Triple Threat
Chapter 20
Last of the Time Lords – Part One
It was dark as the duo crawled out of the boat into the cold water. Martha ran ahead with Elizabeth following behind her. A year had passed since they'd last been on the British shores and Martha felt a slight pang of regret.
They sped as fast as they could in their military fatigues. They ran towards a man with a lamp who was standing on the beach.
"What's your name then?" Martha questioned the man.
"Thomas Milligan," the man stated. "No need to ask who you two are, famous Martha Jones and Elizabeth White. How long since you were last in Britain."
"Three hundred and sixty-five days. It's been a long year," Martha states.
"So what's the plan," Thomas asks.
"This professor Docherty, I need to see her. Can you get me there?" Martha says.
"She works in a repair shed, Nuclear Plant seven. I can get you inside. What's this all for? What's so important about her," Thomas asks.
"Can't answer that. The more you know the higher risk to you and everything else," Elizabeth states cutting Martha off.
"There's a lot of people counting on you two. You two are a bit of a legend," Thomas Milligan states.
"What does the legend say?" Martha asks while trying not to laugh at how stupid it is. She shouldn't be a legend.
"That you two sailed the Atlantic, walked across America, you two were the only ones to make it out of Japan alive. Oh… and they say the Elizabeth White is the Master's daughter who fights against him. They say you two are going to save the world… a bit late for that," Thomas says and Martha glances back at Elizabeth who doesn't react anymore to people knowing that information. She turns the conversation to the man they are getting a lift from.
"How come you can drive? Don't you get stopped?" Martha asks.
"Medical staff. Used to be a pediatrics back in the old days. But that gives me a license to travel so I can help out in the labor camps," Thomas says and Martha notices there won't be room in the front of the truck for all of them.
Without a word Elizabeth slips in the truck bed and squeezes in.
"Great. I'm traveling with a doctor," Martha quips before getting into the front of the truck.
"Story goes, Elizabeth is the only person on earth capable of stopping the Master, that she, alone, can kill him stone dead," Thomas says. Martha glances back to where Elizabeth is sitting.
"Let's just drive," Martha says, not wanting Elizabeth to think of something like that. She then looked forward while he began to drive.
-X-
Katti stood in a royal purple colored dress made of pure silk as the Master came into the room, dancing around. She had to hold back a gag as he kissed Lucy who pretended to be happy though anyone with half a brain could see she was anything but.
He went to the seat and put the tea to his mouth but spit it out in disgust. Bella was standing at her side in a dark red dress similar to the one Lucy wore only a little less skimpy.
They watched the Master pour the coffee onto the table, making a mess. Then he grabbed Bella's hand and spun her before pushing her away once more. She nearly stumbled into the wall. Whoever this man was he wasn't the same man who had raised them.
The madness had taken complete control. Both she and Bella knew that. They often spoke silently about that late at night. Then she watched the Master all but skip his way up the steps. Then he rang a bell and her beloved Doctor crawled out of his tent.
'Poor Doctor. We need to help,' Katti thought to her sister who shook her head subtly. Then her eyes flickered to the Master.
The Doctor stood and the Master shoved him into a wheel chair before pushing it around. Then they stopped in front of the window. When that happened the Master motioned for the girls to approach.
Obediently they did at his says, if only avoid receiving a black eye like the one Lucy is sporting.
"It's ready to rise, Doctor," the Master says as the girls steadily approach. "The new Time Lord Empire. It's good isn't it. Isn't it good? Anything? No, Anything?" With that the Master looks out the window. "Oh, but they broke your hearts, didn't they, those Toclafane?"
The Doctor doesn't respond to the Master but as Katti puts her hand on his shoulder his hand comes up and grabs it gently. He responds to the girls.
"Ever since you worked out what they really are," the Master says. Then he changes topics. "They say, Martha Jones has come back home with my little Bethy in tow." That gets a response from the Doctor who turns to face the Master though Katti thinks Monster would be more appropriate. "Why would she do that?"
"Leave them alone," the Doctor says softly in his elderly voice.
"But you said something to her, didn't you, on the day I took control," the Master says. "What did you tell her?"
"I've only got one thing to say to you. You know what it is," the Doctor states.
"Oh no you don't," the Master says before pushing his girls out of the way and rolling the Doctor away from him as well. Then he claps his hands demanding to know what people are doing.
Katherine watches the Doctor put three fingers on his leg which Martha's mother sees as she walks past them. She walks out of the room and Katherine subtly nods at Martha's mother letting her know she saw.
-X-
"Morning Tish," Jack says sarcastically, the chains holding him up. "Smell that sea air." He is obviously being sarcastic as you can't smell anything where he is but the sewage lines in the place. At first it put him off his appetite but now he hardly notices.
As expected she doesn't say anything.
"Makes me long for good old British fish and chips," Jack Harkness says before laughing sarcastically. "What do I get, cold mash sweed. Some hotel. Last time I book over the internet." He took a bite and she symbolled three with her fingers.
He winked at her but caught her mouthing 'they've returned.' He smiled flirtingly at her – making some comment about how good she looked or something like that. Inside he kept thinking about Elizabeth and Martha… why would they return?
-X-
"All over the Earth, those things. He's even carved himself into Mount Rushmore," Martha says.
"Best to keep down," Thomas tells Martha and Elizabeth can't help but smile. She's well aware of the fact Thomas is Martha's future fiancé if they do this properly. It makes this all the more ironic. "The entire South Coast of England converted into shipyards. They bring in slave labor every morning. They break up cars, houses, anything just for the metal. They are making a fleet out of scrap."
"You should see Russia. That's shipyard number one. All the way from the Black Sea to the Bering Strait there's 100,000 rockets getting ready for war," Martha states.
"War? With who?" Thomas asks.
"With the rest of the universe," Martha states. "I've been out there, Tom, in space before all this happened and there are a thousand different civilizations all around us with no idea what is happening here. The Master can build weapons big enough to devastate them all."
"You've been in space?" Thomas asks.
"You got a problem with that?" Martha asks.
"No… no, just, wow," Thomas states. Elizabeth looks at him. "Anything else I should know?"
"I've met Shakespeare and Elizabeth is genetically an Alien though she was born amongst us humans," Martha states and he looks at them both with an amazed look on his face.
"You look human," Thomas whispers.
"I'm Near-Human. Externally I look like anyone else from Earth. Internally though I am very different," Elizabeth states. That's when two Toclafane come around the corner. He stands up quickly.
"Identify, little man," the one says looking at him. Elizabeth and Martha stay very still, both worried about drawing attention to themselves as well as the other.
"I've got a license. Thomas Milligan, Peripatetic Medical Squad. I'm permitted to travel. I was just checking for…" he begins but gets cut off by one of the Toclafane. Thankfully they don't realize how bad he is at lying.
"Soon the rockets will fly and everyone will need medicine," the first Toclafane says. Then he laughs as he says, "you'll be so busy."
They fly away leaving the two women relieved while Thomas is confused.
"But… they didn't see you," Thomas says softly, trying to figure.
"How do you think we've traveled the world?" Martha asks while pulling out her key. They stand up and begin walking. "The Master set up Archangel network. Fifteen satellites circling the planet. It's emitting a low level psychic field which is how he hypnotized everyone into believing he was Harold Saxon."
"Harold Saxon, I haven't thought of that name in a while. Feels like years ago," Thomas states while Elizabeth nearly runs to keep up.
"The key's tuned into the same frequency. Makes me sort of, not invisible but unnoticeable," Martha states.
"Well I can see you," Thomas says and Elizabeth can't help but chuckle.
"You wanted to… and what do you know Elizabeth?" Martha says while turning to the younger woman.
"Let's just say… you two will meet later in the future… after this whole mess is sorted out," Elizabeth states while raising her eyebrows meaningly at Martha who drops her jaw before laughing. "He's single too."
"Really," Martha asks and he nods while looking at them confused. After a year of each other being the only constant confidant they'd become good at reading each other.
"Now… before you two start with the whole flirting thing we need to find the Docherty woman," Elizabeth says with a smile.
"We'll have to wait to the next work shift. What time is it now?" Thomas asks.
"Nearly three o'clock," Martha says while Elizabeth climbs into the back.
-X-
Drumming. Constant drumming echoed in her head. It was painful and incessant. Now she understood how it was possible for a man to go as crazy as her father had been. She could barely hold her sanity as it was. She felt herself detaching from her surroundings. She knew she would if not for her sister's constant chatter inside her head.
Even the Doctor had spoken to her mentally a couple times over the past year. She closed her eyes while leaning against the wall and opened them to see Martha's mom and Tish looking at each other for a moment before separating.
'Again?' she asked Katherine who turned to her and nodded subtly. That's when their father walked in calling for his 'Kate'. Katti held back a sigh before hurrying to the man.
"It's time for my massage. Who would you suggest?" their father asked while taking off his jacket and tossing it onto the table.
"I don't know," Katherine stated blankly. Her voice held no trace of emotion.
"Fine. Tanya. Oh, Lucy, have you met Tanya?" their father said and Katti took a step back. "She's gorgeous. Tanya, when we go to the Stars I'm going to take you to the Catriganova where there are whirlpools of gold. You two should get to know each other, that might be fun."
Isabella looked at Lucy who didn't look happy about this. Then again, Lucy never looked very happy. She could sense the woman had broke mentally. She'd never been completely stable which had only been worsened by the stress he'd put her under.
That's when Tanya began giving him a massage.
An alarm went off.
"What the hell?" The Master yelled before running up the steps. Martha's mother ran to his coat and threw his screwdriver to the Doctor who pointed it at the Master. Bella knew it wouldn't work. She could hear it in the Master's disjointed thoughts.
"Oh, I see," the Master stated while raising his hands in mock surrender.
"I told you, I have one thing to say," the Doctor stated. That's when the Master started laughing.
He went to shoot the Master but nothing happened. The Master leaned forward.
"Isomorphic controls," Isabella stated, her voice emotionless. The Doctor turned to look at her before handing the screwdriver to the Master who punched the Doctor in the face.
"Which means, they only work for me. Like this." The Master said before shooting at Martha's mother. "Izzy."
"Say Sorry, Mrs. Jones," Isabella states, completely cold. The Doctor looked at her before shaking his head. She can hear his sadness. He believes she's gone as mad as her father… and maybe she has in a way. She can't be sure anymore of what is sane and what isn't.
"Sorry, sorry," Martha's mother yelled.
"Mum," Letitia cries while running to her mother.
"Didn't you learn anything from the blessed saint Martha?" their father asks while Lucy runs to his coat and picks it up off of the ground for him. "Siding with the Doctor is a very dangerous thing to do. Take them away."
"Move! Come on." One of the guards says.
"Okay, Gotcha," the Master says to the Doctor while helping him stand. She can feel confliction in his mind. The Doctor is both his best friend and his greatest enemy. He can't decide which one he is at any one moment. His mind having snapped into two. "There you go, Gramps."
"You know. I remember the days when the Doctor, oh, that famous Doctor was waging the Time War, battling sea devils, and axons. He sealed the rift at the Medusa Cascade single handed…" the Master says. She knows he is going to change the topic but another memory is at the forefront of his mind she feels compelled to say.
"Playing in the fields of red grass near the Mount Perdition as a child outside your home with the Doctor there to keep you company," Isabella states and he turns to glare at her. She doesn't look at him.
"She speaks your mind," Katherine says while stepping in front of Isabella, to take any blows that might come.
"You've driven her as mad as you," the Doctor says accusingly.
"Maybe… but at least one of my kids finally takes after me somehow. They are all too goody-goody. Well, except Elizabeth who has always been the violent brat. Did you know when she was only a child of five-years she threatened to kill me? I thought that was the proudest day of my life… one of my children taking after me, becoming a killer. Instead I suppressed it along with her Gallifreyan nature. Now Izzy… she seems to have my mind. I could mold her in my own image. Think about it, a former companion of yours going dark side, following in my path," the Master says. "Izzy, what should we do now?"
She knows he's curious as to what she will say. She looks at Katti and knows what happened in the show.
"Revenge… a dish best served hot. Send a message to Martha Jones using the Dear Doctor," she states, her eyes unblinking. She doesn't notice the looks on Katherine's face or the Doctors. She's been blinded.
"Great idea," the Master says before standing.
-X-
They arrived to find Professor Docherty working on a television set. She tries to tell her they don't work. The professor goes off on a ramble until she announces there is going to be an announcement from the Master.
Then the Master comes on and she gasps when she sees the Doctor come into sight.
"Is he like you?" Martha hears Thomas ask after the Master says the Doctor's an alien.
"He is," Elizabeth mutters before shushing him. They watch him get older and older until he disappears. Then they watch a tiny head pop out of the clothing. A shriveled little man. "Received and understood, Martha Jones and Beth White." That's when the screen clears.
"I'm sorry," Thomas states and Martha smiles at the screen.
"The Doctor's still alive," Martha states. She'd been worried he'd been killed but the Master had just shown her that he still lived
-X-
Hours passed by and Martha left with the Professor and Dr. Milligan to get a sphere. She didn't travel with them. She already knew what they were. She wouldn't be a part of that.
She didn't need to be.
So she sat in the main room, playing with her bracelet. It was a tiny dot. Each sister had a circle just like it. Bella's was on a ring and it didn't have the center filled in and Katti had a necklace that was bigger than any of theirs. They all fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Hers was the center which fit in the center of Bella's ring. On the outside of Bella's ring Katti's necklace would latch fitting perfectly.
They rarely ever wore them. She'd only worn that bracelet because nothing else had looked decent with the outfit she was wearing the day they went to the future. Now she was glad she had. It was the only physical thing she owned that connected her to her past – to her sisters.
It really had been one hell of a long year and she hoped they were okay.
-X-
She looked across the 'room' she and her sister shared. Her eyes kept glancing at Bella who rarely ever reacted to outside influence. She knew her sister had withdrawn deep within herself. Her sister was sickly pale, too skinny, too dead inside. Her dark brown eyes were emotionless, completely lost.
"Bella," Katherine whispered to her sister while looking. She didn't respond. Her eyes stared upwards. She was about to speak when she heard the Master's voice.
"Tomorrow they launch," the Master stated. "We're opening up a rift in the Bracatolian space. Won't see us coming. Kind of scary."
"Then stop," the Doctor's new gravelly voice said.
"Once the new empire is established an there is a new Gallifrey in the heavens maybe then it stops. The drumming… the never ending drum beat, Ever since I was a child, I looked into the vortex and that's when it chose me. The drumming, the call to arms. Can't you hear it?" The Master asked. "Listen, it's there now, right now. Tell me you can hear it Doctor. Tell me."
"It's only you," the Doctor stated.
"Good," Katherine heard the Master say in response.
"Tomorrow, the war! Tomorrow we rise," one of the Toclafane stated, "never to fall."
"You see, I'm doing it for them. You should be grateful, after all, you love them so very, very much," the Master said and Katherine closed her eyes, trying to ignore the fact the Toclafane were actually just the future of Humans. They were 'Future Kind' as they'd called them – what humans had morphed into.
-X-
"There's some sort of Magnetic Clamp," Martha heard Professor Docherty say. "Hold on, I've got to trip the…" with that there was a popping noise and she revealed her face. She slowly opened the metallic shell to reveal a face inside.
When it opened its eyes they all jumped back with a scream.
"It's a live," Docherty stated.
"Martha, Martha Jones," the Toclafane stated.
"It knows you," Tom stated.
"Sweet, kind Martha Jones, you helped us to fly," the Toclafane said. She saw Elizabeth sitting back, away from them though she seemed to find her nails very interesting.
"What do you mean?" Martha asked, confused as to who and what these creatures were. She didn't recognize them so how did they know her?
"You led us to Salvation," the Toclafane stated.
"Who are you?" Martha questioned.
"The skies are made of diamonds." That's when she knew the truth. She knew what they were.
"No. You can't be him," Martha muttered while stepping away from them, not wanting to believe it.
"We share each other's memories. You sent him to Utopia."
"Oh my god," she gasped.
"What's he talking about? What does it mean?" Tom asked.
"What are they?" Docherty asked.
"Martha, Martha, tell us, what are they?" Tom asked.
"They're us, they're humans, the human race from the future," Martha stated, trying to hold back tears which threatened to fall.
-x-