A/N: And here is the next chapter for you all. I hope you all enjoy it.
"Is he really my brother?" Kari asked, as she was lead through the airship once again. Her little visit to Jack had really confused her even more. She recognised him, his face and his voice were etched in her mind, but she just didn't remember.
The Master gave her a small smile. "Not really, my sweet. You are not family, you don't share the same blood, and you're not even the same species." That confused her some more, but she decided she was going to keep her mouth shut and try to work things out for herself. Something wasn't right, she knew that much, but something was telling her that she needed to be careful.
"So, now where are we going?" She was curious since they were not heading back towards her room, or at least not where she thought her room was.
"There is one more person for you to meet." He had thought long and hard about this, about letting her see the Doctor one more time. He had taken her to see Jack to make sure that just seeing him wouldn't spark some of her memories. He had noticed that he locket had sparked something, and he needed to make sure that she wasn't going to remember anything about the Doctor and who he was.
Kari was curious as to why he was taking her to meet all these people. All she wanted to do was go back to her room and bury herself under the covers. Her head was completely spinning, and it was all just getting too much for her. She couldn't remember anything, but the things that she had seen, those images when she had held onto those things, "Why do you want me to meet these people? I don't know them, but that man, he seemed to know me."
The Master stopped walking and turned to face her. "I want you to meet these people to see if it helps to jog your memory. I know you want to remember, and this is a way that could help you." Although he claimed to be trying to help to, he just wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to remember. He couldn't get into her head, so he couldn't find out what had happened to her, so this was his way to make sure Kari would trust him and stay by his side.
"But what he said, he said that you were the Master, that you were trying to take over the Earth. Why would he say that?" Kari couldn't explain it, but that man that had called her Princess, that claimed to be her big brother, there was something about him that made her feel guilty.
"There are people who will feed you lies, my love. It happened in the past and it will happen in the future." He told her, reaching up and gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. "You just have to remember that I would never harm you, everything I do, is to make you happy." Kari looked at him and nodded slightly, still unsure of if she could trust him and the words that were leaving his mouth. "Come now, and stay by my side."
He slowly led her forward, towards the entrance to the flight deck, where he hoped the sight of the Doctor would do nothing to her. The Master could feel his palms starting to sweat a little, he was nervous, worried that she would recognise him and everything he had worked so hard towards having been for nothing. There was no way he was going to let that happen, he couldn't, not now.
Kari actually held his hand a little more tightly as the door slid open, revealing the flight deck. She was scared of who she was going to meet, and what that person would know about her. Her eyes scanned the room, and she saw armed men, spaced out around the place, two women dressed in maids uniforms, and a woman with blonde hair in an evening gown, standing in the corner and glaring at her fiercely.
"There's someone here to see you, old man." The Master called, leading Kari over to the table, pulling a chair out for her to sit on. As he did, the old man crawled out from his tent. "Now then, say hello to my precious Angel."
The Doctor stood up, hunched over slightly, and looked towards Kari. She was just sitting there, letting the Master hold onto her hand, a blank expression on her face. When she looked at him, he saw the emptiness in her eyes. "Kari…" The old man whispered, staggering over to the table. "Are you okay?"
She looked at the man beside her, and he nodded, giving her permission to speak to the man. "I'm fine. My head is kind of messed up. I can't remember everything, and when I try to remember, my head just hurts even more."
"What is it you can't remember, Kari?" The Doctor asked her, his voice soft and gentle. "Do you remember what happened before you woke up? Where we were before we came here?" Kari bit her lip nervously as she shook her head at him. She couldn't remember, the only detail she had was what she had been told. "You were dying, Kari. Someone thought they were doing something that was helping you, but they weren't. It was killing you." He glanced over at the Master quickly, noticing the stone look on his face. "Do you remember any of that?"
Once again she shook her head at him. "I don't, I'm sorry. I… I don't even remember you." The moment those words had left her mouth, the Doctor's face fell and his hearts stopped. The look on Kari's face told him she was telling the truth, and that hurt him. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." The Doctor told her, trying to keep it together. Inside he was completely falling apart, he was hurting more than he could describe. "I promise you, none of this is your fault. After everything that's happened, there may be things that you can't remember."
"And what happened? You know what happened, will you tell me?" Kari was begging to know the truth, to find out what was really going on. Everything felt so wrong, it had done since the moment she woke up. But she didn't know what to do about it, she didn't know how to work it out on her own.
Before the Doctor had the chance to answer her, the Master spoke up. "I told you, my love, anything you wish to know, then I will tell you." There was a reason why he didn't want the Doctor to tell her, because he was worried what would be said. Right now, he was in control, and he wanted it to stay that way.
"I want to hear it from him." Kari said, her eyes not leaving the Doctor's. It was like the pair of them was locked in a staring contest, neither of them was looking away. "I want to hear what he has to say about it all."
"I don't think that is a good idea, my sweet. I warned you, this man can not be trusted." The Master told her, giving her hand a squeeze. "He will tell you nothing but lies."
The Doctor could see what he was trying to do, how he was trying to stop Kari from knowing the truth. "If there is anyone around here who feeds people lies, it's you." He hissed, before turning his attention back to Kari. "The man beside you, what's his name?"
"Koschei. I mean, that's what he told me when I asked." She told him, trying to ignore the strange feeling that she was getting.
"Well, that's one of his names, the name he told you when we all first met. But he is usually known as the Master." The Doctor could see the confusion on her face, and it was hurting him so much to see her that way. "Kari, whatever he has told you, you can't believe him, you can't trust him. You have to remember, Kari, you have to remember the truth."
She let out a groan as she clutched hold of her head, a pain shooting across her forehead. Kari closed her eyes and scrunched them up, images flashing behind her eyes lids once more. She could see a man, a man in a suit, and he was holding her hand tightly as they ran. She felt like they were always running, all the time, never stopping. But he was smiling, no, they were smiling, both of them.
The Master gently placed a hand on her back, trying to calm her. "Shush, it's okay, my precious, it's okay." He told her softly, "Maybe you should get some more rest. Some time to relax and calm down. I know none of this has been easy for you."
The Doctor was sitting there glaring at him, hating the way he was touching his Kari, despising the way he was talking to her, calling her his precious. It was making him even angrier, and any compassion he once had for the Master was fading very quickly. All he wanted to do was take Kari's hand and take her away from it all, to save her like he had promised.
"The Master… you're the Master…" Kari mumbled. "Theta and Koschei… the Doctor and the Master… I remember…"
The Master's eyes widened with a hint of fear, while the Doctor looked at her with hope in his eyes. "You're right, Kari. I'm the Doctor and he's the Master. You know us, you know both of us. You've known us for so long now, so, so long." The Doctor told her, trying to assure her that he was on her side. "There was a time, when the three of us were best friends, we would do everything together. But things changed, Kari, people changed." He glanced over to the Master as he said that, trying to let her know who had changed, and that it wasn't for the better.
"No… you're lying." She responded, shaking her head at him. "Koschei told me people would lie to me, and that's what you're doing. You're trying to turn me against him. He has been nothing but kind to me, he hasn't hurt me, he has only tried to help me. All you've done is told me that I can't trust him or believe him." Her words stung the Doctor, the stung rather badly. "I want to go." She then said, turning to face the Master. "Please, I don't want to be anywhere near him."
At that, a grin spread across his face. Everything was turning out wonderfully with Kari, absolutely everything. "Of course, my love, anything for you." He told her, getting out of his chair before pulling her chair out for her. "I'll take you back to your room, and let you get some more rest."
The Doctor knew he had to do something, he couldn't just sit there and watch her fall for the lies she was being fed. "Kari, listen to me, please. Remember Jack, you're big brother. And Martha, one of your best friends. Remember Rose, and all the adventures we had together, and how can you ever forget the brilliant Sarah Jane? Just try, Kari, please, try to remember." There was so much sadness in his eyes, and they were glistening with the tears that were forming. "Please, remember me."
"Maybe I don't want to remember." Kari told him, letting the Master take a hold of her hand. "I know where I belong, and I know what I have to do."
By now, the Master's eyes were sparkling with glee, and it was clear to see that he was ecstatic with what Kari had just said. "Time for you to rest now, my dear, sweet, Kari." She looked at him and nodded, a small smile etched on her face. Finally, he seemed to have everything that he had ever wanted.
Without another word, the pair of them left the Doctor sitting at the table, a tear having finally made its way out of his eye and that was quickly rolling down his cheek. He was struggling to deal with what had just happened, with the way Kari had looked at him like he was a complete stranger, and the way she was so accepting of the Master and his touch. Everything was just crashing down around him, and nothing else mattered to him anymore. He just wanted his Kari back, no matter how selfish that was.
The Master, however, was feeling on top of the world. He finally had the one thing he desired most, he now had Kari. Taking control of the Earth and turning it into his own little paradise was just an added bonus. It was something he could now share with her, and he would give her everything that she wanted. As far as he was concerned, his life was now complete now that he had the one woman who had always matter to him there beside him.
Walking away from the flight deck, Kari was just thinking about the man that she had just left behind. The moment she had looked at him, she had felt something spark inside of her, but she just didn't know what it was. The way he looked at her, it made her chest thump harder. There was something going on, she just knew there was, only she didn't know what it was or who to believe. Her head was an utter mess.
She was brought back from her thoughts when the man beside her spoke. "Is there anything that you need, my love?" The Master asked her sweetly as they approached her door. She looked at him briefly and shook her head. "Get a few more hours of rest, and then we shall dine. I'm sure you're hungry, you haven't eaten anything for a long time."
Kari wasn't hungry. She didn't have the energy to feel hungry, and the lack of food she had was probably a fact to that and the reason why she was so exhausted. "I just… I need to clear my head a little. I'm confused and just want to get my head around everything." She told the Master in a quiet voice. All she wanted was to be left alone so that she could try and work out who to believe, to discover for herself who was telling the truth to her.
"Of course, my precious Angel. You take all the time that you need. I will be back in a few hours, and hopefully you will be feeling better and ready for something to eat." The Master said to her, lightly kissing the top of her head.
She remembered someone doing that to her often, kissing the top of her head, with their arms wrapped around her. Kari could remember times when she was upset, and that person would always be there for her, comforting her and assuring her that everything was going to be all right. Her gut was telling her that he was not that person. "Thank you. I guess this isn't how things were meant to be, me almost dying and then not remembering anything."
She noticed him wince a little, before a smile graced his face. "Not exactly. But none of that matters. What matters is that you are all right, and that with time things will get better. Your memory will return, and if it doesn't, then we can just start again."
For some reason, she really didn't trust his words, or that smile on his face. It all seemed a bit too forced, too much like he was trying to hide something, to cover something up. "I… uh, I think I should go and lay down. My head keeps spinning a little, it's making me a bit dizzy." Kari told him, rubbing her head with her free hand. It wasn't really spinning, she just wanted to be left alone.
"Yes, get a little more sleep if you need to. And if there is anything else that you need, there will be people out here to protect you, all you have to do is ask, and whatever you want is yours." He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried that the Doctor's words had caused her to remember something, to remember more than just names. He could never let that happen.
The moment Kari was in her room, she let out a sigh of relief. Now there was no one there to tell her who was who and who had done what. Now she could just sit down and closer her eyes, letting herself relax and process everything that had happened. For the second time that day, she rummaged through the bag she had found, putting the locket back in the box before setting it down next to her.
"Come on, there has to be something in here that can help me." Kari muttered to herself, pulling everything out again. "Phone, wallet, tube thing, leather bracelet thing." She said, placing the items down on the bed beside her. The phone was quickly back in her hand, and she swiped the screen to unlock it. "Uh, password? Really?" She ended up moaning, tapping in a few numbers and trying to unlock the thing. "Okay, last try. One, nine, six, three." Her eyes widened as the phone actually unlocked on that last attempt.
Her eyes scanned the contacts, looking for names, hoping to find some recognition there. And she did, she found the names that the Doctor had told her, she found the names of Rose, Sarah Jane, and Martha. "He wasn't lying, he really was telling the truth." She said to herself, her shoulders slumping. "But now what do I do? I don't know what to I'm doing here, I don't know anything."
By this point, Kari was almost in tears. She still didn't know who to trust, but judging from the evidence, the old man she had met had been telling her the truth. She ended up with the black leather wallet in her hand, turning it over and over, but never opening it. "Please, I just need someone to help me, someone who I can trust. Please…" She felt the paper burning in her hand slightly, but completely ignored it.
Instead, the tears now rolled freely down her cheeks, staining her face. She had tried to keep it together, to not get emotion, but it just felt so tangled in her mind, she couldn't handle it. All she wanted was for someone to come and help her, to be honest and tell her the truth. Except Kari knew that there was very little chance of that ever happening.
But she was wrong. There was a loud crack and a blinding flash of light, which caused her to close her eyes and shield them. "Darling, whatever is the matter?" A female voice called to her, a hand being rested on her arm.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the woman before her. Kari's eyes widened as she saw the big, wild hair and the worried expression on the strangers face. "I know you, don't I?" She managed to whisper.
"Kari? Kari, what's happened?" The panic in her voice was evident as she kneeled down in front of her, clasping hold of her hands tightly. "Please, Darling, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's happened."
Kari just looked at her, taking in every feature of her face. "I know you, I recognise your face. But I just can't remember. I can't remember anything that's happened, and people are telling me things, but I don't know who to believe. I can't trust anyone." Once again she was on the brink of tears. She was getting sick of the crying, and wished that she could just shut it off.
"Of course you know me, Darling. Professor River Song, does that ring a bell?" She was trying to be delicate, to get her to open up and let her know what had happened. "You've known me since the day I was born. You've known my mother since she was seven, when you crashed into her back garden with the Doctor."
"Then why can't I remember you or anyone else? I've been told so many different things in the past few hours, I don't know what to believe. There was this guy claiming to be my brother, and then the old man that told me that someone had done something and it was killing me. And then Koschei…" At hearing that name, River's eyes widened.
"Kari, I know you don't trust me right now, and I don't expect you to either. But we need to get out of here. You're not safe here, if you say here, then Lord knows what that man is going to do to you." River told her, clasping her hands tightly as she continued to kneel before her. "And I would never forgive myself if I left you here, Darling."
Now Kari was looking at her in utter confusion. "Why would I not be safe? Koschei would never hurt me, I mean, he said as much. And we're meant to be getting married, he'd make sure everything was okay, he's been looking after me so far." She was completely ignorant to the truth and how dire the situation really was.
"Oh, Darling. There are so many things that you have been told that aren't true. But right now, all I'm concerned with is getting you out of here. So we are leaving. Right now." River told her, pulling her up from the bed and grabbing Kari's bag at the same time. The perception filter on it never worked on her, not since she was the one to give it to Kari in the first place.
"Let me go! I'm not going anywhere with you! Get off me!" Kari shouted, as she struggled to get out of River's grip. "Get off!"
River gave her a sad look, before making sure there was nothing missing from Kari's bag. Once she was happy that everything she usually had was there, she looked back at Kari. "I'm sorry, Kari, but this is the only way." She whacked the leather strap on her wrist, making sure to keep a tight hold of Kari. They both disappeared in a blinking flash, a loud crack resonating throughout the empty room.
Kari had her eyes tightly shut the entire time. She was absolutely terrified of what was going on. Some woman who she knew but couldn't remember had magically appeared in her room, told her she needed to get her away from where she was, and basically kidnapped her. She was starting to wonder if anything else was going to happen now, just to make it even more exciting for her.
"Darling, you can open your eyes now." River told her softly, finally letting her go.
When Kari actually did open her eyes, she realised they were no longer in the same place, they were in a different room and it was dark outside. "What… what happened? Where are we?" Her voice was quiet and shaky, as her eyes scanned the room.
The first thing that she noticed was a blue box. It was like a child's art project or something, at least that was what she thought. Along side it were all these different dolls, made from wooden pegs and cardboard. What really struck her, was who the dolls were of. There was one with red hair and a blue coat, clearly mean to be a child. The second was of a man, with floppy hair and wearing shredding clothing. The final one was the one that really took her interest. The hair was yellow, with glitter stuck all over it, and the eyes were bright gold as well. Kari knew there was something familiar about it all, but she just couldn't find the answer.
"It's all right, Kari. We're safe here. You're safe." River assured her, seeing the panicked look on her face.
Kari just looked around the room some more, and her eyes were instantly drawn to a wall. She walked over to it slowly, and traced her finger along the wall, as if there was something there that her finger was following. "There was a crack… two parts of time and space that should never have touched." She whispered as she went, River watching her every move. "The whole of time and space, bleeding through, the universe pouring into her head…"
"Do you know where we are, Kari?" River asked her, a hint of hope in her voice.
"Little Amelia Pond, the girl who didn't make sense. The girl who waited." There was something about that place that was making her think of things, to feel things that she couldn't remember.
A small smile crept across River's face to hear her say that. "There's still some residual energy hanging around, it's probably helping you to think a little clearer." She didn't want to say it was helping her to remember, too many people were asking her to remember, forcing her to.
"Where is she? Shouldn't she be here?" Kari asked, turning to look at the woman who had come to help her.
"Amy and Rory are off on their honeymoon. They won't be back for a while." River informed her, trying to work out what to do next. They couldn't just stay there, and she couldn't take her to the Doctor. Then she remembered something Kari had told her such a long time ago. "Darling, I understand that this is all very confusing and difficult for you, but there is only one way that you're going to understand the truth."
For some reason, Kari didn't seem to like the tone that the woman was using on her. "Why does that just make me feel nervous?" She asked, going and sitting on the edge of the bed.
A small chuckle came from River. "Oh, I could tell you things that would really make you nervous. But that would just be…"
"Spoilers." Kari said at the same time as River. "Everything is a spoiler with you, River. You know my future, I know your past and your future. It's all just one great big mess of a spoiler."
River raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? So if I were to tell you all about that absolutely amazing wedding dress that you were wearing on your wedding day, would that be a spoiler?"
"Uh, yes! I'm not even married, thank you Professor Song." Kari told her quickly, sound exactly like her old self. "And anyway, I thought you didn't do weddings?"
Now River wanted to smile even more. Without even realising it, Kari was remembering. "Well, how could I ever miss your wedding, Darling? You'd have killed me if I did miss it."
"You didn't go to your parents wedding. Neither of you did. Mels didn't go, and you didn't go. Why would you go to mine but not your own parents? Your best friends wedding?" Kari questioned, having no idea what so ever that River had just tricked her. By not trying to remember, she was remembering. All River was doing was talking to her, and with the help of the residual energy that was still floating around, she was able to think clearly and remember.
"You know why I didn't go to their wedding, Darling. Well, I didn't go to all of it."
Kari let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know. Times lines and spoilers and all that jazz. The only reason you were there was to get your diary back and your vortex manipulator." The smile on River's face grew bigger and bigger.
"Exactly. I would never miss your wedding, Kari. Oh, what a fantastic day that was. Or was it a week? I can't really remember now." The woman knew what she was trying to do, to jog a few more of her memories, to get her to mention the Doctor.
"But I am not married, River." She replied, letting out another sigh. "And besides, I can't… I can't remember who I'm meant to be engaged to." Her thumb began to play with the ring on her finger, twisting it around slightly. "I just don't know who he is."
River had to make a decision. They couldn't stay there forever, or until she could remember the Doctor. She had to get her back to the time that she had just come from, to where the world was in chaos and under the control of the Master. "Do you want to know?" River asked, causing Kari to look up at her. "Because I can help you, but only if you want to. I'm not going to tell you, you need to figure it out for yourself. But there is something I can do to help you."
"I want to remember, River. I want to know the truth. There are very few people I can trust right now, but I can always trust you, I always have trusted you." Kari didn't even know why she had said that, but she didn't feel like she was lying.
River knew that she wasn't lying. There were so many meetings and adventures that Kari just didn't know about yet. River knew just how much the woman trusted her, and she was not going to let her down. "Okay, we need to make sure you have everything. Shouldn't you have a perception filter?" She said, starting to rummage through her bag again.
Kari looked at her with a frown on her face. "The key…" She whispered, reaching her hand down her top and touching the cool metal of what was hanging on the end of the string. "He gave me a key…"
When River turned and looked at her, Kari had the golden key in her hand. "Perfect, it should work fine, as long as you don't run in to certain people. Now listen to me Kari, this is very important. You need to walk around as if you are a ghost. No drawing attention to yourself, just keep to the shadows." Kari looked at her and nodded. "If you get into any trouble, then call me, and I will be there in a heart beat."
"Are you not coming with me?" Kari asked her, looking slightly upset and worried.
She shook her head at her. "I can't. You'll understand why soon, Darling, I promise. But you have to do this alone. No one can force you to remember anything, you need to do it by yourself to know the truth."
Kari nodded at her, agreeing with her and understanding what she was saying. So far, people had been trying to pressure her into remembering things, pointing out certain things and trying to get her to remember. But not River, River wasn't doing that. "Okay, so what do I have to do?"
With a smile on her face, River grabbed the vortex manipulator from Kari's bag and fixed it around the woman's wrist. "This will take you where you need to be. Just be careful and stay safe, Kari." There was definite worry and concerned not just in her voice, but on her face as well.
"I will, River, promise." Kari said, her voice almost a whisper. It was clear to see that she was scared.
"I'll see you again soon, Darling. Now, press that down." River told her, pointing to the vortex manipulator. "It will be all right, Kari. I know it will."
Kari just nodded at her, before closing her eyes tightly and slamming her hand down on the device around her wrist. She was still terrified. River had managed to get here away from someone who was claiming to be her fiancé, the man who was meant to be her brother, and someone else, someone that she couldn't stop thinking about. All she wanted was for it to all be over, for her to remember the truth and to be safely back where she really belonged. She didn't know where that was, where it was that she felt the safest, all she could see in her mind was a blue box.
A/N: So, uh… yeah… I kind of keep getting carried away with writing this, but I promise that after the next chapter, we get to Last of the Time Lords. Honestly, I've already started writing it all.
Kari is now away from the Master, but what awaits her wherever River has sent her? You guys will all find out next week.
Yes, I am going to do the Sarah Jane episodes, as well as the little shorts like the Children in Need and Comic Relief minisodes. I can't tell you when, but it has always been something that I plan on doing.
Big thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed the story, I'm so happy to see people like the story. Also, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review. I can't tell you enough how much I love reading them and how excited I get when I get that notification.
So, more excitement next week, I'll see you all then!
Pippa.