So here we are, coming up to the end of the Tenth Doctor's time. I don't have much to say other than, thank you all for your support, encouragement, and enjoyment of this a few more chapters to go.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who!
The Doctor had been strapped into a metallic chair, his wrists and ankles bound and his mouth gagged. He watched as the Master gained access to all the armaments of the Earth. There was nothing he could do, but watch and wait for an opportunity of escape to present itself. Yet his concern didn't fully rest with just Earth alone. No, a good amount of his concern rests on Rose. For when the Master gained control of everyone on Earth, Rose had succumbed to the first active labor contraction. This was something that the Doctor had been hoping to avoid, but leave it to his child to choose the worst possible time to be born.
Whereas the Doctor had been strapped to a chair and gagged, Rose had been sent to the next room. She too was tied down. However, she was tied down to a sitting chair that was cushioned on the back and seat, but the rest was made from a hard wood. Rope, instead of straps, were used to gently bind her wrists to the arm of the chair, and the rope tied to her ankle on one end gave her only 8 inches of movement before the other end was secured to the legs of the chair. It gave her just enough room to slightly straighten up her legs if another contraction were to occur.
Looking through the open doorway, into the room where Rose is, the Doctor keeps his eyes locked on her, and hers' to his. Neither one has to say a word to the other, for they both know what the other is feeling. Guilt. Guilt for being caught in the first place and guilt about not keeping the one they love safe.
Sidling up to the left side of the Doctor, the Master leans his head in close and speaks.
"Now then, I've got a planet to run. As well as a new Time Tot to help deliver and raise. Oh yes, Doctor. I plan on raising your soon-to-be born child as my own."
The Master lets out a chuckle as he sees the Doctor strain against the restraints. As the Master begins to get his other selves into position, elsewhere in the mansion there is about to be a confrontation.
In another wing of the mansion…
Jenny and Wilfred had watched from afar as the humans turned into the Master from where they were hiding in a small broom closet. Before this all happened, Jenny had been searching room-to-room to try and find her brother, Jack. But what surprised Jenny the most is that Wilfred had gone after her father, then during her search had joined up with her. It wasn't that she wasn't ungrateful for the old man's assistance, but he just moved too damn slow for her liking.
"Why did all those people turn into him and I didn't." Wilfred worriedly asks.
"Because," Jenny sighs out before pulling out the chain that sits around her neck which has two dog tags and one circular, lit up jewel. "this little pendent creates a small bubble like barrier that keeps certain types of energy, radiation, and the like away. The bubble has a five-foot radius from where the pendent lies, and you just happened to be in that bubble when the Master did whatever it is that he did. That's why you're safe."
"Okay then."
Jenny rolls her eyes as she tucks the chain back inside of her top. Though she doesn't want to admit it, she is worried that this change may have affected her young brother. But she won't know that until she finds him.
Peeking through the crack of the door to their hiding place, Jenny notices that the large hallway shows no signs of the multiple Masters that were there a few minutes ago. Slowly, Jenny opens the broom closet door so that it doesn't let out a creak and carefully slips out. Drawing the sonic gun from one of her pockets, Jenny uses some of her preset knowledge of stealth to make her way down the hallway.
Every-so-often Jenny has to keep checking behind her to make sure that Wilfred is keeping up with her. Even though he is old, he keeps up with her very well. Stopping at a corner, Jenny checks to make sure that the way is clear before turning left to head down another hallway. Taking a whiff of the air, Jenny uses her full Time Lady senses to pick up on her brother's unique scent and discovers that it is heavily concentrated in this area.
"He's close." Jenny says softly before jogging down the hall.
"Who's close?" Wilfred calls out while trying to maintain a soft voice.
"My brother."
Jenny comes to a stop in front of a steel door that has a sign on it that says, No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed. Ignoring what the sign says, Jenny tries to turn the lever door handle but it doesn't move. Letting out a huff of frustration, Jenny quickly sets her sonic gun to a certain setting, aims, and discharges the weapon at the circular lock that sits above the handle. It only takes a few seconds of repeated blasts before the locking mechanism falls out of the door. Not waiting a minute longer, Jenny tries the handle again and the door opens.
"That's a handy gun." Wilfred says as he follows Jenny through the open door.
The room that they have just entered is all concrete walls and floors with metal chairs and beds. The vibe of the room is that of what could constitute as a bomb shelter. Yet this is where Jack's scent is the strongest.
"Jack!" Jenny shouts while trying to keep her voice soft so no outsider can hear it. "Jack!"
Both Wilfred and Jenny slowly make their way through the maze of metal cots, chairs, and a few small, metal storage containers. It isn't until they reach the very back of the room that they find what they are looking for.
Sitting on the floor, chained to a thick metal pipe by his ankle, is a dirty looking Jack. There are water streak marks on his dirty cheeks that show that he has cried a few times while being locked away. The knuckles on both hands are bruised and bloodied, showing signs that he has tried and failed to escape his prison. The knees of his blue jean pants are torn up and so is the bottom of his shirt. But it is his bloodshot eyes that show just how unhinged the boy is.
"Oh Jack." Jenny says softly to the boy as she bends down on one knee before his curled-up body.
Being as gentle as she can be, Jenny runs her free hand through Jack's greasy hair, making it look even more wild than it ever has been before. She whispers soothing words to the boy as she carefully uses her sonic gun to destroy the chain that holds Jack's ankle. As the chain break, Jenny tries to hold back a tear as she knows that it will take their father's sonic screwdriver to be able to remove the cuff from Jack's right ankle.
"Is he alright?" Wilfred asks with wet looking eyes.
"He will be now." Jenny replies as she carefully maneuvers her little brother into her arms.
"Jenny." Jack whimpers as he now begins to come out of his catatonic state.
Jenny presses a soothing kiss against Jack's forehead and cradles him closer to her body.
"I'm here. You're safe now. I've got you." Jenny whispers against Jack's skin.
"And I've got you." A menacing voice says from several feet away.
Jenny whips her hear around to see five Masters standing between her and the only exit door. They also have their rifle like guns drawn as well. She holds her brother tightly in her arms, refusing to let go of him. And it isn't lost on her that Jack is trying to burrow even deeper against her body.
"I suggest you drop your weapon or granddad here will die." The head of this group of Masters says with a sickening smile on his face. His own weapon is pointed directly at Wilfred.
"Don't listen to him, sweetheart." Wilfred says as he raises his hands up in surrender.
Carefully, Jenny settles Jack back onto the ground, as well as her sonic gun. She slowly stands up and places her hands on the top of her head. She feels Jack tuck himself behind her legs and can't help feeling bad for having gotten caught. However, she refuses to allow herself to be captured so easily.
Shifting her left foot, Jenny prepares herself as one of the Masters comes towards her. She waits till he is close enough for her to reach, but far enough away from Jack, before she goes into action. With quick movements, Jenny pounces on the distracted Master. They fall to the floor with Jenny landing on top of the man. Quickly rolling off her opponent, Jenny has to jump to miss the lower leg swipe that was attempted. Two sets of hands try to take hold of her, but Jenny blocks each one with perfectly executed blocks. Jenny kicks out at the second opponent, hitting him in the gut which sends the man scrambling backwards. She then focuses on the leader, who had taken hold of her right arm. He twists her arm backwards, but Jenny uses her military fighting skills and twists her way out of it. She tries to kick at him, but he blocks her and lands a fisted blow to her chest. The pain from the blow causes Jenny to gasp for air, but she refuses to be beaten so easily. She counters his attack with a combination of punches, kicks, and elbow blows to his arms or chest. Her movements are so rapid and fierce, that the leader must back away, and it comes to no surprise that he has a busted lip.
The second opponent, having watched the exchange, jumps in as soon as the leader backs off. Jenny and the second's fighting is so fast in movement that the two of them almost blur together with every exchange.
Jack, having noticed his sister's movement, had launched himself underneath a nearby metal cot just as the fighting began. However, Jack is quick to duck around and underneath the many cots since one of the others from the group had charged after him. So, like the Doctor, Jack uses his surroundings to put as much distance as he can between himself and his pursuer.
Wilfred, having been in the military, found himself using a combination of evade and distancing tactic with the two that are following after him. Unlike Jack, Wilfred can't crawl underneath the metal chairs or cots, so he tries to toss them at his two pursuers to keep them moving slower than he is. Which is a good tactic for a short-time, but even Wilfred can't keep using it against the two. Soon Wilfred finds himself backed into small space between two metal shelving units stocked full of small metal containers.
"I guess this is it then." Wilfred says as the two pursuing Masters take hold of his arms and begin dragging him away and out of the room.
Now the only ones that are left are Jenny, her two opponents, Jack, and his pursuer in the room. Yet it doesn't take long before little Jack is being physically restrained by his pursuer. While Jenny finds herself on the floor with a broken, and bleeding, nose. As she tries to get up on her hands and knees, the two Masters begin kicking her ribs multiple times.
"Jenny!" Jack screams out in horror at seeing his older sister taking the beating.
Jenny lets out several screams of pain once two of her ribs break against the onslaught. Dropping back to the floor, Jenny can't help the screams of torture leaving her as the beating keeps going. Just when she thinks it can't get any worse, it does. One of the broken ribs receives another blow, which sends the broken bone piercing into a close by organ. It is the pain from that that sends out the most gut-wrenching scream from Jenny's lips.
Before another kick can be delivered to Jenny's body a bright flash of light fills the room for only a second. Once the light has recedes, it reveals that someone else has entered the room.
Standing tall in his long military coat, with a handgun in each hand, is Captain Jack Harkness. The gun in his left hand is pointed at the Master who is holding little Jack in his arms. The gun in his right hand is aimed at the two Masters who have stopped with their beating of Jenny. Raising both weapons without any hesitation, he aims and fires off a few shots.
The Master who was holding little Jack falls to the ground after releasing the boy. Both of his shoulders are bleeding heavily as he presses his hands to the wounds. The boy, who luckily enough wasn't hit by a bullet, runs away from his injured captor and goes towards the Captain. Even though the last time he had seen the man was several months ago, Jack can sense that the man before him is from later point in the time stream. That and Jack also noticed that the former time agent has a smattering of grey hairs at both of his temples, where there hadn't been before.
Both Masters, who were standing over Jenny, are now lying on the ground with several wounds in their abdomens. They will be lucky if they can survive their injuries, but Jack Harkness doesn't care.
Placing his two guns back into the holster that is hidden by his long coat, Jack Harkness runs over to where Jenny is on the floor. Kneeling down, he brushes some of her bloodied blond hair away from her face. Seeing that her eyes are open, but unfocused, Harkness pulls out a medical scanner from an outer pocket of his coat and begins to scan the young woman's body.
"Will Jenny be okay?" Little Jack asks from behind the former time agent.
With the scan complete, Harkness looks over the information before answering his friends' son.
"She has two broken ribs, of which one has punctured into her lung. We're going to need to get her to a hospital and fast." Harkness tells the boy as he tries to gently place an arm underneath Jenny's beaten body. "You're going to need to hold on to me, kid, so I can use the Vortex manipulator to get us where we need to go."
Little Jack, knowing that he can trust the man, wraps his little arms around Harkness's neck.
Reaching his other arm over Jenny's chest, Harkness presses a few buttons on the manipulator on his right wrist. Then both of his hands tightly take hold of Jenny's right arm before all three of them disappear from the room.
Back with the Doctor…
The Doctor had to sit there, strapped down to a metallic wheeled chair, as one of the those who had been turned into the Master closes the door between the room where Rose is and the room he is in. His eyes turned hard as he watched the Master contact each of his copies all over the Earth. It was during the Master's communications that the Doctor had to watch as Wilfred was brought into the room. The two guards who brought Wilfred in took the man over to a chair and tied up his hands with rope. Then they tied his body to the chair with what was left with the rope.
The Master, seeing the new hostage in the room, starts to torment the Doctor just a little bit.
"I see your dad's still kicking up a fuss." The Master says to the Doctor.
"Yeah, well I'd be proud if I was." Wilfred shouts at the Master.
"I wonder, if you'd be thrilled to have his mongrel son as your grandson. Especially since I'm going to have to put the boy down. Tell me, you happened across the boy, how is he holding up?" The Master asks Wilfred.
"You put that boy in that room and left him. What you did to that boy was cowardly." Wilfred growls out.
"Oh, I didn't do that to him. That was all Naismith. However, I do know that there was a fight in that room which has left three dead. Three of me that were once each, an individual human. Yet there is no trace of the boy. So, you must have had help. Who was the blond woman that was with you? Who was she!?"
Before Wilfred could reply, a phone begins to ring from somewhere. This causes the Master to become distracted by it.
"That's… That's a mobile." The Master says, looking between the Doctor and Wilfred.
"Yeah, that's mine. Let me turn it off." Wilfred replies, acting as if it isn't such a big deal to have his phone go off.
"No, no, no, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. Except for Rose, you, and the little brat. So it is not me that is calling you. So who the hell is it?" The Master yells at Wilfred. He is so frustrated by Wilfred that he begins to search the old man.
"It's nobody, I tell you. It's nothing. It's probably one of those ring back calls."
The Master finds Wilfred's mobile and pulls it out of the old man's jacket pocket. Then he also pulls out another object from Wilfred's jacket.
"Oh and look at this. Good man!" The Master drops the gun to the floor and stands up. He looks at the screen on the mobile and the name doesn't ring any bells to him.
"Donna. Who's Donna?" The Master asks Wilfred.
"She's no one. Just leave it."
Since he isn't getting any answers from Wilfred, the Master decides to answer the ringing mobile instead. He presses the answer button and holds the mobile to his ear. A woman's voice is on the other end and he becomes interested in who this Donna woman is. So he covers up the mic and looks between the Doctor and Wilfred.
"Who is she? Why didn't she change?"
"It was this thing the Doctor did." Wilfred says, hoping that the Master won't harm Donna if he talks. "He did it to her. Meta-Crisis."
The Master feels even more disgusted that the Doctor may have had a fling with yet another human woman. But maybe this woman might get the Doctor more riled up if he had her brought in.
"You seem to have a thing for Earth girls." The Master teases the Doctor.
The Master has his minions trace the call for him so that he can send out a team to find her and bring her to them. As the trace is going on, the Master decides to have a little fun with tormenting Wilfred instead.
The Doctor can only sit there and watch it from where he is physically. However, the Doctor's mind is more focused on Rose. He can feel her trying to use Bad Wolf to keep the contractions at bay, to hold them off as long as possible. This has the Doctor worried. Especially since Time Tots are used to a fast birth, and this new child of theirs has spent more time near the Time Vortex than Jack did while in utero.
Suddenly the Doctor has to fight against feeling Rose's discomfort as a second contraction breaks through Bad Wolf's power. He can sense the Time Tot's mind touching his own, using his link to Rose to hid itself in. This surprises the Doctor since he has never had a Time Tot search out for his mind. Just as the Doctor is about to caress the young mind, he hears Wilfred yelling. Choosing between Wilfred's emergency and his child, the Doctor reluctantly retreats his mind from the child's.
Focusing on what is going on in the room, the Doctor listens in just as the line on the mobile goes quiet. The Doctor swallows hard as he hears Wilfred call out to Donna. The Master turns to look at him questioningly, and the Doctor acts like he isn't affected by it all. Then the Doctor begins to smile as he realizes that the trigger worked. With a wink at the Master, the Doctor can't help but rub his brilliance in the Master's face.
Leaving Wilfred, the Master marches his way over to the Doctor with an angry look on his face. With pursed lips the Master yanks off the gag that was over top of the Doctor's mouth. He isn't happy about the idea that the Doctor knows something that he doesn't.
"That's better. Hello." The Doctor says to the Master once the gag is removed. "But, really, do you think I'd leave my best friend without a defense mechanism?"
"Doctor? What happened?" Wilfred calls out from where he is tied up.
"She's all right. She's fine. I promise." The Doctor replies. "She'll just sleep."
"Tell me," The Master asks, wondering just what was going on. "where's your Tardis?"
"You could be so wonderful."
"Where is it?"
"You're a genius. You're stone cold brilliant, you are, I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honor, because you don't need to own the universe, just see it."
"And why would I want to travel with you and your mixed family?"
"You'd have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."
"Would it stop, then? The noise in my head?"
"I could help. Rose could even help."
"I don't know what I'd be without the noise."
"I wonder what I'd be without you."
"Yeah."
Wilfred, who has no idea what is going on between the Doctor and the Master, decides to speak up. "What does he mean? What noise?"
The Master, breaking the small moment that he and the Doctor were having, begins to answer Wilfred's questions. The small explanation takes him down memory lane in his mind. The initiation before the Untempered Schism at the age of eight. Seeing into the Time Vortex. Then the drums began; not just in his memory, but also in his present mind.
"Then let's find it. You, me, and Rose." The Doctor offers, hoping that the Master will except the help.
"Except she won't." The Master says before something clicks in his brain and an epiphany hits. "Oh, wait a minute! Oh yes, that's good!"
"What is it?"
"The noise exists within my head and now six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it! Imagine! Oh yes! And I have the Bad Wolf, the Goddess of Time itself!" The Master begins to laugh with glee at his idea, but his body has other ideas.
The Doctor watches as the Masters' body fluctuates and the Doctor realizes that his oldest friend in the universe is still dying. The Masters' body folds and his knees buckle till they hit the floor, and the Doctor decides enough is enough.
"The gate wasn't enough. You're still dying." The Doctor implores with the hope that the Master will let him help.
"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die." The Master responds from his spot on the floor. "What did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, The End of Time."
"I said something was returning. I was shown a prophecy. That's why I need your help."
"What if I am part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself! And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals! I could find its source! Look, Doctor, that's what your prophecy was. Me!"
Wow. That was a bit long, wasn't it?
Reviews are welcomed, loved, and cherished.
Selene