Wolf Pact
Chapter Ten: Gallifrey
by Lumendea
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.
AN: Here is another chapter. I'm sorry that this story is so slow to update. Most of my energy is geared towards Guardians of the Universe and my original stuff at this point, but I promise that I will keep slowly working on this story. Thank you for everyone who keeps commenting about how much they like the story, it really does help get me motivated again.
…..
The once-great jewel of the universe, the linchpin of time travel, Gallifrey was in ruins. Her burnt orange skies were no longer merely an atmospheric color, but rather reflected the fiery blaze that had engulfed the planet. Smoke rose in thick columns from the ruins of the shattered cities and towns. Much of the planet was now silent, the limited wildlife long dead, and the flora now withered husks. The ruins of ships littered the landscape and provided only meager shelter for any who might still be alive and hadn't made it to the bunkers tucked deep below the dying surface.
Only the Citadel still stood. It's towers still reached from the sky beneath the protective shimmering dome. Yet even the Citadel showed signs of damage and tension wrapped around it even more tightly than its protective field. Large cracks had split the dome, and smoke spilled out of the once invincible city.
The inside of the Citadel was dark, and the walls shifted with every bombardment of the planet from far above. Stonework crumbled and fell down upon the occupants who were not careful. A long table was surrounded by people. Three Time Lords sat on each side with another at the head of the table. The woman seated on the far end was scratching with a pen on parchments. All around them was darkness, with only the barest of lights illuminating their faces.
"What news of the Doctor?" the man at the head of the table demanded. In his red robes, he cut an imposing figure that was made more frightening by the deep scowl on his face.
"Disappeared, my Lord President Rassilon," one of the men replied.
"But we know his intention," one of the women who was not scribbling added. She had pale hair and softer eyes than Lord Rassilon. "He still possesses the Moment, and he'll use it to destroy Daleks and Time Lords alike."
"The Visionary confirms it."
The woman with the parchments looked up. Tattoos covered her face and hands, making her wide and wild eyes stand out even more in the darkness. "Ending, burning, falling," she announced roughly. "All of it falling. The black and pitch and screaming fire, so burning."
Everyone around the table flinched at the words. It was the Chancellor who recovered first. "All of her prophecies say the same. That this is the last day of the Time War, that Gallifrey falls. That we die today."
"Ending. Ending. Ending. Ending!" the Visionary chanted.
"Perhaps it's time," the woman with the pale hair suggested. Her words were terrifying, but there was no hesitation in her voice. "This is only the furthest edge of the Time War. But at its heart, millions die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity. With time itself resurrecting them, to find new ways of dying over and over again. A travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it, at last?"
"Thank you for your opinion," Rassilon snarled.
Rassilon leapt to his feet, eyes blazing, and before anyone could stop him thrust one gauntleted hand towards the woman. The gauntlet glowed, and the woman gasped as a strange electric glue light leapt off the gauntlet and surrounded her. No one around the table moved to intervene, but there were soft gasps of alarm as her body crumbled into dust.
"I will not die!" Rassilon snapped to the others at the table. "Do you hear me? A billion years of Time Lord history riding on our backs. I will not let this perish. I will not!" The room filled with the force of his temper, and his fellow Time Lords kept their eyes down.
"There is, er, there is one part of the prophecy, my Lord," the Chancellor dared. He carefully brought the parchment to the angry Lord President, laying it before him. "Forgive me, I'm sorry. It's rather difficult to decipher, but it talks of two survivors beyond the Final Day. Two children of Gallifrey."
"Does it name them?" Rassilon asked. His dark gaze fixed on the Chancellor, daring him to disappoint him.
"It foresees them locked in their final confrontation, The Enmity of Ages, which would suggest-"
"The Doctor!" Rassilon snarled. "And the Master." His contempt for both was clear in his voice. That it would be the pair of them, who would survive when he otherwise would not. It was an abomination.
"One word keeps being repeated, my Lord," the Chancellor continued. "One constant word. Earth.
"Earth. Earth. Earth," the Visionary chanted. "Earth. Earth. Earth."
An image of the planet appeared at the center of the table, hanging between the Time Lords as if suspended from the ceiling. Around the table, the Time Lords swallowed nervously and kept their eyes down.
It was the Chancellor who spoke next, "Planet Earth. Indigenous species, the human race."
"Earth. Earth. Earth," the Visionary chanted.
"Maybe that's where the answer lies," Rassilon said. A slow shark-like smile spread across his face as he leaned on the table. "Our salvation. On Earth."
…..
Jenny clung to the column beside the console, keeping her cheek pressed against the warm surface and her eyes closed. The room was vibrating with energy. It crawled over her skin, but she wasn't the target. All she was feeling was the remains; the scattered bits of power that were zipping around the room. Her fingers dug into the column, and she fought down every urge to open her eyes.
Gold glowed against her eyelids. She was warm, but it wasn't safe. It was wild and untamed. No, she decided, that wasn't completely true. It could be tamed, at least a little, but only at great risk. She swallowed and almost opened her eyes. There was only the sound of the wind. Rose had made no noise. That both reassured her and terrified her.
Then the wind died down, not completely, but enough that she cautiously opened her eyes. A soft glow filled the console room of the TARDIS. The telepathic link she had with the ship was singing brightly the timber and tone different than ever before. Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head towards where her mother had been standing.
Rose was cloaked in golden light. Her brown eyes were brilliant with the glow of stars and galaxy. Jenny gasped in awe and surprise. It was beautiful. Time danced along Rose's skin, arced off her fingertips as if it was hers to play with. It was, Jenny realized, and fear took hold once again.
She loved her mother and did not fear her, but this…. This terrified her on the deepest level she'd ever known. The Time Lord in her knew that this was dangerous, deadly, and potentially damaging to the whole universe. But… she knew Rose. This had happened before, and her loss of control had been to give a dear friend life. That was tragic in a way, but also beautiful. She did not move from her spot.
The TARDIS controls began to move on their own, the bright glow illuminating the entire console. Jenny's grip on the column tightened, and she braced herself. This was it. They were leaving; they were going to find her Dad. Her dad, who was going to die. Jenny closed her eyes and held back a whimper. She couldn't be scared of this. She could be sad, but not scared.
The TARDIS entered the Time Vortex even as the Time Vortex filled it. Her mind was ablaze with the twists of space as they moved. It was outside them, but also flowing through Rose. Jenny opened her eyes. The glow of the Vortex was swirling around Rose tighter and more brightly now.
"Gallifrey falls," the Bad Wolf said. Her voice echoed in the console room. "Gallifrey must always fall."
"What does Gallifrey have to do with what is happening?" Jenny asked bravely.
"Everything."
…..
The Master smiled. Before him, the Gate glowed with brilliant light. Far above, the Doctor was dodging missiles in a scavenger ship. He had no doubt that his old friend would be dropping in. Oh, those missiles wouldn't stop him. Still, it was fun to try. Necessary to try.
The drumming was echoing around him, in him. That sound that had haunted him, even as a human, that steady extra heartbeat in his head. He was finally going to have answers. He was going to learn the truth. He would finally- finally truly be the Master of All, once he had mastered the noise in his head!
"He's heading straight for you," the Master Controller warned.
"But too late," the Master sighed in relief. "They are coming."
….
The ship was shaking apart. The Doctor didn't care. He could feel the fear of the others. There was a bit of regret that he couldn't stop to comfort them. He would have liked to, but there was no time. No time. It always came down to time, even for a Time Lord. He wanted- oh, there were so many things he wanted, but right now, he NEEDED to get to the Master, get to the Gate.
"Destination?" he asked.
"Fifty kliks and closing. We've locked on to the house," Addams reported. There was a quiver in his voice. "We are going to stop, though. Doctor? We are going to stop?"
"Doctor?" Wilf called. There was fear in his voice, but the old man was trying to hide it. "Doctor, you said you were going to die."
"He said what?" Addams' horror filled the room.
"But is that all of us?" Wilf asked. "I won't stop you, sir," Wilf promised. "But is this it?"
Everything collided all at once. It was the crashing of timeline and paths and choices all in a single English mansion, thanks to the acts of a man who wanted to overcome death. Time twisted and shuddered. It didn't break, not yet, but the edges were fraying. Damage ripped by the Time War that had yet to heal convulsed.
The Lord President Rassilon walked past two Time Lords who have their faces covered with their hands. One a man and the other a woman, the very woman who had reached out to the human man Wilf. Rassilon's smug smirk lasted only for a moment before his attention focused on the doorway opening to him.
On the other side of the doorway, the Master was watching the growing light with wide and eager eyes.
Outside the house, the Doctor pulled the spaceship's nose up at the last moment. Lunging down, he opened a hatch and dropped out of the ship. He fell only for a moment before crashing through the great glass dome of the Gate Room. Landing on the marble floor, he tried to stand and raise the revolver, but the pain of the crash weighed him down. The gun slipped from his hand.
The five Time Lords arrive. The Gate has been replaced by a white space with raised up two steps where it connects to Gallifrey. The Doctor immediately recognizes the Time Lord in the lead of the group. Rassilon smirked, arrogance and gloating pouring off of him. Both the Master and the Doctor stare at the group, one in shock and one in horror.
"My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master," Rassilon greeted. "We are gathered for the end."
The Doctor struggled. Weight pressed down on him. So much weight. The memory that had haunted him throughout his life, a glimpse of his future from the schism, replayed in his mind. He'd spoken of prophecy with Rose and Jenny but hadn't told them of the prophecy placed within him as a child. He'd fled Gallifrey to avoid destroying it, and yet, here he was again. Pushing himself up, the Doctor hissed at the pain in his body. Glass cut into his hands, but he rose to his knees.
"Listen to me," the Doctor glare. "You can't!" He wasn't sure if he should glare at Rassilon or plead with him.
"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child," Rassilon said smugly.
"Oh, he's not saving you. Don't you realize what he's doing?"
"Hey, no, hey! That's mine," the Master protested. He pointed at the Doctor and then laid the finger over his lips. "Hush." Then he turned his attention to Rassilon. "Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being." His duplicates in the room smirked at the Time Lords. "But who wants a mongrel little species like them, because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mister President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me."
Rassilon tightened his grip on his staff, irritation flaring across his face. Raising his gauntleted hand into the air, Rassilon barely contained a smirk as he flicked his left hand. It glowed with power, and blue light flared around it. Around the room, the Master duplicates shuddered as their faces blurred.
"No, no, don't. No, no, stop it! No, no, no, don't!" The Master shouted. He looked around the room frantically but could do nothing.
As humanity returned to themselves, they gasped in alarm and surprise. The Doctor didn't know what they remembered, what they had truly experienced. He was grateful that Rose had been safe in the TARDIS with Jenny and Wilf. There was no time for him to try and help them.
"On your knees, mankind," Rassilon order.
The humans obeyed, and the Master gave up. "No, that's fine, that's good because you said salvation. I still saved you. Don't forget that."
"The approach begins," Rassilon said, almost ignoring the Master. The room shook around them.
"Approach of what?" The Master asked the Doctor, confusion filling his features.
"Something is returning," the Doctor growled. "Don't you ever listen? That was the prophecy. Not someone something."
"What is it?"
"They're not just bringing back the species. It's Gallifrey," the Doctor shouted as the pressure in the room rose. The Master's eyes widened, and for the first time in a long time, the Master seemed truly stunned. "Right here, right now."
….
Unseen, but felt by the Time Lord, Gallifrey appeared in the sky over Earth. It moved closer, its gravity pulling on the Earth and shaking whole cities. Outside of the mansion, the alien ship carrying Wilf landed, and he rushed out with a sharp goodbye to the pilot. The ship took off as he ran inside the shaking building, its crew intent on running as fast as they could.
Across the world, humans screamed and ran for their loved ones and homes. Memories of the last time planets had appeared in the sky plagued them all. Some ran to churches and prayed to their deities for salvation, some hid in cellars and clutched their children close, and some pleaded for the Doctor to save them.
…
The humans rushed out of the Gate Room, fear of the building falling down upon them, overwhelming their fear of the strange beings who had appeared. Rassilon made no move to stop them. The Master was on his knees now, yelling at the Time Lords while the Doctor was silent. Wilf made his way into the room, pushing past people and calling for the Doctor. His eyes landed on a strange plastic cage with two doors. A man was inside and calling for help.
Wilf rushed to the man. He didn't know what was going on, but he could help him. So busy calling reassurances to the man that Wilf didn't hear the Doctor's weak calls for him not to. The room shook, and equipment clattered to the ground. Once inside the room, Wilf pressed the button and unlocked the other door, but released the other man who ran.
"But this is fantastic, isn't it?" the Master rose to his feet, eyes glinting as he took in the changing tides of events. "The Time Lords restored."
"You weren't there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born," the Doctor said. "But if the Timelock's broken, then everything's coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres." The Master's eyes grew wet, and he looked to Rassilon, who said nothing. "The War turned into hell. And that's what you've opened, right above the Earth," the Doctor snapped. "Hell is descending."
"My kind of world."
"Just listen!" the Doctor shouted. "Because even the Time Lords can't survive that!"
"We will initiate the Final Sanction," Rassilon said calmly. Too calmly. "The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart."
"That's suicide," the Master barked.
"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be."
The Master's eyes dropped to the Doctor. Confusion and unease in them. The Doctor wished that the Master had chosen another time, any other time to try and grow a conscious or something near to one.
"You see now? That's what they were planning in the final days of the War. I had to stop them."
"Then, take me with you, Lord President. Let me ascend into glory," the Master called.
"You are diseased," Rassilon snarled. "Albeit a disease of our own making. No more."
The Master's expression dropped. For an instant, he was the small boy pulled before the Time Schism. The drums were silent, their work fulfilled. It threatened to drown him.
The Doctor gripped the gun. But as he stood, a sound began to echo in the room. A familiar sound, a wonderful and haunting sound that shouldn't be there. The Doctor looked around as the sound of the TARDIS filled the room. She shouldn't be able to move, shouldn't- He couldn't breathe as the reality of what was about to happen hit him. Torn between pride that Rose had dared open the Vortex again and the fear of what would happen thanks to her opening it a second time, he trembled.
Bad Wolf had brought her back to him, young and wise. But… was this what would cause his regeneration? Saving her again. He glanced towards Wilf, uncertainty weighing him down. Could he save them both? If he was die saving Rose, then he would be content to pay that price, just as he had last time. He could only hope that-
"What trick is this?" the Rassilon demanded.
"What have you done now, Doctor?" the Master asked. He swallowed and shook himself, casting off his pain, at least for a moment. Amusement sparkled in his eyes as if the Doctor was a pet that had performed a new trick. "Given how they didn't flee my other selves, I was certain that they couldn't." Then the Master's face changed realization dawning on his feature. "Oh…. Oh!" He grinned brightly. "This is going to be interesting then! She did it again, did she?" The Master rubbed his hands together. "Well, come on out then, Rose Tyler! Or whatever you call yourself!"
The doorway of the TARDIS slammed open, and a golden figure stood in the entrance. Light haloed her, and the Doctor stared. She was beautiful and terrifying. In the corner of his eye, he saw Wilf cover his eyes against the light and relaxed. Bad Wolf was here. He didn't know how this would resolve, but his death prophecy made far more sense now. He would accept it for her. His grip on the gun loosened. If he believed in one thing in the universe, he believed in her.
