CHAPTER 12

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FAMILY REUNION

As soon as the TARDIS materialized in Wilfred and Calliope's front yard, I came outside wearing a blouse that revealed nothing whatsoever and a long skirt that reached all the way down to the floor. To complete my 'new' look, I wore my hair up in a braid and a pair of dark glasses with lenses in them that were so thick that I could barely see a thing.

Before I could even make it to their front door, however, Lydia burst out loud with laughter.

"What are you wearing? Are you going to see Giacomo's parents or are you applying to be a schoolteacher in the 1950s?" Lydia said.

Okay, so maybe I did overdo it just a little.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to say that I'm ashamed of myself or who I am in any way, and I definitely don't feel that I should be ashamed of it.

So why was I suddenly changing my look in order to impress two people that I'd never met before?

I knew exactly why even if I didn't want to admit it. It was because I was so afraid of losing Giacomo like I had just lost Ada. What had happened to her still haunted me even if I was able to mostly move past it by this point.

"Shut up. I'm trying to make a good impression on them. They've never met me before, and I really didn't want them to see me in my usual kind of outfit," I said.

"Oh, so you don't think that Calliope and Wilf will get the right image of you in the skintight leather suit?" Lydia said with a grin.

"You don't understand. This is very important to me. I want them to like me," I admitted.

"Well, to be honest I think that Wilf would probably like the skintight suit much better. I'm not sure about Calliope though," Lydia joked.

"Stop it!" I said as I began to laugh.

"So you're feeling better now?" Lydia asked in a serious voice.

She knew. She knew what was really bothering me even if I didn't yet realize it myself. Who better to know that than Lydia though? She has always known me better than I know myself.

"Yeah, I'm better now. Don't worry," I assured her.

"Good because I was getting very worried for a while there. Don't worry about Ada any more, Chrissy. I'll make sure that you find her, okay?" Lydia said.

I looked at her in surprise as I said, "Do you mean that you'll use your power to find her?"

Lydia gave me a guilty look then as she said, "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I'd help you in every way that I could other than by using my powers. If you really want me to though, I will. I'm sure that this can't be a bad use of them if it reunites you with Ada."

I have to admit that I felt a very strong temptation for a brief moment to ask her to do exactly that for me, but then I finally violently shook my head as I said, "No, I can't do that. I can't just abuse your abilities like that. If I start doing that, I might not know when to stop. I'm supposed to help you to use them responsibly not make you use them whenever I need something."

"I'd do it though, Christina. All you have to do is say the word," Lydia said.

I know she would. She really would do anything for me. It wouldn't be out of a sense of malevolence of course but purely to make me happy because she loves me. If I wanted her to, she'd probably make me the queen of the universe or something. That's why I could never give into any temptation to use her powers for my own benefit. That was a slippery slope that I never wanted to start down.

"I know, sweetie. Thank you for that too but I can't," I said.

"Alright but if you change your mind just say so," Lydia said.

"Molto bene!" Giacomo suddenly said behind them.

"Christina?" Jacqueline said in a shocked voice.

"That's Christina? I thought that she was one of the neighbors or something," Anthony said.

"Don't feel bad. I didn't recognize her either. That's . . . some outfit, Christina. It looks very good on you," Willa said as she tried to be extremely nice just like she usually did.

That was one of the things that I loved about Willa. She was always polite no matter how silly that someone had just made themselves look.

"I'll say it does," Giacomo said as he smiled from ear to ear.

Lydia began to laugh as she said, "Don't tell me that you actually like the way that she looks in that get-up."

"I do actually. I really do. You really make that look work for you, Mia Bella," Giacomo said as he pulled me close to him and gave me a tender kiss.

"Oh, so you like the sexy nerd girl look, eh?" I said in a seductive voice.

I never thought in a million years that he would actually think that that look was alluring. I was actually going for the opposite effect and trying to make myself look as pure as the driven snow in that outfit. I guess that just goes to show that when you have it you have it no matter what you do to try and hide it.

"You know I do, Mia Bella. Then again you could pull off any look. Why are you dressed like this anyway?" Giacomo asked.

"I just wanted to look respectable for your parents. I just want them to think that I'm worthy of you," I said.

Giacomo smiled as he said, "Of course they're going to think that and not because of the way that you look. All they have to do is meet you and get to know who you are as a person, and they'll both learn to love you just as much as I do."

"I hope so," I said in a worried voice.

"I know so, Mia Bella. Come on. I can't wait for you to meet them," Giacomo said.

I now finished walking up to the door and rang the doorbell as she waited nervously outside. I could feel my heart thundering in my chest for what seemed like an eternity as I stood there waiting.

Then Wilf finally answered the door at last. His face broke out into a warm smile as soon as he saw me standing there.

"Hello, sweetheart! You must be Christina. You're just as beautiful as Giacomo is always telling us. In fact, I'd say that you're more beautiful. Why are you dressed like that for though? That look is definitely not the impression that he gave of you, and I know that it can't be your usual one because you can barely see out of those glasses. Why don't you take them off before you hurt yourself?" Wilf said with a concerned look on his face.

I immediately did so and smiled at him gratefully and with a sense of relief. I loved Wilf already. He was just like the grandfather that I had always wanted growing up.

To be honest, he was probably more like the dad that I had always wanted too.

"She's trying to impress you, Granddad. She's really nervous," Jacqueline said with a grin.

Wilf looked at her oddly for a moment causing Jacqueline to hit herself in the forehead and say, "I'm sorry, Gramps. I forgot that you don't know this version of me yet. It's me, Jackie. This is the grown-up me from the future."

Wilf's face immediately became filled with joy and he hugged Jacqueline tightly as he said, "I thought that you looked familiar. It's my sweet little Jackie!"

Jacqueline laughed as she said, "Yep, it's me. I never was sweet though, Granddad. Just ask Lily or Cass or Jenny or . . ."

"I think you're the sweetest person that I've ever met," Anthony said after he interrupted her with a kiss.

Jacqueline smiled at him warmly as she said, "Well, considering who your mum and sister are that's probably not as big a compliment as some people might think."

"Shut up and take a compliment from the man, Jackie," I said with a frown.

Then I quickly realized what I had done in front of Wilf and said, "I mean you should let him say something nice about you if that's what he wants."

"Christina, you don't have to do that," Wilf said.

"Do what?" I said innocently.

"You don't have to be afraid of us rejecting you. Callie and I are going to love you just as you are. I know we will," Wilf said as he put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"She recently found out that she had a sister that she didn't know about, and her sister told her that she hated her. She unfairly blamed her for things that weren't her fault," Giacomo said.

Wilf's eyes filled with sympathy then as he said, "Of course they weren't her fault."

"How do you know that? You don't even know me yet," I said as I struggled to maintain my composure.

"No, but I know the Doctor and he would never fall in love with anyone who wasn't even more beautiful on the inside than they are on the outside," Wilf said with a warm smile.

I looked at Giacomo with a large smile as I said, "Did you tell him to say that?"

Giacomo tried to hide a grin as he said, "No, he came up with it all by himself I swear."

"Right. Thank you, Wilf. You just made my day," I said as I hugged him and kissed his cheek.

Wilf laughed and said, "See? I told you that I'd like you. You're just like he told us that you'd be."

"Oh? And what have you been telling them about me exactly, Doctor?" I asked Giacomo.

"Oh, it's just the usual, dear. That you're perfect for him, and that it's like you were made for each other. He also said something about his hearts stopping every time that you smile. That sort of thing," Calliope said as she joined Wilf at the door.

"I know how he feels," Wilf said with a grin as he stared at Calliope.

Calliope actually blushed as she said in a low voice, "Stop that. Not in front of the others."

"Sorry," Wilf said looking embarrassed.

"It's okay. I think it's sweet," I said to both of them making Calliope smile.

Then I turned to Giacomo and said with a purposeful smile, "So, does this make your hearts stop, Doctor?"

"Feel them," Giacomo said.

I laughed but did as he asked anyway. I gasped as I felt that they had both stopped. Then to my relief, they both started again in the next moment.

"Maybe I'm going to have to stop smiling," I said slightly afraid.

"Oh, he was just slowing his hearts down on purpose to show off. Don't worry, Chrissy," Jacqueline said.

"Stop that. You know I worry about you," I said as I punched Giacomo in the arm.

Calliope laughed as she said, "You're right, Giacomo. She's adorable."

"You said that?" I asked in amusement.

"Yeah, something like that," Giacomo said in an awkward voice.

I gave him a tender kiss as I said, "You're probably the only one to ever call me that and for good reason, but I definitely appreciate the sentiment."

"Come inside, Christina. You don't have to stand out here . . . or wear that ridiculous outfit. I'm surprised that you didn't put on some fake glasses to go with it," Calliope said.

Wilf smiled but said nothing as I laughed nervously.

As she invited me inside, I couldn't get over how youthful Calliope seemed especially for someone who was thousands of years old. She acted just as young as she looked, and it helped make me feel a whole lot easier now. I felt as if I was with a friend instead of my future mother-in-law.

Then again who was to say that she couldn't be both?

Calliope seemed to be filled with joy as she said, "Go ahead and sit down. All of you."

Then she looked closely at Jacqueline and began to laugh as she said, "Jackie!"

She hugged Jacqueline tightly as she said, "You really should have come by to see us, sweetie. This has to be Anthony. I knew that you two would wind up together."

"How did you know that? You only know us as kids," Anthony asked in surprise.

"Yes, but you're the only person that Jackie doesn't constantly pretend to insult or put on an act of toughness around. She's always just herself when she's with you," Calliope said as she gave me a brief but very pointed look.

She was trying to tell me to stop putting on an act as well of course. So I did. I stopped trying to get her to like me and just started to be myself from that moment on.

That seemed to work out just fine amazingly enough. Who knew?

"And you must be Lydia and Willa," Calliope said.

"Hello. You have a very nice home here. I'm sorry for not saying anything. I'm not exactly used to being around people so excuse me if I'm a bit awkward," Willa said with a nervous smile.

"That's alright. I'm used to having people who are awkward socially around. You might say that I raised one," Calliope said as she smiled at Giacomo.

"I was never awkward around other people," Giacomo protested.

"Arkytior," Calliope said in-between fake coughs.

"That was different. She didn't count," Giacomo said.

"Why was that exactly? Is it because you were madly in love with her?" Calliope teased.

Then her mouth dropped as she realized what she was doing and immediately said, "I'm so sorry, Christina. I didn't mean anything by that I swear."

"It's alright. I know how he feels about Rose. I've always known. I know that he's always going to love her no matter what, but I also know that this particular Doctor loves me too," I said reassuringly.

"I just didn't want you to think that I was rubbing that in your face. I would never do that," Calliope said.

I smiled at her starting to like her as well now as I said, "Thank you. I really do appreciate that."

"The point was that I won't judge you for being awkward, Willa," Calliope said even as she put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me with gratitude.

"I hope that you won't judge me for being a bit of a motormouth either. I tend to talk a bit too much once I get to know people," Lydia admitted with a chuckle.

"Tell me about it. I can never get her to shut up most of the time," I said.

"You're lucky that I love you so much or I might not take too kindly to being told to shut up. I could erase someone for doing that you know. I am an Eternal after all," Lydia joked.

Wilf actually looked a bit concerned by that which made Lydia immediately look guilty and say, "Not that I ever would. I'm nice. Really. In fact, I'm a bit of a pushover."

"She really is, Wilf. I should know. I push her around all the time," I said with a smile.

"Shut up," Lydia said as she pretended to be mad.

Wilf started to laugh at us now as he said to Lydia, "You're her other sister aren't you, darling? You have to be."

"No, not by blood but definitely by spirit. I wish that I had been her sister. I would never have her hurt her like Ada did. I'd like to wipe her from history for putting Christina through that," Lydia said in a bitter voice.

"Lydia," I said in an unbelieving tone.

Then she looked at me apologetically and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. You know I wouldn't do that. I just . . . I really hate her for what she did to you. I hate seeing you so worried about losing people that you put on this stupid outfit to be accepted. She has you doubting yourself and that's not right. My Christina is cocky, arrogant, and tells the universe where to go when it gets in her face. She doesn't ever try to change herself for anyone."

"Alright I get the point, Lydia. I'll work on the whole self-esteem problem, okay? Just don't blame Ada alright? It's not her fault. I'd probably hate me too if I were in her shoes," I said.

"She doesn't hate you, Christina. She's just angry. She'll come back sooner or later," Calliope said.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Well, I don't for sure. I'm just basing it on my own relationship with someone else. She was someone who I was very close to once and that I'm now starting to slowly become close to once again. We had a . . . falling out over a misunderstanding just like it sounds like you and your sister had. We were angry at each other about it for a very long time, and I thought that she hated me over that misunderstanding so much that we'd never be friends again. It turned out though that she didn't hate me and had never stopped caring about me even if she was angry at me. We made up again not too long ago, and I was so glad about that because I never stopped caring about her either even if I had never admitted it before then. We weren't exactly sisters, but we were close enough to it. So you shouldn't give up on her coming back to you just yet, Christina, alright?" Calliope said.

"She's talking about my other Gran," Jacqueline whispered to me.

I figured as much actually. The constant fighting between Calliope and Lily was legendary. Even I had heard about them, and I wasn't exactly a part of their inner circle.

"Thank you. I won't give up. I promise. I've already decided to go after her and get her back somehow. That is if I can ever find her. She seems to have just disappeared," I said to Calliope.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that she'll find you when she's ready to and not a minute before," Calliope reassured me.

"I really hope that you're right, Calliope," I said.

"Mum," Calliope said.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"Call me Mum. I mean you're going to be soon anyway, right? You might as well get in practice," Calliope said with a warm smile.

"Thank you . . . Mum," I said as I eagerly embraced her.

"So does this mean that the Doctor will be both my brother-in-law and my husband now?" I asked as that thought just suddenly popped into my head.

"You're just now thinking about that? I've been thinking about how weird that was going to be from the minute that you fell for Giacomo," Lydia said laughing.

"It won't be so bad. Don't worry about it, Auntie," Jacqueline said with a mischievous grin.

I looked at her with my jaw open as I said, "That's right. You're going to be my niece soon. You're much more like a friend though. This is just so weird."

"You'll get used to it,' Jacqueline assured me.

"If there's one thing that you learn to get used to when you deal with my son, Christina, is constantly being involved in weird and confusing situations," Calliope said.

Giacomo looked at her in indignation as Calliope immediately added, "I mean that in the nicest, sweetest way possible of course."

I couldn't help but think of what an idiot that I was for being worried about what Calliope and Wilf would think of me. I already felt completely at ease with both of them, and I'd only just met them. I was so glad that I had listened to Ishtar and had decided to go ahead and do this now. It had definitely been a good piece of advice.

What I couldn't understand was what it had to do with the tests. I had thought from what Ishtar had said that it would lead me to the next one, but apparently I was wrong. Maybe this really was just Ishtar wanting me to have some quality time with my future family and that was it.

"Did you say that your sister's name was Ada?" Wilf suddenly said with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Yes, I did. Why?" I asked with surprise.

"Does your sister have dark hair and a similar look to you?" Wilf asked.

"Yes, she does. She has similar features to mine," I said wondering what he was getting at here.

"I think that I may have seen her when I was just a kid. It was a long time ago but I remember meeting this woman who was searching for a stopwatch. She said something about needing to get to it before her sister did. I thought that it was very strange at the time because why would her sister care about a watch? Callie, do you think that that woman could really be Ada?" Wilf asked.

Well, it seemed as if Ishtar really did know what she was doing after all. She just had it all covered today didn't she?

"Callie?" I asked with a smile.

"That's his nickname for me. I like it. Sometimes he still calls me Liz too since the name that I use on Earth is Elizabeth Mott, but I'm starting to like Callie a lot too. I've thought of maybe making it my middle name. It makes me feel more human somehow which I've learned to appreciate a lot more these days because my daughter is half-human. Yes, Wilf, it could be her. We'll only know for sure with Christina's help though. Christina, is it okay if I temporarily link you and Wilf together so that he can share the memory of that day with you? I need you to tell us if it's really her or not," Calliope said.

"Sure, I trust you, Mum," I said still feeling odd calling her that especially when she looked about the same age as me.

Calliope smiled at me as she said, "Good. Now to make this work I'm going to have to do a temporary link with you, Christina, in order to let you share in my permanent link with Wilf. If there's anything that you don't want me to see in your mind, just put a door in front of it, okay? Are you ready?"

I nodded and took a deep breath as I said, "Let's do it."

She put her hands on the sides of my head and told me to put mine on the sides of her head which I did. As soon as I did so, I immediately felt her inside of my mind, and fear seized me immediately. I had someone else inside of my mind, and even though I liked Calliope I still felt very uncomfortable.

It's alright, Chrissy. Just concentrate on me. I'm here with you and I won't let anything happen to you, okay? Lydia said in a calming voice through my link with her.

Interesting. So you already have a permanent mental and biological link with Lydia? You two really are like sisters, aren't you? Why does my being here upset you so, Christina, if you're already used to sharing your mind with her? Calliope asked.

No offense, Calliope, but I've only just met you. I've known Lydia a long time now. It's different with her. I replied.

I was trying not to offend her by saying what was really on my mind. Lydia was family and she wasn't . . . not yet anyway.

I'm sorry, Christina. I forgot that humans aren't used to being so forthcoming with others this way. Time Lords often share things mentally with one another whether we know each other or not. I guess our people really are different. I wonder if Kimberly will like other people being in her mind or not? Will she be more like a Time Lord or a human that way? That's something to think about. Christina, if you don't want to do this, I'll understand. Calliope responded.

No, it's alright, Mum. I'll soon get used to it. I replied as I smiled at her.

She smiled and briefly kissed my forehead. Then I suddenly found myself in another place entirely. I knew instantly that I had been taken into a recreation of Wilf's memory, but it all seemed so real as if I was really there. I was standing there along with Calliope and Lydia watching a little boy who had to be Wilf while he stood there alone playing in his front yard.

Can he see us? I asked.

No, this is just a memory. Nothing more. We're just going to watch it like it's a movie. Calliope replied.

Well, I have to say that this definitely has 3-D beat by miles. I joked.

Maybe we could market it as the new movie technology of the future. Lydia replied with a chuckle.

Calliope looked at us with a wry grin but said nothing. I liked her better and better because she had a great sense of humor. Well, she liked my sense of humor anyway which was always a plus.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice call out to Wilf.

"Hello, I'm sorry to bother you but could you give me some directions? I'm new in town and don't really know my way around just yet," Ada said as she walked up to Wilf with a reassuring smile on her face.

Ada wasn't being threatening or malevolent in any way which I was very glad about. In fact, she was being extremely kind to the young Wilf as she continued to ask him for directions to what was apparently a Victorian history museum.

"Why do you want to go there for, Miss? All that's there is a bunch of dusty old antiques," The young Wilf asked.

Ada smiled at him and gently ruffled his hair as she said, "Oh, I agree with you. Usually I'd find that boring myself but there's one old antique in particular that I really need to get a look at first before my sister does. In fact, I want to make sure that she never sees it."

"How are you going to do that? The museum is open to everyone," Wilf asked.

"I have my ways. The less that you know about that though the better it will be for you, kid. Here. This is for all of your help," Ada said as she handed the young boy a pound.

"Wow! That's a lot of money. You don't have to give me that much, Ma'am. That's funny. This coin is from the 20s and you look like you just came out of that time with that flapper dress on," Wilf commented as he looked at it.

"Yes, well I loved that era. You might say that it feels just like yesterday to me," Ada said with a knowing grin.

I saw her briefly glance at her wrist and then I gasped as I realized that she was wearing a Vortex Manipulator. How in the world did she get one of those?

Well, I guess that explained how she just suddenly disappeared.

"Are you sure that you don't want this back? It's really too much, Miss," Wilf protested.

"No, don't worry about it, okay? I don't care about the money. All I care about is getting to that watch first. You have no idea how valuable that it really is. Well, I'd better not say anymore. Like I said you really don't need to know too much about it. Good bye and thanks again for all of your help. You've very sweet," Ada said as she gave Wilf a chaste kiss on the cheek making him blush.

Now I know why he remembers this so well. Calliope said telepathically in a jealous tone.

He was just a kid, Calliope. Lydia responded with a frown.

I know but I still don't have to like it, do I? Calliope responded with a small smile.

Then Ada turned around and began to leave. She seemed to be so close to me that I couldn't resist reaching out to her to get her to stop.

Ada! I said calling out to her.

She's not real. Calliope reminded me.

Then to the shock of both of us, Ada turned around and looked straight at me. Her face immediately twisted into one of absolute anger as if she could actually see me.

Ada? I called out again as I began to wonder if it really might be true.

"You won't stop me. Not this time. I'll get the watch first and then you'll never complete your test. This time you're going to fail, sister. That will be the best revenge that I could have on you since that's all that you really care about anyway," Ada said.

Ada, that's not true! Please don't go! I screamed as I ran towards her.

This isn't possible. Calliope replied in disbelief.

Someone's manipulating reality on a massive scale to link the past with our minds. I can feel it. Lydia responded.

"Miss, are you alright? There's no one else here but the two of us," Wilf said to Ada.

Ada looked at me and then at Wilf who was looking right through me as she stood there in confusion. It was obvious that she still hadn't figured out what was going on yet and to be honest I really hadn't either.

It's really me, okay? I don't understand this either, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Please, Ada, stop this. I love you and I want you in my life. You don't have to do this to hurt me. Please . . . just stop. I don't want you to hate me. I can't stand having you hate me. I pleaded.

Ada's eyes softened somewhat as she started to move towards me. Wilf kept watching her with concern as he no doubt wondered if she were mad or not.

Suddenly I heard a new voice in my mind that seemed to be talking only to Ada alone.

Don't trust her. She may say all kinds of sweet and loving things, but she really doesn't mean them. I knew someone just like her once. Oh, she loved me so much she said. She told my mother that she'd always protect me and keep me safe. She made me feel as if I was always going to be okay as long as she was around. Then the day came when she let me down. She completely let me down, and I would have died if it had been left up to her. Luckily for me though someone else rescued me and told me the real truth about her. She never cared about me. I was just another piece of cannon fodder for her to toss aside in her little crusade to get back to her one true love on another world. All she cared about was her mission just like your sister. When it comes down to it, she'll pick her mission over you every time. The voice said to Ada telepathically.

That's not true! I really do love you. Please listen to me. If you want me to give up the mission, then I will. I'll give it up right now. Please don't listen to her. She's lying to you whoever she is, and she must have a reason for it that isn't in your best interests whatever it is. She's the one who doesn't care about you. I do and I don't want her to destroy you. I pleaded.

You'd really give it all up for me? Ada asked mentally now.

Yes. I replied with hesitation.

She's lying. Don't listen to her. The voice replied.

No! Don't listen to her! She's the liar. Look in my eyes, Ada. Look closely and tell me if I'm telling the truth or not. I responded as I drew closer to her.

Ada looked deeply for a moment and then began to smile. I knew then that she saw the truth at last.

Traitor! I freed you and this is how you repay me! You won't get away with this, Thief! You're the one who's making her question me so you must die. Do you hear me? Die! The evil voice hissed.

I began to scream as I felt a powerful force begin to rip me apart.

Christina! Lydia screamed in fear.

This isn't possible. It can't be happening. I've only ever seen one other person with this kind of power before. Calliope replied in complete disbelief.

Suddenly I found myself lying on the grass writhing in agony as Ada touched me in shock in order to make sure that I was real and said, "Christina? How?"

"How did she get here? She just appeared out of thin air!" Wilf asked in shock.

"Ada, help me!" I cried out in immense pain as I continued to be attacked by whoever had been speaking to her earlier.

"I don't know how. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for all of this," Ada said in a panicked voice as she stood there in tears.

Then I saw a glowing figure appear in front of me with a malevolent smile on her face as she said, "This is the end of your little mission to save this universe, Time Thief. When you get to the afterlife, tell them that you died at the hands of Nightshade. I'm sure that Missy will get a huge kick out of that."

"Missy?" I said in shock as I now realized at last that she had been real after all.

Suddenly Nightshade's attack was stopped just inches in front of me, and she was hurled across the field by an invisible force. Nightshade practically hissed in anger now as my mysterious benefactor revealed themselves at last.

A door opened up and I could see a Console Room appear out of nowhere as a woman smiled at me from it. I was being protected by an invisible TARDIS.

"Well, don't keep standing there gawking at me, you two. Come on. I haven't got all day. That force field's barely keeping her at bay as it is especially since I extended it to push her away like that," The woman said.

I grabbed Ada's hand and ran inside the TARDIS with her while Wilf ran inside his house screaming for his mother. As the TARDIS doors closed behind me and Ada, the mysterious woman dematerialized the TARDIS and grinned at us.

"Who are you and how did you know that I needed help?" I asked her.

"The name is Iris. Iris Wildthyme. Your friend Lydia contacted Ishtar and Ishtar sent me. I owe her a favor or two that I'm going to more than make up for on this mission I'm sure. I've never seen anything like that creature before after all. I think that the only way that I stopped her as long as I did was to take her completely by surprise. That definitely won't work a second time though so we'd better come up with a way to get that watch and quickly before she does. Want a little drink to keep your courage up? I know I certainly need one. Then again I don't really need an excuse for a drink," Iris said laughing.

"I know you. The Doctor mentioned you to me. He said that someone had had a TARDIS that looked like ours before and that it was you," I said remembering.

"Yes, I'm an old friend of the Doctor's. Well, when I say friend I mean lover of course," Iris said with a wink.

"What?!" I said in undisguised jealousy.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve? Sorry about that. He and I are ancient history of course now. At least I think that we are anyway. I am extremely hard to get over though or so I've heard so I can't be sure," Iris said with a smug grin.

Christina, she's lying. She and the Doctor were just friends nothing more. Focus on the mission. Lydia's voice suddenly said in my head.

"There is no mission. Not anymore. I said that I'd give it up for Ada and I meant it," I said as I looked at Ada.

"No, I don't want you to do that," Ada said.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"That woman, Nightshade or whoever she was, she was twisting my brain and using my anger to turn me even more against you than I was before. Yet again another person was using me against you to get you to stop. That must mean that you're supposed to do this if so many people are trying to stop you. You can't give up now. You have to do this," Ada said.

"Ada, I am so sorry," I said seeing the pain in her eyes from being used yet again because of me.

"I know. I'm still angry at you for what's happened to me. I mean I'm furious! I . . . I don't hate you though. I've never hated you. You have to do this and finish it so that everything that I've gone through will have meant something," Ada said as she took my hands in her own and looked deeply in my eyes.

I nodded as I said, "If I haven't already failed that is by wanting to give up."

"You didn't actually," Ishtar said as she suddenly appeared in the TARDIS with a warm smile on her face.

"What do you mean? How did I not fail by agreeing to give up?" I asked.

"You were going to stop for your sister. You showed that she was more important to you than anything. You passed another test of character by being willing to choose her first over your own need to prove yourself worthy. Nightshade was going to take full advantage of that too if I hadn't sent Iris when I did. You are the one, Christina. I no longer have any doubts about that now and neither do the Eternals. Nightshade's attack confirms that. The tests are over. Now we only have to wait for the ancient ship to arrive so that you can open it. It should be soon now," Ishtar said.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Because Nightshade is here that's how. She and Missy are working together to bring about a premature end to this universe just like the one that occurred to my universe. That's when the ship appeared in my universe is when my own version of Nightshade appeared there. Only I failed to open the ship and she wiped out my reality well ahead of schedule by altering the natural flow of time completely and taking away what we thought was its predetermined future of heat death. I had hoped that that wouldn't happen to this universe but it's happening all over again anyway just like before. The only hope that we might have of stopping her now is to open that ship. If it can stop the heat death, then maybe it can stop Nightshade too," Ishtar explained.

"That's an awful lot of hope to pin on one ship that you haven't even seen the inside of before," I said.

"Right now it's the only hope that we have. Otherwise Nightshade is going to wipe out the entire multiverse again just as she did once before," Ishtar said.

"So it was her that destroyed your universe?" I said in disbelief.

"Wait. What about the stopwatch. She really wanted it for some reason. We can't let her have it," Ada said in concern.

"I'm already on it. I went on ahead and grabbed it before Nightshade could. It's an old Time Lord weapon that could be used to stop time for the entire universe for as long as you want. It's based on the Key to Time," Ishtar said with a smile as she handed it to Ada.

"You'd trust me with this after two people have warped my mind to turn on my sister?" Ada asked in surprise.

"You don't hate Christina, Ada, and you don't really want to hurt her. You proved that by turning against Nightshade. You proved that we can trust you too just as we can your sister. As for people using you against her, here is something that will help," Ishtar said.

She snapped her fingers and a coronet appeared that she placed on Ada's head.

"The Coronet of Rassilon from my universe. It increases a person's willpower and gives them the ability to control the minds of others. It will protect you from being controlled again by anyone as long as you wear it," Ishtar said.

"How do you know that I won't use it to control people?" Ada asked.

"You know after what happened with Nightshade just how it feels being controlled yourself don't you? Do you really want to do that to anyone else and have them feel that helpless now?" Ishtar asked.

Ada shook her head violently as she said, "No, I wouldn't do that. Not now."

Ishtar smiled as she said, "Good. And now to give you a little bit of help, Chrissy."

She gestured and all of the weapons that I had found now appeared in her hands and she held them out to me. I looked at her in confusion as she laughed good-naturedly at me.

"Why do you think that we wanted the weapons, Christina? We wanted you to have them to do battle against Nightshade with in case she showed up here too. Believe me when I say that you're really going to need them too," Ishtar said.

Then she put the helmet on my head and handed me the crystal ball and the indestructability potion as she said, "The crystal ball can warn you when she's about to attack you or harm others. You can then use the helmet to manipulate time in order to hopefully stay one step ahead of her at all times and/or to undo any changes that she makes to the timestream. The potion is for you to stay alive in case that she does catch up to you. I don't know if even it will protect you or not, but we certainly hope so. Ada meanwhile can use the watch to freeze time if all else fails, and it looks like she's about to finally wipe you out once and for all. We wanted to give Ada a weapon too so that Nightshade hopefully wouldn't see her surprise attack coming. We're not sure if even the watch will freeze her or not though so be careful, and only use it as a last resort when all else fails."

"What about me? What's my role in all of this or is that over with now?" Iris asked.

"You're going to take her to the exact time and place that the ancient ship is about to appear. I can feel it approaching now, and I know exactly where it's going to be now. You're going to take her straight there while doing your best to hide her until you get there, alright?" Ishtar asked.

"And where is this ship appearing at exactly?" Iris asked.

"It will be in the same place that it was before in my universe. Here are the coordinates," Ishtar said as she placed them in Iris' mind with a snap of her fingers.

"So what am I supposed to do with these weapons if they can't stop her which I assume that they can't since they didn't before?" I asked.

"You're supposed to use them to hold her off just long enough for you to open the ship and get inside of it. I really hope that they work to buy you enough time to get to it because she's going to probably start attacking as soon as you step out of Iris' TARDIS if not as soon as it materializes and she senses your presence," Ishtar warned.

"Oh, well that's nice to know. I'm so glad to be working with you then," Iris said with a snort.

"Don't worry. Christina can protect you. I know that she can," Ishtar said sounding more confident than I felt at that moment.

"Are you sure that you've got the right person here? You need someone with some real power like Rose," I said.

"No, what we need is you, Christina. You've proven that. If you're still worried about firepower though . . . Here," Ishtar said as she snapped her fingers again.

Suddenly Giacomo, Lydia, Jacqueline, Anthony, and Willa appeared in the Console Room with us.

Giacomo immediately hugged me and gave me a kiss as he said, "I thought that you were gone for good after what Mother told me."

"I'm not that easy to kill, Doctor. You should know that by now," I said with a smile as I started to feel better already with him there.

"Here are your back-up. Hopefully all of you working together along with the weapons can buy Christina enough time to do what she has to do. This is it, everyone. It's what we've been preparing you for all of this time. Once this TARDIS stops, Nightshade will do everything that she can to stop you. Are you ready?" Ishtar asked.

All of us looked at one another warily and said nothing.

"I'm really going to need an extra shot for this one. I have to keep the old bravery up you know? Good to see you again by the way, Doctor. Still pining away for me?" Iris asked with a devilish grin.

"Christina, I . . ." Giacomo started to say.

"I already know, Doctor. Don't worry about it. Let's concentrate on what's about to happen in a minute. I can kill Iris later," I said.

"Well, you can certainly try anyway, but I have a good right hook that I've been waiting to give to you for a long time now, Lady Christina. Steal my bus's look, will you? I thought of it first," Iris said indignantly.

"Not now!" Ishtar hissed at her making her laugh.

"Of course not, dear. We see if we can survive universal Armageddon first and then settle our petty differences later. I know the drill," Iris said.

"Now I've really got a good reason to stop Nightshade just so that I can shut that woman up," I said as I glared at her.

Next: It's Christina and the others on the most important mission of their lives as they finally set out to save the universe at last. Where and when will the ancient ship be? Will Christina be able to reach it without being cut down by Nightshade or will all of the help that Ishtar gave her still fail to keep her alive? Is this the day of the universe's salvation or its final hour?