A/N: So I just started working and depression comes and goes, so writing has been a bit difficult. As a result, this chapter feels a little choppy and doesn't really flow properly. Hopefully it's not too bad, though. (Also, I may shorten my chapter lengths just to make writing easier for me while I kinda get over this stupid depression thing.)

I stared up at the young boy in shock, not expecting his violent reaction. Yanking my shoulder from his grasp, I leaned backwards and nearly fell over. "Let go!" I exclaimed.

"Tell em who you are," Koschei snapped.

I quickly struggled to my feet and took a few steps back to distance myself from the young Gallifreyan. His dark eyes stared straight into mine and for a few long moments, we stayed like that until another voice called out somewhere past the trees.

"Koschei! Koschei, are you here?" a young boy's voice called out.

Something told me that the boy could only be Theta Sigma and, with only a second or two of hesitation, I turned and ran towards the mountain as fast as I could. Koschei cried out as I bolted across the grass, but I didn't dare look back or stop. I followed the river to the very base of the mountain and then bolted up the incline, while the river itself turned away and continued to curve around the mountain. The red grass brushed my knees as I hurried up the side of Mount Cadon and although the incline strained my tired legs, I forced myself to keep running. Somehow I knew that I couldn't let Koschei or Theta learn too much about me in case it changed the future.

After a few minutes, my pace had slowed significantly and I was breathing heavily. My foot slipped on a large rock and I lurched forward with a gasp. My hands scraped painfully against the dirt and grass when I landed. I took a minute to let my breathing return to normal while I stayed splayed out on my stomach in the grass. Turning slightly to look over my shoulder, I peered down at the river and the two boys that lingered near the riverbank in the shade of a large tree. One boy was looking up at the mountain in my direction and although I couldn't see his eyes, I knew they were searching for me.

As I lay in the red grass and Gallifrey's twin suns shone overhead, I realized that Koschei's interest in me would never truly stop. Even in his last incarnation, which I had met only briefly, he still seemed to be obsessed with me and my powers. I wondered then if maybe his fascination with me all stemmed from this moment, our first meeting on Gallifrey.

Shaking my head, I cleared my mind of those thoughts and pushed myself up so I was standing. I had to find the Doctor's guru if I wanted someone to help me and I wouldn't do it just laying lazily in the dirt. I took a few deep breaths to settle myself before I started walking again.

The trek up the mountain lasted what felt like an eternity and by the time I had reached the beginnings of slushy snow, the two suns had already crossed to the other side of the sky. Through the patches of snow were countless pebbles and rocks scattered beneath dead grass. It occurred to me then, as I trudged through the snow, that maybe I should have called the Doctor again to ask for help in case his guru was on the other side of the mountain. But just as I started to pull my phone out from my back pocket, something caught my eye a few hundred yards up the mountain. Through the patches of snow was a single tree, its trunk and branches knotted and twisted with age. And sitting below the tree in traditional Buddhist robes was an old man with a long, white beard and a shaved head.

The man smiled when I met his eyes and he extended one thin, almost skeletal arm to encourage me forward with a wave. "I have been waiting for you," he called from his seat beneath the tree. "Come, please."

Confused and intrigued, I hurried the remaining distance up the mountain before finally collapsing in front of the man. I fell to my knees with an exhausted sigh, not caring that snow was seeping through my clothes. I stared silently at the man and waited for him to explain himself, but when he spoke he said something I hadn't expected.

"What is your name?"

My widened in surprise, but I answered the question anyway. "Themba," I said.

"Themba?" he repeated slowly, one eyebrow raised slightly. His tone suggested that he didn't quite believe me.

I quickly tried to think of a way to convincingly elaborate on the name, like the Doctor suggested. I thought of the the only two Time Ladies whose names I knew and momentarily considered using their names, but then I realized that doing so might put both of my friends into trouble. So instead I borrowed the last few syllables of Romana's name and added it to the nickname the Doctor had given me in the hopes that it would sound convincing. "Thembalundar," I said after a few moments.

The man smiled knowingly. "I am K'anpo Rimpoche," he said simply.

"How did you know I was coming?"

K'anpo pressed a finger to his temple. "As a Time Lord, I see fixed points and quivers in time easier than Gallifreyans who have not had my training."

"Me coming here is a fixed point?"

"Yes," he answered with a nod.

I shook my head in disbelief. "How? I haven't done anything."

"Many things are still to happen, things that will shape the future and those around you, and those moments have not yet been decided. What happens while you are here will determine the future."

I looked over my shoulder and down at the river that shimmered far below. "Like when I met the Master- Koschei," I breathed. I gazed at the river and the silver trees around it for a minute before I glanced back at K'anpo. "The Doctor told me to go to you. He said you could help me. Can you?"

K'anpo smiled and nodded. "I can tell you how to survive on this planet, where to survive, until it is time for you to leave."

"Wait," I interjected. "How did you know about me? About how I come and go?"

The Doctor's guru chuckled and suddenly stood up. "I know many things about you, Diana Scott," he said before turning and walking away.

I stared after him in shock for a moment before I realized that he was walking into a small cave in the side of the mountain. I scrambled to my feet and hurried after the Time Lord as he entered the cave. It was then that I suddenly realized why K'anpo Rimpoche's name had sounded so familiar to me when he told me: he was the Time Lord who had helped Three through his regeneration.

"Wait a second!" I exclaimed.

K'anpo raised his hand in a signal for me to be silent. He paused mid step and I watched worriedly as his brows furrowed together. He seemed to be mentally searching for something and then, only a few moments later, he made a sound in the back of his throat and muttered, "Interesting."

"What?" I asked. "What is it?"

"I know now where I must send you," he said cryptically before walking through the cave again.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I wondered.

K'anpo gestured to the ground before settling down himself. I copied his movements and sat across from him in confusion, still waiting for him to explain what he meant and how he would help me. The Time Lord extended his arm and began tracing a pattern in the dirt spread over the floor. I leaned forward and slowly began to realize that K'anpo was drawing a map in the dirt.

"Is... Is that Mount Cadon?" I asked as I pointed at a triangle he had drawn.

"Hush, child." The Time Lord continued drawing the map while I watched. As he did so, he suggested, "You will want to save this somehow. I suspect you know how."

My hand immediately went to my back pocket and grabbed at my phone through the fabric. "Yeah, I-I do," I said a little absently.

Once the map was finished, K'anpo began explaining to me where we were and where I needed to go. "I live here, on the south side of Mount Cadon," he said as he pointed at the mountain on the map, "but you will need to go back to the north side first. From there, the quickest and easiest path is to go directly west until you reach this lake, Magni Tenebrosa. Then you should follow the northern edge of the lake until you pass the second mountain range."

"What's in between the two ranges?" I questioned as I pointed to the valley he had drawn.

"The Citadel," K'anpo said simply.

I felt my eyes widen. "Oh," I murmured.

"Now," K'anpo continued as he pointed to various spots on the impromptu map, "once you've reached the northern most spot of the lake, you must head west again. But stay close to the water's edge so you have easy access to water, food, and shelter. You will eventually come across a tribe or two, there are plenty along the lake and nearby the mountains as well."

I snapped a quick photo of the map and sent a text to myself giving all the instructions K'anpo had given me. Then I replaced my phone in my pocket and gave the Time Lord all my attention. "Thank you," I said softly. "I know most Time Lords aren't very accepting of outsiders, especially humans. So thank you for helping me."

I looked back at the map and thought for a moment. "This walk from Mount Cadon to the lake. How long is it?"

"No longer than nine days, but no shorter than five. You will need food and water to last you until you reach Magni Tenebrosa."

"I don't have anything to store food or water in though. I could put food in my pockets if I needed to, but I have nothing for water."

K'anpo raised a single finger and then stood up. He walked across the cave and picked up a small sack that lay in a heap on the floor. Then he returned to my side and handed the sack to me. "I have awaited you for many months now," he said before sitting down again. "I knew you would require my assistance, so I prepared what I could for you."

I opened the flap on top of the sack, which had been secured by a small stick through a loop of twine. Inside the sack was a flask that looked to be full of water, as well as dried and smoked meat that looked similar to jerky strips from back on Earth. I looked back at K'anpo and smiled both in surprise and in thanks.

"Thank you so much," I gasped. "I never would've made you do this for me, but... I appreciate it so much. Thank you!"

K'anpo smiled slightly and nodded in understanding. "You are more than welcome, but I do not require any more thanks from you, Diana Scott. However, I will request one more thing from you before you leave."

"Yes?"

"Do not let him see you. Any disruption of Theta Sigma's future path will end in the most terrible of ways. You must be cautious."

I nodded seriously and held the sack tightly against my chest. "I understand, K'anpo," I answered.

"Good. Then rest here tonight, child, and tomorrow you may start your journey to the Wastelands."

With that, K'anpo stood up again and left the cave to sit beneath the old, knotted tree outside. I watched him for a few moments before readjusting so I was laying on my stomach on the cave floor with the Time Lord's map scrawled in the dirt beside me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed one of the few numbers I had in my contact list. Just four rings later, the Doctor answered the phone and I could almost picture him with his bow tie and floppy hair.

"Hello?"

"Theta?"

"Oh! Hello!" he exclaimed happily.

I smiled and closed my eyes as I rested my chin in my free hand. "Do you have a minute?" I asked softly. "I just wanna talk."

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just miss you," I sighed.

A/N: Thoughts?