#if the young master had not been allergic and if he HAD a cat of his own

[spooky-bunnys]

Request idea so the reader is a gardener for the phantomhive manor and Sebastian sometimes sees the reader take food scraps, milk and a few medical supply and heads deep into the garden. Sebastian out of curiosity secretly follows the reader and sees that the reader is feeding a bunch of stray cats and tend to the wounds some of the cats have

I added a twist. Hope you Enjoy!

Momma Cat

Sebastian x Male Reader

If there was one thing the workers were thankful for. It was (Name). He helped Finny with the garden. So when he messed up (Name) would do what he can before Sebastian or the Young Master found out. Which is what happened right now. Finny had planted the wrong roses so (Name) was removing the roses planted and replanting the correct roses.

As he got more towards the middle of the garden he heard hissing. Alarmed (Name) jumped up. He knows the Young Master is allergic to cats but....they're so fucking cute! (Name) quickly made his way to where he heard the noise. When he made it to the center he stumbled across what looked like a slightly pregnant black cat.

What surprised him was that she was fighting an orange tabby cat. She looked to be losing and he couldn't handle the thought of what'd happen if she did. (Name) quickly grabbed the orange cat by the scruff of his neck. The cat upon being picked up froze. (Name) shook his head and walked away from the other cat. When he made it to the forest (Name) ushered the orange cat away before returning.

When he returned he noticed how injured and hungry the future mom cat looked. So (Name) quietly snuck into the kitchen. Snatching some bandages (He makes sure to have a first aid kit in almost every room because his friends are always getting hurt), a small bowl of milk, and some chicken scraps from his earlier lunch. When he came back the black cat instinctively hissed at him.

(Name) instantly raised his hands before slowly lowering the bowl where he mixed the chicken and milk. Not tasty for a human but the cat loved it. (Name) slowly got to work on cleaning and aiding her. He made sure to keep his hands away from her stomach knowing she'll definitely attack him to protect her kittens.

After he finished he softly scratched behind her ear. Enjoying the sound of her pur. "Well my little queen of darkness I must return to my work. Come again if you ever need anything." (Name) walked away from his new found friend. Happy he was able to help her. What he didn't expect was for his new friend to actually come back.

The newly named Queen kept coming back to the Phantomhive manor garden. Luckily (Name) was always able to sneak bits of milk and scraps. Sometimes bandages if needed. This continued for months. (Name) was never caught by his friends, Sebastian, or even the Young Master.

That is until Queen had gone into labor.

(Name) quickly ran into the kitchen not even looking to see if anyone was inside. He quickly grabbed a blanket, his first aid kit, milk, and more scrapped food. Before making his way to Queens "bed" as he called it. While this was happening he didn't notice Sebastian cleaning up after another one of Bard's "accidents".

He didn't notice Sebastian silently following him either until it was too late. As (Name) was helping Queen by cleaning off the kittens and shredding the food into the milk for her. Sebastian was watching in awe. He just watched what was probably the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. "My what a beautiful sight~" (Name) jumped and hid Queen and her kittens. Frantically trying to come up with an excuse.

"Mister Sebastian! I-Its um not what it looks like!" Sebastian raised a eyebrow smirking. "Whatever do you mean? I watched you help the beautiful feline birth her adorable kittens." (Name) blushed in shame. He'd been caught red handed. "I'm sorry sir. I had found her a few months ago. I didn't want anything to happen to her and she kept coming back. Please don't tell Master Ciel."

Sebastian gave him a closed eye smile. "Alright I won't tell the Young Master. As long as you introduce me to your little friend there." (Name) smiled brightly showing Sebastian the cats. He started introducing them starting with Queen before going to her kittens. Once he was introduced Sebastian asked a question (Name) honestly wasn't expecting.

"Queen? Why give her such a name?" (Name) blushed bashfully. "I uh called her my little Queen of Darkness when we first met and she started answering to Queen so it just kind of stuck." (Name) rubbed the back of his head as Sebastian gave a chuckle. "It quite fits actually." They turned back to the cats. (Name)'s gaze soften nodding. "Yeah it does, doesn't it?" Sebastian looked at him from the corner of his eye. He made a promise right there.

He will marry this human.

#male reader #x male reader #black butler x male reader #black butler #sebastian michaelis x male reader #sebastian michaelis

[teecupangel]

What about a crossover with Doctor Who? I can imagine each of the assassins meeting The Doctor, and they will become companion to The Doctor. Also, The Master working with the templars to try to take over Earth. (You don't have to do this ask if you haven't seen the show.)

Oh man…

I was thinking that it would be cool if the Doctor regenerated to Desmond but I realized that it wouldn’t be Desmond himself, just the Doctor taking his face (kinda of like how Twelve isn’t the same dude as the one in Pompeii or the one in Torchwood) so instead, have this alternative:

The Doctor’s primary companion is Desmond who, at this point, is just a simple bartender running away from his past.

Instead of the Assassins becoming companions of the Doctor, it’s the Tardis doing her own thing and bringing the Doctor and Desmond to their lives.

Maybe it’s just a random day where a medjay is looking for all those Bastet-forsaken cats which turned into this hunt for a feline alien species who were actually abducting the little furballs.

Maybe they get lost on this foggy island and meet a random mercenary who was there for a job and it turns out this supposed mythological creature she is hunting was some kind of hostile alien lifeforce who should not be in earth at all.

Maybe they were just looking at one of the oldest churches in the world when a raiding party starts burning things and the Doctor is forced to help Desmond fend them off so that the villagers could run away.

Then it starts getting personal. Desmond meets the Assassins of old.

An arrogant Syrian who doesn’t even realize just how lonely he was because he had always been alone.

A fallen Italian noble so wrapped in grief and rage, not giving himself enough time to rest.

A young Indigenous American finding himself in the middle of the Americans’ bid for independence, only wishing to protect his village.

Desmond doesn’t know them but he feels a connection with them. The Doctor stresses that they cannot change the past, that doing so would be catastrophic for the entire timeline.

So Desmond doesn’t. He helps anyway he can that the Doctor allows but he never forgets them. He never forgets…

The throwing knife Altaïr gives him silently before they left…

The warmth of Ezio’s final embrace…

The quiet goodbye he shared with Ratonhnhaké:ton…

Even as he continues to be the Doctor’s companion…

Spending a few weeks sailing the West Indies with a pirate captain, looking for a ghost ship that the Doctor was sure was some kind of spaceship with a failing cloaking system…

Watching the earthquake in Lisbon and only being able to help the people who swam towards the ship they were in…

Accidentally getting swept up into the storming of Bastille prison because the Tardis brought them smack in the middle of the said prison…

Meeting Florence Nightingale at Lambeth Asylum and getting the Doctor to help out any way he can…

In the end, Desmond still ends up sacrificing his life to protect the world in 2012 but the Doctor ends up accidentally saving him in a sense. Desmond has one of the highest recorded Isu gene percentage in humanity and Isus were descended from the alien species that later evolved to Timelords. By being in close proximity to the Tardis for so long, his body had become a hybrid of human, Isu and Tardis itself due to the Huon particles and Desmond’s body composition itself. Whether this had been Minerva’s endgoal though… remains a mystery.

Because of this, Desmond sorta regenerated instead of dying but, because of how ‘alien’ Desmond had become, the Tardis starts having an allergic reaction to him. Instead of leaving him stranded somewhere, the Doctor gives him a TARDIS coral so he could grow a TARDIS of his own that wouldn’t be allergic to him.

It might take thousands of years to have his own TARDIS but…

Desmond was looking forward to it.

To having his own adventures with his own companions…

#yeah #i definitely mixed up rose and clara’s storyline for desmond #i’m not sorry #i didn’t say anything on which doctor desmond is the companion of so go pick your fav #haven’t seen the show? #nonny the revival made me watch so many british shows #just because my biheart was badumpdump for billie piper #which led me to watching bbc merlin and falling in love with merthur #but anyway #assassin's creed #desmond miles #i feel like it would a bit of a cheat to tag the other characters #doctor who #the doctor #ask and answer #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed #fic idea: doctor who #fic idea: crossover

[accidentalmistress]

Accidental Mistress - Induce or Not?

Today's release is some light, sneezy fun with Oraion as the viewpoint character. Not gonna have a lot of preamble with this one, let's just get to it!

For more Accidental Mistress content, check the Master Post.

Title: Induce or Not?

Word Count: 2,019

Content and Warnings: snz (male), some light mess

In which Oraion, being exceedingly bored, decides to engage in a little sternutatory experimentation...

------------------------------------

Even when he wasn’t trying to tease or rile up the young witch to whom he was bound, the demon Oraion enjoyed experimenting with different ways to make himself sneeze. As an immortal being, he had reached a point in his life where an ever-dwindling number of things held novelty, so being presented with the newfound ability to sneeze was almost like being handed a new toy. The fact that sneezing was the primary method the incubus utilized in seducing his Mistress led him to form a strong connection between the reflex and feeding, which added an entire new layer of enjoyment to his experimentations.

He liked to call the game “Induce or Not?” and had thus far found that, to no great surprise, there were quite a lot of things in the ‘Induce’ category. Feathers, blades of grass, a bristle from Noelle’s broom, laundry soap, woodsmoke, looking at bright light, and a wide variety of aromatic spices were among the things that he’d tested and found to be effective to one degree or another.

To his surprise, he did not seem to be allergic to cats, as he and Noelle had discovered when they encountered a friendly, gray stray on a recent trip to town for supplies. He’d even gone so far as to shove his face into the animal’s fur when Noelle wasn’t looking, the only result being a few unpleasant hairs in his mouth. Horses, on the other hand, gave him a peculiar, low-level itch in his throat and sinuses that didn’t really get him sneezing so much as it made him cough and turned his nose into a sniffly, leaky mess.

One afternoon he lay in his bed with his hands clasped behind his head, staring up at the ceiling of his room as though it were an oracle that might dispense some wisdom toward alleviating his boredom, when he suddenly remembered his little game.

“That’s one way to pass the time…” he muttered.

Now, the only question was what to play with? Noelle was currently sequestered in the cellar, tending to her precious mooncaps. She'd been cultivating them for some weeks now and had expanded to several trays of maturing mushrooms. Once they were ripe, she said, she would take some to town and see if she could get a good price for them. He couldn’t begrudge her trying to make a living, of course, but he did find it a little sad that he was so bored as to be envious of a fungus for monopolizing his Mistress’s attention.

He supposed he could head down to her worktable and rifle through her magical reagents to see if there was anything interesting. He’d been meaning to check if she had any pixie dust—mundane dust did quite the number on him in sufficient quantities, it turned out, and he was rather curious what the fae variety might do. Although, he may want to try that outside or near a window—some source of fresh air—given what had happened with the dust incident in the library. Oraion turned toward the window, watching rivulets drip down the glass as fat raindrops struck it with a light staccato rhythm. Maybe today wasn’t the day for outdoor experimentation.

Another idea dead before fruition. A frustrated lash of his tail caused the crimson tuft of fur at the end to whip briefly into view. He froze, gears turning in his head, before he curled his tail back up into the air over the bed and waggled the end to and fro. The fur was long and silky—almost feathery.

That was something he hadn’t tried.

As he reached out and ran his fingertips through the fur, a chuckle rose to his lips. There was something a bit masturbatory about trying to induce with his own tail. The hairs were quite fine and soft. In fact, he worried they were too soft: he wouldn’t be able to insert them very far up his nostrils if they weren’t stiff enough. He placed his other hand on his chin and considered, and before long a smirk tugged his lips as inspiration struck. This would be fun, and it would add another layer of challenge as well.

A little secret he had yet to tell Noelle was the trick behind how he conjured things with a snap of his fingers, like his handkerchief. The truth was, he wasn’t conjuring anything at all. Conjuration implied the ability to create things from thin air, which was not something he was capable of. What he was actually doing was summoning—the handkerchief already existed, so all he did was call it to his hand. Still no mean feat, and quite the handy skill to have. It was especially effective on items one owned and was familiar with, so it was easy enough for Oraion to lift his arms above his head, snap his fingers, and have a set of restraints appear on his wrists. Supple brown leather hugged his skin while brass clasps secured his arms together. It was a little difficult to secure them to the bedframe, but through some magical manipulation he managed to rig up a summoned length of rope securely enough to do the trick.

A slightly nervous thrill ran in his veins, as it often did when he was about to induce, and he took a deep breath. Slowly he lowered his tail until the fringe of fur was just brushing the tip of his nose.

“Mmnh…”

His nose scrunched up almost immediately, but the light tickle that resulted was not enough to accomplish much. It might get him itchy and hitchy, which had its own benefits—especially for teasing Noelle. Still, it was a bit early to tell. He tried swaying the end of his tail from side to side and was rewarded with a prickling just inside his nostrils.

“Now we’re getting somewhere…”

He wriggled his nose and sniffed lightly to encourage the tickle, continuing to sweep his tail across his nose in slow strokes that dragged the silky hairs across his nostrils and septum. His breathing started to get a touch unsteady, his chest rising and falling faster as his breaths grew deeper. On the right track, but still not enough to push him over the edge.

During feedings, sometimes Noelle would flutter a feather against the tip of his nose, so he tried to replicate the sensation with his tail, flicking it rapidly back and forth. He could feel his nose start to run as the buzzing tickle spread.

“Snff-snuff- … heh…. heh… haah, damn it…”

Almost, but he lost it at the last moment. He could just barely see the tip of his nose turning pink. He was getting close. Gods, it almost felt like edging.

He kept at it, varying the direction and speed of the strokes across his nose. His wrists tensed against the restraints. Though the itch had spread from his nares back near to the bridge, he still couldn’t get a sneeze out. He never imagined inducing could be quite so vexing, given his usual sensitivity.

“... hiih… -snf- mnhh… ih-heh-! … Oh, come on.”

Not to mention his sinuses were rather saturated from all of the irritation with no relief. The way it dripped back into his throat grew unpleasant, so he sniffed in as hard as he could in an attempt to clear it. It just so happened this was also at the precise moment and angle for several strands of tail fur to be drawn deep into his nares. 

“Nngh-! ih-hiihh-hhiiHH! heh… heh… HEH… HEHH’TCHUU! haah… ah-heh-... aah… AH… AHESSHHIU!”

Well, that worked. He could feel the hairs poking the ticklish spot just in front of where the bone ended in his nose. Finally—it felt practically orgasmic to sneeze after so much tickling and teasing. He left his tail in place for a few more sneezes before pulling it back, then he wriggled his nose back and forth and squinched it up and down to assuage some of the lingering tickle.

“Hmhm, I’d say that was a- w-was a- eh-heh- HEH! HEHSHHIUH! heh-SHIU! Nguuh… -snnff- Oh gods, it’s stuh-still so tiiiHHhckly-! iihhhHIIhhh! hhiihHHIITCHIEW!”

Perhaps he’d gone a little too far. The prickling, tickling itch in his sinuses kept on as though something was still poking that sensitive spot. His chest bobbed erratically with frantic, helpless hitches, each sneeze more desperate than the last. With mounting concern he tried to get a hold on himself, but he could hardly think, he was sneezing so much. In desperation he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth as hard as he could, which managed to stave off the next sneeze from being immediately on the heels of the last. It wouldn’t last long, though, he was already hitching and building up again.

However it was long enough to allow him a moment’s concentration, and he snapped his fingers. The restraints around his wrists vanished and Oraion sat up just as the next outburst overcame him. He grabbed the still-tingling appendage between a thumb and forefinger and squeezed, rubbing it up and down. At last the cause of his prolonged fit became clear when he felt something thin and silky sticking out of his right nostril: one of his tail hairs, shed from his tail and stuck inside his nose.

He drew the offending irritant out with a slippery tickle that triggered one final, powerful sneeze. He held up the crimson hair, covered in a slick coating of mess, and sighed. With another snap of his fingers he summoned his handkerchief and finally blew some of the miserable wetness out of his sinuses.

“Well, that was… a thing. -snnrff-”

As he sat there trying to catch his breath, there was a tentative knock at his door.

“Oraion? Are you in there?”

The demon smirked. Of course Noelle must have heard him, even in the cellar. He jumped up from the bed and ran a hand through his long, crimson hair before he answered the door. Though he didn’t bother to put on a shirt.

There stood Noelle, looking rather domestic with an apron on over her blouse and skirt. After Quinns had chided her for wiping dirt on her clothes while tending her mushrooms, Noelle had found an apron to wear. Oraion had to admit, it was a rather charming look.

“Oh, did something happen? Are you all right?”

Ah, right. He probably looked terrible, red-nosed and bleary eyed. He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to laugh it off.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Something just set off my allergies. -snf- It happens. Often.”

Noelle wrung her hands with an uncomfortable look, and Oraion bit back a sigh. His allergic sensitivity was bestowed by their contract, tied to her sexual desires, and that fact continued to be a source of guilt for her. He wished she would let it go, but no matter how often he reassured her that he didn’t mind it, it didn’t seem to convince her.

“I-I see. Um, is there anything I can do for you? Oh! I know: I’ll make you some yarrow tea!”

“Hm, that would be lovely, but there is one other thing you could do for me first…”

The prospect of being useful seemed to perk her right up.

“Oh? What is it?”

With as sensitive as his nose was still feeling, this shouldn’t take long. He grinned and leaned in, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her close. He placed a deep kiss on her soft lips before giving her nose a quick nuzzle with his own. The ensuing blush on her face, the wide eyes and slightly parted lips, equal parts flustered surprise and burgeoning desire—oh, the satisfaction he derived from being the cause of such sweet expression.

“It’s such a miserable, dreary day, Mistress, and I’ve been terribly bored. Now I find myself feeling a bit peckish, so, if you’re amenable, I thought perhaps we could have a quick snack. And you know, while we’re at it, I’d like to introduce you to a rather interesting little game I've come up with…”

#accidental mistress #oraion the allergic incubus #noelle the awkward witch #snz ocs #snz fic #snzfic #snzblr #snz #snz kink #sneeze fic #sneeze kink

[deaniewagner]

full name: geraldine marie wagner

nicknames: deanie

age: 29

star sign: december 29th (capricorn)

hometown: fairford, wa

occupation: assistant curator at the art institute

pronouns/gender: she/her, cis female

time in town: 29 years (away for college)

current residence: apartment downtown

general facts

if you asked Harris and Caroline Wagner to their faces if they had a child to save their marriage, they'd deny it. however, deanie was born after a terse and cold period in their marriage at the tail end of a year long separation (and rumored pending divorce) that was seemingly resolved by her birth -- so people drew their own conclusions

being a good chunk younger than her siblings, deanie grew up fairly self-sufficient (if not a little lonely). she was well studied and well behaved with many hobbies. she never rocked the boat or talked back to her parents for fear of earning their disappointment.

deanie had a talent for drawing at a young age -- she'd pour hours into sketches, which then turned to charcoal drawings, and then watercolors, and then dabbling in every possible medium she could get her hands on. she won several prizes for her art in her grade and high school years.

with law being the family business for everyone else,it took a lot of nerve to ask her father if she could apply to the royal college to study fine arts. harlan told his daughter that her talents were "pedestrian at best". gutted by the revelation, she left the application abandoned and attended brown university for art history, and her masters not long after.

while they were both attending school on the east coast, deanie started dating fellow fairford native everett chapman, who was attending yale for medical school. she moved back home with him during his medical internship at elite wellness collective and they became engaged after nearly five years of dating -- before he left to do his residency in boston.

deanie is currently planning her wedding while in a long distance relationship with him, working at the art institute, and trying to bottle down the feeling that maybe she's gone wrong somewhere along the way.

because she should be happy, right?

personality

+ curious, detailed, inviting

- obedient, cautious, analytical

fun facts

can speak french and italian, can also play piano and violin

huge phobia of open water

allergic to strawberries

has a white, long haired cat named meringue

the friend that reminds you to stay hydrated

favorite flower is tulips, favorite ice cream is black cherry, favorite holiday is valentines day, favorite movie is 'some like it hot'

current connections

fiance` everett chapman (npc)

older brother @rcnanwagner

older sister @ceceliawagner

childhood (former) best friend/future brother in law @tysonchapmans

future sister in law @gemchap

wanted connections

next door neighbor -- someone who grew up on the same block as deanie, probably her age, who she could play with and share childhood memories with

best friend -- probably someone she's been close with from at least high school and onward

exes/former flames -- probably mostly high school exes or summer flings from the early college years, since deanie has been in a relaitonship most of her adult/post college life

extended family -- other wangers or the acosta branch (if i'm following that right)

girls night crew -- would love to have a group of girls all around the same age who get together to drink and talk and gossip etc ( would likely be her bridesmaids)

i'm open to any and all other ideas you may have too if something sparks to mind!

hmu on discord at bendela#8730

#fairfordintro #bio. #info.

[gryfflepuffinthetardis]

Rose and Lillie - Supernova

Note: Bits have been taken from the "Rose" Novelization by Russel T. Davis in 2018, I've rewritten the parts I felt could be rewritten but still have no ownership; those words are either in italics, bold, or in the chat text style (unless I forgot to do it). I only own Lillie Tyler and Nova and their storylines.

Warnings: Death, Violence, Violently Protective Younger Sister, Overprotective Family, Donna Noble missing an invasion.

Datsuzoku — Japanese — Noun — To escape from the daily routine; to take a break from the conventions of one's life; to discover more creativity and perceive your surroundings differently.

"I am tired of pretending I'm fine to those around me, I've never felt more dead in my entire life."

Nineteen-year-old Rose Tyler woke up on the most ordinary day in her very pink room, not knowing that her life was about to change forever. She would often wonder, many years later, standing on the shore of a different universe, about to witness the biggest heartbreak of her life, whether she had missed any signs on that day, long ago. Presentiments of the dangers and joys to come. A lowering sky, perhaps. Distant lightning. Dogs barking at thin air. A fearful old woman staring at her from across the street. But no. It was simply a Friday. Her alarm went off at seven-thirty.

She knew her schedule—shower, have yogurt, wake up her little sister, argue with her mother about the electricity bill or with her sister about her paper assignments scattered all over the flat, walk her sister to the bus stop, and then walk to work.

--

Princess Supernova of Elder glared at the young Time Lord who would one day choose the name “the Doctor” and his standoffish attitude (that was hiding his immense anxiety as he had spent a lot of time crying in the barn of his orphanage lately as this day had grown closer) and then she punched him in the face in front of the whole of Gallifrey’s Academy. The young boy who would one day choose the name “The Master” but now was known by his nickname, “Koschei” let out an impressed and disbelieving chuckle as the Doctor turned back to her in shock, holding his jaw that would soon sport a bruise.

She smirked and stuck out her hand, "Hi, I'm Princess Supernova."

He stared at her for a few shocked moments, he made eye contact with Koschei who was still grinning.

Lillie Tyler was awoken by her sister, Rose Tyler banging on her door. "It’s time for school, Lillie!”

She heard Lillie let out a nasal, overdramatic groan, which vaguely resembled a dying cat parade. “Naaaaaaaaaaggghhh!” which roughly translated in went-to-bed-at-two-in-the-morning-Lillie as, “Don’t make me get out of bed! I’m allergic to sunlight and socializing and dumb people which is everyone at my school including the teachers! Especially the teachers!”

Rose showed no facial expression, indicating that this was unusual behavior for her little sister.

“Don’t make me sent Mum in there!”

“I’m getting up! I’m getting up!” The younger Tyler sister groaned and then rolled over, pulling all the blankets with her as she rolled off the bed.

Lillie stood up, pushing the blankets off her, revealing her hair to be a brunette frizzy mess and her gray-tinted blue eyes bleary with sleep. She rubbed her eyes and got ready for the day.

She and her older sister, Rose Tyler moved in their usual routine. You wouldn't think it by looking at them that they were sisters as Rose had straight blonde hair and green eyes and Lillie had curly chocolate brown hair and blue eyes.

Rose had dropped out of school when she was sixteen while Lillie was exceptionally bright and liked to think of herself as an empathetic Sherlock Holmes.

When Rose was in school, Lillie was a grade behind her even though she was only six months younger. Lillie was still in school, in her last year, she had wild amounts of potential, in between and after her high school classes, she even took advanced classes—college-level advanced classes that were hard for college students and sometimes even professionals—but she had no ambition or confidence in herself.  She occasionally questioned her own sanity as she still believes she met a man with a stupidly long scarf and a woman with purple hair with a magic box that could travel through time and space that was bigger on the inside.

She and Rose left their house, walking side by side before splitting at the bus stop, accustomed to this routine.

--

Throughout school, she stared into nothingness as she was bored out of her mind. Boredom. That's all she really felt her whole life... except when she met the Doctor and Nova and Sarah Jane Smith. When she was dealing with that "Weeping Angel" she had been scared but she felt alive, more alive than she had ever felt. She'd give anything to feel that again. This September she was supposed to go to the University of Cambridge to study astronomy, cosmology, and quantum physics. That's all she wanted, to reach the stars; that'll be the next best thing as it seemed that they were never coming back for her.

She didn’t really have friends at school, they regarded her as weird and abnormal. She had one school friend, one who was intelligent and resourceful, more than any of the other students, the brilliant Lars South-Woods; they became friends and Lillie had fallen hard, they dated for a year before Lars was given an internship at… well, Lars wouldn’t tell Lillie where but she caught a glimpse of the name, it was two words put together but she only made out a “T” and a “W” but then Lars had caught her nearly had a freakout and Lillie realized if she didn’t want to get yelled at to run. Lars and she had broken up on mutual terms with the promise to stay friends but she was alone again.

“Miss Tyler?” Her teacher asked. Well, it wasn’t her teacher but a professor whose class she audited she had been taking these classes since she was twelve years old when she started outsmarting the teachers by calculating things in multiple dimensions. Some of the professors tried to trip her up but she often both outsmarted them and confused them, like when she kept only referring to “Quantum Entanglement” as Einstein’s name for it, “Spooky action at a distance” even in her papers. She was acknowledging the theory brilliantly but only used that term, simply because according to her when her mother confusingly asked her about it, not understanding a lick of it, was because, “it’s funnier to say.”

“Why did a genius such as Albert Einstein consider Quantum Entanglement impossible?”

Lillie just looked up boredly at her and said, “Well, spooky action at a distance is the phenomenon by which one particle can effectively ‘know’something about another particle instantaneously, even if they are on opposite sides of the galaxy. Einstein argued that this violates the local realism view of causality which is the cause of a physical change must be local—that is, a thing is changed only if it is physically touched, he argued at nothing could move faster than the speed of light, not even information. This idea absolutely rattled the physicist and he never accepted it. But it doesn’t at least, not to our knowledge, experiments show that quantum physics can be used to send faster-than-light communication, whether this theory is true is not truly known to this day and may be that way for quite a while. Most physicists today accept spooky action at a distance as a real phenomenon, based on many experiments that confirm it. They also argue that it does not allow for faster-than-light communication, because the measurement outcomes are random and cannot be controlled or predicted.”

She said this with the utmost causality as if explaining what color the sky was.

“What do you think?”

“I think nothing is faster than light.” She said with a slight smirk as if she knew something she didn’t. Well, not consciously.

“Y-yes, well, once again, Miss Tyler, it’s called ‘Quantum Entanglement’.” The professor said.

Lillie sighed and slumped back in her seat before dropping her head on the table, typical, scienctists always wanted to make everything straightforward and never have any fun. The people who had fun never liked Lillie, they found her weird and the people she almost fit in with were no fun.

She and Rose had been promised this year would be better. A promise made on New Year’s Eve by a complete stranger. She and Rose had been heading across the estate before Lillie got sick from the cold, when a man—some drunk the girls assumed—had asked out to the sisters out to her from the shadows, by the bins. He’d asked them what year it was. It had just chimed midnight, so Lillie told him it was 2005. His face was lost in darkness and snow but somehow she heard him smile as he repeated the year, there was a certain weight to his words that Lillie still thought a lot about, and then he said, “I bet you're going to have a really great year.” He had spoken in a southern Estuary English accent and she could make out the silhouette of his sticky-uppy hair.

Yeah. Sure.

“Never trust a drunk in the dark.” Jackie told that to Rose and Lillie when they were young and Rose still continuously told Lillie this as if they were her own words of wisdom, especially after Jimmy Stone. Lillie never did, not that she had many chances to be around drunks with her rather introverted personality.

But the funny thing was, she did trust him. And so did Rose against all sense of logic. That stranger. There was something about his voice, the way he said it, like he was saying it only for them. He had looked directly at Lillie as if he was applying it more to Lillie than Rose. Somehow, out of all the nonsense the sisters had ever heard from drunken men, they remembered his words.

So Rose and Lillie Tyler kept waiting.

After school, she walked to Rose's work after school, she was just so tired of everyday life. She knew Rose was too, despite never having to talk about it but what could they do about it?

Rose told her that she needed to give Wilson the lottery money at her work and Lillie offered to stay up in the store.

Rose let a sarcastic laugh and said, “Not a chance in hell.” She grabbed her hand and pulled her to the elevator. “Blimey, Lils, you’re eighteen and have been taking genius advanced university classes for six years, it’s just a lift!”

“Ugh, you sound like Mum!” Lillie groaned.

They got on the elevator of the building and went down the elevator shaft.

Wilson was known for being a creep, Rose had caught him eyeing her little sister at times but he wasn’t so dumb to make a move after witnessing Jackie scream at and slap a drunk who had hit on her in the store soon after Rose started working at Hendrick’s and it was immediately followed by Rose doing the same thing while Lillie just blushed, mortified with her arms crossed. So he knew both Rose and Jackie wouldn’t hesitate to slap the living day lights out of him and then there was the story of what Lillie did to Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Jimmy Stone, allegedly, she had somehow hunted him down to Amsterdam when seven full hours away from London by car—and Lillie didn’t own a car or a driver’s license, she had been fifteen years old and allegedly slashed his tires and keyed his car and all of his band equipment was mysteriously stolen and then he was found by the police with his bass drum broken over him, trapping him with a convenient list of proof of his petty crimes just for them which landed him in prison for eighteen months. There had been no proof that Lillie had done it but Rose suspected otherwise.

They stepped out of the elevator and Rose looked down the hall, "Wilson!" The sisters looked at each other before venturing down a hall, "Wilson, I've got the lottery money. Wilson, are you there?" The eldest knocked on Wilson's office door but there was no answer. "I can't hang about cause they're closing the shop. Wilson!"

The two sisters heard a clattering down the hall and the sisters looked at each other and they followed the noise with Rose taking the lead; Wilson was known for being a bit of creep.

Rose has always been overprotective of her and Lillie was for her. Rose’s earliest memory was when she was about a year and a half year old, most don’t have memories form the first three years of their life but this memory always stuck to her because Lillie had gotten really sick during the winter, Jackie had cried as she had feared Lillie would die so soon after Pete but Lillie made it through. It turned out it was a really bad case of pneumonia; apparently Lillie had some aversion to cold weather, it made her particularly vulnerable to illnesses such as the common cold or the flu, which was especially dangerous as she not even a year old at that time. They had been told that while most one-year-old’s immune systems were stronger than people thought, usually maturing somewhere between two and three months but Lillie’s immune system just was maturing more slowly, making her vulnerable to the cold.

Rose remembered getting out of her tiny toddler bed and walking to her sister’s room, being quiet as her mom chattered away on the phone.

“I swear, I’m only twenty-one and she’s giving me gray hairs…”

Rose snuck into her sister’s room and pulled the step ladder thing she used to peer over the crib and she saw her sister asleep, she was hugging a stuffed star, fists pale as she clung onto it for dear life as she slept on her side with her cheek all smushed from lying on the stuffed star, she had curly chocolate brown hair, a vast contrast of her mother and sister’s straighter blonde hair.

Toddler Rose didn’t say anything, she just looked at her little sister. At her young age, Rose had been aware her sister was in danger, Jackie had been crying in the hospital as Mickey and his parents and grandmother were there. Odessa and Jackson had been comforting Jackie while Mickey and Rita-Anne sat with her.

Baby Lillie then opened her eyes, revealing brilliant blue eyes, looking up at her older sister with much more intelligence than an eleven-month-old should have.

Toddler Rose smiled down at her sister, she reached down and felt Baby Lillie take her hand.

“I promise to protect you.” The one-year-old Rose Tyler promised. “Forever.” To this day, Rose recalls that day as the first time she promised to protect Lillie and she never failed to live up to that promise and it had become her instinct to protect Lillie before herself.

"Hello? W-Wilson?" She pushed a door open, the sisters entering a very dark room, revealing a huge room of mannequins. The eldest Tyler sister ventured into the room, closely.

"Right, let's just go for a stroll into the room full of nightmares," Lillie muttered before following her sister to a red door that said: Estates Management Department Access: Restricted to Authorized Personnel Only when the door they came in closed shut.

The sisters ran to the door, trying to pull it open but it seemed to be locked.

"You're kidding me." Rose muttered as Lillie kicked the door.

They heard more clanking behind them.

"Is that someone mucking about?" Rose called.

"Who is it?" Lillie called as they wandered further into the nightmare room.

They heard creaking and turned to see a male mannequin looking at them. Lillie saw the mannequin stepping out towards them, Rose grabbed Lillie's arm, pulling her back.

"Yeah, you got me. Very funny." Rose said, her voice slightly shaky, she sensed danger but didn't want to accept it but was still wary of the danger Lillie was in.

A second mannequin behind the first moved, then a third.

"Right, I've got the joke. "Whose idea was this? Is it Derek's? Is it? Derek, is this you?" Lillie pulled Rose away from the increasing number of moving mannequins, Rose stumbled over a box as Lillie backed into a wall with Rose joining her. The sisters clasped each other's hands tightly.

The lead mannequin raised its arm as if going to karate chop them; Rose noticed in a brief glint of light, dark liquid on the dummy’s hand… she hoped it was oil or paint… but she doubted it… Rose pushed Lillie behind her, shielding her with her body, though it wouldn’t be much use… Rose closed her eyes, bracing for impact, letting out a few soft whimpers of fear but refusing to do anything other than live up to her promise. Lillie stared up at the dummies over Rose’s shoulder with a glare, her compass locket given to her five years ago glowed colors of a rageful red, a protective turquoise, a flowery pink that an Elder would recognize for the fierceness of sisterly love but then before the glow became noticeable a man reached out of the darkness and grabbed Rose and Lillie’s joined hands, and with that and one word changing the sisters' lives forever.

"Run."

It was a bald man around his early-to-mid forties with big ears, wearing a t-shirt and a leather jacket.

He pulled Rose and Lillie out of the way, and the three ran through the basement as the mannequins followed until they got to the lift. One of the mannequins grabbed Lillie's hair and tried to pull her back out. Suddenly some unknown instinct kicked in and she spun, grabbing the arm and pulling it off in one fell swoop and the elevator doors closed on the mannequins.

"I..." She drawled out in shock, backing into the elevator wall next to her sister. "...Pulled its arm off."

The man stared at Lillie in shock for a few long moments. She looked just like her, just with brown hair and blue eyes. She even had a similar fashion style. Graphic tee, plaid skirt, jeans, boots.

"What?" Lillie asked, looking down, she hated when people looked at her for what she felt was too long, she felt like they were judging her and while she ultimately didn't care about the opinion of people who were usually too invested in their own lives to consider other people or only did it to feel better about themselves, it hurt nonetheless, not that she would ever admit that.

The man shook his head as if shaking out of a trance, denying something in his head. "Yep. Plastic." He covered up his shock. There would roughly be about six people in the world who would look like her, nonetheless the universe.

"Very clever. Nice trick! Who were they then, students? Is this a student thing or what?" Rose asked.

"Why would they be students?" He asked, curiously, almost as if he were testing her.

"I don't know..." Rose trailed off, feeling flustered suddenly.

"Well, you said it. Why students?" He prompted.

"Cause to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students." Rose mumbled, she felt shameful that she had froze up in a crisis, she had just acted as a shield for her sister, lot good that would do before they would’ve gotten to her.

"That makes sense. Well done." He smiled.

"Thanks."

"They're not students."

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's going to call the police." Rose said, sternly.

"Who's Wilson?" The man asked.

"Chief electrician."

“Slash-caretaker.” Lillie mumbled.

"Wilson's dead." He said simply.

The lift beeped, announcing that they had reached their destination and they walked out.

"That's just not funny." Rose exclaimed.

"That's sick!" Lillie scoffed. The man noted that this brunette had a different accent than she did. It had been Australian.

"Hold on. Mind your eyes." He took out a sonic screwdriver, it was different than the one she had seen her Doctor with.

Doctor. It was her Doctor but with a different face. Like in her dreams. But… where was Nova?

"I've had enough of this now!" Rose complained, the sisters truly did get Jackie's attitude. Sparks emitted from lift mechanism as he continued to ignore most of Rose's questions, "Who are you, then? Who's that lot down there? I said, who are they?"

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He produced what seemed to be a small bomb, "So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you two go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast." He opened a door and pushed the sisters through it, Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed." He shut the door.

Doctor. The name appeared in her head and she knew that was who he was.

The man opened the door and opened his mouth to speak but Lillie had spoken, "You're the Doctor, aren't you?"

He blinked at her like he couldn't believe it.

"How did you know?"

"Umm... I don't..." She mumbled, lamely. It couldn't be him. Those were just dreams. Right?

"What's your names?" He asked, narrowing his blue eyes but not in a bad way, but more in a curious way.

"Rose."

"Lillie."

"Nice to meet you, Rose, Lillie. Run for your lives!"

Rose, still holding the mannequin arm, grabbed Lillie's hand and pulled her out of the building onto the street, Lillie pulled Rose back before she became a questionable hood ornament of a car.

"Watch it!" The man shouted.

The sisters looked at one another as they made it to the sidewalk.

KABOOM!

A huge fireball took out the upper floor of Rose's job, making Rose flinch while Lillie just tilted her head. Rose ran straight past an out-of-date police telephone box, Lillie however, stumbled to a stop and the brunette turned to look at it, she walked up to the blue wooden box and went to touch it but stopped when Rose shouted for her and Lillie ran after her.

The Tardis warbled, recognizing the soul of the girl who had tried to touch her, well, the fact that she was the same girl who dressed as Sherlock.

--

The neighbors applauded when the sisters returned much to Lillie’s embarrassment as she pulled her hoodie over her head and then their mother burst out of their flat, resembling five foot tall blonde and denim missile.

Rose flinched and Lillie paused, observing her mother’s mood, trying to decipher, if they’d get a hug or a slap.

A hug. A hug that nearly knocked Lillie off the ground and brought her mother down with her but they managed not to as Jackie squeezed the living daylights out of the sisters.

Jackie Tyler, five-foot-nothing, age—not relevant (thirty-six, but she’d never admit it), karaoke champion of the spinning wheel, life and soul of the party (which birthed Jackie’s eighteen-year-old joke of how she could be Lillie’s mother since she was the opposite) but a monumental lightning storm when angry(which was proof that she was Lillie’s mother), now sobbing and laughing and somehow finding a reason to give Rose a punch on the arm while still nearly strangling her youngest.

“YOU STUPID GIRL!”

“Why am I stupid!?” Rose asked.

“You just are!”

Then she found a reason to get angry at her youngest, “What are you doing out here in the cold! You’ll get hypo-pneumonia!”

“That’s not a thing, Mum!” Lillie protested as Jackie dragged her back to the flat, waving to the neighbors as though she had single-handedly rescued her daughters herself, “It’s ‘hypothermia’ and ‘pneumonia’!

As she dragged her youngest inside as if she were blue from the cold as her oldest, thankful for not being Jackie’s center of attention at the moment, quietly entered as Jackie wittered on, “What would I do if you left! All these textbooks lying about!” To be fair, a bunch of Lillie’s textbooks were at random places, including in the freezer as Jackie had found that morning for some reason and a bunch of her papers were scattered about.

Soon Jackie switched to going on the phone to talk to seemingly everyone she had ever known, as the sisters watched the news, "The whole of Central London has been closed off as police investigate the fire. Early reports indicate..."

Jackie walked out of the kitchen, still on the phone, "I know. It's on the telly. It's everywhere. They're lucky to be alive. Honestly, it's aged them. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now you'd think I was their daughter. Oh, and here's them."

Mickey, Rose's boyfriend entered the apartment, "I've been phoning your mobiles. You two could've been dead. It's on the news and everything. I can't believe that your shop went up!""

"We're all right, honestly!" Rose said.

"We're fine! Don't make a fuss." Lillie agreed.

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't know!"" The sisters groaned in unison.

"What was it though?" Mickey asked. "What caused it?"

"We weren't in the shop. We were outside." Rose lied. "We didn't see anything.

Jackie walked up to them, handing Rose the phone, "It's Debbie on the end. She knows a man on the Mirror. Five hundred quid for an interview."

"Oh, that's brilliant!" Rose said, sarcastically, taking the phone, "Give it here." She took the phone and hung up.

"Well, you've got to find some way of making money. Your job's kaput and I'm not bailing you out."

"Mum, we could've died! Now's not the time to be thinking about money!" Lillie scolded her mother but before Jackie could reply the phone rang and she picked up again.

"Bev! They're alive. I've told them, sue for compensation. They were within seconds of death." She said into the phone as Lillie rolled her eyes. As far as Jackie knew, they hadn’t even been in the building.

"What're you drinking, tea? Nah, nah, that's no good, that's no good. You're in shock. You need something stronger." Mickey told them.

"We're all right." Rose said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Now, come on, you deserve a proper drink. We're going down the pub. My treat. How about it?" Mickey told the girls.

"Is there a match on?" Rose asked, knowing her boyfriend.

"No, I'm just thinking about you, babe."

"There's a match on, ain't there."

"That's not the point, but we could catch the last five minutes." Mickey said.

"Go on, then." Rose said.

"We're fine, really." Lillie reassured him.

"Go. Get rid of that."

Rose and Mickey kissed before leaving with the mannequin arm.

"Fire then spread throughout the store. Fifteen fire crews are in attendance though it's thought there is very little chance of saving the infrastructure."

Lillie’s phone rang and she looked at it and stiffened. Lars.

She shut herself off into her room, hearing her mother say, “Oh, Lillie’s gone to her room already. Lasted longer than you thought, Bev but I know my daughter!”

Lillie answered her phone and didn’t even get to answer when a series of fast-paced anxious questions were hurled at her from the other end as if someone had pushed the forward wind button as Lillie repeated the nickname and it wasn’t until about ten minutes later that Lillie could get a word in edgewise.

—

Rose was still shamed how she hadn’t acted as she thought she would in the crisis, wondering if it was a girl thing. She felt like everyone was right about her that there wasn’t anything special about her, that she was simply and utterly average. Maybe Jimmy Stone was right about her, that she was thick. She felt like for the first time, she had let her sister down, who the only person she felt like didn’t look at her like she couldn’t do better. She felt like she had broken her promise to save her sister. Soon she drifted to sleep but she woke up around two when Lillie let in Lars, quietly and snuck into her room. Rose listened to the indecipherable whispering between Lillie and Lars, luckily Rose’s room was in-between Lillie and Jackie’s, so their mum didn’t hear the late-night visitor.  Rose drifted off to sleep again, to wake up again around three.

--

Lillie's alarm woke her from her dream. Her blue eyes opened as she heard her mother shout to Rose, "There's no point in getting up, sweetheart. You've got no job to go to."

Lillie had chosen to stay home that day as Jackie prompted Rose to get another job, even though twelve hours ago her last one blowing up.

"There's Finch's. You could try them. They've always got jobs." Jackie suggested.

"Oh, great. The butchers." Rose scoffed, sarcastically.

"Well, it might do you good. That shop was giving you airs and graces. And I'm not joking about compensation. You've had genuine shock and trauma. Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek!"

"Mum, Arianna is Greek!" Lillie said, somewhat boredly.

"I know she is Greek, but that's not the point. It was a valid claim."

Lillie dropped her head on the table in exasperation as Rose smiled softly, stroking her little sister's chocolate-colored locks.

Something at the door rattled, the catflap. According to their mother, that was one of the last things their father, Pete Tyler promised to fix, according to Jackie he was a budding entrepreneur and an inventor, at least, that’s who Pete wanted to be; he died before he could. The day of Sarah and Stuart’s wedding, he took the week-old Lillie out to get a wedding present that he forgot about, Jackie had already been furius that he took their newly born daughter who spent most of the week in the hospital because she was born at six months miraculously which had turned to guilt when she was informed of what had happened when the police had tracked her down, baby Lillie had spent hours crying as if she had sensed her father’s death.

Eighteen years later, Jackie had insisted she’d one day fix the catflap but she never did. Lillie didn’t need to take psychology classes to know for Jackie to do it would to fully accept that Pete was never coming back.

Rose and Lillie walked over to it, "Mum, you're such a liar. I told you to nail that cat flap down. We're going to get strays."

"I did it weeks back!" Jackie called.

"No, you thought about it." Lillie called back.

Lillie could swear she heard a familiar sound but she couldn't think where she heard it before. She bent down, finding the screws for the cat flap and it moved slightly. Rose bent down, opening it to see a familiar face.

"What the hell?" Lillie asked as the sisters stood up and Rose opened the door.

"What're you two doing here?" He asked like he was the one who belonged there.

"We live here." Rose said, "what are you doing here?"

"What'd you do that for?" He asked.

"'Cause we do!" Rose snapped. "And I'm only home because someone blew up my job."

He took out the sonic screwdriver again.

"Must have got the wrong signal." He said, "neither of you are plastic, are you?" He knocked on Rose's forehead, then went to do the same to Lillie's who slapped his hand away, giving him a similar drolly glare at Nova was so accustomed to giving him. "Nope, boneheads. Bye, then."

Lillie grabbed him by the arm, glaring at him like, oh, no. You're not getting away so easily again! "You, inside, right now." She pulled him inside, making him stumble from her impressive strength and grip. Lillie herself was surprised by her bold act as she was usually accustomed to just ignoring people listening to her Walkman, because for some reason, she still had one that somehow hadn't broken.

"Who is it?" Jackie called from her room.

Rose poked her head to Jackie's room, "It's about last night, he's part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes.

"They deserve compensation." Jackie said.

"We're talking millions." The Doctor agreed.

"I'm in my dressing gown."

"Yes, you are."

"There's a strange man in my bedroom."

"Yes, there is."

"Well, anything could happen."

"No."

Lillie had a disgusted look on her face. "Well, I'm scarred for life." Lillie deadpanned, pulling the Doctor away from Jackie's room. "Come into our house, strange stranger,"

"Don't mind the mess. Do you want a coffee?"

"Might as well, thanks! Just milk."

Lillie watched the Doctor as Rose made the coffees.

"We should go to the police. Seriously. All of us."

He picked up a magazine, "That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien.

"I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong."

He picked up a paperback book, The Lovely Bones, flipping through it and remarking, "Hmm. Sad ending."

"Uh, y-yeah, it's for school." Lillie said, looking at him, strangely. "Don't like it. Very depressing."

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Eighteen. Turn nineteen in October." She answered.

"College?" He asked.

"Cambridge."

"Cambridge? Good school."

"Yeah, astrology. I've always wanted to reach the stars." She said and a smile pulled at his lips.

"They said on the news they'd found a body."

He picked up an envelope, "Rose Tyler." Then he looked at himself in the mirror and seemed to be acting as if he had never seen his reflection before, "Ah, could've been worse. Look at the ears."

"All the same, he was nice. Nice bloke."

The Doctor picked up a deck of cards, "Luck be a lady."

"Anyway, if we are going to go to the police, I want to know what we're saying."

The cards went flying everywhere.

"I want you to explain everything."

"Maybe not." She snarked.

He saw a picture of a thirteen-year-old girl in a Sherlock Holmes costume and then it clicked; he pointed at her, "October thirty-first, two thousand. Sherlock Holmes." He looked her up and down, "You've changed."

She narrowed her eyes at him and scoffed, "You can talk!"

He looked confused for a moment before realizing, "oh yes, the face. I do that."

"You change your face?" She asked.

"And body and personality, done it half a dozen times since I last saw you." He said, causally.

"As you do." She said, sarcastically.

"Why'd you change?"

"Uh, I grew up." She said.

The Doctor made a face at that, like he was Peter Pan thinking of the aspect of growing up.

“What’s this?” He asked, nearly slipping of paper.

“Oh, that’s my paper on spooky action at a distance.” She giggled, “That’s what I call ‘Quantum entanglement’ to annoy my professor. I take university-level classes.”

“At eighteen?” The Doctor asked, actually impressed and picked up another paper.

“That’s my paper on cosmology. It’s about the size of the universe…”

“This… this is like twenty-first century drafting of Camhoolian Flat Mathematics, though oddly with very little mathematics.” He kept turning the paper at different angles as if expecting to spot a secret message.

“I don’t like numbers; they give me a headache.” She said.

“Ah, I understand that! Wait, this paper is dated 1999! And it’s about quantum physics! How long have you been taking university classes?”

“Since I was twelve.” She mumbled.

Then there was a pattering sound, "What's that, then? You got a cat?"

"No."

He peeked over the couch and the mannequin arm jumped up, grabbing his throat. Lillie jumped into action, trying to pull it off.

"We did have, but now they're just strays. They come in off the estate."

Rose came back in and took little to no notice of what was happening, under the impression that it was just a joke.

"I told Mickey to chuck that out... Honestly, give a man a plastic hand..."

"Uh, Rose." Lillie said but Rose didn't seem to hear her.

"Anyway, I don't even know your name, Doctor... what was it?"

The Doctor threw the hand off and it flies across the room attaching itself to Rose's face.

"ROSE!" Lillie screamed, worried for her sister, running to her trying to pull the hand off.

She pulled it off no problem only for it to grab on to Lillie's throat, pushing her down onto the glass coffee table which broke from her weight as it strangled her.

"LILLIE!" Rose screamed.

The Doctor pushed her onto the couch, took out the sonic screwdriver, and disabled the hand. Rose enveloped her sister into a big hug before examining her neck for bruising.

Somehow all of this commotion went completely unnoticed by Jackie Tyler who apparently had the loudest hair dryer known to humankind.

"It's alright, I've stopped it. There you go you see? Armless."

He tossed it at them, Rose snatched it before it could hit Lillie, not wanting to take any chances. "Do you think?" She then whacked him on the shoulder with it.

The Doctor then promptly left with the bemused sisters running after him.

"Hold on a minute, you can't just go swanning off." Rose exclaimed.

"Yes, I can. Here I am, this is me, swanning off. See ya!" He exclaimed.

"That arm was moving, it tried to kill me! It tried to kill my sister!" Rose snapped.

"Ten out of ten for observation." He said, sarcastically.

"You can't just walk away, that's not fair! You've got to tell us what's going on." Lillie said, angrily, getting mad that he had insulted her sister.

"No, I don't."

"Well, you should." Lillie argued.

"Alright then. I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking." Rose tried to sound tough.

"Is that supposed to sound tough?"

"Sort of." She said, sheepishly.

"Doesn't work."

"Who are you!?" Rose asked.

"I told you! The Doctor."

"Yeah. But Doctor what?"

"It's just the Doctor." Lillie replied.

"Just the Doctor." He said, their responses overlapping.

"The Doctor?"

"Hello!"

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?"

"Sort of." He mimicked her earlier words.

"Well, it's not." Lillie said, sharply.

"Come on. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?"

"No. I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home."

"But what have we done wrong? How comes those plastic things keep coming after us?" Rose asked. "And how do we stop them before they kill my me and sister."

"Oh! Suddenly the entire world revolves around you! You two were just an accident, you two got in the way, that's all."

"It tried to kill us!"

"It was after me, not you! Last night, in the shop, I was there, you two blundered it. Almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down... the only reason it fixed on you is that you met me."

"So, what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you." Lillie sassed.

"Sort of, yeah."

"You're full of it!"

"Sort of, yeah."

"If we almost ruined everything last night, then you didn't have to save us," Lillie spoke up, "you could've let us die. Why did you save us, then?"

"It's my job."

"You haven't done this is a while, have you?"

The Doctor stopped and looked at her, surprised, "yeah, how'd you know?"

"I-I don't know. I just know things about people. I'm intuitive I guess, part of the ADHD thing."

"You're ADHD?" The Doctor asked, the similarities just kept adding up.

"Yeah, you got a problem with a girl having ADHD?" She demanded, surprising herself with the confrontational tone as she was not a confrontational person.

"No, my best friend had ADHD before she died." He said, "I'm trying to do better in her memory."

"Then you shouldn't tell people they almost ruined everything; you know how much we already do that ourselves!" Lillie reprimanded him, reminding him of someone who always scolded his dismissive behavior.

"But, all this plastic stuff. Who else knows about it?" Rose asked, changing the subject and they all started to walk again.

"No one."

"What, you're on your own?" Lillie asked, noticing the lack of Nova and Sarah-Jane.

"Well, who else is there?" He said, shortly, "I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."

"Oh, yeah? Well, some of us would love do something more but can't! My sister dropped out of school without taking her A-levels for a boy and he thanked her by stealing her computer, leaving her to deal with their shared bedsit to run away with a woman named Noosha in a camper van with no A-levels and an incomplete education!"

"Lillie!" Rose scolded, embarrassed.

"Our dad died when I was barely a week old, he was an inventor, Rose wasn't even a year old and our Mum's a hairdresser who raised us on her own." Lillie didn't mention how while Jackie did the best she could, she wasn't as present in their lives as any of them would've liked, Rose essentially took on the protecting role over Lillie and helped raise her as much as Jackie did. "Not everyone gets the opportunity to do something great with their lives. Some things get in the way, some of those things they may be born with, and sometimes people don't know what they're going to do with their life."

The Doctor seemed shocked by all this and felt a little bad, understanding that with all of this companions, some had had less than fortunate upbringings. Vicki Pallister's dad had been killed by someone who she though was like a father figure to her while gaslighting her for years. Peri Brown had been fearful of her stepfather, not that he made it much better when he throttled her after regenerating into the Sixth Doctor. Then... Nova, her parents hadn't been abusive, they loved her with all their hearts, but... the man she had to marry, however...

"Sorry."

Rose sighed and snatched the arm from him. "Okay. Start from the beginning. I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do, how did you kill it?" Rose asked.

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead."

"So that's radio control?"

"Thought control." Lillie said automatically though she wasn't sure how she knew this.

"So, who's controlling it, then?"

"Long story."

"Well, I happen to like long stories." Lillie challenged.

"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" And then the three laughed.

"No."

"No."

"It's not a price war. They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?"

The sisters spoke in unison but had different answers, "No."

"Yes."

"But you're still listening." He pointed out to Rose.

"Really, though, Doctor. Tell me, who are you?"

He paused, "Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it." He took their hands "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, both of you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go. That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose and Lillie Tyler." He took the arm from Rose, "Go home."

Lillie watched as he walked towards the blue box from the day before but it was in a different place, Lillie narrowed her eyes before Rose pulled her away when a rush of air blew through the area and then a strange noise. A strange yet beautiful sound that only existed in Lillie's dreams along with adventure that she had never known in this lifetime. The girls ran back to find the blue box gone.

--

The Doctor walked into the Tardis and started to smack the console as he brought up Lillie Tyler's high school picture and info.

Full Name: Delilah Holmes “Lillie” Tyler

Birthday: October 31, 1987

Appearance: Curly dark brown hair, blue eyes, five foot three

Fears: Claustrophobia — Fear of small, enclosed spaces

Skills/Abilities: Deduction, Problem-solving, Creative solutions, Resilience, Compassion, Empathy, Multi-tasking, Adaptability

Disorder(s): ADHD, Directional Dyslexia

Family:

Pete Tyler (Father; Deceased)

Jackie Tyler (Mother; Hairdresser)

Rose Tyler (Former Student; Dropped Out)

Medical History: Born four months early, fortunately, she was miraculously grown enough to go home with her parents and sister; Frequent visits to hospitals for bruised knuckles acquired due to fights; Sensitive to cold weather, prone to getting colds.

Record: Lillie has been known to skip class and get in trouble with the authorities and rebel.

Notes: "Lillie marches to the beat of her own drum"; Lots of potential, no ambition; Equipped for leadership but lacks interest; Highly intelligent but absent-minded.

"What are you?" The Doctor wondered.

--

"This is why we need to get a car of our own." Lillie complained to her sister.

"You're not coming in! He's safe, he's got a wife and kids." Rose told Mickey.

"Yeah but who told you that? He did. That's exactly what an Internet lunatic murderer would say."

Rose and Lillie got out and knocked on the door of the house, a boy answered.

"Uh, hello, we've come to see Clive. We've been emailing." Rose said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Dad! It's one of your nutters!" He called. Rose and Lillie exchanged looks at this.

"Sorry. Hello. You must be Rose and Lillie. I'm Clive. Obviously!"

"I better tell you now, my boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill us!" Rose said and the sisters laughed nervously.

"No, good point. No murders." He said, he waved to Mickey who glared.

"Who is it?" His wife asked.

"Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor! These girls have been reading the website. Please come through, I'm in the shed." He invited the girls inside.

Lillie tilted her head, he seemed friendly enough, but she had a taser gun in her pocket... just in case.

"They read a website about the Doctor? Girls?"

In the shed, Clive told them about the Doctor. "A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive, I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it if you know what I mean. If you dig deep enough—keep a lively mind—this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories. Even ghost stories. No first name, no last name. Just 'The Doctor'. Always the Doctor. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son, it appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?"

He pointed to a photo of the Doctor on a computer screen behind them.

"Yeah."

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive last year. The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original..."

He shows the girls some photographs of the Doctor standing in a crowd at the JFK assassination.

"November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy."

"Must be his father..." Rose mused.

The father/son theory made sense but Lillie wasn't sure. 

"Going further back... April 1912." He brought over a photo album of sorts. "This is a photo of the Daniels family, Southampton. And friend." He pointed to the Doctor standing with them "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World. On the Titanic. And for some unknown reason, they canceled the trip and survived. And..." He brought them a sketch of the Doctor, "1883. Another Doctor. And look—the same lineage. He's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He has a storm in his wake. And he has one constant companion."

"Who's that?"

"Death."

Lillie felt offended but it was brief and fleeting. "Death? How do you know he's the cause for all this death?" Lillie questioned, "what if he only showed up because of the death and he stopped it as much as he could?"

“Uh, his name, how can he be ‘the Doctor’?” Rose asked. “It’s a bit vague. When I tried searching online, I got too many results.”

“Yes. That’s how he hides in plain sight. Clever, isn’t he… or she…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well to narrow the search down, I started look for the Doctor—the definite article—specifically no first name, no last name—just the Doctor and all the evidence seems to suggest, the Doctor seems to be some sort of title—given to a freedom fight or a convert operative. Granted by the some sort of government. Because in times of crisis, there’s always been a Doctor. And look, here they are, these people would seem to be the most important Doctors of all.”

Clive laid out photos on the glass table, all the Doctor’s Lillie had dreamed of… “It’s hard to work out the right order, but I think this is the Doctor…”

Lillie took a photo of an old man with white hair under a black cap and a black cape, standing in front of a metal tank that Lillie somehow knew was a called a “War Machine.”

“What’s that thing?” Rose asked.

“A War Machine.” Clive stated and then he explained, “Evil thanks built by a super computer hidden inside the Post Office Tower which invented the internet.”

Rose expressed her disbelief while Lillie stared at the photos of the old man. Another photo with him had a photo of a girl near him that caught Lillie’s attention. She was around fifteen with short dark brown, almost black hair and blue-brown eyes.

“Grandfather!” A girl’s voice echoed in her head before it seemed to tune in her head, making the girl’s voice clearer now, “Oh, Grandfather, I belong with you!”

Then a man spoke, he sounded older, “Not any longer, Susan. You’re still my grandchild and you always will be.  But now, you’re a woman, too.  I want you to belong somewhere, to have roots of your own.  With David, you’ll be able to find those roots and live normally like any woman should do.  Believe me, my dear, your future lies with David, not with a silly old buffer like me. One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan. Goodbye, my dear.”

Then Lillie saw flashes of the girl, just slightly aged, but her face was smudged with ash and blood, her eyes staring at nothing, but as quickly as the image in her head was there, it was gone.

A little man with a Beatles mop of hair and Lillie had another not-memory of him playing a recorder much to a young man’s increasing irritation.

A man with a gray bouffant hairstyle sitting in a silver hovercraft with… was that Sarah Jane Smith!? There was someone in the backseat but only she bent down, Lillie could only see the top of her head and her multicolored hair.

Lillie saw flashes of him snatching a pair of shoes from a doctor and holding them close to his chest, rather childishly for an old man.

The curly-haired man in the impractically long scarf too small to be seen in detail because he was dwarfed by a silly forced-perspective puppet monster rising out of the Thames at least that’s how Rose’s mind put it together.  Lillie saw another phone of the girl with who seemed to be Sarah Jane again, the girl seemed to be doing a fangirl happy dancing while pointing and squealing to Sarah Jane at the “puppet monster” with her light green hair flying about.

A rather hot blonde man at Heathrow and behind him was the girl again, now with dark green hair sneaking up the stairs as three security guards bolted towards her.

“Is that man wearing celery?” Lillie asked but was ignored.

A curly-haired man clearly on his way to a fancydress party dressed as a picnic behind him was the girl with blue-gray hair with hints of other colors with another girl with dark hair. Lillie saw flashes of some rather tender moments, close ups of the girl who had bruises around her neck as if she had been strangled, as if Lillie herself were comforting, her mind made a seemingly random connection: Perpugilliam. 

Then she saw flashes of the girl, now older, she seemed to be in turn, comforting someone in Lillie’s first-person perspective and she heard her say, “Cute blonde guys can turn into scary violent guys real quick.”

A World War II photo of a short man with an umbrella running with some soldiers but there was no sign of the girl.

A dashing, Byronic man at the opening of some atomic clock thing still no sign of the girl.

And then… “That’s him.” Rose said as Lillie skipped the next two, noting that these didn’t look familiar at all.

A man with floppy hair around his mid-twenties to early thirties with a bowtie and a noticeable jaw and he was adjusting his bowtie, defensively and seemed to be justifying it to a woman whose face couldn’t be seen other than her frizzy grayish hair as another woman who had red hair and seemed to have more legs than most woman, again Lillie couldn’t see her face was her body language seemed indicate she was laughing.

An angry-looking man around fifty-something years old with gray hair and a caretaker's coat, holding a mop for some reason.

 A woman in her mid-thirties with short shoulder-length blonde hair and braces, running away from a giant frog in front of Buckingham Palace.

A Black man in his late twenties-to-early-thirties in an orange coat running through a graveyard.

A tall, bald Black woman wielding a flaming sword.

Another dark-skinned woman who appeared to be middle aged with her hair woven into braids in a navy tweed frock coat with silver buttons with golden hoop earrings. She seemed to be arguing with someone hidden from view.

Lillie was sure she didn’t have any dreams of her but somehow she seemed familiar but at the same time, her appearance put her off slightly, made her feel anxious in ways none of the others had. Like she was part of a deep dark secret Lillie had but didn’t know.

And a young girl or boy in a hi-tech wheelchair with what looked like a robot dog at their side.

“Before we stop, you should see the whole thing. Your Doctor’s not the final Doctor in the sequence, have a look at this next one.”

“We can’t keep Mickey waiting forever.” Rose sighed, checking the time.

Clive was saying something about a man who was usually seen with two pinstripe suits under a brown coat, brown and blue.

“What?” Lillie asked, why did that sound familiar.

She looked at the photo to see a handsome young man in his late twenties to early thirties, he was a distinct look that made Lillie think, oh, this guy could not pass as an American, either he’s British, Scottish, or an alien. He wore a brown trench coat over a blue pinstripe suit covering a dark tie and a white button-up shirt, and vastly contrasting against his professional wardrobe was a pair of white converse sneakers. He had simply fantastic hair, that seemed to defy gravity itself. He looked familiar but Lillie couldn’t place him.

She saw another picture of the man but he seemed a bit more aged, however with a copper-tinge to his chocolate brown fantastic hair, he was wearing a similar but updated wardrobe, a navy blue trench coat over a white button-up shirt with a gray knitted tie, a brown and turquoise checked-tartan waistcoat only buttoned once over his tie with a pair of matching trousers.

“I’m only interested in my Doctor.” Rose said.

“Yes! Yes!” Clive said and fetched a box labeled: 09 but Lillie was examining a picture of what seemed to be the girl but there was a bright lens flare covering her face. She shifted through some more but there were various light or tech problems some lens flares either on or beside her face or full-on glitches; some of the flares were directly over her heart, some had colorful flare-like things around her like an aura. Some looked like filters you’d do for fun, not to convince people, which hinted that Clive hadn’t doctored these. There were only a few you could see her face and in them she seemed preoccupied but the few filtered ones that allowed you to see her she seemed aware of the photographer, from a mischievous glint in her eyes, a uptilt in her cheekbones of a mischievous smirk, or just a feeling Lillie got, like she had power over the lights and even the camera. There were black and white ones with light effect in color. Something told Lillie that these weren’t Clive’s handiwork… but they were because of the girl.

“What are these flares?”

“Blimey. She looks just like you!” Rose exclaimed and then he elbowed her sister, “Look good as a blonde.” Lillie rolled her eyes.

Clive didn’t really see it but he explained, “That’s a companion often seen with the Doctor, she seems to be on and off but it’s rare to get a good picture of her.” He seemed a bit dismissive of her and turned back to the Doctor.

Lillie looked back at the photos to see one with a series of lens glares over her, this one she had red hair.

“What’s this thing?” Rose asked, pointing to the blue box in a picture of the Doctor.

Lillie looked at it and she felt a sense of longing, she missed a home she had never had.

“I don’t know.” Clive said, also sort of dismissing it, like he could see it but because he didn’t know the power of the Doctor or the Tardis he didn’t want to see it; something different that you see but you don’t really focus on it.

“So, how’d you get into this in the first place, Clive?” Lillie asked. “It looks like it must’ve taken years to gather all of this.” She gestured to the research. “So what started it.”

“My dad. He died when I was two years old.”

“Oh.” Rose said, sadly and she wrapped an arm around her younger sister, “I was six months and Lils here was only a week old when we lost ours.”

“I bet you still think about him.”

“Yeah, I do.” Rose admitted.

Lillie’s memory came up blank when it came to Pete as she had only been a week old when he was hit by that car. Only Jackie’s stories, and though neither sister knew, they highlighted who Pete wanted to be and the best of him rather than what she had thought of him at the time. She had always scolded Pete by telling him the girls needed a proper father, that didn’t mean the girls couldn’t think that he was, because he tried to be.

But then Lillie’s memory flashed to a man she was sure she had never seen before but seemed familiar in a way she couldn’t explain. He had dark red hair and blue eyes.

“Me too.” Clive said, “My old fella was a soldier with the Infantry. He was in the London Regiment. Proper little Cockney by all accounts, Mam said he was always scrapping. Handy with his fists. They said he died on manoeuvres. But in Shoreditch, of all places. Sounds a bit odd, dying in peacetime on British soil. Accidental discharge of a weapon, they told my mam. And bear in mind, this was back in 1963. You didn’t argue, back in those days, you accepted what the establishment said. But not me! I got older, I kept asking questions. Second Lieutenant Gary Jonathan Finch, how did he die?” Clive took out a photo from his wallet, laminated—much more personal. A black and white photo of a tough, stocky man in his early thirties, obviously Clive’s father—the same curly hair. “The more I tried to research it, the stranger it seemed. Like something was being hidden. Turns out, Dad’s regiment was caught up in some sort of incident. All very hush-hush. The day he died, they’d sealed off the whole of Shoreditch. Officially, they said a cache of unexploded bombs had been discovered. And there were certainly reports of huge explosions, that day. I tracked down the Service Inquiry, in the end, it was buried deep but I found it. And it said Dad had been killed in a junkyard, in a place called Totter’s Lane.”

Lillie’s mind flashed to an old junkyard, this sounded vaguely familiar but also… different.

“But killed, how? Information redacted. No record of the inquest. But I kept on looking, I searched and searched. Until I found it. The secret.”

“What secret?” Lillie asked.

“There was something else on the streets that day. Something that had no place in this world.” He took a few moments to take a deep breath and he opened a black folder, showing the sisters what he believed to be the real cause of his father’s death. It was a picture of a smaller tank made out of white and gold metal, Lillie hadn’t seen too much of the villians of the Doctor in her dreams, she had mostly seen him saving the day and with Nova but she knew this was one of them.

She had flashes of a young girl just a few years younger than her and she was hiding when a white and gold Dalek came in.

“Small human female sighted on level three.”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL!” She bellowed and she started to beat the machine with a bat.

“Under attack! Under attack!”

She hit the eyepiece and then dove under the benches.

“Vision impaired!” The machine whined and started to fire wildly.

The girl had dove under a desk, using it for cover before jumping on it and running along the table towards the window as the creature followed the noise she was making in her haste.

“Reinforcements requested!” Then she jumped through the window into the hallway.

Another creature just narrowly missed her, she ran past it but not before turning around and bashing her bat into its side and taking off down the stairs… apparently they could somehow use stairs… she came upon a dead soldier, making her halt, she saw that he was dead and there was nothing she could do so she took his gun and ran off as one of the creatures rolled into the room.

“Human female is now leaving building!”

Ace ran down a hallway but was then trapped between two Daleks in a large empty area opening onto the playground.

“Stay where you are. Do not move.”

“Exterminate. Exterminate.”

Then a third Dalek arrived, they all closed in on her as they all chanted: “exterminate!”

Ace got down on her knees, taking an anti-tank rocket and launcher out of her rucksack, clearly scared but not going to go down without a fight.

“ACE!” Screamed a voice and Lillie saw the girl again who looked just like her but with multicolored hair, she looked the same as she always did but there was something much more youthful about her, like she hadn’t yet been broken by the universe. She extended her hands, her eyes glowing and all three Daleks exploded.

“Ace!” The woman ran to the girl who was apparently named Ace in a protective manner.

“I nearly had them.” Ace muttered.

“You’re hurt.”

“I had an argument with a window.” Ace dismissed.

“You could’ve gotten killed.” The woman said with obvious worry beneath the her anger that she had taken out on the Daleks.

Clive was speaking again, “No one knows what it’s called. But I believe this creature, from outer space, murdered my dad.”

Lillie’s memory flashed to a fallen soldier, Clive’s dad, dead on the ground of a junkyard.

Rose was clearly not convinced; she looked at the photos of all the aliens. “And all of these things, the lizards and the robots and the blobs. They’re all from outer space? But Clive. Look. I’m sorry about your dad, but … All these creatures, they’ve been photographed out on the streets. In the open. They’re next to Big Ben. That giant big tentacle-thing is wrapped around Westminster Abbey. If all these alien invasions happened in public, how come we don’t know about them?”

“That’s the thing!” said Clive, excited, moving to look them in the eyes, “How do we forget? Why? That’s the biggest mystery of all. Some people say they’ve drugged the water. Some people say there’s an amnesia wavelength being beamed into our heads. And some people say there’s a crack in time, leaching away the memories of the human race.’

“What?” Lillie asked. That didn’t sound good.

He paused. ‘That one sounds a bit too fanciful for me.’

“Mmm-hmm.” Rose hummed in agreement as Lillie gave Clive was bewildered look.

"If the Doctor's back... if you've seen him, Rose... Lillie... then one thing's for certain, we're all in danger. If he's singled you two out... If the Doctor's making house calls... then God help you two."

"Who is he? Who do you think he is?" Rose asked.

"I think he's the same man. I think they’re all the same person. Each Doctor. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world." Clive said.

Lillie nodded, feeling he was right as Rose felt like this was just crazy... this was fiction... this was the raving of a madman... this was just absurd.

Rose pulled Lillie away from the "crazy" man's house and to the car talking to Mickey before they were even back inside the car.

"Alright! He's a nutter! Off his head! Complete online conspiracy freak. You win!" She said as they got back in.

“Rose! We’ve barley left his house!” Lillie started to scold her sister as she got in and then she stared  at the person in the driver's seat. It seemed to be a poorly made clone of Mickey Smith.

"What're we going to do tonight? I fancy a pizza."

"Pizzaaa! P-p-p-pizza!" The whatever it was said.

"...or a Chinese..."

"Pizza!"

Whatever it was that had taken Mickey's place drove off in a wobbly line. How was Rose not noticing this? Lillie knew she didn't pay as much attention to Mickey as she should've but this was ridiculous.

--

At the restaurant, the trio sat at a table as Rose pondered where she should go to get a job as Lillie stared at the strange-looking Mickey, bemused by how Rose couldn't tell that it wasn't her boyfriend.

"Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had a few jobs going in the canteen. That's it then... dishing out chips... I could do A-Levels..."

"Mickey" just stared at her, grinning creepily.

"I dunno. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school because of him and look where he ended up. What do you think?"

Jimmy Stone. Rose's deadbeat ex-boyfriend who she dropped out of school for to which he then repaid her by stealing her computer and dumping her with no A-levels. Lillie had repaid him by slashing his tires and keying his car. Lillie may have been shy but if you hurt someone that she cared about she went all out in getting revenge. She was like a badger, she was often underestimated by her kindness, her quietness, and her non-threatening appearance but when provoked she was able to become vicious and deadly.

"So, where did you meet this Doctor?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about me for a second?" Rose asked sarcastically.

"Because, I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Is he something to do with that?"

"No..." The sisters said.

"Come on."

"Sort of." Rose said.

"No." Lillie said, sternly, glaring at her sister like, shut up. “Mickey…” She said the name of her oldest friend as she were meeting someone else with that name and didn’t feel like it belonged to them and she spoke slowly and cautiously to both not set off this fake-looking Mickey and to warn Rose, “we never told you anything about the Doctor.”

"What was he doing there?" Mickey ignored her.

"I'm not going on about him, Mickey, I'm not, because, I know it sounds daft but... I don't think he's safe. I think he's dangerous." Rose said. “And you know, I can’t let anything happen to Lillie.”

Lillie disagreed in a way while she didn't think he was safe at the same time she knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"But you can trust me sweetheart! Babe, sugar, darling, sugar."

Both sisters looked confused.

"You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really wanna do, sweetheart, babe, sugar, sweetheart."

"What're you doing that for?"

A waiter approaches the table, Lillie looked up to see the Doctor, he winked and then put a finger to his lips to silently tell her not to say anything.

"Your champagne."

"We didn't order any champagne." Fake Mickey said, grabbing Rose's hand, "Where's the Doctor?

The Doctor moved to Rose's side and held the bottle out to her, "Ma'am. Your champagne."

"It's not ours..." Rose waved him off, not looking at him, "Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

Lillie gave her a drolly look like, seriously?

"I need to find out how much you know, so where is he?" He pressed on.

"Why do you want to know so bad? Why do you need to find out what we know?" Lillie snapped, narrowing her eyes at him, suspiciously. "Huh, Mickey!?"

Then Mickey’s smile fell, along with his eye, revealing just a smooth surface…

Rose gasped, barely managing not to scream and she muttered, “Plastic.”

He popped the eyeball back into his head and then he grabbed both Lillie and Rose’s wrists, tightly.

“Let go!” Rose gasped.

“Now tell me, I want to know everything about the Doctor. Or I will kill them.”

“Who!?”

“The people. The diners. The humans. Everyone. Starting with your sister!”

New kind of fear shot through Rose. She recognized the self-preserving kind of fear and then the fear she had for her sister’s safety. But fear for other people’s safety, there was a family nearby with two kids, two couples on either side of them, and a gang of friends. And most importantly to her, her sister. All in danger. Because of her. She’d brought this plastic monstrosity into the building and sat him down in the middle of them all. She felt a raw terror like never before because other people were in danger now, not just her and Lillie... Mickey. The real Mickey. Where was he?

Lillie looked around, where was the Doctor now!? She huffed and resisted, making fake Mickey look at her perhaps for the first time but he seemed to be able to barley do that.

“Think about it, mannequin. You’re in a pizza place with hot ovens. Large ovens. Blistering hot to humans but it’d just melt you.” Lillie growled as her necklace started to glow and Plastic Mickey’s hand started to loosen, not voluntarily but because the plastic-skin enclosed around Lillie’s hand was starting to melt.

Then suddenly he was back,

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" The Doctor asked.

Plastic Mickey, exasperated, finally raised his eyes to the waiter for the first time, "Look, we didn't order any..." He then realized that the waiter was the man he had kept questioning about. Plastic Mickey smirked as if this were his evil plan along. To be rude the waiter. "Ah. Gotcha."

"Yes, you've outnumbered him." Lillie deadpanned to him and ripped her hand out of his grip, the hot plastic not even phasing her as it just slipped off her skin like rain off of a roof. Plastic Mickey was so shocked he let go of Rose.

The Doctor started to shake the bottle as he said, "Don't mind me. I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!"

The cork popped out and hit Fake Mickey squarely in the face. His forehead absorbs the cork, and he spits it out of his mouth.

"I knew that wasn't Mickey all along!" Lillie exclaimed and Rose looked at her, puzzled like she couldn't understand how she could've noticed that this clay model-looking thing wasn't Mickey.

"Anyway." The fake Mickey turned his hand into a plastic blade and started to smash tables.

Rose pulled Lillie out of the way as a woman screamed.

The Doctor grabbed fake Mickey's head and started to pull, making a creaking noise until the head popped off.

"Don't think that's gonna stop me." The disembodied head said, the man sitting at a table nearby screamed. It was almost funny.

Rose saw that the Doctor was grinning madly like this was fun to him, like it was a game.

"Rose, get everyone out." Lillie said, pushing her sister towards the fire alarm which Rose pulled as Lillie shouted, "EVERYONE OUT! OUT NOW!"

Everyone ran for the exit except for the Doctor, Lillie, Rose, and fake Mickey whose body was blinding smashing tables.

"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Then the Fake Mickey swung at Lillie, sensing her voice seemingly. Rose screamed and the Doctor spun around, his glee fading as horror struck him, terrified of losing this mysterious girl, this brilliantly smart girl but Lillie ducked and then jumped as the other hand which had turned into a blade, albeit thinner and weaker swung at her legs, another swing and she spun around of the way, her curly brown hair flying before she stumbled into a table, making it fall over and Lillie noticed a small child at a nearby table, a boy, around the age of four, trying to stay silent but crying, he screamed when he saw the headless Mickey, bring his attention to him.

“No!” Lillie shouted, grabbing a chair and smashing it into the fake Mickey and she went to pick up the boy who clung onto her for dear life, Lillie became aware of the mother of the child was crying out their name.

“Robert! Robert!”

“Mummy!” Robert cried as Lillie handed him over to her.

“Over here!” The Doctor cried and Rose grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her after the Doctor as they ran through the kitchen, warning the staff to leave, only leaving when the headless Mickey came in, causing Lillie to grab the handle of a pot with bubbling water and she threw the water at the creature, weakening its strong arm before the threw the pot at it and was yanked backwards with Rose yanking Lillie by the hoodie, making her let out a strangled gulping sound.

The head started to bark at Lillie like an angry dog after you took their treat away.

The Doctor, Rose, and Lillie ran down a corridor—he grinned at the sisters and said, “Nice to see you, by the way! How’s your mum?”

“Angry!” Lillie stated in a shout from the adrenaline.

“Makes sense.”

They pushed their way out of a back exit, entering a yard containing… The blue box that the Doctor seemed to take everywhere with him which Rose assumed was no use to them now.

Rose spun around to see the Doctor holding Mickey’s head in the crook of his left arm, his foot jamming the fire door shut, whirring that metal stick to lock the door.

“WE’RE OUTSIDE!” Mickey’s head said, taking a break from barking at Lillie.

“Can’t you shut that thing up?” Lillie asked.

She turned to see Rose had run to a gate but it was locked but she was distracted by the Tardis.

Lillie just walked towards the Police Box, she pressed her hand against its wood and could practically hear whirring as if it were purring.

"Hey, girl. Long time no see." She muttered.

"Open the gate! Use that whirry metal thing, come on!" Rose shouted.

"It's a sonic screwdriver." Lillie corrected her, automatically.

“Yes, it is!” The Doctor exclaimed, proudly.

"Use it!" Rose cried.

"Nah. Tell ya what, let's go in here." He dismissed, walking to the police box, unlocking it, and entering.

Lillie eagerly followed him, her first thought, being that he had redecorated. She liked it better. More personality and more… her style.

"Oh, you've redecorated." She said as much. "I like it so much better."

"Yeah?" He smiled; Nova had always insisted that he use this setting but he had refused because he loved to tease her. Now he finally chose it as a tribute to Nova. “How long has it been since you saw me last?”

“Five years.”

“Huh, for the first time, I’m the one taking the slow path.” He said, thinking that couldn’t possibly be right but it was.

“LILLIE, YOU CAN’T HIDE IN A WOODEN BOX!” Rose screamed from outside.

Rose then ran inside and never being inside was shocked.

Nope! Her mind screamed and she ran back outside, making the Doctor chuckle in amusement. Rose, knowing Headless Mickey was going to break down the door, still ran around the box, circling it, to try and get an understanding at how a box that could maybe fit two people could have that much space. She counted the sides. Four.

Then Headless Mickey finally broke through, only a few more chops would allow him to get through, so she ran back inside. "It's gonna follow us!"

"Then close the door." Lillie said, gesturing for her sister to come in and she jumped past  her sister, sliding down the railing towards the door as Headless Mickey broke through and stopped, trying to sense them and then ran at the Tardis but Lillie slammed the doors shut.

They heard Headless Mickey hit the doors but they only shuddered. Rose wouldn’t turn away from the door, struggling to comprehend.

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute." The Doctor was wiring up the clone Mickey's head to the center of the control panel.

“She’s not going to bite you, Rosie.” Lillie said.

Rose finally turned around, nodding and trusting her sister.

The Doctor’s blue box was bigger on the inside than on the outside. Much bigger. Hugely so. She was standing on a metal ramp surrounded by curved walls arching upwards, studded with hexagons. What she’d thought was a dome was more of a sphere; she could look down, through the metal mesh at her feet, to see the curve completing far below in one vast circle. The whole interior was weathered, rusting, bruised, and yet humming with life, as though huge engines were brooding somewhere beyond the walls. The skin of the sphere was supported by weird buttresses, shaped like… coral? Yes, she could smell ozone, like the seaside, though this was a coral glowing with internal light. The metal ramp at her feet was part of a suspended walkway leading to the center of the sphere, to the Doctor. He stood in front of a sculpture, a coral mushroom out of which a glass pillar containing tubes of light soared up to the roof and down to the depths, like a linchpin holding the entire globe together.

 "You see, the arm was too simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source.” He turned to the sisters, he may be alien but he knew enough about humans that they tended to struggle with the bigger-on-the-insideness. “Right. Where do you want to start?"”

The Doctor folded his arms, his feet set apart in a classic pose of masculine supremacy, looking down at them but Lillie knew that wasn’t who he was. He didn’t look down on women and he didn’t think he was as superior as he pretended to be.

But what Rose was focused on what that the Mickey-head had been plugged into the console, she stared at it with her mouth open.

The head was still alive, eyes darting from the Doctor to Rose and then to Lillie, eyeing her suspiciously.

“You must have a lot of questions,” He said, to bring Rose back to reality but then Head-Mickey spoke.

“Not really. Seen all this before. Seen better than this! You lot brought a war crashing down on our civilization, d’you think we don’t remember?”

Lillie studied the Doctor’s body language; the Doctor lost his tough-guy pose, muttered a quick sorry, and leapt to the console and stabbed buttons and pulled a big red lever. “Hold on a tick, we don’t need laughing boy.”

Mickey’s head said, ‘I’m gonna do more than—’

“Hey, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, shut up!” Lillie interrupted him.

He seemed offended but then he froze, and his eyes glazed over. Reduced to inanimate plastic.

 ‘Right, where were we?’ said the Doctor, and returned to that superior folded-arms position, facing Rose and Lillie.

Rose seemed a little overwhelmed but she calmed herself down when Lillie took her hand. Rose was glad she had met Clive as the craziness of his theories seemed to have prepared her.

"Um, the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose pointed out, though that much was obvious, but understandably Rose was in shock.

"Yes." He said and looked at Lillie like, was that so hard? Apparently still a little miffed that she hadn’t said it, to her five years ago, but to him it was hundreds of years ago,.

"You like it when they say that don't you." Lillie asked.

"Yes."

"It's alien." Rose said, still coming to terms with this.

"Yep."

"Are you alien?"

"Yes. Is that all right?"

"Yeah." Both the sisters responded without hesitation.

"It's called..." The Doctor started before the intelligent brunette cut him off.

"The Tardis. T-A-R-D-I-S. An acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"How do you know this?" He asked, not recalling him, Nova, or Sarah-Jane having told her before but before she could reply, Rose burst into tears, Lillie went by her side to comfort her.

The Doctor was uncomfortable for a few moments. Rose thought he was weird. Kind one minute, and yet, when she cried, he stared like a scientist but then again, her sister was like that too. Kind one moment, and then brutal and reckless the next. She had gotten arrested for hacking into the school records once she discovered the school was embezzling money out of the “special needs” program.

"That's okay. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us." The Doctor said, gently. “Natural reaction, for a human.” Rose glared at him. “It does your head in, seeing technology like this.’ He was arrogant, he was alien, and he was an idiot.

"Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?" She asked. Lillie knew that she mostly felt bad because she didn't love him like he loved her. She just loved him as a friend and liked him as a boyfriend.

"Oh. I didn't think of that." He said, blankly, slightly crestfallen getting a glare from the sisters.

"He's my boyfriend. You pulled off his head. They copied him and you didn't even think? And now you're just going to let him melt?"

"Melt?" The Doctor asked, confused, he turned to see the head was indeed melting, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!"

"What're you doing?" Rose cried as Lillie got on her toes, examining the console. the desk had six sides, full of control panels, some sophisticated, some antique, with levers improvised out of bottle-openers and hammers, paperweights in place of dials, toy soldiers and scissors and curling tongs duct-taped to switches to hold them down. Designed by a mad geek wizard child.

No, more like a mad alien science geek man-child who always asked questions like he was in Wonderland. The Doctor had an almost Peter Pan-ness about him. Like he never wanted to grow up.

The Doctor yelled with excitement, “We’re following the signal!’

"Following the signal. It's fading. Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Almost there. Almost there. Here we go!"

Then the Doctor yelled, ‘No!’ He had a rubber mallet in his hand – it was chained to the console, standard kit, for him – and he battered the desk, bang-bang-bang!

“Hey! You can’t hit her!” Lillie shouted, not nearly having as much trouble with the tilting as Rose was.

But whatever he was doing, it was too late. “Lost it,” he groaned, and the tilting stopped and the noise faded away, “I lost the signal but we must be close…”

Before he finished, Lillie had turned and ran to the door, opening it and running outside.

“LILLIE, YOU CAN’T GO OUT THERE! IT’S NOT SAFE!” Rose shouted, wondering if the Doctor’s madness had rubbed off on her sister but then he dashed past her and ran outside. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

The headless Mickey-killer-shovel-hands was still outside in the yard, the Doctor and Lillie would get chopped to death! The fear of losing her sister was enough to get Rose running dwon the ramp and ran to the door and looked outside.

They weren't behind the restaurant anymore but near the Thames River.

"I lost the signal, I got so close." The Doctor was complaining.

"We've moved. Does it fly?" Rose asked.

"More like it disappears and reappears." Lillie said, automatically before shaking her head.

“Oh.” The Doctor said, a bit disappointed and then he asked her, “How do you know this?" Rose looked at her, also curious.

"When I met you when you had an impractically long scarf and wild hair. You had a companion named Sarah-Jane Smith and a friend... with purple-colored hair and purple eyes. I saved your ass with a compact mirror from the Weeping Angel."

"Yes, I know all that." He said, shortly, offended by how she described him.

"Ever since I keep having these dreams of your adventures. Nova?" She had had dreams of Nova's death but didn't want to believe it. His eyes darkened and he shook his head, silently telling her that Nova was gone. "I'm sorry."

He was silent for a few beats before snapping out of it, "Ah, yes. Must be mildly psychic and a bit of the Tardis got in you or... she must've done something. She was quite fond of you for some reason."

"If we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose." Rose cut him off.

"It melted with the head. Are you going to witter on all night?" He said, tactlessly.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to my sister like that!" Lillie glared.

Rose thought of the body dissolving, the last vestige of her boyfriend, and she felt a surge of horror in her heart, the enormity of it. Mickey. Lovely Mickey Smith, with his smile and his mates and his daft yellow Beetle, the only boy who’d buy a car because it was funny, not because it was cool. And it hurt so much, to see the chain of his family across the decades, Odessa, Jackson, Rita-Anne, now Mickey, all gone.

"We'll have to tell his friends, his uncle, and the kids from the estate." Rose realized, running a hand through her blonde hair as Lillie went to her side to comfort her and the Doctor gave them a confused look.

"Mickey." Lillie said, sharply, glaring at him.

"We'll have to tell his mates--The Bad Wolf band, His Uncle Cliff, all the little kids from the estate, they adored him. Oh my God, I’ve got to tell them he’s dead, and you just went and forgot him, again!" Rose shouted at him, "You were right, you are alien."

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey."

"Yeah, he's not a kid." Rose interjected.

"He's older than both of us." Lillie agreed.

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, all right?" He said, bluntly.

Lillie narrowed her eyes at him, it seemed like to her it wasn't so much as what he thought but more like what he told himself to ease his guilt.

"All right."

"Yes, it is!"

This whole argument Lillie's eyes darted back and forth like a tennis match.

"If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the North?"

"Lots of planets have a north." He dismissed.

"What's a police public call box?" Rose suddenly asked.

"It's a telephone box from the 1950s. It's a disguise."

‘Disguised as what? It’s not a very good disguise if I don’t know what the disguise is. That’s the opposite of a disguise.’ ‘All right, calm down, it’s a bit out of date, that’s all.’ He looked at her askance. ‘I bet you two never lose an argument, do you?’

“Never.” The sister said in unison.

“Well if you must know, they used to have police boxes on every street corner, back in the thirties and forties. They didn’t have walkie-talkies back then, just telephones, so there’s a phone inside that little panel. And that’s the disguise. The TARDIS hides itself, like a chameleon. Park it on a street corner, no one notices.”

“D’you think? It’s a great big box!”

“Yeah, and d’you know what the human race does, when it sees something big and strange in the middle of the street?” He grinned. “You walk right past it.”

“I suppose,” she sighed, and sat down next to him.

“Is that why… we talked to this guy who had information about you…” Lillie started and the Doctor raised his eyebrows at her. “Clive Finch. He said his dad died in Totter’s Lane in Shoreditch.”

The Doctor seemed to recall the event but not the man, he had been there with Ace but Nova… she had been forced to leave him in his sixth regeneration.

“But he didn’t seem to really pay much attention to the box.”

“Perception filter.” He shrugged.

“Do the words you say make sense to you?” Rose asked.

“Sometimes.” He shrugged.

“Why do they want to kill us?” Lillie asked.

“They don’t. They just want a home… there… a long time ago… there was a war and they were swept up into it. Nestene Consciousness. They’re not individuals, but it’s more like a single, vast, physical, thought-hive-aggregation. Huge, restless thing. Ambitious.”

“Like a Hive Mind.” Lillie said.

“Exactly. It’s eyed up the Earth once or twice before. But then the war rolled across and ripped apart the Consciousness, devolved it, rebuilt it into a travesty of its old self. And then the battle boiled away into the stars and left the Nestene to starve.” He gave the sisters a sudden, lovely smile. “I haven’t talked like this in a long time.”

“Well, I’ve never heard anything like it!”

All three of them laughed.

“You’ve been on your own for a while now haven’t you?” Lillie asked and the Doctor just looked at her. The resemblance was uncanny but it was impossible, then again, the universe, there were bound to be look-alikes.

 “So it’s starving,’ said Rose. ‘Is that what the Nestene wants? Is it going to eat us? What’s it got against us?”

 ‘It can feed off the toxic waste of this planet. Loves it, lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins, perfect. Just what it needs. Its food stocks were destroyed in the war, all its protein planets rotted. So it made its way here, so Earth, dinner!"

“And it what, it controls plastic?” Rose asked.

“It is plastic. That was the damage the war left behind. The Nestene was flesh and blood, once upon a time, it just had an affinity with plastic, it could resonate organic polymers. Nice party trick. But then the war came. And rewrote its DNA. Like a cruel joke. The Nestene Consciousness became living plastic, an actual living plastic creature. No wonder it found its way here. Earth, the greatest plastics factory in the cosmos. You’ve littered this world with so much junk, there’s plastic in the food, in the air, in the wildlife, you’ve got plastic lining the entire ocean floor. The Nestene looks at you lot and thinks it’s in paradise.”

“All right, Swampy, I’ve got it.” Rose cut him off.

“He’s a very nice man. I spent a week up a tree with him.”

“I bet he jumped out first.” Lillie smiled.

“He did, yeah.” The Doctor confirmed.

He noticed her fold her arms to ward off the cold, she had taken her jacket off in the Tardis, “where’s your jacket! You know the cold makes you sick!” Rose fussed, sounding distinctly like Jackie.

The Doctor smiled and he opened the door and pulled her jacket off the railing and brought it to her, wrapping it around her, once again showing a deep kindness.

She smiled in appreciation as she pulled her plaid and leather jacket around her and she smoothed so it matched against her skirt.

“So stopping the Nestene, is that like, your job? I still don’t know who you are or what you really do.”

 “I don’t do anything. I just travel.” He gave the sisters a weary smile. “Believe it or not, all I want is a quiet life. No job, no wage, no boss, no tax, no home, no responsibilities. Just me.”

“Sounds like you’re running.” Lillie said.

“Never stopped since I’ve started.

"Any way of stopping it?" Lillie asked.

"Anti-plastic." The Doctor said, holding up a tube of blue liquid.

"Anti-plastic." The sisters repeated.

"Anti-plastic.”

“It’s a polymer-blading reconvertant heuverstatic animotrope.” He said.

“Right,” Rose said. “Anti-plastic.”

“If I can get this inside the Nestene, it’ll stop it dead.”

“Well that’s good news!” Rose said.

“No,” said the Doctor. “It’s the last thing I want to do.” He pocketed the vial and leapt to his feet, holding his sonic screwdriver in the air like a he was trying to get reception. ‘But first things first, we need to find the Nestene. It’s clever. Hiding the signal, it keeps slipping away. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

"Hold on. Hide what?" Rose asked.

"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"Well, maybe we can narrow it down. What's it look like?" Lillie asked.

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London. A huge circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel. Radial. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible." He noticed the girls were staring past him at the London Eye but it took him about a minute to figure it out after looking at the monument several times. "What? What? What? What is it? What?" He finally realizes what they were looking at, "Fantastic!"

"Aren't you supposed to be a genius?" Lillie asked, teasingly with a slight smirk pulling at her lips.

He just smiled and ran off with the sisters taking each other's hands and running after him, their hair bouncing. The Doctor soon took Lillie's other hand as they ran and smiled broke out on the sisters' faces,

They ran over the bridge, across the dark river, running headlong towards danger and disaster and death, and the Doctor surprised himself by taking Lillie’s hand and the three ran together hand in hand in hand, and they smiled as they ran, and the smile became a grin as they hurtled along, the lights of the night streaking past them, and in that moment, for all their fear, horror, and grief, Rose and Lillie had never been happier in their lives. Lillie felt more than that though. She felt… home.

They stumbled to a stop once they were at the London Eye, there were crowds of people around them.

Rose felt a panic rising at the idea of them in danger, but at the same time, she felt a dark, powerful thrill. She understood now, how the Doctor could look so confident, so detached, so scornful at times; it was astonishing to know so much more than everyone else. The people around her strolled along in ignorance, while she knew about alien worlds, and spaceships, and alien creatures made of plastic trying to destroy the human race.

Rose Tyler, four GCSEs, an unemployed shop assistant living with her mother, barely forty pounds in her bank account with a genius rebellious younger sister she had dedicated her life to protecting.

Lillie Tyler, brilliant yet having no ambition. Moral and kind but rebellious and unwilling to abide to authority. More interested in using her brilliance for fun while helping people than being boring and serious about it. Antisocial despite her charm, wit, and undying loyalty.

Tonight the sisters knew things about life on Earth that no one else knew. For once, they felt special. More than that, they felt capable. The Doctor had trusted them, and they wouldn’t let him down.

"Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables..."

"The breast implants." Lillie joked said and Rose giggled.

“So did the Nestene build the London Eye?” Rose asked.

“Don’t be daft. That would be ridiculous.” The Doctor scoffed, “They’re just using it. Although, the Eiffel Tower. That was built by aliens.”

“You’re kidding!” Lillie giggled.

“It’s a good thing I stopped it taking off.” Lillie had a feeling that it hadn’t been him but he was taking credit. “Mind you. I only left it on idle. One of these days…”

“I can never tell when you’re joking.” Rose said.

 “Assume never.” He grinned down at the sisters.

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

Lillie was searching around as Rose questioned why they couldn’t use the Tardis to track it and he responded, “Word of advice, Rose Tyler, when you’re searching for a hostile alien life form, don’t deliver the universe’s greatest technology into its tentacles.” A few more lines before he noticed Lillie getting too close away and he warned, “Careful. It’s going to be guarded. It knows what we look like, you two and me. Keep an eye out.”

“What for?” Lillie asked.

“Autons.” They stayed silent and kept walking, refusing to ask the obvious, waiting for him instead. He blinked, getting into their rhythm. “Autons are the Nestene in human form. Like the dummies in the shop. They’re just foot soldiers, they’re crude and simple, but the Nestene can make perfect copies. Like your mate Ricky.”

“Mickey,” The sisters said in unison, Rose biting back her fury.

“Don’t make me punch you.” Lillie snapped.

“Understood.” He acknowledged

“So they could look like anyone?”

“Anyone.”

Lillie felt Rose tug her next to her and she rolled her eyes.

“Rose, I’m fine!” She complained.

Rose however was staring at something as they walked. The living statues. Those people in costume, staying frozen in position, to earn money from people throwing coins at their feet. Rose and the Doctor were just walking past a living statue, a comedy tramp like Charlie Chaplin, battered suit and bowler hat, but sprayed silver from top to toe. He stood on a little box, the crowd passing him by.

Jackie always used to complain about living statues. ‘Creepy,’ she’d say. ‘What a way to make a living. If they want to earn money by standing still and doing nothing all day, they could work for BT.’

Lillie used to say she couldn’t last a minute doing that, she had to be constantly moving or doing something.

The Chaplin was perfectly still, he didn’t seem to breathing or blinking He was holding out his hand, offering a fake flower, his arm was still as if he were a real statue. Rose just stared. This was either the best mime of all time, or not a mime at all.

“Doctor,” she said. “You don’t think …”

Hearing the Doctor’s name caused the Chapin to move. It turned its silver face to look at her. It did not blink. ‘Oh my God,’ said Rose. The Doctor, perversely, was delighted. ‘Well done, Rose Tyler!”

Why did he love saying their names so much?

The Chaplin stepped off its box and walked towards them, ignoring everyone other than the trio, its black eyes fixed on them. Slowly, it advanced, holding out its flower like a threat.

A posh little boy stood in front of the tramp. He said crossly, “You’re supposed to stay still.” The tramp swatted the kid aside, whack! Then it kept walking, remorseless.

“Hey!” Lillie shouted out of reflex.

“Come on.” Rose said, taking the Doctor and Lillie’s hand to draw the Auton away from the crowd.

“They’re still in hiding,” The Doctor explained. “The Autons, they don’t want to draw attention. If we can just keep ahead of them.”

They heard shouting behind them. “Hey, you!” They turned to look as a large, red-faced man grabbed hold of the Chaplin. “Did you hit my little boy?” The Doctor started back towards them, but too late. The Chaplin shoved the man and sent him flying. He collided with a gang of drunk lads, which perhaps saved his life as one of them grabbed the man and started waltzing with him, his mates cheering. The Chaplin turned back to face the Doctor and the Tyler sisters and resumed its march/

Then the Doctor said, “Uh-oh.”

“Oh, what now?” Lillie asked. Ahead of them, another living statue. A ballerina, painted entirely white except for blotches of red on cheeks and lips. Eyelashes like spiders, moving towards them.

The crowd was getting jittery as the parents of the boy kept bringing attention to the Autons.

“What do we do?” muttered Rose.

“No idea. Keep going,” said the Doctor. They ran past the London Eye, then stopped. Ahead of them, a third living statue was stepping off its box. A knight in armor. It raised a sword as sharp as steel. Little kids running around it. So close to the sword.

The ballerina was advancing and behind her, the tramp was still pointing with that sinister flower. Behind him, the crowd jostled with violence, Everything volatile. About to explode. Only this explosion wouldn’t kill the Autons.

“This way,” said the Doctor, heading for the Embankment wall where there was a gap, leading to a stone staircase leading down to the river.

The sisters and the Doctor ran towards it as the Chaplin, the ballerina and the knight continued to march towards them—then they followed the Doctor down the wet, worn steps. Plunging into darkness. At least this would take the chase away from the crowds. The sounds of trouble on the Embankment were already fading away. But below them, there seemed to be only mud and black water. No boat, no tunnel, no escape. The knight, the ballerina and the tramp had reached the top of the steps and began to march down.

“But what do we do?” said Rose, panicked, as they reached the bottom, the stink of the river rising up. “We’re trapped, aren’t we? There’s nowhere to go!”

The Doctor grinned—God, he loved trouble—and held up his sonic screwdriver. “What did I say? The absence of a signal. And there is absolutely nothing coming from that!’ He pointed at a manhole, a few meters away, across some slimy flagstones. A hazy red steam billowing from its vents. Like anyone who’d ever lived in any city of the world, Rose and Lillie had spent their lives walking past grilles in the ground that emitted smoke, without ever giving them a second thought. But now, they saw them as a portal to another world. Or to their death. The Doctor ran over the slippery flags, squatting down to aim his sonic screwdriver at the manhole cover.

Rose looked back to see that the Autons were arranged along the steps in a diagonal line. “Why’ve they stopped?”

“Well, yes, problem is,” said the Doctor, a little shame-faced, “I don’t think they’re chasing us. They’re herding us. We’re not escaping, we’re walking into a trap.”

“You mean they wanted us to find this?”

“Yeah. Or we’d be dead by now. We’d have been ballerina’d to death. Which, actually, I’d like to see, but there you go.” The Doctor answered.

“I don’t want a life-sized plastic ballerina to be the last thing I see.” Lillie said.

“Yes. That would be a rather embarrassing death.” The Doctor agreed.

 “So we’re doing exactly what the Nestene wants?” Rose asked.

“Yup!” The Doctor kept whirring away/

"So, you're saying that there's a secret alien base under an English landmark." Lillie deadpanned. "Yeah, that's original."

The Doctor shrugged like, I didn’t write this.

There was a click and release within the manhole. He lifted the cover and a rush of heat and steam billowed up from the depths. An awful stench of sewage and carcasses. And a noise. The distant roar of something vast. Rose and Lillie looked down to see a metal ladder descended into reddish darkness. The Doctor said, ‘Normally I’d say, wait here. But that’s a bit tricky with the Three Stooges behind us.’ ‘Never mind them,’ said Rose. ‘I’m coming with you.’

“We both are. This is our planet and it’s not a replacement.”

“They always used to say that,” said the Doctor, with a sad smile. They didn’t know who he was talking about. But whoever they were, they weren’t them; the sisters do her own thing together.

Lillie moved first, jumping in and landing on a wrung, making Rose move like she was going to catch her. Lillie looked up to see an impressed Doctor and anxious Rose.

“You can wait here if you want.” She said with a cheeky wink and lowered herself down. Rose quickly following.

The Doctor grinned and followed them, descending into the pit from hell. Far below them, deep in the earth, something huge was shrieking with delight.

The trio climbed down a short ladder, all of them now bathed in the red light. They walked past a bunch of chains hanging from the ceiling and opened a door.

"The Nestene Consciousness. That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature." He pointed to a vat that seemed to have a pulsing, red-hot substance in it, screaming.

"Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go." Rose said.

"No, don't kill it!" Lillie interjected.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance." The Doctor said, reminding himself of what he swore to do just this one time—do it how Nova would in her memory... but both Rose and Lillie had reignited his passion to save people, reminding him how beautiful humanity could be.

He walked down the catwalk and spoke up, "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation."

Lillie felt lightheaded and stumbled into Rose who looked at her with concern as she could hear a vague voice echo, "Shadow Proclamation." The vague image of a beautiful woman with pale olive skin with her hair up in a ponytail and glasses over her brown eyes, and a warm, motherly smile on her lips.

The substance in the vat flexed and the Doctor continued to speak. "Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?"

Lillie spotted something and she nudged Rose, bringing her attention to a terrified Mickey. "Oh, God!" Rose gasped as the sisters ran over to him and the Doctor rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Mickey, it's us! It's okay. It's all right."

"That thing down there, the liquid. Rose, Lillie, it can talk!" Mickey cried.

"You're stinking. Doctor, they kept him alive." Rose called to the Doctor as Lillie hugged Mickey.

“Yeah, I can see that.” The Doctor said, sounding annoyed at being interrupted. "That was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy." The Doctor dismissed.

"You knew that and you never said?" Rose scoffed.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" He continued downwards towards the Nestene Consciousness.

Mickey was terrified, babbling as he clung onto Lillie’s leg tightly, it uneased Lillie as it felt like Mickey was trying to unbalance her. “That thing, down there, it’s alive, it’s been screaming at me.”

“It’s all right,” Rose tried to comfort him as he clawed at Lillie’s black skinny jeans.

“It’s okay, it’s all under control, I promise. But how the hell did you get here?”

“There was a bin, it pulled me inside. Big white light. Opened my eyes. I was here.’ She pulled back to wipe the dirt and snot from his face, and she thought: Culture shock. Like the Doctor had said. Rose and Lillie had discovered this world stepby-step, but Mickey had been thrown in headfirst.

A selfish thought in Rose’s head whispered, maybe I can handle this better than him.

The Doctor started to speak the substance, "Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" The substance gurgled, "Oh, don't give me that. It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights.” It bellowed and the whole chamber shook. But the Doctor shouted over it: ‘I! AM! TALKING!” He silenced the beast. “How d’you want history to remember you? As a fine and rare intelligence? Or a genocidal intergalactic criminal? You once built mighty transparent empires in the sky. Now you’re reduced to this, plotting down here in the sewers. Don’t you think it’s time to stop?” The plastic lava slopped at the sides, a little sulky. “I know you’ve been through agony. And it wasn’t your fault. But look at the Earth around you.  This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go."

Lillie could swear she heard a lilt in the gurgles like a question. Apparently so because the Doctor answered it, “

"Doctor!" The girls shouted as two mannequins walked to him, grabbing him. One of them took the vial of anti-plastic from his pocket. Lillie ran down to help him more out of instinct than anything else, “There are a thousand worlds out there with skies of dioxins. Places you could colonize without hurting anyone. The Western Heights of the Jaggit Brocade. Callistenia. Beynhale. Gris. The Threppitch Consolidation…’ He rattled off names with confidence.

Then Mickey pulled on Rose’s arm, somehow still clinging to Lillie’s leg. “It won’t listen,” Mickey whispered, terrified. “I’ve heard it. Screaming at me. It’s furious, it wants us dead.”

“How do you know that’s what it’s saying?” Lillie asked.

“Don’t worry,” Rose reassuered him, ignoring her sister. “You can trust the Doctor.”

“But it’s going to destroy the whole world.” Mickey whined, clawing at Lillie’s leg again as she tried to shake him off, making the bridge shake but Mickey wasn’t budging.

“No, it can’t.” She leaned closer to him and whispered, ‘He’s got this anti-plastic. He can kill that thing if he has to.”

“Wait, Rose…” Lillie warned.

“Really?’ he said. And Mickey smiled a terrible smile. His voice was cold. “Thanks babes, baby, babyface boombastic.”

He wasn’t Mickey. He was a copy. It copied him twice. Mickey stood, now strong and unafraid, but still clinging onto Lillie like determined to provoke her into attacking him as he faced the pit and calling out to the Nestene in words that were more like roars and howls.

The Doctor turned around, furious, with Rose and Lillie, not Mickey. “What have you two done?”

“LET GO OF ME!” Lillie screamed, punching on fake Mickey’s chest but fake Mickey grabbed her wrists as Rose stood helpless to do otherwise.

Mickey called out alien commands. Two shop-window Autons dressed in sharp navy suits, strode out of the darkness at the back of the Doctor’s ledge.

“Doctor!” Lillie cried but he had nowhere to run, with only the drop in front of him. He was helpless as one Auton grabbed hold of him and pinned his arms behind his back, the second Auton digging into his jacket. It found the vial of blue liquid anti-plastic and held it aloft for the Nestene to see. The beast screeched with rage, betrayed.

“Let me go!” Lillie screamed, her compass starting to glow, fake Mickey’s hands started to melt again until she ripped them out of his grip and bolted to the Doctor.

"No, Lillie, don't!" The Doctor warned.

"I'm not leaving you!" She shouted back but then another dummy grabbed her, making her shriek as she fought back.

"LET HER GO!" Rose screamed.

"Oi, let her go! She's got nothing to do with this! What? That was just insurance. I wasn't going to use it. I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not.”

But Mickey answered as the Nestene’s puppet. He yelled one simple word of English: “Liar!” Then Rose looked on in horror as Mickey turned to her and grinned. His teeth a perfect, plastic white. “See ya,” And he melted away.

“Mickey,” Rose said, helpless.

Then a grill behind Rose moved and the real Mickey Smith tumbled out, panicked and terrified.

“Rose!” He grabbed a hold on her, “Oh my God, it held me prisoner, there was a bin and this light and then that monster!”

“RUN!” Lillie shouted, fighting against the guard holding her.

“Get him out,” yelled the Doctor, still being held tight by his Auton guard. “Rose, both of you, get out of here.”

“Who’s he?” said Mickey, and that convinced her he was real, because the last copy hadn’t even asked. That and the stink of sweat and fear rising off him, God, yes, definitely flesh. But she didn’t have time for him. He’s alive, great, been there, done that, sorry. She sort of patted him on the head as she looked up at the top of the chamber. The living statues were still guarding the exit.

“We can’t get out!” she yelled at the Doctor.

A door nearby Rose and Mickey slid open revealing the Tardis.

Rose could tell from how the guard started handling her sister and the Doctor more aggressively and the horror on the Doctor’s face that this was bad news.

"No. Oh, no. Honestly, no!” He cried.

“What’s going on?” Asked Mickey.

“Shut up,” Then she yelled, down to the Doctor, “What’s going on?”

“It knows the TARDIS,” The Doctor said, “Worse than that, it knows who I am. And it’s terrified.” He turned back to the pit, desperate. “Yes, that’s my ship, but I swear, I’m not attacking you, I promise. That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war.” And now the Doctor was terrified. More than that. He was sorry. “I couldn’t help it,” His voice was raw as if the wound had been reopened. Was he crying? “It wasn't my fault. I tried to stop the war. I lost everything. But it was too late. I’m sorry, but I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them! I couldn’t save her or her world!” The last part was almost a sob.

But the Nestene’s screech was monstrous. It was pure noise to Rose, yet its ferocity pressed on her mind to form words. She was beginning to understand it. She realized: it’s a consciousness, it’s making me conscious. It spoke of pain. It spoke of war. It spoke of planets boiling in space and a thousand TARDISes spinning in flames. And then Rose saw its molten maw shape a word, which seemed to say: ‘Time.’ It reformed, to roar another word: ‘Lord.’

He hadn’t seen her world die. Her world already burned, she (Nova had always said Elder was more of a ‘she’ than an ‘it’) thrived on burning as her inhabitants were literally living stars but then there were no more Elders, or at least, not enough to keep her alive, so she froze and that would’ve killed any remaining Elders on Elder.

"What's it doing?!" Rose asked.

"It's the Tardis! The Nestene's identified its superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it now!"

"Not without my sister!" From above, now in front of the Tardis, Rose started the call Jackie but Lillie couldn't hear her from where she was.

Rose couldn’t do anything to save her sister but she could try to save her mother, she took out her phone and called her.

“Hello sweetheart!” Jackie Tyler sang.

It was a bad line, crackling and dipping. Rose’s voice sounded a thousand miles away. “Mum, where are you?”

“I’ve got you that compensation form from a police officer,” Jackie said, waving the paper about slightly, “And who’s that woman that Howard likes, is it Cynthia Rothrock? Cos I thought I could buy him a DVD, after I knackered his washing machine.”

“No, but listen,” said Rose. “Where are you?”

“I’m up West, I’ll tell her, it’s a bit nippy out! You make sure Lillie’s all warm.” Rose looked at her sister in exasperation at her mother’s non-stop chattering phone skills. “You should see Henrik’s now! How the mighty are fallen. It’s like Pompeii. Oh and they found that man, they said he was dead, that’s sad, isn’t it? Didn’t you say he was horrible? I’ve always said that—the way he would eye your baby sister! We don’t need her getting her own Jimmy Stone, not that it was your fault, darlin’…”

Rose’s voice flickered in and out, “Mum,” and then “Don’t,” and then maybe, “Go home.”

“Sorry darling,’ said Jackie. “Bad line. I’ll speak to you later, I’m off shopping. On your money, but you’re a very kind girl. There’s a bit of paella in the fridge if you and Lillie get hungry, although heat it up properly because old rice can kill you, see you later.” As Jackie hung up, she heard Rose swear—cheeky girl. Lillie was rubbing off on her.

“Mum! Mum!” Rose shouted and then she swore.

The Consciousness started to throw energy bolts.

"It's the activation signal. It's transmitting!"

"It's the end of the world." Rose said.

Not too far away, Clive Finch, finally with proof that the Doctor was read, gave his life to save his wife and his children and Jackie Tyler ran for her life in shoes that weren’t meant to be ran in.

--

Far away, beneath the city, Rose looked up. She thought she could hear the terror on the streets. Screams. Sirens. Gunshots. Her mother was out there somewhere. Her mother and everyone she knew, with an Auton army on the march. But then the Nestene bellowed, forming another two syllables with its red plastic maw. It said, “Doc.” And then “Tor.”

On the ledge below, the Auton holding the phial stood back and its twin began to push the Doctor forwards. Towards the edge.

The Doctor struggled, gasped, dug his heels in, but the Auton was remorseless. And Lillie’s the same, surprisingly, having a harder time as Lillie was not going down without a fight as the screams of all those she cared about echoed in her head and she felt like she could feel their fear.

Its rage battered Rose’s mind, hammering ideas into her thoughts. It said feast. It said sacrifice. It said revenge. And one more word, what was it …? Absorb. It would absorb the Doctor and Lillie. And with him, it would gain everything he knew about time and space. The TARDIS would come under Nestene control. The massacre spreading across London would roll on forever and outwards into the stars. Rose sank down, helpless, to hug poor, sobbing Mickey. There was nothing she could do. She’d never felt so small; one stupid girl in the middle of a war, trapped underneath a burning city with entire galaxies pivoting around this moment, and she was tiny, infinitesimal, useless. The Auton pushed. The Doctor and her sister were forced closer to the edge.

Lillie could feel Jackie’s fear and her determination to save her daughters

--

Somewhere in Catford a lanky, rangy, stubbly man was making a quick escape. Jimmy Stone had been living with a Ghanaian woman called Abena for three months. In truth, he couldn’t stand her. But she had money to spare. Her father was the CEO of a petrochemicals firm back in Ghana, and she’d come to London to study Politics and Philosophy at the LSE. Her student life was supported by an open cheque book from dad. Nice flat, nice car, nice meals. And that, thought Jimmy Stone, was very nice indeed. So he’d romanced her, and moved in, and helped her to spend the money. And then he’d got bored. It was all very well, having cash to flash, but he couldn’t bear her smile, her positivity, her relentless dedication to doing good in the world. Give it a rest, love!

She kind of reminded him of Rose Tyler, his ex-girlfriend, only Abena didn’t have an annoying younger sister who Rose had cherished more than him, Lillie had been protective of Rose and saw through his act but Rose, still young and naive when it came to the cruelty of men, dismissed her concerns until Jimmy Stone left her.

Abena was out tonight, at some posh wedding in Henley. Jimmy had wrangled his way out of the invitation by pretending to have food poisoning. Left alone, he went around the flat, helping himself. Six pairs of gold earrings, one gold bracelet, one platinum bracelet, and bingo, her Duomètre Chronographe watch, worth about £25,000, all shoved into his pockets and off he went, down the stairs, thanks, Abena, bye-bye. He reached the street and inhaled a shock of cold air. He’d done it! He wasn’t a thief by nature—a born liar, perhaps, and unfaithful, okay, that was only natural—but Abena deserved it. In fact, he was doing her a service. He could teach her more about politics and philosophy than the LSE with one simple phrase: always look after Number One.

“You’ll come to no good one day,” said a memory in his head. The voice of that gorgeous, stupid Rose Tyler. Ranting at him as he drove off with her rubbish second-hand computer stashed in the back of his car. Hah, he’d proved her wrong!

Though, he had regretted pawning her computer after he stopped his car, seeing Lillie Tyler in his headlight late one night, staring at him with icy cold eyes that almost looked dead, like she was in trace with her compass glowing with pure fury. It had been days since he left Rose and somehow her fifteen-year-old sister had traveled to Amsterdam. He tried to defuse the situation with his usual charm but as always it hadn’t worked on Lillie. Her eye had twitched and then… even to this day, he swore her eyes had flashed purple several times, then next thing he knew she was chasing him around the woods he had been stopped in as he screamed like a little girl as she laughed manically, taunting him, never feeling such fear as he felt for her, not even the fear he would feel moments from now. The next thing he knew his camper van was ransacked as if by racoons and smudged with ash, his tires slashed, his band equipment gone, later it turned out it had been given to charity after being retuned and polished, except for his bass drum which had been smashed over his head, trapping him like an afternoon cartoon, burn marks he couldn’t explain for the life of him, and a list of everything he had done.

His account of the incident was a little foggy, but he swore at one moment he was in a tree and had nightmares of her walking up the side of the tree trunk like Spider-Man as if it were the floor.

He had considered suing Lillie, not that her family had anything he wanted, but then a good-looking American man in a military coat had entered, smiling at him with false kindness but a rage in his eyes like he had hurt someone the man had cared about and he had threatened him, not to say anything about Lillie.

Besides he refused to acknowledge the time when a fifteen-year-old girl, six years younger than him at the time, he had made him scream and cry like a child. Besides, there was no evidence and no way she could’ve gotten there.

 Jimmy Stone, swaggering in tight jeans, turned the corner onto Catford Broadway, his pockets bulging with so much expensive jewelry that technically he died a very rich man, as a crowd of Autons fell upon him and chopped him into bits.

His last memory was Lillie’s last words to him: When you die, you will remember me and know that if you hadn’t crossed me, you might’ve lived.

And he swore, he saw Lillie Tyler staring at him with no mercy and slight smirk before blackness.

—

As the citizens of London ran, screamed and fought for their lives, someone was fast asleep. In a house in Chiswick, a woman hugged her pillow a little tighter, annoyed by vague alarms from far-off. She’d had hell of a time last night, a bit too much vino collapso because Rufus from Accounts was leaving, to go to Northampton, and she fancied him like rotten, except she drank a bit too much and told him, and he’d laughed in her face, so that went well, and it was still only nine-thirty p.m., and God knows what had happened after that, except she’d arrived home at three A.M, without one shoe. Or, to put a positive spin on things, with one shoe. She’d then wandered through Saturday, dazed and glum. She made a truly disgraceful ham in parsley sauce for her mother’s birthday tea, then gave up. ‘You go to sleep, sweetheart,’ said her granddad. ‘Good idea,’ said Donna Noble. And she slept through the whole thing.

—

Lillie fought, her mind flashed to people she knew who had died or were dying, like Clive, and even those she didn’t like, Jimmy Stone, and those she didn’t know. She didn’t know who she was but she was a woman in her forties, older than her mother with brown hair and brown eyes. Lillie somehow knew she had a daughter around her age, eighteen, who was clever and witty, and… impossible. And… and something about a leaf, the most important leaf in human history or something, whatever the hell that meant! She knew people would die, people she loved, even if half of that list was down here, but people like Jackie and Lars would soon be dead too if they didn’t do something. The Nestene below widened its awful mouth in anticipation.

Lillie pushed the mannequin whose hands were now all melty as a bolt shot it, incinerating it but she slipped and nearly falling into the plastic below but she managed to grab onto the ledge.

"LILLIE!" Rose screamed.

"Get out, Rose! Just get out! Run!" The Doctor shouted.

"I'm not leaving my sister!" She repeated.

"The stairs have gone!" Mickey shouted.

Rose, with no intention to abandon her sister, but to get Mickey somewhere safe, or where at least, he'd stop clinging on her like a magnet, ran to the Tardis but it wouldn't open for her.

"I haven't got the key!" She cried.

The dummies tried to push the Doctor into the vat as Lillie desperately tried not to fall in as the vat spoke, "Time Lord."

Lillie looked down at the vat and vaguely heard it say, "Elder."

She saw flashes of that woman again and then of that man with the blue eyes.

In the shadow of an overturned black cab, Jackie Tyler felt her legs buckle and she sank to the floor as the brides advanced. The dummies raised their stilettos. Jackie sobbed, and she thought of Rose, and thought of Lillie, and thought of Pete, and she closed her eyes, she hoped her daughters were safe.

--

Rose stared in horror as her sister dangled above the Nestene Consciousness, kicking her feet at the faces forming.

Then an old memory came to her from just before she started dating Jimmy Stone.

Rose Tyler at sixteen years old bailed out her fifteen-year-old sister for hacking into the school computer and vandalizing the headmaster’s office, while she had busted the headmaster for having a hacker embezzling money from both the "special needs" program and from parents and had then digitally rerouted it back to the family’s, she hadn't been able to do it from the school, so she had broken into the school's "sponsor"'s mansion, she had avoided the security and disabled the cameras with ease, even bypassing some kind of defense matrix but miraculously she hadn't gotten jail time thanks to the help of a certain American in a military coat who the had flirted with multiple of the officer at once.

“Why do you have to do it this way? You could’ve gotten expelled or worse, arrested.”

“He was embezzling.” Lillie complained.

“You could’ve called the police.”

"And how much much would family and the program lose by the time they arrested him!"

“They never believe me. I stopped trusting them to do the right thing a long time ago. I had to do it myself.”

“Why? Why couldn’t you have just shown them the evidence.”

“True character and integrity is doing the right thing even if no one is watching. I couldn’t stand by and let him do it. It wasn’t right. The coppers are too cautious with their careers and the kids at our school aren’t exactly rich. I looked into it, several families were on the verge of bankruptcy and homelessness, I had to act fast before they lost something they couldn’t just grab back. You can’t just do what is easy, you have to do what’s right, even if it’s the most painful decision you ever make, you have to do what’s right because then what’s the point in doing it at all!?”

It would be so easy for Rose to follow Mickey’s first instinct to run away, to find a way to enter the Tardis. Well, easier than to do what she was thinking of doing but nothing in this universe would keep her from her sister. Nothing in any universe would.

Rose stood up, gathering her courage, it was easy when her sister was in danger. And then Rose Tyler said no. She said it aloud. She said, ‘No.’ She’d had enough. She’d had enough of standing back and doing nothing. Of being told to sit still and behave and go to work and wear this and say that, of being told what to do by men, and boys, and her mother, and teachers, and bosses, and boyfriends, by the Doctor and the Nestene and everyone in between. Above her, the world was ending. In front of her, the Doctor and her sister were dying. At her feet, Mickey was blubbing. Well, to hell with that.

Rose got a determined look in her eyes as she looked at her sister. She may be a high school dropout with a future of a dead-end job but she'll be damned if anything happened to her little sister. She will fight with her life to keep her safe. She ran across the catwalk to the wall as Mickey shouted after her, "Just leave them! There's nothing you can do!"

If the circumstance were different, Mickey would know better than to tell Rose that when it concerned her sister and Rose would've smacked him with the protective ferocity of a wolf in her eyes.

She ran across, jumped down to a lower gantry. "I've got no A-Levels, no job, no future." She said as she grabbed an axe. "But I tell you what I have got." She broke a chain attached to the wall, if she were a physicist, a soldier, an architect, or whatever, she might be able to calculate the angle and distance and velocity but sod it. In a life without many qualifications, Rose had one badge of merit—"Jericho Street Junior School under sevens gymnastic team. I got the bronze!" She took a firm hold onto the chain, wrapping it around her wrist, So she held on tight to the chain and looked at her sister.That was all the motivation she needed.

She took a deep breath and let out a growl of exertion before she jumped off the gantry and swung across the chasm, throughout the chamber. She kicked dummies into the vat and she sailed towards the Doctor. He saw her coming somehow; in that second,or whatever a second was to a Time Lord, he seemedto gaina second wind—with that big stupid grin, he doubled over, to throw the dummy holding him over his shoulder and down into the pit, so easily that later on when she had a second to think, Rose would wonder: What, was he waiting for me?

More importantly, the Doctor was free and he didn’t waste a second before running to Lillie whose boot and sock had been absorbed by the plastic and was burning holes into her other boot, and he grabbed her hand, surprised she had lasted for so long, she looked up, her eyes seemed to get bluer from a purplish hue when he looked at her but it must’ve been a trick of the light.

Rose swung over the Doctor’s head. She wasn’t aiming for him. She was aiming for the second Auton. The Auton still holding the Doctor’s vial of anti-plastic. She managed to knock the dummy off its balance, making it totter and then the one-booted Lillie, apparently not bothered by the metal of the floor in the hot chamber against her bare foot, pushed the dummy and kicked it, knocking it down into the living molted plastic.

Rose’s arc completed and she began to swing back. As Rose sailed back towards the wall, there he was, the Doctor, with that huge, silly smile, arms wide open to intercept her, a whoomph of air from his lungs as he caught her and held on tight. The two of them laughed with joy and looked over the edge. Below them, the cauldron of red and yellow plastic seethed and bubbled, but now lines of dark blue streaked and skittered across its surface. The Nestene started to scream and started to glow brightly as it turned blue.

Rose turned to her sister and laughed out of joy at seeing her alive and safe, she ran to her shouting her name and hugging her and Lillie hugging back, laughing out her sister’s name.

"Now we're in trouble." The chamber started to fall apart and blow up. “Come on!” The Doctor laughed, taking the sisters’ hands and pulling them across to and up the last stairway. Towards the TARDIS.

Mickey who had moved to where Rose had run to, pressed against the wall, wailed, “We’re going to die!”

“Oh, shut up, Rickey!” The DOcote shouted as they reached him and he grabbed his hand, letting go of Lillie’s who moved across the platform to see the Nestene Consciousness as a huge ball of fire erupted up from the create itself but Lillie didn’t flinch, she showed to sign of being affected by heat, not even sweating like the others.

“Oh my God!” Rose cried, grabbing onto her sister’s hand and trying to pull her back away from the fire but so they could still see the Nestene.

The web of anti-plastic had thickened until the creature’s entire skin had become a beautiful, poisonous blue that seemed to have entranced Lillie.

“Doctor, its solidifying, its losing its elasticity.” Lillie shouted.

It reached out into tendrils but its skin tore open and fire guttered from the rips. It tried to rise from the pit but pulled itself apart, red flames bursting out of blue wounds. The chasm below became a lake of fire. And it seemed to entrance Lillie, like an old memory.

“It’s destroying itself,” The Doctor said. In that moment, Rose saw his glee, and his agony, and she was terrified of him. “Come on!” The Doctor shouted and led the three humans to the Tardis.

 “There’s no way out,” Mickey cried.

“In there,’ yelled Rose, pointing at the TARDIS. ‘But it’s just a box!’ said Mickey,

“Oh, hush!” Lillie told him as Rose remembered how dumb she’d been just a short time ago.

Debris began to fall and Lillie instinctively ran back to the Doctor.

Rose ducked, dodging breaking concrete and bits of bricks as she pulled Mickey along the platform as the Doctor shielded Lillie from debris.

Rose reached the rickety blue doors of the police box and yelled to the Doctor, “Key!” The Doctor reached into his pocket and took out the key, holding it between him and Lillie, she stared at it in awe.

“Get this to your sister.” He told her, “I’ll be right there.”

She smiled with a glint in her eyes as she held his gaze, that he had trusted her with a key to the best technology in the universe. She suddenly threw her arms around him in an uncharacteristic act of affection, laughing and she ran off to Rose and Mickey, giddy as if she wasn’t at risk of being hit by falling debris.

The platform shook, the chains threatening to snap but they held as Lillie reached Rose and Mickey and she pushed the key into the door, gently caressing the side of the Tardis as if greeting an old friend she hadn’t seen in a long, long time, then she turned to Rose and Mickey and grinned before swinging the door open and the sisters pushed Mickey inside before Rose did the same to Lillie and tumbled inside after her.

Again, that shock of entering the TARDIS, the change in pressure like a physical thump; the sound of the crumbling evil lair became muffled. And for Mickey, the interior was a brand new terror. He yelped. ‘Whaaat?’ and boggled like he was being attacked by bees as Lillie laughed before realizing the Doctor wasn’t there.

She went to go find him when he had jumped into the doorway, his back to her, standing on the edge to look down. Rose ran forward to join him as Lillie ducked so she could squeeze through the gap under his arm to see, much like how a child would.

“What the hell is going on?” Mickey’s voice was more like background noise as the three saw  the dying Nestene Consciousness.

The creature was ripping itself into blue, fleshy chunks as it descended into the pit of fire, huge explosions blossoming up from the depths, the walls caving in on all sides. And above the roar, a terrible, keening sound as the Nestene wept. Rose looked at the Doctor, though he did not look at her nor did Lillie.

She wasn’t smiling anymore, she looked sorry and apologetic. Like she had the weight of the universe on her shoulders, she seemed to hold more responsibility in that moment than Rose had ever known her to have in her entire life.

The Doctor and Lillie’s eyes were like skies of ice.

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor whispered.

Then he slammed the door shut, sealing them inside the cocoon of the TARDIS.

Mickey, still not understanding how the Tardis was the safest place on Earth, cried, “We’re still going to die!”

The Doctor strode past him, dismissively and he reached the controls, flipped a big red lever. Rose sank to her knees, exhausted, with a blissful smile, welcoming the joyous sound of the engines lurching and stuttering into life as Lillie stood her ground, feeling strong.

The shining glass within the central column began to rise and fall, and the roar of the world outside faded away. In the lair of the Nestene, a final wail rose from the beast as the walls and roof collapsed into the burning ravine. The creature died in fury and despair, and the flames and rocks became its tomb. The rising stanchion reached maximum stress and sheared in half with a snap like a thunderbolt. The last lattices of ceiling fell, exposing the chasm to the night sky above and then as the stars shined down on the Nestene… it felt a sense of peace in its final moments as if the stars were smiling down on it, giving it some comfort in its last moments before death.

—

“Mum!” Rose suddenly gasped, fumbling with her phone as the Doctor frowned at Lillie’s one-booted shoe.

“You look daft with one shoe.” He stated and then he pulsed his sonic screwdriver at her boot, “One second.” And then he left.

“Where’s he going!?” Mickey squeaked.

Jackie was desperate. Thinking of Rose and Lillie. She kept walking. Heading for home. All around her, horrors. Injuries that made her flinch. People lying on the floor, asking for help. Huddled in corners, crying. Lost children. But Jackie didn’t have time, she had to get back to the flat, to find Rose and Lillie. She had to make sure they were safe.

She’d been in that flat so many years ago, when she left one morning with Rose just to go to a wedding, upset with her husband and then returned a widow and a single mother with her two baby girls.

She had to be there now. To stop that news from ever coming again. And then her mobile rang. Rose.

Jackie answered, “Oh my God! Sweetheart, is that you? Are you all right? Is Lillie alright?”

 “Mum! Oh thank God, you’re alive! Where are you? Are you okay?”

“Never mind me, what about you and Lillie.”

“Honestly, trust me, I’m fine. And Lillie’s right here, she’s fine.”

“Where are you?”

A pause. “Travelling,” Rose said.

“What the hell does that mean?” Jackie asked.

“Never mind, I’m on my way home.” Rose said, Rose’s voice became muffled as she asked someone, ‘How long?’ Then she came back to Jackie, “I’m one second away, apparently.”

“I’m still up West. Did you see it? All the dummies? And not just people dressed up, their heads fell off, I picked up this bride’s head and I gave it a tap and it was solid. Then I banged it on the floor, and I’m telling you, 100 per cent plastic! But it was moving! And they tipped over a bus! And killed this man right in front of me, you should’ve seen it, and this great big clown—"

“Yeah, sorry, got to go.” And click, Rose was gone.

“Oh, well thank you, madam,” said Jackie to her phone. But Rose was alive. Her daughter was safe, and heading home. Jackie would get there somehow, even if she had to walk all the way, she’d burst through that door, she’d get out the whisky, she’d knock them up a curry, she’d toast their survival and hold her daughters tight. Hey, she might even sell her story for a bit of money. My Night of Hell, by Jacqueline Tyler. But first of all, she thought of the children she’d walked past. And Jackie went back to help.

—

The Doctor returned with an identical pair of boots to the ones Lillie was wearing and waved off her thanks.

Mickey interrupted. “How do we get out of here?” He was sitting on the floor, on the opposite side of the console to the Doctor, determined to stay as far away from him as possible as if he were suddenly going to grow tentacles. He’d initially retreated down one of the gantries, so scared of the chamber’s size that he’d tried to hide in the shadow of an internal doorway. But then he’d heard a roar from the depths of the TARDIS.

“That’ll be the dragon,” said the Doctor with a bit a laughter in his voice and Mickey had scarpered back to the center. Now he huddled into himself, overwhelmed, smeared with grease and grime. As far as he knew, the police box was still inside the underground lair; he could accept that the inside was calmer somehow, safer and sort of detached, but he had no concept of the box having moved.

Rose supposed she could explain it to him. But later, maybe. The Doctor was more important, right now. Time with him was precious, he could vanish on a whim, and she didn’t like the idea of seeing that happiness fade from her sister’s eyes.

Rose and the Doctor discussed how they were in flight when Mickey interrupted, “What the hell are you on about?” The Doctor had a wolfish gleam in his eye, that made Mickey regret his question. A challenge. He strode down the entryway, his big boots making the metal clatter and clang. He looked at the sisters, seeing the excitement in their faces, returned his challenge and he opened the left-hand door. Lillie was immediately at his side, leaving a gap for Rose to see the outside who soon joined them as Lillie sat down, dangling her feet as she looked at the view.

They were in flight above the entire planet. They held the whole of the world within their sight.

“It’s a trick. That’s not real,” Mickey denied. They didn’t look back at him.

Down below at Great Britain, the lights of London a yellow sprawl in the dark of night. Down there, she supposed, there must be fires and alarms and tragedies, but it seemed mercilessly peaceful from above. The clouds of the Atlantic curling towards a bright fringe of sunlight, the long day ending beyond the curve. When Rose looked at the north-east curve of the horizon below, some plains of Russia, focusing on particular dips of landscape. Up and out where the infinite stars.

Rose had imagined space as a simple black. But it was paler, and richer, and so much more complex, infused with extraordinary maroons, reefs of light blue, glints of yellow on vast clouds of the deepest green. They stood there together, Rose and the Doctor, standing over Lillie, in an intimate silence.

Lillie waited, and then, as she knew she would, she saw them change under the planet’s slow revolve, she felt an exhilaration, a thrill, that almost made her feel powerful, like she was capable of universal possibilities.

“I can feel it,” she said aloud so the Doctor and Rose could hear her. “The turn of the Earth.”

The Doctor smiled and they stayed there for a while. Lillie soon became antsy and moved back into the Tardis and the Doctor closed the door. Time to go home but Rose knew that the Powell Estate was no longer Lillie’s home. Earth was no longer home to her.

The TARDIS had settled with a big, resounding thump, the glass column hissing to a halt and the groan of engines falling away. The end of the line. The Doctor had promised to bring them back to the Powell Estate. With a grin, Rose opened the door. Onto the cold and dark. She stepped out, into the London night with Lillie behind her.

“We’re in the wrong place!” She realized this was Henrik’s. Where it all began. They were just beyond the ruin of the shop. The TARDIS had brought them to a mountain of blackened rubble sealed off by hazard tape and chain-link fencing. Just twenty-four hours ago… One day in which everything had changed. But the sisters also knew it couldn’t last forever. Rose turned back to the Doctor who was leaning against the TARDIS doorway, arms folded. “You said home, you got it wrong.”

Then he was pushed aside as Mickey ran out, came to a halt. He looked around, looked back at the TARDIS, then at Rose, then at Lillie, down at the ground, up at the sky, down again. He stamped on the street to prove it was real. He’d convinced himself that seeing the Earth from orbit had been some sort of illusion, but now he had to face the truth. That they’d moved.

Then he asked, “Were we thrown?”

“What?” Lillie asked.

“What d’you mean, thrown?” Rose asked.

“Like, we were underground. And it exploded... And we got thrown out. And we landed here.” Mickey tried to reason.

Rose took a deep breath, to explain, but the Doctor interrupted, “Actually, that’s not bad. Same difference. Well done, Ricky.”

“It’s Mickey,” He said, trying to hide behind a large piece of wood, away from the Tardis.

Rose went to him to check on him, “Is he all right?”

“Don’t talk like I’m not here,” Mickey complained.

Lillie spun on her heels to look at him, “Oh, so you know the side effects of you being copied into plastic twice?”

Mickey opened his mouth, shut it, and then open it again, like fish out of water.

“He was copied. Bit knackering. Ten minutes, fresh air, right as rain. So, are we done?”

Rose saw her sister’s posture fall and her smile falter, the happiness in her eyes dimmed. She herself could feel a sudden rush in her heart. This was it. The Doctor was going. He’d step into that box and slam the door, never to be seen again. She saw her sister trying to hide her emotions like she always did and Rose didn’t want to give her disappointment away either.

She said, as though indifferent, “I suppose.”

“Good,” The Doctor said,

“Yeah,” said Rose.

“Yep.” Lillie choked down, looking down.

And they stayed where they were.

Then the Doctor said, “Right. I’d better go.”

Lillie noticed that he seemed to be hesitate to leave them too.

“Well, good luck,” Rose said, “You’ll need it.”

“What makes you think that?” He asked with mock offense.

“You were useless in there. You’d be dead if it wasn’t for me,” Rose smiled that brilliant smile, quite proud of herself.

“D’you think?” He was smiling too, just a little and then he admitted, “Yes, I suppose I would be. Thank you.”

And still, all three of them hesitated. The Doctor’s weight shifted onto his back foot, his hand tensed on the wooden door, about to close it—but not yet. The moment suspended. The Doctor knew these two girls were special; his empathy for all life—especially humanity was back, the one he thought had died with Nova.

"Right then, I'll be off… unless, uh, I don't know,” He shrugged, to appear casual, “you two could come with me. As you know this box isn't just a London-op, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge.”

Everything fell away: the sirens, the city, the cold, the pain of her new replacement boot rubbing against the back of her bare heel raw.

Then he blinked, drew in a sharp breath, looked at the sisters as though preparing to forget them, “Anyway. Never mind. Just a thought.” He took one step back.

“No! Don’t go!” Lillie blurted out and he looked at her.

Forcing herself to process what he was asking, Lillie got a surge of excitement in her body at the idea, her happiness coming back. For the first time in her life, something felt... right. She wasn't a kid anymore; she was eighteen and Rose could come with.

"You're serious?" She asked, grinning wildly.

"Nova made you promise, didn't she?" He smiled.

Mickey looked up at Lillie and said, “You can’t. It’s not safe. He’s an alien. He’s a thing.”

"Don't. He's an alien. He's a thing." Mickey said, pointing as if it needed to be clarified who he was referring to.

"He's not a bad alien." Lillie said, not looking away, "besides I've saved his hide twice now."

"He's not invited. What do you think? You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go anywhere. The choice is yours, Lillie Tyler.”

"Yes!" Lillie exclaimed at once, practically giddy with excitement.

A flash of relief passed over the Doctor’s face and he looked at Rose.

Rose looked tempted too but she forced herself to think logically.

"Is it always this dangerous?" Rose asked.

"Yeah." Doctor admitted and Mickey clung to Rose’s waist.

Rose thought about the fear she had felt but it had been worth it, to do the good that she did. She wanted to feel that again.

But then, ping, ping, ping. Her phone was bombarded by texts as it reconnected with the network came back to life; thirty-four messages received—thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven.

The list of names: Sally, Shareen, Mook, Patrice, Omar, Maxwell, Suki, Janice, Keisha, Cole, Mum, Mum, Mum. Rose's old world coming back.

Lillie checked her phone and the Doctor spotted, only two people had messaged her. Mum. Mum. Mum. Lars. Lars. Lars. Lars. Lars. Lars. Mum. Mum. Mum.

Rose wondered if any of those texts would be someone’s final message. And then Jackie, of course, she thought of Jackie, wandering home. And Mickey, poor Mickey Smith, that lovely bright boy shattered by events. Needing her help. And tomorrow the sun would shine and life would go on and she needed a job, she needed a wage, she couldn’t go running off like she’d done with Jimmy Stone, she wasn’t a kid any more. She had to buckle down and behave and face her responsibilities.

"Yeah, I can't. I've uh, I've got to go and find my mum, and someone's got to look after this stupid lump, so..." she turned to her sister, "you have fun and be safe. Okay, Lillie? I'll tell mum that you've... gone studying abroad or something..." Rose shrugged. "Take a year off before you head off to Cambridge."

While Rose didn't want her sister to go without her, she knew that Lillie had been waiting for a moment like this all her life and it wouldn't be fair to take it away from her. Lillie deserved it.

The Doctor’s expression did not change. He kept a level stare, as though none of this mattered at all and Lillie ran in the Tardis with the Doctor with a huge grin on her face. Though she knew that Rose wanted to go.

 “You watch after her. She’s sensitive to the cold.” Rose warned, “She gets sick easy when she’s cold.”

The Doctor didn’t mention that the radiation of the Tardis mutated human cells, making them better at fighting off diseases.

"Okay. See you around." The Doctor said, closing the door.

The Tardis started to dematerialize…

Mickey stood up to stare alongside her and they saw the miracle of the box for the first time. The lamp on top of the stacked roof flared as bright as the sun. Then it pulsed up and down, seeming to draw all the color out of the box as the noise heaved into a bellow, a fierce little wind whipping up, a vortex of papers and flakes and ash spiraling around the shape of the box even as that shape began to disappear. The lines and light melted away into the night. The wind died down, the debris settled to the floor, and the noise faded down to a whisper, and then nothing at all. The Doctor had gone with Lillie.

Rose stared at the empty space for a long time where the machine that had her sister and the Doctor inside were. Her eyes fell to a mirror in an alley and she saw herself in a tall broken shard of mirror that was a Hendrik’s display that had been thrown across the street.

And there she stood. Nineteen years old, London born, average height. Hoodie and jeans, like everyone her age. A scoop of dirty blonde hair around her face. Eyes like her father’s, mascara and hair like her mum’s. A bit of a sullen expression which made everyone, her whole life, say “Cheer up.”

The most ordinary girl in the world. And I’m happy with that, she thought. This ordinary girl helped to save the world, not with magic, not with science, not with any particular skill, I just did one simple thing: I never gave up.

--

The Doctor caught Lillie staring at the door from the console as she bit and sucked on her lip and she felt his gaze on her, she looked at him.

"She wants to go, you know." Lillie said. “She ran away from her responsibilities once for a prat of a boy. Dropped out of school.”

“How do you know this isn’t that?” He asked.

“It’s not.” She said, confident.

The Doctor smiled before heading back to give Rose a second chance.

And then she heard it again. The grind of engines. The light blazed into existence, a rush of, a spiral of wind, and the outlines of the box, bleeding into the air, and then with a thump, the TARDIS was back.

The Doctor opened the door again and said, "By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?"

The spin of the world beneath her feet seemed to tilt. Now so many things made sense. The photographs in the shed. Those two words, spoken by a furious beast: “time” and “lord”. Rose turned to Mickey. She loved him, but that seemed a very small thing, right now. She thought of the people who’d abandoned him, the people he’d lost over the years. And she was sorry, but above and beyond that, she thought: That’s his story. But this is my story, now. And the only person who can tell it, is me. She gave Mickey a kiss. She said, "Thank you." Then she ran towards the rest of her life, joining her sister.

Lillie and Rose knew that the stranger’s promise, given to them in the dark and snow of New Year’s Eve, had finally come true. Lillie thought back to that man from what little she could see of him.

And that’s how the journey began. And they hoped it would never end.

#“Rose” Episode #2005 #The Eccedentiast #Supernova #Rose Tyler #Ninth Doctor #Mickey Smith #Memory of the Tenth Doctor #Doctor Who #Series One #Season One #Series 1 #Season 1 #Katherine Langford #Tyler!Sister #Tyler!OC #Rose Tyler's Sister #Rose Tyler's Younger Sister #Nine #Rose #Golden Rose #Autons #“Run!” #christopher eccleston #“Rose” Novelization Rewrite #“Rose” Episode Rewrite #Jackie Tyler #Billie Piper #Bad Wolf Mention #Living Plastic

[sekhisadventures]

Green Flame and Rot

The Azure Span

Jaie sighed as she rode along the paths between the trees astride her runestag, the blue-furred buck seeming quite at home among the dense forest. She had met the creature during her time in Ardenweald and the two had become fast friends.

She had been travelling to Iskaara, seeking out the Tuskaar who lived there. They knew more about the bounty of the ocean and how to use it than even her own people from the Wandering Isle, and she intended to learn all she could from them and use it to increase her already sizeable cookbook. She’d even run into Nomi in Valdrakken and was eager to experiment with her old friend once more.

That being said, she did wish she had some other company with her.

There were two others with her, and while she didn’t dislike them… well, to someone who was sensitive to the energy of life, the energies of death were not a comfortable thing to be around to say the least.

“Aye, me people knew o' th' Tuskaar. Any sailor had met a few on their travels. Always good fer a bit o' fish jerky ‘n a hearty bowl o' soup they are.” said Edwood, the forsaken grinning as his own mount, a fiery felsteed, trotted along to her left. “It’s a bloody good idea ta seek ‘em out. Even a pandaren like yerself should be able ta learn a thing or two from ‘em.”

Edwood Vargas, formerly of Kul Tiras until his untimely demise when Dalaran fell to the Scourge during the Third War, now serving the newly reformed Desolate Council as one of the Forsaken. His aura of necromantic essence was like a constant sinus pressure to Jaie. She could handle it when the rest of Avalon and Savage United were around, but when it was just them… well…

Though, it wasn’t just the two of them, but her other companion wasn’t helping matters.

“Ya mon. I met a few o’ dem when I was in Northrend sortin’ out ol’ Arthas.�� nodded Mola’raum. “Dey be damn good fishermen, good with spears too. I be a troll, I can tell.” he chuckled.

“Yeah…” she sighed, rubbing her temples a bit.

“Er, ye alright lassie?” asked Edwood.

Jaie sighed. A forsaken and a death knight… two sources of deathly energies. She didn’t want to be rude to them, hell she respected Mola’raum after he kept her alive when they first traveled to the Shadowlands together, but… it was like how someone allergic to cats could still like cats. It didn’t stop them from being allergic to them.

“I’m fine Edwood. I think I’m just still getting used to the weather in the Isles. All the constant changes that the Primalists are causing are probably just giving me a headache is all.” she lied with an apologetic smile.

The forsaken warlock shrugged as Guzzle snickered, the imp sitting in his usual spot astride his master’s shoulder like the world’s ugliest parrot.

Jaie shook her head a bit, acting as if she was just trying to clear it. Sometimes she wished she could be as blunt as Darkhoof was… but still, given the reason they were here at all she wasn’t going to begrudge the backup if they ran into something bad.

… and given what they heard in Valdrakken, that was good odds.

Valdrakken, Three Days Ago

Mola’raum frowned as he listened to the tales told by an Iskaaran fisherman who had traveled to the dragon city to sell his wares to the wyrms. Stories of the local gnolls acting even more violent than usual, and of their shaman speaking of an ill tiding on the winds. Some miasma that sickened their young and elderly.

“Ya… dat don’t be soundin’ good mon. I be havin’ experience in dese tings. Mebbe I could come, yanno, see wut I can find.” he nodded to the portly walrus-man, tapping his chin thoughtfully as his glowing blue eyes narrowed.

“My people would certainly appreciate the help!” replied the Tuskaar. “Our shaman would look into it themselves, but they have their hands full treating those of Iskaara who have taken ill from whatever the gnolls are up to. All they can tell is that something is wrong in the forest where the gnolls live. Why, I even sailed around the island and came here from the north rather than risk the travel through the woods!” he nodded.

Mola’raum nodded, then took out his gemstone, “Gimme a minute mon.” he nodded, then drew Edwood’s rune on the stone. A moment later the warlock’s head and shoulders appeared above it in miniature as the Tuskaar let out a started gasp. “Ed mon, been hearin’ of a situation in de Azure Span. Some kinda disease dealie fookin’ up th’ Tuskaar sounds like. Didn’t Jaie say she be goin’ dat way in a few days at de last meetin’?” he asked.

“Aye, she did say her compass be pointin’ ta that village there, Iskaara I think it was called.” replied the image of the Forsaken with a nod. “Ye be thinkin’ it might be somethin’ we should be lookin’ inta?”

“Ya mon. Dey shaman be sensin’ somethin’. I be goin’ meself, but… wouldn’t be sayin’ no ta another undead joinin’ me. I mean not like we gotta be worryin’ about gettin’ sick ya?” he grinned.

The forsaken grinned back, “Aye, that be a concern fer less ‘vitally challenged’ types.” he chuckled, “I’ll ask Nelen when she’ll be settin’ sail ‘n we can all go together.” he replied.

The Azure Span, Present Day

Nelen had, of course, been quite happy to let his former classmate know when Jaie would be going. He felt that having the two of them watching her back would make the journey all the safer.

Jaie did trust the two of them for that… but she really wished he would have warned her so she could have at least bought a couple headache remedies before setting out. Now it’d be too awkward to ask for one.

“So…” she began, trying to distract herself from the throb in her temples. “What did the Tuskaar say was happening here anyways?” she asked.

Mola’raum shrugged, “Dey shaman not be able ta go check wit’ all de sick… but dey can tell it ain’t a natural case o’ de flu or somethin’. Dis outbreak not be normal…” he replied as they wound along the trail… and then they all pulled their mounts to a halt at what they found there.

A gnoll lay in the path ahead of them, and it’s body was a mess! Its fur was falling out and it was covered in sores as if it had a horrible case of mange, it’s eyes bloodshot and it’s nose runny and crusted with dried snot… and it was quite clearly dead, and recently so. Several large wounds on it’s back attested to that, the blood on them still fresh.

Jaie gasped at the sight as Mola’raum drew his raptor to a halt. “Stay back ya two.” he warned, climbing off the skeletal mount and drawing his spear, holding it ready as he slowly walked to the gnoll corpse.

“Dis ting… yah, I be seein’ dis sorta ting back when I was in de Scourge. Some o’ de members o’ de Cult o’ de Damned be gettin’ like dis when dey be handlin’ de plague fer too long. It start ta do stuff to ‘em, no matter how good dey be protectin’ demselves.” he warned.

Edwood’s eyes narrowed, his grip on his own mount’s reigns tightening as he grimaced. “They ain’t…” he began, but Mola’raum shook his head.

“No mon, dis be similar… but it not be de Scourge’s doin’. Dis… is different…” he poked at the body with his spear. “Hmm… it be fresh too. Whatever be doin’ dis be close by…” he said, looking around.

Jaie hissed through her teeth, looking around as she rubbed her head. “Ugh, this thing is really making my head hurt. Its like…” she began, then blinked, “… wait…” she murmured, climbing off her runestag and padding towards it. “I… I think I know what this is. I heard Sekhi describe something like this once back in Ardenweald.” she said. “Mola’raum, does that gnoll have a totem anywhere on him? Like the kind Shaman use?” she asked.

Mola’raum looked at her, his eyebrow raising, then he leaned in and shoved the gnoll onto it’s back, finding a pouch on it’s belt. Really no more than a bit of rope tied around it’s waist to hold up a tattered pair of trousers. The troll ripped the pouch free, the ties barely holding together, then shook it out. Several things clattered onto the forest floor; a few coins, a fang from a hyena, a couple shiny rocks… and a small wooden totem carved from what appeared to be wood in advanced stages of rot. It looked like a hyena’s snarling mouth, but there was something smeared over the fangs, something vile yellow that stank so strongly it made Jaie’s eyes water as she took a step back in disgust.

“Whoooo…” whistled Mola’raum, “Even I be smellin’ dat… Yanno wut dis be Jaie?” he asked.

She nodded, “I think so… Sekhi told us back in Ardenweald about how her ‘song’ works for her, how everything sounds like music to her. Well, she says Spirit sounds like singing right? Sometimes she said, especially in places like Nazmir, she’d hear singing that sounded… wrong. Like the voices singing were sick or extremely tired. She said she thought that might be the… well, she said most Shaman don’t practice it, but there is a sixth element.” she nodded, “She said that it was the balance to Spirit. She called it the element of ‘Decay.’”

Edwood sat up straighter in his saddle, “Decay? Aye, we heard of it back in th’ Grand Apothecary Society. Sylvannas was lookin’ fer anything we could weaponize back when Garrosh was steerin’ th’ ship, ‘n one of th’ things she found was th’ totems used by th’ Witherbark Trolls in Arathi.” he frowned, “Now that ye mention it, th’ magicks round that totem do seem really similar… except…” he frowned.

Jaie looked at him, cocking her head, “Except?” she asked.

“… well, Decay is a very dangerous element lassie.” he nodded to her, “Tiny bits in th’ right place’ll get th’ job done. Fill an enemy’s lungs with fluid or wither their eyes or heart… so ye only really need a bit.” he nodded, “Mola, throw it up in th' air.”

The troll nodded to him, then chucked it up into the air as hard as he could as Edwood glared upwards, then flexed an arm and spoke a word in demonic that rang like a great bell, and the totem erupted in felfire! There weren’t even any ashes left, the corrupted tool totally incinerated!

“… aye, that wasn’t just a bit.” he frowned, “That thing was drippin’ with th’ stuff. Mola should be alright, death knights be seein’ a lot worse than even that from Arthas, but ye better watch yer paws lassie.” he warned Jaie. “Those gnolls are playin’ with fire… ‘n this is comin’ from a warlock. I know what playin’ with fire is!” he nodded.

Jaie shuddered at the thought, nodding, “Right… but… where did that gnoll come from?” she asked.

At this however Guzzle clapped his tiny hands and pointed to the northwest. “That way!” hissed the imp.

The trio looked where he was pointing and saw smoke curling up from the trees.

After securing their mounts they proceeded on foot and found the source of the smoke.

A gnoll village, the water befouled, flies and other vermin buzzing everywhere, and the very ground feeling sticky and sick to the touch. Strange fungus grew here and there, but the village looked like the worst kind of plague town that had been seen in Northrend during the height of the Scourge’s power.

It was also the site of a massacre. Gnoll bodies everywhere, many of them clearly having been dead only hours if not less.

Jaie grimaced at the sight, the girl glancing around… but no matter where she looked it was clear that there were no living gnolls in the village. She couldn’t sense any chi but her own, and the warped anti-chi that made up the auras of her two companions. “What did this?” she whispered, “Did the Primalists attack?” she asked.

Edwood shook his head, “I bleedin’ doubt it. This place would be flash frozen or covered in lightnin’ strikes. Most of ‘em look like they were killed with a blade… an... axe, I think... judgin' by the marks...” he murmured, waving his hand over a gnoll body.

Mola’raum frowned, “… where be dey souls?” he muttered.

Jaie and Edwood paused, looking at him. “Their souls?” asked the pandaren.

“Ya mon, death knight remembah? I can be seein’ em. Dey been dead too recently ta have th’ Kyrian come fer alla dem. Too many ta take all at once, dey gotta send a whole bunch or do it in trips.” he nodded, “But… no souls. Dey ain’t hangin’ round or hauntin’ or nothin’… dey just… gone!” he shrugged.

“No souls… and they died to an axe…” frowned the pandaren, her mind puzzling over it… and then she sensed something above them. A huge source of chi, coming in fast!

“SCATTER!” she screamed, rolling for cover! Mola’raum and Edwood looked up and bolted, the Forsaken scrambling to the right as the death knight backpedaled the other way, pulling his spear free as he did.

A moment later a black drake slammed down where they had all been mere seconds before!

“BUGGER! MISSED!” snarled a voice in a thick Gilnean accent.

Jaie felt a chill go up her spine, she knew that voice. “You…” she whispered, immediately slipping into the ox stance as the dragon’s rider sneered back at her.

“Me.” snorted Dissonantia, grinning a fang-filled grin at the monk. “Didn’t expect yez ta catch up wiv me so soon… but as long as yer here may as well see if me luck ain’t better this time.” she taunted, flexing her claws as felfire sparked around her fingers.

“Dat be why dey souls be gone… ya took ‘em didn’t ya?!” shouted Mola’raum, pointing an accusing finger at her as he gestured with his spear, the ground next to him erupting as his ghoul clawed it’s way free of the earth.

Dissonantia rolled her eyes, “Oh wot, yez never complained before! They wuz just some gnolls! Who bloody cares?!” she snapped, then her other arm shot out and a blast of shadows erupted from it as a ball of felfire slammed into her palm, dissipating into nothingness.

She glanced in the direction it came in, raising her eyebrow. “Hm? Oh yez replaced me already eh?” she chuckled, noticing Edwood as the Forsaken darkcaster stood ready, Guzzle standing next to him and juggling several balls of felfire, ready to lob them at the witch.

Edwood flexed his fingers, but he was a warlock himself and he could sense Dissonatia’s power… and he realized it greatly dwarfed his own. The Witch of the Blackwald was old enough to be his great great great grandmother and had learned quite a few nasty tricks in her time. Ontop of that he could sense the demonic energies coursing through her. He’d heard what had become of her from Nelen, and his friend had been right. Dissonantia was barely a worgen anymore! She was becoming a fully-fledged demon!

Also, she was riding a black dragon. That gave all three of them pause. The dragon didn’t look happy about this, but Edwood could recognize the marks of Dissonantia’s power on the creature. The dragon was forced to serve her as a steed, she’d used fel magic to dominate it’s will!

Dissonantia looked around at the three, then shrugged. “Eh, ain’t worth botherin’ wiv right now.” she said dismissively, “I got wut I came fer. Yez can wait until ol’ Auntie Dissonantia has yer treats ready.” she cackled, kicking her heels into the drake’s sides.

The dragon snarled in discomfort and humiliation, but spread it’s wings as the felfire in it’s eyes flared and with a massive downdraft it took to the skies.

Mola’raum swore, then lashed out one arm as a massive shadowy limb burst off it, stretching up after Dissonantia to tear her from the dragon’s back, but the worgen snapped her fingers and the shadows blew away like smoke caught in a gale. “Nice trick boyo, here’s one o’ mine!” she sneered, smacking her claws across the dragon’s neck, scoring his scales!

The dragon roared in pain, then angled it’s head down as the space between it’s fangs began to glow…

Mola’raum’s eyes went huge, “RUN FER IT!” he shouted as the three of them dove for cover! The dragon roared in fury and a wave of molten rock poured from it’s mouth, the black dragon’s breath scorching the very air itself as it slammed down into the ground! The blast of lava cremated several dead gnolls as it hit, the edge of it landing in one of the befouled water pools and sending up a gigantic blast of steam!

Jaie held her breath tightly, not wanting to risk breathing in the steam or smoke out of fear of what the Decay in it might do, then Edwood spoke several words in demonic and slammed his hands together! There was a blast of felfire and an explosion rippled out from him, blowing away the fumes… and revealing an area empty of warlocks and dragons. Dissonantia had retreated, her surprise attack having been thwarted… and yet… the three of them couldn’t shake the feeling she had LET them go.

Mola’raum glared around the area, but he couldn’t see her anywhere… “Fook! We gotta warn de odders. Dissonantia be here, we all be in danger!” he nodded, taking out his gemstone and drawing the rune for Nitika on it. “Bad news sistah, we got company.” he began as the tauren’s face appeared before him.

Jaie sighed, walking carefully towards the still glowing pile of molten stone. Black dragons breath was akin to an erupting volcano, a tribute to their heritage as the sons and daughters of the ‘Earthwarder.’

“What was she doing here…” she frowned, “She said she’d ‘gotten what she came for.’” she muttered in a worried tone.

“Eh, search me lassie.” shrugged Edwood, “We know she needs souls ta stay alive… maybe that’s what she came fer? I mean… fillin’ th' larder ‘n all.” he shrugged, gesturing around them.

Jaie nodded a bit hesitantly, but she didn’t seem convinced. Knowing Dissonantia, the true reason would be a lot worse…

Next Story

Previous Story

#dragonflight #warcraft fanfiction #world of warcraft #adventures in azeroth #warcraft

[wehavebiggerproblems]

Fallout 4 Random Companion Headcanons

Wrote these a few years ago, too nervous then to share them.

Ada

-Ada was built in 2268. She's about 21 years old.

-Her first memory is of seeing The Mechanist in front of her. Then she watched as The Mechanist removed their head and smiled.

-She's Isabel's first project. 

-Her voice was originally supposed to be more synthesized and robotic, but the more human sound was easier for Isabel to work with.

-Ada prefers to travels in groups with 3-4 people, knowing fully well a robot is a higher target for scavvers.

- Her base body was constructed from many different trial runs of the "ADA" project.

-She's programmed to remain indifferent but the nagging voice in her programming says to do good things in order to to aid other people.

-Ada appreciates the effort Sole goes through to upgrade her body. She doesn't think it's necessary and she's somewhat sentimental about her original form.

-She finds Codsworth's attachment to Sole strange. Almost too human, those Mr. Handy's.

Cait

-Cait loves baths. Bubble baths with bath bombs and even a little rubber ducky. Only Sole knows this.

-The rubber ducky's name is Codsworth. Will not explain why.

-Can fire a rifle over her shoulder behind her. (Annie Oakley style)

-Hates Jazz music. Says it's too slow and calm. Really dislikes it because she's uncomfortable slow dancing with anyone.

-Allergic to feathers. Rad chickens make her sick to be around.

-But once the feathers are removed, the chicken has been cut up, and cooked with some veggies and a loaf of bread, loves it.

-Chicken soup is her favourite dish. Only likes Sole's chicken soup though. Will not eat anyone else’s.

-Shot put would be her favourite sport. Throwing a heavy metal sphere a very long distance is goals.

Codsworth

-Codsworth can speak 8 languages. Including: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Polish, and Swedish.

-Can recognize almost every written language and translate but lacks the programming to speak every one.

-Nate/Nora got him two years before Shaun was born.

-Sole did minimal repair work on him, and offered to polish him every time he got a dent or scratch.

-He always accepted the polish offer. Very wary of Sole doing factory repairs on him. Would prefer professionals doing the delicate work.

-Always celebrated Nate/Nora and Sole’s respective birthdays. For 200 years.

-When Sole called him "Family", he felt an odd electric pulse through his core processor. He decided to call it a skipped heart beat.

-Calls synth Shaun "Sonny", and "Young Master Shaun".

-Makes Sole's favourite meal when they come back home from Vault 111.

-Will ask to take over if he catches Sole doing chores.

-Hesitates when he has to bring up Sole's spouse knowing it's a touchy subject.

-His favourite friend of Sole's is Nick. Thinks Nick is a good role model for synth Shaun.

Curie

-Curie, like Codsworth can speak 8 languages. However, after becoming a synth, she can only speak about 4.

-Curie loves the feeling of velvet. Collects pieces of velvet clothing. 

-Once wore a velvet cape around because she loved the way it draped over her shoulders and fluttered when she walked.

-Has sensory phases. Music, nice noises, soft materials, different foods, perfumes, etc. Collects whatever makes her senses happy.

-During the "feeling phase" her favourite feeling was holding Sole's hand. Loved running her hand over the surface of water. And velvet.

-Talks out what her feelings are with Piper. Piper explains to her what the "spin spin spin" in her head meant.

-Favourite smell is fresh baked bread. Bakes bread with Mama Murphy every weekend.

-Favourite sweet food is mutfruit pie. Will badger Piper to make it with her.

-Curie's motor functions are still new. Sometimes she misses what she was trying to grab and fumbles.

Danse

-Danse is a horrid mechanic. You'd think spending time in the BoS and dedicating time to auto repair with Ingram. Can't put a toaster together.

-But Power Armor is a piece of cake. Can't do much with pre-war tech, yet fixing power armor is as easy as making breakfast.

-Like all gen 3 synths, he loves Fancy Lad snack cakes. He'd share whatever box he'd find with the squires around the Prydwen.

-Scribe Haylen would volunteer to work alongside Danse on all his scouting missions.

-Danse found out Deacon was the one who stuck the dildo to his power armor. He made sure Deacon's wigs were the same bright purple color the very next day.

-Loves country music. When a traveling courier stops by and shares their western/country music, he actually dances. 

-Has a heart for kids. Even Billy. 

-Leg bouncing habit. Can't bounce his leg in power armor but as soon as he's out, his leg's jittering.

Deacon

-Deacon is in his late 40's. 

-Did not lie about his wife and the University Point Deathclaws.

-Enjoys learning about Pre-war culture, spends free time with ghouls asking them about the past.

-Sole can fool him easily about prewar facts though. 

-Has incredible luck with the pie claw game. Has won 8 times while traveling with Sole.

-Loves making silly bets. "I bet I can skip this plate across the lake at least 1 time." Proceeds to throw the plate at the water horizontally. 

-Doesn't hate Danse. He will pull pranks on him though. Once stuck a dildo on the back of Danse's power armour. 

-His hair grows quickly so he has to shave every day.

-Shaves his head, isn't bald. Shaved head works better with his pompadour wig. 

-Doesn't like mutfruit. Says it's too acidic and hurts his gums.

-Has a rifle-shaped scar on his forearm. Will tell a different story for it every time.

-Once drank a dozen Nuka Cola Quantums on a dare. His pee glowed for a week.

-Tried going vegetarian once. ONCE. Found out being vegetarian means eating no meat or dairy products. Had to have Sole explain that, while gross, radroach could technically be  considered meat.

-Is kinda clumsy. Always bumps into counter edges and stubs his toes on bits of debris.

-Doesn't lie about his family. And when Sole calls him family, promises to never lie about family again.

Gage

-Gage juggled skii balls to entertain the last Overboss, Colter.

-He enjoys small shooting competitions with MacCready, Sole, and X6. All four are sharp shooters.

-Fastest learner. Spent an entire week learning how to cook Sole's old recipes. He can cook them better than anyone with the exception of Codsworth.

-Hums when he works. 

-Had a one night stand with Nisha. Ended so bad, he avoids that area of the park at all costs.

-Hates cats. Had an awful run in with a rad lion. Radiated Mountain Lion that tore a scar deep down his back. 

-Does routine maintenance on the rides in the park. He knows how everything works there. From social hierarchy - to the intricacies of the Vault Tec: Among the Stars ride.

-His favourite flavour of Nuka Cola is Nuka Cola Victory. Rare to find but easily the best.

-Record farthest shot is a bean can from 410 meters. 

-He's a lightweight. Only two beers and he's buzzed enough to sing along with Red-Eye.

-Will tell a different story every time if anyone asks about the eye patch.

Hancock

-Hancock is a history buff. Loves learning about colonial era civilization. 

-Has spent days with Kent Connolly researching Silver Shroud information. He knows more about the Silver Shroud than any other companion.

-Has had a fling with every person in Goodneighbor at least once. Even Kleo. 

-At least in a sexual way, he is extremely open minded. Welcomes new experiences and new information given anywhere anytime.

-Had a decent childhood with his brother. He remembers tending to the mutfruit trees with him and eating every other piece they picked.

-Adores pickles. Would sit and eat an entire jar of pickles just because he loves the cronch so much.

-All time favourite chem is Mentats. Loves making intellectual jokes while high as a kite.

-Does not know what a lot of pre-war expressions mean, but enjoys saying them and hearing them from Sole.

-Is a master at repairing clothing. How else does the frock stay in such good condition? He tends to it every night.

-As far as euphemisms for ghouls go, he likes "beef jerky".

Longfellow

-Longfellow met Hannah while out hunting. She blasted a trapper's head clean off, and he fell harder than the trapper's body.

-He spent his youth training, hoping to become a Brotherhood soldier one day.

-And then he met a vertibird full of them. They called Far Harbor a dump while gathering supplies there. Officially decided to cease all training.

-Managed to take down 17 Mirelurks in 3 minutes. 

-Holds the record in Acadia for alcohol consumption. All records involving alcohol consumption.

-He's really fit? Longfellow could and has bench pressed Sole. 

-He only did so because Hancock and MacCready wouldn't shut up about it.

-Loves singing old shanty songs and dancing with Sole. Only when no one else is around though.

-After the events at Far Harbor, he decides to go sailing along the coast. Wants to see the world more.

MacCready

-MacCready does brush his teeth. He brushes his teeth regularly. He started brushing after he left Little Lamplight. By that point the damage was already done.

-Lucy was the one to convince him to brush his teeth.

-He can't stand the smell of lavender. Lavender candles, lavender lotion, etc...makes him feel  nauseous.

-He named his sniper rifle, "Lucy"

-Won't drink brahmin milk with cereal even to Sole's encouragement.

-Is very well read. Vault 87 had many educational textbooks hidden among the super mutants.

-MacCready was the longest lasting mayor in L.L. He was mayor for 6 years.

-He has no idea what television is and is afraid to ask any pre-wars about it.

-Wary of all ghouls, both feral and normal. He's not bias to non-ferals, but he is a little uncomfortable.

-Had a crush on Lone Wanderer when they first visited L.L. Mac told Joseph and he made fun of him.

Nick

-Nick has an oral fixation. Smokes out of habit and having the familiar feeling of a cigarette between his lips feeds into human nostalgia.

-His right hand is missing skin because he fidgets only his right. Whether it was picking at the fraying plastic or rubbing the fake skin raw.

-He lost the chunk of neck skin after Myrna accused him of working for the Institute. Tore off a chunk to prove he wasn't a perfect person or an infiltrator synth.

-Ellie was the first person in Diamond City to wholly accept Nick as he is. She asked to work with him as soon as he decided to stay.

-Piper and Nick have jam sessions where they have heavy debates about Diamond City law enforcement and criminal misuse of power in the capitalistic society of pre-war USA.

-Met Dogmeat under an overpass. He handed the dog a snack cake and scratched his head. They've been close pals ever since.

-Will "sleep" around Sole. He'll lay down and manually put himself into "sleep mode". Any unnecessary functions will shut down. He lets his thoughts take over. All Sole hears is the faintest fan whir.

Piper

-Piper plans Sole's 211th birthday. She goes all out, collects balloons, bakes several cakes with Codsworth, makes everyone attend and threatens anyone who would act up. "It's Blue's first birthday out here, you WILL behave!"

-Knows how to make mutfruit preserves, mutfruit pie, mutfruit jam and jelly. Makes it for Nat constantly.

-Has a notebook dedicated to little tidbits of info about Sole.

-Nat is exactly 8 years, 5 months, and 25 days younger than Piper. 

-Piper has interviewed every person in Diamond City. Made a game of it with Nat at first, then she just kept going with it.

-Piper has awful shorthand. Almost as bad as Curie's shorthand. Still illegible. 

-Piper's handwriting is so bad, Nat does the writing for the paper. Piper writes the final draft and Nat copies it, and sends it through the printing press.

-Despite bad handwriting, Piper is very eloquent. Can make a super mutant sound like good date idea or convince anyone how the mayor might actually be a synth.

-Her favourite of Sole's friends is Kent Connolly. Would gladly dress up and act out Silver Shroud episodes with him and Sole.

Preston

-Preston has insomnia. Cannot sleep well. Has had insomnia since Quincy. 

-Can sleep well if he's sleeping beside someone.

-Has a box under his bed of little knick-knacks children have given him over the years. Can't bear to get rid of the kid's gifts.

-He actually likes all of Sole's friends. Even Strong.

-Hates coconut. Once found an Almond-Joy while scaving and couldn't finish it to save his life.

-All time favourite candy is Peanut Brittle. Hard to find but gnawing on the hard chunks is somewhat soothing to him.

-Loves back rubs. Giving and receiving but only from close friends or lovers.

-Once accidently drank a bottle of perfume. MacCready told him it was a bottle of fancy expensive wine. 

-Sturges and Preston are the closest of friends, no less maybe more.

Strong

-Strong knows how to jump rope.

-But double dutch is a mystery.

-Before Sole, he only ate meat raw. Sole taught him how to cook it.

-Also lacks patience to cook, but slowly learning.

-Strong was created in Vault 87 after the bombs dropped but remembers nothing from being human.

-Doesn't understand bubblegum. Will always swallow it after a few seconds of chewing.

-Likes having poetry and plays read to him. 

-Sleeps holding Sole or having Sole laying across his stomach. 

-Loves fire. The smell, the feeling of heat against his hardened skin, the taste of charred meat, and watching the embers fly up and turn to ash.

-Strong can read, but chooses not to because super mutants discourage any educational behavior. 

-Likes the sound of clacking keys on a terminal. He'll turn one on and mess around with the keyboard just to hear the different sounds each key makes.

-He can't decide if hand-to-hand combat is better than using guns.

X6-88

-X6 doesn't like using plasma. He thinks the plasma is less accurate. 

-But laser weapons are his jam.

-Spends excessive amount of time augmenting his weapon. 

-If Sole helped, he would be "happy". Would never say it, but a tiny smirk would pop up on his face for half a second.

-Will collect Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. Hoards them in his bedroom in Sanctuary and in the Institute. 

-Sole found his stash and X6 blushed for the first time when they confronted him. 

-He called Sole "Mom" instead of Ma'am once. She won't let him live it down.

-He called Sole "Dad" after hearing Shaun call him "Dad" all day. He won't let him live it down.

-Actually likes kids. Won't show emotions, get down to their level, or speak to kids. But he doesn't hate children. 

-Especially likes synth Shaun. He taught synth Shaun how to use a laser pistol. Shaun found out and put X6 on probation for a month.

Bonus Vault Tec Rep and Kent Connolly under the cut.

Vault Tec Rep

-Rep spent a couple decades learning how to draw. Loves drawing from life. Mostly draws people. Occasionally draws ferals, mutants, and various animals.

-Was engaged before the war, lasted about 2 years before she died of cancer.

-His favorite food was and still is a well grilled medium rare steak.

-A total neat freak. Every space he uses as a homestead has to be thoroughly cleaned of any bacteria, ticks, dust, dirt, radiation residue, etc

-Teased in school for his red hair. "Rusty" was his least favorite nickname.

-He's extremely susceptible to pet names. Doesn't have to be anything sexual or romantic, just pet names. He blushes like a starstruck starlet.

-Loves love. Romance and old-timey corny love stories. He like to woo his partner. Flowers, chocolate, dancing, movie dates, hand written poems, you name it. 

-He misses his old red hair. Years of being a brunette and he's a little bitter about his hair.

-Least favourite part of The Wasteland is amount of bodies he sees on a daily basis. He saw about zero bodies a day on average before the war. Even in Goodneighbor, the average has risen to about 4 bodies a week. 

-Favourite part of The Wasteland is the ability to just go anywhere. After realizing he didn't have any obligation to stay any specific place, he just traveled around for a few decades.

-His father worked for Vault-Tec, and when he graduated high school, he was given a job immediately. 

-Didn't hate it. Didn't love it at first, but he had a real knack for selling.

-He never had an office in Boston HQ. He got the van, and got a sweet bonus for being top salesman, but never his own office. 

-Despite being top salesman, he was only allowed on the first and second floors. He didn't find out till after the bombs dropped that the basement and third floor up had the plans for the various vaults in the area.

-He can't apologize enough to Sole. After thinking on it and checking out vault 111 by himself, he truly feels sorry for what happened.

-Sole gets him a set of steak knives for Christmas. They're homemade by Sole. They tell him he's earned far more than a knife set, but if that's what he's pining for...

-He treasures it so much, he rarely uses them. Just before he leaves for work in the morning, he checks them over and admires them.

-He and Sole have spent days just telling each other pre war stories. He almost knows more about Sole than Piper does. And he's a little proud of that fact.

-He gets along best with, of all people, Deacon. Good sense of humour and always interested in pre-war info.

-Second best is Piper. A nice lady who snoops too much, but does treat everyone with respect and tries to remain unbiased.

Kent Connolly

-Kent was 23 when the bombs dropped.

-He was sleeping in on the Saturday morning when he heard the air raid sirens.

-Hid in his house's basement till the sirens stopped. 

-And then the radiation sickness took over. 

-It took him about 3 months to turn ghoulish. Quicker than most. 

-He dislikes Goodneighbor - the town as a whole. The people are fine, the resources are serviceable, and the safety assured is nice. But he hates how back alley it feels.

-Misses his family the most. They weren't the best, but they made him feel loved and important.

-Speaking of which, Kent had a huge family. I'm talking brothers, sisters, cousins for days, aunts, uncles...he remembers family reunions as huge gatherings chock full of food and kids running amuck.

-Maybe, just maybe, he enjoys seeing Sole all dressed like Shroud a little too much. He's a big fan.

-Once spent 4 grand on a mint condition Issue no. 3 Silver Shroud comic just to find out it was a forgery. Never got that refund. :(

-Writes really well. But only writes Silver Shroud fanfiction. Piper almost convinced him to help write an article about how crime differed before the war and after the war. But he turned her down.

-Nick has agreed to dress up as Shroud if Sole dresses up like Grognak or Mistress of Mystery. But only if Sole dresses up too.

-Irma refers to him as her son. Amari will not say the same, but she also doesn't protest.

-He used to work in comic book shop. (Of course he did.) 

-He writes self insert Silver Shroud fanfiction all the time. After the events at the hospital with Sinjin, the Shroud in his fanfictions suddenly start using Sole's pronouns and is described as physically similar as Sole.

#Fallout 4 #Fallout 4 headcanons #Fallout #Ada #Cait #Codsworth #Curie #Danse #Deacon #Gage #Hancock #Longfellow #MacCready #Nick Valentine #Piper Wright #Preston Garvery #Strong #X6-88 #Vault Tec Rep #Kent Connolly #my writing #Sole Survivor

[jonkner]

Design and Mythology motifs in the Personas of Persona 2

PART 3 - ETERNAL PUNISHMENT’S INITIAL PERSONAS

Moving along to the EP cast’s personas, please note I won’t be covering Tatsuya and Maya’s again as they’ve already been analyzed in the previous two parts.

Again, this is just my take on the personas and most things have not been confirmed by Atlus.

Callisto - Ulala’s Initial Persona

Callisto was a follower of Artemis, and sometimes was stated as being her best friend or possibly even lovers. After being assaulted by Zeus she was subsequently banished from Artemis’ followers for breaking her vow of virginity. After giving birth with the aid of her midwife Maia, the jealous Hera turned her into a bear in an act of revenge. After nearly being shot and killed by Artemis during a hunt, Zeus put her and her son into the sky as stars. They are modernly known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Ulala’s Callisto take the form of a woman in a torn trench coat with spiked gloves and boots, who is bound tightly in a long rope that ends in a whip (resembling the form of bondage known as shibari). Her face is shattered, with a single high heel piercing through where the mouth would be. Her colour scheme is Ulala’s inverted, with red/pink being the primary colour and green being the accents.

Callisto’s design is very clearly inspired by BDSM practices, and reflects Ulala’s unsuccessful and miserable love life. Similar to how Zeus wronged Callisto, Ulala was scammed by a conman who lied about wanting to marry her.

She represents Ulala’s fragile friendship with Maya at the start of the game, and her low self esteem regarding her appeal as a young woman.

Helios - Katsuya’s Initial Persona

In Greek mythology, Helios is the Titan of the Sun and is the one that drives the chariot of the sun. He is the son of the Titan Hyperion. He was initially worshipped as the very sun itself before Apollo rose into popularity and took over the role instead. Helios is seen as both a personification of the Sun and the fundamental creative power behind it and as a result is often worshiped as a god of life and creation. Homer described Helios as a god "who gives joy to mortals".

Katsuya’s Helios takes little inspiration from the Helios of myth, and moreso it’s wielder. This Helios takes the form of a cat-like humanoid in a cravat and suit, and vaguely resembles a butler. A reference to Katsuya’s adoration of cats, as in game he expresses dismay at the fact he’s allergic to them and Helios’ form taunts him, but also possibly Katsuya’s more uptight personality.

Helios’ ties to creation could have also inspired Katsuya’s hobby of baking.

While not being a figure that would typically represent the Justice Arcana, Helios was likely chosen to represent Katsuya and his inferiority complex regarding his little brother Tatsuya who he perceives as better than him (similar to how Apollo eventually overshadowed Helios).

Odysseus - Baofu’s Initial Persona

Odysseus, also known as Ulysses, is a legendary Greek hero and fictional king of Ithaca who descended from the line of Hermes. He was a general in the Trojan War, being key in the city's fall.  Odysseus is renowned for his guile resourcefulness, and is hence known by the epithet Odysseus the Cunning. He is most famous for the ten eventful years he took to return home after the ten-year Trojan War and his famous Trojan Horse trick.

Baofu’s Odysseus takes the form similar to that of a Rōnin, or a wandering masterless samurai. 

The word rōnin literally means "wave man". It is an idiomatic expression for "vagrant" or "wandering man", someone who finds the way without belonging to one place. The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master's land. In medieval times, the Ronin were depicted as the shadows of samurai, master-less and less honorable. It then came to be used for a samurai who had no master (hence the term "wave man" illustrating one who is socially adrift).

He wears glasses and has a smug grin similar to that of Baofu, and has headgear similar to a scuba mask, reflecting Odysseus’ time adrift at sea.

He helps represent Baofu’s cunning and intelligence, as well as his initially noble and heroic intentions and aspirations. His design helps to reflect Baofu’s vigilantism, and the public’s perception of him as nothing more than an honorless criminal.

Aizen Myouou - Nanjo’s Initial Persona

Otherwise known as Rāgarāja, Aizen Myouou is one of many Wisdom kings in Buddhism. He is still venerated as a patron of landlords, prostitutes, the LGBT community, and petitioned by devotees for a peaceful home and abundant fortune in business. Aizen Myouou represents the state at which harnessed sexual excitement or agitation, which are otherwise decried as defilements, are seen as equal to enlightenment and passionate love can become compassion for all living things.

Nanjo’s Aizen Myouou takes the form of an effeminate man in a cropped bodysuit that reveals his hips. He wears long gloves and thigh high boots to further accentuate his figure, and a long veil covers his lower face. 

As a patron of businessmen, its clear why he was chosen to represent Nanjo and his goal to become “the number 1 man in Japan” through his business practices. But, it is likely his enlightened compassion for life also represents Nanjo’s true and genuine care for the wellbeing of others, especially his loved ones.

He could also reflect on Nanjo’s complete disinterest in women, though that’s purely speculation.

Nike - Eriko’s Initial Persona

In ancient Greek civilization, Nike was a goddess who personified victory. She also represented strength, speed and war. She was often depicted as a winged goddess.

Eriko’s Nike takes the form of an armless woman in stylish armor and jet wings, reminiscent of an airplane. This is in reference to her father, who is a commercial pilot.

As Nike was never the center of many myths there isn’t much story comparison to be made to Eriko, but her attributes absolutely reflect on her wielder's skill and attitude toward fighting demons. 

#persona 2

[spooky-bunnys]

Sebastian Michaelis x Male Reader

It was oddly quiet at the Phantomhive Manor. Sebastian walked around the estate making sure the workers weren't destroying the Manor...again. It was suspiciously quiet. It was never good when the workers were this quiet.

After searching for the them he finally found them in the garden. Surrounding something. "Ah. There you are. Do you have any idea what time it is? The iung master has a guest coming in less then 2 hours." They didn't move. Sebastian sighed and walked towards the group. When he saw it. An injured kitten.

He felt his heart break. Of course it had to be a cat. His greatest weakness. "May-rin get a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth. Bard look for the animal that did this. It seems like it was a large animal and we don't need that here. Finny check the gardens and see if there are anymore injured creatures."

The trio nodded and did as they were told. Sebastian slowly picked up the (color) furred animal and held it close to him. When he caught the sent and he eyes widened. An omega cat Demon. Here? Something was terribly wrong. Sebastian quickly cleaned and wrapped the injuries before hading to his masters office.

He knocked and waited for an answer. "What is it?" "My lord we have a small problem." Sebastian heard movement within the office before the door opened. Showing the Earl of the Manor. Ciel sneezed and glared at Sebastian. "You brought a bloody cat?! You know how allergic I am!" Ciel went to slam the door shut when Sebastian caught it.

His face was serious letting Ciel know this wasn't a situation. Ciel left the door open and walked back to his desk. Opening the window and sitting in his chair. "Go on." Sebastian shut the door and walked toward the center of the room. Stopped far enough so the fur from the Demon wouldn't bother his master. "My lord it seems another Demon happened to appear on the estate."

Ciel jumped from his chair and slammed his hands kn his desk. Eyes filled with annoyance. "Where?" Sebastian held out the kitten in his hands. "This sir is an Omegan Cat Demon. Their extremely rare and powerful. But he's been injured greatly. I happen to know this Demon. His name is (Name)." Sebastian let the information set.

"You know this Demon how?" Sebastian held back a groan. He really doesn't like answering these questions. "(Name) is my mate. Has been for almost a century." Ciel's eyes widened. "YOUR MATE?!" Sebastian nodded. "Young Master if it isn't too much to ask could he stay here until he's healed? I don't want him roaming while being this injured."

Ciel thought for a moment. "Wait. How did he even get injured?! He's a bloody demon!" Sebastian glared. "That I'm unsure of. The others found him in the garden. Barely breathing surrounded in his own blood. I have them searching for whatever creature did this, because it must be powerful to do this to one of his kind." Ciel nodded. A creature that could almost kill a Demon? Sonds extremely dangerous.

"He can stay. But he must stay away from me in that form cause I'm deadly allergic to him like that!" Sebastian nodded and smiled softly. "Yes my lord." As Sebastian left the office he felt movement in his hand. He looked down. Scarlet met (color). "Ah~ Hello little kitten. Didn't expect to see you just yet." The glare Sebastian got made him smirk. Then Sebastians face turned serious. "What are you doing here (Name)? You know you aren't supposed to leave the castle."

(Name) straightened up and jumped from Sebastians hands. Landing on two legs instead of four. He pushed his long (color) hair out of his face and fixed the corset he wore. "Sebastian. There was an attack on the castle. That's why I was so injured. After the battle I came straight here to inform you. We were betrayed."

Sebastian growled lowly. Eyes glowly with anger. "Betrayed? What do you mean kitten?" (Name) huffed at the nickname and crossed his arms. "I mean your most trusted servant, (servant name), let Angel's into our castle." (Name) leaned against the wall and stared at his mate. The Crow demons eyed brightened more.

Sebastian grabbed (Name)'s wrist and dragged him through the manor. Once reaching Sebastians room they entered and Sebastian shut and locked the door. The click of (Name)'s heeled boots lead him to the unused bed. He plopped down groaning feeling he injuries move. "Explain." (Name) knew it was an order and a shiver went down his spine.

"It started a week ago. (S.Name) was being oddly weird. Like weirded then usual. I tried talking to him but he kept brushing me off. Until 2 days ago. He was late to the castle. I thought maybe his was going through something. But I didn't expect him to come in 3 hours late and with nearly 50 Angel's with him. It was a tough battle. Especially since he killed so many of the other servants. I tried calling for you but I didnt receive an answer. So even with my powers I had a hard time fighting them. I used some of your powers and was able to survive the battle."

Sebastian stared forward. Eyes filled with guilt. He felt something was amiss a few days ago but brushed it off. He ignored the feeling and continued on with his day. He ignored his mate calling for him. For him to help save him. He almost lost his mate and home and he did nothing. Sebastian released a breath he didn't know he held.

"I had a bad feeling but brushed it off. I figured the workers were going to do something bad. I didn't know it was you calling for me." (Name) huffed again his ears and tail coming out. Looking very fluffed and Sebastian knew why. (Name) was upset with him. Sebastian sighed and slowly sat next to him and pet his head softly. (Name) froze then slowly leaned against Sebastians shoulder.

"Promise me if I call for you again. You'll come. I'm worried I won't be able to win next time..." Sebastian hugged his mate close to him and kissed his head. "Of course my love. I'd do anything for you." (Name) purred softly and layer his legs across Sebastians lap getting comfortable. Sebastian raised an eyebrow but smirked.

"Getting comfy?" (Name) rolled his eyes and snuggled into Sebastians chest. "I just fought Angel's single handingly and came to earth. My power is drained and I'm extremely tired. If you wake me up so help me. You'll be in the dog house for the next century. LATERALLY!" Sebastian shivered and chuckled. "Yes my love. I know."

#male reader #x male reader #black butler #sebastian michaelis #sebastian x male reader #male omega reader #sebastian michaelis x male reader

[giorno-plays-piano]

You were all I wanted

Pairing: mob!Peter Parker x plus-sized!Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, swearing, kidnapping, human trafficking, slight mention of body shaming, allusion to non-con.

Words: 2195.

Summary: You are bought by the head of Stark crime family for a kid he cares about.

P.S. Peter is an adult!

__________

"We hope you are going to enjoy your new girl, Mr. Stark." The man loosened his grip on your shoulder as he let you march straight into the arms of a stranger in a fancy striped suit and big frightening men with guns surrounding him.

"Nah, this one isn't for me." The stranger who bought you brushed it off as if your presence meant nothing. "She's a present for the boy. Peter, where the fuck are you?"

You almost jumped at his loud voice, keeping your head low and watching your unstable feet. Well, you expected as much - before you that mysterious Mr. Stark bought one of the most beautiful women you had ever seen in your life. Her striking black hair was shining even in the dim lights of the dressing room where all captured girls were taken care of before the start of the auction. She costed twice more than you and had much more admirers - you remembered how men were shouting, trying to outbid each other. You weren't that popular, but still ended up being purchased by the same man she was. Now it all made sense.

"I'm here, Mr. Stark!" A young boy's head popped out in the crowd of other buyers, and he emerged right in front of you with a long men's coat in his hands. "I'm sorry it took me so long!"

"Look at this gent." The man smirked at him, and his guards laughed a little at the boy's enthusiasm. "So caring! I hope you're not going to take the girl straight to church?"

Now there was an inappropriately loud burst of laughter, and you bit your own tongue. They all were a bunch of bastards, but your life depended on them now. You needed to keep your mouth shut if you wanted to make it out alive.

The boy smiled brightly at his patron and looked at you with sparkles of happiness in his dark eyes. Oh, at least he was more or less pleased with the way you looked, you thought.

"Congrats with your first girl, Peter." Mr. Stark's smug grin suddenly turned warm at the sight of the boy who was almost jumping with excitement in front of him. "You're sure she's the one you want? I can still get a replacement if you've changed your mind."

"No, no, Mr. Stark, she's perfect for me!" Once the man in the suit nudged you to come closer to the boy, Peter gently wrapped your shoulders into the coat he carried and smiled at you widely. "Thank you so much for your present, sir!"

"Enjoy, kid." His patron smirked and motioned to the men waiting for him. "Let's get going then, I have business to attend to."

Judging by their nasty smirks, his business had something to do with that gorgeous black-haired woman they took somewhere earlier. You did your best not to throw up at the thought of him forcing her down her knees.

"Can you walk?" The boy suddenly asked you quietly, and you blinked. "Do you want me to carry you?"

Nice joke. The guy looked twice slimmer than you, skinny as a rail. You'd break him in half, probably. You weren't sure whether he was mocking you, but it was obviously not the right time to throw a temper tantrum.

"I can walk. Thank you." You mumbled and made a step towards those men who were already leaving.

"Ok. Come with me then." You thought his boyish smile looked pretty.

You walked past other girls dressed in expensive flashy lingerie adorned with glitter, sequins, and laces. Some of young women were as terrified as you were, their faces red with tears; the others seemed strangely happy, shouting something to each other and giggling in front of their new masters - you thought those girls were prostitutes or someone of the same kind because the idea of laughing happily after being bought like a piece of clothing didn't sit well with you. You spotted a few more ladies who were still unstable on their feet because they were given too much drugs, probably. Two dozens women, maybe more, were gathered in a place like that to become someone's property. Like you did now.

It was cold outside despite September being usually warm in New York. You had never lived here before, but one of your friends moved in the Big Apple two years ago and was always talking about nice weather they often enjoyed.

"It's right over there." The boy pointed to one of the cars in a long row of them, Mr. Stark already getting inside a ridiculously fashionable one. Peter's old Honda was nowhere near that, but you were relieved. It made you feel like you weren't taken to some scary place full of criminals waiting to fuck the shit out of you.

The kid opened the door for you like you were some fairytale princess or something, and you got inside, holding the coat that almost slipped from your shaking shoulders while the boy quickly landed on the driver's seat. You couldn't guess his age, but if he drove the car he was probably older than 16.

"I'm so sorry, I know you're cold." He glanced at your silk robe beneath the coat, your legs bare - you had nothing but fluffy slippers on your feet. "It'll get better in a minute."

What a considerate little guy. If he didn't show up with that overconfident mobster who looked like he owned New York, you'd think Peter was some sweet high schooler who spent his weekends working in an animal shelter. But you weren't stupid to believe his innocent looks.

At one point you thought he might be Mr. Stark's illegitimate son, but something told you  it wasn't that. The way Peter looked at him with adoration proved that the man was more of his patron as you suspected from the very beginning.

"I know they didn't feed you today, so I brought you some chicken soup." He said and reached to grab something from the back seat - you glanced at the metal food jar thermos that softly landed on your naked lap.

Did he bring you food? For real? No, it must be some trick - there were drugs or something like that there, for sure. Why else was this guy playing the role of your mother, for God's sake?

"You're not allergic to chicken, are you?" Kid looked concerned, watching the troubled expression on your face. "Oh shoot, I didn't check your allergies!"

"I'm not allergic." You quickly replied, afraid to make him upset.

He was getting restless too fast, you thought. Peter really behaved like a kid. What was that Mr. Stark told him after the auction? Something like "congrats with your first girl", wasn't it? So, it probably meant Peter had never been with a woman before. Not that you had been with a man, either. Maybe that's why he picked you.

But it also could be all an act. Teenagers weren't getting slaves to take care of their sexual needs. Maybe this Peter wasn't as young as you thought, and in fact he was some psycho who planned to drug, rape and murder you.

Either way, he would get mad if you didn't get started with that soup - you could read it in his face.

Opening the jar, you felt a delicious smell filling your nostrils when your stomach made an ugly sound. Damn, you had never been so hungry in your entire life.

The truth was the supervisors who took care of all the girls before the auction made you starve for two days "to get you in shape". They said you were too fat and they had to do something to make you at least a bit more presentable.

"Well, if I'm going to die, I will die with a full stomach." You thought gloomly and started gulping down the warm soup. It tasted heavenly good.

The boy watched you in awe as if you were becoming more and more beautiful with eash sip.

"I'm not much of a cook, but Aunt May managed to teach me to make a chicken soup." He said with a sudden warmth to his voice. "So, um, don't worry, you won't die of starvation with me."

You forced yourself to smile at his attempt to make a small joke. As far as you were concerned, your body was perfectly okay even after you finished eating. Maybe the drug took longer to start affecting you, but maybe you were just lucky and there was nothing in the soup at all.

All of a sudden, Peter's phone started ringing, and he took it from the pocket of his jacket immediately.

"Where the fuck are you again, kid?" You could hear Stark's thundering voice even from your seat.

"I'm sorry, sir!" The boy squeaked and adjusted his seatbelt. "We're coming!"

____________

The room he brought you to was fairly large and comfortable to your tastes: there were a comfy king-sized bed, a huge table with a dozen of oddly-looking gadgets and two screens, a chair, a drawer and a closet. There was also a newly-bought TV that wasn't set up yet, and a microwave on a side table.

"I'm terribly sorry for the mess." Peter apologized to you as if you were his parent who came to scold him. "Don't worry, I'll take it all away. Please come and sit here."

He briefly gestured to the bed, and you bit down on your lower lip nervously. The kid was fast.

You didn't talk much in the car since you were waiting for the drug to kick in, but nothing happened. As for Peter, you thought that he was too shy to talk, but maybe he just didn't want to. In the end, he asked his patron to buy you for a very different reason.

"The bathroom is over there. You can take your shower, if you want." He smiled childishly at you.

How could he keep such innocent face when he was about to rape you?

You gathered whatever courage you had left and said, "C-can we talk?"

The boy froze on the spot and dropped whatever gadget he was holding back on the table. You glanced at his skinny boyish figure, that dark ruffled hair and a really pretty face - he looked like your neighbor's sweet son who would climb a tree to get a cat stuck up there back to the ground.

"Of course!" Peter landed on the bed close to you, watching you with his undying enthusiasm. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Why did you choose me?"

You really wanted to know. You weren't the usual goods they sold on that auction, the human traffickers said. Though there were a few girls who weren't breathtakingly beautiful, most of the ones brought there were well above average women. They looked like they came straight from Victoria's Secret Show.

"Well... um." You could see his ears getting red. "You're... pretty. I like you."

Huh, funny. Why did you ask? The answer was obvious - you were cheap. Mr. Stark didn't want to spend too much money on a present for the kid, so Peter had rather limited choice, probably.

"Why are you getting upset?" He sounded so concerned that you made yourself smile again to calm him down. Anyway, it was better to be grateful. You were almost sold to some disgusting old man. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, you didn't. I'm sorry." You hurried to say. "I'm sorry you didn't get anyone better than me. That place was full of magnificent women."

What the fuck were you saying? Did you seriously think those poor souls deserved to be sold like cattle just because they were prettier than you? God, you were so messed up.

"Wait, no!" The boy grabbed your hands in his and made you flinch involuntarily. "No, no, you're beautiful! I chose you because I like you more than anyone else."

Bewildered, you looked at his worried expression, his eyes staring at you intensely while you squeezed your thighs together. Hearing the boy say that felt very odd, but kind of... comforting? Not many people ever called you beautiful, mind your mother and a few friends. It was stupid to think about it now when the one calling you that was the man whose property you had become, yet you couldn't help but get those little butterflies in your stomach.

You eyes watered, and you quickly wiped your tears away.

"People were treating you badly, weren't they? It's terrible." The boy pulled out a pack of napkins and took one, gently pressing it to your wet cheek. "But I swear I fell in love with you once I saw your photos on the website. You're the prettiest girl I've ever met, for real!"

When he removed the napkin, you saw his pupils dilating and felt his breath becoming ragged, heavy. One of his hands rested on your thigh as he leaned closer to you and sniffed your hair. Your body went stiff.

"No one gonna say anything nasty to you from now on. I'll make sure of that."

_________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin ​@void-hoechlin @abyssaint @msruchita @opheliadawnwalker3

#peter parker x reader #dark peter parker x reader #dark peter parker #peter parker #spiderman #spidey #yandere #tom holland

[beomgyushighlights]

Circus {H.K}

Day 1 (XII)

"all eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus"

in which the first words Nari's soulmate says to her are "free britney"

or

in which two idols find their soulmates in each other after thirteen days of little comments without knowing who the other was

-a short story soulmate au-

©beomgyushighlights 2021

do not translate or repost without permission

(can also be found on wattpad and ao3 under the same username)

master list

As the choreographer allows a break, the members of the band sit and cool down while the arguably most chaotic member sings Circus by Britney Spears quite loudly. The sound of footsteps running in the hall catches the attention of the band as someone yells, "FREE BRITNEY!" before they continue running down the hall.

   Confused, Chang Nari looks around the room, her band mates equally confused before she realizes that those are the first words her soulmate says to her. She rushes to look outside the door into the hallway, unfortunately too late to see the culprit. Sighing, she walks back to her band mates and takes a sip of her water.

   "What was that?" Eun asks. "My soulmate." She shrugs. Osamu spits his water out in shock. "What!?" All four members ask at the same time. "Free Britney." She says showing them her wrist. "H.K, 18, XII." Hyejin reads.

   "Okay, your soulmate is eighteen, good you won't catch a case. Twelve months? Days? Minutes?" Yejun says. "Unless you keep track it's hard to tell. Mine said twelve and then the next minute it said eleven so that's how I kept track and found my soulmate twelve minutes after our concert." Osamu says.

   "Duri is so amazing." Hyejin gushes over Osamu's soulmate. "Well it's been a minute and it hasn't changed so it's not minutes." Nari says. "Okay, back to practice." The choreographer says. Practice goes well and soon the band is going back to their dorm.

   The bands dorm is five bedrooms so each member has their own and that proves convenient for when someone wants a guest over. Opening the door, Hyejin hears a loud meow and a hello. "Duri!" Eun yells, running to the kitchen where Duri is cooking for the band. "Nabi!" Nari yells, picking up the small kitten that ran to her.

   Petting the four month old cat, Nari walks to the kitchen were everyone has gathered. "Hi, Duri!" She smiles at the older female. "Hi, Nari. Nabi was very talkative today." She smiles back. "She seems to get more and more talkative every day." Yejun says.

   "She also gets more energetic each day." Hyejin says. "She's only a kitten, of course she's energetic." Nari defends. A knock on the door pulls their attention and Nari goes to open it as she's the closest. She looks out the peephole before she opens it. "Hello?" She says. "Hello, are you one of the members of H.O.N.E.Y?" He asks her.

   "Yes, how can I help?" She asks. "I'm Kang Taehyun of Tomorrow x Together, we wanted to know if you guys have any time that we can meet and ask for advice? BTS recommended asking you guys for more advice if we need it." He says. "One moment." She smiles turning to face the kitchen.

   "CAN SOMEONE BRING ME THE PLANNER AND A PEN AND ALSO GRAB NABI FROM ME!?" She yells. "YEAH." Eun yells back. Eun brings the planner and a pen and grabs Nabi from Nari's arms. "Okay, so, we are really busy training this week but we are available two Tuesdays from now, that's in twelve days." She says. Taehyun pulls out his phone and checks his calendar.

   "We're free then, where do you want to meet?" He asks. "Just bring your band here, as long as no ones allergic to cats." She says. "None of us are, So two Tuesdays from now, here, what time?" He asks. "Two in the afternoon?" She asks. "That works, thank you." He says with a bow. "It's no problem." She smiles.

   She closes the door an shoes back to the kitchen. "WE MADE IT!" She yells. "What!?" Yejun asks. "BTS recommended a newer band to us for advice." She smiles. "Ooh, what band?" Hyejin asks. "Tomorrow x Together." She answers, grabbing the pencil from next to the calendar. She finds the Tuesday that's planned and writes 'txt at 2pm'.

   "Oh, oh, uhh, they have that song with morse code at the beginning that they debuted with, right?" Yejun asks Osamu. "Yeah, Crown." Osamu confirms. "They also have anti-romantic, which has a tiktok dance." Eun says. "I like Nap of a star." Hyejin says. "Two Tuesdays from now at 2pm?" Eun asks. "Yes, it's on the planner and the calendar, just like always." Nari confirms.

   "Taehyun came to the door and introduced himself. He said that BTS recommended us if they needed more advice." She gushes. "You look up to them so much it's hilarious." Eun laughs. "They have over 47 million followers on instagram and they have like over 35 million monthly listeners on spotify. They have fans in probably every country, they have worked with Halsey and others, they have broken so many barriers in the Kpop world, and they have won countless awards. Why wouldn't I look up to them?" She asks.

"Your fan girl is showing, Nari." Duri laughs. "Oh well, it's not a secret I'm an army." She shrugs. Duri finishes cooking dinner and plates it for everyone before they sit and eat together. They share light conversation, just bonding as they usually do. "I'm thinking about getting a puppy." Nari says randomly after a few moments of silence.

   "No you aren't." Eun says. "Yeah, I'm not. It's like that one time I said I was going to cut my hair short, I don't mean it I just said it because I thought about it." I shrug. "Do you wanna dye your hair tonight? I have leftover pink and with your black roots it'll look really good, we can just put it over the bleached part." Hyejin says. "Yes, as soon as we finish dinner that way I have time to shower and be well rested for tomorrow." She says.

After dinner, Osamu and Yejun do the dishes while Hyejin and Nari go to the bathroom and Eun goes and sits in the living room with Duri. Nari sets up her phone to do a live while Hyejin works on her hair. "Hello, hello." She waves as people start joining. "How's my day? My days been very good, we did a lot of practicing dances and then we came home and ate a nice dinner and now Hyejin is dying my hair." She says.

"What color? Pink." She answers. "I got an idea, you trust me right?" Hyejin asks her. "Yes, do whatever you want to my hair." She replies. "Favorite english word? Ricochet or maybe bodacious. I like to say words like ethereal and surreal as well though." She says.

   "Something exciting that happened today? Well, today I had a fellow idol ask if their band could meet with our band and ask some advice because BTS recommended us for if they needed more advice. I was very honored." She answers.

   "My bias in BTS? Not available because they're all kinda like older brothers to me." She says. "Favorite Kpop group? I like Twice and Red Velvet and Stray Kids and BTS and Blackpink and more." She answers. "What are the full names, pronouns, and ages of everyone in the band? Well, fun fact if you're ever struggling to remember one of our names just remember H.O.N.E.Y is our initials. In honey order it's Hyejin, Osamu, Nari, Eun, and Yejun. Age order it's Yejun, Osamu, Eun, Hyejin, Nari. Last names are Kim Yejun, Jeong Osamu, Lee Eun, Yun Hyejin, and Chang Nari." She answers.

   "Oh I forgot to say ages and pronouns, Yejun is 25, Osamu is 25, Eun is 23, Hyejin is 20, and I'm 18. Yejun is non-binary so they/them, Osamu uses he/him, Eun is she/they, Hyejin is gender fluid so any pronouns, and I use she/her." She adds. "What ethnicity is Osamu? Half Korean half Japanese. His mom is from Japan and she moved here and met his dad." She answers.

"How many of us have found our soulmates? Just Osamu, however I believe I almost met my soulmate today because we were taking a water break and I was singing Circus by Britney Spears and someone ran past and said 'free Britney' which are the words on my wrist." She smiles. "Favorite Britney song? Probably Circus because it's really catchy." She answers.

   "How was my english so good at our debut when I was only thirteen? My moms Australian and so that entire half of my family speaks English and from a young age she would make sure I could understand it. Also, my dad was moved to America for work when I was four and so we moved and lived there for eight years then we came back to South Korea when they moved him back and I became a trainee and we debuted a year later when Yejun and Osamu finished their military service." She answers.

   "Are we ever going to take a break? We don't plan to, that's why BigHit had Yejun and Osamu complete their military service pre-debut." She answers. "Do I listen to the neighborhood? Yes, I like Cry Baby, Daddy Issues, and Sweater Weather." She says. "What are my soulmates initials? H.K. and we assume it's not the english way so it's surname, given name." She says.

   "Why am I the main vocalist when I prefer rapping? I'm the main vocalist because I have the largest vocal range." She says. "Song that gets stuck in my head easily? A lot of them but Choke by I Dont Know How But They Found Me is stuck in my head right now." She answers. "Which band did BTS recommend us to? That's a secret but I can tell you that there's a K initial." She says.

   "My soulmate? No, the K is his surname, not first." She smiles. "A question for Hyejin, soulmates initials and age?" Nari asks. "M.L. and 24." She answers. "Favorite Melanie Martinez song? High School Sweethearts." She answers. "Okay, you're hair is done. Let the dye sit for an hour and a half then wash it out." Hyejin tells her.

   "Okay, hour and a half left on live. It's going to be in english now because I saw my moms in the chat and she said she likes the slight American accent I have." She says. "What collections do I have? I have a manga collection, Kpop album collection, Funko Pop collection, and a vinyl collection." She answers. "Favorite color? I like pastel purples, like lavender." She answers.

   "Favorite Harry Styles song? From the Dining Table." She answers. She spends the rest of the time answering questions until her timer goes off. "Okay, I have to go shower and then I'll be going to bed so that I'm well rested for practice tomorrow. I love you all, bye!" She waves, ending the live.

#tomorrow x together #txt huening kai #txt yeonjun #txt beomgyu #txt soobin #txt taehyun #fanfic #bts mention #hueningkai fanfic #hueningkai

[dcafafg]

Whenever they took shelter for the night

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[soranihimawari]

day 1: shenanigans

foxes den shenanigan (1)

summary: snippets into the slice of life of being one of the few young women who interact with the inarizaki volleyball club. every member is all tough on the outside until they meet kira, yn: the one who had been neighbors with the miya twins all her life. her best friend, nakiri-chan, is convinced at least once in their life all three of them (osamu, kira, and atsumu) had loved each other. this mini series is a going to be a little reflective, a little dramatic, and overall deals with themes of growing up to learn the difference of love. 

genre: slice of life/ angsty-teen love/ rated pg-15+ for language and juxtopostional humour. 

<< |master list| >>

-------[Inarazaki High School, 11:47 a.m.]-------

“you can’t be serious,” my best friend’s voice of disbelief tells me. we were on lunch break when we decided to head to the vending machines by the gym. there were various students talking amongst themselves buzzing with excitement for the annual art festival. 

“oh, but i am,” i said. i took a deep breath when i gripped her shoulders. upon my exhale i nodded.

“b-but your class representative said your homeroom was putting together a maid cafe all because she found out you know how to bake?”

“i blame the last bake sale my cooking club did to raise funds for a new mixer. all the members of the boys’ volleyball team bought a bag of my ‘cosmic star’ cookies.“

“i see. well, it can’t be all that bad, right? if you’re going to be the one coming up with the menu and the baked treats, you don’t really have to wear the maid outfit.”

i hum in response when i place my bill into the machine. the vending machine rumbles before dropping my can of mango nectar. once she buys her drink, she and i head back to our class on the third floor; before we separate, she wishes me luck with coming up with the menu.

“so, what did you have in mind kira-chan?”

“macaroons and maybe tarts. i don’t know what kind yet though. i’ll see ya after classes are over so we can walk home together. later nakiri-san!”

***

the day of the festival approached even faster than you had thought. after many attempts at making various macaroon flavors and tart ideas that paired well with the boba-styled drinks being served, me and the other bakery/cafe volunteers were ready for business. the other students in your class were divided between servers and baristas. the girls and boys who were selected as the maids and butlers were thankfully the only ones that had to wear the full garb. since it was the day before the festival, i decided to do a sampling of the sweets i chose to make for the servers and baristas so they can help our prospective customers tomorrow with describing the menu items. my fellow classmates, the team of five standing next to me (our bakers team consisted of six), were able to try out their own treats and thanked me for showing them how to make the treats. aside from macaroons and cookies, we collectively added two parfait flavors: one was strawberry themed for our school colors and the other was themed around sunset colors.

before the meeting was adjourned, i breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news from our class rep up until she mentioned something about the bakery staff wearing cat ears and other nicknacks of cafe worker approved jewelry. when i got home that evening, i screamed into my pillow to relieve some excess stress over the maid cafe. 

i immediately called my neighbor and although i wasn’t expecting him to answer the phone, i felt relief wash over me when i heard his normal greeting on the other end:

“miya residence and no, atsumu isn’t the better twin.”

i chuckled at his statement. after years of living next door to them, i can only say that miya osamu was right (also, he was the first person to express the same level of joy in cooking for others). he immediately cleared his throat when he heard me laugh.

“ahem. oh, hey kira-san. what’s up?”

i am not surprised i heard a short lived scuffle in the background as well as atsumums “ack!” in the background followed by a soft thud that only chucking a pillow could have made.

“osamu? it’s me. say, do you still have the cat ear hair clips from last halloween?”

***

the festival was in full swing: streamers lined the hallways as the people visiting came to enjoy what our school had to offer. i heard from nakiri that her class voted on doing a paint by numbers mural. other classes in our year were doing their renditions of living portraits and face painting. apparently, my class along with our neighbors across the hall divided up the cafeteria to encompass both a savory restaurant booth along with our class’ maid cafe. 

i was busy with the other members of my team making sure orders were being ran on time while placing the finishing touches for the treats on the tray. even though i was allowed to wear my pistaschio green chef coat, i couldn’t get away with just wearing a macaroon earrings. to push my bangs back, i had a pair of cat ears clipped into my hair. 

“shift change kira-san!” my class rep’s voice said in an exuberant manner. she was in charge of patrolling the hallway trying to gather more guests to come into our side of the cafeteria. business was steady to say the least, but i recalled i had signed up to take over the advertising part once hers was over. 

“ok! can you give me a few minutes? i need to fix my make up real quick.”

elsewhere, the members of the inarizaki volleyball team were seen wandering around campus enjoying the festival. the twins along with suna had long sinced branched off and found nakiri’s class. 

“hey guys! come to paint?” she offered them a sponge brush and a little to-go container. 

“isn’t kira-chan supposed to be with you?” osamu asked perplexed i wasn’t near by.

“yeah, aren’t you two joined at the hip?” his brother chimed in. nakiri rolled her eyes at the blond before shaking her head. 

“oh? you didn’t hear?” nakiri asked slightly taken aback by his question.

right at that moment, nakiri pointed behind the boys toward where i was standing speaking with over festival goers who were looking at the menu for my class’ cafe. i had a smile on my face when the guests mentioned they’d absolutely stopped by for a refreshing treat. when they waved their good bye to me, i was suddenly greeted by a different family who asked what i would recommend for their five year old (while they would opt for teas, their child really wanted something sweet). after asking a few questions (are they allergic to anything? does their child prefer strawberries or oranges? etc), i pointed out our strawberry parfait as a great option for them to all share. 

“i heard one class chose to do a dessert cafe, but i didn’t think it would be a maid cafe,” rintarou stated flatly. he took the paint and the brush from nakiri before stepping inside to paint his section of the mural. on the other hand, the blond twin elbowed his brother. there was a teasing glint in his eyes. 

“kira-san looks really cute, doesn’t she ‘samu?”

nakiri caught on to how pink the gray haired twin’s cheek became when his brother teased him. for the life of him, osamu couldn’t help but wonder why his neighbor called him asking to borrow the cat ear clips the night prior and now it was all making sense. 

“shut it atsumu.”

“hmm,” nakiri hummed. she tapped her index finger on her lips in thought. “my shift is almost over for the hour, so why don’t we all go visit the cafe, yeah?”

***

“oh my god!” 

my class rep burst through the kitchen doors again when my shift was over causing me to almost drop the parfait in my hands. i had successfully placed the dessert on the tray. one of the front of house staff members gripped her shoulders to calm her down a bit. thankfully, none of the ingrients toppled over, but we did lose a cookie straw in the process.

“breathe class rep,” i saidx. i was trying really hard to not laugh at her panicked expresion. “what’s going on?”

“h-hot miya twins outside.” 

that was all i needed to hear before i pinched the bridge of my nose before cursing my best friend and her family nine generations back for slipping out my secret assignment for the festival.

seeing my neighbors through the window of the kitchen swing doors was honestly the last thing i needed today, but of course we couldn’t always win the fortune of the gods. mumbling a quick, ‘the gods are testing me again,’ caused one of the cooks to snicker. to be fair, i could live without the thought of hearing atsumu’s teasing jokes or osamu’s sass, but alas, i did not win fortune’s favor that hour. also, this was the last outfit they’d expect to see me in because half of the volleyball team had tried (keyword:tried) to get me into a maid outfit for y e a r s. that campaign stopped as soon as shinsuke became captain.

“they’re asking for you to serve them too,” the front of house manager said when he walked into the kitchen shortly thereafter. i was having a good day up until this turn of events, and although it took every fiber of my being to not kill those two, i realized i should handle this in an appropriate manner. i mentioned i’ll handle it relinquishing my duties to my second. 

when i walked outside, i noticed that not only were my twin neighbors outside, they also sent a text to their entire team asking to visit the cafe area. i calmly turn my lips upward in a saccharine smile as i approached their table. it’s the same familiar smile which caused atsumu and osamu’s blood to run cold; they knew i was pissed as soon as i let the spirit of customer service take over my body.

“welcome to the foxes’ den masters,” i greeted them with a bow. “how may i be of service?”

atsumu’s eyes bounced back and forth between me and his brother who seemed to have found the parfaits description very interesting. 

“can i order something off the menu?” atsumu asked in a teasing way. if looks could kill, i’d sent the setter back home with a killer bruise on his shoulder, yet I remember how violence is frowned upon at a festival.

seeing as i did not object to his question when i replied with, “if it is your wish master.”

“can i buy an hour of your time from ya for my dearest younger brother?”

i blinked caught off guard by his forwardness on his twin’s behalf. all of our patrons had ceased speaking to other members of their parties after hearing his proposal. where was a pillow when i needed to scream into one? all color drained from osamu’s face. nakiri looked just as shocked as i was mouthing a ‘sorry’ toward me; she gave me an encouraging smile. (it’s been four years since both of the miya siblings gifted me friendship chocolates on white day as an apology for poking fun at my wacky homemade candies. my parental figure thought it would have been nice to make some for the neighbors’ twins in middle school.) 

my smile disappeared while i pondered my answer to the setter’s eager eyes. to spare both osamu and i further embarrassment, I spoke the first thing that came to my mind:

“if that is what your brother wishes, young master, then he should ask me himself,” i said kindly.

this caught osamu’s attention real quick; his eyes snapped up at me with a curious stare. suna had his phone out obviously documenting the whole thing. i tilt my head to the side and posed my hands under my chin prentending to think before i shrugged.

“he should also know that my shift ends at five-thirty and he should meet me here if he doesn’t mind walking me home. now, if you’ll excuse me, i have to garnish table seven’s parfaits.”

the murmurs of conversations began up again once i bowed and took my leave back into the kitchen. the last thing i heard was nakiri laughing as atsumu exclaimed that they were seated at the table i mentioned and osamu claiming that he’d kill his brother for fourth time that day. 

“i’ll have you know that i could have asked her at any time right?” osamu seethed. “i don’t need you to line up dates for me.”

“yeah, yeah. you hate me, i hate you. we punch each other a little, and then you get to date kira since you’re clearly not going to do anything about this one sided love you think you two have,” atsumu said before resting his chin on his hand. suna caught what atsumu said all on the video he was recording, including nikiri’s stunned face.

“woah, back the fun bus up. seriously?!” she asked. “no wonder kira had been acting a bit more strictly with her recipes lately. look at the little drawings on the menu.”

she was quick to point out the little drawings of the chibi macaroons (“one was blueberry the other was mango orange, a silent reference to you three’s friendship,” she briefly explained) the design team made and colored.

“must be true, look at how red his cheeks are becoming & i don’t think that’s because of anger,” suna replied.

“c‘ mon, let’s go.” atsumu suggests, rising from the table. “i suddenly recall having passed by the boardwalk games section. osamu, you stay here and tell me what i should order.”

—to be continued—

#miya osamu x fem!reader #reader 1st person pov #the foxes den cafe shenanigans #part 1 of a mini series #school festivals and a half assed confession #whatever it is it’s ‘Tsumu’s fault #sora events 2020™️

[blackrose343]

Sebastian x F!Reader - NSFW

This fanfic is for people 18+

Warnings: Language and Sex

Kuroshitsuji / Black Butler - Sebastian x Female Reader

Fanfic Summary: A black cat made it’s way into the Phantomhive manor. You tried to get the cat to leave but something else happens instead.

3,817 words

I started to binge watch Kuroshitsuji again (since forever ago) on Netflix and became a bit nostalgic. For some reason I decided to revisit this fanfic. This is the first fanfic I have ever written. (Which was in 2013) After reading it, I corrected typos and slightly changed it. Part of me can’t believe I wrote something like this.

Tonight was calm and freezing. All day you could not stop shivering, no matter how much clothing you put on yourself. Everyone noticed, but each time someone asked if you were cold, you would lie and say that you were fine. No one believed you, but they decided that if you needed anything, you could get it yourself.

The cold did not stop you from finishing all the work Sebastian has assigned you to do though. You were able to finish everything, but at a slower pace because every half hour, you would make yourself a cup of hot chocolate or make yourself a cup of Earl Grey.

Once you finished your work, you went outside to see if the cat that has been visiting the manor was outside. This cat was very special to you. You treasured him with your life because he was mostly your best friend. Ever since you moved into the manor, he has been visiting you in the Phantomhive garden.

Your eyes sparkled as soon as you saw the cute little black cat. He had a slender body, soft, cuddly paws, and a plush tail. You were most intrigued by his eyes. They were as red as the freshest drop of blood when the sun shone on them. When the cat was in a shadow, its eyes were a crimson red.

As you were walking towards the bench to sit down, he was rubbing himself against your legs. You did not really like it when he did that because you were always afraid you were going to trip or step on him.

When you took your seat, the cat jumped on your lap and you started to stroke him. His body stretched up, making his head rub against your breast. Although he was a cat, you still blushed while turning your head away from his view. You never understood why, but you always thought this cat reminded you of Sebastian Michaelis, the butler of the Phantomhive manor.

When you started to think about Sebastian, you stopped petting the cat without realizing it. The cat looked up at you with confusion, but you just blushed harder because you thought the cat could see right into your mind.

"Oh, what is wrong with me?", you wonder while you start petting him again. He started to purr a little too close to your left breast, making it vibrate a little bit. This caused your nipple to harden a little. You started to blush again, but you just dealt with it because you knew you were making him happy by giving him all of your attention. Eventually you had to go back into the manor because it was getting late and you were shivering for a little while. You set the cat down and started walking back into the manor.

“You should not stay out there for so long in the cold.” Mey-Rin said when you got back inside. You told her it wasn’t that bad and went to your room. On your way there, you saw everyone except Sebastian. You were a little shocked since you were able to see Sebastian around the manor once in a while. You were also a little disappointed because Sebastian was a good guy to talk to when you wanted to talk to a person. You and Sebastian have a couple of small conversations once in a while. You felt a little special because you thought Sebastian treated you more like an adult than the rest of the servants.

You lit a candle on a silver candle holder when you reached your room. Your room was very simple. It had a twin sized bed, a window with a wonderful view of the manor’s garden, and a dresser. You liked your room, but you did not like that the floor was made of wooden boards.

You started to gather your stuff so you could take a shower. You took off your shoes and shivered while wrapping your arms around yourself and put your slippers on. “Why does it have to be so cold? Especially in the beginning of April? It should be warm since it is the beginning of spring. As much I love the snow, I want to be warmed by the sun or by someone who can warm me up.”

You knew asking God to warm you up was going to be a stupid thing, so you just headed to the bathroom to take your shower. As you were on your way, you finally noticed that the black cat followed you into the manor.

“Oh on, the young master will be very angry when he sees you! I have to get you out of here before anyone else notices you are here.” You tried to grab the cat, but he ran off from you. You tried to chase after him without running through the manor because that was not what a proper servant of the Phantomhive manor was supposed to do.

You were starting to get annoyed and frustrated with him after you accidentally dropped your belongings a couple of times. This cat did not want to go out into the cold. You could understand that, but the young master was allergic to cats. You were starting to get more nervous because you were chasing the cat in the direction of Sebastian’s room. You were about to grab him again when he went into Sebastian’s room. You almost had a heart attack when you saw him go in there, but you had to give up going after him. You really wanted to get a shower and then go to bed.

You left him in Sebastian’s room hoping he would be able to catch the cat and take him someplace safe (since he is one hell of a butler). While walking to the bathroom, the cat started to follow you. You stopped and turned around, giving the cat a “what the fuck” look.

What the hell? I try to go after this cat and he runs away. When I go away, he comes after me. Oh whatever, I can catch him after my shower when he’s trapped in the bathroom with me.

You finally reach the bathroom and turn the shower on. You put your small tender hand under the running hot water to feel if it was warm enough for you. You thought it was okay for now, but you knew very well that the water was going to burn you when you got in. You did not care though and started to take your uniform off. You first untied your half pony-tail. You let your hair fall as far as it could go and put the red ribbon on the sink. Your hair was covering part of your bra.

After, you unbuttoned your uniform and let it slide to the floor. You were left in your black bra and panties with your figure being exposed to your only audience: the pain in the ass cat. You look down at the cat with an annoyed smirk. “You must be enjoying this. Thinking this is a strip tease or something.”

You unhooked your bra and put it on the pile of dirty clothes you started. You removed your panties and put them on the pile, but the cat jumped onto the pile and started licking your sweet honey that was stuck on them.

“No! Bad kitty! Bad!” You tried to get him, but he ran into the shower behind the curtain. You were tired of him annoying and disobeying you that you just tried to erase your mind from all of this and stepped into the shower. When you got into the shower, you did not see the disobeying cat, but a naked Sebastian. You quickly jumped out of the shower and almost tripped. Sebastian quickly caught you and pulled you against him. You could not stop blushing because you were pushed against the guy you had a little crush on and you could feel his rock hard cock against your ass.

 “You should be more careful.” You couldn’t reply, you could only stare at the ground where your clothes were. You were shocked that Sebastian would do something so inappropriate and that he was the cat you were always with. You felt extremely embarrassed and wanted to go to your room and hide under the sheets or sleep it off and say this was a very cruel dream.

Sebastian noticed you were ignoring him and he never did like it when you ignored him. He started to rub your left breast and play with your warmth. You shivered against him and leaned your head against his neck. You knew by now that this was no dream. This was real and you really wanted this. You knew Sebastian was still trying to be a gentleman since he was pleasuring you gently and slowly so that he wouldn’t hurt you.

Sebastian wasn’t satisfied with hearing you take deep breaths, so he started to be a little rougher. He squeezed your breast while pinching your nipple, and nibbled on your ear. He also turned your head towards his so he can make out with you, but he knew you weren’t going to budge. In order to make you budge, he started to fuck you with his index finger. His finger was able to slide easily into you since you two were soaked and still in the shower. You leaned against him and started to moan. He took his chance and started to make out with you. You wanted to wrap your arms around his neck, but you knew if you did, you would never want to stop.

“Se-Se-Sebastian stop, not here.”

“Why?” he cooed in a seductive voice. Your mind was already going blank from him giving you so much pleasure. You and him both knew that you wanted him to keep going, but you two also knew affairs with your coworker was not a very good thing. You also really wanted to take a shower.

Sebastian could tell you were coming up with a reply that he would agree with, but he wasn’t going to let you have your way. He started to fuck you harder with his index finger and to torture your breast more. He was giving you so much pleasure that you were ready to scream for him to keep going and that your legs were about to give up, but you had to get your mind together. As if Sebastian read your mind, he stopped. You were finally getting your breath back, but Sebastian was still holding you in place.

“Sebastian, please let go of me and get out so I can take my shower.”

“You really didn’t enjoy what I just did to you?” Sebastian asked while turning off the water, which you didn’t notice. You enjoyed what he did to you more than you wanted to admit, but you thought your work was more important.

“Why does it matter? You were probably just going to do this only once then say that you don’t want to do it anymore.” Sebastian knew you enjoyed it, but he wanted to do this to you every night if he could. He wanted you to be his and only his for a long time.

“Why would I only want to do this only once with you?” he whispered in your ear. You shivered as his warm breath hit you ear. You could feel that Sebastian wasn't lying to you. It felt like his dick was getting a lot more harder than he could handle. Just feeling his dick against you made you wonder if he ever had to masterbate in order to get rid of it. This started to get your honey to flow out a little more than it did before and it was satisfying Sebastian.

“What are you thinking?” Sebastian popped you out of your imagination and you started to blush the brightest red in the entire planet.

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying to me. And I’m not the biggest fan of liars. Especially you, my kitten.”

“Kitten?” Sebastian smirked and knew he had you ready to beg him to let you eat out of the palm of his hand. “So what if I am? You don’t need to know what’s going on in my head.”

“It is my business.” A little bit of fear ran through your body and you shivered. You tried to get out of his grip, but he only tightened it.

“Why?” You knew very well that Sebastian wanted you to give into him. You were going to make him earn it. You, along with everyone else in the manor, knew that Sebastian was able to accomplish anything. You wanted to see him lose with at least one thing. Sebastian noticed your change in attitude. He knew you were going to challenge him. He became determined to make you beg for him. You knew you were going to give into him as soon as he started again, but why not just put up a bluff.

“You should be careful with who you choose to play with.” He showed you his signature smirk. You blushed and lowered your head while he let go of you and wrapped you in a towel. He carried you along with yours and his clothes to your room. He placed you on the bed and placed himself on top of you. You were trapped between his muscular arms, his dripping wet body, and his piercing blood red eyes. He was staring at your dripping body and started to caress your body. Your body’s response was to let him touch and caress you any way he wanted. You wanted to savor his touch.

He caressed your cheek with the back of his hand and slid them down your body. Lightly brushing your body dry with his hands. Rubbing your breast gently while rubbing your thigh. You started to moan lightly and Sebastian was trying his best to hold himself back from fucking you until you broke apart.

“You look like you’re in a lot of pain.”

“It’s killing me, but I’ll take my time with you. I’ll savor you and only you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“God Sebastian, you’re so good at this. Don’t worry about me though, I’ll be fine.” You carassed his face and smiled a sincere smile. That’s what broke the line. He could never resist you when you acted so kind to him.

He pinned you down on your bed and forced your mouth open with his tongue. His tongue was almost in your throat when he forced it in. Your tongues were swirling and dancing with each other. You were starting to run out of breath, but you didn’t give a damn. You just wanted Sebastian to give you all the pleasure he could give you even if it meant dying.

He rolled over so that you were on top while you wrapped your slender arms around his neck. He pulled your body closer while rubbing your thigh and ass. You started to rub your leg against Sebastian’s major hard on. He groaned and squeezed you so hard you thought he might have left a bruise.

Sebastian put you back under him and let you catch your breath before you died on him. He started to suck on one of your breasts and played with the other. You moaned, pulling his head closer to your body and wrapping your legs around his waist. You loved his touch and wanted it for you and only you. If anyone tried to go after him, you would beat the shit out of them.

You whined when Sebastian stopped sucking on your breast, but he was able to make it up by kissing you down from your cherry red lips all the way down to your moist warmth leaving hickeys on the way. Each time he made a hickey, you moaned slightly and your warmth tightened. When Sebastian was able to reach your warmth, he teased you. He breathed directly on your warmth and stared at it. Watching it get wet and tighter while you wait for any part of him to fuck you with until time stops.

“Don’t stare down there, do something.” Sebastian smirked and did as you commanded. He licked your clitoris and started to pinch to your already hardened nipples, pulling them whenever he could. You rubbed your foot against his ass and back, trying to give him some pleasure.

Sebastian was drinking all the honey your warmth was able to give him. You couldn’t take this much longer and were about to reach your orgasm. Sebastian sensed this and pushed his tongue deep inside of you, wiggling it against your inner walls. You arched your back and he started rubbing and massaging your breasts.

“Se-Se-Sebastian! I’m cumming!” You pushed your warmth against Sebastian, making him drink all the honey that came out of you when you reached your orgasm. Sebastian drank every drop of you precious honey. You lay there, panting and trying to catch your breath. Your eyes along with your mind were blank. Sebastian looked at you while licking the last drop of honey off his face in a seductive way that simply said “We’re not done yet.”

Sebastian was sitting with his legs spread out, exposing his thick, hot, hard on with a little precum on it. You leaned on your elbows, breast rubbing against the fabric of the sheets and started to give Sebastian a hand job. You placed your small hand around the thick dick and rubbed it up and down very slowly to tease Sebastian.

Sebastian was not letting you make him look like the less dominant out of the two of you, so he started to fuck your ass with his fingers, after he covered them with his saliva. Every single time his fingers came out of you, you push your body back in order to have them back inside.

You leaned your head down and licked up Sebastian’s precum. His body shivered and he groaned. You thought his precum didn’t taste bad. You took his dick into your mouth and swirled your tongue around the head while looking up at him trying to see if you’re pleasuring him. You were pleasuring him more than you expected. He was gripping the sheets so hard that he was ripping holes into them. His eyes were looking at your adorable yet seductive expression while his eyes were glowing with a pink tint.

Sebastian was trying his hardest to hold back a moan from coming out of him. You wanted to make him moan. You wanted to see him do something that no one else will ever see. You wanted him to say your name and you came up with something. You were afraid of trying it though because you thought Sebastian was the type of man that did not like being humiliated. You took the risk anyway and tried it. 

You put his dick in your mouth as far as you could without choking and purred like a cat would. Sebastian pushed your head against him, making his dick go farther into your mouth and came while yelling your name. His cum came out fast and you already lost yourself in ecstasy. It came out like a waterfall, but it was over too soon.

You weren’t able to drink every drop though. Some of it was on your breast. You swiped some of it off and licked it while giving your finger a blow job, making Sebastian hard again. Sebastian couldn’t take your teasing and your expressions anymore. He pinned you down and entered you with so much force, you screamed his name so loud, and you thought the whole world could hear.

Sebastian was fucking you so deep that each time he reentered you; he was hitting your womb. You made your sweating body hang off from Sebastian’s. Your arms and legs were wrapped around him. One of his hands was pinned down on the bed, while the other was holding on to you, making sure you didn’t fall. You and him were kissing each others necks, giving each other a shit load hickeys. 

“You’re so tight my kitten”

“Don’t say something so stupid.” Your breaths were starting to get shallow and you could feel Sebastian’s sweat sliding off of his body and landing on yours.

You arched your back ready to come, but Sebastian stops fucking you and takes his dick out, smirking. “Ride me if you want to come, my sweet little kitten” 

You didn’t want to do as he said, yet you had no choice. He made you horny, kinky, and wet as hell for him. You lower your warmth over the tip of his dick and let it slide in. You moan while bringing one of your hands to cover it. You move up and down slowly, just to get back at him. He gripped your hips, to help you and to make you move faster.

Even though you want to tease him for making you ride him, you just couldn’t do it. You started to move faster and brought Sebastian’s face closer to yours. Sebastian let go of your hips and wrapped his arms around you and started to make out with you.

You were getting very wet from riding Sebastian and were ready to cum. Drool was flowing out of the corner of your mouth. Sebastian was rubbing your back and was enjoying every second of this. You tightened your grip on Sebastian and rode him as hard as you could. You broke your make out session and leaned your head back, screaming as you came from the intense pleasure you were able to give yourself from riding him.

You were a little out of breath, but Sebastian was not done with you. He laid you down and took over. He was pushing in and out of you with as much force as he could. It looked like Sebastian wasn’t ready to cum any time soon.

Sebastian made you ride the after pleasure which made you cum nonstop. Sebastian was ready to cum. He fucked you as hard as he could until you both came screaming each other's names and moaning. Sebastian came inside of you and took his dick out. He looked down at you. You were covered in sweat. His cum was starting to come out of your warmth. You looked at him and saw he was satisfied and smirking.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, I’m just surprised a small thing such as yourself was able to keep up with me.” Sebastian wrapped the covers around yours and his body. He kissed you lightly on the cheek and wrapped his arm around you.

“You know, I never got my shower.”

“You can take a shower tomorrow. Now go to sleep.”

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #sebastian x reader #sebastian michaelis