XXVIII
Truth be told

The Island
High above the arena

At first, all April can see is Monroe flying further and further away from her, looking down at her pathetically from the hovercraft. She falls further to the point Monroe can no longer be seen in the dark shadows. Then she finds herself screaming as her body tumbles heavily through the air. The ground below her now getting closer.

What a way to die, April thinks to herself as she falls. But perhaps her death will be a good thing. It is an interesting point to wonder if she dies when she hits the ground, it will be her own fault. It would not be because of the Cytracik. Maybe it is a good thing for her die from her own doings, just to save the Doctor and UNIT.

The air pressure feels heavy around April as it pushes firmly against her body. She struggles to breathe. But her body continues to spin as she falls, her arms flapping helplessly to he side. First she can see the ground below her, welcoming her death. But then the buildings turn upside down and she can see the top of the cliff in the distance. And then she is looking back up at the hovercraft which now seems so far away.

And then there is a sudden force that hits her sideways.

She feels something strong wrap itself around her waist, and in the short seconds that pass, she is no longer falling down, but falling sideways as if she has been pushed.

And then her back lands on a hard, cold metallic flooring and she can see the interior of the Tardis above her. She is then quickly aware of Will's body weight on top of her.

The sounds around her just seem like a constant buzzing in her ears. Nothing at all seem audible. Her head spins and so does the Tardis. But April remains lying there on the metallic flooring of the Tardis, looking up at the hexagonal shapes in the yellow walls. Will is now no longer on top of her, but lying by her side, his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist.

April is vaguely aware of the Tardis doors being slammed shut and the familiar and welcoming low rumble from the console. Then the Doctor and Aaron Brimikawood stand over her, looking down at her.

The Doctor reaches down, takes April by her wrist and pulls her up. When she feels Will's arm tighten around her, she hears Aaron's gruff voice saying "Let her go," and his grip eventually loosens.

When April is back on her feet, it is as if all her senses have come flooding back. Her hearing is back to normal and the Tardis stops spinning. But she takes one look at the Doctor before her knees buckle under her weight. Her whole body feeling weak.

Aaron catches her just before she can hit the ground again. He picks her up in his arms and carries her all the way to the chair by the console and sits her down. As he does this, April hears him say something about the blood on her arm. When she is sat down, Terry is there thrusting a glass of water in her face.

April takes the glass and gulps down the water greedily. When Terry takes the empty glass out of her hand, April takes in her surroundings. It is then she realises that she has never seen the Tardis full up with this many people before now. The Doctor, Rose, Terry, Max, Will, Aaron, Sarah-Jane, Ireen, Rex, Martha, Joseph and Declan all stare at her expectantly. Each face is etched with concern. The Doctor, however, looking a little more angry than the others. Max pushes past the others so he can be by his sister's side.

"Alic?" April croaks, the memory of him hitting the ground comes flooding back to her.

"Is doing fine," Aaron answers firmly. "He is alive and healing. It is going to take him a while to get back on his feet again. And it means that we are a man down for the fight. But that's nothing for you to worry about, April."

April is lost for words. Her brain still rushing with different thoughts.

"Monroe has escaped." April manages to say in a very weak voice.

"We know." Rose says soothingly.

"But we need to get him!" April cries but Rose lays a gentle hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving.

"That's the least of our concerns right now." Rose's voice is soft as she speaks.

However April remains sitting there, her body trembling. The Tardis lets out another rumble, but right this minute, it does not sound as comforting as it usually does. April can hear someone saying something along the lines of keeping her warm and then Terry throws the Doctor's heavy, long brown coat over her shoulders.

Then there is silence as Martha kneels down by April's side with a first aid box. As she cleans the wound in her arm where Monroe stabbed her, April feels as if she cannot look at Martha in the eye. Not right now.

"Where did I go wrong?" April eventually asks.

"The fight in that arena was a trick," the Doctor says sternly as he leans against the Tardis console, crossing over his ankles and folding his arms. "Not long after Joshua's death, we discovered that this attack in that arena was a trick to lure us in. Unfortunately you fell for it and called us all into the fight. Jack said it was best to not answer your call, but we couldn't ignore it. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if you just left that battle happen as it did."

"But we saved Joshua's life." April's voice is quiet and weak.

"That's besides the point!" The Doctor shouts.

"Doctor!" Rose hisses in a low, warning tone as the Doctor's voice only rises in anger and bitterness. The Doctor stares at Rose like a sulking child and says nothing else.

"The good thing is," Aaron says, keeping a careful eye on the Doctor before looking back at April. "Is that you stopped the the havoc on this Island. Everything in this village is just how it should be, and as far as the villagers know, everything is going according to plan. None of the villagers are aware of the visiting aliens..." Aaron trails off for a moment before clearing his throat awkwardly. "We were not, however, expecting to hear both yours and Hoffman's name on the list of volunteers for the Day of Destruction."

At the mention of Jason's name, Martha immediately stops cleaning April's wound and looks up. "Where is Jason anyway?"

The penny drops and there is a horrible silence in the Tardis.

April and Martha stare at each other for a long time, and the longer April makes the silence, the realisation starts to sink in. Every time April goes to say something, she cannot manage to find the right words. How can she admit that Jason is dead? How can she even say this fact out loud to herself? Instead April's eyes fill up with tears and her lips tremble as she tries to fight back her need to cry.

There is a look of hope in Martha's eyes, but there's also doubt and fear flickering across her face.

"Where is he?" Martha says, trying to keep her voice light but a hint of bitterness coming through.

Tears slide down April's face as she shakes her head.

"April?" Ireen calls softly.

"I'm so, so sorry." April cries as she covers her face for a split moment. She then looks over to the Doctor, her vision slightly blurred by her tears. She hopes for the Doctor to understand her. He knows what it is like to be the reason why someone is dead. Especially a loved one. "I tried to do w-what I c-could," April chokes on her words. "But M-Monroe was torturing-ing us."

"You were with Monroe?" Rex says in a dark voice.

"I think J-Jason was already dying b-because he was t-tortured so much. But they too...they t-took him from me," April is now sobbing. "He's d-dead! Jason is dead because of me! I could have stopped Monroe. But I didn't. All I cared about w-was you!"

For a short while there is nothing but April's loud sobs in the Tardis.

"I'm so sorry, Martha," April manages to say as Martha stands up and steps away from her. "I'm sorry I killed Jason and let him die," there is a sudden mixture of anger and remorse in April as she cries hysterically. "Jason is dead. He is fucking dead because of me!"

Martha, taking all this in, stares down at April as if she is looking at dirt. Martha shakes her head. "You're a monster!" She says through gritted teeth. "He would have done anything for you. And you killed him!" Martha is now screaming. "HOW COULD YOU, APRIL? You killed Jason after everything he did for you! You are a monster!"

Martha makes a sudden move forward and hits April across her face, but Sarah-Jane suddenly jumps forward and holds her back. Martha wriggles in Sarah-Jane's hold, who is now trying to sooth her and calm her down. But Martha continues to scream. She yells horrific things to April while she too sobs.

Everyone else in the Tardis do nothing but helplessly stand there, watching the scene unfold before them. Utterly speechless to hear this news.

April cries, wrapping her arms around herself as Martha continues to scream. Martha is now down on the floor, hysterically sobbing in Sarah-Jane's arms who rocks her back and forth.

However, April feels utterly alone. Who would want to comfort her when she is the reason why Jason is dead?

But there is one person here who she so desperately needs. The person she lost all those years ago because of this battle and the Cytracik. The only person who can possibly share her pain.

April reaches forward and calls out a name. And then he is there.

Declan rushes over to his parallel daughter's side and holds her close to him as if she is his own. April buries her face into Declan's shoulder and allows him to hold her tightly.

"You're okay," Declan says softly as he rocks her from side to side. "Everything is going to be alright."

For a moment, she is sure that she can feel her brother's presence behind her, but even he seems rather hesitant.

"Get her out of here." Aaron's gruff voice breaks the moment and Declan does not hesitate to let her go.

The first thing April notices is her grandfather, looking down at her from over Declan's shoulder. Then Will takes her hand and pulls her away from the scene.

April, stumbling over her feet, lets Will drag her away from the scene where they pass through the archway leading to the Tardis' other rooms. And then they step into darkness.