A/N: So, I decided to stick with one interlude chapter and go straight to Last of the Time Lords. It's going to be pretty insane, considering the subject matter, so keep that in mind.
Replies to Reviews: I've put the replies to the reviews down at the bottom of the chapter.
Warnings: Sexual Content. Violence. Language. Very Dark Themes.
The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday
Chapter 76
Last of the Time Lords: I Am Legend
"Citizens rejoice. Your lord and master stands on high, playing Track 3."
The door to the conference room upon the Valiant swung open and the Master spun inside, singing along to the song that was playing on the loudspeaker. He strutted and slid over to Lucy, who wore a delicate red gown, and gave her a long kiss. He threw himself into a chair at the table and spun as Francine, in a maid's uniform, served him tea.
Moments later, the Master ran up onto the bridge and began ringing an old-fashioned ship's bell. The Doctor, withered and tired, crawled out of a tent that had straw on the floor, over to a bowl that had 'DOG' etched crudely into the side. Suddenly, the Master appeared in his vision and forced him into a wheelchair, dragging him around the room, unceremoniously, until they ended up at one of the windows.
"It's ready to rise, Doctor. The new Time Lord Empire." Toclafane spheres floated by. "It's good, isn't it?" The Doctor's face didn't change. "Isn't it good? Anything? No? Anything?" He waved his hand in front of the Doctor's face. He smiled, triumphantly, as his eyes dawned with realisation. "Oh, but they broke your hearts, didn't they?" He said, kindly. "Those Toclafane, ever since you worked out what they really are." His lip curled. "They say Martha Jones… has come back home." He leaned in. "Now why would she do that?"
"Leave her alone," The Doctor said, darkly.
The Master grinned. "Such protectiveness," His voice lowered. "It's a shame that you don't feel the same way about your little lost-in-time girl." There was a sick glint in his eyes. "If you only knew what my boys and I have been doing to her…" He trailed off.
The Doctor stared up at him, an unfathomable look in his eyes, his jaw tense. "She will kill you for what you did. You know that, don't you?" He said, almost pitying the fate that the Master had invited upon himself.
The Master blinked. "If she ever gets out of her chains. For someone of her… reputation, I was a bit disappointed that she never tried to escape. She just… stands there. Like a doll," He said, morosely.
The Doctor shook his head. "Despite your interactions with her, Koschei, you don't know Rhea very well. She can escape any time she wants. She simply chooses not to." A flicker of a smile appeared on his face. "I'm sure she's told you that to your face."
The Master's face darkened. "Let's get back to the adventurous Martha Jones, shall we? While I love talking about our mutual acquaintance, she's definitely a hot-button topic with us, and I'd hate to take out all my frustration and anger on her. She's still healing from the last round." The Doctor scowled. "So, Martha Jones, you said something to her, didn't you? On the day I took control. What did you tell her?"
The Doctor shook his head. "I have one thing to say to you. You know what it is."
"Oh, no, you don't!" The Master jumped to his feet and pushed the Doctor away until he hit a wall.
"Valiant now entering Zone One airspace. Citizens rejoice," The PA intoned.
The Master clapped his hands together, a beaming smile on his face. "Come on, people! What are we doing? Launch Day in 24 hours!"
The Doctor, subtly, pressed three fingers against his thigh. Francine walked by, catching the signal out of the corner of her eye, and out into a corridor past Clive, who worked as a janitor. She held up three fingers and kept walking as if nothing had happened. When Tish passed Clive moments later, he passed the same signal over to her. Tish then approached a gated area and a guard allowed her inside.
Jack hung there, strung up to the walls on either side of him by chains that were wrapped around his wrists. His face was dark and grimy with dirt, his clothes torn in certain places. His eyes were weary and strained, but his smile was boyishly cheerful.
"Morning, Tish." He took a deep breath. "Ah, smell that sea air. Makes me long for good old fish and chips." He laughed, looking at the tray in Trish's hand. "Yeah. What do I get?" He grimaced. "Cold mashed swede. Some hotel. Last time I book over the Internet." He joked, dryly.
Tish fed him a spoonful and held three fingers against the tray where he can see it. He nodded.
"I'll get Rhea," Jack said, lowly.
The clock on the bridge read 2:58. The Doctor looked over at Francine and Tish. In their respective locations, Clive and Jack could both see the time as well. Jack began to pull on his chains. The Master walked into the conference room, followed by Lucy.
"Time for my massage," The Master sighed. "Who shall I have today?" He looked thoughtful. His eyes lit up. "Tanya. Come on, sweetheart." He gestured to one of the girls. He turned back to Lucy, who shied away from him. "Lucy, have you met Tanya? She's gorgeous." Lucy's face was fierce with anger and jealousy, as the Master slipped off his jacket and threw it onto the table. "Tanya, when we get to the stars, I'm gonna take you to Katria Nova. Whirlpools of gold." He winked.
The bolts holding Jack's chains were slowly coming free of the wall.
The Master took a seat. "You two should get to know each other," He smirked, waggling his eyebrows. "That might be fun." His eyes lit up, as Tanya began to massage his shoulders. "I'm sure Rhea would love to get acquainted with these two. In a biblical sense, if you catch my drift." He turned to the Doctor. "What do you think?"
The Doctor's jaw twitched.
Jack groaned as he pulled the chains free. He grabbed a steam hose and turned it on his guard, sending the man sprawling onto the ground. At the same time, Clive threw water on some exposed wiring clustered near a wall, starting a fire.
"Condition red!" The PA whistled.
The Master frowned, going up the stairs to the bridge. "What the hell?"
"Repeat: condition red."
Jack rushed into the room where they kept Rhea to find her standing weakly on her legs, her wrists bound by manacles that were chained to the floor. Beside her, was a large, square hatch in the floor and horror curdled in his gut as he remembered the Master taunting him with the fact that Rhea was currently stuffed in a hole like a corpse. He looked around, desperately, searching for something that he could use to break the chains.
"What are you doing?" Rhea asked, weakly, her head lolling from side to side.
"Looking for something to break the cuffs," Jack muttered.
Suddenly, he heard two identical snaps and Jack rounded on her, watching with horror and shock as she pulled her wrists from the manacles, stumbling over to him, blood dripping down her hands from where skin had peeled off.
"How the hell did you do that?" Jack breathed.
"I dislocated my thumbs. Can we go now?" Rhea asked, impatiently.
When Jack and Rhea finally reached the corridor outside her cell, they came face to face with an alarming number of soldiers, guns cocked at the ready, barrels pointed straight at them.
"Oh, give me a break," Rhea muttered under her breath.
Jack looked at her, guilt twisting his face. "Sorry about this."
He shoved her, unceremoniously, to the side, intending to take the bullets himself, as she hit the wall and slumped to the ground. But as the soldiers rained open fire, Rhea's hands scrambled across the floor for stray bits of shrapnel and glass and rock, hoarding them in her hands. Pieces twisted in her hands and she threw them with exceptional precision at the soldiers. The ground soaked with blood as the shrapnel, glass and rock opened up the soldiers' throats in moments.
Jack stared at Rhea with wide eyes. "How… how the hell did you do that?" He asked, bemused.
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "After everything you've seen me do, this surprises you?" She asked, incredulously.
Suddenly, lines of soldiers rushed down the length of the corridor to meet them at the other end.
Francine grabbed the Master's jacket, which was lying on the table, and threw it to Tish, who passed it into the Doctor's hands. The Doctor pulled out the laser screwdriver out of one of the pockets and aimed at the Master.
"Oh, I see," The Master said, dryly, putting his hands up in surrender.
"I told you. I have one thing to say," The Doctor growled.
His face fell when the screwdriver didn't seem to work, and the Master simply laughed.
"Oh, crap. Here we go again," Jack muttered, throwing his arms out as the men fired again.
Rhea, frantically, searched for anything to use as a weapon, but before she could, the hilt of a gun headed her way and made contact with her skull.
All she saw was black.
The Doctor twisted the screwdriver in his hands, hoping that something he would do would make it work.
The Master leaned over, ecstatically smug. "Isomorphic controls." He snatched the screwdriver from the Doctor and viciously backhanded him, sending him to the floor in a daze."Which means they only work for me. Like this." He shot at the wall, mere millimetres from where Francine had pressed herself against. "Say sorry!" He said, warningly.
"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry!" Francine shouted through gritted teeth, scrambling away from the scorch mark on the wall.
"Mum!" Tish called out, worriedly, running to her mother.
The Master rolled his eyes. "Didn't you learn anything from the blessed Saint Martha?" Lucy rushed over to him, picking up his jacket carefully and helping him put it on. "Siding with the Doctor is a very dangerous thing to do. Take them away." He said, grimly.
"Move! Come on." A guard forced Francine and Tish out of the room.
"Okay, gotcha," The Master grunted, as he lifted the Doctor into a chair. "There you go, Gramps." He sat on the edge of the table. "Oh, do you know, I remember the days when the Doctor, oh, that famous Doctor, was waging a Time War with his lady love." He said, wistfully. "Battling Sea Devils and Axons. He sealed the rift at the Medusa Cascade single-handed. Ooh." His smirk widened. "And look at him now." He said, mockingly. "Stealing screwdrivers. How did he ever come to this?" He asked, looking around, dramatically. "Oh, yeah. Me!" He laughed.
"I just need you to listen." The Doctor murmured.
"No, it's my turn," The Master said, dramatically. "And we shouldn't forget the Marion Ravenwood to your Indiana Jones. You know I never thought I'd actually have her in chains. And for a year, no doubt!" He leaned in. "She always seemed so… indestructible, put-together, unyielding. And now? She's a mere shell of herself. Although, not that she would ever admit it. Her poker face is the stuff of legends, I swear." His lip curled in resentment. He quickly covered it up with a triumphant smile. "It must destroy you, Doctor, to love someone so much and be helpless when faced with her ruin."
The Master grinned.
"But revenge! Best served hot. And this time… it's a message for Miss Jones."
Martha stood there, watching a screen of an old monitor, as a grainy, black and white shot of the Master appeared slowly.
The Master stared into the camera.
"My people. Salutations on this, the eve of war," He said, kindly. "Lovely woman."
In their cells, the Jones family watched.
"But I know there's all sorts of whispers down there."
Jack stared up at the screen, his arms once again shackled to the wall.
"Stories of a child, walking the Earth, giving you hope."
The Master walked to stand beside the Doctor.
"But I ask you… how much hope has this man got?" He turned to the Doctor. "Say hello, Gandalf. Except he's not that old but he's an alien with a much greater lifespan than you stunted, little apes." His nose wrinkled. "What if it showed?" He looked at the Doctor with wide eyes. "What if I suspend your capacity to regenerate? All nine-hundred years of your life, Doctor. What if we could see them?" He asked, mockingly.
Rhea wrapped her arms around her knees, staring up at the grill of the cage he had once again shoved her into.
The Master pointed the screwdriver at the Doctor and he convulsed once again, wildly, muscles spasming in every direction, as the wormhole swarmed around him and the very constitution of his being was altered. Painfully.
"Older and older and older."
The whole world watched as the Doctor writhed in agony.
"Down you go, Doctor," The Master hummed.
The Doctor slumped to the floor.
"Down, down, down you go."
The wormhole dissolved and the high-pitched hum in the air faded.
"Doctor."
The Master bent down to peer at the pile of the Doctor's clothes, which just lay there as if empty. Up by the neck, a large, domed head peered out of the pinstripe suit, with huge, blinking eyes that seemed too otherworldly to be true. The Master smiled and walked back to the camera.
"Received and understood, Miss Jones?"
Tom Milligan, Martha's recently-acquainted, medical officer companion stared at her, with pity in his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
All Martha could do was smile. "The Doctor's still alive," She paused. "And he'd never let the Master kill Rhea."
"Obviously the Archangel Network would seem to be… the Master's greatest weakness. 15 satellites all around Earth, still transmitting. That's why there's so little resistance. It's broadcasting a telepathic signal that keeps people scared," Professor Docherty mused.
"We could just take them out," Tom wondered out loud.
"We could," The look on Professor Docherty's face was sardonic to say the least. "15 ground-to-air missiles. You got any on you?" She asked, mockingly. "Besides, any military action, the Toclafane descend."
Martha rolled her eyes. "They're not called Toclafane. That's a name the Master made up," She said, pointedly.
"Then what are they?"
Martha smiled. "That's why I came to find you. Know your enemy," She said, sweetly. "I've got this." She pulled out a CD out of her bag. "No one's been able to look at a sphere close up. They can't even be damaged. Except once. The lightning strike in South Africa brought one of them down. Just by chance. I've got the readings on this." She explained.
Professor Docherty placed the disc into the computer, banging it a few times before it finally worked.
"Oh, whoever thought we'd miss Bill Gates," She muttered under her breath.
Tom frowned at Martha. "So, is that why you travelled the world? To find a disc?" He asked, bemused.
A grin was on Martha's face as she shook her head. "No. Just got lucky." She said, modestly.
"I heard stories that you walked the Earth to find a way to build a weapon," Professor Docherty declared, and Martha could practically hear the Doctor's voice in her head. "There!" She exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "A current of 58.5 kilo amperes transferred charge of 510 megajoules precisely."
Tom peered at the screen. "Can you recreate that?"
Professor Docherty was silent for a moment, before she decided that she could. Easily.
Martha smiled, pleased. "All right then, Dr Milligan, we're gonna get us a sphere."
Tom stood outside the plant, a gun in hand, waiting. He fired the gun three times before he took off running frantically, a sphere following him within moments. Martha was watching him, carefully, fists clenched at her sides, while Professor Docherty made the final preparations.
"He's coming! You ready?!" She asked Professor Docherty, quickly.
She could practically see the scowl through Professor Docherty's shoulders. "You do your job, I'll do mine!" She said, sharply.
"Now!" Tom shouted.
Professor Docherty turned on the power and the sphere was caught in an electric field. Unable to stand the resistance, it dropped to the ground abruptly. As the three approached, Tom trained his gun on it.
"That's only half the job. Let's find out what's inside," Professor Docherty said, grimly.
The Master led a somewhat timid Lucy into the Valiant's conference room. The girl's arm was tight around the Master's, as she clung to him, fearing another bruise like the one that already decorated her face.
"Kill him before he kills whatever is left of you."
Lucy closed her eyes and was only brought out of her haze when the Master spoke.
"Tomorrow, they launch. We're opening up a rift in the Braccatolian space. They won't see us coming." He smiled. "Kinda scary." He mused.
The Doctor watched from the bird cage in which he had been imprisoned. "Then stop," He advised.
The Master grinned. "Once the empire is established and there's a new Gallifrey in the heavens, maybe then… it stops." He approached the Doctor and stared at him through the bars. "The drumming. The never-ending drumbeat." He whispered.
The Doctor took a deep breath, knowing what was coming.
"Ever since I was a child. I looked into the vortex. That's when it chose me. The drumming, the call to war. Can't you hear it?" He asked, fiercely. "Listen, it's there now. Right now. Tell me you can hear it, Doctor. Tell me." His hands clutched the bars of the cage, viciously, his face pressed right up against the metal.
The Doctor shook his head. "It's only you."
The Master's face shuttered. "Good."
The door swung open and a sphere entered.
"Tomorrow, the war. Tomorrow we rise. Never to fall," It sang.
The Master jumped, excitedly. "You see? I'm doing it for them!" He gestured, wildly. "You should be grateful!" His voice lowered to a taunting croon. "After all, you love them. So very, very much." He purred.
Professor Docherty focused on opening the sphere.
"There's some sort of magnetic clamp," She hissed, straining. "Hold on, I'll just trip the-" The clamp was freed and Professor Docherty opened the sides like petals. "Oh my God!" She cried out.
Martha and Tom peered inside and instantly recoiled, flinching at the sight before them. There was a wizened head jammed inside, attached by wires to machinery. Lights switched on and its eyes snapped open. The three jumped back, startled.
"It's alive," Professor Docherty mouthed.
"Martha. Martha Jones," The head stared directly at the woman in question.
Tom frowned and looked at Martha. "It knows you." He stared at her with confusion and surprise.
"Sweet, kind Martha Jones. You helped us to fly."
Martha licked her lips. "What do you mean?" She asked, carefully.
"You led us to salvation."
"Who are you?" Martha asked, fiercely.
"The skies are made of diamonds."
Martha's eyes widened, and she backed away. "No. You can't be him," She whispered.
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.
"We share each other's memories. You sent him to Utopia."
Martha gagged and stumbled away. "Oh my God!" She cried out.
"What's it talking about? What's it mean?" Tom asked, looking at her worriedly.
Professor Docherty's face matched the same confusion.
"What are they?" She asked.
Martha just shook her head, unable to say a word as she swallowed down the bile and disgust.
"Martha. Martha, tell us. What are they?" Tom asked, urgently.
"They're us," Martha said, dully. "They're humans. The human race from the future."
The Master sat down at the table.
"I took Lucy to Utopia. A Time Lord and his human companion," He said, mockingly. "I took her to see the stars. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" He looked at his wife, a seemingly adoring look on his face.
"Trillions of years into the future," Lucy hummed. "To the end of the universe."
The Master chucked her under the chin. "Tell him what you saw." He ordered, gently.
Lucy's eyes were wide and bright and earnest when she stared at the Doctor. "Dying. Everything dying. The whole of creation was falling apart. And I thought… there's no point. No point to anything. Not ever," She whispered.
The Master grinned at the Doctor, triumphantly. "And it's all your fault."
"I'd sort of worked it out, with the paradox machine," Martha explained. "Because the Doctor said, on the day before the Master came to power, he said…"
"When he was stealing the TARDIS, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them permanently." The Doctor explained.
The Doctor held out his sonic screwdriver, his face drawn into a look of determination.
"He can only travel between the year one-hundred trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed. Which is right here, right now." The Doctor said, grimly.
"The Master had the TARDIS, this time machine, but the only other place he could go was the end of the universe. So, he found Utopia."
"You should have seen it, Doctor," The Master shook his head. "Furnaces, burning. The last of humanity screaming at the dark."
"The Utopia Project was the last hope. Trying to find a way to escape the end of everything."
Martha's voice was wrecked.
"There was no solution, no diamonds. Just the dark and the cold," A sphere sang.
"All that human invention that had sustained them across the eons. It all turned inwards. They cannibalised themselves.," The Master said, disgust colouring his voice.
"We made ourselves so pretty," The sphere hummed.
"Regressing into children. But it didn't work. The universe was collapsing around them," The Master explained.
"But then the Master came with his wonderful time machine to bring us back home."
Professor Docherty frowned. "But that's a paradox," She protested. "If you're the future of the human race, and you've come back to murder your ancestors, you should cancel yourselves out. You shouldn't exist."
Martha surprised herself by smiling grimly. "And that's the paradox machine."
"My masterpiece, Doctor. A living TARDIS, strong enough to hold the paradox in place, allowing the past and the future to collide in infinite majesty," The Master smirked. "Although, I didn't think it would have half the effect it seemed to have on dear, sweet Rhea." He paused. "Does she know? About her and the TARDIS? About why she jumps in and out of your timeline?" He asked, curiously.
"Spoilers," The Doctor said, darkly.
The Master held a hand against his heart. "Like I would tell her anything," He pouted.
"She shouldn't be here," The Doctor held onto the bars, frantically, as he protested. "You're changing history. Not just Earth, the entire universe." He growled. "The things she's done…" He shook his head. "She'll never do them." His voice lowered. "Koschei. She doesn't know our history because she hasn't been to our past yet. The earliest memory she has is the regeneration I had before this one. You're rewriting your own personal history. What would you-what would we be without her?" He asked, urgently.
The Master shrugged. "I'm a Time Lord. I have that right," His lip curled into a smile. "Besides, now I have Rhea all to myself." He crooned.
The Doctor shook his head in disgust, instead turning his attention to the spheres. "But even then, why come all this way just to destroy?"
"We've come backwards in time to build a brand new empire lasting 100 trillion years."
"With me as their master. Time Lord and humans combined. Haven't you always dreamt of that, Doctor?" The Master asked, innocently.
"What about us?" Tom asked, viciously.
"Because it's fun!" The sphere laughed, madly.
Tom scowled and shot it without missing a beat.
The Master strutted over to the Doctor. "Human race. Greatest monster of them all. But I suppose we should have guessed that, considering Rhea's predilection for violence," He smiled. "Night-night."
With that, he walked out, his arm thrown over Lucy's shoulders, the sphere following them.
Martha, Tom and Professor Docherty sat in her living quarters.
"I think it's time we had the truth, Miss Jones," Professor Docherty said, sternly. "The legend says you've travelled the world to find a way of killing the Master. Tell us, is it true?" She asked, carefully.
Martha nodded. "Just before I escaped, Rhea told me…" She trailed off, remembering what the Doctor had whispered in her ear when the rift opened and the Toclafane flooded the Earth, the pain that had been etched on Rhea's face as she had bid her goodbye with such wildness, fire and strength. "The Doctor and the Master, they've been coming to Earth for years. And they've been watched."
She pulled a case from her pack. As she was doing so, her fingers trembled when they landed upon the sleek metal edge of the throwing knife that Rhea had handed her before she had teleported off the Valiant. She hadn't used it the whole year, not because she hadn't had use of it (and she had wanted to, so many times), but because she knew, deep down, that Rhea wouldn't have wanted that from her. She wouldn't have wanted the same blood on her hands to be on Martha's hands as well. She would've wanted her to be like the Doctor, and there was no one Rhea looked up to more than the Doctor.
She briefly clutched the hilt, drawing strength from the memory of her friend that she had no news of, but had spent their last moments together – with her gravely ill and facing probable death at the hands of a monster, not to mention watching the man she would never admit made her whole again, who owned her faith and fidelity and truth and honour and violence, who looked at her as if she were the sun and stars and everything in the universe come alive, tortured at that very monster's hands – giving Martha all the courage she could spare. The Master hadn't shown her at all on any transmission. She at least knew the Doctor was alive, even if he was currently the Master's plaything and pet. Rhea could be dead, for all she knew. The Master was very careful about not putting her on show for the public. Which only made Martha sick to her stomach, thinking about what her friend – no, her sister – was going through at the hands of the psychotic Time Lord.
"There's UNIT and Torchwood, all studying Time Lords in secret. And they made this. The ultimate defence," She opened the case to reveal a gun, linked to four cylinders of liquid of different colours.
"All you need to do is get close," Tom nodded. "I can shoot the Master dead with this." He gestured to his gun.
Professor Docherty scowled. "Actually, you can put that down now, thank you very much."
Martha sighed. "Point is, it's not so easy to kill a Time Lord. They can regenerate; literally bring themselves back to life."
Professor Docherty's shoulders slumped. "Ah, the Master's immortal. Wonderful," She said, dryly.
Martha ducked her head to hide her smile. "Except for this," She picked up the gun. "Four chemicals, slotted into the gun, inject him… kills a Time Lord permanently." She said, triumphantly, watching the reaction that flashed on Professor Docherty's face out of the corner of her eye, with subtle interest.
Tom frowned at the gun. "Four chemicals?" He clarified. "You've only got three." He pointed out.
Martha nodded. "Still need the last one 'cause the components of this gun were kept safe, scattered across the world. And I found them," She said, proudly. "San Diego, Beijing, Budapest and London."
"Then where is it?" Tom asked.
"There's an old UNIT base, north London. I've found the access codes," She looked at Tom, earnestly. "Tom, you've got to get me there." Her eyes were pleading.
Sometime later, Tom and Martha were ready to take their leave.
"We can't go across London in the dark," Tom said, warningly. "It's full of wild dogs; we'd get eaten alive. We can wait till the morning, then go with the medical convoy."
"You can spend the night here, if you like," Professor Docherty offered.
Tom shook his head. "No, we can get halfway, stay at the slave quarters in Bexley. Professor, thank you," He reached out and shook her head.
Professor Docherty nodded. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Martha said, with a smile, and kissed Professor Docherty on the cheek, sweetly.
Professor Docherty swallowed hard. "Martha, could you do it?" She asked, worriedly, with a touch of fear and disbelief. "Could you actually kill him?"
"Got no choice," Martha shrugged.
Professor Docherty stared at her, deeply. "You might be many things, but you don't look like a killer to me," She resolved.
Martha and Tom crept down a dark street of row houses, checking every few moments to see if someone had noticed them. They snuck past the guards and up to one of the houses.
Tom knocked on the door. "Let me in. It's Milligan."
The door opened, minutely, and he and Martha rushed inside. The house was crowded with people, with barely enough room for anyone to move.
"Did you bring food?" A woman asked Tom, worriedly.
Tom shook his head. "Couldn't get any," He said, mournfully. "And I'm starving."
The woman shook her head. "All we've got is water."
Martha flinched, guiltily. "I'm sorry," She apologised.
"It's cheaper than building barracks," Tom explained. "Pack them in, hundred in each house, ferry them off to the shipyards every morning." He said, darkly.
A little boy approached Martha. "Are you Martha Jones?"
Martha smiled down at him. "Yes, that's me."
"Can you do it?" The boy asked, excitedly. "Can you kill him? They said you can kill the Master, can you? Tell us you can do it. Please tell us you can do it." His eyes were wide and pleading and spoke of a desperation that had Martha's heart plummeting in her chest.
No child should be so beyond hope that they would wish for someone's death.
"Who is the Master?" The woman asked.
Everyone started talking to her at once and Martha looked around, anxiously, not sure where to begin.
Tom sighed, stepping in. "Come on, just leave her alone. She's exhausted." He said, warningly.
Martha placed a hand on his arm. "No, it's all right. They want me to talk and I will."
Her voice was determined, more than ever.
A/N: And there we have the first chapter of Last of the Time Lords. I know this chapter was a little Rhea light, but that's because I pretty much spent 10K words last chapter talking about what she's been going through. I wanted to give you guys an insight into Martha's adventures and how her interaction with Rhea (including insight into her perception of Rhea's relationship with the Doctor) and the Doctor has changed her as she goes through this year on her own. Next chapter, we'll definitely see more Rhea as the ending to the whole Year-That-Never-Was approaches and we'll see what her frame of mind is like after everything that's happened to her over the past year.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it and don't forget to leave a review!
Reviews:
Authora97: Thank you so much! For one, I'm so glad that you've stuck on for this long. This story's about 4 years going now, so it's good that people are still reading. Secondly, I'm so glad you liked that last conversation between Rhea and Jack. As someone who's suffered from depression and anxiety disorders in the past, I am aware that someone who's gone through the kind of trauma that Rhea has doesn't suddenly wake up and find that everything's magically better (not that I'm equating the two at all). It's a struggle, for all of us, and I'd like to think I'm appreciative of that struggle. So, thank you very much for your comment. It means a lot.
grapejuice101: Well, technically, this is still the Year-That-Never-Was, so if the Doctor resets the timeline, it stands to reason that maybe Seraphina will be spared. But is it bad that I'm kind of glad that my writing made you cry?
ImsebastianstanButter: I'm so glad you liked it!
Flip Flops n Crop Tops: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked Seraphina as well. Don't worry, we'll meet more people from Rhea's life pre-Doctor very soon, and there's actually a chapter I plan to write where Rhea's faced with her ex-husband. But yeah, as far as the Year-That-Never-Was is concerned, I think Rhea's also very good at compartmentalising her trauma as well. So, outwardly, it won't look like she's very affected, but inwardly, she's even worse than what she was before she met the Master. Oh, yeah, 12 and Missy. That's going to be a fun ride, I promise. She's not going to be forgiving the way the Doctor is and she's going to make a big deal of it if the Doctor asks her to be.
Ery Smith: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like Rhea!
djmegamouth: I'm so glad you're liking Rhea so far! Well, let's just say he's already very concerned about that being a possibility.
LookAliveSunshine03: Yeah, it was definitely the hardest chapter I've ever written. And more than that, I kept feeling as though I never quite got it right, so I kept rewriting and rewriting. I'm so glad you found that scene with Rhea's mother dying so emotional. That's definitely what I was going for, as you can probably assume, but it's really good to know that it translated. The relationship between the Master and Rhea is pretty twisted. There's definitely an element of lust and dominance and subjugation there, and I think the Master would definitely like to fuck her, actually. As for Lucy, I think Rhea's very conflicted. On one hand, she's very much aware that Lucy is not innocent in all of this, but on the other hand, that shiner pissed her off and she wants Lucy to do what she never could. But thank you so much for your review!
NicoleR85: Thank you so much! Yeah, I thought about it, but then I thought, why would she ever give him the satisfaction? So, then, I guess the Master just has to live with Rhea being his most likely murderer now.
Lipstick Survivors: Thank you so much! And calling me strong, that means a lot. It wasn't very easy to get into that headspace and write that kind of violence, so I'm glad it translated.
AGBreads: Thank you!
Serendipity989: I'm glad you felt that way!
Shadowing: Oh, she met Wilf in Voyage of the Damned, when she, the Doctor and Astrid land on Earth.
deathb4beauty: Yeah, he probably wasn't thinking very quickly. He thought that was his last-ditch effort to break her, but he didn't realise that she'd just end up using that against him. He really did miscalculate with that one. Thank you so much for your review!
SporkGender: Yeah, that's definitely an enticing image. I can promise you that Rhea will get her revenge on the Master at some point. For now, he will escape her wrath, but it's Rhea, she's not going to let him get away for that long.
ThePolyglot: I'm sorry you feel that way.
lostiesgirl: I'm so glad you like the story! And I felt like she and Lucy had that one moment of kinship there. She needed to both tell Lucy off and give her that one bit of advice, and maybe even manipulate the situation for herself.
PrincessMagic: I think the problem with the Master is just like his name suggests. He thrives on domination and subjugation, and he can usually manage it, even with the Doctor. But Rhea's such a wild card for him? Especially seeing him now, when she doesn't even know him, but he has all these memories of her. It's galling for him to see her and know that she doesn't even know him. He needed to bring her down, but it pretty much failed.