Okay...okay...I know...I haven't updated in...what?...10 months? Teehee, wow, life sure does get in the way sometimes, am I right? (I'm just hoping I still have readers for this story at this rate) Okay, So I'm guessing I should explain my hiatus...I somehow picked up a life over the summer. I don't know how, but it happened. Anywho, last Monday, I was searching through my notebooks and came upon this lovely story. I read it through and thought "Wow, this does have a ton of potential" SOOOOO when I went off to the beach for a week I FINISHED WRITING THE STORY! *random dino cheers in the background* So yes, this story is finished! It's all written out in my handy dandy notebook and this week (since play season is over) I will be transferring it to the computer. I was able to get this chapter typed out tonight, but I honestly have no energy to do the rest (just got in today from the beach).
So yes, THIS STORY WILL HAVE AN ENDING! AND A HAPPY ONE TOO. I was thinking of making it a sad ending which leads into a sequel...but then I realized "will I end up writing it?" Probably not. "Will people read it?" At this rate, no. So yeah, no sequel. Just two more chapters and an epilogue (which is actually still in the makings...almost done guys)
And now to respond to some reviews of the last chapter.
The Doctor: I'll see you tomorrow, I'll hug you then :D
This Is Gallifrey: YAY! I'M GLAD YOU'RE GLAD CLAUDIA'S BACK. I actually got inspiration from this one fanfiction to do that...can't remember who's, but yeah. I made sure it was a tad bit different. You'll see how in this chapter :D
TryAndCatchMe: I fell like I know you, since you saw "The Awesome" which I remember someone calling me, and I want to say Thea...*checks bio* THEAAAAAAAA! Aw, I'm glad you liked it so much. Honestly, you are one of my biggest fans, and every review you write makes me feel so happy. I miss you :)
SadenAnderson: I think it was your review that inspired to to look at this story again, so for that, I thank you. And this chapter will explain why Claudia is back (as well as Nick and Stephen). I'm glad you like it so much, and aren't disturbed by my pairings. Thanks so much for the review :D
Okay, I'm done with this A/N. Sorry it's so long...I had a lot to say. I haven't visited this fandom in a while :| ENJOY MY LOVELIES!
Chapter 11:
Cutter was sitting on top of a table inside a holding cell. He didn't dare look up, for what sat in front of him was something, or someone, he never thought he'd ever see again. Claudia Brown sat in the chair, looking unusually calm about the situation.
"What are you doing here?" Cutter asked her, still not looking up. "How did you get here?"
"I will only speak to Emma," Claudia responded calmly. "She is the one who I need to speak to, and she is the only one I will tell anything to."
Cutter sighed in frustration as he rose from the table and started pacing. This charade had been going on for the last few hours. Claudia had been demanding to speak to the young Temple, but Cutter wasn't so sure if that was a smart idea. It's never a good idea to leave someone unprotected with a person who just came out from another time period. Cutter had tried negotiating with Claudia. He suggested that a soldier could stay in the holding cell with her, but Claudia had refused. She had to speak to Emma alone.
"Nick, this is valuable information that I know only Emma will understand," Claudia explained. "If I tried explaining it to you, you might get the wrong idea."
"But what if I promise I won't?" he challenged her, looking at her right in the face for the first time since she came out of the anomaly.
The woman in front of him was all too familiar, yet so different. She had changed, yet she hadn't. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something different about Claudia Brown. But also, as he looked into the woman's eyes, he realized where she was coming from. So, much to his dismay, Cutter nodded his head, and sent the solider to go fetch Emma.
When Emma arrived into the holding cell, the first thing she noticed was the fact that soldier that once stood by the door out, stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. She was going to be left in the holding cell…alone…with a woman who wasn't supposed to be sitting in front of her; who had been in the tales Sarah told her and Alex as young kids. Claudia Brown gave a small smile the Emma and motioned for her to sit down. Emma obeyed and sat without a word.
"Hello," Claudia greeted warmly. "Do you know who I am?"
Emma was silent at first, but then decided to answer Claudia's question. "You're Claudia Brown," she responded. "Sarah's told me about you. Apparently, Cutter did something to change the past which altered the present, causing you to be known as Jenny…Jenny Lewis. Everyone thought he was crazy, because he kept talking about you, but you didn't exist; Jenny did. Something that altered the present caused you, Claudia, or your ancestors to make different decisions, which caused you to become Jenny. But you are here, even though Jenny is here too, which doesn't make any sense…"
A lot more came out then what Emma expected, but she found that it helped her organized a few things in her mind. Claudia smiled at her, as if she knew the answer.
"I can answer that thought of yours, if you want." Claudia didn't wait for a response. "Emma, first I want you to think of something that happened recently, that seemed odd to you."
"This job provides a lot of those thoughts," responded Emma, glaring at Claudia.
"I mean…" Claudia stopped to think for a bit, as if trying to find the right words to describe to Emma what she was thinking of. "It probably would have appeared to be a dream…and this dream would appear to you as a memory that you were just dreaming of. Everything about it would be familiar in some way, but you couldn't figure out why it at the time. Oh and there would be an anomaly or two in it as well."
Emma sat and thought for a bit. Then, memories started to flood her mind. She closed her eyes and went back to earlier in the month, when the team had the mission in Orlando. She was in the hotel, and the anomaly appeared. On the other side was a girl…drawing…and she was alone. A sudden pain sparked in Emma's head and she screamed as she felt the memory alter in her mind. She remembered that day, except from a different point of view. It was a memory of when Emma was five years old.
Emma was sitting at the table in the family room, drawing away with washable markers and crayons. But this time, a girl appeared from the kitchen, and Emma had never seen this girl before. She backed away, and threatened to call her parents if the other girl didn't leave. However, the stranger challenged her do so, and Emma realized that her parents were most definitely not home.
"They're at work," she told the stranger.
"So you're home all by yourself?"
"No, my brother's upstairs."
That was most definitely not true as well. Luke was outside in the forest behind her house, and probably wouldn't be home for hours. Emma was stuck, with a weird stranger who was probably going to kidnap her and she would never see her family ever again! Emma started to panic; she had no idea what to do. So, it wasn't long before she started to cry. Usually, she would try not to cry, but at the moment, crying seemed like the best thing. Soon, she felt the stranger start to hug her. Desperate for comfort, Emma didn't push away, and started to relax a bit. Pretty soon, the tears had subsided and the stranger let go of her.
"I know what it feels like," the stranger said to her. "I was the same way, but you won't be alone forever."
"Promise?" the Emma asked.
"Promise."
Emma screamed once more and opened her eyes. She didn't realize it, but they were full of tears, and they started to fall as Emma replayed what just happened in her mind. However, this time, she witnessed the scene from two points of view: her younger side, and her older side.
"That was me," she whispered to herself in disbelief. "That wasn't a dream. I really went through an anomaly and…I saw me."
"Good," said Claudia with a smile. "That's exactly what I was looking for."
"But why did Fowler come in a wake me up?" she asked Claudia. "If I wasn't dreaming, then—"
"When you came out from the anomaly," said Claudia, "the impact of that situation was so strong that you fell unconscious. You see, the brain wanted to block it out, but you wouldn't let it do it so easily; you put up a fight, which is a good thing."
"But, why did I have to recall that memory?" asked Emma. "I mean, I would have lived if I didn't realize that I visited myself in a non-dream, right?"
"Yes, you probably would have," said Claudia with a small smile. "However, if you wish to know the reason behind the odd things happening lately, that information that you just obtained is key."
"I don't understand," said Emma.
"Oh, I think you do, Ms Temple. Think of all the weird things that have been happening lately; Cutter and Stephen magically arising from the dead, anomalies appearing that shouldn't be, your drawings coming to life. These are all happening because of the same thing."
"What happened?" asked Emma. "What's causing this?"
Claudia paused for a bit, as if again, trying to chose her words wisely to explain the situation. "Emma, you're a Doctor Who fan, am I right?' Emma nodded. "Well, do you know what happens when something happens in the past, that isn't supposed to happen?"
"That's a paradox," responded Emma. "Season one episode eight; Rose saved her dad when he was supposed to die, so it created a paradox, causing the Reapers to come and eat everything they can…" Emma trailed off in her sentence. She wasn't suppose to go through an anomaly and see herself at age five; that's why her brain tried to block out the memory, and that's why it hurt so badly when she remembered it. "…I created a paradox," she finished.
"Precisely," said Claudia.
"But what about the Reapers?" she asked Claudia. "I haven't seen any of them in the past month."
"Not everything in Doctor Who is legitimate," said Claudia with a smile, quite amused at Emma's knowledge of the show. "Instead, it just creates energy, a very massive type of energy that isn't supposed to exist.
"When you walked through the anomaly, the paradox was already created, as well as a small amount of the energy, but that isn't a problem. It's weak and disappears within the hour; it happens with all the anomalies. However, you did something else that made the energy stronger. Think back to that day, and try to see if anything happened that happened in the Doctor Who episode."
Emma searched her mind frantically, wanting to know what was going on. She had been trying to find out for ages now. She replayed the small interaction between herself and herself once more, and then tried to go through the Doctor Who episode and see what caused a massive increase in energy. It took a while, but she finally reached the part. That's got to be it! she thought. It made the Reapers stronger.
"I remember that the Doctor said Rose couldn't touch her younger self, because he claimed something bad would happen, and it did. He said that if Rose did that, the Reapers would get stronger. So when Rose touched her younger self, the Reapers got enough energy to come inside the Church and eat the Doctor. So, if we're saying that the Reapers are the energy, and something I did increased the energy, then when I hugged my younger self because she was crying, that's what caused the increase in energy."
"And what an increase it made," said Claudia. "The fact that you hugged her for a few minutes created an abundant amount of energy."
"That's not good, I'm guessing."
There was a silence, where Claudia and Emma had a silent conversation between themselves. Emma picked up that it wasn't good at all, and that something really bad must have happened.
"Remember when I said that something, that being you hugging your past self, from that memory was causing all the weird things happening in the past month?" Emma nodded, knowing where Claudia was getting at, but didn't interrupt. "And remember when I said the energy that a paradox creates isn't supposed to exist?" Emma nodded once more. "Well, because the energy isn't supposed to exist, it doesn't know where to go. It searches around for the nearest thing to grab hold of and make use of.
"When you went back through the anomaly, and fell asleep on the desk, your head was resting on your journal where you just finished a creature. So what does it do, it sticks to the journal and brings the only finished creature in there to life."
"It can do that?" Emma asked, completely amazed at what a hug could do.
"You hugged yourself for a long time," said Claudia simply. "And the energy searched the entire journal for another finished creature, but couldn't find one. But what it does find is a note; a note from a father to his daughter. Using the note, the energy learned about whom you were and searched the entire world's archives about you."
"It can read?" asked Emma. "And search the internet?"
"Like I said, you hugged yourself for a long time. And so, what does it find in the archives, but another finished creature; the one you won a prize for, so it creates that creature as well. However, the energy wasn't all used up—it wasn't even halfway finished. So, what it does next is it goes into the mind of the person it created, as well as all of her friends and co-workers. The energy saw how much everyone was missing their parents, so the energy goes searching, and thinks it finds the parents in the ARC, working with you guys, so the energy traps them, preventing their anomaly from ever appearing, trapping them years in the future."
"Wait, so, the energy is smart enough to search archives, but it doesn't realize that our real parents are in the past?"
"It can't jump through anomalies—it has to stay within the time period it's created," responded Claudia. "Another downfall to this, however, is that the energy thinks that your real parents are imposters, so it's been keeping them from returning. They were really supposed to come back weeks ago, but the energy has been holding it off."
"And let me guess, there's still a lot of this energy left?" asked Emma.
"Correct," replied Claudia. "So it continues to go deeper into the minds of you and your co-workers, and when you guys were wishing that you had the help of Professor Cutter, what does it do, but bring him back to life—the energy saved him."
"And then the energy went into Cutter's mind and saw him missing Stephen, so the energy saves Stephen, and brings him to this time period as well."
Claudia smiled. "Very good, you're catching on."
"I'm also guessing that the energy also brought you here somehow."
Claudia's eyes darkened slightly, as she turned her attention to her feet. She seemed sad, and almost…ghost like. "I'm not really alive," she said softly. "I'm just an idea, that's all. The energy isn't even supposed to have the power to bring ideas to life. Yours were written down, so they don't count, and Cutter and Stephen actually existed at one point, but as for me…well…I'm not supposed to exist. The only person who is now alive who knows about me is Nick."
"Then how did you come to be, if the energy isn't supposed to do things like that."
Claudia stayed silent for a while, and Emma could have sworn she saw a few tears escape her eyes. She continued to look down, her long auburn hair covering her eyes, when she answered Emma's question.
"Another paradox was created when Stephen saw Sarah again; the meeting wasn't supposed to happen. So, basically, every time Stephen or Sarah touches the other, more of the energy is created. I'm not positive, but I'm guessing the two energy masses met together, and because of that, they were able to go into Nick's mind and create me from his image. I'm just a thought, and that's all."
Emma was shocked. It was hard for her brain to process all of the supposed "science" behind all of these happenings. She also couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Claudia…or the thought of Claudia. She wasn't even living, just was just an image that had a brain and could carry on a conversation. Absentminadly, Emma reached out to touch Claudia's arm, just to make sure that she wasn't a "ghostly-figure".
"I'm solid," said Claudia, because Emma's hand reached her arm. "I'm not sure how, but I am. It's weird, actually, the energy was able to give me the knowledge of everything that I could ever want to know, but I couldn't make my visit permanent…"
However, Claudia was cut off from finishing her sentence. A loud rasping came from the holding-cell door, and the voice of Nick Cutter was shouting from behind it.
"Claudia, you've had her in there long enough. If there's anything else you need to tell her, you can surly tell everyone else as well."
"Don't worry, Nick," responded Claudia, as she rose from her seat and headed towards the door. "I was just about to let you in."
Claudia opened the door, and in entered Cutter, Patrick, Nicole, Lester, Alex, and Fowler. They all took a seat around the table, throwing confused glances to each other. Meanwhile, the parents were all scattered throughout the facility. Becker stayed near the armory, and Conner had locked himself in his office a few hours prior. Sarah and Abby were perched on top of stools, gossiping in hushed whispers, not wanting to draw attention towards themselves. Sarah, having still been disturbed by her frightening dream, decided to confide in Abby, and see what she thought. As she explained the situation, she watched Abby's eyes get real wide as her shoulders tensed. By the time she finished, Abby was at a momentary loss for words.
"That's a mental dream you've got there," whispered Abby as she fiddled around with a few papers.
"I don't know what to do," cried Sarah. "Just thinking about it makes me want to scream."
Abby, not sure how to respond to such a claim fell into another silence. Sarah took the break in their conversation to let her mind wander. What did her waking up in Stephen's arms mean? Was it a sign, telling her that her romance with Becker was a mistake? Or was it scaring her into never having sex again? Abby watched as her friend's eyes became unfocussed, showing that her mind was in deep thought.
"Abby," Sarah said, still seeming a bit dazed. "What if…what if Stephen's looking for…something else, and what if I decide to go with it? What would I be getting myself into? What if I end up throwing away the best thing that's ever happened to me?"
Abby didn't respond at first. She kept quiet, and gathered her thoughts before speaking. Her voice was strong, and gave Sarah a reassuring feeling.
"Just…be true to your heart and…don't do anything spontaneously. Think everything through."
Sarah nodded, absorbing Abby's words like a dry sponge in a poor of water. She was about to thank her friend for the advice, but didn't really get the chance, for the door on the east wall of the hub burst open. A flash of dark waves flew across the floor and out the door on the opposite end. Abby and Sarah kept their eyes glued to the door, confusion etched across their faces.
"I would ask what's wrong with Jenny," said Sarah, "but I don't ever know if that was Jenny."
As if on cue, the east door opened once again and in ran Danny, huffing slightly as if he had been running for a long time. His more-than-average disheveled hair and tinting pink cheeks contributed to that as well. The girls knew that something had been going on.
"Which way did Jen go?" he huffed upon arrival.
"Straight ahead," replied Abby. "What's the matter? She seemed a bit…rushed."
"I don't know. She woke up sick two times last night…I think she ate something. You know, Fowler did feed us some funky meat the other night."
"It was baked hamburgers because it was too cold to grill," clarified Abby.
"Exactly! Never trust burgers unless they're grilled. That's what I always say. Anyways, I think the medic here's gonna have a look at her if this keeps up."
"And with that, Danny Quinn took off once again through the west hub doors and towards the nearest loo. Sarah and Abby glanced at each other, suspicion replacing their once confused features.
"Do you think…"
"Yup."
Back in the conference room, the next generation team gathered around the central table. Claudia and Nick sat at the two heads with Emma to Claudia's immediate right, followed by Alex and Fowler and the twins on the other side of the table. All was quiet, for Claudia had just made the proposition for the mission, but gave no details on it other than the fact that Emma must go on it.
"So let me get this straight," said Nick, leaning forward with his shoulders hunched and elbows resting on the table. "You want me to allow a trip through an anomaly, but you won't tell me why or where this anomaly's linked to?"
"This mission contains information that, at the moment, only Emma can and will obtain. This is her business and nobody else's."
"Shouldn't that be Emma's decision?" asked Patrick. "I mean, if this mission pertains to her so much, then she should be able to speak for herself."
Claudia was about to retort, but Emma placed a hand gently on her shoulder, as if telling her it's alright for them to know. Emma was then met with a pair of confused, worried eyes.
"No," Claudia said plainly. "They might take it the wrong way."
"But they might not," said Emma. "Plus, it might result in a more successful mission."
Claudia searched her brain for a logical respond that could change Emma's mind, but none came. With a dejected sigh, Claudia leaned back into her seat, giving up on her argument altogether. Emma, after giving Claudia a grateful smile, stood from her seat. She glanced at each member around the table. Nicole sat up straight while her twin sat in a completely opposite manor; however both pairs of eyes were on her, attentive and hungry for information. Alex had a posture about him similar to Patrick's, except his eyes were cast down and clouded as if his mind was on something else, and Fowler took his normal attentive professional military stance. The one who stood out to her at the moment was the figure that sat at the other end of the table.
Nick was everything but relaxed. As Emma began to explain the information she just obtained, she couldn't help but noticed Cutter's locked, worried appearance. His entire body screamed tense, and he kept on fidgeting in his seat. However, instead of becoming more comfortable with every change of position, he just seemed to grow more worried. He seemed to be putting a lot of effort into paying attention to Emma, for something else was catching his attention; the mysterious woman across the table. Knowing of their previous romance, Emma tried to push aside the awakened feeling that started blossoming in her stomach, and continued with her story. She couldn't help but smile, though, whenever Cutter would cast a glace across the table towards Claudia.
It took a whle longer, but within the hour, Emma finished her explanation. The room fell into silence; all eyes were cast towards the ground. All mind gears were reeling, trying to replay all the information in their heads to get a better idea. Emma, not too sure what to do, awkwardly took her seat and casted a glance towards Claudia. She responded with a reassuring smile, as if saying she did well. their silent conversation was soon interrupted though, by a Scottish brogue at the other end of the table.
"Well, with that in mind, I saw we better start planning for this mission."
Emma sighed in relief, glad that Cutter had her back. Claudia, however, stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"So…you understand?" she gasped.
Nick just laughed, amused at Claudia's doubtful state.
"Claudia Brown," he said. "In my life, I've seen and been through a lot. I've figured that nowadays, it's easier to believe it, rather than ask pointless questions that just prove the other person is right."
It was as if an elephant had been lifted off of Claudia's shoulders. She straightened her posture, and all doubt left her face. For the first time since she arrived at the ARC, she smiled. A genuine smile.
Becker stood in the armory with a clipboard and pen in hand. He and Fowler had been switching off and on post-mission inventory, and due to an urgent meeting the other Captain had been called to, Becker had been stuck with double duty. As much as Becker hated to admit it, Fowler hadn't exceeded his not-so-positive explanations. The young Captain had actually proven to be decent. They got along well, and were always able to share a good laugh when they were together. Were they friends? Or was that too much? Acquaintances: that was a good word. Besides, the role of "Captain Becker's Least Favorite" had been filled not too long ago.
He wasn't sure if it was his obvious good looks or flirtatious personal, but something about Stephen Hart didn't sit right with him. Of course, he knew about the man prior, but he didn't know him. And the way that he acted around Sarah…Becker knew something was going on between them. He could sense it.
The sound of the armory door opening drew his attention away from his clipboard, but he soon turned back to it when he saw who entered. Stephen strutted into the armory, taking in the sights of the weapons. However, upon seeing Becker, Stephen's smile began to falter.
"Good evening Hart," Becker said, a bit coldly.
"Becker," greeted Stephen. "How are things?"
"Fine," Becker responded, keeping his eyes on his clipboard.
"How's Sarah?" he asked.
Becker laughed, a bit more coolly than he intended.
"I'm thinking you would know. You being so close to her already."
"I've only talked to her once!" exclaimed Stephen.
"And apparently that went over real well."
"She told you?" Stephen was shocked. He didn't remember Sarah being that open. Sure, she would tell him stuff, and of course he remembered the most of it, but things like this never passed her lips. Not back then.
"She tells me everything," said Becker, a bit smugly. He saw Stephen falter when this confession was implied, and seeing his confused and slightly hurt face made the statement all the more powerful to him.
Stephen, however, wasn't about to back down. He was not about to lose to the man who stole his girl. He was not going to let him take away the little he had left. That's why he turned on his heel and left the armory. He wasn't backing out of this battle. Oh no, he was simply putting it on pause…for now.
Emma sat at her disk, reviewing the multitude of notes and paperwork on her desk. Cutter had announced that the mission would take place the following morning, for he planned on putting Danny's team to work as well. There were a lot of release papers that had to be signed prior to the mission, and Emma did have to forge a few parental signatures, but the rest went by smoothly. Just as she finished reading over the papers about insurance, Emma's office door opened. She looked up and saw Alex step in carefully.
"Hey Alex," she greeted. One look at his face told her that something was not right, which caused her smile to slowly fade away. "What's the matter?"
Instead of responding by works, Alex simply held up his left hand. Except there was no left hand to be seen. Emma jumped back a bit, surprised, and gave Alex a look that screamed "wha the hell are you getting at?" Alex sighed, his breath shaky.
"Em, I'm disappearing."