The guard came in and took no notice to my condition as he dragged us to the control room where we saw the Controller and the Doctor. The Doctor and Jo held me up, "Are you alright", the Doctor asked me, "I don't know", I said quietly as my head was in pain. It felt like my head was expanding and everything else felt so much worse now than it did before.
"Where are the guerrillas", the Controller demanded, "My good man, how can we tell you when we don't know ourselves. Now, would you please get me some medicine for her", the Doctor asked the man.
"You were both in contact with them, so you must know something and as for your friend…looks like she better", the Controller said as I tried to stand on my own, but I was shaking and sweating.
"They gave us no choice, look they were going to kill them. I know they would help if they could. Now could you please help us", Jo exclaimed as I struggled to stand.
"You need to sit down", the Doctor told me as they both helped me sit down on the pillow cushions.
"I am trying to help them! I already saved the Doctor's life", Controller told her, "Good, now help her", Jo demanded, before he finally gave in grabbing what looked like a shot from inside a drawer and then gave it to the Doctor.
"This should keep the symptoms at bay for now, this is only a temporary solution", he told us, before the Doctor took it and glanced up at the man in question before giving me the shot.
"Look…if you don't tell me everything that the manager doesn't already know about these criminals; where they come from and what their plans are, the Daleks will destroy you", the Controller told the Doctor as both the Doctor and Jo helped me back up.
"I don't doubt it", the Doctor said, "Do you value your life so little", the Controller asked him.
"On the contrary, I value it enormously; the Daleks will kill us whatever we tell you", the Doctor explained.
"Not if you cooperate", the Controller countered, "As you have cooperated with them? Do you really think that makes a difference", the Doctor told him.
"They can be reasonable", the Controller told him, "Reasonable! They tolerate you as long as you're useful to them", the Doctor told him.
"I am a senior government official", the Controller said, "You sir are a traitor! You're a Quisling", the Doctor argued. There was a voice inside my echo…not the Doctor's, someone I didn't recognize…but I didn't understand them.
"Silence! You do not understand", the Controller told the Doctor upset and continued, "Nobody who did not live through these terrible years cannot understand. Towards the end of the twentieth century, a series of wars broke out. There were hundreds of years of nothing, but…killing and destruction. Seven-eighths of the world's population was wiped out…the rest of us were living in…holes in the ground…starving, reduced to the level of animals", the Controller told him, and I couldn't help but feel sad about his story.
"So the Daleks saw their opportunity and took over", Jo asked, "Or they were the cause", I said ominously without realizing it, "How do you know", the Controller asked me angrily and I just shook my head, "Never mind", I said, and then looked away with a confused expression.
The Controller decided to ignore me and continue, "There was no power on Earth that could stop them", he finished, "So, they've turned the Earth into a giant factory, with all the wealth and minerals looted and taken to Skaro", the Doctor told us. "Skaro is where they come from", the Doctor explained after a moment.
I was living in the twenty-first century before I began traveling with the Doctor…none of that happened, so I wondered if this was an alternate time-line to my own.
"The Daleks must've used a non-fixed point to change history", the Doctor said suddenly, "Men and women who were strong enough, of course, were sent down into the mine, the rest…work in factories", Controller told him.
"Why? Why are they doing all this", Jo asked, "They need a constant flow of raw minerals. Their empire is expanding", the Controller explained.
"How did you come to work for them", she asked curiously, "They chose a few humans to help them get things going again, to organize the remaining population. My family have been controllers in this area for generations", he told her proudly.
"A family of Quislings, eh", the Doctor asked as the Controller looked at him displeased and I had to stop myself from smiling in amusement.
"We have to help make things better for the others; we have gained concessions...I have saved lives", the Controller told the Doctor, "And you've killed", I stated, and the Controller went silent.
"You could have helped more by organizing the fight against the Daleks", the Doctor added.
"No one can fight against the Daleks", the Controller told us.
"That's not what your "criminal" guerillas seem to think, is it", the Doctor asked the man, "A handful of fanatics? Most of them have been…killed already. I assure you there is nothing they can do to change things", the Controller said hopelessly, "Wouldn't hurt to try", I commented quietly.
The Doctor and the Controller spoke back and forth for ten minutes, "Look, if you don't give me the information that I need, there is nothing I can do to help you", the Controller told the doctor.
I sighed in frustration, "For the last time, I tell you we haven't got any information and quite frankly even if we had, we wouldn't give it to you", the Doctor exclaimed.
"Do you feel the same way", the Controller asked me, "Yes", I told him, and he looked down defeated.
"Right, stay right where you are", the Guerillas shouted when they ran into the Control's room, "Guards", the Controller shouted, but no one answered nor showed up. "Guards? You have no guards, they're all dead", the man from before said menacingly as he pointed his ray gun at the Controller.
"Are you guys alright", Anat, the woman from before, asked us. "Yes, thank you", the Doctor replied, "I didn't think you guys would help", I said, "We had a change of heart", Boaz told me, and I smiled relieved.
"Right, now you three come with us! No harm must come to them, too much depends on them", the woman said as the Doctor, Jo and I ran out of the room.
They were about to kill the Controller, until the Doctor stopped them, "Put that gun down! There's no point in murdering him", the Doctor told the man and I looked at him in confusion. Didn't he kill that man before back at Sir Reginald's Mansion, the Doctor glanced back at me in regret before looking back Boaz as he exclaimed, "You don't know how much blood is on his hands."
"Never the less- ", "He helped the Daleks, he's worked for them", Boaz tried explaining to the Doctor, cutting him off.
"They would have always found someone! Now leave him", the Doctor told Boaz, who then lowered his weapon as did the Anat. Then we all left the building, leaving the Controller far behind us; then we finally made it to the tunnels or "sewers" I thought in disgust as we entered.
Once inside Anat and the man began telling us everything what the Daleks had done, "What of you, has it not happened yet", Anat asked Jo and she shook her head.
I had to get up and pace around, they had no idea that this future was never meant to pass, "They don't need to know, as soon as we have everything fixed it'll be as if it never happened", the Doctor said within my mind.
"Will their lives go back to the way they were…would they still have been born", I thought, "I don't know", was his reply.
"This…history of yours it talks about Sir Reginald Styles, does it not", the Doctor asked them, "Oh yeah, he pretended to work for peace, but he really just wanted power for himself", the man answered.
"So, the conference he called…was just a trick", the Doctor asked, and Boaz nodded, "He managed to lure the world leaders to a remote country house, and pretended they needed absolute quiet if the meeting was to succeed. Then there was devastating explosion", the man told the Doctor.
"Styles was killed with the others, he must have set a bomb and miss timed the charge", the Anat added.
"There were accusations, counter-accusations, and then the wars began. That was the turning point", Boaz told us, "But if this is true, Sir Reginald Styles must be round the bend", Jo commented.
"Completely crazy", I agreed, "So, you went back into our time to kill Styles before he could carry out his plan", the Doctor asked.
"Right, we've been fighting the Daleks for years, but it was hopeless. Eventually we must lose, so we thought what else we could do", the man said.
Anat continued on by saying, "We learnt through one of our spies that the Daleks had succeeded in creating a time machine and we managed to steal a copy to build our own. To go back into history to the exact point where things started to go wrong."
"With one action, we could stop them, and mankind would have a chance to take a new direction", Boaz told the Doctor.
"But, even now the transfer isn't always stable…people materialized in your time, but then…faded away", Anat said.
"The ghost that Styles saw", Jo asked, and the Doctor nodded, "Somehow, the Daleks found out what we were doing, and they sent the Ogrons back in your time after us and they attacked one of our men", Boaz said angrily.
"Well, that must have been the man that we saw by the canal tunnel", the Doctor said as he looked back at me and I nodded.
"Yes, we fixed on the tunnel as a place that was stable in your time and used it as a transfer point. Well, you know the rest", Anat told us.
"Yes, well…there's one thing I don't quite understand and that is…why were you so keen to rescue us? Well, believe me we are grateful, but- ", "Well, you told us yourself…you're an old enemy of the Daleks", Boaz told the Doctor, cutting him off.
The Doctor glanced back at me, before answering, "Yes", was his reply, "Then, you will help us beat him", the man asked, "What do you expect me to do", the Doctor asked, "Well, you can succeed where we failed, Doctor. We want you to go back into your own time…and kill Styles", Boaz told him.
The Doctor looked at him bewildered, "You're asking me to commit murder", the Doctor exclaimed before standing up.
"No! We're asking you to kill one man and prevent millions more dying", Anat said quickly, "That is still murder", the Doctor told her.
"Isn't it worth it? To save the human race from the Daleks", the man asked the Doctor, "Yes, but would it", the Doctor asked, "We've told you how it happened", Anat told the Doctor.
"But your history could be wrong, you know", the Doctor suggested, without trying to let them know that we knew it was, "Now listen, why don't you send us back in our time? We know the future now, maybe there are other things we can do", the Doctor told them.
"Mania! We're wasting valuable time", Anat exclaimed, "Doctor, will you help us? You're our only hope", Boaz asked
After a moment, the Doctor finally agreed while Jo said that she couldn't believe that Sir Reginald Styles was a murderer, "Yes, I agree, vain to the point of arrogance; a trifle obstinate perhaps, but basically a good man. So, if it happened, how did it happened", the Doctor asked himself.
I felt a little sick to my stomach as my head hurt, but I tried to push past it, "Something wrong my dear", the Doctor asked me, "It's fine…just feeling a little unwell", I admitted. "The medicine must be starting to wear off, that and time sickness."
"Medicine? Time sickness", Boaz asked, "She's spent too much time in this timezone. Her mind is living in two separate realities", the Doctor said without going into detail and purposely not explaining the "medicine." There were so many questions in the air that remained unanswered…
"Any of your people still in our time zone", the Doctor asked them, "No", Boaz replied, "Oh, Shura…he left just to send a message and we never saw him again. We assumed he must've been dead", Anot told us.
"You assumed? You didn't make sure", I asked, "We had other things on our minds", Boaz told me, "Why are you two so interested in Shura?"
"Curious is all", the Doctor answered, "Curious?! Well, that's funny! Mark and Boaz got killed to save you and you're curious", Anat exclaimed. What does that got to do with anything, I thought confused.
"Look, please believe me when I say we are completely with you about the ends, we only disagree with you about the means", the Doctor told them. I had a bad feeling about Shura, "All right what do you need to know", Boaz asked, after the Doctor looked back at me disconcertingly.
"This mission of yours, to the twentieth century, what did you take with you", the Doctor asked Anat. "The usual…battle gear, radio, disintegrates- ", "Any sabotage equipment", the Doctor stated, "Only a few charges of Dalek onium", she replied.
"Dalek onium", the Doctor asked worried, "It's a highly effective type of explosive. We stole the formula from the Daleks", Anat explained.
"So, he has a "bomb" in his possession", I asked, "Yes", Boaz asked confused.
"Could it destroy a house", the Doctor asked, "What are you two trying to say", Boaz asked, "Well, don't you see? This had happened before", the Doctor told them.
"What has", the Anot asked. "You went back to change history, but you didn't change anything. You became a part of it", the Doctor told them.
"What are you talking about", Boaz asked, "If Styles didn't cause that explosion someone else did", the Doctor explained, while trying to get the man to figure it out. "Well, obviously but who", Anat said and then her eyes widened as it suddenly clicked, "…Shura."
"A last-ditch effort to carry out the plan to kill Styles", I commented as my head throbbed, "Well, I suppose- ", "You're in a temporal paradox! Styles didn't start that explosion and the wars...you did yourselves and Acacia's time-stream is out of flux, because it never was supposed to happen! That's why you felt like you were being pulled backward through their time-vortex…you may not even exist in this alternate timeline", the Doctor said, and I was surprised as what he said it was like he suddenly knew everything that was happening at his very moment.
A few moments later we were all walking out of the tunnels, where the man gave us their hand-held time machine and some of the other guerillas stood guard outside. Then we ran into the tunnel to go back, at least we were until the Controller stopped us and we managed to convince him we could stop all of what happened, the war and starvation, to never come to pass.
We all smiled thankfully towards the Controller as we stood back; Jo and I held onto the Doctor as he took out the tiny time machine, switched it on, placed the settings to go back to 1972, and then we surrounded by an orange light as we disappeared right in front of the Controller's eyes.
Then we drove to the conference meeting where the leaders from around the world were located and we ran inside to meet up with the Brigadier. "Brigadier, get everybody out of the house at once", the Doctor told him urgently, "Where the devil have you three been", the Brigadier asked us and we about to say something, at least until he said, "No let me guess: "Long story" …never mind", the Brigadier said.
"Look, just clear the house immediately", the Doctor said urgently, "What is the man going on about", Sir Reginald demanded as he approached.
"Do as he says, there isn't much time", Jo told him, "You need to trust him, please", I added.
"Look, try and use your intelligence man...even if you are a politician, "Insulting him won't help, Doctor", I whispered to him.
"Brigadier, if you can't get this lunatic out of my way- ", "I know it all sounds incredible sir, but the Doctor usually knows what he's talking about", the Brigadier told Sir Reginald, cutting him off.
"Arranging this conference was an almost impossible task. It is no exaggeration to say that the world depends on its success. I will not jeopardize that success now", Sir Reginald exclaimed.
"Brigadier, get this man and all the delegates out of this area immediately. Use force if you must! Jo and Acacia, you stay here", the Doctor told the last part to us.
"No", I said as I went after the Doctor, "What do you mean no", the Doctor asked me, "I am not staying back while you take care of the…thing on your own", I told him, purposely not saying the word bomb in front of the Brigadier and Sir Reginald.
"There's a possibility that you could die", the Doctor told me, "So could you", I pointed out, "Oh…very well, never knew people from the twenty-first century could be so headstrong and stubborn", he told me as I followed him down the hall and into the basement, where we found Shura.
"Shura", the Doctor and I exclaimed, the man looked back at us frantically, "Get out of here, unless you want to die too! I must kill Styles to prevent the war", Shura said as he pointed a gun at us.
"Shura, listen to me, Styles and all the delegates are already leaving this house. You detonate that bomb and you'll be sacrificing yourself for nothing", the Doctor told him, but Shura didn't move.
"Shura? This bomb…it didn't help", I said gently as I took a few steps down the stair, holding my hands up, "Acacia", the Doctor warned, but I didn't listen. "If it wasn't for the bomb…your future wouldn't have happened", I continued, "You lie", Shura said as he pointed the gun right at me.
To be honest, I was afraid, but I had to get through to him and he had to listen, "Am I? Your leader said so herself…a bomb went off underneath the conference meeting where the world leaders met. Here and now", I told him.
"But that was…was…", Shura said as he was shaking and slowly lowered his gun.
Then Jo ran down the stairs, "Doctor and Acacia! The Daleks are coming into the house", she exclaimed fearfully, "They've come back to make sure that their version of history isn't changed. Is everybody out of the house", the Doctor asked Jo.
"Yes, everyone is out but us", she told him, "Get out of here", I heard Shura say and I turned my head towards him as he was setting up the bomb.
"Let them come, leave them to me", he told us, "What? No", I exclaimed, "You must come with us", Jo told him.
"You guys don't understand! This is Dalek onium… it's the only thing that's effective against the Daleks", Shura told us.
"Well, couldn't we set a time fuse", the Doctor asked him, "We can't let you sacrifice yourself", I added.
"This stuff is too unstable, there isn't much time, and this is something I must do myself. To save our future, now get out", he yelled.
"Very well", the Doctor said before grabbing my hand, "What?! No", I yelled as he dragged me out, with Jo following close behind us.
Once we were outside the Doctor told Brigadier to tell his men to fall back and let the Daleks in, "Wait- ", I tried saying before the Doctor covered my mouth and the Brigadier hesitated before letting his men know over the radio. I wanted to go back to save the Shura, but the Doctor wouldn't let me as he held me in place.
"Doctor, are you sure that- ", "It may not make military sense, but it's the only way", the Doctor told the Brigadier and I refused to believe that.
"Let me go Doctor", I struggled in his arms as we all got into the jeep to drive a good distance away from the house, while I struggled along the away.
We made it to our destination and I tried running back to the house, at least until the Doctor grabbed my arm and the house exploded.
"No...", I said quietly as a few tears dripped down my cheeks," You", I said angrily and stormed up to the Doctor and grabbed his jacket.
The Brigadier was about to grab me, before the Doctor made a gesture saying it was alright, "We could have saved him", I told him, "There was no other way", he told me.
"No…No, I refuse to believe that there had be another way…he was- ", "Innocent", the Doctor asked me and shook his head, "No my dear I'm afraid he wasn't."
"But…", I said, but paused, "He would've died either way…whether he made a good choice or not", the Doctor told me, and I felt my grip loosen.
"There was nothing we could do", the Doctor told me, and I looked at my hands as they shook, "I'm sorry", I said, then he sighed and hugged me, "It's alright", he told me. Kill one man to save millions, it was a very uncomfortable situation for everyone. When we got back, the Doctor grabbed another batch of medicine and proceeded to fix the Tardis.
A couple of days later, Jo came into the laboratory all dressed up, "Well, look who's all pretty? Getting ready for a hot date", I asked, then the Doctor glanced at me and then shook his head. Our relationship or friendship was slightly strained after that incident a couple days ago, he wants to talk about it…but I just keep avoiding the subject as well as him.
"Oh, well yes I am", Jo exclaimed happily, "I just wanted to stop by before I left...how's everything", she asked and then whispered the last part to me. "What do mean", I asked, and she gave me a look, she knew, "…I feel guilty and somewhat responsible for that man's death…I just don't know what to say", I told her.
"Well, don't you think he feels the same way…maybe you should start by forgiving him and forgiving yourself. Neither of you are to blame", Jo told me, and I smiled as we both looked at the Doctor as he was working on his Tardis.
"Just tell him when you're ready", Jo told me and the Doctor kept working in the same position with his back facing us, he was listening…those super Time-Lord hearing.
"Alright, how about we all go on a test run in the Tardis; I believe I have it all fixed and under my control now", the Doctor told us as he held up his dematerialization circuit.
"Oh, but Doctor I can't and Acacia- ", "It will only take a moment and Acacia should come too", the Doctor told us. I glanced at him sadly and when the Doctor looked at back at me, I looked away and pretended everything was fine.
Jo went inside of the Tardis first and before I could walk in, the Doctor stopped me, "There is a good chance, if you step into the Tardis you could disappear", the Doctor told me sadly. "I know, and it's bound to happen sooner or later, right? Might as well get it over with and besides I'll see you again", I told the Doctor as a tear ran down my cheek.
He looked sadly down at me and studied my face as if it was the last time he'll see it, before we walked inside with Jo looking at us in question. I've been with this Doctor for so long, it was hard to say goodbye and I looked at him as he slowly placed the circuit into the machine. Then he closed the lid and switched on the Tardis and we quickly hugged before the Doctor backed away as my body was engulfed in a white light; then everything went white, my body was light, and then I felt myself being pulled forward. All was dark, until I opened my eyes.