"You ruin everything, Doctor."

The man in the tweed suit and bow tie leaned against the door. Silent.

The man at the table tried again, "It's been awhile."

The bartender lay slumped in a corner, his eyes open in surprise. The Doctor grumbled as he moved to close the eyes of the dead man, "I would have wished it remain as it had been. You trapped and the universe spared of your madness."

"Now, Doctor...you know me."

"There are days I wish I didn't."

"Is today one of them?"

"Get off my planet. Please"

"Earth isn't yours."

"It is protected."

The old man at the table laughed and pounded the table, shaking his head, "By who? U.N.I.T? They're useless."

"By me."

"You are this planet's protector? When did this happen?"

"You said it yourself. It's been awhile."

"A fair point, old friend. Your face has changed. How many have you been, Doctor?"

"Eleven. Now get off my planet. I asked nicely."

"Oh dear, The Doctor is going to get cross with me." He put his hands up in mock surrender, hoping to goad his fellow Time Lord.

"I've lived a few more regenerations since we last met. Me getting cross with my enemies has taken on a different meaning in the last few hundred years."

"You're also a little sassy. I like it."

"Why?"

"Why won't I leave? Well, Doctor…I'm starting to like it here."

"You won't be staying. Why did you turn Malfoy? What was it all for?"

"Because it was fun, old friend. I broke out and needed something to wake up my bones. Dust gathers and rust brittles us if we stand still for too long. I imagine that's why you've been running all this time."

"You lost. The Elder Wand is no more. That event is a fixed point in time. Harry Potter lives again. What more could you possibly want?"

"To see you again. To look upon your face and understand my enemy after all these years. We're brothers of Gallifrey, Doctor. We can never lose each other for long. Speaking of...where is The Master these days?"

"Gone. With the rest of them. Gallifrey fell...and is gone forever."

"I hear otherwise, Doctor. And I suspect you know more than you're letting on."

"I'm asking you as this planet's protector to leave."

"What could I possibly do to this planet?"

The Doctor gave him an exasperated look.

"Another fair point. What happens if you have to stop asking?"

"I have to start telling."

The air in the room suddenly grew tense. The Doctor had slipped off the doorway and now stood, arms crossed. His nemesis took careful note. "I can imagine there would be a lot of fighting. Things exploding. People hurt. You'd have to do something quite nasty to me to convince me to leave and be on my way. I'm sure we'd both live to regret it. Well, you would. I'm the king of indifference. Was the queen too, before this old bag took over…", he gestured to himself, "...which begs the question - how did you end up looking so swanky?"

"We're not having this conversation."

"Oh come off it! I went from being a very lovely lady to this awful looking..what do they call them here...pensioner! I have to fight to impress upon the universe how powerful I am."

"Are you whining?"

"No. And by no, I mean yes."

"Get. Off. My. Planet."

"Right. Sassy and bossy. I don't like this new Doctor. Old one was better. I'll leave, but I want you to know that I nearly had you...and them and the rest of the universe. We're not finished, Doctor. Not by a longshot. You may have saved The Boy Who Lived but there's plenty of people here, there and everywhere just waiting to be taken in by me."

"I would warn you against such plans, but you're already familiar with my standard warning."

"Always and forever, Doctor. One of these days, you won't be able to save them all. I hope I'm the one that teaches you." He stood and walked to a bathroom door, "Until we meet again, Doctor."

"May you never show up on my doorstep again, The Rani."

The Rani gave a half nod and stepped inside the door. A moment later the wheezing sound filled the bar and the door vanished.

The Doctor spent a moment more in silence, his heart heavy. And then he spoke quietly to the room, "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold." He quietly smiled as he remembered speaking them from the mouth of his seventh face. Another moment and he faced the mirror that stood over the bar, "Come on Doctor...we've got work to do." One last look at the room and he was gone, muttering as he ran for his TARDIS, "Geronimo."