Phoenix hadn't seen the redhead for a month or two now for her and a little more than a year for the girl she was currently running beside. Nina hadn't stopped to explain, but rather tugged her into a sprint, ducked down an alley and began leading her through a maze of backstreets. What they were running from, Phoenix didn't know, but she was learning to trust that if someone told her to run, there was usually a good reason for it. And she would rather run a little extra for no reason than be sorry that she hadn't listened. After a few more minutes, Nina pulled her into a large, empty church, slamming the doors shut, locking them and then leaning against a banister.
"Okay," the redhead breathed, turning to Phoenix who was watching her expectantly. "We should be good for a few minutes at least. Why are you here?"
"Why am I here? Why are you here?" Phoenix shot back, gesturing at the girl. "And what did we just run away from?"
"It's…complicated." Nina told her, moving over to examine the pendant that hung around her neck. "We need to get you back to wherever you were. You shouldn't be back here this soon, not when you're still in danger."
Phoenix frowned, glancing down at her necklace and back up to the girl she'd thought she was friends with. Not very close friends, but friends."How do you know about my necklace?"
"It's a long story." Nina evaded, hurrying over to a window to lock it.
"Well then, shorten it." Phoenix shot back, struggling to keep her tone even and calm. Nina stopped and took a deep breath before turning to face her.
"Okay. When was the last time you saw me? From your perspective?" She started, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight.
"Um….it was right after Henrick's blew up." Phoenix said slowly, thinking back. That felt like a million years ago now. "Why? Have you seen me since? From your perspective."
"Not exactly, but you might've seen a future version of me." Nina murmured, biting her thumb between her teeth. "Time travel can get complicated. I'm sure you've learned that by now, what with working for Torchwood and all."
"Tell me about it." Phoenix said pointedly, crossing her arms over her chest. How much did she know? And how long had she known it? Was there anyone in her life that hadn't been lying to her for as long as she could remember? "Seriously."
"I haven't been completely honest with you."
"Yeah, gathering that." Phoenix rolled her eyes. "What exactly do you know about me and how long have you known it?"
The redhead's eyes flicked towards the locked door and with a huff, she grabbed Phoenix's arm and drew her deeper into the church. "Okay. I want to help you find who killed your mom. She was important to me too."
"You two only met a handful of times," Phoenix said, confused as she followed the girl. "And why all the subterfuge? Isn't it better to work together on this?Why not come to me sooner?"
"I think she was important to everyone who met her." Nina retorted softly, absently locking a window as they passed. "Well, almost everyone, I guess. She was just that kind of person. Why are you back here so soon? You were supposed to be safe."
Phoenix was well aware that Nina hadn't answered her question at all, but perhaps it was better to try to get her to slip up. Clearly, she didn't want to tell her anything willingly. But why lie in the first place? Especially if she wanted to help her. All of these questions were starting to drive her crazy.
"Okay. Fine. We'll leave it at that for now." Phoenix muttered, glancing behind them as the sound of something hitting the doors reached them. "What's out there? Do you have a plan for us to get out? I have a friend who can help."
"Yeah, I know about your...friend." Nina said the last word with a little more emphasis than Phoenix thought was necessary. "The Doctor, right?"
"Exactly." Phoenix eyed the redhead carefully. How could she know about him? Had she figured it out before Mickey had erased all traces of him from the internet? Why wait so long to confront her about it then? Well, to be fair, Phoenix thought, she hadn't exactly had much opportunity. Phoenix had been all over the universe and time, jumping from one crisis to another. She barely had time to connect with Owen and the team, let alone her old friends.
"This way." Nina said, pulling a book from one of the bookshelves and standing back. Phoenix watched with a little excitement as the wall moved to reveal a hidden passageway. Though why Nina knew about it, she didn't know. "My family has been a part of this church for generations. I know somewhere that's safer. When the danger is past, I'll come get you."
Phoenix's head snapped away from the tunnel and over to her "friend," instantly alert. Her solution was to lock her away in a dark tunnel that led to who knew where? Likely, it was a dead end if the redhead planned to stash her away. And there was absolutely no way the redhead was getting her down there. Phoenix backed away from the opening as Nina moved towards it. Even if she was to be trusted - which Phoenix was beginning to question more and more - it still would be a bad idea to go to this "safer" place. What if something happened to Nina? No one would know where Phoenix was and she might very well die. Alone. In the dark.
So she would just have to find her own way out, she decided, turning and racing away.
"Phoenix, wait!" Nina shouted after her.
Phoenix heard the sounds of Nina's shoes slapping down on the stone floor behind her, but luckily all the running around with the Doctor kept her ahead of the girl. The brunette wasn't willing to risk the chance that she couldn't be trusted. She knew that the Doctor would help her. She couldn't be as certain about Nina and her intentions. A priest rounded the corner ahead of her and she ducked around him.
"What is going on?" He wondered, looking back towards Nina, who was just turning the corner of the long hallway.
"Do you know the way out?" Phoenix gasped out, anxious to get moving again. "This way?"
The priest nodded, confused. "Yeah. Two rights and a left."
"Thanks," Phoenix turned and sprinted around the corner, following his directions and coming to a large wooden door. Relief flooded through her and she couldn't help but smile at the prospect of escape being so near. But when she tried to open the door, she found that it was locked.
"Thanks, Steve. I owe you one."
Phoenix whirled around at the sound of Nina's voice and saw her catching her breath with the priest a step behind. He'd lied to her, Phoenix realized. She was beginning to think that she should just start assuming that everyone was lying to her and apologize later if she happned to be wrong. Right, she thought, eyes searching for an alternative way out. There was one window, but it was small and too high to easily reach, a rickety old ladder that looked ready to fall apart, and some boxes against the wall.
"Of course, Miss Lestrow." Steve responded with a smile. "Anytime. Would you like me to stay and assist you further?"
"No, I think I've got it from here." Nina murmured, not even paying Phoenix any attention. "Just make sure to block off the corridor so she can't run off again."
"Yeah, Steve," Phoenix snapped out, glaring at the two. "You do that. See what good it does you." She was going to get out of here. Whether they wanted her to or not.
"Phoenix, please, don't be difficult." Nina pleaded, eyes softening as her shoulders slumped. "I'm just trying to keep you safe. I promised that I would."
"Promised who?" Phoenix demanded, eyes lighting on the ladder. It seemed to be high enough. But would it hold her weight? "Actually, I don't want to know. You'd probably just be lying anyways."
"I'm not lying. I haven't lied to you." Nina took a slow step towards her, hands up as if to show that she meant no harm. "I swear."
"I'm not staying in some hole in the ground and trusting that you'll come back for me." Phoenix shook her head at the redhead. "I don't need your help, Nina. Let me leave."
"I can't do that," Nina said with a sigh, reaching into the pocket of her coat. Phoenix wasn't willing to wait around to see what the girl was going to retrieve and hurried to shove the stack of boxes over. With a startled yelp, Nina went down underneath them. The brunette didn't think they would hurt the girl too badly, but it might just buy her enough time. She hurried over to the ladder and propped it up against the wall under the window, beginning her climb before it was steady. Surprisingly, the old rungs held strong.
"Stop!" Nina cried and Phoenix could hear her pulling herself out from under the boxes.
A moment later, the ladder swayed and Phoenix glanced down to see the redhead following her up. However, with a loud snap, the redhead lost her footing as the rung she was climbing broke beneath her foot. Not wanting to risk the ladder going bad on her, Phoenix hurried to the top, the window opening with a loud squeak but little resistance. The brunette hoisted herself up onto the window ledge and before she could think about it too much, let herself drop down. There was a small hill beneath the window and that helped break her fall, though she still winced a little as her legs absorbed the impact. It stung, even as she stumbled into a roll.
Phoenix pushed herself into a sprint away from the church, racing down the street and around people. She tried not to knock into anyone, but some people just didn't want to move. Right, she thought, eyes darting around for signs of danger or Nina. She'd done it. Now once she got far enough away, she could just call Rose and find out where they all had gone off to and she could maybe get some questions answered.
Rounding a corner to run under an arch, Phoenix quickly skid to a stop, her eyes widening in fear. Margaret - or better known as one of the Slitheen who had wanted to blow up the Earth last time she saw her - was hurrying towards her. Luckily, she was in her skin suit or she would've been much faster. Phoenix could see the Doctor, Jack, and Rose arriving at the other end, but they wouldn't get to her in time.
Before she even had time to turn and run the opposite direction, she was being yanked backwards. She didn't have much time to process what exactly happened, but Margaret was suddenly flying backwards and hitting the ground hard. Phoenix glanced over to see Nina, only to see that she now had deep purple skin, light yellow eyes with a slit pupil, and her hair fell all the way to her ankles and was currently pulled back into a tight braid. Oh, and she had small little spikes extending out of her skin.
"Nina?" Phoenix gasped out, breathless from her run. "How….? What….?"
"You're welcome," the redhead griped with a glare. "Now let's-"
She broke off as Margaret got back to her feet, eyes narrowed at the two before her lips spread into a wide grin. She did something with her hands and then disappeared with a flash of light. Since when could they do that?!
"She's got a teleport!" Jack cried, gesturing to the now empty space. "That's cheating. Now we're never going to get her."
"Oh, the Doctor's very good at teleports," Rose told him with a grin, watching as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver.
With a soft whir, Margaret reappeared in the street, running towards the Doctor and others. The Slitheen stopped with surprise before turning around and teleporting away again. The Doctor brought her back a couple more times - each time a little closer to him - before she finally gave up, leaning over to brace her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. Despite Nina's protests, Phoenix slowly made her way over to her friends, giving Margaret a wide berth.
"I could do this all day," the Doctor told them all with a smile. His eyes flashed over to Phoenix. "You alright?"
"Better now," she answered, unable to help the grin as she stood next to him. It felt like it had been forever and she instantly felt safer.
"This is persecution," Margaret protested, holding up what looked like jewelry between her fingers. That was probably the teleport, Phoenix realized. "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"
"You tried to kill me and Phoenix and destroy this entire planet," he said without missing a beat. It was really the second one that had the anger festering behind his smile. Quite frankly, he was being much nicer than she deserved.
"Apart from that," Margaret tried, eyes flicking between them all.
"Do we really need more of a reason?" Phoenix wondered, ignoring the way her side prickled as the woman's eyes settled on her.
"Should we maybe take this inside?" Nina proposed, her skin shimmering before the purple skin, yellow eyes, and braid disappeared. She looked like her normal self again. "It's not safe for you to be out in the open like this."
"Why not?" The Doctor demanded, his eyes narrowing on the young girl. If he wasn't mistaken, she was a Bloxinia, though he had no idea what she was doing here. "Actually, why were you two running before?"
"Nina here - if that's even your name - said that I was in danger and wanted to lock me up in a hole and leave me there indefinitely," Phoenix gave him the cliff notes version.
"Not as bad as you make it sound, you drama queen," Nina shot back with a roll of her eyes. "I'm trying to keep her safe, but she's so stubborn and decided to run off. You do realize that you were almost killed a dozen times on the way here, right?"
"What?" Phoenix wondered, not remembering any such thing. "When?"
"Well, I took care of it, of course. That's why you were able to outrun me in my true form. I had to keep stopping." Nina explained. Everyone just kind of stared at her and she sighed. "I'll explain inside, but no more running off."
"You were going all "Cask of Amontillado" on me. And with everything going on in my life - which you somehow know about - can you blame me for not trusting you?" Phoenix demanded as they all headed inside. "And, clearly, I was right not to. You were still lying to me for whatever reason-"
"Because I had to!" Nina interrupted, rounding on the brunette. "Look, I know that everything is probably overwhelming right now and your mother was supposed to be here to help you through it, but I'm doing my best." She sighed and took a deep breath before leaning against the table that was in the middle of the room. "My name is Nina. At least my Earth name. I'm a Bloxinia from the planet Bloxan-"
"Thought so," the Doctor chimed in with a grin. "The spikes and the eyes gave it away. Though I've never…." He trailed off as Nina glared at him. "Right, sorry. Continue."
"My family has been friends with yours for as long as we can remember. My father was assigned to your mother's protection detail when he was very young. Younger than me, even." Nina continued, scuffing a toe on the carpet as she spoke. "They were best friends and he would do anything to protect her. Even leave my mother and I for years."
"Were he and my mom….?" Phoenix wondered, unable to finish her sentence.
"Together?" Nina asked, raising her eyebrows. "No. No way. Ew! He was more like an older brother to her, so don't be getting any ideas."
"Well, how am I supposed to know these things?" Phoenix protested at the look Nina gave her. "I've already learned that my father isn't my father and he was cheating on her for who knows how long. It could've been years and-" She broke off as Nina suddenly became very interested in her shoes. "And you knew that too, didn't you?"
"I learned as much about your life and the people in it as I could so that I could keep an eye out for danger," Nina told her sheepishly. "And I couldn't tell you what I knew because you couldn't know about any of this."
"And who decided that?"
"Your mother," Nina told her gently, hurrying to explain as Phoenix threw her hands up in frustration. "She loved you more than anything else and she wanted you to know everything, but it wasn't safe. That's why she stayed with him in the first place, even when she knew what he was doing."
"Wait, she knew?" Phoenix turned on Nina, eyes flashing. "And again, I'm just supposed to believe this? Just accept that my mother knew my father was cheating on her and did nothing? She knew I wasn't human and never told me? She knew that my dad wasn't actually my dad and never told me? And let me guess, she knew about you and just let us be friends while you lied to me." As Nina turned away in shame, Phoenix knew that was exactly what had happened. "My entire life has been a big lie! Is there anyone I know who HASN'T been lying to me?!"
"You know, I could always come back later if you guys have some personal issues to work out," Margaret cut in, backing away towards the door. Before Phoenix could blink, Nina was back in her original form and blocking Margaret's path, holding - Phoenix could barely believe it - a real lightsaber in her hand. The brunette's jaw nearly dropped as excitement shot through her. Yes, she wasn't sure entirely of Nina's motives and she was quite upset with the redhead, but she seemed sincere enough and if it went south, she knew that she at least had one friend she could rely on. The Doctor.
And it was a real lightsaber. That was the biggest thing that was softening her anger.
"I don't think so," Nina said, pulling Phoenix out of her head and back to the present moment at hand. "I still haven't gotten you back for what happened the last time you were here. Phoenix nearly died."
"Yeah, about that," the Doctor cut in, also eyeing the lightsaber. "Where exactly were YOU when I was busy saving the world and her life?"
"It's kind of hard to keep track of someone when they're popping in and out of the timeline," Nina shot back, glaring at the timelord. "And while we're on the topic..." She turned to Margaret who was eyeing Nina's lightsaber carefully. "How exactly did you survive? I'm assuming your teleport had something to do with it, but how did you stay off our radar for so long?"
"Well, actually, I had no idea you were even looking," Margaret responded, taking a small step back away from the beam of light. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"
"Strange." Nina frowned, sheathing her saber with a whir of energy and putting it away…somewhere. Phoenix couldn't really tell where. It almost seemed to just disappear.
Phoenix eyed the redhead carefully as she crossed the room, not seeming to care what Margaret did anymore though Phoenix could only guess as to why the sudden change. Granted, it was probably better than being about to lop off her head. Since Margaret was here and apparently the Mayor going off of the newspapers on the table, she couldn't be up to anything good. And with their luck, it was probably world threatening.
"So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape." The Doctor summed up after a moment of silence before gesturing to the table in the center of the room. There was a small model of a power station on it. "What do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?"
"A philanthropic gesture," Margaret replied calmly, looking over to him. "I've learnt the error of my ways."
"Really?" Phoenix asked, eyebrows shooting up as she surveyed the model for herself. Margaret put on a good show, but the brunette wasn't buying it. Normally, she would be all for giving the benefit of the doubt, but there had to be better causes to repent with than a nuclear station. Nuclear power was part of the problem that caused wars and since Margaret had wanted to destroy the world by starting World War three the last time they'd met…well, it didn't look good for her.
"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift." The Doctor replied, his voice conveying just how much he believed her.
"What rift would that be?" Margaret asked curiously.
"A rift in space and time." Jack clarified, though Phoenix didn't think Margaret needed the history lesson. Though Mickey might appreciate it, she mused, leaning against a wall as her energy vanished. She was suddenly so tired, she didn't know how she was keeping her eyes open. They felt like they had small weights on them. "If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go-"
He then proceeded to make a sucking noise and a motion with his hands to convey that it would be sucked in on itself. Great, Phoenix thought, rolling her eyes. Why did everyone want to destroy the Earth? There had to be plenty of other planets out there, right?
"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity," the Doctor told them all, his eyes skating over the model.
"So, you've learned the errors of your ways, huh?" Phoenix asked sweetly, leveling Margaret with a glare. "It sounds like you're just trying for round two. Finishing up the family business?"
"Didn't anyone notice?" Rose wondered, looking to the Doctor. "Isn't there anyone in London checkin' this sort of stuff?"
"We're in Cardiff." Margaret drawled, turning to Rose. "London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could…."
Phoenix sighed and made her way over to Nina. She was too tired to listen to that woman anymore. Was she even a woman? Theoretically, they could probably inhabit anybody they wanted, so long as they could fit inside, regardless of gender matching. Did they even have genders?
"What are you doing?" Phoenix wondered, watching as the redhead stared at the banner that was hung across the archway. Strangely, the TARDIS wasn't translating it.
"Have you noticed anything…strange on your travels?" Nina asked instead, turning to her quickly.
"You mean stranger than a time traveling alien in a bigger on the inside ship that has landed us on a planet filled with ice cream?" Phoenix checked, crossing her arms over her chest. "And stranger than my friend turning out to be a Bloxinia from Bloxan and who also happens to have a real life lightsaber?"
"I knew letting my brother near that George guy was a bad idea," Nina groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "One, it's not a lightsaber. It's a…." She paused, thinking before she sighed. "Alright, fine. I guess that's as good a name as any. It doesn't exactly translate well into other languages. Two…you have a point. But I mean anything that has stood out. After you adjusted to everything?"
"I honestly don't know," Phoenix admitted, throwing her hands up. "I mean, I was dissected by robots who work for the man who wants me dead, I'm turning into an alien, and I have to keep dealing with crazy timeline chaos so…"
She trailed off as the Doctor was suddenly standing behind her, gazing at the banner the same way that Nina had been. The brunette was immediately on high alert and found herself searching the banner for any sign of danger. What could have him so absorbed like that? There was nothing particularly interesting about it and she assumed it was a name of some kind because the TARDIS wasn't translating it to English.
"How'd you think of the name?" The Doctor asked, eyes running over the words.
"What, Blaidd Drwg?" Margaret asked, sounding bored. "It's Welsh."
"I know, but how did you think of it?" The Doctor reiterated. Phoenix was surprised that there was absolutely no malice in his voice towards the Slitheen as there had been the entire time they'd been in the same room with her.
"Chose it at random, that's all." Margaret responded, moving to stand closer to the time lord as she surveyed the banner. "I don't know. Just sounded good." Her eyes narrowed on him with curiosity. "Does it matter?"
"Blaidd Drwg," the Doctor murmured, turning to face the occupants of the room, though his eyes weren't really focused on any of them.
"What does it mean?" Phoenix wondered, her stomach clenching in worry. "The TARDIS isn't translating."
"Bad Wolf." He translated absently, mind whirling with theories.
"Bad Wolf?" Phoenix repeated, eyes intent on the banner as if that would make the words make more sense. Those words had been following them and not just that but the strange message she kept encountering to "save Bad Wolf." She still had no idea what the words pertained to or why they kept cropping up.
"But I-I've heard that before." Rose murmured, her eyes darkening with worry. Phoenix was a little surprised that the blonde had noticed, she didn't think she'd been paying that much attention. "Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times."
"Everywhere we go." The Doctor agreed, nodding a little. "Two words following us. Bad Wolf." He glanced over at Phoenix and his frown deepened even further. And it was the same for her only it was more of a message. Save Bad Wolf. But what did that mean?
"How can they be following us?" Rose demanded, seeming to be a little scared at this point. It didn't make much more sense to Phoenix either, unless…..
"Could it be the man who killed my mother?" Phoenix asked hesitantly, biting her lip. "What if it's just another way for him to mess with us?"
The Doctor looked between the two girls, seeing just how frightened they were beginning to get at his words. It was true that the words did seem to be following them, but perhaps he should keep that to himself until he knew more. He didn't want to stress them out if it turned out to be nothing and the extra worry wasn't good for Phoenix. He hadn't missed how she'd suddenly seemed to drain of energy.
"Nah, just a coincidence." He said loudly, forcing a large grin onto his face. It became a little more genuine as Rose startled, rolling her eyes at him. "Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind." He turned to Margaret. "Things to do." He clapped his hands together and headed for the door. "Margaret, gonna take you home."
Phoenix frowned at his sudden mood shift, knowing that the words couldn't be a coincidence, though she had no idea what they could mean or what her mother's murderer would gain from scattering them throughout time to mess with her. And it would take a considerable amount of energy to do in the first place, she was sure. Could he be that powerful? If he was, why wasn't she dead yet? Then again, maybe he was just hopping through time and leaving the suggestions for other people. Though how would he convince Jack the Ripper to carve that specific message into her back? And the Ripper hadn't seemed to recognize her or be expecting her so….maybe not.
"Hold on," Jack protested, whirling on the Doctor. "Isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?"
"That depends on what their justice system's like," Phoenix commented, crossing her arms and forcing her attention away from the words on the banner and onto the current situation at hand. It wasn't going to do her any good to go down that rabbit hole right then. There was no way for her to figure out if her theories were right at the moment, so she was going to need to work on her patience and compartmentalization.
"I don't believe it!" Rose said with excitement, grinning at Phoenix. "We actually get to go to Raxa-" The Doctor rolled his eyes as the blonde stumbled on the pronunciation and Phoenix raised an eyebrow at him. He had to learn how to say it once too. Rose clearly agreed. "Wait a minute! Raxacor-"
"Raxacoricofallapatorius." The Doctor said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Phoenix tried to hide her grin as he even had his hands on his hips.
"Raxacorico…" Rose tried again, focusing on the Doctor's words.
"...fallapatorius." The Doctor finished, again matter of fact.
"Raxacoricofallapatorius!" Rose crowed with excitement, practically leaping into the Doctor's arms for a celebratory hug.
"That's it!" The Doctor exclaimed, laughing with the girl. Phoenix couldn't help but join in.
"I did it!" Rose practically spun out of the Doctor's arms into her own. Phoenix found herself hugging the girl back, realizing how much she had missed the ease and comfort of just being able to give the blonde a hug because she felt like it. This was how they had been before all the drama. It was nice.
"They have the death penalty," Margaret deadpanned, eyes dropping to the carpet as she effectively brought the fun energy of the room down. Phoenix turned to the women, - she was pretty it was women anyways - her smile quickly slipping away. "The family Slitheen was tried in it's absence many years ago and found guilty. With no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return….I am to be executed." Her eyes bore into the Doctor's, a small humorless smile on her lips. "What do you make of that, Doctor?" He didn't say anything as she watched him. "Take me home and you take me to my death."
The Doctor considered that for a moment. The creature before him had tried to destroy the entire planet and had already potentially destroyed several others before in the pursuit of profit with the rest of her family. She was planning even now to try for a second attempt just to get off the planet which was a little better than wanting to make money, but not by very much. And finally, she had very nearly killed Phoenix before he ever realized quite what the girl meant to him. All of the moments that he had had with her, the ones he'd been able to sneak in; those never would've happened if Margaret had succeeded the first time around. But could he take her home, knowing she would die when she arrived? Was he capable of that?
His eyes drifted to Phoenix and he thought about how pale she had been in his arms that day, how he had worked tirelessly to save her. He couldn't handle it if something happened to her. Everyday she took another small piece of his hearts, whether she realized it or not. And he knew that she would be safer without Margaret in the world. The brunette already seemed to have danger going after her from all sides, did she really need to worry about the Slitheen woman as well?
So knowing everything he did, could he leave Margaret to die? The Doctor turned to the alien woman, contemplating the cold flatness of her eyes and realized that yes, yes he could. He wouldn't enjoy it, that wouldn't be the motivation. But he could do it.
"Not my problem." He answered before turning to lead them from the room, knowing that none of them would've noticed any hesitation.
So, first, sorry it has been so long since I updated. I kept telling myself that I was going to get to the Christmas episode by Christmas and it just didn't happen. I've been super busy with work and school and family drama. I hope you all are well and that you had wonderful Christmas' or whatever holiday you celebrate around this time. I wanted to at least get a chapter up for you guys and I hope you like it! Even though it is a little shorter than most of them. :)
bored411: Yes, lots of craziness and it is only the tip of the iceberg so thank you for hanging in there! I'm glad you like it and that you're still reading, it means so much to me! As for her injury...more on that later :)
trying414: I wasn't sure if anyone would remember her, but I introduced her very briefly in the second chapter. She's one of Phoenix's friends from before she met the Doctor!
druaka: If you're reading to see this response, thanks and I'm sorry you felt that it was just crisis after crisis and that it got to be too much for you. I didn't intend it to be that way, though I also feel like that is very much Doctor Who. As for the injury bit, I promise there is a reason for each and every one.
LuciferRedeemed: Thank you! 3
EmeraldGhost11: Oh, thanks! And welcome back, I'm glad you found it again and that you still love it!
So, that's it for reviews guys. Thank you for being so very patient with me and still reading this even after all of this time. I am really going to try to be more consistent with my uploading - though my next semester of school is starting soon so we shall see how that goes - and Happy Holidays to all of you. I hope you are all doing well and that you're being safe during this pandemic and staying sane. Just be kind to yourselves and we will all get through this. Love you guys! Until next time! 3
