Present:

He watched in awe and horror at the oncoming raid, unable to move from his spot in the middle of the park. He could hear screaming coming from around, someone faintly calling his name, but he couldn't move. The sight of smoke in the distance had him riveted.

He had gone out with his older sister and the other kids earlier to play. She had been hesitant to go at first but as she saw it they were in one of the safest places they could be and they were still kids, after all.

While he had been born during the war his sister knew of a time before it. She had been in her final year as a Junior Time Lady and was about to graduate from the Academy. But instead of fighting like the other Juniors his sister had volunteered to run the orphanage in Arcadia. He never understood why, he always thought the soldiers were super cool, but as more and more orphans came to join them he had learned to appreciate having family around.

"YOU WILL BE EX-TER-MIN-ATED!" A loud, chopped, and horrifyingly terrifying voice sounded behind him. He turned to see a single Dalek, the creature that he had been taught to fear, placed directly behind him.

"Get down!" Someone ordered him and he obeyed, ducking as a shot was fired just over his head, hitting the Dalek directly on the eyestalk. "Kid, where are your parents?"

"Dead," was his immediate response, "my sister is just over there" He turned to point at his sister and saw her herding together the rest of the kids to protect them from the Daleks. He was shocked to see that she had a gun in her hands. He hadn't known that she even knew how to use one.

"Run to her then, I'll cover you." The man ordered and again he obeyed. "Stay safe, kid."

"You too, sir." He said in a commanding voice as he saluted the soldier.

He ran to his sister as fast as he could, careful to avoid anything that might trip him up. If he fell then that would delay his arrival to safety. He finally reached his sister, giving her a quick hug before going to calm down the youngest of the children. He was a marvel with little kids, despite being a child himself.

"Kron, watch them, I'll be right back." His sister ordered before taking off. He watched as she ran to the soldier who had helped him earlier. He pointed off in a direction before jogging over to their group.

"Your matron sent me to watch you, she'll be right back." The man said, kneeling down to make eye contact with the young children, "She's looking for a way to get you guys to safety."

Kron nodded before turning his attention to the others. There were fifteen of them in total, ranging from twenty years to his fifty. Anyone older than one hundred went to work, running notes and helping where they could.

"What's your name?" One of the youngest ones, a girl named Hanel, asked with wide eyes as she stared at the older man.

"I am The Doctor," The man said gently, he made eye contact with the girl briefly before turning to survey the park, "your sister chose a good place, kid."

The group was huddled in a spot that was shielded on three sides by silver walls that seemed to blend in with the foliage. The entrance was covered by bushes and overhang to the point you could only see the entrance if you knew it was there.

"She's amazing!" Kron said ecstatically, always one to brag about his sister, "she's super smart and she takes care of all of us!"

"She's got a pretty neat brother too." The Doctor remarked with a wink, Kron blushed with pride at the comment, not used to getting them. He loved his sister but she had to devote her time to the others too.

"Kron," Hanel said, pointing to the end of the park, "Kron, what's that?"

There was a shadow falling across the park. The Doctor stood up, lifting his gun fluidly as he went. He glanced back at the children before letting out a sigh. He had promised the girl that he wouldn't leave them alone but he needed to get out a signal to the rest of his platoon.

"I'll be two ticks." The Doctor said before taking off at a trot, low to the ground to avoid being spotted.


She jogged down the street, making sure to keep out of sight of anything that might want to hurt her. She had known that leaving the orphanage was a bad idea. She was unequipped to protect her wards from anything when she was not at the orphanage. In her first years as the matron, she had worked endlessly to set up the orphanage for a raid. While others had called Arcadia the safest place on Gallifrey she knew otherwise. The academy had been just as protected as Arcadia but it had fallen, so had the TARDIS cradles.

"Cerese!" A young man shouted before pulling her into an alley, "what are you doing out, where are the kids?"

"Morkith, s-sorry, Watchmaker, they're at the park. I- I messed up. I'm going to get the sheet." Cerese explained in a hurry, glancing around anxiously, "I gotta go."

"Cerese, are you sure about this?" The Watchmaker asked, "you know what happens when you fight."

"It's me or them, Watchmaker," Cerese said gently, "And I will always choose them. You know that's why they put me in charge of the orphanage. Because I can protect them."

"Go on, Cerese, I'll cover you." The Watchmaker said, stepping in behind the younger Time Lady with a nod.

They made it two blocks before they encountered Daleks, Cerese considered it a miracle. The Watchmaker shot as Cerese dove to the side, she aimed quickly and shot twice, hitting the two that had been behind the first one. In a fluid movement, Cerese was stood tall and stalking down the street.

She could feel her pulses racing and her head was starting to pound. The rush of adrenaline was working to clear her thoughts but not at the rate she needed it to. Cerese took off at a jog, the Watchmaker following her silently.

"Cerese," The harsh whisper of the Watchmaker stopped her short just in time.

She jumped back as a beam from a Dalek sped past her nose, singing the tip and causing her to twitch at the shock it provided. The Watchmaker shot the Dalek before gesturing for Cerese to continue down the road. The silver streets were starting to blind the pair as they got closer to the orphanage.

"I'll be two ticks," Cerese quoted her favorite Earth saying before unlocking the orphanage door and running in.

"Cerese?" A voice called frightfully from down the hall, "is that you?"

"It's me Stogin," Cerese said gently, moving down the hall to peer in the room that held one of her wards, "how is she?"

"Her fever has gone down, Cer. I did the best I could." Stogin said, nervously wringing his hands together. Cerese placed her hands on his shoulders, immediately gaining his attention.

"Stogin, I need you to do me a huge favor," Cerese said in a harsh tone that Stogin had never heard from the younger time lady.

"What is it?" Stogin asked, his nerves immediately calming, as they did when he had something important to do.

"I need you to grab Helk and take her to the basement," Cerese said, already moving to grab things for the two after dropping her arms, "do not come out until I am back with the children."

"Did you leave them at the park?" Stogin asked almost accusingly.

"They are under the protection of a platoon," Cerese ground out before yelling, "the two of you, basement, now!"

"Cerese?" Came a timid voice, causing the time lord to bite her cheek and take a deep breath.

"I'm right here honey," Cerese said, entering the room and kneeling in front of Helk.

"I heard yelling," Helk said timidly.

"I know honey, I'm sorry," Cerese soothed before glancing at Stogin apologetically. The older Time Lord nodded before going to gather the rest of the things that he and Helk would need, "Helk, I need you to do something for me, alright?"

"Yes, Cerese?" Helk said, excited at the prospect of being helpful despite her ill state.

"I need you to go with Stogin to the basement while I go get the rest of the children, that alright?" Cerese requested gently, knowing that Helk feared the basement.

"Why?" Helk asked, a little nervously.

"The Daleks are here," Cerese said honestly, only to be interrupted by an indignant gasp from Stogin.

"You don't have to tell her," He nearly shouted.

Cerese gave Helk a small smile before walking over to Stogin, "I am not going to lie to her. Now, I need you two to go to the basement. Alright? This is as much for your safety as it is for hers."

Cerese regarded the wrinkled time lord calmly. He was hundreds of years older than Cerese's nine hundred and sixty-seven but Cerese was a lot more threatening than Stogin had ever been. He nodded nervously before going to Helk and leading the girl out of the room.

"Stogin," Cerese said, getting the man's attention for a final time, "make sure you two stay safe. I love you."

"I love you, too, my child. Now go get the other children." Stogin said, tears shining in his eyes. He led Helk down the hall as Cerese ran up the stairs.

She went directly to the storage in the back of her room, pushing aside her old green and brown robes and her newer red ones. She made it to the back of the closet and unlocked the door that was normally hidden.

Once she was in the room Cerese went straight for the control panel, typing in a command. After a moment she paused and took her hair out of its tight bun, sighing in relief as her headache was minimized. Her hair fell down to her waist in brown ringlets. With practiced movements, she quickly braided and tied off the end before letting it hang.

"Come on, come on." Cerese urged the machine before letting out a triumphant yelp as it started beeping.

A panel in the room opened as Cerese ran over to it, pulling out the light red sheet that was the cupboards only occupant. She grabbed a bag off a nearby table and shoved the sheet inside. With a grin, Cerese ran over to input another command before running out of the room. The command would create individual shields around each room in the house, taking the rooms one second out of time and thus, hopefully, preventing the Daleks from finding it.

Cerese grabbed a bag she had packed many years ago from the closet next to the front door and raced back out into the street. She met The Watchmaker at the bottom of the steps and they both took off down the street without a word.

They ran into a total of ten Daleks shortly after leaving the orphanage and Cerese couldn't help but feel that something fishy had happened. The Daleks should not have broken past the sky trenches as fast and efficiently as they had. Luckily there were not many so far into the city but still, Cerese was worried.

She picked up the pace after the Daleks were indisposed, anxious to get back to Kron and the others.


Kron watched as The Doctor ran off to, he assumed, get some help. The boy was a little unnerved to find that he was the oldest one in the group, which put him in charge. He surveyed the others quickly before giving a decisive nod. He had Ji, Lif, and Tori, the next three oldest, move a little further from the group to keep watch. They were still well hidden but it both thinned out the group and gave them warning in case something was coming.

The youngest three, Geral, Hanel, and Flio all huddled together in the back of the group. The other eight sat and talked quietly while Kron went to look for The Doctor. He had been gone too long for his comfort and Kron knew that he would not be able to protect his friends, his family. He needed someone else to protect them for him.

He spotted The Doctor running back his way with another soldier on his heels. Kron made his way back, knowing that they would have protection soon.

Kron nodded to the lookouts as he stepped through into the hideout. He was bombarded by several hugs. With a chuckle, Kron gently moved his assailants away so that he could breathe.

"Kron, I'm hungry," Geral complained with wide eyes.

"I know, Geral," Kron said gently, "Cerese will be back soon and I'm sure she grabbed something for us all to eat."

Just then The Doctor and his soldier friend entered the hideout. Kron was surprised to see The Sage, a time lord that had often visited the orphanage up until recently.

"Kron," Sage greeted in his lilted voice, "how are you, my friend."

He couldn't help it that his first instinct was to throw himself at Sage. Engulfing the older Time Lord in a hug Kron started shaking with relief.

"I thought you'd died," Kron said looking up at Sage with misty eyes, "you stopped visiting."

"Oh, Kron," Sage said pulling the Gallifreyan into a bone crushing hug, "you won't be able to get rid of me that easily."

"Good, I like you better here and alive," Kron said before disentangling himself with a flushed face. He'd recently talked with Cerese about crushes and love and Kron was very certain he had a crush on Sage despite their age gap.

The Doctor had been surveying the group while the two had talked. Kron gave him a small smile of gratitude before his attention was drawn to the front of the hideout.

"Kron, she's coming," Ji called into the shelter.

Sure enough, Kron was able to see Cerese running toward them. She was running low to the ground and hiding behind anything she could. The Daleks were not fighting in the park but if one of them spotted her then it would be over for all of them. The point of the hideout was to not draw attention to it.

As Cerese drew closer Kron could see that she was weighed down by several bags. He was about to run out when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The Doctor stared down at him and gave him a smile before running out to help Cerese.

The Doctor grabbed one of Cerese's bags and the two quickly made it back to the hideout. Once they were in Kron called the look outs in and went to sit at the entrance. Cerese quickly kissed him on the forehead before getting to work.

"Sage, I need you to unpack everything in that bag," Cerese ordered, pointing to the larger bag as she started to dig through her smaller one.

Cerese made sure that the sheet stayed in the bag. Only a few people knew about the sheet and The Doctor was not one of those people. She was not sure how well the younger Time Lord would react to such technology. Cerese hadn't even told the Arcalian Council that she had finished its creation.

"The Watchmaker should be here soon," Cerese said as she pulled out food and other supplies for her wards, "He's bringing backup from his platoon. I need to report to the council, then I'll be back."

"The council is a day away, Cerese," Kron reminded his sister who gave him a small pat on the head.

"I am bonded with The Flower, remember?" Cerese said gently before turning her attention to The Doctor and The Sage, "Will you two be able to stay until The Watchmaker gets here?"

The two Time Lords shared a look before The Doctor nodded. Cerese smiled faintly before exiting the hideout and going around back, her bag still secured around her shoulders.

"Sister," Cerese summoned through the bond, closing her eyes at the immediate connection.

"Cerese, how are you and the kids?" The Flower responded.

"Not good, you have had news of the raid at the south end of Arcadia, yes?"

"Yes," was the drawn out hesitant response.

"We are at the park, your father and Helk are at the orphanage, everyone else is with Sage, a time lord called The Doctor, and I. The Watchmaker is working to secure the area." Cerese informed her quickly, "I need a favor."

"Anything for you, my love."

"I need you to remove the surveillance on me," she requested quickly, "please, I have to protect the children Flora."

"Cerese," The Flower sighed, "fine, I can get you twenty minutes."

"Thank you sister," Cerese said closing the connection before The Flower could change her mind.

Cerese slowly entered the hideout, careful to not be detected. Once inside she quietly surveyed the occupants of the hideout. Fifteen small children, all orphans, two time lord soldiers, and then herself. A Time Lady member of the Arcalian Council and probably the highest ranking of the three eldest by the Gallifreyan standards.

She was about the speak when The Watchmaker opened a bond connection with her. The two had bonded when they were initiates at the academy but their bond was barely used.

"Cerese, the Daleks are gaining ground. If you're going to use the sheet you need to use it soon." The Watchmaker warned before cutting the connection.

Cerese listened for a moment as the others watched her, their conversations having stopped as soon as she entered. She frowned at the approaching sounds of gunfire and screams.

"Sage, Doctor, I need to speak with you outside," Cerese demanded before exiting the room without waiting for a response.

The two soldiers joined her, watching curiously as she took a deep breath. She looked between the two, obviously facing some sort of personal dilemma. They both registered it when she came to a decision.

"I have this device I call it the sheet. It's a temporal displacement device. One of four, it will place everything under it into a temporal flux, taking them one second out of time." Cerese explained, taking the sheet out of the bag, "I need your help placing it over the hideout."

"How do you have that?" The Doctor asked curiously, "I had heard rumors but there was no concrete evidence."

"I invented it," Cerese said shortly, "I only have a short period of time to do this. I need to speak to Kron first then we can get this done."

"Sorry, can I?" The Doctor asked, already reaching out for the sheet which Cerese handed to him readily.

"We good?" Cerese asked for clarification.

The two nodded and Cerese quickly went back into the hideout. She pulled Kron to her before speaking quietly.

"I'm using the sheet, you're in charge now, love," Cerese informed him gently.

"What about you?" Kron implored, looking up at her with moist eyes as the others seemed to notice something was up.

"It has to be activated from the outside and I'm the only one currently capable, Kron," Cerese took a deep breath before kissing him on the forehead, "I love you, keep them safe."

With that, Cerese exited, tears in her eyes. She nodded to The Doctor and The Sage before grabbing the Sheet from The Doctor and explaining as she went.

"The basic structure is similar to the TARDIS technology, bigger on the inside. Whatever it covers has room to move around and an endless supply of sustenance." She rattled off, "it will cover the hideout, I made sure of it when I built the thing. Took me a year to get the foliage right."

"Wait, you built that?" The Doctor asked, gesturing to the hideout as he helped Cerese with the Sheet.

"I invented a sheet that displaces people in time." Cerese deadpanned, "get a little perspective, Doctor."

They worked in silence after that, covering the hideout quickly. When it was done Cerese stepped away, regarding their work with a practiced eye. She took a deep breath connecting to the sheet and activating it. She heard someone call her name as she dropped to the ground.


The first sense that came back to her was sound. She could hear the pained calls of Time Lord soldiers all around her and the beeping of monitoring systems.

The second sense that came back was her sense of smell. She could smell the sweat and blood of the soldiers that occupied the beds next to her.

The third sense was her sense of taste. She could taste a metallic tang in her dry mouth that was probably due to the IV she could feel in her wrist.

Her sense of sight and sense of touch came back at approximately the same time. Cerese took a deep breath before opening her eyes to the world around her. She knew already that she had been unconscious for three days twelve hours 39 minutes and 30 seconds. If she was being honest she was surprised that she was even awake. The amount of both physical and temporal energy that went into activating the Sheet was enormous. The temporal energy came in the form of regeneration energy. She had given up an estimated one regeneration cycle but with things like time, it was hard to tell.

"Cerese?" A voice next to her implored and Cerese turned her head to the side to look at the Time Lady.

"Flora," Cerese croaked out. She was handed a cup of water by The Flower and took it gratefully, draining the entire thing in one gulp, "what's the situation?"

"You know what the Council said after your last escapade, Cerese." The Flower reminded, pushing her blonde bangs out of her eyes, "solitary confinement, the removal of your title and position, and the confiscation of all of your inventions."

"Oh yeah, that."

"Yes, that," The Flower said with a sigh, "was it worth it?"

"Always," Cerese answered, "I would do it again no matter the consequences."

The Flower nodded, "they also wanted me to ask you how to undo the shielding device you have on the orphanage."

Cerese frowned, observing The Flower, "I see. Well, you tell them that it takes the equivalent of burning up a sun worths of energy plus two life's worth of regeneration to undo the shield from the outside. The only one that could undo it from the inside is your father. And that's only if he manages to find my work space."

"What you're saying is that it's costly," The Flower concluded.

Cerese sat up on the bed and leaned forward, grabbing the earpod she had noticed earlier, "what I'm saying, councilors, is that we are in the middle of a war and we do not have the resources."

"Cerese," a voice sounded over the device, "we are glad you are awake."

"How long are you giving me?" Cerese asked by way of greeting.

"You have thirty minutes before your isolation begins." Cerese was informed. She nodded, handing the device back to The Flower before swinging her legs off the bed.

"I best get ready then," Cerese said while standing up. She grabbed her bag and made her way down the aisles of beds to where she knew the changing room was.

Once she was out of the hospital gown and back into her red robes Cerese left the tent, being careful to avoid The Flower. Cerese loved the Time Lady like a sister but she needed to be alone.

The walk from the hospital tent to the platoon's headquarters took her only five minutes. Enough time to come up with a thing but not enough for a plan. It was only running into The Doctor, literally, that helped her finalize the idea into a plan.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor asked, helping Cerese to stand, "oh, you're up."

"You sound so very enthusiastic, good sir," Cerese joked.

"It has been a long three days," The Doctor sighed before leading the two to a bench by the tents.

"I know, that's why I have a proposition for you." Cerese said after they were both seated, "or rather a plan, a dangerous one, but it is better than the Daleks winning the war."

The Doctor raised a brow at her, "and what is this plan?"

"The Sheet isn't the only temporal displacer that I created, one of them is in the Temporal Archive. It would work on the entire planet." Cerese said, pausing to let The Doctor draw his own conclusions.

"You're suggesting that we place Gallifrey in temporal displacement?" The Doctor asked.

Cerese shook her head, "I'm suggesting that you do it. I- I'm not sure how much longer I have left."

"What do you mean?"

She gave him a thin smile, "I broke some rules, Doctor. The Council is not willing to give me anymore chances."

"Which council?" The Doctor asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Arcalian," Cerese answered quickly before looking at something over The Doctor's shoulder, "I need to speak with The Watchmaker and then go carry out my sentence."

"Oh," The Doctor said dumbfoundedly, "well, I shall see you later than."

"If you're lucky," Cerese winked at The Doctor before walking over to The Watchmaker and giving her oldest friend a hug. The Doctor watched her for a moment before shaking his head and getting back to his business.

"Cerese," The Watchmaker said returning the hug tightly, "are you alright?"

Cerese smiled thinly at her friend, "not really, Morkith. The Council is giving me no more chances. I might not see you after this."

The Watchmaker ignored her slip up on his name and pulled her into another hug. He leaned his head against hers, opening up their bond.

"If it weren't for this war we would have married," The Watchmaker's voice sounded in her head, "I was looking forward to that life with you."

Cerese closed her eyes against the sudden onslaught of tears, "I am sorry that I cannot give you that. When the war is over find someone who can. Promise you will. The Watchmaker needs someone to wear his watches after all."

"Speaking of watches," The Watchmaker said, choosing to ignore her plea. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an intricately designed wristwatch with two different bodies. One depicted Gallifrey, the other was 21st century Earth. The watch held a constant swirling red and blue. "I was going to give you this on our wedding night. It's better now than never."

"Watchmaker," Cerese breathed, holding the watch reverently before suddenly pulling the Time Lord in for a kiss. "I love it." She hesitated before continuing, "I love you."

The Watchmaker pulled her in for another kiss before he stepped back, his eyes showing both sadness and love. "My hearts with you, always."

"My hearts forever-" Cerese didn't get the chance to finish the phrase when her name was called from a tent at the end of the settlement.

"The Timekeeper," the booming voice sounded and Cerese winced.

"Keep yourself safe," Cerese commanded with a sad smile before turning and walking toward the Council who would be giving her the final judgement.


Cerese stood in front of the ten living members of the Arcalian Council of Temporal Research. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she was doing her best to ignore the sweat running down her neck. They sat behind a row of desks that were pushed together into some semblance of a half circle.

"The Timekeeper," The Theorist addressed her, he was in a different regeneration than when Cerese had last seen him and she felt a sick sense of glee from the knowledge. She had not regenerated for four hundred years.

"The Arcalian Council," Cerese countered, knowing better than to address any of them individually.

"You have been called before us for suspicion of breaking the Council rules that were set forth to you four hundred years ago," the graying Time Lady The Ralia informed from beside The Theorist, "do you deny this charge."

"No," Cerese replied steadily, "I am here to accept whatever punishment the Council sees fit for my crime."

"The Council has decided to appoint you as the Voidship Guard," The Theorist told her, "considering you were the one who invented the prison ship."

Cerese paled and had to school herself against the sudden panic she felt. The Voidship was a prison for the Daleks. These was no need for a guard. The Council thought she was as dangerous as a Dalek.

"I accept the position," Cerese said, her voice only wavering a little.

"Do you have any goodbyes to say?" A council member that Cerese did not recognize asked.

"No, Council," Cerese said making eye contact with The Theorist, "I am ready."

The Council stood and most of them filed out of the room leaving Cerese alone with The Theorist and The Ralia. Cerese stood there in silence as the two conferred. The Theorist nodded before walking around the desks to stand in front of Cerese.

"How do we undo your temporal shields?" The Theorist asked Cerese.

"The Council cannot undo the temporal shields. It is not in the programming to be undone from the outside," Cerese said calmly, "the only one capable of that is me. And so you have to choose which is more important; a guard to the Voidship or the removal of the temporal shields."

"Ralia, please escort The Timekeeper to the Voidship."