"Doctor, I think I should stay behind this time," the Archivist said as they walked down the sidewalk. Eventually they'd need to take public transportation to get closer to the TARDIS. She knew he wanted to go back to the wasteland and find the Master.
"Are you sure? We could stay together this time. I won't let him say those things to you ever again."
"It's not that. Well, I can't say that isn't part of it. But—if things are going to be as bad as the Ood say, perhaps it'd be best for us to split up. I thought I could keep an eye on things from Torchwood, with Jack and Martha."
The Doctor examined her face, as if he were looking for something, before he nodded. "Alright. We'll split up. But I think we should separate the TARDISes again so that you have Libby if you need it. If something goes really wrong."
"Don't say that."
"I don't want to, but it's true. You know it."
She sighed. "I do."
"Let's go."
When Libby materialized at the Torchwood Hub, she was back to pretending to be a miniature version of the tower. The Archivist was out her door and running for the entrance to the hub as quickly as possible. She ran past Ianto Jones in the faux storefront.
"Hello Ianto! Sorry, in a bit of a rush!"
The man looked up from his magazine and shook his head. "She's already getting to be just like the rest of them. Always in a rush."
She ran through the round entrance door as it rotated open, already talking to Jack, who'd been alerted to her pending entry.
"Jack, I need records of all technology that you've got stashed away around here."
"Excuse me, ma'am?" he said as he came hopping down the stairs.
"You heard me, Jack. I know you keep alien tech all over this place. I can sense it and I can scan for it. But you've got detailed records in your computer system."
"Why do you need to know what we have?"
"Because I need a very specific piece of tech, or at least one that can do a very specific thing."
"What's that?" He asked.
She finally stopped her pacing and turned to him. "I need to save Donna Noble. Or at least I'm going to need to."
"What makes you think we have something here that can help you do that?"
The Archivist finally deflated a bit, her shoulders dropping. "All I know, Jack, is that the Ood told me I was going to save Donna Noble. At least I'm just about certain that's what they were telling me. They're not exactly specific and sometimes speak in riddles. But it sure did seem like it's going to happen sooner than later as they were very urgent about everything they told us. And barring some sudden discovery, the tech you have here is all I can think to search through."
Jack eyed her a moment before nodding and reaching out to grab a monitor, swinging it around to her. "The database is at your disposal, ma'am."
"Jack, are you sure—" Gwen started to argue.
"Gwen! I trust her. And if she's trying to save Donna Noble then we're going to help her in any way we can. That woman saved the entirety of the universe. The least we can do is try to allow her to remember it."
It had been at least an hour of searching through databanks, talking through possibilities with Jack, and searching more, when the Archivist jumped up out of her seat.
"Jack! Jack!" she yelled.
The man rushed out of his office upstairs. "What? What is it?"
"What is this?" she called out, pointing to the screen.
"You're going to have to be more specific, Archivist," he yelled back as he ran down the stairs.
"Nanogenes. Nanobots. Recovered from a Chula ambulance."
"Holy—," Jack called out as he arrived by her side. "I'd forgotten about those. That was the first time I met the Doctor, and—"
"Jack! I really would love to hear the full story sometime. But right now, I need the abbreviated version. I've read the specs on the screen. Do you think they could do it?"
"Her mother—Donna's, I mean—she's still alive?"
"Oh yes, very much alive."
"Then—it might just work. The Doctor and I both saw it happen - the nanogenes took a little boy that had mistakenly been turned into—well—a monster of sorts. When given the proper template—his mother—they turned him back into the little boy he was supposed to be. They worked off the DNA template provided by the mother."
The Archivist, who had been bent over to look at the screen, stood up straight and turned to Jack. "Jack, I need those nanogenes."
Jack had just retrieved the nanogenes from storage, handing the container to the Archivist, when an alarm went off. They both rushed towards the main room where Gwen was yelling.
"We've got readings off the chart of some type of alien technology in use!"
It was the last words she'd speak in her own voice for some time. Suddenly, she and Jack both were just standing there, staring ahead. Then there heads started shaking. Whatever it was, the Archivist knew better than to stand around and wait to see what it was. She ran—as fast as she could, towards the lift, flipping out her sonic screwdriver as she knelt down on top of the square block to steady herself at the speed at which it started to rise. She looked down as she almost reached the top and saw their hair starting to turn blonde, their faces changing.
She was in her TARDIS and dematerialized before anyone—whoever they were—noticed.
But it was only once she had found a place near Chiswick to land that she felt was adequately hidden that she tuned in to the earth news stations.
Terror struck her heart. Every station. Every where. Everyone—was the Master.
She thought for a few moments—wondering where the Doctor was. She attempted to reach out to sense him to no avail. She sighed. If only they'd completed their marriage ceremony before this and had the opportunity to fully bond, she'd have a much better chance of sensing him and communicating with him from further away. As it was now, she had no way of confirming where he was or if he was okay.
As to where he was, however, she didn't have to guess. She'd gotten a look at the screen Gwen had been looking at. The location of the spike in alien technology use was Naismith Mansion. If she had to bet, she'd say that was where the Doctor was—and the Master.
One part of her wanted desperately to go there now. But something told her it wasn't her time yet. She needed to be here. With Donna. Or at least watching out for her.
After a few more moments of planning, she took a look at the screen to see view around her TARDIS. It appeared clear, so she grabbed the nanogene container from below the console and walked to the exit, taking a deep breath before quietly exiting. It took some stealth sneaking, but she managed to make it to the alleyway by the Noble-Mott residence.
If she was right, and she hoped she was—she and the Doctor were safe from whatever had happened. Now it was time to find out if Donna was safe, too, as she hoped. Just as she was about to attempt to sneak to a window to look in, Donna came running into the alleyway, on her phone. She was talking to Wilf—which meant he wasn't at home. And if she was talking to him, it meant he was safe to. The only way that was possible is if he was with the Doctor and somehow the Doctor had protected him. Which meant—the Doctor must still be alive. She breathed one quick sigh of relief before returning to alert as she listened to Donna.
Oh, no, she thought to herself. Donna was remembering. Seeing her mother and fiance turn into the Master had triggered memories of her time with the Doctor, of the aliens she'd seen. The Archivist wished she could fix her now, but the only way was with her mother's help, and right now her mother was the Master. And so were her neighbors, apparently—as they were very quickly bearing down on Donna's—and her own—position.
"It hurts! My head. It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!" She yelled out before a golden burst of energy surged through her, traveling along the alleyway and knocking down the Master copies that had been approaching.
She checked that it was safe before running out and checking on Donna. She still had a pulse, still breathing. Finally, the Archivist took another breath. Donna was alive. She picked up the woman, holding tight to the handle of the nanogene container, and carried her into the bushes to hide a bit longer. She could only hope that sooner than later, the Doctor would find a way to reverse the Master's work, returning the human race back to normal. Not only was it the only way she could save Donna—if the whole planet remained a race of Masters, there was no way she could hide out forever. She'd have to leave—take Donna with her and put her in stasis. Find a way to get to the Doctor. Her mind was still whirring with the possibilities of what she might have to do very soon when she heard a voice calling out.
"Donna? Donna! Donna!"
That wasn't the Master's voice—that was Shaun Temple! The Archivist stepped out of the bushes. "She's here! Just here! I carried her to safety!" She stepped back into the bushes and picked up Donna and the nanogene container, just in time for the whole earth to start shaking. Then, as she stepped back out, she saw Sylvia Noble and Shaun Temple staring up at the sky. She looked up and saw what they were looking at.
A huge red planet was coming into orbit. "Oh no—oh no, no, no—" The Archivist gasped out. She recognized that planet. She'd recognize it anywhere.
Gallifrey.
She then turned to Sylvia Noble.
Excuse me, Mrs. Noble? I'm sorry, but I don't have much time for introductions. I am the Archivist. I am a friend of the Doctor, and of your father. Can we please get your daughter inside?"
"Wh-what? A friend of the Doctor?"
"What Doctor? Whose Doctor are you a friend of?"
"Not a Doctor, Shaun—the Doctor?" Sylvia barked out.
"Who is the Doctor?" Shaun asked, exasperated.
"Come on, let's get her inside," Sylvia said, ushering the Archivist into the house.
Only after the Archivist set Donna Noble down on the couch, then gingerly rested the nanogene container on the floor by it, did she turn and give further explanation.
"Mrs. Noble—Sylvia—I believe I have a way to save your daughter. Not just now—she's fine now. But only the same kind of fine she's been these last few months. If I'm correct, she'll wake back up and she'll still not remember anything of how she spent the last several years."
"The doctors say she may never remember that time," Shaun tried to explain, thinking he knew what was going on.
"Shaun, you don't understand!" Sylvia yelled at the man.
"Sylvia, if I may," the Archivist said calmly before turning to Shaun. "Shaun, in better circumstances, were there not a planet hanging over our head, I'd take my time with this explanation. But if your fiancee wakes back up to see that planet, she might start to remember again, and if she does—this time it could be catastrophic for her. So, I'm cutting to the chase. Your fiancee spent several years of her life traveling with an alien called the Doctor. He's a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, and so am I." Sylvia gasped at that fact, but the Archivist continued. "We look just like you, we even sometimes sound just like you. Though I've spent more time in America than England so my voice is a tad bit different. At any rate—your fiancee spent several years traveling with the Doctor. Something happened—too much to explain right now—and she had to have her memories blocked so that a part of her body and mind that had become Time Lord wouldn't make her body burn up."
"That's—that's madness! Sylvia, tell her that's madness!"
"It may seem like madness, Shaun—but it's true." Sylvia said to Shaun before turning quickly to the Archivist. "But young lady, you say you have a way to save my daughter?"
"Ma'am—I believe I've found a way to allow your daughter to both retain her memories, and return her DNA to its normal human state. The best of both worlds. Everything you and the Doctor want. She can remember the remarkable things she's done with the Doctor, no longer be under threat of death every time something alien might occur—"
"And what about me?" Shaun said as he collapsed into a chair, his brain having finally caught up with everything she was saying. "Where does that leave me?"
The Archivist knelt down in front of him. "Shaun, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that love can endure all things. If you and Donna love each other, her memories won't change that. Things will change, but she'll still love you. But we have to do this, Shaun. It's the only way any of us can no longer live in fear that if the wrong thing is said, if she sees or hears the wrong thing, that she won't burn up and die."
"What do you need to do, then? To save her?" Sylvia asked.
The Archivist stepped back over to the couch and picked up the nanogene container. "I'll need you to hold your daughter. Then, I release these nanogenes—they'll see that something is wrong with Donna, and they'll see that you are her mother—the template for her DNA. They should then begin rewriting her DNA back to human. I can then unblock the memories that the Doctor had to shield in order for her to live."
"That seems both very simple and very complicated," Sylvia said as she looked down at her daughter.
"That sums it up rather correctly, ma'am. But it's the only thing I've got right now, and I've got to do this for her—and for the Doctor."
"Who are you?" Sylvia asked, looking at the woman, in awe of her passionate desire to help even though as far as she knew, she had never met her daughter.
"I, Mrs. Noble, am the betrothed of the Doctor of Gallifrey. I've loved him since we were just children, at the Academy on Gallifrey. And after hundreds of years we found each other and he's discovered that he cares just as deeply for me. And the woman on that couch is his best friend—the woman who saved him time and time again. The woman who saved all of reality itself. And while he is off trying to save reality with only your father to help—this—this is what I can do. I can save the woman who saved him. And maybe, just maybe—his wish can come true and she can be there for our wedding day."
Tears were streaming down the Archivist's cheeks as she finished. Sylvia was speechless for only a moment longer before she nodded. "Well, then—I believe we have work to do."
The Archivist smiled, wiped the tears away, and helped Sylvia by lifting Donna up so that she could sit just under her, holding her so that her head rested on her shoulder and her body sat in her lap.
"Mrs. Noble—"
"Please, call me Sylvia."
"Alright then—Sylvia—when I open the container the nanogenes will fly out, they're little golden sparkly things. Imagine them a bit like—fairy dust."
"Fairy dust?"
"From Tinkerbell?" The Archivist tried to explain. "Nevermind. Anyway, little golden sparkly things. They'll swirl around you for a moment, and while I know it might be frightening, it's important to let them do their work. They're learning your DNA. Then, hopefully, they'll surround Donna and do the work we need them to do to restore her mind and body to fully human."
"Alright, just do it." Sylvia said resolutely, holding her daughter's body tight to her chest.
The Archivist unscrewed the lid of the container and opened it. Just as she'd predicted, hundreds of little golden lights, microscopic nanogenes, swirled up out of the container. First, they flew around Donna, noticing her bodies 'incorrect' state. Then, they flew to Sylvia, who whimpered.
"It's okay Sylvia," the Archivist soothed. "Just close your eyes and let them do their work."
After a few moments of swirling around Sylvia, they then surrounded both women for a moment, then moved on to Donna.
"Yes, yes, that's right. She's the mother. She's the daughter. Make her like her mother—human—all human. Come on, you can do it!"
After a few minutes in which the nanogenes seemed to swirl between Donna's head and her torso, they floated up into the air. The Archivist held the container up and pushed a button on the side, calling the genes back to their resting place. She screwed the lid back on tight and set it down on the floor before quickly stepping over to the women's side and kneeling down at the women's side—just in time for Donna Noble to start to awaken.
"Wh—what's going on?" Donna said in a raspy voice.
"Donna, I'm a friend of your grandfathers—and of the Doctor's."
"Doctor? Doctor who?" she asked, confused.
The Archivist smirked. "Why don't I answer that question for you?"
She held her hands out and rested them on Donna's temples, closing her eyes. Donna's instinctively closed as well, then the Archivist put her into a sleep state as she worked. She traveled through her mind to find that indeed, she had been successfully restored to a human state. She began proverbially unlocking one door after another so that Donna could now access several years worth of her memories of traveling with the Doctor. To her mother and friends on Earth, it had been two years of lost memories, but in reality, Donna had traveled much more than that with the Doctor It only seemed like that long because of when she'd left and returned to her loved ones.
After several minutes of Sylvia and Shaun watching silently, the Archivist finally opened her own eyes back up and smiled up at Sylvia.
"There we are. All back to normal."
"Really?" Sylvia gasped. "Just like that?"
The Archivist nodded. "Well, it's a bit more complicated than it may have seemed. But explaining to you how a Time Lord does telepathic work is a bit outside what we have time for right now."
"But that's—that's amazing. Why is she still sleeping?"
"I gave her a bit of a a mind-whammy so she'd rest a bit. She'll only sleep a few more minutes." The Archivist turned to Shaun. "Shaun, would you mind preparing some tea? I'm sure when she wakes up she'll need a cup. Something strong."
"Y-yes, of course."
Once the man had left the room, the Archivist turned back to Sylvia, looking a bit more serious. "Sylvia, you're not going to like what I'm going to tell you next."
Sylvia frowned. "You said everything was fine. You said she'd be back to normal, just with her memories."
"Oh yes, yes, that is 100 percent true. And that is exactly why I will need her to come with me."
Sylvia gasped."What?"
"That planet up in the sky is very very bad. And I have to go help the Doctor. And I'm going to need all the help I can get. Including your daughter. She's saved reality before, and I'm afraid I may need her help to do it again."
Just then, Donna Noble started to move. Her eyes slowly opened to see her mother and she frowned. "Mum? Why am I in your lap?" She said, sitting up quickly and sliding to sit next to her mother. "Oi, I've got a headache! What am I doing at home? Where's the Doctor?" She looked at the Archivist, then froze. "Who are you? Wait—the Doctor." Just then, Shaun walked in with a cup of tea and she looked at him, her mind processing the information that had returned. "Shaun."
Her brain was starting to connect things that hadn't been connected in quite some time. Suddenly, she stood up. "That bloody idiot! He took my memories away! Why I could—!"
"Donna!" Sylvia yelled to stop her daughter. "The Doctor took your memories because it was the only way to keep you alive at the time. And now—this is—"
The Archivist looked at Sylvia and shook her head. There was no time to explain exactly who she was in depth, and Donna would want a clear explanation.
Sylvia continued. "This is a friend of the Doctor's, and she's come back at his request, having found a way to save you. You're human again, and you have your memories."
Shaun approached slowly, holding out the cup of tea to Donna. She took it and took a quick gulp. "Thank you, love."
The Archivist smiled at Shaun. It was a small sign, but a good one.
"So, who are you?" Donna asked again.
"Donna, I promise I will explain that to you. But I'm going to have to explain on the way. You see, the planet—all of reality is in danger—again."
"Surely it's not the Daleks again," Donna said.
"No, even worse."
Donna's eyes went wide. "Worse than the Daleks?"
The Archivist nodded. "Yes. And I'm afraid the Doctor is in grave danger. And I need your help."
Shaun finally spoke up. "But wait, you've just fixed her and now you're going to take her and put her in danger again! You're going to take her away, but you said—"
"Shaun!" Donna interrupted. "Love, I promise—I promise I'll be back. I'll come back to you and we'll talk about everything. I know you have so many questions. I promise, I'll come back and I'll bring the Doctor and we'll talk about everything. We'll talk about all those missing memories that I couldn't share with you because I didn't remember them." She then leaned in and kissed him.
The Archivist was thrilled. At least one thing had gone right today. Now perhaps they could sort out the rest of this mess.
"I hate to break things up, but we really do need to get going."