A/N: Hello again everyone, I hope you are all well. Here is the next chapter, enjoy!
The Doctor and Kari were charging through the school before Kari quickly pulled him into a room that was filled with computers and no children. The only other people in the room were Sarah Jane and Rose, both laughing away uncontrollably. They laughed even harder the moment they saw Kari and the Doctor.
Kari rolled her eyes, ignoring the two women, and pulled the Doctor over to one of the computers. "Don't panic, don't try to crack into the computers." Kari told him, knowing what was going to happen next. "He's going to start the final phase, locking down the school and hooking all the children up to the computers."
Before the Doctor could ask her what she was talking about, every single computer in the room sprang to life and a strange coding programme appeared on the screen. The Doctor looked at it in awe as well as shock. "You were right, Kari. They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm."
Sarah Jane looked at the couple, not knowing what was going on now and feeling a little out of the loop. The laughing had finally stopped and both she and Rose were more focused now. "The Skasis what?" She asked, needing to get back on track with what was going on.
"The God maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control." The Doctor told her, still trying to piece everything all together.
"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Even Rose was trying to get herself back on task now, having made sure that no children were going to come into the classroom they were using and sending them elsewhere.
The Doctor's eyes lit up as he suddenly figured something out. "Yes. And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchens, it works as a… as a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer."
A look of horror suddenly spread across Rose's face as realisation hit. "But that oil's on the chips. I've been eating them."
"What's fifty nine times thirty five?" Kari asked her quickly, while the Doctor continued to stare at the screen.
"Two thousand and sixty five." Rose answered without even thinking about it. "Oh, my God." she didn't know if she should be amazed that she knew the answer or the fact that the oil had made her able to know the answer.
There was also surprise and confusion on the face of Sarah Jane. "But why use children? Can't they use adults?"
Kari shook her head at both the women standing there watching her. "No, it's got to be children. The God maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code, they're using their souls. And we are going to stop them." There was determination in her voice, and a rather proud look appeared on the Doctor's face.
That was when the door to the room opened, and in walked Brother Lassar, or Mr Finch. "Let the lesson begin." He announced, looking at the group. Instinctively the Doctor reached out and took Kari's hand, which didn't go unnoticed. "Think of it, Doctor. With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."
"Oh yeah? The whole of creation with the face of Mister Finch? Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are." Once again he was worrying about Kari. Finch had managed to really freak her out last time, he wasn't going to let that happen again.
It hadn't gone unnoticed by Finch. "You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order? Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good." He knew what he was doing, he was trying to get inside the Doctor's head.
However, it wasn't the Doctor who replied and Kari let out a snort. "What, by someone like you?" Even the Doctor was a little surprised by her response.
"No, someone like you, The Angel of Time." Kari looked at him with wide eyes, not knowing how to react to that. He was meant to be talking about the Doctor, not her. "The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom, you and the Doctor. Become Gods at my side. Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilisations you could save. Perganon, Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords, reborn."
There was a distant look on the Doctor's face and a glazed over look on Kari's. Luckily, Sarah Jane noticed it. "Kari, Doctor, don't listen to him."
Unfortunately she was ignored by the Doctor, Kari and Finch as he stepped over to Sarah Jane instead. "And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die." Finch turned back to face the Doctor and Kari once more. "Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."
There was still a distant look on the Doctor's face as he thought about the words spoken to him. "I could save everyone. I could stop the war."
"No." Sarah Jane called, getting his attention and causing Kari to finally come back to reality as well. "The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends."
"Sarah is right, Doctor. You know she is." Kari called to him, knowing that he was thinking so much about all the things he could change, could make better.
"I could stop the jumping. You could stay. We'd be able to control it." There was so much hope and desperation in his voice that called in her head.
Kari sadly shook her head at him. "No, Doctor. That isn't right, you know it isn't. I would love for that to happen, to be able to do that, control it all. But we can't, and that's okay." She told him, hoping that he would understand. "This is us, Doctor. And I wouldn't change it for anything in the universe."
Something in him changed then, he seemed to break out of whatever hold Finch had created. Without any warning he rushed forwards, grabbing one of the blue school chairs and smashing the huge screen at the front of the classroom. "Out!" He shouted, grabbing Kari's hand and running out as all the screens went off in the class.
As they ran through the corridors of the school they heard an awful screeching. "Now we're in trouble." Kari announced, heading down another flight of stairs. "He's called his brothers for back-up."
As they reached the bottom they ran into Mickey, who was with a student from the school. "What is going on?" He asked, knowing that there was trouble and for once not attempting to run away from it.
He was answered when a group of giant bats came towards them, clinging to the walls, jumping from one side to the other. "Um, run?" Kari suggested, turning around with the Doctor and making a break for it. She knew that the creatures were going to be after them now, and although she loved the running, she was about due some sleep. While the humans may have slept the night before, she certainly hadn't. She had been up with the Doctor, talking and drinking tea all night long.
They ran into the dinner hall, the Doctor heading straight over to the cupboard where the TARDIS was stashed away, only to find that it was locked. As he tried to get it unlocked with his screwdriver, Mr Finch casually strolled in, his bat brothers following him. The child, Kenny, looked at them above him. "Are they my teachers?" He asked, wondering himself what was going on.
"Yup, sorry." Kari answered, knowing that the Doctor was still trying to get to their beloved ship.
"We need the Doctor and the Angel alive. As for the others, you can feast." Finch declared to his brothers, causing them to screech in joy. Seconds laster, the gigantic flying bats were swooping down, trying to reach the humans as they ducked and hid under the tables. The Doctor wasn't one to hide thought and he grabbed hold of one of the chairs and started madly swinging it around, trying to hit anything that came near him or Kari. He wasn't about to let one of those nasty beasts hurt her.
He was still swinging the chair around when a laser beam came out of nowhere, hitting one of the Krillitane and sending it crashing to the ground. "Brother!" Mr Finch yelled, his voice full of fury and horror.
Sarah Jane had seen what had caused the beam, she recognised it straight away. "K9!"
"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress." The robot dog called, slowly rolling towards her.
The Doctor wasted no time and took that as their chance to get out of there. He dropped the chair and grabbed Kari's hand once more. "Come on!" He called, heading towards the doors. "K9, hold them back!"
"Affirmative, master. Maximum defence mode." K9 called back, before firing off his laser several more times, aiming for the flying beasts while everyone else made their escape.
After running back through the school, they ended up in the classroom that the Doctor had taught in. He ushered everyone inside before using his sonic screwdriver to lock the door. Kari looked at him, and she could tell that he was desperately trying to think of something. She was actually rathe surprised that he hadn't been pestering her for information, she was too used to him doing that, and it felt a bit odd when he didn't.
Kari was about to tell him, or at least give him a hint, when the Doctor suddenly realised. "It's the oil. Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them." He said, before turning to look at Rose. "How much was there in the kitchens?"
"Barrels of it." The blonde haired youngster replied, before the awful screeching noise sounded right outside of the door. The Krillitanes were trying to get in, they had finished with K9 and were now back to chasing them.
They were making good work at using their claws to get through the door, their claws were going straight through and splintering the doors. "Okay, we need to get to the kitchens." Kari announced, starting to get a little worried. "Mickey…"
The man let out a sigh as he looked at her. "What now, hold the coats?"
A frown formed on Kari's face as she looked at him. Why was he being like that with her? She had always defended him, always. "No, something important, something so important. Get all the children unplugged and out of the school." He looked at her, a sheepish look showing that he was sorry for how he reacted.
The Doctor just stood there, smiling. "Right. Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?" He asked, knowing that they needed a distraction so that they could actually get out of the room.
Without any warning, or any indication that he had been paying attention to what was going on, Kenny walked over to the fire alarm and used his elbow to smash the glass. The screeching outside of the room increased as the bell rang loudly across the whole of the school. Kari couldn't help but grin, neither could the Doctor. "Nice one, Kenny!" She called, as the Doctor yanked the door open and pulled her out with him. They passed the Krillitanes who were trying to cover their ears. They were in a lot of pain and discomfort from the noise that was surrounding them, they didn't pay any attention to the group as they barged passed them.
When they charged by the dinner hall, K9 came rolling out, calling to his master. "Come on, boy. Good boy." The Doctor said, making sure that the metal dog was okay and going to be following them.
They made it to the kitchen where there were several barrels, all of which were filled with the Krillitane oil. The Doctor was quick to whip out his sonic screwdriver and attempt to open them. He needed to get to the oil, it was the only way he was going to be able to stop them, the only thing that he knew they were vulnerable to. "They've been deadlock sealed." He announced, not noticing that Kari was crouched down by his old robot dog. "Finch must've done that. I can't open them."
"The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser." K9 announced, just as Kari put her own sonic screwdriver away in her pocket. "But my batteries are failing."
The Doctor looked at the dog sadly, he knew what he was going to have to do. "Right, everyone out the back door. Kari, K9, stay with me." He said, while Rose and Sarah Jane rushed out of the building, Kenny following them.
"Doctor, you get those barrels grouped together, I'll see if I can give K9 a little bit of a power boost." Kari said, pulling out her screwdriver again. She knew what was going to happen, and she had a little plan of her own up her sleeve.
Even though he did as he was told, the Doctor still looked at her with some suspicion. "What are you up to?" He asked, just knowing that there was more going on than she was telling him.
Kari simply rolled her eyes at him. "I am not up to anything, thank you very much. I am just trying to boost his power, his batteries are failing, Doctor." She reminded him, hoping to throw him off.
"Capacity for only one shot, mistress." K9 called, knowing that she wasn't trying to boost his power. "For maximum impact, I must be stationed directly beside the vat."
The Doctor stopped what he was doing and came over to where Kari was crouched with the dog. "But you'll be trapped inside."
"That is correct.' The robotic voice called back.
"I can't let you do that." There was no way the Doctor was going to leave his beloved dog behind. He wasn't going to let him stay there and be destroyed in the blast.
But K9 knew that it was the only way. "No alternative possible, master."
The Doctor let out a sigh as he helped Kari to stand. As they did they heard the screeching getting closer, the Krillitanes were almost there. "Goodbye, old friend." He said sadly, looking down at the dog.
"Goodbye, master. Goodbye, mistress." The old dog replied to the pair before him.
Kari wouldn't admit it, but she could feel the tears building in her eyes. "You good dog." She said, watching as his ears swivelled from side to side, showing that he was happy.
"Affirmative." That was the last word they heard him say before they both ran out of the kitchen through the back door. As soon as they were outside the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to seal it. He wasn't leaving anything to change, he needed to make sure that K9's sacrifice wasn't going to be in vain. This had to work.
However, Sarah Jane had noticed that the pair of them had left with the dog. "Where's K9?" All the Doctor did was tell her to run. "Where is he? What have you done?" She asked, getting more and more frantic.
"I'm sorry, Sarah." Kari said, before grabbing a hold of the woman's hand and making a run for it. They needed to get as far away as possible, there was going to be a rather big explosion and there was no way she wanted to be anywhere close to where it was going to happen.
They reached the front of the school where they found Mickey and Rose, along with all the children that had been evacuated from the building. They only stood there for a moment before there was an almighty bang and the parts of the building burst into flames. The Doctor wrapped his arm around Sarah Jane, while Kari pulled her phone out of her pocket.
While they may have stopped the Krillitanes, there was something that nobody else had noticed, and something she had forgotten about. The Doctor just frowned at her as she put the phone to hear ear.
"Hey, Princess. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Her big brother asked.
"Well hello, Time check, please." She was starting to remember to ask him what time he was in before she told him anything. She was getting a bit more careful with him, which was a good thing.
"2006. What's up?" Jack knew that is she was asking for a time check then she was after something. She had called him often enough and asked to know what time he was in.
Kari let out a relieved sigh. "Great, same as me. We have a bit of a… messy situation." She informed him, wondering how she was going to explain this one to him.
Now Jack was intrigued. "Go on."
"Well… you see… the Doctor and I… we… we kind of just blew up a school." Kari had no idea how Jack was going to react to that, if he was going to find it amusing or be upset with her. She was holding her breath, waiting for his response.
She heard him chuckle a little, which made her relax a bit. "Great, what school and why did you blow up a school?"
Although Kari wanted to give him all the details, she knew that now just wasn't the time. "Belle Vue Park. But that's not all. The teachers, They've been… eaten." She had forgotten that part, about what would happen to all the teachers and other adults that were not Krillitanes. She was actually mad at herself for forgetting that, for letting people die when she could have at least tried to save them.
"I'll deal with it, Princess. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything, Okay?" immediately Jack knew that she was starting to feel guilty, and that she was most likely going to start blaming herself.
"Yeah, Okay. I'll call you later, okay?" She said, knowing that the Doctor was watching and waiting for her. "Love you, bye"
The moment she was off her phone the Doctor was beside her. "Brother?" He asked, getting a nod in response. "Sorted?" Once again Kari just nodded at him. "Come on then, TARDIS." He said, about to lead her towards the school.
Kari stopped him. "No, she isn't in there." Kari told him, knowing that the TARDIS has been aware of the danger and moved herself. "She's in the park." The Doctor looked at her with confusion, while she simply rolled her eyes at him and dragged him along with her. As they went, they passed the others. "TARDIS is in the park, we'll meet you all there." She announced, not stopping or waiting for them. There was something that Kari needed to do before Sarah Jane arrived.
The moment they were in the TARDIS, Kari let out a long and heavy sigh. "Oh, I've missed you, old girl." She muttered to the ship. There came a hum in response. "Be a dear a give me a hand with something." She asked, knowing exactly what she needed to do, and hoping that the TARDIS was going to be able to help her.
"What are you up to?" The Doctor asked, having noticed the way she was talking to the ship. "Kari, what are you doing?"
Before she could answer her, there came a ding from one of the panels under the console. With a beaming smile on her face, Kari rushed over to it and pulled it open. "Oh, you sexy thing. Thank you!" She cried, gazing at the contents of the usually empty space.
That was when the Doctor trotted over to see what she was up to, to find out what was going on. "Oh…" He breathed, looking at what Kari had before her.
"Yeah, oh." Kari replied, before pulling out her sonic screwdriver. "Good thing I made sure to back him up before everything blew up." She told the Doctor, ready to get to work.
"So that's what you were doing!" It had finally clicked, and the Doctor now knew what she had been doing. "You weren't trying to boost his power, you were making a back up! Oh… oh that's brilliant, Kari. You're brilliant!" It was clear as anything to see that he was not just happy, but also very proud of her.
Kari couldn't help but smile back at the Doctor. "I know I am. Now come on, help me get K9 Mark 4 ready. We can't be leaving Sarah Jane without her dog, and they are all going to be here soon."
The pair of them worked away together, uploading all the data from Kari's screwdriver. He was so proud of her, for thinking ahead, for doing something for someone else. It didn't take them long to get it all sorted, and for K9 Mark 4 to be ready to go. They managed to finish just as Rose and Mickey walked through the doors.
"What did the pair of you run off for?" Rose asked, wandering around the console to where they were now sitting.
"Just a little bit of tidying up we needed to do. We are expecting a guest who hasn't seen the place for a very long time." Kari told her, knowing that Sarah Jane was only minutes away for setting foot in the TARDIS once more.
The Doctor quickly nodded at the screen and jumped up. He strolled over to the door while Kari started wandering a little, a huge smile on her face. She couldn't wait to see the woman's reaction. "You've redecorated." Sarah Jane's voice called, causing Kari to look over at her.
"Do you like it?" She asked, knowing exactly what she was going to say.
"Oh, I… I do. Yeah." It was easy to see that the older woman was more than just a little stunned to be standing aboard the impossible ship once more. "I preferred it as it was, but er… yeah. It'll do."
Kari couldn't help but grin. "Oh, wait until you see what happens in the future. I love the Coral desktop, it's one of my all time favourites."
Sarah Jane laughed and smiled at Kari before turning to Rose. "Hey, you, what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?"
"No idea. It's gone now. The oil's faded." Rose replied, giving the woman a shrug of the shoulders.
"Seventeen thousand, three hundred and fourth three." Kari called, getting everyone in the ship to stare at her. "What? I'm a genius. I thought you all knew that?" There was such a big smile on her face that everyone cracked up laughing.
The Doctor cleared his throat, getting everyone to calm down a little. "Er, we're about to head off, but you could come with us." He was speaking to Sarah Jane with such hope in his voice. He wanted to make it up to her, to make things better, to apologise for just abandoning her.
"No. I can't do this anymore. Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own." She replied firmly. While she had been waiting so long for the Doctor she had built herself a life, she had her own things to be doing now. Sarah Jane didn't need the Doctor anymore, she was happy with the life she had made for herself.
"Can I come?" Mickey suddenly asked. "No, not with you," he looked towards Sarah Jane, "I mean with you. Because I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there." Mickey Smith wanted to join the Doctor, Kari and Rose. He wanted to travel with them and see what else was out there.
The look on the Doctor's face said he might need a little bit of convincing. "Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith, a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board." Sarah Jane knew exactly what to say to give him the push to say yes.
"Okay then, I could do with a laugh." The Doctor hadn't missed the way that Kari's eyes lit up when the man has asked to come with them, so there was no way that he was really going to say no.
After saying goodbye to Rose and Mickey, Kari, the Doctor and Sarah Jane all stood outside of the TARDIS. "It's daft, but I haven't ever thanked you for that time. And like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
"Oh, the stories you could tell, Sarah." Kari said, knowing just how amazing she was going to be in the future. "We wouldn't have missed them for anything either." She told her, giving the woman such a tight hug.
Sarah Jane hugged her back just a tight, but could feel the tears starting."Goodbye, Kari, Doctor."
"Oh, it's not goodbye." The Doctor told her, not ready to say goodbye.
But Sarah Jane wasn't having any of it. "Do say it. Please. This time. Say it."
"Goodbye, my Sarah Jane." He said, before giving her such a strong hug that he lifted her off the ground for a few moments. Once he put her back down, he smiled at her before walking back into the TARDIS, leaving her with Kari.
All Kari could do was smile at her. "Oh, I'm not saying goodbye. I will never say goodbye to you. Because I know that you'll see me again." Kari told her, wanting to give the woman some hope still. "Just you wait, I'll be there. Don't ever think you can get rid of me, Sarah Jane Smith." There were tears now In Kari's eyes as well as Sarah Janes. "Catch you later, Sarah." She said, before turning around and slipping into the TARDIS.
The Doctor was already standing at the console with the screen on, watching Sarah Jane still standing outside. Once Kari was beside him they both pulled down the lever, sending them off. While the blue box dematerialised in front of the woman outside, a robotic dog was being left behind. The both watched as at the last moment, the moment of realisation, a joyful smile filled Sarah Jane's face.
Rose and Mickey both disappeared, leaving the Doctor and Kari sitting in the chairs by the console alone. "Well, that was a bit of a mad day." Kari said, letting out an exhausted sigh. "Sarah Jane was brilliant though."
"And apparently, you're going to see her plenty in the future. Or the past." The Doctor said, giving her a little nudge with his arm.
"Well, yeah. You can't get rid of me that easily." The moment Kari said that she regretted it. Her vision blurred and a throbbing pain filled her head. It was just typical. The moment the adventure was over she was pulled somewhere else. She didn't get to spend the time she wanted to with the Doctor, and she really did hate that. "Or apparently you can." she muttered, now noticing the glow building around her hands.
Beside her, the Doctor let out a sigh. "I'll see you soon, yeah?" He said, hugging her tightly and kissing the top of her head. "Stay out of trouble. Keep me out of trouble as well. Okay?"
Kari managed to get out a small chuckle. "Yeah, course. It's not easy, but I manage. Be careful, Doctor. Don't go wandering off without me." The pain was getting worse, and she knew that she was about to be taken somewhere else. At least she had enjoyed her adventure, she had spent time with Sarah Jane, and Sarah Jane finally had the closure that she had needed for so many years. All Kari could do is hope that the next place she arrived was going to be the TARDIS, where she could have a nice, long, hot bath and maybe something to eat. She very much doubted that was going to happen. The universe was very rarely that kind to her.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the final chapter in that episode. I really did enjoy writing with Kari and Sarah Jane. Also, the dynamic with Sarah Jane and Rose changed a bit.
The next episode has been picked and the writing of it has begun. I'm currently in the middle of a 2 week beach holiday but we are due some pretty rotten weather. There is currently thunder grumbling outside, luckily the rain has stopped.
A massive thank you to all of you lovely people. I am so glad that there are still so many of you following and interested in this story. It started years ago, took a few years break, and yet here you all are! Thank you. Also, thank you to all of those who take the time to leave a review, I really do appreciate it.
Until the next time,
Pippa.