Doctor Who: Infection
Chapter 46 - This Is Where It Ends
Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.
Characters: 10, 11, Gleeson!Doctor, Markham, River, Jack, OCs
"Father." The word hung heavy in the air.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Ten asked. "I don't have any children, and they certainly aren't you?"
Eleven gave a silent cough at the first part. He chanced a glance to the Old Man. River raised an eyebrow at him, then returned her attention to the shadowed figures on the cliffs above.
"Please. As time travelers, you lot should know that nothing is impossible. The word itself proves that. Impossible. I'm possible." Harsh spotlights suddenly surrounded the quartet, blinding them.
River was the first to seemingly recover. She could see the voice came from an older man in black robes. Something on his chest caught the light. He was flanked by an ancient being in gilded robes on his right, a crimson armored figure on the left. A lower ledge in front of them revealed four men of different ages. They looked familiar, somehow?
More lights flickered on around them. They were in some sort of coliseum or amphitheatre, hewn from a rocky cavern. In the stands, whole armies of their enemies watched. Daleks. Cybermen. Sontarans. Zygons. Even a section of Raxacoricofallapatorians, Clockworks, and Silence.
They all sat in silence, watching.
"What is this? Why are we here?" Ten demanded.
"You stand accused of interference of galactic proportions," the hooded man announced. "Across all time and space, your interference has cost countless lives, untold damage, and for what?"
It was Eleven who spoke up. "To stop evils like these assembled from even greater villainy. Because it was the right thing to do. To stand up and say, No More."
"No More?" the Accuser echoed. As if in one voice, the entire stadium erupted in two syllables, repeating "NO MORE!"
"No, Doctors, we will have no more from you."
The lights dimmed, the shadows grew. Ten instinctively ushered River and the Old Man behind him. The ground seemed to rumble beneath them. Hatches along the perimeter fell away, revealing dimly lit holes in the floor. Something rose up from below. Armored figures in a rainbow of colors.
"What? What is this?" Ten demanded.
River grabbed his arm. "The Pride. He's taken over the Pride," she informed him.
"The Pride? Never heard of them?" he replied.
"They're a galactic peace keeping force," Eleven told his younger self. "You won't meet them for a bit. I don't recognize this style of armor, though? A bit too Cyberman-meets-Power Ranger-y for my taste, but that's not up to me, is it?"
"No, Doctor, it is most certainly not," the Accuser's voice boomed down, informing the quartet he could hear every whisper.
"But if they're peace keepers, why are they working for him?" the Old Man inquired.
"SILENCE!" came the Accuser's voice.
"No. No, I don't think I will," the Old Man retorted. "We don't even know who you are?"
"Rassilon?" Ten offered. "Omega? The Black Guardian? Oh. no. Don't tell me this is another one of the Master's schemes!"
"No, Father, I am not."
"And again, I don't have any scions!"
"Are these not your children?" a holo-panel appeared out of nowhere above them. On it were the faces of two young women. One brunette, the other blonde.
"Susan? Jenny?" Ten hissed. "Where are they? What have you done with them?" His confusion turned icy cold.
"They thought they could mother me as much as the one behind you. They thought wrong."
"Ex-cuse me?" River accused. "I most certainly do not have any children!"
"I can confirm that!" Eleven admitted. Ten shot them both an awkward look of disbelief. "At least, as long as I've known her!" he stammered.
"None of you understand, yet. You will."
The armored Pride stepped forward. Black diamonds on their chest armor grew darker with a blue energy.
Ten reacted first. "They're preparing to fire! Get down!"
The quartet hunched down, using the captive TARDIS as a shield from one angle, but it still left three sides open as ebony lightning erupted from the armored centurions. The Time Lords braced for what could be their final moments.
The energy never touched them. They looked up in confusion.
The Accuser had risen to his feet. "NO!"
A blinding beam of light came from above, surrounding those in the center of the blasts.
"ENGAGE ALL DEFENSES!" the Accuser demanded as the stands erupted in various blasts centered on the group.
"What's going on? What's happening?" River asked, amazed that they were untouched amid the cacophony that should have left a smoking crater in their place.
"You know as much as we do, River," Eleven said, almost accusatory.
"Oh, Sweetie! Sorry, but this is new to me, as well," she retorted.
"Why not look up?" the Old Man insisted, pointing. The others seemed to realize the firefight had chosen a new target, somewhere above them. The blinding light prevented them from seeing what was protecting them, but their assembled enemies now had a new point of attack.
"Whoever it is, I hope they have brilliant shielding," Ten noted. "They won't last too long against this fusillade."
"Has anyone thought about trying to take refuge in the TARDIS?" the Old Man asked. He stood and tried the doors. They wouldn't budge. Even the phone door held tight. "I guess not?"
"Thanks for trying, Sweetie," River said. She had drawn her gun to defend herself. Ten and Eleven shared a "don't ask" look. "Now would be a good time to scan the crowd, see who or what we're dealing with, here," she suggested, pulling out her own Sonic with her free hand.
The trio quickly realized their Sonics were neutered, likely by the same force keeping them out of the TARDIS. A loud explosion overhead caught their attention, as the blinding light dissipated and a thunderous BOOM next to them indicated their opponents now had an upper hand.
"So brave, yet so futile," their Accuser decried as the armies ceased fire. "What did you hope to accomplish here? Save Mommy and Daddys? Or die along side them?"
The Time Lords were even more confused. The Old Man eyed something off to their side. He reached down and grabbed a handful of dirt and fanned it out. Some fell back to the ground. Some did not, sticking to something invisible beside them. "I thought so."
River noticed it, too. At least two impressions several feet apart that had not been there moments earlier.
"Come out, come out, whoever you are," the Accuser intoned.
An invisible door opened in front of the captives. Out stepped two women, a middle aged brunette and a blonde. The former wore a black and white striped shirt and black pants, the latter wore what seemed to be a military style training uniform.
"Hi, dad."
"Jenny? JENNY! But how?" Ten exclaimed, rushing to hug her before River or Eleven could stop him. River seemed to recognize the brunette before Eleven did.
"How sentimental," the Accuser mocked. "Where's the other one?"
A large ginger man in a leather jacket and pants and red jumper stepped out. "Right here, Abaddon."
Ten and Eleven did a doubletake. Both could have sworn that outfit was what they had worn as Nine, but this man looked nothing like they did back then. He was larger and wider and-
"Ginger?!?" Ten bellowed. "Oh, that does it, I'm jealous now."
"Governor Abraxas?" River asked.
He spared a glance to his two companions, a barely perceptible shake of his head, then turned back to her. "It's been a long time, River Song."
"You know him?" Eleven accused.
"It's a long story, Sweetie."
"And nothing like what you're thinking, d- Doctor," he caught himself.
A bored clapping from above. "Well, well, the family's all here. Can the executions begin?"
"Bite me, Abaddon," Abraxas replied.
"You're right. We're missing someone. Where is the old man?"
The Time Lords looked at their elder counterpart in confusion.
"He went back home," Abraxas lied. "You'll never touch him there."
"Oh well, I guess I'll have to start pruning the multiverse?" Abaddon said idly.
"What? What did you say?" the Elder Doctor demanded. "What are you doing?"
"Shush, old timer, this takes a bit of concentration. And time. Don't want to clip the wrong branch, do we?"
"What is he talking about?" Ten demanded. "What's going on?"
"Spoilers," Abraxas said. River shot him an alarmed look.
A voice behind them distracted them. "No! NO! He-he destroyed my Earth. My universe," the Old Man replied. "He's the reason I lost everyone!" The horror of what he was saying spread throughout the group. "All of them, gone." He was on the verge of tears, now.
Abaddon laughed. "Oh, that little mistake? It never should have existed. Ending it was a mercy."
"Stop it!" Ten demanded. "Whatever your quarrel with us, you don't need to wipe out entire galaxies-"
"It wasn't just a galaxy, Father. It was an entire universe," he informed them. "Granted, it wasn't in the blink of an eye. Something like that takes time. Centuries, but that doesn't matter to those who live for millennia, does it?"
"It matters. They all matter," Eleven interrupted. "Who are you so deviant to wipe them all away as if it were a mustard stain on your shirt?"
Abaddon sat back on his throne. He pointed at his crimson guard. "Fear me, I've killed hundreds of Time Lords. Fear me, I've killed them all."
Eleven stared in shock. It was his own voice.
"What? What's going on?" Ten demanded. "Who are you?"
"I've told you, Father."
"He's my brother," Abraxas announced. "He's pledged to eliminate you from all of space and time. We don't know why."
"You know full well why."
"No, we don't. You simply disappeared one day. We looked, but never found you. It was as if you had been erased."
"You never cared."
"We did!" Susan finally spoke up. "We looked for you for weeks, even skipped back to follow you, but even that proved impossible!"
"I am impossible. I left you. None of you meant anything to me."
"You meant everything to us! Will-"
"-is a fraud and liar. He took us from our home. He taught us nothing, but to take what you want, when you want."
"Liar." Abraxas countered. "Our parents trusted him to raise us away from all these murderers. To give us an education and chance at a normal life while we were young."
"And what about what he did to auntie Susan?"
"That was as much my choice as his," she replied. "You can't know everything."
"Not then, but my mentor showed me everything. Every. Thing." He waved his hand. The holo-panel that had formerly bore her and Jenny's faces now showed them an intimate moment between Susan and Will Markham. "Did you know he had a wife? Among other lovers? He had his own children. He abandoned them all."
As Abaddon spoke, the images changed, all intimate to one degree or another. Toshiko Markham. Jackson Lake. Kissing an unknown large man standing next to Jack Harkness (and Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper?). Hugging Ianto, himself. Jack, himself. Two young boys on his lap at the holidays. Susan.
Ten was aghast. He had no idea who this "Will Markham" was, but he seemed "worse" than Jack at one aspect of his life. Eleven and the others just seemed confused. Susan and Abraxas grew angrier.
"How did he-?" Abraxas started.
"How did you get those images?" Susan accused. "There is no way you were there for all of those, especially his former life!"
"Spoilers," Abaddon laughed. "Isn't that what you always said, Mother?"
"I don't know you," she replied, grim faced.
Behind her, Eleven was looking between her and Abraxas, who also quoted her line. His face contorting as he was doing the mental math. "Hold on. Hold on!" he piped up. "You called her mother? You call us Father? And this guy called you Brother?" He pointed at Abraxas.
"Finally! The great and powerful Doctor asks the real questions," Abaddon mocked.
"But none of us," he motioned between himself and his twin incarnations, "have -have, well, you know?" He turned to face River, accusingly.
"Sweetie, I can assure you I have no idea what he's talking about!" she insisted.
"No. No, if we want answers, you need to ask him," Ten corrected, looking at the large man. "Abraxas, was it? What are you governor of again?"
"Barcelona."
"Dad, leave it," Jenny interrupted. "Abad's changing the subject, keeping us off our toes."
"As are you," he replied. "Tell me, how did you survive? I saw you die."
"I'm your clone. I'm a Time Lord. Had you waited five more minutes, you would have been there to see for yourself."
Ten eyed her suspiciously for a moment. "So what you're saying, is that you, Abaddon, are a spoiled brat who didn't get enough love from mummy and daddy, who haven't even conceived you yet, am I right?" He took a step toward the dais. "Am. I. Right?"
The Pride took another step forward in response. Their chest beams crackled with energy once more.
"I guess so?" He spun and ran back to the others. "Get down!"
The protective shield shook with the force of the energy blast. An uneasy creaking could be heard within the protective dome. More than a few noticed it.
"The shields are weakening!" Jenny exclaimed. "Time for plan C!"
"What's plan C?" Eleven demanded. "Wait, what's plan B?"
Abraxas went back to the doorway he had come out of. "Plan C! On my mark! Go!"
Another round of blasts hit the shields. The RAFT materialized and all saw what appeared to be a rickety construction lift capsule fall apart.
Out of all four doors, now erupted a small army of fighters. More than a few had familiar faces. Some had just flashed across the holo-panel moments earlier.
"Hi, Doc! Did ya miss me?" Jack Harkness exclaimed as he took up a defensive position.
"Jack? What are you doing here?" Ten exclaimed.
"Plan C. We're the Cavalry!" he laughed.
Ten turned to see another unexpected face. He saluted. "Jackson Lake, reporting for duty, sir!"
"What? But you just-?"
"Don't ask me to explain it, but an old friend said you needed my help, so here I am!"
"Old Friend?" Ten repeated. "Jack?"
"Nope, I was recruited, too," he seemed to spy someone behind them. "By him."
Ten turned to see the face of the man Susan had allegedly fallen for, alongside the large man he had kissed on the screen. He extended a hand to the dumbstruck Time Lord.
"Will Markham, at your service, Doctor. It's been a long while since I've seen your face."
"What?"
"And we haven't officially met yet, have we?" he realized. Then spied the Old Man. "I guess not? Champ, protect that one with your life! Jacks, you're with Champ!"
"Since when do you give the orders around here, Markham?"
"Since I have to clean up my mess, is when," he shot back. He noticed the disbelief on Ten's face. "Don't worry, he's just the Regent, not the King!"
"What?!"
"Aw, so young, so innocent, so screwed once again," he mocked. "Don't worry, I've picked up a few things since living on your world. Right, Brig?"
Ten was even more confused, until he saw Eleven and River greeting another arrival. "Brigadier?" He went to greet his old friend.
"Hold up, Sweetie, I was just introducing you to, well, re-introducing you two to-"
"Alistaire! So good to see you again!"
"Doctor?" he greeted, unsure of what to make of the situation. "Not another fine mess you've drug me into, I hope? You've changed. I don't like it," he teased before excusing himself to one face he did recognize: Susan.
"What is going on? Who are all these people?" River asked her boys.
"Some of them, I don't know?" Eleven replied, motioning to the troops Will and Charles brought with them.
"Some of them, I know all too well," Ten replied, nodding to the faces he did know.
"Well, that's it, then? Our army versus an army of nemeses controlled by someone who, by all rights, shouldn't even exist yet?"
"You act like it's something you've never faced before?" Abraxas asked. "Let's get to it, shall we?"
"What are you-? Oh no."
Abraxas stepped forward. "Abaddon! Come on, brother! Why not face us yourself? Man to man, immortal to immortal? What are you so scared of?"
Abaddon motioned. His forces stopped their assault. "Falling into desperate tropes of eternal fraternal enmity? How droll? What next, some Trojan horse ploy?"
"What the flooding hells is a Trojan Horse?" Charles asked Will. Markham rolled his eyes and pressed a thumb against his friend's temple. "Ow! Fuck! You know that gives me a headache!" Will stared at him. "How did we not have that in our history?" he griped, rubbing where Will touched him.
Will looked at Jack. "I can think of at least one reason."
Abraxas challenged his twin. "I'm saying, come down here and fight it out like real men. Your grief is with someone who doesn't exist, so all you have is me. Come get some."
"I'm not falling for that, Brother. I brought you all here to destroy you. You know that."
"Killing your parents before you were born? Especially when it's one of those three?" He motioned to the Time Lord trio. "That's a temporal disaster waiting to happen."
"No worse than what I went through in the Time War. The atrocities there will never have to happen if I expunge him from existence, now."
"Except for one fact," Ten challenged. "The Time War was in my past. It's a fixed point in time. Gallifrey is lost."
What came from Abaddon was an unearthly howl, chilling most to their bones. "You naïve fool. The Doctor doesn't know!"
The assembled army echoed him again. "The Doctor doesn't know!"
Eleven spun around at them in fear, scratching at his head. "Prisoner Zero? You're Prisoner Zero?"
"No, Doctors. I don't mean to merely kill you, but erase your existence from reality. The multiverse will know peace at last."
"-and kill us both before we ever existed," Abraxas added. "Do you hate existence that much?"
"Yes."
"Flooding hell, who is this maniac?" Charles asked.
"A psychopath I raised," Will admitted. "Well, for a few years. Mentor Chiron I am no longer."
Jackson Lake looked at them strangely. "Pardon me, sirs, but what language phrasing is that?"
"What the flooding hells are you talking about, Jacks?"
"That phrase again, flooding hells? What does it mean?" he asked. "It sounds like something out of The Tempest?"
"Shakespeare's Tempest?" Will inquired, glancing to Charles with an 'I'll tell you later' shake of his head. "It means flooding the seven hells with-" Will started, then realized what he was saying. "Oh, Jacks, I could kiss you!"
"Good sir! This is neither the time nor place for such foolish- nonsense!" Charles stifled a laugh. Jackson was not amused.
"Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back!" Will ran back toward the RAFT, someone caught his eye. "Sam! You're with me!"
A middle aged Sam Bush pulled himself away from the front line to follow Will into the craft. As Will closed the doors, he spoke up. "Those are the Pride, Will. Those are my Pride."
Will flipped the controls. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Those people in those colored armors? Those are the Pride!"
"Yeah, what of it? Who doesn't know the Pride?"
"You don't understand, Will. I created that army. Those are my troops. I'm responsible for them! They don't even recognize me!"
Will stopped what he was doing. "What? You created that army? But that was- oh. Oh flooding hells. I'm sorry, Sam. I truly am."
"I have to try and save them!" He ran back outside. Will set back to his task.
"ABADDON! HEAR ME!" Sam roared.
Abraxas took a step back as Sam joined him.
"What insect dares?"
"I am Sabalom Bush! I created the Pride! I demand you release my army immediately!" he ordered.
Abaddon cackled. "Very well." He motioned. The Pride stepped forward, their chests crackled with power once more. They fired at the barrier again. More strain on the shields. "Come and join them, insect!"
The Pride stepped closer. Fired again. Each time they fired, their armor colors grew darker.
"What's going on?" Abraxas asked. Sam shook his head. Others were noticing it, too.
"Do you understand, yet?" Abaddon cackled. "Every time they fire, they lose their life forces. They are consumed. They are mine to control."
Sam began pounding on the shield. "No! Stop! I order you to stop! ABADDON!"
"Insect. They were always mine to control. You were a tool and a fool to think you could defy me!"
"He can't! I trained them! Recruited them!"
"And their lives are forfeit because of you! Observe!"
The Pride fired once more. Their armors were almost black, now. "Die, my Penumbrac army! KILL THEM ALL! And with them, yourselves!"
"NO!"
River and Ten watched in horror as they came to the same realization. "you don't think?" she asked.
Ten was already in motion, pulling Sam back. "It's too late. Your friends were gone before you got here. Isn't that right, Abaddon?"
"You're finally catching on, Father. None of you will escape here. You all came to die."
"Damn you, Abaddon," Ten replied.
"What?" Sam gasped. "What are you talking about?"
"Vashta Nerada." Abraxas replied. "I'm sorry. I should have seen it sooner. One more thing my brother will answer for."
As if on cue, the armors opened. Their shadows creeped out towards the shield.
"Everybody get back!" Abraxas ordered. "Get as much light as you can around you!"
In response, the cavern filled with light once more. Even Abaddon seemed taken by surprise. "What?" He watched futilely as the Vashta Nerada receded into the shadows. More than a few of his combined troops paid the price for being too close to the shadows. "MARKHAM!"
Sam spun around, "The RAFT is gone! It must be Will!"
"But what's the old man up to?" Abraxas mused.
"Whatever he's got planned, he has to do it, now," Ten replied. He looked around, Eleven was covering the Brig. River and Jack were also missing in the confusion. He saw Champ and Jackson had taken up defensive positions in front of the TARDIS. His elderly counterpart was nowhere to be seen, either. "Oh, I hope she knows what she's doing!" he muttered.
"There's something wrong out there!" Eleven noted.
The Brigadier saw where he was pointing. "I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but it does seem to be something amiss?"
"Look where the Vashta Nerada are eating their comrades. They aren't consuming them whole?"
"Is that common?"
"The Vashta are piranha of the air, if you will. They consume every part, if given the chance," he explained. "Flesh first, then bone and-"
"They're not finishing their supper!" Alistair exclaimed. "Doctor! Did you see?" Eleven seemed miffed, but he realized he was pointing out the situation to his younger self. This was not the Brig's first multi-Doctor adventure, he remembered/reminded himself.
Ten and Abraxas saw what Lethbridge-Stuart was pointing at. Their enemies were being wounded by the shadows, not consumed. "All these armies-" Ten started.
"-are fake." Abraxas kicked himself for not realizing it sooner. "Which nemesis is missing, but staring us in the face the whole time?"
"Autons. The Nestene Consciousness. Who else?" Ten asked.
"The Flesh," Eleven added, joining them.
"Why the Clockworks and Raxa- erm, Slitheen, but not the Autons? It doesn't make any sense?"
"The Flesh were mine." Eleven glanced to Abraxas, awkwardly raising his hand, then passing it off as a hair tussle. "-and the Ponds."
"Xanatos Gambit."
"The What?" the Doctors said in unison.
"He's playing a long game," Abraxas explained. "Over your entire lifespans. That's centuries' worth of planning, moving pawns to certain positions. He's playing fourth dimensional chess."
Eleven glanced toward the TARDIS and River. "I understand. What do we do about it, though?"
"Does anyone else feel that?"
"Feel what-?" Sam started to ask, then saw the barrier. "It's...raining?"
Even Abaddon had risen from his chair. His immediate security guardians had changed their gaze to directly above. Where the light from the RAFT was coming from, there was now rain. Lots of it. And it wasn't stopping.
"He's going to flush them out?"
"And drown us, along with it?"
"Fourth dimensional chess, boys," Jenny reminded them. "He's been traveling in time almost as much as you lot have. He's got his own Xanatos Gambit going."
"But if Abaddon won't let us leave, where's he getting the water from?"
"How big is the inside of your TARDIS, Abraxas?" Ten asked.
"We call it the RAFT, and as big as yours," he replied. "Bigger, possibly."
Ten sniffed. "I doubt it, but the water in it just needs to be big enough to fill this cavern."
"And crush us, dad," Jenny reminded him.
Jack trotted up to them. "Where have you been?" Ten asked.
"In the TARDIS with River," he held up his squareness gun. "I hope the old girl doesn't mind us kicking her front door in, but we've reinforced the barrier. Anything shy of a supernova isn't getting in here."
"Yes, well, there's a black hole right outside," Ten informed them.
As if on cue, Abaddon and his retinue suddenly jumped as one into the air, landing on the barrier with heavy thuds. The Clockworks extended their arm blades, which began spinning, drilling into the shield. The man in the golden robes, the quartet of humans, and the crimson armor began a thunderous beating on the shields, proving they were not beings of flesh.
"I think we found our missing nemesis," Eleven mused. "Tesselecta. Bio-morphing machines with itty-bitty crews inside meant for infiltration, and usually, assassination."
Abaddon himself stood at the top of the barrier dome. Waiting.
"Well, kid, you got your wish. Your bro is bringing the fight to you," Jenny noted. "Hope you're ready for a duel."
"Flooding hell, my gear's up in the RAFT!" he realized.
"Can't you call Markham back down here?"
"With what? He's an empath, we need a telepathic circuit-" he replied before realizing he was standing amidst a group of telepaths.
"You were saying?" Ten sniffed.
"Easy, dad, we didn't really link our minds too much, growing him up," Jenny chided. Ten and Eleven raised eyebrows at this revelation.
"Are we, uh, are we okay with sharing what we know?" Eleven asked.
The quartet grabbed each other's hands. "Spoilers," Abraxas said as they began concentrating. "Markham, get down here, stat!"
No sooner had they linked than Will was stumbling out of the RAFT behind them, a duffel bag in one hand, his head in the other. "You could have just sent up a flooding flare, you know!" he chided them, hoping Charles wouldn't hear about this after his own mental download, earlier. He would never let Will live it down.
"What's in the bag?" Eleven asked. "Anything for us, or are you going mano a mano?" He mocked fisticuffs, but Ten shook his head to stop.
Abraxas pulled out a sword. "It seems I am my brother's keeper, and there can be only one way this ends."
Will had not seen him pack the bag, and did a doubletake at what he pulled out. "Caledfwlch," he muttered under his breath.
He didn't get a chance to say anything else, as the pounding from above stopped with a shatter. Abaddon fell to the ground without a bother, even as it shook with his landing.
"He shouldn't have caused that much commotion," Ten noted.
"Tesselecta armor," Eleven noted.
"We're here for your backup, kid," Jenny said.
Abaddon's troupe cleared the area amidst the army Charles had brought with him. He stood in the center, raised one hand, and motioned his brother forward. "Let us end this, so I may cleanse the universe of all of you."
"I don't suppose we could talk this out?" Eleven offered.
"Talk is done." He flicked out his arm and a blade appeared in it, a shield materializing around the other arm.
"I can take him, Big Red," Jack offered.
"No, kid, this is my fight," Abraxas smirked, inwardly glad the immortal remembered him from his youth. "Just remember what I trained you for."
"As you wish," Jack saluted the larger man as he strode into the circle. Ten and Eleven gave him suspicious looks.
The twins saluted each other with their swords, then began circling each other. Abaddon's minions formed the outer edge, stretching their arms to create the perimeter. Their heads slowly revolving, watching their opponents for any sign of interference.
The duel began with light parries, testing each other. No one believed for a moment that Abaddon would fight fair. As they continued, the strikes became harder and harder, those closest to the impromptu barrier could almost feel the blows landing.
Will had sidled back up to Charles. "Look familiar?"
"You mean, like the sword I used to chop my own son's hand off? Not at all," he remarked. "How did it wind up here?"
"No clue. I'm going to be asking that boy a lot of questions when this is done."
"Provided we survive, right?"
"Sure, Champ," he clapped his friend on the back.
Abraxas struck a hard blow to Abaddon's sword. At first, many thought he had broken it, but the blade shimmered back into pristine condition once more.
Calls of "He's cheating!" and "FOUL!" began circulating around the crowd.
Abraxas smiled. He had real people cheering him on. His brother had silent servants, and- Something caught his eye outside the barrier. He made eye contact with Will for a brief second. It was all he needed. "On your left!" he shouted. Abaddon smiled now. His plan was going perfectly.
His momentary distraction was all Abraxas needed. One sidestep, a twist and he buried his blade in his brother's chest.
Abraxas took advantage of his closeness and extended his own blade into his brother's- side? His blade glanced off the leather jacket, as if it were armor?
"You didn't see that coming, did you?" Abraxas taunted, giving his blade a twist.
Abaddon stepped back. His appearance started shifting, but Abraxas held his blade tight. He could feel the energy inside coursing back through the blade into him, but as his bodysuit faltered, he grew more enraged. He dropped his shield, extended his arm around his brother, holding him tight.
Abraxas head butted him. Abaddon shouldn't have felt that, but he did. He pushed his brother back, extending his arm to pin him on the ground. He was done toying with them now. Time to end this.
Outside the barrier, the water continued to rise, but so did the shadows. Will had taken Abraxas' cue to check on River maintaining the barrier inside, but knew that pounding had broken something. She was under the console trying to repair some damage as he entered. "Get help," was all she said as doubled back outside to summon the Doctors, when he noticed the Old Man sitting on a sofa to the side.
"Pull yourself together and help us!" Will ordered him.
The Elder Doctor was still heartbroken over the revelation of what had happened to his universe. Deaths of trillions on his conscious because of one person. "I don't think I can," he whimpered in reply.
Will shook his head and exited to find the Time Lords, he only paused to see the boy he raised pinned to the ground by a growing bulk that contorted out of shape. "Doctor! TARDIS, now!" he called. The pair came running and soon were under the console with River.
Will looked from the duel to Charles, back to the elder Doctor. He had to do something. He pulled the Old Man upright. "I hate to do this, but you can't seem to help yourself!" He grabbed both sides of the Old Man's head and brought their heads together. Eleven happened to glance up and see this and ran to save the Old Man from whatever tomfoolery Markham was up to.
Will's mindmeld broke with massive feedback, knocking them both apart. Will to the floor, and the Old Man into Eleven, and both to the floor.
Outside, the battle raged on as Abaddon was now twenty feet tall. Charles' troops began firing at him, as did the assembled Children of Time. Abaddon's minions had ceased moving, as he drew their power. Jack took off their heads with his squareness gun, just in case, then took out Abaddon's wrist above Abraxas, saving his life.
Jack's plan was for naught, as the Clockworks suddenly turned into whirling dervishes, cutting down more than a few of Charles' troops before they were put out of commission.
Abaddon reared up at the loss of his hand, but grew another as his free hand pulled his brother's sword from his chest. He threw it away, nearly taking Charles' head off, but he grabbed the sword as soon as Jackson got off of covering him. He took out the final whirling Clockwork with it, even as the crimson guard came back to life and began attacking anyone near it. The sword bounced off the red armor, and this time it was the Brig who tackled the offender before Charles lost his head.
"Nice sword," Alistair noted, as Charles helped him to his feet.
"Thanks," he replied, driving it into an unarmored joint to stop the guard. "We've got one just like it back home. Might be the same one?"
"Where are you from? I can't place the accent?"
"Albion. My boy is the king there."
The Brig made a mental note of it. "A sword like that, there's only one name for it."
"yup, Caledfwlch." Charles tested it's weight, noting the balance, and a familiar gem in it's hilt, then saw what was happening outside the barrier. "We're gonna need it."
The water level had nearly reached the shattered break that Abaddon had defenestrated. What they could see of the cavern outside of that, was very little. The shadows had taken over.
"Doctor!" the Brig bellowed, "We're going to need a way out of here. Fast."
Jack helped Abraxas to his feet. "You okay, Big Red?"
"I've been better. And deader," he chided himself. He looked up at his brother's monstrous size. "He keeps growing, he's going to break the barrier again."
"And you all will drown," Jack agreed. "I mean, so will I, but I'm going to wake up and drown all over again until the shadows try to eat me. It's a living hell I'm not looking forward to."
Susan ran into the TARDIS. "Anything I can help with?"
"Any chance you can break whatever lock he's got keeping us down here?" River asked.
"Not a clue, sorry."
"Then go kick his ass until he does!" River retorted throwing her squareness gun at her. Another hand caught it.
"I've got this," Jenny replied. She ran outside. "Jack! Tag team me on his joints!" she yelled, then blasted away one knee.
Abaddon fell on his stump and lost the other before he could regenerate either. He lurched forward, causing Jenny to miss and hit the barrier. "Oh flood!" she yelped, quickly replacing the disappeared section, but a tidal wave had already fallen through. "Sorry!"
Sam charged at a disoriented Will stumbling from the TARDIS, "You made that flood, can you get rid of it?"
"That's not my water! I emptied all the RAFT's tanks before I came back down here! I don't know where that came from! It's not my doing!"
"Is there any way you can stop it?"
Will thought a moment. "I can try? But if it lets in the Vashta Nerada, then we lose the RAFT," he explained. "Are you willing to take that risk?
"My life's work is already ruined. I've lost friends here, today. I have nothing else to lose."
"You'll lose your flooding life!"
"I'll take that risk!"
"Damn you, Sam Bush!" Will griped as he led the man back into the RAFT. He paused a moment to find Champ in the crowd, fighting the crimson guard. He hoped he could take them all back home after. If this failed, they would be stranded here, forever. Even if forever was the next five minutes. "Do you know how to handle a TARDIS console?"
"I know a few basics."
"Gods save us all, we're going to die down here."
"Yes, you will," came a voice from behind them as they approached the controls. The two men spun to find the ancient golden robed guard inside the RAFT doors. "You really should find better locks, gentlemen," he said as he raised his arms to them. A flash of light and they were down for the count.
He stepped over them. "Oh my dear, dear Doctor, what fools you have for friends." Flipping a switch, he grabbed the TARDIS phone. "You can come down now, my dear."
Outside, Charles' troops had made quick work of the remaining foursome. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" he asked as they were lined up.
"My brother," Abraxas answered. "At different stages of his life." He knelt in front of the preteen. I remember this is what he looked like when he left us." He glanced to the others. "Natural age progression, after that." He eyed one with the hologrammatic shirt. "This is the only one we've caught on video," he said bitterly. "Better not let Dads see him." He held out his hand, Charles handed over the sword, then cleaved his face in quarters with two strokes.
"I like your style."
Abraxas nodded. "Thanks, we had the same teacher."
Charles wasn't sure if he was kidding or not. He looked around for Markham, but he wasn't in sight.
Everyone ducked and covered their ears at that moment, as the growing beast passing as Abaddon let loose a heart stopping screech. Jenny and Jack were making piecemeal of the body. Still, no sign of the Tesselecta pilot.
A thunderous boom shook the cavern. Those under the fracture in the barrier were drenched as the water shook and waves fell inside from the vibrations.
"This is not good!" Jackson noted. "We need to evacuate before we drown!"
"Or get eaten alive in seconds by the shadows," Abraxas added.
Another boom.
"That doesn't sound good, either, guys," Charles agreed.
Jenny and Jack were inspecting what little was left of Abraxas. "You don't think this one was a remote, too, do you?" she asked.
"I'm beginning to think the same," he replied. He glanced at a readout on his gun. "Mine's full, how about yours?"
She gave him a quizzical look. "Full? What are you talking about?" she inquired as hers started beeping.
"That's what I'm talking about," he said, grabbing it away from her and tossing both at the pile of remains. "Everybody back away! NOW!"
Both had barely taken two steps away when the guns exploded. The mass reformatted inside came pouring out and quickly rejoined with it's former self.
"Did I not mention there's a limit to how much mass those guns can compress?" She shook her head. He looked back to the growing mass reforming. "Oh, that is very much not good," Jack said. "Inside the TARDIS or the RAFT, now!" he ordered. Most were closer to the blue box than the yellow lift, but found the lift locked tight. They doubled back to the TARDIS when another shockwave hit, causing some to stumble.
One of Charles' men suddenly found himself flattened under a monstrous leg. The beast formerly known as Abaddon reared up and took a swipe at another soldier. Alistair narrowly missed being grabbed, himself. As he dove behind the TARDIS.
As the others crowded into the TARDIS, Ten had to direct them as they passed the prone forms of his alternate selves. Jackson helped him prop both men up onto the sofa.
"Long time, no see, Doctor," Jackson nodded.
"You're looking well, Doctor Lake," Ten replied.
"It's Professor Lake, now," he beamed.
"Oh, a professorship! Well, congratulations!" he nodded. "I think I still have one or ten of those?" He scratched the back of his head, trying to remember. "Well, back to business!" He turned back to attend back to the console, leaving Lake unsure if he had just been dismissed.
"Right then! Where were we? Abaddon is a giant monster, looks vaguely familiar? Is everyone on board? Where's Will gotten off to?"
"He left the TARDIS right after River gave Jenny her gun, grandfather," Susan offered. "I saw him and Sam enter the RAFT?"
"The yellow box?" one soldier inquired. "We tried to get in, but it's locked up tight, now?"
"Oh, that's not good, is it?" he replied. Anyone want to chance a run for the RAFT? Jack?"
"Oh sure, send the immortal out to get stomped on by the giant monster!" He caught dirty looks from Charles' men. "No offense, but I've been squished, blown up, and otherwise mutilated to no end. It's not fun the first time, much less on repeat."
"Hey, where's the old man going? Sir!" Alistair called after him.
"I've got him, Brig!" Jack said, "You stay here!"
The Elder Doctor stepped outside, his mind a swirl of crashed memories that were his and still not his?
"FATHER!"
"Eh, what? Who is that?" the Elder Doctor asked, blithely unaware of the monster before him. He saw the large claws passing for feet and looked up. "Oh, hello there! Can I help you?"
"PREPARE TO DIE!" it growled, punching at the old man.
Jack tackled him with inches to spare. "You really shouldn't be out here, Doctor!" he scolded the Old Man.
"And neither should you, Chatterton! Hmp!" he retorted.
Jack gave him a confused look. "Chatterton?"
Before either could respond, Abaddon scooped them both up. "EXCELLENT. PREPARE TO DIE!" He opened his mouth to consume both, but howled in pain.
Abraxas swung his sword again, taking another slice out of his ankle. Abaddon kicked him away, getting the sword embedded in his foot as a result.
"YOU FOOLS! I WILL CONSUME EACH OF YOU, FEASTING ON YOUR FLESH FOR ETERNITY!"
Another thunderous blast shook the cavern. More water drenched the inner arena, splashing onto Abaddon. Before he could react, the air turned cold. The water froze him into place, and, Abraxas noted, around the remaining barrier, as well.
"What in the seven hells?" was all he managed before Abaddon broke free of his frozen imprisonment. He knelt down, squeezing the pair in one hand, seemingly unable to release them.
"Put them down. Right now!" came a commanding female voice.
Jack looked around to see a stern looking woman on the ground below. She was accompanied by two Silents. Abraxas sidled up to her.
"INSECTS! I SHALL CRUSH YOU AS I CRUSH THESE TWO!"
"Yes, yes. We've all heard your rants. Temper tantrums, more like," she corrected herself. "Put. Them. Down."
Abaddon hesitated, then lowered the fist holding his two captives to the ground. He didn't release them, but instead let out a blood curdling roar directed at the newcomer.
Even the insides of the TARDIS shook with the sound. Eleven finally sprang to life with a jerk. "Oh. Wonderful. I have an alarm now." He rushed to the console and grabbed the monitor away from Ten. Zeroing in on the action outside, he eyed the newcomer suspiciously. "No. Why would she be here?"
"Who's here?" Ten inquired, swiping at the screen, but Eleven pulled it away from his grasp.
"No one," he lied, eyeing River. "Just a friend. And possibly our way out?"
"That's all well and good, Sweetie," River chided, "but we need to stop Abaddon before he does any more damage to the universe."
Ten grimaced. "Seems a bit extreme?"
"He wants to kill all of us, starting with you," she reminded him, "then the universe, but I'm being extreme?"
"That's the thing about time travel," Ten finally grabbed the screen back from his future self. "You get all kinds of death threats all the time. And why didn't he go after an earlier version of our selves? Why me? Why us? Why now?"
"Not you, the other you." River realized. She started for the door. Eleven blocked her way. "Sweetie, move."
"You shouldn't go out there, right now."
"You heard what he called me. What he called him."
"Trust me."
"Never."
"River. Now is not the time for games."
"Now is not the time to play overbearing-" the next word caught in her throat. They both knew what she was about to say, but doing so would tell others present her true nature, and they knew too much, already.
She slapped him, then marched outside.
"Oh look, just what we need, your mother," the woman griped.
"Who are you again?" Abraxas asked.
"I've told you before, you just don't remember it," she insisted.
"Why would that be?" he asked.
"Have you met my friends, here?"
Confess.
"Who are you?" Abraxas asked again.
She handed him an eye patch. "Gah! Put this on and shut up!"
Abraxas did as he was told, then seemed surprised that they were not alone as River joined them, now also wearing an eye patch.
"What's the situation?" she demanded of the newcomer, noting the woman had a mask of eyeliner across her face, her hair pulled back into a bun behind her head, giving her a stern schoolmistress appearance.
"I'm trying to scold your one enemy and deal with your other idiot boy, while rescuing- wait, when are you?"
"You know too much," River replied, scowling.
"Sorry, not a time to compare diaries, sweetie."
"I hate you, already."
"I know."
"Ladies?" Abraxas interrupted. "I need my sword back. Saving those two is also a priority."
"Jack Harkness can handle himself. That Doctor, not so much," the woman said.
"How do you know-?"
"Spoilers." River looked like she could choke her. "Jack! Are you okay?" she called up.
"I am now!" he called back, even as Abaddon's grip made it hard for him to breathe.
"I SHOULD DESTROY YOU ALL, BUT I HAVE A BETTER PLAN," Abaddon said. He held his hand clutching his captives in front of him and breathed in deeply.
Jack felt weak, not dying, but lethargic to the point he could hardly move. He glanced to the Doctor, who moaned and seemed to be aging even more before his eyes. Jack used every ounce of energy to fling his body over the Time Lord's to protect it.
"What's going on? What is he doing to them?"
"Stealing their time energy," the woman informed them. "Boys?" she motioned to her Silents.
They stepped forward and held their arms aloft. Confess. Blue energy crackled form their palms up toward Abaddon's head.
Abaddon closed his hand and roared at them again. They blasted him once more.
As they watched, wings erupted from Abaddon's back, they folded in front of him, blocking the beams of the Silents.
"Do we have any weapons?" River asked.
"Just my sword, but it's stuck in his foot," Abraxas pointed.
"We have another trick," the woman said, then began tapping on her wrist device. "Thaw."
Abraxas and River looked at each other in panic. A warm wind picked up inside the barrier as the ice began cracking.
"We should really get under cover if you're going to flood the damn place again!"
"No, I'm not," she said.
Abaddon had noticed the change, too. He immediately reached up towards the crack with his free hand to pull himself out.
The Silents fired again, aiming for his gripping hand. He Released it and dropped back to the ground. Spying the two assailants, he smashed one before the others could move. He raised his fist to smash the other when another beam of energy held his swing.
"While he's distracted!" came the voice of the golden robed figure. They stared at him in confusion. "The sword! Get your bloody sword!"
Abraxas dove under the giant form of his brother, distracted by the force holding his hand frozen. He yanked his blade free and took another swing at the giant foot, causing Abaddon more pain. He ducked the stomp his brother meant to kill him with, and retreated to join the two women and their new ally.
"I thought you were his minion?" River accused.
"He thought so, too," the ancient man said. "I had a hell of a time convincing him to let me join his crusade. Tell me, how is our dear boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend?" Abraxas repeated.
The ancient face seemed to falter, reassembling itself into one younger. And familiar to each.
"Harold Saxon?" River sputtered.
"The Master?" Abraxas declared.
"Koschei," the woman greeted, flatly.
"Bullwinkle!" he yelled, "Sorry. I love it when you say my name, Tasha Lem," he grinned lasciviously.
"Tasha?" Abraxas repeated, as if being reminded of a dream.
"Back to the task at hand, kiddos?" the Master decided. "Does anyone have any defenses left that aren't me? I'm running low on juice in this thing!"
"I'm working on it!" Tasha tapped her wrist device again. Two more Silents teleported in. "Help your brother," she ordered them.
The trio of Silents began blasting away at Abaddon's newly winged form.
"Does that thing have flight capabilities?" Abraxas asked.
"Not in this form?" the Master replied. "Hang on, let me try...this?" His body seemed to shimmer, his robes melting away into lean armor. "Oh. Oh my, that may take some getting used to? Tell me, has there ever been a full Cyberwoman?" he noted as he glanced down to see that he had somehow made a feminine body shape in the armor. "hold on?" Two flaps popped open on his back. "I thought I had the hang of this?" he said as a turbine sound began to whine from the flaps. "Ok, this might work, after all?"
He launched into the air and divebombed Abaddon, his hands replaced by light cannons, blasting the creature before him.
Abaddon roared again. "GOLDEN FOOL! YOU NEVER DECEIVED ME! I SAW THROUGH YOUR TRICKERY FROM THE START!"
"Trick this!" the Master said, launching into a full body uppercut, knocking the beast off balance, releasing his grip on his two captives. The Master doubled back and scooped up his nemeses with ease. "I'm the only one who gets to kill the Doctor, you dumb beast!"
Abaddon swung at the flying trio in his rage, knocking them all into the weakened barrier. They fell to the ground, motionless.
"I'll CONSUME YOU ALL!" he bellowed as he reached for the Doctor once more.
Abraxas was quicker, slicing deep into his hand. Abaddon backhanded him away, howling in pain. The Silents renewed their attack.
The two women went to check on the Doctor and Jack. "How is he feeling pain inside the Tesselecta?" River asked Tasha. "That shouldn't be possible!"
"He's been hardwired into that since he created it," she replied.
"He created the Tesselecta?"
"Among others. Do you not think it odd that so many of your husband's opponents share a similar background in technology? Sontarans, Zygons, Flesh, Autons, Tesselecta, Cybermen?" she mused. "I can't find a direct connection, but there are a few parallels to how Davros created the Daleks, as well."
"You mean to say-?"
"Yes, Abaddon has been creating the very villains you fight against, giving them the technology to upgrade themselves to benefit himself," she explained. "He is very literally the enemy you created that created you."
"I know who created me, thank you very much," she deflected.
"And she has been dealt with," Lem countered. "The balance has been maintained."
Jack gasped and sat up. "Doctor! Where's the Doctor?" he asked.
"He's had years siphoned off of him, but we need to get him to safety, in case Abaddon tries to kill him while he regenerates." A silent glance between the two women. River had been brainwashed to do the same to Eleven, once upon a time. It nearly destroyed the universe when she refused.
"The TARDIS or the RAFT?"
"The RAFT is close, but it's locked," the Master chimed in. "I had to keep him from getting it." He pointed at their opponent. "I'm fine, by the way."
"Can you unlock it?" River demanded.
The Master rolled over to see the yellow lift. "Looks like I don't have to?"
The RAFT door had opened and another suit of armor walked out. "Enough of this nonsense," Sam declared. He took up position and unleashed his assault. Laser machine guns on both arms, rocket launchers over both shoulders, and a nuclear missile strapped to the back of the hulking green and black suit. He was taking out Abaddon for good.
Abaddon screeched in pain and made for the cracked dome again.
"Get into the RAFT!" the Master ordered as he joined in with Sam and the Silents. "Tasha! If I don't make it out, you know what to tell him!" Before he finished, a beam of light shot out of the back and a disgruntled heavyset man in a rumpled suit appeared before them.
As they stared in disbelief, he got his bearing and began running for the RAFT. "What are you lot waiting for? Run!"
"Yeah, who are you?" Abraxas asked as he ushered the others inside, River and Jack carrying the Doctor, while Tasha covered their retreat.
"Lord James Gloucester," he replied as they tumbled inside. "I was the UNIT liaison to Torchwood One. I've been trapped with him in that thing for at least a couple years now, and I could really do with a hot shower!"
"That will have to wait!" River exclaimed as she took up a position at the console across from Markham. "Will, how much time before he runs out of ammo?"
"Not long enough, but he's got himself a death wish, now!"
"He's not the only one," James informed them. "Saxon was obsessed with the Doctor, but as soon as he found Abaddon, he got even worse," he explained. "No one gets to kill the Doctor but me! He'd say, over and over and over. I'm surprised he's held off this long!"
"So that's what happened to you?" Jack asked. "If we weren't in the middle of a war, I'd kill you, myself!"
"Settle down, Jack!" Will warned.
"No. You know this bastard hunted and tortured us before," he reminded his friend. "He'll do it again."
"A- I was under orders to capture you, yes," Gloucester countered. "B- I wasn't the one torturing anyone, that was that bastard out there!" he pointed outside. "He did some mental whammy on all of us and really ran the station, just to create that-that thing he's wearing! So get stuffed, pretty boy!"
River and Tasha exchanged looks. "I thought you said?"
"He knew enough of the Tesselecta to recreate one," she explained. "They are based very loosely on Gallifreyan technology, after all. Especially the Chameleon Circuit."
"RAFT, come in!" the monitor broke their stalemates. "This is the Doctor!" Ten announced. "Are you receiving?"
Will hit the comms. "We're here, but our friend needs help."
"I understand. Listen, I've been watching Abaddon evolve, and I've seen what he's becoming once before," he informed them. "I need your help to set up a trap. The only way we're getting out of this is-"
Tasha Lem pushed her way to the screen. "I know what we have to do. That's why I'm here. We have to let him escape the barrier so we can set the trap," she explained. "I'm sending you what you need. It should be outside the TARDIS now?"
Ten motioned to someone offscreen, a small commotion, then he returned his attention. "Yes, the cones?" he asked. She confirmed. "Not what I remember, but they'll do. Get your team ready! We've only got one chance at this!"
"Fate of the universe, we know the drill," River assured him.
"Oh, please tell me Asgard was not via Valhalla?"
"Spoilers!" she winked. "Don't worry, you've got all of that to come!"
"That's what worries me," he griped before signing off.
Will took back the comms. "Sam! We've got a plan, drive that beast outside the barrier! Master, follow Sam's lead!" He looked up at the others. "James, you stay here and guard the Old Man. No more tomfuckery!"
"Oh Blimey, I'm done with being used! Staying here is the perfect option for me! Saxon can suck my big fat-"
"Sounds like you two had fun in there," Jack snarked before turning dead serious. "I still owe you for what you did to my team, tho."
The others went out to perform their mission, leaving the disgraced former UNIT/Torchwood liaison alone with a dying Time Lord.
Outside, they watched the two armors and three Silents blast away at the creature once calling itself Abaddon, chasing it out of the crack in the barrier dome. It retreated down a side cavern.
Tasha approached Ten. She flicked a button on her wrist band, a holographic map appeared above it. "Here's where we are, we need to get him to here," she pointed.
"I'd ask, but I probably don't want to know the answers?" he replied.
"I understand. You know what you're doing?" she asked.
"Only too well," he replied grimly, then stepped back to talk to the rest of the army. "Right. Now, we need to push him back to this cavern," he pointed at her display. "Nothing else matters. You fall, you walk it off; you die, you walk it off. Any questions? No? Good. Let's do this."
Jack stepped up. "Team Albion, you're with me. Team Gallifrey, you're with the Docs. Let's move out! And don't forget to count your shadows! Keep the lights bright and do not wander off!"
The barrier was dropped, and two troupes divided up and followed their respective leaders. The Master flew above the lines, lighting their way, occasionally blasting at moving shadows with his light pulses. Sam brought up the rear, doing much the same with his lasers.
Abaddon's trail was not hard to follow. His enlarged form made it hard for him to navigate the narrow passages. He seemed to be heading for exactly where Tasha Lem's map needed him to be. If Ten suspected, he didn't say anything.
As they marched, Charles nudged Will. "Why didn't we just take one of those ships? It would be faster?"
"That's not how they work, is it?" he replied. "They moved from point A to point B, no in between. If we overshoot and get ahead of Abaddon, this is all for naught!"
"So we do it the slow way and wind up exhausted from the march before the big battle?"
"Eat less, more exercise, Champ."
He laid a hand on his steward. "Oh, I know you didn't just call me fat!"
"No, just implied it," Will chuckled. Champ's arm reached across his shoulders to pull him in for a side hug. "I've missed this. I've missed you, buddy."
"I've got a wife, and a boyfriend or two," Will chuckled. "So do you."
"Hey now, you're totally a man, friend," he laughed.
"Save the romance for later, boys!" Abraxas warned.
The pair looked at each other, and at the same time made faces. "Romance? Eww!" before laughing again.
Charles caught Jackson watching them. "I know he's not our Jacks, but-?"
"No. he's not," Will said somberly, ending their humor. "I'm glad you didn't bring him along, Champ."
Charles opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. He hoped Will wasn't picking up his thoughts, empathically.
They marched another hour before coming to another cavern. It was similar in size to the one they left, but this one had a large cliff, halving the ground.
"This is it. We're here," Ten sniffed. "Spread out and deploy the markers."
"But where is he?" Eleven asked.
Ten pointed to the cliff edge. "Down there, most likely."
The troops quickly spread out, lining the cliff edge with the equipment Tasha Lem had sent down. The Master and Sam kept a watch on the perimeter for any sign of movement, shadow or otherwise.
"This seems almost too easy," River confided to Abraxas.
"Because it is," he said, scanning the walls.
As if on cue, a whistling sound broke the air. "Missiles!" Sam shouted. "Cover!"
The missiles erupted out of the tunnel they had just exited, flew over the troops, and exploded just beyond the cliff edge. Another horrendous scream shook this cavern.
Abaddon flickered into view. His stealth mode now useless.
"Who fired those?!" Ten demanded.
In reply, two more suits of heavy armor similar to Sam's flew out of the tunnel, one blue and black, the other red and black. They immediately opened fire on the beast revealed before the assembled fighters.
"Let him have it!" Jack ordered, as the troops understood why they were there. To end Abaddon, one way or another.
Tasha Lem went to one of the crates her team had sent down. "River! Help me!" she called. Song saw what she was opening: surface to air missiles. "Aim for his arms!"
River did as she was told. She missed from his flailing, but hit the horn now on the right side of his head. To her surprise, it wasn't a regular missile, but a clamp of some sort, wrapping itself around the appendage.
Abaddon was just as surprised. He grabbed at the chain as Tasha activated the first of the cones. An energy chain connected to the clamp and solidified. It held him tight.
Another barrage caused him agony, but the chain held fast.
"Quickly! Another clamp!" River ordered. She fired again, but his flailing caused her to miss him entirely this time.
He punched forward, striking the blue armor, knocking it to the ground. Will ran to it, fearing the worst. He cracked the visor to find the Old Man inside.
"What in the seven hells possessed you to do this?" Will demanded. "You're already on death's door!"
"We're all on death's door if we don't stop this, here and now," the Elder Doctor replied. "Help me out of this thing!"
Abraxas, meanwhile, had taken one of Lem's other cases and aimed his bazooka at Abaddon. He caught the beast's left horn, binding him tight. Abaddon screeched, realizing he was losing the fight. His eyes glowed red and blasted Abraxas.
"NO!" Will, Susan, and Jenny shouted. It was too late.
"No More!" shouted the Elder Doctor, struggling to stand. Ten and Eleven flanked him as they stood their ground. "NO MORE!" the trio repeated in unison.
Abaddon focussed on them. He reached out as his eyes glowed once more. "DIE!"
The Elder Doctor shoved his other selves aside. This was his fight, now.
Abaddon scooped him up and blasted him in the same moment. The cavern filled with his cries of agony. River took her shot, ensnaring the right arm. Lem's devices pulled him tight at three points. He was a sitting duck. Jenny fired her cannon, trapping the left arm.
Abaddon screamed once more, then blasted away at the cavern, randomly. Chunks of ancient rock began falling everywhere.
"Cave in!" Someone shouted. Cries of "Evacuate" could be heard over the rumbling, crashing, clamor.
The Master dove for Abaddon's hand in an attempt to rescue the Elder Doctor. Abaddon's grip tightened on the frail body.
Tasha Lem had one last missile left. She fired it. It hit Abaddon square in the face. This one exploded. Abaddon reared back in pain, letting slip the tiny form from his hand. It fell to the edge of the ravine with a wet thump.
The Master dove down, snatching the body and beelined it for the tunnel. Gloucester stood there in the blue armor, straining to keep the exit from collapsing. Eleven ushered the last of the troops past. "Hurry! I can't hold it much longer!" he complained. "Who's left?"
Eleven looked back. Ten, Abraxas, River, and Tasha Lem remained. Tasha looked to Eleven and nodded. He started to protest, but understood. "Let go," he said, then turned down the tunnel. James gave one last look at the quartet, then followed, letting the rocks cover their escape.
Abaddon roared in pain at those remaining.
Ten sniffed. "It's been a long while since I was here last. I had no clue why I was here, before, but I do now."
"You'll have to tell me about it sometime, sweetie."
"Don't worry, he will," Tasha assured her. "One last thing to do." she touched her wristband once more.
A light flickered behind them. Ten turned to see a group of Ood, and one in particular, standing amidst some more equipment.
"Ood Sigma. Long time, no see," he greeted.
"Hello, Doctor." The other Ood scattered to set up the final components of the barrier.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point, should I?"
Sigma nodded, then handed him a device. Not much larger than a phone, it was merely a base with a big red button on it.
"Big red buttons. They've got your name all over them," Abraxas noted.
"Not really, but give me time and a crayon?"
Ten stared at it a long moment. "Sweetie?" River prodded.
"This isn't my decision to make. I've already done it once." He handed the device to Abraxas.
"I should warn you," Tasha spoke up, "Pushing that button will tie your life to his, permanently. Once you die, the barrier falls."
"That's why you parked this planet at the edge of a black hole, isn't it?" Ten surmised. He glanced to Abraxas. "If he dies, the black hole is what keeps Abaddon trapped down here."
"Yes."
"You do realize I know this is Barcelona, right? You stole it from a future point, dug out this cavern, and laid this trap."
"Nothing gets by you, Sweetie," Tasha answered.
Abraxas pointed the device at the monster. The Big Red Button glowed a moment, filing his DNA sequence as it's deactivation key. "I am my brother's keeper," he said. He turned to look at the demon Abaddon one last time. "Get fucked, Jamie. We tried to help you." He pressed the button, a shimmering wall erupted around Abaddon.
"Wait, did you say Jamie?"
"Spoilers."
Tasha teleported the group back to her craft before he could press further.
"Why did you say that name?" he demanded.
"Hush now, sweetie," River cooed.
"But he said-! He said-" Ten stumbled over his words. Thought came hard to him. What was-? He looked behind River. A tall man with deep set eyes stood there. He was reminded of Munch's the Scream before he blacked out.
Abraxas caught him. "You have the TARDIS and RAFT up here yet?" he asked Tasha.
"Just waiting on the signal from Koschei," she replied. "And don't forget to remove your clothes!"
"Note to self, mindwipe Jack," he smirked to River as he picked up Ten's limp body. "In fact, he doesn't even get to leave the TARDIS."
"Trust me. There's only room for one psychopath on her," River smiled.
Tasha paused to glance over her shoulder as she led them to the docking bay.
They entered the RAFT to find Sam and James arguing over him keeping the armor for UNIT. The Master was sitting to the side, rubbing his head, wishing he was anywhere else. They quickly moved to the medical bay.
Eleven and Will were watching over the Elder Doctor. "Life signs are thready, even for one of your kind," he informed them. "I can feel him slipping, but-" He glanced to Abraxas.
"But? But what?" Eleven demanded, helping River load Ten onto the other bed. "There aren't any of us left. If we can save even one-!"
He saw the others exchanging looks.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Will nodded to Tasha. She left the room. He turned to Eleven. "The first time I met the Doctor, he looked like him." He pointed at Ten.
"And?"
Will pointed to the Elder Doctor. "That was who I met. The Other Doctor. Meta-Crisis Doctor. 10-point-2. John Foreman. Doctor Who. Whatever you want to call him. He wasn't you. Or him."
"But that's all in your past?" Eleven asked, before catching on. "Your past, and his future?" He went to the Elder's bedside. "But how do we reverse this? De-age him? How?"
"Sweetie?" River cooed. "I'm sorry, but you don't need to know. We just need to get Charles and his troops back where they belong, along with the others."
"But, that's just-!" he stopped as if lost in thought.
"Come with me, Sweetie," Tasha offered, taking his hand as she and her Silent led him out of the room back to the TARDIS.
"Now what?" River asked Will and Abraxas.
"Don't look at me, I wasn't there!" Abraxas said.
"I have an idea," Will offered. "Where's Jack?"
"A blood transfusion?" Jack replied. "Do you think that will work?"
"I've seen it, before," Will assured him, leading him back into the med bay after they had returned Ten to the TARDIS. "Trust me."
They walked in to find River and Abraxas in deep conversation. Which was quietly muted on their entrance. Ood Sigma had joined them.
"It's got to be both of us, or it won't work," he told Will.
"Are you sure, kiddo?"
"Where do you think I got this face from?" he asked. "Where he gets this face from? It has to."
Will sighed. "Alright, let's get to work."
River and Sigma assisted them in hooking up both men to the Elder Doctor. They waited patiently as the blood flowed into the Elder, but nothing seemed to be happening. Abraxas and River shared a silent nod. He got up and took the Doctor's head in his hands and concentrated.
Sigma sang his song. She removed Abraxas' needle, then Jack's and the Doctor's.
Abraxas' hands began to glow. A glow which spread across the Doctor's frail body. Everyone held their breath for a long minute.
The Doctor's eyes cracked open. He stared into Abraxas' then seemingly passed out once more. His body began to shake, then expand with each breath. A moment of panic before they understood what was happening.
Regeneration. Of a sort. More of a Degeneration.
The Doctor snapped awake. "Whoa. I just had the weirdest dream!" He looked around. "Jack? River?" he questioned, then noticed the other two. "Sigma? And...I know you? You were in my dream, too. What's going on here? It was a dream, wasn't it?" He eyed them suspiciously.
"Just relax, sweetie, everything will be alright."
A shadow fell across him. "Oh, hello? Have we met bef-" He was out.
"Jack, too, please," Abraxas asked the Silent.
"Now comes the fun part, getting everyone back where they need to be," River noted.
"And setting the stage for what's to come," Abraxas agreed. He paused. "Just in case, I have to ask. Was I ever any trouble to you as a kid?"
"Oh sweetie," She lifted his chin. "We'll both find out. Together. You can't be any worse than your brother, after all," she teased.
He nodded and they set about their tasks.
First order of business: Drop everyone off in the 21st century era that needed to stay. Basically, boot James and wipe his memories of the last few years. Kate Stewart was none to happy to see him again. Or Jack. Their debriefs were spotty at best, even with the Memory Worms, thanks to the Silents.
River argued against letting Alistair seeing his daughter. Abraxas only allowed him to see her if he stayed on the RAFT and in stealth mode. He watched her feeding the ravens as Osgood approached her wearing a familiar scarf that made the Brig choke back a laugh. He finally agreed to return to his proper time zone after that.
Dropping Jackson Lake back in the 1800s proved easier. Will gave his friend a heartfelt farewell, asking his forgiveness over his initial behavior. Jackson understood better now, but had no desire to see anything beyond his time period. Will gave him a contact just in case he did, warning him not to underestimate Strax, should he require the services of Madame Vastra. Let alone Jago and Lightfoot. Or Torchwood.
Second order of business: return the Other Doctor back to his TARDIS in 1963 and pick up Eleven's while there. Will insisted on leaving him in the Zero Room to recalibrate his body after all it had been through. They were not that surprised to find the console desktop had copied the one used by Nine and Ten during their adventuring. Even Idris had been thorough on her end. Will gave him a subliminal order to check in on Jack at his earliest convenience.
Third order of business: returning Charles and his troops back to Albion. "Aren't you staying?" he asked Will once that task was accomplished.
"There's a poem in Britain, miles to go before I sleep," he replied. "I'll see you again, but not for a long while. For me, at least. Let Tosh know I miss her and the boys. and everyone."
Charles acted bashful. "even me?"
"Never, Champ." They laughed.
Charles pulled him in for a final hug. "Break hearts, Mentor Chiron," he saluted, flicking his fingertips off his temple, then turned away from the RAFT. Two figures approached. One he had just seen dropped off in his own time, the other embraced him tightly. Charles hugged him back to the point he was gasping for air.
"I was worried I'd never see you again," the young king admitted as his Jackson called for help in tending to the squad of returned warriors.
"I missed you, too, kiddo," he said, kissing his son's forehead. He saw Jackson staring at the spot where the yellow lift had been. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let's go home. We have much to discuss."
Fourth order of business: Return the last handful to their proper places. Sam had lived in the future, but saw no reason to return there, as everyone he knew had been lost. Akasha had helped him build and train the first recruits for the Pride, but his work became an obsession and she left him. Abraxas offered him a place on the RAFT, but he turned it down. He did take a vortex manipulator, with the promise he wouldn't try to change history by saving his crewmen.
The Master disappeared in his Tesselecta at some point. No one seemed to notice when. River and Abraxas could only hope he wasn't causing too much trouble. That didn't last long.
River left on her own as well, asking that they try not to step on each other's temporal toes in the future.
"So, what do we do now?" Susan asked Abraxas.
"Well, I've got a governorship to attend to, and a Time Agency to look after. What are your plans?"
She glanced to Will. "Time will tell. It always does."
The TARDIS landed in Cardiff, once more. The Doctor exited and smelled the sea breeze and took a stroll. He knew it wouldn't be long before Jack found him. Better enjoy it while he could.
He was watching the tides on the pier when the ex-Time Agent caught up to him. "What's up, Doc?" he asked, cheekily.
"Not much, lately," he replied, handing him a coffee. "Anything new with you?"
"More of the usual," Jack replied. "Business is a bit slow, to be honest."
"I don't suppose you need a ride anywhere?" he asked cautiously.
Jack thought a minute. "I don't, no."
"But?"
"But, well, it's Gwen and Rhys' anniversary and I can't think what to get them," he admitted. "I was thinking maybe a quick trip to Versailles, or Barcelona. or wherever. Just a quick weekend away."
"You can't pay for their vacation in the here and now?"
"That's no fun!" he said. "Come on Doc, just one quick weekend away, just the four of us!"
"Gwen's the one from the Hub, right?" he asked. "and this Rhys? Have I met him? Does he know what Torchwood is about?"
"Not when Gwen first joined and you met her during Davros' Reality Bomb gambit, but he's totally aware of everything now. Come on, Doc!"
"This isn't one of your- ahem, you know?" They began walking back to the Mermaid Quay tourist office, the front for Torchwood Three's Hub.
"What? No! They go off and do their, y'know, anniversary thing, while we wander off and do ours! It'll be fun!"
"Well, I feel like an adventure," he admitted. "BUT, you follow the rules and do everything I say. Understand?"
Jack saluted him. "Time Agent's Honor!"
"Well, alright?" he caved. "But just this once, no more freebies, special requests, or anything! Promise?"
"Yes sir!" he beamed. "Wait until I tell them! Ianto and Tosh will be so jealous! You should see their baby!"
The Doctor stopped. "What?" He looked down at his coffee cup. "What?"
A shadow passed over his face.
The cup fell to the pavement.
The Doctor ran.
TBC…?
Thanks for reading, and for sticking around my dry spell of years between chapters. The Muse was gone. Literally and figuratively. I started writing this before Matt Smith took over, but wound up pulling a LOT of ideas from that era.
If you haven't already figured it out, Abaddon became the "Great Beast" from the Satan Pit. I think Tasha Lem is a future River, post-Library merge. The Library became her Papal Mainframe. I had a few other ideas, but I had enough Gordian Knots to tie up with this. Not all of the ideas made it.
I don't know if I want to follow up on that last "time glitch" or not? Time will tell.
7:07cst 2/2/2021
One last thing: Charles' sons. I never really fancast an actor for the twins (toyed with Domhnall/Brian Gleeson), but in my head, I knew who played them. My friend Brendan. He passed shortly after I finally wrote this last chapter. Love you, GingerBear. Two months was twice as much as mom got, and you should have had way more than 42 years. We all miss you, our Geek Paladin. May the Schwartz be with you. Always.
#FuckCancer
5/5/2021
