((The Successor: Part III))

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

I don't know what I was thinking, sending Clara to get my fez. It wasn't there, and I found myself searching through my jumble of thoughts to see if I'd given it back to the Doctor or if I'd just lost it and couldn't find it. Shrugging when she reported it not there, I headed for the doors. A simple wave of my hand had them opening and I stepped out, blinking at the light. My time was almost over, and the last thing I would be seeing was a Dalek ship. Distantly, I could sense myself not too far away. Bowtie man's TARDIS. The future me.

"We can't go with you, Ali," the Doctor said apologetically. "We would cause a paradox if I were to cross myself. And even worse than normal."

I gave a secretive smile. "That is what you believe, but you will see, my Thief. You will see." He had no idea of the meeting that would soon take place between him and my Doctor, the one I had to go save now. Turning away, I waved a quiet goodbye. I would see him again. But rather than walking away, he pulled me in for a tight yet gentle hug, murmuring a goodbye in my ear, then smiled brightly at Clara. I copied. "Impossible Girl," I said, addressing her again. "It was an honor to meet you in person before we are unable to meet in person again. I wish you luck on your trip with the Doctor and remember: just as we all change, so does he." I nodded at the bowtie man, a new face wearing a stern look crossing my vision. Soon, though not immediately, Clara Oswald would witness something that tore everyone's heart.

"Goodbye, bowtie man," I told the Doctor as River joined me, staying beside me. "Goodbye, Impossible Girl. Melody Pond," I said, turning to River. Bowtie man chuckled before ushering Clara away, a saddened look in his eyes. "We need to find my Thief. Where is he?"

"The Doctor?" River murmured, looking confused. "You said the Daleks had him, you pulled up a map."

"Right," I muttered, smacking a hand to my forehead. I waved my hand and a flickering map of gold reappeared in front of my face. I studied it momentarily. "Here," I murmured. "They are here." I memorized the map in my mind, then turned to River. I frowned. "He ignored you, Melody Pond. He didn't notice you were there."

River's eyes softened. "He was too concerned about you. It's alright, I'll see him again soon anyways." She paused. "No, I won't. But that's alright. He'll see me again soon, I'm sure." She smiled gently, then turned to me, her eyes firm. "Please, Ali. My name isn't Melody Pond. It's River Song. Let's go, I'm sure the Doctor's worried out of his mind right now."

I nodded, swiping my hand so that the doors swung shut and closed behind us. I was the "old girl" now. I was the TARDIS, and the TARDIS was me. And the reminder sent pain spiraling through my mind. I hissed in pain, holding my head in my hands for a few moments. I had precisely twenty three minutes and sixteen seconds before my mortal body perished, burned up. My body would be left behind, though. That was going to be strange. Shaking my head in attempt to rid myself of the pain, I gasped, "Let's go."

River nodded, her eyes darkened with concern as we made our way down a corridor. The endless halls, the massive homely rooms were gone. In their place was the ship of Daleks. I swiped at a tear that had fallen. "I'm okay,"I told myself. "I'm okay."

"And you will be, Ali," River told me firmly, gently touching my shoulder in reassurance. I made myself jog after her, easily keeping up. I checked myself as we made our way through the halls, making sure no glow came from me. And I managed to keep it up for the moment.

We'd taken a few turns before we ran into our first Dalek. It whirled around, as if knowing we were coming, and screeched loudly, "THE SUCCESSOR! THE SUCCESSOR WILL BE DESTROYED!"

"Ali, we need to run," River murmured, "I know of weapons that can put them out for a little bit, but we don't have one right now."

I rolled my eyes, stepping forward and raising my hand. "You dare step in my path?" I murmured, rage boiling up within my mind. How dare the Daleks attempt to keep me from getting to my Doctor! Gold swirled from my fingertips, waving wildly around me in a violent motion. The light sprinkle became a blizzard of dangerous energy that made the Daleks back up a little bit. Let them try and run! They wouldn't escape.

The gold swirled from me in a storm and struck the Dalek with a loud crash. The Dalek screamed in agony and I merely snickered, watching with an angry grin as it slowly dissolved into nothing but golden particles. River's eyes watched me with an admiring horror. "Ali," she breathed. "That is incredibly beautiful and terrifying."

"Good," I said smugly. "That is how it should be."

"No, Ali," River insisted. "That isn't how it should be. It should be you being Ali and the TARDIS not within you. We will fix this. The Doctor will find some kind of way to fix this, Ali. Please. Don't change before we can fix you."

I curled a lip. "That is not possible, Melody Pond. There is no possible way to fix this. I have searched through all of time and space, in every universe and world. And there is no such way you speak of. My body will perish and I will fulfill my role as the Successor. I will do as I was born to do."

"You were not born for this, Ali," River said softly, "You were born to be Ali, the Doctor's companion that travels through time and space with him."

I contemplated this. A moment of longing flooded me. I wanted to be just that. I wanted to be just Ali, a woman who traveled with the Doctor to see the stars! But no. Someone had to do what I needed to do. And that person had been chosen. I had been chosen by the TARDIS, and I intended to honor her wishes if I couldn't do anything else. "No," I told her softly, "I was born to be the Successor. But at the same time, I am the Doctor's companion. And we must save him before I can no longer do anything like I just did." My gaze flickered to her, my gray eyes rimmed with gold. "We need to get to them. He will take Bre home. Rose and John need to return to their own dimension, River. Or things will not do well in this one."

River gave a small sigh of disappointment. "We can't help you if you don't want us to, Ali," she murmured, then said firmly, "Let's go then. We're going to fix all of that nonsense. And hope the Doctor doesn't kill me for what happened."

"He won't kill you," I said, confused. "The Doctor does not believe in such violent notions, Melody Pond."

"River," she reminded gently. "You are the Ali, not the TARDIS. Remember that." We began forwards once more, and I listened intently, my hypersensitive hearing catching sound of a furious Rose, who shouted loudly at a Dalek.

I smiled. "My Bad Wolf does well. Let us rescue her." I let the gold begin to swirl around my fingertips again. I smirked as I made my way to a final set of doors, River following at a carefully safe distance.

Most of the Daleks were in this room, I realized. They were all keeping the Doctor where he was, not even giving him the chance to harm them. He was trapped in a sort of prison beside Bre, John, and Rose, who was glowering viciously at the Daleks and spun to face me in an instant.

"THE SUCCESSOR!" a Dalek screeched, followed by plenty more of them copying. The Doctor whirled around in his prison to face me, his eyes snapping wide when the gold became a violent storm around me. I raised my hand and smiled smugly.

"Good to know that you recognize me," I drawled, then flicked my hand in a violent gesture. Within an instant, the Daleks had swirled out of existence, their agonized screams fading into silence after a brief moment.

The Doctor stared at me with wide dark eyes, looking horrified. "Ali," he breathed, looking terrified. But why would he be scared? I wondered quietly, tilting my head with curiosity. I ran through several possibilities within my mind before finally deciding on the most likely: he was scared for me. I arched an eyebrow. Why? I held no fear for what was going to happen. I knew what would happen and I'd accepted it. It didn't frighten me as it once had.

I grinned broadly at him, letting the gold die down. "My Thief," I greeted with a happy hum, then turned to look at Rose. "Bad Wolf," I instructed. "I suggest you step back a foot and three inches. I intend to release you from this."

"What have you done?" Rose whispered, her eyes darkening with a look of grief as she did as she was told. "Ali, we could have-"

I ignored her, instead interrupting by pressing my hand against the invisible wall. Spidery cracks of gold flared up, crackling across it until it shattered into precise three million one thousand ten pieces and dropped to the floor. The second it was gone, the Doctor strode over, his hand cupping my cheeks as he stared into my gray eyes, rimmed with gold. "Ali," he demanded, "Why? Why would you do such a thing? You promised you wouldn't!"

I frowned my confusion. "It was of up most importance," I replied, "The TARDIS was dying. My Thief needs a TARDIS."

"River!" He whirled on her. "You said you'd make sure nothing like this happens."

"I'm sorry," River said softly, evenly meeting his gaze. "Doctor, this was a set point in time. You were the one who taught me that a set point cannot be disrupted. I'm so sorry, Doctor."

Furious, the Doctor whirled away. Rose bit her lip uncertainly, and John gently touched her arm. Bre just stared at me with bewildered horror on her face. I narrowed my eyes. How dare this mere human not-

I stopped myself. No, I told myself. This was one of my closest friends, Breanna Nicole. Not a mere human who dared to be angry with me. I bit my lip hard enough to make it bleed and I screwed my eyes shut as I did so. I waited until I'd gotten rid of these thoughts. "Bre," I managed to get out, "She needs to get home. Doctor, you need to help me get her home before we end up lost somewhere, because I have no idea what I'm doing."

The Doctor whirled around to face me. "Ali, you shouldn't be doing this at all!"

I glanced at him, expression twisting with pain as I fought back a whimper. His gaze softened at the sight of my pain and he moved over to gently touch my shoulder. "I have to," I murmured. "I have to do this, and there's nothing else we can do, okay? The previous TARDIS has passed on. Without me doing this, you have no TARDIS, and the universe and other dimensions collapses in on themselves. My Thief-" I cut off, cursing myself. "Doctor, I just...I'll need help. I don't know how to fix the TARDIS, and I don't know how to steer-"

"That's alright," the Doctor murmured, gently clasping my cheeks. He rested his forehead against mine briefly, searching my gold-rimmed gaze. "We'll figure it out. I promise."

"You can't fix it," I reminded, "I need help in becoming the TARDIS, Doctor."

His eyes filled with pain. "I know. I'll help you become the TARDIS, it'll help lessen the pain you're feeling now. Just...keep this mind. Don't let the TARDIS change yourself, Ali. You're Alissa Levine, not the Successor without a name. Alright?"

"I'll remember," I swore, then ripped away with a small gasp of pain when it streaked through me. I was running out of time and the pain increased with every throb. It was like a headache, but worse. Every cell in my body was beginning to burn alongside my brain and it was beginning to make me want to crumple to the ground and give up. Give up on trying to get everyone safe without getting rid of this body.

No! I screamed mentally. I'd just promised. I have to remember.

The Doctor gently nudged me forward. "River, help her. Her body's going to start giving out soon. We need to get her to the TARDIS. Bre, accompany them. Rose, you and...John can come with me. We need to stop the Daleks before they can try anything to get to Ali. Understood?"

"Understood," Bre answered nervously as the others nodded. John gently ushered Rose after the Doctor, and I watched after them for a brief moment as River gently grasped my arm. I jumped at her touch, the warmth surprising me, and then staggered when pain snapped through me, worse than even before. "Ow," I gasped, grunting as I struggled to catch my balance.

"You're alright," she murmured. "It'll be alright, Ali. Come on. Bre, help her on that side."

"Kay," Bre agreed, grabbing my elbow gently. Her gaze flickered fearfully to me every now and then and I forced myself to smile faintly at her. Why was she scared of me? We'd been friends for quite some time. Why was she scared? Confused, I glanced pleadingly at River, but River was focused on the hall before us, her eyes widened slightly. I followed her gaze and curled a lip. There were Daleks ahead of us, lined up in a small section, like a platoon.

I took a deep breath, shakily pulling my arm from River. I raised my hand, the gold already swirling around me, but then gave a small cry as intense pain streaked through me. My legs went out from beneath me and I winced as I struck the ground. "River," I rasped, "I need help. I can't-"

"We've got you, come on," River reassured. "Here." She gently tugged me back to my feet, and I glowered at the Daleks as they screamed at us. Within seconds, they'd vanished into swirls of gold. My eyes were drifting shut as we made our way back towards the TARDIS.

By the time we'd reached the time machine, my mind wouldn't give me a break. Tears built and spilled down my cheeks, and a muffled sob escaped me the second my feet touched the grated floor. I stumbled to my knees, doubling over with a whimper. How? How did I make it stop hurting? How did I get to how I needed to be so that I could help save everyone?

Bre fled to hide beside the captain's seat, the very one I'd napped in while babysitting college students in the time of dinosaurs. Her fear made me feel even worse about myself. I'd made her scared of me. My friend was running from me. River, on the other hand, knelt beside me, soothingly running her hand up and down my back. "Hold on, Ali," she murmured, "The Doctor will be back soon. He's dealing with the Daleks. You'll be alright."

I swallowed thickly, shuddering at another wave of pain. Knowledge swirled in my mind, and it drove me mad to know all of it and not be able to get rid of it. I wasn't supposed to know this much about people. My body was burning, and I wanted to scream but found myself unable to.

The doors suddenly snapped open. The Doctor darted in with Rose and John close behind, his eyes flashing when he nearly tripped over me. He dropped beside me, gently touching my shoulder. "Ali?!"

"She's still here, just not doing so well," River told him.

He nodded, kissing my head. He glanced around. "We need to get Rose and John home, Ali-"

"We can get ourselves back to our original dimension," Rose told him. She gave him a gentled smile. "We have devices. I'm glad to see you found another companion after Donna, Doctor. She and Martha are happy now, I'm sure. Ali, I'm so sorry."

I silently waved her off, gritting my teeth as I glanced up at her and John. John, who'd barely said a word to me since Rose had found him, met my gaze and gave a forced smile. He felt just as bad as Rose, though he wasn't as inclined to speak to me around the Doctor. The Doctor appeared to make him nervous for some reason.

She searched the Doctor's gaze. "We came here for this, Doctor. To help you get the Daleks under control and make sure things went the way they were supposed to, even if I didn't want them to go this way. Don't...don't think too badly of us for it?"

The Doctor gave a gentle yet tight smile. "Of course, Rose."

With a press of a button on their device, they were gone.

The Doctor returned his gaze to me, gently touching my cheek. "Ali, are you alright? Can you stand?"

I shook my head. "No," I choked out, gazing pitifully at him. I hated the feeling of being weak but...there was nothing else I could feel at the moment besides pain. And weakness was much better than pain. "Sorry."

"That's alright," he soothed, glancing at River, who bit her lip and said breathlessly, "Isn't there anything we can do? To help her?"

"The only way to help her is for her to become the TARDIS completely," the Doctor murmured. "River, help me get her up. Ali needs to get over to the TARDIS console. Now."

River nodded, glancing sharply at Bre as if she was irritated with the way the human girl was acting. "Come on," she murmured. "This way, Ali. We're helping you, I know it hurts, but it'll be alright." With the Doctor's help, they managed to help haul me to my feet. The TARDIS console seemed lik a million miles away as we edged towards it, the Doctor murmuring gentle and quiet encouragements into my ear.

"We can't fix her, can we?" River murmured when we finally reached it. I dropped to my knees instantly, the Doctor falling beside me, refusing to go even an inch away at the moment.

"No," the Doctor said miserably, his dark eyes full of deep sadness that made guilt spiral through me. I was the reason the Doctor looked so sad. I was the reason River had a tiredly dark look. I was the reason Bre was hiding beneath the TARDIS console. Biting my lip so hard it bled profusely, I managed to choke out, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Ali," River murmured, "No need to apologize. Right, Doctor?" She glared at him.

Despite his darkened gaze at my attempt at an apology, he nodded his agreement. "It's not your fault, Ali," he murmured, "Not at all."

I forced a smile onto my face, then gasped as the pain racked through me. I dropped my head in my exhaustion to the to the grated floor. I was almost out of time, I realized distantly. My body was nearly burned completely up. I was currently losing the battle to keep my body, to keep being pure me. Soon, I would be the TARDIS. Soon, I would be practically dead to the three around me.

"Hey," the Doctor murmured to me, gently rubbing my back. I clutched my head, giving a soft whimper. "You'll be alright. We're going to make sure you're safe, okay, Ali? You'll be fine. We've got you."

I glanced at him with a soft groan. "Doctor," I managed to get out, locking my gaze with his frantic brown eyes. "Unless you want me to quite literally explode from all of this, I need to-" I cut off with a hiss, screwing my eyes shut again.

"Doctor, we need to move her to the open section." She nodded towards the part of the TARDIS that was open to the air, and I smiled tightly when I remembered opening it. I regretted doing such a thing now, but it was important. I had to do it. I caught sight of the inside as I was somehow dragged to my feet again to go towards it. I leaned heavily on the Doctor, who continued to murmur encouragingly to me. "Here," River said gently when we made it.

The Doctor took a deep breath, then murmured to me, "Listen to me, Ali." His voice seemed to echo in my head as he spoke. This was it, I realized as tears built in my eyes. This was going to be the end of my life. "Imagine each clasp holding all of that knowledge in place, Ali, and simply release it. But only when you're ready to, alright?"

"Kay," I whispered, then raised a hand to gently grasp his tie, dragging him closer to me so that I didn't have to look up. "Sorry," I repeated quietly, knuckles white as I gripped his tie. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," he soothed, kissing my forehead. He gently pried my fingers off of his tie, though kept a gentle grip on them. I leaned weakly against him as best as I could from my crumpled position. I gave it a few more moments of pain, then finally closed my eyes, releasing a huge sigh before doing as he'd told me to do. Piece by piece, I let those clasps go.

I wouldn't see the Doctor again, I realized with a faint smile. I would be with him, but never again would we see each other. How lovely was that?

Clasp by clasp, I let go of my life here. No more traveling, no more friends, no more Doctor. Somehow, I knew my life from this point and until I died like the TARDIS had would be completely centered around doing as the Doctor required me to do. I would have no physical form to move around willingly in.

But that was alright, because I would still be with the Doctor.

And with that final though, I forced my eyes open and met the Doctor's pained gaze with a tight smile.

And then I let go of the final clasp, dark tides rising high above me.

Farewell, River. Farwell, Doctor.

I knew no more.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A/N: And...this is the last chapter. |D We do still have an epilogue coming out though, followed by a possible announcement that I have yet to decide on. ;) Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

bored411: I'm quite sure this wasn't the ending you were hoping for, but...here's your update. XD

Maren the fangirl: lol XD Here's your next chapter, I do hope you enjoyed.

BrainStormer: And once again, I laughed so hard I cried at your review. XD I'm glad you like it so much. As for a sequel...meh.