A/N: Back! *wave*

Chapter 15: Divide and conquer

Playing entry 42/?.

UNKNOWN: Evacuate the area immediately! Leave your possessions and find the nearest authority! Medical personnel are attending!

UNKNOWN: Help me! Someone help me, please!

UNKNOWN: They're all dead! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!

In a sudden burst of something that felt extremely cold, the Doctor abruptly woke up, coughing and choking and feeling like a tiny and furious man was constantly kicking the inside of his head with steel-cap boots. He groaned before realising that someone was standing above, having just emptied a bucket of water over him.

'He's alive … he's alive!' someone yelled over the sounds of desperate screams, wailing sirens, and roaring fires. 'Someone help me here!'

The Doctor tried to get up but couldn't get anywhere. He rolled onto his back instead, still coughing and choking on the dust and smoke.

'Oh god, there's … I've got a child!' the man screamed, 'someone help!'

The Doctor realised the girl - Lanwa? - was still there, unconscious. He could see that she had a few burns - they'd both been on fire - but as he dizzily raised his right arm to his face, he realised his Gallifreyan suit had protected him, just as it should. Another man arrived, stumbling over the debris and scooping up Lanwa.

'Nugh …' the Doctor tried, watching as the girl called Lanwa disappeared into the chaos and smoke.

'She'll be okay; we need to get you out … Someone help me over here!'

The Doctor tried to get up again but couldn't. Finally, someone else arrived, staggering into view.

'I got him, don't worry!' Jack shouted, clambering to him.

'Let me help you!' the other man shouted.

'Don't worry, I've done this a few times before!' Jack replied, scooping the Time Lord up and hauling him over his shoulder. 'Ugh, you got heavier!'

'Burgh,' the Doctor managed as Jack stumbled through the debris. He just about caught an upside-down view of the portraits of the doomed family in pieces on the ground.

'Medical's east!' a man yelled, pointing.

Jack followed the finger point, with screams of the desperate ringing in the Doctor's ears. Jack ran straight past the ambulances and back towards the small gravelly track they'd come from.

'Stop, stop!' the Doctor suddenly gasped just before they reached the time jump line.

'What!?'

'I'm ok-okay, here, put me here ..'

Confused, Jack lowered him to the ground, where he curled up, coughing.

'Doc, why are we stopping!?'

'I'm ok-kay,' he managed between coughs. 'Please help them …'

'But …'

'P-please help them, J-Jack … And f-find … the g-girl …'

'All right, take this,' Jack said, giving him his communicator. 'And use your damn artron!'

He ran back into the fray as the Doctor languidly looked in his pocket for the artron. He found it, alongside something he'd nearly forgotten about - the watch Time had given him.

Ignoring it for the moment, he rolled up his sleeve and shot himself the required dosage into his vein with a grunt. The artron entered his system, and he sighed in relief, lying back and gasping to try and recover as the screams continued around him.

How had that girl been called Lanwa? Surely that wasn't a coincidence. Was it?

'Uncle Jack, come in!' the communicator suddenly buzzed with Leah's voice.

He reached listlessly for the communicator. 'Leah, it's m-me.'

'Daddy! Where have you been!?'

'Doesn't m-matter … get the Tardis on m-my coordinates …'

'Okay!'

Three seconds later, he heard the familiar churning, and the TARDIS slowly vworped into existence a few metres from him. The door creaked open, and there Millennia stood, looking anxious.

'Oh, by Rassilon,' Millennia muttered, taking in the deep bruising to his face, the blood, and the collar still on his neck. 'You look …'

'Terrible, I know,' he completed, still coughing. 'S'okay had the art-tron. Looks w-worse than it is.'

'Where's Jack?'

'Doing s-something heroic … get m-me to the infirm-mary.'

Playing entry 43/?.

JACK: But … how's that possible?

DOCTOR: I don't know.

They were now gathered in the TARDIS infirmary. The Doctor was looking much cleaner, having mopped up the blood and removed the neck collar. Everyone was staring at him, bewildered, as he told them about the little girl called Lanwa.

'What does it mean, though?' Jack asked.

'I don't know,' the Doctor replied, holding an ice pack to his bruised head. 'Let's just say it was significant. Why would she have the same name?'

'Maybe she was first one to have disease?' Millennia suggested.

'Maybe she was the scientist who discovered it,' Leah added eagerly.

'Maybe that means she's got a cure,' Jack realised.

'Or maybe Lanwa is just a trendy baby name on this planet, and we're wasting our time here,' the Doctor finished. 'Oh, and there's something else I need to tell you all too.' He looked at Jack. 'Do you remember around two years ago, just before we went to the mental asylum where I fell off the cliff and hit my head?'

'Oh yeah. You didn't make sense for a week,' Jack replied, nodding.

'I had a lot of memory problems?'

'Yeah.'

'And did something attack Rose and me?'

'Um, yeah. Alarms went off, and I found you and Rose in one of the cells. She was unconscious, and you'd shot something. We never figured out what; you blacked out, and Rose couldn't remember. Why?'

'What if I told you it was the Ravenous?'

'Your memory's come back?'

'No. I was there.'

Jack frowned. 'What?'

'Just as we crashed on Neyama, I woke up two years in the past in that exact week,' the Doctor replied.

Everyone stared at him.

'I know. It took me a while to grasp, too,' the Doctor said. 'I spent the week there.'

Jack's eyes widened as he realised. 'That's why you wouldn't shut up about clowns!'

'Exactly.'

'But … how?' Millennia asked.

'That's the fun part. It was a test from the Goddess of Fate.'

'Really?' Leah asked, astonished and thrilled in equal measure.

'She tested me, trying to tempt me to change the past three times. I passed the test.'

Jack was shaking his head in disbelief. 'That can't be real. Can it?'

'I'm afraid it is. I was visited again by the Goddess of Time. She gave me this.'

He raised his right arm and pulled down the sleeve to show the gold watch he'd latched onto his wrist. 'She said it was a Doomsday Clock. Right now …' - he checked - '... it's 59 to Doomsday.'

'Oh, it's counting down to the last day of Tuvala,' Leah realised. 'The day it got completely destroyed. That missile's what started the whole thing.'

'Exactly,' the Doctor said, nodding.

'Sorry, did I miss something? Why are you being visited by Gods?' Jack asked.

'We know the Eternals posing as Gallifreyan gods fled the Universe when the Time War began, and now we're in a place where the walls between worlds are fragmented. We've entered their higher-dimensional playground, and now we're their toys. Well, actually, it's just me, but you're all along for the ride. Sorry.'

'Are they dangerous?'

'Incredibly dangerous and incredibly powerful,' the Doctor confirmed. 'But they're not out to kill us.'

'Well, that's a relief,' Jack said somewhat sarcastically.

'They're giving me tests and giving me gifts in return. Like the artron vials in the box from the Goddess of Pain.'

'So … that box was real,' Millennia surmised.

'Yep.'

'What did you get from the Goddess of Fate, then?' Leah wondered.

He sighed and waved his hand dismissively. 'Nothing useful.'

'Who is next?' Millennia asked.

The Doctor hmphed in contemplation, blowing out his cheeks. 'Well, who have we got left … Life, Death, and Hope. With a bit of luck, we won't be seeing Death. She never fled the Universe, so hopefully, she's staying out of this. No idea who's next. Don't particularly want to find out, but it's not like we get a choice.' He sighed. 'Either way, we need to figure out what we're going to do next. Jack, did you find out where they took that girl?'

'All the injured went to the emergency unit in the main city in this region, Eytonia. She had burns; she'd have gone there,' Jack answered.

The Doctor pursed his lips, bobbing his head in contemplation.

'What?' Millennia asked.

'I'm wondering if we should follow her trail,' the Doctor replied.

'What would be the point in that?' Jack wondered. 'We know the place the guy visited for the cure was around here somewhere. Let's just get it and go.'

'What if it's not?' the Doctor countered. 'These time jump lines, whatever they are, look like they're fragmenting across this area and probably the entire planet if I know my luck. We might cross a time jump into an area where the shrine doesn't even exist. What if we're about to waste a lot of time looking for something that isn't there? Maybe two of us need to stay here and find this shrine while the other two go to Eytonia. Even if this girl has nothing to do with it, at least we might find out something about the disease or the war that could help.'

The other three exchanged looks.

'What d'you reckon, Leah?' the Doctor asked. 'Stick or split? Take the money or spin the wheel? Stay or play?'

The girl paused for a moment, considering it. 'Play,' she decided.

'Millennia?' he prompted.

'Stay.'

'Deciding vote, Jack,' the Time Lord said.

Jack sighed. 'All right. Play.'

'Brilliant. Pick a tag team partner.'

Jack grinned and rested his hands on Leah's shoulders. 'Let's go with the original set-up. I feel safer with this one. We'll find this shrine.'

Leah beamed up at him as the Doctor smiled. 'Fair enough,' he said. 'Millennia, fancy a trip with me to the city?'

She nodded happily. 'Absolutely.'

Playing entry 44/?.

DOCTOR: Right. Everyone got everything?

JACK: Yep!

MILLENNIA: Yes.

The Doctor looked at them in turn, nodding. He then knelt to Leah and scooped her up, hugging her tightly.

'Daddy!' she yelped but giggled and put her arms around his neck to hug him back.

'Ugh, I always hated giving you to Jack when you were little,' he moaned, kissing her forehead.

'Hey, nearly seven years of babysitting and I haven't dropped her yet,' Jack pointed out.

'I'm not a baby!' she complained.

'Quite right,' the Doctor agreed and kissed her again. 'Be careful.'

'I will,' she replied and kissed his cheek in return before hugging him again.

'And Jack …'

'Yeah, I know the drill. One tiny scratch or bruise or any hint of sadness on her adorable little face and I'm a pancake,' Jack assured him. 'An extremely flat, lemon meringue pancake.'

'Good, just checking,' the Doctor said and placed her back on the floor.

'Hi'jia, Ai'Veeto,' Millennia told her. 'And good luck too, Jack,' she added.

'You too. You guys look after each other.'

'Have communicators at all times,' the Doctor reminded them.

'And artron vials,' Jack added.

Simultaneously, the Doctor and Leah drew the pre-loaded needle guns out of their robes to confirm.

'Right. Final advice,' the Doctor began, 'don't take unnecessary risks, don't try to be too clever, and don't talk to anyone if you can help it. In seven days or less, I want to see a group of healthy, happy people back here with a cure in someone's hand, okay?'

He got three nods back at him.

'Allons-y.'

Playing entry 45/?.

MILLENNIA: So, how are we getting to the city?

DOCTOR: I've picked up a lot of universal customs over the years, and one of the most valuable pieces of information I've ever learnt was that almost every village, town, and city on every planet has at least one …

He pointed to a small, old sign that stated Welwora Shuttle Station, placed outside a small, unassuming building thrumming with activity.

'Oh,' Millennia said and frowned. 'But it's so small.'

'Hey, this isn't Arcadia,' the Doctor replied, taking her hand and joining the crowd filtering into the tiny station. They joined a queue five people deep.

Millennia took a moment to look around the station. There were neyamans, with a couple of zubians, plus a few other species she didn't yet have names for, all bustling around. She hadn't seen much of Earth yet, but this seemed similar to … what did humans call it? Oh, yes. Rush hour.

'Are you okay?' the Doctor suddenly asked in their native Gallifreyan tongue.

'Yeah, fine,' she replied. 'What's our plan when we get to the city?'

'Find the hospital.'

'What are we doing about the time jumps?'

He shrugged, nonchalant. 'We'll just have to deal with them as they come,' he said, holding his watch to her. 'Currently still 59 to Doomsday.'

The people in front of them cleared, and they stepped up to the booth. 'Hello!' the Doctor greeted the man happily. 'Two tickets for Eytonia, please, next shuttle.'

'That will be 40 corts, please,' the ticket officer replied.

'Ah, well …' the Doctor began, reaching inside his pocket for the psychic paper.

Millennia looked a little more around the station as he dealt with the tickets. A tiny shop was tucked away in the corner, selling limited alien food and drinks. She'd packed some hydration and nutrient packs into the Doctor's backpack, but getting something else wouldn't be a bad idea.

'Ten minutes until boarding,' the Doctor said, taking her hand and pulling her away from the queue with two tickets in his hand.

'Maybe we should stock up,' Millennia mused, pointing at the shop.

'Agreed,' the Doctor said.

Playing entry 46/?.

JACK: Okay, if I was a shrine, where would you build me?

LEAH: Umm …

She thought very hard about that for a moment as they stood on the familiar hill with the tree and rock formation, looking out across the deceptively peaceful landscape. 'Probably high up, cos it's closer to the sky, and that's where Gods and Goddesses are in most universal religions.'

'I was really dreading you'd say that,' Jack mused.

'Why?'

'Because of the size of that damn mountain,' Jack replied, pointing.

She beamed. 'If we cut through that forest, we'll end up higher,' she said, pointing.

'Then that's what we'll do,' Jack decided and stretched his hand to the six-year-old. She took it. 'Hey, we haven't done this in forever.'

'What?'

'You and me, having an adventure,' he clarified.

She beamed. 'Yeah, so better do what I say.'

'Yes, ma'am,' Jack replied with a salute as they headed down the hill to the forest below.

Playing entry 47/?.

DOCTOR: 'Scuse me, 'scuse me … coming through … thanks!

MILLENNIA: We're not gonna fit everyone on, surely?

'Never underestimate the determination of commuters to fit into tiny spaces,' the Doctor told her, finally spotting a couple of spare seats hidden amongst the chaos. There was a neyaman eyeing them up from the other side of the shuttle. His and the Doctor's eyes met. There was a slight pause, and then like drawing pistols at noon, they both suddenly advanced. With a bit of a ruckus and a lot of apologising, the Doctor just about pipped him to the seats, finally able to shed the heavy backpack and claim the seating like he was claiming a throne.

Millennia finally caught him up as the other man slunk away, defeated. 'Oh, well done.'

The Doctor heaved the backpack off the second seat so she could sit down and sighed at what had become of him. 'If Rose could see me now,' he mused, using his exotronic to push the bag into an overhead compartment.

Millennia laughed as he sat down. He immediately took an interest in the bag of snacks she'd found in the shop. 'Food?' he asked hopefully.

'These are supposed to be provisions,' Millennia reminded him.

'Provisions are meant to be eaten,' he countered.

She rolled her eyes and offered the bag to him. 'One thing and one thing only.'

He peered in. There were some very odd-looking packets in bright colours, the contents of which he couldn't really tell. Lucky dip, he decided, pulled out a box with two eggs inside.

'Remind you of something?' Millennia asked.

'Dactyl eggs from Gallifrey,' he realised, popping the box open, taking one, and biting immediately. 'Oh …' he mused as he chewed, 'they are dactyl eggs. Oh, that takes me back to … Prydon graduation. I ate thirty-five of these and threw up on my mentor. Oh, by the way, have this,' he said through a mouthful of yolk, pulling a small silver service from his pocket.

'A shimmer,' she realised. 'What for?'

'Because we look zubian, and I don't think it's a good idea to wander around a war looking like the opposition.'

'Good point,' she said, pocketing it.

'Shuttle 5 for passage to Eytonia now departing,' a disembodied voice said from overhead.

He finished his egg. 'Here we go,' he said.

Playing entry 48/?.

DOCTOR: So while I was stuck in a Judoon cell, Rose had to do the rest of the court case on her own.

MILLENNIA: Did she manage to save the boy?

DOCTOR: Oh, of course, while simultaneously causing three landmark moments in universal history and bringing down an entire planet's corrupt government in fifteen minutes.

Millennia smiled as the shuttle continued on its way to Eytonia. They'd already managed to eat everything in the bag despite their intentions. 'That's a hell of a feat.'

'Absolutely,' the Doctor agreed, finishing the last packet of crisp-like snacks.

'I can't wait to meet her,' she said. 'I mean, to cope with you for this long, she's gotta be something.'

'Hey,' the Doctor said indignantly.

She laughed as the Doctor suddenly felt that increasingly familiar tingle in his toes. 'Jump,' he warned, quickly pulling out his shimmer, as did she. Seconds later, their surroundings abruptly changed as they passed through a time jump - they were suddenly travelling in amongst a much darker and broken train carriage filled with children crying. The beautiful, lush forest they'd been passing through was now alight and clearly had been for quite a while.

'Shimmer!' the Doctor hissed quickly, the both of them just about managing to shift form to look neyaman before they were noticed.

Millennia looked at him, anxious. 'How far did we jump?' she whispered.

The Doctor looked at his watch. '20 to Doomsday. They must be in the grip of the war now.'

Millennia looked around the carriage - everyone around them was dirty and dishevelled, clearly half-starved and exhausted. Some people in uniform stood around holding weapons, protecting the passengers.

'I'm guessing they're all headed to some sort of spaceport at Eytonia for evacuation,' the Doctor continued quietly, just as the sound of a massive blast from nearby shook the train briefly. No one reacted. Clearly, these people were used to the noises and feelings of war.

'Evacuation papers, please,' a guard suddenly said, looking at Millennia.

'Here,' the Doctor said, pulling out his psychic paper for the guard to check.

The guard clearly saw what he wanted and nodded. 'You'll be evacuated by shuttle 56 at Eytonia.'

'Thanks,' the Doctor said.

The guard then moved on to a woman sitting across the aisle holding a child.

'Papers, please,' the guard said to her.

She hesitated.

'Ma'am, papers, please,' the guard repeated.

'I … I lost them,' the woman said. 'Please, I …'

'No papers, no passage,' the guard told her firmly. 'Ma'am, please stand up.'

Everyone in the carriage was now looking at her.

'Please, I lost them,' she begged, not moving. 'I promise I have passage, me and my son, we're coming from Welwora, we …'

'Stand up, ma'am!' the guard interrupted her, pointing his gun at her. 'You will disembark at the next station.'

With the eyes of the entire carriage on her, she stood up, still holding her young son in her arms as she cried, shaking. 'P-please, we don't have anything with us, we don't have any f-food …'

'This way,' the guard said, indicating with his rifle and ignorant of her pleas.

The Doctor made to stand up, but Millennia threw her arm across his chest to prevent him as the woman was escorted out of the carriage.

'I can't …' the Doctor began, trying to stand up again.

'No,' Millennia said quickly. 'We can't change this. This is a fixed point. What happens in Tuvala must always happen. You know there's nothing we can do for these people, Nei'Veeto. Nobody survives this war, and we can't change that. You'd be saving someone who's already destined to die.'

He swallowed, clearly mentally torn between his instincts. 'I once saved a family from a catastrophic event in Earth's history. That was a fixed point.'

'This is more than a fixed point, Nei'Veeto. You know that. No one can survive what happens here. I'm sorry.'

'I know,' he muttered.

She hugged him as the train continued its course through the blazing forest, winding towards Eytonia.