A/N: Sorry it's been so long. Got sick again, and this was a very hard episode due to the darkness within. I'm just not a mean person at heart, and so it was hard to write some of it. Anywho! Hope you enjoy!
Season Three: The Sound of Drums
The quiet of an alleyway was disturbed as the time vortex opened and the Doctor, Martha and Jack appeared, groaning. The Doctor looked around, orienting himself.
"Oh, my head!" Martha groaned.
"Time travel without a capsule. That's a killer," the Doctor dismissed. "We need to find her... them."
Jack cracked his neck. "I think you meant it more the first way. And neither of us disagree. But you know Rosie, she's smart and capable."
They walked along a street taking in their surroundings.
The medical student frowned worriedly. "But this Master bloke, he's got Rose, and he's got the TARDIS. He could be anywhere in time and space."
He shook his head. "No, he's here. Trust me. "
She shook her head frantically. "Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn't the professor."
Jack groaned. "If the Master's a Time Lord, he must have regenerated."
She shook her head. "What does that mean?"
"Means he's changed his face, voice, body, everything. New man," Jack explained. "The Doctor's done it too, but only Rose was with him then."
The Doctor noticed a homeless man tapping a repeating rhythm on an enamel mug.
"Then how are we gonna find him?" She asked hopelessly.
The tapping echoed in his mind. "I'll know him, the moment I see him. Time Lords always do."
"But hold on. If he could be anyone… We missed the election. But it can't be…" the young woman said very slowly, looking intently at an election poster for Harry Saxon.
The Doctor stood slowly, as did Jack, and they walked toward a giant screen showing the news. Martha, realizing they'd moved, followed.
"Mr. Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters," the newscaster said.
The screen showed the new Prime Minister walking downstairs with an entourage, his smiling wife at his side. Also in the entourage was a woman who wore a turtleneck and glasses, with dark brown hair and downcast eyes, but the three of them knew her and hated that they hadn't seen her before.
"My Rose..." the Doctor whispered, almost reaching for the screen.
"I said I knew that voice," Martha snarled, hating the haunted look of a prisoner on her dear friend's face. "When he spoke inside the TARDIS. I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon."
"That's him. He's Prime Minister," the Time Lord beside seethed, shaking with his barely suppressed rage.
"Mr. Saxon, this way, sir. Come on, kiss for the lady, sir."
"The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain," the Doctor growled, watching Saxon kiss the woman at his side. "The Master and his wife. While he's got mine held prisoner!"
Jack put a hand on the Doctor's arm, restraining him as the new Prime Minister spoke to the camera.
"This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now…is a doctor."
Across the city, the man known as Harold Saxon was walking down a hall in Number Ten, his wife beside him, silent brunette half a step behind, clerks handing him files as he passed.
"Finance report, sir."
"Military protocol, sir."
"EC directive, sir."
"Annual budget, sir."
He stopped outside the door to the Cabinet Room.
"I'm so proud of you, Harry," Lucy smiled at her husband, ignoring the derisive snort from the woman behind them. Honestly, why Harry insisted she never be out of his sight confused her.
As they kissed, Harry's new assistant walked toward them.
"Uh, sir…If you don't mind me asking…I'm sorry, but it's all a bit new. What exactly do you want me to do?"
Saxon looked at her. "Oh yes, what was it, uh..?"
"Tish. Letitia Jones."
The brunette's eyes snapped upward and she suddenly winced audibly, looking at the ground again.
The Prime Minister smiled in delight at the woman's reaction, but focused on his new assistant. "Tish. Well then, Tish…You just stand there and look gorgeous."
He threw open the doors to the cabinet room and strode in. "A glorious day. Downing Street rebuilt, the Cabinet in session. Let the work of government begin." He tossed the files into the air, letting the contents scatter where they would. "Oh, go on. Crack a smile. It's funny, isn't it? Albert, funny? No? Little bit?"
Lucy smiled and closed the doors, turning to the other women. "Tish, how about we get started tomorrow. You head home."
"Don't come back," the brunette whispered.
"Shut up," Lucy snapped, and the woman winced and seemed to duck a little.
As Tish walked away, the woman raised her eyes to the Prime Minister's wife. "He'll never get away with this, Lucy. We both know it. And I won't be in these restraining cuffs forever."
"But you are now, Rose," Lucy sniffed, pressing and holding a button hidden in her palm and smirking as the other groaned from the electrical current coursing through her.
"Now, now, pet," Saxon laughed, exiting the room and taking the control. "You know I can't kill her just yet. I want the Doctor to watch."
Rose breathed deep, trying to keep faith. It had been a very, very hard thing, to keep believing he would come, and not let them break her spirit, but if she knew one thing, it was that the Doctor had never let her down, and he wasn't going to start now.
The man she was thinking of was focused on her only a few kilometers away as he, Jack, and Martha entered the medical student's flat.
"Home," the woman said, looking around. It felt awkward to be back here. She almost didn't fit anymore.
The Doctor turned to her, a wild look in his eyes. "What have you got? Computer, laptop, anything?" He caught Jack trying to make a call on his mobile. "Jack, who are you phoning? You can't tell anyone we're here!"
The ex time agent shook his head. "Just some friends of mine, but there's no reply…""
"Here you go. Any good?" Martha asked, handing the Doctor her laptop.
Jack intercepted the machine. "I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages."
She shook her head. "That's so weird though. It's the day after the election. That's only four days after I met you two."
The Doctor glared out the window. "We went flying all around the universe while he was here the whole time, holding her hostage, doing God knows what..."
Jack put a hand on the Doctor's arm, all too aware of what the psychopath could have done to the woman he considered family. "Really not helping, Doc."
"You gonna tell us who he is?" Martha asked.
"He's a Time Lord."
She crossed her arms. "And...?"
"That's all you need to know. Come on, show me Harold Saxon."
"She's important to me too, Doctor," Martha sighed, sitting on her bed. "I know I'm just a dumb Human, but I love Rose too."
He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, Martha. I just..."
"I know."
Rose stared out the window in the sitting room, ignoring Lucy. The blonde woman was massaging her feet, when the door burst open and a reporter walked in, followed by a very irate Tish Jones.
"Mrs. Saxon," the reporter said briskly. "Vivien Rook, Sunday Mirror. You've heard of me."
Lucy groaned. "Oh, can't I just have an hour to myself? It's been a hell of a day."
There was a gasp as Tish noticed Rose for the first time. Rose shot her a warning look, not wanting Lucy to know about their connection, or to electrify her again.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Saxon," Tish said hurriedly to cover her gasp. "She just pushed right in!"
"Quite right, I did," Vivien admitted easily. "But, strike while the iron's hot, that's what I say, Lucy. I can call you Lucy, can't I? Now, everyone's talking about Harold Saxon, but I thought 'What about the wife?' All I need is twenty minutes."
Lucy glanced nervously at the door, then toward Rose, who'd turned her back again. "Oh, I think maybe we should wait."
"The headline's waiting to print: The Power Behind the Throne," the reporter said encouragingly, smiling at the new First Lady.
That thirst for power that had drawn her to the Master in the first place ignited in her eyes. "Really?"
"Britain's First Lady," the woman wheedled.
Rose stared out the window, clenching her hands into fists. There was something off about this reporter, but she didn't really feel the urge to protect Lucy... did she? Why would she care about a woman who had helped to torture her for over a year?
"Gosh," the blonde woman said in a tone of wonder.
There it was. That wistful, hopeful, 'someone look at me' tone to her voice. That's why Rose still believed Lucy could be saved. That's why she didn't hate her even after everything. It just wasn't in Rose to hate someone if there was a chance of helping them. It was the first thing about her that the Doctor had fallen in love with.
"Front page," Vivien charmed.
Flattered, Lucy shook her head. "Oh, well, I suppose… Oh, go on then. Twenty minutes."
"Excellent! Thank you! Oh, oh, what was it? Oh, Tish. Now you can leave us alone," the woman said, handing TISH her coat.
"No, but I'm supposed to sit in," Tish insisted, as she looked to LUCY.
The reporter laughed and shook her head. "No, no. It's—it's only a profile piece. You know, hair and clothes and nonsense. There's a good girl. Out you go. That's it."
She pushed Tish out the door and closed it, looking at the Prime Minister's wife and completely missing the silent woman in the dark clothes standing in the corner. "Mrs. Saxon, I have reason to believe…that you're in very great danger. All of us, in fact. Not just the country, but the whole world. I beg of you, hear me out."
Rose's heart plummeted. She knew all too well what happened to those who discovered the truth about Harold Saxon. She'd seen them. Some tortured alongside her before being executed, some killed quickly and lucky enough to escape the pain first. But none survived. No one who pointed out what he really was lived even 24 hours after telling someone. And this woman was telling Lucy Saxon of all people.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Your husband is not who he says he is. I'm sorry, but it's a lie. Everything's a lie."
The Doctor was watching the campaign commercials for Harold Saxon while Jack told him what he knew of the man. He couldn't believe the Master had been here on Earth and he'd missed him. That he'd had Rose here, trapped. What had he done to his wife while she'd been…? No, he didn't want to think about what his beautiful girl had gone through. He'd deal with it when she was safe once more.
"Former Minister of Defence. First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve," Jack said, turning to his friend. "Nice work, by the way."
Oh, thanks," the man shrugged. "That's when I discovered Rose was still connected to the TARDIS and the Time Vortex."
"You didn't know before?" his almost brother in law asked. "But you said…"
"That she took it in. But I thought I had taken it back out."
"Oh right."
Martha shook her head. "But Saxon, he goes back years. He's famous. Everyone knows his story. Look. Cambridge University, Rugby blue, won the Athletics thing, wrote a novel, went into business, marriage, everything. He's got a whole life."
Vivien was trying to explain to Lucy, "All of it. The school days, his degree, even his mother and father. It's all invented. Look, Harold Saxon never went to Cambridge. There was no Harold Saxon. The thing is, it's obvious. The forgery is screaming out and yet no one can see it. It's as if he's mesmerized the entire world."
She frowned, her eyes hardening just a bit. "I think perhaps you should leave now."
"Eighteen months ago he became real. This is his first, honest-to-God appearance, just after the downfall of Harriet Jones. And at the exact same time, they launched the Archangel Network."
"Mrs. Rook, now stop it," Lucy insisted, and Rose heard the warning.
"Even now they say that the— the Cabinet has gone into seclusion. I mean, what does that mean, 'seclusion'?"
"How should I know?"
Rose wanted to stop the woman, to tell her to run.
"But I've got plenty of research on you. Yes, good family, Roedean, not especially bright but essentially harmless," Vivien said as she sat beside Lucy. "And that's why I'm asking you, Lucy. I'm begging you. If you have seen anything, heard anything, even the slightest thing that would give you cause to doubt him…"
"Mrs. Rook," the brunette said finally, "you need to go. Run. Hide. Get as far from here as you can."
The reporter looked up in surprise. "Who are you?"
"My name is Rose Tyler, and the more you say, the more you seal your fate. Get out of the building, get out of the country."
"Shut up, Rose," Lucy snapped.
Vivien shook her head. "I don't understand."
Rose shook her head. "Lucy Saxon is not going to help you, Vivien Rook. Not in the slightest. Just look at her."
The blonde woman shrugged lightly, meeting the reporter's eyes. "The thing is… I made my choice."
"I'm sorry?" the woman asked, looking terribly confused.
So am I, Rose thought sadly, dropping her eyes immediately as someone new entered the room. She didn't want to stand there meekly. She didn't want to give in to the role she'd been forced into. But she had to stay alive until the Doctor came for her, and so she stayed silent, stayed obedient (mostly) and most tortuous of all… she stayed still.
"For better or for worse. Isn't that right, Harry?" Lucy asked her husband, who stood in the connecting door, leaning against the jam.
Rose wanted to gag. Never had marital vows sounded more like someone selling themselves into slavery. The Master grinned at his captive before turning his 'adoring' eyes on his wife.
"My faithful companion."
Rose suppressed a shudder at his words.
"Mr. Saxon. Prime Minister, I-I-I was just having a little joke with poor little Lucy. I-I didn't mean…" Vivien stumbled over her words.
The Master walked into the room, smiling coldly. "Oh, but you're absolutely right. Harold Saxon doesn't exist."
"Then tell me…who are you?"
"I'm the Master and these," he laughed, holding out his hands, "are my friends."
Four small metal spheres appeared and floated about him. Rose shuddered and felt her stomach begin to cramp. They shouldn't be here… the link with the TARDIS told her they shouldn't be in this time, in this place. The woman winced, placing a hand over her stomach, missing the way the Master's eyes lit up at her first sign of weakness in eighteen months.
"I'm sorry?" Vivien said again, just not understanding.
"Can't you hear it, Mrs. Rook?" he asked her, the madness within shining through his eyes.
She shook her head, cowering a bit. "What do you mean?"
"The drumbeat. The drums coming closer and closer."
Rose shuddered as the spheres headed toward the unfortunate reporter, spikes appearing from their lower halves.
"The lady doesn't like us."
The brunette squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to scream from the absolute wrong she felt from these minions of the Master. They advanced on Vivien, spinning their spikey lower halves.
"Silly lady... Dead lady."
"Rose, Lucy," the Master said, almost genially, opening the door.
Lucy nearly fled the room, but Rose hesitated, wanting to help. A quick depression of his control and she gasped, marching through the door with a depressed resignation. Vivien screamed, but the Master sharply closed the door, deadening her anguished sounds. He took a breath and opened the door, winced at the sight and sound within, and closed it again. He opened it once more and closed the door again quickly, putting a fist to his mouth.
"Stop it," Rose snapped.
Ignoring the utter horror on the other woman's face, Lucy sighed, "But she knew. Harry, she knew everything. You promised. You said Archangel was 100%."
"Um, 99, 98?" He joked with a careless shrug.
His wife didn't share his amusement in this. "But if she's asking questions, then who else? How much time have we got?"
The Master knew how to deal with her anxiety, and held his arms out to pull her into a hug. Over Lucy's head he shot a triumphant look at Rose, who merely glared. How she longed to feel her husband's arms around her once more.
"Tomorrow morning, I promise. That's when everything ends," he said, a manic light in his eyes.
At Martha's flat, Jack made the three of them tea while they worked out a plan.
"But he's got a TARDIS. Maybe the Master went back in time and has been living here for decades," he suggested, though he din't want to think about his 'sister' being alone with the Master that long.
"No," the Doctor said bluntly from the desk where he worked furiously on the computer.
"Why not? Worked for me."
"When he was stealing Rose and the TARDIS, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them permanently, so I could find her. He can only travel between the year 100 trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed. Which is right here, right now."
Jack shook his head, putting a cup in front of his friend. "Yeah, but a little leeway?"
The Doctor looked up thoughtfully. "Well…18 months, tops. The most he could have been here is 18 months. So how has he managed all this? The Master was always sort of…hypnotic but this is on a massive scale. How could he have hidden? Rose and I end up in London a lot."
"I was gonna vote for him," Martha said, shaking her head.
He turned to her in surprise. "Really?"
"Well, it was before I even met you. And I liked him," she defended herself.
"Me too," Jack admitted sheepishly.
The Doctor looked curious, turning to study his two friends. "Why do you say that? What was his policy? What did he stand for?"
"I dunno. He always sounded…good," Martha said dreamily, unconsciously tapping a rhythm with her fingers. "Like you could trust him. Just nice. He spoke about…I can't really remember, but it was good. Just the sound of his voice."
Leaning toward her, the Doctor pointed at her hand. "What's that?"
"What?" She jumped.
"That! That tapping, that rhythm! What are you doing?"
She looked down, frowning. "I dunno. It's nothing. It's j— I dunno!"
A tune played from the website and the words "SAXON BROADCAST ALL CHANNELS" appeared onscreen.
The Doctor scowled, but turned on the TV. "Our lord and master is speaking to his kingdom. Maybe there will be a glance of Rose."
On the screen, the Master was sitting in front of the ornate fireplace in the Cabinet Room. He was alone, much to their disappointment.
"Britain, Britain, Britain," he began in that smooth, hypnotic voice. "What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies. You've seen it happen—Big Ben destroyed, a spaceship over London. All those ghosts and metal men. The Christmas star that came to kill. Time and time again the government told you nothing. Well not me. Not Harold Saxon. I've alwas been open with the people, even about my poor sister's medical condition. And I'm going to be open again. Because my purpose here today is to tell you this—citizens of Great Britain…I have been contacted. A message, for humanity, from beyond the stars."
"His sister!" Jack said. "I remember that now. He told the voters his sister was severely depressed after the loss of her husband and that she tried to kill herself. That's when the brunette showed up. I can't believe I never recognized Rose."
The Doctor looked stricken. "Suicidal?"
Martha grabbed his hand. "No. Not our Rose. You know it's some sort of ploy, Doctor. Rose... YOUR Rose believes in you, and trusts you. She would never give up like that."
He gave her hand a squeeze as a video began of one of the spheres delivering the message.
"People of the Earth, we come in peace. We bring great gifts. We bring technology and wisdom and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship."
The image switched back to the Master as hed cooed, "Ooh, sweet. And this species has identified itself. They're called the Toclafane."
"What?!" The Doctor shook his head in disbelief.
But the Master hadn't finished. "And tomorrow morning they will appear. Not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe. Every man, woman and child. Every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer. And every…oh, I don't know…medical student?"
The three of them were on their feet immediately. The Doctor turned the television to find some kind of explosive blinking calmly and only paused to grab Martha's laptop before they sped out into the street, barely making it to a safe distance before the entire flat blew.
"All right?" The Doctor asked with concern. Rose would be upset if any of them were hurt.
"Fine, yeah, fine," Jack answered, picking himself up.
"Martha?" He asked, turning to find the woman using her mobile. "What are you doing?"
"He knows about me. What about my family?" she explained.
"Don't tell them anything!" he said desperately. What if they hurt the Jones' family? He would never forgive himself.
"I'll do what I like!" Martha snapped, misunderstanding. "Mum? Oh my God, you're there... I'm fine. I'm fine. Mum, has there been anyone asking about me?"
Jack stepped close to the Time Lord and spoke softly while Martha talked to her mother.
"She's just young, Doc," he soothed the distressed man. "Young and upset."
"Rose was always young and upset too," the Doctor sighed. "But she always listened, trusted me."
Jack gave him an amused look. "Really? I remember it different. Didn't she absorb a Time Vortex and face down a bunch of Daleks after you told her to go home?"
The other man smiled fondly at the memory. "And gave herself up to the Family when I told her to stay in the TARDIS where it was safe."
"Found herself hanging from a barrage balloon during the London Blitz..."
They smiled at each other for a moment before the Doctor slumped. "Jack, I'm afraid for her. Eighteen months she's been with him..."
Jack gave his oldest friend a hug. "She's smart, and she's a survivor. And she's got the TARDIS. It will potect her."
The Doctor sighed softly, fighting tears of anger, fear, and frustration. "I just don't want to lose her, Jack. I... it will kill me, I think."
Jack nodded. "It will kill me too, Doc. She's the most important woman in the world to me."
"She's the most impotant thing in the universe."
The ex time agent sighed. "One of these days… I keep hoping to find someone like that. You think I ever will?"
"For your sake, Jack, I really hope so," the Doctor murmured.
Suddenly, they heard Martha shouting, "Dad! What's going on? Dad?"
Both men turned to look at her in alarm. She looked at them, terror written on her face.
"I gotta help them!" she cried, running to her car.
The Doctor tried to stop her. "That's exactly what they want! It's a trap!"
"I don't care!" she snapped. "If you knew just where your bloody wife was, you would be there right now. So don't tell me to stay here."
He couldn't think of a valid argument for that, so he climbed into the passenger's seat, and the captain leapt into the back seat. Martha drove recklessly down the road, determined to reach her family.
"Corner!" the Doctor cried as they squealed their way around the intersection.
Martha ignored him, waiting for a call to connect on her mobile. "C'mon, Tish. Pick up."
The people in the car heard Tish answer. "Martha! I was going to call you!"
"Tish, listen," her sister started to say.
The other Jones sister interrupted her. "No, Martha, lemme talk. Rose is here! I was in the room with Lucy Saxon and I saw her. She's got dark hair, and some kind of heavy metal bracelets on her arms, but I know it's her. Tell the Doctor. I'm heading for the doors now, it's only a bit before they… hey, let go… no, no stop!"
"What's happening?! Tish!" she glanced at the Doctor. "It's your fault! It's all your fault!"
"Hey!" Jack snapped. "He didn't do this."
They screeched to a stop in front of Martha's mother's house, to see her and Clive Jones being put into a police truck.
"Martha, get out of here! Get out!" Francine screamed.
The police took position, facing the car.
"Martha, reverse," the Doctor instructed calmly.
The squad aimed their weapons at the car.
"Get out, now!" he urged in a near panic.
She shook her head and reversed into a 3-Point turn.
The police opened fire at the three fugitives.
"Move it!" Jack shouted.
The little car screamed as Martha stomped the gas, taking off down the road, bullets shattering the rear window.
"The only place we can go…planet Earth. Great," Martha snapped, sarcastic and exceedingly put out with her friend.
"Careful!" he urged, not even bothering to argue. He deserved to be yelled at. He let he Master get Rose, get the Jones family… hell, he'd gotten all of Great Britain. The Doctor had failed.
"Now, Martha, listen to me," the captain said slowly and clearly. "Do as I say. We've gotta ditch this car. Pull over. Right now!"
She pulled to the side of the road, and the small company left the vehicle and continued on foot. The medical student fell behind as she dialed her brother's number on her mobile.
"Martha, come on!" the Doctor urged, eager to keep her safe, at least.
She blatantly ignored him. "Leo! Oh, thank God! Leo, you gotta listen to me. Where are you? …Leo, just listen to me. Don't go home, I'm telling you. Don't phone Mum or Dad or Tish. You've gotta hide."
Jack and the Doctor looked at each other, a bit of desperation in their faces.
"On my life. You've gotta trust me. Go to Boxer's. Stay with him. Don't tell anyone! Just hide!"
She stopped, a look in her eyes that was something between a start of horror and a glare of anger. The two men faced each other, trying to decide whether to pitch her phone in the gutter or leave her there.
"Let them go, Saxon. Do you hear me?! Let them go!" she shouted into the mobile.
The Doctor whirled about to face her and neatly snatched the phone out of her hand. "I'm here."
In the Cabinet Room, the Master smiled coldly. "Doctor."
Rose, having been gagged and made to listen in, struggled against her restraints. Hearing him taunt Martha was hard, but the voice of her husband after so many months nearly killed her.
"Master."
"I like it when you use my name," her tormentor smirked.
"You chose it. Psychiatrist's field day."
She began working the gag off her mouth. She had to let him know she was okay…
"As you chose yours. The man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that?"
"So… Prime Minister," the Doctor stalled.
"I know. It's good, isn't it?" the Master laughed.
"Who are those creatures? 'Cause there's no such thing as the Toclafane. It's just a made-up name like the Bogeyman," the Doctor asked.
"Do you remember all those fairy tales about the Toclafane when we were kids? Back home. Where is it, Doctor?" the Master said, knowing the answer, but also knowing how much it would hurt his enemy to have to say it.
Rose strained against her restraints, longing to comfort him.
"Gone," came the tight answer.
"How can Gallifrey be gone?" the Master pressed.
"It burnt."
"And the Time Lords?"
They were alone in the room, so only Rose saw the joy he took in tormenting the Doctor.
Dead. And the Daleks… more or less. What happened to you?"
"The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be the perfect warrior for a Time War. I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. I saw it. I ran. I ran so far. Made myself human so they would never find me because…I was so scared."
At once, Rose knew her Doctor would want to save the Master. She knew because she wanted to help him. Maybe it was that leftover bit of the Vortex swirling in her own mind, but she just knew that what he had become should not be.
"I know." The Doctor's voice was soft, compassionate.
"All of them? But now you, which must mean…" the Master's tone was impressed.
Rose's heart broke at the pain in her husband's voice as he said, "I was the only one who could end it. And I tried. I did. I tried everything."
Whatever understanding or compassion the Master briefly felt switched off and his manic destructive nature returned. "What did it feel like, though? Two almighty civilizations burning. Oh, tell me, how did it feel?"
"Stop it!"
"You must have been like God," the politician continued to taunt.
"I've been alone ever since. But not anymore. Don't you see, all we've got is each other."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" the Master chortled. "Aren't you sort of attached, Doctor?"
The silence drug on for a long moment before the Doctor spoke again. Rose recognized the voice. The Oncoming Storm that frightened the Daleks and Cybermen both. "Where. Is. My. Rose?"
"My, my… so possessive, Doctor," the Master laughed.
Finally her mouth was free. "Doctor! I'm safe! I'm fine!"
Her captor looked at her, a bit startled to hear her voice. "I thought I had taught you to be quiet, little Rose…"
And he pressed the button she'd come to hate. The button that sent electrical pulses through her wrist restraints. She gave a soft cry as a larger than normal dose coursed through her.
"Don't you hurt her, Master, or I swear…"
"Too late," the madman sneered. "Bit cheeky, isn't she? But we've almost trained her to hold her tongue."
"What have you done to her?" the Doctor shouted into the phone.
Doctor, I'm fine!" the trembling woman called, despite the tremors in her aching muscles.
"The drumming," the Master murmured, drumming his fingers on the table as he walked around it to where his captive had sank to her knees. "I thought it would stop but it never does. Never ever stops. Inside my head, the drumming, Doctor. The constant drumming."
"I could help you. Please, let me help," the Doctor pleaded.
"It's everywhere. Listen, listen, listen. Here come the drums. Here come the drums."
Rose glared at the Master defiantly as he stood over her. She rolled back onto her bum and kicked out at him in a way she hadn't for nearly a year. So he resorted to a tactic that had worked to quell her aggression in the past. He balled up a fist and punched her in the face, knocking her cold.
"Quite the spitfire, even now…" he murmured.
The Doctor's panic soared. "What have you done to her? Tell me how you've done all this to Britain. What are those creatures? Tell me!"
"Ooh, look. You're on TV," the Master informed him gleefully.
"Stop it! Answer me!" The Doctor snapped.
"No, really. You're on telly! You and your little band, which, by the way, is ticking every demographic box. So, congratulations on that. Look, there you are! Ha! Could have used a blonde for looks, though."
The Doctor saw a TV in a shop window and motioned toward it to draw Jack and Martha's attention.
"…They are known to be armed and extremely dangerous."
"What happened to Rose? Why is she quiet now?"
"You're public enemies number one, two and three. Oh, and you can tell handsome Jack that I've sent his little gang off on a wild goose chase to the Himalayas so he won't be getting any help from them. Now, go on, off you go. Why not start by turning to the right?"
The Doctor turned and noticed the camera. "He can see us."
He used the sonic screwdriver on the camera, causing it to blow and grabbing the attention of his two companions.
"Ooh, you public menace. Better start running. Go on. Run!"
"He's got control of everything," the Doctor told the other two.
"What do we do?" Martha asked, sorry now that she'd turned on the Doctor for even the slightest moment.
Jack looked at the Doctor, an absolute trust in his eyes. "We've got nowhere to go."
"Doctor, what do we do?" Martha asked.
The Master's laugh could be heard clearly over the phone. "Run for your life, Doctor!"
The Time Lord looked at the two with a bemused expression. He needed time to think and figure things out. His answer was almost an apology. "We run."
And they did. They ran like hell until they were safely away from the Master's reach, at least for a short time.
Much later that evening, Martha walked into a disused warehouse, a carrier bag of takeaway in her hand. The Doctor was still at the laptop while Jack made adjustments to his manipulator, the same positions they were in when she left.
Jack noticed first and looked up at her. She tried not to flinch from the slight accusation in his eyes. Okay, he'd been bitter when he'd finally found Rose and the Doctor after looking for them for so long, but he hadn't blamed the Doctor for the problems in his life, or ignored directions when the Doctor needed him to obey.
"How was it?" the American asked, his tone neutral.
"I don't think anyone saw me," she said hesitantly. "Anything new?"
"I've got this tuned into the government wavelength so we can follow what Saxon's doing," the captain said with a shrug.
"Yeah, I meant about my family," she said, dropping her eyes again.
The Doctor didn't look up. "It still says the Jones family taken in for questioning. Tell you what, though, no mention of Leo."
"He's not as daft as he looks. I'm talking about my brother on the run. How did this happen?"
Jack stared at the woman for a long moment. "As far, as we know, Rose is still alive."
Martha flinched visibly. The Doctor glanced up, narrowing his eyes.
"Don't do that, Jack."
For a moment, nothing was said, then the captain sat and stuck a bite in his mouth. "Nice chips."
"Actually, they're not bad," the Doctor agreed, popping one into his mouth.
Martha sat and tried to eat. Nothing was said for a while, then Jack tipped his head at the Doctor.
"So, Doctor, who is he? How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?" He asked.
"And what is he to you? Like a colleague…" Martha added.
"A friend, at first," the Time Lord admitted.
"I thought you were gonna say he was your secret brother or something," the medical student admitted.
The two men stared at her silently.
The Doctor laughed. "You've been watching too much TV."
She chuckled half-heartedly, still not meeting their eyes.
Jack snorted. "But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect."
He sighed. "Well, perfect to look at, maybe. And it was, it was beautiful. They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the Continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords… The oldest and most mighty race in the universe…looking down on the galaxies below…sworn never to interfere…only to watch… Children of Gallifrey, taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy. And some say that's when it all began. When he was a child… that's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation, it's a gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. You stand there, eight years old…staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired…some would run away…and some would go mad."
His voice dipped into a whisper, his tone one of absolute loss and dread.
"What about you?" Martha wondered.
It didn't seem to bother the Doctor that he'd just stuffed his mouth full of chips, and spoke anyway. "Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped."
They ate in silence for a few minutes until the manipulator on Jack's arm beeped.
Jack frowned at it. "Encrypted channel with files attached. Don't recognize it."
"Patch it through to the laptop," the Doctor suggested.
The captain nodded, moving to the computer with a slight cringe. "Um, since we're telling stories, um, there's something I haven't told you. And you're gonna have to help me explain to Rose later."
The Torchwood logo appeared on the screen, causing the Doctor to frown intensely.
"You work for Torchwood," the 900 year old man said slowly, hoping Jack would deny it.
Instead, Jack looked at him desperately. "I swear to you, it's different. It's changed. There's only half a dozen of us now."
"Everything Torchwood did and you're part of it?!" The Doctor asked, eyes wide. "They hurt Rose, so very deeply, and they nearly took her from me. Oh, you're going to need more than my help with that explanation."
Jack sighed. "The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf. I rebuilt it, I changed it. And when I did that, I did it for you, in your honour. I did it to make the two of you proud..."
The Doctor glared at the logo for a long, heavy moment, before reaching over and patting Jack's arm. Then he stretched his hand to the computer and opened the file.
The face of a middle aged woman stared out at them, unmistakable fear behind her eyes. She began talking.
"If I haven't returned to my desk by 2200 hours, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means, if you're watching this, then I'm… Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started. When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network."
The screen changed to show a graphic of a spinning Earth with satellites.
"What's the Archangel Network?" The Doctor asked curiously.
Martha pulled out her mobile and showed it to the Doctor. "I've got Archangel. Everyone's got it."
"It's the mobile phone network. 'Cause, look, it's gone worldwide. They've got 15 satellites in orbit. Even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel," Jack explained more thoroughly. Privately he stopped himself from throwing a dirty look at the woman. He had to stop holding a grudge for her actions. The Doctor wasn't, and Rose was his wife. Besides, she couldn't help being frightened for her family. He was too, but he considered Rose and the Doctor to be that family, so naturally his priorities would be different.
His almost brother in law was using the sonic screwdriver on Martha's phone, trying to figure out this network, muttering to himself as usual.
"It's in the phones! Oh, I said he was a hypnotist! Wait, wait, wait. Hold on." He tapped the phone against the table and it began to beep in the same rhythm that everything had. "There it is. That rhythm, it's everywhere. Ticking away in the subconscious."
"What is it, mind control?" the young woman asked, frightened.
The Doctor smiled reassuringly at her. "No, no, no, no. Subtler than that. Any stronger and people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code… Vote Saxon. Believe in me. Whispering to the world. Oh, yes! That's how he hid himself from me. 'Cause I should have sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth. I should have known way back. The signal cancelled him out."
"Any way you can stop it?" Jack asked, trusting that if there was a way, he would be the one to know.
Not from down here," the Doctor admitted. "But now we know how he's doing it."
"And we can fight back." It was half statement, half question. Martha wanted her family and friends safe. All of them.
"Oh, yes!" the Doctor assured them both, taking apart the mobile and the laptop. He then took Jack and Martha's TARDIS keys. He used the sonic screwdriver to weld circuitry to the keys while the other two watched in awe. He then tied the adjusted keys to string so they could be worn around the neck and looked up as though expecting praise. "Three TARDIS keys, three pieces of the TARDIS with low-level perception properties because the TARDIS is designed to blend in. Well, sort of, but… Now! The Archangel Network's got a second low-level signal. Weld the key to the network and… Martha, look at me. You can see me, yes?"
"Yep!" she said, not quite following yet.
"What about now?" he asked, slipping the key over his neck.
Martha's vision veered off and she blinked a time or two in confusion. Jack chuckled, feeling lighter with the Doctor's exuberance.
"No, I'm here. Look at me," the Doctor said patiently.
"It's like…I know you're there but I don't want to know," she said in confusion.
"And back again," he assured her, taking off key. "See? It just shifts your perception a tiny little bit. Doesn't make us invisible, just unnoticed. Oh, I know what it's like. It's like—it's like when you fancy someone and they don't even know you exist. That's what it's like. Come on!"
Jack really did laugh at that. "Rose would love that explanation."
The Doctor looked down at the key with a small, sad smile. Rose would have loved the whole adventure. She would understand about the mixed feelings he was having about the Master, and she would have loved the chips. She would have held his hand and had such faith in him… His hand twitched slightly, longing to hold hers again.
"We're going to get her back," Jack said, breaking into his thoughts. "Doc, we aren't going to give up on little sister just yet."
"We'll save them all," Martha promised.
The three of them slipped the keys over their heads and walked out onto the streets.
"Don't run. Don't shout. Just keep your voice down. Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows," the Doctor directed in a soft, even tone.
"Like ghosts," the captain grinned.
Yeah, that's what we are. Ghosts."
The rest of the night passed quietly, but the next morning found everyone readying their plans. The Master arrived with Lucy and Rose on the tarmas to greet the American President.
Rose wanted desperately to scream to everyone to run as far from the Master as they could, but the bruises around her throat made speaking difficult. That's why they were there, after all. She kept her head down, the bruising on her left cheek still rather swollen. The restraints were up high today, any interference and she would be shocked into unconsciousness.
The Master saluted President Winters. "Mr. President, sir!"
With a scowl, the man shook his head. "Mr. Saxon. The British Army will stand down. From now on, UNIT has control of this operation."
"You make it sound like an invasion," the sandy haired man said with a delighted grin.
"First contact policy was decided by the Security Council in 1968. And you've just gone and ignored it," Winters said scathingly.
"Well, you know what it's like. New job, all that paperwork. I think it's down the back of the settee. I did have a quick look. I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket and uh…have you met the wife?" the Master babbled harmlessly.
"Mr. Saxon, I'm not sure what your game is but there are provisions at the United Nations to have you removed from office unless you are very, very careful. Is that understood?" he asked severely as the man he knew as Saxon mimed zipping his lips. "Are you taking this seriously? To business. We've accessed your files on these…Toclafane."
The Doctor, Jack, and Martha weren't far away then, frowning aggressively at the Master and his ridiculous antics.
The President continued. "First contact cannot take place on any sovereign soil. For that purpose, the aircraft carrier Valiant is en route. The rendezvous will take place there at 8:00 am. You're trying my patience, sir."
The last part was directed to the Master, who appeared to be trying to talk through his zipped lips. He unzipped them and asked cheerfully, "So America is completely in charge?"
"Since Britain elected an ass, yes. I'll see you onboard the Valiant," Winters snapped, turning to leave.
"It still will be televised, though, won't it? Because I promised, and the whole world is watching."
"Since it's too late to pull out, the world will be watching. Me." He walked to a waiting car.
In a low voice, the Master murmured, "The last President of America. We have a private plane ready and waiting. We should reach the Valiant within the hour. My darling. And you, Rose."
As Lucy led their permanent captive away, a police van pulled up and opened to reveal Francine, Clive, and Tish. The Master ran up to them and smiles brightly.
"Hi, guys! All will be revealed!" he laughed at them.
"Oh my God," Martha breathed.
"Don't move," the Doctor warned her.
"But…"
He looked at her, raw emotion in his eyes. "Don't."
She nodded, knowing that he wanted no more than to go gather his wife into his arms and keep her safe. She turned to watch her family being transferred to a Land Rover.
"I'm gonna kill him," Martha hissed.
Jack leaned toward the Doctor. "Say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?"
"Now that sounds like Torchwood," his friend teased.
"Still a good plan," the captain returned with a shrug.
The Doctor sighed, trying to make Jack understand. "He's a Time Lord, which makes him my responsibility. I'm not here to kill him. I'm here to save him. Rose would want us to try."
They met each other's eyes, both feeling the same way. Martha was focused on her family, and that was fine. But for both Jack and the Doctor, Rose was their family. Sister and wife and best friend. Even though both men wanted to make the Master suffer for any harm he'd done her, they knew that her compassionate nature would want to save this last member of her husband's people.
Jack nodded, punching a few buttons on the manipulator. "Aircraft carrier Valiant. It's a UNIT ship at 28.2N and 10.02E."
"How do we get onboard?" Martha asked.
The Doctor nodded toward the vortex manipulator. "Does that thing work as a teleport?"
"Since you revamped it, yeah. Coordinates set," the ex time agent grinned at him.
The Doctor made sure he and Martha were touching the device, and touched the button. Seconds later, they found themselves in an engine room, and the two humans groaned. He wanted to feel bad that they feel the effects more keenly than him, but he was so close to getting his wife back it was hard to focus on anything else.
"Oh, that thing is rough," Martha complained.
With a grinning glance at the Doctor, Jack cracked his neck and quipped, "I've has worse nights. Welcome to the Valiant."
"Hold on, I thought this was a ship. Where's the sea?" The medical student said, looking out a porthole.
"A ship for the 21st century. Protecting the skies of planet Earth," the captain smiled.
In another part of the ship, a woman lifted her head. Just like the ship she was connected to, she felt the nearness of someone she'd ached for for over a year. Near her were the Master and Ucy, facing President Winters, surrounded by his secret service.
"I want the whole thing branded in my sort of honest, not the United Nations'. Got that?" Winters said sternly.
The Master grinned at the president, an expression most would consider friendly, but made one woman shudder. "Anything I can do? I could make tea or isn't that American enough? I don't know, I could make grits. What are grits, anyway?"
"It you could just sit," Winters snapped in agitation, much as though he saw the Master as an annoying child.
The Master winked at Rose, grinning more broadly when she closed her eyes and cringed away from him. "Misery guts. What do you think? It's good, isn't it?" He pulled a chair out for Lucy who smiled adoringly at him.
"It's beautiful," she told him.
"Some of my best work. Ministry of Defence. I helped design this place. Every detail," he bragged softly to his wife, knowing Rose heard and understood what he meant.
Rose stopped listening. She closed her eyes and wandered from the room. She couldn' escape the Valiant while it was in the air, and the Master knew it.
Below, the Doctor, Jack and Martha were running through the maintenance corridor when the Doctor stopped dead. Jack lookd at him in exasperation.
"Doc! We've no time for sightseeing!"
"No, no. Wait. Shh, shh, shh," he replied, tipping his head. "Can't you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"Doctor, my family's on board," Martha reminded him, striding past the two men.
"Brilliant! This way!" The Doctor whirled and ran in a new direction.
The other two followed him, all three grinning widely when he opened a set of doors to reveal the TARDIS.
"Oh, at last!" He sighed, "Now all I need is Rose."
"Oh, yes!" Martha laughed.
"What's it doing on the Valiant?" Jack asked curiously
They opened the doors to the TARDIS to see a very different interior bathed in red.
"The Master designed the Valiant around her," a familiar voice said behind them.
Whirling and nearly shoving the other two out of the way, the Doctor grabbed his wife and hauled her into his arms, tears pouring down both their faces. After a moment, he pulled back, grinning and cupping her face.
"You're okay," he breathed.
"Of course I am," she assured him. "Where's the fun in killing me if you don't watch? Also, she's still healing me."
"Speaking of the TARDIS," Jack interrupted, "what the hell's he done?"
She moved to hug him, then Martha, before moving back into the Doctor's arms. "Don't touch her. I haven't been able to figure it out yet, but I know what it will do."
"I'm not going to," Jack promised.
"What's he done though? Sounds like it's… sick," Martha asked.
The four moved closer, though it obviously pained Rose to do so. They could see that the console had been stripped of certain parts and caged off. The Doctor waked around it, a growing look of horror in his eyes until he finally looked at his wife.
"It can't be. No, no, no, no, no, no, it can't be."
She nodded sadly. "Yes."
"And you can feel this?" he clarified.
Rose shrugged. "Sort of. It's building toward the moment of operation."
Martha looked between them in complete confusion. "Doctor, what is it?"
He's cannibalised the TARDIS," the Time Lord replied, trying to work out how it might affect someone who was connected to the TARDIS.
Jack walked over to the woman he considered family. "Is that what I think it is?"
"It's a paradox machine," Rose confirmed, the hazel of her eyes flecked with gold. "And none of us are going to be able to touch it just yet."
In the control room, President Winters was the picture of containment and authority. "Two minutes, everyone! According to the treaty, all armed personnel are requested to leave the flight deck immediately. Thank you."
The Master and Lucy were watching like it was all entertainment. He leaned over and offered her a bit of the candy he was snacking on. "Jelly baby?"
"Broadcasting at 7:58 with the arrival timed at 0800 precisely. And, uh, good luck to all of us," the president said, a bit nervously.
"As soon as this hits red, it activates. At this speed, it'll trigger..." the Doctor was saying, grabbing Jack's hand and turning it to look at his watch, "at two minutes past 8:00."
"First contact is at 8:00 and then two minutes later…" the captain murmured.
"What's it for? What's a paradox machine do?" Martha asked them all.
Rose shook her head, turning hopefully to the Doctor. "More importantly, can you stop it?"
He sighed. "Not until I know what it's doing. Touch the wrong bit and blow up the solar system."
His wife nodded. "Yeah, that's been my problem too."
"Then we've got to get to the Master," the medical student said decisively. She looked at Rose, the corner of her eye catching on what looked to be metal cuffs. "Rose... those are really unattractive bracelets."
The woman looked down, frowning a bit. "That's because they're restraints, not bracelets."
The Doctor looked sharply at her, then lifted her hands to study the metal contraptions on his wife's arms. "They look harmless enough..."
"So get them off her," Jack said, quickly moving to attempt to pry one of the restraints off.
"No!" the Doctor shouted.
Rose jerked her hands away and hissed as an electrical current shot through her. Once it passed, she smiled weakly, "If I wasn't so used to that, I would slap you, Jack."
Martha blinked in shock. "What happened?"
"Any time I try to get out of them... or talk back, or try to escape, or warn people... or really anything he feels like,, it shocs me," she explained.
"And you're used to it?!" The medical student asked incredulously.
The Doctor took her hands again and gently lifted the edge, wincing at the red, angry flesh beneath. "Oh, my Rose..."
"I heal fast," she reminded him softly. "No scars. Except the one I want to keep."
She showed him her right palm, the faint line that marked their marriage still there. He covered it with his own scarred left hand and nodded, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
Jack looked ready to kill at how Rose had been treated. "How do we stop him?"
"Oh, I've got a way. Sorry, didn't I tell you?" The Doctor finally grinned.
The president began addressing the cameras as Rose led them to the control room. She winced as they entered, a jolt from her restraints letting her know that the Master had seen them.
"My fellow Americans, patriots, people of the world…I stand before you today as ambassador for humanity, a role I will undertake with utmost solemnity. Perhaps our Toclafane cousins can offer us much, but that is important is not that we gain material benefits, but that we learn to see ourselves anew. For as long as man has looked to the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold. Now we know we are not alone…"
"This plan, you gonna tell us?" Jack asked the Doctor softly.
"If I can get this around the Master's neck…cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real. It's just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me…you've got a key."
"Yes, sir," the captain replied with a mock salute.
"I'll get him," Martha added.
The president spread his arms, welcoming the spheres that began to appear. "And I ask you now, I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends. I give you the Toclafane. My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President-Elect of the United States of America and designated representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to the planet Earth and its associated moon."
The spheres bobbed a bit before one said, "You're not the Master."
"We like the Mr. Master," another added.
"We don't like you," a third spoke.
The President looked a bit nervous, but tried to retain control over the situation. "I… can be Master, if you so wish. I will accept mastery over you if that is God's will."
"Man is stupid," one of the spheres snickered.
"Master is our friend," the first explained.
"Where's my Master, pretty please?"
President Winters looked out, a bit confused.
"Oh, all right then. It's me," the Master finally said, standing up and giving a bit of a laugh. "Ta-da! Sorry. Sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's crazy!"
"Saxon, what are you talkin' about?" Winters snapped.
The Master became quite serious. "I'm taking control, Uncle Sam. Starting with you. Kill him."
One of the floating spheres immediately fired on the president, disintegrating him. There was a half second of shocked silence before all hell broke loose and people began shouting and rushing for the exits. No one made it far because the Master's guards pulled weapons and trained them on those in the room.
He waved to them. "Guards!"
"Nobody move! Nobody move!" the captain of the guard shouted authoritatively.
The Master walked to the camera, lifting his chin slightly, as though addressing servants. "Now then, peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully."
The Doctor rushed forward, before Rose could stop him, and with a shout, two guards quickly grabbed him and forced him to his knees on the floor.
"We meet at last, Doctor. Oh, ho! I love saying that!" the Master grinned. "I've been hearing such things about you from your little woman."
"Stop this! Stop it now!" the Doctor told him, somewhere between an order and a plea.
The Master snorted. "As if a perception filter's gonna work on me. Your pretty little wife should have warned you about all that time we spent together. Oh, and look, you've brought the girlie and the freak. Although, I'm not sure which one's which."
Jack rushed at the Master and the maddened Time Lord calmly pulled out a device from his pocket and fired it at him. Jack crumpled to the floor.
"Laser screwdriver," the madman boasted, "who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!"
Martha moved to Jack's side, while Rose moved around, wanting to get close enough to help.
"Master, just calm down. Just look at what you're doing. Just stop. If you could see yourself…" the Doctor said.
"Oh, do excuse me, little bit of personal business. Back in a minute," the Master said to the cameras before turning to the guards. "Let him go."
As he was shoved roughly to the floor, the Doctor said, "It's that sound, the sound in your head. What if I could help?"
"Oh, how to shut him up? I know. Memory Lane!" he crowed, sitting on the steps, facing the Doctor. "Professor Lazarus. Remember him? And his genetic manipulation device? Did you think that little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver…But, ooh, if I only had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute, I do! I've got his hand! And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it? Another hundred years?"
The Master aimed his laser screwdriver at the Doctor, who screamed as he went into convulsions while his genetic makeup was altered. Rose rushed to him.
"No!" she shouted, not noticing Jack reviving.
"Teleport," the captain urged her, wrapping the manipulator around her wrist.
"I can't," she sobbed.
"We can't stop him. Get out of here. Get out."
The Master stopped as his captive knelt next to her husband, holding him gently.
"Aww, gentle Rose, did I hurt your heart? Maybe we ought to just let you go. Oh, but there's only one way to do that…"
A quick shot of the laser and the Master had completely severed Rose's left hand, making her, the Doctor, Martha, and Jack scream. Martha rushed to her friend's side.
"I've got you, Rose," she said.
"Aw, she's a would-be doctor. But tonight, Martha Jones, we've flown 'em in all the way from prison…"
The door slid open and guards escorted in Francine, Clive and Tish.
"Mum," Martha breathed.
"I'm sorry," Francine cried from across the room.
"The Toclafane, who are they? Who are they?" the Doctor wheezed, trying not to focus on his precious Rose's blood spilling onto the floor.
"Doctor, if I told you the truth, your hearts would break," the Master said gleefully.
"Is it time?" one of the Toclafane asked eagerly.
"Is it ready?"
"Is the machine singing?"
The Master checked his watch and grinned. "Two minutes past. So! Earthings. Basically, um, end of the world." He said as he moved back up the small steps to stand next to Lucy as he held up his screwdriver. "Here…come…the drums!"
Music began playing in the control room. "Here come the drums. Here come the drums…"
The paradox machine activated and Rose gave a sudden loud shriek and burst into golden sparks, disappearing from sight. The Doctor grabbed Martha's arm and pulled her down, whispering quickly into her ear, trying to explain something to her.
"Baby, baby, baby. You are my voodoo child, my voodoo child…"
The Master and Lucy watched out the window.
"Don't say maybe, maybe. It's supernatural. I'm comin' undone…"
Above the Valiant, a rift tore open in the sky.
"Baby, baby, baby. You are my voodoo child, my voodoo child…"
Toclafane by the thousands exited the rift.
"Don't say maybe, maybe. It's supernatural. I'm comin' undone. Baby, baby, baby. You are my voodoo child, my voodoo child…"
"How many do you think?" the Time Lord asked the woman at his side.
"I don't know," she replied, shaking her head in wonder.
"Six billion," he answered blithely as he switched on outside speaker. "Down you go, kids!"
The Toclafane swarmed the whole Earth, every city, everywhere. People went into the streets to see what was happening and the Toclafane began firing indiscriminately.
"Shall we decimate them? That sounds good. Nice word—decimate," the Master said cheerfully as he gave an order to his shiny new army. "Remove one-tenth of the population!"
The Toclafane burst into people's homes. Martha could only cry as she heard the messages coming in from the surface.
"Valiant, this is Geneva! We're getting slaughtered down here!"
With a last, frightened look at the Doctor, she nodded and stood.
"Help us, for God's sake! Help us! They're everywhere!"
She looked to Jack, not sure what happened to Rose, but knowing the captain would take care of her family and the Doctor.
"This is London, Valiant! This is London calling! What do we do?!"
She looked at her family, hoping they understood what she had to do.
"They're killing us! The Toclafane are killing us!"
With a last look at the Doctor, Martha activated the teleporter. The Doctor squeezed his eyes closed and took a deep breath. When he opened them, Jack was staring at him, both men thinking similar thoughts. They had to find out what happened to Rose.
Martha arrived in a field overlooking the destruction of London. She glanced up at the sky, where the Valiant sailed on without her.
"I'm coming back," she swore before running off.
The Master forced the Doctor to the window to watch the fall of Earth.
"And so it came to pass…that the human race fell and the Earth was no more. And I looked down upon my new dominion as master of all and I thought it…good."
The Doctor could do nothing. He sighed, and let his mind be consumed with thoughts of his disappearing wife and his friend who had just traded one hell for another.
A/N: Oh my gosh! What happened to Rose?! I wish you could hear my evil cackle. Reviews please! I have a fond little dream of 200 reviews before season three is finished. It would make my little heart burst. I'm working feverishly on The Last of the Time Lords, and hopefully I can finish it quickly for you. Review, review, pretty please!
