((Hello this is GunslingerAngel bringing you Ch. 5 of The Engineer: Installation. Before I start, I would like to thank eeveekitty85 for giving me some pointers about the 8th Doctor and I apologize that he's out of character (the very first Doctor that I have ever seen was the Ninth Doctor and I was unable to find the TV movie about the 8th Doctor so sorry about that). Anyways, I really do hope that all of you are enjoying the story so far and are looking forward to Ch. 6 and other stories! P.S: I do not own Doctor Who and the novel The Engineer. Also for those of you who are interested in the whole androx gland thingy, this is the chapter in which Kara finally uses it! P.S.S. Whenever the Doctor says "the three of you" or anything like that to Kara and Clockworks, the third person is actually Tock in case any of you have forgotten about him.))
Key: Thinking is /…/ and Speaking is "…"
The Engineer: Installation
Ch. 5: Will You Come With Me?
I heard him die…My friend, the only man who accepted us and tried to help us while the rest of the world shunned us, died. He sacrificed his life to end this God forsaken war… I heard him scream in pain…But I didn't watch him be reborn into someone else…Clockworks did…
The next morning, the Doctor walked into Kara's room to find her sitting upright on her bed with Clockworks sitting in front of her. Kara had her goggles on and was deep in concentration as she tinkered with Clockworks' torn up arm. "Good morning! I trust that you slept well?" asked the Doctor as he walked towards the right side of Kara's bed.
Kara looked up to the Doctor through her goggles and said, "Uhh…Well sort of. I slept okay for the first half of the night but then I was woken up by this nightmare I had. I couldn't fall back to sleep after that so Clockworks suggested that I fix up his arm to calm my nerves."
"What did you dream about?" asked the Doctor.
"I can't remember much, but I do remember a lot of fire and smoke," said Kara.
"Hmm…I see," said the Doctor in a concern tone. He caught sight of Kara's tinkering and decided to change the subject. "By the way, what are you using to fix his arm? I don't see any tools around you," asked the Doctor.
Kara looked nervous for a bit as she made a long "Uh" sound and her eyes started to look away from the Doctor. After a few seconds, she looked back at the Doctor, took in a big breath, and said in a pace of about 50 mph, "Well you see I didn't want to wake you up in the middle of the night and I didn't want to disturb the staff with my request for tools because I think your people don't like me that much, so I decided to make use of what I had in the room which brings me to the conclusion that what I am using to cover up the wires and tubes of Clockworks' arm are my bed sheets." She then quickly looked away and braced for any act of rage or annoyance that might come from the Doctor, but instead of getting hit on the head or hearing a long lecture she heard laughter. She looked up and saw that the Doctor was laughing at her.
"Is that what you're all nervous about? Why that's nothing, in fact I am quite moved that you put other people's feelings and needs before your own. Here use this, I think it might help you out a bit more than what ripped bed sheets can do," said the Doctor with a smile and dug into his pocket to reveal a silver object. He put it in Kara's hand and said, "It's a sonic screwdriver. I hope you know how to use it." He lied about last part. Of course he knew that she knew how use it; she was a Roboteer for crying out loud! He just wanted to see how she did it that's all. He was quite interested in the Caprithian race after having met her. But what he was really interested in was their androx gland capabilities, the hidden ability of the Roboteers, which kind of reminded him about his people and their telepathic abilities. He'd read about them in books and had seen some but only from afar. He actually was planning to visit Caprithia after the war was over but due to the near-extermination of the Roboteer race and the global burning of Caprithia, his plans have changed.
Kara moved her goggles to her forehead and stared at the sonic screwdriver while the Doctor observed her. After two minutes, Kara flipped the switch, changed it to the specific frequency that she wanted, put her goggles back on, and started to work on Clockworks' arm once more. The Doctor blinked and opened his eyes wide. "So you can understand how a device works just by staring at it?" asked the Doctor.
"Yep," said Kara proudly, "It's one of our better habits."
"Excellent! Absolutely excellent!" said the Doctor happily. He then watched Kara work on Clockworks' arm and asked, "How long is it going to take you to fix his arm?"
"55.7 seconds," said Kara while concentrating on her work, "If I only had bed sheets to work with then it would have been 3 minutes but thanks your sonic screwdriver, I saved 124.3 seconds."
"You're really good at math you know that," complimented the Doctor.
"Yep, it's another one of our better habits and talents," said Kara as she worked on the last wire, "There nice and clean!"
Clockworks got up, checked out his arm, and said, "Thank you, both of you."
Kara smiled and gave the sonic screwdriver back to the Doctor. "Well, now that's finish. Shall we start our tour?" asked Kara as she got up from her bed with a grin on her face. Clockworks looked at Kara's grin; he knew that it was a fake one which meant that Kara was still grieving over the loss of her people but she didn't want the Doctor or anyone else to be upset by it. The Doctor was right; Kara did put other people's feelings and needs before her own.
"Yes," said the Doctor and offered his left arm to her, "shall we?"
"Absolutely," said Kara and looped her right arm around his. They walked out of her room with Clockworks hopping close behind with his crutch under his right arm.
For the rest of the day, the Doctor showed Kara and Clockworks all around the Capitol. He showed them political buildings, popular areas where people go to, and gardens. He didn't show them the garden where the Memorial was however, he didn't want the both of them to suffer anymore than they already had which made him think about what the Time Lord High Council's decision might be for them in the next couple of days. Around the end of the day, he took them back to the Infirmary and headed back to his TARDIS, which was with the other TARDISs in the TARDIS Storage Facility.
When he returned, he discovered a message blinking on his computer screen. He clicked on the message and an image of an old man wearing a bizarre-looking headdress appeared on the screen. "Greetings Doctor, I am a messenger from the Time Lord High Council. The Council is in need of your presence. Please come to the Council building at once," said the messenger and soon after that, the image disappeared.
"They've made a decision already?" said the Doctor to himself and exited out of the TARDIS.
Half an hour later, the Doctor stood before the Council building which looked like an ancient Roman building with marble columns and such. Standing in front of the building were statues of great Time Lords and Ladies holding staffs, compasses, and other ancient devices from long ago. He started to walk towards the double doors of the building when two guards stood in his way. One of them stepped forward and demanded, "State your name and purpose."
"I'm the Doctor and the Council requests my presence," answered the Doctor. Soon after that, the two guards stepped away and opened the doors for him. He walked inside the Great Hall which contained even more statues of Time Lords and Ladies standing at both sides and leading to the Great Council Chamber. As he walked down the hall, he looked at the statues. The statues were all looking down which made him feel like as if they were watching him or judging him. They reminded him about the last time he came here for a different trial, his own.
He finally made it to the double doors that lead to the Great Council Chamber which opened for him. He went inside, stopped a few feet past the doors, and waited for further instructions. The Great Council Chamber was a domed room with a light beaming down at the center and behind the beam of light was a tall, marble, crescent moon-shaped table where the council members sat. A man sitting at the center of the table stood up and ordered, "Doctor, please stand before us in the center." The Doctor obeyed and walked toward the center. When he stopped, the light was now beaming down on him which made him remember more about his trial. He looked up to the man at the center who was still standing. The man had a long white beard, a yellow robe, and an orange and yellow headdress with red symbols printed on it which clearly showed that he was the head council member.
"What is it that you wish to speak with me sir?" asked the Doctor.
The head council member looked down at him and said, "We wish to talk to you about two certain subjects: one pertains to the young Caprithian female and her companions while the other pertains to you and the future of our race." He then picked up a piece paper that was before him on the table and stated, "For the first subject, the Time Lord High Council has decided that the Caprithian survivors should be taken to the nearest space station from this planet within the next three days. Whatever happens after that is up to them and if they are not gone after three days, they shall be arrested and taken to trial where they shall receive their punishment for disobeying the order of the Time Lord High Council."
"But… You can't do that! This woman and her friends are the last of their kind! We should protect them from any harm, not drop them off at the nearest space station which might have who-knows-what kind of people who might…" said the Doctor but was interrupted by the head council member.
"Doctor they are not one of our kind, you know that we cannot keep such people," said the head council member sternly.
"But they are an endangered race!" exclaimed the Doctor.
"THIS IS WAR, DOCTOR!" yelled the head council member, "Do you think that we have the people and resources to take care and protect these people at the current state that we are in now!"
"The Caprithians died fighting to help us. They're our allies for goodness sake! Do you just want to turn our backs on these people who've just lost everything!" said the Doctor angrily. The Doctor knew that this wasn't fair for Kara and Clockworks. They didn't deserve to be dumped at a space station where they could be killed.
"Doctor like I said before, this is war. As we speak, millions of races are dying by the hands of the Daleks. What difference does it make if one more dies," said the head council member.
The Doctor's eyes widen as he heard this. He couldn't believe what he just heard. "What difference does it make! Since when did we begin to sound like the Daleks!" he demanded. How could the Council be so heartless, how could they be so cruel to a race that considered them to be friends and allies? The Doctor shook his head and said, "I've heard enough of this."
He was about to leave when he heard the head council member say, "Doctor there is still one more subject we must discus. Come back here to the center at once." The Doctor refused to obey and continued to walk out when the head council member yelled out, "COME BACK HERE EXILE!" The Doctor stopped and clenched his fists, that one struck a nerve. He turned around and walked back to the center. He looked back up to the head council member with an angry expression on his face. The head council member ignored him and said, "Now, on the second subject that pertains to you and the future of our race, the High Time Lord Council has decided to bestow you, Doctor, the responsibility and task to activate the Inferno if the Daleks should ever come to Gallifrey."
"What?" asked the Doctor.
"When and if the Dalek forces infiltrate Gallifrey, you are ordered to activate our last resort, the Inferno. If you fail to do so then the Daleks will obtain our technology and the universe as we know it will cease to exist," said the head council member and sat back down onto his chair.
"But why me!" demanded the Doctor.
"That is all for now Doctor," said the head council member as he rubbed the temples of his head.
"Why!" demanded the Doctor once more.
The man shot back up from and chair and shouted, "THAT IS ALL! I WILL NOT GIVE YOU A REASON! NOW GET OUT OR I WILL HAVE THE GUARDS THROW YOU OUT!"
The Doctor obeyed, but with some hesitation, and left the Chamber. He exited out of the building and started to walk back to his TARDIS. His mind was racing with thoughts and questions. He was worried about the near future in which Kara and Clockworks would have to leave Gallifrey or suffer the consequences, he was worried about their lives at the space station, but most of all he was worried about his new orders and responsibility of activating Inferno. How could the High Council give him such a task? How could they lay upon him the responsibility of destroying his entire planet and people? It wasn't fair for him and it wasn't fair for Kara and the others.
When he finally made it to the TARDIS an idea of saving Kara and the others popped inside his head. /Why not take them with you as companions? It's worth a shot…But what if they refuse/ he thought to himself. He smirked and said to himself, "Well, I'll just have to kidnap them then." He planned to ask them the question the next day and anxiously waited for morning to come.
Meanwhile, back at the Infirmary…
Kara quickly sat upright on her bed; her body was drenched in sweat as she took in deep breaths. Clockworks quickly left his corner, sat on the bed, and asked, "Was it another nightmare?"
Kara nodded and said nervously, "It was the same one and I can remember some more of it… It was the burning of the Capitol. I was surrounded by flames as I watched the Capitol being burned to the ground… I then saw the Doctor standing at a distance. I was about to call out to him when a blue bolt of lightning struck him causing him to fall down to his knees. I saw his body spewing out blood and finally fall to the ground, but soon after that I saw him rise up and turn to me… He didn't appear to be the same. His body looked different. I can't remember what his face looked like, but I do remember his eyes." Kara started to tremble as she remembered the Doctor's eyes looking right at her in her dream. "But…But they were not his eyes, they were different just like his body. They were blue or bluish," said Kara in a shaky tone.
"Were they threatening?" asked Clockworks.
"No…Not at all… In fact they were filled with sadness and sorrow. I felt like if he was sorry for something," she said and began to cry, "It was horrible! It was like seeing Caprithia all over again."
Clockworks wrapped his arm around Kara and drew her close to him. "It's going to be alright Kara. Don't cry…Please don't cry," he said soothingly. It was then that he felt something in his chest, a glitch in his system perhaps or maybe…a feeling. /What is this that I am feeling/ he asked himself.
It was then that the whisper that spoke to him last night said to him /Now is not the time…She needs you now. / Clockworks agreed and stayed by Kara's side for the remainder of the night.
The next morning, the Doctor walked inside Kara's room with both anxiety and dread. He was anxious to ask the question to Kara and Clockworks, but he was also afraid to tell them about the High Council's decision. When he walked in he found Kara doing something with her bed sheets again and Clockworks sitting at a corner. "Good morning! Did you both sleep well?" he asked with big fake grin on his face.
Clockworks responded with a nod and Kara looked up with a fake smile and said, "Yeah, I slept soundly last night." Earlier that morning, Kara and Clockworks agreed that they shouldn't tell the Doctor about her dream. They were afraid that it might upset the Doctor or something of that sort. Kara then saw that the Doctor had a confused expression on his face as he was looking at something on her lap.
"Now what are you doing with your bed sheets?" asked the Doctor.
"Oh! I'm just making myself a bag to carry my things in when Clockworks and I leave, that is if we have to. My mom taught me how to make a bag out of cloth by just using twists and knots," said Kara as she continued working on her bed sheet bag, "It comes in handy when you need a bag stat but you don't have a needle and thread with you."
The Doctor just smiled at this bright young woman. /It's very cruel that the High Council decided to just throw away these amazing beings. I must tell them soon before it's too late/ he said. He then walked towards the right side of the bed and said, "Kara, how would you and Clockworks like to see my ship? You asked me a couple of days ago about how I got you to Gallifrey from Caprithia in such a short period of time, and I think now is the time to show you."
"Really? Thank you! I was always curious about how you did it," she said and got up from her bed.
"May I suggest that you take your belongings with you," said the Doctor.
"What for?" asked Kara as she took her makeshift bag and placed her goggles, mouth mask, and pictures inside. She put the bag around her shoulder and put on her locket as she waited for an answer.
"Just in case we have to leave Gallifrey for some reason, the likelihood of a Dalek attack just increased this morning when our scanners discovered that the whole entire Dalek fleet was in a system right next to ours," said the Doctor.
Kara quietly gasped as she placed her hand over her artificial heart. /The Daleks…/ she said with dread. Images of her friends dying back at Caprithia flashed through her head. It was then that her dread changed into something else, something darker and more powerful then dread…rage. Clockworks looked at her face and could have sworn that her artificial left eye was showing off a faint red light.
Kara was then snapped out of her thought when she heard the Doctor say cheerfully, "Oh nothing to worry about. My people say that we still have a good chance that the Daleks won't come here. Come on then!" He then took Kara's hand and led her outside of her room and the Infirmary with Clockworks close behind them.
A few minutes later, they were standing before the TARDIS Storage Facility which was a giant building with a large sliding door. The Doctor began punching down numbers on a key pad that was on the right side of the door. After he punched the last number, the door slowly slid open from the other side. Once the door was completely open, they walked inside and the door began to slide shut behind them. They walked past rows and rows of ships, each looking completely different from one another. Kara was absolutely fascinated and couldn't help but look around. Near the end of the room, they stopped before a big blue box that had the words "Police Public Call Box" lighted up on the top. The Doctor walked towards the door and unlocked it with his keys. Soon after that, he stepped inside with Clockworks following a few feet behind him.
Kara was about to go inside when something silvery caught her eye. She stepped back and found out that the object was right next to the blue box. She began walking towards the silvery object to get a better look. The silvery object appeared to be an ordinary small shed with a slanted roof. It reminded her of the blue box except that it was made out of metal and not wood, and instead of the words "Police Public Call Box" written on the top of the door, the word "Maintenance" was printed in white on top of the door.
She was deep into her fascination with this shed that she hardly noticed that the Doctor was standing right behind her until he said, "Kara."
Kara jumped and spun around with her hands up in front of her face like some martial arts stance. When she realized that it was the Doctor, she sighed heavily at her embarrassment, and said, "Oh it's you, don't you dare do that to me again!"
The Doctor simply chuckled and asked, "So what are you looking at?"
Kara turned around and showed him the shed. "This," she said.
"Ah the Chronos," said the Doctor as he walked around the shed.
"Chronos?" asked Kara.
"It's a prototype ship, it was never tested though. The only one of its kind sadly," said the Doctor and placed his hand on the metal shell, "Apparently, whoever built it programmed its Chameleon circuit to stay in the form of a metal maintenance shed."
"What can this ship do?" asked Kara.
"The Chronos can do whatever these other ships can do, including mine, but there were rumors spreading around when it was being built saying that it ran on a power source that was different than any of these ships, had additional abilities, and that it was both alive and not-alive making it almost incapable of dying," said the Doctor.
"Sounds like an interesting ship," said Kara.
"Yep it's shame that it was never used though," said the Doctor.
"How come?" asked Kara.
The Doctor shrugged his shoulders and said, "Who knows? All I know is that once the High Council knew about the project, they immediately shut it down before it could ever be test piloted…Well anyways, let's go see how Clockworks is reacting to Gallifreian technology."
And so, the Doctor and Kara headed back to the blue box. The Doctor stepped back inside and when Kara was about to step inside she thought she heard the voice of a young man whispering in her head /Don't leave me alone…I don't want to be alone anymore…/ She looked around to find anyone speaking to her but found no one. She shrugged her shoulders, thinking that it must have been the wind or something, and stepped inside the blue box.
Kara froze where she stood as she gazed about the huge interior of the Doctor's ship. "I thought that you would react a little bit differently but you're like everybody else. Almost everyone I've brought in here stops in that same exact spot where you are right now," he said with a chuckle.
After a few seconds, Kara walked towards the consol and said, "Well at least I didn't ask about how the interior is bigger than the exterior like everyone else."
"You remember that?" he asked in amazement.
"Bits and pieces of it," she said as she continued looking around. She found Clockworks on the other side of the consol scanning the interior. Kara quietly giggled for she knew that Clockworks was also amazed by the ship. "So what is this ship called?" she asked.
"This is the TARDIS which stands for Time and Relative Dimension In Space. All the ships that you saw out there are also called the TARDIS," said the Doctor.
"Except the Chronos," corrected Kara.
"Yep that's right except the Chronos," said the Doctor, "Alright now, let's see if the mental capabilities of a Roboteer are able to understand the complexity of the technology of the Time Lords!"
"Your ego is showing," said Kara which caused the both of them to laugh. The Doctor gestured Kara to come over to where he was standing at the consol.
"Come on give it a try! If you can figure out how to use a sonic screwdriver then this is nothing!" he said with a smile.
"Alright then, but don't get pissed off if we crash, "she said as she began to stare at the consol. After five minutes of just staring at the TARDIS controls, Kara asked, "So since this ship is called a TARDIS then that means that it's a both a space ship and a time machine?"
"Yep, this ship and others like it can travel anywhere and at any time within a second," said the Doctor with a big grin on his face.
"Wicked awesome," she said and put her right hand on a lever, "Okay, I think I've got it. Where and when do you want me to go?"
"Let's try something small first," said the Doctor, "How about to the facility sliding door and back. No changes in time though. Don't want you to accidentally take us to World War V."
Kara nodded and started to pull down levers and push buttons as the TARDIS began to make the same moaning machine sound she heard a few days ago. Suddenly, there was a thud and the sound stopped. Kara froze for a moment with a smile on her face. The Doctor and Clockworks walked ((or hopped)) towards the door and opened it. Both of them poked out their heads and found out that they were right next to the large sliding door of the facility. Clockworks looked back at Kara and gave her the thumb up while the Doctor shut the door and walked back to the consol. "Alright, now take us back to where we were in the first place," he said with a bit of grin showing. He was excited that someone who had only seen the TARDIS for a few minutes was piloting it like as if they were an actual Time Lord. The TARDIS once again moaned as Kara flipped switches and pulled levers. Then, there was a thud and the noise stopped. This time all three of them walked towards the door and poked their heads out. They then found out that they were in the same spot where they began in with the Chronos and another TARDIS still on their left and right, it was a few inches off the original spot however but that didn't matter.
Kara smiled as she slowly crept her head back in. She did it; she successfully piloted the Doctor's TARDIS. She gave a short cheer as she hugged Clockworks. "I did it!" she said joyfully. The Doctor grinned and walked back to the consol with his back facing Clockworks and Kara. Kara caught sight of the Doctor and asked, "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong Doctor?"
The Doctor turned around with a smile on his face and said, "Kara Gozenhozer, you were excellent! If I didn't know that you were a Roboteer, I would have thought that you were a Time Lady. You would make any Time Lord proud to have someone like you as a companion which is why I would like to ask the both of you something."
"What is it?" asked Clockworks.
"Will you come with me?" he asked.
"To where?" asked Kara.
"Anywhere, everywhere, any time, any place, where ever and when ever you want to go. I want the three of you to be my companions," the Doctor said.
"Why this all of a sudden?" asked Kara.
The Doctor looked down and gave out a sigh. He then looked up at Kara and Clockworks and said, "I want to protect you and your friends from extinction. Last night, the Time Lord High Council summoned me and told me that the three of you were to be sent to the nearest space station where your future will be determined by what you do. I've seen what you can do Kara and I am amazed that such a small race is capable to do so many things. I don't want someone amazing like you and Clockworks to be thrown away like trash. That's why I brought you all here, so that we could leave together."
"But what about your people, won't they think that you're some kind of traitor if you leave right now with us?" asked Kara.
The Doctor smiled weakly, he could tell that she had a strong sense of duty and loyalty toward the people like a soldier. "I'm already some kind of criminal to my people. I'm an exile and the only reasons as to why I am able to stay here is because of the war and bringing you here for medical attention," he said.
There was a brief moment of silence after that until Kara said,"I understand and I thank you so much for all that you've done." She then gave a wide smile and said, "And I would like to be your companion that is if Clockworks also accepts." She turned to looked at Clockworks and waited for an answer.
Clockworks wanted to repay the Doctor for all that he had done for both Kara and himself and thought that being one of his new companions might be a good enough payment."I too accept Doctor," said Clockworks.
Kara smiled and said, "Well it looks like as if you got yourself a crew Doctor. So when do we leave?"
"We'll leave tonight that way not that many people will notice," said the Doctor. Just then the ground shook and what sounded like thunder echoed through the room.
"What the?" said Kara as she looked around the ship to find the source of the noise. The Doctor hurriedly walked out of the door with Kara and Clockworks following behind him. "Doctor what's wrong?" she asked but once they stepped out of the TARDIS she knew that she didn't need answer. The screams and shouts of the people coming through the sliding door was a good enough answer. "No," she whispered, "they're here."
The Doctor clenched his fists and started to run to the sliding door with Kara and Clockworks close behind him. He started to punch down numbers on the keypad but it started to spark and sizzle. He then took out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the keypad but with no luck. "Damn it! The keypad is broken, someone must have damaged it from the outside," he said.
"Aren't the screams a good enough answer that the Daleks are here?" said Kara with a concerned expression.
"No, I have to make sure. I must know because…because," said the Doctor but he couldn't finish the sentence, he was afraid to say that if the Daleks were here he would have to destroy Gallifrey with the Inferno.
"It's alright Doctor, I'll open the door," said Kara with a weak smile as she walked closer to the door.
"But how?" said the Doctor until he then remembered about the Roboteers' special gland, "You're going to use androx."
Kara nodded and said, "Clockworks begin the 2 hour countdown when I say 'go' just in case something happens and I might have to rip open some Dalek's head open."
Clockworks obeyed and waited as Kara stood before the area where the door would open. She took in a deep breath and with her mind activated her androx gland. "Go!" she said as she dug her hands at the edge of the door and began to pull. Her senses began to heighten, she could hear the beating of the Doctor's hearts from a distance and smell the scent of blood and smoke faintly coming through the crack of the door. Meanwhile, inside Clockworks' head, a timer was counting down from 2 hours. The Doctor watched in amazement as Kara yelled in anger and pulled open the large, heavy sliding door with her bare hands. Her artificial left eye started to glare a red light as her pulled. She stopped pulling when the door was half-open and deactivated the gland, the red light in her eye disappeared. "Alright," she said proudly to herself. All three of them poked out their heads to see a devastating sight. People and soldiers were running to and fro different directions. They screamed in terror as they ran from the monotone voices of the Daleks that were flying in the sky. This was it…This was the beginning of the end. Kara couldn't look anymore and hid behind the door with tears welling up in her eyes. Mixed feelings of rage and sorrow were overwhelming her, she wanted to kill the Daleks, all of them but she couldn't. The sight of the Time Lords running in fright and falling to the beams of the Daleks reminded her too much of her planet and she just froze there for a few seconds until she made a decision. "I'll close the door," she said as she put her hands back on the edge of the door.
"No, there's no time!" said the Doctor and quickly walked back to the TARDIS with Kara and Clockworks following him. As he walked, the Doctor began thinking of ways to keep Kara and the others safe. He couldn't take them with him now, the Inferno was too dangerous and he might not be there to pilot the TARDIS after he activates the Inferno. Sure Kara could pilot his ship but he wasn't so sure if she could pilot the ship to far distances or even in time and he didn't want to take that risk.
Just then he heard a young man's voice whispering to him telepathically /They can stay with me…I'll protect them…I'll take them far away from this place…/
/Who are you/ the Doctor asked.
/The Chronos…/ whispered the voice.
The Doctor's eyes widen as he heard this. The Chronos was still alive after all of these years! The Doctor had no choice but to trust in the Chronos to protect Kara and Clockworks. "This way!" he ordered and walked to the door of the Chronos. He was afraid that he might need a key to open it but surprisingly enough, the door unlocked itself. He stepped inside the Chronos and looked around to make sure that it was safe enough. The interior was much bigger than his TARDIS. It looked like a factory tower with a fan spinning at the top and had floors as far as the eye could see. He looked around the floor that he was on which appeared to be the control room floor. There was a chair placed in front of two horizontal rows of four monitors stacked on top of each other and a translucent keyboard located in the center of the floor. The monitors and keyboard appeared to be connected to a large, spinning, bronze sphere directly below them, which could be seen through the metal floor. On his left were other monitors and keyboards installed into the wall with several chairs placed before them and on his right was a railing and a flight of stairs leading down to the floor that contained the sphere. The Doctor walked to the railing and looked over it to see a big empty floor with concrete flooring. He then looked to his left and saw an antique elevator which was across from the door.
The Doctor gestured Kara and Clockworks to come inside. Kara looked around the interior and said, "Doctor, what are we doing in the Chronos?"
The Doctor paused for a moment, looked down, and said, "I'm sorry." He then ran past Kara and Clockworks towards the door, stepped out, shut the door, and said, "Now Chronos lock the door!"
Kara ran to the door and tried to open it but it was no use. "Doctor, what's going on!" she cried out through the door.
"I can't take the three of you with me now. I was given orders to do something, something that will cost me this incarnation. I'm sorry Kara. I wish there was another way but this is the only way that will guarantee your safety," replied the Doctor through the door.
"Incarnation? What are you talking about?" she asked in frustration, tears were beginning to well up in her eyes.
The Doctor ignored the question and instead said, "Kara…Clockworks…I want you to do something for me."
"What?" asked Clockworks who was now standing beside Kara. She wasn't able to talk to him now; she was overwhelmed with the thought that the Doctor was going to die just like in her dream. Tears started to stream down her cheeks as she began to cry.
"I want you all to survive this war and live out your lives in the best way you can. I want the three of you to live…Please do that for me," begged the Doctor.
"Yes, we shall," said Clockworks slowly and turned his head to Kara. As he said this he had this deep sinking feeling in his abdominal area and a choking sensation in his neck area. He had no idea what this emotion was but he assumed that he was experiencing sadness or something of that sort.
"Yes…We'll survive…You can…Count on us," choked Kara as she inhaled and exhaled loudly while fighting the tears back.
"Thank you and goodbye for now," said the Doctor and walked away.
Kara couldn't take anymore grief and fell to her knees crying loudly. Clockworks crouched down and placed his right arm around Kara's shoulder. Kara turned to him and wrapped her arms around him. She dug her face into his right shoulder and sobbed, "He was the only one who cared about us…And now he's going to die!" Clockworks couldn't respond, the only thing that he could do was hold her tighter in his arm. He hated seeing her cry and upset; he missed her smiles and happy-go-lucky attitude. He wanted her to be happy but how? How could he make her happy while they both knew that their only friend was about to sacrifice himself?
Clockworks was too deep in thought and Kara was too overwhelmed in her grief that they hardly noticed a male robotic voice projecting out of the speakers that surrounded the floor, "Relative dimension dive in 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1." Just then the shed was surrounded by three rings of light that bounced up and down with the Chronos still inside. The shed and rings began to fade in and out as the sound of grinding gears filled the room. Slowly, the shed, the rings, and the sound faded away completely into space.
The Doctor watched the Chronos' dematerialization through a computer screen on the TARDIS controls. The Doctor gave out a heavy sigh as he turned off the screen and started to pull levers and push buttons as the TARDIS moaned and rocked. The sound stopped and there was a thud. The Doctor quickly walked out of the door and into a place that was located near the core of planet. The place was actually a transparent room with no doors or any other exits; it was attached to a rock wall and was close to the rock ceiling of a large rock tunnel that lead down to the core. The Doctor looked down through the transparent floor and could faintly see lava and fire spewing out of the core which was about 40,000 feet under the transparent room. He quickly walked to a metal control panel that was located at the center. The words "Inferno Controls" were printed in red at the top of the control panel which had three levers with the words "Electric Power" printed under them, a red button that was right next to the levers and a black computer screen under the button and levers.
He pushed the levers up to maximize the power and waited. After a few seconds he saw the words "Power Is Up to Maximum…Inferno Is Ready" flashing on the screen. His right hand hovered over the red button. /Can I do this? Must I do this/ he asked himself /I must do this…For the survival of the universe… I'm sorry…I'm so sorry everyone…Please forgive me/ Soon after that, he pressed the button and activated the Inferno.
The room shook as the Doctor watched through the transparent wall the rock ceiling opening up and revealing a large metal spike, pointing downwards to the core. Small bolts of blue electricity started to spark from the tip of the spike and then a huge bolt of blue lightening struck down from the tip and onto the core. The core then started to spin faster and faster and the shaking of the room began to grow even more intense. The Doctor held on to the control panel as he continued to watch. Just then, a beeping sound came and the Doctor looked down at the control panel screen to find the words "Malfunction: Power Overloading…Unable to Control Electric Flow" blinking in red.
The Doctor looked up to see blue lighting bolts striking at all directions from the metal spike. Suddenly, a blue lighting bolt shattered the transparent wall that was in front of the Doctor and struck him in the chest. The Doctor fell to the ground with a scream and winced in pain as he clutched the wound on his chest. He felt a warm liquid running through his fingers which frightened him. /Blood…/he said and began to crawl back into the TARDIS. Once the Doctor crawled back inside and shut the door, the TARDIS dematerialized from the now-crumbling room.
After the TARDIS disappeared, the core began to spin out of control causing the rock walls of the tunnel to split and crumble. On the surface, massive earthquakes spilt open the ground and buildings began to crumble onto Daleks and Time Lords within seconds. Magma spewed out of the large splits and spread across the surface of Gallifrey, melting and burning everything and everyone in its path. The temperature of the core began to rise higher and higher, melting its iron shell away causing radiation and massive amounts of energy to leak out onto the planet. The planet of Gallifrey was within minutes of exploding
A couple of minutes later, 100 miles away from Gallifreian planetary territory, the Chronos materialized in the middle of space and the three rings that surrounded it soon disappeared. Kara was sitting in front of the eight monitors and watched, with devastation, the end of Gallifrey through the monitors. Clockworks was standing behind Kara, he placed his hand on her shoulder as he too saw this horrific event.
The planet was surrounded by the entire Dalek fleet. Suddenly, Gallifrey exploded into billions of pieces and waves upon waves of fire and heat spread from the explosion, burning the Dalek ships. Kara cupped her hands to her mouth and closed her eyes shut. All those Time Lords and Daleks just died within a split second, every last one of them burned with the planet.
She wanted to turn off the monitors but was too overwhelmed to know how. Just then, like as if the monitors knew what she wanted, the monitors turned static and the images of what was left of Gallifrey disappeared. Kara opened her eyes and saw that there was another image coming through the static. The static finally disappeared and she could see the image clearly. It was the interior of the TARDIS which meant one thing: the Doctor was still alive! Kara gave out a shaky sigh of relief as she heard him say, "Kara? Clockworks? Are you all okay?"
"Yes, we're okay! We thought that we would never see you again," she said shakily. She then realized that the Doctor was breathing heavily and that he was leaning against the consol, which had some dark liquid on it. "Blood…" she gasped. The Doctor was wounded and by the look of it he didn't have that much time to live. "Doctor, you're bleeding!" she yelled. The image of the TARDIS began to become all static again. She could hardly see the Doctor anymore but she could still hear him.
"It's alright I'll be fine. Don't worry about me I'll just regenerate," said the Doctor.
"Regenerate? You mean like self-heal?" asked Kara.
"Sort of…It's that little trick I told you about, it's called regeneration," said the Doctor heavily, "When I am on the verge of death my body regenerates...but there's a catch."
"What?" asked Kara.
"Whenever I regenerate, I get a new body, or incarnation…and that means that you'll never see me like this ever again," said the Doctor. Suddenly, a laser beam-like sound blared within the TARDIS and the Doctor began to scream in pain.
"Doctor!" Kara cried out. She wanted to be there and help him but she was stuck on a different ship, she felt completely useless.
"Don't worry about me, Kara! Please don't…," said the Doctor as his voice was beginning to fade.
Tears streamed down her eyes as she asked, "Will we ever see you again?"
"Of course…By the way, before I forget, I just want to say that the both of you were excellent, absolutely excellent;" he said with a chuckle, "Well…see you all on the other side." Kara faintly smiled after he said that.
The Doctor smiled for one last time even though it could not be seen through the monitors of the Chronos. Suddenly, his body started to show off a golden light, the sound of a laser beam blared once more, and he began to scream in pain as his body began to shift and change into a new form. Kara shut her eyes and covered her ears but his screams still made it through. She could hear his voice changing.
She had enough of death and pain, she felt like as she was going to explode with all of it building up inside her but instead she fainted and slipped off her chair. As for Clockworks, he continued listening to the Doctor's screams. Once the screaming stopped, the static lightened up revealing the TARDIS once more. He could see a unconscious body lying next to the consol. He closed up on the body with his cyclonic camera eye. He could tell that it was the Doctor because he was still wearing those same strange clothes he always had on, but the rest of him was completely different. This new Doctor was much taller and skinnier than the other one. He had very short reddish-brown hair, big ears, and a big nose.
After a few seconds of examining this new form from the monitors, the Doctor slowly got up with his right hand on his head. When he was finally up on his two feet he looked up to the direction that the Chronos' monitors were pointed at, which made it look as if he was looking directly at Clockworks. Clockworks finally got a good look at the new Doctor's eyes; they were blue just like in Kara's dream. The Doctor then said in a new, Northern accent, "I'm so sor…" but before he could finish, the image of him and the TARDIS disappeared from the monitors. The words "Lost Signal" flashed on all eight monitors.
Clockworks looked down and found Kara lying on the ground unconscious. He gently dragged her to the railing and sat down against it. He put Kara's head on what was left of his lap and gently pushed her hair out of her face. "I'm so sorry Kara," he said. He was sorry that she became a cyborg because of him, he was sorry that she had to look at him like this, and he was sorry about the "loss" of their friend and possibly some other things that he couldn't think of for the moment. "I promise Kara, I will protect you…Your life is more important than mine…I will protect you not matter what even if it kills me," he said to her even though she couldn't hear him. For the remainder of the day Clockworks just sat there against the railing, stroking Kara's face and waiting for her to wake up.
((I hope you all enjoyed that and are looking forward to Ch. 6, The Modern Man. By the way, the Inferno is something that I made up because I don't know how the 8th Doctor died and how Gallifrey was destroyed, I just wanted to let you all know. Please review and if you have any questions please ask. I'm sorry that this chapter was ridiculously long but hopefully the next chapter is not going to be as long as this one and I'm also sorry if the Eighth or Ninth Doctor sounded a bit out of character (I'm trying my best). Please review and I hope that all of you are enjoying this story so far!))