Katrina Tarn gasped as she lurched into a sitting position, her eyes snapping open.

She blinked a few times as she blearily looked around, trying to remember what had happened, only to grow confused at the sight of a shabby looking barn that she realised she was sitting in front of. What looked to be sand or dirt – Kat never bothered distinguishing the two as she hated both – ran between her fingers as she moved her hand, finding that despite the way it looked, it was rather soft, but dry.

As she slowly stood up, the red head noticed a set of footprints in the dirt/sand, heading towards the barn before her. And as the young woman tried to follow where they had come from with her eyes, she saw that they faded in the distance, telling her that whoever had made the footprints, that they had walked a very, very long way.

Swallowing hard as she brushed herself down, trying to get rid of as much of the dirt/sand off her clothes as possible, Kat looked at the desert that lay before her. "Of all the places I could have woken up, it had to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by bloody dirt," she grumbled under her breath as she tried to remember how she had gotten here.

The last thing she could remember was helping out an odd acquaintance she had met a few years back at her favourite coffee shop. She rarely spoke about her abilities around others, but the man, despite his aggressive looks and age, was surprisingly quite informative and had often sent her scurrying to her local library to find books he had mentioned in passing.

Though, the red head mused as she stared at the barren landscape before her, He had been the first living person I had agreed to help.

She tried to think of just what he had asked her to help with, her eyebrows creasing slightly. She remembered him, Mr Smith if she recalled correctly, had mentioned something that had her itching to investigate. Something about the old manor having possibly being a 'dead spot' for the supernatural. Her eyebrows knitted further together as she tried to remember just what it was she had went to investigate, only to gasp in pain and clutch her head as what looked to be an obscure W shaped crack made up of nothing but blinding white light flashed across her mind.

The pain disappeared as quick as it had come and Kat let out a few short breaths, trying to keep herself calm. "What... the hell... was that?!" she questioned herself between breaths, her eyes closing as her body slowly begun to relax. After a few more deep breaths, Kat straightened and looked back to the desert, deciding to move on to the next problem she now faced; figuring out she had gotten here.

Though the red head did know that whatever had happened, however possible, it had something to do with that crack.

"Hello, Katrina," a feminine voice spoke up from behind the red head, causing Kat to spin on her heel and almost fall over. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," a curly-haired blonde apologised.

Kat didn't say anything for a moment as she eyed the woman. Glancing down at the blonde's feet, her eyebrow raised slightly when she noticed the woman didn't leave any footprints in the dirt/sand. "It's Kat," she finally spoke as her gaze met the blonde's, "And do I know you?" she added, not recognising the older woman, though it wouldn't have been the first time she had been sought after by someone.

The blonde shook her head with a small smile. "No, you don't."

"But you know me," the red head stated slowly as she tried to work out what was going on. The blonde was clearly a ghost, or spirit as Kat preferred to call them, but what she was doing here was anyone's guess.

"That's right," the spirit replied, just as the door to the barn was thrown open, passing straight through her form. The spirit's body shimmered for a moment before she faded, reappearing beside Kat.

"...the most dangerous weapon in the universe," an older man shouted as he made a shoving gesture, which looked very odd as there was no one with him, and slammed the door shut, disappearing back in the barn.

Kat's eyes narrowed as she watched the odd occurrence, blinking in confusion and the man slammed the door. "Okay then," she breathed before glancing at the spirit beside her. "So, you're dead?" she questioned, deciding that focusing on something she was used to was far better than whatever she had just witnessed.

Spirits... Kat could deal with them all day. It was the living that she tended to have a problem with.

The blonde shook her head with a chuckle at Kat's bluntness. "You always were direct; straight to the point," she stated.

The red head just shrugged, although she couldn't help but be a little curious about the spirit. It was the first time she had encountered one that seemed to know a lot more than just her name and ability. And as the pair stood there, an awkward silence slowly growing between the pair as they stared at the barn, Kat glanced to the blonde when her curiosity got the better of her.

"So... what's the reason you're here?"

The blonde shrugged as she answered, "Helping out an old friend."

Kat nodded as if the spirit's reply was the answer to everything; all the while thinking, Not vague at all... She glanced down at herself, trying to act casual as she brushed what little sand/dirt she found still clung to her clothes. "And this friend..." Kat spoke slowly, glancing at the blonde once more as she straightened and brushed her hands together, "Did they know your name?"

"Of course they did."

"And... would you care to share it with the rest of the class?" Kat continued, raising an eyebrow.

Her way of asking had the blonde spirit snorting. "River," she provided with a smirk as she turned to look at Kat.

"River." The red head nodded and looked back to the barn. "Nice name."

The spirit just rolled her eyes, though her smirk only grew.

The odd pair continued to stand there, staring at the barn, though this time the silence that grew between them was far less awkward.

"So, River," Kat spoke up after a moment, her eyes sliding in the blonde's direction again, "Any idea as to who that guy was?" she questioned, still trying to figure out what she had done to appear where she had. It wasn't the first time the red head had awoken in an unknown location, though it was the first time that she had ended up somewhere so... isolated. If it was the aftereffects of a new power, Kat was rather intrigued to learn how it worked.

The smile that had been on River's face dropped as she turned to the red head. "At the moment, he had forgone his name. But," her smile returned, although Kat noticed that it was a little sad, "I knew him as the Doctor."

Kat pulled a face at the unusual name. "Doctor?" she asked, though continued before River could reply, "Doctor who?"

"Now, isn't that the question," the spirit remarked, her voice filled with amusement as she looked away from Kat and towards the barn where the man in question was currently located. "I think we should go and say hello, don't you?" she asked, but didn't wait for a reply as she had already started towards the barn door.

The red head watched her for a moment before sighing. "Might as well," she muttered, not really having anything better to do. "May even figure out what the bloody hell is going on," she added under her breath as she followed the spirit.


Kat looked to her ghostly companion quizzically as she knocked on the barn door; hearing the man speaking on the other side.

"Stop calling me Doctor," the man snapped, and it had the red head's eyebrows raising as she wondered who he was talking to. She had only seen one pair of footprints in the sand/dirt.

Though before she could question River, the door of the barn opened to reveal a very unhappy not-Doctor, who was frowning at her.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the man demanded, his frown deepening as he looked Kat up and down and noticed that she was wearing a simple outfit that was made up of long, black coat over a simple buttoned up white shirt, dark blue jeans and a pair of lace-up combat boots. Her red hair was oddly streaked with black and was pulled back into a simple ponytail.

"Eh..." the red head glanced to River, suddenly wondering why she was there, and wanted to smack herself for not figuring that out first. But when River just gestured for her to continue, Kat shrugged. "Actually, I have no idea," she admitted as she looked back to the not-Doctor.

The frown on the man's face only seemed to deepen. "Well, then you can leave," he told her before closing the door on her face, not giving the red head a chance to say anything more.

Kat just stood there dumbly for a moment, staring at the door before she blinked. "That went rather well," she commented as she turned on her heel and walked away from the barn, unsure as to what she was supposed to do now.

She had only taken a step when she suddenly heard, "If you've been inside my head, then you know what I've seen," coming from inside the barn and the not-Doctor's voice had her pausing. "The suffering. Every moment in time and space is burning. It must end, and I intend to end it the only way I can," she heard the man continue to say and she turned to River questioningly.

"What exactly is going on? And what the hell did he mean by time and space burning?" she asked, starting to feel a little out of her depth. Dead people; she could handle them any day, but Kat had a whole life dealing with them. Whatever seemed to be going on right then and there, the red head felt as though she had been thrown into the proverbial deep end. "And ending what?" she added as an afterthought as a thought occurred to her, "He's not going to off himself, is he?"

"Try again," River gestured to the door, ignoring Kat's questions.

The red head frowned at the spirit, not happy with getting no answers, but her attention was drawn back to the barn as she heard the man once more.

"I have no desire to survive this."

Raising her hand, Kat knocked again, suddenly feeling concerned about what the not-Doctor could be going through. Though her curiosity had been perked at the possibility of learning who he was talking to. She hadn't heard anyone else, but Kat knew better than anyone that it didn't mean that there was no one there.

"What is his name if he doesn't go by the Doctor anymore?" Kat asked as they waited, wanting to be able to call the man something other than 'not-Doctor' in her mind.

"The Warrior," the spirit replied with a small frown.

Kat turned to River, her nose wrinkling slightly, "What's up with the weird names?" she questioned. First it was the Doctor, and now it's the Warrior, she thought, What's next, the Teacher?

"It's a Time Lord thing?" River explained with a shrug.

"Time Lord?" the red head asked as the barn door opened.

"What do you want?" the Warrior questioned, seemingly more annoyed and frustrated at seeing Kat again. Though when the red head turned to face him, it seemed as though River had other ideas as she walked inside, passing straight through the Time Lord. Kat was rather surprised, and highly intrigued, when the Warrior shivered; almost as if he had felt the spirit's presence.

That's new and rather...interesting, the red head thought. Out loud, however, and knowing by River's actions that she needed to get inside, Kat said, "Look, Warrior, or whatever your name is-"

"How do you know my name?" the Time Lord cut her off, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"That, is a rather complicated story," Kat stated slowly, having caught sight of River behind the man; gesturing for her to continue. "But," she quickly added, refocusing on the Warrior before her, "I have no idea where I am or what is going on. All I know is that my friend, er," Kat's eyebrows furrowed before she suddenly exclaimed, "John! That was his name," excitedly, startling not only the Warrior, but River as well, "John Smith. He told me I needed to be here."

"John Smith?" the Warrior repeated, eyeing the red head for a moment and Kat was certain that he was going to slam the door on her face again. So, she was rather surprised when he turned to look over his shoulder and towards something further inside the barn. His eyebrows knitted together, and his lips drew into a flat line before he finally looked back to Kat. "Come in," he said, almost sounding resigned as he stepped aside, allowing Kat through the door.

Without missing a beat, the red head slipped passed, glancing at the man as she passed and noticed that there was something a little familiar about the man. Heading over to where River was standing, Kat peered in the direction the Warrior had been looking and blinked when all she spotted was a large, odd box with strange clockwork-like designs on each side.

"So, why exactly am I here?" she whispered to the spirit as she watched the Warrior head over to the odd looking box. River may be dead, but Kat was using the ghost's presence almost like an anchor. It was familiar, talking with the dead – comforting even – and it helped ground her even though she was feeling a little out of her depth as to what was going on.

Kat was getting the dreaded feeling that whatever had brought her here had nothing to do with a new power, but everything to do with that blinding, w-shaped crack that she could vaguely recall seeing.

"Waiting," River told her rather simply; once again not revealing anything more.

Kat let out a quiet sigh as she turned back to watch the Warrior; who she noted looked to be trying to ignore her very presence as he sat down and frowned at the odd, clockwork box. Though she was quick to realise that it wasn't the box that the man was looking at, but rather the 'empty' space above it. If it wasn't for the way his eyes seemed to track something unseen to her; different emotions flashing across his face as she observed him, Kat would have believed that the man was deep in thought; staring off into space.

"I don't know," the Warrior said out of the blue, breaking the silence that had settled over the strange group. His expression had turned troubled; resigned, even.

"Is there someone else here?" Kat questioned River quietly as she eyed the Warrior. It would explain why he had felt River's presence if he was like her, but it didn't explain why she couldn't see anyone else in the barn; nor why the Warrior couldn't see River.

The red head jumped – startled – when a vortex appeared in the room and she gapped at it. "What the fuck is that?" she exclaimed as she took a step away from the swirling vortex; her heart pounding away inside her chest.

"A Time Vortex," was all River said, just as a red fez dropped through the vortex.

"Could you be a little less vague?!" Kat glared at the spirit, not noticing the Warrior glance at her as he moved towards the fez; his eyebrows furrowing.

"Why don't you have a look and find out yourself," the curly-haired blonde suggested; once more ignoring Kat's questions as the Time Lord picked up the fez before his gaze raised to look at the vortex. "You might even find out why you're here," River added when all Kat did was stare at her like she had lost her mind.

"And why on Earth would I do that?!"

"Earth?" the Warrior spoke up as he turned to look at Kat in confused surprise.

"Oh, go on," the ghost continued to try and persuade Kat, a smirk now making its way across her lips, "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"It disappeared when I woke up in a bloody desert with no idea as to how I got there!" the red head snapped back sarcastically, "So there is no way I am going to touch some bloody Time Vortex, or whatever the hell that thing is!" she continued to rant, jabbing her finger at the vortex.

River just raised an eyebrow at the red head before she sighed. "Oh, you're going to hate me for this," she murmured, and before Kat could do anything, the spirit had grabbed her hand.

"Oh, no you don't!" Kat growled as she tried to pull away, as a bone-deep chill travelled through her hand and up her arm as River tried to possess her.

The Warrior, who had been watching the red head as she seemed to yell at nothing but thin air, grew confused as Kat started to move around the barn, almost as if she was having a fight with herself. Her body jerked to the side and she grabbed at the air before her and tugged at whatever she was 'fighting'.

"How dare you!" Kat shouted as she tried to regain her balance, but she stumbled backwards and towards the vortex.

"Watch out!" the Warrior exclaimed, but the red head disappeared the moment she touched the vortex. He turned on his heel and towards the young blonde who was sitting on the Moment, watching on with a raised eyebrow. "Where did she go?" he asked.

"Where she was needed," Bad Wolf replied vaguely, although her eyebrows were creased slightly as she continued to stare at the vortex.