The Three Doctors and Hatters

by loulouflowerpower

The Third Doctor and Hatter remain stranded on Earth, assisting UNIT in defending the planet, when our Time Lords find themselves being hunted by a new foe. Gallifrey and the Universe are in danger, and the Doctor and the Hatter have no choice but to work with their past selves to save it from the ancient Time Lord, Omega. Antimatter, bubble creatures, and an oblivious Time Lady.

10. Chapter 10

The Three Doctors and Hatters, Part 10

The Second Hatter had to give her past self credit were it was due...she had handled the news that Omega was a raving lunatic who had actually been betrayed by their fellow Time Lords, pretty bloody well. She'd barely battered an eye as they explained to her all that they had learnt about this world and their enemy, who had dragged them here. It was odd; really, she remembered feeling hardly confident at all about anything when she had been that version of herself, but yet she seemed to just take everything in her stride and hardly seemed bothered by anything...well, almost anything. It was clear that the woman was rather overwhelmed by everything, being off Gallifrey and in this sort of situation seemed to be something of a struggle for her, but still, she was handling it well. Case in point...the fact that they were currently surrounded and trapped inside the TARDIS, while Omega's goons stalked the outside of the time machine, barely seemed to cause the First Hatter much concern. She, however, had to admit that it was far from ideal and couldn't help a twinge of anxiety, but hey, they'd been in worse spots...or near enough worse. This was in the top five of tough spots.

"Well, there you are, then," the Third Doctor remarked as they looked up at the screen that showed those odd, orange bubble covered creatures standing outside the TARDIS, "They can't get in".

"And we can't get out," the Second Doctor added grimly.

"Well, there is that, yes," the Third Hatter agreed with a deep sigh, peering up at the screen with a slight frown across her face, her fringe hanging slightly in her eyes, beneath the edge of her hat.

"Oh, great," Jo muttered sarcastically.

The Second Doctor leaned back slightly on the heels of his shoes and hooked his thumbs around his bracers, pulling them away from his chest, "If only I could find my recorder," he shook his head longingly, earning a rather startled eye from the Brigadier, who stood next to him, "I could play you a little something to pass the time".

The Brigadier inhaled deeply and briefly rolled his eyes skywards, "We must be thankful for small mercies," he commented flatly...the Second Doctor instantly shot him a dark glare, evidently not missing his tone.

The Second Hatter couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips, nor did she fail to notice the grin that her future self barely contained. She hastily flashed her Doctor a brilliant, innocent smile when he looked at her sharply, though the mock huff that he made made it rather clear that he wasn't buying it. She merely shrugged and stuck her tongue out teasingly...his lips twitched upwards, just as she knew he would, and he ducked his head, as if trying to conceal his amusement. He was such a sweetie; he couldn't even pretend to be cross with her when she teased him.

"Well," Doctor Tyler turned away from the screen, looking around the console room curiously, his gaze drifting over the controls, lingering in places, a familiar glint in his gaze. He looked like he was positively itching to try and test out just what everything did, "This TARDIS of yours is a real marvel, Doctor. I still don't understand how we all got inside it, but I don't wish to spend the rest of my life in it," he gave them a weak smile.

"True," Jo nodded with a sympathetic glance at him, before turning to regard the Third Doctor and Hatter with a careful, but pointed look, "We can't just stay here forever".

The Third Doctor and Hatter exchanged a look between them, one that the Second Hatter could read easily enough, even though they wore such difference faces from what she was used to seeing. That look, she supposed, never really changed, one full of concern and apprehension, and mutual consideration for what the hell sort of mess they'd found themselves in. The weight of having others looking to you for answers...answers that you, yourself, don't even have, but you're expected to know it all and be the clever ones in the room. She almost sighed, it was nice not having everyone look at her, for once, but she still felt that sting of sympathy.

"Come on, Doc, Hatter," Benton looked hopefully to the Time Lords, "I mean, with the five of you there should be twice as many ideas," he lifted his eyebrows, his eyes roaming from one Time Lord to the other, "Well, surely you can think up something to nobble this Omega bloke?"

The Second Hatter's eyebrows shot up and she just barely chocked back a laugh at the rather alarmed expression that crossed the Second Doctor's face at hearing that. She turned to stare at Benton, too.

"Do you have any idea who Omega is?" she laughed faintly, inwardly grimacing as it came out sounding borderline hysterical and rather squeakier then she would have like, but...wow. Someone suggesting that they 'Nobble' one of the most powerful Time Lords to have ever lived, that was something else, even to her.

"He's only the third founding father of modern Gallifrey," the First Hatter said with a rather bewildered frown, eyeing Benton almost as if he had utterly lost his mind and just declared himself king of the entire Universe, "Not some...some common criminal. Mentally deranged and unhinged as the man evidently has grown in his centuries of isolation and betrayal, the man still gave much to Time Lord society".

Benton stared between the two women, looking utterly startled and confused that he was suddenly being almost attacked, "Well, I just..." he began slowly, when an alarm began blaring through the room.

"Excuse me," the Third Doctor immediately reached out a hand and pushed the Brigadier back from the controls, moving to stand where he had been, while the other Time Lords gathered around him. The alarm continued going as they looked at the controls, his expression growing thoughtful, "Someone's trying to get through..."

The Second Doctor suddenly tensed, "You don't think...?" he trailed off and pointed his right index finger up towards the ceiling, a careful frown on his face.

He paused to glance at his finger, before shaking his head firmly, "I hardly think so..."

"There's only one person that this could possibly be, gentlemen," the First Hatter cut in with a brighter, far more relaxed smile. They looked at her instantly, but she merely gave them another knowing look and calmly spun on her heel, turning to look intently up at the screen.

They moved to step up around her, turning their attention to the screen, and slowly, from out of the darkness in the centre of the screen, a little dot of light began to move closer and closer towards them, growing larger and clearer, until the First Doctor came into full view, looking sternly back at them. His gaze fell upon the First Hatter and her counterparts, and instantly seemed to soften, his lips lifting, but then he cleared his throat and a slight frown filled his features.

"There you are, then," he said with a rather bossy, abrupt tone, sharp eyes narrowing as they looked passed his counterparts and the Hatters to the humans that filled the room behind them, looking curiously up at him, "What's all this, a mass meeting?"

"You're not really scolding us for protecting our friends, are you?" the Third Hatter gave him a look, her eyes narrowing slightly upon the screen, "We couldn't possibly leave them outside, in case you weren't aware there is a mad, ancient Time Lord trying to destroy us all out there with his minions".

"I wasn't suggesting anything of the sort, my dear, Hatter," he gave her a light, easy smile, "My, my, you are quick to temper in this body, my poor future self must have his hands full with you keeping him on his toes".

The Third Doctor shifted slightly on the spot, shooting the screen a rather annoyed glare...the Third Hatter, however, smirked cheekily up at it.

"Would you have me any other way, Doctor?"

He laughed lightly, "Absolutely not, my dear," he replied with a small wink, making her laugh. He sighed, then, and shook his head lightly, "In a pretty pickle, aren't you?" his eyebrows rose as he regarded them all through the screen, "Yes, trapped in your own TARDIS".

"You're trapped in your own bubble," the Second Doctor shot back, giving the First Doctor a pointed look, even thought his Hatter gently tried to hush him, rolling her eyes, "You can talk!"

"Seriously, Doctor?" the fair haired Time Lady hissed at him, grabbing his arm, almost as if she wanted to physically drag him away from the screen, "Don't start a fight..."

The First Doctor immediately scowled deeply, his eyes narrowing into a dark, annoyed glare, "Unfortunately," he almost seemed to snap, voice sharp and cutting, a far cry from the light, good-humoured tone he'd used when speaking to the Hatters, "Talk's all I can do, and not much of that! The transference isn't stable. Let's get on with it, eh?"

The Third Doctor huffed slightly, "You seemed to have an awful lot of time to chat to my Hatter," he muttered, throwing the screen a rather irritated glare.

The Third Hatter rolled her eye, "Oh, do get over it, sweetheart," she sighed, shaking her head at his antics, focusing her gaze steadily on the screen, "I am rather afraid that we seem to be short on ideas at this present moment, Doctor," she told him with a grim frown, "But...I suppose that if we all come together as one, we might be able to figure something out..."

"There's no need for that," the First Hatter suddenly said pleasantly...they all turned to stare at her sharply, but she merely smiled gently, shrugging under their startled and confused stares, "Naturally, I would be happy to share my plan with you, but it's already been set into motion, as we speak..."

"You figured out a plan without consulting us first?" the Third Hatter almost demanded, fixing her with a rather annoyed look.

She shrugged lightly, again, "It is a rather time sensitive crises we are in," she said, seemingly unconcerned by her future self's anger.

"Well, what exactly is the plan, Hatter?" the Third Doctor asked curiously, eyeing her thoughtfully.

"Shall I show it to you, instead?"

"Might as well," the Third Hatter huffed, narrowing her eyes at her, "Though why we're even bothering when you evidently have it all figured out, I really have no idea..."

"Shh," the Second Hatter hushed her with an awkward, tense smile to the First Hatter, who was giving the Third Hatter a mildly amused look, which only seemed likely to induce more anger, "Let's just...get on with it, shall we?"

The Third Hatter threw them both a rather betrayed, annoyed look, but she seemed to concede defeat, allowing her eyes to gently close. The Second, Third, and First Doctor did the same thing, and the Second Hatter followed their example, almost instantly feeling her brain brush against their own minds, all coming together, all six of them. The First Doctor might not physically be with them, but evidently his connection to his future selves and to the Hatters was strong enough to make the divide between Universes. It seemed like an hour passed, but when the Second Hatter opened her eyes again, mere seconds had passed for them, while the humans stared at them in confusion. She looked thoughtfully back to the screen.

"We're all agreed, then," the First Doctor said with a faint frown, gaze lingering on the First Hatter, "Risky, but it could work. I'll report back," he went to turn away, only to pause, his eyes falling firmly back onto the Hatters, his gaze lingering on each of them in turn, "Do please be careful, Hatters".

And with that, the First Doctor faded away into inky blackness on the screen. The Third Doctor, frowning thoughtfully, turned to regard his past self and the Hatters.

"We'd have to strip down the force field," he remarked, causing the Second Doctor's eyes to widened in alarm.

"But that'd mean leaving the TARDIS defenceless!"

"Quite so," the Third Hatter said with a slight sigh, but she was considering the First Hatter with a curious, almost impressed eye, "But as risky and mad as it sounds, I do believe it is the best cause of action we have ahead of ourselves, don't you?"

The Second Hatter lifted a hand and smiled brightly, "I think it's a great idea, personally," she said happily, before throwing the First Hatter a slightly teasing wink, "And I'm not just saying it 'cos I came up with it, ether," she looked to her Doctor and lifted an eyebrow, "Shall we, Doctor?"

The Second Doctor eyed her, before smiling a little tiredly, "Well...I suppose there's little to lose," he nodded, reaching out to take her hand, "Come on!"

The humans all watched them with confused stares, while the Time Lords looked expectedly to the First Hatter, awaiting her first move. The physically older Time Lady gave them a warm, pleased smile and calmly turned to walk over towards the console, while they trailed after her eagerly, watching her closely as she moved to duck beneath the edge of the console, even kneeling down to see for themselves. The humans, however, merely looked at them in bafflement.

"What was all that about, Miss Grant?" the Brigadier turned to look expectantly at Jo, who had been watching the entire exchange with the Time Lords intently.

"Another telepathic conference, I think," she replied, nodding, as if it was perfectly normal.

He blinked and shot the now blank screen a dubious, startled look, "That old chap?" he turned sharply back to her, eyes wide.

"Afraid so".

"Six of them," he said in slight wonder, if a hint of despair as he looked away from her, frowning thoughtfully, "I didn't know what I was well off..." Jo barely concealed her amused grin, when he shook his head and dropped his gaze down to where the Time Lords were still fussing about beneath the console...he sighed, "Doctor, Hatter!"

The Third Doctor popped back up from beneath the panel, climbing back onto his feet as he gave the other man a curious look, "Yes, what is it?" he questioned, a hint of impatience in his tone.

"Would you mind telling us laymen what you scientists are getting so excited about?"

"We think we've found a way of dealing with Omega," he said shortly, and quickly moved to duck back down again.

"Mind telling me how?" Doctor Tyler interrupted him eagerly, suddenly sidling up beside the Brigadier to fix the Third Doctor with a sharp look.

"All in due time, gentlemen!" the Third Hatter called from where she was kneeling on the floor between the Second and First Hatters, her tone distracted and voice muffled slightly.

He smiled, seemingly satisfied by that, "Oh, splendid!" he said happily, moving to try and peer over their heads to see what they were looking at, eyes bright and excited behind his thick glasses.

The Third Doctor ducked back down to crouch on the floor, frowning slightly apprehensively as the First Hatter busily concentrated on something still out of sight, tucked away within the inner workings of the base of the TARDIS console, her head partly sticking inside a compartment, while she fiddled and toyed and seemingly set about putting the finale pieces of her plan into place. Her counterparts knelt by her, watching intently, though there wasn't enough room for them to provide any assistance to her.

"How do we know that he'll take the generator?" the Third Doctor asked with a slight frown, "What if he should refuse?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that..." the First Hatter told him lightly, almost sounding as if she was smiling to herself, voice muffled into the compartment, while she balanced painfully on her knees. Or at least it surely must be painful; the Second Hatter recalled how badly her joints eventually became affected by arthritis as she aged in her first body.

"But say that he does..."

The First Hatter shifted very slightly then, allowing a brief glance into the compartment and what she was working on, and the Second Hatter's eyebrows rose sharply and her lips stretched into a slightly sympathetic smile.

"Oh, dear," she shook her head, "I do believe I just found your missing recorder, sweetheart".

"You did?" the Second Doctor edged closer eagerly, his voice brightening with delight and relief, and he laughed very slightly happily, "Oh, well done, my dear, Hatter. I don't suppose you can reach it for me?"

The Third Hatter glanced at him warily, "That's not exactly an option right now, Doctor," she said with a slight sigh.

"Is this really important right now?" the Third Doctor shook his head blankly, giving his past self a rather disapproving glare, not that the other man seemed to notice, frowning at the Third Hatter in confusion.

"It proved to be quite perfect for the task, actually," the First Hatter remarked lightly, seemingly missing the rather alarmed expression that crossed the Second Doctor's face at that, his eyes snapping sharply back over to stare into the back of her head, "Whoever claimed that musical instruments were wasteful, truly have no idea of what they speak of. But don't you see?" she moved to sit back onto her knees; carefully shifting her head back out from the compartment without whacking it on the top edge, smiling brightly at her counterparts and the Doctors, "It was ideal".

The Second Hatter leant forward just a little more and the others did the same, peering curiously into the small compartment to see a rather shambling mess of a device sitting tucked neatly inside the small opening, made up of seemingly nothing more than just bits and pieces that the First Hatter had managed to find scattered about the place, likely from just within the console room alone during their absence from the ship. The device gently hummed, sitting upon a red, metal box that seemingly had been a portable gas cook top that humans took for camping, while the Doctor's beloved recorder sat in the very top of the cook top, held up right by lengths of messily tied string from the four corners of the cooker, while a mess of bowled up paper seemed to sit up top of the mouth piece, kept in place by more string and tape. It was a mess, but genius, and sitting hooked up to the TARDIS force field generator.

"My recorder!" the Second Doctor exclaimed, angst and shocked.

"That is brilliant," the Third Hatter breathed in slight wonder, her eyes wide and a slight grin lifting her lips, ignoring the Doctor's alarmed cry.

"Thank you," the First Hatter inclined her head politely, but even she couldn't quite school the pleased expression from her face, nor the light blush that coloured her pale cheeks.

"My poor recorder..." the Doctor was still lamenting sadly, shaking his head gravely as he looked miserably to the instrument, as if it was an old friend. He reached out a hand towards it...

"Stop that," the Second Hatter lightly slapped his hand away, and he instantly jumped and retracted his hand, turning to give her a rather wide eyed stare, lips parting in slight disbelief. She fixed him with a suddenly stern look, which she doubted suited her very well, but all well, "No touching, Doctor, it's still in the process of getting powered up, but it's exactly what we needed," she looked proudly to the First Hatter, grinning widely at her as she raised her open hand up towards her eagerly, "High five!"

The First Hatter gave her a blank stare, "Excuse me?"

She blinked and slowly lowered her hand a fraction, losing a bit of confidence, "Oh," she felt her cheeks warming and a flicker of embarrassment wash over her, "Right...I forgot you're not exactly as in-keeping with stuff like that. Well, you're supposed to..."

"She's teasing you, idiot," the Third Hatter rolled her eyes, leaning over to lightly tap the Second Hatter's shoulder, cuffing it almost affectionately, as the blonde trailed off and blinked rapidly. She shook her head and threw her hand back over towards the First Hatter, who was smirking very faintly, "Oh, honestly, sometimes I do wonder about my past-selves. It truly makes me frightened for the future..."

"I can't believe you got me!" the Second Hatter stared at the First Hatter, looking shocked, but rather impressed as the blush began to fade from her cheeks and instead, a delighted grin filled her face, "Me! You managed to trick me! Oh, we are good, aren't we, girls?" she laughed and threw and arm around her future selves' shoulders, hugging her partly.

The dark haired Time Lady merely sighed in exasperation and threw a glance up towards the ceiling, almost as if she was physically pained. The Second Hatter merely laughed again and half-hugged her tighter, looking proudly back to the First Hatter, who smiled gently as she watched them, blue eyes bright and shining with pride.

...Time Control, Gallifrey...

"I've got a contact, sir".

The Lord President turned sharply at the sound of the older Time Lord's voice, calling out to him through the darkened room of the control room, while he continued to intently look at the screen before him. A flicker of hope washed over him.

"Oh?" he lifted an eyebrow, and quickly moved to stand behind his chair, looking up at the screen as the other Time Lord hit a series of buttons before him, and slowly a black and white image of the First Doctor came into view on the screen, grainy and blurred, but clearly him. He looked sharply at him through the screen, "Did you find them? Did you make contact?"

"For a while," the First Doctor replied, giving a single nod.

"Is there any chance? We can't hold out much longer. What's happening?"

He held up a finger, "There's a possible solution," he said calmly, seemingly in little hurry to elaborate, considering that he went on with, "I'll let you know as soon as I can".

The Lord President's mouth fell open and he stared at the screen, which was already fading to black again as the connection was cut. He slowly shook his head in disbelief...honestly; dealing with the Doctors and Hatters was harder than trying to control the High Council.

...The TARDIS...

The First Hatter delicately disconnected the device from the inside of the console compartment, cradling it almost as dearly as she had once done when her children had been but babies, and slowly moving to climb back onto her own feet. The Third Hatter was helpful to grasp the front of her skirts and lift them up slightly for her to do so without falling, earning herself a smile from the other Time Lady, before she turned her gaze back to the rest of the room, all watching her closely and curiously.

"I do believe that this shall work perfectly," the grey haired Time Lady said as she peered down at the device still cradled between her hands, "The calculations have a very minor room for adjustment, however, but not to worry," she looked up to them all and smiled lightly, almost casually, "I am hardly ever mistaken in that area".

Doctor Tyler eyed the device with obvious curiosity and interest, but he still nodded at her words, giving her a very slightly bemused smile, eyes darting from her to the device, seemingly trying to puzzle it out without asking. The Third Hatter almost laughed and called him out on it, but decided that his poor ego possibly wouldn't handle such a thing. The Brigadier had little concerns about admitting his ignorance, however.

"I suppose it would be too much to ask for someone to tell us what all this means," the mildly annoyed solder cut in with a rather stern, if confused, stare fixed pointedly on the Third Doctor and Hatter.

"It means, Brigadier," the Third Doctor glanced at him, though his tone was still somewhat grim, "That we can now strike a bargain with our friend Omega".

His eyebrows rose dubiously his gaze eyeing up the odd, mismatch of seemingly random junk still cradled by the First Hatter, "With that box of tricks there?" he questioned with a frown.

"And a flute?" Jo blinked slightly, also regarding the device rather oddly.

"Recorder, technically," the Third Hatter corrected lightly, her eyes narrowed on the device with a thoughtful glint in her eyes, her lips curved up very slightly with a pleased smile, "And that is no mere box of tricks, then I am Madam President of Gallifrey. That, my dear friends, is a portable force field..."

"And the recorder is considerably more than just a recorder," the Second Doctor piped up with a very slight huff, giving the Brigadier and Jo a pointed look.

The Second Hatter lightly pattered his arm, "I told you I'd buy you a new one, Doctor-dear," she sighed very slightly, rolling her eyes skywards in amusement and exasperation, before glancing at him...he tried to give her a mock glare, though it fell flat and under her own smile, he couldn't contain his small grin.

"Are we ready, then?" the First Hatter cleared her throat, looking to her future counterparts and the Doctors with an eyebrow raised expectantly. She glanced down at the device between her hands, "If we are, I do believe it best if I perhaps remain somewhat concealed. Omega may not recognise this for what it is, but that is not a risk I am willing to take".

"Quite right, Hatter," the Third Doctor nodded to her, giving her a gentle smile. He then turned to his Hatter and gave her a curious look, "Shall we?"

"We shall," the Third Hatter agreed instantly, turning on her heel and, taking his hand, the two of them strolled calmly up to stand just below the screen, looking up at the blackness of it.

Behind them, the Second Hatter and Doctor moved towards the controls, the humans backing away from them slightly, but watching on curiously, as the pair of them hit a couple of buttons on the controls. The blonde straightened, then, and looked across to the scanner.

"Ready when you two are," she told them brightly.

The Third Doctor cleared his throat and almost seemed to straighten another two inches, fixing the screen with a sharp, narrowed eyed glare, "Omega!" he called loudly, "We want to talk to you!"

The screen slowly shimmered into life and an image of Omega appeared upon the screen, his mask firmly in place, looking back at them from the screen.

"I hear you, brother and sister Time Lords".

The Third Hatter barely resisted the urge to cringe at that rather odd way of greeting them as 'Brother and sister Time Lords,' but it was an effort on her part, "My lord, Omega," she began as respectfully as she possibly could, figuring that it was best to try that approach, "My fellow counterparts have been in consultation with the Doctors and we believe that we have a means of granting you your freedom, will you grant us pardon for a brief moment and allow the TARDIS to go free, so that we may come to you?"

"Is this some deceit?" he demanded, voice laced with anger and threat, "You cannot escape my world unless I will it!"

"No, not a bit of it, old chap," the Second Doctor calmly cut in, shaking his head smoothly as he stepped up beside the Third Hatter, peering up at the screen, "We just want to avoid a long walk, that's all".

There was a brief pause as Omega seemed to consider it carefully, the Third Hatter crossed her fingers behind her back and forced her expression to remain light and calm, even though her hearts pounded in her chests, waiting.

"Very well," he finally responded, tone wary, "Come to me you shall!"

And with that, the screen went black. The Third Doctor turned quickly back around to face the rest of the room.

"Right," he said hastily, his voice tense, "Now listen to me, everybody. From now on you are to do exactly as you are told..."

"Why?" Jo asked in alarm, making him look at her, her eyes wide and worried, "What's going to happen?"

"Anything, possibly," the Third Hatter said softly, though her voice was still easily heard by them all. She turned to face Jo directly, reaching out to place an almost steadying hand upon her shoulder, meeting her wide eyes with a kind, but firm look, "But all you need focus on is letting us do what we must, and in order for us to do that, you must promise to listen and do as you're told, Jo. Do you understand?"

She hesitated, frowning deeply...but under her sharp eyes she eventually sighed and nodded, lowering her gaze, "Alright, I promise, Hatter," she said quietly, making the Time Lady smile and squeeze her shoulder in approval, before dropping her hand.

"Good," the Third Doctor remarked, smiling gently, before he straightened and his smile dropped, replaced with a serious frown as he glanced around to his counterpart and the Hatters, "Are you ready?" he asked them, which they all nodded to, before he turned to the controls. The Third Hatter moved around to a different panel, grabbing a lever, looking back up to him for his cue..., "Stand by. Here we go..."

As he hit a button on his side of the console, the Third Hatter grabbed a lever around her side and slowly pulled it down, and almost instantly the sound of the engines wheezing filled the air and the console room began shaking lightly as they disappeared from what remained of the lab, instead coming to land not even a second later in the middle of Omega's palace, within his main chamber. The engines died down as they landed and the Third Doctor and Hatter looked across to each other, before moving around to come back together, the Doctor taking her hand. They headed for the doors and the others trailed off them, save for the First Hatter, and paused just out of sight within the doorway of the TARDIS, smiling and inclining her head to her past selves, who nodded back to her. It was all a part of the plan.

The Third Doctor and Hatter stepped calmly out into the throne room of the palace, their eyes landing immediately on Omega, who stood before the light beam of the singularity, watching them closely from behind his mask as they all slowly stepped out and into the room, the humans eyeing the ancient Time Lord nervously, while the Time lords were wary and tense, but careful to appear more resigned from the outside. Once they were all, seemingly, gathered before him, Omega spoke.

"Do you think this trickery will save you for long?"

"There is no trick," the Third Hatter lied easily, her expression carefully poised into a mask of her own, revealing nothing but a heavy sense of resignation and wariness, "We told you that we believed we could set you free and we stand by it, my Lord..."

"What is this?" Omega demanded angrily, seemingly bristling.

"On one condition," the Third Doctor cut across him firmly.

"I make the terms, Time Lords!"

"Omega," he continued calmly, barely batting an eye at his increasing anger, "If you will send these people back to where they came from, we will stay and help you," he pointed across to the humans as he spoke, his gaze fixed on Omega...Jo's eyes widened in horror and she opened her mouth to protest, going to lung towards the Time Lords, but Benton silenced her by swiftly grabbing her arm, stopping her in her tracks. No one seemed to notice and the Doctor kept his focus directly on Omega, who seemed to be listening intently, "We think we've devised a way of restoring your freedom to you".

"What way?" Omega questioned sharply, voice full of doubt and disbelief, almost mocking, "I know now that you cannot give me my freedom, but..." he his tone shifted, growing slightly softer, "...you can keep me company in the endless empty years that lie ahead. If you four stay here willingly and share my exile, then I will spare your friends and Universe".

It was far from shocking that Omega should make such a counter-deal like that with them, the Third Hatter had expected it, and judging by the rather flat expressions on the Second Doctor and Hatter's faces, they had also come to the same conclusion before now. She glanced at her Doctor and nodded very slightly as their eyes met, his lips briefly pulling into a tight line, before he turned back to regard Omega. It would require her to make a promise that she knew would never be kept...but, for once, she would allow it, but the sake of Gallifrey and the Universe.

"We shall give you that promise, Omega," the Third Doctor swore to the ancient Time Lord, looking back to him, his jaw tight and a slight frown on his features, "We will not attempt to leave this world before you do..."

"You can't!" Jo suddenly cried, and made another attempt to lung towards them, only for Benton to wrap his arms firmly around her, stopping her.

"Jo, please!" the Third Hatter hushed urgently, her head snapping sharply around to fix her with a near pleading look, "You mustn't interfere in this matter! You agreed!"

Omega barely seemed to pay Jo much mind, for which the Time Lady could only feel grateful that his arrogance was seemingly so high, that the humans were likely barely even worth a flicker of an eye, let alone worth listening to. He seemed to be busy considering the Time Lords proposal, turning partly away from them, and as the Third Hatter threw him an apprehensive glance, she felt a tiny flicker of hope.

"Go, then, back to your planet," Omega practically spat, waving a hand back towards the singularity behind him, a sneer lacing his booming words, "Be gone, and give thanks that Omega is merciful..."

And completely power-hungry and ignorant, the Third Hatter couldn't help silently adding as she watched the ancient Time Lord wave a careless hand towards the humans, seemingly dismissing them as he turned and stepped down from the platform, robes dragging along the ground behind him as he walked away from them, retreating to the far side of the chamber, away from them, his back turned. The Brigadier looked hopelessly around the room, and then to the Third Doctor and Hatter.

"What shall we do?" he asked them blankly, looking rather lost. It was an odd sight to see, on such a confident, capable man.

The Hatter gave him a gentle smile, "Do you see that shimmering mist that seems to be coming up from the floor?" she pointed across to the pedestal, where the singularity shimmered and gently rolled through the air, just like smoke, "You merely need to walk through it and you'll be home".

His eyes widened, startled, "What?"

"I know how it sounds," her smile grew slightly tired, "But I assure you, my dear, fellow, it isn't a joke. There's nothing to be afraid of, it really will take you back to Earth, safe and sound".

"Please, Brigadier," the Second Doctor added slightly more sternly, when the man still looked rather uncertain, "It's the only way".

The Brigadier still looked rather reluctant, but after a moment of glancing around the rest of the room, he sighed, "Well," he frowned slightly at the Time Lords, "I don't know what you're up to, but all right," he then turned to look directly at the mysterious man in the green coat and rifle, who stood beside him, staring around with wide, confused eyes. He gave him a stern look, "Now, Mister Ollis?"

Ah, so he was the farmer who had disappeared from that farm on Earth, the same on that had kicked this whole thing off, in many ways. Made perfect sense.

"Not me," Ollis shook his head instantly, voice gruff and nervous, "I'm not going in there".

The Brigadier sighed and looked across to Tyler, "Doctor Tyler?" he asked, and the other man slowly walked forward towards the singularity.

Tyler stepped up onto the pedestal and paused, eyeing the smoke warily, before he turned back around to throw the Third Doctor and Hatter a look, "Are you sure it's all right?" he questioned apprehensively.

The Third Doctor smiled slightly, "Yes, of course we're sure," he replied, nodding.

Satisfied, Tyler turned back around and stepped up onto the last pedestal, walking straight into the smoke...and just like that, he was gone. Jo watched on with wide eyes, hugging Benton tightly, but if the Brigadier was thrown, he didn't let it show as he turned calmly back to Mr Ollis.

"Now then, Mr Ollis," he tried again, slightly more pointedly. Ollis shifted uneasily on the spot, eyes darting anxiously around the room, before he slowly moved to follow Doctor Tyler's suit, disappearing through the mist with almost a march to his step. The Brigadier then looked across to Benton, "Sergeant Benton".

Jo looked up sharply in alarm and Benton, dragging his eyes off his commanding officer, glanced at her, too. He gave her a reassuring look and stepped forward, dropping his arms from around her and forcing Jo to release him, though she stared after him with a rather lost frown. Benton hesitated, however, and glanced back to the Brigadier, just as he came to stand on the pedestal.

"Sir, I'd sooner Miss Grant..."

"Move, Benton," he swiftly interrupted him, voice crisp and sharp with authority, and the other man sighed and spun back around, walking through the smoke, disappearing through it. He looked to Jo and his expression softened, seeing how nervously she was eyeing the smoke, "Now then, Miss Grant..."

She looked at him and her eyes widened, "No!" she cried, and suddenly darted passed him to practically throw herself at the Third Doctor and Hatter, wrapping both of her arms around them...the Doctor sighed in exasperation, while the Brigadier looked briefly frustrated. The Time Lady, however, gave the young girl a sympathetic look as she shook her head firmly, "No, I want to stay with the Doctor and Hatter".

"Jo, please..." the Third Doctor frowned slightly, fixing her with a stern look...she froze as she looked up at him, seeming rather startled by how firm he looked.

"Jo," the Third Hatter said softly, pulling the girl's gaze over to her. She gave her a gentle smile and carefully untangled herself from her, but she took her hand, instead, "Please, don't argue this, we know what we're doing. Just trust us".

She winked at her and Jo blinked rapidly, confusion swiftly filling her features as she stared up at the taller Time Lady, seemingly puzzling over her words...

"Come on, Jo," the Brigadier urged, holding out his hand to her as he moved to step closer to the mist himself.

"It'll be okay, Jo. I promise".

Jo gave the Hatter a long look, but finally she allowed her to slip her hand free from her, and, not taking her slightly wary gaze off the Third Doctor and Hatter, moved to take the Brigadier's hand instead. She let him guide her over to the singularity and hesitated on the pedestal, throwing the Time Lords one final look...the Hatter nodded encouragingly and smiled brightly at her, while the Doctor did the same, and slowly she turned and slipped through the smoke, disappearing. And with that, it was the Brigadier's turn, the man walked forward to stand below the singularity, before he also turned to regard the Third Doctor and Hatter. They smiled back at him.

"Goodbye, Doctor, Hatter," he told them, before pausing, his eyes shifting to rest on the Second Doctor and Hatter...he smiled faintly, "Doctors and Hatters".

"A pleasure, Alistair," the Second Hatter grinned at him, lifting her hand up to wiggle her fingers at him, while her Doctor gave him a light little bob of his head and a smile.

The Brigadier smiled slightly and stepped up onto the edge of the mist, before turning around and saluting them all proudly, for just a brief moment, before he spun back around and marched on through the smoke, and followed all the others into nothingness. Almost instantly, Omega came wandering back over towards them.

"So, my brother and sister Time Lords," he said without seeming any regard for the fact that they had just said their final goodbye to their friends, coming to stand before the singularity, "I have played your game. Now it is your turn to play mine, and there can be no escape for any of us!"

The Third Hatter lifted an eyebrow, her expression the very image of unimpressed, almost mocking, "I wound not be so certain of that, Omega," she warned with a hint of a smirk, her head turning to look back across to the still open doors of the TARDIS.

The First Hatter easily stepped out of the time machine doors, cradling the device in her hands as she looked calmly over to Omega. If she was in anyway startled to find herself in the presence of such an ancient, legendary Time Lord as he was, she showed little sign of it as she walked over to stand beside the Second Hatter, eyeing Omega closely with a guarded glint in her deep blue eyes.

"You seek your freedom, Lord Omega?" she called to the Time Lord, her tone almost cool, "Well, here it is..." she lifted the device up slightly for him to see it clearly, her eyes steady and firmly on his masked head, "This will provide you with all that you have wished for these centuries".

"What is this childish contraption?" Omega demanded angrily, a hint of warning in his voice as he moved to walked closer to her, seemingly examining the device dubiously, though it was impossible to say for sure without seeing his expression.

"The only freedom you can ever have," the Second Doctor replied, frowning slightly as Omega came to a stop just a foot away from the First Hatter. He moved to place himself right next to her, lightly pushing the Second Hatter back in order to do so, his shoulders tense, "Take it," he urged him, and Omega almost seemed to lean back slightly in shock, before the Doctor glanced across to his future self and the Third Hatter, giving them a sharp, single nod, "Take it, Omega!"

The Third Hatter squeezed her eyes firmly shut at their cue, concentrating with her might on allowing her own mental barriers to drop, just enough to allow her consciousness to reach out towards Omega's own mind. She felt her other selves and the Doctors doing the same, basically just a mental version of a gang attack, but there was still just something right there pushing back against them all. Perhaps Omega was just that good? She pushed harder, gritting her teeth slightly as she threw a bit more strength against her own attack, pushing harder and harder, just trying to break through his own mind. She had battled and won against his mind before, she knew it ought to be easy for her to do it, let alone for all five of them and their combined strength and skill to do it, but perhaps the difference was that Omega knew now that this world was built from his own will, including his very own existence? Perhaps there wasn't enough left of him for them to even try and connect telepathically with him, unless he allowed it? A laugh snapped through their concentration and her eyes flew open sharply, startled. Omega was laughing loudly at their failed efforts, shaking his head beneath his mask, or he would have, had he had a head any longer, she imagined. He turned away from them briefly as they all stared at him.

"Take it!" the Third Doctor snapped angrily.

"Commands?" Omega thundered, suddenly whirling back around in a flurry of fury, "You command me?" he pointed sharply to his own chest, but none of them spoke, merely watching him warily..., "This is my world! I command! And you pester me with trinkets!"

He suddenly lashed out and threw his arm out towards the First Hatter, who just barely seemed to stop herself from shrinking back from him, all the colour draining from her cheeks and a look of horror filling her face, right before his gloved hand connected with the device in her hands. It sent it flying into the air and crashing with a loud bang on the ground, where it immediately began sparking violently.

"No!" the Second Hatter shouted in alarm.

"Run!" the Second Doctor cried, and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, quick!" the Third Doctor went to encircle his Hatter's waist to help her back to the TARIDS, but she ducked out of his arms before he had the chance.

The Third Hatter positively threw herself at the First Hatter, who looked utterly frozen in horror, and grabbed a fistful of the back of her dress, roughly hauling her away from Omega, knowing that the Time Lady would be far to shocked to do so herself, far too caught up in bad memories to be able to even move on her own accord right now.

"Move, move, move!" she yelled at her past self, who gave a shaky gasp and finally seemed to snap back to reality, allowing herself to be pulled away.

The entire room seemed to start shaking and shuddering, while the smashed device violently sparked, leaving the Doctors and the Hatters only a brief moment to throw themselves towards the TARDIS...

Right before everything exploded.

...Time Control, Gallifrey...

Upon the screen, the Lord President watched anxiously as the black hole that had been Gallifrey's long since great and precious source of power began to suddenly flair with a brilliant, pulsing light, right from the very depths of the blackness. He watched, breath catching in his throat and a desperate hope clinging to his hearts as it grew brighter and brighter, until the light flared out and disappeared, seemingly back into the heart of the supernova. Just like that, the air was filled with a gentle, mechanical hum and suddenly all the lights in the Time Control Room came back on, his head snapping up as he stared around, power slowly restoring to Gallifrey. He smiled.

"Another source of energy," he remarked in slight wonder, shaking her head slowly, "Once again, Omega".

...UNIT Laboratory...

For a brief moment, everything seemed to go black and Jo seemed to almost be falling through nothingness, and then, just as abruptly as it had all happened, her feet seemed to touch the floor and her eyes snapped open sharply, a gasp of her lips as she stared around to find herself, quite shockingly, standing within the Doctor and Hatters lab back at UNIT HQ. It looked perfectly as it had before the attack, seeming completely untouched, even though it had been all but torn apart when snatched away by Omega's creatures. But she wasn't alone, the Brigadier, Benton, and Doctor Tyler stood around the room, staring around in confusion and wonder...but there was no sign of the Doctor or Hatter. Not any version of them.

"We're back!" Benton exclaimed excitedly, grinning widely.

Doctor Tyler smiled, too, peering around curiously, "Well, we certainly seem to be," he agreed with a surprised expression.

Benton turned to eagerly check outside, peering between the slats of the opened blinds to look outside, "But we're really back!" he laughed, almost seeming not to be able to believe it.

Jo, relieved as she was to be back home, on Earth, couldn't bring herself to feel much joy. She bit her bottom lip and looked hopelessly around the lab, every inch of it another reminder of the Doctor and the Hatter, from the left over tea cup that the Hatter always favoured with little pink roses painted across the porcelain, to the Doctor's favourite coat still draped over the hook of the coat stand by the door, but there was no Doctor and Hatter present, just the ghost of their mark left behind. Her heart hurt and she felt her throat start to constrict with tears, feeling a sense of just...hopelessness wash over her. They had sacrificed their own freedom for their own...she had no idea how to even process that.

"The Doctors and Hatters..." she breathed weakly, turning to look to the Brigadier, needing his ever reassuring calm and level mindedness right now, needing his unwavering confidence in the Time lords.

The Brigadier frowned and slowly moved to step around her, his gaze roaming the room carefully, "Well..." he said slowly, a hint of...almost uncertainty lacing his words, "I dare say they'll turn up, as usual," he couldn't seem to bring himself to look at her and Jo, unable to stop the tears and despair from washing over her at those words, felt herself crumbling. She turned and threw herself at Benton, who caught her in a reassuring hug as a sob left her lips, barely hearing the Brigadier's soft, sad words, "Wonderful chap...and brilliant woman. All of them..."

Suddenly, something blue seemed to just appear out of the corner of Jo's eye and her head snapped up sharply, cheeks stained slightly with tears. She very nearly felt her knees go weak with relief.

"The TARDIS!" she gasped, sniffling slightly as a smile broke across her face, staring at those blue doors.

A second later, they burst open and the Third Doctor and Hatter came calmly strolling out, smiling happily as they threw a look back over their shoulder, where the Second Doctor and Hatter followed them, arms linked. The First Hatter was noticeably absent, but Jo was far too thrilled to see her Doctor and Hatter to think much on it for a moment, seemingly grinning widely as she watched the Time Lords stroll out of the TARDIS and into the room.

"I told you he had no self-control, didn't I?" the Second Doctor was saying cheerfully to the Third Doctor and Hatter, exchanging a rather proud look with his Hatter.

"Doctor!" Jo exclaimed in relief, "Hatter!"

She positively threw herself at her Doctor and Hatter, who instantly turned to give her wide smiles, the Third Doctor taking one of her hands and squeezing it comfortingly, while the Third Hatter gave her a brilliant smile. Doctor Tyler moved to shake the Second Doctor and Hatter's hands, giving them looks of wonder.

"How did you manage it?" the man shook his head in disbelief, eagerly shaking the fair haired Time Lady's hand.

"Much luck and sneakiness," the Second Hatter replied happily, winking at the human man as he released her hand, only to have Benton grab her hand and shake it, making her laugh.

"Splendid!" Tyler cheered, stepping back slightly.

The Second Doctor looked around the lab curiously, frowning very slightly, "Where's Mister Ollis?" he asked, casting his Hatter and the Third Doctor and Hatter, a glance, while they were busy being congratulated by the Brigadier.

"What?"

"Where's Mister Ollis?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about him," the Third Hatter smiled knowingly, pulling her hand free from the Brigadier, who had shaken it rather proudly. She brought her hands together, instead, "Much like my own First self, I expect he's been returned safely to where he rightly belongs," she laughed very slightly, exchanging a look with the Third Doctor, "I do wonder what he'll tell his wife?"

"I don't understand..." Jo frowned slightly, eyeing her Time lords slightly in confusion, "What do you mean your First self is back where she belongs?" she shook her head slightly, "Doesn't she belong in the TARDIS, with the Doctor?"

The Third Doctor smiled faintly, "Not quite yet," he replied, giving his Hatter a gentle, soft, if slightly sad look.

"She'll find her way, soon enough," the Third Hatter smiled slightly in return, shrugging, "But for now, her place remains on Gallifrey. But never mind that..." her smile widened, "Today was quite the victory, we ought to all be very proud of ourselves, I do rather think. The Universe is safe, once more, and all ought to be restored to how it once was...of course," she paused, frowning faintly, "Omega remains very much trapped and alone in his own little world, but there is little to be done about that. Sadly, he is far too gone for anyone to help him".

"But how come you turned up in the TARDIS?" Benton gave the Time Lords a rather baffled frown, smiling slightly.

"As my counterpart explained," the Second Hatter said lightly, still smiling rather cheerfully, "Because that is quite where we rightly belong, or at least these versions of us do...I suppose it's rather curious that I didn't end up being sent to my own TARDIS, but..." she shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, "Close enough".

The Second Doctor grinned and caught the Third Doctor's eye, but the two of them hastily looked away, clearing their throats as they noticed the Third Hatter regarding them with an eyebrow raised and a curious frown on her face. Yes...her past self was quite right, she should have ended up transported to her own TARDIS, not the Doctor's, but yet she hadn't been. She was sure there was something to be read into that, but for now she was just happy that all had gone well, saddened as she was to have missed the chance to say a final goodbye to her First self. All well. She already, technically, knew what she would have said to her.

"What was all that business about the flute?" Jo looked around at the four Time Lords, puzzled.

"Well, as you know," the Second Doctor began, reaching up to grasp one side of his lapels, "It accidently fell into the force field of the TARDIS, so that when we were transformed into antimatter, that was the only thing that wasn't processed".

"Quite right," the Second Hatter nodded, still smiling lightly, "Which proved most useful for my past self, who was able to use the unprocessed recorder for our own ends, but then, of course, when Omega lost his temper and tossed the recorder out of her hands, the result ended up snapping the recorder out of the delicate force field that maintained the recorder's state, triggering the atoms and the anti-atoms to basically battle against one another to try and alter the recorder's anatomical state".

"Which ended up triggering a massive explosion," the Third Hatter added, looking rather pleased with herself, "So massive, in fact, that in the heart of a black hole, it caused it to go supernova, providing the Time lords with an even greater power source to pull power from," she glanced sideways to her Doctor, eyes narrowing very slightly, "I'm still not entirely sure what to feel about that, quite honestly".

"Pity, though," the Second Doctor sighed sadly, looking off into the distance with a deep frown, "I think it had a lovely tone".

The Second Hatter laughed and shook her head, leaning closer into his sight...his expression instantly shifted into one of surprise and delight, and he looked at her sharply, eyes brightening as he caught sight of her wide grin. She reached up with her hand not attached to her own, bopping his nose playfully.

"Oh, Doctor," she shook her head, voice full of lightness and teasing, "Don't ever change...eh," she glanced around him, then, almost as if she had jut remembered something, and threw the Third Doctor an apologetic look, "No offence, other Doctor...you do seem quite the sweetheart yourself, I wasn't meaning to imply that I'm not looking forward to getting to know you. I'm quite sure that..."

"Shut up," the Third Hatter groaned slightly, rolling her eyes up towards the ceiling with a pained expression. Instantly, the Second Hatter snapped her mouth shut and smiled weakly, while the Third Doctor barely seemed to hold back laughing.

"Everything okay?" a voice called from the open TARDIS doors.

They all turned sharply, the Third Hatter's eyes brightening in delight and she instantly took off for the doors, rushing inside the console room as others dashed off after her. She grinned widely as she looked up at the screen to see the First Doctor peering down at her from it, smiling gently, eyes shining with pride. The other Doctors and Second Hatter stepped up behind her, all smiling happily up at him, too.

"Doctor," the Third Hatter greeted him brightly, earning herself a wide smile and a nod of acknowledgment.

"Well, here we are," the Third Doctor nodded to his past self, giving him a warm look, "Back safe and sound".

"Quite the party!" the Second Doctor called excitedly, reaching up to grasp both of his lapels of his coat, in quite the same way that the First Doctor had been prone to do, too, at times.

"Yes, well, the party's over now," the First Doctor warned them with a flicker of something almost like regret upon his lined features, eyes lingering briefly on the Hatters, "You young men, ladies, and I, go back to our time zones..." the Second Doctor and Hatter's smiles dimmed slightly, while the Third Hatter nodded sadly. His eyebrows rose, then, something almost like teasing flashing through his eyes, "Though considering the way things have been going...well, I shudder to think what you'll do without me".

The Third Hatter laughed and shook her head, "A pleasure, as always, Doctor," she brought her hand up and waved it at him, smiling as his image began to fade away.

"Quite right, too, my dear," he called back to her, voice echoing slightly now, as his image grew more and more distance, "Farwell, Hatters! Until we meet again...!"

And just like that, he was gone.

"Goodbye!" the Second Doctor waved, too, though his past self had already faded. He sighed slightly, smiling sadly as he turned to his Hatter, "Ready, my dear?"

The Second Hatter's smile grew slightly tighter, "I suppose it is our turn, isn't it?" she looked to her past self and reached out to pat her arm, "I must say...while I do worry myself about your sense of humour, I do have to admit that I think my future is quite safe in your hands, Hatter. Look after the old man, for me, yeah?" she threw the Third Doctor a teasing wink.

The Third Hatter rolled her eyes, but smiled, "Of course," she said, ignoring her comment about her sensor of humour, before she fixed a stern glare to her past self, lifting a finger to point warningly at her, "Just as long as you do the same, got it?"

She laughed and held up her hands, "Will do," she nodded, even throwing her a mock salute, before giving the Third Doctor a brilliant smile and little wave, the Doctor smiling gently in return and inclining his head. She then turned to her Doctor and reached out to take his hand, giving him a bright smile, "Righty-oh, ready when you are, Doctor-dear".

The Second Doctor looked around the rest of the room, his eyes travelling over the humans, "Goodbye, everybody," he nodded to them, smiling, until his eyes fell on the Third Doctor and Hatter, and his smile widened, "Goodbye. It's been so nice to meet me...and you, my dear, Hatter," he gave the Third Hatter a softer smile, eyes lingering on her.

"It's been a delight to see you again, Doctor," the Third Hatter told him softly, her expression gentle and full of affection, "You were always such a wonderful ball of energy. I have missed you, very much".

"I suppose, it hasn't been exactly terrible," the Third Doctor commented with a slightly teasing look at his past self, holding out a hand towards him. The Second Doctor gave him a knowing smirk and accepted his offered hand, shaking it firmly...the Third Doctor's eyes narrowed playfully, then, "I hope I don't meet me again, the Hatter, however..." his gaze shifted and caught the Second Hatter's gaze, and he grinned cheekily, "Always, always a delight to see you, of course".

"He's quite charming, isn't he?" the Second Hatter laughed, throwing her future self a grin, "Ooh, that'll be fun!"

The Second Doctor rolled his eyes as shot the Third Doctor a slight glare, though there was no heat to it as he shook his head, letting go of his future self's hand. He took the Second Hatter's hand and together, smiling at everyone one last time, they stepped back and slowly began to fade away on the spot, until they were utterly gone with just one last wave. The Hatter stared at the spot sadly, while she had to admit that the Second Hatter had been annoying to this version at times, she had to admit...she enjoyed being that carefree and positively full of just...life and energy, excited by everything and anything, having something close to a child-like curiosity for the Universe. She missed feeling like that, bitterness had stolen some of it from her, but she felt as though she could find it again. Her past self gave her hope.

"Now I've seen it all," Doctor Tyler murmured in amazement, shaking his head as he looked at the spot they had just vanished from.

"Pity," Jo sighed, frowning faintly, glancing at the Doctor and Hatter, "He was so sweet and she seemed like such fun".

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, taking a deep breath, "Wasn't I?" he glanced at her pointedly and she looked at him in surprise, before her eyes widened and she smiled in slight embarrassment, seemingly having forgotten just who she was talking about.

"Yes, well," the Brigadier cleared his throat, his hands firmly clasped together behind his back, eyes slightly narrowed as he turned slightly away from them, "As far as I'm concerned, one of each of you is enough," he sighed slightly warily, "More than enough".

The Hatter smiled slightly, looking back to the Doctor, "I rather agree with that, actually," she said lightly, voice laced with amusement.

"Sergeant Benton!"

Benton quickly stepped up just behind him, clicking his shoes sharply on the floor, "Sir?" he asked, standing tall and proud, awaiting his orders.

"You and I'd better make a full inventory of the HQ," he told him firmly, voice crisp and full of business...Benton's expression dropped very slightly, and the Hatter barely held back a laugh, "Make sure everything's back in place," he went on, turning to start walking towards the TARDIS doors, "It's all got to be accounted for, you know..."

"Sir?" the young solider cut in with a slight frown, causing the other man to pause and throw him a slightly narrowed eyed, almost warning glare.

"Yes?"

"Well, excuse me, sir, but...well, if anything is missing, where do we say it's gone?"

The Hatter lifted an eyebrow curiously, looking to the Brigadier, who seemed to actually be slightly thrown by that question, frowning thoughtfully. Yes, exactly where did they expect to say that things had disappeared? Though she sincerely doubted if anything would be missing. She eyed the Brigadier, waiting, and eventually the other man sighed.

"Come along, Benton," he ordered with a slightly annoyed frown, turning on his heel and positively marching out of the time machine...Benton stared after him for a moment, before reluctantly following, his expression full of resignation as he disappeared out of the doors.

"Well..." Doctor Tyler turned to the Time Lords and Jo, giving them a weak smile, "I think I'd better be on my way, too," he held out his hand to the Doctor, who accepted it with a warm smile, shaking it twice, "Goodbye," he nodded to him, before he then turned and offered his hand to the Hatter. She shook it politely, his smile growing slightly wider, "Goodbye, Hatter," he said to her, releasing her hand and then shaking Jo's, "Goodbye, Jo".

"Goodbye," Jo grinned at him, briefly touching his hand with her other, before they dropped the handshake.

He turned to walk away, but he only made it a few steps towards the doors, when he paused and frowned, glancing back over his shoulder to them, "I don't think I'll write it up in the University journal," he winced very slightly, "Not if I want to keep my job".

The Hatter laughed, "Probably wise," she nodded, pleased that she didn't have to warn the man to keep this whole affair to himself. He was quite sharp, for a human, "Best of luck, Doctor Tyler. I do hope we work together again in the future".

Tyler gave her a nod and waved back to them, though she thought it might have been more out of politeness, then anything else. The poor man was still probably somewhat in shock and would likely need a few weeks to process just what he had seen, but she was curious to see where his work and research took him in the future. She would have to investigate deeper, but not now. As he slipped outside the doors, she turned to the Doctor, who looked rather miserable...her own expression fell and she frowned tiredly, reaching up to run a hand down her face. It had been a very long day, and while they might have archived much and saved the Universe and Gallifrey, it hadn't come without some compromise.

"What's the matter?" Jo asked them, frowning. She placed a hand on the Hatter's arm, causing her to look at her, Jo's eyes full of concern and alarm, "Everything worked out all right, didn't it?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, while the Hatter merely sighed and covered her hand on her arm, patting it lightly. His tone was flat and soft, "For us".

Understanding filled her face and she nodded slowly, "I know what it is," she said quietly, eyeing the Hatter and then the Doctor, "It's because you had to trick Omega".

"It wasn't so much of a trick, but rather a lie," the Hatter shook her head grimly, her hearts feeling heavy with guilt. She still believed that they had done the right thing in the moment, sometimes there was only a bad solution or an even worse one, and today they had been forced to pick the lesser of two evils, compromising their own beliefs and ethics, and while it had won them victory, it still weighed heavily on the soul, "We gave Omega false hope today, Jo, allowed him to believe that we could give him freedom, knowing it was his greatest desire...and then we snatched it away," she briefly closed her eyes and cringed, "Giving someone hope, only to snatch it away...it is a truly cruel act".

"What else could you do? It was either him or everything?"

Her words rung true, but yet they hardly helped to ease the Hatter's heavy hearts or guilt...suddenly, a deep wheezing noise began to fill the air and they all froze, listening intently. It almost sounded like a TARDIS landing, grinding and grating and wheezing, and they all turned to stare at the console, only the Time Rotor remained perfectly still. But then something began to appear on top of the clear, glass cylinder, something that made the Hatter gasp and her eyes widened in shock. A small, three pointed device shifted in and out of focus as it appeared out of thin air before them, a seemingly ordinary little piece of machinery, but to the Time Lords is meant so much. And then, just like that something clicked inside her mind and she almost stumbled backwards in shock. She remembered...she remembered everything!

"The Time Lords!" the Doctor exclaimed in shock, and he snatched up the piece of machinery eagerly, staring at it in disbelief as he turned it around in his hand, "Look!" he held it up for the Hatter and Jo to see, his eyes bright with excitement, "They've sent me a new dematerialisation circuit," he blinked, too, frowning faintly as he looked to the Hatter, "And my knowledge of time travel law and all the dematerialisation codes...they've all come back! They've forgiven me..."

"They've forgiven us," the Hatter breathed, swallowing, hard...she didn't quite know what to think or feel, she had spent so long being angry at her own people for punishing them, and now she had all of her memories and knowledge of the full workings of the TARDIS back, right there in her mind, as if it hadn't been stolen from her. She took a deep breath, just as she sound of more wheezing came and she turned, not in the least bit surprised as she watched as her own TARDIS began to slowly appear in the corner of the console room, having been finally returned to her. She licked her lips and walked towards it, touching the doors lightly...it hummed gently in greeting, and she felt her hearts instantly lift.

"They've given us back our freedom," the Doctor murmured, watching in slight wonder, shaking his head slowly.

The Time Lady turned around to face him and smiled slowly.

"I suppose you'll both be rushing off, then," Jo shifted slightly on the spot, biting her bottom lip as she looked away from them, frowning slightly.

"No, not straight away, Jo," the Doctor corrected her, dragging his eyes off the Time Lady to look over to the human girl, "Of course not...I've still got to build a new force field generator first..."

"And..." the Hatter cleared her throat, giving Jo a gentle smile, "I suppose I'll have to stay and finish up those last reports for the Brigadier, or else he'll likely chase me through to the next century wanting them..."

Jo laughed and smiled broadly at them, while the Doctor and the Hatter exchanged a look, full of relief and lightness, their smiles soft. Today had been a hard day, full of ethical dilemmas and questionable choices, but sometimes there was no right or wrong way to do something, but just the concern of the bigger picture of what was best for all. They had made that choice today, for the betterment of the universe, and now they had the ability to get back to what they both loved: travelling the Universe. Life is truly a curious thing, most especially for a Time Lord and Lady.

So guess who caught Covid? I'm a day off being released from isolation in my bedroom and I'm still coughing up a lung, and I've had four injections. Get vaccinated, people, seriously, do it. I always get so sick after each of my covid injections but I'm pretty sure I would have been in hospital if I hadn't had at least two injections, let alone all four. As it was, I ended up having the worst head cold I've ever experienced and I had to sleep sitting up for three days due to not being able to breathe lying down. If you haven't had you booster or even one injection, do it, please.

Anyway, so we come to the close of this chapter of our Time Lords lives. It took me an absurdly long time to finish writing this story, but I did love it, as much as I sometimes wished it would just write itself for me. I do so hope that you guys enjoyed it and I look forward to when I eventually start another Classic Who story, I'm thinking maybe the Deadly Assassin. It's my favourite classic Who episode and I feel like it would be such a great glimpse into the Doctor and Hatter on Gallifrey, but nothing is set in stone on that score. I feel like I need to focus on my actual stories before starting that one...while I'm doing research for a new OC as I write this on a open web page (I seriously can't believe you can buy hunting knives and guns at Walmart in the USA, I kind of hoped that was just a misconception, but nope!). I'm a bad author, but hey, at least I'm writing something...right?

Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed and favourite this story. I'm all amazing. Until next time, friends! :)