Part One: An Empire's Criminal

"What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person." - John Green (Paper Towns)

Chapter Three: Stale Blood

The clouds had just seemed to envelope the sky with its lonesome depression after that, at least from the perspective of Amelia Williams. She sat on her worn out couch in her flat, her elbows resting on both knees as her breathing could be heard before her, strands of her askew red hair becoming ignored as her eyes seemed to look past it, for it seemed as though vanity didn't matter at a time like this, which it really didn't. Her eyes were focused on the television that made her eyes sting with the tears that she didn't even know were being cried; it was as if she were undergoing a heavily suffered ambiguous loss.

It was practically everywhere, John Smith claimed to be The Doctor, a statement that Amy wouldn't allow herself to believe. And that's where she fell into place, Amelia Williams, the lunatic who tried to seek otherwise. She had really tried to see some good in him, just enough to give the prosecutors an unsure conclusion, but no, it was certainly conclusive. If the DNA matched, then he was him, and him was he; and it's simplicity really seemed to mock her. (She placed all of the blame on science.) Amy just couldn't bring herself to believe that John had the strength to kill somebody, physically and mentally; for how could somebody sleep with that kind of blood and guilt on their hands? Yes, it was certainly plausible when given the option of being a criminal, and maybe Amy really was crazy, but John and felony to her was an unlikely companionship. John and depression, well, in her right of mind; that alternative was closer to her understanding.

She tried to watch the news to help convince her. It didn't exactly work.

Amy turned the television off once she heard the front door open, a loud bang with a phantom of strong wind allowing itself entrance, a lanky, worry-faced husband by the name of Rory Williams coming to the sights of his wife in a lost state on their couch, the morbid smell of the hospital coming from his scrubs; a smell that Amy found repulsing. Rory only came home early on emergencies, and, well, one would say that this was an exception. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked hastily, draping his coat over the side of the couch. Amy didn't respond right away, as if her auditory receptors were running a bit slower; heaving an exasperated sigh as she craned her neck to meet her eyes with his. "Oh, yeah, my coworker got arrested today, and I was interrogated by the police; I'm over the moon." she shot back sarcastically, only to earn a glare from her husband. She shook her head, hiding her face with her hands as Rory sat down next to her, leaning back on the couch as Amy only scooted further away from him. "Amy..." he started.

"No, I'm not going to sit here and have you scold me for-"

"Stop acting like a child."

"Well stop treating me like one!"

"You shouldn't have interacted with him the first place! He could have killed you Amy-"

"But he didn't!" she snapped back harshly, glaring at him. Rory didn't understand; he never did. "Listen Rory, call me insane, but he was a friend to me, maybe he didn't see me the same way, but I cared for him, and if you can't understand that..." she shook her head in disbelief, but she knew that Rory had a right to be angry with her, but she had just wanted to make the point out that she knew what she was doing. If she died to the guilt of John's hands, so be it; for humanity's plans were made just as so. But that was what she was saying, humanity didn't kill her. She was still well alive; she was still standing. John's soft, muttered voice still rang in her ear from the previous hours. "I'm sorry." He had actually apologized to her, something that she never had expected out of him before. His touch felt gentle, and that's why she tried so hard to convince him that people could indeed change. She held hope in him, and she still did.

"I think..." she trailed off immediately, the look coming from Rory telling her that she shouldn't push it further, but she couldn't hold it in. "I think that he's sorry for all that he's done." she muttered, her words only placing her husband in further disbelief. John Smith, the intellectual psychopath that had earned his false attention from the media, now deluding his wife into thinking that he himself was sorry? Rory wasn't going to let her accept such deranged possibilities. "You can see it in him, him keeping himself locked away from the world because nobody will grow to accept who he really is, and...and every day, that look on his face, he's ashamed of what he's done, Rory, if you could only see him-"

"I don't need to." he answered simply, his voice stern and convicted. "All I know is that he is, and forever will be, a criminal. Even if UNIT decides to brainwash him like the rest, he'll never be able to wash the guilt off of his hands." he snapped, standing up from the couch and grabbing his coat with him. He took one look at her for him to have guilt wash over like a tide, fast, and not so easily forgettable. She looked terrible, her red hair tangled and her eyes red, and yet, he still thought she was beautiful. "Amy, look, I'm-"

"Don't talk to me." she snapped back, her voice quiet, as if she had no power, her actions reflecting off of how she really felt. She couldn't understand why Rory was still here, living with her, wearing the wedding ring she had ever so happily agreed to accept two years ago. They're relationship had seemed pointless, and yet in the end, they still had each other. "I'm...I'm going to take a shower." Rory announced, opening the door to their bedroom.

"Okay." Amy mumbled back.

Rory only nodded, heading back into their room. He stopped mid-way, standing in the threshold, turning back for a brief moment to look at Amy. "Hey..." he said gently, her head lifting slightly just to meet his eyes. "...I love you." he said, and, even after every fault they had, he still meant it.

Amy was quiet, pondering over whether she should believe him or not, for with everything they had been through, against each other; she had a hard time coming to conclusions. Rory was still her husband, he was still that boy whom she had never stopped dreaming about, he was still the one whom she had promised to take care of, she still saw that in him. Finally, after a long, deadly silence, she said, "I lov-"

Only to see that Rory had already left.

Two Years Ago, April

"Miss Oswin Oswald?"

The lady herself jolted in surprise as she took a witness account into her surroundings, chairs and a little amount people surrounding the quiet dim lit waiting room of UNIT's main office above ground. Oswin stood up from her chair, attempting to smooth out the wrinkles in her navy blue trench coat, then realizing that she should probably invest some money for an ironing board. She cringed slightly at the appearance. Nevertheless, with the positive attitude still blooming in her, Oswin walked over to the front receptionist's desk, taking a good look of the woman before her. Her auburn hair was in bangs that swept across her forehead, a piece of pink gum between her teeth, her attitude and posture seeming a bit odd for a person her age, and yet Oswin admired her spunk.

The receptionist scanned the girl up and down with her eyes, and after a long silence, finally asked, "You Oswin Oswald?"

She nodded politely. "Yes ma'am."

The receptionist popped her gum in reply, her manicured fingernails typing quickly and precisely on the keyboard before her, at a dexterity level that Oswin couldn't exactly comprehend. "Aha, here you are..." she trailed off to scan her UNIT profile before popping her gum again, as if it were a way of talking. "Oswin, you're our new physiologist, am I right?"

"I believe so." she smiled in reply.

"Okay, I gotcha, no need to be all smiley with me Oz, mind if I call you that? It suits you."

Oswin couldn't exactly come to terms with that. "Um, okay-"

"Perfect! Alright, Oz." she clapped her hands together, popping her gum yet again. "My name's Donna, I will be the one you confirm your presence and absence to here at UNIT, you sign in and out through me, you got that?" she asked quickly, Oswin taking a few seconds longer to take it all in than she had figured, nodding her head slightly in reply as Donna continued on with her instruction.

She pulled out a laminated plastic card, handing it to Oswin as she took it into her own hands. "This will be your identification card, it will be your entrance to all things UNIT, so don't lose it!" she looked at her warily. "To sign in and out, just place it in front of the main scanner like so," Donna instructed with her own ID, a faint beeping noise emitting from the machine on the wall as she placed it back into her own pocket. "Oh look, now I'm on lunch break." she let out a laugh as she took a contract from underneath her desk, handing Oswin a fountain pen. "Just sign at the bottom," she said as Oswin did as she was told, signing her name in cursive on the dotted line.

"Fantastic, Kate will be waiting for you on the seventh floor underground. Don't feel so relieved, she's gonna make you go through all of these tedious security tests before you actually begin working." Donna rolled her eyes as Oswin slowly nodded her head in agreement. "Just sign in and head on down there." she announced, Oswin scanning her card and heading towards the elevator behind the receptionist's desk.

She breathed in and out, for she couldn't believe that she was finally doing this. She was working for UNIT, not exactly her dream job as a child, but it sure felt like an accomplishment in her small provincial life. She had been working for the past few years of her life to attain such a goal, making sure that her certificates of medical achievement were in a pristine condition and order for her portfolio, every interview appearance professional. This was a way for her to be relieved from the controversial, traumatic drama known as her own life, to forget about the events of the past, which, in her opinion, was certainly possible with the right attitude towards it, just not easy.

Oswin had put up with the months of studying, for it seemed as if she were doing so for far too long. People had told her that centuries ago it would take nearly ten years to become acquainted and accustomed to the field of medicine, and looking at it, Oswin couldn't imagine the work and effort obtained to fulfill such a vast subject. Now with science and highly improved technology, one could become a part of the medicine field in nearly half the time than it used to. Medicines designed to pursue an increase in the speed of understanding and learning ability, medicines that expanded a better memory span in the human brain. Oswin found it all brililant, and yet, so easy.

She led him into a room with four white walls, two chairs facing one another in the center of its clarity. Though they didn't have a grip on his handcuffs, the guards kept a wary eye out for any signs of rebellion from John, his wrists becoming sore and red from the metal. Luckily, they unlocked him from his chains, slamming the door immediately to prevent any attempts in escape. "Alright, no need to be so hasty." he muttered under his breath, Oswin only smiling at him idly. "What?" he asked her in defense, rubbing the skin of his wrists in order to soothe the pain. "Nothing." she denied, shaking her head with a suspicious grin on her face.

"No, no, you're laughing at me; don't tell me 'nothing'." he retorted, mocking her tone of voice as she arched her eyebrow at him, for she knew herself that she didn't sound like that.

Oswin rocked back and forth on her feet. "I don't know, maybe I'm laughing at the way you talk to yourself even though you think you're so clever." she shrugged. "Maybe I'm laughing at your nonexistent eyebrows." she offered, nonchalantly buttoning the buttons on her lab coat, John only glaring at her in return. "Or maybe I'm laughing at the fact that your chin could put someone's eye out," she looked up at the ceiling, walking over to John and patting his shoulder. "That's one hell of a facial feature." she whispered, as if it were a secret only to be known between the two of them. He scowled at her. "Come on," Oswin said calmly as she walked behind him, placing both hands on his shoulder and driving him forward toward their seats. For somebody her height, she was sure strong, forcing John to move when he honestly couldn't find a reason to himself.

As he sat down stubbornly, Oswin sat politely across from him, crossing her legs and folding her hands neatly on her lap. "While the technician's department prepares your simulation, I suppose I'll take the time to ask you a few questions. Do I remain understood?" she asked clearly.

John only cleared his throat, staring at her for a few lingering moments before he responded. "No, I don't actually. I think the whole ordeal's rather unfair."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you see, you asking me questions is like..." he trailed off, looking up at the ceiling, searching for an comprehensible explanation. "It's like giving a part of yourself away without getting anything in return, and for that I find it unfair." he offered, Oswin staring at him idly before she responded with a solution.

"Alright then," she replied, nodding her head slowly. "Then, to make this impartial, when I receive a response to my question, you can ask me one in return." she offered, to John's approval at the least. He only nodded his head in reply, Oswin doing the same as she thought for a moment, tapping her foot on the floor as she suddenly looked at him with a calm gaze. "In your opinion, what is the ulterior motive of any felony committed? And that includes past, present, and future."

His eyes narrowed at her, for it seemed as if she had just asked a question from a school assessment. "Jealousy, envy." he spat out, flicking the hair out of his eyes. "How hard has UNIT tried?" he asked.

"Sorry?" Oswin asked in slight confusion.

"In order to find me, how hard has UNIT tried?" he explained furthermore.

Oswin scoffed. "Diligently, twenty-four seven." she said in exaggerated sarcasm as she rolled her eyes. "If that's what you want to hear in order to fulfill your false attention." she muttered under her breath. This man was so full of himself. "When did you start exposing yourself to such dangerous activity, Mr. Smith?" she asked in a smooth, curious tone that seemed overemphasized on purpose of simply annoying him.

"Right after my life turned into such a damned massacre," he said roughly, for he wasn't lying, and he certainly didn't feel like talking about it. Oswin only raised an eyebrow at his choice of language. "Now tell me," he started, sucking in a deep breath and exhaling, a sly grin spreading across his face as he asked, "Has UNIT ever taken into consideration, say, opening up to the public media? I'm sure all of Gallifrey would love to hear what plans you have to punish us criminals in the future."

"Considering that you've already done that for us, Mr. Smith, I'm afraid that this question does not apply to terms." Oswin admitted frankly. "But, no, not from what I know. Where were you on the night on Arcadia's bombing?"

"Oh, now you're just interrogating me."

"This is not an interrogation," Oswin said lightly, smiling calmly. "Just a way to pass the time."

"Well what makes you think that I'm going to tell the truth?"

"Well, with this whole ordeal being a simple way to pass the time, what makes you think I'm going to believe you?"

"Are you aware of the fact that I could kill you right now?"

"Are you aware of the fact that there is no point?" she snapped back harshly, making John shut up immediately. He then realized that it would lead nowhere even if he had tried to hurt her, with guards observing every blink of an eye and a heavy consequence if he had even touched her. It was then when John became aware of the fact that, he was trapped, he was in a brainwashing prison, he wasn't going to remember any of this, he was going to end up being some normal human being who watches the nightly news and has a family with a girl whom he had yet to meet. It made him cringe at the normality. He wouldn't remember any of the crimes he had committed, he wouldn't remember his pretty (Yet overbearingly sassy) psychologist with her small smile and witty back talk, all of that would be washed away.

A moment of silence flooded over the two so easily that Oswin found it rather hard to break. It was only when the technician's department spoke through her earpiece when she could finally find the voice to merely cough. "Oh look. Time's up." she said confidently, John looking down at his worn-out boots as the sound of Oswin's heels could be heard, echoing and never seeming to come back as she opened the heavy metal door on the other end of the room, turning back to look at him one last time before saying, "I still expect an answer from you, Arcadia's not going to sleep well until whoever destroyed their city is caught." And with that, she shut the door behind her, a loud bang erupting from the impact.

John shook his head hastily, taking in his bland surroundings, four white, seemingly endless walls, an empty chair, and him. The walls seemed to show no sign of shape, as if they were just windows to an unfathomable infinity. He banged his two feet down on the floor, a loud thud echoing, but it never seemed to echo back to his ears. John closed his eyes, signing to himself in anger and exasperation, for UNIT wasn't exactly the most comfortable living residence.

But when he opened his eyes, the chair that Oswin had previously vacated was now gone, no trace of it ever leaving, or even being there in the first place. John looked around quickly, deluded into thinking that maybe someone had taken it from his sight, but there was no sign of life other than him in that endless room of infinity. That's...that's not possible. He breathed in and out, for it amazed him at how it was accomplished. When he looked back at the empty spot, it was no longer unoccupied, however, a glass pedestal stood before him, a simple cube sitting atop of it, nothing else. John stared at it for a while, trying to comprehend such impossible transportation. He stood up from his chair, slowly approaching the pedestal as if it were an alien object. It seemed so straightforward, and that's exactly what made it seem eerie. He eyed it carefully, then shaking his head in objection. This is stupid. It's just a cube. He told himself, and without a second thought, his arm extended to grasp the cube from its place, only to be met by the feeling of spiked pain.

"Ouch-" he winced as his eyes immediately darted to be met with small trickles of blood seeping through the skin of his palm. He looked at the cube, an alignment of small spikes, almost like needles, appearing on the surface, slowly descending back into the face of the cube, and just like that, it looked as if nothing had happened. John muttered curse words underneath his breath as he rubbed the blood onto his slacks, only to see that the pedestal, and the cube, had vanished.

He turned around to be met by a woman sitting in a chair, her brown hair slowly fading into a dry desolate grey and her eyes empty and yet so real. It took a few moments of staring for John to actually realize who she was. He was taken aback by such an appearance, jolting back with surprise as she sat with her legs crossed and her eyes curious. "...mum...?" he asked in a whispered voice, his tone weak and empty. She only stared at him, a flicker of agitation in her eyes as she asked, "Just, one question..." she said, her voice filled with the bittersweet memory of when she used to talk with him seriously. "...are you happy now?" she said clearly, making John realize that everything he had done, every crime and every life faded because of him, only lead to torment. It didn't bring him any sense of pride, or admiration, just attention, negative and hatred.

Suddenly, a quiet voice rang out in his ear. "John," it whispered, and by the deep Scottish accent, he already knew who it was. He turned around, and sitting in yet another chair, was Amelia, her red hair and bright hazel eyes staring at him, not in anger, but in disappointment. "Why did you shut me out?" she whispered in confusion, as if she were lost and clearly puzzled. He stared at her for a long lingering respite, as if he wanted to embrace her in his arms, but his feet stood fixed on the ground, watching her. "I tried talking to you, but it seemed as if you never listened, you just kept smoking your cigarettes and looking past me as if I were nothing but a ghost." she said in a muttered voice, John wincing at how horrible he had treated her. "Sometimes I wonder if you even knew that I was there."

"Doctor," another voice made his head turn with a sudden jerk, his eyes widening at who he saw next. Her massive frizzy curls that extended to all directions, her smile that persuaded you in any situation, and her eyes that said it all. "...Melody?"

"Hello sweetie." she pursed her lips together, her eyes filled with agitation, almost as if she were annoyed with him. "I thought you liked calling me River." she said slyly, circling around him as if she were studying him carefully. "You haven't changed much, from what I've heard."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped back, eying her cautiously.

"Same stubborn, helpless, conceited act." she barked back. "I remember when we used to travel together," she shook her head in regret, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a small box of matches. "Partners in crime, even though you took all of the credit." she laughed as if she were degrading him. "I'd come home after a long tiring day, looking for a little sympathy," she hissed, emphasizing her last word with the strike of her match. "But you were always too full of yourself to care." she said in a lighter tone, placing a lit cigarette in between her teeth. "Well, for your information, I'm still running sweetie, and let's just say I'm doing much better without you."

Six Years Ago, June

He heard a loud slam belonging to the front door, the sound of clicking heels and a loud sigh as he turned around in his desk chair, staring at his girlfriend as she lay exhausted on the couch. He merely shrugged, continuing to read his book as she raised her eyebrows at him, expecting some sort of greeting or even the slightest bit of recognition to her homecoming. "Well, hello to you too." she snapped, sitting up on the couch, raking her matted hair with her fingers. "It's not easy, you know, robbing thirteen men in a day." she scowled, emptying the contents of her jacket; wallets, keys, money, rings, and anything else valuable. River Song usually received her wealth from the skill of pickpocketing and her specially, which was none other than threatening. The Doctor and River Song had been running together for the past year, tension rising between the two as well as their love interest for one another, but that itself had consequences, and it had reached the point in which they treated each other like an ancient married couple. "This pays for your stay here, Doctor, so I would at least expect some sympathy for the woman who practically spoils you." she announced, The Doctor only glancing up to raise his eyebrows at her.

River scoffed. "Is that all I get? A mere look of nothing satisfactory? What do I have to do in order to get a little empathy from you?" she said coldly, The Doctor placing his book calmly on his lap and staring straight back at her. "You think you do all of the work, don't you?" he laughed, shaking his head. "Robbery," he scoffed back. "That's nothing but child's play." he replied, smiling at her as if she were just a little girl. "Now, say, hacking, I'd be impressed."

She sighed in disgust of his act. "You are so full of yourself, you know that?"

The Doctor only picked up his book once again, licking his finger and turning the page. "Calm down, sweetie, now prepare me a drink would you?"

"No, you should get off of your lazy ass and do it yourself for a change." she stood up for herself, something that she realized she should have been doing long ago. "I can't believe that I do all of this for you, and you don't appreciate one bit of it!" she yelled, walking over to him and snatching the book out of his hands. "You take so much for granted, and I'm here, slaving away for a narcissistic idiot who I cannot believe I had cared about for so long." She was yelling now, The Doctor standing up only to look down on her.

"You think that you're so smart, don't you?" he said. "You would be lost without me, I bet you wouldn't stand a chance at living a life by yourself." he spat, River's anger only increasing as he pushed past his limits. "And even if I did leave, you'd probably just find another man to depend on, anyways." he said, River slapping him in the face, a cold expression on her face even though tears started to run down her face. He had gone too far. When she had first met him, she thought he was the perfect guy, a criminal who she could run with forever, him and her against the rest of the world, not them against each other. But some things just couldn't last, no matter how much River wanted them to, their relationship too worn out and scared to ever be repaired, and she could never forgive him for the things he had said to her.

"Get out." she muttered, her voice barely a whisper, The Doctor looking at her in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" he said harshly.

"I said," she replied, louder this time. "GET OUT!" she yelled, stepping back to give him some space to make his way to the front door of their little hotel room. He looked at her as if the whole command was just a joke, but her cruel stare told him that she was serious; she never wanted to see him again. "River, come on-" he started, but she wouldn't take a second of his pleading.

"If you feel like you deserve better, then you're free to go and look for it." she said calmly, hiding her rage inside of her heart. He had treated her as if she was nothing but weak, he hadn't treated her like a partner, he had treated her like a pet, and she felt blinded by his false charm and expectations, and she couldn't believe that her world had revolved around him for so long. She couldn't take it anymore. She broke all of the strings between him and her, and she didn't take it as letting him go, she saw it as letting herself free. And she didn't regret her decision.

And just like that, he left.

And she couldn't have been more relieved in her life.

His head snapped up, realizing that he was still sitting in his chair, Oswin sitting patiently in front of him as she carefully unclasped a metal device from his left ear, moving his long brown hair out of the way as she took the small instrument into her hands. John looked around frantically, for he was still in the same room, but River wasn't there next to him, or his mother, or Amy, just Oswin, sitting in her chair, just as she was before. "How, what..." he sputtered. "How did you get back in here?" he asked her, to which Oswin only smiled politely. "I never really left. You went under simulation after we finished our nice little chat." she said nonchalantly as she toyed with the small headset in her tiny hands.

"You see, you wear this during every simulation, it records and processes every little thing that goes on, isn't that neat?" she said as if John were just a former friend and not a criminal, which, he did have to admit, felt a little nice.

"Is this how every simulation is going to work?" he asked.

Oswin looked up from the small machine to meet his gaze. "Primarily, yes. Easy as that, just like a dream."

John only sighed in reply, for a dream, it felt rather realistic. It was as if he could still smell the smoke of River's cigarette.

"However, the simulations will test you on different aspects, just to determine and design the new life you will be embarking in quite some time." she noted, and not in a pleasant optimistic tone. She sounded as if she understood where he was going, even though John didn't think that she had a clue, his whole life was about to be forgotten, rewritten in order to suit someone who he could never be just by himself, and now, science was going to change his life entirely.

Oswin only sighed back in reply to the silence, finally removing what seemed as though a memory card from his headset, and holding it carefully in between her thumb and index finger, she said, "Would you like to watch your simulation?"

Meanwhile, at The Rose and Crown

Mrs. Charlotte Hamilton carefully placed her glass of wine down on the table, watching her dinner partner do the same, Mrs. Emily Foster, as they sat down together at the small rundown bar in the downtown area of Gallifrey's capitol. The two were usually prone to gossiping about situations at which they could look down upon, and for a brief moment, it was The Doctor. Charlotte, a woman in her mid-thirties, looked at the television screen behind the bar tender's head, able to take a good look at the news that was displayed for that evening. The video was national by now, practically viral, The Doctor getting arrested and caught for good at the census, his coworker by the name of Amelia Williams trying to save him nevertheless."It's a real shame, you know, having people like that in our world, living a life of felony." she said in pity, taking a sip from her glass and shaking her head. "Jealousy is the prime enemy of us, isn't it Emily?"

"I couldn't see a better way of describing it, Charlotte." she complimented, leaning her elbows on the edge of the counter as she looked down at her wine glass.

She only shook her head, disregarding the whole conversation and moving on to another topic. "Well, let's not be too morbid, and besides, I have other things to tell you."

"Such as?"

Charlotte grinned as she looked over to her friend. She sat sideways in her chair, talking in a lower voice so no one else would hear. "For starters, Bob Chilcott, the owner of the place; well, I've heard he's been on a waitress's case lately, supposedly she's been keeping secrets about her second profession, isn't that weird?"

Emily only raised her eyebrows, for she didn't see it as surprising. "Well, she does have a right to privacy, doesn't she Charlotte?"

Charlotte waved her comment off the side. "Yes, of course, but here's the interesting bit. Bob asked her where she was heading off to at such a crucial time of business, he was practically begging on his knees for her to work the shift, and she said that she had her own work to do elsewhere. He asked her what kind of work, and did you know what she said?"

There was a small respite when Emily finally had to say,"What?"

"She said, and I quote, 'You'd never believe me'. Isn't that suspicious?"

"Suspicious indeed." Emily remarked, nodding her head. "What was the girl's name?"

Charlotte looked up to the ceiling, sighing as she searched her mind for an answer. "Ah...let me see here...Claire? Clancy? I can't remember, something with a 'C'; but whatever her name is, she is definitely strange."

Emily took her glass and took a long sip, simply going along with whatever her friend had to say. "Definitely strange indeed."

A/N: And, as you can see, the story progresses! :D

This fan fiction has a number of stories combined into one, Amy and Rory's circumstances, John's past (And future!), as well as the mystery of Oswin's life and such; so you'll see a lot of back stories in Part One, which will probably be ten chapters or so.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this story, whether you've followed or reviewed, I truly appreciate it. :)