CHAPTER 73

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A NEW MYSTERY TO BE SOLVED

Gallifrey, A Billion Years Ago

Freya ran for her life even as her eyes became so filled with tears that she couldn't see. Even as she blindly ran ahead she kept seeing images of her family being gunned down right in front of her being replayed in her mind's eye over and over again. Each time that she relived that horrible moment her hearts broke just a little bit more.

Somehow she had managed to get away from the heartless killers before she was seen, and she had been running ever since. She had long ago lost track of how long it had been since she had started. She just kept running as her fear of being caught kept pushing her to run on and on until she was well past the point of exhaustion.

Finally her body gave out on her at last, and she fell forward and hit the ground hard. She lay there so tired that she was unable to move or even speak. The only thing that she had enough energy to do was cry.

And that's what she did. She cried until she was out of tears because her body could no longer produce them anymore. Then she silently fell asleep somewhere afraid and alone in the middle of the Wild Lands.

She didn't know how long she had slept for, but her next memory was of waking up to find a group of strangely dressed men standing over her. She shuddered in terror as one of them picked up her body and said, "Don't fear us, child. We're actually saving your life. You are dangerously close to death even for a Gallifreyan. You won't die though. No, you must live so that you may help us to carry out our plans."

"I just want to go home," Freya said in a weak and heartbroken voice.

The men laughed a cruel, heartless laugh as the one holding Freya said, "You will have no choice in the matter. You are one of us now whether you like it or not. Now you belong to us."

If Freya still had the ability to shed tears, she would have in that moment.

Earth, Present Day

I woke up screaming as Robin said, "Lily, it's okay. It's okay."

He held me while I shook and cried at the nightmare that was still fresh in my mind. I cried like I hadn't cried in a long time as he gave me a tender kiss to reassure me that everything was alright.

It wasn't alright though. In some ways, it never would be again. Long buried feelings that I thought I had put behind me long ago had been brought back in full force after seeing my parents again recently, and they weren't letting me go.

"Was it the same one?" Robin asked as he looked at me with concern.

"Yeah, I dreamed about the day my family was killed again. I just keep having the same dream over and over again ever since I saw them. I can't stop thinking about them," I said in an emotional voice.

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could do or say something to help you. I don't know what that would be though. What could I possibly say or do to help you with something like this?" Robin admitted.

I smiled at him and kissed him as I said, "You're doing all that you can do just by being here for me and letting me talk about it with you. Don't worry about doing anything else. Just having you here with me helps me more than you realize I think. For so long, I had to deal with all of this all by myself. I had no one to talk to about any of it. I was all alone for so, so long. It's no wonder I'm a bit mad."

"You're not mad. Don't say that about yourself. There's nothing wrong with you whatsoever," Robin said as he held me tightly.

"So many people would disagree with you on that one," I said with a chuckle.

"They're the ones that are crazy then, my lady. As far as I'm concerned, you're perfect," Robin said.

"That's funny. That's what I always think about you. I think I'm the only one who's right though," I said with a grin.

"I mean it, Lily," Robin said.

"I know. I love you all the more for that too," I said as I kissed him again.

Then we were interrupted by a light knocking on our bedroom door, and I opened it to see Allison, Ron, and Aishwana standing there looking concerned. I knew that they had heard me. I'm sure that everyone on the TARDIS had. I had been screaming loud enough even to wake up the entire galaxy I was sure.

"Mum, are you okay?" Allison asked.

"Of course she's not okay. She just saw her family again for the first time in a billion years. How would you be?" Ron asked as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Shut up. Mum's in trouble and I really don't need to put up with your lip right now," Allison said as she glared back at him.

"Will you two stop? I've already told you what's happening. She's having those dreams about losing them again. She had them back when I was a kid too. She used to wake me up screaming with them, and I'd be so frightened for her," Aishwana said.

"Is that true? Are you dreaming about them?" Allison said looking very worried.

I took a deep breath as I said, "Yeah, that's exactly what it is. I didn't want to worry any of you with them so I didn't tell you. They're just dreams though. It's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing. You've been having these nightmares since you returned from the past last week. I've held my tongue because I know it's not my business, but I can't anymore. I'm too worried about you to do that anymore. You're looking sicker and sicker every time I look at you, and I have to talk to you about it. I have to help you," Allison said in an upset voice.

"I'm fine. Really. I'm okay," I said as I put my arms around her and gave her a hug.

That was when Violet stepped in the door with a stern look on her face as she said, "No, you're not okay, and I should know. We're going to talk this over with you whether you like it or not. We don't have to be alone anymore, Sis. We have a family now. It's about time that we talked to them."

I smiled and nodded as I said, "You're right, Vi. I guess keeping things to myself is just too much of a habit with me, huh? Come on in and sit down. I'll tell you about them."

They all came and sat down on the bed with me and Robin as Isabella and Ivy joined them. It was a good thing that Holly and Skaren weren't there too or the bed might have collapsed!

I soon explained about my dreams to them and what happened in them. Then I said something that was new even to Robin.

"This time though the dream was even worse. This time there was more to it. Much more," I said.

"What? How much more? What happened in it?" Robin asked surprised.

"I dreamed that Freya survived and was wandering through the Wild Lands all alone and afraid. She finally collapsed from exhaustion and was lying there dying with no one to help her," I said in tears.

"You don't know that that happened. That's just all in your head," Allison said quickly.

"That's not all. There was more," I said.

"You saw her die?" Ron guessed.

"No. In a way, this was even worse than that. I saw someone finding her and leaving the area with her. I don't know who they were because I couldn't see them clearly in the dream. Whoever they were though they took her and were going to use her to do something awful. She was so frightened of them, and I couldn't help her. I didn't know. I thought she had died. I didn't know," I said as I started shaking all over.

"Mum, it's just a dream. None of that ever happened," Aishwana said firmly.

"What if it did? What if I saw the past somehow? Rose can see the past and the future. What if she got that from me and not the Vortex?" I said.

"Since when have we ever seen visions of the past or the future either for that matter?" Violet asked as she looked at me like I had finally lost it.

"Maybe it's finally happened. Maybe we've always had that ability. You don't know," I said.

"Lily, I've been both your best friend and your worst enemy for thousands of years. I know you better than anyone except Violet. Believe me when I say that you're not psychic. I'd know. I studied you intensely once. I even took some of your blood and tested it once. You're not psychic," Ivy said.

"Why would you study her intensely for?" Aishwana asked not really knowing her history with me since she was still so new to the group.

"Well, you know that I used to be a vampire and was her enemy, right? I'm sure that I told you that. I was studying her to see if I could find . . . a way to destroy her. I'm sorry, Lily," Ivy said with a shamed look on her face.

"It's okay. That wasn't you. You know that. You already told me all about it ages ago anyway. Let it go. That's all ancient history," I said smiling at her.

"So are those memories of yours. Let them go. If you can forgive Ivy, then forgive yourself too," Violet said.

"Can you honestly tell me that you can forgive yourself?" I asked her pointedly.

She became silent as I said, "Uh huh. I thought so."

"Forgive yourself for what?" Allison asked in confusion.

"For not saving them," I said in a low voice.

"You were five!" Allison shouted in disbelief.

"I still should have saved them. I should have kept Freya from being kidnapped too. I should have been there for her," I said in an emotional voice.

"Freya was not kidnapped. She died. She's gone. I'm sorry, Mum. I really am. She's gone though, and there was nothing that you could have done to prevent it," Allison said.

"She's right, Lily. Just let it go and move on," Robin said in a gentle voice.

"What if I'm being shown a real vision of the past though? What if I'm supposed to save her?" I said.

"She died. It's over with already. Please let it go, Mum," Allison said in an extremely upset voice.

My resolve broke down then as I held her and stroked her hair while I said, "Alright, baby. I'll let it go. At least I'll try to anyway. I don't want to upset you anymore. I don't want to upset any of you," I said in an apologetic voice.

Violet smiled at me, and the others seemed to visibly relax. I hadn't realized just how much that I had been bothering them all. It just showed me exactly how much that I mattered to them. It was just as much as they mattered to me apparently. It was a good feeling to have a family again.

In that moment, I let the past go at last and knew that I would no longer be troubled by anymore nightmares.

If only it could have been that easy. I should have known that it wouldn't be though. Nothing ever was in my life. My nightmares were about to become terrifyingly real.

We all went back to sleep and sure enough I slept peacefully the rest of the night with no further problems. I woke up feeling refreshed and at peace. I was now sure that my problems with the past were over with at last.

I was soon to find out just how wrong that I was though when just an hour after I woke up I started to receive an odd transmission on the console when I was alone in the Console Room. I froze in shock as the voice that I was hearing immediately sounded very, very familiar to me.

"Sekh, where are you? Sekh? Are you there? Please come and help me. It's Freya. Please, Sekh, come and find me. I'm alone and I'm afraid," the voice of Freya said in a terrified tone.

I began to shake with emotion as sobs started to force themselves out of me. I don't even remember screaming. I must have though because everyone came running into the console room in the next minute with a terrified look on their faces.

They all looked at me like they thought that I had finally lost it until they realized that I wasn't crazy when they started hearing the message too. The voice of Freya said the exact same thing all over again, and I began to wonder if this was some kind of horrible trick being played on me.

Who would or even could do such a thing though? Who would even know about her much less be able to copy her voice so exactly?

"That's Freya or at least it's a very good copy of her anyway," Violet confirmed for the others.

"It can't be her. It just can't be. Even if it was, why would she be calling for help from her little sister? It just doesn't make sense," Ron said.

"She met me though. She knows that I grow up and travel through time. What if she somehow left me a message?" I said.

"Isn't it funny how this happens right after you see her again though? This has trap written all over it," Aishwana said skeptically.

"You may be right. Maybe someone did find out about her somehow. What if it's not a trap though? What if it's really her and she needs me?" I said.

"You may be right. You were definitely right about me, weren't you? I was so, so glad for it too. I bet the others thought you were crazy then too," Aishwana said smiling at me.

"We thought we were all going crazy actually. I know I did," Allison said.

"Sorry about that. The point is that I needed your help and maybe just maybe she does too. Try to be careful though and don't go running in blindly, okay? Just because it was real in my case doesn't make it real this time too," Aishwana said.

I nodded at her as I said, "I'll keep a level head. I promise."

I immediately went to the console and started to track the mysterious transmission down until I had the exact coordinates in time and space for it. I was completely surprised to find out that it wasn't coming from Gallifrey sometime in the distant past. It was coming from the last place that I would have ever expected it to be from instead.

"It's coming from the Rift at Cardiff on Earth! How in the world . . .?" I said in astonishment.

"Could she have somehow traveled through time and space and wound up there? You said that people have appeared there from other times before," Robin theorized.

"It's possible I suppose, but where would she be calling from? Torchwood? If it was Torchwood, Jack would tell me. I know he would," I said in confusion.

"Maybe he doesn't know who she is," Isabella suggested.

"He knows my real name though, and he would have to be able to put two and two together. Something is just so wrong about all of this. I . . . I know this is probably a trap, but I have to be sure. I have to go there. I'm sorry. I don't want to put you in danger, but I have to know," I said.

"It's okay, Lily. We're all behind you. We want to know what this is all about just as much as you do. If it's trick or a trap though, then I'll be the first one to fill whoever's responsible for it full of arrows for putting you through this," Robin said with fire in his eyes.

"You'll have to stand in line behind me, Dad. I'm not about to let them get away with this either after the horrible week that she's just had," Allison said in a furious voice.

I materialized the TARDIS just outside the rift and immediately stepped out to search around the area for any signs of Freya being there. I didn't have long to wait before I found what I was looking for.

I immediately saw Jack Harkness walking towards me holding the hand of a little girl. She was a little girl that I knew all too well.

"Freya?" I said in disbelief.

"What was that about with the transmissions, Jack? Why didn't you tell us that you had her here? Are you even sure that this is really her? Do you even know what hearing that put my Mum through? Do you?" Allison said as she exploded in anger.

"Whoa! Whoa! I had nothing to do with the transmissions. That was all Freya's idea. She broke into our storage room somehow and managed to find some kind of old Time Lord communications device that she knew how to use. I didn't even know who she was until I started hearing the transmission myself and recognized your name. Then I questioned her and learned hers," Jack said.

"Wait a minute. You're not making a lot of sense. Tell me the whole story from the beginning," I said impatiently even as I never took my eyes off of Freya who kept looking at me with a fearful expression on her face.

She even looked afraid of me. What had happened to her? Was this even really her at all? Or was this all just a trick of some kind?

Jack smiled at Freya as he said, "It's okay. You're safe. That's your sister. That's Sekhmet all grown up."

"Are you sure? What if she's a fake?" Freya said in a fearful voice.

I almost laughed. Freya sounded just as skeptical as I did. If it was Freya, that is. I had to convince myself of that first before I started accepting her blindly. I wasn't going to let my need to go comfort her override my reason. I just wasn't.

"Okay, I'll start from the top. I received a mysterious energy reading from the Rift, and I immediately rushed outside to see what was going on because I knew that it was more than likely to mean that something was coming through it. I stood there ready for anything, but I was still surprised to see Freya here coming through it. She looked even more terrified than she does now and started to run from me immediately. She didn't get far though when she realized that she was on another planet entirely. She looked around her in confusion and panic, and I think it must have all been too much for her because she passed out right away. That's when I took her back to Torchwood with me and studied her while she was asleep. I found out that she was a Gallifreyan right away but not much else. When she woke up, I tried to question her. She wouldn't tell me or even Gwen anything about herself. She never even told me her name. She just stared at us in fear just like she's doing with you now so don't take it personally. We kept her with us and took care of her for days while we tried and tried to reach her. She wouldn't talk though. Then finally today she got out of her room and sent that message. That was when I recognized your name. As soon as I said your full name and told her that I knew you, she began to start trusting me. I think it helped that I didn't do anything to her when I found out what she did too. Anyway I knew from the minute she sent the transmissions that you would be here soon so I came outside with her to wait for you. Hi, Lily. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Jack said as he finally told me the whole story.

"Yes, it has. It's good to see you again. Wait a minute. Days? You said that she's been with you for days? How many?" I said.

"About a week I guess. Why?" Jack asked.

I looked at Robin and the others and then said, "I've been having nightmares about her for the last week ever since I last saw her on a visit to the past."

Jack now looked at Freya suspiciously as he said, "That seems very convenient alright."

"Has she told you anything besides her name?" I asked.

"No, nothing. I'm surprised that she told me her name to be honest," Jack said.

I walked up to Freya who shrunk back from me as I said in the gentlest voice that I could manage, "Hey, it's okay. It's me. It's Sekhmet. You remember meeting this version of me before, right? You came to say goodbye to me when I tried to leave without letting you see me. I met Mum and Dad and talked to them, remember?"

Freya's face lighted up as she said, "It is you. Only you would know about that. Oh, Sekh!"

She immediately broke free from Jack and hugged me tightly. I knew that I shouldn't, but I hugged her back. I was already starting to form an attachment to her despite knowing that it could all be a trick. I just couldn't help myself.

"Freya, what happened to you? How did you keep from getting killed? How did you even get here in the first place?" I asked as I held her close to me and stroked her hair.

"Mum, remember what I said," Aishwana warned.

"I know. I know. It's just that she seems so real," I said.

"I am real. It's really me," Freya said looking hurt by what I had said.

"Tell me what happened," I said in a more dispassionate voice as I tried to separate my feelings from the situation.

I wasn't completely successful though because I was still holding her and trying to comfort her even as I interrogated her.

"I don't remember. I remember running from those horrible men who came to kill us. Somehow I got away. I think it's because they didn't see me. I ran as long as I could until I collapsed from running so much. Then I lay there and went to sleep after I cried my eyes out. The next thing that I remember was finding myself coming out of that rift and seeing Jack. I can't remember anything else. I thought that they had killed everyone and that the you that I saw from the future must be some kind of anomaly or something. I'm so glad that you made it too, Sekh," Freya said in relief.

I looked at her in surprise as I realized that she was describing my dream almost to a T. The only thing that she left out was the men who had captured her. Was that intentional or had that not actually happened? I was so confused right now that I didn't know what to think anymore.

"You don't remember being found and kidnapped by a bunch of strangers?" I asked her pointedly.

"No. Is that what happened?" Freya asked as she looked at me in confusion and so did Jack.

"She just described exactly what happened in my nightmares except for that part. I'm beginning to wonder if they really were visions somehow," I said in disbelief.

"Or maybe they were all a part of a trap and so is she," Aishwana said as she looked at Freya with suspicion.

"I'm not a part of any trap. I was just trying to find my sister so that she could help me. I was afraid," Freya said in such an emotional and terrified voice that she finally broke me.

"It's okay. I'm here now and no one's going to hurt you, okay? You're safe now," I said as I embraced her.

"Mum!" Both Aishwana and Allison protested.

"Mum?" Freya said in shock.

"Yeah, I'm afraid you have a lot of changes to get used to, Freya. I'm a mother and a grandmother now. Well, actually I'm a Great-Grandmother if you count Rose's future kids' kids, and I'm over a billion years old," I admitted.

Freya looked at me as if I had grown an extra limb or two and then began to cry. It was all just a bit too much for her.

"Mum, are you seriously buying her story? She conveniently doesn't remember what happened to her or how she got here, and she appears just as you're having dreams about her. It's a trap!" Allison said.

"I'm afraid that I have to agree with her, Lil. Something doesn't add up," Jack said.

"It's not a trap. I'd never hurt my sister," Freya protested even as she continued to cry.

I just looked at her not knowing what to think. My hearts told me that she was real, but my mind told me that she could be something else and not to blindly believe in anything until I was given more proof. I had never felt more conflicted in my life than I did at that moment.

I had absolutely no idea what to do next.

Next: How did Freya wind up inside the rift and what happened to her before that? Are Lily's dreams and Freya's subsequent appearance just a coincidence or are they really a trap? Are the mysterious men in Lily's dream real and if they are who are they? Is Freya even who she says she is at all? Next time all will be explained as we find out the real truth behind Freya.