A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was busy. :P Longer chapter can make up for it, hopefully. ^_^
The Master jerked his head up as a piercing scream ripped through the stillness of his quiet prison.
He had hung there for what seemed ages, his body aching from the strain he had put on it while trying to get free. Looking around, he saw no source around him from which the bloodcurdling shriek could have originated. Was there a possibility that the Zygons had taken another captive?
He went limp again as he heard shuffling footsteps approaching, watching through half closed eyes.
Two shadows appeared in his line of vision beyond the bars of his cage. The footsteps became louder until the Zygons came into view. They were big and bulky, colored red and pink, covered in suckers all over their bodies. Their yellow eyes seemed to glow evilly in the dim light as they trundled past and on down the hallway.
The Master watched carefully as they moved along. They seemed to be carrying something in between them. Upon closer inspection, he saw, much to his astonishment, that it was the little girl from the park he had spoken to briefly. She looked limp, as if she was unconscious.
He had to remind himself to remain still until they passed. It was bad enough that there was a Zygon out there already taking his place, but now they were taking a little girl, who couldn't be more than five. She didn't deserve this. He had to know why.
A few minutes later, the Zygons came back the way that had come.
"Oi!" He called.
The monsters grunted, turning to face him.
"Why are you taking the girl?" He jerked his head in the direction that they had taken her.
"We need her." One spoke in a deep, gurgling whisper, baring its sharp, yellowed fangs as it spoke.
"Why?"
"We will invade earth." The other hissed. "But we need to kill the Doctor first. We will take the forms of the ones he trusts most."
"What has she done?" The Time Lord yelled, straining against the residue that bound him. "You can't take someone just because they spoke to me! She's just a child!" He blinked. Where had that come from? He sounded like the Doctor. That wasn't good.
The Zygon grinned evilly. "We just did." They turned and stomped away down the hall, their footsteps fading into the distance.
The Master leaned his head back, banging it against the metal wall he was attached to, the drums roaring in his ears. He felt so frustrated and helpless. First, Clara was going to get married to a duplicate of him who was capable of the most horrible things, and he had a feeling nobody suspected anything was wrong. How stupid could the Doctor be? Now, there was a small girl who was trapped and being used by the monsters simply because she had spoken with him. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt pretty bad.
He banged his head against the metal a few more times. Think.
River arrived at the National Gallery shortly after leaving Clara's flat. The halls were filled with all sorts of magnificent art pieces, but she paid no attention to them as she walked up to the double doors guarded by two men in black armor, holding guns.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but no one is permitted beyond this point without special permission" One said gruffly.
"Oh, I have permission." She smiled. "I am Professor River Song, wife of the Doctor."
The two men looked at each other. "One moment." They vanished behind the doors, only to return a few minutes later with a blonde haired woman and a mousy looking assistant wearing a long, colorful scarf.
"Professor River Song?" The blonde held forth her hand. "I am Kate Stewart. We have been looking for you."
"So I've heard."
She was quickly transported, along with Kate and her assistant, whose name was Osgood, to the Black Archives, otherwise known as the Tower of London.
"…The entire facility is TARDIS-proof." Kate stated as they walked through the metal hallways. "Can't have him getting in here, can we?"
"No. Of course not."
They walked through a door that Kate shut behind them, locking it with a key.
"Lock and key? Doesn't that seem a bit simple?" River queried.
"We have to keep the Doctor away." Kate said, chuckling at her small joke. "Except in this case when you bring him from the Tower of London." She walked up to a containment cubicle, peering inside. A vortex manipulator sat on a pedestal in the middle of the box, and in one corner was a pillar of stone with some carvings.
"A vortex manipulator?"
"Not just any vortex manipulator. It is Captain Jack Harkness', bestowed to us upon his death, or at least, one of them." She smiled. "The stone you see is engraved with a message for you, from the Doctor in the past."
River stepped into the box, approaching the pillar. Engraved into the stone roughly, the message read:
River, use the vortex manipulator
Trapped in the 1500s
Coordinates are: 7775/349x10012/acorn
She picked up the manipulator, placing it on her wrist.
"It should have enough charge for two trips." Kate said.
She smiled. "See you in a few." Suddenly, she found herself standing in a dank, dark roughly carved stone corridor, right in front of a wooden door. She pushed on it, and it swung open easily. "Hello sweetie."
The three Doctors stared at her in utter confusion.
She looked from one to the other. "Ooh, so there are three of you now! This should be interesting."
"How did you do that?" The Doctor asked, regarding her incredulously.
"The door was open." She placed her hands on her hips. "Three of you in one room, and none of you thought to just try the door?"
"Ah, four." He pointed at the Woman. "Don't forget mom."
The Woman raised her hands. "You leave me out of this! You're the one that always says you can fix things!"
"You!" Ten stepped forward, pointing at River, wide eyed. "You're the woman from the library! But…. But how? You were saved into the computer…. I…" He turned to the original Doctor. "Who is she?"
"She's a…" He gestured wildly, trying to think of a word that wouldn't give anything away. "She's a companion."
"They just get younger all the time." The War Doctor said.
River smiled. "I like that one!"
The Doctor sighed in defeat. "Just get us out of here. I assume someone from the National Gallery gave you that?"
"Yes. It was a woman by the name Kate Stewart."
"Oh. Good."
She raised the manipulator. "Hold on." In a flash, they were back in the cubicle, right next to Kate and Osgood.
Kate frowned at River. "I thought I sent you to get the Doctor alone."
"These are the same men. Plus one, of course."
"There's three of them!" Osgood squeaked in delight.
"I like your scarf." The War Doctor commented.
"But how is that possible?" Kate looked from one man to the other.
The Doctor scratched his head. "Uh… I can't really remember now…"
"Well, that's okay. Three of you might be actually be better in this case."
"The Undergallery is home to art deemed too dangerous for the public eye." Kate was explaining as they walked up to the double doors River had attempted to end earlier. "Oh, and I forgot to give you this." She pulled a sealed letter from her pocket and handed it to the Doctor. "This is from Queen Elizabeth the First."
The Doctor looked over the envelope. "Oh yeah. We just met her."
"Her credentials are inside."
He started to break the seal.
"No." She stopped him. "Inside." She nodded towards the doors, and they opened.
Inside, multiple pieces hung on the walls, but the most prominent was the large painting in the middle of the room, covered by a white sheet. Two guards jerked the sheet off, and the Doctors froze in their tracks.
"No More." The Doctor whispered.
"That's the title." Kate said.
"I know the title." The Doctor snapped. "But what is it doing here? It doesn't belong in this time or place."
"What is it?" River looked from the Doctors to the painting.
It depicted a city in flames, against a blood red sky covered with clouds, a sun barely peeking through the thick shroud of fog and destruction. Smoke was rising from a tall building in the middle as ships soared around, firing green bolts of energy at anything and everything. The smaller buildings below seemed to already be in ruins as the ships in the sky ravaged it. It looked so real that they could see small people in the painting, running through the rubble-filled streets, trying to escape seemingly imminent death.
"Also known as Gallifrey Falls." Kate said.
"The Fall of Arcadia." Ten almost whispered. "On the last day of the Time War. The day I did it, the day he did it." He glanced at the War Doctor. "The day I destroyed them all."
"How is it doing that?" River stepped forward, reaching out to touch the painting. It was like looking through a window that viewed a landscape. It was 3D.
"Time Lord art. It's a slice of frozen time, locked away."
The Doctor shut his eyes, trying to block out the horrible memories that were beginning to worm their way to the front of his mind. Daleks screeching their battle cry, rumbling through the streets, combatting the Time Lord soldiers. Children screamed as explosion ripped through the once peaceful streets, showering sharp fragments of rubble everywhere. Bullets flew in every direction as Time Lords ran, trying to protect the civilians as the Daleks drew closer. Dalek ships flew through the air, firing at the buildings, destroying them instantly. The air was chokingly thick with ash and smoke from the battle, making it almost impossible to breathe as innocent Time Lords ran for their lives.
He didn't realize he was quivering until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" River asked, concern in her eyes.
"Yeah." He lied. "I'm fine."
"I was there too." The Woman said. "I was in the Citadel when we learned that Arcadia had fallen. At that point, I knew we were lost."
"Just so you know," The War Doctor spoke up. "I haven't used the Moment yet."
Ten looked at the Doctor. "He hasn't done it yet! How could you forget that?"
"He is the one life I have tried very hard to forget." He turned away, opening the letter given to him to read.
My Dear Doctor,
I hope the painting "Gallifrey Falls" is enough to convince you that this is in fact the real Elizabeth who writes to you now.
I have appointed you Curator of the Undergallery, and you are to be summoned if any trouble should arise.
God speed gentle husband,
Elizabeth
River looked over his shoulder as he read it, crossing her arms and looking mildly jealous, but didn't say anything for the sake of his past selves.
The Doctor looked at Kate. "What's happened?"
"Come with me." She led them down another confusing set of hallways filled with strange paintings until they stopped in a particularly large room.
"Magnificent!" Ten breathed in awe.
The War Doctor snorted. "You think highly of yourself, don't you?"
The painting before them was so large that it took up the entirety of one wall. It depicted Queen Elizabeth the First dressed in the traditional garb of the time, alongside the tenth Doctor, who was also dressed in fifteenth century clothes.
"The clothes aren't very flattering, I must say." River said.
Ten made a face at her. "Well I like it."
"Of course you do." The Doctor sighed.
"This way." Kate walked to the left edge of the painting, tugging on the frame. The painting slowly came off the wall, opening like a door, revealing a smaller doorway. "We store most of the pieces here."
They walked into a dimly lit room full of figures covered with tarps and other paintings leaning against each other. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, and it crunched as they walked over it.
"Thtone dutht." The Doctor lisped as he took a handful of the material and stuck his tongue out to taste it.
"What's with the tasting it?" The War Doctor asked in confusion.
The Woman looked down at her son. "I still don't know."
The Doctor stood up with a handful of the material, pointing at Osgood. "You! Are you science-y?"
She stepped forward, if a bit apprehensively. "Ah, yes. I am."
"You got a name?"
"Yes."
"Lovely. Always wanted to meet someone named 'Yes'." He dumped the material in her outstretched hands. "Be a dear and take this to be analyzed. Have a report on my desk early in the morning. Stat, pronto, LOL!"
"What are you blithering on about?" The War Doctor asked.
"Uh…" Osgood looked at Kate, unsure of what to do.
"Get a team and analyze the dust like he says."
"Yes ma'am." She wheezed.
"Inhaler!" She called as she led the Time Lords away. She stopped at a large metal door guarded by two soldiers. "Access."
"Yes ma'am." The soldiers stepped to the side as the large door moved upward, letting them pass.
"So what do we have here?" The Doctor surveyed the room as they entered.
The room was home to more 3D paintings, whose glass had been shattered, the shards littered all over the floor.
The Doctor and Ten picked up shards of glass. "It's been broken from the inside." They said in unison. "You can tell by the shatter pattern."
Kate handed the Woman an iPad. "This is what the paintings looked like beforehand."
She held up the iPad in front of a painting that depicted a simple desert scene, revealing that there had been a figure on the canvas some time before that. She lowered and raised the iPad a few more times. "Something has gotten out of the paintings."
"Lots of somethings." The War Doctor rasped, looking around the room at the rest of the art, all of whose glass had been broken as well.
"That's the thing." Kate shook her head. "Nothing has been changed and nothing unusual has happened. It's just this room."
The Doctor and Ten tossed away their pieces of glass. "Well, there's not much else we can do here until we get an analysis on that stone dust. Besides," The Doctor looked at his watch. "I promised a friend of mine that we would be back sometime around now. You know where to find us!"
