Author's Note: THIS REACHED 1000 READS?!?!?! OH MY GOSH THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!! This chapter is dedicated to you. <3

It was getting late, and the threat of healing the paradox by death was looming like a stormcloud; they all knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when.

Ted still had so many questions he wanted to ask Neo before he died. He was better trained, smarter, and all around more capable than Ted would ever be. This was who Ted would become if he stayed in Oats.

Neo was a cyber genius. Ted was hardly a genius at all, failing his classes. There's no way they could even be the same person!

However, he seemed to unable to ask Neo all the things that were bugging him.

Bill was the same. Marko was so different, so dangerous. He wanted to get to know his other self, but at the same time, he felt like he knew all the answers already.

Bill and Ted tried to distract themselves by talking to Marty instead.

They waved over the other teen to sit on the console beside them, a distraction from the coming danger, and a way to take their minds from the ever present drama between the vampires and the hunters. They'd cooled down after The Doctor yelled at them, but it still managed to feel oddly tense.

The Doctor and Jack were below deck, letting Doc Brown investigate the alien technology.

Marty sat between Bill and Ted and tried to talk casually.

"So, where are you guys from?"

"San Dimas, California. What about you, dude?" Ted asked.

"Hill Valley,"

"Dude! You're not far from us!" Bill said cheerily. "Maybe after this is all over, we can hang out sometime."

Marty cracked a smile, "What year are you from?"

"1988," Ted said proudly.

"'85," Marty replied.

"Not bad! Not to mention, we've got a time machine...,"

"What do you guys like to do for fun?" Marty asked.

"We're in a band! We are..."

"WYLD STALLYNS!" The two of them finished, like they always did.

Marty looked pleased with their answer, "I'm in a band too! Well, we've been trying for ages, but we can't seem to take off. We're called the Pinheads."

"No way!" Bill and Ted declared, and Bill took over, having nothing short of read Ted's thoughts, "We're struggling to get started too!"

"Dude, if we ever get to play a real concert, you should join us!" Ted offered with a cheesy grin.

"I'd be honored," Marty smiled in response.

The Doctor chose that moment to pop his head up from below the floor.

"Hello boys! You seem troubled," The Doctor seemed to have a thought, but the looks on Wyld Stallyns' faces distracted him for a minute.

Ted shrugged, "Dunno, dude. Fixing a paradox is most heinous."

The Doctor put a hand on Ted's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Ted. Or Bill. In time, everything will be alright."

That line made something in Ted's stomach tighten, and it made him think of an easier time. His shoulders relaxed under The Doctor's touch.

"Thanks, Doctor Dude," Ted smiled a little.

Neo came from the upper loft of the TARDIS and quickly got The Doctor's attention.

"Doctor, I'm seeing something. Someone is outside the TARDIS,"

"How do you know that?" The Doctor asked quizzicaly, his thin eyebrows knitting together.

"I've been able to see things differently lately, being able to tell what's a program and what's not. A prime example is you. You're a Timelord, not a program."

The Doctor nodded, "Who's out there?"

Neo looked at him grimly, "Nothing like anything I've seen before."

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

With every knock, silence reigned upon the interior of the ship. The Doctor's head turned to the TARDIS door.

"Well, four knocks. I really don't like the sound of that," his mouth set into a thin line. "All of you, just stay behind me, if you will."

He strode forward and thrust open the door. There was a man standing in a suit, tie, and sunglasses, with an ear piece that looked like a small clip. His face was like stone, unemotional. His voice was brash.

"Mister Anderson," he said as soon as he spotted Neo over The Doctor's shoulder.

Neo struck a defensive pose.

"Hello," The Doctor began politely, putting his arm out protectively to keep Neo and the man from fighting.

The man didn't respond. The Doctor put down his hand that he was trying to shake with.

"How can I help you? I'm The Doctor--"

"The Doctor will be Upgraded," he said suddenly, stepping forward. The Doctor retereated, pushing Neo back.

"Doctor, that's Agent Smith, he's a rogue program," Neo explained hastily, grabbing his staff from below the deck and holding it out to keep the agent at bay.

"No, actually," began The Doctor with worry in his eyes, "That's a Cyberman." He noted the ear piece attached to Smith's head.

"The Doctor will give up the TARDIS key," Smith stated, scanning the interior with his eyes.

"The Doctor will not!" The Doctor yelled. Neo began to fight Smith, hoping to knock him out of the TARDIS, aiming kicks and punches at his joints on a hope to push him back.

Jack had darted up from below deck and grabbed Marty by the sleeve, guiding him to safety.

"Doctor Dude! What are Cybermen?" Ted asked as Jack tried to get him out of the console room.

"Human robots!" The Doctor explained as he rushed to keep the key in a safe place. "This one isn't fully upgraded yet. They try and convert people into --woah!--" He ducked as Neo swung, "--into robots like themselves, no emotion, just cold metal..."

"Bogus," Bill and Ted said together.

Cyber-Smith grabbed Neo in a choke hold and looked over at Ted.

"Mister Anderson," he repeated, once he found Ted. Marko seized Ted by the back of the shirt and pulled him backward.

"Back off dickweed!" He snarled, fangs coming into play.

In the instant that Cyber-Smith moved in for Marko, Alan Frog lunged forward with that stake he'd been so eager to use, and plunged in straight into Smith's chest. Smith dropped Neo suddenly, and Marko looked on in shock.

"For you, bloodsucker," Alan grunted. Marko nodded in return.

But Smith was slowly beginning to heal up from the stake through the chest, and he stood up again.

"The Doctor will give up the TARDIS key," he said again, removing the splintery wood. Alan cursed in surprise, and Marko pushed the Frog Brothers behind him, baring his fangs.

In a frenzy, The Doctor snatched the TARDIS key from its hiding spot and palmed it.

Dwayne lunged forward to try and attack the agent's neck, bursting from the shadows with the same finesse he always possessed, but before his fangs could pierce the soft flesh at the base of his neck, Smith stuck out his arm methodically and inserted it right into Dwayne's stomach, just below the ribcage. A blackish substance began to cover Dwayne from the insertion point.

David was about to snap Smith's neck, but Neo was already on top of him, ripping him away from the vampire. The Agent-turned-Cyberman was even more persistent and difficult than he usually was.

They fought for a good time again. Jack had taken the Frogs and Bill out of the middle of things, and was coming back for Ted to keep him safe. Suddenly, Smith set his sights on The Doctor, changed his course, and charged straight at the Timelord, smacking his head onto one of the screens, and forcing him to release the TARDIS key.

In slow motion, they key clattered to the floor. Ted and Smith saw it at the same time.

If it weren't for Neo, Smith would have gotten his fingers around it first, but Ted's hands closed around the small metal key, and he didn't quite know what to do with it.

"You will relinquish the key," Smith demanded.

Ted, without thinking, slid the key right into his mouth and swallowed hard.

"No way, dude,"

The Doctor came to his senses and was finally able to locate his sonic, which he pressed to Cyber-Smith's head. He fell limply to the floor.

"You really shouldn't have done that," The Doctor said quickly to Ted.

"It's safe now, dude,"

The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "He could have and would have torn you apart for the chance at that key." The Doctor began to gently probe around Ted's stomach with his sonic.

"It doesn't matter, dude. It's for the greater good!"

The Doctor looked up at him before lifting Ted's shirt and buzzing the sonic at him.

"I'm glad you think so, however, it is imperative that we keep you alive,"

"Well... I'm glad you think so too, then, dude,"

They grinned at each other for a moment, Ted feeling like The Doctor was both his best friend and a father at the same time. The Doctor broke the silence.

"Jack! Would you get me the disinfectant? This won't be very fun for me,"