I am sooo sorry! I have no excuse for you guys having to wait this long other than school getting in the way. My sincerest apologies, I really hope the next chapter will be up sooner.

I entered the TARDIS console room the next morning to find the Doctor and Clara waiting for me.

"Emma!" The Doctor exclaimed. "About time, I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"Doctor, it's been five minutes," Clara told him.

"More like five minutes too long."

I rolled my eyes. "So! Where to this time?"

"Actually," the Doctor said slowly, "that's what I was going to ask you."

I blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, you. Keep up. I decided it's about time you chose a destination."

"So," Clara spoke up, "got any ideas?"

I grinned. "I might have an idea or two."

It turns out the fourth most beautiful place in the galaxy was also the second most beautiful garden in the universe. Once again, I did not recognize the setting nor the adventure. Not until too late.

We all burst through the TARDIS doors, Clara laughing, and all of us covered in grime.

"We told you it'd work." She said.

"It very nearly ate you two for dinner!" The Doctor pointed out.

"Oh wait a minute, we totally saved your life."

"It wasn't going to eat me!"

My smile turned upside down. No. It can't be. Not yet, please, not yet.

"But we totally saved you from having to marry that giant sentient plant thing! That bit when I jumped over the side? That was amazing!"

We all continued to brush the dirt off of our clothes as the Doctor snorted and grinned.

"Hah! Knew you were impressed."

"The second most beautiful garden in all of time and space and we can never come back here because you two - Miss Oswald and-"

The Doctor was interrupted by the ringing phone.

After a few seconds of staring at it, the Doctor motioned for Clara to pick up the phone, which she did.

"Hello?" She cautiously said into it.

"Clara, finally!" The voice on the other end could be heard throughout the room. "It's Rigsy."

"Oh, Rigsy. Hey, what's wrong?"

"So, I have this, uh...it kind of looks like a tattoo."

"Seriously, I gave you this number for emergencies."

As Clara and Rigsy had their phone conversation, I simply stood on the opposite side of the console, frozen. There was no way, no way, this was happening already. It all went by too soon. I needed more time, but another part of me knew that even more time with Clara would just make her fate even worse than it already was. I couldn't even bear looking at her right then. So when Clara hung up the phone, and the Doctor suggested we all get changed, I was the first one out of that room.

Soon after landing in his apartment, Rigsy came into the TARDIS and we began scanning him and his phone.

"If you want your extremities to stay attached stand absolutely still. If not, we can provide a small bag and you can take them home at the end." The Doctor told Rigsy as a yellow strip of light moved from his head to his toes.

I was standing over Clara's shoulder, almost protectively, as she said, "Rigsy, your phone. It's like they've wiped it, but only the last day. No location data, no texts, nothing. Are you sure the screen wasn't cracked before yesterday?"

"Uh-huh." Was his answer.

The TARDIS made a sound to confirm the scan having been finished.

"Oh, right. Okay, here we go." The Doctor checked the screen showing the results. "Good" He decided. "Weird. Good and weird."

"Can I move?" Rigsy asked.

"Huh?" The Doctor looked his way. "Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes... of course."

Rigsy let out a breath as the Doctor snapped his fingers and moved towards him.

"First off. In the last twenty-four hours you have had significant contact with alien lifeforms, right here in the center of London."

"Okay, so, why don't I remember anything?"

I decided to interject at this point. "Your prefrontal cortex has been doused in retcon. It's an amnesia drug mainly used by Torchwood."

"Exactly." The Doctor said as he stepped back to look at the results again. "Ooh, there's something else. Something...not good. Weird."

He moved around the console to pick up the set of cards that Clara had made for him and began to flip through them.

"What's he doing?" Rigsy asked.

Clara looked towards him. "He's making an effort to be nice."

"There's no nice way to say 'you're about to die.'" The Doctor gathered quietly.

Not quiet enough, however, since it still caused an outburst from Rigsy.

"W-what?"

"Rigsy-" The Doctor began but Rigsy cut him off.

"No, no, no, no, no. Don't start using my actual name now! Call me pudding brain, call me local knowledge, whatever, just don't call me Rigsy."

I looked down at the grated floor, counting the individual little holes. I was familiar with Rigsy's dilemma, and all-too-familiar with the other side of it, too. But what got to me the most was the fact that Clara would soon be facing the same problem. That is, if I didn't do anything about it. The thought of standing back and letting the timelines take their course like everyone expected me to sickened me. Just sit back and do nothing? Let the people I care about suffer? Over my dead body.

"You're gonna save me. You're a doctor, that's what you do."

"Okay." The Doctor said, barely audibly, before speaking louder. "Okay. Yes, okay, let's do this thing. First up, stop the countdown. Five-hundred-and-twenty-six minutes, right. Okay. Yes, you know what, local knowledge. I don't know who did this to you, or why, but I do almost certainly know how to find them."

Okay, let's save a lot of time here. We headed to the Great British Library, we searched for trap streets, (and as always, the Doctor was reluctant to let me off of his leash) we found the trap street, and now we've got our feet stuck to some stupid brick walkway.

And no, I wasn't ridiculing everything I saw out of spite of what was about to happen. Absolutely not. Actually, I was spending my time wisely, thank you very much. I needed a plan. I wasn't going to get one by lounging around; I needed to put my brain to work.

What was my plan, you ask? It will all become clear later. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll hate it.

Now, where were we? Oh yes, Wolverine guy was sniffing the Doctor and exclaiming how he doesn't smell human.

"Name, species, and case for asylum. Quick as you like." Said the other approaching alien.

"Asylum?" The Doctor questioned.

"The reason you're here. The reason you need sanctuary."

After a bout of whispering on each side, Rump spoke once more. "You do know this is a refugee camp."

The Doctor, lying, said that of course he does, Clara nodding with him.

"Of course he does." Came a voice unmistakably known as Me. Or Maisie Williams, depending on which universe you're in. "Now that you've told him."

"Mayor Me." Rump acknowledged.

Clara was astonished, calling her "Ashildr," the Doctor looked like he should have expected it, and Rigsy just looked confused as to why they were acting that way.

"Ashildr?" Mayor Me wondered.

"That's your name." The Doctor told her. "I keep telling you that."

"Do you? Infinite lifespan, finite memory, it makes for an awkward social life." She walked toward Clara and I. "You must be Emma and Clara Oswald."

That part really frightened me. I couldn't tell if she meant it like "Clara Oswald and Emma" or "Clara Oswald and Emma Oswald." Even thinking of my full name felt ridiculous and foreign. Nobody used my full name except for the Time Lords, but they have always been so formal and proper, so that's only to be expected.

Oddities aside, I was really worried she had figured it out. More than that, I was really worried she would tell someone if it meant getting an advantage over me. The last thing I needed was for her to have the edge right then. She might be a friend overall, but at that moment she was working against us.

"You both are as beautiful as your photos."

That only made things worse. I may not look exactly like a younger version of my mother, but there were definitely some similarities that Me could use to piece the puzzle together.

Clara looked at me as though wondering if I was as confused as she was, which of course I wasn't. I simply stood there with my arms crossed, an awfully bored expression on my face. That was the trouble of knowing the future: nothing excites you anymore.

"We met," Clara stated.

"Yes, I know, it's in my diaries. Oh, don't look like that, I enjoyed our conversations. I've read them many times."

"Okay, that's slightly odd but nice. Hang on, so this is where you've been. That's why he lost track of you." Noticing the look the Doctor was giving her, Clara continued. "Oh, come on, please. It's really cute; he thinks I don't know. He's got this whole secret room in the TARDIS where he collects mentions of you."

"It's not cute. It's surveillance."

"It's professional interest." The Doctor argued.

"Precautionary measure."

"Still saving the world from me, then?"

"It's still here, isn't it?"

"He lost track of you," Clara cut into the midst of their babbling, "in the early 1800s. I wondered if you were…"

"Oh, no. I let him know I was okay."

"I saw you." The Doctor grinned at Me.

"No," she insisted, "I got your attention."

"Yes, you did and you have. Now we need your help. Someone in this place is in control of a quantum shade."

The Doctor gestured for Rigsy to take his hood and cap off, which he did.

Rump snarled, Me revealed her tattoos and the rather large pendant she was wearing, and everything turned into a shit fest.

The following lines all went according to the show until the Doctor ordered for Me to permit us entry herself.

"No! You've already endangered one of my friends. I want your personal guarantee that you won't endanger another."

"Shut up, I can handle myself." Clara objected.

However, Me still obliged. "I guarantee the safety of Clara Oswald. She will be under my person protection. That is absolute. Emma, on the other hand, will have to look after herself."

I felt personally offended by that. "What, am I not good enough for your 'personal protection?'"

"Not at all." Me objected. "It's just that there'll be no point in protecting you, seeing as you're already headed to your death."

I blinked, my mouth hanging open slightly. Okay, I wasn't expecting that to come out of her mouth. The Doctor, Clara, and Rigsy all looked towards me with questioning expressions etched on their faces. I just shrugged, not knowing how to respond.

After our feet had been released from the bricks, we followed Me down trap street.

Absentmindedly walking through the street, not listening to a word the others were saying, I accidentally bumped into someone. Seeing through the Lurkworms, I noticed I had run into a Silurian. She glared down at me as though I were the one who had "murdered" Anah.

The only other time I had taken notice of my surroundings was when we passed by the quantum shade. I stared at the raven, filling my sight with as much hate as I could muster and wrinkled my nose in disgust. I had had enough of that horrid thing already. Hearing it squawk was like death itself.

Then came the old man's death. I had seen Clara's face on television when the woman had asked for the man pass on his death to her, so I could pinpoint the exact moment in which she decided her course of action. I had leaned over, whispering "don't" in her ear, only she didn't respond. I just hoped she had got the message.

I slipped past Clara as she was talking to Rump and grabbed Rigsy, pulling him aside to a secluded area. It was time to put my plan into action.

"Listen," I said to him carefully, "we don't have much time before the Doctor or Clara finds us, so I need you to work with me here."

"What are you doing?" He asked me.

I took a deep breath and then decided to just put it as bluntly as possible. "I need you to give me the chronolock."

"Sorry, what?" He nearly shouted, bewildered that I would even say such a thing.

I shushed him. "No questions, just agree. Please?"

"I-"

"Emma, you sneaky little pumpkin." The unmistakable voice of my mother came up, rather loudly, behind me.

I groaned, turning around with a look of dread, and saw none other than Clara Oswald marching up to me.

"I look around for Rigsy and as you'd expect, I can't find him anywhere. So I search and I search for him and you know who I bumped into along the way? The Doctor. Guess how surprised I was when you weren't with him, then double that when he says that he thought you were with me-"

Okay, yes, so I may have told the Doctor that I was going to be investigating with Clara and told Clara that I was going to be investigating with the Doctor. What's the big deal?

"-And now, here I am, finding you doing the exact thing you had told me not to do. Any explanations, young lady?"

Clara didn't even know how much her tone was affecting me. There I was, getting told off by my mother who didn't even know she was my mother, finally understanding why so many people I had met were afraid of doing something their mom would disapprove of. It took all my willpower not to stutter.

"Well, when you say it like that, it really puts things into perspective." Was all I could manage.

"Go to the Doctor." She ordered as she walked past me and up to Rigsy. "I don't want to catch you doing anything like this ever again."

"No, wait, Clara-"

I almost told her that if she followed through with this then she wouldn't catch me doing anything at all ever again, but thankfully, I was interrupted.

"Don't even try telling me that it's not what it looks like, Emma. I will not, under any circumstances, allow you to give away your life. We'll find another way."

That's when my anger let itself out. What a fucking hypocrite.

"Seriously? Well then, why don't you go ahead and tell me why, exactly, you were looking for Rigsy?"

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" Rigsy's voice cut through our argument. "I'm not giving my death sentence to anybody."

"Look, Rigsy," Clara spoke to him quietly, but loud enough so that I could hear. "Unlike Emma here, I have a plan. One that doesn't involve anyone dying."

My entire face screwed up in frustration, having to hold myself back. I wanted to shout, to scream at her to stop. I wanted to tell her that her plan wouldn't work, that it would only end in heartbreak. I almost did, but I bit back my words at the last second. There had to be another way to prevent the following events from happening.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered.

"Shut up and find that grumpy owl," Clara ordered.

Seeing that Clara was adamant about her choice, I did as I was told. Partly.

I did not go and find that "grumpy owl" as Clara had put it. Instead, I left the trap street, deciding that I would have to go with plan B. Yes, I actually thought this through and made a second plan. It's not every day your mother dies. Unless, of course, if you have a time machine.

Speaking of which, I reached the TARDIS in about a half hour, running at full speed the whole way. I nearly collapsed on the floor when I entered, but I forced myself to keep moving.

I punched in the ID number for Missy's vortex manipulator and sent her a call through the communication device.

After a few seconds of tapping the console impatiently, Missy picked up. "Doctor, I'm a bit busy right now-"

"Not the Doctor," I interrupted quickly. "It's Emma."

"Oh, Emma! I see he finally got around to you."

"Yeah, but enough chit-chat. I've got a problem that I think you'll enjoy helping me solve."

She sounded dreadfully bored. "Really? And why would I want to help you in any way?"

"Because my solution might just cause chaos."

A pause. "Do go on."

I didn't bother with trying for discrete. I was in full speed ahead mode and I was going to make that loud and clear for my business partners.

That's why I landed right in the front of the High Council's conference room. I wasted no time in busting the doors open while wearing my best bitchface.

I announced clearly so that the whole room could hear, "alright, either you shit-cakes call it off or I'm pulling out the big guns. Literally."

The High Council stared at me, aghast. Meanwhile, the Lord President of Gallifrey, Rassilon, was not quite so dumbstruck.

"Emma Oswald," I flinched at the use of my full name, "care to explain yourself?"

I stomped right up to him and spat, "oh I'm sorry, princess, do I need to repeat myself for your fragile fucking ears?"

Every second was crucial. I needed to get my point across, and fast. My heart was beating so loudly out of stress that I was sure everyone in the room could hear it. Time was being lost, I needed to act quick if I wanted to save my mother.

"I said call it off!"

"Call what off?" Rassilon asked, getting frustrated as well.

"You damn well know what. Call off the raven."

"The raven is under Mayor Me's control."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. As if you guys would give complete control of a death machine to a human. Even if they were at least a thousand years old. I know you have some way of controlling it and I demand you do it or-"

"Or what?" Rassilon demanded. "What can you possibly do to us?"

"Or," here goes nothing, "I'll kill myself."

"Go ahead," the President of Gallifrey said flippantly as he turned his back to me, "you've done enough damage to the universe, don't you think?"

Maybe he expected me to feel hurt, but his words had no effect on me. In fact, I was practically expecting him to say something like that.

"Ah, ah, ah. You should probably things through for once, Lord President."

He turned halfway back around and narrowed his eyes. "Tell me why I should care about whether you live or die."

"Well, it's not so much whether I do or don't, it's more of a matter of when."

Now he had turned around fully. "Explain."

"You see. There's one crucial detail missing. One crucial detail that I haven't told you yet. Not in my timeline."

Rassilon's eyes widened in realization and he gritted his teeth.

I continued antagonizing him. "Are you really willing to put all of time and space at risk when a fixed point goes haywire?"

Behind us, I heard the sound of a lift opening and men in heavy armor stepping into the room. I turned around and growled. One of the High Council members must have ordered them to come here. The High Council and Rassilon all stepped out of the way, leaving me open for them to take a shot. Obviously, I couldn't allow them to do that. Even if they only had the stun setting on, it would ruin any chance I had of stopping the raven. But I couldn't just step back inside the TARDIS, either. One, because it would also ruin any chance I had of stopping the raven. Two, because it was at least ten feet away and the soldiers would definitely have shot me by the time I got there. Three, because Rassilon and the High Council was guarding it. Now I was the one gritting my teeth, frantically looking around for a solution to all these problems. But there was no solution to be found.

The soldiers took aim. Rassilon yelled for them to fire. I lowered my head in defeat.

Being shaken awake isn't the most pleasant thing. Your head violently rocking back and forth and your shoulder being gripped so tight.

"Wake up sleepyhead." A familiar, quiet, voice said. "We're breaking you out."

I opened my eyes halfway and could just make out the face of my mother. My mind thought "Clara" but my mouth had other ideas.

"...Mom." I found myself mumbling.

She laughed softly. "Sorry kiddo. You're mum's not here."

If only she knew how wrong she was.

Then I noticed the outfit. It wasn't the light grey and white jumper she was wearing the last time I saw her. No, instead she was wearing her blue and white waitress outfit.

My eyes snapped open. Behind Clara, I could make out the figure of Me in the doorway of their TARDIS. Which could only mean one thing…

"I failed…" It came out as a mere whisper.

Clara grew concerned. "Failed? At what?"

"Saving you." I clarified.

She smiled empathetically. "Hey, it's alright. I've got years of adventures ahead of me, and so do you. So come on. Let's get out of here."

As we both stood up, walking out of what seemed to be a cell and into the TARDIS, I wondered. What did she mean, "so do you"?

As if reading my thoughts, Me spoke up. "We've located your Doctor. Curly hair, brown leather jacket, 'Queens' shirt, right? We can bring you back to him if you like." Then, as if it were an afterthought, she added, "he seems to miss you."

A sinking feeling settled inside. I was a fool, really. I had hoped that maybe I could travel with Clara and Me in their TARDIS, get to spend a little more time with my mom. I should have known that it would never happen. The reason was simple: Clara and Ashildr don't age. I do. It's not fair to impose the same downtrodden feeling the Doctor has when he sees his companions age on them any more than necessary.

Slowly, I nodded. I wanted to have a word with my Doctor anyways.

"Very well." Clara nodded as we entered the control room. She strode right up to the console and pulled down the helmic regulator.

We landed right next to the Doctor's TARDIS. I sent a look Me's way and she nodded. I was ready.

Maybe I should have asked for one last hug. Clara had always been a stickler for them and there was no doubt she would have obliged. But part of me knew that if I ever wrapped my arms around that small frame of hers ever again, then I would never be able to let go.

So, without looking back, I walked out of those doors and turned to my right, faced with the dazzling gleam of the blue police box. Beside me, I could hear the sound of Clara and Me's TARDIS handbrake at work. I had no choice now. I breathed in deeply through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. Pushing open both doors, I entered the TARDIS, only to find it empty.

Figuring that he was out on his latest adventure, I closed the TARDIS doors and sat down in one of the blue chairs in the console room and waited for him to return.

When he finally did, I jumped up to a standing position in a split second, my feet hitting the floor with a thump. The Doctor's head, which was bowed a second before, now lifted up sharply to look at who made the sound. His eyes widened when he saw me. I stood there, unmoving, and fidgeting with my fingers.

The Doctor was the one who broke the silence. "Emma, you came back. But...how?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "That's a story for another time." I got straight to business. "Doctor, I think we need to chat."

"Well, of course. You've been gone a long time, there's been a few...changes."

I ignored his statement. "No. I mean we need to talk about what's just happened for me."

He knitted his eyebrows together, obviously confused. "Why?"

"Why?" I mimicked incredulously, then repeated. "Why? Maybe because you've been a total asshole, that's why!"

"Emma-"

"Don't you 'Emma' me. You couldn't even warn me that, by the way, I was going to be sent back in time and forced to hang out with your best bud Missy first, then your twelfth self immediately after? I'm aware of the laws of time, Doctor. A little warning wouldn't hurt the universe! Not to mention how your twelfth self treated me. I mean, I know he's a jerk to everyone, but that excludes kids. You were a complete asshole to me, a kid. And don't even get me started on the whole 'time sensitive' bullshit."

And there, on the Doctor's face once more, was that look again. It seemed familiar now, almost like I've seen it way too many times before. And then it hit me. I had seen it way too many times before. I've seen it on the twelfth Doctor's face before. That was the face he always made whenever I mentioned the fact that he was on a TV show. But this regeneration believed me, didn't he?

"Doctor, you don't still think that, right?" I asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer.

He hesitated. "Please, Emma-"

"Oh my God," I stared at him, shocked, "you do. You lied to me."

I don't know why I was so surprised. Rule 1: the Doctor lies. I was no exception to that rule. But for some reason, I made myself believe every word he said.

"I trusted you," I balled my hands into fists, "I thought you might be able to help me like you did everyone else, but the truth is that you're no different from the others."

"Emma!" He sounded truly hurt, but I wasn't going to fall for anything of his again, no matter what it was.

"Shut up! I'm done with you. Take a good look at this face, Doctor, because this is the last time you're ever going to see it!"

"Oh come on, where are you going to go exactly?" The Doctor was starting to get angry as well by now. "In case you've forgotten you haven't got anywhere to go!"

My nails dug into my skin. My teeth scraped against each other. If looks could kill, the Doctor would have been ashes falling through the grating of the TARDIS floor.

"You...how dare you?" I questioned, positively seething. "How dare you? How would you fucking like it if, when you thought Gallifrey was gone, I just outright said, 'oh, by the way, just a reminder, but your home is gone? Also, everyone close to you is dead as well, and guess what? It's your fault!'"

Tears were welling up in my eyes at this point and I bit my lip. Shit. I hadn't meant for that last part to come out.

I stormed up to the Doctor and declared, quietly now, "the difference between you and me, is that for you, it all actually turned out to be untrue."

With that, I stormed past him and out the TARDIS doors, leaving him to contemplate my words.

I trudged as far as I could from that blasted ship, not caring where or when I was, only glad that it was something akin to summer. I stopped by a brick building with a "missing" sign on it. Someone called Alina Childe was on the poster.

Needing something good at the moment, I tried thinking back to my last moment where I truly felt at ease. Surprisingly, it wasn't that long ago. In fact, it was only a few minutes ago. I had been in Clara and Me's TARDIS, giving Me instructions on a message to implant in the TARDIS mainframe for Clara to find. My mind drifted to the message I had sent her.

You taught me the courage of stars before you left

How life carries on endlessly even after death

With shortness of breath, you explained the infinite

How rare and beautiful it truly is to even exist

I couldn't help but ask you to say it all again

I tried to write it down but I could never find a pen

I'd give anything to hear you say it one more time

That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes

~Emma O

Again, really sorry for the wait. I hope this chapter was enough to partially make up for the drought of chapters. I'll work much harder to get the next chapter out sooner. Hope you guys enjoyed and as always, hope you'll review!