Title: Armageddon

Rating: T

Warnings: Major spoilers for "Utopia", "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords"; violence; mild language; allusions to rape (but I promise nothing explicit or graphic)

A/N: I know this is a couple of days late. Sorry guys. I have an actual reason though. I was in a car accident last week and I missed pretty much the entire week of classes because of it. I've been playing catch-up with my assignments and so I didn't really get a whole lot of free time to work on this. Sorry.

And as always, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and thanks for the new favorites adds and the new followers! You guys are amazing.

Armageddon:

Part III: The Year of Hell

Chapter Thirty-Six

Martha woke up to someone poking her in the face. She swatted the hand and rolled over, grimacing on the cold concrete ground. She made a mental note to avoid sleeping in train stations whenever possible.

The Bulawayo Station in Zimbabwe had been shut down and supposedly deserted after the Decimation, but people had begun to hide out there in small groups over the last several months. They'd formed their own small community by the time Martha had arrived a couple of days earlier.

"Up and at 'em, Martha," a familiar voice crooned at her and then she was poked in the face again. She scrunched up her nose and slowly cracked her eyes open. Gabriel was crouched down beside the mat she was on, grinning at her.

She didn't even blink as she stared at him. She sighed, rolled over onto her back, and stared up at the ceiling.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you about the proper way to interact with humans?"

He just laughed and offered her a hand to help her up. She felt her back cracking and sighed in relief, twisting around to work out the rest of the kinks in her spine.

"Rough night?"

"Well, I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that, not sleeping and all," Martha smiled at him. Usually seeing Gabriel meant good news was about to be delivered. That or another shipment of candy or chocolate that he zapped into existence.

"Good morning, Castiel," she nodded at the other angel when she spotted him. Castiel didn't smile, but he inclined his head. She hadn't seen him smile yet, but he was a lot nicer than Uriel so she was glad Gabriel had brought him along rather than their brother.

"What's the news then?" she asked, rolling her sleeping mat into a ball. "I haven't heard much from the others for a couple of days. Everything's alright?"

"Everything is moving according to plan, yes," Castiel said. "The other humans have started to install their weapons to fight the Toclafane and the last time I checked in with Zachariah they had no suspicion of our activities."

"You make it sound so boring," Gabriel said. "Things are finally getting interesting. The Toclafane are dying and the Master has noticed, but he hasn't found any of the weapons yet. That will keep him busy for a while so the Doctor can work on Archangel and his ship a little faster. As long as you keep getting the story out there, everything will be on time for D-Day."

Martha felt a tiny thrill of fear at those words. A little less than half a year left before the Master's weapons were ready. She had to have her job completed by then. She still had to finish covering Africa and then the Americas before she was finished. She hoped she'd be able to get it done in time.

"You seem concerned…?" Castiel watched her curiously, his head tilting a bit to the side. She laughed nervously and shook her head.

"Oh, no," she said, "Not worried at all. It's not like the fate of the planet rests in my hands or anything."

Castiel frowned, "Technically, it does. You must get the Doctor's story out there to make sure that as many people as possible follow the plan. If you fail –"

"I was being sarcastic," Martha cut him off, giving him an amused look. "I know how serious this is. Trust me; I know."

~/.\~

Dean Winchester was not in a good mood. Not that he'd been in much of a good mood since before the Decimation, but now he was through playing games. He drove with the pedal pressed all the way to the floor and Tony, Prentiss, Grace and Rigsby held on for dear life as they nearly turned over going around a curve.

"Dean, slow down!" Tony had to raise his voice to be heard over the loud roar of the engine. The car was going to fall apart completely if they weren't careful. It was an old rust-bucket as it was.

"Dean!" Grace tried to get his attention when he ignored Tony. "Calm down. Tell us what's going on. What happened?"

Dean hadn't said a word after screaming himself raw calling for Sam. He wouldn't explain what the sulfur meant or why it was important, he just ran to the car and might've driven off without them if they hadn't managed to jump in before he spun out of their hiding spot.

"We're going to get caught," Prentiss said, "We're not good to anyone dead, Dean! Slow the car down!"

Gradually, the car slowed and everyone relaxed just a bit.

"What happened?" Rigsby asked. "Where's Sam?"

"Demons," Dean said. His voice was tight and his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. "The only thing that leaves a sulfuric trail behind is demons. They must've taken Sam when we weren't looking."

"They can do that?" Prentiss gaped at him.

"Why would they take Sam?" Grace asked. "You said… I mean, you sold your soul to bring him back. Wouldn't killing him be like breaking the contract?"

Dean frowned, "Maybe. I don't know, alright? Demons aren't supposed to be able to break their deals but this might not… It's probably not the same demon I made the deal with." His eyes skirted from the rearview mirror and back to the road. He stared resolutely ahead.

"What aren't you telling us?" Tony asked, watching him closely.

Dean shook his head, "Nothing. It's not important. Family stuff…"

"Right now your family is our problem too, Dean," Rigsby said. "If there are demons running around trying screw with the world we need to deal with that."

Dean didn't answer. He kept staring at the road. All he could hear were his dad's last words, telling him that the demons were going to use Sam for something. Telling him to save him. …Or kill him. His gut twisted and he pressed the gas harder. Toclafane be damned, he was going to find his little brother and he was going to save him.

~/.\~

The Master was pacing back and forth in the conference room with Sally Donovan and Greg Lestrade in front of him. The room was at a more reasonable temperature and the cameras were on again. The Master was smiling. That was never a good thing.

Lucy Saxon's miscarriage hadn't been a surprise to most of the people onboard, but to it appeared to have sent her into shock. She had collapsed on the floor and stared straight ahead, not speaking or moving until the Master had gotten guards to drag her away. She had gone entirely limp and didn't resist as she was pulled from the room.

The next few minutes were spent with the Doctor's heavy, shocked breathing as he stared at the spot on the floor where Lucy had been standing. The blood was still bright red and starting to congeal nastily. The Master had been eerily silent, staring out the window until he'd ordered the guards to bring Lestrade and Sally up and ready the cameras.

He still hadn't spoken and the nervous tension in the room was palpable. He finally came to a stop behind Sally's chair, resting one hand on her shoulder. She went entirely still and tilted her chin up higher, glaring forward with a determined look on her face.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," The Master said. "So many mouths of feed already and most of them not very useful."

Sally could swear she heard her own heart beating in her chest. She glanced over at Lestrade and he had a hard expression on his face. They'd known this was coming. Had expected it for a long time, in fact.

"You've been lovely entertainment, I admit," the Master went on, "but I think it's time I found myself some new toys. You're all cracked and broken."

Sally's eyes flashed, "We're not broken," she snapped.

The Master grinned and patted her head. "I will miss that," he said lightly. "But I'm sure your other friends won't mind yelling pointlessly at me as well."

He moved around to stand in front of them and sent the Doctor a wide, bright smile.

"Time to go," he said, eyes dancing as he fiddled with the screwdriver in his hands. "Do I make it quick and painless or slow and torturous? Hmm, decisions, decisions."

"Get on with it," Lestrade said. "You know what you're gonna do, so just do it already. We aren't getting any younger."

"Slow and tortuous it is!" The Master said brightly. He lifted the screwdriver again and aimed it at Lestrade, laughing when the former DI began to scream.

~/.\~

Michelle's face was somber as she made her rounds down to the prisoners' cells that afternoon. Lassiter and Director Sheppard were both awake and relatively whole – bruises and nasty cuts notwithstanding.

"What's happening up there?" Lassiter asked. "They've been gone a long time."

Michelle pressed her lips together and shook her head once. Lassiter and Jenny immediately understood.

"So what happens now?" Jenny asked.

Michelle sighed, "I don't know. He's annoyed he hasn't found your friends yet. I don't know how much longer he'll keep you alive and he's still searching for the Doctor's friends. He came close in California, right before your attack."

Jenny frowned, "We aren't making it out of here alive."

"Maybe," Michelle said. "But don't give up. There's a chance I can help you, but it's risky."

"What isn't risky on this ship?" Lassiter snorted. "You have a plan?"

Michelle smiled faintly, "Less of a plan, more of an insane leap. He's focusing on the weapons that are killing the Toclafane right now and with Lucy losing the baby today… Now might be our best chance to try something. He's going to send several guards down to London tomorrow night. If I can make sure I stay onboard, I can probably get the key.

"The problem is that the Master will still be here and since Dr. Reid and the others escaped he's increased security. It won't be easy to sneak past him…"

Jenny was studying the younger woman with a thoughtful look. "Well," she said, "if we're going to die, we might as well go out trying. One way or another we'll get off this ship."

Lassiter nodded, "That sounds like a plan to me. I'm tired of this cell. We need to do something, even if we fail."

Michelle smiled, nodding. "Tomorrow night then; I'll be ready."

~/.\~

The light was dim as Sarah Jane led them down the narrow alley. Reid scrunched his nose at the smell of waste and trash, but Clive and Tish didn't seem to be as bothered by it as he did. K-9 rolled along behind them, prepared to take down any Toclafane that they might come across.

"Are we sure this is where we're supposed to meet them?" Clive asked nervously. He was holding one of the large weapons to his chest, looking around the alley.

"Absolutely," Sarah Jane nodded. This is where the message said to meet them. We might be early. K-9?"

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Can you detect any other life forms besides us?"

There was a pause before the little robotic dog answered, "Negative."

"Maybe they're late," Reid suggested.

"Or captured." Clive didn't appear to be a very positive mood and he stood with his back to one of the alley walls, watching the corner with steady eyes. He kept one finger on the trigger of his weapon.

"Let's hope not, Dad," Tish said quietly.

They fell silent and settled in to their waiting places. They'd received a message the day before from a small group of people who had escaped one of the work camps and needed help. Sarah Jane had set up a meeting place; Francine volunteered to stay behind with Luke.

They weren't waiting very long before K-9 lifted his head and announced, "Life forms detected, Mistress."

Sarah Jane smiled, "Are they human?"

"Affirmative,"

Everyone straightened up and readied their weapons just in case. Sarah Jane pressed a finger to her lips and moved slowly forward with Reid behind her and Tish and Clive right behind them. They could hear anything for several seconds, but they soon heard the sounds of footsteps. Heavy, uniform footsteps.

"Soldiers," Reid hissed, his eyes wide.

"Get back," Sarah Jane waved them all away from the mouth of the alley. The steps wavered after a few moments and then they heard muffled voices. They couldn't make out the words. Reid's heart was pounding against his chest and he held his breath as the voices died away. The footsteps started up again, quieter, but closer.

They huddled further away from the entrance to the alley and Clive put and arm around Tish protectively. Tish smiled faintly at her father.

Right at the edge of the alley, the steps stopped. Reid could feel his heart against his ribcage and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, holding tight to the weapon in his hands. They felt slick with sweat and he had to readjust his grip.

They heard the sound of safeties being clicked off. Sarah Jane's eyes widened at the noise.

"It's a trap," she said. "We need to get out of here."

It was chaos after that. There was no other way out of the alley except to go forward and going forward meant exposing themselves to the soldiers. But staying put meant trapping themselves like animals. With no other options, they rushed forward and out of the alley.

The surprised guards took a moment to realize what had happened. It gave them a few seconds' head-start before bullets started heading toward them. Clive dropped his Toclafane weapon and grabbed onto Tish's hand, refusing to let her go as they dashed down the empty streets.

Reid was falling behind as he searched for Sarah Jane. He didn't see her; she'd been the first one out of the alley. She must've gotten further than the others. He kept running, but his leg throbbed and ached painfully.

The sound of the gunshots was deafening. His ears ran with each blast and they kept getting closer and closer. His chest burned with the effort and his gut was in knots. The weapon in his hands felt heavy and he nearly stumbled trying to catch up to Clive. He thought he heard Tish yell for her father to wait, but he shook his head.

"Keep going! I'm fine!"

Tish's eyes were locked on him for what felt like an eternity and Reid dropped the weapon. Bullets whizzed by his head and he ducked, stumbling. Pain erupted in his arm as a bullet grazed him and latched onto it, feeling the blood running between his fingers.

He was slowing down. Every step sent a jolt of pain through his leg and chest and he wasn't sure how much farther he was going to be able to go. He saw Clive and Tish vanished around a corner and before he could take another step, rough hands latched onto his shirt and pulled him backwards, into a heavily padded chest.

Every breath was life fire down his throat and he struggled, trying to free himself from the powerful hold. He screamed, but his voice was hoarse and his legs were too weak to do much damage. He felt a tiny prick in his neck and then his body felt like it was floating.

Then everything was black.

~/.\~

A/N: I know this is a lot shorter than usual, but I wanted to give you something and any other scene I could've written fits better in the next chapter than this one, so this is it. Hopefully I'll be back to posting every Tuesday or every other Tuesday next update.

Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought!

Don't forget to review!