They'd seen many areas of Clara life. Seen her parents met, her mother saving her father from getting hit by a car as a leaf blew in his face making him stumble into the road, absolutely not Stars fault! Nope, she didn't make the leave blow into his face, of course she didn't, not at all, because she wasn't a matchmaker, nope, wasn't her. They'd seen her parent's first kiss. Seen a young her as she kicked a ball on the Doctors head. They'd seen her at her mothers grave, clutching her '101 places to see' book. And now they were back in the TARDIS, debating what she could be.

"She's just a girl." Star smiled, amused at how the Doctor was acting.

"How can she be?" he countered, bringing up the information on the Oswin version of her on the monitor. "She can't be." The image changed to her graduation, throwing her cap in the air.

"She is."

"She can't be."

"She's not possible." They finished together, Star mocking him.

"Yes, I gathered." Star rolled her eyes.

"You're not the least be curious?" he frowned at her.

"Oh, I am, but if you act like this around her, she'll get freaked out."

~.~

"Clara!" Star cheered opening the door for her.

The Doctor looked up, grinning, and pulled a lever making them stumble and grab onto the side railing.

"What was that?" Clara gasped as the shaking slowly settled.

"That was us getting into the vortex!" Star grinned.

"So we're moving through actual time?" she asked, making her way to the console, "so what's it made of? Time? If you can just rotor through it; it must be made of stuff, like jams made of strawberries. So what's it made of?"

"Not strawberries," Star pulled a look of disgust. Considering she had such weird tastes she didn't like strawberries, they left a weird taste on her tongue, strawberry milkshake was fine, but not strawberries in their own.

"That would be unacceptable." the Doctor agreed.

"And we can go anywhere?" Clara inquired.

"Within reason. Well, I say reason..." they can't go to New York or Gallifrey or the one place no traveller should go and really they shouldn't leave the universe, but still, they did it before. So they can go anywhere.

"So, we could go backwards in time?"

"Don't forget space!" Star grinned, "Forwards and backwards in space and time."

"So where do you want to go?" the Doctor smiled. "What do you want to see?"

"I don't know." she sighed, "you know when someone asks you your favourite book and you forget every book you've read?"

"Nope." Star shook her head. She remembered every book she'd ever read, even the first one she ever read, it was the first book the Doctor read to her. Alice in Wonderland always had a special place in her hearts. It was probably the reason why the Doctor never saw anything wrong with her being insane because all the best people were mad.

"Well. That's a thing. That happens."

"And?" the Doctor smiled, "back to the question."

"ok." she turned to pace, "so...so...so...so I'd like to see...I would like to see...what I would like to see is..." she turned to face the Time Lords, "something awesome."

The Doctor grinned and snapped his fingers, him and Star piloting them off...

~.~

Clara stepped out of the TARDIS, her eyes closed, Star leading her out, so she didn't trip.

"Can you feel the light on your eyelids?" the Doctor called closing the TARDIS doors.

"Mhmm," Clara nodded

"That's an alien sun," Star told her, moving Clara to the right spot, "There we go."

"Are you ready?" The Doctor asked her.

"Yes," she answered, "no. Yes." she slowly opened her eyes.

"Welcome to the Rings of Akhaten."

They were on a rock, an asteroid, floating in space, others rocks around it, surrounding a larger rock that looked like a city of some sort.

"It's..."

"It is." he agreed, "It so completely is. But wait! There's more."

"More what?"

"Wait, wait, wait," he checked his watch, "In about 5, 4, 3, 2..." the asteroids pass and on one was a large pyramid shining in the light as the sun hit it.

"What is it?" Clara breathed in awe.

"The Pyramid of the Rings of Akhaten." Star smiled softly, "It's a holy site for the sun-singers of Akhaten."

"The who of what?"

"7 worlds orbiting the same star," the Doctor explained, "all of them sharing a belief that life in the universe originated here. On this planet."

"All life?"

"In the universe."

"Did it?"

"It's what they believe," Star told her, "it's a nice story. Always wanted to come here."

"Can we see it? Up close?"

"Please," Star gave him her puppy dog eyes.

"No," he whined, "you know I can't resist that look."

"Exactly."

"I'm resisting."

"You need to try something better than that," Clara whispered.

"I know just the thing," she smirked making the Doctors eyes widened as she walked past him, towards the TARDIS before running back and jumping on his back.

Clara laughed as he automatically kept her up on his back, as though he knew exactly what she was going to do.

"Please." she begged, "come on, you want to, I know you do. I can see into your mind."

"All right," he huffed, "we'll go. For Clara, not because, you're annoying."

"Im annoying and I know it."

~.~

The TARDIS set down in the middle of the market, hiding behind some stalls, the Time Lords hurried out, taking Clara with them. The girl staring in awe at the different alien species.

"Where are they from?" she breathed.

"Oh, you know," the Doctor shrugged, "the local system mostly."

"What do I call them?"

"well, lets see," he pointed as he named the species, "there go some Panbabylonians. A Lugal-Irra-Kush. Some Lucanians. A Hooloovoo. Ah! Qom VoTivig. That's chaps a Terraberserker of the Kodion Belt. You don't see many of them around anymore. Oh! That's an Ultermancer. You know, I forget how much I like it here, we should come here more often."

"You've been here before?"

"I haven't!" Star sent the Doctor a mock-glare.

"Yes," he nodded, "I came here a long time ago with my granddaughter." He walked off, not wanting to talk about it.

"Granddaughter?" Clara at Star in shock, thinking that she had a daughter.

"My, um, my niece." She swallowed.

"You have a niece!"

"Had," she corrected, "We're the last, Clara. We're the last of our kind."

"Oh my stars," she whispered, feeling terrible, "what happened?"

"There was a war. Everyone died. Come on," she took her hand walking off, "don't want to get lost." Clara bumped into a tall alien who shook its head at her before they continued on.

They quickly found the Doctor at a booth, beaming, looking at some glowing blue spheres in a bowl, "exotic fruit of some description," he scanned it with the sonic, "non-toxic. Non-hallucinogenic. High in free radicals. And low in other stuff, I shouldn't wonder." Clara took a bite but shook her head, "no?"

Star took one for herself, and grinned, devouring the rest of it.

"So, whys everyone here?" Clara asked.

"For the Festival of Offerings," Star explained, "takes place every…1,054 years. When the rings align. It's a very big thing, locally."

"Like Pancake Tuesday." The Doctor nodded.

"I want Pancakes."

The Doctor chuckled, he was waiting for that, "later." He promised, "With bananas."

"Yes!" she cheered, giving him a high-five, walking off again.

Clara turned around and came face-to-face with a dog-like alien, "whoa!" it snarled at her, making her lean back, "erm, Doctor, Star?"

The Time Lords headed back, and Star yapped at the alien, before petting her head.

"What's happening?" Clara frowned.

"This is Dory, well Dor'een." Star introduced, "Dor'een meet Clara. Clara, Dor'een."

"Doreen?"

"Loose translation," the Doctor shrugged, "she sounds a bit grumpy but she's a total love, actually, aren't you?" he tickled Dor'een under the chin, "yes, you are. She's just asking if we fancy renting a moped."

Dor'een moved out of the way to show them the moped.

"So, how much does it cost?" Clara wondered.

"Not money." The Doctor shook his head, "something valuable. Sentimental value. A photograph, love letter, something like that. That's what's used for currency here. Psychometry. Objects psychically imprinted with their history. The more treasured they are, the more value they hold."

"That's horrible."

"Better than paper."

"Then you pay?"

"With what?" the Doctor scoffed.

"You're over a thousand years old. You must have something you care about."

"Oh I do," he nodded, "but slavery is illegal."

"What?"

"The most important thing in my universe," he tugged Star closer as she grinned.

"Ah, sweet." Clara smiled.

"Is that that you call it?" Star laughed, "I'd call it clinging and obsessive."

"Oi!" he pouted.

Clara shook her head at them and turned around, when she looked back, the Doctor was gone, it was just her and Star, "where'd he go…"

"He complains about people wondering off but he goes and does it," Star tsked him.

The walked off to look for him when a young girl in a red robe ran into them, looking scared.

"Are you ok?" Star gasped.

The girl ran past them and two men also in robes approached them, "have you seen her?" they asked.

"Who?" Clara blinked.

"The Queen of Years."

"No," Star shook her head. The two men continued their search, "come on." She took Clara hand and they followed the girl, who she assumed to be the Queen of Years.

~.~

They entered a dark, cluttered warehouse, "hello?" Clara called…there was a crashing thud and the girl stepped out from behind some boxes.

"Hey!" Star waved, "are you ok?"
"Are you lost?" Clara asked.

The girl stared at them a moment, before running off again.

"Come on," Star led her off, "we should help her."

Clara laughed, as Star tugged her off after the girl. She could see the Doctor in her a lot. The girl was playful and curious of everything and was clever; she was so full of life. Considering they didn't have plans, they certainly knew exactly what to do.

They walked along the rows off boxes, when there was a small scream from the girl and a crash before she ran out from behind the boxes.

"Hey!" Star laughed.

"Are you alright?" Clara asked, concerned for the girl. This time the girl didn't run but nodded, "what are you doing?"

"Hiding." She whispered.

"Oh. Why?"

"You don't know me?"

"I know you're the Queen of Years." Star offered.

"We just wanted to help." Clara added, "You looked lost."

"I don't believe you." the girl stepped back.

"I've got no idea who you might be." Clara admitted, "But Star says you're the Queen of Years. I've never been here before, never even been anywhere like here before. I just saw a little girl who looked like she needed help."

"Really?" she breathed.

"Really, really."

"We can help you." Star smiled, crossing her hearts.

"I need to hide." She told them, not disturb by Stars move, there were many two hearts species that she knew off.

"The TARDIS is the perfect hiding place!" Star cheered, "I hide in there all the time!"
Clara laughed, she could imagine the girl hiding around in there, she could imagine the Doctor trying to be all fatherly and make her do chores, like tidy her room, she could just tell that the girl would have a messy room and she'd never want to tidy it, she went through that stage, every girl did.

"Come on," Star took the girls hand, leading them off.

~.~

Star and Clara led the girl to the TARDIS, managing to avoid the aliens that were looking for her along the way.

"What's this?" the girl wondered, eying the TARDIS.

"A space-shipping thing," Clara answered, "timey, spacey."

"It's teeny."

"Oi!" Star pouted, "She's bigger on the inside."

"You wait!" Clara grinned, pulling on the door but it wouldn't open, "Oh, come on."

"What's wrong?" the girl asked.

She stepped back and sighed, "I don't know. I don't think it likes me," she knocked on the door and pulled the handles, "come on. Let me in."

"Clara, you're trying to open a locked door." Star giggled, "She only opens for me," she pushed the doors open, but there was no budge, "huh. No, she does not like you. What's wrong old girl," she stroked the side of the box, "why don't you like Clara, is it because she called you an 'it' not a 'she'." She turned back to Clara, "you really should call her a 'she.'"

Knowing that the box wasn't going to open the girl snuck around the back of the TARDIS. "Hey!" Clara peeked around, "hey, little girl!"

"My names Merry." She replied.

"Nice to meet you Merry," Star sat down next to her, "im Star, and this is Clara."

"So what's happening?" Clara asked, resting against the TARDIS "is someone trying to hurt you?"

"No," Merry sighed, "im just scared."

"Of what?"

"Getting it wrong."

"Ok. Can you pretend like im totally a space alien and explain?"

"Im Merry Gejelh.

"Really not local. Sorry."

"She's the Queen of Years, Clara." Star rolled her eyes, "she was chosen when she was a baby, the day the last Queen of Years died."

"Ok."

"Im the vessel of our history," Merry explained, "I know every chronicle. Every poem. Every legend. Every song."

"Every single one?" Clara blinked, "blimey. I hated history."

"I love it!" Star grinned, "im good at it."

"And now I have to sing a song in front of everyone." Merry continued, "A special song. I have to sing it to a god. And im really scared."

"I know the feeling," Star murmured, "I get scared of singing in front of people too."

"Everyones scared when they're little," Clara remarked, "I used to be terrified of getting lost. Used to have nightmares about it. And then I got lost. Blackpool beach, Bank Holiday Monday. About 10 billion people. I was about 6. My worst nightmare came true."

"What happened?"

"The world ended. My heart broke. And then my mum found me. We had fish and chips and she drove me home and tucked me up and she told me a story."

"And you were never scared again?"

"Oh, I was scared lots of times. But never of being lost."

"Everyone gets scared, Merry." Star assured her, "so, this song? What are you scared of, exactly?"

"Getting it wrong." She sighed, "Making Grandfather angry."

"And do you think you'll get it wrong?" Clara countered, "Because I don't. I don't think you'll get it wrong. I think you, Merry Gejelh, will get it very, very right."

"And just remember, we'll be in the crowd, supporting you." Star took her hand, "if you get scared just look for us, we'll be there. Promise." She crossed her hearts as they walked back to the marketplace where the two men looking for Merry approached them. Merry looked back at Star and Clara who smiled encouragingly at her. She took a breath and allowed the men to lead her off.

They watched her go when the Doctor came up behind them eating one of the blue fruits, "what have you been doing?"

"The usual," Star smiled innocently, "helping people. The family business." And it really was starting to seem like a family business with them helping those who needed it. When in the far, far, FAR future the Doctor was gone (she'd make sure it was far in the future) she'd take over and become the main pilot for the TARDIS and continue travelling the stars with her own companion, helping those who need it.

"Where are we going now?" Clara inquired as they walked off.

~.~

They ran into the amphitheatre to see the priest escorting Merry to a small pedestal in the centre along the ledge, facing the temple.

"Shh!" the Doctor hissed as the skidded to a stop, "shh!" the climbed past the aliens to their seats, "sorry. Sorry, excuse me. Sorry. Excuse me." He sat down, Star besides him.

"Sorry, sorry" Clara followed them, sitting next to Star, the girl in the middle, "are we even supposed to be here?"

"Shh." They both hissed at her.

"But are we?"

"Shh!" they hissed again, turning to the aliens surrounding them, "sorry!"

Merry looked back at them. Clara nodded as Star gave her the thumbs up. She turned back to the temple, taking a deep breath and began singing. "Akhaten…oh, god of Akhaaaten..."

Clara frowned towards the temple, hearing another voice drifting over.

"They're singing to the Akhaten in the temple," The Doctor explained quietly, "they call it the Old God. Something Grandfather."

"Oh, god of Akhaaaten…" Merry continued singing.

"What are they singing?" Clara whispered.

"The Long Song," Star smiled, "a lullaby without end. To feed the old god. Keep him asleep. It's been going for millions of years."

"Choristers handing over to Chorister," the Doctor added, "generation after generation after generation.

"Akhaten…"

Clara looked around as the aliens held out their hands, each holding out something valuable to them. "What are they doing?"
"Those are offering," the Doctor remarked, "gifts of value. Mementoes to feed the Old God."

Clara laughed as the offering turned into small bit of golden light.

"Oh, god of..." Merry continued, "oh god of…oh god of Akhaaaten…"

The audience join in the song. "Lay…" the Doctor joined in, but was too early

"Lay down…" the audience sung around them.

"Go on," the Doctor nudged Star, "join in."

"No." she blushed, she hated singing in front of people.

"Akhaaaten…oh god of…oh god of…oh god of…oh god of Akhaten." As soon as she finished there was a low rumbling. Merry turned to the audience; eyes wide in fear…all of them know something was wrong…

A beam of light shot out from the temple and grabbed Merry, lifting her off the pedestal.

"Ok, what's happening?" Clara breathed, "Is this suppose to happen?"

"Help!" Merry screamed.

"Is somebody going to do something? Excuse me? Is somebody going to help her?"

As Merry was pulled towards the temple, the Doctor and Star ran off, leaving Clara following them.

"Why are we walking away?" Clara demanded, as they walked through the stalls, "We can't just walk away. This is my fault! Star, we talked her into doing this!"
"I need to get something," Star said, running off to the TARDIS, as the Doctor turned to tell Clara what they do.

~.~

She ran back and met them at Dor'een, "wait!" she cried, seeing Clara about to decide to give her mothers ring for the moped. "How about this?" she handed Dor'een her Theta bear.

"Star…" the Doctor began, that bear was so important to her, every night she slept with it even if she was supposedly too old, she didn't care, she loved it, she'd had it all her lifes, since birth.

"We need to help Merry," she looked at Dor'een as she sensed the importance of it, and stepped aside, allowing them on the moped.

"You are a star," he kissed her forehead. "My shining star."

"Looks like I chose the perfect title then," she smiled, getting on the moped at the very front.

"Hey," he blinked, "what makes you think you're driving."

"It was my bear that got us it."

"Touché." He got on behind her and Clara got on behind him.

She let out a small scream of surprise as the moped lifted off the ground and over the stalls.

They rode towards Merry as she was pulled closer to the pyramid.

"Merry!" Clara reached for her. She stretched, barely touching the girls hand; they grazed before Merry was pulled down into the temple with a scream. Star, with a look of determination, sped after her.

"Brakes!" Clara yelled, "Brakes!"

The moped came to skid stop.

"Ok, time to let go." The Doctor panted, as Clara had her arms gripped around his neck, her eyes shut.

"I can't." she breathed.

"Clara, you have to."

"Why?"

"Because it really hurts."
"Sorry." She released him from her hold.

"Come on," they hopped off the moped and the Doctor whipped the sonic out and used it on the door.

"Oh, that's interesting," he checked the reading, "a frequency modulated acoustic lock. The key changes 10 million, zillion, squillion times a second."

"Can you open it?" Clara asked.

"Technically, no. in reality, also no."

"Like that's ever stopped you before." Star snorted.

"Yeah…let's give it a stab." He ran at the door…only to get a sore shoulder. "ow." He tried sonicing it again.

"How can they just stand there and watch?" Clara breathed.

"Because this is a sacred ground." Star replied.

"And she's a child."

"He's their god."

They heard Merry scream from inside, "We need to get inside. If the sonic doesn't work, I can't teleport us in..."

"Oh!" the Doctor smiled, "hello!"

"Hello what?" Clara frowned.

"The sonic's locked on to the acoustic tumblers."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, I get to do this." He aimed the sonic at the base of the door and it slowly rose, allowing them to see Merry inside an older man in red robe kneeling on the floor besides her, "hello there." He greeted, "Im the Doctor. You've met my daughter Star and our friend Clara. She was supposed to be having a nice day out. Still, it's early yet. Are you coming, then? Did I mention that the door is immensely heavy?"
"Leave. You'll wake him!" Merry turned to them.

"Really quite extraordinarily heavy. Clara?"

Clara and Star ducked under the door, Clara making her way over to Merry, "Merry, we need to leave."

Star stayed with the Doctor at the door, flashing eyes, helping to keep it up.

"No." Merry shook her head, "go away!"

"Not without you."

"You said I wouldn't get it wrong and then I got it wrong! And now this has happened. Look what's happened!"

"You didn't get it wrong!" Star strained, the door was really heavy, despite both of them keeping it up.

"How do you know?" Merry countered, "You don't know anything! You have to go! Go now! Or he'll eat us all."

"Well, he's ugly." Clara glanced at the mummified body in the glass, behind Merry, "but you know, to be honest…" she stepped on the dais and smiled at Merry, "I don't think he looks big enough."

"Not our meat." She huffed, "our souls."

Clara reached out to Merry but the girl pressed a hand to her head, pinning Clara to the case by a purple force.

"He doesn't want you, he wants me. If you don't leave, he'll eat you all up too."

"Yes and you don't want that, do you?" the Doctor called, "you want us to walk out of this really quite astonishingly heavy door and never come back."

"Yes."

"I see. Right. Clara's right. Absolutely never going to happen." he turned the sonic off, Star letting out a cry of pain, falling to her knees as she kept it up long enough for the Doctor to get though, before letting it drop, panting, a thin layer of sweat on her face, as she breathed deeply.

"Did you just lock us in?" Clara gaped.

"Yep." The Doctor nodded.

"With the soul-eating monster."

"And is there actually a way to get out?"

"What?" the Doctor crouched next to Star, making sure is she ok, "before it eats our souls?"

"Ideally, yes."

"There is." Star assured her, leaning on the Doctor as he helped her stand. That took a lot from her, but thankfully she hadn't lost control of it.

"Doctor, why is he still singing?" Clara glanced at the priest.

"…rest your warily, holy head…" the priest sung.

The Doctor knelt in front of him, "he's trying to sing the Old God back to sleep. It's not going to happen. He's waking up, mate. He's coming, ready or not. You want to run."

"…hold head and…"

"That's it, then? Songs over?"

"The song is over," he stood up, "my name is Chorister Rezh Baphix and the Long Song ended with me." He pushed up his sleeve and pressed a button and his bracelet, dissipating into the air.

"That's it then! Songs over!" he turned and used the sonic on the mummy, who roared and leaned forwards on his throne "ha-ha! Look at that."

"You've woken him!" Merry cried.

"Its awake?" Clara gasped, "What's it doing?"

"He's having a nice stretch," Star commented, "but we didn't wake him," she turned to Merry, "neither did you. Its time for him to wake up. And feed. On your stories, apparently."

"She didn't say stories, she said souls."

"Same thing" the Doctor shrugged, "the souls made of stories, not atoms. Everything that ever happened to us."

"People we love." Star smiled,

"People we lost."

"People we found again."

"Against all the odds."

"He threatens to wake; they offer him a pure soul. The soul of the Queen of Year."
"Stop it," Clara whispered, "you're scaring her."

"Good," the Doctor nodded, "she should be scared! She's sacrificing herself. She should know what that means." He walked over to the girl, "do you know what it means, Merry?"
"A god chose me." She breathed.

"It's not a god!" Star huffed.

"It'll feed on your soul, but that doesn't make it a god," the Doctor remarked, "it is a vampire," he pointed at it, "and you don't need to give yourself to it."

"Let me tell you a story," Star crouched in front of the girl, "you may have heard of it, it's a good one," she winked, "all the elements in your body were forged many, many millions of years ago, in the heart of a far away star that exploded and died. That explosion scattered those elements across the desolations of deep space. After so, so many millions of years, these elements came together and burst apart, forming shoes and ships and sealing-wax and cabbages and kings. Until eventually, they came together to make you. You're unique in the universe. These I only one Merry Gejelh. And there will never be another. Getting rid of that existence isn't a sacrifice. It is a waste."

"So, if I don't," Merry frowned, trying to follow, "then everyone else."

"Will be perfectly fine."

She looked at the Akhaten as it pounded on the glass, "how?"

"There's always a way."

"You promise."

"Cross my hearts," she crossed them.

Merry looked at Clara and released the field holding her, she ran over to them as the glass cracked.

"Having a nice stretch?" she glared at the Doctor.

He just laughed as they headed for the door…only for the ground to shake.

"Something's coming. What's coming?"

"The Vigil." Merry whispered.

"And what's the Vigil?" the Doctor blinked.

"Did you pay attention in the Academy," Star stared at him, but then again, she didn't.

"If the Queen of Years is unwilling to be feasted upon," Merry told them, "it's their job to feed her to Grandfather."

"Im sorry!" Merry cried as three creatures, white face, black suits with goggles appeared, "Im sorry!"

"Don't you dare!" Clara stepped in front of Merry as they advanced.

"Yeah, stay back." The Doctor warned, "Im armed. With a screwdriver."

"And I have insanity." Star stepped in front of both Clara and Merry.

One of the Vigils bellowed and the force knocked the sonic out of the Doctors hand, and then he was flipped in the air, landing on his back. A second one sent Clara back against the wall and the third strained against Star as she tried to throw them against the wall, and managed to over power all three of them, she tensed, keeping them against it.

"You know all the stories." Clara turned to Merry, "you must know if there's another way out."

"There's a tale," she nodded slowly, "a secret song 'the Thief of the Temple and the Nimmers Door.'"

"And the secret sons open the secret door? How does it go? Can you sing it?"

She sang a small tune and a door slid open.

"Go!" the Doctor ushered them out as he ran to Star, "time to go," he whispered, half carrying half dragging her out as the mummy let out an inhuman roar, a beam of light shooting from the top of the pyramid to the sun.

"Where did they go?" Clara frowned as the Vigils disappeared.

"Grandfathers awake. They're of no function any more."

"Well, you could sound happier about it."

Star blinked, coming out of her trace, "we made a small boo-boo."

"More of a semantic mix up, really." The Doctor winced.

"What boo-boo?" Clara narrowed her eyes at them.

"We thought the Old God was Grandfather but he wasn't. It was just Grandfathers alarm clock."

"Sorry, a bit lost. Who's the Old God? Is there an Old God?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

They looked up to the sun as it burned brighter, almost expanding.

"Oh my stars," Clara gasped, "What do we do?"

"Against that? I don't know. Do you know? I don't know. Any idea?"

"But you promised!" Merry cried, "you promised!"
"We did promise." Star agreed. "And we never break promises.

"He'll eat us all. He'll spread across the system, consuming the 7 worlds. And when there's no more to eat, he'll embark on a new odyssey among the stars."

"I say leg it." Clara remarked.

"Leg it where, exactly?" the Doctor looked at her.

"Don't know. Lake district?"

"Oh, can we go there!" Star grinned, "We can have scones, I like scones. Plain scones though, not the ones with the raisin and things inside them or with jam, just scones and butter with tea. The scones are best in 1927. We should definitely go there…" she trailed as the Doctor smirked in amusement at her and Clara stared in disbelief, "im…im rambling aren't I?"

"I love it though," the Doctor wrapped his arms around her.

Clara looked up at the sun, "you're going to fight it, aren't you?"

"Regrettably yes," the Doctor admitted, "I think I may be about to do that."

"It's really big."

"Ive seen bigger."

"Really?"

"Are you joking? Is massive."

"Im staying." Star deadpanned.

"Me too." Clara agreed.

"No, you're not." The Doctor argued.

"Yes, I am. I can...assist."

"No, you can't."

"What about that stuff you sad? 'We don't walk away.'"

"No. we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run. We run and run as fast as we can and we don't stop running until we're out from under the shadow. No, off you pop. Take the moped. You too, Star, no arguments."

"I. am. Staying." She stated.

"You. Are. Going." He countered, he cupped her face in his hands, "I need you to sing for me. Please go back with Clara and sing for me. Just do that for me, please."

She straightened his bowtie, "have a nice walk."

~.~

Star raced the moped back to the amphitheatre with Clara and Merry, skidding to a stop as they hopped off, and looked towards the temple and the sun.

"Isn't he frightened?" Merry asked as she held Clara's hand.

"I think he is." Clara nodded, "I think he's very frightened."

"I want to help."

"So do I."

"We can," Star said, "what are the words? To wake him up."

"You want to wake him up." Clara gaped.

"Trust me."

"Rest now, my warrior, rest now, hardship is over," Merry recited, "live, wake up, wake up and let the cloak of live cling to your bones, cling to your bone."

"Ok then," she took a breath and stepped on the pedestal.

"But you don't know the song!"

"I have the words." She countered, "Lets do it together, you in your language, me in mine ok?"

"Ok." Merry nodded, stepping up next to her, taking her hand.

Star closed her eyes, swallowing before opening her mouth and the words escaping in such a beautiful and ancient language, "rest now, my warrior….wake up…wake up…and et the cloak of like cling to your bones…wake up…wake up and let the cloak of life cling to your bones…wake up, wake up…" she opened her eyes as she finished the song.

"Come on," Star ran back to the moped, grabbing Clara's hand.

"I have something that can help." She said, getting on behind Star.

They raced back to the temple, quickly getting off and hurrying to the Doctor, who was on his knees. Star knelt down besides him, hugging him tightly, wiping away the tear on his cheek as he hugged her back.

Clara smiled at them as she stepped forwards, holding her book, "still hungry?" she asked the sun, opening the book, "Well, I brought something for you. This," she held up the leaf, "the most important leaf in human history. The most important leaf in human history. It's full of stories, fully of history. And full of future that never got lived. Days that should have been that never were. Passed on to me. This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An infinity. All the days that never came. And these are all my mums." She watched as a tendril absorbed the leaf.

"Well, come on, then." Star smirked, "eat up or are you full?"

"I expect so," the Doctor smiled, getting to his feet, "because there's quite a difference, isn't there, between what was and what should have been? There's an awful lot of one, but there's an infinity of the other. And infinity's too much. Even for your appetite."

The leaf was fully absorbed. They looked at each other as the sun imploded, leaving them in darkness.

~.~

"Home again, home again, jiggity-jig!" the Doctor smiled as they materialised at the Maitland home.

"It looks different." Clara remarked, peeking outside.

"Nope. Same house. Same city. Same planet. Same day, actually. Not bad," he pretended to swing a gold club, "hole in one!"

"It very rare when this happens." Star told her.

"You were there." Clara turned to them, closing the door and walking over, "at my mums' grave. You were watching. What were you doing there?"
"Don't know." The Doctor pretended to be busy at the controls, "I was just…making sure."

"Of what?"

"You remind us of someone."

"Who?"

"Someone who died." Star said quietly.

"Well, whoever she was, im not her, ok? If you want me to travel with you, that's fine. But as me. Not a bargain basement stand-in for someone else. Im not going to complete with a ghost."

"You're just Clara." Star grinned hugging her. The girl smiled opening the door and stepping outside.

"Oh and do I having something for you." the Doctor flicked Star on the nose.

"Really?" her eyes lit up.

"Ta-da!" he pulled out Theta bear from inside his jacket.

"Theta Bear!" she rushed over and grabbed the bear, hugging him tightly, "did you steal him back."

"I don't not steal things!"

She merely gestured around them.

"Hey! I borrowed her!"

"Borrowing implies giving her back," she blinked, "oh; I even sounded like the old girl." They shared a laughed; "thank you!" she pecked his cheek, dashing off to put the bear back on her bed, where he belongs to help protect her from the nightmares.