THE RETURN
CHAPTER TWELVE
A/N: The true persona behind Sullivan is revealed, and Jack and the Human Doctor have words in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I still don't own any publicly recognizable characters or song lyrics. They are the property of B. Joel, the BBC, and any other partners or subsidiaries, and no money has been made off of their use.
Previously: The Zeppelin kept falling at a moderate speed toward Earth. Jack placed the crystal, which had stopped glowing, in his pocket. He was about to join Daniel when he heard his voice.
"I knew it was you…" the human Time Lord accused. "Wha' is it the Earthers say? 'It takes one to know one.'"
Jack stared at Daniel; his look giving nothing away. The human Time Lord's finger found him, and he said in an accusatory voice, "I know you're behind this! Admit it. That bloody crystal from our home world proves it."
Jack's only response was to raise a brow. Daniel said, "How'd you do it, eh? I, or rather my Other, left you for dead before. You were a pile of ashes, if one remembers correctly."
The one Daniel blamed fixed him with a superior gaze, his mask of jovialness very much diminished. "Never leave loose ends untied, old friend," Jack said, his tone mocking. He suddenly wore a smirk that was not like the one wise guy Jack frequently sported.
Daniel's eyes widened as he knew exactly what his former friend meant. "The Dro'ma'sos?" He started pacing, continuing his tirade. Daniel questioned, "How'd they manage it? How'd they get you to be here? And, how many are here?"
"How many...what?" "Jack" asked slowly.
"Who followed you here through the void?!" Daniel shouted, his tone quite determined. He stopped pacing. "'Know wha'? Doesn't matter, because you won't get away with the temporal time bombs you've created!"
The commander returned, "You've got some nerve, accusing me and my followers of initiating this mess that this precious planet of yours has gotten itself into! What is it that Earth person Billy Joel said? 'We didn't start the fire.'" He kicked his legs in a jiggery dance and sang in a surprisingly good baritone,"'it was always burning since the world's been turning'!"
Barmy bugger! Daniel thought. Pointing accusingly at the other man, he ordered, "You'll stop whatever you're doin' and put things right again in my universe!"
Jack stopped dancing and crossed his arms, saying defiantly, "Really?! Your universe? What are you, two timing the other Earth?"
Daniel fell silent. He would not let this fellow Gallifreyan "get his goat," as the Earthers said.
"Jack" wasn't done with his taunting. "Why don't you think about who's really behind this rather than accusing me?" He leaned in closer to Daniel, tapping his adversary on the noggin as he shouted, "Use that fur covered, miniscule thing you laughingly call a brain! If you do, you'll find out that I am innocent!"
Incensed, Daniel was about to smack him when Jack said, "Oh, go ahead!" Undoing his U.N.I.T. uniform, he pointed to his chest. "Go on! Take a poke!" he jeered, thrusting his chin out at Daniel. "But be careful, mate, that you don't hit something vital with your pent up strength!"
He drew back. Daniel made a fist in frustration as he walked away. "Yeah, you've got it…as long as I'm in here, you can't do anything that would hurt ol' Jackie boy, i'n' that right?"
He drew closer again to the scientist and whispered, "After all this time, I've finally won the last round."
Daniel grabbed his arm and squeezed, saying in a deadly, low voice, "You may have won this temporary victory but the war isn't over, Koschei." His chocolate eyes fixed the one in Jack's body with a deadly glare as he told him, "I'll give you three seconds to tell me what's goin' on and to vacate Jack's body. If you don't, I'll do whatever I have to to force you out of there."
Jack merely ho hummed in Daniel's face. "This is getting old," he said. "Change the mpx.3, closnast!" Daniel could stand no more when he heard "Jack's" derogatory term denoting a dim witted half breed. He snaked his arm around "Jack's" neck, enveloping him in a choke hold. He coughed, but stomped on Daniel's foot, causing the other man to grab it, hopping up and down.
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While Daniel and Jack fought, Sullivan commanded his ship. "Isolate Rose," he said. "I wish to know where she is."
The screen focused on what looked like an eating place. Sullivan's eyes were peeled for any sign of her. As the screen ran through various locations, revealing diners of all ages, shapes and sizes, he said angrily, "That is not where she is! Where is the child? I must know!"
"Sufficient time is required to locate the human female's bio signature in so tight a space," the ship reported. "It would not be advisable to get angry."
Sullivan knew his device was correct. He willed himself back to normal, asking that the ship contact him as soon as she knew where the Tyler child was. Or maybe...he told himself, there is another way.
"You're sure she's here somewhere," he wanted to confirm.
"Yes," his ship reported without hesitation.
Sullivan closed his eyes, saying with a smile, "Then maybe the mountain should come to Mohammed."
He concentrated on Rose: her smile, her walk, her strawberry-and-sweat smell with a touch of chips that often permeated her togs. He remembered the times they had been together, and for a moment, thought about the course of action he had to take. Would she appreciate the magnitude of what he had to do, the generosity? Probably not. She was a primate, after all. But she could learn, he told himself; she would learn, with him teaching her.
And if she didn't, well...he'd lost friends and allies before. What was one more in a sea of a hundred, or a thousand? What was another life scattered to the wind? He would do what he always did: go on without her. After all, he'd outlived his bond mate, River. He would do the same with Rose, unless he changed her.
He called to her, willing her to come to where he was. "Rose..." he whispered softly. His thoughts louder, he called, "ROSE."
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Rose slowly opened one eye, and then, the other. She yawned tiredly, spent and wondering where she was. She glanced around and saw that she was on a green couch (sort of). Sitting up, Rose stretched, her arms extending so she could touch her feet.
She wondered where Daniel was and pulled out her cell phone to ring him when she heard a soft, small voice in her head. Rose…it said; then, louder, "ROSE! Come to me…come to me, my Rose."
Rose hesitated for a moment. What was Sullivan doing here? She got up from the couch and looked around. "Sullivan?" She queried. "You're nearby?" Rose looked around but didn't see anyone. She heard the voice again.
"Yes, Rose, I am here. Come." Rose could not resist the sound of his voice. Nothing else mattered but that she obey it. Walking to the entrance to the cafeteria, she left through the swinging doors.
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The Master pinned Daniel to the floor of the Zeppelin in a Martian tackle. "Listen, you idiot!" He snapped to the human Doctor. Daniel thrashed as much as he was able from underneath him. He then changed his fighting, flinging the Master off of him. Koschei recovered quickly, but he knew his strength wouldn't last inside Harkness' inferior body. The evil, now half human Time Lord knew he had to take out the cloned one fast if he was to gain the upper hand, or he had to talk him down.
Trying again, the Master said, "Thing about it! If I were behind this…coup, wouldn't I just simply take over the minds of everyone on the planet, not just some of these apes you have endeared yourself to?" Daniel punched at his face, but Koschei ducked.
Angrily, Daniel screamed, "Liar!"
He swung his fist at "Jack", his hand barely missing the other Time Lord's nether region. "Tell me something, old friend! If you're right, then how did the Zeppelin get back to Earth, eh? Unless you got someone on the surface to aid you? You used your old hypnotic tricks on your victim then you tried to convince me that you just happened to work out our return trip home? How'd you do that, hmm?"
"How'd you suss things out?" "Jack" asked Daniel.
"I saw the message you filtered using the communications band, and, I'll wager, some form of Gallifreyan technology that you managed to somehow gain access to! The message was sent using symbols native to our world…something that could easily be disguised if anyone ever tried to ascertain wha' it said!"
Using some fancy footwork, and taking deep breaths, the Master said, "I do not lie this time! You are so wrapped up in your own taste for revenge that you don't see things clearly!"
As he paused to catch his breath, Daniel considered the Master's words. He was, in the fellow Time Lord's opinion, the greatest liar of all time and space, Gallifrey's Loki to the tenth power. The human Time Lord admitted to himself that the Master could have a point. If he did wish to enslave this version of Earth, why hadn't he made a grand gesture? The evil, psychotic Time Lord could be subtle, but eventually, he culminated his plans on a huge scale.
The Master also would have used the drums as a calling card. But the echoes preying upon Daniel's mind as he wrapped the clues around his head seemed to come from another direction…a direction somehow more…personal.Familiar. Like traces of himself!
He then thought about the people involved: Miss Jane Smith, with her articles; Officer MacShane, in Alaska; Professor Ykranos in the disturbance in California; the incidents in China, London, and other places around the world. All the people…all alternate universe versions of companions who'd travelled with him for a time. Daniel's eyes blinked comprehendingly, and then widened in horror. He turned to "Jack".
"Where's Rose?" He wondered aloud. The Master smirked.
"Don't you know?" He teased. "Really, Doctor. You should keep better control of your pets!"
Daniel turned furious eyes on him as he snapped, "She's no' a pet, you diseased growth! Rose is very near, and dear to me, an' just because I've figured out who's behind this manipulation of this Earth doesn't let you off the hook!"
The Master jeered, "Oh? What have I to do with any of this?"
Thrusting his finger at his enemy, Daniel said, "You took over Jack's body and mind! Not sure how, but I'll find out later." His voice crept down to a whisper as he fixated on his love. Not able to feel her, he said, "He may have seized total control over Rose this very minute!"
The Master affected an unconcerned expression and put his hands behind his head, asking in a bored voice, "So?" He sank down on a large chair inside the cockpit of the grounded Zeppelin.
"So…" Daniel suggested, "if he takes over one of your followers, he'll find out where you are!"
"What do you think a complete Time Lord, once a beacon of light, who's now dark, completely corrupt, and who obviously wants the destruction of every man, woman and child on this planet will do with a fellow Gallifreyan who's inside of a human body?" Daniel asked, an almost smug look in his brown eyes. The Master sat up then, his face going rigid. He thought about what his enemy would do when the other Time Lord found out not only where he was, but the fact that he was inside Jack's body.
If he was taking over companions to the Doctor, what would the madman do with a prize like Jack Harkness?
"You have got a point," he said wryly.
"Besides, we still don't know why he's doing it to my friends on this Earth. Why not take over the other one that he's more directly tied to?" Daniel mused.
"Maybe, like me, he's trapped here, in this universe?" the Master suggested, finally putting his superior mind to the problem.
Daniel put his fingers to his cheek thoughtfully, saying, "Mmmm…could be, but I really think there's another, more fundamental reason."
"I suggest we find him before he obliterates us," "Jack" said determinedly. Both left the Zeppelin and headed for the UNIT commander's car.
As the Master started the engine, Daniel said, "Rose is the key. It was her initials, the R. M. T. in the bold letters which stood out the most."
"I thought he'd be more concerned with a bonds mate," "Jack" responded, crossing to the main highway. "That is, assuming he got married again." He sped up and went onto the main highway. "Is the human child Rose his mate?"
Daniel said. "Nope. Her name was River Song. It's a long story. He wants Rose because she's the catalyst. Made him love again. He blames her for being the first companion he'd had deeper feelings for in over 500 years! His ego, once he'd turned to evil, couldn't handle that!"
The Master switched lanes at top speed, running through a red light. "You know, you whip around like you're hosed!" Daniel commented. "Like the same way you pilot your T.A.R.D.I.S!"
"You should talk!" "Jack" retorted. "You never circumnavigated a proper temporal curve in your misspent lives!" He made a left onto a shorter block with no traffic. "Where are we headed, anyway?"
"Where his trouble started, long ago," Daniel replied, providing the Master with an address.
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Rose pulled up to 76 Trafalgar Lane and turned off her engine. She walked toward the back of the grove after parking the car, her eyes still looking vacant. The familiar humming sound failed to register in her blank mind.
As the door opened, she walked into a hallway bathed in light. Chained to a round platform with several dials, a titian haired woman yelled, "Who the bloody hell are you?"
Rose walked past her, oblivious to her angry words as she said, "Doesn't matter who you are! Help me! This guy's off his trolley, I'm telling you!" The door swung open for Rose, who passed through without another concern.
The other woman swung in her direction, shouting, "Hey! Come back, you berk!" But, Rose kept going.
Presently, the Torchwood director stopped in a large room. As her mind cleared, Rose stared all around her. She could have sworn she heard Sullivan's voice. Hadn't she sleeping near the cafeteria? She looked down at her watch, but it seemed like time had stopped.
"Rhy'an'a…" she heard her love's voice clearly in her mind. "Daniel?" Rose called.
Spying several roundels, Rose could tell that she was in a T.A.R.D.I.S. But whose ship was it? Did Daniel finally get his up and running, she wondered? He'd said it would take several years to grow one. Had he managed to grow a ship during the year they'd been together?
If it was his ship, why wasn't he here to greet her? She searched for him, wandering several corridors. Rose tried banking down a sudden case of uneasiness that welled up inside of her. Rose struggled to remember the last couple of hours. Was she all alone here? Hadn't she heard another voice, a woman's voice?
She was about to call for her Doctor again when she got a good look at the room she was in. There was no furniture in it, just lights that shined from every angle. The walls, a golden yellow, had pictures. She counted twelve, in all.
Each was labeled with concentric squares, triangles, and circles. The first one was of an old man in Edwardian dress; the second, of a man in a hobo costume, like something out of a Charlie Chaplin movie her Mum sometimes watched. The third one was of a white haired gentleman in Opera togs. Picture number four showed a man with curly hair and the longest, multicolored scarf she'd ever seen.
The fifth was of a Cricketer (at least, she thought he was,) young and smiling; the sixth had a fatter looking man, with a coat of many colors; the seventh revealed a dark haired man with a sweater that had a blue border and question marks. The eighth picture showed a man with a long, oval face and ginger curls. He reminded her of the poet Byron.
But, it was the last three that made her pause. In them, she saw the first Doctor she'd known, with his battered leather jacket, red jumper and close cropped hair; then, in the picture next to that one, she saw the second Doctor, her favorite one that her human Time Lord most closely resembled. The next to the last picture was of one she'd met briefly: a Doctor with hair parted on one side and a bow tie, wearing a tweed jacket.
The last portrait was one she knew well. It was Sullivan's.
"Doctor…" she breathed. "He's returned."
From behind her, a familiar Irish voice said, "No, Rose, I haven't. I'm not 'the Doctor', anymore." She turned to see Sullivan, strolling in with ornate, richly decorated robes with a high, red collar and golden symbols.
His rich, Irish sounding baritone said, "You may call me 'the Valeyard.'"
His green eyes showed her something she never thought she'd see on her first love's face: contempt.