((Texas: Part III))

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

"You're helpful," I told Professor sarcastically as she settled down into a chair, still skimming through that damn blue journal of hers. I paused. Was it just me, or did that look like the TARDIS…? I shook my head to clear it. It wasn't the time or place. "What are you doing here, Professor? I have the Doctor's number, I can call him."

"No," Professor replied, shaking her head. Her hair bounced around and I fought the urge to scream. Couldn't she find a way to tame that mass of hers!? "Ah, here we are. Cybermen in Austin, Texas." She began to scan through the paper. "Oh, he doesn't show up for quite some time. That's too bad, we could certainly use his brains and the TARDIS," Professor paused. "Has he taught you any of the TARDIS controls just yet?"

I blinked, furrowing my brow. "He teaches me how to drive the TARDIS?"

"…nope, he hasn't. That comes later," Professor mumbled, going back to the paper. "So he's gone, the TARDIS is gone, you have the sonic screwdriver. Yes? Yes. Good. Oh!" Professor made a face. "That's too bad, I apologize deeply in advance for that, I'll bring you a gift to make you feel better soon." Her eyes flicked this way and that. And then she smiled brightly, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, but this almost makes up for that! You'll quite enjoy that moment!" She snapped her book shut. "Alright. I have to tell you some things, Ali."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you do. Like just how do you know the Doctor? And what's the journal all about?"

"I'm a…old friend of his," Professor mused. "The journal is my diary of every event in his life." She winked. "I have pictures of him, too. We always meet out of order. Now, here's the deal. The Doctor will call you in around ten minutes, saying that the TARDIS needs an hour on top of the extra six. That. Is. A. Lie. Trust me. He's saying that so that the Cybermen that are listening in on the call think he'll be there at a different time then he really will."

"Those things are listening in on our phone conversations?!" Drevan gasped.

"Yep, so they know exactly where the Successor is and who they're looking for," Professor answered. "Don't lose the sonic, Ali, you'll need that. Also, here." She tossed me something and I caught it with wide eyes. "You'll need that. That would be a sonic blaster."

"What does it do?" I questioned, examining the gun she had tossed me.

"It does a very good job of killing," she replied smugly. "Now, you'll figure out a way to make it a good weapon to destroy all Cybermen at once. You will see the Doctor again, Ali, and sooner than you think. Keep that gun and sonic screwdriver on you at all times. You'll create a time lock around this time since you're always a fixed point. Everything you do is a fixed point. You mess up; we're all stuck here forever."

I bit my lip. "Great," I muttered under my breath, "Way to put on the pressure. Anything else?"

"Oh, yes!" Professor had been going through her journal again. She tucked it away with a bright smile. "Make sure you take that hat away from him. Please. That doesn't have to happen, but he gets distracted by it when he leaves. You'll see what I mean soon, in less than three hours, actually. Now, I need to go, I can't interfere here. I've done my job, Successor. And as the true companion to the Doctor…it's time for you to do yours." She winked.

I immediately grabbed her arm as she moved to stand. "Professor, what does that mean?" I demanded. "The true companion?"

"There's only one other," she whispered, gaze saddening. "There's only one at a time. You're here, so she's dying. And the Doctor doesn't even know it yet. Neither do you. You'll see, Ali. You'll see. I'm so, so sorry." With that said, Professor pulled her arm free, standing quickly. "Alright, I'm off then. I'll see you when you get to..." Professor checked her notebook and beamed. "Ah, quite some time before we meet again actually. I'll see you at Veli." She disappeared out the_14 door at that, humming to herself as she did so.

Drevan and I exchanged exasperated looks. Yep. That was Professor River Song for you. She was like that crazy aunt that drove everyone mentally insane to the point where we all wanted to strangle her, but we loved her too much to do so. My phone suddenly rang, and I checked the number. Professor hadn't been joking, exactly ten minutes after she'd said it, and the Doctor was calling. Raising the phone to my ear, I said, "Doctor?"

"Ali," he greeted warmly, tone mocking despite the warmth. I knew what was coming even before he said it. "I'm truly sorry, Ali. The TARDIS had less fuel that I thought; I'll be an extra hour. You still safe and alive?"

I smirked, putting the phone on speaker phone so Drevan could hear. Leaning back, I answered. "Yes. So is Drevan." I paused, and then said softly, "They took Mandy and Catie though. I'm worried about them."

The Doctor was silent, then answered gently, "I'm sorry, Ali. I truly am sorry. There's a chance they're still there."

I narrowed my eyes. "They better be. Because if they're not, those Cybermen won't enjoy the anger I'll have for them. If the Sontarans suffered because of merely attacking a planet, I'll utterly destroy their entire race for even touching my family. I've already lost my first family. There's no way I'm losing this one."

He made a grimly amused sound. "Good girl. I'll check up on you soon, I found Martha. She's seeing what they can do about something that'll allow me to get there sooner, but there's not all that much luck. These officials are ridiculously possessive of their things…they won't let me specifically touch anything!"

Drevan and I laughed. "I wonder why," I teased. "I'll see you soon then?"

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can. Have some tea ready for me, would you?"

My eyes softened. "Of course. When the Cybermen are all gone, we can stop in England and get some proper tea. I'll even make myself drink the hot kind with you. That sound good?"

He piped back, "Wonderful. Bye, Ali."

"Bye, Doctor."

He hung up on the phone, and my face immediately fell. Drevan smiled gently at me, nudging me with his shoulder. "You like him, don't you dare say otherwise, Ali. I've known you far too long."

I leaned into his shoulder. "You and Catie are good friends. My best friends. You're practically my siblings. The Doctor's like that, just not as brotherly. He's almost as good a friend as the two of you. Not completely, but almost. And he knows things that would make you feel as if you're a tiny ant, like I feel. He's impossible not to like, Drevan."

That said, I closed my eyes to doze, Clave's head resting on my shoulder with a content sigh on both of our parts.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A few hours later, I was shaken awake by a wide eyed Drevan, his hands waving towards the TV. "Ali, up! Get up! They're on the news again; they're giving a new message!"

I struggled up, dazed as I stared at the TV, my hair flying everywhere. My heart stopped. There, on the TV, was the very house we were in, Cybermen surrounding it. I could've sworn my heart faltered for a few moments. "What's it saying? Turn it up!"

He did.

"These metal men," a woman was saying gravely, her eyes flickering with a hint of fear in them. "are awaiting the response of their newest demand, claiming that the successor to whatever they need her for will answer it without hesitation." I frowned. Cybermen were communicating with humans? What the hell was going on…? "Here's a repeat of the message…"

I started forward, my eyes wide. Catie was in the background, her eyes determined and her expression stony with anger. She showed no emotion as she stared pointedly into the camera. I met her eyes, though she wasn't looking at me, and I saw the words she couldn't tell me. Mandy was dead. Grief filled me, and I buried my face in my hands. "Ali," Catie said to the camera, "I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. But you can't let everyone down." She paused. "You have less than six hours to come out, and they'll wait."

Just before the camera shut off, I saw her mouth form unsaid words.

The cellar.

A grin spread across my face.

The house had been built years and years ago during WWII. So the cellar, of course, had been a bomb shelter. But the builders, fearing that they would be trapped, had made another tunnel with an exit about a mile away from the house. "Come on," I said firmly to Drevan, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the cellar entrance. Clave skipped after us.

"The tunnel," he realized in agreement, grinning. He grabbed Clave for me, and I smiled broadly when the alien curled around his neck like he'd done to mine. "Good boy," I praised. Clave blinked gently at me, hissing happily.

After we had gotten into the tunnel, I turned around and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. Thank God the door we were sealing wasn't wood! I simply pressed the button, and it gave a familiar buzz, followed by the clunking of a lock closing. Good, so it was on the right setting for how I needed it. I stuffed it into my pocket, and then took off at a run, dragging Drevan with me while I heard a crash above us. "Come on, time to run."'

"You do this a lot, don't you?" He called.

I beamed. "Not yet, I haven't. A few times, though. And that was just getting to the TARDIS for information."

We followed the winding and twisting tunnel, slowing to a jog eventually, and I found myself desperately wishing for Dany. Riding would be so much faster and easier! But no such luck. "When this is over, will you take the animals?" I asked Drevan as we jogged down the path.

"Mandy might-"

"She isn't," I interrupted, biting my lip and fighting back tears. I'd never see my adoptive mother again. "Catie was alone. Mandy's…she's gone, Drevan, don't try and pretend with me. Will you take them? Dany, especially. And Twist. And the pig and the dogs. The rest we can sell."

"I'll take them all," he reassured. "We have the money for 'em. I'll just have to figure out where to put them all. Maybe I'll just take over Mandy's place. It's about time I got my own house."

I smiled. "Better take care of it then, because it's all yours."

Finally we reached the end, and I had to shove the door open, bruising my shoulder in the process. I recognized the area immediately as I happily inhaled fresh air. "Alright, we need to get to a safe area. Clave! Go see if anyone's coming around this area." As Clave slipped away to do what I had bid him to do, I turned to Drevan. "Come on, let's block this door."

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

After hauling stone after stone over and placing them on the door so that it couldn't be opened, Drevan and I slumped to the ground, dirty and panting for breath. "We're so dusty that not even I would recognize myself," Drevan joked. I couldn't help but laugh, nursing a cut that I'd received from one of the stupid rocks we'd been moving. Clave returned soon after that, and gently healed the cut with his tongue like he'd done to my side. I hugged him gratefully. "Now what?" Drevan asked.

I sighed. "I honestly don't know," I said truthfully, running my hand through my hair. I was tired of all this. "Let's see. Professor gave me this sonic blaster thing and said I'll use it to destroy all of the Cybermen…so…find a way to do that with the sonic screwdriver, I suppose. Here, you go look around and find us one of the horses. They'll be out there, you just have to whistle and catch 'em without food. Yell if you need me."

Drevan nodded, offering an arm to Clave. To my surprise, the creature purred, eagerly leaping up and curling around his neck. "This is okay, right? I'll take Clave with me; he can keep an eye out for the metal guys."

I nodded. "Go ahead." When they were gone, I turned my attention upon the sonic screwdriver and sonic blaster, huffing in frustration. How was I supposed to use this stuff if I didn't know how it worked? There was a trigger for the blaster that would obviously kill someone. There was a button for the sonic screw, and I knew for certain that that would unlock a door. There were also multiple settings for each sonic thing.

I sighed, holding them up. I pointed the sonic screwdriver at the blaster, and pressed the button. Nothing happened and I made a sound of irritation. "Damn!" I cursed, fighting the urge to throw both of the things away. I held them up again, pointing the screwdriver and pressing the button. It was then that I realized my hands were shaking.

I finally just let the two items fall into my lap. I wiped angrily at my cheeks, where tears had begun to fall. "What the hell does everyone want from me," I muttered. "I'm not whatever that Successor is. I'm Ali. I'm human. Not like the Doctor. Not like Professor. I'm just regular old Ali."

"Bad idea to say things like that, it'll make you feel even worse."

The voice startled me, and I gave a gasp when the sonic screwdriver and sonic blaster were plucked from my lap. "Hey! Give that…back…" My jaw dropped and I gaped at the man who was grinning at me. He was the guy I'd drawn! He had a bowtie and wore a tweed coat. His floppy mass of dark hair was hidden by the fez atop his head, and there was a woman with red hair glaring at the fez with a contemplating look on her face. "You! I drew you!" I cried.

He beamed. "Oh, good! I remember that, makes me feel happier that you knew me before we met! Great! Wonderful! Amy, would you go find that friend of hers? Drevan, I believe, and he has this wonderful, brilliant little alien with him."

Amy stated bluntly, "You do realize Skylar is going to yell at you for this later? You were supposed to stay in the TARDIS."

"So were you," he pointed out.

"…point taken. What's his name? The friend of yours?"

"Drevan," I said, dazed. I turned my attention on bowtie man. "You're the Doctor, too, aren't you?"

"Yep!" he said cheerfully, examining the sonic blaster and sonic screwdriver. "Just not the one you saw and will see again. I'm a new Doctor, a different Doctor, and you, Alissa Levine, need to stop messing with my sonic screwdriver." He frowned, adjusting it. He pressed the button and nothing happened. When he pulled out a device similar to the sonic screwdriver, he explained, "The TARDIS was changed and so was my sonic. This is how it looks now. What do you think? Like it?" He held it out for me to look at.

"I…I suppose," I stammered, confused. He continued messing with the sonic screwdriver, then pointed it at the sonic blaster. It sparked. "Ah, there we are," he said cheerfully, handing both back. I took them hesitantly, and then jumped when he suddenly touched my cheek. "Uh…"

He smiled gently, cradling my face in his hands. "Ali. It's been a while for me, not so long for you. A good fifty years in my mind. I'm almost a thousand years old, and you're still one of the most important companions I've ever had." I knew my cheeks had flamed by the way he chuckled, patting my cheek. "You're story is a sad one. It has been and always will be. But it's a damn good one, that's for sure." That said, he pulled away, sad eyes giving way to a forced cheerfulness. "Now then," he said, and I realized Amy was coming back with Drevan. Clave zipped over, lunging at me and hissing protectively at the Doctor. He laughed. "Clave, just like always, hm? You have a slightly happier story, you brilliant thing."

I flushed as Drevan jogged over. "Who is this, Ali?"

"Err, the Doctor," I said slowly. "A different one than the one we're waiting on though, he kinda just showed up."

"We were supposed to wait in the TARDIS," Amy said, Scottish accent sharpening with her annoyance. She scowled. "But he wanted to come out and do something."

"And I did that something so we can leave," he retorted. He glanced at me, and I blinked at the sorrowful look in his eyes. "Why don't you go on ahead and help out with getting that stubborn thing out of the TARDIS? I want to have a few more words with Ali."

"Alright, but Rory and I want to know more about her." That said, Amy jogged off, smiling smugly. Drevan shoved a hand through his hair, glancing at bowtie man. "Want me to step off with Clave? We can go a little while away so you can talk."

Bowtie man shook his head with a smile. "Those words have already been said while we were waiting on you, I don't have that much time. You need to get to that cowshed of yours, that's where they found you. At least, that's what you told me. I believe I've completed my part in the circular paradox, so it's your two's turn. Now, Ali. The Successor is an important title that you alone hold. Soon, you'll know what it means. You figured it out before I did and I was too late to do anything about it. Point is: I can't tell you what it means, that's coming soon." He fixed his bowtie. "But…enjoy your time with…well, me. Things always come to an end, especially good stories. Yours will eventually. And I need to go now; I can hear Skylar yelling from here."

I smiled faintly. Hesitantly, I moved over, drawing bowtie man in for a hug. He stiffened, startled, and then tightened his arms around me. "You," I said gently, pulling back. "Aren't my Doctor, but you be careful anyways."

He smiled slightly, and my eyes widened. "I think this is the last time I see you, ever. I've said goodbye to so many friends. And this is the first time that I knew how it would turn out in the end. Goodbye, Alissa Levine."

I smiled. Yep, he was definitely hiding tears. That was something I'd never think I'd see. The Doctor's tears. "Goodbye yourself, Doctor. Oh!" I suddenly darted forward, smirking as I plucked the fez off of his head and placed it on my own. He gave a playful cry of anger, trying to get it back, but I moved out of the way. "I think I'll be taking this, if you don't mind. I get what Professor meant now," I added to Drevan.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, a small thing that can be changed in your big set point in time of a life. You keep that and don't forget."

"As if I could forget the Doctor," I replied, rolling my eyes with a smirk. "Now off with you, bowtie man, even I hear someone yelling for you now."

He winked, ruffled my hair, then turned and jogged away, yelling back irritably, "Alright, alright! I hear you! I'm coming!"

When he had disappeared over the hill, I hugged myself. Drevan poked at my arm, saying softly, "He knows what's going to happen, doesn't he."

I nodded. "Of course. He's a future version of the Doctor. Who knows what would have happened if he'd shown up with the other Doctor here." I smiled. The 'other' Doctor, my Doctor. I adjusted the fez on my head, and giggled. "Tell me, I look ridiculous, don't I?"

"You're wearing a tank top, shorts, sandals, have an alien around your neck, and you're wearing a fez, of course you look ridiculous." He burst into laughter, and I joined in, grinning.

Bowtie man had been trying to warn me of something, I knew he had. "Things always comes to an end, especially good stories." That's what he'd said.

A thought gnawed at the back of my mind.

If my story was "a damn good one", then just how badly did it end?

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A/N: A shorter chapter, but I wanted to end it here. :3