The Sound of Drums Part one
Ok guys here's the chapter I hope you like it and I'm sorry about the long update
Tower blocks. The place was littered with them, barely enough breathing space between them. Garbage bins were littering the sides while abandoned paper and litter was floating around the ground. But in this undisturbed alleyway the sound of the time vortex was heard. Lights of blue, purple and pinks exploded into being as 3 people emerged from the Vortex each on of them clinging onto the wrist of the handsome Captain Jack. They all collapsed away from each other as their pain became known to them. Martha Jones collapsed onto the wall next to her, clutched at her head. The Doctor feel in the opposite direction, his hands resting on his knees as he clutched his eyes shut and shook his head. While the Ex Time Agent Captain Jack Harkness doubled back in pain slightly, his face scrunched up so it was unreadable.
"Oh, my head!" Martha cried, her chest heaving as she placed one of her hands to her forehead, the other to her stomach. All the while the Doctor still had his head lowered slightly, moving it to relax his body
"Time travel without a capsule. That's a killer" The Doctor said over to her getting up from his position and speaking confidently over to her. Jack was cracking his neck, a grimace still on his face before he trailed after the Doctor, Martha following at his heels. As the trio walked down the familiar streets of London, each one of them was taking in their surroundings. Martha was looking around at the place she lived. Jack was curious to see what time it was while The Doctor was frantically looking out for anything blonde, hoping and praying to find Rose. Wanting her back in his life, needing to have her in his arms so she could provide him with the comfort he needed.
"Still, at least we made it. Earth, 21st century by the looks of it. Ha ha, talk about lucky" Jack said to the Doctor as he walked behind him. Martha's face was holding nothing but confusion looking away slightly as Jack looked towards the Doctor's back. The Doctor had a slight frown on his face while he held his hands in his pocket, his trench coat bellowing behind him.
"That wasn't lucky, that was me" The Doctor simply stated before continuing to walk forward.
That was how the Doctor and his friends found themselves sitting in the square of the area of a pedestrian only road. The Doctor was sitting with his hands clasped together between his legs while Martha had her arms crossed across her chest while jack was talking to them. The Doctor couldn't help but feel on edge. People were staring at him and his friends while they walked pasted. Some looking towards Jack with a funny glint in their eyes while they looked towards the Doctor in the same way.
"The moral is, if you're gonna get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator." Jack commented as he tapped the device that had only been returned to him in the last 2 weeks.
"But this Master bloke, he's got the TARDIS. He could be anywhere in time and space." Martha complained, her eyebrows raised. But the Doctor looked at her, one of his eyebrows raised while the other was down as his eyes looked around him with concern, his mind never stopping to look for Rose.
"No, he's here. Trust me." The Doctor said sadly to look around and seeing Saxon campaign posters everywhere, or people wearing vote Saxon t shirts.
"Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn't the professor." Martha asked. Her eyebrows raised while she motioned her hand towards the Doctor who was looking with a frown on his face, one of his eyebrows slightly risen as he looked over at a homeless man who was tapping something on his cup.
"If the Master's a Time Lord, he must have regenerated." Jack stated as he looked over at Martha who was completely confused at the statement
"What does that mean?" Martha asked, the Doctor continuing to stare at the man
"Means he's changed his face, voice, body, everything. New man." Jack stated as he squinted in the light slightly. The Doctor was still looking at the homeless man as he continued to tap the repeating rhythm on the enamel mug.
"Then how are we gonna find him?" Martha asked her attention purely on the Doctor, her heartbeat quickening as she took in his gorgeous face which held in a frown.
"I'll know him, the moment I see him." The Doctor said, his face remaining the same, while he moved his eyes to look in a different direction watching the people walking around the place "Time Lords always do." The Doctor stated, the last part directed towards Martha.
"But hold on." Martha muttered as she began to notice the posters "If he could be anyone… We missed the election. But it can't be…" She cried desperately as she placed her arm on the back of a concrete pillar while The Doctor slowly rose from his seat. His arms being held out from his sides, his mouth held open in disbelief. Jack had also got to his feet looking towards the Doctor before both of them walked towards a giant screen showing the news. Martha finally took the hint and joined the Doctor at his side. She looked up at the Doctor, his face in a frown and she could see his stress and worry getting to him. She looked down and placed her hand in his. The Doctor looked downwards at her hand and then to her and smiled a small slight smile in comfort before squeezing it. But to Martha's surprise he did not let go of her hand. Maybe he was suffering more than she realised. She wondered if having the Master here was painful for the Doctor, bringing back memories. But then she remembered what Jack had said. Rose was here, right time and she was waiting. Was the Doctor constantly looking out for Rose? Was he trying to find her at the same time? But Martha knew the Doctor needed Rose. She knew Rose meant a lot to him but she was still confused at what kind of relationship they had. She knew they were close, got that much when he told her about Rose on New Earth, but she still wondered. She wanted to help the Doctor through this. To comfort him, to help his mind focus, and to be able to help and do whatever he asked of her... but somehow, she always new that Rose would be able to do these things better than she could.
"Mr Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters." The Newscaster read before the screen flashed to a picture of the same man who had taken Rose. Brown mousy hair, a huge smile on his face as he raised one of his hands to wave at his fellow citizens. A group in the street were watching the screen clapping slightly as they watched the man who had been appointed as prime minister. The Doctor's mouth was hanging open as he watched on. Dread was running around his stomach as he tried to rake his mind as to what the Master could be planning. The Screen was showing the man as 'Saxon' walking downstairs with his entourage with his wife Lucy at his side, smiles present on both of their faces.
"I said I knew that voice. When he spoke inside the TARDIS. I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon." Martha stated as he walked over to the screen with his companions.
"That's him. He's Prime Minister." The Doctor cried exasperated, his face scrunched up in horror.
"Mr Saxon, this way, sir. Come on, kiss for the lady, sir." A photographer asked on the screen.
"The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain." The Doctor cried, having ignored the photographer. Saxon slowly leant down and kissed the beautiful blonde at his side. "The Master and his wife." The Doctor said dismayed , his eyebrows down, his cheeks pushed up as his mouth hang open as he looked on the screen which was in front of him. The Doctor could see Saxon walking forward to speak to the press, light flashing and the sound of camera shutters were ringing around the screen.
"This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now…is a doctor." He stated before beaming into the camera.
"Home." Martha cried when she led the Doctor and Jack into her front room.
"What have you got? Computer, laptop, anything?" The Doctor asked as he flung off his trench coat. Jack was dialling a number into his mobile while Martha went to her TV set to grab her laptop "Jack, who are you phoning? You can't tell anyone we're here!"
"Just some friends of mine, but there's no reply…" Jack said as he placed the phone to his ear. The Doctor had pulled on his glasses as Martha handed him her laptop
" Here you go. Any good?"
"I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages" Jack commented as he took the laptop from Martha and sat at the desk.
"That's so weird though. It's the day after the election. That's only four days after I met you." Martha muttered as she turned away from the pair. The Doctor had placed his hand in his hair as his mind raked with different ideas. He wished Rose was at his side. She would have been able to help him narrow his options down, to tell him to think simply rather than complicating things like he normally did. He turned back around to Martha, his hand still in his hair, his eyebrows raised but in a frown as he spoke to her quietly.
"We went flying all around the universe while he was here the whole time." But his thoughts then turned somewhat darker. He had gone gallivanting around the universe while Rose was waiting. She had been waiting for him and he picked up Martha. He wasn't complaining, Martha was great. But the fact that Rose had been so close to him made his hearts break that he hadn't been able to sense her. Still couldn't and somehow that worried him.
"You gonna tell us who he is?" Martha asked as she placed her hands to her hips.
"He's a Time Lord." The Doctor stated as he walked over to Jack who was looking at him. The Doctor placed his hand on the back of his friends chair while his other was on the desk, all the while he was looking intently on the screen.
"What about the rest of it? I mean, who'd call himself the Master?" Martha asked again, this time she used quotation marks with her hands when she was talking to him
"That's all you need to know." The Doctor muttered while Martha looked at him rather hard done by "Come on, show me Harold Saxon." The Doctor cried impatient towards Jack, who simply looked up at the time lord, rolled his eyes and focused back onto the computer.
The Doctor was perched on the arm of Martha's sofa as he listened to the campaign commercials which the Master had been playing to his supporters. People like Sharon Ozborne or Mcfly we talking to them. But the Doctor was staring into space as he listened intently. But suddenly Jack stopped the commercials for the website to suddenly flicker and change to several pictures of the master.
"Former Minister of Defence. First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve." Jack stated before he turned to the Doctor. "Nice work, by the way." Jack congratulated. The Doctor was rubbing his earlobe, finally being pulled from his thoughts o look over at Jack, one of his eyebrows constantly risen.
"Oh, thanks." The Doctor replied gently.
"He goes back years. He's famous. Everyone knows his story. Look. Cambridge University, Rugby blue, won the Athletics thing, wrote a novel, went into business, marriage, everything. He's got a whole life." Martha implored as she clicked the button on her mouse to change the picture. She was leaning one of her hands on the desk so it held up her body. Jack was leaning back on the chair his arms folded over his chest, while the Doctor's hand was rested against his earlobe as he looked over at his friends, a frown on his face. The Doctor placed his hand over his mouth and stretched it before looking over at his friends and sighing.
Jack was in the kitchen. He had poured 3 mugs of hot tea at the Doctor's request all the while saying something to them as he grabbed hold of them and walked into the room.
"But he's got a TARDIS. Maybe the Master went back in time and has been living here for decades." Jack stated. The Doctor was sitting at the desk. His feet was on the surface while his elbow was rested on the table top as well, his hand resting on his face as he stared and looked at the website intently.
"No." The Doctor muttered replying to Jack's statement.
"Why not? Worked for me." Jack stated as he walked into the room carrying in the tea. The Doctor readjusted himself on his seat, taking a mug of tea from Jack, trying to remove the headache that was evident in his head. Martha had walked into the room, showered and redressed listening to what the two mean were talking about
"When he was stealing the TARDIS, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them permanently." The Doctor informed "He can only travel between the year 100 trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed. Which is right here, right now." The Doctor finished, his eyebrows and shoulder moving. The last part he took a large gulp of tea and relaxed into the feeling of it travelling around his body. The tannins and chemicals relaxing his advance body, and easing his headache slightly.
"Yeah, but a little leeway?" Jack stated, his eyebrows raised while he cradled his mug.
"Well…18 months, tops. The most he could have been here is 18 months. So how has he managed all this? The Master was always sort of…hypnotic but this is on a massive scale." The Doctor babbled, his face scrunched up in a frown.
"I was gonna vote for him." Martha spoke up, slightly embarrassed. She was now sitting on the arm of the chair as she placed the mug on the table in front of her.
"Really?" The Doctor asked as he snapped his eyes towards his companion
"Well, it was before I even met you. And I liked him." Martha replied, her shoulders shrugging slightly
"Me too." Jack said over to the Doctor.
"Why do you say that? What was his policy? What did he stand for?" The Doctor asked. His head was raised slightly as he spoke up to Jack.
"I dunno. He always sounded…good." Martha said dreamily, staring into space, that's when the Doctor noticed her hands tapping. The same rhyme as the man in the street.
"Like you could trust him. Just nice. He spoke about…I can't really remember, but it was good. Just the sound of his voice."
"What's that?" The Doctor asked, his eyes firm, glasses still in placed as he pointed his outstretched fingers towards Martha
"What?" She asked startled, shaking her head as if she was in a trance.
"That! That tapping, that rhythm! What are you doing?" The Doctor asked, question after question, his hand shaking as he motioned towards her hands.
"I dunno. It's nothing. It's j— I dunno!" Martha defended, her shoulders shrugging as she looked up at Jack for helped. But suddenly a tune started to blare from the website. "SAXON BROADCAST ALL CHANNELS" was flashing at the Doctor as he looked at the screen.
"Our lord and master is speaking to his kingdom." The Doctor said as he strode across the room and turned on Martha's TV sitting right in front of it, while Martha and Jack tried to get a better look.
"Britain, Britain, Britain. What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies." The Master commented, his hands held together, resting on his chin slightly
"You've seen it happen—Big Ben destroyed, a spaceship over London. All those ghosts and metal men. The Christmas star that came to kill. Time and time again the government told you nothing. Well not me. Not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose here today is to tell you this—citizens of Great Britain…I have been contacted. A message, for humanity, from beyond the stars." He stated before nodding to someone off camera and a video started playing to show a sphere with flashing lights and a female voice began to deliver the message.
"People of the Earth, we come in peace. We bring great gifts. WE bring technology and wisdom and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship." The Sphere stated kindly and sweetly.
"Ooh, sweet. And this species has identified itself. They're called the Toclafane." The Master stated a huge smile on his face
"What?" The Doctor bellowed, a frown on his face, mouth hanging open.
"And tomorrow morning they will appear. Not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe. Every man, woman and child. Every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer. And every…oh, I don't know…medical student?" The Master listed but at the sound of Martha's profession the Doctor whipped around to look at her, while she was looking at him as confused as he was. But the Doctor snapped into action, turned the TV around to find a bomb was ready to go off.
"OUT!" The Doctor bellowed, grabbed hold of the laptop and his coat, glasses still on his face as he bolted after his friends who were running out of Martha's flat. As they emerged from her flat and onto the road, they all immediately ducked and shielded themselves away from the fiery onslaught as the front window of Martha's flat exploded.
To be continued