XXV
For better or for worse
The Island
The arena
The last day
The rest of the events of the party continues as it did before. April suddenly feels a sense of pride as she watches Aaron jump up on the stage and threaten to shoot Rodger Barratt. However this is then interrupted by the army of Cybermen crashing through the windows. Then eventually a small handful of people pull at the zip in their foreheads and the Slitheen shed themselves from their human skins.
By this point, April and Jason start to realise that the clear liquid that is keeping them invisible, is starting to fade. To their luck, they manage to escape the mansion without being seen by anyone. However, April takes hold of Jason's arm just before they pass through the doorway. One second they are in Rodger Barratt's mansion, and then the next they find themselves passing through the round doorway into the main console room of the Tardis, almost as if they have just come from one of the other rooms.
The Tardis lets out a welcome rumble at their appearance. April suddenly feels at ease at the sight of the console room, which has always been a welcoming sight.
"Wasn't expecting to come back here." Jason says as he looks around the Tardis.
"My past self is just standing outside these doors," April replies as she walks over to the console and starts to press some buttons by the small television screen. "We're just about to be reunited."
April finds herself smiling weakly at the memory of seeing Jason again for the first time. Her emotions being a strange mixture of confusion and happiness.
"And what a happy sight I must have been."Jason laughs as he moves to stand next to April, looking down at the blank screen.
April then flicks the switch at the side of the screen and instantly they can see what's right outside the Tardis doors. It's the early signs of morning and April stands there with her arms folded tightly across her chest as she looks out at the beach. The top of the Black Lighthouse can be seen just over the edge of the cliff. Eventually a tired and rather harassed looking Doctor approaches April. They watch their silent conversation, both of them looking like they are at a loss.
Then eventually on the screen, the Doctor and April embrace, holding onto each other tightly. April suddenly feels just how she did when this happened for the first time. She suddenly feels safe and somewhat relaxed, all the anger inside of her slowly subsiding.
April and Jason remain silent as they watch the Doctor and April pull away from each other. Then April's own words suddenly ring in her mind: There's two and a half thousand people in this village, Doctor, and only one of us can save them.
And then the Black Lighthouse flashes for the first time. Jason's face suddenly turns ghostly pale, as he was unaware that this happened. Then all the calming emotions April felt seconds ago when watching her past self and the Doctor make up with an embrace, instantly vanish and are taken over by the feeling of dread.
April and Jason leave the Tardis when they are sure that both April and the Doctor are nowhere in sight. The air is chilly as they step out, the grass on the top of the cliff blowing in the wind. As they see past April disappear behind the Black Lighthouse, April thinks about where they are now. It is their final day to make sure that chaos does not erupt. It is early in the morning and she is just about to reunite with Jason and discover that the Daleks are the next to have the power to open the Cytracik. But this is also the day the revolution is attacked by the new aliens that will arrive later this day. So they have time to find out what the revolution wanted to do at that time and stop Joshua from being killed.
However it has not yet occurred to April what is going to happen when the job is done and they have reunited with everyone else. How will she know that their choices have made much of an impact? And will everything be okay in the end? April hopes that the aliens that arrive to the Island will not make a huge appearance. They have changed the signals from the Heat Miles base to the Black Lighthouse, so hopefully the aliens will fly this way.
Jason and April sit at the edge of the cliff with their legs dangling over the edge, and look out to the waves crashing into the shore.
"What now?" Jason asks.
"I guess we just wait." April sighs. She pulls out the sonic screwdriver and twiddles it in her hands.
"So this is what you always saw in your nightmare?" Jason says quietly as he scans the beach. "I didn't have much time to take any of this in when I first arrived here. All I saw was the inside of the Black Lighthouse."
"I always saw it from down there," April says as she points down at the moss covered rocks just below their dangling feet. "I'd see myself standing there looking across the beach. It wasn't until the nightmare changed that I saw it from this angle." She looks out at the horizon. There is nothing ahead to indicate another land elsewhere. All that can be seen is where the sky more or less meets the sea in the far distance.
They sit there for what feels like hours. And because the Tardis is still sitting there behind them, the Doctor hasn't yet come to get them from inside the Black Lighthouse. However, April is sure that she wasn't in the lighthouse for this long.
It is now day break and April can feel Jason shivering beside her.
April glances down at the sonic screwdriver which feels warm in her hands. Then with a scowl, she lifts the sonic screwdriver and switches it on so that the blue light at the end shines up to the sky. She reads the signals and immediately jumps back onto her feet.
"We need to go now!" April says in a slight panicked voice. "You happen to have any more of that stuff to make us invisible?"
Jason frowns in confusion. "Err, no. What did you read?"
"I guess it's time for us to help the revolution in that fight. You do want to save Joshua, right?"
Jason does not hesitate before standing up. However they only take a few steps away before there is a loud thud. The familiar and somewhat calming sound of the Tardis fills their ears as a harsh wind blows around them.
As an instant reaction, both April and Jason drop to the floor, afraid that they are only going to be caught. But the Tardis only disappears before flying to the Black Lighthouse to save the April and Jason inside.
"We'd better make a quick move." Jason says in a low voice.
With that, they start to hurriedly walk across the top of the cliff, moving further and further away from the beach. They pass through the thick mist that separates the village from the beach. However when they escape the mist and the view of the village is clear, April and Jason suddenly drop dead on their feet.
The sky is still covered in a thick layer of clouds, yet everything seems darker. Only moments ago, it was early morning, but now it looks as if it is getting on for late afternoon.
Jason looks down at his watch. "We're shortly running out of time."
"What?!" April snaps.
"I don't know how but time is speeding up," Jason then starts to pick up his speed. "We've only got a few hours before the revolution will start that fight."
April stares at Jason who stops walking to look at her. They know that time must have past by in the minutes it took them to run through the mist.
"April, we need to get a move on!"
"But what about the first alien spaceship that arrives?" April groans before taking out the sonic screwdriver and scanning the area around them. However, she lowers her hand holding onto the sonic screwdriver as she reads the signal. Her brow furrows together in a harsh scowl. "They're already here." April says in a quiet voice.
"Eh?" Jason steps closer to April.
"Those aliens. They've already arrived. They're..." April shines the sonic screwdriver towards the mist and then drops her hand. "We did it!" She suddenly exclaims. "Their spaceship has landed on the beach!"
Jason looks down at the village below them. Everything seems calm as if everyone is just getting on with their day to day life. But in the seconds he looks over the village, the sky becomes darker again, almost as if another hour has just gone by in the passing minutes that they have been standing there.
"April, we really need to go now." Jason warns.
"What do you know about the fight?" April asks sternly as they start walking towards the steep pathway that takes them down the side of the cliff.
"Not a lot. You'd have to ask Will. All I know is that they were fighting some aliens. Whether that is the new arrivals or other species that has been hibernating here I don't know. But they fought at that arena we went to."
For a split moment, April's heart gives a lurch. She does not want to return to that arena. However she knows that she has no choice.
"Then lets not waste any more time." With that April takes hold of Jason's arm and she takes a step forward. For a second, it feels as if the whole Island spins around them as they stay rooted to the ground. However as they take one more step, they find themselves back in the arena which seems to be alive in the light of the afternoon.
In the seconds that follow, April is surprised that this worked. She always knew that you can get to wherever you wish to go to just by walking through any random door, but she never attempted to move from one place to the other just by taking a step forward. But to her luck, it worked.
April and Jason stand back-to-back as they observe the arena around them. Everything looks so different and less sinister than it did during the night. The tall office buildings around them look less threatening, and April gets the feeling like she is back in central London.
And then this area suddenly makes sense to April. "I suppose this is what Heat Miles will be using as their base after this battle," April says. "I suppose this is their ego in believing that they are going to win or something."
"Well at least they are coming prepared," Jason says and then his voice becomes sinister. "Draw your weapon."
April pulls out her gun and reloads, Jason does the same. April notices that she is low in ammo, but says nothing about it. Instead she holds her gun firmly in both her hands and looks around the arena, ready for an attack of the aliens. She wonders to herself if the revolution group were expecting this fight, or if they just came out here to find out more about this arena and were ambushed.
April and Jason are silent for a while as they observe the empty arena.
"Halt! Who goes there?" A voice from the far corner of the arena shouts across to them, the strong male voice echoing around the arena.
Without a second thought, April and Jason immediately turn around and raise their arms above their heads in surrender, however they are only met by the revolution. Orion, the tallest of the lot, stands in front of the others, his gun raised and pointed directly at them. Behind him are the other volunteers: Zane, Buddy, Katheryn, Kace, Blake, Billie and a somewhat intimidated looking Joshua.
Jason curses under his breath. "Captain Jason Hoffman from UNIT," Jason replies. "And this is April Hollerford."
"The two bastards that are joining us for the battle!" One of them hisses under their breath, but their voice is still carried across the arena.
Orion, however, still does not lower is gun. April has to remind herself that their first meeting was in fact after this battle when they were trying to save Joshua's life. But surely the revolution would know about April at least.
"Lower your weapons." Orion orders.
April stares at Jason.
"Just do as he says." Jason mutters through the side of his mouth before he lowers his gun and places it on the ground. April does the same with evident hesitation. Somehow, there is something about Orion April feels like she cannot quite trust, for he was the one who was making the man to try and cause havoc back at the festival.
"Put your weapons out of reach." Orion shouts at them, his gun still aimed directly at them.
Jason groans and kicks both his and April's guns to the side so that they slide a few feet away from them.
"So much for not being seen." April mutters under her breath.
"I'm only going to ask you one more time. Who are you?" Orion demands.
"I thought we already clarified that?" Jason shouts back. "Do you want to see my badge?"
"Then what are you doing here?" Orion shouts. "I didn't see you at the Major's party."
"That's because we weren't." Jason replies calmly.
"What are you doing here?" Orion asks one more time.
Jason shuffles awkwardly on his feet as he hesitates. "For the same reason as you are."
There is a long pause of silence as for a moment, no one seems to know what to do. The truth is that they are all here to fight, but whether or not the revolution know that a fight is about to happen, neither April or Jason are aware. But eventually there seems to be movement amongst the revolution group, and then out steps Ellis Lustworve and Will Sullivan.
It takes April a moment to remember that she is yet to have that conversation with Will where they make up. Yet the look on his face as his eyes lock onto hers leaves April with a horrible crushing feeling at the pit of her stomach. He looks at her as if he doesn't even know her.
Jason clenches his fists as Ellis walks over to Orion and tries to push his heavy, muscular arm down. It has been a while since him and Will have seen each other face-to-face. And he can remember that the last time wasn't a pleasant moment, for he was arguing with the rest of UNIT about starting a revolution on the Island. This was then followed by him leaving the base and not hearing from him for months after.
"It's okay," Ellis says. "They're on our side. They're not part of Heat Miles. They'll help us," Ellis then looks over to Jason and April. "Wasn't expecting to see the two of you so soon." He calls out as he takes a step closer to them.
He knows. April and Jason know that Ellis is fully aware of what they are doing. That they are in the very near future and that their past selves are elsewhere on the Island. Ellis must know that they are trying to fix what went wrong in their first few days on the Island, but like Jason constantly said to April, they are still trying to not be seen by anyone.
But now they have been caught.
"We weren't expecting to see the two of you till later this evening. I think Jack Gruntler was going to invite you for tea to have a bit of a catch up," Ellis continues. "Clearly you both came here because you know something we don't?"
April notices the way Will looks from Ellis to her and Jason suspiciously, almost as if he is trying to figure out exactly what Ellis means.
"We know no more than you do, Ellis," Jason calls. "But we have done the best we could have. No havoc should be caused. All is clear." It is hard for Jason to say the right words without giving too much away. But Ellis seems to understand every word he has said.
"Right, I see," he nods his head. "I'm glad to hear of it," he then turns to look back at the rest of the revolution. "All is clear. We'd better make a move on before-"
Suddenly, before Ellis can finish his words, a flesh coloured creature that resembles a monkey with no fur, suddenly leaps out from behind the stalls and attaches itself to Will. Will yells out in pain as the alien claws at the side of his neck, but Orion shoots the creature dead.
Then without another passing moment, they are suddenly ambushed by a large army of these monkey-like aliens.
April rushes over to their guns on the ground and throws Jason's to him, who catches it easily. "We need to keep Joshua alive!" April snaps before shooting down the creature that comes hurtling towards her. To her luck the creature is dead within seconds of being shot, but the fact that she is low in ammo will not do well in her favour.
However, before April runs to help the rest of the revolution fight against these aliens, she catches the last words Jason says to Ellis.
"You know what to do."
Ellis nods before he shoots down another creature fighting to get to April. There is an overwhelming amount of these small vicious creatures that throw themselves at everyone, biting and clawing away at their limbs. One or two members scream in agony as a creature clamps it jaw around their calf, or hurls them down to the ground. But April keeps her eye on Joshua, helping him and shooting down every creature that comes his way.
However, as they fight, April is fully aware that Ellis always fights near her. And on numerous occasions, he saves April's back by shooting down a creature that comes to attack her when she isn't looking. April says nothing about this but can't shake off the feeling that Jason has given Ellis orders to keep her alive in the battle. And for some reason, she does not like this. They have to keep Joshua alive.
Billie screams out in pain as a creature jumps up and gnaws on her lower arm. April raises her gun and shoots the creature through its belly. The creature instantly releases its grip and falls to the ground, dead.
"Cheers." Billie says as she attempts to cover the large gash in her arm with the sleeve on her top.
Jason stamps down on the head of one of the creatures, crushing its skull underneath his foot. He then takes one look around the arena and sees that there is a never ending army of these aliens coming at them from all directions.
"Shit." Jason mutters under his breath, wondering how on Earth nearly everyone from the revolution walked away from this fight alive. He starts to wonder if the revolution was prepared last time but maybe their appearance was a distraction this time around. But not wanting to delay the battle even further, Jason realises that he has no choice but to call for help. He raises his hand to his fake Captain badge pinned to his chest. It is a replica of his real badge that Jack gave to him moments before he joined April back in time, giving him the order to only press it when things seemed hopeless.
And right now, things seem hopeless.
Jason shoots down another alien as he presses down hard on his badge. Jason, at first, only expected a silent signal to be sent to Aaron, alerting him of his whereabouts to call for help. However, he did not expect large sound waves to erupt from his badge and kill all the creatures close by.
And yet these creatures continue to appear and come hurtling towards them. April desperately tries her best to keep Joshua safe, while Ellis is not too far away from her.
Everyone can feel the strain on their bodies as they fight against these creatures that continue to come running towards them at every angle. And yet there is no show of them slowing down. The panic starts to rise in April as she can see Joshua really struggling to fight.
He shoots down one creature but when he comes face to face with another creature – to his horror – his weapon is out of bullets. April notices this the moment the creature leaps onto his stomach, pushing Joshua down to the ground.
"NO!" April screams and she shoots down the creature without hesitation. The creature lies limply across Joshua and he struggles under the weight of it. She rushes to his side and pushes the creature off him. "Are you okay?" April asks in an evident panicked voice. But to her luck, Joshua is alive and breathing. There is no trace of a gash in his stomach.
"I'm fine." Joshua snaps with a frown, looking somewhat embarrassed.
However April feels like she wants to cry with relief. She is sure that that would have been the creature that caused his death. However, before she has the chance to get back up on her feet, or even help Joshua up, something heavy and slimy attaches itself onto her, knocking her sideways. And for a moment, all she is aware of is the blinding pain in her upper arm as a creature sinks its teeth into her skin.
April cries out in pain and attempts to push the creature of her. Somehow she has managed to drop her gun as she fell and she cannot see where it is. But soon the creature climbs on top of her. It's long arms reach down to her and its small, spidery hands clamp around her throat.
"April, no!" Will's voice, somewhere over to her left, is so full of fear, it only makes April panic ever further.
She scrabbles away at the creature, trying to pull it off her, but the creature is too strong and heavy as it holds onto her throat tighter. Yet seconds later there is a gunshot and the creature suddenly loosens its grip. It becomes limp and light as its body rolls sideways off her.
However, April feels a strong arm pull her up onto her feet and she feels herself in Will Sullivan's arms once more. And then his lips are firmly pressed against hers as he holds onto her as if his life depends on it. It takes April a second to register what is happening before she allows herself to kiss him back. But the kiss is very short and he pulls away from her.
"Fuck!" He hisses before turning away and killing more creatures around them.
April tries to shoot another but realises that she is out of ammo. And now she knows that she is screwed. Angrily, she throws her gun to the side, which incidentally smacks one of the creatures directly in its face. She pulls out the only two things she has left: a small dagger and the sonic screwdriver.
She quickly scans the arena around them and is relieved to see that Joshua is still alive and safe. Luckily her reflexes are quick as she slashes the throat of one of the creatures that again, throws itself at her.
Suddenly, there is a loud crack and UNIT have appeared in the arena. Aaron, Sarah-Jane, Alic, Rex, Martha, Ireen, Declan Hollerford – and to April's surprise – Max, Rose, Terry and the Doctor, are now all fighting. Although, seeing the appearance of her brother, Rose, Terry and the Doctor, April is suddenly filled with dread.
They seem to have a higher chance at fighting against these creatures. However, because April is so distracted by the arrival of everyone else, she does not expect a creature to suddenly dig its teeth into her right ankle. Just from the pain, April falls to the ground, but still manages to stab the creature right through the top of its skull as she does so. But the second her knees hit the ground, someone takes hold of her elbow and hauls her back onto her feet.
She is then aware of her parallel father standing there, looking at her sternly in her eyes. Then without further hesitation, he shoves another gun into her hands.
"I'm not losing you again," Declan snaps. "Now get this battle over and done with." He turns and then continues to fight.
Despite the pain in her ankle, and feeling the blood seeping into her shoe, and the gash in her arm, April hobbles her way through the fight, killing as many of the creatures as she can. But like they always have done, UNIT seems to outsmart the aliens, and there seems to be less of them the longer they fight.
But after a while, everyone can see that the left-over aliens are starting to retreat.
"Don't let them fall back!" Aaron orders before shooting another creature that tries to run away from him.
For a moment, April stands back and observes the scene and everyone still fighting the left-over creatures. Joshua, to her relief, is still alive. But before she knows it, she finds both Jason and the Doctor running up to her. The Doctor does not look best pleased at all. In fact, April is somewhat frightened just by the furious and somewhat scared look on his face.
"Get out of here!" The Doctor orders, shoving Jason and April away.
"What?" April splutters, not quite comprehending his sudden anger.
"You've really messed this part up! Leave! Please, you two just get out of here before it gets worse!" The Doctor's voice suddenly seems more pleading than angry as he tries pushing them towards the podium. But April is confused as to why he is so angry. What have they done wrong? Is it because they have been seen by the others? Or is the Doctor still angry about them being volunteers for the Day of Destruction?
Then, without anyone being remotely prepared for what happens next, the creatures suddenly spurt wings out from their backs and fly into the air, away from the arena, clearly being defeated.
The Doctor continues to push April away. "You shouldn't be here! Please just go!"
But their attention is suddenly drawn away from leaving as Ireen screams and she calls out for Alic. The Doctor turns around as he sees that one of the creatures has grabbed Alic by the shoulders and is dragging him up into the air. Alic tries to best to free himself from the clasp of the creature, but he is only being taken worryingly higher and higher into the air.
And then the creature, who is now nearly as high as one of the tall buildings, releases its grip on Alic who falls down at a fast pace.
At first no one know what to do as they watch Alic helplessly fall closer and closer to the ground, losing consciousness as he does so. Inevitably falling to his death.
But then Declan is the first to move. He throws a circular disc that skims the surface of the ground that Alic is just hurtling towards. The disc seems to have defied gravity ever so slightly, slowing down the rate of his fall.
But Alic still hits the ground harshly with a loud crack of broken bones, leaving him unconscious on the ground.
There is a horrible moment of silence as everyone stares down at Alic's very still body. But soon Will is by his side, holding Alic's head in his lap.
"He's still breathing! Jones, get here now!" Will cries desperately.
Martha, who seems to suddenly realise what has happened, rushes to Alic's aid and so does Max. And soon enough everyone does the same.
Jason is speechless, but he still pulls April backwards who looks on the verge of being sick.
"Let's go." Jason pleads.
April forces herself to turn away from the scene. Just thinking about what the Doctor had said to her, she can't quite shake off the feeling that this has happened because of her. But where did she go wrong?
They walk a few steps away from the scene, heading towards the pathway between the stage and the stalls. However they stop abruptly as they find two tall figures standing in their way. These creatures are covered head-to-toe in black robes with a large black hood concealing their faces.
A bitter, cold feeling sweeps over Jason and April, just like it always used to do back in the parallel world when they came across the Nobody's.
But here they are again. Two Nobody's stand directly in front of them, giving them nothing but the bitterly cold air.
The scene in the middle of the arena suddenly seems so far away and unreachable. But Jason and April are rooted to the spot, unable to move.
And that is when a rather ragged looking Monroe Setzik steps out from behind the Nobody's. He wears a faded pair of grey jeans, a white – almost yellowing – t-shirt and a black blazer. His brown hair is dirty and straw-like, falling into his eyes, and a thick stubble sits across his face. There are ageing lines all across his face. His cheeks are hollow like he has not eaten for a while. There is a manic look in his eyes that wasn't there before. A manic look that could only be caused from hundreds of years being trapped alone in a soundproof room.
Monroe makes a sudden movement. And soon enough, April and Jason black out.
And then there is nothing.
