Cyclone Child & Crimson Cub
"No," Davros decided, switching off his Agony Inducer. "You will not suffer the worst agonies ever known yet. You can watch with the rest of your allies as the Universe comes to an end." He turned his attention to the Detonation. "Nothing can stop this now...nothing..." The last word was a hushed whisper.
Jonathan chanced a look at his parents, and both of their faces bore the same look. The message was clear – it was disappointment...not at him, but at themselves; disappointment that they had failed to keep him safe. It's not your fault, Mum, he told Romana soothingly.
Don't lie to me, Jonathan! She shot back, the guilt in her voice. I got you into this!
Stop it! He told her firmly. If you recall...I chose to come along! Now listen carefully...I've got a plan. There was no reply, but Jonathan knew his mother was listening. When I say 'now,' I want you to rush to the Vault Control Hub. Trust me, Mum...please...
Romana just nodded. She trusted her son, but she didn't know what he hoped to accomplish...they couldn't reach the Control Hub with the Holding Cell in the way. But then, a most opportune moment...
"DA-TA; SPA-TIO-TEM-PO-RAL WARP FIELD DE-TEC-TED!" a Dalek Drone shrieked in panic. "IT HAS EN-GULFED THE REA-LI-TY DE-TON-A-TOR!"
"WHAT?!" bellowed Davros. "WHAT IS THIS?!"
"SUP-PLE-MEN-TAL; A SE-COND FIELD HAS TRAPPED THE BAT-TLE-FLEET!" a second Drone screeched. Its voice then rose further in what could have passed for horror. "THE FIELDS ARE CO-TER-MI-NAL!"
"NO!" screamed Davros furiously. "THIS CANNOT BE CORRECT!"
"TO-TAL DIS-IN-TE-GRA-TION OF DA-LEK BAT-TLE-FLEET IS IM-MI-NENT!" reported a third Dalek. And sure enough, when the Children of Time turned their attention to the Display, they could see every Dalek Saucer crumbling to dust...dust which would eventually break down to nothing. Davros swirled his chair around to face the boy who had robbed him of his Triumph.
"YOU HAVE TRICKED ME!" he roared, hatred burning every remaining fibre in his body. But Jonathan just shook his head and smirked.
"The only one who tricked you is yourself, Davros," he shot back smugly. "You have failed! This is the end for you...the end of the Daleks forever! The Final End!"
"YOU WILL SUFFER FOR YOUR INTERFERENCE IN MY PLAN!" the Dalek creator snarled in sadistic fury. He then turned the Agony Inducer to full strength. Instantly, the boy closed his eyes and screamed louder than he'd ever done in his life. This was surely the end for him as well, it would seem...
*DW*
"NO!" the Doctor and Romana screamed simultaneously, amid the protests of their friends and allies. It was agonisingly heartbreaking to watch their son suffer like this...
"LET HIM GO, DAVROS!" Sarah Jane snarled furiously, rushing forward to help her honorary nephew. But as she did so, Davros fired an arc of electricity which impacted her over the heart – Sarah Jane cried in shock as she fell to the floor beside him, garnering screams of horror from the Doctor, Romana, Luke and Maria, and cries of panic from the rest.
By now, Jonathan's screams of agony had subsided to gasps of pain. He evidently didn't have much more Oxygen left in his lungs. But before he could gasp much more...
The Vault suddenly went dark...and the Holding Cells deactivated. The young de facto Time Lord's senses came back into focus once again. He could see his parents coming into vision, kneeling either side of him.
"Jonathan? You alright?" the Doctor implored, praying internally that his son was still in some reasonable shape. "Talk to me, Jonathan!" he commanded his son. He couldn't lose him now...strike that, he couldn't lose him ever...
"Sweetheart, talk to us!" Romana pleaded desperately. "Please...don't die..." She wasn't even sure that he was Time Lord enough to be capable of regeneration...
"I'm alright," Jonathan gasped, smiling weakly. "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?" His mother just clapped him over the head, while his father laughed with relief. Their son then turned their attention to his aunt. "Auntie Sarah!" he cried, rushing to help her. But she was gasping for breath, struggling to breathe. He looked at Luke and Maria, and could see that they were stumped as to what to do. He locked eyes with her, and almost saw a sign of resignation to her eyes. "Don't you dare..." he choked, tears building. "You are not dying!" he shouted, inwardly cursing Davros for this.
But Sarah Jane was shaking her head sadly. "Everything has its Time...and everything ends, Jonathan..."
"Not today," the boy told her vehemently. "And do you know why?" She shook her head. He pointed at Davros, who could not activate his Lightning Ray. "BECAUSE MONSTERS LIKE HIM THINK THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE WHO GETS TO LIVE! AND THAT DOESN'T SIT WITH ME, MY DEAR AUNT!" he roared, breaking down. He held his aunt in his arms...when a small rush of energy flowed into Sarah Jane. At once, her breathing came back. Jonathan turned to his parents. "Mum, Dad...what just happened?"
Romana sighed. "Jonathan...the reason your father looks different from you now is because he's had to change his body on a few occasions," she told her son. "The reason I didn't tell you before now...is because I didn't know if you were capable of regeneration. Most Time Lords are not naturally born..."
They were interrupted by a cackle of glee from Dalek Caan. Davros turned to the Dalek. "What is the meaning of this, Dalek Caan?!" he demanded furiously. Caan just cackled more.
"Oh..." the Doctor whispered in realisation. "You knew this would happen, didn't you Caan?"
"Correct, Doctor," the Dalek confirmed, now sounding perfectly sane. "I also concealed my knowledge of the return of the Cyclone Child and the Crimson Cub...the Cyclone Child...the child of the Oncoming Storm..."
"You mean...Jonathan?" the Doctor gasped in shock. "You knew...and concealed the fact from Davros!"
Davros just stared. "You betrayed the Daleks!" he spat in fury.
"I saw the Daleks!" Caan spat in retort. "What we have done...throughout Time and Space...I saw the Truth of us, Creator...AND I DECREED; 'NO MORE!'"
Moments later, the Supreme Dalek descended into the Vault. "DAV-ROS!" it roared in fury. "YOU HAVE BE-TRAYED US!"
"It was Dalek Caan!" Davros protested, but his words fell on deaf auditory sensors.
"THE VAULT WILL BE PURGED!" the Supreme bellowed. "YOU WILL ALL BE EX-TER-MI-NA-TED!" However, when it tried to fire, it found its blaster was not working. "WHAT IS HAP-PE-NING?! EX-PLAIN!"
Jonathan laughed. "I instructed Mr Smith to upload a computer virus into the Computer of the Dalek Crucible, to be activated once the Dalek Battlefleet was destroyed," he told it. He then turned to his friends. "Haven't I told you? I'm brilliant...and a little bit mad!" While all this had been happening, the regeneration energy had already begun to change him. He turned back to the Supreme Dalek as the amber fire began to engulf him. "Not that you're going to be around long enough to find out," he spat in contempt. "Goodbye!"
With those words, Jonathan spun on the spot and erupted into the very fire that had been enshrouding him, left hand pointed at the Supreme Dalek, right hand pointed at Davros. Both screamed in pain as they were immolated by the regeneration.
"What's happening?!" Maria asked, shouting over the noise in a panicked voice.
"He's regenerating!" yelled the Doctor. "Everything about him is going to change! New body...new voice...new personality...everything! NEW BOY!"
And sure enough, when it was over, a new boy was standing where Jonathan had been. He no longer possessed curly dark hair, and he was a little shorter than before. The hair was now a mop of blonde hair. The Doctor thought he looked very much like his 5th self.
Romana just stood on the spot, smiling. Theta? She asked her lover.
Hm? The reply came.
When you said your 5th self was a Cricketer, Romana inquired, did he look like that?
Yes, replied the Doctor, smiling. He did...
Sarah Jane noticed that the new boy who had taken the old Jonathan's place resembled one of the Doctors she met at the Dark Tower, in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. She also thought he could easily pass for an Earth Schoolboy.
Martha just stood there, shocked. Now, she had actually witnessed regeneration, the process which the Doctor told her the Master went through in order to change from the Yana incarnation to the Saxon incarnation.
Mickey and Jackie's mind had been blown away. So this was how the Doctor had been able to go from U-Boat Captain to Converse & Pinstripes. But Jackie doubted this boy would have changed that much – when they'd met the new Doctor, he'd still been as rude as the old one.
Jack just whistled, garnering a scowl from both of Jonathan's parents. "Stop it!" they'd both chorused.
Rose had noted the similarities between the current Doctor and the new Jonathan. Both looked young...and at a guess, both probably felt emotions the way Humans did.
Maria and Luke were stumped as to what to think of this complete stranger they were confronted with. Both had seen Jonathan vanish, and they'd both heard the Doctor explain what was happening. But was it really the same person...was it really just a new face and a new personality?
The new Jonathan looked around in a very unsure fashion. He could feel Human emotions on a massive scale. Though he looked Time Lord, he felt Human. He noticed that every Dalek in the Vault – with the exception of Dalek Caan – had been vaporized by his regeneration...probably due to the fact that he had blasted his regenerative energy into the Originator of the Dalek's genetic code. His gaze then rested on his friends. "Hello," he told them. "I'm Jonathan...and hopefully, I'll stay that way if the regeneration works out," he added with a chuckle. This got everyone laughing.
Just then, the group heard the sound of the TARDIS. The Doctor, Romana, Rose and Jack just stared in shock as the TT Capsule materialised. When it was finished, the door opened...to reveal another Doctor...and Donna.
"Did we miss anything?" the new Doctor asked.
The Doctor just stared in shock...as did everyone else. "But that's..." he struggled to find the word, "...impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible...just unlikely," the Duplicate told them. This got Martha and Donna laughing, for the Doctor had said something similar to them when they'd been dragged off to Messaline by the TARDIS.
"But you're a..." Romana stumbled over the word as if it were forbidden, "...Metacrisis!" she cried finally, rounding on the original Doctor. "This is why you shouldn't have siphoned off that energy, Doctor! The chance of Metacrisis was too great!"
"But..." he protested feebly. "I didn't wanna go..." But he was cut off by Romana before he could say more. The words that she shouted echoed her 1st incarnation's words to his 4th self when he told her that he didn't know where they were going after completing the Search for the Key to Time.
"YOU HAVE NO SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER!" she yelled angrily. "YOU'RE CAPRICIOUS, ARROGANT, SELF-OPINIONATED, IRRATIONAL...AND THE BEST EXCUSE YOU HAVE IS A VANITY ISSUE! DONNA COULD HAVE DIED!"
"She is right, Doctor," croaked Dalek Caan. "There was a possibility of Miss Noble dying from the Metacrisis that resulted from your aborted regeneration."
"But..."
"Don't even," Romana told him in frustration. "Right now, I've half a mind to make you regenerate again!" This shut the Doctor up. By the time Romana spoke again, she spoke in an exasperated sigh. "Why do you have to shatter every single rule into atoms, Doctor? None of your other selves did this."
"Romana, I..." the Doctor told her, trying to find the right words. "It wasn't just a matter of not wanting to go." He paused, having found the words. "I...couldn't go...not when you'd come back..."
Romana, despite her frustration with him, gave in, grabbed him by the lapels on his pinstriped jacket and snogged him for all either of them were worth. Jack gave an 'awwww,' getting elbowed by Donna, Martha and Sarah Jane simultaneously.
Jackie looked at her daughter, Rose's face a blank expression. She was clearly trying to come to terms with the events regarding the two Time Lords. "Rose?" Jackie asked her. "You alright?"
"Yeah, jus'..." Rose replied. "I'm jus'...wanderin' what I'll do now. The Doctor's got Romana back now...I can see I haven' got a chance..."
"That might not be true, you know," Jonathan cut in. "But I'd like to ask a few questions first. Have you seen Dad regenerate before?" Rose nodded. "What were your thoughts on him doing so?"
"It was...difficult gettin' used to him," she replied uncertainly. "When he was about to do it again, I wasn't ready..."
"Because you'd grown attached to this one," Jonathan finished, guessing the reason. "But the Duplicate over there," he pointed to his uncle – for want of a better term, "is part-Human...the aging part, specifically. He'll grow old, and he can't regenerate...he has the life of a Human...one he could spend with you..." He beckoned his uncle over. "Uncle, tell me...did Dad ever love Rose?"
The Duplicate paused before replying. "Yes...but he knew he couldn't spend the rest of his life with her." He continued, cutting off Jonathan's next question. "But with regards to his love for Romana, I could never have something like that...but I can spend the rest of my life with Rose...if she wants..."
Rose paused, then grabbed the Duplicate Doctor by his lapels and brought him into a kiss. Jonathan smiled at this. "Aunt Rosie," he chuckled. At this, the Duplicate and Rose broke off their embrace, blushing. "Well, he is my uncle, you know..."
Sarah Jane appeared behind them. "Martha and Mickey seem to be getting along just fine," she commented, smiling at the pair of them talking.
"Yes...one big happy family," Jonathan quipped in turn. He and his aunt then went over to the Doctor and Romana. "Mum, Dad...would it be alright if I stayed with Auntie Sarah?" They paused. "Please?"
"May we ask why, Sweetheart?" asked his mother curiously.
"Well, Luke and Maria agreed that they'd like to have me in the group when Alan suggested it," her son told her. "May I?"
Romana considered before answering. "Your path is yours to walk, Sweetheart," she told him. "But never forget – Dad loves you, and I love you." Just then, there was a croak that sounded akin to a harrumph. "I think Dalek Caan wants our attention." The entire group walked up to the podium Caan was situated on. "You called, Caan?"
"Yes," he croaked. "And I believe you all have questions for me?" he asked in turn.
Romana nodded. "Did you know my son could regenerate? Because you seemed to know everything else that was going to happen."
"Correct, Crimson Cub," Caan replied. "He, like his mother, is no ordinary Child of Gallifrey."
"Why do you keep calling me 'Crimson Cub?'" questioned the Time Lady. "You're the only one who's called me that in my lifetime."
"You will recall, Crimson Cub, that Davros mentioned that I had seen Time?" Again, Romana nodded in confirmation. "I also saw the History of Gallifrey. Over the millennia that the Time Lords had been in power, there were a number of individual Time Ladies who were unbound by the Pythia Curse..."
"And I was one of them?" Romana guessed. The evidence was sitting in between the Doctor and herself. "And they were all Crimson Cubs?"
"More to the point, why are they called 'Crimson Cubs?'" questioned the Doctor. "Why were these Time Ladies who could naturally give birth called that?"
"Because they saw the face of the Goddess of Time itself," the reformed Dalek told them. "They all saw the Bad Wolf." At this, the Doctor was slack-jawed. "Indeed, Doctor. When Miss Tyler destroyed the Emperor, she had taken the Time Vortex into herself. But the Bad Wolf, as well as resurrecting Captain Harkness, sent ripples into the past of Gallifrey and chose these Time Ladies to be her Crimson Pack...each one was a Crimson Cub. Lady Romana was the latest in the History of your homeworld to be chosen. When they had reach a certain age, the Bad Wolf gave them a Destiny – to lead a new species of Time Lords from beyond the Final Day of Gallifrey. They were instructed to find their Time Lord Match, and depart for a new world – a world no others have found."
"So there could be other surviving Time Lords?" asked Romana, hope in her voice. Then a thought visited her. "But...my Match is the Doctor, yes?"
"Correct," Dalek Caan confirmed. "But you are wondering why you did not receive the opportunity to follow your sisters?" Another nod from Romana. "Did you ever wonder why the White Guardian chose you to help him find the Key to Time, Lady Romana?"
The Time Lady considered the thought, before visiting upon a wonderful idea. "You requested that he choose me, didn't you Caan?" she smiled. "But why?"
"I have seen Timelines, Romana," he replied calmly. "The Match between yourself and the Doctor was difficult – your mission was evidence enough. It had to be that way if the Cyclone Child was to be a certainty in the Universe."
"Jonathan?" Romana asked him. Caan did his best to show a nod. "You ensured that I would take the path where he would be born?" She was a little indignant at not being able to choose her own path.
"Yes...but if you think back, Crimson Cub, would you rather have not walked this path you have travelled...and risk him not being born?" Caan asked her. She shook her head. She would not trade her son for anything...Jonathan was her Time Tot...her baby boy...her child...her Cyclone Child.
"But why was it necessary for Jonathan to be here?" questioned the Doctor. His son had nearly died. He would have died had he not regenerated. He couldn't go through the pain of losing his son...who was so much better than he...
"If he had not been a part of this," Caan explained sadly, "the Child of Time who died could have been another...Miss Noble, perishing as a result of the Metacrisis you created. With Jonathan here, Doctor, he could take that place and survive."
"But how did you know he would regenerate?" Romana asked her secret ally.
"Natural birth is not the only difference between a Crimson Cub and a normal Time Lady, Romana," Caan told her. "When you saw the Bad Wolf, she imprinted the Lykos Imprimatur into your genetic code. This ensured that any child you had would have the regenerative ability from birth, as the Crimson Pack would not have access to the Untempered Schism once they had found their new world." He paused. "The Time Lords could not discover the Lykos Imprimatur because their equipment, advanced though it undoubtedly was, was not designed to locate such an imprint – the Bad Wolf knew of the Time Lords' indolence and xenophobia...and made her Imprimatur unrecognisable."
The Doctor and Romana were utterly blown away by the revelation...the revelation that the Bad Wolf Paradox had created such a wonderful thing in this cold, harsh Universe. But they still had one question.
"Caan...did they succeed in finding a new world? And if they did, what is it called?" asked the Doctor.
"Yes...the name of the planet is...Ariva Lykos," Caan disclosed the secret. Now the Dalek had given them the answers, it was now the moment to die. "The Daleks must not continue to exist, Time Lords. Please, end my life. Dalek Sec was correct...and my fellow Cultists were blind to his wisdom. The Daleks have lost their right to survive..."
Romana felt saddened. She couldn't kill Caan...the Mad Atoner. He wasn't like other Daleks. But if he wanted to die, it was his choice. If she refused, she would be no better than the Time Lords who thought that they had the right to decide who lived and who died. She took out her Sonic Screwdriver, placed it inside Caan's casing and activated it. At once, the casing shut off, and Caan's breathing ceased. The last Dalek had passed on...
You didn't really think I was gonna kill Sarah Jane, did you? WHAT KIND OF AUTHOR DO YOU THINK I AM? :)
P.S. What did you think of my "Crimson Cub" plot device?