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Chapter 2:

POV: Mara

Date: October 23, 2022

I woke with a start, and nearly launched myself from my bed until I felt Dad reach out through our bond to soothe me. I blinked as I let her push me back down to the bed. "Slow down," she said quietly. "I was just checking to make sure those blaster wounds were healing as they should. You're on the TARDIS; you're safe."

I glanced around me at the darkened infirmary as the previous day's events caught back up to my mind. "Where's Jenny?"

"Resting." Dad continued to redress my wound. "Don't worry, I had the TARDIS put her room just down the hall from here."

"What about Yaz?"

"Also resting in her room." She went over my wound with the sonic and nodded before finishing off her work. "You got lucky—it looks like whoever shot you only grazed your side. Does it still hurt to breathe?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine." I slowly forced myself up into a sitting position with my elbows. I pulled in a breath to test my assessment, and tried not to wince when it still stung a little. "Any sign of general Hass and his men?"

"General Hass, Jenny mentioned that's whose been chasing you." I felt the stab of Dad's guilt. "I should never have cut off what little link we had left. I would have seen you running so much sooner." She reached forward to brush some hair behind my ear. "I'm so sorry, my little Cricket."

I swallowed hard at the sound of my childhood nickname. "Why did you stop them?" I asked. "The messages, I mean. We thought—I thought…we thought you'd died." I hated how my voice broke over the words and tried to clear my throat.

Dad sighed heavily, and her years came forward in her face. "I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. Like I told your sister, I thought you two would have a better chance at a full life if I let you go. I thought you'd be safer. Clearly, I was wrong."

I felt old feelings of abandonment and anger try to fight to the surface but swallowed them down. I needed to focus on the problem at hand. "How did they even find us?" I asked. "It shouldn't have been possible; the walls were closed. And like you said earlier—all the Time Lords have supposedly been turned into Cybermen."

She shook her head. "I don't know. It's possible General Hass escaped, and it's possible he and his forces had some technology that was able to crack open the seal I placed over Pete's world."

"What are we going to do?"

Dad looked up back into my eyes and reached out for my hand. She was determined, and it showed in the hard glint in her eye. "I won't let them hurt you. I promise you that."

I nodded. "I believe you, but how? We knew they would never stop chasing us if they knew we still existed. Mum knew the only way to avoid the end of everything was to seal us all away. That can't have been for nothing." The thought that it might be sent a pang through my hearts. If our family's sacrifice—especially Mum and Dad's—turned out for nothing I'm not sure how I would cope.

"Mum's vision saw both her and I standing together burning the universe," Dad said. "Without her here, and me being in a different face, I don't think we have to worry about that."

"So, what do we do?" I asked again.

"I don't know yet, Cricket," Dad said with a sigh. She reached up to rub her forehead. "I wish your mum was here. She'd know just what to do. She always did."

I was struck by how much more vulnerable this regeneration allowed herself to be with me, even with that simple gesture. Maybe it was because we had been separated for so long. Maybe it was because we were both older. I couldn't tell. I felt my shoulders droop. "I wish she was here too. All the time." My throat became thick around the words.

Dad let out a slow breath. "So tell me—I saw that Jenny had a family on Earth, but what about you? Did you ever…?"

I chuckled. "Wondering if there are more grandchildren out there for you?" I shook my head. "No, that was one adventure I could never allow myself to have. Jenny was the only one brave enough to take that leap. I could barely stand to get to know Gran or Grandpa Pete, or the family Jen did have given that…well, none of them ever inherited the ability to regenerate."

A warm hand squeezed mine. "Oh, Mara."

I bit my lip. "Shouldn't be a surprise, I should think—me not taking that road. Between the two of us, I was always more like you and Jenny was always more like Mum." I let out a slow breath and looked down at our joined hands. "Truthfully, I think she spent all those extra years on Earth waiting for you to find a way to get us home. I know she feels guilty, though. She'd promised you she'd never stop running, but she did for a while."

"Not you, though."

I shook my head and continued to keep my eyes off her face. "No, not me. Not ever."

"And…and your mum, was she—did she…was she happy?"

I swallowed. "She never forgot you, but she did try to keep her promise. 'I promised to live a fantastic life, and that's just what I'll do' is what she always used to say. And she did. She was marvelous."

Dad's lips twitched into the first true smile I had seen on her face since Jen and I had arrived. "Oh, I bet. How could she be anything less? My Rose Tyler; the stuff of legend."

I let out a breath. "Dad, what was Yaz going on about when Jen and I got here? Is something happening?"

Dad waved a hand. "Oh, just a bit of trouble with the Cybermen—nothing that couldn't wait."

My hearts jumped. "What—?"

Both of our eyes shot up at the sound of the cloister bell.

"What could that be?" Dad asked, and in an instant, we were on our feet.

Despite some of the lingering soreness from my injury, I followed her out into the console room—both of my hearts pounding out a frantic rhythm. The Time Lords couldn't have found us already, could they? That shouldn't be possible. The Vortex Manipulator should have been modified enough to scramble their ability to detect us for a long while yet.

Jenny and Yaz came stumbling out of the hallway as I continued to follow Dad through to the console room. A few steps ahead of us, she froze, and I nearly ran into her back in my haste to stop my own feet. Through our link, I could feel her hearts nearly stop with shock, which was quickly followed by a deep sense of dread.

That couldn't be good.

I glanced back at Jenny before stepping to the side to get a look at what Dad was seeing, and then my own hearts stopped.

There—facing away from us as the time fissure beside her started to close—was someone who I had never thought I would see again.

She turned then, and her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings. Instinct made me bounce on the balls of my feet ready to turn and run on a dime, but there was nowhere to go, and her eyes quickly found us.

"Mara? Jen?" Mum took a few steps forward, and then paused as her eyes locked on Dad. Her eyes widened as she took in the woman before her. "Doctor? When is this? I don't remember this."

"Doctor?" Yaz asked. "Doctor, who is that?"

Dad's emotions were in a whirlwind, and I had to root my feet into the floor to not be overtaken by them. It was all I could do to sort out my own feelings—sadness, guilt, grief, deep longing—it was all there. I was still torn between wanting to run and hide or give in to the feel of my legs itching to run to her—to open my arms wide and pull her into them. To be encircled by those arms that I hadn't been embraced by in so long. The thought of that brought tears to my eyes, but I blinked them away.

I tried to focus on the facts as I stepped forward. Fact one—Mum shouldn't be here. I could tell in her eyes that she was much younger than the Mum I had known, which meant she was from our past. That led me to fact two—if she was from our past, that meant that the fact that she was here was dangerous for all of us. It could lead to the most disastrous of paradoxes. Fact three—none of this could be a coincidence. Something had to be drawing us together, and that led me to feel the deep-seated dread pooling in my stomach even more quickly. Because whatever or whoever was pulling us all back together couldn't have good intentions. That would be too much to hope for.

"Mum?" Jenny whispered.

She blinked, and her brow crinkled with worry. "How come I can't feel any of you? Doctor, what's happened? What regeneration is this? Where am I?"

I chuckled at the fact that Mum had quickly ascertained that Dad was now the short blonde woman standing beside me, and was unfazed by the sight. I should expect no less from her.

Dad finally seemed to snap out of her shock and her face darkened as she rushed to the console. "This can't be happening. You can't be here."

Hurt crossed Mum's features, and she turned to me. "Mara? What's going on?" Her eyes widened again as she took me in, and she rushed forward. "Oh God, you're hurt!" I stiffened as she came close enough to reach out and pull me in so she could look at my wound.

"It's nothing," I told her, and stepped back just enough so that her hands couldn't reach the bandage but took one of them into my own. "You should see the other guy."

"Jenny?" She glanced around me at my sister. "And…?"

"Yaz," Dad's companion offered. "And you are?"

Mum's brow crinkled deeper with worry. It no doubt concerned her that Yaz wouldn't understand who she was. "Rose Tyler, I'm Mara and Jenny's mum."

Yaz blinked, and I could only imagine what she was feeling. I hadn't missed the looks she had shot my dad earlier. After spending centuries watching companions come and go it was all too easy to spot the signs when they were in love with her. To her credit, she didn't let her emotions overtake her and instead turned to Dad. "You said she couldn't be here—why can't she be here?"

"She's from our past," Jenny rasped. "If she learns anything about what's happened to us, or to her, it would be disastrous."

Mum stepped back then and crossed her arms. "Well, best one of you start talking, paradox or no paradox. The vortex pushed me here for a reason as I was following your Dad's call, and I'm not leaving until I know what it is."

Ah, she was traveling back through the vortex. She must be from when we had all saved Gallifrey. That made me pause, and unease crept into my chest. If anything happened to her here, the results could be disastrous. Even more so than I had originally thought. If Mum never made it to Gallifrey—if she never became the Moment…

I shuddered to think what that could do to change the timeline. Clearly someone had brought her here for a reason, and given when they'd plucked her from, I couldn't imagine it was for anything good.

We all whipped around again as a hologram flickered to life. Jenny reached out and yanked me behind her hard enough that I cried out when the movement tugged on my wound. Mum and Dad scrambled to get in front of us both with screwdrivers at the ready.

"Doctor!" cried out the Dalek.

Dad bristled. "No. How're you doing that, get out of my TARDIS—"

"I mean you no harm!"

Mum snorted. "You're a Dalek, love, of course you mean us harm."

The Dalek continued as if she hadn't spoken. "This is an encrypted transmission. I have information critical to the future of both humans and Daleks. It is imperative that you and I meet immediately."

Dad shook her head. "I don't think so."

"I offer you the key to the destruction of the Daleks," the Dalek said.

"A Dalek invading the TARDIS with an offer to destroy its own species? I've officially seen everything," Jenny said between gritted teeth.

I glanced over at Yaz and waved her to my side. She rushed to me without hesitation, and I pushed her behind my back. "Stay behind us," I said quietly.

She nodded, and we turned back towards the Dalek. "I am an elite biological combat engineer. My mission has been to devise strategies to ameliorate any defeats in conflict. My strategy has now been adopted. From this moment on, in the event of a threat to Dalek supremacy in battle, a genetic code shall be activated. Dalek creatures will be self-executed. Dalek casings will flood with toxic radiation and detonate. Fatally damaging all enemies within a broad radius." It paused. "From now on, there shall be no defeats, no withdrawals. Only self-extermination."

"Daleks never were known for their brains," I muttered.

"Why are you telling us this?" Mum demanded.

The Dalek hesitated but continued. "I no longer believe in the Dalek mission."

I blinked, and felt my own shock echoed back at me by Jenny and Dad.

"Well, that's different," Yaz said. "But why should we trust anything you're telling us?"

"The Dalek machine was created to ensure the survival of the Kaled race. Yet Kaled identity has eroded over time. The Dalek mission has changed to become the perpetuation of the Dalek race. Analysis concludes that we have lost the right to survive."

Dad let out a low chuckle. "Your creator would be both impressed and horrified. So, you're coming to me as what—a spy? Are you the reason that Rose is here?"

Mum's eyes shot to Dad as the Dalek continued with its message. "It is known that the Bad Wolf woman is needed for your success. A Dalek attack on Earth is imminent. I will inform you of the location. I offer you the chance to destroy every Dalek that will attack."

"You still haven't given us a reason to trust you," Jenny called out. "As it stands, we have no reason to do anything you're suggesting. Why should we go to any location you provide?"

"To save the lives of others," the Dalek deadpanned, and then shifted. "I am detected! Transmission must end! I will communicate location and time—you must attend—"

Dad ran forward. "No, no, no, you don't order me—"

The Dalek disappeared before she could finish her sentence, and alerts blasted over the screens on the console. The four of us ran forward, and Dad quickly began pressing a series of buttons as maps of Earth's solar system began flashing.

My eyebrows pulled down as I followed the readings. "What are we looking at?"

"Yaz and I were providing aid to a space train being overrun by Time Lords turned Cybermen—Cybermasters, they call themselves. They stole the trains cargo, and the TARDIS appears to be locked on to its trail, but this data doesn't make sense. It's just outside Earth, in the year 1916."

"Cybermasters?" Mum asked, and Jenny pulled her aside to explain as much as she could without causing damage to the timelines. Her eyes immediately took on a heartbroken look as they snapped back over to Dad.

Yaz shifted closer to the console and craned her neck to get a look at the screen. "Why doesn't that make sense?"

Dad shifted on her feet. "Because I'm seeing one planet too many in your solar system for that time period. And the extra planet is right in the shadow of Earth."

I narrowed my eyes. "How could that be?"

She shook her head. "I don't rightly know, Mara." She glanced my way. "Ready to find out?" Without waiting for any of us, she yanked down the dematerialization lever and hurtled us into flight.