Reality Crisis

Enough time had passed, by now, that Leeloo worried Eric might be upset with how she'd disappeared. There were many reasons why her nights had not been free. She should have found the time to sneak out at least once since their relocation, but she hadn't. She hadn't found that time.

And so, at last, when the night was deep enough and the stars were in their right places, Leeloo finally did make that time tonight. The winter was still hearty and unashamed, but it had been worse before. She ventured out into the new settlement streets, ventured out into the dead suburban night, her frame swathed in layers that sealed in her warmth.

She couldn't count on finding Eric tonight, and they didn't have a wall or even a centralized place to meet. But she hoped, hoped, that she could find him all the same. And so her wandering around the streets began.

The first thing that came to his attention was that this was Earth, but it was not Earth as he knew it. Timelines were distorted. People, places...it made no sense to him. And though there was snow on the ground, it was difficult even for him to tell when or exactly where he was placed. The city outside was different from any that he'd ever been in previously and it was sectioned off. There were not traces of Croatoan that he could detect, but it was more disconcerting that considering how they'd deterred the Apocalypse indefinitely, there was no need for this. They'd changed the future and yet...this was neither future nor past. Unless his Grace was damaged, he was not where he was supposed to be.

Opening his wings, he teleported himself within the city with ease and looked around. He did not feel weaker. Whatever had been done to improve him was still intact, but while there were signs of life, this was...strange. Different. He could single out any soul he pleased, but there was a distortion around it. Sam was here. And Dean. He could feel it, but to make contact now...Castiel was uncertain of whether or not he was meant to. If this was a distortion within the timeline and Heaven had nothing to do with it, then clearly something else did. And if that was the case, Sam and Dean could wait.

As for the alleyway he was in, it was devoid of life, save for a few rats. He could see no reapers, and though he had yet to decide whether that was preferable or not, he was willing to reserve judgment. And he did sense the person behind him also. Their soul was bright enough. And at that close a range, it was easy to discern.

"I know you're there," he rasped bluntly, turning around. "If I may ask, I would like to know what this place is now."

Selina's time in this newly, relocated part of the world had been short. She hadnt yet ventured from the house she had to herself to explore for fear of not knowing what was out there. In Sanctuary there had been a protective wall around them to keep things out. And now there was nothing here to separate them from what was unknown. The Cat really didn't care too much for those odds. Especially considering her power and skills were limited in this world. She only had guns and swords to keep herself safe, and even then who said anything out beyond here could even die by those things?

Those snow dinosaurs had. They had gotten lucky, but what else might pop up unannounced and try to eat all of them? Selina wasn't too keen on waiting around to find out.

That and she was going a bit stir crazy in the house by herself. In Gotham she at least had a circle of people to go to if she needed company, The Bat included, but here she was more or less on her own. Since Jonathan was gone Selina found herself to hold a void she didn't know she had been capable of possessing. And she wasn't used to that.

Usually she got what she wanted with little to no effort but it was different here. She couldn't stand it either.

Selina sighed heavily and stood facing the outside, her back to the city. Her blue eyes swept the area around and her ears were unable to pick up anything out of the ordinary. At one hip settled the holster for a gun, and another was wrapped around the upper thigh of the opposite side. Her trusty whip was curled around her waist, and she stood there impatiently with her hands on her hips, waiting for anyone else whom might be out and about, either joining in the patrol or simply out wandering.

Company was company. She wasn't going to be too picky at this point. Even Dinah would do as far as ideal for conversation. Of course she would've preferred the Bat, but she would take what she could get.

After Hulk's appearance fighting dinosaurs made of snow, Kate thought would be safer to put some distance between herself and Hulk's mild mannered half. The hierarchy of leadership in this new settlement still wasn't clear to Kate, and until assurances could be made that Bruce and Hulk would be accepted, it was better not to give away Bruce's secret.

Talia might suspect, Kate thought. Kate mentioned a scientist and might have come off as a touch too protective. There was also Selina. Maybe no one would suspect. The young Hawkeye would just have to wait things out.

And pick out a different house.

Kate spotted a two story with a balcony, which she liked the idea of. It was impossible for her to tell, just by looking, if the wood was still good and would hold her weight, but she decided to check it out. Also, it was starting to become a pain lugging all her stuff. Pizza Dog, also known as Lucky, followed happily behind Kate, sniffing at her heels.

"Hello?" Kate called. It looked like someone might have come in before her. "There room for one more?"

Before Captain America gave her the name Hawkeye, one of her teammates joked that she should be called Weapon Woman. Judging by the quivers, the sword, the bo staff, fancy tactical belt and her very nice superhero grade bow, the moniker wasn't far off.

Also apparent: Kate really liked the color purple.

Bruce had patched what he could of the roof. The places he knew that had been leaking for sure, and the rest...well, that would have to wait until the next heavy rainfall to see. The roof itself had been no easy task. Lucky for the petite scientist there was a small ladder in the attic and a pallet of old, worn out shingles. But at least the house wouldn't spring a leak between now and whenever it rained again. He hoped.

It was hard to fix a roof without all of the proper material. One couldn't simply venture down to the hardware store and get supplies. No, this wasn't that easy unfortunately. But Bruce managed.

He left the task of the windows to Evey, figuring she would get to them when she was ready. Bruce had been up long before she had, and he had no care to wake her from what he supposed was much needed sleep. He couldn't fathom doing that to anyone, especially someone that needed it, and so he left her to wake when she was ready.

Now, Bruce was in the small kitchen area.

He was doing what he could to wash what little dishes they had. The floor by the hearth was void of blankets, each neatly folded and tucked away on a chair so they wouldn't get any dirtier than necessary. His own bedclothes that he utilized when sleeping on the couch were also folded neatly and put out of the way. Despite his upbringing Bruce tried to remain relatively tidy. His lab had been a mess, but that wasn't a place where most people were on a daily basis and he was sharing this space with another.

A hum, something soft and unidentifiable left his lips as he worked, washing the coffee mugs and any plates or bowls they may have used to eat from. He didn't like leaving Evey extra things to do. She seemed burdened by bigger things than dirty dishes, thus Bruce managed to keep the small things off of her mind and out of the way.

The list in the living room was slowly diminishing. He had also opened cabinet doors in the bathroom and kitchen to keep the pipes from freezing, and took efforts on that part as well to keep the house as warm as possible. Maybe it was a little too domestic for his tastes, but you made due when you had to. And he definitely didn't have much of a choice.

Backdated to the day of arrival

They were no longer in a place with apartment buildings. Carlos could tell that they'd left the remains of the city and had ended up in the suburbs. It was a little surreal, because there were a lot of houses that were relatively untouched by whatever had gobbled up a good portion of the city between the last cataclysm and the most recent one. And yet, the grass was overgrown or dead in some places, the weather damage was apparent on the sides of some of the houses. It looked like a suburb given way to a ghetto, if he was being honest.

Still. It had been awhile since he'd been anywhere that had actual lawns. That was a little surreal.

There were sign-ups for housing. Belia, as usual, wanted her fingers in the pie and was rationing out houses. Which brought Carlos to a conversation that he would have preferred to have under different circumstances. Living together was a big step and it shouldn't be a choice made out of survival or because you were forced to uproot and choose new roommates. And yet, he wanted Mag close. He wanted to be able to wake up in the middle of the night and reassure himself that she was still in this world. He liked the idea of being able to come home to her after a long day out taking care of whatever this apocalypse had to throw at everyone.

So when the line to sign up for housing formed, he found his girlfriend and took her by the hand. There weren't many places for a completely private conversation, but they could at least take a few steps away from the crowd while they discussed this.

[Edit: Originally this was going to be a 'Kate and Bruce weren't in the original thread because they were hiding' post, but that changed. Haha. So anyone can join in if you were in the first Snow Dino plot or not.]

Kate sat huddled in a large truck with over half a dozen other survivors. The top of it was boxy, covered in canvas and the archer thought it looked like the kind of vehicle seen only in movies. In Mother Russia, you don't drive truck. Truck drive you!

She thought about sharing the joke with Bruce, seated across from her, but her smile faded as soon as she looked up at him. Kate thought better of it.

It wasn't that she didn't like Bruce, it was that Kate still planned on getting back home. It would have been just fine if she didn't like Bruce. At least not in that way. But, in Kate's estimation, in a group this full of heroes meant someone was going to figure out how to send everyone back home any time now. Honestly, she was a little surprised it had taken this long.

She offered the very attractive and approachable scientist a smile and that was it.

Then the caravan came to a stop.

Kate frowned and stood up, opening the canvas flap to peek outside and get a good look.

Snow dinosaurs. There were dinosaurs made of snow. It wasn't the dinosaurs that worried Hawkeye. There seemed to be plenty of capable people to take care of dinosaurs made of snow. Nope. What worried Kate was the scientist.

Because snow dinosaurs were destructible. The Hulk, however, was not.

Kate cleared her throat and forced a smile. "Just sit tight, folks. Everything's going to be just fine."

She readied her bow and pulled an arrow from her quiver just in case.

Selina trudged slowly through the ice and snow on the ground, arms curled around her frame for warmth. Her palms rubbed over the cloth that covered her arms, blue eyes sliding from side to side. She watched the others scurry about to find residence, a place warm enough to rest their heads and settle their worries. The dinosaurs had caused a small rift in some, she could tell by the change in demeanor of some of the cityborn. But she didn't care about any of them. Not that she had to. They had plenty of people watching their backs and over their shoulders. They didn't need anyone else.

A bag was looped over Selina's shoulders, carrying what little personal items she possessed since arriving in this world. The comic books she had stolen from Belia, her bullwhip and what was left of her cat suit. She had kept it as a constant reminder of what she was and the potential to be what she could be. She had a skillset that didn't fit this world, and yet she knew that some how she still had purpose. What it was seemed lacking, but she would find it in good time.

With a sigh the former cat-burglar continued to drift like a ghost down the street, finally allowing her feet to stop at a small house. It was old by the looks of it, but seemed cozy enough. No fireplace, which was disappointing but she would manage. With the pivot of her hips Selina climbed the steps and pushed open the creaky door with a boot, eyes sweeping the darkness.

Without another moment of hesitation she found herself in the dusty abode, closing the door behind herself with the same foot that had opened it. She used her hands to pull her jacket closer to her body, finally feeling the effects of exhaustion trying to claim her.

Sighing, Selina dropped heavily on to the worn, dusty couch, pulled her legs beneath herself and laid her body down. Her head propped easily on the arm rest, eyes closing before she had another moment to think. It was then she succumbed to sleep, it had taken her so forcefully she couldn't resist. Fully clothed, shivering all the while, she slept deeply without another care in the world.

Eric had helped unload what supplies they had managed to hold on to for the duration of the travel. Each person was key in the survival of all of them, and Eric wasn't above any of them. He helped store what they could in the broken buildings, not surprised by the condition of the structures around them. Once everything was secure the Dark Avenger left the citizens and headed for the innermost part of the place itself. It seemed it would need a lot of work.

The crow soared high over the rooftops, managing to offer Eric a look at the land around them from its point of view. It wasn't too terrible a place, but there weren't residences for all of them to have one separate. Which meant that they would have to have room mates. Eric wasn't exactly opposed to the idea, but he wasn't a man that needed such things so he figured whomever it was that had the luck to land him as a roomie was in for a big surprise. Mostly the luxury of being able to inhabit one of these structures on their own.

They would need work, however.

Slowly the black avian drifted downward, coming to land on one of Eric's shoulders as he stood looking at one of the houses. It had a roof, which was good, but it seemed to be leaking. None of the houses seemed any bigger or any more well-built than the next, so Eric didn't bother with finding the nicest of the structures. Especially since he actually didn't need a physical residence. He couldn't help but think of Leeloo when he beheld the structure before him, the house that had fallen on her.

Pushing the thought from his mind Eric moved forward and walked into the structure to test the durability from the inside. If it fell he would survive, if it didn't then there was potential for more.

The meet up with the snow dinosaurs had been enough to establish the need to keep a look out over ones shoulder constantly. This wasn't an action new to the scientist, a man who had spent most of his present existence running from...well, a good many things. Himself included, but mostly the government. His time as an Avenger had been surprising considering the publicity it had brought, which only meant unwarranted attention to who and what he really was and could become. It was his most vulnerable secret and it was stained across the lips of every resident of New York.

He had done it because he had to. The world needed him. But this world didn't need him. This world had people like Dinah and Eric watching out for the people. Bruce didn't mind that one bit. Staying in the shadows meant les chance of an outbreak. And that was something that none of them needed.

So when the battle with the snow dinosaurs ensued Bruce made sure to help other people around hide and not become involved. Involvement meant commitment to the battle itself and thus exposing himself. His inner self. He didn't want these people to know unless he had to show them. And even then Bruce struggled to comprehend if they would continue to accept him. He was helpful, sure, but were his few skills worth the empty, green rage that lived inside of him? The risk? Was it too great it could these people look past that? He never wanted to find out if he could help it.

So he blended in as much as he could.

Currently the scientist stood warily in front of a small, one-story house. The structure itself would need ample work, but at least it was standing. The roof seemed firmly attached for it being in the condition it was, and despite there being no glass in most of the windows it looked almost..."Cozy..." Bruce breathed softly, a warm fog leaving his lips.

But he knew that the task of rebuilding this structure would take one man a very long time to accomplish. He was going to need help, especially since he had no idea even where to start. It seemed like such a large task for such a small man. But he liked a challenge.

The trip from die Festung and the neighboring cities to the new colony was not uneventful. In spite of what some might think of Belia, she regretted the loss of those whose vehicle had driven through yet another crack in reality. Even Eric Northman. Perhaps especially Eric because she could respect that he'd been able to bring some order to the vampires in this world. And order was a thing that was gravely needed for their people to survive. She had a feeling that she could nudge some, like the Winchesters, to take care of the vampire population if they got out of hand. And yet... and yet, there were those who believed that there were a reason all of the imports were here. What Belia herself believed mattered less than allowing the sense of hope that having the Chosen around brought to them.

Jackson and his group took their leave almost as soon as the remainder of the caravan made it inside the small area that they would now claim as their own. It had once been a suburb, though the name had long since passed from her memory. It was unimportant and she had more than enough names of people who had surrendered to the slow, agonizing death of the world as she knew it. The name of this place was inconsequential. They would choose a new name. Perhaps they would choose two names and carve it up, divide it down the middle so that Erik Lehnsherr could have the space he desired for his people. It didn't please her, but if that's what was needed to keep the peace then she would make that concession.

There were more dead zones in this area. The place wasn't surrounded by them because of course that would make it impossible for many of the Chosen to join them here. But there were a few on the outskirts and they would hopefully keep reality from tearing itself open here.

She addressed people once they were inside the area. A wall would need to be built, but for now they would just have to take turns keeping watch by night and building during the day. There were houses to be divvied up and not quite enough for everyone to have their own. They would need to share. Many of the houses had three or four bedrooms so people should be able to fit quite comfortably within them. The lawns were near jungles of growth in some places and yet in others, the grass was brown and long dead and forgotten. The houses themselves had once been moderate sized homes for those who might have had families and lives here and yet now they stood in various states of disrepair. Paint peeling, roofs in need of patching, windows broken. It was all fixable with enough time. They would prioritize what was needed and work together on it. With any luck, they would be here long enough to turn this place into a new home. As much as anywhere could be home in this hollowed out shell of a world.

Belia didn't sleep that first night. She wasn't taking watch, but she merely did what she could to direct her people on where things should go, where they could sleep, who should take watch, and so on. She allowed space for Erik to do the same for his people. They would have to meet again soon to draw up agreements for occupying the same space. Yet for now, they all had to work together to make this place as safe as they could.

During the attack, Peter had been rounding the natives who couldn't defend themselves together, shielding them with his power as he tried to keep track of everything. Things had happened so suddenly, there was no way he could have stopped the first set of trucks. They vanished into the same opening that the snow dinosaurs had come from, and were gone the moment they passed through the boundary.

Once things had begun to calm, and more medics than he were coming in to assist the wounded, Peter had time to inquire about those who were lost. His heart sank lower with each name, but one in particular had him raising his defenses, closing off any connection to Evey.

Aidan.

He had to tell her. But how?

Peter walked in a half-aware daze, pushing himself to Evey by intuition only. He always knew where she was, with their connection, the same way he always knew where Leeloo was. He found her soon enough. Without a word, he strode towards her, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and held on. Slowly, he lifted the hard shields he had brought down, grief and compassion and support sliding from him, into her.

I'm so sorry, Evey.

With the words came a depth of emotion, genuine sorrow, and the memory of those vehicles what were swallowed. And the name attached.

Now that the TARDIS had finally settled into her new desktop, River had taken a break from working on her. She was well aware of the new passengers on board, but had chosen for now to keep her distance. She was already a confusing element to the Doctor - she wasn't interested in being a conflict with the others yet. Though the Metacrisis was a curiosity to her. A human Doctor. It was an odd reflection of herself: a human with Time Lord knowledge and memories, versus a Time Lord with none of the influence of Gallifrey. And with no remaining regenerations to speak of, she never identified herself as a Time Lord. Or Lady. The Doctor was the last of that race, and she wouldn't insult him by claiming it herself.

She was making the rounds through the TARDIS as usual, checking on the various rooms, where the swimming pool was hiding nowadays, and of course, ending up perusing the library. It was one of her favorite spots in the wonderful ship. She selected one of the volumes on Gallifreyan history and settled into an overstuffed armchair to read.

The entire group was halfway through their journey across the wilds when all hell broke loose, in a quite literal fashion. The temperature dropped quickly and snow started to fall at an alarming rate. On one end of the caravan, reality burst at the seams.

One of the trucks disappeared into the hole and the rest of the vehicles just barely stopped short. The ground started to vibrate and suddenly a loud roar could be heard nearby. A gigantic white mass moved from the direction of the hole in reality and started stomping around the caravan. Meanwhile, mounds of snow started forming into even more creatures that converged on the group and their supply trucks.

The largest of the creatures roared again, revealing a full set of snow-white teeth. The mounds of snow formed into dinosaurs that were about half the size of the largest dinosaur, ranging from the large Tyrannosaurus Rex formed out of snow to the smaller and faster Velociraptors.

A few screams rose up from the group below as people started to run in an attempt to avoid finding out if snow-dinosaurs could and would ingest them.

OOC: Just a little holiday crack!plot for you. Join in, create subthreads, and enjoy!

Here was one place where everything was exactly the same -- her room in the TARDIS. In the dim light, Rose lay staring at the sweeping ceiling overhead, listening to the quiet hum... quieter now... that meant she was home. In Pete's World, before she'd crossed back over into the universe where the Doctor had been, she would lie awake at night and stare at the plain white ceiling above her, wishing that it was exactly what she was seeing now. Now that she was here, sleeping seemed the worst way to spend her time.

Hope had started its unsteady climb back up into her again. Nothing would be the same, nothing but the TARDIS... and maybe that was enough for now. She straightened the blankets around her for the seventh time and dropped her arms back at her sides again.

Finally. Finally home. The spark started in her chest and radiated out. Finally home. Before she knew it, she was smiling in the dark. She rolled over onto her side, then, and curled her arms around her pillow. Home. And she wasn't, she really wasn't tired at all. Oh, she felt the exhaustion, the wear on her body from the long walk, the lack of sleep, the bad food -- exhausted, sure. But tired... no. Not tired at all.

The next minute, she was slipping into the thin robe laid out on the foot of her bed, tucking her toes into the blue slippers waiting, pushing still-damp hair back behind her ears. The light was dim, maybe because it was night, and maybe because the TARDIS needed to conserve power, but it was still enough to see. She edged her door open, then gently closed it, and tiptoed down the corridor. It was time to get reacquainted with home again.

Strawberry shampoo.

The lather spun lazily down the drain, and Rose stuck the toes of her left foot into the bubbles. Strawberry shampoo. She hadn't used this stuff since her father grabbed her and dragged her into his world with him. But there it was in the bathroom, waiting for her. She wondered if the TARDIS put her things in temporal stasis while she was gone. It was heartwarming to think that the TARDIS held out hope for her return, even if the Doctor himself might not have.

"Thank you," she whispered, the heated water pouring over her shoulders. She sniffed hard and shoved at the wetness on her face.

She hadn't had a good shower since arriving here, and it was long overdue. There was no small amount of guilt, realizing that everyone outside those great blue doors had no such comfort, but it was clear that the TARDIS was struggling already. To invite others into her now would surely overtax her. Rose was grateful for every tiny thing she was given, here.

Funny, that. She'd been amazed and bewildered the first time she'd showered in this bathroom, but never grateful. How blind she'd been, not to grasp at every little ounce of this life while she could. How foolish she'd been not to tell him every day just how glad she was that he'd let her come along, just how thankful she was that the TARDIS gave everything that she did.

The towel was soft and warm. Again, Rose murmured words of gratitude. It was just flowing out of her now, that gratefulness, like the tears had when she realized that she'd found and lost her Doctor all in the same instant. Rose had brushed through her wet hair and was just pulling on a hot pink cotton camisole over her pyjama pants when a knock came at her bedroom door.

She pulled the bathroom door shut, and opened her bedroom door instead, toweling her hair as she did.

Eric had volunteered himself to drive one of the trucks carrying supplies. He didn't mind taking control of the vehicle, it had been a long time since he had found himself behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle of any type. And considering the fact that he didn't need to stop to sleep or eat was a bonus. He could continue to drive and drive....and he never had to stop if he didn't want to.

The truck was simple, the seats were covered in cloth worn to the barest of threads in some parts from constant use. The stuffing was beginning to peer through the wear, a signal of the age of the vehicle itself and proof of the memories it held at the hands of its owner. Whomever that had been. The steering wheel was basic but worn, divets in the leather created from a lifetime of hands and fingers, oils from the skin moisturizing the wheel itself. It was cracked in some places, and one of the gears for the signals was busted, but it had character.

It sort of reminded Eric of his first car, a beat up old Volvo that needed a new paint job desperately, and definitely needed a new clutch by the time he had finally gotten used to operating the manual transmission. He could faintly remember his parents scolding him, mostly his father, as they reminded him to take it easy on the clutch. He was only a kid back then. He had upgraded since then in his lifetime. Nothing fancy, but at least it was reliable but his car had none of the character qualities that this truck did.

The radio in the truck itself was busted and sitting on top of the dash was a faded Hawaiian dancer that swayed eagerly with the motion of the truck. Every time the truck dipped into a small rut in the road the dancer shook her grass-covered hips. Eric found that despite its condition it was one of the things that made this vehicle what it was.

What was missing was a passenger. Occasionally Eric caught himself offering the empty seat next to him a sideways glance. He would always make himself look forward again but he couldn't help but wish someone was occupying the seat. It made him miss Shelly, the rides he used to take her on in his car back in a time that seemed a different age completely. He missed Leeloo, too. He hadnt seen the fair-skinned beauty since before the dragon. He didn't blame her for getting caught up and when she was ready he knew she would find him. The bird was his only true company and at present it perched idly on the roof of the cab, watching for danger.

The sun eased into the horizon and the moon shimmered against the dark sky. Eric hummed softly, absently to himself. It eased the emptiness of the ride and in the back of his kind he could hear the ensemble playing, the rhythm held steady, the guitars in perfect harmony and his own voice...the depth it brought to the music itself. Another figment of a life that felt ages away. It was hard to let go. So he held on for a moment longer to his past life and continued to drive on into the night.

Reality was falling apart again. Bruce hadn't been sure how you were supposed to fix something like that but other than the rains of strange animals he had thought the world was stable. When part of the cave vanished making parts of the rest of it cave in he'd found out differently. He'd taken the time to pack up what he could take and headed for answers. People were missing. Some might be gone forever and he hadn't been able to find Dinah right away.

It highlighted to him that she'd become a more important part of his world than he'd admitted. The idea of being without her now if she'd disappeared made him shut down into full Batman mode. Of course only someone like Dinah would probably know the difference. There was too much to do to spend all his time looking for her as everyone packed up to move. If Dinah wasn't gone they'd find each other. If she was...well he'd work alone. It wouldn't be the first time.

The first night they stopped groups were slowly joining up to each other. They all traveled at different rates since they were various abilities and carrying different things. Bruce just took his things and went to scout and guard the perimeters without being asked. He'd cooperate and get people there but he wasn't working for any of the big fish in charge of the various groups.

The excitement of meeting up with those in New Troy was tainted heavily by the loss of the place Evey'd begun to think of as home. There were myriad troubling things in die Festung, things she'd hoped to help change, but now that they were leaving, she felt a keen loss from it.

She put herself to use where she could, but the move had been relatively well organized. She could say that about Belia and her leadership, whatever other motivations she suspected of the woman. She caught sight of Carlos in the mill of people on the road, but as she sifted through the faces, there were some that were missing. She tried not to give up hope for those, but her rational mind prevented the comfort of that.

Ahead, a familiar, graceful figure slid in and out of view. Evey'd been meaning to catch up with Mag, but didn't think it'd be quite so literal. With a few hustled moments, she wended her way through the press of humanity until she made it to the side of the woman she'd come to think of as her neighbor... and her friend.

"How goes, Mag?" she asked, giving her a quiet smile.

Their exploring had been cut short by the evacuation of the settlement - die Festung, it was called, or so those who lived in it said... The stories of what'd happened the world were nothing short of harrowing, and nothing out of the ordinary for Rose and the Doctor.

The Doctor... Even now, Rose had reservations about the one she'd been left with. Her Doctor wanted her to make him better, so he'd said. Rose didn't know if it could be done. At the very most, she imagined her influence could only make him different. And yet, as she spent more time with the Metacrisis, she found herself noticing parts of him that were very much like the one she'd first fallen for... and she wondered...

Was different better?

He was compelling... The best and worst parts of each of her Doctors, all in one, with a dash of something else nothing like the ones she'd known before... He was entirely different, and so very familiar.

These thoughts rolled around in her head as they milled out with the rest of the settlers onto the hardly-could-even-be-called-a road. Unlike others, who moved with urgency and dread, she wandered... hands in pockets, eyes and ears open, taking all of it in. There were some that weren't, apparently, from this world. There were ones that believed the others were some sort of blessing (or curse), so the whispers said. And somewhere along the line, during her wandering, she lost sight of the Metacrisis.

That was when she found it: A blue box, inert and quiet, no lights to be seen, being towed in the caravan.

Bright hope fizzled and burst through her, fireworks set off by desperation and love and too many other emotions to capture. She almost immediately looked around for him, not him, but him, her Doctor. It was all that was in her mind -- that name, over and over. She found herself shouting it at last, discomfiting those around her. Didn't care. She needed him now.