Last chapter. Really big thanks to those that read this or reviewed or followed or favourited. It is really appreciated.

'Come with us.' The Doctor pleaded again, staring into the face of his undecided daughter and thinking for a second on how fatherly he was acting. He guessed it was only to be expected. Clara was trying her hardest too, persuasion being an asset.

'You said you would leave Jakku when your parents came back for you. We're here.' Clara said.

She looked at the both of them, finally nodding at their proposition.

'It will be strange, leaving this place.'

'I'm sure it will. But we'll help you, guide you, whatever you need, we'll be there from now on.'

Clara turned to the Doctor, a look of understanding passing between them.

'Fine, then. I've always wanted to see what was beyond Jakku.'

'Oh, you have no idea!' The Doctor explained, smiling for once.

'There's so much you haven't seen, so much you will see. If you want.'

'Yeah, I do.'

'Let's go.'

Rey grabbed her staff, taking a breath before joining the two of them. She didn't have much to take with her, nothing of value or significance, anyway. A small amount of trepidation weighed in her stomach as she watched her parents - people who were so different to what she had expected, whose timelines really didn't match - but regardless followed on while they trekked across the mountainous desert. She was used to walking far distances, but both her mother and father were suffering just a little under the flaming heat.

There was something foreboding about leaving Jakku, as if half of her was still unsure of her decision. Was she even ready yet? All this time she'd waited, and yet she couldn't pass off an ominous feeling toward the blue box and even her newfound parents. It seemed almost wrong to label them that, like she wasn't their daughter at all. It had all come too soon. That, she decided, was why she was still reluctant. Only a day ago she had found out and now here she was, leaving the planet with them. She knew they were genuinely good people but wondered if things would become better or exacerbate.

'Is it a far journey?' She asked, 'to Earth?'

'No. The TARDIS will get us there in seconds.'

'It seems so far away.'

'It is. I've no idea what solar system we're in but it's certainly not even within a hundred parsecs of Earth.' The Doctor said.

'We're in the Western Reaches, I know that.'

'Western reaches of what?'

'The galaxy.'

The Doctor looked exasperated by her reply, clearly not the answer he was looking for.

'Well, I know we're somewhere in the south. I can feel it.'

They finally stepped inside the door of the box, the console and the roundels and the intricate design of the ship still fascinating Rey. Her head lifted to view the balcony, entrances leading toward unknown destinations and the whole panel of switches and levers that Rey would have earned many portions for is she had taken it that day.

'Earth.' The Doctor muttered, pulling the lever down. A vworpish noise filled Rey's ears and for a moment she cracked a smile. But something was wrong, the Doctor and Clara both looked at each other in confusion and pressed different buttons until Rey realised that they weren't flying. They hadn't moved at all. The second attempt was another failure and she subconsciously thought she was somehow causing the problem.

'Is this...meant to happen?'

'Not usually, no.' Clara replied.

'What's happening?' She asked, watching the lights go down and turn a ruby red, illuminating everything with a devilish glow.

'Paradox!' The Doctor yelled, taking control of the screen panels and staring at them disbelievingly.

'We can't take flight. We can't leave.' He said, voice thick.

'Why?'

'The TARDIS can't hold Rey.'

Both of their stares fixed on her and she felt herself freeze.

'Why not?' She demanded.

'There's three of us here, it creates a dangerous outcome to the universe. Cataclysmic, catastrophic. Utter detestation.'

'How?'

'Clara, this might not work. Rey,' he said, slowly turning and walking up to her with a solemn look on her face, 'you're the Hybrid. Destined to stand in the ruins of Gallifrey and bring about the destruction of the universe. You are too powerful.'

'What...what do you mean?'

'You are the offspring between a Time Lord and a human, the two most powerful species in this universe. The Hybrid is the deadliest weapon known to the cosmos. Releasing you from Jakku by taking you with us will cause the hugest paradox in history, one that will wipe out all life. There's no better way to say it than tell you there is no future for you with us.'

The words hit Rey like knives, and Clara too rounded the console to watch the Doctor with overwhelming tears in her eyes.

'I'm sorry. For everything, leaving you here, unable to leave with you...'

'I could cause the end of the universe?'

'Just by being our daughter, yes. If we take off now, everything will be submerged. Clara, I know why we took those memory wipes. It was to forget about ever going back, to forget we had a daughter, incase we ever tried to reclaim her. The universe was at stake then, and it is again now. I'm sorry.' He apologised again, moisture tainting his eyes too. He gently held her hand in his, and Rey suddenly was so overcome with love that she jumped into his arms and hugged him. Arms closed around her and Rey already felt the loss of her parents hit her like a tsunami wave. Clara's own arms wrapped round the both of them, so that the three of them were locked in a tight embrace and neither one wanted to let go.

'I'm sorry. Please, forgive us for leaving you, again.' Clara said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

'I understand why you did it. You were protecting the universe, you were protecting...me.'

They had to let go of each other and Clara granted her a watery smile.

'I'm so proud of you.'

Those words unusually made her the most emotionally upset of their situation, hearing them from her own mother and trying to come to the understanding that she wouldn't be hearing them again.

'You will do great things,' the Doctor promised, taking hold of her hands again, 'one day you'll be given an adventure you won't be able to resist.'

She smiled at the both of them, so incredibly overwhelmed.

'We won't be able to meet again,' he continued, his voice thicker than anything she had ever heard, 'but know that we love you.'

She nodded earnestly. Somehow she really did believe it was the truth. In a way, she loved them too, even though she had known them only for a few days. It was the parental bond wrapping around her heart that made her feel devastated from losing them again.

'Doctor, I'm not taking a memory wipe again,' Clara said, responding to what he had evidently whispered in her ear. 'I'll remember her forever.'

'Are you sure it won't be too painful?'

Clara smiled at Rey, nodding her head. 'Definitely.'

'Okay,' he agreed quietly, kissing Rey's head gently before she opened the doors to the much more familiar desert. Being the Hybrid was something she'd have to come to terms with, especially now she was unable to see her parents again. But maybe it was for the best; maybe, as her father said, she would wait on Jakku until another adventure came her way. As the final sight of their grave but proud faces looked down at her, she knew she would carry them wherever she went. The TARDIS dematerialised right in front of her eyes and vanished into the air like breath on a mirror. Maybe it was a burden knowing. But then, maybe all memories became stories.

Her brain froze, as did her limbs. It was a sudden shock wave of blanks, not knowing where she was, who she was, for a fraction of a second. Her vision seemed to go white and her body failed, sending her to the floor.

'Doctor!' Clara cried, throwing the doors open and kneeling at the floor to see her body on the ground, almost lifeless against the sand, unmoving. Tears were flowing freely but she didn't care. They stung with loss and regret and anger.

'You can't do that! You can't-'

The Doctor came up behind her, helping her up, fighting against her restless attempts to get to Rey. After a small struggle she reluctantly allowed him to close the doors and step away from them. She had no words, listening to the Doctor's voice as he took her shoulders and stared at her face.

'Clara, one of us had to forget.' He said, strained and remorseful and sorry. She knew he was right but could hardly see through her own shock.

'Its best that Rey forgets us, forgets we ever came here. For her, it was like we never existed, she will carry on with the same idea that her parents left her on Jakku. I know it's cruel for her to go through that again but I decided that we were the ones that needed to remember her, as our own daughter and as a brave young woman. So we know not to return but to remind ourselves of what we once had. Rey might even remember in time, I sensed rippling power off her from the moment we met. I think this was the right thing to do, as sad and wrong as it was.'

Clara couldn't reply, in lieu collapsing in his arms and burying her head in his chest. His hands calmly rubbed her back soothingly and they both knew they would never forget their daughter, strong and beautiful Rey with a lifetime of adventures ahead of her that in time they'd come to hear about. Their Hybrid, Rey, the most powerful woman in the universe.

•••••

She stared at the wall, the scratches implemented well and deep into the stone, unfading. She was waiting. Waiting for her parents to take her away, free her from this slavery. She tried to cast her mind back to that one and only image, the day she was left here alone, with no one else remotely within the same species. She had to make her own way, which had been easy enough at first, but now she truly contemplated her origins, which solar system she belonged too, if her parents were really still out there. Her heart was still filled with hope, but whatever happened, she was mostly anticipating an adventure. Maybe it was just a fantasy or a dream, but she was sure an expedition of crazy and unpredictable events would take place in just a few days or weeks or months or years from now. She smiled a little at the little white marks. If in doubt or lack of past memories, make more memories for yourself.