Chapter Thirty-Seven
(The next morning…)
The Master woke early. He glanced over at Lucy sleeping in bed next to him. He ran a finger down her cheek admiring his wife's beauty and then rose to get dressed.
Once he was finished, he walked to his office and sat down in his chair. He called out summoning a Toclafane to him. A few seconds passed and a Toclafane appeared next to him.
"Gather your people together. I have a mission for all of you."
"Yes, Master?" the Toclafane said.
He grinned.
"Tell everyone to fly to the island of Japan and annihilate it. Kill everyone without mercy."
"Yes, Master."
The Toclafane vanished. The Master got up from his seat.
"Now to sic my dog on the Doctor and Rose." He said going out the door.
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Martha stepped outside the door of Toshi and Yoko's house. Another successful talk to about forty people had taken place the night before. What was even better, the people had promised that they would spread her message to anyone they could find making Martha's job all the easier. With any luck, her message would spread far and wide and she wouldn't have to go to as many places.
She glanced up at the sky and frowned when she noticed a huge black mass descending towards them. She stared at it in confusion for a moment as the mass got bigger and then it suddenly hit her what the mass was.
"Oh my God!" she said.
She ran back inside.
"TOSHI, THE TOCLAFANE ARE COMING! MOVE! YOU HAVE TO GET EVERYONE TO SAFETY!" she screamed.
She heard terrified screaming outside as she grabbed Toshi's hand and ran with him and Yoko out the door. The Toclafane were everywhere, blackening the sky and blotting out the sun as all six billion Toclafane descended on Japan. Martha dodged laser bolts as she tried to help Toshi and Yoko get to safety. She heard a scream and they turned and watched horrified as a laser bolt hit Yoko's leg and two Toclafane began to cut her up.
"Yoko!" Toshi said trying to get back to her.
"No! There's nothing you can do for her now!" Martha said tugging at his arm.
Martha gasped when he broke free of her grasp and grabbed an oar leaning up against a nearby house. Martha stood, frozen, as Toshi tried to hit the Toclafane away from his dying wife. She put her hand to her mouth when one of them shot a laser bolt directly into his skull and he fell to the ground dead. As the Toclafane finished cutting up his wife, Martha took the opportunity to dive into a nearby house.
"Martha!" a woman begged as she held her little girl close to her. "Help us! Make them stop!"
"I…I…can't." Martha said helplessly.
Martha gasped when the Toclafane burst through the door and shot at the woman and girl killing them both instantly. She closed her eyes and her stomach turned as the two of them laughed and began to chop them up into bits. Helpless to save the terrified people from the Toclafane's wrath, she ran over to a wooden table, turned it on her side and hunched down behind it, hoping and praying that they would stop their attack soon.
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The door opened and the Master entered the room.
"Is he finished?" he asked the guard.
"Yes, Master." The guard said pointing to the lab table.
"Thank you, you both can go back to your duties." He said to him and the other guard.
They nodded and left the room. The Master walked over to the table. The alternate Doctor was lying there quietly staring up at the ceiling. He was still restrained, but he was making no attempt to break free. The Master put his hand on his shoulder and he looked at him.
"Hello, how are you feeling?" the Master asked him.
"Fine." The alternate Doctor said in a hollow voice.
"Good. Are you ready to go to work?"
"Yes, Master."
The Master grinned. He walked around him undoing the restraints. Once the last one was unbuckled, he stepped back and waited. The alternate Doctor was looking at him, but made no attempt to get up.
"Excellent." The Master muttered.
He drew closer to him.
"Rise and follow me. I will give you instructions on the way to the escape pod."
"Yes, Master." The alternate Doctor said.
The Master chuckled to himself as the alternate Doctor rose, got off the table and followed him out the door.
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"Ah, warmth." The Doctor said as he and Rose walked through the front door of their new home. "This place beats the Valiant, that's for sure."
He smiled at Rose.
"I love that we made sure that Julie and her mum can enjoy the same heat that we are enjoying."
"Me too." Rose said. "We need to go back in a day or two and do it again."
"I agree."
She took his hand.
"See, you still can make a difference even if you are an old and decrepit fart."
She giggled as the Doctor shot her a look.
"I'll just pretend you didn't say that, Tyler." He said giving her a stern look.
The stern look melted away when Rose giggled and he poked her side.
"Come on, Rose, let's see if we can find something to fix for supper tonight." He said.
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A few hours later, the Doctor and Rose settled down. They had managed to unthaw some chicken and fry it up. They had also found some box of mashed potato mix and made that as well. Carrying their food to the living room, Rose and the Doctor settled down into the couch and the Doctor picked up the remote.
"Let's see what the windbag has to say this evening." He said.
He sighed when he saw the usual alert about him and Rose.
"You know they could put up a better pic of me, I look like a crabby old bugger there." He said.
"You are a crabby, old…"
She gasped when the Doctor seized the side of her neck.
"Wanna live? Shut your gob and behave." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
He released his grip.
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of these two, please contact your security officer as soon as possible.
Rose gasped as the Doctor suddenly leaped to his feet.
"NAH, NAH, NAH, NAH-NAH! YOU CAN'T GET US!" he taunted the voiceover.
"Doctor…"
He turned around, bent over and put one hand on the couch while he jabbed his finger repeatedly at his butt.
"Kiss my arse!"
"Doctor!"
The Doctor looked at her.
"Yeah?"
"What's the point of you doing this?"
"Um, it makes me feel superior to the Master?"
"Sit down, Doctor. Shut your gob and behave."
"Hey, can I help it if I'm feeling smug right now?"
Rose rolled her eyes and put her fork into her mashed potatoes.
They both ate as they listened to the alert. When the Master came on with his usual speech, Rose tried not to laugh and choke on her food while she listened to the Doctor taunt the screen and make crude remarks about the Master's virility.
"I'm older than dirt and I get more than you!" he yelled at the Master.
Rose giggled and shook her head.
"At least I don't have to enlist other people to volunteer to wipe my bum, you lazy slag!" he said.
Rose snorted out laughter.
"Geez," she said.
"You looked better as an old man, now you look like an effeminate tart!"
"Look who's talking."
She tensed when the Doctor paused and gave her a wide-eyed look.
"Although you don't look like the effeminate tart anymore, you just look like a crabby old fart." She added giggling.
He paused for a moment and then she noticed him eyeing her plate resting on her lap.
"Don't even think of it, Doctor!" she said putting the plate out of his reach.
She regretted that decision when he immediately began to tickle her armpits.
"Thank you for removing the plate so I wouldn't have to soil the royal furniture." He said as she howled with laughter." You're such a helpful companion."
He smiled as she slowly slid off the couch onto the floor, laughing, and he let up.
"That'll teach you!" he said, picking up his plate and pulling off a bit of chicken.
Rose swatted at his arm and sat back down beside him. She grabbed her plate and resumed eating.
"Hear that, Rose just questioned my virility and it's all your fault!" he yelled at the Master.
"I did not!" Rose said laughing. "Calling you a crabby…"
She paused when the Doctor shot her a devilish look.
"Calling you THAT was not questioning your virility." She said.
She paused.
"You old fart who is suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia and can't remember what I said two seconds ago."
She laughed and leapt up carrying her plate as the Doctor made a grab at her.
"It was a good thing you moved. "He said.
She chuckled as she sat back down beside him.
And now I would like to once again address the criminals Doctor and Rose Tyler.
"Ooooo, lookie Rose, the Master is giving us another personal message of love! I feel so needed!" he said poking her in the arm repeatedly as Rose swatted at his chest.
"You are hyper tonight, you know that?" Rose said.
He grinned at her.
"Hey, I had a good day today!" he said.
"Good." Rose said smiling.
"Doctor, I know that you are just dying to know everything I'm doing."
"Oh bugger, Rose, he's turned the Valiant into the Big Brother house now. Hunker down. We're about to be tortured with gratuitous shots of the Master prancing naked through the ship whilst singing at the top of his voice." He said as she shook her head and snickered.
"I just want to show you what's been going on in Japan where Martha Jones is currently at."
The laughter faded and both of them turned their heads and looked at the screen in silence.
"You see, I'm growing tired of Martha running around free so I've finally decided to take some action. Behold, Doctor, here is what Japan looked like after the Toclafane got through with it."
The Doctor and Rose gasped when they saw Japan in flaming ruins. The Doctor gripped the rim of his plate as he fought to control his temper. It cut back to the Master who had a smug grin on his face.
"Japan is now cleansed, Doctor. Everyone in Japan is now dead. They haven't found Martha among the dead yet. But then again, if she has a perception filter on…"
"YOU BASTARD!" the Doctor screamed at the TV. "IF SHE'S DEAD…"
"Doctor, she's escaped, hasn't she?" Rose said gripping his arm. "She can't be dead."
The Doctor was speechless. He put his hand on hers. Rose shifted closer to him and put her head on his shoulder when he saw the tears forming in his eyes.
"So, hopefully, that's the last we've seen of Martha Jones." The Master said cheerfully. "And for the rest of you who are thinking of resisting me, just remember Japan is now just an empty island and it would so easy to make the rest of the world empty as well."
He waved at the camera.
"Night-night, Doctor, sleep well, if you can."
Rose jumped out of her skin as the Doctor half screamed, half cried out in anguish. Her blood turned cold listening to her beloved screaming out his vengeance in a half crazed rage. Not used to seeing him this way, she put her plate aside and ran fearfully from the room towards their bedroom half scared of what he might do to himself or to her. She flung herself onto the bed and shut her eyes as tears flowed down her cheeks. She gripped her pillow and held it to her trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She wasn't sure how long it was until he felt him beside her but she flinched when he felt his arms around her and she tried to move away.
"No!" The Doctor said crying as he pulled her to him. "Oh Rose, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I love you with all my hearts; I'd never hurt you. Don't be scared of me, please!"
Rose wept as she snuggled into his arms. The Doctor kissed her repeatedly, sobbing as he blubbered out his apologies and his love for her, begging her not to be frightened and swearing he would never hurt her. Rose kissed him back, trying to assured him that she wouldn't leave him, that she understood why he had acted that way and that she knew that he would never hurt her. They gripped each other tightly, the Doctor sobbing and holding her close.
"My Angel, I'm sorry." He whispered.
"I forgive you, Doctor. I really do." She said.
She laid her head against his chest and listened to him, rubbing his back as he wept for all the people that the Toclafane had killed.