DOCTOR WHO AND THE DICLONIUS

By Isaac Raimi and Mary Vitals

PART FOUR

Childhood brought a mess of issues and conditions tied up in a bow and ribbon for Kouta; insomnia, paranoia, a lack of confidence, and the inability to think positive.

"That poor boy… He'll surly have troubles with his head after seeing what had happened. He doesn't even remember the events of that day, and it was only two weeks ago. Who knows how long he'll have to stay here for rehabilitation?"

After witnessing the murder of his younger sister and father, Kouta spent two years in a children's mental health center in order to grab a bearing on what had happened to his family. He was only nine years old when the slaughter occurred, and it brought on a wave of inconceivable emotion. His mind began to lock faces and events away— for a while, he did not recall his younger cousin, Yuka, nor the slew of friends that he had made in grade school.

Because of being put away, Kouta's education slipped. The center's teachers did not teach the same curriculum that the public schools in Japan offered, due to having to teach some heavily disturbed or disabled children. Once a thirsty child, prepared to learn, Kouta no longer found a draw to education.

That never changed, even after being released into the custody of relatives. He could not sleep on his own for months requiring the presence of another in his room, or a nightlight. It was embarrassing, and made him feel like a baby. Kouta easily listened to the fabricated lie that his uncle and aunt had come up with to explain Kanae and his father's death; his father died in a car crash, and Kanae got terminally ill.

It was easier to say that, than you stir up memories that could bring a relapse on.

Despite Kouta now knowing the truth, though, his sleeping was still in question.

Moments after finally falling into the realm of dreams, a blood-curling scream is heard down the hallway, from the Time Lord's room. Shooting up from bed, brown eyes widen as he scrambles to his feet.

No— it couldn't be possible— did Nyu's dark side wake up and cause trouble?

The Doctor screamed in absolute terror as he tripped backwards, falling on his rear end and hands. He was hyperventilating, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. This shouldn't be possible! The Instinct was a construct of Lucy's mind! How... HOW could it be materialized here...?

The last time the Time Lord felt fear was facing the Great One, goddess of the Eight Legs on the planet of Metibeles III. But the Doctor couldn't recall feeling this fearful before.

His nightmare had just come true.

"What are you doing here!?" He shouted. "Get away from me! Leave my friends alone!"

The little girl only tilted her head, her murderous smile still persistent, as she walked closer.

The Doctor was scurrying on the floor, in fear. "K-9! K-9! Wake up!"

K-9 was silent, as he was still recharging.

Getting up, he backed up against the wall. He had never felt so helpless before. Here he was, a manipulator of time and space, and yet he was terrified of a little girl. A girl that could spell doom for him and Lucy.

"K-9! Please! Wake up! Help me!"

The robotronic was still silent.

"K-9! HELP ME!"

"No one can save you, Time Lord." The beastly child spoke, in a warped, chilling voice. "Your blood will be stained by me, and your head will be a reminder to your friends. A reminder of how you failed them all..."

"LEAVE THEM ALONE! They have absolutely nothing to do with this!"

"Do they, Doctor? I think they have everything to do with this. You are weak. Weak as the very insects that plague this planet. Your connection with them is such an annoyance. One that I intend to correct."

"Don't you dare hurt them." The Doctor said through clenched teeth. He was seething with rage, a byproduct of his fear showing through. "I swear, if you so much as lay one invisible finger on them, I'll-"

"You'll do what?" A small snicker. "You will do nothing. I will rule this world, and the oceans will run red with the blood of the scum that infect this planet. You will be powerless to stop me as you watch these fleshwalkers die like flies. A helpless, pathetic husk, who will do simply nothing, because you are no more than a coward." She clawed her own face, blood running down her cheek from the scratches. "And then... I will kill you. I will rip your limbs off, tear your heart out, mash your brain, and slice you apart until there is nothing left!"

The Instinct walked closer, and placed a hand on the Doctor's cheek, smiling wickedly. "You have disappointed them all, Doctor. Lucy hates you."

She cackled, backing away.

"She will always hate you." She taunted, smiling like that of a demon. "And I will ensure that she kills you last."

That tore it.

With a loud scream, the Doctor tried to tackle the Instinct, but the image faded out, and the Doctor tumbled and slid to the wall in the hallway, hitting his head.

He shot up, and ran back to his room. No one was there.

Nothing except a chilling, child-like laugh.

"Look what you made me do..."

Running down the hallway and nearly breaking his neck on the smooth flooring, Kouta stopped in the doorway, "H-Hey! What's going on?" He speaks up, flustered and half awake. "Did something happen?!"

Wide eyes flicked about as the Doctor tried to look for the murderous Instinct that somehow got through. Was it only an image?

Could his mind have been playing tricks on him?

He knew that a Time Lord, when brought upon great mental stress, that even their great minds can conjure up images that aren't there. There were only a few times that a Time Lord's mind was fragile.

Moments after a Regeneration, or after the break of a mind delve.

The Doctor never expected that he might have been hallucinating.

When Kouta's worried voice reached the Time Lord, the Doctor's head flicked to the boy.

"I..." He gripped his head, a dull pain starting gnaw at his skull. "I dunno. That shouldn't have been possible..."

Shaking his head, he quickly put on his shoes, and then donned his frock coat and scarf. He didn't take the time to coil it, as he just draped it on his shoulders, the ends dragging even more. He would then don his hat.

"It's not safe. I'm not safe." He said to himself, putting his hat on.

He then moved past Kouta. "Excuse me." The next thing he realized, was that he was running. The only best thing he knew.

"Uhh—?!"

Stepping out of the way, Kouta stood there for only a moment, the Doctor's words settling into his mind;

It's not safe— I'm not safe?

Maybe, just to be sure of it—

He creeps down the hallway, peering into Nyu's room; the Diclonius was laying there sound asleep, in the same position that she had been in when the college boy helped her into bed. The possibility of Lucy scaring the Time Lord in the middle of the night had been ruled out.

With a sigh, Kouta goes to the coat rack near the front door, putting on a light jacket, but not minding shoes. At this point, he was so used to one of the others in the inn getting out in the middle of the night, that this was just another three o' clock incident.

"Hey…!"

The Doctor ran to the outside of the Inn, onto the Stone Steps that overlooked the Maple Inn.

The Time Lord looked up as he leaned against the wall. "The Instinct..." He said to himself. "She couldn't have gotten into my head like that..."

Kouta ran out, making his way down the steps until he reached the peak that would lead down to the ocean if he went far enough. The Doctor was pressed against the wall, appearing as if he had just ran a damned mile, exhausted. What could have possibly happened…?

"Doctor! What happened!? Are you alright? Did something bother you?"

The Doctor looked at Kouta as he showed concern. He rubbed his face with his palm. "I don't know what's going on right now, Kouta." He said. "Normally, this would sound as if it's a nightmare, but…"

He slid his hand off of his face, his arm dangling. "I just had a terrible dream. You, Yuka, and the others. You all died. Even my closest friends were mutilated in front of me. Friends I've known long before I met you."

The Doctor turned his back and sat down on the steps. "There were paintings of Gustav Klimt. You and the others replaced the calm characters in the paintings… Yet you were all in pain."

He took his hat off, and fiddled with it. "And… just now… a beast just entered my room. It taunted of killing me. Of killing you, and everyone else on this planet. She even said Lucy…"

He couldn't bring himself to say it. There was no way Lucy would hate him. No way. Not after all they had been through.

"I'm positive it was a hallucination, but…" He scrunched his eyes shut. "There are times where I hardly feel fear, Kouta. Fear for my friends, and fear for myself."

The Doctor sighed. "I was scared, Kouta. For the first time in a long time, I was scared."

He was not all too sure how to process this information— for starters, Kouta had no idea who Gustav Klimt was, but from what the Doctor was explaining, he must be some sort of a famed artist. Furrowing his brows in thought, the college boy nods along as the older man continued on with the description of his horrific night terror.

It was almost out of character to see the shaken, pale face that the Time Lord was holding onto. Kouta had experienced nightmares in the past, reliving the murders of his sister and father— but the Doctor, he looked as if he had just confronted Lucifer himself, prepared to be damned for eternity.

"Geez… Sounds like you weren't sleeping too comfortably," he mentions offhandedly, looking down at the other as he sat down on the steps.

Upon the mentioning of the beast, the younger boy shakes his head, "You were definitely seeing things," Kouta starts, "because Nyu was fast asleep, I doubt that she would have stormed in in a fit of rage in the middle of the night…"

That was the only assumption that Kouta could make.

A beast.

Lucy, Nyu, whatever her name was— the girl that he knew all those years ago, she killed innocent people. She was a monster.

The Doctor's eyes widened. Did Kouta just call Lucy that "Beast" that the Doctor was talking about?

His head slowly turned to Kouta. "...How dare you...?" He said in a low voice.

The next thing he realized, the Doctor had grabbed Kouta by the collar of his pajamas, and pulled him close to his face.

"How dare you insult my friend like that!?" He shouted in his face, his wide eyes showing nothing but fire and fury. "No, Lucy was not the beast I was talking about, thank you very much! The very notion that you would even consider that my friend would do something like that is absolutely absurd!"

He stood up, bringing Kouta with him, his grip tightening. "Lucy is a wonderful person, if only misunderstood! She is not a monster, you hear!? NOT A MONSTER! SHE WOULD NEVER-..."

The Doctor stopped himself short, before he had realized what he had done. He was shouting at Kouta. A boy who seemed a bit timid in his own right, and he was treating him the same way Yuka would.

His grip loosened, before he stumbled back and planted his back on the stone wall again. His eyes focused on Kouta, before the diverted to the pavement, guilt taking over the Time Lord.

"...I'm so sorry, Kouta." He said.

Kouta's reflexes when it came to physical confrontations were piss poor— he froze up, practically blown back by the Doctor's sudden outburst. What had he said?! All he mentioned was that Nyu—

That's right. He must see some other sort of personality, some other side of the Nyu that I haven't. It's the truth though! Nyu— Lucy— whatever her name is, she's caused so much grief and trouble, how am I supposed to not expect the worst?!

The moment that the much taller man realized what he was doing, it looked like he felt terrible for snapping, stepping back and leaning against the dense stone walling. Raising his hands up in a dismissive fashion, Kouta shakes his head, though his tone was straight forward.

"… I don't know the sorta things that you've seen her do," he starts, "…It's clear that you care about N— Lucy," Kouta catches himself, "I know you do, but after witnessing everything that she's done, back to back, the promises that she's broken, and— and just— everything!"

He was almost at a loss for words.

"You're a good man, Doctor, but my opinion on Lucy isn't as golden as yours is, I can't come to trust her. And I probably never will."

The Doctor nodded, still overcome with guilt for snapping at the younger boy. He put his hat back on, as he sat back down on the steps. "I know." He said. "I know you think Lucy is a monster. And you have every reason to think so."

He lowered his head. "But in the short time I've known her, she's improved so much. She even helped a human out, and not once did she make an attempt to kill him." The Doctor looked ahead, with a small smile on his face. "She's seeing things the way I do. That life can be enjoyed, and silver linings are there."

Kouta could only raise his eyebrows as he shook his head in disbelief. "Lucy helping a human… That sounds— that's unheard of," Kouta breaths.

"To you, yes." The Doctor said. "But not to me. People, even non-humans, can change, Kouta. It's just a matter of time really. I've seen it happen before."

The Time Lord frowned again. "But... when we came here, I feel that I made a mistake. She wasn't ready." Looking over to Kouta, who came to sit next to the Time Lord, he adjusted his hat. "Kouta. There was a reason why Lucy and I came here. But I didn't want to say it in front of everyone."

The Time Lord put a hand on Kouta's shoulder. "I..." He tried to bring himself to say it. That he knew Kouta's past. "I know what Lucy did. What she did to your family. To your sister... and your father." He shook his head, looking at Kouta in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Kouta." He said. "No one your age should have witnessed something like that. No one."

Taken aback. Just— taken aback. There were no words, no feelings, no verbalization, no reactions that Kouta felt at the moment. Nobody else knew about the murder of his father and sister. It had not been reported by request of the rest of his family. The entire point of rehabilitating Kouta, was so that he would not recall any of this horrible massacre.

Turned out, that had not worked too well. Relapse and memory recovery occurred at one of the worst possible moments. The boy had snapped at Lucy, telling her to get lost, and to never return.

"For killing Kanae, and my father, I'll never forgive you."

A thick, mucus-y gulp. Kouta's eyes soften, an all too miserable frown appearing on his face.

Was this guilt? Guilt for being angry at Lucy? Or was it subtle anger for not being upset in that moment?

"Did she… Did she tell you about it?"

If the Diclonius was willing to let somebody else know about her sins, she must want some form of reconciliation. And yet, when Lucy apologized up and down, Kouta still did not listen. Had he been too engulfed with turmoil?

The Doctor elicited a sigh. "No. She didn't tell me, Kouta. She showed me." Looking into the distance, he recalled his mind delve.

"You see, Kouta, Time Lords have telepathic capabilities, and thus we can look within people's minds. Their memories play out as if it were a performance, with only us as the observers. Lucy..." He sniffed. "Lucy has had the worst childhood I have ever seen. She had dealt with so much. And... to see that she did that to your family..."

He looked downward. "No one deserves to have their family ripped from them like that. Even I know how it feels to have a family member gone, never to be seen again."

Kouta had yet to understand a lot of the information that the Doctor had been sharing since his arrival; time travel, moving around in police boxes, having more than one heart— it was all bonkers, really. And now he was talking about telepathy!

"You saw it…" The college boy responds, leaning forward with both arms on his knees, "I only vaguely remember a few things that Lucy had told me in the past, I can't really recall much— but, you saw both of them die?"

The Doctor closed his eyes. "Yes." He said in a quiet voice. "I saw everything."

A mournful sigh escapes his lips, lowering his head for a moment; all of this emotion was intensely baring down on Kouta's mind. Everything was coming back.

NO! NO MORE! PLEASE STOP! STOP IT!

The Doctor's hand then dove into his frock coat pocket, and it pulled out an old, black and white picture. On it was a teenage girl who had black hair, and a black and white striped shirt. He handed Kouta the picture.

Before Kouta could allow himself to zone out, the college boy snapped back into reality when the Doctor spoke up once more.

"Do you see this, Kouta?" The Time Lord asked. "This is Susan. She's my granddaughter."

Focusing in on the faded photograph, Kouta could not help but smile a little to himself.

"Susan? She looks like a very happy girl," he complimented. She had a certain glow to her that reminded Kouta of his younger sister. Kanae, as she was growing older, began to hold a certain sort of spunk, and a ton of personality.

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, certainly." He responded. "She was with me when we had both run away from Gallifrey, and had stayed on Earth for about five or so months. She was living a nice life amongst the humans, even though I never cared for them back then. You wouldn't know, but I was quite a grump during my younger days." He chuckled as he thought of his first incarnation.

"Nothing bad had happened to her, and she is very much alive. However..." He looked downward. "I had to leave her behind. She found someone to fall in love with, and I couldn't allow her to follow me. She deserved happiness, and a life."

He then began to recall to Kouta the moment he left Susan after the Dalek's Invasion of Earth.

"Listen, Susan, please. I've double locked the doors, you can't get in. Now, move back child, where I can see you."

A girl and a man stood in front of the TARDIS, Susan backing up to where the Doctor could see her. The Time Lord, once a grumpy old man, looked at Susan's image.

"...During all the years..." The First Doctor began. "...I've been taking care of you. And you in return have been taking care of me."

"But Grandfather, I belong with you!" Susan cried.

"Not any longer, Susan. You're still my grandchild, and always will be. But now, you're a woman too."

Susan and the man, David, looked at the blue box as the Doctor continued. "I want you to belong somewhere, to have roots of your own. With David, you'll be able to find those roots, and live normally like any woman should do."

He sighed, as he grabbed the lapels of his coat. "Believe me, my dear, your future lies with David. And not with a silly old buffer like me." The elder Time Lord looked downward, before looking back up at the screen. "One day... I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then... there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all of your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."

The Doctor smiled at his granddaughter, before frowning and flipping a lever on the console.

"Goodbye, Susan. Goodbye, my dear."

With that, the TARDIS dematerialized in front of Susan, her image fading out into the Time Vortex.

The Doctor adjusted his hat, shielding his face. "I never saw Susan again, Kouta." He said. "I left her behind because I didn't want to put her into any more danger, and to let her have a life that I cannot have. If anyone deserved happiness, it's her. Even now, I can't bear the thought of losing her like you did your family."

He chuckled, before taking off his hat, and looking at the full moon. What Kouta could notice, was a fresh tear down the Time Lord's cheek.

"To think, Kouta. You're probably one of the few people who has ever seen a Time Lord cry."

He could not help but feel an aching sense of empathy for the Doctor. It was not natural to witness him in such a state; just earlier, several hours before, he was smiling and carrying on with Nana and Mayu. Then again, Kouta realized that this was a man of extremes. Either he would be extremely happy, extremely sad, or, rather angry, as he had been with Yuka.

And Kouta could only imagine the sorts of emotions that had been bubbling up in his mind ever since Lucy stepped into his life. Despite the way in which the Time Lord spoke of the horned one, Kouta knew very well that being in Lucy's presence resulted in some of the most intense flashes of moods that could ever be conceived.

She was extraordinary.

And thus, those around her would feel that immense pressure, whether they realized it or not.

"Letting somebody go is sometimes the best thing to do, if you want them to be safe," Kouta frowns, leaning on his elbow, "…Maybe that's one of the reasons I was so ready to let Lucy go. I was angry at her. I still am. But if she hung out around here, she would get caught. I don't know much about the place she came from, but the look in her face whenever those men showed up, it…"

He sits up, back cracking, ". . .There's still a lot of guilt that I hold, when it comes to Kanae's death. I was so mean to her before she died… If I had known that it was going to be her final minutes there on that train, I wouldn't have yelled at her." A hand reaches up, covering his face, "I wouldn't have said that I hated her… And now I can't take— I can't take any of that back."

Wiping the tear from his face, the Doctor looked at Kouta, who covered his face in remorse. He scooted a little closer, and put a comforting arm around Kouta.

"I don't doubt that you loved your sister, and that she loved you." He said. "When you hear that someone you've befriended has caused something as atrocious as murder, it's hard to believe at first. But, I don't think anything could have stopped Lucy from killing her, as painful as it is for me to say."

He sighed. "You're right not to forgive Lucy. You're even in the right to be angry at her. But you must understand, I've seen her make an improvement of herself. She may not say it outright, but she wants to change. She doesn't want to be a killer anymore."

The Doctor took his arm off of Kouta, and weaved his hands together. "Lucy, before she met you, never had a happy childhood. Her reasoning for hating humanity was rooted in how she was treated when she was young. She was bullied, and treated like an animal. You should know the old adage as well as I do, Kouta, 'When you push a man too far, sooner or later, he'll start pushing back.'"

The Time Lord closed his eyes. "She's a broken person, Kouta." He continued. "To someone who's broken, existence can lose its value. Life or death wouldn't matter. When you're broken, you think of yourself as a tiny, restless soul. Lucy, at that age, only encountered people who would much rather inflict pain, rather than put an end to it. I've seen it myself, numerous times. But I always stepped in.

No one did for Lucy. No one."

He opened his eyes again, and looked at the starry sky.

"And with unwiped tears, she became a monster to be feared by all mankind."

A quiet air was held for a moment, allowing the Doctor's words to fester and grow in meaning; Kouta did recall the girl that he played with all those years ago acting as if she was lost. Not lost, literally, but in the sense that she had absolutely no clue what to do with this world. The boy had come across many lonely, awkward children back at his school on the playground, and often times befriended them. To Kouta, this was normal— but what he would not realize until it was too late, was that the extent of the horned girl's misery resulted in the deaths of many.

But who could ever guess that the orphan would grow to become a killer?! Not even grow, she was only nine when the first blood was shed, ruthless and grisly—

Or was it desperation and anxiety that drove Lucy's need to murder?

All Kouta saw as a child was an angry girl, so quick to shield those fascinating horns atop her head.

A girl who found comfort in the music box that he adored so.

"… It still doesn't justify killing my family," Kouta would eventually speak up, "nothing will. Her past explains her actions, though. It's something I could never understand, so I won't even try to pretend. I don't know what it's like to be a different species in a world of people."

Picking the lint off of his shirt, the college boy had grown extremely quiet, still in doubt of all of this.

"You said that Lucy wants to change… Are you sure she's being serious?"

It was a legitimate question, for Kouta just could not envision that.

The Doctor looked at Kouta. He still doesn't believe him, but it seems like he is starting to understand. True to what he had told the Diclonius, humans never forget those that have wronged them. They're a species that holds grudges, as far as he was concerned.

No wonder Lucy was much like them. She had a prepetual grudge against a race because of being different.

"Kouta, let me tell you something." The Doctor began. "I'm sure you understand, just from one look at my TARDIS, that I travel the stars, yes?"

Kouta nodded in response. "Well, yeah. I kind of figured out that one, Doctor." He said, almost jokingly.

"I have had my fair share of enemies during my travels, and each time I faced them, I offered them a second chance. A chance for redemption. A chance to better themselves. A chance to change."

The Time Lord shook his head. "No one took my chance of mercy, and some have tried to kill me. In the end, they became my enemies and I had to stop them." He turned his head, and looked into the distance. "When I had met Lucy, she killed three children and a police officer. She could have ended my life when we met, and I could have done the same."

He half-smiled. "She never pulled the trigger, so to speak."

The Doctor faced Kouta again. "In all of my travels, I've met killers that would do nothing except kill, with little regard for anyone's advice. They never listened to me. Lucy, on the other hand, had taken my offer of redemption, and we had become fast friends."

He scooted a little closer, still looking Kouta in the eye. "She's not as heartless as you might think. Lucy still has an opportunity to change herself. When she had talked about you, she always spoke about you in a positive light, but lamented the fact that she can't change the past, and that maybe, just maybe, Kanae and your father would have liked her."

He looked downward, with a frown. "I know she is serious in wanting to change Kouta, because when she spoke of rehabilitating herself…" The Doctor looked back up at the boy. "She said that you were the first stepping stone in achieving that. I know nothing can justify killing your family, Kouta." He said as he took the photograph of Susan from Kouta's hand.

"And Lucy knows that you will never forgive her. But there's only one thing that she wants you to grant her."

Kouta looked at the Doctor with a tilted head. "And... what could that be, Doctor?"

"Absolution."

She was not looking for forgiveness, as much as she wished to be absolved? Kouta could practically feel his own heart being torn at, imagining the lifeless, teary eyed face of his younger sister, her torso severed from the rest of her tiny body on the floor of the train. There was not even proper time to mourn that loss before his father was next— how would those two feel, had he gifted their kill absolution?

Shut his eyes tightly, the college boy reclines back, running both hands down his face, deep in thought; an attempt was being made at recreating the voices of his fallen family members— oh it had been so long since he'd heard those carefree chimes.

"We forgive people who wrong us, Kouta, as much as it hurts at first. It's right to forgive them. Holding a grudge for too long turns you sour."

He recalls what his father had told the boy one day after school, where another student in his class tripped up Kouta for the sake of a laugh. Such rude bullies they were, simply looking to get a rise out of the smarter boy.

"But dad they were so mean! Can't I just push them back?!"

"That would make you just as bad! C'mon Kouta, you wouldn't want to be like that."

Kouta remains there in silence, not even noticing the that both hands had dropped into his lap, face revealed once more. When he thought about it, his father would have wished for his son to forgive— and though he was incapable of that, the next best thing would be absolution. A husky sigh, and the college boy leans forward, speaking aloud to himself.

"To think, all of this happened because I accidentally dropped a souvenir in front of some lonely girl on a walk home. . ."

Lilium.

The meaning of the souvenir immediately brought the Doctor into a somber mood.

"The music box?" He asked. "Yes... I recall that particular memory of Lucy's. The so-called 'root' in taming her inner beast."

He looked upward. "Lilium was the name of that song, Kouta." He said. "I actually heard it quite some time ago." The Time Lord shook his head. "I don't like it. That song... it's far too painful to listen to, even without knowing Lucy."

He sighed. "I wish that song never came to existence. Songs are meant to bring joy in cultures and societies, much like a dance between two people. Not blanket their thoughts in total darkness."

The Doctor looked at Kouta, who was glancing at him with a perplexed look. "Tell me, Kouta. Out of all of the music boxes that were made on this planet, why in the name of Rassilon would you choose Lilium?"

Both hands raises up, waving them along with his head. How could it be painful to listen to if nobody even knew the damned language? Next to nobody studied the Latin language in this day and age, unless they were scholars. And just how in the world would a young Kouta sniffing around in a consignment shop realize what the meaning of a simple music box melody would be?

"That thing always seems to be biting me in the butt! I just picked it out because I liked the song, I thought it was pretty! Hmh. Wow. Now that I think about it, had I listened to Yuka and Kanae, and bought one with a different song—"

…What would have happened if Kouta had chosen a completely different souvenir? Would his family still be alive?

An even darker thought— would Lucy have been any different? A variety of things could have had a different outcome. Maybe the Diclonius would have found peace on her own, and halted the killing. But what if listening to Lilium had assisted the horned one in trying to calm her mind? She could have very well gone insane in the facility, had the simple notes of that music box not helped her hold onto that list bit of hope.

To think.

To think that a wind up music box had such an effect on so many lives, all because the boy had dropped it by accident, at the right time.

The Doctor looked at Kouta, with just a perplexed look as the one the boy gave him. "You really don't know what that song is about, do you?" He asked. "What the real meaning and message is behind Lilium?"

Kouta only shook his head. "Well, no." He said. "But the lyrics are Latin, Doctor. And how would I know what it meant when I was young? I told you. I just thought it was a pretty song." Kouta rubbed his forehead, before looking back at the Doctor. "What's it mean, Doctor?" He asked.

The Time Lord sighed. "It's not a very uplifting song, as I'm sure you are aware." He said. "But the lyrics behind it are just as depressing as the melody behind it."

He inspected his hat, as he explained to Kouta the song. "Lilium is a song that is mostly about finding peace and sanctum. About how serene, how kind, and how sacred it would be to feel at peace. But, the tone of the lyrics and the melody treat it as an unrequited objective. Something longed for, but will never be obtained."

He recited some of the English lyrics, not in song, but in spoken form.

"The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom
And his tongue shall speak judgment
Blessed is he who endures temptation
Since he, who shall have been tested, shall receive the crown of life

Lord, fountain of goodness
Lord, fire divine, have mercy

Oh how sacred,
How serene,
How kind,
How lovely,
To be the trusted Virgin

Oh how sacred,
how serene,
how kind,
how lovely,
Oh, lily of chastity"

The Doctor shook his head as he had finished his recital. "You can see why I have such a distaste for it, Kouta." He said, before eliciting a chuckle. "Lord, fire divine, have mercy," The Doctor repeated. "How fitting for Lucy's downward spiral before we met."

He closed his eyes again, before putting his hat back on, shielding his face. "Ever since you exposed her to that song, Kouta, she's treated that as her mantra. She's thought of her inner peace and cleansing of her evil side an unobtainable thing."

The Doctor clenched an end of his scarf. "She doesn't deserve any more pain." He said quietly. "She has suffered enough. It's time that something good happened to her for once..."

And that was possibly the very last thing that Kouta could have imagined that melody to mean— to the boy, it was just a pretty song that he had found by pure chance, and thought that the horned girl from years ago would have enjoyed listening to it with him. Never would he have thought that it's words were laced with horrid intentions. Frowning, he sighs, "Sounds like I just keep screwing up somehow. I must've been born unlucky. I just try to help people, and they end up hurting me in the meantime. I didn't mean to do any of that to Lucy! It was just— it was just a nice song— five little notes! I can still remember it sort of."

He leans back, trying to recall the opening to the Lilium music box, playing with a few sounds on his tongue before settling on— "La la la, la la. No, that's not right, it was more like—"

Just as he made another attempt at finishing the song, a chill shoots up the boy's spine, as a phantom completes his wish instead.

"La la laaaa…La la…"

An elongated pause, as Kouta's eyes fall upon the stoic form of the now awakened Diclonius, that very music box held in her hands, her face distant, troubled.

"… Na na na… Na na na na… Na… naa… naaa … naaaa…"

Twisting the gear underneath of the music box once, twice, three times, four times and opening the lid, the melody pours out of the mechanism, finishing off the notes that had been lost to memory.

The Doctor's eyes widened at the sudden playing of the notes of Lilium. He looked over to Kouta, who looked as if he had just seen a ghost. The color of his face turning white from fear, his hands trembling.

Rising up, the Doctor puts a comforting hand on Kouta's shoulder, before the boy turned, as if he were telling the Time Lord to run.

The Doctor only smiled warmly at the boy.

With a pat on Kouta's shoulder, the Doctor slowly climbed the steps before coming close to the elder Diclonius, as she made her way down the steps, as well, the chimes of Lilium ringing through the night.

With a steady hand, as he approached closer, he lightly closed the music box, shutting off the music, before the horned creature looked up at the Time Lord, dahlia hues matching gaze with the wide eyes of the Doctor.

A smile formed, as the Doctor couldn't be happier than to say one simple thing.

"Welcome back, Lucy."

Here they were, once again, standing on those steps, for the third time— the boy and the beast.

Both shattered souls, scrambling to pick the pieces off of the ground before they combined together.

Lucy's expression, usually cold and calculated, was more so reserved, melancholic and topped off with a frown. Just down the steps, Kouta's hostility was screaming at him to get out of there, before he could feel that familiar regret and anger again.

"It's you again…" Was all that Kouta would be able to manage.

Holding the music box in both hands, it was silenced as soon as the Time Lord made is way over to the newly awoken Diclonius, glancing up at him without a single word. Her expression was enough, showcasing her emotions.

"… Kouta."

Her voice, so helpless— where was the ruthless, invisible monster that everybody knew as the Kamakura Killer? Where was the calm stature, void of any sort of woe?

No tears.

Only silence.

The Doctor could feel the tension in the air as Kouta and Lucy looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Both had had quite a history together, so it was no wonder that they were feeling apprehensive toward one another.

Kouta had every right to be angry at Lucy. He had every right not to forgive her.

But Lucy... Lucy wanted to change.

For the better.

Stepping aside, and keeping a hand on Lucy's shoulder, the Doctor looked at Kouta, who was still in a state of confusion, anger, and fear.

"Take a look at Lucy, Kouta." He said. "I know that beforehand, she was a ruthless killer, devoid of emotion, remorse, and any sort of kindness. In your eyes, Lucy is a monster, who knows nothing of happiness, and the joy of life. All she sees is darkness, and takes solitude in bloodshed."

"But, I, Kouta... I see a wonderful creature." He hugged Lucy close. "I see a life form who can improve herself, and can benefit not only herself, but toward others, too. I've seen many monsters, Kouta. Some that were as ruthless as Lucy. But as I told you, they never wanted to see my side, and they had to be dealt with. Lucy, however, is a different story."

"The monsters I've seen felt little remorse. But take a look at this person, and tell me."

The Doctor looked at Lucy, and wiped a tear off of her cheek.

"Do monsters weep for what they have done?"

Once upon a time, the very thought of hugging the beast would be suicidal, to say the least. Sympathy for the devil is frowned upon. Why offer mercy for a sinner? Is this really what God intended? To love thy neighbor, even when their hands are dirtied with the blood of your fallen brother?

Her eyes fall shut— Lucy cannot even bear to look at the human boy in the face, terrified of this entire situation. Here she stands, perfectly capable of killing Kouta and forgetting all of this. Instead, she chooses to fight through this, to see the better side of life.

Kouta's frown remains in tact, listening to the Doctor's point of view, and watching the trembling Diclonius cling onto that damned music box.

Why? Why? WHY was that OBJECT so important to her?

"…Heh," the college boy awkwardly forces a smile, rubbing the back of his head, "I… I see you still have that thing."

Almost immediately, Lucy's head snaps up, eyes wide.

"I never lost this!" Her voice rises, holding the box to her chest, head dropping once more, "It's the only thing that reminds me that I'm not completely bad… I-It… I-It brings me back to that warm summer day, when we went to the zoo… And swam in the river… A-and watched the sun set on …O-On these VERY steps! And when we sang that song together… Happy… I-I…"

The monster's eyes welled up…

"I was so happy that day, Kouta…" Lucy's voice cracks and trembles.

Taken aback, Kouta watches the once distant, strong Diclonius crumble, right in front of his eyes, like a wall. Back then, he thought that Lucy was just exaggerating when she said that it had been the best day of her entire life. That she was just in a great mood… But from the looks of it… That could very well had been the only time that she felt that there was a friend by her side.

"You're crying … I've never seen you this upset before," the boy speaks lowly, his expression solemn, "… Your face was empty, the day that you killed Kanae and my father… How can you cry like this now, compared to the heartless personality back then?"

Lucy shuts her eyes again, catching her breath.

"Th-That wasn't me…!" She calls out, "…I-I mean, it was me, but… The one who made me do it— it wasn't… My intention to hurt you."

"Kouta, perhaps I should help explain." The Doctor speaks up, slowly walking down the steps with Lucy as they made their way closer to Kouta.

"Lucy, when she met you, is how I always see her. She may not be human by physical and biological means, but she still has emotions. She proved that to me with her earlier memories of you. It was one of the few moments I have ever truly seen her happy. But, she's right. When she had killed your sister and father, it wasn't her, per se."

The Time Lord pointed to her temple, near her horn. "Lucy has a voice in her mind. A "Killer's Instinct", if you will, that's been implanted in her mind since birth. It is her driving force to kill. It outright goads her to spill blood. And when she doesn't, it berates her and causes her to think herself as inferior."

The Doctor widened his eyes. "...And when I delved into Lucy's mind... that very Instinct almost killed me."

He rubbed his temple, and sighed. "You must believe me, Kouta. Lucy wants to change, and she had told me that all that she wanted out of her life... was a friend."

The Doctor nodded. "You were her first childhood friend. And she still treasures the memories she has of you two, prior to her murdering your family. Please believe me, Kouta. I would never bring someone like Lucy face to face with you unless they knew what they did was wrong. Lucy knows you won't grant her forgiveness, but she wants to be absolved for what she did. And I know it's a tall order to fill, Kouta."

The Doctor found another tear falling down his cheek as he tried to compose himself. "Lucy is a wonderful person." His voice cracked. "A creature who is not totally evil, but plagued by evil against her will. Lucy is not a monster."

He blinked, as more tears fell, his voice still cracking.

"Lucy is my friend."

As if on queue, as the Doctor began to preach about the horrific entity within Lucy's mind, the Instinct steps in and begins to make a presence in the back of her mind. Spectral arms wrap around the neck of the Diclonius, chuckling softly with a dark smile.

"I love all of the attention I am receiving. It shows how great of a job we've been doing. Though I never expected to become apparent to so many people… Any attention is better than none, isn't it? Everybody will know about me eventually when I take a hold of this place… Isn't that right? You and I are one."

Distress fills out Kouta's face as he listened to this information, not all that sure to feel about Lucy's murdering being pinned on some sort of mental illness— now, the boy was not too intelligent when it came to these sorts of things, and could only imagine that this girl was schizophrenic, of some sort, not aware that it was far more than a personality disorder. The Instinct, at this point, had been underestimated.

"I am not going to force you to forgive my actions, Kouta…" Her abysmal expression remains, finally pulling enough courage to look at her old friend directly in the eyes, "If you just want me to leave… I can do that… Though, I was told that Nana and Mayu did miss me… Kouta… I know that you much prefer Nyu over myself… She is much more nice to be around," she gives an empty smile, "and even you admitted that she was a member of your family… Look at me here. I have made both of my friends upset."

The Doctor was tearing up, and as far as she knew, Kouta still did not understand. Maybe it was time for her to leave. Perhaps—

"—This isn't just about Nyu," Kouta speaks up firmly, strengthening himself and stepping closer to the Diclonius, "Nyu isn't the girl that I met all that time ago. Yes, I may have come to know her better, but— but you're important too, Lucy… Come to think of it, this is the first time I have ever heard your real name."

Lucy's expression goes into shock briefly as the boy stepped closer, but quickly faltered back, listening to what he had to say in silence.

Wiping his face, the Doctor moved in between Kouta and Lucy. "He's right. You are important, Lucy." He said. "And don't be a fool. You never once made me upset. In fact, I never wept for my friends like this."

He put a hand on both of their shoulders. "You've always been important, Lucy." He said. "And you shouldn't pay any mind as to what anyone says otherwise. What was it that you told me in the TARDIS earlier today? 'Just because something is born with the purpose of bringing misfortune, does not mean that they are destined to keep such a path'?"

The Doctor smiled at the Diclonius. "Look at you. You could have vanquished Kouta in front of me without a second thought."

He then turned to the boy. "And had I not been here, this situation would turn out far worse, wouldn't it?" He asked Kouta. "You two already have a history together, and I can see in each of you that you still see the good in each other."

Eyes traveled down to the dainty hands of the Diclonius; "You… You are correct… I have it within my power— and I have it within my inner turmoil, I could have easily put on a visage, turning this entire meeting into one of destruction and relapse— and normally? Normally I WOULD have done that…"

No truer words ever came from Lucy's voice.

"But you didn't," the college boy speaks up, his harsh, stressed expression finally softening into one of acceptance and understanding.

For a monster?

No.

For an old friend. This meeting was more than just a beast making amends with one of her victims.

"—You chose not to end it all, I guess you really do want to look past all of this…" Kouta's lips curve into a subtle smile. And in that very moment, two old friends would share a comforting embrace, masking away any sort of cold chill that the air would have offered; Lucy's eyes flashed wide open as soon as she was taken into his arms, not entirely sure how to digest what was going on.

—Perhaps it was better to simply… Accept.

The Doctor would usually join in on the hug, but he felt that it wasn't necessary right now. Two people, once formerly bitter, and socially linked to only a different personality, that being Nyu, are in the process of reconciliation.

It was a sight to behold for the Doctor, to see Lucy's cold demeanor melt away as the two embraced as old friends long apart. The hope was shining brighter for Lucy's future.

Bright as the stars he had seen during his travels. And he couldn't have been any more proud.

"Lucy, while I wouldn't ever be able to just outright forgive you for what you have done, it's very obvious just how much guilt you have. I guess— I guess I feel big enough to pardon that now. I've let my whole life revolve around the past, and if we're going to expect you to change, then I have to as well…" Kouta's eyes narrow a little, trying to fight off welling tears that threatened to fall.

"That's what friends are for, I assume…" the Diclonius manages ever so softly to herself, her pale face buried into Kouta's shoulder. All of this, it was so surreal.

The apology.

The acceptance.

The borderline forgiveness— it felt as if she had been freed from thousands of chains, able to walk without it bearing down on her in a constant burden.

The Doctor smiled.

That was it. This was what he hoped Lucy could achieve from Kouta.

Absolution.

And he could tell from Kouta. He had absolved Lucy of the horrible atrocities she committed all of those years ago. Just as he saw her bury her face in Kouta's shoulder, he could tell that she was happy.

Happiness. Some say that monsters can never be happy unless they wreak havoc.

With the Doctor, though, anything can happen. Even a monster can change for the better.

After witnessing Lucy's absolving, the hug continued between the two of them. They needed some time alone together. Adjusting his hat, the Doctor made his way back up the Stone Steps to the Maple Inn. After one last glance behind him, he saw that they were still embracing. Turning back, he walked up to the Inn, retreating back inside.

The two reconciled friends would spend a good while sitting on the steps, speaking to one another, learning about their true selves, and coming to understand the situation that they were now in. Lucy spoke with a smile that was nothing but true, her tone almost frantic, gasping for air— the air of normality, and happiness.

No matter, as the Doctor would find himself coming indoors, the young silpelit of the house had awoken as well to fetch a glass of water in the middle of the night. Bare feet pad against the floor, her tired face looking over.

"O-Oh… It's so late, what're you doing up, sir?" Nana speaks in a soft whisper.

The Doctor smiled at the young, tired Diclonius. "Hello, Nana." He said. "Just a few things had come up. And..." He leaned against the wall and took his hat off.

"I think Lucy is going to be alright now. Nyu isn't taking over her mind, and she's talking with Kouta right now."

He looked at the door. "I think they're going to have a lot to talk about."

Benevolence emits from Nana's expression as the pious silpelit smiles gently, eyes lidded in understanding.

Not many people realized that beneath the childish, playful personality that the youthful girl held, was a thoughtful and knowledgable individual, and for quite some time, she knew that Lucy would come around. Even though the Original One was known for her cut-throat lifestyle and muddy past, Nana could envision the day in which the beast would finally rest.

And that day had arrived. Though of course… A happy ending is illogical. This was far from the end— nay, it was the beginning of another chapter in the book. Even though the last one ended on a good note, the silpelit knew just what kind of dangers still existed.

"I knew she'd come around," Nana piped up quietly, "I knew one day that Lucy-san would be happy again… Do you think she'll be happy for long?"

The Doctor chuckled a bit. "I've no idea, Nana." He said. "Who can really say how long she'll be happy? That's up for her to decide. Whether she wants to stand up and changer herself, or travel back down the road she stained with the blood of her previous victims."

He looked down at the young Diclonius. "Whatever the case, I'm going to ensure that she remains happy when she's with me. She deserves so much of it."

Nana's slim fingers clung to her night shirt, a precious smile appearing on her face. How incredible it was, knowing that there was a chance for Lucy to maybe even live in harmony with humans! It was all so great.

"I-I… I sure hope so!" The smile cracked into a full grin, her eyes even beginning to water, "There's… So many wonderful things in the world… So many good things." Nana stared off into the distance for a moment, allowing her words to settled before snapping out of it, bashfully wiping her eyes with a nearly silent 'sorry', turning and retreating back to her bed.

The two of them had sat down on the stone steps, speaking about... well, anything. That was the beauty of it. A human and a Diclonius, communicating freely among one another, without any sort of prejudice.

"Hehe..." Kouta chuckled. "We watched the sunset on these steps, all those years ago. It feels just like old times, doesn't it Lucy?"

The Pinkette nodded solemnly. "Yes." She said. "It feels... nice. To relive such a wonderful memory I've experienced so long ago."

Kouta had been lost in the moment, rekindling his relationship with Lucy. Never in a million years would he thought it to be easy to share a happy moment with the lone Diclonius. Now, here they were, on the steps, as if they were children once again.

Kouta leaned on his hands, watching the stars. "Can I ask you something, Lucy?" He asked.

Lucy looked at the boy. "What is it?"

He sighed. "The Doctor. He told me of the time you two met. Did you... did you seriously almost try to kill him?"

Lucy's eyes trailed down in guilt. Had the Doctor not scorned her for what he did, he probably would have been another victim.

"Almost." She said, after a bit of silence. "I almost ended his life there. That man seems to have a habit with dancing with the devil... and living to tell the tale."

Kouta shook his head. "I'm kinda jealous. He has more courage than even me."

Lucy nodded, closing her eyes. "Maybe even more than me, as well." She said. "Though, had I taken his life, I never would have been granted this opportunity to be reunited with you, Yuka, and everyone else. He's the reason I'm here in the first place."

She looked back at Kouta, with a single tear in her eye. "It has only been a few days, Kouta, and I already owe the Doctor my life."

Kouta smiled at Lucy. "I guess he really does see the good in you." He said. "I never believed him, at first. But I can clearly tell that his judgment in you isn't misplaced."

Lucy sighed in content. "Me too."

Though, in the back of her mind, a small child-like voice could be heard.

"Is it? He still doesn't know the REAL you. He will soon enough..."

"It's very late." Kouta spoke up out of the blue.

"Hmh… It is. Perhaps we should call it a night… We've probably woken people up with all of this talking." Lucy admitted.

"I'm sure Yuka has all sorts of plans for us in the morning." the boy sighed, almost in a stressed manner.

"Yeah..." she smiled with out realizing, "Us…" Both of them stood from the steps, walking up towards the house, close to each other.

For a brief moment, Lucy had slipped into a state of content.

And the horns atop her head were forgotten.

The Doctor had retreated to his room shortly after his conversation with Nana. He closed the door behind him as he shed his scarf, hat and coat, setting them back on the chair and desk. As he slipped his shoes off, he looked over at K-9.

He shook his head. To think that he was shouting for his pet not too long ago out of fear. Knowing K-9, he didn't detect any threats, hence why he was still silent. But... had that been real...

The Doctor went over and gave K-9 a pet on the head. "I'm alright, if you're wondering, K-9." He said as the robotronic was still silent. "Just know that if anything were to happen to me, I know that the first thing you would do is help me. After all, you are my best friend." He gave the dog a pat, as he smiled.. "Sleep well, K-9."

The Time Lord slipped back under the covers of his bed, and closed his eyes, reflecting on the entire incident between Kouta and Lucy. Just as he told K-9. Today was very eventful, indeed.

It wouldn't be long before a subtle sound resonates through the guest room; Lucy stands behind the door, wondering whether or not she should bother the sleeping man. He MUST be exhausted, and required the rest. It was no lie, though, that the Diclonius was shaken from the entire confrontation with the family. Sleeping by herself would be troublesome, and possible invoke nightmares.

Nightmares? Since when did she worry about this? It could possibly be Nyu influencing her JUST enough.

Figuring that the knock wouldn't be loud enough to wake the Time Lord, she gradually opens the door, stepping in and standing there for a moment, before deciding on allowing one single vectors to slip out, lightly poking the side of his face.

"Doctor…"

The Doctor's eyes scrunched as he felt something press against his face. "Nyu..." He said, sitting up. "You should be in bed-" He then noticed that standing in the doorway was not who she expected. "Oh..." He then flashed a toothy grin to the Diclonius. "Hello, Lucy!" He said as jovial as ever. "Sorry, I thought you were Nyu when I felt something poke my face."

He brought his knees closer to him. "Is something the matter? Did everything go okay between you and Kouta?"

Dusky eyes remained lidded, staring at her surroundings for a moment before looking down directly at the resting Time Lord, "Uhm— yes, yes it did," the Diclonius speaks up, shifting her weight onto her right leg, "I am… Simply wondering if you would mind—"

A hand reaches to the back of her neck, rubbing it lightly as she spoke, "… If I slept in your room tonight? I had a rather bad dream… And I want to get some proper rest."

The Doctor's toothy grin then formed a warm, genuine smile as the Diclonius shuffled her feet in the doorway, like that of a young child. He couldn't help but softly chuckle at Lucy's child-like tendencies.

"I don't mind in the slightest, Lucy." The Doctor said. "Do you need me to retrieve your bedding?"

Not another word came from her mouth as she sighed in relief, walking right into the room and sitting on her knees next to the Doctor's bedding, rubbing her eyes lightly and looking over at K-9.

"K-9, could you move over a little? I need some room." Lucy's intentions were to bunk with the Doctor and his robotic friend— it was a cold enough night to allow it.

"K-9's on standby, Lucy. He can't respond right now." The Doctor said. "Here. Move over a bit." He then scooted over and slid K-9 over just a few inches so Lucy could squeeze inbetween the Doctor and his pet.

"There we are." He said, getting back to his spot on the bed. "You sure you don't want me to get your bedding?" The Doctor asked. "I don't want to pull the covers off of you without realizing."

Reclining back, the Diclonius allowed a light yawn, lidding her eyes and laying her head down. It had felt like ages since she had been on this floor, resting under this very roof. Most of the time, it had been Nyu filling the role, though there were a handful of nights that Lucy herself had stared aimlessly at the ceiling— wondering, pondering.

Her thoughts returned after a moment, "—-Mh, no, I'm fine," Lucy allowed her eyes to fully shut, reevaluating that day's events.

The Doctor could only smile lightly as Lucy laid on her back, attempting to slip into a slumber. Reclining back himself, he rested his hand on his head, looking at his companion.

"You really do seem to be only a child at heart, Lucy." He said, chuckling. "It's nice to see this side of you starting to emerge." Lucy looked up at him with one eye open. "I'm proud of you for taking the courage to do what you needed to do tonight."

He poked the tip of her nose. "Know that I'll always be proud of you." The Time Lord winked at the Diclonius. "I'm sure Nyu is too."

A trace of a smile was apparent on Lucy's lips when her nose was tapped, though the darkness of the room kept it concealed. "Courage…? If that is the word you want to use." It was the first time that the Diclonius ever felt secure in the household— a Goliath weight had been lifted off of her shoulders; peace had finally been etched between herself and Kouta, The very reason that Lucy had decided on going on with life… Her goal had been obtained.

Nyu could even hear the Doctor's appraisal, standing just at the edge of the great outstretch of landscape within the Diclonius' mentality. Grinning and giggling like a spoiled child, the more innocent of the two faded out of Lucy's consciousness for the moment.

'Lucy can rest by herself tonight! Nyu…!'

Kouta could hear the dulled sound of the two's conversation as he walked by, pausing to listen in for a moment before going on and returning to his own room.

"Still can't believe this," the college boy sighed, exhausted as he removed his short and tossed it aside, "maybe they'll sleep better than me at least."

"It's a well deserved word, Lucy." The Doctor said. "You may not realize it, but you showed a great amount of it tonight. And for that, I'm proud of you."

Taking the covers, he lifted them to where they covered up to Lucy's neck. "Sleep well, Lucy." He said, brushing the bangs out of her face. "Tomorrow's a new day for you. A new, brighter day."

Shuffling over, he rested his head on the pillow, and closed his eyes. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anymore nightmares, or any hallucinations tonight. What had happened was just too perfect to spoil. He could only hope Lucy's Instinct allowed this victory tonight.

Lucy deserved this. She deserved it so much.

And ten minutes later, the Time Lord was fast asleep.

"Sleep well, Doctor…" Lucy's words were transient, fading into the aging night as sleep claimed her mind—well deserved sleep, if it were up to her opinion. Much like a stitched doll, the horned one's body would not stir at all, feeding on the spoils of rest.

"It's nearly three?" Kouta complained to himself, just under his breath in order to not wake anybody; Yuka's room was just across the hallway, and if she were to be woken up due to his own troubles—Kouta would be in a world of hurt. Laying down, the college boy would make a second attempt at a good night's rest, knowing very well just how much there was to do in the morning. Nyu—err, Lucy, would require to be reintegrated into the household. Nana would more than likely beg both Yuka and Kouta to go to the beach, as a sort of celebration for the family's reunion. And if Nana gets excited, Mayu does as well.

"Ghh—thinking about how busy I'll be tomorrow is just keeping me up!" He scolds himself, placing the bed pillow over his head in an attempt to smother his face, "Sleep… Please…"

His wish would be granted shortly; ten minutes pass, and Kouta finally succumbs to the sandman, falling into the realm of dreams…

Bright eyes shoot open; Kouta would find himself sitting at a park bench, surrounded by the falling petals of the sakura trees. Children are running around with their peers, climbing over the play sets and swinging to-and-fro on the swing set. Chattering and giggling with youthful innocence.

"Kouta! KOUTA! Big brother!" A soprano voice calls out from across the park, an equally tiny girl leaping and waving, trying to catch the attention of the older male; what appears to be a red ribbon is tied in the girl's hair, a stuffed, worn out rabbit held in her free arm.

Once attention is focused on the girl, Kouta's eyes widen—Kanae…?

Right.

Of course.

A dream, just another sickening dream. What else would it be? Many nights were plagued with these sorts of dreams, for as long as Kouta could remember. But why complain and fight against a mind-numbing reality that is MUCH better than the one when awake?

"Kouta, come here! I found something!" Kanae continues to call out for her older brother, as the rest of the park's sounds began to fade, growing quieter, and quieter. Kouta stands from the bench, sighing in content and going over to his little sister.

"It better be important, it's really hot out here. We could be at home, in the air condition," the elder one playfully complains, stopping in front of Kanae and looking down. "What is it? What did you find—…?"

As those words came from the college boy's throat, he noticed just how quiet the playground was. The other people were there, but their words could no longer be heard. It was as if he and Kanae were worlds apart from everything else.

"I found this!" The spectral Kanae proceeds to hold out some sort of strange object, cradled between her tiny hands. "Doesn't this belong to your friend? The one with the horns!"

Kouta goes down to his knees to meet Kanae at eye level, looking down into her hands; the pit of his stomach twists, abruptly growing weak at the sight of the object… One of Lucy's horns. Chipped and cracked through the center, the cream-colored bone appeared to have been cracked off by force.

"KANAE! Where did you find this?!" Kouta finds himself in somewhat of a panic, reaching out to swipe it away from his ever curious sister, however, not fast enough; Kanae placed it into the pocket of her pants, giggling to herself.

"You really like her, don't you Kouta? It's okay! I won't tell anybody," the girl twirls with a playful taunt, running past him and jumping onto one of the vacant swings, "besides, crushes are icky! And Yuka would punch your head REALLY hard!"

Feeling his cheeks redden, the boy scoffs, following after Kanae, "You've got it all wrong! She's just a friend!" –Friend? Is this girl a friend…? The one that tore down his father, and the young one standing right in front of him?

"Oh yeah?" Kanae makes the sound of a raspberry with her tongue and lips, giggling again, "Kanae knows that Kouta cares about her! Even though she did bad things!" She clings to the chains holding the swing up, "It's okay though, big brother! Kanae is okay with it, and that means, there's no problem. I see how you worry about her." A naïve, happy grin appears on the girl's features… Speaking as if she had witnessed the events of nearly seven years, despite being deceased.

Then again, this was a dream, as disappointing as it was.

Kouta frowns in a concerned matter, "I thought you hated that girl?"

"I don't hate her! Welllllllllll," Kanae jumps off of the swing with a mischievous grin, brushing dirt off of her frilled shirt, "I USED to, but only because I thought you did too. But if you don't hate her, why should I? Doesn't she make you happy? Daddy can see it too!"

The boy's brows furrow in confusion, "Dad…?" Brushing it aside, Kouta speaks up again, wishing to know the answer of a very strange situation, "But, Kanae, how did you get that horn—?"

Rather than answering the question directly, the little sister, shakes her head, her smile a little less sincere, almost ominous, "That isn't important, Kouta." And just as Kanae is prepared to continue with her babbling, a hand would press firmly into the elder one's shoulder.

Jumping in surprise, Kouta whips his head around, seeing the benevolent and warm smile of his deceased father; his heart ached in that moment, staring into the eyes of a man that hadn't aged since the day he was murdered. Kouta's mouth opens, but he is unable to summon any sort of intelligent speech.

"It's okay son… You have a lot on your mind, don't you? You've been working hard, and putting up with your cousin, Yuka," his father chuckles to himself, patting Kouta's shoulder in a reassuring manner, "… We're always watching over you, even when you think we're not… I know it's been very difficult, growing up without me. Your mother prays about me and Kanae every night before going to bed. I know this, because I'm always there… Watching over you, and the others living with you."

Kouta stands in the dreamscape, his eyes wide, mouth gaping in disbelief. He could feel his chest tightening, eyes growing wet and strained as his father spoke.

What—what was all of this supposed to mean? Why all of this abrupt contact? Should he take such a dream seriously…?

…Was this a dream at all?

"Dad…" Kouta turns and grabs onto his father with all of his might, allowing the tears to flow down his face in distress. The spectral vision of the older man, reaches around, holding onto his son as tightly as possible, patting his head in a comforting manner.

"Kanae and I are okay. We aren't angry at your friend either… She's a young woman. Take care of her, like you did Kanae," the man speaks, nodding in a serious manner, "as conflicting as it may seem to you."

A whimper escapes Kouta's lips, gripping the side of his head, "How?! HOW?! How can you—Expect me—-" And it all came to a halt when Kanae approached him, reaching up and grabbing her older brother's hand.

"Miss Lucy and all of your friends need you to be strong Kouta!" Kanae's smile gleams—the same smile of their mother, "If you can't protect me anymore… Protect her…!"

The college boy's heart practically melted, falling apart, and yet—it felt comforting, reassuring—assured that hosting the beast was not as much as a sin as he thought it was. Dead men do not lie, after all.

"I love you big brother!" Kanae held onto Kouta, joining in on the family hug that had been initiated by their father.

"I love you son…" The older man smiled gently down at his children, hands on both of their heads, "Kanae, we have to go now, gran gran is waiting for us."

Kanae let go of Kouta. "Gran Gran! I'm gonna show her my new dance trick! She'll love it!" Placing a kiss on Kouta's cheek, the young girl lets go, tugging her father away. At that moment, Kouta's instinct was to chase after his family—and so, he did.

"KANAE! DAD! LET ME COME WITH YOU!" He screams in hysterics; an arm reaches out, attempting to grip on the shoulder of his little sister, only to watch it slip right through.

"No big brother! You stay! We have to go!"

"You stay!"

"You stay…!"

Her voice echoes across the landscape, as Kouta is left alone in his own mourning; the tears in his eyes gradually began to dry as eyes close shut. Everything begins to fade, growing darker, darker, and darker. For the oddest of reasons, his heart wasn't in pain. On the contrary… The boy had received something that he had not imagined to be in possession of at all.

Closure.

"Dad... Kanae... —I miss you two…

So much… Thank you…"

As the Doctor slumbered with Lucy and K-9, somewhere in the back of his mind, something good had happened. While he slept, he couldn't help but form a smile. He had a feeling that everything would be okay after that incident on the stone steps.

He smiled wider. Kouta had absolved Lucy, and the Diclonius was one step closer to becoming a better person. Just as he had told Lucy, tomorrow was going to be a brand new day.

Kouta would, for the first time ever, wake up before anybody else in the house, even before the early riser herself, Yuka. Just a little shaken, his body would relax the moment that hot tea was brewed and consumed.

Just what happened last night? Was that a dream, or a personal visitation from the great beyond? Whatever it was, it had left an impact on the young man.

As for Lucy, rising early was out of the question. Exhausted, the girl remains asleep, one hand clinging onto K-9, the other slipped underneath her pillow.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was just on the verge of waking up. Unfortunately, he was beaten to the punch by his pet robotronic.

K-9's head rose as his optics blinked. "Systems online. Batteries to full charge." He moved his neck up and down, but realized that one of Lucy's arms was ensnared around his neck.

"Mistress?" K-9 said. "Mistress. I cannot move. My neck's servo joints are being impeded by your grip." K-9 attempted to wring loose Lucy's grip by moving his neck up and down in a repeated motion.

Unfortunately, he failed. Lucy still gripped onto K-9.

"Mistress. Please wake up. I cannot move. I wish to be free." He continued to wring himself free. "...Mistress?"

Being a light sleeper had many downsides, especially when one is extremely bushed. Despite this, Lucy did not stir at all when K-9 attempted to communicate with the dozing Diclonius. Actually, quite the opposite happened. Lucy rolled over, mumbling lightly to herself, reaching and clinging onto the robotronic with both of her physical arms. Exhaling sharply, Lucy laid there, rather relaxed with the situation.

Whether she was awake or not was questionable.

"Mistress?" K-9 continued trying to stir the Diclonius, until her arms were completely wrapped around his neck. "Mistress!"

The Doctor rolled over and opened one eye, looking at K-9's struggle with Lucy. She had him completely trapped. K-9 wasn't about to stop, however.

He attempted to shake her off by rolling backwards.

K-9 fell short. He couldn't get but a few centimeters away until Lucy's weight stopped him. "Mistress, please wake up. Mistress!"

The Doctor chuckled to himself, but not too loudly.

Unfortunately, K-9 heard him.

"Master." The dog said, as if he almost sounded annoyed. "I can detect that you are no longer in REM sleep. I know you are awake, Master." He still tried to move his neck, but it seemed like her grip tightened. "Can you reawaken Lucy, Master?"

The conversation between the Doctor and K-9 would eventually cause Lucy's eyes to flicker open in a lazing manner, lifting her upper body enough so that the passive grip on the robotronic's body was more comfortable.

"Mhnnnn," the horned one eyes, glancing around for a moment before noticing poor K-9's predicament, "—…Oh. Sorry," Lucy releases him, leaning back on her hands, half awake.

"Thank you, Mistress." K-9 said, raising and lowering his neck as he was resituating his servos. "My neck is still operational, thankfully. You did not grip too hard, Mistress."

The Doctor, stretching a bit, leaned on his hands as he looked at K-9. "Your servos can withstand 300 PSI of pressure, K-9." He said. "Stop complaining."

K-9, however, did something that the Doctor didn't hear him do before. K-9 growled.

Taken by a bit of surprise, the Doctor took initiative. "K-9, behave!" He said. "Behave, or you're going back into the TARDIS."

After a bit of silence, the dog lowered its head. "I will comply, Master." He said.

"Good boy!" Looking over to the Diclonius, he brought Lucy into a side hug, drawing the horned girl closer to him. "Good morning, Lucy." He said.

Instinctively, a hand reaches up and pets at the metallic head of K-9's body, as one would with any sort of canine when they are upset. "My vectors are strong, my body, not so much. I doubt that any sort of pressure that I could apply natural would damage you…"

As the Diclonius began to wake up, a more organic dog would make it's appearance; Wanta's tiny body could be seen at the doorway, barking and trotting into the room.

"Arf!" His first object of interest was the Doctor's long scarf, tossed aside on the ground nearby.

"Wanta…" Lucy speaks up, "That isn't yours."

The Doctor picked himself up and walked over to his scarf that was drooped over the chair with his coat. He picked up the end and flopped it over on the desk, to where Wanta wouldn't tear at it.

"Sorry, Wanta." He said. "That's not a dog's toy."

The tiny dog whined, jumping and trying to reach the fascinating scarf that rested captive on the table, pacing for a while before going over to K-9. Wanta was not satisfied with his inspections yesterday, and wished to meet his new canine friend once more.

"Rrrrrr— arf!" Wanta practically leaps due to barking with such excitement.

K-9 rolled over to Wanta, as the pup continued to bark and leap about. "You are still overexcited." K-9 bluntly stated. "I do not understand why you wish to cause trouble."

Wanta could only continue to bark as K-9 just sat there. "Master? Would this be what humans call 'annoying'?"

"What, you don't like Wanta, K-9?" The Doctor asked.

"Negative. I do not mind Wanta's appearance. However..." K-9 backed away. "I only wish that he would stop barking. He is overexcited and does not wish to stop."

"Wanta!" The Doctor called, scooping up the pup and petting his head. "Wanta, you know K-9 doesn't bark back. Why don't you find Mayu? I'm sure she must be waking up by now." He opened the door and let the pup down.

"It's alright. Off you go now."

Lucy couldn't help but smirk in amusement, watching Wanta squirm in the Time Lord's arms, "You would behave just the same if you were not a robot, K-9."

"Negative. I would act more civil than that of a normal canine, Mistress."

Lucy chuckled. "In fact… That would be interesting to see. Don't you agree, Doctor?"

The Doctor laughed a bit. "That would be interesting, Lucy." He said as Wanta scampered off. He turned to face K-9. "Haven't you often wondered what it would be like to be a real dog, K-9?"

"Negative. I am comfortable with my current state, thank you."

The Diclonius rises to her feet, running a hand through pink locks before deducting that a trip to the bathroom would be necessary.

"The day room is just down the hall… Everyone else should be there, if you wish to see the rest of them," Lucy points out, stepping out of the room and to the left, the opposite direction of where the Doctor was expected to go. "I will be right out."

The Doctor peeked out of the room when he saw Lucy walk down the hall. "Alright. Try not to take too long." He then walked down the hall into the day room, and could see Mayu and Nana in front of the television, watching a rerun of a show called Takeshi's Castle.

"Good morning!" The Doctor called to the girls. "How are you two?"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, THE BOULDER IS GOING TO CRUSH YOU!"

Nana sat on her knees, flailing her prosthetic arms in the air as contestants on the game show did their best to avoid getting hit by a boulder rolling down the hill of an obstacle. As the young silpelit flailed, Mayu was equally excited, long abandoning her breakfast in order to pay attention, not even aware that the Doctor had walked in.

"I DON'T THINK HE'S GONNA MAKE IT NANA!"

The two youths found this particular show to be very entertaining, and often bonded over these sorts of programs— Nana once voiced that she would want to try one of these games, but felt it would be an unfair advantage, due to having access to vectors.

The Doctor flashed a toothy grin and sat in between Nana and Mayu, watching the interesting game show. He remembered very briefly watching this show in the TARDIS from another planet, due to it being in the archives. It amused him greatly how people would willingly make fools of themselves in situations like this.

Nevertheless, it was entertaining. Especially when watching it with two excited young children.

The Doctor flinched, when he saw the contestant get crushed by the polystyrene boulder, and roll down the hill as more boulders were thrown. The poor fellow ended up getting sandwiched by two of them when he reached the bottom.

"Dear goodness, that must have hurt..." He said to himself.

"I bet you'd be really good on one of these shows, Mr. Doctor!" Nana had still not engraved the name 'Doctor' in her head, and felt the need to use the extra title, "As long as you don't get your scarf stuff on a ledge! You might lose your head…—-" The little pinkette sat there, horrified at her own words.

"N-NO, NEVER MIND! THAT'S A BAD IDEA, NANA!" Both hands covered her mouth in an instant, blushing with embarrassment.

The Doctor laughed at Nana's comment. "I'd love to compete in a show like this if given the chance." He said. "Though, I prefer my head on my shoulders, thank you. I rather like it where it is right now."

The three could see another contestant sprinting up the hill, trying to get into one of the safety crevices. It looked like one of the men inside the crevice was trying to push him out.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "Let the poor chap in!" The boulder started to roll down as he started to run back up.

"You're foolish, man! You haven't got a chance-" The man jumped on the edge of the canal and was able to barely avoid it. "-yes you have!" The Doctor found himself cheering. "Good swerve there!"

"He barely made that!" Mayu shouts out in surprise, inching closer to the television set, as if the contestants would be able to hear her if she were nearer. "I can't believe how people can do these kinds of things!"

A voice calls out from down the hall, "Mayu, Nana! Do you want more toast?" The obvious, motherly tone of Yuka was easily recognized before the brunette made an appearance in the living room, carrying a plate of breakfast of her own. A light grin is offered in the direction of the Time Lord once mother hen notices him.

"Good morning, Doctor! do you want anything to eat? I can make you something quickly."

How strange— a complete turn around of attitude. Perhaps it was all thanks to a good night's rest.

The Doctor turned to the calling voice, and saw that Yuka was up and about, making breakfast. He flashed a toothy grin to the mother hen.

"Good morning, Yuka!" The Doctor said, cheerfully. "I am a bit peckish. I hope you don't mind if I ask for some breakfast?"

"Go right ahead! Have you ever had Tamago gohan? Or mmhh— no, you probably just want a western style breakfast, am I right on that?"

Not everybody was welcoming towards raw egg on rice, after all.

"If it's not too much to ask, I wouldn't mind a couple of fried eggs with toast and hash browns." The Doctor said, chipper that Yuka was willing to make an English breakfast. "I don't suppose you have any marmalade as well?"

"We have some in the cabinet, I can make the eggs and— erhhmm, I'm not too sure what a hash brown is, or how I would go about making that…" the mother hen regrettably admits. SHE? YUKA? NOT KNOWING SOMETHING? How embarrassing.

"Oh, that's alright." The Doctor said. "You can skip the hash browns. Some fried eggs and toast will do nicely, thank you!"

Mayu couldn't help but overhear the conversation that was going on, "Oh, Miss. Yuka, I think he's talking about pan fried potatoes! I'll help you in the kitchen!"

Immediately, Yuka sighs in relief, "Oh, thank you. You'll get extra allowance for that," she promises, turning and leaving the room with Mayu in tow, right back to the kitchen.

"You don't like eggs and rice?" Nana asks curiously.

"I actually don't mind eggs and rice, Nana." The Doctor said to the young Diclonius. "It's just been a long while since I've had a good English breakfast. Long travels across the cosmos will make you miss simple meals like that."

Some time went by as the Doctor and Nana watched a bit more of Takeshi's Castle before it went to commercial break. As the adverts played, the Doctor peered in the hallway.

"Nana?" he said. "Do you know if Kouta is awake right now?"

Wide magenta eyes look over, her position not shifting as she nibbled lightly on the crust of her toast, "Kouta? I saw him in the house when I first woke up, I haven't seen him since though, mmmhhhh— he might have gone outside!"

As Nana's thought was wrapped out, the elder Diclonius entered the room after running a brush through her messy bed head.

"I smell food…" Lucy speaks, just before yawning.

After a bit more of Takeshi's Castle, it wasn't long until the familiar cry rang through the Maple Inn.

"Breakfast is ready!" Yuka cried. She went over to the front door and found Kouta standing in the yard, enjoying the cool, morning breeze.

"Hey, Kouta!" Yuka called. "Are you going to stand there all morning or are you going to eat? Breakfast is ready!"

Kouta turned and saw his cousin. "...Right." He nodded. "I'll be right there."

Nana and the Doctor walked over to the kitchen, but the Doctor stopped short and saw Lucy walking down the hall. He stopped her short, and signed her to stay put, with a wink. Lucy couldn't help but feel as if he had something up his sleeve.

What is he up to now…?

The Doctor would soon join the rest of the Maple Inn Family at the table for breakfast. "That smells wonderful!" He said.

A heavy sensation of tension grew in the pit of Lucy's stomach, just now realizing that her atonement was not completely done and over with. While she had been accepted by Kouta, there was still the rest of the family that she would have to appeal to.

There was Mayu, who had witnessed the beast's brutality first hand…

And of course, Nana, who was now limited to prosthetic limbs in order to live day to day life.

Yuka had narrowly avoided being the third victim of a family massacre all of those years ago, thanks to Kouta breaking through the hazing control of the Diclonius Instinct.

"This is not going to be good…"

"Wash your hands first! They're filthy and I don't want dirt on my nice plates!" Yuka scolds her cousin, making damn sure that her hard work would not be tainted by grime.

"I know, I know," Kouta speaks, rolling his eyes when he was certain that the brunette could not see him— he catches a glance of the Doctor, recalling the previous night's events.

"—Did you sleep okay?" He questions the Time Lord, wanting to know if he was the only one who did not enjoy a night's rest.

The Doctor couldn't help but form a warm smile at Kouta. "Fantastic, actually." He said. "Felt right as rain last night."

He then glances to Yuka. "And what did I say about scolding your cousin, Yuka?" He asked, reminding her of her temper getting out of hand from the night before.

Almost immediately, Yuka sighs and bites her tongue, not wanting to stir any trouble THIS early in the morning— for now, at least, "Sorry Kouta, just make sure that your hands are clean."

Kouta enjoyed the small moment of victory, mouthing 'thank you' towards the Doctor as his cousin went about pouring tea for everybody.

"Good to hear YOU slept well. Somebody in this house needed to," the college boy mentions.

"I think we all needed to." The Doctor said. "But I think a good breakfast is what we need now. You lot need to keep up your strength. After all, you all seem to work yourselves to the bone quite a bit." He looked at Yuka, raising his eyebrows as if to convey a meaning. He flashed a toothy grin though, to show that he still enjoyed Yuka making a fantastic meal.

"I hope the hash browns weren't too difficult, Yuka." He said. "Was Mayu a big help to you? I didn't expect her to know how to cook as well..."

"Mayu is a lovely cook! Everybody here cooks and helps with the meals, since we are such a large family. It also teaches them the importance of tidiness," Yuka began to preach, rather proud of both Mayu AND Nana's skills, "every young Japanese woman learns how to cook!"

"Oh stop that! I'm just a decent cook," as Mayu took a bashful drink for her cup, something dawned upon her, before asking—

"Hey, Doctor? Where's Nyu?"

Nana blinked, looking around, "I thought she was coming in at the same time as us?"

Yuka raises a brow, hand on her hip, calling out again for Nyu to hear, "Nyu! We're all in the kitchen, come an eat with us too!"

Just as the Doctor was about to dig in, they called for the Diclonius. However... they're calling for the wrong one.

It looks like it was time to set the record straight.

"...About Nyu, Yuka." The Doctor said, setting down his fork. "Nyu will not be joining us for breakfast this morning."

Yuka raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Doctor? Of course she's going to join us!"

"No. She's not." The Time Lord's voice took a serious tone. "A good lot of you have known my friend as Nyu. The sweet, child-like personality that mostly speaks her own name as a verbal tic. I know her as something else, and someone that I think a lot of you don't really get along with."

Yuka furrowed her eyebrows. "Doctor, what the hell are you getting at?"

He smiled. "There's someone else other than Nyu that I'd like you to meet, Yuka. My dear friend, Lucy."

The Doctor turned to the entry way. "Lucy! Come down and join us for breakfast!"

A few steps are taken, one, two—three? No, there was not a third. Lucy could feel her entire upper body clam up, eyes narrowing, pulse rising, breathe growing rapid. All of the mental preparation that had been racing through her mind just moments before in front of the restroom mirror seemed to be null; the moment that Yuka realized who she was—- the moment that Mayu understood—no, no no no no no—this was a bad idea.

And yet, Lucy did not want to let her new mentor down. The Doctor had been pumping energy into the Diclonius for days now, preparing her to face the family that she had been so terrified of revealing herself to.

She stands at the doorway, hair covering a good portion of her face before Lucy raised her chin, staring at everybody, and finally opening her mouth.

"…It's nice to finally meet you… Without having to look from the inside out."

Yuka's expression shifted from confused, to downright uncomfortable. The small cup of soy sauce in her hand would be placed down, staring into the beast's eyes, as if she had just come face to face with a phantom.

"Nyu…? Why are you acting so strange?"

"She's not acting strange, Yuka." The Doctor said. "This is not Nyu. This is someone that I've met a few days ago. Someone so removed from society, because they saw her only as a monster. This girl's name... is Lucy."

The Doctor looked at Lucy as he continued to speak. "Nyu is a personality, also known as an alter. She was formed from blunt force trauma to Lucy's brain, making her a multiple. When you met her, that was the person that you were familiar with. Lucy, here... is the dominant personality. You never met the main pilot behind this vessel."

He turned back to face Yuka. "I'm hoping that you will accept her just as you've accepted Nana and Mayu, even Nyu and myself."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Yuka gave Lucy a strange look, as if she had seen the eyes of this girl before. The manner in which the Doctor spoke was almost as if it was a warning of sorts. In fact, the gleam that came from those reddened eyes left the brunette very unnerved.

"Is there a reason why I wouldn't want her here?"

Lucy's frown was much more apparent. These people really didn't know who she was… Only Kouta knew the full story. Even though Yuka knew what happened to Kouta's family, she wasn't aware that she was in the presence of the one who ended it all.

For starters, Kouta's cousin had been aware of the true fate of both Kanae and her uncle; Kanae never fell ill, and her uncle was not killed in a car accident—it had been, in fact, a murder, one that occurred just an hour after the Kamakura festival. The murder was a very sore subject between the family members, and was never brought up among the others. However, Yuka heard about it, and was told to never bring it up around Kouta. And even though she knew the truth, the face of the murderer had never been revealed.

Now—the culprit stood there, face to face with her.

The entire time, Kouta had been holding his breath, before allowing it out in a shaky sigh.

"There's something I need to tell you guys."

The Doctor snapped his eyes over to Kouta. Something came to mind.

...Of course! They never knew that Lucy was the murderer of Kouta's family! He didn't think Yuka actually knew of Kouta's family being killed, but if they didn't know Lucy was the cause of it...

Concern took over the Doctor. "Kouta, are you sure you're ready to bring it up?" He asked. "I don't want to be the one that pushed you to do this. I can tell the story, if you'd like-"

Kouta's dialogue practically stepped right on the foot of the Doctor's sentence as it was wrapping up, nearly cutting him off.

"This is my responsibility." he states firmly, standing in order to look at Yuka as he spoke, "Yuka… This girl—this is the girl from my childhood. The one that I snuck out of the house for a week to visit; she's also the one who—" his voice trails, turning his head enough to take a look at the Diclonius looming in the doorway.

"…She's also the one who killed my father, and Kanae." Kouta speaks gravely, suddenly losing the confidence that was in his voice, though he made a fair attempt to pick it back up—but not before Yuka's shrill tone butts in.

"EXCUSE ME?!" The young woman drops her saucer of soy sauce, staring at Lucy with an amount of disgusted that had never been witnessed on Yuka's face. Mayu and Nana sit awkwardly at the table, choosing not to open their mouths, rather, they listened timidly.

"YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I'VE BEEN NURTURING AND HOUSING THE ONE THAT RUINED YOUR LIFE THIS ENTIRE TIME, AND YOU HAVEN'T TOLD ME?!"

Lucy's eyes narrowed, backing off a half of a step, lowering her head somewhat and remaining silent.

"Yuka!" The Doctor shouted, standing up himself. "Get off of Kouta's back!"

The Mother Hen shot a glare at the Doctor. "And you! HOW DARE YOU BRING A MURDERER INTO MY HOUSE! For all I know, she could have-"

"I WOULD NEVER BRING A MURDERER INTO YOUR HOUSE, YUKA." The Doctor's deep voice rose in tone. "Do you honestly believe if Lucy were still committing atrocities, that I would bring her in here? Let me tell you something, my dear. She has not laid a finger on anyone since she met me. Put that into perspective."

He looked back at Lucy and warmly smiled at her, letting her know that he had her back. "Lucy, while I don't doubt has done terrible things in the past, I've seen in just these past few days, that she's done so out of fear." The Time Lord looked back at Yuka and pointed to Lucy. "Look at her! If you were in her position, what would you do if everyone saw you as nothing more than a monster? Someone who is merely different? You wouldn't know how to handle yourself would you?"

His finger then led to Kouta. "And give this matter a bit of thought. Why do you think Kouta has not stood up to you and your brashness?" He looked at Kouta with concern, knowing he was going to hate what he'd say. "Why he's become so passive to your attitude as of late?"

The Doctor's voice then turned into a hushed tone. "Do you honestly believe that he would have told you upfront? You should know your cousin better than that, rather than berate him as if he were your own pincushion!"

"I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE CONDONING AND PROTECTING A MURDERER!" Yuka practically fumed, trembling where she stood, her eyes never leaving the doorway, "You think we can just accept an APOLOGY?! An apology doesn't bring back my uncle and my cousin! An apology doesn't make up for the fact that Kouta's life was COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY RUINED! All because this PSYCHO had it out for my family! It isn't a matter of understanding, a murderer is a murderer!"

She began to walk in Lucy's direction before the beast opened her mouth for a few words of her own.

"If you were present last night," she hisses in disdain, "then you would have heard that I wasn't asking for anybody's damned forgiveness… I sure as hell do not need you to tell me what I've done wrong; I know very well what I've done!"

"Shut up!" Yuka shouted. "Once I get the whole story of why you killed my family, I want you to leave."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Yuka, listen to-"

"NO, YOU LISTEN. I don't EVER want to see you in this house! You're a killer, and I will NEVER welcome a killer here!"

Kouta, starting to sheath with anger, tried to speak up during Yuka's rage. "Yuka, please!"

An unappreciative exhale from the nurturer, "Kouta. I want an explanation. I want the whole story! I've been kept in the dark about what happened that night my entire life! How does Nyu—Lucy, whatever her name is, have anything to do with it?!"

The boy speaks up just as promptly, "If you CALMED DOWN, I would be able to TELL YOU!"

Kouta just raised his voice for the first time towards the dominant woman, and instantly, Yuka retreated, standing there and listening.

The Doctor walked over to Yuka as she was stunned by Kouta's retort. Standing tall over her, he looked at her straight in the eye.

"I'm going to make this abundantly clear to you, Yuka." He said. "I do not condone anything Lucy had done. I don't condone the fact that she killed numerous people in the past, nor do I condone her misanthropic behavior she's had for so long." He brought his voice to a low whisper. "I never befriend murderers unless they were willing to change for the better. Don't ever get that twisted."

The Doctor then brought a finger to Yuka's face. "And don't you dare call Lucy a psycho. She is my friend, and no one... no one... insults my friends."

The Time Lord then wondered over to Kouta, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Now if you'd be so kindly to calm down and be quiet, I think Kouta now has the floor." He pat the boy, bringing his tone into a warmer disposition.

"Whenever you're ready, Kouta."

"—Erhm, thank you, Doctor." Kouta cleared his throat, almost ashamed of the fact that he has raised his voice in such a manner—but, it was necessary for the moment. He had been stepped on by Yuka for as long as he could remember, and he'd be damned before allowing her to ruin what could possibly by the pinnacle turning point of his life. Losing the opportunity to patch up the wounds of the past with the one who caused it would be foolish.

"It's hard to explain, and, I can't pretend as if I understand her, but I know Lucy has no intentions of causing any kind of trouble here. Apparently she ran away because she felt as if she wasn't welcome—hell, I didn't even want to accept her apology…" Kouta steals a quick glance at the Diclonius before continuing, "So if you can't allow her to be here, then..." He gulped. "...Then I guess I won't stay either."

Lucy's harsh eyes softened, and then widened.

"Kouta…?" Yuka asked. "What are you saying...?"

"You heard me, Yuka." Kouta said. "I'm not going to stay here if you're going to kick Lucy out onto the street."

The boy moved from where he was standing, going over and placing a firm hand on Lucy's shoulder, "If you don't want her to be in this house, then you have to kick me out as well!"

Yuka sputters, "Kouta! You're being ridiculous!"

That was her thought, until Mayu stood up as well, bravely going over to the doorway to join the duo, "Me too! Can't you see Yuka? Lucy just wants to be our friend!"

Finally, Nana stands up as well, shyly joining for the sake of staying by her best friend's side, "She's done a lot of bad things—b-but, don't we all deserve a second chance?"

The beast stood there dumbfounded, overwhelmed with the response that the rest of the house had given, "You guys…"

The Doctor couldn't help but smile at the turn of events, as everyone else except Yuka showed support for Lucy. The Time Lord walked over and joined the group, surrounding the Diclonius. Turning to face the mother of the Maple Inn, he stood tall with the rest of the group.

"If you don't want Lucy here, then I'll leave as well. There's plenty of room in my Police Box for everyone here, and if you can't accept Lucy for who she is now, then we won't bother coming back."

"What?! You guys can't all live in a phone box! It's—It's a PHONE BOX!" Yuka threw a fit, a hand against her forehead, complaining and sputtering. What nonsense! "That's beside the point! I just..." When she lowered her hand and looked at the rest of the family standing there without any sign of budging, all in support of that killer...

"… I don't get it." she speaks up, an expression of defeat, "Why am I always the bad guy? I just want to be sure that everybody is safe and sound, that's all I've tried to do! And now you guys are angry at me for trying to do that?"

Lucy sighed, taking a glance at everybody for a moment.

"Yuka, trust me… If my intentions were cruel, you wouldn't be standing there and speaking right now." Blunt, just like she had to hear it. Lucy looked to the crowd surrounding her. "I don't want you guys to leave this place if I'm not welcome… You can obviously tell how concerned she is for all of you…"

The maternal figure huffs under her breath, red face, embarrassed, arms crossed, rethinking her decision.

The Doctor sighed. "Yuka." He said, going over to the mother hen as she crossed her arms looking at the side. The Time Lord put a hand on her shoulder. "Yuka, look at me. Please."

Yuka, with a bit of reluctance, looked up at the Doctor. His look had now softened as he saw what her face was reading. She really did have motherly instincts.

"I can understand you're concerned for everybody. Really, I can. If I were in your position, I'd want everyone safe from harm myself." He then put both hands on her shoulders. "But you must understand. Lucy isn't here to cause you lot anymore pain. She's realized that what she did all those years ago was wrong. She knows that."

"All she's ever wanted was to be welcome by someone. Until a few days ago, when I met her, she didn't have anybody. Society caste her aside, and she was left with nothing but pain, anger, and frustration. She never thought you all would welcome her with open arms. That was why I brought her back here."

Yuka blinked as she listened to the Doctor. He seemed serious about Lucy. But why...? She's a killer!

"Do you remember when Lucy was screaming when you two walked in yesterday, and Nyu emerged?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"When I saw that Lucy was gone, I was sad. I honestly thought it was a mistake coming here, because I thought that you all would not welcome her, but only welcome Nyu. Nyu is sweet, don't get me wrong, but I don't know her well. Lucy is the one I found, and whom I befriended. So when she vanished, I couldn't help but feel that this may have been all for naught."

He glanced down, as he was feeling his emotions take over him. He sniffed. "And, now that I've properly introduced Lucy to you, hoping to at least help rekindle whatever is left of a connection she's had here, you're set on kicking her out. Excommunicating her from what was once her home, when she had no one else to turn to before I crossed her path."

"Please, Yuka." The Doctor pleaded. "Don't force Lucy out. She deserves so much happiness, and she deserves it with all of you. Don't ruin her chance to change for the better."

Hues of almond soften and lid in thought, her head turning off to the side once more when she was through with speaking directly to the Doctor.

Everything about this very moment counteracted the morals that Yuka had grown up on—she recalled her mother, an extremely firm but pious young woman, who had children herself at the young age of twenty. It was a snug and comfortably family; Yuka was an only child, and therefor relished all of the attention that a mother and father could give their offspring. And yet, there as an unfulfilled void within the girl's heart… The need to protect and nurture somebody younger than her.

"Mama—why don't I have a younger brother or sister?"

This question had been asked many times throughout young Yuka's childhood; her mother would simply sigh and chuckle under her breath.

"Because, little blossom," a loving moniker related to her name's meaning, "we are happy with what we have."

A hand would reach out—only one, due to the other usually cradling a laundry basket or a wash cloth—to pat at the youthful Yuka's head. It was the same answer every time. Instead, every birthday, little Yuka would be given baby dolls and accessories to play with. Such an endearing sight, her bedroom was.

"I'll be a great grown up—just like my mama!"

From that point on, the little blossom would be seen helping with dinner, cleaning dishes, moping the floor, and tending to the small family garden with her mother—allowing herself to be groomed to become the perfect housewife for a very luck young man in the future.

Truth be told, Yuka shared the same maternal instincts of her mother, and boy did it ever show.

Don't ruin her chance to change for the better!

Staring on ahead at the rest of the family, Yuka rubs her eyes gently, standing there and wondering… What would mama say?

"—Even monkeys fall from trees, I suppose." she eventually sighs, allowing her arms to fall, hands folding neatly in front of her, "What kind of mother would I be if I forced Lucy out…?"

The Diclonius glanced forward, her head perking as if an 'all clear' had been signaled, "Yuka-san… I am so sorry." she speaks just above a whisper, stepping forward and bowing in a respectful manner, continuing to speak with her head down, "I'm sorry for all of the pain that I have put you and your family through—I mean it from the bottom of my heart…"

The Doctor looked between Yuka and Lucy as they both tried to kindle a connection. They were getting there, but they had to go through baby steps. After all, this is the first time Yuka has learned of the murders she committed.

"Do you see what I mean, Yuka?" The Doctor asked. "Lucy only wants to belong here. She really is sorry for what she's done. I know it'll take some getting used to. In fact, I know it won't be easy, either. But I know you don't have it within yourself to throw out someone who doesn't have anything."

Yuka looked at the Time Lord. "What about you, Doctor?" She asked. "You said you took her in. Can you not?"

"Oh, I can, if I really wanted to." He said. "But she belongs here. If she wanted to stay behind for whatever reason, I feel that here would be a much better option than anywhere else. Aside from the lot of us, she doesn't have a lot of friends."

The Time Lord glanced at Lucy. "She and Kouta had already made peace last night, too. If Kouta can at least attempt to help make things better, I know you can too, Yuka." He said, looking back at the maternal figure. "I want Lucy to be happy, nothing else. I don't want anymore pain thrust upon her. She's had enough. I'm sure even you don't wish that on anyone."

"I-I don't have the heart to put somebody through actual pain—I mean, yeah, I'm really brash and pushy, I know that much. And sometimes my attitude is sorta… Bad," Yuka grumbles, rubbing the back of her neck. Of course, Kouta would feel the need to put his two-cents in, snickering.

"Sorta bad?"

Yuka's face lights up red, huffing sharply, "Kouta! This is a nice moment, you're supposed to support me and say otherwise!" The mother hen grumbles under her breath again, covering both rosy cheeks of her own.

With a cheerful laugh, Kouta walks over his cousin's side, giving her a hug, "C'mon Yuka, you know I'm joking with you!"

As the rest of Maple Inn's family began to come down from the stress of the situation, Lucy's feet pace over to the table, lowering herself to her knees in front of the set table, "…I'm more hungry than I thought I was," she murmurs, finally able to eat now that her nerves were beginning to settle.

"I think we all are after this little ordeal." The Doctor said, sitting back down at the table next to Lucy. He poked his breakfast with his finger. "My fried eggs are starting to get cold. What say we all have a nice sit down and eat? I think you all should get to know Lucy!"

The rest of the family then sat back down as the Doctor waved them over to the table. Taking their places, they started to eat as they began to make conversation and have a laugh or two.

Things were going well, for once! Lucy had a ways to go, but at least Yuka is helping to integrate her into the family. The Doctor couldn't help but swell with joy as he looked at Lucy making conversation without the need to clam up.

"Itadakimasu!"

A proper opening for a proper breakfast, everyone returned to the table. While the Doctor opted to eat a classic English breakfast, the rest of the Maple Inn family ate what was normally prepared day in and day out; eggs and rice with soy sauce, leftover salmon from a previous meal—and putrid Natto that only Kouta seemed to enjoy.

Nana decided to speak up, asking a burning question, "Yuka! Are we still going to the beach? Or were you just joking yesterday?" The little silpelit barely had her chopsticks out of her mouth, wide eyes staring over at the maternal figure.

"I don't see why not!" Yuka chirps, putting her cup of tea down, "Just as long as Lucy uses sunscreen. No offense, but even when you were Nyu, I was concerned that your skin would burn the moment you stepped outside."

With an awkward expression, Lucy swallowed a morsel of food before replying, "…You were observing my skin?"

"Your skin is rather pale, Lucy." The Doctor said, taking a chunk of hash brown into his mouth. "I'm quite surprised you haven't burned yourself."

The Time Lord then turned to Nana. "Unfortunately, Lucy and I may need to opt out of going to the beach with you all." He said. "We've got things to do, and places to go ourselves. Besides, I was hoping to explore the urban areas of Kamakura myself." He turned to Lucy and smiled. "What do you say, Lucy?"

A smile appears on Lucy's features, pausing as her chopsticks had been reaching out to grab another bite of rice, "I would not mind that—Kamakura is a quaint city. I'm sure you would appreciate it more than I had. Truth be told, I've never paid much attention to the small details, so the trip would be new to me as well."

Nana's wide eyes blinked a few times, pouting, "You're not gonna come to the beach with us?" The little silpelit bit at her chopsticks a little, "—Is it because you're afraid of water? Or is it the people"?

Passively, the Diclonius speaks up a little, "It's summer, there's more than one opportunity for us to join you at Enoshima. The Doctor and I simply have things that must be taken care of." Lucy picked at her bowl of eggs and rice, reaching with a vector to grab at the soy sauce, "I promise."

"Don't be sad, Nana!" The Doctor said. "Believe you me, I would love nothing more than to enjoy a nice day at the beach with you and everyone else. But, there's just so much I've yet to see. So, you can understand why I want to explore a bit more before doing some 'family activities'. One day, we'll join you, though."

Nana pointed at the Doctor. "You better! Lucy-sama promised!"

The Doctor scrunched his eyes. "Why would you do that, Lucy...?"

"I didn't see a problem in making a promise," Lucy responded honestly, sipping at her tea, "Besides, it's a nice view at the beach. You would enjoy it."

As the family were enjoying the rest of their breakfast, K-9 decided to roll into the dining area and join the rest of the family.

"Master?" The dog asked. "I overheard we are to be leaving. How soon are we departing?"

"Not quite yet, K-9." The Doctor said. "There's still a few things that we need to do here first." He glanced over to Yuka before forming a mischievous grin. "...Like show Yuka here the inside of my Police Box."

Ah. Here we go again. The Doctor was talking ecstatically about that damned blue box again.

In an instant, Yuka sighed, wagging her chopsticks a little as she spoke, rather unamused, "I still don't get why you are so excited about that police box. Sure, it's just been installed on the street, but for whatever reason or another, you think it's some sort of hide out! Honestly, it's juvenile," she mentioned, taking a hearty bite of scrambled egg.

"Nuh uh!" Nana pipes up, "It isn't just a police box! It's a ta—TART! It's a magic TART!" Little Nana could not recall what the name of the TARDIS was, and therefor, swapped it with what she could remember.

The Doctor could only chuckle as Nana tried her very best to say TARDIS. "Nana, you're very close, but that's not what it's called."

"Then what else do you call it, Doctor?" Yuka asked. "Your secret fort?"

"Oh, nothing so juvenile." He said. "I call it my home. Why did you think I was so quick to decide to sleep in it yesterday when we had that spat?"

Yuka raised an eyebrow. "Doctor, you're seriously the strangest person I've ever met." She then started to laugh a bit. "I didn't think I would know anyone that would call a phone box their house!"

The Doctor widened his eyes. "...Why are you laughing, Yuka?" He asked, almost sounding hurt by her poking fun at the Old Girl.

Her laughing suddenly slowed a bit before she saw that everyone was looking at her. "Wait, you really aren't serious, are you?" She asked.

"Have I ever laughed at the prospect of you living in a house like this? No. Why would you laugh at the notion that I live in a blue box?"

Truly puzzling. Was this some sort of prank? The entire family must have been in on whatever the Doctor was trying to do. Yuka was not upset; it was all in good-heartedness after all. She had pulled many jokes on Kouta in their childhood! Rolling her eyes with a passive chuckle, the mother hen finished a second bowl of rice, standing from the table.

"Oh well," she quips, "let's go ahead and look at your amazing police box." Sarcasm, of course.

Kouta took the moment to lean with his elbows on the table, which would otherwise be incredibly against the rules, "You're in for a surprise Yuka, let us know how it goes."

Once again, the cousin rolls her eyes with a groan, waving her hand, "Right, right, I'll be SURE to tell you all about how shocked I'll be. Let's go Doctor, let's go and look at your secret fort!" She took the liberty of leaving the room before him, trotting out the door and straight to the gated entrance of the Maple Inn, where the TARDIS sat, awaiting their presence.

In the meantime, those who remained inside whispered among themselves, creeping out of the dining room and to the doorway, looking outside in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Mayu giggled, and because of that, Nana did as well. And when the two children were making too much noise, the eldest Diclonius used two of her vectors to cover their mouths.

"Hush!"

With a bit of a huff, the Doctor stood from his spot on the table before taking another bite of his eggs, and followed Yuka where she stood next to the TARDIS. "You seem like you're quite sure of yourself that it's just a mere Police Box." The Doctor said, sliding the front door shut behind him.

"That's because it is!" Yuka said. "Now, show me the inside of this 'secret fort' that you love so much!"

The Doctor rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was no doubt annoyed by Yuka's taunting, but he started to chuckle to himself the more he thought about her reaction at the inside of the box.

Striding next to her, he slid his key into the lock of the door, and pushed it open. The Time Lord looked at Yuka, raising his eyebrows.

"Well?" He asked, jutting his head to the interior. "In you go, Yuka. Let's see what you think of my 'secret fort' now." The Doctor flashed a toothy grin the moment he finished that sentence.

Mothers were notorious for pretending to be excited and shocked about things that their children made up. That was their job, wasn't it? If a child builds a blanket fort and dubbed it as a castle, then damn right it's a castle! You cannot just break a little one's heart. Yuka would be no different.

"Alright, alright, I'm ready," she sighs, hands on her hips as the Doctor opened the door. She honestly expected some dusty books and a desk, maybe a comfortable seat and some pictures pinned to the walls—hopefully a fan. The summer heat was unbearable in closed spaces. Yuka bowed her head something, slipping past the door. To even add to the pretend excitement that was to come, the mother hen had closed her eyes!

And on the count of three, they'd be open—

"Oh wo— … OH…"

Her eyes had never widened to that width before, jaw dropping the very moment she saw the spacious insides of the Doctor's TARDIS—she was SO shocked, that Yuka closed her eyes, rubbed them a few times, and them opened them up! As if it was a dream!

"…WHHAAAA?!" IMPOSSIBLE!

The Doctor slipped into the TARDIS while Yuka was enamored by the interior. Needless to say, like Kouta, her expectations were wildly underestimated. He walked past her stood next to the console. Yuka's mouth was still agape, as if her jaw had dropped to the floor.

"I...- How-... Doctor!?"

"I probably should have mentioned." The Doctor said. "This isn't merely a Police Box. This is a ship that can travel anywhere in space..." His eyes widened. "and time."

The Time Lord outstretched his arms to the sides. "Yuka," He said. "welcome to the TARDIS."

"SPACE and TIME? You're meaning to tell me that every single bit of science fiction that my dorky cousin used to read as a kid—is ACTUALLY true?!" Oh man. Both hands held the sides of Yuka's head as she stood up straight, fluttering around the control room, taking glances at everything nearby.

Kouta had always been an imaginative boy. In his closet as a boy were several shoeboxes full of comic books and science fiction novels. How he adored to read in his youth! Though, these days, he preferred television over the written word.

"THIS IS—I'M—I'm not even sure what to say!" Her words stammer out, absolutely starstruck.

"You could always say that it's bigger on the inside." The Doctor said, still smiling widely like a mad man. "Everyone else does."

Yuka could only nod in a dumbfounded fashion. "...Yeah. It is! It is bigger on the inside! How..." She put a palm to her forehead. "This is crazy!"

"Kouta and the others thought the same thing. Even Lucy." The Doctor said. "And you seemed so sure that it was just a mere 'secret fort'." He waved a finger. "You should know better than to treat me as a child who only has but a wild imagination."

While the Doctor said it with best intentions, he was conveying a meaning. After all, Yuka seemed to take a lot of things at merely face value, and judge things before everything is clearly explained. At times, she came off as very condescending, even towards Kouta. If the way she always berated him was like that of an overprotective mother, who at the same time exhibited traits like that of a jealous teenaged female, then he could only shudder as to how in the world Kouta even put up with his cousin, despite the pain he had gone through over the years.

Even though he was enjoying Yuka's child-like awe of the TARDIS, he saw this as an opportunity. He'd have to have a heart to heart talk with Yuka about her attitude.

It turned out that the little blossom had to swallow her own words. She could only imagine what Lucy had experienced within these walls—what wonders had been witnessed. The types of people. The memories—did the Diclonius have her own room? Where did the Doctor and his robotic companion reside? OH! She had a medley of questions!

This had turned into an opportune time for the Doctor and Yuka to sit down and have an honest conversation about the house-wife-to-be's attitude and overall personality when it came to Kouta. The air could be cleared, and the family, at peace—-

Yuka, on the other hand, had different plans. Sure enough, the others were right; but how often would the family be able to experience technology outside of humanity normality? More than likely never again.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Nana was scuttling up to the TARDIS. "Heh heh! I wonder how Yuka-san is acting? She's probably fallen on her butt in surprise!"

Mayu was equally amused and curious, following behind her best friend, "Yuka! Are you in there? Can you hear us!?"

With an excited grin, Yuka turns heel, "You guys GOTTA come in!" She dashes forward, prepared to open the door and let everybody in without any hesitation! An arm extends—-!

Only to be denied, the double doors to the TARDIS close in front of her, locking shut—Yuka had not expected that. Neither did her body as it knocked against it's surface, falling backwards to the floor.

"UAH! H-hey!" She huffs, sitting up, "What was that for?! I just wanted to get everybody inside, how rude! Ugh," as she stood, Yuka's mind went to a rather strange place: could this be—could this be a KIDNAPPING? "—you BETTER NOT BE TRYING TO TAKE ME SOMEWHERE! I thought we were becoming friends, Doctor!" Her voice was frantic, stomping both feet like a toddler.

"We are becoming friends, Yuka." the Doctor said, taking his hand off of the door lever. "However, if you do wish to be my friend, there's going to have to be a few changes you'll need to make."

"Changes? What are you talking about?" Yuka asked.

With a sigh, the Doctor switched on the intercom system, as well as the view screen broadcasting his voice so the others outside could hear. He'd hate to deny Nana and Mayu another look inside, but this matter was far more pressing.

"You lot better head back inside." The Doctor said. "Yuka and I are going to be a while."

Nana looked at the door with concern. "Mr. Doctor? I-is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Nana." He said. "You and Mayu go talk with Lucy. I think she'll need some people to socialize with." The Time Lord smiled. "Why don't you lot play with Wanta?"

Nana smiled and nodded. "Okay! Don't take too long!" She and Mayu trotted off.

"And try to keep him away from K-9!" He said, before switching off the intercom and the viewscreen. "Now that we've got the peanut gallery out of here, I think it's time that we had a bit of a talk."

Yuka raised an eyebrow. "A talk? What do we have to talk about? Look, I'm sorry if I seemed harsh with Lucy earlier but-"

"It's not just that, Yuka. It's a lot of things." He walked over to Yuka on the other side of the console. "And they have to do with how you are acting."

The Doctor scratched the back of this head. "There's really no other way to say this. But we need to have a talk about your attitude, Yuka."

When was this going to be dropped? Seriously?! They had just gotten through an emotionally draining conversation. The family was at peace. And now here she was, about to get reamed and scolded as if she were a child! Yuka's shoulders pulled up sternly, taking a defensive pose.

"My ATTITUDE?" She scoffed, her neck and cheeks glowing with anger—just like a circus balloon. "How many times are you going to jump the gun and patronize me like this? I apologized to Lucy, I apologized to Kouta, I'm not going to suddenly become a sweet bun over night!" Yuka was not prepared to be submissive over this subject, and much like a bull, she was seeing red, flailing and moving her arms as she spoke.

"You have made it plain as day that you're not 'pleased' with the way I act," every syllable was clapped out with both hands, "what else do you have to say about it?!"

Oh if she could, she would smack him! Clear across the face! How rude!

"And I especially don't need somebody lecturing me like I am seven! I have a father already!"

As the Doctor expected, it wasn't going to go well. Yuka would no doubt shout in his ear like that of a child throwing a tantrum. He lacked patience a lot, and this was one of the many things that he didn't have a lot of patience for.

People who were blind and oblivious to their own problems, and blamed others for being blunt to them.

"Yes, Yuka. You've apologized to both Lucy and Kouta. But since you've said you're not going to be a 'sweet bun' overnight, then you're already telling me that you are going to make no effort in changing yourself."

"Well, what do you expect me to do!?" Yuka yelled. "I'm doing the best that I can!"

"No, Yuka! You're not!" The Doctor shouted back. "I only said we need to talk about your attitude, and you're already making me seem like the enemy! I only want to help you!"

Yuka marched up to him and got into his face. "I don't need your help!"

"LISTEN TO ME, YUKA!"

Yuka almost raised her hand to the Doctor, but held back with every ounce in her body. It took a lot of strength to hold back her anger so that she wouldn't show the Doctor her wrath.

Unfortunately, for her, the Doctor could see it plain as day.

"Do you want to hit me, Yuka?" He asked upfront. "Is that it? Will slapping me make you feel better? Will punching me in the jaw quell that rage you're feeling simply because I'm telling the truth?" He then ducked down to Yuka's level, making direct eye contact.

"Go on, then. Hit me." He said, pointing to his temple. "If it's going to make you feel any better, then make it a good one."

The Doctor did not even have to finish his sentence; Yuka's wrist flicked upwards, fingers balling into a fist, arm cranking backward—and!

PAM!

A fist connected with the side of the Time Lord's head, not too harshly, but enough to get her frustration and point across.

"AND THAT IS YOUR ENTIRE FAULT BECAUSE YOU ASKED FOR IT!" The mother hen huffed, her knuckles red and throbbing, stinging. If she were any worse, steam would be curling from Yuka's ears. Her other hand reaches over, pampering at the hand that had been used to assault the scarved man.

While it did get all of that pent up anger out of the woman's system, with a huff, she automatically felt bad. This man truly was trying to help her out, wasn't he? Maybe she—over reacted a little? Maybe just a little?

"Sure hope Yuka isn't getting too pissed in there," Kouta mentioned to himself, sitting out with Wanta and the girls by the doorstep, "I'd hate for her to get thrown into a wormhole." Nana's head tilts, looking over from playing fetch with the small dog, "Wormhole? I don't think Mr. Doctor would shove Yuka-san into a little worm's home! That's just silly." Shaking his head a little, Kouta sighs, "Not what I meant—but close enough." "If he can handle me," Lucy spoke up, arms crossed as she watched the silpelit play fetch back and forth with Wanta, "then he can handle Yuka. Yuka only has two arms…"

Arms crossed and tucked into themselves, looking up at the Time Lord with a pout on her lips, eyes flattened—maybe it was guilt, maybe it was a ticket to not get scolded too much. Who knew?

"—Didn't mean to hit you so hard," Yuka grumbled, like a child put in time out. He really did not deserve that.

The Doctor's eyes were still widened from the impact of Yuka's punch. Her strength surprised even him.

Yuka hit him HARD.

Squinting his eyes from the pain, he brought a hand over his temple, rubbing the impacted part. "Don't say that, Yuka." He said. "You did. I know you meant to hit me hard."

Yuka blinked. "Then why did you ask me to do it?" She asked.

"Because you would have anyway. Do you think I don't know how people like you act? Ow-!" The Doctor wished he still had his frock coat on him, otherwise he'd retrieve an ice pack from his pocket. He'll have to make due for now. "You're violent, brash, overbearing, and confrontational to the highest degree."

Yuka was just about to say something, but looked downward.

"You even said yourself that your attitude is 'sort of bad'. Your words, Yuka. Not mine."

How could Yuka argue against that? The Doctor had her cornered, and she couldn't escape out of it this time. Balling her fist, she ended up unclenching it, and sighed.

She was defeated. The Doctor was right. There was no use denying it. She kept her head lowered, guilt taking over in full effect.

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder. "Yuka. The way you behaved to Kouta last night. Has that been a normal thing between you and him?"

She nodded.

"How long was Kouta your punching bag?"

Punching bag was an understatement; Kouta had been dealing with Yuka's insecurity and overbearing personality since the age of one.

Yuka's mother and Kouta's father were cousins, and shared a same relationship with themselves as children. They were constantly at each other's necks; often times, the little blossom's mother would boss Kouta's father into submission, due to him being the younger one.

"A while," the mother hen sighed, taking her scolding with a grain of salt, now that her rage had been burnt out with the punch, "my parents never had a problem with it. And he was one of my only friends at the time. I thought all boys and girls were bossy to each other! At least, that is what my mother had told me."

Because of their second-cousin relationship, the two of them saw each other very often, and were incredibly close to one another despite their bickering. Kouta protected Yuka from anybody that tried to belittle her.

"I barely heard from Kouta since the day his two family members were killed… I guess old behavior doesn't just vanish. I behaved the same way that I had as a kid. And, really—I was angry at him for my own selfish reasons. His memory wasn't all that good because of the trauma, so he didn't recall a lot from our childhood after the incident. When Kouta came to live with me in Kamakura a year ago, that was the first time I had seen him since that day." Yuka frowned to herself, sighing, one hand pressed over her heart. "I used to be really possessive of him when he came to visit, because there were a lot of pretty girls that liked him a lot. And he's so nice, I just—I'm jealous…"

There was a new expression on Yuka's face, one that clearly showed her remorse.

"I love Kouta, Doctor. I've loved him since I was a kid! And the thought of him not loving me back is terrible!"

Who would have thought that Yuka's roots of abuse towards Kouta were similar to a child's emotions? Jealousy, selfishness, and possessiveness. He had to be fair, though. Human emotions, depending on the environment, were difficult to overcome and evolve from. It sounded like Yuka was no different.

"Kouta does care for you though, Yuka." The Doctor said. "And not just you, either. He cares for Lucy, Nyu, Nana, and Mayu. Despite all of the troubles he's experienced growing up, he's made up for it by taking in another Diclonius, something just like Lucy, and a little girl. Frankly, I'm surprised he's stayed by your side after all that you've done to him."

He then leaned on the console, with an arm over Yuka's shoulders, bringing her close just like a grandfather would to a child. Something he had done with Susan during his first incarnation. "I can see that you want Kouta to be happy, Yuka. I know that you do. But being similar to a nagging parent and acting like an overbearing woman to him isn't going to help him overcome his problems."

He shook his head. "And your mother had it all wrong. Humans are never supposed to be bossy towards each other. They're supposed to be friends, companions, and family. Being bossy only brings out underlying malice and control. And Kouta doesn't need that from you. He needs your support, now more than ever. He's starting to heal from the trauma caused by Lucy, and although it will take a lot of time for him to properly heal, he's going to overcome it. This is a turning point in his life, and he's going to need all of the help he can get."

The Doctor looked into her eyes, with a finger poking at her. "That means no more abuse. Do you understand, Yuka?" He asked. "No more condescending remarks. No more punches. No more slaps. No more insults. No more being bossy. No more of what you usually do."

He then smiled. "I promise you, the moment you stop with all of that, Kouta will flourish in ways that neither you, nor I, could ever imagine."

For once in nearly twenty-two years, Yuka stood there in silence, listening to somebody else's speech, rather than rattling on and filling the air with her own. If there was one thing that the girl was passionate about, it was making sure that Kouta and her family was happy. Yuka never had any large ambitions; no dreams of becoming famous, hitting it big in the lottery or having a well-paying job. To her, the greatest achievement that a woman could have is raising a healthy family, and behaving as the perfect house wife. Some may find it strange for such an assertive woman to think that way—but in the end, it was all she wanted.

The Doctor's words really settled into the woman's mind. His points were valid—if she continued to be brash and controlling over Kouta, one day he might actually leave! Everything would be gone! That was a terrible thought, one that was pushed out almost immediately. For a while, her cousin had no motivation, but with Lucy back, that alone could very will stir the initiative that was needed in order for Kouta to speak his mind and live his own life. The confusion as to what had happened to his family was what crippled him from the beginning.

Without it, Kouta could live his life in peace now.

"You... you promise that he will get better if I were to calm down?" Yuka was unsure of how to behave; everybody knew her for her attitude. Perhaps if she began to relax and treat people with courtesy, she would have more friends and a better social life. And Kouta would be more than willing to take her around.

She grinned, balling up one of her fists and popping it down against an open palm, "Then I guess I have no other choice but to change my attitude—especially if it's for the better. It's a little difficult to imagine my mother's ideals being wrong, but it's something that I will try to accept." Yuka sighs, slouching a little, running a hand through her hair. "It's going to be hard…"

Her voice trails for a moment, picking it back up with another sweet, confident smile.

"But if Lucy can turn a new leaf, then I can as well."

The Doctor took his fist and shook it in triumph in front of him. "I know you can, Yuka. It'll be difficult, surely, but it really will all be worth it in the end. The moment you change your attitude, everyone, and I mean everyone, will see the difference from what you were before."

"You really think so, Doctor?" Yuka asked. "I never really thought I could change my attitude."

"And Lucy never thought she would stop killing. But as you said, if Lucy can turn over a new leaf and start over, then so can you." Flashing a toothy grin, he brought the mother hen into a supportive hug, embracing her as she had just made a breakthrough.

"This is what I love about you humans. Even though you always have a lot of negative things about you and muck things up, the moment you find something is wrong, you always set about changing them." He laughed. "That's an absolutely wonderful quality you lot have, unlike any race I've seen on any planet."

Yuka looked up at the taller Time Lord within the embrace, her smile growing wider. "Brilliant." He said, looking down at Yuka, his grin as persistent as ever. "You lot are just brilliant."

Yuka could not help but giggle as she was pulled into a warm, supportive embrace—truth be told, she felt as if a large weight had been removed from her back; she could breath. It would not be easy, but she had the confidence that this style of living could all be turned around. Her heart swelled, the thought of Kouta actually enjoying her company made her rejoice!

"Heheh, you seem to be bringing good luck wherever you go, sir—speaking of which," Yuka's brows raised, cranking her head to look up at him, "—what do you mean by 'you humans'? You aren't—you aren't one of us? You look just as human as me and Kouta! And you don't have horns, so you CAN'T be like Nyu—, er... Lucy. Wait-! Are you an ALIEN?"

Retreating from the man's arms, her feet pat against the floor. The inside of the TARDIS held technology that nobody here in Japan had ever seen before, despite how advanced their country was—things that humans would not be able to comprehend just by taking one look.

"—This thing must be a SPACE SHIP or something! See, I THOUGHT it was pretty strange when Kouta told me there was a police box out by the street. There isn't anything like this anywhere in Kamakura, or the Kanagawa prefecture! Am I right?"

"Quite right, actually." The Doctor said, wandering beside Yuka as she gazed upon the Gallifreyan technology that stood around her. "Police Boxes these days are rare to come across, as they were mainly used from the 1800s onward in England. The particular Police Box model that you saw outside is from the year 1963."

"But... inside it's-!"

"Nothing quite like what you have seen before, I imagine. My TARDIS, as I said, can not only travel in space, but through time as well."

Yuka's jaw was still dropped in amazement. "So... this Police Box... can actually travel through time?" She tried to piece together. "...Wow!"

"I get that a lot." The Doctor stated, still grinning as wide as ever.

"So this is alien? Are you-"

"Alien as well?" The Doctor finished. "To put it bluntly, yes! This technology that you see is actually from my home planet, Gallifrey, where my race lives within the constellation of Kasterborus."

"Galli-what?" Yuka whirled back around to face the Doctor. "So, you're not a Martian?"

"No, Yuka. Martians are from Mars, and Mars would not support life until the Human Terriformation Project of 4150. That would then give birth to the Martian race. Rather, a Human/Martian hybrid race, I should say."

He chuckled. "But I'm nothing like the aliens that you think you know about. You see, Yuka..." The Doctor flashed a toothy grin. "...I'm a Time Lord."

"Time Lord! Zipping through all of space and time, kind of like a super hero! This sounds like the title for a prime time television show that Kouta would have watched as a kid," Yuka chuckles against the back of her hand. And then came a giggle. And another one! She was so amused, and happy! And plenty of other synonyms for this sensation! It had really struck Yuka that, maybe for now on, she could sleep with confidence that her family cared for her—especially with her gentler outlook on life.

"I think it's kind of silly that you chose a police box for the basis of your space ship here," she mentioned passively, taking another look at all of the switches and features, "I guess it makes it easier for you to blend in though! Heheheh."

Daily activities had commenced while the two had their private discussion. "—Gee," Nana worries out loud, sighing and filling Wanta's bowl full of dry dog food, "they've been in there for a while, I sure hope that Yuka didn't do something to make Mr. Doctor upset!" The little silpleit watched Wanta jump around, forgetting to watch the amount of food going into the bowl. "Do you think they're okay?"

Yuka was beginning to wind down from her childlike wonder over the Doctor, his TARDIS and all of this fictional business becoming reality, "I bet Nyu had a good time traveling around in this thing, Lucy too. Heck. Anybody would want to take a ride in a spaceship."

The Doctor laughed. "Oh, believe me, Yuka." He said. "Lucy had no idea what to make of the TARDIS either. She thought it broke the laws of physics, when it's actually quite the contrary. Nyu, however, said something rather cute about it."

The Doctor scratched his head. "What did she say? That it was 'like a magician swoops in from his magic box and saves the day?' Something like that."

Yuka giggled. "That sounds like Nyu, alright." She said. "If I were in Lucy's position, I'd be just as perplexed. How exactly does this not break the laws of physics?"

"This dimension that we're in now, is a transcendental dimension that fits within a smaller object, hence the Police Box being much smaller on the exterior. However, I didn't choose that disguise. The TARDIS itself did."

"The... TARDIS chose to be a Police Box?" Yuka asked.

"Precisely. The TARDIS, when it first lands, generates a field block within a thousand mile radius of the current surroundings within a ten-thousandth of a second. As it materializes, it camouflages with whatever is in the TARDIS's data banks."

"So your TARDIS took the form of a Police Box in 1963?"

"That's right." The Doctor nodded.

Yuka's head tilted. "...In the year 2007?"

The Doctor opened his mouth before nervously laughing. "Funny story, that. My Chameleon Circuit, the device that makes the TARDIS disguise itself, malfunctioned and broke quite some time ago. Back in 1963, believe it or not."

He sighed. "That happened when I was a lot younger, though. When I was, what... 280 years old?" The traveler flashed a toothy grin. "Funny how time flies when you're a Time Lord." He said.

"Heh, you'd think that with all the time on your hands, it would take ages to pass! I bet it would be hard for you to live the short life that people like me have, especially with how ambitious you seem to be."

Yuka sighs, directing her eyes on the TARDIS door; the conversation had stirred up some genuine emotion in the woman's heart—everybody outside deserved an honest apology from her. As much fun as it was to ask the Time Lord about his lifestyle and the technological advances that came with it, she felt that now was the absolute best time to approach the family of the Maple Inn.

The topic of time passing by actually summoned a sense of panic for Yuka; she was nearly twenty one. Twenty one! And she'd been spending this entire time being a complete prune to the one she loved the most! That's almost an entire QUARTER of her lifetime! As silly as the thought was, the mother hen had to speak up.

The Doctor saw that Yuka was deep in thought, and decided to rouse her. "Would you like for me to-"

"Sorry to interrupt Doctor, but, I think it's time for me to let you and Lucy go. You've spent a good chunk of your time talking to me—and I really need to go out there and voice my apologies. If I don't do it right now, I'll probably chicken out and bury my thoughts in the back of my mind again." She turns her head off to the side, trying to hide her blush of humility.

The Doctor smiled. "Of course, Yuka." He said. "Here. Let me get the doors." As he flipped the door switch, the double doors swung open slowly as the blue police box doors revealed themselves. "Come on, Yuka. When you're done with your apology, Lucy and I will clear out. She'll want to hear it too."

Yuka nodded. "Okay, Doctor. I think I'm ready to do this."

Striding past her, the Doctor opened the door for the mother hen, and the two filed out of the TARDIS. As he closed the door behind him, he cleared his throat.

"Could I have everyone's attention, please?" He asked, seeing that everyone was on the porch, waiting for Yuka to come out in the first place. "My dear friend Yuka has something to say to all of you."

With a nudge, the Doctor winked at Yuka. "Go ahead." He whispered. "I know you can do it."

When Kouta caught sight of Yuka finally coming through the doors of the police box, he snickers somewhat, "That took long enough. Hopefully she didn't give you too many problems." Of course, this was all light-hearted in tone.

Nana turned around from playing with Wanta, tilting her head somewhat, all ears for whatever was going on—the same went for Mayu, who was tidying up the mess of dog food that had been spilled everywhere.

"—Not THAT many problems, some problems, but not too many," Yuka answered with a slight huff, keeping her attitude under control. She gulps thickly, rubbing at her neck in an anxious manner—her eyes finally fell on the Diclonius that sat on the porch steps, one leg folded over the other.

"I think I owe you guys a huge apology for being so—brash? Bossy? Do either of those words fit it?" She feels a little more confident in her words after breaking the awkward ice, "—Ehh, you guys know how I've always been acting. Especially towards you, Kouta."

Kouta was visibly surprised by this sudden confession, sitting up where he sat.

"I just don't want you guys to walk on eggshells anymore when you're around me! I'm gonna change, I'm gonna try and be a lot more patient and less assertive. Especially with the past behind us now. Just...—I'd want to know if you guys are willing to help me with it?"

Nana giggled, one hand over her mouth, "Of course Yuka-san! It would be silly if we didn't! You're our mama, after all."

The mother hen grinned, rubbing the back of her head, "You really think that way?!"

"Yeah!" Nana said. "Don't you think so Mayu?"

"Y-yes!" Mayu spoke up. "You took us both in when we had no where else to go. Why wouldn't we help you?"

Yuka then looked at the college boy. "What about you, Kouta?" She asked. "I know how I've been... mean-spirited and less than thankful for all you've done. Will you... will you still help me? Despite what I've done to you?"

Kouta smiled and stood up. "Of course, Yuka." He said, nodding. "We all care for you, and we all love you. I don't see why we wouldn't, either."

Yuka warmly smiled, almost taken aback by the support she was receiving. "You guys..."

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder just as she was about to say something. "Did I not tell you Kouta cares for you, Yuka? Look at this family you and him helped raise. And now look. You've got Lucy, as well as Nyu. You have more support than you think."

Yuka looked up at the Time Lord. "I wish I could have seen it plain as day." She said. "Shows how much punching Kouta made me blind to that."

The Doctor chuckled. "I'm very proud of you, Yuka." He said. "Really, I am."

Yuka bows her head with a sense of humility, smiling to herself before wiping away one simple tear—a sign of happiness. "Really—I really appreciate it you guys! I promise it's going to be a lot happier around here!" Raising her head, the mother hen turns her attention to Lucy, who was resting against the side of the inn, watching everything unfold in a comfortable silence.

"The same goes for you, Miss Lucy," she chuckles softly against the back of her hand, "you're always welcome here, and I won't chastise you for your actions. Just as long as you do your chores!"

The Diclonius rolls her eyes somewhat, the edge of her lip tugging into an amused smirk.

"Typical Yuka. Then again, I suppose you got used to Nyu being so excited about scrubbing floors," Lucy retorts in a playful manner—it was a little strange to see the pinkette interacting so freely with another.

Kouta sighs in content, "Then, I guess with all of that taken care of, you two will be leaving to go out and walk around Kamakura?"

"I'm afraid so, Kouta." The Doctor said. "Lucy and I would love to stay, of course. But I'm sure you know how it is with me. Things to do, places to be. I am a busy man, after all." He chuckled, grinning at the pleasant moment that unfolded before him.

It was so wonderful that everything ended up turning positive for everyone. Lucy got what she wanted, and ended up being integrated into this ragtag family. Not only that, the Doctor was able to help Yuka, of all people. If success had a definition, this would be it.

"I understand what you mean, Doctor." Kouta said.

"Lucy!" The Doctor called out. "I've got to retrieve K-9. Can you help fetch my shoes and clothes? Everything should be on the desk in the guest room."

A single nod, Lucy heads indoors to gather up the Doctor's belongings, mulling over everything that had happened. There had been so much reform within a day's time; out of all of this stress, she had gained a family in the end, and earned the respect of a woman that scorned her existence for so long. Lucy dared to smile to herself, sighing lightly.

"DOCTOR! I still have one more question!" Nana peeps, balling her hands into fists and jumping a little, "I wanna know!" Without popping out of her prosthetics, the silpelit runs over like a hyperactive child, Wanta in tow.

"I wanna know if you'll return to us for Koyurugi Jinja Ten'osai in July! Mayu was telling me all about it, she said it's a huge HUGE festival where people play lots of music and welcome the good spirits into the city! You and Lucy-san would have so much fun!" Her hands were folded together in a begging manner, rocking on her feet.

Kouta intervenes for a moment, walking over, "Now I'm sure he'd love to if he isn't busy. Didn't you just hear him? He has a lot to do," the college boy reminds lightly, before looking upwards at the Time Lord with a grin.

"Thanks, Doctor. For everything you've done for us. You're always welcome."

The Doctor placed a hand on Kouta's shoulder. "I didn't do anything for you." He said. "You did this all yourself. I merely just gave you lot the nudge you needed out of the door." The Time Lord flashed a toothy grin to Kouta. "You and Yuka have made me very proud. Just remember." He stuck a finger in Kouta's face.

"If Yuka acts up again, stand your ground. Don't let her push you."

Kouta scratched his head, and laughed. "I won't forget that, Doctor."

"I have to go find K-9." He said, walking past Kouta. "K-9! Where are you?"

Walking down the hallway, he ended up finding K-9 in the study. "K-9, have you been recharging your batteries?" The Doctor asked.

"Affirmative." K-9 responded. "Are we preparing to depart, Master?"

"Yes. Come on, K-9. We've got places to be." The Doctor walked out with K-9 in tow.

As he made his way down the hallway, he walked past the very thing that gave him dread last night. He stopped in his tracks, and gazed at it.

The Grandfather Clock.

...Odd. It didn't give him that same feeling that he felt last night. Was it all in his head? He squinted his eyes. This was very odd indeed...

Peering behind the clock, he tried to do what he did the other night. Find a door that opened. The Doctor peered into the back of the clock, and raised his eyebrows.

Nothing. No door handle. Not even a lock.

The Time Lord exhausted a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that he wasn't here. There were some great things happening, and he didn't need his meddling to turn it all pear-shaped.

"Master?" K-9 asked. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" The Doctor looked over to his metal companion. "Yes! Yes, I am! Come on, K-9. Let's get you back in the TARDIS."

"Affirmative."

His clothing and belongings had generously been folded by Yuka and put into a basket for his convenience—Lucy had asked for the small favor to be done while the Time Lord was inside fetching K-9. Once the Diclonius spotted the two returning outside, she offers a calm smile to everybody.

"I will be back, rest assure. Stay out of trouble, yes?"

For the first time in ages, her vectors are used for a gentle purpose, to delicately pat Mayu and Nana on their heads, "Especially you two."

The two girls giggle softly, Mayu speaking up, "We will, don't worry! After all, we're the mature ones of the house!"

Lucy chuckles as well, cranking her had to glance over at the scarved man, "I believe everything is set," she offers out the basket that Yuka had provided, "it's a ten minute walk from here to the boardwalk. And from there we can enter Kamakura."

Before allowing the two to depart, Yuka speaks up and waves, "Enjoy yourselves guys! We'll be here, we aren't going to be leaving any time soon! Lucy! Make sure he tries to local okonomiyaki!"

It may have felt like a mundane, average conversation among family members to those looking on the outside— but to Lucy, it's something that she had always wanted.

Normality.

"I'll be sure to keep a look out!" The Doctor said, donning the coat and lacing up his shoes. He then wrapped the scarf around his neck and placed his hat on top of his curly hair. . "Thank you for letting us stay, Yuka." He waved at the family as the three travellers walked back to the TARDIS. As he opened the door for Lucy and K-9, he shared one last look at the family and tipped his hat.

"Don't you forget me you lot." The Time Lord said.

"We won't ever forget you Mr. Doctor!" Nana piped up. "Just so long as you don't forget us!"

The Doctor chuckled. "Until we meet again, then. Aufederzein!" With that, he turned heel and walked into the TARDIS, shutting the wooden door.

Inside the console room, as Lucy leaned on the console, the Doctor roamed over to the controls. He smiled to himself.

"I think we should leave a lasting impression on them. Don't you think so, Lucy?" Not awaiting an answer, he flicked his fingers around the dials and switches to trigger the dematerialization. "Hold tight, Lucy! Here we go!"

The Diclonius grips onto the handles near the triggers and dials of the TARDIS control panel, eagerly waiting to see the members of the Maple Inn family jump and shout in amusement, "Is the display on? I want to see their faces. Especially Mayu and Nana," she looks upwards, searching for a moment before taking a quick look at the display's screen, able to see all of them crowded around nearby.

When the Time Lord flipped the switch, the TARDIS produced a series of hums and mechanical noises, before beginning to dematerialize and vanish right in front of them, clear as day!

"U-UAHHH! That's AMAZING! SO AMAZING!" Nana leaps, arms in the air and eyes wide, "He really IS a magician! Oh WOW!"

Mayu hung onto her friends shoulders, giggling and amazed, "Careful Nana! You don't want to lose your arms and legs like you did last time!"

Even Yuka was taken aback with amazement, clapping her hands together, "I guess you were right Kouta! Your silly comic books aren't that incorrect, are they?"

The college boy leans back with his arms folded, a warm smile on his face, "Yeah—I guess not. Hnh. This sure has been one hell of time having those two here." He turns, offering that same smile to Yuka, "Who would've thought that it would take an extra-terrestrial and a girl with horns to bring you down a few notches?"

Yuka's eyes lit up, almost tempted to smack him—but instead, she leans back, rolling his eyes and chuckling. "I'll take that as a compliment."

And just like that, the police box had vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place. Lucy stood there in silence for a moment as her family disappeared from the screen; her heart has swelled and grown to new sizes these past few days. For a moment, she even felt… Human.

"They're wonderful…" The Diclonius' eyes soften just before shutting, speaking only loud enough to be heard. "You're right Doctor. Humans really are a wonderful species.

"Yes." The Doctor said simply. "Just as I had told you before, Lucy. There's a good reason why I will always defend humans, and that was it."

As the TARDIS was now in mid-flight, the Doctor put the in Earth orbit, to have a bit of one on one time with Lucy before setting to explore Kamakura.

"You've certainly changed in just a few days, have you, Lucy?" The Doctor asked, going up to the Diclonius, and leaning on the console. "In just a span of forty-eight hours, you're quite the far cry from the girl that spoke to me with a blatant hatred for mankind. How does it feel?"

"I'd be lying if I told you that I understand my own emotions right now; much of it is completely foreign to me. There's still a significant amount of time that it will take before I can come to trust people easily—and even longer before I can lay down at night and have confidence in who I am," Lucy answered, running a hand through her hair in thought.

"It's... It's a start though..." a smile is offered, "Just having the promise of family is enough to make me feel like I've been making progress. Even the voice within my mind only lingers for but a moment…"

Lucy had her own questioning to do, however. "I couldn't help but hear your unrest the other night. Your commotion was… Surprisingly loud. Was something the matter? I heard it briefly before going outside and finding you and Kouta on the steps."

The Doctor widened his eyes. He really hoped he didn't want to discuss that. He had hoped to get a few peaceful laughs with Lucy before landing the TARDIS in Kamakura. He never hoped that she would raise questions of his very nightmare.

Let alone the hallucination of the Instinct.

Turning away from Lucy, he too his hat off, throwing it on the hatstand as it landed on one of the spokes. "I..." The Doctor tried to get a word out. What could he say? Fingers ran through the tangled curls of his hair, as his hand trailed to cover his mouth. Both hand were placed on his hips, as he looked downward, his back still turned.

"...I had a nightmare, Lucy." He finally said. "It... It involved everybody. You, Nyu, Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, Nana... everybody."

He closed his eyes, still hearing the faint voice in his head from the night before.

"Look what you made me do..."

Lucy hadn't seen the Doctor in this kind of distress since his first encounter with the Instinct; vivid memories of waking up and seeing him tremble and scream in disarray, it was terrible—the diclonius could only assume that his night terror had to do with that very same demon.

"All of us… It sounds to me that you were very stressed about everything that was going on. The Instinct must have gotten to you when you dug into my memories. You don't think—-…"

Her voice trails, biting her tongue. The thought that had made an appearance in her mind was preposterous! There was no way that the Instinct entered the Time Lord's dreams herself. That was impossible! It was but a manifestation, a DNA voice that all diclonii had in the back of their minds.

It wasn't an organic creature.

"I don't know what to think, Lucy." The Doctor said. "But the dream I had... it was terrible. Frightening."

He turned around to face Lucy, his look almost distant as he relived the horrible memories of his terror. "We were in Vienna, Austria. The entire family, you and I were at an exhibit of Gustav Klimt. Brilliant artist, he is, even though some of his art is very dreary and depressing. All seemed normal, as everyone was enjoying themselves." The Doctor chuckled. "Kouta even seemed rather bored through the whole exhibit."

Lucy couldn't help but stifle a small laugh from that thought. That certainly sounded like Kouta.

"We were going through the exhibit, eventually coming up on Klimt's famous piece, Der Kuss, or The Kiss, when Nyu called out to me and pulled me along to show me something. The lights flickered, and suddenly Nyu... Nyu was... was covered in blood."

He scrunched his eyes as the images came rushing back to him in rapid succession. "Not just Nyu, either... everything..."

The Time Lord's eyes widened in fear.

"Everything was covered in blood. Even the paintings."

The Doctor rubbed his forehead. Yes, it was all coming back to him, and in a bad way, too.

"Nyu made it pretty!"

He leaned on the console, the whole endeavor making him sick to his stomach. "I panicked. The lights suddenly flickered, and flashed back on. No one was in the museum. It was completely empty."

The Doctor looked at Lucy in the eye.

"I was alone, Lucy. I was all alone."

It sounded so unlike the Doctor to have such vivid nightmares like that—Lucy could practically see the entire background in her mind. The artist hall, the painting, the family gathered together, only vanish in a macabre display of red.

"Gustav Klimt, I know of him." Lucy answers casually, "Well ...heard of, that is. I never learned much about the man outside if his name and some of his paintings. But, that is aside the point… That is a strange dream for you to have, Doctor. I have had some morbid nightmares in my time, and that still leaves me… Shaken."

The horned one leans forward, completely enveloped in the man's story, "And then, dare I ask, what happened next?"

The Doctor bit his lower lip, his eyes closing again as he continued to relive the awful nightmare. "The people in the paintings... They actually changed to people with... familiar faces." He exhausted a sigh, trying to maintain his composure. "Some of whom were my closest companions, long before you and I met."

Images of Susan in Lucy's vice grip in Der Kuss flashed in his mind. The whole ordeal was unsettling...

"So I ran. I ran, and ran, and ran, until I was hearing a child crying. While I heard that, a voice... what sounded like a mother, was trying to calm it with a lullaby."

"Hush little baby, don't say a word… Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird…" "And if that mockingbird doesn't sing… Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring…"

"The child sounded like a little girl, crying out and saying, 'It hurts, mama. It hurts.'" Twisted images of the shadowed child flashed in his mind.

"Look what you made me do."

"When I saw the child, it was completely shadowed. As if the darkness itself bore that child. When I laid eyes on it... I couldn't move." The Doctor rubbed his chin, still trying to keep calm and stay strong for Lucy. The whole nightmare was something he had never experienced before. Terrors that happened before his eyes, he often conquered. But terrors of the mind...? "The child then started repeating a phrase. A simple, child-like phrase that has kept haunting me ever since I've had that dream." He gazed into Lucy's eyes, horror taking form in the Doctor's voice. "It kept saying, 'Look what you made me do.'"

"Look what you made me do!

"It wouldn't stop saying that. Not even after some sort of... hideous hellspawn took its place as it transformed..."

"LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!"

"I then fell from a pit that opened up around me, and take a wild guess as to who was standing above me?" The Time Lord's eyes widened, as his gaze wandered off to the side. "The Instinct itself was standing above me, shouting as if I had entered Hell itself." He then starting reciting exactly what the Instinct decreed to him in the dream, as if he heard it plain as day... -

"YOU CAN NEVER SILENCE ME! I AM THE BEGINNING AND I AM THE END! AND THE MORE YOU TRY TO FIGHT IT, THE MORE YOU WILL ALL SUFFER WHEN I ASCEND FROM THIS CESSPOOL! THE BEAST IS, AND IS NOT, AND IS ABOUT TO RISE! LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!"

"As the Instinct threw a fit of rage, clawing and scratching her own face, I saw..." He stopped, choking back his voice as fear and sadness overtook him from the images he saw.

"...Bodies, Lucy." He said, slinking down to the floor next to the console. "There were bodies of my previous companions. From when I had first left Gallifrey, up until I met you." The Doctor looked at Lucy.

"They were dead, Lucy." He said quietly. "All of them. Murdered. Brutalized. Maimed." His eyes scrunched shut again. "And I couldn't save them."

Absolutely mortified, legitimate shock lingered on Lucy's face—these were borderline psychotic, dangerously similar to the hallucinations that she herself had experienced when under the deep influence of the Instinct! None of this sounded as if it was a coincidence—it was too accurate, too real. A chill crawls up the diclonius' spine as that very voice haunted her memories.

"Look what you made me do…!" "I did it all, all of it!" "LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!"

Lucy stumbles backwards with a gasp—no, she had to have just been imagining that. All of this conversation was bringing up negative thoughts. Narrowing her eyes, a hand presses into the horned one's skull, fending off the beast within.

"That's appalling," Lucy puts bluntly, actually angered after this. It felt like a personal attack from her own Instinct, but what kind of ridiculous logic was that? There was absolutely no way that it could have been proven true.

"You are fine now though, right? You haven't been having any abnormal thoughts since then?"

The Doctor could only shake his head. "I wish I could say that it all ended there. But here is when you started to hear me scream."

He was able to find the fortitude to stand again, helping himself back up on the console, and leaning against it, rubbing the bridge of his nose trying to stave off the trauma he had experienced. "Shortly after I woke up, I tried to make heads or tails out of that entire experience. I wasn't sure if the Instinct really DID get inside my head like that after I peered into your memories. I hoped it wasn't the case."

"I didn't have long to think about it until I heard footsteps outside the door. I had assumed Wanta or Mayu were taking a bathroom break or something similar. I walked towards the door, and... hesitated opening it."

The Doctor clenched his fist, trying to continue telling the story.

"I slid the door open, Lucy, and..." The Doctor sighed heavily. "The Instinct... She was there! Standing right there in front of me!"

"What are you doing here!? Get away from me! Leave my friends alone!"

"Fear, anger, shock and panic were coursing through my body as I was literally scrambling away from her." He closed his eyes again. "I kept calling for K-9 to wake up..."

"K-9! Please! Wake up! Help me!"

"K-9! HELP ME!"

"K-9 didn't wake up because that was a hallucination that was playing in my head. But I didn't know. I was terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. I didn't know if she had the power to really kill me."

The Time Lord turned around, leaning overhead on the console, his knuckles whitening as his hands balled into fists. There were few things the Doctor got legitimately angry about, but he knew the Instinct took sick pleasure in torturing him mentally. He knew it.

And it made him sick.

"The Instinct kept saying that it would kill everyone on Earth, leaving no human alive. And went into sickening detail about ripping me apart, right down to the last entrail."

He looked upward, venom now coursing through his own voice. "Then, she had the audacity to say this..."

"Lucy hates you."

"She will always hate you... And I will ensure that she kills you last."

"By that point, I was on autopilot. Fueled by anger, I made a dash and tried to tackle the Instinct, only to crash and tumble into the wall in the hallway. I ran back into my room only to find the Instinct had vanished. She was gone."

The Doctor gazed back at Lucy. "That was when Kouta had found me. I didn't know what had happened at the time, so I ran outside. I had to get away."

He slumped away from the console, walking to closer to Lucy as he put his hands on her shoulders, smiling weakly at her. "You know, when I had met you, I knew you were capable of extraordinary things, Lucy. I knew you and I would be companions in time, and that you had the capacity to live amongst humans. But, what the Instinct had told me..."

His smile faded, as his hands slid off of Lucy's shoulders. The Doctor turned away, his head cranked to the side, looking behind him.

"You really don't despise me, do you?" He asked. "Please be honest with me. I know you succumb to hatred very easily. But do I really elicit that kind of emotion from you?"

The Time Lord's gaze drifted downward. "Do you hate me, Lucy?"

The reign of terror that was known as the Instinct. It did not take much to stir a vivid memory in Lucy's mind, the very first encounter that she'd had with that astral monster.

Many nights spent alone as a child involved falling in and out of flu-induced nightmares—images of the frail, sickly child knelt down in a pool of blackness, hands over her eyes.

If only… I were a little stronger—I can feel something… Inside of me…

Flashes of limbs reaching higher, higher, HIGHER into the sky, spreading around Lucy like the limbs of a black widow, prepared to take in anything that dared to step too close.

If I were stronger, I could protect myself…

It was a voice that lingered in the back of the minds of every horned beast that lived on this earth, egging on the host to kill and maim in the name of their species. To create a world in which they could belong. To bring humanity to its extinction. To flex their strength and show their dominance.

Lucy's Instinct—it was the most savage of them all. A personal assassin, murdering in the name of it's queen. To some, they may interpret it's actions as well intentional, only wanting to protect it's vessel.

"Doctor…"

Raising her head and looking at the jaded, strained Time Lord, Lucy frowns with true sorrow; despite it not being her personality causing all of this suffering, it was still a monster that resided in her mind. Many people did not understand the difference in split personalities, and so, at the end of the day, Lucy herself was the one that was looked at as a beast.

Some days— she even doubted it herself. Maybe she is the one at fault?

"Doctor, I don't hate you…"

Any fragment of self doubt was forced out of her head for a moment to vocalize her answer.

"I DON'T hate you. It isn't me doing this!" Her arm shoots out to the side, the other pressing against her chest firmly, "The Instinct just wants to gain more edge over me, in this body! It's always been her driving me to do all of these terrible things. SHE is the one that has fostered my negative thoughts since I was but a child. Yes, I may still have a grudge on humans. And yes, there are still some moments where I wonder whether or not all of this is worthwhile…"

She raises her head, staring at the scarved man with a new sense of strength, "But at the end of the day, even if I were to FAIL—I would never hate you… Not after everything that you've been doing for me. If I were to despise the one person that ever gave pity to a beast like me, then I'd be nothing but filth."

K-9, listening to the conversation himself, decided to interject as well.

"Master." K-9 said. "You are encountering an overload of stress and emotional fatigue. It is true that I did not reactivate when you called out to me, but it was as you had said. There were no threats that my sensors could detect."

The Doctor looked over at the robot as his eyes were lidded from emotional exhaustion, reliving the nightmare.

"The situation is nominal, Master." K-9 reassured. "Mistress Lucy shows no signs of negativity towards you, and there are no threats detected within the TARDIS, or when we were in the hospitality of Master Kouta and his friends."

The Doctor blinked, trying to snap out of his spell.

What was he thinking? He did so much for Lucy, and even she acknowledged that while she still held a grudge on humans, she did not deny that she was improving and was more than willing to carry on for the Time Lord.

"I can assure you, Master-"

"Shut up, K-9." The Doctor said, regaining some positive emotions before smiling at his metal companion. "You already proved your point." He turned around to face Lucy, his smile starting to return.

"You're right, Lucy." The Doctor said. "I think the Instinct is trying to get an edge of not just you, but the both of us." He rubbed his forehead, chuckling. "I should have known you wouldn't hate me after what we've been through so far."

The Doctor wandered up to Lucy and drew the Diclonius into a warm embrace. "You're my friend, Lucy. You always will be. It was foolish of me to think that you would hate me. I'm sorry, Lucy."

He brushed the pink locks on her horned head. "I'm very sorry to doubt you."

She could not help but allot a quiet snicker when the Time Lord instructed K-9 to shut up; the robotronic canine had always had a loud mouth—but what he had been saying was true. Lucy showed no hostility towards either of them, nor any chance of doubting the friendship between herself and the Doctor. Despite usually hiding emotions, hatred and disdain were two that were never held back.

Had the beast been holding a grudge, it would have been obvious.

"Yes… You should realize at this point that I usually do not back down on my thoughts," she speaks quietly, closing her eyes and returning the tight hug to the patriarchal figure. Lithe fingers gripped at the tough fabric of his coat, relaxing instantaneously.

"I realize that, Lucy." The Doctor said as the embrace tightened. "But I just wasn't sure what to think. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize though—any sort of night terror of that magnitude would have me doubting myself as well." The beast responded truthfully, a melancholy smile upon her lips; the look in her eye showed that she herself had experienced her share of tormenting dreams.

And while Lucy would not confide in the Time Lord, in fear of grieving him, those nightmares continued on to this day.

"But I can assure you, Doctor, it will be a cold day in Hell before I betray your trust." There was a sense of strength in the horned one's words, a confidence that wasn't often heard when Lucy spoke. It was a sign that she was beginning to believe in herself, rather than being wrapped up in doubt.

Releasing his grip and pushing Lucy in front of him, so that he could see the pink hues of the Diclonius, the Doctor couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you, Lucy." He said. "I think I needed to hear that. I'm happy you're saying that with confidence, too. With the Instinct barging in constantly, I'm never sure what to believe now." He ruffled Lucy's bangs. "I'm glad to know you still think of me as a friend."

With a relieved sigh, the Doctor bounded back to the console, ready to take the TARDIS out of orbit. "Now that I think we've gotten all of that straightened out, Lucy, what say we take a visit to the urban side of Kamakura?" He then input the coordinates and just before he flipped the lever, he flashed a toothy grin to the pinkette.

Aquick pat to the head, and Lucy sighed in content, like a child that had been praised for their well doings.

"Let's have some much needed fun now, shall we?" He asked as he flipped the lever, dematerializing the TARDIS from Earth's orbit.

"Absolutely." The diclonius offers a light smile, approaching the control panel, watching the Doctor input commands and coordinates in order for them to land just close enough for them to wander the Kamakura city streets, "This day began on a good note, and I wish for it to end on one as well. While I have never been keen on the people of my home town," she admits plainly, recalling her bitter childhood, "I always have had a soft spot for the architecture. Kamakura hosts a lot of religious sights. Not to mention it is the hub of summer vacation for southern Japan."

"A vacation spot, eh?" The Doctor asked. "That sounds remarkable! We may just be able to squeeze in a quick holiday after all!" He flashed a toothy grin to K-9. "You'd like a holiday, wouldn't you, K-9?"

"Affirmative!" K-9 responded, almost sounding excited.

The engines began to grind to a halt, as the groaning sound of the TARDIS started to emanate. The Time Rotor stopped moving, and the engines stopped with a thud. "Ha ha!" The Doctor laughed. "We've arrived, Lucy!"

Opening the double doors, the Doctor decided to leave his hat inside the TARDIS. The air was cool enough to forgo it for the time being.

He stopped short, though. "Something's missing..." The Doctor said to himself. His head slowly turned to see Lucy's horns were still uncovered. And on the floor underneath the console were her hair ribbons, which were used to hide her horns.

It soon hit him. She discarded them just before the bike ride! "Aha!" He cried, pointing to the ribbons. Striding over, he picked them up and showed them to Lucy. "I don't think people are quite set to see your horns in the city. Here, allow me."

Lucy had completely forgotten that her horns were uncovered, due to being able to wander about with them out in the open around her family—and so, when the Doctor retrieved the ribbons from the floor of the TARDIS, she was equally surprised.

The Doctor then quickly set about tying the ribbons to Lucy's horns, hiding them effectively. At first glance, you can't even really tell that the horns were even visible. If he said so himself, he may have done a better job concealing them than Lucy did.

"Right, it wouldn't be a good idea to cause a scene," she chuckles softly, leaning forward and allowing the Doctor to tie them around her horns with care.

Quietly, Lucy closes her eyes, and daydreams for just a moment—imagining what it would be like, had this been an everyday activity for her?

Waking up for school in her younger years, excited and dressed up in the primary sailor uniform, a bento box packed for lunch. She would collect her school supplies and make a mad dash to the door. Only to be stopped. "Lucy, dear! You forgot your ribbons again!"

Her father would bend down carefully as the diclonius grins embarrassed, admitting to being excited for the day as herexcuse for leaving the ribbons behind. "Keep them on. They look nice on you.

"Thank you, Father…!"

Tying the last bow on her horn, the Doctor smiled. "There we are!" He said, clapping his hands together. "You're perfectly incognito, Lucy!"

In a matter of seconds, Lucy snaps back to reality, smiling. "Thank you, Doctor…"

Flashing a toothy grin, he ran over to the blue doors and pulled them wide open. His grin became persistent as he slowly walked out of the TARDIS, and into the urban area of Kamakura.

The streets, to little surprise to the Doctor, were as busy as they could be in a Japanese city. The buildings were adorned with flags and bright colored signs, advertising street shops and the like. It certainly wasn't as big as he had imagined, but it was still sizable in its own right. There were still tall buildings here and there, like office buildings. No skyscrapers, however.

No matter, though. This was a moment for exploration. And Lucy seemed primed about it more than ever.

"Well, Lucy?" The Doctor called. "Ready for an urban adventure?"

In order to stick together in the bustling streets, Lucy made sure to stay by the Doctor's side at all times—then again, both of them would be easy to pick out of the crowd if they were to somehow split up. A hand reaches out to grip at the Time Lord's coat, tugging it somewhat.

"Yes, I'm ready," the diclonius nods—there was an inkling of worry in her tone, probably due to the sheer amount of people, though it was quickly dismissed. Nobody was going to give her grief, not as long as she was with another person, right?

Food carts were parked at the corners of streets, men and women peddling their wares. The unmistakable scent of takoyaki mingled and played with fried croquettes. Plenty of people gathered around, handing over yen in exchange for the quick snacks.

There were souvenir shops decorating one of the avenues, dedicated to selling attire and trinkets for tourists to remember their Kamakura vacations. Dispersed among them, clothing boutiques, tea shops and even an art gallery or two made a presence, their signs and flags drawing in plenty of attention.

Lucy grins somewhat, able to appreciate human society in a new light.

"I've lived here my entire life," both of them moved from the TARDIS and into the streets, Lucy chiming in, "but everything is so new."

"It seems that way when you start looking at life from a different perspective." The Doctor explained, closing and locking the TARDIS. "After seeing England when we first met, though, I have a feeling you'd enjoy more of a 'domestic' adventure. After all, there's not much you've seen here, is there?"

Absolutely correct. the Doctor was right on target with that statement. Despite living in the seaside city her entire life, Lucy knew little to nothing about this place. She had spent years with her head down, only seeing things from her perspective.

But now, being able to raise her head high, the diclonius was now capable of experience life to its fullest.

He flashed a toothy grin to the Diclonius, who couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Come on!" He said, pulling her along. "Let's see what we can find!"

With a confident grin to match her stance, Lucy meandered into the city with her companion, excited to see what they would come across.

Families flooded the streets, stopping to look into the windows of shops, chatting among themselves. The hum of car engines added to the noise, people parking and climbing out to pay the parking meter.

'C'mon let's go! We need to find a good place to put our things at the beach!'

Lucy wasn't able to focus on just one thing at first—that was until she caught sight of sleek, colorful fabrics in a shop window; a furisode kimono, much like the ones that adults would wear during worship sessions at the shrines.

Stepping over to the window, dainty hands pressed into the glass as Lucy looks up at the display.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" The horned one smiles, pointing up at the display and speaking up, "These are worn by unmarried women on days of worship. It's the proper attired to adorn when going to the temples to pray for a good future."

The Doctor nodded as he recollected the design of the kimono. "Ah, of course!" He said, tapping a finger on his chin. "I've seen some rather splendid kimonos such as this one during the Edo period. I believe I'm actually familiar with the reason as to why this particular one was worn."

He smiled. "I do have to say. It is an elegant design."

"I used to dream of beautiful kimonos as a child. Especially during festival time. All of the women looked so pretty," Lucy recalls, smiling in thought before pulling away from the window. "I'm going to work hard, so that one day I can afford a very expensive one."

The duo continued down the streets, carrying on with their conversation and enjoying the Kamakura lifestyle. A well-deserved day of relaxation—at least, for that moment.

For as either of them would know, wicked things are always around the corner…

Lucy had stopped once more to watch a group of taiko drummers playing nearby, dropping her guard for but a minute. Across the street, a man dressed in a trench coat and hat walks along with a coffee in his hand, pausing to sip at it every now and again. What a strange get up for the Japanese summer.

Jaded gray eyes get a look at the Time Lord immediately scanning and noticing the bright pink hair of the girl that was with him.

"Lucy…"

Within seconds, he vanished into the crowd once more.

The Doctor was enjoying the Taiko drum street perfomance, bobbing his head to the fast rhythms of the percussive instruments. His grin ever persistent, he glanced down at Lucy to see how she was enjoying herself.

It seemed, however, that her mind wasn't on the performance, but on a strange chap that was in her line of sight. He had just missed a man in a trench coat before he vanished.

He raised an eyebrow. Something seemed very peculiar... He then nudged Lucy, getting her attention. "I'm sure there are some more things to see, Lucy. Don't you think?" He asked, trying to get her to flee as discretely as possible. "Come on."

His Time Lord instincts were often right, but he had only hoped they were wrong. Something strange was afoot. The only question was what?

It was clear as day, however, to the Diclonius that the Doctor had sensed something extremely wrong. Lucy stares straight up at the scarf wearer, watching him do his best to brush aside the hunch—or at least, make it appear that he wasn't nervous. But what is a lie to a diclonius? There was very little that could get past her.

—It was her choice to let it go, though.

"Alright, that's fine." she nodded, leaving the music behind.

Out near Enoshima's beach, a man in yellow tinted sunglasses sits among the dumpsters, polishing a handgun; the homeless called this place sanctuary during the evening, but when the sun was up, he was the king of the castle.

"I've needed some fucking peace and quiet," he grumbles, adjusting his sunglasses, "—tch, who am I kidding. Shit's boring out here. That horned bitch took my eyes, took my arms, and then fucked up the ones that the doctors gave me. I haven't seen her in WEEKS! So what the fuck, why are they telling me to stay put?! IT'S BULLSHIT I TELL YOU!"

Bando—people were shocked and appalled by his presence at first, but after a while of him ranting and raving to himself, those who passed by became accustom to his foul mouth.

He had been charged to remain in Kamakura, ordered to shoot on sight if he were to see the diclonius woman. Though, Lucy wasn't a fool. She never wandered out in the open—even so, Bando was but an ant compared to her brute strength.

Standing from the trash heap that he had been resting on, the soldier takes a look at his cleaned gun. "I'd love to press you up against some helpless bastard right about now…"

As he spoke to himself, the same figure that had spotted the Doctor and Lucy had arrived on site, walking over to Bando, his expression calm, "As loud and rowdy as ever."

Snapping his head to the side, the vulgar mouth spits in annoyance, "What're you doing here?" He asked with a gruff voice. He wasn't in the mood to answer any questions that the man might have. Bando raised the weapon, "Fuck off! I'm pretty damn bored, so you can't judge me if I feel like blowing your head off."

The other man, remaining relaxed, simply raises his arms in defense.

"I don't think you'd want to do that—I have information for you… Regarding Lucy."

Bando scowled, before lowering his gun.

"Alright, you have my attention." He growled. "Now talk."

A bit of time had passed before Lucy and the Doctor stopped at a street vendor for some food. The duo of explorers picked up a cup of yakisoba each, with chopsticks in already in hand. As they dove into their street food, the Doctor scanned the area to see if there were any other strange happenings.

The uneasy feeling didn't leave him. But he dared not to tell Lucy for fears of her anxiety being raised, and incurring her wrath. The last thing he needed was for Lucy's rehabilitation to come crashing down.

Slurping on his noodles, he looked at his Diclonius companion. "So, Lucy!" He said jovially. "What do you think of Kamakura, now that you've had a proper look at it?"

Of course, Lucy decided against bringing up the Doctor's unnerving thoughts, more focused on enjoying her day of relaxation. Chopsticks picked at the greens in her yakisoba noodles, careful not to get anything on her shirt.

"It's nice, actually," the diclonius smiles, taking another bite of her noodles; it was inappropriate to slurp your food in public, and so, her speech was spaced out in between bites.

"I could get spoiled off of all of this."

"Most people are, since a good lot are so used to this sort of activity." The Doctor said, taking another bite of noodles. "You're not, of course. So, in your case, it's best if you experience this sort of thing every once in a while. The more you go on holidays like this, the more you become desensitized by them."

Lucy shot him a look, as if she seemed confused by his statement. Catching her look in mid bit, his eyes widened as a bit of noodle hung from his mouth before it was slurped up. He blinked, as he recalled what he just said. It seemed he just put his foot in his mouth with that statement. "Not that I take my holidays for granted mind you!" He said in defense. "What would give you the idea that I would be desensitized by my own travels?"

Lucy's face morphed into a cheeky expression, "Well, Doctor, it could be the fact that you are so casual when it comes to speak about your travels—I'm sure if I ever asked you the question as to whether or not you met the Emperor of China, you would so casually say to me," she clears her throat, prepared to mimic the Time Lord's voice.

"Oh yes! A fine chap he was! Very good at mahjong! Terrible taste in tea though!" Lucy covers her mouth in amusement, before picking at her yakisoba once more.

"Who else would be able to talk about royalty like that? Though—I suppose it would come natural for you to grow accustom and desensitized to your travels and such. Even when it comes to vacations. When you are used to something, you can't help but act as if."

The Doctor scrunched his eyebrows in mock anger as the Diclonius actually made a rather perfect impersonation of the Time Lord. He couldn't help but shrug at Lucy's comment. "I suppose you're right." He said. "Of course, it's difficult to be desensitized to holidays that are as wonderful as mine."

After taking a bit of Yakisoba into his mouth, he pointed his chopsticks to Lucy. "I should tell you, though..." The Doctor started, before swallowing his food. "Sometimes my holidays have been spoiled more often than not by some sort of crisis that has occurred on a planet. You wouldn't believe how often they've been spoiled by an alien invasion, or even by the fact it was ruled by a dictator."

He chuckled as he stirred up his noodles. "It's hard to take my trips for granted when all sorts of excitement is happening."

"That does not sound fun at all—though, I suppose you're accustom to wrenches in your plans. I, for one, probably would as well, if I were in your situation; always moving about, fixing problems. Hmm… Come to think of it, neither of us have really normal lives," Lucy leans back against the bench, placing her yakisoba cup between her legs. Eyes lazily glance upwards at the clouds, watching birds soar over their eyes.

For a moment, she envies their freedom.

"… Then again, there really isn't such a thing as normal, is there?" Glancing over, there was a questioning look on her face, wishing for her thought to be verified as the truth.

"Normality is but a relative thing, Lucy." The Doctor said. "If you talk about peace of mind and times of rest, then I can see what you mean. But to us, there's no such thing as normal."

He flashed a toothy grin as he leaned in close to Lucy's questioning look, echoing the words of his second incarnation. "Because our lives are different from anybody else's. After all... no one else on this planet can do what we do, can they?" He asked, raising his eyebrows like a Cheshire cat.

"You are correct," Lucy nods in thought, tapping her disposal chopsticks against the rim of the noodle container, "I don't know anything about the planet that you are from, or the ones that you have visited, but I think it is safe to assume that they don't have the same life forms as this one… They don't have the same birds, the same insects, the same humans. They don't have the same sea, skies, or grass. I guess that makes Earth beautiful in its own right. And in time—I suppose I will truly be able to appreciate the planet that I call home, without having to reshape it."

The Doctor smiled as he finished off the rest of his yakisoba. Tossing the rubbish into a receptical, he stood up and scratched his curly head. "That was a wonderful yakisoba break." He said, content with the meal he just had. The Time Lord held a hand out to Lucy, offering to help her stand. "Think you're up for a bit more exploring, Lucy?"

"Absolutely." she chimed, dropping the trash into the bin, following after the Time Lord. It had occurred to her that he was rather heavily dressed for the Japanese summer. How could he be comfortable? Shaking her head to herself, Lucy reserves the thoughts, retreating back into Kamakura's crowd.

Everything was at peace. An unsettling relaxed atmosphere.

"'Bout time that I get tipped off," the soldier grunts to himself, the butt of his cigarette clutched between his teeth, plucking it with his fingers and taking a drag; Bando had an unnerving fascinating with the idea of killing. To put it bluntly, he practically got off on it. The thought of ending somebody's life and watching their guts spew here and there—it excited him.

He'd been waiting so damned long for this moment. The day that he would get revenge for the monster that stole his arms and his eyes.

"I'm coming for you girly…!"

It took him no time at all to make it into Kamakura's city, his weapons concealed in the light jacket over his shoulders. Green and brown blended into the crowd, eyes shielded from sight.

The next half hour was spent in ignorant glee, as the Doctor and Lucy spent a good amount of time looking at sights, sharing laughs, and browsing the shopping arcades that were scattered about in Kamakura's urban area.

However, as Lucy was trying on a hat that one of the vendors was selling, a sudden shiver ran down the Time Lord's spine. The Doctor couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was here. That someone may be coming for him.

Were they being watched...?

The swarms of people made it difficult to pinpoint who exactly was on their tail. But one thing was clear. They had to shift away, and fast.

As Lucy put down the hat, the Doctor moved closer to the Diclonius and took her hand. As she looked up, both exchanged a smile and went on their merry way. Only the Doctor picked up the pace a bit, hoping to shake off their pursuer...

It did not take much for Lucy to realize the shift in mood; the Time Lord was walking rather quickly for their earlier mood—rushing, not even bothering to stop and look at everything. The change had left Lucy on edge, feeling anxious.

"Uhm—Doctor—Doctor?" Her brows furrow, "What are you doing? You're walking pretty quickly! I might trip."

Both hands grip onto one of his, trying to coax him into slowing down a little.

That was when the beast sensed a similar feeling that her companion had as well, unnerving chills crawling through her nerves—the sensation of being spotted among the hundreds of people on the streets.

"Then try to keep up with me, Lucy." The Doctor said, smiling at her. "I do walk pretty quick, after all." Their pace was slowed down just a bit when they came upon a bigger crowd of people. Pausing for a bit, the Doctor scanned within the far reaches of the crowd to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.

The crowd on the opposite side of the street was just as big as the crowd that the Doctor and Lucy hid within. It was far too congested, as there were too many people that looked friendly or nonplussed. He could tell that 99% of the crowd showed no interest in the two.

That was, until he had found the one percent.

The Time Lord caught a fleeting glimpse of a man in sunglasses, and was dressed in a red shirt with a leather jacket over it. It looked like he was pausing to scout the area too.

There was no doubt to the Doctor anymore. Someone was pursuing them. Grasping Lucy's hand, he ducked down and whispered into her ear.

"Stay close to me, and act natural, Lucy." He said.

With that, the two picked up the pace, and weaved between the people in the congested crowd.

"I fucking know that pink hair and horns are different from what all these other poor bastards look like, but it woulda been pretty damn swell if that detective had told me where the fuck to find that bitch," the soldier complains under his breath, lighting yet another cigarette and bringing it to his lips. Behind his sunglasses, nobody would see the hunter scouting out for prey.

Mixing into the downtown area of Kamakura, Bando recalled something else that the detective had mentioned.

"With her is a man, just about over 182 centimeters—he's wearing a thick red coat and a lengthy scarf. You can't miss him. He towers over nearly everybody else in the crowd. Just pick out the one that sticks out like a sore thumb."

Bando scoffed, dragging at his cigarette, "Guess I'll have to gun down the big giraffe as well…"

It did not take much longer for the diclonius to realize that the two of them were in danger—the choice in the Time Lord's words could only indicated that there was, indeed, somebody trailing them. Somebody threatening. Lucy picks up her pace, doing her best to remain in a neutral stance, not wishing to give away the fact that the two of them were trying to avoid somebody.

Ten minutes had passed since the vulgar man was sent on his mission—a flash of color then appears in the crowd, moving quickly—a very familiar magenta.

"Ehhh?" A wicked smiles stretches on his cheeks. "Pink hair—found you, ya horned bitch."

One is often told to never look back when avoiding somebody—but then again, curiosity killed the cat is not just a tale, it is the truth. And curiosity was grabbing at Lucy's attention; the diclonius turns around, trying to get a look at whatever was following them, when she saw the same figure that the Doctor had spotted.

"No..." Lucy's eyes widen, staring forward, whispering harshly, "We need to get out of here RIGHT NOW!"

"We'll weave through the crowds, Lucy." The Doctor said. "I've got an idea..."

The Doctor held on tightly to Lucy's hand as the pair of them weaved through the crowd, trying to see if they could shake off the stranger. There was an allyway that was found just as a torrent of people made their way on the sidewalk. The Doctor dragged Lucy into the ally. "This way." He said. "We'll take a few shortcuts."

When they crossed the allyway, it looked like they had lost him as they found another crowd of people to blend into.

"Ghhh, they think that can just shake me off?Precious pansies," the soldier grunts to himself, picking up his pace; in the moment, he began shoving through the crowd, not caring who he pushed aside or injured in the process. His eyes were on the gold, and was not going to let the wanted diclonius escape with her life.

"I have a feeling someone has it in for us, Lucy."The Doctor said. "Though it sounded like you knew who I was looking at." He said, still keeping a keen out for any other possible pursuers. "Who exactly was he? Sunglasses, leather coat, and red shirt, it looked like it. Something about him seemed off."

As Bando moved in, closer and closer, Lucy's heart palpitates rapidly, a flood of memories all coming back—the adrenaline of the chase was forcing her to think quickly; if need be, she could use her vectors to pick up their pace.

"That man is supposed to be dead..!" Lucy rasped, looking over her shoulder again, "He's been tasked to kill me by the Japanese government! Quick!" He had been spotted once more. How was that bastard moving so fast?!

The Doctor was now being dragged by Lucy this time, her own pace quickend as obvious fear took over. If this person has indeed been sent to kill her, someone must have tipped him off. Who could have told him that Lucy was here? Her horns aren't even visible...!

"Lucy! Lucy, calm down!"

The Diclonius refused to stop, her grip tightening on the Doctor's hand. He looked behind, and noticed an obvious ripple of people being created. He must have found them!

Acting quickly, he moved ahead of Lucy. "I have an idea." He said. "Follow me. We're going to lure him."

He then quickly led his companion to another alleyway, and stopped there. As Lucy panted, the Doctor looked straight into her eye.

"Lucy." He whispered. "Follow my lead."

The Doctor feigned exhaustion, wiping his forehead. "Oh dear! It's certainly good that we lost whoever was chasing us! It would be such a shame if they found us in this alleyway!"

Had the Doctor completely lost it?! Stopping now to rest—no, he had some sort of plan, there was no way that the Time Lord would ever put Lucy in danger. Had it been anybody else, the diclonius would have ditched the other party and ran off on her own.

But trust was something that had to be built and proven.

Arching her back and panting, both hands on her knees, Lucy tries to catch her breath, hazed maroon hues shaking.

"Y-yeah…" She is a terrible actor.

Luckily, the duo did not require being A class thespians in order to throw off Bando—the vulgar soldier did not take long to catch up with the two.

"TIRED OUT ALREADY?!" Bando's shadow stretches out and into alley, his handgun cocked and prepared to shoot, "I mean REALLY? We've been playing cat and mouse for the past fucking year almost—I've been waiting for you bitch—you mean to tell me that you're tired?!"

It took every nerve in the beast's body not to lash out and kill the hunter right in cold blood.

"What's the matter? SAY SOMETHING! I know how much you like talking shit!" Bando looks over at the Time Lord, amused. "You, are you her baby sitter or some shit? This woman is a criminal! You'll get charged for hiding her wherever the fuck you've been."

The Doctor could not help but widen his eyes at the brash, vulgar man standing behind them. He let out a slew of curse words and insults. In the back of his mind, the Doctor was wishing that he activated the TARDIS's language filter earlier...

Keeping his back turned, he rotated slowly around, until he faced the man. "Dear goodness, you've got quite a mouth. Has anyone told you to watch your language-" He then found the gun in his hand, and flashed a toothy grin. "-Oh, hello! I don't suppose you're our pursuer?"

He kept Lucy behind him, his arms raised to let him know that he was unarmed. "You'll have to excuse my fugitive friend. She needed a bit of air, as my own little 'prison cell' was getting a bit stuffy for her. There's a Police Box not far from here. I'll promptly take her there myself in due time."

Just by looking at this man, the Doctor knew he had more muscle than brains. A simple outwit would do the trick it would seem. He just needed to find an opening...

The Time Lord waved with his hand. "I'm very sorry we haven't properly introduced, dear fellow. I'm the Doctor. If you don't mind, I'd like to know the name of my killer since obviously I won't live too long to know about it."

"What—What the fuck are you going on about?!Don't you see that I'm about to paint that building's wall with your brains?! This isn't a game! You're in my way, and your lil' lady friend is my prey," Bando growls, firing a warning shot into a trash can by Lucy's foot.

Promptly, the horned one moves out of the way, blocking any sort of ricochet with her vectors. Eyes hardened further—oh how satisfying it would have been to remind that filthy man just exactly what he was messing had already been defeated at the hands of Lucy twice before. What made him think that he would be successful this time?

Bando was growing anxious as well; his lips pulled into a displeased snarl, pointing his weapon at the Doctor's face once more.

"As for you, I don't care who the hell you are! I don't mind taking you with her!"

"I'm certain that you don't." The Doctor said. "Like you said, this is not a game. My life is in danger, as is hers. We're obviously not going to make it out of here alive. After all, you're the one with the gun, right?"

The mercenary became perplexed by the Doctor's talkative attitude, but still kept the gun aimed right between the Time Lord's eyes. His teeth were gritting. He was becoming impatient. It was working. He needed to keep talking, and buy him and Lucy some time.

The Doctor gingerly moved forward. "All I want to know is your name." He said. "Afterward, you are free to kill me in any way that you wish. I'll even let you decide on how to kill me! Sounds good, doesn't it?" He still moved gingerly closer, but stopped a but short when he got to a close enough distance.

The Doctor had one shot at this. It was time to make it count.

"Now, let's try this again. What's your name?"

Lucy watched each and every step that the Doctor took, keeping an eye on all of his gestures and movements—he was going to get a bullet through his damn skull, she was sure of it! What in the world was he up to? Tempted to intervene, the beast arches down a little, prepared to lash out if need be—but she could not help but notice the Time Lord's posture, as if he were about to grab something and utilize it.

"I don't normally give out my name like a business card to my victims," Bando grunts, almost annoyed by his prey's content attitude. What was the point of the hunt if the deer was not going to run? It was irritating, insulting.

"You're NO different!"

His finger pressed on the trigger, prepared to put a bullet right between the Time Lord's eyes.

The diclonius' heart sinks to her stomach just a moment before...

"DOCTOR!"

"LUCY! Stay back!" The Doctor cried out.

The Doctor eyed his killer. He was getting to him, alright. But he really needed to know who this man was. If he wasn't going to let up, he needed to talk.

But he needed to talk now.

"On the contrary, my dear fellow. I'm quite different. More so than you would think." He flashed another toothy grin. "Why deny someone who will die one last thing they want? After all, it's just a name. I've told you mine."

His smile then became sincere. "I'm looking at the reaper right in the eyes. The least I could have is one last request. It's nothing big. Just your name." He tilted his head downward, still keeping his gaze on the killer. The Doctor had to act soon. The killer was getting impatient, and his finger was pressing on the trigger in anticipation.

"Honor me in my last request, old chap." The Time Lord said. "What's your name?"

Cocking his head back in vexation, the mercenary's lips curl down into a sour smolder; he was not getting any less impatient, and his anger was only bubbling and churning in his stomach. This was not fun at all! In fact, this was just a mockery to his name!

"It's BANDO!" He spat, one of his eyelids twitching in anticipation; unlike his opponent, Bando was not one to react well to words. And unbeknownst to him, all of this was but one large rouse.

Time seemed to stand still as Lucy stared head on at the Time Lord and the hunter, unsure of what was going to happen—her heart maintained shelter in her stomach, almost prepared to spew everywhere.

"Bando, eh?" The Doctor asked. "How do you do? It's a pleasure to meet you for the first, and possibly last time."

The time was now. The Doctor had to act fast. In the back of his mind, as he was already making Bando angry, he formed a plan.

"Now, I can only imagine you want to shoot me right between the eyes. I just have to ask, may I take off my scarf? I don't want the thing damaged and bloodied when I die."

Bando only scoffed as he made a gesture with his gun, signaling him to make it quick.

With a smile, the Doctor unwrapped the scarf around his neck, and looked at the long fabric. Far too often, this twelve-foot striped accessory seemed to have served him well for quite some time. He then glanced over to Bando's legs, as a similar idea from one of his travels popped into his head on what to do.

Looks like it might just prove useful again.

Quick as a cat, the Doctor whipped the scarf around one of Bando's legs, which made an instant lasso. With a strong tug, the Doctor was able to trip Bando, his gun toppling out of his hand and in front of the Time Lord.

He made a dive for the gun, and tugged at his scarf again, undoing the knot from Bando's leg. He grabbed Lucy's hand as he ran out of the alleyway like a bat out of hell.

"RUN LUCY!" The Doctor shouted. "RUN!"

"BRILLIANT!" Lucy's face beams for just a moment before shifting into gear, grabbing onto the Time Lord's hand as tightly as possible, making a mad dash out of the alleyway and back into the busy Kamakura streets.

Thrown off by the scarf tripping him, Bando hit his head on the concrete, a slur of cussing escaping his mouth; not only was he now pissed the hell off, he had lost his shot.

"God fucking DAMNIT!" Scrambling to his feet, the hunter fumes, digging into his jacket and retrieving a replacement pistol.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST PLAY GAMES WITH ME LIKE THIS?! TCH! THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!" A wild expression grows on his face, that of a killer stalking his prey. It was all or nothing at this point, and Bando was going to bring home the beef today, whether the Doctor and Lucy liked it. Without any hesitation, he pushes forward in pursuit.

The beast's eyes flicker around, breathing heavily as they fled through the streets, "We need to get out of sight," Lucy panics to herself, eventually finding herself running ahead of the Doctor, "never thought—that scarf—would save our tail!"

Behind them, a now even angrier Bando picks up his pace, practically blinded with anger, and not worrying about running around in public with a weapon in his hand, plain as day.

"RUN, RABBIT! RUN!"

The Doctor quickly wrapped the scarf around his neck, and pocketed the gun. "We have to cut through the alleyways. Head him off, and weave our way until we lose him. That should give us enough time to get back to the TARDIS!"

He was panting as he ran. "I think we've put enough distance between us and-" He turned around, and saw Bando had another gun on him!

He was getting ready to shoot!

Widening his eyes, he shouted to the crowd as he ran. "Everyone get down! There's a man with a gun!"

Three shots were fired and rang through the busy streets. People screamed and scrambled to get out of the way.

"I SAID GET DOWN!" The Doctor shouted, keeping his head down.

Firearms were not a common sight in Kamakura, unless they were being carried by police officers. Even so, their use had only been frequent in the past year or two, and so, it was still an unfamiliar thing to see for many of the citizen. And so, when the furious hunter was waving it around freely, not caring about catching an innocent person in the middle of his fire, people began to panic.

"H-he's got a gun! HE'S GOT A GUN!"

Mothers cradled their children to their sides and fled the area, business men ducked and headed into stores and restaurants. Students that were in the town on an outing froze and stared for but a moment before being wrangled by their teachers.

As somebody who was used to getting shot at, Lucy made sure that two vectors made a presence, shielding both the Doctor and herself.

Bando was notletting up, however. No matter how fast his prey moved, he adapted and moved even faster, determined to get them by the neck. Pushing people aside, his eyes never left those locks of pink. Somebody had already been clipped by a stray bullet, and he was not going to be apologizing any time soon.

The ruckus had caught the attention of Kamakura's police; cars were already being dispatched to the area with great speed once they heard that a chase had been in action. Sirens flooded the streets.

This made Lucy even more on edge. If they saw that she was involved, this would get sour quickly.

The Doctor yanked Lucy as he made a sharp right turn. "Through here, Lucy! Quick!" The duo sped through a group of shopping stands before heading into an alley way. There was one problem, however.

The alley was a dead end.

The Doctor flicked his head in all directions, trying to find some sort of advantage they could use in escaping Bando.

He was closing in on them, and quickly. They had to find a way out, or more people were going to get hurt, or possibly killed.

'Police dispatched to the downtown Kamakura area, reports of a public shooting have been confirmed, subject is in pursuit of two civilians—one foreigner and one of native descent. The gunner appears to be hostile, proceed with caution.'

The authorities were also beginning to close in, causing Bando move faster—faster—faster.

There were multiple walls preventing their escape. No fences, nor any crevaces. However, he thought of something.

"We've got to try and gain the high ground on Bando." He thought out loud. "Lucy, can you use your vectors to scale one of these buildings?"

The Time Lord did not have to ask twice. Immediately, Lucy nodded.

"Yeah—let me just..." two vectors reach out and grab onto the Doctor, the other grappling into the side of the building, "Alright! HOLD ON TIGHT!"

With an incredible push of energy, Lucy began to climb the office building without any sort of hesitation, not even looking behind her. Adrenaline pushed through her form, causing her movements to be even more sufficient.

The Doctor was taken by surprise by the sudden wave of movement as he was levitated off of the ground thanks to Lucy's vectors. As the two scaled the building, he just looked at Lucy.

"Hold on? There's nothing to hold on, too!"

He then looked at his scarf, and then back at Lucy. "Wait a minute! Yes there is!"

In an instant, the Doctor unwrapped the scarf again, and tied a knot on it, making a makeshift lasso. Swinging it as carefully as possible, the Doctor threw the loop onto Lucy's shoulders, who seemed to grasp the idea very quickly, and slid it to her torso, tightening the knot.

The Time Lord gripped the fabric as tight as possible, wrapping it around his wrist so that his grip won't loosen and slip.

"Whatever you do, Lucy..." The Doctor said. "Do not let me fall!"

"I wouldn't even think of it!" Lucy assured that her companion would not fall and perish, not as long as her vectors were present and in use.

It did not take too long for the blood-boiled mercenary to find the alleyway that they had fled to, eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses once he saw that they were now scaling the buildings.

"Looks like this game just got to the next level!" Bando speaks in his sinister tone, throwing himself upwards and climbing the building's fire escape.

"He's fast!" The Diclonius gasps quietly, picking up her pace to the best of her ability, making it to the top of the office building.

"ONE UP FOR BANDO!" He was only milliseconds behind, scaling the fire escape with incredible ease, chasing them across the building's roof.

Lucy's immediate reaction was to leap to the next structure—in which she did, launching herself and the Doctor right across, landing with her vectors.

Clutching his chest, the Doctor tried to maintain his composure as he was being launched with force from Lucy's vectors. He certainly wasn't used to being held onto by invisible limbs. He cranked his head behind him, and saw that Bando has already made it to the roof!

"How did he get up there so quickly!?" The Doctor asked, in total shock.

He looked around, trying to see what they could do to shake him off. His gaze wondered to the railing of the roof. He snapped his fingers.

"Lucy, I've got an idea!" The Doctor said, pointing to the railing. "Get us onto the side of this building. Bando will have a hard time getting a clear shot on us!"

"I'm on it!" Lucy leaped forward, landing them on the roof's railing, running across it with nearly perfectly balance.

By this point, people crowding the streets were cranking their heads upwards, marveling in the chase's excitement. Many of them had their phones out, recording everything to be posted on the internet. Police officers continued to chase down the streets, using their speakers to boom their voices up to the roof.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! CEASE THE CHASE AND DROP YOUR WEAPON!"

Bando smolders, grinning like a pig in shit.

"Like hell I will. This is my prize," the hunter spoke, eyes never leaving his two targets. Once he feels enough accuracy, his gun is raised, pulling at the trigger and shooting off a bullet in their direction.

Fortunately for Lucy, the bullet only grazed her arm, but the shock itself was enough for her vectors to retract for a moment.

"AH! Shit—!"

"Lucy-AAAAHHH!"

The Doctor could tell that Lucy caught a bullet to her arm, but it must have let her vector grip loose, because the Doctor fell, and the force pulled Lucy down with him!

Fortunately, Lucy launched her vectors to where it four of them grasped the side of the building, making obvious holes in them.

Thank goodness the Doctor made that scarf lasso, otherwise just that little bullet graze would have spelled the end for the Time Lord. Now, here he was, dangling underneath his companion as she hovered overhead, the vectors providing anchor points.

"Lucy! Grab me again with your vectors!" He shouted. "I'm not quite in the mood to be as flat as a flapjack!"

In a state of panic, Lucy stumbles, nearly falling off of the roof of the building before her vectors reached out and grabbed at its side, dangling there for but a moment. She had to breathe—lest she allow the rush of the moment to overtake her senses. Bando was not going to let up, and so she had to move quickly. Two vectors reached down and once more clamped onto the Doctor before forcing the two of them up and onto the roof; the chase had resumed.

Bando scowls, not pleased with the fact that his bullet was but a stray—shots like that did not take down beasts.

"YOU THINK THAT'S WHAT I GOT? C'MON!" Faster and faster and FASTER! The hunter seemed to be a bounty of energy, fueled by the very thought of crushing Lucy's skull under his foot, "KILLIN' YA IN FRONT OF YOUR LITTLE NANNY IS GONNA BE FUN!"

At no point were the police going to let up. Cars continued to rush after the three individuals leaping from roof to roof. Sirens flooded the streets—not a single person in all of Kamakura's downtown would be able to drown out the sounds of the chase. All eyes were on the diclonius, the Time Lord, and the mercenary. All ears were open to them as well.

…All eyes. All ears.

A man in a suit watched the chase unfold through a news story on television. As he saw Lucy running along with the scarved man, he smiled to himself. Taking out his phone, he dialed a number and put it to his ear.

It rang on the other side.

"Kamakura Police Department." The opposite end answered.

"Get me Captain Tanaka."

Silence on the line, and then another line picked up.

"Captain Tanaka speaking."

"Hello, Captain. This is Director Kakuzawa."

The Doctor and Lucy had now hopped across four rooftops now, and Bando was still in hot pursuit of them. He was obviously augmented, somehow. No normal human could leap across rooftops and scale buildings like that.

This needed to end. Now. The only question was how?

As the Doctor thought of a million possible scenarios as to stop Bando, his eyes widened.

"Lucy, stop!" The Doctor shouted. "Stop and find a hiding spot! I've got another idea!"

Despite the cruel loss that he had suffered against Lucy during his first two encounters, the hunter could consider those moments blessings in disguise; suffering the loss of his eyes and arms, he had been gifted with augmented, advanced body parts. His eyes could function similar to the lens of a camera, giving him incredible sight. The arms, able to crush practically anything in his grasp. Due to already being well-trained and fit, it was only a matter of receiving the faux-limbs in order to turn him into a monster of a soldier.

"Hide?"Lucy was far more than shocked to hear that—what was this man up to now?! The Doctor could not handle Bando on his own—could he? Then again, not once had the Time Lord ever let Lucy down. "I-"

"Lucy, trust me!" The Doctor said. "I'm going to see what I can do against Bando." His head whipped around, facing the Diclonius. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

With hesitation, Lucy whips her head side to side before leaping off of the building, landing them nearby a connecting bridge between downtown Kamakura and Enoshima Island. Rolling off to the side, she leapt downwards, slipping away and hiding out among the cluster of buildings nearby.

Bando scowled, unamused, landing on his feet and shooting the Time Lord a nasty look.

"You're about as fucking obnoxious as that other horned bitch." he spits, cracking his neck on both sides, "Don't tell me you're friends with this urchin—if I gotta terminate ya' before I can tussle with the queen bee, guess I got no choice."

The Doctor looked at Bando with a gaze that many of his enemies were familiar was not the type of person that would be intimidated so man would prove to be no different than the barbaric Daleks he had faced beforehand.

"That 'urchin', as you call her, is one of the most wonderful creatures I've ever laid my eyes on.I can only assume you're here to kill her for the other killings she has committed."He shook his head."I'm not about to let you ruin all of the improvements I've helped her to make."

The Doctor then reached into his pocket, and pulled out the Desert Eagle, pointing it at Bando. "If you think that I am merely a pushover, that I will let you beat me into submission because you can flex your muscles like a dumb ape, then you, Bando…"The Time Lord's eyes squinted at his opponent."…are gravely mistaken."

The mercenary did not enjoy being treated as if he was lower on the tier just because he was not the most 'book smart' person available; he had already been thrown off by the Time Lord earlier in this conflict, and he was not about to allow it again. When his own Desert Eagle was held in the man's hand, Bando bites at the inside of his cheek in frustration, listening to his opponents bantering.

And then, a laugh.

"So this is how it's gonna be?" Bando's chortle grows, his arms being thrown up, "You won't shoot me with that. You don't have the spine to do it. You woulda shot me already if ya could! Let's handle this like men," he speaks lowly, dropping his own weapon to the ground.

"One on one. I'll beat you to a pulp with my own damn hands."

The Doctor couldn't help but chuckle. It had been a while since he had fought hand to hand. That was a common event during his third incarnation, with his Venusian Akido knowledge. Some of that knowledge was lost when he had regenerated, but he was still one to stand toe to toe in a fist fight, especially so during the fight with Goth on Gallifrey in the Matrix.

"You're right, Bando." He said. "I never liked the idea of guns anyway." He then ejected the magazine, and slid the chamber open, ejecting the bullet. The Doctor went on to disassemble the gun before it was just a pile of parts and springs, before tossing them over the building.

Bando looked at where the Doctor threw the gun parts, and back at him with an annoyed, angry look. "That was my favorite gun, you son of a bitch!"

"Oh come now. You can get another one." The Doctor said, before forming a fighting stance. "I think I ought to warn you, I'm rather quick on my feet. But I'm a generous fellow." He flashed a toothy grin.

"I'll let you have the first shot, Bando."

Sweat had already been forming on the bounty hunter's brow, the anticipation of utterly destroying this—this—disgusting savior of monsters. To think that anybody would ever want to give mercy to a beast that murdered innocent people—the creature that took his arm—the bitch that blinded him.

How Bando would relish in this.

"Generous my ass, I already saw that when you were keepin' that horned bitch safe." Bando sneered, anticipation in his eyes as his knuckles cracked.

"C'MON!" He shouted, going in with a sharp punch to the Doctor's jaw, aiming to knock him from his balance. If that did not work out and he was blocked, Bando would have to regroup.

Quick as a cat, the Doctor narrowly avoided the punch, ducking down and swooping just behind Bando. He glanced at Bando's legs. One of his legs was completely extended to help bring strength to the punch. The Time Lord delieved a swift side kick to the back side of Bando's knee, knocking him down to one leg.

The Doctor backpeddled to a concrete doorway leading to the maintenance floor from the roof. Bando seemed to have a one track mind when it came to attacking. He'd need to dodge his next punch so that he could break his hand on the concrete.

"Come now, Bando." The Time Lord taunted. "Is that the best you've got?"

The strike on his leg did not come as a surprise to the hunter; attempting to catch him off guard? Not likely. But if there was one thing that was true about Bando, it was that his patience was his worst enemy. The sound of sirens wailing in the background only broke his concentration further. Falling to the ground due to his balance being disrupted, the vicious man, rolled in order to get back to his feet.

"Tch, shut the hell up! I can't stand listening to you!" He screams, his foot aiming to kick straight into the Doctor's stomach.

Luckily, the distance proved to be a great telegraph to Bando's kick. The Doctor was able to duck again, and shove Bando's kicking leg to the side. Balling his fist, the Time Lord aimed a well timed punch to Bando's kidney.

"UUHFFF!"

The shot brought the hunter down to one knee again, with the Doctor enveloping his arms on Bando's neck, putting a headlock on him. However, Bando's rage only built further. He was far too close to achieving his revenge on that monstrosity that took his eyes and limbs away from him. This man would not steal that moment's glory!

Prosthetic hands gripped harshly at the Doctor's arms, the pressure incredibly strong due to being robotic in nature, just forceful enough to break the headlock.

As the two men duked it out, Lucy had done just as she was told: wait and lurk without drawing any sort of attention. Though, that was beginning to become difficult, as she could hear the police sirens blasting louder and louder as they grew closer.

"I have to get rid of them." the Diclonius whispered harshly to herself, "but how...?"

This was normally where her vectors would crash down mercilessly, but now, she had to think fast, and craft...

A hand reached for the scarf around her neck, and an idea came to mind...

Bando broke free of the choke hold, as he elbowed the Doctor's midsection to shake him off. Coughing a bit, the Doctor tried to stabilize himself.

"You're good, Bando." He said. "But you're still one track minded. Thankfully, your weakness is not your technique."

Bando growled and let loose a flurry of punches, the Doctor dodging each one. However, as he was backed up into the maintenance entrance, a very unpleasent surprise awaited him.

The Bounty Hunter, with a loud scream, put all his power into one punch, and aimed at the Time Lord's head.

The Doctor shifted to the side, but didn't expect Bando to punch straight through the concrete!

The Time Lord did a double take, his eyes widened in horror and shock. That was no strength of a mere human. His shock was well warranted, as it dawned on him. With his mouth agape, and eyes wide as saucers, he voiced the reason of Bando's skill and power.

"Cybernetic augmentations!?"

Bando cusses under his breath; had that punch been any harder, it could have ruined his cybernetic hand.

"Both hands and both god damn eyes! See what that bitch did to me?! T' think you're gonna just keep me from getting back at her is fucking insane!" the bounty hunter spits, his fist crashing right into the Doctor's stomach the moment that the shock had given him some leeway.

"You keep hidin' her from me, and you're gonna see everybody on this god damn planet KILLED! Is that what you want? Maybe you're just as vicious as her? Huh? Is that it!?"

The Doctor fell to his knees, gripping his stomach, as Bando grabbed his hair and threw him against the wall.

"AUUGGH!"

Bando wound his arm up again for another shot at the Doctor's head, but he ducked in time, and rolled out of the way to get some distance.

So, Bando was augmented, and Lucy was the one that did this to him. No wonder Lucy was frightened of him. This man was ruthless. He had to incapacitate him somehow.

But how...? Fighting him was like fighting a Cyberman! He had to find a way to disable his augmentations, somehow...

Yet, as he tried to formulate a plan, the Doctor's anger was starting to show, as Bando had kept insinuating that Lucy was still a monster. Ironic, as Bando relished in dishing out pain.

"You..." He began, trying to catch his breath. "You don't know Lucy as well as I do. And yet you're one to talk! You keep claiming that Lucy is a monster, and yet you opened fire in a crowed of innocents! The very hypocrisy coming from you is staggering!"

He then laughed. "She hurt you, now you're going to hurt her back. Vengeance gets you nowhere, Bando. All your conflict will leave is a lot of collateral damage, and innocent people injured, or even killed. Not by Lucy, but by you."

The Time Lord then stood up, brushing his coat off. "You are not going anywhere near my friend." He then braced himself for Bando's next attack. "If that means I have to take you out, then so be it. No one hurts my friends!"

The Doctor stared daggers at the bounty hunter.

"Not even dumb apes like you!"

A man who makes himself familiar and comfortable with monsters, how fitting of something from another planet.

Bando was one to talk—he flourished when bathed in violence, but in his state of mind, it was completely different—all of this was absolutely different. And as he was beaten and bloodied by this scarved man, he continued to boil.

"She's got you whipped," the hunter hisses in pain, lifting his head as he heard the authorities coming closer; police cars had swarmed near the boardwalk where Lucy was hiding beneath, officers getting out and pointing their guns.

"HNH... they're gonna open fire at her, and she's gonna kill 'em the moment they try..." Bando snarled as he grabbed at the Time Lord, twisting his arm and forcing him to watch.

Lucy stood there, watching as the policemen raised their weapons, aiming and preparing; the last time this happened, she had lost a horn and nearly lost her life.

"COME OUT! YOU'RE SURROUNDED!"

But rather than attacking, her plan was far different...

Ripping the scarf off of her neck, she used her vectors to stretch it out, tripping all of the men and dashing forward, staring ahead at the fight going on between the Doctor and Bando.

"Hang in there," she speaks hurriedly.

The Doctor flashed a proud toothy grin, still trying to make due to the pain Bando was putting on his arm. His forceful watch proved to be ineffective.

"Sorry to say, but you were wrong." He said to the bounty hunter. "Normally, she would have killed them. But who do you think taught her that there was another way?" The Time Lord laughed in triumph, before turning his attention to Lucy.

"Lucy!" He shouted. "Get out of there! More police are going to swarm this block!"

Leaving the Time Lord alone with Bando was not going to be productive, and no matter where she ran, the police would chase—there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.

They HAD to get to the TARDIS. And if she could reach the Doctor quickly enough, they could escape the scene and leave to safety, despite the noise and chaos that had been brewing due to her appearance.

Bando stammered in surprise, the shock showing on his face. This was the beast that had nearly killed him... and not a single vector was raised!

"Wha... H-How? How!?"

Lucy scaled towards where the Doctor and the bandit were fighting, and with her vectors, she grabbed Bando and moved him out of the way.

"Doctor, we need to get out of here quickly. We have no choice, we need to get to the TARDIS!"

"Yes, but Bando made so much of a racket that I don't know if we'll even be able to reach the Old Girl." The Doctor said, going over to one end of the rooftop. He scanned over the area, trying to gauge where the TARDIS could be, and where the police tailed them during the chase.

"The police have been chasing us for the past four blocks." He explained. "They're going to try to contain us and surround this whole block. We're going to have to move fast if we want to reach the TARDIS."

As the Doctor formulated his plan, Bando was struggling to get to his feet, and he saw his prize. Lucy was unaware, listening to the Doctor. Now was his chance!

"You're mine now, you horned bitch!" He screamed. Bando charged forward, and brought his arm back, ready to slug the Diclonius right in the head.

The Doctor turned around, and eyes widened in alert.

"Lucy! Watch out!"

He shoved his companion out of the way, but the punch that was meant for Lucy connected with the Time Lord.

"AAAGH!"

The Doctor screamed in pain, as the force of the blow brought him straight down into the concrete, face first.

"DOCTOR!" Lucy lashed a vector out to help the Time Lord to his feet, turning her head and gritting her teeth firmly in the direction of the bounty hunter.

That was a familiar expression.

But rather than a rain of death falling upon Bando, a vector lashed out to prevent him from attacking once more—and while the temptation of her voice appeared to be quieted, the struggle was still there.

And those damned sirens were growing LOUDER!

The Diclonius had no choice; she dropped Bando, allowing the Doctor to deal with him as she unfolded a plan to prevent the police from getting too close.

Lucy turned back to Bando, with a glare.

"I'm coming back for you..." She said in a threatening voice, before jumping back down to street level.

As soon as the grip was removed, the bounty hunter growled, lashing out to try a land a savage blow where it SHOULD have gone on his opponent.

"What a CHEAP trick!"

The moment Lucy dropped the Doctor, he still dropped back down in a limp. The force of Bando's punch knocked more than some sense into the Time Lord, but he had to get up, lest he be a chew toy for the hunter.

The Doctor tried to struggled to his feet, pushing himself onto his hands and knees, but fell back down again, his eyes still wide with shock from the pain in his head.

He turned, and tried to crawl to the edge of the building, using the elevation to climb and rise to his feet. With a bit of assistance, he leaned against the edge, and gripped his head.

The Doctor had to bring Bando down, somehow. He had to, or he would no doubt put his and Lucy's head on a pike.

Lucy herself had a problem—her vectors could only block so many bullets, and if those officers started to attack, then it was all over. Watching as they swarmed, the beast's breath picks up, heartbeat fluttering in anxiety. What to do.

She acts on impulse; as they move from their vehicles, she releases her vectors, pushing them back and preventing them from moving forward before ripping the scarf off of her neck. The diclonius repeats her trick from earlier, using those phantom limbs to stretch the fabric and trip those in pursuit.

As for Bando—he was not satisfied. He was growing tired of this fight, watching as the Time Lord struggled.

"Tch, is this it?" He begins to move forward. "Is this what you have to show me, Doc?"

With a great amount of strength, all of the weight of his boot met the gut of the Doctor; Bando watched him crumble to the ground before pressing his boot firmly into the back of his head with a sneering grin. He lights a cigarette, bringing it to his lips to take a drag before speaking up.

"One nice hit to the head and you're out like a light. How pathetic." Bando taunted, before shoving his boot to the Doctor's head. He grabbed his coat and lifted him up with one arm, putting the cigarette in his mouth before grabbing his collar with the other hand.

"If I still had my fucking gun, I'd have taken you out already." Bando continued. "Cause this is just embarrassing as shit. All that big talk and NOTHIN'!" The hunter delivered a strong knee to the Doctor's gut, before throwing him against the edge again.

"Heh, maybe they'll take you in with that horned bitch and knock you around even more!" Bando slapped the Doctor across the face, before delivering another backhand across the other cheek.

"I bet she hasn't even told you a thing about where she came from! REAL nice place...They'd wipe that stupid fucking grin off your face and choke ya with the scarf while they're at it." Bando grabbed the Doctor's curly hair and threw him to the ground again. "C'moooonnn… GET UP ALREADY!"

Bando bent down again to land another strike on the Doctor. Just before his fist met the Doctor's face, the opposite happened.

Acting on instinct, the Doctor slugged Bando with a haymaker of his own, knocking the cigarette out of Bando's mouth. One shot to the temple, and another to the nose, and a headbutt for good measure.

The Doctor then rose up, keeping the distance close between him and Bando. The hunter was staggering, but the Time Lord refused to let up. He let punch after punch let loose at Bando's gut, before launching a right cross at Bando's head. Then another left strike.

Bando was reeling. He shook his head, preparing to take the defensive. "Oh, you're dead now, you son of a-"

The Doctor shut the hunter up with a running punch to the temple, sending Bando staggering and teetering. He still did not fall, however.

The Time Lord grabbed Bando's head, spinning him to gain momentum, and threw him against the concrete edge. Diving toward him, he grabbed Bando's neck.

Their eyes met. Bando saw nothing but rage in the Doctor's eyes. Whatever seemed to be the man that was obfuscating stupidity was gone now, and what remained was a beast that had been unleashed.

One thing was for certain. It was not in the best interest of sentient beings to make a Time Lord angry.

"Look at these eyes, you pitiful human." He said in a low growl. "Do they seem weak to you? Do they?"

The Doctor landed another punch at Bando's face.

"I don't know what you want from Lucy. At this point, I don't care now. I'm not going to let you harm her, or anyone else, for that matter. You are a pathetic worm, Bando. A vile and cruel beast."

He then reached into his pocket, and drew his Sonic Screwdriver.

"Just looking at your eyes, I can easily tell how they work. Unfortunate for you, I have a vast knowledge of cybernetics."

With a toothy grin, he rose the emitter against Bando's eyes.

"Keep your eye on the birdy, Bando." He said. "This won't hurt a bit..."

The Doctor pulled down the switch, and the Sonic emitted his frequency...

"What the hell are you-"

Within a moment, Bando's optic implants shut down. Once again, he was in complete darkness.

"AAAGGHH! MY EYES!"

With a scream like a gutted swine, Bando reaches to grab at his eyes—unable to see a thing with those cybernetic modifications.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME, YOU CURLY HAIRED BASTARD!?"

Hands reached out and lashed, attempting to grab whatever was closest to him. A panic rushes through his chest as the weight of the moment hits him.

His eyes had been disabled.

All the while—the bounty hunter is transported back a year ago, when he was laying like this, pinned to the ground at the beach that stormy evening.

"…Do you enjoy this?"

The beast that had clawed his eyes out with her vectors, blood pouring out of the now empty sockets.

"Fun's over."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Bando shrieked. "I'LL KILL THE BOTH OF YOU!"

Lucy had managed to keep the police at bay; using her vectors to enhance the physical strength of her arms, she fought them off with sharp punches, rather than lashing out and maiming them per the diclonius way. There were so many—and she could only keep them off of their backs for a limited amount of time.

"This is squad 103!" One of the officers said into their radio. "We need back up right now! The girl is hurling my men away with what looks like a scarf, that's floating! My men are being tossed around like ragdolls! You gotta send more officers down here now!"

"Get away!" Lucy demanded, huffing under her breath as she grew exhausting from fighting all of them off.

She had a horrible feeling in her gut.

The two of them had to get out and get out now.

"Can't see much now, can you, Bando?" The Doctor said, cheekily, watching Bando punch the air angrily.

"Why can't I see anything!?" The hunter continued to shout. "What's going on!?"

"What's going on is that I simply shut down your ocular implants." The Doctor explained. "You see, your implants transmit a signal to your optic nerve that mimics the same way real eyes transmit light through rods and cones. Though, your implants are pretty primitive compared to the ones I've seen. Simply put, I emitted an EMP from my Sonic Screwdriver into your cybernetic rods and cones, giving you the inability to transmit images to your optic nerve, and to your brain."

He flashed a toothy grin. "In other words, Bando... You're completely blind."

The battle below had heated up into a stalemate, as two more officers had been launched into the windshield of a police car. The men had drawn their guns as Lucy was backed up next to a car. She had to move, or else they'd stick her in the back of that vehicle, waiting only for the Doctor to join her.

"Keep your guns trained on her!" The captain said. "Safeties off! Deadly force is authorized!"

"That's enough out of you, Miss!" One of the officers said to Lucy. "You're completely surrounded, now! Stand down and get on your knees with your hands in the air! We will open fire if you don't comply!"

"We don't want to hurt you!" Another said. "But you're starting to give us no choice! Surrender or we will be forced to shoot!"

"Nobody is going to be shooting…"

Oh how the Instinct growled and clawed at the depths, wanting to take control and devour all of these men that dared to attack her. No—Lucy needed control for this, as tempting as it was to give in—she made a promise.

She was not going to kill.

She couldn't. Not after everything that the Time Lord had done for her absolution and salvation.

In a last ditch attempt to startle and scare them off, Lucy grits her teeth, pushing all of the strength of her vectors into her right fist, CRASHING it into the ground near one of the police cars—

"What the hell was that?!" One of the officers cries out.

"Move back! She's hostile!"

The strength of the punch was staggering, sending many of the officers backwards, cracking the ground.

"WE HAVE TO GO!" Lucy calls out as loud as she can, hoping that the Time Lord would hear her.

"WE HAVE TO GO! NOW!"

Bando could hear the shouting and screaming, the sounds of the sirens and the officers scrambling to keep control of the situation—all topped off by the gloating of a man that had defeated him.

"This isn't the last time you're gonna see me..." the hunter growls under his panicked breath.

"This isn't over, ya hear?! Whether it's next week or a decade from now, I'll get you back for this! I'll get you both back!"

As Bando continued to shout, the Doctor sauntered behind the hunter, finding a perfect time to shut him up.

"I'm going to make sure you and that horned bitch pay for what you've done to me!"

The Doctor scooted a bit closer behind, winding his hand up across his chest.

"I'm gonna kill you-"

With as much force as he could muster, the Doctor channeled his strength into a single, strong knife edge chop across the back of Bando's neck, plummeting the hulking figure to the concrete.

"Sorry, Bando." The Time Lord said. "I'm afraid I have to cut this short. In fact..." He then lifted his Screwdriver back up and aimed at his arms. "I can't let you have these arms be your weapons for now."

The Doctor switched on the device, and within a moment, he disabled one cybernetic arm, before moving on to the other.

He then dragged the unconscious Bando to one of the railings on the edge of the building, and after withdrawing his Screwdriver, drew out a pair of handcuffs. He knew Bando would break out of them when he regained control of his arms, but this would buy him a bit of time to escape back to the TARDIS.

Fastening the cuffs, he bound Bando to the railings, as he started to stir. Stunned and disorientated, he looked at the Doctor with a glare.

"You..." He groaned. "You're sadistic as she is."

"No, Bando." The Doctor replied. "I'm not. What she did to you back then was torture. Something that she used to do. I spared your life."

"And left me lame and blind." Bando said. "What the hell do you call that?"

"A calculated strike, my friend." Explained the Doctor. "Pinpointing your weaknesses and exploiting them. I may not be a hulking powerhouse as you, but I have higher intellect. It would be wise if you don't underestimate your next opponent who shares that quality."

Bando growled. "Cocky bastard..."

The Doctor flashed a toothy grin. "Cheer up, though, Bando!" He cheerfully said. "Your disabled eyes and arms are only temporary. The effect will last about an hour, and you will have your vision and strength back." He patted his shoulder. "I'll need to leave you here, though. I can't have you following me and Lucy. But don't worry! Everything's going to be alright!"

With that, the Doctor ran away from Bando, making for a nearby fire escape. As he climbed down the steel steps and slid down the ladder leading to the ground in an ally, the Time Lord was able to find Lucy, keeping the police at bay.

"Lucy!" He called out, waving to his companion. "Come on! Let's go!"

As quickly as she could, Lucy raced after the Time Lord—the police officers had been shaken off for the time being, but she was sure that there would be more. She noticed a lack of Bando chasing him down with snarling, bared teeth; Lucy could only assume that the bounty hunter had been 'dealt with' for the time being.

"We have to get them off of our trail," Lucy speaks in haste, "—if we move through the city and towards the hills, we can lose them in the shrines—whatever it takes, we must disappear—disappear and disappear quickly."

The tone in her voice, it was that of prey; a beast such as herself had never spoken in this manner before. Normally, she would have struck back without any mercy, asserting dominance as the higher species.

Now? In exchange for peace, she had to run, instead of hunt.

Lucy was truly scared.

"I didn't want any of this to happen," Lucy spoke as she caught her breath, a hand gripping her chest in frustration, "We cannot go anywhere close to the Maple Inn. It will only put the others in danger."

For there was another diclonius fresh for capture.

"We get to the TARDIS and leave… I do not care where we go, as long as it is away from here."

Was that a stressful tear falling down the horned one's cheek?

Who knew such a thing could cry?

There was a plethora of things that Lucy could say at the moment, but instead, she gestures to continue running.

This could not be the end of it, it would be too easy. A police chase? That was a joke—the most high profile, dangerous being to ever walk Japan's streets was lose and attempting to vanish for good. There were greater, more devious things coming…

"Are you insane?! Calling off the Kamakura police isn't going to happen!" The police chief barked into the phone, an older man on the other line giving strict orders.

The Kamakura Police Station had been ablaze with activity since the initial sighting of the horned menace. Nobody wanted this thing running wild—and everybody wanted it dead, or at least detained. Angry and on edge, the chief had received a call from an anonymous number ordering for the chase to cease; it was unheard of! Who would dream of such a thing?!

"We are dealing with my property, and I will handle it my way. Call off your men. I will handle things from here. You are sending pigs to the slaughter with what you are doing right now. The only thing that can deal with Lucy—is one of her own."

"What the hell are you talking about-"

"Call off your men. I have the absolute solution."

"Here!" The Doctor pointed as they ran. "Through the alleyways!"

The pair darted into an empty ally, as they hid behind a dumpster, the Police darting in, guns drawn.

"Come out!" One said. "We promise we won't hurt you! Just give yourselves up right now!"

There was no response.

"Damn! I think they gave us the slip..."

"Spread out and find them! We need to bring them in immediately!"

Two groups of officers split up, as one group charged through the alleyway, fanning out their search. As the coast was clear, the Doctor peaked and saw a few options.

They could either head for the TARDIS directly, but use the silent approach, or head into the hills and wait until nightfall when the search gets called off.

As he was making his plan, he heard Lucy sniffling. He looked over and saw that she was doing her best to hold her tears in.

"Lucy." He said, grabbing her shoulders. "Lucy, look at me!"

His companion looked at him with scared, tear stained eyes. They locked gazes, and the Time Lord's voice turned serious.

"I promise you, we're going to get out of here in one piece. I know of a few routes that we can use to get to the TARDIS, but we have to be as silent as we can. In order to do that, I need you to be strong for me. You've got to keep your head clear so that you can use your vectors should we need to put some great distance between us and them."

The Doctor's hands then grabbed the sides of her head, stroking the pink locks of her hair. "Can you do that for me, Lucy? Can you hold on just a bit longer? I promise you that I'll keep you safe. Just hold on, alright?"

"That is all I know how to do, friend… Holding on for as long as I can, I've had to endure much worse," she practically whispers, the tears still staining her face.

"But for once, I'm not afraid for myself… I am afraid of what may happen to you…"

Hands reached up and gripped at the beast's face, shaken to the core; something was twisting in her gut. She did not enjoy this dark feeling within—as if something absolutely horrible was going to happen if she was unable to keep her friend safe.

Lucy was unable to save Aiko's life—

What if she failed again?

"I'm so tired of people being hurt because of me. I have to be as strong and as quick as possible—I'm feeling—emotional about another individual, I have never felt like this before, and it's terrifying… I've never… Been scared over a family member… It's a wonderful and scary feeling all at once. Please promise you will be alright?"

The words coming from Lucy's mouth was not of the genocidal monster that the world had come to know, nor the whimpering babe known as Nyu—

It was the voice of a child that had lost her innocence… The Kaede that was thought to have been lost forever. A voice of selflessness.

"Please promise you'll be safe even if I end up not being so."

"One of your own detectives has alerted me that Lucy is with another has gone on record saying that he, too, is not human. I want you to call your men off of him, too."

Kakuzawa continued on the phone, drumming his fingers against the back of it as he listened to the flustered police chief.

"Why would one of my detectives tell you that?" The Captain asked "Everything goes through to me first! What are you gonna do if I don't call my men off? These guys need to be brought in!"

"I will know if you fail to comply. Have them retreat within the next twenty minutes."

He hung up unceremoniously, turning around in his office to continue a conversation with somebody else in the room.

A lone facility worker stands at attention, carrying a single key in his hands.

"Director."

"What's her status?" Kakuzawa asked.

"...She's ready. The helicopter is prepared, as is the armored vehicle awaiting for us on the mainland."

The elder man gives a wicked smile, completely satisfied with how everything was happening.

"Not only will we get our queen back, but a special specimen for our research as well…" Kakuzawa stuffed his phone into his blazer pocket, heading towards the door,. "Rejoice, friend. All isn't lost. We've won after all."

The worker gives a nervous smile, awkward laughing following suit as he followed.

Upon reaching the helipad where their transportation awaited, Kakuzawa climbed into the back of the helicopter, stepping forward to a petite figure, bound in restraints, face covered—unable to move. She laid upon what appeared to be a steel board, something strong enough to hold back her horrifying strength.

"Are you ready to go… Mariko?"

The Doctor held Lucy close to him as she cried in fear. Whatever trace of that monster that made her do the things she did was long gone, and what remained was a scared child, nothing more. The Time Lord couldn't imagine her fear right now, as he was used to being hunted like this on a constant basis.

Whether it were Daleks, Cybermen, and Sontarans, the Doctor knew too well the feeling of becoming the prey.

He pulled apart from Lucy and looked her in the eye. "I promise you that I'll be safe, too. Like I said, we're getting back to the TARDIS in one piece. We'll both be safe, Lucy. Trust me."

Lucy nodded and sighed, as she composed herself.

"Here." The Doctor said, gently lifting his scarf off of her neck. "Let me take this back."

He then coiled the fabric around his neck, tightening it just a bit to make it secure.

"You ready to move, Lucy?" He asked

Lucy nodded. "Yes." She said, quietly. "Let's get back to the TARDIS before they find us."

The Doctor peaked out of the dumpster's side and checked the area. It was still clear. They had a good window of opportunity.

"Looks like they're checking the last few blocks..." He pointed straight ahead. "There. That should lead us away from their perimeter sweep." The Doctor picked himself up and grabbed Lucy's hand.

"Come on."

She had to pull herself together—now was not the time to fall apart, that could be saved for later, when the two of them were in a safe and secure place. But the burden on Lucy's shoulders never felt so heavy before in her life.

How much it hurt to actually feel for another living being.

It was like she finally had– a parent.

Yet at the same time? This pain made her feel alive.

Lucy's eyes followed to where the Doctor pointed through the quieter streets on the outskirts of Kamakura. It appeared that the police's monitors were only picking up the busier sections. Did they assume that the two of them would be reckless in their escape?

…Something did not feel right.

But for now, Lucy would push it out of her head, nodding firmly and rushing forward with the Time Lord in tow.

They moved through the alleyways and streets, running as fast as they could—occasionally, Lucy would look back, making sure that the Doctor was keeping up with her. Luckily, he managed to do so, and so their speed remained steady.

Eventually, they had to stop for a train to pass through; the diclonius watched as the guard rail dropped down, listening to the monotonous 'ding' of the alarm.

They were almost safe home—they had just had to get past this intersection and RUN as FAST as they could.

The Doctor kept a close watch behind them, so as to make sure there were no pursuers as they waited for the train to pass by.

However, just as his gut feeling with Bando tailing them, that same feeling still plagued him.

As the train's guard rail rose up, the Doctor turned around and pulled Lucy along with him. The were able to find a quieter street for them to blend into. It was a little farther from the TARDIS, but if they kept it cool, they'd be able to give the police the slip.

"Squad 260! Secure a perimeter around blocks H through M. Squad 55, I want you to block all alleyways and crosswalks. Make sure that we get these suspects into a bottleneck. We need to choke out any escape routes."

"Understood!" Various voices on the radio acknowledged their superior's orders.

"Keep a close eye on your corners, men." The policeman said. "We don't want them giving us the slip again."

Just as an officer was surveying his 3 o' clock side, he saw two figures zip past them in an alleyway.

"Contact!" He shouted "They're on the left side, one block away from us!"

"Move it! Cut them off at the next corner!"

"This way, Lucy." The Doctor said. "We should be able to reach the TARDIS quickly if we take this route."

The two rounded a corner, and were then met with a squad of armed officers. They pointed their guns at them.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" One shouted. "PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!"

"Damn it!" The Doctor cursed. "Lucy! Get us out of here!"

Being met face to face with a collective of armed men had become tiring for the beast.

How many times did people have to learn?

she could not be stopped by sheer numbers; even without using her vectors as weapons, they were unbreakable shields.

Lowering herself, two of her vectors grabbed onto the Doctor before Lucy rushed forward, using her vectors to propel herself.

"OPEN FIRE! DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY!" One of the officers exclaimed,bullets fired at the two inhuman beings without any sort of mercy.

As they rained down, the beast's vectors deflected them—both the Time Lord and the Diclonius rushed through the narrow streets; the free vectors occasionally boosted their speed by pushing off against the walls when they were not occupied as shields.

"I WON'T let them touch us!" Lucy exclaimed with solid intent, bending and weaving, pulling the Time Lord in a protective manner. As long as they kept up speed, they would be home safe!

Perhaps... perhaps they would actually get out of this alive!

"All squads!" The officer said. "We've found the suspects! All cars, rendezvous on our position and engage pursuit! They're moving at an estimated 89 km/h! You'll have to use sirens and speed! Over!"

Within a few moments, police cars swarmed the streets, and pursued the duo as they skirted the streets in what appeared to be flight to the naked eye.

The Doctor looked behind him at the congregation of police. "Will you lot bugger off!?" He shouted. "We're completely innocent! Honest!"

"How the hell are they moving that fast?" Officer Tenoku asked himself, as he drove his squad car to pick up speed.

The car radio buzzed.

"This is squad 16." He said. "We're pursuing the suspects."

"Tenoku, this is Captain Tanaka."

"Captain?" Tenoku asked.

"I'm recalling all cars back to HQ. Fall back and discontinue your pursuit. Repeat, discontinue pursuit."

Tenoku's brow raised. "Captain!" He said. "With respect, we don't know how dangerous these two are! For all we know, this woman could be-"

"Tenoku, that's an order!" Tanaka shouted. "Listen, rank just got pulled. A third party is taking over and apprehending the suspects. You and the rest are ordered to fall back to HQ. Is that understood?"

Tenoku paused. "...Yes sir." He said.

"Good." Tanaka switched to wide frequency. "All men, this is a direct order. Fall back to HQ and discontinue pursuit of the suspects."

An armored car remained park in an undisclosed alleyway, a few blocks away from the commotion caused by the two prospective 'acquisitions'. A cell phone rang, as two guards lie in wait for further orders.

One man picked up his phone. "Yes?"

"The police are starting to fall back." It was Director Kakuzawa's voice. "They should be alone in short order. Is Number 35 ready?"

He peered into the small window, and saw their living weapon, waiting patiently for her chance to spill some much needed blood.

Trying to maintain composure, he spoke into the phone. "Yes, Director." He said. "...She's ready."

"Good. Good..." Kakuzawa laughed. "Our Queen shall return home with us shortly. It is now up to you, Hideo."

There was a pause

"Commence Operation: Queen Lord at once."

"Yes, sir."

Hideo hung up the phone, and looked at his guard-mate.

"We've got the green light, Hiroshi." He said. "Operation: Queen Lord is a go."

Hiroshi closed his eyes and sighed. He had to psych himself as he was sure of what was going to happen. He had to prepare for bloodshed. "Understood." Hiroshi responded. "Let's get her prepped..."

"You said I'm not allowed to kill the big sister and the big man?"

Hiroshi looked down at the bandaged, restrained child that lay waiting; Christ, it was so unnerving. This creature looked no older than ten, but in all reality, she was a perfected clone. Barely a day over one year.

She was created for the sole purpose of recapturing the queen of their species.

"Termination of the subjects is prohibited. The Chief wants us to bring them in alive. Do whatever you must to bring them in, breathing."

Hideo spared a glance over at Hiroshi. It appeared that the two of them were equally nervous around this tiny monster.

"I wanna play with them. I wanna play with them—right now!" Mariko chirped, rocking in her restraints as they were removed.

"Hideo, get the wheelchair!" Hiroshi spoke up—swallowing his saliva thickly.

Lucy was running out of stamina.

Sprinting away from police officers for the past hour or so, with her vector usage skyrocketing more than usual, her body could only take so much; even a beast of her caliber had limits, especially since she had not been exercising her body since coming across the Time Lord.

She halted in her steps, turning around to face the officers head on. Vectors lashed out, blocking the rest of the bullets as she began an attempt at tripping them—

But abruptly, they eventually stared to back off, one by one.

Had they given up?

A few of them continued to shoot at Lucy until they ran out of ammo, eventually moving away as well.

With an exhausted sigh, the beast slumps forward, vectors pulling away from the Doctor.

"I think… We got rid of them…"

"I'm so excited! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they think they're going to die. Do you think you can take picture so I can remember it forever and ever?"

For a child to speak so merrily and casually over the chance to kill—it left her two security men sick to their stomachs. But of course, they would not show it in their expressions. Angering this particular silpelit was unwise.

Pushing Mariko in her wheelchair, the three of them arrived at the intersection where the diclonius queen and the Time Lord had been spotted—where the police were ordered to step away. Lucy appeared to be hunched over, guarding the tall male with a good amount of intent.

As soon as they were seen, Mariko used her many vectors to begin rolling herself forward—creeping, creeping, like a child playing hide and seek.

She had plenty of those phantom limbs to spare.

And so, her play date would begin.

Carefully and unnoticed, two of them slipped forward, stretching far enough to hold onto the Doctor's wrist, just as Lucy would have been doing while protecting him.

The Doctor was shocked, and equally surprised at the turn of events. The police had turned around and quit their pursuit!

He didn't believe it! They got out!

"We did it! We made it, Lucy!"

He and the Diclonius exchanged a celebratory hug as they reaped their victory. Letting go of his embrace, the Doctor stood proud as he and his companion lived to fight another day.

That wonderful sigh of relief erupted from the woman's chest as they were left alone. Their embrace would be a brief one, knowing that the two of them had to keep moving in order to reach safety.

"That was one hairy experience, don't you think?" He laughed. "I was almost certain we'd get caught."

"Yes..." Lucy said, panting. "Me too. I'm just glad we're okay."

The Doctor shook his head. "No matter. Let's get back to the TARDIS. We shouldn't be too far from it now."

"Yes, certainly, let's go."

Just as he started to walk, he felt a resistance holding him down. Lucy must have forgotten her vectors were still wrapped around the Time Lord. She was probably more scared than he thought. Who could blame her, though?

"Lucy," He said, turning to his companion. "Everything's fine. We're okay. You can let your vectors release me now."

Vectors? Lucy had released hers as soon as she heaved over in exhaustion.

And then it hit her—that instinctual ability to feel the presence of her own kind. Due to the immense amount of stress she had been under, Lucy was not able to tap into that. Now—it was buzzing, and it was buzzing rapidly.

"…Doctor."

She starts, slowly rising up, standing stiff in fear as she turned her head.

"Those aren't… My vectors!"

Reddened eyes widen, gasping in morbid horror at the sight that she beheld. As if she were staring at the devil himself.

"Y-YOU! You shouldn't even be alive!"

Mariko's smile widens into one that would normally be seen when a younger sibling greeted an older one. Such joy and happiness can be seen in the child—as if she were out for a day at the amusement park.

But this was not the Mariko that Lucy had fought all those years ago. This was a complete copy, one designed by the Kakuzawa Research Facility to fetch the queen.

"But Lucy...I've been wanting to meet you for so long! Y'know. . . the Chief said that you've been really bad! Running around and killing everybody, and you didn't even invite me along." Mariko quipped. Her eyes trailed over beside Lucy, looking at the Time Lord.

"… You're the one that took big sister."

Lucy took a step backwards, staring at the Doctor.

"DOCTOR! You need to get out of here! NOW!"

Before he had a chance to run, however, he would be subject to a horrible sight—

Twenty five vectors stretched up from the child's back—and they were ginormous.

"I WANNA FRIEND, TOO!"

The Doctor turned, and saw something he did not expect. It was a wheelchair bound child, that had the very same horns that Lucy and Nana possessed.

"Another Diclonius!?"

The Doctor struggled to move. Every ounce of instinct in his body was telling him to run. To bolt for the TARDIS.

But he couldn't. He was stuck.

The Doctor was trapped!

"Lucy!" He said, struggling against the invisible iron grip of the vectors. "I-... I can't move!"

He then saw the onslaught before him. Twenty five vectors shot from behind her, visible to his vision, and grabbed the Time Lord en masse.

The Time Lord's eyes widened in horror. It was just like the Instinct! If he didn't move, he was dead for sure!

"Lucy! I can't break free!" He shouted.

They all grabbed him, and lifted him up off of the ground.

"Lucy! Help me! Help- AAAAAGGGGHHH!"

The Vectors started to fly him and yank him everywhere, disorientating the Doctor as he was tumbled, flipped, and yanked about in the air.

"NO!" Lucy shouted.

Mariko then pulled him with great force toward her with her vectors, to where they were face to face.

The Doctor's breathing was ragged, as his eyes were wide as saucers. The fear he felt from facing the Instinct was even more apparent now. Even he knew that a child could very well be a ticking time bomb. But he never once considered such a thing to be a reality.

Just as the Instinct faced him before, the Doctor feared for his life.

The elder of the two beasts lurches forward, vectors flying to try and recapture the Doctor out of Mariko's grasp; alas, Lucy's were not as long as the imp's, leaving her incapable of grabbing him—not before Mariko drags the Time Lord close like a hungry spider.

A toddler's smile.

He was being held captive by a girl that looked no older than five. Ribbons tied to her hair and lacy clothing—as if she had just walked out of a daycare, waiting to be picked up by her parents.

"…Do you wanna play with me, mister?"

Her vectors lifted the Doctor high above the ground.

"Wait!" He pleaded. "W-wait! Stop! Please, don't!"

CRSSHHH!

Her vector slammed the Time Lord's body into the concrete, cracking it before she pulls him back up into her ghostly grasp.

"AAAGGHH!"

The Doctor screamed in agony from the impact, as his back got the full brunt of it.

"Don't tell me big sis doesn't play with you like this!"

Lucy rushed forward, vectors lashing out at Mariko's tiny body, grabbing her wheelchair. If it were the same formula as it was fighting her LAST time, then this clone wouldn't be any different.

He hoped so.

"Keep your vectors off of him!" Lucy shouted.

She then turned the wheelchair and launched it forwards toward a building, with Hiroshi standing in the way.

"Aaa-AAAHHH!"

"Oh, shit!" Hiroshi freaked as he dove out of the way, when the wheelchair hit the wall. Mariko used her vectors to push herself off, and to speed back around to face the Doctor and Lucy

The elder of the two grabbed onto the Time Lord, rushing away—but not before Mariko's vectors reached out and grabbed as well.

"NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!"

Her more powerful grasp yanks him away once more and out of Lucy's safe hold, flinging the Time Lord into the side of a building.

"GAHH!"

The Doctor then fell to his knees, before falling flat on his face.

Hands grabbing onto the sides of her own head. Lucy was flung to the side as well, but she continued to reach out in desperation– she would not lose this time!

"YOU—CAN'T—HAVE—FRIENDS—IF I CAN'T!"

This was a toddler's hissy fit.

An unstable, and monstrous one.

He was in pain. The Doctor's back and his head were ringing from the immense amount of pain from the impacts. Lucy and the Time Lord were in danger. This was unlike anything he had faced before. As he was able to talk Lucy down from killing anymore people, he had no idea if it would work this time.

Something was different about this particular Diclonius. Different from Lucy in every way. She seemed to have no conscious regarding her actions, and she still was in that child-like state with how she beat down the Doctor.

She was geared for killing, and nothing more. She was nothing like Lucy.

As Lucy tried to keep Mariko's vectors at bay, he reached and grabbed her leg, trying to grab her attention.

"Lucy..." He managed to gasp out. "P-please... get out of here. Get back t-... to the TARDIS. K-9 c-can get you out."

He lifted his head with all the strength he could muster, and turned to face her. "Don't worry about me..." He coughed. "Just get out of here...! Now!"

"I'm not letting you go!" Lucy demands with a scream, bobbing and weaving, moving through the typhoon of vectors clashing with one another.

"I'm not...going to let... ANYMORE PEOPLE DIE... BECAUSE I COULDN'T... PROTECT THEM!"

Mariko's vectors were quickly overpowering the diclonius queen, injuries littering her body as she continued to fend off the youthful behemoth that sat before them.

"I'm not...! I won't...!"

As Lucy's words resonated, the silpelit grins, gripping the Time Lord as roughly as possible.

"Hey… Big sis? Will you feel better if you get to play with us too?"

Visible vectors latch onto Lucy, throwing her down against the ground as well, deep into the rubble.

"NNGGGG!" The beast snarls, trying to soften the blow with her vectors, barely making any difference, "I'm not… Going...to give up…"

Blood trickles from her mouth, coughing; despite being bruised and battered, Lucy's own resolve refused to allow her to fall.

"Please, stop!" The Doctor shouted. "Let her go! Please, don't hurt her anymore!"

Mariko looked at the Doctor with a bit of perplexity, before bringing him closer to her. The Doctor's breathing was ragged from both the impacts and the fear he was feeling right now. He was trapped, and there was no way for him to escape. If he didn't come up with a plan, he and Lucy would be dead in just a few minutes.

"Listen to me." He said, trying to keep himself composed. "I'm not here to cause you harm. I'm not going to hurt you, so long as you promise not to hurt me. Please, just hear me out. I just wish to talk to you, alright?"

The grips of the vectors were starting to press down onto his chest. He felt like he was suffocating. Still, the Time Lord kept his breathing under control. He couldn't show fear, as this child had predatory instincts.

He had to stay calm.

"My name's the Doctor." He said to the young Diclonius. "Do you have a name?"

The Time Lord hung in her grasp, dangling like a trapped insect—it was like watching a grandfather clock going back and forth—back and forth—back and forth—Mariko giggles.

Eyes wide with juvenile glee, yet empty of anything else. If one inspected closely, there seemed to be some sort of device jammed into her forehead, blocked by lengthy pink bangs.

"The Doctor? Heheheh! That's a silly name!" Mariko tilts her head endearingly.

"But the director told me not to give my name to any strangers, Mr. Doctor."

As soon as that title was dropped, that dastardly, vindictive title owned by that MAN, Lucy's eyes widened, teeth gritting.

"Hey, Mr. Doctor? If that's your job, I have a great idea!"

With that, vectors drop the Time Lord onto the ground, though she kept the elder diclonius pinned firmly to the ground.

"Let's play doctor together!"

Mariko struggled out of her wheelchair, wobbling for a moment, moving forward with arms out to maintain balance, until she dropped on her knees in front of the two, a most pleasant, warm smile on her face.

"...Excuse me?" The Doctor asked. "What do you mean by-AHH!"

Once more, the man is forced on his back, that smile twisting into a grin.

"I'll be the doctor, and you can be the patient!"

Mariko put a small hand on the Doctor's forehead. "You look really sick! It feels like you have a fever."

One of her vectors slithered out, visible enough for the Doctor to see it.

"Wh-..." The Doctor tried to say, eyes wide as saucers. "What are you going to do-MMPH!"

The tiny hand of the vector covered his mouth.

"I need to… take your temperature, mister! Now,say AH!"

Right at the foot of her final syllable, the limb forced his mouth open, and plunged itself down the Time Lord's throat.

"AHH-Hgh!"

The Doctor could feel something pressing down inside his mouth, and felt as if there was a rush of air down his gullet. But, it felt solid, like something jammed into his throat...

His air passage was blocked! The Doctor was choking!

"Hg-Ghhgh-hghg...!"

The Doctor struggled against the iron grip of the girl's vectors, trying his best to gasp for air. His eyes bulged out of his head, as his skin had started to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. This little girl, no older than a kindergartner, was torturing him!

If he could, he'd scream. This was just like the Instinct during his mind delve with Lucy. Except this was far real...

The Time Lord felt something strange inside his body. It felt like... like hands! Grabbing, feeling, prodding his organs...

The vector was invading his body!

A tear started to form from the Doctor's eye as it dropped down the side of his head. He couldn't tell if it was from fear, from being violated, or from the feeling of dying little by little.

Mariko was enjoying herself far too much.

That was the biggest difference between the young silpelit and Lucy. Both of them were of the same species, the same horns, the same vectors—yet, they viewed death in their own way.

Lucy saw it as extermination, ridding the world of a pest that leeched on other life forms. She made it her purpose to do so.

Mariko, much younger in mentality, saw it as playtime, whereas other children would find joy in tag or catch, the youthful beast treated the screams of her victims as just another game.

That phantom limb slithered down the Time Lord's throat, fingers pressing and prodding around. This was not the first time that Mariko had the chance to inspect an individual's physiology. In fact, it was something that she had the joy of performing every once and a while with certain permission from the facility doctors.

"Mister, I think something is wrong with you." Mariko gives a pout, her tone laced with the false sense of worry that children had when playing pretend, "You have two hearts! That's not normal! Do you want me to pull one out?"

Fingers prepare to grip at the organ, as the Doctor widened his eyes. Just before she latched onto one of his hearts, however,Mariko began to giggle.

"Just kidding!"

She kept just enough room for the Doctor to be able to keep a breath, her eyes occasionally looking over at Lucy as she watched in absolute horror.

He couldn't take it anymore. The Doctor fidgeted about in pain, and grabbed his neck as he was choking from the vector. More tears began to stream from his face. He could feel so much prodding and poking inside, he was worried the girl would shred him from the inside. Or that she'd pull an organ out for him to see.

"AAUUGGH...! AUUUGGGHH!" Mariko's vector muffled the Doctor's screaming, as saliva began to dribble out of his mouth the longer the vector remained in his throat. He gripped his neck tighter.

He had never known torture as this before. This needed to end.

"All done!" Mariko chirped.

The vector slowly pulled out of his body, out of his throat, and finally out of his mouth. The first thing the Doctor saw, however, was a floating hand. He thought he hallucinated seeing a bloody hand, but realization hit him hard.

It was Mariko's vector, floating above him, covered in his blood and traces of viscera.

He gagged, and immediately curled into a ball, coughing and hacking until blood painted the pavement below him, as well as the bottom of his chin.

The Doctor saw Lucy pinned on the ground, and their eyes met. Lucy's eyes were wide in horror. Mariko made sure she saw everything. "L-Lucy-" The Doctor continued to hack up blood.

The elder beast's head was positioned by Mariko's vector so that she had to witness the immense amount of pain that her paternal figure was fighting off—Lucy felt so utterly useless, hissing and huffing like a pinned dog. Lips tugged back in a ferocious snarl, eyes sharpened and feral.

"Leave him ALONE!" She growls, that same expression still managing to harbor worry and woe for the Time Lord.

"Uh uh…! Mr. Doctor doesn't feel good!" Mariko corrected, yanking Lucy's head back down so that she could stop her growling.

"Now Mr. Doctor, if you keep coughing like that, you aren't going to get a lollipop!" The girl chirped, stopping for a moment to giggle behind her hands.

She was simply having the time of her life.

Knowing that this would not last for too much longer, the silpelit looked around, hoping that her escorts weren't anywhere close.

"Maybe it's big sister's turn for a check up?"

Pressed into the rubble, Lucy had developed an agitating headache due to the young silpelit's torment; this was all so surreal. Absolutely surreal.

Once again, the diclonius queen was left for dead, prepared to be moved back to the oppressive facility that she hated so, so much…

She had to get up.

She had to get up, grab the Time Lord, and get out of there.

Lucy writhes in pain on the ground, barely able to use her vectors in a well-functioning manner due to the immense amount of pain and stress rattling her body. She was trapped, trapped against the pavement. Useless.

"NO!" The Doctor coughed. "S-stop! Please...!"

"Mariko, that's enough."

The girl looked over at Hideo, who was keeping his distance as best he could. He was risking life and limb stopping Mariko, but they needed the subjects moved. And they needed them now.

"But... but... We're not done playing doctor!" Mariko whined. "Mr. Doctor hasn't gotten his lolipop yet!"

"There's gonna be more time for playing, Mariko." Said Hideo. "We have to get the subjects out of here."

The young Diclonius pouted. "You're no fun. I wanted to play with my new friend." She turned around and sat back on her wheelchair, wobbling as she did so.

"Sorry, Mr. Doctor!" Mariko said with a smile. "Looks like your treatment's gonna have to wait!"

Hideo armed his handgun as he aimed it towards the Doctor. "Watch the other one." He said to Hiroshi. "She's still dangerous. Make sure Number 35 doesn't try to kill her."

"Gotcha." Hiroshi said. "Just please make it quick. We've been here for too long."

Hideo made his way to the Doctor as he continued to hack up blood from Mariko's invasive vector. The first thing he saw was the sheen of the gun's metal pointing in his direction.

He looked up, silent. He was in no condition to defend himself. He felt sick.

"Get up." Hideo said. "You're coming with us. If you don't put up a fight, we won't hurt you."

The Doctor looked at Mariko, and then at Hideo, and back at Lucy. He needed her to flee back to the TARDIS. Whatever was in store for him, he did not want her experiencing. He had come so far with Lucy's progress, that the Time Lord didn't want it to all come crashing down now.

He counted in his head.

One...

The Doctor looked at Lucy.

Two...

He smiled genuinely at his companion. If this didn't work, they'd probably kill him.

If it meant Lucy's protection...

The Doctor welcomed death.

THREE!

What the Doctor did just moments later is what surprised the beast.

The Doctor punched Hideo with an uppercut, hitting him square in the jaw. Hideo crashed to the ground after receiving the heavy blow to his jaw, rifle thrown aside as he scrambles to grab it.

As Hideo stumbled, the Time Lord whirled around and pushed Mariko's wheelchair over, knocking the Diclonius off.

"Wa-Waaah!"

With a thud, she landed on her side, and her vectors relinquished their hold on Lucy.

And she is freed! Lucy could feel the vectors pull away as the little silpelit was pushed away by the Time Lord. Within moments, she is on her feet—dizzy, but able to function to a good enough degree.

"LUCY, RUN!" He shouted. "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!"

At first, the horned beast wanted to try and fight, but it was all in vain. They would easily be able to overpower Lucy with Mariko's superior vectors.

One look at the fallen Time Lord, and the beast could feel the agony of the situation. He wanted her to run, but she just could not leave him behind. It wasn't like she could move anyways, due to being pinned to the ground.

"Shit–!" Hideo manages to grab his weapon, scuffling to his feet as he shouts out to his partner, "HIROSHI!"

The younger, more timid guard twitches somewhat, aiming at the Doctor's leg before pulling the trigger.

Lucy saw that coming, one of her own vectors lashing out to block the bullet, but she was not fast enough; her reflexes had been slowed due to the pain in her head.

"AAAHH!" The bullet had hit the Doctor's shin, crippling him as he clutched his wound. "Lucy!" He said, trying to stop the bleeding on his leg. "I said get out of here! NOW!"

Maroon eyes widen, her head whipping to the side in the direction of the guards.

"STAND DOWN!" Hideo commands, now able to raise his weapon properly—he glancesdquickly at Mariko, hoping that she would realize what she needed to do.

Lucy whipped her head back to the Doctor. "No! Not without you!"

Of course, the little silpelit assessed the situation, using her massive amount of vectors to push herself up off of the ground, grabbing at both the Time Lord and the elder diclonius.

Her behavior was much different than earlier—she was no longer happy and carefree, she appeared to be distraught, upset.

"We're not playing anymore!" Mariko cried, rubbing at a cut that she receiving on her knee after being pushed out of her wheelchair; actual tears, "You hurt me! You bad man! YOU BAD, BAD MAN!"

The two guards looked between themselves, before the older of the two spoke.

"Go and prepare the truck, we're bringing them in now."

"R-Right." Hiroshi turned and headed for the armored van.

As Lucy hung in the clutches of Mariko's vectors, she twitched—eyes wide like a captured animal, limbs tangled in an uncomfortable manner.

"I-It… Hurts…" A hiss. "It…HURTS…"

The Doctor was hanging like a captured bug in a spider's web. Was this his last moment of life? The end of his regeneration cycle, ended by a child? This was worse than his encounter with the Instinct. Mariko, despite her childish behavior, was sadistic. She was a sick minded child, and it made the Doctor wretch inside. How could someone teach a child that killing was similar to play time?

The pain on his leg was astronomical, as it was bleeding freely. It didn't seem like they hit anything vital, but he needed to be patched up soon, otherwise he may pass out. That was, if this girl didn't kill them first.

"Wait, stop!" The Doctor was beyond frightened now. Even he knew that nothing was scarier than an enraged child with special powers. And she held his life not just in her hand, but in each of the twenty-five vectors that gripped onto him and his companion.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Do you want me to say it? I'm scared!" The Doctor's eyes were wide as his breathing was ragged. "I'm frightened of you! You're a child who's treating torture as recess! It made me act so foolishly! We're sorry, honestly!"

Mariko looked up at the Doctor, her eyes filled with tears. "You're not sorry! You're a meanie! I HATE MEANIES!"

"Don't kill us, please!" He pleaded. "I'll do anything if you'll spare us! What do you want? I have Jelly Babies, a yo-yo, I have pop-up books, I have anything that you could want! I'll even be your friend! Just please..." Tears were starting to swell up, as he was starting to choke back sobs. "Please, don't kill me or my friend! I'm really sorry for hurting you. I mean that sincerely! I beg of you, please! Don't kill us!"

He lowered his head, as the Time Lord hyperventilated. The Doctor could never remember the last time he cried in fear. He had hurt a child, as well. Something he would have never done. And he may pay for that with his life. Perhaps even with his remaining Regenerations.

"Please... Don't kill us." The Doctor softly repeated as tears streamed down his face. "Please... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

"Kill you…?"

Mariko's head tilted off to the side whimsically, silent for a moment before giving an unexpected giggle.

"Heheh–! I'm not allowed to kill you," a brief frown before smiling once more, "that would be against the rules—we're gonna go home, and then I can play with you MORE if you're a good boy! Big sister too!"

Mariko looked at the elder Diclonius.

"Big sister, aren't you excited to go home?" Mariko chirps, staring at her elder as she tried to escape. "Aren't you excited?"

Those words reverberate through Lucy's mind like bullets, chest expanding and decompressing in a good deal of stress. She didn't want to go back.

No...! That hellhole was NOT home!

NO…

"EAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NO! NO! NO!"

A most ungodly screech could be heard all through the streets as Lucy jerked and yanked at Mariko's vectors, head whipping to and fro, limbs tugging violently. Her vectors had been cancelled out due to the silpelit's grasp on her head, but it did not prevent the beast from trying.

Lucy continued to try and break out of the silpelit's grasp, but was only grabbed with a more firm grasp; this was useless.

Death would be a much less cruel fate than what the beast herself was about to endure.

At least the Doctor would be kept alive... Or would he be put to death the moment that Lucy was secured and in custody?

"Mariko, bring them to the vehicle, please." Hideo murmured, handgun aimed at the elder diclonius in case she tried to pull any sort of attacks. The Time Lord did not appear to be much of a threat as he hung there crying his heart out for mercy.

Lucy was in an equally pathetic and desperate state; heavy breathing went hand in hand with her sobbing. Who would have thought that such a monster could cry like this? Crying in desperation and defeat, the diclonius attempted to cover her face in shame.

It was her fault if anything was to happen to either of them.

Her fault.

Had she just ignored the Time Lord when she moved through the countryside...

Had she never opened her heart in trust...

None of this would have happened...

"Yes, sir!" Mariko chirps happily, turning her head up to give one last look at her captives before rolling away, tugging them along.

An armored vehicle sat in an alleyway several blocks from where the final stand-off had unfolded; Hiroshi had made his way before the rest of them in order to prepare the restraints for the diclonius queen and her companion.

Of course, had any civilians seen this, there would have been a riot. The streets had been closed off, a direct order from the man in charge of the Kakuzawa Research Facility. Nobody would be there to witness as the two were stuffed away.

"Lift her head." Hideo ordered in a neutral, less than personal tone, watching as Hiroshi and Mariko pressed that all too familiar helmet onto Lucy's head. With that on, her vector usage would be limited. The heavy straitjacket and limb restraints would bolt her onto a bed similar to Mariko's, whom would join containment shortly.

Once Lucy was secured, the Doctor would be next.

His restraints were not as extreme; the helmet was left behind due to his lack of vectoral use, but he was bolted down right next to Lucy, arms and legs pinned like an insect in a web.

As the Time Lord was held down, Hiroshi gave him an unsure look. Wasn't this a little extreme, even for Director Kakuzawa's taste? He could understand the treatment that Lucy was receiving, but this man looked human! Did he honestly deserve this?

"What the devil are you doing...?" The Doctor asked. "I'm not a Diclonius! Do you see horns on my head?"

"Shut your mouth." Hideo snapped as he finished restraining him.

He turned to face the younger Diclonius.

"Thank you, Mariko." the older of the two guards commented. "It's time for you to get in too."

Mariko gave a smile as she was moved from her wheelchair and into the vehicle's restraints; play time wasn't over yet, she would have another chance to move freely before returning to where she belonged.

"I had a lotta fun with you two!" The girl smiles as a helmet is strapped onto her head before being laid out in her jacket—her breathing was now much more noticeable behind the mask that the helmet provided.

Hiroshi fumbled for a cellphone in his vest, grabbing it and pressing a number on speed dial. After a moment's ring, somebody answered.

"Director? We... we have the two of them. Operation: Queen Lord is a success. We're moving to the helicopter for evac."

When Kakuzawa answered the phone, a smug grin appears on his features. Glancing out of the window of his office and at the ocean, he chuckles.

"Good… We will be awaiting your arrival."

They had won.

As far as the Director was concerned.

Nobody had witnessed the capture of Lucy and the Doctor, not a single soul aware of what had happened. As far as the world was aware, the two of them simply vanished out of thin air.

At least, that was the assumption.

Mariko's presence had sparked the attention of another individual in Kamakura.

It wouldn't have been the first time, though.

Earlier that day, Nana and Mayu had made their way downtown to run errands for Yuka; the household needed groceries for the evening's dinner, and the two of them absolutely loved shopping for the family. It did not take long for the duo to find themselves at the markets by the beach, spoiling themselves with the money given to them.

"The weather is so nice! Aahhh… Nana loves nice days like this," the kind hearted silpelit sighs, carrying bags of produce in her physical arms, "—too bad Mr. Doctor and Lucy couldn't have joined us."

Mayu giggles to herself, listening to her friend daydream.

"They'll be back, I-I'm sure!" She smiles, "They promised to visit again. We can take them to ice cream the next time."

Nana's face lit up at that comment.

"R-really? That'd be great!"

She was prepared to go up to another vendor for fresh squid, when a horrific gut feeling panged her, like a knife in her stomach.

"…Wh…What?"

Bags are dropped as Nana's eyes widen, hands grabbing the sides of her head.

"N-No... you should be dead…" Her tone is barely that of a whisper; she recognized that feeling! Diclonii could sense the presence of their own species, and this feeling—it was dangerous—just like that dreadful day in Yuigahama.

With a shocked and concerned face, Mayu reached and grabbed at her friend's shoulder.

"Nana–? What's wrong?"

She is quickly cut off as Nana dashes forward, following her diclonius sense in the direction that she felt it coming from.

"WE HAVE TO HURRY! THEY'RE IN DANGER!"

The sirens had died down from earlier as Nana dashed through the streets—she swore she felt the presence of Mariko! The silpelit that had been killed in the explosion with her dear papa! Stressful tears stream down the worried girl's face as she and Mayu ran—they ran and ran and ran.

Nana didn't want anybody else being hurt because of that monstrous Number 35!

"Nana, please! Slow down!" Mayu calls out, panting for air as they ran. She was exhausted.

But Nana did not listen, she continued to run as fast as her prosthetics allowed her to.

She ran, finally coming across the sight of the facility vehicle. Nana had shown up just in time to see the Time Lord being dragged inside.

"N-NO!" She crieed out, tripping on herself and onto the ground.

"H-HELP…! Nana will h-help!"

The vehicle began to drive away; Hideo planned to navigate in the direction of Yuigahama Beach to where a helicopter would take them away to their final destination. As long as they made it from point A to point B, their mission would be complete.

"STOP!" Nana screams, allowing her vectors to stop controlling her prosthetics long enough to lash out and grab the back wheels of the truck. Her grip was just strong enough bring it to a halt, just before she began to be dragged along.

"What the hell?" The guard curses under his breath, checking the mirrors to see what was grabbing them, extremely surprised to see Number 7 present; she was supposed to be dead! That is what had been reported the day that they failed to recapture Lucy. Both the original Mariko and Nana were supposedly killed!

"Fuck..." he grumbled, jamming his foot on the gas to go faster.

But Nana refused to let go. Two of her vectors planted firmly into the ground, the other two grabbing—pulling—she would flip it if she had to.

Hiroshi flicked his head about. "Hideo! What the hell's happening!?"

"Nnggh..." Hideo grunted, flooring the gas. "There's another one! Another Diclonius!"

"What...!?" Hiroshi looked at the side mirror, and widened his eyes.

"Hideo!" He shouted. "It's Number 7! How...!?"

"I don't know, Hiroshi. But we need to get out of here now."

Nana could not hold on to the truck for too long. She lacked true stamina.

"STOP PLEASE–! Nana can't—Nana isn't strong enough!" The tiny silpelit cries out.

'Let me in child. . .'

As the young silpelit laments, she hears the presence of a voice that had not been active in quite some time: her own Instinct.

"I-I need to help my friends…!"

'Then let me do it. You and I know that I am stronger than you. . . I will save them. For us.'

"Please…" Her voice is muffled in the ground as her tiny body pushed and pushed and pushed to keep up her strength.

Nana would do anything to help her friends, even surrendering control to the Instinct within.

And with that—the girl would become a very different creature than she was before.

Abruptly, the strength of her vectors double, giving the silpelit enough strength to completely pull the armored vehicle back. An empty expression plagued Nana's face.

"I'll kill you if you don't let my friends go..." she droned, her limbless body being pushed upwards, bangs tangling and covering her face.

With that, Hideo made his way out of the truck, Hiroshi grabbing onto the steering wheel. Handgun prepare, he aimed, ready to shoot at the rabid silpelit.

"We don't have enough room to bring in another one." he grunted, "I will just have to terminate you on the spot."

He shoots a few bullets, despite the fact that they are blocked by one of Nana's vectors.

"You can't kill me." Nana asserts, lashing out to try and retaliate against Hideo. Another vector slithers out, prepared to decapitate the elder guard, when...

PANG!

"AH…!" Nana screams.

Hiroshi had clamored out of the car, running behind and shooting at the rabid silpelit.

"Die, you bitch!"

One shot to the back was all it took to knock her over, bleeding.

"S-should we take this one in too?!" Hiroshi stammers, stressed and flighty; this was just too much. "We can't take anymore chances, Hideo! We're already in deep shit as it is!"

"Just leave it." the older one barked in complaint, "It doesn't have any arms and legs. It'll just bleed out."

Nana's instinct had fled the moment that she was shot, leaving the young girl on the ground. The pain prevented her from using her vectors to reattach the prosthetics. And so she lay in defeat, eyes watching Hideo and Hiroshi return to the vehicle and drive away.

She would certainly die if nobody came to her rescue.

If only Chief Kurama were here, he would have helped her. . .

"P-pa…Pa…"

The Doctor heard Nana's cry. Had she come to save them...? And the gunfire. They couldn't have...

Did they kill her?

"Nana..." He whispered. "No..."

He closed his eyes, as more tears streamed down his face.

"Not Nana..."

Nana can barely hear the sound of Mayu's voice yelling out to her as both eyes shut.

She had lost them. Her friends had been captured, and a terrible fate awaited the both of them.

A single tear shed, and flowed down her cheek as her head limped down to the concrete.

Nana had failed.

Lucy and the Doctor were gone.