Donna kissed her niece on the cheek gratefully, her heart feeling very grateful towards her for being so brave despite feeling very sweaty. "You fought her off with a water pistol. I bloody love you."
Thyra giggled, feeling very pleased with herself. Good old TARDIS for giving her a water pistol. She was going to thank her later when they got home.
"Language Donna." Romana laughed slightly, shaking her head before she pointed ahead of her. "I think we shall head this way." She trudged forwards, Thyra following after her quickly with her father following behind and then Donna.
"Where are we going now?" Donna wondered as they moved forwards.
"Unfortunately, into the Volcano itself." Braxiatel replied grimly. "Thyra, you best be making Geography notes on this for we are testing you when we get back."
"Daddy, now is not the time." Thyra pointedly told him but she knew he was right. If she wanted to learn and be as intelligent as her parents, then this was the way to do it.
"No way." Donna choked, not wanting to go any further. Were they seriously considering going into the deep pit of the Volcano with a four year old child? Wait, four? But Thyra was three when she met her. Donna shook her head. She was going to ask Romana exactly how Time-Lord's aged when they got out of this mess.
"Undesirably so." Romana replied, feeling very much like Donna but they trudged forwards through the tunnels towards Vesuvius. She didn't want to head down here but Romana knew they had no other choice but to do so despite Thyra being at risk from the Volcano and the Pyroviles that were hunting them this instant.
Thyra slipped slightly and grazed her hands but with her being a Time-Lord, the wounds slowly began to heal and he carried her the rest of the way, knowing Thyra is feeling slightly tired and knew it was difficult to clamber through the rocks in her Time-Tot robes and she has been very good so far and had not needed a nap which was a positive sign.
"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right? For either one of you to stop it?" Donna wondered. The Time-Lord's couldn't leave the volcano to erupt right? Letting it kill all those people?
"Remember what I said about history Donna. We can not rewrite history-not one line." Romana replied, making her way carefully down.
"Well, I'm history too. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"
"There are certain points in time that are fixed." Romana began, quickly pulling her hair into a messy bun as she walked. "Some points in time are flux. When we saved you, that was a flux point in time. Pompeii however, is a fixed point in time."
Donna looked at them, baffled. Was this how the Time-Lord's always talked? None of it really made any sense to her and she wondered if she could join in on some of Thyra's lessons about time."How do you know which is which?"
Braxiatel glanced at her, Thyra resting her head on his shoulders as she put her arms around him as they walked. "Because it's in our nature. It's how we see the universe. We can see what is, what was, what could be and what must not. Long ago there used to be an agency called the CIA which stood for Celestial Intervention Agency and they sometimes deal with threats in the universe. We used to have a lot of friends there in the CIA. But unfortunately, they are all gone now. All of them."
"Even Narvin?" Thyra asked sadly. She liked it when her parents talked about their home planet and their past and have often talked about Narvin who was an honourable friend of her mother's. Braxiatel had commented how Narvin was also a friend to him but an annoying one which made Thyra smile.
"Even Narvin, the old stuck up fool." He sighed dramatically. "We're the only ones left now Donna. It's our duty to do this."
Donna paused for a moment, letting that sink in before quickly following after the Time-Lord's. "How many people died?" She had the right to know. If all this was happening around her then she deserved to count how many people died in total today. All those children who turned to nothing but ash and cinder. She had the right to remember how many people died in this moment of time.
"You want to know? You really want to know?" Romana replied hauntingly, her eyes blazing with anger. "You want a history lesson too? Fine. Twenty thousand. Twenty thousand people die here today."
Donna shook her head.."Is that what you can all see? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?"
"No it's not all right." Romana breathed heavily, feeling infuriated. "This is Time Travel Donna. This is history and it's happening right here, right now. Thyra told us what you did with Evelina, Donna. Once history has been set in stone and has been written in history books, you cannot change the past no matter how dislike it!"
Suddenly they heard the screech of a Pyrovile. "Mummy, they found us." Thyra whimpered, burying her head deeper into her father's shoulders.
Romana took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and to compose herself together. "Indeed. We need to keep moving."
They ran through the tunnels of the Volcano, avoiding the pockets of flame and Thyra winced as a flame nearly struck her father suddenly but luckily he was unharmed and they arrived at a great cavern where they saw all the Pyroviles walking around. "We're right in the heart of the mountain." Romana breathed, her cheeks flushed from the heat.
"There's tons of 'em."
"I can see an escape pod in the distance," Braxiatel murmured, looking behind the Pyrovile. "We should make it to that."
Donna glanced around her nervously. "Well, you'd better hurry up and think of something. Rocky IV's on it's way."
Romana looked around studying the cavern before something spots her eyes as she saw the interior of a ship. "I think it's more than an escape pod Braxiatel." She replied. "Although, we do need to head towards it like you said."
"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe...it erupts and they launch themselves back in space or something?" Donna asked, still confused on why these aliens would want the volcano in the first place.
"I think it's something a lot worse than that." Braxiatel replied and Thyra nodded in agreement, watching her surroundings carefully.
Donna looked at them fearfully. "How can it be worse?" The Pyrovile that was chasing them gave a loud roar coming from behind and Donna glanced in it's direction fearfully before looking back at the Time family. "It's coming closer!"
Suddenly, Lucius appeared and he stood on some rocks high above them in the cavern, looking down upon them. "Heathens! Defilers! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"
"We need to run. Now!" Romana snapped and they began to run across the cavern floor to the escape pod.
"We can't go in!" Donna protested.
"Would you rather get burn by a Pyrovile?" Romana asked sarcastically but then they stopped suddenly as a Pyrovile rose in front of them and Thyra got out her water pistol and squirted it at the Pyrovile who shied away. Braxiatel kissed his daughter before smirking victoriously at Lucius before they continued to run.
"There is nowhere to run, President Romana and Cardinal Braxiatel, daughter of London and...not when the storm is in your wake." Lucius mocked, looking down upon them with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Romana stood in front of the pod, turning to face Lucius. "Oh no, we're not hiding." She began. Romana never hides away. "However, I do have one inquiry for you. Once this new race of creatures is complete, what is going to happen?" A Pyrovile walked towards them, crushing boulders in it's path and Thyra ducked her head low and Romana glanced at it apprehensively, not wanting it to come near her daughter.
"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself, an almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization."
"But why not go home? Why not use the technology to go back to Pyrovillia?" Romana wondered. Why stay here? There was nothing for the Pyrovillia here.
"The heaven of Pyrovilla is gone!"
Romana frowned. First the Adipose breeding planet had vanished and now the home of the Pyrovilliia too? This was worrying. Very, very worrying. Why were all these planets suddenly disappearing? "How? Why has it gone? The Pyrovillia home is not meant to have suddenly vanished."
"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for our new species to rise."
"But it's 70% water on Earth!" Romana protested before her eyes widened with realization. "Then again, you can boil water. Ah."
Braxiatel glanced at her. "Which means Earth is at stake once more my lady. Come, let's get inside!" He shifted Thyra slightly and Romana pushed Donna into the pod, following after them before she used her sonic screwdriver on the doors to lock them in and Braxiatel gently put Thyra down.
Donna looked at them, annoyed. "Could we be any more trapped?"
"Never say the word trapped. Never did like that word." Romana muttered, walking up beside Braxiatel when they felt a Pyrovile breath fire at the pod.
"Mummy, I'm hot." Thyra whined, loosening her collar on her robes. Next time she was going to ask her mummy if she could change her clothing into more suitable wear. Besides, these robes were getting too small for her now.
"I know darling, we all are and I'm sorry." Romana told her apologetically, kissing her on the head before looking Braxiatel. "The energy converter Braxiatel. Remember? The energy converter is to convert the lava and use it to create a fusion matrix to is to wield the Pyrovile to human. But they have it complete meaning not only they can convert a few but they can convert millions."
Donna looked at them with horror, her breathing quickened."Well, can't either one of you change it with these controls?"
"Obviously." Braxiatel replied. "But this is the point Donna. This is what we have been telling you all along. It explains why the soothsayers can not see the volcano because there is no volcano. It never happened. Vesuvius never erupts. It's the Pyrovile who are stealing all it's power to take over the Earth."
"But you can change it back?"
Romana looked at her woefully. "We can avert the system so the volcano will blow them sky high but...but the thing is Donna...this is the choice that we have to make. The choice I made for Gallifrey a very long time ago. Gallifrey or the universe. Pompeii or the world."
"Oh my god." Donna replied with horror, now understanding what Romana had to go through and how she was going to go through it once more. Both of them were terrible choices. Choices that Donna didn't wish upon anybody for neither had any positive outcome. Romana had to make the decision for her people and home planet and here she was, doing the same for Donna's and Donna felt a twinge of regret of her out-lash she made had made yesterday.
"If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history." Thyra began with a frown. "Does that mean we make it happen?"
"It does I'm afraid my love." Romana replied softly. Once history had been written in stone, it was impossible to rewrite it.
Donna looked at them desperately. "But the Pyrovile are made of rock. Maybe they can't be blown up."
Braxiatel began to work on the machinery quickly, his sonic pen in his hand. "Vesuvius will explode with the force of at least 24 nuclear bombs. We have to do this otherwise your future may fade away. Certainly not our future but yours might." He puts his hand on the lever before Thyra put her hand on top of his left and Romana on his right and Donna put her hand on top of Thyra's and he looked at all the women, not sure if he should feel responsible for so many deaths even in the course of saving the planet. Was this how Romana felt when she made this choice to destroy Gallifrey when the Time War itself had all ready destroyed half of the universe? Was this how she felt when she used the Moment against them? He looked into her eyes and knew he had his answers.
"We're in this together." Romana told him firmly, swallowing slightly. She had no joy in making this choice once more. Making this decision for Gallifrey was bad enough but now she had to do it for Pompeii. But she knew that if she didn't press the button then History would be unwritten and she did not want that. Not when it was already set in stone.
"Together." He swallowed and he glanced at Thyra who looked at him wide eyes. This is what they had to teach Thyra all about. The responsibility of Time Travel and what being a Time-Lady truly meant. He looked down at the lever before they pressed it down before they felt the pod being thrown into the air, making the four of them being thrown about the escape pod, Thyra whimpering and Romana struggled to reach hold of her daughter before they felt the pod land with a heavy thud.
Braxiatel opened the roof of the escape pod and climbed out, helping the women climb out and Donna and Thyra looking very shaken, Thyra trembling slightly and Braxiatel helped Romana out before he picked up Thyra, knowing she would not be able to run in this state. "We need to go back to the TARDIS." He told them and they all nodded in agreement.
As they ran, Thyra looked over her fathers shoulders and saw the volcano beginning to erupt and Romana grabbed Donna's hand and they began to run towards the streets of Pompeii. The streets were in chaos, the people running around in panic and were frightened and were screaming and shouting at each other, causing Thyra to cry in distress. She didn't like it. She didn't like the noise but she knew it had to happen as she wailed.
"Don't! Don't go to the beach! Don't go to the beach, go to the hills! Listen to me! Don't go to the beach, it's not safe! Listen to me!" Donna yelled as they ran, wanting to try and help many people as possible and she saw a little boy about Thyra's age who was also wailing just like Thyra, feeling scared and lost and alone and she went up to him. "Come here." She told him soothingly.
"Give him to me!" A woman screeched as she snatched her son away from Dona.
Donna stood there in the middle of devastation, crying and feeling devastated. Romana gently took hold of her hand and Donna couldn't understand how Romana had to live through this and the decision she made for her home planet. "Come on." Romana told her gently and they continued running towards Caecilius villa.
As they ran, Romana couldn't help but have flashbacks on when she destroyed Gallifrey. It was just like the last day of the Time war all over again. Hearing her people scream in desperation, lost children running around in the streets and screaming for their parents as the Daleks killed them off one by one before she had to blow them up. She snarled at herself, feeling self-loathing towards the memory and she pushed it to the side as they entered Caecilius's villa.
Thyra had managed to run the last part, holding onto her father's hand tightly in fear of not wanting to let go as they came upon the TARDIS, Romana and Donna behind them. They saw Caecilius family huddled together and covered in ash, looking fearful at them. "Gods save us, Romana, Braxiatel!" Caecilius cried. They tried to escape from their home but they couldn't. The entrance was blocked and they had no were to run to, not with the streets of Pompeii screaming in terror in his ears.
Braxiatel looked at them as did Romana before they opened the TARDIS door and were about to leave but Thyra stood her ground. "No!" She cried, standing firm.
"Thyra, now is not the time!" Braxiatel snapped at his daughter. His daughter better not be putting up a fight with them now. He would have a word with her later back in the TARDIS.
"I said no!" She folded her arms, stomping her feet to the ground harshly and Romana made her way towards her daughter but Thyra shook her head, tears cascading down her face as she looked up at her mother. "You owe Quintus a debt mummy! You owe him! He did save Daddy's life and now it's your turn to save his and his family!" Thyra cried, looking over towards Quintus and he and his family looked at her desperately. "And you never break your promises. Please mummy! Please!"
Donna looked at her, crying before looking at Romana. "Thyra's right. Please Romana. You may not be able to save everyone. You may not have saved your own people. But please...you found Braxiatel. You may not be able to save everyone in Pompeii, I get that but...please...just save someone." She sobbed, trying to get Romana to see sense.
Romana and Braxiatel shared a look, knowing she was right. Romana didn't save Braxiatel. Braxiatel fell through the time vortex with the insane Dalek and by luck, she had managed to find him. She couldn't save anyone from Gallifrey and she felt like a failure for it and she knew her daughter and Donna were right. After all, Quintus did save Braxiatel, a debt she did owe to him and she slowly held out her hand towards Caecilius family, Braxiatel doing the same. They wanted to set a good example to their daughter. They may not be able to save everyone but they had to save someone. "Come with us." Romana demanded and Caecilius and Metella reached out for their hands and grasped them.
It was a little while later and a cloud of ash and smoke covered over the town. Braxiatel carried his daughter in his arms, Thyra whimpering slightly and Romana stood beside them, rubbing her daughter's back soothingly with Donna standing close by. Caecilius and his family stood by them, watching from the hills.
Braxiatel turned his gaze towards Caecilius and his family. "What has happened here today will history for the people of the future. This moment in time is never forgotten, Caecilius. Over the years, Pompeii will be nothing but dust but one day...one day Pompeii will be found and everyone will remember."
Donna turned to Evelina who was silently crying. "What about you, Evelina? Can you see anything?"
"The visions have gone." Evelina murmured, wiping away her tears. She had lost contact with the Sisterhood ever since it began today. Donna was right. Everyone here was going to die today weren't they?
"The explosion itself was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time. Only for a brief second but it was enough to give you the gift of prophecy." Romana explained and Evelina looked at her. "It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore. You're free now."
Metella held back a sob before looking at the Time family. She had been right. The blue box was something strange and inside it felt so alive. Something that awed her so. "But tell me...who are you Romana? Braxiatel? With your words..and your temple containing such size within?"
"Let's just say we were never here." Romana replied with a sad smile. It would be best if the history books didn't mention them. "Best not to tell anyone hey?"
Caecilius stepped forwards slightly, tears falling freely. "The great god Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of...volcano." His voice began to break and he trembled slightly. "All those people..." He hugged his wife close to her, so thankful that he and his family were alive but yet none of his friends or the children in the city below them were and Quintus took Evelina's hand, the family watching the destruction before Thyra gave a yawn and the Time family and Donna slipped back into the TARDIS.
Donna walked up the consoles as Thyra climbed into the captain's seat, rubbing her eyes. "Thank you." Donna told them gratefully. She felt a great deal better knowing at the fact that they managed to save someone. She felt a better person
The Time-Lord's didn't say anything for a moment, both of them fiddling with the consoles on the TARDIS before Romana nodded. "Sometimes...sometimes we can't save everyone. But someone is better than none." She squeezed Braxiatel's hand before looking at Donna. "Welcome abroad." They smiled at each other.