The Doctor, Martha, Jack and myself landed with a very painful thud on the cold ground of London alleyway.
"Oh, my head!" Martha groaned.
"Time travel without a capsule, that's a killer," the Doctor agreed.
"Still, at least we made it," I reminded, taking in our new surroundings. It was very sunny and very calm, which meant good and safe for the moment.
"It looks about the 21st century," Jack remarked, "Ha, ha, talk about lucky."
"That wasn't luck, that was me," the Doctor clarified as we stood up.
The Doctor had finally turned away from the spot where the TARDIS had been in and ran back to us as we struggled to keep the futurekind out of the lab. He took his screwdriver and used it on Jack's vortex manipulator.
"Hold still! Don't move! Hold it still!" he ordered Jack.
"I'm telling you, it's broken! It hasn't worked for years!" Jack exclaimed.
"That's because you didn't have me. Minerva, Martha, grab hold!" the Doctor both our hands and placed them on top of Jack's manipulator, "Now!"
We flashed out and left those awful futurekind creatures.
''The moral is, if you're gonna get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator," Jack proudly as we sat down on a bench on the street.
"But this Master bloke, he's got the TARDIS. He could be anywhere in time and space," Martha sighed.
"No, he's here. Trust me," the Doctor assured as he looked around.
"But who is he?" I asked, "Cause that voice in the end wasn't the professor anymore. He regenerated, didn't he?"
"Well if the Master's a Time Lord I don't see why he wouldn't regenerate," Jack shrugged.
The Doctor didn't reply a he was currently looking over at a homeless man for some reason. I winced as I felt a small prick of pain in the back of my head. It made me feel distant from the rest, like a trance was taking over...a small, small beat...just tapping away...in my head...like...drums.
"So if he's changed his face how are we supposed to find him?" Martha asked.
"Minerva?" the Doctor shook my arm, snapping me fast out of my trance.
"Yes, hello," I quickly looked at him, though I went into a coughing fit.
"Are you alright?" he asked, slowly studying me.
I rolled my eyes. "Listen to yourself, runaway Time Lord on the loose and you're asking if I'm okay? We've got work to do!"
"But he can be anyone..." Martha repeated.
"No, I'll know him, the moment I see him," the Doctor assured, "Time Lords always do."
"But if he could be anyone..." I looked around, "Who would you be?" I stopped at an election poster...and another...and another. They were everywhere on the streets.
"It can't be..." Martha noticed them as well, "...we missed the election...the most important man...oh no," and we all stood up, walking over to a shop where a TV was airing the return of a man...
Mr. Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters.
We saw "Prime Minister Harold Saxon" walking down the stairs with an entourage and a blonde woman beside him.
"I said I knew that voice," Martha pointed, "When he spoke inside the TARDIS. I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon."
"That's him. He's Prime Minister," the Doctor said, quietly, "The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain."
Mr. Saxon , this way, sir. Come on, kiss for the lady, sir.
"The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain," the Doctor declared, blinking when Saxon kissed the woman at his side, "The Master and his wife."
"Should take some notes from him," Martha mumbled, receiving an elbow a second later from me.
Saxon stood in front of the press with a flashy grin, "This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that, what this country needs right now...is a doctor," he smiled.
"Cynical," I spat.
~0~
"Home," Martha opened the door to her apartment, allowing us inside.
"What have you got? Computer, laptop, anything?" the Doctor walked around, looking for said things.
"Who are you calling, Jack?" I asked when I noticed his phone was out and placed on his ear, "You look distressed."
He sighed, "Just some friends...but there's no reply."
"Here you go," Martha handed a laptop to the Doctor, "Any good?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"Achoo!" I sneezed, "Sorry."
"You really need to stop apologizing," Martha shook her head and walked into the kitchen.
Jack put away his phone and took the laptop from the Doctor, "I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages," he sat down at the desk.
"That's so weird though, it's the day after the election," Martha returned from the kitchen with a couple pill bottles and a glass of water, "That's only four days after I met you two," she looked at the Doctor and I.
"We went flying all around the universe while he was here the whole time," the Doctor said, almost beating himself up for that one.
"Here," Martha opened one of the pill bottles and handed it to me, "That's for the sneezing. Your allergies are combining with your stuffiness. Take this one about an hour later, understood?"
"Yes, doctor," I nodded, popping one in and taking the glass from her.
"And I'd keep this one if I were you," she waved another bottle, "I get the feeling the running is gonna come soon..."
"I don't have a fever."
"You will," she nodded, stuffing the bottle into my jacket's pocket.
"Are you gonna tell us who this 'Master' is?" Jack asked the Doctor as he worked on the laptop.
"He's a Time Lord."
"What about the rest of it? I mean, who'd call himself the Master?" Martha walked over to her answering machine.
"That's all you need to know," the Doctor turned to Jack, "Come on, show me Harold Saxon!"
Martha had a message from her answering machine begin playing, letting us hear her sister, Tish, speaking excitedly, "Martha, where are you? I've got this new job. You won't believe it. It's weird, they just phoned me up out of the blue. I'm working for—"
"Oh, like it matters," Martha shook her head and shut off the machine.
~ 0 ~
Jack had displayed nearly all the campaign commercials of Harold Saxon to us, and to say were we were very confused would be an understatement, especially for the Doctor.
"I'm voting Saxon. He can tick my box any day," Sharon Osbourne appeared.
"Vote Saxon! Go Harry!" went McFLY.
"I think Mr Saxon is exactly what this country needs. He's a very fine man. And he's handsome too," Ann Widdecombe.
Jack stopped the commercials after that one and clicked somewhere else on the screen, "Former Minister of Defense. First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve," he turned to the Doctor, "Nice work, by the way."
"Oh, thanks," the Doctor mumbled.
I moved to the wall and leaned against it, feeling a headache coming on, but behind it was that maniacal beating...
"He goes back years. He's famous. Everyone knows his story. Look. Cambridge University, Rugby blue, won the Athletics thing, wrote a novel, went into business, marriage, everything. He's got a whole life," Martha said, none of them noticing my current state.
"But he's got a TARDIS. Maybe the Master went back in time and has lived here for decades," Jack stood from the desk, "Mind if I make some tea?" he asked Martha who nodded in approval.
"No," the Doctor moved to take Jack's seat at the desk.
"Why not? Worked for me?"
"When he was stealing the TARDIS, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them permanently. He can only travel between the year 100 trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed. Which is right here, right now."
"Yeah, but a little leeway?" Jack poked his head from the kitchen.
"Well…18 months, tops. The most he could have been here is 18 months. So how has he managed all this? The Master was always sort of…hypnotic but this is on a massive scale."
"Drums..." I whispered.
"I was gonna vote for him," Martha confessed, taking a seat on the couch's arm.
"Really?" the Doctor asked.
"Well, it was before I even met you two. And I liked him."
"Me too!" agreed Jack from a distance.
""Why, what was his policy?" the Doctor frowned, not understanding.
"I don't know. He always sounded...good," Martha began a tapping sound with her fingers, "Like you could trust him. Just nice...he spoke about..." her tapping started growing stronger, at least in my head because no one else seemed bothered by it, "...I can't really remember, but it was good. Just the sound of his voice!"
"Make it stop!" I cried, nearly pushing Martha off the couch's arm in an attempt to cease her tapping.
"Minerva, what's wrong?" the Doctor quickly moved to my side.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! There's these stupid drumbeats!" I clasped my hands over my head, also feeling my chest in pain but the headache was far bigger.
"Drumbeats?" he frowned, "Like the professor?"
I nodded, my eyes watery as the pain grew, "Did Kaeya do something else to me you haven't told me about?"
"N-n-n-n-no I swear. Come here," he put his fingers on my temples.
"What are you going to do?" I nearly whimpered.
"You're gonna nap."
"But I don't want to."
"I wasn't asking now was I?" he gave a playful smile, "Just sleep a little."
"But-"
"We'll take care of you."
"I don't-" My eyes shut before I could finish that sentence.
~0~
I gasped awake, first thing seeing was an immortal man's face, "What the!?" I nearly fell out of Jack's arm if he hadn't reacted quicker than I.
"Woah, hey! It's okay, I won't bite," he moved me to the spot beside him, leaving me between he and Martha on a bench.
"What's going on, where am I?" I rubbed the side of my head, seeing we were outside, "The Doctor? Where is he!?"
"Hey, it's okay," Martha exclaimed, grabbing my arms and keeping me still, "In what fits, anyways."
"What happened?" I still searched around urgently, until I saw the Martian across, talking on a cellphone.
"Long story short, my flat was bombed, my parents were taken into custody and we're on the run from Harold Saxon."
I blinked, "What?" And I just slept through all that!?
"You're a heavy sleeper," Jack remarked, "Slept through an explosion and car chase..."
"I'm also a crazy sleeper," I shrugged, leaning back on the bench, "I've been told."
"How's your head?"
"Much better, actually," I paused and listened, no such sound in my head, "But I'm cold," I hugged myself, despite wearing a jacket it was still chilly.
"That would be the starts of a fever talking," Martha sighed.
"I want to go with the Doctor," I moved to stand but both friends pushed me back down, "C'mon, guys, I feel much-" then I sneezed, "Better."
"You can barely stand," Martha shook her head.
"Oh yeah?" And I stood up, fairly fast, stumbling forwards as I felt dizzy.
"You sure she's clever?" Jack pulled me back down.
"She's sick, give her a break!" Martha put a hand on my forehead, "Plus, she's got some freaky alien lurking around in her head. Kaeya really messed up!"
"Kaeya from the Silver Monsoon?" Jack asked, both Martha an I shooting him a sharp look, confused as well, "She's the owner of the crystal, then?"
"How do you know about the crystal?" I sat up straight.
"I'm from the future, and at that point it's a well known fact she's alive," he shrugged, "I don't understand why the species is declared extinct if they're really not."
"They're living among other water species," I waved him off, "I'm much more interested in knowing how the Master has Kaeya's crystal. Lazarus had it in his lab..."
"But it was destroyed," Martha said, though by the turn of Jack's head and his refusal to look at us we had to rethink.
"Jack, the Doctor thinks that crystal was destroyed," I began, "That thing burned my hands. It's dangerous."
"But now that we know who Saxon really is..." Jack trailed off, allowing Martha and I to make the connections.
"Lazarus said Saxon donated the crystal," I breathed, beginning to panic. All the clues had always been there and we just missed them!
"But he would never allow something that precious to be destroyed," Martha mumbled, confused.
"But if he had the crystal this whole time..." I paused to think, "...why did he give it to Lazarus?"
"Minerva, your hands," Martha pointed.
I turned my hands over, seeing my palms releasing some sort of blue light, feeling icy and numb, "I can't feel my hands," I gasped with terror, "But I feel pain...so much pain!"
"That crystal was a trap!" Martha jumped to her feet, "It's poisoned you!"
"Doctor!" Jack yelled, Martha taking my hands and studying them.
"Ow!" She jerked her hands back, "You burned me!"
"It's...poison," I clutched my chest, feeling a terrible ache in my heart again, "Oh, it hurts!"
"I said stop it, Saxon!" the Doctor shouted through the phone as he ran back to us, "Reverse it NOW!"
"What's he doing to me?" I whimpered, feeling a short loss of breath, "I'm gonna die..."
"No you're not," he gripped my hand, despite it burning his, "Saxon, please!" he spoke into the cellphone again.
And just when I thought I would finally pass out (or possibly die) everything stopped. The icy feeling, the ache in my heart, the short breath, the burning stopped. It all just stopped. I fell back on the bench, breathing heavily, with my hand over my chest.
The Doctor hung up, passing the phone to Martha, "That was just a warning," he muttered, taking a seat beside me and checking me over, "But I don't understand how he could do that. No Time Lord has power over a single human like that. He has to have some sort of object, any ideas?" he looked up, but none of us answered.
More than anything, that crystal belonged to Kaeya...and we all know what that woman is to him. It would break him to know one of her prize possessions was in the hands of his mortal enemy.
"I'm cold," I said instead, shivering.
"What are we gonna do?" Martha asked.
"Run," the Doctor helped me to my feet, "He can see us, everywhere and anywhere," he nodded to a security camera on the corner of the street, sparks currently flying out of it. He had used the sonic on it, but what was the damage of just one camera in a city?
"It's cold..." I mumbled, hugging myself, "...where are we gonna go?"
"I'm sorry, Minerva, I really am. But we're gonna have to run..." he took my hand, "...for some time."
And we ran and ran. We spent the whole day, running from one place to another, trying to find at least one place that wasn't infiltrated. In the meantime of the running, it seemed like my hands had cooled down, but they still stung as a remnant of the Master's little trick. Apart from that, I was sick. My coughing made it hard to breathe and breathing was necessary to both run and live. And to top it all off, the drumbeats were returning with each hour, becoming a full headache once more. Thankfully, we managed to find one abandoned warehouse that looked like we could spend some hours to hide in.
"I think this place looks good..." I nodded, "Maybe...to rest..." I stopped at a table and leaned against it, feeling myself become dizzy, "Right?"
"Yeah, it looks okay," Jack agreed, "You on the other hand..." he looked me over.
I managed a half-smile, "Thanks."
"Yeah, maybe you should take a seat," the Doctor moved for a nearby chair, "Rest for a bit."
"Oh, I don't think a chair is gonna be necessary..." It became harder to keep my eyes opened.
"Why?"
The beating started up again, going up to max. I put a hand over my head, "I can't take this anymore. It's hurting too much for me...I can't...I..." I felt myself start slipping from the table, "...I can't."
My eyes closed once more, falling who knew where.
~0~
"Has she wakened yet?"
"Nah, still the same."
"Completely still that one, sleeps like an angel."
"But she's shivering, I don't like it."
"It's her fever, I told you."
I felt insanely cold. The beatings were gone, but my body felt like it was below zero, even the burns of my hands were cold.
"It's c-c-c-cold," I forced my eyes to open, seeing the Doctors face right above mine, "It's cold," I whimpered, closing my eyes again, my head resting on his chest with his arms around me. I would've blushed if my body actually had that type of heat anymore.
"I told you, Kaeya hurt her," Martha snapped, very crossed for some reason, "That necklace left consequences. More than we thought."
"I'm s-s-sick, Martha," I reminded, "Fever...cold...cough...sneeze...I'm sick."
"No, this wasn't her," the Doctor said, serious, "This is the Master. He's got something that I don't know about. He's using it to control her state."
I opened my eyes against and turned my head to see Jack and Martha sitting beside each other on chairs with foot on their laps. I eyed them carefully, making sure they understood not to tell the Doctor about the crystal in the possession of the Master. It was the only thing possible that could be used against me. But if the Doctor found out he'd let that crystal be taken away he wouldn't forgive himself. It was, after all, Kaeya's crystal, her prize possession.
"Can I have my medicine?" I frowned, reaching inside my jacket's pocket, only to see another jacket was over me, a coat. "Doctor, why am I wearing your coat?"
"You do know you're shivering, right?" he raised an eyebrow, wondering if I had forgotten that as part of my illness.
"Yes, I have taken note of that," I reached for my jacket underneath his to pull out the bottle Martha had stuffed in earlier, "Boy am I glad to have a best friend that's a doctor."
"I'm the best," she smirked.
"Thanks," I was about to pop one in when the Doctor took it from me, "Wha-hey?"
"You need to eat first. It'll do your stomach bad and the last thing we need is a stomach ache, right?"
"Okay," I nodded, allowing him to return the pill to the bottle, "Doctor, why are we on the floor and they get chairs? I like chairs."
"Because it's far more comfortable like this," he smiled, holding me closer, and boy did I love being like this with him. I rested my head on his chest again, smiling in content, forgetting all about chairs. Who needed chairs when you had a perfect Martian instead?
"Oh, okay, so you nearly jump out of my arms but you practically cuddle with him?" Jack frowned.
"Martha," was all I had to say.
"Mhm, on it," she was chewing on something but still did her job.
"Ow!" Jack cried, a moment later asking the familiar question, "Did you just elbow me?"
"Welcome to the group, Captain," she flashed a cheeky grin.
"Settle down you two," the Doctor warned, like a father actually, as he grabbed a plate of french-fries, "And you take some right now," he moved it to me.
"Yes, sir," I mumbled, reaching for one, "But you have to eat as well."
"Yes ma'am," he nodded, taking several and dropping them in his mouth.
The warmness one french fry supplied was ridiculous. My body was that cold. But as I started to eat, my shivering was stopped which then allowed me to eat more and more.
"You don't mind if we start with the questionnaire, do you?" Martha asked, "Because my family's been taken away and I need to know who the hell this bloke is."
"Everyone was taken?" I frowned.
"There's no news on Leo so that's something good...I guess," she looked down.
"We'll get them back," I assured, "You'll see."
"So I want to know who the hell this Master bloke is so I know how to stop him," she declared firmly, looking at the Doctor.
"Yeah, I'd just like to know why the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath," Jack shrugged.
"Well, he was a friend...at first," the Doctor shrugged.
"I thought you were gonna say he was your secret brother or something," Martha remarked, garnering stares from the Doctor and Jack.
"You've been watching too much TV," the Doctor told her.
"Well blame Minerva, between her vampires and soap operas my mind never takes a rest!"
"You leave my vampires out of this Martha Jones," I warned. She playfully rolled her eyes and continued to eat.
"All the legends of Gallifrey, though, it made it sound so perfect," Jack said.
"Well, perfect to look at, maybe. And it was, it was it was beautiful," the Doctor smiled, probably thinking about all those memories he had, "They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the Continent of Wild Endeavor, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords...the oldest and most mighty race in the universe...looking down on the galaxies below, sworn never to interfere, only to watch. Children of Gallifrey, taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy. And some say that's when it all began. When he was a child...that's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation, it's a gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. You stand there, eight years old...staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired...some would run away...and some would go mad."
"And let me guess, you ran away?" I asked him, knowing I was one-hundred correct.
"Clever one. Always," he pointed, "I ran away and never stopped."
"Good thing you did, that's how we met, remember? We ran," I smiled, "Thanks to Donna Noble, though. Or else I would've died before you even got to me."
"Thank god for Donna Noble," he smiled back. I slightly shivered, leading him to try and pull me even closer and trap some heat.
Jack's manipulator suddenly went off with a beeping sound. He quickly looked down to it, "Encrypted channel with files attached. Don't recognize it."
"Patch it through to the laptop," the Doctor instructed.
He nodded and went for the laptop. I tried to get off the Martian so he could go and check but I was restrained from moving, "You should go check with Jack," I tried to reason but he shook his head.
"You're cold and I refuse to let go. Everyone hurts you, let me take care of you in the only way I can make sure no one hurts you. Stay with me, like this," he dropped a kiss on the top of my head.
Martha coughed, though more for her awkwardness than to bring attention to the fact she remained with us, "Jack? Bring the laptop over here, won't yah? Minerva can't move," she flashed a smirk to me.
I would've rolled my eyes but I was much too enthralled right now with Martian. I loved our closeness and I wanted to soak up every possible second I could.
"We really need to talk later," I whispered to him as Jack returned.
"You keep saying that, but what's it about?" the Doctor asked, confused.
"It's important," I assured him.
Jack returned to us, and both he and Martha moved their chairs beside us, allowing us a view of the computer screen, "Actually, you know, since we're telling stories...there's something I haven't told you."
But the big 'Torchwood' logo on the computer screen said everything we needed to know...at least for the Doctor.
"You work for Torchwood?" the Doctor asked, sounding angry already.
"I swear to you, it's different. It's changed. There's only half a dozen of us now," Jack explained.
"Everything Torchwood did and you're part of it?!"
"The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf. I rebuilt it, I changed it. And when I did that, I did it for you, in your honor."
The Doctor still didn't look convinced about it; he only glared at Jack in silence.
"Doctor, might I remind you that I worked for Torchwood?" I felt compelled to make that reminder, make him see Jack was working at an actual, honest place and not the its original parent where I had been, "I worked for Yvonne despite everything."
"You did?" Jack raised an eye brow, "And you're mad at me?" he looked at the Doctor with a small, irritated frown.
"Yes, but...it was different!" the Doctor said to me, though it didn't look like he had a real reason for his statement.
"Favoritism at its finest," Jack spat, shaking his head.
"Oh just open the file," I rolled my eyes.
He did as told and played a video for us of a woman, Vivien Rock apparently.
If I haven't returned to my desk by 2200 hours, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means, if you're watching this, then I'm… Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started. When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network.
"What's the Archangel Network?" the Doctor quickly asked.
"I've got Archangel," Martha took out her phone, "Everyone's got it."
"It's the mobile network. Cause look, it's gone worldwide," Jack pointed at the screen, 'They've got 15 satellites in orbit. Even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel."
The Doctor took Martha's phone and used the screwdriver on it, "It's in the phones!" he exclaimed, "Oh, I said he was a hypnotist! Hold on," he tapped the phone against the table, causing a beeping out of it, "There it is. That rhythm, it's everywhere. Ticking away in the subconscious."
"I know that sound," I said, quietly, "It's the same one in my head. But...I don't even have a phone!"
"That's because you're producing it," the Doctor looked down at me, a sad look in his eyes, "The Master has you under his control."
I swallowed, "Oh, that's nice to know..."
"I won't let him hurt you, I swear," he dropped another kiss to my hair, "No more."
"So...the hypnosis is in my phone?" Martha frowned, reaching for her phone.
"It's not hypnotism," the Doctor tapped her phone against a nearby table, allowing us to hear a beeping sound in the style of the stupid drums I heard in my head.
"That's it, that's what I hear," I frowned.
"But it's not hypnotism. No, no, no, no. Subtler than that. Any stronger and people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code… Vote Saxon. Believe in me. Whispering to the world. Oh, yes! That's how he hid himself from me. 'Cause I should have sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth. I should have known way back. The signal cancelled him out."
"Well, is there anyway to stop it?" Jack asked.
"Not from down here, but now we know how he's doing it. And we can fight back."
"Well then, how do we start?" I raised an eye brow.
"Phone. Laptop. TARDIS Keys. Now," he nodded for the table.
"My cue to stand up," I mumbled, Martha coming over and grabbing my hands to pull me up, "Now take your medicine."
"Yes ma'am," I nodded.
"You feel better?" the Doctor asked once he was on his feet, even checking me over before I answered.
"Yeah, completely," I half-smiled.
"Okay," he nodded and kissed my head before going over to the table with Jack.
"You may want to stop drooling," Martha popped my mouth closed after a minute.
"Oh stop it," I shook my head, still blushing nonetheless.
"Something's changed..." she looked between me and the Martian, "...I can't place my finger when it happened but it did, something changed suddenly."
"It's nothing," I quickly assured, turning away and reaching down for the leftover food on the floor.
"I'm good at this, believe me," she turned with me as well, "Anything you want to share?"
I turned around with a small smile, absolutely calm yet still with a blush, "Nope."
"Oh don't do this to me, please," she clapped her hands together and formed a pleading pout.
I looked at her with amusement and simply walked away from her and the men, "Leave it alone, Martha."
"N-n-n-no, please!" she rushed after me, turning me to face her and spoke much quieter, "C'mon, I'm your best friend. You know I'll keep your secrets."
I just smiled, "Martha, I'll tell you afterwards, everything. I promise. But I need to talk to him first, okay?" she sighed and gave up, simply nodding she understood me, "So...it's obvious he's changed?" I asked after a minute of silence.
She grinned and nodded, "Oh yes."
"Suppose that's a good thing then..." I bit my lip, barely containing my beam as I looked over to the Martian at work.
~0~
The Doctor had finished four sets of TARDIS keys with some type of wires in them tied to strings like necklaces, "Four TARDIS keys, four pieces of the TARDIS with low-level perception properties because the TARDIS is designed to blend in. Well, sort of, but...Now!" he exclaimed, suddenly, "The Archangel Network's got a second low-level signal. Weld the key to the network and...Minerva, if you could," he backed away, "Look at me."
"Doesn't she always?" I heard Jack mumble to Martha and then their collective snickering. Well that immortal man sure caught up fast with things.
"Can I kill Jack first?" I asked the Doctor, glancing over at them.
"It'd be quite an achievement," Jack smirked.
"Minerva, focus," the Doctor called back.
"Right, yes," I looked back to him.
"You can see me right now, right?" I nodded, "What about now?" He put on the key with the string.
I looked at him, but somehow wound up looking somewhere else. Again, I forced myself to look back, only for my gaze to move somewhere else.
"No, I'm here. Look at me," the Doctor called.
I blinked, "I mean...I know you're there but it's like I don't wanna know you are."
"And back again..." he removed the key, "See? It shifts your perception a tiny little bit. Doesn't make us invisible, just unnoticed," he walked back to us, "Oh! I know what it's like. It's like-it's like when you fancy someone and they don't even know you exist. That's what it's like. Come on!" he walked towards the doors.
"He would know," Jack mumbled, Martha bursting into laughter.
I shot them both a dirty look that immediately cut short their laughter.
We followed the Doctor out to the streets, all of us placing on our new necklaces, "Don't run. Don't shout. Just keep your voice down," the Doctor instructed us, "Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows."
"But what if I gotta sneeze?" I frowned, knowing that would be a bit hard to control, "Or cough?"
He made a face, understanding completely, "Don't...?"
"Thanks."
"Just be a ghost," offered Jack, "That's not sick."
"Men are so helpful," I shook my head.
"That we are," the immortal shot me a wink.
"Don't you even dare," the Doctor pulled me to his side, shooting Jack a truly murderous glare.
Jack just laughed, Martha shaking her head with a smile. I didn't care what stupid innuendo Jack had made, I understood it but I also knew he was kidding. It seemed like he and Martha were on the same page with their teasing after only a day of knowing each other. All I cared for right now was that I was currently in the Doctor's coat, impossibly close to him while holding his hand.
~0~
Harold and Lucy Saxon were arriving to greet President Winters on the tarmac. The Doctor, Martha, Jack and myself were forced to merely watch in silence from across.
"Mr President, sir!" Saxon saluted, the president not too pleased.
"Mr Saxon. The British Army will stand down. From now on, UNIT has control of this operation."
"You make it sound like an invasion."
"First contact policy was decided by the Security Council in 1968. And you've just gone and ignored it."
"Well, you know what it's like. New job, all that paperwork. I think it's down the back of the settee. I did have a quick look. I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket and uh…have you met the wife?" Saxon gestured to Lucy, not at all perturbed by the President.
"Mr Saxon, I'm not sure what your game is but there are provisions at the United Nations to have you removed from office unless you are very, very careful. Is that understood?" Saxon merely mined his lips zipped, "Are you taking this seriously? To business. We've accessed your files on these…Toclafane. First contact cannot take place on any sovereign soil. For that purpose, the aircraft carrier Valiant is en route. The rendezvous will take place there at 8:00 am," But Saxon remained unperturbed and tried speaking out of his mined zipped lips, much to the irritation of the president, "You're trying my patience, sir."
"So America is completely in charge?"
"Since Britain elected an ass, yes. I'll see you on board the Valiant," the president turned to leave.
"It still will be televised, though, won't it? Because I promised, and the whole world is watching."
"Since it's too late to pull out, the world will be watching. Me," the president walked to his waiting car.
"The last President of America. We have a private plane ready and waiting. We should reach the Valiant within the hour," Saxon gestured for Lucy to go in first, "My darling," he turned to see the president driving away, stopping to look where we were.
Fortunately, the filter seemed to be doing its job just fine and he moved on to a police van that was driving for him. A couple moments later, the Jones family was being pulled out of the van, except for Leo.
"Hi, guys! All will be revealed!" Saxon laughed as he went to greet them like a casual friend.
"Oh my God," Martha gasped at the sight of her family.
"Don't move," the Doctor ordered.
"But…"
"Don't."
"I'm gonna kill him," she declared darkly.
"Say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?" Jack asked.
"Now that sounds like Torchwood," the Doctor reminded.
"Still sounds like a good plan."
"Perhaps there could be a better plan?" I offered, wanting to sway out any potential disagreements.
"He's a Time Lord, which makes him my responsibility. I'm not here to kill him. I'm here to save him," the Doctor said, staring after where Saxon had been.
Jack started using his manipulator, "Aircraft carrier Valiant. It's a UNIT ship at 28.2N and 10.02E."
"So how do we get onboard?" I asked.
"Does that thing work as a teleport?" the Doctor finally turned away from the sight.
"Since you revamped it, yeah. Coordinates set."
I sneezed, "Sorry," sniffled.
The Doctor grabbed my hand and placed it over Jack's manipulator, motioning for Martha to do the same. Jack activated the thing and we were flashed into an engine room, all of us dropping to the floor.
"Oh, that thing is rough," Martha groaned.
"I've has worse nights," Jack cracked his neck as he stood, "Welcome to the Valiant."
"It's dawn," I stood up and walked to a porthole, no longer seeing the dark of the night.
"Hold on, I thought this was a ship," Martha moved over, "Where's the sea?"
"A ship for the 21st century. Protecting the skies of planet Earth," Jack explained.
And indeed it was set for the modern century, a massive aircraft carrier in the sky...
Oh dear...
~0~
We ran down the maintenance corridors but the Doctor had stopped without a warning.
"We've no time for sightseeing!" Jack scolded.
"Wait. Shh, shh, shh. Can't you hear it?"
"Hear what?" I frowned, for once my head being silent was not so pleasing.
"Doctor, my family's on board," Martha strode past him.
"Brilliant! This way!" and the Martian ran off to a different direction, making us run after him. He stopped at a set of doors which he opened to reveal the TARDIS inside, "Oh, at last!"
"The box of wonders!" I laughed, running after him.
"What's it doing on the Valiant?" Jack asked as the Doctor opened up the doors.
But then we saw the insides bathed in red, the console just...wrong.
"What the hell's he done?" Jack frowned.
"Don't touch it," the Doctor went around the 'console'.
"I'm not going to."
"What's he done though? Sounds like it's… sick."
"It looks sick," I stared at the big cage surrounding it, noticing several parts of the console had been stripped off.
"It can't be. No, no, no, no, no, no, it can't be," the Doctor shook his head.
"Doctor, what is it?" Martha asked.
"He's cannibalized the TARDIS."
"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked.
"I remember that lesson," I mumbled, staring sadly at the box, "It's a paradox machine."
"Seriously hate when you're right," the Doctor muttered, "As soon as this hits red, it activates. At this speed, it'll trigger," he looked at Jack's watch, "At two minutes past 8:00."
"First contact is at 8:00 and then two minutes later…" Jack said.
"What's it for? What's a paradox machine do?" Martha asked.
"More importantly, can you stop it?" Jack inquired.
"Not until I know what it's doing. Touch the wrong bit and blow up the solar system," the Doctor continued gazing up and down at the 'console'.
"Then we've got to get to the Master," I said, turning for the doors, "Doctor, I presume you already have a way?"
"Did I mention you're clever?"
I looked back, smiling, "Once or twice. But you can always go for a third round."
"Hm, someone's feeling better."
I grinned, "Yup," but then I sneezed, "Nope."
~0~
We watched in silence the media giving forth to the new 'aliens' trying to make contact with the planet. Specifically, the Master sitting at the table near us.
President Winters stood at the front of the room where he had begun making his speech, "My fellow Americans, patriots, people of the world…I stand before you today as ambassador for humanity, a role I will undertake with utmost solemnity. Perhaps our Toclafane cousins can offer us much, but that is important is not that we gain material benefits, but that we learn to see ourselves anew. For as long as man has looked to the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold. Now we know we are not alone…"
"This plan, you gonna tell us?" Jack whispered to the Doctor.
"If I can get this," the Doctor held one of the TARDIS keys up, "Around the Master's neck...cancel out his perception and they'll seem him for real. It's just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me... you've got a key."
"Yes, sir," Jack nodded.
"I'll get him," Martha glared.
"And I ask you now, I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends. I give you the Toclafane," the president was finishing up just as three silver spheres appeared around him, "My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President-Elect of the United States of America and designated representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to the planet Earth and its associated moon."
"You're not the Master," one of the spheres spoke in a male voice.
"We like the Mr. Master," the second, a female, said.
"We don't like you," the third, another male, repeated.
"I...can be Master, if you so wish," President Winters said, slowly, "I will accept mastery over you if that is God's will."
"Man is stupid."
"Master is our friend."
"Where's my Master, pretty please?"
"Oh, all right then. It's me, ta da!" the Master stood up, laughing, "Sorry, sorry, I do have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? The aftershave? The capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's crazy!"
"Saxon, what are you talking about?" the president demanded.
The Master stood in front of him, all jokes gone. "I'm taking control, Uncle Sam. Starting with you. Kill him."
One of the Toclafane shot the president, disintegrating him in a flash. Everyone in the room stood from their seats, trying desperately to leave. But the guards stood all around, aiming their weapons at them, "Nobody leaves," one of them said.
"Now then, peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully," the Master turned to the cameras.
I felt my hand being grasped and when I looked over the Doctor was already looking down at me, "We really need to talk," I whispered, seeing that as a very low possibility for some reason. He only nodded silently before he let go of my hand and ran forwards.
"Stop him!" a guard yelled.
Two guards caught up with him and forced him to kneel on the floor.
"We meet at last, Doctor," the Master turned to him, "Oh, ho! I love saying that."
"Stop this! Stop it now!" the Doctor ordered.
"As if a perception filter's gonna work on me. Oh and look, it's the girlie and a freak. Although, I'm not sure which one's which?" and then I sneezed, "And my toy," he grinned, ignoring the dirty look I gave him back. Jack ran for them, only to be fired with a laser by Saxon and collapse on the ground, "Laser screwdriver, who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!"
"Master, calm down. Just look at what you're doing?" the Doctor tried again, "Just stop. If you could see yourself..."
The Master sighed, glancing back at the camera, "Oh, do excuse me, little bit of personal business. Back in a minute," he looked back at the Doctor, "Let him go."
The guards pushed the Doctor to the floor and backed away, "It's that sound, the sound in your head. What if I could help?"
"Oh, how to shut him up? I know. Memory Lane!" the Master sat down on the last step and faced the Doctor, "Professor Lazarus. Remember him? And his genetic manipulation device? Did you think that little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver...but oh, if I only had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute, I do!" he ran over to a silver case and opened it, "I've got his hand! And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it? Another hundred years?" he aimed the screwdriver at the Doctor and made him scream like crazy as he went into a fit of convulsions.
"No!" I ran without thinking.
I was stopped by a guard who aimed his gun right at me. I was forced down on my knees beside Jack. Martha quickly followed to us, all in the meantime the Master wouldn't desist with the Doctor.
"You both have got to teleport," Jack whispered.
"You're out of your mind if you think I'm leaving," I snapped.
"Martha..."
"I can't," she shook her head.
"You've got to," I said, quietly, "Cause I'm not going."
"We can't stop him," Jack added, "Just get out of here. Get out."
Jack slipped her the manipulator. When the Master finally stopped, the Doctor was left as an old man on the ground. Martha quickly rushed over to him, helping him sit up. I tried to do the same but the guard just pushed the gun even harder to my skin. I was able to only glance and see the Doctor whispering something into Martha's ear.
"Aw, she's a would-be doctor," the Master said, wickedly, "But tonight, Martha Jones, we've flown them in all the way from prison!" The doors open and in came the Jones family being hauled by more guards.
"Mum," Martha croaked out.
"I'm sorry..." Francine was crying.
"The Toclafane, who are they? Who are they?" the Doctor asked, breathing heavily.
"Doctor, if I told you the truth, your hearts would break," the Master shrugged.
"Is it time?" one of the spheres flew over.
"Is it ready?"
"Is the machine singing?"
The Master took a look at his watch, "Two minutes past," he climbed the steps up next to his wife, Lucy, and looked into the camera, "So! Earthlings...Basically, um, end of the world," he held up his screwdriver, "Here...come...the drums!"
He had a ridiculous song playing over the speakers while he and Lucy looked out the window, "How many do you think?" he asked Lucy.
"I don't know," she breathed.
"Six billion," he switched on an outside speaker and spoke up, "Down you go, kids!" he looked on silence for a moment until he spoke again, and he spoke such awful words, "Shall we decimate them? That sounds good. Nice word—decimate," he turned to the Toclafane, "Remove one-tenth of the population!"
We listened with shattering hearts as the cries for help started coming in.
"Valiant, this is Geneva! We're getting slaughtered down here!"
Martha stood up, leaving the Doctor.
Help us, for God's sake! Help us! They're everywhere!
This is London, Valiant! This is London calling! What do we do?!
Martha turned to look at her family.
They're killing us! The Toclafane are killing us!
Martha turned to Jack and I. I nodded, and sadly watched her activate the manipulator, disappearing
My best friend would save the world.
"Ah, but wait," the Master turned around, "Hold on, where's the third one?" we remained quiet as he came back down the stairs, "No matter, she'll be dead anyways. Up you go," he pulled the Doctor up, "Would you like to see the view? It's quite a view."
They went up the stairs and looked out into the window. I didn't even want to know how it looked down there. To know my grandmother was down there...it broke me to pieces.
"And so it came to pass…that the human race fell and the Earth was no more. And I looked down upon my new dominion as master of all and I thought it…good," the Master said, glancing at the Doctor with a small (yet awfully large) wicked smile again.
I looked up by chance and saw...a blue light hovering up in the ceiling? I shook my head and looked up again, seeing nothing anymore. I sighed and rubbed the side of my head, I was going to go mad...
"Sir, what do we do with these two?" one of guards with Jack and I asked, both remaining with their weapons aimed at us.
"It's obvious I'll need servants." the Master turned around, "Are they any good with cleaning, Doctor? Recommendations?" he brought him to the rails, "I don't just hire anyone you know," he walked down the stairs and moved in front of us, "It's my toy," he declared.
I looked at him dead in the eye for a second before I sneezed on his face, "For the record I am not sorry for that one."
The Master gave me such a terrorizing glare that I actually leaned away. With a small cloth, he cleaned his face, "This one is gonna cost you, little toy."
"Stop calling me that!"
"But you are," he reached for his inside pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves, putting them on and taking out a crystal...Kaeya's crystal, "Recognize it?"
"You were Saxon..." the Doctor mumbled, suddenly Lazarus' words returning to us, "...you donated the crystal."
"Hello," the Master waved.
"But it was destroyed...I couldn't find it anymore!"
"As if I would let my treasure unprotected. Now then, I heard Kaeya doesn't like you either," he grinned, forcing my hand to open and placed the crystal on my palm. I gasped as it started burning my skin, "Interesting."
"Stop it!" I hissed, nearly throwing it before he took it away.
"Yeah," he turned the crystal around, "Doesn't like me either, hence the gloves," he grinned a he wiggled his fingers.
"How did you even get that?"
"How do you think?" he winked, turning to the Doctor, "Poor Kaeya, princess of the Silver Monsoon. She was a bloody idiot I'll tell you that," he walked over to the Doctor, swinging an arm around his shoulders, "It was very easy to trick her."
"You killed her?" the Doctor was stunned, but that lasted only a couple seconds before his expression changed into a dark, angry one. Even if he was aged it was still mighty scary...
"Surprise!" the Master cynically threw his hands in the air, "Bet you weren't expecting that one, were you?"
"But...but why? The people of the Silver Monsoon were innocent bystanders. How could you slaughter the whole planet?"
"Now who said I took them all down? I just took care of that one bloody princess."
That's why I can hear drums," I muttered, catching his attention quite fast with that one, "She's telepathic...if you killed her, you were in her last thoughts...why would you do something like that?" I could understand the need to kill people who were actually in the war, as wrong as it was. I could understand that, perhaps for strategic moves and whatnot...but bystanders? Kaeya, after all, wasn't even involved in their war. She was a bystander, innocent as the rest of her people.
"For this," the Master held out the crystal, "Why else? This little thing, could've helped win the war. But the Moontsays hid it, and it was the job of the royal family to keep it away from foreign hands...me!" he pointed to himself with a wicked grin, "The crystal is alive in its own way, picture it like a TARDIS. Inanimate, but very much conscious."
"That's why it doesn't like you," Jack said, "You killed its owners."
"Blah, blah, blah, what interests me the most is why it doesn't like her," he returned to me, "See, that's why I gave the crystal to Lazarus in the first place. I managed to do my research before your younger versions stopped by Lazarus' and hardly found anything special about her. Emancipation, top of the classes, although..." he smirked, "...there's key facts I did become interested in. If I'm right..." he trailed off as he apparently thought. After a minute or two he simply smiled, "So, in all honesty, it is an honor to meet you."
"Cut the crap," I tiredly said, "And get to the part of the crystal instead."
"I handed the crystal to Lazarus merely for entertainment. I figured if you stupidly touched it the first time in Utopia it would mean an earlier version had already made contact with it and based off how important you apparently are to a certain Time Lord, which isn't me by the way," he quickly said, earning a silent glare from me, "I thought it could be fun to have your life in my hands when I finally captured the Doctor."
"Entertainment? With a crystal?"
"Alright, let me explain why you should most definitely care, little toy," he knelt down in front of me, "Once the crystal is activated and has a DNA print of a person, it has the ability to control that certain person using their genetic code. I'm in control of the crystal and this thing has your genetic code, your DNA. Get it now?"
"No!"
"How to explain it to a simple human, let's see," he stood up and paced as if he was actually thinking, "Remember professor Yana? Poor old man, but that old man had the crystal. I had it... you touched it and the crystal activated for the first time. Then, the crystal gets taken back in time and placed in Lazarus's lab where a younger version of you touches it again, only this time the crystal is activating you. I get to use all the crystal's special features on you. But I must admit that I do have a genuine question: how did you activate it the crystal the first time around? In Utopia, I mean." He looked actually stumped on that question and truthfully that was something I would like to know too.
"Kaeya," the Doctor answered, still struggling to break free of the guards' grips.
"Oh please," the Master rolled her eyes.
"She survived. She's coming back. And after knowing what you did to her...I suggest you run."
"As if I'm afraid of a little snowflake princess?"
"Time Lords changed in the end...and so did Kaeya. I don't think she'll be that easy to defeat if you test her. You killed her and right now I'm willing to bet that she believes she's the last of the Moontsays. Alone and nothing to lose? Sounds very familiar to me..." the Doctor paused, his gaze falling low, "...she'll think she's alone and see you as her only task."
"Then let her come and fight me," the Master opened his arms, "I'd like to see her try and kill me. I killed her the first time round, I won't hesitate to do it again. Although I'll probably do it after she explains to me how that human-" he nodded towards me, "-was able to activate a crystal that belongs to her and her family. Especially seeing that this crystal-" he held it up, "-had remained dormant for my entire human life and suddenly switched to light by a human's touch."
"What does it matter to you, anyways?" Jack raised an eyebrow, "You're happy it did, period."
"Because Captain," the Master rolled his eyes, "There were myths of the Moontsays, people of the Silver Monsoon, and apparently one that was very true seeing as this princess survived my attack. If she survived then the Moontsays really are capable of it..." he seemed to be getting lost in thoughts, "...and I'd like to know what else she can do."
"What myths are you talking about?" the Doctor asked.
"Oooh..." he sauntered over to the Doctor and the guards, "...you still don't know, do you? About the myths? No, no, the myth. The ultimate myth regarding the Moontsays. Well it was classified as myths but I used to call them petty rumors."
"What rumors?"
But the Master placed a finger on his lips, "Haven't you ever heard? Don't spread rumors," he smiled cynically.
"Tell me!"
"Oh I'll tell you all something," the Master looked around, from the Doctor, to Jack and I, to Martha's family, "...we're all gonna have some fun."
Author's Note:
So I went with a made up word for the Silver Monsoon citizens: Moontsay's. It's pronounced 'moont'-say. Simple and practical, I think...
Pshhh, yeah Martha is going to save the world! How could I steal that glorious moment of hers!? You know, I actually didn't even consider the idea of sticking Minerva inside the TARDIS for when the Master would take it. Could've actually been a good idea too, but maybe I can stick that idea for a later story instead, thanks! Yes, Minerva will not be having fun on the Valiant I can tell you that right now. I think Jack's noticed the jealousy alright, I can just see him and Martha writing down all their little teasing remarks and take turns saying each one to the pair xD.
The ending will be a bit bittersweet if I may say, for a few reasons (of course partly because of Martha's departure) but it'll be happy. Ah yes, Donna, Rose & even River will have different relationships with our clever American. I think we can all see which one will be the most tensed... .-. Well it's your lucky day cause *whispers* if you look below there's a second one!
I always find Jack to be the best character to spark the perfect jealous in OC stories. I'm glad to say he's definitely done his job in this story. Well as long as it was only a do you jumped on the couch careful not to fall! :o
I agree, Moffat has that amazing talent to make even the most smallest detail tie in to a later large plot-line. That really will never cease to surprise me. As for the Classic Who heads I can't really give opinions because I haven't really watched them except the first episode with Susan and her teachers. Really want to get into that this summer though so maybe later I can give a full opinion on them. Well, now we can see why Minerva heard what she heard...tsk tsk, that poor princess.
Meh as in you're excited? Or Meh as in the chapter wasn't good? .-. By the way, just a small note, the word 'cos' is also a slang word for 'because' but to avoid any other inconveniences I went ahead and stopped using it from this chapter and on :)
And so I thought it'd be a nice little gift to put in a second sneak peek from the next story (also because I felt pretty guilty for making the first sneak peek a frustrating one). I promise this second one is no where near that frustration. Enjoy :)
The Doctor sighed, cursing himself for being so paranoid of her anger. But he HAD to go and check if she was really angry with him, "Minerva, I'm really sorry, but I just want to keep this a complete surprise for you," he walked over to her, "Don't be angry with me...please?"
She had her arms still crossed, her look to the side, "Nope."
"Minerva."
"Martian."
"Don't do this," he shook his head, amused more than anything.
"I'm not doing anything," she shrugged.
"Yeah?"
"You WANT me to do something?" she leaned away from the console, ending right in front of him, nearly pressed chest to chest, "Because I WILL do something," she started to smirk.
The Doctor's amusement faded as he realized the clever girl had tricked him, "Oh you cheater..." was all he had to say as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her level and kissed him.
Better, yes? I think so ;)
Welp, final chapter for this story plus the first chapter of the next story will be on Monday. Hoorah! Until next time :)