There was a Dark air about the long hallways in Niamh's boarding school. There was a dark unfamiliarity about these corridors. She hears a tapping, almost a pitter-patter along the floor. Niamh has always hated this school, it was so cold, damp and impersonal. She hears the crawling again, scuttling behind her, she turns around in a dash to see. Only shadows. 'Who's there?' she calls out to the seemingly invisible prankster. 'It isn't funny anymore, joke's over!' Heavier footsteps echo from down the hall ever so slowly. 'Who's there? John? Is that you?' A rich deep laugh creeps through the walls. As if that of a dragon. The walls light up, a glowing red hot with smoke seeping through every nook and cranny the halls alight and burning. Niamh begins to choke on the fumes floating in the air. She turns to run. To run down the halls away from the fire, but she doesn't know where the smoke's coming from, or even if there is a fire, she just runs, as fast and as far away as she can, but she's going nowhere. The halls are catching up with her, the floor is running with her. Faster and faster she goes, running down the never ending corridors, never winding. Worse than a maze. A maze has a way out. The heat becomes too overwhelming to stand. This Hellish school hall!. When it stops. A cold shiver runs down Niamh's spine. Her breath turning to steam at an instant. She's standing. 'What's this? What's going on?' The same deep laughter echoes around her. She hears the heavy footsteps from before. Her heart is racing and her mind is pacing back and forth, she doesn't know what's going on. When a spotlight is shone on her. She's standing in the middle of a circus ring. An empty circus ring. She hears something. A fanfare? But its empty? She turns around looking for people where there is none. She can hear the tent filling with crowds chattering, children crying. Her mind is restless as the tent fills with the sound of not a single soul. The laughter echoes again. Niamh shrieks from the fright of this mind numbing experience. The hollow crowd starts to whisper and all she can make out is the daunting whimper of her name. Sweat streaming down her face mixing with her tears of confusion. She wipes her face with her sleeve. White? She's wearing makeup. Clown makeup. She looks at her clothes and finds the baggy overalls in stripes of white and red, a wig large and green and she steps forward and trips over her long and heavy shoes. On her crash landing, rolls a drum snare followed by a crash symbol smashing. The hollow crowd laugh ever so hard at this fool. This poor stupid fool. She feels everyone's shallow eyes staring as she stares back into the nothingness inside the tent. Everyone begins to laugh deeply, hauntingly… She feels a cold breath down her neck, turning slowly she hears a clicking. To find some sort of shelled monster rising in the shadows before her very eyes, its dark heavy stare glaring through her, its scorpion like tail, shadowing over her face and its crab like claws reaching for her small and helpless body. She screams and faints, while the shadows consume her.
Waking up in a panic, in her tear drenched bed, Niamh sits up and screams and gasps and screams again, The Doctor rushing into her bedroom. His face infused with that great curiosity, he tends not to Niamh first, but runs around the room checking every inch.
'Okay, Niamh isn't it? Listen to me very carefully. I need you to tell me exactly what you saw, down to the last creaking shadow, what did you see?'
'Who are you?! What is this? Some sort of practical joke?' She exclaimed.
'No, this is much more sinister. I'm the Doctor. Now tell me everything that happened in that dream of yours!'
'Why should I?!' She yells in defence.
'Because your life is in danger, and I'm the only one who can help you.'
'I don't know what this is.. maybe it's just another weird dream.. I'm going back to sleep.'
'No! That is the last place you want to go right now! If you go back, it might kill you.'
'Oh dear God! 'What do we… hold on..it might kill me? How do you know about… it? That thing? Why does it want to kill me?'
'So many questions and so little time. But one question you didn't ask.'
'And what question is that?'
'When did we get inside the Tardis?' he says raising his eyebrow and flashing his cheeky smile.
Niamh looks around herself in astonishment at the interior of the Tardis. Its Grandeur and obscurity. Its high domed ceiling covered in a metallic yet natural looking layer. These strange symbols, so alienating and detailed. The ceiling supported by buttress arches and pillars, so unearthly this structure appeared to her
The Doctor steps away from the bed and runs to his centre console, covered in buttons and lights and levers and do-hickeys. All could do absolutely anything, everything and more. He presses the buttons as a child would a television remote, not knowing what they do, only the enjoyment of being able to press them all he wants. The difference here being the Doctor knows what most of the buttons do.
'I've been watching you and your neighbourhood for a long time now.. three whole days I think' He says not very sure of himself.
'Time flies when you're having fun, doing experiments and well, when you have a time travelling space ship. That's what this is! The Tardis, my Tardis. Time and relative dimensions in space. Old reliable. Isn't that right?!' He says up to the high ceiling.
Star-struck, Niamh looks on in amazement at everything that has just happened.
'I can't believe I'm going to ask this, but, how did we-' Getting cut off mid-sentence by the Doctor's enthusiasm.
'Brilliant question, but not really important. I just like showing off every now and again. Whenever I get the chance really. And now we're back to topic. What was happening in your dream? Did you see it? What did it look like? Did it say anything?!'
'I don't remember', Niamh responded, completely perplexed by the interigation.
'I wasn't expecting the Spanish inquisition! Let me think… I was standing in my old boarding school. It was terrifying. It started to catch fire, and there was laughter, a deep laughter'
'Hmm, why terrifying? The school burning down, laughter, doesn't seem all that scary if I'm honest.'
'No, you see, that school burned down eleven years ago. And I was inside when it did.'
The Doctors mood immediately shifts to comfort the traumatised Niamh.
'I've been in that situation far too many times than I'll ever be comfortable with. I understand this is going to be extremely difficult for you, but you're going to need to tell me every last detail, and if it's significant to you in anyway.'
'Doctor? What's this all about? You said you were watching my neighbours, why?'
'Because two of them have died! I'm trying to break the chain, and your next.'
'Oh no?! who died?'
'It was Peter and Mary, the old couple at 23. They both died on the same night.'
'Murder?'
'No, they died of natural causes, but that's not quite right.'
'What isn't?
'Don't you see it?'
'See what Doctor?
'They both died of natural causes at the same time!'
'Oh, how did I not pick up on that?'
'You're only human I guess, but now we need to figure out who or what's trying to kill you..'
'Only human? I beg your pardon!'
'Oh get over it love, I'm an Alien, big whoop!'
Just at that moment the tardis seems to hit something and rockets around and Niamh's bed turns over.
'Doctor, it isn't working! We should stop now'
The tardis stops shaking and the doctor disappears into thin air as well as the rest of the room except for Niamh. When everything settles we see her sitting up in her bed in her bedroom with wires attached to her head, embarrassingly so. The doctor walks in with unfathomable goggles on, bumping into the dresser and door frame as he does so until finally whacking his knee off the bed and sits down on its end. Removing the goggles as awkwardly as possible, he says:
'Awh, But we were so so close!'
'Doctor you know it wasn't working just as well as I do.'
'Well I don't see you coming up with any plans, Mrs. I know everything!'
'I don't even know what you're searching for, never mind how to catch it! Where are you off to now?'
The doctor leaves the room and races down the stairs making a terrible amount of noise. When he reaches the bottom of the stairs he begins to search frantically through all the drawers and cupboards pulling papers out of nowhere.
'I'll be back In a minute, I've to get something from the tardis!' he shouts up the stairs to Niamh.
'Whatever you do, don't go to back to sleep!'
'Is it even possible to fall asleep *Front door slams shut* that.. quickly?'
Niamh sighs at the thought that she's his centre of attention, but even then he doesn't notice her. Her attention is quickly drawn to the silent room. She looks around her room from the end of her bed laughing at all the childhood posters on her wall, and her Barbie collection on the shelf.
'I need to redecorate… soon.' She says to herself. Silence falls again in her room, time passing slowly.
The front door opens and closes again.
'You took your time then!' she shouts waiting for a response full of wit and humour but no reply.
'Doctor? Are you there?'
suddenly she notices that it's late and dark outside. She looks out her window and the tardis is gone.
'That little…' but before she finishes her sentence the light bulb in her bedside lamp explodes.
Letting out a shriek of terror, the ceiling light begins to flicker and fade as if something was drawing the energy from the bulb. She runs to the door but it closes before her and locks from the outside. She turns around, looking around her room frantically not knowing what's going on or what to do. The floor starts to quake and the pictures and posters fall off her wall, smashing to the floor. Niamh, backed into the corner of her room is unsure what to think. Assuming that something of the nature of an earth quake or a tremor is on its way, she runs and slides under her bed curled in a face down ball, she covers her head with her hands. Without a sound the bed disappears and she looks up and sees nothing but the erupting room. The light still flickering off and on. In her frightened panic Niamh seems to remember that her room had a ceiling fan. Not an over head light. And at that, The room stopped shaking and the light came back to normal.
She suddenly gets a rush of water in her face. Her head gets pulled out of the bath and she gasps for air and context of what happened.
'I told you not to go back to sleep! You could have been killed!'
'I didn't.. did I? I don't remember… where did you go?'
'to the tardis.'
'No, you left in the tardis. You abandoned me?!'
'No I… What? Oh dear…'
'What? What's Oh dear?'
'It's big words, your blonde head wouldn't get it' (in a playful tone)
'Shut up… I'm fine. What did you get?'
'Ah yes! This is a-'
'That's a dream catcher'
'Yes, a… Hold on? How did you know that? This is an extremely delicate instrument of Galifrean craftsmanship. Only to be used by those of High authority. And me… sort of.'
'No… that's a dream catcher Doctor. People have been using those since who knows.'
'That's not..'
'Sorry to burst your glorious bubble that's probably bigger on the inside.'
'Well, that's not important anyway, what is important however is this. Whatever this creature is, It's finding its way deep into your subconscious mind. If we could just find out how..'
'why is it trying to get into my mind doctor? I'm not exactly Einstein, or even you now am I?
'What makes you think you're not clever? You're incredibly capable of anything. I chose you remember.'
'Oh, how flattering' she replies sarcastically.
'But still, I don't have anything special up my sleeve.'
'I suppose. It's time for your check up!'
'Oh, alright' She answers begrudgingly.
'Right. Say 'Ahhh'
'Ahhhh'
'Okay, deep breaths'
The doctor goes through a series of routine check ups and Niamh goes along with it playfully like an enthusiastic child who aspires to be a doctor when they grow up or an obedient golden Labrador in training for a show. While this is going on, The doctor then asks Niamh about the dream.
'So tell me, What happened in this last dream of yours?'
'Well, It started in my bedroom. And I was just looking around when I looked out the window and you and your tardis had left and it was late because it was dark outside. The room started shaking and the door locked, the bed disappeared and..'
'And what?'
'The ceiling fan. It stopped when I saw the ceiling fan wasn't there. The room was wrong and when I noticed it all stopped and then you dunked me.'
'That's interesting, what about the ceiling fan?
'Well my room has a ceiling fan and in my dream there was a light hanging from where the fan would be.'
'And then it… stopped?'
'Yes Doctor. What do you think it means?'
'No Idea, probably doesn't mean anything' He announces boisterously.
'And I almost forgot! Here is your lollipop.'
'Oh goodie!' (sarcastically)
'I'm not kidding, eat up, go on Doctors orders and all that'
'Oh alright if you're going to get technical with me'
'If you want technical I can show you technical!'
'What, like that Dream catcher you have there?'
'Yes, I'll show you exactly how it works.'
'I know how it works Doctor, You hang it up over your head while you sleep and it filters out your bad dreams. It's not very challenging-'
'No! that's all wrong! Except for the hanging it above your head while you sleep. That's true. The rest is superstitious nonsense.'
'How does it work so, Mr Technical?'
'Right, have you finished that lolly yet?'
'nearly'
'Okay, we lay you down here like so, with the catcher above your head. And i wire it up to the Centre console main monitor B through the HDMI port and I can see your dreams!'
'How does that help you catch it?'
It means I can gain access to exactly what's going on from out here in reality while you're in your dream world. I can send an unconscious data package into your subconscious mind and it's like I'm really there, in full character.'
'Like a… video game?'
'Exactly like a video game! PS IX eat your heart out!'
'PS IX?'
'Oh yes, Xbox 7 doesn't compare in the slightest'
'Whaa?'
'Have you finished that lolly?
'no, but I've just reached the centre and it's amazing! What is it?'
'It's a snazberry flavoured anaesthetic, (looking at his watch) You'll be asleep in three… *THUD* One!'
Niamh finds herself standing on a cliff. The cold evening wind blowing her long blonde hair and her light night gown, rippling in the flow of the wind. The cold chill that calmly blows out to sea. She begins to notice the surreal delicacy of the moment. The sea is calm. Almost frozen. Like the lake she grew up beside during the winter. She looks over the edge of the cliff with an assertive curiosity to see how far the drop was.
It seemed impossibly far. No way to see where the ocean meets the shore for sure. She hears the distant calling of her. Not her name. But a calling for her to join the sea. To be at peace with the unlapping tide.
She hears her name. Silently, but it seemed to be shouted and it echoes around her, the sound bouncing off nothing, but reverbing nonetheless. When her guard was let down the Doctor enters behind her and places his hand assuringly on her shoulder. And pushes her. She begins to descend. Her only view is that of the Doctor and the rock face climbing away from her. The panic begins. Her heart racing, her mind pacing. What do I do? Nothing? The cold sea air rips through her. She drifts in and out of consciousness. Reaching terminal velocity all she can hear is the sound of the crashing waves below her. Her life flashing before her eyes and fear ridden she sees the ceiling fan from her childhood bedroom. Briefly. She wonders,
catching her breath she remembers, the calm sea into which she is falling. Why do I hear the waves crashing against a shore when I've fallen into a lifeless sea? And at that she hits the surface of the water, not with a splash nor a thud, but landing comfortably on a perfectly stable ground. As she stumbles to her feet she hears her name. Calling through the cold mist on the hard ocean surface.
'Niamh' she hears.
'Hello'? she responds hesitantly, gripped with fear for the unknown approacher but no sound comes from her mouth.
'Niamh' the fog calls again.
'Who's there?' she asks out in vain.
'What do you think Niamh?' the fog beckons.
'I don't understand?' she thinks to herself, but the thought echoes far and wide across the motionless ocean.
'Oh. I see' she thinks, her thoughts screaming through the bay of silence.
'Oh Doctor how wonderous! You should come see! Doctor… Where are you? Why do you leave me like this? I need you!' bellowing through the cold fog that's closing in on her. Her breath becomes tighter, faster. Her thoughts of the doctor are screaming in echo through the air. Causing her to panic. She begins to see glimpses of the doctor walking around her in the fog, and his voice sounding through her very core.
'I don't need you'
'you are worthless'
'Who would want you?' her thoughts reverberating all around her.
'Stop it! Doctor! Stop it! Why do you say this?!' her breath shortening.
A hand reaches behind her and grabs her on her shoulder. She gasps for breath that she doesn't have and she drops into the lifeless sea. The dead water consuming her body and thoughts.
she tries swimming up ward but she is carrying only dead weight, her effort proves most ineffective.
At that, the very same hand rushes below the surface grabbing onto Niamh's.
She is pulled up out of the dead water and is propped on her feet, perfectly dry, but ever so cold.
'Doctor, what did you do that one for?'
'What one?'
'You.. I don't remember.'
'Anyway.. we appear to be walking on water. This is nice, isn't it? Wow.'
'Can you tell me what this means doctor?'
'Oh dear, No. I can't, what I do know is, that we are suspended in an alternate reality, being projected by your very own subconscious. Niamh, You are the architect. You built this reality.'
'I did? I did!'
Walking away slowly, chest out, the doctor begins his attempt at disiphering the dream land
'We need to find out the laws of this world of yours. For starts, we are walking on water. But you fell in. How did you do that?'
'I'm not sure, You were.. A voice, I assumed it was you, Told me I was useless, and when you grabbed me I fell.'
'Hmmm… Is that? It is! I see civilisation! Lets go find out about these characters you have invented.'
The seemingly cold environment made an indifference upon the curious pair, as they strolled toward the castle in search for life, but they might just find the opposite. From the overhung cliff stands the shadow that attempted at Niamh's very soul. It slips away into the darkness in silence. Its purpose only to itself.
The Doctor and his companion arrive at the lake's shore. They nervously step from the bank, as if each step could be their last, but eventually growing confident of the ground on which they step.
'Have you figured it out yet? Doctor? Why we could do what we just did?'
'No, it's your world, the secret lies in you. For you to uncover.'
'Oh… well, Do you believe dreams say something about a person and how they feel?'
'I believe that whatever the person truly feels reflects in everything a person does. Their faith is shown in how they walk, and the manner in which they deal with others. As for dreams, maybe there is some truth to them, but it doesn't make sense. Why did you fall through the water?'
They reach a wooded area and beyond it lies the castle. An old settlement now in ruins, the only sign of life is the fact that the castle itself once stood there.
'Well this is a disappointment! I thought there would be more than just a pile of rubble.'
'Maybe there is. This place, does it seem familiar to you?'
'Yes, I felt it first at the lake, it's a place my nan used to bring me in the winter. Don't remember its name though.'
'Why did she bring you here?'
'She said it was her favourite place to hide as a child'
at this point the two are wandering the ruins, Niamh looking on in awe at the detail of the preserved memory. Looking the rock up and down in astonishment.
The Doctor is scrambling the stone for hints or a clue or some sort of something.
'Whenever her father got drunk she would run here to hide. She would gather all her imaginary friends and they would discuss the next course of action.'
Niamh, now glancing high into the trees distracted by the vast landscape failed to notice the sudden appearance of Snuggles the Elephant, Jim the purple monkey and all of her own childhood imaginary friends. The characters are set around a table like in a boardroom. The doctor turns around and see's the creatures sitting in silence awaiting instruction, with oh so much attitude.
'That's Brilliant!' he exclaimed.
'My nan was a bit daft, wasn't she?'
As she turned to face the doctor the gathered had vanished without a trace and the doctor was unsure of what he had to say.
'Ah.. buhh… did you?.. huh?' he mumbled, trying and failing to string thoughts together.
'Sorry Doctor?'
The Doctor stayed silent for a brief moment, concentrating on what he had just witnessed.
'Oh nothing, Never mind me, Silly billy me…. Do tell me more about your grandmother though?'
'Oh, there's not much to tell really, I wasn't very close with her, and she died when I was very young'
'I'm sorry to hear that, but is there anything you can tell me about this place then?'
'All I know is that it's a million miles from anywhere and anyone. But I've never felt alone here. Here I was most isolated, but I was safe. From everything. Am I safe here, Doctor?'
'Not with that creature wandering about, we need to find out what it wants with you, what it's doing in your mind… When did the dreams start?'
'I don't know. I can't seem to remember.' She says plainly.
'It seems to be supressed in your subconscious. That must be what this Monster is doing, Blocking out your thoughts. It's manipulating you! And your thinking patterns. That's not healthy, Why would it manipulate you but not control you? It's not making sense…'
'It's like it's trying to scare me, because that's all its done so far. Frightened the life out of me…'
The Doctor turns to Niamh sternly.
'What did you just say?'
'I don't remember! I can't remember for the life of me..'
'Life! It frightened the life out of you! It makes you fear for your life… but why?! Damn it think!'
The Doctor sits on a rock rubbing his temples as though to aid his thought processing. Grumbling and muttering to himself. The only audible word being the occasional 'No'.
'Oh that's it!' He jumps to his feet.
'The excess Cortisol!'
'What are you talking about now, Doctor?'
'The creature! It's feeding not from your subconscious, but from the excess Cortisol. It's the ehm, fear chemical in your brain, that's produced when we get anxious. It's using your memory bank as its basis to scare you, In order to feed itself… only when it goes too far the host dies and it moves on to the next available mind. That's brilliant! Though a bit sinister, but still …Brilliant. '
'That's all well and good for you, but if it knows what scares me more than I do, why did it bring me here?'
'Oh no… It's a trap. It's leading you to a false sense of security before its main course'
'You mean, It's going to come back now?'
'Yes, quick, tell me about your imaginary friends!'
'What, Doctor I'm a grown woma-'
Cut off mid-sentence, the ground begins to tremble and darkness falls by the lake side. A mist of shadow is rushing from the lake to the shore. The same pitter patter as before echoes through Niamh's core. Rattling her from the inside out. The shadow stands tall as it approaches them. This giant black Claw wielding beast stares Niamh into her soul. Her worries and fears rushing to her head as she falls to her knees, draping across a White stone rock from the collapsed castle that stood here before them. And suddenly thoughts of her Nan came to her mind, how she came here when she was afraid for her life. The stones began to glow, one by one. Piercing the nothingness of the Monster. The building blocks began to reform around her. Then she saw them. Snuggles, Jim everyone. They were inside the castle, restored to its former glory. The creature had disappeared.
The Doctor nodding with belief.
'Just as I thought.'
'You what?'
'These guys appeared earlier. When you spoke about your nan, but vanished when you doubted her. This place is based on what you believe. What appears is what you think of, like your friends here, the castle and the lake. But when you doubt yourself It falls apart. Like falling through the water. So Tell me this… what do you believe in the most?'
'That would be you, Doctor'.
She turns around to find the Doctor is missing. She cannot see him. The Doctor is there, asking Niamh these questions but she's failing to see him there. The Doors begin to knock, heavy in a steady rhythm. *BANG* The dark heavy wooden tones *BANG* reverberating through the stone halls.
The *BANG* wind outside is howling, *BANG* almost wolf like. The Doctor *BANG* still shouting for Niamh's attention but her senses *BANG* are oblivious to him *BANG* and her imaginary friends as though they have *BANG* been sealed from her.
Niamh's fear returns in waves *BANG* with each knocking bang. Simultaneously, the Doctor begins to fade *BANG* in pulses as his mind *BANG* materialises into the tardis, *BANG* covered head to toe in his dream simulation gear standing *BANG over Niamh's screaming body.
The Door bursts open to find a darkened glaring version of the Doctor *BANG* standing before her, knife in hand. He doesn't seem too move his legs, But his image *BANG* floats towards her.
Her heart beat *BANG* multiplying and *BANG* doubling up*BANG* , her thoughts *BANG* begin to choke her *BANG* when she wakes up In a pool of sweat on the floor of the tardis. *BANG*
She stands up screaming and panting confused, She looks to her left and sees the Doctor on the bed strapped into the machine, Catcher overhead.
'No Doctor! Get out of there!' screaming at the top of her lungs.
'Niamh!' a voice comes from the monitor to her right. It's his voice. The Doctors.
'If you can hear me, don't worry'. He says standing toe to toe with the giant black scorpion-like Monster, The castle now torn to shreds by the howling maelstrom.
'There's only one way to do this. To banish this creature from existence. I've drawn him into my own head. Only here can I rid the universe of this terror!
The landscape slowly shifts and adjusts into a deep redish land. Warm and burning. The two suns of Galifrey. The land burns from both the sun and the heat of the battle of the time war. Timelords and Daleks burning in the fires of Arcadia, It's Capitol.
'It's portraying my own personal history. It's brought me back to the time war in order to feed from my fears. But it's wrong! I do not fear this place! This is my home! I believe init! And not a day passes where I don't wish I could revisit and save everyone from the hell that it became. But I did come back. I did save Galifrey. And now one last time I will save its heart and memory!'
The Doctor looks down at his hands, glowing red. Not from the sun nor the fire. But an ancient glow. One from deep inside himself that He has seen 13 times before.
'You have pushed and played me foul Creature! But now you have forced my Hand!'
The Doctor raising his right arm towards the dark shadowing Monster.
'No, Doctor, what are you doing?!'
'You have forced my hand, and a forceful hand you will receive!'
The Doctors arm pointing at the Creature as though he is shaming it.
'And here I give you the final trick of a Timelord!'
Niamh watching through the monitor in disbelief at what the Doctor is about to do.
'REGENERATION!'
The maelstrom of Niamh's dream combining with the burning flames of Arcadia, swirling around both the Doctor and the Creature. Fuelled By his regeneration energy, The oncoming storm that is and always will be the Doctor bursts into rays and waves of light, heat, sound and time itself, the ever expanding energy explodes through the land, and begins to return at speed like a rubber band, snapping back into place, captures the Monster in its wake. The Doctor now screaming from the effort of his forced regeneration, absorbing the Monster into the very cells of his being, before replacing them all one by one in this death cheating process. The monitor shuts down and Niamh is left exasperated, unsure of what has happened, staring into the black screen in front of her before turning to the bed where she sees the Doctor lying, motionless. She checks his wrist but she can't find a pulse from either heart. Just as she had given up hope and collapsed to the floor in tears at the death of her fallen hero, a familiar ancient red glow begins to shine through her hands to her eyes. She looks up to find the Doctors body is glowing just as it had before, tears of excitement rolling down her face, the formerly dead body bursts into an array of light, heat, sound, even time itself. The oncoming storm is returning, like it had in the dream, the Doctors body is changing. And where the Doctor once lay, now sits the new body belonging to a new face…
Of a whole new Doctor.
'Good morning, My dear, you are?'
'I'm not sure what's...'
'Nice to meet you miss Sherwotts, may I call you Knot?'