Back in the present now as Part 1 nears its end.

Chapter 4: Heart-stopping Horror

"We only just escaped from them. And it was never known what truly happened to Menkaure." The Doctor's eyes flicked open as he came back to the present. "We just continued travelling." He smiled fondly and gripped the walking stick tightly. "Good old TARDIS… saved us again. And this cane saved the Pharaoh."

"And what of the others?" Martha, who'd been listening to the story with great intrigue, leaned forward. "What happened to Ian, Barbara… to Susan?"

The Doctor's face fell and his eyes welled up with tears. "Susan fell in love with a freedom fighter on a future Earth. She felt responsible for me, but I felt she needed to move on, have her own life. I- I left her there." He sniffed and wiped his tears away. "Ian and Barbara made it back to their own time, give or take a year. I don't know what happened next."

"You left your own granddaughter?" Martha's eyes widened with shock. "What happened then? Is she still alive?"

"I don't reckon so," the Doctor muttered sadly. "I can't prove it, but the Time Lords are gone. As far as I know, I'm all alone now."

In the control room, the lone figure sniggered slightly and shook his head. "Oh Doctor, if only that were true…"

"Well, I'm not letting you die here!" Martha got to her feet and grabbed the Doctor's arm. "There has to be something we can do!"

"I've told you, I don't have most of my memories any more," the Doctor groaned. "Well, apart from the odd consistency. I mean, how do I really know the Time Lords are gone? I have memories, rogue ones; I can see the Medusa Cascade…"

Angrily, Martha grabbed him by his jacket lapels and pulled him towards her face. "We have your earliest memories, and we'll go through those items one by one until you have them all, but you won't give up!"

"Why, Miss Martha Jones…" The Doctor smirked cheekily. "I can see right up your nostrils."

Martha quickly let go and while the Doctor straightened out his suit, she went back into the room and gathered up the other items. She placed the smaller items into her pockets, hooked the umbrella on her arm and then went back out to join her friend.

"Right then," the Doctor declared. "Let's look around and see if any of these display cases have weapons. Swords, guns, elastic bands, anything. Just remember not to touch the force walls with bare skin; find something to break the field or else you'll get a nasty shock."

"Got it." Martha snatched up the walking stick and set off into the museum.

While he waited, the Doctor suddenly noticed the camera for the first time and narrowed his eyes, as if he could see the figure spying on him. "Just who are you, and what are you doing with all this stuff? What's your connection with me?"

The figure frowned as he saw the Doctor glaring at him on the screen. "This isn't good, not at all. We can't have you getting stronger again, Doctor. That spoils the whole point of it. And I do so hate having my games spoiled."

His face contorted into a grin as he leaned over the control panel. "I know you so well, Doctor. Your thoughts, you dreams… I wanted them destroyed." He then pressed a button on the panel. "I want you to be so broken that you'll be forced to regenerate."

On the screen, the Doctor suddenly grunted and staggered back in pain, making the figure laugh. "And then, Doctor… then you'll be mine!"

After a quick search, Martha came back towards the room, carrying in her arms a strange harpoon, a length of rope and something that looked like a metallic spider. "I've found a couple of things that might be weapons, but then they could be anything, really. The good news is that the Voord helmet is labelled again, which means that your memories are secure-"

Suddenly she heard the Doctor cry out and ran round the corner – just in time to see him collapse to the floor!

"Doctor!" she cried out, dropping the weapons and running to his side. "No! You got your memories back! They made you stronger!"

"Sorry, Martha," the Doctor groaned, pushing up on his hands and knees. "Looks like… it was temporary. I don't think- ARGH!" He suddenly grunted and grabbed the right side of his chest.

Martha was terrified. "Doctor?"

"One of my hearts… just stopped. I'm only running on the one now…" The Doctor turned his face and stared at Martha with a panicked look. "Whoever it is… they want me to…"

"What?" Martha yelled, grabbing his shoulders. "Who are 'they'? What do they want?"

"No! I can't let them… do whatever they want to do… I can't… I won't…" He gave out a rasping breath and his eyes flickered shut. "Goodbye… Martha…" Then with a last sigh, he slumped to the floor.

"Doctor?" Martha shook him roughly, but there was no response from the Time Lord. "Doctor!"

Dun dun DUUUUUNNNN!

Is this truly the end for the Doctor? Who is this mysterious figure? Will Martha be able to escape the museum? And what exactly has happened to the TARDIS? Tune in for the answers in Part 2! (Which will be posted in this story)

P.S. I am fully caught up on the Doctor Who series thus far, so please don't post anything about it.