaison.” She decides. “We'll meet you in a bit. Hopefully by then I'll be a bit dry.”

——

Kathy warms herself by the fire. The Doctor does the same as she had gotten a bit damp herself when helping to pull out Willa’s grandmother.

 “I hope the fire has warmed you. Some wine?” Becka offers.

“No. So, your witch trials have become a weekly event, with a village celebration?” The Doctor asks to confirm she’s right. 

“Any moment where a witch is uncovered and Satan driven out has to be cause for a celebration. We will not stop until that work is done.” Becka declares. Kathy sees Ryan’s expression and realises this all must be strange and terrifying to someone not used to this. 

“You keep saying Satan. But how is Satan manifesting himself here?”

“Apparently Satan is blighting the crops. Bewitching animals. Plaguing people with fits, sickness and visions.” Kathy explains disbelievingly. 

“If that's all Satan, where do the witches come into it?” Ryan asks.

“They are in league with him.” Becka explains as if it is obvious. “Kill the witches, defeat Satan. As King James has written in his new Bible, thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” 

“In the Old Testament. There's a twist in the sequel. Love thy neighbour. Which is why we've come.” The Doctor says. “To help you fix your problems without killing anyone. That's what King James would want.” The door opens and a mysterious figure enters. Kathy groans internally, great the nitwit has arrived.

“What is the meaning of this?” Becka demands to know.

The man removes his cape and hat. “Madam, I have come to your rescue.” The figure then removes his mask to reveal the king.

“King James! Your Majesty.” Becka does a deep curtsy. The Scottish King, 6th of that name, although the First of England. Kathy curtsies herself while the Doctor does a quick bob, Graham stands from his seat on the window ledge and Ryan quickly bows.

“You may prostrate yourselves before me, God's chosen ruler and Satan's greatest foe come to vanquish the scourge of witchcraft across the land.” King James crows. “Forgive the mask. I have enemies everywhere and have to travel incognito. Also, I rather like the drama.” He does a little giggle and Becka joins him shakily. King James turns to the Doctor, Graham and Ryan. “What a peculiar ragbag of folks. And those garments. Are you actors?”

“We're your witchfinders, sire, as we explained to Mistress Savage.” The Doctor holds out the psychic paper.

“Witchfinder's Assistant.” King James reads. He turns to Graham. “So, you must be the Witchfinder General.”

“What?” The Doctor whines. She stares at her psychic paper as if to find an explanation. Graham looks startled by the declaration. Kathy simply rolls her eyes. It seems to be a habit now.

“No, she said she was.” Becka corrects.

King James laughs. “A woman could never be the General.”

Kathy does a quick chuckle. “How silly of her. Eh, Doctor?” She nudges the Doctor to get her attention. She can’t help but notice that she and the Doctor are for once similar in height.

The Doctor does a light laugh. “Yes. Must've got all confused.” She grits her teeth through the next sentence. “Mustn't I, boss?”

Graham snaps to attention. “Er, yeah, that's me, sire. North West Division, promoted from Essex.” He explains.

“And these are your underlings.” King James gestures to Kathy, Ryan and the Doctor. They give Graham sharp looks.

“It's a very flat team structure. We all have our areas of expertise.” Graham quickly corrects. Kathy gives Graham a pleased smile.

“Even the wee lassies?” Kathy is finding it quite funny being lumped in with the Doctor as the females. She’s glad the Doctor is getting a feel of it though she recalls that other female version of the Doctor that is an iteration of the Doctor either from a distant past before the beginning of the series or from a future that hasn't occurred yet on this timeline. Honestly, Kathy is confused about all that.

“Even us.” The Doctor says exasperated.

“Very handy undercover. Set a woman to catch a woman.” Kathy confirms.

“A cunning ruse,” King James compliments but Kathy knows it won’t turn out that way, “using your innate aptitude for nosiness and gossip.” And she’s right. Graham grimaces while the Doctor looks outraged.

King James turns to Ryan. “And what is your field of expertise, my Nubian prince?” Kathy can’t help but interrupt his tone and body language as flirtatious or a simpler fascination with his different skin colour. Kathy winces. It almost feels like Martha and Will all over again.

“Er...” Ryan stumbles.

“Torture?”

“Me? Er... paperwork mostly, Your Majesty.” Ryan quickly says.

“Paper! How fascinating.” King James exclaims. “We should talk.” He then quickly turns to Becka. “But first, Madam, word has reached me of your battle against Satan, your crusade against witchcraft. But what I saw today convinced me you need assistance.”

“That's what we've just been saying.” The Doctor eagerly pipes up.

“Hold your tongue, lassie. Stick to snooping and leave the strategy to your King. This is no time for the weak.” King James puts down. “Satan preys on the innocent, even while they sleep. Together, we must purify your land, starting with the grandchild of the witch you tried today. A fine plan, is it not?” 

“A genius plan, Your Majesty. Together we shall save the souls of my people from Satan, even if it means killing them all.” Becka happily agrees.

——

The Doctor, Kathy, Graham and Ryan head up the stairs and onto the corridor to, at Kathy’s suggestion, investigate the rooms upstairs.

“Becka wasn't kidding. These are hard times for women. If we're not being drowned, we're being patronised to death.” The Doctor grumbles.

“Now you know how I feel.” Kathy remarks. She had always liked how the Doctor got a taste for what it’s like.

“Any hints you got for me?” The Doctor asks.

“Why Becka is going on this crusade and why she killed Willa’s grandmother isn’t because of witchcraft. She has a secret. Something alien.” Kathy says.

“Which is right up my alley.” The Doctor replies. “Ah, Becka's bedroom. In here, quick.”

They dart inside to find a nice four-poster with embroidered curtains.

“We are going to help them though, right, Doc? I mean, otherwise this place won't exist by the morning. Not now those two have hit it off. I don't know who's more barking.” Graham probes.

Kathy opens a book and shows the Doctor that it’s a copy of King James' Daemonologie by her bedside. The Doctor then spits a suspiciously large pile of tissues.

“A dozen hankies. That's a lot.” The Doctor observes as she has a feel.

“Maybe she cries herself to sleep.” Ryan suggests.

“Depends on whether she actually feels guilty about all the murder she’s committing.” Kathy replies.

“Don't worry, Graham.” The Doctor says to her eldest companion. “We're staying here and sorting it, even if Kathy and I are just women.” She sounds irritated by the end of that sentence.

“Well, to be fair to King James, you both are snooping.” Graham points out. The Doctor and Kathy go into an alcove which has a curtain fastened back - Becka's 'toilette' - and sniff the contents of small bottles. They stick their heads out, offended by Graham’s comment.

“We’re investigating!” Kathy argues. “You two look as well. No use just standing there.”

Graham rolls his eyes while Ryan just glances around and calls, “Hey, missed a bit.” The Doctor and Kathy emerge to see Ryan pull a woodsman's axe out from under the bed. “Whoa. This Becka is seriously paranoid, man.”

Yaz bursts in causing them all to jump and Ryan to nearly swing the axe.

“Here you are!” Yaz exclaims. “I've been creeping round this place looking for you. I found that girl Willa at her granny's grave doing some kind of ritual, and the next thing I know, this big kind of mud tendril thing attacked her.”

“Mud tendril?” The Doctor asks.

“Right, yes. That’s an issue.” Kathy remarks.

“Coming up out of the ground. I had to smash it to pieces. Got it all over me.” Yaz says.

“Part of the mystery with Becka?” The Doctor asks Kathy.

“Yep, along with the tissues and the bottle.”

“And just the one mud tendril?” The Doctor asks Yaz. “How big? And when you say ritual, do you mean like a spell? Like she conjured it up?”

“She was scared of it. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly.”  

The Doctor scans the mud splatters on Yasmin's jeans. “Just seems to be like good, old-fashioned Lancashire mud.”

“Doctor, it’s important we go to see Willa. She can help us a lot with understanding what’s going on here.” Kathy says telepathically.

The Doctor nods. “Okay, here's the plan. Yaz, Kathy and me need to check out that mud and talk to Willa.” She turns to Graham and Ryan. “You two, stick with Becka and King James. Keep them here. Make sure they don't kill anyone else.”

“King James?” Yaz asks confused.

“It's a long story.”

“We’ll explain on the way.” Kathy adds. The three women move to leave.

The Doctor turns to the other two. “Remember, no more witch hunts.”

——

They reach the village to Willa leaving her cottage with some belongings.

“Willa?” Yaz calls. “My name's Yaz, this is the Doctor. Where are you going?”

“As far away from here as I can.” Willa fearfully replies.

“We don't blame you. But before you do, can we talk to you first?” Kathy asks. Wills looks unsure. “Please, we’ve known each other a couple years now.”

“We're not witchfinders. We just want to find out exactly what's going on here, and maybe we can fix things.” The Doctor adds.

“Can you help us, Willa? Because we want to help you.” Yaz persuades.

Willa agrees and brings them inside the cottage. There are bottles, dried herbs, a balance scale, a small cauldron and candles burning all over the place.

“Wow!” The Doctor exclaims as she bends down to analyse them. “Are these all yours?”

“They were my grandmother's. Katherine helped a few times. My grandmother made medicines to help people.” Willa explains. “She wasn't a witch. Everyone knows that.”

“So why did Becka Savage target her?” Yaz asks.

“Maybe she was ashamed of the woman who brought her up.”

The Doctor spins around, away from the shelves she’d been looking at, in surprise. “Wait. You and Becka are family? No wonder Kathy said we should chat with ya.”

“Cousins. Raised by their grandmother. Becka later went on to marry the land owner of Bilehurst Cragg, married up.” Kathy informs them.

Willa nods. “Left us all behind. Still, I thought we'd be safe when the witch hunts started. Then it just got worse and worse. Everyone turning on each other. Granny said it was only a matter of time before they turned on us. I didn't believe her.” 

Willa makes some tea and hands it to them. “Here. Granny's special tea. It soothes the soul. Unless you think I'm a witch.” The Doctor, Kathy and Yaz take the proffered pottery mugs. Kathy happily gulps at it having tried it before and enjoys it.

“Are you not having any?” The Doctor asks when she sees Willa doesn’t hold a mug in her hands.

“I feel too sick.” Willa replies.

“Do you mind if I check you over? Don't worry, I am a doctor.” The Doctor pulls out her sonic and it whirrs. Kathy looks at it in interest as she hasn’t seen this iteration of the sonic in person yet. She quietly herself has checked Willa and her grandmother multiple times with her own sonic without them knowing m. She doesn’t know why, it’s like something was telling her she needed to.

“What's that?”

“Er, specialist equipment.” The Doctor runs her sonic over Willa.

“That movement in the mud. It was Satan, wasn't it?” Willa comments.

“I doubt it. Not a big believer in Satan.” The Doctor says.

“My granny used to say there was enough wonder in nature without making things up.”

“I like your granny.” The Doctor looks at her sonic for the results. “Completely normal. No magic, and no signs of any sickness.” Exactly the same as Kathy has been getting.

“You're wrong.”

“I think I know what it is that's making you sick.” Yaz realises. Kathy keeps quiet as she knows that not only is it important for the current challenge but also for Yaz. “I had it at my school, where I am from. When Izzy Flint turned the whole class against me. Every day I'd wake up, feeling this... dread. Fear.”

“How did you get rid of it?”

“I didn't. I just took it, had the year from hell. When I say hell, I don't literally mean hell, I mean it was really awful. And I told myself when I got bigger, I'd stand up to the Izzy Flints of this world.”

“I can't stand up to Becka. She'll have me tried for a witch. What am I meant to do?” Willa argues.

“Seems to me like you have two choices.” The Doctor declares. “Run as far away from here as possible, or stick with us. We'll stand up to Becka Savage and we'll make this place safe again.”

“How do we do that?”

“Ah! We!” The Doctor exclaims. “That's good, Willa. See? It feels better already. Now, first things first. We need to get a sample of that mud. Oh. Can I use this?” A small glass bottle with a cork stopper. “Want to come with us?”

“Not really.”

——

They reach the grave and Kathy and the Doctor make quick work of scanning the mud.

“Just mud.” Kathy grumbles. She’d hoped that if she had made a go of it, she would find something more quickly but apparently not.

“No sign of any tendency to tendril.” The Doctor agrees. “Shouldn't be disappointed, but I am a bit.” She keeps scanning the ground.

“What was that ritual you were doing before the tendril arrived?” Yaz asks Willa.

“A prayer, to help my grandmother rest in peace. I brought her body here, I dug that grave and placed her in it, but I didn't get to finish the prayer.” Willa explains.

“We can finish it now, if you like.” Yaz offers.

“Yes.” Willa moves to do so as the Doctor scoops up some mud into her bottle.

The Doctor has a piece of mud in the bottle. “Right, little sample, what aren't you telling me?” The bit of mud starts leaping around in the bottle. “Whoa! I am no longer disappointed.”

“See? The mud is alive.” Yaz exclaims excitedly.

“It's not mud though.” Kathy tells them.

“Looks pretty angry in there.” Yaz observes.

“Yaz...” Willa calls. Kathy turns at the same time Yaz does and jumps at the sight of Willa’s granny standing upright despite knowing it was coming.

“Obviously doesn't like being trapped, do you? What are you? Give us a clue.” The Doctor continues unaware.

“What's happening?” Willa questions fearfully.

“I think this is some kind of alien matter, but I'm not sure if it's sentient.” The Doctor replies.

“Doctor!” Kathy grabs the Time Lady and spins her around. 

“Granny!” Willa whimpers.

“That is not your granny, Willa.” Kathy says.

“Yes, it is.” Willa insists.

“No, that's the... not mud. It’s re-animating her body. Almost sentient.” Kathy corrects. Can’t exactly throw the whole Morax at the girl without more explanation. It also might anger the Morax and they’ll enact their plan earlier than they are ready for.

“I am so sorry for this, Willa.” The Doctor cautiously approaches not Granny. “Hi, Not Willa's Granny. I presume you're just using the body to give whatever you are form. Better than tendrils, right? But really not right. Not cool.” 

“Is that why it went after Willa?” Yaz asks.

“Of course. Not to kill her, but to fill her.” The Doctor realises. “Oooh, check out my rhymes. Poetry under pressure.” Not Granny gurgles and struggles forward frantically. “Oh, what you doing? You want this?” The Doctor holds up the bottle containing the not mud. “It's one of you, is it? Or part of you?” Not Granny makes a grab for the bottle but the Doctor jumps back. “No, no, no, no. Not until you tell us what's going on here.” Not Granny’s hands have mud spilling out of them and the Doctor grim at the sight. “Urgh, don't like the look of your hands. It's all bubbling away inside you, isn't it?” It reaches for the Doctor. “Oh no, you're not filling me. If you're that desperate for it, here, have it.” She tosses the bottle to Not Granny, who gobbles it down. “Oh. Delightful. Down the hatch. I've got so many questions right now, like, did you drink that or absorb it? Are you all one big muddy mass, or separate entities, only taking the one body?” 

“Doctor...” Yaz calls. It draws Kathy’s attention away from the Doctor to see more mud figures have arrived. She’d forgotten about that. She really shouldn’t get distracted by the brand new Doctor in front of her.

“Always good to get fast answers.” The Doctor remarks nervously. “No, stay back, please. I've given you the blob. What more do you need?” There’s no response. “So annoying when they are silent.”

“Witchcraft!” King James calls as he arrives with Ryan, Graham, Becka and his guards.

“Should’ve known they still wouldn’t be able to keep that lot at the house.” Kathy grumbles.

“Hi, sire! I know it looks bad, but don't worry. I'm all over it.” The Doctor tries to reassure a terrified looking King James.

“Willa Twiston and Katherine Davis were the witches all along. I knew it!” Becka cries accusingly.

“Look listen here!” Kathy exclaims in outrage.

“I'm not. This isn't me, Becka, I swear.” Willa pleads for her cousin to listen.

“She's right. It's not her and it's not witchcraft. I'm working it out.” The Doctor affirms. She and Kathy scan the mud women. They share a look.

“This is beyond you. Alfonso, shoot them.” King James orders.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Alfonso brings out his gun and walks towards the mud women.

“Oh no Alfonso, don’t do that!” Kathy rushes forward to try to stop him.

“In the air and in the earth...” Old Mother Twiston, Willa and Becka’s granny, says. Her hands reach out towards Alfonso, who is then knocked down by an invisible force. He lies on the floor unmoving.

“Alfonso...” King James murmurs mournfully.

“Now you've made them angry. They're getting stronger. Everybody out of here. Get away from them now!” The Doctor declares.

“We must protect you, sire. Back through the forest.” Becka cries.

Everyone flees into the forest.

Chapter Text

“Keep running. This clearing, through here.” The Doctor says to her companions, Kathy, Willa, Becka and King James plus his guards as they run through the forest.

“I don't think they're following.” Yaz calls to them, causing everyone to stop.

“If they're not following, what are they doing?” The Doctor questions.

“They know we’ll come back.” Kathy says.

“Want us to go and look?” Ryan suggests. 

“We escape from Satan, and you wish to go directly back into battle?” King James cries in disbelief.

“We need to know what they're up to. Make sure no one else is in danger.” Ryan explains.

“I'll go too. Keep an eye on my... underlings.” Graham adds.

“Very well.”

“Me and Kathy will stay with Willa. Be careful!” The Doctor says. Ryan, Yaz and Graham run off. Hopefully, Kathy can stop the Doctor from being arrested for being a witch in the meantime though she’s not sure how.

“What were those aberrations?” King James asks.

“It is the work of Satan.” Becka replies.

“It wasn't Satan or witches or Willa's granny.” The Doctor corrects. “Those creatures were being controlled by something in the mud, something not of this earth. Something beyond your understanding.”

“Something from hell.” King James concludes.

“More like from the heavens.” Kathy retorts.

“It chose to kill Alfonso when he was a threat, but in other circumstances it fills the bodies and uses them as vessels. I don't know why. To lure us you say Kathy? Maybe only when they're dead.” The Doctor rambles as she tries to think.

“No, it attacked me too.” Willa pipes up.

“And why today? Cos this is my problem. I can buy that this is the biggest ever witch hunt in England, or I can buy it's an alien mud invasion. But both on the same day? Kathy, you said they’re linked.” The Doctor continues. Kathy winces. Maybe the Doctor is rambling too much.

“Why does the lassie speak of commerce?” King James wonders.

“I don't know.” Becka whispers.

“Oh, wait. Unless they're connected.” The Doctor turns on Becka. “Your witch hunts been going on a while now, so there's no way that mud has just rocked up today.”

“Um, Doctor, maybe you shouldn’t—” Kathy tries to stop her but she continues on with her accusations.

“What do you know, Becka? What's going on here in Bilehurst Cragg? A woman who keeps an axe by her bed. What have you seen?”

Becka goes in to attack. “I have seen you and Katherine with your wands, raising your kin from the dead.”

“Yes.” King James murmurs.

“What?!” Kathy exclaims. “No! Hold on—”

“You, Doctor, are no witchfinder's assistant and she’s no underling.” Becka continues. “You are Satan's acolytes.”

“We are not.” The Doctor argues.

“That's why it is happening today, because you are here, as you say, to take over this village. Katherine Davis has simply been here to prepare for your arrival.”

“You know that's not what I meant.” The Doctor says accusingly. Kathy knows Becka is only doing this as she’s afraid they have worked out her secret. “We do not have time for this.” 

“Mistress Savage is correct. It is your fault that Alfonso is dead.” King James accuses, pointing at Kathy with a small pointy pin.

“I tried to save him.” Kathy argues.

“You saved them from being shot.” He persists. “You said this evil fell from the heavens. Oh yes, it fell, like your lord, Lucifer!” 

“Honestly, if I was still a bloke, I could get on with the job and not have to waste time defending myself.” The Doctor complains to Kathy.

“Again. This how I feel.” Kathy retorts.

“Oh, you bewitch us with your alluring form and your incessant jabber, but I knew you were unnatural from the very start. And now I see you for what you really are.” King James declares.

“They were trying to save us, sire.” Willa pipes up fearfully. While Kathy appreciates the effort, she knows Becka and the King will make her back down by twisting it.

“Thank you, Willa.” The Doctor says enthusiastically.

“Are you sure you're not mistaken, Willa? Or are you in league with the witches as I first suspected?” Becka accuses.

“They said they wanted to help me.”

“Who do you trust to save you? Your King? Your family?” Becka says pleadingly. “Whatever I have done, I did to save all of our souls.” It’s the softest Kathy has seen her.

The Doctor opens her mouth to speak but Kathy quickly interrupts. “Don’t Doctor. You’ll make it worse.”

“Well? Tell the truth, lassie.” King James orders the shaking Willa.

She looks between the two groups in front of her. “I-I did think it was strange when they said her name was the Doctor and how Katherine defends her.” Willa admits. Kathy feels annoyed with herself, she should’ve remembered that! She could have avoided this if she had made sure no one called the Time Lady Doctor.

“Like Doctor Dee. A necromancer. That seals it.” King James declares. “Arrest the witch!” Guards grab the Doctor. “Arrest her too. I have seen how these two lassies whisper to one another.” More guards grab Kathy.

“Now hold on!” Kathy cries indignantly. Great, not only has the Doctor been arrested, but she has as well.

“I... I am not a witch!” The Doctor splutters.

——

The Doctor and Kathy have been tied to a birch tree in the village with their hands above their heads. They are on either side so they can’t see each other.

“You know I came into this world while you were still the current Doctor in mine.” Kathy recalls.

Kathy hears what sounds like the Doctor trying to move as if trying to see her. “And?” The Doctor eventually asks after huffing to herself.

“Well, one day I won’t know what’s going on or who you are maybe. What use will I be to you then? What use am I now? I couldn’t stop us from getting arrested.” Kathy rambles exasperatedly.

“Oh, Katherine Davis,” the Doctor murmurs, “you, as you always have, will be a massive help and I don’t need to see into the future to know that.”

Kathy smiles at that. She keeps on wondering what use she is when she can’t change things but perhaps she’ll be alright considering this is an older Doctor.

 They are interrupted when King James stalks over. “Comfortable, witches? I do hope not.”

“Come for a visit?” The Doctor remarks irritably.

 “I shall take my opportunity to converse with an agent of Satan.” King James declares.

“If we were Satan's agents, do you seriously think rope would stop us?” Kathy retorts.

“It’s just a bit of rope! I say a bit, quite a lot. Tightly bound. It's pretty painful. They know how to tie a knot in this part of the world.” The Doctor rambles.

“Not helping.” Kathy admonishes.

“I am an expert on witchcraft, Doctor, Katherine, but I wish to learn more.” King James declares, ignoring the rambling. “Before you die, I want answers. Your wands. How do they work?” He has the sonics in his hands.

“Why do you want to know?” The Doctor asks instead.

“I wish to know all the secrets of existence.” King James answers.

“Don't we all? But true knowledge has to be earned. Tell you what. I'll trade you my wand for answers to as many questions as you want to ask.” The Doctor offers.

“I'm not a fool, Doctor. I am King James, Satan's greatest foe.” King James persists. Kathy rolls her eyes, annoyed.

The Doctor is also annoyed as she says, “Yeah, yeah, I know. It must be comforting playing that role, hiding behind a title.”

“Just as you hide behind Doctor, perhaps. And Katherine hides behind her name.” King James counters. Kathy winces, feeling uncomfortable with his words.

“Who are you, really, behind the mask, the drama? What does it say on your garter?” The Doctor questions him.

  “Honi soit qui mal y pense.”

“Evil be to him that evil thinks.” Kathy translates. She’s quite proud of how her language skills have developed with the advantage of more time and more roaming about.

“You wear it like a hero, even though you're killing and scapegoating and stirring up hate.” The Doctor accuses. “And you wonder why the darkness comes back at you.”

“There is no darkness in me.” King James defends. “I quest for goodness and knowledge, beauty and art, all of God's virtues.”

“Your own mother was scapegoated.” Kathy interrupts causing him to turn to her.

“So, how do you square that with your witch hunts?” The Doctor adds.

“What do you know of my mother?” King James asks threateningly. He leans close to Kathy’s face. 

“We know a lot.” Kathy replies strongly, trying not to look uncomfortable with the close proximity. “For example, you had the chance to see her before she died, but you didn't want to. Why?”

“She left me when I was not even one year old.” King James answers, his voice cracking slightly with emotion. “What kind of mother does that? Why would I wish to see her?” 

“Nobody will ever know why she left you, James.” The Doctor says sympathetically. “But you can't go hurting people just because you're scared to face up to the darkness inside you.” King James turns away from them and sits further away as if to hide his emotions. “You have to be better than that.”

“Who are you both? How do you know these things?” 

“We know because we're all the same.” The Doctor replies. “We want certainty, security, to believe that people are evil or heroic. But that's not how people are. You want to know the secrets of existence? Start with the mysteries of the heart. I can show you everything if you stop being afraid of what you don't understand. If you trust us. We are not witches. But if you want to defeat evil, you have to let us go. Now. Please, sire.” 

For a moment Kathy wonders if they have gotten through to him until he strides toward them. “I do not know what you two are. And there is only one way to be certain. Guards! Summon the villagers.”

Kathy slumps in defeat.

——

The Doctor and Kathy are brought to the river by guards along with Becka, towards the stool. King James and Willa watch on from the other side with the villagers that have gathered. Kathy remembers how Ashildr and her had recently been drowned for being witches after saving a village. Now Kathy risks the same fate again.

“See you brought a gathering. Thanks very much.” The Doctor remarks casually. “Mind if I take off my coat? Lots in my pockets, might stop me floating. Course, as a woman, you don't get to have pockets for a while yet.” Becka doesn’t look impressed.

“Debatable sometimes.” Kathy adds, trying to be light hearted like the Doctor.

“Ah yes, true.” The Doctor agrees before turning back to Becka. “A girl called Izzy Flint bullied my friend Yaz, so no one would pick on Izzy.” She dumps her coat on the ground. “That's what you're doing. Pointing the finger at other people, so no one points it at you. But what I don't know is, why? What are you hiding, Becka?” 

“Sit down. Or would you prefer a hanging?” Becka growls. They chain up the Doctor. Kathy held to the side. “Do you know why the ducking stool was invented, Doctor? To silence foolish women who talked too much.”

“Do you know why they invented the guillotine? To lob aristocrats’ heads off more efficiently.” Kathy retorts pettily. No, it doesn’t really make sense for the situation but it’s literally the first thing that came to mind. Why does humanity have to come up with so many different ways to harm each other simply because they disagree?

“Good point Kathy! This stool is daft, cos talking's brilliant. Like, if you talk to me now, I can help. You've ducked thirty six people already, and whatever it is has only got worse, hasn't it?” Becka touches the wood and sparks fly. Kathy smirks while Becka looks fearful and the Doctor is shocked. “What was that? It reacted to your touch. Why?”

“I warned you to keep quiet.” Becka snaps but Kathy can tell she’s breaking.

“Rather we asked Willa?” Kathy retorts.

Becka’s head snaps towards her. “Silence! Or I shall duck her too.” She cries. 

“Last request. I definitely get a last request. Lend us your hanky.” The Doctor says casually.

Becka steps back looking alarmed and confused. “I don't have one.” 

“There's loads in your room. And an empty medicine bottle. What were you taking the medicine for, Becka?” The Doctor questions.

“Know this, Doctor. Once I have dealt with you, I shall go after all of your friends.” Becka threatens.

——

The Doctor on the ducking stool now sits above the river.

Becka speaks to the crowd, “Satan has made our crops fail, bewitched our animals, and brought the sickness. His agent sits before you, the most evil witch in Christendom, and she would call herself the Doctor.” The villagers jeer. “We bring her and her accolade to justice, in front of our great Majesty, King James. Give the word, sire, and we shall duck the witch and save our souls from Satan, once and for all.”

King James looks uncertain as his eyes meet the Doctor’s before eventually saying, “Duck the witch.” 

“Duck her!” The villagers cry.

Mud tears dribble from Becka's eye. She wipes it away but Kathy and the Doctor have already noticed.

“Doctor! Kathy!” Kathy hears Graham yell and turns to see the said man, Yaz and Ryan running up on the other side of the river.

“Guys, you need to get her up!” She yells to the companions. While the Doctor, and Kathy, can hold their breath for longer due to their respiratory bypass system, which Kathy had learnt she had inherited, she doesn’t want to risk it too much.

“Guards! Duck her now!” Becka cries. There is a splash and the Doctor is under.

“Bring her back up now!” Graham yells.

“What've you done?” Ryan demands from King James.

“We will see the result.” King James shakily replies.

“I'm the Witchfinder General! I'm giving you an order!” Graham shouts to Becka.

“I obey only my King!” Becka declares. Kathy notices the mud is smudging around her eye. 

“Sire, please order her to be raised.” Ryan pleads.

“She and Kathy are not witches. They’re your only hope of getting out of here alive,” Yaz adds. Kathy twists in the guards’ grip anxiously.

“They're witches, sire, all of them. It's Satan testing us!” Becka announces.

“Get her out of there.”

“It has been long enough.” King James declares.

“No, it hasn't! We must be certain!” Becka insists. Honestly, Becka should be glad Kathy is tied up as it means Kathy isn’t over there right now, throttling her.

“Bring her up now. Now!” Graham orders but King James hesitates.

“Please, Your Majesty.” Ryan pleads.

King James listens and gives out his order, “Raise the stool. The trial is over.” The dead tree is raised and the chains are empty. Kathy slumps against her guards in relief. The Doctor got out just as Kathy knew she would. 

“Where's she gone? What's happened to her?” Ryan asks.

“No. No!” Becka cries.

“But where is she?” Yaz questions.

“Looking for me?” They all turn to see the Doctor squelching out of the river further down. 

“Doctor!” Yaz cries in relief. The other companions sigh in relief.

“She truly is a powerful witch.” King James gasps.

“No, sire. I am no witch and neither is Kathy. I'm just good at holding my breath, and getting out of chains, thanks to a very wet weekend with Houdini.” The Doctor gasps out before turning to the three companions. “Hi, team! Gang! Fam?” She gets a few shaking heads. “No.” 

“Needs work.” Kathy remarks with a beaming smile.

“I'm so sorry, Doctor, Kathy. I was scared.” Willa calls over.

“See? That's all it takes, Becka. Start there. Tell me the truth.” The Doctor orders. Becka seems to be covering her mouth as if she’s going to be sick.

“She survived. She is a witch.” Becka declares.

“No, we’re not.” Kathy counters. The guards don’t protest as she pulls away from them. “And despite all appearances...”

“Doctor! Kathy!” Yaz yells.

“Neither are they.” The mud women are behind Becka, slowly approaching. The one looking like Old Mother Twiston carries the axe from under Becka’s bed.

“You might want to come and stand with me, Becka, cos they look like they've come for you.” The Doctor warns the woman. People are running and screaming. 

“I will be with you. In the water, in the fire, in the air.” Old Mother Twiston gurgles.

“Stop. Just stop.” Becka orders and the mud women do just that.

“They're obeying you.” The Doctor murmurs. “Why are they obeying you? What happened, Becka? I thought they'd come to kill you. Which is a fair assumption given they're carrying an axe. But they haven't, have they? Of course. They've come to join you. Kathy said you’re going on this crusade and why you killed your grandmother is because you have a secret. Something alien.”

Becka is coughing and choking into the handkerchief she said she didn't have.

“It's in you, just as it's in them. And none of you can hide it anymore.” The Doctor concludes.  

“In the earth...” 

“Tell them what happened Becka.” Kathy tells her.

“I cut down her favourite tree.” Becka replies.

The Doctor frowns. “What? I don't understand.”

“It was spoiling my view of the hill. But something lay beneath it. I awoke Hell. Satan himself attacked me, poisoned me.” Becka explains. “That night I felt it growing inside me. The mark of Satan. I fought it. I took medicine, I prayed, but it grew. I did God's work in the hope that He would save me.”

“You killed people to try and save yourself.” The Doctor accuses.

“All these witches! All this evil!”

“You knew they weren't witches!” The Doctor argues. “The only thing you feared was yourself. Did your granny know what you needed the medicine for?”

“Not to start with, but then I had to tell her. I needed her help, I begged for it, for her to lance this evil out of me. But she was too weak.” Becka admits.

“So, you killed her by ducking?”

“I had to. She knew. I can't fight it any more, Doctor.” Becka defends. She gasps and bends over in pain. The three companions, King James and Willa join them.

“You cannot fight it, because you are the witch.” King James declares.

“I have let Satan in. I have failed you, sire. Yes, I am the witch!”

“Everyone, behind us. It's Becka they want.” Kathy tells them, pushing them all behind her and the Doctor.

“But why?” Ryan asks.

“What's happening to her?” Yaz asks as Becka collapses to the floor.

“I tried to hold Satan back. I'm so scared. Please forgive me.” Becka sobs. She screams and turns into a mud woman.

“What is happening?” King James wonders. “She is possessed by Satan.”

“Not by Satan.” The Doctor replies.

“Then by what?”

“Something not of this earth.” Kathy answers. Becka has been transformed. Her skin has become hard mud.

“Morax.” Says the Morax Queen in a deep gravelling voice. The mud women gather around it.

“Who are you?” The Doctor asks.

“Hand me your King.” The Morax Queen orders instead.

“What?!” King James exclaims.

“What about your own King?” Kathy asks pointedly.

“He waits. We have all waited for too long, trapped in the hill.” The Morax Queen declares.

“Pendle Hill.” The Doctor realises.

“Our prison. The mighty Morax army, captured and imprisoned on this pitiful planet, for war crimes.” The Morax Queen spits.

“Pendle Hill is a prison for an alien army.” The Doctor realises.

“Ah well, it's obvious when you put it like that.” Graham remarks.

“Imprisoned no more. The lock was broken.” The Morax Queen continues.

“What lock? How was it broken?” The Doctor questions.

The Morax Queen ignores her. “Now the Morax army shall rise again and take form. Your King shall be filled with our King, and we shall be free, to fill all of you. To fill this whole planet with rage and force and hate and Morax!” It sends an energy blast at the group, knocking them out before Kathy can even say a word of warning.

——

They wake up to find the Morax Queen, the mud women and King James are gone.

“Zapped by Becka Savage, Queen of the Morax. She's taken the King, knocked the rest of us out.” Yaz is explaining to a dazed Graham as she helps him up.

“Okay.”

“Quite a blast, that.” The Doctor says as she and Kathy push the ducking stool back onto shore. Kathy had told her that they need this to help stop the Morax. “Haven't had a hangover like this since the Milk Wars of Keston Five. Kathy, you have a lot to look forward to.”

“Great,” Kathy mutters. Her head is going to burst with all these future hints.

“What are you doing with this thing?” Ryan asks.

They load the dead tree ducking stool onto a hand cart.

“Tell them what Bilehurst means.” Kathy says to Willa.

“Sacred tree on a hill.” Willa explains.

“The tree Becka chopped down because it was obscuring her view. The tree this ducking stool is made from. A tree that isn't a tree.” The Doctor’s sonic scan lights up the wood as green. 

“It's ancient alien technology, beautiful and broken.” Kathy continues. “A very old, very advanced bio-mech security system that locked away the Morax Army. Becka's touch made it react because of the Morax infection inside her.” She enjoys it when she and the Doctor are able to bounce off one another.

“So, Pendle Hill's a prison?” Ryan concludes.

“From what Becka said, I'm guessing the Morax are royals with soldiers.” The Doctor adds. “Pretty brutal ones at that. Presumably exiled for war crimes, scrambled down into their primal form.”

“And they stay imprisoned until Becka Savage goes at that tree.” Yaz realises.

“It can't be much of a lock if she can break it.” Graham points out.

“Locks can erode even if it takes billions of years.” Kathy argues.

“She must've broken it enough for part of the queen's form to escape and infect her. According to my calculations, this ancient alien wood is like Semtex to Morax. That's why it made such a good lock.” The Doctor explains. “Right. Help me break it up.”

“Break it up? Why? What for?” Yaz questions.

“We’re going to stop them.” Kathy declares.

——

They cut up the wood into torches and Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Kathy light them in a brazier, which makes them burn green.

“Anti-Morax weapons. The smoke is toxic to Morax. Should be enough to fend them off so you can rescue King James and I can get to the tree.” The Doctor tells them. She sonics a small piece of the wood.

“Then what?” Ryan asks.

“She fixes the lock putting all the Morax energy back in the joint.” Kathy informs him. 

“One more thing, Doc.” Graham puts the hat on her head. “Morax-finder General, back in command.”

“It's a very flat team structure. Ready for battle?” The Doctor asks. 

“Yes, we are.” Willa says as she nervously approaches them.

“You don't have to, Willa.” Yaz reassures her.

“It's time to stop being scared.” Willa counters.

“Little bit of scared isn't a bad thing cuz your cousin ain’t much compared to the Morax.” Kathy warns her.

“Only I know the path up the hill, so you need me to lead the way.” Willa argues.

“She's right.” Graham agrees.

“There are more powerful people here than kings and queens. There's us, together.” Willa deck. She lights her own torch.

“Lead on, Willa Twiston. Onwards to save the King.” The Doctor replies. They March off after Willa.

——

They reach the top of Pendle Hill to see King James on the floor cowering in fear while surrounded by the mud women and the Morax Queen looming over him. A tendril is sprouting from the hollow of the tree stump.

“May the Lord save me!” King James cries as a face appears on the end of the tendril and hisses at him.

“Or alternatively... Witchfinders United, at your service.” The Doctor announces their presence.

“Yeah, mate, you better back off.” Yaz warns.

“Let him go, Morax.” Kathy orders. “You can't have King James or this planet.”

“Get away from the King!” Ryan thrusts his torch at the tendril, which recoils. 

“The torches are working. They won't come near the flames.” The Doctor observes.

“I've got you, sire.” Ryan pulls him from the tendril and to his side.

“My protector!” King James cries as he cowers by Ryan.

“Willa, watch out for your granny!” The Doctor cries as the mud women roar ferociously at them.

“You're not my granny. Let her rest.” Willa declares, waving her torch.

“And you, Morax, back into your cell. Now, please.” The Doctor orders.

“Those flames don't scare me, Doctor. Nothing scares me now.” The Morax Queen retorts.

“I know you're in there, Becka. I know you're scared.” Willa tries to get through.

“Nothing of that pathetic woman remains. No fear, only power. We will fill your King and kill you all.” The Morax Queen declares. Meanwhile, Kathy slips behind them to get to the prison.

“Afraid not, Morax. I'm here.” Kathy calls drawing the Morax’s attention. She throws her piece of wood down into the stump.

“Everybody back! Kathy has reactivated the prison.” The Doctor cries. “Back you go, King of the Morax.” The thrashing tendril is pulled back into the stump. The face on the end looks a bit startled. Green lines illuminate the hill. “Jail reenergised.”

“No! My King! What have you done?” The Morax Queen cries mournfully.

“Feel that security system kicking back in, sucking every Morax cell back. Back down into Pendle Hill. Back out of the bodies they hijacked.” The Doctor continues. The corpses of the women fall to the ground.

“Have peace.” Willa murmurs.

“No! I will not go!” The Morax Queen cries.

“Yes, you will. Burn the witch!” King James declares, taking Ryan’s torch and marching over.

“No, sire, stay away!” The Doctor tries but King James thrusts his burning brand into the Morax Queen, and it screams as it turns into a green flame and goes boom, knocking them back. There's a peal of thunder right on cue, and down comes the rain.

“What, woman?” King James asks when seeing the Doctor’s face. “She was a witch. She confessed.”

“So, you got what you came for.” Kathy retorts with a frown.

“I have vanquished Satan.” King James declares joyfully.

The Doctor returns his Witchfinder hat to James. “No more witch hunts.”

——

They go where the TARDIS sits. Kathy happily strokes her as King James pleads with Ryan to get the Doctor to talk to him but Ryan tells him no. She smiles when she hears the TARDIS making noises, almost purring.

“What apparition is this?” King James murmurs when his eyes land on the TARDIS.

“Just another inexplicable wonder of existence you're not going to be able to tell anyone about.” The Doctor replies sharply.“Doctor, I understand you are displeased with me.” King James says. “And I owe my life to you. Not one word of any of this shall ever be spoken. And even the name Bilehurst shall be erased from all records.”

“As long as all the villagers make it out alive.” Graham argues.

“What will you do, Willa?” Yaz asks.

“Find a new home. Take Granny's potions and be a healer. Be a doctor.” Willa declares.

“I’ll help,” Kathy adds, “but I’ll have to leave one day so you have to promise to write to me.” Willa smiles and nods.

“I reckon you'll be good at that.” Yaz says.

“One final command as your King.” King James turns to Ryan and pleads, “Come back to London with me, Ryan. Be my protector.”

“I mean, it's a kind offer, sire, but, er, you know... I've got stuff to do.” Ryan pins the brooch on the King's jacket. “But I'll keep my eye on you. So, you... behave yourself.”

“Or else, we will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger.” Graham quotes.

“Ezekiel.” King James says.

“Tarantino.” Graham corrects. He enters the TARDIS behind Ryan and Yaz.

“What are you all doing?” King James questions.

“A brilliant man once said, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. We're just about to prove him right.” The Doctor says. “Bye Kathy.” Kathy gives her a nod and the Doctor goes into the TARDIS and it dematerialises.

“Where did they go?” King James asks while Willa huffs a laugh.

“Off and beyond.” Kathy says.

——

1634

After the adventure, Kathy travels to Paris and lives there for the 1620s and 30s. Carlyle joins her in the second decade as he and Ashildr have a falling out.

There is more to Willa Twiston's life than what Kathy had seen on the show. Carlyle suggests to his mother, as they read a letter Willa has sent them (Kathy had suggested to her that she should keep writing and alert her to anything she can help with) that perhaps she should look at her scan of Willa once again. Kathy looks over her sonic screwdriver's readings of Willa, which reveals the girl's blood to be slightly abnormal from her years of having recipes made from the Hill's trees.

Kathy declares that she and Carlyle should go and tell Willa of this. They hurry to Willa’s location to find that Willa has been accused of being a witch in the new trials. She is rescued at the hands of Kathy and Carlyle.

But that was not to be the end of Willa’s adventures. Willa is moving through the woods, collecting materials when she hears whirring sounds. The sound she had last heard more than 20 years earlier. She turns excitedly, expecting the blue box but instead appears a building she does not recognise or understand. If she had knowledge of the future, she would have recognised it as a diner.

A mysterious figure steps out, it is a young woman in her late 20s, small in height and with a bob of brown hair. The woman smiles at her despite the frown she receives from Willa and cries cheerfully, “You must be Willa!” She then turns to look through the door she had stepped out of. “The coast is clear! You can come out!”

Then people Willa knows very well emerge except for one, a woman with long brown hair. “Katherine, Carlyle!” She gasps. “But you were…”

Katherine chuckles. “Oh, it’s been a while for us Willa. A very long time though longer for Carlyle here.”

Willa steps closer and takes in the three people’s appearances. Her eyes widen when she takes note of the fact that their eyes are so much older than they were when she last saw them and the woman with long brown hair and eyes is ancient. This is funny because they, along with the mysterious woman with them, all look physically younger. Instead of panicking, Willa smiles and gives each of them a hug as she’s pleased to see them despite it.

Carlyle laughs. “Let me introduce these two.” He gestures toward the mysterious woman. “This is Clara. She’s from the early 21^st century. She used to travel with the Doctor. And this is Ashildr, my wife.”

While Willa knows there’s something more to what they are saying, she brushes it aside as it is none of her business.

Clara offers her hand for a shake. “Hiya!”

Willa smiles gently at the bubbly woman and shakes her hand. “Hello.” She also shakes Ashildr’s hand. “Why are you all here? Am I in danger again?”

“Oh no, no.” Katherine says, waving her hand dismissively. “We thought we’d ask you to come with us.”

“With you?”

“Yes, we think you deserve it.” Ashildr explains.

Willa doesn’t quite understand. “Go where?”

“Anywhere in time and space. That’s what a TARDIS is for.” Clara explains.

“Anywhere?” Willa asks in disbelief.

“Anywhere.”

There is only one answer for Willa.

“Yes.”

Chapter Text

1651 AD/CE

Kathy deems it time that Carlyle shouldn't keep running away and tells him that they will return to Ashildr. Another part of Kathy's reasoning is that it is the year Ashildr and the Doctor, the twelfth, meet again. Kathy finds it difficult to predict whether the events of the episode will play out considering so much of Ashildr's life has been altered compared to the original timeline though she still faced the pain of losing her children and everyone except Kathy and Carlyle but Kathy wonders if their separations could've taken a toll.

Kathy easily locates Ashildr's mansion and it’s when they approach the door does Kathy feels the mental link with the Doctor. Clearly, they've arrived later than expected if the Doctor is here in daylight. The robbery must've already happened and they have the alien artefact that resembles the Eyes of Hades. Kathy and Carlyle share a look. She and Carlyle knock and wait. Clayton, whom Kathy recalls as being Ashildr's poorly servant, opens the door.

“Hello?” He questions.

“Hello good sir.” Kathy greets him with a kind smile. “We were hoping to have an audience with your mistress. Old friends you see.” No point explaining how she’s her mother-in-law as that’ll send the poor man into a panic.

“Of course.” He steps aside and lets them in. It is at this point she hears the Doctor speaking. 

They come into the entrance hall to see the Doctor frowning at them and Ashildr, dressed in a fuchsia coloured dress with white lace trim, smirking.

“Kathy? Carlyle?” Comes the Doctor’s greeting. 

“Hello Doctor, good to see you.” Carlyle greets cheerfully though albeit awkwardly as he glances at his wife who doesn’t look pleased.

“What are you doing here?” The Doctor questions. 

“Oh, Doctor,” Ashildr remarks with an unkind smirk, “why would I not receive visits from my husband and mother-in-law?”

The Doctor does a double take. “HUSBAND?! MOTHER-IN-LAW?!” He yells.

“Well, yes,” Kathy replies with a raised eyebrow. She’ll sort this out first then get to Ashildr.

“Why did no one tell me?!” He exclaims indignantly.

Kathy rolls her eyes at his childish behaviour. “It was spoilers. You were either too young or too old to tell. Had to wait to meet the right you to tell.” She explains.

“She did tell you I got married, didn’t she?” Carlyle adds.

“Well, yes, but—”

“Don’t worry we don’t always get along.” Ashildr remarks snidely. “When anything gets difficult, he runs off with his mother. Like you Doctor, running from your problems.”

Kathy is surprised. She has known she had felt like this in the alternative timeline but turns out Kathy’s absences were not a good thing. Ashildr storms off into the dining room. 

They follow her into the room where the Doctor seems to jump back to what he and Ashildr had been talking about before. “It looks like the ancient Greek talisman which wards off evil and protects those in death on their journey to an afterlife?”

“You tell me.” Ashildr says in a bored tone as she slips the amulet she holds into a string bag.

“Could it be that the mythology originated on another planet?” The Doctor questions excitedly as he moves around the room. Kathy takes note that the episode is still going along as normal as the Doctor doesn’t know of Ashildr’s true intentions.

“You can't wait to get going and find out, I'll wager.” Ashildr remarks.

“No. I think I want to stick around, and keep an eye on you for a while.” The Doctor corrects.

“Get me back on track?”

“Well, why not?” Kathy asks causing Ashildr to turn to her. “It seems you’ve lost your way Ashildr.”

Ashildr narrows her eyes. “Then why can’t the Doctor take me with him?” She challenges.

“Ashildr? What do you mean?” Carlyle asks his wife looking hurt. “I thought we were good, happy.”

“You’re wrong I’m sick of this planet,” Ashildr snaps, “taking it day by day while this man can gallivant off and face no consequences.”

“Trust me he does, like right now, for example.” Kathy says. 

“You don't want to get stuck with an old fool like me.” The Doctor casually dismisses. “You have this whole wonderful planet to play on.”

“It takes a day to get to Kent.” Ashildr retorts. Kathy admits the lengthy travelling is annoying.

“In the future, you'll fly.”

“I want to fly right now.” Ashildr retorts tearfully. “I have waited longer than I should ever have lived. I have lost more than I can even remember.” Kathy winces when she thinks of her grandchildren, the little ones who barely lived. “Please, Doctor, just get me out of this. I want more than this. I deserve more than this. Why not? Why not?!”

“Ashildr…” Carlyle murmurs to his wife looking hurt and tearful.

“Because it wouldn't be good. Ashildr, please. Ashildr.” The Doctor replies.

“I am not Ashildr anymore. Not to you.” Ashildr snaps.

Something big snarls nearby. Well, that just confirms that Ashildr is up to what she thinks she’s up to. Her and Carlyle’s presence hadn’t improved things perhaps made things worse.

“Do you have a cat? It sounds like a very big cat. Hence the very big cat flap.” Light is coming from behind a pair of doors. The Doctor opens them to reveal a man-sized biped with lights for eyes. It walks forward and the Doctor backs away. The being looks like a lion and is wearing a golden diadem. The lights in its eyes fade.

“Leandro, meet the Doctor, Carlyle and Kathy.” Ashildr comes to stand it. It is now Carlyle, Kathy and the Doctor standing on one side and Ashildr and Leandro on the other. “You thought I was helping you, Doctor. In fact, it was the other way round. Leandro, we have it. My friend here was as useful as I'd hoped.”

“If somebody needed my help, why did nobody just ask?” The Doctor questions. “I am forced to assume you have plans I wouldn't approve of. Oh, Ashildr.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Kill us! Come on Ashildr, if you’re so sick of us.” Kathy declares. Everyone except the Doctor looks at her in alarm or worry.

“But mom—” Carlyle tries to say but Leandro interrupts.

“Why?”

“If you intend any harm to this planet or its people, then killing us is by far your best move.” The Doctor explains. 

“You invite your own death?”

“No. I just want you to attack first. Then my conscience is clear.” The Doctor corrects. 

“Of what?”

“You.”

Leandro laughs. “You are not of this world,” he looks to Carlyle and Kathy, “or are any of you part of my plans. I have no quarrel with any of you.”

“Then tell us why you are here and what you intend to do.” Carlyle demands sharply. He stares at his wife, who swallows uncomfortably before straightening and trying to act like his disapproval doesn’t affect her. 

“Otherwise, get on with trying to kill us. But I advise you. Be very quick and very sure.” The Doctor adds.

“I am from Delta Leonis.” Leandro explains. “My tribe was overthrown, my world destroyed, my wife killed as we escaped.” Kathy narrows her eyes at him, knowing the truth.

“Using the amulet? That was your means of travel.” Carlyle concludes.

“I lost it when I crashed to Earth.”

“I found him in my grounds. He's been sleeping there while I searched for it.” Ashildr explains. 

“The Underworld, gateway to an afterlife, another reality.” The Doctor summarises.

“We need it to open a portal, travel the galaxy.”

“Oh! Oh, so what's the plan, Ashildr? Fancy yourself as his new Queen? But what about Carlyle?” The Doctor remarks.

“Oh, dear God. You're just like every other man.” Ashildr grumbles. “I'm not looking for a new husband, you oaf. I'm looking for a horse to get me out of town. You said no.”

“Oh, what? And you think you can trust him?” Kathy asks pointedly.

“He knows what it is to be alone. To be abandoned.”

“But we haven’t abandoned you!” Kathy cries. 

“You keep leaving!” Ashildr snaps. Has Kathy herself been so self-centred, so focused on the Doctor, she hadn’t realised her running off and exploring with someone else has a negative impact on Ashildr?

“I know what it is like to be alone.” The Doctor interrupts.

“Then how could you do what you did?” Ashildr asks harshly.

“I'm looking for the headline here.”

“The what?”

“Well, you know, you want to escape? Well, go on. Escape as much as you like. Why would I not approve?” The Doctor questions.

“You wouldn’t Doctor, the amulet.” Kathy tells him. Ashildr frowns, she must now realise that Kathy knows what’s happening though more than Ashildr realises.

“What about it?”

“A death is required. It is only way the amulet works.” Leandro explains.

“Of course. Every single death is a tiny fracture in reality, and the amulet can lever the fracture open. Primitive, but effective.” The Doctor realises.

“It's just exploiting an abundant resource. There's so much dying here.” Ashildr remarks casually. Kathy winces, she wonders if she herself has begun to be slightly more numb to death than she used to be.

“So, who dies so you can run away, leaving me?” Carlyle asks his wife tearfully.

“Clayton?!” Ashildr calls.

They can hear Clayton coughing before he calls, “Coming, milady.”

“No, you can't. He loves you.” The Doctor argues.

“To the end, it would seem.”

“Would you rather take his place?” Leandro breathes fire. The Doctor, Kathy and Carlyle jump back from the flames.

“Not them. We agreed!” Ashildr snaps. Still, Ashildr seems to not be entirely hateful. There is still time to turn her around.

“Oh, Ashildr, daughter of Einarr, what happened to you?” The Doctor demands to know.

“You did, Doctor. You happened.” Ashildr replies then turns to look at Kathy and Carlyle. “You and your little followers that I have to call family.”

——

Later, Kathy, Carlyle and the Doctor's hands are tied behind their backs and they are secured to chairs in an adjoining storage room to the dining room.

“I know you've suffered, all three of you. You and Carlyle seeing your children dying.” The Doctor murmurs causing Ashildr to stop before she leaves the room. “Kathy your grandchildren…” Kathy gives him a small sad smile. “I have read your diaries, the diaries that Kathy and Carlyle would read to remind you of the memories you had lost.”

“They would have died anyway.” Ashildr retorts, turning to face them. Her voice sounds slightly wobbly as she speaks but she keeps it together.

Carlyle winces. “How can you dismiss them so? Our Essie, Jean and Rue.” Kathy can’t imagine what her son is going through right now, his wife’s hurt and anger being unleashed. Kathy feels that all of this is more her fault than any of theirs, she knew the future and look at what happened.

“Too human were they not?” Ashildr remarks as she walks forward. “They would have joined the fleeting lives of human life. Like mayflies, they would’ve bred and died, repeating the same mistakes. It's boring. And I'm stuck here, abandoned by the one man who should know what eternity feels like. Who should understand. And the other two who don’t think it listen to how I feel.”

Kathy's eyes widen as they tear up. “I do listen. I-I did, I thought…”

“Don’t be angry with her.” The Doctor snaps at Ashildr. “I do understand now, but—”

“You still won't take me with you.” Ashildr snaps, interrupting. “You gad about while I trudge through the centuries, day by day, hour by hour. Kathy shrugs it off carelessly as she hurries to the next part of history she’s interested in it the next adventure where she’ll find you, sometimes dragging Carlyle with her. Do any of you ever think or care what happens after you've run away? I live in the world you leave behind, because you abandoned me to it. You left Kathy to do your job but you still pulled her away.”

“I didn’t realise Ashildr!” Kathy cries. “Please, I thought you had Carlyle and that I was around enough.”

“Why should I be responsible for you?” The Doctor asks before Ashildr could reply to Kathy’s pleas.

“You made me immortal.” Ashildr retorts angrily.

“I saved your life.” The Doctor corrects. “I didn't know that your heart would rust because I kept it beating. I didn't think your conscience would need renewing, that the well of human kindness would run dry. I just wanted to save a terrified young woman's life.”

“You didn't save my life, Doctor. You trapped me inside it.” Ashildr argues. “And now I've found someone who can set me free. Someone who understands because Kathy and Carlyle thought it was just fine to leave me in this world.” Ashildr walks back to the door.

“You can’t trust him Ashildr!” Kathy warns her. “He hasn’t told you the whole truth! Trust me, I know what happens here!”

“You talk about trust!” Ashildr snaps. “You barely tell me anything! You probably knew what would happen to my children!”

“No, your wrong!” Kathy pleads desperately. “This time it was different! They had Time Lord and Apalapucian DNA, I thought they’d be safe but clearly not.”

Ashildr frowns at this before shaking her head. Kathy’s words seem to be getting through slightly. The problem is that while Kathy remembers everything, every meaningful and happy moment, Ashildr doesn’t.

“Listen to her!” The Doctor adds. “You know what she’s like, but please I know his type. Very first argument, guaranteed he'll bite your head off.”

“Or I'll bite his off. Perhaps I'll enjoy that.” Ashildr retorts.

“You're playing with fire. Open that portal and you have no idea what horrors might come through.” The Doctor persists.

“That's as good a reason as any to do it.”

“You're not like this. I know you're not.” Carlyle argues.

“This is exactly what I'm like.” Ashildr spits. “This is what the Doctor and your mother made of me.”

“He'll kill you.” The Doctor warns.

“He'll have to be fast. And if he does, perhaps it's about time.” Ashildr says softly.

Then there’s knocking on the door and a “Lady Me?” Llewelyn, one of the guards that have arrived.

The Doctor, Kathy and Carlyle scrape their chairs to the doorway of the small room.

Two pikemen rush in, one Welsh, Llewelyn, and one English, Stout. Kathy, Carlyle and the Doctor watch on through the open door of the room they sit in.

“Oh, Lady Me, thank goodness you are safe.” Llewelyn says as they meet Ashildr in the middle of the room. “Sam Swift has been captured and he swore the Knightmare was heading in this direction.”

Kathy remembers Sam Swift or “Sam Swift the Quick”, an alias used by a highwayman in the 17th century and the Knightmare’s, Ashildr’s, main rival

“I've not seen him.” Ashildr replies.

“Sam Swift will hang in Tyburn at noon.” Stout tells her.

“In half an hour?” Ashildr looks over her shoulder at the trio leaning out of the adjacent room. Kathy knows what she’s thinking and narrows her eyes at her. “A guilty man destined to die? No harm in that. I have not seen the Knightmare. But this is his sidekick, the Doctor and some accomplices. They were robbing me. I only just managed to overpower them.”

Llewelyn checks a scroll, a wanted poster. “You will hang for this!” He declares.

“No, listen, we were trying to help her. She tied—” The Doctor tries to argue.

“Silence or we'll—” Llewelyn tries to threaten but Stout is trigger happy and fires his pistol into the ceiling. “—shoot.” Llewelyn glares at his partner.

“They needn't hang. But keep them under lock and key, for all our sakes.” Ashildr pleads.

Clayton enters. Llewelyn draws his pistol.

“Was that the door?” Clayton questions, he takes notice of the three leaning out of the room, tied to their chairs. “Oh, dear. Always the quiet ones.”

“Goodbye, Clayton.” Ashildr says to her ailing servant, she turns to the trio. “You see? I do have a heart.”

“In which case, don't do it.” Kathy retorts. Ashildr leaves the room and goes to her coach. 

“Do I look like some feckless thief?” The Doctor remarks as Llewelyn points his gun at them and Stour unties them. “I'm on your side. I'm an undercover constable from Scotland Yard. Do you have Scotland Yard yet?”

Kathy groans in annoyance. “No Doctor, not for a couple hundred years yet.”

Llewelyn smirks at them. “Been on the cider, have we?”

Kathy rolls her eyes irritably at the squabbling and promptly stands. The men around her gape in surprise at how she’s able to stand as the gas believed she had been tied to the chair. 

“What?” Kathy huffs. “You didn’t think I would learn to get myself out when tied up?”

Llewelyn promptly aims his gun at her and Kathy shrugs and raises her hands to show she’s not a threat. Stout unties the Doctor and Carlyle and pulls them individually to their feet.

“The Dunbar Victory medal. I was decorated for valour in battle.” The Doctor tries next. Llewelyn squints at the Doctor's psychic paper that he had pulled out. He either cannot read or isn't impressed by a Scotsman being on the side of Cromwell in 1651. Kathy uses his diverted attention and walks to the window and sees Ashildr in a cloak readying her coach with Leandro inside.

“All we want is to bring the Knightmare to justice.” Carlyle is pleading.

“But you were robbing Lady Me.” Llewelyn counters.

“We came to warn her. I fear her life is in danger.” Kathy corrects. She gestures out of the window to point out that Ashildr is driving her coach away, down the drive. “Look! It's the Knightmare, cloaked and in disguise, bound for Tyburn.”

“You have to let us go, or take us there.” The Doctor declares.

“You wish to hang too?” Stout questions doubtfully as he shoves Carlyle and the Doctor to the door. They seem reluctant to touch Kathy; probably because she is a woman.

“Well, will you take me there if I say yes?”

“Indeed. There's a bounty on your head for twenty pounds.” Llewelyn declares gleefully as Stout pulls the Doctor and Carlyle into the dining room.

“Twenty pounds? Is that all?” The Doctor complains.

“And why are complaining?!” Kathy hisses as she follows with Llewelyn’s gun pointed at her back.

“'Tis a small fortune to us.” Stout informs them.

“Well, in that case, I know where Lady Me keeps all of her money. Almost thirty pounds.” The Doctor says. 

“Now why didn't you say that in the first place?” Llewelyn remarks.

——

The Doctor, Kathy and Carlyle are soon on horseback, galloping along the track and passing a marker that says 5 miles to Tyburn. After a period of time, a bell sounds the hour as they are still galloping through the woods. Kathy urges on her horse as they run across a castle bridge. 

They eventually arrive and have to push through the crowd, apologising as they jostle people.

“Time to hang!” Kathy hears someone sounding like Leandro yelling.

They reach a fence, which gives Kathy an advantage point to see over the crowd that has gathered for the noon entertainment around a scaffold to Sam Swift standing on it with Ashildr standing next to him. 

“Hang him! Hang him!” The crowd cries. The Hangman tries to manhandle Sam into the noose.

The Doctor has turned to stare at the posters on the fence next to them, which say the Knightmare's reward is £100 compared to the Doctor's £20, amongst other items. 

“All right, all right.” Sam says hurriedly. Kathy watches on feeling anxious and sorrowful as she sees the fear on the man’s face. “As God is my Highwayman. He steals the most precious gift of all. Life. Magical, filled with adventures. And at least I can say I lived mine to the full.”

“I love you, Sam Swift.” A woman calls to him. Sam tips his bottle of drink to her.

Kathy sees Sam notice the Doctor before he calls out, “Doctor, doctor! I'm a robber.”

The crowd are confused, but the penny drops for the Doctor. “Have you taken anything for it?”

The crowd laughs as the Doctor, Carlyle and Kathy make their way to the scaffold. They need to get close by to either prevent this or help in stopping it when it happens.

“Er, Doctor, doctor.”

“Quick man, I'm running out of patients!” The Doctor shouts. The crowd laugh.

“Have you ever seen such a sidekick so old?” Sam asks the people.

The Doctor pauses, looking offended. “I'm no one's sidekick.”

“You do realise there is worse things to be called.” Carlyle points out to him.

“He's so old, he farts dust!” Sam continues. More bouts of laughter.

The trio reach the front and the Doctor turns to the crowd. “And his nose is so big that—”

“They'll have to widen the noose!” Sam finishes. As the crowd laughs, Kathy watches a frustrated Ashildr look out into the crowd to where, Kathy can only assume, Leandro waits.

“Or, or bury him in a pyramid.” The Doctor adds.

“You know what they say, big nose…”

“Oooooo!”

“Big handkerchief!” The Doctor cries.

The crowd laughs as the Hangman manhandles Sam back to the noose.

“No! Doctor, don't leave me hanging.” Sam pleads.

“Wait! We have a pardon here for Sam Swift from Cromwell himself.” Kathy says urgently.

The Doctor gets out his psychic paper again. The Hangman takes the paper. “Sam Swift is pardoned!”

Sam falls to his knees in relief. The crowd is not pleased. The Hangman gives the paper back to the Doctor.

“We didn't come all this way not to see someone hang.” A man complains, Baxter if Kathy remembers correctly. “What about the Doctor? Yeah, hang the Doctor. Hang the Doctor! Hang the Doctor. Hang the Doctor!” The crowd echo his thoughts.

“Ssh.” Ashildr utters. The crowd quietens. “You want to see someone die? How's this?” She holds up the Eye of Hades.

“No! Ashildr, no! No!” Carlyle lunges forward to pull his wife away but it is too late, the eye is already on Sam Swift’s chest. Sam fits and sounds as if he is choking then he goes still. A purple ray is sent into the sky and a rift opens in the clouds.

“Purple, the colour of death. His life force is opening a portal.” The Doctor speaks.

“To my new life.” Ashildr says with a smile.

“Or to Hell.” Kathy remarks. Leandro breathes fire at the crowd before moving onto the scaffold. “This isn’t what you think Ashildr.”

“A lion man!” Baxter cries. Then he points back at the rift. “Look!” A planet is visible beyond the rift.

“Goodbye, Doctor, Kathy, Carlyle.” Ashildr says looking pleased but that soon morphs into confusion when Leandro says his next words.

“You are going nowhere.” 

“Doors work both ways. They let people out and they let the enemy in.” The Doctor tells Ashildr as lots of small objects are visible around the planet.

“What's that? What's happening? What are those things?” Ashildr questions.

“Space ships, or they will be.” Kathy answers.

“They're coming through the rift, actualising in this plane of reality.” The Doctor continues.

Ashildr turns to Leandro accusingly. “You said you were the last of the Leonians. We were meant to escape.”

“You shall. In death.”

The crowd screams as fireballs come flying through and explode on the ground. Leandro attacks the crowd, who scream and scatter. Militiamen fire their pistols at him. Ashildr looks on at what her actions have caused and Kathy watches how horror sets in.

“No!” Ashildr shouts. “What have I done? What have I done to these people? Stop this! They are defenceless.” Ashildr runs towards Leandro and pulls him away from the person he is attacking. Leandro turns to her and growls causing her to pull back in fright.

“Ashildr!” Carlyle yells as he runs to her and hugs her to him. “He doesn't care.”

“But I do.” Ashildr cries. She pulls away from her husband and looks at him with tearful eyes then looks to Kathy and the Doctor standing nearby. “Oh, God, I do. I actually do. I, I care.”

The Doctor smiles at her. “It's awful, isn't it? It's infuriating. You think you don't care, then you fall off the wagon.” Kathy knows the feeling.

“Never mind about me.” Ashildr retorts. “What are we going to do about them? We have to help them. They need you. They need us.”

“Welcome back.” Carlyle says with a smile.

“Well? Do something then!”

Kathy can see the Doctor’s thoughts racing and decides to jump him ahead a bit. “Death opens up a gateway. We need to close it.”

“Yes!” The Doctor cries, pointing at her. “Sam Swift, he's the conduit. The amulet, it's still in him. It's his death that's opening the rift. So, what do we do?”

“Reverse it.” Ashildr concludes.

“You cannot reverse death.” Leandro retorts.

“Oh, yes, we can.” Kathy corrects. She nods to Ashildr, who has a look of realisation on her face. Ashildr holds up the other Mire repair chip, one similar to the one in her own head. Leandro tries to snatch it.

“Run!” Carlyle pushes her to the scaffold before he, Kathy, the Doctor and Leandro follows. Up on the scaffold, Ashildr puts the chip onto Sam's forehead and it is absorbed into him.

“No, my lady. They will destroy me for this.” Leandro begs.

“Good!” Kathy snaps, she’s surprised by the ferociousness of her words.

The ray changes from purple to gold and Sam begins gasping for air. 

“The light of immortality.” Leandro roars at Ashildr, who runs to hide behind the Carlyle. “Spare me, my brothers!” Leandro is disintegrated, and the rift closes. The crowd comes out of hiding and dusts themselves down.

Sam looks around dazed. “I'm alive.” He murmurs to himself and once the notion has set in for him, he turns to the crowd and yells, “I'm alive!”

Sam laughs and the crowd cheers. The four standing next to him smile and join in on the clapping. The amulet stuck to his chest no longer shines.

——

Kathy, Ashildr and Carlyle sit at a table in the Ye Swan with Two necks.

“I thought I was helping you, clearly I was wrong. I know now not to be so careless.” Kathy reassures her daughter-in-law.

“Maybe we should have a rule, every so many years we should do something together.” Carlyle suggests.

“I like that.” Ashildr says.

“There’s something else we can do in our spare time…” Kathy trails off.

After a couple of minutes, the Doctor walks over and sits. “Now, is there anything else I should warn you about?” He asks Ashildr. He puts down the tankards that he has paid for with Kathy’s money. She knows she’s not going to get paid back.

“Don’t worry Kathy will warn me.” Ashildr says with a small smile which Kathy reciprocates. Sam Swift comes to sit at the table next to them and begins talking.

“Last thing I remember is you turning up, Doctor.” He speaks. “Good thing too. Between you and me, I was running out of material.”

“Yeah, I could tell. Gave a whole new meaning to dying on stage.” The Doctor remarks.

“Gallows humour can be tricky, but at least there's never a second house.” Sam argues. “I've nearly finished mine. I'll get another in.” He stands up to leave but turns to Ashildr. “Oh, by the way, I've not forgotten that kiss.” Sam walks away from the table. Kathy looks amusedly at Ashildr while Carlyle looks displeased and the Doctor simply sits there watching with a small smile.

“Kiss?!” Carlyle quietly exclaims.

“I only did it because he was dying!” Ashildr defends before smirking at her husband. “Though your jealous streak makes me think, maybe we could—”

“No!” Kathy yells. Her face screws up in disgust. She really doesn’t need to know about these two. Ashildr and Carlyle laugh.

Ashildr turns to the Doctor, who is still watching with a smile. “Is he immortal now?” 

“Well, Kathy, will he?” The Doctor asks.

“Oh Doctor, that would be telling.” Kathy shrugs. He doesn’t get mentioned in the rest of the show so Kathy can only assume that he doesn’t.

“I don't think I want anyone to be.” Ashildr utters.

“The power probably would have been drained by the whole opening and reversing the portal thingy. There'll be enough power to bring him back, but not enough power to keep him here, probably.” The Doctor summarises. 

Carlyle raises an eyebrow. “You just made that all up, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. But it's hard to keep track of all this stuff.” The Doctor argues. “Keep an eye on him though you three. He might be around for a while. Or not. Who can say?”

“You're still not going to take me with you, are you.” Ashildr realises.

“People like us, we go on too long. We forget what matters.” The Doctor tells her. “The last thing we need is each other. That’s why Kathy never stays for long. We need the mayflies. See, the mayflies, they know more than we do. They know how beautiful and precious life is because it's fleeting. Look how Sam Swift made every last moment count,” they look to see Sam laughing and joking away to those around him without any thought of tomorrow, “right to the gallows. Look how glad he is to be alive. I looked into your eyes and I saw my worst fears. Weariness. Emptiness.”

“That's why you can't travel with me. Our perspectives are too vast. Too far away.” Ashildr concludes.

“You're not the first, you know. I did travel with another immortal once. Captain Jack Harkness.” The Doctor says. “Meet him yet Kathy?”

“No, I haven’t.” 

“Ah.”

“Who?” Ashildr asks. Carlyle looks at his mother questioningly.

The Doctor lets out an exasperated sigh, probably thinking of all Jack’s antics. “He'll get round to you eventually. Who told you about me? The man who comes for the battle and runs away from the fallout.”

Ashildr shrugs. “Take your pick. You've had an impact on this world. You've made waves.”

“Sometimes tidal waves.” He says to her pointedly but Kathy sees him look at her briefly, which confuses her.

“I'm flattered.”

“Well, you should be. You're an extraordinary woman, Ashildr.” The Doctor compliments. “But I think I'm going to have to keep an eye on you.”

“I think it’ll be the other way round Doctor.” Kathy corrects.

“What do you mean?”

“Someone has to look out for the people you abandon.” Ashildr explains. “Who better than me, Kathy and Carlyle? We’ll be the patron saints of the Doctor's leftovers. While you're busy protecting this world, we’ll get busy protecting it from you. What better way to make use of ourselves?”

“So, are we enemies now?” The Doctor asks.

“Of course not.” Ashildr says. “Enemies are never a problem. It's your friends you have to watch out for. And, my friend, I'll be watching out for you.”

“Ashildr, I think I'm very glad I saved you.”

“Oh, I think everyone will be.”

Chapter Text

17th Century

King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland and his guards charge through the building. The restored Monarch pushes a servant to the side.

“Out of my way!” He cries. He reaches another set of doors leading to the rooms of Painter Matilda and the woman he currently has his eyes on. He pulls on them only to find them locked and he begins banging on them. “Doctor!”

Inside the room, Eleven’s clothing is cast over a stool.

“Doctor!”

We pan over to see paints and a palette. 

“Doctor!”

A large unfinished painting comes into view showing a naked Eleventh Doctor as Neptune about to be crowned by a cherub. He sits in the clouds and holds a trident in his right hand and his left is on his hip. A red swath of cloth is all that protects his modesty.

“Doctor!” The irate king bursts in, sword drawn, and confronts the lady artist, Matilda, though it is revealed to be Katherine - otherwise known as Kathy - Davis. She stares at him in alarm.

“Your Majesty!” Kathy squeaks out.

Charles usually would have taken time to appreciate Miss Matilda’s appearance but he has more important things in his mind. “Where's the Doctor?”

Kathy chuckles nervously. “Doctor who?”

There is a muffled sneeze and the king sees Miss Matilda tense and knows he’s caught them. He uses the tip of his sword to lift the hem of her dress. A naked Doctor peers out and smiles cheerfully.

“You know, this isn't nearly as bad as it looks.” The Doctor had hoped to get Kathy to help him paint the picture as a present but they had been interrupted. 

“For once he’s right.” Kathy, or “Matilda”, remarks.

The Doctor looks more closely at the king before pulling a displeased look. He glances up at Kathy, who looks at him unamused but he can see some humour there and expresses his displeasure. “This is the man who keeps on trying to get you to be his mistress? I get why you keep turning him down.”

The monarch stares at him in outrage. “How dare you?!” Not only does this man disrespect him like this but also for fornicating with a woman that is clearly his though little does he know that the Doctor and Kathy would never ever “fornicate” nor is or will the latter ever be his. 

According to history books, at the personal intervention of the King, the unnamed Doctor was incarcerated without trial in the Tower of London. According to contemporary accounts, two nights later, a magical sphere some twenty feet across, was seen floating away from the tower, bearing the mysterious Doctor aloft. A lone figure had waved him off before disappearing into the night.

——

1807 AD/CE

Kathy makes the point to be around Carlyle and Ashildr more, though there are times when the Doctor appears and it’s the wrong point in the timeline.

These family events turned out to be things like the American and French Revolutions as well as battling with Napoleon.

Soon Kathy gets captured by pirates. How Kathy got caught up in this mess is not entirely her fault. She had been on a bit of a boat trip with Ashildr and Carlyle as part of the celebrations of Ashildr reaching 1,000 when Ching Shih (also known as Zheng Shih or Zheng Yi Sao) came across them and attacked along with her crew. Kathy ended up getting taken hostage by them. Shih and her crew had celebrated their plundering but it didn't last long as Guo Podai and his Black Flag Fleet took hostage of Shih's crew, amongst them are her 6 and 3 years old children. 

While Kathy had been annoyed initially at being kidnapped, she recognises a desperate mother in dispute when looking at Shih and offers her help but only if Shih helps Kathy back to her own crew. Shih and they go searching for the lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar.

The Flor de la Mar was a ship which sunk off the coast of Sumatra in the early 15th century. It was carrying a hoard of valuable treasure. This treasure included a plutonic crystal known as the Keystone. Many years after the sinking, a ship captained by Ji-Hun retrieved the treasure but his ship had also disappeared, but Shih knows the location so that is where they head to.

Ching Shih storms off on her own into the village and leaves Kathy in the care of her ship. She soon returns with a piece of stone in her hands looking worse for wear. 

“What happened?” Kathy questions.

“Does not matter. We need to get moving.” Shih dismisses.

Kathy wants to ask but knows the worry Shih has for her sons.

Shih is lashing the wheel while Kathy navigates with the instruments they have nearby. However, Kathy soon hears talking and sees what appears to be figures hiding behind some barrels. She alerts Shih and they both quietly make their way over so as not to alert the enemy.

“There's two of us. You must be pretty good at fighting if you've survived to be...” A young male voice is saying before trailing off.

“What?” Another – older – male asks. Kathy is startled at the strong Liverpudlian accent she hears. Why is this person in the Chinese region for?

“Seventy?” The first male voice suggests before correcting himself, “Sixty?”

“Forty… two.” The second voice stumbles, indicating that while the first male was wrong, he himself may be lying about his age.

Shih's sword is across the second man’s throat. “Stowaways!” She declares. Kathy stands behind her, slightly out of sight of the two intruders but she can see them.

Now that Kathy can see the two males clearly, she knows she doesn’t know the first one that appears to be Chinese and maybe in his early 20s or younger in period and region appropriate dress but she feels as if the second male, a white man looking as if possibly in his 50s and wearing clothing that doesn’t fit with his setting, she could possibly know but she can’t put her finger on it.

“Let me do the talking here.” The older man murmurs, but, despite his attempts, the two males find themselves bound and hanging upside down from a spar.

“So, my stupid little stowaways,” Shih remarks as she circles them. Kathy stands to the side, watching and can’t help but notice the older male trying to look at her. “…you think you can bring bad luck to my ship? Tell me why I shouldn't kill you both now.”

The older male doesn’t answer her and instead yells, “Kathy, you need to help us!”

Kathy gapes at him in utter bewilderment. How does this man know her? Is he from her future? It is possible but Kathy usually knows them even if she doesn’t know what kind of relationship they have.

Shih looks at her sharply. “You know these vagabonds? Have you been working behind my back?”

“No! I have never met these two in my life!” Kathy defends. “I know we got off on a rocky start but I made vow to you!”

Shih looks suspicious but nods and turns back to the intruders.

“You might as well kill us, otherwise we're going to kill you.” The youngest male declares confidently with the usual arrogance men of his age usually possess. 

Shih laughs at the boy’s remark while Kathy continues to stare at the other male, trying to work at who he could be.

“For a boy hanging upside down you still have some spirit, but that won't keep you alive for long.” Shih threatens.

Kathy goes to hopefully try and save these two males’ lives but the older one interrupts, “You've got no crew except Kathy. Somehow, you've managed to sail this thing here with just the two of you. Now, I'm no expert, and I don't know how many crew you should have on here, but surely four's better than two?”

Shih whips around and places her sword at his neck. “You think you're so clever?” She hisses. 

“I'm not clever.” He replies.

“I got what I came for. But I need to get to the wreck of the lost ship fast. If I let you live, you work the ship, do as I say. And if you're lucky you might make it back home alive.” Shih tells them.

“So where are we going to exactly?” The older male asks.

“The shipwreck which holds the lost treasure of Ji-Hun.” Kathy says.

——

The stowaways are freed and put to work. Kathy is curious about how the older male knows her so she joins him as works the sails.

“Thanks Kathy.” He says as she helps him.

“How do you know me? Who are you?” Kathy questions.

“Dan.” Dan tells her. “We’ve met before.”

Kathy lets out a snort. “Uh, no we haven’t. I’d remember someone dressed like this.” She gestures to his pantomime pirate outfit complete with an eye patch and hook.

Dan grumbles fondly. “That’s Yaz’s fault. She said it would look good on me.”

Kathy looks up from what she was doing. “Yaz?! Yazmin Khan?” 

“That’s her.”

“You know her?” He must be a companion or something.

“The Doctor too and you. Though, you did say you wouldn’t know me. Something about not having watched this far.”

Kathy relaxes a bit. While it’s nerve wracking to think of all these new companions that she won’t know, at least this one already knows her and understands she won’t know the future exactly. 

“Yeah, kind of ended up in this world before you joined the TARDIS team…” She tells him then a memory comes to her. “Hold on! I know were introduced were introduce at the end of the credits of Revolution of the Daleks!” New Year’s Day 2021. She had travelled to this world in May.

“Yeah, met those.”

“Great.” Kathy mutter. wonder what happened there. “Come on, put your back into it.” She turns to him with her hand out. “By the way, Katherine Davis but call me Kathy. Nice to meet you.”

Dan grins and grips her hand briefly. “Dan Lewis, nice to re-meet you.”

——

It takes a lot of work with only a four person crew, though much easier than when it was just her and Shih, so Kathy is able to take a break and turn back to questioning Dan as she realises she needs more information on this specific adventure.

“How did you get here anyway?” She asks him.

“We’ve been aiming for a beach but turned up four centuries off the Doctor says.” Dan explains. “Geomagnetic disturbance or something pulled the TARDIS off course. Skimmed some stones which veered off to the right for some reason.”

“Kinetic hyper curve?” Kathy questions.

Dan nods. “That’s what the Doctor said. Heard screams and found a Sea Devil the Doctor called it? Looked somewhat like a humanoid turtle thing. Beak-like mouth and two fins on its head. Webbed hands and feet. Heard of them?”

Kathy has a faint recollection of similar creatures from one of the classic episodes that she had watched. “A bit. They were here before humans. They regard Earth as their own planet. Don’t think much of humanity.”

“I can tell! It murdered a whole village!” Dan exclaims. “Your friend over there had released it. And it killed that boy’s father.” He gestures to the young boy who’d joined him when sneaking onto the ship. 

Kathy narrows her eyes at Shih as she mans the wheel. “Well, she hadn’t mentioned that!”

“Bet she hasn’t! Then the Sea Devil flew onto a floating ship in the sky!”

“Why aren’t you with Yaz and the Doctor? Didn’t they tell you about the golden rule of not wondering off?” Kathy finds it funny how without fail, the Doctor always has companions who don’t listen to them.

“It’s not my fault! He ran off.” Dan defends.

“Oi!” The boy exclaims causing the both of them to turn and look at him. Kathy takes in his indignant look and tries not to smile at how funny it looks. “He has a name. It’s Ying Ki. And I’m not a boy, I’m a man.”

“Get back to work!” Shih orders. Ki bows his head and continues though looks displeased. Dan and Kathy share an amused look.

——

Kathy is back at her navigation station when she sees that Ching Shih’s compass is going crazy.

She shows Shih, who asks, “How can it be broken?” 

“What's the problem?” Dan asks. Shih and Kathy walk down to where Dan is at the mast and Kathy shows him the compass. 

“None of our equipment works. We have to go by celestial navigation.” Kathy explains. They all move to the side of the ship and stare at the sky. 

“Ursa Minor. Polaris.” Shih observes.

“I always thought that I'd learn the constellations, but then I just downloaded an app on me phone. But I haven't got me phone with me.” Dan remarks. Kathy gives a warning look, trying to tell him to keep his 21st century talk to himself. Though as a man he’ll probably be fine. 

“I don't understand half the words you say.” Shih tells him.

“You're not the first to say that.”

“Well, I know the constellations.” Kathy interrupts. “Menkar's there, which would mean...” Then the stars swirl.

“Did you see? The stars just moved.” Ki observes.

“Yeah.” Dan murmurs.

“The world is being disrupted.” Kathy observes in shock. She really doesn’t like not knowing the whys and hows.

Ki turns accusingly to Shih. “Because of you! Because of what you unleashed.”

Shih ignores him. “We have to get to this place. Nothing is more important than getting our hands on that treasure.” She walks away from them. Kathy can see Dan and Ki are confused.

“Why is it so important to you?” Dan questions as they all follow her. 

Shih holds out an ear in a box. Dan and Ki go to look and recoil in shock. Kathy doesn’t look as she has already seen it and would rather not see it again.

“Is that yours?” Ki asks then takes in Kathy and Dan’s incredulous expressions. “What?”

“She's got both.” Dan points out.

“You want to know why I'm on this ship with just Kathy?” Shih asks Dan and Ki with her back to them. “My crew were taken. They're being held hostage by Guo Podai and the Black Flag Fleet. There's a ransom to pay or they all die.” She turns to look at Ki. “You lost your father.” She turns away again and Kathy knows she’s likely holding back tears. “I could lose my sons.”

Dan and Ki are quiet and looking sorrowful.

“How old are the boys?” Dan asks softly.

“Three and six.” Shih replies. She turns back to them. “I promised I'd return with the treasure as release payment. The longer I take, the less likely I am to see them again.”

Suddenly there’s a crash accompanied by a roar and waves rising and crashing around them causing the boat to rock violently. Kathy yelps in surprise. She really wishes she knew that was coming.

“What was that?” Dan whispers quietly just before there’s another roar and another crash, causing them all to almost lose their footing.

“It's the sound of Hua-Shen.” Ki realises. More roaring and crashing of waves.

“Hua-Shen doesn't exist. It's a myth!” Shih argues almost being cut off by more roaring.

“If it doesn't exist, what's that?” Ki questions. In the distance, large fins are seen coming out of the water as it gets closer to them.

“Man the cannons.” Shih orders.

They prepare the canons and the four of them stand at one each, facing the Hua-Shen with flames in their hands ready to light them. The giant sail fins on the sea serpent's back dip back below the waves.

“It's coming straight for us.” Kathy observes.

“Now!” Shih cries.

Fuses lit, and four cannon balls fly off and into the water. There is silence and the four of them look at each other as they wait in silence. Suddenly there’s a roar.

“What was that?” Dan asks.

Before any of them can answer him, the cannon balls fly up out of the sea.

“Down!” Shih yells. They all suck, waiting for impact but instead, the cannon balls impact in the air with an explosion. Neat trick for four lumps of metal.

They recover from that when Kathy feels the ship shaking again and a great spurt of water rises next to them. 

“What's going on?” Dan asks.

“Something just came out of the water!” Ki realises.

What then comes through the water and the clouds, gliding through the air is what Kathy can only describe as the flying Dutchman, the Chinese version. The bottom of the ship is littered with machinery lit up in green. Kathy realises that must be how it floats.

“What?” Kathy blurts out.

“That's impossible.” Shih murmurs.

Kathy hears two very familiar voices yell, “Geronimo!” as the ship comes right alongside Shih’s ship. Kathy watches with a smile as the Doctor and Yaz swing onto the deck. The Doctor is wearing location-appropriate clothing apart from the boots. Yaz is in similar dress.

“Doctor! Yaz!” She cries happily. The two women turn to her with beaming smiles.

“Is that your ship?” Ki asks in amazement.

“No,” the Doctor replies, “but this is our friend.” 

An unknown man wearing clothing that does not fit in the time period, but is better than Dan (anything is), lands on the deck with calm ease.

“Nice entrance.” Yaz compliments.

“Thank you.” He speaks.

“Ji-Hun.” The Doctor introduces. “Rumours of his death have been greatly exaggerated.”

“What?” Shih utters. Kathy gapes at him in shock. 

“You call this a ship? Where's the crew?” Ji-Hun demands to know.

“Well, that'll be us,” Dan says cheerfully as he and Ki come to stand more in line with Kathy and Shih. Kathy winces in embarrassment at Ji-Hun’s unimpressed expression.

“We don't stand a chance.” Ji-Hun tells the Doctor. Kathy pouts at his remark. No need to say it with such certainty!

The Doctor looks affronted at his declaration and comes to stand by Kathy and Dan. “Oi, that's Dan and Kathy. Don't diss Dan and Kathy. They're my mates.”

“Yeah.” Dan adds. Kathy raises an eyebrow at Ji-Hun.

Shih ignores them and circles Ji-Hun in disbelief. “You can't be alive. That's not possible.”

“I agree.” Ji-Hun says.

“Focus now.” The Doctor interrupts and storms over to Shih. “Where do you keep your treasure? Because that statue creature you released is looking for a keystone that was in the treasure of the Flor de la Mar, and their pet sea monster seems to reckon it's on this ship.”

“What does it look like?” Kathy questions. She wishes she knew this information.

“Tiny orange jewel. Can glow unexpectedly.” Ji-Hun explains. Kathy frowns. She hadn’t seen any jewel like that.

“Any ideas?” The Doctor asks.

“I have.” A Sea Devil emerges from a green mist next to Ki. He grabs him and puts his glowing sword to his throat. Kathy, Ji-Hun and Shih draw their weapons. Dan, Yaz and the Doctor spin around and back up.

“Take off the keystone.” It orders. Kathy notices something glowing orange beneath Ki’s shirt.

“It's nothing.” Ki begs. “It belonged to my mother. She got it from her grandfather. It goes all the way back to the great Lei Bao.”

“Lei Bao?” Ji-Hun murmurs. “He made it to land, and you're his descendant.”

“Your family's oath across the centuries. It wasn't just a statue. It was hiding the keystone!” Shih concludes. Ki lifts up the keystone that sits on a chain around his neck.

“That’s why the Sea Devil was a statue.” Kathy realises. “It had been imprisoned in its quest to get the keystone.”

“You had followed Lei Bao after imprisoning Ji-Hun.” The Doctor says to the Sea Devil. How had the Sea Devils keep him alive for over 200 years though?

“I was tricked.” The Sea Devil says.

“You were defeated.” Ji-Hun retorts. “The legend of the keystone told it could be used to entomb aggressors.”

“No wonder that gem's so valuable.” The Doctor continues. “Oh. But wait, if that's plutonic crystal, and your systems below the ocean are fluo-geomagnetic...”

“Your world is now doomed.” It grabs the keystone. “The keystone is mine!” It disappears with it in a puff of green smoke.

“If that ship goes back down without us on it, we don't stand a chance.” The Doctor tells them. “With me.” 

They all follow, swinging onto Ji-Hun’s ship which still floats next to Shih’s.

——

Kathy and the Doctor go below deck and find the Sea Devil fiddling with machinery.

“We know what you're doing.” The Doctor says, drawing its attention to them. “You're trying to flip the Earth's geomagnetic poles south to north, north to south, longitude to latitude.”

“That's why even the stars feel like they're moving.” Kathy adds confidently, pleased she now knows what’s going on. “You want to create chaos - melt the ice, shift the current, change the pressure - until the whole Earth is flooded.”

“We're reclaiming what was ours.” The Sea Devil says. “It is our right and it is our time. It's done, Doctor and Land Crawler.” 

Kathy frowns. The confidence she was feeling is gone. “What do you mean, it's done?” The machinery is beeping.

“The plutonic crystal has been sent down.” The Sea Devil explains. “The sequence will begin. Our Earth will be gloriously aqua once more.”

“No, no, no, no!” The Doctor exclaims as the two of them dart over to the machinery to see that it is right.

“And my kin are ascending to reclaim this ship.”

Kathy looks at it in alarm. “Well, not on our watch!”

——

She and the Doctor run on deck as Sea Devils climb up rope netting on the side of the vessel.

“It's coming after us. Be ready.” The Doctor warns the others on the deck. She turns to run up some steps and comes face to face with the Chief Sea Devil from below.

“You can't get away from me, Doctor and Land Crawler.” It growls.

“Again, not on our watch!” Kathy retorts.

“Say hello to our crew.” The Doctor adds. She turns to Shih, Ji-Hun, Ki, Dan and Yaz looking up at them with varying expressions. “Go.”

The Doctor draws a sword and begins battling with the Chief while Kathy turned around and engaged with another Sea Devil with her own sword. She can see Yaz, Ji-Hun and Shih engage with other Sea Devils. The Sea Devils fight back with their own glowing blue swords.

Kathy sees the Doctor get knocked down by the Chief and quickly shoves to give the Doctor a chance to recover before turning back to the Sea Devil she had been fighting.

“Don't let the swords touch your skin!” The Doctor yells.

“Really?!” Kathy retorts sarcastically. “Thanks for the tip!”

“No need to be rude.” The Doctor fires back.

Kathy glances over after defeating a couple of Sea Devils to see Dan take out Sea Devil with a block and then a tackle. Kathy can’t help but feel mildly impressed.

“Argh!” Ki cries. Kathy spins round to see a Sea Devil coming for him, but, thankfully, Shih sticks out her sword in time. 

All of them have mostly disarmed the Sea Devils and turn their attention to the Doctor, who is being backed into the corner by the Chief. However, she disarms the Chief Sea Devil with her sonic and slides away. She tries to grab the sword, which had landed elsewhere on deck but a Sea Devil grabs her leg and drags her away from it. Kathy quickly kicks it to her and the Doctor grabs it, now free of the Sea Devil, who lies on the floor.

“I'm lowering the ship. Hold him there!” The Doctor tells them, she turns away from them and before any of them can say a word, Ji-Hun kills the Chief Sea Devil by driving his sword through it. The Doctor stops and stares at him in disbelief.

“You didn't have to kill him!” Kathy yells at him. She now notices she can’t see Dan or Yaz and wonders where they have disappeared to.

“It took my ship, my crew and my life. No mercy.” Ji-Hun harshly retorts. She quietens as she knows she shouldn’t judge as she doesn’t really know what he’s been through.

There’s aurora in the skies. “It's starting.” The Doctor murmurs.

Kathy runs down below deck to the machinery with the Doctor and sees Dan and Yaz.

“Ah, there you guys are!” She says cheerfully as the Doctor charges forward, pushing her two companions out of the way. Kathy’s smile dims a bit when she sees how serious Dan and Yaz are. She wishes that she has the knowledge to work out what’s going on.

“Hold tight.” The Doctor warns them and the ship shakes as it returns to the depths and arrives with a thud causing the four in the room to fall to the floor.

“I think that'll have alerted all our friend's Sea Devil acolytes.” The Doctor comments. “Dan, I need you to supervise Ji-Hun and Ching Shih. I need you to keep those Sea Devils at bay.” She gets up and hands him a Sea Devil sword. “Only to be used in emergencies.”

“What, like the imminent flooding of the entire planet?” Dan remarks.

“Yeah, like that.” Kathy says with a slight smile as she pulls herself up. She likes that he has some humour in these situations.

“Yaz, Kathy, with me.” The Doctor orders. Kathy takes notice of how the Doctor holds out her hand to Yaz, who takes it and it feels much more than the usual hand grabbing between the Doctor and their companions. Is there something between them? Kathy knows that everyone in her world had been speculating and all that and, to be honest, she herself was amongst them.

The Doctor pulls Yaz up and the three of them leave the room but not before Kathy catches a significant shared look between Dan and Yaz.

——

They run through the Sea Devil base. Kathy is following the other two women as she’s never been in this place before.

“Control core's this way.” The Doctor calls to them.

 They reach them that’s shaking with lots of sparks flying.

“This is going to be tricky.” Kathy observes. They get to work.

“Defractor rod. Two minutes and counting.” Yaz tells them as she secured said rid.

“Great, love when we have barely anytime.” Kathy retorts sarcastically as she and the Doctor dart about.

The Doctor grins as she turns to Kathy before turning serious. “We need to short-circuit the power and internalise the charge. If we localise the power this base becomes the densest place on Earth.”

“But that means not only will the Sea Devils not be able to leave but everyone else too.” Kathy warns her.

“We'll be able to get out first though, right?” Yaz asks.

“Yeah. Hopefully. Probably. Definitely.” The Doctor replies quickly. Kathy looks at her suspiciously, knowing this will probably be another self-sacrifice moment. A Doctor speciality. Yaz doesn’t particularly look reassured herself. 

Kathy shakes it off and gets back to work. “One of those. Just need to get this done.” 

“You know what I said earlier about not being a bad date?” The Doctor suddenly asks. Kathy’s head whips around and sees the Doctor casting awkward glances at Yaz. Oh. Yeah, there definitely is something going on and Kathy definitely is third wheeling.

“Well, dates are not something I really do, you know.” The Doctor continues. Kathy tries to act like she’s not listening but she can only do so much. “I mean, I used to. Have done. And if I was going to, believe me, it'd be with you.” The Doctor pauses in her faffing about and looks directly at Yaz. “I think you're one of the greatest people I've ever known. Including my wife.”

This surprises Kathy as she had known this Doctor as one who didn’t talk about themselves, that lived in the present and not the past.

“Your what?” Yaz questions in disbelief as the Doctor darts past her. She looks to Kathy for answers but Kathy looks away. How do you talk about the Doctor’s past relationships with their current interest?

“Ah. Wasn't going to mention that. It was a long time ago. I was a different man back then.” The Doctor replies.

“Literally.” Kathy mutters.

“But the point is, if it was going to be anyone, it'd be you. But I can't.” The Doctor explains. 

“Why not?” Yaz asks tearfully.

“Because at some point time always runs out.” Kathy frowns. She knows that the companions in the Doctor’s life are fleeting and they can never take the chance otherwise they’d be hurt but Kathy can’t help but feel that the Doctor is talking about something neither she nor Yaz knows about.

Kathy sees the Doctor leaning forward to pull a switch where Kathy had been working. “Wait Doc—”

The Doctor does it and sparks fly. “Argh! Whoops! I just lessened the time. Fifty seconds!”

“Brilliant!” Kathy mutters. 

“What?!” Yaz exclaims.

The Doctor puts two thick wires together that Kathy knows won’t stay together unless someone stays down here. 

“We need to get back to the TARDIS, but this cable needs to hold.” The Doctor realises. “Kathy, Yaz, you have to go. Get the others out. I'll keep this in place.”

Kathy looks at her in alarm. “Uh, no! I won’t let you!”

“Kathy—”

Suddenly the wires are also being gripped by someone else and they turn to see Ji-Hun. “No, you go. I'll hold.” He tells them.

“I can't ask you to do that.” The Doctor says. This is what Kathy hates about the Doctor’s self-sacrifice moments, someone else taking their place and dying to save everyone else.

“The world out there isn't mine, but if I can help preserve it for others, all those centuries will not have been for nothing.” Ji-Hun argues.

“You truly are a legend, Ji-Hun.” Kathy says to him softly.

“And you need to run.”

Kathy nods and she, the Doctor and Yaz run from the room, not looking back. She sags in relief at the sight of the TARDIS as well as Shih and Ki stepping inside with a heavy chest, must be the Flor de la Mar treasure. Thank God.

“You got it back the right way up! Nice work.” The Doctor greets them and Dan, leaping over the chest as it’s put down. “Out of the way! If we don't get us out now...”

“Three seconds.” Yaz says.

“...the magnetism will drag the TARDIS down.” 

The Doctor and Kathy immediately get to work.

“Two seconds.”

The TARDIS dematerialises just in time as Kathy feels the forces begin to drag them down.

——

They land on Ching Shih’s ship. Kathy steps out just in time to see the ripple effects of the force of what they had done by watching the waves react.

Everyone gathers on the deck and Shih begins checking her booty in the chest.

“Enough to get your crew back?” Kathy asks curiously looking at the extensive pile. She feels like her first adventure going in blind worked out quite well.

“Enough.” Shih replies. “I solved the mystery of Ji-Hun and found the lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar. What do I even tell my crew?” 

“That you vanquished mythical creatures to bring them home.” The Doctor answers.

“No one will ever believe me.”

“That's what makes a good legend.” The Doctor assures her. She turns to Ki. “We should get you back to your village.”

“Yeah.” His tone suggests he’s not looking forward to it.

“No. He's my responsibility.” Shih argues, standing. “I'm sorry for what happened to your father, but you could find a home here as part of my crew.”

“Really?” Ki asks happily and he hugs her. Kathy stands amusedly as Shih stays as stiff as a post.

“Don't ever do that again.” Shih hisses at him.

Ki shifts awkwardly and embarrassedly. “Yes. No. Sorry.”

“Who are you?” Shih asks the TARDIS crew. “Where do you even come from?”

The Doctor shrugs. “We're just a crew from a ship looking for adventure. And often finding it. Right?”

“Aye aye, Captain.” Dan utters.

“Where will you go now?” Kathy asks with a smile.

“Good question.” The Doctor murmurs.

“You do keep promising us a beach.” Yaz says. Kathy watches the soft smile shared between them and smiles herself.

“Kathy? Do you want to come?” Dan asks, drawing her attention.

Kathy shakes her head. “Sorry, I think I’ll stay here. I made a promise to Ching Shih that I’d help her get her crew back. Plus, I’ve got to get back to Carlyle and Ashildr.”

“You are welcome to stay on afterwards.” Shih assures her. 

Kathy grins happily. “Alright.” Why not stay with some pirates a bit longer?

“Well, you’re sorted then.” The Doctor says.

“Seems so. Till the next time Doctor.” Kathy says with a smile.

“Till the next time.”

Kathy shares hugs with the TARDIS crew before they step inside and fly off to their next adventure. She wishes she had an idea of what that could be.

Chapter Text

1814 AD/CE

The air is sharp with the crisp bite of winter as the Frost Fair on the Thames bustles around Kathy, Ashildr, and Carlyle. The frozen river, a sprawling expanse of ice, is alive with the joy and chaos of the crowds. Stalls of merchants offer trinkets, hot drinks, and hearty food. The scent of roasting chestnuts mingles with the smoke curling up from small bonfires. The sound of laughter, shouts, and the clinking of coins fills the air, underscoring the giddy merriment of one of the last frost fairs London will ever have.

Kathy, wrapped in her heavy cloak, watches the scene with a quiet sense of nostalgia. The frost fair has a certain magic, an enchantment that only a few would ever experience in their lifetimes. She'd been coming down to the ice every day, wandering through the crowds, lingering by the stalls, watching the life of the fair unfold.

“I do wonder,” Ashildr muses as she pulls Kathy from her reverie, “how many of these people know this is the last time they’ll experience something like this. A fair on the frozen Thames…” She pauses, a thoughtful frown on her face. “I suspect some of them think this will be here forever.”

Kathy smiles faintly. "A lot of people think that about everything." The trio share a knowing look at her words.

Her thoughts drifted back to 1810, the day Ching Shih had struck her deal with the Qing authorities, the moment when everything had changed. She could still see the heavy, silent gaze of Ching Shih, as if she were making a decision that would ripple through the lives of everyone around her.

At that moment, Kathy, Carlyle, and Ashildr had known that their time with the crew was coming to an end. It hadn’t been easy, saying goodbye—Kathy’s heart had ached for the life they’d built together, for the camaraderie of the crew that had felt like family. They had each made their own choices in the end, but there was a shared understanding that, in this world, nothing ever lasted forever.

"What’s the next activity, then?" Caryle gestures towards the thickening crowd around a group of skaters who glide along the ice in unison. "They say the best part of the fair is in motion, eh?"

Kathy’s smile widens. "I think a bit of skating might be just what we need. What do you think, Ashildr?"

Ashildr considers the idea with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Skating? Mmm... are you sure you can beat me?"

"I’ll take that as a challenege." Kathy says with a grin, leading them toward a nearby area where skates are being rented from a humble wooden stall.

When the second-to-last day of the fair arrives, Ashildr and Carlyle say their farewells and move on. Kathy stays as it's the day Twelve will bring Bill to visit. She's rather glad Ashildr has left as while Twelve has now met Ashildr, Kathy still doesn't know or is sure of what her daughter-in-law's involvement with Clara's death was and would rather not risk the ramifications.

——

“Kathy!” Kathy spins around from where she had been observing the different food, Ox cheek, Lapland Mutton and Sheep hearts. 

Kathy turns around and sees none other than Bill Potts dressed in a very suitable fur-trimmed ensemble and hat with a large feather. Next to her is the Twelfth Doctor who has chosen to wear a black frock coat as he nibbles on a curled piece of animal anatomy on a skewer. Ah, she was right on the episode. Kathy grins at the sight of the two of them. She had sensed the Doctor nearby, that mental connection through her Time Lord side though it’s faint, which she suspects may be true because of her not being a full Time Lord.

She’s happy to see them. Not only does she get to meet another companion, but she also gets to see Twelve again. She had missed him.

“Hi Doctor, Bill.” She grins and sees the Doctor give her a warm smile in return. This is the furthest in their time stream she’s met this incarnation.

“I thought we left you at—” Bill continues to speak.

“Ssh. Not yet.” The Doctor hurriedly cuts her off as he continues to nibble. “Spoilers.”

Kathy raises an eyebrow but doesn’t question as she knows she shouldn’t know too much about her future. “Well, come on. Let’s go and have a look at the entertainment.” She grabs Bill’s hand and pulls her along with the Doctor trailing after them.

“Hints?” Kathy hears the Doctor call to her. She gets and knows why he doesn’t verbally say it out loud to not ruin Bill’s enjoyment of her first adventure into the past.

“There’s something going on. Look out for the green lights.” 

“On it.”

After grabbing something to drink they go to watch a sword-swallower do his act, then later a wrestling match between two men in 'Turkish' costumes.

“Get in!” Bill cries excitedly, very impressed as one wrestler flips the other onto the floor. Kathy laughs happily at her excitement. She’s happy to see how warmly welcomed she is by Bill despite Kathy having never met her before. It’s always refreshing to get a new and young perspective on life. Kathy can understand why the Doctor often travels with the younger side of humanity.

The Doctor doesn’t share their excitement or happiness and stares at the squirming men on the floor less than impressed. “Of course, it's not really wrestling unless it's in zero gravity.” He remarks.

“Seriously?” Bill asks in surprise.

“With tentacles.”

“Okay…”

“And magic spells.”

One man gets the better of the other and flings him to the floor, singling the end of the match.

“Interesting.” Bill murmurs as they move along. Kathy sees her staring at the not-so-white crowds and realises Bill’s now seeing just how ethnically diverse London has always been, given its status as a world trading port.

“What is?” The Doctor asks.

“Regency England. Bit more black than they show in the movies.”

“So was Jesus. History's a whitewash.” The Doctor remarks before walking off. Bill turns to Kathy to see what she’s got to say.

“There’s a good book in your time. About black people in the Tudor era in England, I think. Wish I had given it a read but in my defence, I didn’t know I’d be living through that time period.” She rambles to Bill as they trail after the Doctor.

“Yeah, you never explained that.” Bill says.

Kathy pauses causing Bill to do so as well. “Explained what?”

“What you are.”

Here we go again. “Right now, I’m 1,284 years old though that will change depending on when you meet me. I’m part Human, Time Lord and Apalapucian as well as being from a different dimension where the Doctor and whoever travels with them is played out on a TV show.”

Bill blinks a few times. “Right…”

Kathy grins and the two continue walking. As they do so, it is then Kathy sees the little green lights floating underneath the surface near the wrestlers. She knows what’s coming.

——

They reach the skittles tent and Bill has a go and successfully knocks all the skittles down with a single ball. The crowd inside cheers and Kathy joins in. She’s taking in and enjoying the calm while she can before everything kicks off.

“Pub champion, two years running,” Bill explains smugly. Kathy doesn’t bother telling her she already knows. Best to let them feel they’re in control of their own lives and are proper individuals and not someone created in a script. Not to say that’s what they really are because Kathy can see that all the people she comes across are their own person.

“Ah.” The Doctor says in acknowledgement.

The Doctor wanders off but soon returns with a new top hat that he places on his head and then grins at them. Kathy and Bill make appreciative noises though Kathy had seen Bill had been distracted and knows she’s caught sight of the lights as well.

“Best fish pies on the ice. Try your luck, ladies and gentlemen! Toss for a pie!” A man is calling as they emerge from the tent. They move towards the new tent to have a look. Kathy does it almost gleefully as she knows it’s going to be funny what happens next.

——

Bill gives a coin for the toss but the result of the toss is clearly not what Bill called as she grumbles in annoyance.

“Better luck next time, miss.” The pie man reassures her. Kathy watches with a smirk as he turns around to collect her pie.

“And you're sure this isn't cow brains or sheep eyes or—” 

The man hands Bill the pie and cuts her off, “I caught the fish myself, miss. Made it right here in the old...” He spins round to catch the Doctor at, well, something. To be honest Kathy thinks he’s trying to look in his pockets. “Hey! What are you about?”

“Do that again. Toss the coin.” The Doctor demands.

“Pay me another and I will.” The man retorts. The Doctor hands over a coin. Bill is enjoying eating her pie.

“He doesn’t want a pie. He just wants to see how you cheated.” Kathy tells him. 

“Cheated?!” The man exclaims outraged.

“Doctor. Kathy.” Bill murmurs. Kathy glances in her direction and sees the green lights again. Bill looks at her in concern. Kathy shakes her head, trying to say not now.

“Don't look at us like that. I'm saying you're a very good con man. And if Kathy agrees then…” Kathy preens a little bit at his comment. She now sees the Doctor as her great friend but to hear their appreciation, knowing it’s reciprocated, doesn’t hurt.

“I'm a what?”

“A trickster. A swindler.” The Doctor continues. “You see, I'm a bit of a thief myself. I bet you that I could steal anything from your shop.”

Bill follows the lights outside and Kathy follows to make sure she doesn’t wander too far and get taken.

“Get out!” The Doctor is forcibly ejected and slides into one of the lady acrobats.

“Oh! In theory! I could steal anything in theory!” The Doctor retorts though it’s too late.

“Doctor. Kathy.” Bill calls their attention.

“Honestly, some people. More pie?” Kathy pulls out a pie from her pocket from when she swiped it earlier. Bill and the Doctor grin and walk away from the tent.

“Are there side-effects to time travel? Like, physical symptoms?” Bill questions.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you see lights under the ice.” The Doctor replies with a grin but Bill doesn’t look impressed.

Kathy snorts and nudges his side. “Doctor…” She turns to Bill as she disposes of the remains of her pie. “No, you’re perfectly well. You’re just seeing what the Doctor and I have already noticed.”

“Well, why didn't you say something?” Bill asks.

“Well, you're enjoying yourself. I assumed we'd get to work eventually.” The Doctor answers. “Now, are these lights electric or organic?”

“Organic lights?”

“Bioluminescence. Fireflies, glow-worms.” Kathy explains.

It is then that they get interrupted by the lead frost fair Urchin, Kitty, who approaches them wrapped in a large shawl approaches them, holding up a dog collar and lead.

“Please, sir. Have you seen my dog? He was right here, but then I looked away and he…”

“It's okay, we'll help.” Bill reassures her. “Um, what does he look like?”

Kathy’s eyes flicker back behind them to a little boy with a red hat who has been sneaking up behind them. Spider. She knows he dies in the episode but that doesn’t he has to. As she watches him creep up, the conversation between the Doctor, Bill and Kitty blur into the background as Kathy thinks about her next move. Perhaps she does let them take the sonic but stops Spider from going rough the ice? If so, then that still kicks Bill and the Doctor into saving the creature and the children without death, well the ones she can stop. Or any more.

Spider then grabs the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, but the Doctor grabs his wrist and they struggle until Kitty kicks the Doctor in the shins.

“Run!” Kitty yells to Spider, who listens and the bolt.

They need to move quickly. “Come on!” Kathy yells to the Doctor and Bill.

The soldiers don't bother to help as they give chase. The problem is that they are weaving through a very busy fair and are held up by the troupe of acrobats and the Urchins reach the safety of their tent.

“What happened to the girl?” The Doctor questions as he looks about. Kathy watches the tent, waiting for them to emerge and for their opportunity.

“Does it matter? The boy's the one with your magic wand.” Bill remarks.

“Sonic screwdriver.” Kathy corrects. She pats her pocket as if to remind herself that her own is still there.

Bill looks at her in disbelief. “How is that a screwdriver?”

“In a very broad sense.” The Doctor defends.

“All right, how's it sonic?”

“It makes a noise.”

“I have one.” Kathy pulls out her sonic, identical in shape to Eleven’s but silver with a red light. She gives it a brief buzz before pointing it toward Kitty and Spider as they come out of the tent. “And there they are!”

She shoves her sonic into her pocket and they join in on another chase across the ice. They break away from the main part of the fair and Kathy sees that Spider has stopped, looking down at the green light angler fish surrounding him. Kitty is shouting at him to move. 

Kathy doesn’t stop as her two companions do, ignores the Doctor’s muttering to Bill and runs forward as the ice below Spider creaks.

“Kitty? Ah!” Spider begins to fall through the ice but Kathy leaps forward and grabs him, yanking him away from the hole. 

“Stay back!” The Doctor yells to Kitty who darts forward. Kitty pauses in her tracks. The green lights continue to whirl around them but Kathy quickly drags Spider back so that the fish lose track of him. The green lights go and Kathy sighs in relief.

“That’s mine.” The Doctor plucks his sonic that is still tightly clasped in Spider’s hand. The boy lets out a small sob, probably dealing with the fact that he almost died. Kathy clings to him, hugging him as he recovers.

She sighs in relief. “Well, that was a near miss. Wasn’t sure if I would succeed.”

Bill’s face twists into one of disbelief. “You knew this was going to happen?!”

“Yes.” Isn’t that obvious? She’d just explained it.

“Then why didn’t you stop him from stealing?! You risked his life and you act so casual!” Bill exclaims in outrage. This causes Kathy to pause. She hadn’t meant it to be like that, to act like she didn’t care. She just wanted to save someone without the risk of completely disrupting the story. She looks at Spider sorrowfully as she helps him up and darts into Kitty’s arms.

“Look she saved. Who cares?” The Doctor remarks carelessly, well to anyone else but Kathy can see he’s relieved at the sight of the boy surviving.

“Who cares?!”

“Your friend might be safe, but the danger isn't over yet.” The Doctor says to the Urchins, walking over to them. “There must be more of you living rough here. Tell me where.” 

“So, you can take us to the Magistrate?” Kitty retorts then darts away with Spider clinging on but the Doctor grabs her, stopping her.

Kathy stays silent and sombre and the Doctor replies, “No, of course not. We're not here to arrest you, we're here to help. And if you show me where you live, we can do that.”

“We? She's gone!”

Kathy turns her attention away from the kids and looks around for Bill, who’s nowhere. She had forgotten about that while she mixed up in her own guilt and self-hate. Kitty and Spider run off into the mist.

——

They find Bill sitting at the river’s edge looking distraught but not sobbing as she had in the episode. Probably since she hadn’t seen a death of a child but an almost death this time. At least Kathy is helping a bit.

Bill probably hears the footsteps and turns around before looking away again. “How did you find me?”

“Get used to that question.” The Doctor remarks. Kathy winces, knowing it won’t entice the best response.

“Oh, clever. Yeah, very clever.” Bill snaps.

“What's wrong?” Kathy tentatively asks. She knows it’s not the best question but she doesn’t know what else to say. 

This angers Bill, who looks at them in disbelief. “What's wrong? Seriously, what's wrong? I've never seen anyone almost die before.”

“A few hours ago, we were standing in a garden full of dead people.” The Doctor retorts. Oh yeah, that episode.

“That was different.”

“How?”

“They were dead already.” Bill explains.

“Morally and practically, that is not a useful distinction. Unlearn it.” The Doctor retorts.

“Don't tell me what to think.” Bill snaps, standing.

“I'm your teacher. Telling you things is what I do.”

Kathy sighs and walks over to Bill, putting a reassuring hand on her arm. “I can see this is very distressing and scary for you Bill, I was too at first. But the Doctor and I live for so long and we’ve seen people die, perhaps directly or indirectly the cause of some of them but that doesn’t mean we don’t care.”

Bill scoffs but doesn’t pull away. 

“You know what happens if we don't move on?” The Doctor rhetorically asks. “More people die. There are kids living rough near here. They may well be on the menu. One almost was. Do you want to help us? Do you want to stand here stamping your foot? Because let me tell you something. I'm two thousand years old, Kathy nearing 1300, and we have never had the time for the luxury of outrage.”

Bill opens her mouth to reply but then sees something behind them. Kathy knows who but knows there should be an extra person and when she and the Doctor turn around, Kitty and Spider are standing there. Spider still looks tearful.

“What do you mean, on the menu?” Kitty asks.

——

They reach the Urchin's hideout to see it empty but Kathy knows that’s not true.

“This is nice!” She compliments as she staggers inside. Spider seems to have grown an attachment to her and is clinging to her leg.

“Is this where you live?” Bill asks disbelievingly.

“For now.” Kitty replies.

“But there's no one here.” 

“Good work!” The Urchins come out of their hiding places. “Except you, Dot. I can see your shoes.”

Dot emerges from behind some hanging sheets. “They're too big, that's why!” She is wearing the Doctor's original top hat.

“Oh, I see! I get it. You lure people to the fair and then you rob them. Very good. Very enterprising.” The Doctor compliments.

Dot hides her face in Kitty's shawl. “They're all right, Dot.” Kitty reassures her. “Strange. But all right. And that's not how it is.”

“Oh, what? You don't rob people?” The Doctor asks disbelievingly.

“Course we do. But bringing people to the fair, that's by-the-by. On the side, like.”

“Why?”

Kitty looks at him incredulously. “Why? For coin, of course. Why else?”

“Someone pays you to promote the fair, get people onto the ice?” Kitty nods. “Who? Who pays you?”

“Kitty, what’s wrong with Spider?” A girl asks, pointing at the boy clinging to Kathy’s leg. Harriet?

“He is... He…” Kitty hesitates. How do you tell children that one of them almost died?

“He’s had a rough day, he’ll be fine.” Kathy quickly butts in. She rubs the young boy’s arm and lifts him to take him to what looks like a bed made up of a few sheets and settles him down.

“Who's hungry? I'm hungry.” The Doctor throws in. “Food! Kathy, Bill, food! Food is always useful.” They hand out fish pies. “Now, I know what you're thinking, but don't worry. These are stolen! Well, eat up.” The Urchins don’t move and the Doctor turns to Kitty. “Ah, with your permission, of course.”

Kitty nods, and the Urchins bite into the pastries.

——

Later, by a fire, the Doctor is reading the story of Little Suck-A-Thumb from Der Struwwelpeter by Heinrich Hoffmann, which is anachronistic as it was written in German in 1845. Kathy sits among the Urchin’s with Spider cuddles up to her.

“Don't suck your thumbs while I'm away. The great tall tailor always comes To little boys who suck their thumbs. Ere they dream what he's about He takes his great sharp scissors out And cuts their thumbs clean off and then...”

Kathy hears Bill murmuring with Kitty and once she hears Bill say, “No. I moved on.” She glances over at Bill with a raised eyebrow, which causes Bill to stick her tongue out. 

“Okay, I'm wondering why the Frost Fair's on this part of the river.” The Doctor says. “I bet that at least one of you knows who paid Kitty to take people out on the ice.”

“It was a bad man, with a ship.” Spider answers.

“Spider!” Harriet admonishes.

“A ship? What, do you mean a merchant?” The Doctor questions.

“Not that kind of ship.” Another boy corrects. Perry.

“Perry!”

“What?”

“It's all right. You can tell him.” Kitty reassures them.

“It's a drawing. Here. On his hand.” Dot lifts her hand and points to the side of her hand.

“So, this guy, where would we find him? Or… does he find you?” Kathy asks the lady but pointedly, indicating to Bill and the Doctor she knows which one. She knows that she could’ve told them all this information and not have gone to the hideout but Kathy wanted to be sure they’re all alright and fed plus she wants them to trust them so that they’ll be looked after by the end of the episode.

“He finds us.” Harriet replies.

“But a tattoo on his hand, I mean, we could ask around?” Bill asks.

“Boring!” The Doctor declares, slamming his book closed and standing. “I know something that's much easier to find.”

Bill stands. “Where are we going?”

The Doctor turns to the kids. “All right. You guys, hang tight! Laters.” He and Bill begin to leave.

Kathy turns to Spider and gives him a reassuring smile. “I’ve got to go too but you’ll be alright with these guys.” Spider reluctantly nods and Kathy follows after the teacher and the student duo.

——

“So, what's easier to find?” Bill asks as they walk along the Wharf.

“Conjecture. There's something frozen under the Thames and it's eating people.” The Doctor says.

“Okay.”

“Proposal. We need to get a closer look it.” Kathy continues.

“Good, yeah.”

“Plan.” The Doctor pauses causing the rest of them to stop and turns to them with a gleeful grin. “Let's get eaten.” He darts off and Bill looks after him in alarm.

The Doctor has acquired a cart and is unloading brass and canvas or leather clothing from it on the path running along the side of the river.

“Is this stuff safe?” Bill asks.

“Potentially.” 

“Potentially? What does potentially mean?” Bill questions as she has a look at the old diving helmet she’s been handed. Kathy picks up hers from the cart and grins.

“Safe, with a frisson of excitement.” The Doctor replies.

“Right, but we're not going to be like completely defenceless down there, though?” Bill asks anxiously.

Kathy winces. “Uh, maybe. But don't worry about it.”

“Why not? What have you two got up your sleeves? Oh, my God! Have you been holding out on me? Do both of you have, like, magical, alien powers?” The Doctor huffs on the diving helmet and polishes the faceplate, giving her a ‘really?’ look while Kathy grins and wiggles her eyebrows at Bill. “What, was that an impolite question?”

——

They are on the ice with their lanterns, in old diving suits. The problem is, Kathy can’t hear what the two of them are saying. She watches the Doctor walk away from Bill and does the same but doesn’t go too far as she wants to be nearby when Bill goes under.

Kathy spots the green lights starting to surround Bill and runs over to her. She knows Bill is probably yelling for the Doctor right now as the Time Lord hasn’t noticed and is still meandering about but Kathy doesn’t have time for this and throws her lantern at his back and he turns around just in time to see Bill and Kathy fall through the ice. 

Both of them float to the bottom. Kathy immediately pulls out her sonic to light up their surroundings. She turns to Bill to see the companion waving and mouthing her name. Kathy grins and waves back. The air hose is uncoiling rapidly above them but the Doctor is sinking to the bottom and uses the sonic screwdriver as a torch. 

He turns to see Kathy and Bill waving and mouthing 'Doctor' at him. Bill points at the angler fish circling above her, and then something large growls nearby. The screwdrivers illuminate a set of heavy chains holding down an enormous creature. She belches, and bits and pieces float out of its mouth, artefacts belonging to those the creature has eaten. Then a giant eye opens and looks at them.

They hurriedly make their way back to the surface. They find a cut in the ice and climb out of it to find the pie man looking startled and frightened. Ah, he was fishing for his wares. 

They all pull off their helmets and the pie man exclaims, “What?” before darting up the steps on the river edge.

“I know you! You're the cheat! I love your work!” The Doctor calls after him.

“The sound it made,” Bill murmurs, looking shaken. Honestly, Kathy doesn’t blame her, she feels a bit the same. “I couldn't hear you two, but that noise, it's like I felt it in my bones, you know? It sounded like, like—”

“Despair. Loneliness. A prisoner in chains.” The Doctor finishes.

“That guy. He said he caught the fish himself.” Bill says as she observes the fishing equipment the pie man has left behind. “I bought pie off that guy. Fish pie!”

The Doctor picks up an angler fish. “Oh, hello. Aren't you magnificent?”

“I ate that pie. I liked that pie.”

“In his defence he’s using the resources at his disposal.” Kathy remarks.

The Doctor ignores them and continues to analyse the fish. “Definitely not carnivores. Which means you're cooperating with the creature, providing for it. What do you get in return, hmm? What did it take for you to evolve into that?”

“The creature, do you reckon that's what's making London so cold?” Bill asks.

“Believe so.” Kathy replies.

“What kind of alien messes with the weather?”

The Doctor chuckles as they all make their way up the steps, off the ice. “You assume it's alien.”

“Of course, it's alien.”

“There are many things you might consider alien that are actually from this planet,” Kathy explains. Silurians and Sea Devils are some of them.

“Is this fish one?” Bill asks.

“Not sure, I think so.”

“Alien, terrestrial, it's irrelevant.” The Doctor dismisses. “The real question is, who's keeping it in those chains? And perhaps our friend here can answer that.”

The pie man emerges hesitantly from behind a barrel. “Who are you? What do you want with me?”

“The coin trick. Just tell me how to do it, please! Okay. Not the time. Have you ever seen a man around here with a tattoo of a ship?” The Doctor asks. The man looks at him in disbelief. Kathy presses her lips together amusedly. “What's that face? Is that a no or are you against tattoos? I'm against tattoos, too, I think that we are bonding.”

“We're stood by the docks, and you just asked me if I've ever seen a man with a tattoo of a ship.” The pie man says.

“Exactly.”

“Fair point.” Bill remarks.

“What point?”

Kathy shakes her head at him fondly. “Forget the tattoos. Have you seen anyone acting suspiciously since the freeze?”

“Well, there's the dredgers.” The pie man replies.

“The dredgers?” Bill questions.

“There's a workhouse upriver. They have men out there patrolling all hours.”

——

The Doctor, Kathy and Bill watch the activity of the workhouse from over a spiked wall.

“What are they dredging for?” Bill wonders.

“Let's find out.” The Doctor remarks before they all quickly dart down when it seems they’re almost caught.

“How are we getting in?” The Doctor shows Bill the psychic paper. “You work for the palace?” 

“Haven't had that one in a while.” The Doctor remarks before walking off.

“What…”

Kathy grabs her hand and pulls her up. “Explain to you later.”

They get inside the walls but soon get absconded by the overseer. “Oi. How'd you get through here?”

“Ah ha! At last, someone in authority.” The Doctor remarks and shows the psychic paper.

The overseer look’s immediately apologetic. “Oh, I do apologise, sir. Does Lord Sutcliffe know you're here?”

“Does Lord Sutcliffe know we're here.” The Doctor repeats as if the man’s statement is completely ridiculous. He turns to Kathy and Bill, looking a bit unsure. “Does Lord Sutcliffe know we're here?”

“Lord Sutcliffe insisted we come.” Bill says.

“He’s very particular.” Kathy adds.

“Hmm. Oh, that Lord Sutcliffe, yes.” The Doctor hurriedly continues. “There's no arguing with Sutcliffe when he puts his foot down. You'd better show us around.”

“Follow me, sir.”

“Take it inside! Same as the last batch.” A man yells as they walk through. The workers have kerchiefs over their mouths and are apparently paddling mud into brick moulds. Kathy grimaces as she thinks of what the substance really is.

“Why all the fuss? It's just mud from the river, isn't it?” Bill questions.

“Mud is one word for it.” The Doctor murmurs.

“Is this even the right place? The creature's almost a mile away.”

“The creature's head is almost a mile away.”

Bill doesn’t seem to realise what he’s implying and picks up a brick and sniffs. “Hey, Kathy, feel this.”

Kathy winces at the sight of the brick being shoved in her face and tilts her body back to get away from it. “No thanks.”

“I assume we're now at the other end.” The Doctor observes. Bill immediately drops the brick with a splat.

“Now you see why I didn’t want to touch it.” Kathy says to her with a grin as Bill pulls a face of disgust.

“Ah. Why do I trust you?” The Doctor is asking the Overseer as they walk over to him.

“Sir?”

“You understand how important this is, yes?” The Doctor asks. “It is imperative that no one discovers where the stuff goes when it leaves here.”

“Oh, I know that, sir.” The man looks eager to please. “We use unmarked carts.”

“Are they ever followed?”

“Oh no, sir.”

“Have you checked this personally?”

“Oh yes, sir.”

“All the way to steel mill?” Kathy asks amusedly. This poor man doesn’t know he’s being tricked.

“Oh yes, ma’am.”

The Doctor frowns and turns to Kathy questioningly. “Steel mill?”

Kathy raises an eyebrow. “Why yes of course. Where else would it be going?” She says pointedly.

The Doctor seems to realise what she’s saying and slowly nods. “Oh yes, quite right. Now, these men, what do they know of this material?”

“No more than I do, sir.” The Overseer replies as they wander over to the material.

“Yes, but you are someone who knows more than he tells.” The Doctor prods.

“I'm not one to speculate.” The man persists.

“But you can't help it because you're a man of intelligence.” The Doctor butters up.

The Overseer gives in. “They won't let us smoke in here, so I assume it's fuel. Fuel for the furnaces, sir.”

“Excellent reasoning. Lord Sutcliffe appreciates an enquiring mind.” Kathy compliments though internally grumbles at the thought of the man.

“Well, I keep my ear to the ground, you know.”

“And what is the ground saying these days?”

“That this stuff burns a thousand times longer than coal?”

“Very good.” The Doctor murmurs as he stares at the substance.

“Hotter, too. Hotter than they can measure.”

“Excellent! First class.”

“I'm right, aren't I, sir?” The Overseer eagerly asks.

“Oh, there's no stopping you. You keep this up, you won't be working in this yard for very long.” The Doctor remarks.

The Overseer preens. “Oh, you think not?”

“We can almost guarantee it.”

“You know what else they say? They say it even burns under water.”

Bill gapes at him in shock. “No sh...”

Kathy slaps her hand over Bill’s mouth. “Language.” She chides.

——

They use the psychic paper to get into Sutcliffe’s house and are taken to the drawing room to wait for the man to arrive. The Doctor is playing with an orrery, adjusting the positions of the satellites relative to their planets. Kathy and Bill meander about.

“So, you think Sutcliffe is an alien?” Bill asks the Doctor.

“Possibly.”

“Because the creature might be an alien.”

“It certainly appears to be producing fuel suitable for interstellar travel.” The Doctor points out.

Kathy huffs and slumps onto a chair. She doesn’t want to do this bit but they need to do it to make sure everything else falls into place. “He’s not any alien species. He’s unfortunately human.” She winces and glances at Bill, thinking of the barrage she’s going to get.

“Either way, Bill, I need you to leave the talking to us.” The Doctor says to the companion.

“Why?”

“Because you have a temper.”

Bill splutters. “Oh okay, well, I lost it a tiny bit.”

“You're about to meet a man for whom human beings are raw material. Who grinds up children for profit. What we are here for is one thing. Information. We get that with diplomacy and tact. Charm, if necessary.”

Kathy lets out a snort. “Yeah, like that’s how it always goes.”

“Shush.” Bill plonks herself down in an armchair. “Always remember, Bill. Passion fights, but reason wins.”

“Again. Really?”

Lord Sutcliffe enters with the Doctor's psychic paper. Doctor Disco, from the Fairford Club! Obviously, one aspires to membership, but to actually be considered for—” He sees Bill. “Who, who let this creature in here? On your feet, girl, in the presence of your betters.”

The Doctor taps Sutcliffe on the shoulder and then punches him on the jaw very, very hard causing him to fall to the ground. Kathy looks down at him unimpressed. 

“He's human. Thirty one years of age. Low on iron.” The Doctor declares as Kathy and Bill move to stand next to him, looking down at Sutcliffe.

“Yeah, that was pretty convincing racism for an extra-terrestrial.” Bill remarks.

“Exactly.” Kathy murmurs.

The heavies enter causing them to spin around.

“Oh, hello. Can I just say, this is very unlike him. He doesn’t normally do this.” Kathy awkwardly says.

“Yeah, he was aiming for charming.” Bill adds.

“Basically.” The Doctor mutters.

The heavies grab them and tie their hands behind their backs. Sutcliffe is now sitting in a chair with a handkerchief pressed to where the Doctor had hit him.

“Well, you're not from the Fairford Club.” He remarks.

“The creature in the river, where did it come from?” The Doctor asks.

“Who the devil are you people?”

“Where did it come from?”

“Nowhere!” Sutcliffe exclaims exasperatedly. “It's always been there. The secret's been passed down in the family since, I don't know when. As far back as records go.”

“Then tell us, do you also keep a record of how many it's killed?” Kathy asks sharply, glaring at him.

Sutcliffe scoffs. “Please. People know the ice is dangerous, yet they will insist on their festivities. That's hardly my fault.”

“Don't sell yourself short.” The Doctor says. “This is the biggest Frost Fair in decades, and that's down to you.”

“It is?” Bill questions.

“The man holding me has a tattoo on his left hand.” The Doctor explains. “And that's not all, is it? The circus performers, the elephant, that's all you.”

Sutcliffe shrugs. “I made the most of the situation. It's the first proper freeze it's caused in years.”

“Why? Production down, huh? Not enough people dying?” Bill questions angrily.

“Girl, you show the ignorance of all your kind.” Bill grits her teeth and moves as if to get at him but gets pulled back. Kathy clenches her fists to keep herself at bay. “Without that beast, my mills would rely on coal mines, and men die in coal mines all the time.”

“Honestly, we preferred it if you were alien.” Kathy hisses.

“If I were?”

“Well, that explained the lack of humanity.” The Doctor says pointedly. “What makes you so sure that your life is worth more than those people out there on the ice? Is it the money? The accident of birth that puts you inside the big, fancy house?”

“I help move this country forward. I move this Empire forward.”

“Human progress isn't measured by industry, it's measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege. The people who died on the river, those people’s value is your value. That's what defines an age. That's what defines a species.”

While Bill and Kathy are moved, Sutcliffe is not. “What a beautiful speech. The rhythm and, and vocabulary, quite outstanding. It's enough to move anyone with an ounce of compassion. So, it's really not your day, is it? If they know about the beast, then others must, too. We bring the plan forward.”

“When, sir?” Dowell, the chief henchman, asks.

“Now! In daylight.”

——

Dowell shoves them into the fireworks tent to reveal wires leading from a long panel to many barrels.

“Oh dear.” Kathy mutters.

The Doctor, Kathy, and Bill are seated encircling the main pole, where the wire panel also hangs, and tied together.

“Ah, smell that. It's their home-made rocket fuel, redeployed as explosive.” The Doctor observes. “It's a little reckless, don't you think? Half the fair disappears into the river, the secret of your success won't be a secret anymore.”

“Hardly. The city will pause to mourn a fireworks display gone tragically awry, and the creature will be fed.” Sutcliffe dismisses. “By spring, this will be a footnote in history. That is progress. They're bringing the elephant out presently. We won't get bigger crowds than that, so make sure you're off the ice by noon.” 

Great the evil guy has revealed his whole plan. Kathy herself gets to work fiddling with the ropes. Now if she remembers this right…

“Noon? There's no way you can keep us here that long. We'll just scream our heads off.” Bill argues. The Dowell and Sutcliffe leave.

The Doctor and Kathy begin speaking at the same time.

“No. No, please, please, please—”

“Bill, no one—”

“Heeeeeeeelp!” Bill yells for a while, but eventually can’t hold it anymore and begins coughing. No one arrives.

Kathy huffs. “As I was saying, no one will hear you.” She finally gets the last not untied and sighs with relief before shaking off her ropes and standing. Bill gapes at her in surprise while the Doctor looks unbothered. Probably has seen her do this before.

“H-how did you?” Bill splutters. Kathy raises an eyebrow.

“Never mind, we could use some help.” The Doctor demands.

“Yep, on it.” Kathy helps to untie them. “See not every problem is solved with the sonic.”

The Doctor pulls an annoyed face as he and Bill stand. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“How are we going to get past our guard?” Bill questions.

“We don’t. Got to stop all this.” Kathy gestures to the explosives around them. “And by not making too much noise.” She explains.

“Obviously.”

“No, I mean that's how the fish choose a victim.” Kathy corrects. “That's how they know they've isolated someone on the ice.”

“Maybe it was the right idea not to use the sonic.” The Doctor mutters dejectedly.

Kathy looks at him with a grin. “Come again?”

“Don’t get too cocky.” The Doctor admonishes. “So, decisions. What are we going to do about Tiny?”

Bill frowns in confusion. “Tiny?”

“The creature. The loch-less monster. The not-so-little mermaid. Are we just going to leave her down there?”

“We can't set her free.” Bill argues. “She could burst up out of the water and eat a hundred people right off of Southbank! She could eat half of London!”

“She won’t but you’ll have to take my word for it. It’s a risk.” Kathy admits. “So, what do you want to do, Bill?”

“We already know the answers. Why are you even asking?”

“We don't know the answers. Only idiots know the answers. But if your future is built on the suffering of that creature, what's your future worth?” The Doctor asks her.

“Why is it up to me? What about Kathy?” Bill questions, turning away from them.

“I’ve lived a long life in this planet, in this country and you haven’t yet.” Kathy tells her earnestly. “It’s your and other’s future lives and the future of this planet. What’s going to happen to the future of the human race? Give us an order. Not long till noon. We need an order.”

Long, long pause then, “Save her.”

“We'll take care of this. You get everyone off the ice.” Kathy tells her. “But first…”

They peak out to see Dowell’s back in front of them. Bill and Kathy share a smile and simultaneously shove him forward making him cry out as he falls to the floor. Bill immediately darts off causing Dowell to chase after her. Another life hopefully saved.

——

Bill goes to get the Urchins to help her get as many people as they can off the ice while Kathy and the Doctor grab the explosives.

The Doctor and Kathy switch the explosives' positions and place them next to the creature’s chains. This means that when Sutcliffe uses the detonator, he will unintentionally break the chains holding the creature in place.

This will aggravate him and will cause him to go back to the stockpile to see what's wrong. Entering the tent, he will see some of the barrels are missing and the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver hanging on a wire, jamming the signal. The force of the creature, now free, going by will crack the ice and Sutcliffe falls in, never to be seen again.

The Doctor and Kathy, in diving suits, climb out of a well at the workhouse before rushing to the bank of the river.

“Doctor! Kathy!” Bill is running across the ice to them, just ahead of the cracks.

“Bill!” The Doctor cries. Kathy watches in alarm, hoping Bill will make it just as she had in the episode.

“You did it! She's free!” Bill jumps for their hands and they pull her onto the dockside with great effort. Then the Doctor pulls on the wire to retrieve his sonic screwdriver. The creature swims past them.

“Go!” Bill calls after it. “Where will she go?”

“Somewhere cold, I imagine. Hopefully, she's smart enough to avoid you lot now.” The Doctor replies.

“What if she isn't? What if we just like, doomed Greenland?”

“He'll check in on Greenland.” Kathy reassures her.

The creature just keeps going. 

“How long is she?!” Bill asks. Kathy instead of answering ducks behind Bill, just in time for when the creature splashes the Doctor and Bill with a flick of a flipper. “Ah.”

Beyond the old London Bridge, she sings and breaches like a humpback whale.

——

Bill brings the Urchins into the dining room at Sutcliffe’s house. The Doctor is at a small table scraping some ink off a Last Will and Testament between the words 'unto the said' and 'Sutcliffe'. The main table is laden with food. The Urchins gasp at the sight of it.

“Go on. Eat as much as you like.” Bill encourages. 

They immediately run over and begin digging in. Spider hugs Kathy before joining them. Kathy watches him fondly.

“Er, you, boy! Remind me, what's your name?” The Doctor calls to one of them.

“Perry.” He replies around a mouth full of food.

“Perry. His name's Perry.” Kitty says a bit more clearly. “Why?”

“Apparently, Lord Sutcliffe's long-lost heir can't be a girl.” Bill explains.

“But Peregrine Sutcliffe can be.” Kathy adds.

“Does this mean you're leaving?” Spider asks timidly as Bill and the Doctor make a move on leaving.

Kathy smiles softly at him. “The Doctor and Bill are, they’ve got to return home. But don’t worry, I’m going to stick around.”

——

And she does. Someone needs to keep an eye on the children and to make that when the new inheritance is contested, it will succeed. 

When Carlyle and Ashildr come to visit, the children adore them and vice versa. Kathy herself picks up a new hobby she had been planning on doing for a while, becoming a writer. Many amazing writers exist in this century, so why not get a butt in?

Chapter Text

1816 AD/CE

Thunder, lightning, and torrential rain, probably thanks to the eruption of Mount Tambora the previous year, caused severe global cooling as the ash blocked out sunlight around the world. 

Mary holds her young child as she looks out of the window of the villa.

“Confined again.” Byron laments from his chair. “I cannot bear it. How are these guests you mentioned of Ms Davis, meant to arrive?”

“Do not worry, they have their ways.” Kathy smirks as she strokes the keys of the piano in front of her. She hopes anyway. She hasn’t dared go and try to find Shelley and attempt to get the Cyberium out of him as she doesn’t want to cause any damage. She doesn’t even know where to start, as at the beginning he’s all over the place before retreating to the cellar. She’s happy and nervous to be in Thirteen’s adventure, and she knows what’s going on.

Kathy's encounters with the Doctor are unpredictable—sometimes frequent, other times separated by centuries.

She realizes it’s the former when she joins a group of writers in the summer of 1816. That summer, Kathy meets Byron, John William Polidori, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin (who would later marry Percy, though she already uses his name), and Mary's sister, Claire Clairmont, at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva, Switzerland. By this time, Lord Byron had left England in April due to personal scandals, debts, and his separation from his wife.

Kathy knows a storm will keep them indoors for over three days in June, during which the Doctor, Yaz, Graham, and Ryan will arrive. Byron will challenge them to a ghost story competition, leading to the creation of Frankenstein and The Vampyre.

“Your friends sound so magical.” Claire sighs wistfully. 

Kathy’s smirk deepens amusedly. “Indeed. It’s almost as if they are other worldly.”

“Such a shame your brother and sister-in-law could not join us.” I.e., Carlyle and Ashildr. No need to explain how her own son and daughter-in-law are physically the same age as her or near abouts.

“Well, I could not possibly inconvenience Lord Byron any more than I have.” Kathy shrugs off. “Plus, someone has to look after my wards.”

“Ah yes, the mysterious new young Lord Sutcliffe and the Urchins he brings along with him.” Byron remarks.

“The very world itself seems sick.” Mary observes as she turns away from the window. Byron and Claire are standing and walking about at this point.

“A most ungenial summer.” Polidori comments. “I've never known air as dank and frigid.” 

“Oh. Dank and frigid. Who does that remind me of, I wonder? Oh.” Byron snaps his fingers and points at Polidori.

“Sleep well, sweet boy.” Mary says to her son as she hands off the child to a servant.

“Perhaps Lord Byron or Doctor Polidori would read to us?” Claire suggests.

“What would Miss Clairmont wish to hear?” Byron asks. 

“Something to awaken thrilling horror.” Mary suggests.

“Yes, Mrs Shelley.”

“To make us dread to look around. To curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart.”

Kathy sighs as if irritated but maintains her amused smirk to show she’s only joking when she says, “Who wants sleep anyway?”

“Now Ms Davis…” Byron admonishes. “I have just the thing.” He walks over to the bookcase. He opens a copy of Tales of the Dead - French horror stories translated by Sarah Elizabeth Utterson.

He begins to read as they gather around. “Tales of the dead.” There’s a crack of thunder. Kathy holds Claire’s hand as she can see that the woman is unnerved. “At midnight, we took a torch to the chapel. With pallid countenance and trembling limbs we descended to the vault. Hildegarde's leaden coffin loomed before us. The Count was seized with the sensations of terror. He opened the coffin with a stifled cry of dread, and inside we saw...”

Someone knocking on the door makes them all jump. Kathy jumps as well, despite expecting it, but relaxes once she feels the familial mental tug when the Doctor is nearby. Claire lets out a small scream.

“I shall send whoever calls away, my lord.” Fletcher, the butler, says.

“No, Fletcher.”

“What if it is she? Hildegarde, the death-bride.” Mary wonders dramatically.

“If something infernal is on my doorstep, I should be the one to go and greet it.” Byron continues to speak.

“Infernal?” Claire questions fearfully. “Surely not.” 

Byron snaps the book closed. “Who is brave enough to come and see?”

They emerge slowly into the hallway towards the door as the banging continues.

“I'll wager it's Shelley, amusing himself with a trick.” Polidori disdainfully remarks.

“Shelley is not one for tricks.” Mary rebuffs.

No, he’s currently being held hostage by the Cyberium that’s in his system. Kathy is just waiting for the right time to help him.

Bang! Those next to Kathy startle while she herself rolls her eyes. Do the Doctor, Yaz, Ryan and Graham really have to be so dramatic?

Clearly sick of the hesitance to open the door, Byron walks forward casually and declares, “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

He might as well eat his words because as soon as he opens the doors, everyone cries out at the sudden and ragged appearance of those at the door as they are lit up by lightning. The Thirteenth Doctor and her companions, in period costume, also cry out, startled.

“Good evening.” The Doctor greets. “Not quite the welcome I was hoping for, but I'll admit we've looked better. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances. I'm...” She holds out the psychic paper, but the historicals stare back at it blankly. “Nothing? Weird. Might need a blow-dry. Uh, Kathy?” The Doctor looks at her pleadingly while Kathy stares back amusedly.

“Do you know these people?” Mary questions.

Kathy shrugs. “As I said before, my guests have their ways.”

Polidori scoffs. “Of course, you know these people.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ryan demands to know, looking offended.

“Anyway.” Yaz butts in, giving a ‘shut up’ look to Ryan before turning back to them. “Got a bit caught in the downpour.”

“Yes, because it is a truth universally acknowledged...” Graham begins to narrate.

“Wrong writer.” The Doctor hisses at him.

“…that one's driver will park one's carriage imprudently too far from whence one is going.” Kathy would’ve definitely been able to tell who he was talking about without having watched the episode.

“Can we please just come in before we drown to death? Please.” Ryan pleads. The fam smiles at them awkwardly.

Byron huffs with a grin before stepping aside. The Doctor grins and darts inside with the companions following.

“Kathy!” She cries, pulling her into a hug.

Kathy grimaces. “Great to see you to, but please no hugs after being poured upon.”

“Ah right.” The Time Lord/Lady (there really should be a non-binary word for the species) pulls back with an apologetic smile. “How long’s it been?”

“Only two. Frost fair, fish.” Kathy replies vaguely.

“Ah, yes. How is the new Lord Sutcliffe?” The Doctor asks knowingly.

“Good.” Kathy can see that everyone is still inside the hallway watching them. “Anyway, our guests should really go and get dry.”

Byron is startled to attention. “Right, yes! Fletcher? Take them to some rooms and make sure they are looked after?” 

“Yes, my Lord.” The butler answers. Graham had clearly not heard him wander up behind him as he startles.

——

Kathy slips away from the game Byron and Claire had decided to start and go in looking for the Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan.

The Doctor is talking as they come down the stairs, “Okay, so there was a spot of rain, and gale-force winds and a super-long walk. But I got us here, didn't I? And Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, soon to be Shelley, screamed in your face. Quality historical experience, that.”

“Gold I’d say.” Kathy calls to them.

“Exactly!” The Doctor grins at her as they get to the bottom of the stairs.

“What are you doing here?” Ryan asks.

Kathy shrugs. “Why not? It’s one of the nights that inspires Frankenstein after all.” She smirks and raises her eyebrows tauntingly. 

“You haven’t mentioned that have ya?” Graham questions her.

Kathy scoffs. “No, of course not! Spoilers! I know the rules, no mentioning Frankenstein, don't interfere and nobody snog Byron.”

“If,” Fletcher suddenly says startling everyone except Kathy, “you'd be so kind.” The butler walks away to lead them to the drawing room.

“Blimey.” Graham mutters.

“Witness some of the most enlightened minds of a generation at the pinnacle, the absolute zenith of their creativity...” The Doctor is saying as Fletcher opens the door to reveal Byron rolling on the floor with Claire, shrieking with laughter causing the Time Lord to cut off abruptly.

“Sure…” Kathy mutters with a smirk.

“What would you all care to drink?” Byron asks as he stands.

“We shall teach them the dance.” Mary declares.

So they do the quadrille, with Fletcher playing the keyboard and looking done with the world. They all line up opposite each other and twist and twirl while carrying on multiple conversations. Since there's an odd number of them, Kathy had been paired with Ryan and Mary.

“I detest all gossip, you understand. Utterly abhor it.” Byron declares to the Doctor.

“Mary goes by Mrs Shelley, except she and Percy are not married.” Polidori says.

“It really is quite a scandal.”

“Lord Byron is separated from his wife. The rumours are so disastrous he cannot return to England.” Mary gossips next in retaliation.

“What do you think happens when you get involved with your half sister?” Kathy mutters.

“Now he keeps company with Mary's step-sister, Miss Clairmont.” Polidori informs.

“We have an exceptionally strong attachment.” Claire declares. Kathy winces in pity at the young girl as Byron mutters to the Doctor about how he couldn’t exactly turn her away.

“Please, excuse me, fair lady. I must poppeth to the little boys' room.” Graham says as he spins around with Claire. He quickly leaves the room and the Doctor takes her chance to separate from the arms of Byron. 

“So... that was marvellous.” She declares causing everyone to stop. Kathy pulls herself from the weird circle she, Ryan and Mary had created. “Is anyone up for, I don't know, I'm spitballing here, how about writing the most gruesome, spine-chilling ghost story of all time? You know? A bit of blood and guts? Throw in a corpse for good measure. Float anyone's boat? Mary?”

Mary stares at her oddly before declaring, “Or perhaps another quadrille. I shall choose the music.”

“Hear, hear.” Byron agrees.

“Excuse me, Doctor. You broke a rule. Next, you'll be snogging Byron.” Yaz accuses her.

“I was trying to get them back on track. Something's wrong here.” The Doctor defends. Kathy sees Claire take a knife and slip from the room. She knows Yaz is going to follow suit soon but won’t be in any danger. “This night and two others, June 1816, Byron challenges Mary, Polidori and Percy Shelley to come up with a ghost story. Spot the difference.”

“You and I shall be partners for the next dance.” Polidori is saying to Mary.

“Not much writing going on.” Yaz begins carelessly but then frowns. “And there's no Shelley.”

“Bingo. They're a man down. Why?”

Kathy hesitates before speaking. “There’s something you should know…”

Kathy pulls the Doctor out into the corridor, away from the others and explains things as best she can.

“There’s something in this house that’s affecting it?” The Doctor asks.

“Something alien that shouldn’t get into the wrong hands.” Kathy tries to explain. 

“Any hints?”

“Find Shelley.”

The Doctor nods then with a grin pulls out her sonic and Kathy does the same. Kathy knows in the end the Cyberman, Ashad, will get the Cyberium and create his army leading to the Master creating their own monstrous creations but Kathy can and will stop it.

——

The Doctor and Kathy are scanning the dining room with their sonic screwdrivers.

“She walks in beauty, like the night.” Byron murmurs as he walks up behind the Doctor. Kathy rolls her eyes. Here we go.

“Of cloudless climes and starry skies.” The Doctor finishes without looking at him.

Byron moves so he’s in front of her. “I'm intensely flattered you're familiar with my work, Mrs Doctor.”

“And so is every GCSE kid.” Kathy remarks. She receives a confused look from Byron while the Doctor looks irritated.

“Just Doctor is fine.” She corrects. “I'm quite into Shelley's stuff too. He about?” 

“Indisposed, I'm afraid. He won't be joining us. May I be candid?”

“Go for it.”

“I sent my man out to fetch your carriage, but it seems to have disappeared.”

The Doctor stays quiet before speedily moving on.

“I'm fully aware of what you want and you have enacted Ms Davis into your plan.” Byron says.

“Please, reveal all.” The Doctor mutters.

“My third canto. Of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, my work in progress.”

Kathy snorts. “Why? It does half go on a bit. No offence.”

“A lot actually.” Byron remarks dejectedly.

“Nice mention of Ada, though. Big fan of hers.” The Doctor adds.

“You know of my daughter?” Byron looks at her in shock, sounding more affected than he likely ought to have liked.

“Will do. Both of us.” The Doctor gestures to herself and Kathy. Kathy looks up at that. She’s going to meet Ada Lovelace? Cool. Though less cool when thinking about what the Master is up to then. “Gorgeous brain.”

“Why are you here?” Byron questions.

“For a quick visit, supposedly, but I’ve been told of the danger in this house backed up by the this really weird vibe I’m getting off your house.”

“Vibe?”

“Yeah. I don't want to worry you, but I'm sensing that it's sort of... unrelentingly evil.”

——

“Doc! Kathy!” They hear Graham yell and rush back to the drawing room to find a skeleton hand gripping Ryan’s throat with Mary and Graham trying to pull it off him and Fletcher and Polidori watching in shock.

Mary gets it off Ryan and throws it, the Doctor bats it away and Fletcher clobbers it with the silver salver he is holding. It turns to dust on the carpet.

“Great shot.” The Doctor compliments him and he smiles for the first time Kathy has ever seen him do so. Ryan is gasping but seems fine. At this moment Yaz and Claire rush in.

The Doctor samples the remains. “Hmm. 14th. No... 15th century. Touch more umami.”

“She licked it!” Mary mutters in disgust.

“She is the most baffling creature I've ever been acquainted with.” Byron murmurs. Claire glances at him with a hurt look.

Kathy scans the remains. “Human. Protein, collagen and... nothing abnormal. Just as I thought.”

“What kind of implement is that?” Polidori questions.

“One that zaps people's heads off who threaten people with guns.” Ryan threatens, causing Kathy to chuckle slightly.

“I don't think they're really from the colonies.” Mary realises.

“No. She is from somewhere much, much stranger.” Byron says as he gazes at the Doctor.

“So’s Ms Davis.” Mary murmurs, staring at Kathy in amazement. Kathy realises how strange it must be for them to see how Kathy has changed since the Doctor and her companions arrived.

“The north.” Polidori whispers.

“How'd it come to life, then? Was it haunted or something?” Yaz questions.

“No, Kathy said there's something in this house affecting it.” The Doctor replies.

“Well, you did say the house was evil.” Byron comments.

Graham looks alarmed. “Well, that's a development.”

“I've been getting a vibe.” The Doctor defends.

“And she’s not entirely wrong.” Kathy says.

“If there is evil here, I know who brought it in.” Polidori says accusingly. Mary and Claire follow his lead to stare at Byron.

Byron sighs. “Very well. I may have a skeleton in my chamber.” 

“Right. You keep an eye on Trigger Happy.” The Doctor tells Graham then she turns to Byron. “Me and you need to take a squiz at your skeleton.” The man looks all too pleased and follows her.

——

The rest of them follow the Doctor and Byron to the latter’s chamber.

“It's a collection,” Byron explains as they all walk inside and fill the room.

“Of what? Dead stuff?” Ryan remarks.

“And in your bedroom?” Kathy grimaces. She gives the room a brief scan with her sonic.

“Relics of war.” Byron corrects. The Doctor waves her sonic all over the place. “From my travels. Reminders that we tread on the dust of empires. Crops now grow where blood was split. An innocent fascination, I assure you.”

“Waterloo.” The Doctor gasps. She puts on a helmet. “Oh, I love a good plume. What do you think?”

Yaz gives her a small nod.

“Nice.” Kathy grins. The Doctor beams back.

Ryan helps Byron lift a chest onto the table. “A 15th-century soldier from the Battle of Morat. His final remains.” Byron explains as he opens it. There’s a flash of lightning and Yaz, Ryan, Mary and Claire startle.

“One hand gone.” Yaz observes.

“Both hands gone.” Byron realises, he spins around as lightning cracks as if expecting it to be crawling behind him.

“Great. There's another on the loose.” The Doctor comments sarcastically. “Keep your eyes peeled.”

“Anything else strange happen since you've been here?” Yaz asks the historicals and Kathy.

“When the weather turned, Shelley began having visions.” Mary says.

“He's prone to them.” Claire elaborates.

“What did he see?” Ryan questions.

“An apparition of a figure floating above the lake.” Mary replies.

“When you said he was indisposed, what did you mean?” The Doctor asks Byron.

“Er, well, when he didn't join us, my mind naturally wandered to the idea of some torrid assignation in town.” Byron says in a gossipy tone and a pointed look at Mary, who quickly takes offence.

“Shelley often retires to our chalet to write. Maison Chapuis. On the shore.” Mary corrects strongly and with sharp looks in Byron’s direction.

“You should probably pop down and have a chat.” Yaz suggests.

“No, he’s neither in town nor is he at the chalet.” Kathy corrects.

“Then where is he?” Mary asks.

“That’s what we’ve got to find out, but I believe he’s somewhere in this house.”

Mary, Yaz and Ryan leave to begin the search for Shelley.

“What reanimates bones and leaves no trace? Why just the hands? Why only parts?” The Doctor questions. Kathy is listening but she’s also being greatly entertained by the massive helmet on the Doctor’s head. It completely contrasts with her expression.

“However, my collection's not demonic?” Byron asks.

“Correct.” The Doctor takes the helmet off. “But I'll probably come back for this, though. Strictly for, er, safety purposes. Not because it really suits me or anything.”

“This vibe you mentioned. Is it still there?” Claire asks.

“Yeah. I can't... It's like it won't let me think. I need to get out of this house.” The Doctor says, moving to do so.

“We can’t.” Kathy says stopping her. Though come to think of it, she herself is finding it difficult to think.

“What do you mean?”

“Look.” She walks out of the doors only to find herself walking back inside.

“Easier said than done, apparently.” The Doctor realises. “You were right Kathy, whatever it is, it’s affecting the house.”

This doesn’t stop the Doctor from having a go herself. Multiple times. 

“The same chamber, over and over. How is it possible?” Claire questions.

“It's not. It's...”  

Byron cuts the Doctor off, “Like a dream.”

“A nightmare.” Kathy corrects.

“Is anyone else trapped?” The Doctor calls.

“Yeah!” Comes Graham’s distant reply. “And I think I'm seeing dead people.”

The wind blows through, extinguishing fires and candles startling everyone.

“We're the same!” Ryan yells distantly. “I totally saw a ghost.”

“We're stuck on the stairs.” Yaz adds.

“Please! How do we move upwards? I need to check my son is well.” Mary begs.

“Working on it!” The Doctor replies, crouching down by the fireplace. “Head's a bit fuzzy. Normal service will resume shortly. And ghosts don't exist.”

“Of course not.” Graham retorts. “You two just need a spray tan and a kip, eh?”

“Graham, what sort of dead people, exactly?”

“Oh. How can I hear your voice, Doc?” Graham questions.

Kathy crouches next to the Doctor. “She’s using the fireplace chimney.”

“Doc? Kathy?” His is louder and echoes.

“Graham? Graham?” Kathy calls.

“They've gone now. And... so's Polidori. I've lost him.”

“You had one job!” The Doctor whines.

“Yeah, made more challenging by his ability to walk through walls.” Graham defends.

“Through?”

“Well, he just turned sort of zombie and went into one.”

Byron crouches down next to them. “What do you speak of? What is a zombie?” He questions.

“Mrs Doctor?” Claire calls.

“Kind of a dead person walking, but it won't be that.” The Doctor explains.

“Mrs Doctor? Ms Davis?”

Kathy looks up to see a shimmering light on one of the walls, she stands quickly and comes to stand by Claire.

“How do you know?” Byron asks.

“Because Polidori isn't dead, for a kick-off.”

Polidori walks in through the wall. Claire grips Kathy’s in fright.

“Uh, Doctor!” Kathy yells.

“What?!” The Doctor exclaims. She spins around and sees Polidori gliding into the room. Lightning strikes, lightning up the room.

“Polidori!” Byron hides behind Claire and Kathy. 

“He emerged from the wall like a phantom.” Claire gasps.

“Begone, demon!” Byron cries.

The Doctor walks over to observe Polidori. “Pulse? Check. Breathing. Check.”

“May I just say, you are quite lovely in a crisis.” Byron flirtatiously remarks, stepping around Claire and Kathy. Kathy glares at him irritably.

“No, you may not.” The Doctor gives him her own annoyed look before turning back to Polidori. “The lights are on, but he's gone on a mini-break.”

“Possessed?” Byron suggests.

“Or asleep? He walks in his sleep.” Claire suggests then.

“She’s right.” Kathy agrees. What Shelley is doing to the house is scrabbling her mind but she’s pushing through. “There’s an illusion that’s allowing him to walk as normal because he’s not experiencing it like we are. He’s just asleep and can’t see it. That’s why er he was able to walk through the wall and up as well. I-it’s a, um, perception filter.”

The Doctor moves to a wall as Kathy speaks and is able to put her hand through the wall. “We're surrounded. Immersed.” She realises. She turns to yell to everyone else. “Close your eyes. Clear your mind. We're only experiencing what it wants us to.”

After a few moments, there’s a sudden scream. Mary must’ve been able to get to her son’s room only to find a cot containing a skull and hand. 

The scream startles Polidori awake. He looks at them unperturbed. “I suspect I must have missed something.”

“Yes,” the Doctor replies, “but you've shown us how to get out of this room.”

They step through the wall and make their way along a corridor, which is one Kathy recognises as being from the ground floor despite them having just been upstairs.

“This can't be the hallway. We've not descended the stairs.” Byron utters, but then emerges into the entranceway to be confronted with a wall that should really have a door leading outside. “It is.”

“And there really should be a door there.” Kathy points out.

“Please can we get out of here?” Claire begs.

“In theory, yes. We just have to tell ourselves that we can walk through the door we know is right there...” The door appears as the Doctor opens it. 

Kathy realises something. “Wait, Doctor—” 

It’s too late, the Doctor steps through but hits something solid. “Oh!”

They all wince and hiss.

——

Everyone is back together in the drawing room. The skull and hand are under glass and not at all pleased about it. Kathy grimaces at the way they wiggle about.

“My bones have never caused such mischief before, I swear.” Byron declares.

“The things we know. We can move inside, but not out.” The Doctor says.

“Dead things don't act dead.” Yaz adds.

“People vanish. Elise? My poor William.” Mary laments, clinging to Claire.

“There's no sign of Fletcher either.” Ryan points out.

“I've never believed in such things, but could this be Hell? Could we be deceased?” Byron questions.

“Nice blue-sky thinking, but no.” The Doctor disagrees.

“This place keeps on folding in on itself as well.” Kathy says. She knows this is Ryan’s line but she needs to make sure it’s mentioned.

It dawns on the Doctor. “Exactly. It’s like you said, something is in the house. To protect it, we’re caught in a security system. It's... it's turned the house into a sort of giant panic room.”

“In 1816?” Graham questions in disbelief.

The Doctor turns to the window. “The Year Without a Summer. They blamed it on volcanic ash covering the sunlight. Weather went haywire.” She turns to them all. “What if something came here that wasn't supposed to and caused a major disturbance?”

“Like what?” Yaz asks.

“That?” Mary points out of the window.

“That could be a solid option, Mary, yes.” The Doctor murmurs as they all walk over to the window to see a silver figure in the distance.

“What is it?”

“I don't know.”

“It's sort of just floating around.” Ryan observes.

“Like a death god rising from Hades.” Yaz says.

“Shelley's vision.” Mary realises what Yaz is saying. “But we're all having it.”

“No. It's pushing through.” Kathy points out. “That is what Shelley saw. It's not a vision. It never was. It's a traveller moving through Time. A lone Cyberman.”

“What? Like you and Jack talked about?” Yaz questions.

Before Kathy can answer, a flash of lightning illuminates the figure in the hallway. Kathy turns around to watch it.

“Apparently. And he's trying to get in.” Kathy says. Everyone turns around as it succeeds, fully appearing in the corridor. Kathy is already running to the door with the Doctor behind her.

“Are you the Guardian?” He asks. They quickly shut the door on it and the Doctor sonics it locked.

“Beware of the lone Cyberman! Don't let it have what it wants.” Yaz reminds them. Thanks, Yaz, kind of already knew that. Though she’s not sure how she’s going to stop this.

“At all costs!” Graham adds. 

Mary, Byron, Polidori and Ryan are already barricading the door with furniture from the room.

“Yes, thank you!” The Doctor retorts.

“May I ask, what is a Cyberman?” Mary asks once they are all grouped up, backing away from the door, and looking at it worriedly.

“Someone altered. Organs, flesh surgically replaced with mechanical parts without consent. It drives them insane, so they alter the brain too, switch off all emotion.” The Doctor explains.

And Mary’s inspiration for Frankenstein apparently.

“Are you the Guardian?” The Cyberman can be heard saying.

“Never seen one like him before. He's different. Unfinished.”

“But still just as deadly when at full power,” Kathy warns them. She looks at the door with a level of fear and interest. The last time she’d interacted with Cybermen was at the Pandorica, where she didn’t get much interaction with. Even now, this still isn’t a full Cyberman experience. She wonders when she’ll meet one.

“Are you the Guardian?”

“Whatever he come for is hidden here. It explains the security.” The Doctor explains.

“What’s hidden?” Ryan asks. Kathy doesn’t dare answer in case the Cyberman can hear them.

“I've no idea, but we need to beat him to it, quick.” The Doctor replies. She reaches for the door handle.

“Doctor, what are you doing? Where are you going?” Yaz questions.

The Doctor opens the door to reveal the Cyberman is no longer there. Kathy is filled with dread when she thinks of where he’s gone.

“You're not leaving us?” Mary asks desperately.

“I have to find what he's looking for. Alone.” The Doctor declares.

“You need backup. All of us against one.” Yaz argues.

“One Cyberman, but then thousands. Humans like all of you changed into empty, soulless shells. No feeling, no control, no way back. I will not lose anyone else to that.” The Doctor declares. Kathy winces when she thinks of Bill. She’d only seen the companion recently and to think of her initial fate. The only consolation is Bill then sees Heather again and will become a Sentient Oil Creature like her. “Do not follow me.”

“Well, that means I’m safe, doesn’t it?” Kathy persists.

“I need to do this alone. Stay with the others.” The Doctor leaves without another word. Kathy glares after her, frustrated and annoyed.

“What if it finds William?” Mary asks worriedly.

“We need to find the child.” Polidori agrees.

“And a way out.” Byron adds.

“We are not safe here. He could pass through a wall at any moment.” Claire argues.

“You’re right, we can’t just sit here.” Kathy declares. Plus, they need to leave because this is when they’re able to find Shelley.

“The Doctor told us to wait,” Ryan argues. Kathy raises an eyebrow. Honestly, what kind of companion is he? Staying when the Doctor tells them to is not the companions' motto.

“Technically, she only told us not to follow her.” Yaz gets it. “Let's split up.” Or maybe not.

“When is that ever a good idea!” Kathy remarks sarcastically.

——

Yaz, Ryan, Mary and Byron head one way while Kathy goes with Graham, Claire and Polidori. Better to stick with the group that finds Shelley.

They open a door to find it leads to the cellar.

“The cellar. We'll give it a miss, eh?” Graham remarks nervously.

“Oh, come on, Graham! Where’s your sense of adventure?” Kathy asks with a grin.

“Left behind and over taken with my need to survive.” The companion retorts unhappily.

“Could the coal hatch be a means of escape? We should try everywhere.” Claire argues.

“Is it too late to choose another group?” Asks a frightened Polidori.

“Come on, we won’t get anywhere standing here.” Kathy says, leading the way down the steps.

Kathy and Polidori reach where the coal hatch should be, only to find it not there as Kathy had expected.

Polidori hurries to where Graham and Claire are looking about. “The coal hatch has gone. Oh, there's no way out.” He tells them fearfully.

Suddenly, Claire’s candle goes out and she vanishes from their sight.

“Claire, you okay?” Graham calls somewhat calmly but you can hear the tremor underlining his voice.

“Miss Clairmont?” Polidori’s fear is more apparent.

“There's something down here with us.” Claire whimpers. Well, that’s not terrifying at all.

“Claire?” Kathy calls. “It’s alright. Just walk back towards our voices and the candle light.”

Claire slowly does as she says and Kathy lights her candle with her own.

“Something crept in front of me. I heard its vile breath.” Claire tells them. “Listen...”

They all hear something then and turn in that direction. Graham moves forward into another section of the cellars with the rest of them walking slowly behind. Kathy doesn’t want to rush as she doesn’t want to cause Shelley any panic. They turn a corner; their candles illuminate a familiar figure. Shelley.

He’s huddled in the corner looking shaken and unwell. “I'm sorry, but I tried to hide it. I have to keep him out.” 

“It’s alright.” Kathy tries to reassure him, crouching down in front of him along with Graham. “We know you’re doing your best.”

“Who are you?” Graham asks him.

“I'm the Guardian.” Shelley replies. “I am Percy Bysshe Shelley.”

——

Polidori and Claire leave to retrieve the Doctor and soon she arrives with Yaz in tow. Kathy knows that Polidori, Claire and Byron are hiding elsewhere while Mary will arrive shortly.

The Doctor scans Shelley. “Shelley in a cellar, hidden away, cloaked, too big to register. That's why the readings have been off. It's something called a Cyberium.”

“I'm trying to protect it.” Shelley tells her. The Cyberman suddenly zaps in, blinding them with the light. Shelley isn’t having any of it. “Be gone, invader!” The Cyberman is relocated in the house, they faintly hear him roar in rage. Shelley breathes heavily from the effort it took.

“Who moved him? Is it you changing the house?” The Doctor questions.

“Some, but not all. It has its own room.” Shelley replies. It’s clear that talking is taking a lot of effort for him. Suddenly Mary appears nearby.

“Mary!” The Doctor gasps in surprise and frustration.

“I cannot hide. Not while he suffers.” Mary crouches down beside her beloved.

“Show me.” The Doctor makes telepathic contact with Shelley. “What happened to you?”

“I was out walking alone. There was a glimmer in the lake. Exquisite. Alive. Like quicksilver. I fished it out to study it more closely. But then it took root within me.” Shelley lets out a sudden gasp causing the Doctor to break contact. “I returned. I was changed. No one could see me. It hid itself in me, and hid me within the villa.”

“And when it thought it might be discovered, it manipulated all of our perceptions.” The Doctor realises. 

“Since the quicksilver has taken hold of me, I see symbols. Symbols and numbers. They will not leave my head, no matter how much I transcribe them.” Shelley explains. Coordinates for the future.

“The symbols were all over his room. All over the walls.” Yaz tells them.

“The house was like shifting sands. I sought solitude here, in the dark.”

“What happened to him?” Ryan wonders.

“I'm going with... alien parasite.” Graham suggests.

Kathy slightly smiles at his remark but shakes her head. “It’s Cyber technology. It’s given him information on their entire past and future.”

“They scorched and split the sky. Built the army of all armies. Left behind only pain, rage, fear and death.” Shelley further explains.

“How is he seeing all this?” Mary questions.

“The Cyberium is burning through his mind. It'll destroy him if it stays in him much longer. An epic battle.” The Doctor explains. “The Cyberium at the heart of it, controlling data, strategy, decision-making. Clever! Very clever. Someone took it from the Cybermen, sent it back through time here in an attempt to change the future.”

There’s a flash of light as the Cyberman tries to get back into the cellar but fails.

“In an attempt to protect you from that.”

“I can't keep him away much longer.” Shelley heaves.

“Then don't.”

Kathy, Ryan, Yaz and Graham look at her in alarm and surprise though Kathy doesn’t do the latter.

“Doc.” Graham mutters.

“Stop fighting. It's okay.” The Doctor reassures Shelley.

“But Doctor, I have seen what happens. It can’t get into the wrong hands!” Kathy argues pleadingly.

“I know, because armies will rise and billions will die.”

“Shelley's going to die if that stuff stays inside him.” Graham points out. Kathy sighs, what is she to do?

“Shelley's only one life against all those others.” Ryan argues.

Mary is shocked and in disbelief. “What are you saying? How can you condemn him to death like that?”

“But is he, Ryan?” The Doctor asks. “His thoughts, his words inspire and influence thousands for centuries. If he dies now, who knows what damage that will have on future history? Words matter! One death, one ripple, and history will change in a blink. The future will not be the world you know. The world you came from, the world you were created in won't exist, so neither will you. It's not just his life at stake. It's yours. You want to sacrifice yourself for this? You want me to sacrifice you? You want to call it? Do it now. All of you.”

There’s silence before Kathy opens her mouth, “But it’s one possible ripple against billions certainly dying if you let the Cyberman have it.”

“Shut up!” The Doctor suddenly snaps.

Kathy looks at the Doctor in wide eyed shock. They had never spoken to her like that before.

“You’re not my equal, Kathy!” The Doctor snaps before turning to her companions who are either staring at her or at the floor despondently. “Sometimes all the decisions are for me to decide. Sometimes this team structure isn't flat. It's mountainous, with me at the summit in the stratosphere, alone, left to choose. Save the poet, save the universe. Watch people burn now or tomorrow. Sometimes, even I can't win.” 

“Please, help me.” Shelley begs.

This time the Cyberman is able to push through and marches over and demands, “Release what you hold.”

“How?”

“Release it!”

“He doesn't know what that means! You've got to tell him what he's got to do!” Graham yells at him.

“I am addressing the Cyberium.” The Cyberman corrects him. “It must execute the host to be extracted.” 

“It's not obeying you.” The Doctor leans into his face as she smugly retorts.

“Hmm. Then I shall execute the host.” He prepares his gun but Mary steps forward, stopping him in his tracks.

“What is your name, sir?” She asks.

“Mary, this is not a good time to talk.” Kathy tries to tell her quietly. She still feels shaken from having the Doctor’s anger directed at her.

“Or names. Are you several men? A composite of parts.” Mary murmurs to herself as she analyses the Cyberman in front of her.

“I am better than men.” The Cyberman angrily corrects.

“Yet I still see a soul in there.”

The Cyberman laughs. “What do you think you see, child?”

“I see the man who spared my son.” Mary tells him. “Were you a father, before?”

“I was.” It’s strange how Kathy can see some emotion there but knows how quickly it’ll turn in a few moments.

“You didn't want to be this way. They hurt you, this modern Prometheus. You loved once. And were loved in return. You do not wish to kill.” Mary declares. She holds out her hand, and he touches it.

“My name was Ashad. I did spare your son...” the Cyberman then grabs her arm, “because he's a useless runt, sickly and weak. And I did have children. I slit their throats when they joined the resistance.” It switches to holding the back of her neck. “In death we are transformed, improved, updated, as you will learn.”

“Transformed in death. I'm sorry, Percy Shelley. So very sorry.” The Doctor apologises to the poet.

“Doctor!” Kathy yells. She knows it’s too late and they need to save Mary plus Shelley survives but this means the Doctor will give the Cyberman what he wants.

The Doctor touches Shelley's head and Kathy knows he’s being shown himself drowning in the Mediterranean in 1822.

“Mrs Doctor, what are you doing to him?” Mary questions desperately.

Silver flows out from Shelley's mouth and the Doctor jerks back.

“The Cyberium, it's leaving his body.” Yaz observes.

——

They then all appear in the drawing room where Byron, Claire and Polidori hide. They all stagger at the force of the change. Shelley still lies on the floor but is now unconscious.

“What just happened?” Graham questions.

“How are we back here?” Yaz wonders.

“He's reset the house.” The Doctor explains. “Shelley needs help. I think I've freed him from the Cyberium.”

“At what cost?” Mary asks her as Yaz and Kathy kneel next to Shelley. Kathy knows they need to help him get through the trauma of what the Doctor had just done to him.

The Cyberium is in mid-air. The Doctor and the Cyberman both reach for it. It moves towards the former.

“No!” The latter cries in frustration and anger.

“And it chooses me. Interesting. Time Lord magnetism. Looks like I'm the true Guardian.” The Cyberium passes into the Doctor.

“Surrender it or I will execute you.” The Cyberman threatens.

“I'd be very careful with those execution threats. I can feel it already, fusing to me. It feels very at home. Recognising great host material. Not to big myself up, but I don't think it'll vacate me without a fight.” The Doctor remarks smugly.

The Cyberman simply turns his arm towards the window. The thunderstorm shakes the villa. Kathy looks up from Shelley as she’s jolted to see a hole open in the sky.

“What are you doing?!”

“Transmitting. My ship will lock onto my signal. It will tear this reality, and this planet will remain only in shreds.” The Cyberman declares.

“This world doesn't end in 1816. It can't.” The Doctor murmurs in disbelief.

“It will.”

Kathy is taking it in turns doing chest compressions with Yaz. Yaz suddenly stops in the middle of hers to say to the Doctor, “He's bluffing. Don't listen to him. Kathy, tell her!”

Kathy looks unsurely at the Doctor, her hurtful words ringing through her mind. “I-I don’t know. I can’t be sure Yaz.” She genuinely doesn’t know as they never got to find out but could they risk it? She wordlessly returns to the chest compressions.

“She’s right, we can't be sure. I can't risk this planet. I can't win!” The Doctor agrees mournfully. Kathy catches the quick apologetic look in her direction from the Doctor, which she’ll take for now but knows the Doctor needs to expand on her apology.

“We are inevitable.” The Cyberman declares.

“Yes. You are.” The Cyberium leaves the Doctor.

“What are you doing?” Yaz asks.

“She’s giving it what it wants.” Kathy replies.

The Cyberium enters the Cyberman. He vanishes, the hole in the sky closes and the clouds clear away, sunlight streams in. Shelley sits up, gasping. Kathy leaps back from him, almost getting knocked in the face.

Mary cradles him. “What did you do to Shelley?”

“Old Time Lord trick. Not a nice one. Pushed his mind to his future death, tricked the Cyberium into letting go, hoped his body would survive the trauma. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me.” The Doctor apologises.

“You saved Shelley, but what does that mean for the future?” Graham correctly wonders. Kathy’s mind wonders to the destruction and trauma of the future, particularly a certain Time Lord reappearing and revealing the Doctor’s past.

“It means I've put it in the gravest danger.” The Doctor replies.

“Please, tell me that was part of the plan.” Ryan says.

“Yes. A last-minute, imperfect, all-I've-got plan. Saving Shelley was step one.” The Doctor explains.

“What's step two?” Yaz asks.

“Fix the mess I created in step one. Go to the future, find him and stop him from rebuilding the Cyber Army. Shelley, can you give Yaz those symbols and numbers? We're going to need them.”

——

Kathy walks the Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan to the TARDIS through the woods.

“So, if all the weirdness was the Cyberium, you know, the bones and Shelley floating about and all that, why would it reanimate a couple of stiffs just to bring me a sarnie?” Graham gets a few confused looks at his words. “You know, the maid and the creepy little kid?”

“Er... no. We thought you saw Shelley like we did.” Yaz replies. They all come to a stop by the TARDIS.

Graham looks at them in disbelief. “Oh, come on. Beady eyes. Made the room go all arctic. Where do them two fit in?”

“I'm not sure they did.” Ryan says.

“No, no, come on, Doc.” The older companion turns to the Time Lord for an explanation. “This is where you jump in with a rational explanation. I mean, ghosts don't exist, right?”

The Doctor shrugs. “Unless they do.”

“What?” Graham gapes as the Doctor walks past him and opens the TARDIS door.

“Inside, you three. We need to talk.” The Doctor says. Her companions walk past Kathy, offering goodbyes through hugs and comments though Graham is in a daze. The Doctor turns to Kathy before she steps inside.

“You’re going to Cyber war zones, aren’t you?” Kathy hesitantly asks.

The Doctor nods. “Are you coming?”

Kathy smiles slightly and shakes her head. “I’ve got obligations here, Doctor. But perhaps a future me may join you.”

“I’ll see you then.” The Doctor turns to step inside the TARDIS before pausing and turning to Kathy apologetically. “I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean it. If anyone who’s not a full Time Lord is ever my equal, it’s you. You’re my best friend Kathy and there’s no one else I trust more.”

Kathy smiles tearfully. “I suppose you’re alright.”

The Doctor grins, rightfully taking Kathy’s remark as an acceptance of her apology. “‘Course I am.”

They share a chuckle.

“Till the next time, Doctor.”

“Till the next time, Kathy.”

Chapter Text

1851 AD/CE

In the years before and in between, Kathy meets Anne Lister (3 April 1791 – 22 September 1840), who was an English diarist, famous for revelations for which she was dubbed "the first modern lesbian". Kathy had to meet her and less needed to have an affair with her but things happen. She can’t wait for when the woman’s diary is discovered to see if she’s in it.

——

“…and stay out!”

Kathy comes crashing down on the snow covered pavement face first with a huff. She pulls herself up and spins herself around so she can stare at her attacker. The looming stony face of Reverend Aubrey Fairchild stares back at her.

“I’m trying to help!” She cries. “If you could just pull that misogynistic stick that’s been lodged so far up your—”

The Reverend’s face turns stonier. “How dare you!”

“How dare I?” Kathy pulls herself up to her feet. “I’m trying to save your life!”

“A woman has no business here!” He slams the door in her face. That went well.

Reverend Aubrey Fairchild, a man Kathy was trying to save but not for the man himself, but for the children and others that’ll be killed, is a man who worked for several children's charities in the 19th century. Soon he’ll be killed by the Cybermen to gather all the workhouse managers at his funeral where they could be quickly dispatched by the Cybermen. His body will be found with burns to the forehead, most likely a result of a Cyberman's electro attack.

The Cybermen are here in 1851 Victorian London from the void they’d been sent to in Doomsday and got through because of the events in Journey’s End and Stolen Earth, which had weakened the barriers allowing the Cybermen to escape the void and return. It’s funny how she does all this backwards considering she hasn’t experienced any of those adventures nor met half the people who appeared, or will appear, in them.

Kathy knows the importance of this adventure. Ten meeting what he thinks is his future self though it turns out to be a red herring. It sets in motion his final story arc, which foreshadows his death and cultivates in the End of Time adventure, which she's already witnessed.

It’s not long till Christmas Eve when the Tenth Doctor will appear. Kathy has already seen Jackson Lake running around thinking he’s the Doctor for almost a couple of weeks with Rosita (Spanish for Little Rose). She come in contact with them a few times. This has given her a time frame and she realised that it won’t be long now till the Reverend is killed. She had planned to try and change things, maybe, to stop Miss Hartigan from becoming the CyberKing. Hadn’t exactly worked out for her.

Kathy hasn’t mingled with Jackson Lake too much, not wanting to confuse the man and make things messier than they already are. She just needs to bide her time.

——

Before Kathy knows it, Reverend Aubrey Fairchild is found dead and his funeral arrives. Kathy knows it’s no time like the present to slip into the man’s house, which she had done a scope of last time she was there before being caught and thrown out, and where she’ll bump into the Doctor and Jackson.

She arrives at the house to see a well attended cortege, with quite a solemn crowd following the four black horses pulling the hearse and leaving the Reverend's home. Jackson Lake and Rosita are watching the procession as it passes them. Having sensed him nearby, Kathy glances around and spots Ten watching from a short distance.

“Snooping are we?” Kathy remarks as she appears behind him.

The Doctor turns to her and grins at the sight of her but then pouts when he realises what she just said. “No! Investigating!”

Kathy huffs a laugh and rolls her eyes. “Oh yes, big difference. I’m sorry for not realising earlier.” She glances at Jackson and Rosita who seem to be bickering. “So, you’ve met our friends have you?”

“Yes, the next me and companion it seems though…” the Doctor frowns in thought, “with a few oddities.”

“Well, that’s to be expected when it comes to you.” Kathy comments cheekily.

The Doctor ignores the dig or doesn’t notice it and turns to Kathy curiously. “So, you’ve met him? Is he me?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“Meaning?”

“Spoilers.”

They turn back to the duo watching the funeral procession to see Rosita leave in a huff and Jackson walk towards the Reverend’s house. Kathy doesn’t blame her, as she recalls Jackson making a few sexist comments. 

“Well, come on,” Kathy says, pulling out her sleek silver sonic with a glowing red tip, its faint hum filling the air. “It’s not some investigating without some sonicking and entering.” Yes, she just stole that line from Eleven. Oh well.

The Doctor grins back at her and they hurry over to the house and let themselves in through the front door. They hear Jackson fiddling with the back door. The Doctor strolls over and simply opens it, showing a surprised Jackson.

“Hello.” The Doctor greets him.

Jackson splutters for a moment before gathering himself, “How did you get in?”

The Doctor shrugs. “Oh, front door. I'm good at doors.” He takes notice of the screwdriver in Jackson’s hand. “Er, do you mind my asking, is that your sonic screwdriver?”

“Yes. I'd be lost without it.” He holds it up to show it's an ordinary screwdriver.

“But that's a screwdriver. How's it sonic?”

“Well, er, it makes a noise.” He taps it against the door frame. Kathy winces with second-hand embarrassment. “That's sonic, isn't it?” Jackson turns to Kathy. “Ms Davis, how are you here?”

The Doctor frowns at that, getting suspicious because even if the Doctor had lost all their memories, there’s still that telepathic connection Jackson should’ve sensed with Kathy due to her own Time Lord dana if he’s the Doctor.

Kathy shrugs. “John Smith is a friend of mine. We thought we’d help.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s wise…” Jackson murmurs before shaking his head in dismissal, “but since we're acting like common burglars, I suggest we get out of plain view.”

——

“This investigation of yours, what's it about?” The Doctor asks as Jackson leafs through a pile of papers in a drawer. Kathy lingers around the room, trying to recall the draw that contains the infostamps. She glances at the door where the Cyberman appears cautiously.

“It started with a murder.” Jackson replies.

The Doctor nods, leaning against the desk that contains the draw Jackson is searching through. “Oh, good.” He speaks. Kathy and Jackson pause and give him a look to which the Doctor realises his mistake. “I mean bad, but whose?”

“Mr Jackson Lake, a teacher of mathematics from Sussex. He came to London three weeks ago and died a terrible death.” Jackson frantically searches through the papers.

Kathy pulls out her scanner from River to help with the search for the infostamps.

“Cybermen?”

“It's hard to say. His body was never found. But then it started. More secret murders, then abductions. Children, stolen away in silence.” His voice breaks at the mention of children. Kathy gazes at him sadly. Poor man, he doesn’t know what he’s lost.

“So, whose house is this?”

“The latest murder.” Kathy tells, putting away the scanner, the Doctor. “The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild, found with burns to his forehead, like some advanced form of electrocution. Tried to warn the idiot.” Ah, there’s the drawer, just have to wait for the right moment.

The Doctor nods, taking in her words while Jackson looks at her curiously. Probably is confused about how she knows so much.

“But who was he? Was he important?” The Doctor asks as he leans against a table, crossing his arms.

Jackson turns his gaze from Kathy to the Doctor. “You ask a lot of questions.”

The Doctor shrugs. “I'm your companion.”

“The Reverend was the pillar of the community, a member of many parish boards. A keen advocate of children's charities.”

“Children again.” The Doctor notes. “But why would the Cybermen want him dead? And what's his connection to the first death, this Jackson Lake?”

Jackson stares at both the Doctor and Kathy in surprise. “It's funny. Ms Davis seems to know a lot more than she should and I seem to be telling you, Mister Smith, everything, as though you engendered some sort of trust. You seem familiar, Mister Smith. I know your face. But how?”

“I wonder. I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch.”

“Is that important?” Jackson asks the Doctor with wide eyes.

“Legend has it that the memories of a Time Lord can be contained within a watch. Do you mind?” Jackson hands him the watch. “It's said that if it's opened…” He opens it and the works fall out. “Oh. Maybe not.” Embarrassing.

Jackson seems to break out of the daze he’s been in when the Doctor was talking. “It was more for decoration.”

“Yeah. Anyway, alien infiltration.” The Doctor says, quickly moving on from the embarrassing moment.

“Yes. Just look for anything different. Possibly meta—”

Kathy opens the writing desk. “Well, look at that. Different and metal, you were right.” She takes out two cylinders. The other two dart over to have a look.

The Doctor takes one from her hands to have a closer look. “They are infostamps. I mean, at a guess. If I were you, I'd say they worked something like this.” He presses one end and images are projected from the other. “See? Compressed information. Tons of it.” He puts on his glasses because of course he does. Kathy snorts quietly as she thinks of how excited Ten and Eleven were over each other’s glasses.

“That is the history of London, 1066 to the present day.” The Doctor realises as he watches the images. “This is like a disc, a Cyberdisc. But why would the Cybermen need something so simple?”

Kathy watches as Jackson stares at the other infostamp, which he’d taken from her. His face shows that it means something to him, his forgotten memories pushing through. He slumps into a chair, rubbing his head and tears in his eyes.

“They've got to be wireless. Unless, they're in the wrong century. They haven't got much power. They need plain old basic infostamps to update themselves. Are you all right?” The Doctor finally takes notice of Jackson’s state.

“I'm fine.” Jackson gasps.

“No, what is it? What's wrong?” Kathy questions, crouching in front of him. She gives a printed look to the Doctor, who nods in realisation, and joins her.

“I've seen one of these before. I was holding this device the night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated. The Cybermen, they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self.” He almost breaks into a sob before he looks at them both with a searching look. “And you were there. Who are you both?” His voice is stronger and more demanding.

“Friends. I swear.” The Doctor promises.

“Then I beg you, John, Ms Davis. Help me.” Jackson sobs.

“Call me Kathy,” Kathy smiles kindly, pitying the man, “and those are two words we could never refuse.”

“But it's not a conversation for a dead man's house.” The Doctor adds as he stands. “It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS. Your TARDIS. Hold on.” He starts running around the room. “I just need to do a little final check. Won't take a tick. There's one more thing I cannot figure.” He starts opening doors. “If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping.” He opens a door. There is a Cyberman behind it. “Okay.” He closes it again. “I think we should run.”

The Cyberman smashes the door down. The Doctor runs towards them yelling, “Run, Doctor! Now, Doctor!”

“Delete.”

The two of them pull Jackson up and they run through a door, sonicking it shut. They run through the corridor only to be confronted with another Cyberman, who declares, “The Doctor will be deleted.”

They run back down to see the original Cyberman had now broken through the door. “Delete.”

“Stairs! Can't lead them outside!” The Doctor yells. Kathy and Jackson begin to go up them. They pause on the landing. Well, Jackson does and Kathy lets him as she knows what he does next.

The Doctor grabs something only to discover it is an umbrella when he opens it. The Cybermen are getting closer. He takes a sword from the wall instead.

“Delete.”

“I'm a dab hand with a cutlass. You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning.” He threatens. They don’t listen and walk closer. “No? Ok, this is really your last warning! Okay, I give up.” He runs up the stairs, backwards, still trying to talk to the Cybermen.

“Delete.”

“Listen to him properly!” Kathy yells, panicked at how much closer they’re getting, the Doctor clashing with them with his sword. “You're doing stuck in 1851 and we can help! I mean it. We’re the only people in the world who can help you! Listen to us!” The Doctor continues fighting them with his sword as the three of them go backwards up the stairs.

“Delete.” The Cyberman lowed its arm for the final blow but the Doctor meets it with his sword.

“I'm the Doctor. You need me. Check your memory banks. My name's the Doctor. Leave this man alone. The Doctor is me!” The Doctor gets a foot onto the leading Cyberman's chest and pushes them back downstairs.

“Delete.” 

The Cybermen march back up the stairs and engage with the Doctor again.

“The Doctor, remember? I'm the Doctor! You need me alive. You need the Doctor, and that's me!”

Kathy and Jackson are on the landing. Kathy turns to Jackson, lifting the infostamp in his face. “You need to do something, you know what to do!”

The Cybermen knock the Doctor down. “Delete.”

Jackson looks at her with wide eyes. 

“Do it!”

Jackson activates the infostamp and aims the beam at the Cybermen. They fall to their knees, screaming in pain, and then their heads explode.

The Doctor laughs in amazement. “Infostamp with a Cyclo-Steinham core. You ripped open the core and broke the safety. Zap! Only the Doctor would think of that.”

Jackson slumps against one of the door frames, analysing the infostamp. “I did that last time.” He murmurs.

Kathy strokes his arm comfortingly. “It’s okay. We’re here to help remember?”

He stares at her in what Kathy can only describe as wonder. 

“Let me just check something first.” The Doctor pulls out his stethoscope.

Jackson turns to him. “You told them you were the Doctor. Why did you do that?”

The Doctor places the stethoscope on his chest. “Oh, I was just protecting you.” Kathy knows he’ll only be hearing one heart.

“You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did. They stole something, something so precious, but I can't remember.” Jackson sobs. “What happened to me? What did they do?”

“We'll find out. Us three together.”

——

They reach an alleyway to find Rosita waiting.

“Doctor!” She runs over to them. “I thought you were dead!” Rosita hugs Jackson. 

“Now then, Rosita. A little decorum.” Jackson tells her, pulling back.

“You've been gone for so long.” Rosita admonishes. “He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic.”

“What about the TARDIS?” 

“Oh, she's ready. Come on.” Rosita grabs Jackson’s hand, pulling him along.

“I'm looking forward to this.” The Doctor murmurs as he and Kathy.

“Just don’t be rude.” Kathy reminds him.

“When am I ever rude?!” The Doctor exclaims in defence. 

Kathy simply gives him a withering look.

The stables contain no horses and instead, the stalls have been converted into Jackson's living space.

“You were right though, Rosita. The Reverend Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen.” Jackson says to the companion.

“So, you live here?” The Doctor questions.

“A temporary base, until we rout the enemy. The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home.” Jackson explains as he uses a bowl of water to wash his hands. 

Kathy keeps her lips sealed so to stop herself from unnecessarily revealing anything quite yet.

The Doctor furrows his eyebrows. “And where's the TARDIS now?”

“In the yard.”

“Er, what's all this luggage?”

“Evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered.” Jackson explains. “Oh, but my new friends are fighters, Rosita, much like myself. Mister Smith faced the Cybermen with a cutlass. I'm not ashamed to say, he was braver than I. He was quite brilliant.” 

The Doctor scans the luggage with his sonic and this catches Jackson’s attention.

“Shush! What's that noise?”

“Oh, it's just me, whistling.” The Doctor mimics the sonic with his whistling causing Kathy to let out a snort. The Doctor mouths shush to Rosita when they see she’s staring at them as he puts the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket and takes a suitcase off the pile with Kathy’s help.

“That's another man's property.” Rosita reminds them.

“Well, technically a dead man's.” Kathy comments. Plus, the Doctor needs to realise what’s going on with Jackson.

The Doctor opens the suitcase. “How did you two meet, then?”

“He saved my life. Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was going to die. And then, there he was. The Doctor.” Rosita tells them, looking over to Jackson in worry. “Can you help him, sir, madam? He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror.”

“Come now, Rosita. With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams.” Jackson says. Kathy glances solemnly over to the Doctor. 

Kathy has experienced loss all too well, it’s what happens when you live a long life. Twelve was right when he said immortality isn’t living forever, it’s everybody else dying.

The Doctor snaps out of his daze and riffles through the suitcase. “Yeah. Oh, now.” He pulls out an infostamp. “Look. Jackson Lake had an infostamp.”

“But how? Is that significant?” Jackson questions.

“Do you know what? I think we should have a look at your TARDIS.” Kathy remarks, she wasn’t about to call him Doctor, that would just be weird. “Can we see it?”

“Mister Smith, Ms Davis, it would be my honour.”

——

“There she is. My transport through time and space. The TARDIS.” Jackson announces. 

They are faced with an elaborately patterned, but mostly blue, Montgolfier.

The Doctor gapes in shock and disappointment. If he still thought Jackson was him even after all the evidence to the contrary, this definitely seals it.

“You've got a balloon.” He murmurs.

“TARDIS. T A R D I S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style. Do you see?”

“Yeah, clever with the words.” Kathy compliments though she has a wide and amused smile on her face. “Though, how would it work in English?” 

Bill was right, how would TARDIS work in any other language?

The Doctor splutters in shock before becoming mildly impressed and wanders over to have a better look. “Well, I like it. Good TARDIS. Brilliant. Nice one. And is it inflated by gas, yeah?” 

“We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks. I pay them a modest fee. Good work, Jed.” Jackson slaps a strapping young man on the shoulder and hands him a big five pound note. 

“Glad to be of service, sir.”

“You've got quite a bit of money.” The Doctor notes. (Get it?)

“Oh, you get nothing for nothing.” Jackson dismisses. “How's that ripped panel, Jed?”

“All repaired. Should work a treat.” Jed reports. “You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above.”

“Not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend. One day soon.”

Jed takes his leave.

“You've never actually been up?” Kathy asks as if she doesn’t know.

“He dreams of leaving, but never does.” Rosita replies.

“I can depart in the TARDIS once London is safe. And finally, when I'm up there.” Jackson declares. “Think of it, John, Kathy. The time and the space.”

“The perfect escape. Do you ever wonder what you're escaping from?” The Doctor questions. 

Just like how the Doctor is always escaping, Jackson has his own forgotten troubles.

“With every moment.”

“Then do you want me to tell you? Because I think I've worked it out now. How you became The Doctor. What do you think? Do you want to know?” The Doctor asks sombrely. 

——

“The story begins with the Cybermen.” The Doctor begins. They’re back in the stables with Kathy sitting by the Doctor and Rosita and Jackson sitting opposite. “A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought, and they were beaten. And they were sent into a howling wilderness called The Void, locked inside forever more. But then a greater battle rose up, so great that everything inside the Void perished. But, as the walls of the world weakened, the last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, back in time, to land here. And they found you.”

Canary Wharf and the reality bomb. Two battles Kathy has not experienced and will likely be if her track record is anything to go by. Two very dark days she’s not looking forward to.

“I fought them, I know that. But what happened?” Jackson questions.

“At the same time, another man came to London. Mister Jackson Lake. Plenty of luggage, money in his pocket. Maybe coming to town for the winter season, I don't know. But he found the Cybermen too. And just like you, exactly like you, he took hold of an infostamp.”

“But he's dead. Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him.” Jackson argues.

“But no body was ever found, remember?” Kathy reminds him. “And you kept all his suitcases, but you could never bring yourself to open them. The answer is in your watch. Can we see?”

Jackson hands the watch to Kathy. She tilts it in the Doctor’s direction so he can see that the case is plain except for two initials.

“J L. The watch is Jackson Lake's.” The Doctor observes.

“Jackson Lake is you, sir?” Rosita realises.

“But I'm the Doctor.” Jackson persists.

“You became the Doctor because the infostamp you picked up was a book about one particular man.” The Doctor projects the infostamp onto the wall. The first Doctor appears before going through every Doctor since then except for the War Doctor. “The Cybermen's database. Stolen from the Daleks inside the Void, I'd say, but it's everything you could want to know about the Doctor.” The images get to number ten.

“That's you.” Jackson murmurs in shock.

“Time Lord, TARDIS, enemy of the Cybermen. The one and the only.” The Doctor replies. Jackson, overwhelmed, covers his face with his hands. “You see, the infostamp must have backfired. Streamed all that information about me right inside your head.” 

“I am nothing but a lie.” Jackson murmurs sombrely.

Kathy instantly shakes her head and leans forward to grasp his hand so he would look directly at her. “No, Jackson. Can’t you see? The infostamp gave you information on the Doctor, but what it didn’t do is give you anything else. The bravery you had as you saved Rosita, defended London then your brilliance in inventing your very own TARDIS, that was all you.”

Jackson looks at her with wide eyes. “And what else? Tell me what else.”

“There's still something missing, isn't there?” The Doctor prompts.

Jackson grits his teeth, shaking off Kathy’s hand and demands, “I demand you tell me, sir. Tell me what they took.”

“Sorry. Really, I am so sorry,” the Doctor apologises, “but that's an awful lot of luggage for one man. Because an infostamp is plain technology. It's not enough to make a man lose his mind. What you suffered is called a fugue. A fugue state, where the mind just runs away because it can't bear to look back. You wanted to become someone else, because Jackson Lake had lost so much.”

Something similar later happens to Oswin Oswald when she was converted into a Dalek — she dreamed up an alternate reality in which she was still human because the reality of the Dalek conversion was too horrible to comprehend.

A church bell tolls the hours.

“Midnight. Christmas Day.” Rosita tells them.

“I remember. Oh, my God. Caroline. They killed my wife. They killed her.” Jackson realises and begins to sob. Kathy watches sorrowfully and moves to comfort him along with Rosita.

The infostamp beeps. The button on the end is lit up. 

The Doctor moves over to a trunk and finds a whole lot more. “Oh, you found a whole cache of infostamps.” 

“But what is it? What's that noise?” Rosita questions.

“Activation. A call to arms. The Cybermen are moving! Come on Kathy!” The Doctor runs outside.

“I’m sorry.” Kathy apologises before bolting after him. She catches up with him in the street. “Doctor!” She points to where she can see marching shadows against a wall.

——

It is children, not Cybermen, marching past as Kathy and the Doctor watch along with other members of the public. 

Rosita joins them. “What is it? What's happening?” An older, more richly dressed man appears at the back. “That's Mister Cole. He's Master of the Hazel Street Workhouse. Maybe he's taking them to prayers.”

“Oh, nothing as holy as that.” The Doctor catches up with Cole with Kathy and Rosita following.