• The Library:

The 1st huffed, moodily. "I still don't see why we couldn't talk in my ship."

"This is your ship." The 12th rolled his eyes as he opened his own vessel. Then stepped into the dark room. "Just from a little ways ahead."

The lights fluttered on as the group stepped inside. It looked like something out of a human "rock and roll" magazine. Lots of blues and browns with a great many control panels.

"She experiences time simultaneously." The 12th reminded, as he ran up some stairs. "She is, always, just as familiar with you." he began opening drawers, giving their contents a moments glance, before closing the drawer and moving on.

"You changed the command center." The 1st noted. "Bit flamboyant, don't you think? She's a time machine, not something to be 'Pimped out'." he huffed.

The 12th rolled his eyes, as he opened another drawer. Closing it almost instantly. "Like a white, sterilized, surgeon's lab is such a better look."

The 1st huffed again, "She's a classy girl."

"Even classy girls like to look pretty, from time to time," The 12th insisted. "Now do you want to hear why we needed to come to my TARDIS, or would you rather keep complaining about my desktop?"

The 1st casually sneered as he headed for the console, "My apologies for what he's done to you, my lady."

"You obviously haven't known her for very long, if you think she's a lady," The 12th mocked. "Our girl, here, likes adventure too much for that."

The 1st huffed again, "Just tell me why you wanted to come here."

The 12th began speaking in a condescending tone. "This may shock you, but I've learned a thing or two, in the last hundred thousand plus years. One of those things, just happens to be, that you need time, in order to time travel."

The 1st sneered, "There is no call to talk to me as if I was a simpleton. I am perfectly capable of grasping-"

"Are you now?" The 12th pulled out a trunk. "That's rather surprising." He began to load it with gizmos and doodads.

"How bad is it?" Susan asked, and for a second... the 12th's face broke looking at her. She didn't understand why, but the expression left his face so quickly, she wasn't sure if it actually happened.

The last Doctor Regeneration answered her question, without looking directly at her. "The universe is currently made up of trillions of pockets of time, many repeating on an endless loop.

"Meanwhile, it is absorbing all pocket dimensions, to entire universes, and those are becoming part of our reality. Once it's finished. The universe will implode. My plans, with the Halo Rings and Citadels, is only a temporary fix. It's only a matter of time, before we all die."

The 1st froze, all immediately took notice. "The Matrix-"

"Stop that thinking right there!" The 12th ordered. "I won't have some superstitious nonsense effect my decisions."

The 1st didn't even hear him. "They said I would destroy the universe. I can't help but wonder... if this is it."

The 12th sneered, "I've nearly destroyed all of creation, on multiple occasions. Rassillion, I hold the record in temporal screwups. But I always put things back together. Maybe not in neat little bows, but I get the job done. Cuz that's what I do! All I need you to do, you stupid little kid, is stay hidden. Stay out of trouble, just for long enough for me to put things right." he stomped over to the door, carrying the trunk.

"What are you doing, Doctor?" River asked, watching her Doctor, the 12th Doctor, adding even more gizmos to the Console.

"What the bloody hell did they do to my TARDIS." The Doctor growled. "They completely rewired the interface."

River sighed, "I think it was that Rose girl... she seems to know nearly as much as I do, when it comes to Time Lord Engineering."

The 12th huffed, "Remind me to thank her..." Trailing off as he looked at River. His face becoming more sincere. "Truly."

River felt her heart flutter at the look in the Doctor's eyes. Looking away, there was too much riding on them. She couldn't let herself get distracted by sentiment.

"So what will this new setup do?" River asked.

"I already told you," The 12th dismissed. "It will allow for pinpoint Time Travel."

"And what else?" River smiled knowingly.

"... it will only allow for travel to preprogrammed events." The 12th admitted.

River's frown deepened. "What good would that do?"

The 12th sighed, having forgotten, for all of her brilliance, River was still limited by a human brain. "The 1st is the root of the distortion. If I can drop him off, where he needs to be, he can reestablish key moments throughout our Timestream. Combine that with the proper surge of energy, and the universe will reassert itself."

"And you think that boy can handle this?" River gaped. "Doctor, he's fresh off Gallifrey. I don't doubt he can hold his own. He is you. But he doesn't have the experience needed to piece together even minor paradoxes."

The 12th snorted, "And what do you suggest we do?" he spoke with the condescension that usually earned him a slap. But their was no time for that.

She pulled up her wrist, revealing a Vortex Manipulator. "Send me."

"Be serious River." The Doctor scoffed.

"The Boy can't handle it!" River glared. "He isn't ready. He doesn't even know what it means to be 'The Doctor'. I will handle this."

"You can't honestly expect to do this alone," The Doctor gave another scoff. "Not even I work alone!"

"I'll take that Rose girl with me," River dismissed. "She's already proven herself to be a decent enough companion."

"By splitting the universe apart!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"And consequently," River reminded, "Saving my life. Saving the lives of this entire civilization!!!"

The Doctor sighed. Before looking at his gadgets, for several long moments. "Give me your Vortex Manipulator. I'll need to expand it's internal dimensions, in order to incorporate the tech. Then I'll send the kid somewhere safe, to hide."

• Back on the Citadel:

Missy... was feeling increasingly worried. The Doctor hadn't reported in yet. Then again, however long it had been since he entered the library, was impossible to tell. What with all of history happening at once. Still, couldn't hurt to check in on him.

As the Doctor tinkered with the Vortex Manipulator, Susan got to talking to Bill.

"So you're a liquid ship?" Susan asked intrigued.

"I prefer to think of myself as a hot lesbian liquid space alien," Bill smiled. "I was the Doctor's personal student, won't get into the details, Paradoxes and all that. I've read plenty of science fiction. Point is, I fell into some space oil and bam. I got super powers, straight out of a comic book, that. The Doctor took me in, taught me how to control it. I couldn't even talk at first. Been helping him uplift planets ever since."

Susan smiled, "My family never could stand back, and let horrors happen."

Bill's smile became more forced. And Susan, being a curious kid, decided to have a peek. She had always been a particularly talented telepath. A common enough trait for Time Lords... and something Grandfather had always been pants at.

She just wanted to see some of the amazing adventures they got up to... instead. She saw so much death. So much screaming. Entire species being snuffed out of existence... all because the Doctor deemed them unworthy.

"The Valeyard..." Susan softly mumbled.

Immediately, everyone tensed, for they all had heard the nightmarish stories of the Valeyard.

The pride Susan had for her family... quickly turned sour, as she saw just what Bill meant by "Uplift".

"Your conquerors!" Susan gasped.

The 12th paused in his work. Then had the audacity to scold. "What have I told you about reading minds without permission?"

Susan gaped, "Grandfather! How could you!?"

The old man sighed.

That's when it connected. River's palm to the Doctor's face. "Have you really gone so wrong without me breathing down your neck!?" she demanded.

The 12th just looked at her, "Yes," he answered simply. River groaned in response. But then the Doctor continued. "What do you think I'm trying to correct."

River blinked. Understanding flashing between them as the Doctor handed over the Vortex Manipulator.

"Don't let me fall," The Doctor near begged. "I want to be your Doctor again. Please River, I'm relying on you to save me, this time."

River softened, kissing him gently. Though she couldn't find the words. Nor did she have the time to find them.

The 12th suddenly shoved her, throwing her to the side. A plasma blast just barely missing them both.

"Go!" The Doctor ordered, and River immediately grabbed River, and activated the Vortex Manipulator... never noticing the blonde had gotten hold of the Time Tot, to protect her.

"NO!!!" The 1st screamed, reaching out to the spot. But it was too late. They were already gone.

The 12th watched in horror, as his granddaughter disappeared with River and Rose.

He barely noticed as Missy stepped deeper into the TARDIS... dropping her key on the Floor. As she turned her gun towards him. "After everything we've been through," her voice refused to catch. "You still choose her over me?"

The Doctor sighed standing tall, "There was a time. I wanted nothing more then to explore the galaxy with you... instead I've been burning it. You refused to rise up with me, instead dragging me down to your level... did you really think I could be happy there?"

"Valeyard?" Missy felt her hearts crumble apart.

"Not Valeyard," The 12th shook his head. "I have the chance to undo everything that turned me into... this... The universe doesn't need another Soldier... it needs a Doctor. Please Missy, if you ever truly loved me. Allow me to die as the man I was."

". . . have it your way." She raised her weapon... and fired.