In Search of Gemini

The Gemini Archives Book 10
by Jill D'Entremont

Fearing a prophecy that speaks of his final days, a desperate Doctor seeks comfort with an old friend. Together, they embark on a journey that sends them across multiple dimensions, into perilous situations, and joining with unlikely allies once they discover a source of hope: there is a Gemini still out there. Can each of them look beyond the years of pain, loneliness, and separation to be unified before the prophecy is fulfilled?

Written and Illustrated in July 2021
Use the lefthand menu to jump between chapters, or to return to the Gemini Archives home

This story features an audio version read by yours truly if you'd like to listen along. It's not professional quality by any means, but it was fun to record nonetheless!

 

Chapter 1

The Doctor pulled the door shut and promptly leaned against it. His hand grasped at his forehead and arched over his eyebrows as his thumb and fingers pressed into his temples. His lips stretched thin, wavering upon a frown. His feet, laced in brown loafers, held perfectly still despite his mind racing in a thousand different directions. Only the edges of his long, plum-colored coat drifted forward and backward; residual movement from his initial momentum. Then, with a roll of his head and a sharp exhale, he pushed off the door and started across the ramp.

“Talk to me, James!” He barked sharply as the soles of his shoes clacked on the metal.

A translucent figure with messy black hair, blue jeans, and a teal hoodie flickered into existence beside the control panel. In the blue-green light from the central column, it was almost difficult to make out the hologram’s features.

“I am not James, I am a voice interface.”

The Doctor was mouthing the words as his hands came to grip the edge of the panel. “Voice interface or not—talk to me.”

“What do you wish to discuss?”

“Anything.” The Doctor’s eyes were uncharacteristically dark in the shadow of his brow, made darker by the brown hair spilling over the right side of his forehead. The rest of his body remained stiff and unmoving as his eyes rose to meet the image of James. “Anything other than what I’ve just seen.”

“I do not understand.”

“How was the last rugby match?” He spouted.

“In the series you were last watching, New South Wales bested Queensland in a record 104 minutes in overtime.”

“Ouch!” The Doctor pushed his way off the panel, only to lean his lower back against it and cross his arms. “American football?”

“In the series you were last watching, the New Orleans Saints bested the Indianapolis Colts 31 to 17 in the Super Bowl championship.”

“Ha—told you they’d pull that one off!” He chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “How about the best place to get pizza in the United States?”

“Sources vary, although popular opinion draws many locations in the New England area.”

“New England,” he repeated, idly pointing a finger in the air, “I always find it funny when places name themselves ‘New something’. It’s like they think they’ll be inherently better than the old something. It would be like me calling myself The New Doctor when I regenerate.” He paused, his face instantly growing dim. “If I could regenerate...”

“The Doctor, as a Time Lord, can regenerate twelve times.”

“No—stop it!” The Doctor pointed a finger at the translucent figure. “I don’t need this out of you too!”

“But, due to a recent discovery of a past regeneration, The Doctor has already regenerated twelve times.”

The Doctor grit his teeth as he slammed his clenched fists backward into the control panel. “What did I just say?!”

“‘I don’t need this out of you, too’,” the hologram repeated.

“And do you know what that means, James??”

“I am not James, I am a voice interface.”

He thrust his face inches from the hologram. “Why do I ever bother to talk to you??”

“Because you wish to talk to the real James Harley.”

At last, the Doctor’s contorted facial expression unclenched. He drew a deep breath through his nose and returned to a more upright stance. The unwavering holographic form of James Harley looked back at him silently.

“That may be the smartest thing you’ve ever said, Voice Interface.” He admitted gently.

“I am happy to be of assistance.”

“So, let’s go!” He turned on his heels and set his fingers pattering across the panels. The coordinates popped onto the screen in no time.

The Tallelands. Spades. Fortanya. Year 520 D.R., Daethos’ Reign, local time. Date, 4 February.

“Sounds about right—onward!!”

The voice interface flickered and disappeared as the TARDIS whirred to life. The Doctor glanced to the doors, leaving the desolate landscape on the other side of the doors behind.

- - -

James Harley scowled through his thick-rimmed glasses as he lifted up a piece of paper into the light from the window beside him. Light and distance made no difference to the number at the bottom of the page, however.

“I swear, if they keep going up on the price of these permits, I may have to...”

His brown eyes jumped up from the page. 

A familiar sound had reached his ears.

He dropped his hand to his desktop, along with the paper.

A familiar sight was pulsing into existence just outside the Sirius Theatre’s glass doors.

His mouth formed a smile as he breathed out a short laugh.

The man rushed from behind his desk and flew out the theater doors moments later. He was sure to position himself directly in front of the doors of the TARDIS, crossing his arms with a wide smirk across his face.

The Doctor pulled open the door and immediately fell backward. “Gah—my goodness!!” He threw up his hands in defensive surprise.

“Hi, Doctor.” James’ grin widened despite his best efforts to remain stolid.

“James.” The grin contagiously spread to The Doctor.

“It’s about time!” He offered with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s always about time.” It was The Doctor’s turn to smirk.

James broke into a toothy smile and grabbed his old friend in a hearty hug. He patted his back and expected a release, but The Doctor’s arms remained clasped around his shoulders.

“Um,” James twisted his head, “You can—can let go now.”

“Right.” The Doctor released him, tucking his elbows at his sides with his fingers idly clenching in the air. He took a good look at the tall man before him; hair just beginning to streak with gray at his temples, a smart, casual suit coat over a dull green shirt, and black slacks with simple dress shoes—all wrapped up in with a warm smile. James seemed more put together than he ever had—sharply contrasting how he himself felt at the moment.

James tilted his head, his smile fading to one of curiosity. “Is everything okay?”

The Time Lord quickly waved his hands and then tugged on the lapels of his coat. “Oh, it’s all fine. Yes. Jolly good, in fact.”

The eyebrow peaked again, obviously not convinced. “Well, come on in, then.”

The Doctor ceased fidgeting with his coat and followed James inside the theater. He didn’t make it very far inside before his eyes were drawn upward. “Ah! Look at this!” He exclaimed.

The lobby was fully painted from floor to ceiling in accents of bright reds and golds among the warm, cream-colored plaster walls. The star motif used on the Sirius’ marquee echoed itself in wood-carved banisters that lead up to the balcony level seating. And a grand chandelier now hung—and sparkled—in the center of the room.

“Have you not been here since we finished the lobby?” James was walking backwards towards his office in order to watch The Doctor’s expressions of awe.

“Not to this extent anyway. You, sir, have outdone yourself.”

“I c-can’t take all the credit. Ace is the creative one.” Almost as soon as he had spoken, James began to second-guess his choice to name drop.

The Doctor’s footsteps slowed, but his expression remained largely unchanged as he continued to scan the room. “How is Ace?”

James carefully continued to his desk. “She’s doing well. I—I actually haven’t seen her in a while; she lives in Kalgara now.”

“Kalgara, eh?”

James sat down even more carefully. “She’s... married now.”

The Doctor flopped into the guest chair in front of James’ desk, his brows raised in a cheerful surprise. “Is she? Someone I’d know?”

“Dorian.”

The Doctor grinned leaning back in an exaggerated nod. “Of course. You know, I was always second in Gem’s heart to Dorian from the get-go.”

This time James got caught up at the mention of her name. It had been so long since he’d heard Ace referred to by her former nickname that it almost seemed foreign to his ears.

“Well—well good.” The Doctor noted James’ lack of words and nodded as he leaned forward in the chair. “I’m happy for them. And you, too, brother-in-law.” He offered a grin.

James smiled in return, thankful the conversation hadn’t slipped into an uncomfortable place.

“So, what, now you’re manning this place on your own?” The Doctor gestured his hands out.

James brought his fingers to his chin and scratched the stubble. “No, Elise has been helping me, and I’ve hired a stage manager for—”

“Elise?” The Doctor perked up. His eyes grew wider when the focused on James’ hand—and the ring on his finger. “James!”

James’ face flushed, and he flexed his fingers. “Y-yes?”

“You’re married too!” The Doctor could scarcely remain on the edge of the chair out of excitement, although at once his face drooped into mild outrage. “Why was I not invited??”

With a simple turn, James nonchalantly slipped a small lilac envelope from the bookshelf behind him and handed it to The Doctor. “You are.”

The Doctor adeptly slipped out the card, looked at the date, nodded, and then slipped it into his inside coat pocket. “I’ll be there.”

“You were.” The man grinned.

The two men chuckled and allowed the conversation to lull. The Doctor managed to scoot back into the chair, at last seeming to be more settled—and less fidgety.

“So,” James knew the question needed to come up regardless of The Doctor’s intentions, “how have you been?”

“Not bad.”

“F-feeling okay?”

“I’m always okay,” he clasped his hands together. “I’m the King of Okay!”

“Doctor.”

His brows lowered. “Oi! It’s not my fault I’ve not got any big news like you, you know.”

“I’m—I’m not expecting you to,” James tried, maintaining his usual laidback composure. “I just k-kn—know when you’re hiding something.”

The Doctor huffed, his bangs flopping back into his face. “Can the reason just be I need a human being to be around for a bit?” He averted his eyes as James looked on. “It’s been... lonely.”

Empathy filled James’ expression. “Of course.”

“And the voice interface version of you is completely useless.”

James initially laughed, only to pause. “Th-the what version of me?”

A smile again cracked across The Doctor’s face. “Say, can I pull you out of time-travel retirement for one more trip?”

The man playfully fingered his chin as his eyes slid aside. “I don’t know...”

“I’ve been needing to visit Diana...” The Doctor added innocently.

“Deal.” James rose from his chair with a wide smile. “But you’ve got to bring me back to this exact moment.”

Accepting victory, The Doctor leapt up from his chair and bounced into the lobby.

“I mean it,” James called, grabbing a scarf from his coat rack. “I have a wife now w-who will not approve of me being late for dinner!”

“I will bring you back to this exact moment,” The Doctor turned and verified his words, although the smug look was still warming his face.

James rolled his eyes and looked down with a smile. “I’ve m-missed this. I’m not going to lie.” He slipped off his reading glasses and held them in his hand. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“So have I, good sir.” He patted James on the back.

While the smirks and smiles were strong, James couldn’t help but notice a much darker undertone to The Doctor’s usually playful manner—long before their talk of the woman once known as Gemini could have dulled it. He wavered with concern as the Time Lord strolled out the door in front of him. Hopefully, The Doctor would come around and let him know what was truly going on.

---

Chapter 2

“Watch your step!” The Doctor commented as he opened the TARDIS door and started inside.

James, however, pulled himself to a stop shortly after his shoes hit the metal bridge. Instead of the warm orange hues of the interior he was used to, his eyes were met with dimly lit blue-green panels and cold, metal platforms. The organic forms were replaced with tall spires and hexagonal patterns. A row of bright lights lined the upper level with dimmer, red-orange lights spaced below.  The spacious entryway was no more than a bridge to the command console, and a staircase lead on to an upper level with a single entrance to rooms beyond. In short, the TARDIS no longer held the same feeling of endless excitement; only a cold, direct path to its purpose of moving from one place, and time, to another.

“It’s... different,” the man finally spoke when he noticed The Doctor eyeing him from across the room.

“Oh, yes! I redecorated not too long ago. How do you like it?”

James’ lips tugged, noticing similarities in some of the stylistic choices to that of the only other TARDIS he had seen. “It looks like hers.”

“It does not.” The Doctor dismissed quickly.

“Y-you know there’s no shame in that,” the elder brother offered a smirk.

“Have you never learned color theory, Mister Handyman? I simply chose an opposing color scheme to the one I had previously. I can’t help it that Gem...” He trailed off, his eyes reflecting the light of the blue column before him. “I simply needed a change. Plenty of time to change, you know, when you’ve no one to travel with.”

“I th—thought you were going to recruit someone?” James walked across the metal bridge to where The Doctor stood.

“I tried, but everyone was already busy with their own lives.”

James now stood face to face with his friend, noting an increasing look of sadness—and possibly even weariness—in his eyes. “You’ve been alone too long,” he said simply.

The sad eyes rolled as the man rocked on his heels and turned away. “I’m almost twelve-hundred years old. I know how to handle being alone.”

“B-but, do you?” He glanced around the room. “You’ve quite literally taken all the f—fun out of your TARDIS.”

“I kept the pool.”

James again was forced to smirk and move on. “Right.” He leaned around the glowing column and tried to catch a glimpse at what the Time Lord was doing.

The Doctor was glaring down, seemingly at the console near his fingers. He looked up when the silence grew long.

“Were we going to see Diana?” James offered carefully.

“But, of course!” The man snapped upright and immediately donned a jovial expression. He slipped around to the main screen and plucked in the coordinates. He continued to move in short, excited bursts, including dashing towards the doors once they arrived on Fortis-Novus.

James could only shake his head and follow, although the prospect of seeing his niece gave a lightness to his own steps as he walked out into the streets of the Pavo village.

The TARDIS was parked around the corner from the home of Vance and Amaya Edwards, mostly because he didn’t want to spoil the surprise of his arrival with the whirring of a materializing time-machine outside the door. But, he also enjoyed waving to the elderly woman who lived next door who always seemed to be outside on her corner stoop watering her garden. James also offered the woman a wave as he jogged to catch up with The Doctor’s exuberance.

The Doctor was already in front of the Edwards’ home when James approached, tapping the wooden door with his knuckles. The door creaked open by a crack and stopped.

“Knock knock!” The Doctor announced.

“Who’s there?” A voice that cracked between high and low returned.

“The Doctor!”

“Doctor who?”

“Correct.” The Doctor pushed open the door inserted his head into the house.

Amadeus was standing in the hallway in a blue tunic that seemed too large for thin arms and lanky legs. His chestnut hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, and his pale blue eyes were even brighter in light from outside. A wide grin spilled across his face, and he was about to say something when a wisp of a teenage girl bounded around the corner and practically tossed him aside.

“Dad!!” Diana squeaked, throwing herself into The Doctor’s arms and promptly backing him into the door frame.

“Oof!” The Doctor struggled, tilting his head over the mass of brown hair in his face. But soon, the smile won over and he clutched her tightly against him. “My Diana, I’ve missed you too!”

The girl pulled her head back, giving him a smirk beneath her big green eyes and messy bangs. “What are you doing surprising me like this? It’s not even Christmas!”

“You know me,” the father grinned, “always full of surprises!” The grin soon turned nostalgic when he recognized Gemini within her playful expression.

“H—hey Diana!” James peeked around The Doctor’s shoulder.

Diana squealed again and pushed her dad aside to hug him. “Uncle James! You came too!”

“C—can’t pass up a trip to see you!” He squeezed her back, then leaned away while keeping an arm around her. “You’re getting tall!”

She giggled and leveled her hand to trace her height against his, which landed at his shoulder. “You still win.”

He laughed and dug his hand into his coat pocket. “I b-brought you something.”

His niece’s green eyes were wide as she watched him produce a small, thin box. “Uncle James, you don’t have to get me something every time—”

“Yes I do,” he smirked, handing her the box. “That’s my duty as an uncle.”

She giggled and slipped it open to reveal a silver feather on a delicate chain. Her eyes grew even wider as she let out a gasp and lifted it from the box. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” She exclaimed, slipping it over her head and admiring how it glimmered against her blue tunic.

The Doctor turned to the doorstep. “Is James making me look bad again?”

The two answered oppositely in unison.

“Yes!”

“No.”

The Doctor put a hand on his head and laughed. 

Diana gave James a kiss on the cheek and thanked him before she tucked back inside to pester her father.

This allowed James to accept a hug from Amadeus as the boy wiggled through the doorway. “How are you doing, sir?” James asked.

“If I was any better, I’d be twins!” The young man announced.

James’ mouth opened, but only twisted into a confused smile.

A light voice was next to reach their ears. “I had a feeling you two were coming!”

James glanced over Amadeus to find Amaya bouncing down the hall. Like her son and adopted daughter, her excitement to see her house guests was more than apparent. She managed to duck around Diana and Amadeus to loop The Doctor and James’ necks around each of her arms.

“Amaya! So good to see you,” The Doctor slid an arm around her back as James tried the same. “How are the children doing?”

“We’re great!” Amadeus spouted.

“Totally the best kids ever!” Diana nodded, hands clasped at her waist.

“I know—I was asking your mother for her opinion.” He raised an eyebrow.

“They’re doing well, but I’ll warn you: they are everything that’s ever been said about teenagers,” Vance poked his head around the corner.

“Which means we’re totally great!” The lanky boy clarified with his hand shielding his mouth from his father.

The group chuckled as they shifted from the doorway and into the sitting room down the hall. 

The usual catching-up conversations began; how the kids were doing, what hobbies they were into, how James and the theater were doing, and how Vance’s brother Ed was fairing in Fortanya—among many others. A few conversations drifted to The Doctor and his travels, but he was able to wiggle out of the topic each time without revealing much.

After another attempt—prompted by James—The Doctor’s daughter ribbed him with her fist in his side. “Come on, Dad; you always have some sort of cool adventure story when you come.”

“Maybe you’ve already heard them all,” he looked down his nose at her.

“All of time and space and I’ve heard them all? Please!” She tucked her knees onto the couch cushion to sit on her legs. It was obvious she had inherited her father’s inability to sit still.

He was about to shrug and offer a response, but a knock at the door interrupted the moment. Amadeus was on his feet and sprinting to the door seconds later.

“Sorry we’re late,” a woman’s voice called down the hall once the door was opened. “It’s like arguing with Sontarans to get these two to put on enough clothes to go out into public.”

The Doctor turned his head to see Hydra come in from the hallway, followed shortly after by Mano and Nick—the latter, shirtless. The former rolled his eyes as he stuck to his wife’s side, but Nick remained in the hallway, already knee-deep in a conversation with Amadeus.

“Hydra, Mano,” The Doctor stood respectfully and gave a short nod.

The Time Lord was noticeably taken aback. “Doctor! We weren’t expecting to see you today.” A smile then filled her expression, albeit under pricked eyebrows. “But, it’s good to see you.”

“Likewise.” He smiled in return. He glanced down at Diana, still sitting on the sofa. Her expression—and the color of her face—had drastically changed as her eyes froze upon the young man standing in the hallway with Amadeus.

“Yeah, remember my comment about them being teenagers?” Vance chuckled as The Doctor craned his neck and donned an exaggerated look of shock.

Diana didn’t appear to notice either of them. She slowly, deliberately, extended one leg off the couch to stand up, and she just as carefully stepped past Hydra and Mano with her eyes fixed upon Nick. “I’ll be back, Dad,” she said offhandedly as the bare-chested, blue-eyed teen glanced up at her.

“Oof,” The Doctor heavily flopped back onto the sofa as the trio of teens disappeared down the hall and out to the back door. “I knew this would come, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“How q-quickly you become number two,” Diana’s uncle smirked.

“Hey, I didn’t see you there,” Hydra glanced around Vance to find James. “It’s like a whole reunion here, isn’t it.”

“I think this is the best!” Amaya clasped her hands together. “We’re just lacking one more!”

The Doctor scanned the room as Hydra and Mano took their seats across from him. “One more? Who?”

As if on cue, another knock pounded upon the door, and, without his son to do the honors, Vance got up to let their final guest inside. The door, however, opened before he made it to the hallway.

“Hello, friends!” A squawk resounded through the house.

“Feidal??” The Doctor turned to Amaya. The young woman could only giggle.

Sure enough, the tall, golden humanoid thrust her beaked head into the room. Her feathers ruffled with excitement. “JAMES!!” She cried, promptly ignoring Vance at her side and everyone else in the room.

James had barely risen from his chair before the Dalkon warrior wrapped her arms around him and lifted him a few inches from the ground.

“Hi—Feidal!” He managed to squeak out of his compressed lungs.

She released him, though her chest remained proudly puffed. “I am well pleased to see you! I consider James to be a close friend!”

“I consider you a close friend too, Feidal.” James smiled warmly. “You have always been kind and considerate to me and my f-family.”

“What delays you from visiting more?” The bird’s beak clacked as her hands drew to her hips.

“I do apologize, as that’s mostly my fault,” The Doctor peeked around her.

Her purple eyes widened. “Doctor is here too!” Her sharp brow was quick to return. “Yes! Why you not bring James all the time?”

“Well, I—”

“Ah!” She abruptly turned when she noticed the brown-haired woman seated beside her. “Hydra! Where is boy?”

Hydra laughed and rolled her eyes. “Boy has a name, and Nick’s outside with the other two if I had to guess.”

“Perfect! I shall see how training has come.” The bird promptly left the room, leaving the others behind in silence. Feidal’s oddities had not changed one bit.

“Feidal is training Nick?” James turned to Hydra and Mano.

Hydra nodded, glancing at her hands in her lap. “I’ll admit, I was still shocked she’d even want to talk to me after what I’d done here.”

Though it had been many years, James still vividly remembered the journey he, The Doctor, and Gemini had taken to Fortis-Novus when he and his sister were still novices in the time-travelling game. Hydra had been the one to set the trap in motion, and it had almost cost many of their lives, not to mention his own. It was unfathomable at that time that he would ever end up fighting alongside Hydra as an ally—much less sit together with her family growing up with his own.

“Th-there was still a lot we didn’t know then,” he offered as he returned his thoughts to the room. “We’ve all learned, and grown, so much since then. It’s clear Feidal understands that too.”

She smirked and drew up her eyes. “Spoken like a Sentinel.”

James found a smile. It had been some time since he had been referred to in such a way.

“Feidal’s been keeping all of their skills sharp,” Amaya said as she curled her legs up beside Vance. “Dalkons are very adept at using both weaponry as well as their own force to disarm opponents.”

“And it’s a great way to channel their excess energy,” Vance added with a grin.

The Doctor made a few paces across the room. “I may go take a look—you know, since this may be my best chance to see my own daughter now that I’m number two,” he shot a glance at James.

The elder brother laughed. “I’ll come too.”

While the others stayed behind to talk about their latest parenting escapades, The Doctor and James joined Feidal and the children outside in the home’s modest backyard. They stayed out of the way, watching as Feidal worked as a trainer for the three motley teens. Amadeus had to be continually reminded to focus as he was constantly distracted by various points of the backyard. Diana was strong, but was also somewhat distracted whenever Nick caught her eye. Nick was focused, but Feidal was quick to point out where he could improve his form—and to balk at him for trying to show off in front of Diana.

“It’s... so strange,” James noted offhandedly as the three teens began to thrust forward with staves in their hands. “We’ve almost caught up with the time when we first met them.”

“And little do Diana and Nick know, Ian’s going to be the one to truly steal her heart,” The Doctor grinned, bemused. “Time travel can really mess with your head, eh?”

The dark-haired man turned to The Doctor. “That’s actually something I’d—I’d been meaning to ask you about.”

“Ah, what’s that?”

Before James could speak, Feidal’s beak clacked together as she stormed over. “James—come and stand!”

“D-do what?”

“Attention is too difficult for these!” She exasperatedly thrust her hand at Diana and Nick. “Come and stand in between!”

James raised his brows and shot The Doctor a glance as the Dalkon tugged him into the yard. Behind them, Diana appeared mortified as she covered her face while Nick nonchalantly ran his fingers through his dark hair.

The Doctor laughed and waved him off. He then leapt when he found Amadeus inches from his shoulder, tugging on his arm.

“Yes?” The Time Lord instinctively leaned away when the young oracle’s blue eyes remained locked on his own.

“And now it’s time for one last bow, like those who came before...”

The Doctor’s face went white and he attempted to back away, but Amadeus’s grip held firm and his voice remained trancelike.

“The Fall of the Eleventh...”

“S-s-stop it,” The Doctor began stammering. “Stop it, De!”

The blue eyes turned up. “...On the fields of Trenzalore.”

The Doctor winced and at once bolted from the yard.

Amadeus blinked out of the trance. “Di, I think I prophesied something!”

James turned as Diana dropped her staff and ran over to her adoptive brother, and he caught the edge of a plum-colored coat slip through the side gate behind them. He pressed his lips together with determination and ran after him.

Once outside, he found The Doctor storming down the street toward the TARDIS.

“Doctor,” James was tight on the Time Lord’s heels, “c-c—can you just s—stop for a minute??” When he tried to grab him by the coat and missed, he resorted to throwing up a light shield in front of him.

The Doctor skid to a stop. “James!!” He craned his neck over his shoulder, although he was unable to retaliate further when he saw the look of concern filling his friend’s brown eyes.

“Please, Doctor,” James spoke firmly, turning the man by his coat to face him squarely, “Just—tell me. Tell me what’s going on. Tell me what you’re hiding,” he paused, “and why you’re so scared.”

The Doctor’s lips were parted. His brows were furrowed, and the shadow had returned to veil his eyes. He looked piercingly at James, taking and releasing a deep breath. “What would you do if you saw your own grave?” He asked darkly.

Concern intensified on James’ brow. “Wh...”

“All of a sudden, that moment in time that didn’t matter because it felt so far away,” his fingers seemed to pinch the moment from the air, “was literally just outside my doorstep.” His fist balled up and dropped. 

“But,” James was still trying to form a functional sentence, “c-can’t you regenerate?”

The Doctor pulled away to avert his eyes. “Not anymore.”

James winced. “Then, can’t you change it?”

“No.”

“But we stopped Dorian from—”

“Certain things cannot be changed, James,” The Doctor turned back to him, frustration peppering his tone. “If I witness an outcome, I cannot change it. It becomes a fixed point in my timeline; The Time War, the destruction of Gallifrey, Gemini losing control...” He scowled so intensely his eyes squeezed shut, “and the death of The Doctor.”

Concern had shifted to a fearful disbelief. “No,” the brother shook his head.

The Doctor opened his eyes. “I saw it. I heard it out of De’s mouth. It is fixed: Trenzalore is where I’m going.”

James grit his teeth. “But—Doctor!”

He turned away from James completely. “I’m sorry, but my timeline has just become very finite.”

The older brother bowed his head and crossed his arms against his chest. Of all the things he could have surmised were causing The Doctor’s sadness and fear, this was not one of them. “So... what do we do?” He finally asked.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder, eyes wet. “That’s an excellent question.”

The two friends stood in silence, both shifting between glancing at the other and staring at the ground. At last, James let out a deep breath and straightened up. “Let’s start by going back inside and spending time w-with our family.”

The Time Lord found the smallest of smiles. “There you go, taking command when I’m a useless mess again.”

James stepped over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “S—somebody’s got to.”

Though James’ wings weren’t visible, The Doctor could feel the Sentinel’s power around him like a warm wind. “I’m glad I brought you,” he admitted softly.

“I am too.”

With that, the two turned and started back to the Edwards’ home.

“Now, weren’t you trying to ask me something a moment ago?” The Doctor tried to return to a sense of normalcy.

James nodded. “Oh! Yes, it’s—it’s a-about...” He huffed through a word block. “One thing I’ve been wondering is how I’m supposed to know when to do all the things the Elder Sentinel did? I mean, all of the recruits are right there inside, and Ian told me I’d find him in Fortanya—”

The Doctor waved a hand to interrupt him. “Oh, no that’s not you, that’s an alternate you that has to witness Gemini—”

He froze. His mouth still hung upon her name. His eyes remained fixed at a point behind James’ head. Slowly, without changing his expression, his body rose and his back straightened.

“James, you brilliant man...”

James blinked. “What?”

His eyes lit up as they locked onto the Sentinel. “There’s still one of her out there! There’s still a Gemini out there!!”

Disbelief held James in place as The Doctor grabbed him by the arms. “Wh—what do you mean??

“The Elder Sentinel has to witness his sister never coming home after her capture by ORBIT; that spurs him to go off, track us all down, and build the army to rescue her. So, if he’s out there...” His mouth was spread wide as thoughts and emotions raced through his head.

“Gemini’s out there too.” James concluded, scarcely above a whisper as his gaze drifted in realization.

“And maybe,” The Doctor’s eyes at once filled with their familiar spark of hope, “maybe she still remembers me.”

---

Chapter 3

The Doctor sighed as he shuffled through the TARDIS doors. Evening was falling upon the village, and he and James had taken the opportunity to say their goodbyes when Feidal announced she needed to return home. Neither were prepared with just how deep the goodbyes would hit since being armed with more recent knowledge.

James silently stepped through after him, glancing up at The Doctor as the Time Lord trudged slowly to the central console. Somehow, they had each maintained their composure through the hugs and handshakes, despite the sinking feeling in the back of their minds that it could be their last.

A third pair of footsteps met their ears, and James turned to see Amaya standing in the doorway.

“Hey,” James tried as the woman’s blue eyes looked upon him in sadness.

He was swept into a hug moments later. James closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. Although she had retired from her duties as an oracle, Amaya still knew what was going on.

“You take care, Sentinel,” she smiled as she pulled away.

James was tearing up, and he nodded when he found himself unable to speak. He then stepped aside with his back against the bridge’s railing as she continued toward the console.

The Doctor’s face had also grown sorrowful, but as she stepped up to him, he saw determination in her eyes.

“You’re running headfirst into wildfire,” she prophesied softly.

“I know,” The Doctor bowed his head. “But it’s worth the risk.”

She smiled as her eyes regained their focus, and she slipped her hands forward to grasp him in one last embrace.

The Doctor’s face ran through a multitude of expressions before he settled on closing his eyes and resting his head upon hers.

“Tell her hi for me,” Amaya spoke into his plum-colored waistcoat, “and tell her I miss her.”

Her surety caused a grin to tug at his lips. “I will,” he answered.

She stepped back and offered a reassuring smile, and it rapidly spread to the Time Lord’s lips. Even James, still leaning against the railing on the bridge, found his expression warming.

“Amaya,” The Doctor reached out to her as she started to turn away. “Thank you,” he bit his lip. “Thank you, and Vance, for all you’ve done for Diana. She’s... everything she could have been, and more, because of you.” He huffed, trying to maintain composure. “I wish I could—could tell her...”

“I’ll tell her when it’s time.” The woman smiled, “Don’t worry.”

He nodded tearfully.

“If you’re able to come back, please do. But I know the time of travelling is coming to an end.” She then smiled to herself, looking down at her hands. “And, thank you for all you’ve given me, too. I would never have made the friends I have—or met my husband—without you. And we do have totally great children.” She added with a chuckle.

At last, the weight of sadness that had blanketed the TARDIS’ console room was broken. James chuckled under his breath while a toothy grin spread across The Doctor’s face.

“That they are,” he laughed. “That they are.”

- - -

James roused from sleep, blinking against the blue light shining into his dark room from the cracked door. He groaned and got up from the bed and slipped his shoes back on. He paused when the routine reminded him of his days as a regular traveller on the TARDIS. Even the bedroom he rose from had been preserved exactly as he had remembered it—despite The Doctor’s renovations to the rest of the TARDIS.

As he stepped into the hall, memories of his travels with The Doctor flooded his mind and left him nostalgic. There were still moments, even in the daily grind of his own life in Fortanya, where the carefree days of time-travel beckoned back to him. The commitments and duties of everyday life were left far behind and replaced with the discovery of new worlds. There was a certain excitement of not knowing where, or when, you’d end up next. There was curiosity in making new friends across planets, as well as species. 

But those days were not always so carefree.

The finality of time, even as a time-traveller, resurfaced, and he was reminded why he opted to cease his travels with The Doctor after the battle against ORBIT. There had been too many perilous moments—too many close calls—and these soon outweighed that initial excitement. Watching his sister rise with power, find the love of her life, and give birth to a daughter, only for it to all be stripped from her memory still haunted him like a scar at the back of his mind.

As he found himself standing outside Gemini’s former room, James knew he didn’t need to open the door to know it, too, had been preserved as a sort of time capsule of their life together. The Doctor wouldn’t have dared to touch his memories of her.

He sighed and continued down the hall and into the control room. He didn’t initially see The Doctor, but he knew he was nearby. He started down to the main level and caught a glimpse of a plum-colored coat below the console through the gaps in the stairs.

“Doctor?”

“Ah, good morning. At least, I think it’s morning,” his voice echoed in the room.

James climbed down to the lowest level and found The Doctor sitting on a bench-like platform that encircled the base of the glowing central column. Bundles of wires bent and curled through the metal braces overhead, and another hallway opened up behind him.

“Wh-where’s that go?”

The Doctor had both arms bent to brace himself with his hands on his thighs. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder. “My quarters.”

“Get any sleep?”

The Time Lord leaned more heavily on his knees. “Not when I know what’s out there.”

“Trenzalore?”

He dropped his gaze. “Gemini.”

James nodded. “How can we find her?”

“We?”

The Sentinel crossed his arms. “I assume you didn’t have me sleep over just to drop me off before you go looking.”

A smile played on The Doctor’s lips. “What if I just kept you for company?”

“You’re allowed,” his arms remained crossed, “but you can’t expect me to do n-nothing.”

The Doctor got up, grinning. “All right, then. Let’s see what we can do!”

The two returned to the main level and flicked on the control screen. The Doctor opened his coat and pulled his sonic screwdriver from the inside pocket. He dropped it into a slot on the console, and with a few keystrokes, the slot lit up around the screwdriver.

“What are you doing?” James leaned over the console.

“When I repaired Gem’s TARDIS, I set my sonic as one of two keys—the other being her Seal of Rassilon pendant,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m using my key to find when her key was last used in that particular timeline.” His eyes glanced up at the screen, and sure enough, the coordinates appeared.

United States. Baltimore, Maryland. Year 1849 A.D., Anno Domini, local time. Date, 30 September.

“Baltimore,” he repeated before realization hit. “Right; that was when Gem flew off to Edgar Allan Poe’s aid.” His expression soured. “And the whole thing ended up being a trap for them both.”

James had also begun to scowl. “I remember that. She got scared and ran away after the... incident with Janavene.” He instinctively brought a hand to his temple, remembering the painful incident well.

“And in that timeline, that would have been the last time we ever saw her.” The Doctor solemnly turned to the elder brother.

He winced and shook his head. “I don’t like that.”

“Precisely why your other self took it upon himself to stop it from happening.”

“But that didn’t stop one Gemini from being lost?”

The Doctor steepled his hands. “Remember the ‘fixed points’ conversation we had? Gemini getting captured is a fixed point. However, that point branches into two different timelines.” He split his hands apart. “There’s one where Gemini is rescued, and one where Gemini isn’t. The Elder Sentinel is in the second, but he hopped timelines to recruit us to help rescue Gem in the first. Got it?”

James scratched his head as he watched The Doctor’s hands pantomime through the explanation. “I—I think so.”

“And in this second, non-rescued timeline, this is the last point the TARDIS key locked her TARDIS. Now, let’s see if it can’t find where her TARDIS and her key went from there...”

Location unknown.

“Oh, don’t start that again!!” The Doctor pointed his finger fiercely at the monitor.

“B-but we know where ORBIT took her after that: we broke her out of their base. Shouldn’t we just go there?”

“No; a TARDIS popping up anywhere near ORBIT’s base is asking for trouble,” The Doctor chewed on his bottom lip. “Besides, the Elder Sentinel’s plan needs to remain in tact. We cannot go there and risk interfering by ending up in the wrong timeline.”

James hunched his shoulders uncomfortably. “But what if that’s... the last place she was?”

The Doctor’s movements slowed. Hesitantly, he turned to the control panel and entered in a series of commands. An outline of ORBIT’s base popped onto a secondary monitor. “The Organization for Restoring Balance In Time, Earthrise Space Station,” The Doctor read, scrolling through a box full of text. “Established in AD 2011 and—” he gasped the remainder of the sentence.

James worriedly turned to The Doctor. “What??”

“And... exploded in AD 2021.” His face had paled.

The brother’s form sunk. “Th—the Elder Sentinel said h—he had to witness his sister not come home...”

The Doctor huffed a breath through his mouth. “No,” he said softly. “I know Gem. She’d find a way off. She would not allow herself to die there. There’s a difference between not coming home and... dying.”

“All right,” the brother submitted, “so, then what?”

“Then, this piece of junk needs to find her TARDIS!!” He slammed his hands back upon the console.

Location unknown.

James caught The Doctor’s hand before he could thrust it into the screen. “Okay, so we’re looking for a particular timeline,” he quickly tried to walk through the scenario and ward off the Time Lord’s rage. “Can’t you track all instances of Gemini somehow? A—After all, you found her in the first place because of her messed-up timelines.”

“Stop bringing logic into this!” The Doctor barked as the pointed finger returned to James’ face. He then turned and did as he was told. “I can search for Gemini’s time fingerprint!” He announced as his fingers pattered across the console.

“Fingerprint?”

“Every being has a unique fingerprint in the universe. If I input hers, I should be able to track down any instance of her fingerprint. But,” he waved a hand at James, “I need to find one that recently travelled a great distance. That should narrow things down to a Gemini who recently escaped ORBIT and is now safely settled in a new location.”

“Makes sense,” James watched The Doctor exuberantly hit the final key.

Searching...

The word appeared on the screen, blinking slowly as it scanned. The two men gazed at the screen as if entranced.

Suddenly, The Doctor leaned backward. “What is taking so long?”

“Doctor, it’s been, like, ten seconds—”

“I can’t wait for this!” He threw his hands in the air.

A small beep regained his attention, and they both turned their attention to the screen.

Fingerprint Found: The Tallelands. Spades. Fortanya. Year 515 D.R., Daethos’ Reign, local time.

“The Tallelands?” James tilted his head.

The date struck a chord with The Doctor as his face grew dim. “No, I know that one. That’s the rescued, memory-wiped Gemini.” He sighed heavily and removed the result from the search.

Searching...

Again, the two stood in a brief moment of silence before The Doctor huffed and started to pace across the metal platform. After a few minutes of this, his agitation was beginning to rub off on James.

“That’s not going to make it go any faster,” James scowled.

The Doctor, however, continued to pace, grumbling under his breath. When he started repeatedly going up and down the staircase, the usually composed Sentinel let out grunt and encased The Doctor in a bubble of light.

After watching the screen for a few more minutes, he sighed and released him.

The Doctor was scowling with his fists clenched when his figure reappeared. “I bet you think you’re so clever—so funny—using your powers to put me into time-out like a child!!” His voice elevated and his movements grew more intense the longer he spoke.

“I—I know y-you have a short attention span, b-b—but your attitude is not helping this!” James, flustered, stammered through his words.

“Short attention span??” He spat, walking briskly toward James.

“Am I wrong??” The Sentinel spread open his arms.

“You, sir, are overstepping your bounds!”

“I’m t—t—” James gnashed his teeth, “I’m trying to help!!”

A small beep slipped in below the argument.

“Oh, so that makes insulting me acceptable behavior??” The Doctor glanced at the monitor below his furrowed brows. “Oh there’s one,” he said simply, only for his entire body to lift upon the realization of the words he had just spoken. “There’s one!!”

“You found her??” James flew around the console.

“I found a her,” The Doctor held the edges of the monitor with both hands as if to get a better look.

Fingerprint Found: The Tallelands. Northaven. Fortanya. Spades District. Year 522 D.R., Daethos’ Reign, local time.

“That’s not the same one?” James’ brow furrowed.

“No; a completely different instance!” The Doctor half smiled.

“But it’s still The Tallelands,” he shook his head, “that can’t be right.”

“Why not? If you were captured and finally escaped, wouldn’t you try to get back home?”

“M—maybe,” the older brother didn’t sound convinced. “But then, wouldn’t the Elder Sentinel be able to find her?”

“He may have already left to begin the mission, or she could be laying low out of fear and they never crossed paths—but there’s only one way to find out!” A grin had spread across The Doctor’s lips as he pulled a lever. His giddiness again wore off on James, and both were smiling as the TARDIS whirred to life, making a quick trip to the location of Gemini’s fingerprint. They both turned to each other as the sounds wound down, and both ended up averting their eyes as guilt faded their smiles.

“I’m sorry,” James spoke first.

The Doctor shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. My actions, and words, were uncalled for.”

“So were mine.”

The two friends finally met each others’ gazes again, and between James’ half-smile and the Doctor’s weak smirk, they reached toward the other and shook hands.

“Well, we’ve arrived!” The Doctor tilted his head to the door and started across the bridge.

James was quick to follow him, but he was just as quick to skid to a stop when The Doctor turned on his heels with his hands raised.

“You should stay here.”

“A—after—Excuse me??”

The Doctor clasped his hands together at his chest. “I’m not sure we need you running into your other self.”

“I’ve already run into him once,” James frowned.

“Potentially not in his timeline,” he pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

The dark-haired man drew in a breath and slowly released it. “Fine. But be careful. The whole reason I’m here is to make sure—”

“I can take care of this one,” he interrupted. “There should be nothing to worry about here in normal old Fortanya.”

His dark eyes remained unchanged. “You s-say that, but this is you we’re talking about.”

The Doctor put a hand on James’ shoulder, falling into a knowing smirk. “I know, Sentinel. I promise, I’ll be careful. I’ll check in as soon as I can.”

“Please.”

The Doctor’s smirk warmed to appreciation. “I’ll be back.”

He patted his shoulder and turned outside.

- - -

The Doctor was on high alert as he blended into the bustling foot traffic on the streets of Fortanya. Every brown-haired woman caught his eye; and, so far, every one of them was not Gemini. He knew he would be able to recognize her if he saw her, but finding her among the masses was going to prove difficult.

After wandering aimlessly for a while, he grimaced and slipped onto a less crowded street. His heightened anxiety was beginning to run him ragged. His hearts were pounding, heat flared from the collar of his shirt, and his entire body seemed to tremble. A potent mixture deep worry, uncertainty, and every worst-case scenario was cutting into his mind. What if he scoured the city for days and did not find her? And if he found her, what if she refused to speak to him? After all, she had to break herself out of ORBIT’s hands on her own; she had every right to feel lost and abandoned. 

But what if, when he found her, she didn’t recognize him?

A new feeling flashed into his mind: doubt. He was so sure she would have escaped with her life, but now he was not so sure she would escaped with her memories, too. Who was to say her time with ORBIT wouldn’t have pushed her to the same point of no return? 

His chest grew tight. Breathless, he gasped for air and staggered sideways until his body bumped into the wall of a shop. Panic was overtaking his form, and he was beginning to lose focus of his surroundings.

“Oh—sir!” A young man’s voice reached his ears. “Sir!”

The Doctor, still clutching the shop wall, glanced up and tried to focus on the source of the voice as it ran towards him.

“Sir, are you all right?” The man cautiously put a hand on The Doctor’s shoulder, and he leaned down to get on eye-level with his slumped form.

“Yes—sorry—I’m all right,” The Doctor attempted to straighten up, though the man was quick to hold out his arm to steady him. “Thank you,” he half-smiled, looking kindly up at the stranger’s face.

His smile faded. The man’s green eyes held a familiar look of curiosity—a look he had not seen in a long time.

“I’m The Doctor, by the way,” he offered his hand carefully.

The young man smiled at The Doctor’s hand and took it. “I’m Ace,” he replied. “Ace Gallagher.”

---

Chapter 4

The Doctor’s form slumped back against the wall. “You’re Ace Gallagher??”

“Uh oh; you’ve heard of me,” a cautious smirk tugged on Ace’s lips. “Should I be worried?”

“Oh—no! No, not at all!” The Doctor was still wide-eyed as he looked over the man standing before him. His form was thin, yet sturdy, dressed in a dark blue tunic with brown pants and black boots. His brown hair—save for a patch of white that fell on the right side of his face—was pulled back into a ponytail. A black headband stood out against his pale skin, and it was pushed up against his hairline beneath his bangs. But his green eyes confirmed whom he had found: the eyes were the same. 

“I’ve just... heard of your... acting!” The Doctor guessed, thrusting a pointed finger at Ace. “You’re an actor, right?”

“You’ve heard of me from my acting?” Ace chuckled. “Now I’m really worried!”

“No! I’ve heard you’re brilliant! A brilliant actor!”

“Ha,” Ace grinned, although it held more than a little embarrassment. “Well, I haven’t been on the stage as much lately; there’s been a lot going on. But, I appreciate it.”

The Doctor nodded, and the two fell into an awkward silence. He chewed on his lip and tried to determine what he should do next. He had found Gemini’s fingerprint, and it was not Gemini. The search would have to continue, and his anxiety again began to flare at the prospect of returning to the TARDIS empty-handed.

“Doctor,” Ace noted his drifting attention and paling expression, “are you sure you’re okay?”

The Doctor glanced back at him, unable to hide his worry as his brows peaked on his forehead. “No. Yes! I mean... I just need... I could use a cup of tea.”

“There’s a café around the corner,” Ace gestured behind him.

“Right,” he nodded, “I’ll head that way. Thank you, sir.”

Ace, however, stepped into his way. “I’ll come with you.”

“Oh, I...” He trailed off when he found a very familiar look of concern in Ace’s eyes. It was almost disarming. “Lead the way, then,” he gave in with a smile.

- - -

What could have been a brief trip to the café turned into an entire afternoon of visiting with this particular fingerprint of Ace Gallagher. The two eased seamlessly into jovial banter and pleasant conversation, and as The Doctor’s mood lightened, Ace was beginning to seem like an old friend he had known for years. Ace was also enjoying the visit, and as he grew more comfortable, The Doctor was able to pick up on the little quirks and slight personality differences that set him apart. 

A brief visit from that timeline’s James alerted Ace that he needed to do a few things at the theater, and he invited his new friend to come with them. The Doctor agreed, figuring the extra time spent wouldn’t be wasted, and he was pleased to find the relationship between Ace and James—and the theater they owned—practically identical to the one he had known. He heard of their adventures, their mishaps, and how successful the theater had become. He learned that since becoming a Kalgaran knight, Ace’s time at the theater was being split with his time in Kalgara. Still, the brothers were content, and getting to know them over the course of the afternoon had been oddly comforting to The Doctor.

Now, beneath the warm light of the gas lanterns and the fading blue sky overhead, they walked along the canal. He knew his time here was drawing to a close.

As they approached a small stone cottage at the corner of the street, a man with very short black hair and a pale blue tunic waved at them from the door stoop.

“Hey Elliot!” Ace stepped through the gate with The Doctor in tow. “Did Athena finally lock you out?”

“I guess she’s finally sick of me barging over every night for dinner!” His sepia skin warmed as he stepped off the stoop and into the lamplight, meeting them with an outstretched hand. “I’m Elliot.”

The Doctor took it. “I’m The Doctor.”

“Doctor... what?”

“Just The Doctor.”

The man blinked. “Okay.”

Ace pointed his thumb towards The Doctor. “He’s in town visiting for the day, and I was hoping to introduce him to Athena before he headed out. We must have beat her home.”

“Yeah, for once,” Elliot chuckled. “So, Doctor, where are you visiting from?”

The Doctor’s lips tugged uncomfortably as he tried to remember the answer he gave Ace. “Ah, a faraway country.” 

“That’s a bit vague,” Elliot raised an eyebrow with a smirk, causing Ace to snicker.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. “All right, smarty-britches; would you believe another planet?”

“Another planet??” Ace turned on his heels to face him with his brows peaked.

The look of shock on their faces drew a smirk across The Doctor’s lips, but it faded when Elliot answered, “You too??”

“What??” The Doctor straightened up. “Where?”

“Barea!”

“Barea,” The Doctor repeated. “How did you end up here?”

Elliot glanced at his friend. “Would you believe it was Ace?”

It was The Doctor’s turn to gape in shock. “How?”

“Well, he was captured, brought to Barea, and then we both escaped back here.”

The Doctor’s eyes lost their focus. “...Just travelled a great distance,” he muttered under his breath.

“Hm?” Elliot hummed.

“Why were you captured?” The Doctor turned to Ace.

“As far as we can tell, it was at random,” the man scowled. “They were picking up anyone they could find, bringing them back to Barea, and trying to pass them off as Echoes—uh, Aravasti descendants—to give the people a common enemy.”

The time-traveller clapped a hand onto his cheek. “Now I remember! Aravast and Barea are a binary planet system in the Zelphan cluster. Aravast had vastly powerful humanoids, and some say it was the Bareans who destroyed them because of it.”

“I wouldn’t have believed that before, but I do now. The leaders in charge of Barea,” Elliot shook his head in disgust, “they’re messed up. They gave Aravasti DNA, and the power that comes with it, to Ace and all the people they captured so that the government could swoop in and kill them; thus protecting their people and regaining their trust.”

“You were given Aravasti power,” he paled further, “and almost killed??”

Ace shrugged as Elliot again took over. “Thankfully, they underestimated the control he had over his powers. He can manipulate water, and it can get pretty intense.”

The Doctor shut his eyes and clamped a hand across his face. “Why does every iteration of you have to be captured, tortured, and given massive power??” He hissed.

Elliot again lowered his brows in confusion. “Huh?”

“Why didn’t you say something about being from another planet earlier?” Ace nudged The Doctor’s arm.

“I wasn’t sure how much you knew about that sort of thing, and I was clearly mistaken,” he looked hard at Ace—specifically at the white streak in his hair.

Ace smoothed the hair behind his ear. “Well, I don’t usually share my interplanetary travels to people I just meet either. No one knows about Echoes and planets and stuff like that around here.”

A loud hum passed overhead. The three paused with a variety of confused expressions.

“And that’s something else no one would know about,” Elliot stood up and started into the street to get a better view.

“Wait—the last time I heard a sound like that, I got captured!” Ace grabbed Elliot’s arm.

Elliot gave him a look, only for the two of them to realize the third was missing.

“Doctor!” Ace growled as he and Elliot raced around the corner. The Doctor was standing a block away off with his eyes to the sky.

“What is it?” Ace ran up to him, adjusting the sword on his waist as a light disappeared behind the trees down the street. He jumped when The Doctor pointed out a small, metallic device that began to glow green at its tip with a faint buzzing sound. “What is that?”

“This is a sonic screwdriver.” The buzzing stopped as he retracted his arm. His face had grown darkly serious. “That, out there, is a ship of some sort. You should go inside.”

“Not when there’s a ‘ship of some sort’ here that could be capturing more people like me!” Ace’s brows lowered with determination. 

The Doctor was silenced. He recognized that look.

“Let’s go,” Elliot started down the street before anyone could offer another word.

The Doctor scowled in worry and followed the two swordsmen into the darkening evening. They hurried to the end of the cobblestone road, beyond the last of the street lamps, and broke through the trees. Now at the top of a wide field, they continued, more cautiously, down the slope of a hill as the water of the canal trickled beside them.  They were halfway through when they stopped dead in their tracks. 

A trio of metallic figures had stepped out of the woods at the other end of the field.

The Doctor’s face contorted to a wide-eyed fear. He recognized those figures. “Cybermen.” He breathed.

Ace and Elliot glanced at him, only to turn as the figure in the center raised a clenched fist. A small gun popped out of its forearm.

“Run!!” The Doctor cried as a blast of energy struck the ground inches before their feet.

The three scrambled backward as bits of dirt and grass showered upon them. Elliot bolted back through the trees, followed shortly after by Ace, but when The Doctor turned his head to look back, another bolt struck the ground beneath his feet. He lost his footing and fell heavily, rolling to his side with his bowtie askew and his teeth clenched.

“Doctor.” The heavy clanking of the Cyberman’s feet was steadily approaching.

The Time Lord remained on the ground, knowing that running would only ensure a shot in the back. “Why don’t you just get it over with?” He seethed through his teeth.

“No.” The Cyberman remained still as it was flanked by the others. “The Doctor does not die here. The Doctor must go to Trenzalore.”

His breath caught in his throat as the word was uttered.

At once, a stream of water struck the three Cybermen, knocking them off their feet and pushing them back down the hill.

The Doctor whipped his head around to see Ace at the edge of the trees with his hands raised. A blue glow was fading from his fingertips as he relaxed his stance and ran to his side.

“You need to get out of here,” The Doctor tried.

“And leave you with them??” The white hair had fallen into his face.

He shut his eyes as renewed gloom weighed him down. “I’m the only one they want—you and Elliot need to—”

“Doc... tor...” One of the Cybermen began to rise.

The metal slide of a sword unsheathing cut through the air as Elliot rushed past Ace and The Doctor. His sword pierced into its metal chest with a burst of sparks. The Cyberman gripped its silver fingers around the blade, but as the lights upon its chest flickered and failed, its body fell limp and tugged Elliot down with it.

Another was rising as Elliot struggled to dislodge his blade, and Ace was quick to pull his own sword to defeat it in a similar fashion. Elliot freed his sword, and with one great swoop, he decapitated the remaining Cyberman. Its body slumped forward and its head rolled aside.

The Doctor stood between Ace and Elliot, glancing between the two of them—and the bits of Cyberman strewn across the ground.

“You were saying?” Ace raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips.

Clanking at the other end of the field regained their attention, and all three paled when a much larger group of Cybermen entered the field.

Elliot tightened his grip on his sword and narrowed his eyes.

Ace frowned and turned down his blade to hand it to The Doctor, refusing to take his eyes off of the silver army.

The Doctor had just returned to his feet and drew back when the sword was presented to him. His expression melted to realization when blue light traced up Ace’s arms and water began to wisp from the air. He bowed his head and accepted the sword.

The Echo stepped out in front of them and clenched his fists. The light spread up to neck and traced around his face to fill his eyes. Water pulsed through the air from the canal beside them and began to curl around his body.

“This is your chance to leave,” The Doctor called boldly from Ace’s side, “and we’ll keep the casualties at three.”

“We cannot leave until we apprehend The Doctor,” a Cyberman stepped forward to mirror their stance.

“I guess you’re not leaving, then!” Ace grit his teeth and thrust his hands forward. The curling water at once flew through the air and struck the Cybermen with all the force of a tidal wave.

A few managed to scatter away from the blast and rushed forward, and Elliot split from the trio to lure them away as The Doctor held up Ace’s sword and charged at the ones on the ground. The Cybermen were very obviously avoiding striking The Doctor directly, but when one shot cut past Elliot’s ear, it was clear they knew the Ace and Elliot didn’t need to be kept alive.

The Echo forced water in front of a Cyberman’s shot, dissipating its power and only showering Elliot instead. 

The knight-in-training silently offered his thanks as water dripped from his face. He quickly drew his blade across his tunic to wipe off the oil, and he dove back into the fray.

The Doctor plunged Ace’s sword into the fallen Cybermen to keep them down as the battle raged around him. He glanced back at Ace, adeptly blocking the energy blasts as Elliot sliced through metal arms, heads, and torsos with ease. Between the two knights, he didn’t have to do very much—for which he more than was grateful.

In his momentary pause, a Cyberman had taken the opportunity to rush at him.

“I have him,” The Cyberman proclaimed as The Doctor writhed within its metal arms. “Activate the—”

A wall of water collapsed onto the Cyberman and swirled into a whirlpool, lifting it up and throwing it hundreds of feet into the air.

A Cyberman’s shot narrowly buzzed past Ace’s shoulder as he ducked down to catch his breath.

“No!” The Doctor wiped the wet hair strewn across his forehead, got to his feet, and stood in front of Ace with newfound resolve. He roared as he struck down two Cybermen in one blow.

Ace offered a weak smile and pulled the water from the ground to bathe the next wave that had emerged from the trees. He knocked a few of them over, but it was clear his strength, and the strength of his power, was wearing thin.

Elliot slid across the wet ground to dodge a blast and used the momentum to leap up and decapitate another. “How many more of these are there?” He was breathing hard, covered in mud and splattered oil.

The Doctor looked into the woods and could still see the glint of steel marching through the moonlight. “I don’t know,” he answered harriedly.

“Pull back,” Ace stepped between their lines of sight.

“Pull back??” Elliot scowled.

“Pull back and get as many as we can out on the field,” the Echo’s eyes were beginning to glow again.

Elliot nodded with understanding and turned back. “Come on!” He called to The Doctor.

“Retreating, Doctor?” A Cyberman rattled as the three hurried up the hill. Behind him, nine more emerged from the forest. No more appeared to be with them.

“That may be the last of them,” The Doctor muttered to the man in the dark blue tunic as the trio regrouped at the far end of the field.

“Good.” Ace let out a deep breath, “Now stay back, no matter what.”

The Doctor’s lips parted as he watched Ace turn to face the army of Cybermen marching up the hill.

Ace looked to the sky as his eyes glazed over with light.

The moon was swept away in a blanket of clouds. The ground shook with a rumble of thunder. Water rose from the ground like a thick fog.

The Doctor worriedly glanced around the field and attempted to reach for Ace as he started forward, but Elliot grabbed his arm.

“Careful,” he warned him. “Remember when I said things can get intense?”

His eyes widened. “He’s doing this?” He uttered, scarcely above a whisper.

The Cybermen’s marching feet were beginning to squish into the thickening mud, and when a crack of lightning arced overhead, they all came to an abrupt halt.

“What is happening?” A Cyberman exclaimed.

“Where is The Doctor?”

“Where are his allies?”

The Outlier emerged from the fog, almost camouflaged by the water pulsing around his form.

“There—shoot!”

A flurry of blasts were pointed at The Outlier, but every one of them was lost in the mist and water that surrounded him.

When they stopped firing out of futility, he thrust his hand up to the sky. The shield of water that surrounded him swirled up into the clouds and bubbled rapidly into dark thunderheads. Lightning instantly rained down from the sky, striking the metallic figures as if drawn to them by magnets. Moments later, the entire field lit up in the light of a massive explosion. 

The Outlier staggered backward and threw down his hands, and water surged from the clouds in a torrential downpour. All light was quickly drowned, and when the waters receded, there was nothing left but a charred pile of metal pieces.

The Cybermen’s ship broke from the woods and retreated into space.

“Woo!” Elliot whooped, thrusting his sword in the air in victory. 

The Doctor broke into a wide smile and ran down to Ace with the relief of success on his heels. “You’ve done it!! You’ve...” He slowed when the man appeared to be slumping forward.

The Outlier managed to look up, though his eyes were still glazed in residual light. His mouth was open, and his hands were clutching at a metal shard buried deep into his chest near his shoulder.

The Doctor cried out as Ace collapsed.

---

Chapter 5

Elliot was frozen at the edge of the metal bridge. “We’re in a box,” he muttered, his dark eyes slowly scanning the TARDIS’ control room. “We walked into a box, right?”

The Doctor strained to set Ace’s limp form on a step of the staircase across the room. His expression remained distorted in distress and worry as the young man groaned weakly.

“Oh, Ace, I’m so sorry,” he muttered, switching between holding his head up and trying to pull the ripped tunic from the wound. Blood stained his blue tunic a dark maroon near his left shoulder. He had removed the metal shard on the field, but the wound was still raw as it rose and fell with each labored breath. “I’m so very sorry—I put all of you in danger by being here, and now look!” 

He retrieved his sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket and scanned him over. “The metal’s all gone, but you’re not responding.” He grit his teeth and gripped the screwdriver. “I don’t understand...”

Elliot finally regained his senses when he heard the buzzing of the sonic screwdriver, but he was distracted when he thought he saw a man peeking in from the hallway above him. Shaking his head, he hurried past the center console and worriedly crouched beside The Doctor. “Can you help him? Where’s the rest of your gear?” He narrowed his eyes when The Doctor didn’t respond. “Aren’t you a doctor??”

“I’m not this kind of doctor!!” He barked sharply, flinging his hands in the air above Ace.

“What??” Elliot was flabbergasted. “Then, what are we doing here? We need to get him to a real—”

“Hang on!”

They both looked up as a tall man—with his head wrapped in a green wool blanket like a hood—rushed out of the upstairs hallway. He slid down to the step where Ace was lying, startling both Elliot and The Doctor in his haste.

“Sentinel!” The Doctor pulled away in surprise.

The Sentinel adeptly ripped Ace’s tunic open and immediately pressed a washcloth onto the wound. “I need soap and water,” he commanded, adjusting the makeshift hood to keep his face hidden. Only his stubbled chin and bent lips could be seen in the shadow.

“Soap and water,” The Doctor repeated, scrambling back to his feet and practically jumping down to the lower level without use of the stairs. He returned with a wet, soapy rag a moment later, and The Sentinel took it and carefully cleaned the wound. Then, with a roll of bandages he produced from his coat pocket, he wrapped him up.

Slightly dumbfounded, The Doctor watched as The Sentinel pulled away, retreating his hands into the wool blanket. Between them, Ace was now clean and bound.

Elliot blinked a few times before sliding his eyes over to The Doctor. “So, this guy’s the real doctor.”

The Doctor sighed with relief. “It would seem so,” he admitted quietly. “Sentinel, thank you—”

The Outlier gasped for air as his eyes opened and his body gave a single, strong, lurch. His eyes were coated in blue light and quickly spread through his neck and down his chest. As it pulsed past his wound, he shouted in pain and jolted upright.

“Ace!” Elliot reached out to him, but a burst of mist swirled around the Echo like a barrier.

“What’s going on?” The Doctor shielded his eyes as the three were forced to retreat.

“He’s stuck,” Elliot’s voice was again filled with apprehension, glancing between the man he could not see and the man he barely knew.

“What?” The Doctor turned back to Ace. Sure enough, the Echo was balled up in defense within an oscillating wall of humid air.

“Sometimes he gets buried beneath his power and has trouble getting back out,” the knight’s lips bent with concern.

The Doctor took in a pained breath. This sounded far too familiar for comfort.

“Ace—hey! It’s Elliot!” His friend called, slowly approaching the Outlier as he lowered his stance in submission.

The Outlier bolted to his feet and sent a stronger burst of mist swirling outward. The Sentinel instinctively threw up a barrier to protect Elliot and The Doctor, but that didn’t stop the control panel from being knocked offline in the wake of the blast.

Elliot was wide-eyed as The Sentinel uncrossed his arms and dropped the shield, though the wings on his back remained. “You have power too??” He exclaimed.

“Only a shield,” The Sentinel answered succinctly as he remained on guard at the top of the stairs. He looked down at Ace, now glaring at his hooded face. “How do we get him unstuck?”

“He usually just snaps out of it, so I’m not sure what’s wrong,” the knight replied worriedly. “Though, I can’t imagine being injured has helped...” 

The Doctor looked to The Sentinel as anguish flooded the pit of this stomach, but from the frown on his shadowed face, he could tell the protector could do no more. Without another thought, he grimaced and rushed through the mist to take Ace by the shoulders.

“Ace Gallagher, you listen to me,” he said as firmly as he could. “Every single time I’ve met you, you’ve always been one of the strongest people I have ever met. There is nothing you can’t do; nothing you can’t come back from. I know you know this. I know you hear me. Please... you can come back.”

The Sentinel and the knight held their breath, watching as The Doctor clung to The Outlier’s smoldering form. His words had been too garbled in the heavy air for them to understand.

At last, the mist and light faded.

Ace’s green eyes focused on the man grasping at his shoulders. “Doctor?”

It took all of his strength not to collapse from the wave of relief that flowed through his form. “There you are,” he said breathlessly as he stood back.

“What’s going on?” He looked first at The Doctor and Elliot standing over him, then his eyes strayed to the control room behind them. “And where the heck are we?”

“We’re on my ship—the TARDIS,” The Doctor said.

“You got stuck.” Elliot added.

“I figured,” Ace scowled and averted his eyes as he slipped back to sit on the stairs.

“You got hit with shrapnel before that.”

“Hit with—what?” Sure enough, he looked down to see the bandaged wound beneath his ripped tunic.

“But, the real doctor fixed you up.” Elliot nodded to the hooded man at the top of the stairs.

The Sentinel lowered his head to ensure his face was covered with enough cloth and shadow when Ace turned to him.

The Doctor finally found a smile as Ace watched The Sentinel in curiosity. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

Ace turned back to him with a light smile. “I’m glad everyone’s safe,” he said.

“Thanks to you, Mister Gallagher,” he gave him a light nudge. He stepped back as Elliot scooted in, leaving the two friends as he went to check on the console.

“I’m still not really sure what’s going on,” Elliot glanced backward at The Doctor, “but I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

Ace grinned and leaned against the railing for support. “Same here—on both counts,” he laughed for a moment before slowing and biting his lip. “I knew it was risky to use so much power, but I didn’t know what else to do. I know I got stuck, but, I swear, this time I could remember more. Like I was watching behind, well, a fog.”

“Maybe that’s a good sign?” Elliot tried to grin. “And we got you back out; that’s all that matters.”

“I know,” Ace turned melancholy as his eyes again drifted aside. “I just don’t ever want to get... really stuck.”

The Doctor’s brows were peaked in poignancy as he listened to their conversation. An other-worldly power trapped within someone it didn’t belong: the more he learned of Ace, the more he truly was similar to Gemini.

The Sentinel used the lull to start back to the hallway, but Ace heard his footsteps and looked up. “Wait,” he attempted to climb a step before finding the action dizzying. “Thank you,” he offered simply.

“You’re w—welcome.” 

Ace paused, his eyes narrowing in puzzlement.

James took a very slow step backward. Of all times for his stammer to slip, it had to be when he was speaking to the one who would recognize it.

The Doctor glanced between them worriedly and panicked. “Ah! How about a tour??” He exclaimed suddenly with his hands open. “Now that we’re all up and about—did you know I have a pool?”

“A pool??” Elliot clearly had not caught what his friend had as he grabbed Ace by the shoulder. “Did you know this ship is smaller on the outside?”

“Wait, I think I do remember that!” Ace’s brows furrowed as his eyes drifted in thought. “I remember we ran into a blue box or something!”

“That’s it!”

Properly distracted, Ace was pulled away from discovering the identity of The Sentinel—though not without giving one last glance over his shoulder to find the hooded man had disappeared.

- - -

After walking Ace and Elliot back to the Gallagher house to ensure their safety, The Doctor was surprised to find Athena inside and waiting for them. He had every intention of dropping them off and returning to the TARDIS, but when Athena learned of their evening of adventure, she asked him to come inside for a moment longer.

The Time Lord smiled as he surveyed his surroundings. Wood and plaster framed the simply decorated living room. A small wood stove warmed the room with glowing orange embers across from him, and a single electric lamp glowed on a small table between a sofa and an upholstered chair. A fresh loaf of bread was left out on the counter beside them, separating the kitchen from the rest of the room. A vinyl record player also sat upon the counter, with a small music collection stacked on the shelves beneath it.

Ace left briefly to change clothes, but this gave the others time to discuss his ability to write and sing songs. The second he reemerged in an old black shirt, he was coaxed into grabbing his guitar to play something for The Doctor.

“Sing the one you just wrote,” Athena laid her hands on Ace’s arm. “It’s my favorite.”

“Every song I write is your favorite,” Ace smirked at her.

“Your point is?” She smirked back.

The Doctor couldn’t help but grin from his place on the chair. Gemini wrote and sang songs, but she had never learned to play a musical instrument; one of only a few nuances between the different versions of herself. He was excited to hear what Ace could play.

Ace adjusted the guitar on his knee and thumbed through a few chords. “Now I’ll admit, this sounds way better in my head. I can hear sweeping strings, a chorus of angelic harmonies in the refrain...”

“Just play it!” Elliot lightly kicked Ace’s knee with his foot.

“All right, all right!” With an exaggerated nod, the gentle strums of the song began.

The introduction was nothing out of the ordinary, but when Ace began to sing, The Doctor was more than taken by surprise.

“Nights in white satin
Letters I’ve written
Never meaning to send.

“Beauty I’ve always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is,
I can’t say anymore.

“But I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh how I love you!”

Ace arched his neck toward Athena, who beamed and rested her head on his shoulder.

Tears were welling in The Doctor’s eyes long before he realized he was crying. Of all the songs across all space and time, Ace was singing a song Gemini, too, had written.

“Gazing at people,
Some hand in hand,
Just what I’m going through
They can’t understand.

“Some try to tell me
Thoughts they cannot defend
‘Just what you want to be
You will be in the end.’

“But I love you...”

The Doctor blinked and found himself unable to see through the tears. He excused himself and hurried outside.

Once he was alone in the cool night air, he huffed a sorrowful sigh and covered his face with his hands. His mind was taken back to a moment with Gemini: lying across white bed sheets in warm candlelight as she held his head in her lap and sang from her heart. It was the last song she had written before fearfully running away, afraid of the power she held within her. It was the song that haunted him in his days without her. It was the song Ace had just sung, note for note, and word for word.

“Are you okay?”

The Doctor jumped, finding Ace on the doorstep. He offered a hesitant smile. “Your song just... struck a chord with me, I suppose—pun intended,” he tried to joke as he rocked on his feet and uncomfortably wiped the remainder of a tear from his face.

Ace saw through his charade. “It does if you’re missing someone you love.”

His brow furrowed, and he hummed as his answer.

“You know,” Ace pocketed his hands, “I get the feeling this whole thing is not quite what it seems to be. I mean, you’re from another planet and metal robot men are looking for you.”

“That would seem a bit odd, I suppose.” The Doctor exaggerated a smile.

“You also have a space ship that looks like a box on the outside,” Ace continued, narrowing his eyes. “And James is travelling with you.”

“Well, yes, he’s...” His lips contracted as his face paled. “Oh.”

Ace offered a smirk.

“I can’t put anything past you, can I,” he sneered weakly and crossed his arms. “All right, Ace; I’ll come clean. I’m a time-traveller, and the TARDIS is my time machine. James—that James—is from a different dimension, and he’s helping me find my... my girlfriend.”

Realization softened Ace’s once sarcastic expression. “That explains a few things.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen her, and when I heard your song...” he sighed, lips skewed. “Part of me still worries if she would even remember me...”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“A number of reasons,” The Doctor skirted around the issue. “But even if she does remember, I worry that she won’t take me back,” he let his head drop, “after I broke her trust so completely.”

“I see,” Ace thumbed his lips. “Well, since you’re talking to an ex-gambler, here’s my take: you’ve got some really high stakes laid out before you, and you can either play it safe, or go all in.” He held an invisible coin between his fingertips, “Playing it safe can only win you so much; memories, songs, and other little bits of her. If you want a chance to find her—to be with her again—your best bet is to go all in.”

The Doctor watched his hands scoot metaphorical coins in his direction.

“The odds may not be in your favor, but if you win—you get it all back, and more.”

“But if I lose?” The Doctor was still eyeing the invisible coins.

“You played your best, and you must accept defeat. That’s part of the game.” Ace replied. “Just remember: the best way to miss out on a win is to never place a bet.”

The Time Lord’s lips tugged to one side. “That’s a brilliant piece of advice,” he looked up almost sheepishly.

“Sometimes I can sound smart, anyway.” Ace chuckled.

“Thank you, Ace.” The Doctor put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for everything. You’re immensely talented, very smart,” he stressed as Ace rolled his eyes, “and you risked a lot to protect me today. I will forever be in your debt.”

“I think we’re all clear, sir,” he grinned, gently rubbing his patched up shoulder.

“Please offer Elliot my appreciation as well.”

“I will. And thank you, Doctor, for your friendship.”

They shook hands and gave each other a quick pat on the back before they stood apart, smiling somewhat awkwardly.

“I hope you win that bet,” Ace grinned. “I hope you find her.”

The Doctor smiled. “I’m one step closer, thanks to you.”

“Me?”

The Doctor brought his hands to his plum-colored coat collar and gave it a quick tug to straighten it out. “You weren’t her.”

Ace’s expression squished in dismay. “Wait... what?”

The Doctor half-turned to the road. “Until next time, Ace Gallagher.”

Ace stood at his doorstep, his lips parted and his brows furrowed in confusion. His eyes locked on The Doctor, and he took a cautionary step forward. “You had said something about meeting me before!” He called after the time-traveller.

“Did I?” The Doctor spun around on the road, walking backward to continue his trek away. “I wasn’t sure how much you’d heard.”

Another wave of shock went through him. “And you knew my name today!!” He rushed out into the street.

“What a coincidence!” The Doctor smirked and turned down the side road that led to his TARDIS.

Ace backed into the garden gate as a million thoughts filled his head. There was no way he had put the pieces together correctly; no way he had come to the right conclusion.

Or had he?

---

Chapter 6

The TARDIS door opened and closed, and James cautiously peeked around the corner. When only The Doctor was present this time, he relaxed and came out into the open.

“That was awfully risky,” The Doctor said without even looking up from the control panel.

The Sentinel lowered his foot on the first step and remained in place. “A—and you would have preferred me not save his life?”

The Doctor finally turned his eyes up, smiling. “I didn’t say you shouldn’t have done it,” his brows raised, “I just said it was risky.”

James smirked and finished coming down the stairs.

“Always stepping in when I’m a useless mess,” The Doctor added when his friend stepped up to his side. “I don’t recall you being so adept at taking care of injuries.”

“Elise is a nurse, so I’ve picked up a few things.” James patted his coat pocket, “I m-made sure to bring a first aid kit when I came travelling this time.”

He smiled. “I am grateful for that.” 

“So, w—what happened?”

The Time Lord eyed him. “I found Ace Gallagher’s fingerprint and, as you saw, it wasn’t the right one.”

James blinked. “How did he get injured?” He clarified.

The Doctor scowled. “Cybermen found us.”

An icy tingle ran down James’ neck. “Cybermen??”

He looked back down at the control panel. “Apparently, they know of the prophecy too. They were trying to bring me to Trenzalore; but, as you’d expect someone named Ace Gallagher to do, he stepped in between.”

James shook his head with his brows still lowered in dismay. “What was the power he had?”

“Water-manipulating power straight from the ancient people of Aravast,” The Doctor, began typing into the panel, “unwillingly given to him on Elliot’s home planet of Barea. The two managed to escape and hitch a ride back here—hence why my TARDIS tracked him down. He fit all the criteria of matching the signature and travelling a great distance.” He pressed a button and looked up to the screen. 

Searching...

“And now,” he concluded, almost sadly, “we try again.”

James turned and rested his back against the control panel. “How many other fingerprints could there be?”

He shrugged. “There should be very few that meet this search criteria. Honestly, this particular fingerprint was almost a fluke.”

“And what if,” James winced on his words, “there aren’t anymore?”

The Doctor was already shaking his head before James finished speaking, and he refused to answer when he had.

He sighed. “At any rate, w-w—we need to be cautious now that we know others know about your... fate.”

The Doctor’s eyes turned down again. “I’ve made a lot of enemies for myself over the years; if the universe truly knows, nowhere will be safe.”

“Then, from now on, I have to come with you.”

He looked up at The Sentinel. “I can’t ask that.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But if something were to happen to you,” he looked through squinting eyes, “you’ve got a wife who doesn’t want you to be late for dinner.”

James smiled with a twinge of sadness. “I know the risks.”

“James,” The Doctor pinched his forehead. “The Sentinel’s got to start protecting someone else.”

“Not until I help you find her.”

A familiar beep reached their ears.

The two looked up with wide-eyed anticipation. 

Fingerprint Found: Braecia. Westfall. Year 542 B.A., Braecian Age, local time.

“Braecia,” The Doctor whispered the name.

“C-c—could that be her?”

“It’s far more possible than ending up in Fortanya again.” His fingers pattered across the keys, and the outline of a planet and its topography appeared on the secondary screen. “Braecia, a planet in the Pleiades system; once home to a handful of human colonies,” The Doctor squinted his eyes as he read the information. “It was more recently the site of a Dalek mining outpost—well of course it was,” he scowled.

He glanced at him. “Was?”

“Thankfully, they left around fifty years ago from our fingerprint’s point, but the human population had already begun to decline. As of this moment, all but one of the towns has been abandoned, and the population is scarcely above one hundred souls,” he frowned and but his lip. “I wonder why...”

The elder brother’s brows furrowed. “And Gemini picked there?”

“If she was escaping an exploding space station, she may not have had much of a choice.”

James straightened up and nodded to The Doctor with determination. “Then, let’s go.”

- - -

The town of Westfall was oddly quiet as The Doctor and James walked through its empty roads. Buildings of brick and wood with intricate front-facing facades were now run-down and dark, and they stood like gravestones in a blanket of gray-blue clouds. There was no one out walking, and there were no vehicles—horse-drawn or otherwise—travelling on the roads. Dirt and rubble collected on the sides of the dust-paved street, and iron lanterns stood cold and dark without oil to light them. Not even the sound of birds lightened the silent air.

James pulled his scarf tighter around his neck as a cold wind blew at their backs. “Where is everyone?”

The Doctor scanned the area with his screwdriver, watching the green light flicker on the walls. “This is a textbook example of an old western ghost town,” he said quietly.

“Daleks?”

He lowered his probe. “There are no blast-marks or signs of conflict; it’s as if all the people just disappeared.”

James’ eyes darted ahead when a woman in a green dress with a basket under her arm emerged to cross the road.

The Doctor slipped the screwdriver back into his coat pocket. “Excuse me, madam!”

The woman picked up her pace and disappeared down the street.

The two glanced at each other and frowned. They cautiously continued until they reached the cross road, and their pace was soon slowed further.

A meager street market was laid out upon the sides of the road. Cloth hangings littered with holes were strung between buildings as sellers spread their wares outside open shop doors. They were simple, practical items, such as food, medicine, jars, and cloth, but, despite the objects’ color, the market still seemed dingy and solemn.

As The Doctor and James stepped though the street, the sellers and buyers alike turned their heads and followed them silently with their eyes. 

“I’m sorry to disturb you all,” The Doctor tried, glancing from face to face, “but we’re travellers here, and we were hoping you could—”

“We can’t help yeh,” a man in a worn gray vest spoke up suddenly. He got up from a chair beneath a covered shopfront where the woman in green had run to. A wide handlebar moustache covered his lip, and bushy brows hung over his eyes.

The Doctor took a step back, throwing up his hands in surrender. “I’m The Doctor, and this is James—we mean no harm—”

“And I am Thomas, the mayor of Westfall,” the man stepped into the street to block their path forward, “and I say ye’re not welcome here.”

“I understand, but I just need a moment’s help.”

“I don’t care what ye’re here for—ye’re not welcome.” His dusty hands remained open with his fingers twitching near a holstered gun at his side.

The Doctor noticed this, but he was unwilling to back down. He matched the man’s stance despite being unarmed. “I mean no harm,” he stressed beneath furrowed brows, “I just need information and then I shall be on my way.”

James watched as the mayor’s fingers bent ever so slightly. 

“You’ll get nothin’.” He sneered.

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed. “I have not come all this way for nothing.”

Thomas roared and drew his pistol.

The Sentinel grabbed the Time Lord by the shoulders and used his wings to cover him—just as the gun, pointed at the ground before their feet, clicked though an empty round.

The market instantly fell into a hiss of gasps, mouths gaping and eyes wide as they looked upon the man with wings of light on his back. The mayor himself practically dropped the unloaded gun as he staggered backward in shock.

The woman in the green dress clapped her hands against her mouth. “You’re—you’re an angel!” She whimpered and lurched forward.

“Carla,” the mayor reached for her, but she fell at James’ feet as The Doctor backed away.

“W-w—wait,” James knelt down to her, “y-you don’t have to do that; I’m no different than you.”

“But, you are an angel!” Carla looked up, eyes dazedly focused on his wings. “Have you come to save us?”

“Save you?” He glanced up at the others who looked on in awe. 

“Then, what are you doing here?” She regained his attention with a gentle touch of her hand on his.

“I’m l-looking for my s-sister,” he said.

“Your sister lives here?” She seemed amazed by the thought.

“We believe this village is where she’s been staying,” The Doctor added, stepping closer to The Sentinel while eyeing the mayor carefully. “We were hoping someone knew where we could find her.”

“Of course, what is her name?” Carla spoke only to James, despite The Doctor doing the talking.

“Gemini—or Ace—Gallagher,” James answered.

There was silence as those in the area glanced amongst themselves. It appeared no one recognized the name.

“She’s got brown hair, a thin build, glasses,” The Doctor bit his lip, “potentially very powerful...”

“Surely yeh don’t mean The Wildfire?”

The Doctor and James glanced up at Thomas.

“That’s what the village calls ’er, anyway,” Thomas idly slipped the empty gun back into its holster on his hip. “She showed up on the brink o’ death many years ago. The village revived ‘er, and in return, she protects us.”

“Years,” the Time Lord repeated with concern. “How many years?”

“She protects our village from the beasts,” Carla interrupted, only for her brows to arch in concern. “Did you not see them when you arrived?”

Troubled, James looked to The Doctor. “N—no.”

“Ye’re lucky, then,” Thomas looked down. “The beasts would’ve all but wiped us out; they’ve destroyed our farmlands and much of our village—and they’ve killed anyone they could get their claws on. But with her here, they fin’lly know their place.”

“At last, we’ve been able to recover our land an’ to produce enough crops to sustain us,” the shopkeeper at their side waved his hands over his table of fresh vegetables.

“Though, it’s still barely enough to support ourselves. Taking in someone new is a li’bility to everyone here. I’ve had to carry a pistol as a deterrent—though it’s been some years since I’ve had ammo.” Thomas added with chagrin, “I didn’t mean harm to yeh; we just don’t have the resources to support anyone else, and sometimes weapons are all folks’ll listen to.” 

“We understand,” James nodded. “Thank you for being honest.”

“Thank yeh as well.” Thomas stepped up behind Carla and rubbed her shoulder. “Come on, hon, give the guy some room.”

Carla looked up at him solemnly and submitted, slipping against Thomas’ side with a hand on his chest. It was only then did James realize they both had rings on their fingers.

“Why is she called The Wildfire?” The Doctor sounded reluctant to ask as James stepped back to his side.

“She can conjure fire like—like magic!” The shopkeeper piped in again. “And she fights with all its intensity!”

“She consumes all enemies in ‘er path.” The mayor added.

“But for all her passion, she is so cold,” Carla added sadly, looking to James. “She barely speaks to us; only does her duty and buys her share of goods before retreating away. After all these years, she remains isolated and alone.”

“Where can we find her?” James asked as The Doctor sunk at her words.

“In a cabin north of the village.”

“If she lets yeh get close enough,” Thomas added.

“Although, she often frequents the chapel when no one else is inside,” Carla added.

“The chapel?” The Doctor repeated curiously. Sure enough, he could see the top of a bell tower and steeple rising above the rest of the rooftops.

“She has never told me what happened, but she has nightmares of her past,” Carla, too, had turned to glance down the road. “She often grows troubled, and I told her it may help her to draw nearer to God.”

“I see,” his eyes focused on the cross.

“If she is not there, and you must enter the woods, beware of the beasts,” Carla leaned forward to clutch James’ hand. “Try to stay on the road as much as possible.”

“Th-thank you, ma’am,” he wrapped his other hand around hers in comfort.

“Thank you all for your help,” The Doctor spoke to the others around them, ending his quick scan of their faces on the mayor. “And I appreciate the kindness you have shown to The Wildfire.”

Thomas gave him a respectful bow.

With that, James and The Doctor continued along the road and up to the chapel’s steps. The outside’s wooden facade was in a state of disrepair, but it still held its sturdy presence before the travellers. James stepped forward first to push open the door. It creaked on its hinges and revealed a dim interior, lit only by the cloudy sunlight that filtered through even cloudier windows. A simple wooden cross hung on the back wall with a small table below it. A handful of pews faced the cross, and all were empty.

Without a word, the two turned back to the street and continued to the outskirts of the village as a thick forest spread into view. The road began to cut through the trees until the trees themselves began to break it apart. Roots had grown up and buckled the pavement, causing their route to veer from its once straight path.

The Doctor, despite his resolve, had grown incrementally slower the further they travelled into the woods.

“Doctor?” James turned back as The Doctor slipped from his peripheral vision.

The Doctor’s expression was beginning to cool into fear. “I hear them.”

“Hear wh—”

A low growl reached their ears, interrupting James’ question.

A gurgling, shadowed form was slinking through the underbrush before them. Another scraped across leaves at their side, while a third bubbling growl rumbled behind them. They had been effectively surrounded.

The Sentinel’s wings grew in intensity as he slowly stepped in a circle around The Doctor. 

At once, the creature behind them spouted a shriek and dove into his wings. The Sentinel cried out, barely keeping the creature’s teeth and claws from penetrating the light as he reinforced its strength. He crossed his arms against his chest and encased The Doctor and himself in a bubble of light moments before another creature attempted an attack.

Trying in vain to bite into the shield, the dark-green beast shrilled and garbled through rows of needle-like teeth. Its eyes, perched upon tendrils on its head, glared into bubble with harried intensity. Two sets of long arms twisted and writhed from a dark, wooly coat, while its body shifted upon two stocky legs.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the creature. “A slyther?!” He looked at his probe incredulously.  “What in the world are they doing here??”

“Where are they supposed to be?”

“Skaro—undoubtedly left behind after the Dalek mines were shut down. The Daleks needed a few watch dogs—and they’ve been terrorizing Westfall ever since!” The Doctor growled. “They don’t respond to much aside from brute force, but getting through their arms and teeth is the real challenge.” 

“Can we outrun them?”

“Normally, yes,” The Doctor squinted his eyes as a fourth slyther scurried on all six appendages and launched itself at James’ shield, “but these are not the average slyther. We’ll need get a head-start.”

“I’ll throw them off,” James winced, “It’ll drop the shield, so be ready to run.”

“Do it,” The Doctor crouched.

The Sentinel grimaced and ducked down. The bubble of light pushed out in all directions, tossing the four beasts along with it.

The Doctor and James both rushed toward the broken road to return to the safety of the village, but their path was quickly blocked by another snarling mass of teeth. James thrust his light at it to knock it back, but they were forced to turn away when another began clambering toward them.

“I see a rock!” The Doctor called, splitting from James’ side.

“Doctor—wait—”

He had just wrapped his hands around a particularly pointy stone when a slyther screeched and leapt at him. With a great shout, The Doctor used the force it took to pull it out to clock the stone directly into the slyther’s pointed teeth.

The creature gurgled and fell back, writhing on the ground.

The Doctor offered a hesitant, toothy grin back to James, but The Sentinel was no longer at his back. He clutched his rock tighter as the shrill groans of a multiple slyther continued around him.

He tried to run in the direction of the village, but he was again cut off. He was forced to throw his rock at the creature and frantically attempted to locate another while more clobbered after him. Soon, the search had to be dropped in favor of running as fast as possible.

The Doctor bolted through the woods, leaping over fallen trunks and ducking beneath low branches. His plum-colored coat was repeatedly snagged and tugged as he ran, and when it was caught on a particularly pointy branch, his trek forward was abruptly reversed.

Uttering a loud shout, he ripped the coattail from the branch just as a slyther dove at him and knocked him to the ground. He gripped the sides of its mouth to keep it from snapping at his head while his legs kicked at its middle. Despite his best efforts, its four sets of claws tore at his chest, ripping through the lilac vest beneath his coat.

His eyes darted from side to side, and at last, they came across a fallen log. He roared and rolled to his side, pulling the slyther’s mouth with him. As the creature thud against the ground and attempted to right itself, The Doctor rolled the other way to grab the log and turned back to shove it into the slyther’s open mouth.

The Doctor scrambled back to his feet and wrapped an arm across his chest, wincing as more cries reached his ears. He was going to have to inspect the damage later. 

He was chased further through the dark woods until he saw light shining through the darkness of the forest, and he hoped the safety of the village would be awaiting him at the other side.

He broke out of the woods and found himself in a clearing. To his sides, the woods continued outward; but ahead of him led directly to the edge of a mountainous overlook. He gasped a breath and flung his head over his shoulder to watch in horror at the beasts rushing through the trees.

A bolt shot from the forest and struck the ground in front of them, scattering their paths as fire caught on the dried brush. One still bounded over it and tackled him, and they both slid precariously toward the overlook. He again strained to keep the beast as bay, but another bolt struck its back and picked it off like an insect, careening it off the cliff behind The Doctor’s head.

He grimaced and sat up, and his expression drained as more slyther darted erratically toward the ever-growing flames.

Their bubbling cries grew fearful and, just as quickly, began to retch in pain.

He squinted his eyes. Was there a figure within the flames?

A heavily wounded slyther broke through and fell heavily at his feet. The silver glint of a blade caught his eye as another beast slid through the fire. It tried to gain traction under its six appendages, but the blade sliced through its back leg as if it were a twig.

The slyther screamed but could not avoid the woman who leapt from the flames. She climbed upon its back, plummeted the blade through its side, and ripped through its hide with a mighty swing. The blade in her right hand dripped yellow as it stopped its swing behind her back. 

The Wildfire whipped her head in the direction of the first slyther as it attempted to rise. Her mirror-like goggles were splattered in slyther blood, but they still reflected the glow of the flames that surrounded her. Her body, still perched atop the unmoving corpse, was covered in a long black tunic that hung from her hips below a black corset at her waist. She grit her teeth, jumped back to the ground, and fired another shot from the probe that ran through the middle of her blade. The slyther was quickly consumed, and she disappear again in to the fire.

Moments later, a third slyther scrambled frantically from the flames. The Doctor tried to move, but the creature seamlessly adjusted its tangent and struck him with its blunt head. They rolled, and The Doctor felt the ground give way below his waist. Clinging to the rocky face with all his strength, he could only shut his eyes against the slyther squealing inches from his face.

It choked on its roar and seemed to gag. Its eyes, wide upon their stalks, bent backward, and the blade emerged from its mouth. The Wildfire grunted and pulled out the blade from the back of its head and dismounted before it flopped lifelessly off the cliff. 

The Doctor strained to climb back onto solid ground, but The Wildfire gripped him by the back of his coat and roughly pulled him up. 

She released him, leaving him on his knees as she scowled. “You idiot, you can’t just stand out in the open like that when there’s beasts—”

The rest of her words were gasped out into the cold air.

The man had straightened up and was looking squarely at her. His weathered face was plastered with apprehension beneath the messy bangs strewn across his forehead. The fire behind her shoulder reflected in his blue-green eyes.

The man she had just rescued was The Doctor.

Her lips remained parted as she took a step backward. Then, her face crumpled into a frown.

“Oh, sure,” she whispered snidely, “now you show up. Leave me all this time to lose all hope—and then show up.”

He watched as she turned and started away. “Wait—Gem—Gemini!!” He shouted, grasping the air for her. He grit his teeth and tried to run after her, but she spun around and thrust her blade at him. It stopped inches before his chin. He could see his horrified expression reflected in her goggles.

His breathing shuddered. “Gemini, listen to me—I know. I know I failed you. I know, and it kills me.”

She lowered the blade and turned around emotionlessly.

“I can’t even begin to know what you’ve been through,” he continued, chewing the words as he painfully wrapped his arm across his chest. “I know you feel abandoned,” he grimaced, “because you were.”

Gemini stopped walking.

“We... we didn’t know what to do, or how to save you. We only know because we failed. One Gemini had to endure the pain, the torture, and abuse... the loneliness and grief... in order to free another Gemini.” He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “I hate that there had to be one of you to bear such pain.”

A cold wind picked up, and he began to lose her figure in the smoke billowing from the burning corpses. Desperation took hold as he clutched his arms tightly. “Gemini, please don’t leave me! I need you!!”

His trembling form broke into pitiful sobs. He dropped to his knees and shivered in the wind. He scarcely held himself up against the sorrow, grief, and pain that weighed down his ailing frame.

A song began to play within his mind; a song he knew all too well.

He took as deep a breath as he could manage after gasping in the cold and smoke.

“Nights in white satin.” 

His voice wavered through the melody. 

“Never reaching the end,
Letters I’ve written, 
Never meaning to send.”

He shuddered again and turned his head away as the cold wind cut through him.

“Beauty I’ve always missed
With these eyes before.
Just what the truth is
I can’t say anymore.”

His teeth clenched tight as tears flowed from his eyes.

“But I love you,” he whimpered, no longer able to sing. With that, he drooped forward.

The short heaves of his sobs initially masked the sound of footsteps returning to him. It wasn’t until the stained blade fell at his fingertips that he realized he was no longer alone.

First, he saw her feet: black boots scuffed from countless battles and age. Then, he saw her knees bend into the ash-covered ground. As he drew up his eyes, he found a metal cord wrapped together as a necklace, and the ends dangled below her chest. His eyes reached her face: a thin mouth, a battered chin, and long, brown hair that fell past her shoulders. Dirty hands reached up to the silver goggles, grasped the edges, and pulled them up and over her forehead.

Her green eyes blinked back at him behind a scratched pair of glasses. Her lips were bent and pressed tight, as if trying in vain to hold back emotion. “I never thought I’d hear that song again.”

“I’ve never forgotten it,” he admitted breathlessly. “I’ve never forgotten you.”

She grimaced. “I waited so long; tried so hard to hold out hope...”

“I know, and I’m so sorry,” he brought his hands to her face to wipe away a tear that had escaped. “Please forgive me.”

She let out a short sob, shutting her eyes and pulling out of his grasp.

Without her, he slipped forward and had to catch himself on his hands. “Please, Gemini...” he muttered to the ground.

Her brows arched in a sort of disbelief and her fingers, almost methodically, reached for him and began to trace through the creases of his face. They followed up and down his cheeks, around his eyes, and ran through his hair. They slid to back of his neck, finding his plum-colored coat, torn and snagged across his arms and along the edges. Beneath it was a torn lilac vest over a white dress shirt, topped with a maroon bowtie tugged askew. Like her, much of him was stained in yellow slyther blood, but in the rips across his vest and shirt, she could see his own blood seeping through the holes.

She gasped. She took him by the shoulders and lifted him off his hands. She pulled open his coat and felt a pang of grief tear through her to see him so weak and wounded—all because he was trying to find her.

Her teeth clenched. But he had taken so long to find her. Why had he taken so long? What caused his delay? Why did she have to take matters into her own hands to break from ORBIT’s hold? Why did she have to be saddled with grief and pain that was often too great to bear on her own?

But everything he had said—everything about needing to find her broken in order to save her—was it true? What did that even mean?

Nights in white satin...

The song echoed in her mind. It was the last song she had written, the last song she had ever sung to anyone. It had haunted her since the day she ran away from The Doctor, fearing it would be the last happy memory she would ever share with him.

And now, he was here, singing it back to her.

She shut her eyes and broke down, her forehead slumping against his as she cried. 

His weathered hands took her by the shoulders and he accepted her into his arms with all his strength.

James rushed into the clearing with his wings spread. His breath caught in his throat and he grasped at his mouth. His eyes fell shut as relief comforted his wearied form.

Gemini had been found.

---

Chapter 7

The clouded sky was growing dim as the three made the short trek to The Wildfire’s cabin. Despite his protests to return to the TARDIS, The Doctor was convinced he needed to be tended to before travelling back through slyther territory. They returned to the long-abandoned road that once linked Westfall with its nearest neighbor, turned off when they reached a bridge over a small creek, and found the humble cabin in the clearing. 

In its single, open room, Gemini had a corner for her bed, a corner for a kitchen, a corner with a chair near a window, and a sectioned off area to use as a washroom. In the center of the cabin, with a chimney pipe run to the ceiling, was a slowly smoldering wood stove. 

Gemini went straight for the matches to light an oil lamp while James helped The Doctor inside. Weak and half-dazed, The Doctor’s eyes fell closed as he slipped into the chair, and James gave him a pat on the shoulder before joining Gemini at the table. She glanced up at him as the lamp was lit, her smile warming in the orange glow. James caved in and pulled his sister against his side as she wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s so good to see you,” he said, cradling his hand around her back.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she replied with her eyes still shut. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

James held her head against his chest, unable to reply as the oddity of the situation struck him. This was his sister, but his sister also lived in Kalgara. He hadn’t seen Gemini in ages, but he had also seen Mrs. Swift not too long ago. 

But as she sighed and remained in his arms a moment longer, he realized it was not so much about him, but about her. To her, it had been years since she had seen a familiar face. To her, she had grown hopeless waiting to be rescued. To her, he and The Doctor seemingly let her down. He pressed his lips together and held her tighter.

“Have you been well?” She asked when they finally released each other from their embrace.

“Oh, yes; still taking care of the theater,” he paused clenching his fingers a moment before displaying the wedding band on his left hand, “and I got married.”

“What!” At once, her expression turned to stunned surprise. “James!” she reached for his hand to inspect it. “Who??”

“Elise; you haven’t met her in this timeline...”

“I’m not sure I like this alternate timeline business,” she smirked before her expression softened to a kind smile. “Congrats. I know she’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m—m just as lucky,” he said, blushing.

She nodded toward The Doctor. “And, thanks for watching out for him.”

“S-somebody’s got to do it,” James smirked and allowed it to fade. “I wish we could have come sooner, for both of your sakes.”

“What do you mean?”

His dark eyes also turned to the Time Lord. “Like you, I’m not sure how long he’s been alone.”

Gemini frowned and slowly pushed away from the table, walking toward the washroom. She drew water into a bowl, and she carried it and a washcloth over to The Doctor. She knelt before him and began to strip him of his coat. James gave the two of them space by shuffling further into the kitchen.

The Doctor remained silent as she leaned forward to undo his bowtie and unbutton his vest and dress shirt. He watched her wince as the drying blood made his shirt stick to his body. Then, with her brows arched in compassion, she gently began to clean the patchwork of scratches across his chest. 

“How long have you been here?” He asked after a moment.

She kept her eyes on the cloth in her hands. “Ten, fifteen years? I’ve lost track.”

The sting of her voice pained him more than the cleaning of his wounds. “And you still remembered your song,” he phrased more as a comment than a question.

“That was the last song I ever sang,” she kept her eyes downcast. “I sang it to Edgar Allan Poe days before he died... days before ORBIT killed him.”

He looked at her quizzically. “You sang ‘I love you’ to Edgar Allan Poe?”

She shot him a glance. “It was the only song I could think of; he needed someone—something—to comfort him.” She set the cloth into the bowl and picked up a dry towel. “Since then, I could never forget it. I would think of what they did to him,” she bit her lip, “and I would think how I’d sing it to you... when the  ‘I love you’ meant something.” 

His hand slipped to hers as she dried his chest with the towel.

She paused her movements, distracted by the warmth of his hand. “I held on to that song. I held on to hope.” She then sat back on her heels, averting her eyes downward.

He bent forward to rest his elbows on his knees. There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn’t seem to find a single word. He could only look at her, sitting on the floor with her hands in her lap. After so many years, he almost couldn’t believe she was there.

 He shut his eyes and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

“I’ve missed you,” she whimpered defeatedly.

“I’ve missed you terribly,” he said, keeping his cheek against hers. “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Why did you have to wait, anyway?” Her brows lowered. “Why did you have to wait until I rescued myself in order to know how to rescue me—another me?”

His posture and expression slumped into a frown. “Your capture is a fixed point, and two timelines split from there. The James in your timeline must find out that you weren’t rescued in order to recruit us, so an un-rescued Gemini must exist for all of this to be set into motion.”

“What happened to the Gemini you rescued, then?”

The Doctor fell silent. Even James gave a cautionary glance from the kitchen. 

Gemini’s expression dulled. “She lost her memories, didn’t she.”

Both looked up to her in various states of surprise.

“I learned how all that works,” she said, crossing her arms against her black tunic. “I learned because it almost happened to me.”

The Doctor shivered, holding the towel against his bare chest.

“Oh, the stove,” Gemini stood, effectively distracting the conversation. 

“I can get wood,” James offered as she used her blade to poke the dying embers. He backed up it was handed to him.

“I have a small stack of wood just outside to the right. You can use this to shorten them if necessary.”

James cautiously took the sonic blade in his hands: a silver probe, the length of a short sword with leather wrapped around its hilt and a blade welded to one side. The end of the probe was gently glowing with a blue light. “Th-th—this isn’t going to go off or something, right?”

She shook her head, smirking. “It’s just a sonic screwdriver with a long knife attached to it,” she paused as he relaxed and added, “that can be used a blaster if necessary.”

His brows again furrowed, and he carefully carried the weapon out the door.

In the meantime, Gemini ducked into the bedroom corner to retrieve an oversized undershirt the townspeople had given her at some point in time, and she held it out to determine if The Doctor would fit into it. She lowered her arms and found The Doctor standing where the shirt had been.

“Gem,” The Doctor tried to take her hands, but she filled them with the shirt instead. “How did you escape with your memories? I was so worried you would share the same fate... I know they wanted to use your supposed weaknesses as a human to exploit your Time Lord power.”

“Oh, they got what they were wanting,” her eyes narrowed, “I put up all the fight I could, but after months of their torture, not even Rovenna could withstand it.” She bit her lip and looked at him squarely. “They merged us. I kept my human mind, but my body is fully Gallifreyan.”

The Doctor tilted his head. “But, a meta-crisis can’t—there’s no way to fully—”

Gemini abruptly took his hand and placed it across her chest.

He gasped for air: beneath his hand, he felt a double heartbeat. “...How?” He breathed the word, eyes wide. 

“That’s the only place I’m missing memories. Rovenna’s consciousness died in the process, and my own mind didn’t wake up until it was finished,” she said almost emotionlessly.

His expression twisted, a multitude of emotion flowing behind his eyes. “No wonder you haven’t aged a day,” he whispered. 

She watched his hand rise from her chest, as if to touch her face, before its fingers bent and retreated.

“How ever did you escape?” He asked instead.

“I feigned compliance, I did what I was told, and I got them to trust me enough to leave me unsupervised for long periods of time...” Her lips bent. “And so, I planted explosives across their base.”

His eyes bugged. “You blew up their station??”

She held up her hands. “It was their own fault for showing me the armory. They thought they’d get me trained at using their weapons and bombs to help them out on their missions, and when they weren’t looking, I’d sneak things out. That’s how I built my sonic blade and how I devised a system of explosives to blow on my command.” She crossed her arms and shifted on her feet. “I reached a point of no return—in my mind, it was them, or me—so I got out on an escape pod and detonated everything.”

Despite her feigned indifference, The Doctor could feel the weight of remorse upon her words. “And everyone else on the station...”

Her eyes lost their focus and drifted aside. “There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t regret what I’ve done,” she spoke, barely above a whisper.

“You should have never had to make that decision,” he hissed through his teeth and took her by the shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Gem—I wish I could change what’s been done—I wish there was something I could do to fill those years back with hope,” his eyes dropped for a moment before rising, “but please let me be with you now.” He bit his lip and cradled her cheek with his hand. “Please let me take you from here—and let me love you again!”

She nodded, unable to speak through tight lips and arched eyebrows.

He tucked his head and wrapped his arms around her with all his might. He felt her warmth, and the beating of her hearts, against his chest. He felt her love running through his veins and swelling within him.

“You’re so cold,” she mumbled into his shoulder as she drew her hands against his bare back.

They both froze, then pulled apart.

“James hasn’t come back yet,” Gemini locked her eyes onto his.

Without another thought, she rushed to the door as The Doctor frantically slipped on the undershirt. She flung open the door and was sprinting to the side of the house when James came around the corner.

He nearly dropped the small stack of logs in his arms. “Wh-what’s wrong??” He caught her harried expression.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Nothing,” she offered a smile. “I just... you were out here alone, and there’s beasts, and you hadn’t come back...”

“Sorry,” James gave an embarrassed grin. “I’m clearly not as good at using this blade as you are,” he shifted it in his hand as the wood rested on his forearms, “but I think I got a good stack.”

She smiled as she accepted the blade. “Looks fine to me; let’s get them on.” 

“What’s wrong??” The Doctor rushed out the door in his new shirt, striking James and sending the wood flying.

After the initial pattering of the logs against the ground, the three stood in a moment of silence: The Doctor flustered, James startled, and Gemini cautious as she glanced between the two.

“Ah,” The Doctor frowned at the ground. “Looks like everything’s all right.”

“It was before you got here,” James raised an eyebrow with a grumpy enough tone to confuse The Doctor as to whether or not he was being serious.

“Well, then,” The Doctor also feigned complacency as he knelt down to begin gathering the logs.

James rolled his eyes with a grin and bent down to help while Gemini stood at the door to hold it open for them. Her smile grew wide as the two continued bickering under their breath. She had almost forgotten how much she had missed this.

- - -

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen; that will be all for now,” the lieutenant nodded to the operatives as they exited the ship and began to disperse. He, however, remained at the foot of the ramp, fuming at the armored woman bringing up the rear.

With each step into the light, more of her form came into view. Brown boots, maroon greaves, and black tights covered her legs. A red tunic with a gold stripe down the front was split to her hips. A small corset belt was wrapped at her waist, and long, fingerless gloves covered her forearms in maroon leather. A maroon breastplate wrapped around her chest with a golden Gallifreyan insignia set in its center. Two round pauldrons covered her shoulders. Dark brown hair spilled from a golden helmet wrapped with wide wings on either side. Her face, framed within the helm, was stiff and emotionless.

Gemini had scarcely stepped within reach when Reynolds took her by the arm and pulled her toward him. “You: come with me.” His words remained low while the other operatives were still within earshot.

She bent her lips and stiffly complied, tucking her helmet under her other arm.

They exited the hanger and entered a secluded corridor to escape the chattering and footsteps that continued behind them. Soon, only their own steps along the metal floor were left. It was at this moment that Reynolds abruptly turned on her.

“How dare you,” he offered snidely. “How dare you jeopardize our entire mission just because you had a sudden change of heart!”

“Reynolds,” she tried, but he was quick to throw up his hand to silence her.

He drew back his hand and steepled his fingers at his chest. “I have been more than lenient with you over the years. I’ve allowed you your freedoms as you’ve proved your trustworthiness, and I’ve come to count on you to complete our missions as directed.” His hands began to tremble with rage. “And this is how you treat me? This is how you thank me??”

Gemini’s eyes glanced aside. “Reynolds, I—”

“You’ve embarrassed me in front of everyone else on this mission—including the people of Theresk,” he was still spouting over her despite her attempts at speaking, “and you’ve embarrassed yourself even more by breaking a direct order!”

“If I could—”

“Thanks to you, our mission was a failure! Now we’ve got to find an earlier point that’s still after the Time Lords interfered—”

“Why??” She blurted.

“Why? Because this event has been tampered with and must be corrected! Have you seriously learned nothing in your time here??”

“How do we know ORBIT’s not the ones doing the tampering?”

Reynolds rolled his eyes. “What kind of ridiculous question is that?”

“What makes you think you know what’s supposed to happen?” She stressed. “What makes you think you’re the righteous ones?”

“Because ORBIT’s mission is to keep things as history recorded them; if it means death, it means death.” He answered simply.

“The death of an innocent child?” She balked.

“What do you know of innocence? What do you know of righteousness??” Reynolds leaned his curved lips closer to hers. “You Time Lords think you’re gods,” he sneered. “You can travel through time and change things all you please: the power of life and death at your fingertips with no fear of the repercussions.”

Her expression was smoldering. “What if that child was you?”

“I can assure you, it’s not,” he dismissed.

“What if it was Bishop? Your father? A future son??” Her eyes were slits behind her glasses.

“None of that matters!!” He shouted at her, “You are supposed to obey orders and you did not!!” He grabbed her arm and yanked her against him. “I must have your compliance,” he hung heavily upon the word.

“So, punish me!” She threw her helmet to the ground with a loud clang. “Or better yet—stop making me do your dirty work!”

“Oh, I can’t do that,” his voice turned smooth and caustic as he eased up on his grasp. “Not when you have the power to redeem your kind’s mistakes.”

“I was born human—you’re the one who made me this way!” She angrily pointed at her body.

“And that’s precisely why you, Lady Gemini, are the crossover between our worlds.” His blue eyes locked on hers. “You are the perfect mix of human and Gallifreyan; the perfect sacrifice for Time Lords, and the perfect offering for humankind.”

She cringed as he drew his lips against her cheek. 

“There’s so much more you’re perfect for...” he whispered into her ear.

She shouted and lashed against him, the heavy pauldron on her shoulder assisting in clocking him in the chin and batting him away.

He grunted and recoiled back at her, but she deflected his lunge with ease and had his hands pinned against his back moments later. 

Reynolds ran her backwards into the wall, but in her armor, she was barely fazed. It wasn’t until the distant calling of “Sir?” along with hurried footsteps that Reynolds stopped struggling and slumped forward.

“Code Twenty-Two!” He shouted, as if in pain, to the thin, dark-haired operative who rounded the corner.

The woman held up her arm and swiped a code across the face of her wristwatch.

Searing pain burned from within Gemini’s chest. She choked out a half-scream and dropped to her knees, releasing Reynolds in the process. She tore at her breastplate, trying desperately to breathe as she felt both death and life struggling within her chest. She could barely look up as Reynolds’ feet met her knees.

“Dismiss the code.” He announced coldly.

A jolt sparked within her chest, and she gasped as she slumped to the ground. This time, however, she could feel the furious pumping of both hearts as they tried to regain normalcy.

“Thank you, Adkins,” he said as he waved the operative away. 

The woman nodded in dismissal, frowning at Gemini on the ground before leaving. 

“What... did you do,” Gemini huffed breathlessly, still curled on the floor as Reynolds hovered over her.

“I stopped one of your hearts.” He said simply. “An untrained Gallifreyan, like yourself, is completely vulnerable in that state. It’s a trick I learned from Rovenna, and all it takes is the smallest of devices implanted onto your new heart.”

Gemini hissed a breath and turned her head to the floor.

“I knew it would come in handy; it’s the only way to prove I have complete control of you,” he leaned over her, grinning further as her body heaved from the planned heart-attack.

“You’re sick,” she spat through her teeth.

“Only because you continue to be difficult. Now get up.”

She shot him an incredulous glance, puffing air through her nose.

“Get up!” He repeated.

She grit her teeth and rolled to her knees, surprised at how weak the ordeal had made her. The weight of the heavy Gallifreyan armor didn’t help, and she struggled to get her legs under her.

Reynolds, however, had reached the end of his patience. He grabbed her by the armor at the back of her neck, drug her to her feet, and practically threw her into the opposite wall. 

Her helmetless head slammed into the wall, and she winced against the stinging pain. The corner of her glasses also hit the wall, jamming the bridge into her nose.

“You’ve brought this upon yourself, you know,” his grin was spreading as he watched her flinch and adjust her glasses. “There must be a fitting punishment for all you’ve done today, considering you’ve now humiliated me in front of my peers twice,” his face was again perilously close to hers.

She could only scowl silently in return, though her brows peaked when he offered a glance down the hall. His quarters were only a few doors down. 

“I know a way you can redeem yourself,” he jeered.

She paled. “No.”

“No?” His teeth clenched. “I don’t believe you have a choice.” He again drew close until she could feel his breath on her neck. “I am merely treating you like the prisoner you are—a tool to be used—and no one cares any more than that!”

“The Doctor cares!!” She yelled with enough conviction to convince herself.

“Still going on about the Doctor, after all this time?” His lips curled to a sinister grin, “If he cared so much, why are you still here?”

She trembled, half from weakness, and half from fear.

“Face it, Gemini,” Reynolds spoke into her ear. “You are forgotten.”

A lead officer entered the hallway. “Sir, a word with you?”

Reynolds huffed and drew away from Gemini. “I’m busy,” he grunted, stepping down the hall to meet him. “What is it?”

Gemini did not move while Reynolds and the operative spoke in whispers at the end of the hall. She stopped trying to listen. She stood as straight as she could and shut her eyes tight. Still, a single tear escaped her eye. 

It ran down her cheek as if carrying the last of her hope.

She didn’t notice Reynolds storming back to her until he had grasped her arm. “Come on.”

She was tugged from the wall, pulled across the corridor, and pushed through the door that was promptly locked after her. She fell backward upon his bed as Reynolds stood over her.

His teeth flashed an ominous grin.

He dove at her, but she threw up her hands. One struck his face, and at once, his skin caught fire and began to burn away like paper.

Reynolds cried out, jerking backward as the blackness spread across his face. Embers flickered, peeled, and caught the air as his skin continued to blaze.

Gemini clamped her hands across her mouth, mortified as the fire consumed him.

What had she done?

She clamped her eyes shut and screamed.

“Gem!”

Her eyes flew open as she moaned through a sob, finding herself lying on her side. The room was dark, save for the pale blue glow of moonlight glinting through the windows. It was her room. It was her bed.

“Shh, Gem, it’s all right.”

She felt warm hands slip from behind her, one sliding beneath her while the other cradled her shoulder. They wrapped protectively around her own arms she had pinned against her chest, rocking her gently to calm her.

“It’s all right,” The Doctor murmured calmly, sleep still heavy upon his voice. “You’re all right. I’m here. I’m here with you.”

Her breathing evened out and her hearts began to slow their harried pace. 

It was only a nightmare; another remnant of her guilt manifesting itself within her memories. Even after so many years, the pain of her scars had not yet faded away.

Her eyes fell closed and she drew her fingers across his. “Please don’t let go.”

“I won’t,” he cozied up behind her. “I’ll never let go.”

---

Chapter 8

The Doctor woke to a patch of sunlight blanketing him from the nearby window. He groaned and rolled over, his hands reaching through the white sheets. His eyes popped open when they didn’t find what they were looking for.

He sat up and noticed the other half of the bed was empty. He ran his fingers through his brown hair, surprised that he had been so deeply asleep that he hadn’t heard Gemini get up.

Tugging down bottom of the undershirt, The Doctor carefully slipped out of the bed to avoid waking James—fast asleep in a pile of blankets on the floor nearby. Gemini’s cabin didn’t provide a great deal of space for guests, but it clearly served its purpose as rest for the weary time-travellers.

A simple glance around the room alerted him Gemini was not inside, so he slipped on his shoes and stepped outside into the brisk morning air. He debated returning for his coat, but the warmth of the sun began to cut through the chill. It was a much fairer day than the clouded blanket that had greeted them when they first arrived on Braecia the day before, and he didn’t have to look too far to find an even fairer sight.

Gemini was seated near the creek, beside some trees that grew at the edge just upstream. Her outer tunic was tied at her waist, leaving her arms bare in the sunlight. 

A smile played upon his lips as she stretched her arms and rested her head upon them as her eyes stayed downcast.

He quietly started over to her, but it didn’t take her long to catch the sound of his shoes through the grass. She clasped her hands on her knees and offered a smile when she noticed him. His face flushed red and he practically collapsed into the grass beside her.

“I almost forgot how potent that smile is,” he playfully puffed air through his lips. His hair flopped aside in the current.

She continued smiling as she ducked her head against his shoulder. “I can say the same for you,” she admitted.

He wrapped an arm around her back and rested his chin on her head. He could only sigh as her warmth again filled his soul.

Their thoughts faded into the gentle rustling of the trees and the quiet flow of the stream. The sun bathed them in light and warmth. A soft wind played with the short grass and brushed the hair across their faces. Even her sonic blade, lying near her feet, seemed to glow in the morning sunshine.

“I’ve sat by this stream thousands of times,” she said after a moment. “It almost doesn’t feel real to be sitting here with you.”

“You’re telling me,” he gave a tender smile. 

“How’s your chest?” She asked.

He patted the undershirt. “Almost healed. That’s one of the perks you seem to have discovered as a Gallifreyan—only you’ve come to use it to dart about the flames without getting burned!” 

She gave a nod, though it was much less exuberant than he had expected. 

He returned his chin to the top of her head. “Are you feeling better this morning?”

“Me?”

“From your nightmare last night,” he clarified gently.

She wrung her hands together. “I’m okay. I don’t have them too often anymore.”

He lightly began to trace his fingers around her shoulder. “Back in Westfall, a woman there mentioned your nightmares. She also said you visit the chapel often.”

She hummed in reply.

“Do you go there for peace?”

“Sometimes,” her eyes glazed behind her glasses. “Other times it’s to ask for forgiveness... and pray for mercy.”

The answer caught him off guard, and he again rubbed her shoulder in sympathy. “The people of Westfall don’t know what led to you landing here, do they?”

She shook her head as much as she could beneath his chin. “Only one person ever knew, and he was killed by the beasts.” She winced. “I don’t think the others would have taken it as well as he did. Some days, I still question if even God would forgive me...”

“But on other days?” He dipped an expectant look near her line of sight.

She breathed out a sigh, a half-smile tugging at her lips. “On other days, I know that He is gracious and merciful. I’m not perfect... but I’ve been given another chance. So, I use it protect the people of Westfall.”

“They seem very grateful for what you’ve done; and yet, they still seem to know so little about you,” The Doctor mused. “They think you can conjure fire, after all.”

“I do, just with a blaster.” She huffed softly, “They’re all fine people, but, especially after William died, I just couldn’t bring myself to get close to anyone else. I didn’t want to.” Her expression flattened into a scowl. “None of them were James, or Amaya, or Dorian, or anyone else I used to know. Maybe it’s selfish, but I didn’t want new friends; I wanted the old ones,” she drew in a deep breath, “and I wanted you most of all.”

A pang of compassion crumpled into a smile. “I know the feeling,” he clutched her tighter. 

She stretched her arms over her knees. “Have you been alone for very long?”

His lips pressed together as he looked idly into the creek. “Oh...” he trailed off before he could give an answer.

She turned to him squarely. “Doctor.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter—I’ve been alone before, and I know how to deal with it. I worry more about you—”

“And I worry about you. You’ve told me before Time Lords shouldn’t travel alone.”

“You’ve been alone,” he said, his brows furrowed.

“Not by choice,” she was quick to add.

He averted his eyes. “Believe me, it wasn’t by choice for me either. After everything happened, James got back to his own life and... Miss Gallagher got back to hers,” he let out a slow breath. “And when I finally felt I could open back up, I couldn’t find anyone. They all had their own lives, and I hated to take them from their families. I’ve already broken too many... and I didn’t want to risk losing them too...”

His words grew more and more pained as he spoke, and Gemini could hear it well. “You should have come sooner—for us both!”

“I promise, I tried!” He pressed his lips together uncomfortably. “I had tried to track down your TARDIS, but—”

“ORBIT destroyed it,” she answered simply. “They couldn’t risk me getting my hands back on it.”

“Ack!” The Doctor moaned achingly. “All that power and technology destroyed without a thought!” He paused, eyeing Gemini. “Although, they clearly don’t seem to care about what gets damaged in their processes.” 

“Can’t you go rescue me from ORBIT before all this?” She glanced back at him with pain in her eyes.

“I wanted to, but I couldn’t risk interfering with your other timeline.”

“Then, why don’t you jump back a few decades on this planet—”

“Gem, that’s not going to work now that—”

“So, I’m just meant to be left behind—waiting until I’m stripped of everything I ever knew; everything I ever was!” She slipped out of his grasp, bristling, as her eyes pierced into his. 

He shrunk back as the heat of her anger flared.

She bit her lip. “You know, I’ve never given the people of Westfall my name. They call me The Wildfire, and that’s about how useful I am sometimes. I destroy things, then everyone forgets about me until the next time I flare up,” her words grew bitter.

“Gemini,” he tried.

“I haven’t been Gemini,” she hissed and shook her head. “Gemini wouldn’t have been ORBIT’s puppet, and she wouldn’t have ended so many lives.” A sigh escaped her lips as she broke eye contact. “On top of that, another of my ‘perks’ of being Gallifreyan is aging incredibly slowly, so I’ve got even longer to think about everything I’ve done wrong. I have enough energy for one more regeneration, too.” Her head lowered further. “But I was thinking about using it up...”

“Using it up?” He looked at her squarely. “Gemini!”

“Doctor, I’ve spent years—alone—trying to come to grips with all this,” she gashed her teeth. “I’ve spent years carrying the weight of what I’ve done, and years trying to find some sort of meaningful life on this dying planet,” she thrust her hand behind her, “and all the while, I’m trying to understand how my life can feel so endless!” She glanced at The Doctor, who had grown uncharacteristically solemn. “What?”

Darkness had fallen upon the elder time lord’s face. “It’s not endless,” he mumbled.

“Going from a life expectancy of eighty to eight-hundred is a big jump for a former human.” Gemini quipped.

The Doctor’s face unclenched in realization. At the exact moment his own long life was coming to a close, Gemini’s had just been granted a centuries-long extension. His eyes lost their focus and drifted aside.

Gemini recognized this look. “What happened,” she commanded more than asked.

He swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

He fumbled over words and phrases with his lips before he finally blurted, “I’m out of regenerations.”

“Out of regenerations?” She leaned back, as if recoiling from the sting of his words.

His open mouth bent into a frown. “Just like you and The Wildfire, during the Time War, I was not The Doctor. I would not allow that man to have my name. I would not allow his actions to be mine. I ignored him for centuries and flat out forgot about him. But no matter how hard you try, you cannot outrun your own past.”

Her brows arched expectantly.

“I found him, and his existence means I’m out of regenerations.” He held out his hands. “This is it. When I die, I’m finished.”

Gemini remained arched backward, looking at him in both shock and confusion. “So, on Fortis-Novus, when you fell... if you’d had died...”

“I would have died.”

She huffed. “But... you...”

His solemn frown seemed to weigh down his entire body. “Looking for you is one of the last things I hoped to do.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know how long I have left.” 

Gemini’s lips were pursed as she held the weight of The Doctor’s sorrow on her hearts. For as long as she’d known him, he had always seemed eternal. He had lived hundreds of years before she even existed. His timeline was vast and full of people, places, and events; it never occurred to her that his time could come to an end.

“I’m sorry,” she slipped her fingers around his hand, drawing his eyes back to meet hers. “I shouldn’t have gotten so mad.”

“You have every right to be upset with me,” he looked deeply into her eyes. “While I may not know exactly how you feel, I understand how difficult it’s been. And I’m so sorry for the role I’ve played.” 

“But, I...” she sighed, “I’ve been so focused on myself that I haven’t thought about what you must be feeling—what you must have gone through. I’d be a fool to think you haven’t been struggling with being apart, too.”

He bit his lip. “I’ve loathed being apart from you.”

“But now,” she squeezed his hand, “somehow, someway, we’re together again. It looks like we’ve both been given another chance,” her lips found a smile. “No matter what this chance may bring, no matter how long we have left, I will take it.”

His lips puckered as all sorrow and pain were alleviated from his wearied mind. “You and I, again,” he cracked a grin, “one more time.”

She nodded with a spark of joy in her eyes—a spark that had previously been missing—and he could do nothing more than to break into a toothy chuckle.

“And I promise, I’ll do better at controlling the flames.” She added slyly.

“Are you kidding? I’ll run headfirst into wildfire for you,” he said breathily as she drew closer to him on her knees. He straightened his posture to again fold her into his arms, holding her tight enough to never let her go.

“I love you, Gemini,” he whispered into her ear.

“I love you, too,” she cozied closer.

He pulled away enough to look her in the eyes, and she gazed longingly back.

His lips parted and he closed his eyes.

Water dropped squarely onto his head.

“Oi!!” He shouted as Gemini backed away in shock.

James was standing on the bridge with his wings glowing faintly in the sunlight. His hand was out, and his wide smirk was more than visible across the distance. “S-sorry,” he called, “I had to.”

He shut his hand, and the bowl of light that held the water over The Doctor’s head disappeared—and dropped the rest upon him.

The Doctor, with wet hair stuck to his forehead and his arms held out at his sides in mid-shake, held his mouth open agape. “Do you see what I have to put up with??” His face contorted incredulously when he noticed Gemini was trying in vain to stifle her laughter. “Who’s side are you on, eh?”

“It depends,” she laughed, moments before water dropped on her head too. She gulped as the cold water soaked through her tunic, her entire body stiffening as she huffed out a breath.

The Doctor did not attempt to hide his laughter, and he bellowed a loud guffaw as Gemini whipped her head towards her brother.

“You jerk—the water’s freezing!!” She grabbed her blade and took off towards the bridge. Grunting, she ducked down to slap the water in his direction.

He flinched despite the water not making it anywhere near him.

“How did you even get past us without me noticing??” 

James stepped around the railing and started toward her. “It’s pretty easy wh-when you’re distracted by Mister Time,” he grinned as she turned red.

“You’re getting awfully cheeky with your powers, sir!” The Doctor was plodding through the grass. “Did you know he enclosed me in a bubble to stop me from pacing?”

“Oh my goodness, really?” She covered her lips.

“And now he’s suspending water in the air,” The Doctor slicked his hair back as he stood in his damp slacks, shoes, and undershirt, “if I wasn’t constantly their target, I’d be even more impressed at your improving skills.”

James grinned. “Thanks, I think.”

Gemini handed the blade to her brother as she used the tunic tied at her waist to dry her arms and head. “I thought the Sentinel’s power was just a shield,” she mused.

“It is a shield—”

The Doctor was interrupted when light engulfed Gemini’s blade like a glowing sword. All three appeared surprised.

“...But that’s not a shield.” He finished, stepping back. “I’m not sure that’s the best use of The Sentinel’s power.”

“Wh-why not?” James looked up from the sword. “What if I need to be offensive?”

“Sentinels are not offensive,” The Doctor dismissed, and James, frowning, let it be.

“Well, should we go on to TARDIS now that we’re all awake?” The Doctor turned to Gemini. “I can help you gather anything you want to bring with you.”

“Yeah.” Her voice lacked any sort of follow-through as she looked to the cabin behind them.

The Doctor’s grin faded. “Gem?”

She bit her lip. “I feel bad leaving the villagers here,” she admitted quietly as The Doctor stepped up to her and James returned her blade. “They’ve helped me so much, and I’ve been fighting for them since I got here; but it’s only a matter of time before these new farmlands stop producing like all the rest.” She slipped the blade into a sling on her back and started toward the cabin.  “They may not want to admit it, but it’s not just the beasts that have been killing them off.”

“The Daleks may have ruined the soil with their mining operation.” James mentioned.

“There were Daleks here?”

“Years ago,” The Doctor thumbed his chin. “Maybe we can figure out a way to relocate the people of Westfall,” The Doctor tried, “After all, there’s not many left.”

Gemini’s eyes were filled with expectation as she looked to him. “Could we?”

His lips broke to a smile. “You’ve brought these people hope, and I don’t want to be the one to take it away just because I want that hope too.”

She smiled and reached for The Doctor’s hand. “You’ve brought me hope.”

“Yeah, well James deserves all the credit.”

James brought a hand to his forehead and sighed. “I j-just step in when you become a useless mess.”

The three laughed in varying degrees as they approached the cabin. Without so much as a thought, Gemini opened the cracked front door.

A Cyberman stood on the other side.

She drew in a sharp breath in shock as it stretched out its arm and fired its blaster. She narrowly dodged the shot and it instead struck James’ shield as he darted in front of The Doctor. He put out his hand to cover Gemini, but she had already managed pin its arms behind its back and drag it to its knees outside the door.

She twisted around the Cyberman and caught a glimpse of another silver figure appearing from the trees behind her brother. “James!!”

He immediately whipped around with a shield of light on his arm. The Cyberman fired at him, but he pulsed the light to reflect it back into the Cyberman’s head.

Gemini pulled the blade from her back and ran it through her Cyberman’s chest.

The Doctor winced as the two Cybermen fell limp on either side of him. “Well,” he commented, glancing between the two siblings, “clearly you don’t need me.”

Gemini darted back into the cabin and returned with her goggles on her forehead. “I’m going to assume there’s more.”

James was looking warily to the forest. “And I’m assuming they know the prophecy too.”

“What prophecy?” Gemini asked.

The Doctor’s eyes were locked ahead as his body stiffened. “Correct,” he muttered as an army of Cybermen began marching from the woods.

Gemini pulled the goggles over her eyes and stepped in front of The Doctor. She took her stance and held out her sonic blade at arm’s length.

“Capture the Time Lord.” One of the Cybermen spoke.

“Which one?” The Doctor sneered.

Gemini shouted and swept the blade through the air, barraging the front line with a flurry of blasts. The entire line crumpled and fell into the fire sparking across the ground, but the second line unleashed their own barrage from the blasters on their wrists.

James bowed his wings around them to protect them, and Gemini darted outside its boundary the moment the firing stopped. 

The Wildfire again lived up to her name as she slipped through the fire and began picking off the distracted adversaries one by one. The Cybermen frantically tried to focus on her, but the heat of the flames overloaded their sensors and blurred the air.

The Doctor and James stood on bated breath as they watched her work from afar.

“She’s so hot,” The Doctor’s mouth hung open.

James shot him a glance. “Are you really making a pun right now??”

An errant shot struck the house as James’ wings flared around the two of them.

Gemini rose from the flames with her lips parted in worry. Distracted, she became an easy target as a Cyberman grabbed her from behind.

“Activate the transport!” It called.

At once, the Cyberman and Gemini disappeared.

“No!!” The Doctor flew out from around James’ shield, but his roar was drowned by the Cybermen’s ship bursting from the woods. He held up his arm against his eyes as dirt and debris were whipped into the air.

The remaining Cybermen froze, unsure of their purpose now that their mission appeared complete. They didn’t have much longer to wait as James rushed forward, grabbed Gemini’s fallen blade, and disabled them quickly.

James grit his teeth and turned back to The Doctor, the sonic blade in one hand and a shield of light in the other. “Where did they take her??”

“Where else,” The Doctor slumped forward in defeat. “Trenzalore.”

- - -

The Doctor threw open the doors to the TARDIS and plodded across the metal bridge to the central console, walking quickly, yet deliberately, up to the control panel.

“Doctor,” James hurried after him, though he came to a quick halt when coordinates appeared over The Doctor’s head. “That’s not—”

“It’s Fortanya,” The Doctor powered up the TARDIS. “I’m bringing you home.”

“No,” James lunged and grabbed the Time Lord’s hand.

“No??” The Doctor yanked his hand away.

“I t-t—told you: I’m coming with you!”

“James Harley, if you come with me to Trenzalore, you will not come back!!” The Doctor’s entire frame lurched with each word he spat.

James bit his lip, his expression falling somewhere between blinded determination and excruciating fear. “I know the risks,” he uttered at last.

The Doctor’s mouth dropped open as he attempted to reply numerous times before tossing his head back and shouting, “No! I will not break up another family—I will not lose someone else!”

“Th-they took my sister,” The Sentinel again grabbed The Doctor’s hand before he could activate the jump. “I am coming with you.”

“And you will not come back if I die!!”

“You’re not dying yet!!”

Glaring at each other with narrow eyes, taut lips, and stiffened backs, the two had reached a stalemate. The Doctor’s hand was balled into a fist with James’ grip tight on his wrist. There was no movement or sound aside from the gentle whirring of the idling TARDIS.

At last, the standoff was broken when The Doctor shut his eyes and exhaled through his nose. “Fine,” he submitted under his breath. “Don’t say I didn’t try.”

James released his hand, though his heavy gaze remained locked.

The Doctor turned back to the console and rescanned for Gemini’s fingerprint. Her latest coordinates appeared onscreen. She had been brought to the exact moment he had happened upon Trenzalore before; apparently the Cyberman had also noticed his mistake.

After pushing past a cacophony of warning bells, the TARDIS whirred to life and began its trek to Trenzalore.

“What’s all that?” James asked as The Doctor started below deck.

“The TARDIS doesn’t want to go back,” he admitted as he continued. “She knows what’s there.”

“Where are you going?”

“Changing clothes.”

James nodded despite The Doctor being well out of sight. He turned to the screen and saw the planet’s visual. A pang of worry shot through him, but he had to trust his instincts. He had to trust that this was not where the story would end.

---

Chapter 9

The doors to the TARDIS opened wide to reveal a bleak landscape. Rocky debris covered the ground, heaping into piles that resembled mountains in the distance. The pale gray sky churned with clouds, and the setting sun cast an unearthly red tint across a narrow slice of the cold landscape.

The Doctor did not raise his eyes as he stepped out after James. He gripped the edges of a gray vest and his chin was pressed against the worn blue bowtie at his neck. He knew what James was looking at.

“Doctor, that’s...” The Sentinel breathed, his dark eyes wide.

There, on the horizon, was The Doctor’s TARDIS. Broken and heavily damaged, it stood at a gargantuan size, looming over the face of the planet like a monument.

The Doctor turned up his eyes. “That is my grave.”

“Th—th-the TARDIS?”

“What else would they bury me in?”

James’ jaw was slack. “But, why is it so...”

“She’s dying,” he turned away, though he was not completely facing James either. “Thanks to a size leak, she’s growing bigger on the outside too.”

James frowned, shivering in the shadow of the dying TARDIS, and the haunting scene was made even more poignant knowing what lay inside. His fingers gripped tighter around Gemini’s blade.

“We’ve got to find Gem,” The Doctor narrowed his gaze, “find her, and get out of here as soon as possible.”

James’ wings spread wide. “Right.”

- - -

Her body jolted as her eyelids cracked open. It was dark, and she could smell wet dirt. She winced as she tried to move her arms, but they were uncomfortably bound behind the rough stone she was pinned to. Her legs were tucked beneath her in the dirt. She heard what sounded like footsteps clobbering across the squishy ground in the distance. She struggled raise her head and found she was covered in a long, rectangular shadow. Shining between the gravestones that flanked her vision, she could see a white light growing closer. A second figure strayed from the light, calling for her.

She gasped in a breath as a wave of pain pulsed through her body. She remembered what happened now; she remembered struggling against the Cybermen and withstanding a myriad of physical blows before one with a less-powerful blaster shot her in the back. As her body shuddered from weakness, her head slumped forward and her eyes fell closed.

“Gemini!!” The Doctor shouted again. He rushed toward her and slid to his knees across the muddy ground. He lifted her limp form with a gentle hand upon her face, gnashing his teeth when he found a bloody lip and bruises upon her bare arms. Thick metal cables held her in place against a tombstone, and a quick tug proved they would not be easy to remove.

He garnered a moan from her lips as her face squashed painfully. She remembered something else—something the Cybermen had said when they were tying her to the stone.

“It’s all right,” he hushed her, “I’m here—we’ll get you free.”

“Nnn—Doctor—no,” she strained to speak, her green eyes scarcely visible behind dirty glasses and squinted eyelids. 

James was soon crouched beside them, and he grimaced as he attempted to use the sonic blade to cut through the cords. Instead, his force only caused the blade to slip and strike the ground. He huffed, coated the blade in light, and in one swoop, he slashed through the cords.

The Doctor was wide-eyed as he caught Gemini in his arms. “That’s not a shield,” he commented.

“A shield wouldn’t have broken her free,” the elder brother turned to him with the heat of annoyance peppering his tone.

“Careful,” he warned him quietly as Gemini’s hand tried to tug at his bowtie, “your power is stronger than it’s ever been; don’t let your anger get the best of it.”

Gemini fought against her own frailty and grabbed The Doctor by his collar. “It’s—a trap!” She winced.

The Doctor gasped a breath as James instinctively grabbed his arm. In those few short moments, they had been flanked by four Cybermen.

“Doctor,” one called when the Time Lord raised his head over the tombstones. “Have you come to fulfill the prophecy?”

“I have come to rescue my companion.” He tucked Gemini tighter; both to quell his own fear and to protect her.

“According to the prophecy, The Doctor will fall on the fields of Trenzalore,” the Cyberman proclaimed in its emotionless voice, “and here you are, on your knees.”

“No!” James shot to his feet, despite every wrist blaster following his every move. 

“James,” The Doctor called a warning as he tried to reach for him.

The Sentinel held out his right hand and covered Gemini’s blade in light while his left held out a shield. His wings were spread wide above the gravestones.

“The prophecy must be fulfilled.” One Cyberman stepped forward.

“N-not today.” He sneered.

A single Cyberman shot at him, but James blocked with his shield and dashed forward. He slashed through its hull with little resistance using the light-coated blade. 

The two Cybermen at his back held their fire as the first collapsed at James’ feet. 

James turned to the one beside him as rage burned within his chest. His power collected into the sword until it burned white hot, and it practically melted the metallic form it was thrust through. The wings on his back dimmed and went out as the second Cyberman fell.

“James, stop!!” The Doctor cried.

But the Cyberman behind him noticed it too.

James lurched forward as a blast pegged him between the shoulder blades. His light went out, and he fell to his knees. He struggled to breathe for a moment before he gasped and collapsed to his side.

Gemini cried out, and The Doctor released her to rush towards them. “Stop!!” He shouted, holding out his hand to quell their fire. His other hand extended toward James, and he stood, half-bent, between his friend and the Cybermen.

James winced and tried to get up, but he found movement difficult. His eyes strayed to the grave at his side. He paled in terror when he read the name upon the stone.

“This blaster has been damaged; I may only stun,” the Cyberman’s blaster clicked back into its forearm.

The Doctor breathed, taking his eyes off the Cyberman to glance at James.

The second Cyberman extended his arm. “I will not stun.”

“No!!” Gemini shrieked, shakily supporting herself with her arms.

He fired a shot directly into The Doctor’s chest.

The Doctor was knocked back.

A second shot dropped him to the ground.

Both James and Gemini choked on their breath.

The Doctor lay, crumpled, in the dirt.

The Cyberman lowered his arm. “The prophecy is fulfilled,” he announced, and the two turned and started away without another word.

Gemini’s face contorted in horror. She let out a scream so pitiful and pained that even James winced at its tone.

Being the closest to his fallen companion, James drug himself back to his knees, fighting against the pain in his back and the heaviness of his limbs. His teeth were clenched tight, and his breaths were heaved through short, staggered huffs. He held himself over The Doctor’s crumpled form and shuddered.

This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be the end.

The Doctor’s chest was battered and bloody. It did not rise and fall. His eyes were partially open, but they did not move.

James found himself unable to breathe.

Gemini fell at his side next, still howling a sob as tears poured down her cheeks. She slipped her hands around The Doctor’s face, trembling through grief.

“H-h—he’s... n-not supposed to... yet... th—there’s still... still things he... h-hasn’t done...” James was muttering, trancelike.

“You just found me!” Gemini managed to shout through her cries. “Doctor, please don’t leave me!!”

This was more than James’ strength could bear. The Sentinel finally broke down and grabbed his sister as tightly as he could manage. He cried into her shoulder as she wailed into his coat. 

On the cold fields of Trenzalore, in the shadow of a dying TARDIS, The Doctor had died.

The prophecy was fulfilled.

This was the end.

 

Gemini’s sobs suddenly drew into a gasp.

James lifted his head at the strangeness of the sound.

Her eyes had glazed over.

“Gem?” he whispered.

“I have one—one more—regeneration.”

James’ brows furrowed over his red eyes. “What?”

“I have one more regeneration.” 

She pushed away from her brother and lifted her hands over The Doctor. Golden energy began to wisp from her fingertips.

“W—wait,” James faltered.

“This is the last I’ve got.” She looked upon the fallen Time Lord.

“No—what about you??” James’ hand hung in the air, afraid to touch her as the energy continued to seep from her body.

Her eyes began to glow, glinting across her glasses. “I don’t know. But I have to try.” 

“B—the prophecy—The Doctor said this was where his timeline ends—where he dies! An—nd there’s a tombstone f—for—”

“He’s not dying yet,” she spoke firmly, “not today!” Gemini placed her hands on The Doctor’s chest and brought her lips to his. The golden light poured from her wrists and leaked from her kiss.

James barely had the time, and the strength, to throw up a shield as a burst of light engulfed the graveyard. Energy exploded into the air, leaving behind a shower of flickering embers that drifted down into the field around them.

Gemini collapsed onto The Doctor’s chest.

The Doctor gasped for breath and just as quickly coughed it out as the golden light curled like smoke from his mouth.

James’s eyes were wide as The Doctor struggled and pushed against the ground. He heaved and tried to roll over, finding Gemini lying across him.

“Ah!” He grunted, focusing on her as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. “No—what’s happened?” He clutched his chest with one arm. “I was shot,” he then turned to Gemini, frantically taking her head in his hands. “What did she do??” 

“She used her last regeneration,” James could scarcely speak, “you were... dead, and she used her last regeneration to bring you back.”

The Doctor seemed surprised, but the corner of his lips at last began to tug to a half-smile as he watched her breathe slowly in his lap. “You leveled us back out, eh?” He said, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. 

“Is—is she okay?”

“She is; just recovering from a great deal of energy loss.” He turned back to James, still smiling lightly. “I suppose you were right. It wasn’t time. Not yet.”

James’ breathing quickened. He shut his eyes and grabbed The Doctor in a humbled, yet grateful, hug. “I’m—s-s-so—sorry,” he trembled as much as his voice. “I sh-shouldn’t have—”

“Hush,” The Doctor spoke into James’ dark hair as he wrapped his arm around his neck. He cradled Gemini against him with his other arm and held them both in tired relief. “We’re all alive—we’re all safe. And this time,” he moved his chin to rest it upon The Sentinel’s head, “we can all leave this place.”

---

Chapter 10

“Ph—Phoenix,” James began as the time-traveller stepped up to them. “Th—this was the safest place I—p—place I—”

“It’s all right.” Phoenix calmed him. The dusty purple-gray cloak brushed against the long grass near the edge of the stream. “I’m assuming things are not as well as they should be.”

James shook his head. “Gemini is lost, The Doctor is-s trying to find her, and m—my friend Amaya is hurt.”

“Gemini—lost,” Phoenix started to walk across the stepping stones. “Mentally or physically?”

James lowered his brows. “H-how do you know about that?”

“The Doctor has told me about her struggle. She is strong, but I fear for her just as he does.” Phoenix stepped up to Vance and Amaya. “What’s wrong with this one?”  

“M-mental shock,” James explained. “She’s an—an oracle.”

“She was pushed too far... she won’t snap out of it,” Vance added worriedly.

Phoenix nodded, taking Amaya from Vance and propping her against his shoulder. “I see. Perhaps resting her mind will help; in fact, I think you all could use some rest. Come with me. You all are safe here.”

Vance looked at James. “Thank you,” he sighed gratefully.

They started into the woods, and Phoenix slowed for James to walk along side him.

“Has The Doctor been able to connect with your sister?”

James shook his head. “She was too distant... p-p—pushed everyone away.”

Phoenix also shook his head.  “He must get to her before—”

“The scattered will come together on the Sentinel’s watch...”

Phoenix slowed, glancing down at Amaya.

Vance slid between James and Phoenix to reach the dazed oracle.  He winced as she moaned softly. “Please say you can make this stop...” He gently pressed his hand against her forehead, but her eyes remained distant.

“I’ll do my best,” Phoenix bowed his head.

James turned away from them as they continued towards the time-traveller’s home. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought, closing his eyes. He was feeling powerless, unsure of how he could ever do what needed to be done—much less know what to do in the first place.

A familiar whirring caught him off guard, and he turned his head to see the TARDIS materializing on the other side of the stream. Rising with determination, he rushed through the trees and bounded over the stepping stones just as The Doctor pushed open the door.

“Doctor,” he started, only to realize this was not the same Doctor he was used to. This Doctor was worn and tired with blood staining his chest and dirt scraped across his clothes. This Doctor was older, unless the dirt upon his face was accentuating the wrinkles that framed it.

“James,” The Doctor spoke gently, watching this particular iteration’s eyes scan him curiously. “I’ve... I’ve got bad news.”

His brows furrowed. “Where’s Gemini?”

“I’m so sorry,” he swallowed and bowed his head. “We were too late; too late to save her.”

The brows arched and his eyes bugged out. “Wh-wh—what do you mean?” He stammered.

“An organization called ORBIT was looking for her, and they found her. They changed her... tortured her,” he winced. “I found her, but...” He trailed off sadly and turned his head toward the open TARDIS doors.

James took a step forward to glance inside. 

He was at first taken aback by the strangeness of the interior of the TARDIS—further proving this Doctor was from a much more distant time. But when his eyes found a woman lying across the steps past the central console, he gasped in a breath and clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Gem!” he whimpered through his fingers, only to push past The Doctor and rush to her side. 

She was clad in solid black and also bore the stains of blood and dirt across her clothes and skin. Her glasses were scratched and her eyes were shut in sleep. She, too, looked older, though it may have been her much longer hair curling around her neck and shoulders.

James carefully drew a hand to her shoulder, seemingly on the verge of tears.

“She’s all right, just asleep.” The Doctor stepped up behind him. “She’s lived through decades of torture, loneliness, and grief before I was able to find her.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, James.”

“No,” James suddenly straightened his back, keeping his eyes on his sister. “W-we’ll find her before this happens, and we’ll save her!”

“James,” the Time Lord tried, but the man’s determination had taken over.

“We’ll find where ORBIT was keeping her and we’ll rescue her!”

“We can’t just fly the TARDIS up to a heavily armed space station!”

The man whipped his head towards The Doctor. “Th-Then we’ll find another way—we’ll get help! We’ve got to—got to save her!” Despite his resolve, hot tears were welling in his eyes. “W—w-we can’t let this happen...”

He turned back, his lips and hands trembling as he delicately lifted her limp hand. “I—I don’t care if it takes the rest of my life—I will come back for you. I will stop this from happening—I will rescue you.”

The Doctor watched as wings of light began to materialize from James’ back. The smallest of smiles lit his face, and he knelt down at his side. “I know you will, Sentinel,” he spoke with a hand on his shoulder.

James glanced at The Doctor curiously upon hearing the word that Amaya had spoken earlier. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of light behind his back.

He gasped when he found his wings, and he slipped off his knees as he spun around to try to look at them. “D-D—D...” he spouted.

“You know the stories throughout history about angels, guardians, and protectors,” The Doctor mused, “they are the Sentinels, ever-watchful protectors of the universe.  Their power is to protect, to defend; never to harm. And because of this, they came to not even need their bodies. But their power still remains; it emerges in those who are like they are... someone strong, someone pure. A protector. A guardian... an angel.”  The Doctor smiled at James. “You were called to protect Gemini, so your power awakened to let you.”

James’ eyes lost their focus as his mind was buried in thought. “So I’m... I’m supposed to figure out how to save her?”

“Yes.”

He turned back to The Doctor. “What about you?”

“I’m elsewhere on your timeline, but I’ve already seen enough to know you are the leader of this operation—not me. You have everything you need. All of your allies are right here,” he smirked and rolled up James’ left sleeve to reveal the vortex manipulator he had given him. He returned his hand to James’ shoulder as the young man tried to decipher all he had just learned. “You’ve got this. I wouldn’t trust Gemini’s life in any other hands.”

James’ lips pressed together in a determined half-smile. “Wh—whatever it takes... I won’t let this happen.”

The Doctor smiled and squeezed James’ shoulder. “I know. Thank you, James.”

With great reluctance, James managed to stand and turn away from his sister. His wings began to fade, and he squared himself with The Doctor as he, too, stood up.

“Once Amaya is better, she and Vance can return to Fortanya. No one is looking for them anymore; they will be safe now.”

James nodded.

“And, give the Phoenix my regards,” he added.

He nodded again, and turned to the door. “You’ve... already witnessed what happens?”

The Doctor smiled. “I have.”

“Do I save her?” He asked, his back still toward The Doctor.

“What do you think?”

He glanced over his shoulder. At last, a look of hope glimmered in his eyes as the smallest of smiles found his lips.

The Doctor watched The Sentinel exit the TARDIS. He knew orchestrating Gemini’s rescue would take up  much of his life—so much that he would be considered ‘The Elder Sentinel’ when his plan was finally put into action—but he knew that James would have had it no other way. The protector would always need someone to protect, and who better than his own sister?

He shut the door and bent down to scoop up Gemini. He hated to have left her on the stairs in such a state, but James thought seeing his sister in such a way would drive the point home to his alternate self. Of all people, he would know what would work best for himself.

The Doctor cradled Gemini in his arms with her head upon his shoulder. He squeezed her tightly, knowing that, despite the hardships she faced, she would now be able to heal and live out the rest of her days with him.

“Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to take me away from you now,” he whispered into her ear. “And, as always, I’ve got James to thank for it.”

He carried her up the stairs and into the hallway. “All this talk of The Sentinel’s power awakening to protect you,” he smiled lightly, “and he’s protected me just as much. I’m not sure where we’d be without him.”

He paused as he stood in front of a door that had been long closed.

He adjusted her in his arms to free one of his hands. He stretched toward the doorknob and opened the door to the room he and Gemini once shared. In the light from the hallway, he stepped past a chair with a pair of her blue jeans laid across it and a dresser with a hairbrush sitting beside a black headband and an untied maroon bowtie. He held his breath as he stretched his hand again to flick on a lamp, bathing the room in a warm orange light.

At once, memories flooded into his mind: scenes of Gemini sitting on the chair to slip on her boots; scenes of her standing beside the dresser to brush her hair; scenes of her bounding onto the bed and into his arms; scenes of her holding his head in her lap as she sang a song about nights full of the memory of love.

Nights in white satin...

He carefully laid her upon the white—cotton—sheets of the bed, ensuring her head was propped upon her pillow. When he stepped back, chills raced down his spine.

Everything had changed; everything was different.

But here, in this moment, he received a glimpse of what it once was—and what it could be going forward.

He smiled: grateful, hopeful, and full of love.

James had stepped into the doorway, watching The Doctor quietly stare at the bed as his mind was lost in thought. He gently tapped on the doorframe to alert him of his presence, and he met the gaze of a dewy-eyed Doctor.

“How did it go?” He asked.

“It broke his heart, just like you said it would,” The Doctor bowed his head. “But his power awakened, and he left as a determined young Sentinel.”

“Only to become the Elder Sentinel in the process, and recruit a different version of himself to help rescue a different Gemini than this one.” James leaned against the doorframe. “Time is... strange.”

The Doctor chuckled. “You learn to stop trying to make sense of things after a while.”

“And, in my defense,” James pushed off the doorframe. “I’m not sure where I’d be without you either.”

The Doctor’s lips parted and pulled to a smile. “You heard that too, eh?”

“Despite all I’ve w-witnessed, I still lost what it meant to be a Sentinel,” James admitted humbly. “‘To protect and defend, and never to harm’... You reminded me.”

“Oh, I don’t know how much I had to do with that.”

“Doctor, you died because I stopped protecting you.”

“But, it was not my time,” The Doctor stepped up to him. “And you knew that better than I did.”

James smiled softly. “You hadn’t gone to my wedding yet, and I saw you there. So I... I hoped I was right.”

The Doctor cracked a smile. “James Harley, stop bringing logic into this.”

He finally garnered a laugh from the older brother, and the two slipped out of the room to allow Gemini to rest.

“Also,” James slowed when they started into the hallway, “when we were on Trenzalore, I saw a gravestone...”

The Doctor raised a hand as if to dismiss his concern.

“It had my name on it.”

His hand dropped as the color trickled from his face. “What?”

James looked down. “It took me by surprise—especially when you died, and I got worried that I was... going to die there too. But now...”

“Now, we’re all safe.” The Doctor affirmed. “It could be someone else with your name, or it could no longer exist since we left Trenzalore after all.” He took his shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry.”

“All right, then.” James nodded with a comforted smile. “I won’t.”

- - -

Gemini crept into the hallway, glancing down both directions cautiously. Her room had been the same, but the hallway was now walled in silver metal and dim blue lights. The heather-white shirt she had changed into seemed even more stark in the glow, and as she started into the hall, she gave the top of her boot a tug over the blue jeans she had snagged from the chair.

She froze when she entered the control room. Instead of the warm orange hues of the interior she was used to, her eyes were met with dimly lit blue-green panels and cold, metal platforms. The organic forms were replaced with tall spires and hexagonal patterns. A row of bright lights lined the upper level with dimmer, red-orange lights spaced below.  A staircase lead down to the command console, and the spacious entryway was no more than a bridge to the TARDIS doors.

“You really must have been alone a while,” she muttered aloud as her eyes scanned the room.

She went down the stairs and began a slow walk around the command console. She could see the glow continue below the metal platform on which she stood, so she knelt down to take a look over the edge. She expected to find The Doctor tinkering below, but she was surprised when she saw nothing but a dark hallway leading from the space.

She stood and adjusted the glasses on her nose. Seemingly alone in the low hum of the idling TARDIS, her hearts began to race in panic. Was The Doctor okay? Did giving up her regeneration actually revive him? Surely being on the TARDIS meant he was alive, but for all she knew, James had been the one to bring her back inside.

“Doctor?” She called in distress.

A flicker of sound behind her caused her to turn, and she took a step backward when she saw the translucent figure of a white-haired man in a black coat standing beside the console. He was coincidentally framed by the TARDIS doors behind him.

“Doctor?” She repeated, now in curiosity.

“I am not The Doctor, I am a voice interface,” the man spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

Her brows lowered, and she stepped up to the man inquisitively. He was only a few inches taller than she was, and his fingers held the lapels of his coat at his chest. A silk necktie was tied at his chin. When her eyes strayed to his face, wrinkled and thin with age, they locked with his blue eyes.

“It is you, isn’t it,” she mused as her lips tugged to a smile. “A different regeneration.”

Her hand strayed toward the man, but she retracted it when the hologram flickered and changed to a man with short black hair in a coat and a wide-collared dress shirt.

Her brows furrowed. “Are you him too?” She blinked. “Show me another.”

Now a tall man with fluffy white hair stood before her. His thumbs rested in his belt as a long black coat hung to his knees at his sides. He had a black cravat at his neck, and the inside of his coat was stitched in velvet red.

“Another?” She asked.

The hologram morphed to an even taller man in a brown trench coat and a long, colorful scarf that hung to the ground. A fedora sat upon his curly brown hair, and a jovial smile and wide blue eyes looked back at her.

“I remember you!” Gemini grinned. 

“Gemini...” he spoke, his eyes softening. “I know I will never forget her. Never in a million years.”

She drew in a breath. “Aren’t you just a voice interface?”

“I am generated using the memory banks of the TARDIS,” The Doctor replied, still smiling. “These words were spoken by The Doctor.”

She brought a hand to her lips, balling it to a fist against her chin instead. “He really said that? After that short time I’d seen him?”

“Yes!” His grin widened as he bobbed his head.

The hologram continued to pass through The Doctor’s regenerations as it became a man with short blond hair in a cream coat with red accents—and a stalk of celery pinned to his lapel. Next, a man appeared with curly blond hair and a patchwork coat of many colors. From there it shifted to a shorter man in a panama hat, a vest knitted with question marks, and a brown coat. Then, a more youthful man with long brown hair and a Victorian-style frock coat stood with his hands in his pockets.

But when this form flickered and changed, the next man startled her. He was old and tired, with short gray hair and an unkempt moustache and beard. He wore a weathered leather coat over a double-breasted vest and a tattered scarf at his neck. His eyes seemed to look past her, pained and heavy with the weight of what he had done.

She frowned, knowing the feeling well. “You,” Gemini spoke softly. “You’re the one he tried to forget.”

“What I did, I did without choice,” his voice was gruff and bitter, “in the name and peace, and sanity.”

“But not in the name of The Doctor,” she concluded. “I know. That’s why I’m The Wildfire,” she paused, “or, I was... before The Doctor found me.”

The warrior then became a man with very short hair, a leather jacket, and a smirk upon his face. He shifted to young man with messy brown hair, a trench coat, and casual tennis shoes. Despite his outward youthfulness and fierce expression, his dark eyes appeared old and tired.

“Young and old, all at once,” Gemini mused. “That was the first thing I noticed about you. You’ve lived so many years, had so many forms...”

“A longer life isn’t always a better one,” The Doctor said, stern, and yet sad. “In the end, you just get tired; tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything you love turn to dust. If you live long enough, the only certainty left is that you’ll end up alone.”

Gemini felt gutted as his words pierced the air. “No,” she stepped toward him. “No, you’re not alone. Not anymore.” She raised her hand to touch his face, reaching for him in longing. “I’m here with you, Doctor, and I’ll never let you go.”

The Doctor stepped through the hologram, and it disappeared. It was his face, his chin, his floppy brown hair parted across his forehead, his green eyes, and his smirk as he looked upon her with childlike fascination.

“I know.” He said, raising his eyebrows.

Her hand rested upon his cheek. “My Doctor,” she broke into a smile.

“My Gemini,” his grin widened as he took her hands.

She cocked her eyebrows as her eyes strayed to his current attire. “What are you wearing?”

“Ah,” he stepped back, looking down at the black tailed tuxedo, white dress shirt, black slacks, and white scarf he was wearing. He smirked as he removed the black top hat from his head. “I just came from a wedding.”

“A wedding?” She tilted her head. “Who’s?”

“James and his lovely bride, Elise.” He tossed the hat over the edge of the platform.

“James?? And you didn’t bring me?” Her hands were on her hips.

He gave a cautious smile. “You were already there,” he admitted.

“Figures,” Gemini huffed. “This alternate timeline stuff is brutal.” 

He bobbed his head and began slipping off the tuxedo coat, only to pull upright after a moment. “Oh! By the way, Amaya sends her regards.”

Gemini at once lit up. “Amaya! How did she know... well, that’s kind of a silly question,” she answered herself with a smile. “How is she?”

“She’s doing well! Goodness, the last you would have heard, her romance for Vance was just beginning to bud. You’ll be happy to know they’ve married as well!”

“Oh my goodness!” She clasped her hands together, a surprised smile on her lips.

“Now, they’re both busily taking care of Amadeus and Diana—”

“They already have children?? I really have missed a lot!”

The Doctor froze, paling. This Gemini would have no idea who Diana was, and her timeline would never include her. A strange mixture of guilt and bewilderment blanketed his face. James was right: time really was strange.

Gemini misinterpreted the source of his expression. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you by pointing that out.”

“No—no,” he dove back toward her, taking her hands. “I just got lost in a thought there. I’m not upset at all.” He offered a warm smile to prove it.

She found her own smile, glancing down at their hands. “Did you really remember me after I met you in London? You know, back when you wore really long scarves?”

He chuckled. “Of course I did, though sometimes it was buried a little deeper depending on the regeneration,” he pulled the much shorter scarf from around his neck and tossed it after the top hat. “There’s not many people who have that much of an effect on my past like you have.”

“It’s about time someone does,” she nodded. “It seemed like your last regeneration could have used me.”

“Eh, well,” he gave an awkward, toothy grimace, “he had his own person and... and lost her too. Lots of guilt, that one.”

“Lots of running, this one,” she laid her hands on his shoulders, “even running headfirst into wildfire.”

“I’ve stopped running,” his voice turned breathless as she pulled closer, “now that I’m in your arms.”

She wrapped herself within his arms and drew close to him. “Now that we have another chance.”

“You and I again,” he whispered, their lips almost touching, “one more time.”

At last, with his arms holding her tight and her fingers in his hair behind his neck, they shared a passionate kiss. All of their years of loneliness, pain, and separation seemed to disappear as their love replaced it all with more to spare.

“I love you, Gemini,” he murmured.

“I love you, too, Doctor.” 

They kissed again, breathing each other in as their hearts raced within their chests. Despite no desire to part, they finally drew back with smiles upon their lips and love in their eyes. Gemini broke her gaze and laid her head upon his shoulder, and he rested his chin upon her hair, finding himself gently swaying her back and forth as his arms remained wrapped around her back.

His eyes looked up after a moment, and he found James peeking in from the upper hallway. “Enjoying the show?” He sneered with heavy sarcasm, startling Gemini until she realized what he was talking about.

James rolled his eyes and started down the stairs. “I—I heard you talking a—and I wanted to see if my sister was awake,” he explained with crossed arms. “L-little did I know that’s when you’d pick to snog her.”

Gemini could only giggle at The Doctor’s side as he and James shot exaggerated glares at each other. The lighthearted standoff ended with James shaking his head with a smirk and The Doctor simply bursting into a laugh.

The Doctor turned back to Gemini and waved his free hand towards the silver spires that lined the room. “I assume you noticed the updates I made around here?” 

“Yeah, you made your TARDIS look like mine.” She smirked.

He frowned. “I did not!”

“That’s what I said!” James offered as Gemini nodded.

“All right, fine,” he set his hand on his hip. “Yours may have inspired parts of the look—but only parts!” He gave a more annoyed sigh as the siblings chuckled at each other. 

“With all the changes you made, I can’t believe you kept all my clothes,” she gave her jacket a quick tug.

“Oh, you know me; I couldn’t touch anything you touched,” he leaned back and rocked on his heels.

“I’m just missing a necklace,” she idly drew her fingers to her shirt collar. My Poe necklace is back in Fortanya, and I lost my feather necklace when they captured me...”

The Doctor raised a finger. “That makes this perfect, then!” Grinning like a child, he slipped his hand inside his coat and pulled a small box from the pocket. He placed it in her hands as she looked at him incredulously. “Go on, open it!” He said, giddy with excitement as he beckoned to her with his fingers.

She smirked and slipped it open to reveal a silver feather on a delicate chain. Her lips parted with a short gasp. She watched with wide eyes as The Doctor lifted it from the box. “Doctor, it’s...” Still too surprised to finish, she scooped her hair over one shoulder as he slipped it over her head.

He stepped back, smiling proudly with his hands balled at his chest while she watched the feather sparkle against her white shirt.

“Gee, that looks familiar.” James quipped under his breath.

“Shut up; you have good taste.” The Doctor replied similarly.

She looked up and smiled. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

A bemused smile soon pulled on James’ lips as he looked at Gemini. Despite her long hair, she looked exactly as she had the day she first walked onto the TARDIS: a simple T-shirt beneath a black jacket over blue jeans and black boots, and—most importantly—a necklace of some sort. A wave of nostalgia again rushed through him, harkening back to their first days with The Doctor so many years ago; days full of excitement and wonder; worlds of possibilities and seemingly nothing that could get in their way.

But now, those days had finally come to a close.

“James?” The Doctor asked, noticing the man’s dark eyes growing distant.

“I suppose... it’s time.” 

“Time for what?” Gemini asked.

“Time for The Sentinel to protect someone else.” James’ head dipped a little lower.

The Doctor broke away from Gemini, pressing his lips tight as her brows arched sadly. “You can’t stay?” she asked.

James shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “I... wish I could, but, I’ve got to go back.”

“I pulled him out of time travel retirement to help me find you,” The Doctor began pacing near the center console.

“I agreed that I would stay until we found you and m-made sure you were safe.” James looked to Gemini.

“And I agreed I’d have him back in time for dinner,” he pattered on the keyboard. “Can’t have Elise mad at him on my account.”

The screen above The Doctor’s head popped on with the coordinates.

The Tallelands. Spades. Fortanya. Year 520 D.R., Daethos’ Reign, local time. Date, 4 February.

James squinted at the screen, feeling a pang of sadness as the reality kicked in.

The Doctor had begun to fidget with his tuxedo buttons. “James, I...” he scowled, “I dislike good-bye’s.”

“It was hard enough the first time I thought I’d never see you again,” James attempted a smile. “Because, now, this really will be the last time I see you both.”

Gemini glanced up when she realized she was being included. “What, why?”

“Trenzalore,” The Doctor was turned away, speaking to a wall. “The prophecy still stands: The Doctor will fall on the fields of Trenzalore. It’s only a matter of time before we’re called back,” he turned to them both, “and that time, we won’t be returning.”

James let out a slow breath as he stepped toward The Doctor, catching his sister’s arm in the process. He brought her into The Doctor’s arms and smiled. “At least I can leave knowing you both are together again; no longer alone.” He blinked as tears threatened to form in his eyes. “You b-both can live out your days together, as you were meant to from the start. And that... that brings me peace.”

Gemini frowned sorrowfully, nuzzling against The Doctor for comfort. He kept his eyes downcast.

“Doctor.”

The Time Lord’s crushed expression turned up to meet James, releasing Gemini to square himself with him.

“Thank you,” James said as firmly as he could. “You showed me time and space, you pushed me beyond all of my boundaries, and, most importantly,” he smiled, “you became my friend.”

“James Harley,” The Doctor’s voice wavered, “I’m not sure there could be a better friend than you.”

Smiling through tears, the two friends embraced, ending the hug with hearty pats on their backs.

“And, Gem,” he said as she looked back at him with wide, tearful eyes. “I’m so proud of you. You’re stronger and braver than I could ever imagine; you came through adversity and you made it. And, I’m so glad you get your happy ending,” he huffed a sob despite smiling.

She whimpered as she grabbed her brother tightly. “I’m glad you get yours too,” she spoke into his jacket. “I just wish we could do it together.”

“Who knows,” he looked down at her, wiping away her tear with his thumb. “Maybe we’ll find a way.”

She grabbed him again, jumping to wrap her arms around his neck.

The Doctor scowled through his own red eyes, ducked his head, opened his arms, and caught both siblings before they could separate.

The eternal trio, forever intertwined across time and space, had one last moment together before they were dwindled down to two. Wet eyes watched as James Harley stepped off the TARDIS, waved, and returned to the Sirius Theater at the exact moment he had been picked up by The Doctor.

The whirring of the TARDIS dematerializing echoed in his head as he sat down in his office, both weeping and smiling at the memories he had shared—and the ones his sister and his best friend would be able to share moving forward.

---

Chapter 11

Ace stepped into the living room with a teacup in each hand and an amused expression on his lips.

“Tea, my lady?” He bowed, holding one of them out toward Athena.

“Why yes, m’lord,” Athena dramatically rested a hand on her chest while the other accepted the teacup.

Ace chuckled as his wife giggled under her breath, and he sat down on the sofa beside her in the glow of the wood stove. A pulsing sound reached his ears the moment he settled; it sounded like it was just outside the door.

He practically dropped his teacup onto the counter and bounded to the door.

“Ace??” Athena half-stood, but he had already flown outside.

The remnants of a tall blue box were just beginning to fade into the evening light as he rushed off the doorstep and towards the street. “Doctor! Wait!!” He shouted, only to find himself standing, alone, at the gate.

He scowled. “Dangit!”

“Ace?” Athena had come out to the stoop. “Ace, what’s this?”

He looked back to the house and found Athena inspecting a thin, brown paper package beside the door. In his hurried attempts at reaching the TARDIS, he had completely missed it.

The couple brought the package inside and curiously opened it. Inside was a colorful vinyl record sleeve and a hand-written note. Ace began to inspect the record sleeve as Athena confiscated the note and began to read it aloud.

“Dear Ace,” she read, “I’m not good with goodbyes, but I wanted to leave one last parting gift. I ran into a man named Justin outside a London music studio in 1967 and pitched a song idea. You’ll want to start the record where I have indicated.”

Ace slipped the record out of its sleeve and found a small piece of paper carefully taped on its grooves. Glancing at Athena, he set down the record and moved the needle in place.

At once, the room was filled with the swell of an orchestra, slow drumbeats, and a familiar set of chords strummed out on a guitar. His brows lowered, only for his entire face to widen with shock when the vocalist began to sing.

“Nights in white satin
Never reaching the end,
Letters I’ve written
Never meaning to send.”

Athena’s hands were clamped across her lips. “Ace, this is... this is your song!”

“Beauty I’ve always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is,
I can’t say anymore.”

Ace closed his eyes and swayed as haunting backing vocals swelled within the words exactly as he had heard them in his mind.

“Yes, I love you! Oh, how I love you!”

A smile widened on his lips as he waved his hand in the air, perfectly matching the orchestra’s progression.

Stunned, his wife ducked back into the letter. “Come to find out, your song became one of the biggest hits of The Moody Blues. I made sure they credited you as the writer; although, regrettably, many copies leave it off.”

Ace lifted the record sleeve to find the name “M. Gallagher” listed as the co-writer for the album’s conclusion. His amused grin widened with astonishment.

“I hope this letter finds you and Athena well,” Athena continued reading. “Keep on being awesome, and tell Athena, Elliot, and James hello for me. Signed, The Doctor.” She looked up. “I don’t understand... how did he do all this? How did he know?”

“He’s a time-traveller,” Ace smirked, flipping the record back over to look at the colorful painting on the front. “A very clever time-traveller.”

Athena smiled, shaking her head. “P.S.,” she added, “I won the bet.”

“Ha!” Ace exclaimed, a toothy smile bursting across his lips. “Way to go, Doctor!” He gave a still-confused Athena a playful hug as the song continued to swell from the record player behind them.

“Yes I love you! Oh, how I love you!”

- - -

When the knocking at the front door wasn’t immediately followed by his son’s clambering feet, Vance rose from his seat.

“Were you expecting someone else?” Hydra asked Amaya.

The oracle’s eyes, however, were distant, and she did not speak or even move in return.

Mano took his wife’s arm with caution, but with a quick glance toward him, Hydra got to her feet and followed after Vance. 

“Coming,” Vance called while muttering under his breath concerning the whereabouts of his son and adopted daughter—stopping short when he found Hydra at his side. The Time Lady’s eyes were glued to the doorway.

Vance held his breath as he opened the door. 

He froze.

A man with graying black hair in a simple gray blazer stood on the doorstep. Despite the years that had worn his face, he held a familiar look of determination.

“...James,” Vance’s body seemed to sink under the weight of what his presence meant.

“I have a feeling you know why I’m here,” the man shifted on his feet, revealing a timid, blond-haired young man in a long purple scarf standing behind him.

Vance nodded silently, glancing at Diana, Nick, and Amadeus who were now peeking around the corner curiously with Mano and Amaya.

“We need to rescue Gemini,” The Elder Sentinel spoke.

Amaya bowed her head, surrounded by the children who had been training for this day without even knowing it. At last, they  had caught up with the moment at which they had first met their own children.

“The scattered will come together under the Sentinel’s watch,” she spoke, her blue eyes turning forward in determination.

- - -

The TARDIS control room was silent and dark. Only the central console remained on a low-power mode and shed a fraction of its usual its blue-green light across the darkened room.

But then, a single light lit up on the control panel, followed by a whirring of the computer systems returning to life. The light, then, began to blink and beep. The blinking and beeping continued for quite a while before a door opened and a shuffling sound came from below deck.

“Oi! What are you going on about?” The Doctor complained as he trudged up the stairs and tucked in his dress shirt all at once. “I thought I put you on ‘do not disturb’ so I could actually enjoy a few days’ honeymoon with my wife!”

He clapped his hands twice and the rest of the lights in the control room powered on. Grumbling under his breath, he ran his fingers through his hair to brush it back into place before pounding on the blinking, beeping button in annoyance. A transcript was revealed on the screen above his head.

The Town of Christmas requests the help of The Doctor. We are under siege, and we need your help.

He rubbed his chin with his hand. “Ah, lucky you, you get more than just my help,” he mused. “She may not be The Wildfire anymore, but my Gem is still well equipped to kick some—”

“What’s up?”

The Doctor’s brows rose as he turned his head to find Gemini rising from the staircase. Her long hair was draped over one shoulder, and her long, heather-white shirt hung past her hips. Her feet were bare—as were the rest of her legs. 

“Yowzah,” he gave a toothy grin.

Gemini rolled her eyes with a smirk and stepped in beside her husband. “We got a transmission?”

“Yes, from a town called Christmas.”

Gemini blinked. “Christmas?”

“Indeed,” The Doctor fingered his chin. “I wonder if we should answer it. We’ve nearly got all our loose ends tied up, after all.”

“Including tying our own knot,” she took his left hand and rubbed her thumb around the silver ring on his finger. 

His eyes turned soft as he gazed lovingly down at their hands and spread his fingers between hers. Her own silver ring reflected the blue-green light.

It hadn’t been an easy few months as Gemini continued to heal from her days as The Wildfire. But with The Doctor’s patient love and support and her willingness to do all she could to strengthen their relationship, their lives more than solidified their commitment to each other.

“It was kind of the people of Westfall to allow us the use of their chapel,” The Doctor ran his fingers through her hair, “you know, in return for taking them all with us afterwards.” 

Gemini smirked. “It’s about time the bigger-on-the-inside space gets used for a good purpose.”

“I suppose the last of our loose ends is figuring out where to bring them.”

“Well, where is Christmas, anyway?” Gemini pressed a few keys on the console.

Christmas. Level-2 Human Colony. Trenzalore.

The two fell silent as the words appeared on the screen above them. The gentle hum of the TARDIS at once seemed much louder than it had been previously.

Gemini instinctively pressed against The Doctor’s side, unable to keep her eyes off of the screen. “Is this it?”

“It would appear so,” The Doctor muttered. “Despite wanting to try my usual method of ignoring it until I forget about it... this one’s not going to go away.”

“When we get there, will we have very long,” she swallowed, her eyes full of worry, “before the prophecy takes place?”

“Who knows,” his lips tugged in thought. “I suppose it depends on how long we can hold off the siege. Could be days, could be years.” He wrapped his arm around her. “I’ll take as long as I can get.”

“What about the people of Westfall?”

He shrugged. “We bring them with us.”

“To Trenzalore?”

“Why not?” He leaned over the console and began typing on the keypad. “If we’ve got to protect the people of Christmas, why not bring the people of Westfall to protect them while we’re at it?”

Gemini was beginning to catch on as she thumbed her lip. “I could still look after them that way.”

“There you go, see?” He smiled at her. “Christmas and Westfall: we can protect them all.” He chuckled under his breath. “Poet and didn’t know it, eh?”

She broke into a laugh and shoved him with her elbow. The two gave a deep breath as the humor lulled back into the reality of the words on the screen.

“All right, then,” Gemini straightened up and held out her hand to The Doctor. “Are you ready?”

He looked at her hand, biting his lip. “Are you?”

“I’m going wherever you’re going,” she said simply.

“Even if that means dying...”

“‘Til death do us part,’” she quoted their wedding vows.

He puffed a short laugh through his nose. “Let’s hope we get a few years of life out of the deal first.”

He took her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it. They looked to each other in determination, in love, and in hope.

“Trenzalore is where we’re going.”

- - -

With daylight hours far outweighed by darkness in the town of Christmas, most events took place long after the sun had set for the day. That didn’t stop these events from being some of the brightest spots in town, and tonight’s event was no exception. The town square was brightly lit by gas lanterns and strings of electric lights as people gathered by the dozens to celebrate the re-dedication of the town and its newest residents.

Mayor Thomas of Westfall stood proudly beside Mayor Nicholas of Christmas, and they were flanked by other high-ranking members of their respective towns. Two members in particular were the newly elected Sheriff of Christmas, a dapper man in a plum-colored coat, and his Deputy, a woman in a white shirt, black jacket, and silver goggles pulled up on her forehead. The semicircle of officers faced the townsfolk as Nicholas clapped his hands to regain their attention.

“Attention, everyone! We’ve a special announcement to make!” Nicholas waved his hands as the last of the conversations died out. “Our humble town here has witnessed more than a little struggle in the past couple of months. But we have been blessed to have the fine people of another planet join us, and together, I feel we have reached the strongest point in the history of Christmas!”

A short burst of applause spread across the town square.

“So, allow me to turn this over to Thomas Hiller, my new co-mayor and friend, as he has his own remarks to make.” Nicholas bowed with his hands outstretched toward Thomas as another spattering of applause filled the gap.

“Thank yeh, Nicholas,” Thomas began with a nod, “I don’t believe I could’ve said it any better. The town of Westfall was upon its last leg, an’ I feared I would be the one to witness its downfall. But then, almost twenty years ago, a young woman crashed on our planet just outside o’ town.” He looked down the line of people. “Gemini,” he said with a kind smile, “can yeh step forward, please?”

She glanced at The Doctor, who gently nudged her out of the line. She huffed a short sigh and stood between the leaders and the crowd with her hands crossed at her waist. She could see the grateful smiles of Carla, Lillith, Hudson, and the others she knew from Westfall beaming back at her.

“When you first arrived on Braecia, you were nameless an’ seemingly hopeless, an’ we were concerned with the prospect of another mouth to feed. As a much younger man an’ newly designated mayor, I was cautious and untrustin’—as I’m sure no one here would ever believe me to be,” he paused as a few Westfallians chuckled at the remark, “but, despite the struggles with adjustin’ from your old life into ours, yeh almost immediately took it upon yerself to protect us. At once, I was shown someone who truly cared about our village and its people. And I apologize for ever questioning your worth to us.”

Gemini gave a humbled smile as Thomas turned from her to continue addressing the others.

“And now, thanks to yer new husband...”

“Oh no, don’t get me involved,” The Doctor began dismissively waving his hands, but Gemini was quick to grab his hand and pull him into the spotlight beside her.

“...We have not only learned yer name, but we have learned that our hope now resides upon you both. You’ve brought us here to live with new neighbors an’ new purpose... therefore, with all due respect to Nicholas, I would like to propose an honorary name for this town: New Westfall!”

Despite the applause and scattered cheers, The Doctor’s face had donned a somewhat miffed expression.

“What’s that for?” Gemini asked under the sound of the crowd.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “I’ve never understood the concept of naming something ‘New;’ why call it ‘New Westfall’ when it can just be something else entirely?”

The two turned as Mayor Thomas and Carla stepped beside them.  

“Because we, the people o’ Westfall, have been given another chance. Callin’ it New Westfall shows that this a new start fer us fer a new future.” With a contented grin, he brought his arm around Carla’s waist, accentuating the fact she was pregnant. “I would guess that yeh both understand the feelin’.”

The Doctor glanced at Gemini, his lips tugging to one side. “I suppose we would,” he offered humbly as his wife tucked herself under his arm.

“Sheriff,” Nicholas shuffled over one the crowd began to disperse around them, “not to bring work into this festive occasion, but I wanted to check with you on your recent findings.”

“Ah, yes,” the Time Lord nodded. “So far, no one has tried to make another move; I believe our show of force upon arrival has made them think twice,” he winked at Gemini.

“But, the ships in the sky are still there.”

The five instinctively turned their eyes to the sky. Hundreds of ships, piloted by The Doctor’s enemies, had flooded Trenzalore’s orbit. They had come when they had heard the prophecy had not yet been fulfilled, which caused Christmas to reach out to The Doctor for help—which proceeded to trap The Doctor and Gemini there in the process.

“The ships will be there until they give up, and they’re not the best at giving up—especially the Daleks,” he offered a mild sneer toward the sky. “Our goal will be to defend against them when they make their move, to confront them whenever necessary, and, most importantly, to outlast them.”

“I don’t believe you could make it sound any simpler,” Nicholas chuckled. “I’m just glad you both are here!”

As the two mayors returned to their duties, The Doctor and Gemini were left in a slowly emptying town square. Their eyes darted between conversations, people watching until most of the residents had stepped out of earshot.

“It’s not going to be as simple as that, is it?” Gemini asked quietly.

He shrugged. “It could be. But we will need more reinforcements. We lucked out that the Cybermen’s collective consciousness remembered you and retreated rather quickly,” he cracked a smile. “Honestly, if we gave Thomas a gun with actual ammunition, we may not need anyone else.”

Gemini laughed. “I still can’t believe he pulled that on you.”

“Thankfully, James was there to protect me.”

“He’s good at that.” Her smile grew sad. “I miss him.”

“I do too. Every day.” The Doctor sighed and slipped his arm around her back in comfort. “In all of time and space, there will never be another like him.”

“Ah, so here you are.”

The two turned toward the older man’s voice, quickly shifting their expressions into varying states of puzzlement.

A tall man in a gray coat, a white knitted scarf, and dark dress slacks stood before them. His dark hair was peppered gray, with the tufts around his ears a more solid gray.  His hair was not as long as it once was, and his face was thin and bore many years of life in its wrinkles. But his brown eyes, behind thin-framed glasses, were still clear. 

“I got a visit from myself, after all my work in the battle against ORBIT was done,” he closed the flap of the heavily worn vortex manipulator on his arm. “I was told I’d f—find you here. It seems I was right.“ His smile warmed as he stepped closer and reached for his sister’s shoulder. “Gemini, it’s so good to see you, safe and sound, just like the one we just rescued.”

Gemini’s eyes lit up as she brought her other hand to her mouth.

The Doctor broke into a smile. “Elder Sentinel,” he said, bemused. “Come to retire with us, have you?”

James Harley straightened up as much as he could. “There’s nowhere else in the universe I’d rather be.”

- - -

A woman stepped up the stone staircase that led to the door of her stony cottage. Her worn fingers gripped a watering can as her other hand grasped the iron railing to aid her climb. Her gray hair was pulled back into a messy bun at her neck with a few fallen strands framing her face. She wore a simple black shawl over a white blouse and loose gray pants that hung at her waist. She hummed a song as she proceeded to water each of the many flowerpots that lined the staircase.

Nights in white satin...

When she reached the top of the stairs, she looked up to the sky through her worn glasses and smiled at the clouds that billowed in the daylight overhead. The weather had been perfect for her journey to visit her brother’s grave in the village cemetery outside of town. It was hard for her to believe it had been almost seventy years since the Elder Sentinel had passed. 

The wooden door creaked open behind her.

“Oh, there you are.”

The man’s voice had deepened with age. Wrinkles buckled around his lips and creased his thinning face. Gray hair spilled over the side of his forehead. He wore a heavy brown coat, and a dark bowtie sat askew at his collar. His blue-green eyes had locked upon his wife, now standing before him with a watering can on her hip. He couldn’t help but grin.

“Yowzah.”

Gemini rolled her eyes, the lines of her own face stretching as she smirked at her husband. She set down the watering can and reached for him. Taking his head in her hands, she began to trace through the creases of his face. They followed up and down his cheeks, around his eyes, and ran through his hair. They slid to the back of his neck, and, holding him in place, she leaned forward to kiss him.

“My Doctor,” she whispered.

“My Gemini,” he kissed her again.

A cloud rolled beyond the sun, and at once, they were bathed in brilliant light. They smiled all the while, taking each other in as if it had only been a week since they had shared their honeymoon.

“I visited the cemetery today,” she said, grasping his hand.

“I thought some of the flowers were missing,” he glanced at the pots around them, though his eyes fell on an empty space in the alley behind their balcony. “Did you not bring the TARDIS back?”

“It was such a nice day, I decided to walk back.” She pressed her lips together, squashing the wrinkles. “We can go pick it up together before we lose daylight.”

“Doctor! Gemini!”

They turned to find a dark-haired young man rushing down the road with a shotgun in his hands.

“Two ships full o’ Cybermen just transported themselves into the town square!” The young man shouted as he reached the foot of the staircase. “We need all the reinforcements we can get!”

The couple glanced at each other.

“We’ll be right there, Lukas,” Gemini called back.

He gave a hurried nod and raced away.

“Spitting image of his father, that one,” The Doctor nodded with a bemused smile.

“Thomas is his grandfather, remember?” Gemini corrected. “Hand me my goggles.”

“Oi, so bossy,” he ducked inside to retrieve her silver goggles from the coat rack beside the door. He huffed a sigh through a tired grin as he held them out to her. “One of these days we’ll be too old for this.”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” she pecked a kiss on his cheek in return.

Pulling the worn sonic blade from the belt at her waist, Gemini hurried down the stairs and held out her hand for The Doctor as he followed close behind her. With her arm tucked safely under his, they turned toward the town square of New Westfall-Christmas to do what they had done for the last hundred years.

“You and I again.”

“One more time.”

---

Book 10 - In Search of Gemini (coming soon!) >>