*Crawling out of a load of paper* Hello! *Looks back at the paper* sorry University assignments... Anyway last chapter of You Get Burned! I do not Own 'Doctor Who?' and unfortunately I never will.
Enjoy!
XXX
Recap.
"Did you bring food?" A woman asks.
"Couldn't get any. And I'm starving." he answers, I shake my head and take my pack off digging to the bottom before throwing it to the woman to catch.
"Take it. I won't need any more." she looks so greatful tears gathering in her eyes.
"It's cheaper than building barracks. Pack them in, 100 in each house, ferry them off to the shipyards every morning." Tom tells us, i shake my head.
"Are you Martha Jones? And The Phoenix?" I crouch and smile at the boy,
"Yeah, that's us." Martha spoke,
"Can you do it? Can you kill him? They said you can kill the Master, can you? Tell us you can do it. Please tell us you can do it." I place a hand on his head,
"Who is the Master?" Another woman asks, soon they're all talking at once.
"Come on, just leave them alone. They're exhausted." Tom snaps,
"No, it's all right. They want us to talk and we will." I smile as I sat more fully on he floor as Martha took a seat on the stairs and we began answering their questions, one by one.
XXX
I let Martha tell the story his time, telling it so much made me miss him more.
"We've travelled across the world. From the ruins of New York, to the fusion mills of China, right across the radiation pits of Europe. And everywhere we went, we saw people just like you, living as slaves. But if Martha Jones and The Phoenix became a legend, then that's wrong because our names aren't important. There's someone else. The man who sent us out there. The man who told us to walk the Earth. His name is the Doctor. He has saved your lives so many times, and you never even knew he was there. He never stops. He never stays. He never asks to be thanked. But we've seen him. We know him. We love him. And we know what he can do." I smile at the story, I'd told it differently for children, recounting some of the adventures I had been on with him or when he was with Rose.
Suddenly the woman who had greeted us at the door pushed through the people in panic.
"It's him! It's him! Oh my God, it's him! It's the Master! He's here!" My hands clench as I kiss the boys head and set him beside me as Martha and I stand.
"But he never comes to Earth! He never walks upon the ground!" A boy whispers in fear,
"Hide them!" the woman orders.
"Use this!" Tom says throwing a blanket of sorts, I shrug away from them and crouch in the cupboard under the stairs. I heard the cocking of a gun and knew Tom was by the mail slot.
"He walks among us, out lord and master." I cringe at the boys phrase, that wasn't right he was Master of nothing, he was delusional.
"Martha. Martha Jo-hones. Nix, Dearest cousin! I can see you!" His voice was high pitched in the last four words, "Out you come, little girls. Come and meet your master." We made no move but I knew what was coming next and slid out from the hiding place. "Anybody? Nobody? No? Nothing? Positions!" Guns cocked faintly and I knew they were pointing at each and every door. "I'll give the order unless you surrender. Ask yourself what would the Doctor do?"
I clench my jaw as I march towards the door Martha quickly joining me. She placed a hand on Tom's gun and he lowered it slowly. She gave a small smile to everyone as we opened the door and slowly step outside.
"Oh, yes!" He exclaims as he claps "Oh, very well done! Good girls! He trained you well." we walk towards him but he holds his hand up. "Bag. Give me the bag." She moves to hand it to him, "No, stay there. Just throw it." She does as asked and the psycho fires the laser at it destroying everything inside, I put on the look of anger and grief. "And now, good companion, your work is done." He hold the laser to point at her head and I step in front of her.
"Wait." He does as asked, "Just killing us in the street? Come on 'Harry'. Surly you have something better than that planned for us. Or have you lost the creative spark you bragged about when designing Archangel?" I watched temptation spark in his eyes as he lowered the screwdriver.
"You're right. When you die, the Doctor should be witness, hm?" He inhales deeply, "Almost dawn, girls. And planet Earth marches to war." I shake my head in disgust as men grabbed us by the arms and loaded us into the car.
XXX
I'd been given a dress, long, red and backless... He couldn't see it though, I was thankful for that, it confused me as to why but I wasn't complaining.
"Citizens of Earth, rejoice and observe." I heard from over head, it was an announcement of sorts.
The door to the conference room opens and four guards escort in Martha and I in, we leave the guards and walk forward on our own, on one side I see Jack Harkness surrounded by armed guards. The other side I see my Doctor in his cage. Looking up front i rest my eyes on my eyesore of a 'Cousin'.
"Your teleport device. In case your thought I'd forgotten." Martha reaches into her pants and pulls the manipulator at his feet. "And now...kneel." Martha does as asked, and after a moment I do as well. "Down below, the fleet is ready to launch. Two hundred thousand ships set to burn across the universe." My eyes glance to the clock as he talks into a comm. "Are we ready?"
"The fleet awaits your signal. Rejoice!" I roll my eyes at the mans response over the comm.
"Three minutes to align the black hole converters. Counting down!" And just like that, our plan was set in motion. "I never could resist a ticking clock." We had been counting on that actually. "My children, are you ready?" I cringe as a reply was made.
"We will fly and blaze and slice! We will fly and blaze and slice!"
"At zero, to mark this day, the child, Martha Jones, and The Phoenix, will die. My first blood. Ha, any last words? No?" I open my mouth,
"You aren't going to win." He looks to the Doctor
"Such a disappointment, this one." He points to Martha as she stays silent. "Days of old, Doctor, you had companions who could absorb the time vortex. One that's the Daughter of a Star! This one's useless!" he looked at us again, "Bow your heads." We do ask asked as we look at each other. "And so it falls to me, the Master of all, to establish from this day, a new order of Time Lords! From this day forward-" Finally we couldn't hold it, I mean this big speech all for nothing? And so Martha and I laugh. "What? What's so funny?"
"A gun?" Martha asked,
"What about it?" The Master questioned impatiently,
"A gun in four parts?" I repeated,
"Yes, and I destroyed it." I smirked at his reply,
"A gun in four parts scattered across the world? I mean, come on. Did you really believe that? Sure Phoenix said it would work but really?" Martha said sceptically.
"What do you mean?" He asked, his tone now confused,
"As if I would ask her to kill." The doctor spat,
"And as for me, I would do it anyway." I muse absently,
"Oh, well, it doesn't matter. I've got them exactly where I want them." I roll my eyes and sit back cross legged.
"But we knew what Professor Docherty would do. The Resistance knew about her son." I drolled to him,
"And we got Phoenix, who knew what was going to happen from the very beginning." Martha continued.
"I told her about Phoenix's story, the gun, so she'd get us here. At the right time." Anxiety made it's way into his eyes.
"Oh, but you're still gonna die!" I tilt my head.
"Don't you wanna know what we were doing? Travelling the world?" Martha pressed,
"Aside from destroying your precious spheres that is." I tack on, he cast me a glare.
"Tell me." He muttered,
"We told a story, that's all. No weapons,"
"In her case." I interrupt.
"Just words. We did just what the Doctor said. We went across the continents all on our own. And everywhere we went, we found the people, and we told them our story." Martha told him,
"Of course we did that separately because when we got together you destroyed Japan trying to kill us. Which may I point out failed spectacularly." I taunt, bitter and smug towards the end.
"We told them about the Doctor." Martha continued on,
"The adventures we had." I follow,
"And we told them to pass it on, to spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor."
"Faith and hope? Is that all?" The Master questioned in disappointment.
"No, cause we gave them an instruction. Just as the Doctor and Phoenix said." She stands up and I do as well stretching my arms above my head.
"We told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time-" The Master interrupts,
"Nothing will happen! Is that your weapon?! Prayer?!"
"Right across the world. One word, just one thought, at one moment..." Martha ranted,
"But with 15 satellites!" I breathe out for him to hear, and suddenly he looked stricken,
"What?" He whispers,
"The Archangel Network." Jack grinned,
"Who helped you design it Harry? Who had time alone with the plans?" I question mockingly.
"A telepathic field binding the whole human race together." Martha told him,
"With all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time." I carried on,
"And that word..." Martha whispered, we look at each other and smile,
"Is Doctor." The countdown reached zero and our plan came to its end game. A blue sphere encircled the cage that the doctor was standing in.
"Stop it. No, no, no, no, you don't!" The Master ran down the stairs and I walked up to the second level leaning on the banister. and everyone on the Valiant began to chant.
"Doctor." Jack.
"Doctor." Francine,
"Do-" But the master was cut off, the large plasma screens showed thousands of millions of people all chanting the word 'Doctor'. "Stop this right now! Stop it!" He commands but it's hopeless,
"Doctor." I smirk at Lucy as she does this,
"Doctor." Jack again,
"Doctor." Martha and I breathe. The energy around the cage had dissolved the metal bars and the Doctor regressed thought the forms that the Master had imposed upon him, the small alien, the old man...
"I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices." The old man spoke, conviction in his voice,
"I order you to stop!" The master screams, and finally with a few more seconds the man I know and Love was standing before me.
"The one thing you can't do. Stop them thinking." Martha and Jack laugh in delight. The Doctor used the telepathic field to levitate, I roll my eyes at the melodramatics, "Tell me the human race is degenerate now when they can do this." Martha runs to her family,
"No!" the master shouts as his plans fall apart, he desperately fires a laser at the doctor and my nose twitched and it disappeared.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I flinch at the words, he always said that.
"Then I'll kill them!" He aims the laser at Martha and her family but the doctor sent it flying across the room before he could do anything, it was then promptly vaporized. "You can't do this! You can't do It's not fair!" I felt pity for him at his panicked words but watched on as events unfolded.
"And you know what happens now." The Doctor said,
"No!" He backs away quickly but the doctor follows him, his feet not yet touching the ground. "No!" His head bows as he begs, "No! No!" A frown found its way onto my face, what sort of man wouldn't want to be forgiven, unless he was ridden with guilt?
"You wouldn't listen." The doctor's voice echoed slightly as he spoke,
"No!" The Master denied again,
"Because you know what I'm going to say." He continued as though he hadn't been interrupted.
"No!" The master cries as he curls into the foetal position. The Doctor lands in front of him and kneels wrapping his arms around him.
"I forgive you." He whispered, and in those words I saw how flawed my own mentality was, I wouldn't forgive him had I been in the Doctor's position. The Master's head snaps up,
"My children!"
"Protect the paradox! Protect the paradox! Protect the paradox!" I clutched at my temple as a throb ripped through my head.
"Captain! The paradox machine!" The doctor orders as things begin to pick up.
"You men! With me! You stay here!" Jack orders as the men follow him towards where the Old girl was. The master pulls out the manipulator that Martha had thrown at his feet and activates it.
"No!" The doctor shouts putting his hand on it as they both disappear. I make my way to the control panel Martha running for me.
"We've all 6 billion spheres heading straight for us!" She panics slightly,
"You think I don't know that?" I snap pain ripping through my head, I sigh, "Sorry Martha, long day." I smile slightly at her as I look through the window,
"Is there anything you can do?" She asks me,
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." I look over the panel and then towards the spheres trying to ignore the pain that is steadily getting worse, I see four buttons and smirk. Taking hold of a small joystick I press it forward and we get a little closer and with a deep breath I the button with the letters H.S.M. Heat Seeking Missiles. While their exterior shell is cold the inside is warm and the missiles will lock onto them quickly, the only problem, there seven missiles and 6 billion spheres. I watched them light up. "That won't have brought us much time." I tell her pushing away from the console
I hear a scream and my knees hit the floor. God, she's in so much pain,
"Why does he have to use bullets?" I grumble as Martha pulls me up,
"What do you mean?" She asked,
"TARDIS, Bullets, mental link." I inform shortly things were about to hit the fan. The ship rocks and I let out a breathe as the paradox is destroyed. Then everything went black.
XXX
3rd person.
The Doctor and The Master appear back on the valiant, the spheres disappear from the sky as Martha is thrown backwards, caught by the doctor. who smiles at her.
"Everyone down! Time is reversing!" The Doctor orders, he falls to the floor lying face to face with Martha, a small part of him wondering where Phoenix was currently taking cover.
A few feet away Francine spots a gun on the floor by some red silk, that is Phoenix's dress, she looks back at the Master who is clinging to the railing to stay steady. Time steadily rolls back through a hellish year. Screaming people, death, gore, pain and life, it all disappears as time is erased. Everything returns to what it once was.
The doctor stands and checks the controls of the ship.
"The paradox is broken. We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past 8:00 in the morning." He flicks a switch turning on the coms, a male voice floats through the comm.
"This is UNIT Central. What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated!"
"You see? Just after the President was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror. It never was." The doctor explained to everyone.
"What about the spheres?" Martha questioned in caution, it was like him to forget important things.
"Trapped at the end of the universe." he replies cheerily,
"But I remember it." Francine argues,
"We're at the eye of the storm. The only ones who'll ever know." He is sidetracked as he see Clive. "Oh, hello! You must be Mr Jones! We haven't actually met." He shakes the mans hand. At the Doctors distraction the Master makes a run for it only to be caught by Jack.
"Whoa, big fella! You don't want to miss the party." He looks at a guard. "Cuffs." one he has them he slaps them on the masters wrists behind his back. "So, what do we do with this one?" He asks,
"We kill him." Clive growls,
"We execute him." Tish agrees readily.
"No, that's not the solution." The Doctor intervenes. Francine raises the gun she had seen earlier.
"Oh, I think so. Cause all those... things, they still happened because of him. I saw them." She said, slight hysteria in her voice.
"Go on! Do it!" The Master goads.
"Francine, you're better than him." The Doctor tells her quietly as he reaches for the gun in her hand, he gently takes it from her and drops it to the floor before hugging her. Martha then takes her mother and the doctor turns to the man.
"You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?" The Master spat.
"You're my responsibility from now on. The only Time Lord left in existence." He explains, Jack walks to him,
"Yeah, but you can't trust him." he argues,
"No. The only safe place for him is the TARDIS."
"You mean you're just gonna... keep me?" The Master asks in contempt,
"Hmm. If that's what I have to do." The Doctor looks at Jack, "It's time to change. Maybe I've been wandering for too long. Now I'll have someone to care for." He spoke, he felt like he was forgetting something important but couldn't think what. Before he could contemplate it there was a gun shot and the Master staggers backwards. The blonde, his wife Lucy holds the gun in her hand a dazed look on her face. Jack takes the gun from her as the Doctor runs to the Master who is bleeding out on the floor.
"Put it down." Jack tells Lucy.
"There you go. I've got you. I've got you." The Doctor tells the bleeding timelord.
"Always the women." The Master jokes.
"I didn't see her." The Doctor defends,
"Dying in your arms. Happy now?" His friend asks a grim smirk on his face.
"You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate." The Doctor tells him, it was so simple.
"No." he denied,
"One little bullet. Come on." The Doctor begs.
"I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse." The master said,
"Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please! Please! Just regenerate! Come on!" He begs desperately as he breaks.
"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you?" The Master questioned,
"You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only two left, there's no one else. Regenerate!" He pleads tears falling from his eyes.
"How about that? I win." he pauses before he asks, "Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?" Before he receives an answer the life left his body. The Doctor held his body close rocking him back and forth as he screams in despair for the loss of not only his old friends but the truth that he is finally alone in the universe. The others look on, Martha glances around and realises that someone was missing, someone who could have stopped it from happening. A crimson colour catches the corner of her eyes and she looks to the bottom of the stairs.
"Oh my god!" She gasps, drawing the others looks they follow her line of sight and see Phoenix laying there in a red dress, unconscious. The Doctor while still in despair looks up and see's them looking down the stairs. Martha runs down the stairs calling a name. "Phoenix!" The Doctor bolts to his feet the Master gently on the floor and runs down the stairs.
He saw Phoenix on the floor unconscious, the Doctor scrambled over to her.
"Phoenix." he called, leaning over her she lay on her front her head on her arm her hair splayed over the laminate floor the Doctor froze in place her dress was backless and there on her back was his name in golden ink, High Gallifreyan.
That's not possible, the only way that should be possible is if she was a- but she's not, she cant be she's a star, daughter of a star, she's not... His thoughts were scrambled.
She started to stir her face scrunched up and she looked adorable, he thought before he shook his head, he needed answers.
"Phoenix?" he ask gently the shock still in his system she sat up rubbing her head before looking at us,
Tilting her head her hair falling in front of her right eye she asked a small question, but one that sent The Doctor deeper into another pit of despair,
"Who... are you?"...
XXX
Phoenix's P.O.V
It had been a few hours since I had woken up to the man hovering over me. I'd seen everyone else that I knew but when I'd asked who the man was he'd looked broken, I couldn't understand why. I didn't know him... Did I? The man had moved away like he'd been burned and I looked to Martha questioning her on what had happened.
She'd given me a brief overview on what we had done and who the guy was, he was called 'The Doctor'. Just that, it was a rather strange name but I didn't question her. I saw the Master had been shot and was now dead but I couldn't help but feel sad, I could have stopped it. Going back over the time I knew Martha I realized that there was another person in my memories but I didn't know who it was. Martha explained that that was the Doctor. I couldn't understand why I would only forget him if I'd hit my head and lost my memory, why hadn't I forgotten anyone else?
I shook my head as I slipped on my coat and holstered my blaster. The Doctor was giving the Master a Funeral and I decided that I should probably watch. walking out of my room I shrugged and headed to the console room where I met Martha, apparently the Doctor had already started, he didn't want us to be there, it was a Time Lord thing.
We stood in the door of the TARDIS and watched the pyre holding the Master's body set ablaze, I lifted my hand slightly and the fire burned brighter and higher, more brilliantly, for a man who I assumed to be the Doctor's best friend, once upon a time.
XXX
It had been a night of Martha and I sitting and talking, she filled me in on what the Doctor was supposed to be to me and I could better understand his hurt then. He'd lost his best friend and what he believed to be the only other Time Lord in the universe, and then he'd found out who his 'Link' was only to have her not remember him? That was one hell of an emotional ride for one night.
We were now in Cardiff, Jack wanted to get back to TorchWood, so we were dropping him off. We stood by the rails by Pierhead building looking over the bay.
"Time was, every single one of these people knew your name. Now they've all forgotten you." Martha mused in sadness,
"Good." The Doctor told her,
"Back to work." Jack commented after a few moments of peace.
"I really don't mind, though. Come with us." The Doctor insisted, he'd offered once before about four hours ago.
"I had plenty of time to think that past year, the Year That Never Was. And I kept thinking about that team of mine. Like you said, Doctor, responsibility." I smile, the day Jack becomes responsible, I chuckle,
"Defending the Earth. Can't argue with that." he holds out his hand for Jack to shake and as he goes to, the doctor exposes the manipulator.
"Hey, I need that!" Jack complains,
"I can't have you walking around with a time-travelling teleport." He pulls out the sonic, "You could go anywhere twice. The second time to apologise." I laugh and behind the Doctors back point my own sonic at the manipulator undoing the work he had just done. I wink at Jack.
"And what about me? Can you fix that? Will I ever be able to die?" Jack asks,
"Nothing I can do. You're an impossible thing, Jack." I grinned at the Doctor's response as Jack laughs.
"Been called that before." he starts to leave but turns around to salute, "Sir. Ma'am's." I jump forward and hug him,
"You'll die Jack, we've seen it after all." I pull back and he smiles before turning to leave.
"But I keep wondering... what about aging? I keep getting older. The odd little grey hair, you know? What happens if I live for a million years?" He questions, I stand back and place a finger to my lips.
"I really don't know." The Doctor said shaking his head,
"Okay, vanity. Sorry. Yeah, can't help it. Used to be a poster boy when I was a kid back on the Boeshane Pennisula. Tiny little place. I was the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency. They were so proud of me. They Face of Boe they called me." I watched with amusement as the stunned looks took over their faces. "Hmm, I'll see you." He runs across the Plas towards the Watertower.
"Can't be." Martha denies.
"No, definitely not. No." They turn to me. I raise my hands and Martha laughs. "No." He joins the laughter.
XXX
I was sat inside the TARDIS as the Doctor watched the Jones family, I had my laptop on my lap screen opened, the old girl kept making it appear, so I took the hint. The Doctor walked in and towards me.
"There's a video here that keeps saying play... Wanna watch it with me?" I question. He takes a seat beside me and I smile before clicking play.
My face popped up on screen.
"Okay... So this is after 'The Year That Never Was.' I hope I saved The Master... But that could have messed with a fair few timelines. Anyway, the old girl's been insisting on me making this video ever since she showed me what was going to happen to me." I took a deep breath on screen. "Okay, me... God thats weird... but me. You've forgotten the man who may or may not be watching this with you. Which is utterly ridiculous, because believe it or not I'm in love with him... But you've probably forgotten that... Probably better really. Start from scratch." I bite my lip at those words, I had and that made things a whole lot worse. "I'm not sure how much of him you've forgotten and by extension yourself. You are his Link, his other half. Which should be not be possible but it's true. Linking is like being married, ours is only partial so he doesn't have the mark yet. He will get it eventually I promise you that." Me on screen took a breath.
"Okay next is for you Doctor, if you are watching this." A smile lit her face, sad though it was. "I'm sorry... I couldn't tell you who I was to you, but you have to know that you would have locked me away at some point if you knew. And if you try it after this? Well it wont be pretty we are very good at getting out of locked rooms. I've forgotten that I love you, so you are going to be your amazingly wonderful self, just yourself, and I will probably fall in love with you all over again. Don't be over protective because I guarantee that this will be annoying and I will probably punch you for it. No matter what incarnation you are. Now I've got to go Martha's coming in in a minute and she can't know about this either. So be... Amazing! Better yet, Be Fantastic!" the me on the screen blew a kiss and the video ended.
Closing the laptop I blink...
"I'm gonna go put this back in my room." I tell him before walking out of the console room and down the hall towards my room.
Walking in I lean against the door. So I knew this was going to happen, I was gonna forget that I loved him, and now we've got to start all over again? A mirthless laugh left my lips as I set the laptop on the desk.
I was probably very happy with him almost like I was when Alex found me in the park. I layed down on my bed and closed my eyes a feeling of familiar cold settling in my bones as it had for years. I saw Alex's golden curls flash across my lids and her blinding smile...
I was very suddenly thrown from my bed and to the floor. Groaning I pick myself up.
"I'm sick of getting thrown around." I murmur before stepping out of my room. I walk into the console room. "What have you done now?" I question before looking at the front of a ship sticking through the wall.
"What?!" He coughs "What?!" He looks at a life preserver that reads 'Titanic' and I groan. "What?!"
"Don't tell me we're what sunk the Titanic." I say running a hand through my hair.
XXX
And That's You Get Burned finished. Before I start on on Donna, (I'm not doing the christmas special.) I'm gonna head back to Alexandra Flame and start back up on Ruin. I do have a name for the sequal for this though. 'Rising From The Ashes.' Let me know what you thought and please bare with me for this, it's gonna take a while to do between work and Uni so thismay be a while in the making.
SHADOW IS OUT!
XXX