A/N: Hello to you all, and welcome to another instalment of Jumping Through Time. Although great care has been taken, a few bugs (or spelling mistakes and grammatical errors) may have slipped through the net. But fear not, for the exterminator will soon be making the rounds. I hope you all enjoy this final chapter of The Fires of Pompeii,
Kari was doing her best to stay calm, but it was a little hard to do that when several women, with lines drawn all over their faces and eyes painted on the backs of their hands, kept staring at her. Finally, she had enough. "If you've got something to say, then just get on and say it." She said, causing one or two of them to let out a gasp and step back.
That was when of them stepped forward, Sister Spurrina. "You are the Angel that the prophecy speaks of, your arrival was foretold." All Kari could do was roll her eyes, she really wished people would stop calling her Angel all the time, there was only one who was allowed to call her that. "In the thirteenth book of the Sibylline Oracles, it states that the blue box, a temple made of wood would arrive. This box would appear at the time of storms, and fire, and betrayal."
"Does it? Isn't that nice." Kari ended up muttering, already knowing what the prophecy said, and also knowing what the Reverend Mother, or High Priestess as she was also know as, said about it all as well.
"It is said that the Angel will bring a future of prosperity and might, building a Pompeii that will topple Rome. You are the one to guide us." To say Kari was shocked was putting it mildly. She remembered the Reverend Mother stating how the Sibylline Oracles were wrong, and how Pompeii would last forever. Then she remembered the original prophecy that Sister Spurrina had just told her.
It all just seemed to fall into place, and Kari knew that now was her chance, now was her time to do something, to help, to save people. "The fire is already lit and the storms are already brewing. But where is the betrayal, Sister Spurrina?" Kari asked her, feeling a slight change in herself as she spoke. "Who denies the Sibylline Oracles? Who creates the new prophecy?" Something was definitely taking Kari over now, as her eyes were beginning to glow slightly. "The betrayal you seek is not from strangers, but from one of your own." The moment she said that, everyone around her gasped. "The fires cannot be extinguished, Pompeii will burn. The skies will fill with smoke and clouds of dust. Rock will soar across the sky, burning hot, burning Pompeii. Save the people. Get them out of Pompeii."
There was a lot of whispering going on around the temple now, but Kari didn't even notice it, she was in what looked like a trance. "Lies!" An old and cracked voice called. "The Angel lies. Pompeii will rise higher than Rome."
"Pompeii will fall, and you shall fall with it, High Priestess." Kari announced, looking towards the curtained area where she knew the Reverend Mother was supposed to be resting. "I know who your gods are, I know what they plan. You betrayed the Sibylline Sisterhood. Pompeii and its people will burn." She said, before turning her gaze back to Sister Spurrina. "But you can save them, take them to the hills, away from the mountain and the sea. Remember what the Sisterhood all about, remember your founder, remember the oaths you swore. Save the people, get them out of Pompeii, for Pompeii will fall, one day to rise again."
All eyes were on Kari as her eyes fluttered closed and she slid down the column that she was tied to. Lucky for her, the ropes hadn't been too tight, because her body just gave up completely. It was clear from the looks on the faces of all the sisters that they were now unsure of what to do. There was confusion written all over their faces.
"Sisters!" The Reverend Mother called, grasping everyone's attention. "The Angel is a false prophet. Pompeii will prosper and shine. The betrayal lies with her. Her blood will also stain the temple floor."
The look on Sister Spurrina's face said that she wasn't entirely sure, but she had to follow orders. "But Reverend Mother, the Angel knows more than we ever have. She has foretold the fall of Pompeii, of the death of the people. We must do something, we must save them." There was a hint of panic in her voice now, she did believe what Kari had just said, but she was also loyal to the Sisterhood.
"If you believe in this so-called Angel, then you betray the Sisterhood. The false prophets blood must run across the temple floor." The Reverend Mother announced once more, still trying to convince her fellow sisters that they had nothing to fear.
Spurrina finally took a hold of the sacrificial dagger and slowly walked towards where Donna was laying. The rest of the sisters all gather around, creating a circle around the altar that the red head was tied to.
It was just as the woman was standing over her with the large dagger that Donna's eyes decided to flutter open. "You have got to be kidding me." She moaned, seeing exactly what was about to happen.
"The false prophet will surrender both her blood and her breath." Sister Spurrina announced.
"I'll surrender you in a minute. Don't you dare!" Of course, Donna was not going to go out with a fight, or at least giving everyone in the room some lip.
Spurrina didn't appreciate being spoken back to, she was already nervous enough about what she was about to do because of what Kari had said to her, having Donna talk back was just making things worse for her nerves. "You will be silent."
"Listen, sister, you might have eyes on the back of your hands, but you'll have eyes in the back of you head by the time I've finished with you. Let me go!" She shouted, tugging at the ropes that were keeping her in place.
The noise that Donna was making was enough to disturb Kari from the unexpected little nap that she seemed to have taken. She let out a groan as she tried to work out what had happened and where she was. But then she heard Sister Spurrina speaking. "This prattling voice will cease forever!" The blade was raised in a rather dramatic fashion, and the woman was ready to strike Donna down now.
But a small smile formed upon Kari's face. "Oh, that'll be the day." She muttered, just as the Doctor's voice rang through the temple, saying exactly the same thing.
All of the women turned to look and saw the Doctor casually leaning against one of the posts. "No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl." Spurrina told him, all thoughts of Donna and the dagger now completely forgotten.
"Well, that's all right. Just us girls." The Doctor said, walking further into the room, his eyes scanning everywhere for his Kari. "Do you know, I met the Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the tarantella." He told them, before finally spotting where Kari was. There was a very unimpressed look on her face, and he couldn't help but notice that she looked a little pale and clammy. "Nice teeth. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me."
Kari couldn't help but let out another groan. "Is now really the time for this?" She called out to him, wanting to get those stupid ropes off already.
"Oh, do I detect a little bit of jealousy?" He asked her, before looking over at Donna. "You all right there?"
The red head rolled her eyes a little as the Doctor stood over her. "Oh, never better."
"I like the toga." He said, reaching inside his jacket pocket and pulling out his sonic screwdriver.
"Thank you. And the ropes?" Even Donna wasn't amused by the way the Doctor was carrying on, making a show of it all when she just wanted to be untied.
He pulled a slight face that suggested he wasn't so keen on the ropes. "Yeah, not so much." He told her, before pushing the button on his screwdriver, the end lighting blue and making that familiar whirring sound. While he was standing there, Kari cleared her throat, making him turn to look at her. "What you doing down there?"
"Don't you dare start with me, Doctor. I've had enough of all of this today." Her head was hurting slightly, and she was feeling a little bit sick as well. She remembered talking to Sister Spurrina, telling her to get everyone out. But that was all, she didn't remember falling asleep.
Without hesitation, he used his screwdriver to undo the ropes that were binding her to the column. As she tried to get to her feet, she stumbled a little, causing the Doctor to rush over and help her. "Are you all right?" He asked, a very serious look on his face now.
Kari's eyes locked with him, and she knew she had to be honest. "Not really, no. I have totally had enough of this place now, and I want to get the hell out of here." She was annoyed that Sister Spurrina refused to listen to her, to believe her. That woman could help her to save so many lives, but she would rather listen to a woman that was turning into stone, not that the others knew that yet.
The Doctor frowned at her, wondering what had happened to make her say that. "Well, as soon as we've sorted something out, we can go." He told her, helping her to stand up properly. He noticed that she was a little unsteady on her feet, and it started to worry him. "Just a little longer, I promise."
She held onto him tightly, before glaring at Spurrina. "As long as we're out by the time everything… kicks off." That was her way of telling him she wanted to go before the volcano finally blew.
He nodded at her, understand exactly what she was saying, before turning his attention back to the women gathered and dressed in red. "Let me tell you about the Sibyl, the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you, all her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, eh? On the blade of a knife?"
"Yes, a knife that now welcomes you." Sister Spurrina informed him, before raising the dagger high above her head once more, prepared to strike the Doctor down now.
But a voice called out and stopped her. "Show me this man." The High Priestess, or the Reverend Mother, whatever she wanted to be called, said through her closed curtain.
The Sisterhood's attention was now drawn away from the strangers in their temple and they spun to face where the High Priestess was, before all quickly kneeling on the ground. Only Spurrina stayed standing, along with the two who seemed to be guarding the hidden woman. "High Priestess, the stranger will defile us." She protested, no longer know what was going on. She was given being given too much information, and she was struggling to decide who to believe.
"Let me see. This one is different. He carries starlight in his wake, just like the Angel." She replied, as Donna finally got herself off the altar and stood with the Doctor and Kari.
"Oh, very perceptive." The Doctor commented, not actually impressed at all. He was more impressed with what Evelina and Lucius had said about him. "Where do these words of wisdom come from?"
"The gods whisper to me."
The Doctor and Kari both knew that it was much more than that, and Kari knew so even more than the Doctor. "They've done far more than that. Might we beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess." He asked, spinning on the spot as he spoke, looking at the women surrounding him.
The trio stood there as the sheer curtain that was hiding the woman from view was pulled back. What they were presented with made Donna gasp, the Doctor raise both of his eyebrows, and Kari just looked on sadly. In the end, it was Donna that spoke first. "Oh, my God. What's happened to you?" The red headed woman exclaimed, clearly horrified by what she was witnessing.
But the High Priestess didn't seem fazed one bit. "The heavens have blessed me."
"If I might?" The Doctor asked, gesturing to the woman's arm. He wanted to get a closer look, he wanted to see what Kari had seen on Evelina's arm. The High Priestess held her arm out towards him, giving him permission to approach. But he refused to let go of Kari's hand, and he took her with him as he stepped over to the bed. He only dropped her hand to actually inspect the greying flesh of the woman. "Does it hurt?"
"It is necessary."
"Yeah, and who told you that?" Kari asked, knowing exactly who had told the woman. The woman was a horrible sight, especially her face. It was severely deformed as it had begun to turn in to stone. It wasn't smooth and even, it was cracked and lumpy and looked like moss was growing in places as well.
The High Priestess glanced at her while the Doctor continued to inspect the arm. "The voices."
"Is that what's going to happen to Evelina?" Donna's voice called from where she was standing, before turning to face the rest of the "Is this what's going to happen to all of you?" She was scared that it was going to happen to them all, and there was no way that Donna would just stand there and let it happen, and that made Kari smile.
That was when Sister Spurrina approached the red head. "The blessings are manifold." The woman told Donna, showing her the deformation that was on her arm. It was turning to stone, just like Evelina's, only it had progressed further and covered more of her arm.
"They're stone." Donna commented, before turning back to the Doctor and Kari.
Kari was looking back at her, and gave her a sad look as she nodded, but it was the Doctor that spoke. "Exactly. The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?" He looked over at Kari as he let go of the stone arm, who was deliberately looking at Spurrina's arm from where she was standing.
The Doctor was about to open his mouth and say something to Kari, to ask her a question, but he was stopped when the High Priestess spoke. "This word, this image in your mind, this volcano, what is that?" Kari actually found it a little creepy how much all those soothsayers knew, and how they could see into their minds. She didn't like people being in her head, well, apart from the Doctor, Jack, and the TARDIS.
"More to the point. Why don't you know about it?" The Doctor asked, while Kari glanced around the room. Her nerves were starting to get the better of her now, now that they were closer to finding out what was really going on. She was proud of how she had handled it all so far, but she didn't know if she could keep up that pretence. She was down right terrified of what was to come, but she was working so hard to hide it. "Who are you?" He said, causing Kari to sharply turn her attention back to the woman on the bed.
"High Priestess of the Sibylline."
Before Kari could even stop herself, she was speaking. "Uh, no, no, no, I don't think so. He isn't talking to you, he is talking to the creature inside of you." She said, taking the Doctor and Donna both by surprise. "The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust, in the lungs, taking over the flesh."
The Doctor couldn't help but smile. The whole trip he had thought something was wrong with her, with his Kari, but he had just seen that spark of her right there, the Kari that just couldn't keep quiet no matter how much she tried. "And turning into, what?" He asked, finishing Kari's little speech for her.
The high Priestess looked upon them both with shock. "Your knowledge is impossible."
Kari couldn't help but scoff a little. "Nah, course it's not. You read his mind, and you can read mine, you can read anyone's, so you know it's not. Now tell us, who the hell are you?" She didn't know why, she had absolutely no idea, but she was starting to get rather snappy. It may have been because of what she kept thinking about, of what she knew, either way, she was letting her temper start to flare a little.
"We are awakening." A strange kind of deep screeching spoke, as did the High Priestess.
"The voice of the gods." Sister Spurrina announced, causing all the women around to start chanting, before she too joined in. "Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power."
They carried on, even when the Doctor turned to address the entity once more. "Name yourself. Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."
The response he received was not the one he had hoped for. "We are rising." Was all that the High Priestess screeched.
By now the Doctor was loosing his patience, and he could see that Kari was as well. "Tell me your name!" He ended up bellowing, while Kari took a tight hold of his hand, knowing that he was likely to shout even more if he didn't get his answer.
"Pyrovile!" She screeched even more, throwing back the hood of her red cloak and revealing a bald, stone head. Of course, at hearing that name, the rest of the Sisterhood began to chant that instead, believing that to be the name of their god.
"What's a Pyrovile?" Donna whispered to the Doctor and Kari, while the trio gazed on at the woman on the bed still.
Kari let out a sigh. "She is, well she almost is. The thing that's growing inside of her, that's a Pyrovile, but it's only at halfway stage." She explained. "That great big chunky stone beast back at the villa was an adult one, which is what she, and everyone else, will turn into.
But the Pyrovile had been listening to them through the High Priestess. "And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you and your Angel, Doctor." It said, causing Kari to blink a few times. She still wasn't used to people call her Angel, it just felt wrong to her in a way.
That was when he quickly reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, and produced a small yellow gun, which was in fact a water pistol. "I warn you, I'm armed." He told the Pyrovile.
"Donna, the grill, quickly." Kari called, tugging herself away from the Doctor and knowing that they were going to need to make a quick escape. "Come on." They tugged at the huge metal grill, trying to pry it away, while the Doctor continued to gather his information.
He quickly pointed his fake gun at the woman and began his interrogation. "What are the Pyrovile doing here?"
"We fell from the heavens. We fell so far and so fast, we were rendered into dust."
That made sense to the Doctor, and he checked the progress of Kari and Donna out of the corner of his eye before carrying on. "Right, creatures of stone shattered on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"
"We have slept beneath for thousands of years." The voice of the Pyrovile corrected.
"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up, and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourselves. But why the psychic powers?" The Doctor was curious about that, because just like Kari, he didn't like other people being in his head, apart from her and her alone.
It appeared that the Pyrovile was in a rather talkative mood now, as it didn't hesitate to answer his question. "We opened their minds and found such gifts."
The Doctor could see that Kari and Donna were still struggling, and he had to stall a little, which was find by him since he wanted even more information. "Okay, that's fine. So you force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that, I get that, yeah. But seeing the future? That is way beyond psychic, you can see through time. Only one person is meant to be able to do that, to see through the whole of time and space, and that is not you." He said, referring to his Kari. "Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"
"Got it!" Donna cried suddenly, grasping the Doctor's attention.
The Doctor stepped across the room, his aim never leaving the creature on the bed. "Now, get down."
"What, down there?" It was easy to see that Donna really did now want to go down there.
So, Kari decided to give her a little help. "Yes, if you want to live, get down there, right now." She warned her, giving her a little nudge of encouragement before heading over to where the Doctor was standing, still aiming his water pistol.
"Why can't this lot predict a volcano? Why is it being hidden?" The Doctor wanted to know the answer to that, it was the one thing that had been bothering him so much since they had found out about the soothsayers and how correct they really were.
"Oh, for the love of Boe…" Kari muttered, grabbing the pistol from the Doctor's hand and pulling the trigger several times, squirting the water at the woman. "Let's go." She shouted, while the High Priestess shrieked in pain and agony at what Kari had just done it her. The rest of the Sisterhood were too concerned with their High Priestess to worry about chasing after the Doctor, Kari and Donna. "There has to be a reason why they can't see the volcano. Evelina couldn't see it, they can't see it, there has to be something." Kari muttered loudly, deliberately.
The Doctor looked at her, a small smile on his face. "Want to go and find out?" She nodded at him, forcing a smile onto her face as well. "Right, into the volcano." He announced, taking a tight hold of Kari's hand as they began their little journey.
At first, Donna had been a little less enthusiastic about it, but soon her curiosity, and human emotions, got the better of her. "But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for the pair of you to stop it?" Inside, Donna knew that if they could stop it, Kari would do it in a heartbeat. The stories the Doctor had told her of some of the people Kari had saved just proved it.
"Still part of history." The Doctor replied, doing his best not to give her a straight answer. He was still too preoccupied with thinking about Kari and what was running through her mind. The look on her face told him that she was struggling with something, and he wasn't entirely sure what it was.
"But I'm history to you." Donna told him, as they walked along the stone tunnel towards the heart of the volcano. "You saved me in 2008, you saved us all. Why is that different?" She just didn't understand it, she just didn't understand any of it, of how it worked, of why they couldn't help, why they couldn't do anything.
It was a conversation that the Doctor really didn't want to have, so he tried to keep it short and simple. "Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed."
Donna still wasn't convinced, it was going to taker a lot more than just a few words from the Doctor to convince her that there was absolutely nothing that they could do to save all of those people. "How do you know which is which?" The annoyance was evident in her voice.
The Doctor stopped, forcing Kari to stop as well, and turned to face the red head. "Because that's how we see the universe." He explained, making sure to keep a tight hold on Kari's hand. "Every waking second, we can see what is, what was, what could be, what must now. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And Kari, Kari has it even worse, she can see it even more, she can see everything, all over time and space."
"Don't." Kari quickly said, looking at Donna, knowing what she was about to say next. "Don't you dare ask that question. Don't you dare try to guilt trip us into anything, because it will not work." She knew what the woman was going to ask, and Kari wanted to avoid that. "You have no idea what the Doctor can see, and what I can see. It isn't fun, Donna, trust me, it really is no fun at all. I'd like to see you step into our shoes, and then maybe you'd understand a little."
The red head opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a rather loud roaring noise. "They know we're here. Come on." The Doctor said, tugging at Kari's hand and forcing her to move. He could see that she was starting to get rather wound up, that there was more bothering her than she was telling him, and that worried him.
He didn't have the time to stop and ask her, the trio kept running through the cavern, the roars and growls coming from all around them. The sound was echoing off the walls, bouncing around, causing Donna to turn her head every time she heard a sound, wondering if the creatures were behind them.
Eventually the cavern opened up, and they were left overlooking an extremely large area, just filled with the Pyrovile creatures. They had to creep around the edges, keeping as close to the walls as they could, trying to stay hidden. There was fire burning all over the place, and Kari could finally feel the heat starting to get to her.
"It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain." The Doctor muttered, while the three of them watched the large creatures plodding around.
"There's tons of them." Donna commented, knowing that there was no way they would be able to defend off that many, that had only just managed to hold off one, and that wasn't even an adult. The ones that they were looking at were adults, there were much taller, and stronger.
But there was something else that the Doctor had seen, something that Kari had noticed before nudging him, getting his attention. He quickly pulled something out of his pocket, a miniature spyglass. "What's that thing?" He muttered, ignoring the noises coming from around him. Kari was still clinging onto his arm, so he knew she was safe.
"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something." The Doctor heard Donna warn him as he finally focused on the stone looking pod that he could see in the distance. "Rocky four's on its way."
He completely ignored her and carried on with his inspecting, finally starting to speak out loud, and letting both of the women know what he could see. "That's how they arrived, or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?" He wanted to ask Kari, because something was telling him that she knew much more than she was letting on.
"So, the big question is, why do they need a volcano?" Kari said, having the strangest feeling that the Doctor was suspicious of what she knew. "Maybe it erupts, and they use that to launch themselves back into space. But the circuit… where does that fit in?"
That was when they suddenly heard the voice of Lucius. "Heathens! Defile us!" He shouted across the gigantic space between where they were hiding and he was standing. "They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods."
Kari knew what they had to do next, and she decided to take charge of the moment. "Come on, we have to move. We can't go back, we can only go forwards." She announced, pulling the Doctor with her, and having Donna trudge along behind.
The Doctor took that as his chance. "Kari, please, be honest with me, do you have any idea of what is going on here?" She glanced over at him, but didn't answer. "It's okay if you do, but please, I just need to know. It's fine if you've known this whole time, I don't care about that, but I need to know, do you know what is going to happen?"
She looked straight into the Doctor's eyes, and she could see that he was pleading with her, begging her to tell him the truth. "Doctor, does it really matter if I know what's going on here or not? Right now, I think we should be more concerned with the giant rock creature that is basically made of fire that is standing right in front of us." It was only then that the Doctor noticed one of the Pyrovile standing before them.
He quickly pulled out his yellow water pistol and sprayed the water all over the big beast. It screamed in pain, and the steam hissed off it's heated body, and backed away from the trio. Lucius could only watched them as they run across the rocky landscape, heading directly for the pod that the Doctor had spotted.
"There is nowhere to run, Doctor, Angel, and daughter of London!" Lucius called to them, not in the least bit concerned for what they were doing. He seemed to have so much confidence, and he had no idea of what they were standing in front of.
"Now then, Lucius, my Lord Pyrovillian, Don't get yourselves in a lather." The Doctor called out, causing Kari to groan a little. "In a lava? No?" Asked, looking towards Kari and then Donna. Both of them just shook their heads at him. "No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?" He still hadn't pieced it all together, and there was no way that Kari was going to help him. The Doctor was still suspicious of what she knew, even more now that he knew she was deliberately trying to avoid talking about it.
"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation."
"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna asked, rather confused. She was right, the Pyrovile really did have some pretty decent tech, and yet they were going to claim Earth and rebuild it, instead of just going home.
Kari had her eyes locked with Lucius, as she had for some time now. "The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone." She spoke at the same time as him, causing the Doctor and Donna to turn and looked at her. There was a questioning look on the Doctor's face, and she knew that she had to explain to him. "Uh, it was taken, I think."
Lucky for her, Lucius was speaking before the Doctor could question her. "Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise."
"Yeah, I should warn you, it's seventy percent water out there." The Doctor reminded him, glancing at Kari and noticing that she was now chewing on the nail of her thumb. If he hadn't been worried about her before, he certainly was now, it was one of those little things that she would do when she was nervous and uncomfortable.
Kari was desperate for it all to be over with now. She wanted a nice cup of tea in the TARDIS, where she could curl up with the Doctor and just forget everything. She wanted to be in her own little world, not the world where everything was about to burn. She didn't even listen when Lucius reminded the Doctor the water could boil, she didn't listen to the Doctor telling Donna to get into the pod.
"Kari? Kari, are you okay?" The Doctor asked her, his hands resting against her cheeks, his eyes gazing into hers. She blinked a few times before nodding at him a little. "You're lying. Come on, what is it?"
All she could do was look at him, there was no way she could escape it now. "You haven't spotted it yet, have you, Doctor? You haven't looked."
He frowned at her, having no clue as to what she was talking about. "What haven't I spotted? I've been a bit busy saving you and Donna as well as fighting off some rock monsters with a water pistol."
Kari let out a sigh as she looked at the circuit board that was in front of them, the one that Lucius had gotten made. "This is an energy converter, right? It takes the lava, right? And then what, Doctor, what does it do after that?"
Suddenly his eyes widened as he caught on to it. "How comes I didn't see that before? How did I miss that?" He muttered looking at the board in front of them.
"Like you said, you were a bit busy saving me and Donna, and the fighting off some rock monsters with a water pistol." Kari told him, repeating the words that he had just said himself. She knew that he had been a bit too busy to really notice everything, she knew that he had been worrying about her, that he was still worrying about her.
But Donna was still standing there, having no idea what the pair of them were talking about, not understanding what the Doctor had realised. "What? What happens after it takes the lava?" She asked, wanting to get back in the loop.
"It uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human." The Doctor informed her grimly. "Now it's complete, they can convert millions." That was what it came down to, and now he could see why Kari was getting so nervous.
"Well, can't you change it with these controls?" Of course Donna would ask that, she knew that the Doctor was pretty much capable of anything.
This was the moment that Kari had been dreading the most. "Of course he can, Donna. Only… it's not as simple as that. The reason that those soothsayers can't see the volcano, because there is no volcano." She told the woman sadly, while the Doctor held onto her hand tightly. "Vesuvius is never going to erupt, all because the Pyrovile are stealing all of its power."
"They're going to use it to take over the world." The Doctor added, knowing that his Kari was getting upset. It was all falling into place for him now, she had spotted it sooner, she had realised what was going on with the volcano and knew what was likely to happen, that was why she was being so quiet and nervous.
Donna was shocked, but she wasn't going to give up just yet. "But you can change it back?" There was only a little hope in her voice, but she still wasn't seeing the bigger picture.
"Well, I can invert the system so that the volcano will blow them up, yes, but that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world." By the tome the Doctor had finished quickly explaining it to Donna, Kari had tears in her eyes.
It finally hit home, and the red head looked at Kari in shock at the news. "Oh, my God." She didn't want to believe it, but going from Kari's reaction, she knew that it was true.
"If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history. It's me. I make it happen." The Doctor told her, the whole reality of it all really hitting him.
He felt a hand lightly touching his arm, and he turned to see Kari gazing at him with tears glistening in her eyes. "Us, Doctor. It's not you that makes it happen, it's us. This is one of the most terrible and hardest choices that anyone could ever have to make, but you are not going to do it alone." She knew that he was terrified inside, that he had to decide between Pompeii or the world.
The Doctor quickly starting checking things over, changing things, getting everything ready. "Doctor, the Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up." Kari knew that Donna was worrying now, thinking of anything and everything that could go wrong.
"Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty four nuclear bombs." The Doctor, who had now wrapped an arm tightly around Kari, informed her. "Nothing can survive it, certainly not us."
Now there were tears in Donna's eyes as well, while Kari was just holding onto the Doctor tightly. This was it, the final moment, the moment she had been dreading since they arrived, the moment she desperately wished that she could change. "This is it, Donna, the point of no return." Kari managed to tell the woman.
"Push this lever and it's over. Twenty thousand people." The Doctor added, placing his hand on top of the stone lever that was on the panel before him. It took less than a second for Kari to place her hand on top of his.
Donna looked at the pair, and saw that Kari had finally let the tears fall. She ended up letting her own roll down her cheeks as she too put her hands on the lever, one cover Kari's hand that was over the Doctor's. There was no going back now, she knew the choice, and she knew what they had to do. With a slight nod of her head, the three of them all pushed down on the stone lever.
After that, they were tossed around, Kari clinging to the Doctor tightly, as he held her with one arm while trying to keep himself steady with the other. Outside they could hear the volcano blowing, but inside, all they could hear was Donna's screaming.
It felt like they had been tossed around for hours, but in reality it was less than a few minutes, and now everything had stopped. There was no shaking for them, no flying through the air. The pod they were in stilled, and the Doctor quickly got the door open and got himself out, dragging Kari out behind him. "It was an escape pod." He muttered, before noticing the cloud of ash that was barrelling towards them. He took Kari's hand, who quickly grabbed Donna's, and they ran as fast as they could back to civilisation.
As they went, the sky darkened, the smoke and clouds of ash blocking out the sunlight. The streets were filled with panic when they got there, but there was something that caught Kari's eye. She could see women, dressed in their red robes, and their painted faces on full display, ushering people out of the city, away from the volcano, towards the hills.
One of them noticed her, and for a brief second their eyes locked. Sister Spurrina had believed her, she had listened to her, and she was helping to save the people. For Kari, that meant that there was some hope that not everyone was going to die, the death toll was not going to reach twenty thousand.
After that, she was just dragged around in a bit of a blur. It was only when she heard a certain voice that she stopped and took notice of where they actually were. "You can't save us, Doctor." Caecilius called, huddled up on the floor of his villa with his wife, son, and daughter. They were all scared, that much was plain to see.
The Doctor simply stared at the man before charging into the TARDIS, dragging Kari with him and leaving Donna standing outside still. "You can't! Doctor, you can't!" Donna shouted, as the door to the blue box closed. "Doctor!" She wasted no time in charging into the box when she heard the engines begin to grind. "You can't just leave them." The red head cried at him.
The man finally let go of Kari and busied himself around the console. "Don't you think I've done enough? History is back in place and everyone dies." He was acting like everything was all right, like it was all okay, but Kari knew him, and she knew he was feeling so guilty for everything that had happened.
"You've got to go back, Doctor. I am telling you, take this thing back." He didn't listen to her, and pulled the lever, causing them both to grab on to the console tightly. "It's not fair." The Doctor mutter that it wasn't, he agreed with her. "But your own planet, it burned."
The Doctor stopped what he was doing and gave Donna his full attention. "That's just it." He said, not noticing that Kari was wandering around the console in a daze. "Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't, I just can't. I can't…" It was too late, his emotions were breaking through, the tears burning in his eyes now as well.
"Not everybody dies." Kari whispered, running her hand along the edge of the console. "The Sisterhood has changed, they are getting people out, up to the hills. But there is someone else, just one family."
By now the Doctor had noticed the way that Kari was acting. "Kari, what is it? What do you mean?"
"You have to go back, Doctor. We have to save them." As soon as he saw the look in her eyes, he done exactly as he was told. The Doctor took the TARDIS right back to where they had just left, opened the door, and saved one family.
Soon enough they were out of the TARDIS, standing upon a hill and watching as Pompeii was buried in the dust and rock. "It's never forgotten, Caecilius." The Doctor told them man, holding onto Kari tightly once more. "Oh, time will pass, men will move on, and stories will fade. But one day, Pompeii will be found again. In thousands of years. And everyone will remember you." It was hope, hope that all was not lost, because the Doctor, Kari, and Donna, all knew that it wasn't. They knew that Pompeii would be found, that it would rise again.
"What about you, Evelina? Can you see anything?" Donna asked the young girl who was standing there with her family.
She closed her eyes but soon opened them again. "The visions have gone." She said, before looking at Kari. "But not for you. You will always have the gift of prophecy."
Kari just shook her head at her a little. "It's not a gift, believe me. Sometimes it can be more of a curse. I have to know the bad as well as the good, and it's hard, Evelina, it is so hard. You're free now, you can live a normal life, and you can just be yourself." She wasn't saying that she didn't have a normal life, even though she knew that she didn't, but she knew she would never be free of knowing what was going to happen.
"Tell me, who are you, Doctor, you and your Angel? With your words, and your temple containing such size within?" Metella asked, having been impressed with the inside of the TARDIS, but having no idea whether she should have been showing her awe or showing her fear.
"Oh, we were never here. Don't tell anyone." The Doctor replied, lightly kissing the top of Kari's head. He needed to have a chat with her, he needed to make sure that she really was okay. "Time to go." He whispered to her, giving Donna a nod as well so she knew it was time to head off.
The trio slowly back away as the family watched the destruction and disappearance of their home. But Kari stopped them, just as they reached the TARDIS. "Remember that face, Doctor, the face of the man who you saved. You saved him and his family, and do you know what? They will never forget that. So, remember that face." The Doctor took another look at Caecilius, before heading into the TARDIS with Kari and Donna. A moment later and they were gone, leaving behind the survivors of Pompeii.
A/N: Okay, I'm going to jump straight into a little rant now. Over the past few weeks my motivation and interest in this story has started to dwindle. I have been receiving some rather unpleasant review from guests (which I chose not to post, there was a lot of swearing in them), and I have been getting these by PM now as well. If people don't like my story, then that is fine, you all have your own opinion, but at the end of the day it is MY story, I am not writing it to please every individual person that reads any of my stories. Sure, I occasionally ask if peoples opinions, I do like to hear what other people have to say on my work, but some people are just down right rude.
If you have a problem with any of my stories, fine, you don't have to like it, but there is no reason what so ever to send messages or leave reviews expressing your 'disgust' and 'hatred' towards me and my story by swearing and using every single curse word you can think of.
Okay, I'm going to end the rant there. I want to thank all of you amazing people who have stuck by me and my stories, the kind, sensible people who know how to express their opinions in a mature manner.
I'm going to end it there, but a big thank you to everyone who has reviews, and a lovely welcome to all the new readers out there who have favourited/followed.