Out of Time [[ON HOLD]]

--o1--

"What you suffered is called a fugue state. Where the mind runs away because it just can't bear to look back."

-The Doctor, The Next Doctor

Chapter One -- Dreams and Adventures

"Just shoot me already," she spat as she struggled against the ropes binding her ankles and wrists. "What're you waiting for, Mikhoe?"

"Oh, we will, Adventurer," Mihkoe chuckled, turning towards the crowd that had gathered to watch. "We're just waiting for a certain someone who didn't want to miss your death."

He glanced over to a darkened window and smiled. The Adventurer could see someone, a shadow shift in the darkness, but she couldn't make out who. Mihkoe then turned to the line of soldiers and motioned for them to shoot, walking out of the line of fire.

"Take your aim," he paused as the soldiers cocked their guns, silence falling over the courtyard they stood in. The Adventurer swallowed, her jaw clenching. "Fire!"

Gunfire rang across the courtyard, making the Adventurer flinch and snap her eyes shut, preparing for the searing pain of bullets piercing her skin. She waited, but she felt nothing hit her. The Adventurer felt a cool breeze against her face, making her open her eyes.

"Great Gallifrey above..." she muttered.

Time was frozen. The bullets stood suspended in midair in front of the Adventurer's face. All the people gathered to watch had frozen in place; some were averting their eyes, and some were looking at her with pleasure, they obviously part of the percentage of the population that believed the lies Mihkoe and his superiors spread about her.

"I couldn't let him kill you."

The Adventurer turned her head to see her best friend emerge from the crowd and remove the red hood from his face. She was baffled at how his face had matured over their years of separation. His plump, childish face had transformed into a strong jaw with sharp cheekbones, his once curled sandy-brown locks now straight and darkened with age. The Adventurer couldn't help but think how handsome he had become. "Dreamer? How did you...?"

"Don't worry about this, Adventurer," he smiled gently.

"Wha- What happened to you?" She asked.

"The Time Lord Council deemed me 'dangerous'," he said quietly. "They locked me up. Didn't let me say goodbye to you or my family, and left me to die."

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't-" The Adventurer tried to apologize, but the Dreamer hushed her and started to untie the ropes. She knew of his abilities, but she didn't think anything this drastic would happen.

"Don't be," he said as he finished untying her. "I'm fine now, and that's all that matters. Anyway, the only way the Time Lords won't be able to find you is if you use the Chameleon Arch."

"But, that's a new addition to all the Ships. It hasn't even been integrated in most models," Adventurer protests. "It might not even work."

"We have to try," he says. "Where's your Ship?"

~

The two friends entered the Adventurer's Ship. She ran through the massive pale blue control room, searching the control panel for the Chameleon Arch activator.

"I had a friend install mine last week, before I was arrested again," the Adventurer said, pressing a button and watching a silver headset with a small fob watch on a chain attached to the forehead lower from the ceiling. "Will it work?"

"I... I don't know," the Dreamer answered. "But it's your only chance."

"What about you?"

"They won't be able to find me," he said, stepping a bit closer to her and brushing a strand of her chocolate-brown hair behind her ear. "I'll be alright."

"But- I'll remember you, right?" the Adventurer asked, looking up into the Dreamer's warm hazel eyes. "I don't know if I could live without-"

The Dreamer silenced her by cupping his hands on both her cheeks, pulling her in gently for a kiss. The Adventurer's senses melted, feeling only the gentle touch and soft lips of her best friend. They lingered there for a few seconds, the hellish world around them forgotten.

The Dreamer pulled back, biting his lip.

"I had to do that," he explained quietly, both fighting the urge to pull each other back to their lips. "Just once."

The Adventurer nodded, knowing words would spoil the moment. Silently the Dreamer pulled the Chameleon Arch headset onto her head and smiled slightly, watching a single tear fall from the Adventurer's thick lashes.

"I'm sorry," He backed up suddenly and gently pressed the button.

The Adventurer's screams pierced the peaceful silence, their moment of bliss forgotten. Spasms took over her body, sending her sprawling across the floor, still screaming.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated quietly under her screams, tears now falling from his eyes. Suddenly, her screams stopped, leaving her peacefully sleeping on the floor, no indication of the previous pain. The Dreamer walked over to her and cradled her head in his lap.

"I'm so, so sorry," he whispered again gently to her as the Ship started to move to wherever it had decided to create the Adventurer's new life.

~

The girl's eyes shot open, finding an unfamiliar sight. She sat up and blinked, noticing that she had been sleeping on the side of the road. Behind her lay a forest, thick with evergreens and bushes, and in front, a highway with thousands of lights flying past her eyes.

She looked up, seeing the stars. They seemed to be calling to her, but she couldn't say why. She looked down, and saw a locket that was hanging around her neck. The girl lifted it so it was close to her face. She noticed that the locket, the front having a hole in it, that it was a small fob watch on a chain. She stared at it for a few more seconds before dropping it suddenly.

The girl stood, smoothing out the ragged dress she wore, and started walking. Moving to wherever she needed to be. The girl was so concerned with finding where she was needed because she couldn't remember. She looked into the deepest reaches of her mind, but she couldn't remember a single detail of her life. Although, for some reason, she knew what a highway was, but not what her house looked like, or even if she owned one. She knew who the Prime Minister of Britain is, but not who she was, and this infuriated her.

As she walked alongside the road, a car slowed and pulled up beside her. The window rolled down, and the girl stopped walking, staring at a concerned woman's face appearing.

"Hi, sweetie," the woman said. "Are you lost?"

The girl blinked and looked around. "I don't know."