He stood with his head down listening to the man who had brought him here speak with the woman in charge. His knife was in his pocket and his hand reflexively gripped it to calm himself.
"Michael," the woman said softly making him look up at her, "Welcome to the Refuge. Come with me and I'll show you to your room."
Druce took his shoulder and turned him, "You'll be well looked after here, Michael and when you're ready you will be able to join the Time Masters."
Michael nodded before going with the woman knowing he had no other choice. They walked through the corridors of the house where other children ran about.
Reaching the top of the stairs he saw a star map on the wall. Moving to it he reached out and gently touched a small pink dot on the bottom left of the picture.
"Good boy," he heard before everything became black again.
x
Rip forced his eyes open.
He was lying on the floor, the cold seeping into his back and every part of him ached.
It felt like he'd gone ten rounds with...someone, he couldn't even think of a name to finish that thought.
"Rory," Missy appeared above him with a fake concerned look on her face, "How do you feel?"
He managed to turn onto his hands and knees glaring at her.
"Well, dear," she smiled, "You don't have to worry. We're almost at our destination."
"I won't help you," Rip spat at her.
Missy chuckled, "My dear boy, you already have. That mind of yours is full of places and people to use to give me the map references. You've already showed us where to go."
"No."
"Yes," she laughed, "Now I'm sure the Doctor will be coming for you and I can't afford to let him interfere with my plans. It won't be much longer."
Rip forced himself to his feet, "If you know him then you should know better than to fight him. He will stop you, even if I die again."
Missy chuckled amused, "Not afraid to die?"
"I've done it before," Rip snarled at her.
"You should get some rest," she told him, "We'll be there soon. I want you to be able to stand while you watch unable to do anything to stop me."
Rip managed to wait until she left him alone before he dropped to the floor, exhaustion pulled at him and he slipped into unconsciousness once more.
x
"Listen to me," the Doctor said as he readied himself to leave, "This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but you're not immortal. I have no idea how long you'll last. And you're not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals when they come along. You can't heal, or repair yourself. Any damage is permanent. So, for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of..."
Rory stared for a second at the empty space the Time Lord had recently occupied before he pulled his helmet on and settled in to watch over the box containing the woman he loved.
After a few minutes he started to walk the full room, so he could see what space he had and how easy it was to defend.
"Wow, you have great legs," a familiar voice made him spin to the blonde stood with an amused look on her face.
"Sara?"
The assassin smirked at him as she stood leaning against the Pandorica with her arms folded across her chest.
"No, no, no," Rory breathed pulling his helmet off rubbing the bridge of his nose, "This is wrong, you're not here. She's trying to confuse me."
"It's not Missy," the voice he ached for came from behind him and he spun.
"Amy?"
Her arms moved around him and she clung to him as he held onto her before he pulled away.
"I don't understand," he whispered, "I don't..."
Amy rested her forehead against his, "It's okay. Rory, the TARDIS is projecting us into your mind."
He shook his head confused, memories of other dreams coming where he'd inadvertently helped the madwoman.
"You don't have to tell us anything," Sara took over seeing he was getting distressed, "We're just in your head so the Doctor can find you. At least this time there's not evil versions of the team trying to kill us."
Rory stared still confused, "The TARDIS..."
"You know how much she likes you," Amy told him, "Just hold on and she will bring us to get you. I promise."
Sara moved to their side, "Not to mention Gideon is getting pissy knowing you're in trouble and we can't find you. So you hold on, okay?"
Rory nodded, "I'll do my best."
x
Amy gasped as opened her eyes finding herself back in the TARDIS, she heard Sara at her side let out a similar gasp of surprise.
"Well?" River asked from beside them.
"We spoke with him," Amy let out a sigh, "He knows we're coming."
River caught Amy in a tight embrace, "It's alright, Mother."
"He's scared," Amy whispered, "She's hurting him."
River rocked her gently, "Rory is strong, Mother you know that. He managed to survive two thousand years waiting for you. This is nothing."
"Two thousand years?" Sara suddenly asked from her side.
Amy turned to the other woman, "It's complicated."
Sara rolled her eyes dropping her head back against the beanbag she was slumped in, "I swear I'm going to get an answer one day from any of you that isn't the word 'Complicated'."
"Doctor?" Amy called as she pulled herself to her feet, "Have you found him?"
The Doctor nodded, "Sara..."
"I'm coming with you," Sara noted determination in her eyes, "Just give me one minute."
They watched her head down to the door, open it and called to Gideon telling her what was happening before she turned back to them.
"Let's go."
The Doctor looked at the three women who were standing watching him.
"Alright," he told them, "This may take some time as they are moving. But we are going to find him."
Amy frowned at him, "Just go."
With a deep breath he started the TARDIS and they all gripped the console tightly.
Missy stood looking in awe at her prize as it sat glowing before her. This was what she'd worked so long for and now it was hers. She could get rid of Druce and then the Doctor. She was musing over taking the humans and placing them in a reality they would never find one another again no matter how close they came. Or she might just go with her original idea of having Amelia kill her husband and leave her trapped knowing what she'd done.
Stretching out to touch her prize she cried out in pain when an energy barrier appeared stopping her getting near it.
"Damn," she muttered, it looked like she still needed the Centurion/Nurse/Time Master. The Time Lords were good at protecting their weapons, although she had proven they were not good enough because the Doctor had managed to accidentally make the key from one of his human pets.
"Druce," she called to her 'partner', "We need Captain Hunter here now."
"How conscious does he need to be?" the former Time Master asked darkly.
"I need him to be able to walk," Missy replied before adding, "You can kill him once he's done this."
x
Rip gasped and choked as ice cold water was thrown over him.
"Are you awake?" Druce's voice came from above him.
Rip wiped his face and looked up at the man, "I think I'll sleep in."
Another bucket was thrown over him.
"I'm guessing you're up now," smugness radiated from Druce, "On your feet or we'll see how much fun the taser is when you're soaking wet."
Forcing himself to stand Rip kept his focus on the other man, knowing the Doctor was on his way gave him hope and he knew all he had to do was stall. He could do that, he'd done it plenty of times over the years.
Thankfully his most recent injuries had been healed to a point that it was mostly bruising so he could move although every part of his body ached.
He was marched out of Missy's TARDIS and into a small room. He wasn't quite sure if it was the room or his eyes but the whole place seemed to be an optical illusion of a star field and it was making him feel nauseous.
Missy stood just in front of what looked like a window with a bright light in the centre.
"Well, Mr Williams," she greeted him with a grin, "You have one final thing to do for me then I'll let you go home to Amy."
"No," Rip stated coldly.
"Don't you want to be with your dear wife again?" she asked with mock sweetness, "After all you went through to get her back."
Rip shrugged, "I'm not an idiot. I know there is no way I'm getting out of this alive if I give you what you want."
"Even less chance if you don't do what we want," Druce replied.
Rip shrugged again asking smugly, "What are you going to do?"
Missy began to laugh, "Oh, you're so sweet thinking that you have an actual choice in this."
He forced himself not to react, not to let the panic he felt at her amusement show in his face. Folding his arms across his chest Rip desperately wished to hear the sound of the TARDIS echoing through the room bringing the rescue party.
But it didn't come and Rip knew he was on his own.
x
Druce suddenly grabbed Rip's shoulders.
Under normal circumstances Rip would be able to throw him off but the beatings he'd received over the past few hours or days or however long it was since he'd been here had sapped his strength.
"All I need is for you to take it," Missy told him, "And that's what you're going to do."
Before he could protest Rip was pushed forward, automatically he reached out to stop himself and the next thing he knew the light was in his hands. As he tried to get his bearings Missy reached out to take it from him.
If he had still been simply Rory she would have managed to take it and everything would have gone to hell but he wasn't simply Rory. He was also a Roman Centurion, a military officer and a fully trained Time Master whose reflexes were honed for attacks. Pulling back the light out of her reach Rip felt power begin to flow through him.
x
Rip had seen other realities, he remembered other lives but had never been able to do anything about them but now he could. He could see everything, he could control everything.
"You can change the world," a voice came, "You can bring back those people you've lost. Your loved ones in every life no longer lost to you."
All the people he'd loved and lost floated through his mind, the people his friends had lost and he knew how easy it was to bring them back.
"Rip."
The voice made him freeze and looking at his side he felt his throat constrict, "Miranda?" he stared as she stood before him giving him that smile that always made him feel there was no one else in the world. Still as beautiful as she'd been the day they met.
"Oh," her hand gently caressed his cheek, "My dear Rip. You know you can't bring us back."
"I can," Rip whispered achingly, "I can save you. I can save Jonas and let him have the life he was meant to have."
"No.
"I can bring my mother back," he continued, "I can give Amy back her baby, I can bring back Snart, I can bring back Sara's sister, I can..."
"Stop," Miranda commanded, "You know you can't do this."
Rip looked down at the light he held in his hands, he could see so much and had the ability to change whatever he wanted.
"Amy is waiting for you," Miranda told him, turning him to look at her, "If you do this she won't be there. Not the Amy you know and love."
Guilt stabbed through him, "Miranda."
"It's alright," she soothed, "I know you love me. I know that Rip Hunter loves me but you're more than Rip Hunter and you're allowed to be happy."
He rested his head against hers, "I miss you but I don't know..."
"Thankfully for all of us you never have to make that choice," she smiled at him, "Now you know what you have to do."
Resting his hand on her cheek Rip kissed her softly, "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied with a smile, "Now end this."
x
Rip's focus returned to the room and he saw the two people responsible for so much pain in his life standing there.
He knew that he could do anything to them, pay them back for all the pain they'd caused but then he thought of the Miranda and what she would want him to do.
Rip used the power from the light to hold them in place, "You played with my life," he stated coldly, "You had people I loved hurt and killed. You are just extremely lucky that I would never disappoint the people I love by becoming like you."
With a swipe of his hand Missy was thrown back into her TARDIS, he set the controls into a loop that would hold her a prisoner until the Doctor could deal with her properly. He then turned his attention to Druce.
"Rip," he held his hands up, "You don't want to do this."
Stepping forward Rip glared at the man, "You have no idea what I want to do to you after what you did to my family. But I won't turn into you."
Druce cried out before Rip sent him bound and gagged back to a time where he would have no way to find the technology to travel in time again and would be thought insane if he mentioned it at all.
Rip started to shake as the power began to burn him and he didn't know how to stop it.
To his relief the sound of the TARDIS filled the room and the blue box appeared. The door opened and the Doctor ran out with Amy, River and Sara just behind him.
"Rory," the Doctor called.
Rip's hands were shaking and his knuckles were white as he gripped the light.
"Doctor, help me," he cried, "It won't let me release it."
"Yes, it will," the Doctor said softly, "Focus on what you want, what it can't give you."
Rip struggled but the one thought came to him quickly and he called, "Amy."
"Rory," Amy cried, "I'm here. Please come back to me."
Closing his eyes Rip took a deep breath and threw the light away from him. The power that had flowed through him left instantly and Rip collapsed.
He heard several voices calling to him.
Before he slipped into the blackness again he saw Amy above him and smiled.