A/N: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Part 1 of 10 of the episode "Living Nightmare."

If anyone is interested in seeing the dress that Nova wears in this chapter, check out the link below. The Doctor is wearing the same outfit he wore in "The Snowmen" episode.
I-Youth-Antoinette-Victorian-Costume-X-Large/dp/B07MR7DZ5G/ref=cs_sr_dp_n?keywords=victorian&qid=1654022855&sr=8-10&th=1

Chapter 24: The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself

"MOM!"

I sit bolt upright, hearts pounding, head throbbing, and skin dripping in a cold sweat.

God, that dream was so scary, even scarier than the last one. This time, I saw my mother be captured—again—by the Silence! More than that, they put her under some sort of mind-control, seemingly forcing her to see the Doctor and I—her own family—as enemies and hunt us down to hand us over to their leader—that creepy eye-patch woman, 'Madame Kovarian'—so that she can watch me kill my own father!

I wish I could say that that was just a dream, that my mother is totally fine and not in any kind of danger whatsoever, but it felt all too real to be a dream, much like the previous 'dream' in which I saw my father-guardian electrocuted to death. If they truly killed him, I'm going to give them what's coming to them, but after what they did to my mother… I'm not even sure what I'll do, but either way, the Silence will fall, every single one of them.

What will Dad think when he finds out? If he finds out? He can't know; it would totally destroy him! It's bad enough that he's seen her death at the Library, and every time he sees her now (albeit a past version of her, but alive and well, nonetheless), he can't help but think of that terrible event and be forbidden to tell her anything about it. To him, it's like he is seeing a ghost—someone who is supposed to be dead and yet continues to haunt him and remind him of a past (future, in River's case) that he can never change. Ever since I met him, I've seen it in his old eyes every day. He'd do anything to change that event, and ever since he'd shown me that event, so would I. The very thought brings tears to my eyes.

I bury my face in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Oh, River—Mom… How could they do that to you—again? Haven't they tortured us enough already? What more could they possibly hope to gain? I can't take this anymore. I just want this all to end.

All of this just to get back at Mom for refusing to kill Dad!

WHAT! THE! ACTUAL! HELL?!

'Are you alright, my child?'

The sound of Idris's voice makes my hearts momentarily leap in shock. "Idris!" I sigh in relief. "It's just you." I swiftly wipe my eyes dry.

'I apologize for startling you,' she says in a sincere tone.

I shake my head. "No, I just didn't expect to hear your voice, that's all." Admittedly, I keep forgetting that I'm no longer at home, so I'm not used to hearing disembodied voices in my room at random times of the day. Most people would be severely creeped out, but it's not so creepy to me, since the owner of the voice is someone I greatly trust.

'Are you alright?' she repeats her previous question—one that I'm not very comfortable answering. 'I sense much fear in you.'

"I'm fine," I lie, shaking my head. "Just had a bad dream. That's normal, right?" Somehow, I doubt Idris would actually accept it, especially if it's true she's seen me (Do time-machines even have eyes?) crying this whole time.

My theory is confirmed when the TARDIS says in a doubtful tone, 'I suppose it is for some people…but not for you. You doubt yourself.'

"I…" I sputter on my words, hesitant to explain the truth. "No, I just… I don't—"

'You are in denial that what you saw was truly a dream.'

I sigh. Clearly, Idris can 'see' right through lies, much like Dad ("Rule 1: The Doctor lies"). Then again, maybe they can sense me lying through our telepathic link. Man, I really need to figure out a way to somehow break that link; or at the very least, block them from my mind, if that's even possible.

"Honestly, I'd rather not talk about it," I admit. "I just want to forget about it and move on." The more I think about it, the more anxious I feel, which is the worst feeling. There's more than enough stress in my life as it is.

'Would not talking about it make you feel better?' she asks in a tone like my choosing to bottle up the thoughts and emotions within me is not, in fact, the best decision. Admittedly, a small part of me does think that, but I don't have the courage to admit it out loud, nor do I have the courage to actually speak my mind.

"I…don't know," I sigh, my anxiety increasing. "Maybe. But…maybe not. I really don't know. I mean, I want to tell Dad, but I also don't. I don't want to worry him."

'I wasn't asking whether you wanted to tell your father,' Idris says in a tone of disagreement, but I also can't help but feel like she's actually suggesting that I tell her instead.

"You mean…you want me to talk about it with you?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "Just you?" I would definitely prefer that over telling Dad. He's got enough to worry about, but this would be too much for him.

'You have a right to decide whether or not you want to talk about your dream and whom you want to share it with,' she says sincerely. 'However, I can assure you that I will do my best to understand if you choose to share it with me.'

Idris's words make me feel a tad calmer. "Thanks, Idris," I say with a slight smile. At least there's one person I can trust that won't spill the beans on anyone else, certainly not my father. Then again, since we're all psychically linked, he might already know what I've seen; or rather, he might have a sense of what I've seen from all the thoughts in my head. "Though, won't Dad be able to hear us through our telepathic link?" I admit my fear to Idris. "Rather, he'd hear you talking to me?" Surely, every time Idris 'says' something telepathically, Dad must hear it every time, no matter where or when he is; perhaps he's hearing every bit of the conversation between us as we speak.

'I have a way of blocking him from any conversations the two of us may have,' she says in an assuring tone. 'While your telepathic link with him is and always will be active, he cannot sense your thoughts at this time, as I've put a mental block around your entire bedroom. I assure you, in the whole time we've been talking, he hasn't been able to hear us at all.'

Damn, that's impressive! "Good," I nod. "I wish I could do something like that to my own mind. It's weird having him always sensing everything I'm thinking and feeling; it's an invasion of my privacy. Any chance you could teach me?" There are certain things, such as this, that I would rather keep to myself, or at least when I'm ready to actually talk about it. The fact that he always senses my thoughts and then immediately asks about it, especially at times when I'm not comfortable talking about it right away, greatly annoys me. I wish he'd have the decency to stay out of my head, no matter how strong our telepathic link is. Not only is it awkward, but it's incredibly rude as well.

'Unfortunately, I cannot,' Idris says apologetically. 'That is something only your father can teach you.'

Ugh, I knew she was going to say that.

"I kinda figured, but I wanted to ask anyway." I sigh as lay back in bed. "Anyway, about my dream… I saw Mom; rather, I was in her head. She was… She was strapped to some kind of operating table, and there were wires connected to her head. There was another woman there, too—a woman with an eye-patch, like the ones those men that attacked me in the alley in London were wearing. She clearly knew Mom, and Mom knew her; she called her 'Kovarian,' whom Dad said led the Silence and was Mom's former guardian. In fact, this woman—Kovarian—had planned for Mom to show up. She taunted Mom, talking about how she'd failed to save my guardians and Hazel, and how she was going to make Mom suffer for failing—or rather, refusing—to kill Dad. She said she was going to make sure Mom would actually succeed this time by making her brainwashing return…and they did. They seemed to reactivate something in her head to make her brainwashing return, which was something they planted in her head when she was a baby when they stole her away back at Demons Run. The last thing I remember before I woke up was Mom thinking about how she was going to find me and Dad and deliver us to Kovarian without fail, and make sure that I would succeed in killing Dad when the time came." I rub my eyes vigorously, feeling more tears threaten to spill from them. "God, it was horrible. Dad can't know anything about this. Even if it's real, he can't know…but at the same time he has to. If Mom tries to kill him again…" I can't even imagine what that would look like. I mean, it's happened before, and Dad clearly survived the ordeal (twice), but still…my own mother killing my own father… Or worse, me killing my own father…

'Don't fret, Nova,' Idris says in a sympathetic tone. 'I'm sure you and your father will figure something out. Your mother is a strong woman whose mind is exceedingly powerful, much like yours. Even if her brainwashing has returned, she will find a way to overcome it, perhaps like she did in Berlin. You have nothing to fear.'

I immediately frown at her words. "Of course I have something to fear! I may have just lost my mother to the Silence again, as well as my guardians and Hazel! This was exactly what I feared would happen before she left me, and look what happened! Even if she can be saved, I doubt she could be saved in the same way as whatever had saved her last time. Or worse, she may not be able to be saved at all, no matter what we do, just like Kovarian said! I can't lose anybody else, certainly not to them!" Those sickos hurt every single person I care about, even killed some, and I will not let them hurt them further, nor anybody else.

'I understand, my child, I really do,' Idris says with a sigh. 'It is a very unfortunate circumstance, and it is one that cannot be handled at this time. Right now, your father has a very urgent matter to attend to at the Paternoster Residence in 1895, and he needs you to assist him. He is preparing our journey there as we speak, and he is expecting you to be ready within the hour.'

"What's happening in 1895?" I ask as I pull the covers off of me, stand and stretch on the side of my bed.

'I know not, but I am sure he will explain it to you when you meet with him,' she says calmly. 'If you step into your wardrobe, you will see that I have selected a handful of time-period-appropriate attire that I think would well suit you.'

"Thanks," I say as I enter the closet.

Once I enter, I am surprised to find my typical modern-day clothing replaced with Victorian-style clothing, all hung neatly in an organized fashion. I comment on how impressive it is for Idris to magically transport clothing from another era into my closet, already prepared for the day, as it saves me the hassle of having to physically hunt for the clothing of that specific era. I imagine Dad has a ginormous wardrobe somewhere in the TARDIS that holds every type of clothing from every era on Earth. I can imagine the hassle of having to hunt for a specific era of clothing, and how much time that would take just to find it (God, that would be just awful!). I comment on how much easier it is to get dressed for the era after having selected a few dresses of my liking and transporting them to my bedroom closet.

As I get dressed, I mention feeling a little hungry, and Idris impresses me yet again by conjuring my favorite brand and flavor of protein bar. I eat it as I finish getting ready for the day. I ultimately choose a flowing TARDIS-blue 'Marie Antoinette'-style dress with black lacing around the neck and sleeves. I style my hair in a fancy braided up-do, and I decide to wear my Chuck Taylors under my dress in case we're unexpectedly chased by an unknown monster; luckily the dress is long enough to cover my shoes, so no one should see them, even though they technically won't be invented for another twenty-two years (Spoilers). There is even a small purse that comes with the dress, which I use to hold my phone and sonic screwdriver.

"Wow!" I say as I twirl in front of the mirror. "I feel like I'm dressing up for a Victorian-style Halloween party, except I'm not. I'm actually going to the Victorian Era! That was always my favorite era to learn about in school; now I actually get to travel there and be there in person, which is obviously something I've never done! I am genuinely excited for this!"

'I'm sure you and your father will have a great time,' Idris says with a small chuckle.

"I hope this'll be way better than that crap-fest we went to on our last trip," I say as I shut my light off and leave my room. "Not that it was a crap-fest when we initially arrived; it was a beautiful planet, at least before the war blew it up and those pirates wreaked all that havoc and attempted to kill Dad. If anything or anyone tries to kill Dad on this trip, I'll make sure to kill them first, no joke!" My words briefly make me think of that time I almost did that very thing to Multi-Eyes. Admittedly, a small part of me wishes I had gone ahead and done it anyway; it would've felt much more satisfying that way.

'I don't disagree with you, Nova,' Idris says in an uncertain tone, 'but I would recommend keeping that particular thought to yourself. I don't think your father would approve of such speak, especially coming from his daughter.'

"I don't care what he would think," I say seriously, shaking my head. "Too many people have tried to kill him already, and I'm gonna make sure it never happens again. If anybody else wants to kill him, they'll have to do it over my dead body. That's all I'm gonna say about that." Mom said that if the Silence wanted to touch me, they would have to do it over her dead body. You and me both, mother. You and me both.

A few minutes later, I reach the Control Room, and I spot my father circling the console as usual, turning dials, flipping switches, and the like. He's dressed differently than how I'm used to seeing him. Instead of his usual tan tweed jacket, this time he's dressed in a heavy purple frock coat with matching trousers and boots.

"Hey, Dad!" I say as I descend the stairs to him.

"Ah, Nova!" he says excitedly, looking up at me. "I was just about to check on you to see if you were awake! We are currently heading to Victorian London, 1895, to answer a distress call from an old friend."

"Yeah, I know," I nod. "Idris told me. She even helped me get dressed for the occasion, as you can see." I gesture casually to my dress.

Dad smiles admirably at me. "Yes. You look beautiful. Love the dress and your choice of hairstyle."

"Thanks," I smile back. "You clean up nice yourself. Purple is a good color for you. You should wear it more often; not that I don't like your tan tweed."

"I really appreciate that. And don't worry; the tweed will still be in. I'm never gonna give that up." He shakes his head in a 'in what universe would I do such a ridiculous thing?' manner.

"Of course not," I chuckle. "I see you're not giving up your bow ties either." At this point, I catch a glimpse of a bow tie under his neck that is the same color as the rest of his suit.

"Goodness, no!" he says in a seemingly offended tone. "Why in all of Space-Time would I want to give up my bow ties? Bow ties are cool!"

"I…never said they weren't cool," I say with a slight frown, feeling awkward. "I just saw that you were still wearing a bow tie, which was what I expected." I then shake my head and change the subject. "Anyway, what's the sitch in 1895?"

He shrugs. "No idea; me friend was pretty vague. Something about 'fear taking over the world.'"

"'Fear taking over the world?'" I say with a puzzled frown. "You mean, like, an invasion? Those typically tend to spread a lot of fear."

"No idea," he shrugs again. "Guess we'll find out when we arrive. We should be arriving in three…two…one…" The TARDIS suddenly makes her typical landing sound, and everything becomes still and silent.

I glance awkwardly between Dad and the doors. "So…I guess we're here? We walk out those doors, we'll be in Victorian London, a hundred-and-twenty years in the past—well, my past?"

"Correct," Dad nods. He then pulls the overhead scanner towards him and reads from it. "It is 30 October, 1895, 7:27pm, a comfortable temperature of nineteen degrees Celsius, with a twenty percent chance of rain later."

"Show-off," I snort with a raised eyebrow as I head toward the door. I seriously doubt it says all that stuff on the monitor.

"No, really; that's what it says on the scanner," he says in a 'I'm not lying' tone, but since he admitted to 'lying' being his number-one thing, I don't fully believe him.

"I'm sure it does, but I want to experience it for myself," I say seriously but also teasingly. "'Seeing is believing,' after all." I then push the door open and poke my head outside.

Unfortunately, the scene before me is not at all what I expected. Instead of a giant open space, I open the TARDIS doors to a brick wall.

"Really?" I say incredulously. "An alleyway? You could've parked literally anywhere in the city; why an alleyway, of all places?" Just the very thought brings back the disturbing memory of when I was attacked by the Silence in a modern-day alley. "Also, just a heads-up, I don't do alleyways anymore; not since I was attacked in one a hundred-and-twenty years from now." I suddenly pause at my strange statement as Dad exits the TARDIS. "Whoa, that sounded weird, and probably didn't make any sense."

"It made perfect sense to me," he says with a slight shrug, "and I'm sorry you feel that way about alleys now. I don't blame you. Alleys are not the safest of places anyway, but they are one of few places the Old Girl can blend in best."

"I know," I nod. "I'm just saying, you could've picked a more extravagant place, like the top of a hill or something." I then look around the unfamiliar alley. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Not where we should be," Dad admits with a groan.

"So you did mean to park us at the top of a hill?" I say teasingly but also seriously.

He shakes his head. "No, I mean we accidentally parked a mile and a half from where we were supposed to land. I got the coordinates wrong by one digit; I just now realized. We need to go back inside so I can correct them." He begins going back inside the TARDIS, but I stop him, grabbing his coat sleeve.

"It's only a mile and a half," I shrug. "That's not far of a walk. Why not walk there? It's a nice night, and you said there was a small chance of rain. Then again, it always rains in England. Plus, this is Victorian London; we're a hundred-and-twenty years in the past! You promised you'd take me to the past, and I expect to see as much of it as possible—outside the TARDIS, preferably." I then glance awkwardly to the blue box and whisper, "Uh, no offense, Idris."

'None taken,' she says in a tone like she is not offended at all. Of course, she knows that I would rather see as much of Victorian London as possible than use the TARDIS as a short-cut.

"Come on, Dad," I say. "I've rested enough, and I could use a bit of exercise." If I 'rest' any more, I'll surely die of boredom. I then say, grinning smugly at him, "And besides, who needs sleep when there's so much to see in the universe? Sleep is highly overrated!"

Back atcha, bro!

"Shut up," Dad grumbles under his breath, knowing full well he'd said those exact words to me on our last adventure. He is silent for a moment as he contemplates my earlier statement. He eventually sighs, deciding. "Oh, alright; we'll walk there." I cheer silently at this. "But don't think it'll be my fault if you pass out from weakness. I won't be the one to carry you all the way back to the TARDIS."

"You're wrong, but okay," I shrug carelessly. Even if I did, who else would, anyway? It'd be weird if it was anybody else besides the Doctor.

We walk through the streets in silence. As I take in the scene's Victorian glory, I suddenly feel a strange tingling sensation in the air, immediately making me think of static electricity. The feeling makes my skin itch. I glance to my father and see him holding his hand out flat in front of him, like he is feeling something that is invisible.

"You feel it too?" I ask him curiously. "That tingling?"

He nods. "Very much. It's very strong here." He then takes out his sonic screwdriver and scans the area. After a few seconds, he stops and stares at the sonic when the prongs stick out, like it is telepathically telling him what it had scanned. He frowns and says, "I'm getting strong readings of Bio-Nanotechnology, not just in the city, but the entire planet."

I raise a puzzled eyebrow. "Bio-Nanotechnology? Let me guess. It's basically nanotechnology, but a biological version of it. It's technology that can build identical copies of things, or rather living things, like us." Which isn't creepy at all, I add in my head.

"Spot on," Dad praises me. "It can build an exact—or close to exact—copy of one's DNA, but it can be altered where it's slightly different. For example, you may see yourself suddenly appear in front of you, but the other Nova's eyes are brown instead of green, or something of that sort. Or it's a Nova that's got a totally different personality from you, one that may be the complete opposite of you."

"So…if you were to compare me with Anakin Skywalker, someone could use Bio-Nanotechnology to create a 'Darth Vader'-like version of me, if they wanted?" I ask to clarify what he's talking about.

"Uh…yes," he says uncertainly. "Something like that." I raise another eyebrow at this. Seriously, Dad needs to get into more Earth pop-culture; just relax for once in his life. Surely, all of the universe-saving must get exhausting after a while.

In any case, the very thought of running into an evil me would be creepy as Hell. "Geez, that's creepy. So, you think that's what we're dealing with here? Someone, or something, is using Bio-Nanotechnology to scare people all over the world, making exact copies of people and turning them evil? Which, by the way, sounds totally ridiculous!" Who in their right mind would do something like that? How would that even be possible?

Dad shrugs. "It's a possibility. Something similar has actually happened before, on another planet that I once saved. Unfortunately, the planet no longer exists because it was destroyed not long after I saved it. A mad group of alien physicians were using highly advanced technology—a form of Bio-Nanotechnology—to make people's fears come to life. They called themselves 'Shada Dämo,' translated as 'Shadow's Demons.'"

"Wow," I say, genuinely shocked that this is totally possible, even if it's happened on another planet. "That's…highly disturbing. I hope that's not what's happening here." Even if it is happening here, since Dad has experienced a similar situation, it'll be easy to stop the occurrence; he can just do whatever he did to stop the psycho-aliens last time again, right?

"Me neither," he says, agreeing with my statement. "There's a particular fear of mine that I would rather not face again, and I certainly don't want it coming to life. It would destroy the whole planet—again."

I nod understandingly. "Yeah, I think I know what specific fear you're talking about." He's obviously referring to the Time War, and although he hasn't shown me anything about that—and honestly, I'm not at all interested in seeing it; who would truly want to, anyway?—I can imagine reliving that experience to be his worst fear. I can't imagine anything worse for him than that. "I've got a few myself that I don't want to see either," I admit. I can't help but think about what I would look like as a Silence member, or coming face-to-face with the eye-patch lady, Madame Kovarian… Even River.

Mom…

"Your mum?" Dad says in a puzzled, but also shocked, tone, glancing to me with wide eyes. "Why would you be scared of her?"

Shit, I think to myself, I shouldn't have thought about her…not in front of him. "Uh…I never said she scared me," I say, feeling flustered and my face burning with embarrassment and guilt. "I…"

"Nova..." Dad says in a suspicious tone, and I can't help but think, Fudgeknuckle! I'm so screwed! "Is there something about your mother that you're not telling me? Did she contact you; is she alright?" He sounds legitimately panicked at this point, which is what I was afraid of. I didn't want to tell him…not now.

"No!" I say immediately, and a literal second later, I realize I'd said that way too quickly. I shake my head as I struggle to come up with a more believable lie. "I mean…no, she didn't contact me. I don't know anything. I… I just miss her, that's all. I'm scared I'll never see her again, that she won't come back to us safely." Hopefully, that'll be enough to keep him off my case…at least temporarily.

After a minute of silence, he sighs and says, still sounding slightly suspicious, "I understand. I miss her too. We'll see her again soon. You'll see." He gives my back a gentle rub, and I can't help but think, That's what I'm worried about.

I then say quickly before he can question my thoughts, "So who's this friend of yours we're gonna go see?"

Dad sighs, like he is reluctant to answer, due to sensing my concerns for Mom, but he explains anyway, "It's not just one friend; it's actually a trio of friends. They call themselves the Paternoster Gang, given from the name of the street that which they live on, Paternoster Row; though, in your time, you'd know it as the location of the London Stock Exchange on Paternoster Square. They are a trio of detectives that protect the city from criminals both human and alien. Madame Vastra, a Homo-Reptilian who leads the group, is the one who called us here."

"'Homo-Reptilian,'" I say in amazement. "Also known as a Silurian. They're from the Jurassic Period, aren't they? She must be, like, ancient. Like, possibly older than you." She must be billions (maybe more) of years old; Dad is practically a baby to her.

"You quite possibly could be right," he chuckles. "However, I am unsure as to what age she is. I didn't think it polite to ask."

"What about the other two?" I ask curiously.

"A human woman named Jenny Flint and a Sontaran named Strax," he answers casually.

I suddenly pause. Wait… Did he just say 'Sontaran?!'

"A Sontaran?" I exclaim disapprovingly. "Seriously? You're friends with a Sontaran?" Who'd want to be friends with those arrogant, potato-headed bastards?

"He's not like other Sontarans," Dad says in an assuring tone. "At least, he's not anymore. I saved his life once, which led to him becoming indebted to me. So he became my friend and helped me rescue your mum and grandmum at Demons Run in exchange for saving his life. He ended up being killed during the battle, but Vastra and Jenny brought him back to life and took him with them back to Victorian London, and he's been working as their butler here ever since. Though he can be a bit arrogant at times, you shouldn't let that get to you. Far as I know, he's still learning how to be kind. It's not in a Sontaran's nature to be kind, but I've helped this one move beyond their ways. Just be gentle with him."

'Be gentle with him?' I scoff in my head. Sure, we'll see how long that lasts before he decides to blow my brains out for the mere heck of it.

I sigh. "Okay, fine, but I'm keeping my distance just in case. As far as I'm concerned, all Sontarans cannot be trusted. As far as I'm concerned, he's still like all the rest, despite what you taught him." For all I know, this Sontaran could've been the exact same as the two previous Sontarans I met; though I don't know how, but it's a possibility.

"Have some faith, Nova," Dad says in an encouraging tone. "Give him a chance. You'll see Strax is a true ally. He saved you from being taken by the Silence."

I raise a skeptical eyebrow at this. "He did?" A Sontaran saved me? He can't be serious! What are the odds of that?

But Dad is serious. He nods. "He did. He defended us when we were escaping after I found you. All three of them saved us. They saved you."

I am rendered completely speechless. A Sontaran actually saved me; and from Dad's tone, this Sontaran actually saved me willingly. I can't believe it! I briefly wonder if this Sontaran actually remembers saving me, same for the other two women. If they see me now, would they recognize me?

"I'm sure they'll recognize you," Dad nods, answering my thoughts.

"But I was just a baby," I say with a puzzled frown. "I was just born. How would they recognize me at this age?" I gesture to my current older self.

He stops and turns to face me, saying, "By your eyes. They're just like mine."

I raise my eyebrows at this. It makes sense that one would see someone and assume they're someone else's daughter or mother or whatever based on their similar looks, but I didn't think anyone would recognize me as the Doctor's daughter, especially since he doesn't always look the same (well, until now, seeing as he can't regenerate anymore). For all I know, my next self could have different color eyes, and yet people might still recognize me as the Doctor's daughter based on my eyes' age. Throughout my childhood, people always said that my eyes look much older than the rest of me, which, I now know, is a trait I share with the Doctor; therefore, we must be related. Still, even though it doesn't make sense, I find it astounding that no matter what body I'm in, I'll still be recognized as the Doctor's daughter solely based on the age of my eyes.

We continue walking in silence. In fact, everywhere is silent. Creepily silent.

"It's so quiet," I say, looking around and feeling uncomfortable. "Since we arrived, we haven't come across anyone, not one person. I always thought Victorian London would be busier. Much busier." As we pass a row of houses, I see a few people staring and frowning at us through the windows, like we're crazy to be outside. Other people stare out the window like they are afraid of what they will see next; or rather, they're afraid of what might happen to Dad and I. As if the quietness wasn't creepy enough.

"They're afraid," Dad points out the painfully obvious.

"Of what?" I ask nervously.

"That's what we're here to find out," he responds, and I can't help but think, Yeah, thanks, Dad, you're a big help.

"You said that Vastra said something about 'fear taking over the world,'" I point out. "Is that why everyone's so scared to leave their houses, why the streets are so empty?" That's the only logical explanation, right?

"Like I said, we'll find out," he says as he slowly takes my hand and gives it a tight squeeze. "Stay close, Nova. I don't want to lose you in these streets."

"How much farther?" I ask, sensing his nervousness through our link, which is, admittedly, starting to get to me also.

"Still little ways to go," he admits before sighing. "We really should've taken the TARDIS." He then takes out his sonic again, adjusts it, and points it at the sky, the device buzzing loudly. All the while, my hearts begin to pound a little faster; or maybe I'm sensing Dad's hearts pounding through our link. At this point, as strong as our link has become since I resurrected him on our last adventure, it's hard to tell what's going on between us anymore.

"What're you doing?" I ask, puzzled at his strange behavior.

"I'm sending Vastra a signal to follow to meet us here," he says as he continues to sonic the sky for a few more seconds before putting it away. "We shouldn't be out here much longer alone."

"Why?" I ask, sensing my (or rather Dad's) hearts beat even faster, which increases my own nervousness. "Dad, you're starting to scare me. Please just tell me what's going on. What are you so afraid of?"

"EVERYTHING!" he screams completely out of nowhere. The outburst makes me subconsciously back away from him in fear—a fear that I'm not even sure why I am feeling—and make my own hearts beat faster for a completely different reason.

Suddenly realizing how much his outburst had affected me, Dad sighs and rubs his eyes, feeling immensely guilty.

"Dad…" I say as I slowly approach him and gently pull his hands away from his face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he whimpers, struggling to compose himself. "I… I don't know what came over me." He then pulls me into a gentle hug and holds me tightly, burying his face in my shoulder. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"It's okay…I guess," I say uncertainly as I rub his back up and down, trying to calm him. "Um…I'm not exactly sure what that was about. Are you okay, Dad?" That seemed so random. What was going through his head? The only thing I could sense through our link was fear. Extreme fear.

Extreme fear for me. But why?

He abruptly pulls away, sighing and smiling like nothing ever happened. "I'm always okay. I'm the King of Okay." He then shakes his head. "Oh, that's a rubbish title. Forget I said that."

"Hey!" I say, squeezing his hand. "I'm here for you, yeah? You're not alone. I'm right here." I'm not exactly sure what it is about me that he's so afraid of. Is he afraid that something will happen to me? That he'll lose me? He's lost so many people in the past, so the latter would make more sense. Plus, we're the only two Time Lords left in the universe, so if one of us dies, the other will be the last Time Lord ever, which was exactly what I felt when I lost him to the pirates, and it's a feeling that I never ever want to feel again.

He reaches up and brushes my cheek as if to confirm that I am really here (Duh. Where else would I be?). He smiles and says, "I know you are, and I don't want to lose you."

So, yes, he is afraid to lose me. But I don't understand why he thinks he actually would. "You won't," I say, shaking my head. "I'll always be here for you. That's what I keep telling you." Why can't he understand that?

Actually, I know why. "Whatever this 'fear' thing is, it's starting to get to you," I say. It must be. That's the only reason why he'd be feeling the way he's feeling, despite telling him numerous times that he would never lose me, and he's believed me every time I said so before…at least, I think he has.

"It's starting to get to us both," he admits in an uncomfortable tone, "which is why we need to get off the streets A.S.A.P. Madame Vastra and the others should meet us shortly." He pulls me along. "Come on, let's look for the main road. It'll be easier for them to find us that way."

A few minutes later, we round a corner to the main street with several walls covered top to bottom in posters. Some look like they've been posted recently, and others much later, the latter looking badly faded.

"Wow," I frown as I inspect the posters. "These look like 'missing persons' posters. There are so many of them. No wonder people are too scared to leave their homes; people are going missing off the streets." As I look at an image of a girl about my age (at least in human years), I wonder aloud, "Maybe that's why we were called here. Your friends need our help to find these missing people. What do you think, Dad?" I wait for an answer, but I don't get one. "Dad?" I glance over to him and see him staring intensely at a poster, his face looking ashen. "Dad, what's wrong?" I ask as I hesitantly approach him.

"This woman…" he says breathlessly, stroking the poster with his fingers, like it's completely impossible for there to be a poster of the woman at all.

"What about her?" I ask with a frown. "You know her?" I inspect the poster closely. The image, though marginally faded, shows a young, smiling Victorian woman with dark eyes and hair. I don't recognize the woman's face, but I do recognize the woman's name the moment I see it printed at the bottom of the page in large writing: Jenny Flint. My eyes widen in shock at the terrible realization. "Wait, that's one of your three friends, isn't it? How did she go—?"

I am suddenly interrupted when I hear a woman's guttural scream from further down the road, making both hearts leap to my throat and a shudder run up my spine. "What was that?" I exclaim in surprise.

"Someone's in trouble!" Dad replies before he bolts down the road at cheetah-speed.

"Dad!" I exclaim before I chase after him. He runs into a side alley (Ugh, not another one of those!) on the opposite side of the road, and I reluctantly follow him, barely able to keep up with him. Thank God I chose to wear my Chuck Taylors on this trip, or he would be miles ahead by now. "Dad, slow down!" I shout after him as I continue running.

Once he reaches the end of the alley, he abruptly stops at the corner of a perpendicular alley, and I almost crash into him from behind. "Geez, Dad, why did you—Fudgeknuckle!"

I immediately stop screaming once my eyes fall on the scene before us. We both stand there, shocked, as we witness a homeless man brutally stab a woman in the stomach with a large knife.

A/N: TO BE CONTINUED!