The world snaps sideways.
One moment, Izara is crossing a street—tired, annoyed, clutching a bag of discount groceries—and then there's blinding headlights, the roar of a truck engine, the sickening weightless moment of—Nothing.
Then everything.
She slams onto a carpeted floor, coughing, heart hammering, lungs burning as if dragged through dimensions—because she was.
A soft chime echoes inside her skull.
Her eyes snap open.
[SYSTEM BOOTING…]
[Welcome, Izara Linnett.
Body Status: Original body preserved and transferred across dimensions.
Dimensional Transit: SUCCESSFUL.
Location: Powell Estates, London.
Local Date: March 4th, 2005.]
Izara doesn't scream.
She laughs.
It bursts out of her in a cracked, hysterical sound that ricochets around the small, unfamiliar apartment.
"Oh my god—no—NO—this can't—this is—"
She scrambles to her feet, her shoes still on, her clothes still rumpled from her old life, her bag of groceries lying beside her like the world's weirdest continuity error.
She rushes to the window and rips open the curtains.
Powell Estates.
The ordinary, iconic courtyard.
The Tyler tower block across the way.
The exact configuration she's seen a hundred times in Doctor Who rewatch marathons.
A cold wave washes over her.
"I… I've been isekai'd into Doctor Who. My actual body. My actual life. The System didn't recreate me— it teleported me."
She grips the windowsill to steady herself.
This isn't reincarnation.
This is dimensional displacement.
She turns around.
The apartment is fully furnished, pristine, smelling faintly of new paint—like it was generated from scratch for her a split-second before she hit the floor.
A second chime sounds.
[SYSTEM: IDENTITY GENERATION COMPLETE]
[UK identity: Izara Linnett
Residence: Powell Estates, Unit 4B
Legal documents generated
Bank account funded: 3 months rent
Assets from prior world converted to: 15,000 SC]
Her knees buckle. She sinks into the desk chair.
"This is real. This is actually… real."
That's when the third notification appears, bigger and brighter than the others.
And far more terrifying.
[SYSTEM NOTICE — SOUL ANCHOR PROTOCOL ACTIVE]
[Host has cross-dimensional compatibility with two temporal signatures:
THE DOCTOR — Primary Constant
THE MASTER — Counter Constant
Soulbond Status: Dormant (Not yet activated)
Trigger Condition: Physical proximity ≤ 20 meters
Note: Bonds are permanent and persist through all regenerations.]
Izara stares at the message.
Her soul drops through the floor.
"Oh hell no—OH HELL NO."
"Both of them?! BOTH CHAOS GREMLINS?!"
Her heart pulses far too strongly—like something inside her responds instinctively to hearing their names.
She scrolls fast through the system screens, desperate.
[SOULBOND EFFECTS (Locked Until Trigger):
* Emotional resonance
* Psychic recognition
* Regeneration-stable link
* Potential Consummation Pathway >Eternal Convergence (irreversible)]
A shaky breath escapes her.
Her voice is barely a whisper.
"…I'm soulbound to the Doctor and the Master before I even meet them."
A faint, distant pressure brushes the edge of her awareness—like someone extremely far away turning their head, sensing something new in the universe.
Izara shivers.
"Okay. Okay. System. I need to not die on day one."
She flicks open the Store.
Because she knows exactly what day it is.
Exactly what's about to happen tomorrow.
Henrik's.
Autons.
Rose Tyler.
The Doctor swinging her by the hand and telling her to run.
She needs protection. Mental and physical.
[PURCHASE CONFIRMED — Tok'ra-Lite Neural Shielding (Stargate)
Cost: 800SC
Effect: Resistant to hypnosis / psychic influence.]
A cool wave spreads behind her eyes.
[PURCHASE CONFIRMED — Micro-Tricorder Palm Module (Star Trek)
Cost: 1200SC
Effect:Low-level environmental scanning.]
Thin circuitry glows beneath her skin before fading.
[Balance: 13,000SC]
She lets out a breath.
"Alright. Equipment secured. Next—cover identity."
The System chimes again.
[New Mission Unlocked: Establish Human Cover
Objective: Meet 3 residents of Powell Estates
Reward: Infinity Nikki Outfit Pack — "Street Start" (+5 Agility)]
"Well," Izara mutters, "at least that part's easy."
Memory pings activate—System-supplied context.
Jackie Tyler arranged a welcome dinner for the new neighbor tonight.
6 PM.
Izara checks the clock.
5:59 PM.
A knock rattles the door.
She nearly jumps.
She opens it slowly—
"Hiya!" Jackie Tyler beams, bursting into her apartment with massive Mom Energy. "You're the new tenant, yeah? I'm Jackie, this is my Rose—come say hello—"
Rose peeks around Jackie's shoulder and smiles shyly.
Izara's heart thuds.
The timeline shifts.
Fate clicks one notch forward.
Tomorrow the world changes.
Tomorrow she meets the Doctor.
And somewhere out there—
Beyond the TARDIS, beyond the stars—
a second presence stirs in the void.
A far colder, sharper awareness.
A soul sharpened like a blade.
The Master.
Her Counter Constant.
Izara tries not to hyperventilate.
"Hi," she manages. "I'm… Izara. Thank you for the welcome dinner."
Rose grins. "Welcome to Powell Estates."
As Izara follows them to the Tyler flat, the System hums quietly in her mind—
The bonds waiting.
The canon approaching.
The danger rising.
And Izara, still shaking, still breathless, still very much alive, realizes:
The universe didn't just isekai her.
It chose her.
Anchored her.
Bound her.
And tomorrow it all begins.