Note: I have a question for you guys. I am going to try and make it perfectly clear where we are in each fandom's timeline as we visit it, but I don't know if you guys would rather me list all of them now, and thus make a few spoilers, or just have each fandom come as it may and leave you guessing which one's coming next, let alone where we're gonna be in its timeline. Please let me know!

I own nothing. Least of all this.

1:21

Red.

Red rock.

Back in the real world on Karn then.

I sat up.

For once, the pain was in my head, not my body. If I had to look at one more unbearably white object, there would be no stopping the sick. As it was, I felt like I had been tuned in to angel radio while an archangel was cussing out his troops. Not a good feeling.

Getting my bearings took awhile, but I managed. The rock seemed to make up the entire room, with only one exit. Probably underground.

Tea sat on a chiseled stone, next to the slab I had been lying on. At least, I assumed it was tea. Smelled like it. And it was still steaming hot. Hadn't been sitting for very long, then. Whoever left it must have done so recently.

Aside from myself, the room completely lacked occupants. No High Priestess, no Rose, no...anybody. That could be good, or bad. No guards meant I was, theoretically, free to leave. But no Rose meant they had left her on her own, without a familiar face. That, plus whatever I had missed while I was out, could be very bad indeed.

I needed to find her.

I began double-checking my gear. Mask, yes. Colt, still in its holster. Extra bullets, still in the box. Psychic paper and fake IDs, yep. Looks like everything was still there. Another point in the Sisterhood's favor. But when it came to Rose Tyler, and specifically, 'Her', it was better to be safe than sorry.

"If you are worried for the safety of your friend, don't be. She is more than safe with us."

Ohila's voice.

"It's not her safety I'm worried for. You didn't see how I found her. If she wakes up somewhere unfamiliar, and feels even remotely threatened, I suspect some decidedly unpleasant things might occur."

"We suspected it as well. She is currently sleeping, and we have kept her in that state until you could awake of your own accord. We thought yours should be the first face she sees when she awakes."

"Wise decision. How long have we been out?"

"A little more than a week, I should think."

"That long, huh?"

"These things take time, as well you should know."

"Fair point. I presume the tea is for the two of us?"

"Yes. Worlds may rise, and worlds may fall, but tea shall remain forever."

"Sounds like something the Doctor would say."

"Perhaps he has, or something similar. Since we are no longer in a rush, I thought now might be a good time to hold a good, honest conversation."

"It would be. But for that, you would have to find a good, honest man to hold it with."

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day. And even the most skilled of liars leave nuggets of truth behind their words."

"Okay, that definitely sounded like you were talking about the Doctor."

"Yes. But now, let's talk about you."

I held up a hand. "First, tea."

She smiled. "Of course."

One minute later, we were sitting and sipping.

"So, tell me. How is it a Time Lord managed to survive the Moment, much less escape the Doctor's notice?"

"I didn't."

"Pardon?"

"I didn't survive it, because I never had to live through it. In fact, up until a few weeks ago, I lived in another reality altogether. One with a good deal more...teeth than this one."

"Then, I wonder, how did you come to arrive in this one?"

"Purely accidental, I assure you. It's a very long story that involves a universe-destroying explosion, Cracks in time and space, rebooting all of reality, a long detour through yet another alternate world, but mostly, just being in the wrong place at the right time."

"A typical day for the Doctor, then."

"Not so far from being typical for me, either. Like you said, bad Fate."

"And I should very much like to hear what that Fate has given you up until now."

"Alright. But I'll tell you the same thing I told the Doctor; we'll probably be needing more tea before we're done."

"Easily arranged. Carry on."

So carry on I did.

The entirety of the story I had told the Doctor, I repeated to her, plus what I had found and done in Pete's World. She never asked how I had known things like the location of the Apple, or what Harry Potter's life would have been like had I not interfered. I was grateful for that. Lying about things like that would have 'strained credulity at that', to quote Barbossa.

But it was inevitable that she would ask how I knew so much of the Doctor's life, to say nothing of his character.

I was forced to answer her question with one of my own.

"To give some context, there is something I must ask you, and forgive me if it seems rude, but: what do you know of the Hybrid?"

Her cup froze halfway to her lips. "...Not a lot, I confess. Merely the prophecy."

"Would you mind repeating it?"

"...One day, there will come a creature, born of the two greatest warrior races in the universe, and it will stand in the ruins of Gallifrey."

"That's the one. We had a similar prophecy on my world. And in the end, I saw it come to pass. But not in the way everyone expected. How it will play out here, I cannot say for certain, but play out it will. I've already seen far too many similarities. And the Doctor will be at the center of it."

"Was he at the center in your reality as well?"

"Yes. At least my version of him. He tended to avoid our Earth, for obvious reasons, but in the end, I was there with him. In spirit, if not in body. Gallifrey fell to ruin. And at the end, the Hybrid stood atop the rubble."

"Well, unless a miracle occurs, I very much doubt that will happen here. Gallifrey has already burned. The Doctor saw to that."

"Oh yes, the Time War raged in our universe as well. And everyone saw the exact same thing that they saw here: Gallifrey, gone. But not in the way they thought. I cannot say more, but you can rest assured, Gallifrey is not lost forever. It will return, Rassilon and all. They have already almost succeeded once. Fortunately, the Doctor was there to stop them. But he will not always be. And when they do, even I don't know for certain what will happen."

"The Time War will rage once more."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"You, and I think your other half."

"My better half."

"Perhaps. And as much as I have enjoyed this, we really should go to Her."

"Agreed."

We continued talking as we made our way through the tunnels.

"So tell me, I know you have a back-door to Gallifrey. Ever thought about checking it?"

"No. Never. There are some questions that don't need answering."

"Fair point. Just curious."

She stopped at a surprisingly modern door recessed into the cave wall.

"She is through here."

"If there's anyone else in there, you better get 'em out before she wakes up. I can honestly say I have no idea what's going to happen, and I don't say that very often."

She nodded, and opened the door. On the other side stood three Sisters, all reading from amazingly technical displays.

"Our guest has awoken. It is time to wake the Other. You may leave us."

The Sisters immediately moves to comply with the High Priestess. Once they had moved, I could clearly see the sleeping form of one Rose Tyler, lying on a rather uncomfortable looking slab. No restraints; that was good.

A brief whirring, and the machines hooked to her began to power down. Once each one shut off completely, I moved to disconnect it as quickly as I could. Tubes and wires were definitely bad things to have anywhere near Her.

In the end, it was only three minutes before She began to stir. Her breathing became much less restful; almost angry sounding. Her fingers began to tap on the sides of Her legs, slowly at first, but building in speed.

And then She just stopped waking up.

She kept breathing, She kept tapping, but She absolutely refused to do anything else.

I am ashamed to say that my mind immediately jumped to Sleeping Beauty, but I just as quickly discarded the notion. This wasn't just Rose Tyler anymore; and the Bad Wolf had never needed anything but herself to wake up. There must be something else….

Oh.

The tapping.

Duh duh duh duh.

Duh duh duh duh.

"Clever girl."

It took mere seconds to charge the defibrillator.

It did, however, take me quite a bit longer to figure out how to route the charge through both hearts. But, I managed. It wasn't a comfortable position, but it worked.

"CLEAR."

BZZZZZAPPPPP.

She gasped.

Her eyes flew open, both glowing gold with fire ...and bored directly into me.

The next thing I knew was Her lips pulling away from mine, leaving behind stars in their wake.

"Now THAT is a way to wake up."

I smiled. "Needed a short circuit, did you?"

"Something like that."

"Then far be it from me to complain. Are the both of you alright?"

"I'm fine. She is still resting, and probably will be for awhile."

"Understood. We should probably move now, cause my right leg is falling asleep, and when it goes, well ..."

"Of course."

Gingerly, I disentangled myself from my perch. Just in time, too; my leg hit the floor and immediately I felt static. That was gonna be a pain for awhile.

She slid off the table on the opposite side, appearing for all the world as if she had just had a ten minute nap, and not a week-long coma.

"Come along, sweetie. We've got places to go, people to meet, things to run from."

"Oh dear Lord yes to all of the above."

Our goodbyes were an understandably hurried affair; both of Us wanted nothing more than to hit the ground running. But there was still one more thing Fate decided to throw my way. Not much, when you look at it in comparison with all that had happened recently, but in Time…

It would become the most important thing of all.

"Witcher. I have something for you."

"You've given us plenty already. No need for more."

"Ah, but this is not from us. This is from another."

I blinked. "Another."

"Yes. I told you how at first we did not realize who it was that would be coming here with Miss Tyler. In fact, the only reason we did so is we were told."

My mind raced through possibilities. "I assume you don't mean the Doctor, judging by how you've left out a name for this... other."

'Correct. She did not give her name, but she knew enough that we had no difficulties trusting her. She also said that we would know you were the right person to give this to, if you mentioned one very specific thing."

"And that was?"

"The Hybrid."

"I wondered why you seemed prepared for that question. Alright, what did this mysterious lady leave for me?"

The High Priestess held out her hand.

In it, lay a glistening jade coin.

"Her exact words were, 'Toss this to him. He'll understand.'"

"...Oh, I understand perfectly."

Toss a coin to your Witcher.

And not just any coin, oh no.

A familiar, intertwined pair of snakes stared up at me.

This was a Gambit coin.

Somehow, someone in this reality knew about both the Witchers, and the Drifter. That meant one of two things: they either knew me from the future, or they knew me from my universe, and had somehow ended up here as well.

Sometimes I hate time travel.

I flipped the coin over.

The odds for knowing me from the future shot up dramatically.

The sigil of the Fallen House of Wolves was etched into the back. Something I knew had never been on a Gambit coin in my home reality.

Whoever had left it obviously knew about Us; the Bad Wolf and I.

That was...concerning.

Oh, well. Something to ponder later. I had a ride to catch.

"What does it mean, Witcher?"

"It could mean many things. Many things indeed. When I find out which, I'll be sure to let you know."

"I would be most grateful. Farewell."

"Catch you on the Flip Side."

The doors to the TARDIS were open. Rose must have already gone in. I followed suit.

Okay, I wasn't expecting that.

"She's redecorated."

Recessed bookshelves made a large circle around the console. Above them, stone walls rose in a dome, with buttresses spaced out for support. Behind, a wrought-iron staircase wound up to a door, one that presumably lead to the other rooms. Coffee tables and reading lights took up the remaining space.

The TARDIS now looked like the bunker from Supernatural. Hows that for ironic.

"...I don't like it."

"Not enough round things, I'll give you that. Still, nice atmosphere. And now we don't have to trudge all that way to sit in front of a fireplace. We've got one right here."

"Convenient."

"Yes. Well now; new TARDIS, new reality, new adventures. How about you go ahead and pick the first one."

She looked back at me. "Really?"

"Of course."

She immediately pulled the view-screen around and started scrolling. After a moment, her finger came to rest. "Here."

I looked at the name. "Persephone. Appropriate. Alright then."

We both reached out and rested our hands on the lever, our grins the perfect match for each other's.

"Way down we go."

"Allons-y!"

We threw the lever.

Oh, that noise. That wonderful, beautiful noise. Accompanied by the music it might as well have been.

"Just take those old records from the shelf!

I sit and listen to 'em by myself!

Today's music ain't got the same soul!

I like that Old Time Rock 'n Roll!"

Seems the TARDIS loved the classics as much as I did.

"Fantastic."