A/N: Okay, so here's the second chapter of Utopia. I'm so sure that we'll get a few sneak peaks as to what's in store for Rhea, especially now that Jack is here.
Warnings: Language, Dark Themes, Allusions to Sexual Content etc.
The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday
Chapter 72
Utopia: Atlantis
"Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost." He cleared his throat and Rhea ducked her head, hiding a fond smile at the Doctor's antics. "So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?" He picked up the circuit and used the sonic screwdriver on it before switching it on, giving the device power.
"Chan—it's working—tho!" Chantho said, stunned.
Professor Yana blinked and swallowed hard in absolute bemusement. "But how did you do that?" He breathed.
"Oh, we've been chatting away. I forgot to tell you, I'm brilliant."
The Doctor gave him a wide, toothy grin.
"Well, that's a matter of opinion." Rhea muttered under her breath, but there was no meaning to it, as was seen by the fond smile that the lines of her mouth had quirked up into.
Martha and Chantho were heading in the opposite direction from the queues, carrying circuit boards in their hands. Martha spotted the little boy with adorably blonde curls and stopped him.
"Excuse me. Hey, what was your name? Creet."
The boy gave her a wide-gapped, toothy smile. "That's right, miss." He nodded.
Martha smiled, sweetly, down at him. "Who are you with, Creet? You got family?" She asked, slowly, wondering why a ten-year-old boy was walking around this sort of place alone.
"No, miss." Creet shook his head. "There's just me."
Martha bit her lip, feeling a sympathetic pang of pain strike her in the gut. "Well, good luck. What do you think it's going to be like in Utopia?"
The little boy's grin grew wider, his light eyes brightening with joy. "My mum used to say the skies are made of diamonds." He beamed at her.
Martha laughed. "Good for her. Go on, off you go. Get your seat."
Creet nodded at her with a smile and continued on. Martha and Chantho smiled at each other and walked on, towards Professor Yana's laboratory.
The Doctor and Professor Yana were working on either side of a large, transparent circuit board in the centre of the lab, while Rhea and Jack were seated in the sitting area, watching the two work with barely concealed interest.
The Doctor raised the cord in his hands and sniffed it, thoughtfully. "Is this…?"
Professor Yana nodded, proudly. "Yes, gluten extract. Binds the neutralino map together."
The Doctor's brow furrowed. "But, that's food. You've built this system out of food and string and staples. Professor Yana, you're a genius." He blinked.
Professor Yana raised an eyebrow. "Says the man who made it work."
"Ooh… it's easy coming in at the end but… you're stellar." The Doctor gestured to him, emphatically. "This is… this is magnificent. I don't often say that 'cause… well, 'cause of me." He said, modestly.
"Ugh." Rhea groaned, tipping her head back. "Great, now, he's on a roll."
Jack nudged her in the side, playfully. "Hey, come on. Behind every powerful man is a powerful woman." He said, mockingly.
Rhea stared at him for a moment. "Do you want me to punch you in the face?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Don't get mad, beautiful." Jack smirked, stroking his thumb over her soft cheek. "We both know that you wear the pants in the relationship." He waggled his eyebrows.
Rhea paused. "Damn straight." She muttered under her breath.
"Well, even my title is an affectation." Professor Yana explained. "There hasn't been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I've spent my life going from one refugee ship to another."
The Doctor blinked. "If you had been born in a different time, you'd be revered." He said, pointedly, making Professor Yana chuckle. "I mean it. Throughout the galaxies."
Professor Yana rolled his eyes. "Oh, those damned galaxies. They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice. Just a little. Just once." He said, softly.
"Well, you've got it now. But that footprint engine thing. You can't activate it from onboard. It's gotta be from here. You're staying behind," The Doctor said, knowingly.
"With Chantho. She won't leave without me. Simply refuses," Professor Yana shook his head in disbelief.
The Doctor pursed his lips. "You would give your life so they could fly." He said, knowingly.
"Oh, I think I'm a little too old for Utopia. Time I had some sleep," Professor Yana smiled.
A man's voice came over the intercom. "Professor, tell the Doctor we've found his blue box."
The Doctor grinned. "Ah!"
"Doctor," Rhea waved him over and he and Professor Yana joined her and Jack by the monitor that was clearly showing the TARDIS safely inside the silo.
The Doctor patted Professor Yana on the shoulder, reassuringly. "Professor, it's a wild stab in the dark, but I may just have found you a way out." He grabbed onto Rhea's hand and they headed into the TARDIS.
Rhea and the Doctor brought out a long power line, much like an extension cord, from out of the TARDIS and into the lab.
"Extra power," The Doctor plugged the cord into the outlet. "Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro-feeds." He ordered.
Just then, Martha and Chantho walked back inside.
Martha looked at the TARDIS and her eyes lit up. "Oh, am I glad to see that thing." She sighed.
Rhea sent her a withering glare. "Hey, don't call her a 'thing'." She snapped.
"Sorry," Martha held her hands up in air in a surrender position.
Chantho moved over to Professor Yana, who was sitting down with his head buried in his hands.
"Chan—Professor, are you all right—tho?" Chantho asked, worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine," Professor Yana cleared his throat. "I'm fine. Just get on with it."
"Connect those circuits into the spar — same as that last lot. But quicker," Jack ordered.
Rhea gave him the two-fingered salute, mockingly. "Yes, sir." She smirked.
The Doctor went over to Professor Yana, a pang of worry niggling at his insides when he saw the professor's weary form. "You don't have to keep working. We can handle it." He said, reassuringly.
Professor Yana shook his head. "It's just a headache. Just-Just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head."
The Doctor frowned in confusion. "What sort of noise?"
Professor Yana blinked. "It's the sound of drums. More and more, as though it's getting closer." He said, slowly.
Rhea approached him, slowly. "When did it start?" She asked, curiously.
Professor Yana cleared his throat. "Oh, I've had it all my life. Every waking hour. Still, no rest for the wicked." He slid to his feet and went back to work, leaving the Doctor and Rhea alone, looking thoughtful.
"He may have tinnitus," Rhea mused. "Apparently, my great-grandmother had it. At least, that's what my dad said. She heard machine sounds in her head. Drove her crazy, he said." She shook her head. "Or it may be exploding head syndrome. It would make sense. He is quite old. Of course, there's always schizophrenia to consider." She muttered.
The Doctor beamed down at her. "I love it when you go all psychologist on me."
Rhea bit back a laugh when the Doctor swooped down and crushed his lips against hers, his arms tugging her against his body by their grip on her waist. She hummed against her mouth, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as his mouth moved hers, deliciously. Her arms came up to wrap around his neck, her nails scraping against the nape of his neck, her fingers sliding into his thick, dark locks, tugging at the strands until she was mewling in his arms, his hands rubbing little circles against her hips.
"Get a room!" Jack groaned, rolling his eyes.
Rhea broke away from the Doctor to lick her lips and sent Jack a withering glare. "The only reason you're saying that is 'cause you genuinely wish you were all up in this." She gestured to herself and the Doctor, waggling her eyebrows.
Jack paused. "Now, I've never made a secret of that." He smirked, lasciviously.
"Wait a minute. Wait a minute." The Doctor snapped, holding his hands out. "There will be no getting up in any of this." He told Jack, warningly.
"Hey," Jack held his hands up in the surrender position. "She's the one who started it."
"What are you, seven?" Rhea snarked.
The Doctor closed his eyes, briefly, rubbing his temples as the vein in his neck throbbed, unpleasantly. "Stop baiting him." He patted her on the hip.
"Fine." Rhea grumbled.
Meanwhile, Martha and Chantho were working on the circuits together.
"How long have you been with the professor?" Martha asked, curiously.
"Chan—seventeen years—tho."
Martha swallowed hard, blinking in shock. "Blimey. A long time." She muttered.
"Chan—I adore him—tho." Chantho said, sweetly.
Martha ran her tongue over her lower lip. "Oh right, and he-"
Chantho's face fell. "Chan––I don't think he even notices—tho." She murmured, sadly.
Martha grimaced, remembering the slight crush she had formed on the Doctor when they had first met and how he had looked straight through her, directly to Rhea – she couldn't really fault that on him, though. For all of her talk of heterosexuality, she was half in love with the sharp-tongued, savage, jumping-to-and-from-random-moments-of-the-Doctor's-timeline (because, honestly, there was no concise way of explaining Rhea's phenomenon) psychologist from San Francisco. Sometimes, it was honest-to-God humiliating when the Doctor compared her to perfect bloody flawless blonde Rose; it had her wanting to yell at him as to why he had brought her on his stupid time machine if he just wanted Rose. But she had kept silent, if only because Rhea had defended her at her every turn, after every single of one of the Doctor's oblivious, insensitive, frankly tactless comments, but it didn't make his obvious disregard of her any easier (even if Rhea made things much better than it would have been without her).
"Tell me about it." She muttered.
Chantho shrugged. "Chan—but I am happy to serve—tho."
"Do you mind if I ask? Do you have to start every sentence with 'chan'?" Martha asked, hesitantly, wondering if she were about to offend Chantho with her comment.
Chantho nodded. "Chan—yes—tho."
"And end every sentence with…" Martha trailed off.
"Chan—tho—tho."
Martha raised an eyebrow. "What would you happen if you didn't?"
"Chan—that would be rude—tho." Chantho said, slowly.
Martha's eyes lit up. "What, like swearing?" She joked.
"Chan—indeed—tho."
"Go on, just once." Martha urged.
"Chan—I can't—tho." Chantho said, nervously, looking around.
"Oh, do it for me." Martha murmured.
"No."
And then, Chantho started giggling, madly. Both she and Martha collapsed into laughter, both of them entirely too engrossed to comprehend Rhea approaching them with a raised an eyebrow.
"Martha Jones," Rhea began, mock-sternly. "Don't tell me you've been corrupting the innocent alien."
"Who, me?" Martha's eyes widened, innocently.
Rhea raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, fine." Martha sighed in defeat. "Maybe I did." She said, reluctantly. She cracked a smile. "But I learnt from the best." She said, waggling her eyebrows.
Rhea beamed back. "I'm proud of you, young Padawan."
Martha groaned. "Could you at least try not to reference Star Wars every time you talk to me?"
Rhea huffed in mock-offence. "Do or do not, there is no try."
"Professor, are you getting me?" A voice came over the intercom.
Professor Yana rushed over to the monitor, seeing Atillo's face on the screen. "I'm here! We're ready! Now, all you need to do is connect the couplings. Then, we can launch." The screen went fuzzy. "God sakes! This equipment! Needs rebooting all the time!" He snarled.
"Anything I can do? I've finished that lot." Martha offered.
Professor Yana nodded. "Yes, if you could." He stood to his feet so that Martha could take his seat in front of the monitor. "Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes out." He instructed.
"Certainly, sir. Just don't ask me to do shorthand." Martha joked.
"Are you still there?" Atillo asked over the monitor.
"Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We'll keep the levels down from here." Professor Yana explained.
"He's inside. And good luck to him."
Professor Yana turned to Jack. "Captain, keep the levels below the red." He ordered.
The Doctor frowned. "Where is that room?" He asked.
"It's underneath the rocket. Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation." Professor Yana explained.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Stet? Never heard of it." He mumbled.
"No freaking way." Rhea deadpanned. "There's something you've never heard of?" She asked, incredulously.
"Shut up." The Doctor muttered under his breath.
"You wouldn't want to." Professor Yana said, grimly. "But, it's safe enough. We can hold the radiation back from here."
All of them watched on the monitor as Atillo's guy worked on the couplings from inside the red-tinted chamber, an alarm beginning to sound as the radiation grew.
"It's rising… 0.2. Keep it level!" Professor Yana ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Jack nodded.
The man in the radiation room moved onto the second coupling.
Suddenly, the sound of alarms only grew and Chantho's eyes widened with horror.
"Chan—we're losing power—tho!" She shouted.
Rhea looked down at the monitor. "Radiation's rising!" She exclaimed.
"We've lost control!" Jack growled.
Professor Yana swallowed hard. "The chamber's going to flood."
"Jack! Override the vents!" The Doctor shouted.
The man in the radiation room kept on working.
"Get out! Get out of there! Jate!"
In the lab, Jack took a hold of two live cables, feeling the electricity thrum under his fingers.
"We can jump start the override!" Jack shouted, pressing the live ends of the cables together.
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Don't! It's going to flare!" He yelled, warningly.
Jack screamed as the power coursed right through his body, setting his veins on fire.
"No!" Rhea shrieked.
Everyone watched helpless as his entire body seized up and fell to the floor.
"Jate, get out of there! Get out!"
Within the suit, Jate's body disintegrated into dust and the suit fell to the floor, empty.
"No!"
Rhea rushed over to Jack, falling to her knees beside him. "I can fix him." She muttered, furiously, Martha joining her once the younger girl had gotten over her shock.
"Chan—don't touch the cables—tho." Chantho, hurriedly, kicked away the cables.
While everyone rushed to check on Jack, the Doctor stood away, watching with unbelievable calmness.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Professor Yana said, apologetically.
The Doctor pursed his lips. "The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?"
Rhea took a deep breath and her head swooped down, her lips breathing air into his mouth, as her hands folded over her chest, pumping down with every stroke.
"Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing!" Professor Yana cursed.
"Come on, come on, come on." Rhea muttered, furiously.
The Doctor smirked, wryly. "Oh, I don't know." He walked forwards. "It's okay, Dimples, leave him." He pulled her up, gently, by the shoulders so that she could rest her head on his collarbone.
"No!" Rhea protested, loudly, shaking her head. "I have to save him."
"It's fine, Rhea, really. Come on. Come on. We need to leave him alone for a bit, lovely." The Doctor said, soothingly, pulling a distraught Rhea away from Jack's fallen body, despite her protests. He approached Professor Yana, a shaking Rhea still in his arms. "It strikes me, Professor, you've got a room a man can't enter without dying. Is that correct?"
Professor Yana nodded, slowly. "Yes."
"Well…" The Doctor drawled as Jack gasped for breath as he came back to life. Rhea's eyes rounded on his, green eyes widening in pure shock and horror as she trembled. The Doctor removed his glasses, thoughtfully. "I've got just the man."
"Was someone just kissing me?" Jack asked, suddenly.
Jack, Rhea and the Doctor raced through the corridors of the silo in the direction of the control room.
"Remind me again why you're coming as well." The Doctor asked, annoyed.
"Well, you two are at best functional morons. It's better if I come with you." Rhea shot back.
The Doctor growled low in his throat when they finally stopped outside the control room, joining the man who had come over the control room.
"Lieutenant, get onboard the rocket! I promise you're gonna fly." The Doctor swore, his eyes glinting.
"The chamber's flooded!" Atillo protested.
"Trust me. We've found a way of tripping the system. Run!" The lieutenant left, just as the Doctor and Rhea turned around to see Jack removing his shirt. "Wh-What are you taking your clothes off for?" The Doctor stammered, covering Rhea's eyes with the palm of his hand, blocking her view of Jack's growing nudity.
Rhea cursed under her breath and swiped at his hand, making it drop, rolling her eyes.
"I'm going in." Jack said, pointedly.
The Doctor glanced at the red-tinted, radiation room and Jack over and over again. "Well, by the looks of it, I'd say that stet radiation doesn't affect clothing, only flesh." He said, slowly and confused.
Jack cracked a grin, his eyes glinting lasciviously. "I look good though." He waggled his eyebrows, stopping at the door, turning around to send the Doctor a withering, wounded look. "How long have you known?"
The Doctor's shoulders slumped and he ducked his head down, feeling abashed for the first time in two years. "Ever since we ran away from you." He said, seriously. "Good luck." He nodded.
Jack threw open the door and ran in, going straight for the couplings, while the Doctor and Rhea watched from the outside, their faces pressed up against the small, circular window in the door.
"We lost picture when that thing flared up. Doctor, Rhea, are you there?" Martha's voice came over the monitor.
"Receiving, yeah." The Doctor nodded. "He's inside." He said, grimly.
"And still alive?" Martha asked, incredulously.
Rhea swallowed hard and stared the Doctor down, her face devoid of any emotion. "Apparently, so."
"But he should evaporate. What sort of a man is he?" Professor Yana asked, stunned.
Martha shook her head. "I've only just met him. The Doctor and Rhea sort of travel through time and space and pick people up." She grimaced. "God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are." She said, wryly.
"He travels in time?" Professor Yana said, incredulously, looking away as something else caught his attention for a brief moment, his eyes glazing over.
Martha shrugged. "Don't ask me to explain it." She gestured to the blue box behind them. "That's a TARDIS. The sports car of time travel, he says." She rolled her eyes. "But Rhea thinks that's just something Freudian."
"When did you first realize?" The Doctor asked, curiously.
Jack swallowed hard. "Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kinda strange. But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War I, World War II, poison, strangulation, a stray javelin…" The Doctor winced and Rhea simply stared at him, her eyes unfathomable. "In the end, I got the message, I'm the man who can never die. And all that time you knew." He said, coldly.
"I don't… I don't understand what's going on." Rhea stammered, running the palms of her hands over her eyes. "Would someone please explain to me what the hell is happening here? Because I am really freaking out here."
The Doctor pursed his lips and looked at Jack through the glass window. "She hasn't done it yet. She… doesn't know what happened." He murmured. He ducked his head down. "It's why I left you behind. It's not easy even just… just looking at you Jack, 'cause you're wrong." He murmured.
Jack grimaced. "Thanks." He said, sarcastically.
"Wrong? Why is he 'wrong'?" Rhea frowned, her hands shaking.
"You are, I can't help it." The Doctor shrugged. "I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. That's never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you… tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you." He muttered.
"So, you're prejudiced, basically." Rhea shook her in disappointment, as one of the couplings from inside hissed. "I could imagine that from a lot of people, but I got to say, coming from you is a surprise." She muttered.
The Doctor chuckled. "I never thought of it like that."
"Yeah." Jack shook his head.
"It's not funny." Rhea said, sharply, her hand pressing against the door.
"Last thing I remember back when I was mortal… I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life. What happened?" Jack asked him, his face etched in seriousness.
The Doctor swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to face Rhea. She was taken aback when his fingers curled around her wrist and pulled her away from the door.
"You can't hear any of this." The Doctor said, sternly.
"Doctor-" Rhea began.
"Please, lovely," The Doctor sighed, running his hands through his hair, his ministrations making the strands stand on end. "You can't hear any of this." He said, earnestly. "It'd disturb the timeline if you knew about your future. I know you don't understand any of what's going on with this and I know you're irritated, but you need to trust me on this." His hands gripped her shoulders. "You don't want to know your future, lovely." He rested his forehead against hers, praying that she would read just how much he needed her out of here.
"Fine." Rhea bit out through clenched teeth, sending Jack an apologetic look, who simply nodded in sympathy at her.
It wasn't her fault. She didn't even know what they were talking about.
"I'll, uh… just go back to Martha, then." Rhea rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly.
She pursed her lips, her eyes turning dark briefly, and she spun on her feet, walking away until she was a safe distance away from the Doctor and Jack and around a corner so that they both wouldn't know that she was still hear. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.
What'd they think? That I'd just do as they ask like a good little girl? She thought, incredulously.
"So, what happened?" Jack asked, coldly.
"Rose." The Doctor answered, grimly.
Jack frowned. "I thought you sent her back home." He said, confused.
Home? From where?
"She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex."
Wait, what? What the hell is going on here?
"What does that mean, exactly?" Jack asked, slowly.
The Doctor shook his head. "No one's ever mean to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god, a vengeful god. But she was human." He murmured, pausing briefly, as the events of what happened that day came to mind. "Everything she did was so human. She brought you back to life but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life." He murmured, more to himself than anything.
"And Rhea? Where does she come into all of this?" Jack asked, hardly.
The Doctor looked shifty, moving from one side to the other as he purposefully avoided Jack's piercing gaze through the radiation room.
He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "It's complicated. Rose… she did something to her as Bad Wolf, after the Daleks…" He swallowed hard, pain settling low in his stomach. "Even I have trouble explaining it." He said, sincerely, shaking his head. "I can tell you what happened to her, Jack. I'm sorry… it's… she doesn't know any of this. She can't know anything." He muttered
"Is she okay?" Jack asked, worriedly.
The Doctor blinked. "Oh, yes. She's fine. Happy. This Rhea's has absolutely no clue what's about to happen and the older Rhea… well, she's adapted quite well. Even I was surprised, but it's Rhea. It's what she's good at. Adapting." He mused.
"So, you two, huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"You knew that, already." The Doctor said, pointedly.
"But… sometimes…" Jack trailed off, all three of them knowing exactly what he was trying to say.
Sometimes I don't know what he means to me yet.
"It's very new for her." The Doctor said, quickly. "She's only known you up until the first time you saw her jump through my timeline. So, you have to be very careful about what you talk to her about." He said, warningly. "That's why I asked her to leave. She can't know about what happened to you, Jack." His eyes went wild. "I'm sorry, I am so sorry about what happened to you, Jack," His eyes closed, wearily. "But she'd be breaking a fixed point in time if she tried to change anything about what Rose did to you. And she'd do it for you." He chuckled, harshly. "Because she does genuinely care about you." He shook his head. "But I won't have her put herself in that kind of danger. Not for anyone. Not even for me." He said, grimly.
Rhea paused, pressing her head against the wall. She felt cold all of a sudden, turning around and crossing her arms over her chest. She pinched the bridge of her nose and then rubbed the heels of her hands over her sore eyes, the nausea of dread pulling at her stomach, as she ran everything that the Doctor had just said through her mind over and over again until the words physically made her sick to her stomach.
I should leave. Protecting myself is an acceptable thing to do in these circumstances. She thought, almost as if trying to reassure herself. Theo said to be smart and never get led into a trap unless it is your choice. Staying with him would be the dumbest choice I make. So, I have to leave. I have to leave him. She closed her eyes. But can I leave him now?
No, I can't.
I can't leave him.
Fuck.
Rhea bit back a groan of frustration and dug her teeth into her lower lip, biting down until she felt the flesh part and the blood pool. She ran her hands through her hair.
Even if I wanted to leave, I have to now. She realised, dully. No matter what happens, I can't change it. If I leave him now, then he won't be the same Doctor that knocks on my door in 2013. And then everything that I've done with him since then would get all screwed up. It's a damn vicious cycle. Both of my arms are twisted here. I have to go along with it. I have to potentially screw up my life and Jack's life and Rose's life just to keep the timeline going.
Great.
It were times like this she wished she was back in her apartment, watching The Good Wife, before the Doctor had swept her away in the TARDIS and effectively upturned her life.
"Rose. Do you think she could change me back?" Jack asked, haltingly.
Rhea waited with baited breath for the Doctor's answer.
The Doctor shook his head. "I took the power out of her. She's gone, Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world; she's trapped there. The walls have closed." He said, mournfully, ducking his head down.
Rhea felt the pain of sudden grief slice right through her, genuine and vivid, despite every single urge in her mind that was screaming at her to get the fuck out of here. Rose. Pretty, sweet, naïve, young, eager Rose. She didn't deserve that kind of fate. She deserved better. She rubbed her eyes, feeling them ache, desperately, every single time she rubbed them, beyond the simple sting of tears that she would not shed, not even for Rose.
"I'm sorry." Jack said, shaking his head, knowing what the loss of Rose meant to the Doctor and Rhea.
"Yep." The Doctor nodded, wearily.
"I went back to her estate, in the 90s, just once or twice. Watched her growing up." Jack shrugged. "Rhea, too. Saw her with her folks when she was a teenager. She was real pretty, even back then. But lonely, she looked lonely. And hurt. Never said hello, though, no matter how much I wanted to, timelines and all that."
Rhea pursed her lips. Story of my life.
The Doctor smiled, sadly. "I suppose you see her the way I see her. She's always perfect, no matter which Rhea she is." He mused. Suddenly, he frowned, pressing his forehead against the glass. "Do you wanna die?"
Rhea stilled.
Jack pretended to struggle with the next coupling. "Oh, this one's a little stuck." He chuckled, wryly.
The Doctor rolled his eyes, his hands slamming against the door. "Jack?" He said, sternly.
Jack took a deep breath and stared the Time Lord down. "I thought I did." He said, honestly. I dunno. But this lot, you see them out here surviving and that's fantastic." He enthused, both of them exchanging a knowing, blinding grin, just as he moved onto the last coupling.
"You may be out there somewhere." The Doctor mused.
Jack chuckled. "I could go meet myself." He offered.
The Doctor grinned. "Well, the only man you're ever gonna be happy with."
Jack shook his head, ducking his head down with a smile. "This new regeneration, it's kinda cheeky." He snickered.
"Hmm." The Doctor smiled.
With that, Rhea took a deep breath and moved along the corridor, not stopping until she reached Professor Yana's laboratory, her arms wrapped around her stomach, as if holding herself together.
"Hey, Rhea, where've you been?" Martha asked, curiously.
"Just took my time." Rhea shrugged, nonchalantly.
Martha glanced at the monitor. "I never understand half the things he says."
Rhea smirked. "No one does, that's the point of him." She nudged the other girl. She turned to Professor Yana to see his eyes glazed over, staring at nothing in particular. "Is there something wrong, Professor?"
"Chan—Professor, what is it—tho?" Chantho asked, worriedly.
Professor Yana swallowed hard. "Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? I'm just a stupid old man." He chuckled, wryly. "Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked." He pulled out a familiar silver fob watch from his waistcoat pocket.
Rhea tensed.
The Doctor held up a small, silver pocket watch in front of them.
"Rhea, Martha, this watch is me."
"Time and time and time again. Always running out on me." Professor Yana shook his head.
Martha gave Rhea a terrifyingly worried look, Rhea replying with an achingly sharp warning in her eyes, silently ordering Martha to keep her mouth shut and her face blank.
"Do you mind if I have a look at that?" Rhea asked, sweetly, taking a step closer to the professor and transforming her face into a picture of innocence.
"Oh, it's only an old relic." Professor Yana chuckled, wryly. "Like me."
"Where did you get it?" Martha asked, curiously.
Professor Yana blinked. "Hm? I was found with it." He murmured.
"What do you mean?" Rhea asked.
"An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with only this." Professor Yana held up the watch.
"Have you opened it?" Martha asked, hurriedly.
Rhea cursed under her breath. "Martha, don't." She growled, her eyes turning unnerved as they fell onto the silver watch clutched in a withered hand.
"Why would I? It's broken." Professor Yana said, slowly.
"How do you know it's broken if you never opened it?"
"Martha, please shut up." Rhea begged under her breath.
"It's stuck. It's old. It's not meant to be. I don't know."
Rhea snatched the watch from the professor, turning it over in her lithe hand, something catching in her lungs as she saw the same engravings on it as the one that had turned the Doctor into John Smith (she flinched back from that thought; he wasn't someone he needed to think of right now)
She took a step back.
"Does it matter?" Professor Yana asked, curiously.
"No. It's nothing." Rhea shook her head, strongly, making her face into an unfathomable mask, a pretty, unassuming smile curving in an attempt to fool him. "It's fine. Everything's fine up here. I think Martha and I will go and see if the Doctor needs us." She smiled, unassumingly.
Jack released the last coupling. "Yes!" He exclaimed.
"Now, get out of there! Come on!" The Doctor shouted.
Rhea and Martha ran through the corridors, Rhea's heels scraping against the floor and Martha a few steps behind Rhea, but hot on her heels.
Jack ran into the control room, just as the Doctor called Atillo, Jack donning on his jacket.
"Lieutenant, everyone on board?" The Doctor asked, quickly.
"Ready and waiting."
"Stand by! Two minutes to ignition." The Doctor hung up.
Jack and the Doctor were busy working at the controls when Rhea and Martha rushed in, coming to a halt right in front of them.
"Hello, lovely," The Doctor beamed, swooping down and kissing the corner of her luscious, red mouth. "You're just in time. The footprint is a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It's gonna take the both of us to keep it stable." He explained.
Rhea dipped underneath his outstretched, long arms and placed herself right in front of the controls, the Doctor's arms trapping her.
"Yeah, see, about that. We have a problem." Rhea said, quickly. "And when I mean 'problem', I mean a huge-ass, potentially-apocalyptic, mind-blowing, fucking-unbelievable problem." She swallowed hard. "Professor Yana. He has a fob watch. It looks exactly like yours. The same writing, the same… well, everything."
"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor muttered, his eyes focused on the controls in front of him.
Rhea scowled and curled her fingers around his jaw, forcibly turning his face to hers. "He said he's had it all his life." She said, sternly.
"So, he's got the same watch." Jack said, nonchalantly, not being able to see what the big problem was.
"Yeah, but it's not a watch. It's this chameleon thing." Martha tried to explain.
The Doctor shook his head, suddenly flustered by Rhea's grip on his jaw, the earnestness of her green eyes and what she had just revealed. "No, no, no. It's this… This thing, this device, it rewrites biology, changes a Time Lord into a human." He explained, hurriedly.
"And it's the same watch." Rhea said, slowly.
"It can't be." The Doctor stared down at her, his eyes burning with disbelief.
An alarm blared at the Doctor pushed himself away from Rhea, trying to fix it.
"That means he could be a Time Lord. You might not be the last one." Jack said, pointedly.
"Jack, keep it level!" The Doctor ordered, purposefully avoiding Jack's words.
"But that's brilliant, isn't it?" Martha beamed.
"No, hypothetically, we're looking at an unknown Time Lord." Rhea licked her lips. "He could be a maniac for all we know." She looked up at the Doctor. "Is this good or not?" She asked, quietly, her eyes flashing as her shoulders squared.
"Yes, it is. Course it is. Depends which one." The Doctor muttered. "Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Time Lords. All of them, they died." He felt his voice get stuck in his throat.
"Not if he was human." Rhea said, slowly.
"What did he say, Rhea?" The Doctor asked, slowly. He lunged towards her. "What did he say?!" He roared.
Rhea swallowed hard, looking up at his crazed, dark eyes and her stomach churned with dread. "He didn't even seem to see it, Doctor. It was just like that perception filter thing that was on John's watch." She said, determinedly.
"What about now? Can he see it now?" The Doctor asked, horrified.
Rhea rubbed her arms, avidly, her eyes turning wild as her mind ran a mile a minute. "If they escaped the Time War, then this is the perfect place to hide. The end of the universe. No one would think to look for them here. You yourself said that no Time Lord had ever come this far." She pursed her lips. "The Face of Boe called it, remember. His dying words. He said…"
The Doctor slammed his hand down on the button that would launch the rocket. Suddenly, Rhea spun around, watching as the Doctor completely seized up. His limbs tightened and his eyes widened, his lips thinning and his face draining of blood. His hands trembled at his side and Rhea watched, unsure of what to do, as something unimaginable seemed to pass right over his face.
"You are not alone."
"Y.A.N.A." Rhea breathed, dawning with realisation and dread.
The Doctor rushed to the phone. "Lieutenant, have you achieved velocity? Have you done it? Lieutenant! Have you done it?" He asked, quickly, his voice practically a shout at this point.
"Affirmative. We'll see you in Utopia."
"Good luck." The Doctor muttered, hanging up the phone and grabbing onto Rhea's hand with his own clammy one, dragging her from the control room as they ran, feverishly, Martha and Jack following them.
Just as they reached the laboratory, the main door closed of its own accord and the Doctor and Rhea felt their bodies slam against the metal. Jack reached them at that time and his fingers, furiously, worked the keypad as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver.
"Get it open! Get it open!" The Doctor shouted, frantically.
Jack finally managed to get the door open and all four of them ran through. Making their way down the corridors, the Doctor, Rhea, Jack and Martha fell right into the arms of the tribe of the Futurekind, forcing them to spin around and run in a completely different direction. Finally, Rhea found herself at an intersecting hallway and motioned for the others to follow her, her fingers slipping into the backs of her jeans and hooking into her blaster.
"This way!" Rhea shouted.
The Doctor, Rhea, Jack and Martha arrived at the locked lab door and Jack, immediately, went to work on the keypad, as the Doctor looked through the window, seeing the Professor and Chantho's fallen form.
"Professor!" The Doctor pounded on the window with a balled-up fist. "Professor, let me in! Let me in! Jack, get the door open!" He shouted. Suddenly, the professor disappeared from sight. "Professor! Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there?! Please, I need to explain! Whatever you do, don't open that watch!"
Rhea looked down the corridor, hearing the sounds of roars and padded footsteps from around the corner, the shadows of the approaching Futurekind growing. Her fingers curled around the grip of the gun, her thumb moving over the hammer in anticipation.
"They're coming," Rhea said, warningly.
"Professor!" The Doctor shouted, desperately. "Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor! Please! Listen to me!" He cried out.
Rhea's heart ached at the pain that coloured his voice. Her hand almost reached for him when she remembered what was fast approaching them.
"Open the door, please!" The Doctor roared.
"Oh, fuck this!" Rhea snarled.
She twisted the gun around in her hand and slammed the butt of her blaster into the keypad, narrowly missing Jack's fingers, and smashing the keypads and the circuits to smithereens. The door slid open and the Doctor rushed inside, stopping in his tracks when he saw Professor Yana. The Doctor moved forwards, but the professor backed away into the TARDIS, locking it so that the Doctor couldn't get inside. The Doctor rushed forwards and jammed in his key into the lock on the blue doors, but for some reason, the key wouldn't turn either way. He stepped away and the Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver, flashing it at the TARDIS, a small whirring sound echoing through the lab, but failing almost immediately.
The Doctor snarled through clenched teeth and leapt forwards, pounding on the doors of the TARDIS with his fists. "Let me in! Let me in!" He roared, his voice cracking from the force of the emotion.
Martha fell to her knees by Chantho's side, two fingers pressing against her neck. "She's dead." She breathed in horror.
"I broke the lock. We have a problem here. Give us a hand!" Rhea shouted, motioning Martha over to her and Jack.
"I'm begging you! Everything's changed! It's only the two of us! We're the only ones left!" The Doctor yelled, desperately. "Just let me in!"
Suddenly, all of them turned around, hearing a loud scream of pain and a golden light brimmed from inside the TARDIS, the Doctor's eyes widening with horror as he realised that the Time Lord inside had regenerated. The Futurekind finally arrived at the door and Rhea, Martha and Jack slammed it as shut as they possibly could, holding them back as much as possible with the door not being able to be properly shut.
"Doctor! You need to think of something!" Rhea shouted.
Suddenly, a man's voice – new and young and no fucking way that's the professor – filled the laboratory, seemingly coming from inside the TARDIS.
"Doctor… and the lovely Rhea,"
Rhea's eyes widened in disbelief, her hands slamming down against the door as she pushed backwards with all her might. Who the fuck is this guy and how does he know my name?
She felt an almost instantaneous dislike.
"Ooh, new voice." His voice lowered, dramatically. "Hello," His voice rose to a high-pitch. "Hello," His voice lowered to a normal pitch. "Hello. Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me? I don't think!" He snickered.
Rhea frowned. Wait a second, that voice sounds familiar.
"Hold on! I know that voice!" Martha shouted, from her position at the door.
The Futurekind chieftain managed to slid an arm through the door. Rhea snarled and her hand curled around his forearm, pushing it back in an unnatural direction until she heard the bone snap and him scream in pain, a twisted yet pleased smile curling on her lipstick-painted lips.
"I'm asking you, really properly! Just stop! Just think!" The Doctor shouted, running his hands through his hair.
"Use my name." The man murmured, meaningfully.
"Master." The Doctor breathed. "I'm sorry."
"Tough!" The Master cackled and Rhea's eyes widening, hearing a familiar groaning and wheezing and grinding sound echo throughout the laboratory.
The Doctor held out his sonic screwdriver, his face drawn into a look of determination.
"Doctor, there's no way in hell we can hold out much longer!" Rhea shrieked.
"Oh, no, you don't!" The Master shouted from inside. "End of the universe. Have fun. Bye, bye!"
"Doctor, stop him!" Martha yelled.
Rhea, Jack and Martha fought off the Futurekind as they tried their hardest to enter into the laboratory, while the Doctor could only watch in horror and dread as the TARDIS dematerialised.
A/N: Whew, boy! Utopia finally finished. I never thought it would end, to be honest. I hope you guys liked my rendition of it, anyway. We got some light-hearted teasing between Docthea and Rhea rebelling against the way the Doctor treats Jack, because I felt like he needed a champion in this episode – the Doctor was such a jackass and someone needed to bring him down a peg or two.
We had some emotionally vulnerable Rhea when she was hearing the conversation between the Doctor and Jack. I actually wrote three versions of that scene. One with Rhea with Martha and the Professor, one with Rhea staying with the Doctor and Jack and another where Rhea hid from the Doctor and Jack and listened into the conversation. Unfortunately, Rhea doesn't know what's good for her and she had to know what was going on.
Of course, this asks what I've got planned for Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways. All I can say is that it's going to be… interesting. And I kind of like the idea of Rhea knowing the horrible things that it's in store for Rose because it adds this extra element to Rhea's relationship with Rose and the Doctor. Will she continue to get close to Rose knowing what's going to happen to her? Will the Doctor get angry at her in Doomsday and The Parting of the Ways because Rhea knew about Rose's fate? I think it's interesting to explore that angle of the Docthea relationship, because it is potentially problematic to have one person in the relationship know the other person's future.
Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter as much as I liked writing it and don't forget to drop me a line somewhere if you liked it!
Reviews:
NicoleR85: Thank you so much! As you can see, the Master is very much aware of Rhea's existence, and well, I can promise you their relationship is going to be intense.
grapejuice101: I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Imsebastianstanbutter: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed the update!
Djmegamouth: Thank you!
Nerd4StageAndScreen: I can promise you the whole Master arc is going to be very intense, especially with Rhea's existence. And, I have no immediate plans for 12, but I'm hoping to do a chapter soon.
SporkGender: He does know about Rhea, as you can probably tell by the end of this chapter, but of course, she doesn't know him from a hole in the wall, but the whole 'I know you but you don't know me' thing will definitely raise her hackles. He's not quite jealous of her, but he's not in love with her or anything. His feelings for her are very… complex, to say the least. He wants her, but he wants her dead at the same time. Thank you so much for your review!
Guest: Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
TimeladyAlly: Well, I don't want to spoil anything as to the Master's and Rhea's relationship, but it will be very intense and he'll definitely enjoy messing with her.
LookAliveSunshine03: They definitely will be getting more interesting in the next chapter, I can promise that. The Master… well, he'll enjoy screwing with her to say the least.
deathb4beauty: Thank you so much! Yes, I can't wait for 13 either. And I can't wait to write 13/Rhea as well!