The Immortality Gate
It only took a few minutes for the TARDIS to arrive wherever the Hell it was they'd landed. And probably just as well – since they had to stay relative to the Master, their Time Lord foe could have gotten up to all sorts of nefarious business had it taken much longer. Although, there was a nagging feeling that perhaps the Master was just waiting for the Doctor to arrive so that he could trap and defeat his nemesis once and for all…
"We've moved!" exclaimed Wilf, following the Doctor and Fred out of the TARDIS…and into a Stable, Fred having chosen to leave her handbag in the Old Girl for this one. "We've really moved!"
"You two should stay here," the Doctor told them, speaking volumes about the danger that was to come.
"Not bloody likely!"
"I second that," Fred echoed Wilf's sentiments on the matter. "No bloody chance."
"And don't swear!" he scolded them both, microseconds before he remembered his safety measure to stop his nemesis from procuring the TARDIS again. "Hold on!" He pointed his Key at the Old Girl…and both Fred and Wilf were taken aback when it vanished from sight. "Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS – that's the last thing we need." With that, he walked away from where the TARDIS had been and on towards his confrontation with his friend-turned-foe. Fred was about to head off after him…until Wilf stopped her for a moment.
"Fred…you haven't seen anything strange lately, have you?" he asked the woman, unsure of what answer he was hoping to hear.
"Um…yes, possibly," she replied, recalling the Man in Indigo that she'd seen in the Wasteland. "Why, have you?"
"Well, I-" he began to elaborate on what he'd seen in his home when the Doctor came back.
"Come on, you two – no Time for chin-wagging!" he told them, taking them both by the hand and leading them away from the Stable. It looked like they'd have to speak about it some other time…
*DW* Mansion Grounds… *DW*
The newly formed group of three managed to make reasonable progress across the Naismith Mansion Grounds before having to hide from a Patrol. Admittedly, Fred should have expected this coming, as Wilf's words to the Doctor would explain.
"That book said he's a Billionaire – he's got his own Private Army," he told the Time Lord, who was busying looking for a way into the Mansion itself without being spotted by Naismith's Soldiers.
"Down here," he gestured to a small door in the archway they were hiding near. He moved to the door, flipped out the Sonic Screwdriver and activated it…and at once, the door was unlocked. The Doctor proceeded inside, Wilf and Fred in tow. Perhaps they could speak as they went along?
"What was it you were saying, Wilf?" the Physicist asked her best friend's father.
"Don't tell the Doctor…but I've been seeing this woman since I found you in that Church," he confided in a whisper, the fact that he was whispering more than making it clear that the Doctor couldn't know. "And just today, a man appeared out of nowhere in my room." But while, like he'd expected, Fred was surprised…she wasn't so for the reason he thought.
"A man in an indigo suit?" she seemed to guess, alarming him a little.
"How'd you know?"
"I saw the same man in the Wasteland…"
There was no doubt in either of their minds now – something far larger than the feud between the Doctor and the Master was taking place. It was taking place in the shadows…and both had the feeling it wouldn't remain there for long. Things didn't bode well for anyone right now…
*DW* Basement… *DW*
"…The Systems are slotting back into place," a woman in a white lab coat was saying over a Channel as the Doctor, Fred and Wilf entered the Basement, full of equipment that shouldn't even be on Earth…not in this Time Period, anyway. "The Shatterthreads have harmonised, the Fibre Links intensified, and the multiple overshots have triplicated!"
"Nice Gate," the Doctor commented idly, getting the strange woman's attention.
"Hello…Miss Addams," Fred greeted, taking one glance at her ID Card and learning her last name from it.
"Hello. Sorry," Wilf chipped in his own greetings.
"Don't try calling Security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer," the Time Lord stated, matter-of-factly as possible. "And I Reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed, or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place."
"I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?" Addams asked in a curious tone that was fooling no one.
"That's what I was going to say!" said Fred, outwardly grinning, inwardly knowing that the woman was hiding something…and sure enough…
"Shimmer!" declared the Doctor, activating his Sonic Screwdriver…and in the woman's place stood a spiky, bright green-skinned alien.
"Oh, my Lord! She's a Cactus!" Wilf cried in utter shock and bewilderment, prompting a roll of the eyes from the green alien. Before anyone could say anything more, the Doctor rushed over to the Controls of whatever it was that Naismith had got his hands on.
"What's Naismith got up there, by the way?" Fred asked Addams, doing her absolute best to ignore the fact that she was an alien whose intentions she knew nothing of.
"He calls it the Immortality Gate, he wants to use it for his daughter, Abigail," Addams replied, uncertain as to how much she ought to reveal to someone who was, from her perspective, a primitive.
Well, with a title like that, I could see the appeal it would have for the Master, given his condition, the Human woman conceded silently. This was looking more than a little like Lazarus's Genetic Manipulator to her…far too much for comfort. Moreover, anything that the opposing Time Lord thought would help him renew himself didn't sit comfortably in Fred's mind…and Naismith just had to go and procure such a device, didn't he? This is why I hate Billionaires – damn you, Naismith!
"He's got it working, but what is it?!" the Doctor growled in frustration at the lack of useful information he could gather from the Computer Terminal "What's working?!"
"What are you doing here?!" another man exclaimed as he rushed in, confronted with the sight of three strangers near what were clearly crucial Controls to the Immortality Gate's Systems.
"Shimmer!" the Time Lord let out the word again, this time more drawn out, at he pointed the Sonic and disabled the man's Shimmer…to reveal yet another spiky green alien. "Now, tell me quickly, what's going on? The Master, Harold Saxon, Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?!"
"Fixing the Gate – what else would he be doing?"
"Fixing or possibly changing it for his own ends, Mr, er…" Fred sharply interjected, waiting for a statement of identity.
"Rossiter," Addams told her.
"Thank you."
"But I checked the readings – he's done good work! It's operational!" protested Rossiter, bewildered by Fred's attitude towards the device.
"Who are you, though?" the Doctor cut in before a serious squabble could break out – they didn't have any Time for that. "I met someone like you – he was brilliant, but he was little and red." He had to smile at the memory of the Cyborg Bannakaffalatta, who had once saved both him and those around him from the Heavenly Host Robots by sacrificing himself with an EMP blast.
"No, that's a Zocci!" Addams sneered at the thought of their red skinned evolutionary cousins, irritated that she'd been compared to them.
"We're not Zocci, we're Vinvocci – completely different!" Rossiter snapped in similar annoyance.
"And the Gate is Vinvocci," Addams continued. "We're a Salvage Team. We picked up a signal when the Humans reactivated it – and as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the Ship!"
"Good luck with that, now that you've got the Master on your hands!" Fred snapped at the alien woman. Maybe she was being unreasonable toward them – but she was having a tough time at this point in her life. This mess was the last thing anyone needed – Naismith had no idea what kind of Pandora's Box he'd just opened. Whatever the Gate's true power, it couldn't be good…
"But what does it do?" the Doctor pressed.
"Well it mends – it's as simple as that," Rossiter explained. "It's a Medical Device to repair the body – it makes people better."
"Well…then I suppose the Master just wants to use it to stop himself from dying?" Fred guessed – it was a simple enough motivation. If that was what the Gate would do…then the only thing they had to worry about was the Master on his own…
"No, there's got to be more," the Time Lord shook his head – it was never as simple as that. Whenever the Master had been close to death in the Past, there was always a consequence when he finally renewed himself, whether the renewal was long-term or short. The would-be destruction of Gallifrey, the death of Nyssa's father, the death of a Paramedic – all of these resulted from the Master's endeavours to survive beyond his impending death. "Every single warning says the Master's gonna do something colossal!"
"So that thing's a Sickbed, yes?" Wilf gestured to the Medical Chambers.
"More or less," Addams confirmed.
"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"
"What, something with this kind of power, Wilf?" Fred pointed to the power readings on the Console. "Surely, something this powerful and advanced could-" she stopped herself, getting a horrible inkling as to what the Master might do with the Gate. "Doctor?"
"Yes?" he pressed for her to continue.
"I think this thing can mend an entire planet," Fred whispered in utter horror, turning to Addams in the hope that she would deny this…but no such denial came, only a confirmation.
"It transmits the Medical Template across the entire Population," she told them, confused by Fred's horror…and sparking the Doctor's horror in the process. The Time Lord darted off to find the Gate Room, Fred right behind him and Wilf struggling to keep up with both of them due to his age…
*DW* Gate Room… *DW*
"TURN THE GATE OFF RIGHT NOW!" the Doctor yelled to everyone in the Gate Room as he unceremoniously bolted inside, Fred right behind him.
"At arms!" the Butler shouted. At once, every Guard in the Room readied their rifles and pointed them at the two intruders.
"No, no, no, no, no! Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device!" the Time Lord cried in panic, gesturing to the straitjacket-clad Master.
"Oh, like that was ever going to happen!" sneered his best enemy…right before he threw the straitjacket off like a bathrobe and, in a flash of energy pillars, leapt into the Gate. Immediately, Fred felt the compound rhythm of four drumbeats pound away in her head…and cried out in pain as she collapsed to the floor. It was worse than any headache she'd ever endured – the Drums attacked her brain, punctuating each beat with agonising pain. "Homeless, was I?" the Master called over to the Doctor and his companion. "Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!"
The Doctor turned to see Fred lying on the floor, clutching her head and whimpering in pain. His companion was in utter agony – there was only one thing he could do now.
"Deactivate it!" he shouted to the other Humans in the Room. "All of you! Turn the whole thing off!" But none of them seemed able to pay him any heed – they were too busy clutching their own heads. Whether from pain or otherwise, he had absolutely no idea. "Get out of there!" he told his foe, moving forwards to remove him from the Gate.
But the Master was ready for him, and knocked him back with a blast of energy from his hands. The Doctor only just managed to stay on balance, just in time for Wilf to enter the Room, also clutching his head.
"Doctor!" he cried, moving like he was blind to everything around him. "Doctor…there's this face!"
"What is it?! What can you see?!"
"Well's, it's him! I can see him!"
"Fred?" he turned to his new companion.
"I can still see, Doctor!" she ground out through the pain. "It's just this blasted noise! Ah, my head!" she let out another cry of pain. The Time Lord moved to the Controls at these words…and found his efforts to disable the Gate utterly fruitless.
"I can't turn it off!"
"That's cos I locked it, idiot!" the Master sneered at him – he'd already thought of that beforehand. He wasn't called the Doctor's equal for nothing!
The Doctor looked around, and noticed a double-booth Cabinet, made of Vinvocci Glass, containing a Nuclear Bolt. One Booth was marked 'OPEN', the other 'LOCKED'. Vinvocci Glass could keep harmful Radiation from entering the environment surrounding whatever container the Glass had been made into – it followed that the Glass would block the Immortality Gate. But who should he help – Fred or Wilf?
Both were suffering – Wilf from seeing the Master in his mind, Fred from hearing the Drums in hers. He had no idea what the Gate would do…and the Booth was only big enough for one…
"Help him, Doctor!" Fred cut into his train of thought. "Everyone else has lost the ability to see – I haven't! Stop Wilf from suffering whatever the Master's got planned – I'll take my chances!" Her voice brooked no room for an argument, so the Time Lord snapped into action at once, moving Wilf over to the Cabinet. He entered the Booth marked 'OPEN', with Wilf replacing the Technician in the other once the first turned 'LOCKED'.
"Just need to filter the level," he mumbled as he worked away to filter out the Gate's power.
"Oh, I can see again! He's gone!" Wilf cried in relief as his sight returned to him.
"Radiation Shielding! Now press the button – let me out!"
"You what?"
"I can't get out until you press the button – that button there!" the Doctor told him, gesturing to the button inside Wilf's Booth. The Old Soldier pressed it, locking his Cubicle and opening the Doctor's, leaving the Time Lord to rush back out.
"Fifty seconds, and counting!" the Master called over to him.
"To what?"
"Oh, you're gonna love this!"
*DW* Wilf's POV… *DW*
All of a sudden, Wilf's mobile phone began ringing, and he started to search his pockets for the blasted device that modern people had become so dependent on. His first delve into his pockets resulted in him pulling out his revolver – hastily putting it back in, he tried a second time…and finally found the phone. Donna was ringing, so he quickly pressed the Answer button.
"Hello? Oh, God – Donna?" he called into the phone.
"Where are you?" Donna's voice came through in a panic. "It's Mum and Shaun, something's wrong with them!"
"But wait a minute – I mean, what about you?" he pressed, needing to be sure that she wouldn't suddenly remember what she did with the Doctor. "Can't you see anything?"
"I can see them, that's bad enough!" his granddaughter replied, her confusion only adding to her level of panic. Before he could hear any more from her, Wilf was interrupted by another call – this time, from Winston.
"Not now, Winston!" he grumbled, nevertheless answering the call.
"Wilfred…those dreams!" Winston's voice rang from the phone. "I can remember…that face!" Wilf's panic rose, realising what was happening to Winston…and quite possibly, all over the Earth. The next words only confirmed it. "Wilfred…IT'S EVERYONE!"
*DW* Fred's POV… *DW*
"What is it, hypnotism?" the Doctor demanded answers to what was transpiring. "Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"
"Oh, that's way too easy!" the Master laughed at the notion – he hardly needed this machine to hypnotise a species that was so weak-minded already. "No, no, no, they're not gonna think like me…they're gonna become me! And…" he raised his hands in preparation for the blast of power, "ZERO!" he roared, flinging his hands forward…