The TVs in the window of a local electronics shop all turned on automatically showing the Monks logo on the black screen, the red letters of Truth below an open pyramid sort of shape, before the Doctor appeared in the screen speaking to the world sat in a white room himself. God only knew where he actually was.

"The Monks have been with us from the beginning." The Doctor spoke calmly, sat in a black chair before the camera, "They shepherded humanity through its formative years, gently guiding and encouraging, like a parent clapping their hands at a baby's first steps. They have been instrumental in all the advances of culture and technology. They watched proudly as man invented the light bulb, the telephone and the internet. They were even there to welcome the first men on the moon. And they have defended us too. Who can forget the time the Monks defeated the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Weeping Angels? Two species, sharing a history as happily as they share a planet, humanity and the Monks are a blissful and perfect partnership. How lucky Earth is to have an ally as powerful and tender as the Monks, that asks for nothing in return for their benevolence but obedience. So relax, do as you're told. Your future is taken care of." He grinned at the camera, before the logo repeated and anyone who had stopped to watch the broadcast continued on the way, all dressed in dark clothing.

Star rolled her eyes as she tugged on the hood on her cloak, wrapping it tightly around her body as she walked off, lowering her head at the monk watching from above a nearby set of stairs.

6 months since the monks had taken over the planet. The Doctor and Marcella had been taken by them, hence the broadcasts, 1 month ago Marcella herself had been on the screen but she had since disappeared and Star dreaded to think where she was now or what the monks had done to her. She was clearly still alive of course. Still she worried.

Bill was back to serving chips at the university, she went and caught glimpses of her on occasion, not speaking, the only time she dared go back to the university was to sneak down to the vault to keep an eye on Missy.

It was a good hiding place with the monks not knowing about it, food, shelter and company. For both herself and Missy.

She struggled as a gloved hand suddenly covered her mouth to keep her from yelling and dragged her down into an empty alley, pushing her against a wall, "6 months!" She huffed as Marcella removed the hat she worn as part of a disguise.

"Held prisoner." She glared back.

"They must be powerful if they held you prisoner for 6 months."

"I escaped after 5."

"Did you have to leave daddy there?" She pouted.

"Shut up." She grumbled, "I made a plan. He's in on it. But we need Bill."

"Oh she hasn't seen me for 6 months and it's straight to 'where's Bill?'" Star rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "didn't even miss me a little."

"Oh..." Marcella scowled, partly from her bad attitude but also because Star turned quickly and pinned her against the brick wall, holding her wrists above her head. "Is this necessary."

"You are so frustrating!"

"Barely 2 minutes and we're already yelling."

"The only person I have spoken to for 6 months is Missy." Star hissed.

"That is not my fault."

"You got kidnapped."

"You went to see her."

"Food, shelter and company. All I'm saying."

"You are far too comfortable around the woman."

"I have no reason to be on her bad side."

Marcella huffed, "Do you or do you not know where Bill is?"

"Course I do. I didn't fully abandon her. May not have spoken to her or let her see me. This way..." she led the way back into the Main Street, ensuring her cloak was tightly fastened as Marcella pulled her hat back down over her hair and they walked off, "so plan?"

~.~

"Sure this is the right place?" Marcella asked, skeptical as they stood before a very simple house very much like the others, sonic out ready.

"Yes!" Star huffed, "it is."

"Well, I don't want to break and enter some random persons house."

"It's not breaking and entering, its sonicing and entering." Star corrected.

"I travelled with a man called the Doctor, his daughter Star and her...friend Marcella," they could hear Bill speaking on the other side, "and I did this to save him. I'm trying to stay strong without them, but every day it's harder to remember what's real any more."

"You really should have gone and at least said hi, Star." Marcella sighed, bashing the sonic against her palm as it reacted to finally having a job to do after 6 months of being abandoned in her pocket.

"But it's all right, because I know he has a plan. One day soon, he's going to come back and save us all. One day..." Bill trailed off as Marcella soniced the door open, clearly hesitant on who the heck was breaking into her house.

It was empty when they walked in, down the hall and into the kitchen where a mug of tea was left in the table.

"What the hell?" Bill cried as she jumped out to attack, holding a stool out at them.

"You're the one threatening us with a stool!" Star yelled, "give a girl a hearts attack why don't you."

"Can you both please stop yelling," Marcella flipped the sonic away, rubbing her temple from the oncoming headache.

"No. Wait. Stop." Bill cut in, shaking her head, "Tell me something. That first time, with the Heather creature chasing us, where did we run away to?" She pointed the stool at Marcella, "you first."

"Australia."

"What noise does a spaceship door make?" She asked, turning to Star.

"Shuck shuck." She answered.

Bill dropped the stool and lunged at them, "Oh God, it happened. I knew it. It all really happened," she laughed only to glare and move to punch Marcella arm when the girl caught her fist mid-air.

"Don't."

"Where the hell have you been?" She demanded, dropping her arm again.

"I was kidnapped by those damn monks for 5 months," Marcella glared back at her, dropping her arm.

"Couldn't risk the monks seeing me," Star defended as Bill turned her accusing gaze on her, "I was watching you. Don't worry no harm was coming to you. Who were you talking too?" She asked, changing the topic from what they had been doing for the last 6 months, "we could hear you through the door."

"Um, er, my..." Bill fumbled, embarrassed, "er, my mum."

"Said mum who died when you were little?"

"I, er, made up a version of her. Yeah, I talk to her all the time."

"Cool. The guy in my head is called Torvic." Star sat down on the chair at the table, feet on the table, "he is an arsehole."

"They're doing something to us." Bill remarked, sitting down before the tea mug, leaving Marcella standing between them, "The Monks. I can't think straight. It's like they're saying they've been here for ever, and I know they haven't, but part of me is starting to think that it's real. Every day I have to, I have to remind myself that everything that we and the Doctor did actually happened, and it wasn't just a dream. Why do it? That's what I don't get. They invade somewhere, take control. Why go to the trouble of changing the past?"

"If people think it's how the bad situation has always been they won't argue," Star shrugged, "makes the job easily them."

Bill blinked as she recalled Marcella's words, "you said the monks kidnapped you for 5 months?"

"Yeah..." she eyed her.

"What have you been doing for the last month?"

"Looking for her." She nodded to Star.

"And what have you been doing?"

"Looking for her and the Doctor," She replied.

"You know where he is?"

"I spent 5 months stuck with him." Marcella deadpanned but Bill just continued to stare hopefully, "yes, I know where he is."

"All anyone has seen of him is from those damn broadcasts." Star muttered. "Which they've block the signal from."

"How do you know that?" Marcella looked at her in mild surprised. She hadn't mentioned that when explaining the plan.

"Do you really think I would spend 6 months without you if I didn't have too?"

Marcella nodded her agreement at that, Star was just that clingy, "The Monks have got him on one of the old prison boats."

"So how do we get to him?" Bill shook her head.

"Every 6 weeks, all their food and fuel and stuff gets taken to them by a supply boat. The next delivery is in 2 days' time, off the coast of Scotland."

"That's our chance!" Bill exclaimed in delight, raising her arm to punch her in her excitement.

"Hit me and I'll hit you back twice as hard."

Bill slowly lowered her arm again realising Marcella wasn't even looking at her as she spoke.

"The punching really had to stop," Star agreed, "not that its hurts."

"It's just irritating." Marcella grumbled.

~.~

Marcella had gotten in contact with the captain of the supply boat, the mans son in the 10 year prison camp and so he was very happy to help if it meant stopping the monks and getting his boy back. Of course it was only Bill who had any form of ID, and she was only down as kitchen staff so they didn't want to be ID'd didn't stop that from happening as they checked everyone's but thankfully a monk walked through, hardly noticing the team, but its appearance had prevented them from being caught out.

As they got into the prison ship it was easy to sneak off, Marcella knowing the way to the Doctors room, all white with a round window in the door, a desk and chair in the middle of the room with papers scattered around as the Doctor sat shifting through them.

"Ah if it isn't the Oncoming Storm all locked up!" Star smirked as she barged in.

"Hello Doctor." Bill grinned at him.

He looked up at them in shock, "guards!" And 8 armed guards in red came running in, weapons pointed at them. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Star rolled her eyes, "nice to see you to dad."

"What does it look like?" Bill frowned as the guards aimed at them, "We've come to save you."

"This is your doing, isn't it?" The Doctor turned to Marcella, "You shouldn't be here. I'll have to talk to the Monks now."

"Doctor..."

"Stop. Don't. Don't move. They will kill you. Stay where you are." He picked up the telephone in the call, dealing and speaking, "Epsilon. Fire. Jupiter. Lily." And set it back down, looking at them, "The Monks are on their way. When they get here, let me do the talking."

"Wait, what was that? Did you actually just call them, you nutter?"

"You deserve an explanation."

"No kidding." Star agreed.

"Human society is stagnating. You've stopped moving forward. In fact, you're regressing."

"This isn't exactly much better." Bill argued.

"It's safer."

"Not so much for the people the Monks are killing."

"The Romans killed people and saved billions more from disease, war, famine and barbarism." The Doctor countered.

"No, wait. What about free will? You believe in free will. Your whole thing is. You made me write a 3 thousand word essay on free will."

"Yes, well, I mean, you had free will, and look at what you did with it. Worse than that, you had history. History was saying to you, look, I've got some examples of fascism here for you to look at. No? Fundamentalism? No? Oh, ok, you carry on. I had to stop you, or at least not stand in the way of someone else who wanted to, because the guns were getting bigger, the stakes were getting higher, and any minute now it was going to be goodnight, Vienna. By the way, you never delivered that essay, anyway."

"Because the world was invaded by zombie Monks!" Bill yelled at him.

"And whose fault was that, huh?"

"Yours," Star stated.

"How so?" He scoffed.

"If you gave me the helmet half way as planned then you never would have lost your sight, never nearly got blown up! And Bill never would have made the deal to save your damn life!" She gave him a shove into the table behind him, "something you have yet to thank her for, by the way."

"I didn't ask for my sight back, Star." He sighed, "No, you took it upon yourself to ignore me, to do what you thought was best. All I can say is that we are lucky it was a benevolent race like the Monks, not the Daleks. Yes, I know the Monks are ruthless. I get that. Yes, they play with history and I'm not exactly thrilled about that. But they bring peace and order."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Bill nodded, "its like that time we discovered that huge fish creature in the, in the Seine in Paris."

"That was a coded message." The Doctor murmured, walking closer, "The big fish creature was under the Thames. If I'd played along, she'd have known that I was tricking you. Guns down."

Bill was in the verge of years as the guards lowered the weapons as the Doctor sat heavily in the chair, "I'm sorry, Bill. I just, I just, I really wanted to make you see."

"This...this is real?" She blinked, "You...you're actually doing this? Do you have any idea how hard the past few months have been? How hard it's been to hold onto to the truth? It would have been so easy to just, just, just give in and believe their lies. But I didn't. I fought against it, for you! For when you came back. And now you're saying you've joined them? You're helping them?" She glared at him. This wasn't right, wasn't like him. And yet both Star and Marcella was watching the exchange quietly. No. She wasn't having this. She grabbed the gun from the guard closest to her and all the guards raised their weapons again.

"That's my dad," Star glared, the tip of her dagger to Bills throat, "he may be an utter arsehole but he is still family."

"Fire and I kill," Marcella warned, pulling out two black tubes in each hand, crossing them over and two glowing red swords appeared before her.

"You've got lightsabers?" Bill breathed, glancing at her. She didn't expect Marcella to have ever seen Star War yet along have the weapons from the movies.

"Plasmaswords." She huffed.

"Bill, put the gun down." The Doctor instructed gently, "Star, dagger away. Marcella, seriously?" He gaped at her. Star said Marcella had extra weapons than she herself but he always assume it was just her powerful kicks, not that she had a pair of plasmaswords ready to use.

"Slice through Dalekanium in under 70 seconds."

"I'm serious, Doctor." Bill said, her hands shaking as she held the gun steady, aimed at him, "We'll think of something else. But you'd better tell me now, because if you help the Monks, then nothing will ever stop them. They'll be here for ever."

"It's not a trick," he shook his head, "it's not a plan. I have joined the Monks. Whatever it takes, I'm going to save you from yourselves."

Bill fired at his words, shooting 5 times sending him to his knees, clutching his chest.

"Bill!" Star cried, staring in horror.

"I'm not sorry..." she breathed, her gaze held on the dagger to her neck, waiting for the attack as an orange glow began to surround his hand as he got back to his feet, crying out as the glow surrounded him before quickly disappearing and clapping his hands together, grinning.

"Good girl! Regeneration a little bit too much?"

"Yeah no sh..." Star glared, whacking him.

"Ah!"

"You didn't tell me that!" Star rounded on Marcella, the latter switching her blades off and pocketing them again.

"I didn't know!" She defended, whacking the Doctor over the head herself, "idiot! And you..." she turned to the guard closest to her, "asking for our papers was not the plan."

"I couldn't resist it." He laughed, "Your faces..." He quickly sobered at the look Marcella gave him, "sorry."

"Er, hello?" Bill cut in, not impressed with having shot the Doctor but he was still alive, and then there was the laughing guards. "Could somebody tell me what the hell is going on?"

"You did it." The Doctor grinned, cupping her face in his hands, "You did it! The Monks are using some kind of, you know, something, to control the population. They must be, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to hold on to power for this long. Now, they don't trust me yet, not completely, and I had to just check that you weren't under the influence and testing me."

"So you...you haven't...you haven't turned. You're not working for them."

"No, of course not. I've spent the last six months planning, and also recruiting all these chaps. Deprogramming them one by one, talking some sense into them. And there's loads of them. I could do with a Strepsil. Thank you." He caught one as Star tossed him one only to spit it out again as she smirked, "not a strepsil."

"You're so..." Star glared out her nostrils in unspoken anger, "no wonder so many want you dead. Don't do that! I don't want to see you die again!"

"I know. Ok," he pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm sorry. That was too far. I should have told you. I'm sorry. You're not going to stab me are you?"

"Tempting." She murmured into his chest.

"But I shot you!" Bill exclaimed. How the heck did he survive 5 shots?

"Yes, well, that was the plan, you see?" The Doctor grinned over at her, arms still round Star as he waited for her to pull back first. He was starting to think she was trying to suffocating him, slowly tightening the hug as he breathed. Oops. "Everyone exchanged their ammo for blanks." One of the guards coughed and looked sheepish, "Did you forget, Dave? You forgot? Well, that would have really blown the plan, wouldn't it?"

"But you called the Monks."

"I called the kitchen. Oh, could you pop down and explain it to them?" He turned to a woman at the back of the group, "They're going to be really confused." She nodded and left.

"And you were in on this too?" Bill rounded on Marcella

"My plan." Marcella nodded, "not the death part though...that was all him."

"Thanks!" The Doctor squeaked as Star hugged him even tighter, "ok, point made. Can't breathe."

"Good." Star grumbled but eventually let go, still glaring at him.

"Oh my god I'm going to beat the shit out of you..." Bill rounded on Marcella only to stop as the swords came out again, crossing before the girl, "no no. We're good. Please don't kill me. God you're like some kind of Space Pirate."

"Star has tried to get me to wear the hat." Marcella agreed.

Star smirked, "only when we're alone though." She wiggled her eyebrows as Bills eyes widened at the thought. The reason she wore the hat only when it's the two of them.

"That's more information than i need."

"I've never worn the hat." Marcella argued.

Stars smirk widened, "not yet."

"Come on, we've got the band back together again." The Doctor cheered, "Now, lovely as it is to have you on board, literally and metaphorically, we're going to need some help."

"Er, who?" Marcella frowned. They didn't really had anyone they could go to get help.

"The only person I know almost as smart as me."

Star snorted, "almost?"

"As smart." He corrected, she raised an eyebrow, arms folding in disbelieve, "alright she's smarter."

"And she's so mad at you." She half-sang.

"Has it, um..." Marcella called hesitantly, "really come to that?"

"It's fine! It's not like you've ever spoken to her."

"I have actually." She glared as Star turned quizzically to her, "how do you think she got off Gallifrey?"

Star blinked. That made more sense. Of course Missy wouldn't have been able to get herself off Gallifrey alone. Of course she needed inside help. Such a shame Marcella managed to help get Missy off but failed with her resulting in her own banishment. Though, she supposed that was better, if she'd been caught with Missy the woman would have left her for dead. Friend or not.

~.~

They snuck back through the university, following Star to avoid the monks who were on guard of the site. Not that they were going to the Doctors office. They were heading down to the vault.

"Move into the containment field, please." The Doctor called, moving to open the vault doors, typing in a code, turning a key, before using a thumbprint scanner, set for both Star and the Doctor to get inside.

Star went through into the bigger in the inside room, quite empty with a bed, an armchair around a small coffee table, and in the middle of a raised platform a piano where Missy sat inside the hexagon containment field, unimpressed at being shoved in the field.

"Did you miss me?" Star grinned, flopping down on the steps just before the containment field, getting a 'harrumph' in return as the Doctor sank into the leather armchair, Marcella between him and Star, hands clasped behind her back, tense.

"But it's, it's just a woman..." Bill stared, pointing at Missy in shock. With the way they always mentioned about how they couldn't leave the vault unguarded she had not expected to enter to find a woman, a woman playing the piano. "God, the way you lot have been carrying on, I thought you had some kind of monster in here, or something!"

"We do." Marcella sighed.

"Bill, Missy," Star introduced, "Missy, Bill."

"Wait a sec." Bill frowned, "Why have you got a woman locked in a vault? Because even I think that's weird, and I've been attacked by a puddle."

"She's going cold turkey from being bad." The Doctor remarked. "I want to ask if you've had any dealings with the Monks before." She may not be able to go outside into the world but he knew she knew exactly what was happening outside. First because of course she'd see on the tv and also because Star had been nipping in over the past months. Which was nice of her to say the least. Good job someone did.

"Of course." Missy turned to look at them, "I've had adventures too. My whole life doesn't revolve around you, you know."

"Are you sure?" Star smirked, "because you're a big old stalker."

"Give an example."

"Headaches turning into paranoia because that 3W crap."

"Humph!"

She glanced back at Bill, "stalker."

"Did you defeat them?" Bill asked, still shocked that the Doctor had locked a woman up all because she used to be bad.

"I did." Missy agreed.

"How?"

"I preferred the other puppy."

"I'll punch you in the face." Star threatened. How dare she mentioned Clara just so simply like that. Did she not know Clara's death was partly her fault. She had been the one who told Star to create the hybrid, of course, neither expected it go to quite as far as it did but if she just kept quiet Clara would still be alive.

"I've got some requests." Missy turned to the Doctor, "I want some new books, some toys, like a particle accelerator, a 3-D printer and a pony."

"If she gets a pony I want one too." Star turned to him too, "actually I want a dragon."

"Mushu?" Marcella guessed.

"No wait...I want a morph."

"I don't think that thing actually exists."

"I don't think that you really grasp what's going on here." The Doctor muttered, "Nice people generally don't haggle over the fate of a planet."

"I once built a gun out of leaves." Missy countered, "Do you think I couldn't get through a door if I wanted to?"

"How?" Marcella asked, blinking at her question as Missy turned and smirked at her. "Seriously though. How?"

"Not. Telling. You."

"Will you show me?" Star tilted her head back to look at her, "please."

"Star!" The Doctor barked.

She tipped her head down again, "sorry."

Missy just rolled her eyes at them, "I'm here, all right? I'm engaging with the process."

"Yeah, we can, we can get those things for you." Bill nodded eagerly.

"C'est super. So, what have you got so far?"

"What have you two been talking about if you having been trying to stop the monks?" The Doctor frowned at them.

They both shared a look, "nothing." The answered innocently.

Bill gasped loudly, "that's your mother!" She could see the resemblance. They looked very much alike, both with dark hair and icy blue eyes that pierced into your soul.

"Godmother." Star corrected.

"Please," Missy scoffed, "she is far to irritating to be my child."

"Seriously?" Bill blinked, "But..." she gestured to the faces. They really did look alike.

"A mere coincidence." Star waved off. "I don't like her."

"Yes you do."

"You're the one who admitted you cared about me."

"They hold on to power by targeting the part of the brain specifically to do with memory and perception, correct?" The Doctor cut in, seeing Missy beginning to glare at Star, and with Stars back to the woman he dreaded to think what she was plotting against her, "Right?"

Missy shut the lid of the piano turning slowly as the Doctor paced around her, "Getting warm. Fingers tingling."

"But they target it with what exactly?" He asked as Missy shifted to sit on the piano following him, laying on her front, watching him, "How do they sustain it? How do their lies infiltrate the brains of billions? Is it some kind of airborne psychoactive?"

She shook her head, resting her head in her hands, crossing her ankles, "No, no, that's very cold, very cold."

"Something that's constantly being fed to the populace, constantly consolidating its hold. Is it in the water?"

"God, no." She exclaimed, "It's freezing, freezing. Absolutely freezing. Couldn't be colder. Very, very, chilly. So, so chilly. Oh, come on. I'm bored! You haven't been to see me in 6 months."

"What, you left her alone in here for 6 months?" Bill gasped at him, no wonder she had the natural resting bitch face.

"I was in prison for 6 month." He defended.

"I saw her!" Star grinned, "I came all the time."

"Actually, I would have rather been alone."

"Hey!"

"What's your excuse?" Bill turned to Marcella, "you escaped 1 month ago. Why did you come and see her?"

"Not my problem." She shrugged, "we just shared a mutual care about the same people."

"Who do you care about?"

She silently pointed at Star who smirked and waved.

She turned to Missy, "and who do you care about?" Only to be greeted with a silent stone cold glare, "ok..."

"Start at the beginning." Missy turned back to the Doctor, "How do they get a foothold on a planet?"

"Some idiot asks for their help." He replied.

"Well, not just any idiot. It has to be a properly consenting human mind. A pure request, one without agenda or ulterior motive."

"It's them. That person creates a psychic link, which forms an anchor that keeps the Monks in power. They're the lynchpin."

"Scalding," she smirked. "Ow."

"But the brainwaves of one person wouldn't be powerful enough to contain an entire planet." Marcella argued.

"The statues!" Star exclaimed, having seen far too many of them over the months, there was even one on the university's grounds, "As soon as they got here, the Monks put up statues in every town square, and every park, and every playground."

"You're on fire," Missy grinned, "you're literally on fire you're so caliente. That's Spanish for hot." She informed Bill.

"The statues are transmitters." The Doctor realised, "They boost the signal and beam it out all around the world."

"Boom! You've exploded." Missy exclaimed, "Now, all you have to do is find whoever opened the door to the Monks in the first place."

"Say I already have."

"Oh! Well then, you're sorted. Just kill them. That weakens the Monks' grip on the world."

"No, no. No, no, that can't be right," the Doctor shook his head. Bill was the link, Bill made the deal for his eye sight, if they were to get rid of the monks then they had to kill Bill, he couldn't do that, he wouldn't.

"There are planets that the Monks have ruled for thousands of years. It's passed on through the bloodline. Usually the lynchpin goes on to lead a normal life, have their own family, and the link is passed down through the generations."

"But the Monks must have worked that out. They've been doing this for millennia."

"Why? If the link is passed on, the Monks stay in charge, through, they think, their ruthlessness and efficiency. But if the lynchpin dies and the link isn't passed on, and the Monks get booted off the planet, well, they just chalk it up to experience." Missy shifted to sit down on the chair again, playing a soft tune in the piano.

"So when you defeated the Monks, that's how you did it?" Bill called walking closer much to the Doctors concern.

"Well, at this point, all that was left of the bloodline was a wee girl, and I just pushed her into a volcano..."

"It's me." Star stepped between them, "I'm the lynchpin."

Missy raised her eyebrows, looking at her, clearly not believing her but she wouldn't call her out on it, "you made a deal to save daddy's sight. So sweet." Missy pouted mockingly.

"So what's the alternative?"

"There isn't one. Sorry, honey."

Marcella walked over seeing Stars plan was to hopefully get an alternative way to defeat the monks other than killing Bill who was the real lynchpin but Missy didn't need to know what, "so Star has to die?"

"No." Missy rolled her eyes, "If you were just to die, everyone's false memories would have to fade, and that could take ages. It's actually better if you keep breathing, if your brain just keeps transmitting, well, nothing. That would blot out the residue false memories."

"What would be left?" Bill frowned.

"You'd be a husk. Completely and irrevocably brain-dead. You couldn't even get on Celebrity Love Island."

"Even if that was the truth," the Doctor narrowed his eyes at her, not quite sure if she knew that Star wasn't really the lynchpin or not. He never could tell with her, "the fact that you're suggesting it shows there's been no change, no hope, no point. We don't sacrifice people. It's wrong, because it's easy."

"You know, back in the day, I'd burn an entire city to the ground just to see the pretty shapes the smoke made. I'm sorry your plus one doesn't get a happy ending, but, like it or not, I just saved this world because I want to change. Your version of good is not absolute. It's vain, arrogant and sentimental. If you're waiting for me to become all that, I'm going to be here for a long time yet."

"Ok." The Doctor nodded, "we're done here."

~.~

The walked into the dark and blocked up empty building they were using as a secret HQ in the middle of the city close to where the monks pyramid ship was sat. Well, the Doctor seemed to be more stalking in a bad mood since leaving Missy again, the woman having gone straight back to the piano.

"Come on." Bill scoffed, "You knew she was going to say something like this. It's why you needed me back. You could have escaped from that ship like Marcella, with her. You could have started something to defeat the Monks without me."

"I wanted you back by my side because it's the safest place in the world." He answered.

"I asked the Monks for help and started all of this, so I have to be the one to finish it. The only downside is, if that's what we do, well, it's not worth me starting any long books."

"There is always another way," Star slumped down in the old sofa, "we just have to find it. Just because Missy said it ended in death doesn't necessarily mean that. She may not know another way herself."

"You said the safest place for me was by your side. That's what's protecting the Monks. It's why their plan works." She sat besides Star, folding her arms as the Doctor moved to the map of the city the guards had laid out where the pyramid was sat instead of St. Paul's.

"The Cathedral." The Doctor tapped the area, "The Monks' headquarters. Oh, yes. We're going to have to break in there."

"Why?"

"Somewhere in there, the Monks must have some kind of a machine that creates and broadcasts the myths of their history. The ones that are powered by, carried by, fed by your brainwaves. So, we get in, I plug myself into it, and replace the signals that they are receiving with my brainwaves and beam out the true history of the world. Oh, yes! I could even throw in some other stuff. The things that I could change just by thinking. Racism. People who talk in cinemas."

"Are you sure?" Bill eyed him, "This would be an incredibly sophisticated transmitter, powerful enough to beam highly detailed propaganda to the entire world twenty four hours a day, and you're going to plug your brain into it?"

"I know." He grinned, "It doesn't stand a chance."

Marcella turned to Star almost exasperated with him, but she just looked highly amused by his plan.

"We, you're all going to need this." The Doctor handed the humans a set of hand phones and small stereo, "Star," he snapped his fingers at her, "how many monks have you seen over the 6 months?"

"12." She answered.

"You see? Another way they hang on to power is to create a myth that they're here in greater numbers than they really are."

"The beam's stronger here, isn't it?" Bill murmured, rubbing her head, "I can almost hear it. It's so hard to hang on to any thought of life before the Monks."

"Yes, and it's going to get stronger the closer we get to the transmitter. The lies are going to become more convincing. You'll want to turn around. You won't know what you're doing here or why you're working against the Monks. Now, have you all got your stereo headphone iThing?"

"Yeah. What are they for?" Bill frowned.

"Ah, this is where you come in."

~.~

They moved out of the building heading towards the pyramid, the humans each wearing their headset with Bills recording repeating, blocking out the monks transmitter, reminding them that the monks were not their friends and had only been in earth for a few months, not their entire history.

They snuck through the dark pyramid, torches on guns as the monks tried to stop them reaching any further, the men fired at the monks, headphones on as they made their way to the simulation chamber, trying to get the door open when one man aimed his gun at the Doctors head, his head set been shot at, allowing the monks to mess with his mind.

"You tricked us." The man glared, "You tried to make us believe the Monks were invaders. How could you say that? They've always been here. You know that. The Monks are our friends. I won't let you hurt them. I'll die first. I'll kill you first." He pulled down in the tugged only to crumble to the ground revealing Marcella standing behind him, holding up her thumb and forefinger.

"Tarovian Neck Pinch." She offered to their stares.

"Marcella!" Star laughed, "where'd you learn that."

"i read a lot."

"This is why were friends!" She he'd up her first as Marcella did the same, bumping them together and pulling back opening their hands like an explosion as Marcella looked at her, bemused by the action she always insisted on.

"Anyway," the Doctor soniced the door open and the rest of the man walked through into the next room showing screen of the monks with various people in history, including Churchhill, Einstein and Martin Luther King Jr, a monk in black robes sat in a hair in the middle, head slightly lowered with its hands rested in two columns of white cables, a metal circlet over its head.

"Fake News Central." The Doctor remarked.

Bill hesitantly removed her headphones frowning, "I can think. They're not in my head. Why is that?"

"We're in the eye of the storm. Guard the doors. We can't be interrupted."

A few of the guards moved back outside, weapons reading in case any monks arrived.

"Hello?" Star waved a hand before the seat monk, "boo!" It didn't react even as Bill jumped, "alright he's out. Let's do this." She stepped back as the Doctors stepped out, grabbing the monks heads as the metal flowed white and the images changed, the monks disappearing from history.

"It's working!" Bill cheered, "The Monks are disappearing!"

"Oh, I didn't agree to this." The Doctor grumbled, a suddenly burst of energy causing him to let go.

"What's happening?"

"He's fighting back. He's blocking me, countering every move." He grabbed the head again, grimacing through the pain as the columns flowed red, along with the Doctors eyes as he thought the pain.

"You have you try harder!" Marcella called as the monks repeated back in the pictures.

The Doctor set his jaw only to be violently thrown back with a cry.

"Dad!" Star was by his unconscious side in an instant.

"Doctor!" Bill gasped quickly following, "is he alright?"

Star quickly checked him over, "just knocked out."

"Are you serious having a go yourself?" Bill gaped at Marcella as she stepped up to the monk.

"Well I have a higher pain intolerance to him." She defended, setting her hands firmly on the monks head, eyes shut.

"Mars, please..." Star looked back at her. This was really something she and the Doctor would do, not Marcella, it was stupid and risky and unsafe and so unlike Marcella. But yet because she wasn't leaving daddy's side Marcella stepped up to try and save Bill. Seems Marcella did like the odd few humans.

"This is all under control." Marcella grit out.

"It's working!" Bill grinned as the monks disappeared from the images again.

Only for Marcella to be thrown back as well, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Mars!" Star moved to her side, brushing a piece of hair back as she comforting her prone form. She wasn't gone of course, just knocked out herself.

"Or not..." Bill muttered. "Alright then." She took a breath. Seemed that the only way to stop the monks was as Missy said and kill the lynchpin. Her.

~.~

The Doctor awoke with a start, finding himself propped against the wall, chained up. Handcuffs. There was always handcuffs involved.

"I wanted to do it before you woke up." Bill smiled sadly, "But I had to say goodbye."

"Bill," he tugged on the cuffs, "whatever you're planning, there's no need for this. Let me try again. He caught me unaware. Cup of tea and I'll get my second wind."

"Even your brain couldn't stand another roasting like that. Marcella lasted longer than you," she jerks her head back to where Star hadn't moved from Marcella's side waiting for her to awaken, holding her hand for comfort when she did, "look at her."

"So we'll find another way. Let me talk to Missy again."

"We have the answer. Doctor, please. I don't want our last conversation to be this."

"I don't want this to be our last conversation." He countered.

"Goodbye, Doctor." She kissed his cheek, "Thank you. God, it was worth it."

"Bill. Bill, no, don't, Bill. Bill, Bill. It will kill you, Bill. It's too powerful. Bill, I, I order you! Star!" He yelled as Bill hugged her from the back, Star twisting and kissing her cheek, "I'm ordering you not to do this! Bill! Star, untie me! Star, untie me now! Leave Marcella a moment and untie me!" Bill moved to stand behind the monk, "Bill, don't do this!"

"Okay." Bill took a shaky breath to calm her nerves, "I don't usually let someone erase my brain on the first date, but seeing as it's you."

"No!" The Doctor cried, "No!" The images changed ago, showing Bill this time, "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no! They're hijacking her memories, infecting them like a virus. She's just reinforcing their lies. She's dying for nothing!" He scrambled over to the chair as far as he could, "Star for gods sake leave her a moment, she's fine! Help me try and shut this thing down!"

A soft smile appeared on Bills face, "Hello, Mum." The images changed ago, this time showing the face of Bills mother.

"Er, Bills imaginary friend is her mother." Star informed the Doctor.

"Oh, you clever, brilliant, ridiculous girl." He breathed, "Look at that! All the pictures we gave you. I thought we was just being kind, but we were saving the world. Bill, if there's any of you left in there, listen. You have to keep thinking about your mum, the memory you created. Her voice, her smile. The Monks can't get near it. Fill your mind with it! Push it into every corner." Bills smile widened as she remembered everything she knew and imagined off her mother, "She's filling its mind with one pure, uncorrupted, irresistible image. And it's broadcasting it to the world, because it can't help it. All those years you kept her alive inside you, an isolated subroutine in a living mind. Perfect, untouchable. She's a window on the world without the Monks. Absolutely loved, absolutely trusted. And that window is opening everywhere. A glimpse of freedom. But a glimpse is all you need. The lie is breaking. Bill's mum, you just went viral!"

Marcella groaned as she awoke. "Why did you let me do that?"

"Why'd you do it in the first place?" Star countered, helping back to her feet.

"So you wouldn't." She rubbed her head.

"Don't rub unless you want to go bald," Star warned, lowering Marcella hand and holding it to stop her rubbing her head, "and even that was too stupid for me to do. No offence." She added to the Doctor.

"You did it!" The Doctor cheered, cupping Bills face in his hands as she blinked, unfocused, "You broke the signal."

"Should we leave?" Star called, "before the monks leave."

"Because they will realising they've lost." Marcella nodded.

"Yeah, good point." The Doctor agreed, taking Bills hand as they ran back out of the pyramid, watching as it took to the Sky.

~.~

The group sat on the steps of a now destroyed monk statue, all that was remaining was the Truth logo and the bottom of the robes as they sat, Bill and the Doctor sharing a cup of tea in a flask.

"This is exciting, isn't it?" Bill grinned, "You know, kind of, it's like a turning point. Humans have learned that they can overthrow dictators and stuff, they just have to band together."

"Well, it's not quite as simple as that." The Doctor shrugged calling to a passing student with a frizzy ponytail, "You, Appalling Hair. This thing that we're sitting on. What is it?"

She looked up from her phone, "Er, we thought they were just like filming something here or something?"

"Thank you. Very helpful. Now go away, or something. You see? The Monks have erased themselves. Humanity's doomed to never learn from its mistakes."

"Well, I guess that's part of our charm." Bill smiled.

"It's really quite annoying." Marcella muttered.

"Anyway, I mustn't keep you. 3 thousand words. The Mechanics of Free Will. Now 6 months overdue." He took back the lid of the flask Bill was drinking from and screwed the lid together.

"Why do you put up with us then?"

"Because out of the billions of humans in this planet there is someone like you." Star nudged her.

"Did you just manage to insult the human race while compliment one person?" Marcella asked in disbelieve.

"Now that is part of my charm. Pizza?" She asked, glancing at the Doctor.

"Pizza." He agreed, heading off as Star and Marcella went to get the food for tonight.

~.~

"There!" Star pointed at the man in red and white as she eagerly tapped the page of the Where's Wally book as they all sat in the vault that evening. The pizza finished. Missy and the Doctor taking the armchairs, the woman out of the containment field now that Bill wasn't there. Marcella on the floor reading her own book as Star leaned over the Doctors shoulder at his book. "He's only in books with him on the cover."

He scoffed, "just because you haven't found him..."

"He's only in Where's Wally books Doctor," Marcella informed him, her eyes still on her book, "that's why it's a where's Wally book."

"I keep remembering all the people I've killed." Missy murmured looking into the electric fire burning besides her, "Every day I think of more. Being bad..." she swallowed, not looking at any of them, "being bad drowned that out. I didn't know I even knew their names." She turned to the Doctor and you could see the tears beginning to fall, "You didn't tell me about this bit."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "but this is good."

She turned back away from them not wanting them to judge her for crying, "ok."

"If you're that desperate not to cry in front of anyone use that." Marcella threw a tissue at the woman, not even looking up as Missy took it to wipe her eyes.

She didn't quite believe the woman when she said she was trying to be good. Then she only knew of the stories about her and what she had done in the last. And she had been locked up in the vault for 50 years stuck only to talk to the Doctor and Star as well as watch earth to. She was probably trying just to get out of the vault. For all any of them knew the tears were just a little act to make them believe she was trying to be good and then boom! She'd betray them.