I don't own Doctor Who
After Rose had managed to stop crying, she and Martha set off to do has the Doctor had instructed Martha. It took a few weeks, but Rose got over her hurt feelings. One thing that puzzled Martha is that Rose seemed to be suffering from a constant headache. Rose didn't quite know what was causing it either, but had a hunch that it was related to her link with the Doctor. One year after the paradox machine started, 365 days after this nightmare started, Rose and Martha have finally returned to England.
They pulled ashore in a small boat. It was a dark and cold night. Rose and Martha came ashore, and their chauffeur left them. They were greeted by a tallish man, dark hair, and facial hair.
"You would be Tom Milligan?" Rose inquires.
"Yes" He assures.
"You two would be Martha Jones and Rose Tyler?" Tom asks.
"I'm Martha," Martha informs, "And she's Rose."
"You two are legends." Tom starts to get slightly excited, "They say you two walked across America, been to Russia, and the only two to get out of Japan alive!"
"Stuff of legends" Rose murmurs to herself, "Don't think this is the kind of legend I like."
"They say that you can kill him, the Master" Tom prompts.
"The less you know," Martha claims.
"The safer you'll be." Rose finishes. "Can you take us to see Professor Dority?"
"Yeah" Tom answers.
En-route to Professor Dority, the trio passes by a rocket field.
"They have us building these things." Tom mentions.
"You should see Russia." Rose gripes.
"One giant rocket base" Martha adds.
"What are they for?" Tom inquires.
"War" Rose says darkly, "war with the rest of the universe."
"And the universe has no idea that it's coming." Martha mutters.
"You mean there are things, aliens out there!" Tom exclaims.
"We've met them." Martha says.
"Anything else I should know?" Tom asks.
"We've met Shakespeare." Martha admits.
"I was knighted by Queen Victoria." Rose mentions.
A Toclifane flies by demanding ID. Tom holds up his ID that shows that he is a doctor with permission to travel. The Toclifane makes a 'joke' about him having lots of work soon.
"How come it didn't see you two?" Tom questions.
Rose and Martha reveal their TARDIS keys and explain, briefly, about the perception filter.
"But I saw you" Tom protests.
"You wanted to" Martha claims.
"Yeah, guess I did." Tom smiles.
They arrive at the Professor's place to find her tinkering with an old television set.
"The tellies don't work anymore." Rose comments.
"There's supposed to be a broadcast from the big man himself." Dority defends herself.
Just then the screen comes to life with the broadcast. The Master displays the aged Doctor. He goes on to a brief explanation about regeneration. The Master then says something about suspending the Doctor's ability to regenerate. The Master points his laser screwdriver at the Doctor. The Doctor rapidly ages to the point of being Yoda like.
As this is happening, Rose lets out a scream of pain. She also crumples to the ground while clasping her head.
"Rose!" Martha exclaims, "Are you okay?"
"Message received and understood, Rose Tyler and Martha Jones?" the Master's voice asks through the TV.
Rose slowly stands up. "I will be," she claims.
"I'm so sorry about him." Tom says more to Rose than to Martha.
"At least he's still alive." Rose admits as she swallows her tears.
During the past year, Rose had explained her connection with the Doctor, to the best of her abilities, to Martha. Martha, correctly, figures that Rose's pain was because of this bond.
Martha helps/forces to Rose sit down so that Rose can collect herself. Promptly after doing this, Martha pulls out the disk and explains what they can do with it.
A matter of minutes later, all four of them are crowded around the sphere on the table anxious to see what is inside.
The thing inside the sphere looks a heck of a lot like a miniature Face of Boe.
"They're alive" Tom gasps.
"The skies are made of diamonds." The thing says.
"No" Martha gasps.
"We share a collective memory" the thing claims.
"Who are they?" Dority demands to know.
"Us" Rose admits with horror. "Us in the future."
"If they're us from the future," Tom inquires, "Why are they killing us now?"
"The Paradox machine" Rose realizes.
"It is fun" The thing claims. [1]
After getting over the horror inside the spheres, Martha and Rose, explain about the gun in four parts.
Tom agrees to take the two girls half way to the Unit base. They would stop at a slave house.
Once there, the two girls tell their real tale. They describe the Doctor, and what the people have to do to help him. Just in time for the end of Rose and Martha's speech, the Master arrives outside, looking for them. The Master demands that they give themselves up or he will kill everyone.
No choice at all really.
"I see he trained you two well." The Master taunts as Martha and Rose exit the house.
"Give me your bags." The Master demands.
Rose and Martha silently toss over there packs. The Master burns them with his screwdriver. They are transported up to the Valiant.
On the Valiant, the Master orders Martha and Rose to kneel. The Master mocks them and the Doctor. After a few seconds, Rose and Martha start to laugh.
"What?" the Master demands, "What is so funny?"
"A gun?!" Martha cries.
"In four parts!" Rose laughs out.
"I destroyed it!" the Master exclaims.
"You actually believed that it was real!" Rose is still laughing.
"As if I would actually ask them to kill!" said Yoda; the Doctor, I mean. ;)
"Would you like to know what we were really doing?" Rose inquires.
"We told a story," Martha explains, "No guns, just a story."
"We told them about the Doctor and to say one word at just the right time."
"That word is 'Doctor'."
"Hope and prayer?" the Master is dumbfounded, "That's your weapon?"
"With fifteen satellites connecting the human race telepathically," Martha continues.
"The Archangel network" Rose clarifies.
"I spent the entire year connecting myself to the signal" the Doctor adds.
The countdown reached zero. Everyone on Earth started to chant/think 'Doctor'.
A blue glow surrounded the Doctor. He quickly de-aged to the point of looking the same way he had before the year started, and somehow in his suit again. [2] The Doctor started to float and went after the Master.
"Tell me the human race is decrepit when they can do this!" the Doctor challenges.
Eventually the blue glow dissipates. The Master tries to fire off his black hole thingy, but the Doctor talks him out of it.
Jack, in the mean time, has led a group of men towards the TARDIS. After probably dying thanks to the Toclifane a few times, he makes it into the paradox machine, and destroys it. The paradox reverses, and so does time. Time reverses to the moment right before it was activated, and the Toclifane are now stuck at the end of the universe.
In the other room, the Doctor is explaining what happened.
"Now what do we do with him?" Rose inquires in relation to the Master.
"We kill him!" Maratha's mom shouts.
"No!" the Doctor argues, "We are better than him!"
"My question still warrants an answer." Rose points out.
"I'll take him," the Doctor claims, "He's my responsibility."
"You're going to keep him the TARDIS?"
"The only safe place for him."
A shot is fired and the Master collapses. The Doctor rushes to his side, and begs the Master to regenerate.
"It's always the women" the Master comments. It had been Lucy Saxon who had fired the shot.
"It's only us now!" the Doctor pleads, "Just regenerate!"
"Look at that," the Master says, "You begging me, well how about that, I win."
With those words, the Master dies. The Doctor tightens his hold on the body and cries. Rose rushes over to comfort her Doctor and ends up wrapping her arms around not just the Doctor, but the fallen Master as well. It seemed like hours that they stayed like that; the Doctor crying over the Master, and Rose doing her best to comfort him. It might have been hours. The only one who could say for sure would have been the Doctor, and he was a bit preoccupied to know.
An unknown amount of time later, the Doctor, with Rose holding his hand, lights the Master's funeral pyre. They stand there for a few seconds watching the Master go up in flames before turning around and walking back into the TARDIS. They both miss the Master's ring falling to the ground, not touched by the fire.
They bring Martha's family back to London before they bring Jack back to Cardiff.
"You could travel with us, again." The Doctor offers, "I really don't mind."
"It's like you said, Doctor," Jack refuses, "Responsibility. I've got my team to take care of."
Jack starts to get up to go, but decides to stop.
"I know I can't die, but I keep aging." Jack inquires, "The odd grey hair, here and there."
"I don't know Jack." The Doctor admits.
"It's just a vanity thing." Jack says, "I was the first one from the Boeshine peninsula to join the Time Agency, the Face of Boe they called me."
With those words, Jack walks away.
"Could he?" Martha asks.
"No..." the Doctor starts to say.
"And maybe they're werewolves" Rose says.
"The royal family is a completely different case!" the Doctor protests.
"Is it?" Rose asks cheekily.
"Don't tell me," Martha claims, "It's a long story." [3]
Shortly afterwards, Martha is asking to see her family. When they get there, Martha says that she is going to stay.
"You sure?" Rose asks.
"Yeah" Martha admits softly.
"You have my phone number, right?" Rose inquires.
"Of course I do!" Martha exclaims. "When I ring, you two better come immediately!"
"Good-bye Martha" the Doctor says solemnly.
Rose gives Martha a quick hug, whilst whispering something into her ear that the Doctor couldn't hear. Martha promptly leaves the TARDIS, and closes the doors behind her. She watches with a sad grin on her face as the TARDIS fades away.
[1] Is there really any other way to name it?
[2] Not going to question the how, just glad that happened
[3] So tempted to end the chapter there, on the call back