Breaking the Universe

Back in the Lyceum Theatre Loki looked at Missy thoughtfully.

What was the right question? The Time Lady had waited here for him with one of the most powerful objects in the universe. Why?

A shadow moved in the wings behind Missy. Loki flinched ever so slightly.

Missy looked sympathetic "oh dear it's hard isn't it? All of a sudden you have so much to lose".

"What do you mean?" Loki asked nervously.

Missy shook her head. "It's hard to keep a straight face when you care for someone. Try as you might to hide it, your worry for them will always show on face".

She put her hands behind back again and looked thoughtfully at Loki. "Come on out Blondie" she called out, "there's no point in hiding in the shadows now".

Slowly Nell emerged from the wing and crossed the stage. She held a pistol aimed at Missy's head.

Missy turned to her and smiled. "So you want to kill me? Think you're quick enough to get past the regeneration energy do you?"

"Eleanor" Loki said in a quiet voice and shook his head urgently. "No".

"I've got five rounds left" Nell said ignoring Loki, "two for each heart, one for your head, and yeah I am quick enough".

Missy gave a mock gasp of fear "oh but why? What did I ever do to you?"

"You killed my friend" Nell said softly.

"Who?"

"Dr Alexandra Osgood" Nell replied.

"Doesn't ring a bell" Missy smiled, "I kill a lot of people dear, so you'll have to be more specific than that".

"Alex Osgood!" Nell yelled as tears sprung to her eyes, "brown hair, glasses, bow ties and scarves! Zygon twin! She was sweet, smart and shy. She could explain the Industrial Revolution to me, but she couldn't so much as say 'hi' to a boy she liked and you killed her!"

"Oh her" Missy said as she remembered the young woman, "for a moment there I thought you were talking about someone else. I suppose I've killed two of your friends then haven't I?"

Nell frowned "what do mean?"

"Well I was the one who stole the watch from the Doctor" Missy smiled and gestured to Loki, "and let him out".

Nell shot Loki a questioning look and he gave her a slight nod.

"Of course" Missy continued, "you're not really complaining about that are you? I mean your little friend 'Alex' was sweet and all, but frankly he was a bit boring. Loki's not boring is he? You find him very interesting. After all, who doesn't prefer a bad boy?"

Nell looked stricken; she aimed her gun and squeezed the trigger.

"No don't!" Loki cried out as the shot rang out.

The bullet hit the watch casing in Missy's hand with a ping. Almost immediately a beam of orange energy shot out from the watch, hitting Nell in the chest. With a gasp she dropped to her knees.

"Oh you should have listened to your boyfriend" Missy clicked her tongue and put the watch back into her pocket as, "nice aim, but infinity stones do have a tendency to defend themselves".

Loki ran to Nell and dropped to his knees. He put a hand on her shoulder, but to his to horror his hand passed through her like one of the TARDIS echoes "what's happening to her?" Loki asked.

"She's being erased" Missy told him, "erased from time itself. It's as though she never even existed".

"No!" Loki said sharply, "no fix this!"

"Would if I could" Missy said nonchalantly, "actually no, I probably wouldn't".

The sound of running made Loki look up and he saw the Doctor speeding up the theatre aisle, with Madame Vastra and Jenny close behind. The Time Lord vaulted onto the stage and dropped down beside Nell who was beginning to fade away.

"Oh no, no" the Doctor murmured, "Silly girl, what have you done?"

"Help her Doctor" Loki said urgently, forgetting his anger towards the Time Lord.

"The sands" the Doctor said urgently and looked around, "the sands can undo this. Where is Missy?"

But Missy had vanished without a trace.

The Doctor turned back to Nell with a look of sorrow.

"I'm sorry Nell" the Doctor whispered to his friend, "I can't stop it, I'm so sorry".

"No!" Loki cried, "You are a Time Lord! Do something!"

Nell placed a hand on Loki's cheek, like a soft gust of breeze. "I'm sorry Loki". She leaned forward and kissed him. Loki felt the cool mist briefly on his lips - and then she was gone.

Loki closed his eyes briefly and let a tear run down his cheek.

Then suddenly his head filled with blinding, white hot pain. It felt as though his brain would explode. Loki grabbed his head in his hands and screamed.

He felt the Doctor grip his arms firmly. "She's being written out of your memory" the Doctor said urgently, "fight it Loki! Fight it! You will never get her back if you forget her!"

Loki gasped. He closed his eyes thought of Nell. Blue eyes, blonde hair, she had been a pirate once, then she worked for UNIT, her favourite book was...was...

"I can't!" Loki cried out, "I'm trying but I can't!"

He felt the Doctor release his grip. Loki opened his eyes to see that the Doctor was fading away just as Nell had done. Loki looked around urgently for Madame Vastra and Jenny but they were gone. "Doctor, what's happening?"

"She saved my life once" the Doctor told him, "but now that's being undone".

Loki tried to ignore the thumping pain in his head. "I don't understand".

"Time is being rewritten" the Doctor told him, "without me in it."

Loki looked helplessly at the Doctor. "What can I do Doctor? Tell me what to do."

"You must not-" the Doctor whispered, his voice airy and hollow, "you must not forget her".

Loki blinked "her? Doctor, who do you mean?"

But the Doctor had already vanished like smoke.

Loki felt another roll of pain clutched his head. The Doctor was being erased from his mind. Pinstripes, bow ties, black suits... even waistcoats, leather jackets and Technicolor patch work. Then something new began to fill the void…

"Ooh here it comes" a voice spoke.

Loki looked up to see Missy standing in the spot she had been before she had disappeared. The Time Lady looked around as the theatre began to twist and warp around them, "new world order. Hold on tight Sunshine".

Loki closed his eyes...