A/N: I apologise now of any spelling and grammatical errors that may still be present. Unfortunately, I seemed to have gotten a cold and a sunburn on the same day, having issues with reading without my eyes watering constantly. Anyway, I'm rambling. Enjoy.
Kari could smell dirt, sweat, and burning wood. There was chattering around her, so many voice, but all of them quiet. It took her a few moments to compose herself before she finally decided to open her eyes. What she saw was nothing like she was expecting. There were people all around, their clothes ragged and dirty, huddled around wood burners trying to keep warm. To her, they looked like homeless people.
"She's telling another tonight." She heard a man say with an American accent as she stuck to the shadows and carefully made her way closer towards the people. "Everyone is hooked on them, especially the children." One of the men who were trying to keep himself warm said.
The other man shrugged. "It keeps everyone's spirits up. We're all here because we have some hope that this will all be over soon, that there is a way to defeat him. We're all here because we want to fight against him."
"But there is no fighting. The Resistance has run out of ideas. It's been almost, what, nine months now?" He said, having no idea that Kari was standing right behind him, listening to everything that he was saying. "And how far have we managed to get? I mean, did you hear what he done to Japan? What if we're next?"
The woman that was standing there with them tutted. "Have you listened to any of her stories?" She asked, clearly not impressed with the way they were speaking. "Japan was different, there was something else going on there, he wasn't in control. That was why he burned the whole country to the ground. He has control of America, as long as he is getting what he wants, he won't do anything." With those final words, she stomped off.
Kari followed her, remembering what River had told her and sticking to the shadows and keeping herself hidden as best she could. The woman seemed to be heading towards where a rather large group were gathered, all sitting down around a single person, listening to what she was saying intensely.
"And he saved us. Like he always does. He saves us every single time, and then he just flies away without saying a word. We would never know he had been here, both of them." For some reason, Kari felt like she knew that voice, the voice of a woman with an English accent. "And it's not just us, they save so many people. They travel through the whole of time and space, saving people and planets. And not once, not ever, do they ask for any recognition."
The woman who had been speaking took a sip of water from the tin mug that she was holding. As she did, the chattering began all around her. When Kari tool a better look at her, she could see just how worn out and tired the woman looked. It looked as if she hadn't slept in months, and like she had been moving from one place to another for such a long time.
Kari noticed a small child being ushered forward by some bigger kids, who stopped when she was in front of the woman who Kari was sure she knew. "Please, can you tell us another story?" The little girl asked, playing with her hands as she stood there.
The dark haired woman smiled softly at the girl. "You want to her another one?" The child nodded at her eagerly. "Okay, go sit back down and I'll tell you another story of the Doctor and Kari." At hearing her name, Kari's eyes widened. "But you have to remember, these aren't just stories. It's all true, everything that I tell you really happened. And I should know, because I was there."
Eager to listen to the tale that the woman was going to tell, Kari crept forward a little more and sat down on the dirty ground just behind the crowd. She was more than just a little intrigued, and she wanted to know if the woman was speaking about her and that old man she had met only several hours ago.
"It was only meant to be a trip to the past, to do a little exploring and see the sights. But what happened was something that even the Doctor couldn't have anticipated. Kari wasn't there, at least not yet. She had a habit of jumping from one time to another, but she always returned to the Doctor, always." The woman said, starting to getting back into her story telling mode. "So, we had gone back to the eighteen hundreds. Now, we'd been there a few times already, met different people. Oh, the rush that I always got from stepping out of that magical blue box every time we landed…" It seemed she had started drifting off into her own little world, a sad smile on her face. "But anyway, everything was normal as we walked around, exploring and waiting to see if Kari showed up. And she did, like she always does. That was when it started, the nice quiet town we were in was suddenly filled with panic."
Kari was listening just as intently as everyone else. But not for the same reasons. She desperately wanted to remember, and she just hoped that River had been right, and that she was in the right place for it to happen.
"Well, the Doctor grasped hold of Kari's hand tightly, and they both went charging off. Not away from the screaming, but straight towards it. I learnt very quickly that both of them were just drawn to danger, but that was good, because they would always be there to help." The woman continued. "The statue in the main square, which had once been of a mother, father and their two children, had turned into a twisted figure of a man, with a strange light coming from the sceptre it was now holding."
The children were sitting there with wide eyes, on the edge of their seats listening to the tale. Even the adults, a few of which still didn't believe the stories that the woman was telling them, seemed to be completely enthralled with what was being said.
"Kari usually knows everything. She's clever like that. She's not a psychic, but she just knows what's going to happen. I don't know why, even the Doctor doesn't know or understand, but she knows what's going to happen, and what has happened, even without ever having been there." Once again she seemed to drift off into her own little world. "She is the most amazing woman I have ever met, and ever will meet. Even when she gets scared, she puts on a brave face and charges straight in."
Without realising it, a tear had slipped down Kari's cheek. She didn't know why, and wasn't even going to try to understand either. All she knew was that she did know the woman sitting there, looking tired and exhausted, telling stories to everyone. Kari knew her, there was no doubt about it at all.
"Because that's what they do, the Doctor and his Kari. They charge into danger, ready to save everyone they can. They charged to the town square, ready to face whatever danger was there waiting for them. Both the Doctor and Kari looked at the statue curiously, neither of them sure about what had happened. Both of them pulled out their sonic screwdrivers, this thin tube that they used all the time. When I first met them, I found out just how much the Doctor loved his sonic screwdriver." Kari couldn't help but chuckle at that, but she didn't really know why. "But anyway, they worked out that the statue wasn't really a statue. Do you know what it was?"
"A Millon." Kari whispered to herself, knowing that she needed to be quiet if she didn't want to be noticed.
The children all shook their heads, having no idea what it was. "A Millon, an alien from billions of miles away. It had come to Earth to make its fortune, because they loved to use humans as slaves." There were a few gasps and whispering before she continued. "They were basically intergalactic slave traders, capturing as many humans as they could and then auctioning them off to the highest bidder. But the Doctor and Kari would never let it happen. The Doctor always gives everyone a chance, always. He gave the Millon a chance, a chance to leave and never return, to leave us alone and go find another job. He didn't, instead, the statue began to move, and it went straight for Kari." There were a few more gasps, and some of the children starting shifting uncomfortable. "The one thing you should know about the Doctor, is that he would do anything for Kari. She is everything to him, absolutely everything. She saves him, just like he saves us."
"That's because she loves him, doesn't she, Martha?" Kari's eyes went straight to the young girl that had called that out. She couldn't have been more than nine, but she sat there proudly, with all the other adults.
A smile graced Martha's lips. "Kari's loves the Doctor, and he lovers her. But do you know what? I love both of them. Kari told me that I was part of her big, dysfunctional, time travelling family. She's like a sister to me, and I do love them both so much. And that was why I was right beside the Doctor as he ran off after the Millon. There was no way he was going to give it another chance now, not after trying to take his Kari away from him." Kari noticed that everyone was still listening intently, and all eyes were on Martha. "By the time we caught up with it, the Millon was ready to leave in its spaceship. It wasn't just Kari that it had on board, all the people that had been going missing before we arrived were there as well, including children." Some of the kids shuffled backwards, moving towards their parents. "The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to break into the ship, wandering through the ship, somehow knowing exactly where Kari was being kept. It didn't take us long to find her at all, and everyone else that had been taken. They were all locked up in cages, like animals, and the only one who wasn't frightened was Kari. She was shouting her head off, trying to irritate the Millon."
Kari chuckled before talking to herself quietly. "Well, the more noise I made, the sooner the Doctor would find me, I guess."
"Oh, some of the things that were coming out of her mouth. The Doctor was quick to let her out, before I started to help her get everyone else out. The Doctor hadn't just gone for Kari, he had gone for everyone, for all the humans that the Millon wanted to sell as slaves." Martha told them all, wanting to get to the end of the story quickly. All she wanted to do was sleep, to pass out and shut down for a few hours, maybe even a week. "The Doctor gave it one last chance, a final chance to leave and never come back. The Millon didn't take it, and so the Doctor done what he had to do, he set the ships coordinates to the farthest corner of the universe and commanded the computer to shut down permanently when it arrived. He sent the Millon to live out the rest of its existence far away from its home, with no way back."
Once again, Martha started drinking some water, signalling that the story was over. There was so much more detail she could have put into it, but she just didn't have the energy to do so. The chatting all began once more, the men, woman, and children all talking about the story. A few people got to their feet, nodding to the woman who had told them all about the Doctor, before leaving the group. Kari thought they were most likely heading off to get some rest. They were underground, from what she could tell, so it was hard to tell what time of day it was. It was clear to see that most of the adults were tired, which is what led her to believe it was late at night.
Kari moved back into the shadows, waiting for the group to get smaller, for people to go off and do something else. Only a lot of them stayed, asking Martha questions about the Doctor and his Kari. Asking her about a man, and if she could really stop him. She understood now why River had sent her there, why she was in a place that she didn't know, on her own, with not even her memories.
She knew that there was really only one thing that she could do now, and after taking a deep breath she found the courage to creep around the group and over to where Martha was sitting. She had witnessed how much these people looked up to Martha, like she was their leader, their hope and salvation. Her stories brought them hope, hope that there was a better future waiting for them.
She stopped when she was standing directly behind the woman. No one had noticed her, not even the woman before her. "Martha…" Kari said, barely above a whispered. The woman's head shot up, a confused expression on her face. "Martha…" She could feel her chest pounding as she waited for the woman to realise that she was actually there.
It didn't take long for Martha to slowly turn her head, looking out of the corner of her eye as she did, her heart pounding in her own chest at the voice she had heard. Her eyes widened when she finally spotted the woman standing there, looking so much worse than the last time she had seen her. "Oh, my God. Kari!" Martha cried, before jumping up from where she was sitting and hugging the woman fiercely. "Oh, my God! You're okay, you're really okay. Oh, I've been so worried about you."
Kari let out a sigh of relief, her own arms wrapped around the woman who was almost crushing all the air out of her lungs. It felt nice, to have someone hug her like that, to know that there was someone out there who she actually meant something to. "Martha, I need to talk to you, I have to explain something." Kari told her, her voice a little shaky. "Things… things haven't been good."
As she said that, Martha pulled away and looked at her with a worried expression. "What happened? Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?" Straight away the woman was checking her over for any injuries. Something that Kari felt was normal.
"I'm… not entirely okay. There is a lot I need to tell you, but I don't know how." That was when she noticed that everyone was looking at the pair of them, some confused and some excited. A few of the children had heard the name that Martha had called out, and that had only gotten them excited.
Suddenly a little girl was tugging at the hem of Kari's top. "Are you Kari?" She asked, seemingly a little shy. Kari just looked at her and nodded a little, not really knowing what to say. She was then taken by surprise when the girl wrapped her arms around her waist. "Thank you, for always saving us."
Kari placed her hand gently on the little girls back, a small smile on her face. "You are most welcome. Now, I need to catch up with Martha, it's been a long time since I've seen her. Why don't you go and tell some of the other children some of the stories Martha has told you?" The little girl nodded at her eagerly, before charging off to find some kids to tell stories to. "I… uh, I really do need to talk to you, Martha."
The woman heard the seriousness in her tone and took her by the hand, leading her away from the still rather large group. Kari hadn't realised just how many people were down there until they started walking past them all. No one was really noticing Kari, but they did acknowledge Martha as she walked past.
They eventually came to a stop when they entered a large alcove, a sheet across the entrance to give them some privacy. "Kari, what's happened?" Martha asked her, holding onto her hand tightly as they both sat down.
"Uh, well… the thing is… I…" Kari stopped and took a deep breath. "I don't remember anything." It came out so quietly that she wasn't even sure it left her mouth, but the look on Martha's face told her that it had. "Something happened, I was sick, or something. When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything. I know you're Martha Jones, and there are a few little things I remember, but not everything."
Martha's eyes widened at hearing this piece of news. "What do you mean, you was sick? Kari what did he do to you?"
"When you say 'he', who exactly are you talking about?"
"The Master, what did he do to you?" It was clear that she was concerned for her friend, and she wanted to know what had happened.
Kari looked at her nervously. "He didn't hurt me, at least I don't think he did. But there are so many people who have told me so many different things. I don't know what to believe. I heard what you were saying, the stories you told. I don't remember much about the Doctor, or about you."
There was so much sadness in not just Kari's eyes from not being able to remember, but also in Martha's at hearing everything she was going through. "Oh, Kari…"
"I was told things, by… the Master. He… he told me that someone tried to kill me, and that he was my fiancé." Just saying that made her stomach turn. Ever since he had first told her, it hadn't sat well, it just hadn't felt right to her. Now she was starting to understand why. "Martha, please tell me the truth. I don't know who to believe, but from what you said, people have been lying to me."
Martha was absolutely stunned at what she had heard. "I was there when you got engaged, Kari, and I can tell you now that you are not engaged to the Master." She could remember it clearly, the moment that the Doctor got on the floor in front of Kari, taking hold of both her hands and finally asking her to marry him. It had even made her tear up. "We had just had a bit of an impromptu Christmas in the TARDIS. I don't know what made him do it, but it just happened. We'd had dinner and I'd left the pair of you alone to go and have my after dinner nap. By the time I got back, he was on his knees proposing to you."
"But who is he? Please, Martha, who is he?" Kari pleaded with her, just wanting to know the truth. She didn't care about all of the details, she just needed to know the truth.
"The Doctor. That's who you are engaged to, Kari, the Doctor." Martha told her softly. "I have never seen two people more perfect for each other. He would do anything for you, and everything to protect you."
The look in Martha's eyes was telling Kari that she was telling her the truth. Her chest felt heavy with guilt. She remembered the way that she had spoken to him, the way she had treated him. At the time, she didn't know who to believe, who to listen to, she had made it seem like she didn't want anything to do with him. The truth of it was, she had known something was wrong. "I hurt him." She said in a whisper. "When I looked at him, I just… I felt something, but I didn't know what. I said things that made him believe I wanted to stay with the Master, when I was just trying to think of an escape."
"What do you mean? What happened?"
"I, uh, I may have told him that I knew where I belonged and that I knew what I had to do." Kari explained, feeling ashamed of herself. "I didn't know who to believe, Martha, but I knew I had to get out of there, I had to find someone who would tell me the truth and not try to manipulate me. That was all the Master was doing, manipulating me." The tears had started, rolling down her cheek as she looked at Martha.
That was when Martha realised she didn't even know how Kari had gotten there. "Kari, how did you find me? And how did you get here?" She asked her quietly, holding onto her friend's hands tightly.
Kari shifted a little, not exactly sure what to tell her. Instead she lifted up her wrist and showed her the leather strap that was still fixed there. "Someone sort of helped me out. Sent me where I needed to go. I was lost, I didn't know who to turn to, she just came out of no where and dragged me away. And I remembered some things, without even trying to. She said there was still some residual energy hanging out, and that was helping me."
"And what did you remember, Kari?" Martha was doing the same thing that River had done, she was being delicate. She had no idea how serious it all was, or what else she had been through since she had last seen her.
"I remembered some people, people that the Doctor hasn't met yet. She didn't force me to remember anything, she was just talking to me and things were just coming out of my mouth." Kari explained to her. "It was just so east to talk to her, I felt like I could say anything to her and it wouldn't really matter."
"Well, now that you're here, this should be a lot easier." Martha said, sitting there and thinking things over. "Do you know what the Doctor told me, before I left the Valliant?" Kari shook her head at her, she couldn't remember any of that, she could only remember what had happened since she had woken up. "I better fill you in on everything, then we can get to work." Kari just nodded at her silently, and Martha could see that something else was wrong. "Kari, whatever has happened, we will fix it. We'll stop the Master, free the Doctor and everyone else, and then you can be with the Doctor again."
"But what if the Doctor hates me now?" Kari wondered out loud. "I was standing beside the Master, letting him touch me, kiss my hand and cheek. What if he doesn't want to know me after that? After acting like I wanted to be with the Master?"
Straight away, Martha wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. "Oh, Kari. The Doctor loves you, don't ever think that he won't. He understands what has happened, he won't be blaming you or holding it against you. I know he won't." She assured her, doing her best to comfort her friend.
"You can't be sure. No one can. I could have really screwed things up this time. I mean, I do a lot of things that are stupid and messing things up is a speciality of mine, but this really tops the list." Kari had already convinced herself that the Doctor was going to hate her and never want to see or speak to her ever again. And she didn't blame him. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling after what had happened and what she had said.
Martha knew that she had to try and talk some sense into her friend. Because she couldn't remember the Doctor, Kari had absolutely no idea what he was like and how much she meant to him. "I can be sure, Kari, because I know you and I know the Doctor. I've seen the pair of you fight, sometimes there is screaming and shouting, but you never stay mad at each other for long."
Kari nodded at her, quickly wiping her face dry from any tears. "So, what have you been up to then? Apart from telling everyone stories about the Doctor and me?" She still had no idea what so ever as to what Martha had been up to for the last nine months. To her, it didn't feel that long, because she couldn't remember anything.
"Walking the Earth, giving people hope. Hope in the Doctor, and hope in you." Martha told her. "There is a plan, and we need to tell as many people as we can about the Doctor, about who he is and how many people he has saved."
"There's something else." Kari muttered to herself. "There's something else that you're doing. The Doctor didn't tell you to do it, but it what people think you're doing." She was racking her brain, trying to figure out what it was she was missing.
All Martha could do was look at her. There was something else that she was doing, something that she had come up with before leaving Japan, when she had so many after her who were working for the Master. "You're right, there is something else. But now isn't the time to talk about it, Kari. We need to decide where we're going from here."
Kari frowned at her a little, wondering why Martha didn't want to tell her what the other thing she was doing was. "I don't know. I don't know where we even are."
A small smile graced Martha's face. Although she wasn't letting it show, she was hurting so badly inside at the fact that her friend couldn't remember anything. It was heart breaking for her to see Kari the way she was, so lost and confused. She was nothing like her normal self, no loud voice and big personality. Right now, she was nothing but a scared mouse. "America. The final stop before heading home."
"Before heading home? You're going back to the UK?" It was clear to see that Kari was even more confused now.
"We are going back to the UK. You're coming with me, Kari, I'm not going to leave you on your own out here. It's dangerous, and with everything that's already happened to you it just wouldn't be safe." Martha told her, sincerely worried about her safety. "The Master will have noticed that you're missing, he will be looking for you."
"I… I never thought about that." Panic was starting to fill up inside of Kari now. From what she had learnt, the man who had been so kind to her, had claimed to be engaged to her, was a complete fraud and hell bent on taking over the planet. "I don't want to go back. I can't… I just… I'm not going back." Kari managed to breath, her panic growing as she started to hyperventilate.
In a flash, all of Martha's medical training had kicked in, and she was in front of Kari, her hands resting on her shoulders gently. "Kari, it's going to be okay. I'm not going to let him get anywhere near you. You need to calm down. Deep breaths, Kari, deep breaths." The tears had started to stream down her face as she continued to struggle to breathe. "Kari, listen to me. I will never let anything happen to you, do you understand? You've been there for so many times, even when I was horrible to you, you were still there. We will get through this."
It took a few minutes, but eventually Kari did manage to calm down. The thought of having to go back scared her so much. It was bad enough not being able to remember anything, but finding out that the one person she had decided to trust had duped her just made it worse. She felt like everything was crumbling around her, and she didn't have the strength to hold it together on her own anymore.
"You look exhausted." Kari pointed out, after wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I think you should probably get some sleep, something tells me that you haven't been getting much of it recently."
Martha smiled at her. "I've done more story telling than I have sleeping the past nine months. It's been a long time since I had a good nights sleep." All Martha seemed to do was tell everyone about the Doctor and his Kari. Sleep was a rarity for her, and if she did get some, it was only for a few measly hours.
"Well, you better get some sleep then." Kari told her, pulling herself together. "If the people want stories, then I'll give them stories."
"But you don't remember anything, Kari. I don't think it's a good idea." Although Martha really did want to get some sleep, she wasn't entirely sure that Kari was going to be able to give them the stories that they needed.
Kari quickly shook her head, holding up a hand and getting Martha to be quiet. "There are things that I do remember, Martha. Little snippets of things, but not the whole picture. I can tell them all exactly what happened to me, and I can share with them the hope that I have in the Doctor."
"Kari, are you sure about this? You don't have to do it, you really don't."
"Yes, I do. I have to do this, Martha. I have to do something good, I need to try and help somehow. I was there, with the Master, and I done nothing to stop any of this. Now I need to at least try to put things right." Martha could see the guilt and determination in Kari's eyes, and she knew that there was no stopping her.
Martha let out a sigh as she rubbed her head slightly. "Okay, fine. I know when not fight you on something, and this is one of those times. Just… take it easy. Don't try too hard, okay? And if you don't feel comfortable or anything, get someone to come get me. Okay?"
Kari nodded at her, knowing exactly what she was saying. "Everything will be okay, Martha. I got this. You just get some sleep and let me at least try to do this." It was Martha's turn to nod at her, before getting up and giving her a lasting hug. Kari had to admit, the hugging felt nice, and it was over all too soon in her opinion.
She was lucky to remember the way back to where everyone was, where she had witnessed Martha telling everyone stories about the Doctor, and including her in them as well. A few of the children looked at her with wide eyes as she passed them. There was whispered coming from some of the adults as well, and it did make Kari feel a little uncomfortable.
"I can do this." She had to whisper to herself. "Come on, I can do this. It's just talking, that's all I have to do, talk." By now there were even more people watching her, probably thinking that she was completely crazy, talking to herself. It wasn't helping with the nervousness that she already felt.
A group of young children approached her, one of them being the little girl that hugged her earlier. "Are you going to tell us a story?" The girl asked her, the other children standing behind her and waiting eagerly to hear her answer.
Kari kneeled down, getting to the same level as the little girl. "Do you want me to tell you a story?" The girl nodded at her, as did everyone behind her. "Well then, gather as many people as you can. Tell them that I have a story that no one has ever heard before, a story of the Doctor and his Kari."
The children all nodded at her, before charging off and telling everyone they could. Kari just watched as the people came in and filled the cavern of the underground hideout. As she took her place where Martha had been telling her stories, she saw that the place was completely crowded.
Everyone was watching her, and soon enough the place was completely silent, and all eyes were on Kari. "Um… hi." Kari said meekly. "My name is Kari Conner, and I don't just travel with the Doctor, I run around the universe with him, fighting monsters and saving planets." She looked down at her hand where she was twisting the ring around her finger. "But most of all, I love him…"
A/N: So, there were things about this chapter that I wasn't sure about, but I hope you liked it. Kari has started to remember little things, but is she going to be remembering any thing big any time soon? Well, you're just going to have to wait to find out.
I have pretty much finished with this story line now, the next episode is written and pretty much ready to go. I just need to decide on what episode I am doing next. I did have one in mind, but I kept changing it. Suggestions are more than welcome to give me a little help.
So, time for the thanks. A big thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed the story. You have no idea how great it is to see how many people are reading it and enjoin it. And you lovely people who take the time to review, a massive thank you and a gigantic, bone crushing hug. I love reading them, and some of the things you guys have been saying recently has really been touching. You guys are totally awesome.
Well, I'm going to go now, before I start getting all emotional and start tearing up. Oh, wait, I already am, but that's because I have a cold, or flu, and a touch of hay fever.
Until next time, my wonderful readers!
Pippa.