A/N: Um. I'm being productive for no explicable reason. So...don't expect it to last. .

A/N 2: Ack! Sorry I forgot this was the Ailla part, which is random. *Edit of the edit* good lord. Forgot that ffnet would botch the link. I'll just copy past, shall I?

"Ailla was the Master's companion and lover when he was still known as Koschei. While he believed her to be a human from the 28th century, she was actually an agent of the Celestial Intervention Agency sent to spy on him. When Ailla appeared regenerated[statement unclear] after Koschei had destroyed an entire planet to try to bring her back, it proved to be too much for him. Her betrayal and his murder of a planet was believed to have been the catalyst for turning Koschei into the Master, who sought to control the universe."

That should help, if you have any questions, or suggestions please let me know! Thank you Ahsilaa for bringing it to my attention!

"Trouble?" The Professor appeared in the control room, glancing once in my direction, but I was definitely looking at the floor when he did. There was no avoidance going on here, no sir. I was just…checking on the glass, making sure nothing had cracked. Right? And maybe I had spent the rest of my time on the ship always within sight of Donna. Or the Doctor. Jack was noticeably absent, apparently all the immortality in the world wouldn't save you from a hangover if you still drank your body weight in liquor. Good to know. Still. Not avoiding. In fact, I was being extra social! It only took me two-ish decades to finally get around to it, but my mother would have been pleased anyway. Technically, that meant I hadn't spent any time with the Professor alone yet, but hey, that wasn't intentional. Okay. So it was. But how the hell was I going to breach that gap? What kind of conversation were we going to have? How about no conversation? That makes it substantially less awkward, right? Besides, now there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Like what the hell was that horrible grinding noise the ship had just made? Which was followed by the shuddering sound of mechanical death? That sounded like a problem to me, even with my serious lack of knowledge on the care and feeding of a TARDIS.

"Er. We're not sure." The Doctor responded, not looking away from the typewriter that was frantically spitting out an endless roll of paper. He had been frowning ever since it started, which was probably a bad sign.

"That looks incomplete." The Professor glanced over the Doctor's shoulder. Even Donna was looking rather unhappy at the scanner screen. A room full of time lords and no one had a clue where the hell we had landed.

That was reassuring.

"It's not incomplete, that's all there is." The Doctor responded tonelessly as he circled the console and flicked a few switched. My eyes wandered to the door, the windows above it were remarkably bright. That meant we had to have landed somewhere, right?

"Well, what happened then?" The Professor pushed Donna from the scanner and started flipping through screens. She just rolled her eyes and leaned up against the console. Whatever it was he hoped he'd learn, he was also unsuccessful. Donna made sure to give him an 'I told you so' look, but that did nothing to improve his mood. "Doctor!" His voice snapped. The Doctor was kneeling by the typewriter again, trying to make some sense of the data that was pouring out of the machine.

"I don't know." He responded.

"What do you mean-"

"I mean," He stood, tearing the paper away from the typewriter and turning his attention to the Professor. "I don't know. We were in the Medusa Cascade, there was a star flare, but hardly anything that should have knocked us about. It barely registered on the scanner." He handed the paper over to the Professor who regarded it with a frown. "Look at this mess, have you seen anything like it before?"

"These aren't even real coordinates. There must be something wrong with the readings." He shook his head.

"And the scanner?" Donna asked, raising her eyebrows. This was all totally beyond me so I wandered over to the doors. Maybe if I stood up on my toes I could see outside.

"Perhaps it's just user error." The Professor said dryly without looking up.

"Oi, perhaps I'll just 'user error' my foot up your-"

"Donna. Not helping." The Doctor reminded her. It was so nice to see everyone getting along. Unfortunately, I wasn't tall enough to see outside. Maybe if I climbed up on the railing nearby, but the idea of doing that, and then falling like the clumsy idiot I was, just wasn't very appealing. Where as just opening the door seemed like the better option. How long could you survive in space? I'd seen something about breathing out, slow and steady. Maybe thirty seconds? It'll be fine, besides, I wouldn't even have the door open that long, just a quick peek.

"These coordinates have to be wrong. They're implying that we're outside of the known universe. They look made up." The Professor sounded a little disgusted at the idea.

"Well, isn't that interesting…" The Doctor's voice was more excited than anything.

"Oh come on. You're not saying we're outside the known universe." Donna huffed.

"Why not?" Glancing over my shoulder I could see the Doctor's grin growing wider at the prospect. What a nut-job.

"Well, that's impossible is why!"

Impossible. Hah. The most meaningless word I'd ever learned. At least since I had met these goons. If you wanted to nail jello to a tree, then by golly, this damn machine would take us somewhere where it could happen. Actually, I suspected the TARDIS lay in wait, listening for us to say the word 'impossible' just so she could then ruin our frail reality.

Oh well, here goes nothing. Pulling the door open a crack, I started to breath slowly out, ready for the cold of space to slam into me. I was incredibly disappointed.

"Uh, guys." There was a reason it was so bright outside the windows. There was sunshine. And sand. Water too. All sorts of boring things that weren't very spacey.

"Blimey! Fitz, what are you doing?" The Doctor barked as he sprinted over, but there didn't seem to be any immediate danger, so I just opened it wider.

"It's fine. Just a beach." I said with a shrug.

"Oh. Yes…it does seem to be that…" His tongue poked out thoughtfully. "Good work. Just…in the future though. I would avoid opening the door like that. Vacuums in space and such. It can be a bit of a mess when the TARDIS is being wonky."

"It's fine, I was gonna shut it if there was anything bad." Please. Treating me like a child. I think I could handle a spaceship.

"Well…" The Doctor brushed his hair back from his face with a nervous smile. "Yes, except…that wouldn't really work because you would have been sucked out immediately."

"But it was hardly open…" I was starting to think maybe I didn't have such a great handle on my personal safety.

"Which is why you would have experienced life as a pasta noodle very briefly before dying."

Okay. So…don't touch the doors. Ever again. Check.

"But!" He clapped his hands together and gave me a reassuring pat on the back. "We're at the beach! So you're not dead! Isn't that lovely. Come on, there's bound to be something new and exciting out there." He said with a grin as he threw the door open wide and stepped outside.

"Or a giant time lord eating goblin with really big teeth." My optimism about being safe had kind of been diminished by the whole thought of being spaghetti and then dying.

"Honestly, you needn't bother to say things if you're only going to repeat me." He smirked as his boots started to sink into the white sand. Some days, I forgot my traveling companions were stark raving lunatics. This was not one of those days. Followed him out anyway, because, hey, I had nearly gotten myself killed once today, why stop there? Plus, it was only a beach. That was pretty low on my 'worry about' scale. Solid ground that separated me from the water was really all I needed to stay happy.

It wasn't really what I was expecting though. We were on a fairly large island, but I could see where the shores curved in, suggesting it wasn't big enough that we couldn't cross it in a day. The palm trees weren't really palm trees, but oak trees, with black bark. The leave shimmered in the bright light and kind of made them a pain in the ass to look at. What was really upsetting the whole 'normal beach' thing, was the water. It was very black, not very ocean-like at all. No waves crashing on the sand, in fact, it hardly moved. There was a queasy feeling in my stomach that made me want to stay as far away from it as possible.

"Well, it's not the tropics, but I suppose it'll do." Donna shrugged as she exited the TARDIS and took a look around. "S'pose they've got people here to bring me those drinks with the little umbrellas in them?"

"I'm sure Jack would be happy to." I muttered, but apparently she heard, because I got a light slap in the back of my head. Oops. "Sorry." I said with a grin. Though it faded somewhat when her sharp gaze flicked toward the Professor who was just leaving the TARDIS. Whatever teasing I could subject Donna to, she could do so much worse.

"This doesn't really look like a beach." I said, trying to keep Donna from filling the silence.

"Well that's because it isn't a beach." The Doctor said as he ran some of the sand through his fingers. "It is, but it isn't. Look familiar to anyone?" Had to assume he wasn't talking to me, because, no, it really didn't.

"Yes," the Professor was the one who responded, which was a bit of a surprise. "Though I'm not sure why…"

"Gallifrey." The Doctor said with a sad smile. "The islands north of the academy. They took us here just before the Untempered Schism." Some flicker of recognition passed across the Professor's face, but if he really remembered, or just knew it should be familiar, I had no idea.

"But how is it Gallifrey? I mean…Gallifrey is gone." Donna's voice was broken just like the Doctor's when he spoke about it.

"It's not Gallifrey. Not really. But it was made to look-"

"Hands on your head!" A woman came running from the shade of the black trees, a weapon in her hands aimed directly at my head. She was tall and dressed like some kind of paratrooper. But whatever uniform she was wearing, she had been wearing it a while, because it was littered with stains and tears. Mostly though, I was focused on the gun. And her magnificent blonde hair.

"Oh guns. How original." The Doctor muttered. "Do as she says." It was impressive how much contempt he had managed to stuff into so few words.

"Slowly turn around, and head back to the ship." She said as a man appeared at her side, also armed, and putting Jack to shame with his hard muscles rippling beneath dark skin. He looked like he could crack a walnut just by thinking hard enough in its direction. "Go on." She had gotten close enough to give me a shove. I hadn't started to move yet, because I was briefly mesmerized by the man's clear green eyes. Now was probably not a good time to be appreciating him as a perfect physical specimen.

"How's 'I told you so' sound?" I asked the Doctor as I marched next to him back into the ship.

"You said they'd have big teeth." He replied petulantly.

"No talking." She nudged the Doctor with the butt of her weapon and we both fell silent. Once we were inside, she watched us wearily and then nodded to her buddy to keep an eye on us while she shut the doors, and then made sure they were locked securely. Several times. Paranoid much? "When are you from?" She asked as she spun back around, keeping the gun leveled at us.

"That's a bit personal, don't you think? Why don't you put that down and explain what exactly you're running from?"

"An army." She snapped. "Now answer the-" She stopped very suddenly and frowned at the Doctor, like she was just finally seeing him properly. Or maybe she had just noticed the bow tie. "I know you…"

"Just got one of those faces." He shrugged, which was hard to do with our hands still attached firmly to the top of our heads. Her gaze flicked over the rest of us, one by one, but she only stopped once. And then she kind of stalled, the color draining from her face. She had a haunted look in her blue eyes like she had seen a ghost, and she was staring right at my shoulder…

"Koschei?" She whispered sharply. The name was a razor right in my gut. So not my shoulder, behind my shoulder.

"Yes?" He sounded unsure.

"Oh thank Rassilon," She let out a startled laugh, pushing past me and threw her arms around the bewildered looking Professor.

Thank Rassilon? If I hadn't already disliked her for threatening me with a gun, or being incredibly familiar with the Professor, I sure did now. No. I hated her. His arms dropped awkwardly, clearly having no idea who she was. He didn't seem to be interested in hugging her back, which, face it, was the only thing I was really paying close attention to. I almost missed the fact that he was reaching into his pocket until I saw the Doctor shake his head sharply. Was there a part of me that was secretly pleased he was trying to get a weapon while our captors were otherwise occupied? I'd say no, but then I'd be lying. Suddenly the reason I always fall for the screwed up ones makes more sense when I realize that I am also irrevocably screwed up.

"Koschei? What's wrong?" She finally stepped back, though her arms stayed wrapped over his shoulders.

"Have we met?" He asked in a clipped tone. Maybe he could try being a little nicer to the woman with the gun. Secretly, or not so secretly, I didn't want him to be any nicer. Also, I wanted to go ahead and put another foot or two of distance between them.

I had the feeling that would make things more awkward than they needed to be so I stayed put.

"It's me…Ailla…" When that did nothing to convince him she turned her confused gaze to the rest of us, like we had any answers. The smile had faded from her face, slowly being replaced with anguish. It suddenly was brought to my attention how gaunt she looked, and how deep and dark those circles under her eyes were. Almost enough to make me feel bad for her. Almost.

"Ailla." The Doctor said softly. "Sorry, it's been a while. I'm afraid he's had a rather rough regeneration. He…he doesn't remember Darkheart."

"What?" She blinked, turning toward the Doctor. "It's alright Rhysik." She gestured to her companion. "They're friends. Doctor. I'm sorry, with the war it's been…" she shook her head, holstering her weapon on her hip. "It's hard to know who to trust." With the weapons being lowered, I felt fairly confident I could stop holding my hands over my head. Which was good, because my arms were starting to hurt.

"The war?" The Doctor said with a frown. "Ailla, the war is…it's over."

"Maybe for you." She said grimly. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you two traveling together any time soon." She nodded over her shoulder at the Professor who was still lost as to what was going on. Good, that made the two of us.

"Yes, we've done our best to move on. Though he's having trouble remembering it." The Doctor pulled a face.

"Amnesia?" She asked and the Doctor nodded. "Well," she turned back to the Professor and smiled. "I suppose that will give us a fresh start, won't it love?"

Pet names? First, she was using his secret sexy time name, and now she was giving him a pet name? My fists tightened at my sides.

"Sorry?" It was a relief to hear how displeased he sounded about it.

"Don't worry," she pinched the bottom of his chin affectionately. "You and me go way back. I'll be happy to catch you up just as soon as we get out-" The grin melted off her face and she raced to the console. "Oh of course." She barked something in a language I didn't understand, but from how furious her face was, and the way she smashed her fist into the console, I imagined it was cursing. "It's too late."

"Oi! Watch the hardware." Donna had taken a step forward when she had struck the ship. Hell, I had taken a step forward. Who the hell just starts smacking around other peoples friends…who happened to be spaceships. And calling people 'love'? She was one bad move away from learning what the front of my fist tasted like.

"What exactly is too late?" The Doctor asked.

"They've already got the vortex." Ailla wasn't looking at the Doctor, she was looking at Rhysik. Funny how bad I was with names, but I had managed to pick up on the male model's. "We're trapped."

"I'm sorry, who's got the vortex?"

"The army." Ailla ran her hand through her short hair, exasperated. "The army we raised for the war."

"Meanwhile's and Neverwere's." The Doctor said in a tight voice. Why did that sound vaguely familiar? "How can they be here? This is the Matrix, isn't it?"

"Here?" Rhysik spoke for the first time and his voice was a deep booming timbre. "This is their prison. The souls of those who have been Unwritten have always returned to the Matrix."

"But they were released." The Doctor's face had gone stony. "They were pardoned so long as they fought for Gallifrey. Why are they still here?" He marched directly up to Rhysik, looking like a formidable match despite the fact that his neck was probably half the width of the man's arms.

"I do not question the Lord President. He gives commands, and I obey."

"It doesn't matter." Ailla had crossed the room, placing her hand on the Doctor's shoulder and pulling him back. "They were too dangerous to be released."

"How can you know that?" He turned on her and I felt myself shrinking. The Doctor's fury was not something I wanted to be in direct line of any time soon.

"Ships started vanishing. Ships nowhere near battle. We came to investigate. There were six of us when we arrived." Ailla's throat flexed and I realized she couldn't keep speaking. That probably meant the other four weren't just off in the jungle hanging out, they were dead. She cleared her throat once and continued. "We need to get that time vortex back, or we'll be waiting a long time for another ship to drop by."

The Doctor shot a nervous glance at Donna. "Longer than you might think," he said with a broken smile. "So. Obviously we need to get the TARDIS put back together. Then we can discuss," he leveled both Rhysik and Ailla with a stern glare. "The matter of the Meanwhile's and Neverwere's. Now then, where would a time vortex go on say, a desert island?"

"The mainland. That's where they'll have taken it. That's where they take all of them." Ailla answered with certainty. So then, across the water outside. I was already not liking the direction this was headed. At all.

"All of them? What could they possibly do with multiple time vortexes?" The Doctor scowled.

"They want to break open the Matrix." Ailla gave an alarming smile. The kind that screamed 'you really don't want that to happen'. Maybe, at this point, I should just go hide in my room and I can avoid all of this bad mojo. When I came back, they'd have everything sorted. Yeah. Was that being a tad too naive? Probably. That was the beauty of not giving a damn. "They want to get out, and spread. It won't just be Gallifrey, it'll be everywhere. Doctor, we've got to get the TARDIS out, and…we have to destroy them."

"What?" He looked as though he had just been socked in the stomach. "How? How can you say that? They were living people. Our people! How can you just decide that you're going to eradicate them like they're vermin?" His voice had gotten so loud that when he stopped, it echoed in the control room.

"If they ever were our people, they ceased to be a long time ago. They're not even people anymore. They're just…weapons. If you want to get out of here alive, we're going to have to fight our way through them."