"And so you better be careful from now on," my grandmother, now her actual senior self, finished giving the Doctor, Martha and myself the biggest lecture of the world.
The woman had played us all like fools.
She knew we were time travelers, she remembered perfectly meeting me in 1969, on my birthday. She was chuck-full of questions but I had my own questions for her. If she and my grandfather had seen me in 1969 then they had always known I would somehow, inexplicably end up in that year. They raised me practically knowing I'd somehow time travel and never said a word! I even asked my grandmother how exactly she knew the Doctor wasn't called 'John Smith' and in fact was just 'the Doctor'. She'd just given me a smile and said I had to wait for someone else in the family to give me the answer because, apparently, there was a whole story behind it.
As soon as we had retrieved the box of wonders, the Doctor had taken us to 2007, to my grandmother's front step, November 1st...a day after my birthday. She knew perfectly well where we had been at. As soon as we returned home she made us all sit down and fully explain to her completely of our lives. And to my surprise, the Doctor had told her everything. Starting with his origin, up until today. I felt bad he spilled almost all his life to her, even if it was just the common things Martha knew about him. After his full explanation, I pulled him to the side and told him he didn't have to do that. He shouldn't have to. It was his life and he should speak whenever he wanted to, not just cos one of his companion's grandmother kept asking questions. Even Martha's family wasn't well informed of her whereabouts. But the Martian assured me it was fine and that after so many years of not seeing my grandmother she deserved to know what her granddaughter was really up to and how much I "accomplished". It meant so much to me what he had done. It really only increased my hopes he was doing this because of another reason...one that perhaps could explain his secret kiss.
And I'd tried to talk to him about that lately, but it seemed like every time I was so close to asking him something always came up. It had only been a week since we got out of 1969 and each time I was so close, the Doctor came up with a new adventure for us, or Martha interrupted because she was still sick, or there was a phone call from my grandmother or something. But I was always interrupted I wasn't going to let this one slide, no sir.
The Doctor had kissed me and I wanted to know why.
And now that Martha was finally better and became one less interruption, I became my own interruption. I'd taken care of Martha all week and just when she seemed to be better...
"Achoo!" I sneezed loudly, making the Doctor and Martha jump in their spots.
"Bless you," Martha handed me a tissue.
"Sorry guys," I sniffled.
"Maybe we should get you to bed," the Doctor suggested, Martha nodding in agreement and already moving us for the corridors.
"No," I shook her off and walked back to the Doctor, "I wanna know where we're going."
"Well the answer to that is Cardiff," he slung his arm around my shoulders, "And the response to your answer is, 'yes you're going to bed'."
"No," I shook my head, refusing to leave my spot. I looked up at him, "Doctor, we need to talk," I informed him in a low whisper.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah...well...actually, no..." I shook my head, really unable to answer that firmly. Inside, my heart was practically bursting with joy. Every time I remembered his kiss, I felt my heart beat so fast that I was afraid he could hear it. I felt my lips tingle when I remembered whose pair had been on them. There was even a stupid grin on my face each time I remembered the sensation of them...
But it also felt like a curse.
No matter how happy I was, despite being ill, I had to think of Kaeya. In the beginning, she had been the reason why the kiss the Doctor and I shared in China hadn't led to anything. The Doctor had thought of her instead and last time I heard, he was still in love with her. Then there was Rose. I knew he didn't love her but...she still managed to attract him. The two women had done something that I just couldn't do to get him to tell me what he felt for me. And despite our small kiss, which I wasn't even supposed to know about, it could have been just a small tease of what I would never get. Which was it? A kiss to show that there was a connection, or a kiss that defined our relationship as just a friendship?
"Why are we going to Cardiff?" Martha asked, ending the silence that had fallen which I didn't even notice.
"Cardiff is built on a rift in time and space, just like the California and the San Andreas Fault. The rift bleeds energy and every now and then I need to open the up engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel."
"In other words it's a pit stop," I teased, still gazing up at him, I just couldn't stop..
"Ha, yes," he shook his head, placing a hand on my forehead, "No fever, but still," he tried turning for the corridors.
"No!"
"Hey wait a minute," Martha stopped us, a suspicious look in her eyes as she looked at the Doctor, "They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago, was that you?"
"Yes," I answered for him, "I wasn't there but apparently it was Slitheen."
"No one told you to go to some camping trip," the Doctor shrugged.
"No one told me you were coming. In fact, you didn't even tell me you stopped by." There was a hint of sadness in my tone as I looked away, "I wouldn't have known it was you if Mickey hadn't explained the whole thing to me."
I didn't like to remind him it was during the time he barely acknowledged me but he always knew his last incarnation was more attached to Rose than anyone else.
"Right, sorry about that," he pulled me into his arms for a nice, warm hug, "It was a long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then. And definitely not one I'd like to be again."
"Because of the big ears?" I grinned up until I started coughing and pulled away.
"Oi," he pointed back, frowning, "Watch it."
"And now it's been replaced by big hair."
"We-" he stopped, thinking hard on that one, "It's big, good hair."
I rolled my eyes, coughing one final time, "If that's what you'd like to tell yourself," I walked past him to the console, blushing at my sudden thought of running my hand through it. Thanks to that kiss, I've been having more and more thoughts of him that always made me blush.
"I'm gonna let that one go because you're currently sick and diddly-daddling," he moved to lever on the console, "Well, Finito. All powered up," he looked at the monitor for a second and had a look of panic for some reason.
"Everything alright?" I was able to ask before he literally yanked me to his side, his arm around my waist, while the other pulled the lever and sent the TARDIS off.
"What's going on!?" Martha cried as she clung to the chairs.
The console sparked and the Doctor and I fell back on the floor with a thud. He quickly pulled himself and checked up,"We're accelerating? The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. 50 trillion..."
I pushed myself up to the console and grabbed on for what seemed my life, "What? Why?"
"The year 100 trillion! That's impossible!"
"Why? What happens then?" Martha questioned.
"We're going to the end of the universe," he said, eyes full of shock.
The box lurched one final time then came to a halt, all three of us glancing at each other. Neither of us moved for a good minute or two.
And then I sneezed, "Sorry. So are we gonna see where we are?"
"I don't know." the Doctor said, his eyes fixed on the doors, "We've landed..."
"And where, would be the question be," Martha fixed herself.
"No idea."
"Hm, say that one again, it's rare," I remarked.
"Well, not even the Time Lords came this far. We should leave. We should go. We should really, really...go."
I smirked, "Meaning..."
He grabbed my hand and ran us out the door, Martha hollering us yo wait up. We were in a very bleak environment, sort of cliffs of different sizes.
"Oh my god!" Martha exclaimed, making us see a man on the ground completely unconscious and then ran towards him, "Can't get a pulse. Hold on, you've got that medical kit thing," she rushed back to the TARDIS.
I coughed and moved forwards...only for the Doctor to pull me back, maintaining a tight grip on my hand, "Doctor, what's wrong? We've got to help him and I doubt he can do anything when he's unconscious."
But he just stared at the man with a cold look as if the man was a menace.
"Here we go, out of the way!" Martha pushed past us, "Sorry!"
"Funny, he doesn't look very futuristic," I remarked, studying the man as much as I could from a distance. "That coat looks more like World War II."
"I think he came with us," the Doctor said, calmly.
"How do you mean? From earth?" Martha looked back.
"Must've been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS all the way through the vortex. Well, that's very him."
"You know him?" I blinked, now really confused on why we couldn't move up to the man. "From where?"
"He traveled with us back in the old days. With Rose and I."
"Hold on, is that...is that Jack?" I looked at the man, unconsciously pulling my hand from his, "That flirty man Mickey talked about?" He had a lot to say about that Jack man. Apparently, Jack lived to flirt and it was plain annoying. I suspected there was more to that but Mickey always got riled up so I saw no point going any further on the subject.
"But he's...I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat," Martha shook her head, "He's dead." Suddenly, he came back to life with a huge gasp, grabbing Martha and scaring her along.
"So much for dead," I blinked, confused.
"It's all right now, just take a deep breath," Martha instructed, helping him sit up despite still processing what had just happened.
"Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?" he asked as he came around.
"Martha Jones."
"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones," he said, flirtatiously.
There it was. I chuckled, "Yup, that's him!"
"Oh, don't start!" the Doctor scolded Jack, still displeased for some reason.
"I was only saying hello!"
"I don't mind," Martha smiled, helping him up to his feet.
I sneezed, "Sorry!"
"And who's the one with the adorable sneeze?" Jack moved onto me, studying from head to toe, "Let's see, brunette, very...very long hair, the green eyes, not so tall...Minerva Souza?" I opened my mouth to argue over that last description but ended up sneezing again, making him laugh, "Adorable!"
"Th-thanks," I sniffled, holding out my hand to shake his, "Promise I've washed my hands."
He chuckled, "I believe you," he shook my hand, "Jack Harkness, and it's very nice to meet you."
"No!" the Doctor pointed at him, "NO," he glared, pulling me back.
"But he was just saying hello," I frowned with confusion.
"Thank you!" Jack exclaimed.
"Hey, you're like the man from 1913," I pointed, confusing him for a moment.
"1913?"
"Yeah, see, apparently I made some poor man named Jack fall in love with me."
"Well," Jack smirked as he ran a hand through his hair, "Us Jack's do have some lookers and good hearts."
I laughed, "I guess so." I looked over to the Doctor and saw him still giving Jack a rather cold look. I didn't understand what it was for. I mean, this was Jack! An old companion of his had returned and he wasn't happy?
"Doctor," Jack said, flatly.
"Captain," the Doctor returned in the same manner.
"Good to see you."
"And you. Same as ever...although...have you had work done?"
Jack scoffed, "You can talk!"
"Oh, yes, regeneration," the Doctor nodded, "How did you know this was me?"
"The police box kinda gives it away. I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me."
"Did I? Busy life. Move on."
I frowned at their words, abandoned? The Doctor would never do that to anyone...right?
"I just gotta ask...the Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler," Jack's voice lowered, clearly the blonde had been important to him as well, though I presume less than the Doctor.
"She's alive," I answered, his gaze immediately picking up, "She's perfectly safe."
"Really?" he looked at me incredulously, "You're not joking?"
"Parallel world safe and sound. And Mickey! And her mother!" the Doctor added.
"Oh yes!" Jack exclaimed, hugging him excitedly.
I looked at Martha, slightly upset, "Yay..."
Martha noticed my silence and clapped her hands, separating the two men, "Oi, are we just gonna stand here and hug all day?"
"I don't mind," Jack pulled away and held out his arms for me, "Next hug?"
I chuckled, flustered a bit while Martha laughed as well.
"Uh, no," the Doctor pulled him back, however, pointing a very serious finger at him, "No."
"What's the matter, Doctor? Don't like hugs?" Martha smirked as she came over, stopping beside me, "Can I get one?" She asked Jack.
"Of course," Jack was all for it. He pulled her into a hug while I stayed by the Doctor's side.
"How come I can't hug him?" I frowned, looking at the Doctor with confusion.
"Yeah Doctor, how come?" Martha's smirk widened for some reason.
"Because...because he's..." He'd open his mouth as if to speak but then he would close his it, "...cos he's a flirt and he'll make Minerva uncomfortable."
"Oh how very thoughtful of you," Martha smirked, "Blame him instead," she nodded towards Jack.
"You know what, Minerva and I are going to look around now," the Doctor announced and pulled me to the side where we started walking ahead.
"That was a bit rude," I whispered to him. Not to mention his excuse didn't exactly make sense to me. The last time I remember someone flirting with me had been in China and that was a bad experience but I never said someone flirting with me would make me uncomfortable. Where would he get that idea?
"Just looking out for you," he shrugged, looking straight ahead.
I dared to think he might be jealous or something, considering how flirty I was told Jack was, "Doctor, we need to talk," I whispered so Jack or Martha wouldn't hear since they were right behind us.
"About what?"
"Um..." I bit my lip, this wasn't the ideal place to talk about such a thing, "...can we just, can we just talk as soon as we're finished here?"
"Sure," he noticed my seriousness and nodded, "Are you alright?"
"Hm? Yeah, yeah, fine..."
"So, you wanna tell us more about yourself?" Martha asked Jack, "No offence but you don't really seem normal."
"Nice of you to say," he pretended to be hurt, "Well, I suppose I should start where the Doctor and I had left off...I was stranded in the year 200,100, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and he-" he made a quick gesture towards the Doctor, "-goes off without me. But I had this," he tapped a device wrapped around his wrist, "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."
The Doctor turned around, looking very irritated again, "Oh, excuse me, that is not time travel. It's like I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."
"Wow, boys and their toys," I laughed.
"All right, so I bounced," Jack shrugged, "I thought '21st century, best place to find the Doctor' except that I got it a little wrong. I arrived in 1869 and this thing burnt out so it was useless."
"Told you," the Doctor muttered.
"So I had to live through the entire 20th century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me."
"Wait a minute, that would make you more than a 100 years old," Martha said, confused.
"And looking good, don't yah think? I went to the time rift, based myself 'cause I knew you'd come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this detecting you and here we are."
"Doctor, why would you leave him behind?" I asked, curious, that just didn't seem like him.
"I was busy," he shrugged casually.
"Busy?" I took his casualness of the topic with offense for Jack, Martha and myself. He really looked like he wasn't the least bit guilty about leaving Jack behind...when the man was in the same room as daleks. Thinking about it just made me angrier. "So is that what you're gonna do to Martha and I one day? It's gonna be a "busy day" and all...or is that just fancy code for getting bored?" I yanked my hand out of his when he remained silent. "Do you get bored with your companions one day and disappear?"
"Not if you're blonde," Jack muttered.
"Oh, she was blonde? What a surprise?" Martha said, sarcastically.
I wasn't joking and they weren't helping. "Doctor?"
"We're at the end of the universe, all right? We're at the edge of knowledge itself and you're busy...blogging! Come on," he reached for my hand again but I stepped away from him.
"No, no, see, because...this, this right here," I pointed, "This is really learning what happens to us. Rose was right, you'll just stop talking about us one day and..." I couldn't even finish the sentence, the thought of him never talking about me anymore in the future when he's got some new companion...it hurt. It hurt my insides and worst of all, he seemed angry that I was saying that, like it wasn't his fault at all. He had the responsibility to at least tell us how our fate as companions would end, both to me and Martha, "...you're just gonna leave me behind," I whispered, moving ahead from them all.
Like Sarah Jane, I could be dropped off and never spoken of again until one day we magically re-meet and an explanation is forced out of him. It was hard, especially with everything that I felt, to even think of that possibility. Now I knew exactly what Rose had felt on the day we met Sarah Jane. It was as if all the hope and practically our world crumbled down at the thought that the man we cared for so much would one day leave us out of the blue, with no explanation given. But somewhere inside of me wanted to think that Rose and I were different, at least to the Doctor. The Doctor said he hadn't loved Rose and he'd given me a secret kiss. Yes, I know they'd kissed in the past too, I saw one of those but it didn't mean anything to the Doctor. With me...there existed that possibility that it could mean something. And if the kiss meant something, I had to mean something to him beyond friendship...and that would mean he couldn't leave me behind, right?
"Minerva, come back," the Martian called.
"No, leave me alone," I shook his hand off my arm, "Go leave me behind like you did to Jack."
"Okay, listen to me please," he turned me around, "It was different, okay? Jack is just...something complicated, and I'll admit it: I was scared. I didn't know what to do and leaving him was wrong, alright? It was outright wrong."
Well, there was at least guilt on his face now. He wasn't completely horrible. "Really?" I asked, still studying his every movement.
"Yes, really. I won't ever leave you behind, do you hear me? Never."
"So...you're not gonna pick up some ginger and leave me?"
He smiled warmly, "Never. The only ginger I want in my box is me. I deserve to be ginger."
He got me to smile as usual, shaking my head, "You'd make a fine ginger."
"I would," he agreed with pride, "Now I know your sick and all, but you really need to understand that I will never drop you off. I don't want us to be separated. I simply refuse to lose you."
That last one made my heart flutter, "Yeah?"
"Oh yeah," he nodded, "We're a team, and a good one, and I don't plan on giving up my partner for anything."
"Me neither," I said.
"Good, I hope that clears up your doubts," he hugged me, "Always together."
"Always," I nodded.
"You okay, Minerva?" Martha's voice called, and as we pulled away she and Jack were just catching up, "How do you feel?"
"Fine, now," I shrugged, smiling as I felt my hand being taken by the Doctor again.
Martha's eyebrows raised at the action, probably thinking something had been said. I gave her a sharp look before she dared to open her mouth, I wanted to say it to the Martian. I wanted to talk to him and finally tell him everything he makes me feel. I had to be me and it had to be alone.
"Hey, what's that?" Jack nodded behind us, making us all turn around to see the edge of the cliff and a desolate ruins below.
"Is that a city?" Martha moved up beside me, gazing out.
"A city or a hive. Or a nest. Or a conglomeration," the Doctor explained, "Looks like it was grown. But look there. That's like pathways, roads…Must have been some sort of life. Long ago."
"So what killed it?"
"Time. Just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing."
"It must have an atmospheric shell. We should be frozen to death," Jack looked up to the sky, missing the look the Doctor was giving him, still a bit cold.
"Well, Minerva, Martha and I, maybe. Not so sure about you, Jack.
"So what about the people, then?" I asked, wanting to divert any more disagreements between any of us, "Do they all just die? No survivors?"
"I suppose we have to hope. Life will find a way."
"Well," I tilted my head, seeing a man running alone one of the pathways below, "I don't think he's having much trouble with it."
Of course then we saw a group running after him.
"Is it me, or does that look like a hunt? Come on!" the Doctor started running to help the man, pulling me with him and the other two trailing behind.
Jack let out a big laugh as we ran down a roadway, "Oh, I've missed this!"
I had to laugh as well, "You're insane!"
He reached the man first and grabbed him, "I've got you!"
"We gotta run! They're coming!" the man pointed back to the chasers.
Jack passed the man along to us then pulled out a revolver and aimed it at the group.
"Jack, don't you dare!" the Doctor yelled.
Jack fired up into the air instead, making everyone stop in their tracks.
"What the hell are they?" Martha asked, the chasers looking like humans but we all know that wouldn't confirm anything. Looks are deceiving.
"There's more of them. We've got to keep going," the man insisted, terrified for his life.
"I've got a ship nearby. It's safe, not too far, it's just over there," the Doctor pointed up to where the TARDIS was only to see more of the creatures running from that direction, "Or maybe not."
"We're close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we're safe."
"Silo?" the Doctor looked at us.
"Yes, please," I nodded, sneezing.
"Definitely," Martha agreed.
'Silo, here we come!" Jack exclaimed and we all ran again.
~0~
We arrived to a gated property where human guards stood by the doors. "It's the futurekind! Open the gate!" the man, Prada, apparently, yelled as we ran forth.
"Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!" One of the guards ordered.
"Show them your teeth," he said to us. We stood on the other side of the gate with wide smiles and allowed them to see our teeth. "Human! Let them in!" the guard yelled.
The gates opened and we ran inside, nearly dropping to the ground out of exhaustion. I coughed like crazy, never having problems with asthma but run while your sick and you'll magically be out of breath in less than a minute.
"Humans. Humani. Make feast," one of the chasers said to us from the other side, the gates properly closed again.
"Go back to where you came from. I said go back! Go back!" the guard aimed a gun at them.
"Oh, don't tell him to put down his gun," Jack swayed his head.
"He's not my responsibility,"the Doctor shrugged.
Jack scoffed, "And I am? That makes a change."
"Jack, guns aren't nice, nice people shouldn't have them," I tried to ease that tension that just kept coming back between those two, "You shouldn't have one," he just smiled.
"Kind watch you. Kind hungry," the creature said before they all left.
"Thanks for that," the Doctor said to the guard.
"Shouldn't have ran," Martha moved over, putting a hand on my back as I coughed again.
"Sorry, but I wanted to live."
"My name is Padrafet Shafekane," the man had moved to the guard, "Please tell me, can you take me to Utopia?"
"Oh yes, sir. Yes, I can," the guard nodded, leading us into a large tunnel that was carved into a mountain.
~0~
"It's a box, a big blue box. I'm sorry, but I really need it back. It's stuck out there," the Doctor was saying to the guard that brought us inside.
"I'm sorry, but my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafekane. My brother is Beltone," Padra added, the poor guard juggling both insisting men.
"The computers are down but you can check the paperwork. Creet!" the guard called and a young boy, nearly nine or ten by the looks of it, stuck his head around a corner, "Passenger needs help."
"Right, what do you need?" He walked over, holding a clipboard in his arms.
"A blue box, you said," the guard continued with the Doctor.
"Big, tall, wooden. Says, 'Police'."
"We're driving out for a last water recollection. I'll see what I can do," the guard said before leaving.
"Sorry, but how old are you?" Martha asked the little boy.
"Old enough to work. This way!"
He led us down the corridor where people were on the ground, almost camping, "Anyone? Kristane and Beltone Shafekane! Anyone know the Shafekane family? Anyone called Shafekane?"
"This is like a refugee camp," I whispered to the others.
"Stinking," Jack said just as we passed a fairly large man who didn't seem too fond of his commentary, "Oh, sorry, no offence."
"Don't you see that? The ripe old smell of humans," the Doctor opened his arms, looking brightly.
"I do not smell like this," I frowned.
"No, you smell like," he took a sniff of me, "Vanilla...and apple-scented tissues."
"Shut up," I mumbled, crossing my arms, discreetly smiling to myself.
"You survived," he reminded, "Oh, much better than a million years evolving into clouds of gas. And then another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans. End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That's the word! Indomitable! Ha!"
"Is there a Kistane Shafekane?" Creet continued to call.
Finally, a woman stood up, "That's me!"
"Mother?" Prada went straight for her arms, encasing her in a big hug.
"At least his mom cares," I mumbled, thinking no one would hear me.
"We care for you," Martha reminded, the Doctor nodding in agreement, both making me smile.
"Captain Jack Harnkess," we heard Jack announce. We looked back and saw him shaking a good-looking man's hand, "And who are you?"
"Oh, brother," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Stop it!" he called and walked for a door, using the sonic on it, "Give us a hand with this," Jack reluctantly took his hand back from the man and joined us, "It's half deadlocked. See if you can overwrite the code," Jack got to work on the keypad beside the door while he continued with the screwdriver, "Let's find out where we are," the Doctor said, right before the door slid open and almost fell out if it wasn't for Jack grabbing him.
"Gotcha, how did you ever cope without me?" Jack teased.
"Now that is what I call a rocket," Martha peered down.
"So then these people aren't refugees, they're passengers," I took a peek as well.
"They said something about Utopia," the Doctor said, remembering, "Perfect place. 100 trillion years, it's still the same old dream. Do you recognize those engines?"
"Nope, whatever it is, it's not rocket science," Jack shook his head, "But it's hot, though."
"Boiling," the Doctor closed the door, 'But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?"
"The Doctor?" an elderly man hurried up to us but directed himself to Jack instead.
"Uh, no, that's me," the Doctor raised a finger.
"Good," the man turned to him and shook his hand, leading him away, "Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good."
The Doctor looked back to us, dead serious, "It's good apparently."
~0~
The elderly man, a professor, had led us into a lab where a blue, insectoid alien greeted us, "Chan-welcome-tho." she nodded.
We nodded and walked along, gazing upon the machinery.
"This is the gravitissimal accelerator. It's part of the ..." the professor trailed off as he brought the Doctor further inside.
"Hello, who are you, if I may ask?" I questioned the greeting alien.
"Chan-Chantho-tho," she smiled.
"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack smiled a flashy smile.
"Stop it," the Doctor called.
"Can I say hello to anyone?"
"Chan-I do not protest-tho," the alien confessed.
"Maybe later, Blue," he winked at her then joined the Doctor, "So what have we got here?"
"Minerva, do you hear that?" Martha whispered to me, nodding to Jack's backpack. We started following the man like dogs, wanting to know what was up with that strange bubbling noise.
"Except without a stable footprint we'll never achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?" the professor said, looking about the machines.
"Well, um, basically..." the Doctor sighed, "Not a clue."
"That's twice in a row, Martian," I gave him a sharp look, "You're failing."
"It's not my fault, I've never been here," he defended himself, the professor seeming very disappointed behind him, "I've never seen a system like it. Sorry."
"No, no, I'm sorry," the professor moved around dejectedly, "It's my fault. There's been so little help."
I noticed Jack finally setting his backpack at a sitting area, so I pulled Martha with me and headed for over, "Oooh, whatcha got there?" I peered beside him.
"Curious one, I like it," he tapped my nose.
"Jack!" the Doctor nearly shouted, making us all flinch.
Jack rolled his eyes and opened up his backpack, pulling out a jar with a hand inside, bubbling in its water, "I believe you were curious about this," he pulled up a certain jar with a certain hand.
I tilted my head, eyeing the strange yet familiar hand. "Hey, I know that hand. Doctor! Come here!"
"That's my hand!" the Martian walked over to us, "That's my hand!"
"I said I had a Doctor detector," Jack smiled proudly.
"Chan-is this a tradition among your people-tho?" Chantho asked, confused.
"Not on my street," Martha shook her head, "Now what do you mean that's your hand? You've got both your hands, I can see them."
"Long story, I lost my hand Christmas Day," the Doctor replied, "In a sword fight."
"And you just grew another hand?"
"Um, yeah, yeah I did. Hello," he waved his fingers.
"Might I ask what species are you?" the professor asked.
"Time Lord. Last of. Heard of them? Legend or anything?" he answered, and clearly awaited to be noticed but to his dismay, nothing, "Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."
"Chan-It is said that I am the last of my species too-tho," Chantho said.
"Sorry, what were your name?" he turned to her.
"My assistant and good friend, Chantho," the professor answered for her, "A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo before we took refuge."
"The city outside was yours?" I asked.
She nodded, "Chan-the conglomeration died-tho."
"Conglomeration! That's what I said!" the Doctor exclaimed.
I glanced at him with a disapproving look. "You're supposed to say sorry."
"Right, yes, sorry," he quickly became serious.
"Chan-most grateful-tho."
"I'm sorry but, you grew another hand?" Martha was still stuck on the jar, glancing between it and the Doctor's current hands.
"Hello again," he waved his fingers, "It's fine. Look. Really, it's me," he held out his hand to her.
"But...I..." she glanced at me.
I shrugged. I had a lot of time to process that and move on from it. "I was there."
"And you're not bothered?"
"His surprises have ceased to have an affect on me."
"Oi," he frowned, as if that statement was an utter offence.
"Just like the name the Oncoming Storm has no more meaning to me," I decided to add with a smirk.
"Just because you're sick does not mean you get to be ruder than usual!"
"Says the man who was more excited he was correct than respectful for someone who lost their entire people," I crossed my arms, just daring him to make a comeback.
He opened his mouth when Martha put a hand over his shoulder, "I wouldn't."
And he closed his mouth, losing silently.
"Chan-you are most unusual-tho," Chantho chuckled, lightly.
"So what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys," Jack brought our attention back, "What are they?"
"We call them the Future Kind," the professor replied, "Which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it is feared that they are what we will become unless we reach Utopia."
"And Utopia is...?" the Doctor asked.
"Oh, every human knows of Utopia," the professor said, slightly confused, "Where have you been?"
"Bit of a hermit."
"A hermit with friends?"
"Hermits United. We meet up every ten years. Swap stories about caves. It's good fun...for a hermit. So, um, Utopia?"
The professor led us to a computer that displayed a navigation chart, "The call from across the stars over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originated from that point," he pointed to a blinking red dot.
"And where is that?" I asked.
"It's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness. Out towards the wild-lands and the dark matter reefs. Calling us in. The last of the humans. Scattered across the night."
"And what do you think's out there?"
"I don't know, a colony? Some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind-to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?"
"Oh, yes!" the Doctor exclaimed, happily, "And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic. There's a good sign. Someone's out there. And that's...oh, that's a navigation matrix, isn't it? So you can fly without stars to guide you."
But the professor seemed distant from us, lost in a trance, "Professor," I stepped over, setting a hand on his arm, jerking it back when I heard something in my head...drums? My chest started to hurt for a minute that I had to rub my hand over my heart.
"I..." he shook his head, "Right then, that's enough talk. There's work to do! Now if you could leave, thank you," he walked away.
"You alright?" the Doctor called after him.
"I'm very fine and very busy!"
"Minerva?" Martha gently shook me. "Hey, you okay?"
I had a frown on my face. The pain in my chest was taking its sweet time fading away but I was also focusing on the faint snippet of drums that I had heard. That had certainly never happened to me. Where had it come from?
"Minerva?" Martha called again and turned me around. "Hey, what's going on?"
"I thought...I thought I heard something..."
"Like what?"
"Don't know...drums? I think Kaeya left some consequences. After I take her stupid necklace and guard it with my life this is what I get?" I sighed, "She and I are going to have some interesting things to talk about when she gets here."
"Good thing is you'll no longer wear the necklace," Martha patted my arm.
I nodded, promising myself I would never even touch that necklace. Kaeya would not have anymore opportunities to nab things that weren't hers. I understood she'd done it with good intentions but that was just not okay in my book.
"Except that rocket's not going to fly, is it?" the Doctor was asking the professor. Of course he hadn't noticed anything. "This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working."
"We'll find a way!"
"You're stuck on this planet and you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there still think they're gonna fly."
"Well, it's better to let them live in hope."
"Quite right, too. And I must say, Professor..." the Doctor removed his coat and tossed it to Jack, "Um, what was it?'
"Yana."
"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. So, I wonder what would happen if I did this?" he took out the screwdriver and used it on a nearby circuit, switching it on and giving power to everything.
"Chan-it's working-tho!" Chantho exclaimed.
"How did you do that?" Yana asked, incredulously.
"Oh, we've been chatting away. I forgot to tell you, I'm brilliant."
"Way to be modest about it," I smiled softly, "But yes, you are."
"You three?" he pointed at Martha, Chantho and I, "We're gonna some more materials."
"Yes, sir," I saluted.
~0~
"Boy am I glad to see that thing!" Martha exclaimed as we returned to the lab and saw the TARDIS being placed on the floor.
"That makes two," I nodded, sneezing.
"Bless you," she said, "And as soon as we get out of here, you're going straight to bed."
"Yes, mum," I teased.
"Connect those circuits into the spar-same as that last lot but quicker," Jack ordered.
"Yes, sir," Martha smiled.
"That's captain to you," he pointed, making us laugh.
"Professor, are you okay?" I frowned, watching him once again distance himself.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine," he seemed to be coming but the issue was that he kept having these moments. "I'm fine. Just get on with it."
"You don't have to keep working. We can handle it," the Doctor came over, also concerned.
"It's just a headache. Just—Just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head," he shook his head.
"What sort of noise?"
"Drums," I said quietly, both of them looking at me with surprise. I was beginning to understand where those drums were coming from but now how I had heard them.
"How did you know?" Yana asked.
"Um..." I couldn't exactly say I heard it when I touched his arm, could I? I would have the Doctor on me for that and I felt like there were other things that should be his top priority right now. "...lucky guess, excuse me." I hurried off before anything else could be said.
"How long have you been with the professor, Chantho?" Martha questioned Chantho as I joined them, both working on the circuits.
"Chan-17 years-tho."
"Long time," I remarked.
"Chan-I adore him-tho."
"Oh, right, and he..." Martha trailed off.
"Chan-I don't think he even notices-tho."
"I know how that feels," I nodded.
"Uh, no," Martha pointed, "You're noticed now. He knows you're there and you know he's there. I don't know what's keeping you apart."
I sighed and continued my work in silence. If only she knew what had happened in 1969. But no, this was a secret I wanted to keep to myself and only talk about it with the other person responsible for the secret. She'd get to know about it after everything had been said.
~0~
Professor Yana was having some trouble with a computer he was using to communicate with another person, "I'm here! We're ready! Now all you need to do is connect the couplings. Then we can launch," but he lost connection with Atillo, one of the guards, "God sakes! This equipment! Needs rebooting all the time!"
"Anything we can do?" Martha questioned, us two walking over, "We've finished that lot."
"Yes, if you could," the professor stood up and Martha took his seat, "Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes out."
"Certainly, sir. Just don't ask me to do shorthand."
"Are you still there?" Atillo's voice called from the screen.
"Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We'll keep the levels down from here," Yana replied.
"He's inside. And good luck to him."
"Captain, keep the levels below the red," Yana looked back to Jack.
"Where is that room?" I asked, curious.
"It's underneath the rocket. Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation."
"Stet? Never heard of that," the Doctor remarked.
"You wouldn't want to. But it's safe enough. We can hold the radiation back from here."
We watched on the screen as the worker worked inside the room but an alarm went off and Yana quickly pointed to Jack, 'It's rising! 0.2. Keep it level!" Yana ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
"Chan-we're losing power-tho!" Chantho cried.
"Radiation's rising!" the Doctor added.
"We've lost control!" Jack yelled.
"The chamber's going to flood," Yana looked at the screen.
"Jack, override the vents!" the Doctor ordered.
Jack held up two cables that were sparking at its tips, "We can jump start the override!" he put both cables together.
"Don't! It's going to flare!" the Doctor warned but it was too late. Jack screamed in pain then collapsed on the ground.
"Oh, not again!" Martha rushed over to him.
"Chan-don't touch the cables-tho," Chantho pushed the cables away from us.
"Jack!" I exclaimed, Martha and I going over to check on him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Yana sighed.
"The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?" the Doctor asked, calmly.
Martha moved me so she could start doing mouth-to-mouth on Jack.
"Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing!" Yana shook his head.
"Oh, I don't know..." the Doctor over to us, pulling me up, "Martha, leave him."
"You've gotta let me try," she struggled to return.
"Come on, just listen to me," he reached for her and pulled her to her feet as well, "Leave him alone. It strikes me, Professor, you've got a room a man can't enter without dying. Is that correct?"
"Yes..."
"Well..." he looked down to Jack just as he gasped for air, coming back to life, "I've got just the man."
"Was someone kissing me?" Jack asked, panting for air.
"Impossible man, you are," I almost laughed as I moved to help him up.
"Was it you?" he pointed. He didn't look that upset if it was the case that I'd 'kissed him'.
"No."
"...do you want it to be you?"
"Stop it," I gave him a stern look, though chuckling in the end.
Jack grinned. "You learn fast."
"Oh stop it, I think they've got a job for you."
"Yes, we do," the Doctor nodded, pulling me away from him, "Start heading out."
"Head where?" Jack frowned, looking around.
"I don't know, just go," the Doctor shooed him off.
"You're being rude," I turned to him, "Why?"
"I...don't know, gotta go!" And he rushed off after the man who apparently could never die.
"What just happened?" I looked at Martha who was smirking, "What?"
"Too oblivious," were her last words before returning to her work.
~0~
"We lost picture when that thing flared up. Doctor, are you there?" Martha asked, still working on the computer. I stood beside her, wanting to know what those two fools were doing. The lack of supervision was concerning for me.
"Receiving, yeah. He's inside," the Doctor answered.
Alright, I was more worried over the Martian...but Jack couldn't die, so...
"And still alive?" Martha looked at me, still psyched out.
"Oh, yes."
"But he should evaporate. What sort of man is he?" Yana inquired as he joined us.
"We've only just met him," I replied, "The Doctor travels through time and space and picks people. Oh, I think I just made us sound like stray dogs."
"Kind of, yeah," Martha smiled, "But...maybe we are...well, you're more than that."
I rolled my eyes, "You're just as important as I am, Martha."
"So you're just as important as Rose?" she tested me, knowing I would contradict myself.
"He travels in time?" Yana asked, a bit absently.
"Yup, that's the TARDIS back there. The sports car of time travel, he says," I pointed, "Conceited Martian."
"And yet you're head over heels for him," Martha mumbled, receiving an elbow in her ribs afterwards. "Ow..."
"When will you learn not to expose my feelings over a comm. that the Doctor can possibly hear us through?" I whisper-shouted at her, recalling McDonnell's ship where the same thing happened oh-so-many times.
"Oops?" She tried. I shook my head, what would I do with her?
"When did you first realize?" the Doctor's voice came over the computer screen, startling me for the moment but as they continued I relaxed as he hadn't heard anything.
"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…In the end, I got the message, I'm the man who can never die. And all that time you knew."
"Poor Jack," I whispered, "I'm gonna scold the Doctor when he comes back."
Martha smiled, "Yeah, then he'll sweet-talk his way out of it as usual."
"That's why I left you behind. It's not easy even just…just looking at you Jack, cos you're wrong," the Doctor said.
"Thanks."
"You are, I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time a 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."
"So what you're saying is that you're, uh, prejudiced?
"I never thought of it like that."
"Yeah."
"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?"
"Rose."
"I thought you sent her back home," Jack said.
"She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex."
I didn't like hearing about the last regeneration of the Doctor. It made me feel guilty that while Rose had been sent back and done her best to get back inside the TARDIS I hadn't even been there to help. I was on recruitment for a club. It made me feel so bad that each time the Doctor had returned I wasn't even there to greet him. Even if I was ignored I still wanted to see the old goof. So when I returned and heard about Rose and the TARDIS I was devastated. I spent weeks trying to call but I suppose the timelines were out of sync because months for us had only been a couple minutes for the blonde and Martian.
"What does that mean, exactly?" asked Jack.
"No one's ever meant to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god, a vengeful god. But she was human. 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."
"Do you think she could change me back?"
"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."
"Hey," Martha whispered to me. "You okay?"
"No..." I admitted, "...whenever he talks about Rose, I just..."
"Don't think of her, then."
"It's not that easy, after everything," I sighed, "I know he doesn't love her, but she did. And at one point he was attracted to her. It's troublesome because then I get to thinking, what if they had more time together? What if she hadn't been sent to the parallel world? Would...would he had fallen in love with her?"
"Minerva, what's the point of you getting upset over the past? Get it through your head, Rose is gone. She's from the past. Whatever happened, happened. But that's it."
"Sorry," I shook my head and turned away, stopping when I noticed Yana was staring at the TARDIS, "Professor?"
"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 let tears stream down his face,"Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked," he pulled out a fob watch from his pocket, "Time and time and time again. Always running out on me."
My eyes widened, Martha immediately moving beside me, "Can I...can I have a look at that?" I reached for him.
"Oh, it's only an old relic," he chuckled, "Like me."
"Where did you get it?"
"I was found with it."
"What do you mean?"
"An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with only this," he held it out, "Well, this and a crystal."
"What crystal?" There was an odd feeling in my stomach.
He walked across the room, rummaging through some things. Martha and I exchanged glances, wondering if it could be the same...no...no that was ridiculous of us...right? We were at the end of the universe for god's sake!
"This," the professor returned holding a baby-blue and white crystal in his hand, "I supposed it was an heirloom of some kind."
I was horrified at the sight of the familiar crystal. "Oh my god," I put a hand over my mouth, stumbling back.
"Have you opened the watch?" Martha stood up, coming up beside me, her eyes flicking from the crystal to the watch.
"Why would I? It's broken."
"How do you know it's broken if you've never opened it?" I turned the watch over, looking at my necklace's pendant and finding the same types of Gallifreyan symbols on both.
"It's stuck. It's old," he took the pocket watch and tried opening it, "I don't know."
Martha reached for the crystal, turning it over as well, giving me a nod. It was the same one. It was Kaeya's.
"Let me see," I took the crystal from her only to hiss in pain and nearly drop it at the sensation of a burn, "OW!"
Martha lunged for the crystal, catching is just before it reached the floor, "Got it!"
"What is it?" the professor moved beside me to inspect my hands.
"Chan-is everything alright-tho?" the alien also joined us.
"We, um...we should go see if the Doctor needs help," I reached for Martha, she linking arms with me.
"But your hands..." the professor tried to reach for me again but I stepped back.
"They're okay...we're, um...we're gonna go to the Doctor..."
And we dashed off.
~0~
"Doctor!" Martha and I yelled when we found him and Jack working at the control panels.
"Ah, nearly there, the footprint is a gravity pulse," the Doctor was saying, "It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It's gonna take the both of us to keep it stable."
"Doctor, it's the professor," I tried, but he continued to mindlessly work, "Doctor?"
"Kind of busy here..." he mumbled.
I frowned and stomped my foot, "Listen to me!"
He stopped and turned, "Gosh, you get a cold and suddenly you become so demanding."
"Can you just listen, this is important. The professor's got this fob watch and it's the same as yours. Same writing on it. Same everything."
He turned back to the controls, "Don't be ridiculous."
"He said he had it all his life," Martha added.
"I'm serious, stop being ridiculous."
"Doctor, you always say I'm always right, well this is no time to doubt that!" I frowned, "Please listen to us. The professor had a crystal too!"
"Seriously, stop being ridiculous."
"We're not!"
"So he's got the same watch," Jack shrugs, "What's the big deal?"
"But the crystal? What about the crystal?" I moved in front of the controls, stopping the Doctor from his work, "Doctor, it was Kaeya's crystal. The one from Lazarus' experiment. I swear."
"That's impossible," he said, sternly, "It can't be."
"But it is! And he's got the fob watch too."
"What is the big deal of a crystal and a watch?" Jack turned around.
"But it's not a watch," Martha said, "It's this chameleon thing..."
"No, no, no." the Doctor snapped, getting irritated again, "It's this...this thing, this device, it rewrites biology, changes a Time Lord into a human."
"And the crystal belonged to the people of the Silver Monsoon," I added.
"But that species is extinct," Jack remarked.
"Except they're not," I corrected, "And that crystal survived too."
"It can't be!" the Doctor moved me out of the way and went on to fix an ongoing alarm.
"That means he could be a Time Lord. You might not be the last one," Jack said.
"Keep it leveled!"
"But that's good, isn't it?" Martha asked, "You're not alone anymore."
"Yes, it is, course it is. Depends on which one, though. And why would he have a crystal of the Monsoon? There was absolutely no way for a Time Lord to get their hands on that crystal."
"Doctor, it's the same!" I exclaimed, frustrated he was so keen on denying it, "He could be a Time Lord and if he is, he has the crystal!"
"But they died, the Time Lords. All of them, they died."
"Not if he was human! Think about it, Kaeya was able to survive and who knows how she did it. If this Time Lord had a fob watch then they could've easily survived!"
"What did he say?" he yelled, suddenly, "What?"
I flinched, completely scared by his sudden change, "Uh...he looked at the watch like he could hardly see it. Like the perception filter was still active. He said the crystal was just an heirloom or something..."
"What about now? Can he see the watch now?" he asked, slightly lower in volume.
"I...I don't know, I...I'm sorry," I stepped back.
"If he escaped the Time War then it's the perfect place to hide," Jack walked over to us, "The end of the universe."
"Think of what the Face of Boe said. His dying words," Martha said, "He said..."
He launched the rocket and finally put his whole mind on the subject. But he blinked all of a sudden, like he had realized something, and glanced at the monitor before picking up a phone, "Lieutenant, have you achieved velocity? Have you done it?" After receiving the answer he hung up and dashed away.
We quickly followed and ran behind. As soon as we reached the main door, it became locked.
"Get it open!" the Doctor yelled, 'Get it open!"
He worked on it with the screwdriver while Jack on the keypad. Finally, it opened and we ran through. In one of the corridors, the future kind had already gotten through so we had to go into a new direction and run even faster. We reached the lab door but again, found it locked.
"Professor!" the Doctor looked in through the window, "Professor! Let me in!"
"They're coming!" I cried, watching the future kind get closer, 'Someone do something!"
"Professor! Professor, let me in! Let me in!" the Doctor insisted, pounding on a small window, "Jack, get that door open!" Jack nodded and got to do that, "Professor! Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there?! Please, I need to explain! Whatever you do, don't open that watch!"
"They're coming!" Martha and I cried, poor Jack frustrated with his lack of success.
"Professor! Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor! Please! Listen to me!"
"Oh for god's sake!" I snatched Jack's revolver, "Guns aren't nice! But their exterior are!" and I hit the door's keypad with the butt of the revolver, handing it back to Jack as soon as it was done.
The Doctor ran for the TARDIS, professor Yana against it for a second before stepping inside and locked it. The Doctor tried the key but it wouldn't work for some reason and so he tried the sonic...only for the same results to arise. So then he started pounding on the door, "Let me in! Let me in!"
"Oh my god," Martha gasped, diverting our attention to the blue alien on the floor, "Chantho!" She ran for her and checked for vitals, "She's dead..."
"Hey! Minerva, you broke the lock!" Jack exclaimed, struggling to close the door.
"Oh sure, focus on the bad side," I ran to go and help him.
"I'm begging you! Everything's changed! It's only the two of us! We're the only ones left! Just let me in!" the Doctor continued to pound on the TARDIS, nothing happening unfortunately. A couple seconds later, a scream emerged from the TARDIS and when I gave a quick glance there was a faint light coming from it...regeneration.
That couldn't be good.
"Ah!" Martha yelled when the door was nearly pushed open by the Futurekind from the other side.
"Doctor! You'd better think of something!" Jack called.
"Ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha! Doctor—ooh, new voice," a new man's voice emerged from the TARDIS speakers, "Hello," the new, apparently younger man now, spoke in a lower voice, "Hello," and now in a higher voice, "Hello," he spoke now normally, "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!"
Martha's head snapped over to the TARDIS, "Hold on! I know that voice!" she stopped helping us.
"Martha!" I cried, struggling to help Jack on my own, screaming when one of the Futurekind's arm broke through the door's small window.
"I'm asking you really properly! Just stop! Just think!" the Doctor pleaded.
"Use my name," we heard the new man order.
"Master. I'm sorry."
"Tough!"
The TARDIS started wheezing...beginning to de-materialize. The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at it, though it still managed to leave.
"We can't hold on much longer, Doctor!" Jack called.
"Oh, no you don't! End of the universe. Have fun. Bye bye!" the new man shouted joyfully.
"Doctor, stop him!" I shouted frantically, seeing the blue box of wonders disappearing from our very eyes.
Author's Note:
Hello!
I just have to say that I severely disliked the way this earthquake prediction scared my little brother and myself today. I don't know if anyone else around lives in California and may have heard about that huge earthquake that was (apparently) suppose to hit the state and practically kill us...that was not fun. It's bad enough knowing we live in a potential earthquake hot spot and then come the predictions...just stop! :o
But anyways, so begins the 3-part finale lol
I gotta say that these episodes would piss me off so much because of what the Master would do to the old Doctor. I would shout at my computer 'no don't do that, stop that!' so much that my sister would give me these looks...*sniffles* cos she didn't understand.
Thank you! Ah yes, uncle Aaron will definitely be appearing but in the next story! I kinda like him cos he's doing something I wanted to do at one point and it sort of ties into Minerva's interests, so that'll be a fun moment to see what uncle Aaron's been up to :) The reason why Isadora knew who the Doctor was in reality is going to be explained (as mentioned above) but in the next story too, sorry! Well, I mean, anyone who wants to reveal their actual feelings to that special someone would naturally be nervous. I've done that before and I'm pretty sure it was obvious and believe me it was nerve-wrecking even through that! Well Martha got better...you know, after she passed on her cold to Minerva...oops. Oh, when Rose comes back it'll be a chaotic time, but not for the reasons you would think like jealousy or whatnot...there'll be something else :) As a couple by then? Hmmm...when oh when shall that moment happen... *evil grin* I won't saaaay.
Yay! *happy dances* along with you :)
Well in fairness, we can see Minerva isn't gonna sit around after that secret kiss, no sir. She's pretty much done with it and wants answers. Go Minerva! Sowwy for pulling a Moffat...he pisses me off daily on the show so I figured I'd try it out and now I see why he does that...cos it's fun! But perhaps a second sneak peek could be given before this story? A less death sneak peek? Though I don't know if I should place it at a certain review number? Cos I'm already giving both the ending of this story and the beginning of the next story on Monday, so...
Or perhaps wait until the next story starts to give a sneak peek of a future chapter in that story instead?
Happy belated birthday SesameSeed ! Although I do have to point out that Minerva's birthday is on October 31st. Maybe you meant cos I updated on the day of you birthday so it just coincided? Either way, happy birthday and I really hope you had fun!
Sorry the Doctor didn't speak his true feelings just yet, but the moment's coming don't worry! I love Jack so much in these chapters cos he'll eventually become Martha's little partner in the teasing as you can probably tell from this chapter with his solo teasing.
Donna fans together then woo hoo! Yes, I think you mentioned that before but it's alright lol. My comments on Kaeya remain the same but everyone's opinions are accepted as the story goes so you cheer for whoever you wanna cheer ;)
Next update should be around Saturday night/Sunday and then the finale & first chapter of the next story on Monday, woo hoo! Until next time!