Last of the Time Lords: Reversal
"Stop it!" the Master glared, watching as the swarm of light grew whiter and brighter around the Doctor, the man starting to float within the birdcage, "No, no, no, no, you don't!"
Angel closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the light on her face, feeling the strength within the power of it. It felt just like the Doctor.
"Doctor…" Jack breathed, closing his eyes.
"Doctor," Mrs. Jones did the same.
"Don…" the Master began, steadily growing more frantic. He turned to see a screen on the walls showing crowds of people across the world gathered, all calling 'Doctor!' and glared, "Stop this right now! Stop it!"
"Doctor," Lucy joined.
"Doctor," Angel smiled, a single tear falling from her closed eyes, pouring all her faith and trust and love into that one word.
"Doctor," Martha added.
The Doctor broke free from his cage, de-aging back to an old man, "I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices," he told the Master, his face set, his expression hard, his hands curled into fists.
He could imagine, he could imagine quite clearly, that this must have been what Angel had felt when she'd taken in the Vortex, all that power, all that emotion...the ability to truly to anything to anyone that you pleased. And right now...he wanted nothing more than to murder the Master for what he'd done to her...
"I order you to stop!" the Master commanded, actually growing a bit fearful at the rage he saw in the Doctor's eyes.
But all across the Earth, people broke free of his control, the story of Martha Jones ringing in their minds, her instructions clear, their hope at freedom in their chanting, and so they kept on, shouting 'Doctor' over and over again.
And the Doctor returned to his normal youthful self, smirking dangerously at the Master, "The one thing you can't do. Stop them thinking."
Martha and Jack laughed as the Master stared in shock as the Doctor used the telepathic field to levitate himself into the air before them.
"Tell me the Human Race is degenerate now when they can do this!" he held out his arms and, for the first time, removed his gaze from the Master, to grin so proudly at Martha for what she had done in helping him get to this point, before he focused on his enemy again, on the man who had endangered his Mate.
Martha laughed and turned, running to her family, hugging her mother and father and sister, while Jack raced over to Angel's side, needing to check on her. It had been pure torture not to be able to see the girl. He'd been chained up as soon as the Toclafane attacked the planet, the Master knowing he needed to stop him from doing anything. Angel hadn't been allowed to see him, at all. The Master, it seemed, wanted to watch the Doctor suffering much more than he cared about a miserable, if impossible, human so he'd allowed the Time Lords to be together only to tear them away from each other at the most random of times.
But it had still killed him more to not see Angel that whole year.
Or so the Master would think.
But Angel, she was a clever girl even if she didn't believe it. At first, when she'd been healthier, she'd sneak in and see him. She'd manage to sneak away during her time with the Doctor, bypass the guards using her feelings, and 'guess' at the passcode to the chamber he was in, just to see him. The Master didn't seem to consider Angel much of a threat as he recalled from his time as Yana that Angel didn't seem particularly clever...but she really was brilliant in her own way. And her hugs...that girl had to have magic hugs or something because every time she'd throw her arms around him and just hug him regardless of the fact he couldn't hug back, he felt so much better. It was like...no matter how weary or worn or pained he was...just a hug from her brightened his entire month and he felt better.
But the visits grew less frequent the last few months, and he knew why. Tish would often tell him, quietly, under her breath, how the Doctor and Angel were. He'd felt like he'd been punched in the gut when he'd learned Angel was dying. He'd noticed she looked paler, felt like she was warmer when she hugged him, and she looked more tired, like she hadn't been sleeping much. He'd hoped it was just her worry over the Earth and the Doctor and him and Martha and nothing too serious. But it was, it was deadly serious. She really was dying and, the last three months exactly, he hadn't seen her at all. Tish had barely been able to speak of the woman, the tears in her eyes and voice breaking up her words and he knew it was bad.
"Angie," he whispered, pulling her into his arms and holding her as she shivered, he had to hope that the Doctor had a way to save her, the man HAD to have one. He had to.
"No!" the Master fired the laser at the Doctor, not even caring that Martha and Jack had been released, but the field protected him.
"For the first time Master," the Doctor shook his head at the Master, "I'm not sorry."
"Then I'll kill her!" the Master spun to aim the laser at Angel, Jack moving in front of her to block the attack, all too ready to die for her as he would always be even if he couldn't just come back to life, but the Doctor telekinetically threw the laser screwdriver as far away across the room as it could go, a deadly, dark look on his face as he glared at the Master for daring to threaten his Mate, "You can't do this! You can't do…it's not fair!"
The Doctor just stared at him, breathing heavily at the effort it was taking him to gain control of himself once more, to fight the power telling him to do it, to end the man before him, "And you know what happens now."
"No!" the Master backed away, down the stairs, as the Doctor floated towards him, "No!" he cowered, "No! No!"
"You wouldn't listen…" the Doctor continued, forcing the emotions down, forcing them down with everything he had...
"No!"
"Because you know what I'm going to say," he forced them down for one reason only...because he'd made a promise...
~8~
"Promise me something," Angel whispered as she laid beside him agianst the wall of the conference room, curled up against him, shivering, her head pounding.
He looked at her, already able to feel her body starting to shut down and it had only been about six months, "Anything," he swore.
She looked up at him, her chocolate brown eyes still warm, the golden flecks magnified by the tears in them, "When I'm gone..."
"Don't," he shook his head, feeling tears filling his own eyes just from those three words, "You're not going anywhere."
She squeezed the hand she was holding, "When I'm gone," she continued and he was silent, knowing this was important to her that she say it, that he listen, "Promise me you won't blame him," she swallowed, "That you won't hate him, that you won't hurt him."
"Angel," he let out a breath, how could she ask that of him? The Master was responsible for all of this! Not just the Earth, not just the destruction to time itself, but...for her. She was dying because of that madman and there she was, begging him not to take revenge?!
"Please," she took a shuddering breath, the tears falling now, "Please. I need to know that you'll still be the same Doctor, even without the Angel."
He shook his head, "I'll never be the same," he told her, meaning it, "Not ever."
He truly couldn't imagine his life without her. He'd been alone, he'd been hurt, he'd been so...broken. And she appeared, like a light in the darkness, his own personal guardian angel. She'd stood at his side, she'd taken his hand, she hadn't ever left him. She'd made him feel better, she'd taken away the pain, she'd lightened his burdened soul of its guilt. She'd healed him...healed him of things he hadn't even known were broken, fixed him, much like she had the TARDIS.
He would shatter completely without her there, he knew it. He'd never ever be the same man if his Mate died, no...if Angel died. There would be nothing left for him. The Universe...what was the point of seeing it without showing its wonders to Angel? The girl had never left Gallifrey before she'd met him, had been so awed to see everything it had to offer. What was the point of taking on a companion if they were human and not the most remarkable Time Lady he'd ever met? What was the point in taking them on if they wouldn't be Angel's best friend or sibling? There was no point, they'd just fade away to distant memories without Angel there to remember them and remind him of them. What was the point in even going on without her there beside him?
The point was...she wanted him to.
The point was...that was what the Doctor did.
He explored the Universe with a companion and saved people, helped them, healed them.
The way she had him.
He nodded, kissing her hair, "I will never be the same," he repeated, "But I promise...I'll find someway to forgive him."
Because that was her dying wish it seemed, that he not lose himself in the darkness she always pulled him out of.
That he not become a twisted version of himself, so full of hate and bitterness and anger, all coming from what the Master had done.
That he forgive the man because...she would have done the same, she always did, she forgave him for what he'd done to their people and he knew, even then, that she also forgave the Master for what he was doing to her.
Forgiveness...that was Angel in a nutshell.
~8~
"No!" the Master curled up on himself as the Doctor touched down and moved over to the whimpering man, pulling him into his arms.
"I forgive you," the Doctor said, swallowing hard, trying his very best to mean it, because he'd promised.
"Me…too," Angel called to them softly, Jack cradling her in his arms to keep her steady.
The Master glared at them before calling out, "My children! Protect the paradox!"
~8~
"Protect the paradox!" the spheres chanted, hearing him, swarming back towards the Valiant, "Protect the paradox! Protect the paradox!"
~8~
"Captain!" the Doctor looked at him, "The Paradox Machine!"
"Go…" Angel whispered, urging him to go, knowing he was torn between doing that and not wanting to leave her.
Jack nodded, gently placing her against the wall, before turning to the guards, "You men! With me!" he pointed to a few before point at some others, "You stay here!"
The Master grabbed the manipulator from his pocket and hit it.
"No!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing it just in time, the two of them disappearing.
Martha rushed over to Angel's side as the girl struggled to move.
~8~
The Master and the Doctor teleported onto a cliff, "Now it ends, Doctor!" the Master threw out his arms, listening to the thunder rolling, "Now it ends!"
Alarms sounded at the nearby shipyard.
~8~
Jack raced through the corridors with the guards.
~8~
"We've all 6 billion spheres heading straight for us!" Martha looked over as her sister called from the computer.
~8~
"We've got control of the Valiant," the Doctor reminded him, "You can't launch."
"Oh, but I've got this," he held up a small button, "Black hole converter inside every ship. If I can't have this world, Doctor, then neither can you. We shall stand upon this Earth, together, as it burns!"
~8~
Jack reached the TARDIS, only to see three spheres guarding it, "Can't get in," one of the guards remarked, "We'd get slaughtered!"
"Yeah," Jack nodded, exasperated, "Happens to me a lot."
And with that, he went in, firing, taking out all the spheres he could before he 'died' to give the men a fighting chance.
~8~
Martha looked over as her mother and Tish watched the monitor on the bridge, the spheres were getting closer.
~8~
"Weapon after weapon after weapon," the Doctor shook his head, "All you do is talk and talk and talk. But over all these years…and all these disasters, I've always had the greatest secret of them all. I know you. Explode those ships, you kill yourself. That's the one thing you can never do. And I won't let you kill her," he swore, holding out a hand for the button, Angel might be dying, but she wasn't dead yet, he was NOT going to let her burn, "Give. That. To. Me."
The Master paused, struggling with himself, before handing it over.
~8~
Jack made it inside the TARDIS, firing at pretty much everything that didn't look like it was a normal part of the magic time travelling box, causing sparks to fly as the Paradox Machine was destroyed.
~8~
The Doctor and the Master fell to the ground as the Earth shook, both fighting for control of the manipulator till the Doctor managed to activate it and send them back to the Valiant.
~8~
The spheres disappeared mere moments before they reached the ship.
~8~
The Valiant rocked dangerously as the paradox was stopped.
Martha held tight to Angel, trying to keep the sick woman steady, when another person appeared beside her, helping her. She looked over to see the Doctor wrap an arm around Angel to stabilize her, "Everyone down!" he called, "Time is reversing!" he gently pulled Angel to the floor, holding her close as they laid face-to-face with Martha, Angel weakly trying to hold onto the woman's hand as the room shook.
Mrs. Jones spotted a gun on the floor and looked over at the Master as he clung to the railings.
~8~
Time rolled backwards on Earth as people screamed, not knowing what was going on. All of them slowly began to disappear as did every change the Master made, from the statues to the shipyards and beyond.
~8~
Time slowed as the Valiant stilled, all the cities back to normal as visible on the various monitors and screens of the bridge. The Doctor gently handed Angel to Martha before getting up and checking the controls, "The paradox is broken. We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past 8:00 in the morning."
He switched on a comm. to hear, "This is UNIT Central. What's happened up there? We just saw the president assassinated!"
"You see?" he turned to the people in the room, "Just after the president was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror. It never was."
"What about the spheres?" Martha shook her head, her hand absently rubbing Angel's back as the girl slowly stopped shaking.
"Trapped at the end of the Universe."
"But I remember it," Mrs. Jones breathed.
"We're at the eye of the storm. The only ones who'll ever know," and then he noticed Mr. Jones behind her, "Oh, hello! You must be Mr. Jones! We haven't actually met..."
Seeing him distracted, the Master made a break for it, but was stopped by Jack as he returned, "Whoa, big fella! You don't want to miss the party," he turned to a guard behind him, "Cuffs," he smirked, cuffing the Master's hands behind his back with pleasure, "So, what do we do with this one?"
"We kill him," Mr. Jones stepped forward.
"We execute him," Tish nodded.
"No, that's not the solution," the Doctor said.
"Oh, I think so," Mrs. Jones raised the gun she'd seen on the floor, her hand shaking as she did from the torment of it all, "'Cos all those…things, they still happened because of him. I saw them."
"Go on!" the Master baited, grinning madly, "Do it!"
"Francine, you're better than him," the Doctor said, taking her hand and lowering the gun till she dropped it, pulling her into a tight, comforting hug.
"You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?"
"You'll come with us," Angel got up, "You're the only other Time Lord left besides us, we need to stick together."
The Doctor looked over at his Mate, stunned to see her standing up on her own power, still looking pale and worn but with a strength in her eyes and voice that he hadn't seen and heard in months. He dashed over to her, putting a hand on her waist and shoulder as he had often done the last few months to support her, not sure she was truly ok, "Are you alright?"
She nodded, smiling widely, "I feel fine," she promised, taking his hand and squeezing it, even her grip stronger, "Truly fine. Time reversed, the Paradox Machine never started up, and if it never was, then the TARDIS was never sick. The TARDIS will be fine, and," she laughed a little, so relieved, "So will I."
He beamed at her before pulling her into a tight hug, picking her up, spinning her around, both of them laughing with happiness, Jack and Martha watching on with large grins and tears in their eyes, both just thrilled to see Angel better once more...
But then Angel's words registered and Jack shook his head, "Are you two insane?" Jack called out, "You can't trust him!" he looked at Angel, "Angie you were dying because of him!"
"I know Jack," Angel said as they turned to Jack, the Doctor moving his arms around her waist, holding her back against his front, just turning from side to side gently, "But we can't just leave him," she sighed, having to admit, "Look at what he did to the Earth," she shook her head, "The safest place for him is the TARDIS."
"You mean you're just gonna…keep me?" the Master grimaced at the idea of it, of his prowess being contained and watched and...locked up.
"Hmm," the Doctor hummed, resting his chin on Angel's head as he looked at Jack, "If that's what we have to do."
Suddenly a gunshot rang out.
They turned to see the Master stagger backwards and Lucy holding a gun.
Jack strode over and pulled the gun away from her as the Doctor ran to the Master, grabbing him as he fell, "There you go. I've got you. I've got you," he lowered the man gently to the floor as Angel slowly walked over and knelt on the other side of him.
"Always the women," the Master muttered, thinking back to Chantho and how SHE had shot him as well.
"I didn't even see her," Angel muttered, feeling guilty already for what had happened. Her head was still a bit jumbled from the reversal of time, her body getting used to not being on the brink of death…
"Me, dying in your arms, instead of your Mate," the Master looked at the Doctor, "Happy now?"
"You're not dying, don't be stupid," the Doctor said, "It's only a bullet. And YOU can regenerate."
The Master's jaw tensed, "No."
"One little bullet. Come on."
"I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse."
"Regenerate," the Doctor's voice broke.
At this moment, despite all that had happened, despite everything the man had done to the Earth, despite how close he'd come to losing his Mate because of the other Time Lord...Angel's promise...he HAD forgiven the man, he had to have, for her, and she was alright again. That was what had driven his anger before, Angel's plight, but she was fine, and the Earth was fine and...right now...because of all that...it was so easy to recall they'd been friends once.
"Just regenerate. Please! Please! Just regenerate! Come on!"
Angel reached out and put a hand on the Doctor's arm, shaking her head, just knowing he wasn't going to regenerate.
"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you and your Mate?"
"You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only three left, there's no one else but us. Regenerate!"
"How about that?" the Master smirked, "I win," he took a shuddering breath and looked at Angel, secretly wanting to feel...better...just once more, just wanting a shred of comfort, "Will it stop? The drumming. Will it finally stop?"
Angel blinked, her eyes full of tears, and shook her head, she didn't know. She really didn't.
The Master closed his eyes, letting out his last breath.
The Doctor's face crumbled as he pulled the Master into his arms, rocking his friend, a man who had once been like a brother to him, back and forth as he cried. Angel got up and moved to his side, hugging him as he hugged the Master, tears in her eyes as well. She knew what the Master had been like, as a child, the Doctor had told her. They really had been the best of friends and...to see the man literally dying in his arms...it hurt.
And when he hurt, she hurt as well.
~8~
That night, Angel handed the Doctor a torch as he took it to light the funeral pyre they'd placed the Master on. They watched for a bit, paying their respects, before walking away, Angel pausing a moment to glance back with a frown before continuing on.
~8~
Professor Docherty walked through a park, when Martha ran up to her with a bouquet of flowers, "Just to say I don't blame you," she smiled, handing the woman the flowers before dashing off.
"But who are you?" Docherty called, absolutely confused as to what had just happened...though the flowers were rather lovely.
~8~
The Doctor, Angel, Martha, and Jack stood by the rails of the Peirhead building in Cardiff, looking out at the bay, "Time was, every single one of these people knew your name," Martha remarked, watching the people walk on, "Now they've all forgotten you."
"Good," the Doctor smiled, his hand absently rubbing Angel's arm as his own was around her.
"Back to work," Jack called, clapping his hands.
"I really don't mind though," the Doctor insisted, "You're Angel's brother," he joked, "The TARDIS will have to let you in. I swear, that box loves you more than me," he nudged her playfully.
"That's because I don't break her for fun," she laughed, knowing he did that because he loved watching her work on the TARDIS, before looking at Jack, "Really though, come with us."
She'd extended the invitation for Jack to become her companion earlier. That would be a first for the Doctor, Jack had been his companion at one time and then to become hers at another...that would be interesting, and a very special thing. But...something told her that Jack would refuse and he had.
"I had plenty of time to think that past year, the Year-That-Never-Was," Jack nodded, "And I kept thinking about that team of mine though. Like you both said, responsibility."
"Why do all my potential companions say no?" Angel wondered jokingly, thinking of Joan and now Jack.
But, she had to admit, she did believe that things happened when they were meant to, that all things happened for a reason. If she didn't have a companion now, it was because either she wasn't ready or they just...weren't the one. The one meant to be her next companion. It wouldn't stop her making the offer, but it did stop her from feeling bad when they said no. And besides, if it was taking this long to find another one...her next companion must be brilliant! She could tell.
"Defending the Earth," the Doctor nudged her playfully, "Can't argue with that."
"Come and see me sometime Angie," Jack stepped over and gave her a tight hug, lifting her off the ground as seemed to be the habit he'd formed with hugging her now.
"How?" she laughed, "I can't just walk in, I'm sure they'd be up in arms about an alien wandering about."
He nodded a little at that, "Just...tell them your Angie Harkness and they'll bring you right to me."
She blinked, "Angie Harkness?"
He blushed faintly, "I...may have told my team that was my sister's name."
She smiled at that, "Good, because I told a nurse in 1913 that my brother was Jack Jones."
Jack laughed at that, pleased, "Doc," he nodded, reaching out to shake the Doctor's hand, ready to leave...when the Time Lord turned his wrist to expose the manipulator, "Hey, I need that!"
"I can't have you walking around with a time-travelling teleport," the Doctor said, flashing the sonic across it, "You could go anywhere, twice. The second time to apologize."
"And what about me Angie?" Jack looked at Angel one more time, needing to ask something that had been bothering him for a while, "Can you fix that? Will I ever be able to die?"
She shook her head slowly, "I'm sorry Jack. But…" she hesitated a moment, debating if she should say what she knew, "I think...you needed to be this way. When it happened...I felt like...something wanted you to be unable to die. Like...there's something more meant for you, something special. Like...there was something you would need to do in the future that you needed to be immortal for. I really don't know how to explain it."
Jack nodded in thought at that, smiling a bit...leave it to Angel to put a newer, brighter perspective on it. He'd often thought it was a curse, to live so long, to never die, to have to watch everyone else grow old around you. But really...if he did die from a wound...well...he wouldn't have been around to do all he had with Torchwood, so many people he'd saved would have died if not for his ability to live. Maybe...maybe it wasn't so much a curse as he'd once thought, but...a gift from his dearest sister...
Well, only time would tell if she was right or not.
"You're an impossible thing, Jack," the Doctor eyed the man.
Jack chuckled, shaking himself from his thoughts, "Been called that before," he nodded and started off before turning back and saluting, "Sir. Ma'am. Sis," and turned off again…but stopped once more, "But I keep wondering…what about aging? 'Cos I can't die but I keep getting older. The odd little grey hair, you know? What happens if I live for a million years?"
"I really don't know."
"Then we'll see your handsome face around," Angel smiled knowingly.
Jack chuckled again, "Ok, vanity. Sorry. Yeah, can't help it. Used to be a poster boy when I was a kid back on the Boeshane Pennisula. Tiny little place. I was the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency. They were so proud of me. 'The Face of Boe' they called me."
The Doctor and Martha looked at him, stunned at that.
"Hmm, I'll see you," he turned and ran off.
"Can't be," Martha blinked, watching him go.
"No, definitely not," the Doctor gaped, "No…"
"You never know," Angel remarked mysteriously.
They looked at her carefully, waiting to see if she would say more, but she just started laughing and, soon, they were too.
~8~
The Jones family was back home and together, Leo there but without Annalise, the Doctor and Angel watching from outside as the Doctor leaned against the TARDIS, Angel leaning on him, his arms wrapped around her, he'd barely let go of her since they'd left the Valiant, nor did he plan to any time soon.
Mrs. Jones looked out at them before nodding her thanks.
They smiled back and turned to step into the TARDIS, now back to normal again thanks to their efforts combined with Martha and Jack's help, much to their relief. Angel patted the canister containing the Doctor's hand on the floor by the console as it calmed down before sitting beside the Doctor, who was reclining on the captain's chair, his feet on the console, both taking a moment to enjoy the gentle hum of the healthy TARDIS.
~8~
"Yeah," Martha called into the phone as she stepped out of her house, "Could you put me through? Hi, I'm looking for a Dr. Thomas Milligan."
"Yeah, hello?" Tom answered on the other end.
Martha just smiled.
"Hello?"
Martha closed her phone and walked over to the TARDIS to see the Doctor peering around the rotor as Angel peered around the other side when she walked in.
"Right then!" the Doctor shouted, getting up, "Off we go! The open road! There is a burst of starfire right now over the coast of Meta Sigmafolio. Oh, the sky is like oil on water. Fancy a look? Or…back in time. We could…I don't know, Charles II? Henry VIII? No! Not him," he shook his head, turning to kiss Angel's hand quickly, mid-rant, "I'm not risking you with him. Oh! I know! What about Agatha Christie? I'd love to meet Agatha Christie! I bet she's brilliant!"
"Doctor," Angel called softly. He looked back at her to see her standing there, smiling sadly at Martha, and looked over to see Martha looking sad as well.
"Ok…" he realized.
"I just can't," Martha said.
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded sadly.
"Spent all these years training to be a doctor. Now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered and they're devastated. I can't leave them."
"Of course you can't," Angel stepped forward and hugged her, understanding completely, she would never have been able to leave the TARDISes on Gallifrey if everything hadn't happened, "Thank you so much Martha, for everything you've done," she pulled back with a little laugh, "And it's quite the list!"
"Yes," the Doctor hugged her as well, "Thank you. Martha Jones, you saved the world."
"Yes, I did," Martha smiled, pulling away from him, "I spent a lot of time with you two, and you know what? It made me realize something…I am good."
"No," Angel shook her head, "You are brilliant!"
Martha beamed at that, "You two gonna be alright?"
"Always," the Doctor nodded, putting his arm around Angel's shoulders, "Yeah. I've got Angel," he smiled down at her.
"Right then," she nodded, reaching into her coat and tossing Angel her phone, "Keep that. 'Cos I'm not having either of you disappear," she pointed a warning finger at them, "If that rings, when that rings, you better come running. Got it?"
"Got it," the Doctor smiled.
"In a heartbeat," Angel nodded.
"I'll see you later," she told them before turning to leave the TARDIS, a smile on her face, confidence in every move she made.
~8~
The Master's funeral pyre burned down, as a well manicured hand with red nail polish lifted the Master's signet ring out of the ashes, laughing evilly.
A/N: Yay! Angel's alright! Did you like that little twist? Angel's ok! I know it may be weird that Angel was dying here as opposed to when the TARDIS 'died' in the parallel world but...I sort of interpret that to be, the TARDIS wasn't meant to be in the parallel world, so...it wasn't really dead, just...cut off from our Universe. As soon as the TARDIS returned to our Universe she'd be fine again so...not truly dead. AND...Angel wasn't as connected to the TARDIS then as she is now, which all sort of happened...when she regenerated didn't it? Hmm...BUT! To get back to the first point, the TARDIS was never turned on as a Paradox Machine and never grew ill...so neither did Angel! :) Love that twist :)
Did you LOVE the flashback/promise between Angel and the Doctor? She knows him so well, she knows what he'd do if she died because of the Master and I could see her as, even after death, not wanting him to lose himself like that, truly being a guardian angel to him despite dying. Makes you wonder though...if she tried to stop that happening here...what about the Ponds?
Did you also notice the nice tie-in with Gridlock? Now we know what Angel was 'right' about don't we? :D
I know that there's more to the episode, like the Titanic, but...we're going to have Time Crash as the last chapter so it wouldn't make sense to end it with the Titanic crashing into the TARDIS only to backtrack for Time Crash. And...I wanted to end this chapter on this ominous note before we get some comic relief and the start of the next story :)
Speaking of the next chapter...(OMG the LAST chapter!)...we get Five meeting Angel! And the insanity of having 2(!) Doctors running around :) And, of course, the title of the next story! :)
Some notes on reviews...
The Doctor will definitely know about the Vortex before The End of Time :) And I can say that they will be Mated completely before the End of Time as well so he'd definitely know by then :)
That's a tough question. I will always love 9/10's TARDIS because it was my first, but there was something ridiculously child-like and playful about 11's first TARDIS...hmm...I've actaully found myself liking the new TARDIS design though. Just because it looks like an amazing machine and has more ties in with Gallifrey (the symbols at the top of the rotor) and all :)
I really can't say how this stuff gets in my head. I think I just wake up one day and go...'hmm, I wonder how I can completely torment the characters today?' lol. Not really, I hate tormenting them :) I really can't answer, it just...happens. But thank you very much! I'm glad you're liking the stories so far. Though, I have to say, if you thought this episode was good...just wait till Series 4...and 5...and 6...and...well, the rest of it. It'll definitely get better and better (or at least I hope it will :))
Oh, I'm sorry about your dog :( My brother's/the family dog is about 7 years old and I can only imagine how sad my family will be when he one day passes. As for my favorite food...if it counts popcorn :) But since I think that's more a snack than a food...chicken teriyaki with fried rice. I could literally eat that every single day and not get sick of it :) I actually don't share much in terms of favorite foods with my OCs...lol, I don't really think I share much of anything with my OCs, they're way cooler than I am :)
I haven't seen the Fury of a Timelord video no, thanks for suggesting it! I'll put it on tumblr today :) As for the freckles...well...we'll have to see if the Doctor ever becomes ginger lol :)
