Donna didn't think that Jay had initially noticed her when she'd entered the library, but that tended to be normal when Jay was absorbed in one of the many books she read between and even during their trips out into space and time. Right now, it was a classic in her hands, by Charles Dickens. Jay seemed reluctant to pull her eyes away from the novel when Donna cleared her throat.

Finally, her blue eyes lifted to rest on Donna and Donna held her arms out proudly. "What do you think?" she asked, gesturing to her change of clothes.

Jay took one look at the old-styled outfit and arched a brow almost playfully, looking tired despite the amount of sleep she'd caught up on in the few days since their adventures with Martha. Immediately guessing they'd be heading out to look around some new place soon, Jay closed her book after marking her place and smiled warmly at Donna, taking in her outfit.

A pale green toga, complete with sheer silken wrap to wrap around her shoulders. She'd somehow bundled her hair gracefully atop her head and looked every bit the powerful woman Jay knew she was. Jay nodded her approval. "Looks good," she declared, eyes darting longingly at her book. But she stood, stretching her arms over her head. Donna liked to dress the part far more than Martha ever had. Jay couldn't say she minded sometimes, but this would be one of the times she went as is, the simple dress she'd donned that morning easy to run in despite the sandals on her feet.

Donna frowned, looking down at herself. "Are you sure? The spaceman says we're going to meet someone important, and that we should dress well."

Said the alien man who wore the same thing every day he could, Jay wanted to say, amused, but she shook her head and told Donna firmly, "Seriously. You look fantastic, Donna."

Donna smiled in a pleased way and put her hands on her hips. "Come on, Jay, go dress up, too." Jay shook her head, and Donna leveled her with a warning look that threatened a full-blown Donna Noble rant that would leave her doing precisely what Donna wanted.

"Fine," Jay sighed at the look, figuring she might as well skip the wasted time and just go and dress.

Donna wound her arm happily through hers and led her out of the library and to the wardrobe the TARDIS kept stocked full. Once there, Donna vanished into the collection of clothes, and Jay decided to let her pick out clothes for her, lightly setting aside her necklace. The moment the stone on it left her person, Jay could easily pick up the sounds of the TARDIS humming and purring, singing her song in such a happy way that it made Jay smile.

She loved the TARDIS. The lovely machine put her at such ease that she felt safe enough to sleep anywhere. She could have curled up in the middle of a corridor and felt safe. Perhaps it was why she'd not been bothered to travel too much now. It was safe – safe for her, safe for Donna, and safe for the Doctor. No danger could come to them inside the TARDIS.

The TARDIS gave another hum, this one soft and disapproving, and Jay winced, realizing the TARDIS didn't like her method of thinking.

Donna swept back into view with different swaths of cloth, eyeing them and then Jay critically. Jay slouched back, figuring that Donna would choose well for her. And she did, throwing some over her shoulder and keeping her fingers tight on two different ones. "Which color?" she asked, holding up a blue that Jay thought was rather close to the color of her eyes and a deep, plum-like purple.

Jay sighed softly and eyed the pair, eyes darting back and forth. Finally, she indicated the blue, taking in how the cloth shimmered and seemed to be lined with gold thread. "That one," she said, and Donna waited until she'd peeled out of her clothes to help her get dressed. Jay was grateful for it; she had no idea what styles had been worn, nor did she know how to put them on herself.

When she was dressed, the skirts brushing her sandal-clad ankles, Donna dragged her out and led Jay through the TARDIS to her own room, kicking the door shut behind her. Jay curiously peered around at Donna's room. It was a mess, but not entirely. Some clothes were tossed around – laundry, something neither had had the chance to do recently. Donna's room was soft and warm, with darkened tones of various colors that didn't match yet seemed to all at the same time.

Jay rather liked it, though she did love her own just as much.

The TARDIS purred, as if thanking her for the compliment.

"There," said Donna happily, seating her on the bed and grabbing a brush. She began to work through some tangles in Jay's hair before Jay could get a word in, and Jay frowned.

"I can brush my own hair, Donna," she began, but Donna clucked her tongue smugly.

"I want to do it," she said, and that was that.

Jay thoughtfully fingered a lock of hair as Donna worked, trying to figure out what to do with the odd length. It had grown since she'd come aboard the TARDIS. Once short and ending at her jawline, it extended past her collarbones and tumbled around her shoulders in wild waves.

Jay didn't like it; she needed to get it cut again, but knew nothing about how to go around asking the Doctor about it. She could, more than likely, just go up to him and simply ask, but…it seemed like such a ridiculous thing to need to ask. And she'd already caused enough trouble as of late.

"There," Donna declared, finished. Jay lightly touched her hair. Donna had swept it up as best as she could.

"Thank you," she said politely, rising to her feet. Donna beamed at her, although there was a slight furrow in her brow that told Jay she was worried about something. Donna touched her hand and Jay forced a true smile to her face, shoving her thoughts back. "So where are we going?"

"Ancient Greece!" shouted the Doctor as he spun around the console, pumping one of the controls with one hand while simultaneously jamming a button several times with the other. Jay blinked while Donna, clearly knowing precisely where they were going, clapped her hands excitedly. "Full of legends that live throughout history, until the end of the universe itself."

Jay wasn't sure if that was true or not; they'd been running from cannibals and dealing with an insane Time Lord at the time.

"They even spread to other planets!" the Doctor cheerfully informed them as he spun around the console to pull some kind of lever that sent the TARDIS into action. Jay caught herself on a piece of railing, a smile tugging at her lips at the light look the Doctor wore, his face full of excitement at the prospect of showing them Greece. "With their culture reemerging several times. There's one planet," he mused, "that I visited, where they recreate it. Except with less violence. They tried to eliminate crime, but that never works, mind you. Last I checked, it was the top of the list of 'do not visit' planets." He paused, furrowing his brow. "Well. That's not including Endinea."

Donna tipped her head in curiosity. "What's in End…" She paused, and then tried again. "Endinea?"

The Doctor threw her a grimace over his shoulder, as if the idea of going anywhere near Endinea was a dangerous one. "Spinach," he said simply as if it explained everything, and then laughed when the TARDIS jolted, as it was sometimes prone to doing. All movement stopped a moment later and he flounced around, heading straight for the doors. They trailed after him, exchanging confused looks. What could spinach have to do with danger?

Apparently they were doomed to never fully understand the danger of spinach, as the Doctor threw the doors open and vanished outside, clearly determined to leave them behind to wonder if they didn't move after him. Donna was first, pace brisk in her eager excitement to investigate.

Jay hesitated, reluctant. She didn't necessarily want to leave the TARDIS, she realized, biting her lip. It was safe. No one would die, not while aboard the ship that was currently humming to her, singing its gentle song. Jay patted her throat, collar bone, and chest as she left the TARDIS, briefly blinded by bright light; she'd left the necklace with her pendant in the TARDIS, who would likely return it to her room.

A brisk warm breeze suddenly whisked hair from her face, and Jay focused on the world around her. The Doctor was beaming; he'd set them on a cliff facing out over nearly cerulean blue waters. Ancient ships rocked on the waves, and Jay couldn't help the smile that materialized on her face.

Even with that sense of unease, it was beautiful.

"Ancient Greece, you said?" said Donna quite suddenly in a voice that told Jay something was off. The Doctor, mid-rant about something he'd done with some other unnamed companion in the same country a few years earlier than they were in, paused to look over at her, his dark eyes confused.

"Ancient Greece," he confirmed.

"Then why," sighed Donna, sounding rather annoyed, "is there a ship flying in the sky."

Jay whirled around when the Doctor did in time to see one of those lovely ancient ships soar right over their heads, the oars that moved gleaming metallically in the sunlight. Even from the distance they were at, Jay could hear the rumbling of an engine. When she looked back out, following its path, she saw it landed neatly in the waters below and heading for a sandy shore, where a massive city resided, vehicles of some kind darting between them.

"Endinea?" questioned Jay, arching a brow when the Doctor groaned and threw his head back in frustration, tugging at his hair.

"No," said the Doctor, giving his TARDIS a nasty look. She snapped a door shut in response, pointed in her actions. "Not Endinea."

"Where then?" Donna put her hands on her hips. "Because you promised us Ancient Greece, Doctor!"

"You're about as good at landing the TARDIS as I am at tying my shoes," mused Jay to the Doctor, and he gave her an offended look in return. Despite their best efforts and all of Martha's hard work…Jay still had issues with it. She could do it, but her laces would usually undo themselves within minutes. The TARDIS had tried offering her alternatives in recent times, but Jay had stuck with the same shoes out of sheer stubbornness.

The Doctor flashed her a look that said she wasn't helping and then huffed, looking around. "This is Ancient Greece." He paused. "Well, mostly." Another pause, followed by a grimace when Donna turned to him, narrowing her eyes. "Well. Not really."

"Then where?" demanded Donna, and the Doctor made a mindless gesture.

"Another planet," he admitted sheepishly, which earned a groan of protest from Donna, who complained that he'd promised them Ancient Greece and not some random planet made to look like it. Hastily pushing past Donna's irritated disappointment, he said, "The question is…why come here? I know I put the coordinates in. Properly," he added sharply when Jay opened her mouth.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't doubt you put them in properly," she said, "but sometimes the TARDIS has a mind of her own. So before we go and do anything that will likely end up in trouble, I'm going to go and put on some normal clothes. Donna, are you –"

"I'm coming," agreed Donna with a curt nod.

The Doctor grumbled as the pair vanished into the TARDIS. "Take them around the stars, to planets no other human has ever dreamed of touching, and they want to worry about clothes." Jay popped her head out to glare, and he pointed at her firmly. "Five minutes. And not a second later."

"Aye, aye, sir," she said sarcastically, although there was a hint of humor in her gaze before she vanished inside. The Doctor felt a flicker of relief at the sight of it. She'd been rather down and serious for the last few…however days they'd been inside the TARDIS. He wasn't really sure.

When they emerged, dressed normally, the Doctor wanted to throw his hands in the air in exasperation. He'd been counting down impatiently, knowing that Donna would take his time limit seriously. So it must have been Jay's doing that at a countdown of exactly five minutes, the TARDIS door opened.

The smug tug of her lips only confirmed it.

Still, it was nice to see her doing such things again.

She'd tugged on clothes meant for warmer weather. She and Donna had both donned jeans, although Donna had gone in favor of a loose purple blouse and Jay had gone for a V-neck shirt – that clearly displayed she'd not put on the pendant she was meant to be wearing. To finish it off, her shoes, like his although black, were untied.

She gave him another smug smirk and said when he made another wild gesture of frustration, "You said five minutes. We didn't want to be late. Besides, I'm sure this," she waved at her missing necklace, "won't cause too many problems. It's not usually needed."

"Donna –" the Doctor complained, and Donna rolled her eyes.

"A bunch of children, that's what you two are," she scolded as Jay crouched to tie her shoes. She kept a close eye on her movements as she did so, making sure they were tied properly. Once – just once – they'd failed to do so, and Jay had gone face-down in the middle of a very important moment in which they should have been fleeing for their lives.

The Doctor grumbled until they were done, and finally, they were off. He led the way, hands pushed into the pockets of his pin-striped suit, and Jay and Donna trotted along at a half-jog behind him, half-keeping an eye on the cliff to their left while simultaneously making sure he didn't disappear on them. At least, Donna and Jay mused to one another, the weather was just right – perfect, in every way. A soft, sea-breeze, warm but not overly so, and no clouds on the horizon.

They rounded the cliff, following the edge of it down to the city, and before long, they were entering the outskirts. They walked among what must have been the slums: wooden, breaking-apart homes, dirt paths, ragged old clothes hung out to dry. The further they went into the city, the more modern-looking and wealthy it got, until they were walking among skyscrapers made of shining white material, looking even more advanced than Jay's time. Bugs whirred around them – mechanical, the Doctor noted aloud with interest when he snagged a dragonfly.

All in all, Jay thought it was beautiful. Donna did, too – until she noticed something that the other two hadn't.

"Hold on," said Donna, stopping on the corner of a paved street painted to resemble cobblestones. She turned around, looking, and the Doctor and Jay eyed her curiously. "Where are all the people?"

Wide-eyed, the Doctor looked, too. "Good question," he praised, tipping his head to listen. Jay thought he stuck his tongue out for a moment, but pretended he hadn't, not wanting to hear what he'd tasted in the air like some kind of snake.

"This way!" he declared a moment later, taking off at a jog. Jay and Donna rushed after him, sticking as close as they could, wary of the lack of people – until they emerged into what must have been the center of the city. It was flooded, with people in every direction, pressed together like sardines in a can. Jay hissed in disapproval when they squeezed in. No one looked at them, and Jay noted that they all looked like humans.

The Doctor kept pressing forward, following the direction they were all staring with wary fear. As if they knew what was coming and were reluctant about it. Donna had to shove a little hard when she nearly couldn't keep up, and only Jay paused to wait, the Doctor too invested in figuring out what they were all so worried about. When Donna had caught up, Jay took her hand, and then they tried to follow again.

Eventually, Jay bumped into the Doctor when she caught up and he stopped suddenly, head tilted back to watch curiously. Jay followed his gaze, and then frowned. Upon a large platform was a series of groups. Each was made up of five people, and each was about ten years younger than the last, with the youngest group looking to be near five and the oldest being around ninety-five. All of the groups surrounded a single man, who was seated calmly upon a throne of some kind. A younger man was seated to his right, looking agitated with something.

"Doctor," whispered Jay, grabbing his shoulder and dragging him down so she could speak in his ear. He stooped to make it easier, not taking his eyes off of the people on the platform. "Where the hell are we?"

"Didn't I say?" he mused, glancing only momentarily at her. Returning his gaze to the platform, he murmured, "Bazrovis. A planet that was built to resemble Greece."

"Wait," hissed Jay, stiffening. "Is this the one you said was full of crime?"

He shook his head. "No," he reassured. "This is a different planet. They've got crime just as much as Earth does." He motioned for quiet when the man on the throne suddenly rose to his feet and stepped forward, speaking. His voice bellowed out as if over a microphone, amplified by some unseen technology.

"The time has come!" he cried, and silence fell over the crowd. It was so quiet, they could have heard a pin drop. Jay opened her mouth to say something to Donna, but then stilled, something brushing over her senses. She froze, listening to a strange song that began to drift past her ears, faint but heavy. It was nothing like the TARDIS's joyous song, or even Donna's, whose song filled her ears even now.

Instead, it was nearly oily, if a sound could be that. It filled her with dread as she felt it slither among the crowds, branching off into fourteen separate pieces – if she'd counted properly. She turned her head in the direction of the sound heading right for them.

"As much as it pains me to admit this, the time has come to once again choose seven young men and seven young women," the man continued, looking disappointed and upset about such a thing. The younger one who'd been sitting beside him scowled. "Once more, for the third year running, you have my sincere apologies and my deepest condolences should you be chosen. We continue to work towards a solution, but have yet to be successful."

"Doctor!" Jay breathed, snagging his arm and yanking, her body shuddering in revulsion when it began to near. He stumbled a little and frowned at her in disapproval, but she didn't care, tugging again frantically. "We shouldn't have come here."

"Jay?" Donna said softly, confused.

Her fingers dug into the Doctor's arm as hard as they could, her eyes growing wild with panic when that oily sound suddenly rocketed forward, as if latching onto the one it had selected. "Doctor," Jay hissed as he tried to pry her fingers away, "can you hear it?"

He stilled. "Hear what?"

"The sound, the nasty, ugly sound," she breathed, locking eyes with him for only a moment before she was jerking away when it got too close for her liking. She stumbled into someone, who huffed in annoyance, but the Doctor grabbed her arm and yanked her back over, away from them. In the brief moment of movement, the sound had vanished, leaving only silence in its wake as the others vanished, too. She snapped wide eyes up to the Time Lord. "Did you hear it?"

"No," he said and frowned, really wishing she'd worn the pendant he'd had made specifically for this reason. Then again…if the sound was as she described it, it meant nothing good. At least they were aware of it.

"If you have been selected," continued the man in charge, not noticing any of the commotion, "then step forward and join me."

Murmurs swept through the air as people turned to one another, as if searching, and the Doctor stood on his toes, looking around as if he knew what he was looking for. A sob filled the air as one woman tried to hold onto her husband's hand when he stumbled forward, looking shocked. Another woman – no, Jay realized when she saw her youthful face, a girl – bravely began to push her way through the crowds.

"Doctor," said Donna suddenly, voice rather small, and Jay turned to look at her worriedly. The Doctor did, too, and they blinked as Donna extended a nervous hand to them, showing them the strange mark that had curved its way around her fingers. "Doctor, what is that?"

"The mark," a boy of perhaps nine or ten said beside her, peering at the mark without care for personal space, fascinated. He gave Donna a smile full of missing teeth, his dark eyes warm and reassuring. "You've been selected, miss. Me, too." He showed her his own mark upon his small hand. Shocked, Donna turned a wide-eyed look on the Doctor. Before she could say anything, the boy was tugging her forward. "Come on, miss, we have to go up there. If we don't, the marks hurt us."

"Doctor," said Donna in a panic, and he was quick to reassure her.

"Just do what he says, and we'll be nearby," promised the Doctor, snagging Jay's hand and towing her after Donna and the child. Donna looked relieved. "We'll be right there. And we'll figure out what's going on, and how to fix it."

Because there was always something going on. There had to be with the responses of some of the men and women as well as their families. Why else would someone's heartbroken sobs be filling their ears? Why else would the people who lined up as they were told look as if they'd accepted a fate that the Doctor, Jay, and Donna knew nothing about?

The Doctor pushed through the people, who parted ways for Donna and the boy. Jay kept up, her fingers tight in his, and then stopped beside him at the edge, right where Donna could see them. She looked worried, but reassured by the sight of them.

Gasps suddenly filled the air. Murmurs swept through the crowds, and Jay glanced around. When she found that they were all staring at something, she followed their gaze, and then narrowed her own. The young man on the platform had stepped forward, a grim look on his face – although Jay detected a bit of triumph behind it.

He held his hand up when the older turned to look at him, stunned by the sight of the mark that had woven among his fingers. "It appears," said the young man gently, "I've been selected as well, Father."

The man's father looked stunned, as if he'd not thought this would happen. Jay studied both of them, unable to figure out if they were trustworthy or not. With the dismayed look that materialized on the older man's face, he was fine, but what about the younger?

Wails and cries filled the air as the people around them realized that this young man would be joining the others. Jay wondered who he was to earn such a response. Clearly someone important…

The young man smiled warmly at the people before him, his light eyes bright even as the groups on the platform with he and his father exchanged nervous looks. The younger groups seemed simply confused, while the older groups looked worried. A man whose face was creased with deep, sun-kissed wrinkles stepped forward, grasping at his arm. The man gently took his hand to steady him. "Theseus," croaked the man, "what of the throne? You are heir; it cannot be passed onto anyone but the crown's bloodline."

Theseus, Jay thought, wondering why the name rung a bell. The Doctor looked fascinated when she looked at him. She considered asking about it, but decided against it for the time being. She'd ask later.

Theseus gave the old man a comforting smile. "I still intend to honor the throne, Archimedes, worry not. This will be the last sacrifice that is sent to please that fool."

Jay fought the urge to squirm; this was really, really bothering her. Ringing bells left and right, trying to tell her something she couldn't grasp.

Theseus turned to face his people with a bright smile. "I will ensure that all return home – safe and alive."

Donna looked even more worried by the idea as people began applauding and cheering for him, seeking her friends. Jay smiled faintly at her, unsure of what was to happen, but the smile didn't seem to comfort her friend much. It only made Donna shift anxiously, looking between she and the Doctor as if they would help her get away from all of the others that were present. She looked so at odds with them in her modern clothes while they wore a series cut to resemble old Greek clothes albeit not entirely.

"Doctor," Jay said, tugging on his hand as she gave into impatience, and he leaned in, so she had an easier time speaking to him over the noise. "Theseus. The name. I've heard it somewhere before."

"Theseus is a name from old Greek myths, although most myths tend to originate from something that isn't entirely a myth itself," he murmured back, looking a little worried.

It clicked then, and Jay stared in shock at the man. Theseus had stepped back to argue with his father, not seeming to notice as the people of the crowds began to disperse, some crying and most relieved that they'd not been selected. The groups atop the platform split as well, until only the selected, the Doctor, Jay, Theseus, and his father remained.

Theseus, Jay remembered, was known for the minotaur myth. He'd been sent down with other sacrifices for his country into King Minos's labyrinth, and had succeeded in killing the minotaur with the help of a princess of Crete, who'd given him a ball of golden twine. She'd been thanked in the form of abandonment. Jay winced, realizing it wasn't a favorite myth of hers.

The Doctor suddenly towed her over to Donna and the boy, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet, a bundle of energy. He couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve, and the Doctor knelt to his level, offering a warm smile as he said, "I'm the Doctor, and this is Donna and Jay. What's your name?"

"Lycus," said the boy, cocking his head as he glanced between them in interest.

"Could you tell us what you know about these marks? What are they for?"

The boy blinked. "Don't you know? The selection. For the sacrifices."

"We're new here. Travelers." The Doctor grinned and then gestured to Theseus and his father. "Is it bad? To be selected? And what happens to those who are sacrificed?"

Lycus furrowed his brow and glanced between the Doctor, Donna, and Jay again, this time with confusion, as if he couldn't believe they didn't know what happened to those selected. He glanced up at Donna a second time and finally decided to explain, bouncing again. "We are sent to the Creature's lair and he feasts upon our soul before he devours our flesh. It's an honor to be chosen." He glanced at a sobbing woman nearby, who looked at her marked hand in misery. "Well, for some of us. My family will get a lot of treasures for me being selected."

Donna's face went white, and Jay took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze. The Doctor would ensure nothing happened to her. "The Creature," Jay said, her voice soft. "What is it? Where did it come from?"

Lycus shrugged and said, "No one knows. It came a few years ago and told the king that if he didn't do what it said, it would tear our entire kingdom to pieces. King Aegeus has been trying to figure something out with the Council of Fives, but no one can figure out what to do. Prince Theseus said we simply have to kill it and we'll be freed, but anyone who fights back is killed immediately."

The Doctor nodded slowly, digging through the vast knowledge he had of the various species throughout the universe. There weren't enough clues to understand what he was looking at yet though, so he said, "Do you know what it looks like?"

Lycus shook his head again. "Only King Aegeus has seen it," he informed the Doctor. "Sorry," he added when the Doctor fought back a look of disappointment and rocked back a little. "It's…it's not so bad." He looked between the Doctor, Jay, and Donna. "Our families will be paid well for our sacrifices."

"Oh, Lycus," Jay breathed, heart aching as she thought of her little brother. "No family should be forced to sacrifice someone, let alone a child your age." She glanced to the Doctor anxiously. "What do we do? Can Donna refuse it?"

"Donna," the Doctor said, holding out his hand for hers. Donna placed it there when the Doctor had stood back up, nervous. He scanned the marks there with his sonic screwdriver. He was puzzled. The technology involved with something like this…it was difficult to find. Mostly because it was a mashup of so many different species' technology that he didn't know where to begin.

Whoever had done this was clever.

"We have to go," said Lycus suddenly, pointing to where the others who'd been selected were being herded together by a few men and women who were clearly guards, supporting nasty looking weapons with sharp points. "If we don't, they'll drag us over and we'll be lashed."

Donna looked worried enough that Jay turned to Lycus and demanded, "Is it only the selected who can go? Could I accompany you?"

"Jay," the Doctor warned, but Lycus blinked and answered, "Yes. But only to the Gates. After the Gates, you'll have to remain. No one else can get through." He paused, furrowing his brow. "No one's ever really gone with though…it's not usually something someone wants to do."

"Then I'll do it." Jay snapped her head around when the Doctor huffed his disapproval. "Go get the TARDIS. I'll stay with Donna, and then you can come get us and everyone else. If we get them in the TARDIS, they'll have to be safe, right?"

"Yes," said the Doctor slowly, "but I'm not sure I want the TARDIS anywhere near such technology. It's complicated enough that it could mess with her and un-calibrate some of her functions–"

"Do it anyways, and I'll help you fix everything myself." Jay lifted her chin as some guards made a call for Lycus and Donna. "I'm not letting her go alone, Doctor, and who knows what'll happen if we make a run for it right now. That mark would hurt her, that's what Lycus said."

The Doctor debated, pressing his lips together. Finally, dark eyes irritated, he snapped, "Fine. Fine. But take my sonic and use the fifty-third setting every half-hour to let me know where you are. Do not lose it." He handed it over and Jay tucked it into her pocket confidently. "Donna," he continued, pressing a fond kiss to her forehead, "we'll figure this out."

Donna, putting on a brave face and looking as if she wasn't quite as worried with Jay accompanying her, nodded. "We'll learn what we can and let you know," she promised, and the Doctor beamed, approving.

"I'll be back," he promised, and then turned and bolted off, disappearing around a corner just as a set of guards approached Lycus, Jay, and Donna. Theseus accompanied them, a frown on his face.

"It's time to gather," said Theseus, light-colored eyes darting between the two who'd been selected before curiously alighting on Jay. "And you…you've not been selected. What are you still doing here?"

Jay met his gaze evenly. "I'm accompanying her to the Gates," she said simply, gripping Donna's hand tightly in her own. She stared him down until he looked away, seeming fairly pleased with her response for some reason.

"You're welcome to accompany us to the Gates, Miss…?"

"Jay. My name's Jay," was all she said, not sure she wanted him to know her full name. "And this is Donna and Lycus." She smiled in a friendly manner at Lycus, and the young boy smiled back.

"Miss Jay," finished Theseus. "Come," he continued to all three of them, "we must go to the boats if we are to make it on time. It's a long trip to the island, and we have no time to waste. I fully intend to end this slaughter," he added to Lycus when Lycus set off towards the other, falling into step beside the boy when Jay and Donna had begun to follow, exchanging nervous looks. "One way or another, this will end."

Just to be safe, Jay fired off a signal with the sonic screwdriver.


"I don't think I've really ever been on a boat," said Jay as she and Donna stepped onto the shockingly large ship. She could feel engines vibrating somewhere in its depths, and she paused to frown, remembering that these boats flew. "I mean, there was the Titanic, but…"

She was suddenly very unhappy to be on a water-based ship intending to fly through the sky.

Donna smiled slightly, enjoying the sights around them regardless of what was happening. It was a beautiful planet. She somewhat wished the Doctor was there to tell them all about it in his prattling way. "Gramps and I talked about that. I didn't believe him at first."

"Oh, it happened," mumbled Jay with a grimace. "And it wasn't a fun trip. For either of us." She rocked back on her heels. "It's when we met Wilf though, so at least something good came out of it." She grinned at Donna and then started forward, firing off another signal from the sonic as the Doctor had instructed. She hoped he at least met them at their destination.

Donna hummed in response and then looked around for Lycus, who'd gone to comfort the others aboard the ship as they closed the ramp that had allowed them onto it. Lycus was speaking happily to a girl who was only a few years older than him. She looked upset, but was smiling through teary eyes at Lycus, and Donna nodded at him. "He's a good one."

"Yes," Jay agreed. "He reminds me of Lucas, my brother." A flash of grief made her grimace. She missed her little brother.

Donna, noticing, offered gently, "Maybe we could go visit him after this?"

"Maybe, but probably not." Jay smiled sadly, remembering her last visit with him. "I didn't get along with my mother and father. Mostly my father. My mother was okay, I suppose, when we left, but…"

Donna patted her arm comfortingly and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sure he's doing well though, if he's anything like you." Jay grinned at that, amused, and Donna smiled back before jolting in surprise when the ship shuddered beneath them. Jay peered over the edge as the ship began to lift away from the ground, engines rumbling and roaring beneath them.

"Here we go," said Jay under her breath. She felt a distinct ache in her head and wished she'd remembered to grab the necklace with the stone the Doctor had given her on it. Who knew what chaos they'd encounter? And there would be chaos, there always was.

Rubbing her temples, Jay steadied her feet and turned away from the edge, forcing back memories of the falling Titanic. She had hated that trip in particular, as unintentional as it had been. Not only had Martha just left, but there had been so many deaths…Jay hoped to every god that was worshipped in the universe they traveled that there wouldn't be that many if any deaths this time.

She and Donna found a quiet place to sit away from everyone else, waiting patiently to get to their destination. Every now and then, Jay would fire off a signal, just as the Doctor had instructed. The sound of the sonic screwdriver caught the attention of Theseus just once when he was patrolling the boat, checking in on all of those present, but Jay and Donna were quick to dismiss the sound as a figment of the man's imagination.

Much to their dismay – they both thought him rather arrogant and forceful, something they'd discussed in their time sitting there – Theseus took the conversation as an invitation to join them. His eyes were alight with curiosity as he took them in, sitting a few feet away from them on the deck of the ship.

"Where are you from?" he demanded quite suddenly, voice brisk and sharp as if he expected a full answer regardless of what they wanted. "Your clothes do not match those of my people, and you look as if you don't understand entirely what is happening."

He wasn't wrong. Donna glanced to Jay, who shrugged, and decided to answer with care. "We were visiting," Donna said carefully, "and were caught up unexpectedly in what was happening."

Theseus looked to Jay for clarification, and Jay simply nodded, agreeing with what Donna had said and marking her words away for if she was interrogated about it later. They needed to carefully keep their story straight – at least until the Doctor got back. For some reason, he was an expert at diverting people's attention away from the many lies they tended to tell them.

"And your friend?" he said, making a mindless gesture to the sky. "There was a man with you, was there not? He was rather easy to pick out from the crowd."

Donna let Jay cover the question this time. Jay pressed her lips together as she thought of an answer. Finally, she said, "His name is John, and he was rather curious about what had happened. He went to go and do some research about it."

Theseus looked shocked. "You truly don't know anything about what is happening here?"

"We were just visiting," Donna repeated slowly, trying to drive the point home. "We didn't intend to stay for longer than a few hours." She glared irritably at Theseus, not wanting to repeat herself a third time. Luckily, Theseus seemed to get the message and turned to a new subject.

"Well, worry not," he said confidently. "I will see to it that we all return home safely. Your friend will have barely touched his research by the time we return home." He gave them a grin and then sat back, as if he fully expected to be praised for such a matter.

Jay decided then and there that she didn't like him very much, although from the way he kept smiling at her…

Well, it was like the smile on the faces of the young men and women who'd approached her father with offers of marriage in exchange for even a portion of the O'Connors family fortune.

In other words, she thought that he saw someone who could be of use to him.

And she really didn't like it.


Loud voices drew them from the naps they'd fallen into, and Donna and Jay jolted awake immediately. The first thing Jay did was fire a signal on the sonic screwdriver. Donna smiled faintly at her as they realized the ship had come to a halt and that a massive mountainous island was sprawled out before them.

"Off!" shouted one of the guards. "Get off!"

"Rude," muttered Donna, even as she searched for Lycus. She was unable to find him before the guards started shooing them off. They were shuffled off the ship and bunched with the others, and it was then that Lycus squeezed through a few adults and took Donna's hand tightly in his, starting to look a little worried.

"I think those," he said, pointing to a series of massive archways crafted from stone and earth, "are the Gates."

"I think you're entirely right," said Jay with a firm nod. She took a deep, uncertain breath. That meant she'd be left behind, while Donna went ahead without her soon. Jay hoped the signal she'd fired off would keep the Doctor on track. She didn't like the idea of letting Donna go on without her.

Donna seemed to have come to the same idea, because she was beginning to get more worried-looking. Jay smiled comfortingly at her and whispered, "Remember, the Doctor should eventually show up and we'll be there to help you as quickly as we can."

"I'll be fine," Donna said, trying to sound braver than she felt. She gave Jay a weak smile and nodded at Lycus. "Besides, I've got him, and he seems to know more than the spaceman."

That drew a small laugh from Jay, and she turned to look when Theseus's voice suddenly rang out. He'd climbed onto a rock that left him standing above them all; Jay didn't really like that all that much. This man had too much arrogance – too much pride. He thought too much of himself and his position and considered himself so very clearly above them all.

"I will slay this beast," he told those before him, face full of determination. "Trust in me and we'll all return home safely."

The people murmured in relief, trusting the prince of their lands, and Jay only pressed her lips into a hard line as he climbed down and practically basked in their warmth as he passed through them. They thanked and whispered to him, their eyes full of tears regardless of whether they were male or female, old or young.

"Time to go!" shouted a guard, eyeing the sky and judging how much of the day was left.

Theseus nodded and asked for a moment. He nudged his way through the group until he stood before Donna, Lycus, and Jay. "This is where you must leave us," he told Jay, and she fought the urge to step away when he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Miss Jay, and I hope to see you no later than this evening."

Jay nodded curtly, reminded again of those that had approached she and her father so many times during the formal parties the O'Connors family had held. "I hope so as well," she said calmly, withdrawing her hand and tucking both behind her back. She glanced at Donna. "And I hope to see my friend, too. I don't know if our missing companion would appreciate if anything happened to her, so I'm counting on you to ensure that nothing does." She gave him her best replica of the shark-toothed smile her father had given investors that hadn't done as he'd told them to do with their money – ones who she now realized had gone conveniently missing days later.

She didn't miss the odd look that flickered across his face. "I'll do my best."

Jay turned to Donna and dragged her in for a tight, reassuring hug. "Don't worry, Donna, we'll figure this out," she whispered in her ear, and Donna hugged her back tightly. "I'll see you later, okay? Take this," she added, hiding her motion as she passed the sonic screwdriver over with narrowing eyes. Donna hid it in her pant pockets quickly. "Fire off those signals. It's more important the Doctor find you wherever you're going than me right now. I won't let anyone die again because I was stupid and didn't hand over the sonic screwdriver."

"Jay..." Donna frowned at her. Before she could say much more, there was a warning shout in their direction. "You and that twig better come find me," Donna said fiercely before pulling away when the guards ordered them forward. She exchanged one final worried look with Jay, and then was led away by a suddenly uncertain-looking Lycus.

Jay took a deep breath, feeling rather lonely as she stood in silence before the Gates.


Ey! An update, and an original one at that!

I legitimately dislike Theseus in Greek myths, but the story of Ariadne is one of my favorites. Sadly, they go hand in hand.

trying414, regarding the Day of the Doctor...I've not yet included anything for that, but believe me when I say I have plans for it. ;)

Thanks to reviewers (bored411, trying414, brmngirl, and lautaro94!) as well as those who favorited and followed! I truly do appreciate you.