The GateWorld Cantina Chronicles

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

As the argument between the original hybrid and the Time Lord ended Los' fury reached critical mass and he charged at Dray, only to be thrown back a couple of meters through the air.

"Who. Did. That!?", Los shouted as he began to lose composure, and ran up to Dray again to take her down. He nearly reached her when he heard a buzzing sound and he fell to the ground.

"I don't have time for your antics, abomination.", the Time Lord said.

"Interesting, it seems a ship is fighting the Gauntlett.", the child responded to the Time Lord as a mixture of shock and horror appeared on Los' face as a fireball appeared in the sky.

"Guess it lost", the Time Lord said nonchalantly.

"It ... it can't be ... that ship was designed to be able to hold its own against the Gauntlett...It had Time Lord technology and everything...", Los murmered as the slow realization of his loss became clear to him. Not only did he just hear he didn't have long to live, but his ship had been destroyed as well.

"You honestly think that a ship is capable of fighting against an imitation Tardis? Are you that naive?", Dray said to Los in a mocking voice. Los completely lost it.

"This ... This is all your fault!!", and with those Los grabbed a gun and shot Dray in the head. As Dray fell Benson hit Los unconcious.

"Stop bickering and help me carry them both into your Tardis, P90. You said the Gauntlett was close so we need to go, now."

"You're right, we need to go. Lets first carry Dray into the Tardis."

"Carry who? I can walk, thank you.", the hybrid responded as she regenerated from her wounds. "Part Wraith, I can heal from these wounds."

"I see, then help us carry that thing into the Tardis. We can't leave it here.", the Time Lord responded and they carried Los' body into the Tardis. The young child followed and as she entered the Tardis she began to scream, and with her scream the cloyster bell started to ring in the Tardis as the Tardis was pulled through the Time Vortex.

(( Mapp? (preferred option) / P90 / Dray / AR / LoS ))

The simmering clouds of New Gallifrey curled anxiously around her ruby skies as something sharp stabbed back into the blackness above.

'I'm hOme...' It's words crawled out like curious and hungry cobras that had just awoken from a deep winter.

---

The face of the world below became seiged by a gathering of onlookers, friends, families, children, all of them followers of the Triangle and its ideologies. All of them aware of what the new comet in the sky now represented. They had heard stories of the Gauntlett, recent tales of tragedy which seeped from bloodlust, of how entire colonies had been torn from the hard skin of the universe, ravaged, discovered and recorded only by passers-by.

It was a shared feeling.

It was about to happen again.

---

Tey kicked open a closing hatch as the blood flowed back into the Gauntlett's veins.

'WheRe aRe yOu goINg liTTLe girL?' It screamed through her telepathy, rocking her subconscious and pushing the breaks on her knees. She slammed over as it snaked around her mind like venom. It was a pain so deeply rooted into her head, she couldn't even breathe. Her eyes strained. Her claws ripped at the walls, and all she could hear was the voice 'Don'T LeaVE! wE wERe juSt gettINg to knoW each oTheR!'

She tumbled over onto all fours.

'CraWL!' Haha! CraWL likE tHE Cat yOU ARE!!'

No words. No pleas. No escape.

Until suddenly...

'C'mon, dammit!' Rik yelled as he pulled Tey by her feline ears and threw her into the shuttle's hatch 'I'm so sick of this craphole!'

'You could have been a tad more elegant instead of swinging her in by the ears-' Rich started.

'-So could your mum last night, no shuddup and strap in!' He shouted and dropped into the flight chair 'Let's get the frak out of this nightmare!'

The hatch slipped shut as the shuttle's engines finally started to burn to life. The clamps unlatched from the carrier ship's spine and started to split.

---

WP held onto the terminal tightly as dust rained down over her under the pressure of the escaping space craft.

'PoOR giRL, thEY lEFt yoU aLL aloNE.' It called out 'NobodY loVES yoU...'

The cryopod trembled under the excess of power, but WP was too distracted to notice.

'Go on, Tey. Get out of here!' She hissed at the ship 'Get as far away as you can!'

---

The shuttle spiralled up as Rik fought the gears for complete control, but the mechanical limbs of the craft were still frozen from being trapped under Midna. The engines fired up but swerved it in loops, locked in an insane orbital drift and spilling out an icy mist, a clear trail of blood for any nearby prey.

The Gauntlett saw them fall behind, and licked its cold metal lips. Its wings pulsed, and its beak turned.

---

'Aw no no NO!' Rik punched the controls.

Rich glared out through the stern's window as they swayed away from the ship below, and saw it. The Gauntlett. Complete, and slowing, complete and turning...Turning towards them.

The red planet hung like an unanswered question as the beast chose the closest of two targets.

'Get serious!' He poked Rik 'It's looking at us again!'

Rik stared right at it, face-to-face, as this ship swung into his view only a hundred yards from them. It was coming back for them, its lost children, coming back to reclaim them, to put them back inside.

'Alright, you frakker.' He cleared his throat 'Come get us!'

He flipped open a red trigger and pushed.

---

Two turrets dropped out from under the shuttle's cockpit, caught aim and started to spit plasma at the incoming predator. The shots spilt harmlessly off its face like warm water, but Rik continued to fire.

---

'DIE, YOU SON OF A *****!' He shot 'DIEEE!'

'I-It's no use,' Tey said as her mind returned. She lay behind them both like a sick child on the floor 'You can't stop it.'

The power begin pummelled out of the turret was coming from somewhere, Rich suddenly realised in his silence, and as soon as he heard the engines go quiet he knew that it could only mean one thing.

'See you on the other side.' Tey whimpered as she finally collapsed.

---

The Gauntlett came about slowly like a toying raven waiting for a deserted animal to keel over under the heat, and that was when the engines to the shuttle finally died. The turret stopped firing. Power was lost.

It moved in, spread its wings and ready to land over the fresh carcass. The magnetic locks sparked to life under its feet as its shadow came over them. Everything was so slow now, so quiet and so completely still. It could almost have been considered peaceful, natural even...

SMACK!!!

The Gauntlett was suddenly hurled into a spin as something intense burned up its back. It was tossed to side as power started to recharge in the shuttle, and Rik stared up through the window, breathless from the expectation of his own death, that the thought of a last-second intervention just felt...unreal.

The Gauntlett tore into a new turn and gazed back across the stars, its screams rampant and eternal, cursing through time. The Empress's flagship stared back, huge, essentially its own Citadel and powered by that ancient and infinite Gallifreyan hub - The Temple of Time...

---

'That was....lucky,' Rich said, having crapped his pants enough for one day 'C'mon, quickly!'

---

'The shuttle turned away from the two ships, away from the doomed world below and fled. The power charged right up again, and it launched itself immediately into hyperspace.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

CJ I tried to green, but have to spread it around first. I LOVED your post!

The wind of the library swirled invisibly around her, a storm of forgotten identity to which she stood at the core. She felt them all, the moments of her past, pushing her to catch herself before she fell any further away from who she was.

This book...

The library is the key...

This book was written to her.

And now you know how to use it. You are where you wanted to be.

She didn't need to read it anymore, not now. There was just no time now. Those abstract beings, the ones who were both the perpetrators and victims of all of this...It was they who had sent her here, sent her to a place where she could make a difference, to the place she wanted to be.

They sent Susie to where she wanted to be, Los to his and CJ...Well she just wanted to be CJ again, and now she was. She slammed it shut and shoved it in her belt where it belonged. Kazumi shivered a glow on her back as she wiped the dust off her robe.

And then gently in the deep fathoms of her ear, she heard something crackle into existence, something far but her spectral mind was already fully open, reaching way out across the empty solar system. She didn't look far, and simply found herself staring up through the ruined cove ceiling as something fell through the black clouds of mother Earth, something fiery and alive...

Somewhere where I could make a difference.

It dropped through the atmosphere, a ship enflamed and out of control as the three crewmembers struggled to land it safely.

They must have known that a chance meeting was going to take place here, on Earth.

The shuttle wavered from left to right as it excreted debris and hurtled down, down and slapped straight into the black sea.

Yeah, like that would have killed them. Come on, Kazumi. Let's go and meet these heroes. Maybe they can teach me out to land like that.

---

Tey was a feline, and as a consequence of this she was not very fond of water. Especially toxic water. Rik pulled her to the surface as he clutched onto a part of the wreckage, and slung her onto it. In the distance a ruin of towers and skyscrapers stood, and at their stone feet bowed the brittle architecture of the library...

CJ stepped out and breathed in the faintly poisonous air, sensing somehow that although complete recovery was several years off...The planet Earth was healing. She glanced just beyond her boots, and spotted a tiny green plant curling up out of the ash.

The clouds are darker than ever, but beyond them the sun is always shining so brightly. This world will feel the heat again, but not before we destroy the Gauntlett...

Her fingers stroked the front of the diary as it hung from her waist.

And to do that, we need Susie.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

(Well Susie's gone for christmas so I'm going to fill in for her )

The Howling.

The Empress curled up in the cockpit, in Wolfax's old seat. She was wearing some old clothes she had scavenged from Susie's old room, and felt less like royalty and more at home.

Mapp sat across from her, staring out into the blindness of the Void. It was just an expanse of pure nothingness. No energies, no planets or stars. Just a vacant plane where nothing should ever exist, and yet here they were right in the centre of it. Sitting, looking into it as if it were just another obstacle. He stroked his beard as she glanced back over to him.

'So what's your plan?' she said.

'Plan?'

'I know,' she continued 'it sounds stupid, but I thought I'd ask. I mean if you had a way back to the universe you would have taken it by now.'

There was an awkward silence, to which she quite enjoyed. It reminded her of how things used to be.

'...Right?' she pushed on.

'Right,' he said without shedding a glance her way.

'I'm wearing her stuff. You okay with that?' she asked 'I didn't want to be the Empress anymore.'

He smiled.

'Susie's a far better person, I think.' She nodded 'She never wanted to kill anyone.'

'You're made up of her and Serena primarily-...' Mapp started.

'-Yeah I know, but still. I feel...I kinda feel that that part of me is gone somehow, like you made it all go away.' She smiled and stared back out into the emptiness 'You gave me hope again.'

'I didn't do anything.' He said 'You dropped in on me, remember?'

'And I don't want to be waiting around for another 50 years for you to figure out a way back, now get on the case!' She told him 'Before I kick your ass.'

He was still smiling, but her's had faded.

'Why won't you let me be her?' She said 'Can't you pretend?'

'Susie's dead,' his eyes finally locked with hers 'and you look like her.'

The Empress knew that, but she still felt as if they were both missing an opportunity here. Redemption was subtle at best, but she recognised it when it was offered out.

'Mapp,' she groaned and reached over 'I'm going to die.'

His hearts slowed.

'So stop being so stuck up. Let me have this. You brought me into the universe and you'll see me out of it, but you're going to give me something back.' She ordered 'And I'm going to destroy that ship for you in return, got it?'

'Susie was big part of this family, back when the Cantina had a family. You expect me to pretend that you're her?' He turned back to the window and shook his head 'I know that you're not. I just wish I'd known that sooner, then maybe I could've stopped you from going crazy in the first place...'

'You're still treating me as if it's my fault!' She argued with Susie's feirceness 'You're the one who couldn't stop crying! Maybe if you'd held it together after I died, none of us would be here!'

Mapp saw the truth, but still didn't let himself believe.

'It's a cold reality, Mappalazarou, but the truth is that when Susie died...you all lost a little bit of yourselves, and somewhere down the line you all forgot your pasts and how important this ship was to everything. We all played a part in the rise of the Triangle, in the fall of the galaxies and in the resurrection of that damned ship...So spit your dummy out already, accept it, and get us out of here. We need to finish this, and you're just sitting around drinking yourself silly.' She added mercilessly 'I saw CJ, y'know, she's in even worse shape than you are, or at least was when I saw her. Hell, she was killing everyone trying to find you!'

He couldn't find any appropriate response, and acknowledged the possibility that their simply wasn't one.

'Are you ready to take on your responsibilities after hiding away in this place for 50 years, or not?'

'There isn't a way back,' he shot at her 'The Cantina was wounded during the journey here, and lost her bond to power sources of the universe. The longer we stayed here the worse it got, until eventually her connection to the vortex just...just faded away.'

'...She's dead?'

'....Not yet, but even if we find a way out she'll never time travel again. She'll be stuck in one time zone, she'll be locked there forever, unable to move about freely like she naturally should be able to. Can you imagine a Tardis without that most basic power?' He slowly explained 'She'd sooner kill herself. And that's what will happen once she realises, once we're back, once the Gauntlett is taken care of. The Cantina will die.'

'You can't know that,' she shoved him with her words 'you're just presuming now. Even if you could go back and change things you wouldn't.'

'And you know that?' he questioned her motives 'you really think you know me?'

'You made me, of course I know you. And you said it yourself, I'm part Susie and Serena - a human and a Time Lord priestess, you really think I'm not that bright?' she fired back.

'...Good point,'

'Mapp,' she pressed onwards 'I have her memories, all of them, and remember how she thought about you. She was different from you, but shared your enthusiasm for that shining universe. The only difference is that she would have gone back if given the opportunity, and that's exactly what she did when she became a god - she changed everything so that everything was okay again...'

'I won't do that,' he emphasised 'it was wrong of her.'

'I know, in the grand scheme of things she committed an act against every celestial law but not you, I know that you will find another way round. That's why I know you're going to get me to the Gauntlett, and let me end this thing.' She said and watched him reluctantly nod 'And maybe then, for once you'll be trapped without time travel - You can face the universe instead of running from it. Maybe you can transform the Triangle into something beautiful, remake the foundations of it, and be like her in the end.

Because that's what the universe needs.

Someone to cross that frakking line again.'

[lordofseas]

<snip>

Los woke up to a world of pain. His head was aching, and his body....for some reason his body felt different. Tired...as if he had lived a thousand years, and his bones felt ready to become dust. Los shut his eyes, and concentrated on fixing his injuries. Nothing. Nothing...Los searched for the Source. He found it, and seized it. He felt far worse with the Source flowing through him, he felt his injuries more acutely, but he felt far safer enveloped in the Source. He checked his throat using his inner eye...he could still use the Voice...within limits, he saw. My body...no longer reacts to the mind...Los focused on the others in the room. He had to listen.

"He's awake." Benson stated promptly. Los sniffed unwittingly, and then sneezed repeatedly. He got up slowly from the table he had been laid on. The child was in a seat, watching him, while the witch was laying on a bed, all nice and comfortable. Her eyes were watching him, he saw. The third, Benson, was sitting in a chair closest to Los. Los caught himself, before he sniffed again.

"You'll hurt yourself," said the child, as Los began to stand. He got as far as three steps, before collapsing. She got up, and began to help him up. Los shook her off, and turned his head slowly, to look into her eyes.

"Never. Touch me. Again." he said, voice like ice. Los tried to get up again, and collapsed. Again, the girl child tried to help him. This time, Los weaved a lace of Air, and pushed the child away. Hard. He Pitched his voice higher, and harder.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" he roared. The child was on the ground, not crying, surprisingly, but eyes wide open. Benson got up, and walked over to a console. Draygon's eyes never left Los. Benson flipped a switch, and pushed a button. The Source was cut off from him like a knife, slicing into butter. Los gave him a cold glare, but he readily ignored it.

"Past time to do that to you." he said. He went over to the child, and helped her up. Her eyes narrowed, and she sat back into her chair. Los turned his attention to the child, the supposed owner of the ship.

"Do you have a DNA sequencer on this ship of yours?" he asked the child, as he sat on the base of the platform, giving up on the chance to be on it.

"No."

"Do you know where to find one." he asked.

"No."

"Do you have the ability to make bodies on this ship."

"No."

Los paused for a long moment.

"How will I die?" he asked slowly, fearing the answer.

"You will feel weak at first, as if you are nearing the end of your life. You'll slip into a coma, then after a day of that, you will die." the child responded, slowly.

Los looked, blinked a few times, and shut his eyes. He already felt like he was dying. The process was already begun. When he opened them, a single tear left from his left eye. "I am dead." he said bluntly.

Los, not being to bear the shame of being seen crying, crawled around to the other side of the platform, and began to weep. He sat, and cried, until there was a small puddle of tears around his hand. He could feel his body deteriorating as he cried. The three on the other side of the altar were talking...

"I actually feel sorry for him." said Benson.

"As do I." said the child. "Even though I want to kill him for hitting me, albeit with air."

"Don't feel so bad. He was just an experiment, one that was doomed to fail anyways."

Los' eyes shot wide with that last, and with a burst of adrenaline, twisted and placed his hands on the altar. He looked at Draygon. Draygon only.

"How dare you." he spoke with rage. "How DARE you! I had a life. Before you transplanted me into your body. I was working towards something good, something just, something right! And, when I look for a future place for me to settle on until it was finished, you just come along, and throw me into this Gods-forsaken body!" he roared, spittle flying from his mouth. His arms shook with the vigour of which he spoke with, but it didn't stop him.

Los' face contorted with fury. The last time he was this mad, he slaughtered 65 men and women that were using the sa'angreal he had in his sleeve at this moment. They were far more powerful than he was, but nothing could withstand balefire.

"Now, I will die. I will die, alone, friendless, and without being able to finish my project. My life is a ruin!" With this, Los' face turned cold, as he just realized something. "Benson, could you please check if the Gauntlett has been to these co-ordinates?" Los held out a small piece of paper. Benson paused, then took the slip of paper.

"We have been monitoring the Gauntlett and its movements. We know where it's been in a matter of hours. And..." he looked up, and turned around. "Yes, it has been there. Why?"

Los looked into Benson's eyes. They were telling the truth. Los shook, this time, not with vigour, but with..helplessness. The universe was collapsing around him. He yearned for a rock in his last hours of his life, on which he could rely on. He reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small disk. The holograph. He turned it on.

"I'm dying, Adania." he said, to the hologram.

"You are?" she said, with shock painting her voice.

"Yes."

"Then..." Adania paused. "I would like to speak to you in my real body on this hologram, if you would let me."

Los dropped the holograph onto the floor. It didn't shatter, of course. The old hologram flickered, and out came a newer hologram. It was a man, blond hair, green eyes. Musclular, and short. Benson, Draygon, and LaPlace all looked on with curiosity, but he ignored them, focusing.

"Adaris." Los said to the hologram.

"Tal Vara." Adaris replied.

"What is it you want to say to me?"

"You can live."

"No..I'm dying, didn't you hear?" Los said, amusement ringing in his voice.

"You can live. You know how, you just don't want to accept it."

"And I won't!" he said vehemently, then began to cough phlegm. He wiped his mouth. "I refuse to be saved by the Enemy. I'd rather die!"

"And you will," Adaris said. "You'll die, because of your damn arrogance."

"You were one of them." Los said. "You know what's involved. I can't...besides, they don't even have the materials required on board. I wiped out the thinking machines of that universe, sparing you because you showed pity on me, once."

"My old friend, my ancient enemy, my eternal companion. We have been walking together for over 100,000 years." Adaris began. With this, a small gasp came from someone, but he didn't look to find out who. "We have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in each other. I am willing to do this."

"No...I can't...I just..can't..." Los said, tiredly.

"You need to merge," Adaris said, pace quickening. "You need to become half man, half machine. You must!" he said. "It is the only way."

"I will not." Los said, voice firming again. He was able to get onto the platform now. "I am willing to die. Meia destroyed...the Atlantia destroyed...there's nothing left for me here."

"Then...then..let me stay with you these last moments of lucidity. I know you linked me with you, so that when you die, I die."

"Never hide anything from a machine," Los said, a smile beginning to show on his face. "Come. Stay for a while."

The holograph began to float up on a suspensor, then lay vertically against the stone of the platform. It was big enough for the both of them.

Los looked at his friend, for what he believed would be the last time. Their eyes met. An eternity in a second passed by.

"The Wheel turns." he said, quietly, with a joyous smile on his face.

"Wait for it. Wait for the Wheel." Adaris replied. "Good bye, friend."

"Good bye."

He turned away. It was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life.

Los shut his eyes, by force. He refused to die with his eyes open. It was a small quirk of his. Just letting dust and junk fall onto the eyes? No thank you. Los snorted inwardly. Slowly, he began to slip away into a coma...

(P90/Draygon/AR)

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Rik looked at the Planet. "God i hated this world when i lived here. its better know mind" Rik said thoughtfully.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

Rik looked at the Planet. "God i hated this world when i lived here. its better know mind" Rik said thoughtfully.

(That's................a step in the right direction at least.)

He shoved his entire body mass forward again and again, and considered himself not to be swimming but more rather hurling himself through a thick wall of poisonous water. He had been here for little over two minutes, but had learned that the Earth had become a frighteningly merciless landscape. The waves punched at his head, and he felt the different liquids gush down his throat and start to burn.

He spat it and glanced over his shoulder as he pushed onwards towards the black city. Tey was unconscious now, and it was taking every bit of strength he had to drag her through this toxic tide. His muscles still stung from the crash, his ears caught in an eternal ringing as flames and debris spat out around them.

In the chaos and the darkness and the destruction, everything moved so slowly. The waves pelted into him constantly, pushing him away from the land, pulling at his legs and weight, trying to heave him under. His strength was finally starting to strain, and then he felt himself let go...

He swung himself around as the water suddenly curled up over him and slammed down.

'TEEYYYY!' He screamed as the Earth seized him, and then there was just black. He yelled again but his voice was gone, his words burst out as bubbles and the sound was a bloody gargle. He pushed up and was pushed down, he shifted from side to side but was restrained. He turned down as desperation sank in, and looked.

Earth had once been his home, a world of blue and green, of giant cities and sprawling perfection...All of which lay down beneath his feet, beneath the turbelant waves of this deadly ocean. Everything submerged by poison and darkness.

Towers and skyscrapers glared up at him from the sea bed, empty cars drifted along those ancient streets like ghosts...and Rik could see it all, his broken past, the reason for his tempered spirit and worthless outlook of the universe. He remembered then, the Triangle had done this...The Triangle, the Empress and her war fleet, had come to Earth and destroyed everything.

They had created the Gauntlett before, and then turned to themselves to unleash death upon those who would not follow. Earth was one of the first to go.

They won't do it again!

He pushed up, felt the world pushing back against him but did not surrender. He punched his way back to the unforgiving surface, kicking at the water with his feet. He headbutted through the waves, gasped in a surge of poisonous air and glanced around. The island now closer than ever.

Maybe Tey already made it! Maybe she's waiting there for me!

It was an unfounded hope, but one which he held onto. He leapt forward, and after a short while felt his boots kicking at the land beneath the water. A final wave slapped at his back, throwing him forward several yards and hurtling him onto the ash-covered beach...

Bad day... He thought, Tey, Rich...You guys...You guys better...wake me...

And with that, he was unconscious again.

Debris from the shuttle washed against the shore, with no other bodies amongst them.

He was alone.

[Commander Jumper]

(That's................a step in the right direction at least.)

He shoved his entire body mass forward again and again, and considered himself not to be swimming but more rather hurling himself through a thick wall of poisonous water. He had been here for little over two minutes, but had learned that the Earth had become a frighteningly merciless landscape. The waves punched at his head, and he felt the different liquids gush down his throat and start to burn.

He spat it and glanced over his shoulder as he pushed onwards towards the black city. Tey was unconscious now, and it was taking every bit of strength he had to drag her through this toxic tide. His muscles still stung from the crash, his ears caught in an eternal ringing as flames and debris spat out around them.

In the chaos and the darkness and the destruction, everything moved so slowly. The waves pelted into him constantly, pushing him away from the land, pulling at his legs and weight, trying to heave him under. His strength was finally starting to strain, and then he felt himself let go...

He swung himself around as the water suddenly curled up over him and slammed down.

'TEEYYYY!' He screamed as the Earth seized him, and then there was just black. He yelled again but his voice was gone, his words burst out as bubbles and the sound was a bloody gargle. He pushed up and was pushed down, he shifted from side to side but was restrained. He turned down as desperation sank in, and looked.

Earth had once been his home, a world of blue and green, of giant cities and sprawling perfection...All of which lay down beneath his feet, beneath the turbelant waves of this deadly ocean. Everything submerged by poison and darkness.

Towers and skyscrapers glared up at him from the sea bed, empty cars drifted along those ancient streets like ghosts...and Rik could see it all, his broken past, the reason for his tempered spirit and worthless outlook of the universe. He remembered then, the Triangle had done this...The Triangle, the Empress and her war fleet, had come to Earth and destroyed everything.

They had created the Gauntlett before, and then turned to themselves to unleash death upon those who would not follow. Earth was one of the first to go.

They won't do it again!

He pushed up, felt the world pushing back against him but did not surrender. He punched his way back to the unforgiving surface, kicking at the water with his feet. He headbutted through the waves, gasped in a surge of poisonous air and glanced around. The island now closer than ever.

Maybe Tey already made it! Maybe she's waiting there for me!

It was an unfounded hope, but one which he held onto. He leapt forward, and after a short while felt his boots kicking at the land beneath the water. A final wave slapped at his back, throwing him forward several yards and hurtling him onto the ash-covered beach...

Bad day... He thought, Tey, Rich...You guys...You guys better...wake me...

And with that, he was unconscious again.

Debris from the shuttle washed against the shore, with no other bodies amongst them.

He was alone.

(hehe I think I shall step in here ^^)

The blackness around him faded into a warm light. A fire burned beside him, warming his cold water worn skin. Bandages were wrapped around his arms and legs where he had met with the crushing debris of the city below the water. He blinked several times before everything came into view.

The fire was burning inside an old book shop. the shelves were dusty and untouched, books lined wall to wall. Everything from Shakespeare to Douglas Adams. In it's day the shop must have been a wonder. Now it smelled of rotting paper and decay. He sat up, rubbing his head, looking to see who had brought him here.

The door at the entrance had been taken off and a small blanket hung as a temporary door. The blanket was pushed aside and a woman stepped in, carrying a pile of twigs and bark. She smiled kindly at him and tossed the wood into a pile in at the foot of the fire. She dusted her hands off on her white kosode and took a deep breath. "I see you're awake."

Rik nodded, "where am I?"

"Earth." The woman stated, giggling, "though it's nothing like it was when I was last here...."

"I knew we were on Earth.." Rik stated, inspecting his wounds. "I mean where are we now.. and who are you?"

"Don't worry about your wounds.." She stated, rubbing the palm of her hand. "There wasn't much I could do... I managed to get most of the poison out of your system.. but not to get your wounds to close completely. Suffice to say... you'll have a few scars to show all the gals back home."

Rik dead panned at the woman. "I didn't ask about my wounds..."

"Right..." the woman stated, "My name is CJ.... I'm not sure if I know you... but you seem not to know me and we are in a book store."

Rik looked around. "I could have guessed that myself."

"Then why did you ask?" She stated, sitting on a short pile of books.

"I wanted to know the city."

"Like hell if I know." She laughed, poking the fire. "all I know is that I was brought here... for a good purpose... perhaps it was to save you."

Rik sighed, "What happened to my friends?"

CJ shrugged, "I don't know. I was just minding my own business...."

CJ walked across the shore, looking for the survivors of the crash. Hoping that perhaps her role in all this was to save them. She stared up at the cloudy sky, clouds hanging heavily and darkly above her. Fore shadowing such terrible things to come.

She smiled. "It's always bad before it gets better."

She tripped and fell on her face. She sat up, wiping the ashen sand from her face. She sputtered and spat and shook out her hair. "What the heck!"

She looked around. "Oh..." She muttered, seeing Rik lying on his back, barely breathing. She prodded him gently with a stick. He didn't move. "Ehhhh... I guess he's among the survivors... well he has to be.... because.. I was the only person on this god forsaken rock before they showed up."

She stood up and grabbed Rik's arms. "Holy Hannah... this guy weighs a ton!"
"Anyway I managed to haul you back here.." She stated, looking through her pack. "A couple of those scrapes and cuts were caused by me.. sorry."

Rik rubbed his head again. "Was there anyone else on the beach?"

CJ hung her head. "No... unfortunately. I didn't spot the other two that crashed with you. But I intend to go back later tonight and search."

Rik shakily got to his feet, stumbling a little in the process.

"What are you doing?" CJ asked, getting to her feet.

Rik stumbled to the door. "To search for the others."

CJ followed after him. "If you do that you'll aggravate your wounds."

Rik paused in the door way. "I need to find them."

CJ placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll look for them. You lie down."

Rik sighed and nodded, whoever this CJ person was she had a terribly frightening air about her. Like a mother hen a little too protective over her eggs. Cj helped him lie back down and smiled warmly at him. "Promise me you'll stay here while I search."

He nodded reluctantly as CJ made her way to the door. She turned and smiled at him. "If I'm not back in an hour... I'm probably dead."

And with that she exited the shop and proceeded outside. She stared out at the worn and torn landscape that was once a shining metropolis. A beacon of civilization at his highest point turned to ash. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, praying that one day the Earth would be restored to it's past glory and those who were human and other being alike would once again roam the surface, leading clean fruitful lives.

She opened her eyes and started back on foot to the beach, hoping that she would find the others, but a cloud of dread hung over her. She felt that the other two had been sent to another part of the city. If such were true, then they were there for a reason that she dared not challenge.

Still the reality remained that she would find them, and it was that which drove her to the beach once more in search of survivors.

[Vampyr]

((Hai everyone, here's the results of some chatting with Mapp. Enjoi. ))

“Greetings Mister Raltere, would you like some musical accompaniment on your trip to the flight control deck?” Elevator 04's controlling persona asked Ben as he sighed, “Why is it you can intuit my destination with frightening accuracy, yet not remember I'd rather have silence during transit?” There was a faint, almost undetectable whirr emitting from the speakers, but the elevator said nothing as it slid down the magnetic-induction railings down to flight control.

The moment the elevator opened its doors, Ben went into a flurry of action. “Ship, warm up a recon drone for me and slave it to station three.” As he did that, he took a pair of manipulator gloves off their rack, and jumped into the drone's control station, flipping the toggle to seal up the station as he did. In moments, Ben was in control of the drone, his hand motions translating into instructions as he guided the drone out of the launch bay. As it exited the bay, Ben panned the drone's cameras across the wreckage of the ship he was now residing in. The once mighty ship was now a ghost of her former self, he was lucky, really, that the ship's spine hadn't severed when that beam weapon had sliced through her. They hadn't hit the the auxiliary power core and life-support systems either, which was again doubly lucky, as it was the only reason he was still alive, while the rest of the crew was busy soaking up radiation out in the black.

Ben switched the drone's view over to thermal, and quickly located the crashed shuttle that the ship had awakened him to. As he commanded the drone to place itself into an orbit that would quickly get it to the shuttle's watery crash-site, Ben let his mind wander, thinking back to when everything had gone to hell in a nicely wrapped hand basket.

He'd been getting some bunk time, having had been up for the previous, oh hell he didn't even know how long he'd stayed up, running remotely-piloted cargo ships between the base and the fleet in orbit. He had only managed to just drift off into a blissful sleep when the general-quarters alarm sounded, jolting him from sleep. Ben barely had time to rush down to flight control and seal himself into his control station when the ship bucked and slammed his head on the console in front of him.

When Ben came to, the great ship was empty, and for the most part depressurized. It took him a few days to learn how to direct the ship's repair drones enough to patch up the hull around the most vital sections of the ship. There was no way he could repair the engines, or use one of the cargo drones to escape- quite simply put there were no functioning ships he could find in orbit that had a faster-than-light engine. So when the shuttle had appeared suddenly in Earth orbit, damaged though it was, Ben had hurried as quickly as he could to flight control, maybe he could salvage an FTL engine from it.

Once the drone had broken through the ionization shell that the ballistic entry path he'd sent the drone through inevitably created, he cast the drone's gaze about, and noted with no small amount of surprise that there was movement on a landmass nearby the shuttle's watery grave. Ben sighed, and directed the drone to launch a small, auxiliary drone more suited for water travel down towards towards the shuttle, and the main drone to the people down there. It would've been preferable for the main drone to hover just above the water's surface, to act as a relay back to the ship. But the logic was inescapable: even if they didn't need what little medical attention he could give with the drone's manipulator arms, they still might be able to help salvage the shuttle's FTL engine.

[Gregorius]

.

On the Empress' flagship all hell was breaking lose as it battled the Gauntlett. The captain knew he couldn't win this battle, the Gauntlett, despite being an imitation Tardis, was still a Tardis. The Empress had made the study the Tardis, and had told them how only Time Lord and Dalek technology could bring a Tardis down.

"Yes you heard me correctly. Despite its power even my flagship is no match for a Tardis, this is why it's essential we find all the Tardises in the universe and take control of them."

He remembered the shock on everyone's faces as the Empress continued her lesson. His thought were interrupted by an impact on the ship, the Gauntlett had begon to slingshot asteroids at them. As he ordered his crew around and began evading the Gauntlett's attacks he resigned with his fate, he knew he was going to die but at least he would die defending New Gallifrey from this monster.

He ordered the orbital and ground defences of New Gallifrey to fire at the Gauntlett but the weapons had little to no effect, in fact it seemed that with each beam hitting the Gauntlett it grew more powerful and became angrier.

"Captain, it's hacking into our communications system! I can't block it."

"YoU PesKY MeAtbAgS, yoU wiLL DiE HIHIHIHIHIHI. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

"Sir, it has disappeared from our scre..."

The ship shook and crew members were flying around as a beam of energy had hit one of the engines. The Gauntlett had reappeared right in front of the ship and was, it seems, waiting.

"Sir, we're receiving a message: Admiral Ackbar is returning with the fleet."

"Tell him to stay away. Fire missile pods 4 through 31 and fire the front beam cannons at the Gauntlett."

"He's stating he know it's a trap but the fleet is jumping in to defend the planet."

"I see, tell him to evacuate New Gallifrey and that we'll try to hold off the Gauntlett as long as we can... Lt., tell the ground forces to aim the satelites and ground weapons at us and use them as an energy transfer system. We need more power if we want to last long enough for the Admiral to arrive."

"Ground forces are reporting that it'll take them at least 30 minutes to configure the system."

"That's too long, we won't last another 5 minutes if it starts moving again."

"Sir, I'm detecing multiple jump points forming in front of ... us?"

"Flagship of the Empress, this is Admiral Thrawn of the Rebel fleet. We are here to aid you against this abomination. Please stand back and repair yourselves while we distract it."

"Sir, the rebels have closed communications and have formed a defensive sphere around us. Their support ships are asking permission to begin repairs."

"What the hell is going on here? The rebels aiding us ... This might be our chance, begin powering up The Empress' Fury as soon as the ground crews are ready."

"Sir, the Gauntlett has begon moving again...the Rebels are taking heavy damage. Two, no three, four, five of their ships have already sustained heavy damage. Three have been destroyed. Two of the heavily damaged ships are moving towards the Gauntlett and are overloading their cores...They're opening jump windows inside of the Gauntlett it seems."

"Suicide runs? Contact Thrawn and ask him what's going on. They must know they can't beat it."

"Sir, Admiral Thrawn is responding. They're holding off the Gauntlett until we can evacuate the planet. It seems they have recently experienced the loss of their planets at the hands of the Gauntlett and don't wish their enemies to suffer the same fate."

"Sir, more windows are forming, behind us. It's Admiral Ackbar. The fleet has arrived and transport ships are heading towards the surface."

"Send the Admiral a message that the rebel fleet is aiding us. Add that we don't have time to explain, he needs to get done with the evacuation asap."

"Sir, rebel fleet is taking heavy loses. About half their ships have been destroyed or disabled..."

"Send an order to the Triangle fleet, tell the ships that aren't defending the transports to reinforce the rebel fleet."

"It seems Admiral Ackbar is already doing it, Triangle ships are filling the gaps and joining the rebel fleet in the offensive...The Gauntlett's powering up, it's firing something at us..."

The Gauntlett had fired a beam at its attackers and the defensive sphere. It decimated the ships in the combined fleet, before it left.

"Status! How is the fleet holding up?"

"Ships are reporting in Sir, we lost about 10% of the fleet in that last attack. Wait...Sir...it's gone. The Gauntlett's gone. It has disappeared."

"Odd, but we must take advantage of this. Send a message to Admirals Ackbar and Thrawn, we need to speak."

(( Mapp ))

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

The cockpit had never known this kind of silence, but Mapp was the one to break it. He looked at her, his eyes brimming with a sudden curiosity.

'What?' she asked.

'Well it's just that you dropped in here...' He said.

'You mentioned, so what?' she shrugged.

'We're stuck under the floorboards of the universe, and yet you dropped in out of nowhere without a scratch on you,' he said 'Susie, you asked me for a way out of here and all I can do is stare at you.'

Her heart melted when he said her name, and then congealed again when she acknowledged his idea. Then she felt so stupid. The answer was obvious, it had been there all along. The echoes passed through her mind and her every sense tingled with revelation...

...This is the place where you wanted to be....

....You are not ready to be there again yet, but soon you shall be. We foresee that moment, we see a cove of ships around it as the galaxies unite, we see the Gauntlett destroyed from within, but that time is yet to come....

....Poor child. Nothing was ever your fault. All of this has been accidental....

....A way back? Then back through the celestial cracks you must travel, for that is how you got there in the first place....

They will show themselves when you are one again.

'Those beings,' she remembered 'the ones from that place, the said...they told me that I was reconnected to them again when I returned, that I always would be and could never fall away again.'

'So, were they right?' Mapp leaned forward 'Can you hear their voices?'

She closed her eyes as a soft wind breathed along her neck.

'What do they say?'

And now you are complete at last, our lost angel.

'Help me, just this once. Help us.' She pleaded 'I-I'm ready now, to be in that place, the place you should have sent me, my creation.'

...We are...troubled by this, child. Are you...sure?

'I am,' she said 'I'm sure.'

Mapp sat back and watched her talk to herself.

Then end the captain's punishment, and we will send you back and to a place where you can heal this ship, to a place where you can prepare yourselves for your fate.

Your captain has atoned for his sins and ours.

The time has come.

She opened her eyes as her eyebrows fell. She glanced at Mapp, who was even more confused.

'So what's happening?' he tilted his head 'Because I don't see any-'

He gasped loudly as she leapt on him and buried her dagger into his chest, and turned. His eyes watered from the shock and the skin of the old man trembled.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered delicately in his ear 'but I release you, so that you can release us all.'

She climbed off, stepped back and watched him lurch the dagger from his chest in agony. He shook against the surface of the chair as his body broke into a short spasm, and gazed at the Empress as she backed to the controls, covered in his blood.

'It's okay,' she said quickly 'It's all going to be okay!'

She'd gone insane. She'd talked to the voices in her head and they'd made her insane. Mapp cried out and fought the pain as he clutched his wound and collapsed onto his knees.

'Mapp, you have to forgive yourself! Forgive yourself and give into it!' She ordered, tears squeezed from her eyes 'It's TIME!'

In the utter anarchy of this moment, a strange possibility dropped into his bewildered mind...It suggested that she may not be so insane after all, and that she had indeed just attempted to kill him but not how he would have expected. He blinked but kept his focus on her as he fell onto his hands, and knew what she was talking about.

'Do it,' she smiled, recognising that stare 'Regenerate.'

---

The impossible system spun around its star, peacefully sealed in small pocket of space-time and protected from the vile blood of the universe...For so long it had remained undisturbed, oblivious to the brutal happenings of the galaxies that spiralled above. The galaxies of the Triangle.

ROAR!!!

An explosion tore through the star, making it quiver and shake with sudden curiosity. The waves of the system rippled and the various celestial bodies turned to the centre as something squeezed out into existence. Something small, metal and always so subtle amongst a starry backdrop.

The solar flares applauded, electrified, and the planets stared on in amazement. They had seen it before, this metal creature, once upon a time fifty years before...

It had returned, and the glow of the cockpit was just dying out.

---

He shook his shirt as the blood of his older form still dripped from it.

'You might have just asked,' Mapp said as he pulled himself up and held his head 'Owwww, I hate it when that happens.'

She was grinning.

'How do I look?' He asked as he shoved away her dagger, not wanting anymore repeats of that 'No no, actually, don't tell me. I like surprises.'

'At least now you can consider yourself punished enough,' she offered a friendly smile, but his stare had turned away 'Mapp?'

And now, it was he who was smiling. She followed his eyes, turned out of the window.

'...Welcome back.' She patted his shoulder.

---

The Cantina was spinning slowly and delicately, bathing in the celestial power of its universe, drawing it all in...The stars, the worlds, the races, the civilisations...The history...Using all of that force and all of that energy to soothe its tender wounds, drawing on the pain of the galaxies to heal its own.

[Gregorius]

.

.

The Tardis dropped out of the Time Vortex and the small child walked towards the door and opened it.

"What are you doing Laplace?", Dray asked as the child stepped outside the Tardis and into space, "More importantly, where are we?"

The Time Lord responded as the child looked into the distance the cloyster bell stopped ringing: "The Impossible System, Greg's system. It seems that it has happened, she has returned and the Tardises felt it and were drawn to this tear in space-time."

"She's back, but badly wounded. Please land your Tardis on the planet while I take her there. She needs to be connected to the Eye, she needs power to heal herself.", the girl spoke to the Time Lord and in a flash she vanished.

"So what are we going to do with him?", Benson asked as he pointed towards Los, "I mean, we can't keep him here, he's dying. He needs treatment."

"There's nothing we can do for him now, his body is failing as we speak.", Dray responded as she looked as her creation.

"We could place him in a stasis pod, you know", Benson stated to the Time Lord and the hybrid who both looked at him in amazement.

"He's right, why didn't I think of that? Guess that's why I keep you around.", the Time Lord spoke as he operated the Tardis.

The Tardis moved through space to the impossible planet and landed near the domed structure, while Dray and Benson carried Los' body to the door and, as the Tardis landed, brought the body to one of the labs beneath the domed structure and placed him into a stasis pod.

---

Meanwhile Laplace appeared in the control room of the Cantina and saw a regenerated Mapp and the Empress standing next to him, both looking terribly confused at her.

"Hello, Mapp, Empress."

"Who are you? How did you get here, and how do you know us?", Mapp spoke as the examined the small child. Something about the child unsettled him but it seemed to him that the Cantina trusted the girl as her heart was beating faster as the child walked towards it.

"We've met before. It isn't important who I am, but I need to save her. She's dying."

The girl touched the heart of the Cantina and Mapp and the Empress felt it moving through space-time and heard a soft "boink" as the Cantina landed on the impossible planet. The doors were opened from the outside and a man walked in, and both Mapp and the Empress recognized him.

"Mapp, Empress, how good of you two to join the party. Now get lost while hook up the Cantina to the Eye. Laplace, could you ask Greg how to remotely connect a badly damaged Tardis to the Eye?"

"P90. What is going on? Where is Greg and who is this girl?"

"Shut up, Mapp. I don't have time for you little games."

"P90, Greg says it can be done through you. Your Tardis is connected, you can act as a bridge."

"I see."

"Wait...is this little girl Greg?"

"I told you to shut up."

P90 aimed his sonic screwdriver at Mapp and a supersonic boom in the air pushed Mapp outside the Cantina where Dray and Benson had just arrived.

"Like this, Laplace?"

"Uhu, now I'll activate the link."

The small girl touched the heart of the Tardis and the Cantina started to glow with light that, to the Empress, resembled regeneration energy. As the heart of the Cantina started beating faster the Cantina was repairing itself. The glow left P90 and he looked at Laplace.

"It's done, she has been hooked up to the Eye."

[343_Guilty_Spark]

(hehe I think I shall step in here ^^)

The blackness around him faded into a warm light. A fire burned beside him, warming his cold water worn skin. Bandages were wrapped around his arms and legs where he had met with the crushing debris of the city below the water. He blinked several times before everything came into view.

The fire was burning inside an old book shop. the shelves were dusty and untouched, books lined wall to wall. Everything from Shakespeare to Douglas Adams. In it's day the shop must have been a wonder. Now it smelled of rotting paper and decay. He sat up, rubbing his head, looking to see who had brought him here.

The door at the entrance had been taken off and a small blanket hung as a temporary door. The blanket was pushed aside and a woman stepped in, carrying a pile of twigs and bark. She smiled kindly at him and tossed the wood into a pile in at the foot of the fire. She dusted her hands off on her white kosode and took a deep breath. "I see you're awake."

Rik nodded, "where am I?"

"Earth." The woman stated, giggling, "though it's nothing like it was when I was last here...."

"I knew we were on Earth.." Rik stated, inspecting his wounds. "I mean where are we now.. and who are you?"

"Don't worry about your wounds.." She stated, rubbing the palm of her hand. "There wasn't much I could do... I managed to get most of the poison out of your system.. but not to get your wounds to close completely. Suffice to say... you'll have a few scars to show all the gals back home."

Rik dead panned at the woman. "I didn't ask about my wounds..."

"Right..." the woman stated, "My name is CJ.... I'm not sure if I know you... but you seem not to know me and we are in a book store."

Rik looked around. "I could have guessed that myself."

"Then why did you ask?" She stated, sitting on a short pile of books.

"I wanted to know the city."

"Like hell if I know." She laughed, poking the fire. "all I know is that I was brought here... for a good purpose... perhaps it was to save you."

Rik sighed, "What happened to my friends?"

CJ shrugged, "I don't know. I was just minding my own business...."

CJ walked across the shore, looking for the survivors of the crash. Hoping that perhaps her role in all this was to save them. She stared up at the cloudy sky, clouds hanging heavily and darkly above her. Fore shadowing such terrible things to come.

She smiled. "It's always bad before it gets better."

She tripped and fell on her face. She sat up, wiping the ashen sand from her face. She sputtered and spat and shook out her hair. "What the heck!"

She looked around. "Oh..." She muttered, seeing Rik lying on his back, barely breathing. She prodded him gently with a stick. He didn't move. "Ehhhh... I guess he's among the survivors... well he has to be.... because.. I was the only person on this god forsaken rock before they showed up."

She stood up and grabbed Rik's arms. "Holy Hannah... this guy weighs a ton!"
"Anyway I managed to haul you back here.." She stated, looking through her pack. "A couple of those scrapes and cuts were caused by me.. sorry."

Rik rubbed his head again. "Was there anyone else on the beach?"

CJ hung her head. "No... unfortunately. I didn't spot the other two that crashed with you. But I intend to go back later tonight and search."

Rik shakily got to his feet, stumbling a little in the process.

"What are you doing?" CJ asked, getting to her feet.

Rik stumbled to the door. "To search for the others."

CJ followed after him. "If you do that you'll aggravate your wounds."

Rik paused in the door way. "I need to find them."

CJ placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll look for them. You lie down."

Rik sighed and nodded, whoever this CJ person was she had a terribly frightening air about her. Like a mother hen a little too protective over her eggs. Cj helped him lie back down and smiled warmly at him. "Promise me you'll stay here while I search."

He nodded reluctantly as CJ made her way to the door. She turned and smiled at him. "If I'm not back in an hour... I'm probably dead."

And with that she exited the shop and proceeded outside. She stared out at the worn and torn landscape that was once a shining metropolis. A beacon of civilization at his highest point turned to ash. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, praying that one day the Earth would be restored to it's past glory and those who were human and other being alike would once again roam the surface, leading clean fruitful lives.

She opened her eyes and started back on foot to the beach, hoping that she would find the others, but a cloud of dread hung over her. She felt that the other two had been sent to another part of the city. If such were true, then they were there for a reason that she dared not challenge.

Still the reality remained that she would find them, and it was that which drove her to the beach once more in search of survivors.

Rik lokked at CJ just before she left. "I already have a Girl. she is on a ship tryin to find me. That ship the Gauntlett, will try and hunt her down to try and get me again."

With that he lay down and rested. He was already worn out. too much fighting not enough resting.

_______________________________

MeanWhile.

"I DONT CARE WHAT OUR PLASMA WEAPONS DO. FIRE EVERYTHING!" Lara shouted. The gauntlett was bearing down on the Empire ships and Lara didnt want it turning its attention on to the Odyssey when it had finished. The Odyssey was firing everything every rail gun and beam weapon was firing. but it was not doing much. maybe doe to the Gauntletts size. or maybe due to the fact in th place things were not as it seemed

[Draygon]

[snip]

P90 aimed his sonic screwdriver at Mapp and a supersonic boom in the air pushed Mapp outside the Cantina where Dray and Benson had just arrived.

"Like this, Laplace?"

"Uhu, now I'll activate the link."

The small girl touched the heart of the Tardis and the Cantina started to glow with light that, to the Empress, resembled regeneration energy. As the heart of the Cantina started beating faster the Cantina was repairing itself. The glow left P90 and he looked at Laplace.

"It's done, she has been hooked up to the Eye."

Energy surged through the Cantina's aged systems, healing and strengthing the ship as it spread. The recovery was clear to all those that watched, but two individuals were more focused on something else.

"The Empress," whispred Benson, visably paling. "If she sees me..."

"Don't think that will be much of a problem," replied Dray. "Look who she's with."

Benson focused on the man standing next to the Empress, a compleate stranger. Why would he be of such interest to the old wraith? She hadn't stopped smiling since she'd first spotted him. Before he could ask her what she meant, Benson watched her walk up to the man.

"Mapp," she said plesently, "it's been a long time."

Mapp?! Benson froze in shock. The very man he had been trying to find was here.

----
Hearing someone call his name, Mapp turned to look who it was. An old wraith, wearing ancestral Gallifreyan robes was standing behind him, a warm smile on her face.

"Dray? Intersting choice of wardrobe you have there."

"I was abandoned on Gallifrey for 50 years, though I already had to live through them once."

"Ah, temperal dispacement. That explains the-"

"Comment on the aging Mapp," said Dray, her voice suddenly cold, "and despite the shared gentics, I will hurt you."

Mapp merely offered a hlaf knowing smile as Laplace walked over to them.

"The Cantina will be healed soon."

"That's something," said the empress.

"Then what?" asked Benson.

"We stop the Gauntlett."

(Mapp/P-90/Greg/whoever)

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

(Mapp/P-90/Greg/whoever)

Laplace gazed up at Mapp as the desert winds seemed to curl around the ruins, with a glint of distaste in her eyes. He was not reacting in a manner which satisfied her. He was staring at his ship, but not with joy as the others were. He was staring it with something else, another deeper feeling.

'What is it?' she said, unable to place it 'that look...'

He glanced at her, almost ignorant as he focused back on the Cantina as it started to glow faintly under the raw heat of the impossible sun.

'You know what it is,' he spat 'I know what you are, you know what I am, hell, you know everything, right? I'm not impressed y'know.'

'Thank you for healing my ship' is what I would consider a reasonable response,' she said, quite emotionless 'and yet you aren't even a little grateful.'

Dray recognised his reluctance, even in his newest skin, even after all of the years they had not seen each other. She remained by him and followed his stare.

'Is she going to be okay?' she squeezed his shoulder.

'...I turned her into a warship,' he croaked 'I made her fight a war she didn't want to fight, and then I let her be imprisoned alongside me when bad histories caught up, and now she's back here and it's going to start all over again. It only took me 50 years to realise. This is wrong.'

'She will fight and she will win,' Laplace offered a synthetic smile 'I can see it already.'

'Oh but you can see so many things, Laplace. You see it all, and you're the proof. And now somehow you're the one who's goading me into putting her back into the fight,' Mapp glared at her 'I realise that all of this is my fault, don't get me wrong. Without me none of this would have happened. No resurrection, no badly carved universe, no Gauntlett, no void and no...hesitation. But you're the proof, the proof that a Tardis is indeed a living thing, and she's a veteran of that now. She's so old, and I didn't bother to notice. Not when we were pirates, or crusaders, or adventurers, or just honest thieves. And now I think she's just too old. She came a long way to be here today, all of the way through the cracks of existence. And you expect me to happily drag her back out of there-...'

'-Enough of this already. Too dramatic. She's a ship, your ship and if you're unwilling to use her properly then I can just confiscate her off you,' P90 suddenly hissed 'You may have regenerated, Mapp, but you're still that lonely old man who just wants to sleep. Well you can't, because the universe may be about to die and you...Well, everyone believes you're the key. You're the damn saviour.'

'That's enough, P90.' Dray shoved her way in front of Mapp 'He's been through a hell of a lot and-...'

'-Oh right, well I guess that justifies him wanting to just sit back then. Mapp's been through hell...' P90 shook his head as he continued.

'Yes, actually.' Mapp gently moved Dray back to his side and stepped forward 'I was in the Void, you stupid moron. If you're all broken up because you couldn't handle things out here without me-...'

'-You think you're the centre of everything and everyone, Mappalazarou! One day, and I promise you this, I promise you in front of everyone standing here, I'm gonna show you what the universe really needs. It's not you!' He yelled and balled his fists 'We've all been through hell, all of us! And it's all your fault! You were the one who resurrected Susie, you were the one who started all of this! And yet, they're all just so reliant on you! How does that even make any sense?'

'...I don't understand,' Dray said, glancing between the two of them with a morbid sense of curiosity.

'Tell her, Mapp. Tell them all. Tell them how you cried and cried over her, of how you knew what she had done to save you and your ship, of everything she had remade just so that you could be safe!' He pushed onwards, ready to tear out Mapp's throat 'And how some little beings slipped through the patches, how they found you, used your emotion, formed into the girl you should never have lo-'

SMACK.

P90 tumbled to the floor as a quick fist whipped him in the mouth, splitting his lips. He looked up as the Empress shook the sudden pain from her bruised hand.

'I miss how you used to be,' she said.

'You never knew me, you're not-...'

'-I'm so disappointed in you, P90.' She kneeled to his level and caught his eyes 'Because everything Susie was is now in me. She loved you, so much and you never even realised. You're only mad because you saw that Mapp was more upset than you were. Maybe, maybe it's because once she died you focused more on being a Time Lord than being her widower. Or maybe it's just because you realised that you never loved her at-...'

'-This is all just meaningless,' Laplace sighed.

'Who the hell are you?' The Empress raised her eyebrows as she cradled her fist.

'She's part Time Lord, part Tardis, and part....something else. It's all a bit difficult to explain.' Mapp started to count the hybrids; Dray, Laplace, Susie...

Dray was quiet as no one watched P90 climb back to his feet, almost as if his words had sparked a distrust of everyone towards him...But she noticed, and her heart suddenly burned when she saw Mapp trying to explain Laplace's existence to the bewildered Empress. He was hiding something, something about the Empress, something about her presence and continued presence...The wraith was older, wiser and much more mindful of those she trusted.

Mapp had shown her the universe, introduced her to things she could never have imagined but now...Now everyone was so different...This was Mapp, but it was a different Mapp. She looked around as everyone focused on him, and then she glared back up at the Cantina.

Is he really considering not going through with this? A number of dangerous thoughts came into her head, What did P90 mean when he said Mapp was the source of everything? What is the captain lying about? Could things...Could things have been different? Is it all his fault?

'Don't trust him, Dray.' P90 whispered as he turned towards the shadows 'Because that's when he gets you.'

He was gone moments later, and she was the only one who realised. Laplace vanished too, disappearing into the Cantina to check everything personally. Mapp realised and climbed up the ladder leading up to the eagle-shaped cockpit, pursued closely by the Empress...

None of them realise just how much we've all suffered because of them. Mapp...He barely even glanced at me, he was more interested in her...She's the evil one in all of this. She destroyed...everything. All of us lost something, all of us, because of her...How can he stand to be beside her?

P90 said he resurrected her?

H-He was right. How does any of this make any sense?

The sun showered a red light over the ruins, and Dray gripped onto the ladder tightly as the two subjects of her focus dropped away into the ship.

No. Answers. Now.

She quickly started to climb.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

(hehe I think I shall step in here ^^)

A soft thunder rolled.

CJ dropped down onto the rocks of the beach as the rain plumetted over her, dripping over her hood as she climbed over various small ruins along the acidic shoreline. The clouds were grey now. Daytime, she thought, Earth's still trying to breathe. The air was growing warmer with hope, but the clouds were still thick with toxicity.

Fresh debris washed up by her feet, black and burnt, barely recognisable. A flash of lightning lit up the silver of the frame. This was his shuttle, she curved her head for a better look and spotted more pieces clawing up the sand, And I think....This was too. I should have asked him what he was doing here.

He kneeled down, pressed her palm against the thin frame and closed her eyes. The power of Kazumi suddenly spilled into her...

'Let's get the hell out of here!' Rich yelled as Rik launched the shuttle through the hyperspace window. Something quaked through the ship and the engines suddenly sparked. The cockpit wobbled dangerously as the hyperspace tunnel shimmered around them.

Tey clutched onto Rik's shoulder.

'It won't let us go!' She yelled over the scream of several alarms 'The Gauntlett! It's done something to the shuttl-'

They all heaved forward as the shuttle spun wildly out of the tunnel and back into normal space, twisting and turning as flames spilt into room and started eating at the terminals.

'We've lost main thrust, the engines aren't sure what they're doing!' Rik shouted as he punched at the control pad 'Nothing's responding other than the gears!'

Tey stared onwards and focused as the other two tried desperately to regain control.

'...Can it be?' She gasped at the small silvery world that sparkled ahead, luring them in.

'It's the closest celestial body! I'm taking us in!' Rik said and squeezed the controls one final time 'Hold on and pray that you did something good in a past life!'

The ship had rocketed down through the deadly skies and was pulled into the poisonous seas of the angry planet. She let Rik survive though, CJ wondered, Why him? Why not the others?

It was true. Rik had washed up on the shore, barely alive but still breathing, still clinging on just as CJ appeared out of the library. Coincidences, coincidences...As if. She shook away her thoughts and cleared her mind again as she spread her palm and felt the burnt metal.

SPLASH!

Rik kicked at the water, shattering the glass of the cockpit window as Tey reached back for Rich. Her eyes widened as a deep red gushed out in front of her, and she saw Rich spasming out as two loose terminals squirted electricity through his veins. Before she could throw herself forward to save him, something knocked into the back of her head and made her brain shudder. Everything went black, and everything went silent.

Rik pulled her out of the window, and kicked himself up to the surface as the shuttle churned down towards the ruins of the charred and submerged city below.

CJ blinked back, and stood up. At least two of them had made it out of the wreck alive, she knew that much. Rik had proved himself strongest in an unplanned situation, whereas Tey...Tey was nowhere to be seen. He had struggled to get her to the surface, and ultimately let go of her hand in the bedlam.

If he hadn't, they both would have died. I doubt he did it voluntarily, but who knows?

Something clicked against her feet as she let her thoughts swim out, and she came back to the shore. She looked down and picked up the small object...It was a silver hilt....A lightsaber hilt, barely functional.

He's not going to like this...

She fixed it to her belt as the thunder growled again, and she turned back towards the library. She had something to tell him, and knew that it would break his heart.

---

Meanwhile.

The waves seemed so distant now, but she could still hear them washing into her ears. She blinked her yellow eyes open slowly and let out a soft and thankful purr before rolling onto her back. It took a few moments for her sight to focus, and that was when she realised where she was.

Tey sat up and leant on her paws delicately, not wanting to do anything too fast. She saw the water at her feet and the shadows that lingered all around, but she saw through them. Cats were good at seeing, and hearing, and figuring things out.

They had made it to Earth. She remembered the crash, remembered Rik smashing his way through the front window and...Rich.

'...He's...He's dead?' She spoke, each word carried a tremor. She suddenly clutched her head as a sharp pain clawed deep inside. Something had slammed into her, knocked her out 'And Rik?'

She couldn't be sure of his survival. She couldn't be too sure of anything...She couldn't feel the force, she couldn't even feel the wind...She glanced around and calmed her breathing, remembering her meditation and training...

This cavern, she thought, this cavern holds so many memories...So many ghosts...I-I have to find the others.