Shareen vs the Universe

by The Time Lord Oracle

Shareen Costello was the best friend of Rose Tyler until the latter mysteriously vanished for an entire year. After Rose returns, Shareen finds that she's been travelling with a strange man calling himself "The Doctor" and then a spaceship crashes in London, sweeping Shareen into a world of aliens and impossible things. First in the Designated Driver series

23. Utopia

Shareen vs the Universe

Utopia

Thanks to AuthorisedHats and FanFicWriter1125 for following this story

The TARDIS materialised in 2008 Cardiff at the Roald Dahl Plass. "Cardiff!" the Doctor announced cheerfully

"Cardiff?" Martha questioned. That seemed a bit anti-climatic; a box that could travel anywhere in time and space, and they'd arrived at a place she could easily get to herself.

"Let me guess, you're usin' that rift thing again?" Shareen asked the Doctor

"Correctamundo!" the Doctor confirmed. "The thing about Cardiff is that it's built on a rift in time and space." he explained to Martha. "Just like California and the San Andreas Fault. The rift bleeds energy. Every now an' then I need to open the engines, soak up the energy an' use it as fuel."

"So it's a pit stop." Martha realised

"Exactly." the Doctor replied. "The TARDIS needs a bit of a top-up after the Weeping Angels had a go at her."

"And who's fault was that?" Shareen asked pointedly. When the TARDIS had brought her to 1969 to rescue the Doctor and Martha, she'd wasted no time in unleashing her wrath on the Doctor for getting himself stuck in 1969, forcing Martha to support him and for leaving Sally and Larry behind.

"I said I was sorry!" the Doctor whined, the memory of the tremendous slap Shareen had given him lingering in his memory. He then turned his attention to the monitor. "Hmm, looks like the rift's been active lately." he observed. "Should only take about 20 seconds."

"Hmm, an improvement on last time." Shareen remarked

Martha suddenly realised something. "Wait a minute. They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?" she asked the Doctor

"Bit of trouble with a Slitheen." the Doctor admitted

"Huh, that's an understatement." Shareen snorted. "I was there, Martha. That Slitheen tried to rip the planet open. It's where he got that surfboard thingy."

"I was different man back then." the Doctor commented lightly

"Yeah, when you were a big-eared Northerner who dressed like Richard Ashcroft." Shareen remarked. "Hmm, just thought, whatever happened to that Yank who was with ya? Rose never said."

The Doctor didn't answer and instead turned his attention back to the monitor. "Finito. All powered up." he announced The monitor then changed to show the view outside and a look of panic appeared on the Doctor's face. He promptly started the TARDIS up.

"Blimey, what's the rush?" Shareen asked

Before the Doctor could answer, the console sparked and the TARDIS lurched violently, sending all three of them crashing to the floor. "Woah!" Martha exclaimed, "What's that?"

The Doctor pulled himself up and looked at the monitor. "We're accelerating into the future." he said in surprise, "The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. Fifty trillion. What?! The year 100 trillion, that's impossible!"

"Why? What happens then?" Martha asked, wandering why the Doctor sounded so surprised

"We're going to the end of the universe." the Doctor replied seriously.

The TARDIS then settled with a violent jolt that knocked both women over again. "You ok, Shareen?" Martha asked

"Yeah, nothing broken." Shareen replied, "What about you?"

"I'm alright." Martha replied

"Well, we've landed." the Doctor announced from where he was standing by the console.

"So what's out there?" Martha asked

"I dunno." the Doctor shrugged

"Ooh, say that again, that's rare." Shareen remarked. "The know-it-all doesn't know!"

"Not even the Time Lords came this far." the Doctor replied seriously, "We should leave. We should really, really... go." He looked at his two companions and grinned wildly before rushing to the doors, the two women following him.

The trio stepped out to find themselves in a bleak, barren wasteland. Martha suddenly saw the body of a dark-haired man lying on the ground nearby. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed and rushed over to him, her medical instincts kicking in. "Can't get a pulse. Hold on, you've got that medical kit thing." And she ran back to the TARDIS to fetch it.

Shareen got a good look at the body. "My God, it's him. It's that Yank!" she realised. "What's he doing here?!"

The Doctor casually strolled over and looked at the body. "Hello again." he said nonchalantly, "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Peacock, how can he be here?" Shareen asked

Before the Doctor could answer, Martha came out again. "Here we go. Get out the way!" she said as she pushed past the Doctor and knelt down beside the body. "It's a bit odd, though, not very hundred trillion, that coat's more like World War Two."

"I think he came with us." the Doctor told her

"How d'ya mean, from Earth?" Martha questioned

"Must've been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS all the way through the Vortex." the Doctor replied, "Well, that's very him."

"What? Do ya know him?" Martha asked

"Friend of mine." the Doctor replied, "Used to travel with me. Back in the old days."

"Yeah, he was there that time in Cardiff with the Slitheen." Shareen added, somewhat concerned by the Doctor's lack of concern.

Martha then returned to the problem at hand. "But he's... I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat." she informed the Doctor sadly. ""There's nothing, he'd dead." No sooner had she said that, when the man suddenly awoke with a gasp, scaring the willies out of the two women.

"What the bloody hell?!" Shareen spluttered

"Oh well, so much for me." Martha grumbled, then began to calm the man. "It's alright. Just breathe deep. I've got you now."

Shareen turned to the Doctor. "Did you know he was gonna do that?" she asked accusingly

"Course I knew." the Doctor said nonchalantly.

"And you didn't say!" Shareen grumbled

The man meanwhile regained his bearings and looked at Martha. "Captain Jack Harkness." he introduced. "And who are you?"

"Martha Jones." Martha replied, trying to make sense of this man who had very clearly been dead miraculously coming back to life.

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones." Jack purred, flashing her a winning smile.

"Oh, don't start." the Doctor rolled his eyes. Clearly Jack hadn't changed much since the last time the two men had been together.

"I was just saying hello." Jack defended indignantly

"I don't mind." Martha laughed as she helped Jack to stand.

Once Jack was on his feet, he turned to Shareen. "Ah, Shareen Costello. Nice to see ya again. Been a long time."

"Um, hello again." Shareen replied, still baffled as to how Jack had come back from the dead and why the Doctor hadn't said that he could do that.

Jack then turned to the Doctor and both men stared at each other coldly. "Doctor." Jack said curtly

"Captain." the Doctor responded in the same tone

"Good to see you."

"And you. Same as ever... although... have you had work done?"

"You can talk!" Jack retorted. This tall thin man in a suit was a far cry from the big-eared Northerner in a leather jacket that he was used to.

"Oh yes, the face." the Doctor nodded, "Regeneration. How'd ya know this was me?"

"The police box kinda gives it away." Jack replied, "I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me." he accused

"He did what?!" Shareen stared

"Did I? Busy life, moving on." the Doctor tried to wave Jack off, uncomfortable that he was now facing the consequences of his actions.

"Huh, makin' a habit of abandonin' the people who travel with ya, aren't you, Peacock?" Shareen scowled, recalling the meeting with Sarah Jane Smith, who had also been abandoned by the Doctor.

"Just gotta ask." Jack changed the subject, "The Battle of Canary Wharf, I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler.

"Oh, no, sorry, she's alive!" the Doctor brightened up

"You're kidding!" Jack stared

"She's living in some parallel world now." Shareen explained. "With Mickey, Jackie and another me. So she's not dead, though you would think she was by the way Peacock here used to mope about."

"I said I was sorry!" the Doctor whinged

"And, how come you're travelling with him now?" Jack asked Shareen

"Well, after Canary Wharf, I had no one left in London so I started hangin' out with Peacock here." Shareen explained. "Then we met Martha and she joined us. Just as well she did, cos I would've killed Peacock ages ago if she weren't there."

"Ha! I can imagine!" Jack snorted.

~8~

The quartet were soon exploring the planet they'd landed on. "So there I was, stranded in the year 200,100, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me." Jack said to the women, "But I had this." He tapped a device strapped around his wrist. "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a Vortex Manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."

"Oh, excuse me, that is not time travel." the Doctor scoffed, "It's like I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."

"Oh, ho-ho, boys and their toys!" Martha laughed

"Alright, so I bounced." Jack grumbled, "I thought 21st century, best place to find the Doctor. Except I got it a little wrong, arrived in 1869, this thing burned out, so it was useless."

"Told you." the Doctor said triumphantly

"I had to live through the entire 20th century, waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me." Jack continued

"But that makes you more than 100 years old." Martha frowned

"And lookin' good, doncha think?" Jack smirked.

"Still a flirt then." Shareen snorted.

"So, I went to the time rift, based myself there, cos' I knew you'd come back to refuel, until, finally, I get a signal on this, detecting you." Jack said to the Doctor and patted his backpack. "And here we are."

"But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?" Martha asked the Time Lord

"I was busy." the Doctor squirmed

"Is that what happens, though? Seriously?" Martha prodded, "D'ya just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

"Not if you're blonde." Jack commented lightly. "You'd better watch he doesn't do it you." he said to Shareen.

"Yeah, well, if he does, I'll just chase him down and kill him." Shareen retorted. "And trust me, you don't wanna make me angry!"

"I'll bet." Jack smirked

"Oh, I've seen Shareen when she's angry." Martha laughed. "She's a force to be reckoned with!"

"You three! We're at the end of the universe. We're at the edge of knowledge itself and you're busy... blogging!" the Doctor grumbled

"Blog this." Shareen retorted, flipping him off with a V-sign.

"Nice." the Doctor grumbled. "Come on." And he led the way to the edge of a canyon that looked like it once held a city of some sort.

"Is that a city?" Martha asked

"A city or a hive." the Doctor answered, "Or a nest. Or a conglomeration. Looks like it was grown. But look there. That's like pathways, roads... Must've been some sort of life. Long ago."

"And what killed it?" Shareen asked

"Time." the Doctor answered sagely, "Just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilisations have gone. This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing."

"It must have an atmospheric shell." Jack observed, "We should be frozen to death."

"Well, Martha, Shareen and I, maybe." the Doctor replied, "Not so sure about you, Jack."

"What about the people?" Martha asked

"Yeah, did anyone survive?" Shareen added

"I suppose we have to hope." the Doctor replied, "Life will find a way."

"Well, he's not doin' too bad." Jack said, pointing to a man running in the distance, a large group of people chasing him with torches in their hands.

"Is it me or does that look like a hunt?" the Doctor frowned

"What?! Hunting Humans?!" Shareen stared

"Come on!" the Doctor urged and sped off towards the chase, the Humans following him.

"Oh, I've missed this!" Jack laughed as they ran. When they reached the man, Jack grabbed him. "I've got you." he reassured him

"We've gotta run, they're coming!" the man panted, pointing to the people chasing him.

Jack pushed the man towards the Doctor and pulled out his revolver, aiming it at the hunters. "Jack, don't you dare!" the Doctor told him pointedly, so Jack fired into the air, causing the hunters to stop.

"What the hell are they?" Martha gasped, looking at the hunters. They looked Human, but their faces were covered with tattoos and their teeth were pointed, like fangs.

"There's more of them. We've got to keep going." the man urged

"We've got a ship nearby. It's safe, it's not far, just over there." the Doctor said, only to see more hunters coming from the way they'd just come from. "Or maybe not."

"We're close to the silo." the man said, "If we get to the silo, then we're safe."

"Silo?" the Doctor questioned the others

"Silo." Jack nodded

"Silo for me." Martha added

"And me." Shareen chimed in and they all took off running again, the man leading the way.

Soon they reached a gated-off area with watchtowers and armed guards. "It's the Futurekind." the man called to the guards, "They're coming! Let us in!"

"Show me your teeth!" a guard called back, "Show me your teeth, show me your teeth!"

"Show him your teeth." the man said to the quartet as they reached the gate. He bared his teeth to the guards and the time travellers did the same.

"There. Ya happy now?" Shareen asked as she bared her gnashers at the guards.

"Humans, let 'em in!" the guard said to his colleagues, "Let 'em in!" The gates were opened and the Doctor and the Humans all raced inside. "Close! Close!" the guard ordered once they were inside, and the gates were slammed shut while the lead guard fired a few rifle rounds at the Futurekind's feet to halt their advance.

"Humans." one of the Futurekind snarled, "Human meat. Make feast."

"Go back to where you came from." the guard ordered, keeping his rifle aimed on them. "I said, go back! Back!"

"Oh, don't tell him to put his gun down." Jack muttered to the Doctor

"He's not my responsibility." the Time Lord retorted

"And I am?" Jack scoffed, "Makes a change."

"Men." Shareen muttered to Martha

"Kind watch you." the Futurekind leader continued, "Kind hungry." He signalled to the others and they all moved away.

"Thanks for that." the Doctor said to the guard

"Right, let's get you inside." the guard said, and they all turned to head inside a bunker.

"My name is Padrafed Shafecane" the man they'd rescued said to the guard, "Tell me, just tell me... can you take me to Utopia?"

"Oh, yes sir! Yes I can!" the guard replied cheerfully, leading the way.

~8~

Once inside the bunker, the group were all taken to the head guard, Atillo. The Doctor was telling Atillo about the TARDIS. "It's like a box." he said, "A big blue box. I'm sorry, but we really need it back. It's stuck out there."

"I'm sorry, but my family were heading for the silo." Padra cut in, "Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafecane, my brother's name is Beltone."

"The computers are down, but you can check the paperwork." Atillo told him. "Creet!" he called, and a little blonde boy came over, "Passenger needs help."

"Right, what d'ya need?" Creet asked Padra, producing a clipboard.

Padrafed went over to talk to Creet while Atillo turned back to the Doctor. "A blue box, you said?"

"Big, tall, woodern, says 'police'." the Doctor nodded

"We're driving out for the last water collection, I'll what I can do." Atillo replied

"Thank you." the Doctor nodded

"We could still take a look, come on." Creet said to Padra and began to lead the man away.

Shareen frowned at the sight of the little boy working. Martha shared her sentiments. "Sorry, but how old are you?" she asked

"Old enough to work." Creet replied casually, "This way."

Shareen and Martha exchanged looks but both decided to say nothing as they followed Creet through corridors lined with people camping.

"Is there a Kistane Shafecane?" Creet called out, "Kistane and Beltone Shafecane? I'm looking for a Kistane and Beltone Safecane."

"The Shafecane's, anyone?" Padra pleaded

"Anyone?" Creet tried again

The time travellers looked around at the Humans gathered in the corridors. "It's like a refugee camp." Martha murmured

"Stinking." Jack agreed. "Oh, sorry, no offense, not you." he said hastily to a man who'd overheard.

"Don't ya see that, though? The ripe old smell of Humans. You survived!" the Doctor said brightly, "Oh, ya might've spent a million years evolving into gas, and another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental Humans."

"Kistane Shafecane!" Creet called out

"End of the universe, and here you are!" the Doctor continued, "Indomitable, that's the word! Indomitable, ha!"

"Is there a Kistane Shafecane?" Creet tried again. This time he received an answer.

"That's me." a woman called, then noticed Padra.

"Mother!" Pafrafed gasped

"Oh my God, Padra!" Kistane cried in relief, and Padrafed ran over to hug his mother.

"It's not all bad news!" Martha grinned

"Yeah, at least they've got a happy ending." Shareen agreed

Jack went up to a man. "Captain Jack Harness, and who are you?" he asked flirtiously

"Stop it!" the Doctor scolded, running his sonic screwdriver over a keypad on a door nearby. "Give us a hand with this. It's half-deadlocked. See if you can override the code. Let's find out where we are." he said as Jack set to work on the keypad.

"Is that why ya left him behind?" Shareen asked the Doctor "Because he loves to flirt with everything that moves?"

The Doctor was about to answer when Jack managed to get the doors open and the Doctor nearly fell into a silo. Luckily, Jack managed to grab him in time. "Gotcha!" the American said

"Thanks." the Doctor begrudgingly acknowledged

"How did you cope without me?" Jack smirked

Shareen and Martha meanwhile peered into the silo to see a huge rocket. "Blimey." Shareen breathed

"Now that is what I call a rocket." Martha agreed

"They're not refugees, they're passengers." the Doctor realised

"He said they were going to Utopia." Martha recalled

"The perfect place." the Doctor said. "100 trillion years, it's the same old dream. D'ya recognise those engines?" he asked Jack

"Nope." Jack replied, "Whatever it is, it's not rocket science. But it's hot, though."

"Boiling." the Doctor agreed. They went back inside and the Doctor shut the door. "But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?" the Doctor wandered.

Just then, a smartly dressed elderly gentleman came up to them. He looked between the Doctor and Jack, then pointed to Jack. "The Doctor?" he asked

"That's me." the Doctor raised his hand and the man turned to him.

"Oh, good!" he said excitedly, "Good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good!" He took the Doctor's hand and led him away, the others close behind.

"It's good, apparently." the Doctor remarked to his companions.

~8~

The man led them to a laboratory, where a blue-skinned alien with an insect-like head was waiting. "Chan, welcome, tho." the alien greeted the Doctor

The Doctor had no chance to acknowledge her for the man was rambling about something. "This is the gravitissimal accelerator, it's past it's best..."

The alien turned to the other three time travellers. "Chan, welcome, tho." she greeted

"Hello." Martha acknowledged, "Who are you?"

"Chan, Chantho, tho." the alien replied

"Alright, Chantho. I'm Shareen an' that's Martha." Shareen introduced

"Captain Jack Harness." Jack greeted, flashing Chantho one of his winning smiles.

"Stop it." the Doctor called over from where the man was showing him some electrical stuff.

"Can't I say hello to anyone?" Jack huffed

"Chan, I do not protest, tho." Chantho reassured

"Maybe later, blue." Jack winked at her, causing her to blush violet. "So, what have we here?" He went over to see what the man had shown the Doctor, Martha and Shareen following him. As they did so, both women swore they heard something bubbling in Jack's backpack.

"And all this feeds into the rocket?" the Doctor asked the man

"Yeah, except without a stable footprint, we'll never achieve escape velocity." the man sighed, "If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns, and unify them. Well, we might yet make it. But... what d'you think, Doctor, eh? Any ideas?"

The Doctor pondered. "Well, um... Basically, sort of... not a clue." he conceded

"Nothing?"

"I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it." the Doctor shrugged, "Sorry."

"No, no, I'm sorry, it's my fault." the man said wearily, "There's been so little help."

Martha meanwhile reached into Jack's back and pulled out a glass jar filled with a bubbling liquid. Swimming in the liquid was a man's hand. "Oh, my God!" Martha exclaimed, setting the jar on the table for everyone to see. "You've got a hand. A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag."

"Ugh, that is gross!" Shareen squirmed

The Doctor meanwhile looked at the hand. "That's, that's my hand!" he realised, recognising the hand as the one he'd lost during his swordfight with the Sycorax leader.

"I said I had a Doctor detector." Jack smirked

"Chan, is this a tradition amongst your people, tho?" Chantho asked Martha

"Not on my street!" Martha grimaced. "What d'you mean that's your hand?" she questioned the Doctor, "You've got both your hands, I can see them."

"Long story. I lost my hand Christmas Day. In a swordfight." the Doctor said nonchalantly

"What? And you grew another hand?" Martha stared

"Actually, he did." Shareen told her, remembering the whole incident vividly. "Bloody creeped me out, that did."

"Hello." the Doctor said and waggled the fingers on his right hand, the very hand he'd regrew.

"Might I ask, what species are you?" the man asked the Doctor, wandering which species could regrow hacked-off limbs.

"Time Lord." the Doctor replied

"What lord?" the man questioned

"Time Lord. Last of." the Doctor replied, "Heard of them?" Both the man and Chantho just gave him blank looks. "Legend or anything? Not even a myth? Blimey, the end of the universe is a bit humbling."

"Chan, it is said I am the last of my species too, tho." Chantho said sadly

"Sorry, what was your name?" the Doctor asked her

"My assistant, and good friend, Chantho." the man told him, "She's a survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassario, before we took refuge."

"That city outside, that was yours?" the Doctor asked Chantho

"Chan, the conglomeration died, tho." Chantho replied solemnly

"Conglomeration, that's what I said." the Doctor said

Jack rolled his eyes at the Doctor's lack of tact. Clearly this incarnation of the Doctor was even more oblivious than the one he was used to. "You're suppose to say sorry." he remarked

"Oh, yes. Sorry." the Doctor said hastily

"Chan, most grateful, tho."

"You grew another hand?" Martha said slowly

"Hello again." the Doctor wiggled his fingers again, "It's fine, look, really, it's me."

"All this time and you're still full of surprises." Martha laughed

"Chan, you are most unusual, tho." Chantho remarked

"Well..." the Doctor smirked

"Chantho, if there's one thing ya need to know about the Doctor, it's that he takes remarks like that as a compliment." Shareen said

"So what about things outside, the Beastie Boys, what are they?" Jack asked the man, getting everyone back on track.

"We call 'em the Futurekind." the man replied, "Which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it's feared they are what we will become, unless we reach Utopia."

"And Utopia is...?" the Doctor questioned

"Oh, evey Human knows of Utopia." the man scoffed, "Where have you been?"

"Bit of a hermit." the Doctor shrugged

"A hermit with friends?" the man questioned

"Hermits united" the Doctor replied, "We meet up every 10 years, swap stories about caves. It's good fun, for a hermit. So, Utopia?"

The man gestured for them to follow him and he led them over to a computer screen that was displaying a navigational chart with a red dot blinking on one specific spot. "The call came from across the stars." the man explained, "Over and over again. 'Come to Utopia' emanating from that point."

"Where is that?" the Doctor asked

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness." the man replied, "Out towards the wild lands and the dark matter reefs. Calling us in, the last of the Humans, scattered across the night.

"What d'you think's out there?" the Doctor asked

"We can't know." the man replied. "A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself, now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes." the Doctor grinned, "And the signal keeps on modulating so it's not on automatic. That's a good sign someone's out there. And that's, ooh, that's a navigation matrix, so you can fly without the stars to guide you." Then he noticed that the man appeared to have zoned out. "Professor?" he asked Professor?"

The man snapped out of his daze. "I.. right, that's enough talk. There's work to do, if you could leave, thank you." And he walked off.

"You alright?" the Doctor called after him

"Yes, I'm fine. Just busy." the man waved him off

"Except, that rocket's not gonna fly, is it?" the Doctor said to him, causing him to look round "This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working."

"We'll find a way!" the man said, more to reassure himself really.

"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told 'em, have you? That lot out there, they still think they're gonna fly."

"Well, it's better to let them live in hope." the man sighed wearily

"And quite right too." the Doctor said, "And I must say, Professor... Um, what was it?"

"Yana." the man replied

"Professor Yana, this new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame must be a circuit which reverses the boost." the Doctor continued, "So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?" He picked up the circuit and used his sonic screwdriver on it, then switched it on, giving them power.

"Chan, it's working, tho." Chantho cried in amazement.

"But how did you do that?" Yana asked the Doctor in amazement.

"Oh, we've been chatting away. I forgot to tell ya, I'm brilliant." the Doctor replied smugly.

~8~

The Doctor's effort seemed to spur everyone into action. "All passengers, prepare for boarding." Attilo announced over the speakers, "Repeat: all passengers prepare for boarding." And all throughout the silo, people fussed about gathering their belongings.

Martha, Shareen and Chantho made their way through a corridor carrying circuit boards that the Doctor said he had needed. Soon, Martha saw Creet. "Hey, what was your name, Creet?" she asked him

"That's right, Miss." the boy answered

"Who're you with, Creet, you got family?"

"No, Miss. There's just me." Creet answered

"Oh, I'm sorry." Shareen said sympathetically. "What d'ya think this 'Utopia'' is like?"

"My mum used to say the skies are made of diamonds." Creet said dreamily

"Good for her." Martha laughed, "Go on, off you go, get ya seat." And Creet cheerfully went off to board the rocket while Martha, Shareen and Chantho continued their journey to the lab.

~8~

When the women reached the lab, Martha and Shareen saw a sight for sore eyes: the TARDIS. "Oh, my God, am I glad to see that thing!" Martha grinned

"Me too." Shareen agreed. "I love that box!"

Chantho meanwhile noticed that Professor Yana was leaning against a desk and rubbing his temples. "Chan, Professor, are you alright, tho?" she asked him concernedly

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Yana waved her off, "Just get on with it."

"Connect those circuits into the spar, same as that last lot. But quicker." Jack instructed Martha

"Yes, sir!" Martha retorted and went off to do as she was told while the Doctor came over to join Yana.

"You don't have to keep working." he told him. "We can handle it."

"Yeah, I haven't got anything to do; I could chip in." Shareen added

"It's just a headache." Yana waved them off, "Just... just noise inside my head. Constant drumming inside my head."

"What sorta noise?" the Doctor asked

"It's the sound of drums." Yana replied, "More and more, as though... it's getting closer."

"When did it start?"

"Oh, I've had it all my life." Yana shrugged, "Every waking hour. Still, no rest for the wicked." And he got up and went back to work.

~8~

Presently, Atillo came over the comm again, "Professor? Systems are down. Professor, are you getting me?"

Yana went over to his computer and answered the call. "I'm here, we're ready." he said, "Now all you need to do is connect the couplings, then we can launch." Suddenly, the screen went to static. "God sakes, this equipment!" Yana grumbled, "Needs rebooting all the time."

"Leave it to me." Shareen said, coming over to him. "I know a thing or two about computers. What d'ya need doing?"

"Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes." Yana instructed her, vacating his seat so that Shareen could take his place.

"Aye, Cap'n." Shareen said, and hit the reboot key to restore the picture.

"Are you still there?" Atillo asked

"Ah, present and correct." Yana answered, "Send your man inside. "We'll keep the levels down from here."

The screen soon changed to show a man in a hazmat suit entering a room bathed in red light. "He's inside. And good luck to him." Atillo reported

Yana went over to a console Jack and Chantho were working at. "Captain, keep the dials below the red." Yana instructed

"Where is that room?" the Doctor asked

"It's underneath the rocket." Yana replied, "Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation."

"Stet? Never heard of it." the Doctor frowned

"Well, you wouldn't want to, but it's safe enough." Yana replied, "We can hold back the radiation from here."

Everyone watched as the man in the suit worked on the first coupling. An alarm started to sound.

"It's rising. 0.2." Yana noted, "Keep it level."

"Yes, sir." Jack called back. He soon brought the levels down and the man moved onto the second coupling.

Suddenly, the alarms started again and the readings went haywire. "Chan, we're loosing power, tho!" Chantho realised

The Doctor checked a dial. "Radiation's rising." he warned

"The chamber's going to flood." Yana said grimly

"Jack, override the vents!" the Doctor called to Jack, who grabbed two cables.

"We can jump-start the override." he said, and mashed the two cables together.

"Don't! It's gonna flare!" the Doctor warned him, but it was too late.

The cables flared, causing high voltage to flare into Jack and he fell to the floor dead. Martha rushed over to Jack's body. "I've got him!" she hollered

"Chan, don't touch the cables, tho!" Chantho warned, moving the cables out of the way.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Yana sighed, looking at Jack's dead body, to which Martha was administering mouth-to-mouth.

"The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?" the Doctor asked Yana, completely unfazed.

"Without the couplings, the engines will never start." Yana sighed, "It was all for nothing."

"Oh, I dunno." the Doctor said nonchalantly, then walked over to Jack's body. "Martha, leave him." he instructed, pulling her up gently.

"You've gotta let me try." Martha protested

"Come on, come on, just listen to me. Now leave him alone." the Doctor insisted, then he turned to Yana. "It strikes me, Professor, you've got a room which no man can enter without dying, is that correct?"

"Yes." Yana replied

"Well..." the Doctor tailed off as Jack promptly revived, "I think I've got just the man."

"Was someone kissing me?" Jack gasped as Chantho and the Humans could only stare in disbelief.

"How the hell does he keep doing that?" Shareen wandered to herself.

~8~

The Doctor and Jack were soon speeding through the silo to the control room. "Lieutenant, get onboard the rocket!" the Doctor told Atillo. "I promise you're gonna fly."

"The chamber's flooded." Atillo countered

"Trust me. We've found a way to trip the system. Run!" the Doctor told him, and Atillo hurried away. The Doctor then noticed Jack removing his shirt "Wh... what're you takin' your clothes off for?" he asked

"I'm going in." Jack replied simply

"Well, by the looks of it, I'd say that stet radiation doesn't affect clothing, any flesh." the Doctor told him, seeing the empty hazmat suit of the previous person to enter the chamber lying on the floor.

"I look good though." Jack smirk, and moved towards the chamber door. "How long have you known?" he asked the Doctor

"Ever since I ran away from you." the Doctor replied. "Good luck."

Jack entered the chamber and went straight to the couplings. The Doctor watched him from the window.

~8~

In the lab, Shareen and Martha were sat at the computer. "We lost the picture when that thing flared up." Martha said. "Doctor, are ya there?"

"Receiving, yeah." the Doctor answered, "He's inside."

"Still alive?" Shareen asked

"Oh, yes."

"But he should evaporate." Yana said in disbelief, "What sort of a man is he?"

"Search me." Shareen shrugged. "I've only met him just the one time before."

"And I've only just me him." Martha added.

"The Doctor sort of travels through time and space and picks people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are."

"I don't think you're a dog, Martha." Shareen reassured her friend.

Yana meanwhile was focussed on something else. "He travels in time?" he questioned

"It's hard to explain." Shareen said to him. "But that blue box over there is the Doctor's ship. It's called 'the TARDIS'." She pointed to the blue box in question.

"The sports car of time travel, he says." Martha added

Yana went over to the TARDIS and looked at the box carefully. Both the blue police box and the name 'TARDIS' seemed familiar to him somehow.

"When did you realise?" the women heard the Doctor ask Jack over the feed from the coupling room

"Earth, 1892." Jack replied, "Got in a little fight on Ellis Island, man shot me through the heart and then I woke up. Thought it was kinda strange, but then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation, a stray javelin." Both Martha and Shareen winced. "In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die. And all that time, you knew."

"That's why I left you behind." the Doctor said "It's not easy, even just... Just looking at you, Jack, cos' you're wrong."

"Thanks." Jack muttered

"You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. And that's never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you, tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to shake you off."

"So what you're sayin' is you're, uh, prejudiced?" Jack grunted, sounding he was straining with a coupling.

"I never thought of it like that." the Doctor replied nonchalantly

"Yeah." Jack muttered, "Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal... I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination And then I came back to life. What happened?"

"Rose." the Doctor answered

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" Shareen said to herself

"I thought you'd sent her back home." Jack said

"She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex itself." the Doctor answered

"What does that mean, exactly?" Jack asked the same question Martha and Shareen were thinking

"No one's ever meant to have that power." the Doctor said. "If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a God, a vengeful God, but she was Human. Everything she did was so Human. She brought you back to life. But she couldn't control it, she brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life."

"Do think she could change me back?" Jack asked

"I took the power out of her." the Doctor replied, "She's gone, Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world, she's trapped there. The walls have closed."

"I'm sorry." Jack said sympathetically.

"It was our own fault." the Doctor sighed, "In the end, I was a bad influence on Rose. She became too much like me and that's how she got trapped in that universe."

"Huh, about time you realised that, Peacock." Shareen said into the computer. "Rose was my friend, but she was no saint."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." the Doctor answered.

~8~

"I went back to Rose's estate, in the 90's, just once or twice." Jack said. "Watched her growing up. Never said hello, timelines and stuff. Saw Shareen and Mickey too. Did ya know that Halloween '93 they went out trick or treating as Hocus Pocus characters?"

"No. I didn't." the Doctor replied

"Well, Rose was Sarah Sanderson, Shareen was Mary and Mickey was Billy Butcherson." Jack replied. "You should've seen 'em. Shareen ever had the vacuum."

"Yeah, and my arsehole of a mother nearly ripped my head off when I got home." Shareen grumbled over the feed.

"Do you wanna die?" the Doctor asked Jack abruptly

"Oh, this one's a little stuck." Jack grunted, struggling with a coupling.

"Jack?"

"I thought I did." Jack admitted. "I don't know. But this lot, you see 'em out here, surviving, and that's fantastic."

"You might be out here somewhere." the Doctor remarked

"I could go meet myself." Jack said jovially, moving on to the last coupling.

"Well, it's the only man you're ever gonna be happy with." the Doctor remarked

"This new regeneration, it's kinda cheeky." Jack retorted

"Oh, you have no idea." Shareen snorted over the feed.

~8~

Yana had zoned out. Some of the words he'd heard kept buzzing round his heads; words like TARDIS, Daleks, Time Vortex, Time War and regeneration all seemed familiar somehow, yet he couldn't remember why.

Martha turned and noticed him. "What's wrong?" she asked him

"Time travel." Yana cried. "They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed... But what would I know? I'm just a stupid old man." he dismissed himself. "Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked." He pulled out an old fob watch from his waistcoat pocket. Both Martha's and Shareen's eyes widened. The watch was exactly like the one the Doctor had used when he was hiding from the Family of Blood. "Time and time again, always running out on me." Yana lamented

"Can we have a look at that?" Martha asked

"Oh, it's only an old relic. Like me." Yana chuckled

"Where did ya get it from?" Shareen asked, looking at the watch closely.

"Hmm? I was found with it." Yana answered

"What d'ya mean, 'found'?"

"An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with only this."

"Have you opened it?" Martha asked

"Why would I? It's broken." Yana replied

"How d'ya know it's broken if you've never opened it?" Shareen countered

"It's stuck, it's old. It's not meant to be. I don't know." Yana shrugged

Martha took the watch and turned it over. On the other side were Galifreyean engravings exactly the same as those on the Doctor's watch. Both she and Shareen exchanged a look.

"Does it matter?" Yana asked as he took the watch back.

"No." Martha said hastily, "It's... nothing. Listen, everything's fine up here. I'm gonna see if the Doctor needs me."

"Yeah, I think I'll come with ya, Martha." Shareen added and both women hurried away, not realising that they'd already pipped Yana's interest.

~8~

In the coupling room, Jack released the last coupling. "Yes!" he cheered

"Now get outta there, come on!" the Doctor told him.

~8~

Martha and Shareen charged through the corridors towards the coupling room.

~8~

Jack re-entered the control room while the Doctor contacted Atillo. "Lieutenant, everyone on board?"

"Ready and waiting." Atillo answered

"Stand by." the Doctor said. "Two minutes to ignition."

"Ready to launch." Atillo announced over the comm, "Outer doors sealed. Countdown commences T minus 99... 98..."

Martha and Shareen came racing in at that moment. "Ah, nearly there." the Doctor said to them as he and Jack worked at a bank of instruments. "The footprint is a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It's gonna take all of us to keep it stable."

Martha wasted no time in getting to the point. "Doctor, it's the professor. He's got this watch. He's got a fob watch. It's the same as yours. Same writing on it. Same... everything."

"Don't be ridiculous." the Doctor stared

"We're not." Shareen said. "We asked him. He said he's had it his whole life."

"So he's got the same watch." Jack shrugged, not understanding the implications.

"Yeah, but it's not a watch." Martha told him, "It's this chameleon thing."

"No, no, no. It's this.. this thing, this device. It rewrites biology, changes a Time Lord into a Human." a flustered Doctor explained

"And it's the same as the one you had." Shareen said

"It can't be." the Doctor breathed, sounding horrified at the thought there could be another Time Lord. An alarm started and he fussed about sorting it out.

"That means he might be a Time Lord." Jack realised, "You might not be the last one."

"Jack, keep it level!" the Doctor barked, not wanting to even think about it.

"But that's brilliant, isn't it?" Martha asked, wandering why the Doctor seemed frightened at the thought that there might be another of his people alive.

"Yes, it is. Course is it." the Doctor said rapidly, "Depends which one. Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Time Lords. All of 'em, they're dead."

"But not if he turned himself Human." Shareen suggested

"What did he say?" the Doctor asked. "WHAT DID HE SAY?!" he yelled frantically

"He looked at the watch like he could hardly see it." Martha replied, baffled at the Doctor's attitude, "Like with that perception filter."

"What about now?" the Doctor questioned, "Can he see it now?"

~8~

In the lab, Yana could indeed see the watch. As he turned it over in his hand, he heard voices coming from it. First there was what sounded like an evil laugh, followed by his own voice saying: "The drums, the drums, the drums. The never-ending drumbeat. Open me, you Human fool. Open the light and summon me and receive my majesty."

He glanced at the jar containing the Doctor's hand to see the liquid inside bubbling furiously. Then he heard another voice coming from the watch. "Destroy him!" the voice demanded, sounding suave but with a cruel undertone. "And you WILL give your power to me!"

Chantho watched him worriedly. "Chan, Yana, won't you please take some rest, tho?" she suggested.

~8~

"If he escaped the Time War then it's the perfect place to hide." Jack said, "The end of the universe."

The Doctor didn't reply. He had a shrewd idea of who Yana really was and he hoped wth every fibre of his being that he was wrong.

"Think what the Face of Boe said." Martha chimed in, remembering the adventure on New Earth, "He said..."

"'You are not alone.'" Shareen recalled. "Y, A, N, A. Yana! Oh, my God! He was warning us about this!"

The Doctor tried not to think about it and launched the rocket.

~8~

In the lab, Yana and Chantho heard the rocket's blast-off and Chantho felt a sense of relief that it had worked, but Yana wasn't interested. He opened the watch and golden energy flowed into him.

Chanto watched him anxiously. "Chan, Professor Yana, tho?" she asked

The Time Lord that was Yana turned slowly around and it was clear that he was no longer the genial man he was as a Human.

~8~

In the control room, the Doctor contacted the rocket. "Lieutenant, have ya done it? Did you get velocity? Have ya done it? Lieutenant, have you done it?"

"Affirmative, we'll see you in Utopia." Atillo answered

"Good luck." the Doctor said. He hung up and sped off back towards the lab with Jack, Shareen and Martha following. They reached the door only for it to close right in front of them.

~8~

The Time Lord was the culprit responsible. "Chan, but you've locked them in, tho." Chantho pointed out

"Not to worry, my dear." the Time Lord sneered in a malicious voice, "As one door closes, another must open." And he pulled a lever, causing the silo to loose all power and allowing the Futurekind in.

~8~

The Doctor managed to open the door with his sonic screwdriver and the quartet hurried away.

~8~

"Chan, you must stop, tho." Chantho protested as the Time Lord then started messing with more switches. "Chan, but you've lowered the defences, the Futurekind will get in, tho."

The Time Lord ignored her and continued to mess about with the controls.

"Chan, professor, I'm so sorry, but I must stop you..." Chantho sighed, grabbing a gun and pointing it at him, "You're destroying all our work, tho."

The Time Lord turned to her, not at all fazed by the gun levelled at him. "Oh, now I can say I was provoked." he sneered.

~8~

The Doctor, Jack, Martha and Shareen barrelled through the corridors only to run right into the Futurekind, forcing them to hastily backtrack.

~8~

The Time Lord grabbed a cable and began to advance on Chantho. "Did you never think, in all those years standing beside me, to ask about that watch?" he snarled, "Never? Did you never once think, not ever that you could set me free?!"

"Chan, I'm sorry, tho. Chan, I'm so sorry, tho." the terrified Chantho whimpered

"And you, with your 'chan' and your 'tho', driving me insane!" the Time Lord growled

"Chan, professor, please, tho."

"THAT IS NOT MY NAME!" the Time Lord roared, "The professor was an invention. So perfect a disguise that I forgot who I am."

"Chan, then who are you, tho?"

"I am... the Master." the Time Lord hissed, and thrusted the cable at Chantho's stomach.

~8~

The Futurekind chased The Doctor, Martha, Shareen and Jack through the corridors. Jack stopped at an intersecting hallway. "This way!" he urged.

~8~

The Master knelt down and reached out to take the jar containing the Doctor's hand just as the Doctor and his companions reached the locked lab door. Jack began working on the keypad while the Doctor looked through the window. "PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR, LET ME IN!" he called, banging on the window.

The Master ignored him and walked over to the computer displaying the navigational chart for Utopia.

"Professor! Professor, where are you? Professor, are you there? Please, I need to explain!" the Doctor pleaded, "Whatever you do, don't open that watch!"

The Master continued to ignore his fellow Time Lord's pleas and yanked out the data chip from the computer. "Utopia. Ha!" he snorted and strode over to the TARDIS, ready to make his escape.

"Professor!" the Doctor called, "Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor! Please, listen to me!"

The Master turned round to see Chantho summon her last remaining strength and pick up her gun which she then used to shoot the Master in the chest.

Outside, Jack slammed the butt of his revolver into the keypad, getting the doors open. The quartet rushed in and the Doctor faced the Master, who was standing in front of the TARDIS clutching his injured chest. Martha and Shareen meanwhile rushed over to Chantho's body. The Doctor tried to run at the Master who summoned up all his remaining strength to get into the TARDIS and he slammed the door shut before the Doctor could follow. The Doctor tried his key but it wouldn't turn so he tried his sonic screwdriver, but had no luck with that either. "Let me in!" he begged, pounding on the door, "Let me in!"

Martha and Shareen meanwhile were checking on Chantho. "She's dead." Martha sighed

"He murdered her!" Shareen realised

Jack meanwhile was trying to brace the door shut. "I've broken the lock. Gimme a hand!" he hollered, so the two women rushed over to help him.

"I'm begging you! Everything's changed!" the Doctor hollered to the Master, "It's only the two of us! We're the only ones left! Just let me in!"

Then a bright golden light shone through the windows of the TARDIS. "What's happening?!" Shareen stared

"He's regenerating." the Doctor realised.

The Futurekind meanwhile had arrived at the door and Jack and the women tried their absolute best to brace it shut. "Doctor! You'd better think of something!" Jack hollered

At that moment, a male voice sounded over a loudspeaker from within the TARDIS, "Now then, Doctor. Ooh, new voice." The voice then said 'hello' at various pitches. "Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me? I DON'T think!"

"Hold on, I know that voice!" Martha gasped, recognising that voice from somewhere.

"I'm asking you really, really properly." the Doctor begged, "Just stop, just think!"

"Use my name." the voice demanded

"Master. I'm sorry." the Doctor said desperately.

"Tough!" the Master snarled, and the Doctor then heard the sound of the TARDIS' engines starting.

"We can't hold 'em much longer, Doctor!" Jack hollered as the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and used it on the TARDIS.

"Oh, no you don't!" the Master growled, "End of universe. Have fun. Bye bye!"

"For God's sake, Doctor, stop him!" Shareen hollered as the TARDIS dematerialised, leaving the quartet stranded in the year 100 trillion with Futurekind pounding on the doors.

To be continued...

Author's notes: And so we begin the series 3 finale. Jack Harkness has reentered the fray and we've met the Master. Shareen's snark got another good workout in this chapter, with her ribbing the Doctor on his habit of ditching companions. Looking back on this episode, Derek Jacobi was a brilliant Master. It's a shame he only had a few minutes in the role, though Big Finish made up for it. Jack was fun to write as always and we'll be spending more time with him for the next two chapters. See ya next time for the next stage of the Master's rise to power.