Chapter 40: The Last of the Time Lords

A computer announces that space traffic is advised to stay away from Earth as it is entering terminal extinction. It states that planet Earth is closed. An image of Earth flashes up and words below say 'One year later'.

"A whole year?" Everyone gasps in horror, except Ten.

"Oh my god. My family." Martha whispers.

"Jack." Donna mutters, fearing him having spent a year being killed over and over again. What would that do to his mind? It would be enough to drive anyone insane. He kisses the top of her head instinctively, wondering the same thing himself. Rose clutches tighter to Ten's hand as Nine keeps a death grip on her, while still crying. It was holding her that got him through the last two horror shows. He wasn't sure he could manage another. Yet taking a break would only make things worse.

"This is the last one today." Ten tells them all gravely. Everybody nods, not particularly eager to carry on watching.

A man signals to a rowing boat offshore with an oil lamp. It comes in and Martha gets out. The boat and its crew leave. She runs over to the man and asks who he is. He introduces himself as Tom Milligan. Then states that there is no need to ask who she is, he recognises the famous Martha Jones.

"Famous?" Sarah-Jane wonders.

He asks how long since she was last in Britain. She tells him it's been a year. A long year. He asks what the plan is and she tells him she needs to see Professor Docherty and wants to know if he can get her there. Tom states where she works and that he can get her inside. He wonders what all of this is for and Martha tells him that the more he knows, the more he is at risk.

"Good point." Mickey nods.

"Seems a decent bloke though." Donna says.

"Looks can be deceptive." Jack remarks.

Tom mentions that a lot of people are depending on her and she is a bit of a legend. She asks what the legend says. He tells her that she sailed the Atlantic, walked across America and she was the only person to get out of Japan alive.

"Wow. You go Martha!" Sarah-Jane cheers.

"You certainly have been busy." Jack notes with a slight smile.

"Gotta keep moving. Saxon is probably looking for me." Martha says.

"Probably." Nine agrees darkly, not looking up from Rose's hair.

He adds that they say she is going to save the world. He states it's a bit late for that.

"There are still people there alive. Earth isn't dead. While that's true, it's not too late." Ten says.

"But...I don't remember any of this." Donna frowns in confusion.

"Were you hungover?" Jack asks with a smirk. She whacks his arm.

"No."

They walk up to a flatbed van. Martha asks how come he can drive and if he doesn't get stopped. Tom tells her he is medical staff. He used to work in paediatrics in the old days. That gives him a licence to travel so he can help other labour camps.

"Labour camps?" Sarah-Jane asks in horror.

"Great, so if they aren't dead they are slaves." Mickey scowls.

Martha comments she is travelling with a doctor. They get in the van and Tom states that the story says she is the only person on Earth who can kill him stone dead. Martha tells him to just drive.

"You can't blame him for being curious." Donna says.

"No, doesn't mean I want to talk about it." Martha sighs.

"Fair enough."

The Master enters the flight deck and starts dancing to I Can't Decide by Scissor Sisters.

"I suppose it suits him but his music taste has not improved." Mickey groans.

He goes up to Lucy, kisses her and they dance together. Francine the maid serves tea which he pulls a face at and throws away.

"Mum." Martha whispers sadly. "I hate him." She adds under her breath.

"I think we all do." Mickey whispers back.

The Master rings a ship's bell and the Doctor crawls out of his straw-strewn tent.

"Oh my god." Rose growls furiously. "If I ever see this man for real he had better run." She emphasises the last word and gives a feral smile.

The Master forces him into a wheelchair and takes him for a push around the deck, singing along. They finally stop at the window and the Master talks to him, getting no response. He says that the Toclafane broke his hearts when he worked out what they really are. Then he continues that Martha has come home. The Doctor looks at him but still says nothing. The Master asks why she would do that.

"You still have her family, let alone any other reason." Mickey points out angrily.

The Doctor tells him to leave her alone.

"Fat chance of that. Especially as there are stories about her saving the world going about." Jack scoffs.

The Master states that he said something to her. The day he took control and he asks what was said. The Doctor replies that he has one thing to say to him. He knows what it is. The Master stands up saying no he doesn't. He pushes the Doctor's wheelchair away.

Everyone except the Doctors scowls at the screen. Ten idly wonders if they will all get stuck with a permanent scowl if this goes on much longer.

The Master asks what they are all doing as launch day is in twenty four hours. The Doctor holds three fingers against his thigh. Francine repeats the signal to Clive, who is mopping the deck in a corridor. He passes the signal on to Tish, who is also a maid, as she takes a meal to the prisoner. The prisoner is a grubby, tattered Jack who is being forced to stand all the time, wrists chained to stout posts on either side.

"Oooh, when I get my hands on him..." Donna mumbles angrily to herself and Jack leans away from her slightly with a nervous expression.

"Please." Nine groans. "I know you're angry but I can't cope with you all making threats every time he does something awful. I just want this over." He looks up briefly to eye them all. They each give him a sympathetic, though still slightly angry, look.

"Yeah, sorry." Rose tells him, managing to sound mostly sorry. She won't apologise for the threats but she doesn't want to make this more uncomfortable for the Doctors.

Jack greets Tish, saying the sea air makes him wish for fish and chips. Instead he gets cold mashed swede. He states this is the last time he books over the internet.

"You still sound like yourself." Donna breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Oh yeah. I've been dying for over a hundred years by this point. It'll take more than that to break me." He tells her with a strained smile. It's still not pleasant to think about.

Tish spoons him his food and puts three fingers against the container. Jack winks. A giant statue of the Master stands above the rocks in a quarry. Martha comments he has put those things all over Earth, even carving himself into Mount Rushmore.

"Yeah, I won't be complaining about his ego ever again." Mickey mutters to Martha quietly, jerking his head towards Ten.

"I bet you will." She tells him with a smirk.

Tom tells her it's best to keep down as they climb. They look over the top and he says the entire south coast of England has been converted into shipyards. They bring slave labour in every morning, fetching every bit of metal they can.

"Launch day means the day he attacks civilisations near Earth." Jack realises with a gasp.

Martha replies that he should see Russia. That is shipyard number one with a hundred thousand rockets ready for war. Tom asks for war with who. She tells him the rest of the universe. Martha admits she has been out there, in space and that there are a thousand different civilisations around them with no idea what's happening. He is surprised she has been in space.

"Well that is quite the big bombshell." Sarah-Jane points out with a faint smile. Martha shrugs.

"Compared to what he has probably seen in the last year, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Especially given the legends about me."

She asks if he has a problem with that. He says no but asks if there is anything else he should know. Martha states that she has met Shakespeare.

"Now that would be a bombshell." Jack laughs.

Two spheres fly in from behind the statue. Tom stands up and they tell him to identify. He nervously shows them his ID and tells them who he is. One sphere says that soon the rockets will fly and everyone will need medicine. He will be so busy. The spheres fly off to the shipyard, laughing.

"Evil little buggers." Donna scowls.

"Seems that the perception filter still works at least. Even if not on Saxon." Rose notes, still refusing to call him by the stupid name he had chosen. It did suit his ego at least.

"Yeah, that's something." Mickey agrees.

Tom is curious about the fact they didn't see Martha. She asks him how he thinks she travelled the world. She shows him the TARDIS key and explains how it works. Tom points out that he can see her. She tells him that he wanted to see her. He grins slightly and says he supposes he did. Martha asks if there is a Mrs Milligan.

"Honestly, you humans. Always with the personal questions." Ten throws his free hand up in the air in exasperation.

"I don't blame her." Donna snickers. Jack glares at the screen.

Tom tells her there isn't before asking about her. Martha says there used to be someone. Flashback to the Doctor kissing her and then whispering something.

Nine resists the urge to say something scathing. His bad mood is not her fault.

She adds that it was a long time ago. Then she changes the subject, saying they need to find the Docherty woman. Tom tells her they need to wait until the next work shift. He asks what time it is and she tells him nearly three.

"That was the signal you gave. You're planning something now." Sarah-Jane realises.

"It's not going to work." Rose groans. Ten sighs. He had never thought about a control that only worked for him given how often he let his companions use the screwdriver in times of need.

14:58 according to the chronometer up on the bridge. The Doctor, Francine and Tish are there, whilst Clive is still cleaning below decks. Jack can see a clock from his cage, too, and starts to pull on his chains. The Master enters the flight deck. He states it is time for his massage. He calls for Tanya and introduces her to Lucy who has bruising on her face.

There is some general growling but nobody says anything given Nine's request. They also all realised that Lucy had thrown her lot in with the psycho even when she knew about his plans. She didn't deserve to be hit or treated like that at all but she certainly got a lot less sympathy than people like Martha's family.

With seconds to go to 3 o'clock, Jack's chains are coming free of the wall. Tanya massages his shoulders. On the stroke of three, Jack gets free. He grabs a steam hose and points it at the guard. Clive throws water on an electrical circuit and starts a fire. Alarms blare.

"If you could get free, why didn't you before now?" Donna asks.

"And go where?" Jack shrugs. "No vortex manipulator and no backup. Now we have a plan."

The Master asks what the hell as the tannoy continues to repeat they have a condition red. Francine throws the Master's jacket to Tish. She gives it to the Doctor who takes the laser screwdriver from the pocket and points it at the Master. He holds his hands up in a surrender gesture. The Doctor states that he has one thing to say.

"He isn't upset enough to be actually bothered by this. Something is wrong." Rose notes with a frown.

The Master laughs.

"There we go." Mickey groans.

"There aren't enough of you to pull this off." Donna says.

"There might have been." Ten tells her with a sigh.

Clive gets caught. Jack is confronted by a squad of armed men, so he surrenders. He says here we go again before getting shot.

Jack, Rose and Donna all wince. Everyone else watches on sadly.

The Doctor can't get the laser screwdriver to work. The Master tells him it has isomorphic controls. He takes the screwdriver from the Doctor and punches him.

Rose tries to stamp down on her urge to rant and rave at the disgusting man on the screen. Only Nine squeezing her hand in appreciation makes it seem remotely worth it. Mickey and Martha both take advantage of being further away to grumble under their breath.

The Master adds that it means they only work for him. A laser beam just misses Francine.

"Mum!" Martha cries out. Her eyes go wide at the thought that the Master might punish them for trying such a thing.

He demands she says sorry which she does. Tish runs to her mother. The Master asks if they learnt anything from blessed Saint Martha. He tells them that siding with the Doctor is a very dangerous thing to do before ordering them to be taken away.

"It's still better than siding with you." Jack growls quietly.

"So is pretty much anything." Donna replies equally quietly.

The Master puts the Doctor into a chair as Tish and Francine are taken away. He says that he remembers when the Doctor was waging a Time War. He single handedly sealed the rift at the Medusa Cascade. Now he steals screwdrivers, asking how he has come to this.

"Because, for some reason, he actually believes you can be saved." Sarah-Jane says softly. "I admire that about him but this time I think he is wrong."

The Doctor states that he needs him to listen.

"It's fairly clear by now that he isn't going to. If you haven't gotten through to him in the last year, you won't now." Jack says loudly out of sheer exasperation. Yes, his compassion makes the Doctor wonderful and he understands that he doesn't want to be the last of his kind but frankly it's getting ridiculous. These days, Jack agrees with giving people second chances, heck maybe even a third one but this guy had used up a million chances and still showed no sign of remorse or anything. You just can't cure that level of crazy. Neither Doctor responds.

The Master tells him it is his turn. Revenge is best served hot and this time it is a message for Miss Jones.

"Leave her alone." Mickey glares furiously at the screen.

Tom cuts a gap in the shipyard's chain link fence, and they run to a building where an older woman is thumping a cathode ray tube in frustration. Tom calls for Professor Docherty. The woman replies that she is busy. Tom states that they sent word ahead and introduces the two of them. The woman tells him that she can be the Queen of Sheba for all she cares, she is still busy.

"I like her." Donna snickers.

"Sounds like something you would say." Jack agrees.

Martha points out that televisions don't work anymore. Docherty states she misses Countdown. She goes off on a tangent and then says that apparently there is going to be a transmission from the man himself.

"That's not good. A message for Martha and then a transmission coming out." Jack winces.

"Oh my god. He's not going to kill my family on live TV is he?" Martha asks, looking terrified. Nobody has a good answer for her. None of them would put it past the Master.

"He did order them all to be taken away. If he was going to kill them, he would have kept them there." Rose points out quietly after a few seconds. Martha nods eagerly.

A static-ridden black and white image appears. The Master says he knows there are whispers about a child walking the Earth and giving them hope. Francine, Clive and Tish are locked up, and Jack is back in his chains. He asks them how much hope this man has got. It shows the Doctor. The Master tells the camera that he is an alien with a much greater lifespan than the stunted little apes. He asks what happens if it shows.

"That'll kill you." Rose gasps.

"Na. I still haven't had those adventures with Donna yet." Nine points out. Rose lets out a sigh of relief as she had forgotten this fact.

The Master wonders what happens if he suspends his capacity to regenerate and all nine hundred years of his life showed. The Master retunes his screwdriver and zaps the Doctor again. He convulses once more. When the convulsions end, he is no longer in the wheelchair. A tiny creature with big eyes, peers out from the otherwise empty clothes.

"Oh!" Everyone gasps faintly. Rose stares at the screen with murder in her eyes and Nine knows her restraint is already tenuous at best. It won't take much more for her to snap. He appreciates the effort she is putting in for his sake and tries to focus on that instead of his own feelings. He does not want to even attempt to deal with his own feelings until he is safely back in their room. Otherwise he will break down. For now he shoves them all deep down and locks them away. It is the only way he can continue watching.

The Master asks if the message is received and understood Miss Jones. Then it ends. Tom tells Martha he is sorry but she breaks out in a grin and says the Doctor is still alive. Docherty says that the Archangel network is the Master's weakness. It is broadcasting a telepathic signal that keeps people scared.

"So you need to stop the signal somehow?" Mickey guesses.

"There still wouldn't be enough people left to do anything. There are six billion Toclafane and the Master himself." Sarah-Jane points out.

Tom suggests they take them out. Docherty says they could and then asks if he has fifteen ground to air missiles on him.

"Probably not." Jack laughs a little.

"If he does, they are very small." Donna states.

She adds that any military action will cause the Toclafane to descend. Martha points out that isn't what they are called, it is simply a name the Master made up. Docherty asks what they are then. Martha states that this is why she came to her, holding up a computer disk. She says that no one has been able to look at a sphere up close as they can't even be damaged. Except once. A lightning strike brought one down and she has the readings on that disc.

"That's incredible." Mickey grins. "You are amazing." He tells Martha. She tries to shrug this off.

"He's right." Sarah-Jane agrees with a smile.

Docherty puts the disc into her computer, and thumps it as it struggles to read the data. Tom asks Martha if she travelled the world to find a disc. Martha tells him she just got lucky.

"That is pretty damn lucky." Mickey whistles.

Docherty mentions that she heard stories that Martha walked to Earth to find a way to build a weapon. Then the computer reads the data and finds the current required to bring down a sphere. Tom asks if she can recreate that and Docherty says she can do that easily. Martha turns to Tom and says they are going to get a sphere. Outside Tom fires a gun three times. A sphere chases him.

"Brave bloke." Rose comments with a smile.

"Yeah." Donna agrees.

Tom runs. Martha sees him and runs to Docherty, asking if she is ready,

"Bit late if she's not." Jack mutters.

Docherty tells her to do her job and she will do hers. Tom runs in and yells now. The sphere gets caught in an electrical field set up across a narrow passageway. After a few moments, it drops to the ground.

"Nice work." Mickey grins.

They slowly approach, Tom with his gun pointed at the sphere. Docherty comments that is only half the job. Now they need to find out what is inside. The tiny Doctor is imprisoned in a bird cage.

Rose bites down on her lip, hard. Then she buries her face in Nine's chest, unable to look any longer.

Francine's voice says she will kill him even if she has to wait a hundred years. She will kill the Master.

"Get in line, love." Rose whispers viciously.

"There is a queue." Donna agrees, leading Rose to realise she hadn't been as quiet as she had intended.

Jack has a gun pointed at him all the time now as she says that one day he will let his guard down. In the cell, the Jones family are together. Francine continues that she will be there. Clive tells her that is his job. He swears he would shoot him stone dead. Tish adds that she will get him even if it kills her.

"Oh, don't say that." Martha pleads. "She couldn't stand it if Tish died."

Francine tells her not to say that. Tish retorts that she means it. The Master made them stand on deck and watch the islands of Japan burning. Millions of people. She swears he is dead.

"Not if it kills you." Martha says to herself.

Lucy is still in the glamorous red dress, but she's not a happy little wife any more. The Master walks over to the Doctor and announces that tomorrow they launch. They are opening up a rift in Braccatolian space. They won't see them coming. He says it's kind of scary. The Doctor tells him to stop then. The Master replies that it might stop when there is a new Gallifrey in the heavens.

"You won't be able to recreate a new Gallifrey." Nine states in a pained whisper.

"And it will never stop." Mickey mutters.

He continues that the never ending drumbeat he has heard since he was a child. He looked into the vortex and it chose him. The drumming, the call to war. He asks if the Doctor can hear it. The Doctor states it is only him. The Master says this is good.

"I don't think he truly believes that." Sarah-Jane says.

A sphere enters and says that tomorrow is the war. Tomorrow they will rise, never to fall. The Master says he is doing it for them. He tells the Doctor he should be grateful as he loves them so very, very much.

"Er?" Donna looks confused.

"Oh no." Martha looks sick. "They are not?" Ten nods gravely. Nine is genuinely becoming a little afraid of Rose given the things she is muttering to herself. Some tiny part of him doesn't blame her. The Master has done terrible things and yet...could he really let him die? Nine isn't sure and that kills him as well. He wonders how to work around this. Because should the Master ever discover how so very deeply he loved Rose...well...he couldn't bear to think about it.

Docherty is trying to open the sphere. She says there is some kind of magnetic clamp and that she will just trip the...she trails off as the four quarters at the top of the sphere open. Docherty exclaims. The sphere contains a tiny wizened head. It opens its eyes and makes them jump back.

"That's disgusting." Mickey complains.

"Is that...a human face?" Sarah-Jane asks nervously.

The sphere says Martha's name. Tom notes that it knows her.

"You don't say." Donna mutters sarcastically. "The question is how does it know her?"

It states that sweet, kind Martha Jones helped them to fly. Martha asks what it means and it replies she led them to salvation. Martha asks who it is and the sphere replies that the skies are made of diamonds.

Everyone who hadn't figured out exactly who they were, cringes horribly.

"Those poor people. They were expecting Utopia." Rose says, tears in her eyes.

"It didn't exist." Ten tells her. "Their last hope amounted to nothing." He adds sadly.

Martha declares that it can't be him. A flashback of Creet is shown.

"He was just a kid." Jack sighs.

The sphere says that they share each other's memories and that she sent him to Utopia. Martha is horrified and Tom asks what it is talking about. Docherty asks what they are. Tom continues to ask Martha to tell them what they are. She states they are humans from the future.

"Hence the paradox machine." Jack mutters.

The Master says he took Lucy to Utopia. Lucy agrees he took her to the end of the universe. The Master tells her to inform the Doctor of what she saw. She says that she saw everything dying. The whole of creation falling apart.

"It has to happen sometime. Not even a Time Lord can prevent such a thing." Nine states quietly.

Lucy continues that she thought there was no point to anything, ever.

"What did you expect the point to be?" Rose asks scathingly.

"Humans going on forever probably." Jack shrugs.

"Doesn't seem an awful lot of point in that either." Donna argues. Jack simply shrugs again.

The Master tells the Doctor it is all his fault.

"It is not his fault." Rose snarls.

Martha tells them she had sort of worked it out with the paradox machine given what the Doctor had said about locking the coordinates. The only other place he could go was one hundred trillion years in the future. So he found Utopia. The Master tells the Doctor he should have seen it, the last of humanity screaming in the dark.

"Definitely not Utopia." Mickey mutters.

Martha explains that the Utopia Project was their last hope at trying to find a way to escape the end of everything. The sphere says there was no solution and no diamonds. Just the dark and the cold.

"That is a miserable way to go." Rose winces.

"Still no excuse to come back and murder all the current humans." Nine points out. Rose nods her agreement.

The Master states that the humans cannibalised themselves. The sphere with him says they made themselves so pretty.

"Pretty is not what I would call you." Mickey says.

"Agreed." Donna nods.

The Master continues that they regressed into children but it didn't work. The universe was collapsing around then. The sphere in the shop tells the group that the Master came with his wonderful time machine to bring them home.

"It's not his." Rose grumbles.

Docherty points out that is a paradox and Martha says that is the paradox machine. The Master calls it his masterpiece. A living TARDIS, strong enough to hold the paradox in place, allowing the past and future to collide in infinite majesty.

"Not majestic either, you psycho." Donna spits angrily.

The Doctor points out he is changing history, not just of Earth but the entire universe. The Master states he is a Time Lord and has that right.

"Time Lord, not a God." Rose snaps.

"This one has way too high an opinion of himself." Jack adds. If they thought it had been bad before, his ego only seemed to get bigger. "I'm impressed you can actually move around with a head that big."

The Doctor asks why he would come all this way to destroy. The sphere tells him they came backwards to build a brand new empire lasting one hundred trillion years.

"So? The universe will still collapse at that time. Powerful and egotistical you may be but I doubt you have the power to stop that from happening." Jack points out.

He adds that he will be their master. Time Lords and humans combined. He tells the Doctor he has always dreamed of that.

"It isn't Time Lords and humans combined. It's some creepy sort of human, less pure than that Cassandra and a monster." Donna rolls her eyes. Then glances slightly guiltily at Nine. She must remember to keep her voice down but it doesn't exactly come naturally to her.

Tom points out that they are the same species. He asks why the spheres kill so many of them. It replies because it is fun. Tom shoots the head.

"Don't blame him." Martha states firmly.

The Master states that the Human race are the greatest monsters of them all.

"Not with you around." Mickey murmurs quietly to Martha. She nods in agreement.

He says goodnight. Then he, Lucy and the sphere leave. Docherty asks Martha for the truth. She asks about the legend of Martha travelling the world to find a way to kill the Master.

Nine and Ten both sigh sadly.

Martha explains that the Doctor told her he and the Master had been coming to Earth for years. They were watched by UNIT and Torchwood.

Everyone mutters some curses about Torchwood, channeling their anger at the Master to something the Doctor won't mind them cursing.

She continues that they made the ultimate defence. Martha opens the case to reveal a gun-like device, with a squeeze trigger and four small cylinders along the top. She also has three vials of coloured liquid.

"Unless one of those is aspirin, I'm not sure how you think it's the ultimate weapon." Rose frowns.

"No idea." Martha shrugs. Nine narrows his eyes at the screen. He suspects that's a fabrication but can't quite work out the real plan.

Tom says they just need to get close and he can shoot the Master with this. He holds up his gun and Docherty tells him to put it down. Martha tells him it's not so easy to kill a Time Lord because they can regenerate. Docherty is unhappy about that.

"Not immortal." Ten points out.

Martha tells them he is immortal except for the gun. Four chemicals slot into the gun and kill a Time Lord permanently. Tom points out she only has three and she tells him she still needs the last one as the parts were scattered.

"If it's the only defence against a Time Lord why would you scatter the parts all around the world?" Donna wonders.

"To make it harder for a psycho Time Lord to find and destroy them?" Jack suggests.

"It'd be far easier for a Time Lord with a TARDIS to find them than us humans. UNIT would know that." Sarah-Jane points out. "Seems like if it were true, a Time Lord would only need to destroy one part."

"Thing is, this is the Doctor's plan. He would never have a plan that relied on killing someone. Something else is going on." Rose frowns thoughtfully. Ten gives her a smile.

Martha continues that the last one is in London and she needs Tom to get her to an old UNIT base. Tom tells her they can't get across London in the dark but if they wait until morning they can go with a medical convoy. Docherty offers to let them stay there but Tom declines saying they can get halfway there. He thanks the Professor. She wishes him luck.

"They'll need it." Jack mutters.

Martha thanks her too. Docherty asks if Martha can actually kill him. She says she has no choice but Docherty points out she doesn't look like a killer.

"Protecting family is a very good motivator." Rose states quietly.

"And saving the world." Martha adds.

Outside the slave quarters, Tom and Martha dodge a patrol, and knock on a door. He states it's Milligan. The door opens and the place is full. The woman who lets them in asks if he brought food. Tom says he couldn't get any and he's starving. She replies they only have water.

"Oh god. It's horrible." Donna breathes.

Tom explains it is cheaper than building barracks. Then they ferry them off to shipyards every morning. Someone recognises Martha and asks if she can really kill the Master. Soon everyone is speaking over each other.

"I don't blame them. Sounds like you are their only source of hope." Rose sighs. Martha frowns. That is an awful lot of responsibility. Everything she's had to do in this has been a huge responsibility but being the main hope for most humans left alive is just mind blowing to her.

Tom tells them to leave her alone as she is exhausted. Martha says it' alright. They want her to talk and she will. Docherty opens a High Voltage box to reveal an Archangel communications device.

"Oh wonderful. She's going to betray you." Jack groans.

"Good job you didn't stay the night. She'd probably have handed you over." Donna agrees.

She states her name and the computer tells her to state her intent. She asks about her son.

The anger in the room softens slightly and becomes mixed with sympathy.

The computer tells her to state her intent. She asks if her son is alive and it repeats its statement. Eventually she says she has information for the Master concerning Martha Jones.

Everyone glares at the screen.

The Master enters in a silk dressing gown and wakes up the Doctor. He tells him to guess what.

Rose glares even more furiously at the screen at the sight of the Doctor still in such a state. She tightens her grip on Ten to remind herself he is safe and himself.

In the house, Martha tells a story about her adventures. She says her name isn't important, there is someone else called the Doctor. A woman interrupts saying the Master has come.

"Oh! Tom told the professor where they were staying!" Sarah-Jane remembers. Jack swears.

"Better there than with the professor though. There are loads of people crammed in. Should be easy to hide Martha." Mickey points out, holding Martha tighter to himself.

A boy comments that he never walks upon the ground. The woman tells them to hide Martha. Tom tells them to use this, tossing over an old sack which they cover Martha with. He then readies his gun by the letter box. Outside, the Master calls for Martha to come out.

"She's not stupid." Mickey scoffs.

"No but she could easily be persuaded to go out. You think if he has her family she might go." Jack points out.

He orders his men to their positions and states he will give the order unless she surrenders. He tells her to ask herself what the Doctor would do.

"Or he says that. That'll make her go out to see him." Rose winces.

Martha takes off the Tardis key and goes outside. The Master starts clapping, saying he trained her well. He asks her to throw him the bag. Martha throws her backpack towards the Master, who fires his laser screwdriver at it.

"So he actually bought the whole gun story?" Rose raises an eyebrow. "Not as smart as he thinks he is then."

He states that her work is done. He points his laser at her when Tom runs out of the house.

"Oh no!" Martha gasps. "He's going to get himself killed."

The Master kills Tom, and laughs.

The companions all burst into angry muttering. The Doctors just close their eyes. Nine buries his face in Rose's hair once more, unable to bear watching anymore.

He states that when Martha dies the Doctor should be witness. Then he takes a huge sniff before stating that it is almost dawn and Planet Earth marches to war. Guards bring Martha in. Clive, Francine and Tish are already there on one side. and Jack on the other.

"The group is altogether again at least." Jack sighs.

"With absolutely no plan we can see." Martha groans.

"I'm sure the Doctor has a plan." Rose says confidently.

"That gun must have just been a cover story for whatever Martha was supposed to be doing on Earth." Jack agrees.

The Master asks for her teleportation device. She throws him the vortex manipulator. He tells her to kneel which she does. He says that the fleet is ready to launch two hundred thousand ships across the universe. He asks if they are ready. A voice states that the fleet awaits his signal. The Master states that there are three minutes until the black hole converters align.

"Three minutes is not very long to fix this." Donna notes anxiously.

"We've worked with less." Ten smiles slightly.

He asks if his children are ready. The Toclafane in space all chant the same thing.

"That's just creepy." Martha shudders.

The Master states that at zero Martha will die. His first blood.

"She will not be your first blood. You've spilt so much blood already." Jack scoffs furiously. "Including your poor assistant."

He asks if she has any last words but Martha says nothing. He calls her a disappointment, saying that in days of old, the Doctor had companions who could absorb the Time Vortex but this one is useless.

Martha flinches. Mickey hugs her tighter briefly.

"You're so very far from useless." He whispers to her.

"How does he know about that?" Nine asks worriedly. Ten shrugs.

He orders Martha to bow her head and then says that it falls to him as Master of all to establish a new order of Time Lords. Martha is chuckling quietly. The Master asks what is so funny. She states a gun. He asks what about it and she asks if he really believed in that. The Master asks what she means. The Doctor points out he wouldn't ask her to kill.

"Well we worked that much out. Still doesn't leave much of an idea about what the real plan is." Jack mutters.

The Master states it doesn't matter as he has her where he wants her. Martha says she knew what Docherty would do as they knew about her son.

"Oh well, at least it wasn't a surprise when she betrayed you." Rose sighs, still unhappy about the betrayal.

Martha explains her plan and a few flashbacks are shown of her travelling and speaking to people. Then it shows the Doctor telling her to use the countdown.

"Oh!" Jack gasps. "Very clever. That Archangel network." Everyone else catches on.

When Martha mentions the satellites, the Master stops looking amused and asks what. Jack realises she means the Archangel network. Martha tells them that it creates a telepathic field binding the whole human race together. The timer shows zero. The Doctor and his cage start to glow. The Master tells them to stop it.

"Somehow I don't think that's going to happen." Rose says mockingly.

Jack and Marth's family all start saying the Doctor's name. On monitors, crowds chant the Doctor's name. The Master keeps demanding that they stop it. Even Lucy says it. The Doctor is back to his previous old age form. He explains he has had a whole year to tune himself to the psychic network. The Master orders him to stop.

"Nobody wants to listen to you mate." Mickey gloats.

The chanting continues as the Doctor states that the one thing the Master can't do is stop them thinking. He changes back to his proper self.

"Oh thank goodness." Rose exclaims. Everyone else sighs in relief.

The Doctor tells him to say the human race is degenerate now when they can do this. Martha grins and then runs to her family. The Master screams no. Then he fires the laser screwdriver at the Doctor, but the energy field is still around him and it doesn't get through. The Doctor tells him he is sorry.

"Of course you would say sorry." Rose mutters.

"Why the hell would you be sorry?" Jack asks at the same time. Ten ignores both comments.

The Master says he will kill them. He points the screwdriver towards Martha's family. The Doctor stretches out his hand and the screwdriver flies from the Master's hand. The Master says he can't do this as it's not fair.

"Not fair!" Donna scowls. "It's perfectly bloody fair. You don't have a right to kill people and start wars, you egotistical, arrogant…" She trails off, mumbling incoherently, unable to find the right words.

The Doctor tells him he knows what happens now. The Master yells no. The Doctor floats towards the Master as he backs away. The Doctor continues that he wouldn't listen because he knows what he will say. The Master curls up in a ball, arms over his head. The Doctor puts his arms around him and says he forgives him.

All of the companions gape at the screen. It's shocking and yet not surprising at all. He wouldn't be the Doctor if he acted any differently and yet none of them can grasp the idea of forgiving him.

The Master yells for his children. The spheres all chant to protect the paradox. The Doctor lets go of the Master, standing up and yelling the Paradox Machine at Jack. Jack takes some of the guards and leaves.

"Why are they listening to you now?" Donna asks curiously.

"I guess they didn't really want to work for him, it was just better than what was happening to everyone else." Jack guesses.

The Doctor spots the Master activating the manipulator, and grabs it yelling no. The Master says that now it ends. A roll of thunder, and sirens sound in the shipyard. Martha comments they have six billion spheres heading straight for them. The Doctor points out that they have control of the Valiant so they can't launch.

"I suspect he knows that. It's something else." Jack groans.

The Master says he has this, holding up a small device. He says there is a black hole converter inside every ship. If he can't have the planet then the Doctor can't either.

"He takes petty to a whole new level." Martha gapes. "How utterly pathetic can he get?"

"Pretty damn pathetic." Mickey mutters quietly.

Jack and the guards find three spheres guarding the Tardis, so they start shooting at them. The rest are hurtling back down towards the Valiant. The guard states they can't get in as they would get slaughtered. Jack replies that it happens to him a lot. He moves forwards alone.

Donna cringes and hugs Jack tightly.

The Doctor tells the Master that all he does is talk. After all the years he has the greatest secret of them all. He knows the Master. He points out that if he explodes the ships then he kills himself which is the one thing he could never do.

"Seems like there are quite a few things he can't do." Mickey mutters.

"Let's be glad of that or we wouldn't have an Earth left." Martha reminds him.

The Doctor tells him to hand the trigger over. The Master does so. Jack gets inside the Tardis and empties his machine gun clip at the paradox machine.

Both Doctors cringe, both at the state of their ship and at Jack shooting her.

It goes Bang. At the quarry, the ground shakes as the Doctor and the Master struggle for the vortex manipulator. They disappear together. The spheres disappear and the ship shakes. Papers are flying everywhere. Martha gets thrown into the Doctor's arms. He yells for everyone to get down and tells them time is reversing. The Master is hanging onto some railings.

"Well, it looks like that trip is just like when you drive." Rose laughs.

Francine sees a pistol on the floor. Meanwhile, the winds of time are creating havoc and panic on the ground, until finally the people, the rockets and the statues disappear. Calm returns and a red bus drives around Piccadilly Circus. The Doctor explains that the Paradox is broken and they have gone back a year and a day. A voice comes over the comms saying that they just saw the President assassinated.

"But before the spheres, right?" Sarah-Jane asks.

"Yeah." Ten nods. "They are still at the end of the universe."

He states that it is after the President was killed but before the spheres, everything is back to normal and none of it ever happened. Martha asks about the spheres and he says they are still trapped at the end of the universe.

"Are they still in those spheres though? They aren't human anymore?" Rose asks sadly.

"I'm afraid so. He'd already transformed them." Ten tells her.

Francine says she can still remember. The Doctor tells her they are the only ones that will ever know. He goes over to meet Mr Jones. The Master runs for the door just as Jack is coming in.

"Nice timing." Donna grins.

Jack says he doesn't want to miss the party and puts him in cuffs. He asks what they do with him. Clive and Tish both suggest killing him. The Doctor tells them no. Francine aims the gun at the Master. She says that those things did happen because of him. The Master encourages her to do it.

"I thought you said the one thing he couldn't do was kill himself? I assumed that would mean he doesn't want to die." Rose frowns.

"He doesn't but some things are worse than death." Nine tells her gravely.

The Doctor tells her she is better than him. He gets Francine to lower the gun and he hugs her, then hands her off to Martha. The Master asks what happens to him. The Doctor says he is his responsibility. Jack points out he can't trust him.

"Yes, I had noticed that." Nine scowls.

The Doctor agrees, saying the only safe place for him is the TARDIS.

"Where he can wait patiently until you slip for one second and then steal it again?" Mickey asks scathingly. "Cause you said you know him but I guess that means he knows you too."

The Master asks if he is just going to keep him. The Doctor agrees if that is what he has to do. Maybe it is time for a change as he has been wandering too long. Now he has someone to care for. There is a gunshot. The Doctor catches the Master as he staggers back. It was Lucy.

"Well, I can't say I blame her." Mickey mutters. Martha nods in agreement.

Jack tells her to put it down while the Doctor tells the Master he has got him. The Master comments it's always the women. The Doctor states he didn't see her. The Master asks if he is happy now as he is dying in his arms. The Doctor tells him not to be stupid he can just regenerate. The Master refuses.

"Petty right to the end." Jack mutters.

The Doctor begs him to regenerate but the Master refuses as he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life imprisoned with him. The Doctor says it can't end like this after all the things they've done. He points out they are the only two left. A tear falls as he tells him to regenerate.

Ten bows his head and grips Rose's hand tightly. She can feel the tears coming from Nine who still has not looked up from her hair.

The Master says that he wins. Then asks if the drumming will stop before he dies. The Doctor cradles the body as he cries.

Both Doctors are crying freely now, though Nine's face is still hidden from everyone. Nobody comments. Though none of them are particularly sad about his death, they feel sorry for the Doctors.

Somewhere, later, the Doctor lights the Master's funeral pyre then walks away.

Both Doctors struggle not to just get up and run away. Sarah-Jane hugs Ten while he still clutches Rose's hand.

Alison Docherty is walking along a path when Martha runs up to her and gives her a bunch of flowers. She says they are to say that Martha doesn't blame her. Docherty asks who she is. Martha runs away without responding.

"That was nice of you." Sarah-Jane smiles.

"She was trying to save her son. Besides, she got me where I needed to be." Martha shrugs, glad she had done that.

Martha, Jack and the Doctor stand by a railing. She comments that all of these people knew his name and now they have forgotten him. The Doctor says that is good.

"Definitely." Nine agrees, voice hoarse.

Jack says he has to go back to work. The Doctor offers for him to come with him.

"Really? What happened to the whole 'it hurts just to look at you'?" Jack asks.

"Well, it still did but you didn't deserve how I left you. It wasn't your fault." Ten tells him.

Jack states he has had plenty of time to think and he kept thinking about his team and he has responsibility. The Doctor says he can't argue with defending the Earth. The Doctor takes Jack's hand and exposes the vortex manipulator on his wrist. Jack protests that he needs that and the Doctor says he can't have Jack wandering around with a time travelling teleport. He could go anywhere twice. The second time to apologise.

Everybody lets out a much needed laugh.

"Hey, if I went back a second time, it would not be to apologise." Jack says with a cheeky grin.

The Doctor sonics the manipulator. Jack asks if he can fix him and if he will ever be able to die. The Doctor says there is nothing he can do. Jack is an impossible thing.

"Well we all knew that, even without what I did to him." Rose laughs. Jack winks at her.

Jack laughs and says he has been called that before.

"I bet you have." Donna rolls her eyes.

He salutes them and they salute in return. He is about to walk off before turning back and asking about aging because he gets the odd little grey hair. He asks what happens if he lives for a million years.

"You turn into a giant head." Donna snorts.

"Yeah, I think a few little grey hairs is the least of my problems." Jack agrees, pulling a disgusted face.

The Doctor grins as he says he doesn't know. Jack chuckles and says it's vanity but he can't help it. He says he used to be a poster boy when he was a kid living on the Boeshane Peninsula. He was the first one to be signed up for the Time Agency and they used to call him the Face of Boe.

"I suppose the nickname didn't end up with quite the meaning I was expecting." Jack shrugs.

"Well at least your head inflates to its appropriate size eventually." Donna sniggers.

"Hey!" He complains.

The Doctor and Martha stop grinning as Jack says he will see them. He heads off as the Doctor says no. Martha agrees it can't be. The Doctor says definitely not. Both of them laugh.

"So glad you find my predicament amusing." Jack says with a raised eyebrow. However he looks slightly amused.

"You were just going on about your vanity and we find out you turn into a giant head. It's a little funny." Martha tells him with a grin.

The Doctor watches Francine, Martha, Clive and Tish inside the house from across the street where the Tardis is parked, then goes inside it. His spare hand is now attached to the base of the console.

"You kept that thing?" Rose asks, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah. Can't risk someone getting their hands on it." Ten tells her.

"You still don't need to keep it in the console room." Donna points out.

A little later, Martha leaves the house, making a telephone call. She asks to speak with Thomas Milligan. He answers. She grins and hangs up.

"You should have said hi." Jack tells her.

"And say what? I met you but you don't remember because we reversed time?" She asks sarcastically.

"Yeah." He agrees with a laugh.

She goes into the TARDIS and the Doctor says off they go. He lists off places they could go to but then he stops and looks at Martha before saying ok. Martha says she can't. He says yeah. She states that she spent ages training to be a doctor and now she has people to look after who are devastated. She can't leave them.

"Yeah. It sucks that they have to remember as well." Donna frowns in sympathy.

"Definitely." Rose nods.

The Doctor agrees. He thanks her and hugs her before saying that she saved the world.

"Yes you did." Jack grins.

"You did something incredible." Sarah-Jane agrees.

Martha states that she spent a lot of time with him thinking she was second best but she is good.

"There was never any doubt you were incredible." Mickey tells her.

She asks if he will be alright. He says he always is.

"Liar." Rose mutters.

She says bye, kisses him on the cheek and then leaves. After a few seconds she goes back inside saying it's like her friend Vicky. She tells him about her friend and the Doctor asks if this is going anywhere. She says it is because this guy never looked at her friend twice. She wasted years pining after him because she never looked at anyone else. Martha advised her friend to get out and the Doctor nods sadly. She continues that this is her getting out.

"Not really sure why the speech was necessary." Rose mutters to herself. "I mean, good for Martha, looking after herself and doing what she needs to but still."

"She needed to let it out." Nine whispers.

"You changed your tune about her." Rose whispers back.

"No, I liked her and she is brilliant. It was just her acting offended because I loved someone else and not her that annoyed me. Now she's accepting that and moving on. It's good for her and me." He replies.

She throws her mobile phone to him. She tells him that when it rings he had better come running. He says got it.

"You tell him." Donna laughs.

Martha says she will see him again and then leaves. The TARDIS dematerialises. The Master's pyre has burnt out. A hand with red fingernails takes his signet ring from the ashes.

"Oh great. Nothing good will come of that." Jack groans.

The screen goes black.

"That's enough for today." Ten announces. They all get up. Rose and the Doctor's disappear into their bedroom.