A/N: Oh, but I ran out o time today before I could get everything done that I wanted to get done in this chapter, which means that it has to be spread over two chapters.

I never quite realize just how long it takes me to get through certain things. I thought: okay, five sections, maybe 500 words each ... Nope. Not. At. All. Never! What is wrong with me?

Right-y oh .. all the players in this game have now been introduced (excluding Eight, but his entrance is somewhat later than this little bit of play - he needs to show when Rose needs him most .. so patience, please) ... so let's get to the first showdown and the theft of TARDIS ... (shit, took me a bit to get there, yeah?!)

Thanks a tonne for your comments, PMs and encouragements. They really do keep a girl at it!

~~oooOOOooo~~

The silence that had suddenly engulfed his superior Time Lord mind was – if you'll pardon the cliché – absolutely deafening. He couldn't even describe the sensation inside his mind a silence. It was a numbing yet pulsating sense of absolute nothingness; a void that seemed about ready to engulf his mind completely and drive him to madness.

He stumbled backward, shook his head, and even coughed at this sudden telepathic blindness. His mouth hung low, his breath panted and his gaze was unfocused as he staggered back further from the access panel.

Jack gripped onto the Doctor's shoulders and held just shy of shaking him into their current timestream. "Doc. Doc? What's happened?"

"I can't," he breathed out fearfully. "I can't see." He groaned and held the butts of his hands hard into his eyes. "I can't see, Jack. I've gone blind."

Martha was upon him immediately. Her breath was audibly panicked and she grasped at his wrists to pull his hands from his eyes. "Doctor? What's happened? How are you blind?" She let his eyes find somewhat lazy focus on her face and snapped her fingers in front of his nose.

Immediately the Doctor recoiled from her with a deep crease between his brows. He swatted at her hand and offered her a look that was very much a 'mind yourself, you're dribbling on your shirt' expression. "I'm not visually impaired," he snapped rudely. He sniffed indignantly. "I can see just fine, thank you. You, and Jack, and this gigantic bloody locked door that's separating me from my family."

"Than what are you on about?" Jack snapped. "You just carried on about being blind. What are we supposed to assume? That blind means something different in high and mighty Gallifreyan?"

As soon as those words were out of Jack's mouth, the Doctor's indignance fell. He swallowed hard over a lump in his throat that made him drop his head and speak somewhat huskily. "Yeah, Jack. It does." He lifted his head and tightly rolled his shoulders as he walked back to the access panel and resumed trying to get the door open. "But unless you have any form of grasp on the spatial and temporal dimensions that allow all living beings the ability to infer the existence of the third spatial dimension you perceive yourself viewing everything around you, then I don't have the time nor the crayons to explain to you the additional dimensions of sight possessed by the Time Lords."

Jack leaned down to speak coldly against his ear. "It's a good thing you made that one worth it, Doc, because that's the only one you're getting…"

"What are you waffling about?" he growled impatiently.

"Your wife and child are in peril. You're frustrated and I get that," he answered coldly as he nudged the Doctor off the task with a shove of his shoulder. He sniffed as he worked his fingers through the wiring. "Which means that you get one chance to be a complete arrogant jackass and not get your arse handed to you." He let his eyes shift toward the Doctor. They softened, as did his voice. "They're okay, Doc. You know they are."

The Doctor shook his head slowly. With a lick of his lip he closed his eyes and let his mental hands feel along the lines of the bond that connected him to his wife and child. He felt a physical blow to his forehead as his search led him straight into an invisible wall of darkness. His mind slammed itself against the wall as though he'd physically thrown his shoulder at it, but to no avail. There was no fracture against the void for him to be able to see what lay beyond.

He was blinded to his wife and child in a manner he'd experienced only once before – when he'd lost them both behind a dimensional wall.

The familiarity of being shut out in such a forceful manner dropped the Time Lord to his knees.

"By the love of Rassilon, Omega and the Other, please no," he begged the door in front of him. "Please. I can't do this. Not again."

Martha fell at his side and instantly had her arms around his shuddering shoulders. "Doctor. What's happening?"

"I can't feel them," he answered in quite possibly the smallest voice she'd ever heard.

"Who, Doctor?"

"They're gone," he answered with a whimper. "Rose and Gal." He looked at her with a boyish look of utter terror. "They're gone."

~~oooOOOooo~~

The sudden silence in her head leapt upon her with the loud cough of a handheld firearm. Rose felt the tug that tore the Doctor and her son from her mind. It was a tug, a stretch, and then a snap … and her husband and son were banished from her mind.

She panted in absolute confusion to the sensation. She held her son protectively inside her embrace. She could feel his shuddering little body and his heaving breaths of terror. She knew without a doubt that her precious child was alive and well … so why couldn't she feel his little ray of warmth inside her mind?

Her eyes drifted to the body that lay on the floor at her feet, and the expanding pool of blood that rolled along tiled flooring like a mini-tsunami overtaking a city. He was still alive, though. Despite the sucking hole in his chest, this man – the Master – who claimed to have once been the best friend of her husband and now wanted him to die in the most torturous of manners, was still living. Barely alive, of course, but alive nonetheless.

Her eyes shifted to his, which were locked on the eyes of the trembling little boy in her arms.

"How d-did you fight off my…" He inhaled a deep and gurgled breath and blinked slowly. "How did … did you fight me, boy?"

"You don't belong in my head," he replied with far more confidence than his voice was conveying. "I have shields."

"Tots your age aren't strong enough," he corrected with a gurgle. "Not even your … your d-dad can…" His eyes clenched tightly together as he coughed up a mouthful of blood that bubbled over his lips to run down toward his ear. He opened them again to look toward the child. "You are s-something … unique, G-Gallif-frey." His hand moved slowly across the floor to attempt to reach for the child's hand. "T-Together, we could be … un-unstoppable."

Rose tugged Gallifrey backward, taking a couple of steps herself to back off. "Leave him alone," she snarled. "I'm not lettin' you anywhere near him."

Chantho, who had remained in a silent and almost catatonic state as she held the weapon, finally let out a hard breath and dropped the weapon. She did so with all the dramatics of a woman dropping a mug with a spider on it; with a whimpering yelp and a hurried stagger backward.

"Chan, what have I done, tho?" She looked toward Rose with horror in her eyes.

"You saved my son," Rose answered thankfully.

"Chan, I killed a man, tho."

"You killed a monster," Rose corrected passionately. "Someone who's able to destroy the universe."

Chantho shook her head frantically. "Chan, I'm a murderer, tho."

Rose was ready to protest once again, but stopped at the light whimper that came from her child. "Gal?"

"Oh," he breathed worriedly. "I don't know that you're a murderer, Miss Chantho." He gulped. "Mum. We forgot about him bein' a Time Lord."

"What do you mean?"

Gallifrey pointed toward the man on the ground. "They regenerate, remember."

Rose's eyes fell to the man on the ground who maintained a strong stare and a toothy smile toward her child. His aged and bloody body rippled with amber energies that Rose could see was crawling over his entire body.

"Get in the TARDIS," she demanded to her child as she noted the increase in the glow of energy. She gave him a helpful, but hard push toward the timeship. "Now!"

Gallifrey stood firm against her guiding hand. He shook his head and tightened his face with defiance. "No," he growled in reply. "Not goin' anywhere, Mum. Not without you."

"I said go," she demanded hotly. "In the TARDIS."

He stomped a foot on the ground and clenched his little hands into fists. His freckled little face was a tight crease of fury that his mother would even halfway entertain the notion that he'd leave her alone. "You can't make me," he growled with threat. "If you're here, then I'm here. Like it or not."

From the floor, the Master had to chuckle. "I'm going to have so much…" His words morphed to a grunt when Rose kicked out a leg to belt him one in the side. "Fun," he moaned. "With the both of you it looks like."

Rose curled a lip in disgust and then spun to admonish her child for his unashamed disobedience. She set one hand on her hip and used the other to point at the blue Timeship. "Get inside the TARDIS, Gallifrey. That's not a request, that's a demand. And so help me if you don't get in there right now."

He flinched just slightly at her calm and dangerous tone, but there was no way in this – or any other – universe that he was going to leave her all alone. "No."

One thing Gallifrey Tyler had to admit about his mother, was that she was faster than he was. No sooner had he defiantly growled out his negative to her order, Rose Tyler's hand flicked up and out, and then snatched a firm hold of the shell of his left ear with her thumb and index finger.

"Know this, young Lord," she snarled hotly as she dragged him toward the TARDIS. "I am absolutely not opposed to using corporal punishment against disobedient little boys." She ignored the way he yipped and whined under her grasp. "I am pretty sure that I can have your Dad find a planet where spankings are still allowed and will lever a decent walloping across your little backside."

Gallifrey continued to protest in amongst his little yelps and hisses about the painful tug on his ear. He knew what his mum was trying to do. She was channeling her fear for his safety into anger, and she was letting that drive her into locking him up in a protective box and throwing away the key…

…But had she forgotten that it was always the two of them; Rose and Gallifrey standing together to beat the odds against any of the bad guys that had ever gone after them? Did she forget that he was her little protector? Her wolf cub?

The TARDIS doors opened without Rose having to use her key and she let out a quiet word of thanks to the protective old girl as she guided Gallifrey to stand in the centre between the two open doors. "Gal," she breathed worriedly as she dropped into a crouch in front of him and held his little face in her hands. "Go inside and hide. Don't come out until me or your dad come and get you, okay?"

"But mum."

"No buts," she interrupted gently. "I love you, my precious boy. Remember that, okay? Remember that your mum and dad love you very, very much."

"You're not leavin' me alone," he begged her. "You and me, mum. It's always been you and me."

She rose up high in the crouch to press a kiss against Gallifrey's forehead. "Love you, Gal."

He opened his mouth to argue again, but found himself roughly shoved onto his little butt on the ramp of the TARDIS console room. He didn't have any reaction time to jump up run – or to even return his mother's sentiment – before the TARDIS doors slammed shut and the lock clicked loudly into place.

"Wha'?" he huffed out as he scuffled backward, and then rolled forward to push himself to a stand. "No. No no no no no," he chanted as he ran to the doors and frantically twisted a the lock to try and open the door. The tumbler twisted round and around and didn't act to release the lock at all.

In frustration he punched against the doors. "Mum! Mum! Let me out of here. Please! Lemme out!" Yells turned to sobs and then to sniffles, and little Gallifrey Tyler let his forehead drop against the doors in defeat at the hands of his mother.

"Now now, little one," a matronly voice chided from behind him. "That is behaviour most unbecoming of a young Time Lord."

Gallifrey jumped in shock and spun about to press his back into the door. He tried to shuffle his feet back further when he found himself in a very crowded console room. "Who … who are you?" He straightened up and tried valiantly to stand tall and fearless in the face of four adult strangers. "I'm warnin' you. I'm not goin anywhere easy."

Tia chuckled into her hand and swung her loose blonde hair over her shoulder as she twisted to look at the older incarnation of Gallifrey. "You really were a scrawny little thing back then, weren't you?"

"He was a brave little tafelshrew, though," Alyea cooed gently. "And so very adorable – like Dad in his tenth, only littler."

He looked between them all and swallowed hard. "Who are you, and what are you doin' in my Dad's TARDIS?"

Innocet stepped forward and held her hand out in an invitation for the youngster to take it. "My dear Gallifreypetertylerlungbarrowmas…"

"I hate it when you use my full name," the older Gallifrey moaned quietly.

"When you were his age," she commented back sharply. "It was the fastest way to get you calm when you were becoming unreasonable." She looked back to the youngster with a smile. "Now if you'll follow me, child. Your mother has asked that you get to safety, and right now the safest part of this capsule is the library."

The youngster looked up at Innocet, and shook his head warily. He then looked across to his elder self. "Are you supposed to be me?"

Tia smiled with pride. "Oh, you were clever, too." She levered her head to look toward the older Gal. "My how you've changed."

The youngster pressed back harder into the door. He pointed up toward his older self. "Then. Then, if you're me, then why aren't I feeling you right now?" He panted. "I should feel your presence here like a crawling spider in my head, yeah?"

His eyes were wide, yet gentle, when he nodded. "Telepathic void," he answered. He then swallowed and looked away from the lad. "Aunty has a telepathic shield in place that's currently blocking out any telepathic contact at all right now. Necessary," he assured with a roll of his wrist in front of him. "To stop a hijack of your mind by Dad's frenemy outside."

"Which means that Mum and Dad can't feel each other, yeah?"

"Correct."

The youngster pointed harshly toward his older self. "Then I'm gonna let you explain that to 'em, because when the two of them find out…" he made the sound of an explosion. He looked toward Alyea and Tia and then back to Gallifrey. "Sisters? Or am I going back on my own time stream with dates?"

Tia held up a hand. "Sisters," she answered quickly. "Two of the many that Mum and Dad have managed to spawn over the century and a half they've been mated." She thumbed to Alyea. "This is Cobblemouse…"

"Alyea," she corrected with a moan. "As in Alyealemlumialungbarrowmas. Third daughter. That is Tialistrelemlungbarrowmas, the sister mum's pregnant with right now…"

"Introductions can wait, don't you think, ladies?" Innocet cut in sharply. "It is imperative that we get this young Lord sequestered before the Time Lord outside completes his regeneration and finds his way into this capsule." She grasped onto the shoulder of Gallifrey's tunic and forcibly led him past the console and into the corridors.

"You will have to accept my apology in advance, young Lord," she said emotionlessly. "I am greatly opposed to having to sequester you little ones when your hearts yearn for freedom and adventure like your father." She led him to an ornate wooden door and pressed her hand on it to push it open. "But safety is your father's prime directive when it comes to any of you young ones, and it's my duty to ensure that you and yours are kept safe at all times – be it at Lungbarrow or within the walls of this magnificent capsule."

"Are you like a nanny or something?" he queried with a slight grimace of curiosity.

"I'm your cousin," she answered with a blink and a light nod of her head. "The bonded housekeeper of the new Lungbarrow home, and protector of little time tots." She coaxed him into the room with the swatting of her hands. "Now. If you will, child. I'll come for you when it's safe."

His whole face screwed up and he shook his head. "Nope. I don't think so," he challenged her with an arrogant and defiant expression on his face. "I'll just…"

He yelped out as the door to the library slammed shut to lock him inside. He ran to the door and jiggled it, then he shook it, then he tugged on it. Finally, he pounded on it with the butt of his fist.

"Oh come on! Let me outta here!"

There was a giggle to his rear, and Gallifrey spun in place to once again press his back up against the door in the hope that it would magically open to set him free.

"Who's there?"

Two little heads popped up over the back of couch, followed by little shoulders, and then arms and then legs as they both simultaneously climbed over it and dropped lightly to the floor.

Gallifrey watched through cautious eyes as they approached him. One of them a stocky, yet above the average height for a girl her age, with sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and a lollypop hanging from her mouth. The other was a small, thin girl with raven-black hair, a waif's figure and large, curious, hazel eyes that were well and truly locked on him.

He twisted his head side to side as though wanting to take his eyes off them, but found himself completely unable to do so.

The Blonde took the lollypop from her mouth with a loud sucking sound and smiled a tooth in teeth smile. "Well if it isn't lil'boy Gal! My big brother who's actually my little brother!" she skipped forward and held out her hand. "I'm Eve, by the way. Youngest right now, but I think that might change. I'm seeing Dad getting all paternal again now that I start the Academy in the fall." She took a single suck off her lolly pop and then continued. "This is really cool, because Innocet said we might see you like this, but I really didn't believe her at all, which is kind've bad of me to think, really, cause she never actually lies." She giggled. "Well, not unless she's trying to cover up for one of us when we are misbehaving, and then it's only a lil'white lie, yeah? Nothing that's really gonna get her into too much trouble with Mum'n'Dad'n'all."

Gallifrey looked to her with a doubtful arch in his brow and thumbed back at the door. "You mean the matron who brought me here?"

"Oh I wouldn't really put her in the whole matron…" She stopped talking when the other girl took the lollypop from her fingers and stuck it in her mouth. She sighed around the sweet. "Was I blabbering on again, Arkytior?"

Arkytior nodded to Eve and then looked to Gallifrey with a smile. "It's all a front, Father," the brunette answered with a curious tilt in her head. "Cousin Innocet might act as though she is uncaring and insensitive, but she is the owner of two very soft hearts."

Gallifrey's eyes were wide, and there was no way at all that he could claim to have heard anything that the pixie-girl in front of him had said beyond her fifth word. "Did. Did you just call me f-father?"

Eve giggled around her sweet. "Oops! Busted."

Arkytior rolled her eyes and gave a warm smile as she held out her hand to Gallifrey. "Yes, Father, I did. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm your daughter, Arkytior." She batted her lashes. "But I prefer to be called Susan."