#I felt like it went from 0 to a hundred within the first chapter

[birabbitofthemoon]

Maybe don’t get a girl who can do both lol. This is from vol 1 of Spoil Me Plzzz Hinamori San it’s in Yurihime I believe and is supposed to come out in English in September of this year.

[tundrainafrica]

Title: En Prise (Chapter 1)

Summary:  

Hange already had the innate analysis skills and the quick wittedness to excel in the classroom. Chess should have come easy for her. As she processed her fifth loss to the man in front of her, she started to understand that there was more to the game than meets the eye.

College AU! Levi is a little too good at chess and Hange gets roped into studying the game further.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Links to other chapters: 2

Notes: Netflix has this new show out called "Queen's Gambit" which makes chess look like I pretty good driver for a story. Attack on Titan has its fair amount of chess motifs as well and that's when I knew a Chess AU has to exist somewhere in the fandom. With that, Levihan AU came into existence.

Chapter 1

His earliest memories comprised only three sensations --- gnawing hunger, paralyzing despondency and the reprieve of the cold hard pieces at his fingertips as he maneuvered them through the board.

Over the years, his body had tuned out everything else, justifying it to his being too young to have processed it anyway.

If anyone had asked him though about the first games he had ever played with his mother, he would have been able to replay them from opening the game with a queen's pawn to the sight of his mother's hand laying the king on the ground in defeat.

It had been ten years since his mother's death, three years since his uncle's disappearance and Levi was alone. It was just him and the last memories of his uncle and his mother immortalized in a game of strategy.

Somehow, that was what made tournaments so calming to the young adult Levi.

It was his sixth game of the tournament and Levi had ended up playing on one of the boards on the corners of the large dining hall turned tournament venue. He snuck a glance at the top boards at the stage towards the center of the room before making his first move.

"The London System. Too scared of tactics eh? Typical of beginners."

Calming yet oddly stressful. Calming yet oddly depressing. Levi thought to himself as he watched the familiar play of the London System transition into an unfamiliar position.

Of course, there are billions of possibilities. There are bound to be some I've never seen in my life.

"Hey kid, your position is just weakness after weakness. Those doubled pawns on your f file, your h3 pawn. This is just a mate waiting to happen."

Within a few moves, Levi's opponent tore through his castled king with a bishop sacrifice. Seeing that the mate was inevitable, Levi put his hand out from under him in surrender.

"This was way too easy, kid. You probably could have given me a harder time if you just didn't show up at all. Do yourself a favor and find yourself some other hobby."

There were assholes in the chess community and Levi had heard that same insult towards him countless times. He grabbed his hoodie, put it back on and made his way out of the tournament hall. On the way out, he stopped in front of the list of their latest scores.

Scores as of Round 5

He scrolled towards the bottom of the sheet, knowing his name would be there.

Levi : 0

Levi was surprised to feel a knot at the pit of his stomach as he stared at the score for a few more seconds.

Losing would hurt for anyone. He thought to himself, making sense of that odd bout of emotion.

He walked away from the tournament hall and disappeared into the crowds of the subway beneath it.

                                             En Prise

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano.

A Sound Mind in Sound Body.

Every student was required to take eight units of physical education, spread out among the first two years of college

If Hange had read the flyer before she applied to the prestigious Eldia university, she probably would have figured it out by the fine print right under the name of the university. If she had at least opened her study plan since she got it three months ago, she probably would have seen it written in clear fine print below “General Chemistry” and “Precalculus”

She had picked her university for the Chemistry degree, the prestige and nothing else. All she had to know was that it was one of the highest ranking universities in the country and they had complete facilities for biochemistry research.

She was quick to take the test, fill out the paperwork and submit it along with her essay.

Five months after she found the results, a week before the start of classes, came enlistment. As Hange stared at her study plan during her online enlistment proper, she felt completely and utterly trapped.

Her majors were no problem since they were all pre-enlisted. Her predicament came in the form of her physical education units.

Four semesters of PE. Hange grimaced. And it's gonna be counted towards my GPA?  She was not athletic at all and had hoped to avoid anything physical so she could dedicate herself to her studies.

How long will I have to do this?  Hange thought to herself as she scrolled through her four year study plan that opened up in the website in front of her.

   Physical Education [for enlistment]

She clicked on it and watched as the choices opened up in front of her. Around the country, hundreds of other students were enlisting and she watched as the numbers of open slots fell to zero in some classes.

It's not like I wanted to take basketball or volleyball anyway. Hange thought as she sorted it by slot. Surprisingly, the ones which were running out of slots faster were the more physical ones. She had already planned to try for anything with the least exercise.

Table tennis. Fencing. Tai Chi. Yoga.

She stared at those four for a moment as she considered those alternatives if she could not find anything less strenuous. She continued to scroll down.

Street dance. Folk dance. Chess.

Her eyes fell on the last one with twenty full slots. She had played the game many times before, having been taught by her own parents growing up. She had beaten a lot of her peers as well since she had the innate analysis skills and the quick wittedness, most people her age did not have growing up. She was confident she would have it easier in that class.

For a moment, she had considered pushing it back towards a later semester. As the numbers started to fall though on all the classes, Hange knew she had to make a decision soon.

She clicked "Chess" and a few pages later, "Confirm Enlistment."

It's gonna be my first year. The important thing is I get through it.

                                               En Prise

A few days after enlistment, Hange moved into her dormitory room with her roommate, Rico Brzenska, a petite girl with short blond hair and glasses who looked too busy to even acknowledge the new presence in the room. She looked like she was studying the first few pages of their precalculus textbook, only offering her name in response to Hange loudly and messily emptying the contents of her suitcase on the floor next to her bed.

Hange had similar plans of reading in advance. The first day of classes was three days away though and she had wanted to see the campus at least before burying herself in study material

She looked out the window to see that the sun was starting to turn a mild orange. She had arrived in her room by 4pm. It was early autumn though and Hange guessed that it might get dark sooner than she expected.

Unpacking could wait. She wanted to see the city. Hange threw aside her suitcase, pocketed her wallet and phone, and made her way outside of the dorm.

She stepped out into the green landscape just outside the entrance to the women's dormitory. The air was starting to get cold and she almost regretted not bringing a jacket. Not wanting to waste any time though, she trudged on, making her way out of campus.

A lot of new students must have moved into the dormitories already. There were many people her age already walking the streets of the university town. Hange could see some students already inside the bars that lined the busier streets.

Even since high school though, she had never seen the appeal of bars and parties. She chose to walk on without giving them a second glance.

Hange was about to circle back into campus when along the more quiet streets, she came across a small book shop.

I walked this far already, might as well check out stuff.

The familiar musty smell of books welcomed her as she opened the store shop. She had spent years cooped up in library after library, and had developed an affinity for that scent in particular.

She had bought most of her textbooks in advance. In fact, the only subject she had not prepared for at all was her Physical Education classes. She had chosen that university for their chemistry curriculum and the fact that she had to take physical education units, left her bitter and indignant about giving it the same  preparation she would have naturally given it if it were any other subject.

With time though, Hange did get curious. A day before she left for college she started playing a few games of speed chess anonymously online, winning most of them. It was an easy and straightforward game. All she had to do was make sure her pieces didn't get eaten and make sure she takes the free pieces. When she accumulated enough of an advantage, she went for a mate. All the games had been like that.

As she walked through the bookstore, she crossed a games section. The books in the store piled up all the way up to the ceilings. Hange surveyed the stack of books in the game section, only to realize that at least half of them were about chess.

Was chess this complicated of a game? Hange opened one of the books only to find paragraphs worth of explanation for one board position. She pulled books out of the shelves one by one, scanning the first few pages of each book that had caught her interest.

The Sicilian Dragon

The London System

Attack with Black

Chess Puzzles

Common Chess Mistakes

Maybe it was worth studying. Hange settled for what looked to be the most similar to a text book. It was thicker than a lot of other books but was worth as much as the others which only convinced her more that it was the best bargain.

Modern Chess Openings.

Hange was sure if she just followed the path she had taken an hour ago to the bookstore, she would have ended up safe home.

If I follow the same general direction, I'd also get home anyway. With that in mind, Hange stepped out of the main street and into one of the narrower and darker alleys, her new book safe in a paper bag by her side.

Although the streets were starting to get dark as the sun started to set below the horizon her curiosity and sense of adventure remained unwavered. It was a reckless habit and Hange's parents had told her before that it could get her killed one day.  

The streets she found herself in had their fair share of bars and eateries, although not as posh as those in the main street. Her own experiences had dictated to her multiple times though that the smaller ones probably even served better food than those in the main street.

She slowed her stride, gathering in the rustic view of the alleys, the souvenir kiosks and the shabbier bars.

"That shortie is fucking hustling me! He left his knight en prise on purpose. I'm not leaving until he gives me back my money!" A middle aged man burst out of one of the bars, his face pink with what could have been anger or alcohol.

He left his knight en prise… A free piece. Having spent a good hour in the bookstore going through chess books, the lingo was still fresh in her mind.

Two men were holding him from behind, looking the same shade of pink and Hange deduced then that he was probably drunk.

"We're really sorry for the trouble we're causing you here. We left the payment on our table." Another voice said from the doorway of the bar.

As Hange approached the bar, she saw another man bowing his head in apology to what looked to be the owner by the door. The two men made space for Hange to enter as they continued to discuss the logistics of what just happened. Hange knew she would get more context on that scene if she checked it out herself.

She did not need to think much to see the cause of the ruckus. Most of the bar goers were still staring in shock at one of the tables in the corner.

On the table sat a young man who looked to be her age, counting a wad of fresh bills on his hand. In front of him was a chess board, the pieces lined up so neatly, it was unbelievable to think it had anything to do with the drunk angry man who had burst out of the bar just a minute ago.

"What's that?" Hange asked no one in particular as she approached the table. The complexity of the game had caught her eye already back in the bookshop. Getting to see it in practice so soon after that got Hange red with excitement.

"Chess," the man at the table said as if the answer wasn't so blatantly obvious. "You play?"

It was an easy and straightforward game. All she had to do was make sure her pieces don't get eaten and make sure she takes the free pieces.

All she had to do was accumulate enough of an advantage to go for a mate.

He put two of his closed fists in front of her, a pawn in each of them. She picked the one on her right which opened to a white pawn. She was slated to start first.

She opened up with her king's pawn, knowing from experience that it opened up the most pieces. He mirrored her first move, pushing his king's pawn so it was right in front of hers.

She brought out her knight, then her bishop, preparing to castle kingside.

By the start of the middle game, Hange was starting to realize that the man in front of her had completely mirrored her position. A few moves in, he left a piece en prise.

Wins were usually straightforward for those with a material disadvantage. Before taking the piece, Hange looked at the man in front of her, only to see he looked completely unbothered by the free piece.

Am I missing something? It's too early in the game. There's no attack.

Oddly enough, fifteen moves later, Hänge found herself resigning having trapped her queen in the corner of the board.

She was a knight up. She should have been able to win.

"Again."

                                      En Prise

Five games in and Hange was out of money.

"Wait. Let's play one more."

"It's late." The man stood up and counted the cash which used to be Hange's. "Besides, I'm assuming this is all you have on hand?"

Hange stood up to look at the clock behind her and it was only then did she realize she stood a good few inches taller than him. His domineering presence on the board had somehow made him look much taller to her.

She looked to the clock behind her.

9:30

Shit. Hange had lost track of time. Her dormitory had a 10pm curfew on weekdays. She grabbed her paper bag, pocketed her empty wallet and hurried out of the bar.

Hange made her way through the narrow alleys towards the general direction of the university. Those streets were much more peaceful than their wider counterparts and that gave Hange the perfect environment to reflect on how the man had played.

She taught back to the first game. He had left his night en prise at the start of the middle game, his face completely unbothered even as Hange took it. Either way, he was a material down and she knew enough of the basics to know that the win should have been straightforward from there.

Hange could not pinpoint exactly which move proved fatal on her end. The man had slowly taken over her position, advancing his territory slowly but deftly until suddenly her queen was trapped.

At first, she thought that she had been careless but as she looked back to the five games in a row. They all started with her opponent giving a notable advantage to her, whether it be a three pawns, a free knight or a rook for a knight.

Every game, she had thought she was winning. His blunders at the opening, would have made anyone think that he was a little careless or a little too overconfident. His wins came out looking like lucky breaks. Those lucky breaks though were the reason he managed to earn from the games in the first place.

In between games, if Hange had given herself time to breathe and consider the situation, she probably would have noticed the pattern. Her frustration at her own carelessness had taken over every single time.

That man was no scatterbrain. He planned everything

She thought back to the drunk man who was dragged out of the bar.

That shortie fucking hustled me! He left his knight en prise on purpose. I'm not leaving until he gives me back my money!

That same shorty just walked away with almost half of her allowance that month.

As the realization dawned on her of what just happened, Hange found it difficult to contain her anger. "That fucking asshole!" Hange screamed as she kicked the sign that welcomed her back to university grounds.The pain that quickly spidered up her foot and the ice cold wind that brushed past her only added injury to the insult of having been duped too easily.

As Hange limped back into campus, her thoughts flew back to her opponent a while ago. He had counted the money multiple times as he waited for her to move. He kept his face expressionless with every move she had played. Those images only served to further infuriate her and Hange started to scramble for an action plan.

She had to get back at him somehow.

[saiilorstars]

The Beginning of Everything

Ch. 30: Running To You  

// Story Masterlist //

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 10th Doctor x Female OC (new face claim alert!)

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Chapter summary: The Doctor has made the worst possible mistake a Time Lord can make. He can't bring himself to face Renata even when she's so close to death so when he gets pulled back to Earth to face the Master one last time before his death, the Doctor takes it without a second though. But would Renata ever let him run on his own again?

6 months after Gabby's unveiling.

The Doctor had heard the screwdriver ping several times but there was so much going on. At first, he didn't answer because there was a unique distress call coming from Mars. He told himself he'd only pop in, make sure everything was going according to Time, and then he would see what Gabby needed. But when what he finally thought the Mars trip was a done deal, things went terribly wrong. He'd gone too far on his own. He always knew that he couldn't be alone, but he still fell. And this time he'd fallen too deep to be rescued. The bells were ringing and death was coming for him.

It scared him to the bone. How could he face Renata after his monumental screw up? She was always so proper, so law abiding, and he had broken their biggest law. She would hate him. She would hate him for real this time.

But the sonic kept pinging, and pinging…

With another sigh, Gabby lowered the sonic in her hand and looked back to where the glowing golden energy was swallowing up her friend. "He's not answering," she shook her head.

Zhe was at Renata's bedside, gripping Renata's left hand while the Time Lady writhed in pain. "I don't think she's going to last much longer."

Gabby bit her lower lip until she drew blood. Zhe was absolutely right. She didn't understand why the Doctor wasn't calling back. The few times that she'd paged him, he'd been very dutiful and returned the call within minutes. What could he possibly be doing right now that was more important than Renata!?

"C-can't hold it…" Renata groaned loudly and twisted her body to each side every minute. "I'm going to…"

"Don't use up your energy," Zhe tried calming her by passing her hand through Renata's hair. She didn't pull away when she realized how damp Renata's hair had become.

"There's no energy left!" Renata cried out in pain. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to think of anything but her impending death. She could feel it this time. It was a proper ending. Her entire body was on fire and unlike all the times before, she wasn't expelling it on the spot. Her head was pounding too. The Time Vortex inside her was making everything in her mind feel like it was being crammed. That was definitely new too. The Time Vortex was mixing, at the very least, with the other energy invading her body and if she didn't regenerate then it would be a real, proper death.

Gabby's heart broke hearing her friend crying in what had to be agonizing pain. She rushed to Renata's other side and took her hand, gripping it as tightly as Zhe was. "You'll be okay, I promise!"

Renata forced herself to open her eyes and see Gabby for the last time. "Oh Gabriella, this is it. This is my goodbye."

"No, no, don't say that," Gabby's eyes filled with tears. "The Doctor probably has a cure already and he's on his way."

"There's nothing left to do," Renata hissed as she felt a new piercing pain cutting through her stomach. "I'm...I'm not sure about regeneration so...so I just...need to thank you for being here. Both of you," she glanced at Zhe. "I don't want to die alone. The last time I died, I did it all by myself and I died during the war. I think maybe that's why this life was never a good one. I died in a war and I was reborn from a war. This life was useless. I never knew how to live happily. I was a nuisance."

"No you weren't," Gabby wanted Renata to laugh with her, to banter until Gabby could convince Renata that she was a good person.

Renata scrunched her face and whimpered. "I don't want to die without the Doctor. I had hope that…" she swallowed hard, "I had hope that maybe I would get a second chance..." Her body seemed to jerk forwards but she didn't have the strength to actually sit up. Instead, gold energy wafted from her body. Renata wanted to hope that it was regeneration energy trying to heal her body. "I need the Doctor," she closed her eyes as tears pooled in them, "I want him here with me. I want him holding my hand, telling me that he's going to make everything better even though I would argue that he couldn't. I want him here…" She gagged only to release more energy. "I need him here...I love him."

"Oh Ren," Gabby felt a deep fury ripple through her at the Doctor's tardiness. Where the hell was he!? Renata looked like a scared kid. Gabby didn't know what to do.

But then she heard something from a distance...a wheezing noise…

Gabby's anger was forgotten in a snap when she heard the beautiful noise of the TARDIS. "Oh he's here! Renata, he's here!" she left a sloppy kiss on Renata's hand and dashed for the door. "Doctor! Doctor!" she yelled all the way down the hall, and to the TARDIS. But she nearly crashed into the door when somebody opened it inches from her face. Gabby fervently shook her head and blinked fast to get her sight back. When she did, she saw who had come. "...Doctor?"

~0~

Earth, 2010.

He was back.

He was back and he was ready to cause havoc wherever he went.

The Doctor thought himself a quick-paced man most of the time. But right now, as he chased after the Master, he seemed like the slowest man in the universe.

The Master - mighty disheveled and even crazier than the last time he'd shown up - ran through a dumpsite. He roared with all his might, letting his voice echo through the dumpsite, before he leaped into the air and landed on a pile of dirt. He stood on his spot, laughing maniacally, and allowed the Doctor to witness his newest abilities. Electricity as it seemed, crackled and shifted his body to a skeleton for a brief moment.

"Please, let me help! You're burning up your own life force!" the Doctor begged to him in vain. The Master jumped off the mountain of trash and continued to run. The Doctor intended on doing the same thing but he was suddenly surrounded by humans.

Wilfred Noble was responsible for it. He'd engineered an entire search party to find the Doctor, and Renata, and was glad to have found at least one of them. The Doctor was bombarded by everyone suddenly around him. He wanted to keep following the Master but it was no use. He was long gone. Now he had to deal with Wilf, and a handsy human. Eventually, he gave in and followed Wilf to some cafe shop more close to the city. With any luck, he might get an idea on how to better catch the Master. His mind spiraled with so many thoughts.

Wilf was nervous pi is himself and that mildly grabbed the Doctor's attention. "I keep seeing things, Doctor, I...this face at night." He continued having horrible nightmares at night, nightmares that seemed relentless to terrify him each night. He didn't know what else to do but find the Doctor and Renata and get them to help him and everyone else having the same nightmares.

"Who are you?" the Doctor suddenly asked him, fixating a suspicious gaze on the man.

"I'm Wilfred Mott," Wilf answered with a light smile.

"No, people have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours." The Doctor didn't want to point out that not even Gabby had managed to find him and she had Renata and the sonic. Sometimes, a coincidence isn't one at all.

"Well, I'm just lucky, I s'pose," Wilf gave a light shrug of his shoulders.

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again, like something's still connecting us."

"Yeah, but what's so important about me?"

"Exactly. Why you?" the Doctor muttered not so quietly and he knew it. If Renata was around, she would've scolded him for being blatantly rude. Renata. His hearts ached knowing that she was so far away from him and...that he might not see her again. This him had expended all his time and what had he done with it? Nothing. He hadn't found anything to help Renata, not even a bit. She was in agonizing pain and right now he wasn't even dedicating his time to find a cure for her. The Master was using that up. He was using his last moments to find the Master.

"Doctor, I've been meaning to ask," Wilf unknowingly yanked the Doctor out of his thoughts. "Where's Renata? I thought she'd be round by that box of yours." But she had yet to make an appearance.

Something flashed over the Doctor's face and Wilf wasn't sure if it was guilt or despondence. Either way, it was grim and overwhelming the Time Lord.

"I'm going to die," the Doctor finally confessed. If he was lucky, Wilf wouldn't completely grasp the implications...not like Renata would, or even Gabby. He had come across the final warning that his ending was near just after making the biggest mistake of his life. He'd crossed the line and this was his punishment.

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf said, not truly understanding like the Doctor assumed.

"Don't you dare," he warned, almost finding it in him to chuckle.

"All right, I'll try not to."

The Doctor inhaled deeply and leaned his arms over the table. "Renata is far away right now. She's sick and I was supposed to help her, but I haven't been able to live up to my word. No, instead I went out and did something really bad. Something that, if someone had been with me like Renata, maybe I wouldn't have done at all." That's who he was, somebody who couldn't be on his own anymore. The darkness inside him only waited for his friends to leave in order to come out and wreck things.

"Where is she?" asked Wilf out she curiosity and concern.

"On a planet very far away from here." The Doctor exhaled heavily. "I was told. 'He will knock four times.' That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then…"

"But I thought when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body…?"

"I can still die. If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead. Even then. Even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away. And I'm dead." And a new man will go and find Renata and give her what he couldn't. Maybe the next him would find the cure and heal Renata, like a true doctor.

"Hmm…" Wilf's gaze drifted to the window, specifically at something across the street.

"What?" the Doctor picked up on it and followed Wilf's gaze out the window. There he saw his best friend, Donna Noble, heading down the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry. But I had to. Look, can't you make her better?" Wilf desperately asked. Part of his reason to conduct his search for the Doctor and Renata was to help Donna be the happiest she could be. "You're so clever. Can't you bring her memory back? Look, just go to her now, go on. Just run across the street. Go up and say hello."

The Doctor would want nothing more than that. He would give anything to go back and travel with Donna, Gabby and Renata all together like the little family they'd become. "If she ever remembers me, her mind will burn, and she will die."

"Don't you touch this car!" Donna's loud yell made both men laugh. She was having a go at a parking meter employee in regards to her car.

"She's not changed," the Doctor remarked with a smile.

"Nah. Oh, there he is…" Wilf nodded to a dark skinned man who had joined Donna and was holding her shopping bags. "Shawn Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

"Another wedding." The Doctor was happy to know that Donna was at least living a good life without them. Something needed to go right after all the chaos that happened. "Hold on, she's not gonna be called Noble-Temple? Sounds like a tourist spot."

"No, it's Temple-Noble."

"Right. Is she happy? Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face. Like she's so sad, but she can't remember why."

"But she's got him," the Doctor said, sparing the window another glance. Donna had just stopped talking to a dark-haired woman on the street. "That's all she needs." God knew one person could make a huge difference in one's life. And right now, his person was light years away.

Unknowingly, the same woman Donna had been talking to walked into the cafe. She went directly up to the counter and greeted the current waitress. They had a few words that prompted the woman to look around until she found the Doctor. She froze for a moment after catching his eye. He tilted his at her, eyes scrutinizing her appearance as she started walking towards their table.

"What is it?" Wilf turned slightly in the booth to see what the Doctor was looking at.

The young woman stopped by their table, wearing a warm smile across her face. Her dark brown - almost black - hair cascaded down her shoulders, stopping shortly above her elbows. There was a bright white flower tucking behind her left ear. She was a bit light skinned as if she was sun tanned. Her eyes were dark but there was a lighter shade right in the center of her irises. She wore a flower patterned dress with a few buttons going down her chest, the top one left unbuttoned.

"Can we help you?" the Doctor asked her, getting a faint feeling that he was supposed to know her from somewhere.

The woman smiled but said nothing. Instead, she reached for a necklace around her neck - the Doctor hadn't even realized she was wearing one! She unfastened it and let it gently fall to the table. The Doctor only briefly studied it before he got a tingling sensation in his head. It was the same as the Master. He looked up at the woman with widened eyes. As the seconds passed, the sensation got stronger, deeper, until he started seeing things.

1914. John Smith had just bumped into Renata Cartwright.

Then they were on the Titanic dancing sweetly moments before they would argue.

They met Donna, then Gabby, and they visited Zhe's gallery. Butterflies, so many butterflies clouded his mind.

The Doctor's body jumped from the booth, hitting his side on the corner of the table in the process but it didn't register to him. He faced the woman and re-scrutinized her whole body. She reached up to his ear, maybe slightly less, which wasn't that big of a difference from her last body…

When he met her eyes, he realized they were both teary. Although his teariness stemmed from a very dark spot and hers was a happy one.

"Hello, Doctor. I'm glad I finally found you," she whispered.

"Renata?" He suddenly had no air in that bypass system of his. When she gave a confirming nod, he nearly crumpled in pain. "You regen...you regenerated!?"

Renata hated to nod again but she did. He looked ready to fall so she quickly dove to hold and hug him. "N-n-n-no, Doctor! It's fine! It's fine! Look at me!" she cupped his face and sweetly smiled at him. "Look at me," she whispered. "I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm okay."

Few tears rolled down the Doctor's cheeks. "I failed you …"

"No, you didn't," Renata fervently shook her head. "You did everything you could but my time was up. I only got time to say goodbye." The Doctor's head wanted to lower but Renata had a firm grip on him. "Doctor, it's okay. I'm okay now." But he failed her, he was seeing her now. She had regenerated without him there at her side. No, he had been too busy running from his mistake. "Doctor, stop it," Renata scolded lightly.

Their minds were still connected, for the moment and she was seeing all of his mistakes...all of them. When the Doctor realized this, his head hung low this time. He was ashamed and embarrassed. Renata wouldn't want anything to do with him. And she would be right. He failed her so many times.

Renata's thumbs cleared the tears off his face. "Shh, I'm here. I'm here for you." She raised his head so that she could see his eyes. "And it looks like there's trouble aboard so…" she kissed his nose and lifted his head so that he would straighten up. "Let's get to work." She fixed his tie until it was straight. The Doctor nodded but it was done mainly out of instinct.

Renata looked past him and smiled at Wilf. "Nice to see you again, Wilf. I just talked to Donna - just a bit - and she seems like herself."

Wilf stared at her, logically confused until he could find his words. "You're…Renata?"

Renata nodded. "Yes. Look a bit different now, which is why I took advantage and snuck to see Donna. Broke a rule." She chuckled to herself and missed the Doctor's stunned face beside her.

She...broke a rule?

"But are you alright?" Wilf stood up from the booth and, like the Doctor, looked Renata over. If she changed her face then it meant she'd died.

"I am just fine, Wilf," Renata nodded. "But you aren't. I hear there are some bad dreams you're having?" Wilf nodded affirmatively. "Well, you did the right thing trying to find us. Tell you what, you go on home and we'll do a few things on our own for a couple hours."

"But I don't-"

Renata put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I promise you that we will be back. There's just a couple things I'd like to discuss with the Doctor in private."

"You promise?" Wilf was more inclined to believe the woman, but he still wanted to hear her say it.

Renata went as far as raising her hand when she promised him again. It proved true to Wilf and so he felt confident enough to leave the cafe knowing that they would find him again. It left Renata an open spot on his side of the booth. She slid in and smiled casually as she picked up a menu from the table's rack. Her eyes gazed over the menu, humming a tune like she was truly there for breakfast or lunch. The Doctor only stared at her, trying to figure something out.

But once again, Renata knew.

"It is me, and I did regenerate." Her eyes flickered from the menu to meet his. Her lips slightly pulled for a wider smile. "I'm not going to lie I still have a headache but I think...I think with some time the Time Vortex will finally find a stabilizing level."

"But the other energy—"

"May have combined with the Time Vortex during my regeneration. Isn't it ironic?" Renata lowered the menu to the table. "I had to die in order to have a chance to live. All my regeneration energy managed to ease the outrageous levels of toxins in my body and I think, if we check later on, it might be forming a new stabilized energy."

"But you died…" the Doctor could barely string the two words together. All he knew was that he missed her death. She must have been so lonely...

"Yes, I did but I didn't die alone." She was still reading his mind. It was rude but for the moment she would leave it open until he got everything off his chest. Plus, it was kind of nice having his presence inside her head. "I had Gabby and I had Zhe...and I had somebody else." Her hand reached the white flower resting behind her ear. The Doctor saw the movement and couldn't help question the gentle stroke she gave it, like it was so precious to her. "I admit I was scared. I wasn't sure if I would make it through regeneration but...here I am."

"I'm so sorry, Renée," the Doctor barely got to say when Renata grabbed his hands on the table.

"No, no, you don't have to apologize for anything."

The Doctor swallowed a lump in his throat while he shook his head. "No, I should have been there like I promised! I told Gabby I would call back whenever she paged! I told her I would do it...but instead I made a huge mistake."

Renata's face softened as his grew deeper into a dark grimness. "Oh Doctor, I know what you have done. I know it all. You don't have to be ashamed. It was a decision that pushed you to the edge. Everyone has that moment."

"You would never," the Doctor said with the utmost certainty. It brought new tears to his eyes. Renata would never make such a terrible decision that would break all the rules their people stood by. He was never going to reach her level; he never had. He started below her and he would never be good enough for her.

Renata knew every thought of his right now and there was such a determination to prove him wrong, it shocked her...but it didn't deter her. "I'm not a proper Time Lady, Doctor. I have made my own choices that aren't becoming of our people."

"You?" the Doctor almost laughed at the idea, but Renata was quite serious.

"Yes." Renata nervously licked her lips before she continued. "I've been afraid of telling you this for a while, Doctor. It's one of my most shameful secrets, but you deserve to know that I'm not as proper and classy as you think I am. At the end of my time in the Time War, I was brought into the High Council. Word had spread that you had stolen the Moment." Once more, the Doctor's head fell in shame. "And my sister had formed a plan. The Assessor had disclosed my affair with you to the Council and they theorized that I could get you to stop from using it."

"But you never came…" the Doctor only raised his head to give her a puzzled look. His memories were a bit fuzzy in that life but he knew exactly what he did in the end.

"I didn't," Renata agreed with fresh tears glistening in her eyes. "The Assessor made an offer to me. 'Find the Doctor, take the Moment back and the High Council will grant you a new regeneration cycle'."

The Doctor's eyes widened. The High Council was always strict about their regeneration cycle. Twelve and no more. Once your number was up, your number was up. There was no getting around it unless there was a really good reason behind it, but even those were rare.

"But I convinced them to give me the new cycle first," Renata went on. Now it was her gaze that was slowly falling. "I told them that I would find you and that I would take the Moment back...but I needed the new cycle first. I only had 2 left. One left," she added for her current state. "And so they did. I was granted a whole new regeneration cycle and I was sent on my way to find you with the promise that I wouldn't let Gallifrey be destroyed."

"But you never…" the Doctor whispered and trailed off when Renata sniffled.

"I lied to them. I was so angry with them all. They plunged our planet into bloody war where I lost my entire family. I had lost my parents, Elek...my unborn child. I lost everything and nobody up in the high ranks seemed to care." A deep, still raw, fury rippled through Renata as if those events had just happened yesterday. It made her body shake from such a feeling that the Doctor had to grip her hands already around his. She exhaled deeply and found courage to look at him. "I wanted them to pay. And I wanted my sister to pay for what she did to us. So I took the new cycle and I ran away. I escaped and I let you do what you did. So you see, Doctor? I'm not proper, I don't follow all the rules. I've made my own terrible choice. You don't dare be ashamed with me because I don't care. I know who you are and nothing has changed."

The Doctor was stunned, astonished even, to hear such a story and that Renata was the protagonist of it. He studied her sweet nature, a nature that had turn slightly less grim than her last incarnation, and simply couldn't see her doing it. "You…?"

Renata nodded her head. "Oh yeah. Lied straight to their faces. I took what I thought I was owed and I ran."

"Do you regret it?"

Renata raised her eyebrows. "I regret lying to my sister but I don't regret taking the extra cycle. I never got to live. The irony is that even with the extra cycle, I still don't know how to live." She wouldn't get lost in that right now, though, not when she knew what was at stake. "So," she straightened up in her spot, "I know the Master's around here. We should find him."

"How do you know?" the Doctor asked then realized he had no idea how she even got to Earth without the TARDIS. "And how did you get here?"

A secret smile spread across Renata's face. "Somebody brought me. He told me everything that was going on. That's why I understand you couldn't return Gabriella's call."

"You're not going to tell me how you got here, are you?" the Doctor knew the answer from that wide, almost teasing, smile on her face. It was a rare sight because Renata never teased...at least not in her last life. Previous life. He swallowed hard.

"It's fine, Doctor," Renata told him again.

"Where's Gabby?"

"I left her with Zhe. If the Master truly is here and something is going wrong with Time then I wanted Gabriella to be far away from here." Renata briefly gazed at the menu in front of her and lamented that they wouldn't be able to order. "You know, I think this body is going to really like pancakes. I've never had them while I was hiding on Earth. Pancakes. Hopefully later." She slid out of the booth then held a hand out for the Doctor. He was practically in awe of her more carefree demeanor. His stunned face made her chuckle. "I know, I'm surprised myself," she said as she grabbed his closest hand and gently made him slide out of the booth.

They left the cafe hand in hand and since they had no TARDIS to get around, they settled for walking. They followed their senses to find the Master and it eventually brought them into a warehouse of some sort. It was near the dumpsite, something that made them wonder why the Master would choose such an...interesting site to reside in. He was, after all, Harold Saxon at one point.

"My nose is definitely more sensitive now," Renata crinkled her nose as they crossed further towards the warehouse. There were piles of trash and of course, being the Doctor, he had climbed the biggest one he could find. Renata sighed and watched him take a spot at the top. "Do you see…?" but she trailed off when she got a specific type of tingle.

He was near.

Renata whipped her head to the left and saw a figure coming towards them. He wore a hoodie but with the hood down. For a few seconds, the Master didn't acknowledge Renata's presence. Instead, he fired an electric beam of energy towards the Doctor, but missed.

"Stop that!" Renata yelled in outrage. They hadn't even been in the same spot for a minute when already there was a fight.

The Doctor rushed down the pile of dirt, thinking Renata would be the next target but the Master was solely focused on him for the time being. Again he shot and this time the Doctor took the blow against the chest.

"Doctor!" Renata exclaimed and dashed to help him off the ground.

The Master then sent a wave of energy at her, purposely missing so that it would only force her into a skidded stop. "Always coming to save him, aren't you?" Renata's face was a deep scowl and it was a shame it was already learning the marks considering it was only hours new. "New face," the Master remarked, barely giving her a look. "What? You thought going younger might do something for him?" his nod at the Doctor evoked a pure hatred from Renata.

"You're maniacal."

"And you're a cheater."

Renata felt anger bubble inside of her, making her fingers twitch, but it wasn't the normal type of anger she would get. It made her feel kind of sick, actually, like something was swirling inside her stomach.

The Master was satisfied with her silent reaction and so he turned for the Doctor on the ground. The latter was attempting to stand but that energy was stronger than he thought.

"Your resurrection went wrong," he strained to say. "That energy... Your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

But the Master didn't look very concerned with his situation. He turned towards the sight of the city and grinned. "And that's human Christmas out there. They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine! Hot, fat, blood food!" Renata grimaced at his frantic, spitting description. "Pots, plates of meat and flesh and grease and juice. And baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot!"

"Oh my God, stop!" Renata yelled, demanded, but the Master seemed to be on automatic. The words kept coming out.

"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!" the Master sucked in a sharp breath and that seemed to get him some control back.

"What if we ask you for help?" the Doctor knew with that question he would at least buy them 30 seconds of his attention. Of course he didn't see Renata's reluctant expression over his decision. "There's more at work tonight than you and us."

'Are you sure asking him to help us is a good idea?'

The Doctor flinched when he heard Renata's soft voice in his head. He couldn't help but shoot her his stunned look. She could understand his reaction, given her behavior in the past when it came to this precise ability, but the situation called for it.

'We're in trouble, Doctor. I will not stand in the way because I don't want you to peek into my mind. You know me now and all my secrets. There's nothing left to hide.' Renata was at peace with that, and she could only wait for the Doctor to fully grasp the fact she'd lied about being 'proper'. They would have to discuss that later when everything was over.

The Doctor gave her a nod then returned to the conversation with the Master. "I've been told something is returning."

The Master raised his arms to present himself. "And here I am!"

"No, it was something more."

That was a disappointment. The Master's arms dropped but his hands soon found his head after a particular jab of pain struck him. "But it hurts."

"I was told the end of time…"

"It hurts, Doctor, the noise...the noise in my head, Doctor!" the Master bobbed his head at a tune that only he could hear. "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four,

stronger than ever before! Can't you hear it?"

"We really can't," Renata said quietly from her spot. Even though the Master was crazy, she always believed him about the drums in his head. There was no way anyone could fake that type of insanity.

"Just listen!" the Master practically barked at them for silence. "Listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is...calling to me. Please, listen!"

"We can't hear it," the Doctor told him.

The Master groaned in frustration and stalked towards the Doctor, ignoring Renata's cry for him to stop. He grabbed the Doctor's head and pressed their foreheads together. For a split second there, the Doctor heard the famous drums drumming away...nonstop.

He shoved the Master away with a face of horror. "But that's…!"

"You heard it?" Renata blinked at the Doctor, wondering if perhaps the Master had tampered with his mind.

'No, it was there,' the Doctor promised her, his eyes still glued to the Master. 'He truly does hear something.'

Well, that changed things. Renata took a stride towards the two men and pulled the Master to her. "There can't actually be a noise in your head so-so…" she couldn't begin to comprehend the layers that went behind that 'noise'. She was flabbergasted and it showed on her face. "What is inside your head, then?"

The Master pulled his arm out of his grip to laugh as if he'd finally won something. "It's real! It's real! It's REAL!" he suddenly launched himself into the sky, as if it were that easy, and landed at the top of a pile of dirt and rock. "All these years, you thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor, what is it? What is it? What is it?"

"If we knew, you wouldn't be up there!" frowned Renata. "Now get down!"

They were suddenly taken over by the whirring blades of a helicopter coming towards them. A beam of light struck down over the Master, then the Doctor and then Renata. Two ropes swung down the air, allowing for two men to rappel down. Between them, they tranquilized the Master and hoisted him up.

"No, stop!" the Doctor dashed for the pile, as if he would ever catch them in time.

Two other soldiers appeared in the area, one of them forcing Renata to put her hands up while the other started firing at the Doctor. The Master was taken before the Doctor ever reached him, but even then somebody got the idea to smack him unconscious.

"If you hit me with that I swear to God you'll regret it," Renata pointed a warning finger at the soldier holding the gun on her. The soldier didn't appear that intimidated, but they did leave her be.

When she could, Renata rushed to the Doctor's side. She called his name twice before seeing the mark of the smack on the left side of his face. It was deep enough to keep him out for a decent amount of time.

~ 0 ~

By the time the Doctor came to, it was nearly dawn. But the strangest thing was that he wasn't even outside. He was inside the TARDIS, his body unceremoniously sprawled over the Captain's chair.

"What the—" he gave a jump and nearly fell to the floor.

"Please don't hurt yourself," Renata poked her head around the console. "It took me a good deal to drag you to that chair. You're heavier than you look."

The Doctor briefly paused to shoot her a mock-glare. "Thanks." He straightened himself up a minute afterwards and brought a hand to his head, precisely over the spot he'd been smacked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't touch that," Renata said after catching him wince. "They got you really good, not that I'm complimenting the enemy. That's what you do." For the second time, the Doctor mock-glared at her. "Sorry," Renata bit her lip and awkwardly smiled at him.

"How'd you find the TARDIS?" he asked after realizing she had to have gone off in the night to find the box while he'd been unconscious.

"With enormous difficulty," Renata leaned her body forwards on the console and sighed. She had to wander through the streets, following her senses to find the TARDIS and it involved a certain degree of thinking like the Doctor. She came to the conclusion that she wasn't meant to think like the Doctor.

"You didn't think to check my mind for the location?"

"That's rude," she said matter-of-factly.

So, not everything had changed in her. She was still cautious about rules. The Doctor strode to her side and gazed at the monitor she'd been working at. "How long has it been?"

"It's nearly morning and I've got nothing," Renata admitted with frustration. "Whoever took him knows exactly how to hide his, well, Time Lord sense. I couldn't do it and the TARDIS couldn't do it. What else can we do?"

The Doctor considered every last option they had which, honestly, wasn't a lot. Although, there was one option he bet Renata hadn't thought about. He wouldn't have thought about it either because it was a minuscule thing, so small that Renata wouldn't consider it important.

"I've got one idea," he said and prepared the console for their next destination.

~ 0 ~

"This was your idea?" Renata had her arms folded and one of her feet was tapping against the cement. They stood just across the street from Donna's house, waiting for Wilf to come out.

"He's got to be involved," the Doctor insisted but Renata scoffed so deeply that it actually made him wince. She also retained the same - if not stronger - scolding voice too.

"He is a human who just got lucky!"

"Exactly. How many humans can get lucky finding me?"

"Well I found you twice and I wasn't very happy about it." Renata kept her eyes locked on Donna's house in case Donna might pop out and they had to hide. The Doctor, on his part, glared at her again. So this incarnation had more tongue. Something to look forward to.

Eventually, Wilf came out of the house but he crossed the street in a rush. "Listen, you can't park there, what if Donna sees it?"

"So she is in the house?" Renata shot the Doctor another disapproving look. "See? It's much too dangerous."

"Oh give me a break, you talked to her!" went the Time Lord.

"Yeah, with a new face and for like 2 minutes! That was all I was ever going to get!"

"Listen!" Wilf spoke over the two before things got more heated. "You really can't be here! Can't you move that thing?"

The Doctor shook his head at Renata and turned to Wilf, getting straight to the reason they were there. "You're the only one, Wilf. The only connection I can think of. You're involved. If I could work out how. Tell me, have you seen anything? I don't know. Anything strange, anything odd?" Wilf made a face initially, ready to say 'no' when something popped into his head. "What, what is it?" the Doctor caught onto his expression fast. He'd been right. "Tell us!"

"I mean, it could be nothing…" Wilf said, for a second believing he was being ridiculous. How could a book be important?

"Think, think, think! Maybe something out of the blue. Connected to your life, something!"

"Alright, Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?"

Wilf said nothing and instead hurried back towards the house.

"See? Told you!" the Doctor smugly smirked at Renata who groaned in return.

"You're ridiculous!" she went after Wilf instead.

The Doctor followed her and while Wilf went inside the house, the two Time Lords moved towards the back to wait for him. When the man returned, he held a book in his hand.

"Here you are, his name's Joshua Naismith!" Wilf pointed to the dark-skinned man on the front cover of the book.

"That's the man!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I was shown him, by the Ood."

"By the what?" Wilf asked, no hope of understanding that bit.

Renata took the book from Wilf's hands and examined the front cover. Joshua Smith certainly seemed human. She checked for the summary on the back and scowled. "Why would a human billionaire be important to this all of a sudden?"

"This is all part of the convergence, maybe…" the Doctor said, mildly lost in thoughts. "Maybe touching Donna's subconscious. Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now. The Doctor-Donna!"

A warm smile came to Renata's face, albeit sad in the end. "I miss her." Before the Doctor could say he did too, Sylvia emerged from the backdoor and nearly yelped at the sight of the pair.

"Get out of here!"

"Well, that's not a way to greet visitors," Renata lowered the book in her arms then frowned at Sylvia.

"She can't see you!"

"And a Merry Christmas to you," the Doctor sighed.

"Mum, where are those tweezers?" Donna's voice froze the group outside. It was as if the fact they froze would keep Donna from spotting them.

"Go!" Sylvia hissed at the pair.

"Yeah, alright, we're going," the Doctor grabbed Renata's arm and pulled them towards the street.

"Yeah, me, too!" Wilf declared and rushed after the pair, completely ignoring his daughter's hiss for her to stay where he was. In fact, it just made him run faster.

"Dad, I'm warning you!" Sylvia was hot on his trail when they were near the sidewalk.

"Bye, see you later!"

"Stay right where you are!"

The Doctor hurriedly unlocked the TARDIS. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Sylvia's personality, and he assumed neither was Renata. But he stopped when he heard Wilf's goodbye to Sylvia. "You can't come with us!"

"You're not leaving me with her!" Wilf responded, sounding more like a warning. He gave a nod to Sylvia who was yelling and coming towards them.

"Fair enough," the Doctor relented.

"Oh get in!" Renata pushed him in first then ushered Wilf after. "And you—" she called over to Sylvia, "—better be nice to Donna! My threat still stands!" She then went into the TARDIS, leaving behind the screaming human.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS eventually materialized in the mansion of Joshua, in a lab room. The Doctor walked out of the TARDIS with Wilf in tow. He only made it three steps from the TARDIS when Renata called for him to stop.

"Hey! You can't just walk out of the TARDIS without a plan!"

The Doctor turned around, not exactly surprised she had also kept that trait in this new incarnation. "I do have a plan," he argued but she scoffed loudly. "I do."

"Yeah, what is it?"

The Doctor shifted a bit and caught Wilf's amused stare. "We...are going to find the Master! There! That's the plan!" Renata huffed and crossed her arms. The Doctor pulled out a remote to lock the TARDIS completely. "Just a second out of sync. Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS, that's the last thing we need. Now c'mon!"

He led the way out of the room kept to the walls of the hallways until they could make their way outside. The mansion turned out to be an incredibly huge manor with multiple buildings in the property. They had to be careful while they came close to an archway but they were almost caught by two armed guards.

"That book said he's a billionaire. He's got his own private army," Wilf remarked after Renata's gawked expression.

"Down here," the Doctor used his sonic on a small door nearby to go into before the guards could catch them.

"I don't suppose you know where this is going to lead?" Renata asked as they crept down the hallway towards the only source of light.

"Uh, no, I do not," the Doctor shrugged. "But I thought it was better than being caught by the armed guards.

Renata would give him that.

As the trio neared the room they began to hear two voices of presumed employees. Before walking straight in, the Doctor did his due diligence - something Renata truly appreciated given the fact they had Wilf with them - and spotted a man and woman discussing over a particular device set up against a wall.

"Nice gate!" the Doctor startled the pair as he walked on in. "Look, sorry, don't call security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer. Cos I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place."

The woman chuckled nervously as she glanced at her co-worker. "I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?"

"For a second, pretend we're not stupid," Renata said flatly. She would've been nice if they weren't on crunch time. The Master was somewhere in the building and these humans actually thought he was their prisoner. The Master was no one's prisoner. But the two technicians continued with the charade.

The woman, who went by Addams, laughed. "I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?"

With a straight face, Renata raised her sonic screwdriver (her dress had pockets!) at the woman and dismantled the disguise. She was a green woman with small spikes sticking out from her head. It gave Wilf a gasp. The Doctor was more stunned with the fact Renata had done that.

'The Master is on the loose. I will not let him hurt people again.' Renata said without making the smallest of expressions on her face. 'I will apologize later.'

Now that sounded like her. The Doctor put away his smile after a moment and got Addams to disclose everything they had on Joshua and his experiments. He and Renata surfed through their recent results but as much as they studied, they couldn't understand what this huge project was about.

"What are you doing!?" cried a man as he walked into the room to find the intruders.

This time it was the Doctor who took the disguise off and left another green skinned humanoid in its place. "Shimm-err!" Renata struggled hiding her smile. "Now tell me, quickly, what's going on, the Master, Harold Saxon? Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?"

The man, Rossiter, helplessly glanced at Addams for some type of explanation. She was beyond trying to stop them. "But I checked the readings. He's done good work. It's operational!"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean it'll do whatever you think it'll do," Renata turned around and looked him and Addams over. "And I'm sorry but who are you? We met another you but, uh, he was a bit small and quite red."

Addams seemed displeased by the comparison. "No, that's a Zocci!"

"We're not Zocci, we're Vinvocci! Completely different!" the male Vinvocci exclaimed, sounding just as offended as his co-worker.

"Alright, sorry," Renata raised her hands over her chest to show she truly had meant no offence.

"And the Gate is Vinvocci. We're a salvage team!" Addams explained before they got any ideas that they were also intruding. "We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it, and as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship."

"But what does it do?" the Doctor frantically waved a hand for them to start explaining the useful stuff.

"Well, it mends, it's a simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better!"

"No that won't do," Renata shook her head, confusing the two Vinvocci for a second. "The Master would never help fix a machine meant to heal people."

The Doctor agreed. "There's got to be more. Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal." He needed to figure it out before the machine was actually used.

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?" Wilf asked just to make sure he wasn't completely lost. He was still trying to get over the two cacti people.

"More or less," Addams said.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," Renata gave him credit where it was due. "Why is it so big?" She frowned when Addams scoffed at the condescendingly, as if they were neanderthals compared to them.

"It doesn't just mend one person at a time!"

Rossiter scoffed along with Addams. "That would be ridiculous!"

"It mends whole planets!"

That revation froze Renata and the Doctor. They simultaneously stared at the Vinvocci, not that their expressions would do anything for them.

"Yeah that'll do it," Renata gave a nod afterwards. That would definitely get the Master's attention.

"It transmits the medical template across the entire population," Addams thought simplifying it further would get the two aliens to stop staring at her so wide-eyed. They looked like the bugs this planet had, the ones that buzzed so much. "What?" she asked when the two still hadn't taken their eyes off her.

The Doctor suddenly bolted from the room.

"What's going on!?" Addams called out but he was too far gone to even hear her.

"The Master, that's what," Renata sighed before breaking into a quick run herself.

The Doctor was good at what he did best, but not even his speedy legs could get him to the main room on time. The Gate was full on running and despite the Doctor's insistence to turn it off, nobody would listen to him. In fact, all he got were rifles aimed at him.

"No, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device!" the Doctor desperately looked at the Master at the side of the room. The straight jacket on him meant nothing.

The Master seemed to agree with the Doctor's thoughts because he smirked. "Oh, like that was ever gonna happen." He destroyed the straightjacket with a burst of energy then leaped into the Gate with a scream. It forced everyone away out of sheer fear. "Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!"

"Get out of there right now!" Renata ordered as soon as she ran inside. She was out of breath, more so than her last body but to be fair it had been mere hours since she regenerated. Her body strength wasn't entirely back yet.

"Deactivate it. All of you, turn the whole thing off!" the Doctor ordered in vain again. Everyone just stood there.

"God, humans are so frustrating!" Renata exclaimed at everyone. The Doctor started to realize it wasn't so much that they weren't listening but that they couldn't.

"He's...inside my head," Naismith said, frantically rubbing the side of his face.

"Get out of there!" the Doctor snapped at the Master and was shot back in retaliation with an energy bolt.

"Uh, Doctor? Renata?" Wilf came into the room with a stumble. "There's this face…"

"What is it!?" the Doctor rushed to the man as a last resort. He and Renata weren't being affected by whatever the Master had done to the Gate. "What can you see!?"

Wilf shook his head like everyone else was, as if that would shake whatever inside. "Well, it's him. I can see him! I can see his face."

Renata noticed the television was on and whoever it was currently giving a speech seemed to be under the same situation. "Is that - is that the President of the United States!?"

The Doctor ran past her towards the gate to try and shut it all down but the Master had thought well ahead.

"I locked it you idiot!"

The Doctor knew it was useless so be did what he could. He ran back to Wilf and ran towards the booths, grabbing Renata along the way.

"What!?" Renata cried as she'd nearly fell on her own feet from such a sudden pull.

The Doctor pushed Wilf into one of the booths and then pulled Renata with him into the second booth mirroring Wilf's. "I just need to filter the levels so it won't affect us!"

"Could've said something instead of just yanking me away for the ride!" Renata huffed and assisted with the shields.

"Bit in a rush!" He exclaimed.

"Oh! I can see again. He's gone!" Wilf blinked rapidly out of relief. His mind was clear of that maniacal man!

"Radiation shielding. Now, press the button, let us out!" the Doctor pointed to the control pad on Wilf's side. Of course the human didn't understand at the first instruction.

"You what?"

"We can't get out until you press the button, that button there!"

"Oh, okay!" Wilf pressed the button the Doctor pointed to and allowed the two aliens to get out.

"50 seconds and counting!" the Master laughed deliriously at his grand plan.

"To what?" Renata demanded to know but he laughed.

"Ohhh, you're gonna love this!"

The Doctor once again went for the Gate in a last attempt to shut it down. For a moment, Renata wondered if putting a good smack against the Master's head might do some good.

You're not a child, she berated herself. No, she wasn't. She rushed to help the Doctor again, thinking maybe between the two they could come up with a quick solution. Neither of them noticed Wilf accidentally pulling out his revolver while he meant to take his ringing cell phone out.

It was Donna calling, at first, frantic that everyone was acting weird. It both shocking and relieving to learn that she wasn't being affected. Soon after, a friend of Wilf's called saying the same thing.

"What is it? Hypnotism?" the Doctor asked, though Renata wasn't sure if he was asking her or himself. Either way, neither of them knew the answer. "Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

The Master shook his head condescendingly. Oh, he couldn't wait for them to figure it out because by then it would be too late. Well, he might as well give them the answer. It might be more fun that way. "Oh, that's way too easy. No, no, no, they're not gonna think like me. They're gonna become me. A-a-a-and, zero!" Right at his command a wave of energy burst from the Gate and made its way around the entire globe.

It was then that they realized what the Gate would truly be. Every single human was turning into the Master.

"Doctor! Renata! She's starting to remember, Donna!" Wilf cried from behind. He turned a glare on the Master. "What is it? What have you done, you monster?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" the Master, the original, gestured at himself before gesturing to the other versions of himself in the room. "Or to me?"

"Or to me?" a second Master asked, followed by another, and then another. And then another.

'Breaking news - I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!' Even a reporter on television joined in.

Renata felt her head spinning. One Master was more than the universe could handle. She was stunned, and terrified. Very, very terrified.

The Master walked across the floor with his duplicates standing behind him. "The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only... the Master race."

Renata had the good sense to back up as if that would make a difference. She didn't know when it happened but her hand had found the Doctor's in the midst of their horror. He didn't even realize it either.

Everywhere around them the Master laughed thinking his victory was certain, if only he knew the greater work that was being planned ahead…

…or in the past.

~ 0 ~

Doomsday was coming for Gallifrey. The once mighty planet was now crumbling to its last pieces. The citadel barely had any glass in place thanks to the ongoing firing from both sides. Most of its buildings were down or currently smoking from put out fires. There was barely anything left, including hope. But, just because there was barely anything left didn't mean it was over. Lord President Rassilon would never submit to such a travesty.

He sat at the head of a long table in the Council's chamber room. One hand held a long staff while the other hand was covered in an ornate gauntlet. "What news of the Doctor?" he demanded from the other Time Lords in the room.

"Disappeared, my Lord President," one Time Lord answered with a bowed head. It was no secret what that meant.

"But we know his intention," spoke a Time Lady, this one with a head held high. She had a sharpness in her dark, space-like, eyes that would typically scare the others, for when they saw sharpness it meant there would be consequences. "He still possesses the Moment and he'll use it to destroy Daleks and Time Lords alike. The Visionary confirms it."

Rassilon said nothing in the beginning as he focused on the old woman at the other end of the table. She was the only one not subjected to his terrible mood. Right now, she was part of the solution. Her straggly, gray hair covered most of her tattooed arms and face. She wrote fervently on a sheets of papers sprawled around her.

"Ending, burning, falling, all of it falling, the black and pitch and screaming fire, so burning," the Visionary rambled to herself as if she was the only person in the room, perhaps the world.

"All of her prophecies say the same, that this is the last day of the Time War, that Gallifrey falls, that we die, today," the first Time Lord from before spike up again. Before he could say more, the Visionary entered a loop of one word that backed the conversation.

"Ending... Ending. Ending. Ending!"

"Perhaps it's time," said a second Time Lady, this one seeming a bit more nervous than the other and yet she was struggling to keep it at bay. The first Time Lady was staring at her with beedy eyes, but the second Time Lady went on. "This is only the furthest edge of the Time War. But at its heart, millions die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity. With time itself resurrecting them, to find new ways of dying, over and over again, a travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it, at last?"

The second Time Lady cocked her head to the side, her expression cold and calculating. What a fool. She had no idea what she was saying and much less to who. Their Lord President would never allow for them to die. Gallifrey could not and would not fall. They would survive because they would, because she had the perfect way. That's what she always did, she found solutions to problems. She found the best ones and kept other opinions and suggestions - like the one they just heard - out of the public's ears. She wasn't the Assessor for nothing.

"Thank you for your opinion." Rassilon rose from his chair, turning sideways to the second Time Lady. His expression bore no emotions but what he did next wasn't surprising. With his gauntlet-covered hand, he disintegrated the Time Lady with one hit of energy. Nobody flinched when the woman screamed into oblivion, but they did when Rassilon yelled. "I will not die! Do you hear me?! A billion years of Time Lord history riding on our backs. I will not let this perish. I will not!"

"My Lord," the Assessor stepped forwards, letting her hands reside in front of her, "I do have another solution." Her lips quirked only slightly when Rassilon gave her the attention. He always did. Her reputation preceded her. The Assessor was known for her logical, calculating solutions that had often brought them the best results. She was first and foremost professional, even when it was impossible to be. Not even the loss of her parents and her own husband months ago knocked her off. She kept going because that's what needed to be done. That's what was expected of her. And she always did what was expected of her.

"My sister, Renata, could help capture the Doctor before he uses the Moment. She could convince him not to use it."

However pleasing that sounded, Rassilon could not fully believe that one woman was smart enough to outwit the Doctor. "Explain yourself at once, Assessor."

The Assessor nodded, though she would struggle explaining the story given the contents of it. It was something she forced her mind to erase over the centuries but now was the time to bring it all back for their salvation. "Forgive me my Lord, for this is...an embarrassment to my family. Centuries ago, before the Doctor and my sister were each married, they had a relationship. I don't know how long it had been but when I caught them, I forbade it." Her darkness settled nicely over her tone, as if she used it constantly...and perhaps she did. Her eyes still turned ice cold whenever she thought of that horrifying period in their lives. How her sister could have done such an atrocity to their family was still beyond her now. "But I suspect that Renata never truly moved on. I suspect the same from the Doctor. If we shall do one more thing may I suggest we use this as a strategy?. Who else to convince him than someone he could never reject?"

"You are sure this could work?" Rassilon questioned.

"It was known that the Doctor's family has since been deceased. There is no one left, only my sister. Her word would carry an immense weight."

Rassilon remained silent for a few minutes. There was no telling what he would decide on. Ultimately, he gave a nod. "Bring her in. Find her and bring her here now."

"Of course," the Assessor bowed her head and hurried out of the room in a purposeful stride.

"My Lord," the first male Time Lord Lord up after the Assessor had gone. like everyone else, he didn't doubt that the Assessor knew what she was doing - her previous doings had given her a high standing reputation amongst their people - but the Time Lord felt like this was something that needed to be addressed. It could be part of their saving. He grabbed one of the Visionary's scrolls and brought it to Rassilon. "There is one part of the prophecy. Forgive me. I'm sorry. It's rather difficult to decipher. But it talks of three survivors, beyond the Final Day, two children of Gallifrey and one child of the Vortex."

Had Rassilon been human, the snap 'excuse me?' might have come out of his mouth. He did a double take at the Time Lord in front of him. "Child of the...Vortex?"

The Time Lord swallowed hard as he nodded. He assumed he was about 2 seconds away from being disintegrated. "Y-yes, my Lord." The symbol, albeit surrounded by incoherent scribbles, was quite clear. Everyone knew the symbol of the Vortex and there it was. However he did denote another symbol, one that took a moment of study, that did make things just a bit more credible. "The Visionary drew a-a...I believe humans call it a butterfly."

Rassilon all but snatched the scroll from the Time Lord's hands. He needed to see for himself but even as he confirmed the Time Lord's words, he didn't understand it. And that wouldn't do. "Names. I want names." He chucked the scroll back to the Time Lord who scrambled to catch it.

His hands shook as he hurriedly searched for the names on the scroll. "It, uh, it foresees them locked in their final confrontation, the enmity of ages, which would suggest…"

Rassilon understood that part perfectly. Everyone knew it. "The Doctor! And the Master. And the third? Who is the third?"

"A-A, uh, a…" the Time Lord scanned the scroll as best as he could, "A daughter. The Vortex Butterfly."

Rassilon glared at the man before him. That made absolutely no sense. His gauntlet may have raised halfway, prompting the Time Lord to quickly add more.

"Renata! Time Lady Renata! She-she merged with the Vortex! The butterflies are part of a human's mind - imagination - and together they were turned into new creatures."

The confusion washed off Rassilon's face to be replaced by utter disgust. Behind him, the rest of the Council exchanged confused glances. Humans were known to be quite simple and primitive. They never questioned the Doctor's fascination with that race on account of his own odd behaviors, but everyone knew Renata was a proper Time Lady. She belonged to a noble family, a family that was well respected for always being the prime example of what was expected of a Time Lord. Though she ran a questionable charity foundation, after she married she went on to become one of the most respectable Time Ladies of Gallifrey.

And now they heard she had merged with a human's mind and created herself anew? That couldn't be.

"But one word keeps being repeated, my Lord, one constant word. Earth," the Time Lord finished just so that he wouldn't be directly under Rassilon's eyes. If he was to be furious let it be with those at fault.

The Visionary gasped at the mention of the blue planet. Her head snapped up, revealing her widened eyes. "Earth. Earth. Earth! Earth! Earth...!"

Rassilon knew not what their clear plan was, but all things pointed to the primitive planet. So be it. "Maybe that's where the answer lies. Our salvation on Earth."

[omg-baeyoung-baeran]

Maybe I Should Resign: Chapter 3

For easier reading, try this link.

Jumin Han was known for being a very busy man. His interest was easiest to pique when it involved their company’s profit and reputation—excluding his hobby formulating cat-related projects. Given his position as the heir of the famous C&R International company, each day was a working day to him.

It was difficult for any business man to approach him, since his schedule was mostly filled with appointments and business trips… so imagine how odd it was for people to see the heir allot an entire day per week for something unrelated to company matters.

“Mr. Han will no longer accept business-related calls every Saturday due to a shift in schedule. Any emergency call will be forwarded to the person speaking, Jaehee Kang, his chief assistant. Again, we apologize for the sudden changes.”  With that, she hung up the phone and sighed.

Things had been hectic as usual, but she was not happy with the additional task. If her boss was not accepting anything concerning the company on Saturdays, that meant there would be an extra load on her shoulders.

 “Assistant Kang,” the last voice she wanted to hear for the day called from behind her.

She turned to look at him and gave a slight nod. “Yes, Mr. Han?” she acknowledged. The words had not even left his lips, and she can already feel the psychological stress his words were gonna cause her.

“Ah,” he spoke while she mentally embraced what was about to come.

There was silence for a few seconds as he continued tapping on his phone

“Make sure to only accept calls coming from the emergency line. Unless a call is made from that line, you will be free on Saturdays.”

“Understood,” she answered abruptly, her focus immediately going back to the computer on her table when her boss turned to leave. Slowly, her exhausted mind processed the information she heard. 

Wait, I thought I heard “free” for a second.

“Eh?” She thought she heard something crack when her head forcefully snapped to look at the door behind her. It was like her head was the only part that understood the situation while her body remained facing the workload before her.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Jumin thought he heard a noblewoman’s laugh from the other side of the door he just exited.

Dark eyes squinted at the sound. 

Strange….

Well, he had no time to delve deeper into it. He had a day to prepare for, and he promised a certain person he would get a contract  of agreement signed within the afternoon. “Let’s get this over with.”

0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0

The days quickly passed by, she noticed.

“I guess time really flies when you’re having a good day.”

Ever since the incident, her neighbours began to leave them alone. Most were even sucking up in hopes to appeal to the man they thought was her suitor. It astonished her how people can quickly turn into a new leaf the moment they realize they might need the person they used to abuse. 

“Sister, will the fabulous man be visiting our home again?” Riri asked, her hands diving into the bag of chips she bought using the money she gained from doing errands. 

Hannah pondered, her gaze glued on the old, wooden ceiling. There were small cracks all over them, but their ceiling and walls were much more sturdy than the floor they walked on. It may look worn, still… she was happy to have a home.

“I don’t think so. I think we’ll only meet such a person once. It’s even a miracle he was here in the first place.” 

“What do you think was he doing here ? Do you think he’s a politician who wanted to pretend he’s helping people to get votes?”

“What? How do you even know that? And no, I don’t think so. He would have dressed poorly to convince people he can empathize.”

Hannah continued with her cooking while Riri returned to her bag of chips. It was certainly peaceful; it was peaceful before Sana ran into the room, flailing her arms around happily and squealing.

“How was your date, Big Sis? We never got to ask!”

Hannah giggled at the youngest’s antics. 

“It’s not a date, Sana, and it went surprisingly fine to be honest. I was expecting him to make a bit of fuss, since most rich people don’t like the market.”

“Do you want to see him again?”

Hannah contemplated Sana’s question. Remembering the time they spent together, she can clearly recall having a good laugh with the man during their wayfaring. However, would they even meet again?

Where does he even live? Does he work near their place?

“I don’t mind, I guess. Though! Next time, I won’t forget to ask his name.”

It seemed like fate got rid of her troubles of doing just that.

It was an early Saturday morning when she finally embraced the fact that she had the mental capacity of a guinea pig. She was standing in front of the counter where her childhood friend was working as the barista, hoping to get a job as a waitress or a dishwasher in the small yet packed cafe. Less customers usually came in the morning, so the atmosphere and the scent of brewed coffee gave her a sense of serenity.

“So you’re saying… you left your job because you’ve been sending love letters to the wrong person?”

“No, no, I resigned before I got a bad performance evaluation. I don’t want my mistake to affect my job application once I switch work.”

Her friend stared at her incredulously. “What?” she exclaimed, “Were you not getting paid enough for your job? Why were you planning to switch jobs?”

Hannah shook her head, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. “My goodness… every time I talk about this, I am reminded of how idiotic I am. Salary was great, but I felt like choking in my sweat and tears each time I went to work.”

As they were waiting for the boss to arrive, the conversation of two middle aged women caught their attention.

“I think the CEO of C&R made the right choice in creating a cemetery business if they have already bought the Life Care hospital.”

Hannah’s ears perked up at the mention of her former boss.

“Agreed. Hospitals and pharmacies are necessities, but none of us can escape death. But that aside, when do you think will the heir of C&R replace his father?”

She discreetly watched the two women converse on the table near her. They were mindlessly talking about the current news written on the newspaper they were holding; and when they tossed the paper on the table, Hannah could not help locking her eyes on the cover of the newspaper.

It was a familiar face…

…it was that familiar face.

“Jennie! Quick! Hand me a newspaper!” She wildly pointed at the stack of newspapers displayed over the counter.

Jennie knit her brows but did so anyway. She calmly handed her the rolled paper whereas Hannah seized it from her grasp, and this caused her to look at her friend in an offended manner with her hand on her chest. “Okay, I demand an explanation.”

Hannah’s eyes bore a hole on the headline as she gaped at the face of the man printed on the paper.

Ju-Jumin… Han?

Like how Seven once told her to shout his name and he would come to her in 0.1 seconds, an expensive-looking car suddenly crashed against a tree just outside the coffee shop. Everyone inside gawked at the accident, but their jaws did not drop further until a classy man in a formal attire casually stepped out of the car, seeming like nothing ever happened.

“Woah, who’s that guy?”

“I guess rich people park their cars by crashing it.”

“What a waste! That car could have bought me a good wife.”

“Are they shooting a movie? It looks so cool!”

From the huge glass windows of the place, they can see the man approaching the entrance door of the cafe, which was enough to create ruckus among the customers. Hannah squinted her eyes to get a better view of the man from the distance. He was barely visible from all the people blocking the way; yet the second she saw his hair, her body immediately made a quick turn and swooped under the table where the middle aged women sat.

They did not notice her move for they were busy observing the man that just entered the room.

He stood by the door, towering over the people who went to surround him. Many of them asked for a photo whilst some asked for an autograph, but none of them were spared a glance.

“Are you perhaps the suitor of Mei’s daughter? Hannah?” an elderly asked, effectively distracting him from his search.

He bowed politely at the older woman. “My apologies. I didn’t notice you, Ma’am.”

She waved at him dismissively and laughed, “It is fine! You are quite a tall man and I have aged terribly, so it is natural for you to not see me.”

He smiled, and Hannah was a hundred percent sure she heard dreamy sighs all over the room.

“Yes, I did come here to see Hannah. Have you seen her?”

“Ah, yes! She was just over…” she trailed off as she pointed at the empty spot where she had last seen the girl, “there?”

Jumin blinked. 

“Oh, my… I swear I saw her there just a few moments ago.”

After a few seconds of silence, a woman screamed from the table near the counter. “Ah! What is that?” She stood and stepped away from the table with her companion.

Jumin decided to ignore them and headed towards the barista. “Excuse me,” he started, “have you seen a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes? Her mother told me she came here looking for a job.” 

While they were busy chatting, Hannah took the opportunity to switch hiding spots. Unfortunately, before she could crawl out, the previous women lifted the tablecloth, revealing her hunched figure hidden under the table.

Everyone fell silent.

Black slacks and black leather shoes soon entered Hannah’s line of sight, followed by a gorgeous face that blinded the darkest part of her soul.

Jumin kneeled on the floor, one knee touching the ground and one supporting his arm. She had never witnessed such a serious face appear so innocent and child-like. His typical aura of mystery was now replaced by a glimmer of curiosity.

“Why are you there?” he asked in a soft voice.

I feel like a terrified kitten getting coaxed to come closer to him.  “I… I-I was just,” she squeaked and patted the floor out of the blue, “checking if the floor here is sturdy.” She laughed awkwardly.

He stared at her for a moment then offered her his hand. Once she placed her hand in his, he pulled her up and gently grasped her arm to support her balance. “I was hoping we could go somewhere today.” 

Hannah’s cheeks burned red when he even crouched to brush the dust off her jeans. “Oh, thank you,” she muttered. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s alright.”

She can smell it. The scent of jealousy was so potent that she could literally see the dark atmosphere around them...

...or maybe it was from the smoke the car crash was emitting.

“I think we should get your car fixed.”

“It’s fine. My butler has ordered a new one prior to my departure. He somehow predicted this will happen.”

Okay, it’s either his butler is a psychic or he’s just a terrible driver.

0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0

She had no idea how they ended up this way. 

Jumin sat next to her inside a cab. He was whispering to her—albeit blatantly—if they were supposed to give the driver a tip or if that would be insulting to his profession. Hannah felt like dying inside from embarrassment, because she was certain the driver can hear their supposedly inaudible conversation.

“Wait, I am not sure if this is a good idea.” She lightly nudged his elbow.

“What is not a good idea?”

“You know… hanging out with me.”

He took a glimpse at her fidgeting fingers, his face blank as he watched the passing scenery slowly change from a disorganized place to a clean environment. “So you’re aware of who I am? And next time, don’t just go with a person you just met for a day,” he stated apathetically.

“Sorry… Sir… I didn’t know until today. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have told those people you were my suitor—and! I wouldn’t have brought you to the market. I… it is not my intention… I mean, I don’t want to involve you in a scandal.”

She knew she was blabbering, and she did not have a clue if he was listening either. All he was doing was having his arms crossed with his gaze up ahead. This was creating a debate in her head between jumping off the car or pretending she never said anything; she was leaning on choosing the former.

“It is nice that you worry about my reputation, and I appreciate it,” he began, “but tell me... were you the one who had been attaching sticky notes on my cup of….” He turned to look at her but then paused.

He wondered what she was doing, since she was slowly and quietly opening the car door…

...while the car was moving.

“What are you doing?” he bellowed. He quickly pulled her waist and shut the door, earning them the attention of the driver.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

“Yes, pardon us,” he responded coolly, but his glare on the girl said otherwise.

“Sorry! I wasn’t thinking straight! I thought we were at the mall already.” Obviously, that was a lie. She badly wanted to escape her current predicament, and it was the only way she could think of.

“Be more attentive when you are traveling. You could have died.”

“Yes, Sir!

0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0

The incident had temporarily changed the conversation. However, she knew the topic was bound to return to the unanswered question; so when it did, she could not stop herself from cringing on the inside. My goodness! I blame my parents for giving birth to me without my consent!

Okay, she was just being stupid.

“I only want to know if it was you.” He leaned on his seat and waited for her answer.

She was letting the fancy music inside the restaurant fill in the silence between them. As a straight-forward man, he never liked probing for answers; therefore, the action only made him narrow his eyes at her.

“Do you know you are suspected of theft?”

Alright, she really needed to talk.

“What?” she gasped.

“An important document has gone missing,” he continued as he scrutinized her expression, “and we are performing an investigation on all employees that left the company from the day the document was last seen till the day it was found to be missing. It is best if you cooperate, Ms. Hannah.”

“Wha—what does the notes have to do with this matter?” 

“They were borderline suspicious. Also, upon further investigation, the date the note was first received was in the same month the cameras were placed in a loop, so did you or did you not write those notes?”

“I did but I….”

I was meaning to give those to Seven, but I didn’t know he lied about being in charge of the coffee—wait a second! Camera? Loop? A secret agent gathering data inside C&R?

Puzzle pieces clicked together.

“I honestly have no idea about the document you are talking about, but I did write those… notes.” Shit, what do I say? SEVEN! As if on cue, a familiar red head entered her peripheral vision. 

With a single huge gulp from her glass of water, she swiftly stood up and excused herself.

Seven thought it was like a scene from a movie, where a lovely lady would grab a man’s shirt and lead him into a secluded place for some romance—except he was slammed too roughly against the wall.

“Hey! Ow! I’m a sadist not a masochist!” he whined. His hand went to rub the back of his sore head.

“Seven, what the heck did you do?” she demanded, her fingers tightly tangled on his jacket. “Now, C&R is suspecting me of theft—what the heck did you do?”

He thought he heard a demon growl at the end of her rant. “Wait, wait! Explain to me what—”

“I was attaching notes on one of the cups on the tray that you were supposed to be serving because I wanted to at least make you happy and—”

“Aww, you really did tha—”

“Hush! And I had been doing it for months but it turned out I was actually sending it to Jumin Han and I have been sending it on the same month you placed the camera on loop and that was the same month you entered C&R—”

“Wait! Was the cheap kitty stamp on his table from you? You gave it to him?”

“That was supposed to be for you!” Her high-pitched voice cracked from her hopeless desperation.

Seven’s scandalized gasp made a few heads exiting the restroom turn to them with cautious glances. “That thief!” he snapped, his head whipping towards the wall where Jumin’s seat would be.

Hannah sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. She looked at him with teary eyes; her lips quivered to express her anxiety. This stirred a heavy feeling inside his chest, for the least he wanted to do was make his best friend cry. 

“Seven, pleeaase take this seriously,” she begged him.

“Okay, okay!” he whispered; distress was evident in his voice. “Don’t cry! Just!” He cupped her face and squeezed her damp cheeks together. “Shhh… don’t cry. I’ll tell you what to do.”

As promised, he gave her a plan. It was not an intricate one; in fact, it was simple enough to be realistic and easily remembered. She thought it was a perfect lie.

With a peck on her forehead, he twirled her like a princess in a royal ball then gave her back a light push. 

“Now, go!”

0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0

I didn’t realize how huge this restaurant is. She walked with her vision focused on the black locks of Jumin’s hair from afar. It’s embarrassing but I hope it works.

“It happens to him almost everyday. I’m sure this will be believable, but expect to lose whatever friendship you developed with him. He is known to hate those kinds of people.” Seven lectured, raising one finger in the air as she eagerly nodded at him.

“Sounds fair,” she mumbled to herself before settling herself back in her seat.

Jumin gave her a look she could not fathom. “Are you well?”

“Yes, I just needed to compose myself… because you see,” she stammered as she bashfully tucked her hair behind her ear. “Being told that I’m a suspect is alarming, but I was being truthful when I said I did not take anything from the C&R. You are free to inspect me, Mr. Han.”

He remained still.

“A-And! I sent you those letters and notes, because… I was,” she took a deep breath before continuing, “I was hoping to… be… your… ro-romantic… interest.” She felt like she was choking the words out, and she could literally feel her neck disappearing from how much her head pushed back into her shoulders.

Ehmehgersh. Kill me.

She could not find the courage to meet his stare.

Why is he taking so long to speak?

Reluctantly, she lifted her face a little to check what he was doing…

...and he was peering at her.

“I didn’t—”

“Jumin.”

She was taken aback by his sudden word. “I’m sorry… what?” 

“Just call me ‘Jumin’.”

It must have been the effect of stress and paranoia, but she thought she saw a serene smile grace his lips.

However, his next words confirmed it.

“I would like to properly court you, Hannah.”

0-0-0-0

Hope you guys liked this chapter! And have a rare gif of Juju after crashing his car

[ibookbm]

21 Motivational Books that Will Change Your Mind About Life, Money, and Yourself

My least favored feeling is feeling stuck.

I may be stuck with non-public growth, stale in my relationships, clean out of ideas at paintings… the list is endless.

The worry of closing stagnant may be crippling.

I’ve felt that way many, frequently. Each time it looks like I’ll never overcome it like I’m permanently drained of motivation.

Know what I suggest? Perhaps you’ve resigned yourself to living a miserable, dull lifestyle. Maybe you even agree with you don’t deserve better than that. When you feel so bad to see you later, it’s hard to assume life in some other manner.

I’ve been there too. Many instances.

In reality, I’ve made such a lot of journeys to Auckland and back that I’ve proved to myself that my time there isn’t everlasting. Some of my trips are surely longer than others, however, I constantly return.

And because I realize I constantly go back home, I’ve made it a dependency that each time I’m in a “valley,” I remind myself of all the alternative valleys I’ve already been in. I remind myself that this valley is no specific than the others, although it looks like it's miles. I remind myself that I have felt like this before and that I have overcome it before too.

You don’t need to face the valleys alone. In truth, it’s higher no longer to face them alone. When we’re by myself, that’s while the crushing negativity can creep in… all of the self-doubt, the concern, and the fear.

We’ve all were given little “voices” inner our heads. Sometimes they’re fine, but on occasion they’re negative. When you tell yourself you “can’t” otherwise you’ll “never” or you “don’t deserve it”… the ones are the voices. And the instances while the one's voices are the loudest? Well, those are the valleys.

To get out of the valleys, you have to shush the terrible voices. And the exceptional way to shush ’em isn’t to try and get rid of them — because they’ll constantly return, announcing something different next time. No, the great manner to shush the voices is to crowd them out.

How do you crowd ’em out? The answer may surprise you.

Read.

Every time you study, you get entry to to a fresh perspective — and you get to pick out that perspective every unmarried time.

Every time you examine, you pay attention to other voices except the ones to your head.

And on every occasion you examine, you're making your world bigger.

You allow your self to grow and enhance your existence… one word at a time.

So in which need to you start? I can help with that! Below is an in-depth listing of 21 motivational books you can use to fill your mind with effective voices, empowering thoughts, and inspiration to create a life you love.

Let’s dig in!

The Subtle Art of Not Giving an F*ck through Mark Manson

I wager that identify grabbed your interest, huh?  It does have a chunk of shock cost — but it also backs it up with reliable advice on how you could decide what to care about… and what not to. Pretty ambitious thinking, right?

Think and Grow Rich by way of Napoleon Hill

This is one of those books that’s a piece older but makes each person’s “Best Motivational Books of All Time” listing. Napoleon performed dozens of interviews with the most successful and richest human beings inside the early twentieth century and drills down into the commonplace tendencies between them.

Awaken the Giant Within via Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins is one of the names most synonymous with self-help books. And for a proper purpose — he’s written six first-class-selling books approximately economic freedom, private development, and more. I particularly like this e-book due to the fact he stocks what he’s discovered approximately the pleasant ways to assist humans to wreck thru to new degrees in life.

The Success Principles with the aid of Jack Canfield

This is the *best* book for those who sense caught with wherein they're in life. I’ve been there, and this book helped me get out of my hunch. With short chapters on each subject matter, Jack teaches you a way to boom your confidence, address every day demanding situations, live with ardor and reason, and make your goals actual. You’ll be again on track in no time.

Spirit Driven Success by way of Dani Johnson

Dani Johnson went from being homeless to a millionaire in TWO years. Two years, folks. She’s an ordained minister and teaches the way to “release the door to biblical wealth and prosperity secrets.” I was so inspired by way of her story and knew I needed to add it to this list.

Tools of Titans with the aid of Tim Ferriss

Over the remaining years, Tim has interviewed the high-quality of the fine inside the international on his podcast. He’s taken the whole thing he’s discovered from the ones 2 hundred+ interviews and packed it into this GINORMOUS inspirational ebook. But don’t let the scale intimidate you — think about it as a giant resource for fitness, wealth, and happiness.

Rich Dad Poor Dad by way of Robert Kiyosaki

Robert explores the mind-set which you don’t have to earn a ton of cash to be wealthy. He’s responsible for converting how hundreds of thousands of humans consider cash and investing. This is one of the fine private finance books obtainable.

Lean In by way of Sheryl Sandberg

Ever heard of Facebook? (LOL!) Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of the social media empire, and he or she’s created a name for herself using coaching women how to take manipulate in their careers and be proper leaders in their fields. She indicates “unique steps women can take to mix expert success with personal fulfillment.”

How to Win Friends and Influence People with the aid of Dale Carnegie

Here are some other vintage-time traditional that you’ll locate on many “Best of” lists. It has bought tens of millions of copies over time and illustrates how to interact with humans effectively. Communication = the important thing to achievement in ANYTHING.

Losing My Virginity with the aid of Richard Branson

Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Records, and more pinnacle groups. He’s one of the most iconic marketers of our day. This autobiography tells the tale of his loopy-exciting existence and the way he writes his very own regulations in the enterprise. It’s a clean take on the traditional “self-help” e-book.

Big Magic through Elizabeth Gilbert

The writer of the wildly a success Eat, Pray, Love is back with some other e-book on the concept, creativity, and conquering the fears which can be conserving your lower back. She’s awesome inspirational and when you finish analyzing the e-book, you’ll need to start taking motion stat.

The Obstacle is the Way with the aid of Ryan Holiday

You recognize what I say: Being happy isn’t about having 0 issues — it’s being capable of clear up the troubles we do have, no matter how big or small. And that’s why I love this book so much. It suggests you how to show problems into successes.

Loving What Is: The Four Questions That Can Change Your Life through Byron Katie

Byron Katie created a manner known as The Work that enables you to notice your issues in a different mild. This ebook expands on that method through particular examples of people running through their issues and understanding the underlying notion tactics at the back of them. It’s considered one of the leading motivational books on private transformation.

The Now Habit by using Neil Fiore

Are you a procrastinator? Always placing things off and either doing them at the last minute or no longer doing them at all? I was once much like that until I read The Now Habit. Now I get my booty in gear and get things carried out so that I can revel in my unfastened time faster — without feeling guilty.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success through Carol Dweck

You men recognize how tons I do not forget mind-set to be an integral part of everybody’s success. Well, this e-book is THE ebook approximately mind-set. I got so much out of it that I even based part of my Money Mindset Transformation workshop on the ideas taught via Dr. Dweck in this book.

The Dip through Seth Godin

I’m sure you’ve heard the announcing “Winners in no way end and quitters by no means win.” But… on occasion, winners DO give up and quitters DO win! But how do you realize whilst to cease or whilst to push via? Seth teaches precisely that during The Dip.

RELATED:  How This New Dad is Proofreading His Way to Freedom

The Millionaire Next Door via Thomas Stanley & William Danko

Being a millionaire shouldn't mean you’re flashy or have pricey things. In reality, you could have a millionaire dwelling proper next door and no longer even comprehend it. This book walks you through the seven “guidelines” all millionaires live via — and they’re likely no longer what you anticipate!

7 Habits of Highly Effective People through Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey is some other noticeably regarded writer inside the motivational international. This ebook got here 25 years ago, but it’s nevertheless one of the most recognizable and encouraged personal growth books accessible.

Psycho-Cybernetics by way of Maxwell Maltz

No, this book isn't always approximately robots 😉 It’s a shorter, less complicated manner of saying “steering your mind to inefficient, a beneficial purpose so you can attain the best port inside the world, peace of mind.” It’s a reasonably unknown e-book compared to others in this list, however, Tony Robbins is a fan — and so am I.

The War of Art via Steven Pressfield

Here’s any other wonderful e-book approximately unleashing your creativity and pushing via roadblocks standing for your way. If you’re a wannabe writer, this e-book is for you — Steven Pressfield was over forty years old when he first was given published. You’re in no way too vintage!

Change Anything by Kerry Patterson & Joseph Grenny

Have you ever tried to make a change in your lifestyles (cross on a food plan, begin the exercise, and so on.) but couldn’t follow thru? There’s a cause for that, and this ebook dives into how you can trade your destructive behavior and replace them with better behaviors.

Looking for pointers for setting up your freelance business? Check out this resource page in which I talk approximately my favored equipment and resources for constructing your website, walking your freelance business, and even keeping healthy!

Our Take This listing has to get you out of the valleys to your subsequent trip to Auckland. 🙂 Just keep in mind that truly analyzing one of these books (or maybe they all) won’t create exchange all with the aid of itself. Motivational books aren’t magical within the Muggle international. Mere records are powerless without implementation. So with every ebook, you study, extract the “golden nuggets” — the matters that circulate you to action — and get to paintings!

What are your favored motivational books? So what do you believe you studied? Are you searching forward to a journey to the library or bookstall? Have you given your finger a workout from clicking away on Amazon? I hope so! If you've got other books you’d want to advise, permit me to understand inside the remarks! I’m always looking for more excellent books to study.

[boreussia-durmmund]

One month with Lou and Roman- At the stadium

A/N: well we all can guess what the last chapter will be so be ready tomorrow and enjoy this now.

tell me if you wanna be tagged

@frecklednando @buerkihoe @the-mary-ann @marco-reus-dimples @carlaimberlain

Masterlist

The day went by fast, very fast. Lou didn't even know how it happened but within what felt like two seconds she was on her way to the stadium with Markus. He was happy talking about his new girlfriend, although they already had been together for a few months by now he still seemed so enthusiastic about it Lou loved it. Still she wasn't a big fan of his choice but he needed to be happy with her and not Lou.

They were talking to Lars, Melissa, Max and Gregor and once again Lou realised just how much she enjoyed having conversations with them. She wasn't really friends with them and never met them out of the stadium but still they could just talk and made fun of the game as well as each other but the most important thing she appreciated about them is them not seriously caring about her being Roman's girlfriend. They joked about Roman like they did about the other players and they sometimes told her to tell him something or do something to confuse him or anything but they never asked personal questions in a fan way like they wanted to know it about him but rather liked they wanted to know about Lou herself and her personal life.

Melissa was being extra cute today. Hearing about Lou winning the European championship she got Lou a crown and wrote “best of Europe” on it.

“And where is my crown?”, Markus asked playing annoyed.

“Well, you didn't win and 4th best of Europe sounds dumb doesn't it?”, Melissa replied shaking her head at him.

“Plus, if you had put some more effort into the whole, you could have been better.”, Lou told him a triumphant smile all over her face.

Lou didn't know but apparently today was tickling day because Markus tried to tickle her now as well. She rolled her eyes before the weird sensation on her skin made her laugh and shake away from him.

“Lars, save me please!”, Lou demanded and her wish was fulfilled.

He used the space to walk over and stand between them, pressing Lou to his chest and guarding her away from Markus this way.

Lou wouldn't admit it to anyone but damn Lars was definitely fuckable. She thought about fucking him once or twice or like 232 times back three years ago when they first met. He was tall, had some muscles but not too much. His hair was in a light brown and his eyes had the kind of blue she always adored because it reminded her of her first boyfriend and still good friend, Leon. Somehow those shade of eyes always took her back to the time when life was simpler, at home, safe with her whole family and her mom to always cry to who was completely over-protective of her, with her dad and his wise words, her grandmas' humour, her uncle's laugh and training, all the dogs always around her, Luci never more than a few hundred meters away from her so she could  say him goodnight every evening, with Oliver, Robin, Malte, Chrissy, Florian, Rike, Fabi, Alex, Leon and Lisa. The times were simpler and Lou missed this from time to time but this was no real reason to fuck with Lars and honest to god she hadn't thought about it in a long time because Louisa had someone she dearly loved who spent enough time satisfying her.

“You have a new jersey!”, Lars said once he let go of her.

“I thought you don't like the new ones?”, Melissa asked her face looking confused.

“I don't but the other one was torn by the paramedics so my lovely boyfriend got me a new one and asked me to try it. Long story short Roman likes how it looks on me so I'm wearing it more for him than for me.”, she explained and regretted it because now she had to explain why paramedics had torn her shirt but fortunately Melissa noticed Lou didn't like the topic and there she stopped asking soon.

The game started short after and Lou kept quiet mostly. Usually she was quite an active talker almost never shutting up but she more felt like watching the game in silence. She still followed the conversation and laughed from time to time but that's it. Although the game was interesting BVB won without a doubt with a 2-0. Roman did keep a clean sheet and this time he seriously needed to work for it but he did work well with some good saves and Lou was proud of them.

Once the game was over they celebrated with the team they were part of the Südtribüne no game would go by without them celebrating it but Lou knew the celebration of the first home victory of this season wouldn't be done with this but rather go on in the night, at least for her and Roman.

She waited with the rest while they still talked. None of them enjoyed being squeezed between people in the middle of a crowd so usually they took their time with getting out of the stadium until most people already left. But after more than 20 minutes the exits weren't filled any more so they made their way out. Lou said goodbye to them and hugged all of them before using her  VIP-status as Roman's girlfriend making her way to the dressing room in front of which she met up with Roman. She didn't even had to show her pass to the staff any more, they all recognized her as Roman's girlfriend now. It wasn't surprising it had been all over the news this week, most papers calling them a “Wonderful athlete couple” and Lou didn't care enough to be bothered.

“Hi, princess and best of Europe.”, Roman greeted her nodding to her head.

She was still wearing her crown.

“Hello, favourite goalkeeper. Ready to celebrate tonight?”, she asked leaning close to him.

“Couldn't be more ready.”, he whispered their faces only centimetres away before he leaned down a bit more so she could kiss him.

They kept on kissing for a long time and Lou didn't know when they would have parted if they hadn't heard a voice behind them.

“GET A ROOM!”

They parted and both laughed before Roman took her hand. This would be a long night.

[special-agent-fiction]

Duo - Chapter 14

Military Helicopter en route from Vinciguerra Island, 1963

“So it’s a decoy?” Napoleon asked as they all stared down at the missile strapped to the large helicopter’s floor between them.

“Oh no.” She laughed, leaning back in her seat. “It’s a real bomb; nasty one too.” She told them as Kuryakin glared down at it. “But it’s not nuclearized.”

“There’s no uranium it.” Waverly explained from his seat on the bench next to her as Napoleon, Kuryakin and Gabby sat opposite them.

“There was a second warhead in the lab.” Gabby told them, shouting over the sound of the propellers, and Eva’s head snapped up to meet her eyes.

“A second bomb?” She asked.

“There were two.” Gabby confirmed and Eva let out a groan as Waverly was out of his seat like a shot and directing the pilot to land on the deck of HMS Ark Royal immediately.

“Then this just got a hell of a lot more complicated.”

HMS Ark Royal, 1963

The helicopter had barely touched down on the deck of the HMS Ark Royal before Waverly was striding across it to the man dressed all in white waiting for them at the deck entrance.

“Did you check everything I asked, Captain?” Eva heard him say as she ushered the three very muddy operatives to follow as a group of men strode forward waiting to retrieve the warhead.

“Radar, sonar and aerial support all confirm that no other vehicle has left the island since last night, including submarines.” The Captain informed them.

“Status of the missile, ma’am?” Eva turned from the group now striding towards the entrance to the belly of the ship and faced the soldier.

“Definitely a nasty one but no uranium so we should be safe.” She told them as two moved forward to claim the missile. “Though I have had a bit of a prod around inside so if it seems particularly angry…” She paused as it was jostled around before sliding comfortably into the waiting arms of the men. “…it’s entirely my fault and you need to dump it over the side immediately.” She flashed the commander a grin.

“We’ll bare that in mind ma’am.” She rolled her eyes at the stoicism of the man and promptly turned away from the now silent helicopter and headed for the direction Waverly had disappeared in.

She entered the bridge just as a scruffy-looking man began to address the assembled people.

“The boats go out every morning at dawn.” He told them as she joined the large table completely covered with maps and shipping routes of the mainland’s small boats.

“I saw them.” Illya spoke up. “How many of them are there?”

“Fishing boats?” The man asked, scratching his head as he eyed the maps. “Almost a hundred.” He gestured to a smaller map with a circle inked onto Italy’s coat. “They are spread out over a 60-kilometer radius by now.”

“And that radius is expanding every minute.” The Captain sighed. “We don’t even know what boat we’re looking for.” He added before turning to Eva. “Is the warhead secured or is my ship going to explode, Agent Green?”

“It’s safe and sound in the hold, Captain.” She told him, frowning lightly when Napoleon seemed to jolt before snatching the ship register from the table and flicking through it wildly. “Along with the prisoners from the island.” She watched as Napoleon stopped at one of the last pages on the register and began to scour it more intently. “When does the submarine surface?”

“0800 hours.” The Captain told her. “That gives us 20 minutes.”

“Do we have a rough location?”

“If by rough you mean we know it’ll surface in the Mediterranean, then yes.” Waverly sighed, shedding his jacket as he stared at the maps.

“Good enough for me; give me command of five men and a motorboat and-”

“Diadema.” Napoleon cut across her as he stabbed a finger at the register. “That’s Sergio Vinciguerra’s old fishing boat; I suggest we start there.” He looked up from the register and turned to the scruffy man. “Can you get them on the radio?”

“I’m the Harbour Master – I can get anyone on the radio.”

“Excellent!” Waverly exclaimed. “And we can get a bearing from the radio signal, yes?” He asked the Captain.

“If we keep them broadcasting for long enough.”

“Pick your team and get into position…” Waverly turned to Eva. “…once we have a bearing you’re in charge of getting there before the hand-over.”

She nodded once to her Commander before turning to a loitering sailor.

“I need-”

“I have an idea which might make things quicker.” Gabby interrupted. “Sorry…” She shot her an apologetic smile. “…but there’s a coupling device in each missile.” She told the room as Eva felt a grin blossom on her lips. “Do you think you could…?” She trailed off as Eva let out a small laugh.

“Use it against its sibling?” Eva asked. “I most certainly can.”

“Diadema, venite in Diadema. Questo è il padrone del porto.”

Napoleon was silent as the Harbour Master attempted to contact the fishing boat from the Ark Royal’s bridge. Eva had disappeared only moments ago with Gabby and Illya hot on her heels as she led them down to the hold where the missile and a group scientists hired by the Vinciguerra’s were being kept.

He was still in shock at the fact they were on the same ship, let alone the same county. But two years was a long time and adding in the fact that they were yet to exchange more than two words with each other; it was almost as if they’d never actually met.

He wasn’t sure who this woman was; before she’d been a mere foot soldier like him but now, now she knew so much more and had probably done so much more and he was left feeling a little…inadequate in her heeled shadow.

Of course, he’d noticed how Gabby seemed at ease with her and he wondered exactly how far back that friendship went and if Gabby liked her then it wouldn’t be long before Illya warmed to her too. And then it would just be him; the man who fell into this life by chance and who had been torn away from perhaps the only person who had seen him as more than a list of crimes.

“Diadema, venite in Diadema. Questo è il padrone del porto.” The Harbour Master continued, the captain clearly becoming impatient as no reply filtered through from the small boat and he wondered if perhaps Eva had been right about sending out a boat and not wasting time with this.

“Maestro de porto, questo è Diadema.”

They all perked up at the reply from the fishing boat’s captain and with a nod the Harbour Master gave the agreed reply.

“Sì Diadema, ho un messaggio per Victoria Vinciguerra.”

“Non so di cosa stai parlando.”

Napoleon could feel the entire bridge roll their eyes at the Captains denial of knowing who they spoke of.

“Ten minutes and counting.” The Captain helpfully told them and Napoleon could feel his fists curl at the thought of Victoria Vinciguerra getting away with this.

“Mr Solo.” Waverly turned to him. “I think this may be your cue.”

He nodded to the man before retrieving the radio handset from the Harbour Master and with a deep breath, addressed the fishing boat.

“Hello, Victoria.” He began, turning to stare out into the open waters ahead. “I suspect that you're already listening so I'll give you this message directly: earlier today I killed your husband.”

He paused, waiting for a response from the woman.

“We're wasting our time; this isn't working.” The Captain bit out as time ticked down on the clock behind him.

“If you could just shut up, thank you very much.” He heard Waverly instruct. “Ramp it up, please, Solo.”

“I'd like to report that he died honourably, courageously and selflessly. But he didn't.” He said. “Instead, it was a rather pitiful affair involving tears, begging and offers to trade anything and, indeed, anyone so that I would spare his life.”

“Napoleon.” Victoria’s voice crackled over the radio as a pair of heels clicked through the bridge and towards the Captain. “I appreciate your message and now I hope you'll appreciate mine: any relation of yours still living will be dead within the year. They will die slowly and painfully. And you know from personal experience, this is an area in which we excel.”

“Bearing 0-4-5, Captain.” He heard a sailor call out from behind him as Victoria continued to speak.

“There's nothing you'll be able to do but witness their suffering as you await your own death, which I will save for last. This I vow on my husband's soul.”

“Locked and loaded, gentlemen.” A female voice added behind him. “It’s all yours Captain.”

“Won't you have to inform your organization to achieve that?” He asked, turning slightly from the window to watch the Captain slip a chain from his neck with a small key dangling from it and insert it into a nearby console.

“After we deliver the warhead you so desperately sought...it will be the first item on my agenda.” Victoria told him. “And you will die, Solo, knowing you failed completely. We have the professor's disk: we can build as many bombs as we need.”

“Ready?”

“Yes, proceed, please, Captain.”

“I see one flaw in that plan.” Napoleon said, focusing back on the radio in his hand and not on the blonde currently punching away at buttons. “While you've been telling me how dangerous you are...we've been locking on to your radio signal and now we have your general location.”

“It won't help you much. I'll be gone in five minutes.”

“I haven't finished.” He interrupted, taking a breath and readying himself to launch into his spiel. “The coupling device that you so considerately left us on your decoy warhead is, according to our Weapons Specialist, accurate to 10 feet. That warhead, although not nuclear, shouldn't have any trouble obliterating a medium-size fishing boat. The aforementioned warhead launched...” He paused to check his watch. “45 seconds ago...giving you about 30 seconds until impact. It won't trigger the nuclear warhead as that requires fission. So...if you do want to make good on your vow...I suggest you abandon ship immediately. How's that for entertainment?”

His finger released the transmission button just as a bright yellow cloud of fire boomed in the distance.

“Target obliterated.” A voice said from behind him and he turned to flash the British spy a grin as he dropped the radio and let Waverly take his spot to watch the flames from the now wrecked Diadema continue to rise in the distance. “Mission accomplished.”

[click2watch]

7 Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google Staffers That Went Full Crypto

“Follow the talent.”

It’s a maxim investor Chris Burniske tweeted recently to underscore another tweet from AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant when he wrote back in March: “Blockchains are now sucking in top-tier Silicon Valley tech talent faster than any boom since the Internet.”

Yet, as the first flurries of crypto winter blow, this narrative has hardly cooled.

We heard it echoed again most recently in October when we spoke to Tinder exec and venture investor, Jeff Morris, Jr., who started Chapter One Ventures to back crypto projects he finds exciting. But, who are these professionals leaving good companies to take a chance on the world of crypto?

CoinDesk found seven examples of people who left jobs not just at notable tech companies but at the most notable ones. We found examples of staff from five giants of Web 2.0, the so-called FANGs: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google.

Each of the people on this list turned their back on the secure life at a tech giant, the most powerful companies in today’s economy, to take a chance on a new sector built on money native to the internet and decentralized data structures.

Facebook

Kahina van Dyke – Ripple

Kahina van Dyke is Ripple’s senior vice president for business and corporate development, and most of her business experience has focused on payments at major companies – not just Facebook. Not only did she spend two-and-a-half years working on payments systems in Menlo Park, but she has prior experience at MasterCard and Citibank.

Van Dyke made the transition in June. On the Ripple blog, she described her reasons for entering the distributed ledger industry. She said:

“There is a reason you have only a handful of major money transfer operators in the world today. Without question, cross-border transactions is one of the most complex and multifaceted problem in payments.”

She said she believes Ripple has the combination of technology and business strategy to eliminate that friction faced by people around the world attempting to move money internationally.

Evgeny Kuzyakov – Near Protocol

With Kuzyakov we actually get a double-dose of FANGs. Prior to his current job he worked at Facebook, and a little before that he worked at Google. He’s now one of the software engineers at Near Protocol, which aims to bring blockchain to low-end devices by taking advantage of sharding.

When he left Facebook, he had been working on video compression for 360-degree videos and virtual reality. Spending time at two different major tech companies, he says, will help secure what Near hopes will be a wide reaching protocol.

He told us:

“I’ve worked on backend infrastructure at Google, so I know how to build distributed systems. I understand security and privacy of large scale projects to make sure users are in the best interest of the overall system.”

Ethereum is still just too complicated and easy to mess up. EOS hasn’t earned people’s trust and everything else is just too immature.

“My industry experience helps understand such issues and hopefully would help avoid them when we design our system,” he said.

Amazon

Leo Chen – Harmony

Chen just left Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Seattle-giant’s cloud service, to start at Harmony, an upcoming consensus platform designed for very high throughput.

After almost four years at the company, Chen told CoinDesk he might have made the move sooner but he had deleted Facebook’s app from his phone. If not for that, he might not have missed an overture from Harmony founder Stephen Tse (himself an Apple and Google alum).

In 2012, Chen bought some bitcoin and turned a good profit on them, but family got ahead of him and he lost track of crypto for a while. Then ethereum piqued his interest again and when he finally did sit down with Tse, it felt right.

“I, myself, am also pretty interested in building the infrastructure and distributed systems. I felt blockchain is the technology I am interested and I can contribute to,” he told CoinDesk.

Basically everyone using the internet is using AWS indirectly. “We provided service to hundreds of thousands of customers on hundreds of thousands of machines. The architecture I learned and the experience I gained can help us build a high-performance and secure blockchain,” he wrote.

Apple

Alok Kothari – Harmony

Harmony gets two spots on this list, with Kothari as one of its engineers and a co-founder. Its team is actually rich in folks with FANG backgrounds, which is something that seems to be true in general: teams with one FANG veteran have several more.

Kothari is a co-founder of Harmony. He left Apple in June after working there nearly three years. A machine learning specialist, he had been working on Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, but he’d long considered starting something on his own.

“It was a perfect storm of a lot of factors. I had been waiting to start my entrepreneurial journey for a while,” he wrote CoinDesk. He met the people who would become his co-founders at a meetup for ex-Googlers (xooglers, as they call themselves).

“I had become convinced that blockchain would transform the world,” he added. “To unleash all the usefulness of the data being created in the world, access to data should be democratized and decentralized.”

If that can be accomplished, he said, “Everyone would benefit, and everyone would win.”

Netflix

Ryan Lechner – Consensys Labs

Now at Consensys Labs, managing nearly 50 investments the Brooklyn-based ethereum shop has made, Lechner came over from Netflix, where he did sort of the same thing in TV terms. He worked to expand Netflix’s non-fiction content strategy.

“I always considered Netflix the ‘innocent FAANG.’ We took people’s money and created joy,” he told CoinDesk.

Still, his doubts had been forming about the larger business model of Silicon Valley, building moats with carefully guarded data. “There is nothing structurally sustainable about putting virtual walls around data,” he said.

He can remember the moment that it started to come clear that blockchains could build bridges over Silicon Valley’s moats. “I was walking Lake Merritt in Oakland, listening to a podcast in which Nick Szabo and Naval Ravikant talked about the transformative power of blockchain and cryptocurrencies,” he wrote.

He joined Consensys near the end of 2017, relocating to Brooklyn. “I hope that my role at ConsenSys can catalyze a radical shift to decentralized networks and business models,” he wrote.

Google

Alex Feinberg – OKCoin

Feinberg serves as Director of Business Development at the exchange, OKCoin, though he first left Google to join a security startup aimed at blockchain startups called Petram Security. So OKCoin is actually his second crypto role since Google.

Feinberg started at Google in 2011, serving in a number of roles on the business side before leaving in March, working at the time on Google Search and Google Assistant. He worked with major brands (such as the NBA, Bloomberg, NPR) to integrate their content with major search and assistant platforms.

He joined Google because he had a thesis that as long as central banks kept printing money it would have outsize benefits in the more speculative parts of the economy, such as tech. “The move into the crypto space was just a logical extension of this original decision,” he said.

He settled on his decision to move early this year. He was having dinner with a friend in January. His friend had made some major contrarian bets and been wildly successful. Feinberg wrote:

“I thought to myself, ‘The people with whom I share a similar world view outside of Google are doing much better financially than the people with whom I do not at Google, so let’s see where this takes me.’”

Chandan Lodha – CoinTracker

Lodha is co-founder of CoinTracker, an application that can calculate tax obligations on crypto portfolios.

He left Google (or Alphabet’s) X division in mid-2017, where he had been working as a product manager on Project Loon, which aims to connect remote areas to the internet with balloons.

“To be honest, I was initially pretty skeptical of cryptocurrency,” he told us, this despite the fact that he did some work on a bitcoin startup in 2012 and held cryptocurrency for years. As those holdings became more meaningful, they felt less like a hobby.

He had already been working on putting together an idea with a fellow Googler who became his co-founder. Though they started looking at traditional fintech, his own experience in crypto pointed their business in that direction.

He acknowledges that their app isn’t the first to take on tax obligations, but he believes the space still has a ways to go in terms of user experience. He said, “One lesson we have brought from Google that has been really helpful in building CoinTracker is focusing on users to build very simple and intuitive products.”

It’s hard to see whether or not trends like the one shown above will accelerate, because staff could increasingly make similar transitions within companies. For example, Instagram’s head of product recently moved over to a similar role on Facebook’s blockchain efforts, according to LinkedIn.

Similarly, former Coinbase board member and head of Facebook’s messaging products, David Marcus, is also all blockchain all the time in Menlo Park, as well.

“You’re taking your all-stars and moving them to the blockchain initiatives in your company,” Morris observed to CoinDesk in an interview. “A lot of that has to be employee-driven.”

Collage of Shutterstock photos by (clockwise from top left) JHVE Photo, Jejim, R. Classen, Uladzik Kryhin and SeaRick1

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script','//connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '239547076708948'); fbq('track', "PageView"); This news post is collected from CoinDesk

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[airoasis]

Jose Ramirez defends title with brand-new trainer and renewed inspiration

On March 17 in New York, Jose Ramirez achieved a lifelong dream as he outfought and outboxed Amir Imam to win an uninhabited junior welterweight world title.It was a jubilant victory, and when the ratings were read, Ramirez commemorated with his team, consisting of longtime fitness instructor Freddie Roach.Jose Ramirez vs.

Danny O'Connor Where: Conserve Mart Center in Fresno, California When: Saturday TELEVISION: ESPN, ESPN Deportes 9:30 p.m. ET Little did anyone know at the time, but that would be their final

battle together. Normally, fighters alter trainers when they lose, not when they win the biggest fight of their career.Though Ramirez proclaims a deep respect and adoration for all Roach did for him, and for his Hall of Popularity profession, he likewise felt like he required more attention and to be more of a priority.And so in spite of a career-best win, Ramirez called Roach in April and informed him he was moving on.Ramirez left Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood

, California, where Roach assistant Marvin Somodio was typically his hands-on fitness instructor, to go with trainer Robert Garcia.Editor's Picks"I wish Freddie absolutely nothing however the finest. He's an amazing coach, now it's a new chapter and I'm delighted I'm with somebody that feels the exact same excitement about my career and who does the little

things to make me comfy,

"Ramirez told ESPN.So committed to the modification, Ramirez rented an apartment for himself, his girlfriend and their 2-year-old child that is just a couple of minutes from Garcia's fitness center in Riverside, California, so he would not have to make the everyday hour-plus drive from his location in Los Angeles."It's larger and I pay less than in L.A.," Ramirez said, laughing.And so Ramirez will go into his very first title defense with Garcia as his chief 2nd rather of Roach when he squares off with heavy underdog Danny O'Connor (30-3, 11 KOs ), 33, a southpaw from Framingham, Massachusetts,

in the main occasion of the Leading Rank Boxing on ESPN card Saturday night at the Save

Mart Center in Fresno, California, where Ramirez, from neighboring Avenal, California, is a substantial draw and the toast of the neighborhood for his ring exploits and steadfast social work."This was my dream. Because I was little, I desired to become a world champ and then have the ability to protect the title in front of the fans of the Central Valley, "Ramirez stated."That is occurring on Saturday."Before the fight with Imam, Ramirez (22-0, 16 KOs ), 25, had currently begun to think about

making the switch to Garcia.He has actually known Garcia for many years, and a couple of months before the Imam fight, prior to he began his full camp at Wild Card, he went to train with him for about a week. Jose Ramirez, left, got a new fitness instructor in Robert Garcia for his junior welterweight

title defense against Danny O'Connor. Photo by Mikey Garcia/Top Rank "I liked how he worked, but I had to go to the Wild Card to complete up, "Ramirez stated. "Marvin invested a great deal of time

with me, and I desired Marvin to be there and see become a world champion, and Freddie also invested a long time in me. I could not make the move before ending up being a world champion. I felt I owed them that respect, to provide them that credit of ending up being a world champ together. "After he won the title, Ramirez stated he was still uncertain if he would make the modification.

"I still wasn't One Hundred Percent sure of leaving the Wild Card. I was utilized to being there.

Marvin existed. It was extremely tough to leave," Ramirez said.But then something happened that Ramirez stated made the decision clear for him. He and a friend participated in HBO's March 29 Hollywood premier of the network's documentary on battling legend Andre the Giant with Roach. Ramirez had just won the title and hoped that he would stroll the red carpet with Roach, who would reveal off his new champion. "I wish Freddie nothing but the very best. He's an incredible coach however now it's a brand-new chapter and I enjoy I'm with somebody that feels the exact same enjoyment about my career and who does the little things to make me comfortable."Jose Ramirez Rather, Ramirez said a member of Roach's group" informed us to go in the back door and we'll see you within," while Roach strolled the red carpet." I was a little offended,"Ramirez said."If I had a world champ, I would make certain he was known. I hadn't made a 100 percent option to leave until that day."And so now he is with Garcia and

pleased with his choice." I required somebody to really think in me and be encouraged to press me to my limits,"Ramirez said."Freddie has actually had many champions. I

have no idea if his enjoyment was still there. I saw enjoyment in Robert to train me. He wished to train a guy who was valuable and who could take it to the next level. He was excited to see someone like me, and that motivated me. He wishes to be a part of it too. He opens up the health club to my sponsors to go see me train." Freddie's group, they're really nice. They have my regard. Now with Robert, the difference is he has a lot of really great prospects and champions, and it resembles a group. I seem like I belong to a team. I was more by myself

in Wild Card. Now there are others who press me." Garcia makes obvious of the truth that he had his eyes on Ramirez even when he was an amateur. Jose Ramirez, right, defeated Amir Imam by consentaneous decision in March to win a vacant junior welterweight belt. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

"I wanted him considering that the beginners," Garcia said. "I went to a few of the amateur battles that he had in the Fresno location, and I remained in talks with his daddy and Jose and everybody surrounding Jose. They chose they wanted to begin their profession off with Freddie Roach and no hard sensations, no absolutely nothing. Before his last battle when he ended up being champ, we currently had actually been speaking about training together. He had already trained in my gym for a week or so, but for him, he stated it was too challenging to be driving back and forth since he still had a house in Hollywood, and it was very near to his fight to do the drive every day, so he decided to end up training camp and consider that fight, the world title fight, to Freddie Roach, which he felt Freddie Roach was worthy of.

"I still had two of my people drive to Hollywood for sparring to assist him get ready for that fight. We already had that connection, and following that battle, it was already said we would begin collaborating. He's very dedicated, trains extremely hard, really simple, a kid that has so lots of things in mind not just for himself however for his community in the Fresno location. Just a great kid."

Rick Mirigian, Ramirez's supervisor, said the pairing has been exceptional.

"I wanted him given that the amateurs. I went to a few of the amateur fights that he had in the Fresno area and I remained in talks with his father and Jose and everyone surrounding Jose. They chose they desired to begin their profession off with Freddie Roach and no difficult feelings, no absolutely nothing." Robert Garcia

"Ramirez has actually shown a fire I have not seen in a long period of time," he said. "He mores than happy and inspired, feels at home and feels a bargain of respect. Garcia has done exactly what he assured, provided him the top priority time, had high-level sparring with guys like Mikey Garcia, and has actually made some great tweaks with Ramirez's defense that does not take his aggressive nature away, however offers him some different appearances and visible enhancement in those areas.

"It was the right call [to change trainers] Not an easy call, however the best one, as we value and will constantly respect Freddie and Marvin. Being a world champion required being the top priority now and having the fighter feel highly that you truly think in him to be a star."

When Mirigian worked out the offer for Garcia to end up being Ramirez's fitness instructor, he got one major concession that showed the Ramirez camp simply just how much of a concern he would be.Garcia likewise trains his younger sibling, four-division world titleholder Mikey Garcia, a ruling lightweight titlist and one of boxing's finest pound for pound. In the not likely event he and Ramirez have actually battles set up on the exact same day, Robert Garcia assured that he 'd opt for Ramirez and leave Mikey in the care of their dad, Eduardo Garcia, and Robert's boy, Robert Garcia Jr." We've been in that scenario previously, two fighters or two

world champs fighting the exact same day. That's why I have a terrific group with my daddy, who has actually constantly been there to assist with whatever I need. My kid. He's found out a lot," Robert Garcia said. "He's prepared for whatever we have to do. If Jose is to eliminate the very same day as Mikey, which we would aim to prevent as much as possible, however if that day does come, I don't even have to speak to Mikey about it or my dad." My papa and my son would deal with Mikey's battle because, like I said, we're a team. Plus, my papa is really familiar with Mikey's career. My papa's part of the group every day. My boy is likewise, so we would have no problem with that. That would not be a problem at all. I would go with Jose, and my dad and my son would stick with Mikey."It's that sort of dedication and commitment that Ramirez was looking for."I think I found it now in Riverside," Ramirez said.

[junker-town]

I’m from Gainesville, Florida and live in New York City. Here’s what makes this is a unique college football town

The city’s many transplants from the Midwest, Southeast, West Coast, and elsewhere have formed their own CFB culture. You just have to find it first.

NEW YORK — USF is starting slowly, and it’s the reason I’m more sober than I expected. The bar I’m at, called Van Diemens, gives out free shots whenever USF scores a touchdown.

To be a college football fan in Tallahassee or Columbus or Austin or Boise is easy. To be one here, so far from the sport, is a challenge.

The lack of native CFB fandom is why eyebrows raised when College GameDay announced Times Square to host its Sept. 23 celebration of the sport. No one thinks of New York City as a college football hotspot, and there aren’t even any big games within hundreds of miles on that day.

New York City is a desert of pro sports.

But that need for oasis has created a unique college fan landscape. Every Saturday, tribes center at watering holes throughout the metropolis. You can find one for virtually every sizable fan base.

It’s too easy to say New York’s not a great town for college football fans or to make fun of it as just an uninterested media market the Big Ten sought by adding Rutgers. So I went to find the passion.

The upstairs portion of this Manhattan bar has a green skylight above pom poms and Bull logos.

This is the New York City USF alumni chapter’s watch party. There will be dozens of its ilk on Saturday across the city.

When USF was bad, there weren’t many free shots. Then they started exploding on offense midway through 2016, and the bar had to water shots down, because they were going too fast.

“This place, prior to us joining, was a UConn bar,” Andrew Jones, a former chair of the alumni club, said. “UConn’s still here, but doesn’t really draw much for football. We’ve had games against them where we kinda just absorb them. For college basketball, you can’t get in this place; there’s a line out the door for it. So we’re the main school here.”

Jones had season tickets when he lived in Tampa. His wife, Melissa, wears a green dress, gold eyeshadow, and USF-themed shoes. If the Bulls can become the Group of 5 entrant in the New Year’s Six, the couple will travel to Atlanta for a likely date in the Peach Bowl. But Melissa’s settling on doing the journey by train. She’s pregnant, and under doctor's orders, won’t be able to fly after Thanksgiving. So they might train. Anything to stay connected to the squad.

“I want to say if they can get past those slow starts, it’s an undefeated team. And that is largely because our schedule is weak. Our schedule is really weak,” Jones said. “I think that us having this senior team that has all the pieces, with the defense that’s actually doing what they’re supposed to do, I think undefeated is something that is definitely in reach.”

A post shared by Mike Wood (@mikewoodld) on Aug 26, 2017 at 4:16pm PDT

The Bulls do need to stop dilly-dallying with teams like the Owls, and even if they do, they’ll still have to sweat out the Playoff committee.

Nicole Graham, the vice chair of the chapter, assured me I would like the free shot that accompanies a touchdown, even if she says she’s too picky to enjoy it. After starting in a created position as a watch party coordinator, Graham rose because she was doing too many things like writing grants and connecting with the main alumni association in Tampa.

“It’s kind of a joke because I was the quiet one in the corner,” Graham said. “Didn’t really talk to anyone my first few games. And then, I don’t know, something just sparked in me, and I wanted to be more a part of this. I felt the energy. I felt different directions that you could grow in.”

Before the game, Jones had been summoned to take a shot for his coming bundle of joy. The guy that gave it to him is passed out on the bar by the end of the 3-0 first quarter.

But beyond the booze and the football, what drives these gatherings? What fuels the passion to meet?

Great to see the NYC crowd in their brightest Orange today! #BeatPitt http://pic.twitter.com/QHsitNyIUo

— OKState Alumni - NYC (@NYCCowboys) September 16, 2017

As college football fans, our teams define us, either because our college years define us or because it started even earlier than that. College made us adults, introduced us to our spouses, or graduated our parents.

A post shared by Saloon NYC (@saloonnyc) on Sep 5, 2016 at 9:19pm PDT

But when you eject from your typical college town into its likely polar opposite, an intensely vertical city, it can be jarring.

A post shared by Public House NYC (@publichousenyc) on Sep 1, 2017 at 1:15pm PDT

It was like that for Amanda Mull, a Georgia ex-pat, when she moved six years ago.

“I thought about how it was gonna be different not to drive,” she said. “I thought about how it was gonna be different to live in a very small apartment. I did not think about how it was gonna be different to not have that set of cultural touchstones. It took me a while to realize that, oh, for people who grew up up here, it really doesn’t translate culturally at all.”

A post shared by MERCURY BAR EAST (@mercurybareast) on Sep 9, 2017 at 12:23pm PDT

In New York City, Saturday is just another day. It’s not the drop-everything tentpole that an entire city or even state rallies around.

A post shared by Pacific Standard (@pacificstandardbrooklyn) on Sep 9, 2017 at 1:38pm PDT

I grew up in Gainesville, Florida and went to the University of Florida. My first 23 autumns had a distinct rhythm. Then I moved to the Northeast. I write about college football, so finding a way to stay tethered to the sport is how I pay rent, but for others like Mull, it’s not that easy.

“I had to train my set of friends,” Mull said. “I got very lucky that I managed to make a good set of friends up here, but none of them are really college football people, except my friends that I met through Georgia stuff and Georgia Twitter. It took like a couple years of over the course of our friendships for it to be clear that, ‘Oh, Amanda is very serious about this. If we plan something — a party like a day party — on a Saturday in the fall, she ain’t coming.”

Mull went to a bar her first fall Saturday in New York. She found it on Facebook. Others use websites like this bar guide to find a spot.

A post shared by Nate Klingenberg (@nateklingenberg) on Sep 9, 2017 at 4:15pm PDT

Even beyond college football, New Yorkers are especially driven to the communal watching experience, especially Millennials. The stereotypes are true about small living space. It’s not conducive to having dozens of people over to watch a game.

A post shared by Prof Thoms (@professorthoms) on Sep 16, 2017 at 4:23am PDT

Also, plenty of us don’t have cable. Even if you do, like one of Mull’s ex-boyfriends, there’s an acutely New York problem. Cablevision, which runs one of the city’s largest cable companies, doesn’t carry the SEC Network. Cablevision was recently bought by Altice, and is still in dispute with ESPN over the network.

ESPN

She might be a Southerner at heart, but in true New Yorker fashion, she scoffs under her breath about James Dolan, the CEO of Cablevision. He also runs the Knicks, poorly. But Dolan’s not the only man to run afoul of her pursuit of college football fandom in the city.

“I would go out on a date with a guy that went to Wesleyan or something like that and watches three Notre Dame games a season, and I would mention football, and he would immediately launch into some sort of professorial sort of oration of his understanding of college football,” Mull said. “And I would be like, ‘No, you don’t understand, I’ve been to dozens and dozens of in-person college football games my entire life.’”

A post shared by Steve Shade (@stove711) on Sep 3, 2017 at 6:55pm PDT

Mansplaining during sports is nothing new, but in many pockets of college sports fandom, it’s normal to see women enjoying the game. Nobody questions you if you say you’re a college football fan in Iowa or Oregon or Oklahoma. It’s more unique to be apathetic toward the sport.

“Up here it’s like, ‘Name three of their albums,’” Mull said.

To anyone questioning Gameday going to NYC...Dudes next to me at NY bar are in a fierce debate about Purdue football. #itseverywhere

— Sam Ponder (@sam_ponder) September 20, 2017

Adam Lathan is getting the year he graduated LSU mixed up.

“2009. Why did I say ‘07? I said ‘07 honestly because that’s when we won the championship,” Lathan said. “That’s like one of those numbers that stands out, not my college degree.”

I’ve just eaten at his Louisiana-themed restaurant in downtown Brooklyn called The Gumbo Bros. (I recommend the shrimp po’boy). I’d sat down right next to a guy who recognized the word “Gainesville” on the back of my shirt and struck up a conversation about the Gators. He went to UF’s law school years ago.

Lathan and his college roommate, Clay Boulware, opened the restaurant in December 2016. Up until recently, they didn’t have a liquor license. Two doors down, a bar called the Brazen Head didn’t have a kitchen. The establishments would partner for events like Mardis Gras-themed parties. Lathan’s spot doesn’t have TVs, and doesn’t really have the space to host a gameday event. But when the fall came around, his patrons wanted the authentic LSU experience.

“Everybody’s like, ‘Can we watch the game here?’ Lathan said. “‘All we want to do is to have authentic Louisiana gumbo and watch the LSU game, as opposed to going to a sports bar in the city where it’s cramped, can’t have the sound on.’ We don’t really have the space, and these guys do.”

And so The Brazen Head, which has been around for 17 years, became an LSU bar in Brooklyn, thanks to the new blood down the street.

Manager Sasha Kotylar has recently been to New Orleans, but Lathan is still in the process of converting her into a full-fledged LSU fan. For now, she enjoys busy Saturday crowds that haven’t gotten too crazy — yet.

“It was just really keeping up with all the big changes here and what’s around and kinda try to stay on track with that,” Kotylar said. “We’re a very neighborhood-type bar. We’re not a dive bar; we’re not a sports bar. We’re just a local neighborhood-type place.”

People know Lathan’s affiliations and come in to talk to him about football. A couple Michigan fans often enjoy the Wolverines at the Brazen Head (Michigan has a massive presence in New York City).

“I’d so much rather be in Death Valley,” Lathan said. “But if you’re not, it’s really kinda cool to be far away from it with people who appreciate it.”

USF scores two touchdowns in the second quarter and begins to pull away from the Owls.

My faith in Quinton Flowers & Co. delivering free liquor is restored. The green shots are basically candy with a hint of alcohol. Maybe Brooklyn’s ruined my tolerance, or maybe they could’ve used some watering-down after all, but who am I to refuse?

I have no formal ties to USF, save for Florida itself, but then Graham reveals something.

“We actually are working on an updated menu with some Tampa-themed specialties,” Graham said. “So, we have the Bulls sampler that we’re going to be doing, we have a Florida cuban sandwich that we’re doing, and a Publix sub. We’re gonna have a Publix sub.”

Publix being the Deep South’s beloved grocery chain with legendary deli subs. No matter where the Bulls end up in bowl season, I think I’ve found my place to watch their game.

Mull said it best:

“It seemed like the longer I live here, the more it seems like things like those parties and the opportunity to be around people from home — the opportunity to be around people with that shared context — makes living here possible.”

[saiilorstars]

The Beginning of Everything

Ch. 17: Dorothy Bell & the Osirans

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: Female OC x 10th Doctor

(OC Renata’s Face claim: Marjorie de Sousa) (Gabby’s face claim: Victoria Moroles)

// Story Masterlist // 

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

DISCLAIMER: This chapter’s plotline is from Doctor Who’s comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

Chapter Summary: The time travelers are back in New York for an interesting auction that leads them to a celebrity and alien Gods.

For some reason, the Doctor had expressed a need to go to New York due to some strange readings he was getting from the TARDIS. None of his companions, including Renata, had much trouble accepting the impromptu visit since it was the perfect chance for Gabby to visit home and catch up with her family. While Gabby was at home, the remainder of the travelers went to a top-notch secret auction of 'alien' objects.

"Do I hear a hundred thousand? 200,000?" a chirpy young woman raised a finger at a gentleman in the crowd responsible for the new bid amount.

Way in the back, the Doctor rudely snorted.

Renata, who sat beside him, shot him a glance for his action. "Would you keep it down? I thought you were the one who said we needed to keep a low profile. Whatever that means."

"It just means staying low and not getting noticed," Donna chimed in from her seat which was on Renata's left.

"Yes, thanks Donna," the Time Lady huffed and crossed one leg over the other then put her hands over her lap. "I don't see the need for us to entertain this silly auction. Why, pray tell, are you making us sit through this, Doctor, when we all know you can just steal whatever you're looking for in its storage room?"

There was an inevitable smirk on the Doctor's face as he glanced at Renata. "Are you saying I can just steal something and be on our way?" Renata rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "Renée, I am shocked - no, flabbergasted. Maybe I am rubbing off on you."

"You wouldn't be so lucky," Renata flatly said, though there was a hint of pink on her cheeks.

Donna eyed the two aliens as much as she could from where she sat. Those two had been acting...different. And by different, it meant less arguing and more harmless bantering. There was a more clear closeness between the two that, honestly, gave a warmer vibe to the whole TARDIS. Gabby was the only one who often seemed to be on edge about the two aliens, but she wouldn't say why.

"Doctor, why the hell are we here anyways?" Renata asked after watching some suited man pay over a million dollars for an object she was pretty sure was only a hair dryer. Almost all these objects, actually, resembled more human characteristics than alien as they were made out to be.

"I told you, I got some strange readings back in the TARDIS that I couldn't ignore," the Doctor picked up the pamphlet they'd been handed at the start of the auction and went through it again. When he found the item he'd been waiting for, he called one of the employees to inquire over it. The helpful woman informed him the object needed to be bid on privately at the front desk.

So he had the trio get up and go do just that.

"I'm pretty sure you don't have the kind of money to pay for these things," Renata whispered to the Doctor on their way out.

"And I'm pretty sure they don't have clearance to be selling this object," the man retorted with. He pulled out his sonic from his coat's inner pocket and activated its communication feature. "Message to UNIT HQ, NY. Flag this location with a clean up requirement for a few suspicious items, maybe ex-Torcheood - immediate effect."

"What's Torchwood?" Renata dreaded to ask but instead of getting the answer from the Doctor it was Donna who replied. She vaguely remembered the name from her time with the Master, but she could do with a fresh reminder.

"Some facility that was responsible for getting a good half of us killed with their robotic men and weird pepper bottles."

"She means Cybermen and Daleks," went the Doctor who wasn't very interested in retelling the story. He only informed Donna of the full story because she wouldn't leave him alone about it.

"What!?" Renata exclaimed. She honestly could have paid a little more attention while she was trapped with the Master. Once she got to thinking, she did remember a few times the Master mentioned the name 'Torchwood' sometimes but it wasn't like she paid much attention to him. He had a nasty habit of insulting her most of the time so she learned - as a survival mechanism - to ignore a lot of his words.

Before the Doctor could defend himself from any looming argument, he felt a very hard fist connect with the back of his head. He fell forwards, flat on his stomach and with a nose first-down on the ground.

"Doctor!" Renata was horrified at the sight.

"Uh, Ren…" Donna very gently shook the Time Lady's arm, meaning for Renata to look ahead but the woman was too focused on the Doctor.

"Don't make a move," warned a different woman, the culprit of such a blow. She was a young dark skinned woman dressed in all black. She held a high-tech gun on the trio as well as the Doctor's fallen sonic screwdriver.

But instead of being scared, Renata was furious. "And just who the hell do you think you are? And put that thing down before you hurt someone else!"

The woman raised an eyebrow at Renata, as if questioning whether or not Renata was actually demanding things from her when she held the gun. "I don't think you realize your position right now."

"I think I do, actually," the Doctor groaned as he got back on his feet. Renata yanked him to her side and pulled him slightly down in order for her to better check the spot where the woman's fist had knocked him.

"English accents," the woman noted from the trio. "So pompous. Lot 28, the artifact. You bought it and I need it."

"Wait a minute," Donna's eyebrows wrinkled together. "You think we bought it? Whatever the hell it is, we don't have it."

"Ha, sure," the woman scoffed.

"We really don't," Renata's eyes hardened. "And what kind of asking involves punching someone then threatening them with a gun and a stolen sonic?" she pointed specifically to the blue-lit sonic screwdriver in the woman's hand.

"A sonic?" the woman tilted her head at the sonic screwdriver, specifically eyeing the blue glow at the top.

"Unauthorized user alert," went the Doctor all of a sudden and in the next moment the woman was shocked. It was at the same time that the Doctor tackled the woman to her floor. "I haven't got a collection ticket. We're going to look silly at the front desk!"

"Don't be silly with the human who's trying to kill us," scolded Renata.

"We want to know who bought the artifact too," the Doctor informed the woman as he swiped her gun away then sat on the floor like nothing had occurred.

"Really?" the woman sat up, all of a sudden smiling. "Oh, well then we maybe we can work together."

"I think not!" went Renata and Donna at the same time.

"Yeah, I don't think my friends are very keen on you," the Doctor muttered as he disarmed the gun and dropped it to his side.

"Well, we're after the same thing so we can help each other out," the woman insisted as she pushed herself up to her feet. "And in good faith, I'll even tell you my name: Cleo."

"Oh and that's supposed to make us forget you nearly tried to kill him?" Renata gestured to the Doctor still sitting on the floor.

"And us!" Donna reminded with a huff.

"I only wanted the artifact before it got into the wrong hands," Cleo shrugged. "I imagine that's what you all want as well?"

The Doctor swayed his head specifically at Renata, as if trying to say Cleo made a good point. The Time Lady's face indicated pure warning. Do. Not. Do. It.

"We really can't let it fall into the wrong hands," the Doctor reminded her. Renata huffed and looked away, knowing what he was going to do next. "Alright Cleo, you can help us. But don't use that gun again on anything or anyone or it'll just zap you like my—" he swooped up his sonic from the floor, "-little friend did here."

"Oh, so we're just going to ignore my very wise advice not to let the evil woman come with us?" Renata was at his side the moment they started walking again.

"Better to have people who want to kill us near us then far away where we can't see them," he said.

"I'm not sure I like that logic," Donna mumbled to Renata who agreed with a nod of her head.

In a short amount of time, Cleo had taken the lead with a high-tech tracking device the Doctor knew she hadn't gotten out of the local market.

"Where's that Jeridian energy tracer from?" he inquired as Cleo led them out the backdoor of the building.

"Does it matter? I got a signal," Cleo shrugged.

"It really does, though."

"That car right there!" Cleo pointed a car that was just pulling out of the alley into the street.

The Doctor aimed his sonic at the car that was too far to stop. At the same time, Donna yelped that they were no longer alone. A group of armed men were making their way out of the building as well.

"C'mon!" Renata grabbed both Donna and the Doctor to lead them behind a dumpster to hide in. Cleo came as well but she was more interested in the readings of her tracker than the men almost finding them.

"I can't trace the signal!" the woman groaned as she continuously played with the controls.

"But I did," the Doctor grinned at his sonic. "I can pinpoint the power signature to within a few meters once it stops moving."

Cleo lowered her device to look at the man. "Okay, who are you? And what the hell is that?" she nodded to the sonic.

"Oh, right, we haven't been introduced," the Doctor smiled so casually Renata wanted to smack him on the spot. "I'm the Doctor, that's Renata and that's Donna." He then got up, pulling Renata who then pulled Donna towards the street after the men had passed. "Why are you so interested in this artifact, Cleo?" he asked once they were walking on the sidewalk.

"Not me," Cleo put a hand over her chest. "I just hunt that stuff for collectors. A lot of people are interested in that thing but I've no idea why."

"You never thought to ask what you were hunting down?" Renata incredulously glanced at the woman who merely shook her head. "Ignorance is not bliss, you know? You could get hurt."

"I know how to take care of myself just fine," Cleo smiled. "And I don't care where that stuff's from as long as I can put a high price on it."

"Lovely," Donna shook her head.

"Taxi!" Cleo called at the corner of the street, wailing her hand in the air. At her beck and call, a yellow taxi club stopped in front of her. "Come on! See as you're so in charge…" she pointed at the Doctor, "I'm following you. We'll split the proceeds."

"She's not kidding," Renata side-glanced the Doctor with a tilted head.

"Better to have her near," he reminded her of his logic that she could not disagree more with. She was very worried over this mysterious object the Doctor refused to tell her about, saying it was just something that shouldn't be in a human's hands. And this Cleo woman didn't exactly give her a good vibe.

And all those feelings of concern and worriment were, without her knowledge, reaching someone else in the city. A young girl whom Renata wanted far away from them right now.

The tracing had brought them to the upper east side of New York. It was an upscale building that had the end of the trace.

"It's coming from that apartment," the Doctor led the way towards the door marked '4G' at the end of the hallway. Just as he knocked, an small explosion rocked them all to the ground.

Cleo shrieked after feeling most of the explosion hit her. "What did you do to my gun!?"

"Did you seriously just try to shoot us again!?" Renata was about to lose it. The woman had tried shooting them while their backs were to her.

"I told you I didn't like guns," the Doctor frowned at Cleo.

Suddenly, the door he'd knocked on opened up to reveal a ginger woman with another gun pointed at them.

"Oh, that's just great!" Donna huffed at their odds.

"I don't know who you are but you need to come in right now before I shoot you all," the ginger warned and stepped aside.

The group were forced to go in, but secretly the Doctor knew it was their best chance to get the object back anyways.

"Oh my God, you're Dorothy Bell!" Cleo gasped at the sight of a middle-aged blonde woman. Said blonde woman was scowling back.

"What, the movie star?" Donna squinted her eyes for a second before they widened like Cleo's. "Oh my God! It is! You are!"

"I'm your biggest fan!" Cleo laughed in delight as she truly took a look at the apartment. It was full of trophies and awards and pictures. "Is this your Oscar for Tennessee Waltz? They should have given you the Oscar for the love scene in the Great Pretender too. It was so intense—"

"Shut up!" the ginger woman raised her gun as well. "Or I'll shoot you!"

"So shoot me!" Cleo laughed as she picked up a golden trophy.

"Oh my God I'm so confused," Renata deeply exhaled. Since she started travelling with the Doctor, she understood less and less of what went on with her life but this point...this was a new low point.

"Put that down!" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Of course," Cleo's lips suddenly curled into a smirk. "Catch!" she threw the trophy directly at the ginger woman, smacking her in the face and knocking her down. With the commotion, Cleo then reached for a golden object sitting on the table. It resembled a gun but with a wide circular end.

"Don't be so stupid," hissed Dorothy. "Don't touch that! You've no idea what it is!"

"Oh, but I do," Cleo shrugged.

"This—" Renata gestured at Cleo for the Doctor to see, "-is why I told you that she shouldn't have come!"

"Yeah alright, I see your point," the Doctor rolled his eyes. Of course she would pick this moment to say 'I told you so!'.

"I know what you want to use this for, Dorothy! You want to use it to stop getting old. To get young again — to reverse the aging process," Cleo looked at the blonde who seemed now a bit frightened about her knowledge. "People like you think this thing is a fountain of youth. But it isn't. I mean, you can use it for that purpose but it can be used for so much more." Cleo ignited the object and a golden energy struck from it to attack the ginger woman. A golden and orange glow surrounded the woman but it looked like her figure was beginning to shrink. When the glow died down there was a baby girl with a tuft of orange hair right where the woman had been.

"Did that thing just turn her into a baby!?" Donna's eyes bulged to the point of nearly popping from her head.

"This something you can 'use', Cleo? How do you know so much about it?" the Doctor asked the woman who definitely seemed comfortable with the object than an ordinary human would be.

"I could ask you the same thing," Cleo retorted, her eyes narrowing on the Doctor. She dragged the object over Donna first, making the ginger woman squeak in terror.

Renata quickly positioned herself in front of Donna. "Don't you dare!"

"Why? I'm having way too much fun formation point but I'm not a total killjoy. Let's give that movie star what she wants!" Cleo pulled the 'gun' on Dorothy but the Doctor jumped in front of the blonde and received the blow instead.

"Doctor!" Renata exclaimed, almost running towards him when Donna caught her arm. "You need to stop! It's not having the same effect on him!" Renata begged from Cleo as the golden energy surrounded the Doctor.

Unlike the ginger woman, he didn't shrink but instead the energy became stronger, blinding. The Doctor groaned and clutched his head in terrible pain.

"Retro-regeneration!" Renata realized just as the man before him changed. With a new fierce determination, she ran directly for Cleo and tackled the woman down. "GIVE ME THAT THIS INSTANT!"

"Doctor…?" Donna hesitated to help the man on the ground, since he looked nothing like the Doctor she knew. This man had thinner hair and glimmering blue eyes, not to mention more protruding ears.

"It's me, Donna...just...stop them…" the Doctor, in his 9th incarnation, raised a finger towards Renata and Cleo currently battling it out for the damn object causing all the trouble.

Donna turned to the two women but before she even stepped towards them Dorothy beat her to it. All three women had a grip on the object but Renata, being stronger, seemingly was getting the upper hand.

"Renata! You need to stop! The local time field is in flux, be careful!" the Doctor tried getting up but that retro-regeneration was a strong thing. His legs actually felt wibbly-wobbly.

"Doctor — that thing is glowing again!" Donna noticed the golden energy beginning to surge from the object. "But no one's shooting!"

But there came another explosion that threw every women in different corners of the room with only a billowing golden energy afterwards.

At the same time that Renata felt a new surge of energy - the same energy in the air - course through her blood, Gabby felt it from her location. Her best friend, Cindy, was busy babbling about something while they walked the night streets of New York but Gabby had to stop listening. There was something in her head and in her heart that was telling her, yelling at her that Renata was in trouble.

By the time the Doctor and Donna woke up, Cleo was gone with the artifact. The Doctor, now back in his current incarnation, dashed for Renata who was outcold on the ground.

"She's back to normal," Donna pointed at the ginger woman now getting up as well. "Everyone is."

"Hey Renée — wake up," the Doctor gently pulled Renata into a sitting position, but the Time Lady remained unconscious.

"Can somebody help me?" the ginger woman was trying to move Dorothy's body to the nearby couch. Donna figured she was better off helping the humans than trying to wake up a Time Lady. Between the two of them, they moved Dorothy and all the meanwhile Renata stayed unconscious.

"Renée, you're, uh...you're not waking up…" there was a hint of fear in the Doctor's tone as he relentlessly shook Renata's body. He had no idea what happened to her and what could possibly keep her out could like this. What if he had finally hurt her so badly that she was...she was...

Renata gasped awake suddenly. Her eyes flickered from one side to the other as her brain caught up with what happened. "What the — Cleo!" her expression morphed into a deep scowl. "I told you we shouldn't have trusted her!" Her expression, however, seemed to fade when she noticed the Doctor's face. "What? Why are you smiling like an idiot?"

The Doctor had a growing smile on his face, but it was spreading far too much. "I thought you were really hurt..."

"Well, I just got zapped with some energy! I have no idea where it came from but-"

The Doctor pulled her body forwards for a hug, instantly quieting her. "You just scared me," he whispered as he held her tightly.

Renata blinked out of surprise. Slowly, her hands raised to rest on her back, but it was done rather awkwardly. She wasn't used to this type of touch from anyone. She'd made a damn good job keeping the Doctor away from her but it'd been getting harder lately. "Doctor, I'm fine," she patted his back and just barely resisted the urge to bring her hand up to his hair. She could've probably ran her fingers through it to ease his nerves...

But that was probably something a friend wouldn't do. Donna certainly wouldn't.

When the Doctor finally pulled her away, he still held her by the waist. He didn't even let her go when he pulled her up to her feet. He only studied her body to find any obvious injuries. "When we get back to the TARDIS, I'm going to run some tests on you just to make sure you're alright."

"I already told you that I'm fine," Renata rolled her eyes. Honestly, he was making a big deal out of nothing.

But she was thinking like he was. "This isn't the first time you've been hit with an unknown energy."

"Right..." So maybe she hadn't thought about that but she wanted to focus on the bigger problem: Cleo and the missing artifact. However, it was then that ginger woman — who introduced herself as Vivian — brought them to Dorothy and explained her situation.

As it turned out, Dorothy had some type of illness that was going to end life very soon. Hearing about this magical artifact that could cure anything, Dorothy sought out to buy it no matter how much it cost. After running a few quick exam on the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor realized that Dorothy was now connected to the power field of the artifact and that it was giving off even stronger signals than before. It meant that wherever Cleo and the artifact were, they would be able to track it with Dorothy's help.

"Uuh, Doctor…" Renata was the first to spy Dorothy's body levitating off the couch. "Don't think that's supposed to happen."

"Oh my God, what is it now?" Donna stepped backwards while the Doctor rushed to get up close.

"What's happening to her!?" Vivian shrieked in horror.

"If I didn't know better, I would say she was regenerating," the Doctor blinked, clearly flabbergasted with the sight.

"Hello?" they suddenly heard Gabby's voice. Renata spotted the young girl poking her head into the room. Along with her came an Asian girl with black hair.

"How'd you find us?" frowned Renata. She really didn't want Gabby anywhere near this place.

"You...wouldn't really believe me," Gabby smiled awkwardly since even she didn't understand how she'd found this place so fast. All she knew was that someone — Renata — had been in trouble and she just followed that sense. It brought her directly to this apartment. "Are you okay?" she walked up to Renata with a full etched concern on her face.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Um, Maybe because you was that with some artifacts energy?" Donna reminded, something that earned quite a look from the Time Lady.

"Energy? What type of energy? Did it hurt you?" Gabby's mind immediately went to the prediction that Ood had made. What if this was the place where Renata would die?

"I'm fine," Renata smiled as wide as possible, almost as if she was reading Gabby's thoughts. She looked over Gabby's head and saw the black-haired girl. "And who's that?"

"Cindy," the girl introduced herself with a small wave since most of her attention was landing on the walls so clearly pointing out Dorothy Bell's life.

"She just followed me, sorry," Gabby apologized. In all her running, she didn't exactly tell her best friend where she was leading her to.

"Uh, excuse me!?" Vivian called back to Dorothy's situation. The unconscious woman was glowing white and still levitating. "She's pulsing now!"

The Doctor hurried to the window to see the reflection of the same glowing energy shooting into the sky.

Dorothy's body moved so that her head was closer to the ceiling and her feet below. The glow around her was becoming unbearingly blinding. But just like that, it died down.

Dorothy Bell stood in front of them, looking younger than ever. She was dressed in all white that consisted of a long pencil skirt tucked over a blouse and with a blazer. She was even wearing a 50s white hat.

"Ooh, so not regeneration but rejuvenation," the Doctor blinked.

"I was a bell and now I'm a key! I'm both!" Dorothy laughed, even the sound of her voice sounded completely new.

"She's now glowing orange," Renata raised an eyebrow and looked at the Doctor. "She's just rejuvenated and now she's glowing orange. How much trouble is this?"

"I have no bloody idea," admitted the man. He brought a hand to scratch the top of his head. He'd never seen anything like this.

The smile on Dorothy's face slowly faded as she looked out the window. "That looks wrong," she said suddenly.

"What does?" the Doctor watched her carefully. "The city?"

Dorothy looked back at the group, letting her bleached blonde hair flip over her shoulder. She walked up to them and smiled at Renata. "You in-took part of my energy."

"Did not mean to, honestly," Renata took a cautious step back.

"I know, and I am so sorry."

Renata tilted her head. For some reason, that didn't really sound like it was coming from Dorothy. "Sorry…? For what?"

Behind her, Gabby gulped. Was this another reminder of what was coming?

But Dorothy suddenly groaned as she staggered on her feet. The glow around her became a little bit stronger in that one moment. Everyone rushed to help her stay on her feet.

"Dorothy?" the Doctor called. "You are still Dorothy, right?"

"Who else is she supposed to be?" Cindy was staring at the entire procession like a true civilian: she was so lost. And a bit scared. What the hell had Gabby brought her into?

"I'm not, yet I am. How strange. We are merged as one. But then again, not quite as one...missing final component," Dorothy spoke in pauses and in different voices. One was hers and another sounded like a computerized female voice.

"We?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "You and who else? Tell me what's wrong, how are you feeling?"

"Nothing is wrong. I can put everything together they it's supposed to be. The city, I can make it better. More efficient." Dorothy turned away from the group and walked towards the window. She touched the glass with one palm and in that instant disintegrated the glass into nothing. The same blinding light that had her earlier once again enveloped her as she shot into the sky.

"What is going on with her?" Donna couldn't understand and she wasn't the only one.

"She's taking the new ones for a spin! Vivian where is she heading?" the Doctor turned to the ginger woman. "What's the first place Dorothy would go to?"

"The hospital. St. Joe's. Not for treatment though, she's funding a new wing and they're building it now," the woman quickly answered.

"Ah, Now I understand."

"Why we wanted the artifact?" Vivian sighed. "She wanted to be able to see the construction work completed, to be there when it opened."

"It's all sad but defying death is a huge mistake," Renata pointed at the woman, not that she thought a human would understand. It was natural that a human — with such short life spans — would want to elongate their lives.

"Are we going to follow her?" Gabby asked the Time Lady who then pointed a thumb at the Doctor.

"You think he's going to let it go?"

Gabby smiled and shook her head.

~ 0 ~

After leaving Vivian back in the apartment, hoping that they would have some luck and Dorothy might just go back to the apartment where her good friend was, the group rushed to follow the trace they had on Dorothy. Like Vivian had said, Dorothy had come to the hospital she was funding. With swift movements of her arms, she finished the construction herself and left a pretty damn good building.

On their way, however, a black car drove past them and an angry Cleo yelled at them through the passenger's door.

"I really hate her," Renata shook her head.

"Same," agreed Donna with a similar scowl on her face.

The car had stopped not too far from them and out came Cleo with two other men. They were making their way towards them and fearing they would get in the way, the Doctor ushered Renata forwards.

"Renée, try talking to Dorothy," he said as soon as they stood a few feet from the woman. She was still gazing at the newly finished hospital, almost as if she wasn't even aware that they had found her.

"What? Why me!?" the Time Lady frowned.

"Because she seems to like you? Just try it please," the Doctor gently pushed her forwards. "We can't afford to lose her when we don't understand what kind of abilities she now has."

Renata knew he was right. It would be irresponsible to let Dorothy get lost in the city again. "Fine," she huffed and walked towards Dorothy. "Um...Dorothy?"

At the sound of her voice, Dorothy turned around with a dreamy smile. "Hello again. See what I did? Nine extra levels. There's everything they will need," she gestured to the building behind her.

"It's all great…" Renata admitted it was a cool power to have. "But...maybe we should take it easy. It's not very wise to go running about using these abilities when you don't know how strong they are or what side effects can they have on you."

"Well honey, I do feel a bit wobbly. It's all so new and strange but I can't say I'm enjoying it. but to be honest my dear Renata, listen to your instincts. You will totally get what's going on." As Dorothy said those words, Renata stiffened as she had no idea what Dorothy was going on about. Dorothy walked up to the Time Lady with the sweetest smile anyone could have. "Looking at you, I can see a glow around you…it's fading. Unfairly too."

"Oh please just stop," Renata rolled her eyes and stepped away. "I need you to listen to me and just take a breather."

"Um, Ren?" Gabby called from her spot. She'd moved away from the Doctor and was pointing at the man arguing with Cleo and two other men. "That's not sounding very good."

"Yeah, got that," Renata sighed. "Look, Dorothy, I just need you to come back with me so we can make sure everything is okay."

Dorothy backtracked several steps before the glow around her became a dark red. She levitated into the air and struck a hand forwards. All arguments between the others ended when the artifact came zipping out from one of the men's pockets and into Dorothy's hand.

"Goddess, we have awaited for your arrival!" one of the men with Cleo, a man in a white lab coat named Hanif, exclaimed.

"That's ours," Dorothy's voice overlapped with the computerized voice from before. "Mine. That's what was missing."

"Dorothy?" Renata called from below. "Remember that thing I said about taking a breather? Now might be the right time to take it. Please?"

"Internal enhancements in progress. Biogenetic overhaul completed." Dorothy's hand seemed to merge with the artifact and disappeared altogether.

"Dorothy, we really need you to listen!" called the Doctor, but the woman just smiled at him.

"I'm fine," she assured. "Look at you all. So many possibilities. You Cleo, I haven't forgotten about you," she raised a finger at the woman in question. "You going to behave yourself now?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Cleo gave a quick nod of her head. "I really am a fan."

"And Doctor, you are an adept, present in the here and the now and yet not. You move through this reality like smoke, a beautiful, dangerous idea. You are a very complicated space-time event."

"Oh come now, I bet you say that to all the boys!"

"Not the time," Renata shot him a quick look.

"Don't joke," scolded Dorothy, very much sounding like Renata in that moment. "I saw what you did. You made Vivian stay at home. You kept her safe, protecting her."

"It was just an instinct…" the Doctor tried to say, but Dorothy shook her head.

"No, you're attuned to the Flux Of potentialities. If she had come here this man—" Dorothy pointed at the man suited in black, Erik, who'd come along with Cleo, "-would have shot her as she tried to protect me. She would be dead now. In a world parallel to this one, Vivian is dead."

"What?" went the man indignantly. "But I haven't!"

"I can see the possibilities," Dorothy began to lower herself to the ground but even then the glow around her hadn't dissipated.

"We came here only to welcome you," Erik began to say when the second man, Hanif, added.

"And to collect, humbly, our reward."

"Oh really — that's what brought you here," Donna scowled at the two men.

"We know only what our forebears told us," Hanif said. "Generations of us have guarded the secrets of your kind for Millennia. You are a herald, one who the return of the Gods."

"Now wait a minute," the Doctor called for the attention before it got more lost. "Dorothy thought the artifact was a fountain of youth while you think it's a radio for talking to the gods, is that it? It isn't either of those things."

"Let me guess, you've seen this before?" Renata wasn't even asking at this point, she just presumed he had to know.

"Then do tell us what the artifact was for, Doctor," Hanif pointed. "If this woman isn't a goddess, then she is a harbinger of the Gods."

"Lower East gods of yours...you're a religious sect. A cult?"

"Oh but there's nothing anymore," Dorothy suddenly went, raising her head as if she were looking up to the sky. "There's no more Gods."

"Ooh…" the Doctor blinked and slowly turned to Dorothy with a new look in his eyes. "Dorothy, hold on, I think I know what you are...what you've become."

But Dorothy's face had become the place for a stream.

"Oh now you've made her cry! Good going!" Renata exclaimed to the three men. "Dorothy, you should calm down…"

Dorothy shook her head away but seized Renata's wrist and pulled her up into the sky. The Time Lady screamed out of shock, and after realizing how high she was going it turned into screams of fear.

"Dorothy, come back! You're a Quantum Harvester!" the Doctor was left to holler from the ground. His hearts were pounding wildly under his chest as he saw Renata disappear into the sky.

"Doctor, we have to get Ren back!" Donna shook him by the arm while Gabby took hold of his other arm.

"What if she hurts Renata!?" Gabby started panicking, thinking this was yet the way Renata was supposed to go.

"Hello," Cindy suddenly called, "Was like some rustic form of particle physics terminology? Before anyone says anything, yes I do understand science."

"Beginning to like you a bit," the Doctor said but he was more focused on the missing Time Lady. "What was your name?"

"Cindy, and I'd really like to know what the hell is going on here?" Cindy looked more directly at Gabby for the answers. She'd been following Gabby everywhere and sure Gabby had already warned her that this was out of her world but would it kill Gabby to explain it better?

"Cleo warned us that you could mess things up for us," Hanif's words drew the traveler's attention and alerted them to the silver gun aimed on them.

"Thanks to you and your little friends, none of this went the way we anticipated. You are responsible—" Erik had been saying before Cleo pulled him back.

"Wait!" the woman blocked the gun's way to the travelers. "I am strategizing here! This is tactical, what you keeping me around for. Much as I hate to admit it, Doctor, you seem to know what's going on here. If we're going to follow the Hollywood all-high we should join forces."

"I would like to point out that Renata told us not to trust her," Donna quietly told the Doctor while keeping narrowed eyes on Cleo.

"You can walk behind me if you'd like," Cleo offered as another sign of good faith.

"Donna, we don't have much of a choice," the Doctor muttered. He needed everything and everyone at his disposal to get Renata back.

With his sonic, he managed to pick up a trace on Dorothy again and so that's what they did: follow it. With Cleo's help, they now had a car at their disposal to take them around the city as they went on a chase for Dorothy.

"So when are you going to explain what Dorothy is?" Donna asked, though she wasn't sure if the Doctor was listening to her. He'd been keenly focused on his sonic so far.

"She's a fusion of a human being and incredibly advanced alien technology. That's all."

"But is she dangerous?" asked Gabby who kept chewing on her lower lip.

"I don't think so," the Doctor said and that's the only thing keeping him somewhat calm. "I think she's an overwhelmed being who grabbed the person who was making her feel a bit better in all the chaos. Naturally, it had to be Renata. She inspires calmness and peace wherever she goes and I should know. Changed my life a while ago."

Both Gabby and Donna gave him the same strange, tilted-head look that he missed since he was staring at his sonic. He hadn't even realized what he said.

~ 0 ~

Renata only got her bearings back when Dorothy finally brought them back to the ground. And that was only after Dorothy went around the city repairing and building what she thought New York needed.

"You really should start listening," the Time Lady helped Dorothy — who was now weary from all her work — down the sidewalk leading up to her apartment building. "You can't go around doing that stuff when you've no idea what abilities you have nor what side effects you have."

"Something's coming…" Dorothy mumbled the same thing since they'd started to walk.

"You keep saying that but you don't tell me who is coming."

"I don't know," Dorothy admitted. "But it wants me."

"And here you are drawing attention to yourself."

They heard a car skid to a stop beside them and when Renata saw the Doctor jumping out of the car, she so greatly relaxed. If he was here, then Dorothy couldn't be in trouble anymore.

"Renée!" the Doctor came directly to the Time Lady, once again pulling her in for a hug just as when she'd fallen unconscious in Dorothy's apartment. Twice already he'd scared her and it was all because of some threats he hadn't been able to foresee.

"Oh no…" Dorothy stepped backwards when she saw the others getting out of the car.

"No, no, it's okay now," the Doctor tried to bring her back but Dorothy shook her head.

"No, it's them!" she pointed at Erik, Hanif and Cleo. "They're calling whatever's coming here."

The Doctor immediately looked back and saw the lab-coated man holding something in his hand, something he hadn't seen yet. "What are you doing!? Stop—"

But a golden light struck down and took all of them away, up into a clear alien spaceship. The room was huge with dark brown walls and one set of controls set at the end of the room. There was a clear distraught in Gabby, Cindy and Donna but for the other humans - Cleo, Erik and Hanif - they were quick to begin arguing. Cleo seemed to be the one taking the sudden transportation the worst.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Donna asked Renata since the Doctor had already begun sonicking the entire room. Renata was tending to the even more fear-stricken Dorothy.

"Really? What would I do?" Renata shook her head. "Sounds to me like Cleo is finally getting a reality check. That is what you call it, right?"

Erik caught onto her poor description and turned at the woman. "We are very real! We are the Cult of the Black Pyramid!"

But to be honest, Renata stopped listening after that. She had no interest in learning what they were nor what exactly they worshiped.

"Would you all just stop?" the Doctor called. He had made his way up to the main bridge's control panel. "This is not the place of the 'Gods'. It's just a vessel of an old civilization that died eons ago. The ship is a remnant of the civilization, as if the relic that Dorothy merged with."

Dorothy's eyes widened. She looked at her palms as if the relic was still there, but it was far gone and yet so close.

"So, the ancient Egyptian gods those people-" Gabby jerked a thumb over her shoulder to Erik, "-are just aliens?"

"Yup! They're from a planet called Phaester Osiris."

"How about ancient Chinese gods?" Cindy asked, gesturing herself since she was of Chinese descent. "Got any of those?"

"It's not a game," scolded Renata.

The Doctor pressed a few buttons on the control panel, prompting Renata to warn him that messing with unknown controls of an unknown spaceship could lead to even worse consequences -

But then the spaceship rumbled and a rough voice spoke from the computer. "This is the will of the Seeker…"

"Doctor, what is that?" asked Donna.

"Like a Janitor Robot - an AI."

"And it wants me," Dorothy shook her head. She chose to merge with an alien tech and now the spaceship that owned that tech had come for it.

"And this," Hanif raised his hand with a peculiar ring on his finger. "I'm so sorry but I had to do it. It's said that this ring came from you - the Old Gods - and has been handed down in my family for more than a hundred generations."

"And that was a lie," Cindy rolled her eyes.

"See the mark of our faith?" the man went on, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a triangle inside a circle. Erik did the same behind him. "We are your true disciples."

"Did you not just hear that they're aliens and not Gods?" Renata gestured to the clear alien control panel. Why were they still on this plan? They were desperate for their beliefs.

But she was ignored, like Cindy's earlier remark. Hanif went on to explain how his family had cared for an old Egyptian black pyramid centuries ago that disappeared into darkness after some false prophet showed up.

The Doctor scratched the top of his head as he corrected, "The chap in the pyramid was probably the last Osirian. Trust me, he's gone too."

"I've had enough of your blasphemy, Doctor!" Erik pulled out his gun and pressed it to the back of the Doctor's head.

Renata stiffened but the Doctor seemed way too calm for her liking, leading her to believe he had something up his sleeve.

"Erik, there might be some automatic defenses-" Before he would finish, a golden light erupted from the gun in Erik's hand and when it disappeared Erik was left screaming in pain as the gun merged with his flesh.

"Force will be met with force," went the computer.

"This is our reward!?" Hanif cried in anger. "He's an archaeologist, one of the faithful! And my family have served you for centuries!"

"Seriously? He just tried to kill our friend," Gabby scowled at him.

"He wouldn't have used it!"

But now the Doctor frowned as well. "He had already pulled the trigger. That's why the seeker registered it as a projectile weapon."

"The key has been retrieved," the computer suddenly declared, at the same time Dorothy's glow became stronger. "All sentient Osirian devices are reclaimed. Any non-sentient devices will be rendered useless."

"Hey!" Hanif witnessed the glow from his ring die in two seconds.

"My purpose here has been fulfilled. Individuals potentially of value to be historical record will be retained for authentication. Individuals irrelevant to mission parameters will be returned to earth."

Flashes of portals blinded them all before one of theirs were dropped back to Earth. It was only the Doctor and Cindy who were dropped back onto the street. The Doctor quickly attempted to use the sonic to get them back into the ship, but the ship prevented it somehow.

"They've got all of 'em!" Cindy cried as she watched the triangular shaped - the Black pyramid - fly off in the sky. "Now what?"

The Doctor didn't even answer her. He'd broke into a full-fledged run down the sidewalk. He lost Renata twice to that thing, he wasn't going to let it happen again. There would be no more times!

"HEY! Wait up!" Cindy hollered as she ran her fastest to catch up with him. "You're going to have to start explaining things here! I haven't forgotten that you said Dorothy was a 'Quantum Harvester'. You can start with that!"

But the Doctor only explained once he was back in the TARDIS, because that's where he could get work done to get back onto that ship. "The Osirians used them to construct their civilization. They calculate and harvest the best possible outcomes of parallel universes' histories and co-opt them for our own. They are keys to the underlying structure of reality. With them, the Osirian architects reshaped whole galaxies to their whims. And they should all be extinct by now."

Cindy watched him work around that console, something she hadn't yet commented about. In fact, Cindy was the only person the Doctor had met who wasn't shocked about the TARDIS' misleading dimensions.

"Then you clearly misjudged the entire situation!"

"Yeah, won't happen again! Hold on now!" the Doctor pulled the lever of the console, jolting the TARDIS to life. Cindy yelped as she fell flat on her back. "We're heading for the 'Center of Things' - whatever that is!" He'd locked onto the Black Pyramid's location and merely following it. What he would find on the other side, he wasn't sure except for the fact Renata would be there.

~ 0 ~

Renata was getting really tired of being separated from the Doctor when there was an impending alien threat looming over them. The Black Pyramid ship had taken flight as soon as the Doctor and Cindy were teleported out and no matter how much Renata tried figuring the control panels out...she couldn't figure out where they were going. In the meanwhile, though, Dorothy and her merged Osirian half took it upon themselves to heal Erik with the hope that the man would re-evaluate his life choices. Donna loudly disagreed with that hope.

'Commencing disembarkation ritual,' the AI declared. At the corner of the room started creating a blue humanoid figure.

"I-is that an Osirian?" Cleo guessed, her eyes widening as the hologram finished forming.

"No, it's the AI - the Seeker," Renata sighed.

'I have scoured the universe to find and collect the last remnants of our civilization - and now that the task is completed. The debt is repaid.'

The ship embarked onto a new ship, this one making it seem like they were outside with the dark scenery around them. At the end of its short platform was a huge, golden pyramid.

The AI took form of a silver mummified figure with its arms crossed over his chest in the shape of an 'x'. It actually walked over to Dorothy, dismissing or ignoring the others' wide-eyed stares. "Sister, do you remember our home, the Shining Horizon? Here, sleep has long had the countenance of death but now the time of Atonement is over for us all."

"All?" Renata caught on fast to the word choice.

"Hear that?" Erik had turned to Hanif with a new flourished grin on his face. "Maybe we were right after all!"

Renata shushed them with a pointed finger, almost looking like a mother scolding her children for being so imprudent. "No, no you were not! They are still aliens!"

"Why do you speak in riddles?" Dorothy asked the AI. "You always speak in riddles. Can't you make sense for once?'

"Sister, suddenly you speak with acrimony and yet your compassionate nature is evident," the AI noted. "Horus would be proud. It is as if you chose your new human vessel very deliberately - perhaps as a reaction towards your previous owner?"

"No one owns me!" frowned Dorothy.

"You're incorrect," the AI sounded as if it was snapping. "Sutekh the Destroyer owned you! With you and the others like you, he extinguished life on millions of worlds."

"Well, at least now why she came to Earth," Donna remarked sourly.

"He burned a trail of death and destruction through the cosmos until his brother Horus, leader of the Osirians, cornered him on Earth and imprisoned him within the Forbidden Pyramid. You are his instrument - you are the hand of Sutekh."

"Now wait a second!" Renata yanked Dorothy behind her as if she could protect the woman from a 6 foot soldier. "You've no right calling anyone an 'instrument'. So do it again and I'll have my go at you right here and now! And I don't care if I'm dealing with Horus or Sutekh or Anubis - I want you to return me and the others back to Earth this instant!"

"But what he says is true…" Dorothy whispered behind her. "And they're not all dead. I can feel it. It's here."

"What is?" Gabby dreaded to ask.

"Master...architect. Your millenia long fatigue is over!" the AI raised his arms in a worship. "I have served you faithfully. Awake now. Our task is accomplished."

"Renata, what is he waking?" Donna wore the same dread Gabby had.

"Well…" Renata hated that she was actually beginning to figure it out as the situation went along - it made her feel a lot like the Doctor right now. "Remember how I said I'd rather face one of the Gods?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I might get that wish. Because if these two-" Renata pointed at the AI and Dorothy, "-were the lackeys, and they just re-united...that means they have the keys to bring out the...what do you guys call it? 'The big guns'?"

The ground under them rumbled again as if an earthquake was striking. A black hole started forming out of thin air. With seconds, it formed a tall - a very tall - figure but it wasn't human. It was all black, like the true color of a black hole, but its hands were claw-like and its face...was the head of an animal.

"Anubis…" Renata sucked in a deep breath of true fear. She took a step back for caution but she knew that if her wanted to, he could wipe them out with a snap of a finger.

"Who dares wake Anubis, the son of Sutekh!?"

"Ren…." Donna's voice trembled with utter fear.

The Time Lady was at a loss for their next course of action. She had no idea what she was supposed to do - this is where the Doctor shined! Oh be honest, he always shines, the little voice in her head reminded her. "I-I don't know…the Doctor would know, I...I don't..."

"I awoke you," the AI spoke up. He explained how they came to be on the ship and that the world was at Anubis' hands.

"But these primitives?" Anubis gestured with his staff to the group crowded together.

"Excuse you," Renata said, momentarily getting over her fear to snap on behalf of the humans. "My friend over here-" she nodded to Dorothy, "-had a play in your awakening and you repay her by insulting her? Spoken like a true Noble, or God in your case."

"My key?" Anubis seemed to take a double-look at Dorothy. "I didn't recognize you in this form. You're now...part human?"

Suddenly, they heard the familiar wheeze of the TARDIS and a few seconds later the Doctor and Cindy emerged from the blue box.

"Renée!" the Doctor rushed up to the Time Lady, encasing her in a tight hug.

This time, Renata hugged him back with the same intensity. "Oh thank God you found your way to us! I have no idea what I'm doing here!"

The fact she even admitted that was a clear indication of how scared she actually was. For that, the Doctor may have squeezed her a bit tighter. Today had just been far too crazy, even for them, and if he had anything to say about it would be the last trip that separated them multiple time. "I'm here," he whispered beside her ear, unknowingly reminding Renata of the many times they'd done this back home too.

Each time she was upset, scared, or simply needed him, he'd be right there giving her such comforting hugs and his comforting whispers. Even today, his whispering voice next to her ears gave her the same chills. Funny how time couldn't make those feelings go away, or at least decrease.

Donna awkwardly cleared her throat to get the pair's attention. "Sorry to interrupt but I believe there is an alien trying to kill us all?" She smirked when they pulled apart with the same red blushes on their faces.

She gestured towards the alien and when the Doctor looked over he blinked in shock. "Well, sure missed a lot, then."

"More primitives?" roared Anubis.

"There's that word again," Renata frowned at him.

"They are uninvited," the AI said fast. "I only brought those with interesting historical records since it was one of your interests in the past."

"Historical records?" Gabby repeated quietly. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you, Donna and Renata each hold valuable historical importance to the time lines," the Doctor shrugged, not too worried about it as the three women seemingly were.

"What?" Renata frowned. "But me? I've done nothing important."

"I didn't say it was in your past," the Doctor smiled at her. "Who knows what your future has in store for you." He had no doubt that her future was bright considering all the amazing things she was capable of doing. Who knew where her big hearts would lead her to?

Renata looked away, for the first time feeling guilty about her pending fate. She thought, honestly, she was doing him a favor by sparing him the details of what was (apparently) coming. He didn't need to be burdened by her problems.

"Master!" the AI said, once again opening his arms only this time he had white spheres come into the air. "You must let the nano-meds begin their work. They must rejuvenate you before you start your work."

"Wait, Anubis needs medical attention now?" Cindy shot a look at the travelers as if they had some explaining to do. "Seriously?"

"They're aliens, not Gods," Renata sighed. She was getting tired of reminding everyone that details. "If they're aliens then medical attention makes sense."

Cindy looked between her and the God that was an alien. She shook her head a minute later. "...sure."

Renata glared. She didn't need that right now.

"You, Doctor," called Anubis who had trapped by the nano-meds as they commenced their work, "You are not a lesser species — as is the woman —" he languidly pointed one claw finger at the Doctor then Renata. "You're both long lived. I sense great age in both of you. What are you?"

"Time Lords," the Doctor answered only to be scoffed at.

"Last time I heard the Time Lords were engaged in some petty squabble with a Daleks."

Renata's face instantly morphed into a furious incredulity. "Squabble with the Daleks — are you serious!?" she moved for Anubis, as if ready to charge at him, but the Doctor grabbed onto her arm to keep her at his side. "He just said 'squabble' as if it were—"

"-I know," he nodded at her. He'd love to correct Anubis as well but he didn't want to make things worse. "But it's not really the time to correct him." Renata rolled her eyes but figured he was right.

"It is time for me to ascend," Anubis declared. "To travel beyond this universe!"

"No chance," went the Doctor. "Your 'circle of transcendence' isn't stable anymore. Don't even try it."

"Ha, who are you to tell me I can't do what I was meant to?"

The Doctor glowered at the creature. "Anubis, if you try to pass through that gateway, it will collapse. It will kill you and create a catastrophic effect that will Ripple outward at translight seeds, destroying the rest of the universe." He'd figured out that Anubis wanted to cross over through a 'gateway' promising some sort of new world for him and his people, but it was far too weak to actually work as a proper gateway.

Anubis rose into the air again, gaining a green glow in his eyes as he spoke. "You do not comprehend how long and lonely these final duties would be. I miss my people, my wife, my children."

"But there are ways to counter the loneliness," the Doctor said. "I speak from experience so trust me."

"You know me by what insight, Time Lord? Your race is gone too. You're a fugitive from destiny, as is your partner."

The Doctor unconsciously moved his body slightly in front of Renata's. He could handle whatever was said at him but there was no need to bring in Renata.

"Horus asked two final duties of me. Mindful of the destruction my father brought, the first was to stay behind as guardian of the circle, to keep it turning."

"The second was to seek and collect any remaining of Osirian technology from this universe, so as to help with people's departure from this plane," Dorothy suddenly said, the words seemingly tumbling out of her mouth before she could even process.

It seemed to surprise Anubis. "You remember?"

"Sure," she said after careful thought. "Just like I remember New Jersey, where I'm really from."

"So you see why it is time for me to transcend this universe, to follow the other Osirans through. Do not tell me that I cannot."

"Fact is, there is a lot of stuff in here that are mine and yet not mine," Dorothy brought her hands to her head. She shared a vast knowledge know with an alien and her mind was pretty jumbled up right now.

"What if we find a compromise?" the Doctor offered. "I can help you heal and safely get rid of the circle before it destroys us."

"It is my right to ascend!"

"And so, therefore, your right to destroy an entire universe? Because that's what you'll be doing. And you know what? I met Sutekh," the Doctor confessed, instantly gaining Anubis' and the other's attention. "I know what he stood for and I don't think it's quite you. You're not the same as him, no matter what horrid that to you before trapping you here. You need to forget your father and Horus because one destroyed and one lied but both of them fought. Don't be like either of them. You have power over all life and death. Live Anubis, and let the universe live too."

Anubis retracted a step from them, for the first time looking like words had affected him.

"We don't really have much to lose, do we?" Dorothy offered one small smile at Anubis. "Maybe, sometime in the future, we could fix the Circle and you can cross through safely. Without putting anyone in danger."

"But it would take eons before it'd be fixed!"

"So you would rather die because you're impatient?" Renata found her voice to demand. It was a fairly good question that stumped him for a moment. "Because that's the risk you're taking if you cross through the gateway. Wouldn't you rather wait and see it actually get fixed?"

"Look, Anubis," the Doctor called again, hoping to really drive things home with this last bit especially when he already seemed to be considering, "I'm not telling you that you'll never be able to cross through. I'm only saying to let us find a way of collapsing the circle safely so when the day comes...you can cross safely."

There was a moment of tensed silence as Anubis thought. If he didn't agree, then it would all be over. And truthfully, the Doctor didn't know what else to do.

"...Very well. I agree to delay my voyage to the circle," Anubis' words caused simultaneous relived sighs. "It's always best not to get caught between Horus and my father. I did as I had the misfortune of birthright. What is clear is that I cannot leave, not until the circle is repaired."

"Or until someone can take your place as guardian," Dorothy stepped forward, the look on her face indicating she would volunteer for the job.

"Are you sure about that, Dorothy?" Renata turned to her with concern, as if thinking that the other half of her, the alien half of her, was making Dorothy say that.

Dorothy nodded. "Yeah. I can learn. At the very least I can help. Anubis can train me. I'm only just beginning to explore my powers."

"We'll come back and check up on you," the Doctor offered, putting one hand over Renata's shoulder to let her know they wouldn't be abandoning Dorothy.

"I take that agreement," Anubis announced. " Doctor, I give you five thousand time-cycles, and no longer. I will look in on you and I will expect progress reports."

"I don't quite like the idea of leaving you here," Renata admitted to Dorothy while the Doctor started ushering everyone else into the TARDIS before Anubis changed his mind.

Dorothy still smiled her sweet smile. " I will be just fine. I'm an Osiran-Human hybrid now - I can take care of myself. Thank you for what you've done for me and I'm so sorry that I put you through so many scares."

Renata nodded. If it was Dorothy's choice, then there was nothing more she would say. At least now, she could return home safe and sound.

Until the Doctor would drop Cleo, Erik and Hanif back on Earth along with Cindy. Despite asking Gabby if she wanted to stay home for a few days, to get over what happened, the young girl shook her head and said she would much rather be in the TARDIS. So, she bid goodbye to Cindy and left with the trio in the TARDIS.

And while Renata usually whipped up her famous dinners, this night she seemed to missed it. Gabby and Donna ate dinner alone and it was just regular human cereal.

"Where are they?" Gabby asked the ginger at the table. She moved her spoon in endless circles against her bowl, not really in the mood to eat.

"Don't know," Donna shrugged. "Doctor said he wanted to run some tests on Ren but…" she smiled for a moment, "...Renata refused so it turned into one of their arguments. Kind of funny."

"Wait," Gabby straightened up in her chair, "He was going to run some tests on her? Like...medically-wise?" Donna nodded. "I have to go!" Gabby jumped from her chair and ran out of the kitchen before Donna could even say her name.

It was the perfect time to confirm whether or not Renata was safe in terms of health. If she was lucky, Gabby thought maybe she could be there when the results were in. Of course, she would have to convince Renata to let her stay in the room or at the very least she would have to convince Renata to tell her what the results were. Gabby came to a skidded stop before the open door of the medbay. She was already hearing some of the conversation and she didn't really have the courage to come in.

"So, are we finally done here?" Renata sat on the edge of the medbay bed, looking completely irritated. "And then you can realize this was a waste of time — I didn't even get to make dinner for everyone!"

The Doctor was reading off the results from the computer screen in front of him. He looked far too focused for there to be nothing wrong. Renata came to that conclusion only a minute after speaking up.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

The Doctor straightened up and looked at her. "I'm so sorry. I keep putting you in danger, don't I?"

"Where'd you get that from?"

"I…" the Doctor drew in a breath then turned to face her completely. "You're...okay, but...you haven't expelled the energy you in-took from when we visited Zhe's art gallery. The Block-Transfer Matrix energy from the apprentices?"

"How could I forget?" Renata sourly said as she remembered the homicidal apprentices Zhe had conjured up. "But that was weeks ago!" Her body, while not being completely invincible, was still more attuned to a higher standard when it came to health. She'd always been very healthy in her previous incarnations. Why would this one be the exception?

"No," the Doctor shook his head. "And then you took in new energy from the Osiran lot. Now that's combined inside of you and…" a new type of fear etched across his face as he willed himself to say the truth, "...you've been contaminated."

Renata blinked slowly, the movements of her body slowing down to awkward shifts. From the hallway, Gabby felt her heart pounding under her chest.

Is this what that Ood meant? She started coming up with terrible ways this 'contamination' could kill Renata. Out of fear, she rushed away from the room.

"Contaminated?" Renata finally spoke up after a minute of processing. "I've been...contaminated? With what?" there was a confused smile on her face but the Doctor wondered — he had to — if it was in place of a growing fear.

"These two different energies have merged to form something new, something a Time Lady shouldn't have — that no Time Lord should have — because remember, we carry a bit of the Time Vortex in order to regenerate. Now couple this new energy with the Time Vortex and we have a triple-way contamination."

"So...am I just going to die, then?" Renata pushed herself off the medbed and walked over to the computer screen to see for herself.

"No," the Doctor said automatically. "You're not dying but...it's something we have to keep a constant eye on. We have to be careful of what you expose yourself to from here on out and see how your body continues to react to these energy forces."

Renata turned the computer screen off and turned to the Doctor. The fear on her face had disappeared, or perhaps stored away for the moment. "Okay, so we'll just do that but is there really any cause for concern? For all we know, my body is just a little slower in expelling the energy."

"No, it hasn't expelled anything," the Doctor urgently reminded her. "We cannot brush this off, Renée." If that was her plan then he was going to be sorry for being himself and making it a priority! He wasn't going to lose her.

Renata rolled her eyes but it seemed more like an action she forced in an attempt to be casual. She put a hand on his arm and wore her best smile. "I'm not brushing it off, Doctor, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. You've been through worse and I don't see you 'raising 'alarm' about yourself."

"Because it's you I'm talking about," the Doctor started to frown. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I'd rather it be me than you." He didn't even realize he said the words until they'd left his mouth. But Renata had flinched when he said those words. It actually made her gasp. It was astounding that he'd said it like it was an automatic instinct, but even as he went back to think about it...he wouldn't take them back. He was a terrible man, who cares if he got contaminated? Better him than someone as pure and honest as Renata.

Don't you dare! Renata felt her hearts skip several jolts while her mind went crazy wondering if he truly meant that. Once upon a time, he'd said those exact words to her but during the period where they both knew they loved each other. Right now, they were nowhere near that. They were friends, just friends.