A/N: Sorry that it has been such a long wait for this chapter. It really has been a hectic and busy 3 weeks, good new is that I am now home! So here it is, the final part of The Angel of Time.
The Doctor rushed through the blue doors of the TARDIS, charging straight up to the console, pulling his sonic screwdriver out as he ran. Amy and Rory were right behind him, Lagerra trailing behind the pair. He looked somewhat exhausted, and who could blame him.
"Are you sure this is going to work, Doctor?" Amy asked, watching him twist different things on the console and press several buttons.
"Of course I'm sure, Amy. The TARDIS can send out the signal, causing the nanovirus to completely shut down. Everyone who has been infected will be just fine, maybe a little confused, but fine." He told her as he carried on working.
"And what about Kari?" Rory called to him helping Lagerra sit down on the chair. "We still have no idea where she is."
Suddenly something started bleeping and the Doctor rushed to look at the monitor. A huge grin took over his face. "She's in the forest, both hearts still beating. It looks as if she is on her way here. But there's someone else with her." He said, frowning a little. He didn't recognise the biological make up that the screen was displaying, and it was confusing him.
"Could it be the child?" Amy wondered, going and standing next to him and looking at the screen. She couldn't really make sense of any of the writing, but she understood the two dots on the map perfectly. Kari was alive, and on her way.
The Doctor thought about it for a moment. He supposed it could be possible that it was the child, but he was still trying to work out the readings to understand what it was. "It could be. But never mind that at the moment. I need to send this signal out." He said, before jamming his screwdriver into a slot on the console.
All of them waited, holding their breath. If this didn't work, then the Doctor didn't really know what he would do. And so they carried on waiting, until the screen confirmed that it was being sent out.
The Doctor let out a sigh of relief. "Right, that should solve that problem. Now to go and find Kari." He said, before charging out of the doors.
Amy and Rory just looked at each other, before helping Lagerra up. He had been very quiet, and was not looking too good. "Are you okay?" Rory asked as they slowly walked to the door.
"I am afraid this is all too much for me. I am old, and not used to such adventures." He admitted as they stepped outside. "I do not have the same energy as someone as young as you."
Rory just smiled at him. "Trust me, it's hard to keep up with the Doctor sometimes. It takes a lot of getting used to. I haven't actually been with him for that long, so I'm still getting used to it."
"To travel through all of time and space, it must be a wonderful thing."
"It's nice, but no matter where we go we always seem to run into some kind of trouble. There's always someone trying to destroy the universe or something." Rory told him as they followed a little behind Amy and the Doctor.
"Well, that is what happens when you travel with the Doctor and his Angel." Lagerra told him, a small smile working its way onto his face.
"His Angel?" Rory questioned. He had no idea who he was talking about there, the Doctor had never mentioned anything about an Angel.
Lagerra stopped and turned to him. "The one you call Kari, she has many other names. But she is known to us as the Angel of Time. Now come, we must keep up with your friends." He said, before beginning to walk again.
Rory followed him, thinking over what he had just said. He didn't really know that much about Kari, he had met her once when there was the fiasco with Prisoner Zero, and then again when they Doctor crashed his stag party and they went to Venice. He decided he really needed to find out more about her, get to know her better. She seemed like a nice person, and Amy liked her as well.
The Doctor paused and looked around. "She should be here." He mumbled, his eyes scanning everywhere. "Why isn't she here?"
"Uh, Doctor?" Amy called, her eyes fixed on something above them.
The Doctor looked over at her and followed her gaze. "Of course. I am so stupid, how could I forget that." He said, whacking himself on the forehead. He seemed to do that a lot.
"Doctor, what is that?" Rory asked, looking at the green beast that was flying overhead. For some reason it seemed to be circling the area they were standing in.
"That, Rory, is a Karleon." The Doctor told him, a smirk on his face.
"That… that's impossible." Lagerra whispered as he looked as well. "He was… he…"
The Doctor frowned at him as he walked over to the man. "Lagerra, what is it?"
"That Karleon." He said, pointing up at it in the sky. "That's Kalerrah. He's meant to be dead. We saw him get killed along with the rest of his family."
"Well he seems to be doing pretty good for a dead guy." Amy commented.
Lagerra paid no attention to Amy, or anyone else around him as he let out a loud roar, making everyone jump. The beast that had been flying overhead stopped, and looked down at where they were standing. A moment later it was diving down to where they were, making Amy squeal and grab hold of Rory's hand.
The Doctor and Lagerra took a step back, creating more space for it to land. Both Amy and Rory looked on in awe as they realised just what the beast was. "A dragon?" Rory questioned. "He's a dragon?"
"Yeah, tell me about it." A familiar voice mumbled. A second later Kari's head appeared. "Someone mind helping me get down?"
In a flash the Doctor was pulling her from atop the mighty green dragon and wrapping his arms around her. "Kari, I was so worried about you. What happened? How did you get out?" He asked, burying his face into her hair.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Coming up with a plan that involved a lot of running. And flying on the back of a dragon." She mumbled to him, before her legs gave way, causing the Doctor to tighten his hold on her.
"Whoa, careful. Are you okay?" He asked, the concern he had for her flooding his voice.
"A little tired. It's been a long day and I could sure do with a nap right about now." She told him, feeling her head spinning a little. The whole time they had been in the air, she felt like she was going to be sick. She hadn't really been able to enjoy the experience of flying on a dragons back.
"Kari, we need to stop this war. Then I promise you, you can sleep as much as you like." He told her, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.
While they had been talking, the green dragon had shifted back into the shape of a young boy with big green eyes. "Kalerrah?" Lagerra questioned, taking a step closer to the boy.
"Uncle?" He asked, looked at the man before him with wide eyes. "Uncle Lagerra!" He cried, before running into the man's arms.
"Oh, Kalerrah, I thought they had killed you as well. Everyone thought you to be dead." The man replied, tears building in his eyes as he hugged the boy tightly.
"They didn't. Humans locked me away. The Angel of Time saved me." He said, glancing over at Kari. The Doctor was still holding onto her tightly, trying to help keep her steady.
"Uh, yeah. Don't mention it." She said, trying to wave the Doctor off a little. "You know, happy to help and what not."
"Kari, what happened?" The Doctor asked her seriously. He still had no idea what had happened
She just looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. "I think that's a story for another time. Didn't you say we had a war to stop or something?" The look the Doctor was giving her told her that he really didn't want to accept her little suggestion to move on. "Seriously, it's nothing to worry about. We have all the time in the universe to talk about it after this." She said, tugging on his arm a little.
He just frowned at her, knowing that pushing her wasn't going to get him anywhere. "Right, time to go and end this." He said, before grasping Kari's hand tightly and beginning the march forward. Straight away she stumbled a little, her other hand grabbing onto his arm to keep herself steady.
"I'm fine, just tired." Kari told him, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "Seriously, I'm okay."
He gave her a sceptical look before forcing himself to smile at her. "We'll talk about this later. A nice cup of tea when we get back to the TARDIS, yeah?" Kari simply nodded at him, feeling even more exhausted now than before.
"So, how exactly are you going to fix all of this then, Doctor?" Amy asked, jogging a little with Rory beside her to catch the pair up.
"Well, I'll talk to them. And then find out exactly who it was that sent the nanovirus and why." There was darkness in his voice as he spoke, which Amy found a little disturbing.
"What do you mean? Nanovirus? Someone want to fill me in on what I've missed, please?" Kari asked, looking around at the group in confusion. She knew that something had landed, and the Karleon's began to get sick and change, but that was about it.
"Something landed here, and it contained a nanovirus. It only affected the Karleon's, and no one else. I managed to cancel it out, shut it off so that those who were affected by it turned back to normal." The Doctor told her.
"And the rest." Kari said, glaring at him. She somehow just knew that there was more to it, that there was something he wasn't telling her. She already knew many of his traits, but since being there with him, she had picked up on so many more that it was getting easier for her to read him.
The Doctor let out a sigh as he looked at her. "It wasn't an accident that it crashed here. It was all planned. I had the TARDIS track back its flight path, it came from a ship that had been orbiting the planet."
Her eyes widened at the realisation of what was truly going on. "Please tell me that it wasn't a human ship that sent it." She whispered, several things now running through her mind. It was the look on the Doctor's face that told her that she was right and that it was a human ship that had been in orbit and sent that thing crashing down to the planet. "I have a pretty good idea of who it was." She admitted, remembering the man that she had met when she had been locked away with Kalerrah.
The Doctor frowned at her. "And who is that then?"
"His name is Daniel Dupree. He came to ask me a few questions when Kalerrah and I were stuck in that dark and cold room." She told him, letting out a sigh. "Something tells me that he is after the glory. He wanted to use both of us as bargaining chips, getting others to do what he wanted if you ever wanted to see us again."
"We not going back. Are we?" Kalerrah spoke, the fear seeping into his voice as Lagerra held him tightly.
Kari just looked at him sadly before walking over to him and bending down so that they were at eye level. "I'm sorry, Kalerrah, but we have to. If we ever want to stop this, for you to be left to live in peace and to have your home back, then we have to do this." She told him softly. Kari could understand completely why he didn't want to go back there, she wasn't too keen on going back there really, but she knew that they had to.
The young boy nodded at her. "Okay, as long as you there, I know I be safe." He said, giving her a smile.
"Exactly." Kari said, giving him a smile as well. "I will never, ever let them hurt you. I promise. But just do me a tiny favour." She asked, still smiling at him softly. "Warn me that next time you're going to turn into a dragon, yeah?"
Kalerrah chuckled a little and his eyes just lit up. "Okay, I promise." He said, before reaching forward and hugging her tightly.
She embraced him back, holding him for a moment before pulling away again. "Right, come on then. The sooner this is dealt with, the sooner I can get some sleep." Kari said, trying to keep herself cheerful.
The Doctor took hold of Kari's hand once more, Amy and Rory trailing behind them slightly with Kalerrah grasping the hand of Lagerra. There were nervous looks on all of their faces, and Kari could feel her chest pounding. The last time she had been in the building, when they had been escaping, something had happened that she really couldn't explain.
She remembered talking to the soldier, Kathleen, and then something inside of her just seemed to take over. It was like she had just gone into a trance and had no control over what was happening. And that scared her, a lot. It was just that, she was worried about how to tell the Doctor what had happened. Kari knew that there was still a lot she hadn't told him, and she didn't know if she ever would tell him.
"Hey, you okay?" The Doctor called to her, looking over at her as they walked. He was no longer holding her hand, she had her arm wrapped around his and he was keeping her close to him.
She turned her head and looked at him, forcing a smile onto her face. "Course I'm okay. I'm always okay." She said, knowing that it was something he had said so many times before.
Kari watched as a frown formed on his face. "Liar. I know you, Kari, and something is bothering you."
Part of her wanted to tell him what it was, why she was scared and afraid, but there was a greater part of her that was insisting that it wasn't the right time. "It doesn't matter. We can talk later." Once again he frowned at her, but nodded, accepting what she was saying.
Before they knew it, they were standing outside of the dome shaped building once again. Kari couldn't explain why, but she felt that something was wrong. When she turned to look at the rest of the group, her eyes were instantly drawn to Kalerrah. "Hey, come on, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you, I promise." She said, kneeling down in front of him and wiping away the tears that were rolling down his cheeks.
Everyone else seemed shocked, as Kari had been the only one to notice that something was wrong and that the young boy was crying. "Look at me, Kalerrah." She requested softly. He slowly lifted his head and looked at her. "Tell me, who am I?"
"Yo… you're Kari." He stuttered, trying not to let any more tears fall.
She smiled at him. "Yes I am, so what else am I?"
The boy sniffed a little and wiped his eyes quickly. "Angel of Time."
"Exactly." She said, giving him the biggest grin she could manage. "I'm the Angel of Time, and I swear I will never, ever, let anything terrible happen to you." She told him, placing a hand on the side of his cheek. "No matter where in the whole of time and space I am, if you need me, I will be here in an instant. Okay?" Kalerrah nodded at her, still trying to hold back his fear and the tears. "I mean it, Kalerrah. You have to trust me."
Once again the boy nodded at her, finally giving her a real smile. Kari kissed the top of his head, before standing back up and turning to look at the rest of the group. Lagerra was smiling at her, as was the Doctor, while Amy and Rory were just gawping at her. Kari just rolled her eyes, linking her arm back through the Doctor's before trying to drag him forward with her.
But she was pulled back, the Doctor taking a stand and staying where he was. He pulled her into a hug. "You're so good with children." He called to her. "And you're so caring as well."
"Oh… shut up, you. I was just reassuring him. He's scared and he has every right to be after what he has been through. He's just a child, and they locked him up in a cold and dark room. I don't… I just…" She said, stuttering a little. "He's a little boy who was scared."
"Hey, it's okay." The Doctor called to her, stopping and hugging her tightly. He had never expected Kari to get so emotional over what was happening, and it was just making him more curious about what had happened when they had been separated.
Of course, Kari wrapped her arms around him as well. "I know it is." She whispered to him. "How can it not be when I have you?"
The Doctor couldn't help but let a cheesy grin spread across his face. From what she had said only the day before, he didn't think he would be hearing something like that coming from her lips. "You've always got me." He whispered back to her. "Forever and always."
Kari just chuckled a little. "Yeah, forever and always."
"You sure you're okay?" He asked her once more as he pulled away a little.
Kari just rolled her eyes at him. "No, I'm really not okay. I'm tired, hungry and utterly messed in the head right now." She told him honestly. "But we have other things to be dealing with right now."
"Kari…" The Doctor started, only to be interrupted by her.
"No. So don't even bother, Doctor. The answer is no." She said, ready for him to either ask her what was wrong or to send her back to the TARDIS. "Just because I'm tired, that does not mean I am capable of going in there and kicking someone's backside.
He just smiled at her and nodded. "So, what's the plan then, Doctor?" Amy asked, bouncing forward with Rory attached to her arm.
"Let's go and see if anyone is home." The Doctor called, beginning the walk forward again with Kari hanging off his arm.
As they carried on walking, Amy and Rory began to whisper. "Do you think Kari is okay?" Amy asked, the worry evident in her voice as she spoke.
"I don't know. It look's to me like she is avoiding talking about something. But I could be completely wrong." He told her, shrugging his shoulders.
"I wonder what happened to her." Amy pondered out loud to Rory. "You know, back when she went missing."
"I'm sure that whatever it was, the Doctor will take care of it all." Rory assured her. Amy just nodded at him, hoping that he really was right. She was worried about her friend, just like the Doctor was worried about her. Rory was the only one who seemed to be calm with everything, but then he hadn't really spent much time with Kari. He didn't know her as well as the others did.
"I think they're expecting us." Kari whispered, noticing the door open and the man who she had seen before standing there. He clearly wasn't happy, going from the look on his face.
The Doctor's grip on her hand tightened as they carried on waling forward. "Hello, I'm the Doctor." He said confidently, noticing a sudden moment of fear from Kari.
"I don't care who you are. You have no right to be here." The man, Daniel, spat.
"Actually, I think you'll find that it's you who has no right to be here." The Doctor replied, ready to shoot the man straight back down. He was not happy with what had happened with the Karleon's, but also because they had taken Kari away from him.
Daniel snorted. "And who are you to decide that? This has nothing to do with you. These… monsters were the ones who decided to start killing each other. We had to step in to make sure they didn't harm anyone else."
"Like I said, I'm the Doctor." Kari looked over at him and saw a fire starting to burn in his eyes. She knew in an instant that he was not playing games with the man.
"And like I said, I don't care." Daniel snarled, taking a step closer to the group. Out of the corner of her eye, Kari noticed Kalerrah take a step back. It was as clear as day that he was afraid of the man.
"Is that why you done it?" She asked, trying her best to keep her voice strong. "Why you sent that nanovirus to this planet?"
A slight flicker of panic flashed across the man's face. "I have no idea what you are talking about." He answered nervously.
"Oh, don't give me that. How did you know what was going on here? Why did the pod that crashed here come from one of your ships that has been orbiting this planet for who knows how long?" Kari demanded. That was when the Doctor noticed her eyes had started to turn gold, and that was the sign that she was getting angry.
"I don't have to tell you anything." He hissed, taking a step closer towards her. "This isn't your planet, these aren't your friends, so why should you care?"
Kari pulled her hand away from the Doctor and took a step closer to the man, determined not to show him any fear. "They are my friends. Humans and Karleon's are both my friends. Why shouldn't I care, especially when someone like you comes along and starts a pointless war? All because he wants the glory."
"You know nothing about any of this, or me." He tried to defend.
"I know more than you think, Daniel Dupree." Kari said, keeping her eyes firmly locked with his. "Have you ever heard of the Doctor? The Oncoming Storm?" She asked. "Because the Karleon's have."
Daniel laughed in her face. "Stories, that's all they are. Made up stories."
"So come on then, Daniel, what do those stories say?" Her eyes were beginning to burn gold more and more, and it was making the Doctor worry about her. He knew what she could get like, how she could sometimes lose herself when she became angry. He didn't want that to happen to her, he didn't want to see her lose herself.
"The Doctor, the last of the Time Lords. The Oncoming Storm." Daniel said, with a rather bored tone. "A hero to many and an enemy to so many more. The destroyer of worlds, the murderer."
Kari heard the Doctor take a sharp breath at being called the destroyer and a murderer. "You call him a murderer? What have you been doing? The Doctor has a past, we all do, but what's yours, I wonder?"
"I haven't killed as many as he has." Daniel spat at her.
"You haven't lived as long as he has either." Kari replied calmly. She was not going to let this man get the better of her, nor was she going to let him get away with trying to hurt her Doctor. "So you've heard of the Doctor, but what about the Angel of Time, Daniel? What do you know of them?"
He suddenly froze and his eyes widened. "That's… that's just a story. A myth, it isn't real. They aren't real. There is no such thing as the Angel of Time."
"I beg to differ, Daniel Dupree, third son of Lucas and Gina Dupree. Husband to Macy, and father to Alex." That was when her eyes shone brighter than the Doctor had ever seen before. "My name is Kari, I'm the last Time Lady, travelling through the whole of time and space, always finding my Doctor, protecting him. I am the Angel of Time." She said, before a bright golden light made everyone shield their eyes a little.
Amy and Rory both stood there in utter amazement. Amy knew that Kari was different, that she could do some really odd things, but she had never expected that. The Doctor seemed just as shocked as they were. The only ones who seemed to be smiling were Kalerrah and Lagerra. Of course, Kalerrah had seen it happen before and Lagerra knew all about it as well.
"You should never have come to this planet, Daniel." Kari told him quietly. "But you're so desperate to prove yourself to your father, to show him that you can be the leader he expects you to be. But you are not him, you can never be the man he wants because you are not him."
"I… I can't let him down. I have to show him that I am not useless, that my brothers are not better than me." The man whispered, looking like he was in just as much of a trance as Kari was.
"And what of your mother?" She asked him, earing a confused look. "She has never wanted you to be your father, or to be like your brothers. She loves you just as much the way you are. You have nothing to prove to anyone."
"But I… I just…" It was clear he no longer knew what he was doing.
"Leave, Daniel. There is no point trying to be someone you're not. You're not happy with the person you are, I know that you are not a cold-hearted killer. You can be so much more, all you have to do is leave." She told him softly, reaching out and taking a hold of his hand. "Go home, Daniel, go home and see your mother. She's still waiting for you to visit."
Slowly he nodded at her before pulling out his radio. "Initiate immediate evacuation. We're going home. This is over." He called. A moment later a siren started blaring in the background and rushing footsteps could be heard. "Thank you." He said to Kari, before looking over at Kalerrah. "I'm so sorry. For everything that I have done."
Kalerrah managed to smile at him a little. "Go home, see your family." He said to the man. The young boy was still slightly nervous that something was going to go wrong, that they weren't going to leave. But soon enough they heard the hum of teleports and they knew the humans were leaving.
"Time to go now, Daniel." Kari told him, letting go of his hand and taking a step back. He nodded at her once more, before hitting his teleport and disappearing.
Once he was gone, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, before her legs gave way and she fell backwards. Lucky for her, the Doctor was behind her and he quickly reacted and caught her. The golden swarm around her faded and she let out a slight groan. "Another thing to add to my 'never do again' list." She mumbled.
"Kari? Are you okay?" The Doctor asked her, gathering her up in his arms. Her body was limp, and yet she was conscious, which made him worry only a little less.
"No. Can I go to bed now please? You did promise me." She muttered as she rested her head against him as he held her close.
He let out a soft chuckle. "Of course you can. Anything for you, Kari." He said, before lightly kissing the top of her head.
The group headed out of the dome shaped building, the Doctor still carrying Kari. All their eyes turned to the sky as they watched a gigantic metal ship zooming past overhead, leaving a trail of black smoke behind it.
"They have gone." Lagerra said, letting out a sigh of relief. "We can finally begin to rebuild our lives."
"Do you really think they're gone?" Amy asked, trying her best not to glance over at Kari. She was already worrying about her, and just seeing her so exhausted was probably going to make her worry even more.
"We can only hope." Lagerra answered her, keeping a tight grip on his nephew. He had believed he had lost everything, his whole family taken away from him by the humans. But now he had his nephew back, he still had something to hold onto and someone to care for.
"They won't come back." Kari whispered, struggling to find the energy to stay awake. "They wouldn't dare."
There was a smile on Kalerrah's face, but sadness in his eyes. "The Angel of Time saved us. And now she's going to leave us."
Even the Doctor felt a little sad. He had seen just how attached to Kari the young Karleon had become, and it really did pain him to see him so upset and sad. "Well, I'm sure Kari would love to come back and visit." The Doctor told him. "I'm sure we all would."
The young boy's bright green eyes lit up. "You promise?"
The Doctor just smiled at him. "I promise."
After that the group headed back through the forest and towards the TARDIS. The Doctor needed to get Kari inside, to check her over and to make sure that she was okay. He couldn't stop worrying about her and about how she seemed to have no energy at all.
Everyone piled into the TARDIS, including Kalerrah and Lagerra. They were both amazed with what they were seeing, their mouths hanging open. "I need to get Kari to her room." He was still carrying her in his arms, her face now looking a little pale.
Not knowing where they were really up to, the Doctor didn't even try to take Kari to her room, instead he took her straight to his and gently placed her down on the bed. The concern he was feeling for her was so high, and he didn't know whether he should stay there with her while she slept, or go back and say goodbye to the Karleon's. He didn't want to hang around any longer, but he knew that Kari was going to give him an earful no matter what he done.
"I promise we'll come back and see them all again, Kari." He whisper to her, pulling the covers tightly around her. "Sleep well." He kissed the top of her head before leaving the room and heading back to the main console.
There were so many things he needed to talk to Kari about now, such as all this 'Angel of Time' business. He still needed to know how she managed to escape in the first place, but that could wait. Right now he knew that she needed to rest, she deserved it.
A/N: So, I hope you guys liked it. I did work really hard on it, and I have got a few things still up my sleeve.
Now, a big thank you to all who have reviewed. They make me smile, and they help me to forget all about any writers block, or lack of time and get writing. And a thank you to all who have followed/favourited.
you guys know the drill by now, please review if you can, or PM me.
Pippa.