(Jared's POV)
Woodland…
Night time. A coach and four is trotting along the track by the light of a full moon when a lone horseman moves into their path.
"Whoa!" A coachman said, worried.
The masked horseman rears his horse, who neighs. The coach passengers look out, the young lady leaning forward to emphasise her décolletage.
"Stand and deliver!" The highwayman said, angrily.
"Do as he says. I've heard of this brigand. He's known as the Knightmare! Faster than Sam Swift the Quick, deadlier than Deadly Dupont." The coachman said.
"Dabbling lowpads the pair of 'em, with terrible pseudonyms to boot. Cash bags, jewels, the lot."
"I will not be robbed by some lone, ranting cavalier!" Fanshawe cried.
"Who says I am alone?" The highwayman asked.
A pair of bright lights come on in the bushes. Lucie Fanshawe screams.
Meanwhile, also in the forest, the Doctor looks out of the TARDIS, then leaves it with Sayaka, Kyoko, and I and starts up a gizmo with a compass on top.
"Right." The Doctor said. "Let's go."
The gizmo beeps rapidly but softly.
As the Doctor turns around, a pair of red lights illuminate on stalks sticking out and slightly forward. Sayaka, Kyoko, and I noticed it.
"What's that?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
"It's nothing." I said, telepathically. "Nothing to worry about for now."
"Why did you bring us to the Early Modern Period?" Kyoko asked, telepathically. "I thought we were going to the arcade in Mitakihara."
"We are. After this pit stop with the Doctor."
"Warm." The Doctor said, as there is an orange light coming on in the compass. "Warmer."
"The last time you were in this time period. You were with the Doctor, Clara, Tsuruno, and Felicia." Sayaka said, telepathically.
The Doctor, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I follow the signal.
"Not exactly this time period. Someone else came the long way around." I said, telepathically.
"We are cursed. The Knightmare is in league with the devil." The coachman said, sadly.
The highwayman takes the money and jewels from the Fanshawes, "Aye, Satan's sidekick, me. Where's the rest?"
"What else would you take from me, sir?" Lucie asked.
"You know what I want. Hand over the amulet." The highwayman said.
"Hello." The Doctor said.
Consternation as the Doctor has climbed into the coach from the other side.
"Ah! Don't shoot!" Fanshawe said, terrified.
"Oh, don't mind us, don't mind us. We're only going to be a minute. Don't worry. Oh, very warm. Jared, Sayaka, Kyoko. It's very warm." The Doctor said, happily.
"Doctor. What are you doing?" Sayaka asked.
"It's okay, Sayaka. You know what we're doing." The Doctor said, looking over at the Highwayman. "Oh, just ignore us, we're just passing through, like fish in the night."
"Doctor! This is a robbery!" Kyoko yelled.
"Jared, it's not fish in the night, it's something else." The Doctor said, getting out of the coach and closes the door.
"This is my robbery." The Highwayman said.
"It's ships in the night." I said, smiling.
"Yeah, something like that." The Doctor said, smirking.
"Step aside with your friends or I shall blow your brains out." The Highwayman said.
"Doctor!" Kyoko said, hitting the Doctor hard on the jaw.
"Ow!" The Doctor said, rubbing the side of his face.
"You have interrupted my robbery, sir, and you will step away, if you wish to take another breath." The Highwayman said.
"You're going to get us all killed, if you don't shut your mouth." The coachman said, annoyed.
"Sorry. Usually, someone other than this ginger hits me at this point, but she's taking the Year 7s for Taekwondo." The Doctor said, following the gizmo signal. "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!" It leads the Doctor to the luggage chest at the back of the coach. "Yes! Got you!"
The Doctor laughs.
"Doctor. Don't do this. This is a robbery." Sayaka said, sadly.
"I am robbing these people. You are getting out of my way." The highwayman said.
"Sorry, We need to get a tiny little thing out of this box." I said, grabbing Sayaka's hand.
"This is my robbery!"
"Well, can't we share it? Isn't that what robbery's all about?" The Doctor asked.
"Yah! Get up!" The coachman said, angrily.
The coach drives away at a gallop.
"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor cried.
"You and your friends bungled my heist." The Highwayman said.
"No, you bungled ours, Zorro!"
"Whey-faced fool!"
"Yeah, well, why don't you show your face? At least me and my friends show our faces. What's wrong with yours?" The Doctor asked.
The Highwayman's masculine voice changes to feminine and recognisable.
"Nothing, Doctor." Ashildr said, dismounting and removes her hat, kerchief and mask.
"You." The Doctor said, his eyes widening.
"Yes, it is me. What took you and Jared so long, old man?"
"Old man?"
"You do have a lot of gray hair." Sayaka said, giggling.
"You do!" Kyoko said, laughing along with Sayaka.
"They're right. It seemed apt. Life expectancy is thirty five these days. Well, for everyone else." Ashildr said, happily.
"But didn't you know it was me and Jared?" The Doctor asked.
"Of course, you don't forget the men who saved your life. It's good to see you, Doctor, Jared."
"Same here." I said, walking up to Ashildr for a hug. "How have you been?"
"I've been good." Ashildr said, smiling.
"Yes, I didn't get that impression when you were threatening to kill us. But Jared, he knew it was you, that he brought Sayaka and Kyoko with him." The Doctor said.
Ashildr changes voices.
"The Knightmare has a reputation to maintain." The Highwayman said.
"It's a very good voice. How do you do that?" The Doctor asked, looking at Ashildr.
"Practice." Ashildr said, smirking.
"Last time Jared and I saw you, you and Jared were founding a leper colony. I was so proud of the both of you."
"Proud of us? Doctor, you weren't even there. Jared was."
"Yes, I was. You and Jared didn't see me, but I saw the two of you."
"And you just left me there and scooped up Jared after he was done helping me?" Ashildr asked.
"You helped Ashildr found a leper colony?" Kyoko asked.
"When?" Sayaka asked, looking at me.
"It was after the Doctor and I saved her." I said, grabbing Sayaka's hand. "I didn't want to see Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup straight away. And it was Season 2 of that show. I was in no rush."
"Yes. Jared wasn't in any rush. Well, you seemed fine with Jared stopping by to help you out before I gave him a lift to be with the Powerpuff Girls." The Doctor said, frowning.
"In a leper colony? No matter. You and Jared are here now. We should celebrate." Ashildr said.
"Oh, no, this isn't a visit, we've got a job to do. Jared, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I are here looking for an alien object which has no business being here on Earth in 1651. It was just, it just so happened, you know, that my tracking device, it led us to the carriage that you were, you know, robbing. There wasn't. We didn't. It was a…" The Doctor said, guilty.
"You mean, you and Jared haven't come for me?"
"No. It was just a coincidence." The Doctor said, as a church clock chimes in the distance. "Oh, Ashildr, I'm sorry."
"Who's Ashildr?" Ashildr asked.
"That's who you are. Ashildr's your name." Sayaka said, happily.
"Jared told us about you. Ashildr, the daughter of Einarr." Kyoko said, smiling.
"Ashildr, the Doctor and I used to call your father 'Chuckles' to help brighten the mood of the situation." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag. "Do you remember that? The village you loved so much, you'd die for it."
"Yes. I think I remember the village." Ashildr said, sadly.
"Jared was right. He told us you loved that village." Kyoko said, her hand on her hip.
"If you say so."
"He also said that anyone in that village would have died for you, Ashildr. Jared here told us that you reminded him of us. Of me and Kyoko." Sayaka said, looking at Ashildr.
"Well, they're all dead now, and here I am. So, I guess it all worked out." Ashildr said.
"Ashildr." The Doctor said, sadly.
"That's not my name. I don't even remember that name."
"So, what do you call yourself?" Sayaka asked.
"Me." Ashildr said, smirking.
"Yes, you. There's nobody else here." The Doctor said.
"Doctor, I think that's what she calls herself." Kyoko said. "She calls herself Me. Is there a reason why?"
"There is. All the other names I chose died with whoever knew me. Me is who I am now. No one's mother, daughter, wife. My own companion. Singular. Unattached. Alone. Anyway, I should get started. Doctor, jump on, I'll give you a ride. You, Jared, Sayaka, and Kyoko, can help me." Ashildr said, looking at us.
"What do you need help with?" Sayaka asked.
"Packing." Ashildr said, going back to her horse. "Come on."
Driveway…
Walking up to a minor manorial country house.
"Wow. You're as rich as Hitomi." Sayaka said, in awe.
"It is a big place for someone that lives on their own." Kyoko said, at a loss for words.
"I have a servant. And all manner of visitors drop in." Ashildr said.
Someone or something is watching from the bushes, growling softly.
Entrance hall…
We enter through a side door and go along a corridor to where the main staircase comes down.
"Doctor, your device, what is it?" Ashildr asked.
"My curioscanner? Oh, it, er, it sort of scans for, it scans for curios. I've just realising how it got its name. It's been tracking exoplanetary energy for the last couple of weeks. We've been following it across the galaxy." The Doctor said.
Ashildr opens a large chest full of loot, "And do you and Jared know what you're looking for?"
"We've got a pretty good idea, yes. Why?"
"I wasn't just robbing Lucie Fanshawe for her loot. She's bragged about having the rarest gem in the land, an ancient amulet from foreign parts. Could it be we are looking for the same prize?" Ashildr asked.
"Well, it clearly looks like you don't need the money." Sayaka said, looking around the house. "Why do you rob like you're Robin Hood?"
"And you're keeping all the loot to boot." Kyoko said, crossing her arms. "I steal because I was made homeless without a choice."
Ashildr adds her night's spoils to the collection in the chest and closes it, "For the adventure, Sayaka, Kyoko. Isn't that what life's all about?"
Library…
Lit by some candles and a big fire in the fireplace. Floor to ceiling bookcases are filled with identically bound volumes.
"I've had eight hundred years of adventure, longer than any Magical Girl that made a contract with the Incubators could have done, enough to fill a library if you write it down." Ashildr said.
Sayaka picks up a crown from a table, "You were a medieval queen? How exciting is that, Kyoko? Ashildr was a medieval queen."
"You'd think. It was paperwork and backgammon mainly, as I recall. Ended up faking my own death. Did a bunk before the evisceration." Ashildr said, while she has memories of her getting out of her coffin and climbing out of a window. "Now this was much more my thing."
Ashildr hands Kyoko a longbow, and remembers stealing the clothes of a soldier so she could join the line of troops heading to battle, "The Battle of Agincourt. My first stint as a man. No one will ever know that a mere woman helped end the Hundred Years' War."
"Ashildr, you're immortal like Sayaka and Kyoko, the three of you aren't indestructible like me. You can get hurt, maybe killed." I said, twanging the bowstring.
"Ten thousand hours is all it takes to master any skill. Over over a hundred thousand hours and you're the best there's ever been. I don't need to be indestructible, I'm superb. You should have seen me. Iroha Tamaki and her sister saw me when they had their respective adventures with Jeanne d'Arc. I could shoot six arrows a minute. Faster than Madoka Kaname could. I got so close to the enemy, I penetrated armour." Ashildr said, happily.
"So, how many people have you killed since I saw you last?"
"Jared, you'll have to check my diaries. You did give me that suggestion all those years ago."
"I did. Because an iPhone, a MacBook, and an iPad haven't been invented yet."
"Wait. You can't remember?" Sayaka asked, tilting her head. "Is that how Kyoko and I will become?"
"Eventually. All Magical Girls will suffer the same fate I'm going through, even before they fall into despair and become a Witch. For what it's worth, I've saved many lives too." Ashildr said, having memories of a crowd with pitchforks chanting 'kill the witch.'
Ashildr was dragged along with her hands tied, fastened to a ducking stool and dumped into a lake. She somehow swims unnoticed to a bank behind the villagers and gets away unseen.
"I cured an entire village of scarlet fever once, almost got drowned as a witch for my troubles. Like how Kyoko was accused of being called a witch by her father and she lost him, her sister, and her mother in the process. Fortunately, with me, I'm really good at holding my breath. Ungrateful peasants." Ashildr said, annoyed.
The Doctor picks up the beaked leather hood of a 17th century plague doctor.
"Oh yeah. Jared, you asked Madoka to visit Ashildr during the Black Death. In 1348." Sayaka said, looking over at me.
"Well. Yeah. I wanted to warn Ashildr about it. But we got sidetracked. By picking up Kyoko." I said, sadly.
"How did it go afterwards?" Kyoko asked.
"I got sick, but I got better." Ashildr said.
"Of course, your immune system is learning too. There's another bout coming. And a big fire that tears through London." The Doctor said.
"Excellent. Maybe I start it."
"No, that was the Terileptils. Surgeon, scientist, inventor, composer, it's a fantastic CV."
"You should try my journals. Jared and I read them ourselves now and then. Drink pomace wine, have a little 'me time' with Jared."
"Ashildr, you don't seem the nostalgic type. Jared's the nostalgic type."
"It's not nostalgia, it's curiosity. Jared and I can't remember most of it. Like how Sayaka and Kyoko can't remember most of it someday. That's the trouble with an infinite life and a normal sized memory." Ashildr said, sadly.
"It can't have been easy, outliving the people you love." The Doctor said, frowning.
"According to my journals, hell."
"I'm sorry, Ashildr." I said, walking up to Ashildr to hug her. "I really am sorry."
"I know you are." Ashildr said, letting go of me. "You'll have to remind me, what's sorrow like? It all just runs out, Doctor, Jared. I'm just what's left. In fact, I've done all I can here. I look up to the sky and wonder what it's like out there. Please, take me with the both of you. All these people here, they're like smoke, they blow away in a moment. You don't know what it's like."
"We do know what it's like." The Doctor said.
"Then, however you fly, whatever ship you sail in, take me with you and Jared." Ashildr said, looking at the Doctor.
"How'd you know I had a ship?"
"Because I'm incredibly clever. It doesn't matter. Take me with you and Jared."
"We'll talk about it later, Ashildr. If we had to save the world again or something." I said, smugly.
"Jared. Stop looking at me like that. It's not funny." Ashildr said, annoyed. "This thing you're looking for with the Doctor, Sayaka, and Kyoko. I'll help you find it. It'll be quicker."
"We don't need your help." The Doctor said.
"Yes, you do, Doctor. I know where Lucie Fanshawe lives, and I'm an excellent house-breaker. We'll leave in an hour." Ashildr said, going out of the library and shuts the door to lean on it.
The Doctor selects a journal from the start of the massive collection and starts reading. The first is in English with a strong right hand slant to the script.
"Today is the day I should have died. Instead, I was re-born, by my heroes, men called The Doctor and Jared. My love is dying. It broke my heart when the questions started and I knew I had to leave him. I returned to find an old man who smiles and thinks I am a dream. I am flesh and blood, my love, but all you see is a ghost." Ashildr said, as a voiceover.
Ashildr goes outside with a lantern.
The Doctor discovers that some pages have been torn out of a journal written in Latin, and the ink is smeared with round drops of water, "Tears. Jared, Sayaka, Kyoko, this page has tears."
"The Plague. Mass graves. Sightless children…" Ashildr said, as a voiceover.
Images of wooden framed houses and ragged people, and a weeping woman clutching a rag doll in her grief.
"Clutching toys as they sleep, never to wake up. My children. My screams. I could not save you, little ones. Such pain. And yet, still, still I am not brave enough to die, to let go of this wretched life. I will endure, but no more babies. I cannot, will not, suffer such heartbreak again. From now on, it's me against the world." The Doctor said, reading the journal.
(Open POV)
Grounds…
Ashildr speaks to the something that is watching. The two bright lights hiding in the bushes.
"Quiet, my friend. We have visitors. I didn't get it, but I will. If your promise stands, I'll have it by dawn. My visitors can help me. Don't worry, one of them don't know about you, only about the artefact. He has no idea what we intend to do with it. The other, he knows about you and the artifact. But he loves and cares about me deeply, like all his other friends." Ashildr said.
The thing growls softly.
(Jared's POV)
Dining room…
Ashildr returns and puts out her lantern.
The Doctor enters with Sayaka, Kyoko, and I, "We read your journals. Why are there pages missing?"
"When things get really bad, I tear the memories out." Ashildr said.
"What could be worse than losing your children?" The Doctor asked.
"Becoming a Magical Girl." I said, happily. "They have it rough."
"Yeah." Kyoko said, smirking
"We do. Why did you keep that entry if it causes you pain and suffering?" Sayaka asked.
"I keep that entry to remind me not to have any more." Ashildr said, poking a fire burning in a grate.
"I've left you alone too long. And I didn't leave Jared alone too long. I had no idea how much you'd suffered. But Jared and I remember the person you used to be. She's still in there. We can help you find her." The Doctor said.
"Spare me your pity, Doctor, I'm fine."
"I think this is just another mask that you wear to protect you from the pain."
"I think the alternative frightens you, that this is who I've become. The reason why Jared doesn't frighten you is because he found his grounding, to keep himself from becoming me."
"This is no way to live your life, de-sensitised to the world."
"So you intend to fix me? Make me feel again, then run away? I don't need your help, Doctor, you need mine. Just this once, you can't run off with Jared like you usually do."
"How do you know? How do you know what I usually do with Jared? We've met once in a Viking village. We didn't give you our life stories."
"It's true though, isn't it? You're the men who run away." Ashildr said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"So, who told you that?" I asked, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
"Maybe I just worked it out." Ashildr said, putting her pistols into her belt. "Come on."
We go out by the small door again, and the Doctor, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I stop as if we hear the faint growling. We are shown more of a feline personage.
Outside the Fanshawes' home…
A stately pile played by Tredegar House.
Ashildr has donned her mask again, and we approach the rear of the property, "Housebreaks can be tricky."
"Not for me. Sonic technology. It should be able to deactivate any alarms." The Doctor said.
"What's an alarm?" Ashildr asked.
"An alarm for stopping burglars." Sayaka said, happily. "Were those not invented yet?"
"Not until 1853. By Augustus Russell Pope." I said, smiling. "We're two centuries too early."
Ashildr holds up a wanted flyer for The Knightmare, "The most wanted in the land."
"Now isn't the time to be showing off." Kyoko said, rolling her eyes.
"Now seems like a very good time to me." Ashildr said, sliding the paper under the door and uses a wire to push the key out of the lock and onto it, so she can slide the paper back outside and unlock the door with it. Then she holds out domino masks to the Doctor, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I. "You'll need masks, sidekicks. Watch and learn."
"Brought my own, thanks." The Doctor said, putting on the sonic sunglasses.
"So did we." I said, changing my form from human to ghost and Sayaka and Kyoko changed their forms from human to Magical Girl. "Much more flashy than sonic sunglasses. At least we look awesome."
Fanshawe's home…
"'Tis black as night. I have a tinderbox somewhere." Ashildr said.
The Doctor sonics a candle into lighting.
"Show off. Know where you're going, do you?" Ashildr asked, taking the candle from the Doctor. "The servant's stairs. Follow me."
Staircase…
Going upstairs, whispering.
"Why are you still alone? What happened to the second immortality charge we gave you?" The Doctor asked.
"Shh." Ashildr said, showing it to the Doctor, hidden inside her jacket. "No one's good enough."
"Humans need…"
"Quiet…" I said, sadly.
We wait for a light at the top of the stairs to disappear.
"Humans need shared experiences." The Doctor said.
"I'm regretting sharing this one." Ashildr said.
"It isn't right for you to be on your own! It's why Jared has friends when he goes on adventures."
A maidservant comes out of a room along the corridor.
Upstairs corridor…
"Goodnight, Ma'am." The servant said, walking away without seeing us.
"I'll wager there's a dressing room. Come on!" Ashildr said, opening a door further on and goes inside.
"When did Ashildr become like this?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
"Has she been like this since the leper colony?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
The Doctor almost walks into the open door.
"I don't know." I said, telepathically. "Maybe."
Dressing room…
Ashildr crosses the dark panelled room and opens a large cabinet containing lots of inlaid drawers and compartments. The Doctor sets his curioscanner going.
"Doctor. Not now. Turn it off." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
It leads the Doctor to one particular compartment containing a box, which in turn contains a large glowing purple gem in a diamond and pearl encrusted setting.
"The Eyes of Hades." The Doctor said.
Fanshawe's room…
On our way back through the house, a door opens.
"Shit." I said, telepathically.
"What do we do now?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
"Do you have a plan?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
We hurry across an open area, probably the top of the main stairs, to another room to hide and discover that a man is also in there, snoring on a couch.
"We go around him and see if we can't leave through the back door." I said, looking at the Doctor, Ashildr, Sayaka, and Kyoko.
"Okay." Ashildr said.
"Sorry." Sayaka said, telepathically.
Of course a floorboard creaks.
"Sayaka. Damn it!" Kyoko said, telepathically.
"Lucie?" Fanshawe asked.
We duck down and crawl on hands and knees as Fanshawe rises and picks up a candle.
"Lucie?" Fanshawe asked.
Sayaka looks over the far end of the couch and ducks down again as Fanshawe turns.
"Lucie?" Fanshawe asked, going out of the room. Ashildr, the Doctor, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I stand.
"Son of a…" I said, knocking a fire iron onto the floor with a clatter.
"There is an intruder on the premises! Bring me my blunderbuss!" Fanshawe said, nearby.
Ashildr readies her pistol.
"The hell are you doing?" Kyoko asked, looking at Ashildr.
"It's kill or be killed." Ashildr said.
"We can't shoot them." Sayaka said, sadly. "We have to hide."
"This is going to be funny." I said, grabbing Sayaka's hand and Kyoko's hand, causing the three of us to go invisible. "You two will like this."
I then had the three of us phase through the house and fly away as the Doctor and Ashildr are in the chimney.
Fanshawe re-enters the empty room with his own pistol at the ready, "Guard the doors! Alert the militia!"
The Doctor's feet are dangling inside the chimney.
(Open POV)
Chimney…
"Your feet, you oaf." Ashildr said, and the Doctor pulls his feet up and they start climbing. "Oh, Doctor, I said you'd be a liability. Jared is less of a liability with his ghost powers and he got Sayaka and Kyoko out using it. Just let me shoot them and be done with it!"
"You're the liability. I never have this trouble with Clara and Jared." The Doctor said, annoyed.
"Oh, is she still with you like Jared is, is she?" Ashildr asked.
They pause.
"Oh, you remember Clara, do you?" The Doctor asked.
"Of course. I take particular note of anyone's weaknesses. Like how Clara and Jared are your weaknesses." Ashildr said.
"Search every nook and cranny! I warrant they will hang for this!" Fanshawe said, nearby.
"So what's wrong with Clara, then?" Ashildr asked.
"There's nothing wrong with her." The Doctor said.
"Why haven't you made her immortal? Jared made himself immortal for you."
"Well, look how you turned out."
"She'll die on you, you know. She'll blow away like smoke."
"Save your breath." The Doctor said, scoffing.
"How old are you, Doctor?" Ashildr asked.
"Older than you."
"And how many have you lost? How many Claras?"
They climb onto the roof and escape.
(Jared's POV)
Woodland…
Walking along a broad path. At last, a bit of daylight to see by.
"Robbery, burglary, that's capital. Meat and drink to the hangman, Ashildr." The Doctor said, annoyed.
We pass a gibbet.
"I'm not Ashildr. I'm Me. And I fear no hangman in Christendom." Ashildr said, happily.
"Of course you don't." I said, happily.
A crow caws, and a man jumps down from a tree to stand in front of us.
"Ah ha!" Sam yelled.
"Sam Swift the Quick. I wouldn't be so bold if I were you. Don't you know who I am?" Ashildr asked.
"The Knightmare, which is why I'm not alone." Sam said, while he has two accomplices.
"'Tis hardly a fair fight."
"And it was fair when you stole my patch?"
"Oh, Sam. You've got a fake nose!" Sayaka said, excitedly. "They should call you Sam Sniffed."
"What's wrong with it? It's perfectly normal, innit?"
"No. It's not." Kyoko said, smirking.
"For an anteater maybe." Ashildr said, happily.
"Ooo! Well, never knew you were so puny, Knightmare. Or should I say, Slightmare." Sam said.
"Don't you mean Frightmare?" I asked, looking at Ashildr.
Sam, Ashildr, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I laugh.
"No, not the puns. Line in the sand. No puns." The Doctor said, annoyed.
"It's what's in my brain that counts, Bingo Boy." Ashildr said, smugly.
"Well, no brain outwits a bullet, Dandyprat." Sam said, drawing his pistol.
"This is banter. I'm against banter. I'm on record on the subject of banter." The Doctor said.
"Lay down your arms, hand over the loot, or I'll shoot."
"We better had. He'll probably aim to miss and hit one of us." Ashildr said, letting out a sigh.
"We could give you cash instead." The Doctor said.
"Who're they, your sidekicks? You've got your dad, your brother, and your friends as some of your sidekicks?" Sam asked.
"I'm not his dad and he's not his brother, I'm the Doctor and this is the Black Pearl." The Doctor said, looking over at me.
"Is that the best name you could come up with for yourself? The Black Pearl is a cool name for someone."
"What, says Sam Swift the Quick? That's trying a bit too hard, isn't it? Or are you a little bit slow?"
"You what?" Sam asked, when Ashildr takes his pistol in one quick move. "Oi!"
"I rest my case. No one outwits the Knightmare." The Doctor said.
Sam tries to take his pistol back. He and Ashildr struggle on the ground for it as Sam's two accomplices put their pistols to the Doctor's head.
"If you value the life of one of your sidekicks, back off! Put the weapon down!" Sam said, getting his pistol back and throws off Ashildr, then stands and points his weapon at the Doctor. "Who's slow now, Doctor?"
"You." Sayaka said, kicking Sam's feet out from under him and getting the pistol back, tossing the pistol to Ashildr. "What do you think, Doctor?"
Sam ends up on his back with his pistol pointing at his head.
"Good question." The Doctor said. "I don't know, the Little Mermaid."
Sam's accomplices back away from the Doctor, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I.
"Please, Knightmare, I don't want to die. Let's have honour amongst us." Sam said, sadly.
"Also, can you confirm that I'm not your dad and he's not your brother?" The Doctor asked.
"What do you say, Dad, Brother? I should kill him? He'll be dead in a minute. What difference does it make?" Ashildr asked.
"Not much. In the grand scheme of things." I said, happily. "He's going die anyway."
"Kill him and you make an enemy of me. You wouldn't make an enemy of Jared." The Doctor said.
Ashildr stops pointing the pistol at Sam's head, "Run."
Sam gets up, grabs his hat and runs away with the other two. Ashildr collects her own pistol from the ground.
"I know their lives are short, I understand, but those lives do matter." The Doctor said.
"Shut up. Doctor, you're not my dad and Jared's not my brother." Ashildr said, annoyed.
Entrance hall…
Back at Ashildr's manor house, the Doctor calls up the stairs. I'm busy planning my next adventure with Sayaka and Kyoko helping me.
"How does Captain Marvel sound?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
"Captain Marvel?" I asked, telepathically.
"Why would he want to meet Captain Marvel?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
"Because it is 'Captain Marvel'." Sayaka said, telepathically.
"Fair point." Kyoko said, telepathically.
"I have a theory about the amulet." The Doctor said.
"A theory? What theory?" Sayaka asked.
"Is it a good one?" Kyoko asked, a stick on Pocky in her mouth.
"It is." I said, smiling.
An old man clears his throat and comes in from the servant's area.
"Morning, ladies and gentlemen. Forgive me, but might I enquire into who you all are?" Clayton asked.
"The Doctor. This is Jared, Sayaka, and Kyoko." The Doctor said, looking over at me, Sayaka, and Kyoko.
"Clayton, everyone." Clayton said, while Ashildr comes down the stairs in a fuchsia coloured dress with white lace trim. "Would you care for a cocktail, milady?"
"Oh, yes, please." Ashildr said, as Clayton leaves, coughing. "Half blind and deaf as a post. He is no use any more really, but…"
"He's still your butler." Sayaka said, happily. "You do have a heart, Ashildr."
"Sayaka's right." Kyoko said, smugly. "You can't fool us, Jared, and the Doctor."
"How do I look?" Ashildr asked.
"Pink. Are you coming down with something? Look, why would an alien artefact resemble the Eyes of Hades, King of the Underworld?" The Doctor asked.
Ashildr takes the jewel from the Doctor and goes into the dining room, putting it into her drawstring purse.
Dining room…
"An ancient Greek talisman which wards off evil and protects those in death on their journey to an afterlife?" The Doctor asked.
"You tell me." Ashildr said.
"Could it be that the mythology originated on another planet?"
"Maybe." I said, happily. "It is a possibility. What do you think about this, Blue Raspberry and Strawberry Shortcake?"
"You did not call us that!" Kyoko yelled.
"I can't believe you called Kyoko 'Strawberry Shortcake." Sayaka said, giggling.
"Well, you can't wait to get going and find out with the Doctor, I'll wager." Ashildr said.
"Ashildr, we're going to stick around and keep an eye for you for a while. I mean, that's the Doctor's plan from the start." I said, smiling.
"Jared, are you going to get me back on track? Like you did last time before the Doctor scooped you up from our leper colony."
"Why not? It worked last time. And Ashildr, we make a good team. Going off of how last time went."
"Then take me with you. Jared, you told me about all those adventures you had by jumping between stuff you like."
"No. No way. You'll only cause chaos."
"And Ashildr, you don't want to get stuck with old fools like me and Jared. You have this whole wonderful planet to play on." The Doctor said.
"It takes a day to get to Kent." Ashildr said, annoyed.
"In the future, Ashildr, we'll fly by planes and spaceships." I said, smirking.
"Jared, you've always known that I want to fly right now. You know, I have waited longer than I should ever have lived, and you go back and forth between the past and future constantly. We have lost more than we can even remember." Ashildr said, looking at me.
"I know." I said, sadly.
"Then you can convince the Doctor to get me out of this, Jared. He did it for you and your friends. Please, Doctor, just get me out of this with Jared. I want more than this. I deserve more than this. Why not? Why not?"
"Because it wouldn't be good. Ashildr, please. Ashildr." The Doctor said, guiltily.
"I am not Ashildr any more. Not to you, Doctor. I am Ashildr to Jared." Ashildr said, looking at the Doctor.
Something big snarls nearby.
"Do you have a cat? It sounds like a very big cat. Hence the very big cat flap." The Doctor said.
Light is coming from behind a pair of doors.
Sayaka opens them to reveal a man-sized biped with lights for eyes. It walks forward and Sayaka backs away with Kyoko.
"He looks quite purrfect." Sayaka said, giggling.
The being looks like a lion and is wearing a golden diadem. The lights in its eyes fade.
"He's not feline us." Kyoko said, smirking.
"Leandro, meet the Doctor, Jared. Sayaka, and Kyoko. You all thought I was helping you. In fact, it was the other way round. Leandro, we have it. My friends here were as useful as I'd hoped." Ashildr said.
"If somebody needed our help, why did nobody just ask? I am forced to assume you have plans Jared and I wouldn't approve of. Oh, Ashildr." The Doctor said.
"Stop calling me that."
"Kill me!" The Doctor yelled.
"Why?" Leandro asked.
"If you intend any harm to this planet or its people, then killing me is by far your best move."
"You invite your own death?"
"No. I just want you to attack first. Then my conscience is clear." Ashildr said.
"Of what?" Leandro asked.
"You."
"You and your friends are not of this world, or part of my plans. I have no quarrel with any of you." Leandro said, laughing.
"Then tell us why you are here and what you intend to do. Otherwise, get on with trying to kill me. But I advise you. Be very quick and very sure." The Doctor said.
"I am from Delta Leonis. My tribe was overthrown, my world destroyed, my wife killed as we escaped."
"Oh. So the amulet was your way of traveling around the universe." Sayaka said, her eyes widening.
"I lost it when I crashed to Earth." Leandro said.
"I found him in my grounds. He's been sleeping there while I searched for it." Ashildr said.
"The Underworld, it's a portal to a way of an afterlife. It's another world." I said, frowning.
"Why do you need it?" Kyoko asked, crossing her arms.
"We need it to open a portal, travel the galaxy." Ashildr said.
"Oh! Oh, so what's the plan, Ashildr? Fancy yourself as his new Queen? Hunting, running errands while he sleeps." The Doctor said.
"Oh, dear God. Doctor, you're just like every other man. Jared isn't just like every other man. Doctor, I'm not looking for a husband, you oaf. I'm looking for a horse to get me out of town. And Doctor, you said no. While Jared said yes to me, back in the leper colony." Ashildr said, annoyed.
"Oh, what? And you think you can trust him? Leandro?" The Doctor asked.
"He knows what it is to be alone. Jared was never alone, he had his friends."
"So do Jared and I."
"Then how could you and Jared do what you did?"
"I'm looking for the headline here."
"The what?"
"Well, you know, you want to escape? Well, go on. Escape as much as you like. Why would Jared and I not approve?" The Doctor asked.
"It's the amulet, isn't it?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
"It is." I said, telepathically.
"Why do they want the amulet?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
"Of course. Every single death is a tiny fracture in reality, and the amulet can lever the fracture open. Primitive, but effective." The Doctor said.
"It's just exploiting an abundant resource. There's so much dying here." Ashildr said.
"So who dies so you can run away?" Kyoko asked.
"Clayton?"
"Coming, milady." Clayton said, nearby.
"You can't do that! He loves you!" Sayaka cried.
"To the end, it would seem." Ashildr said, smirking.
"Would you rather take his place?" Leandro asked, breathing fire.
"Not the Doctor Jared, or Jared's friends. We agreed!" Ashildr said, worried.
"Oh, Ashildr, daughter of Einarr, what happened to you?" The Doctor asked.
"You did, Doctor. You and Jared happened."
Closet…
"Now what?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
"We let the Doctor and Ashildr talk." I said, telepathically.
The Doctor's hands, my hands, Sayaka's hands, and Kyoko's are tied behind our back and we are secured to a chair in an adjoining storage room.
"That's it? We let them talk? Nothing else?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
"Nope." I said, telepathically.
"I know you've suffered. Your children dying." The Doctor said.
"They would have died anyway. Human life is fleeting. People are mayflies, breeding and dying, repeating the same mistakes. It's boring. And I'm stuck here, abandoned by the two men who should know what eternity feels like. Who should understand." Ashildr said.
"I do, now, but…"
"You still won't take me with you and Jared. You gad about while Jared and I trudge through the centuries, day by day, hour by hour. Doctor, do you ever think or care what happens after you've flown away with Jared? Jared and I live in the world you leave behind, because you abandoned me and Jared to it."
"Why should I be responsible for you and Jared?"
"You made me immortal and Jared made himself immortal for you."
"Jared and I saved your life. I didn't know that your heart would rust because I kept it beating. Jared knew, but he didn't tell me to spare me from the guilt of keeping you alive. I didn't think your conscience would need renewing, that the well of human kindness would run dry. We just wanted to save a terrified young woman's life."
"You and Jared didn't save my life, Doctor. The both of you trapped me inside it. And now I've found someone who can set me free. Someone who understands." Ashildr said, scoffing.
"Look, I don't know what Lenny the Lion is up to, but I know his type. Very first argument, guaranteed he'll bite your head off." The Doctor said.
"Or I'll bite his off. Perhaps I'll enjoy that."
"Ashildr, you're playing with something you don't know. You're playing with fire. Once you open that portal, you don't know what terrifying things might come through." I said, looking at Ashildr.
"That's as good a reason as any to do it." Ashildr said.
"You're not like this. I know you're not." The Doctor said.
"This is exactly what I'm like. This is what you and Jared made of me."
"He'll kill you."
"He'll have to be fast. And if he does, perhaps it's about time." Ashildr said.
There is a knocking on the door.
"Lady Me?" Llewelyn asked, nearby.
The Doctor scrapes his chair to the doorway of the closet. I turn my hands intangible, wanting to break myself, Sayaka, and Kyoko free
Dining room…
Two pikemen rush in, one Welsh and one English.
"Oh, Lady Me, thank goodness you are safe. Sam Swift has been captured and he swore the Knightmare was heading in this direction." Llewelyn said, happily.
"I've not seen him." Ashildr said.
"Sam Swift will hang in Tyburn at noon." Stout said.
"In half an hour?" Ashildr asked, looking over her shoulder at the Doctor leaning out of the closet as I used my ghost powers to break myself, Sayaka, and Kyoko free. "A guilty man destined to die? No harm in that. I have not seen the Knightmare. But these are sidekicks, the Doctor, the Black Pearl, the Little Mermaid, and Long John Silver. They were robbing me. I only just managed to overpower them."
Llewelyn checks a scroll, which turns out to be flyers proclaiming Wanted! The Group known as 'The Doctor, the Black Pearl, the Little Mermaid, and Long John Silver", "You will hang for this!"
"No, listen, we were trying to help her. She tied…" The Doctor said.
"Silence or we'll…" Llewelyn said, while Stout fires his pistol into the ceiling. "Shoot."
"They needn't hang. But keep them under lock and key, for all our sakes." Ashildr said.
Clayton enters. Llewelyn draws his pistol.
"Was that the door? Oh, dear. Always the quiet ones." Clayton said, sadly.
"Goodbye, Clayton." Ashildr said, looking between the Doctor and Sayaka. "You see? I do have a heart."
"Since you do have a heart. Don't do it!" Sayaka cried.
Ashildr leaves the room and goes to her coach.
"Do we look like some feckless thieves? We're on your side. We're undercover constables from Scotland Yard. Do you have Scotland Yard yet?" The Doctor asked.
"They don't." I said, rolling my eyes. "Not until 1829. And Tobias Gregson isn't around yet. And neither is Sherlock Holmes, Iris Watson, and Gina Lestrade. Damn it."
"Been on the cider, have we?" Llewelyn asked.
Stout unties the Doctor and pulls him to his feet.
"The Dunbar Victory medal. I was decorated for valour in battle." The Doctor said, happily.
Llewelyn squints at the Doctor's psychic paper. He either cannot read or isn't impressed by a Scotsman being on the side of Cromwell in 1650.
"Tell it to the Newgate gaoler." Stout said.
"Come on, all we want is to bring the Knightmare to justice." Kyoko said, frowning.
"But you and your friends were robbing Lady Me." Llewelyn said.
"So? We came to warn her. We think her life is in danger." Sayaka said, rolling her eyes.
The Doctor looks out of the windows to see Ashildr cloaked and driving her coach, with Leandro inside it, "Look! It's the Knightmare, cloaked and in disguise, bound for Tyburn. You have to let us go, or take us there."
"You wish to hang too? And you wish to have your friends watch you perish?" Stout asked, looking at the Doctor.
"Well, will you take us there if I say yes?" The Doctor asked.
"Indeed. There's a bounty on your head for twenty pounds." Llewelyn said.
"Twenty pounds for me? Is that all?"
"'Tis a small fortune to us." Stout said, happily.
"Even so, I've known Lady Me for years. I know where she keeps all of her money. I believe she saved up almost 30 pounds. Basically, 600 shillings. Enough for a living, mind you." I said, laughing a lot. "Go on then. Raid her place."
"Now why didn't you say that in the first place?" Llewelyn asked.
London…
The Doctor is on horseback, galloping along the track and passing a marker that says 5 miles to Tyburn.
"Next stop, stopping the immortal Viking girl." I said, using my ghost powers to fly away.
"This is amazing." Sayaka said, telepathically.
"How do you do this nowadays?" Kyoto asked, telepathically.
"I just do." I said, carrying Sayaka and Kyoko while making the three of us invisible. "It's more fun and convenient this way."
Tyburn…
Looking nothing like the real scaffold in the middle of a crossroads outside London. A crowd have gathered for the noon entertainment. Posters on a fence say the Knightmare's reward is £100 compared to the Doctor's £20, mine is £80, Sayaka's is £60. And Kyoko's is £40, amongst other items. Sam Swift is preparing himself by drinking from a bottle.
"Hang him! Hang him!" A woman yelled.
"All right, calm down. Steady on. Such a good turn out. I'm honoured. Yeah I, er…" Sam said, pointing at the hangman. "Hey, he's new at this. Someone will have to show him the ropes."
The crowd laughs.
"Don't worry mate, you'll get the hang of it. When I'm gone, they'll all say, that Sam Swift, he was well hung." Sam said, happily.
More laughter.
"Well, I think a few of you know that already. Oh, yeah, I'm sure I recognise a few of you lovely ladies. You…" Sam said, as an elderly red-haired woman shakes her head and mouths no. "And you. I mean I'd introduce you all, but I can't remember your names."
Sam looked at women booing.
"Hey, it's a good job you're here, or they'd kill me." Sam said, looking at the Hangman.
Nearby, a bell sounds the hour.
"Hats off, hats off." The crowd said.
The Doctor is still galloping as I'm still flying and carrying the two Magical Girls through the woods. Ashildr has arrived, and got down from the driver's box.
"Stretch his neck!" A man said, angrily.
"Mary? Meg? Help me out here, miss." Sam said, smiling.
"That's Mrs Baxter to you!" Baxter said, looking at Sam.
"That's a funny name for a fella!"
The crowd, and Mrs Baxter, laugh.
"It's time." Leandro said.
"Hold on, I've got plenty more. Jokes, that is, as well as women." Sam said.
"Hang him now!" Leandro said, looking at Sam.
"Hang him! Hang him!" The crowd cried.
The Doctor urges on his horse, with me taking the scenic route flying and carrying Sayaka and Kyoko.
"Make us laugh, Sam!" A man said, excitedly.
Sam takes another drink from his bottle as Ashildr makes her way through the crowd.
"Aye. For while you laugh, I live. It was raining on the way over here. But the hangman says to me, it's all right for you. I've got to walk back through this." Sam said, seeing Ashildr give coins to the Hangman. "What are you paying for, my beauty?"
"To make it quick. A fitting end for you, Sam Swift." Ashildr said.
"Who should be the last to kiss these lips?" Sam asked.
"Me! Me! Me!" The women said, at the same time.
"They must mean you, Lady Me." Sam said, and Ashildr kisses him. "You remind me of someone. And now I want to live more than ever."
The Doctor, Sayaka, Kyoko, and I ran across a castle bridge. No castles at the real Tyburn, though.
"Sorry, yes. Sorry about the horse! Excuse me!" The Doctor yelled.
"Time to hang." Leandro said.
"Sorry, excuse me. Excuse me! Sorry!"
"Hang him! Hang him!" The crowd said, at the same time.
"All right, all right. As God is my Highwayman. He steals the most precious gift of all. Life. Magical, filled with adventures. And at least I can say I lived mine to the full." Sam said.
"I love you, Sam Swift." A woman said, happily.
Sam sees the Doctor looking at the posters, "Is that the Doctor? Doctor, doctor! I'm a robber."
The crowd is confused. The penny drops for the Doctor, though.
"Have you taken anything for it?" The Doctor asked.
"Why are we still invisible?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
The crowd laughs as the Doctor makes his way to the scaffold.
"It's more funny this way." I said, telepathically.
"You're not wrong." Kyoko said, telepathically.
"Who's going to die?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
"If things don't change. It is Sam Swift." I said, telepathically.
"But when do things ever work out for us?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
"With me around? Never."
"They'll have to widen the noose!" Sam chirped.
"Or, or bury him in a pyramid." The Doctor said, happily.
"You know what they say, big nose…"
"Oooooo!" The crowd said, at the same time.
"Big handkerchief!" The Doctor chirped.
The crowd laughs as the Hangman manhandles Sam back to the noose.
"No! Doctor, don't leave me hanging." Sam said, frowning.
The Doctor gets out his psychic paper again, "Wait! I have a pardon here for Sam Swift from Cromwell himself."
The Hangman takes the paper, "Sam Swift is pardoned!"
Sam falls to his knees. The crowd is not pleased. The Hangman gives the paper back to the Doctor.
"We didn't come all this way not to see someone hang. What about the Doctor? Yeah, hang the Doctor. Hang the Doctor! Hang the Doctor. Hang the Doctor!" Baxter yelled.
"Ssh." Ashildr said, while the crowd quietens. "You want to see someone die? How's this?"
Ashildr holds up the Eye of Hades.
"Wait! Ashildr! Don't!" I said, when Ashildr slaps the Eye onto Sam's chest, where it sticks, and then sends out a purple ray into the sky.
I then let my hands out of the grasp of Sayaka's hand and Kyoko's hand, making the three of us visible again.
"The hell is that?" Kyoko asked, looking up when a rift opens in the clouds.
"Doctor?" Sayaka asked.
"Purple, the colour of death. His life force is opening a portal." The Doctor said.
"To my new life." Ashildr said, happily.
"Or possibly to Hell." I said, sadly.
Leandro breaths fire at the crowd.
"A lion man!" Baxter said, pointing back at the rift. "Look!"
A planet is visible beyond the rift.
"Goodbye, Doctor, Jared, Sayaka, and Kyoko." Ashildr said, looking at us.
"You are going nowhere." Leandro said.
"You know how doors work, right? They let people out and they let them in. Looking at that portal, they're letting the enemy in." Sayaka said, when lots of small objects are visible around the planet.
"What's that? What's happening? What are those things?" Ashildr asked.
"Space ships, or they will be. They're coming through the rift, actualising in this plane of reality." The Doctor said.
"You said you were the last of the Leonians. We were meant to escape."
"You shall. In death." Leandro said.
The crowd screams as fireballs come flying through and explode on the ground. Leandro attacks the crowd, who scream and scatter.
"Sayaka, Kyoko, protect the crowd of people." I said, looking between Sayaka and Kyoko. "I don't care what it takes. Just do it."
"Right." Sayaka said, happily.
"We got this." Kyoko said, smirking.
Militiamen fire their pistols at Leandro.
"No! Doctor, Jared, what have I done? What have I done to these people? Stop this! They are defenceless." Ashildr said, attacking Leandro.
"Ashildr! Leandro doesn't care about you or the people here!" I said, flying towards Ashildr in my ghost form. "He never did!"
"But I do. Oh, God, I do. I actually do. I, I care." Ashildr said, sadly.
"It's awful, isn't it? It's infuriating. You think you don't care, then you fall off the wagon." The Doctor said.
"Never mind about me. What are we going to do about them? We have to help them." Ashildr said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"We are. In both directions." I said, happily. "Look down at the crowd."
"Oh. I see." Ashildr said, seeing Sayaka and Kyoko guide the people away from the fireballs. "Doctor, they need you and Jared. They need us. And Jared, that's why you brought Sayaka and Kyoko. To help protect the people that are running away."
"Yup. The alien race is the threat here. Welcome back, Ashildr."
"Well? Do something then!"
"Okay. The Eye of Hades leads into the afterlife, the Underworld. A death from someone opens a portal for the Leonians to come through. We have to close it. We need to."
"Yeah, I know, but how?"
"Sam Swift is the reason why they're coming through. The amulet is still in him. His death is opening the rift in time and space. What do we do, Ashildr?"
"Reverse it." Ashildr said, her eyes widening.
"You cannot reverse death." Leandro said.
"Oh, yes, we can." Ashildr said, holding up the other Mire repair chip.
Leandro tries to snatch the other Mire repair chip.
"Run!" The Doctor yelled.
Up on the scaffold, Ashildr puts the chip onto Sam's forehead and it is absorbed into him.
"No, my lady. They will destroy me for this." Leandro said.
The ray changes from purple to gold. Leandro roars at Ashildr, who runs to hide behind the Doctor and I.
"The light of immortality. Spare me, my brothers!" Leandro said, disintegrating, and the rift closes.
The crowd comes out of hiding and dusts themselves down. I looked down at Sayaka with her swords out and Kyoko with her spear over her shoulder.
"We won!" Sayaka said, telepathically.
"Protecting the people like that used up so much magic." Kyoko said, telepathically. "You owe Sayaka and I Grief Seeds."
"I'm alive. I'm alive!" Sam said, laughing and the crowd cheered.
The amulet stuck to Sam's chest no longer shines.
"There's some in one of the round things in the TARDIS console room." I said, telepathically. "Should be in stasis."
Ye Swan with Two Necks…
We're at a nearby alehouse.
"Last thing I remember is you turning up with your friends, Doctor. Good thing too. Between you and me, I was running out of material." Sam said, happily.
"Yeah, I could tell. Gave a whole new meaning to dying on stage." The Doctor said.
"Gallows humour can be tricky, but at least there's never a second house. We've nearly finished these. I'll get some more in. Oh, by the way, I've not forgotten that kiss." Sam said, walking away from the table.
"So, is he immortal now?" Sayaka asked.
"Maybe. Maybe not. Do you want Sam Swift to be immortal?" I asked, sipping on apple cider.
"I don't think I want anyone to be." Ashildr said, sadly.
"Well, probably not. Probably the power would have been drained by the whole opening and reversing the portal thingy. There'll be enough power to bring him back, but not enough power to keep him here, probably." The Doctor said.
"The hell?! Did you just make all of that up?" Kyoko asked, munching on an apple.
"Yeah. But it's hard to keep track of all this stuff. Ashildr, keep an eye on him though. He might be around for a while. Or not. Who can say?"
"Doctor, you're still not going to take me with you and Jared, are you." Ashildr said, frowning.
"People like us, we go on too long. We forget what matters. The last thing we need is each other. We need the mayflies. See, the mayflies, like Magical Girls, they know more than we do. They know how beautiful and precious life is because it's fleeting. Look how Sam Swift made every last moment count, right to the gallows. Look how glad he is to be alive. And look at how glad Sayaka and Kyoko are to be alive. I looked into your eyes and I saw my worst fears. My worst fears if I didn't give in to what Jared wanted. Weariness. Emptiness." The Doctor said, looking between Sam Swift, Sayaka, and Kyoko.
"That's why you can't travel with me. And that's why Jared travels with you part time. Our perspectives are too vast. Too far away." Ashildr said, happily.
"Ashildr, you're not the first, you know. The Doctor did travel with another immortal once besides me." I said, smiling.
"Who?" Ashildr asked.
"Jack and I will get around to you eventually. We'll arrive in 1869. Jack, with the help of a vortex manipulator that got burnt out. He and I got recruited to Torchwood Three in 1899 in Cardiff. The two of us had to live through the entire twentieth century before reuniting with the Doctor again." I said, drinking my apple cider. "Those were some good, yet funny times."
"What's the full context?" Ashildr asked. "Can you tell me?"
"We'll meet again. In the late 1800s. I'll tell you then. This version of me, I'll be in Victorian London. The one that's in Victorian Cardiff that's with Captain Jack Harkness, avoid him. That version of me hasn't met you yet. He only knows of you."
"I understand. Thank you."
"So, Ashildr. Who told you about me and Jared? The men who come for the battle and run away from the fallout." The Doctor said.
"Take your pick. Doctor, you and Jared had an impact on this world. The two of you have made waves." Ashildr said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Sometimes tidal waves." The Doctor said.
"I'm flattered." Ashildr said, happily.
"You should be, Ashildr. You're something the Doctor sees as extraordinary. You've done things Magical Girls won't do for decades." I said, sipping my apple cider.
"Jared's right, Ashildr. But I think I'm going to have to keep an eye on you like I do with Jared." The Doctor said.
"No." Ashildr said, smugly.
"No?" The Doctor asked.
"Why not?" I asked, looking over at Ashildr.
"Doctor, someone has to look out for the people you and Jared abandon. Like Sayaka Miki, Kyoko Sakura, and the rest of the Puella Magi Holy Quintet. Who better than me? I'll be the patron saint of the Doctor's and the Black Pearl's leftovers. While the two of you are busy protecting this world, I'll get busy protecting it from you both." Ashildr said.
"So are we enemies now?" The Doctor asked.
"Of course not. Enemies are never a problem. It's your friends you have to watch out for. And, my friends, I'll be watching out for the two of you."
"Ashildr, I think I'm very glad we saved you."
"Oh, I think everyone will be." Ashildr said, smirking. "So, you have to bring Sayaka and Kyoko back to the future."
"Finally!" Sayaka cheered. "I'm tired of wearing my Magical Girl outfit all the time."
"Same." Kyoko said, munching on an apple.
"Time to bring you two home." I said, looking between Sayaka and Kyoko. "I love you both, I do. But I know this time period isn't made for the three of us."
TARDIS…
I flew the TARDIS and brought Sayaka Miki and Kyoko Sakura back home. And now I'm playing Splatoon 3 on my Nintendo Switch 2. The Doctor is playing some sad guitar chords when the TARDIS door opens.
"Hey! Hello?" Clara asked.
"Oh. Hey!" I said, running up to Clara for a hug. "What's up?"
"Splatoon 3?" Clara asked, looking down at my Nintendo Switch 2. "Did you miss me?"
"Be more specific. Who are you?" The Doctor asked.
"Ha, ha. I've got a present for you." Clara said, happily.
"Why? Am I ill?" The Doctor asked.
"No."
"Are you ill?"
"No."
"Are you and Jared never going to travel with me again, because I said a thing?" The Doctor asked.
"Nope. We're not doing a 'Kill the Moon' again. Anyway, it's not a good present Clara has." I said, smiling.
"Oh, well that's a relief."
"Okay, Evie Hubbard? Year Seven, Doctor, you helped her out with her homework while Jared was with the Powerpuff Girls? Imaginary interview with Winston Churchill. Doctor, you basically cheated." Clara said.
"That was her fault because she should have stressed imaginary." The Doctor said.
"Anyway, Doctor, she got an A and so she has sent you a selfie." Clara said, holding up her phone for the Doctor and I to see the photograph.
"Clara, you owe me a thousand dollars for winning the bet." I said, leaning against the TARDIS console.
"Right." Clara said, walking over to her coat and reaching into it to hand me a thousand dollars. "Here you go."
"You two did not have a bet over this." The Doctor said, turning away. "Yes, you're right, Jared. That is not a good present."
"Come on." Clara said, smirking.
"Do they make sherbet lemons any more? If Jared gets a thousand dollars for winning a bit. And I'd like a Ferrari. What about a Ferrari?" The Doctor asked.
"Hmm. I knew you'd be thrilled."
"Okay, come on, let me see, let me see. Let me see, let me see."
Clara hands over her phone with the photograph of herself, Evie and the certificate. The Doctor enlarges the photograph, and in the background is Ashildr, keeping an eye on Clara.
"What's wrong?" Clara asked, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." The Doctor said.
"Doctor?"
"There's nothing wrong. Promise." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag. "Everything's okay."
"Jared's right. Tell her next time, I'll take cash like how you just gave cash to Jared for losing a bet." The Doctor said.
"So, where are you going to take me and Jared?" Clara asked.
"Wherever you and Jared want." The Doctor said.
"Hmm. Somewhere, somewhere magical. Somewhere new." Clara said, happily.
"Ah, there is nowhere new under the sun. Above it, on the other hand."
"Can we go to Equestria? I want to meet the Mane Six!" I said, excitedly. "I keep on pushing it back."
"Equestria could be real." The Doctor said, as Clara hugged the Time Lord and I. "We could check it out."
"Thanks." I said, when the Doctor sets the coordinates. "I did wear a My Little Pony hoodie one time. One of Twilight Sparkle's Cutiemark."
"Which was subtle and the color of her mane. I've missed you, Clara Oswald."
"I've missed you too, Clara." I said, letting out a lot of tears.
"Well, don't worry, daft old man and sentimental idiot. I'm not going anywhere." Clara said, looking between the Doctor and I.
The Doctor nods, I let out tears, Clara pulls the lever and the TARDIS dematerialises.