Trigger warning for this chapter and 25!: Mentions of rape and abuse, war/death/PTSD, anxiety/panic attacks, and self-harm! Read at your own risk. Content will not be too explicit but can be triggering to readers who have been in poor and abusive relationships.

I had this sitting around and didn't realize it. Figured you'd all enjoy it since my brain has been hooked in Harry Potter for a bit. i have a Marvel gamer fic i might keep working on as well but do let me know what you think and I'll try to get more variety posted somehow brain is really struggling lately and thesis is being ignored so… we'll see.


I'd gotten up early as I always did, having breakfast prepared quickly for the man who would soon be up to head out to work. The scent of oak hung heavily in the house, putting me on edge for some reason that I didn't quite understand. The feeling held firm even after he'd left and I'd stepped out to hang the laundry, wincing lightly at the aching of my body when I reached up to hang the sheets on the line. I need to head to the market before evening. He'll be upset if I don't have dinner done by the time he gets home… A shiver went up my spine and I frowned lightly, straightening out my dress and grabbing a basket and coin purse before stepping out.

The 1500s English village was quiet as always with only a few people wandering around. I caught a few older women whispering to one another as I passed, that uneasy feeling returning as I adjusted my bonnet. I could feel their eyes on me as I walked closer to the market, overhearing snippets of what they were saying.

"Is that—"

"Yes. It's her."

"You heard what they said, right?"

"Sh, she might hear us."

I need to leave. I overstayed my welcome here. They've noticed. The thoughts felt out of place somehow though as I stepped into the market and my head swam. I brought a hand to my forehead, clenching my eyes shut tight before shaking it off. Then, a shout.

"Ah! Fallon! There you are. What were you doing wandering around?"

I blinked and turned, seeing a very pregnant Amy sitting with the Doctor and Rory crammed together on a small bench. I looked down at the basket in my hand but it was gone and I passed a hand through my hair which was now trimmed short and unbraided. But I was… getting food for… who?

"Fallon?"

I looked up from my jeans—my mind half expecting that I was wearing a dress—and begrudgingly approached the trio on the bench. I still wasn't happy with the Doctor. He'd never explained what had made him change while we were in Venice and I swore we were in the middle of something before we ended up here. Wherever here is… Are we in—

"Leadworth," the Doctor hummed. "Vibrant as ever."

"I could have sworn…" I murmured under my breath, bringing a hand to my head again as the brief memory of a small village flickered through my mind.

"Sorry?"

I shook my head, waving at the Doctor and brushing off his question as I turned away to eye the empty area.

"Well, I wanted to see how you were. You know me, I don't just abandon people when they leave the Tardis. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of your old pal the Doctor so easily," the Doctor chirped to Amy as I scoffed, given he'd ditched me once already.

Amy hummed. "You came here by mistake, didn't you?"

"Yeah, bit of a mistake. But look, what a result. Look at this bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next?"

"Right." Amy looked over at me with a small confused frown. "Why are you here though, Fallon? Weren't you and the Doctor… you know… fighting?"

"We still are," I answered automatically, not really thinking as words seemed to just tumble from my mouth. "He just thought bringing us here would somehow fix things. How the hell would some nowhere village in the 1500s fix anything?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We came here to relax! You know, take a break, enjoy life, the fresh air, the birds."

A loud tweeting started up and I scowled; head swimming again as Rory hummed.

"We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the Tardis days, did we?"

"What do you mean 'back in the day?'" I questioned, confused. "We're still traveling. We're on a trip right now."

"Oh blimey, my head's a bit. Ooh," the Doctor complained, rubbing at his face. No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good… old…"

My legs felt weak and I sank to the ground as the twittering birdsong grew louder still before my eyes slipped shut and then suddenly snapped open again.

I was in my room on the Tardis, breathing hard as that familiar scent of oak filled my nose like a haunted memory. I remembered that I'd been dreaming of back then. Of hanging laundry while aching and bruised, and fearing the consequences of not having dinner cooked on time. But then… I was in Leadworth with the Doctor… but it kept changing…

I shook it off and got up to head back into the console room. As much as I didn't want to deal with the Doctor right now, we needed to talk. Especially if I'm having dreams about us arguing. I sighed heavily and dragged a hand down my face, stepping into the console room where the Doctor, Amy, and Rory were already gathered and talking. Maybe I should come back later… I don't need all of them being nosey about what happened.

"Red flashing lights. I bet they mean something," the Doctor said then, letting me see that the console was indeed flashing small lights while the ship itself beeped and whirred differently than usual.

"Uh, Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing," Rory piped up as Amy nodded.

"Yeah, so did I."

"Not a nightmare, though, just, um… we were married."

"Yeah. In a little village."

"A sweet little village, and you were pregnant."

"Yes, I was huge!" Amy agreed, making me move further into the room as they continued to describe their dreams that were completely identical.

Identical to mine too, except… I started off in a memory. A memory of… I swallowed thickly but remained silent as the Doctor confirmed he had the same dream as well.

"You had the same dream," Amy pressed.

"Basically."

"You said it was a nightmare," Rory reminded him, making him fidget.

"Did I say nightmare? No, more of a really good-mare. Look, it doesn't matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track or something. Forget it. We're back to reality now."

"Except my dream was different," I piped up then, drawing their attention to me as I moved down the steps with a hand on my head. "I was… I was in a memory."

"A memory?" The Doctor questioned as those same birds started chirping loudly in my ears and I felt the energy being drained from me slowly.

"I was… was back there… back with…"


"...Silas."

"Sorry. Nodded off. Stupid. God, I must be overdoing it," Rory said loudly, leaning on the arm of the bench that the Doctor, Amy, and he had woken up on. "I was dreaming we were back on the Tardis."

The Doctor got up immediately as Amy held her pregnant belly and Fallon sat upright on the grass, looking at her hands in confusion.

"You had the same dream, didn't you?" Rory questioned Amy, who nodded.

"Weren't we just saying the same thing?"

"But we thought this was the dream, didn't we?

"I think so. Why do dreams have to fade so quickly?" Amy questioned with a grunt as she heaved herself up off the bench and the Doctor flicked a piece of gravel with a frown on his face.

"Doctor, what is going on?" Rory asked, assuming he had the answers as Fallon remained on the grass, frowning and flexing her fists.

"Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lordy thing because you've shown up again?" Amy pressed, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Listen to me. Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel," he ordered.

"But we're awake now," Rory argued.

"Yeah. You thought you were awake on the Tardis, too."

"But we're home," Amy said before Fallon spoke up.

"We're not."

They turned to her in confusion and the Doctor hurried over to crouch before her, having his hands smacked away before he could grab her face.

"Fallon, what do you mean?" He asked, gritting his teeth to hold back the hint of frustration bubbling up in him.

Yes, they'd fought but bickering now wouldn't help him figure out what's happening. The fight was stupid, actually. He'd been worried about the danger Fallon had been in, angry at how the date he'd wanted had gone so horribly wrong, and upset that she'd turned to violence once more; even if it was to help Amy. Then, he'd gone and said something idiotic that had her storming off and he'd been unable to come up with the courage to try and explain things to her. Nor had he had the chance to try before this happened.

And now we need to somehow make peace while dealing with this. Something is wrong and we can't be fighting now. "Fallon, you said your dream was different. Different how?"

Fallon frowned though, hesitant about something.

"Fallon, we don't have time to argue or talk about Venice right now," the Doctor said, misunderstanding her silence as annoyance.

"Seriously?" She snapped, angry at his jumping to conclusions. "Do you honestly think I was—You know what? Forget it. Not like you care anyway with a new stupid adventure happening."

The Doctor groaned. "Fallon, please!"

She jerked away from him with a scowl before her gaze shifted back to the village where people in the distance had stopped to whisper to each other. She looked more uneasy about them the longer she watched as she answered the Doctor.

"I didn't wake up here. I was… back there. Back hom—" She cut herself off with a grimace, correcting herself. "I thought it was a memory. I… I can't be here."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, making Fallon purse her lips and go quiet.

There was something going on here that the Doctor didn't understand. Fallon wasn't easily disturbed by things like this usually. But if she's right… if this is her memory then… which one? Why hers?

"We can't be here," Fallon repeated as the birdsong returned and they started to become groggy. "This is where he—"

"Nora!"

Fallon went ramrod stiff and the blood drained from her face so quickly the Doctor worried she would faint on the spot as someone stormed over with an angry shout.

"You harlot," the man bellowed, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her to her feet before the Doctor could even think of stopping him or questioning what was happening.

And for a brief moment, Fallon was in a dirty dress and bonnet looking properly terrified for her life before the birdsong overcame them and they blacked out; waking up on the Tardis.

"Are we flashing forwards or backward?" He muttered as he hurried to his feet and went to the console in concern. "Oh, this is bad. I don't like this." He kicked at it when nothing happened and grimaced in pain. "Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force."

"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy offered.

"I threw it in a supernova."

"You threw the manual in a supernova? Why?"

"Because I disagreed with it. Stop talking to me when I'm cross," he grumbled, rushing under the console before Rory spoke up.

"Okay, but whatever's wrong with the Tardis, is that what caused us to dream about the future?"

"If we were dreaming about the future," he corrected, pausing as he realized someone was being rather silent.

"Well, of course, we were. We were in Leadworth," Amy argued and Rory nodded.

"Upper Leadworth."

"Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this. Except…" He frowned as he rushed back up, remembering what Fallon had been saying and wondering briefly what that meant when in connection with all this. "Don't you get it?"

"No, okay? No, this is real. I'm definitely awake now," Amy said, convinced.

"And you thought you were definitely awake when you were all elephanty."

"Hey. Pregnant," she corrected.

"And you could be giving birth right now. This could be the dream. I told you. Trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true. Fallon said things weren't right either. Something about memories. Fallon?"

The Doctor headed over to her but she was still on the ground and he went to check on her with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked, no one having seen her with her on the other side of the console. "Why isn't she waking up? Is she okay?"

The Doctor frowned as he checked her pulse. "She's… fine but that's a good question. Why isn't she waking up? Why is she the only one different?"

Then, the Tardis suddenly went quiet and the lights powered down with just the subtle glow from the center console lighting the room. The Doctor quickly got up to check and stared at the controls in surprise.

"It's dead. We're in a dead time machine."

Birds started chirping and Rory hugged Amy as they started to realize that the birdsong meant they were switching realities again. The Doctor sank slowly but gave them a stern look.

"Remember, this is real. But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It is real. I know it's real," Amy agreed before they woke up back in the village. "Okay, this is the real one. Definitely this one. It's all solid."

"It felt solid in the Tardis too. You can't spot a dream while you're having it," the Doctor explained before Rory spoke up.

"Uh, Doctor?"

"Not now, Rory," the Doctor said shortly, waving a hand in front of his face. "I'm looking for motion blur, pixelation. It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, though."

"Yeah, but Doctor? Where's Fallon?"

"What?" The Doctor looked around, spinning in place but the woman was gone. "No, no, no. This can't be right. She was here!"

"No, but wasn't there some guy who came over?" Amy questioned, remembering him. "He called her something else. Um… Mmm…"

"Nora!" The Doctor blurted out, turning and spotting the nearest group of whispering women and hurrying toward them. "Ah, hello. Apologies but would you happen to know where Fall—Nora might be?"

The two eyed him suspiciously for a moment before the younger of the two spoke.

"You can't mean Nora Thornton? Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?" He asked, a hint of unease going through him.

"Well, she's been accused of witchcraft, sir. Was caught sleeping around like a harlot too. Jameson next door said his daughter saw her doing strange things in the woods. Men's things and black magic."

"That's enough, Susan," the older woman scolded her. "This man's foreign to these parts. We should say no more of it."

She looked suspicious of the Doctor but his mind was elsewhere, suddenly overcome with worry because if this was a memory—a memory of Fallon's—then she was in danger. A danger that he might not be able to save her from. He turned away from the women and took off, hoping to find some trace of where Fallon had been taken too. He stopped in the marketplace, breathing hard as he spun around and searched with Amy and Rory coming up behind him, out of breath for a different reason.

"Doctor, what's going on?"

"Yeah, why did you go running off? Do you know how hard it is to run like this?" Amy complained.

"I thought this was your dream at first," the Doctor said, speaking quickly while pulling out his sonic to search. "Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby. Yours or Amy's but Fallon said her dream was different. She mentioned this having her memories in it."

"So we're in Fallon's dream?"

"No. No, we're not. We're in her nightmare. We're in her memories."

"I don't understand," Rory said, confused. "If we're in her memories, where is she? Why is it a nightmare?"

"Fallon's immortal," the Doctor informed him. "She's lived a long life. A few long lives and not all of them were good. You thought this was Leadworth but she said it was the 1500s." He turned to them looking more scared than either of them had ever seen. "The 1500s where anything you did that was out of place, anything odd about you like her lack of aging—her lack of dying—could mean only one thing."

"What?"

"Fallon's going to be killed for being a witch and we need to stop it."


This wasn't right. Everything about this didn't seem right but it all felt so real. He just kept yelling, kept screaming and cursing, and biting out hurtful things. He always did this. Always. Any little thing I did wrong and he was beating it out of me. There was no restraint, no remorse. He just did as many terrible things as he could and the only saving grace was he refused to permanently scar my face. If he did, then people might question what happened behind closed doors. They might question the cries of pain, the pleas, the whimpers, and all those times I wasn't allowed out of the house because the bruises were too visible.

This was the same. The same aches and pains of his fists, his legs, and whatever he could reach. Yet, it was different. Something was off, wrong. It was like time was skipping and jumping. It made my head spin but then I'd forget why it was spinning. Was it because of his hands on my throat, or was it because I went from curled on the floor to on the bed to suddenly out in the village square?

The angry shouts of the crowd echoed in my dazed mind alongside my heartbeat as it pounded away fearfully. Not again. Not again, not again, not again! The terror grew to suffocating levels as torches were lit under my feet and fire began to lick at my ankles. I jerked and squirmed against the ropes that held me tight to the wooden pole as smoke choked my lungs and tore at my throat. I was too scared to think of the pain at first. All I could see and think of was the fire and the bruising, then everything hurt all at once as my skin began to boil and blister and tear. I couldn't even hear the birds chirping in my ears with all the screaming. My screaming.

"Fallon! Fallon!"

My eyes snapped open and the feeling of hands on my arms had me quickly jerking away with a shout tearing through my raw throat.

"Stay away! Don't touch me!" I bellowed, attempting to get to my feet while I scrambled away but I fell back down as I panted out of breath and tried to think of anything other than him and the roaring of the flames.


"Okay. Okay. I'll stay right here," the Doctor said as calmly as he could, though his hands tightened into fists as he eyed Fallon in concern.

She was sweating and near hyperventilating. It was a panic attack but one he couldn't interfere with when she was this dazed and on edge. He couldn't go near her and could already see that any attempt to, would send her into full-blown panic. Any movement caught her attention and he feared that whatever had been happening back in the memory they'd left, was already too late for him to stop.

He didn't want to take his focus away from her when she was like this, but there was something wrong here too. The Tardis had lost power and the room was colder than before. As much as he wanted to help Fallon, he needed to focus on the bigger problem at hand. He grit his teeth and got up, hating how Fallon flinched at his movement but went to the console to try and work out what was happening.

Amy and Rory, who'd been quiet and concerned while he dealt with Fallon, finally spoke up.

"Okay, I hate this, Doctor. Stop it, because this is definitely real. It's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?" Amy rattled off, uneasy and eyeing Fallon as the woman curled up and covered her head while muttering under her breath.

"It's bloody cold," Rory complained as well before his expression softened. "Is she okay?"

"No. Shut up," the Doctor said shortly, giving him a look as he rushed upstairs to check something. "And keep your distance. She'll work through it… Put on a jumper if you're cold. That's what I always do."

"Right," Rory muttered, watching Fallon in worry but doing as the Doctor said. "You said we were in her memory?"

"Yeah but something's wrong. Even here. Everything's off. Sensors, core power. We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere. Someone, something, is overriding my controls."

"It's about fucking time you noticed," someone scoffed, appearing on the jump seat nearby and starting them. "Honestly, I thought you were supposed to be smart. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. More like last of the Untimely Lords."

"How did you get into my Tardis? What are you?" The Doctor demanded, moving between the figure and Fallon, who wasn't appearing to pay much notice to them in her continuing panic.

The figure was lithe and fit, wearing a white button-up with the sleeves rolled to their elbows, brown pants and boots, fingerless gloves, and a gun holster strapped to their chest just visible under their hooded cloak. He couldn't see their face as they lounged languidly across the jump seat; stretching like a lazy cat as they spoke.

"Call me whatever you want, really. I don't care and hardly bother to remember what sort of fancy titles people use. It's all bollocks to me, anyway." They sat up abruptly then, pulling off their hood to reveal short, messy silver hair and a devilish smirk on their face as they threw out their hands. "Say! Did you like the whole dream thing? Good stuff, isn't it?"

"Are you some kind of… medieval mercenary?" The Doctor questioned, giving them a once over with a wrinkle of his nose in disgust at the gun. "Though the gun is a bit out of date then."

"Oh, this old thing?" They said, reaching over and drawing the weapon, much to the Doctor's displeasure as he pulled out his sonic at the threat.

The mercenary shot him a look at his action, lazily pointing the gun at the ceiling and raising a brow at him.

"What? You gonna make some IKEA cabinet with that thing to shut me up in? Boy, you are way out of your depth." They leveled the gun—eerily calm—pointing it at his chest. "I could kill you in half a second and by the time you realize what happened, I'd kill your next regeneration too."

The room was tense as the two stared each other down but then the mercenary grinned and tossed the gun over their shoulder, letting it vanish into the Tardis depths.

"But that wouldn't be any fun. Or, well, not for very long, anyway and I'm all about maintaining my entertainment. You lot are my best chance for that, so it'd be a bit pointless to just off you so quickly." They thrust a thumb over at Fallon. "She's the exception, of course. Dies and dies and dies again. Man, wasn't that first one great?"

"Shut up," the Doctor snapped but the mercenary ignored him.

"I mean, wow. Talk about traumatic. Witch hunts were pretty brutal back then, eh? I half expected them to drown you in that lake just outside the forest but they went right for it, didn't they?"

The Doctor took a quick glance at Fallon, seeing that she'd stopped shaking and panting but had instead gone stiff with her hands clenched tight in her hair.

"Talk about torture though!" The mercenary continued with a whistle. "Burned at the stake! All that smoke and fire and pain. What a way to go." The mercenary smirked at her though, seeing Fallon had peeked an eye out from behind her knees. "Oh, but that doesn't compare to what happened before, right? That first husband of yours is a real piece of work. All those sweet words while he wrapped his hands around your throat and took away every last ounce of dignity you had when he rap—"

"Shut up!" Fallon suddenly bellowed; on her feet and rushing toward the mercenary as the Doctor grabbed her.

"Fallon! Fallon, don't!"

"Let me go!" She roared, tearing away from him and throwing herself at the mercenary who vanished before she could touch them.

A laugh came from behind the Doctor then; the mercenary having appeared behind him without so much as a sound.

"Oh! Oh, is that what gets ya? The big r-word? Please. You practically signed up for it! You were so stupid and naive. Big, ol' immortal had just gotten so lonely that the first person to notice them was infallible." The mercenary scoffed, expression twisting to one of disgust. "Really. How dumb do you have to be to see all the signs and just fucking ignore them?"

"Shut up," Fallon snapped again.

"Or what?" They challenged. "You'll kill me? Oh, but wait! You're not allowed, right? You've gone and done it again. Falling for someone and letting them control you just like the first one. Can't kill people. Can't hurt people. Can't do anything without permission of the all-knowing Doctor," they mocked, suddenly appearing directly in front of Fallon as she paled and shrank back. "Go ahead and test your luck, because the way I see it, you couldn't do it if you tried because the guilt would just tear you up."

The mercenary spun in a circle; hands thrown in the air.

"Millennia-year-old immortal holding all the skills and knowledge in the world!" They held their arms out in a shrug. "Afraid of disappointing a child trapped in a Time Lord's body." They scoffed again, leaning against a railing. "I don't know why you even bother. Oh! That's right. Because you've got no other choice. Can't kill an immortal, after all. No matter how hard you try."

"Fallon, don't listen to them," the Doctor said sternly, seeing how the mercenary was getting under her skin.

"Yeah, follow the Lord's orders," the mercenary hummed. "I'm sure you remember how that worked out the last time. Though, maybe you've forgotten. Suppose reminding you would be easy enough."

"Leave her alone," the Doctor demanded.

"Ooh, so scary," they mocked him. "Mate, you're about as frightening as a newborn giraffe. The gooseberry over there can be scarier than you."

"If anyone's the gooseberry round here, it's the Doctor," Rory argued, getting a snort before the mercenary draped an arm over his shoulder—having teleported again.

"See? This is why I like him. Oblivious to how stupid the words coming out of his mouth are."

"Hey, leave him alone," Amy threatened as well.

The mercenary held up their hands in surrender. "Ooh, sorry, scary Scottish lady. I would say 'how dare I touch something of yours' except you didn't want him if I remember right."

Amy shifted uneasily. "No. That's not true."

"Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out. Choose, even, though given how much of a pushover that other one is, you might be able to work something out with the four of you. I know! She can have him on weekends," the mercenary laughed as Amy tried to correct them.

"I have chosen. Of course, I've chosen." She lightly hit Rory in the stomach. "It's you, stupid."

"Oh, good. Thanks," Rory grumbled and the mercenary popped up between them.

"You can't fool me. I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice, Amy. Blimey, I'd blush if I had a blood supply or a real face. Though the consent argument with Miss Victim over there was magnifique." They kissed the tips of their fingers as the Doctor drew their attention back to him.

"Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?"

"Me?" The mercenary held a hand to their chest in mocked offense. "Sir, you wound me. Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"You're nothing like me."

"Really? We're practically two peas in a pod. If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student. I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are. Though she's not much better," they said, tossing a thumb over their shoulder at Fallon.

"I mean, really. Tightly wound ball of insecurity where any little thing could trigger her PTSD and send her spiraling down into the dark little pit she likes to pretend doesn't exist after millennia on Earth. She's so busy trying to cover it up with scary jobs, tough acts and clothes, and changing her identity over and over in the hopes of one day living a normal life. Except, oh! That's right! She can't fucking die so it's just a countdown to when she'll either die or run away from her problems all over again."

They folded their arms over their chest.

"And how's that working out for you, sweetheart? Millionth time's the charm, right? You get lucky, find an alien who looks human enough and lives ten times as long. You think you've finally hit the jackpot except he can still die and you still can't."

"I said stop it," the Doctor snapped, going to grab the mercenary but they vanished again, appearing behind Amy and Rory.

"Yes, yes. I suppose you're right. I'm oh-so busy after all. You two wanted a distraction anyway after your little fight. So, how about this? Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face in both worlds a deadly danger, but only one of the dangers is real." They disappeared and quickly returned, smiling wickedly from over Fallon's shoulder. "There's just one thing. This one's coming with me."

"You can't—"

The gun was back and pointed at the Doctor's head as their arm looped around Fallon's throat; their expression a deadly sort of calm that put everyone on edge.

"I can, and I will, given you can't actually stop me. Besides, I'll give her back every so often. It's no fun if I don't show you a hint of the real victim in this mess. She's too good to let go of, much less to someone like you. So, if you want her back so bad, figure it out. Longer you take, the more fun I'll have with her. So, tweet tweet," they said as birdsong started up and the group began to fall asleep once more. "Time to sleep… Or are you waking up?"


The Doctor, Amy, and Rory woke back up in the village as the mercenary figure paced in front of them.

"Oh, this is bad. Very, very bad. Look at this x-ray! Your brain is completely empty," they said, holding up a brain scan and giving the Doctor a look. "Big shocker. Now, the prognosis is this. If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality?"

"What happens?" Rory asked, getting an amused look from them.

"You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality. Tell you what. You ever get bored of hanging out with boy-in-the-bow-tie, you can definitely stick with me. You're a right laugh."

"Have you met the Doctor before? Do you know him? Doctor, do they?" Amy asked, looking between the two as the mercenary appeared right in front of her, making her take a step back.

"Why? Are you jealous? Surely you realize he's been around, right?" The mercenary chuckled, popping up in front of the Doctor with their hand on their chin. "I mean, the tweed suit and bow tie just scream history teacher but I suppose he's not bad on the eyes. Oh, but the last version absolutely crushed so many women's hearts." The mercenary pretended to swoon. "Hundreds of years, never aging face. He's every woman's wet dream. Shame he's a right twat eighty percent of the time. Always finding something to disapprove of. But enough of that. I've got your friend to get back to, and you've got a world to choose. One reality to rule the rest or whatever that damn movie line was. I'm always forgetting." They waved the thought off, walking away from the group. "Figure it out. Toodles~"

They vanished and Rory spoke up first.

"Okay, I don't like them."

"Who are they?" Amy asked, a bit confused and uneasy herself.

"I don't know. It's a big universe," the Doctor admitted, though there were a few things he'd noticed that gave him a possible idea.

"Why are they doing this?"

"Maybe because they have no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so they're taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel."

"What do they mean, deadly danger, though? Nothing deadly has happened here," Rory pointed out, but the Doctor looked around and frowned.

"They've all gone," he said, rushing toward the nearby marketplace where there had once been a bundle of women. "All of them."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked. "Do you mean the people? Why would they leave?"

"Few reasons. I think this is one of Fallon's memories. Don't know if it still is with her not here but they were going to burn her as a witch. Given the way she woke up on the Tardis, it's possible that we weren't able to stop it."

"But that doesn't make sense," Amy pointed out. "If she died here already, does that make this the dream?"

"No… No, there's got to be something that I'm missing. Come on, let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in. Time asleep exactly matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams."

"And we're all dreaming nearly the same dream at the same time," Rory added.

"Yes, a sort of communal trance. Very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway, a tell. Only thing I can think of—"

"Was Fallon having a different version of the dream, right?" Amy pointed out.

"Exactly. This has something to do with her. All of it. I just don't know how we're going to fix it."

"We can start there, I think," Rory said then, pointing over at the column of smoke in the distance.

The Doctor clenched his teeth tight, remembering Fallon's fear from earlier, and nodded. "Right. We'll start there. Find the danger in this reality and work it out as quickly as we can. I don't doubt Fallon is stuck dealing with that mercenary person right now. Sooner we get this done, the sooner we're back home."

"Unless this is home," Amy tacked on but the Doctor started off toward the smoke with a serious expression on his face.

"This isn't home without Fallon."


Horses marched alongside soldiers as they steadily moved to their destination. All were fully decked out in heavy metal armor and swords but the group was small and the soldiers laughed and joked about what they were about to do.

"It's the lord's orders after all."

"It's some small peasant village, I heard. Lord says we've got war with the neighboring country coming up and they're not paying like they should."

"Which means no consequences. We can do whatever the hell we want."

"You think they've got some nice women there?"

"I wonder if we can find out if they're hiding away some cash."

"The lord wants them gone so some entertainment and a few missing coins won't be noticed, right captain?"

I turned to look over my shoulder at them idly, tired and exhausted from the needless fighting we'd been doing. I turned back around to face the front, saying nothing to them as they muttered some comments behind my back and I stared at the road ahead. Every spring we fight until summer, then train and gather provisions until the next spring and it happens all over again. What's the point of raiding these villages for a needless war?

The repetition of the other soldier's words echoed in my mind, making my head swim. The lord's orders. The lord's orders. I closed my eyes and brought a hand to my head, wondering if I'd just been in the sun too long while wearing the heavy armor. When I looked back up though, the village was just ahead. The horses pawed at the ground and the soldiers shuffled eagerly, awaiting orders. It's the lord's request. I have no right to refuse. It would be treason all over again and… I'm tired.

I nodded toward the village and the men charged in as I followed on my horse. Screams rang out as the homes were raided. Men were beaten and women were torn from their rooms and attacked in the streets. Children wailed and sobbed until the knights swept through and silenced them. Houses were torched, people killed, blood stained my sword as I was dragged into the fray by a raging older man. I stared coldly at his body as it hit the ground and his wife rushed out with a wail of agony.

My gaze shifted to her as a knight headed her way with a hungry look in his gaze. He grabbed her and she screamed, trying to jerk away from his hold as his hands tore at her dress. Her image shifted though, changing to one very familiar to me and suddenly I was between her and the man—staring down at him from the back of my horse.

"Go. I'll deal with her."

He clicked his tongue but left and I turned back to the sobbing woman. My eyes softened, heart aching as the sudden feeling of guilt and doubt filled me. We can't leave any survivors. We were ordered not to. They'll search for anyone left and she won't leave. I know she won't… She looked up at me, holding her dress closed with tears streaming down her face. I have no choice.

"That's right," a voice whispered in my ear. "You never have a choice. Not now, not back then, not even in the future. You just do what you're told."

There was a scream that cut through the air then and the woman fell to the ground, dead; her blood on my armor and sword, dripping onto the dirt as my breath hitched. I was standing on the ground in front of the corpse that stared back at me through cold, lifeless eyes. A breath brushed over my ear as the mercenary grinned from my shoulder.

"The lord's orders," they sang with amusement in their voice. "Just more blood on your hands, eh? What's another body? Another life? You just want fun and entertainment, right? How's that for fun?"

"No…" I breathed, tearing my helmet off and pressing my hand to my face. "No. I didn't mean… I-I had no choice! She would've been—T-That's worse than death! T-That's—"

"That's not your decision!" The mercenary bellowed, startling me as I stepped back away from them, though their expression was eerily calm. "That's what he'd say, right? That idiot Doctor."

"He's not…" I choked on the words, mind spinning as the scent of smoke and coppery blood filled my nostrils.

The village was burning and people were dying while I just stood there.

"Come now. He's got blood on his hands just as you do," the mercenary reminded me. "Why does he get to act all high and mighty? Because his body count might be lower than yours? You don't know that. He hasn't even told you, has he?"

I eyed the mercenary uneasily, knowing that was true.

"The Doctor holds so many secrets. Secrets you might never know because you're so much darker. Tell me, Fallon," they said, practically spitting out the name in disgust. "Why would that goody-two-shoes take you with him? You're not going to change. You've already proven that much. So?"

"I-I don't…"

I didn't know. I never asked and the closest answer I'd ever gotten was that I was interesting. That… That he liked me.

"No, no, no. None of that," the mercenary drawled. "Really? You think he just fell in love and kept you? He left you. They always do. You can't escape that. Everyone you think you might like or love or befriend will turn to dust like all the others. He's no exception. Him taking you in? That wasn't out of care or concern or interest. Be real. You want to know why he took you in?"

The mercenary vanished behind me and when I started to turn, white-hot pain slammed into my stomach. It was the son of the couple I'd killed. His fury-filled blue eyes stared straight into mine as he pushed and twisted the blade into me and blood bubbled into my throat. The mercenary hovered just past my shoulder, picking at their nails idly as they spoke.

"He took you in because he wants to stab you in the back. He's locking you away to keep the rest of the world safe. You're an anomaly in this universe. It's his job to make sure you don't go fucking it up. So—"

The blade was pulled from my stomach as my knees gave out and the boy raised it again.

"—he'll pretend to tolerate you and entertain you but that's all you are to him. A threat." The mercenary leaned close, their hand brushing over my throat as the blade came swinging back down. "And a monster that needs to be controlled."


"It's really cold. Have you got any warm clothing?" Amy asked, rushing up the stairs from where she and Rory had woken up.

"What does it matter if we're cold?" The Doctor complained. "We have to know what they're up to."

They'd been brought back to the Tardis after finding the villagers again, who were whispering and muttering about them. The danger in the other world had to do with those villagers but the Doctor wasn't sure how. Amy and Rory hadn't moved, just stared at him because of his outburst and he tried to calm down, rubbing at his face.

"Sorry, sorry. There should be some stuff down there. Have a look. Something for Fallon too, if you can."

They nodded and headed off to search for something warmer before there was a shout. The Doctor hurried around the console to where Fallon had abruptly sat up, gasping for air and pawing lightly at her stomach. The Doctor was hesitant to touch her as she pulled her shirt up and placed a hand over a scar on her side.

"Fallon. Fallon, you're okay. You're back on the Tardis," he tried to soothe her, finally touching her arm and drawing her fearful gaze to him. "I'm sorry, but you're safe here."

She shook her head, lightly pulling away from him as she got to her feet shakily. "We're not. W-We're not safe anywhere. Every time I… Every time I hear those birds—"

"I know. I know. We're taken off into that dream or your memory or somewhere, but I can't understand it without your help. I need you here, Fallon."

Fallon stopped, facing away from him and bringing her hand up to hold her arm, shoulders slightly hunched.

"Fallon?"

"Do you?" She asked softly, confusing him.

"I… I don't know what you mean, Fallon."

"Do you really need me?" She questioned, making him look at her in surprise.

"What? Of course, I do! Fallon, why would you think—"

"You left me."

He dragged a hand down his face. "Yes. Once and I apologized. I told you it was a mistake! Fallon, I love you! Why wouldn't I need you? Why wouldn't I want you here? Did that mercenary person say something? Fallon, you can't trust them."

"But they're right," Fallon pressed, holding herself tightly, more insecure than he'd ever seen her. "Everything they've said is true. I-I was stupid and lonely and made up all those excuses for what he did to me. I let it happen over and over again. Then… Then, all those people… I killed them. I did. I could have saved them o-or stopped what was happening but I… God, I didn't even run away! I just kept telling myself I had no choice! I always prioritized myself over anyone and I… I did so many terrible things."

"Fallon, you had no choice," the Doctor tried but she whipped around to him in anger.

"I always had a choice!" She shouted. "You don't know half of what I've done! You weren't there! You don't have the right to say that when you don't know anything!"

"Then, tell me!" He shouted back, upset himself and for how this mercenary was getting into their heads. "I gave you time! I've always given you time to talk on your own terms, Fallon! But how am I supposed to help you when you won't tell me anything!"

"Because you won't tell me anything!" She countered. "You're… You're some alien Time Lord. You were in some big war. You're alone because something happened but you never explain! We just had a fight in Venice and you still didn't tell me anything!"

"Because I didn't want to hurt you!"

"You're already hurting me!"

"Ooh, trouble in paradise?" The mercenary spoke up, eating popcorn and wearing 3D glasses with a smirk as they waved the two of them off. "Don't let me get in the way. This is just getting good."

The Doctor glared at them for the interruption and Fallon turned away, going quiet again. I can't help her with this mercenary character interrupting. I need to talk to her when she's calmer though. We won't get anywhere like this. He ran a hand through his hair before moving past Fallon to go under the console and look for something to help with the power out. The mercenary clicked their tongue and disappeared, leaving them alone for the moment. He hadn't expected Fallon to trail down after him, less angry and on edge than a moment ago. He stayed quiet, not wanting to argue further.

"I… I'm sorry," she apologized, making him wince as he broke a handle on a box of random items. "I'm not… I'm not trying to fight. I just… With the memories a-and that person messing with me… I'm not good at this. At… At talking about things. I know I've said that before but I… I'm honestly absolute shit at dealing with my problems. You'd think millennia would make that better. That I'd learn something and change but…"

"It's not easy," the Doctor finally said, pulling out a whisk and glancing over his shoulder at her. "Even for me."

Fallon nodded and sat down on the stairs as he started putting odds and ends together, wringing her hands. "I… I don't know how to help."

"Well… do you know them? That mercenary fellow?"

Fallon shook her head. "No. They're not familiar."

He glanced over at her before continuing, turning the whisk device in his hands around to make sure he'd hooked it up right. "They said we have to figure out which of these realities is real. Did you… Back in the village…"

She hesitated, but nodded slowly, making him clench his eyes shut with a long breath.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I was hoping we could have—"

"It was a memory," Fallon pressed. "I-I don't know how but… there was no stopping it. It's already happened."

He saw her touch her side again and stepped over, worried. "Where did they take you after? When we were sent back to the village?"

"Another memory," she murmured. "It was… a long time ago. I… I did something terrible. I deserved to die because of it. They had every right—"

"Fallon," he said, starting to scold her but she shook her head.

"No. No, I did. I led the raid of a small peasant village that was under the rule of a corrupt feudal lord. I watched as people were torn from their homes and beaten, killed, and assaulted. I killed someone who charged at me, killed his wife when another knight tried to—" She cut herself short, looking away shamefully. "Their son stabbed me. I deserved it. I deserved worse than that even."

"It was a mistake, Fallon," the Doctor muttered, reaching out and taking her hand. "You've lived a long life. Longer than any of us and that's hard. I'm sure terrible things have happened. I'm sure you've done terrible things just like I've done terrible things. But you know what? There's one thing that makes us different from horrible people." He gave her hand a squeeze. "We're trying to do better."

Fallon didn't look convinced but didn't argue either. The Doctor took it as a win though, taking a deep breath as he decided to tread into dangerous territory.

"About Venice…"

Fallon stiffened slightly but didn't pull away as he continued.

"I… I wasn't trying to push you away. I know that sounds stupid given what I said but… I just… I didn't want you to get hurt."

Fallon shot him a look. "I was able to help Amy and Isabella escape. I knocked out a man in a bar with one hit. Pretty sure I can take care of myself."

"Yes. Yes, I know you can but…" He sighed, clasping her hand between his and pressing it to his forehead. "I don't want to watch you get hurt again. I don't want you dying and sacrificing yourself for people just because of your immortality." He lowered her hand. "When you told me you set that woman on fire, I was… upset, yes. I'd prefer no violence if it was possible but I understood why you did what you had to do. I just… there was so much risk involved. Gunpowder is so volatile any little thing could have…"

Fallon eyed him for a moment, slightly confused. "So, you pushed me away—sent me back to the Tardis—for what?"

He frowned lightly, standing up and drawing her up to her feet as well. "When I met with Calvierri, obviously, she wasn't pleased. I didn't want to risk her going after you for what you'd done. I didn't know how many people she had that could come after you. I had to send you back… to keep you safe."

"And you couldn't have just told me?"

"I didn't have time," he said, apologetically. "I knew you would argue and Calvierri was already trying to sink Venice. I wanted to talk to you after but then this happened. I… I am sorry, Fallon. It was stupid."

"You're right. You are stupid," she said but managed to crack a small hint of a smile as they moved back upstairs. "But I suppose I can forgive you, so long as you get us out of this nightmare."

"Already on it," he chirped, glad they'd made up as Amy and Rory came back with blankets. "Ah, Rory. Wind," he said, handing Rory the whisk device and Amy the plug on the other end. "Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please."

"I was promised amazing worlds. Instead, I get duff central heating and a weird, kitcheny wind-up device," Rory complained as Fallon eyed it.

"I think it's a generator."

"Yup! Get winding," the Doctor said, as he adjusted a few things on the console and Amy tapped the monitor.

"It's not enough."

"Faster, Rory," Fallon replied as he picked up the pace.

"Why is the mercenary picking on you?" Rory questioned. "Why us?"

The scanner came on then, drawing everyone toward it.

"Where are we?" Amy asked, eyeing the image of space and the white star on screen.

"We're in trouble," the Doctor answered quietly.

"What is that?"

"A star. A cold star," he said, rushing for the doors as Fallon followed.

"A cold star? How does that work?"

"This must be the dream," Amy added. "There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn."

"So's this one. It's just burning cold. That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality," he said as he pulled the doors open for a moment, letting in a freezing chill and bright light before closing it.

"Is that possible?" Rory asked again, everyone rubbing their arms from the chill.

"I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always? Ask Fallon. She's older than me."

"Doesn't mean I know everything. I was strictly Earth-bound and still have a shoddy human memory," she grumbled, frowning in thought. "But… fire is unique to Earth because the planet is oxygenated rather well. We don't know how fire would work outside of Earth but blue flames are typically the hotter version of fire and…" She stopped and rubbed at her temples. "Ugh, who cares how it works or if it does? Point is, we need to figure out what the dream is, right?"

"But if this is something you haven't seen before, does that mean this is the dream?"

"Not necessarily. There's a lot we don't know about things. This might just be one of them," Fallon countered as the Doctor spoke up from where he sat on the jump seat.

"I don't know, but there it is, and I'd say we've got about fourteen minutes until we crash into it. But that's not a problem."

"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Rory tried.

"Because we'll be frozen to death by then."

Fallon shivered. "Yeah, done that. Not a fan."

"Then what are we going to do?" Amy asked.

"Stay calm. Don't get sucked into it, because this just might be the battle that we have to lose."

"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory complained then, drawing confused gazes.

"What?"

"Huh, what? A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live, and only one man to save the day, huh? I just wanted a nice village and a family."

"Except that was mostly my memory which involved getting burned at the stake in the 1500s," Fallon pointed out. "Though, you're welcome to stay there for when they figure out you're wearing clothing with zippers and burn you too."

A whistle echoed through the room as the mercenary reappeared, causing Fallon to stiffen immediately. "Dissent in the ranks, huh? There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and let's not even start with his girlfriend—" They stopped as birdsong started up, sending the group to their knees. "Oh, no. Run out of time, have we? Don't spend too long in that village or you'll catch your death here. And don't worry. I'll take good care of your girlfriend, Doctor."

"F-Fallon," the Doctor breathed out as everything shifted once more.