Chapter Fifty

(Day 365, Early Morning…)

Martha sat in the bow of the tiny boat as two of the ship's crew slowly rowed it towards the shore of Dover. She felt a mixture of fear and anticipation knowing that one more day remained until she would be back on the Valiant reunited with the Doctor. She couldn't wait to see him and her family and friends.

She squinted through the blackness and saw a tiny pin point of light several miles away. She watched as it seemed to float in midair by itself. She looked back at one of the men behind her.

"Do you see that?" she asked pointing to it.

"Yeah, it's a signal light." He replied.

Martha nodded in understanding and turned her head back around wondering if it was her contact that was doing the signaling. She kept her eyes on the floating light as it grew brighter and more distinct with each passing mile. When they were finally near the shore, one of the men turned on a light and signaled back to him. They kept signaling to one another until they reached the edge of the water. Martha jumped out and ran to the man who was holding the lantern as the crew pushed their boat back into the waves and disappeared into the darkness. She ran up to him and then stopped.

"What's your name then?" she asked.

"Tom. Milligan. No need to ask who you are, the famous Martha Jones." He said. "How long since you were last in Britain?"

"365 days. It's been a long year."

She started walking with him.

"So, what's the plan?"

"This professor Docherty, I need to see her. Can you get me there?"

"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?"

"Sorry, the more you know, the more you're at risk."

"There's a lot of people depending on you, you're a bit of a legend."

"What does the legend say?" Martha asked figuring he was going to tell her the same thing she had been hearing from others the last few months.

"You sailed the Atlantic, walked across America, that you're the only person to get out of Japan alive. Martha Jones, they say she's gonna save the world."

Martha rolled her eyes. Yup, same old thing everyone was saying, but she had come to expect it now, so she held her tongue.

"Bit late for that." Tom added when she said nothing.

As they walked, Martha was shocked to see they were heading towards a truck.

"How come you can drive?" she asked. "Don't you get stopped?"

"Medical staff, used to be pediatrics back in the old days. But that gives me a license to travel so I can help out at the labor camps."

"Great, I'm traveling with a Doctor." Martha muttered.

She climbed in the passenger seat as Tom climbed in beside her. He looked over at her as he shut the door.

"Story is, you're the only person on Earth who can kill him. "That you and you alone can kill the Master stone dead."

"Let's just drive." Martha said testily.

Tom stared at the irritated look on her face. He said nothing more as he put the truck into gear and drove off into the night.

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The Doctor lay by himself in the tent. It had been a long, rough night wondering what the Master was doing to Rose and if she was alright. He had tried numerous times to make telepathic contact with her without success. He prayed that she hadn't been killed or driven insane.

He barely noticed when the lights came up and the ship began to buzz with activity. He concentrated on reserving his strength for the battle ahead knowing that it would be far more taxing on him than the last time they had rebelled. Rose needed him now. He couldn't fail her.

He heard the breakfast tray being set outside his tent and smiled as Tish pulled back the tent and looked in on him.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just resting and preparing myself."

Tish nodded.

"We haven't heard anything about Rose. No one's saying anything. I hope she's alright."

"Yeah, me too." He replied.

He glanced out the flap at the tray.

"I better eat that. I have a feeling I'll need every last morsel today." He said.

Tish helped him set up and she backed out and sat the tray just inside the door.

"I'll be back in about a half hour to get it." She said.

The Doctor nodded. Tish squeezed his hand and stuck her head back out. She left the room as the Doctor began to eat.

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The alternate Doctor looked up as the Master entered the room humming to himself. He was sitting on the couch thumbing through a magazine.

"What's with you?" he asked the Master.

"I'm happy!" the Master said grinning at him. "In twenty four hours, the missiles will launch and my war can finally begin! At long last, I can unleash destruction across the universe and end the life of the man who has plagued me for centuries, but of course not before I put all his little friends to death. They've worked so hard this past year. I'm sure they'll appreciate their eternal reward."

"What about Rose? Is she going to die too?"

"Not sure. So far, I haven't found anything out of the ordinary. I'm going to go back for another round in a moment, but if I haven't found anything this time, then I'm probably not gonna find anything at all. So, yes, if that happens, Rose will be put to death while the Doctor watches."

He paused and then he danced around the room singing to himself. The alternate Doctor rolled his eye.

"What about me?"

The Master stopped.

"What about you?"

"What do I get?" the alternate Doctor said. "I helped bring all this about. I deserve to be co-ruler with you!"

The Master roared with laughter.

"You still think I'm gonna let you be my partner? Sorry, but I'm afraid all your fantasies about being the emperor are just that…fantasies! Nope, sorry, but I'm afraid you're gonna be joining the Doctor and his friends in the afterlife."

The alternate Doctor stared at him in shock for a moment and then with a roar he leapt from the couch and lunged at him. The Master whipped out the laser screwdriver and shot him in the leg. He rushed to the alternate Doctor and stepped on his neck as he pointed the screwdriver at his head.

"I knew you weren't hypnotized." He said. "You haven't been hypnotized for some time now, but you pretended because you were hoping you could get the drop on me. Sorry, I'm not that dumb. You are going to die with the others and I will finally claim my birthright as the master of the entire universe. Hate to burst your bubble, but there can be only one emperor and sadly, you're not it."

He lifted his foot and stomped hard on his head knocking him out. Casually he walked over to the intercom.

"Come in here, please." He said.

He turned back to the unconscious man lying on the floor and smirked at him.

"Tough luck being born the Doctor, maybe I would have given you more of a chance if you had been someone else. But I won't tolerate any Doctor being alive in my universe, even an evil one."

The door opened and a guard stepped inside.

"Take him away and lock him up." He said pointing to the alternate Doctor. "He will die tomorrow with all the others."

He watched as the guard grabbed him under the arms and dragged him out the door. The Master waited until the door closed before he let out a sigh and resumed humming.

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(2:55…)

The Doctor lay in his tent glancing out at Francine who was busy cleaning the table. Lucy was standing near the table, but she made no eye contact with anyone. The Doctor seethed with anger at that. He could tell from the bruises and marks on her body that the Master had been abusing her. He shook his head. He was glad the day of reckoning was nearly at hand. Once he got through with the Master, he would make sure he wouldn't be capable of harming anyone ever again even if it meant locking him away for the rest of his lives.

He had wanted to speak to her, to see how much influence the Master still had over her mind, but at the moment there were too many people in the room. The ship was bustling with activity as people struggled to finish up preparations in time for launch day. In addition, there was now another guard in the room that was there for the sole purpose of keeping his eye on Lucy. There was no way he could talk to her alone, so he concentrated instead on gathering his strength and readying himself.

As he lay there, he suddenly heard a recording of a man's voice booming out over the PA system and he sat up in his tent.

CITIZENS REJOICE, YOUR LORD AND MASTER STANDS ON HIGH PLAYING TRACK 3.