Part 6

Drake was waiting for us. As the doors hissed open, not like a snake, (does that count as a reverse simile?) the figure I had seen from the corner of my vision was there, surrounded by Creed. It turned out he was just wearing an oversized black cloak and the flickering was from him using his powers to try and use my body. He was not flickering now.

I stepped out and the hood followed me. He knew what he looked like, and he knew that I looked pretty much the same.

I held out my arms. "Let's go, Drake. Wraith versus wraith. I'd like to see you fight me, I'm pretty tough, you may want to surrender now."

Drake said nothing and instead turned his gaze to Navy, who pulled out her sniper rifle as a precaution. She tightened her grip on it to hide her shaking hands. I see you, fear, I guess a badass sniper gets afraid every now and again. That may end up being a life lesson or something. Who knows? I don't. Too busy trying to save someone from himself.

"Drake, I know what you're going through. You visited the Void Galaxy, landed on the ghost planet, and got sucked into some scheme with those voices. But you can break free if you can just remember who you are. "

Drake didn't move. Eventually he removed the giant cloak. It must've been stuffy in there, self as it looked like it weighed a million pounds. Underneath was a scrawny, tan boy around Navy's age. Of course, the wraith process made him pale, but not as much as me. He had black hair that was white on the tips and spiked upwards with hair gel. How he still has it in his hair after two years beats me. Maybe it's eternal. Maybe it's Maybelline.

He wore a black hoodie, torn black jeans, and black sneakers. His hands were stuffed inside his hoodie pockets. He had a scar right above his lip and a nose ring. He looked like a man who never escaped his emo phase.

"Didn't like the Lion King. Too sad."

Crap. The Lion King thing was my only plan. I didn't know how to break him out of the trance now.

"Another like me? That's new. But why do you stand with Navy and not me? We can relish our powers forever. You know how it feels. With my vortex manipulator, we don't need the Creed to do our dirty work. We can take over the world. We are structurally immortal, nothing can kill us except natural causes. Even then, we can switch bodies before that happens."

"Or," I started. "You can stop this madness and go home with your girlfriend and stop possessing people. Or join up with paranormal investigators and pretend to be the ghost. They'd love that."

Drake frowned. "A funny guy, aren't you? We can change that." He raised his hand and touched my forehead. I felt my humor flood out like his hand was opening up a dam. I slapped his hand away and stepped backwards, touching the spot where his fingers had been.

"Okay, first of all, that's rude. Second of all, how the hell did you do that?" I felt like a portion of myself was missing, and the feeling of nothing crept back into me. I touched his forehead and before he pulled away I got my humor back.

"I'm not sure, but I think wraiths share some kind of mental link and can take stuff away from other wraiths. I figured it out with the other wraiths I met on Deyyam."

"There are others?" The Doctor interrupted.

"Dispersed to do the will of the voices." Drake looked at The Doctor. He hadn't bothered to change clothes, and Drake could clearly see the handprints on his chest. "You have been touched by a wraith, and yet you are unopposed." He turned his gaze to me. "Why have you not taken him yet?"

"Probably because I realized that possessing people is terribly rude and…" I stopped.

"And?" Drake raised an eyebrow.

"Oh my god. That's it! Navy," I whirled around to look at her. She was very scared. "I know you're afraid, but I need you to go along with whatever I'm doing. It's the only way to return your boyfriend to what he used to be, although he might still be a bit dusty."

Navy looked into my eyes. I really hoped she trusted me, and not a lot of people did that. I pleaded with her through my eyes and held my breath.

"Okay." She strapped her rifle back into her back. "Whatever you're going to do," she said, then paused. I trust you."

Alright. Time to put in action my wonderful plan.

"Drake. If you want a new body so badly, I think the only candidate is Navy." I heard her gasp behind me (I think I got superhuman hearing along with that strength).

"Go inside a girl's body? But I'm a guy."

"Jesus. Drake, dude, even as an immortal ghost, you're a douche. I think get body is the most compatible with yours, that's why you two fell in love in the first place. Please, trust me."

Drake looked at her for a few moments. "Okay. As long as she consents." Seriously? From a sexist douche to a super nice guy? Drake confuses the hell out of me.

"I'll do it. If Nick believes it'll work, then I trust him." Navy stepped in front of me.

I leaned forwards. "Navy, when he goes in, think of how you two met, all of the good times you two had together," I whispered in her ear.

She nodded. "I think I understand."

And then Drake started the flickering. It looked more like he was made of dust and slowly being blown away by wind. (I'm back, baby!) He placed his hands right above her chest, on her collarbone. He groaned with pleasure (ew, did I do that when I tried to do that to The Doctor?) Navy's eyes rolled into the back of her head. The two started to merge.

I crossed my fingers and hoped with every fiber of my being that it would work. Each second that passed felt like an eternity (I'm so focused I can't believe I noticed this) and my heart pounded in my chest; I wondered if it would burst out and fall on the ground. This reminded me of my dead family. Wow, to think I'd almost forgotten about that. This asshole killed my family! I wanted to choke him for all eternity, but I stayed frozen to the spot.

Drake slowly vanished and Navy was sweating pretty badly. She collapsed onto her knees and rubbed her face. It wasn't ashen.

"Navy, are you okay? Where did Drake go?" I asked as I ran up next to her.

"I guess being a girl isn't so bad," she said. My heart stopped as her skin paled and soot covered it. Her eyes glowed a soft red.

"No…" I breathed. She had trusted me and now she was gone, consumed by the one she loved.

"You're right, she was relatively easy to enter. We are compatible. Good thinking, Nick."

"She was supposed to help you!" I shouted. I could feel tears ripping from my eyes. "She was supposed to remind you of who you were! Who you can still be. It's what the voices said, that only humanity can save you. Murdering your own girlfriend is proof that you have no humanity, you're just a monster! You're just a lost cause. Stay here and rot, asshole."

I grabbed the vortex manipulator that had materialized on her wrist and tore it off. Before anything could be done, I pressed some buttons and vanished.

Part 7

Newspaper stories: December 1st, 2015

A vortex manipulator stored within the National Museum in Seattle last night was stolen and the culprit fled the scene. He is suspected to have been Drake Culvert, according to the security guards. The vortex manipulator was stolen right before the museum closed and has yet to turn up. His girlfriend, Navy Theodore, who works on the Seattle Daily editorial team has also vanished, suggesting that she may have been involved in the crime. More information will be revealed after the police conference on December 3rd.

The mauling that took place on November 25th have still many questions. When the family members were so horribly murdered that night, 17-year-old Nicole Westin's remains were not recovered. The police are looking into her disappearance. While nothing has been released, rumors that she committed the crime are floating about, however a motive is still in question.

The Doctor and Amy were silent as the TARDIS flew into the time vortex. Amy gave The Doctor a hug, and he didn't squirm like he normally did when hugged.

"So there's no chance he's alright?" Amy asked as the TARDIS landed by her house.

"Pressing random buttons? A chance he survived is the slimmest in the universe. Even slimmer if he landed back on Earth at the right time. I'm sure he's dead. I'm sorry, Amy."

Amy wiped her tears away and gave him a solemn smile. She walked out to see Roy waiting for her. The Doctor then flew off. To where, he didn't know. Just away.

The TARDIS finally landed. He stood there, silently weeping, until he finally got the nerve to open the door. The date on the monitor read November 30th, 2015.

Outside he saw someone he thought he'd never see.

"Navy! Navy, over here!" he shouted. The girl ran up.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Did something happen to your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, he just disappeared. Do you know what happened?"

"It's a long story."

Someone knocked on the door. Rose Marvin stood up from her couch and glanced through the peephole. Once she realized who it was, she unlatched the door and grabbed the person in a great big hug. Rose was crying and so was the visitor.

"What happened, I thought you were dead?" Rose asked as she got a good look at the visitor. The next emotions in her eyes were: confusion, fear, and then sadness. "You look terrible. God, you look worse than terrible, you look dead."

"It's a long story."

Part 8

I had been living with Rose and her older brother for a month now. I explained everything. She believed me and allowed me to hide from the law. Nobody could've possibly known I was here, so as long as I didn't go in public, I had no chance of being discovered. The soot didn't wash off, unfortunately, so I was stuck looking like I fell down into a coal mine. (Heh…)

Rose got some contacts and a crap ton of makeup, and we did our best to make me look normal so I didn't have to remember what happened. I still got a craving for possessing someone else, and I had to ignore it, or else I might end up like… him. Thinking of my family helped me push them away, although my hands started blurring and fading out of existence, like my body was rejecting it.

I didn't have to eat, sleep, drink, anything. I did so anyway, it was a return to normalcy. Of course, everything was ruined by a man in a blue box.

The box appeared at midnight. I knew because I was awake and staring at the clock when I heard it. The groaning, wheezing noise that jolted me echoed through the house. I saw it appear at the foot of the bed I was sleeping in. I roared and threw a lamp at it. Not my finest hour. It shattered on the box.

"Jeez, I don't throw lamps whenever you show up unannounced," the scottish voice said. Out stepped old man Doctor with a smirk on his face. "Come on, Nick, we must save people!"

"I'm not going back!" I shouted and threw a pen at him from the nightstand. He ducked as it flew by him. "You know what happened. You were there. Navy and Drake are gone. And now Amy is off with suspenders doing god-knows-what."

"No, no no, I've been thinking. After all, I've had over a hundred years of thinking. And I think I know just how to save both Navy and Drake. Amy… not so much. Her path is her own path, and it's best we leave it alone. But come with me and we can save the others." The Doctor held out his hand. "But only if you trust me."

I remembered how Navy trusted me and I shook my head. "Obviously you need to learn how to give people space." I grabbed a box from under the bed and pulled out the stolen vortex manipulator. I started strapping it onto my wrist.

The Doctor ran up faster than I expected and grabbed hold of my wrist. He stared into my eyes. "Listen to me. It's a bloody miracle that you even managed to teleport to Earth by not knowing how to use this thing. A second go will guarantee your death."

My hand started blurring. "Careful, Doctor, the wraith in me hasn't been fed in over a month. I can't control it, either. Keep touching me and I'll start consuming you until there's nothing of us both."

The Doctor kept looking at me. I was too occupied my his gaze that I didn't realize he was punching numbers into the vortex manipulator until he pressed a final button and we disappeared together.

Collapsing on the ground, ooh, I've missed that, both of us tumbled and hit bamboo stalks. I rubbed my head and groaned really loudly. My vision swam and I swore I saw three times too many bamboo stalks.

"You came back."

I looked up to see Drake in Navy's body. (Should I call them a girl or boy? Ah, jesus, now I know why people couldn't keep my gender straight. I will use male pronouns for them.) He glared over me with the face that haunted my nightmares. I felt a heart-wrenching feeling in my chest and I curled up in pain.

"Nick, have you come to rescue me?" Drake asked. He was using her voice. Her voice. I had to end this, I was being tortured. It was now or never, and I honestly didn't want to endure this any longer. I've had a normal life for a month, and all I wanted was to go back to Rose's house forever. I acted reflexively and knew that this was all how the voices foresaw it. This was the end. (But I don't see any damn credits rolling, so I call BS on the end for right now.)

I leaped up and snagged his hand (much like The Doctor did mine. Is that foreshadowing? I don't know, Ms. Thompson failed me in my freshman english class. I curse you, Ms. Thompson!) and placed it against my own head.

"Take my pain. Take it all. See how ready I am to save you, you emotionless piece of shit!" I shouted. I'm not sure The Doctor appreciated my language, but it was worth it. It was probably better than cursing in whatever language his species used. "Know what it's like to have someone trust you and end up getting them killed!"

I could feel it leave my mind. The pain, the emotions. It felt horrible, feeling my humanity leaving. Wait, hold on a moment. (Flashback noises)

"Only humanity can save him now. 'Til to his monster does he bow." (End flashback noises)

The voices didn't mean Drake's humanity like I though they did. They didn't specify which humanity. They meant mine. Oh my god! My heart soared, more from figuring out the puzzle than the feelings of anger and stuff leaving me.

Drake's face contorted. He didn't have time to say anything as his (Navy's) body contorted into awkward positions and the blurring effect surrounded his (Navy's) whole body. I saw him start to separate from Navy and before I knew it they were back in their own bodies. It worked. My plan worked.

Navy looked up at me and by the look in her eyes I knew that she didn't remember a thing while she was being controlled by Drake. "Um, Nick? You look different. Wearing new clothes? Did I miss something?"

Drake shook his head. "Did I just… what happened?"

Both of them had no clue what had just happened. "I just saved both of your lives!" I hugged them both. "I did it!"

Something roared. I pulled myself away from the two confused people and glanced around. The Creed, losing their master, were probably pretty mad at being manipulated into killing people. They launched themselves at Drake. I was pretty pumped up, so I didn't even think about doing this, but I pushed Drake and Navy out of the way and felt the Creed slam into me. There were at least four that rammed their claws into my chest. My first thought was that I was immortal, so I can't die. I genuinely believed that and put every single ounce of hope into that one thought.

The Doctor shouted my name and suddenly the noise from his sunglasses (I guess they make the same noise as the stick that I never learned the name of) ripped through the air and the Creed scattered instantly.

I felt blood leaking from my chest. I didn't feel any pain, since Drake had all of mine. I didn't feel anything as I watched the blood pour out onto the ground. I felt light-headed, well, like I did always, but this time more than ever.

The Doctor was over me in a split second. He touched my shoulder. "No. You'll be alright. Wraiths can't die, you'll be fine."

"Hey, Doctor, remember when you said that I'd have a killer headache? Yeah I'm kinda feeling that now." I coughed weakly and blood flew into the pool collecting under me. "Gross," I said with a frown. "This is the end."

"No, your wounds will heal any second, just hold on." The Doctor cupped my face in his hand.

"Stop lying, Doctor. Both you and I know that if a wound is too bad, we can't recover from it. All I want you to do is get Navy and Drake home safely and return the vortex manipulator to the museum. Let Rose know that I'm in a better place now. And for god's sake, don't ever let Clara go. Also, never take her to the Void Galaxy or the ghost planet. That place is too spooky to have any tourists peeking around it."

The Doctor mouthed the word 'no' and started crying.

"Oh, big deal, old man, I feel fine. That might be because I don't have any pain anymore, but I think it's because I gave my life to save two more. That's a gain of one life. Now, old man, don't cry for me. I'll be with my family, in whatever hell's been procured for the Westin family. Probably a world without Christmas. Oh, boy, here I come!"

The Doctor didn't seem to be cheered up by my jokes.

"Doctor. The Doctor. You've been plagued with too much loss. Don't dwell on what you could have and concentrate on what you do have. You have two very confused young adults, and one's going to have to cope with immortality. Well, maybe not total immortality, but you see the picture. Go to them. Take them home, Doctor. Maybe we'll meet once your time runs out, old man. It looks like it's catching up."

My vision darkened. I relaxed and laid completely on the ground. Alright, floor. Let's go get married.