In America, specifically Manhattan in the state of New York, the damaged Dalek ship started to fade from existence. Its already faded golden paint began to flake away, floating into the sky. The sky that was now its natural light blue colour. Once all existence of the vessel disappeared, nothing more than a strange and distorted memory, the damage it had caused began to rectify itself too. The deep ridge it had created as it crashed into the tarmac and dirt filled itself in, the rubble returning to its original state. The buildings that had been in the way of the cloud of rock and ash became renewed in an instant. A shimmer of light and the glass was returned to window panes. Bricks and stone flew in a whirlwind as they strived to home in on where they were meant to be. The park and the quiet city area seemed to gleam and sparkle once again, a combination of vibrant greenery and metropolitan silver towers. Some people were brave enough to venture outside, including those who had been captured by the Daleks what seemed like years ago to them. They spun around, twirled one another, embraced in emotional hugs. Because, not only had the destruction somehow vanished, the ugly tear in the sky was also no more. The sight of the ships still floating above, no longer behind an orange glow, kept the worried atmosphere though. Had one problem come to an end, only for that to allow another to continue?
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In Russia, in an abandoned, cold city that had been uninhabited for quite some time, the prehistoric vines that had continued to grow around the tower blocks, infiltrating cracks and crevices in their crumbling bodies, slowly recoiled. It was if they were being dragged back into the ground, pulled by an unseeable force. Their grip on the area was relinquished as they eventually disappeared, withering and dying to become nothing more than piles of dust. The unnatural jungle was lost forever, a jungle that no one had witnessed. Apart from the people who blinked back into reality in individual flashes of yellow and gold light. People who were actually creatures from space, who now lived on Earth with the humans. The Zygon army, if it could really be called that, took a while to get their senses back, looking at their hands closely, just to check that everything had come back with them. Those who had been lucky enough to escape being a victim of the time rift looked on in shock and jubilation as they saw the members of their race returned to them. Some hugged one another, others smiled and laughed, still thinking that this couldn't possibly be real. After all the destruction their species had suffered through their existence, they'd come to think that the universe seemed determined on ruining their lives. Maybe something or someone, just this once, was more powerful than the universe.
Over in a dark corner, in the shadows of one of the damaged apartment buildings, a soldier reappeared in the same spot where he had fought so hard to cling onto his life. Agent Mackenzie brought his hands up to his face, running them over his skin, his hair, all of his features. His ears were still there, which he took as a good sign. Unable to speak for the moment, he watched as the Zygons reunited with each other, most of them choosing to adopt their actual forms to celebrate this miracle. For the time being, they didn't have to worry about being spotted by any humans. Mackenzie had a small smile on his face as he took it all in, thinking about the moment he would be able to see his family again. They probably wouldn't have even known what happened to him specifically. Maybe he wouldn't have to tell them that. A secret to stop them from panicking. He reached down to his belt and unclasped the communications device hanging there. The system was back online. He stared upwards, covering his eyes from the sun's glare, and realised that the rift was gone. They'd done it. Whatever they'd done, it had worked. He pressed a button on the small device, bringing it to his mouth, which bore a rare grin that he didn't usually let show.
"Contacting UNIT Primary Base One...this is Agent Mackenzie, alive and well...I think. He did it. The Doctor did it."
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In London, the sky appeared to explode in an array of bright light, a wild spectrum of colour that dazzled above them. The time rift expanded slightly before it caved in on itself, one final roar erupting from its cavernous mouth. The Dromulus creatures that had managed to evade the attacks of the Judoon and the UNIT soldiers still alive to fight, screeched in horror as their source of energy waned and dissipated before their very eyes. The pathway they had used to get to this planet, this abundant source of time energy, was no more, meaning they could no longer exist in that spot. Some of them were lucky enough to be transported back to the depths of space that they thrived in, being dragged through the last remnants of the rift as it collapsed. Others, though, continued to scream out in pain as they became sparkling particles, their bodies being consumed by an immense white light. The soldiers didn't know what was happening. Neither did the Judoon. Pol Kon Don, who was sporting more numerous scars than when she had first arrived on the planet, stomped about. Her scanner, which was now working again, was indicating that the warping time streams of the localised area had come to an end. She let out a satisfied grunt when she saw that.
Another officer, a patrol soldier who was a few ranks beneath her, marched over to her, obviously wanting some information and new instructions. "Mission complete. Is it time for our units to return back to the ships?"
Pol Kon Don lifted her head. Where the rift had made visibility past it impossible, they could now see the many ships that still remained. That wasn't what she wanted to see. "Mission is not complete. Inform troops to remain on high alert. Attack could be imminent."
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Inside the UNIT base, K9 rolled along the floor, a mechanical whir following him as he did so. The metal dog came to a stop by the workbench that Malcolm was sitting at, his head in his hands as he came to terms that there was nothing that he could do to help the Doctors and the people he had grown to like nearly as much. The usually jubilant scientist didn't resemble himself at all, which had been worrying Perkins a great deal as he sat and watched his colleague. He'd been just as helpless. An engineer didn't have the qualifications to deal with a fracture in time and space. He'd tried telling people this, mainly the Doctor, but they'd never listened, much to his annoyance.
"Time deterioration and time field anomalies are reversing," K9 blurted out in his robotic, tinny voice. Malcolm and Perkins sat up abruptly, immediately intrigued and excited by that news, even if the former didn't really understand what the machine meant. "My scanners are detecting massive reversal effects of the time pockets."
Malcolm shoved pieces of paper onto the floor in a rush, nearly knocking over his keyboard as he checked to see if K9 was right. He looked at the screen for a few seconds, his eyes going gradually wider as he took it all in, making Perkins even more agitated.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" the engineer asked him. Malcolm shakily took off his glasses, wiping them with his white lab coat. He then abruptly stood up, racing over to the door.
"Ma'am! Ma'am! You are not going to believe what's currently happening!" he shouted gleefully, almost doing a small dance in celebration. Kate hurried into the room, breathless and with her hair slightly messed up. Whenever she heard shouting during her time at UNIT, she knew that it meant you had to get there as quickly as possible.
"What is it? It better be some good news for once," she said, a hint of hope threatening to break through inside her. Malcolm guided her to the wall of monitors, which were showing what was currently happening across the globe. The countries they'd been closely observing, particularly the ones that the Doctor had been involved in, were showing signs of returning back to normal. She had to steady herself by placing a hand on the desk.
"It's the greatest of news!" Malcolm responded happily. "I don't know how that wonderful man has done it but the time rift has gone! Thankfully, the damage it caused is repairing itself. It's like if someone pressed a massive reset button, as if we were in some sort of...video game! Amazing!"
"I don't know whether it will just be down to the Doctor. By my reckoning, I bet it was more because of Miss Oswald and everyone who went with her."
"Do we know where they are yet?" Perkins wondered.
Malcolm peered at the computers again, frowning slightly. "Not at the moment. They just mustn't be through yet. We can give them a few minutes, I suppose."
"If they can get through." They all shared a dark look at Perkins' words. They'd known that it was a risk and a high possibility. But they'd just assumed that the Doctor would find a way out of the tricky situation like he normally did.
"We just have to be patient," Kate reminded them. "You know what the Doctor is like. He enjoys keeping people on their toes. But, if the effects are being reversed...does that mean that the people that disappeared…" Her question was left unsaid as a small whirlwind of energy appeared off to one side. It swirled crazily and they backed themselves into the corner to protect themselves, if it was going to do any good. Across the base, the same phenomena was happening in multiple spots, individual torrents spinning and morphing. The one closest to them settled down and revealed a bewildered Osgood slumped on the ground, grasping for her glasses that had fallen onto the ground. Kate was immediately by her side, breaking all of their usual protocol by wrapping her in a tight hug. The intimate action surprised the young woman, not that she was going to complain. The two of them had been close for some time, due to them working together on a number of things, but never this close. It made a nice development.
"Osgood! Are you okay?" Kate was worrying over her. She noticed that her trademark scarf, the overly large one with all the colours, was missing.
"I...think so? My arms are kind of numb."
"You've been transported through time!" Malcolm yelled. He really needed to get control of his excitement. "No wonder you're feeling some effects."
Kate glared at him from where she saw sitting on the floor. "Try and ignore him. He's all giddy. If I wasn't so happy right now, I'd be rather irritated with him."
"You don't mean that," Osgood said quietly. "You try to act all tough and stoic but I know that you're secretly a great big softie."
"Maybe I am. If word gets out about that, I'll know who to hunt down." Kate was happy when she saw the other woman let out a tiny laugh. She still needed to recover her energy. "Now, are you going to tell us where you ended up? The Doctor said that it would be completely random. You didn't run into any trouble, did you?"
"I wish. Scarborough in 1872. Possibly the most boring place and time in Earth's history. I didn't even have a swimming costume to enjoy the beach although those prude Victorians would probably have fainted at what I'd end up wearing."
"But...your scarf. What happened to that?"
"I was hungry. I didn't exactly have any appropriate currency on me so I had to barter for a quite terrible soup and a piece of bread. But I'm all in one piece."
"Good."
"So he did it then? The Doctor? I shouldn't be surprised."
The hairs on Kate's neck began to prickle as she felt a light breeze fill the room. A relieved smile filled her face (she definitely hadn't smiled so much at one time before) as she saw four blue boxes appear. She would have normally been annoyed at all the paper they caused to fly across the room but she thought that she would let him off just this once.
"I think you're going to be able to ask him yourself," she commented as she helped Osgood up. She didn't mind that she had to lean quite heavily on her. The super fan of the Time Lord had to quickly reach for her inhaler when the four incarnations of him stepped out from their respective time machines, soon followed by everyone else. Their hair was incredibly messy, presumably from the difficult flight they'd been through. Some of them, especially Graham and Brian, were having to hold onto those closest to them as they recovered from its effects. K9 was one of the first to greet them, Sarah Jane bending down to hug him.
"It's actually getting boring now," the Curator's booming voice rang out. "Landing in sync is just becoming far too easy for us. There aren't any challenges left in the universe."
"Again, it's all down to the time column, which is…" Twelve whipped out his sonic, scanning the air around them. "...failing now. No more fancy synchronised landings for us. Unless we're lucky." He grinned at the UNIT scientific executive for a second before moving over to the screens. Malcolm was more in awe of him as usual and he shakily held his hand out. As Twelve scrutinised what he could see closely, he caught the action in the corner of his eyes and awkwardly shook the scientist's hand. Malcolm's eyes widened and a broad grin spread across his face.
"I am never going to wash this hand! Never!" he told them all.
"Professor Malcolm...if you could go check up on the other people who have just arrived back?" Kate asked although it was more of an order than a suggestion. "No doubt, some are more worse for wear than Osgood so see to it that they get the medical attention they need."
"...yes, ma'am." He knew that she was just trying to get rid of him since he was too busy gawking at the Doctors. He obediently shuffled away regardless.
"Everything is going back to normal," Twelve mumbled. Ten and Eleven were soon by the computers too, putting their spectacles on as they looked at the images too. The older of the three rolled his eyes, knowing that they didn't actually need the glasses - they just thought that they were cool and made them look more intellectual. He hadn't needed accessories to accomplish that.
"I'm surprised by how smoothly this is going," Ten said as he stroked his chin.
"Complete reversal of the time distortion. The rift must have been incredibly powerful to have this level of aftershock," Eleven added. He sounded mesmerised by the now vanished temporal fracture. Amy and Clara had matching affectionate looks on their faces as they watched him, loving how much of a geek he was. The former picked up on the latter's sad look, piecing it together. Travelling with the Doctor would always create difficult situations like this.
"The rift has completely closed," Kate told them. "I don't know how you did it."
"Once we were through, the small energy that was keeping it open finally gave up," Twelve explained. "All thanks to Clive here."
"Shouldn't I...be just disappearing then?" he wondered. "Be taken back to my own time?"
"Oh, eventually. Probably quite soon. But we were at the eye of the storm. It'll take a bit longer for the likes of you compared to the others affected." Clive nodded his head at the Doctor's words. He was clinging onto borrowed time, he guessed.
"How did you do it then?" Osgood asked, regaining some of her strength.
"Blew it up," Eleven replied, making an explosion gesture with his hands like a child, making the appropriate sound too. His other selves could barely look at him.
"I can't believe I become like that," Ten moaned.
"Why do you think I changed so much?" Twelve pointed out.
"How did you do that?" Osgood pressed on.
Clara gave a little wave. "I guess I'm culpable for that. It turns out that sticking that nebulous thing on it is a quick way to make the conductor go into a meltdown."
"So...there's no way that the Time Lords can get through now?" Kate was still worried that this positive situation could change in a heartbeat.
"The rift is no more," Twelve summed up. "And there's no way they're going to be able to make it again for a long time. We also left some reasonable people in charge for a change.
"Meaning we can start recovering from this disaster?"
"I wish that were the case," Ten said with a sigh. He hit his sonic on one of the screens, dragging their attention to it. "We still have quite a few friends in the sky." He was right. The armada of spaceships was still waiting above the planet although they hadn't moved since the rift collapsed.
"Oh, brilliant," Graham said. "We save the world only for the war to start up again. I tell you something, travelling with you has been a right rollercoaster of emotions."
"You don't get used to it," Jack piped up. He almost seemed happy about it.
"What do we do, Doctor?" Clara asked Twelve.
"Appeal to their better nature."
"Have you met these creatures before?" Eleven asked incredulously.
"Yes. And the fact that they haven't attacked yet gives me a slither of hope that they're too nervous to do anything." He rushed over to the computers once again, the other Doctors and Clara knowing to follow him. He liked to explain on the move most of the time. He shoved aside a few cables, much to the protestation of Kate, and shoved Ten and Eleven in front of individual screens that were currently blank. They gave him questioning looks, figuring out that their future self was probably the craziest by the looks of things. "Okay. Right now, a fleet of Dalek ships is hovering above the planet. We know that already. We've already been there." He gestured to Clara, who grinned at his excited energy. "They said that they wouldn't attack if I got rid of the time rift, which, you may have noticed, we just did. I'm hoping that I can speak to the Supreme Dalek and tell him everything is sorted and we can go about our day as if nothing ever happened."
"Ah," Eleven interrupted. "About that...the Supreme Dalek practically turned into dust in front of us when he came to Earth."
"Why would you do that?"
"I didn't cause it to happen! It was the rift! It aged the creature to the end of its existence!"
"Why are you just telling me this now?"
"Because we were a little bit preoccupied! You know, what with saving the universe."
"You're always full of excuses, do you know that?"
"We always have been! It's why we live long enough to regenerate."
"Is this bad then?" River asked. "No Supreme Dalek so no possibility of negotiations?"
"On the contrary," Twelve corrected her. "This is actually fairly good news."
"Then why were you just berating me?" Eleven moaned.
"Because it's fun. I need a pastime. Insulting myself is actually quite cathartic."
"How is this good news?" Clara wondered, trying to keep up with their back-and-forth conversation.
"All those stupid little Daleks up there, spinning about, wondering what to do now their leader is dead," Twelve explained. "They won't admit it but the tiny slither of fear they have programmed into them as a basic survival tactic is flashing up like a christmas tree."
"Can we not talk about Christmas trees?" Mickey begged him. "I still have nightmares. You've ruined my Decembers forever."
"Collateral damage of travelling with me," Ten said, not apologising in the slightest.
"So...the plan is to make them run away?" Clara summed up neatly, even if she was a little dubious about the idea's prospects.
"Make them choose to retreat. What's the one thing that the Daleks, and every other creature up there with them, love more than killing?" Twelve looked around the room like a professor in a lecture hall, hoping for one brave soul to put their hand up. Now he thought about it, he would make a brilliant professor. Maybe he would look into job opportunities after he was done with this.
"Surviving." He was slightly disappointed that it was Ten who responded.
"Bingo. Make them believe that the only way they can preserve their continued existence is to leave us all alone for a bit." He pointed his sonic at the three screens. "And who better to be a space diplomat…" He glanced at Clara, who was happily surprised at his use of her unconventional terminology. "...than myself. The one person they're at least a tiny bit wary of." His sonic flashed and the screens whirred into life. Sparks flew out as they attempted to make the connection, something that was proving to be difficult for the rather basic human technology to deal with.
On one of the Dalek ships, the largest of the surviving vessels, three large displays appeared from out of nowhere in the sky. The creatures on board spun around and turned their heads to take in this new development, the one closest being the only one in full view. It was now, unintentionally, their spokes-Dalek. That was proving to be a more intimidating endeavour as it looked upon the faces of an old man with wild grey hair and two younger men, both with just as ridiculous haircuts.
"Hello," one said jovially.
"How are you doing?" another asked conversationally.
"We really thought that we should reconnect with you," the third and final one finished.
"What is the meaning of this?" it shouted in its annoying, high-pitched voice. It had moved back slightly at the presence of their mortal enemies.
"We thought that you'd check up on you," Twelve answered as if it was obvious.
"We've noticed that you're still flying above in the atmosphere," Eleven said. His smile belied the dangerous tone he was using.
"And we're not too happy with that," Ten expanded. "The time rift has closed. The Time Lords can't come through. There is no need for any more battles to take place here on this day."
"The Daleks do not run away!" it roared in indignation.
"Oh, don't we just know that," Twelve said with a roll of his eyes. "But...look through your databases. Scroll through the history of every time even one Dalek has come into contact with one of us." A new screen appeared. Images and videos flickered quickly past it. Daleks on the brink of victory. Daleks celebrating their triumph. Daleks being destroyed. Screams of pain and despair from the mutated monsters that sat inside those metal shells. The end of the Great Time War. A prison in Utah. The blankness of the void. The failure of the reality bomb. The fall of the Dalek asylum. "Look at all of them. How many defeats have you suffered at my hands?"
"How many times could you have taken the easy option and fled the battlefield before it was too late?" Ten pressed on.
"This is us giving you that opportunity to do just that," Eleven said. "I know. It's just as much of a surprise to me as I bet it is to you."
"But I'm the best at convincing myself to do things."
"And I'm definitely the best at protecting this planet," Twelve reminded them. "What I want you to do is go and phone all of your little Alliance friends up and tell them the good news. This is the day the Doctor took pity on you all and let you live."
"But only if you run," Eleven said darkly.
"Do the smart thing," Ten implored them. "This is the only way now. For once, be true to your word."
"And if we do not agree to do this?" They had to give it to the Dalek - it was either incredibly brave or defiantly stupid.
"Then I will press a button that opens that rift right back up, and suck your fleet into it, trapping you in a bubble for the rest of time," Twelve theratened them.
"You do not have the means to do this."
"Oh, you'd think that, wouldn't you?"
Ten nodded his head. "After all, it sounds impossible."
Eleven wagged his finger at the camera. "But I'm a specialist at doing the impossible even when I'm on my own."
"And...sadly for you," Twelve said. "This time, I'm not on my own." All three Doctors grinned menacingly and triumphantly as the Dalek stared at them, its strange pupil dilating. "I'll be kind. Since there's three of us...I'll give you three minutes to relay the message and start flying away. Otherwise, we all go boom." He quickly turned the screens off, shooting a thumbs up to those around him. "I think that went incredibly well."
"We'll need to wait and see first before we start gloating," River pointed out.
Clara grabbed his coat and whispered closely into his ear. "Can I just say...that was incredibly hot. I think I need to get you in the Tardis. Soon."
His eyes widened and a blush coloured his cheeks. "Then I really hope this has worked." He rushed out of the room, not checking to see if the others were following him because he knew they would. Racing through the corridors, getting strange looks from dazed workers in the base, they were soon standing outside, squinting as they looked up at the sky. The ships were still there. Twelve crossed his fingers, biting his lip. "Come on, come on. Just this once. Give me a good day." And then one ship disappeared in a flash. Another zoomed off in a blink of teleportation. One by one, vessels of every kind left the Earth's atmosphere to return to their natural place in the universe. As they watched it happen, they started whooping and yelling, hugging one another at the sight of another victory. Mickey kissed Martha passionately. Yaz hugged Graham warmly, as did Sarah Jane and the Curator. K9 spun around in a circle, his red lights flashing sporadically. Jack was about to kiss Jenny when Ten got in between them, quickly putting a stop to that nonsense. Wilf whistled and chucked his hat up into the air. Amy caught Rory and Brian in an embrace, putting her arms around them. River caught Eleven by surprise, snogging him senseless before he could react. As Twelve sputtered at the sight, Clara thought that she would copy the other woman, eventually making her Time Lord see a mixture of colours as his brain fizzled.
As he slowly recovered from the searing kiss, Clara cockily smirking at his dazed expression, he noticed Wilf focusing on the sky, having picked up his hat from the ground. "I don't want to alarm you...but there's still one ship left." That stopped their short celebrations as they realised that he was, indeed, correct. One vessel remained. It was small, that they could tell from even their distance away. The Doctors glared at it, trying to figure out who it belonged to. Twelve noticed that Missy was looking incredibly worried about its presence.
A beam of multicoloured light shot down from the ship. Some of them initially thought that it was the beginning of another attack, the spacecrafts leaving just being a cruel trick. But those who were more averse in advanced technology could tell what it actually was - a teleport. As it died down, a lone figure stood in front of them. A slender man, his brown eyes matching the colour of his skin. His head was shaved but a short, black beard lined his chin. He was clad in a dark green robe with a pattern of diamonds trailing down it, large golden ringlets around his neck.
"A crime has been committed here," he said, not even thinking to greet the group. Maybe that was for more pleasant interactions, when those you greeted weren't pointing their guns at you. He didn't care about their apprehension.
"You're a bit late to the party," Twelve told him with a sneer. He was trying to place where he knew that sort of dress. "We've dealt with it."
"One must pay for the events that have occurred. Temporal destruction is the greatest of crimes. Execution is the only sentence." He spoke serenely as if his voice was detached from the meaning of his words.
"Doctor," Clara murmured. "Who is he?"
Twelve scrutinised him more closely, his eyes lighting up in recognition. "Oh, not you lot! Couldn't you go preach to someone else? Somewhere far away from here?"
"One must pay for the crime."
"It's over! No time destruction of any kind."
"Doctor, tell me," Clara persisted.
"My name is Rafando of the High Septon of Crystalline. We enact justice on those who have wronged the universe. The darkest of people. The worst of creation."
"He's a religious nut. They all are. They think that they get involved with their sense of morality. They work outside of the usual justice system."
"Because the people we condemn are beyond the grasp of the usual justice system," Rafando responded.
"The creatures who did this are long gone," Eleven told him. "You just saw them fly off."
"You use words as tricks, intent on deceiving me. Those who created the rift were not a part of the Alliance."
"You knew about the Alliance?" Ten asked.
"We gather information through any and every means possible."
"Well, the people who created it are beyond your reach. Trapped," Twelve pointed out. "So you may as well go back to your ship and stop annoying me."
"Another trick."
"He's right, Doctor," Missy said in a dejected voice. "There's one person here who was involved in what happened."
His expression darkened. "No. I'm not having it."
"You don't get any say in the matter. If this is what I must do to prove to you that I saw the error of my ways, then so be it. This is right."
"Do not be concerned, Doctor," Rafando spoke up. Twelve wasn't too happy that he did. "We have perfected the art of killing a Time Lord."
"This isn't art," he countered. "Art is about beauty and life."
"Isn't there art in the act of righting a wrong?"
"This isn't righting a wrong, though! This is just adding another wrong to the universe. I won't let you kill her."
"I won't. You will. Punishment does not end with death. The one who pays must be guarded for a thousand years. There would only be one person capable of such a feat."
Twelve looked at Missy one last time. "If this is what you want…"
"Of course I don't want this, you numpty," she shot back. "But maybe my actions have finally caught up to me. I know you'll do what's right." She winked at him and he knew what she was alluding to. He'd find a way out of it, like he normally did. She just couldn't make it obvious in front of the strange man.
"Has a decision been reached?" Rafando asked.
"Take her. But I'll come when I want to. I'll get there eventually. I'll just go the long way round."
"That is highly irregular."
"Better get used to it. You're going to be in her company for a very long time. Who's actually the one being punished, I wonder."
Rafando gave a nervous nod and pressed a button on the device on his wrist. Missy stared at Twelve, the two of them nodding their heads, before she disappeared, transported to the ship along with her captor. For a moment, everyone stood there in silence.
"Can someone explain to me what the hell just happened?" Graham asked.
"Did you just sentence her to death?" Clara shot at Twelve.
"She's died in front of you before and she came back. Do you think being told about it beforehand will hinder or help her?"
"Well, when you're planning on helping her, nothing will stop her."
"You don't sound too upset about that."
"I know that you're close to her. I understand it despite it being incredibly strange."
"You're great. Have I told you that?"
"Not nearly enough."
"We saved the universe."
"Again."
"Not without a bit of help," Jack said in an insulted fashion.
"Maybe we can celebrate just this once," Twelve proposed.
"I would love nothing more," Clara said with a grin as they turned to the rest of the group, content in the fact that there was no longer a tear in the sky.
(AN) So now we have the reason as to why Missy was imprisoned and set to be executed. Sets it up nicely for a future sequel (AN)