The Doctor hearing about what was said to Donna's mum, decided that they should see some history. So they were off to Rome or so the Doctor said, it was strange to wander the streets and see people walking about and shopping as though they didn't have a care in the world.
The Doctor and Master with Donna's input had realised where they were when a volcano rumbled in the streets, they had realised they were in Pompeii the day before volcano day, This had both older Timelords explaining to her about fixed points and how they could not be changed no matter what so she couldn't say anything to the locals as this was one, Pompeii being destroyed
They had spent a few hours wandering, and going through another aftershock, around in a circle to return back to the TARDIS to get away from there and see something else instead of being in this sort of danger, only to find when they got to where they had left her, the TARDIS was gone.
"Hold on." Spoke Harry as he pulled the screen up on SATURN and started to input things into her, suddenly there was a bleep and it gave them a map of the local area and a fixed position on the TARDIS. It took them ten minutes to arrive at where SATURN was saying the TARDIS was it seemed to have somehow ended up in someone's house.
The gentleman who invited them in also explained that he had bought the work of art from a stall on the edge of the market they were keeping it next to the stall on the edge of a side street.
It turned into an argument with the Doctor and Donna when he informed them, he was from the marble inspectors and would have to take the wooden art off them while it was checked over. Donna tried to push them to get out of Pompeii and the Doctor was arguing back with her they had just got into a quiet argument about whether she was leaving these people here to die and the Doctor wanting to get them all back into the TARDIS now, when another man turned up. He was introduced by a servant.
"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government."
They were introduced by the man who they had now found out was called Caecilius. After they were introduced a Sparticus, Sparticus Master and Marcus [Harry chose that name remembering the film Gladiator]. They were shown the work Caecilius had worked on for the Chief Auger, they got into a discussion of how they looked more like stone circuits. After seeing the state of the daughters arm an argument broke out between the Doctor the Master Lucius and the daughter of Caecilius. When she asked, if that was his opinion of her arm as a Doctor?
"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all of vagaries." Spoke Lucius with contempt
"Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsayed" Spoke the Master with some humour.
"Is that so... men from Gallifrey?"
"What?" Demanded all thee Timelords
"Strangest of images... your home is lost in fire, is it not?" Lucius returned
"What are they doing?" asked Donna shook up
And you, daughter of... London." Spoke Lucius with more contempt.
"How does he know that?"
"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth." Answered Lucius again
"That's impossible." Spoke Donna while looking at the three of them
"Doctor... she is returning."
"Who is? Who's she?"
"And you, daughter of London... there is something on your back." Lucius seemed to be enjoying shaking them up
"What's that mean?" Asked Donna in a really shook-up voice.
"Even the word "doctor" is false. Your real names are hidden. They burn in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are all Lords, sirs. Lords... of…Time…..and….Death" spoke the daughter at last before collapsing. All bar Lucius ran towards her, they eventually got her settled into bed, Lucius had already left making his servants carry out the blocks for him. The skin where damaged, felt like stone and as the Doctor investigated, he realised it came from the stem vents. He found out that it was the soothsayer's idea to use them here when rebuilding.
From there they split up the three Timelords leaving and Donna staying with Evelyn as they had learnt she was called. While on their own Donna tried to talk her into leaving Pompeii that night and not returning for another day. Evelyn contacted the sisters when Donna started telling them what would happen to them Tomorrow Pompeii would be destroyed. The Sisterhood decided they needed to capture Donna and destroy the vessel of the prophecy.
Meanwhile the three Timelords had managed to track down Quintus, Caecilius' son, and got him to get them into Lucius' house, it cost the Doctor a gold coin but it got Quintus to help, after climbing through a window they moved a curtain back that was across one wall to find all different marble slabs. The four of them moved the stone tablets together into a different pattern and could see the control circuit for an energy transfer. Lucius turned up with two armed guards just after they had finished.
The Doctor demanded to know why they needed stone circuits of an energy transfer, as the guards went to attack the Master grabbed Lucius' hidden arm and snapped it, a stone hand to elbow came away. After demanding to see the rest you could see it had affected him up to his shoulder. The three Timelords and Quintus managed to escape after that when Harry pushed some of his psionic energy through his hand pushing over the stone tablets. Lucius was more concerned over the tablets than them, what they didn't know until they were two streets away was that he had called out to the 'Gods' to help him.
They stopped running after the two streets and slowed down to a walk, only to hear a loud roar from somewhere underneath them, they ended up running back to Caecilius and Quintus' home, they tried to get everybody in there to leave but it was too late a monster jumped up out of the grate that Evelin used to help with her sight.
The Doctor demanded everyone get water while a servant fell down onto his knees Infront of it begging it for its blessing all that got was a burnt to nothing servant when the monster breathed out at him. No one noticed in the ensuing chaos that Donna had been kidnapped by the Sisterhood. four buckets of water were thrown at the monster in one go, one each from the Master, Harry, Caecilius and his son.
When the room settled the monster had been reduced to stone. As soon as they realised Donna wasn't there Harry quickly used SATURN to find her. They were off running yet again to the main temple of the Sisterhood this time.
The Doctor and Master did most of the talking including freeing Donna, she was being creative when they heard her voice, and her sarcasm wasn't much better. The Doctor demanded an audience with the High Priestess mentioning how far they had fallen since the first Sister Sibyl had been in charge of the Sisterhood
The high priestess looked like she was totally made from stone. And Donna said so.
"Exactly. The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?" demanded the Doctor.
"This word, this image in your mind. This volcano... what is that?"
"More to the point, why don't you know about it? Who are you?" demanded the Master
"High Priestess of the Sibylline."
"NO, I'm talking to the creature inside you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust, in the lungs, taking over the flesh and turning it into... what?"
"Your knowledge... is impossible." Spoke the high priestess
"Oh, but you can read our minds, you know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are!" The Master spoke and Her voice changed, now she spoke as a Pyrovile.
"We... are... awakening."
"The voice of the gods!" shouted one of the priestesses.
"Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power..." All the sisters carried on like this.
"Name yourself! Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation." Demanded the Doctor and Harry could feel the two Timelords behind him getting angry.
"We….Are…Rising" was all he got off the high priestess
"Name Yourself" Demanded the Master pulling a water pistol out of one of his pockets like Harry's and the Doctors they had big pockets.
"Pyrovile" spoke the high priestess sending the others into a chant of their name.
"Son, get the grid open over there, Donna, you help him, the Doctor and I will keep an eye on the Pyrovile inside of her" While Harry and Donna were doing that, the Master and Doctor were grilling the Pyrovile on why they were there and what they hoped to accomplish, they found out their homeworld had gone missing and so they would turn this into one. Soon all four of them were down the grate running towards the volcano.
"That's why they don't think there is going to be a volcano tomorrow because there won't be." Spoke the Doctor as they were running.
"What do you mean?" Demanded Donna
But before anyone could answer they were in the main chamber with Lucius asking for blessings for the work he had done with the cult of Vulcan. That turned him into telling the Pyrovile to kill them as they were unbelievers and were there to stop their glorious work.
The Master ended up spraying another Pyrovile with his water pistol to get past them all and all four jumped into the escape pod the Pyrovile had come down in. the doctor sealed it shut behind them.
"Could we be any more trapped?" Demanded Donna of the three then she felt the heat rising in the escape pod they were in or what the Doctor thought was one.
"Little bit hot" Was her next sassy comment.
"See? The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions." Explained the Doctor with sadness in his voice.
"But can't you change it? With these controls?" Demanded Donna not knowing what was totally going on but the three timelords did now.
"Course I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never gonna erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power, and they use it to take over the world."
"But... you can change it back?"
"I can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But... that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."
"Oh, my God."
"If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history. It's me. I make it happen."
"But the Pyrovile are made of rocks, maybe they can't be blown up." Begged Donna
"Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it. Certainly not us." Spoke the Master not at all happy with the situation
"Never mind us." Shouted Donna
"Push this lever and it's over. 20,000 people dead." He seemed uncertain, unwilling to take responsibility for so many deaths, even for the sake of the whole planet. Donna put her hand on his shoulder. They looked at each other,
Before either could do or say anything Harry pushed the leaver up making the volcan go off
"Father gave me the responsibility of something like this not…." Harry started only didn't get to finsih as all hell broke loose. Those with the gift of foresight scream in agony as they saw the future change and a new prophecy of Pompeii being destroyed was created.
"GET OUT BEFORE IT ROLLS AGAIN" were the first words coherently heard after the volcano erupted. It was the Master and he was pushing Harry in front of him. To get him out of the escape door he had just opened. They all piled out and looked behind them, lava was flowing out of the top running down the sides of it.
"HARRY, set SATURN up to return us to the TARDIS doors!" Was the next demand off the Master. Everyone grabbed Harry and a few movements on the interactive screen and they were all stood Infront of the TARDIS.
"HELP US!" Were the first words they heard and when they turned around, they could see ash settling everywhere and all of Caecilius' family surrounding the daughter he was crouched over.
"Please help us we don't know what going on!" Caecilius spoke again.
"Compassion, remember that." Hearing that the Doctor took a deep breath and looked over the family of four.
"Come with us, You'll have to leave everything but we can get you out, you have less than a minute to get anything of extreme value you can carry." Spoke the Doctor with authority. As he placed his key into the Tardis, looking at the other three with him.
Caecilius and Quintus ran around grabbing money pouches and fine tools for Caecilius job as well as anything pure gold, within less than a minute they were both back with a bag over each shoulder obviously one for each of them.
Harry pushed them into the TARDIS and was followed by Donna with the Master bringing up the rear.
"It's massive inside?" were the first words out of Quintus' mouth.
"As I said we can take you out of here. Put your stuff down and hold onto the railing along there." The Doctor told them while pointing at the railing that went around some of the control room side.
"Harry, Rome please just on the outskirts. NOW" spoke the Doctor next. Harry just nodded and ran to the control centre inputted the details and releasing the break, they were gone and five seconds later they were rephasing back into being on the outskirts of Rome where they wouldn't be noticed.
"We are just on the outskirts of Rome two days after what you witnessed in Pompeii, it leads credence to a story that you got out in time and made it here. That eruption, that type of mountain is called a volcano, its why no one knew what the name meant. Its why we couldn't stop it from happening , were really sorry for everything you have lost but if it wasn't for the Doctor you would unfortunately be dead. He saved your lives today. The household gods that you thought your daughter was seeing which was turning her skin to rock is actually poison hopefully over time it will heal now, if it continues to spread you MUST have the arm removed an inch above the where the stone reaches, so keep an eye on it for that."
"Well Caecilius, Metella, Evaline and Quintus, enjoy the rest of your lives and make sure they have meaning."
"Thank-you Doctor for saving us, you and your family will always be in our prayers you save our lives today."
With that everyone else said goodbye to each other and the time travellers opened the doors for them to get out and into Rome. Once they were gone Harry sent them into the time vortex he knew his dad's wated to talk to him.
"Harry, you shouldn't have put that on your shoulders. I would have set the volcano off."
"I've already told you; it is mine as you well know, however there maybe others out there just because their home world is gone doesn't mean they all ended up here. But either way I have a right and obligation to make those calls at times. This was one. Yes you could have pressed that button both you and Donna could have done it together it was between you and we were behind you but you already carry to much guilt for deaths you feel you have caused, even sharing this one with Donna which is what she was going to offer to ease that guilt. I'm here now to help with that burden so is dad. As you explained it was a fixed point the volcano had to erupt, and not only for the word to come about, but for you to be able to both save the world then show compassion at the end, when all hope was gone, you were there to offer it,"
"Okay you two it is done the fixed point remained one. Harry, go and start something to eat please while we three get showered and changed, then I'll look after it while you do the same. We'll stay in the vortex for a while. Then after food the Doctor and I want to talk to you Harry." Spoke the Master while making his way towards the living areas on the TARDIS.