Stars Die

The Gemini Archives Book 9
by Jill D'Entremont

A Gemini Archives Christmas Finale: A simple family outing on Christmas Day draws Gemini and The Doctor across space and time to set things right. All the while, James fights to protect his young niece, Gemini struggles to maintain her grip on her failing consciousness, and The Doctor continues to block out the fact that his time with Gemini has come to an end.

Originally written & illustrated February 2016
with some illustrations added January 2021
Use the lefthand menu to jump between chapters, or to return to the Gemini Archives home

Chapter 1

I opened the door ever so slightly.  Pressing the side of my head against the doorframe, I allowed one eye to look through the opening.  Two bright green eyes locked onto mine.  Giggling ensued.

Smirking, I opened the door all the way and walked inside.  “Can’t fool you, can I, Miss Diana?”

The toddler, tightly gripping the edge of her crib, began to bounce on her still-disproportionate-looking legs.  Her light brown hair was still thin and curled slightly when it reached her neck.  She was wearing a white dress with a deep blue cloth diaper-cover that stuck out past the dress. She paused to let out a loud squeal before releasing the bed to expectantly hold out her arms to be picked up.

I gently slid my hands under her arms and lifted her, cradling her close to my chest.  She hummed and began patting my chest and looking up at me with her bright green eyes.

“Ma-ma!” she exclaimed.

I smiled and turned from the room with her.  “Yes, my little blue-bottom, let’s go wake up Mama.”


Gemini was slightly more awake than when I had left her, but it still took her a moment to turn over when she heard Diana’s excited cries.  A soft, tired smile spread across her face as I set Diana down beside her.  The toddler waved her arms and giggled.

“Good morning, ball of energry.” She said, taking Diana’s hand.  She then glanced at me.  “Good morning, Doctor, and Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”  I sat down beside my wife and gave her a kiss.  Diana then produced a high-pitched shrill to quickly interrupt us—only to continuing to babble moments later.

“Can you believe she’s a year old?”

I smirked at Gemini.  “Only a year?”

Gemini’s eyes closed as she returned the smirk and rolled to her back.  “True; being a Time Lord she’s a bit more advanced than a human child would be.”

She then pulled our daughter onto her stomach, giving me room to lay down beside her.  At once Diana’s babbling began to sound like words, but most were variants of ‘mama.’

“I’m severely disappointed she hasn’t said ‘Dada’ all this time.” I began to absent-mindedly caress Gem’s hair.  “I suppose she is a Mama’s Girl, eh?”

Gem, however, had grown distant.  Her eyes had become glassy and unmoving.

A pang of fear shot through my body, though it was unfortunately nothing new at this point.  All I could do was hold her hand and press my forehead against hers, hoping she would feel me and snap out of it.

Sure enough, after a moment, her eyes blinked and she took a deep breath.  She closed them again and let it out slowly.

“Still with me, love?” I asked, the words spoken almost out of routine.

“Of course I am.” Her response was also routine, and ended with a tired grin.

I was again filled with relief, and I continued to hold my head near hers to feel her warmth and her love, thankful I could keep her for a while longer.

- - -

Gem and I had been married soon after the battle against ORBIT, finally feeling both safe and stable enough to do so before something else happened.  It was a simple ceremony in a field outside of Fortanya with only our closest of friends and family present.  James walked Gemini down the aisle, as there was no one more fitting to give her away.  The pride in his eyes made it even more worth it to know I had the trust of one of the strongest men I knew.  And the unencumbered joy in the eyes of my bride brought tears to my own eyes.  Never in all of space and time would I have imagined committing my life and all my years remaining to one person.  But Gemini would be the one to break all molds.

But an undercurrent of grief was also ever-present.

Ever since the battle against ORBIT, Gemini had never quite returned to herself.  As soon as it took her a long time to recover from allowing Rovenna to ‘finish’ Reynolds, I knew that we were fighting an uphill climb that was only becoming more steep.  She would be perfectly fine one moment, dazedly distant the next, then perfectly fine yet again. These brief moments were easy to deal with; but alas, as time went on I could have only hoped for moments as small as these.

A few months after our marriage, we discovered Gemini was pregnant—which was still a surprise despite meeting our future daughter already.  It was an exciting time for both of us, although the excitement for me was riddled with the same undertone of fear. Very quickly we learned the pregnancy would be very hard on Gem.  It put an incredible strain on her body—her strange mixture of human and Time Lord DNA—and her moments of distance multiplied.  By the end of the pregnancy, she began to have entire days of being bed-ridden and almost comatose.  I feared I may lose her more quickly than I could have ever imagined or expected.  We even garnered the assistance of The Sphinx; the very creature Gemini assisted Cain the Kronolin in finding to aided his own wife’s pregnancy.

And thankfully, after Diana’s birth, she seemed to be hanging on better; and as the months progressed, she seemed to be improving further.  There were many days she held it together better than I did on so little sleep thanks to Diana’s choice of keeping us up all night... For being such a soft-spoken young woman in the future, Diana’s first few months would have made me think we had given birth to a different, much more boisterous, daughter.

But through it all, I knew to never once take a single moment for granted.  If there was anything Gemini taught me, it was to savor every minute I had with her.  It helped me savor every minute with Diana—and honestly everyone else in my life—as well.  It was something I didn’t often do as a Time Lord who had already lived for hundreds of years.  Things can come and go so quickly when compared to a very long life, so why not enjoy every small moment so it will remain a very special moment in your long span of memories?

And now, on Christmas morning, and two days after Diana’s first birthday, I was ready to create some very special memories.  I was ready to hold on to my girls as long as I could have them.

---

Chapter 2

I frowned.  “You can’t come?”

Vance smiled sadly, glancing off-camera for a moment before turning back and adjusting his glasses.  “Sorry, Doctor.  You know we’d love to be there, but Amaya just can’t travel right now.  Not even through time...” He glanced off-camera again.  “She’s due any day.  For all we know we’ll be meeting Amadeus Tristin Edwards tonight...”

I couldn’t help but smile broadly as Vance began to beam.  “And you, Vance, will have a Christmas baby.” I replied, “I’m not sure if he’d love it or hate it.” I chuckled, imagining an older Amadeus celebrating happily on Christmas day and not even bothering to care that it was also his birthday.

“He’d love it.” Vance and I nodded in unison.

I straightened up to give him a nod.  “All right, then.  Keep us posted.  And a very Merry Christmas to both—all three of you.”

“Merry Christmas to you too.  Tell Diana we all wish her a very happy birthday.  We’ll visit soon.”

I waved and switched off the TARDIS’ screen.  I was glad to have set up a small communication link with Vance and Amaya once they had relocated to Fortis-Novus.  It made communication with them much easier than relying on them to use Pavo’s often-broken communication tower.

“How’s Amaya?  Are they still coming?”

I turned and saw my wife entering the control room of the TARIS with Diana on her hip.  She was dressed in jeans and her usual blue shirt, though her feet were bare.  She looked perfect, especially with our daughter clinging to her in the cutest blue one-year-old-human dress I had ever seen.  I smiled for a bit longer than I should have.  “...No,” I finally replied, better focusing on Gemini.  “I mean—yes, Amaya is doing fine; no, they’re not coming.”

She was smirking at my distraction and tried to continue the conversation.  “She’s almost due, isn’t she?”

“Vance seemed to think it could be today.”

“Wow, then Amadeus would have a Christmas birthday.  I wonder if he’d like that.”

I laughed and rushed over to take Gemini into my arms.  “I swear I was just thinking the same thing.”

“And that deserves a hug?” Gemini’s voice was muffled in the shoulder of my coat.

I pulled away a moment.  “Everything deserves a hug,”

Gemini smiled back at me, saying nothing.

“Ma-ma!” Diana interjected.

I took this as an opportunity.  “Yes, your mama is beautiful, isn’t she.”

“Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma...” The toddler began to chant as she bounced.  Due to the proximity of Gemini and myself, we couldn’t help but bounce along with her.

The bouncing stopped when we heard a knock at the door.  I gave my girls one last squeeze and went to open the front door.  “Don’t look now, but I think the party is here!” I swung open the door and held my breath.

James stood on the other side holding a large, wrapped box.  “M-Merry Christmas!” He said happily.

I frowned for a bit longer than I should have, because James’ smile quickly turned to a frown too.

“G-guess it’s just me today...?”

“I suppose so.” I tilted my head to one side and stepped back so he could enter.

“Not even Vance and Amaya?” James asked, setting the box on the ground near the control panel.  He then quickly walked over to Gemini and Diana and happily retrieved his niece.

“Amaya’s about to have her baby,” Gemini had to laugh at how excited both James and Diana were.  The toddler instantly giggled as James pretended to eat her.  “We invited Gemma and her parents too, but we haven’t heard back from them.”

“Gemma?” James came up for air for a moment, “She’s the—the Kronolin general, right?”

Gem glanced at me as I wrapped an arm around her waist.  “Brigadier General... something like that.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at James and our daughter.  “She sure loves her Uncle James.”

“Because he’s clearly the greatest uncle ever.  James, you just got her a birthday present not two days ago.  You didn’t get her anything big did you?”

James glanced up.  “She’s my niece.  It—it’s-it’s my duty to spoil her.”

“Ma-ma!” Diana cried happily.

“No,” James poked her lightly and spoke clearly.  “I am James.”

I crossed my arms with a smirk, leaning on the TARDIS banister next to Gemini.  “Good luck with that.  All she ever calls anyone is ‘mama’.”

“James.” James stressed.

“Jayss.” Diana said almost hesitantly.

My smirk left my face.  Gemini immediately turned to me as I turned to her. Our expressions were borderline shock.

“T-there you go!  I am James!”

“Jayss!” my daughter was filled with confidence, and her pudgy fingers grabbed James’ face to celebrate.

I pouted exaggeratedly.  “That’s not fair.”

“She’ll learn ‘Dada’ soon,” Gemini put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.  

In return, I continued pouting, though it quickly became a smile as she mimicked my expression.  I finally broke and began laughing, holding her head close to mine. I felt her hug me tighter, so I held her still tighter.  I couldn’t help but hold on when we had close moments like this.

James started bouncing Diana on his hip as she started her ‘ma-m a-ma’ chant again.  “So what were we planning on do—doing today?”

Gem relaxed to rest her head on my chest as we turned to face the Sentinel.  “I’m not sure; it’s only the four of us since everyone else can’t make it.  We could go somewhere cool.”  I squeezed Gem and released her to be able to walk over to the control panel.  I pulled up a list of places I had enjoyed enough to put on a list, then I scanned the list on the screen.  “Seacyde!  That’s a fun place.  ‘Ninty-three percent water, one-hundred percent fun!’”

“Dunno,” Gemini shrugged.  “Sounds like a little too much water.”

I glanced at her.  “That’s right; you hate water.”

“I don’t hate it, I’m just not a fan of drowning.” She raised her hands in defense.

“M-may not be the best place for Diana.” James threw in, and I had to agree with that one.

I continued down the list.  “Ooh!  Apalapucia!  Absolutely gorgeous planet—voted the number-two destination for the discerning intergalactic traveler.”

Gemini hummed and looked at the picture I pulled up on the screen.  “Glasmir Mountains... it does look quite gorgeous.”  She paused.  “Wait, what’s the number-one destination?”

“Boring.”  I selected Apalapucia and began to decipher a time for us to land.  “Planet of the Coffee Shops.”

“I like coffee.” James commented.

“Trust me: Apalapucia would have a better cup of coffee and a better view.”

“I could go for a cup of tea actually.” Gemini mused, leaning against the control panel.

“Oohh,” I was immediately side-tracked from the control screen.  “There is a lovely tea shop in the heart of London.   I know you would enjoy it as much as I do.  And after one earth-year of life, Diana has not been to London yet!”  I clapped my hands excitedly when Gemini and James nodded.  “That’s a plan, then!”  I spun back to the control panel and changed our course to the twenty-first century of London.  A glimmer hit my eye, and I nudged Gemini with my elbow.  “And maybe we won’t get caught snogging in the garden again.”

I was expecting some sort of retaliation, but Gemini simply smiled and started back to the hallway.  “I’ll go grab some shoes.”

I frowned.  Gemini had not been acting much like her usual self.  I couldn’t imagine she would snap away and become distant so quickly, so I decided to carry on with my jabs in hopes she would finally start jab back.  “Ah, I suppose so... London is not quite a barefoot destination.  But I know Seacyde would be... hint hint...”

“We can go there if you really want to,” she called from the hallway, “As long as I get to stay on the 7-percent of land!”

“You know, your inter-dimensional doppelganger is a mermaid!” I continued, glancing at James with eyebrows raised and a smile on my face.  But after a moment, the smile faded and my eyes were cast down, and I turned idly back to the control panel.

I must have stood in my distressed state for longer than I should have, because the next thing I knew, James had put his hand on my shoulder.  He didn’t speak, but he didn’t have to.  

- - -

Gemini kept her face in the rising steam from the cup in her hands.  Closing her eyes, she breathed in the aroma.  “Oh my goodness...”

“You haven’t even drank any yet.” My chin was firmly on my hands.

“It smells too good.”  She breathed in another whiff and sighed it back out.  She brought her lips to the cup’s edge and slowly tilted it.  When she swallowed, she sat back against the chair.  “I am in tea heaven.  I have died and gone to tea heaven...”

“Incredible, hm?” I grinned.

“Th-this is very good,” James commented as he set down his own cup.  He eyed Diana in the booster seat beside him, holding a sippy-cup filled with very milky tea.  She tapped in on the table a few times before bringing it back to her mouth.  She closed her eyes and hummed.

“Vanilla tea... where else do you get vanilla tea... tea heaven, that’s where.” Gemini muttered almost meditatively.

I beamed knowing I had finally given Gemini a bit of unadulterated happiness.  I took a sip of my own cup before picking up a small biscuit from a plate at the center of our small table.  “Don’t forget to try it with a jammie dodger.”

Gemini hummed and sat with her tea within breathing distance, taking it all in once again.  It was a snowy Christmas Day in London, which only aided in making the warm tea an even more welcome experience.

The door opened and let in a chilled draft right on cue.  James lifted his head ever so slightly as I munched on a jammie dodger.  When his eyes stayed at the door, I turned my head to do the same.

Two policemen had entered and were heading straight to the barista.  The rest of the patrons seemed worried, although the barista looked the most worried.

The three of us instinctively leaned in to try to overhear what was going on.

“...Welcome to Richoux, c... can I help you?” The barista nearly stammered worse than James.

“Yes, could we get a few cups of Earl Gray to go?” one asked while the other fished for his wallet.  “How many did we need?”

“Five,” the other officer replied, still trying to find his wallet.

“Certainly, sirs,” the barista seemed calmer now that she knew they were simply ordering tea, and she was able to move back to her usual small talk while she prepared the cups.  “Bringing them back to the office for the holiday?”

“No, there’s a group of us investigating a strange occurrence near Abbey Road Studios.”

At once, our ears perked up.

“Strange occurrence?” The barista paused.

The second officer picked up a few packets of sugar.  “We’re not really in a position to say at the moment...”

I glanced at Gemini and James and without saying a word, we understood.  Gemini drank the rest of her tea quickly while I transported the last jammie dodger into my mouth.  James began to bundle up Diana while Gemini grabbed the bag of Diana’s necessaries.  It was beginning to look like we had found our next mission.

---

Chapter 3

It was a short walk over to Abbey Road Studios, which was good for the more cold-sensitive members of our group.  It had begun to snow again, and the flakes slowly fluttered down against the gray of the clouded, midday sky.  Our feet crunched in the new-fallen snow as we came up to where the ‘strange occurrence’ had occurred.  Police had already blocked off a section of sidewalk and even a small section of the road.  A group of pedestrians had gathered among the keep-left signs, trying to figure out what was going on.

Diana mumbled into my ear almost worriedly as we joined in among the crowd.  “What’s gone on here?” I asked the man in front of me.

“Someone’s gone missing.  They’re saying she disappeared.  I can’t hardly believe it myself.  But they’ve blocked off that sidewalk there because that’s where they saw her disappear.”

“Just that section?” I squinted to get a better look at the taped-off area.  Immediately the two officers carrying tea stepped into the way.

“Nothing that you can see anyway,” the man noticed my frustration to look around the policemen, “The girl up closer knows her.  Said she didn’t see anything, but that she felt a wall after the other girl disappeared in front of her.  It was like the girl went through an invisible hole and then it was blocked off with an invisible door.  Or so she says.”

“Something going through, and then blocking off...” I repeated, trying to make sense of the words.  Diana babbled and grabbed the scarf around my neck.

“That’s b-biz—b... that’s odd,” James pocketed his hands.

I glanced back at Gemini, and an odd expression had come across her face.  I looked at her worriedly, afraid she was phasing out again, but instead, her eyebrows lowered in thought.  “Doctor... I was here before.”

I glanced around and ushered her a few feet back from the crowd.

Her eyes locked onto mine when we were out of audible range.  “When we used the portals, I ended up in that very spot—only 40 years before this point.”

I straightened up with the realization of where she was going.  “But it was 40 years ago in an alternate dimension, so it wasn’t that very spot. Those are dimensional portals, not time portals.”

“Clearly that doesn’t matter if it’s ripping in the exact same place in this dimension and time too.”

I understood her point, but it still didn’t make sense. “I locked both portals away on the TARDIS.”

“Yes, but what if using the portal tore a hole right there enough to spread across time and dimensions?  The Daleks were able to tear back through somehow—who’s to say I didn’t weaken that spot when I used the portal?”

I took a deep breath, biting my lip as I glanced ahead and the policemen.  One had finally become brave enough to bring his hand near the spot, and he shocked the crowd—and himself—when his hand was stopped against an invisible wall.

“I’m afraid you’re right, and if that’s the case this situation has gotten a lot more complicated.  James,” I called behind me as I handed off Diana to her mother.  “Stay here with James a moment.  I have an idea to get us started.”

I left James, Gem, and Diana at the back of the crowd and worked my way to the front of the group.  I reached the young woman who knew the girl who disappeared and gently tapped her shoulder.

She looked up at me like I was an alien, her fingers still poised atop her mobile phone screen.  “Yes?”

“Hullo, I’m The Doctor.  I’m here to help.”

I held my hand out, but her wide eyes merely blinked.  She was well bundled in a gray coat, a bright pink scarf, and an equally bright pink winter hat.  Her darker complexion stood out among the grays and pinks around her.

“You know the young woman who disappeared, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir,”

“I can help you find her.  Come with me.”

Concern still filled her face, but she finally took a step towards me after another moment.  I started back to Gem and the others once I knew she was following me, and once we arrived, I gathered the small group together and regained the young woman’s attention from her mobile phone.

“This is my brother-in-law James, my wife Gemini, and my daughter, Diana.  My wife is a detective, so she can help you find your sister.”

Gem had initially shot me an odd look, but it turned to understanding when she realized the young woman simply needed to know someone could help.  

And as if on cue, the fear in the young woman’s face turned to the smallest spark of hope.  Her dark eyes rose from her phone and focused on Gemini’s face.  “Like Sherlock?”

“...Sorry?”

“You’re a detective like Sherlock Holmes?”  Her eyes darted back to me.  “Are you her Watson?”

My face scrunched up.  “Watson??”

Gemini quickly took over.  “I suppose you can say that.”

An amused smile finally broke on her face.  “My name’s Rachel,” she said simply as she shook my hand.  “I can’t believe it; I never thought I’d meet a detective in London... I think I need to Tweet this...”

“Ah... well, Gem is certainly capable of assistance.”  I assured her, though I was eyeing the girl’s fingers as she tapped them across her phone screen in a matter of seconds, only to return the phone to the bag on her shoulder seconds later.

“Does she have one of those phones too?”

Rachel bobbed her head slightly and spoke quickly—though it seemed this was a normal pace for her.  “Yes, I’ve tried texting her, but I can’t get anything through.  Corrie just... I’m worried about her.  It’s Christmas day and she’s my younger sister; I always have to keep an eye on her, you know?”

“I know.” James piped in.  Gemini smiled back.

“So, what were you and Corrie up to before she went missing?” Gemini asked.

She gestured behind her.  “Touring Abbey Road—well, from the outside, they’re closed for the holiday. Corrie’s a huge fanatic of The Beatles—we’ve only just moved here a few months ago, and our parents are back at our flat.”  Rachel’s lips spread to a grin all of a sudden.  “I can’t believe it; a real detective... and Watson!”  

I was about to protest the Watson comment, but instead, we were distracted by a small musical tone emerging from Rachel’s bag.  She pulled out her phone, looked at it for a moment, then slipped it away again despondently.

“Was that your sister?” I motioned to her phone.

“No, my mum wondering where we are... I’ve got to find Corrie,” she looked up at me worriedly.  “It’s not sending the messages to her.  I even tried calling her, and I can’t get through.”

I straightened up again as a small wind picked up the snowflakes around us.  “We should get back to the TARDIS.  I have an idea how we can find where your sister went.”

- - -

Rachel’s eyes were just as wide as when I first tapped her on the shoulder.  “What on earth...”

Used to this sort of reaction, I walked straight inside and up to the TARDIS’s control panel.  James and Gemini stayed behind, standing on either side of Rachel as she looked around the room in awe.

“It’s... we just walked into a box...”

James and Gemini glanced at each other with a smile and Gemini walked over to a bench to sit down with a now sleeping Diana.  She gently laid her on the cushion and began to unbutton her tiny coat.

Rachel finally turned to James.  “This is inside that box?  We walked into a box, right?  This is...”

“S-so much bigger on the inside.” James nodded understandingly.

“Right!” I commented, spinning around on my heels.  “Rachel, I need your phone over here.”

“Why?”

“I need to strengthen its signal.”

“You’ll do what to my phone?” Rachel had stepped backwards defensively.

I frowned.  “I will not harm your phone, I just need to use the TARDIS to strengthen its signal so we can reach your sister and find out where she is.”

“I thought she was the detective,”

Trying to relieve my annoyances, I let out a sharp breath.  “I’m Watson, remember?  I’m here to help.”

“He’s got the technical skills for this part,” Gemini finally put in, resting a hand on Diana.  “But this is what we need to do.”

Rachel finally gave in, although she was sure to make it seem reluctant.  She walked over to me and even more painfully handed me her phone.  I quickly slapped an antenna connected to a few wires to the back of it.

“What—what is that??  Don’t break it—”

“Could you text your sister for us?” I interrupted her.

She pouted and took the phone back from me tenderly, very briefly inspecting it before she started tapping on the screen.  After a moment, she shook her head.  “It’s not going through.”

I turned back to the control panel and cranked up a lever.  I hoped the whirring sound wouldn’t further deter Rachel from working as I asked her to text her sister again.

Her eyes widened.  “It went through!”

I whipped back around as Gemini watched expectantly.  “Are you tracing it, Doctor?”

“She’s typing back!” Rachel gripped her phone tightly.  

I was dodging left and right to try and find where the signal had gone and where it was coming from, pressing buttons and pulling levers I probably wouldn’t have understood without my sub-conscious drive.

“She says ‘I don’t know, help me’,” Rachel read aloud.  Her worried face turned to Gemini.  “I asked her where she was...”

The screen above me displayed where the signal had come from.  I took a deep breath.

James had traded places with Gemini so she could walk over to me.  She was biting her lip as she stopped at my side.

“She’s on Skaro.” I admitted softly.

“Is that the Dalek planet?”

“That is the Dalek planet.”

“The what?” Rachel butted in between us.  “What do I do?  What do I tell her?”

“Tell her help is coming.  Stay where she is if she can, but stay safe.” I said sternly, keeping my eyes on Gemini.  “We need to go save her, and then we need to figure out how to close that inter-dimensional rip.”

“I know.” Gem replied, seemingly uncomfortable.

James looked up, hunching over Diana.  “I can stay with Diana,” he said, “but y—you should drop me off in Fortanya before you go.”

I shook my head before he had finished speaking.  “We can’t take the TARDIS to Skaro—that’s a death wish if there ever was one.  You both will stay here with Rachel, and Gem and I will use the portals.”

Gemini began to protest, stepping away from me.  “I don’t know—I think I should stay with Diana.  You two go.”

I took Gemini by the arm, but the look she gave me silenced me.  It was a look of fear, but it was stronger than I had ever seen in her eyes.

James scooted to the edge of the bench, not wanting to move any further with a sleeping Diana beside him.  “I don’t mind.”

“Am I going?” Rachel again walked into my line of sight.  “She wants to know if I’m coming.”

“For your safety, you need to stay here.” I said.  “Gem and I will find her.”

Gemini still looked distressed, and she pulled away as I tried to scoop my arm behind her back.  “I don’t want something to happen to me—to us.” She paused, flustered.  “I don’t want anything to happen to one of us.”

I stepped after her and took her by the shoulders.  “It’s all right.  We can do this.”

“I can... um, help babysit,” Rachel was idly standing in the middle of the room.  James seemed to approve of the idea, and looked at me with a small nod.  

I nodded back.  “Right.  We’ll be back with your sister as soon as we can.  You can keep talking to her to keep her company.  If anything happens or she stops replying, tell James to let me know.”

Rachel nodded, looking a little more comfortable than she had originally.  “Thank you, Watson—I mean... Doctor.”

I nodded back, and with that, I took Gemini gently and we left down the hall for the room in which I had hidden the portals.

---

Chapter 4

Gemini was silent as I pulled the rusty portal from behind a few boxes and other such trinkets I had picked up along my years.  She stood in the middle of the room with her arms bundled against her chest.  

I stopped, propping up the portal on my shoe.  “Gem, you’re going to have to let me know what’s going on.  This isn’t like you.”

She cast her eyes downward.  She tried to speak but instead shook her head and gave up.

Frowning, I rolled the portal to rest against the wall and walked over to her.  She allowed herself to be held, but did nothing to hold me back.  “Gem, please.” I whispered.

“Remember what Diana said,” she finally spoke, “when we saw her when she was older?”

“Of course,”

“Remember when Diana said she didn’t get to see her mom very much?”

I took a slow, deep breath inward.  “Yes,” I let out softly.

Gemini pressed her head against my chest.  “Doctor, I’m scared.  I’m scared I’m almost out of time.  And I know you know that too.”

I had tried to interject, but she had finally taken my arm with a firm grasp.

“What if I go with you and I don’t come back?”

I tilted my head to look her in the eyes.  They were welling with tears.

“And I don’t mean from Skaro, I mean to myself.”

I pressed her head back against my chest.  “Gem... I know you’re scared.  I’m scared.  I don’t know how much longer we have, but this is what I do know.”

I took her head in my hands and held it as I crouched down slightly to look directly into her eyes.  “I know I love you, and I will make every single moment with you count.  Remember when we got married?”  I smiled, thinking back to the day.  “We said we would love each other whether we had a thousand days or a thousand more...”

She shuddered under a sob, and I had to gather her back again.  “No, listen... it’s all right to be scared, but we can’t let the fear stop us from living.  We can’t be so scared of losing our life together that we don’t live it!”

She finally nodded, sniffling from her tears.

“I know my Gemini,” I said, trying to hold back tears myself.  “I know she’d be jumping right in as Detective Gallagher ready to find this young woman.  Unafraid to face Daleks—well, maybe not unafraid, but you’d be ready to face them—and we would do it together.”

She took a deep breath, her body swelling in my arms, then relaxing.  “...I’m sorry.” She finally admitted after a moment.  “I love you so much, and I’m so sorry.”

I gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and pointed her face towards mine.  “I love you too.  And we’re going to be okay.”

The faintest of smiles warmed her flushed, tear-stained face.  She looked aside as she removed her glasses to better wipe her eyes clear, and I used the opportunity to kiss her forehead, her cheek, and finally her lips.  She pulled in closer and we stayed locked in our kiss for just the right amount of time to refresh the situation.

I let out a breath as we pulled apart.  “Right.” I whispered, smirking.

“So,” she continued the initial conversation as she sat back on her feet and returned her glasses to their proper place.  “At least the torn portal at Abbey Road is only letting one person through at a time like these portals do,” she gestured to the portal on the wall beside us.  “And we use the signal from Corrie’s phone to track her down on Skaro?”

“You’ve got it, Detective.” I grinned.

She smiled more genuinely than I had seen in a while.  “Then let’s do this.”

We prepared both portals, setting each to the exact same coordinates as the other, each with the location of Corrie’s mobile phone as the coordinates.  We both paused before we stepped through, looking at each other with a renewed sense of determination.

“There’s the smallest of changes we won’t be in the same place.” I mentioned.  “But I’ve got a lock on you too.”

“Same here.” Gem patted the pocket where her ribbon-covered sonic screwdriver was kept.  She had lost Rovenna’s old silver sonic in the battle against ORBIT, so she had returned to using my old, mended sonic.  I actually hadn’t seen it in quite a while and had assumed it had been lost as well.  It seemed to suit her better.

I must have been musing for longer than I thought, as she ducked her head into my line of sight with a smile.  “Ready?”

“Yes,” I straightened up.  “But there’s also a change we’ll go through these portals and end up in the midst of a bunch of Daleks, and we’ll have to fight immediately.”

“I know.” She wavered on her feet.  “But we’ve got to bring Rachel’s sister back.”

“That we do.”  I turned to face the portal again.

“Okay... one more question...”

I glanced at Gemini.

She was biting her lip and resting the toe of her boot on the portal.  “Do we know how fix the rip?”

I felt compelled to bite my own lip.  “Not yet.”

“Okay.  Ready now?”

“Ready.”

We both took deep breaths and stepped through the portals simultaneously.  Immediately the heavy atmosphere of the Dalek planet filled my lungs, and its eerie red-darkness filled my vision. The planet was always in some sort of state of abandonment ever since the Time War, so I wasn’t able to comprehend at what point in time we had landed on the planet.  I could only hope no Daleks remained.

Something grabbed my hand, and I was quickly filled with relief when I saw it was Gemini. “Oh thank goodness.” I spoke through a sigh.

Gemini smiled and squeezed my hand as she turned to look ahead of us.  “There’s Corrie!”

A young girl, no more twelve or thirteen in earth years, was bundled in a heavy purple jacket and sitting on the ground with her knees against her chin.  Her foot was tapping nervously as one hand gripped her mobile phone tightly.  She was hidden from what looked to be a main thoroughfare behind a grouping of large stone blocks, but thankfully she was within our view.  In fact, the ease of the situation should have been my biggest warning.

“Corrie!” I called as we left our two portals propped against a large stone block like two short, round doorways.

The girl jerkily looked up, instinctively cowering closer to the rocks, but a look of gratitude filled her dark eyes as soon as she saw we were human—or at the very least human-looking.

“Are you Sherlock?” She asked me carefully as I crouched beside her.

“No, she is.” I nodded to Gemini.

“Oh thank, goodness,” she reached towards us with open arms, and we each held one to help her rise.

“Are you all right?” Gemini asked, accepting Corrie’s thankful hug.

The dark-skinned girl gasped at the bright pink scarf around her neck.  “I am now.  My sister—Rachel—said you were coming—I’m so thankful for you.  But I don’t know how I got here—I don’t understand,”

“We’ve got a lot of explaining,” I smiled, “But first let’s get you to somewhere sa—”

“SCANNERS INDICATE TIME LORD PRESENCE—DOCTOR??”

A look of fear and disgust filled my face.  “Oh no...”  I shoved Gemini and Corrie in the direction of the portals.  “Run—now!!”

“THE DOCTOR AND GEMINI ARE DETECTED!!” A Dalek rounded one of the blocks.  “THE DOCTOR AND GEMINI MUST BE EXTERMINATED!!”

I helped Gemini get Corrie through one of the portals, then I dashed into the other.  I was sliding across the floor beside Corrie moments later, and I took a very deep breath.  “Whoo,” I let it out heavily, glancing at the two portals lying flat on the ground.  “Just in time, eh?”

Corrie didn’t seem as impressed just yet.  “Where’s Sherlock?”

My smile faded.  Just as quickly, my eyes widened with the realization that only one of us could pass through the portal at one time—and now the two portals had been used.  “Gemini!” I dove head-first into one of the portals.

- - -

When Corrie had gone through the portal, Gemini hit the now-closed portal hard.  She staggered to the other portal just as a foot disappeared through it.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” she moaned exasperatingly.

A shot flew past her as the familiar words rang out from across the field.

“EXTERMINATE!!  EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!” Three Daleks were heading straight for her.

Biting her lip, she took off towards the outcropping of stone blocks, jumping to dodge a shot fired at her feet.  She used the blocks as shields to try and figure out what to do next.  She would not be able to go through either portal.  But if Corrie got through one of the portals, that meant the torn portal was still available.  The trick would be to find it.

The stone block beside her cracked as a Dalek beam blasted it.  She darted to a block further away and tried to look back near the road where they had found Corrie.  The lost girl would not have wandered far, so the ripped portal would have to be nearby.  Gemini grabbed the sonic screwdriver from her pocket and started to scan the area.

- - -

I flung my head out of the portal.  “Gemini?!!” I cried harriedly.

A shot from a Dalek whizzed past my head and struck directly into the portal next to me.  The open center of the portal filled with light until sparks showered onto the ground.  I ducked back into the TARDIS.

“What happened?” Corrie was shuffling backward.  “Why’s this thing sparking??”

The portal on the floor beside us had begun to flare up, and the control panel blew out moments later in a flurry of electricity.  I dashed towards Corrie to shield her from the blast.

“What’s going on—where are we?  Are we safe yet?” the girl clutched my arms tightly, still kicking her boot-covered feet to push further away, although we quickly noticed the entire portal was now missing.

“It’s—this is—” I shook my head, trying to find words in my anxious state.  “You’re safe here, the creatures on the other side must have blasted out that portal, but I’ll check it later because Gemini is stuck out there because only one person can go through the portal and we took the only two portals.”

“Wh—but—how do we get her back?  Wait, are you leaving me?”

I had crawled back to my feet and was standing over the functional portal.  “Your sister is down the hall just outside the door.  She’s with James—he’s very helpful—more than I can be right now.”  I knew my anxiety wasn’t helping Corrie to feel safe, so I finally admitted gently.  “I’m glad you’re safe and I’m so sorry—but I’ve got to find my wife.”

Corrie’s eyes were wide, but she nodded with understanding.  With that, I turned and leapt through the portal headlong.

- - -

I skidded across the ground, knocking the portal I came through from its upright position.  It clattered flat on the ground beside the broken portal.  I scrambled to my feet when heard the not-so-distant calls of Daleks, though it sounded as if they were moving away from me.  I clutched the sonic screwdriver in my hand and started to crouch closer to the stone blocks.

“Gemini!” I tried, scanning the area for any sign of her.  No sign, however, was coming up.

“You couldn’t have gone too far, could you?” I spoke aloud, glancing behind another block.  I ducked behind one when I heard a Dalek rolling nearby, and once the sound had diminished, I started again on my search.  “But where would you have gone?  Did you try to stay close, but the Daleks made you run away?”  I frowned, fearing Gemini’s fate more and more the longer I looked for her without avail.  

“You’re probably scared... I’m so sorry, Gem...” I felt an incredible pang of regret as my sonic still left me with nothing.  “I should have let you back though the portal.  I wasn’t thinking.  I could have handled this, but you...” I squinted my eyes shut.  “You’re in no state to be doing this alone.”

My eyes shot open wide.  Fear had frozen me in my boots.  “No... no, what if this... what if I cause you to...”  My legs gave out and I slid against one of the stones.  “What if I’m the reason you don’t come back?  What if it’s because of me leaving you here you don’t come back?”

Another Dalek rolling nearby reminded me that I was still in as much danger, but it was hard to move.  My hearts were racing.  I couldn’t bear to think it was my actions that caused Gemini to finally succumb to the higher consciousness.  I had to find her—after all, maybe I was overracting.  Maybe she was fine but ran off to find another way out.

“Another way—Abbey Road!  The inter-dimensional tear at Abbey Road—that’s where Corrie came in and I bet my brilliant wife ran there!”

“WELL SAID, DOCTOR.”

A red Dalek was poised directly in front of me.  I staggered into a nearby block, my current state of mind making it almost impossible to retain my composure.  The eyestalk next to my face then alerted me that I hadn’t staggered into a block; I had staggered into another Dalek.

“OUR SCANNERS INDICATED THAT THE TIME LORD GEMINI LOCATED A TEAR IN OUR DIMENSION.”

“She did! Ha! I did say my wife was brilliant, didn’t I?”

“THE TEAR IN OUR DIMENSION THAT YOU MADE!”  The red Dalek rolled closer to me.

I frowned.  “I made it with your portals!”

“THOSE PORTALS WERE DECOMMISSIONED DUE TO IMPROPER CIRCUITRY.  YOU STOLE THEM FROM OUR COLONY AND USED THEM TO TEAR FOUR HOLES IN OUR DIMENSION.”

My mouth couldn’t have been bent into a more perfect scowl.  “It’s not my fault I didn’t know they were decommissioned.” I shot at them, and after a thought, I added inquisitively, “Four holes?”  The Dalek behind me jabbed me in the back with one of its probes.

“WE HAVE MANAGED TO CLOSE OFF ONE OF THE DIMENSIONS,” the red Dalek continued to explain, turning its outer casing as it spoke.  “A DIMENSION NEAR AN OCEAN ON AN ALTERNATE PLANET EARTH.  WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF CLOSING A DIMENSION IN A CITY ON PLANET EARTH BUT A HUMAN BEING ENTERED.”

I pointed at the red Dalek.  “Ocean and Abbey Road, I got, but that’s only two.  Where’s four come into this?  And how exactly are you ‘closing off’ these dimensions?”

“THIS IS NO BUSINESS OF YOURS, DOCTOR.”

“Of course it’s my business!  If I’m the one who made them it should have been my duty to fix them.  So how do you fix them?”  I had pushed off from the Dalek behind me, though it was quick to catch up to me and jab the probe back into my shoulder blade.  “I’d appreciate a little more breathing room, too,” I shot back at it.

All of a sudden a blue Dalek rolled up behind the red Dalek.  “THREE OF OUR ELITE OFFICERS ARE MISSING!  THREE ARE MISSING!” Panic was somehow transmitted through its garbled voice.

“MISSING?” The red Dalek turned.  “IN WHAT LOCATIONS WERE THEY LAST DETECTED?”

“TWO WERE LAST DETECTED TWENTY FEET FROM THIS LOCATION.  ONE WAS DETECTED NEAR THE DIMENSIONAL TEAR.”

“Dimensional tear—Gemini!”  I took a hasty step forward, but I quickly came to another realization.  “Twenty feet—the portal!!”

I shot past the red and blue Dalek and raced to the portals.

“STOP!” The Daleks shouted.

I had stopped.  I wavered on the edge of the portal that lay flat on the ground.  “Your elite officers went through this portal??” I scarcely turned my head to look in the red Dalek’s direction.  I spoke calmly beneath the rage building within my chest.  “Your elite officers are on my TARDIS.”

“OUR OFFICERS WERE INVESTIGATING.”

I flew towards the red Dalek and beat both fists against its outer shell.  “My daughter is on my TARDIS—and if your elite officers so much as scare her, they will be sent home in pieces!”

“I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, DOCTOR.”

I stood as straight as I could manage.  “Don’t tempt me.”

I lifted my foot and stepped over the edge of the portal, dropping inside before the Daleks could speak another word.

---

Chapter 5

Rachel was tapping away on her phone.  It was still connected to the TARDIS, and she was switching between talking to Corrie, replying to her friends’ questions about who Sherlock really was, and trying to appease her mom that they would be coming home for Christmas dinner soon—at least that’s what she had explained to James.

James had been watching, but he was having a very difficult time keeping up with what she was doing.  He figured she had either taken pity on his lack of knowledge of what a ‘smart phone’ was, or that she wanted to explain it to him for company’s sake.

“Ah, so here’s Philip replying back to my post on Facebook about meeting Sherlock in London and he says ‘photo or it isn’t true.’” She scowled at her phone.  “Fine, I can get a photo once she’s back.  He still won’t believe me though.”

“Why?” James asked.

“Because he’ll just say ‘oh that’s a girl she can’t be Sherlock nice going’...”  She paused for a moment, straightening her back.  “Corrie’s not responded to my text.”

James looked at her phone screen out of instinct, though he had no idea what he was looking at.  “She h—hasn’t?”

“I’ll try again,” Rachel started tapping her foot nervously, and with wide, anxious eyes, she looked up at James.  “What’s it mean if she stops responding?”

Unease filled the pit of James’ stomach.  Not responding could mean a number of things in this situation, but he couldn’t start spouting off that Corrie could have been captured, distracted, shot—or worse.

“Aren’t you supposed to let Watson know?” Rachel spoke again, unsure of what James’ silence meant.

James nodded and stood up, leaving Diana asleep on the bench as he went over to the TARDIS console.  
Down the hall to their left, the sound of a door opening reached their ears.

“What’s that?” Rachel was tense.

James had also grown tense.  “H—Hello?”

“Rachel?”

Rachel scrambled to her feet so quickly her phone clattered across the floor.  Her sister had just appeared from the hallway.  “Corrie!!” She raced towards her and caught Corrie with open arms.

“I’m so sorry!”

“Yeah ‘cause it’s your fault you walked into a dimension portal?  Don’t you even!” The two sisters hugged tighter, thankful to be reunited.

James smiled with relief at the center console, gratefully resting his palms on the control panel.

Clattering from down the hall quickly distracted them from the moment.

“Where’s Sherlock and Watson?” Rachel was inching her sister away from the hallway as they both gazed down cautiously.

Corrie was shaking her head.  “Watson had to go back for Sherlock, something about the portal only allowing one person through?”

James again grew tense.  “Wait—w—wha—what??”

“Maybe that’s them?” Corrie took a step forward to look into the darkness of the hallway.

“SCANNERS INDICATED TIME LORD PRESENCE!! EXTERMINATE!!”

A blast shot down the hallway and struck the very edge before it opened into the main room.  The girls screamed and started towards James.  James darted from the console and scooped up his niece from the bench.

“Qu—quickly, go outside!” James grabbed Rachel’s phone and proceeded to handed it to her and point out the TARDIS doorway at the same time.  The girls obeyed without another word and raced towards the front door.

A blue Dalek rolled into the control room, quickly followed by a second.  They fired a shot between James and the door, causing the young man to skid to a stop before he, too, ran outside.  He held Diana tightly against him as the toddler began to cry out of fright.  He took a firm stance as the two Daleks sized him up from only a few feet in front of him.

“TIME LORD PRESENCE IS DETECTED,” one of the Daleks said as the lights atop its head flashed.  “REMOVE THE CHILD TO AVOID ITS HARM AND SURRENDER!!”

Great wings of light sprouted from The Sentinel’s back and spread open wide.  His determined expression remained unchanged.  “I am not the Time Lord.”

The second Dalek fired a shot at both of them while the first cried “EXTERMINATE!!”  The shot was deflected as James threw up a shield, but the shot was so direct that it caused him to stagger backwards.   Worriedly, he scanned the room to see if he could make it to the TARDIS console and alert The Doctor, or if he was closer to the door to take Diana outside to safety.

Another shot struck the shield, and both he and the shield began to falter.  Diana screamed as he clutched her as tightly as he could, but a third direct hit brought him to his knees without even the wings on his back to be used as protection.

He gazed at the two Daleks with fear, and as they rolled closer he shut his eyes and twisted his body to shield Diana from what was sure to be the next shot.

The door to the TARDIS flung open and three creatures rushed in.  James wasn’t even aware something had changed until he heard the roar of a lion and the Daleks started to cry out to one another.  He glanced up just in time to see a Kronolin coming towards him.

“Come with me—out of the way!” She said between clenched teeth, instinctively taking James in her sturdy arms.

James knew not to question her motives and he hurried off the console platform with her.  Diana’s cries died down, possibly from feeling James’ sense of security.  Once out of the way, James glanced over the Kronolin’s shoulder and watched as two other Kronolin battled against the Daleks.  He quickly recognized one as Gemma, the Brigadier General who had helped in the battle against ORBIT.

Gemma was perched atop one of the Daleks and with her claws drawn, she dug her feet into the Dalek’s sidewalls and tore the eyestalk from its head.

“HELP—STOP THIS ONE—” it cried to the other Dalek.

“You’ll not be getting any help from your friend,” Gemma held the Dalek’s head by the two lights on either side, “Dad’s even better at this than I am.”

Sure enough, Cain roared and split the other Dalek’s outer casing in two, and the halves clattered across the floor until one hit the headpiece that had already been ripped to the ground.

The true form of the Dalek was now visible for all to see: an oddly misshapen creature with various appendages attached to controls inside a hard-metal exterior.

“PLEASE—STOP—” The exposed Dalek’s eyes blinked as its body trembled in its broken enclosure.

Cain was breathing hard when he glanced at Gemma.  “You’d better disarm that thing,” he growled.

Gemma smirked and ripped off the front panel from the second Dalek.  She then dangled the panel, along with its probe and blaster, in front of her father’s face.

The elder Kronolin smirked back.  “Show off.”

“WE SURRENDER!”  The exposed Dalek cried.  “WE WILL RETURN THROUGH THE PORTAL! WE WILL HARM NO ONE!”

Gemma set the front panel down with a sense of victory and looked toward James.  “James, is that you?” she asked.

“Gemma?” James looked up as the female Kronolin that had been shielding him stood up and moved aside.

“Did we ever pick the perfect time to be late,” Gemma reached down and helped James up.  “This is my mom, Lucia, by the way.” She nodded to the other Kronolin.  “Dad—Cain—is over there.”

“Sorry I could not be better acquainted before barking orders,” Lucia bowed slightly.

“D—Don’t worry about it,” James’s expression proved his relief from a great deal of stress and fear as he held Diana against his chest.  The toddler’s eyes were wide, and still red from the crying she had finally calmed from.  “H-how did you know we were here?”

“The Doctor had been sending me changes in the location of the TARDIS so we would be able to join you.” Cain spoke, not wanting to stray too far from the Daleks.

“I suppose we’re all thankful for that.” Gemma turned back looked curiously at Diana.  “So there’s Diana, huh?”

“Yes,” James tilted the young child closer, but she turned to face the other way just as quickly.  Lucia, however, held out her hands.  James coaxed Diana to look back, and she reluctantly was taken into Lucia’s arms.

“My, how tiny you are, little Time Lord,” Lucia cooed, instantly snapping into a motherly disposition.  “Gemma was a big baby.  I blame the Sphinx for making her such a sturdy, strong-willed child.”  

Her daughter scowled behind her.  “The Sphinx had a hand in Diana’s birth too, remember?”

Cain huffed.  “Where is Gemini?  Or The Doctor, even?”

Lucia, Gemma, and James started over to rejoin Cain.  “I’m... I’m not sure,” James began.  “They wer—er rescuing a girl who’d gone through a portal, but she just came through and I have—n’t seen either of them.”

Cain looked squarely at James.  “How is Gemini doing?”

James paused, biting his lip and trying to think of how to answer the question.  His hesitance had all but answered when footsteps were heard racing down the hall.

“James!!  James are you all right??” I flew into the control room and staggered to a stop when I saw James standing with three Kronolins overseeing around two broken Daleks.  A moment later, I found my daughter resting among Lucia’s fur.  I nearly dropped to my knees in relief.

“Everyone is all right, Doctor,” Cain answered for the group.  “These Daleks have surrendered and are awaiting your judgement.”

“PLEASE—NO—”

“Hush up.” I spat at the Daleks, coming onto the control panel platform.  Lucia seemed to know I was coming for Diana, and she gently handed my daughter to me.  Diana hummed in my ear as I held her tightly.  After a moment, I turned back to the Daleks.  “I told your kind I’d not let you return alive, but seeing as my family is all right, I may grant mercy on you.”

“Where’s Gem?” James asked me, almost accusingly.

“She’s here in London.  She used the inter-dimensional tear to get back while Corrie and I used the portals since only one person can get through one of those things.  Apparently Daleks are immune to that sanction.”

“But she’s safe?”

I glanced at him.  “I’m surprised she’s not already here, actually.  She’d have come back through by Abbey Road, and we’re just around the corner here.”

“I’ll l—l-look for her.” James determinedly started to the door.

“James, take this,” I tossed him my sonic, and without another word he departed.  I then turned to the family of Kronolins.  “Would you care to help me send these creatures back from whence they came?”

“Certainly.” Cain’s strong arms clutched what was left of the exposed Dalek’s casing, carrying it roughly in his arms while Gemma stepped in and grabbed the other.  She dragged it across the  floor, which greatly  upset the Dalek inside.  I shouldered Diana in one arm and lifted a piece of leftover casing in the other, and then I lead the way to the storage room.

Now that my initial rage had subsided, I simply glared into the face of the exposed Dalek and warned it sternly, “This had better be the last time I see one of you pathetic creatures on my TARDIS.”  I then nodded to Cain, who dropped it through the portal.  Gemma lugged over the other one, and I tossed the last few bits after them.  I then kicked the machine off before anything else could pass through.

“Here’s one last part,” Lucia peeked her head in.  A grin spread across her face and she coyly added, “I’ll trade you for the little one.”

I passed off Diana and accepted the bit of broken Dalek offhandedly, staring at the portal.  

Cain looked at me squarely, though I kept my eyes downcast.  “Doctor, what exactly happened?  How did Daleks board your ship?”

“Long story,” I mumbled.  “I have these Dalek portals—well, I currently only have one.  Gem and I used them once, and apparently we tore a few holes in the dimensions we visited.  A girl walked into one of them, so we rescued her.”  I glanced up, “Speaking of, how would you deactivate—or close—a portal like this?”

The Kronolin hesitated, not out of a lack of knowledge, but out of very obviously trying to reroute his thought process. “...A strong electrical current directly into it would cause the channel to collapse.  Honestly, a blast from one of those would be enough.” He pointed at the piece of Dalek I was holding with a sharp claw.  The Dalek’s gun stick was still intact.

My eyes were wide as I gripped the slab of metal before my eyes.  “Of course...”  I whipped around, startling Gemma who had also been attempting to glance at the gun stick.  “The Daleks shot through my other portal when they were firing at me.  They were talking about closing the other tears, and that would make sense why they could do it—because they have built-in energy pulses.”

“Where is Gemini?” Cain could no longer hold it in.

I glanced up at him; his tone immediately slowing my pacing and my train of thought.  I glanced between his stern expression and his mate’s soft look of concern.  Diana was also looking at me, though she quickly turned back to start patting Lucia’s face curiously.

“She is outside; in London.” I said plainly.

“Are you certain?”

I felt the heat of being flustered rising around my shirt collar.  However, a moment later, and my face began to lose its color.  She was not here.  James had gone out to find her, and now both were not here.  I frowned and started quickly into the control room just as James burst through the front door.

“Sh... She’s not here,” was all he could say.

---

Chapter 6

Gemini wobbled on her feet from uncertainly.  She blinked and took in what she saw: roads, buildings, people... Then she turned around and looked down the other side: roads, buildings, people...

“...The Sirius?”

The theatre she and her brother owned was straight ahead of her.  The midday sun was high overhead, though storm clouds were beginning to roll in, causing an odd vibrance to the scene.  The star at the top of the grand marquee seemed to glimmer in the light.

Gemini started to shake her head slowly.  “I went through the ripped portal...” she spoke aloud.  “Corrie went through it at Abbey Road and ended up on Skaro.  I went through on Skaro and ended up... in Fortanya...?”

She started to wave her arms around, patting the air in an attempt to find the portal she had just come though, but she couldn’t seem to before someone passing by shot her an odd look and purposely went out of his way to avoid her.

With a huff she crossed her arms and began to walk idly toward the theatre.  She went over everything in her head, but couldn’t understand how it had happened.  The inter-dimensional rift was only between Skaro and Abbey Road Studios.  That was where she went through when she and I had first used the portals.  She went along to Abbey Road alone since only one person could pass through the portal.  The Doctor had stayed behind, but ended up taking the other portal.

She stopped walking abruptly, causing a woman and her young son to almost run into the back of her.  The woman uttered a frustrated ‘excuse me,’ and continued around her.  Gemini didn’t seem to care; her mind had finally found the correct path.

“The Doctor told me he had gone to an ocean, so it would make sense if the portal had also gone to an ocean.  But this isn’t an ocean; we didn’t come to Fortanya at all!”  Her eyes squinted.  “...Or did we?”


He withdrew his head soon after; a wide-eyed expression to his face.  “Brilliant...” he whispered.

“It worked??”

“Did it ever!”  He raised his arm over my head so that I now stood between him, his arms, and the portal.  “Look for yourself!”

I cautiously slipped my head through, and I was immediately looking into the streets of Fortanya.  Everything looked the same at first, but as I looked up, I could see the Sirius Theater up in lights.  The towering star marquee shone as a beacon, and the people of the town were dressed in their finest clothing as they entered.  I pulled away and returned to the TARDIS.


“That tiniest of moments,” She muttered, gazing at the Sirius Theatre’s marquee she was now standing beneath.  “That... ten seconds of us poking our heads through caused the rip to extend here?”

“GEMINI!!”

The harsh voice shot through the cold air and rattled Gemini’s nerves.  She spun on her heels and saw a blue Dalek on the streets of Fortanya.

“TIME LORD GEMINI, YOU MUST BE EXTERMINATED!!” The Dalek was rolling towards her across the cobblestones.  The people on the street were beginning to panic;  backing away from metal-enclosed creature and looking fearfully at its target.

Gemini eyes squeezed shut out of disbelief.  “...You did not just follow me into my hometown.”  She grit her teeth and stepped out from the awning of the Sirius.  “You did not just roll your alien self to my hometown and threaten my people!  Turn around and get out of here!!”

The Dalek’s lights flashed atop its head as it wavered from Gemini’s boldness.  “YOU MUST BE EXTERMINATED!!”

“Isn’t that... Ace Gallagher?” Gemini caught someone’s voice nearby.

“That’s not what it called her,”

“But that’s her—who else could it be?”

“What is that thing??” A third voice cried out.

Gemini spread out her arms.  “So, what, you’re just going to shoot me right here?  Come on, then!  I’d like to see you try, you metal-bucket!”

“GEMINI WILL BE EXTERMINATED!!” The Dalek cried angrily.

The Time Lord narrowly dodged as a shot was fired directly at her.  It hit the wall of the Sirius Theatre instead.  The people around them began to scream and scatter.

Gemini staggered to a stop as she was bolting around the Dalek and paled to see a crumbled hole in the freshly-painted bricks of the theatre.  “You shot my theatre?!” She spouted, rage quickly building inside of her.  Her vision flickered.  Her legs became weak.  Her mind became numb.  With a shaky breath she collapsed to her knees.  She could sense the Dalek’s form drawing closer, but she could not move.

Someone grabbed her by the shoulders and drug her away, causing the angry Dalek to fire more shots in their direction.  Her shoes scruffed against the ground as the figure lowered her and set her down in the shade behind a nearby building.  She was beginning to see shapes and colors and hear muffled sounds.  A face came into focus; an unknown face.

“Miss—Gemini—can you hear me?  Gemini?”

She blinked slowly.  “Wh...” she breathed.

“Did it hit you?  Are you all right?”

They were both startled by the Dalek striking the building beside them.  The unknown man gave up and fled, leaving Gemini to find her own way back on her feet.  Her strength quickly returned when she heard another blast followed by a group of screams.  She scrambled to her feet and watched someone across the street run away from the Dalek.  Their arm momentarily disappeared, causing them to shout and clamber in a different direction.

“...The tear!”

Gemini clenched her teeth and ran directly to the portal and slipped through.  She then proceeded to run into a policeman drinking tea from a to-go cup.

“Hey!!” He exclaimed, the warm Earl Gray splattering onto his uniform.  His lips were forming a curse when he realized Gemini had not been there moments ago.  “Wait a minute—where did you come from??”

Gemini, however, was not listening.  She had caught sight of me and James on the other side of the crowd.  She pressed through the gathering of gawkers and nearly fell into my arms as I accepted her gratefully.

“Gem—what happened??” I asked, clutching her head in my hands.  “I’m so sorry I left you there—I absolutely did not mean to and I was—”

“I ran through the portal in Skaro and ended up in Fortanya,” she interrupted, holding onto me to steady herself.

I shrugged backward.  “Fortanya?  Wh—how?”

She shook her head.  “Remember when you showed me the theatre before we had even gone anywhere?  When we just sat there and looked at it?”

I rolled my eyes exasperatedly.  “You’ve got to be kidding—that was the fourth place the Daleks were talking about!  The ocean, Abbey Road, the TARDIS, and Fortanya...”

“Speaking of Daleks,” Gemini’s face was still flushed, but her expression was still strong enough to let me know where she was going with her statement.

I cringed and moaned.  “There’s a Dalek in Fortanya...”

James straightened up.  “W-what??”

Gemini faltered in my arms, and I had to hold her tighter to keep her from collapsing onto the snowy pavement.  Her eyes were growing distant.  She had remained strong for too long; she was fading again.  I held her against me and brought my other arm beneath her legs to lift her.  “Let’s get in the TARDIS—oh!  James!”

My brother-in-law, still pale from the news of hearing a Dalek was now on the streets of Fortanya, glanced over at me.  In his hands was the scrap of the Dalek casing I had handed to him as soon as I saw Gemini pass back through the torn portal.

“I need you to go over to the tear and fire that gun stick into it!”

He blinked, trying to form a few syllables to no avail.

“Just aim the gun at the portal and use the stick on the back there to fire it.”  I bounced Gemini in my arms to get a better hold of her.  “I need to get her inside.”

James could only nod as I brushed past him.  Mustering his strength and courage he pushed back though the crowd and held the chunk of Dalek in his hands.  “Ex—excuse me—y-you—you—”

One of the officers shrunk back defensively. “What is that thing??”

James grit his teeth.  “B—Back away!”

“Sir, we need to ask you to put that down.” The other officers were beginning to raise hands and find the batons strapped to their waists.  “Sir!”

James gave up trying to talk.  He scarcely gave them a moment to react before he pulled the trigger to fire the Dalek’s gun stick.  It struck the air between two of their heads and filled the empty space with a flurry of electricity before bursting with sparks.  The police officers and the still-gathered crowd dropped to the ground—all except one policeman who tackled James and pulled him into the snow.

“What did you just do??” The policeman cried as he pinned James against the ground.

James blinked open his eyes.  “I closed the portal.  You are f-free to go.”

Now the policeman blinked, cautiously letting his eyes off James enough to glance behind at the former portal.  One of the policeman stretched out his hand and was able to wave it clearly.

“He fixed it with that contraption,” one of them called.  “I... I’m not sure how.”

Reluctantly, the policeman turned back to James and, after a stern glare, he released James and got back to his knees.  Freed, James scrambled back to his feet and brushed the snow from his clothes.

“...Th—thank you,” he said in passing to the policeman, still crouched on the snowy pavement.  James then ran back to the TARDIS; the crowd cleared quickly to let him through with the unknown contraption in his hands.  The policemen looked on and simply shook their heads.  The odd occurrence on Christmas Day was finally over.

---

Chapter 7

I huddled over Gemini, stroking her forehead with my thumb hypnotically.  Her breaths had evened out, proving that she had finally fallen into sleep and was no longer in her formerly brain-numbed state.  I could try to find relief, but I couldn’t shake the thought that it was partially my fault she was struggling so badly.

“Doctor,”

I turned my head slightly to find James standing at the door.  “...She’s all right.”

He nodded and came closer, but he stopped a ways off.  “W-h—what are we going to do about the Daleks?”  He swayed as he formed his words.  “They could d-destroy Fortanya.  No one would know what to—to do.  We have knights on horseback with swords.  They w—will in no way be able to disarm them.”

I frowned and turned to face him as I sat on the bed with Gemini.  “I know.  Daleks are strong and rather deadly.  I’m actually surprised Cain and his family could dole so much damage to them.”  I mused over the damage I had returned to after saving Corrie and avoiding the Daleks on Skaro.  “They’re our best bet.  We’ll bring them to Fortanya and have them at ‘em.”  I stood up.  “Would...” I glanced back at Gemini worriedly.

“I’ll s-stay.”

I gave him a grateful smile and exchanged places with him.  He remained with Gemini and I returned to the control room to the Kronolin family.

Diana was finally enjoying Lucia’s company, and she giggled exuberantly as I entered the room.  I grinned and patted her on the head as I stepped among the three Kronolins.

“So?”

“She’s all right; asleep now.”

Cain nodded, turning his eyes downward.  “I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but—”

“Please.” I interrupted him, holding up a hand.

“She’s not going to last—”

“She will last as long as she needs to!” I shot back heatedly.  

A look of shock fell across Gemma’s face as looked between the two of us.  Even Diana had grown silent at my outburst, looking around the room as if she couldn’t imagine her father could shout so loudly.

But I did not want him to tell me about Gemini.  I did not want to be reminded of what could be true—it wasn’t.  We had averted this crisis just as we had averted every other until this point.  “She is all right.” I said calmly, watching the bristled hair on the Kronolin’s neck beginning to fall back into place.

“...As for the Daleks in Fortanya,” I returned to the topic we should have been discussing.  “We’re going to have to do all we can to stop them.  The local people will not be able to even get close to them.”

“So you’ll need our help,” Gemma stepped in when she noticed her father was going to remain silent.

“If you can spare it.”  I glanced at Cain, who hadn’t even returned his eye-contact.  “I’m sorry, Cain.  I did not mean to shout.”

He finally turned to look at me.  “We can help.” He said plainly.

“Gemini has been an incredible influence for us.” Lucia added, stepping up to me with my daughter in her arms.  “You and your family have been—and will be—too.  We will always help you, no matter what sun may rise.”  She smirked.  “In return, however, I must borrow your daughter as often as possible.”

I chuckled through my nose.  “But of course.  She’s taken to you well, eh Diana?”

My daughter squeaked and patted Lucia’s mane.

Lucia’s daughter snorted as Diana’s small hands reached out to her.  “I still can’t imagine her being the Diana I met before.” Diana grasped the side of Gemma’s thumb and began to giggle again.  “...Time travel can really mess with your head.”

“It’s terribly bad for you.” I held my hands on my hips.  “Terribly fun, though.”

“Well,” Cain roughly got to his clawed feet, “shall we take care of the issue on hand?  I trust you’ll place our arrival just after Gemini’s jump there so we can destroy as few Daleks as possible?  They’ll be headed to the tear in droves once they know they will be met with little opposition.”

“And we do not want that to happen,” I stepped over to the control panel and began to punch buttons and calculate plans.  “Yes, I found the moment that Gemini arrived in Fortanya so we’ll be there right on time.”

“I’ll grab our armor; don’t jump locations yet.” Gemma fingered the vortex manipulator on her wrist and disappeared.  Moments later, she returned with helmets, wrist-guards, and other metallic pieces for the three of them.

“Good.”  Cain turned to his wife.  “I’m sorry, dear, you’ll have to leave her here.”

She growled.  “I thought I would stay here to watch her.”

Cain gave her a particular look with a even more particular tilt of his head.  Lucia bumped her head against his and rubbed against him.  “I’ll return her to her father.”

“No, bring her to James,” I said.  “I’ll go with you to make sure everything is okay.  I will not bring her to the battlefield.”

With that Lucia carried the babbling baby into the hallway and towards Gem and I’s room.  James returned with her, holding Diana in his arms.

“You’re going?” he asked me almost exasperatedly.

“I need to help them.” I said.  “I hate to keep leaving you behind, but you are best equipped to protect the ones you love.”

James frowned but accepted silently.

“We’ll return as soon as we can.” I continued, returning to the console to bring us to the proper time and place.  “Don’t leave the TARDIS until I come back.”

He nodded, but remained in the hallway; watching as a true sentinel should.

I pulled a lever and the TARDIS gave her familiar whir.  When we arrived, the armored Kronolins quickly raced to the door.  I had to run after them as they flung open the door and went to work.

“B—be safe.” James called, but I was running too quickly out the door.


I slammed the TARDIS door behind me and was met with a sight I did not want to see.  The three Kronolins before me were having similar thoughts.

No more than eight Daleks were rolling their way through the cobblestone streets, firing at anything that moved.  The destruction they had already caused was not as great as I would have expected, but I cringed when I saw the first casualty.

“Nice work, Doctor.” Cain sneered beneath his silver mask.

“They—they move quickly!  This truly was moments after Gemini went back through the portal!” I answered exasperatedly.

“Move!” Gemma shouted, racing towards me and knocking me backward as a shot flew past us.  “You can’t stand still with that many Daleks here!!” She cried, darting away moments later and leaping at full speed onto a Dalek’s head.

Cain and Lucia split as well, each taking on a Dalek.  I wavered on my heels, wondering what I could do to help.  When I saw one chasing down an innocent villager, I thought of something rather quickly.

“Hey!  Hey you, metal bucket!” I shouted, waving my arms.

“DOCTOR?” The Dalek stopped its pursuit and turned its eyestalk my way.  “SO, YOU COME NOW TO SAVE THIS PLANET?”

“I come to save any planet from your kind.” I grimaced.

“HOW DO YOU PLAN ON SAVING YOURSELF?” The Dalek started toward me, “EXTERMINATE!!”

I ducked aside as the Dalek fired at me.  As if on cue, Cain rushed past me and tackled the Dalek, ripping its gunstick from its hardened exterior.

“Right—I’ll keep distracting them for you!” I called as he rushed on to face another Dalek.

“No, you need to close the tear,” He replied, breathing hard.  “Another just came through.”

“Another—” I grit my teeth and rushed back to the TARDIS to gather the functional gunstick James had used to close the portal in London.  Thankfully, it was just inside the door.  I could have kicked myself for not taking it to start with.  I took it and raced out the door.

- - -

Gemini woke quickly, startling James as she scrambled upright.

“G—Gem,” James started, instinctively putting a hand on Diana, who had just started to fall asleep beside her mother.

“Where... where’s The Doctor?” she seemed harried.

“Outside,” her brother said carefully.  “You need to stay inside, though.”

She shook her head.  “He needs help.  There’s a Dalek in Fortanya.”

“An—and that’s precisely—why you need to stay here.” James held her arm.  “Gemma, Cain, and Lucia are helping.  They...” he smirked.  “They can handle it if no one else could.”

Something struck the TARDIS from the outside and shook the room, startling the two of them.  Diana, however, had fallen asleep and didn’t seem to notice.  The two above her, however, had grown solemn.

Gemini’s eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened, they dropped to her daughter.  She bent down and kissed her forehead.  “You be a good girl, Di.”

“...Gem.”  James already knew what his sister was about to do.  He knew once Gemini had something in her mind, there was very little to stop her, but he would always try.

She looked at him, half sad, yet half determined.  “I just have a feeling...”

“I know.” James tried one last time.  “I hav—have a feeling too, but I’m not sure I like how it will... will end.”

Gemini looped an arm around her brother’s neck and hugged him.  He held her tightly in return.

“We must have the same feeling.”

“...Please be careful.”

With that, Gemini turned and shuffled out of the bed.  She wavered a moment on worn-out legs, but steadied herself and walked as boldly as she could to the battlefield.

- - -

Upon leaving the TARDIS I ran into the street, looking for the inter-dimensional tear with the gunstick in my hands.  Almost as quickly, a Dalek was roaring its mechanical voice behind me.  I shouted out of shock and fired the gunstick.  It broadsided the Dalek and knocked it over.  I wasn’t sure if I had disabled it or merely stunned it, but I didn’t have time to find out.  I clutched the sonic screwdriver in my other hand and located the portal—just as another Dalek joined the scene.

“Bad move!!” I called as I fired two shots.  One struck the Dalek in the eyestalk—just in time for Gemma to ram it and push it into a nearby building, and the other struck the inter-dimensional tear behind it.  A burst of light and sparks signaled its closure.

Cain came to rest for a moment beside me.  

“Closed!” I announced.  

“Good.  I think we’re finally making a dent,” he said, noticeably winded. I hadn’t noticed how much he had aged since my first encounter with him; gray hairs were filling in his beard and mane, and the weathering and a few scars here and there were signs he had been fighting for much of the years in between.

“Hanging in there?” I asked, trying to smile.

Cain offered a smile and looked at me squarely.  “Doctor, I was outspoken earlier.  I am sor—”

The Dalek I thought I had disarmed fired and struck Cain in the chest.  The Kronolin arched back as sparks of lightning covered his skin.  Almost as quickly, he fell roughly to the ground.

I had shouted some sort of outburst as I clattered to my knees beside him.  Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as his lifeless form remained still on the cobblestones, and I turned my head away to watch the fallen Dalek adjusting its gunstick.  I cried out again as I fired shot after shot into the metal-clad creature, finally striking its gunstick and eyestalk successively.

Across the street, Gemma was standing stiffly with her ears pulled back in horror.  I saw the grimace of a sob forming on her lips—the only part of her face I could see clearly due to her helmet.  But duty called her when another Dalek struck the house behind her, and she averted her shock and grief into anger and vengeance.

I scanned my surroundings harriedly and quickly noticed Gemini standing a few feet off.  It was clear from her expression that she had witnessed Cain’s death, and she was about to witness Lucia roaring in horror when she saw her mate lying beside us.

Gemini’s teeth were clenched and she nearly fell to her knees coming to rest beside me.  I clutched her tightly, as if to never let her go.

“Let me go,” Gem said into my ear.

I pulled her head away so I could look at her.  “What did you say?”

“Let me go.” She repeated with tears in her eyes.

Fear struck me and I nearly lost my breath.  “Gem... no...”

“There are still too many.  We don’t... don’t need anymore casualties.” Her lips twisted as she tried to repress a sob.

Tears were forming in my own eyes.  “But I don’t want to lose you.”

“You will never lose me.” She ducked her head under my chin and rested it against my chest.  “But you need to let me go.”

I again pulled her away and looked at her.  We were both crying, but beneath the tears was the same determined face I had always seen in her.  There would be no stopping her now.

“I love you, Gemini.”

“I love you too.”

She closed her eyes and released the Raven for the last time.

---

Chapter 8

A Dalek’s shot grazed across Lucia’s shoulder.  She growled and leapt at the metal being, ripping the eyestalk from its metal head in one blow.  Her hands and arms were cut and bloody, but she still ripped into the metal of the Dalek and managed to expose the misshapen creature inside.

“I SURRENDER!” The creature writhed.

Lucia barred her teeth.  “I’m not sure I care.”

“Mom, look out!!” Gemma called fearfully, causing Lucia to dart her head aside to see three in-tact Daleks closing in on her.  

Lucia quickly scanned the street for her daughter and found her facing two other Daleks.  She looked for her husband and found him lying in the street.  She shut her eyes and tossed aside the Dalek she was holding.  “Do what you will.” She straightened up.  “If I must go, at least I will be with Cain again.”

“EXTERMINATE!!”

A shot fired but Lucia felt nothing.  She opened her eyes to see a young woman in a black coat and jeans with knee-high boots.

“...Gemini,” Lucia whispered, watching the half-Time Lord slowly double over until her knees touched the cobblestones.

When the girl’s eyes turned upward to face her three opponents, the eyes flashed a golden hue.  “Sorry, Gemini is not here right now.  And in three seconds you’ll really wish she was.”

Golden energy began to surge from her body, and all five Daleks still in play began to panic.

“REGENERATION—QUICKLY, RETREAT!!”

But the Daleks could scarcely turn their eyestalks away when a burst of energy like the wave of a supernova beat through the air.  Gemma and Lucia fell to the ground to avoid it, but the Daleks were not so nimble.  The three in Lucia’s vicinity were blown off their wheels, two smashing head-first into the cobblestones, shorting out their eyestalks and gunsticks.  The third rolled on its back like a turtle, crying out in its metallic voice.

The two near Gemma had been rocked but managed to survive, and they quickly turned and left the younger Kronolin in search of the portal they had entered through.

The head of a Dalek was tossed against them.  Both slowed and turned to see the pulsing Time Lord standing with one foot resting on the now-headless third Dalek.  Her coat sleeves were torn, and energy still freely flowed from her wrists and fingers.

“PLEASE—LET US RETREAT—”

“And where exactly would you like to retreat?”

Her voice was cold.  Not even Gemma recognized it as she remained crouched against the ground in fear.

“LET US RETURN—”

“To the portal that’s already closed up?”  She shook her head as she stepped off of the Dalek husk and started toward them.  Her eyes flashed, reflecting on the glasses she wore as her hair began to wisp with the power she was releasing.  “Too bad.  Looks like you made a mistake.  One you can no longer learn from.”

The two Daleks faltered.  “PLEASE...”

The Time Lord shot her hands out as she bent at the waist.  Energy surged from her hands and struck both Daleks.  They were both knocked backward, but weren’t tipped or seemingly damaged.

The Time Lord stood up straight.  “Hm.  You two are going to make me work at this,”

“I can take care of them now,” Gemma tried, still crouched nearby.  She was met with the cold eyes of Rovenna.  Gemma pulled her ears back and turned away.  She would have no ally here.

“EX... TER....”

Rovenna turned her head ever so slightly.  The headless Dalek was still functional, waving its gunstick aimlessly.  It finally fired, striking the large star atop the Sirius Theatre.

Although Rovenna had no knowledge of the theatre, something stirred within her.  Her eyes narrowed and she turned her eyes down to the Dalek.  “That was a bad move right there.”

Rovenna strode casually toward the Dalek, already glowing from head to toe.  As she did, Lucia darted away towards her daughter.  Rovenna either didn’t notice or didn’t care.  She went to work quickly, plunging both hands into the Dalek using the heat and power of her regenerative energy to burn through the Dalek’s outer casing.

The mother and daughter embraced when they met, though the cringed when they heard the Dalek screaming from Rovenna’s direction.  They didn’t have to speak to know they both wanted to be as far as they could from the raging Time Lord.  They left the two Daleks—now rolling in the opposite direction in a vain attempt to escape—and raced toward their fallen family member.

“And where do you think you’re going??”

The Kronolins froze with fear, but the Time Lord’s flaring eyes were pointed in the direction of the Daleks, and they knew at least for now they would be safe.

When they arrived at Cain’s body, they found me hunched beside it.  I’m sure I looked the way I felt—severely worn—and I scarcely looked up to see them.  I could offer no words, but I stayed beside them as Lucia finally broke down into tears.  She clutched at her husband’s face and pulled the silver mask from his face.  Shuddering with sobs, she closed his eyes and fell against him.

Tears fell onto Gemma’s cheeks as she removed the helm from her own head and rubbed against her mother.  I rested a gentle hand on her back.

But at once we were swept backward with so much force that I found my back against the TARDIS and the outer casing of a Dalek against my legs before I came to realize what had just happened.

“Was that her?” Gemma asked me, crawling toward her mother with the hair raised in fear on her neck.

I  pushed past the empty shell of the Dalek and wearily looked up to an embankment just ahead of us.  Rovenna stood, blazing, as she surveyed the extent of her destruction.  I swallowed.  It was Rovenna’s destruction.

I got to my feet and mustered every ounce of hope and strength as I approached her.

Her eyes, shining a yellow-gold, finally met mine.  A smirk came to her face.   “Hello, Doctor.”

I lowered my brows.  “Rovenna... you let her go.”

“Sorry, but I think this time I want to stay.” She turned away from him and began inspecting her hands.  “I’ve been trying to decide if I like her body better.  It’s smaller, but they do say big things come in small packages...”

“I want my Gemini back!” I spat.

Her eyes flared at me.  “Gemini... all you ever talk about is Gemini!  Would it kill you to say my name like that once in a while?”  Another smile came to her lips as her eyes half-closed.  “You did marry me, after all...” she said seductively.

I was seething, clenching my fists and holding back as much anger as I could.  “I married Gemini.”

“I am Gemini... she’d only be that silly human girl without me!”

“Then I married that silly human girl!  I would never marry you, you—manipulative, rage-driven psychopath!”

At once Rovenna released a wave of regenerative energy with a loud shout.  I could scarcely react before it struck me and pulsed through my body.  At such a close range, it burned me and left me frozen.  I staggered a few feet back before I could turn my eyes back to the figure of Gemini.  She was scowling at me.

“How dare you say that!!  You’re not so perfect yourself, you know!!”

“I never said I was,” I was able to get out past breathing hard and shivering.  “You’re the one being ridiculous and using up all your energy!  What are you planning to do when you run out??”

Rovenna glanced at her hands again.  The energy hung around them like smoke curling into the air.  “Oh, I don’t know... I guess then you’ll finally be rid of me, eh?”  She straightened up.  “Though if I die... whatever will happen to your precious Gemini?  Wait.” She added quickly, touching her face.  “I know... the empty void in her brain would be too much for her...”

I thrust a finger toward her.  “Don’t you even—”

“Even what?” Rovenna shot back.  She paused to watch my expression waver between fear and rage.  “On second thought, I’m growing tired of living like this.  Constantly being held back inside a human’s puny brain isn’t exactly living, anyway.  It worked, at least.  I could slip under the radar awhile... I was able to witness the collapse of ORBIT, the taming of the snake Hydra, and... well, you probably don’t want to know how much of your honeymoon I can recall...”

I shook my head, half out of embarrassment.  “Stop it!”

“For once, Doctor, I will not stop it.”  The energy pulsed stronger, beginning to rise from her chest and curl around her messy brown hair.  “Gemini’s time is over.  It’s my turn to burn bright.”  A toothy grin filled her face, and she pulsed another wave of golden energy.

This time I dropped to the ground to avoid it, and even more quickly, I sprinted towards her while she was preoccupied.  I was almost upon her when she spun around and rammed me with both hands.  I cried out and fell back as her golden energy ripped through me, and I shakily fell to my knees.  I was no longer sure how much more I could take.

“You’re a dying star, Rovenna!!” I shouted, almost spitting the words as I clutched a hand against my chest.  “The brighter you burn, the faster you’ll burn out!!”

Rovenna bowed, spreading her arms wide as the energy continued to wisp from her hands.  “Yes, but hasn’t it been fun?”

“You’re going to kill her!”

“I can’t kill her,” Rovenna shot back, “I can render her useless—and that’s the part you can’t stand.  You’ll have to wipe her mind.  Then she’ll go back to living her simple human life just as it was before you showed up—and she’ll never know who you are.”

“Shut up!!”

“Reality check, Doctor—you knew this was going to be how it ended from the very start!  You know a meta-crisis can’t hardly last ten minutes, let alone however many years this has dragged along.  And isn’t that something you told her when you married her?  You’ll love her whether it’s one day or a thousand years more?”

Tears were welling in my eyes.  “Then give her back to me!”

“And go back to being squelched in the back of her mind?”

“You’d still be alive that way—if her mind is wiped you’re gone.  There’ll be nothing left of you.”

“Oh, now the sympathy makes itself known to me,” She said, glaring at me with golden daggers.  And then, she straightened up as the energy stopped flowing.  “...Speak of the devil...”  A bright flash, like the backfiring of an explosive, blinded me for a moment, and when I managed to look up, the Time Lord was collapsing to her knees.  My hearts stopped.

“No!!” I scrambled to my feet and back up the embankment towards her, and I scooped her into my arms with all the fear and dread I could no longer hide spreading across my face.

“If only... Keith... would have looked at me like that...” Rovenna said weakly.

“Keith... Reynolds?”  

She closed her eyes as a snowflake fell onto her cheek.  I glanced up for only a moment to notice it had begun to snow.

“I was... foolish... to think... I could love him...”

I didn’t know what to say.  Upon her final moments, she was remembering the one man she claimed to have hated so much that it drove her away from Hydra and into the body of a randomly-selected young woman. I could only half shake my head and half tremble as he held her body in my arms.

“You were right... as always...”  The glow in her eyes was growing faint.  “I guess this is it.”

“Rovenna...” I whispered fearfully.

“Goodbye... Doctor.” She breathed the words.

For a moment, Gemini lay completely still in my arms.  The light had left her eyes.  The pulsing energy had ceased.  Only the gentle patters of snowflakes finding their way to the ground could be heard.  Not even I was breathing.

A gasp for air sent a wave of relief back into my hearts when Gemini struggled to regain consciousness.

“...Gemini?” I asked carefully, my hand on her cheek.

Her eyes turned up to mine, and the slightest of smiles found her lips.

“Oh, Gemini, I thought I’d lost you!” I pulled her closer, holding her weakened body against mine.

However, my feeling of relief didn’t last for long.  Something wasn’t right.  Gemini’s breathing was short and stammered.   Her eyes were no longer focusing.

“C-can—c-c-c—can’t...” she struggled in a frail whisper.

“Gem?”

“F—can’t f-f-f—feel,” she arched her head and winced her eyes shut.  “C—an’t feel m-m—my ar—ms...”

As if all of the breath had been removed from my body, I sunk further to the ground as Gemini trembled in my arms.  It was over, wasn’t it.  This was it.  Without Rovenna, Gemini’s mind would slowly revert to a state of mental incapacitation.  This was the moment I had feared; the moment I never wanted to face.  Gemini was failing.

“W—wh-wha...wh—ghh,” she began mumbling fragments of words and sounds.  “Ff... whe—where... D—d-d...”

“Shh,” I stumbled over the sound as a tear ran down my cheek.  “It’s all right.  I’m here... I’ll help you.”  I shut my eyes and shuddered.

“...I... love.”

My eyes opened.  They welled with tears until I could no longer see through them.

“...I love you too.”

I pressed my hands against her temples.

“My sweet Gemini...”

I kissed her lips.

Her eyes rolled back into her head and closed.

It was over.

---

Chapter 9

The streets were cleared slowly and painfully.  No one was sure exactly what had happened; what the beings were that had destroyed buildings and had killed their loved ones; where they had come from... and if should they fear their return.  The people of Fortanya, Spades would not soon forget the strange occurrence on Christmas Day.

When her seemingly lifeless body was seen carried from the wreckage, Ace Gallagher was counted among the casualties. Ed Edwards, the manager of the Sirius Theatre with the sibling pair of Gallagher and Harley, was not able to confirm the report.  He was also unable to confirm if the theatre’s extensive damage would be repaired or considered a loss.

Bits of Dalek were thrown back through the last remaining portal.  Gemma ensured that every piece of them would be removed so the town could forget them.  After that, she fired the Dalek gunstick into the portal to seal it forever.  Lastly, she alerted her fellow Kronolins of a fallen soldier and I returned them to Kronon.

When we arrived, a large group of Kronolins were there to meet us.  They boarded the TARDIS and retrieved Cain’s body, wrapping it in linen.  His grieving mate thanked me through her tears as she departed.

Gemma lingered behind after the group processed away.  She wiped her eyes with the back of her bandaged hands and then grabbed me in an almost unexpected hug.

“Please visit us.” She said as she pulled away.  “Or I’ll have to track you down.”

“I will.”

“...I’m sorry...”

I averted my eyes.  “I am too.”

Gemma took my shoulder and pressed her forehead against mine.  I wasn’t sure who she was supporting more.

“Gemini... was a special part of Dad’s life.” Her voice wavered.  “In a way, it’s almost fitting they... they went together.  I’m so grateful that I will always have both of them to look up to.”

I winced and turned away, trying to hide tears.

She sniffled softly, squeezed one of my hands, then she started after her father’s procession.

I let out a deep breath to regain composure and returned to my TARDIS.

Gemma looked back as the TARDIS dematerialized and faded away.  She bowed her head and continued on.

- - -

It was late at night, but the light of the Sirius Theatre still shone brightly.  I cradled her in my arms as I walked down the empty cobblestone streets of the outskirts of Fortanya.  As I walked closer, the warm light from the Sirius bathed us in its yellow light. The grand marquis had just been completed in the time we had stepped into.  With a solemn expression, I slowed to a stop beneath its light.  I swallowed and knelt down beside the ticket booth and doorway.

“...I d—don’t understand.”

I carefully set her down, leaning her gently against the wall beside the door.  I then sat back on my heels.

“You both have a new timeline.” I spoke softly.  “I’ve already done this once.”

I couldn’t see him from where he stood behind me, but I could tell James was frowning.

“In one timeline, Ace Gallagher is walking home from the theatre and a silver TARDIS crash-lands beside her, thus creating Gemini.  That timeline is being replaced.”  I adjusted my poise.  “Here, you find her asleep outside the theatre.  She was out late working on the theatre for so long she fell asleep...”  I swallowed, thinking back on the time I first came across the young woman before me.

“The reason I found you two in the first place was because of her odd collection of time streams.  I wouldn’t have thought I’d be the one assisting in their creation.”  I almost smiled.  “It’s amazing to look back now... Gemini—Ace had no idea what had happened, and what was going to happen. And I can say with the deepest respect that you’ve come a long way yourself.”

“I couldn’t im—imagine not having these adventures.” James spoke up.  “Or the f-friends we found... the things we did, the relationships we made... and—and with similar respect, Doctor, I couldn't have found a b-better friend than you.”

I swallowed again, tears returning to my eyes.

James’ head was low, but his eyes were intently watching his sister.  “Will she remember...?”

“No.”

He winced at my blunt reply.  “At all?”

“She mustn’t. Her mind would try to reach a space that no longer exists. It could hurt her.” My voice wavered.  I didn’t have to wonder if James had put it all together in his head; I could see his understanding by his bowed form beside me.

There was silence as I looked at her again.  She was sleeping peacefully; propped against the wall as if she had merely sat down to rest and happened to slip into a dream. A tear found its way onto my cheek.

James scuffled slightly toward me.  “Will I remember?”

“You're not supposed to, but you are James Harley.  You've break a lot of rules and catch on far too quickly.”

I managed to get the elder brother to smirk.  “That’s what I’m here f—f-for.”

I sighed, almost smiling myself.  But there was too much resting on my hearts.  The heaviness weighed me down like I was carrying bricks in my chest.  I took in a deep breath to counter my sigh.

“What about Vance?”

I frowned.  “In this timeline he will never meet Amaya... I’m not sure what to tell you.  Think of it this way: this timeline is as if there were no time travelling, no distant planets, no Kronolins, no Daleks... No...” My lips puckered.  “...No me.”

James lightly touched my shoulder.

I shut my eyes. “Please watch out for her.”

“Always.”

“Keep her safe.”

“I will.”

I shook my head gently and leaned forward, kissing her on the forehead one last time.

And then, before I could give it another thought, I turned, stood up, and started away.  Tears ran down my cheeks as James called from behind me.

“Doctor—wh-what about Diana?”

I grimaced, scuffling abruptly to a stop as I covered my eyes.  “Sh... she’ll be in... in good hands.” I called back; my words more broken than James’ were.

James’ teeth were clenched.  Tears were in his eyes.  

I staggered ahead to the TARDIS and almost didn’t hear his footsteps racing toward me.

He grasped me my the shoulder to spin me back around and caught me with his other arm.  He clutched me tighter than even a Kronolin couldn’t have mustered.  He sobbed into my shoulder and I collapsed into pieces myself.  If he hadn’t been holding me so tightly I’m sure I would have been on the ground.

“Thank you, D-D—Doctor.  I wil—will al-always... remember you.” He spoke through his tears.

“I will never forget you, James.” I stood back with a tear-stained face as I was released.  “And I will never forget your sister.”

He was biting his lip as I turned away.  And soon, I heard his footsteps returning to the Sirius.

I didn’t turn back until I reached the TARDIS, and I watched as James carried Gemini inside the theatre.

“Ace.” I said softly.  James was bringing Ace inside.

She was Gemini no more.

---

The TARDIS appeared slowly with its usual whirring, and once it had stopped, the door opened almost as slowly.  I held a sleeping Diana tightly against my chest, and with eyes full of worry, fear, sadness, and determination, I stepped out.

I walked by the moonlight across a stone-paved road to a humble dwelling.  They were waiting for me inside, but I walked as slowly as he could to savor this moment with my daughter.

“Well, Diana, this is it.” I spoke, my eyes looking down upon her, “You’ll go off and live with your new foster parents.  As much as I would love to keep you...” I swallowed, “I can’t.  But I love you... I love you more than anything... more than anyone... except your mother, but I’m sure you can figure that one.”

I smirked a little, scuffling my feet as I slowed to a stop.  “You already look so much like her.  You’ll look even more like her, too.  It’s odd; I’ve already met you before.  Your mother has too.  I’m so glad you get to see her, Diana...”  I gently held her close so I could press my chin against her forehead.  “That’s what’s helping me do this.  Knowing you grow up to be a beautiful and intelligent young woman helps me...”

I looked up.  A very-pregnant Amaya was standing in the doorway, smiling lightly.  I smiled sadly in return.  “But see?  Your second mum’s already here.  You’ll love her, and you’ll love your second dad too.  They’re both admirable people.”

I closed my eyes and hugged tighter.  “And they’ll tell you all about your mom and I... and I’ll visit as often as I can.  We’ll always be stories in your head and love in your heart.  You will always know where you’ve come from.  The Doctor and Gemini’s daughter...  the beautiful Diana Gallagher.”

A hand touched my arm.  I opened my eyes, again wet with tears.  “I’m sorry,” I told Vance.

“Take all the time you need.” He said, his arm around his wife.

“...All the time I need...” I shook my head, my eyes downcast.  “I’m a Time Lord and I still never have enough time...”

I sighed and straightened up, looking again upon Diana.  “Well, this is it.  ...I’ve already said that.  Right.  I love you, Diana... said that too.  I guess that’s all I can say... but I have everything to say.  Everything and nothing to say.  Time... it’s time.  Time for this old man to stop babbling and let you live your life...”

I held her out and kissed her forehead; then, I presented her to Vance and Amaya.

Amaya smiled and cradled Diana tightly against her.  “She is beautiful, Doctor.”

“I know.” I said, a solemn half-smile on my face.

“Amaya and I will love her like she was our own daughter,” Vance spoke, resting a hand on my shoulder.  “And very soon she’ll have a playmate.” He eyed Amaya with a smile.

“I know.”

Amaya leaned forward and hugged my bewildered form with one arm, while the other held the sleeping baby between us.  “You’ll be back when the pain has lessened, and you will always be her father.” She then added in a more somber tone, “She will grow with strong roots. The seeds are twin stars...”

I broke down again, stepping backward to press my fist against pursed lips.  I shook my head wildly, squinting my eyes shut as tears flowed from them.  I finally took a deep breath and regained some semblance of composure.  “I’m sorry,” I muttered.  “I’m so sorry...”

I turned away without another word.  Amaya was torn on if she should follow, but when Vance gently wrapped his arm around her back, she nodded remained in place.  

The foster parents stood with their daughter, watching as her father walked away and disappeared inside the blue door of the TARDIS.

---

Chapter 10

“...But all I see, and all I seem is but a shadow of a shadow of a dream within a dream; free as the wind—lighter than air!  Free from the jealous minds, the scornful, bitter words won’t hurt me there! And I will live forevermore...

“If you remember me, I am immortal!”

She held out her arms as she held out the note.  She paused when the music prepared for the final, powerful phrase.  Tilting her head back only slightly, she took in a deep breath.

“I am... immortal!!”

She ducked down into the darkness as the lights went down after the last breath of the final note was sung.  Thunderous applause began, and in the darkness before her I could see many in the crowd rising to their feet in ovation.

In the front row was a familiar face; in fact, I had seen it there the past few performances.  It was the face of a man that looked both youthful and wise, worn from time, and always intent on watching Ace as she performed the title role in our Edgar Allan Poe musical.  I couldn’t help but smile, although it was perhaps more of a smirk.

Moments later my sister came to greet me in the wings, and I grabbed her in a hug.  “Ex—excellent as always, Madame Poe!”

She laughed and stepped back.  “Same to you, Master Harley.”

It was then that Ed appeared from the walkway behind the stage.  “Well, the curtain is still broken.  I’d say you two work on that next as far as finishing the place.  Curtains are pretty important.”  He waved his arm out to the front of the stage as he spoke.

“We’re working on it,” I said with the annoyance fairly apparent on my voice.  I even noticed Ace rolling her eyes in the dim light.

She rested a hand on her hip.  “With the tickets we’ve been selling in the meantime we should be able to hire a stagehand to take care of that.  But I’d say we’ve done pretty well doing a lot of this ourselves...”

Ace’s words trailed off.  Her eyes had fallen on the front row of the audience—clearly visible from the wings without a functioning front curtain.

I pressed my lips together, knowing well what had garnered her attention.  The Doctor was still standing in the front row, patiently waiting for an older couple to gather their belongings and exit.  “Wh—wh-t—what do you see?” I asked despite knowing the answer.

Ed tried to follow our gaze, but he shrugged when Vance flagged him down to help in moving a prop back into place.

“...There’s a man out there,” she finally said, not moving her eyes.  “I’ve seen him there the last four shows.”

“Oh?”

She shook her head.  “I feel like I should go talk to him, or thank him, or something,”

I felt flushed.  The Doctor had said she shouldn’t be reminded of the times now far removed from her mind.  But it was partially his fault for sitting in a rather obvious location for four nights in a row.  What harm would it do?

“You sh-should.” I gave her a light nudge.  “Quick—before he leaves.”

She grinned and ran to the stage exit into the audience. I found a way to watch their bittersweet interaction from the wings.

“Excuse me,” she called, stopping the man in his tracks.

The man turned around, his hair flopping over the side of his face.  He gave a sort of hopeful smile as she stepped up to him.

She smiled almost embarrassedly back at him.  “Oh—hi, um,” She backpeddled a bit, “I just, well, I couldn’t help but notice you’ve been at the past couple of shows, so I wanted to thank you.”

The man shrugged, shoving his hands in his coat pockets and rocking on his feet.   “Well, I will admit that I’m a bit of a fan,” he said, “You... you’re quite an actor—actress—um...”

She laughed, her face flushing red.  “Either is good; I am portraying Poe, after all.” They both chuckled lightly and she brought her hand up to her neck.  “Anyway, thanks.  We really appreciate the support.  It’s people like you that will really help us finish up the place.”

The man smiled warmly at her; though somehow, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.  It was hard to place, and even harder for Ace understand.  “It is my pleasure.”

She then nodded and held out her hand to shake his. She thanked him again, and then she turned and started back to the stage door.  He then glanced up noticed me standing in the wings.

I gave him a thumbs-up and as wide a smirk as I could manage.

His smile and broke into a toothy grin, and he shook his head as he shooed me away with his hand.  He then pocketed his hands again and started for the door.  

Ace walked past me as she headed to the dressing room.  She didn’t speak, but a contented smile had lit her face.

I stood between them as they went along their way; glad they were able to share another moment, yet knowing they were travelling on their own timelines now.

And I would always be there for them both, holding onto their memories and protecting them as best as I could.  I would always remember how two seemingly ordinary people could become the most extraordinary I had ever met.  

I would forever be thankful for all that I was given from Gemini and The Doctor.


The Gemini Archives, started by Ace “Gemini” Gallagher to record her memories.  Finished by The Doctor, and concluded by James Harley.

End Transmission.

---

Book 10 - In Search of Gemini (coming soon!) >>