Tyra walked into the console room after finishing to get dressed. She had slept in the clothes from the day before and had been feeling somewhat gross after the Doctor had woken her up this morning.

"Don't you look… professional today," the Doctor remarked with a teasing grin.

Tyra rolled her eyes "Shut up," she huffed, looking down at her outfit. Since she had taken a liking to the more formal attire she had worn with Queen Victoria, she found herself quite a few similar outfits. A white button-up with a black waistcoat over it and to combat the sheer formality of it, she had put on a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and sneakers. All in all, this was starting to turn into one of her favourite outfits quickly. She liked the fact that it made her look older than some of her other clothes as well.

"It looks good though," the Doctor murmured quietly, turning back to the console.

"Thanks," Tyra snorted "I think…"

It was then that Rose appeared with a huge, red rucksack that – even for Tyra – looked as if it weighed a ton "I'm ready."

"Alright then," the Doctor exclaimed, throwing the Tardis into motion. It had been decided earlier that they would go back to London to visit Jackie for a little while. Tyra was sure that it was also for her sake after what happened with Chloe. The Doctor wanted to give her a little downtime without wanting to be too obvious about it. Whether he was trying to hide it or not, he was worried about how Tyra was doing "Here we are. Powell Estate."

Rose grinned excitedly, stepping out of the Tardis with the bag now slung over her shoulder. Tyra followed the Doctor quietly, looking around the playground they had landed in "It's funny," she murmured, ignoring the looks she was getting "How the whole world changed in… a few hundred years. Back then, we were playing with mud and stones and twigs."

"They still do that," the Doctor pointed out "It's just more now. Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"

Tyra shrugged "Honestly, I have no idea. Just came to mind."

The Doctor nodded, trying not to let her see how unconvinced he really was and held out his hand "Come on, let's go and visit Jackie."

"I'm sure that's what you're looking forward to the most," Tyra teased, placing her hand in his.

"Yeah," the Doctor muttered, walking after Rose.


"Mum, it's us," Rose shouted as she entered the flat "We're back."

"Oh, I don't know why you bother with that phone," Jackie cried out, hurrying over to them "You never use it."

Rose rolled her eyes "Just shut up and come here." She pulled her mother into a tight hug as the Doctor looked on with a smile.

"I love you so much," Jackie cried out. Tyra squeezed past them and was about to go to the living room when Jackie let go of Rose, turning her attention to her and the Doctor "Oh no, you don't." She grabbed him "Come here." With that, she planted a big kiss on him despite his continued protests. Tyra couldn't quite stop then grin from showing on her face when he tried to get her off him "Oh, you lovely big fella. Oh, you're all mine."

The Doctor shifted, his hands flailing around "Just… Just… Just put me down," he spoke, trying to speak over her.

"Yes, you are," Jackie continued, kissing him one more time before smiling at Tyra "Tyra."

"Hi, Jackie," Tyra nodded, allowing Jackie to pull her into a quick hug "It's good to see you again."

Jackie pressed a motherly kiss to her cheek "And you."

As soon as Jackie left them to go to the living room, Tyra turned to the Doctor "And that… is how you handle her."

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Tyra snorted, shaking her head at him "Tyra. Quiet."

"Sorry, sorry." She held up her hands in surrender, sliding past him to sit down on the couch in the living room.

Rose took off her backpack, handing it over to her mother "I've got loads of washing for you," she grinned "And… I got you this." She pulled out a little ornate bottle, holding it out with a wide smile "It's from the market on this asteroid bazaar. It's made of um…"

"Bazoolium," the Doctor answered her unspoken question when she looked at him, a little lost.

"Bazoolium," Rose nodded, turning back to her mother "When it gets cold – yeah – it means it's gonna rain when it's hot, it's gonna be sunny. You can use it to tell the weather."

Jackie looked at the object for a second before she put down the bag "I've got a surprise for you and all."

"Oh, I get her Bazoolium, she doesn't even say thanks," Rose muttered.

"Guess who's coming to visit," Jackie smiled "You're just in time. He'll be here at ten past. Who do you think it is?"

Rose tilted her head in confusion "I don't know."

"Oh, come on," her mother sighed in exasperation "Guess."

"No," Rose rolled her eyes "I hate guessing. Just tell me."

Jackie raised her eyebrow "It's your granddad," she told her daughter "Granddad Prentice. He's on his way any minute." She ignored Rose's confusion, turning to the kitchen "Right, cup of tea."

Rose was left in the living room with the other two, gaping after her "She's gone mad," Rose breathed, stunned.

"Tell me something new," the Doctor shook his head. Tyra reached over to hit him over the head with a pillow, rolling her eyes at him.

"Granddad Prentice, that's her dad," Rose explained "But he died like, ten years ago. Oh, my God. She's lost it. Mum?" She walked after her mother, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen "What you just said about granddad…"

Jackie turned around "Any second now."

"But he's passed away," Rose frowned, sounding very concerned "His heart gave out. Do you remember that?"

Jackie sent her a deadpan looked "Of course, I do."

"Then… How can he come back?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Jackie shook her head "Ten past. Here he comes." Tyra flinched back when an ethereal humanoid shape walked through the outside wall next to her, coming to a halt next to Jackie "Here we are, then. Dad, say hello to Rose. Ain't she grown?"

Tyra looked at the Doctor with a blink, only to see him run out of the apartment. She turned her head to Rose before following him out and down the block of flats to where they caught sight of what was happening "They're everywhere," the Doctor remarked in confusion. They really were everywhere too, standing around like ordinary people. Tyra stepped closer to one of them curiously, reaching out to touch it. Had she not been aware of the Other Side and what happened in the afterlife, she might have actually believed that they were ghosts.

Rose went to ask something when her eyes widened in alarm "Look out." The Doctor spun around right as a ghost walked through him. He squirmed uncomfortably, rubbing at his chest.

"They haven't got long," Jackie called out, joining us "Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade."

"What do you mean 'shift'?" the Doctor asked "Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?"

Tyra stepped up next to him "I honestly don't know. I can tell you one thing though… They are not ghosts. Excuse me." With that, she pulled out her phone and dialled Sienna's number. She hadn't heard from the witch in a while but then again, they didn't usually stay in regular contact. Since Tyra was out of reach from her siblings – not that she really cared much anymore – we only contacted each other when one needs something "Hey, it's me."

"I was wondering when you'd call," Sienna replied, amusement in her voice "You've seen them then?"

"You think?" Tyra asked, rolling her eyes at the Doctor. She followed the others back to the flat, still talking to her witch friend "What do you know?"

Sienna sighed "Not much more than you, most likely. We know they aren't ghosts. The Other Side is still intact, so it's not them. And there had never been any indication that other ghosts exist. Even if they would… Do you really think they would look like that?"

"No," Tyra murmured, running a hand through her hair "I don't think so. Hold on a second, Sienna."

Her attention turned to the television that the Doctor had just switched on. It was a programme that was called Ghostwatch "On today's Ghostwatch," the Host started "Claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge. It's almost like a military display."

"What the hell is going on?" the Doctor muttered to himself, changing the channel.

"And tonight, we're expecting very strong ghosts from London, through the North and up into Scotland," a weatherman explained, gesturing to a map that had these Caspar the ghost things on it instead of the usual weather symbols.

Another channel, another programme about ghosts "So basically, Eileen, what you're telling me is, that you're in love with a ghost…"

The Doctor changed the channel again and Tyra snorted "My ghost was pale and grey until I discovered Ectoshine…"

"Ectoshine," she repeated "What the hell? Has everyone gone crazy?"

Several international news channels later, the Doctor gave up and turned to Jackie "It's all over the world."

"Listen to me, Den Watts. I don't care if you have come back from the grave. Get out of my pub. The only spirits I'm serving in the place are gin, whisky and vodka. Do, you heard me. Get out." With that, the Doctor turned off the tv with a disgusted shake of his head.

"Actually… That was surprisingly clever," Tyra mused before remembering that she had Sienna on the line "Listen, S. I'll – I'll call you back if I know more."

"When did it start?" the Doctor questioned, sitting down on the sofa next to Tyra.

Jackie scratched her cheek "Well, first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar, so she goes down…"

"No," the Doctor cut her off "I meant worldwide."

"Oh," Jackie nodded "That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning and there they all were. Ghosts, everywhere. We all ran around screaming and that. Whole planet was panicking. No sign of you, thank you very much. Then it sort of sank in. It took us time to realise that we're lucky."

Tyra tilted her head "Lucky? Lucky how?"

"And what makes you think it's granddad?" Rose added, glancing at Tyra from the corner of her eye.

Jackie shrugged at Rose's question "It just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?"

"I wish I could, mum," Rose sighed "But I can't."

"You've got to make an effort," Jackie insisted "You've got to want it, sweetheart."

The Doctor's head tilted to the side "The more you want it, the stronger it gets."

"Sort of, yeah," Jackie nodded.

Tyra groaned "Oh, this is bad already. Why can't we have a normal day for once? Is one time too much to ask?"

"Oi," the Doctor huffed, nudging Tyra's ribs "Don't knock it. You know you like it."

Tyra was about to protest before she sighed in defeat "True. Although a day off would be nice every once in a while."

"I love it," Rose disagreed, her expression dreamy "I love the adventure, the running… The different planets."

"I never said that I didn't," Tyra pointed out "But there is a lot of running involved. I guess I'm just…" Tyra broke off, trying to think of what to say. Tired? Mentally exhausted? She didn't know what she even wanted them to know. Avoidance had always worked for her in the past – even avoiding Mikael… for the most part "Never mind."

The Doctor placed a hand on her arm "Are you alright?"

Tyra forced a smile onto her face "I'm fine. So… What do you think those ghosts are?"

"You mean they're not ghosts?" Rose asked "What are they then?"

Jackie looked at them in confusion "But they're Human, right? You can see them. They look Human."

"She's got a point," Rose shrugged "I mean, they're all sort of blurred but they're definitely people."

The Doctor grimaced, unsurely "Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot." He glanced at Tyra and jerked his head to the door.

Tyra followed him out curiously "So… Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No," the Doctor muttered, leading Tyra back to the Tardis "But I have a bad feeling about this."

"Not just you," Tyra sighed "The friend I called earlier. She mentioned a few things that make it clearer that the ghosts aren't actually ghosts."

The Doctor opened the door for her "What do you mean?"

Tyra bit her lip "You have heard of the Other Side, right?"

"Yeah," the Doctor gave back with a confused look "Why?"

"So, the Other Side holds every Supernatural being who died, right?" Tyra gestured "As far as we know it's separated by a veil of some sort… The only ghosts that I'm sure that exist are the people trapped there. And my friend told me that the veil is still up."

The Doctor hummed "Are you absolutely sure about that?"

Tyra nodded "Yeah. It would be a disaster if the veil falls. Everyone would know about it very early on. This is nothing that I know how to explain easily."

"Okay. So, we can cross out your side of the Supernatural," the Doctor nodded, disappearing under the grilling. He watched Tyra from underneath the grilling and bit his lip "Hey, Ty?"

Tyra turned to look over at him "Yes?"

The Doctor inhaled deeply, steeling himself for her reaction to his next words "I just wanted to ask you…"

It was then that Rose strode into the Tardis, a newspaper in her hand "According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds." She looked around for the Doctor until Tyra pointed to the side "Now, don't tell me you're gonna sit back and do nothing."

The Doctor popped up from the grilling again, holding an odd-looking device in one hand with a rucksack-y thing on his back "Who're you gonna call?" he asked in a bad imitation of Scooby-Doo.

"Ghostbusters," Rose laughed.

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts," the Doctor mimicked once more before winking at both Rose and Tyra as he swaggered past.

Tyra smirked after him, shaking her head. The Doctor was a dork. There was no other way to describe him. A brilliant, stupid and oblivious dork but loveable, nonetheless.

Outside, Jackie was waiting for them, already watching the Doctor nervously. The Doctor had already put up the three metal cones linked by wires on the grass "When's the next shift?"

Jackie shifted "Quarter to," she said "But don't go causing trouble. What's that lot do?"

"Triangulates their point of origin," the Doctor explained.

Rose leaned forward "I don't suppose it's the Gelth?"

The Doctor looked up, shaking his head "Nah. They were just coming through one little rift. This lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper."

Jackie scoffed "You're always doing this. Reducing it to science. Why can't it be real? Just think of it, though. All the people we've lost. Our families coming back home. Don't you think it's beautiful?"

"I think it's horrific," the Doctor shot back "Tyra, tell her what you just told me. Rose, give us a hand."

Tyra shot him an annoyed look but walked over to Jackie who was glaring at the Doctor's back "Jackie. I know that he could have worded it better but… I think he's right."

"But why?" Jackie exclaimed "What would be so bad?"

"Think about it," Tyra sighed "If the dead were coming back it wouldn't only be the good ones. Think… serial killers, abusive people and more. Sure, you have love to have your family back but…"

Jackie looked at her "But you wouldn't want yours to come back?"

Tyra smiled grimly "Neither of my family is technically dead… My siblings are around somewhere. Mickey apparently met one of my brothers not too long after Christmas. My father is alive-ish and my mother is… It's complicated. Just know that there are a lot of people who aren't what they seem." She inhaled deeply "But what's worse is… Dying once is more than enough. Would you want them to come back and see what they left behind? I – I personally wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

"Maybe you're right," Jackie sighed, looking at the Tardis "She changed, you know?"

Tyra blinked "What?"

"Rose," Jackie clarified "She is becoming more like him every day."

"I think that is something you should tell her," Tyra pointed out.

Jackie looked at her, her eyebrow wandering up "But you're travelling with them. Can't you see it too?"

Tyra closed her eyes for a moment "Jackie, Rose and I don't really get along too great anymore. I might have been at fault for the way it started but… The way Rose has been acting since she found out about me is the biggest reason."

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.

Tyra groaned, rubbing a hand down her face "You saw how she was at Christmas. That attitude only changed when she – When… You know, this is really something you should talk to her about. I didn't even tell the Doctor about this, so I shouldn't be telling you either."

"I'll talk to her," Jackie sighed "I think it's long overdue anyway. I just don't understand why she would leave all the time… Am I that bad of a mother?"

"What?" Tyra's eyes widened "No. Honestly, I would love to have a mother like you. Someone who gives a crap. You have to understand, though… What's out there is incredible. The Doctor is showing us so much and I don't think either Rose or I would give it up."


"What's the line doing?" the Doctor called over his shoulder.

"It's alright," Rose shouted back "It's holding."

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked, looking up from his construction.

Tyra nodded "Stop asking me that. How long to go?"

"I'll always ask you how you are," the Doctor replied "And it's one more minute." She looked around, a grin blooming on his face "Here we go."

"The scanner's working," Rose called "It says delta one six."

The Doctor nodded to himself "Come on then, you beauty," he muttered. A ghost materialised exactly inside the field, writhing in comfort "Don't like that much, do you? Who are you?" he asked, walking around the ghost "Where are you coming from? Whoa." He flinched back as the ghost tried to break out of the field "That's more like it. Not so friendly now, are you?"

"Holy…" Tyra trailed off, staring at the raging figure in the field.

The Doctor stepped back, grabbing Tyra's hand "Come on." He tugged her to the Tardis, practically shoving her inside "I said so," he proclaimed, getting the attention of Rose. Tyra frowned, looking around for Jackie. Tyra found her sitting on the grating that was higher up "Those ghosts have been forced into existence from one specific point and I can track down the source. Allons-y." The Doctor froze, the Tardis already in motion "I like that. Allons-y. I should say Allons-y more often. Allons-y. Watch out, Tyra Mikaelson, Rose Tyler. Allons-y. And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso because then I could say, Allons-y, Alonso, every time. You're staring at me." He looked at Rose in confusion.

"My mum's still on board," Rose grinned sheepishly, pointing to the woman up on the grating.

"If we end up on Mars, I'm going to kill you," Jackie warned, seeing the Doctor's expression.

Tyra snorted, patting his shoulder "Two Tylers for the price of one." Her attention was drawn to the scanner when the shaking of the Tardis stopped.

The Doctor pouted lightly "Oh well, there goes the advantage of surprise. Still, cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie."

"I'm not letting you go out there alone," Tyra told him, her eyes narrowed at the armed troops that were standing around the Tardis.

Rose huffed "I'm not looking after my mum."

"Well, you brought her," the Doctor pointed out before turning to Tyra "I don't want you to…"

Tyra cut him off "Well, tough. You can die. Me? Not so much. The chances that they know about me being a vampire are mediocre at best. But knowing the rest? Close to impossible."

"Fine," the Doctor sighed.

"Doctor, they've got guns," Rose spoke up worriedly.

The Doctor nodded "And I haven't. Well, I have Tyra but that doesn't count." She scoffed at him, causing the Doctor to grin "Which makes me the better person, don't you think?" They can shoot me dead but the moral high ground is mine."


The Doctor and Tyra stepped out of the Tardis with Tyra staying in front of the Doctor. She raised her eyebrow as a woman ran toward them in high heels "Oh," she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up "Oh, how marvellous. Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day." She started clapping, causing the soldiers to join in.

Tyra exchanged a puzzled glance with the Doctor who had lowered his arms from their raised position "Er, thanks," he shifted uncomfortably, tugging Tyra back a little "Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor."

"Oh, I should say." The woman practically swooned "Hurray."

"You – You've heard of me, then?" the Doctor stuttered.

The woman stared at him with a deadpan expression "Well, of course, we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor, a Companion and the Tardis." There was more applause but it was slightly more scattered now.

"Sorry," Tyra spoke up, drawing the attention to herself "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Oh, plenty of time for that," the woman dismissed "But according to the records, there's three of you. The Doctor and his Companions. That's a pattern, isn't it?"

The Doctor looked at her with narrowed eyes before his mask was up again "Yes. Sorry. Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all." He reached behind him blindly, grabbing the first person he could "But here she is, Rose Tyler."

Tyra bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter when it wasn't Rose but Jackie who was standing next to her now.

"Hmm," the Doctor caught himself "She's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that." Tyra laughed to herself as he continued to ramble on, ignoring Jackie's look that was getting progressively stormier "And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and ages fifty-seven years. But she'll do." Tyra lowered her head, her shoulders shaking in amusement.

Jackie turned to the Doctor with indignation written over her face "I'm forty."

The Doctor patted her shoulder "Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well, I say not bad."

"Better than you in any case," Tyra shot at him.

"Anyway," the Doctor clapped, speaking over her louder than strictly necessary "Lead on. Allons-y, But not too fast. Her ankle's going."

Jackie hit him in the arm "I'll show you where my ankle's going," she hissed, turning to glare at Tyra who still had the gall to look amused "Don't you start."

Tyra held up her hands in surrender "I didn't say anything."

"Don't think I didn't see you laughing," Jackie pointed at her threateningly.

"Sorry," Tyra grinned, turning back to look forward.

The woman looked over her shoulder when they reached a bit warehouse area "It was only a matter of time until you found us and at last, you've made it. I'd like to welcome you, Doctor. Welcome to Torchwood." She gestured around to the massive area with tons of crates, jeeps and trucks running through. On the other side of the room was a flying saucer type spaceship being stripped apart.

"Hey, wasn't that estate called Torchwood?" Tyra asked "Where you met Queen Victoria and Nik?"

The Doctor blinked "Ah, I tried to forget about that one…"

"I bet you did," Tyra laughed "She didn't seem to like you very much."

"Something I'm sure you didn't have a problem with, Lady Mikaelson," the woman shot back.

Tyra's smile fell from her face as she stared at her "What are you trying to say?" she questioned warily.

"Queen Victoria had a lot of good things to say about you… and your brother. What with being an old friend of the family and all that." The woman smirked knowingly "In case you're thinking about trying anything… Don't. We have stakes on standby and the guards are trained."

Tyra scoffed out a laugh "I would love to see you try. They won't get close to me."

The Doctor pulled her back and into his chest "Don't. Just don't, Tyra."

"Yes, don't, Tyra," the woman repeated with a malicious glint in her eyes. She had them both exactly where she wanted them.

Tyra shook her head "You should be more careful about who you threaten. I'm not scared of what you can do."

The woman frowned in confusion. Most vampires had at least shown some sort of reaction to the threat of being staked. She narrowed her eyes, wondering what game the girl was playing. Ah, she would just have to keep a close eye on her "So, Doctor. What do you make of this?"

"That's – That's a Jathar Sunglider," the Doctor gaped.

"Came down to Earth off the Shetland Islands ten years ago," she explained.

The Doctor tilted his head, studying the glider intently "What, did it crash?"

"No, we shot it down," the woman smirked "It violated our airspace. Then we stripped it bare. The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us. Now, if you'd come with me. The Torchwood Institute has a motto. If it's alien, it's ours. Anything that comes from the sky, we strip it down and we use it for the good of the British Empire."

Jackie's head shot around "For the good of what?"

"The British Empire," the woman repeated with a fake smile.

"There isn't a British Empire," Jackie pointed out.

The woman crossed her arms smugly "Not yet. Ah, excuse me. Now, if you wouldn't mind." A soldier handed her a very big gun "Do you recognise it, Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced at it "That's a particle gun."

"Good, isn't it?" the woman bragged "Took us eight years to get it to work."

"It's the twenty-first century. You can't have particle guns," the Doctor exclaimed.

The woman sighed "We must defend our borders against the alien. Thank you, Sebastian, isn't it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Sebastian nodded.

"Thank you, Sebastian. I think it's very important to know everyone by name," she rambled "Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills. That's what it's all about these days. I'm a people person."

The Doctor hummed "Have you got anyone called Alonso?"

"No," the woman frowned "I don't think so. Is that important?"

The Doctor sighed in disappointment "No, I suppose not. What was your name?"

"Yvonne," she replied "Yvonne Hartman." The Doctor picked up a black plastic step-stool thing with a handle on top. He studied it intently before handing it over to Tyra. She took it with a slightly puzzled frown "Ah, yes. Now, we're rather fond of these. The Magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels the mass. I could use it to lift two tonnes of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric."

"Then you and America have something in common," Tyra snarked.

Jackie reached out to touch the clamp "I could do with that to carry the shopping."

Yvonne snatched the device from Tyra "All these devices are for Torchwood's benefit, not the general public's."

"So, what about these ghosts?" the Doctor asked quietly before Jackie could say anything else.

"Ah, yes," Yvonne nodded "The ghosts… They're what you might call a side effect."

Tyra looked at her weirdly "Of what?"

"All in good time," she dismissed "Doctor, there is an itinerary, trust me."

The Tardis was driven past them on the back of a truck "Oi. Where are you taking that?" Jackie demanded.

"If it's alien, it's ours," Yvonne quoted herself.

"You'll never get inside," the Doctor pointed out, shrugging with a pleased look on his face.

Yvonne rolled her eyes and turned away from them "Hmm. Et cetera."

Tyra saw Rose peek out of the Tardis, the Doctor giving her a small nod from the corner of her eye "All those times I've been on Earth, I've never heard of you," the Doctor remarked as he followed Yvonne down another corridor.

"But of course not," she exclaimed "You're the enemy. You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown."

Tyra coughed "I told you. It really seemed like she didn't like you at all."

"Her Majesty creature the Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great and fighting the alien horde," Yvonne explained.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow "But if I'm the enemy… Does that mean that I'm a prisoner?"

"Oh, yes," Yvonne nodded, looking pleased that he figured it out "And not just you. But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. There is also a lot we still need to figure out about your kind." She pointed to Tyra before holding her ID against a scanner.

Tyra let out a sharp laugh "You really think that you can hold us? And that I would tell you anything? If I were you, I'd forget that idea. I'm willing to pretend you never said that we were prisoners. This one time."

"Oh, but we can hold you," Yvonne nodded "We know how to kill you, so I would be careful if I were you."

Tyra spread her arms "Go on, then. Try if you're feeling lucky."

The Doctor closed his eyes "Ty, please. Don't give them the satisfaction."

"I'm not standing by to get threatened, Doctor," Tyra snapped "Not if I can do something about this."

"I know," he sighed "I'm not asking you to take it. I'm asking you to at least show a hint of self-preservation."

Tyra rolled her eyes "But then they would think that I'm scared of their little stakes." She narrowed her eyes on Yvonne, sending her a sharp, fanged smile "If I'm going down, I might as well take you with me." She flashed forward, grabbing the woman by the neck. If she had really wanted to, she could have killed her right then and there but she didn't. Instead, she glared at Yvonne "I could kill you easily. Even before you can make a move. Think about that." She was about to let go when she heard a gunshot and a wooden bullet entered her heart. Tyra choked, pressing a hand to her chest as she felt veins crawling up her face.

Jackie let out a horrified scream, being held by the Doctor "You shot her," she screamed "You just went and shot her." She whirled around to face the Doctor "Do something."

The Doctor just shook his head "Don't worry about it. She'll be fine," he shrugged "Well, she'll be pissed but other than that, she'll be fine."

"You don't seem to know as much about vampires as you think, Doctor," Yvonne proclaimed, sounding very proud of herself "A stake – or in this case, a wooden bullet – to the heart kills them."

"Hmm," the Doctor hummed, gritting his teeth against the irritation. This Torchwood is starting to get onto his nerves quickly "I know that. I wish you good luck in any case." He looked around the room for the first time and blinked at the huge sphere at the other end "What's that, then?"

Yvonne shook herself out of her surprise and nodded "Ah, yes. You can start with this. What do you make of it?"

"You must be the Doctor," an Indian man spoke up, having watched the incident quietly until then "Rajesh Singh. It's an honour, sir." He held out his hand for the Time Lord but lowered it sheepishly when the Doctor ignored him in favour of staring at the sphere.

Jackie sent it a fearful look from her place by Tyra on the floor "What is that thing?" she whispered.

"We got no idea," Yvonne shrugged.

"But… what's wrong with it?" Jackie questioned.

Rajesh smiled "What makes you think there's something wrong with it?"

The Doctor darted forward and up some small steps that led to the platform right underneath the sphere, studying it more closely.

Yvonne sighed "Well, the sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you wanna run and hide. Like it's forbidden."

"We tried analysing it using every device imaginable," Rajesh started as the Doctor put on a pair of 3D glasses "But, according to our instruments, the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing. It doesn't age. No heat, no radiation and it has no atomic mass."

"But I can see it," Jackie argued.

"Son of a…" Tyra groaned, jerking at the pain in her back. She rolled her eyes and continued to mutter "Why do I always forget how much that hurts?"

"Probably because you enjoy shocking people more," the Doctor pointed out, walking over to her, offering his hand. He pulled Tyra up and turned her around "I think you might need help getting that bullet out."

Tyra grimaced, shooting a glare at a shell-shocked Yvonne Hartman "Oh, joy. Can you…?"

The Doctor hummed and plopped his 3D glasses on her neck "This is going to hurt."

"Just do it, will you?"

"What are you…" Jackie cut herself off when the Doctor started digging around in Tyra's back without any care "What the hell?"

Rajesh stepped up to Yvonne, staring at the scene with the same incredulous expression she had "How is that possible?" he asked quietly "I thought stakes were guaranteed to kill vampires."

"They are," Yvonne mumbled.

"They kill normal vampires," Tyra snapped, letting out a hiss when the Doctor started digging deeper "Really? How long does it take to find a stupid bullet?"

The Doctor huffed "Stop complaining. I almost have it."

"Hurry it up," Tyra grimaced.

"Maybe next time don't get shot," the Doctor advised, pulling his hand back while letting the bullet drop to the ground.

Tyra shrugged "How else should I make a point?"

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe the same way us normal people do?" the Doctor asked sarcastically.

"You? Normal?" Tyra was about to say something else when she caught sight of the sphere "What is that?"

The Doctor tapped the specs she was still wearing and nodded to the sphere "What do you see?"

Tyra looked up "There's some sort of… stuff?" She turned to look at the Doctor for the first time since he had given her the specs "Wait… It's on you too?"

"Well, Doctor?" Yvonne prompted, making a mental note to demand answers about the whole 'not-dying' thing later.

"This is a Void ship," the Doctor pointed out.

Yvonne tilted her head "And what's that?"

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "It's impossible for starters. I always thought it was just a theory but it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space, travelling through the Void." He turned away from the sphere, sitting down at the bottom of the stairs with his back to the Void ship.

"And what's the Void?" Rajesh asked.

"The space between dimensions," he explained "There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions, billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in between, containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that. Nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down, no life, no time. Without end. My people called it the Void. The Eternals call it the Howling but… some people call it Hell."

Rajesh gulped nervously "But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?"

"To explore?" the Doctor shrugged "To escape? You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang, end of the Universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You exist outside of creation."

Yvonne's face lit up "You see, we were right. There's something inside it."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor sighed.

"So how do we get in there?" Rajesh questioned.

The Doctor's face darkened as he took back his 3D specs, tugging Tyra away from the thing. Tyra seemed slightly lost but went along with him "We don't," he snapped. Whatever was in there, he didn't want it out "We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?"

"Well, that's how it all started," Yvonne pointed out "The sphere came through into this world and the ghosts followed in its wake."

The Doctor nodded, walking out only to stop right next to Yvonne, leaning impossibly closer "I know that Tyra didn't really die but if you ever – ever shoot her again… I will destroy Torchwood before the day is over, do you understand that?" With that said, he turned back towards the door, pulling Tyra along "Show me."

"No, Doctor," Yvonne called after processing the words he had just spoken, causing the Doctor to whirl around, walking in the other direction.

Tyra looked up at him and sighed "You didn't have to do that," she murmured.

The Doctor sent her a curious look "Do what?"

"Don't play dumb," she rolled her eyes "You know I can't die. I don't need you to protect me." When his face started changing, she added "But I appreciate it. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The guards herded them into an elevator, pressing the button for the very top. Yvonne turned to Tyra "How did you survive?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Tyra mocked, leaning into the Doctor a little.

"Tell me," the woman demanded, her eyes narrowing "Or I will make sure that you get pumped full of bullets for as long as it takes."

Tyra pretended to be scared "Ooh, I'm terrified. I have met scarier things than you and your wooden bullets." She rolled her eyes but decided to give the woman something "Did you ever think that there had to be an origin of vampires, hm? They had to have come from somewhere, right? Original vampires. What do you think they are?"

"None of our test subjects could answer the question about the origin of vampirism," Yvonne breathed "What do you know?"

"I know a lot," Tyra shrugged "None of which I will be telling you."

"Original vampires," Yvonne mused, snapping her fingers "Make a note of that in the file. That will have to be investigated later."


Yvonne led them into a large white room, pointing them over to the far wall "The sphere came through here," she explained as the Doctor reached out to touch the wall, feeling along it "A hole in the world. Not active at the moment but when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up."

"How did you even find it?" the Doctor asked.

Yvonne turned around, surveying the room "Well, we were getting warning signs for years. A radar black spot. So, we built this place, Torchwood Tower. The breach was six hundred feet above sea level. It was the only way to reach it."

The Doctor pulled on his 3D specs again "You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance? How much money have you got?"

"Enough," Yvonne smirked, walking away.

"Hold on a minute," Jackie exclaimed from the window behind Tyra "We're in Canary Wharf. Must be. This building, it's Canary Wharf."

Tyra furrowed her eyebrow "Is that the building that looks like a huge pencil or am I confusing that with the… No, wait. That one has another name…"

The Doctor shot her an amused look "A huge pencil?" he mocked her.

"Well, excuse me for not spending too much time in London. I never liked the city that much," she muttered, her hands raised in surrender "That, and my siblings have an annoying habit of either being in England or in the US. You can see why I normally stay away."

"You must hate travelling with me then," the Doctor snorted "We end up in London at least once a week."

Tyra shrugged "London before the 90s is bearable. But I prefer the English countryside."

"If you're done," Yvonne spoke up "Canary Wharf is the public name for it. But to those in the know, it's Torchwood."

"So, you find the breech, probe it, the sphere comes through," the Doctor started, pacing up and down "Six hundred feet above London, bam. It leaves a hold in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think – Oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe? Nah, you think, let's make it bigger."

Yvonne huffed in annoyance "It's a massive source of energy," the woman pointed out "If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift is in two minutes." With that, she walked out of her office.

"Cancel it," the Doctor demanded.

Yvonne let out an incredulous laugh "I don't think so."

"I'm warning you," he stated dangerously "Cancel it."

Yvonne shook her head "Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the Rights of Man."

"Are you stupid?" Tyra asked "If this was harmless, he most likely wouldn't have said anything in the first place."

The Doctor shook his head at her, telling her to stay silent with a quick look. He didn't want her to get shot again. Seeing it once today was already more than enough. He pulled out his sonic "Let me show you. Sphere comes through." He pointed the screwdriver at her glass wall, causing it to crack "But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the Void and into yours, with the Human race hoping and wishing and helping them along. But too many ghosts and…" He tapped the glass, causing it to shatter completely.

Yvonne swallowed, putting her game face on "Well, in that case, we'll have to be more careful. Positions. Ghost Shift in one minute."

"Miss Hartman," the Doctor started seriously "I'm asking you, please don't do it."

"We have done this a thousand times," she waved off his concerns.

The Doctor took a deep breath "Then stop at a thousand."

"We're in control of the ghosts," Yvonne shook her head dismissively "The levers can open the breach but equally they can close it."

"Okay," the Doctor shrugged, going into the woman's office to grab a chair for himself.

Yvonne stopped and turned to look at him, flabbergasted "Sorry?"

The Doctor waved his hand, pulling Tyra to sit half on his lap, half on the edge of the chair. It was a bit uncomfortable but he stopped her from moving around too much with a hand around her waist "Never mind. As you were."

"What, is that it?"

"No, fair enough," the Doctor smiled sweetly "Said my bit. Don't mind me. Any chance for a cup of tea?"

A dark-skinned woman from one of the desks spoke up "Ghost Shift in twenty seconds."

Yvonne looked at the Doctor, an uneasy smile on her face. Now that he wasn't arguing anymore, it was obvious that she wasn't sure how to handle him anymore "You can't stop us, Doctor."

"No, absolutely not." He leaned his head back to look at Jackie "Pull up a chair, Rose. Come and watch the fireworks." Jackie smirked at Yvonne, coming to stand behind the chair the Doctor and Tyra were perched on, her hand resting on Tyra's shoulder.

The same woman from before spoke up "Ghost Shift in ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two…"

Yvonne broke the staring match she had been having with the Doctor and whirled around "Stop the shift. I said stop."

"Thank you," the Doctor inclined his head.

"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the programme will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything," Yvonne tried, struggling to compose herself.

The Doctor got up after shifting Tyra to the side "I'm glad to be of help."

"And someone clean up this glass," Yvonne called out "They did warn me, Doctor. They said you liked to make a mess." She stepped over the glass and into her office through the newly made door "So, these ghosts, whatever they are, did they build the sphere?"

The Doctor shrugged, pushing the chair back into the office, sitting back down across from Yvonne "Must have. Aimed it at the dimension like a cannonball."

"Yvonne?" Rajesh called out over the computer "I think you should see this. We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor."

"She one of yours?" Yvonne asked, turning the laptop to face the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at Rose on the screen, no emotion on his face "Never seen her before in my life."

"Good," Hartman sneered "Then we can have her shot."

"Oh, alright," the Doctor groaned "It was worth a try. That's – That's Rose Tyler."

Yvonne raised her eyebrows, looking from the back of the screen to Jackie and back "If that's Rose Tyler, who's she?"

"I'm her mother," Jackie huffed, crossing her arms. She was still mad about what that woman had done to Tyra earlier. Of course, the girl seemed alright but it couldn't have been pleasant to die. She had become somewhat of a surrogate child for her after Christmas just as the Doctor had become a part of her family as well. For Tyra, she tried to be a bit of a role model. Not too much since she knew that the vampire could take care of herself but she thought that maybe she could help by showing the girl that not every parental figure had to be bad.

Yvonne raised her eyebrow "Oh, you travel with her mother?"

"Please," the Doctor pleaded, forgetting the situation he was in at the moment "When Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother."

Tyra snorted "Really? That's what you're focussing on at the moment?"

"Wouldn't you?" he asked.

Tyra shook her head "Nope. I like Jackie."

"Aw, thank you, sweetheart," Jackie cooed, trying to hold back the laughter at the Doctor's disgruntled look. She shot him a glare even if there was amusement in her eyes. She didn't care much for his grumpy behaviour because she understood that both Tyra and he were uncomfortable in some situations with her and she couldn't begrudge that. She wasn't always easy to get along with "Charming," she muttered teasingly.

The Doctor shrugged apologetically "I've got a reputation to uphold."

Yvonne's head turned towards the rising commotion outside of her office and frowned "Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift." She looked at everyone there "Who started the programme? I ordered you to stop. Who's doing that?" The levers kept moving into an upright position "Right, step away from the monitors, everyone." Three of her employees ignored her completely, focussed on the monitors in front of them "Gareth, Addy, stop what you're doing, right now. Matt, step away from your desk. That's an order. Stop the levers. Andrew!" A scientist grabbed hold of one of the levers, trying to pull it back down without any luck "Stop the levers."

"What's she doing?" the Doctor frowned, looking over Addy's shoulder.

Yvonne stepped up next to him "Addy, step away from the desk. Listen to me. Step away from the desk."
"She can't hear you," the Doctor muttered, studying the earpieces. They reminded him of something "They're overriding the system. We're going into Ghost Shift." He continued to look at the earpiece before his eyes widened "It's the earpiece. It's controlling them. I've seen this before. Sorry. I'm so sorry." He zapped Addy's earpiece, causing her and the two men to scream before the three of them collapsed.

Hartman gasped in shock "They're dead."

"You killed them," Jackie breathed hysterically. She was standing behind the Doctor, staring at the scene in horror.

"Oh, someone else did that long before I got here," the Doctor replied, running a hand through his hair.

Jackie shook her head "But you killed them."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her "Jackie, I haven't got time for this."

"What are those earpieces?" Yvonne asked, reaching out for Addy's Comms device.

"Don't," the Doctor snapped.

Tyra leaned forward, her eyes widening "Doctor, aren't those…?"

The Doctor nodded grimly "Yeah. This is Cyber-technology."

"Oh great," she groaned.

"But they're standard Comms devices. How does it control them?" she questioned in confusion. This didn't make any sense to her. How could the Comms have been controlling them? Nothing had ever indicated that this was possible "And what do you mean Cyber-technology?"

The Doctor looked over at her, his expression hard again "Trust me, leave them alone."

"But what are they?" Yvonne demanded, pulling at the earpiece. She almost dropped it in disgust when a rope of grey matter came out with it "Urgh. Oh, God… It goes inside their brains."

"What about the Ghost Shift?" the Doctor asked.

Yvonne looked at the monitor and shook her head "Ninety percent there and still running. Can't you stop it?"

"They're still controlling it," the Doctor pointed out "They've hi-jacked the system."

"Who's they?"

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at Tyra, seeing her talking with Jackie quietly. The woman was looking less hysterical the longer they were talking "It might be a remote transmitter," he explained "But it's got to be close by. I can trace it. Jackie, stay here." He stopped before he ran out and walked over to Tyra "I want you to stay here. Try and see what's going to happen here. You know more about Cybermen than anyone else here. Remember what I told you."

"Are we absolutely sure that it's Cybermen?"

"No," he shook his head "But don't pretend you didn't read those books that I have in the Tardis. You know more than you think. Please, just stay here and try to protect the Humans."

Tyra closed her eyes "Fine. But if you're getting yourself killed, I'll bring you back and kill you again, understand?"

"Understood," he nodded and ran off.

"Tyra, what's going on?" Jackie asked, still a little scared.

Tyra looked around the room "I have no idea. But I'm sure that it's nothing good." She picked up the earpiece that was lying on the desk "Nothing good at all."


Tyra's head snapped up when she heard footsteps coming down the corridor. Very heavy footsteps that she had heard only once before. In the parallel world… "Get away from the door," she called out the others in the room before pulling Jackie back "Stay behind me."

"Get away from the machines," the Doctor shouted as he was escorted into the room by a group of Cybermen "Do what they say. Don't fight them." Just as he said that the Cybermen activated their arm guns, shooting the scientists who were trying to hold back the levers.

Jackie grabbed onto Tyra's arm tightly "What are they?" she whispered.

"We are the Cybermen," one of them spoke up, turning to the levers "The Ghost Shift will be increased to one hundred percent."

The levers moved into an upright position "Online," the computer intoned.

"Here come the ghosts," the Doctor muttered grimly, staring at the wall.

Tyra walked up next to him and tilted her head "How is this possible? They're the Cybermen from the parallel universe, right? They shouldn't have been able to come through."

The Doctor shook his head "I… I'm not sure."

Jackie looked from the Cybermen to the bright light coming from the wall "But these Cybermen, what've they got to do with the ghosts?"

"Do you never listen?" the Doctor demanded "A footprint doesn't look like a boot."

The Cyberleader turned quickly "Achieving full transfer."

"They're Cybermen," the Doctor breathed, staring at the wall in shock "All the ghosts are Cybermen. Millions of them, right across the world." By now, the ghosts had solidified, forming up into military positions all over the world.

Yvonne trembled "They're invading the whole planet."

"I don't think this would count as an invasion anymore," Tyra pointed out grimly "No one will be able to fight this many. This is a clear victory for them."

All of a sudden, the computer started repeating a phrase that made all of them stare at the screen "Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated."

"But I don't understand," the Doctor spoke up after watching the chaos unfold for a few moments "The Cybermen don't have the technology to build a Void ship. That's way beyond you. How did you create that sphere?"

The Cybermen looked over at him "The sphere is not ours."

"What?"

"The sphere broke down the barriers between world," the Cyberman explained "We only followed. Its origin is unknown."

The Doctor's eyes were locked onto the monitor again, blinking at the picture of the sphere "Then what's inside it?"

"Rose is down there," Jackie whispered urgently.

Tyra turned to her "Calm down, Jackie. Rose will be alright, okay? She can help herself." She didn't add the 'most of the time' since that definitely wouldn't be the right moment to throw shade. Especially since Rose hadn't been too horrible to her recently. Then again, that was only due to Damon's compulsion on her, so Tyra really couldn't give her any credit for that.

Omake

Klaus was in London, once again looking for Tyra. He was starting to get annoyed by London. How come he always tracked his sister here but kept missing her by minutes? It had started during World War Two and continued until now. The longer he tried, the more hope he lost. Did she even want to be found? She was bound to know that he was still looking for her, so if she was running, did that mean that she didn't want to be found? Klaus was unsure and he really hated that feeling. He disliked not knowing where his siblings were and as such had kept a rather close eye on Elijah – not that he knew – after he left. The only member of his family that he lost track off was Tyra. She was good at avoiding detection and he was more than a little sure that she had help in that aspect. Every time he got close, she was gone. That couldn't be a coincidence.

His head snapped up when the screaming started "What the…?" His eyes widened when the so-called ghosts started taking form, getting more and more solid until the vague shapes were replaced by figures completely encased in metal "Well, this is different."

Klaus kept to the shadows, unsure of what exactly those things were for. They had arranged themselves in military displays every couple of streets, seemingly waiting for orders.