CHAPTER 40

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PORTENTS OF THE FUTURE

Jenny knew that Clara was coming to visit her when David suddenly woke up from a sound sleep and a huge grin filled with joy began to slowly cover his entire face. Somehow her brother always instinctively knew whenever his mother was nearby.

"See? I told you Mum would come back to get you sooner or later. You didn't believe me though, did you?" Jenny said to David with a warm smile as she gently picked him up out of his crib.

She had to admit that she had been starting to get worried herself. She had been taking care of David for almost a day now and hadn't heard one word from Clara in all of that time. She had never been separated from the baby for that long before and that alone told Jenny that something must be wrong. She now felt a huge sense of relief however as she finally felt Clara's presence herself as she started to materialize next to her.

"I'm glad you're here, Mum. He's just been so depressed without you around. I'm kind of insulted actually. You'd think he'd love staying with his big sister. I mean I'm pretty awesome too, right?" Jenny joked as she turned to face Clara.

Then her good mood immediately faded as soon as she saw the deeply saddened look on Clara's face.

"What is it?" Jenny asked with concern as she immediately put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Clara started to speak but then looked at the still smiling David and said nothing. She couldn't bear to ruin his good mood as she had Jenny's.

So she immediately forced a smile on her face and said in a chipper voice, "Nothing. Everything's just fine. I just came by to see if you'd watch your brother for me a little longer."

"Yes, of course. You know I will," Jenny reassured her even as she studied her face closely for any signs of what she was truly feeling at that moment.

"Thanks, sweetie. I'm going to have to take a trip somewhere that might be a bit too dangerous for him, and I know that he'll be safe here with you," Clara said as she gave Jenny an appreciative hug.

Jenny frowned as she said, "I wouldn't exactly call Gallifrey safe lately what with everything's that been going on. I mean didn't Idris tell you what happened between Davey and the rogue TARDISes?"

"She didn't have to. She is me, remember? I know all about it. You and Koschei kept David safe though and prevented him from hurting anyone, and that's why I feel safer just letting him stay here. Unless . . . I mean . . . I wouldn't be interrupting anything between you and Koschei would I?" Clara said in a hesitant tone.

Jenny's face turned red with embarrassment as she said, "No, he's going to be much too busy handling all of his new duties as the President for a while so there isn't going to be anything to, uh, interrupt. I really don't feel comfortable talking about this."

Clara smiled at her reassuringly as she said, "I know. That's why I was trying to put it as delicately as possible. See? Unlike your father, I actually have a little something called tact and I'm incredibly sweet and humble too. That's why they call me the cool mum, right?"

Jenny was immediately put at ease and began to laugh as Clara quickly followed up her last joke by saying with a mischievous smile, "No one calls me that do they?"

"No, but maybe they should start, yeah?" Jenny said with a smile.

Clara smiled with genuine happiness then as she said, "Well, it's about time someone appreciated how wonderful I am."

Then she became completely serious as she said, "I just wanted to say thank you for accepting me as your mother, Jen. You don't know how happy that makes me."

Jenny smiled as she said, "Well, we're even then because I don't think you really know how happy you've made me. Because of you I have a brother and a boyfriend and Dad's actually properly happy now even if he doesn't exactly look it most of the time. Believe me. I can tell the difference."

"I'm glad someone can. Old Sphinx Face is usually a complete mystery to everybody but me," Clara said with a grin.

Jenny looked deeply into her eyes now as she said, "I've gotten to know both of you pretty well by now, Mum. I can read you like a book and that's why I know that something's wrong even if you won't admit it. You lost someone on that last adventure didn't you?"

Clara looked at her in surprise at first and then with a look of pride as she said, "You're almost as good as me at this whole knowing what people are thinking at all times thing."

Then her voice became filled with regret even as she kept a sad smile on her face for the baby's benefit as she said, "I couldn't protect the Baroness Clara, Jen. It turns out she was the sixth segment of the Key to Time that Half-Face Man was looking for all of this time. We finally stopped him but not before he had changed her into the segment. Now I can't change her back again. The Doctor thinks he may have found someone who can help but . . . I . . . That doesn't change the fact that I failed her after I promised Reinette that I'd keep her safe. I lost yet another echo, Jen, and this time it's much worse because I actually knew her. She was my friend and she was so scared."

As Clara trailed off and could no longer speak as she became lost in her grief, Jenny immediately hugged her tightly as she said, "Stop beating yourself up over this, Mum. Like I said, I know you. I know you did the best that you could and that no one could have possibly done any better. I know that. You have absolutely nothing to blame yourself for at all. Understand? Nothing."

Despite herself, Clara actually began to smile as Jenny continued, "And you will find a way to bring the Baroness back again somehow no matter how long it takes. That's why they call you impossible, Mum."

Clara truly properly laughed for the first time since she had lost the Baroness as she said, "And all of this time I thought it had something to do with me being so bossy. Not that I am bossy of course. I'm just the boss. There's a difference."

"Of course there is," Jenny said with a chuckle as her hearts filled with joy at seeing Clara really smiling again once more.

"Thank you. You really did inherit the best part of your Dad, Jenny. You have the ability to give people hope just like he does," Clara said as she kissed Jenny's forehead with gratitude.

"I don't think that it only came from him, Mum. Not by a long shot," Jenny said as she closed her eyes and smiled while a sense of inner peace filled her as Clara held her in her arms.

Then after an all too brief moment of tranquility, Clara finally let the woman who she knew in her heart was always meant to be her daughter go at last. She still had a sister to save after all.

She wordlessly conveyed all of this to Jenny with a single look as she walked over to David and said, "Now you behave for your sister until I can come back and get you, okay? No disintegrating people or traveling through time by yourself looking for me! Got it?"

David looked extremely upset now and she knew it was because he finally realized that she was leaving him again.

"I will be back again very soon now. I promise, baby," Clara said in a soft voice as she took him from Jenny and kissed his cheek.

David's only response was to continue to give her a pleading look as if he were silently begging her not to leave him. It instantly broke her heart but she knew that it was better this way. Who knew what dangers might await them at the Veil of Eternity after all? She was almost lost forever the last time that she went there as the TARDIS and she wasn't about to take a chance of losing anyone else after what had happened in her last fight . . . especially not him.

"I'll be back before you know it, okay?" Clara promised David in a mournful voice as she reluctantly gave him back to his sister.

Then she immediately put on a brave face for him once more as she waved good bye to both of her children and swiftly dematerialized before she could talk herself out of it.

David immediately looked completely devastated and dejected until Jenny started to make numerous funny faces that grew increasingly more absurd by the moment. So much so that she really hoped that no one walked in on her at that moment or they might think that she had gone completely mental. It all worked out perfectly in the end though as David suddenly started laughing and Jenny smiled in relief.

"It's all going to be okay, David. You'll see," Jenny reassured him as she held him close to her.

Back on the TARDIS, Clara smiled to herself as she saw this in her mind's eye and then returned her attention completely back to the Doctor once more. She noticed that he was still holding onto the segment of the Key that had once been the Baroness with a tight grip. He had refused to let it go for even a moment since he had taken it back from Christina and had been keeping it close to him ever since then.

"So the baby's fine then?" The Doctor asked as he looked down at the segment with undeniable regret in his eyes even if it wasn't reflected on his face at that moment.

"Yeah, about as well as he could be anyway given the situation. I knew Jenny would be able to cheer him up if anyone could. She's the one who should be called the Impossible Girl if you ask me," Clara said with a fond smile as she mentally commanded her shell to dematerialize and head for the planet Nyneve.

"Yes, anyone who could actually make the Master into a better man has definitely done the impossible," The Doctor agreed even as an involuntary shudder suddenly went through him at the thought of the two of them together.

"I think they'll be very happy together, Doctor," Clara said in a reassuring voice.

"And that's the only reason why I haven't chucked him into the nearest black hole . . . yet," The Doctor said with a completely serious look on his face.

"That and I'd never let you," Clara said with a smirk as she kissed him.

That was when Clara noticed that Christina seemed to be completely lost in thought on the other side of the room. She couldn't help but wonder why.

It was a sentiment that was not too surprisingly shared by Oswin who gently shook Christina and brought her back to reality as she said with a friendly smile, "What's up, Broody Girl? You've been far too quiet lately especially for you. Have you been contemplating the meaning of life or just trying to think up some really cool pick-up lines? I'm all ears if it's that last one."

Christina gave her an evil grin now as she said, "Sorry, Oswin. I like you but not in that way."

Oswin immediately scowled at her as she said, "That's not what I meant! I could use a really good pick-up line is all."

"Yeah, sure," Christina teased her.

"See if I ever try to make you feel better again," Oswin protested with a smile that said that she knew fully well that her friend was only joking around as Christina began to laugh.

"Well, she must not be too bad if she's fighting with Ozzie," Clara said to the Doctor in a low voice.

"Well, I think something's definitely bothering her if you ask me. She's just like Spaceman though where she just keeps it all in and you have to practically break it out of her with a sledgehammer," Donna whispered to the Doctor and Clara as she looked at Christina with undisguised worry on her face.

"She could be blaming herself for not saving the Baroness just as Clara has," The Doctor noted as he briefly looked down at the segment in his hand once more.

"Or like you have, right?" Donna eagerly pointed out.

"I promised that little girl that I would save her and I failed just like I failed to save Reinette . . . or you," The Doctor said sadly.

"I'm fine now though in case you haven't noticed and so is Queenie. You told me yourself that she was given her fob watch just in time to become Romana again which kept her from dying of tuberculosis. It all worked out in the end for both of us so it will for Her Royal Highness too. She's a Clara. Do you really think that she'd just stand around and let the universe tell her what to do? Not a chance, Spaceman. She's way too hard headed for that to ever happen," Donna said with a reassuring smile.

"Watch it, Ginger," Clara said with a grin which instantly caused Donna to roll her eyes at her.

"I'm right though, Hard Head, and you know it," Donna said in self-assured tone.

The Doctor briefly smiled and nodded at Donna even as Yvonne silently observed him with great interest. One of the Doctor's greatest strengths had always been his unwavering belief in and faith in his friends she noted. It was a belief that had served him well on several occasions as they came through for him and helped to save the day over and over again.

Unfortunately it could also potentially be one of his greatest weaknesses as well . . . especially if he one day trusted the wrong person at the wrong moment.

"What's the matter? Are you all depressed and blaming yourself for what happened too, Blondie? It seems to be a practical epidemic around here lately," Oswin said to Yvonne with a sigh.

"I'm fine," Yvonne said in a curt manner as she tried to deflect the question.

"Uh, huh. Well, if you need anyone to talk to about it I'm always here, yeah?" Oswin said with a hopeful smile.

"Thank you. I really am fine though," Yvonne said dismissively.

A little too dismissively the Doctor thought to himself as he overheard this conversation. He had absolutely no idea what was going on in Yvonne's head at that moment and that truly bothered him.

"Don't even think it, Doctor. Yvonne is firmly on our side now and whatever is bothering her has absolutely nothing to do with betraying us in any way. You really are much too suspicious in this incarnation," Clara admonished him as she easily guessed what was going through his mind without even having to ask just as she always did.

"I'd like to think you're right," The Doctor said in an unconvinced tone as he continued to watch the former Torchwood boss closely.

"I'm always right, remember?" Clara said with a reassuring smile.

The Doctor actually smiled for a moment as he said, "As if I could ever be allowed to forget."

"Oh, you're definitely going to pay for that little remark later on, Old Man," Clara said with a chuckle as she kissed him.

That was when the TARDIS finally landed at last. As soon as it did so, everyone instantly became all business and an undeniably somber mood fell over the TARDIS. As much as Donna or Oswin wanted to be the voices of hope in the group, even they secretly worried about the outcome of today's adventure however.

After all, none of the TARDIS crew wanted to be the ones to tell Josette that her Aunt Clara was never coming back again.

"So where is this Chat person that we need to find?" Donna asked as she headed towards the TARDIS doors.

Oswin, who was already outside, quickly looked back at her and shook her head as she said in an awed voice, "Wrong question, Red."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Donna asked in confusion.

And then she walked outside to see that they were right in the middle of a constantly changing planetary landscape. One moment they were looking at a vast arid desert wasteland, the next there were clear, raging waters all around them for as far as the eye could see, and then in the blink of an eye they were in the middle of a lush, tropical forest filled with gigantic trees that stretched hundreds of feet up into the atmosphere.

The only safe spot seemed to be in a small ten foot radius around the TARDIS that never changed despite what was going on around them. It stayed safe solid ground no matter what which was no doubt thanks to Clara's influence.

"I think the right question is how are we supposed to survive long enough to find her?" Oswin finished.

"Well, what's the answer to that question, TARDIS Girl? Can you extend whatever you're doing to keep things from changing around us to the entire planet or what?" Donna asked curiously.

"You worry too much, Donna. We're perfectly safe here as long as we stay near the TARDIS. What you see around us is this planet being constantly dragged through random points in its lifespan thanks to the disruptive influence of the Veil being nearby it. The energies surrounding it are so powerful that they're actually warping all of time and space around us and would instantly age us all into dust if we weren't being protected at every moment by the TARDIS' force field," The Doctor said in a completely unconcerned voice.

"You're right. Nothing to worry about at all there," Donna said with a look of disbelief.

"You're completely safe right now, Donna," Clara reassured her.

"Yeah, I get that, TARDIS Girl, but what I don't get is how are we supposed to find this Chat woman if we can't even explore the flippin' planet? And how is she even living here in the first place anyway is what I'd like to know? What, does she have a house built on stilts or something?" Donna asked with a shrug.

"Built on stilts? How would that possibly work?" The Doctor asked as he looked at Donna as if she'd completely lost her mind.

"I don't know. It's the only thing that I could think of," Donna said in frustration.

The Doctor groaned in response as he said, "We won't have to find her, Donna. She'll find us. All we have to do is wait. She always comes eventually."

"How does she live here though?" Donna asked once again.

"I'm practically indestructible so I don't really have to worry about the effects of the Veil, Ginger. And I do not have a house here per se. I do live here but I'm just kind of . . . around I guess you could say. I really like that idea of a house on stilts though. Maybe I'll create one that I can instantly bring visitors to so that they don't freak out whenever they come here. Not that I really get many visitors mind you. Dangerous rifts between universes that can kill anyone instantly tend to keep anyone from coming here for the most part. Well, most people anyway. There. Does that answer your question, Red?" An amused voice that while greatly distorted still sounded vaguely familiar to all of them in some way suddenly said from all around them.

"Well, she definitely has a healthy sense of humor. She seems almost as mad as you are," Donna said to the Doctor with a grin.

He instantly frowned in response but otherwise ignored her as he looked above him and said, "Hello, Madame. I've come to . . ."

"Yeah, I know. You've come to ask me to help you change that segment in your hand back to a Clara again because I'm just so incredibly generous and kind-hearted. Or maybe it's because you know that I like you so much, hmm? You know I could never deny you anything. I just have this weakness for you that makes it impossible for me to say no to you ever," The mysterious woman said in an almost flirty tone now.

The Doctor now turned to Clara smugly and said, "See? I told you she fancied me. Try not to get too jealous though, Clara. The feeling is definitely not mutual."

"Maybe not but you're definitely loving every moment of it aren't you?" Clara said with a look of clear disapproval.

Suddenly a woman covered from head to toe in a hooded white cloak that completely concealed everything but her eyes appeared next to Clara and said in a light-hearted voice, "Hey, don't get jealous. It's all in fun, Clara. I love the Doctor but only in a purely platonic way. Cross my heart. Uh, if I still had a heart that is. People call me Madame Chat by the way in case anyone's still wondering."

"So you're not exactly human I take it?" Oswin asked curiously.

The enigmatic Madame Chat now turned to her and said in what Oswin was sure was an almost jubilant voice, "No, but I used to be a very long time ago. I'd like to think that I'm still human where it matters the most anyway."

Then to Oswin's surprise, a hand made out of pure energy came out of Madame Chat's robe and lightly tousled her hair in a loving manner. It didn't really startle her at all and in fact she didn't feel a bit uncomfortable because of it.

It was almost as if she were someone that she knew.

"Who are you?" Oswin couldn't help asking at that moment.

"A friend," Madame Chat reassured her in a gentle tone.

"So will you help us or not?" Donna asked impatiently even as she watched Madame Chat's interaction with Oswin suspiciously.

"Of course she will. She'd do anything to help the Doctor and Clara," Christina said as she suddenly broke what until then had been a long and very unusual period of silence for her.

"And just how can you be so sure of that? As far as I know, you've never even met her before today," Donna asked in an even more suspicious voice.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. I'm pretty sure that I've known her all of my life," Christina said in a hard voice as she sounded undeniably upset.

"Oh? And what makes you say that?" Madame Chat asked in a curious voice.

"Well, all of the signs point to it don't they? Chat is French for Cat as in Cat Burglar. Your other two names are way too familiar too. Madame Blanc and the Countess? I mean, really? Blanc means white in French and you're wearing a white robe. Could it be any more obvious?" Christina said in a voice that was growing more and more furious by the moment.

"Wait a minute! Are you saying what I think you're saying, Guardian Girl?" Donna asked with a look of shock.

"Yes, I am. She's me, Donna. She's me in the future when I turn into a true Guardian and I'm not even remotely human anymore. Who else would speak French and call themselves by a French name or something like the Countess? I do speak French quite fluently, you know? Future me probably thinks it's all completely hilarious," Christina said as she struggled not to cry.

"I'm not you, Christina, and even if I were, would becoming like this really be so bad? I'm practically all powerful and I still help the Doctor whenever I can," Madame Chat replied in an indignant voice.

"Yeah, and you're stuck in the middle of nowhere in a place where no one ever comes but the Doctor and you don't even have a real body anymore. What kind of a future do you call that?" Christina said in frustration.

"That's my business not yours. Like I said, I'm not you. Or don't you listen?" Madame Chat said in an annoyed voice.

"Well, someone certainly sounds a bit bent out of shape, don't they?" Donna said with a wince.

"I really don't think she's you, Christina. You're usually not that bad tempered," Oswin said as she desperately tried to figure out what about Madame Chat was so familiar to her.

"What do you mean by usually?' Christina snapped.

"Are we talking about the same Christina here, Dalek Girl?" Donna couldn't help commenting.

"Okay, that's enough, everybody," Clara said as it looked as if Christina was about to make the huge mistake of trying to slap Donna senseless while the Doctor slowly backed away from them.

"Christina, she's not you, okay? Trust me," Clara said in a reassuring voice.

Christina looked at her closely for a moment and then said in a much calmer voice, "Alright, I know you wouldn't lie to me. You'd better not be anyway."

"Trust me. She's not you," Clara insisted.

"That means you know who she is then, don't you, Time Girl? Who is she?" Donna asked curiously.

Clara and Madame Chat exchanged a brief look between each other and then Clara said, "I really don't think I should say anything else right now. No one should know too much about their own future."

"You mean she's someone here then?" Donna said in a worried voice.

Clara remained silent for far too long and it was the Doctor who finally broke this extremely uncomfortable moment for the others by asking Madame Chat in a completely blunt manner, "So can you restore Baroness Clara to normal or am I getting incredibly annoyed right now for no good reason?"

"Direct and to the point as always I see, Doctor. Remind me why you married him again, Clara?" Madame Chat asked.

"What can I say? He keeps me laughing," Clara said with a warm smile.

"How? He's hardly the life of the party is he?" Madame Chat said with a chuckle.

"I thought you fancied me," The Doctor said in an almost hurt voice.

To her credit, Madame Chat really did try very hard not to laugh but didn't quite succeed as she said, "No, I said I loved you in a platonic way and would do anything for you. I meant as a friend, Doctor, and that's all. Sorry to disappoint you."

"No, I'm not disappointed at all. Not in the slightest," The Doctor said in a completely unconvincing voice.

Clara gave him a quick kiss and said in a sympathetic voice, "Sorry. Not everyone's going to love you as much as I do though, Old Man."

"Hey, at least I actually like him now. More or less. I never used to be able to stand him at all," Madame Chat said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I remember," Clara said with a fond smile.

"Before you make me feel any better about myself with this wonderful stroll down Memory Lane that you're both on, can we please do something to help the Baroness?" The Doctor said in a voice that was beyond annoyed now.

To the Doctor's immense surprise, Madame Chat shook her head and said, "No, I don't have that power I'm afraid. I never did. You need a Guardian to reactive the Key and return its segments back to normal and I'm not a Guardian despite what some of you might believe. Only a true Guardian can help the Baroness now."

"We came here for nothing then because I have no idea where the White Guardian is and I can't do anything to help. I've already tried," Christina protested.

Madame Chat now tousled Christina's hair in a loving manner too as she said, "Don't you feel it yet?"

"Feel what?" Christina asked in a frightened voice.

"You do, don't you? Being this close to the unleashed energies of the multiverse has to have made you feel something. That's why you've been attacking me. Being exposed to the Veil is already trying to complete your transformation into a full Guardian but you're fighting it. You don't have to though, Christina. There's nothing to be afraid of from this coming change. Nothing at all," Madame Chat said in a gentle voice.

"I – I don't believe you," Christina said in an undeniably frightened voice.

The Doctor looked at her with a thoughtful expression for a moment and then said to Madame Chat, "It all makes sense now. That's why Christina can't summon the White Guardian anymore and why the Key doesn't work."

"Exactly," Madame Chat said with an enthusiastic nod.

"Will someone please tell those of us who don't speak in riddles exactly what's going on here?" Donna said in an angry voice.

"Why? It's already been spelled out for you very clearly, Donna, if you had been paying attention," The Doctor said as he gave her a condescending look.

Then Donna gave him a fierce look of warning that instantly made him move behind Clara as he said in a much friendlier tone, "Alright, I'll explain it then. The White Guardian said that sooner or later the universe would start picking a new group of Guardians to replace the old ones who had been destroyed by the Black Guardian, remember? Well, that's what's finally happening now and it's started with the remaining one. The original White Guardian has been allowed to die and what's left of him has obviously been converted into pure energy. Since Christina is a part of him, she's now inheriting his full power. Or at least she was supposed to be anyway but either consciously or unconsciously she's been fighting that transition for some time now. She's afraid of losing her identity or something I suppose if I understand my human emotions correctly."

"And what makes you so sure that I won't?" Christina said in a voice filled with raw terror.

"Your personality is much too strong for one thing and you'll be a Guardian soon so you can keep whatever form you wish. You could still be Christina for millions of years if you wanted to or you could be a Sontaran or a Zygon for that matter. You could be whatever or whoever you wanted to be. The point is that the choice is up to you, Christina. You don't have to change at all if you don't want to just because you've been given an incredible gift. It doesn't have to alter a thing about you if you don't let it. I know I certainly haven't changed by becoming as famous and well-beloved as I am. It hasn't gone to my head one bit," The Doctor said proudly.

"Thanks, Doctor. You're really making me feel so much better right now," Christina said in an upset voice.

"I'm glad I could help," The Doctor said in a completely serious tone.

"Christina, listen to me. It's going to be alright. I've never lied to you before and I won't start now. You're going to be fine, okay?" Clara said in a soft voice as she rolled her eyes and moved past the completely oblivious Doctor to comfort the now grief stricken Christina.

Christina still looked more than a bit uncertain so Madame Chat quickly added, "The Baroness will never be anything but an intergalactic doorstop if you don't accept your true power, Christina. You're the only one who can return her and the other segments back to normal now, but you have to stop fighting the change in order to do it."

"I . . . I don't know," Christina said in a conflicted voice that was filled with emotion.

"Christina, you're going to be wonderful," Madame Chat reassured her as she placed her hands on the sides of her head.

Christina now had a flurry of images start flooding through her mind that she quickly realized were a mixture of her own future and someone else's. As she struggled to make sense out of what she was seeing, she finally realized exactly who Madame Chat really was at last.

"And you're okay with what's happened to you? I mean don't you get lonely?" Christina asked her with concern.

Madame Chat shrugged and said, "Sometimes but you're wrong, you know? The Doctor isn't the only one who comes to visit me. Another Time Lord I know tends to drop by from time to time to say hello too so it's really not that bad."

Christina nodded and hesitated for a brief moment before she finally said, "I'm ready then."

"What are you going to do? Christina?" Donna asked in a worried voice as Christina started slowly moving towards the very edge of the TARDIS' force field.

"She'll be killed if she steps outside there, won't she?" Oswin asked in a frantic tone.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" The Doctor asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, she's supposed to become the new Guardian but she won't survive long enough to do anything if she goes out there, will she?" Oswin protested.

"I'll be fine," Christina reassured her as her entire body began to glow with a bright white light that blinded all of them.

Then Christina took one last look back at the others and finally stepped through the force field at last.

As soon as she did so, there was a massive burst of energy that made Donna and Oswin both cry out in fear for their friend. Then just as quickly as it came both the energy and Christina were gone.

"I thought she was supposed to be okay! You said she'd be fine!" Donna protested as she gave the Doctor a furious look.

"You're really going to have to learn patience sometime, Donna. Cosmic transitions to a near-omnipotent state just don't happen in the snap of your fingers. They tend to take a little time," The Doctor said patiently as if to a child.

"You'd better stop using that tone with me, Spaceman, and tell me exactly what's going on or I'll . . ." Donna threatened.

Suddenly she was stopped in mid-sentence and her mouth dropped open in shock as a humanoid figure made out of pure energy appeared next to her and slowly began to coalesce and assume a very familiar form.

"Guardian Girl?" Donna asked in a hopeful voice.

Suddenly she found herself being hugged tightly as Christina successfully completed her transition back to her human form at last. Christina was actually crying with joy Donna noted and that instantly made her feel better about the whole thing.

"Sorry. It took me a minute to figure out how to look like myself again. This whole Guardian thing should really come with an instruction manual," Christina said happily.

"It's supposed to come to you gradually is what you told me or what you will tell me anyway," Madame Chat confided.

That was when Donna finally noticed what Christina was wearing now and started to laugh as she said, "Why are you wearing a bird on your head?"

Christina looked at her questioningly at first and then really took a good look at herself. That was when she realized that she was wearing white and gold robes and had on a helmet that apparently had a white bird in front of it according to Donna.

"Oh-kayy. Definitely wasn't expecting that," Christina said in a surprised voice.

"Oh, that's the default Guardian uniform from what I understand. You can always change it if you want just by concentrating hard enough. It's like changing the desktop on the TARDIS," The Doctor advised.

"Can I pick a color besides white? I kind of prefer black to be honest," Christina wondered out loud.

"Won't that be a bit confusing though when the new Black Guardian comes around?" Clara asked with a grin.

"That's everybody else's problem. I'm not wearing all white. It's just not me," Christina said stubbornly as she snapped her fingers and was suddenly back in her old black suit once more.

"A White Guardian who doesn't wear white. Wonderful. I sometimes have no idea what the universe is thinking," The Doctor said with a frown.

"Hush up, Old Man. I think she's going to do a great job myself," Clara said as she gave Christina a grin of approval.

"And now you know why people sometimes call me Madame Chat or Madame Blanc which are names that she sometimes uses as a Guardian. They think I'm her because I wear all white and she doesn't. I tend not to correct them. I mean why should I? It generally tends to keep the wrong people away from here," Madame Chat explained.

"So you're alright then?" Donna asked Christina.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry, Red. It's still me and I'm not changing a thing about myself if I can help it whether some people like it or not. Why mess with perfection?" Christina said as she stuck her tongue out at the Doctor.

"Yeah, it's still her alright. I suppose this means that you'll be leaving us now to do whatever it is you cosmic sorts do then," Oswin said in a sad voice.

Christina shook her head as she said with a wink, "Not a chance. I'm still learning and I'm going to be much too vulnerable until then. I'll need to stay with you until I've completely mastered my powers and . . . then I might still stay a bit past that. You never can tell."

Even as Oswin smiled at her in approval, Donna asked, "What about the Baroness, Guardian Gal?"

"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten. I'm just trying to figure out how to change her back again. I'm still new at all of this you know? Don't worry. It'll come to me," Christina said confidently.

"Oh, that's just wonderful. You still don't know what you're doing yet," Donna said in dismay.

"When has she ever really?" The Doctor said without hesitation.

"You know if you weren't my friend . . ." Christina said in an angry voice before she started to smile and shake her head.

"What? What did I say, Clara?" The Doctor asked in genuine confusion.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Christina said as she kissed his cheek.

Then she gestured to him to give her the segment and he immediately did so. She gestured towards the TARDIS then and the other five segments instantly flew out of its still open doors and towards her outstretched hand. Within seconds, she had joined them with the segment that had been the Baroness and assembled them into the full Key.

As she held the Key in her hands once more, she took a deep breath and said, "Let's hope this works."

Both of her hands glowed with vast, incredible power that instantly infused the Key with energy and made it hum to life almost immediately. Christina smiled in triumph now as she held the revivified Key before her and silently commanded it for the very first time.

The assembled Key seemed to glow brighter than the sun for a brief moment and then it quickly dispersed and scattered its various segmented parts across all of time and space in the blink of an eye. Only Christina now knew where five of them had gone and as for the other . . .

"What? Am I . . .? I'm alive?" The Baroness Clara said in a confused voice as she now stood before them with a dazed look in her eyes.

"And kicking. Well, at least you're finally still able to kick again anyway," Christina said with a giggle as she hugged the extremely confused woman.

"I'm myself again! I'm back! I'm back!" Baroness Clara finally realized as she began laughing uncontrollably.

"Yes, what a joyous occasion. Clara, does she have to laugh so much?" The Doctor complained as he began to wince each time she did so.

"Yes, she does," Clara insisted which made the Doctor openly moan in protest even though he was secretly glad to see that the Baroness was alright.

The others however didn't mind the Baroness' laughing in the slightest and quickly hugged her in relief as they gleefully welcomed her back to life once more. It was only then that the Doctor realized something that he had been much too busy to notice before.

Yvonne was missing.

"I was wondering when you'd notice that she was gone. You're really not very observant at all are you? In fact, she never came outside with the rest of you period in case you were wondering," Madame Chat said in undisguised amusement.

"Where is she? What is she up to?" The Doctor asked in an almost frantic voice as he started to race back towards the TARDIS.

"You'll find out soon enough now," Madame Chat said with a shrug as she watched him go.

"What is she up to, Baroness?" Clara asked Madame Chat as she watched the Doctor race inside of her shell.

Madame Chat looked at her with renewed respect as she said, "You knew all along didn't you?"

"Almost from the start. I think Ozzie will figure it out too soon enough. So what happens to you to make you like this?" Clara asked curiously.

Madame Chat hesitated for a moment and then said, "Well, you're a TARDIS so I suppose it's alright to tell you since you could probably find out by yourself anyway if you really wanted. At first, I was perfectly normal and I lived to a nice ripe old age. Then when I died . . . everything changed. I suddenly came back to life with my youth restored and with the full power of the sixth segment at my command. Jeanne and I continued to have adventures for a very long time, but then suddenly everything changed for me once again. It happened when a time experiment on the planet Nyneve that went wrong ripped a hole in the fabric of reality and created the Veil even while it completely scrambled this planet's timeline. That was when this place sort of . . . called to me and I became its guard. I turned myself into a pure energy form in order to survive here and I keep anyone from misusing its power while sometimes helping the Doctor or Jeanne out from time to time. None of this happens for a very long time for me though so you won't lose the past me for a while. Aren't you glad?"

Clara smiled as she said, "Definitely especially since until recently I was so afraid that I had gotten you killed."

"Naw, I'm just tough to die. You should know that better than anyone," Madame Chat reassured her.

Then she said in a soft voice, "And I never, ever blamed you for anything, Clara. I just wanted you to know that."

"Thank you. I won't tell the others by the way. It'll stay our secret," Clara reassured her as she hugged her tightly in gratitude.

"I think they're going to be far too concerned with what's about to happen in a minute to really care anyway," Madame Chat said mysteriously.

"Clara, Yvonne is gone and she's taken a Time Ring that the Time Lords once gave me along with her. She could be up to anything now at any point in history and I just handed her the perfect means to do it," The Doctor said in a voice filled with self-recrimination.

"Or it could be that it's nowhere near as bad as it seems to be," Clara reassured him.

"Of course it is. She stole a Time Ring. What else could it be but bad?" The Doctor said as he looked at her in disbelief.

"I'm just saying that we should hear her side of the story first before we go assuming anything is all," Clara said.

"Oh, we will, Clara. Make no mistake about it. I will find her and then I'm going to find out exactly what she's been up to and why. I'd really better like what I hear too for her sake," The Doctor said in a furious voice.

Clara realized right away that the Doctor felt betrayed and was blaming himself for giving Yvonne a second chance. She still wasn't sure that he had been wrong to do that yet though. She still had faith that whatever Yvonne was up to wasn't as bad as it seemed.

She had to admit that she really couldn't think of a good reason to steal a Time Ring though off the top of her head. Then she smiled and began to remember the time when a daft old man had once stolen a TARDIS and his reasons had definitely been good ones.

Well, at least they weren't evil ones at any rate.

That if nothing else gave her renewed faith that whatever she found out wouldn't be quite as bad as Mr. Paranoid seemed to believe. And she took that hope with her while she quickly said good bye to Madame Chat along with the others as they entered her shell in pursuit of Yvonne. First they would drop Baroness Clara off at home (or she was sure that Reinette would go on a little hunt of her own) and then they would pursue the woman that Clara hoped would still prove to be a good and trusted friend to the end of time itself if they had to in order to find out what had happened.

Even as the TARDIS dematerialized and left her all alone on what was left of Nyneve once more, Madame Chat smiled and said to herself, "Your story is only beginning, Past Me, and you don't even realize it yet. Oh, how I envy you."

Then she vanished as she waited for that happy time when Reinette would appear in her TARDIS and whisk the current version of her off to some far flung time once more. Until then, she would stay here and loyally guard the Veil until Time itself relieved her in some way or until the Veil itself was no more.

Whichever came first.

Next: Exactly what is Yvonne up to and is it truly as bad as the Doctor thinks it is? And while we're at it, exactly what kind of failed time experiment created the Veil in the first place? The Doctor may just be about to find out the hard way. Oh, and in case you think I've forgotten there will be more about what's going on with the former renegade TARDISes as well.