Hey guys. Um... Really sorry about not updating in forever. Suppose you're used to it by now. Not gonna say that I'll try to do better, 'cos I know I won't. But, um, yeah. Hope you appreciate the new chapter. See ya at the end.
"I'd sort of worked it out, with the paradox machine. See, when the Master was stealing the TARDIS, the only thing our friend, the Doctor, could do was fuse the coordinates. He locked them permanently. The Master can only travel between the year 100 trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed. Last year. The Master had the TARDIS, this time machine, but the only other place he could go was the end of the universe. So he found Utopia. The Utopia Project was the last hope. Trying to find a way to escape the end of everything." The Rose told them.
"There was no solution, no diamonds. Just the dark and the cold." The sphere told them. "But then the Master came with his wonderful time machine to bring us back home." It sang.
"But that's a paradox. If you're the future of the human race, and you've come back to murder your ancestors, you should cancel yourselves out. You shouldn't exist." Docherty protested.
"And that's the paradox machine." Martha told her.
"What about us?" Tom asks the sphere.
"Because it's fun!" It says, then laughs madly. Tom shoots it.
"You didn't have to do that!" The Rose yells at him.
"I think it's time we had the truth, Miss Jones and Miss Lupa. The legend says you've travelled the world to find a way of killing the Master. Tell us, is it true?" Docherty asks. The Rose swallows.
"Just before I escaped, the Doctor told me that him and the Master, they've been coming to Earth for years. And they've been watched." She takes a case out of her pack. "There's UNIT and Torchwood, all studying Time Lords in secret. And they made this. The ultimate defence." She pulls out a gun. The Rose winces and turns away. She really hates that gun.
"All you need to do is get close. I can shoot the Master dead with this." Tom shows them his own gun.
"Actually, I'd prefer you put that down, thanks." The Rose tells him.
"Point is, it's not so easy to kill a Time Lord. They can regenerate; literally bring themselves back to life." Martha says. She's going off what the Doctor and the Rose have told her.
"Ah, the Master's immortal. Wonderful."
"Except for this." She picks up the gun. "Four chemicals, slotted into the gun, inject him…kills a Time Lord permanently." She explains. The Rose crinkles her brow. 'That's really not how it works...'
"Four chemicals? You've only got three." Tom points out. Martha nods and sighs.
"Still need the last one 'cause the components of this gun were kept safe, scattered across the world. And I found them. San Diego, Beijing, Budapest and London." Martha explains to him.
"Then where is it?" He asks, ready to help.
"There's an old UNIT base, north London. Mala found the access codes. Tom, you've got to get us there." Martha tells him. The Rose remembers stumbling across them when they made a stop at an abandoned house. Martha, Tom, and the Rose start to head off.
"We can't go across London in the dark. It's full of wild dogs; we'd get eaten alive. We can wait till the morning, then go with the medical convoy." Tom tells them.
"You can spend the night here, if you like." Doherty suggests. Tom shakes his head.
"No, we can get halfway, stay at the slave quarters in Bexley. Professor, thank you." He shakes her hand.
"Good luck." The professor tells them.
"Thanks." Martha says, then kisses Docherty on the cheek.
"Martha, could you do it? Could you actually kill him?" Docherty asks her.
"She won't have to." The Rose tells her. "He's my responsibility. I'll handle him."
"You might be many things Mala, but you don't look like a killer to me." Docherty tells her before they leave.
Martha, Mala, and Tom creep down a dark street of row houses. They sneak past the guards and up to one of the houses. Tom knocks on the door.
"Let me in. It's Milligan." He says and the door opens and they rush in. The house is crowded with people, barely room to move.
"Did you bring food?" A woman asks. Tom shakes his head.
"Couldn't get any. And I'm starving." He says, regretfully.
"All we've got is water." The woman informs him.
"I'm sorry." Martha says. The Rose looks at all the people in sadness.
"It's cheaper than building barracks. Pack them in, 100 in each house, ferry them off to the shipyards every morning." Tom tells them. A boy walks up and tugs on the Rose's trousers.
"Are you Mala Lupa?" He asks. Rose looks down at him and nods.
"Yeah, that's me." She tells him sweetly.
"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." He begs her. The Rose looks at Martha in despair.
"Who is the Master?" A woman asks. Everyone starts talking at once.
"Come on, just leave them alone. They're exhausted." Tom tells the refugees. The Rose puts a hand on his arm and steps forward a bit.
"No, it's all right. They want me to talk and I will." She tells him.
The Rose is sitting on the staircase surrounded by everyone in the house.
"We 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. And we talked to them. We told them exactly the same thing we're telling you now. There's someone out there, someone that none of you know about, but someone so important. He goes by so many names. John Smith, James McCrimmen, Theta Sigma, the Oncoming Storm, Shake. But the one name that everyone, across the Universe knows him by, is the Doctor. He's called that because wherever he goes, he helps people. He's helped the people of this world, and so many others, so many times, and not once has he ever asked for any kind of thanks. He's never even made himself known. But I've met him, and so has Martha. We've travelled with him, and we've gotten to know him. And I fell in love with him, and he fell in love with me, and we got torn apart from each other. But I came back, because he's important. And he's wonderful. He truly is fantastic." The Rose tells them, a small smile on her face. Then she becomes deadly serious. "We've given you your instructions. I just need you to spread the message."
The woman who greeted them at the door pushes her way forward.
"It's him! It's him! Oh my God, it's him! It's the Master! He's here!" She calls out to them. Martha and the Rose stand.
"But he never comes to Earth! He never walks upon the ground!" A little boy says.
"Hide them!" A woman shouted. Tom throws two blankets at them.
"Use these!" He says as he tosses the blankets at them. The Rose and Martha crouch down and they cover them with the blankets.
Tom cocks his gun and squats by the mail slot to look outside.
"He walks among us, out lord and master." A little boy says.
"Martha. Martha Jo-hones. I can see you! Out you come, little girl. Come and meet your master. Anybody? Nobody? No? Nothing? Positions! I'll give the order unless you surrender. Ask yourself—what would the Doctor do?" The Master calls out as he paces the street.
Martha and the Rose remove their TARDIS keys and shake off their covers. Everyone looks in their direction. Outside, the Master is still waiting. Martha stands by Tom at the door and puts her hand on the gun. He slowly stands. With a little smile for everyone inside, Martha and the Rose open the door and they step out. The Rose hangs back for a minute, letting him see Martha first.
"Oh, yes! Oh, very well done! Good girl! He trained you well." The Master taunts as Martha walks into the street. "Bag. Give me the bag. No, stay there. Just throw it." he requests. Martha takes off her pack and throws it onto the ground. The Master fires his laser at it, destroying everything inside. "And now, good companion, your work his done." he raises his laser. The Rose gasps and runs into the street. Tom follows and pulls out his gun. The Rose sees him and tries to stop him as he points the gun at the Master.
"NO!" She yells, reaching out to stop him. She's too late. The Master shoots Tom and he falls to the ground. Martha glares at the Master as the Rose moves to stand next to her.
"Well, who do we have here? Is that a Time Lord presence I sense?" He asks, taunting them. The Rose pulls herself up to her full height and squares her jaw.
"Hello Master." She greets him. His face stretches into an evil smirk.
"The Rose. what a pleasant surprise. I was disappointed when you weren't present for my rise to power. I was so looking forward to torturing you in front of the Doctor." His attention shifts back to Martha. He points the laser at her for a minute, but then drops it. "But you…when you die, the Doctor should be witness, hm?" He sniffs the air. "Almost dawn, Martha. And planet Earth marches to war."
Hey... Yeah. Sorry about the whole waiting thing. It's my problem though, so it's not like I'm trying to punish ou or whatever. Which would be weird, 'cause you haven't done anything wrong. Anyways, please don't hold that against me. I would still like reviews. Eight this time. So, do you want the Rose to keep her fabulous new look, or go back to classic Rose at the end of this?