Okay, guys! Here it is! The final chapter. What can I say...It's the last one. Thank you for everything. I'll be back soon :
Thank you! :D
XXI
A STAR, A HUNTER AND A MADMAN
Martha and the Doctor rushed out of the TARDIS, bumping and shoving whomever where in their way.
"Sorry! Excuse me! Dr. Kravchuk!" The Doctor yelled as he ran alongside Martha down the halls at UNIT in Kiev. "Dr. Kravchuk! Ups! Sorry again…"
On an incoming curve, the Doctor let his shoes glide across the floor, then resume the running like a mad man. Yelling the doctor's name on every single hall. Martha followed right behind, apologizing to everyone she'd bump into.
"Dr. Kravchuk!" He yelled going up the stairs, making his way through the crowd of doctors coming down from the lab. "Dr. Kravchuk! Excuse me! Will you…please! Dr. Kravchuk! "
He stopped once he saw the security guards coming towards him.
"Damn it!" He said making a double turn and running the other way.
"What did you expect? You're running and screaming like a mad man!"Martha said running right behind him.
It seemed like a scene from Benny Hill! Doctor and Martha running as fast as they could and security guards right behind them.
"What is going on here!?" A woman yelled. The Doctor stopped running and looked up. Several floors above him, the blonde doctor looked down at him.
"Dr. Kravchuk!" Martha and the Doctor called, their voices echoing. He grabbed her hand and ran up the stairs two flights at a time, going at the woman's encounter. The security guards were on their heel, not giving up.
Once the duo saw her, they stopped running nearly bumping against the doctor.
"What is going on here?" She asked with a confused look. The security guards came a second later pointing their guns at Martha and the Doctor. The doctor ordered them to put their guns down and demanded an explanation "Well?"
The Doctor was so out of breath, that the only thing he managed to do was pull the handkerchief stained with black blood out of his pocket. The doctor looked at it and raised an eyebrow.
"And what is that?"
"It's…" Martha said. "A cure…"
"A cure?" The doctor asked. "A cure for what, exactly?"
"Dean." Martha said. "We…We saw Gayen…This belongs to her…"
In that moment Dr. Kravchuk's blue eyes grew bigger and brighter. She looked at the handkerchief like it was made of pure gold and pearls.
"How did you find this?"
"We went to her." The Doctor said at last. "We met her, she trapped us and played with us. We managed to get out, unharmed and with this." He said waving the humid piece of cloth.
"Careful!" The doctor claimed. "We need that."
Her hand reached out for the handkerchief, but the Doctor backed away.
"What are you doing?" Martha asked surprised.
"If I give you this…" The Doctor said. "You will promise me, that you'll use it only to cure Dean. That's it! No more experiments, no more Yvette. Are we clear?" Doctor's tone was calm and no higher than a whisper, but the threat was clear.
"Doctor…" The woman said.
"Promise me." The Doctor demanded once more.
"I promise." She said. The Doctor didn't move. "I give you my word, Doctor. And my license if you want to."
"Your word is all I need." The Doctor said. He handed her the handkerchief; the doctor put on her gloves before taking it. "How long will it take to find a cure?"
"Well…" She said looking at piece of white cloth with care. "In order for us to find the retrovirus we gave Dean, it took us six months."
"We don't have six months." Martha argued. "I don't even think we have the day."
The Kravchuk's blue eyes rested on her.
"Dean is progressing slowly, which is better than nothing. I will work on this myself as fast as I can…" The doctor's eyes traveled down Martha and landed on her right arm. Immediately, she took a step back. "When did you get that?"
Martha looked at her arm. At first, she had no idea what the doctor was talking about, but then she saw it. It was a cut, which went from her elbow down to her wrist. The cute was still dripping, making little blood spatters next to her foot.
"I…" Martha said. "I didn't realize."
Doctor Kravchuk ran to wall and pushed a red button. The alarm ringed above their heads yelling "Warning! Warning! Warning!" on a loop. Immediately the doors flung open and men in plastic suits, grabbed Martha against her will.
"What are you doing?" The Doctor yelled. Before he could get an answered, another pair of hands grabbed him.
"Don't worry." Doctor Kravchuk said. "It's just for precaution."
"PRECAUTION?" The Doctor yelled. Before he could say anything, a hand pressed a mask to his face.
Just like that the lights went out.
"Will you stop pacing?" The Doctor begged Martha. She was walking back in forth in the Plexiglas cell next him. She wore a white shirt, with white trousers and snickers. The wound on her arm was stitched up, looking ugly. "You're driving me mad. Not helping my headache."
"How long do I have to stay here?" Martha wondered walking back to the Doctor. She looked angry, irritated and a very annoying pain that every now and then shot up and down her elbow.
"I'm here with you, you know?" The Doctor reminded her. He sat on the floor, looking through the glass. "So, your question should be: "how long do we have to stay here?" Which, in answer, I should say: "I have no idea."
"Thank you." Martha answered bitterly. "Thank you for that jewel of information."
"You're being rude."
"And you're not helping!"
"Martha, they had to lock us up and disinfect us. If we had any of Gayen substance within us, do you understand how bad that could be?" The Doctor asked. Martha stopped pacing, with her back to him. Of course, she understood. "Now, stop acting like a child it does not suit you. We'll be out of here soon enough."
Jack was sitting in his chair, with his feet up and enjoying the sweet sound of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. To Jack, Vivaldi's masterpiece was like those type of songs that one only plays on certain occasions. One can go years without playing it, but when that song hits ones ears the feeling remains the same. If not stronger.
He had managed to save the Doctor and Martha in time, returning them to the safety of UNIT in Kiev. He was pleased with himself. A glass of whiskey remained untouched next to him for many minutes now, for he was just enjoying the sound of violin which reminded him of angry bees.
He was so immerse in a vivid memory, that he did not see the flashing light on the screen above his head. The light had been flashing for about ten minutes now, but because Jack had his eyes close, he did not see it.
On the screen, was an image of the space captured by a satellite launched by UNIT, in one of its many secret missions. Under the live feed, was a radar that showed the Earth's atmosphere and the space. The blinking light was approaching the Earth's atmosphere rapidly, however it did not show on the live feed just yet.
Jack opened his eyes, looked at the screen, and then closed them again crossing his hands over his stomach. He was enjoying the way the violins made the sound of snow falling from the sky, the cold…
Wait a minute!
Jack nearly jumped of his chair and looked right at the screen. He got his face closer, as if to make sure he was seeing that blinking dot approaching the Earth.
"Holy crap." He said.
Holy crap, indeed.
Angela was really annoyed at the moment. How in the hell could she beat this game? She got to level 50 and this one was proving to be a bitch. She had to clear all the jelly in 25 moves, every single move she did created a chocolate square, so it got to a point where the jelly part were all chocolate squares! She had no idea that Candy Crush would end up being so damn addictive! To hell all of her friends that send her invites to play that damned game on facebook! It had gotten to a point where she was, not only playing of her phone, but also at work and actually spending money.
Actual money! Every time Angela ran out of lives and frustration got hold of her, she would grab her Visa and buy some lives so she could play some more. It was frustrating and sad.
So, yes. Just like Jack was distracted, so was Angela. She was trying to beat Candy Crush and did not notice the chaos around her. Her big muffled earphones were covering her ears, so the only sound on her head were the sound effects of the game. She wasn't concerned when she saw one or two people ran past her desk. She wasn't even concerned when three people ran by her.
She only noticed when the red alarm light went off. Angela rose her head from behind the screens and saw chaos. Absolut chaos.
"What in the world…?"
Her phone was ringing like crazy with seven calls on hold. People were running from side to side, screaming, and demanding things. She realized how big the trouble was, once she saw that the big screen in front of her was dead.
The phone kept ringing and she finally answered, thinking it was someone else:
"Whata hell is going on?"
But it wasn't who she was expecting.
"I'm supposed to ask you that, Angela!" On the other side the voice sounded angry.
"Jack?" She asked not believing her own ears. Jack, the same man who had saved her life once she was a little girl and did not seem to age. "Why…why are you calling me? How did you find me? How did you get this…?"
"Are you seriously going to ask me that right now? What is happening, why is there a sign of Unknown Object coming towards us?"
"I…I don't know…"
"Were you playing Candy Crush, again?"
"I…Well…"
"Don't you lie to me!" Jack said. Angela's screen went black and Jack's face appeared on it. "I can see right through it"
Angela fell on her chair, not knowing if she should talk to the phone or the screen. She put down her phone and leaned forward on the screen.
"Jack! What is happening?"
"Something bad. We need to work fast and I'm going to be needing your help. I need you to do two favors for me."
"Okay…"
"I need to hack in a Shadow Satellite."
"That's UNIT's division. What do I have to do with it?"
"I need you to deactivate all the satelites."
Angela looked at the screen like she'd been slapped with a white glove.
"Are…you…joking?!"
"Do I look like I'm joking?!" Jack said. "I need you to deactivate the signal from the satellites and keep it block, just time enough for me to hack into the Shadow Satellite and do my thing."
"Are you trying to get me fired?"
Jack slammed his fist on the table.
"Damn it, Angela. Help me or I swear to God I will blow your Candy Crush obsession to NASA and say you're spending their money to pay for you addiction!"
Angela gasped and looked around, making sure no one was listening.
"That's a lie."
"Is it?"
"Yes...I'm not using NASA's money. I would never do that."
"Having in mind your history, that wouldn't come as a surprise, now would it?!"
"I'M NOT!"
"I know you're not! But I need your help!"
"How come I'm the one wearing this ghastly outfit?" Martha asked looking down at herself.
"Because, you were the one whose arm was cut."
"You didn't have any cuts?"
The Doctor raised his arms, showing his unbuttoned sleeves.
"Not one."
"That is unfair"
"Stop it."
Martha kept pacing back and forth in the same rhythm. Her wound was starting to itch, but as a doctor she knew better than to scratch it. Instead, she paced.
Steps came from down the hall and Martha stopped. A few seconds later a doctor came in accompanied by two security guards.
"How are you feeling?" He asked showing his biggest white smile. "Better?"
"Not really." Martha answered. "Can I get out, now?"
"Oh, but of course! That's the reason why I'm here." He said. The soldiers moved to the door, unlocking it and sliding it to the side. "You are free to go. Both of you."
The guards slid the door to the left and Martha walked out. The Doctor came out next, standing next to her with hands in his pocket and a very calm look. The doctor came to him, he was a very small man, with a big belly and thick glasses.
"If you could sign here." The doctor said, showing Martha and the Doctor a contract. They took a quick look at the paper, then back at the small fat doctor. Neither of them batted an eye or moved to sign the document. The doctor looked at both of them and said: "Oh…Okay then. Enjoy your state." He said with a trembling voice and walked away.
"Enjoy your state"? Did he really say that or was he just being a complete snob?" Martha asked looking at the fat doctor walking away.
"You are impossible today." The Doctor said.
"Well, I'm sorry! I've been pushed, kicked, screamed at...I'm bit on edge, but I think I have the right, don't you?"
"Manners."
"Oh..." Martha waved him off and approached the nearby window and leaned to check out the view. That's when things began to look a little bit strange.
"Doctor…"
Behind her back, the Doctor was stretching out his arms.
"Yes?
"What time did we get here?"
"Well, I don't know, but I can tell you…" The Doctor said, bending over and touching his toes "that the sun was coming up."
"How long were we trap with Gayen?
"According to Jack, a few hours. Time passed differently on her planet, minutes are shorter."
"And we were in that cell for about two hours, right?"
"Yes."
"So…" Martha said looking at the sky. "Why is the sun setting?"
"Martha, the sun can't be setting." The Doctor said looking at his golden watch "It's nearly 03:00pm."
"Doctor…" She looked back at him and the Doctor saw the orange light reflected on her black hair. "The sun is setting."
The Doctor ran to the window, pushing Martha aside and stared at the sky. He looked and looked. The sky was orange, the clouds were gone, and the light in Kiev was a pale orange and slowly getting darker. The Doctor blinked, thinking it was a mind trick. But no, everything was orange.
He looked up in the sky right at the sun, which kept shining its yellow glow and saw something coming. Even though, everything was orange, Martha still saw the panic in his eyes and the color draining out of him.
"No. It's not the sun." He said. "There's something coming right at us."
The alarm went off suddenly, getting everyone off guard. Sam, who was sitting next to Dean's, jumped from his chair with his heart racing. The alarm was screaming above his head, soldiers were running from side to side and the doctors as well. He touched Dean's shoulder, as if to tell him he'd be right back and took off the plastic suit.
As he rushed to the door, Doctors marched in towards Dean.
"What's happening?" Sam asked. The Doctors walked right past him and went straight to Dean. They began pulling all the wires and screens. "What are you doing?"
None of the doctors answered, instead they unplugged all the wires, machines and screens and began pushing Dean's bed out of the room.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked standing in the way. One doctor pulled Sam's arm, but he pushed the doctor back. "Where are you taking him?"
The doctor answered him in Uranian, which made Sam even more confused. They pushed Dean's bed out of the room and Sam followed.
As he stepped into the hall, was nearly knocked out by a running soldier. He looked around and people were running like crazy. He realized that the commotion was not just inside the building, but outside there was a lot of noise and confusion coming from outside. Sam stepped out into the balcony, not understanding what was happening. As he looked down, he saw that the traffic in Kiev had stopped and there were all these people in the street looking and pointing to the sky.
Wait. Why was Kiev bathed in this blood orange light?
Sam looked up and his heart stopped. High above there was something ripping the skies in half and coming down so fast, it was impossible.
"Oh God!"
"SAM!" Sam turned around and saw Martha. He ran to her and took her in his arms.
"Hey."
"Hi. You're back."
"I am."
Sam and Martha kept their hands together, feeling each other's pulse and eventually synchronizing. Sam looked at Martha, whom had a dark red light on the side of her face.
"What's happening?"
"Gayen. She's coming."
The Doctor hoped to God this plan would work. The call had come in weirdest and uncommon way. He was coming up the stairs to the roof, when he heard the emergency phone ring. With bigger issues in mind, the Doctor ignored the emergency phone and kept running up the stairs.
As he ran to the upper the floor, the red phone rang as he passed by. The Doctor looked at the phone, but he passed right by it and kept going up.
Now, once was a happening, a second time was a coincidence, but a third time? Although, he found it odd that a phone would ring again as he raced up the stairs, he kept going. But, his sharped sixth sense, made him stop mid stairs and turn around.
He came down the stairs and grabbed the red phone.
"Hello?"
"Took you long enough!" A voice he was familiar with came from the other side. Before he had time to ask how did he managed to do this, he continued. "We don't have much time. I need you to go to the roof…"
"As you can see, I was already going there."
"Stop talking. I have something that might work, however I need you to get Gayen in place, yeah?"
"What is it…?"
"I've hacked into a Shadow Satellite. I'm going to pull her, so don't stand to close or you'll be pulled…"
"A what?! How did you managed to do…?"
"You're wasting time. Get going!"
"Well, how will I know…?" On the other side he hang up and the Doctor was left with no answer.
The Doctor sped up the stairs, reaching for that last floor and pushed open the door. He looked around and all he saw was red. The sky was dark red and cast a light over the city that reminded him of a horror movie. He was looking at the sky waiting. The sun's brightness was nothing compared to the fire ball coming towards him ripping through the clouds and coming at him like a spear.
"Come on now…" The Doctor said to himself. "I know you see me."
Gayen did. She went straight at the Doctor ready to pass right through him and cut him into pieces.
She stopped. Just a few feet above the Doctor's head and stood there. She floated like a fireball with mixes of yellow, red and black. At first, she was shapeless, but rapidly it gain a form. In the middle of the red ball of flame, a womanly figure appeared in yellow light. Her eyes were black, her mouth too and her hair, made of yellow tongues of fire, twirled around her face.
Her voice crept inside the Doctor's voice like a whisper.
Ready to meet your destiny?
"Not very fond of death."
I promise. It'll be slow and painful.
"That's nice of you." The Doctor answered. The flames burst out, becoming more intense. The heat coming down, making the Doctor sweat and the light almost blinding him.
The door to the roof slammed open, allowing both Sam and Martha to come out.
"DOCTOR!" She hollered and began to run towards him.
"DON'T LET HER COME, SAM!" He yelled back stretching out his hand, but not looking away from Gayen. Sam wrapped his arms around Martha's waist to stop her.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Martha yelled trying to run away from Sam's embrace.
"I don't know…" The Doctor said, not finding words. "Sure hope Jack does, though…"
Then, Gayen's flamed became darker and darker. The womanly figure disappeared and made way for what it seemed to be a horrific mouth into nowhere and the flaming eyes. It remembered a skull surrounded in black tongues of fire.
As the mouth opened more and more, the temperature dropped and Kiev grew a darker shade of red. Blood red.
The Doctor opened his arms, ready for…well, whatever it was that was coming his way. He ignored Martha's screams in the background and tried not to think of the thousands of civilians that would die after him.
The expectation could be compared to the feeling you have when you're about to be smacked in the face with a really heavy object. And you, you just know, it's going to hurt. So, he waited. The seconds dragged on, the temperature dropped to the point where shivers were travelling up and down his spine and his teeth began chattering.
Good bye, Doctor.
A sound similar to what a plastic bag full of water exploding would make was heard. However, this sound came out muffled. The Doctor opened one eye, processing what he saw…
Then, he opened the other eye and couldn't help but laughing.
Gayen, was trapped inside, what seemed to be, a bubble. He mouth opened so wide letting out a screaming, that would most definitely make all the citizens in Kiev deaf, but again it came out muffled. As if Gayen were in a whole.
"What!" He said, laughing. The Doctor put his hand on his waist looking at Gayen. "Feeling a little trapped are we?"
"What did you do?" Martha asked.
"I didn't do anything." The Doctor answered. "Jack, did."
The Doctor pointed up. The bubble was being projected by this beam of light coming from outer space.
Sam and Martha stood next to the Doctor, looking at Gayen who was trapped and shifting from woman to skull figure.
"Where is that coming from?" Sam asked.
"A Shadow Satellite." Martha answered for him. "I thought those were myths."
"Not at all." He said. "Shadow Satellites were invented by UNIT, they are known for being strategically positioned around the globe in places in the shade of normal satellites, because they are…you know…illegal."
"What do they do?" Sam asked.
"They are portals…" The Doctor said. "Whenever an alien menace gets too close, UNIT switches on the satellites and they create an invisible portal. One second they're almost entering the Earth's atmosphere, the next they're landing in a deserted planet in the middle of nowhere."
Inside the bubble Gayen screamed again sending ripples throughout the bubble. The prison wouldn't hold for much long. Just as they thought, it would break Gayen began to rise gently. In the meantime Gayen would scream and scratch the bubble, trying to escape so she could kill everyone in sight.
Once the bubble was so high in the sky it was nothing more than a tiny dot, it disappeared with a faint glow.
Kiev returned to its normal sun light, but it was quiet. The city was in shock with what had just happened. No one understood. It wouldn't take long for UNIT to come with its tricks and magic words to make it all go away. The titles would read that it was hoax, a trickery, a special effect for a movie or something of a kind. They would find a way to make the Gayen appearance nothing but a mirage…
However, the conspiracy theorist would have a fun day.
Slowly, the day went back to normal. Sam was asked to leave Dean's side as the Dr. Kravchuk would test him for the first result of the new retrovirus. The way Dean's system reacted to the treatment would ensure the way it could be improved. The only problem is, Dean did not have time to be a test dummy.
Sam sat in a corridor with Martha by his side, while the Doctor stared out the window. Kiev was now preparing itself to enter the night, as the sun began to set in the horizon. Sam was nervous inside and out; his hands were slightly trembling, his heart beating against his chest and having cold sweats.
Martha sat next to him, holding his hand and occasionally stroking his arm, as to remember him that she was right there. Her head rested against his shoulder and since she'd stop drawing circles in the back of his hand, Sam assumed she'd fallen asleep.
"Sam?" Dr. Kravchuk called him. Sam fought the urge to jump to his feet, as soon as he saw Martha leaning against him. He shook her gently, waking her up and, when she saw the Dr. she immediately stood up.
"Dr.?" Martha asked. "Any developments?"
Dr. Kravchuk swallowed hard and looked away.
"I did my best…" She said. Immediately, Sam grabbed Martha's arm. "We knew it was a risk…"
"I want to see him." Sam cut her off.
"Of course." The Dr. said. "Follow me."
The Dr. led the way to a path that Sam already knew too well. She led the way to Dean's room…
Sam's heart pounding against his chest, tears burning in the back of his eyes and his mouth as dry as sandpaper.
He walked in the room…
And saw Dean, resting against his pillows.
"Dean…" Sam came closer to his brother. He looked a lot better; the yellowish color was gone, his eyes were turning back to the normal green, although they were swollen. He looked a lot better than before, but not completely well.
"Hey, Sammy…" Dean whispered showing the faintest of smiles.
"Dean, resting is imperative." Dr. Kravchuk said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Save your strength." Dean nodded, closed his eyes and fell asleep. "The first trial worked fine. We need to refine the retrovirus, but if we keep in this track by the end of the week Dean will be up and running."
Sam let out a relieved sigh and a smile. He looked back at Martha so smiled as well. Dr. Kravchuk left the room in silence, allowing Sam, Martha and Doctor to spend some time with Dean.
"Thank you." Sam said. He looked at the Doctor. "Thank you, so much."
"You're welcome…" The Doctor said. He scratched the back of his head, then walked to the room door, closely it gently. He turned to Sam and Martha with a smile. "I mean…you can always repay me…"
Martha looked back at the Doctor with an inquisitive look and Sam lost his smile.
"How…How will I do that?" He asked.
"No, why would he do that?" Martha asked.
"Calm down, Jones." The Doctor said. He looked at Sam and showed his best smile. "There's only way you can repay me for all I did…" The Doctor leaned back against the door, with his hands on his pockets. "Come with me."
"What?" Both Sam and Martha asked
"Yes, come with me." The Doctor said. He looked at Martha and winked. "Both of you."
Martha let the idea sink in and slowly a huge smile grew on her face. Remember that question: If the Doctor showed up today, would you go? Martha's answer was always: yes.
"Yes." She said. "Yes."
The Doctor ran towards her, grabbed her by the waist lifting her up from the ground.
"Oh Martha! Martha, my star! You and I will travel galaxies! I will take you to places you haven't been before! You see things that will blow your mind…"
"Wait…" Sam said. The Doctor looked at Sam. "I can't leave Dean."
"Sam, Sam…" The Doctor said, putting both his hands on the Winchester's soldier. "I have a time machine." He said. "When we return, it wouldn't have pass more than five minutes…"
Sam looked at him. The doubt was clearly weighing on him, because he wanted to go, but he did not want to leave his brother's side.
"Five minutes?" He asked looking back at Dean, who was now sleeping.
"Five minutes." The Doctor reassured. "Where do you want to go?"
Sam looked back at him.
"Where can we go?"
"Anywhere." Martha said, standing next to the Doctor. "Anywhere, anytime."
"So, Sam…" The Doctor called. "Are you in?"
Sam showed the biggest of smiles.
"Hell yeah."