Survivors of Gallifrey
By Lumendea
Chapter Ten: Valiant Child
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who and write only for the fun of it.
AN: Okay ten chapters down and we are finally through Utopia. I warn you, this chapter contains a lot of violence of the pub brawl sort.
….
"Let us in!" The Doctor yelled into the lab as he and Jack desperately struggled to open the door.
"Professor," he shouted. The Doctor grew increasingly panicked as the future kind closed in on them. "Rose!"
The Master glanced at the door and chuckled as he removed the guidance chip for Utopia and put it into his pocket. Leaning over Chantho's corpse, he fingered the gun and frowned. Picking it up, he kept it in his hand and welcomed the weight of a deadly weapon as he heard the Doctor shouting. He savoured it for a moment, the fear in his voice, the desperation and his own satisfaction at having the Doctor so cornered. A million memories surged through his brain: their old academy days, the Autons, the Death Zone and all their battles over many regenerations.
The Master allowed himself only a brief moment of memory before turning to the plan that was falling into place in his mind. Disconnecting the cables running between the TARDIS and the machines, the Master stepped into the TARDIS and breathed in the smell of time that hung on the machine's controls. Only he and the Doctor could smell it, only they could savour it and now he would take it. Looking back over his shoulder as he heard the outer door open, his eyes met the Doctor's and they both stopped. Smirking at the Doctor's horrified face, he shut the TARDIS door securely and locked it.
Rose frowned as she stopped moving in the hall and listened. The TARDIS door had just shut, she had been returning to the control room when she heard the thud of it slamming. Taking a deep breath and preparing herself to face the Doctor, Rose kept walking toward the console room. Blinking in surprise when she found Professor Yana, Rose glanced around for the Doctor.
"Professor Yana, what is going on?"
He turned to her and gave her a warm smile, but somehow it was different from before. Rose stopped and looked at him carefully, trying to put her finger on what was different. For a moment neither of them moved.
"Ah my dear, Rose." His small smile shifted into a smirk as he reached down and pushed the comm button. Rose gasped as she heard the Doctor screaming for him to let them in. She moved for the door until Yana pulled a gun out and pointed it at her. Shaking his head, he softly said, "I'm sorry my dear, but I rather like the idea of the Doctor dying at the end of the universe while I run off with his TARDIS and his human love."
He looked away from her for a moment to adjust the controls, but it was all Rose needed.
Lunging forward, Rose knocked the gun out of his hands and grabbed it off the floor. She could feel her heart beat in her ears and the familiar adrenaline in her system. Desperation and fear clouded her entire mind and the odd itching in her eyes made it hard to focus on Professor Yana. Pointing the gun at him with a steady hand, she backed toward the door to open it with slow movements.
"Don't move Professor!"
Rose risked glancing for the lock. He snarled at her and hit one of the TARDIS buttons making the ship shake without lifting off. Rose fell to the side, grabbing onto one of the rails as she reached for the lock. The gun fell to the floor and she grabbed desperately for the lock to let the Doctor. Both she and the Master were so distracted they barely noticed the gun slide to the side and become wedged near the door.
"I'm begging you everything has changed!" the Doctor shouted to the Master as Timothy and Jack struggled behind him to out the future kind. He couldn't see them, couldn't hear them, even as his mind was aware of them. Right now, they simply didn't register as every part of his brain was geared to trying to find a solution. He was the Doctor, he could do anything and he could stop this before it got worse. He had to. "It's just the two of us now!" The Doctor's mouth was dry from fear, Rose was in the TARDIS. Rose was in the TARDIS with the Master. The Master knew about them. These thoughts keep repeating and repeating in his mind, filling him with fear. "Master please," he yelled using his foe's name. "Please let me in!"
The Master turned to the controls and hit the other locking system as Rose struggled with it. "It won't open now," he hissed to her. He watched in satisfaction as she turned to him.
"Open it and let me out," Rose demanded. "Just let me out."
"The Futurekind are out there, my dear."
Rose raised her chin defiantly. "Better them than you."
The Master shook his head and said, "Oh my dear Rose, I wouldn't worry so much." He began setting in a flight for the TARDIS. "The Doctor does have a gift for finding his way out of trouble. My plans include him. Now be a good little companion and stay quiet."
Rose frowned as Yana looked over the TARDIS controls. Her eyes traced the area near the door in search of the gun. Reaching up, she tried to the lock again, but it still wouldn't open. Then her eyes found the gun, wedged under one of the ramp supports. Silently, she picked up the gun from the floor and pointed it up at Yana.
"Open the door," she said calmly. "Open the door or I'll shoot."
He chuckled and softly said, "Oddly enough, I believe you. Not a trait I would have thought the Doctor would be attracted to." Yana turned to her and moved in front of the controls. "It is sad how far my fellow Time Lord has fallen. A human child. If he hadn't been thrown out of Gallifrey long ago, this would have put him back into exile," the Master taunted. His gaze intensified and shifted from mocking to a dark curiosity. "So tell me." He stepped forward with a wild look in his eyes. "What did it feel like when you took in the Time Vortex." He moved closer to her and grinned madly. "Tell me, tell the Master what it felt like," the Master pressed. "Did you hear the drums?"
Rose stared at him in shock, the look in his eyes frightening her down the core as he approached her with no fear of the gun. "Tell me!"
He suddenly lunged forward to grab the gun. Rose tightened her grip and pushed against the Master's frailer and aged body. He stumbled backwards but tightened his grip on the trigger. Eyes widening, Rose twisted her arm as he fired the gun. They both gasped as the shot hit him and their eyes locked in startled realisation. His body fell to the right of them, but the movement set the gun off again.
Rose leapt back as a shower of sparks exploded from the TARDIS controls, throwing her hands over her eyes and grabbing hold of the rail. She finally uncovered her eyes as the sparks stopped and the Master slowly pulled himself up. He glared at her in raw rage, one hand covering his bloody wound.
"That was very stupid, my dear," he growled.
Outside, the Doctor flinched at the sound of the shots. "Rose!?" he yelled in horror, "Rose?!" Behind him, Jack almost let go of the door and also yelled for their friend. Timothy bit his lip and pushed against the door in anger, biting his lip and searching his mind for any sign or feeling that Rose was alright. Right now he'd take any hint he could that things weren't as bad as they seemed. The Doctor's face was twisted in a pained grimace. "Rose!? What happened? Rose, please answer me!"
The Master savoured the rush of energy in him, embraced the flow of power all through his aged cells. It hurt, no doubt of that. This body, this form that the Time Lords had given him had spent too much time as a human and was not suited to a smooth regeneration. Still, he felt all the old cells breaking down beyond his DNA and being rearranged by the power of the Time Lords. He stumbled as the energy suddenly cut off and grabbed onto the controls before falling forward.
Rose swallowed and looked at the unconscious man in front of her. Shaking herself out of it, she turned to the door and tried to pry it open. She sighed in relief when she heard the Doctor yelling outside for her.
"I'm fine!" she yelled. "He's regenerated, Doctor." Pulling at the door she starting shaking as it refused to open. "How do I open the door?"
She listened for the Doctor's answer over the roars of the Futurekind, but she couldn't hear him. She did hear the Master pull himself up off the floor. Turning, she spun the gun, but in his new body, he had the advantage.
The Master threw his weight against Rose, knocking her head back into the TARDIS door. He took in the crack with a smirk as it was accompanied by the Doctor's renewed screams. Surely the Futurekind would deal with him soon. He couldn't wait around forever to see how this ended. Rose Tyler fought against him for another moment until he snapped her head back again. The gun fell again to the floor and she slid from his grasp, unconscious.
Picking up the gun, the Master shook his head and hit the comm again, "All fire that one Doctor." The Master grinned at the sound of his own voice."Hello! Oh, new voice! Hello. Hello. Hello." The Master's new regeneration paused. "Well, let's see shall I tell you all my plans so you can come up with a way to stop me?" he asked mockingly. "I think not. In fact, I think that it is time to go."
Smiling, the Master set the gun down on the console as he reached for the controls intent on setting a new course, only to be hit with a right hook from the side. The Master stumbled to the side and blinked as Rose grabbed the gun and wiped the blood from her head wound that was flowing into her eyes. Sighing, the Master shook his head.
"Don't you know when to quit, Rose Tyler?"
Then moving quickly, the Master took advantage of Rose's worsening balance and condition. She was swaying on her feet from the blood loss. Twisting Rose's arm, the Master fought her for the gun. It had one shot left and he did not intend to be killed by a stupid human girl again. Holding her neck tightly, the Master pinned her left hand behind her against the rail and turned his focus to the gun.
Rose gasped for air, fighting off the edges of darkness that were invading her sight and trying to twist the gun around for one more shot at the Master. She tightened her finger on the trigger and squeezed it, but he twisted away far enough and the shot flew past him and into the TARDIS controls.
A section of the controls exploded and sparked wildly. Rose fell back with a pained groan and looked over at the section. The section shuddered and sparked again before he fell open and a golden light spilled out into the TARDIS console room. The Master shuddered and leapt back from the light, drawing himself to the other side of the control room. Rose slipped to the floor, leaning against the railing as her eyes were drawn to the TARDIS' wound. The golden glow intensified in the console room and shook the TARDIS.
The Doctor gaped at the TARDIS, the light shining out into the lab through the small windows. Swallowing, he took a step back and shuddered. Behind him, he heard the Futurekind scream in horror and heard their retreating footsteps. Jack's voice told Timothy to look away, but the Doctor knew that they weren't the ones in danger.