Chapter 11- Game Station of Daleks
They had had a wonderful month. The three of them had been having the most fantastic of times.
After dropping Margaret off on Raxacoricofallapatorius, they'd gone to Japan. Japan in 1336. They'd been chased off, of course, but that was usual. This time, it was only humans that chased them. Seemed the Samurai had an issue with the Doctor. He wouldn't tell them what it was, but Freya got the feeling it wasn't the first time he nearly blew up a few temples in the area.
The Doctor then took them to the planet Cheem so Freya could plant the cuttings she'd collected. Freya hadn't been sure it was the right time, but both the Doctor and the TARDIS reassured her that the trees were mature enough that they could be planted. After being planted, they would thrive and become the talking trees Freya had encountered on the Observation Deck.
Now, they were just relaxing. Just floating along in the time vortex, shields down, enjoying some down time. The Doctor had propped the doors open and Jack had brought out some blankets, pillows, etc., and the three of them curled up with their backs against the console, eyes staring out at the swirling vortex.
"We probably shouldn't be staring out like this," the Doctor warned them as Freya settled carefully between the two men.
"Calm down Doc. All we can see is a swirl of colors," Jack responded lightly, pulling the blankets over them.
And they'd sat like that for hours, staring at nothing yet everything all at once.
"Where would you go, if you could go anywhere?" Jack finally asked, breaking their silence.
"Who are you asking?" Freya shot back, only for Jack to smile down at her.
"Both of you. I don't know much about either of you," Jack pointed out. Freya closed her eyes and snuggled in between both of them, glad they took the hint and moved closer to her. It was perfect.
"I don't know. Maybe the twenties, in America? I remember learning about that time period in school and wanting to see the joy that was all around," Freya said with a sigh.
"What about you, big ears?" Jack teased.
"Oi!" the Doctor retorted automatically. Freya smiled at him and reached up, tugging on his ear.
"They aren't that big," Freya told him with a grin.
"Or maybe she just likes big ears. Big ears, big feet, big...other parts," Jack said with an exaggerated wink. Freya turned a deep shade of red with Jack's words, instantly burrowing her face into the Doctor's jumper.
"No teasing my companion," the Doctor shot back at Jack, a stern look on his face. Jack pretended to look offended as Freya slowly pulled her head away from the Doctor's jumper.
"What does that make me then?" Jack complained, winking once more at Freya.
"A pain in the arse," the Doctor told him, a cheeky grin in place. Jack's entire demeanor became quite suggestive at that.
"Always talking about my arse, you are," Jack teased before his expression turned quasi-serious.
"But really. Where would you like to go? You've probably been everywhere twice," Jack commented.
"I'd like to go home. Just for one day, to see everything," the Doctor said quietly.
"Why can't you?" Freya asked him softly.
"My home planet, Gallifrey, is gone. Not just gone, but no one can ever go there. It's been locked in time," the Doctor said stiffly. Freya shifted closer to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Jack moved as well, hugging the two of them.
Until the Doctor jumped.
"Keep your hands to yourself!" the Doctor barked at Jack. Jack and Freya separated, Freya glancing between the two of them in confusion. Jack looked entirely too pleased with himself.
"What did you do?" Freya asked Jack suspiciously. Jack's grin intensified as he hugged Freya once more.
Only this time, she felt him grab her bum. She yelped and jumped, just as the Doctor leaned over her and slapped Jack on the back of the head.
"Quit grabbing bums!" the Doctor ordered.
"But the two of you have such nice ones," Jack complained. Freya's cheeks flushed and she shifted closer to the Doctor. His arm automatically went around her, glaring at Jack. After a few minutes, the three of them relaxed once more.
The Doctor was thinking. When they'd met Freya's grandmother, she'd told the Doctor he would make Freya's greatest wish come true. What was her greatest wish? He could figure out. Jack had opened the door to asking deep questions. But did he want to know what her greatest wish was? What if it was something he couldn't do, like make her parents love her?
"What's your guys' greatest wishes?" the Doctor finally asked before losing courage.
"Oh. Now we're getting somewhere," Jack teased. The Doctor just stared at him.
"I want to have my memories back. I woke up without two years of my life, while I was still working for the Time Agency. I want them back," Jack told them. Freya nodded. She'd heard him say that before. But the Doctor hadn't. The Doctor glanced at Freya, waiting for her to speak. Freya's eyes slid to the ground.
"I want to be a mum. One day, I want to be a loving mum. That's my biggest wish," Freya muttered quietly.
The room was filled with silence.
And Freya was suddenly filled with a horrible feeling.
She lunged to her feet, throwing herself at the console. Her hands started hitting buttons, pulling levers, flipping switches.
"What are you doing?" the Doctor shouted as Jack threw himself at the doors, closing them tightly.
"Something's wrong! Terribly wrong! Need to get away," Freya gasped. She hit another button just as a white light filled the room, trying to pull the three of them apart.
The light faded quickly, but it had pulled the TARDIS.
They had landed.
"What happened?" Jack asked as the TARDIS's lights dimmed.
"We've been transported. Someone was trying to beam us out of here," the Doctor said. Freya moved for the door, slowly opening it.
Nothing.
"Freya! What are you doing?" the Doctor asked, moving quickly towards her.
"Don't we need to find out what's out there?" Freya asked in confusion.
"Yeah. As a group. You're the one that got the bad feeling," the Doctor pointed out.
"We have to go out there. It's…it's important," Freya said. The TARDIS must've supplied her with that knowledge.
"Define important. Is it important as in has to happen, like when you got kidnapped?" Jack asked suspiciously. Freya shook her head.
"The TARDIS didn't apologize. It can't be too bad," Freya reasoned as she left the TARDIS. The boys scrambled out behind her quickly, and Freya observed the cupboard they'd landed in. Nothing out of the ordinary. She tentatively pushed open the door to the cupboard.
They were in a spaceship, she assumed. There was two rows of computers leading to a woman wired into a massive computer. She had a white glow to her. Freya automatically took a step closer. The poor woman. It had to have been painful for her to be in that condition.
"INTRUDERS!" a tinny voice shouted. Freya glanced away from the wired woman and noticed a robot facing them.
"Freya!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing her arm.
But he didn't have a chance to pull her away.
A beam shot out of the robot's arm and hit Freya in the chest. Her entire body was shocked. It was as if every atom in her body was being pulled apart.
And then it all went black, blissfully black.
The Doctor crumpled to the floor, staring wide-eyed at the small pile of ash. She had been in his grip. He had been holding her. And she was…she was dead. Disintegrated while still in his grip. His fingers shakily brushed the ash. He'd killed her.
He should have made her stay back. Why did he let her go first? She never went first. Why did she decide to go first today, the one day the first person was to be killed?
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jack shouting, waving around a tiny gun. A tiny gun, the Doctor noticed, that took out the robot in one shot.
But it didn't matter. Freya was gone. And it was all his fault.
"Doc, get up! Something's wrong," Jack urged him. The Doctor allowed Jack to pull him to his feet, but couldn't even find it in himself to pretend he cared that something was wrong. Freya was dead.
Another death on his head.
Jack's own expression held heartbreak, but the Doctor was sure half of it was just a reflection of his own pain. There were two distinct tear trails down Jack's cheeks. The workers, the Doctor noticed, were all shifted away from their stations, staring in horror at Jack and the Doctor.
But the Doctor didn't care.
"It doesn't matter," the Doctor murmured. But Jack shook his head.
"We have to figure out what's wrong. Freya said something was off. But the TARDIS didn't warn her. The TARDIS warned her on Lytien. It should have warned her," Jack begged. The Doctor shook his head.
"Not if she wanted to give Freya a few minutes of peace," the Doctor said hollowly.
"Stay here. I'll go check the TARDIS," Jack ordered the Doctor.
Because Jack didn't like seeing the Doctor like that.
The Doctor looked so utterly hopeless. It was like Freya was his soul.
Without her, he was nothing.
The Doctor's eyes stared at Freya's remains, wishing at least her necklace would have remained. If her necklace would have remained, he'd have something of her. Not much, admittedly, but something. But the necklace and the ring he'd given her were gone. All he had was the new necklace he'd given her, the one he had to go back in time and give her younger self someday. Someday when he had a different face, a face with brown eyes. And she didn't even know that. All she knew was that someone else gave it to her. He'd never had the chance to explain to her that it would most certainly be him giving to her, once he regenerated.
"Doc! Guess what?" Jack shouted as he ran back in the room. The Doctor barely managed to lift his eyes to Jack, Jack who looked much too happy.
"She's still alive! It was a transport beam! Like the one that almost got us! She's still alive!" Jack shouted. The Doctor's entire being felt uplifted at the words as he hugged Jack tightly.
She was alive.
And he was going to find her.
Freya woke up sore and lying on the ground. Her eyes slowly lifted only to slam shut.
When she worked up the courage to open her eyes again, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Daleks. Daleks everywhere, surrounding her.
The Doctor had said they were all dead.
But they weren't. They were alive.
One Dalek had decimated the base they'd been in. One Dalek, one weak Dalek. This?
Freya's blood ran cold. This many Daleks could destroy the universe. They could destroy everything.
"Alert! Alert! We are detected!" one of the Daleks screeched. Freya jumped back at the sudden words. The Daleks moved closer to her.
"It is the Doctor. He has located us. Open communication channel!" a different Dalek ordered.
"The female will stand. Stand!" the first Dalek ordered her. Freya jumped to her feet. Her vision tilted and she fell back against the wall, only for one of the Daleks to prod her into an upright position.
In front of them, a holographic screen appeared. The Doctor was there. His gaze was hard. Impossibly hard. Even when he saw Freya.
"I will talk to the Doctor," one of the Daleks demanded. The Doctor looked none too happy with the Dalek's demand.
"Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!" he said cheerily. It was his defense. Freya could see how devastated the Doctor was.
"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene," the Dalek droned. The Doctor appeared unamused at the Dalek's words.
"Oh really? Why's that then?" the Doctor asked bitingly.
"We have your associate," the Dalek stated. The Dalek behind her pushed her forward. Freya refused to fall this time. She kept her face as neutral as she could. The Doctor's eyes bore into hers.
"You will obey or she will be exterminated," the Dalek practically crooned at the Doctor.
"No," the Doctor said firmly. The Daleks appeared surprised at his sudden comment. They didn't know what to do about it.
"Explain yourself," the Dalek commanded. The Doctor's hard expression shifted slightly to one of a higher intensity. A higher certainty.
"I said no," the Doctor retorted tauntingly.
"What is the meaning of this negative?" the Dalek questioned, its metallic tone almost getting panicky.
"It means no," the Doctor reiterated.
"But she will be destroyed," the Daleks stated.
"NO!" the Doctor shouted at them, the fury in his eyes rolling even through the hologram.
"Because this is what I'm going to do," the Doctor continued, eyes glued on the Daleks.
"I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Freya O'Leary from the middle of the Dalek fleet and then I'm going to save the Earth. And then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe every stinking Dalek out of the sky!" the Doctor roared.
The Daleks appeared to be quite taken aback by his tone, by his words.
"But you have no weapons, no defenses, no plan," the Daleks stated. The Doctor grinned on the hologram, fury still present in his eyes.
"Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death? Freya?" the Doctor said, glancing directly at her.
"Yeah?" Freya asked as loudly as she could.
"I'm coming to get you," the Doctor said as he raised his sonic screwdriver at the screen. The image of the Doctor faded instantly. All of the Daleks immediately started freaking out, shouting over one another and flashing their lights like crazy. And they continuously shouted exterminate.
After a few minutes, one of the Daleks's eyestalk swiveled to rest on her.
"You know the Doctor. You understand him. You will predict his actions," the Dalek ordered. Freya drew a deep breath, steadying herself.
"You want me to predict?" she asked. Every eye was on her.
"I predict that you will all die today," Freya told them, enunciating each of her words as she stared at them.
"TARDIS detected in flight," a Dalek shouted.
"Launch missiles. Exterminate!" another Dalek ordered. Freya's blood drained from her face at the Dalek's orders. The TARDIS didn't have defenses. It would kill him.
Around her, the TARDIS started materializing. Freya's eyes widened. The Dalek that had been next to her was inside as well.
"Freya, get down!" the Doctor shouted at her. Freya wasted no time dropping to the ground as the Dalek screamed its shrill battle cry. A blast shook her slightly and she glanced up to see the Dalek was dead.
Her eyes shot back to the Doctor and Jack. Jack had a gun in his hands and the Doctor just rushed at her, sweeping her into his arms. Freya's arms wrapped around him as well. She winced slightly as his grip tightened around her.
The Doctor pulled back only far enough for him to lean down and capture her lips with his. The kiss was different from the kisses he'd given her before. This one was chalked full of desperation, of fear, of regret. Of pain.
When he finally pulled back, he stared at her intently.
"Are you okay?" he asked seriously, resting his forehead against hers.
"I'm fine," Freya responded quietly.
"Hey, don't I get a hug and a kiss?" Jack asked. The Doctor glanced over at Jack, as did Freya.
"Maybe later," the Doctor told him flippantly. Jack winked at Freya.
"I was talking to her," Jack teased. Freya slowly untangled herself from the Doctor and moved to Jack, allowing his arms to wrap around her as well.
"I thought you said they were extinct. The Daleks. You said they were all dead. How are they alive?" Freya asked from Jack's arms.
"One minute they're the greatest threat in the Universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space," Jack explained to her.
"They went off to fight a bigger war. The Time War," the Doctor explained grimly to Jack.
"I thought that was just a legend," Jack said with a frown, his forehead wrinkling up at the thought. The Doctor shook his head, a look of anguish filling his stormy eyes.
"I was there. The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing," the Doctor said angrily, kicking at the ruins of the Dalek Jack had shot. Freya pulled away from Jack, moving towards the Doctor.
"What are we going to do?" Freya asked quietly. It'd taken all they had to stop the one Dalek, and she was the one who'd brought it to life. What would they do now? There were hundreds, thousands of them.
"The Daleks have got the answers. Let's go and meet the neighbors," the Doctor said pleasantly, throwing open the TARDIS doors and marching straight out. Jack and Freya ran after him, Freya latching onto the Doctor's arm the moment they exited the TARDIS.
"EXTERMINATE!" the Daleks started shouting the moment they stepped out. Freya's eyes screwed shut at the sound, only to open again when the Daleks stopped shouting.
"Is that it? Useless! Nul points. Our forcefield can hold anything," the Doctor boasted.
"Almost anything," Jack muttered anxiously. The Doctor gave him a slightly irritated look.
"Yes, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks," the Doctor told Jack, who looked quite sheepish and muttered a quick apology. The Doctor turned his eyes to the Daleks, noting that they all looked almost apprehensive.
"Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left, and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So tell me, how did you survive the Time War?" the Doctor asked angrily.
"They survived through me."
The voice was booming, the suddenness of it making Freya jump in fear. Lights came on, revealing what Freya assumed was a sort of massive, more spread out Dalek form. In the center was the Dalek creature itself, looking almost smug for a one-eyed creature with no real face.
"Freya, Captain, this is the Emperor of the Daleks," the Doctor said calmly.
"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive," the Emperor boomed.
"I get it," the Doctor said suddenly, only for the Daleks around them to start shrieking at him to not interrupt. It unnerved Freya. They all seemed…a bit mad.
The Doctor seemed completely undeterred by this. He took a half a step forward, glaring at them.
"I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor, and if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's going to shut up, it's you! Okey doke. So where were we?" the Doctor asked, his tone morphing from fury to mock cheer. The shift of his emotions was so quick it nearly gave Freya whiplash. But the calmness that he adopted terrified her. Oncoming Storm indeed.
"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed. They all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured," the Emperor boomed. Freya felt sick at his words.
"So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead," the Doctor stated grimly.
"Human dead? I thought the Daleks couldn't be like humans," Freya said, puzzled.
"Those words are blasphemy. Daleks are not like humans!" the Emperor countered immediately. The other Daleks echoed him, ordering her to not blaspheme.
But wasn't blasphemy a human concept?
"Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek," the Emperor preened.
"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" the Doctor asked, mirroring Freya's previous thoughts.
"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!" the Emperor roared.
"Worship him!" the Daleks began crying.
"They're insane," the Doctor breathed, "Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever. We're going," the Doctor decided, pulling Jack and Freya along after him into the TARDIS.
They ignored the cries of the Daleks as the Doctor slammed the door shut, resting his head against the closed door in grief.
After a moment, he popped up and rushed for the console, setting them off.
When they landed, the three of them bound out. They were back where they had been before. A place, from what Freya could figure, was called Floor 500.
"Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open. Now! Do it!" the Doctor ordered. A man stared at him, perplexed.
"What does this do?" the man questioned the Doctor.
"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board," the Doctor told him simply.
"Are there still other people on board, or has everyone been taken off?" the Doctor asked.
"There weren't enough shuttles. We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero," a woman told them. The Doctor shook his head, his jaw stiff.
"Oh my God. The Fleet is moving. They're on their way," the man exclaimed in horror.
"Doctor, what are we going to do?" Freya asked in horror. The Doctor stared blankly at the sky, looking completely lost.
And then he was running. Running and pulling cords out of the machines.
"Oh, they're thick. The Daleks are thick. Because guess what? Guess what they left me with? A transmitter. A massive transmitter. This station, am I correct? Of course I am. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?" the Doctor asked around excitedly.
"You've got to be kidding," Jack said in disbelief.
"Give the man a medal," the Doctor said sarcastically as he ripped more cords out of the computer structures.
"A Delta Wave?" Jack asked.
"A Delta Wave!" the Doctor confirmed.
"But what's a Delta Wave?" Freya asked in confusion.
"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy. It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbequed," Jack explained to her.
"And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!" the Doctor cheered. But he had a look in his eyes. Freya frowned, staring at him.
"What's the problem?" Freya asked him worriedly.
"Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about. Oh, three days? How long til the Fleet arrive?" the Doctor asked. The man glanced down at the screen, a frown marring his face.
"Twenty-two minutes," the man informed them
Ten minutes later found Jack briefing the workers on what to do and the Doctor having Freya assist him in stripping some wires. Freya felt like she wasn't doing much to help, but the Doctor had insisted on her being with him.
He ushered the workers towards the lift before making his way back to Freya and the Doctor.
"It's been fun, but I guess this is goodbye," Jack said with a sigh. Freya's eyes widened.
"What are you talking about? I thought this Delta Wave would save us," Freya said. Jack gave her a sad smile and shook his head. He moved closer, pulling Freya into a hug before staring straight into her eyes.
"Freya, you are amazing. And worth fighting for," Jack said before kissing her fully on the lips. When he pulled back, Freya stopped him. Stared at him.
He wasn't planning on coming back alive.
Freya moved her own hands to his cheeks, staring at him intently.
"Jack, you're all wrong. And you'll be wrong," Freya promised him before she leaned up and kissed his lips as he had done to her. Jack pulled back and smiled at her once more before moving to the Doctor.
"Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward," Jack told the Doctor before kissing him as intently as he had kissed Freya.
"See you in hell," Jack said with a weak smile and a half salute as he dashed towards the lift, joining the workers. As soon as the elevator closed, Freya turned to the Doctor. The Doctor, who was staring after Jack sadly.
"He's not wrong yet. He'll be alive," Freya told him, not quite understanding her words but knowing they were right.
She ignored the Doctor's sad smile.
Freya settled down next to him, continuing to strip wires as he set up his device he was working on.
"Is there some way we can warn them? Go back a week ago, tell them what'll happen? Or go back to when the Daleks started breeding and destroy them while they are weak?" Freya asked.
"No. As soon as the TARDIS lands in that second, I become part of the events, stuck in the timeline," the Doctor informed her. Freya sighed, looking down.
"There's another thing the TARDIS could do," the Doctor told her carefully. Freya's head shot up, waiting for his answer.
His tone, his eyes, they reminded her of how he'd acted when he'd had a way out that would kill her, with the Slitheen. Only now, there was no Harriet Jones to insist on him doing what was better for humanity rather than just her.
"It could take us away. We could leave. Let history take its course. We got Marbella in 1989," the Doctor told her, his expression begging.
"We can't leave them. I can't. And you can't either," Freya pointed out. The Doctor seemed to wilt at her words.
"It never occurred to you, did it? It never occurred to you that we could leave, not have to worry about our lives," the Doctor mentioned. He glanced at Freya, as if he was only just seeing her. His eyes lit up, but Freya got the feeling of unease that it had nothing to do with seeing her.
"You're a genius! We can do it! We can save them! If we use the TARDIS to cross my old timeline, we can generate enough energy to make this work!" the Doctor said happily. He threw himself at her, pulling her to him in a passionate kiss.
But Freya could feel the shift. It wasn't a kiss of joy.
No.
It was a kiss of goodbye.
His hands threaded desperately through her hair, pulling her tightly against him for the slightest of seconds before he pulled back.
And pulled her into the TARDIS.
"Hold down this lever. It's a stabilizer. We need the TARDIS stable if we're going to do this. I've got to go power up the Game Station," the Doctor told her, rushing from the TARDIS.
And the door slammed shut.
Freya pulled her hands from the lever and ran for the door, but she could already hear the TARDIS dematerializing. It was too late.
He was sending her away. To safety.
The words from the book flashed through her head. To get back to him.
That was what the book meant. This was what it was for.
A hologram of the Doctor appeared, but Freya ran past it. She didn't need him telling her goodbye. She was coming back for him.
She made it to the library before she heard the door open, but she ignored it. She immediately pulled a few books out of the way, tugging the book she'd hidden out and flipping it to the first page.
To Get Back to Him.
Taking a deep breath, she flipped the page.
When he sends you away, you can return. You have to return. You are his and Jack's only hope. Remember the heart of the TARDIS that Margaret looked into? You need to look into it. You need to look into it and pour out your heart, your feelings. The TARDIS already knows how much you want to get back to them. To save them. She's been helping. Remember the gold particles? You've been absorbing them for weeks. Preparing you for this.
When you take them in, you'll immediately go back to the future. Remember to send the words back in time to Margaret, as a warning. And then destroy the Daleks. Wipe them out of existence. And bring Jack back to life. But as soon as you do it, give it up. Force the vortex from your heart, from your body. Force it back into the TARDIS. Do not let the Doctor try taking it out of you. It will kill him. Force it out as soon as you have Jack back to life and destroyed the Daleks.
And then the two of you need to get back in the TARDIS immediately. Because she's gonna take off as soon as the vortex is returned.
Be careful. The past can be rewritten and can change. This is very dangerous. If you wait too long, you'll die. If you wait too long ,he'll die too.
It's all up to you.
Freya closed the book and slammed it back into its spot as Rose and Marie entered the library.
"Freya! Where's the Doctor?" Rose asked, glancing around.
"Not here. But I'm going back for him. I'm going to save him," Freya told them, marching to the console room.
"What do you mean, you're going to save him? What happened? Is it dangerous?" Marie demanded.
"It's highly dangerous. But I have to. He risked everything to send me back here. And I'm going to risk everything to get back to him and save him," Freya stated, gripping the console tightly. She pulled, moving to the next panel when the first didn't lift.
"You didn't even say goodbye. Last time, when you left," Rose stated.
"I sent you a text. We were…it was rough," Freya admitted.
"What happened?" Marie demanded.
"Margaret tried ripping the TARDIS apart. The heart of the TARDIS was exposed and gave Margaret a second chance. As an egg. We went to drop her off on Raxacoricofallapatorius," Freya explained.
"Why is the Doctor in danger? What's happening?" Rose asked quickly.
"The Doctor's worst enemy. They're called the Daleks. They were supposed to all be dead. He sent me here because he had no way to fight them and live," Freya explained, tugging once more on a panel.
"If he has no way to fight them and live, why are you trying to go back?" Marie asked anxiously.
"Because I have a way. I have a way to destroy them. And if I do it all right, both the Doctor and I will live," Freya explained patiently.
"If you do it right? Freya, he sent you back here. He's the one that knows everything. How can you be so sure you're right?" Marie demanded, her fear leaking into her words. Freya stopped pulling on the console and turned to the two of them.
"Because I have a book. A book left here by a future version of Jack. A book that tells me what to do in certain situations, as long as I don't read ahead. The first entry tells me how to get back to him. And I plan on doing just that," Freya told the two of them.
"But you said Jack was in danger too," Rose realized. Freya nodded.
"I have to save them. Both of them. Because I can't just save the Doctor. If I save just the Doctor, I'd never get the book. Same goes for just Jack. I'm going back. And I'm going to save both of them," Freya said as she turned and tugged on one of the panels. It moved.
"You two need to get out of here. Before it takes off," Freya warned, keeping her eyes on the panel. It was still in place, but she could pull it up and she'd see. The gold particles were already leaking out and snaking their way up her arms.
"But…" Marie drifted off as Rose grabbed her arm and pulled her out. Rose gave her a hopeful smile before shutting the TARDIS door.
And Freya lifted the panel.
The sound of the TARDIS is what alerted the Doctor to the impending disaster. His eyes widened as he spun around, watching in horror as the TARDIS materialized. There was no way Freya would have been able to get it back.
But sure enough, the doors flung open and out marched Freya, eyes filled with gold particles.
The heart of the TARDIS. The Time Vortex.
The Doctor's hearts stuttered at the sight. No. It would kill her. She wouldn't be able to survive that. No one could. He doubted even he could survive that.
"Freya…what have you done?" the Doctor asked her in horror. Freya's head turned to him and a smile found its way to her lips.
"I did what I had to save you," Freya told him. The Doctor took a step towards her, ignoring the Daleks all around them.
"You looked into the Time Vortex. No one's meant to see that," the Doctor told her.
"This is the Abomination!" the Emperor Dalek shouted from the hologram. The Daleks in the room started screaming exterminate and shot at her, but she merely held up her hand and the beams faded.
Freya lifted her hand and flipped it casually at the sign on the Game Station wall. He glanced up, only to be shocked to see the words Golden Time there.
That was what Margaret's project had been called.
The words disappeared, fading. Freya then closed her eyes and sucked in a deep, sudden breath. The Doctor's eyes widened.
She'd brought Jack back to life.
Permanently.
She turned him into a walking fixed point. She opened her eyes once more, staring hard ahead.
"You've got to let it go. Let the power go. You're going to burn," the Doctor begged her. Freya shook her head.
"Not yet. I will, once I destroy them," she said, and he could detect a bit of pain hiding in her words.
"You cannot hurt me! I am immortal!" the Emperor Dalek roared. Freya shook her head, lifting her hand once more.
"You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence. Not bound anymore," she finished as she flicked her wrist. The Daleks surrounding them evaporated into a cloud of gold dust.
The moment they were all gone, Freya stumbled forward slightly. The Doctor lunged for her, steadying her.
"Let it go. Come on," the Doctor begged her.
"We have to get into the TARDIS first," Freya commanded, stumbling backwards into the TARDIS. The Doctor steadied her and helped her inside, next to the console.
"Now let it go," the Doctor urged. Freya's movement stopped for a moment and the Doctor frowned.
But like that, it was over. Freya gasped and the vortex flung itself from her, into the TARDIS. She fell backwards at the sudden velocity. The Doctor moved to her side, only to be stopped when the TARDIS took off on its own.
Violently.
Freya cracked her eyes open just in time to slam into one of the coral struts in the TARDIS. Her mind was whirling with thoughts, emotions, history, everything. But it was all fading. Fading, and fading fast. And the faster it faded, the less her head hurt.
She turned to see the Doctor flipping switches frantically. But it didn't seem to steady the TARDIS. Freya felt a brief apology in her mind and her bracelet became much heavier with charms.
And then it stopped moving.
Freya glanced down at her bracelet, shocked to see each little link had one to two charms on it.
"What happened?" Freya asked. The Doctor looked downright terrified. He pulled a grate up and jumped down, aiming his sonic screwdriver about.
"No. No, no, no!" he shouted before climbing up. He ran a hand through his short hair before shooting her an extremely pained expression.
"The TARDIS. She's dead. We're stuck wherever she just landed. Permanently."
Well? What do you think? Different twist there, right? I hope y'all like it! I was gonna wait til tomorrow to post it but I couldn't wait! I was just too excited to see what you guys will think of this!
I had to add more Jack. Jack fits so well with Freya and the Doctor, especially Nine. I wish I coulda made him stay longer. I considered having him stay longer but decided it wouldn't make sense.
Leave me some reviews telling me what you think of it! Notice the hints I've been leaving you? (Welll...I say hints but it's like giant flashing neon signs of foreshadowing) ;)
I am currently writing on the Christmas special (which is chapter 14). Just figured I'd let you know how far ahead I was! The more reviews, the faster I write. The faster I write, the faster I update! So review! :)
Andi