And They Bravely Ran Away, Away [closed for now]

[The Meddler]

"It is," She replied after a pause. "I.. I may be young, I know so little of this world but what I do know is that I feel. As a Sidhe you know death is an inevitable part of life, without death there is no life. Perhaps this universe should die first to make space for something new or so it can finally rest, something we cannot understand and something we might never be able to be part of."

"I am no Sidhe, Dreamweaver." He smiled wanly. "I am a Time Lord, and I do not accept the inevatibility of anything." A laugh, cold and harsh sounding in the emptiness. "We hung the Framework of Causality and Anchored the Threads of History, remember? The future is what we make it, what we made it, and 'destiny' is a word for giving up."

He gestured wildly around, arms seeking to encompass the blackness that surrounded them. "And I do not accept this!" His voice was wild, hubris shouting shouting down fear.

She caught one of his hands, folded it in her own, and pressed it to her abdomen. The feel of glamour-silk over smooth skin, and the future memory of feeling a growing child within, soothed his mood.

"So what is it that fears you, my Meddler? The end of all time and space, or the end of us living in it? You can meddle all you wish my love, and I would love every moment of it. But you'll just be buying them more time, because in the end this will always be what is waiting for us. Humans have a very true saying, Death is a patient man."

He was silent for several minutes, sorting and organizing his thoughts. It was a good question, the best question, and it deserved a serious answer.

"I fear end of life, Sisilaya," he said, slowly. "Not my own, although I assure you I will not go gently into that good night, but the end of..." he groped for words, "of... life itself. I fear the pointlessness of a universe that ends like this. I fear a universe where all of our struggles, all of our achievements, end as nothing more than a near-perfect vacuum."

He sighed. "I fear the death of hope."

She smiled, then. "But extra time too could mean the difference between life or no live, civilisation or no civilisations."

He nodded. "True. And extra time could allow one more civilization to escape."

Silence again. "Shall we return to the TARDIS, and to less bleak epochs? I need this, to remind me of why I do what I do, but I don't like being here."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

"I am no Sidhe, Dreamweaver." He smiled wanly. "I am a Time Lord, and I do not accept the inevatibility of anything." A laugh, cold and harsh sounding in the emptiness. "We hung the Framework of Causality and Anchored the Threads of History, remember? The future is what we make it, what we made it, and 'destiny' is a word for giving up."

He gestured wildly around, arms seeking to encompass the blackness that surrounded them. "And I do not accept this!" His voice was wild, hubris shouting shouting down fear.

She was taken back by his words, appalled even that even he believed the same root foundation that her father did. Did he realise that he sounded like their kind, Time Lords, were gods? Her jaw clenched, she took a deep breath.

"Has your kind ever stopped to think that time might be more then just an abstract thing? It's more then just a puppet that you can control? You know as well as I do that there are fixed points in time, points where time and space refuse to listen to you Time Lords meddling. And if you do, it usually goes horribly wrong. Yes, I did read up what happened between this River Song and the Doctor."

She growled in frustration, her hands tightening on his. By Danu she loved this man so viciously that she would hold on with teeth and nails if she had to. She took a deep bretah before she continued

"Destiny is not another word for giving up, it's a point where you let time control itself instead of you controlling it. Because really, sometimes time knows better what's good for itself then we do. The universe is our home, we live in it. If the universe turns to this then by Danu we've either driven it to this, or the universe has grown tired of us existing. We are the things living it it, and if a guests over welcome their stay they are cast from the house."

She looked at him, tears gathering in her eyes. Sidhe were known for having a closer connection to everything that surrounded them, they knew the earth was their host and them their guests, that's why they took such meticulous care of it. But the thing was, she wasn't a Sidhe, she wasn't a Time Lord either, she was both. She took his hands in her tighter, she would unwilling to let go of him, even if their opinions may differ.

"If you don't want the universe to end like this, then perhaps you should look to the beings living in it, instead of the universe itself."

Silence again. "Shall we return to the TARDIS, and to less bleak epochs? I need this, to remind me of why I do what I do, but I don't like being here."

She nodded slowly, still unwilling to let go of him.

"Yes, we shall." She said in quiet agreement.

"Oh and Robin?"

She looked up at him, her thumb stroking over the back of his hand.

"I love you. More then you'd probably realize."

She kissed the back of his hand, her eyes lingering on it before she looked back to the TARDIS beckoning them.

[The Meddler]

She looked at him, and he was taken aback by the look of furious frustration she gave him.

"Has your kind ever stopped to think that time might be more then just an abstract thing? It's more then just a puppet that you can control? You know as well as I do that there are fixed points in time, points where time and space refuse to listen to you Time Lords meddling. And if you do, it usually goes horribly wrong. Yes, I did read up what happened between this River Song and the Doctor."

He stared at her, silent, enigmatic. His emotions, leaking through the circuits in his hands, were mixed - rage and frustration and love and bafflement. He sighed. "I promised you that I would answer your questions," he said.

He met her gaze. "Time - real Time, not our tame history - is a living thing of sorts. It is born, it changes and grows, and ages and dies. We know - we knew - that." He shook his head, trying not to rant. "But the so-called fixed points are simply places that are far more difficult to alter. They're just knots in space-time, and they can be untied."

She growled in frustration, her hands tightening on his.

"Destiny is not another word for giving up, it's a point where you let time control itself instead of you controlling it. Because really, sometimes time knows better what's good for itself then we do. The universe is our home, we live in it. If the universe turns to this then by Danu we've either driven it to this, or the universe has grown tired of us existing. We are the things living it it, and if a guests over welcome their stay they are cast from the house."

"We're not guests in the universe," he bit back, "We're part of it. And we have every bit as much right to dispute its actions as it has to dispute ours." He was shaking now, trembling with the effort of suppressing the wild anger that filled him, the rage at the pointlessness of a universe that simply wound down to nothing.

And then he saw the tears in her eyes, and his rage drained away.

"If you don't want the universe to end like this, then perhaps you should look to the beings living in it, instead of the universe itself."

There were tears in his eyes now, as well. "Ah, Dreamweaver," he said, drawing a shuddering breath, "that's all I want. Let the universe do what it will. All I want is for the species and cultures that have existed to have a choice. If they choose to die with the universe, fine. But if they want to live, to escape and start again, let them."

There was silence. Then, his voice shaking, he suggested that they return to the TARDIS.

She nodded slowly, still unwilling to let go of him.

"Yes, we shall." She said in quiet agreement.

He nodded, hardly able to trust his voice right now, and started to turn towards the TARDIS.

"Oh and Robin?"

He turned back towards her. She looked up at him, her thumb stroking over the back of his hand.

"I love you. More then you'd probably realize." She kissed the back of his hand, her eyes lingering on it before she looked back to the TARDIS beckoning them.

He stared at her for a moment, feeling the emotions behind her words as they pulsed through his palms. His expression was one of shock, suffused with growing wonder. There was no hesitancy, no thrill of horror or disgust at the thing he had made of himself, no concern about the madness that drove him. Maybe a little irritation about his arrogance and stubbornness, but that was all.

The tension, the fear that she would one day loathe what he was, drained away. And suddenly he was holding her tight, tears of joy and relief streaming down his face. "And I love you," he said, clinging to her in the darkness, "I love you."

---

He pushed the door shut manually and leaned against it, as if he could barricade the ship against the everlasting night. Then solemnly, he crossed to the console.

"I was thinking that we could go somewhere nice," he said out loud, toying with the controls. "Atlantis, perhaps. Or the Boeshae Peninsula. Or the Medusa Cascade."

He spun a dial for no other purpose than to hear it click. "But I'm also in the mood to do something, and I'm dying to know where that impossible TARDIS came from." He looked up from the controls. "What are you in the mood for?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

For a change she let him rant, let him shout his frustrations off him. She knew he held most in and she sometimes feared that he would pent it all up till it was ready to explode, like now. So, instead of going against him she let him talk off his heart, his worries, his agitation. And she bit him back as hard as he bit her. It actually felt good for a change that there was something they could actually discuss (well more like rant in this case) about, a situation where they could learn from each other. Because really, he had a very valid point. They were part of the universe as much the universe was part of them.

Eventually, she felt like she still needed to let him know she loved him. And so she had said so. Afraid that their discussion had gone a little too far. She had been surprised to see the tears in his eyes.

"I love you more then you'd realize"

For a moment they'd just stared at each other, she found it hard to meet his eyes and thus rather look at the beckoning TARDIS. But instead he held her tighter then she ever had before, her cheek pressed against his chest, She could hear his chest heave with sobs, tears streaming down his face. Her own arms came around his waist tightly, her fists bunching up in his suit jacket. The tears too, came from her, a natural reaction to feeling him finally let go.

"And I love you," he said, clinging to her in the darkness, "I love you."

"Robin.." She whispered as she clung to him.

Then, by his hand she was lead back to the TARDIS, this dark place not leaving a bad memory in her mind. No, this had been a turning point, for both of them.

She smiled as she followed him back in, her glamour returned full as soon as she stepped back into the TARDIS. She almost seemed to glow. Well actually, she did.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She understood his still solemn mood as they returned back into the TARDIS, he did not feel the gestalt as clearly as she did, the ancient presence always soothing on her stress.

"I was thinking that we could go somewhere nice," he said out loud, toying with the controls. "Atlantis, perhaps. Or the Boeshae Peninsula. Or the Medusa Cascade."

He spun a dial for no other purpose than to hear it click. "But I'm also in the mood to do something, and I'm dying to know where that impossible TARDIS came from." He looked up from the controls. "What are you in the mood for?"

She crossed to his side, leaned half against the console as she looked at the readouts.

"We just spent eighteen hours making love in every possible way imaginable, I think it's about high time we went after that TARDIS." She said casually as if she was talking about the weather.

Then, without a warned she grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, yanked him in and gave him a good long kiss, claiming his mouth. When they broke she had a slow smile on her face, her eyes glittering with hooded mischief.

"But first, put that smug grin back on your face, my lovely Meddler. For else I fear I might not trust you to be in the right state of mind to actually pull this off."

A cheerful grin broke on her face.

[The Meddler]

[ Run Away ]

She crossed to his side, leaned half against the console as she looked at the readouts.

"We just spent eighteen hours making love in every possible way imaginable, I think it's about high time we went after that TARDIS." She said casually as if she was talking about the weather.

"I don't know about that," he said, equally casually.

The words hung in the air for a moment. "I've got a pretty good imagination, after all."

Then, without a warned she grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, yanked him in and gave him a good long kiss, claiming his mouth. When they broke she had a slow smile on her face, her eyes glittering with hooded mischief.

"But first, put that smug grin back on your face, my lovely Meddler. For I fear I might not trust you to be completely sane and capable of doing this without."

The manic grin wasn't back, not yet. But something of the old, mad humor danced in his eyes. "I think I can arrange that," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "Let's see. First, I'll need to do this..." His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her face close as he kissed her back, long and slow and thoroughly, savoring her.

He broke away, laughing. "That was for inspiration!" he declared, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her with him as he spun to the control column.

"Second," he declared, tapping at the controls, "I'll need to do this..." Displays on the navigational panel lit up, revealing constantly-changing streams of curvilinear Gallifreyan numbers. "That's the current location of the other TARDIS," he said, tapping the screen. "Still in Mutter's Spiral, still in the vicinity of Earth, give or take a hundred year-light-years."

"Third..." he pecked her on the cheek. "Well, let's call third a little more inspiration, shall we? So fourth, then..." His fingers flew over the console, like a virtuoso performing on some unholy hybrid of a typewriter and pipe organ. "Fourth is laying in an intercept course that doesn't intercept. We want to follow them, not catch them."

After several minutes of work, he looked satisfied. "Ready?" he asked, then threw the activation lever. The time rotor roared to life, with a sound like the TARDIS herself was pleased to be leaving the endless night behind. "We're looking at another 18 hours, roughly." He grinned at her, excitement and enthusiasm dancing in his eyes. "Want to have some fun?"

---

"Have some fun" turned out to be a mistranslation of the Gallifreyan phrase for "spend ten solid hours analyzing data and hypothesizing about the capabilities of an unknown TARDIS". And it sounds a little something like this:

"Three Pillars of Destiny and three dynamorphic generators on something with that little mass? That's insane!"

"The Eye of Harmony containment sphere is distressingly mundane."

"No wonder it the acceleration curve is so steep..."

"Tonks! More coffee! Black as pitch and three times as thick!"

"Six artron energy stabilizers?"

Finally, the Meddler rested his quill pen next to its bottle of ink, stepped back from the broad swathe of butcher's paper he'd been working at. His fingertips were stained with black ink, and his shirt and face were dotted with it, and his forearms were smeared with ink where he'd rolled up his sleeves.. "Look at that," he said, gesturing at the mass of equations and calculations and hypothetical specifications.

"It's got a maybe a fiftieth of our mass, and can draw maybe a quarter of the power this TARDIS could draw from the Eye of Harmony. But it should only be capable of about four times our acceleration, assuming all of the visible systems are comparable. And it's got sixty order field generators and projectors."

He ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head, leaving little streaks of ink behind. "Do you know what this means?" He paused to drink down half a liter of steaming black coffee. "It's a warship. A fast, deadly little thing. If the Type 91s were battleships, this would be a destroyer."

"There's an impossible Arpexian-bred War TARDIS out there." He grinned, practically dancing as the excitement lit his eyes and filled his voice. "I wonder what it's power source is? Does it have it's own substitute Eye like we do? It would have to. What do you think, Dreamweaver?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

His hands tangling in her hair elicited a growl from the back of her through as he kissed her, thoroughly, not out of anger mind you known from the way her hands tightened on him as he did so. No, her eyes showed a spark of hunger as he took her by the waist and spun them around the control pillar.

But she knew well what their real subject was at the moment and it kept her mind on track. Those new 'Time Lords' had the gall to threaten her and her Meddler, and they would pay dearly for doing so. If it was up to her, they'd be begging Robin for forgiveness by the time she had gotten her hands on her. But as her green eyes took in Robin, she decided that he would most likely not completely agree, so she just smiled at he worked at the controls.

"Fourth is laying in an intercept course that doesn't intercept. We want to follow them, not catch them."

After several minutes of work, he looked satisfied. "Ready?" he asked, then threw the activation lever. The time rotor roared to life, with a sound like the TARDIS herself was pleased to be leaving the endless night behind. "We're looking at another 18 hours, roughly." He grinned at her, excitement and enthusiasm dancing in his eyes. "Want to have some fun?"

"You're taking a detour on purpose, aren't you?" She said with a smirk on her face, her eyes glittering with mischief. She wasn't sure she could survive another 18 hours straight the way they had spent the last one. She still felt.. well.. she crossed her legs with a guilty smile on her face. "Do give a girl some time, beloveth" She said with a laugh.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, instead they had spent the time in the museum, Robin again behind the long white butchers paper but this time with ink up till his arms and smeared everywhere. It would take weeks for those ink stains to completely get out of his skin.

She didn't seem to really mind. The enthusiastic madness is what made her beloved Meddler.

She herself was seated on one of the large mahogany tabled he had there, her legs crossed and now glamoured in a sage coloured linen dress that seemed like something straight out of the medieval Gaelic times, brown ribbons along her sides weaving down to accentuate her waistline. A small golden circlet resting on her brow as her hair was braided back, baring her neck. She made full advantage of her ability to glamour anything on her she could ever want.

She was learning how to use it on others too. The Meddlers shirt had turned a deep burgundy and he had yet to notice. So did the big smiley face on his forehead. Now who was the Puck here? She just grinned happily.

"Tonks! More coffee! Black as pitch and three times as thick!"

"That stuff is going to give you a heart attack one of these days you know, both your hearts." She said, but mirth was still in her tone. She knew he wouldn't listen and would have an excellent comeback for it too.

He ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head, leaving little streaks of ink behind. "Do you know what this means?" He paused to drink down half a liter of steaming black coffee. "It's a warship. A fast, deadly little thing. If the Type 91s were battleships, this would be a destroyer."

"There's an impossible Arpexian-bred War TARDIS out there." He grinned, practically dancing as the excitement lit his eyes and filled his voice. "I wonder what it's power source is? Does it have it's own substitute Eye like we do? It would have to. What do you think, Dreamweaver?"

"I do not know, Meddler. You've always been better at the more technical stuff then I have" she said with a wink "What I do know is that these did not came out of the Time War, else you would have recognised it. So either it came from a parallel universe, or someone has been messing with time worse then even you have. And if they plan to imprison us all like it seems, they're going to have another thing coming"

She wrung her hands, her eyes on Robin more sober now. They had to be careful this time, these people were after Robin and her as much as they were after them. It was going to be a matter of who caught who first.

She wasn't willing to part with Robin now life seemed so wonderful.

[The Meddler]

"Tonks! More coffee! Black as pitch and three times as thick!"

"That stuff is going to give you a heart attack one of these days you know, both your hearts." She said, but mirth was still in her tone.

He swigged down the last of the stuff in his mug - long since grown cold - and laughed. "As long as they don't both happen simultaneously, it won't be life threatening." He chuckled. "Besides, caffeine is just a flavor additive to Gallifreyans. We don't have the same chemical receptors in our brains."

---

The Meddler finished his analysis of the impossible TARDIS, asking the Dreamweaver's opinion.

"I do not know, Meddler. You've always been better at the more technical stuff then I have" she said with a wink.

He leaned against the work bench and drank more coffee. "Well, yes," he agreed with a shrug. "But that's because I've had a century of formal education in the Academy, and another nine centuries of practical, on-the-job experience. You, on the other hand, technically haven't even finished the pre-Initiation training."

He sipped his coffee. "It's probably safe to skip the rest of the pre-Initiation training, though. What with you having, you know, survived your Initiation." Another sip. "So, one of these days, we should do a skill assessment test and figure out where we should start your education."

"What I do know is that these did not came out of the Time War, else you would have recognised it. So either it came from a parallel universe, or someone has been messing with time worse then even you have. And if they plan to imprison us all like it seems, they're going to have another thing coming"

He considered her analysis, and nodded his head. "A parallel universe, or someone mucking about with time. Both seem reasonable, although I can think of a dozen different reasons why each is impossible."

A pause. "Of course, that TARDIS is impossible as well. So make of that what you will."

He sipped more coffee. "As far as imprisoning us goes?" He shrugged. "That's pretty much where every interaction I had with the Time Lords started, once I left Gallifrey. And the others - most of them, anyway - were about the same."

More coffee, and then he happened to look at his arm. "Wasn't I wearing a white shirt when we started this?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

So Time Lords were immune to caffeine, something new to know. In Rewquethin, where she had grown up coffee had actually been one of the top things being smuggled, almost worth it's weight in gold. It had been a strange sight to see Robin chug it down in large quantities. Well, atleast he wouldn't keep over from it at some point.

His explanation on the fact he had a century of academy (really, the academy took a century?) and that he had centuries of experience on her was something that made her smile.

"It's hilarious that according to Sidhe and Time Lord years I would barely be a toddler. Yet here I am. Both Sidhe and Time Lord, adult and not even in my third decade yet."

She gave him a peck on the cheek before she whispered cheekily in his ear "I think you just put the new record for robbing the cradle, so to say" She chuckled softly before she gave his cheek another peck.

His thoughts on her idea that it might be someone mucking with time or a parallel universe was as impossible as that TARDIS actually appearing. But it was something they had to keep in mind. She thought of another possibility and she bleached.

"You don't think it's the work of Xandavier is it? He was there when you came out of the Time War, he could have used those coordinates, I don't see it past him that he developed a new TARDIS aswell.."

The look of him was fresh in her mind, he had sounded so cocky, looked so arrogant, too arrogant when they had been at the gathering of The Specialist.

Her eyes went back to his as he noticed that he was wearinga different colour shirt, a smirk came to her lips.

"I've been practicing the extends of my glamour. Feel your face, that Guy Fawkes face hair style look smashing on you, darling." She said, a grin slowly spreading on her face.

[The Meddler]

"It's hilarious that according to Sidhe and Time Lord years I would barely be a toddler. Yet here I am. Both Sidhe and Time Lord, adult and not even in my third decade yet."

The Meddler shrugged his shoulders. "Biology and culture are two entirely different things," he said. "Gallifreyans typically reach full physical maturity somewhere between twenty and thirty. We just aren't considered legal adults until we graduate from, or wash out of, the Academy. So you're hardly a toddler."

He sipped his coffee. "Although you did seem to have a little trouble walking, not that many hours ago."

She gave him a peck on the cheek before she whispered cheekily in his ear "I think you just put the new record for robbing the cradle, so to say" She chuckled softly before she gave his cheek another peck.

"Have I?" He smiled, and expression that transmuted rapidly into a mischevious grin. "Because, if you think that, you should ask the Doctor about Rose Tyler."

---

"You don't think it's the work of Xandavier is it? He was there when you came out of the Time War, he could have used those coordinates, I don't see it past him that he developed a new TARDIS as well.."

He mulled that over. "It... could be," he finally decided. "He's a Grandfather of House Arpexia. Out of all the surviving Time Lords I know of, he would be the most likely to actually breed... build? grow? - dang this imprecise language - make a new TARDIS."

"I don't think so, though." He gestured around the workroom with his mug. "Making a new TARDIS from scratch - as opposed to growing one out of a coral fragent, or just building a dimensionally transcendent machine - requires enormous resources and a vast infrastructure. I don't think that even Tsan Chan would be capable of it." He sipped his coffee. "Not yet, anyway. I'm sure Xandavier is working on that, though."

---

Her eyes went back to his as he noticed that he was wearinga different colour shirt, a smirk came to her lips.

"I've been practicing the extends of my glamour. Feel your face, that Guy Fawkes face hair style look smashing on you, darling." She said, a grin slowly spreading on her face.

He felt his face, gently tugging at the moustache and beard. "Tactile impressions, even," he said, lifting his eyebrows. "And Guy Fawkes seems appropriate, although it was William the Conquerer - not Parliament - when I tried it." He smiled.

"Remember, remember, the 8th of September
"The Atomic Howitzer Treason and plot;
"I know of no reason why Atomic Howitzer Treason
"Should ever be forgot."

A laugh. "It lacks a certain something, doesn't it?" Then he tugged at the beard again, experimentally. "Now, how do I get this off? Do I actually need to shave?"

---

Eight hours later...

He hovered over the navigational panel of the TARDIS with the air of a child at Christmas, waiting for the first scanner contact.

He'd changed, deciding that an ink-spattered Oxford didn't suit him. The Meddler was almost casual now, dressed in grey slacks and a black polo shirt and a grey sport coat.

"Got them," he announced, tapping a few buttons. "Only about three hundred years off, and cruising. Looks like they're heading out of Mutter's Spiral as well."

A light flared on the engineering panel, and he stepped over to have a look at it. "That's interesting..." he finally said, voice slightly strained. "The primary receptors are active. We could draw power from the Eye of Harmony, if we felt like it..."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

His version of the Gunpowder Treason and Plot was cute, really, and she smirked all the while. When He felt the beard she had grown on him, that still felt weird saying, she grinned at his question if he should shave it off.

"You could, yes. Or just ask me kindly. Technically it's just an illusion. Only so good that it even fools touch, taste and smell."

Eight hours later they were back in the control room. They really had to stop doing this, she really had trouble walking this time. The new clothes on the Meddler were.. different. She was unaccustomed at seeing him so. so.. casual. So she couldn't help but stare at his state. She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind where he was operating the console panel before him.

"I like the new look, love" She murmured into his ear.

"Got them," he announced, tapping a few buttons. "Only about three hundred years off, and cruising. Looks like they're heading out of Mutter's Spiral as well."

A light flared on the engineering panel, and he stepped over to have a look at it. "That's interesting..." he finally said, voice slightly strained. "The primary receptors are active. We could draw power from the Eye of Harmony, if we felt like it..."

She raised a brow, peeking at the console over his shoulder.

"That's quite stupid, you sure it isn't a trap? They've left themselves quite open in that case.. it sounds a bit too easy for my likes. But I have no idea on Gallifrey technologies, so I'll leave the expertise to you my love."

[The Meddler]

She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind where he was operating the console panel before him.

"I like the new look, love" She murmured into his ear.

The Meddler smiled. "It's not really all that different," he said. "Same suit, different shirt. And I couldn't find the tie, anyway."

He manipulated the controls, then stopped. "I'm sorry. That was the point where I should have said 'thank you', right? And perhaps kissed you as well?"

Smiling more, he turned his head and pecked her on the cheek. "Thank you." Then he turned his attention back to the console.

"Got them," he announced, tapping a few buttons. "Only about three hundred years off, and cruising. Looks like they're heading out of Mutter's Spiral as well."

A light flared on the engineering panel, and he stepped over to have a look at it. "That's interesting..." he finally said, voice slightly strained. "The primary receptors are active. We could draw power from the Eye of Harmony, if we felt like it..."

She raised a brow, peeking at the console over his shoulder.

"That's quite stupid, you sure it isn't a trap? They've left themselves quite open in that case.. it sounds a bit too easy for my likes. But I have no idea on Gallifrey technologies, so I'll leave the expertise to you my love."

"A trap?" He looked surprised at the idea for just a moment. "Oh. Oh, I see. No, I very much doubt it. A TARDIS draws power from the Eye through an entangled copy of the Eye of Harmony. I won't say it's impossible, but I've never heard of another culture being able to tap in to Gallifrey's energy broadcast."

He watched as the TARDIS began plotting a hypothetical course for the ship they were following. "We don't need to, of course. My homemade Eye only generates about 3% of the power of the Eye of Harmony, but we're also the only ship using it. But it's interesting..."

The course plot finished, and the Meddler stared silently at if for several minutes. "And so is that..." he said, slowly. "Galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero center."

He was silent again. "Gallifrey."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

The Meddler smiled. "It's not really all that different," he said. "Same suit, different shirt. And I couldn't find the tie, anyway."

He manipulated the controls, then stopped. "I'm sorry. That was the point where I should have said 'thank you', right? And perhaps kissed you as well?"

She chuckled softly, nuzzling his cheek. "No need to be a forced romantic, love. Just be who you are." Still, she did not complain when he kissed her cheek and brought a smile to her face, kissing his cheek back.

She noted how she thought it was a trap when he explained about the eye of harmony.

"A trap?" He looked surprised at the idea for just a moment. "Oh. Oh, I see. No, I very much doubt it. A TARDIS draws power from the Eye through an entangled copy of the Eye of Harmony. I won't say it's impossible, but I've never heard of another culture being able to tap in to Gallifrey's energy broadcast."

"I probably could. The Eye of Harmony would be an almost limitless power source, if only the body could handle harbouring such power. You remember what happened when the Specialist put a vast amount of energy into my body. If I hadn't connected to the Gestalt my body would have overloaded." Her arms slipped from his waist and she took her place beside him at the console, checking the readouts too. Her eyebrows rose at the sight of the coordinates she knew well by now.

The course plot finished, and the Meddler stared silently at if for several minutes. "And so is that..." he said, slowly. "Galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero center."

He was silent again. "Gallifrey."

"Perhaps.." She started "Perhaps, even though it sounds insane, perhaps we should take a peek at Gallifrey, you know, make sure it isn't actually there."

Her hands tightened on the console.

[The Meddler]

"Perhaps.." She started "Perhaps, even though it sounds insane, perhaps we should take a peek at Gallifrey, you know, make sure it isn't actually there."

Her hands tightened on the console.

"Insane?" he echoed, questioningly. And then he laughed. "of course it sounds insane! But we're following an impossible TARDIS that's drawing power from an impossible source, and we're following it towards a world that never existed!"

He practically danced a jig in front of the console. "I haven't been this excited about something for... oh, forty-five minutes at least." There was a pause. "Although this is certainly a different quality of excitement."

He began keying in coordinates. "We should certainly have a look. Assure ourselves that there is no inhabited world in the planetary nebula that might have formed Gallifrey. Make sure the Singularity is still intact. Maybe try to triangulate that mysterious power source from the Eye of Harmony."

His eyes were bright, glittering with enthusiasm. "Are you ready?"

The Time Rotor changed pitch as he engaged the new coordinates.

---

Two hours later...

The Perseus Cluster
NGC 1275
A binary star system in the constellation of Kasterborous
Galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero center

The fourspace interface of the Meddler's TARDIS floated in conventional spacetime, twenty astronomical units from the larger of the two nearby stars. From here, everything seemed peaceful. Serene. Even the twin stars were far enough away to resemble a single, bright star.

Inside the TARDIS, things were much less peaceful and serene. The Meddler was staring at the readouts on the console with a mixture of shock and excitement and disbelief. "The Singularity is still there," he said. "But there is a planet there, and it matches Gallifrey perfectly."

He rubbed his hands together, gleefully. "I can't wait to see where it came from."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Her eyebrows rose slowly in surprised as Robin was practically dancing around the console.

"I haven't been this excited about something for... oh, forty-five minutes at least." There was a pause. "Although this is certainly a different quality of excitement."

She chuckled softly, sometimes he was such a kid. She shook her head, smiled and watched as he punched in the new coordinates.

"You get exited easily, though" She said teasingly, winking at him.

"We should certainly have a look. Assure ourselves that there is no inhabited world in the planetary nebula that might have formed Gallifrey. Make sure the Singularity is still intact. Maybe try to triangulate that mysterious power source from the Eye of Harmony."

His eyes were bright, glittering with enthusiasm. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be with you" She said, a grin on her face as she held on as the TARDIS lurched, the Time Rotor roaring to life again as it changed directions.

________________________________________


When they had gotten to the destination coordinated she had first waited for something to happen. An attack on their TARDIS, an explosion perhaps? But there was absolutely nothing, it was serene.

But the Meddlers face wasn't.

She slid over to his side to have a look at the screen beside him. Her afce also blanched at what she saw there.

A fully formed planet. Gallifrey, she recognised it from one of the database pictures.

"The Singularity is still there," he said. "But there is a planet there, and it matches Gallifrey perfectly."

"That.. that wasn't there last time we were here.." She whispered, her eyes still staring at the screen, at the outer board camera showing the sight of Gallifrey right before them.

He rubbed his hands together, gleefully. "I can't wait to see where it came from."

She was quiet for a moment, simply staring at the Meddler before.. she snerked.

"If that is a full living planet with citizens, I am not coming to save you if you get imprisoned after you had a case of Curiousity killed the Cat. Just saying."

She winked. Of course she would.

[The Meddler]

"That.. that wasn't there last time we were here.."

"No it wasn't," the Meddler responded, his voice a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Not at all."

He rubbed his hands together, gleefully. "I can't wait to see where it came from."

She was quiet for a moment, simply staring at the Meddler before.. she snerked.

"If that is a full living planet with citizens, I am not coming to save you if you get imprisoned after you had a case of Curiousity killed the Cat. Just saying."

She winked. Of course she would.

He grinned back. "I've heard that curiosity killed the cat. Fortunately, I'm not a cat." The grin slid away, turning his expression serious. "But we need to know what happened. Where that came from. And I can't think of a better way then visiting."

With a flick of the wrist, he threw the lever to dematerialize the TARDIS. "The trick here, I think, is to assume that this impossible planet is Gallifrey, and that it is occupied by Time Lords. That might mean that what I'm about to do is utter overkill. But I doubt it."

Chewing his lip in concentration, he began to alter the structure of the propulsive artron field. "We can't go straight in," he said. "They'd spot that for sure. Nothing natural moves in a straight line in the Vortex. So we'll spiral in, move like flotsam, and just happen to head for the Untempered Schism."