Bit shorter than the others, but I'm not a fan of these two episodes, so i skipped quite a bit. Apologies if you liked those bits. But this chapter was half written up, so i finished it. New chapters won't be coming out as often because of that, but i might get the next ones out soon, depending on my mood. writer's block is a sporadic pain so...

but i hope you all enjoy! let me know what you think.

i don't own Aziraphale from Good Omens, just sort of... borrowed him a little :)

I sighed into my pillow, exhausted and tired in more ways than one. A few days had passed since Reinette and while I was physically recovered from the fiasco, it still bothered me how easily I let her in. And how easily I had snapped at the Doctor.

I lifted a hand, staring at it as I remembered the few tears I had been forced to wipe away. I hadn't remembered the last time I'd felt something to that extent. Aziraphale would be laughing if he knew how much I was changing. I scoffed and rolled over, getting up and snapping my fingers to put on some clothes. While I hadn't minded being a woman, my face and body only felt right with my initial appearance—which I'd changed back the moment the Doctor had found me.

I hadn't minded the footwear though, and smirked as I easily slipped on a set of black stiletto heels to go with my torn skin-tight jeans, blood red waist coat, black button up and black suit jacket. It felt more me than what I'd initially planned and at the Tardis's hum of approval, I headed out into the console room where the Doctor and Rose were chuckling about a past adventure. I raised a brow at Mickey, who was idly holding down a button, and appeared just over his shoulder.

"What're you doing that for?"

"Christ!" He yelped, whipping around in a panic that quickly gave way to annoyance. "The hell, mate!"

"Hell, indeed." I smirked, sauntering past.

"Why are you doing that?" The Doctor asked Mickey.

"Because you told me to."

"When was that?"

Mickey scowled, beginning to see he'd been left an unimportant task and forgotten about. "About half an hour ago."

"Oh, dear," I hummed, thoroughly enjoying the show as the Doctor grimaced.

"Uh, you can let go now."

"Well, how long's it been since I could've stopped?" Mickey snapped.

"Ten minutes? Twenty?" The Doctor scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Twenty-nine?"

"You just forgot me!"

"No, no, no. I was just, I was, I was calibrating. I was just. No, I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Your lying is atrocious," I teased, earning a glare just before the Tardis exploded.

We all shot to our feet and the Doctor and I rushed to the console.

"What's happened?" Rose asked, holding on to a coral pillar as the ship was tossed about.

"The time vortex is gone. That's impossible. It's just gone. Brace yourself!" The Doctor warned. "We're going to crash!"

The Tardis gave one final jerk, throwing everyone except me off their feet. The ship powered down too and I frowned up at the darkened ceiling.

"Everyone all right?" The Doctor called out, checking up on Rose and Mickey, then the ship itself. "She's dead," he murmured. "The Tardis is dead."

"Can you fix it?" Rose asked, worried.

"There's nothing to fix. She's perished. The last Tardis in the universe. Extinct."

I strolled around the room though, brows furrowed and occasionally licking my lips. Despite the Doctor's words, there was something off. I was too distracted to even pay attention to his sorrow.

"We fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension."

"Otherwise known as London," Mickey announced, drawing even my attention to the outside world he'd revealed. "London, England, Earth. Hold on." He picked up a newspaper as we stepped outside. "First of February this year not exactly far flung, is it?

"You're wrong," I told him, breathing in deeply.

"What?"

"It's another universe," I informed him, eyes flaring gold briefly. "I can taste it. Still no demons though, if that helps."

I could feel it though. Somewhere in the city. An angel.

"Not to mention the Zeppelins," the Doctor pointed out as I tasted some hope spark in Rose.

"A parallel world and my dad's still alive," she breathed out, drawing our attention to a moving advert with her father displayed on the front.

"Oh, not again," I groaned in complaint. "You humans never learn, do you?"

The Doctor agreed. "This is not your world. Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now. Stop looking at it. Your father's dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is a Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you. You can't see him. Not ever."

Rose nodded solemnly, moving away from him to sit on a nearby bench and the Doctor sighed.

"Mickey, keep an eye on her. I'm going to see if there's anything I can do about the Tardis."

He retreated back into the blue box and I followed.

"I've forgotten how young she is," he murmured, and I huffed through my nose.

"She certainly pouts and throws a tantrum like a child," I scoffed, eyeing him fiddling with the controls. "I don't understand what you see in her."

He sighed. "Not this again."

I raised a brow. "You still deny it? The feelings are there, Doctor. You can't fool me."

"I thought you didn't know anything about love," he challenged, and I hesitated.

"…Reinette has informed me otherwise," I replied softly.

"Sorry."

I waved off his apology. "She informed me of what I didn't understand. My own… emotions were something I either ignored or were confused by. She helped sort them out."

He turned back to me in mild surprise. "So, you do feel things?"

"Apparently, though I don't enjoy doing so. However, you have changed the subject."

He rolled his eyes, turning away once more. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

"I'm a demon. Of course, I'm going to notice." I flickered to his side, leaning back against the console. "She won't let us leave until she sees him, you know. Though, we could always force her and have her throw a tantrum for a few days."

"We can't leave anyway," the Doctor grumbled, running a hand fondly over the console.

"She's not dead," I informed him, making his head snap up in surprise.

"What?"

Mickey stepped in then, causing him to round on the man in frustration.

"I told you to keep an eye on her."

Mickey shrugged. "She's all right."

"She goes wandering off. Parallel world, it's like a gingerbread house. All those temptations calling out."

Mickey scowled, making me curious. "Oh, so it's just Rose, then? Nothing out there to tempt me?"

"Well, I don't know, I can't worry about everything," the Doctor complained, and I gave Mickey a look.

"Rose is always his top priority. Trust me. He'd throw us all to the sharks if it meant saving her."

"H-Hey! That's not—"

I raised a brow. "Satellite Five."

The Doctor hesitated. "Well…"

"Werewolf."

"I mean…"

"Pete Tyler's wedding."

"Yes, all right! I get it." He pouted. "I'll work on it."

He's not lying, but a promise like that is easily broken, I mused before he got back on track.

"Now, what do you mean the Tardis isn't dead?"

"It's not?" Mickey questioned and I nodded.

"She's extremely low on power, but I can still sense her," I informed, running my tongue over my lips. "Ah, she's concentrated some power."

"Where?" The Doctor asked hopefully.

I wandered for a moment, tracking it down before spotting a small glowing light under the floor grates. "There."

The Doctor rushed over and grinned. "We've got power! Ha!"

I reached down, crouching and phasing my arm through the grate with a hint of power. I pulled up a small green light and handed it to the Doctor, who only seemed to grow happier.

"What is it?" Mickey asked.

"It's nothing. It's tiny. One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about, and it's clinging onto life, with one little ounce of reality tucked away inside."

"Enough to get us home?"

"Not yet. I need to charge it up."

I smirked, taking it back. "Allow me."

It didn't take much effort to make it glow ever brighter, and I handed it back with a soft sigh.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked, and I nodded.

"A soul would be nice, but I'm not so depleted tat I'm useless. I'll be fine."

The light dimmed, worrying Mickey.

"It's going out. Is that okay?"

The Doctor nodded, tucking the light into his coat pocket. "It's on a recharging cycle. It'll loop round, power back up and be ready to take us home in… oh, twenty-four hours?"

"So that gives us twenty-four hours on a parallel world?"

"Shore leave. As long as we keep our heads down. Easy. No problem."

I shot the Doctor a look as we stepped out to inform Rose. "You do realize that you just gave them both permission to run off. You're about to tell Rose she can go see her father."

"She can't."

I snorted. "Oh, and you're going to stop her? You nearly got me killed because your last self couldn't say no to her. Shall we make a bet on how well this is going to turn out? On a scale of one to Armageddon?"

The Doctor groaned. "Please don't jinx it."

"I believe you jinxed it the moment you fell in love with a child you refuse to upset," I teased with a smirk, tucking my hands into my pockets.

He scowled at me and stomped off ahead to explain to Rose our time limit here. I chuckled quietly to myself when I saw his smile fall and an argument begin between him and Rose.

"You just said twenty-four hours!" Rose shouted as I came up beside a frowning Mickey.

He's planning on running off too. Humans. Always so easily tempted by the promise of things they lost.

"Twenty-four hours, yeah?" He said, confirming my thoughts as he started walking away.

"Where're you going?" The Doctor questioned, rather frantic now that he could see my prediction was coming true.

"Well, I can do what I want."

Rose started off in the other direction. "I've got the address and everything."

"Stay where you are, both of you," the Doctor ordered, getting ignored. "Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here right now!"

"I just want to see him."

Mickey nodded. "Yeah, I've got things to see and all."

"Like what?" The Doctor questioned in disbelief and even I gave him a look.

"All humans have temptations. Are you really so blinded by her that you never considered he'd have a mind of his own?"

The Doctor winced as Mickey huffed.

"He's right. You don't know anything about me, do you? It's always about Rose. I'm just a spare part. Go on, then. There's no choice, is there? You can only chase after one of us. It's never going to be me, is it?"

We all knew the answer to that.

"Back here, twenty-four hours! Ornias, you go with him," the Doctor said, running after Rose as I rolled my eyes.

"Joy. Babysitting."

Mickey was also unamused as I trailed up the road after him. "Course, he sends the lackey."

"Oh, please," I drawled. "I'm only joining you because I've seen enough of the Doctor getting used by Rose for a lifetime. I'm assuming whatever it is you are searching for is less dull than dealing with whatever mess she's about to cause. That, and there's something curious her ei hope to investigate. You happen to be heading in the same direction."

Mickey shot me a look. "You have something in this world?"

I shrugged. "Doubtful, but its worth a look, in any case."

"Well, I mean, as long as you don't go screwing up what I'm about to do." He frowned, hunching his shoulders as he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. "I guess I don't mind you coming along."

"Oh, trust me. You get no say in the matter."

Mickey knocked on the door as I yawned, ignoring his glare at the action and the hope he felt soared as someone called out from outside.

"Who's that there?"

The door opened and a blind woman answered with a scowl.

"Who is it? I know you're there. Shame on you, tricking an old lady. I've got nothing worth stealing. And don't think I'm going to disappear! You're not going to take me."

I waved my hand in front of her face until Mickey smacked it away.

"Stop that," he hissed, making the woman perk up.

"Is that you?"

Mickey's eyes softened. "It's me. I came home."

I rolled my eyes at the reunion, stepping out to the curb and turning my focus back to the angel I'd sensed before. They're close. In the city, and not too far from here. Maybe a couple kilometers. It's odd though. I don't sense any others. No demons, no guardians, just the one.

I blinked out of my daze when I heard Mickey get slapped by his nan, smirking behind him as she continued her assault.

"It's been days and days! I keep hearing all these stories. People disappearing off the streets. There's nothing official on the download but there're all these rumors, and, and whispers. I thought that God had disappeared you!"

Ugh, appetite ruined, I mentally groaned as the elderly woman offered him tea. I wasn't about to make my presence known. I could sense the holy items in her house that dubbed her as Mickey's religious influencer. I was already weak to begin with—weak enough that I doubted the angel knew I was here—and I wasn't about to go testing my limits with a blind religious woman.

There was the sound of screeching tires then, and a van pulled up right in front of me. I blinked as a blond man jumped out—bypassing me completely and grabbing Mickey.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Mickey looked at me in confusion, but this was far more entertaining that his nan. Needless to say, I slipped into the van as he was shoved in and explained very briefly.

"They can't see or hear me. Unless you're in immediate danger, let's see how this goes, shall we?"

He glared at me, but the blond scolded him, drawing his attention.

"Ricky, you were the one who told us you don't contact your family because it puts them in danger."

"Hm, Ricky must be a parallel you," I mused as Mickey tried to come up with a response that wouldn't put him in danger.

"Yeah. Ricky said that. Course I did, just testing."

The man didn't even notice that Mickey was acting any different than Ricky.

"I saw them. I taped them. They went round Blackfriars gathering up the homeless like the child catcher. They must've took four dozen."

"Ooh, conspiracy. Love it," I purred, leaning forward with my chin in my hands, elbows on my knees. "You must be the head of a rebellion group! Good for you, Mickey."

He didn't look thrilled.

"The vans were hired out to a company called International Electromatics," the driver said. "But I did a protocol search. Turns out that's a dummy company established by guess who?"

"I don't know. Who?"

I groaned, giving Mickey a look. "You're terrible at not being obvious."

"Cybus Industries!" The two informed him.

"Well, now we've got evidence."

"Bad news is, they've arrested Thin Jimmy. So that just leaves you," the driver informed as I snorted.

"Really? What sort of code name is Thin Jimmy? Not very threatening. I'm beginning to think this is less of a rebellious group and more like Scooby-Doo and the gang."

"Leaves me what?" Mickey asked, ignoring me.

"The Number One. Top of the list. London's Most Wanted."

I burst into laughter, holding my stomach as I quaked, and Mickey glared. "O-Oh my! Y-You? London's Most Wanted? Oh, Lucifer, that's good!"

"It's not funny," he murmured under his breath as the van pulled to a stop and we got out to see a warehouse.

"Oh, trust me. That would've made the Doctor's day if he were here to hear that," I hummed, before my smirk widened. "Oh, lucky, lucky."

"What?" Mickey asked, being sure to keep his voice down since the others couldn't see me.

"You remember how I had something to check here?" I gestured to the door. "We're about to find out what it is. I knew following you would pan out. I had a good laugh and now I get to find out what an angel is doing here."

"An angel?"

Mickey didn't question me any further though, because it turns out Ricky was actually already there.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ricky scowled.

"What are you doing there?" The blond man questioned.

"What am I doing here? What am I doing there!"

The two who'd taken Mickey whipped out guns and he raised his hands in surrender as I chuckled. They soon stripped him down to his pants and tied him up as he scowled at me. I'd yet to lift a finger, mostly too busy laughing. He wasn't in any danger anyway. No one in the room had killed anyone yet. I'd know. I doubted they'd be able to when Mickey looked identical to their own Ricky.

"And your name is Mickey, not Ricky," Ricky confirmed.

"Mickey. Dad was Jackson Smith. Used to work at the key cutters in Clifton's Parade. Went to Spain, never came back."

"Oh, you have intelligence after all," I chuckled. "Match stories and they won't be able to deny a relation."

"But he doesn't just look like me, he is exactly the same. There's something else going on here, Jake."

"Oh, could you give the boy some clothes?" A new voice said. "He must be cold, and if he's not threatening, why are we tying him up? It's a bit indecent."

My eyes widened at the sight of a familiar face. His white curled hair, formal white and cream suit and polished brown shoes. I knew the wanna-be bookkeeper anywhere.

"Aziraphale," I breathed, and he paused, a cup of tea halted just before it could be placed on an end table laden with books. "It is, isn't it?"

Guns were pulled out again as I revealed myself, stepping towards the stunned angel with a grin.

"What are the chances?" I mused, just as Ricky shouted.

"Where did you come from!"

"Hell," I replied, before smacking my forehead. "Oh, silly me. That's not what you were referring to, was it? If you must know, I was here the whole time."

"How?" Aziraphale breathed, finally putting down his tea. "I haven't sensed any of us since I got here."

"Ah, what I meant was, I've been here… what? Two hours? Three?" I looked to Mickey for confirmation, but he shrugged. "Oh, well. Doesn't matter really. How've you been? Not quite the, uh, bookshop I expected, if I'm being honest."

"Well, it's not as if I can conjure things from thin air, Ornias," he huffed as I raised a brow.

"I thought you could literally do that."

"I'm not going to just make a bookshop appear out of nowhere. It doesn't work like that. It's half the fun to actually start from scratch. You should try it."

I snorted. "No thanks. I couldn't run a business. Trust me. I've tried."

"Uh, sorry. Do you two know each other?" Jake asked, eyeing us both as I smirked devilishly.

"Oh, we go way back."

Aziraphale hummed, moving back to take a seat and sip his tea, waving at the pot. "Tea?"

"Might as well," I shrugged as Mickey gaped.

"Hey! What about me!"

I rolled my eyes, snapping my fingers and causing the ropes around him to fall off. "Honestly. Humans are so needy. Why do you like them so much again?"

"They're interesting, don't you think?"

"You should've seen them when they were clacking sticks together," I scoffed, crossing my leg over my knee and taking a sip of tea.

"Oh, I remember that," he mused, a small smile on his face. "I taught them how to make fire."

I chuckled. "I set them on fire."

He sighed with an eye-roll. "Sounds like you."

"Hold on," Ricky cut in again. "Are you two just going to sit there having a cuppa and chatting when the world is—"

I shot him a glare, harsh enough to silence him. "Look. Aziraphale and I have some things to catch up on. You kids can chat about your personal Armageddon over there for at least the next few minutes, can't you?"

"But—"

My eyes flared gold briefly and he stiffened, hesitantly going to where Jake was eyeing Mickey warily.

"You didn't have to do that," Aziraphale sighed.

"Please. If there's one thing I've learned about humans, it's that they're stubborn and tend to need a bit of fear in order to understand who's in charge."

"…So, how did you get here? I didn't sense you until now."

"I'm a bit on the weak side at the moment," I explained. "And I'm technically from another universe. The people I've been traveling with ended up here incidentally."

"Traveling? With humans?"

"Oh, don't start. Look. I was bored. You know me. And I ended up meeting this blonde human girl who babbled on about some guy. Thing is, said guy is an alien with a time and space machine." I smirked as his eyes widened. "Oh, yeah. Needless to say, we made a deal. I listen to his rules, he lets me stick around. Did you know my charm works on aliens?"

"Actual aliens?" He questioned, leaning forward. "As in creatures not of Earth?"

"Yup. It's definitely entertaining when you've got whole new species to see. I actually took this alien cat nun and—"

"Oh, no. I don't want to know! Knowing you, it's something unsavory, and I'd like to enjoy my tea, thank you."

I chuckled. "So? What about you?"

"Nothing so intriguing. I was in the process of setting up shop here but stumbled upon this group as I began to notice strange happenings. Don't you sense it?"

I nodded. "Contentions in the lower classes. Something dark is coming, and there's a man somewhere close who is very corrupted. I don't usually sense that from such a distance."

"I hoped to help them overcome this. I never expected you to…" He paused, eyeing his tea. "Are you staying long?"

"Twenty-four hours," I told him. "You can come with us. The Earth in my world is far less bleak."

He shook his head. "No. It was upon His will that I be sent here. Surely, helping to stop this is my purpose."

I clicked my tongue. "Still going on about him? Aziraphale, He left us. Threw us both into a universe with no one else. In a place we both hate, and you're still holding faith?"

"What else should I do?"

"Enjoy yourself! You're always on about God this, God that. What's He ever done for us? We never did find out what the deal with Armageddon was. Does your faith cover that too? The slaughter of all humans? For what?" I scoffed, standing. "The alien I'm with mourns every second for the slaughter of his home planet, but where's His remorse? He just sent the two people who tried to stop the genocide to other worlds. I'll hold nothing but hatred for a God who does that, and you should too."

"Ornias…"

"Oi, you two!" Ricky called out. "We're leaving. Lumic's making a move."

"Which means our companions will as well," I sighed, giving Aziraphale a look. "Yeah, I surrounded myself with stubbornly heroic idiots. You'll like the Doctor. I've never met a person so bright wallowing in his own dark."

Aziraphale cracked a smile. "Very well. If he's caught your attention, then I best take a look."

"Pete, is there a way out?" The Doctor asked frantically as Cybermen who'd infiltrated the Tyler's home began to advance on them in the yard.

"The side gates. Who are you? How do you know so much?"

"You wouldn't believe it in a million years."

Just as they were cut off once more, two armed figures rushed in.

"Get behind me!" Ricky shouted, him and Jake firing uselessly at the Cybermen, though they did stop.

"Oh my God, look at you!" Rose beamed, hugging him under the assumption that he was Mickey. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Yeah. No offence, sweetheart, but who the hell are you?"

"Rose! That's not me. That's like the other one!" Mickey called out, rushing over.

"Oh, as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickey's," the Doctor complained as Ricky frowned.

"It's Ricky."

More Cybermen surrounded them and the Doctor hastily stopped Jake from shooting them, calling out instructions.

"We surrender! Hands up. There's no need to damage us. We're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."

"You are rogue elements," the Cybermen argued.

"But we surrender."

"You are incompatible."

"But this is a surrender."

"You will be deleted."

"But we're surrendering! Listen to me, we surrender!" The Doctor urged, scrambling to think up a Plan B since the Cybermen weren't cooperating.

"You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cyberman, but you will perish under maximum deletion." The Cyberman raised its arm only for it to suddenly vanish.

"I leave you alone for two hours and look what you've gotten yourself into," Ornias drawled, slinging the Cyberman arm over his shoulder. "And you called me a troublemaker."

"Ornias!" Rose beamed.

"That was a bit much, don't you think?" Aziraphale muttered, squeezing past the confused Cybermen. "Sorry. Excuse me."

Ornias rolled his eyes. "They're more robot than human, Aziraphale, so I can be as brutal as I want. And why are you apologizing? They were just seconds away from harming your little group of humans."

"Unknown rogue elements," a Cyberman interjected. "You will be deleted."

"Oh, I'd like to see you try," Ornias smirked, eyes glowing and his black wings spreading out behind him. "Care to join me, Aziraphale?"

"Do I have to?" He whined, his own white wings unfurling softly.

"I have no obligation to save your humans, and with this many opponents, I may miss some."

"Oh, all right, but I'm not happy about it," he complained, aiming a stern finger at Ornias.

"Fine by me."

"Delete! Delete! Delete!"

The humans were stunned by what happened in a matter of seconds. Cybermen left and right were losing limbs, heads, or even being impaled by some sort of sword. Aziraphale was a bit more obvious in his attacks, apologizing to each Cyberman as he begrudgingly used his own abilities to twist their heads around or throw them into one another.

The Doctor's group were more stunned by Aziraphale than anything—having known about Ornias and his abilities—but confused about this newcomer who Ornias was surprisingly civil with. The others, however, were stunned into shocked silence. Pete had no idea what was going on, and while Ricky and Jake had known Aziraphale was a bit off and had abilities they didn't understand, this was more than unexpected. Then, the last Cyberman fell and Ornias tossed a leg onto a pile of parts.

"Twelve. Beat that," he grinned.

"It wasn't a competition, Ornias," Aziraphale sighed.

"Oh, come on. Have a bit of fun. It's been a while since you let loose, right?" Ornias smirked, draping an arm over Aziraphale's shoulders.

"Yes, well, you couldn't have expected me to go all out. They were human once."

"'Once' being the key word. Come on. How many?"

"…Nine."

"Aha! I win again!"

A van sped around in front of him and Mrs. Moore honked the horn, urging everyone in. Once on the move again—all wings put away to save space—Ricky was quick to start the questions.

"W-What was that? What are you guys?"

Aziraphale was the one to explain as Ornias flexed his fist to get a judge on how much energy he had.

"I'm an angel and Ornias is a demon, in simple terms."

"Basically," Ornias hummed, "we were both banished into different universes. We just happened to bump into each other here."

"You're joking, right?"

Ornias raised a brow. "You just saw us single-handedly wipe out twenty-one of those robots with our wings out. Are you still questioning things?"

The humans went silent before the Doctor spoke up.

"And you know him?"

"I told you about Aziraphale. You know, the angel I occasionally did things for on Earth."

"An angel and demon working together?" Pete questioned.

"Eh, we're not so different and we had similar wants at the time. We teamed up when it benefitted us."

"What about him?" Jake asked, glaring at Pete. "He's a traitor. He laid a trap that's wiped out the Government and left Lumic in charge."

Pete scowled. "If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?"

"Maybe your plan went wrong," Ricky commented. "Still gives us the right to execute you, though."

"Oh, must we?" Aziraphale winced as Ornias snorted.

"Humans."

The Doctor though, bristled. "Talk about executions, you'll make me your enemy. And take some really good advice. You don't want to do that."

"All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic since twenty point five," Ricky argued, stunning Rose.

"Is that true?"

"Tell them, Mrs. M."

Mrs. Moore sighed before explaining that they had someone on the inside feeding them information. Pete then declared he was said mole and before any more bickering could start up, Ornias groaned.

"Hell, you humans. You know, you make my job real easy when you're so uptight and stubborn about trusting people. Pete Tyler is not lying. He's your mole."

"I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services. What do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van," Pete scoffed as Mickey attempted to defend the group.

"No, no, no. But the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said he's London's Most Wanted."

"Yeah, that's not exactly…"

"Not exactly what?"

"I'm London's Most Wanted… for parking tickets."

Ornias burst into laughter, leaning on Aziraphale who also had a small smile.

"Park anywhere, that's me," Ricky said confidently as the Doctor nodded in approval.

"Good policy. I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested."

"And I'm Rose. Hello."

"Even better," Pete grumbled. "That's the name of my dog. Still, at least I've got the catering staff on my side."

"And you like these humans?" Ornias muttered to Aziraphale. "All their bickering and suspicion. These sorts are usually my choice."

"There are few light souls in this world. I intend to add more," Aziraphale shrugged. "Every soul I brighten is a success."

"Making me wonder why we're friends again."

"You've brightened, you know."

"Don't make me laugh."

"You have. It's just a shade lighter, but it is there. Perhaps your own humans are affecting you."

Ornias thought about that with a frown before shaking it off. "No. They just have too many rules. I'm brightening by default."

"Denial is a river in Egypt," Aziraphale chirped, making Ornias scowl. "Never thought I'd find a demon swimming in it."

"Keep it up, and I'll make a special trip to drown you in it."

"Noted."

A plan was made not long after humans began to march into Lumic's warehouses because of some ear pods the Doctor mentioned. It was almost ironic to me that the very humans who are constantly running from death were now waltzing right to it like lambs to the slaughter. Aziraphale was more concerned, but the Doctor had paired the two of us up to go investigate Lumic himself. It'd be easy for us to get in since we could hide our presences, whereas they had to take the long way 'round. I was beginning to question him though, the Doctor. He willingly separated himself and me from Rose, who was taking the riskiest position. Though, I suppose "willingly" is not quite the word I'd use. More like she'd twisted his arm until he begrudgingly gave in.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Aziraphale hummed as we walked in the front doors and began our long walk up to where Lumic was.

We'd relaxed and let our wings out since no one was looking anyway, and his brushed mine curiously, waiting for an answer.

"The Doctor has a… large attraction to Rose. On multiple occasions he's sent me out to keep her safe without regard to me or anyone else. Yet, he folds at this moment when she wants to put herself in the riskiest position." I sighed heavily. "I do not understand his need to do everything she instructs. Love is not worth the trouble, one would think, of the constant worrying."

"Love makes one do wonderful and terrible things. Things one wouldn't otherwise think of or do. Love performs miracles," Aziraphale hummed. "It's what makes it such a beautiful emotion."

I thought of Janette, of my time spent with Reinette and the mixture of emotions I still struggled through. "Love is tedious, dangerous. I've found it more trouble than its worth."

"You?" He perked up, making me winced.

I hadn't meant to give that away.

"On your Earth? With a human?" He pressed, a grin stretching across his face. "My, word! I thought I'd never see the day! Ornias in love!"

My wing reached out and smacked the back of his head.

"Shut it. They're… They're both gone now. It wasn't worth it."

He became solemn, but still held a soft smile. "You don't believe that. Having more than one shows you did get something from it."

"I don't want to talk about it any longer, Aziraphale… please."

He watched me for a moment before his wing curled over my back like a hug hiding me from the dark shadows that thinking of Janette and Reinette brought. One of the problems with being companions with an angel. While demons were easily able to bring out the darkness within a soul, angels did much the opposite.

"The Doctor helps, does he not?" Aziraphale questioned. "While not the brightest of souls, he is trying."

I snorted. "He tries far harder than one would think. Self-blame is his vice. Every death, every life. He places it all on his shoulders."

"And you? Where do you stand?"

I cracked a teasing grin. "Somewhere between the wrist and the elbow."

"Ornias."

I chuckled, glad to have turned our conversation to something less troublesome. "He is a strange one, the Doctor. I would almost consider my life on his shoulders as well, were it not for Rose. She takes the highest priority in his mind, others be damned. I only protect her because I know the loss would end my entertainment early."

"You think her loss would break him."

"It would. I don't doubt that," I hummed, glancing at him as my eyes flared gold and I fried the door lock blocking our way. "He's the type to lock himself away to not make a mistake that terrible again. I would be more willing to watch her leave if it simply meant his soul falling into darkness, but I do not doubt his ire would impact my entertainment, especially if he believed I could have done something."

Aziraphale raised his brows though. "Oh… Oh, you care for the Doctor as well!"

"As entertainment," I pressed, but he shook his head.

"No, no. This is more than that. You're friends at the very least, but you want him happy, do you not?"

"Yes," I muttered, unsure what he was getting at.

"Then, the question is, how far will you go to ensure he's happy?"

"What does that matter?" I complained, but the angel just smiled.

"You will see, I'm sure."

My eyes narrowed. "If I didn't know it, I'd say you were a demon in disguise with how you're toying with me."

"Come now, Ornias!"

I rolled my eyes with a smile before we stepped into the main console room and I sighed. "Oh, dear. We may find out sooner than expected." I slipped behind Rose as she fidgeted uneasily beside Pete. "How did you manage to get caught already?"

She jolted, hastily making sure the Cybermen weren't paying attention before hissing under his breath.

"Ornias, what are you doing?"

"No one can hear me but you," I purred in her ear. "I take it you were caught? This is why you should leave it to a demon to be unemotional. Humans are the worst sort for the job."

The door opened again then, and I snorted as the Doctor too was brought in.

"I've been captured, but don't worry, Rose and Pete are still out there. They can rescue me. Oh well, never mind," the Doctor drawled as I chuckled with Aziraphale. "You okay?" He asked Rose who nodded.

"Yeah. But they got Jackie."

"We were too late. Lumic killed her," Pete murmured, making Aziraphale sigh sorrowfully while I hummed.

"I thought your souls were a shade darker."

The Doctor looked to me—another I made able to see—and mouthed, "You sure took your time."

"Please. There were a lot of stairs between the bottom floor and here," I huffed, before bringing a finger to my chin. "Though, I suppose we could have flown."

The Doctor sighed, shaking his head as Rose smacked my shoulder, earning a surprised look from Aziraphale as I simply chuckled.

"Then where is he, the famous Mister Lumic? Don't we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master?" The Doctor asked and a Cyberman spoke up.

"He has been upgraded."

"So, he's just like you?"

"He is superior. The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller."

A door opened and I let out a whistle s a Cyberman was wheeled out.

"This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator."

"A bit pomp and circumstance, isn't it?" I mused, wandering over to the chair with Aziraphale, who sighed softly.

"There's almost no humanity left."

I snorted. "Look at his soul, Aziraphale. There was almost no brightness left to start with. He would've been ours."

Aziraphale wrinkled his nose before screams rang out, drawing our attention to the Doctor as he smirked.

"That's my friends at work. Good boys! Mister Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will."

"I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the ear pods have failed, then the Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world. I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace and unity and uniformity."

I gave Aziraphale a look. "There's the humanity you wanted. Still like it?"

"He's too dark for that. He would be yours."

"What is your name?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm the Doctor."

"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken."

"Yeah, but that's it. That's exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room."

"Pride," I called out, making the Doctor point at me in annoyance before continuing.

"But everything you've invented; you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive. People! Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people!"

Aziraphale leaned over towards me. "Oh, I do like him."

"Told you. He loves his speeches."

"You are proud of your emotions?" Lumic questioned.

"Oh, yes."

"Then tell me, Doctor. Have you known grief, and rage, and pain?"

The Doctor's grin fell. "Yes. Yes, I have."

"And they hurt?"

"Oh, yes."

I perked up heading for the Doctor and wandering around him with a deep inhale. "And there's the darkness," I purred, giving Aziraphale a look as my eyes glowed from over the Doctor's shoulder, unnoticed for the moment.

"I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?"

The Doctor though, was persistent. "You might as well kill me."

"Then, I take that option."

"It's not yours to take. You're a Cyber Controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart."

"You have no means of stopping me. I have an army. A species of my own."

"Well, we could always…" I gestured between Aziraphale and I, but the angel shushed me, looking to the Doctor to see what he'd do. Oh, I should've known he'd become fond.

"You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing. Because those ordinary people, they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world. Some ordinary man or woman, some idiot. All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers. Say the right codes. Say, for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him. Because even an idiot knows how to use computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords. Knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under, uh… What was it, Pete? Binary what?"

"Ah, tricky Doctor," I hummed, seeing now what he was doing. "He's talking to Mickey."

A phone went off and the Doctor took the mobile from Rose and stuffing it into the console. The Cybermen screeched, holding their heads and my body seemed to swell as I let out a groan of ecstasy.

"Ornias," Aziraphale warned.

"Oh, but don't you feel it? The screams, the pain."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor murmured then, drawing my gaze to him as I moved over to hover behind him, practically drooling at the darkness that wrapped around him.

"What have you done!" Lumic demanded.

"I gave them back their souls. They can see what you've done, Lumic, and it's killing them!"

"Ornias! Get a hold of yourself!" Aziraphale commanded, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the room with the others.

Fire followed in our wake and the Doctor pulled the group to a door only to grimace at the screaming Cybermen behind it.

"There's no way out!" He cursed as another explosion went off and I groaned.

"Do I honestly have to do everything?"

"Ornias, what are you—"

I pushed the Doctor aside and opened the door that would lead up to the roof, grabbing the nearest Cyberman as it jerked and screeched and letting out a deep breath. Slowly, I blocked out all other noise and senses until my hand reached through the suit and pulled out a small flame. It wasn't like the Dalek's, all black and dripping. It was tiny, quivering in my palm and giving off a pale blue light. Too small to get much energy. Too bright to be of worth to me. I eyed it for a moment though, before a hand touched my arm.

Aziraphale held out a hand and I passed it to him. He sighed, smiling slightly before murmuring a prayer to the flame and holding it close to his chest. It vanished and I moved onto the next Cyberman. There were only a few in the way—one of which Aziraphale shook his head about and handed the flame back for my consumption. Soon enough though, we were on the roof where a Zeppelin hovered, a rope ladder falling down.

"You've got to be kidding," Pete murmured, as the Doctor pushed Rose up and the others followed.

Aziraphale and I extended our wings and flew close by. Aziraphale murmured another prayer under his breath for those Cybermen left in the burning building. There was a jolt on the ladder then and I groaned as Lumic clawed his way up.

"Ornias!" The Doctor called out and I nodded, flying down and grabbing hold of the ladder myself with a smirk.

"Apologies, Lumic, but this is your stop," I purred, eyes glowing gold before my free hand plunged into his chest.

The metal casing flickered out and I hung from the ladder rungs with the little ball of quivering grey flames jerking uneasily in my hand.

"An apt meal for me, I think," I mused, allowing the flame to slip into my mouth and sighing as my body pulsed with power. "Lucifer would have loved that one."

By the time we all landed somewhere safe, it was time for the Tardis to be powered up. Aziraphale and I were wandering around it, though the ship had taken quite the liking to him, showering him with flower petals from the small bulb at the top.

"You sure you don't want to come with?" I offered again, nodding towards the blue box. "She likes you more than me already. I'm sure no one would mind."

Aziraphale shook his head though, gaze solemn but determined. "No. I shall think not. There is still more of the Lord's work to be done here. More so, now that people have experienced the fear of those creatures. I take it you won't stay either?"

I cracked a slight smile. "Nah. I've got the Doctor to look after. As you said, maybe there's something more there that I'm missing. Hate to not find out after all this work."

"I will wish you luck then, on brightening your soul."

I scowled. "That's not what I'm doing."

He simply chuckled, before letting out an exclamation and digging into his pocket. "Here. A parting gift."

I took the small book from him and raised a brow. "I didn't get you anything."

"I don't mind. We weren't expected to meet anyway."

I sighed, pulling out my feather and dropping the book in before twirling the feather between my fingers and handing it over to him.

"Ornias?"

"As if I really want to stop hearing from you," I huffed, pressing the feather to his palm. "Take it. I'll open it again in my own universe and send you something good."

He shook his head with a chuckle, looking over the black feather before tucking it into the front pocket of his coat.

"Now, who's sentimental?" He teased before my wing nudged his fondly and the Doctor called out.

"Ornias, you ready?"

"Yes, yes," I hummed, smirking over my shoulder at Aziraphale and slipping into the Tardis. "Where to, Doctor?"

He nodded towards Rose as she cried softly on the jump-seat. "Home."