Back in Town

Stretching his legs out in front of him, Sayo hummed under his breath as he turned the corner of an empty street. Blue eyes flicking this way and that curiously. He had the TARDIS take him somewhere new, but he supposed 'new' didn't equate to 'busy' in her way. Coming to a stop in the middle of the road, the Time Lord harrumphed and ran both hands through his hair in frustration. By all accounts the city should be packed with people, bustling with trade and the smells of food. But from the moment he stepped from the TARDIS doors, it had been absolutely silent, no rustle of wind through the trees or grass, not a peep from animals or insect alike.

In short: The place he landed was completely and utterly dead. Sayo had no idea if it were just this town or the entire planet. But it was completely unnerving to be the only source of noise anywhere. Silence was never good, it usually indicated something bad happened or was going to happen. Silence always meant trouble.

Normally at this point, he'd have turned to his companion and asked their opinion only to completely ignore what they said in favor of some idea that popped up the second he asked them anything. But.... He was alone, again, by his own fault honestly, but still not entirely something he wanted to deal with or even think about at the moment. Stuffing his hands into his jean pockets, he scuffed the heel of his shoe against the stone pavers lining the road and made his way towards one of the open shops, the door hanging wide like a gaping mouth. Ducking his head into the dark room, he squinted in the shadows and tried to make out what was inside.

Shelves, tables and hangers on the walls, all of it empty, as if the owner packed up his items and left without warning overnight. "What the heck is going on here?"

Chris sighed through her nose, fingers picking at the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder. She sat perched on the arm of a bench, eyes cast downward. "I just... I don't f***in' get it," she shrugged, sounding exasperated. "Because. Okay, I can get that it wasn't me. That part's clear. But like..." She whined, tilting her head back and looking at the sky. Anywhere but at the man she was speaking with. "It was still him. Or... her?" She winced and shook her head, and her wings shook themselves out. Her hand moved to brush her hair back into place, and she found herself looking out over the eerily empty park they were sitting in. Eerie, but private. "I don't know, it's like... one minute, you're ingraining in me that your regenerations are all the same f***in' person, but now you want me to believe they're not? It feels like a bulls***."

Chris huffed. Honestly, this still made absolutely no sense. A reflection is still the exact same thing, functionally. If he's supposedly a "reflection" of this other b****, shouldn't that mean he's no different. She was perfectly content to just let her human brain be, and stop trying to comprehend this bulls*** from like the 6th dimension or something.

"... Words don't mean s***. You can say anything. Like," she frowned, finally turning to face the leather-clad a**hole who brought her here, "what's stopping you from lying? If you think about it, I can't trust a f***in' thing you say, can I? You and your f***in'... mental powers or whatever. How am I supposed to know if any of this is even real?" She crossed her arms, wings tucking closer to her body, and she turned back away from the Doctor, scowling. In all honesty, she didn't look that distraught about the idea - just annoyed.

"... it's not my fault he f***ed up. I shouldn't have to forgive him."

Chris held his gaze, bitter and determined not to budge. But after a moment, she cracked. She closed her eyes and groaned, ducking her head down and shoving her hands through her hair. This was so much more than she signed up for when she started this. Her elbows rested on her knees and her face rested in her palms. It's better, she supposes, that she knows what he's done. She still can't bring herself to separate Sayo from Sonya, but she can bring herself to acknowledge that he's grown. She shifted her face, eyes peeking up above her fingers.

"I'll give him a shot." She straightened herself and jumped down from her perch, talons landing on the sidewalk with a click. "But I'm not his f***in' therapist. If he needs help, he can go get it." How would that work, seeing a therapist through space-time? How would they decide how often to meet? Was Sayo even capable of maintaining that kind of schedule? Not her problem.

A breathtaking smile spread across the Doctor's face at her words, both hands reaching out in a gesture of acceptance. "That's all I ask, Robin. A little paitence and understanding for our lost boy in time. Now 'ows about we go find him so you can give him a piece of your mind, yeah?" Walking over, he rested a gentle hand on her shoulder and leaned down so he could stage-whisper. "Besides, I 'onestly don't believe he could do anythin' without you around. Useless really." With another smile, he started walking in a random direction, one he could feel a familiar trace of telepathic whispers.

Sayo came to a stop where he'd been walking once more down the street, his head perking up at the nudge at the back of his mind, the Doctor was here. One he knew rather well and one he nearly dreaded seeing again after his last meeting with the Time Lord. He'd been angry, properly angry with him over what he told Robin.

Rubbing his hands through his hair, he ignored the way it stuck up in all directions and hesitantly turned to walk in the direction the connection was coming from, hands stuffed in his jean pockets again as he shuffled down the street. Lost in thought, he failed to notice the sudden breeze picking up around him, the dust rising in the air and the smell of old rock beginning to fill the area around him.

At the last second, he frowned and lifted his head just in time to see the dust in the street collecting together to form the faint form of a giant dog before it charged him, mouth opening wide and swallowing him whole. Just before vanishing from sight, he managed to cry out a single word, hopefully loud enough to be heard even in this empty world. "Doctor!"