The Last Three Chapter 3: Sound Of Drums, a doctor who fanfic

Episode 2: The Sound Of Drums

Me: So I started writing this directly after Utopia. Thank you, TimeLadyHope, for the follow and favorite! And BadWolf432, StarReader2009, and Chaos086! I decided to put the theme in this episode.

Master: Get this over with, start the damn episode!

Doctor: Oi, no cursing!

Me: Since Donna won't be here, she'll be doing the disclaimers from now on.

Donna: Damn straight. Karrine does not own us.

Master: You scold me, not her?!

Doctor: *Shrugs.*

"Time travel without a capsule, that's a killer!" The Doctor groaned.

Lane cracked her neck as the others adjusted to real life.

Just one thing she had to say- ow!

"Still, at least we made it. Earth, 21st century by the looks of it." Jack chuckled. "Talk about lucky."

Lane rolled her eyes. "That wasn't luck, that was me!" She said, sticking her tongue out at him.

They sat down. "The moral is, if you're going to get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-time agent and his vortex manipulator." Jack added.

"Yeah, but it doesn't work without a Time Lord and her sonic screwdriver!" Lane chirped excitedly.

"But this Master bloke, he's got the Tardis, he could be anywhere in time and space." Martha said, slight fear in her voice.

"No, he's here." The Doctor said sullenly.

"Really? How do you- oh, that's what you did with your sonic while I was saving everyone's lives. Actually, you saved everyone's, I saved ours. We make a good team." Lane smiled at the Doctor, and his lips flicked upward for a split second, and fell again.

"Who is he anyway? I mean, that voice at the end, that wasn't the Professor."

"If the Master's a Time Lord, then he must have regenerated." Jack started.

"Good riddance to the Professor, this new Master is a tiny bit sexy!" Lane grinned, and ignored the odd looks. "And he is the Professor by the way. Was. Isn't but on the same level is? He changed everything about him, age, face, voice, body…." Lane's voice died away as she noticed the hobo across the street tapping out the beat.

"Then how are we going to find him?" Martha asked.

"We'll know. I'll know. No matter who he is, he's always the same silver gold color as Doomsday, but the texture of… a river stone." She stood abruptly.

"Missed the election, haven't we?" She asked, and walked off to the TV.

"But hold on, if he could be anyone…" Martha realized.

"God, what is it like in your funny little brains? You're so slow, so thick!" Lane called out to her and Jack, waiting for the TV. Any minute now…

"Mr. Saxon has returned from the palace, and is greeting the crowds inside Saxon headquarters."

"I said I knew that voice when he spoke inside the Tardis. I've heard that voice hundreds of times, I've seen him, we all have!" Martha gasped.

"That was the voice of Harold Saxon!" Lane and Martha said in unison. Cue that glare from Martha.

Jeeze, she needs to lighten up a little bit.

"That's him. He's prime minister." The Doctor breathed.

"The Master is prime minister of Great Britain." The Doctor whispered.

"This country has been sick. This country needs healing, originality, creativity. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go as far as to say what this country really needs, right now, is an Outcast, and a Doctor."

Theme:

BBC/KarrineGenesis

David Tennant

John Barrowman

Freema Agyeman

Georgie Henley

John Simm

DOCTOR WHO: THE LAST THREE

The Sound Of Drums by KarrineGenesis/Basis by Russell T Davies

"Let the work of government, begin!" Lane heard it, in her head. It was much worse than those god-awful drums in the Master's, because every time it was different. You knew everything to happen, but it was so vague that it didn't actually matter much. Just an inconvenience.

Fluttering paper… Jeeze, the Master is so weird sometimes.

"It's funny, isn't it?" She said aloud with the Master in her head.

"What?!" The Doctor snapped to look at her.

"Nothing."

He gave her a wary look, with concern laced underneath, but decided he would believe her. For now.

She followed almost silently to Martha's flat.

"This is your reward. It's a gas mask. Because of the gas. This gas."

Wow, mass murder.

And there was that drumbeat.

They were on the laptop, Saxon website…

There, something interesting!

"You gonna tell us who he is?"

"He was a good friend, from the academy. A Time Lord, just like us." Lane explained.

"What about the rest of it? I mean, who'd call himself 'The Master?" Martha asked.

Lane grew quiet. "Someone caused him to go insane. You know, it's not all his fault. I would have become just like him if I had left everyone behind to, especially with all this in my head, our heads." She whispered, hand shaking beside her head to emphasize what she had just explained.

The Doctor was busy with the website, Martha was checking her answering machine…

The Master was speaking with the magazine woman. Wasn't there supposed to be a wife? It's as if her being there was changing things, but she could barely remember. Jesus, really bad memory.

Lane decided it was a good time for a walk.

"Outcast, where are you going?" The Doctor asked.

Only Jack noticed the slight flinch when he said that.

"Out. I'll be back. Don't worry."

And out the door she went, and wispy red puff slamming from the door.

She nestled into the coat she had put on, and closed her eyes, letting the cool wind blow across her.

She had a bad memory, but if she played this right… She could remember back at the time war, back in her regeneration from before, when she was a boy…

So much blood, lasers, yelling, screaming… He had to get away, He had to run away.

Snow fell onto the ground softly, powder beneath his bloody palms as he fell to the ground. He had ran, ran far enough away that the Daleks and the Time Lords were just a faint buzzing in the back of his head. And the colors fell like snow…

"Are you alright?" A boy asked. He looked up sharply. "It's ok, I'm just asking!"

He noticed that he didn't say, 'I'm not going to hurt you.'

He had said that he was just asking. "I'm fine." The Outcast said slowly, standing to leave.

'I need to get away.' He thought, over and over, especially when the boy snarled at him with sharp canines. "You're coming with me, different one. The easy way, or the hard way."

Was it just her, or was everything getting brighter?

Her eyes snapped open.

She was in front of Martha's door again.

Lane opened the door and walked in sullenly, but didn't close it behind her. Something was wrong…

"Time and time again, and the government told you nothing. Well not me, not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose here today, is to tell you this; citizens of Great Britain, I have been contacted. A message for humanity from beyond the stars." The Master gave a nod on the telly, and on came a grainy image of a robotic orb, with a childish voice

"People of the Earth, we come in piece. We bring great gifts- we bring technology, and wisdom, and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship." The last word echoed in the back of Lane's mind, and she blinked heavily.

"Aw, sweet. And this species has identified itself. They're called the Toclafane."

"Oh, he did not!" Lane scoffed, laughter in her voice. The Doctor said at the same time she spoke, "What?!"

"And tomorrow morning they will appear, not in secret, but to all of you."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up his forehead.

"Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe. Every man, woman, and child, every teacher and chemist, and lorry driver, and farmer."

Lane turned swiftly to the door, grabbing Jack's hand and running.

"Oh, I don't know, every…"

"What's wrong?!" Jack yelled over the now whipping wind.

They stopped on the sidewalk just as Martha and the Doctor ran out as well.

"Medical student." She whispered, almost inaudibly as the flat blew up.

"Alright?" The Doctor called.

Lane tuned them out as she turned to watch around her.

There was a way she could save Martha's family, right? There had to be…

"I can't, not now-!"

Lane grabbed the phone.

"Hello? Mrs. Jones, I would like to speak to the blonde beside you." Silence met her request, on both sides.

"Blondie? You're listening, correct? The Master's listening in, of course. Well I got something to tell him, to tell all of you. Don't invoke the rath of the Outcast. You aren't going to like it, so leave the Jones alone."

Bad idea. She already realized it once she started to speak. Such a terrible idea.

Then the blonde answered. "Oh, it's you. I should have known it would be you. Not a great place to talk at the moment thought, is it? Queel-"

"Stop it."

"-dshyrak… Just so you know who it is."

"Miss, you shouldn't even know my name. Who are you?"

"Someone who is very happy we forced you into a regeneration. Now, before anyone starts to understand what we are saying, I give you 5 days. You should be done by then. You should be ours soon enough."

Click. Dial tone.

Lane let her hand slowly fall limp at her side.

Martha didn't even bother trying to take the phone out of her death grip.

"What's wrong, what did she say?" The Doctor asked, worry creasing on his face.

All of them were worried.

She didn't like it.

"Just forget it… I don't have to worry until 5 days from now."

"What?!"

"Nothing."

"We have to check on them." Martha said. "No, alright, just go somewhere else."

The car was too erratic, where were they going?

Oh, the stupid idiot, she went to her parents.

"Target identified!" That blonde again, staring straight into her soul.

Those eyes flash grey purple.

"Take aim."

"Martha reverse."

Yelling, so much yelling…

"FIRE!"

The cart peeled out, glass shattering.

"We've got to ditch the car, listen to me, Martha." Jack commanded, and Martha nodded reluctantly.

They were walking now.

Martha was on the phone.

"Let them go Saxon."

They all snapped to look at her.

"Do you hear me?! Let them go!" The Doctor peeled the phone away from Martha, and Lane cursed her slowness.

"I'm here."

"Doctor."

"Master."

The Master chuckled lightly. "I like it when you use my name."

"You chose it."

There was that whirring noise again.

Oh god Damnit.

She fell straight into Jack's arms, and she heard him take a sharp intake of breath as her memory ingrained itself into his head.

The boy snarled again and grabbed both of the Outcast's wrists, easily crushing them both with an audible 'snap' that caused his stomach to churn violently.

"You're ours, and you always will be. You have been chosen."

Jack took a shaky breath and propped Lane up.

She had tears in her eyes, and she was mumbling sorries at him.

Jack consoled her silently, as they listened to nothing.

"Where is it, Doctor?"

"Gone."

"How can Gallifrey be gone?"

Lane let Jack go, and followed behind the Doctor, listening in.

"It burnt."

"And the Time Lords?"

"Dead. And the Daleks. More or less. What happened to you?"

"The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be the perfect warrior for a Time War."

Pain sparked in Lane's head at those words.

"Hetamax, did you have someone in particular that you are keen on resurrecting for the war?" Silence fell across the room, and the Outcast rapped his knuckles on the wooden platform in front of him, in the beat of the drums- of a Time Lord's heartbeat.

"Are you sure? Hetamax, you only get to choose one. You have to be sure about this, Outcast."

He took a deep breath. "The Master. Bring back Koschei."

"You loved him, right next to the Doctor. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment!" Rassilon snarled at him.

"He would be the perfect warrior in a Time War. I chose Koschei."

'I need my Master and my Doctor, right next to me.'

"No." She said suddenly, which startled both of the other Time Lords.

"No?" The Doctor asked.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" The Master asked from the phone.

"It was a choice. My choice. They gave me a choice, which one I wanted resurrected. I chose you. That was my excuse- perfect warrior for a Time War. My real reason, was that I needed my Master and my Doctor, right beside me."

"I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. I ran. I ran so far. Made myself human so they would never find me, because I was so scared." The Master said, trying to instill regret and guilt into the Outcast.

It worked.

"I know, I was selfish, and I'm sorry. But I learned my lesson. I really did." The last sentence was quieter and filled with an emotion that quickly overcame both of their minds. But it didn't make any sense.

It was… Maroon?

"And I ran to. So much farther than you." She laughed, but it wasn't that morbid childish laughter this time. It was a bitter laugh that sounded far away…

And her eyes dimmed. "All of them?" The Master asked.

"But not you 2."

"I was the only one who could end it." The Doctor said softly.

"And I tried, I did, I tried everything." The Doctor continued.

"What did it feel like, though?" The Master asked.

"Two almighty civilizations, burning. Oh, tell me. How did that feel?"

"I watched it." Lane suddenly cut in, but her eyes weren't there.

She was stuck in a memory.

"I bet it hurt like hell." She continued.

"Look at what one of your best friends did." A woman stood next to him, watching the screen in front of them.

"He saved the universe-!" The Outcast tried, pushing on his restraints again and stifling a cry of pain. 'My damn broken wrists…'

She turned swiftly to look at him, eyes flashing that grey purple.

"He committed double genocide! How stupid are you?!" Silence, and she turned back to the screen.

"Just watch, Outcast. Watch all your friends and family burn."

"Will the Doctor die?"

"No, he has to live with what he's done." She answered, a hard tone settling on her voice.

Silence again. And then he asked, "Will the Master die?"

"No, he ran away. Just like you. Both of you are cowards."

And then the fateful question.

"Will I die?" He asked tentatively.

"No. You need to live with this. Because this is your fault. You shouldn't have told Rassilon your dreams. You could have prevented it."

"The Time War was my fault you know. I could have prevented it. But I had to go and tell that stupid prick Rassilon my dream." The other 2 had been trying to tune in to her memories, but they only got bits and pieces.

But the memory she had just relapsed into burned hot in their minds.

"Who was that?" The Doctor finally asked.

She shook her head slightly.

"She… she's gone for now."

"For now?" The Master asked.

"Infiltration. A wolf in sheep's clothing." But then she realized what she said and laughed, that morbid childish laugh was back.

"Sorry, you don't know the joke. That's what they are. Wolves."

She was done laughing.

"Master, your plan isn't going to work. Not that we're going to stop you. But it's not going to work."

"Can you hear the drumming?" The Master suddenly asked them.

"No."

"Yes." The Doctor looked up at her shocked.

"If you think about it, Master. Then I'll hear it. Loud, in my head. And the colors will bleed in, and damn it, it's so annoying!"

There was silence.

"Next time we see each other, I'll explain what it is to you, if you like."

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Maybe." She kept a straight face, but at the Doctor's face, she snorted.

"Sorry, joking. Not that I'm saying I would never date you, but that's not what I had been implying before."

She tuned out their fighting after that.

She looked up to see the television, the Doctor's, Martha's, and Jack's faces splayed across the screen.

And then there was hers.

She was their Hostage in the eyes of the public.

"Really, I'm a hostage?" She asked suddenly.

"Of course. I'd rather have you here with me then out in a prison or executed somewhere."

She turned to look at the camera once she heard the next words of his, after tuning out again.

"Why not start by turning to the right?"

"He can see us!" The Doctor took out his sonic and pointed it at the Camera. It chattered and sparked, causing Lane to take a step back and put her arms up for protection.

"Ooh! You public menace! Better start running. Go on, run."

The Doctor flipped the phone shut, staring into space.

"He's got control of everything." The Doctor said sullenly.

"What do we do?" Martha asked flatly.

"We've got nowhere to go." Jack said, resigned.

"Doctor, what do we do?" Martha pleaded.

"Run, Doctor. Run for your life!" The Master's voice rang in Lane's head harshly.

Their feet pounded on the floor as they ran down the walkway, passing a man leaned on the wall.

"I said, run!"

"Tomorrow morning, Britain will be welcoming an extraterrestrial species."

"The president is said to be furious that Great Britain has taken unilateral action."

A man speaking Cantonese relayed this message again.

And then TellaTubbies came on.

The Blonde woman, Ava, spoke directly into the thoughts of the 'Toclafane'.

Her plan was going perfectly. The Last Three Time Lords.

She had gotten the decapitated humans on her side easily- Archangel had actually been her idea, and the plan she had forming was working.

Working spectacularly well.

Except… had it been a good choice to show the Outcast? Ava gritted her teeth.

Oh well. As long as the Master was stupid enough to believe he was in control, the Doctor was anti-violent enough to not kill her, and the Outcast was afraid enough to not rat her out, she was fine. All of them were working in her favor.

She was so close to getting the Outcast back.

Too bad she couldn't keep the others. The Doctor would be set free, too smart of a prisoner. The Master would be killed, to insane to be a prisoner. Well… maybe she could use their life forces as energy.

That sounded like a good plan.

A great plan.

"How was it?" Jack asked once Martha got back from shopping.

"I don't think anybody saw me."

"I've got this tuned in to the Government wavelengths so we can see what Saxon's doing."

"Yeah, I meant about my family."

Wait, she asked something? Lane looked up in confusion.

She ignored the rest of the conversation in favor of the chips in her lap.

"So, Doctor…" Jack started. "Who is he?"

Lane looked up, and noticed that Jack's eyes were on here.

"How come the Ancient Society of Time Lords created a psychopath?"

"He's not a psychopath!" Lane suddenly yelled coldly. It caused everyone to jump. She hadn't gotten mad the whole time they knew her, even if it wasn't a long time, they were already used to her going either sullen or childish.

"What is he to you?" Martha asked, watching Lane sit up and put her chips on the table.

"He was my fault. It was… near the end. Of the time war, right before I ran. They wanted to… they didn't want to die. They knew what was happening. Doctor, they knew you stole the Moment. And I told them. About my dream. Another one." She laughed, humorless and bitter. "That's what started the Time War. My dreams. Anyways… The prophecy… the last three… the drum beat… the signal…"

She struggled to reign in her tears.

"I… I didn't want to. To tell them. They forced me to… Rassilon was such a prick."

She shivered.

"I ran out after. There was the screaming, the pounding, and I ran. I caused them to put the drum beat in his head. Their plan… it was so twisted, so dark. I… I'm so sorry."

Then she broke down, and sobbed. The Doctor stood slowly and wrapped his arms around her, just letting her cry.

"It's alright. It wasn't your fault."

"But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect." Jack said softly.

The Doctor pulled Lane with him as they sat down.

She just kept weeping into his chest.

"Well, perfect to look at, maybe. And it was. It was beautiful. Used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems." The Doctor answered, and kissed the Outcast's forehead softly.

She let go slowly and turned to look at them, getting back in her seat and grabbing her chips.

"And on the continent of wild endeavor, in the mountains of solace and solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords. I worked there, you know." She said, and ate some of her chips.

"The oldest and most mighty race in the universe, looking down on the Galaxies below." The Doctor added, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Sworn never to interfere. Only to watch." Lane bit her lip and fell silent after she said that. What was she supposed to do? Listen, probably. She hadn't been doing enough of that.

"Children of Gallifrey are taken from their families, age of 8, to enter the Academy. Some say that's where it all began, when he was a child."

"Then it couldn't have been your fault at all, Outcast." Martha told her, and she had reel back her glare. "We're Time Lords. I don't suppose that means we have Time Powers, right? Oh wait. We do."

The Doctor looked about ready to snap at her, until he realized her tone of voice.

He ignored it, instead.

"That was when the Master saw eternity. As a Novice, he was taken for initiation. He stood in front of the untampered schism. It's a… gap in the fabric of reality. Through which could be seen the whole of the Vortex." The Doctor continued.

"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." Lane quoted softly.

The Doctor looked to her for a second, then snapped to look somewhere else.

"You stand there, 8 years old, staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired, some would run away, and some would go mad."

"What about you, Doctor?" Martha asked.

"Oh, the ones that ran away, I never stopped."

"And you?" Jack asked Lane.

"Hmm? Oh, I was one of the rare few they had to restrain because I almost jumped in."

Jack's wrist band started beeping. "Encrypted channel, with files attached." He read, and Lane sighed, tuning them out again.

Boring really. She wished something big would happen.

"You work for Torchwood?" She suddenly heard, and she nearly choked on her chips.

"What?"

"I swear to you, it's different. It's changed. There's only a half dozen of us now."

Oh, boring, get to the good parts!

Archangel, dead woman, sonic screwdriver…

Beep Beep Beep-Beep.

The Doctor closed the phone.

She finally really tuned in when the keys were made.

"4 Tardis keys. 4 pieces of the Tardis, all with low-level perception-properties, because the Tardis is designed to blend in."

Lane snorted at what the Doctor said. "Blend in? That's like that one neon pink room in a stack of pale blue ones." She said snidely.

He half glared at her, and then continued, "The Archangel Network's got a second Low-Level signal. Weld the key to the network and… Martha, look at me. You can see me, yes?" He asked, stepping back with a key.

"Yep." She answered.

"What about now?" The Doctor asked again, putting on the key.

Martha tried hard to look at him.

"Hello, over here, look at me." His voice came muffled in her hearing.

"It's like… I know you're there, but I don't want to know."

"And…" He took the key off. "Back again, see? It just shifts your perception a tiny little bit."

"Do you think that's going to work, though? The Archangel network is devised to gently push HUMAN minds in the direction they want it to go. Not Time Lords. Koschei will see us."

"Who?" Martha asked, and Jack gave Lane a confused look.

"The keys will still do its job."

Then he started to run off. "Oh, I know what it's like, it's like when you fancy someone and it's like they don't even know you exist." And he ran off again.

"He's an idiot, isn't he?" Lane said, and they all ran to catch up.

"Don't run, don't shout, draw attention to yourself, and the spell is broken." The Doctor warned.

"Just keep to the shadows like ghosts." Lane said, and she stalked forward, in front of them.

"Let me go first, I'll be back."

She kept going, ignoring their protests, and caught up to where the Master was, alone. She silently went behind him, and was just about to put the key on him, when he turned, startling her, and grabbed her face.

He pushed his lips onto hers hard, and she practically melted into the kiss.

"Found you." He whispered.

"And as the eyes of the world turn towards Great Britain, sources indicate that Air Force One has landed on British soil tonight."

Cars and people flocked to where the Master and Lane were.

The Master held onto her hand, looking into her eyes for a moment, then back to the people.

She tried hard not to notice the blonde behind her with the wolf eyes. For fear that if the Master or anyone else found out, that she would kill them. Or beat her.

Or something worse.

But the wall around her mind stayed firm.

The President walked up to them.

"Mr. President, Sir!" The Master saluted.

"Mr. Saxon, the British Army will stand down."

The President glared.

"From now on, UNIT has control of this operation."

"You make it sound like an invasion." Lane added in, watching him quizzically.

"The first contact policy was decided by the Security Council in 1968, and you've just gone and ignored it."

"There's a policy about First Contact? But what about the skeptics?" Lane asked.

"There was undeniable proof." The President answered.

"Well, you know what it's like, new job, all that paperwork. I think it's down the back of the settee."

Lane almost laughed at that. Seriously? That was the oldest excuse in the book, right next to, 'The dog ate it.'

"I did have a quick look. I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket, and, uh- have you met my girlfriend, Lane?"

Oh no he did not.

But Lane forced a smile at the President and nodded to him.

"Mr. Saxon, I'm not sure what game you're playing, but there are provisions at the U.N. to have you removed from office unless you are very, very careful. Is that understood?"

The Master zipped his lips, and Lane fought back another laugh.

"Are you taking this seriously?"

The Master nodded, casting a look at Lane.

"To business." The President said then.

"We've accessed your files on these… Toclafane. But First Contact cannot take place on any sovereign-."

Sovereign, Sovereign, Sovereign… Another Time Lord, dead now. The Outcast's previous mentor…

"-soil. To that purpose, the air craft carrier Valiant is en route."

No, her premonition?

"The rendezvous will take place there, at 8:00 AM."

The Master mumbled through his 'locked' lips, and Lane fought back another laugh.

He really needed to stop that.

"You're trying my patience, Sir." The President said through gritted teeth.

The Master signaled for one moment, and unzipped his lips.

Lane chanced a quick look behind her. There was the Doctor, Martha, and Jack.

There was also the wolf woman. She turned back to the President a split second later.

"So America is completely in charge?" The Master asked.

"Since Britain elected an ass, yes!" There the dam broke, and Lane giggled, burying her face in the Master's arm to stop laughing.

"I'll see you on board the Valiant!" He was… HOPPING… mad!

She got sent into another fit of giggles.

"It still… will be televised, though." She finally calmed herself, and let go of the Master, looking to the President.

"Won't it? Because I promised. And the whole world is watching." The Master stated.

"Since it's too late to pull out, the whole world will be watching. Me." And with that, the President left.

"The last president of America." He whispered into Lane's ear.

"We have a private plane ready and waiting. We should reach the Valiant within the hour." He told her.

"And this was your plan?"

"It's starting." He answered, pulling her along. She chanced another look behind her at the 3, and the wolf.

"My Darling." She was led by officers to the plane, as the Master watched the 3 silently. Then he followed.

"That was idiotic on her part." Jack finally said.

And then a police car came, carrying Martha's family.

"Oh, my god." Martha whispered.

"Don't move." The Doctor warned.

"But the-."

"Don't!"

"I'm going to kill him."

"What say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?" Jack asked.

"Now that sounds like Torchwood."

"Still a good plan."

"He's a Time Lord. Which makes him the Outcast's and my responsibility. We're not here to kill him- we're here to save him."

"She doesn't like that name." Jack said suddenly.

"What?" The Doctor looked to him sharply.

"She flinches when you use it- she prefers Lane." He finished, setting his Time Vortex Manipulator to the Valiant.

And they teleported to the Valiant.

Lane followed the Master slowly, watching in almost Awe at the inside of the Valiant.

"Anything I can do? I can make tea! Or isn't that American enough? I don't know, I could make grits. What are grits, anyway?" The Master offered.

"Could make hamburgers." Lane added with a shrug, earning a glare from the President.

"If you could just sit." He ordered, annoyed.

"Misery guts…" The Master whispered.

"What do you think? It's good, isn't it?" He asked Lane, and she gave a half glare. "Really, you're asking me?" She gave him a withering look. "I think you're going a tad bit far."

"Oh, what do you know?"

"The whole of past, present, and future." She shrugged, and earned a playful glare from the Master.

What was she doing, they weren't friends anymore!

"I helped design this place." He pulled out her chair, then sat next to her.

"Every detail."

The Tardis doors opened and shut behind the group of 3, the Doctor, Jack, and Martha.

"What the hell's he done?" Jack asked, hard voice. He looked at the middle of the Tardis in horror.

"Don't touch it!" The Doctor warned.

"I'm not going to." He assured.

"What's he done, though?" Martha asked. "Sounds like it's… sick." She continued.

"It can't be." The Doctor whispered in horror.

"No, no, no, no, it can't be."

"Doctor, what is it?" Jack asked.

"He's cannibalized the Tardis."

"Is this what I think it is?" Jack asked, voice cracking slightly with anxiety.

"It's a paradox machine."

Lane tapped on the table with an unknown rhythm that the Master tried hard to understand.

Tap-Tap, tap, tap, tap.

"What is that?" He finally asked.

"Color coded. Remember, I have Synesthesia. It makes beautiful colors when I tap this beat. Better than your drums."

Before he could answer, the President yelled, "2 minutes, everyone!"

The Master checked his watch.

"According to the treaty, all armed personnel are requested to leave the flight deck immediately."

Lane looked into the Ava's eyes, just as they flashed purple.

'She's planning something.' Lane mused.

"Jelly baby?" The Master offered, and she snorted with laughter, nodding and taking one.

"Broadcasting at 7:58, with the arrival timed for 800 hours exactly." The President announced.

"Can't he just say 8:00 AM like the rest of us?" She asked the Master, and he shrugged.

She didn't really want to listen to the ravings of this sad old man, who was going to die soon. But… it wasn't the Master who sanctioned it? What?

Ambassador... Toclafane… ooh, the group has walked in!

"I give you, the Toclafane!"

This is going to end badly.

"My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President-Elect of the United States of America, and designated representative of the United Nations."

The Master smiled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Lane warned suddenly. He looked to her sharply, confusion clear on his face. "What?"

"Think you've won. The little bitch is going to take over." He nearly choked on his Jelly Baby. "Did you just curse?!"

"You're not the Mistress."

"What?!" The Master asked, eyes wide.

"We like the Wolf Mistress."

"We don't like you."

"Would you prefer a woman?" The President asked in confusion.

"I could get you a woman if that's what you so wish."

"Man is stupid."

"Mistress is our friend."

"Where's my Mistress? Pretty please?"

"Oh, alright then." Ava stood and spun to the middle of the room.

"It's me! Sorry for the confusion, but I'm taking over from here."

"Wh-what?" The Master spluttered.

"What?!" The Doctor's voice rang out, drawing attention to the group.

"I don't know what it is about me. Is it the blonde, the sense of humor, the teeth?" She grinned, showing those pointy canines. To pointy for a human.

"Miss, what are you talking about?"

She smiled at the President. "I've secretly been in charge the whole time. I've been willing 'Mr. Saxon'-..." Cue those air quotes, "The whole time." She turned and grabbed Lane's hand, pulling her to stand next to her. Labe whimpered in fear.

"All for the prize of my favorite doll. Which I lost. Well, it was stolen."

She glared at the President. "Don't you just hate when the other kids steal your toys?" She suddenly turned into a red head with sparkling blue eyes, that turned to purple grey right after. And they didn't flash. They stayed like that.

"I'm taking control. Starting with you. Kill him."

Ash fell to the ground where the president once stood.

"No one move~!" She sang, and ran to where the president once was, pulling Lane with her.

"Doctor, Master, Martha, and Jack." She sneered.

"We haven't met yet. Kill the Master"

"NO!" Lane screamed, and Ava's hand immediately raised to stop the 'Toclafane'.

"No?" She asked.

"If you do, I won't listen. I'll kill myself now and won't regenerate." She seethed, and Ava watched her balefully.

"Alright. Take them. Don't kill any of the 4." At Lane's look, she added, "Or the Jones."

She smiled, and watched the 4 get tied to chairs.

"This was fun, wasn't it?" She leaned to look at them.

"Oh Martha… Martha, Martha, Martha. Little girl." She said darkly.

"Is it time? Is it ready?"

"Is the machine singing?"

Ava threw her head back.

"Oh, my children. You are ready! Go, be the predatory wolves I brought you up to be!"

There was so many, swarming the skies, going down and killing them.

"Remove 1/10th of the population." She laughed.

Martha grabbed at her wrist slowly, and pressed the button, tears streaming down her face.

"Now, Outcast. Shall we play a game?" Ava asked, smirking at the Time Lord.

"Mistress of all. Do you like that?"

TBC

Cast

Doctor – David Tennant

Martha Jones – Freema Agyeman

Captain Jack Harkness – John Barrowman

The Master – John Simm

Lane (The Outcast) – Georgie Hanley

Wolf Mistress Ava Version 1 – Elize Du Toit

Wolf Mistress Ava Version 2 – Rachel Hurd-Wood

Francine Jones – Adjoa Andoh

Tish Jones – Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Clive Jones – Trevor Laird

Leo Jones – Reggie Yates

President Winters – Colin Stinton

Sphere Voices – Zoe Thorne; Gerard Logan; Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis

Authoress: KarrineGenesis a.k.a. Karrine Schwimley

Next Time on the Last Three:

"Who is she?" The Doctor asked Lane, watching as Lane sat staring at nothing.

"You wanted to know what the drum beat was- I'm sure Lane will be glad to tell you now!" Ava chirped insanely.

A bullet left the barrel of the gun and lodged itself into Jack's head.

"Back at the Time War… a boy found me in the forest." Lane said, sobbing.

"What is that?" Martha asked in horror. "The stars are made of diamonds."

Doctor: Next chapter is going to be insanely harder to write.

Me: I know, I have to really develop Ava. Jeeze…

Master: So annoying to have to develop an OC. I think you're doing pretty well with Lane.