Chapter 12
"Sarah!" Martha screamed as she watched the Dalek's bolt hit Sarah's body. Her skeleton appeared in bright white for a split second, then Sarah reappeared again and collapsed. As Martha sprang toward her, she heard the Dalek loose another bolt. She closed her eyes, waiting for it to hit her.
As she did, she heard the most familiar and welcome sound in her life. The whoosh of a TARDIS. She heard the bolt explode harmlessly into the TARDIS's side and opened her eyes again to see it standing in the middle of the room, between her and the Dalek. Then the door opened and a familiar face appeared. Martha stood gaping for a moment, forgetting about Sarah in her surprise.
"Doctor?" She finally managed to blurt out.
"Very good to see you again, Martha Jones! But we haven't got time to chat now. Let's get her in before the Dalek comes around, eh?" He said, all in one breath.
Martha shook her surprise off as he knelt down beside them. After all, why should it surprise her? Didn't he always escape?
The Doctor and Martha managed to get Sarah through the door just as the Dalek came around the TARDIS. The Doctor turned and faced it, half inside the TARDIS already. The Dalek stopped and backed away slightly, as if in surprise.
"Hello, Dalek." The Doctor said, with his little half smile. "Remember me?"
The Dalek's head swerved from side to side. "Doctor!" It screamed.
"Correctumundo! Oh, no, wait, sorry. Wasn't supposed to be saying that again..." The Doctor said. Explosions were tearing the walls apart now. "But isn't it funny? Your worst enemy, the one you've been trying to kill your whole life, is going to be the last thing you see. Pitiful. Well, enjoy the boom!" And with that he shut the door of the TARDIS and turned around. But before he had taken a step, he stopped. John was sitting on the floor, silently, holding Sarah. Tears streaked his face. The Doctor's face softened for a moment.
'I did this...' He couldn't get the thought out of his head. A phrase from his past came back in stunning clarity. "The most dangerous creature in the universe, soaked in the blood of a thousand generations." It hit him then. That was him. He had always known that of course, but he had never fully grasped what it meant. Until now. A tear came to his eye. 'Why?' He thought. 'Why is it that I can never save everyone? Why am I the last Time Lord?' Then he heard an small whisper in the back of his mind. 'There are others...'
Then the TARDIS shook as an explosion outside rattled against it. The Doctor shook himself out of his trance and ran to the console. His hands moved in the familiar lever and button combinations. 'It's good to be back old girl.' He thought. The TARDIS vibrated in response.
After a few seconds that consisted of a lot of bumping and hopping, the Doctor landed the TARDIS and stared into the clear metal beneath the controls. Martha looked up at him and stood from where she had been kneeling with John. She stepped up the stairs to the Doctor. "How is she?" He whispered. Martha shook her head. "The TARDIS is barely keeping her alive." She leaned against the rail. "Unless the TARDIS can do miracles, she doesn't have long."
The Doctor clenched his fists. His body shook. "Why does someone always have to die, Martha?" He choked.
Martha shook her head again and walked down the stairs and opened the door to the TARDIS. The world outside the door was dark and eerie. Martha shivered. "Where are we?" She asked as the Doctor came to stand beside her. He shook his head. "No idea. I just put the TARDIS on an emergency escape flight. She took us wherever she thinks we need to go."
Martha stepped out, looking around. The Doctor came to the door of the TARDIS and stood there, hesitant to leave John and Sarah. As Martha looked around, she could see the outlines of buildings and trees, but there wasn't enough light to see clearly. And then the moon shoot out from behind the clouds and Martha gasped.
"We're back at UNIT!" She said, excitedly. Then she cocked her head. "Strange. It looks deserted. Even at night there should be some sort of sentry to challenge us..."
As she stepped forward, the door of the TARDIS suddenly slammed shut, throwing the Doctor to the ground. He sprang up immediately.
"No no no no no!" He yelled as the TARDIS dematerialized. He groaned. Today was not going as planned.
"What happened?" Martha asked.
"Something pushed her away. Some sort of time distortion." His screwdriver, which he had taken from beside Sarah when he had picked her up, was in his hand now, and he was flashing it in circles, reading the air. "Question is, what was it?"
He muttered to himself as he kept flashing. Martha turned away and looked across the clearing. Suddenly, she froze.
"Uhh...Doctor?"
"Not now Martha. Not a good time."
"No, really, I think it might be important."
The Doctor turned around with a huff. Then he saw what she was looking at and his mouth dropped open.
"Would that do it?" Martha asked quietly.
The Doctor nodded silently. "Now I get it..." he muttered.
Across the clearing, three glowing circles had appeared, big enough for a man to easily step through. As the watched, figures began pouring out of them. As they began to fully cross the line, they became recognizable. Cybermen, Daleks, Judoon, Silurians, Sontarans, Zygons...what seemed like every one of the Doctor's enemies was coming through the voids.
Martha began to run toward the closest building. " Quick! We need to get inside!"
The Doctor followed as sentry lasers hidden in the walls of the buildings began to fire at the aliens coming through the voids.
"And so ends the story..." The Doctor murmured as he ran after Martha.