Unto the Universe
Chapter Sixty-One: Gallery of Time: Death Comes
By Lumendea
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any spinoff material, and I gain no income from this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
…
The Doctor pulled Rose away from the doorway. But it was too late; they were knocked into the wall, and Rose's ears rang as a strange and high-pitched noise filled the hallway, and a wave of pressure exploded. It was impossible to hear anything as she hit the ground. Everything was a whine. Hands grabbed at her, and Rose felt her stomach roll. They weren't familiar hands. Disoriented as she was, Rose hesitated for only a second before struggling and slamming her head forward. She collided with something, and the hands released her.
The first thing Rose heard as her ears returned to normal was the Master cursing. That was something, at least. A cool hand touched her bare arm. Rose knew this hand and shifted towards it, letting the Doctor help her to her feet. Blinking and swallowing, Rose did her best to clear her senses.
"How dare you!" Alice snapped. There was a hint of cockney in her voice now that she was angry, similar to Rose herself. "You need to stop! That's dangerous!"
"That's the point," the Doctor growled. "What are you doing?" Rage simmered in his voice, and Rose shook her head as the rest of her senses sharped.
The Doctor was holding onto her arm gently, but his eyes were stormy as he glanced between the opening of the vault where the Master was still standing and a softly humming device behind them. The Curator was at the mysterious device and prying a panel off. Anger and frustration, but also worry, coloured the young woman's face, and Rose slipped out of the Doctor's grasp to join her. Jack immediately stepped up next to the Doctor with a scowl on his face and shifted into a protective stance.
"What can I do to help?" Rose asked softly.
She glanced at the Master, who was having a stare-off with the Doctor. There was some sort of shimmering field between them now, which slightly distorted her view of the Time Lords in the vault. The Monk was seated in the chair of the strange machine and making adjustments to the controls.
"I need a minute to figure out what they did," Alice growled in frustration. "They weren't down here for long-"
"Oh, that one was me," the Master laughed. "Hard to mess with remotely, but not impossible." Rose turned to see the Master smiling, and he pulled something that looked very similar to the sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket. "I have to say, Doctor, I'm more impressed with carrying a sonic probe than I thought I would be. Needs some improvements, certainly, but not bad. I can see why you like it."
"What is this thing?" Rose asked the Curator. "How dangerous is it?"
"It's a matter distorter," Alice answered softly. "It was used to help reshape the interior of the asteroid. That wave was only its start-up sequence. Meant to be a warning for anything living in the area." Alice spared a moment to glare at the vault. "But it also activated the containment field in the vault."
"And the machine in the vault?" Rose asked. It seemed impossible that the Master and Monk would trigger a machine so dangerous if they couldn't escape.
"Time travel," the Doctor answered for the Curator. "Old school, but more versatile than Vortex Manipulators." The Doctor narrowed his eyes, tracing the design carefully. "But… more than that."
"Very good, Doctor," the Monk replied. "But I'm not foolish enough to reveal everything here."
The Doctor knelt at the edge of the vault, pulling out the sonic screwdriver. Jack lingered beside him, pulling out his firearm and guarding him protectively. The Master raised an eyebrow at the weapon, and the Doctor shot a glare at the weapon but said nothing.
"That's not going to work," the Master sang. "Really, Doctor, your brother constructed this system."
"Caretaker?" the Doctor called. "Can you open this?"
"Bit busy making sure we don't get liquified!" Alice barked. "Give me a few minutes."
"Don't know if we have that," the Doctor snapped back. "That's not just a time machine; it generates a large temporal field around it."
"Even better when modified," the Master added gleefully.
"Be silent," the Monk barked. "Don't give away the plan."
The Master grimaced and nodded. He rolled his eyes but mimed zipping up his mouth. Glaring at him, Rose's blood boiled when he just smirked. Stepping forward, Rose raised her sword and swung it forward. Rose's sword collided with the solid containment field. At least it felt solid, but the blade failed to cut through whatever it was. The Master laughed, a hint of relief in his voice as Rose stumbled back and stared at the odd energy field that was now covering the opening.
"Well, that worked!" The Master chuckled and beamed at her. "Wasn't sure. It is shockingly difficult to find detailed information on what those swords can and can't do."
She didn't answer. Rose studied the energy barrier and then eyed the stone walls around the doorframe. Everything down here was solid. In the past, she'd cut through stone, but only walls and not something so thick.
"How much longer is this going to take?" the Master asked, turning to speak over his shoulder. "We don't know everything she can do."
"Rose, can you dissolve it or anything like that?" Jack asked.
Rose didn't want to answer that, but she did. "No. I can't really…." She trailed off and shrugged.
"Got it," the Monk said. He climbed out of the chair. "Adjustments have been made, and the controls are aligned." He glanced at the Doctor and stepped closer to the barrier. "It isn't too late to join us, old friend."
"Join you for what?" the Doctor asked, his voice carefully casual. "I'd prefer to know that before I join up with anything."
"Retaking our place in the universe," the Monk answered.
The Doctor froze and looked up at them. The Master grinned and shifted back, reaching into his jacket.
"There's a new Gold Guardian, to be sure, but she's young." The Monk glanced at Rose and fixed a very tight smile on his face. "And we needn't be enemies. From what the Eternals told me, Rassilon was considering-"
"I know what he was considering!" The Doctor jumped to his feet and glared at them. "And you can't! You'll kill everything! They-"
"What did I miss?" the Master asked cheerfully. "Really, you've both been holding out on me." The Master's smirk was the only warning. He grabbed the Monk's shoulder, and suddenly, the sharp sound of an energy weapon being fired echoed around them. A dark patch appeared on the Monk's torso. A laugh escaped the Master, and a pained sound was ripped from the Doctor.
"Oh, it has been too long since I went up close!" the Master cheered.
The Master dropped the Monk's body to the ground. It struck the barrier and slid down as the Monk tried to catch himself, but he was too weak. The Master looked down at the Monk as the Doctor knelt beside him on the other side of the barrier. Pressing his hand against the barrier, the Doctor tried to push through.
"Shouldn't have tried to keep me on a leash, Mortimer. What possessed you to think you could once the Eternals were destroyed." The Master tisked and shook his head. "Really, I expected better of you. But don't worry. I'll keep working on the glorious project. And unlike you… well, I only ran rather than actively helping the Eternals."
"Regenerate," the Doctor ordered the Monk.
"Can't," came the gasped reply. "Out of…" He trailed out, spasming in pain. "Out of chances."
"What?" The Doctor gaped at him. "That can't- can't be right."
"Afraid so, Theta," the Monk chuckled. His eyes were a bit brighter now as amusement took hold.
"What's he talking about?" Jack asked. "Out of what?"
"Regenerations," the Doctor replied without taking his eyes off of the Monk. "We only have twelve. Thirteen lives in total. There's so few of us left; I can't believe the Master-"
"He doesn't plan on it staying only the two of you," the Monk managed. He grit his teeth as more blood seeped from his mouth. "Gallifrey, Doctor. He wants to find Gallifrey."
"He can't. It's sealed away. Burning for the rest of time."
The Monk laughed, seemingly uncaring about the strain on his body. "Where this is a lock, Doctor, there is always a key."
His body spasmed again. Rose was aware that they needed to get the Master. He and the Monk had been messing with that machine, and Rose didn't like the idea of a temporal field under the Master's control. She turned back to the Curator. The woman had paused in her work to look their way and was staring at the Doctor with a pained expression. Then her eyes flickered up to the Master as he climbed into the machine. Her blue eyes brightened, and she hurried to shift her position around the back of the machine. Rose glanced back at the Doctor who was trying to comfort the Monk. As much bad history was between them, the Doctor was witnessing the final death of one of his childhood friends and one of the last Time Lords.
Rose heard the Master laughing with glee. Somehow, this version of him was much creepier than the earlier life she'd met while helping the White Guardian. Time and life seemed to have only increased and refined his madness. The Master was sitting in the chair of the strange machine and adjusting the controls. There was no sign of doubt or confusion on his face. He knew what it was and how to use it. Jack was frantically checking his vortex manipulator, likely trying to do something. But then the strange machine's hum changed, and the odd arms lit up.
"Doctor!" The Curator shouted. "Move!"
Jack grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him up and away from the vault door. The barrier shimmered green as a new light was focused on it. Eyes widening, Rose turned back to Alice and found her using something very similar to the sonic screwdriver. She had it focused on a point right at the edge of the machine.
"That's too dangerous!" the Doctor shouted.
A high-pitched whine was their warning. The Master's eyes widened, and he raised the firearm he'd used on the Monk. Time slowed down, and Rose saw a condensed beam of energy rip past them. It tore through the barrier just as a bolt of blue energy exploded out of the firearm. Then the machine the Master was using flashed to life. The arms began to spin, creating a shield around him as the air warped and shifted to blue and red. Sparks flew as the beam collided with the shield, and the arms slowed.
Then the machine and the Master were gone. Some sort of time travel, Rose was certain of that. The issue was, what else could it do? What had the Monk done to it? The Doctor whirled around to Alice, who was leaning against the machine.
"How did you direct the blast like that?" he asked in shock.
"I'm clever," came Alice's reply. "But he still got away. I'm not concerned about the machine. Destroy if you have a chance, but there's no telling what he can do with it."
"Well, you damaged the stabilization system," the Doctor said. "He won't be able to fix that easily. Hopefully, that will limit him to one trip."
"I got a read on its energy signature," Jack offered. He took off his Vortex Manipulator and handed it to the Doctor.
"Then we have to get after him. Let's get the Monk upstairs, Jack. It isn't safe to leave his genetic material behind. No offence," he added.
"None taken," the Curator answered. Rose frowned, she was getting pale, but the Doctor didn't seem to notice.
He and Jack hoisted up the Monk and carried him towards the stairs, discussing moving the TARDIS and linking Jack's manipulator into the controls. Rose barely paid attention to them, instead focusing on the Curator. Around them, the room was a mess. The lights were flickering, and the back wall of the broken vault had a new hold cut through it where the beam had hit after the Master escaped.
As soon as the Doctor and Jack stared up the stairs, the Curator grunted in pain, collapsing against the machine and clutching her side. Rose needed only a glance to know it was bad. The woman's face was paler than before, her eyes dark with pain. Rose lunged forward and caught Alice's arm before the woman slumped to the ground. The dark colours of the woman's dress were hiding the blood, but Rose could tell that she was badly injured.
"I've got you," Rose said gently. She studied Alice's profile, too aware of the hints of her own features reflected there now. "I've got you."
"You need to go," Alice said urgently as she tried to pull away. "I'm fine."
"You are not fine," Rose hissed. She tightened her grip on Alice's hand. Those blue eyes had a spark of fear in them even as the woman pretended that she was alright. Rose went out on a limb. "Alice, is this your first time regenerating?"
The Curator turned to look at her in surprise. Those blue eyes were the same as Rose's current Doctor's. Given that she knew she'd never have children with that incarnation, she was very pleased to know that one of their children would have those eyes. At least for one body. Rose tried to smile.
"You know?"
"I've heard your name before," Rose answered.
"There are a lot of Alices in the universe."
"But none of them are in charge of their uncle's old museum. Or firmly rejecting the advances of Jack Harkness. Or wearing a wolf brooch."
"Fair points." Alice grimaced and clutched at her side. "Dying to the Master… that's a bit embarrassing. Though… I suppose he did push Dad off a building once." She shook her head. "Mummy, you and Dad have to get going. You can't let the Master get too far ahead of you. He's too dangerous. I was able to damage the machine, which will slow him down, but he'll sort it out soon enough. What he's doing-" She cut herself off. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you. It's too big and too fragile. I can't risk collapsing the casual nexus." Alice gave her a soft push towards the stairs. "Hurry. Dad and Uncle Jack and waiting for you."
"Alice, I can't just leave you to regenerate on your own!"
"Mum, you have to."
Then they both heard it, a faint and distant wheezing sound. Wind picked up in the long, dark room. Alice started to smile and pulled her hand away from Rose.
"I can't tell if it's you and Daddy or one of my siblings, but it seems that I won't be alone. They can't risk materializing the full way until you go."
"Alice…"
"Go." Alice's expression softened. "And good luck!"
"Rose!" Came the Doctor's shout. "Are you alright? We need to hurry!"
"Go," Alice urged her. "Today, there is no time for hesitation."
Rose hated it, but she slowly nodded and turned away from her daughter. Another child and this one she was leaving bracing for regeneration. Bile filled her mouth, but she swallowed it down and started to run toward the stairs. The Master's threat and that glimpse of another rip opening spurred her on. She'd have to have faith in herself that she wouldn't truly let Alice be alone when she regenerated, not when she knew about it. At this moment, Rose hated timelines and casual loops. Now, she had to let her daughter suffer at the hands of the Master in the future.
She found the Doctor at the top of the stairs. He swept her up in a tight hug that lasted only for a moment before taking her hand. They ran out of the small galley and towards the TARDIS. Jack was already there waiting for them, a frightened look on his face. Rose glanced back over her shoulder at the silent Braxitiel Collection while trying to brace herself for what was about to happen next. The Doctor released Rose, and Jack hurriedly shut the doors of the TARDIS. Moments later, they were in flight and chasing after the Master for parts unknown. But Rose had an uneasy feeling that they did know exactly when and where he was going.