Chapter 5: Only to My Enemies

The Doctor sensed something was wrong from the moment he stepped out of the TARDIS. The timelines felt suddenly in flux, multiple timestreams, futures, overlapping. He'd felt it worse before, much worse, obviously, considering he was practically a temporal force of nature all his own. But, here, now, something was happening that could have a serious affect on the history of the human species far beyond a single island at the edge of the Pacific.

"Come on!" he shouted, and grabbed Fitz's hand, dragging him behind him as he ran.

"That smell," Fitz panted, struggling to keep up.

"I know," the Doctor replied, running faster.

Fitz had spent enough time on battlefields to recognize that smell.

They saw the fire from a distance, oily black smoke filling the sky. He stopped once they reached the edge of the village, and Fitz clutched his chest as he caught his breath. He took a puff from his inhaler, then leaned against one of the rainwater reservoirs, large carved cisterns that towered overhead.

"Fitz, you're brilliant," the Doctor said, and pushed him out the way.

There were three of them, just up a slightly rolling slope from the center of the village, where the pyre had been erected. He set his sonic screwdriver to resonate the stone and shattered the cisterns. And the chicken hutch. And a few neighboring houses.

"Oops," he said, and couldn't help but grin a bit at the chaos, as water and mud and feathers swept across the gathered crowd.

"Doctor, where's Jack?" Fitz asked, staring at the pyre as the water quenched the flames with a hissing cloud of steam.

"Come on, Fitz," the Doctor said seriously.

The small group, just a few dozen people, had already begun to scatter when he strode forward, Fitz following just behind.

"Is that him?" Fitz asked in a small voice, sounding devastated.

The Doctor raised a finger to silence him. "Get Jack out of there. Watch over him."

"Even you have no right to disturb our sacrifice," the Ariki said defiantly.

"Oh, there's no authority on this entire planet higher than me," the Doctor replied in a low, dangerous voice. "Trust me. I'm the Doctor. I've toppled far greater leaders than you for less."

He heard Fitz pull Jack free from the fire. "Your days are numbered, Ariki," the Doctor said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a miracle to perform."

Fitz held Jack's head in his lap, struggling not to cry. "It'll be all right, Fitz," the said Doctor, crouching down in front of them. "I promise."

It was a pretty horrible scene. Jack had already been burnt to the bone, the flesh turned to ashes for most of the lower part of his body. His head and chest were a little better, only blackened, raw and red, but still. Rather gruesome.

And interesting. He'd never seen him come back from such a state, and was frankly curious about the mechanics of the whole thing. He touched Jack's temple, trying not to think about the squelchy, warm sensation that reminded him of a half-cooked steak. The Doctor tried to touch his mind, a part of it, any part. He'd tried it on people who were dead before. Well, mostly dead, at least.

He felt nothing from Jack, except that heavy feeling of wrongness he'd come to terms with long ago. By now it felt familiar, didn't really hurt anymore. During the year that never was, he'd even come to look forward to it, because it meant Jack was close. That somewhere nearby, he had a friend who didn't blame him.

Nothing, and then suddenly a spark, a burst of purest Jack, so strong that he pulled away, startled. Jack opened his burnt, milky eyes, and began to scream.

Watch Jack, the Doctor had told him, but hadn't told him to expect this. As Jack screamed and convulsed, the Doctor attempted to place a hand at his temple.

"Hold him down," the Doctor said grimly.

Fitz grabbed Jack's shoulders, and tried really hard not to throw up. As the Doctor touched him, Jack stilled, his breathing growing slow and even.

"Thank you, Fitz," the Doctor said softly. "Take care of him for me, will you?"

Fitz gave him a little nod, unable to meet his eyes.

"So why exactly were you trying to sacrifice my friend in the first place, if you don't mind my asking?" the Doctor asked, turning around.

The crowd seemed frozen in place, watching him in awe.

"Yes, that's Jack. He does that. He'll be fine."

The Ariki stepped forward, wearing a grim expression. Two of the warriors went with him, but the rest had backed away, dropping their spears.

"You're a false god," he hissed. "A demon!"

"Only to my enemies, Ariki," the Doctor replied. "Is that really who you want to be?"

One of the warriors stood next to the Ariki, a determined expression on his face. "If he has the power over life and death, we dare not cross him."

"Now he's got the right idea," the Doctor said in a bright tone. "But I don't think you're going to listen, Ariki. No. Because you're not yourself, and you haven't been for a very long time."

He strode into the crowd, addressing the people directly. "As I'm sure you've all noticed. Ever since he introduced the goddess of the Mother?"

There were murmurs from the crowd, but only the warrior standing near the Ariki spoke up. "The Doctor is right! We all know it. He's forsaken the rest of our deities for her. Sends our own warriors as tribute to the mountain. We toil the quarries for stone that we are no longer allowed to use for any other purpose, and tear down our forests to provide wood for a temple we've never seen."

"Silence!" the Ariki bellowed. "You dare challenge my authority?"

The Doctor smiled unkindly, and backed away, letting them argue amongst themselves.

He kneeled down in front of Fitz and Jack. Suddenly frowning, he watched the skin slowly grow over Jack's burns. Jack's eyes had cleared, already back to their bright blue, though they were wild and staring. His arms had began to heal, and he clutched Fitz tightly, desperately.

"Hello, Captain," the Doctor said softly.

Jack's breathing came in shuddering gasps, and Fitz placed a comforting hand on his forehead, which was already almost back to normal.

"Does it hurt, Jack?"

"It... It always hurts," Jack stammered out in a weak, hoarse voice.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said softly.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Fitz asked.

"The Doctor shook his head. "I wish there was, Jack. I really do."

"Yeah," Jack whispered.

"There's just one thing I need to know. Captain, where's River?"