As morning came Curristan got ready as soon as he could and ventured into the area surrounding Megaton. He had no real need to explore too deep due to rumours he had overheard about Washington DC being overrun by 'Super Mutants". That hadn't appealed to him at all. Also he had to make sure he stayed close to the TARDIS if he had to leave in a hurry. Romana had not been specific on what he needed to do so really he was just making things as he went along. Nothing changed there.

As he walked he pondered on what was to come once he returned to the main universe and the Time War. He hoped that he would make enough of a difference and things would work out. He knew however the conflict was going to get worse before any progress would be made. There was still much to be done and many would die before the conclusion would be reached. It just seemed pointless sometimes in his mind, but the Daleks could not be allowed to take over.

Then suddenly a familiar noise jolted him out of his thoughts. 'Damn alarm clock, I sometimes wish I hadn't made it now. Oh well at least I can sell it to a vendor here. A little interference in this universe wont hurt anyone' he mused. Walking a bit further he spotted a female vendor taking shelter in the ruins of a cafe just on the outskirts of Washington itself. Walking over to her he made a decision. 'Right time to at least gain some local knowledge'.

After a quick discussion and a handover of the alarm clock plus most of the equipment he had picked up, he headed back to Megaton. He had heard of someone who could get him to a place he had heard from a visiting mercenary, which he wanted to explore. 'Rivet City' as it was called was way to the south east and was too far to go without adequate information.

Entering 'Moriarty's Saloon' he looked around at the people who were filling the bar with the gentle sound of conversation. The person he needed to see was at the bar. He was wearing what looked to be basic armour and was conversing with Gob, who pointed Curristan out as he approached. Nodding as he walked over he sat down. "Hey there I am Curristan. I was wondering if you can give me some info on what's been happening and if I can get to Rivet City safely"

"Hey I am Max, nice to meet ya. Well with the Brotherhood of Steel now managing to finally get patrols through the ruins, they seem to be able to sort the Super Mutants out and push them back. They have cleared a couple routes to go through and I am sure you will get there without too much trouble. If you have some caps I can give you a 10mm Pistol and ammo to take with you just in case."

Rummaging through his left jacket pocket he pulled all his caps out. "Here I have eighty caps is that enough for it?"

"Sure that's more than enough. Give me fifty and then you have some left for any consumables. I wont be like some and fleece you."

"That's really appreciated. I hope you get to where you need to be okay."

Handing over the pistol and thirty bullets he smiled and then got up. "Thanks my friend. Good luck." He then turned and walked towards the door. Curristan after loading and holstering the pistol began to go over his mental plan. 'Well I get one chance at this. I will see what's there then immediately come back. No point taking the TARDIS as it will draw too much attention. Plus I have made a good cover story here and I don't intend to waste it. Its worked so far after all.'

An hour later after some walking, he had reached the city limits itself and was slowly moving through the rubble. The broken buildings were a very stark reminder of what the Time War was, albeit in a smaller scale. Still, it was eerie to walk through what would have been a very busy city street. He could hear gunfire in the distance, but luckily he was in good cover and moving steadily. He knew however that the situation was still precarious in that any moment he could be ambushed from any direction.

Spotting three Super Mutants he immediately ducked down. "Dammit trust me to run into one. I am not armed well enough to take one on let alone all three." Dropping down prone he then began to crawl forward, keeping his senses alert for anything approaching. Inching slowly along he would after several agonising minutes manage to escape behind a building and out of sight. Exhausted and needing a quick rest due to fright, Curristan stayed in position for ten minutes to catch his breath.

Arriving at Rivet City just as the sun was beginning to set, he marvelled at the rusty aircraft carrier which the city was based on. "I admire the ingenuity of humans. They have managed to repurpose this and create a suitable place out of it. Its amazing." He noticed that many traders had been moving away from Rivet City as he had arrived, meaning that the market must of now closed. However he had time to rest, then he would do what he needed to do before heading back.

After a few hours rest Curristan went exploring around Rivet City. Although it was early morning, he still managed to learn a few things after interacting with some of the guards on duty. The history of the city was fascinating he thought, though he wondered how they were able to keep the power going. 'Maybe the generators still work' he thought.

Leaving after spending the rest of his caps on supplies, he began to move back towards Megaton. This time after going a slightly different way, he managed to get back in one piece. However he knew that he had to make sure he didn't take anything back with him, giving the gun and ammunition back could give someone else a chance to survive.

He would go to the store 'Craterside Supply' he would sell them before wondering around to find someone to give the one hundred and fifty six caps he had. The afternoon had turned to rainy so many people were now seeking shelter, with Curristan at 'The Brass Lantern'. He suddenly noticed a glum woman with blonde hair next to him. Taking a chance he got her attention before he asked "Excuse me can I be of any help?"

Her kind face now filling with hope she turned to him. "Can you spare any caps as I am low on food and supplies,? I need to meet someone and I have nothing."

Curristan grinned. "Yeah I have some food here and a 10mm Pistol plus ammunition. Take it."

"Thank you Thank you!" She then without warning turned fully around, kissing him full on the mouth. Freezing in surprise, Curristan waited until she pulled away. He then handed her the items, blushing heavily.

Standing up she quickly checked her equipment before looking up again. Grinning seductively she whispered in his left ear "I have to go now, take care and thanks again!"

"N-No problem, stay safe."

Kissing him on his cheek, she then began walking away to the entrance, Curristan staring blankly at her departure. Waiting a few moments until she had left, Curristan then decided it was time to leave. He had been surprised at her actions, but it was understandable seeing as she had been at low water and giving up hope. But he wanted to get away from the stares he was getting, mostly out of jealousy.

After exiting Megaton he wandered back to the TARDIS. He needed to return to the main universe and get back to Gallifrey and report back. On the way he wondered what this discovery would mean. Granted they could use this universe as an emergency bolthole, but other than that the main focus would be the war. He had managed to get a break, but the time to rest was now over.

Entering the console room he sighed. 'Was fun but I am so glad to be back in here again. Felt weird to not sleep in the TARDIS...anyway enough wasting time I need to get out and away before people wonder what is going on.' He quickly got the TARDIS into flight, shedding his dirty clothes and boots to be decontaminated and a fresh identical set was put on. Quickly setting the navigational co-ordinates, he then decided to do a couple things while the TARDIS was journeying to Gallifrey.

Making his way to the study he began to write down in a notepad what he had managed to discover. He knew that the information he had was quite significant as the universe had probably never been found until he had made the time tear at Calfraxis using the Black Heart. The rupture had been so profound that it had seemed to anchor the two universes together with a temporal tunnel, allowing easy passage to and from each universe.

Another thing was the Earth he had found. It had been devastated by a nuclear holocaust, yet there were still a significant population where he had landed. This was a good thing as it meant this Earth could be a potential safe haven for any people or groups who needed to get away from the Time War. He could also use it if necessary though he probably would never want to.

Arriving back on Gallifrey Curristan was immediately summoned to the Celestial Intervention Agency Headquarters. Romana had been already waiting and as he came into her office she spoke:

"Curristan welcome back, I see you managed to get there and back no trouble?"

"Yes, it was very interesting. The tear at Calfraxis is a temporal bridge which anchors the other universe to ours, which makes it easy to send a TARDIS through. I managed to find the Earth of that universe and what I found was surprising." He stopped to let Romana process what he said.

Romana blinked as she realised the weight of Curristan's worlds. "Wow there is now a way to cross between both universes easily? Wait what was surprising about the Earth of that universe? Had something happened?"

"You are perceptive as always. There had been a nuclear exchange and the entire planet was badly damaged. It has high radiation levels but they have reduced significantly from what would be expected. There is some civilisation and I did manage to find some in what was Washington in the former United States Eastern Coast. "

"At least the Human Race survives in some form, looks like apart from that it looks like that universe is the same. By the way, out of curiosity do you think there is a version of us out there in that universe?"

"Theoretically there could be. The fact that my presence there and my interactions caused no paradoxes proved there was at least a set Laws of Time there otherwise I would of experienced bad temporal anomalies. I was surprised I didn't get a visit from another TARDIS to check on me. If there is a Gallifrey out there, maybe that version of the Time Lords are even more disinclined to interfere. Or maybe they don't enforce the rules so strictly. Anyway we can look at that another time. I returned so to get back to the war."

"I understand. Thank you for doing that. I know that you want to do your part but I needed you to at least get away from the war even for a short time. I worry about you and as your friend I want to keep you from falling apart."

"I appreciate that. Its just the stakes have never been so high. I don't want the universe to have to deal with such monsters ever again. I won't rest properly until this war is over. Where do you want me to go next?"