A/N: In light of 's recent issues, it seems that now they are back up and running properly, so I will post regularly here again. Also, to make up for my absence, I will be posting two chapters here, since I stopped posting for a while when the issues started back in September, so now I'm catching up :)

You guys (especially all you River Song fans) are in for a mega roller coaster ride. This chapter ends on a major cliffhanger, so be prepared for that. Please don't hate me after you've read it!

Chapter 6: My 'Nova'

Thankfully, later that day, I find out my parents are going out to a concert out of town and would be staying out overnight, which makes it easier for me to sneak out of the house without questions. Regrettably, this made me think back to my other life, at the time when they went off to see a concert at the exact same time I was planning to leave them after I found out the truth of my so-called 'non-humanness,' and how that was the very last time I saw them alive together. The next time I reunited with them, I found out my father-guardian had been brutally killed by the Silence, which I saw in a vision, and thankfully my mother-guardian and Hazel were kept alive, but later my mother-guardian sacrificed herself to save the rest of my family, staying behind and buying us extra time to escape the Silence, and neither of us were able to save her after that.

When I found out they were leaving again today, a large part of me wanted to stop them and convince them to stay so I could spend more time with them; but at the same time I knew they weren't real, that they were part of the simulation that I believe myself to be stuck in, and it just wouldn't feel the same as being with them in my other life. Perhaps I would've been able to save their lives this time by forcing them to stay, but, sadly, I allowed them to go to the concert without me, knowing that, deep down, it was time for me to let them go; even in my other life, I'm sure they would've asked me to do the same, no matter how much they knew of their tragic fate. As hard as it was to say goodbye to them for the final time, I knew I had a responsibility to follow, and it was important that I follow it regardless; it's what they would want for me, even long after their passing.

'Be strong, be brave…' my father-guardian's words echo in my mind, 'but further most, be smart. Your strengths and your knowledge are what make you invincible. You can do anything, so long as you follow those three rules.' Words that I swear to myself that I will never forget, even several Regenerations down the line.

The moment the sun disappears below the horizon, I hop on my bike and cycle over to the abandoned factory where the ominous note from my apparent evil twin instructed me to meet.

Before my meeting, I spent the remainder of the day making sure I would be as well prepared as possible. I have absolutely no idea what will happen once I get there, and I want to make absolutely sure I'm well prepared for literally anything that may be thrown at me. There's a high chance that I might be facing the Silence again, and if what the Doctor and River said about 'their Nova' being their new leader is true, I should never underestimate her, no matter what she may do to me. With this in mind, I know that this version of me is very different—not at all like me—and, therefore, very dangerous, so it will be a challenge to face her. No doubt some sort of trap will be waiting for me once I arrive.

As I continue cycling quietly over to the factory (it feels so surreal that I know how to ride a bike at all, as I never learned to ride one in my other life), I think about what sort of trap that Nova has set for me. There is no doubt that the Silence want something from me, specifically my knowledge of the Doctor and River, and they want to use everything I know about them to destroy them for her, exactly like the Silence always wanted from the very start. I'm betting that the 'trap' will be their way to put me under mind-control and manipulate me into turning onto their side and helping them to accomplish this goal once and for all, and I spent most of the day and bike-ride planning ways to prevent them from doing this and to escape them if worse came to worse. I highly doubt that simply resisting them would work, since in my other life, River Song attempted to do this, only the Silence overpowered her and put her under their control anyway, and I remember how much of a struggle it was for the Doctor and I to break her free from the mind-control and how it ultimately cost me my life and forced me to regenerate once we did finally break her free. However, in this world, I no longer have that Regeneration ability to save me this time (God, I really wish I did!), so I plan not to take any chances. This world is unlike any typical 'dream' I've ever experienced before, so if I end up dying here, there's a chance I may not wake up in reality, and I will make doubly sure that this doesn't happen…just in case.

As I pull up to the factory's property and park my bike at the entrance, I feel a small part of me begin to wish that I had brought Hazel with me as backup, but I instantly remember that she is still in the hospital and our friendship is now very strained from our earlier falling-out. In my former life, I know that that version of Hazel would've gone with me no question, keeping our oath in mind: 'If you go down, I go down with you.' However, this world is different. In this world, if such an oath existed, it no longer exists now and probably never will again. As sad as this is to me, it doesn't matter anymore, as what matters most is getting home, back to my reality.

If worse does, indeed, come to worse, I hope that my former parents, the Doctor and River Song, show up in time to save me; though, at the same time, I fear this may be a longshot, as I haven't heard from either of them in weeks, even though River promised me that they would. I'm fairly certain that they are the only people that can help me return home, but I don't know how else to get home if they continue refusing to help me. If all of this is truly a test, I am also very certain that bringing the Doctor's family back together (of course, without them killing each other) is the 'test' I have to pass in order to return home to mine.

"Damn…" I breathe out nervously as I enter the building and shine my flashlight around the dark interior, seeing terrifying shadows and hearing strange noises all around me. "Now I understand why people at school believe this place is haunted. This place is creeptastic." I ignore the creepy feelings as I press on, looking for evidence of the exact meeting place in the building while being cautious of my stepping around various piles of debris and flimsy flooring.

As much as I want to avoid all these dark corridors and leave, I decide to follow the noises anyway, believing they will lead me to the meeting place. Plus, I get the feeling that leaving isn't an option, as I believe that whoever sent that note will either force me back here or meet me back at my house, assuming the person knows where I live; in other words, I have absolutely no choice but to talk to him (or 'her,' or 'them') anyway.

May as well get it over with, I think dismally to myself with a sigh, here's hoping I don't die afterwards.

I continue wandering through the creepy corridors until the strangest thing happens. In what seems like the blink of an eye, one second I'm entering a dark room where there is lots of shuffling noises and shadows, and the next I'm high-tailing it out of the building and back to my bike with my single heart pounding in my throat. I momentarily pause, trying to remember what the hell happened in there, but I am completely unable to remember anything that led to me running for my life. In any case, there must be a logical reason, but since I can't remember the reason at all, I ultimately decide to trust my gut and cycle away from that hellish place and go back home. As I begin cycling away, I see various shadowy figures looking at me through the shattered windows and opened doorways and watching me leave, but they don't chase me, which I find strange, as I'm fairly certain that those 'things' had attempted to cause me harm, which led to me escaping to begin with. No matter the circumstances, I don't think about it further as I cycle at high speed back home, refusing to look back.

At one point while cycling home, I check the time on my watch, and I see that it is 9:57pm, which is about twenty minutes later than when I first arrived at the factory. That meant I was inside that factory, talking to who-knows-who about who-knows-what, for just as long.

My legs are burning by the time I finally reach my house. I immediately park my bike in the garage and rush all around the house, closing and locking all doors and windows. I even close all of the curtains for good measure, in case the people I supposedly met at the factory had followed me home. I peek through the curtains and stare out the front windows for several minutes to see if anyone is walking around the neighborhood as if to search for me, but thankfully I see no one. I eventually return to the sofa in the Living Room with the longest, sharpest knife from the holder in the kitchen for extra protection.

I sit there, gripping the knife tightly in hand, while struggling to think back on what happened at that factory. For the life of me, I can't remember anything that happened between entering the building and leaving it. What, or who, was it inside that made me rush away in such a panic? Did I really just run away from a ghost? Or was that really the Silence I encountered in there? If the Silence were truly there, I feel like that would explain why I don't remember anything at all. I vaguely remember having a conversation with someone, but I can't remember who I talked with nor what we talked about. The Silence must've attempted to force me to do their dirty work, and I refused and immediately left, but even then, I wonder why they didn't chase me and instead just watched me run. Did they suddenly decide that they didn't need me, after all, and just let me go? Or did they already give me some instructions that I have no hope whatsoever to refuse, and they sent me off to do whatever they subconsciously tasked me to do? If that's the case, I'm afraid to find out what they instructed me to do, and I'm afraid the instructions have something to do with killing the Doctor and River. I can't imagine what I'll try to do if one of them shows up.

As if this nightmare couldn't get any worse, right on cue, I suddenly hear a loud knock at the front door, which startles me almost right off of the sofa.

Fudgeknuckle! They've found me! They're gonna kill me!

I stand up slowly, gripping the knife tightly as I cautiously approach the door to peep through the window. If it truly is one of the Silence… Or worse, Nova—

I am interrupted mid-thought as there is another loud bang against the door, which makes my heart jump to my throat again. However, this time the knocks are followed by a familiar woman's calm voice, which calls through the door, "Sydney? Sydney, sweetie, are you home? It's alright; you don't have to be afraid! It's me, River Song! I'm here to help!"

I pause, frowning. River Song? As in, my mother? Is that really her?

I peek through the side window, and, indeed, see her standing there, her reddish-blond curls as wild as I've always remembered them to look; though her face bores an expression of concern.

I immediately open the door. "Mom!" I exclaim in relief. "Thank God it's only you! I thought you were…uh…someone else." I step back to allow her entry into the house.

"I suppose that would explain the knife in your hand," she says, nodding to the knife in my white-knuckled grip, as she enters the house. "Don't suppose you'd want to tell me what that's about?" She then says with a slight chuckle, "Also, I can't help but notice that you called me 'mom' again." She says the word 'mom' in a mock-American accent.

"Sorry; habit," I chuckle back awkwardly as I shut the door again and lock it.

"It's quite alright, sweetie," my mother assures me. "You can call me whatever you want, I don't mind."

As she walks casually into the Living Room, I suddenly have a strange urge to plunge the knife into my mother's back, and I immediately chuck the knife into a side room to vanquish the unsettling urge. To distract me from thinking about it again, I ask curiously as I join her on the sofa, "Where's Dad—I mean the Doctor?" She clearly came alone, which automatically made me feel a bit concerned for my father, no matter how coldhearted (times two) he was towards me before.

River pauses and sighs sadly. "He's…still not in his right mind at the moment." After a shake of her head, she says swiftly, "But I'm here, so you can talk to me."

Regretfully, this tells me that their marriage didn't work out as well as either of us had hoped, which makes me feel sad for them. Damn, this situation with Nova has really screwed them up good, and not in a legitimately good way.

"Anyway," River says, changing the subject, "would you like to explain what happened not too long ago? You seem very agitated and shaken. Are you alright?"

"Not really," I say, shaking my head. "I mean, I'm not alright, and I don't really want to explain what happened either. It's not that I think you won't believe me, but rather what might happen if I do tell you…if that makes any sense." A small part of me thinks that the Silence forbade me to say anything about their plans during our meeting earlier, but at the same time I feel I must explain for my mother's sake as well as my father's.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand," she confesses in a regretful tone.

"I mean that they'll kill me if I tell you!" I groan. "Or they'll kill you!"

"'They?'" River asks, frowning. "You mean the Silence?"

I nod. "I think so. I don't really know. I don't remember what exactly happened, but I'm ninety-nine percent certain they were there. Nova too."

"Nova?" River asks, shocked this time. "You saw my daughter?"

I shrug. "Again, I'm not entirely sure. I do remember talking to someone, though, but I don't remember who it was exactly. It could've been Nova, but again I'm not sure."

God, this feels so weird, talking about myself in the third person. I must sound like an idiot.

"Where exactly did you meet her?"

I sigh and reluctantly confirm, "There's an old abandoned factory just down the street from here. I got a note from her earlier today when I visited my friend at the hospital. I recognized the handwriting immediately."

"Do you still have the note?" River asks curiously.

I nod. "I do. Here." I reach into my pocket, take out the crumpled note, uncrumple it, and hand it to her.

She takes a few seconds to inspect the note before she nods and says in a shaky voice, her face going pale, "Yup, that's her handwriting, alright. I'd recognize it anywhere."

"The note basically said to meet her at that factory," I explain, "but I don't want to go back, especially if they're still there. I feel like I barely escaped them last time…but then again maybe they let me escape."

River looks up at me, frowning. "They 'let' you escape? What do you mean?"

I sigh. "Again, I don't remember what happened in there or anything that we talked about, but I know I was in there for at least twenty minutes before I ran away. For all I know, during that time, we were discussing ways to—" I immediately stop myself from finishing that sentence, as this is what I'm fairly certain was the exact topic I was forbidden to share with her, but I feel I have to anyway, especially if it could save her life later.

Or end her life.

What? No! Where did that thought even come from? Who in their right mind would come up with an idea like that? That's the most ridiculous idea!

"Discussing ways to what?" River frowns at me, wondering why I didn't continue.

I purse my lips nervously. "I think you know. They've been trying to do it for years. They even tried it with you before you betrayed them. For all I know, they may have been trying to get me in on it as well. In fact, they may already have."

My mother pauses and backs away from me slightly, like she's truly afraid of me. "You think…" she stammers. "You think you might try to kill me? The Doctor too?"

I pause, sputtering on my words. "I mean, I don't want to, but…yeah. Maybe I would. That's why I think you should leave. You may not be safe around me. I could snap at any moment and try to hurt you without knowing it or having any control of myself."

River nods as she scoots back closer to me. "I understand that, Sydney, but I'm afraid I must disappoint you when I say I refuse to leave you."

What?! Is she for real? Is she insane? That's going to get her killed!

That's the idea…

What?! No! Stop it! Stop thinking! You don't even know what you're thinking!

Oh, but I do. I want to kil—

No, you don't! Just stop! Stop talking! Stop thinking!

"But you have to!" I say, frowning at her and completely ignoring the devilish thoughts in my head. "If I kill you—"

"You won't kill me. I trust you won't."

Girl, she has no idea how wrong she is…

I said shut up, god damnit!

"You can't be sure of that," I can't help arguing. "We know how the Silence work! If they give us a command—any command at all—we have no choice but to do it, no matter how sick and twisted the command is! For all I know, they may have tasked me to kill you in some way, same with Dad. I don't know what that 'way' is, but I may not have a choice but to do it anyway, no matter how much I don't want to do it! I can't let that happen, certainly not to you or Dad! In my world, they attempted to do the same thing, and thankfully it didn't happen, and that was how it was supposed to happen."

"Hmm… Clearly things happened differently in your 'world,'" River says, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "How exactly did it happen there?"

I sigh before explaining. "Well, I wasn't raised by the Silence; that's the main thing. In my world, Dad saved me from that happening to me. He connected with me through our psychic link, and he was able to find and take me away before the Silence could. You and Dad sent me to live with a couple—my current parents in this world—who adopted me. In my world, they couldn't conceive, so they agreed to adopt me and keep me hidden from the Silence for my whole life. Yet, somehow, the Silence—or 'Vokanari,' as they were called in my world—found me anyway and secretly trained me in my weekly Aikido classes, but they never took me away since they knew Dad would find me as long as we were psychically connected with one another; though I never knew about our psychic connection, since he blocked his end to prevent me from knowing anything about you guys. When I finally found out the truth of my identity, I decided to leave my guardians, believing they'd be safer away from me—which was super naïve of me, since leaving them was what put them in more danger, needless to say. Not long after I left home, I met you guys, and you helped me rescue my family and stop the Silence…well, temporarily, anyway. Basically, I lived a safe and happy life away from the Silence, and that was how my story—uh, her story—was supposed to go. She was meant to be a much better person—a talented singer and musician, a loyal friend, and a loving daughter. She was meant to be…well, like you and Dad. Nothing at all like…whatever she is now."

God knows how my father failed to save me in this world. Honestly, I don't see how that can be possible for him, seeing as he very rarely—if at all—fails at anything. It just doesn't seem like him to lose any battle.

Oh, Dad… What happened to you?

After my story, my mother smiles sincerely saying, "I believe you, Sydney. I believe every word. It sounds like you had a wonderful life in your world, and I promise I will do everything I can to help you return to it."

"That's the thing. I don't think it'll be as simple as hopping into the TARDIS and traveling to my world. Plus, the Doctor confirmed I wasn't from another world; I'm from this one. But that's wrong."

"'Wrong?' What do you mean by that?"

"Remember when I mentioned that I must've been living in a sim?" I ask to give a bit of context to my explanation. "I mean, a simulation, like in the Matrix movies?"

"Vaguely," River frowns. "Would you mind explaining all of that again please?"

"Sure," I nod before asking again for clarification. "You are familiar with the Matrix movies, right? You mentioned you were before."

"Yes," River confirms. "You believe you're trapped in the Matrix; not like in the film series, but you're trapped in a similar one as depicted in the films?"

"Yes!" I exclaim. "That's exactly what I think! Though I don't remember how I got here."

"Nothing at all?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

I shake my head. "No; absolutely nothing. The earliest thing I can remember is waking up in my bed upstairs from a strange dream of my 'other life.' But at the same time I believed that 'other life' I dreamt about was real, and this was all fake." I explain this as I gesture around us. "Like I said before, here my parents could conceive, hence how they had me; but in my other life, they couldn't, hence why they adopted me. When I found this out, I knew that them being my real parents wasn't true…no matter how much I wanted it to be true."

I remember in my other life when I greatly wished that my guardians were my real parents instead of the Doctor and River, and how normal that felt before I learned the truth. A small part of me, admittedly, feels happy that I seemed to have gotten that exact wish in this world; however, things are not as exact as I expected. For instance, the Doctor and River are no longer my bio-parents and they now have an evil daughter who wants to kill them and the rest of creation, which was, of course, something that I did not plan to happen. Thankfully I still possess all of my original memories from my other life as it was before I 'woke up' in this world, but nothing is quite the same in this world, and it makes me feel like I have a responsibility to 'fix' this world back to the way as I described my life with River's—with my true bio-mother's—help.

"It's strange…" I sigh after a minute of deep thought. "In this world, I got everything I wanted—well, most things. I was given the normal life I wanted…"

My last statement makes me pause, and a vague memory of someone giving me the option of choosing a different life for myself suddenly flashes in my mind. However, I can't remember who offered me this option, but I can remember the specific option I chose—specifically, how I wanted my life to be changed, hence how I ended up in this world; however, nothing is quite right with the 'world' I chose for myself. Several moments from my original life still happened as they did then, but they are slightly different in this world, neither of which I expected to happen the way that they did here. In other words, these events happened differently solely because I'm no longer a Time Lord. Some examples include: the Sontaran at the arcade was simply there to wreak havoc on the locals rather than being sent there by the Silence to hunt me and deliver me to them; this version of Hazel is not the true friend that I thought she was; and my own parents, the Doctor and River, don't even trust me just because I know so much about them, and, instead, they're too preoccupied with the situation with their daughter having become the psycho-killer that River was originally meant to become. I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I made that decision to create this world as it is, but it was the dumbest decision I have ever made by far, and I regret it immensely.

"But it's not exactly the normal life you wanted," my mother finishes in a sympathetic tone, seemingly having read my thoughts. "As you said, you got most of what you wanted, but at a cost."

"I lost you and the Doctor," I nod, confirming said 'cost' shamefully. "Somehow, I wished you guys out of my life, and as a result you lost your daughter—your true daughter, I mean." You lost me, I add in my head before continuing out loud. "I created this world, and I don't know how to get out of it and back to my true world." I pause, suddenly remembering seeing and hearing the words 'wake up' in seemingly random places, and add, "I don't know how to wake up. I want to go home. I want my old life back."

I want to be a Time Lord again, I add once again in my head, my eyes flooding with tears as I bury my face in my hands and sob into them. I want to be your daughter again.

Because of this selfish wish, a large part of me feels responsible for giving the Doctor and River an evil daughter in my place, and I feel awful about it. Because of my selfishness, this 'fake world' is the price I now have to pay, and the Doctor and River have to pay for my selfishness as well by dealing with my evil self. I feel so ashamed to be seemingly ruining the Doctor's and River's lives with my stupidity and selfishness.

When will I ever learn? When will I ever 'woman up?'

"I don't remember how all of this happened…" I continue sobbing in my hands. "What I did to create this world. Whatever I did, I was stupid to do it. I was selfish." For all I know, I was tricked into creating this 'world' for myself and putting all other more important matters—specifically, how this choice would affect my loved ones—aside. I feel my mother wrap her arms around me in comfort, like she and the Doctor always do, as I continue my confession. "I never meant for any of this to happen, certainly not for you and Dad to deal with an evil me. I'm sorry I made you lose her—lose me. I'm so sorry."

"Hush, sweetie," my mother soothes as she combs her fingers lightly through my hair. "There's no need to ask for forgiveness. I'm not angry at all."

"How can you not be?" I frown, looking incredulously up at her. "Your daughter is an evil psychopath because of me, and I don't think there's any way to turn her back!"

"I'm sure there's a way," River shakes her head, "and I'm sure you can do it."

"How? Like the Doctor said, she's too far gone to be saved. She's not gonna have any interest in talking to us; only killing us!"

"But you know who she is. Who she truly is. You told me so yourself just a minute ago."

"So you truly believe we're the same person?" I ask in a semi-doubtful tone.

River nods. "I do. The life you described was just as how I imagined my child's life to be like."

I snort. "What; as a singer and musician?"

She shakes her head. "No. As the brave and loyal friend and daughter that she was always meant to be. A girl that would grow to be just like her father and me one day." She then smiles at me and adds while combing my hair out of my tearstained face, "And I see all of that in you. You, Sydney, are the daughter I've always wanted to have. My 'Nova.'"

"But I'm not your daughter," I frown. "Not biologically. Not anymore."

River nods in slight agreement. "No, but you can help our daughter into becoming the woman she was meant to be. Help her to become like you."

"I don't know how I can do that," I admit with a sigh. "I don't think simply talking to her will be enough."

"You mentioned talking to her at that factory earlier this evening, did you not?"

"I don't remember any of that. I don't even remember what we talked about."

"Then perhaps we should return to that factory and try again," River suggests.

"YES, WE SHOULD!" I automatically blurt out before instantly pausing and frowning, thinking in utter disbelief, Wait, what?! Where did that come from?

"Are you sure you want to go back, Sydney?" River frowns, puzzled as to why I exclaimed in that manner; and, admittedly, I'm not sure why either. "You said you didn't want to go back before. Are you absolutely sure?"

"YES!" I blurt out again without meaning to. I frown to myself again, thinking, Dude, why do I keep saying that? Of course we shouldn't go; that would be stupid! "I-I mean, no!" I continue out loud, shaking my head again. "Why should we go back? That's suicide! She could kill us! Assuming she's even still there…"

"If she is still there, then this could be your chance to talk to her," my mother says as she stands up from the sofa in preparation to leave. "Connect with her. As I said, you know who she really is. You can use that knowledge to turn her back. Help her become the woman and daughter that she's supposed to be. Teach her who the real enemy is."

I pause, suddenly remembering the time I encountered an evil version of myself during the 'fear' adventure in Victorian London in my other life. I remember my speech and how it seemed to affect Evil Nova in a somewhat positive way. At the time, I felt like I had truly come through to her, even for just a second, and I bet I could do it again if I had the chance, but I could do it for much longer—maybe even indefinitely.

'Being a Time Lord doesn't make you a god,' I recall my own words to my evil 'fear' self. 'It's just what we're called! We don't own the universe; we explore what has yet to be discovered! We save what has once been lost! We heal what has once been damaged! We correct what has once been wronged! Those are the true meanings and responsibilities of being a Time Lord! Everything you were taught by the Vokanari was wrong! They know nothing about the Time Lords—about us, nor about Dad! We seek to protect what the Vokanari seek to destroy! Trust me, this isn't you—this isn't us! We're so much better than this! Please, wake up from this delusion and come back to the Light! There is good in you, I know it! I know myself—I know you!'

"I… I've done it before…" I mutter uncertainly.

"That's great!" River praises me.

"But it was only for a brief second… And she wasn't really real; she was just a 'fear' projection…"

"But you got through to her, even just for a brief moment, like you said. Perhaps if you tried harder, you could get through to her for much longer."

"I still don't know…" I say, still feeling nervous about the idea. It seems way too risky, even for us.

"You can do it," my mother says with much confidence in her voice. "I know you can; you've done it before. If it doesn't work, we'll try something else; that's what my Vortex Manipulator is for." She says this as she lifts up her wrist that holds said device. "If things go south, we'll use this to escape."

"You really think I can do it?" I say doubtfully. "What if I can't? What if the Silence are there, and they take control of my mind again?"

River shakes her head. "They won't. I'll make sure of it. I'll use my gun on them if I need to." She pats at her holster at her hip as she says this. "We'll be fine, Sydney. I promise."

"Fine," I say, feeling like she won't give me any other choice. "Let's go."

"Let me see that note again," she says as she reaches for the slip of paper that was left on the table and skims it before interacting with her Vortex Manipulator by plugging the coordinates into it. After a minute, she straightens up again and says as she offers her arm out to me, "Alright. Vortex Manipulator is set. You ready?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I sigh with a shrug.

"We may not get another chance after this," she confirms. "It's now or never."

I sigh again as I reluctantly take my mother's arm, "Well, in that case, then yeah, I'm ready."

"Hold on tight!" my mother says as she activates her Vortex Manipulator, and we disappear in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, the scenery changes from my Living Room to the field outside the abandoned factory.

"Ugh," I wince as I wrap my arms around my stomach, suddenly feeling sick and dizzy. "I've forgotten how it feels to use that thing."

"You've used a Vortex Manipulator before?" my mother asks, seeming legitimately shocked.

I nod with a shrug. "Yeah, once, with you—I mean you from my world. Honestly, every time after using it, I felt like puking." Kinda like I feel right now, I add in my head as I rub my stomach in a circular motion to soothe the queasiness.

River chuckles. "Not a fan, eh? I don't blame you. My husband doesn't like them either. He refers to them as ch—"

"'Cheap and nasty time-travel,'" I interrupt. "Yeah, I know. He's used that phrase many times."

"I suppose I'm just used to using it," River shrugs, "since I've used it for a very long time. I've had to repair it multiple times." She then sighs, staring up at the factory, which now looks much darker and gloomier than the last time I was here. "Right. Shall we go inside?"

Again, are you really going to give me any other choice? I think in my head before shrugging as I illuminate my flashlight, "I'll lead. Maybe I can remember where I went last time. Keep your eyes peeled."

"You don't have to tell me twice," my mother says as she takes out her own flashlight and scanner as we enter the factory.

Of course, I'm not too thrilled to be returning to this place, but at least now I have my mother with me to watch my back. If anything or anyone attempts to attack me again, at least my mother is around to fend off the danger for me this time. Plus, if I end up forgetting anything again, perhaps my mother might remember what happened even after we leave. In any case, I don't plan on taking any chances in forgetting this time.

"God, I hate this place so much," I say after a few minutes of walking through the creepy hallways. "I heard kids from my school like to come here to hang out, mostly to do illegal stuff like drugs and whatnot. God knows why they insist on choosing this place as their hangout spot."

"Perhaps because it's abandoned," River suggests, "and it's a place where no one would think to go because it's so unstable and unsafe."

"Well, aside from that," I shrug back. "Even in my 'other life,' this place existed, but I never went there because I thought it was too creepy."

"I don't blame you. I can honestly say I'm a little creeped out myself."

"You are?" I say, shocked. "That's surprising. I never knew you to be afraid of anything…aside from the Silence, anyway."

"The Silence raised me in an abandoned orphanage when I was a child," she admits with a small shrug. "Needless to say, I'm used to places like this, even when they still sometimes creep me out to this day."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," I say, suddenly remembering. "You told me that story." I remember how my mother described being raised by her guardian, Dr. Renfrew, and the Silence who always warped Renfrew's mind, preventing him from ever leaving, even when he often wrote messages on the walls all over the orphanage to remind him of the danger he was in but could never remember why he wrote those messages or what their purpose was. She described it as 'a very cruel predicament.' Yeah, no kidding, Mother. I can't even imagine…

"Poor Dr. Renfrew…" she sighs sadly to herself. "I hope he's found some peace after all these years."

I can't help but notice that she seemed to speak of her former guardian like he's possibly dead, and it makes me feel sorry for them both, especially for him. Thinking back on her story, it makes me angry that the Silence had messed with Dr. Renfrew's mind so much to the point of him going mad and possibly driving him to end his own life just to end the torment. Suppose that Dr. Renfrew is still alive, I hope he got the help he deserved—even though it must've took several years of therapy—and is living a much happier life now.

"I think we're almost there," I say, steering back on track. "I vaguely remember going this direction, through those doors." I say this as I point my flashlight beam in said direction.

"Stay cautious, Sydney," River warns me. "We don't know what might be in there. You should stay behind me." She takes out her gun as she says this.

"I'll be fine," I assure her. "I don't think she wants to hurt me. She let me go last time."

"She must've done that for a reason," River points out while stepping forward toward the hallway. "We don't know what that reason is; you had that memory taken away. She's more dangerous than you think. Stay behind me. Rather she hurt me than you."

"I don't want you getting hurt either," I protest. "That's why I didn't want to come back here."

"There's no time for discussion, Sydney," she says, shaking her head. "We need to do this. As I said, it's now or never. Get behind me now." She pulls me back with force as she walks inside the room that I remember entering the last time I was here, but completely forgetting what was inside after I left in my apparent panic. I reluctantly follow close behind.

We enter the room, shining our flashlights around at all the various piles of debris, looking for any evidence of any signs of life, but, strangely, there seems to be none. None at all.

"There's no one here," I frown, frustrated that there seems to be no evidence anywhere—at least none that I can remember from the last time I was in here. "They must've left." Somehow, I knew that this was the very room where I had that meeting, but there is absolutely no evidence that suggests that at all. A small part of me wants to be hopeful that we seemingly came here for nothing, but something in my gut tells me that we shouldn't celebrate yet, not knowing what will happen next. Perhaps there could still be something here… Or someone…

None of this feels right… Something is very wrong here… We shouldn't be here. We should never have come here.

"Look around," River insists. "They may have left behind some evidence."

I frown at this. "What's there to—Fudgeknuckle!" I scream in horror as my flashlight illuminates a small figure step out from behind a wall—a girl I know all too well.

"Nova!" River gasps upon seeing her daughter, who smirks at her like she's a piece of meat.

"Hello, 'Mummy Dearest,'" my evil twin grins while speaking in a British accent, which, admittedly, sounds so surreal to me. "Long time no see. I rather hoped I'd see you first, and here you are, just as we've planned." She then turns to me and adds with much praise in her tone of voice, "And welcome back, Sydney. You brought her straight to me, just like I asked. Well done."

"'Well done?'" my mother frowns incredulously at me, like she thinks I've betrayed her, which of course I did no such thing.

I frown back, shaking my head. "I told you, I don't remember! I told you she may have manipulated my mind when I came here last!" I knew I should never have answered that note! I curse myself in my head. Ugh, how could I have been so stupid?!

"You're right," my evil self chuckles, "I did. But it wasn't just me. I had help. Would you like to meet them—again? Not that you'd remember them either."

"Nova, please, you don't have to do this!" River pleads to her daughter for what I imagine to be the millionth time since her initial turn to the Dark Side. "This isn't how we wanted you to grow up to be! You have to stop this now!"

Evil Me shakes her head. "Sorry, 'Mummy,' but you can't 'baby me' anymore. You forget that I'm a grownup now. I'm a leader now. That means I don't take orders from anyone anymore. I give the orders now."

"No!" River says in an insistent tone, shaking her head. "Nova, this isn't like you!"

"She's right!" I butt in, stepping forward with my hands raised in a peaceful manner. "I know the real you! You're not like this at all! You were never meant to become this! Just let me explain!"

My evil twin shakes her head again, saying with a snort, "We've had this exact conversation before—not that you'd remember any of it—and I don't have the time, nor the patience, to listen to it again. I have more important matters to attend to, such as 'silencing' you and the Doctor once and for all—pun intended. As foretold in the Prophecy, Silence—the Doctor's silence—will fall, and it shall fall tonight… Starting with you, 'Mother!'"

"NO!"

The last thing I remember is Evil Nova snapping her fingers, and then everything goes dark for a moment as the sinister words, 'The deed is done,' are suddenly spoken in my head before everything becomes clear and still once again.

Once I am able to regain my senses fully, there is a large pit left in my stomach once I notice that Nova and the Silence have vanished without a trace once more…

Only that's not the most disturbing thing.

The most disturbing thing is the fact that I have somehow acquired my mother's gun, now smoking at the tip, and I'm pointing it straight at her…

At her chest which is now stained with blood.

A/N: TO BE CONTINUED!

Wow! How about that cliffhanger, huh? Will River survive? Find out next chapter.

Also, for anyone wondering, things get WAY worse before they get better. Yes, I am that evil (not really).

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