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

[The Meddler]

It took longer than he had expected - even in the mild gestalt he and Éibhleann could enter through the circuitry printed in his hands - to work out the engineering details. But, within a matter of minutes, they had it ready.

::Quickly,:: Éibhleann urged, ::This is... harder... than I thought...::

The two of them guided the spy ray to the terminal the Meddler had abandoned. A quick check of the archive block showed the data transfer complete.

::Now,:: he said, ::Step two.::

Éibhleann swore weakly, but they set to work heterodyning a tractor beam on the spy ray.

---

"He's.. he's my tutor."

The Archivist smiled at the blush that colored her cheeks. "I'll say no more then. Just be careful that your tutor doesn't interfere with your studies."

She went on to explain how the terminals operated, and appeared delighted at Sisi's reactions.

"My Master gave me this, he wanted me to put the information in this, I believe he wanted to view it with me when I'd see it the first time."

She nodded understanding. "Something related to your studies, no doubt. If you're not ready to review the information now, you may just locate it and then have the terminal transfer it to your archive block. Go ahead."

Her expression turned slightly quizzical as Sisi hesitated. "Here," she said, "let me show you. You needed recent history, right? Only a few thousand years?"

---

The Meddler caught the archive block as it dropped into his hand.

::I'm... worn out,:: Éibhleann said, with the mental equivalent of a gasp.

::New talents,:: he responded, wiping sweat from his forehead. ::They're worth the effort.::

He peered through the foliage of the terminals, and swore under his breath as he saw the other Meddler and the Specialist drawing closer.

"...-ld've-Been King put me in mind of something I wanted to research. I'm positive I've run into a description of his anomalous temporal signature before, somewhere in the restricted archives, and I wanted to look it up..."

Do I really ramble that much? the Meddler thought.

::Aye.::

It was rhetorical.

"...of course, since our Lady the Archivist never forgets anything she's read, I'm hoping..."

They're coming this way, he realized.

Wincing internally at the music made by each crunching step, he continued down the path.

---

"...And there, the transfer is complete." She eyed Sisi curiously. "It's odd. It seemed almost as if you didn't understand parts of the interface..."

"Dreamweaver?" the Meddler called from the entrance to the arbor, "If you're finished, we really must be going."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

The Archivist smiled at the blush that colored her cheeks. "I'll say no more then. Just be careful that your tutor doesn't interfere with your studies."

She suppressed the urge to snerk, oh if only the woman know how distracting this man was from her studies. She listened eagerly as the terminals were explained, and gave her pin Robin had given her as a data storage.

"My Master gave me this, he wanted me to put the information in this, I believe he wanted to view it with me when I'd see it the first time."

She nodded understanding. "Something related to your studies, no doubt. If you're not ready to review the information now, you may just locate it and then have the terminal transfer it to your archive block. Go ahead."

Her expression turned slightly quizzical as Sisi hesitated. "Here," she said, "let me show you. You needed recent history, right? Only a few thousand years?"

"Yes, only the last three thousand years" She said politely.

It saved her really that the woman was so helpful, else anyone else would have realised she wasn't even from this planet. She watched as the woman guided her through the process and when she touched the plant she kept her eyes closed, she knew it would trigger her own energy flow and she could feel her irises glow under her closed eyelids.

"...And there, the transfer is complete." She eyed Sisi curiously. "It's odd. It seemed almost as if you didn't understand parts of the interface..."

She withdrew her hands and only then did she open her eyes again, the glow having stopped. She looked at the Archivist, swallowing nervously. It was true, she hadn't understood parts of the interface. She didn't know what to answer the woman without giving herself away. Luckily a voice she had longed to hear broke the silence.

"Dreamweaver?" the Meddler called from the entrance to the arbor, "If you're finished, we really must be going."

"Coming, Master!" She called back. She took the pin back and placed it back in her hair, standing up from the chair she had been seated in in a hurry, arranging her robes. She gave the Archivist a quick curtsy, but it seemed more clumsy. The perfection of these people made her nervous.

"Thank you so much, Archivist!" She gushed before she spun down the path towards Robin. She was going to murder him for leaving her alone once they got back to the TARDIS.

[The Meddler]

"Coming, Master!" She called back.

His hearts were pounding a mile a minute it seemed, well over their usual 45 beats per minute. This was getting dangerous, and it didn't help that it sounded like the other Meddler and the Specialist were coming towards him.

Anxiously, he watched the Dreamweaver manage a quick curtsy as she rose. "Thank you so much, Archivist!" She gushed.

The Archivist rose as well. "You're quite welcome, Dreamweaver," she said with a shallow, graceful bow. "Tell your tutor that..." Her voice faltered as she looked at the Meddler. "Who... who is he?" she asked. "He looks... familiar."

The Meddler caught the Dreamweaver's hand. He could feel her emotions through his palms - a misture of anxiety and anger and a little fear. Not now, he projected, We have serious problems. A telepathic side-band carried images of the other Meddler and the Specialist, mingled with dread and loss.

The Archivist took two steps closer, a curious expression of barely-concealed horror on her face. "What... what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, my Lady," the Meddler called back, "Good day."

don't run, he projected, And don't let me run. It attracts attention.

The gemstone gravel cruched musically underfoot as he led the Dreamweaver out of the arbor. And then he stopped cold. Less than three meters away stood the not-pregnant Specialist and the other Meddler.

There was silence for the span of two heartbeats. Then, simultaneously...

The Specialist's gaze went from the Meddler to the other Meddler, and she laid a hand on his shoulder. "What's going to happen to you..?" she asked, sounding worried.

The other Meddler gaped at the Meddler for a second, then narrowed his eyes. "It's the Grandfather Paradox the expedition reported." He raised his voice. "Guards!"

The Meddler squeezed the Dreamweaver's hand. "I changed my mind: run!" With that, he forearmed his way through the foliage terminals and began sprinting across the cerulean grass.

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

The moment Robin held her hand in his a flood of relief also went through her. She heard the Archivist voice behind her but decided to keep on walking and not reply to the woman. She could feel as much from him as he from her that they had to get out of here, this had been a bad idea.

Not now, he projected, We have serious problems. A telepathic side-band carried images of the other Meddler and the Specialist, mingled with dread and loss.

Her eyes widened at the images that played behind her eyes. Her head snapped to his He's you? she gasped as they fast walked along the path. Her mind too focussed on what she had just seen then on the musical stone of the path. A mixture of dread came over her, they had to get out of here and fast. Then she heard the Archivist voice behind her again.

"What... what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, my Lady," the Meddler called back, "Good day."

She heard his voice inside her head again. They were in too much trouble for her to be amazed by the fact.

don't run, he projected, And don't let me run. It attracts attention.

Easy for you to say She replied This was a bad idea.

Then, Robin suddenly stopped, stopping her step with him as he stared ahead of them at something. His eyes were widened in shock and her curiosity caused her to look the same way.

The Specialist. Not pregnant this time.

Well that's just wizard

Then she saw the two Meddlers look at each other. She couldn't tear her eyes from this copy of the Meddler, was this really what Robin looked like when he was younger? What was worse was that they both felt exactly alike too. It was Robin's physique this time that determined who was who. Somewhere, her mind agreed that regeneration actually did Robin well when it came to his looks.

"It's the Grandfather Paradox the expedition reported." He raised his voice. "Guards!"

And her expression to the other Meddler turned into one of betrayal. Her eyes glowed not that much later, a frown appearing on her face. She didn't give a dang any more if they saw what exactly she was, any surprise would work in their advantage from now on. Fascination for the other Meddler turning to anger as he rattled himself out. They were all the bloody same like those in that TARDIS she put to sleep. Then, she felt the real Robin squeeze her hand.

"I changed my mind: run!"

And she felt a yank to her hand and the next think she knew she was being dragged through a crowd as Robin elbowed his way through. She could already see the guards coming. She had to do something or they'd never get out of here.

I'll cause a diversion. Go for the TARDIS and leave, but leave your communicators opens so I can come in through the gestalt

With that she let go of his hand and turned around.

Her green eyes looked back at the younger Meddler for a split second before the glamour completely dropped, the golden energy exploding outwards and making many their eyes squint as time and space was pulled out of it's order in that split second before it rebounded back.

And she was bounding across the square like she wasn't stopped by her own mass and air, looking like a golden entity followed by regeneration mist, bumping the guards away that tried to get close to her Meddler.

//Run!// She called out one last time, the sound musical.

[The Meddler]

The Meddler exploded back onto the gemstone path, elbowing aside a Time Lord in robes of ameythist and jade. "Pardon me!" he shouted, "Just running for my life!"

His thoughts were a whirl, a mixture of worry and excitement with most of the worry being for the Dreamweaver. It was clear from his thoughts that, if she weren't with him, he'd be having the time of his life. "This way!" he called, breaking left and sprinting. Another Time Lord lept aside as he raced along, shaking a fist and apparently unmollified by his hasty "Sorry!"

Last time I did this, he projected, I was handicapped by a leg wound. That was a whole lot less fun.

He skidded to a halt. They were less than a dozen meters from the Gates of Understanding. Which put them less than a dozen meters from the Chancellary Guard. He paused, considering options - preferably options that didn't leave a trail of regenerating corpses in his wake.

I'll cause a diversion. Go for the TARDIS and leave, but leave your communicators opens so I can come in through the gestalt.

Wait, he attempted to respond, then felt the psychic connection break as she released his hand.

"Dreamweaver!" he cried out, knowing she must have a plan and still unable to shake his worries.

The Guards lifted their stazers. "You are-"

"Yes, yes, I know!" the Meddler mocked, "I'm bound by Law, right?"

Blinding golden light flooded the Great Library, simultaneously triggering all of the terminals. The Guards fell back, forearms over their eyes, squinting. The Meddler laughed as he dashed between them, calling out "Sorry, my Lords! I'm only bound by my fiancee!"

He sprinted down the One Hundred Steps, taking them two and three at a time, glancing back twice as he did to make sure that the radiant and luminous figure of the Dreamweaver was following.

//Run!// She called out one last time, the sound musical.

Two Guardsmen raced up the One Hundred Stairs towards him. He hefted his cane like a cudgel, then laughed as golden energy lifted them from their feet and hurled them back down to the Square.

He slid several meters across the polished gold of the square, one hand striking the ground before he pushed off and began running again. "Tonks!" he shouted into his communications disk, "Warm the console up, and have Moorg and the boys standing by! We're leaving in a hurry!"

He threw a last glance over his shoulder at the glorious woman following behind him. "Be sure you come aboard as soon as I do! I won't risk the transduction barriers cutting you off from the TARDIS!"

With that, he put on a final burst of speed and shot through the doors of the TARDIS, the Chancellary Guard pursuing at a shrinking distance.

---

He barely broke stride as he entered the primary control room, grabbing the side of the console to help slow him down. His fingers flew wildly over the controls as he shot anxious looks at the door. Where is she? he thought wildly, knowing as he did that it had only been a few seconds.

"Moorg!"

"Your Majesty?" the goblin called from the door.

The Meddler blinked. He hadn't even noticed them, crouched on either side and ready to spring into action. "If I give the word," he said, still setting coordinates, "you go through that door and kill anything you see in a red and silver uniform."

Moorg smiled, and licked his teeth with a prehensile tongue. "Yes, your majesty."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

She heard The Meddler's cry behind her as she released his hand, she knew he was worried. Sometimes he forgot where exactly she had come from before she fell through that rift. When her glamour dropped the guards backed down at the intense light that exploded outwards like shock waves. She laughed merrily as all the terminals activated around her, moving about the library like she was made of air and this was the day to dance.

"Sorry, my Lords! I'm only bound by my fiancée!"

//And how!// Her voice reverberated merrily through the library.

She was relieved once he sprinted down the one hundred steps, urging him on one more time to keep on running. Some guards tried to follow him after the first two went down, but she had stopped behind them and given them a hip bump which caused them to tumble gracelessly down the steps after Robin, in no state to follow once they got at the end.

When she turned around she was surrounded by a good dozen of guards, holding some type of gun aimed at her. Her golden form cowered comically, the growing green orbs where her eyes were still lit in merriment.

//Surrounded by so many strong men, what is a girl to do!//

With that the glamour suddenly came up again, and she was gone. The guards gasped, some cursed even. One woman yelped as something soft went by her leg.

A red fox with bright green eyes slipped it's way through the crowd, running under robe skirts (nibbling an ankle here and there mind you) and made a beeline straight for the young Meddler still standing next to the Specialist. It made the last sprint as the crowd was more open before him and it gave the fox the chance to leap at him, poised to strike.

But instead of the fox attacking him, there morphed a woman. Her green eyes were ablaze and her long red hair fanned out in motion. She was dressed completely in black leather and ready for battle, very contrary to the flowing robes she had on before.

//Do not forget who you are//

And with that, she moved within his personal space without warning and ghosted her lips over his, barely enough to touch, their breaths mingling.

Before he could respond her glamour dropped again and the golden light blazed in his eyes. She had bounded out of the library before the guards could stop her.

His lips were left with a golden glittering dusting, which after a moment sank into his skin and disappeared.

_______________________________________________

Not a moment later a red fox came running through the TARDIS doors, morphing back into the woman known as the Dreamweaver as soon as she had crossed the premises and into the TARDIS. This time she did not bother making it graceful and landed in a tumble on the pristine floors of the console room, giggling merrily.

She lay sprawled as she looked up at Robin, giving him a wink.

"I'd suggest going now, you know." She said cheekily, a big grin on her face.

She was having as much fun as he was.

[The Meddler]

The Meddler felt some of the tension drain from him as the large fox tumbled through the doors, transforming into the Dreamweaver as she giggled and rolled.

She lay sprawled as she looked up at Robin, giving him a wink.

"I'd suggest going now, you know." She said cheekily, a big grin on her face.

He spun the dial that controlled the doors. They swung shut with a heavy, final thud, and the Time Rotor roared to life as he activated the dematerialization sequence.

"I was just waiting for you, my Lady the Dreamweaver," he grinned back, relief evident in his tone of voice. "Now hang on. This is where things get interesting."

He checked the displays. "The local now is filled with traffic, but I'm not at all certain we'll be able to slip away as easily as we slipped in. They'll be watching for anything anomalous now, and the engrammatic emulators are only so good."

The display showed that they had passed the inner layer of the transduction barriers, and he began to relax a little. Maybe we'll make it out without being noticed, he began to think.

And then the multiple transduction barriers activated.

"Great Devourer," he snarled. "They've got us boxed in to local time-space."

A transmission came in, blanketing all of the standard TARDIS communication bands. "Grandfather Paradox. We know you are still within the Gallifreyan noosphere..."

"They're bluffing," he said. "They can't have made us that quickly."

"You are hereby bound by Law to materialize your TARDIS and await arrest. You are charged with dereliction of your Duty to your House, your Family, and to the Protocols of History. You are further charged with willful complicity in temporal genocide - specifically, the construction of the weapon used to destroy Gallifrey."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm getting tired of listening to them. What say we... uh, oh."

The passive sensors were picking up movement in the eleven-dimensional chaos of the Vortex around Gallifrey. "They've got TARDISes out looking for us. Silent running or now, we won't escape detection from that."

He thought quickly. "Take over. I'll be right back!" With that, he dashed from the room.

---

The Great Library.
A few minutes ago.

The Meddler took a reflexive step back as the fox lept at him, transforming into a leather-clad woman with long red hair and burning green eyes.

//Do not forget who you are// she told him.

And then she stepped close, kissing him lightly and then exploding once more into blinding golden radiance. He threw his arm over his eyes, trying to shield them from the light. A moment later, as he tried to blink large green and red spots from his vision, she was gone.

"Meddler?" asked the Specialist, sounding both concerned and slightly jealous, "My Lord Husband? What happened?"

He rubbed at his eyes. "I'm... I'm not certain," he said. "If it wasn't so obvious she's from the Sidhe Courts, I'd swear she was a Time Lord."

The Meddler caught his wife's hand, absently wiping his lips with the back of the other hand. "I caught a quick impression of her thoughts. She's in love with..." A sudden realization struck him. "My Lady Wife? I think... I think that the Grandfather Paradox is... me."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Goosebumps came up to her arms as she heard the Time Rotor come to life. The adrenalin only just caught up with her and she still had that wide grin plastered to her face as she realized that she only narrowly escaped that. She had hated it at first, but as soon as all hell broke lose she had forgotten about her worries and had just gone for it. With the realisation, she looked up at Robin behind the console. That same feeling must be what he felt and that's why he did this. That's why he took such, sometimes unnecessary risks. Because he could.

"I was just waiting for you, my Lady the Dreamweaver," he grinned back, relief evident in his tone of voice. "Now hang on. This is where things get interesting."

He checked the displays. "The local now is filled with traffic, but I'm not at all certain we'll be able to slip away as easily as we slipped in. They'll be watching for anything anomalous now, and the engrammatic emulators are only so good."

"Current Lady is sprawled on the floor, give me a moment." And with that she sprang up to her feet again. She still felt weird with being called a Lady by Robin, but she decided not to fight Gallifreyan customs. He was as stubborn as she was.

"I can try glamouring the entire TARDIS. I've never done it but it's worth a try?" She offered.

"Great Devourer," he snarled. "They've got us boxed in to local time-space."

A transmission came in, blanketing all of the standard TARDIS communication bands. "Grandfather Paradox. We know you are still within the Gallifreyan noosphere..."

Her eyes narrowed at the voice that came through the intercom. She got closer to the console, checking the readouts and her fingers flying over the console to see if there weren't any backwards entrances. But Robin was right, they were completely boxed in.

"They're bluffing," he said. "They can't have made us that quickly."

"I'm afraid so love, look at this" She turned the screen towards Robin, showing him the readouts.

"You are hereby bound by Law to materialize your TARDIS and await arrest. You are charged with dereliction of your Duty to your House, your Family, and to the Protocols of History. You are further charged with willful complicity in temporal genocide - specifically, the construction of the weapon used to destroy Gallifrey."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm getting tired of listening to them. What say we... uh, oh."

Indeed, she had heard that all before and she was well tempted to do the same trick to them she had done last time. But she heard the same soft beeping go off at the sensors picked up the movement about them in the Vortex. Her eyebrow raised.

"They've got TARDISes out looking for us. Silent running or now, we won't escape detection from that."

He thought quickly. "Take over. I'll be right back!" With that, he dashed from the room.

"Well son of a.." She swore as she needed saw the other TARDISes appear on the screen before her, she was already commanding to silent running before Robin gave her the command. Or had he told her? Or did she know he was going to tell her? Timey-wimey.

"Hurry up!" She called after him.

[The Meddler]

"Current Lady is sprawled on the floor, give me a moment." And with that she sprang up to her feet again.

"But you're so decorative there," he said with a laugh.

---

"Take over. I'll be right back!" With that, he dashed from the room.

"Well son of a.." he heard her swear, followed by "Hurry up!"

He was gone perhaps five minutes. Not long by most standards, but a seeming eternity when playing hide-and-seek with hostile warships. When he returned - still on the run - he was carrying a tool box.

"I haven't done this in centuries," he laughed. "Haven't had to do this in centuries." He extracted a logic probe, and began to test a few of the more homemade-looking switches on the console. "Everything is looking good," he said after a moment. "Just keep them off of us for a few more minutes, and we'll escape in a direction they won't be able to follow."

He began to orbit the console, manipulating the homemade controls and muttering to himself. "Differentiator cutout engaged," he would say, or "Blinovitch cutout active," or "activating zorth axis feed."

Outside, the hostile TARDISes drew closer. A new transmission came over the communications system. "Grandfather Paradox. We have line of sight on your TARDIS. There is no escape. Power down your systems and prepare to be boarded."

The Meddler cackled. "Come and take me!" he shouted into the communications systems.

Then he grinned at the Dreamweaver. "Watch this. This is the clever bit. It's something I worked out around six hundred years ago." He tapped the coordinate display. "See this axis? That's Gallifreyan Time, and it's always a constant." His grin got broader as he changed the value. "Or, more properly, it was always a constant..."

He threw the activation lever. There was a drawn-out, almost painful vwoooorp sound from the Time Rotor, and the TARDIS began to shudder.

"They won't have known to look for us four days ago."

---

The hostile TARDISES closed in like sharks hunting a whale. Brilliant beams of force lept out, each one powerful enough to pull a moon out of orbit, grappling the Meddler's TARDIS.

The Vortex began to churn wildly, and the Meddler's TARDIS slipped away along an impossible direction.

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Keeping them at bay had been a challenge. There were no laser beams to speak of on this as long ash she knew, they never had use of it before. Instead she just slammed her hands down on telepathic circuit, her irisses glowing up as she connected directly to the gestalt.

Now this was flying to her. The TARDIS eyes became her extra set of eyes to the Vortex around her. The buttons and levers around her started operating themselves, either caused by her working through the gestalt or the gestalt doing it herself.

And it they moved nimbly like foxes, almost taunting them as their beams missed every single time. She only barely registered when Robin came back with something she did not have the time to actually look at. The TARDIS gave a larch here and there, avoiding getting hit.

Outside, the hostile TARDISes drew closer. A new transmission came over the communications system. "Grandfather Paradox. We have line of sight on your TARDIS. There is no escape. Power down your systems and prepare to be boarded."

The Meddler cackled. "Come and take me!" he shouted into the communications systems.

A large grin broke on her face when she did hear that from within the gestalt.

"I'm straying in the gestalt love," Her body said "from here I can see better what's happening around us then just the readout screen. There's so many I cannot afford the delay time that gives. Do what you need to do, I'll keep them at bay. Disconnect my hands from the telepathic circuits if you need to take full control"

He pulled a lever and she felt a lurch, her body standing by the controls staggering. She felt like her body became almost weightless as they headed in a direction they should even physically be able to be heading.

[The Meddler]

The Meddler released a long sigh of relief as the TARDIS got underway, then eyed the console critically. He might sound cocky about this, but he was well aware of just how dangerous Time travel could be. A TARDIS wasn't designed for this, after all, and it could be seriously damaged.

Everything was in the green. Or, at least, not badly into the yellow. It would do.

"You can disconnect now, love," he said. "The transit solution is rubbish - it'll take four hours to make a trip that we should have been able to do in four minutes - but you don't need to monitor it any more."

Suddenly, he felt very tired. And that's when he noticed that the TARDIS had been redecorating again. The two wingback chairs were still there, but a loveseat had been added. And a fireplace, where the Mirror had once hung. He shook his head in amusement, and led the Dreamweaver over to the loveseat.

"Tonks?" he called, sitting down.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Coffee, please. Black-"

"-as tar and three times as thick?" the 'brownie' finished with a glint of humor in his eye.

The Meddler gave him a baleful look that washed right off the diminutive Sidhe. "And a reader, and something for the Dreamweaver as well."

Tonks bowed. "Of course, my Lord. At once." He accepted the Dreamweaver's request, and departed.

The Meddler stretched his legs. "Four hours," he said. "That should give us a good start on figuring out where this Gallifrey came from."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

With his word, she retreated from the gestalt and the glow in her eyes vanished as she disconnected her hands from the telepathic connectors. She cracked her neck, she still didn't completely got used to that routine yet.

"The transit solution is rubbish - it'll take four hours to make a trip that we should have been able to do in four minutes - but you don't need to monitor it any more."

She grinned cheekily "Does that mean we have another 4 hours to kill, again?" Her moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, for the first time she actually felt some sort of fatigue from the Meddler... well.. not counting when they.. yeah.

"Was quite a bit of running you had to do there, maybe you should join me in the gym sometimes" She chuckled softly, giving his tummy a patting.

She wrinkled her nose at his request for coffee, vile stuff. She asked for a hot chocolate instead, with some cinnamon. Nothing soother a girl like chocolate. She too looked about the redecorated TARDIS, smiling. "Love what she did to the place. And a fireplace!" She grinned as Robin pulled her over to the love seat, having him sit down first with her next to him and draping her legs over his lap. She ran her hand through his hair slowly, enjoying the feel of it on her finger, her nails gently scraping along his scalp.

The Meddler stretched his legs. "Four hours," he said. "That should give us a good start on figuring out where this Gallifrey came from."

"We only just narrowly escaped that one, love. We need to start making some sort of backup plan in case we aren't so lucky next time."

[The Meddler]

She grinned cheekily "Does that mean we have another 4 hours to kill, again?" Her moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Was quite a bit of running you had to do there, maybe you should join me in the gym sometimes" She chuckled softly, giving his tummy a patting.

"It's not the running," he laughed. "I'm not even winded from all that." The Meddler sat in the new loveseat, enjoying the feel of his fiancee curled up against him and practically purring as she ran her fingers through his hair. "It's... I dunno. Everything. Gallifrey. Seeing it like that, again. Undamaged."

He shook his head, and sighed heavily. ""I dunno," he said again. "I'm not tired, but I feel exhausted. Drained. I think I was on edge the whole time, and didn't realize it." He leaned his head on her shoulder, watching the flames crackle.

"Love what she did to the place. And a fireplace!" She grinned.

He smiled at that. "You know... I've flown the TARDIS for nearly seven hundred years, and I never realized she's a closet romantic."

Finally, he called for coffee and a data reader.

"Four hours," he said, stretching. "That should give us a good start on figuring out where this Gallifrey came from."

"We only just narrowly escaped that one, love. We need to start making some sort of backup plan in case we aren't so lucky next time."

"Oh, I don't plan on going back right away." He stroked his fingers through her hair, and deftly extracted the hairpin. "I just want to have a look through this, and try to figure out why they even exist."

He sat, idly examining the hairpin. "Or we can just sit here for a while," he added, snuggling a little closer. "That sounds nice, too."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

He shook his head, and sighed heavily. ""I dunno," he said again. "I'm not tired, but I feel exhausted. Drained. I think I was on edge the whole time, and didn't realize it." He leaned his head on her shoulder, watching the flames crackle.

"I remember mum was always tired whenever she had been in contact with the Courts, peer pressure perhaps? Must be strange, Gallifrey is supposed to be dead so to say. Yet everything was so vibrant and.. alive. It made me feel small, young and unknowing. I've never felt like that before. That's why I panicked when I lost you. That woman was really the Archivist?"

She nuzzled his hair gently, his scent filling her nostrils as she sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of peace with his head on her shoulder.

He smiled at that. "You know... I've flown the TARDIS for nearly seven hundred years, and I never realized she's a closet romantic."

"I think I'm having a bad influence on her" She said with a soft chuckle, kissing his temples softly after which she went back to playing with his hair, her eyes hooded with comfort. Then, his hands were in her hair and she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling. She opened them again when he stopped, wondering why he did when she saw the golden pin that had been in her hair previously. She completely had forgotten about that.

"I just want to have a look through this, and try to figure out why they even exist."

He sat, idly examining the hairpin. "Or we can just sit here for a while," he added, snuggling a little closer. "That sounds nice, too."

"Or we could do both" She said with a satisfied smile on her lips, taking the pin from from his fingers. "TARDIS, could you please play back the contents of this on a screen so we can watch it?" With that, she flicked the pin from the good distance they were away from the console and aimed it straight into the narrow slid of the reading drive. Some lights buzzed around the console and the white wall above the hearth was used as a projectory. The contents played back as a movie and she snuggled up into the Meddler's embrace.

"I found out a few months ago she can transfer data to a moving image. I looked up on some of Earth's history and ended up as a fine movie night. It's usually even faster then reading the texts. I tend to have the attention span of a butterfly when something doesn't immediately interest me" She said with a guilty grin.

And indeed, the moving images started to show on the screen when Tonks came back with coffee and hot cocoa.

[The Meddler]

"I remember mum was always tired whenever she had been in contact with the Courts, peer pressure perhaps? Must be strange, Gallifrey is supposed to be dead so to say. Yet everything was so vibrant and.. alive. It made me feel small, young and unknowing. I've never felt like that before. That's why I panicked when I lost you. That woman was really the Archivist?"

"That was Gallifrey, all right. Offworlders tend to assume it's a cold, sterile place because they're only rarely allowed to leave the Panopticon. And government buildings tend to be cold and sterile feeling anywhere."

He let himself relax against her. "And yes, as far as I could tell that woman was really the Archivist. She looks the way I remember her from the Academy, allowing for differences in age."

He frowned. "Which is, of course, absurd. We saw her less than fourty-eight hours ago, dying and very different looking." A pause, as he allowed the feel of her nuzzling his hair to distract him. "But I suppose that is no more absurd than seeing myself in my first Incarnation, only about the age I am now."

They discussed options - studying the historical records against just sitting.

"Or we could do both" She said with a satisfied smile on her lips, taking the pin from from his fingers. "TARDIS, could you please play back the contents of this on a screen so we can watch it?" With that, she flicked the pin from the good distance they were away from the console and aimed it straight into the narrow slid of the reading drive. Some lights buzzed around the console and the white wall above the hearth was used as a projectory. The contents played back as a movie and she snuggled up into the Meddler's embrace.

"I found out a few months ago she can transfer data to a moving image. I looked up on some of Earth's history and ended up as a fine movie night. It's usually even faster then reading the texts. I tend to have the attention span of a butterfly when something doesn't immediately interest me" She said with a guilty grin.

The Meddler watched with interest, laughing lightly. "Six hundred years," he said, "and I never noticed this feature once." He watched the playback start. "I've always preferred physical books, though."

---

History played across the screen, a steady march of events. The Presidency of Morbius and his eventual execution. The War of Chiirs. The discovery of techniques to manipulate highest entropy matter, and the founding of the Nechronomancers. All of it, events the Meddler recognized.

Around the second hour, about 1600 years before the present, came a candid description of the High Council rising against the Royal Family of Gallifrey. The coup was discussed in detail, showing the role played by Emmehujidat and Xandavier in their overthrow.

The Meddler sat up, paying closer attention. "This is new. I had to piece this together."

It reviewed how the only survivors were Crown Prince Aragornooveureodaf4eyrewqy - who was forced to Regenerate and assume the name Tylerhathan - and Lady Tracenista, who survived by virtue of hiding and assuming a new name, eventually becoming the Keeper of the Halls of Eileithyia.

It described the Prophecy of the Ten, and Emmehujidat's attempts to circumvent it with a memetic virus that would leave it's victims crippled by a nameless horror of the alien. And it described how Xandavier had taken charge of the aftermath, attempting to transform ten children from the tainted Initiation into weapons against the prophecy.

"This is... this is nowhere in the official records."

It described the Doctor's Rebellion, when the eight surviving Deca rose against the corrupt Lord President and High Council, executing them for crimes against Gallifrey. It showed the Doctor becoming Lord President.

"Stop!" the Meddler ordered, his voice shaking. "Search for any references to Daleks."

Seconds passed, with the Meddler on the edge of his seat. Finally, the screen displayed: "one reference".

"Show it."

"Dalek: A minor technological species, formerly gallifreyoid, native to the planet Skaro. Rendered extinct by a Movellian expeditionary force in..."

"Stop!" He took a deep breath, and drank down half of his coffee. "Resume from the Doctor becoming Lord President."

The rest was a cascading sequence of ever-increasing divergance from the timeline the Meddler recognized. Under the Doctor's Presidency, Gallifrey became more and more active in the affairs of the Spiral Politic. Wars were ended, first by negotiation, later by threat of force. Hostile populations were pacified, first by education and later by mind control techniques. By the time the Last Great Time War would have begun, the Pax Gallifrey encompassed the entire Virgo Supercluster.

"Peace," the Meddler muttered. "Peace under the boot of Gallifrey. But how did they get here?"

The history provided no answers for that.