Chapter Twenty-Five:

The inside of the Tardis had never looked so festive. Alex and Alexys had wondered where all the Greendale holiday decorations had gone but upon stepping into the blue box it became clear. The strange pillars of the Tenth Doctor's Tardis were wrapped in lights, every shelf on the center console had become a perch for snowmen, elves, and eclectic menorahs, the top deck had inflatable holiday images that smiled. Best of all, the ground was covered in a white carpet that gave off the impression of snow.

Alex and Alexys held onto each other as each Doctor pulled seats from somewhere deeper in the Tardis. Promises for explanations of what had happened hung on the lips of everyone while the two waited. The smell of hot cocoa and tea hung in the air from somewhere deep inside the blue box.

The Tenth Doctor emerged with warm blankets for everyone to wrap themselves around in along with festive cheer to wear, "Alright, I suppose we do owe you an explanation."

"I believe we can do the honors," Luke and Nick spoke together.

They had not left Alex and Alexys' side and so with great care they placed their hands against the head of their partner. Light emerged but somehow they knew it was behind their eyes inside of before them. A strange tingling arrived at the temples and then…it all became clear.

"My atten…" the Doctor's eyes grew to the shape of grapefruits as he glared behind them. The two moved to look but he grasped their shoulders, "Look at me. Just look at me. This is wrong…this is very, very wrong. Just keep looking at me. Just don't sto—"

"Doctor."

Alexys was the one to deny the Doctor.

Her head turned toward the voice she feared more than any other in the universe. The wind was knocked out of her so quickly she felt as if the air had been removed from the atmosphere. Her arm lashed out for Alex and when he found it she began to crumbl—

"Balloons!"

Alexys looked to the Doctor with absolute confusion, "Balloons? What about balloons?"

"Just as I thought. I need you two to follow me as if you were Orpheus."

"What does that mean?" Alexys wondered.

"It means don't look back!" Alex shouted as he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her forward.

Together they ran with the speed of a person being chased by a wild dog. It wasn't until they made it to the end of the street that they paused. The Tenth Doctor breathlessly looked to his companions, "Why are we— Oh? Is that…Is that you two? With…Well, don't you both look brilliant!"

They turned their head and found that it was indeed them in a school parking lot. Their mouths dropped at the sight of themselves. It was as if they had become royalty!

"Is that?" Alex leaned forward to get a better look.

"Oh my God! Can I go say 'hi' to myself?" Alexys wondered.

"Absolutely not. Something is very odd here. We must return to the Tardis at onc…That thing I said before…about Orpheus?" The Tenth Doctor pondered, staring at the empty space between their shoulders.

"Yeah?" Alex raised a curious brow.

"Let's keep at it, yeah?"

He turned around in full sprint and they followed.

From somewhere in his pocket he pulled what looked like a cell phone out and began to shout in it, "Ah, Rose?...Yeah, wonderful. Glad you two are getting on…I'll need to speak with Clara a moment if you don't mind…I'm sure she's the one that can help…Oh, not running just…exercising and all...Clara, yes, now you mentioned you can fly the Tardis? Would you do me the honors and…"

OOF.

The Doctor ran smack into the blue box.

The door opened to reveal Rose, "Are you alright? What is it? What's wro—WHAT IS THAT?"

"What is wha—?" The Doctor looked behind then grabbed Alex and Alexys and pulled them onto the Tardis before shutting the doors behind them. "Clara, fire her up will you? Let's get out of here!"

"Aye, aye Captain!" Clara began to get the Tardis in motion but a terrifying sound halted the motion.

The Doctor ran to the console, moving Clara aside so that he could take control of the ship himself, "What have you done? She doesn't make that noise!"

"I-I did nothing. There's something wrong. We can't leave," Clara tried to explain.

"Humans can never get it rig—"

The Tardis made the same sick sound that kept it planted.

"What is going o—"

"Doctor!" Rose shouted, pointing toward the door.

Everyone turned around and screamed as they ran backward away from the group of creatures stepping onto the ramp of the Tardis. Alexys stared in absolute horror, unable to catch her breath as she watched the living manifestation of something that had haunted her dreams since she had seen it the first time. Alex grabbed her arm to pull her back but after a few steps terror petrified her muscles into place.

"Alexys!" Alex shouted her name as he used his strength to pull her. When that did not work he shouted, "Chidi Anagonye!"

She snapped her head around with a smirk, "What about Chidi?"

"Uh…he wants you to follow me right now with your back to the door," Alex tried to speak as calmly as he possibly could to get her to avoid looking at the creatures while also getting her to move.

Alexys followed him, already beginning to shake with understanding that there was something she specifically could not look at. She swallowed hard as she gazed at the Doctor, Rose Tyler, and Clara Oswald with their eyes the size of saucers. Her hand found Alex's shoulder as they all made it to the center of the console.

"What do we do now, Doctor?" Clara asked.

"I believe it is best if we RUN!"

They all worked into a sprint to the labyrinth that was the Tardis. Every time they got far enough away they would pause and ask what the running was about. Alex and Alexys—familiar with what could make them run in fear then forget why they ran in fear—would continue to shout, "Orpheus!" so that everyone would keep up the sprint. It wasn't until they made it to the library that they all took refuge and shut the door behind them.

The Doctor began to pull books off the shelf in search of what the creature could be.

"Don't bother!" Alex yelled, "We know what they are."

The Doctor paused to look at them, "You do?"

"Clara, you've come across them too," Alexys was breathless, "Creatures that you can't remember facing once you turn away? They were on Trenzalore fighting with the Doctor before they went rogue."

"Trenzalore," the Tenth Doctor got a faraway look in his eye, "How do you know about Trenzalore?"

"That isn't the issue right now. The issue is that these creatures are hard to beat because they make you specifically forget you have seen them once you have turned away. We need a way to mark ourselves after we've seen one," Alex suggested.

"Here," the Doctor pulled markers from a table and handed them to each person.

"What are we just supposed to ma—"

"Rose," Clara gasped.

"What is it?" she was shaking.

Alex and Alexys swallowed hard as they looked upon the woman, "You have…you have markings on your…"

It was true. On her face and neck there were hurried markings that looked fresh. She pointed to Clara, "Oh God! You've got them too!"

"Alex!" she pointed toward him and Alexys cried out at the sight of them.

"Doctor!" she pointed to him but stopped at the sight of her own hand covered in lines. Her fingers shook as she turned around and let out a blood curling scream.

VWORP. VWORP. VWORP.

And just like that they were in the console room of another Tardis.

"STOP SCREAMING!" The Twelfth Doctor shouted with his hands plugging his ears.

The Ninth Doctor ran to Alexys and wrapped his arms around her, "What is it? What happened!"

Alex looked to River, the Eleventh, and the Twelfth Doctor, "Silents."

They rushed back to the controls of the Tardis and together navigated somewhere further away. The Tenth Doctor looked to the screen with confusion, "How are we moving? We couldn't get off the ground."

"We found that once we were in Greendale it was impossible to leave. I believe we are trapped in the fictional town until our business here is done," River answered, pulling out her bag and beginning to look wildly through it.

"Fictional town?" Rose Tyler questioned.

The Doctors looked to one another and then back to their companions, "We have crossed into the Land of Fiction for quite some time now. Someone or something has brought us here."

"The Land of Fiction?" Alex asked, "What does that mean?"

"We've had some experience before," The Twelfth Doctor answered, "Each more different than the last. The Land of Fiction contains every literary character that has been written in any medium. Typically they live in peace in their own bubbles of their own worlds but once in a while someone stumbles upon this place and takes control, navigating the plains at their own will."

"Someone wanted us here and someone wanted us trapped," the Tenth Doctor looked at the golden watch in his hand, "That is what these are about."

"What are they?" Clara wondered, "Some sort of Time Travel Device?"

"Yes," the Tenth Doctor answered, "It would appear someone was given the blue print to Time Lord Technology and mass produced these little buggers. The only thing we need to figure out is how it wo—Oh. That's how it works."

"Give it here, what is that?" the Eleventh Doctor reached with grabby hands for the small thing like a child who's older sibling just received the cool thing at Christmas.

"Wait? What are you guys doing here? You're supposed to b—"

"There was nothing," River answered as she pulled out her Eye Drive, "We went and it was completely blank. Wiped off the page. We found we could not leave this quadrant and so we went to find you. Something horrifying happens here and we need to stop it."

"The question is how?"

"I have an idea," Alexys waved her hand lightly, "What about the Chameleon Arch?"

"What?"

"It's clear that something is targeting the Doctor specifically. What if we used the Chameleon Arch to protect you? We could split into groups and have some of us watching over the Doctor while others look for clues?" Alexys had come to the end of her idea.

"There is something there…" the Tenth Doctor mused.

"The only thing," the Eleventh Doctor began to pace in a very dramatic way, "How do we really know this is meant to get our attention?"

The Tenth Doctor tossed the device to the Eleventh Doctor finally, "Give it a try."

"I'll—OH! WRONG! WRONG!" the device leapt out of his hand as he stumbled back then ran behind Clara.

"What is it? What's so wrong with it?" Clara snapped.

The Doctor placed it under the scanner and on the screen it began to dissect the properties, "It uses Time Lord Technology, yes, but it is not made by Time Lords. This device allows a person to go backward into their own time steam and then return to the present seamlessly. You simply go back into your own body to redo or relive whatever it is you like. The trouble with that is…"

On the screen appeared a single line and slowly more lines began to pull off until it looked more like an ant maze.

"Using the device creates multiple Time Fissures, fractures in the individuals life where they originally went left but instead went back to go right. It is a Time Lord's worst nightmare. There is no doubt this is meant to call our attention," the Twelfth Doctor spoke with melancholy.

"Well, if whoever is doing this is fighting dirty why not work in the same manner," the Ninth Doctor smirked, "I say we use the Chameleon Arch as Alexys suggested but not ourselves. On one of our companions here."

"That is entirely too painful," the Twelfth Doctor looked to River, "I believe our companions are of more value to us with their memories than without."

"What if we all just pretend?" Alex offered.

"What do you mean?"

"What if we pretend we used the Chameleon Arch and integrate ourselves into life at Greendale? We got a glimpse of ourselves back there. That must be what we did," Alex shrugged.

"You saw yourselves?" River looked to them with confusion.

"What is that then? Like a paradox?" Rose questioned.

"Exactly, Rose Tyler," the Tenth Doctor looked to her with a genuine smile.

"We know who deals with paradoxes very well," the Eleventh Doctor looked to the Twelfth ominously.

The Doctors turned to Alex and Alexys, "We need to know everything you do."

"No way!" Alex shouted.

"Doesn't that go against every Doctor rule in the book?" Alexys gasped.

"There is reason we are strapped with the marvelous and wonderful—"

"Great and mysterious," Alexys corrected.

"—Watchers. We need every advantage we can have at this moment and it would take too long for you to just tell us," the Twelfth Doctor walked over to Alex with his hands extended.

"No way…if anyone is going through my mind it's going to be," he pointed to the Tenth Doctor, "Him."

The Tenth Doctor looked genuinely surprised, "Alex…I'm touched."

"I'll do the honors," the Ninth Doctor placed his hands against Alexys' temples, "Just relax. I'll take over from here. Just trust me, alright?"

"I do," she smiled.

The Ninth Doctor chuckled, "We already did that part."

Alex and Alexys shut their eyes and in an instant it was as if all of the Doctor Who series downloaded right before their eyes. The Doctors pulled back and when they did they looked to Alex and Alexys in surprise and heart breaking sadness. The Tenth Doctor looked to Rose with longing, "Oh…Rose Tyler."

"No…Doctor. You're doing it. Don't look at me that way," tears pooled in her eyes.

He smiled warmly, "You live. You live a beautiful and brilliant life."

"But it's not with you?" she cried.

He let out a soft chuckle, "It is absolutely with me."

The Ninth Doctor looked from Alexys to everyone around the room with new understanding, "I can see why you put in the special clause of regenerating."

Alexys frowned as she looked to the man, "You have a long life ahead of you. I want you to enjoy every bit of it."

He placed a kiss to her forehead, "So sweet and so kind."

"Alexander, that brilliant mind of yours," The Eleventh Doctor grabbed him by the face and pressed a deep kiss to his lips, "Your analysis of all that you have seen! Every detail that has not gone missed! Genius mind! Genius mind!"

"Have we all come to the same conclusion?" the Twelfth Doctor wondered, "That this is all the work of our dear old friend?"

"Yes, which leads me back to the Chameleon Arch suggestion," the Tenth Doctor held up the golden watch, "Doesn't this look quite similar to—"

"Yes, yes," the all began speaking at once.

Rose, Clara, and River walked toward Alex and Alexys.

Clara shook her head, "It's hard enough keeping up with one but four? I don't think I can manage."

"Fancy a dip in the pool then?" River smirked.

Alex and Alexys looked to each other and then to the three stunning women before them, "Yes!"

The images faded and when they did they were back in the holiday Tardis with their comrades. Their head swam momentarily but it faded quickly. Alex was the first to recover, "Why did we forget all that?"

"We came up with the solution that we would act as if we used the Chameleon Arch so that the Silents would think they had us without actually having us," the Eleventh Doctor answered.

"It became clear they were after our essence and so if we gave off the impression we were not ourselves they would then give themselves away trying to follow us," the Tenth Doctor continued.

"But what about us?" Alexys frowned.

"Your fear lead us to the decision," the Ninth Doctor frowned, "Your inability to face them allowed us to come up with the plan that gave you and Alex free reign over the town of Greendale. The town was already here and so we worked together to tailor an existence for you both as the Spellmans and we erased your memory of what had happened while also implanting new ones to give you a healthy fear that would keep you safe."

"We split up and crafted our own stories. The beings here are incredibly susceptible to the slightest suggestion so all we had to do was speak it into the universe and it formed around us. We decided we would live in the town as prominent members so that we were enough of a focus for the Silents that you could be free," the Twelfth Doctor nodded.

"I took the job of sticking around and keeping an eye on everyone," Clara smiled.

"I took the job of sticking around and keeping an eye on the town," Rose blushed.

"And I took the job of staying in the Tardis and putting together all the pieces," River pulled off her Eye Drive finally, "Alexys, you helped quite a lot with that."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The necklace," the answered.

She looked down and touched it, "What do you mean?"

"It's a recording device. Because you never took it off we were able to follow you through everything. Thanks to the Paradox Box we were able to view the footage of everything you had gone through starting from 1941 until…well, now," the Ninth Doctor pointed at the necklace with his screwdriver and Alexys felt a buzz at her throat, "All of our lovely ladies were given one but the most information came from that and your journal."

"My journal!"

"You left it with Edward and he donated it to the library. I was able to get my hands on it easily," River smirked.

"Did you know about Luke and Nick?" Alex asked suddenly.

"They were a surprise," the Ninth Doctor spoke earnestly.

"We have been with you quietly since we first came across you. We were here during the deliberation and when we heard you would be brought into Greendale alone we knew we had to protect you," Luke answered. "We took over as your personal guardians while doing our own investigations into the Time Fissures."

"It was why I was so insistent on you ending your inquiries and searches. Luke and I were able to spread across the whole town to watch everything at once. I didn't want you getting hurt so I did everything I could to stop you from being in danger," Nick frowned, "I'm sorry for being jealous. Being physical, having emotion, it's difficult sometimes but I only meant to protect you."

"So you both are the real Watchers then?" The Twelfth Doctor looked to them curiously, "I knew there was something off about you."

"Thanks," Nick narrowed his eyes on the man.

"In a good way!" Rose blushed, "You both just always seemed to be there when things were getting incredibly dicey."

"Our telepathic abilities allowed us to see the Silents regardless if they made themselves visible or not," Luke explained, "We also knew how to keep them away by keeping occupied."

"Right, right," Alex blushed. "So what do we do now?"

"We spend some time deconstructing the narratives Missy created so the people in the Land of Fiction can live their lives. Shouldn't take long," the Twelfth Doctor shrugged.

"Oh, come on!" Rose looked between the faces, "It's Christmas in the Land of Fiction! Why don't we go enjoy it too?"

Hot cocoa and tea arrived and soon after everyone shuffled out of the Tardis onto the open street. The sky was still with stars sparkling in all directions. Alex and Alexys looked to each other and then shouted happily, "It's snowing!"

Upon their invention snow fell from the ground in large, gentle flurries. They laughed and soon music began to play from the Tardis thanks to the Twelfth Doctor putting on a record. They all danced together, laughed together, made snow angels, and then snow men in snow that could not end. They had a snowball fight and quickly found that the Watchers used their ability to change form to their advantage. Rose and the Doctor danced together until Alex cut in and had a quiet and red faced conversation with her.

The Ninth Doctor asked Alexys for her hand once more to dance and they did. She shook her head, "I can't believe you were you the whole time."

"It did hurt a bit," he frowned but it bloomed into the brightest smile, "It did help that you flirted shamelessly with me every chance you got."

Alexys laughed, "What can I say. I know what I like."

They looked to each other with love they shared but their smiles faltered. The Doctor was the first to speak, "There is a lot of heartbreak left for me to face."

"There is a lot of love too," Alexys smiled.

"He cares for you in a way I never could," the Doctor admitted. "I suppose we always knew our time would come to an end."

"Did you mean to give me a Time Lord ring?" Alexys wondered suddenly.

"I meant to give you a ring that would help you find your way back to me whenever you needed," he sighed. "One more kiss?"

"Always one more," she blushed. Their lips met in gentle parting and then he spun her in the direction of Nick's arms. Nick caught her happily and they danced for the rest of the evening.

When they were all exhausted and shivering and the narratives deconstructed they took hold of the Neverwhen and Paradox Box into the Tardis.

"What happens now?" Alexys wondered.

"When we shut off these devices I'm afraid the timelines will correct themselves," the Twelfth Doctor answered in a way that was meant to have false neutrality though there was sadness in his eyes.

"What does that mean?" Alexys looked between the faces of the Doctor.

"Wait…" Alex felt his heart begin to beat wildly inside of his chest. His stomach began to hurt in the way it always did when bad news was on the horizon. Alexys looked to him with confusion but he looked to her with desperation as he spoke his next words, "Does that mean…?"

"That you will forget?" the Eleventh Doctor frowned deeply. "Alexander…I am so sorry."

"WHAT!" anger coursed through Alexys as she looked to the Ninth Doctor, "Forget? You want us to forget!"

"Not just you! All of us have to!" he snapped back.

"You're going to forget about me," she cried.

"Doctor? No," Rose shook her head as he quickly moved to wrap her arms around Alex, "No, this...isn't real. We don't have to forget them. They don't have to forget us? Right?"

"Rose…" the Tenth Doctor frowned, "It's true. We must return to our proper place in the time line and the information we have now…it could destroy everything. The only reason we were able to sustain ourselves for so long here was because of the Paradox Box. Once we shut it off the universe will begin to fix itself instantly."

"Then don't shut it off!" Alexys cried.

"We have to," the Twelfth Doctor looked to her with regret.

"Luke," Alex cried as he looked up to the man. "You…I won't forget you, right?"

"I…I will never forget you," he spoke truthfully, "I will always be around to protect you and keep an eye on you. But while we are apart…yes. You will forget me. Nick and I have to return to the Time Vortex to find the Moment and make sure it is destroyed for good. We can't let it get in the wrong hands."

"No! How can you give me all of this love and then just take it away?" he cried.

"Nick, tell me he's lying?" Alexys cried, "Please? Don't go? You said you were different. You're not like the other Watchers. Just stay with me? Stay human?"

"We have a duty," he was crying too. "And you have a beautiful life you have to keep living."

"But this is so sudden!" Alex wiped at his own face, "You can't just give us all of this and take it away!"

"I won't go! I'm not leaving!" Alexys cried. "Alex! We're not lea—"

The Air B&B was unlike any Air B&B that had been rented before.

A soft snore awoke Alex and he blinked heavy eyes to realize he and Alexys had fallen asleep on the couch. A strange dream lingered on his mind but as he looked to his friend he began to forget it instantly. All he knew was that he was sad…incredibly so. He let out a yawn then moved to push Alexys' elbow to wake her up, "Hey…we fell asleep on the couch."

Alexys woke up with a start, "Wha— oh…I just had the weirdest dream."

"Come on, let's go to bed," he was too exhausted to do anything else.

The both of them walked together to their rooms with a sense of dread they could not pinpoint. It was not uncommon to feel such sadness and not know why on the surface. The uncommonness was how it presented. Sore muscles, aching bones, truly broken heart. Alexys felt like she had been punched in the chest! Their feet felt blistered and used and they felt defeated in more ways than one.

They gave a quick wave then wandered to their rooms.

Alex shut the door behind him and turned on the fan that typically kept him cool. There was a weight. The weight rested upon his chest as his emotions ran wild in unpredictable ways. He felt concern for the sudden influx of feeling but he had been at the grips of something similar many times before. He felt a supreme loss that broke him down in more ways than he could count. He had faced much loss in his life, recently too, which made him think he was feeling what he had been able to process before. But it was different. For some reason it felt far more devastating.

He dropped onto the bed and felt sleep pull at his eyes. The man was exhausted in ways he had never known. Alex had been quite athletic in youth and so knew physical exhaustion. Recently he worked…and worked…and worked beyond what anyone else would be capable of so he understood mental exhaustion too. The issue was that he was absolutely overcome with both. It felt as if he had a mental, physical, and emotional hang over though he knew he and Alexys had simply watched Sherlock then fell asleep on the couch. He considered his medication and wondered if a side effect could make him so tired he would fall asleep fully clothed on his bed. A side effect that could make him think he remembered putting on lounge wear before sitting on the couch with Alexys.

A buzzing in his pocket got his attention. Alex reached for his phone only to find he did not have his phone. Instead a strange pocket knife emerged. The blade seemed to be stuck half in and half out just like the memories of how he had retrieved it.

"ALEX!" the voice of Alexys captured his attention.

"YES!" he called back.

"SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING…"

Alex stood from the bed and nearly tripped over a dog bone. Suddenly realization hit him along with a desperate yearning he did not recall, "WHERE'S HICKS?"

VWORP. VWORP. VWORP.

The sound could be heard from the opposite side of the house along with the distinct shout, "Oi! Is this your dog!"

Hicks' loud bark and scampering feet could be heard running in search of them. Alex and Alexys ran into the hallway and nearly collided with each other to respond to the voice they could not believe, "Donna Noble?"

In a louder and angrier voice repeated, "OI! IS THIS YOUR DOG!"

"DONNA NOBLE! THE DOCTOR! WE REMEMBER!"

—THE END—