Chapter Seven: It All Ends
A blade of sharp grass drew blood against Lucia's cheek as she ran.
In her mother's arms, the Doctor was swaying in and out of sleep. His head was resting against the bodice of the pretty red dress, her mother's petite breasts heaving as they ran in time to the sound of the Doctor's hearts.
One-Two. Three-Four. One-Two. Three-Four. The sound was wavering, glomping along like a great big horse with a limp.
"We should hurry, Mummy, he's dying!" said Lucia, tugging at her mother's arms as they scrambled toward the centre of the meadow, where the Blue Box was waiting.
The Paradox Machine.
If they could make it in there, they could make everything better. Even if everyone died it wouldn't matter, if she could just… shoot the…
Lucy careened toward the blue doors of the TARDIS, angling her body for the crack of light she could see emanating from inside.
"Lucia!" her father called from somewhere on the last hill. "Lucia, I want to come too! Please, precious, let me come!
But she was already inside.
Lucia reached around, retrieving the gun from where she'd stuffed it in her boot. She rattled it, making sure there were bullets before she raised it in front of her.
Her eyes took in the monster her father had turned the TARDIS into. She could see the raw pain leaching from the ship's heart in streams of gold at the wrongness of the mess of tubes and wires and sick, shiny override panels cobbled together, like a dying person in a hospital, all machines and death. The Old Girl- the Doctor had called her that once- seemed more a mess of junk right then than what she should have been- a blue angel come to take them all into her arms.
She planted her foot –the one with the fuzzy sock- against the railing base and fired.
The console room erupted in sparks just as her mother carried the Doctor inside and laid him somewhere to Lucia's right, away from the sparks and the dangerous openness of the doors, and off-hum of the dying Paradox Machine.
One more shot, thought Lucia. One more shot and the Doctor and his TARDIS would be free of her Daddy once and for all.
She fired, and the Paradox Machine breathed its last as the bullet ricocheted off the console bubble and flew out the door, providing the last death-spark of change.
On the grating beside her, the Doctor's greyish body began to lengthen, regaining strength and youth from the backflow of Time.
A cry sounded outside, then a wet whistling gurgle, then a thump.
Wincing, the Doctor grabbed his side and the gun from Lucia's hands then scrambled to his feet and out the double doors of his ship, just in time to see the Master curl up like a frightened child in the grass. There was a dark orange-reddish stain spreading under him. It was soaking the ground so quickly. Had the bullet gone through both hearts at once? Yes, he thought, reservedly. It must have done.
He lifted his friend up onto his knee, knowing it would be the last time.
"I wanted to come! Why won't they let me come? I'll be a good boy!" cried the Master, as red-orange blood gushed from his nose and mouth.
Lucia and Lucy watched from the TARDIS in silence as the Doctor whispered to him," I know, Koschei, I know. Look, the people who love you are waiting for you! Go to sleep and you'll be with them."
Then the Master slumped dead, his body melting into a fine mist of gold dust. The dust crackled around the Doctor's fingers as though it were alive, a thing unsure, but he held out his hand, and said something, almost a name, and then, the dust came to his hand in a swirling wave of light, forming a jewel. He stared at the orb for a moment, then curled his fingers around it and turned, heading for the TARDIS and his newfound family.