"I should probably leave first," Damian said, running his fingers through his tangled hair to see if he could straighten it. "The scientists inside will probably be a bit frightened by the appearance of a big blue box in their work area."
"Oh, right, I forgot about that," the Doctor said. "Ask them to leave, will you? I don't want to blow any of them up."
Damian knew he probably looked terrible. He had died less than half an hour before and he had spent the last several days under the suffocating weight of the knowledge that their universe was going to end unless he was able to do something about it. He let his hands fall to his side as he moved towards the door, knowing that there wasn't anything he could do to make himself look any better. The scientists, the people who he once called his friends, would be astonished to see him like this. Hopefully he could convince them to leave so that he could destroy his work before they used it and ultimately destroy the universe because of their selfish actions.
He put his hand on the doorknob and pulled open the tardis door. The sight in front of him was a familiar one; he found himself in the place where he had spent several years of his life working on the Time Gate. The lab was very large with dull gray walls, and directly in front of him was a row computers lined up on desks; their purpose was for the meticulous recording of all of the changes and alterations taken place on the alternate universe. In the center of the lab was the main event; the very machine that he had spent years of his life developing; the cause of all of their problems for the past week. A wide set of metal stairs led up a few steps to a metal platform in the center of the room. His eyes were drawn to the swirling ethereal light that extended vertically in the middle of the platform, its shape much like a gate, ergo its name. The Time Gate itself.
The florescent lights emanated around the drab colored room, casting its brilliance all around. It represented exactly what he had just witnessed when the Doctor first took them to the Time Gate, albeit on a smaller scale. Huge metal arches surrounded the refulgent lighting, restraining it into place as the energy swirled and twisted involutions within itself. His attention was drawn to the side, where three scientist stood hovering together, peering at the Tardis and at him with fear in their eyes. He began to move towards them, opening his mouth to tell them to leave.
"What are you doing here?"
The snide voice sent his blood to run cold. He halted and slowly turned to look to the right at the entrance of the lab where three men were gathered around the doorway, his eyes focusing on the speaker. The man's stance was stiff and his back was completely straight, his aura of importance and power seeping off of him. His silver suit was impeccably pressed and the row of medallions that were pinned to his chest glimmered in the luminescent lighting. Gray eyes peered down a large nose in detest towards him.
His eyes flicked to the two men standing besides the Admiral, their magenta uniforms dark and almost rust colored, like the color of blood. Both of them had stern faces, their hair cropped short and their eyes and jaw set in a line of grim obedience, a look that came through many years of service as a foot soldier. They were huge men, experienced warriors only used for their brute force. Guns clung to the hips of either men, showing that whatever their purpose was for being at the Time Gate, it was not in order to keep the peace. They kept their hands at their side, ready to draw their weapons as they stared at him like how a hunter watches its prey.
He focused his attention back to the man in the center and grit his teeth. "I could ask you the same question, brother."
Zane furrowed his brows. "I believe that you were released from your service here and had been sent away-to never return, I might add."
"And I had thought that you had done all you could to help me return, but apparently you had no difficulties in arriving here on your own."
Thin lips pursed together as the Admiral strode into the room. "How quaint. Did you really believe that anything happens without my blessing? It was no chance that you found yourself booted from the operations."
Damian hissed. "It was you, it was all you!" He felt betrayed and duped, all of his life's work wrenched out from beneath him to be abused. "You're the one who made all of the changes, the one who killed all of those people and altered so much of history!"
"Hmm, yes," Zane hummed. "That's what I've been busying myself while I've been here, but the main question is what you are doing here, little brother."
With a lurch to his stomach Damian suddenly realized why so many changes had been made and why the altercations had sped so far out of control after he left. It was because his brother had taken over- the very person who vowed to help protect it, the one who called him to help him in the first place. It was all Zane's fault, and though at this point of his life the Admiral didn't know what his actions would entail, the fact that he had called Damian in utter desperation revealed how bad things really became. Damian felt his muscles tense as he straightened his stance. "I'm here to destroy the Time Gate."
The Admiral's eyes flared in anger. "You can't do that," he said forcefully. "Just because you are unfit to play with your own toy, it doesn't mean that you can break it so that others won't be able to use it."
"I'm not unfit to use the Time Gate-in fact I was the only one who used it appropriately." Damian retorted in frustration, striding towards his brother. "And it is no toy. Because of this machine millions of people have been affected and died!" He stood directly in front of Zane, the two of them perfectly even in height and stature.
"That's what people do," the Admiral replied coldly, his eyes impassionate. "They die. We just hurry along the process to see the results. In fact, we were just about to instigate a new program that would elicit such a massacre-just so that we could test a new virus." His brother's lips curled into a sadistic grin.
He felt the urge to punch Zane in his nose, but instead he spoke, hissing through his teeth. "You smile because you know that none of their deaths will affect you; you arrogantly believe that you can destroy the lives of millions because they will have no personal effect on you." He held out a finger and pressed it against his brothers chest between one of his polished medals. "But you fail to realize that your actions will bring about your imminent destruction."
"Imminent destruction?" Zane chuckled in disbelief. "You tend to be so overly dramatic." He peered at his brother, his eyes roving down his body as his lips sneered in disgust. "Speaking of which-what are you wearing?"
Damian glanced down at himself to see his captain's uniform.
"Captain?" Zane asked.
Damian opened his mouth to object before he was interrupted.
"Admiral," Jane acknowledged, plodding to Damian's side with her bare feet, not snapping to attention like what was expected of her.
The Admiral sneered. "What is going on." He pointed at the tardis. "What is that thing, and how did you get here?"
"We are going to blow up the Time Gate, that's the tardis, and we got here through instantaneous teleportation and a bit of time travel," she said with mock brevity, appearing cheerful as though she were merely stating the weather.
Zane sputtered, his face turning red. "Do you take me as an imbecile? I'll have you know that I have every right to demote you." His eyes appeared to take on a darker hue as he glared evilly towards Jane, "or I could just send you away and never let you return."
Damian shivered at the implications. Zane planned on sending them through the Time Gate, where the only way they could return to this planet was to be called back by the control panel, which was located here in the lab. Once in the alternate universe they had no chance of returning unless someone on this side recalled them.
"Don't you dare threaten her," Damian warned, inching even closer to intimidate his brother.
Zane stood his ground, peeling his lips back into a snarl. "Why would you care?" You care for no one besides yourself."
"You're one to speak, you egotistical, narcissistic maniac,' Damian spit through clenched teeth.
"Are we just going to throw insults at each other or are you going to explain to me why you have the absurd idea to destroy your very own work?"
Damian clenched his fingers so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He knew that he would have to convince his brother to leave before they would be able to destroy the Gate, and hopefully evacuate everyone else there as well. "In three months the alternate universe will start seeping through the Time Gate, and all of the things that have been changed in the universe will begin happening to ours. It will come to a point that you will call me out of desperation to fix everything." His last comment made him feel a sick form of pleasure knowing that his brother was completely out of his depth and required his help.
"And you claim to know all of this because of your massive intellect in predicting the future and your overburdening desire to feel needed?" the Admiral replied in a snide hiss.
"Time travel, actually," Jane interjected. The Admiral turned his attention to her, his eyes flashing down to her bare feet with contempt. "We really did come from the future. The Time Gate went out of control and began merging the two universes, and so you called Damian and I to fix the problem and destroy the gate. Which we are going to do, before all of the death, chaos, and destruction happens."
Zane's nose flared when he heard Jane say his brother's name, his eyes flashing towards Damian in shock before his expression turned to repulsion. "Is this some joke? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you are from the future and that your ultimate mission is to annoy me?"
"Don't be so self-absorbed, Zane. It has nothing to do with you. We are here to destroy the Time Gate," Damian growled.
"I'm afraid that I can't let you do that."
"Millions of lives are at stake! It has to be destroyed!" He tried shouting some sense into him, but his older brother just bristled in anger.
"That fallacy is based on some preposterous idea that you're from the future! Look at you-playing dress up in captains clothing, your hair is a mess, and she's not even wearing shoes! There is no way that I should take you seriously!" Spittle formed on the edge of his lips as he continued, his face bright red in anger; "And if the case is true, then so be it! I don't care if they die!"
Damian pushed forwards violently, sending his brother flying backwards. The scientists shouted in indignation, rushing to the Admirals side to get him back to his feet. The two huge soldiers removed their guns from their holsters and pointed their weapons at him.
"LEAVE!" Damian shouted at his brother lying sprawled on the floor. "If you value your life then evacuate; we are going to decimate this place whether you are here or not!"
Zane sputtered as he furiously waved the scientists away and came to his feet on his own. He straightened his uniform with a jerk and then motioned towards his soldiers. "Koy, Xavier, push them through the portal." The soldiers put away their guns and began moving forward.
Damian glanced over to Jane, who raised an eyebrow at him. He nodded, and the two of them stood their ground. The guards rushed forwards, two tanks bent on destruction. Damian sidestepped the first one's grasp and jabbed a punch into the man's side, his other hand quickly swinging around to bash into the soldier's thick head as his knee flew up into the man's groin.
The man doubled over in pain but quickly turned to tackle into him. Damian had to give it to the man, he was relentless: a soldier made specifically for violence and fighting. Yet, even with all of his brute force and combat background, Damian knew the man had no chance against him. He pushed back into the soldier and slid backwards against the man's massive weight, unwilling to fall over. He brought up his knee again into the man's groin and then slammed his boot into the inside of both knees until the soldier fell to the floor.
Damian was pulled down awkwardly by heavy hands on his shoulders. Unwilling to give up his upper hand, he jabbed his fingers into hazel eyes and was able to twist out of the soldier's grasp. He stepped backwards and swung his leg out into the air, his boot connecting firmly to the side of the soldier's head. Skin broke and blood appeared on the man's temple as he fell heavily to the ground, completely unconscious. Slightly resentful that the fight had ended so early and had been so easy for him, he glanced towards Jane to see if she required any of his help.
Her body was flipping through the air, her thighs wrapping around the man's neck, though he was at least six feet tall and standing. She twisted her body, making the man two times her size begin his long descent to the floor, his head the first thing that crashed onto the metal. She rolled off of him and kicked him quickly in the stomach, but he was out cold. Her eyes connected with his as she jumped to her feet, a wide smile splitting her face. He returned her grin before turning to triumphantly look at his brother.
Zane stood fuming, his eyes as cold as ice as he glared directly at him.
"Now," Damian began, "I am going to destroy this area, and you have no right to stop me. I created this machine so I reserve every right to do as I wish with it, which is to blow this entire place to smithereens. I would suggest for you to evacuate the premises." His eyes flashed over to the scientists who huddled near the admiral, and he recognized several of them. "All of you."
The scientists glanced at the two downed soldiers before turning to look for confirmation from the Admiral. Zane waved them away but stood his ground, his eyes never leaving Damian's. The scientists turned and fled through the doorway, not wanting to be caught in the middle of the sibling rivalry.
"Jane, go tell the Doctor to get the missiles ready."
She looked between him and the Admiral, her jaw clenching in determination as she nodded. She turned and left, plodding silently back to the Tardis.
"So this is it then?" Zane drawled. "You are going to kill your own brother?"
Damian clenched his fists, reminding himself of all of the destruction his brother wrought; the millions killed, the planets destroyed. The people on Jane's ship. Now he had a culprit for all of the destruction; himself and his older brother. Damian and Zane Knight, co-collaborators in the destruction of the universe. One brother creating the device for the demolition while the other actually using it. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
Zane stepped closer. "How are you going to do it? Plant a bomb and watch the destruction from a safe distance away?" He approached one of the crumpled bodies of his soldiers. "Coward!" he hissed, turning away from him in disgust to crouch down, his fingers sliding over the gun located on the man's hip. Damian froze. "Why don't you face me like a man, and watch as the life leaves my eyes?" He slowly stood, turning to face Damian once more, his gun pointed towards himself, the handle facing his younger brother.
Damian's fingers twitched. He knew that Zane deserved to die; he was asking for it. He was uncaring and disregarded human life like a pile of trash; as emotionless as one of the affected. He deserved to die, but his hand did not move up to take the weapon, instead hung limp at his side.
"No?" A perverse grin spread over his lips. "No, I didn't think that you had it in you." He twisted his gun around and held it comfortably in his hand, now pointing the barrel of the laser towards Damian. "Pity." With a flash the gun swerved and a bright red light flashed into the room.
Damian flinched and shielded his hands from the garish light, not feeling any burst of pain. He looked where Zane had shot and saw the decimated body of the guard he had knocked out, his head completely blasted away. Zane quickly turned and repeated the process on the other guard, a bright red light again flashing through the air to leave behind a decapitated corpse.
"What was that for!?" Damian shouted furiously.
"Imbeciles," Zane muttered, turning the weapon to face his younger brother once more.
Fed up by his brothers actions, his mind too enravished with rage to comprehend his actions rationally, Damian flung himself forwards and crashed into his older brother like a hurricane. The gun went flying through the air, knocked from Zane's grasp as the two of them began punching at each other. Damian was quicker and faster than his older brother, though his brother had more years of experience and his blows were much more powerful and vicious. The two of them progressed backwards, the Admiral on the retreat.
Damian punched and sent his fists flying, connecting a few of them while several of them were knocked away. They neared the stairs to the Time Gate and Damian shoved forcefully, his brother tripping against the bottom stair and falling awkwardly onto his back. He pounced onto his brother, but at the last second his brother jabbed up his leg and successfully forced his knee between his legs. Stars blinded Damian's vision as he fell to his side, suddenly regretful of the pain he had caused to the soldier.
Zane scrambled up the stairs and jumped to his feet. Damian got up and his hands and knees to prop himself up, but suddenly the Admiral's boot connected into the bottom of his chin and sent him flying to the ground, flipping him onto his back. Pain rocketed through him from head to foot, and he suddenly wished that he was back in the airlock getting the air sucked from his lungs again rather than experience the excruciating pain he was now in. He heard his brother's footsteps as he slowly descended the stairs. He sat up, his head rocking from the motion, his jaw and groin on fire.
The sight of his brother was ethereal as the Admiral leaned over him, his backdrop of luminescent, swirling lighting making his brother's form look as dark as a shadow compared to the brilliance around him.
"Dearest little brother, have you learned nothing?" Zane teased, his voice mocking. "You will never win against me. I will always be better than you." He crouched down besides him, his silver suit crinkling as he reached out a hand to Damian's head. His fingers tied themselves in his hair and with a lurch Zane wrenched his younger brother to his feet. Damian's scalp felt like it was going to be torn from his skull; he wrapped one hand around his brother's wrist to attempt to get free or at least alleviate the pain as he twisted and lurched to get out of his grasp.
Zane jabbed a hand into Damian's throat, making him cough and become even more disoriented than he already was and twisted him towards the Time Gate, pulling him by his hair. Damian's eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening, the Time Gate mere feet away as Zane propelled him forwards, towards it. He jerked backwards, his head twisting uncomfortably because his brother still had a hold in his hair.
"Goodbye, brother!" Zane shouted, pushing him forwards.
Damian felt time slow as he fell forwards, his eyes mesmerized by the many particles of light flashing and twisting directly in front of as though they were expectant of his arrival. He looked to the side of the Time Gate at the metal arch that contained the light in place, and flung out his hand to grasp hold of it. His fingers on his right hand grasped hold of the surprisingly cool metal, and as he pulled himself to the right his forwards momentum caused his left hand to soar into the light. His limb disappeared from sight as a tingling and buzzing sensation erupted all of the way up his arm. He clung to the metal and wrenched himself back, pulling his arm back out of the light as the light twirled around his limb, being drawn out with him.
"Damian!"
He turned to glance back and saw Jane leave the tardis and race towards him, but he quickly turned his attention back to his murderous brother who was lunging towards him, his hands extended out in front of him to once again push him into the light. Damian stepped away from the arch and stood directly in the middle of the Time Gate where there was no chance that he could save himself this time. He squatted into a protective stance, and as soon as his brother's hands pushed against his chest, he grasped Zane's shoulders and twisted as hard as he could, flinging his brother behind him and using Zane's forwards momentum against him. He watched as steely gray eyes opened wide in shock before disappearing into the light, along with the rest of his body.
The light twirled and revolved hungrily as his brother disappeared from sight, the light intensifying momentarily before dimming back to its usual splendor. Damian stood mesmerized by the sight of the dancing light. His brother was gone, with no chance of coming back into this universe unless he drew him back. He flexed his fingers, knowing that there was no way that he would allow that. He was going to destroy this place and never look back.
He was drawn back into reality when a slender hand slipped into his. He glanced down to his side to look at Jane, her hair back in a messy braid and her eyes looking into his expectantly. He squeezed her fingers comfortingly, knowing that it was finally time for them to finish their task. She offered him a tender smile and he suddenly felt immensely glad that she was at his side. They had experienced a lot together, and now it was time for it all to finally end.