Our next encounter wasn't until after the end of the world.

At least, the end of my world.

Angel, Dylan, Fang and I were all sleeping in a small cave that we found on the island where our lives were flipped upside down (again).

Ever since the apocalypse, things had actually been relatively peaceful. No wackjob scientists hunting us down, no engineered predators trying to kill us. The only threat on that island was natural disasters. We didn't have to fight for our lives.

It was... nice, for a change.

At least, until Angel shook me awake, confusion written all over her face.

"Wha?" I asked groggily.

"Listen." Angel whispered.

I did. And I heard it. The sound I thought was a dream.

The TARDIS.

"Angel, don't wake up Fang and Dylan." I said, getting up. "I can handle this."

"I'm coming with you." After all this time, Angel still was my brave little soldier.

Once we were outside the cave, Angel pointed at the blue box that was on the other side of the rocky landscape. "Is that what made the noise?"

"Yes. Stay behind me." I said as we approached. When we were about a dozen feet away, the door started to open, and we stopped. Angel held my hand; that was when I realized I was holding my breath, and I shakily let it out.

The door opened, and standing in the doorway was someone I didn't recognize. He had brown hair and wore a brown pinstriped suit with a long brown coat. I had no clue who he was, but he obviously knew who I was.

"Max?" He asked, looking at me like he was trying to match the name to my face.

"Who are you?" I asked, taking a protective step in front of Angel.

"It's me. The Doctor." When I continued to stare at him blankly, he blinked. "Oh, right. New face. Keep forgetting about that."

"New... face? What?" I was incredulous. How could this be the Doctor? He looked so different.

"Max, it is him." Angel said, and I took a step back so I was next to her again. I looked down at her, confused, but then I realized she must be doing her mind-reading thing. "He is the same man, he just changed his face."

"And how could he do that?" I asked her, ignoring the befuddled look on the Doctors face.

"It's something he can do... as a..." Angels eyes went wide. "Time Lord."

"Okay, how do you know- oi!" The Doctor exclaimed, making Angel and I jump. "Get out of my head!" He said, shooting Angel a look of disapproval.

"You pushed me out! That hurt!" Angel said, rubbing her forehead with one hand.

"Then don't go snooping around in peoples heads without permission."

Angel opened her mouth to reply, but I stepped in before she could say anything. "So, you changed your face. Whoop-de-doo. How are you here?"

"What do you mean? I-" thats when his surroundings must have sunk in. "Oh!"

"Yeah, the world sort of ended, if you haven't noticed." I sneered. Seriously, how thick was this guy?

"But the world doesn't actually end in 2012..." The Doctor said, most likely to himself. Then his eyes widened, in surprise or fear, I couldn't tell which. But he turned and ran back to the TARDIS.

"Hey!" I called, taking off after him. I wasn't just going to let him leave! You don't just enter someones life, leave, come back two freaking years later and then just take off again! Seriously, who does that?

Well, apparently he does.

Angel didn't follow me. I didn't know why at the time- but I'd find out soon enough.

When I reached the TARDIS, I jerked the door open, as it was once again unlocked. I slammed the door shut behind me, not bothering to stop until I reached the console, which the Doctor was on the other side of.

"How do you keep doing that?" He asked, aghast. But how I kept getting into the TARDIS was the least of my concerns.

"I'll repeat my question." I said calmly, slowly walking around the console towards him. "How. Are. You. Here?"

The last word had barely left my mouth before the TARDIS gave a familiar jerk. The Doctor and I were both thrown to the ground as the TARDIS took flight.

"What did you do?" I screeched at him, struggling to stand with the support of the console railing. The Doctor was doing the same, frantically pushing buttons and flipping switches, presumably to try to stop whatever the TARDIS was doing.

"I didn't do anything!" He defended.

"Then take me back!" I screamed at him.

The Doctor quickly found his way over to the monitor, where he stopped and stared at it. "I can't."

"Yes you can, don't tell me you lost control of your own spaceship!" I was seething at this point. "Take. Me. Back!"

"I said I can't!" The Doctor suddenly yelled.

The TARDIS stopped shaking- we'd arrived, wherever we were.

"Why not?" I asked, giving up on demanding.

"She's giving you a second chance." He said, sounding as confused as I felt.

"What?" I scurried over to stand next to him, looking at the monitor. It was in a language I couldn't read- and didn't recognize. "What does it say?"

"Your... friend must have communicated with the TARDIS somehow. She told her that you needed a second chance to... to save the world?" The Doctor asked, looking up over at me. "What does she mean by that?"

I barely registered his question. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes- I blinked rapidly to hold them back, and had to press a hand to my mouth to suppress a sob. Angel, sweet little Angel... all the times I had questioned her loyalty, questioned who's side she was on... she gave me this. Her greatest act of loyalty- to me , to the flock, to the whole decimated world- giving me a second chance.

Your job isn't over, Max. Just when I thought the day couldn't get any worse- the Voice was back. This time, the Voice sounded feminine. And young. And she obviously knew things.

What job? I asked. I'd had tons of jobs in my life. Flock leader, flying sideshow- I've had my hands full.

You know which one.

The thing was, I did. And that's what scared me.

"...Max? Max, are you okay?" That's when I noticed the Doctor was trying to talk to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, quickly composing myself.

"Okay, good." The Doctor said, then stared at the monitor, not seeming to know what to say.

"So... what now?" I asked.

The Doctor turned around, leaned against the console, and put his hands in his pockets. "Well... you could travel with me."

"Travel with you?" I asked, looking around. "In your spaceship-slash-time-machine?"

"Yeah." He replied, looking around with a small smile on his face.

"Well, I don't exactly have anywhere else to go."