"Ly?"

Aries blinked as a man with shoulder-length, dark brown hair stepped out from the throngs of Sycorax, taking the leaders place with a rather wry smile. Her gaze went back to the Sycorax leader, confused as to why he was allowing the man to speak for his species, though the line between her eyebrows only got deeper when the leader met her gaze unwavering and - smirked?

"I must admit that you were not quite what I was expecting," Va'ly continued as he looked the young woman before him up and down and drew Aries attention back to him. She noted with some oddity that he looked... younger? then she remembered; and unlike the first and last time they had spoken, Va'ly's gaze was no longer the dark brown, almost black; but a dark crimson that had her almost beguiled.

But there was one thing that the witch wanted to figure out, and that was why his very presence screamed - WRONG! - in her mind. It was something that was almost like an annoying itch in the back of her mind that she couldn't ignore, and she knew it hadn't been there back on Satellite Five. However, thoughts about when they'd first met had Aries wondering how the brunet was there, though her swirling thoughts were shoved behind the safety of her occlumency walls as the man in question continued.

"Aries, right?" Va'ly asked, and Aries hesitated before nodding; her gaze flickering to the Sycorax leader. "Is it just Aries, or do you still prefer Master?"

The only two other humans on the ship raised their eyebrows and looked to the rather still form that had become Aries rather curiously.

Inside the TARDIS, Vera was quick to break through whatever thoughts and shock that was running through the Doctor's mind at the title Va'ly had used for his Nesdra.

"She's part Time Lord, Doc," the blonde soothed, though was unable to wipe the grin off her face at having seen the Doctor grow quite a few shades paler at the thought of his Nesdra being that Master. "And I can tell you right now that she's not him."

"I have never used the title of Master," Aries confirmed not a few heartbeats later as she seemed to shake off her shock at what Va'ly had divulged with such information. Information he shouldn't be privileged to.

"Ah..." an eyebrow raised on Va'ly's face, "But you once were." The brunet continued to smirk, and Aries noted with some absurdity that despite Va'ly looking younger, there was an aura about his person that caused a block to slide into place in her mind. A piece of a puzzle that she hadn't even realised that she had started.

She didn't even remember what the man had done back on Satellite Five to save her from those frozen - drones? - but whatever Va'ly had done, it had been enough to cause the entire system to collapse around the man who'd called himself the Editor. He had known her back then, just like he clearly knew her now. And he obviously knew far more about her magical history than a future acquaintance or friend he'd made out to be when they'd first met, considering that Aries still hadn't even told the Doctor that she was a witch - and she bloody well liked the Time Lord.

But there had been one thing that Aries had never figured out, and the witch had spent quite a long time searching for the answer. And as she met Va'ly's dark gaze, she finally made the last connection.

"You're Alistair's contact."

"Alistair..." the brunet drew out the name before shrugging, "Can't say I know anyone by that name." However something shifted over his gaze that had Aries knowing that he knew exactly who the Brigadier was. She had learnt to read the tells of someone who'd been a spy for two decades on both sides of a war and had managed to fool them all, so reading the tells on Va'ly was almost like child's play for Aries.

"Why?" the witch pressed, having asked that question to no one ever since she'd received that vial. "Why not just tell me?"

"Why should I have?" the brunet retorted with narrowed eyes, and the witch paused when she realised that he had a point. She hadn't even told the Doctor, even if he had seen her use her magic.

Gods! She hadn't even told Mickey that she was a witch, and she'd practically raised the young man!

Someone cleared their throat, and the pairs' gaze was drawn to the Sycorax leader who was shooting Va'ly a narrow-eyed, pointed look.

"Ah, yes. Of course," the man muttered with an eyeroll, though there was a smile on his lips as he turned his attention back to Aries. "Back to business, shall we?"

"And what business is that?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked between the pair.

"Isn't it obvious?" One of Va'ly's hands disappeared behind his back; under his jacket as his smirk returned. And much to Aries' surprise, he withdrew what she first thought to be a staff from under his jacket. Though when the twin, silver blades of his sceptre glinted in the rooms' lighting, the witch's posture immediately changed. "We..." the brunet gestured widely towards where Harriet Jones and her aide was standing with the sceptre, and the red gem pulsed. "Were discussing the terms of Earth's surrender..."

The light from his sceptre grew until everyone had to cover their eyes, and when it finally faded, the Prime Minister's aides' jaw dropped at the 'holograms' of all the people standing on the rooftops around the world. Aries' eyes had widened, though the silver-grey of her iris' had darkened as she immediately occluded every thought and feeling she held; forcing everything behind the walls she'd built over a century ago that had only slowly begun to crumble down.

"No."

Her clipped response had Va'ly pausing, and the brunet's gaze narrowed on her.

"No?" he repeated, the warning thick in his tone.

"I said, 'no'." the witch repeated, her chin raising defiantly at the man. "If you think that I am going to stand aside and let you slaughter these people-"

"You'll what?"

Va'ly moved before Aries could even blink; appearing in front of her with the tip of his sceptre aimed at her throat. A dark smirk twisted his lip at the surprise on the red head's face, though he continued before she could gather her bearings. "You see, Rieka... there won't be a bloodbath. These ants are going to allow themselves to be enslaved, and you..." He shifted the sceptre from Aries's throat, using one of the blades to gently reveal the twin chains that hung around her neck. "You will give back what you stole."

Aries blinked, confused by what she was hearing.

What had she stolen, and from who?

Va'ly?

Though her confusion only seemed to infuriate the man.

"I'd be rather careful on how you threaten her," a voice cut through the air before the brunet could do anything, and both he, Aries, the Sycorax leader, Harriet, and her aide all looked through the 'holograms' that were still floating around them like little TV's and towards the Doctor as the Time Lord stepped out of the TARDIS.

"Oh, shit," Vera breathed as her head snapped to the empty spot where the Time Lord had been standing, having been so caught up in what the pair on the screen had been talking about that she hadn't even realised that he'd slipped outside.

The sound of the TARDIS door closing drew her attention and she quickly rushed towards them, Mickey and Rose following. Though when she tried to open the door, Vera found it had locked itself and she groaned.

"Oh, don't do this to me, Akorthar," the blonde whined as she turned back to the console, only to freeze when she found two figures rushing around the controls.

The next thing that she, Mickey, and Rose knew was that the ship was dematerialising, and Vera rushed towards the newcomers to try and stop them.

She couldn't leave the Doctor and Aries up there alone with Va'ly...

Not with the Druid lurking around somewhere planning god knows what.

Va'ly couldn't stop his eyes from rolling as the Doctor burst from the TARDIS, lowering his sceptre and allowing the room to return to normal. The moment his companion laid eyes on the pyjama-clad Time Lord however, the Sycorax leader cracked his whip towards the man.

The Doctor barely registered that the doors behind him had locked as he quickly grabbed the end of the whip and yanked it out of the leaders' grasp. He didn't even blink when not a single heartbeat later, his ship begun to dematerialise as he stated, "You could have someone's eye out with that," with narrowed eyes; his mind focused solely on his Nesdra's still form who had - thankfully - done nothing in retaliation when the Sycorax leader had produced the whip. Even through the protective, furious fog that clouded his mind, the Doctor knew that the last thing he wanted Aries to do was to bring any more attention to herself. Even despite the fact that he'd just learned that the man standing beside the leader knew his Nesdra far more than he did; that he knew something about Aries that the Time Lord felt held some connection with her title of Royal Commander (of which the Doctor was still trying to wrap his head around) and Aries abilities.

"How dare!" the Sycorax leader roared as he charged the Doctor, only for Va'ly to shake his head as the alien was quickly intercepted by Aries; the red head having revealed a dagger hidden under her coat and successfully blocked the attack; snapping the staff in two before she suddenly kicked the leader's feet from under him. The Doctor blinked in surprise as Aries had managed to not only disarm the leader, but also have him pinned on the ground; her blade mere centimetres from his throat.

"I told you," her cold gaze flickered to the brunet who was looking at the leader like something sad and pathetic and paused, confusion flickering across her silver-grey eyes before she continued, "That it would be only me that you would be dealing with." Her gaze found that of the aliens red, narrowing dangerously as she added, "You harm another person, and I won't be so merciful the next time."

Aries got up off the Sycorax leader, immediately finding herself being pulled towards a firm chest as a sigh left Va'ly as he nudged the Sycorax leader with the butt-end of his staff, wondering why he always ended up with such idiots to deal with. "Would you like a pillow?" he drawled, smirking at the glare he received as the leader pushed himself off the ground.

"Hey, shhh," the Doctor soothed as he held his trembling Nesdra, knowing that her quivers were far from fear. "It's okay. I'm okay," he continued as he turned her so they were facing. If it had been any other time, the Doctor felt that he'd have laughed, or maybe even smiled at the way Aries seemed to try and burrow into his chest, but he knew that it was an after-effect of their bond. They'd been through so much in such a short period of time and now that Aries had finally opened herself up to it, all that protectiveness that he'd felt in the past... the Doctor knew she'd been feeling it ten-fold after his recent regeneration.

It was the only time a Time Lord was truly vulnerable, and their bond knew it and would do anything to protect them.

He knew because he'd felt the same protectiveness the moment he'd heard those threatening words from the brunet.

"You shouldn't have done that," he muttered into his Nesdra's hair. The Time Lord could feel that her posture was still rigid, and he had no idea where the dagger she'd had disappeared to. The sight of the weapon, as well as seeing her using it only cemented the idea in the Doctor's mind that Aries Prince had been far more than just a soldier in her long life, and he found his stomach rolling at the idea. It wasn't that he was sickened that she'd been one, but that at some point in the last sixty years, something in her life had led her to becoming one. And from what he'd seen of his Nesdra's past, the Doctor had the nagging, unsettling feeling that if he ever did find out how, he wasn't going to like the answer.

"I know," Aries sighed into his chest, feeling his arms tightening around her as she inhaled deeply through her nose and allowed his scent to calm her. She hadn't had to see that it was the Doctor who had grabbed her, as the moment his hand had touched hers, a peacefulness had cut through the fog of protective fury that had clouded her mind. "But I had to try," she finished as she finally stopped trying to burrow into his embrace and pulled away enough to meet his gaze.

Amber eyes - not the familiar blue she remembered - softened as a small smile appeared on the Doctor's face, and Aries ducked her head once more. She knew that it was the Doctor. She knew... But it didn't stop her pain from lessening at knowing that he - the blue-eyed, leather-clad man she'd fallen for - was gone.

"And that's the one thing I like about you, Aries," the Doctor murmured into her hair, not picking up her shift in mood as he just held her closer. Though a frown quickly had his lips tugging downwards as a thought hit him and he pulled away from his Nesdra, causing her eyebrows to furrow as he straightened his attire. "You know, you never got to tell me what you think," he said as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Be honest, how do I look?" he questioned.

Aries' eyebrows attempted to merge on her forehead as she glanced around, wondering if the Doctor was serious. They were standing in the middle of a Sycorax ship, surrounded by said aliens and a man she wasn't sure what to make of. Va'ly had saved her life back on Satellite Five, but now he's behaviour had done a complete one-eight...

A frown appeared on the witch's lips when she realised that Va'ly had saved her life... but she had never felt the pull or tug of a life-debt. Not even the signature if left on a person after having learnt about them with her father. Though she mentally gave herself a shake, getting her thoughts back on the man in front of her and his patiently waiting expression.

Why he was asking her how he looked now, the witch had no idea, but she couldn't stop herself from checking him out, feeling her cheeks warm and knew that she couldn't fully blame it on her embarrassment of the entire situation. Despite the fact that he looked like an out-of-place Barty Crouch Jr dressed in muggle pyjamas on a Star Trek set, Aries could admit - at least to herself behind the safety of her occlumency walls - that the Time Lord cut quite the figure... even though he looked as though he'd just gotten out of bed.

The Doctor grinned when he noticed his Nesdra's cheeks turn a deeper shade of red and couldn't help but think that she looked rather cute when she blushed. It really brought out the red and gold flecks in her silver-grey eyes.

Feeling her blush deepen at the sight of the Doctor's smile, Aries found herself stumbling over her words. "You... I, you look... I like it." Her eyes went wide when she realised when she just said and her face burned crimson before she quickly ducked her head, biting back the groan that wanted to escape her at what she had just admitted that out loud. So much for occlumency...

Amber eyes sparkled in amusement as the Doctor stepped back besides his Nesdra and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulling her close once more. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about how much of an enigma she was. Aries could stand firmly before an army of Sycorax and hold her ground, but when it came to her own feelings and expressing them, she either closed herself off from them, or acted with such an innocence like she'd never had a partner before.

His train of thought derailed suddenly, and the Doctor blinked in surprise at the curious thought as he glanced at Aries; silently wondering if it could be true. It would explain why she hadn't known about, or even picked up on his feelings or actions towards her while everyone else had seen them for what they were. But he pushed the thought away, knowing that it wasn't such things as he caught sight of Va'ly shifting away from the Sycorax leader out of the corner of his eye. "Am I ginger?" he asked Aries as he pulled away once more, knowing that he wasn't after having caught glimpses of himself in the TARDIS. But he also wanted to keep the other man in his line of sight.

Aries, who had just managed to get her blush to fade, blinked at the Doctor in confusion. Wh-what does having ginger hair have to do with anything? she asked herself even as her eyes flickered up to his hair, which still somehow managed to resemble someone having put a fork into an electrical socket. She tilted her head to the side, her brows creasing. "You're... it's brown," she stated, growing even more confused as she watched his face fall.

"I wanted to be ginger," the Doctor pouted as he tugged Aries back to his side, feeling himself - and surprisingly Aries - relax at the slightly bold move and wrapped an arm around her once more. "I've never been ginger."

"You..." Aries was perplexed, trying to work out why being ginger seemed to be such a big thing. "You could always dye it," she suggested slowly; unsure.

The Time Lord looked to her and opened his mouth to say something before suddenly closed it. He frowned before pointing at her, "Why didn't you say anything before?" he asked a bit more rudely than he had intended, though didn't even seem to realise.

The corner of Aries' lip curved downwards as she eyed the Doctor, trying to work him out. "I-I didn't know you wanted to be ginger before," she told him before letting out a huff, feeling as though she was going through an emotional roller-coaster. "So there's no need to be rude," she added as an afterthought.

The Doctor blinked at her before looking to his finger, almost as if he was surprised to see what he was doing. "Oh, that was rude," he commented in surprise, "That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude and not ginger."

"And you weren't rude before?" Va'ly piped up as he idly shifted his sceptre from one hand to the other, raising an eyebrow at the Time Lord when the Doctor just shot him a glare.

"I'm sorry," the Prime Minister cut in before the Doctor could retort. "Who is this?" she asked Aries as she gestured to the brunet at her side.

"He's the Doctor," Aries replied without hesitation, her own arm going around the Time Lord as he pulled her just that little bit closer.

"But what happened to my Doctor?" Harriet asked, looking at the pair with a lost expression. "Or is it a title that's passed on?"

The man in question shook his head at the PM. "I'm him. I'm literally him," he told her, "Same man, new face. Well, new everything," he added, somehow holding his Nesdra just that little bit closer.

Harriet shook her head, not believing either of them. "But you can't be," she stated, looking to her aide for help. Though the poor man looked even more lost as she did.

Unwrapping his arm from around Aries' waist, the Doctor stepped towards the Prime Minister, knowing that he'd need to convince her that he was still the same man she had met in Downing Street. "Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war. It was the thought of you mother being on her own," he stated with a soft smile, and it did the trick.

Harriet's eyes widened as she looked at him. "Oh, my god," she breathed, realising that somehow, someway, this was still her Doctor.

The Time Lord grinned, seeing she now believed him. "Did you win the election?" he questioned, though he had a pretty good feeling that she had.

"Landslide majority," the Prime Minister replied with her own grin.

"If I might interrupt," the Sycorax leader cut in.

"Oh, yes. Sorry," the Doctor said, though his tone didn't sound it as he turned to the leader. "Hello," he added, wiggling his fingers in a wave which only had the aliens' gaze narrowing as his other arm wrapped almost automatically around Aries when she stepped up beside him.

"Who exactly are you?"

With a disarming smile, the Time Lord looked to Va'ly as he replied, "Well, isn't that the question of the day."

"Who you are!" the Sycorax leader suddenly bellowed as he stomped towards the Doctor.

"Well, aren't you rude," another voice stated, though in his fury the leader didn't register that it hadn't been the Doctor who'd said those words as he roared, "I demand to know wh-!" Though promptly fell to the floor unconscious when he was hit from behind by Va'ly.

"I've had enough of you," the man remarked as he eyed the fallen alien with disdain before his crimson gaze shifted around the room. He ignored the way the Sycorax shifted uneasily around him, clearly unsure as to what they should do now that their leader was unconscious before his eyes stopped at the spot where the TARDIS had been. "Ah, it's you," he stated, and without warning raised his sceptre.

A blast of red-black energy left the gem, and Aries threw up a shield around herself and the Doctor as she stepped in front of him. Though the blast missed the pair completely and exploded when it hit... air?

The spot where the TARDIS had been shimmered as the smoke cleared, and both the Doctor and Aries' eyes widened as they watched someone who was dressed head to foot in some kind of futuristic battle-styled suit appear. Gloved hands raised to remove the newcomers helmet, revealing a young man with messy, blond hair and two different coloured eyes.

"Oh! You know me!" the blond exclaimed with a delighted smile... and everyone blinked. "That's good. That's really good."

"And why is that?" Va'ly questioned slowly, punctuating each word clearly. The way he said it, the tone he used had Aries pausing as she slowly lowered the shield she'd erected; the witch glancing at the man with a look of confusion.

"See, here's the thing," the blonde replied as he turned towards the Doctor and his Nesdra and causing Aries attention to be brought back to him as he added, "And I must admit, this is all excitingly new for me." A smirk - a familiar smirk lifted the corner of his lip as he met the Time Lord's curiously questioning gaze before he turned back to Va'ly, "All I know is that apart from that I'm the Druid-" his smirk grew when he heard twin, sharp inhales behind him, "-but beyond that, I just don't know. Oh, I know what I need to do, but I literally don't have a clue as to who I am."

Va'ly's gaze narrowed as he tracked the Druid when the younger man begun to walk around the room.

"It's all untested," the blond continued, "Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy? Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? A gambler? A fighter? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? A coward?," his smile changed as he turned to face Va'ly; turning almost vicious as he spoke the last word. Before the other man could do anything but stiffen at the shot he knew had been intended for him; his grip tightening around his sceptre as the gem begun to glow dimly, the Druid continued, turning his back once more on Va'ly as he made his way around the throngs of Sycorax and towards his target.

"Considering the company I kept, I've certainly picked up a gob..." The blond stopped beside the pillar that the Sycorax leader had been standing beside when he'd threatened the Earth. "But how do you think I'm going to react when I see this? A great big threatening button," he placed his empty hand atop the pillar and onto the button, though made sure not to press it as he met Va'ly's gaze. "A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right?" he asked, though shook his head before Va'ly could get a word in. "Though you wouldn't care, would you?" he asked as he knelt beside the pillar and opened the base, placing his helmet next to it as he worked.

"Mind control was never something you played with," he continued absentmindedly as he studied the contents that was feeding the matrix, "Though I guess I could never label blood-control in the same category. Clean and efficient as it may be..." the Druid straightened, his cheerful expression having been replaced with one of thought, "It was only created as a method of fear. Advanced enough that the more primitive civilisations wouldn't realise its limitations while they feared over the lives of their loved ones that were about to take their own lives. Not something I'd really picture you using."

"And you think to know me?" Va'ly questioned, his annoyance at the blond clear in his tone.

"Ah, but it's not about knowing you, Va'ly," the Druid remarked, his grin returning, "It's about knowing me. Because I really don't know who I am anymore. I don't even know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this!"

Without warning, the Druid's hand slammed down onto the button.

"No!" Harriet yelled.

"Hey, they've stepped back!" Mickey shouted as he ran back into the TARDIS, not even blinking as Vera looked away from the red-headed woman beside her that disappeared the moment he'd made his presence known.

"It means that someone's turned off the control matrix," Vera told him, though there was a frown on her face. Her memories of these events, the ones she'd been shown of what was to happen were nothing like what was actually happening.

She was supposed to be up there with the Doctor and Aries. Up there with Va'ly. But for whatever reason, the Druid had decided to stick his nose into business he shouldn't have even known about and now Vera was waiting to find out the fate of not only Aries' future, but her own future as well.

Who would be home when she returned?

And would she even be welcomed?

"You killed them!" the Prime Minister's aide accused.

"Did I?" the Druid enquired, turning to look at Va'ly with a raised eyebrow before he made a sweeping arc with his hand and a golden 'screen' flickered to life, showing them the emptying rooftops as the once blood-controlled victims found themselves rather startled at being somewhere they hadn't been moments ago - and so bloody high. "They don't look very dead to me," he added, giving the aide a side-long glance.

"W-we allow them to live," a voice croaked, and everyone's gaze shifted to the Sycorax leader as he slowly pulled himself up off the ground. He shot Va'ly a dark look before turning to face the blond, his red eyes narrowing.

"Allow," Aries suddenly spat as she took a step forwards. Her expression was furious, having been ignited at the fact that the man who had once saved her - had first told her to allow herself to actually open herself up to the Doctor and let him in and get to know the real her - was standing there like letting an entire planet think its met its doom like it was some passing fancy. Calmness cut through her rage as a hand landed on her shoulder and Aries turned her head to see the Doctor step up beside her.

"You have no choice," he cut in.

"That's all blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis. You can't hypnotise them to death. Survival instincts' too strong," the Druid continued as he started to walk around again, and the Doctor wrapped an arm around Aries the moment the Sycorax leader and Va'ly's attention turned back to the blond, rather grateful for the distraction. He didn't like how Va'ly had been looking at either of them, but most of all Aries.

"Blood control is just one form of conquest," the Sycorax leader declared with narrowed eyes, "I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

"Well, yeah, you could do that," the Druid stopped and turned to face the leader, "But we both know," his lip quirked upwards as he gestured to Va'ly, "How that will end."

"You do not have your friends with you this time, Druid," the brunet spat through clenched teeth, his grip around his sceptre tightening.

"Don't I?" the blond countered with a grin before turning his back on the man and gestured towards the small group that was made up of Aries, the Doctor, Harriet and her aide. "Look at these people," he said, "Consider their potential. From the day they arrived on the planet and blinkingly stepped into the sun, there's more to see than can ever be seen. More to do-"

"Druid..."

Va'ly's low drawl had the blond turning back to him with a confused, and slightly irritated expression. "What?" he asked.

The brunet raised an eyebrow. "That's the Lion King."

"Oh?" the young man blinked as his eyebrows furrowed. "So it is," he murmured before shaking his head and ignoring the muffled snort that may or may not have come from Aries. "But the point still stands," he stated as he met Va'ly's red gaze with his own miss-matched blue-gold, "Leave them alone."

"Or what?" Va'ly questioned lowly as he took a step towards the blond, the gem in his sceptre taking on an ominous glow.

"Or..." the Druid smirked the moment Va'ly's foot landed on the ground, and the blond had the distinct pleasure of watching the brunet's eyes widen in shock as power swept through the room. "...I challenge you."

The Doctor and Aries felt as though the wind had been knocked from them the moment Va'ly took a step towards the Druid, and they watched with wide eyes as from where the brunet's foot stood, lines of blinding white light shot outwards and around the room - following the same path that the blond had made as he walked and talked his way around the room - until the lines returned to Va'ly in full circle.

"Oh, your face," the Druid couldn't help but grin as he removed his sword from its sheath at his waist. Its handle and the top part of the blade was a dark, almost obsidian... stone? While the sharper edge of the blade, all the way from the tip to the handle was a silver-white that seemed to pulse with power. "You really shouldn't have let me talk, Va'ly," he continued as runes flared to life in the glowing circle and anyone apart from the Druid and Va'ly were unceremoniously pushed out.

The brunet stood there unmoving, his grip around the shaft of his sceptre so tight that it almost looked as though it would snap.

"Am I still right that the sanctified rules of combat apply when two Madria step into a Challenger's Circle?" the blond asked, cocking his head to the side as he continued to watch Va'ly.

"You would dare challenge me and stand in as this worlds' champion?" Va'ly finally spoke, his gaze flickering behind the Druid and towards the Doctor and Aries.

"Oh, no, no, no," the Druid shook his head as he moved, blocking the Doctor and Aries from the man's sight. "You're dealing with me and only me, Va'ly." Much to everyone bar the brunet's surprise, the Druid ripped a glove off one of his hands before running the sharp edge of his blade over it, his eyes locked on Va'ly as blood begun to pool in his palm. "As one Master to another, do you accept my challenge?" he asked as he flicked his bloodied hand out towards the circle.

Aries' eyes grew wide as she felt power unlike anything she'd experienced before suddenly flare from the circle of runes the moment the Druid's blood touched it. It felt so ancient and... familiar. Though her eyes were not the only ones that had widened, as the Doctor's gaze darted from rune to rune, translating what he'd never once been able to translate before. Neither of them noticed the way the Sycorax had all stepped away from the circle, even the leader as a hushed silence fell over them. The leader's eyes were on Va'ly, an expression on his face that could have been almost revaluation as he watched the brunet's face twist into a dark scowl.

"You dare challenge me for such a thing?!" Va'ly growled at the blond as he felt the terms the Druid had placed upon his challenge through the very blood he'd paid to draw the circle to begin with. His grip on his weapon somehow managed to tighten even further as he drew it closer to his side; the move not having been missed by the blond.

"Ah, but what would you want in return?" he asked with a wry smile, "You know that everything requested must be met with an equal or greater counter."

"You would-?" Va'ly's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I would."

Va'ly stood there, just staring at the Druid as if trying to figure out if the man was lying to him. Though he knew that the blond wasn't. To make such a request in a Challenger's Circle and not be willing to back... it was asking for death.

The sceptre at the brunet's side vanished as he released his hold on it and took a step towards the Druid.

"For the stones?" he asked as he withdrew another weapon from under his coat, this one being a sword that had Aries blinking in surprise. It was almost the exact same as her dagger, although instead of a molten red wolfs' head and shortened blade, Va'ly's sword handle looked to be carved from the very fires that looked to be burning in his eyes; a beast's snarling muzzle revealing sharp, dagger-like teeth and bat-like ears that sat outwards that protected his wrist. The blade was a shining silver, and there was a rune that was etched into one of the sides that was glowing a dark red.

The Druid's hold on his own sword adjusted, as did his stance as he knelt before Va'ly and lowered his head.

"For the stones."

The moment the words left his mouth, one of the necklaces around Aries' neck vanished and a feeling of dread settled in her stomach as she tried to figure out where it had gone.

The clash of steel against steel rang in Aries' ears as she opened her eyes, finding the Doctor's face hovering over her with a concerned expression on his face.

"Aries," he said, though it sounded far away, like she was hearing him underwater and a line appeared between her brows. Though movement caught her eye just behind the Doctor as the Druid deflected a blow from Va'ly.

"Ah, come on, Va'ly. Is that all you got?" the blond taunted as he blocked another swing from the other man.

"You may have, had your little group, with you the last, time we fought," Va'ly spat with every swing, his eyes blazing as he snarled at his opponent, "But they won't be able to save you this time."

"Hey, no, no. You can't," the Doctor quickly grabbed Aries when she made to get up.

"No, he took her," the witch exclaimed, her eyes frantic as she tried to get to the fighting duo.

"Aries, you can't intervene," he told her as he held her close.

"But-"

"He drew a Challenger's Circle," the Doctor's eyes were filled with disbelief even as he spoke the words, though he shook his head when Aries opened her mouth. "It's something that hasn't been... heard of since tales of old. No one could interfere when a challenge between two Master's had been made and the terms accepted." He looked to the runes that were still glowing brightly despite the pair having left it in their fight. "The only way to stop a challenge is for one to come out as the victor."

"But he bartered with something that was not his!" Aries countered as she glared at the fighting pair, though otherwise stopped her struggles.

The Doctor frowned as he followed her gaze.

"Bit of fresh air?" the Druid questioned as he hit the button beside the door he'd been cornered against and slipped outside and into the daylight. Va'ly followed and a grin appeared on the blond's lips. "By the gods! It's like New York all over again!" he exclaimed in delight as they continued their sword fight on the ships' hull, earning a few confused looks from the people that had followed - both Sycorax and human.

Despite her reservations about the pair, Aries' heart was pounding inside her chest as she watched them get closer and closer to the edge as Va'ly drove the Druid back. One of the 'ears' on Va'ly's sword managed to catch the Druid on the nose, and the red head felt the Doctor's hold on her tighten when she tried to move forwards.

Seconds later, Va'ly had managed to catch the Druid in the gut with the butt end of his sword and knocked the blond down, and without missing a beat, slashed downwards.

Everyone - including Va'ly himself - froze as both the Druid's sword and hand disappeared; falling to the earth below.

"You cut my hand off!" the blond whined as he watched it fall, though there was a smile on his face as he turned back to the still shocked Va'ly. "Now why would you go and do that for?"

"Impossible!' the brunet breathed as he stumbled away from the Druid, his grip on his sword loosening so much that he almost dropped it as he stared wide-eyed at the blond.

"Oh, not impossible," the Druid stated as he got back to his feet. He raised his good hand as he met Va'ly's gaze, and his sword that had just fallen with his hand returned to him in the same manner, Aries thought, as a broom would come to their rider... when they weren't being a pain and actually listening. "But you see, now you know what sort of man I am," the Druid continued as he studied his missing hand. "I'm lucky. Because quite by chance, I'm still withing the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle," his grin returned as the Doctor inhaled sharply at his words, "Which means I've got just enough residual energy to do this."

The Doctor and his Nesdra watched with wide eyes - alone with everyone else - as the Druid's missing hand grew back.

"Witchcraft!" the Sycorax leader suddenly shouted, though the Druid only shook his head as he turned to the stunned duo watching him.

"Time Lord," Aries breathed, unable to take her eyes away from the blond.

"Oh, no Aries," the Druid shook his head as he grasped his sword with his newly regrown hand. His eyes glowed golden as power swirled in their depths as he added, "I'm so much more," before turning back to Va'ly. "But do you want to know the best bit?" he asked the brunet, though didn't give the other man a chance to respond as he twirled the sword in his hand, "This new hand?" His voice took on a terrible Texan accent that had the humans and one Time Lord wincing as he finished, "It's a fighting hand!"

The sword fight was quick to resume, and the observers could admit that the blond had been correct as he turned the tide on Va'ly. Although both the Doctor and Aries felt that either the Druid had been faking his skills from the beginning, or regrowing his hand in the middle of a swordfight had indeed improved what skills he had. Neither wanted to test the theory to find out, however...

"You should have stayed on Sierauk," the Druid spat as he lunged at Va'ly; the brunet barely managing to block the blow. "You meddle with things beyond your control."

"You're one to talk," the brunet growled as he dodged a blow by ducking and swung his sword towards the Druid's legs and forcing the blond to either step back or jump to avoid losing them.

The Druid stepped back. "Meddling is what I was born to do," he countered as he blocked the next upwards swing from Va'ly before managing to disarm the man; and with the hilts of both swords, hit the brunet in the abdomen twice and forcing him back.

Va'ly fell onto his back, right on the edge of the hull and overlooking London, though found his movements restricted when the Druid pointed the tip of his sword at his throat. The brunet's own sword was in the man's other hand at his side and Va'ly scowled as he met the blond's golden gaze.

"I win again, how about that," the Druid remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then kill me," Va'ly spat with a glare.

The blond didn't move as he replied, "I would never kill you, Va'ly. I'll spare your life once more if you take this Champion's command. Leave this planet, and never return. Sierauk, Earth, all of them. What do you say?"

Unknown to all but Va'ly, the Druid, and Aries, the circle inside pulsed at the victors terms. The latter didn't know how she knew that's what the pulse of power was, but as she watched Va'ly's face seem to struggle with what to say, the witch knew that whatever his next words were would seal whatever deal had been brokered between them the moment the brunet's foot had touched the circle.

"Yes," Va'ly finally bit out.

"Swear it on your blood, Va'ly," the Druid demanded, suddenly very serious as the tip of his sword moved closer to the other man's throat. "Swear it on your very soul."

"I swear."

The circle inside exploded into thousands of 'shards' of pure light the moment the words were spoken, and as those same 'shards' rained down over Va'ly and the Druid; sinking into their skin and as they disappeared, it was like a switch had been flipped and the Druid suddenly grinned. "There we are then," he stated, sounding almost cheerful as he removed his sword away from Va'ly's throat. "Was that so hard?" he continued as he stuck the brunet's weapon into the ground beside the man before turning to the small group of onlookers.

"Bravo!" Harriet cheered as she and her aide approached the man, wanting to smooth out a few details that she really had no idea about but was getting paid to deal with.

"That says it all. Bravo!' the Druid repeated with a grin as he sheathed his sword, though the smiles that had been on the PM and her aide's face fell when the blond strolled straight passed them. "I think that this belongs to you," he said as he came to a stop before Aries and the Doctor, holding out his un-gloved, regrown hand out to the witch.

Aries was quick to snatch her necklace back from the man, her eyes narrowing dangerously on the blond. "You had no rig-" she told him, only to freeze when their fingertips brushed.

"A pathway once lost may again be found,"

"You need to go."

Ares' head jerked up and found himself looking upon a sight he never wanted to see again, horror written over every line on his face.

Vasuki's already dark gaze darkened even more when he watched his son shake his head, refusing to both leave him as well as believe what he'd just seen as his hands clamped around Vasuki's throat. Ares odd-coloured eyes filled with tears, even as his father's face cleared of all emotion. Spells he'd once tried and other's he'd been scared to try the first time around passed his lips, and the Time Lord knew it within his heart - his very soul - as to what his father was going to do.

"No."

The word was but a bare whisper, though it still passed Ares' lips as his father apologised. How could he think that it would be okay to send him to a place where he had to hide who he was? How could he think that he wanted him to go anywhere without him? He was his rock. The one person who had never left him. But now... now Vasuki was once again sending him away.

Musical words in a language that haunted Ares' dreams came from his father's lips, and the blacket was already looking down at his hands as blue and gold ethereal wisps of energy started to appear both around him and from him. He re-met his father's gaze; his own seemingly asking all the questions he had never been able to vocalise out loud, but Vasuki shook his head.

"It needs to be fulfilled," he gasped out as one of his hands managed to cover Ares', and just like every other time he'd dreamt this nightmare, something flickered across his father's eyes. Something that told the young wizard that he believed in the memory he'd just shown his son more than anything, and that he would do anything to see it fulfilled. "Just... just remember to be happy, Rie. If not for you, then for me. And never forget how much you mean to me."

A single tear rolled down Ares' father's cheek.

"At the Snake's setting sun, the Wolf will be reborn."

The moment Voldemort's body turned to dust before a stunned crowd of both Death Eaters and Hogwarts defenders, something in the air shifted.

Changed

Forgotten in a pool of his own blood in the Shrieking Shack, Severus Snape, Bastard Extraordinaire jerked as his eyes snapped open; air being inhaled into lungs that hadn't been used in more than a few hours. The vow he had made with Albus sodding Dumbledore broke at the megalomaniacs death, and the mark of damnation that had been a black stain upon his forearm for the last twenty odd years disappeared in a cloud of sickly-looking, black-green smoke.

And when the wizard released the first breath of freedom, his exhale was mixed with what looked to be a mix of green and gold wisps of energy; the likes no witch or wizard had seen before... or could remember seeing.

Nor had any Time Lord seen in their entire written history.

But as Severus Snape let out a grunt, coughing as the overwhelming burning sensation of Nagini's venom faded; the open wounds that the thrice damned snake and its bloody master had inflicted upon him healed, relief flooded his system at the knowledge that his son was safe.

It had been the one place that he knew the Kreed wouldn't think to look for Ares, knowing that the protections placed upon Hogwarts didn't only stop muggles from finding the magical school. And although the Arkentor knew that he'd have quite a bit of explaining to do if they ever found out, he hoped his cover as a spy would help deal with whatever repercussions that were to come his way in the future.

Right now however, he had a regeneration to deal with, and as Vasuki watched with furrowed brows as the energy he had exhaled slowly dissipate in the air, a small, exceedingly rare smile graced his lips.

"Finally," he breathed before suddenly lurching forwards with a cry, his face contorting in pain as golden-green energy shimmered under his skin. "Fuck," he hissed, barely managing to get to his feet, knowing that his current location probably wasn't the best place to regenerate; being that there was a war going on around him. But the man had no time to think, let alone find a safer place to regenerate as he felt the beginnings having already started; his whole body warming up exponentially fast as energy begun to build up within him.

He looked to his scarred, pale, glowing hands before a smirk appeared on his face and he threw back his head as the energy building within him exploded outwards in a mix of green and gold energy. The shack around him trembled against the onslaught of power, groaning and straining before the wards that held the place together buckled as Vasuki's regenerative energy tore them asunder. And when the dust and debris settled, the man who had once been Severus Snape, Death Eater, and all-round Dark Wizard found himself feeling, well, excellent.

Glancing around, a once raven eyebrow raised when he took in the damage the Shrieking Shack had sustained - almost as if a muggle bomb had gone off and levelled the entire place - and the newly regenerated Arkentor blinked.

"Well then..." he murmured, only to pause when he noticed the change in his voice. "Oh, that's... different," he added as an afterthought as his eyebrows furrowed. Running his tongue experimentally over his now straighter, whiter teeth; a habit he'd had with every regeneration, the wizard found that they were far better than his last set. He ran his hands down his slightly undersized robes, grimacing at the sight and feel of his own blood, the once-black-though-now-blond Arkentor realised that he wasn't as tall as he once been, but also thankful that he wasn't too short either.

At least I didn't turn into a baby again, he mused with a snort, knowing that was how his last regeneration had started out. Though that had been planned with his former Apprentice to be able to hide his son away from the clutches of the Drailvec. It had also been - despite his better judgement - how his alias of Severus Snape was to be formed, having sworn Dumbledore under an Unbreakable Vow himself to keep the one secret Vasuki hadn't wanted to get out, having been rather fortunate - or unfortunate depending on how one saw it - that his own plans worked in so well with the old coots', despite what he had told Ares.

And his 'relationship' with Lily Evans had been just one more thing that helped cement his cover as Dumbledore's spy.

No one could know...

Not even his own son.

Shaking his head and getting his thoughts back on track and focused on his current predicament, deciding that it probably wasn't such a good idea to continue to stand in the remains of what once was the Shrieking Shack dressed in his previous regenerations clothes, Vasuki Skrymor disappeared with an almost silent crack as an image of a dimly-lit room lined with overstuffed bookshelves filled his mind - the safest place he knew of to recover after his ordeal.

His broken wand lay forgotten on the blood-stained floorboard near where he had awoken; the same spot he had asked Eildrim to take his son.

It was now useless and unneeded by the reborn Arkentor.

"Though only if the Druid can defeat the Hound."