AN: Well hi! This turned out to be a VERY LONG chapter so I hope you're sitting comfortably!

Writing around med school and a juicy chunk of writers block has been super tough, but the fact I'm making progress with this one and HWCW is amazing! I will get back to Eris as soon as I can though - my poor girl is probably feeling a bit left out!

Anyway, enjoy xoxo

Chapter 9: Utopia

From the Tardis scanners, the grey expanse of Roald Dahl Plass looked as damp and ordinary as it had always done. The Doctor grinned, tapping the screen cheerfully.

"Cardiff."

Martha raised an eyebrow - it was hardly as impressive as anywhere they'd been landing recently. "Cardiff?"

"Ah, but the thing about Cardiff, it's built on a rift in time and space, just like California and the San Andreas Fault, but the rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel."

"So it's a pit stop."

"Exactly. Should only take twenty seconds. Oh… the rift's been active."

Sticking her head around the buttress, Romana scoffed. "What, is that because you didn't close it properly?"

"Oi, I did! It's just a bit… leaky, that's all."

Martha frowned as she joined them at the console. "Wait a minute. They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?"

"Bit of trouble with the Slitheen. Hmm…" Something on the screen had caught his eye - a rather familiar, insufferably handsome man in a long coat, a heavy-looking rucksack bouncing on his shoulders. "A long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then."

There was a soft snort from Romana as she fiddled with one of the dials. "Yeah, and that's before you even account for the ears."

"Hey, that's mean! You know I didn't have any control over that."

"Oh, I know." She got on her tiptoes, ruffling his hair cheerily. "But it's so much fun to tease."

As he pouted, the ship chirruped - partly because it had finished powering up, and mostly because she thought it was hilarious that they hadn't noticed their obvious feelings just yet. He grinned.

"Finito. All powered up."

He smacked the last button, and the ship started to move as usual. But then, something went quite wrong. Parts of the console exploded, showering the three of them in sparks as the ship jolted violently. All three of them were surprised by the aggressive attempt at takeoff, battling to stay upright as the floor pitched as though they were in the middle of a hurricane. Or… whatever the space equivalent was, anyway.

Martha felt sure that her knee was going to bruise where it had hit the console. "Whoa! What's that?"

Struggling around to the scanner, the Doctor's jaw dropped when he read what was displayed there. "We're accelerating into the future. The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. Fifty trillion? What? The year one hundred trillion? That's impossible."

"Why? What happens then?"

Romana put herself in the way of the next explosion so Martha wouldn't get too singed. "Well we can't be, but… we're going to the end of the universe!"

The little laboratory was humid, and felt claustrophobic - the new bundles of wiring that they had needed to set up between the various computers had drastically decreased the space available to them, and it was very hard to walk about in there without ducking. Various bits of machinery were making noises, but it was one in particular that caught the attention of the little white-haired professor.

"There's movement on the surface. Another human hunt. God help him."

Beside him, the young insectoid blue woman that worked tirelessly as his assistant frowned.

"Chan- should I alert the guards -tho?"

"No, no, we can't spare them. Poor beggar's on his own. One more lost soul dreaming of Utopia."

"Chan- you mustn't talk as if you've given up -tho."

"No, no, indeed. Here's to it. Utopia." He raised his mug in a toast, then grimaced as he took a mouthful of the liquid inside. "Where it is to be hoped the coffee is a little less sour. Will you join me?"

"Chan- I am happy drinking my own internal milk -tho."

"Yes, well, that's quite enough information, thank you."

The awkward moment was interrupted by a voice from the loudspeaker, which was so surrounded by wires and poorly constructed circuits that it was hardly visible.

"Professor Yana? I don't want to rush you, but how are we doing?"

He flinched a little, hating that he was once again about to lie to the man who was putting so much faith in his work. "Er, yes, er, er, yes. Working. Yes, almost there."

"How's it looking on the footprint?"

"It's good. Yes. Fine. Excellent."

Sensing his discomfort, Chantho cut in, talking far more smoothly than her boss. "Chan- there's no problem as such. We've accelerated the calculation matrix but it's going to take time to harmonise -tho. Chan- we're trying a new reversal process. We'll have a definite result in approximately two hours -tho."

Professor Yana didn't seem to register the response the other man gave, distracted by an odd sort of sensation in his mind. It was similar to the sound of blood rushing, but he knew it couldn't be that - it was drumming in a pattern of four beats over and over again. A man would need to have two hearts to produce a rhythm like that. And that simply wasn't possible. He was jolted back to reality by Chantho's hand on his shoulder.

"Chan- Professor -tho?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes. Working." He brushed her off.

She shook her head, pointing back to the radar screen. "Chan- it's the surface scanner, Professor. It seems to be detecting a different signal -tho."

He took a look, frowning. "Well, that's not a standard reading. I can't make it out." Normally, the readings were circular, to represent the movement of humans (or other humanoid figures) on the surface outside. But this was a tiny square. "Well. It would seem that something new has arrived."

Indeed, they had. The Tardis had continued to buck like an aggravated animal for the duration of the journey, clearly very displeased that she was having to go to such lengths. She was a lady, of course. She didn't particularly like the idea of a man clinging to her exterior for dear life. When she had finally landed, her inhabitants were still shaking a little, muscles struggling to adjust back to being relatively stable again. Breathing heavily, the Doctor stated the obvious.

"Well, we've landed."

Romana shot him a look as she adjusted the braid around the crown of her head. "There's an old Earth phrase that I've grown quite fond of recently - no shit, Sherlock!"

As he sighed, struggling not to laugh too hard, Martha grinned. They really did remind her of an old married couple sometimes. "So what's out there?"

"I don't know."

"Say that again. That's rare."

"Not even the Time Lords came this far. We should leave. We should go. We should really, really go."

Then his face split with a grin, and he ran for the door, leaving the girls to shake their heads at each other and grab their jackets before following him.

While there was plenty of curious scenery for them to take in, the thing that caught everyone's attention first was the body splayed on the ground. Martha was the first to jump into action, instincts developed by extensive medical training taking the wheel as she knelt beside the man, hands checking his pulse points.

"Oh my God! I… I can't get a pulse. Hold on. You've got that medical kit thing."

She darted back inside, and the Doctor stared down at the man, his expression unreadable.

"Hello again. Oh, I'm sorry."

Romana frowned up at him. "Clearly I'm missing something here. Who is he?"

He was distracted by Martha reappearing, bag in hand, and watched as she continued her assessment.

"Here we go. Get out of the way. It's a bit odd, though. Not very hundred trillion. That coat's more like World War Two."

He shrugged. "I think he came with us."

"How do you mean, from Earth?"

"Must have been clinging to the outside of the Tardis all the way through the vortex. Well, that's very him."

"What, do you know him?"

"Friend of mine. Used to travel with me, back in the old days."

Her face dropped. "But he's… I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead."

As though he'd been suddenly plugged into an electrical source, Jack shot up, grabbing Martha by the shoulders. She couldn't help but scream, fighting to recover her dignity as fast as she could.

"Oh, so much for me. It's alright. Just breathe deep. I've got you."

He looked her up and down, clearly liking what he saw. "Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?"

"Martha Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't start."

"I was only saying hello." As Martha tried to cover up the fact that she was blushing a little, he turned his attention on the people he had yet to say hello to. "Well, a face I think I know and a face that I definitely don't. Nice to meet you, Red. I'm Jack."

The way he looked at Romana, assessing her from the ginger braid haloed around her head all the way down to the soles of her boots, made the Doctor feel slightly ill. He couldn't stand that he was looking at her as though she was a piece of meat. Sheer relief flooded through him as Romana scrunched her nose, appearing just as disgusted as he felt.

"My eyes are up here, Captain. If you let them wander anywhere else, I might just have to remove them."

The ice in her tone made the threat sound incredibly like a promise, and he disguised a smile. He found himself incredibly glad that she wasn't caught up by the other man's charms.

Trying to regain his composure, Jack turned his attention on the person he'd been looking for all along.

"Doctor."

He nodded. "Captain."

"Good to see you."

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

"You can talk!"

"Oh yes, the face. Regeneration. How did you know this was me?"

"Well, the police box kind of gives it away. I've been following you for a long time… you abandoned me."

He shrugged. "Did I? Busy life. Moving on."

Jack scoffed a little, as though he'd been expecting exactly that sort of response. "Just gotta ask… the Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

For the first time since his appearance, the Doctor's face lit up. "Oh, no! Sorry, she's alive."

"You're kidding."

"Parallel world, safe and sound. And Mickey, and her mother."

"Oh, yes!"

And the two men met in the middle for a fierce hug, the last of the tension between them dissipating as they reminisced. Watching on, Martha couldn't help but feel a little despondent.

"Good old Rose."

Having heard her little remark, Romana nudged her gently. "Hey. You're my favourite companion, you know."

"I'm your only companion."

"Well, it still counts."

She giggled softly. "Wait, what if you include the Doctor as well?"

The redhead snorted. "Then you're definitely my favourite. Hands down."

As they set off to explore, curiosity about the place they had ended up in overriding the emotions surrounding their meeting, the four of them split into pairs. Jack and Martha walked slightly ahead of the Doctor and Romana as the captain explained his life story.

"So there I was, stranded in the year two hundred one hundred, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me. But I had this." He raised his arm, showing off a sort of bracelet with a thick panel in the centre, constructed of leather. "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."

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

Martha grinned - even when the men involved were space aliens and travellers from the future, they could still get into a testosterone fuelled slanging match over their favoutire vehicles. It reminded her of her brother and his friends back at home, talking about whose car was the most impressive. "Oh ho. Boys and their toys."

Jack just took it in his stride. "Alright, so I bounced. I thought, 21st century, the best place to find the Doctor, except that I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869, this thing burnt out, so it was useless."

He shrugged. "Told you."

"I had to live through the entire twentieth century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me."

Now, mental maths had never been one of Martha's strongest talents, but she was still able to work out a rough estimate. "But that makes you more than one hundred years old."

"And looking good, don't you think? So I went to the time rift, based myself there because I knew you'd come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this detecting you and here we are."

"But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?"

"I was busy." The conversation was getting uncomfortable, and the tension in his shoulders was obvious. Noticing this, Romana brushed her hand against his sleeve, giving him the choice whether or not to accept the comfort she offered. He laced his fingers with hers in an instant, squeezing lightly. The topic of people being left behind was still not one he liked to think about, especially considering how they had originally parted.

Martha kept pushing. "Is that what happens, though, seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

Jack shot her a wink. "Not if you're blonde."

"Oh, she was blonde? Oh, what a surprise!"

He stormed in front of them, dragging Romana along with him. "You two! We're at the end of the universe, all right? Right at the edge of knowledge itself and you're busy-" He sputtered for a moment, not quite knowing how to word what was going on in his brain.

The little redhead cut in, still holding his hand. "Fancy a fun fact, either of you? I was blonde when he left me behind."

The combination of her words and the look on the Doctor's face stunned them into silence. Jack's entire expression changed as he realised just what she was implying.

"So you're-"

"Yep."

"But I thought he was-"

"Technically he was, for a while. In this universe, anyway. From memory, I was in E-space for somewhere in the region of two hundred and fifty years. Now, the scenario isn't exactly the same - I decided to stay, because I couldn't face the thought of having to go back home. But me leaving hurt us both. Leaving you would have hurt too, Jack. Sometimes there just isn't a choice. There are bigger things to worry about - like knowing you're about to die, or that the fate of the universe is at stake."

The silence that followed was incredibly awkward, only broken when Jack murmured a soft apology. It took a few moments for the group to start walking again, more subdued than they had been before.

Thankfully, arrival at the edge of the quarry gave them something else to think about. Romana went right up to the ridge, grateful for the Doctor grabbing the back of her jacket as she lost her footing a little.

"Woah, steady."

"Thanks. The stone here isn't as stable as it looks."

Noticing that he kept his hand at the small of her back, Martha stifled a smile. "Is that a city?"

They were looking out on a vast network of carved pathways and tunnels, probably thousands of tiny little doors engraved into the rock walls. It was beautiful.

He nodded. "A city or a hive, or a nest, or a conglomeration. Like it was grown. But look, there. That's like pathways, roads? Must have been some sort of life, long ago."

"What killed it?"

"Time. Just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn't just night."

Romana's eyes were on the sky, staring out into the deep expanse of black up above, "All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing. No matter how this planet, wherever it is, rotates, the sky will always be dark. There's nothing left to give light."

Slightly to their left, Jack shivered a little. "They must have an atmospheric shell. We should be frozen to death."

"Well, the three of us, maybe. For some reason, Captain, I'm not so sure about you." The look she gave him made it clear that she could sense exactly what was wrong with him - and that she really didn't like it.

Another thought had struck Martha. "What about the people? Does no one survive?"

"I suppose we have to hope life will find a way somehow."

The sound of pebbles being disturbed close by made all four of them turn, and Jack raised an eyebrow. "Well, he's not doing too bad."

Weaving through the banks of sand and stone was a young man, panting with a mix of exertion and terror, being pursued by a heaving throng of people. Well, they looked like people anyway. Until you took a closer look. The odd markings on their faces, the horrifically sharp teeth - they were clear indicators that these were not humans as they knew them to be. The one leading the pack howled out. "Human!"

The Doctor really didn't like what he saw. "Is it me, or does that look like a hunt? Come on!"

And the four of them set off, Jack grinning as a familiar burn appeared in his leg muscles.

"Oh, I've missed this."

It didn't take them long to catch up with the young man, Jack steadying him so he wouldn't fall.

"I've got you, it's okay."

"They're coming! They're coming!"

Indeed, the tribe was getting closer by the second, and Jack raised his revolver. The Doctor grabbed his sleeve, making him turn to look him in the eye.

"Jack, don't you dare!"

And so he fired into the air instead. The sharp report of the gunshot made the horde stop in their tracks, watching the strange piece of metal and the man that held it with caution. Up close, it was clear that they were more animal than human.

Martha felt her jaw drop at the hideous sight. "What the hell are they?

The young man they had rescued shook his head. "There's more of them. We've got to keep going."

The Doctor nodded. "It's alright, I've got a ship nearby. It's safe. It's not far, it's over there."

In the direction he had pointed, another cluster of tribespeople appeared.

Romana sighed. "Or maybe not. Any other ideas, people?"

He pointed away from the groups. "We're close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we're safe."

"Okay. Silo?"

Jack and Martha nodded eagerly.

"Silo."

"Silo for me."

And the Doctor agreed. "Seems like the best idea. Off we go then - lead the way!"

They really had been close - it probably took them less than five minutes of running before the gates of a large fenced compound came into view. The young man sped up, waving his hands above his head to get the attention of those guarding the gate.

"It's the Futurekind! Open the gate!"

"Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!"

"Show him your teeth."

All of them slammed into the mesh, grimacing as widely as they could to show off their teeth - normal, ordinary, not-built-for-ripping-throats-out teeth. There was a painful moment where the five of them were waiting for a response, aware of the Futurekind catching up, before the guard closest to them nodded.

"Human! Let them in! Let them in!" The gate was opened just enough for them to squeeze through, before the controls were activated again. "Close! Close! Close!"

As the first fringes of the tribe group got to be within about ten metres of the gate, the guards fired their machine guns at the ground, kicking up a line of dust. While they didn't make any further attempts to approach, it was clear that the weapons hadn't frightened them. One very close to the front, with thick dark hair and bright eyes, sneered.

"Humans. Humani. Make feast."

"Go back to where you came from. I said, go back. Back!"

Another round of gunfire, and Jack raised an eyebrow at the Doctor.

"Oh, don't tell him to put his gun down."

"He's not my responsibility."

"And I am? Huh, that makes a change."

While the boys continued to bicker and the tribe retreated, Romana offered the guard a polite smile. "Thanks for that."

"Right. Let's get you and your friends inside, miss."

Grabbing the guard by the sleeve, the young man stared up at him desperately. In the dark beyond the fence it had been hard to tell his age, but now they were under the spotlights he looked rather young - he couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old. "My name is Padra Shafe Cane. Tell me. Just tell me, can you take me to Utopia?"

The guard smiled. "Oh yes, sir. Yes, I can."

Once again, Professor Yana's work was disturbed by the man calling through the intercom. This time, however, there was excitement in his voice. Something interesting had happened.

"Professor, we've got four new humans inside. One of them is calling himself a doctor."

He scrunched his nose a little. "Of medicine?"

"He says, of everything. And there's a young woman with him who says she's, um… scientifically proficient. Whatever that means."

These words made him gasp with joy, clapping his hands together. "Scientists! Oh, scientists! Oh my word. Just, just, Chantho, just, er…. Oh, I don't know. Do something. Atillo, I'm coming!"

And he scurried out of the lab to greet the new arrivals, leaving a rather bemused Chantho behind to continue fiddling with the computers.

Poor Atillo was trying to handle two separate conversations at once - both Padra and the Doctor were determined to talk to him about something of vital importance, and no matter how much Romana attempted to get her best friend to be patient for just a few moments, he continued chattering on.

"It looks like a box, a big blue box. I'm sorry, but I really need it back. It's stuck out there."

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

Deciding to handle the request he was more used to first, Atillo turned to Padra. "The computers are down but you can check the paperwork. Creet! Passenger needs help." He snapped his fingers, and a small boy appeared from around a corner with a clipboard.

"Right. What do you need?"

As Padra reeled off his family's names, Atillo turned back to the rest of the group.

"A blue box, you said."

The Doctor nodded. "Big, tall, wooden. Says police on the top."

He made a few notes. "We're driving out for the last water collection. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

Having checked his lists, the little boy waved them all over. "Come on!"

He looked as though he couldn't be any older than eight or nine, and that made Martha frown. He was grimy and awfully skinny, but his fluffy blonde hair and cheery smile were incredibly endearing. "Sorry, but how old are you?"

The boy simply shrugged. "Old enough to work. This way."

The corridors were heaving with people. Every one they walked down was narrowed by rows of people huddling against the walls on either side, marking out individual areas for themselves and their families with tattered blankets and bits of cardboard. Numbers and names had been scrawled on the walls, and in some places photographs had been tacked up. As they weaved their way through the complex, Creet and Padra called out in alternation.

"Kistane Shafe Cane. Kistane Shafe Cane. Kistane and Biltone Shafe Cane? We're looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane."

"The Shafe Canes, anyone? Kistane from Red Force Five? My name's Padra. Please, has anyone seen them?"

"Anyone? Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane? Anyone know the Shafe Cane family? Anyone called Shafe Cane?"

Martha felt sick to her stomach at the sight of the place. It reminded her of things she'd only ever seen on television before, of photos and videos that had come out of war zones on the news. "It's like a refugee camp."

Seeing her expression, Romana gently squeezed her arm. "I know. I know it's hard in here, but look at them. Really, look. They're smiling, playing games. They're tired and they're hungry, but this is somewhere that they can be happy, and safe. This is better than the alternative."

Jack wrinkled his nose. "Stinking." Then he realised that he'd been looking in the direction of one man, who looked a little offended. "Oh, sorry. No offence. Not you."

The Doctor grinned, spreading his arms wide. "Don't you see that? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived. Oh, you might have spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas, and another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans. End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That's the word. Indomitable! Ha!"

Romana shook her head, smiling fondly. "Sometimes I get why you picked them as your favourite species, you know?"

He shot her a grin. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, sometimes I do question every choice you've ever made in your many lives, but this one is one that I can get behind. They really are rather brilliant."

Creet called out once more. "Kistane Shafe Cane. Is there a Kistane Shafe Cane?"

A woman at the end of the corridor stood up, hope visible on her face.

"That's me."

Tears were already streaming down Padra's cheeks. "Mother?"

"Oh, my God. Padra."

"Beltone?"

As he ran to reunite with his family, Martha brightened considerably. There was a silver lining after all. "Aw, it's not all bad news."

Jack had other things on his mind - as per usual. "Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?"

The Doctor dragged him away from the young man he had been ogling. "Stop it. Give us a hand with this. It's half deadlocked."

"I can manage by myself, thanks." Romana had already broken past one of the wall panels next to the door, deftly separating and rejoining all the necessary wires. "If someone wants to try overwriting the code for the door though, you're more than welcome to. Just don't get in my way."

"Oh Romana, when am I ever in the way?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" She didn't look up from her circuits, missing the look of mock offence on his face. The two worked side by side for a couple of minutes before the code panel bleeped, and he grinned.

"Right. Let's find out where we are."

He slid the door open - and very nearly fell to his next regeneration. The only thing that prevented him from plummeting to the invisible ground below was Romana, grabbing handfuls of his trench coat and pulling him backwards.

"You do know that you have functional eyes, right? Why don't you ever use them? Moron."

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry."

"How in Rassilon's name have you managed to make it this long without me to keep an eye on you?"

Jack shot a look at Martha, muttering under his breath.

"Are they always like this?"

"Oh, you have no idea." She moved to join her friends, cautiously looking down (and very much wishing she hadn't). "Now that is what I call a rocket."

The Doctor nodded. "They're not refugees, they're passengers."

"He said they were going to Utopia."

"The perfect place. Hundred trillion years, it's the same old dream. Either of you recognise those engines?"

Romana frowned. "No, it's not something I've seen before."

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

The four of them carefully closed the door so nobody else would be at risk of falling, all starting to become uncomfortable in the heat of the place.

Tugging at his collar, the Doctor nodded. "Boiling. But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?"

His musings were interrupted by the appearance of a well dressed man with grey hair and a delighted glimmer in his eyes. He looked friendly enough, but Romana found that the sight of him put her on edge. She just couldn't quite determine why… brushing the thoughts off for a moment, she tuned back into the conversation.

"The Doctor?"

"That's me."

He clapped his hands together. "Good! And I was told there was another scientist with your party?"

She raised a hand. "That would be me."

"Good! Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good."

He linked arms with both of them and led them down the corridor, chattering away at a hundred miles an hour, and they both looked back at a rather bemused looking Jack and Martha.

"It's good… apparently."

Professor Yana kept a tight hold on the pair until they were in the thick of his lab, just in case they were figments of his imagination - just in case this was all a cruelly pleasant dream that would be snatched away by the alarm that signalled the morning work shift at any moment.

"Chan- welcome -tho."

He swept past his assistant, releasing the two scientists so they were able to take a look at his set up. "Now, this is the gravitissimal accelerator. It's past its best but it works. And over here is the footprint impellor system. Now, do you know anything about endtime gravity-"

Martha stopped by the door, not wanting the blue insect woman to feel like she was being ignored. "Hello. Who are you?"

"Chan- Chantho -tho."

Jack helf out a hand, winking as he kissed the back of her hand. "Captain Jack Harkness."

The Doctor glared at him from across the room. "Stop it."

"Can't I say hello to anyone?"

Chantho's cheeks were almost navy blue. "Chan- I do not protest -tho."

Romana rolled her eyes, tucking some stray hair behind her ear as she crouched to look beneath one of the computer banks. "You can do far better than him, Chantho. Trust me."

Jack looked offended. "You've only just met me."

"And yet I already know everything I need to."

"Maybe later, Blue. So, what have we got here?"

Yana sighed, seemingly having accepted that they were actually real. "Well, we can't get it to harmonise."

The Doctor hummed thoughtfully. "And all this feeds into the rocket?"

"Yes, except without a stable footprint, you see, we're unable to achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?"

"Well, er, basically, sort of, not a clue."

"Nothing?"

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

His face fell, and Romana couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "No, no. I'm sorry. It's my fault. There's been so little help." He sat down heavily, massaging his temples. His headache was coming back.

Jack had placed his bag carefully by the table, and a rather curious bubbling noise had drawn Martha to it. She knew that it was rude, obviously, to go through someone's belongings without their permission. But somehow she didn't think that he would mind too much. The thing she pulled from his backpack was a large transparent container filled with a clear fluid that bubbled slightly of it's own volition. It was very heavy, but the thing that caught her attention most was the hand inside. Very cleanly cut, no blood or ragged ends. The fingers were wiggling slightly against the motion of the bubbles - but part of her couldn't help but think the hand was actually moving itself. Like Thing out of The Addams Family.

"Oh, my God. You've got a hand? A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag."

Hearing this, the Doctor turned to take a look - and his jaw hit the floor. "But that, that, that's my hand."

Jack shrugged, looking rather proud of himself. "I said I had a Doctor detector."

Chantho looked bemused. "Chan- is this a tradition amongst your people -tho?

The admission of ownership of the detached appendage made Martha's head spin, and the fact that she could see both of his hands where they should be, on the ends of his arms, wasn't really helping her understanding of the situation. "Not on my street, it's not. What do you mean, that's your hand? You've got both your hands, I can see them."

He sat down at the little table, tapping the glass lightly. "Long story. I lost my hand on Christmas Day, in a swordfight."

"What? And you grew another hand?"

"Er, yeah, yeah, I did. Yeah. Hello."

Romana shook her head. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me, knowing you. You never told me that story."

"I could've sworn I had."

"Nope. Just that you had a slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle of that hand."

"Ah, yeah. That was in the old one."

She took his hand in both of hers, gently feeling the area. "Definitely not there now. Guess losing the old one was a stroke of luck, really."

He tangled his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand. "Yeah, I guess so."

Having listened to this conversation, Yana butted in. "Might I ask, what species are you?"

"Time Lord, last of. Well, last-ish. One of two." He smiled fondly at Romana as he waited for the man to respond, slightly crestfallen at the blank look on his face. "Heard of them? Legend or anything? Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."

She grinned. "Aw, is your ego a bit bruised?"

"Don't start."

Chantho smiled at the two of them, a little wistful. She wished she had someone who'd look at her like that. "Chan- it is said that I am the last of my species too -tho."

"Sorry, what was your name?"

Remembering how rudely he'd brushed past her earlier, the Professor held out a hand. "My assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."

"The city outside, that was yours?"

She nodded. "Chan- the conglomeration died -tho."

"Conglomeration! That's what I said."

As Romana looked at him like she wished he'd regenerated into something without a mouth, Jack coughed. "You're supposed to say sorry."

He at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed. "Oh, yes. Sorry."

"Chan- most grateful -tho."

Martha shook her head in amazement. "You grew another hand?"

He grinned, wiggling his fingers at her. "Hello, again. It's fine. Look, really, it's me."

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

"Chan- you are most unusual -tho."

"Well." He looked rather pleased at that - until Romana nudged him in the ribs.

"Don't stroke his ego, his head'll get too big to fit through the Tardis doors."

Ignoring the bickering match that was about to kick off, Jack asked the Professor, "So what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?"

Yana sighed. "We call them the Futurekind, which is a myth in itself, but it's feared they are what we will become, unless we reach Utopia."

Sensing a chance to escape from yet another verbal roasting, the Doctor jumped in. "And Utopia is?"

"Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?"

"Bit of a hermit."

"A hermit with friends?"

"Hermits United. We meet up every ten years and swap stories about caves. It's good fun, for a hermit. So, er, Utopia?"

He beckoned them over to one of the remaining functional screens, showing the gravitational field navigation system. "The call came from across the stars, over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originating from that point."

"Where is that?"

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness, out towards the Wildlands and the Dark Matter reefs, calling us in. The last of the humans scattered across the night."

"What do you think's out there?"

"We can't know. 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. And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic. That's a good sign someone's out there. And that's, oh, that's a navigation matrix. So you can fly without stars to guide you. Professor?" He'd rambled on for almost a minute before realising that the man was no longer listening, slumped against the next bank of equipment with a hand pressed to his head. "Professor? Professor."

He snapped out of his little daze. "I, er, ahem, right, that's enough talk. There's work to do. Now if you could leave, thank you."

"You all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. And busy."

Romana folded her arms across her chest, eyeing the machinery.

"Except that rocket's not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism, it's not working."

"We'll find a way."

"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? They don't know."

The Doctor sighed. She always had been more perceptive than he was. "That lot out there, they still think they're going to fly."

The Professor huffed. "Well, it's better to let them live in hope."

"Quite right, too. And I must say, Professor er, what was it?"

"Yana."

"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. So, I wonder… what would happen if the two of us did this?"

And as he sonicked the end of one of the cables, Romana flicked a set of switches and pushed a well placed big red button. Power surged through the machines, and Chantho took a look at the nearest readout, gasping when she saw the results.

"Chan it's working tho!"

Yana was utterly bewildered. "But how did you do that?"

"Oh, we've been chatting away, so I forgot to tell you. Romana's rather brilliant."

She grinned. "Oh, don't sell yourself short. You're half decent too."

Even through the closed doors of the lab, the group could hear the cacophony of the refugees moving through the corridors, dragging the few belongings they had along with them as they chattered excitedly, delighted that the day they had been waiting for had finally arrived. Atillo's voice was audible through the speakers as he broadcast to the whole silo.

"All passengers prepare for boarding. I repeat, all passengers prepare for immediate boarding."

The laboratory was a hive of activity, more populated than it ever had been before. There were hands on every computer, countless discussions of what processes needed to be followed to allow the ship to take off correctly. They hadn't quite told Atillo that they weren't a hundred percent sure how exactly to go about things, but they didn't think it would be fair to. He was so delighted by the fact they were going to fly that they couldn't bear to break his heart.

"Destination, Utopia. All troops report to silo. I repeat, all troops report to silo. All passengers prepare for immediate boarding. All passengers prepare for immediate boarding."

Martha had ducked out for a moment, realising that there was something she needed to do, somebody she needed to find. It took a little while, but eventually she stumbled across him - curly headed Creet, arms laden with his belongings.

"Excuse me. Hey, Creet."

"That's me, miss."

"Who are you with, Creet? You got family?"

He shook his head. "No, miss. There's just me."

"Well, good luck. What do you think it's going to be like in Utopia?"

The young boy's smile widened further. "My mum used to say the skies are made of diamonds."

She matched his expression, loving the story. It reminded her of some of the bedtime stories her parents had told her as a little girls, filled with princesses and dragons and astronauts. She'd always dreamt of being in those stories for real when she was younger. Well, she supposed, her friends were sort of astronauts. "Good for her. Go on, off you go. Get your seat."

Back in the lab, the Doctor was licking an electrical cable - to Romana's disgust.

"Is this…?"

Yana nodded. "Yes, gluten extract. Binds the neutralino map together."

"That's food. You've built this system out of food and string and staples? Professor Yana, you're a genius."

"Says the people who made it work."

"Oh, it's easy coming in at the end, but you're stellar. This is, this is magnificent. And I don't often say that because, well, because of me."

She rolled her eyes, fiddling with a box of wires attached to one of the computer displays. "Can't you just be nice to people without talking about yourself at the same time?"

The Professor chuckled slightly at the way they interacted with each other - they were very sweet. "Well, even my title is an affectation. There hasn't been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I've spent my life going from one refugee ship to another."

The Doctor shrugged. "Seriously, though. If you'd been born in a different time, you'd be revered. I mean it. Throughout the galaxies."

"Oh, those damned galaxies. They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice. Yes, just a little, just once."

"Well, you've got it now. But that footprint engine thing. You can't activate it from onboard. It's got to be from here. You're staying behind."

"With Chantho. She won't leave without me. Simply refuses. I've tried to convince her, but…"

Romana's brow furrowed. "You'd give your life so they could fly." She might not particularly like the man - that uncomfortable feeling in her hearts was very present every time she looked at him - but she could still admire the sacrifice he was willing to make.

"Oh, I think I'm a little too old for Utopia. Time I had some sleep."

Martha came back to the lab just as Atillo sent another crackly message; one they were all very glad to hear.

"Professor, tell the Doctor we've found his blue box."

"Ah, brilliant!"

Jack, fiddling with the monitors, managed to get onto the camera in the hallway by the entrance.

"She's looking pretty good too, Doctor. Not a scratch on her."

"Ah, there never is. She's too good for that. Professor, it's a wild stab in the dark, but I may just have found you a way out."

The Professor found that all the noise around him faded into silence, the sound of the others planning how to get the Tardis into the lab disappearing. His focus was entirely on the grainy image on the screen, a police box depicted in black and grey tones that did it's beautiful blue colour no justice at all. The sight of the box was almost as familiar to him as that of his own laboratory, Which of course, didn't make sense. He'd never seen anything like it before. Had he?

By the time the Tardis was comfortably situated in the lab, Professor Yana had been made to sit down, the others noticing that he was a little unsteady on his feet. He'd fought at first, but given in when the pounding grew even louder and more painful. The Doctor and Romana were busy inside the ship, fishing for power cables and making the appropriate connections to the console. He dragged the heavy cable outside as Martha came back inside, her grin growing at the sight.

"Extra power. Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro feeds. Professor, are you doing alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. Just get on with it."

She patted the side of the ship fondly. "Oh, am I glad to see this old thing."

At the nearest computer deck, Jack was working on a set of circuits, and he waved her towards the next set along.

"Connect those circuits into the block here, just like these ones. Fast."

"Ooh, yes sir."

Leaving the cable slightly to the side so nobody would trip over it, the Doctor settled on the little stool opposite the Professor, noticing that he still had circuit boxes around him, and he was still twisting different bits of wire together.

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

He brushed him off. "It's just a headache. It's just, just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head."

"What sort of noise?"

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

"When did it start?"

"Oh, I've had it all my life. Every waking hour. It's never been quite so painful before, but… well, no rest for the wicked."

As Martha helped Chantho to rack the circuit boards properly, she couldn't help but make a bit of small talk. The alien was a very sweet girl, with all her little quirks.

"How long have you been with the professor?"

"Chan- seventeen years -tho."

"Blimey. A long time."

"Chan- I adore him -tho."

Her tone told her everything she needed to know. "Oh right, and he-"

"Chan- I don't think he even notices -tho."

"Tell me about it!"

"Chan- but I am happy to serve -tho."

"Do you mind if I ask? Do you have to start every sentence with Chan?"

"Chan- yes -tho."

"And end every sentence with…"

"Chan- tho -tho."

"What would happen if you didn't?"

She looked perfectly scandalised by the thought. "Chan- that would be rude -tho."

"What, like swearing?"

"Chan- indeed -tho."

Martha grinned. "Go on, just once."

"Chan- I can't -tho."

"Oh, do it for me."

Her voice dropped so it was barely audible. "...No."

And the two of them burst into hysterical giggles, simply unable to help themselves.

Having found himself incapable of watching the others work whilst not doing anything, Yana situated himself at the communication unit so that he could talk to Atillo. Not that they were having too much luck with that, however. The technology seemed determined to work against them. He could hear Atillo, but the screens were completely blank.

"Professor. Systems are down. Professor, are you getting me?"

His face swam into view for a moment, and Yana nodded. "I'm here! We're ready! Now all you need to do is connect the couplings, then we can launch." He disappeared again, and the Professor groaned. "God sake! This equipment. Needs rebooting all the time."

Ignoring her wariness, Romana slid onto the chair next to him.

"Can I help? The Doctor's being useless again and insisting on doing everything by himself, so I don't have anything to do."

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, if you could. Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes."

"I'm sure I can manage that."

"Right."

Atillo called through, worried that he hadn't heard from them in a while. "Are you still there?"

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

There was a pause as the man down in the lower levels pulled on his protective suit and entered the room.

"He's inside. And good luck to him."

The Professor glanced over his shoulder. "Captain, keep the dials below the red."

The Doctor came to join them, squeezing Romana's shoulder gently as she tilted up to look at him. "Where is that room?"

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

The two Time Lords pulled identical expressions. "Stet?"

"I've never heard of it."

"Not a clue."

Yana huffed. "You wouldn't want to. But it's safe enough, if we can hold the radiation back from here." An alarm sounded, and he blanched. "It's rising. Nought point two. Keep it level!"

Jack already had his hands on the controls. "Yes, sir."

The Doctor and Romana took controls of their own, doing their best to maintain things as they needed to be - but it wasn't working. Something was going seriously wrong outside the lab, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

"Chan- we're losing power -tho!"

"Radiation's rising!"

"We've lost control!"

"The chamber's going to flood."

"Jack, override the vents!"

Looking at what he had to work with, the Captain had an idea. "We can jump start the override."

He tore the power cables out and positioned himself in the middle of the room, away from the others. Seeing this, Romana groaned.

"Don't do that you idiot, it's going to flare!"

Too late - he held the live ends together. The electricity flowed through him as easily as it did through the cables, and he dropped to the floor like a stone.

The others huddled around him, Martha once again going to his side to assess his heart while the Doctor and Romana watched on, guarding the cables so nobody else could get hurt. The Professor looked rather sad: while the young man had been rather cocky, he'd quite liked him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

The Doctor just hummed. "The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?"

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

"Oh, I don't know. Martha, leave him." She was mid mouth-to-mouth, and it took a lot to pull her away.

"You've got to let me try."

"Come on, come on, just listen to me. Now leave him alone. It strikes me, Professor, you've got a room which no man can enter without dying. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Well…"

He trailed off, having timed the situation in his head and predicted the moment of Jack's resurrection. He was only off by a couple of seconds. Jack gasped deeply, bolting up and looking wildly around the room.

"I think I've got just the man."

"Was someone kissing me?"

It had taken less than ten minutes for them to come up with a coherent plan, and then the Doctor and Jack were legging it down to the lower levels. Atillo looked frenetic as he manned the controls outside the room, desperately trying to achieve what he knew was impossible to do alone. The Doctor grinned - he liked his determination.

"Lieutenant, get on board the rocket! I promise you're going to fly."

"But the chamber's flooded."

"Trust me. We've found a way of tripping the system. Run!" As the young man set off and he started setting the controls again, movement made him turn - Jack was tossing his shirt to the ground. "What are you taking your clothes off for?"

"I'm going in."

"Well, by the looks of it, I'd say the stet radiation doesn't affect clothing, only flesh."

"Well, I look good though." He paused with a hand on the door, suddenly serious. "How long have you known?"

"Ever since I ran away from you. Good luck."

And then he was inside.

Up in the lab, they had no hope of seeing what was going on. The whole system was far too fried now. But they could just about hear what was happening.

Having been shown how already, Martha rebooted the computer. "We lost the picture when that thing flared up. Doctor, are you there?"

"Receiving, yeah. He's inside."

"And still alive?"

"Oh, yes."

The Professor was amazed. "But he should evaporate. What sort of a man is he?"

Sitting next to Martha, Romana shrugged. "A very strange one, by all accounts."

Martha laughed. "I've only just met him, but that sounds about right. The Doctor sort of travels through time and space and picks people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are."

"Oh come on Martha, you're definitely not a stray dog. Now, there have been a few over the centuries for sure, but you're one of the best."

"And how many of those others did you meet?" By now, she was used to Romana's praises. She knew very well that the other alien just liked to see the look on her face when she said nice things.

"Well, one. But he was an actual dog."

"Wait, really?"

"Yep. A sweet little tin dog." She smiled fondly, but there was a spark of sadness in her eyes. "Oh, I do miss him sometimes."

The Professor had stopped properly listening to the conversation at the revelation of the Doctor's unorthodox method of making friends. "He… travels in time?"

Martha snorted. "Don't ask me to explain it. That's a Tardis, that box thing. The sports car of time travel, he says. I'm not entirely convinced, honestly…

He tuned her out again, the word 'Tardis' echoing around his brain in progressively louder bursts. That word was one he knew deeply. He just had no idea how.

Thankfully, the communication line between the corridor and the radiation chamber was very clear, and the two men could talk easily.

The Doctor, leaning against the wall, fiddled idly with a switch. "When did you first realise?"

Working on the first coupling inside, Jack shrugged. "Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange. But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation, a stray javelin. 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. It's not easy even just looking at you, Jack, because you're wrong."

"Thanks."

"You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. I mean, at least I knew what to expect - Romana had no idea until she looked at you for the first time. No wonder she's not keen." He couldn't deny that saying that made him feel rather gleeful. The idea of Romana being even remotely interested in Jack made him nauseous. "You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. 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 get rid of you."

He laughed as he adjusted the second coupling. "So what you're saying is that you're, er, prejudiced?"

The Doctor grinned. "I never thought of it like that."

"Shame on you."

"Yeah."

Unbeknownst to the two of them, the connection to the lab was still open, and the people clustered around the computer could hear everything that was being said.

"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."

Martha tried not to sigh too hard at the sound of that name - while she couldn't hate a girl she'd never known, the way the Doctor had treated her before Romana had come along had been awful. She realised that now. She'd been so swept off her feet that she hadn't really wanted to admit it to herself, but constantly being compared to someone else was no way to live.

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

"She came back. Opened the heart of the Tardis and absorbed the time vortex itself."

"What does that mean, exactly?"

"No one's ever meant to have that power. 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 you think she could change me back?"

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

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

The note of sadness that had once been there when he spoke about her was gone now, though. Instead, he sounded like he had accepted it. Which was certainly a big change from when she had originally met him, Martha thought.

Jack continued. "I went back to her estate, in the nineties, just once or twice. Watched her growing up. Never said hello. Timelines and all that."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to die?"

"Oh, this one's a little stuck." The fourth coupling was indeed a bit sticky. But that definitely wasn't the only reason for speaking aloud.

"Jack?"

"I thought I did. I don't know. But this lot. You see them out here surviving, and that's fantastic."

"You might be out there, somewhere."

"I could go meet myself."

"Well, the only man you're ever going to be happy with."

"This new regeneration, it's kind of cheeky."

When the laughter settled and Jack moved onto the next coupling, he changed the subject.

"So. You and Romana, huh?"

"W-what?"

"How long have you known each other?" Jack was grinning wickedly to himself - he had known from the second he'd introduced himself that his old friend was harbouring some very strong feelings for the little feisty redhead. He also had a good feeling about two other things - that the Doctor had no idea what those feelings really were, and that Romana was feeling exactly the same way. Judging by the way Martha was around them, she'd figured the same thing out.

"Oh." The Doctor was relieved, but he wasn't entirely sure why he felt that way. It had been a harmless enough comment. "Well, it was sort of an accident really. We got asked to do a job together by someone, looking for the pieces of a key that could stop time completely. Well, it turned out that the man who gave us the mission was a complete fraud, the Black Guardian pretending to be the White Guardian so he could destroy the universe with our help, and so we ruined his plans at the last moment. Then we just… ran away together."

"Aw, sweet. When did… um…" He paused for a second. Judging on his reaction earlier, the fact thye had been separated was still a bit of a sore point for both Time Lords, and he didn't really want to bring up bad memories. "What happened? When you got separated."

Outside, the Doctor's face fell a little. "Ah."

"Sorry, I-"

"No, it's okay. There wasn't a fight, or anything. Romana… she chose to stay behind in a place called E-Space, a sort of bubble universe next to ours. Travel between them isn't meant to be possible - we ended up there by accident."

Up in the lab, the Time Lord in question rolled her eyes. "The only way he ever ends up places by accident."

But her eyes were brighter than usual, and Martha eyed her closely. Clearly, the topic of conversation wasn't one she liked.

"She stayed because she'd been called home, to Gallifrey, and she didn't want to go back. I begged her not to, but I couldn't exactly blame her. I think I was a bad influence."

Jack frowned. "Bad influence?"

"Well, I ran away from Gallifrey in the first place. When she got put with me she was far less of a rebel, but over time that changed." He smiled fondly. "I was so proud of the person she became. I still am, really."

"How did she get back?"

"Oh, by being brilliant. Just brilliant. She always was cleverer than me. By a long shot.I missed out on three of her faces, you know, while she was away. Jack, I missed her so much. "

"Yeah?" Inside the radiation chamber, Jack was smiling wide enough to split his face in two. He desperately hoped that the others were hearing this as well.

"I don't think I really realised how much until she came back. It's like the universe is brighter when she's around. She's the best friend I've ever had."

Martha stifled a groan - all that chatter, and he still couldn't work out that which was staring him in the face! The next time she got a chance, she was determined to sit him down and give him a good talking to. "Faces? What did he mean by that?"

Romana discreetly brushed away a tear, smiling softly. "When Time Lords die, Martha, we don't. Not really. Our entire bodies change, every single cell, until someone new takes our place. We're the same person inside, but on the outside we're completely different. Renewed. Regenerated. Before I met you, the last face he knew me with was blonde, less freckly. About the same height, I'd say. Cracking sense of fashion."

"Yeah, well you've still got that!"

"Oh I know!" She grinned, preening slightly over her tartan patterned trousers and grey-blue shirt. The soft, thin denim jacket she wore really completed the look.

"Anyway, I don't think I'll ever understand half the things he says, no matter how much you explain them for me… Professor? Is everything alright?"

Yana had clearly got hung up on one part of the conversation in particular. "Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? Stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked." And he held out a beautiful bronze fob watch, inscribed with ridiculously intricate patterns. "Time and time and time again. Always running out on me."

At the sight of it, Martha's blood had run cold. She recognised it. Not exactly, of course, but her run in with a similar watch had been all too recent.

"Can I have a look at that?"

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

"Where did you get it?"

"Hmm? I was found with it."

"What do you mean?"

"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?"

"Why would I? It's broken."

"How do you know it's broken if you've never opened it?"

"It's stuck. It's old. It's not meant to be. I don't know. Does it matter?"

"It's nothing, Professor." This was the first time Romana had spoken since the watch had been revealed, and Martha noticed immediately that something was wrong. Her best friend was white as a sheet, every muscle rock hard, and her grip on her knee was like a vice. "Don't worry too much about it. Actually, don't even think about it. Really, it's nothing. Martha and I are going to see if the Doctor needs any help. It's been quiet for a few minutes now, so I want to be sure."

"Of course, yes."

And she marched Martha out of the room, face set in a grim frown.

The final connection was made and Jack sprinted out of the radiation room, grinning broadly. His cheer was infectious, and the Doctor used the wall telephone to call through to the ship with a beam.

"Lieutenant, everyone on board?"

"Ready and waiting."

"Stand by. Two minutes to ignition."

"Ready to launch. Outer doors sealed."

The computer made an announcement to everyone in the compound. "Countdown commencing. T minus ninety nine, ninety eight-"

As the boys started flicking switches, the girls arrived, Martha looking frantic and Romana looking like she was about to punch something. The Doctor ignored this, naturally, and went on explaining what exactly they'd been doing.

"Ah, nearly there. The footprint, it's a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It'll take the both of us to keep it stable."

Martha shook her head. "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."

"I asked him. He said he's had it his whole life."

Jack didn't quite understand the significance. "So he's got the same watch."

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

He frowned, still flicking switches. "No, no, no, it's this, this thing, this device, it rewrites biology. Changes a Time Lord into a human."

"And it's the same watch."

"It can't be."

An alarm sounded in the background, but he didn't seem to be very aware of it. Jack shrugged.

"That means he could be a Time Lord. You two might not be the last ones."

Martha pressed on. "But that's brilliant, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Course it is. Depends which one. Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Time Lords. All of them. Every one that was in this universe. They died."

"Not if he was human."

"What did he say, Martha? What did he say?"

"I… He looked at the watch like he could hardly see it. Like that perception filter thing."

"What about now? Can he see it now?"

Romana's hand on his wrist stopped him dead. The look on her face was one of fear, and the way she looked into his eyes… it must be serious.

"Doctor… Martha can't read Gallifreyan, but I can."

"What did it say?"

"I think you know. There's only one Time Lord it could possibly be."

And now he was ghost-white too.

Professor Yana was ignoring the rest of his lab quite resolutely - he was aware of the watch in his hand more than he ever had been before, and it was making the drumming in his head even louder. And there were voices that came along with it too. The Doctor's, talking about the Tardis. A stranger's, one that seemed incredibly familiar. Laughter. And a brand new voice.

"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."

"Chan- Yana, won't you please take some rest -tho?"

But the only voices he heard were the ones in his own head.

The computer was still counting. "Thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten, nine-"

The four of them were still working the panels, everyone else trying desperately to get the Doctor to acknowledge the situation. Jack shook his head.

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

"Six, five-"

Martha grabbed him by the sleeve. "Think of what the Face of Boe said. His dying words. He said-"

"One."

"You are not alone. Maybe he didn't just mean Romana."

He ignored all of this, smacking the comm unit fiercely. "Lieutenant, have you done it? Did you get velocity? Have you done it? Lieutenant, have you done it?"

"Affirmative. We'll see you in Utopia."

"Good luck."

In the laboratory, something had changed. Chantho couldn't quite work out what - her beloved Professor had had his back to her the entire time - but she knew he was different. And it certainly didn't seem like the difference was a good one. The Professor moved a lever, and she watched in horror on the one working camera as the door to the control corridor slammed in the Doctor's face.

"Chan- but you've locked them in -tho."

His tone was colder than she'd ever heard it before, and it made her facial feelers cringe uncomfortably. "Not to worry, my dear. As one door closes, another must open."

"Chan- you must stop -tho. Chan- but you've lowered the defences. The Futurekind will get in -tho."

As the tribe burst through the gates up above, she felt she had no other choice, and raised shaking hands. "Chan- Professor, I'm so sorry, but I must stop you. You're destroying all our work -tho."

At the sight of a gun in her hand, he smirked. "Oh. Now I can say I was provoked." Stooping, he took one of the live energy cables in hand and pulled back to full height. "Did you never think, all those years standing beside me, to ask about that watch? Never? Did you never once think, not ever, that you could set me free?"

"Chan- I'm sorry -tho. Chan- I'm so sorry."

"You, with your 'chan' and your 'tho' driving me insane."

"Chan- Professor, please"

"That is not my name!" He 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."

And he lunged.

By the time the quartet reached the laboratory door, it was very firmly locked. The Doctor threw his fists against it, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Professor! Professor, let me in! Let me in! Jack, get the door open now! Professor! Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there? Please, I need to explain. Whatever you do, don't open that watch."

Inside, the Master removed a circuit board from the gravitational field navigation system, smirking as the recording he'd designed blinked out of view.

"Utopia. Of course they believed it."

The herd of Futurekind was audible in the corridors now, and they were definitely getting closer to the lab. Martha tried pummeling at the doors again.

"They're coming!"

The Doctor kept trying. "Professor! Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor. Please, listen to me. Just open the door, please!"

There was a gunshot from inside the room, and everyone flinched. Romana tore at a handful of wires, swearing when they sparked unproductively. "Professor, please, nobody has to get hurt! Just let us in so we can help!"

Knowing that the Futurekind were uncomfortably close, Jack smashed the control panel with his fist, and the door finally opened. They ducked inside just in time to see Professor Yana holding the jar with the Doctor's spare hand, slipping into the Tardis. The door swung shut behind him, and the Doctor sprinted forwards and slammed the key into the lock - but to no avail. It had been locked centrally. The only way to unlock it was at the console.

"Let me in. Let me in!"

Martha had gone to the crumpled body of Chantho, gun in hand and an electrical cable at her feet. The burns on her skin explained everything. "She's dead."

As Romana tried to work the internal computers to help lock the door again, Jack was getting the job done by sheer brute force.

"I broke the lock. Someone give me a hand!"

The Doctor was too busy to help at the moment. "I'm begging you. Everything's changed! It's only the three of us! We're the only ones left! Just let me in!"

Inside, the Master sneered down at the bloodstain spreading across his shirt, at the deep pain in his side. "Killed by an insect. A girl. How inappropriate. Still, if the Doctor can be young and strong, then so can I. The Master… reborn."

The familiar light of regeneration illuminated every one of the Tardis' windows, and Romana took the Doctor's hand in hers. She had been right.

Behind them, Martha had joined Jack at the door, but they were fighting a losing battle. There were at least twenty five Futurekind on the other side.

"Doctor! You'd better think of something!"

And then, there was noise from inside the ship. Raucous, menacing laughter that seemed to echo right through their very bones.

"Oh! Now then, Doctor. Ooo, new voice. Hello, hello. Hello. 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!"

Martha gasped. "Hold on. I know that voice."

The Doctor leapt forward. "I'm asking you really properly. Just stop. Just think!"

"Use my name."

"Master. I'm sorry."

"Tough!"

Romana pulled him back a little, knowing they needed to help the others. "Listen, you don't have to do this!"

"Oh, I really do. Sweet Romana, the things I've heard… how I do hope I'll get the chance to know you better."

His tone made her shudder, and she darted back for the door. "Doctor, whatever you're going to do, hurry up and do it!"

Solemnly, he activated the sonic screwdriver.

Sparks flew from the console, and the Master hissed. "Oh, no you don't! End of the universe. Have fun. Bye, bye!"

And he started the dematerialisation procedures, leaving the Doctor to look on in horror as his beloved ship vanished into thin air.

Leaving him and his friends in imminent peril.

Much love, and happy reading!

Az x