A TOWN CALLED MERCY
Frost's POV:
We were in the Old West of the USA. The Doctor was standing just outside the entrance to Main Street, in front of a wooden frame with a cattle skull on it, a Keep Out sign and the residents count recently changed from 80 to 81. Angel and I were standing with Amy and Rory looking bored. He really wanted to go, not us. "Mercy. Eighty-one residents." The Doctor reads.
"Look at this. It's a load of stones and lumps of wood. What is it?" Amy asks.
"A load of stones and lumps of wood," I tell her.
"The sign does say Keep Out." Rory states.
"I see Keep Out signs as suggestions more than actual orders, like Dry Clean only." The Doctor says.
"Yeah, how many suits have you shrunk in the wash this week?" I ask him.
"Frost!" The Doctor groans and we step over a load of stones and lumps of wood that circle the town and head down the street, we enter the town towards the Grand Central Bank. The residents watch us silently. An electric street lamp outside the Post Office sparks every so often.
"That's not right," I comment looking at it.
"It's a street lamp," Rory remarks.
"An electric street lamp about ten years too early," I tell him.
"It's only a few years out," Rory argues.
"That's what you said when you left your phone charger in Henry the Eighth's en-suite," I argue back.
"Frost, er…" Amy calls.
"Anachronistic electricity, Keep Out signs, aggressive stares. Has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?" The Doctor beams.
"Doctor." Amy raises her voice at him as he puts a toothpick into his mouth and begins chewing on it and walks into the local saloon.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
We walk into the saloon with the piano playing and the conversations stop dead when we enter. The Doctor goes to the bar and I walk behind him while the others stay by the doors.
"Tea. But the strong stuff. Leave the bag in." The Doctor tells the barmaid.
"What're you doing here, son?" She asks him.
"Son? You can stay." The Doctor gleams at her and an African American in a natty black suit speaks.
"Sir, might I enquire who you is?" The preacher asks.
"Of course. I'm the Doctor. This is…" The Doctor begins to say but everyone stands up. "No need to stand. You see that? Manners. Oh, thank you." He says completely clueless.
"I don't think so sweetie," I tell him and get my blaster out of my jacket pocket as a man in a top hat starts measuring the Doctor.
"But I don't need a new suit." The Doctor tells him, idiot.
"I'm the undertaker, sir." He answers and I push him away from the Doctor as a younger man in a brown suit and bowler hat steps forward.
"I got a question. Is you an alien?" The boy asks.
"Well, er, bit personal. It's all relative, isn't it? I mean, I think you're the aliens, but in this context, yes. Yes, I suppose I am, so is Frost." The Doctor says pointing at me.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
The Doctor was hoisted up and carried out shoulder high. "Guys!" The Doctor shouts. As Amy, Rory, Angel and I are dragged along too.
"Doctor! Put him down!" Amy shouts.
"Don't think we won't kill you." The woman says.
"Leave him alone!" Rory shouts.
"Rory, everything is completely under control. Guys, guys, guys." I calmly say as they throw the Doctor out of town. He falls to the ground and gets back up.
"Ow." The Doctor groans and the men all point their revolvers at him. A cyborg suddenly appears in the distance.
"He's coming. Oh God, he's coming." The Preacher prays.
"Preacher, say something." The boy tells him.
"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." The Preacher prays and the Doctor turns around to see the Cyborg approaching by dimension jumps. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done." A mustachioed man fires a shot in the air.
"You, bow tie. Get back across that line." The man orders the Doctor, he pulls back his coat to reveal a six-pointed metal star with the word Marshal on it. "Now." The Doctor steps over the rocks and wood and the Cyborg stops then vanishes. I pull him into a hug, squeezing him tightly and Angel rushes over hugging us both.
"Isaac, he said he was a doctor. An alien doctor." The boy argues with Isaac.
"That a reason to hand him to his death?" He asks the kid.
"Isaac, it could be him." The kid argues.
"You know it ain't," Isaac argues back and walks back down the street, nodding to Amy. "Ma'am."
"Just letting him go like that? Be seeing you, boy." The kid says and we walk away from the pile of stones and wood somehow keeping us safe from the cyborg.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
"What was that outside?" Angel asks him.
"The Gunslinger. Showed up three weeks back. We've been prisoners ever since. See that border line stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon the whole town's going to starve to death." Isaac informs us.
"But he let us in." Rory comments.
"You ain't carrying any food. Just five more mouths to feed. We'll all die even sooner now." Isaac tells us.
"What happens if someone crosses the line?" I ask him and Isaac throws the Doctor a Stetson with a neat hole in it.
"Ah, well, he wasn't a very good shot, then. Frost can do better than that." The Doctor comments.
"He was aiming for the hat." Isaac and I say at the same time.
"He shoots people's hats?" The Doctor asks.
"It was a warning shot," Amy tells him.
"Ah, no, yes. I see. Hmm." The Doctor lies.
"What does he want? Has he issued some kind of demand?" Amy asks.
"Says he wants us to give him the alien doctor," Isaac tells us.
"But that's you. Why would he want to kill you? Unless he's met you." Angel jokes looking at the Doctor.
"And how could he know that we'd be here? We didn't even know we'd be here." Rory argues.
"We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival." Amy comments.
"Mexico's two hundred miles due south," Isaac says.
"Well, that's what happens when people get toast crumbs on the console. Anyway, I think it's about time I met him, don't you?" I ask him.
"Who?" Isaac asks.
"The chap outside said he could be the alien doctor, but you said he wasn't, so you already know who it is. Two alien doctors. The seem to be like buses. Resident eighty-one, I presume, so beloved by the townsfolk he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics, and I'm guessing he's in here because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death, this is where I'd want to be." I reason.
"I don't know what you." Isaac tries lying but the man in the cell throws back his blanket. He has a curved mark down the left side of his face.
"Isaac, I think the time for subterfuge has passed. Good afternoon. My name is Kahler-Jex. I'm the doctor." He introduces himself.
"The Kahler. I love the Kahler. They're one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy. Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss." The Doctor gleams in excitement.
"All right. How did you get here?" Angel asks him.
"My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town. I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn't pulled me from the wreckage." Jex informs us.
"And you stayed, as their doctor." I smile at him.
"On my world, I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical. And it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them." Jex tells us.
"Listen to him. Talking like it was nothing. Tell them about the cholera." Isaac praises Jex.
"Now, Isaac, I'm sure our guests are…" Jex tries changing the subject.
"Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here, not a single person died." Isaac beams and praises him.
"A minor infection we'd found a treatment for centuries ago." Jex shrugs off.
"No, no, what, what do you call them? The electrics?" Isaac asks talking about the lamp post outside.
"Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town," Jex tells us.
"So why does the Gunslinger want you?" I ask him.
"It don't matter," Isaac says.
"I'm just saying if we knew that…" I try saying but Isaac interrupts me.
"America's the land of second chances. We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others, some round here, don't feel that way." Isaac says.
"Now, Isaac, we've discussed this," Jex tells him.
"People whose lives you've saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over." Isaac cuts in.
"They're scared, that's all. You can hardly blame them." Jex reasons.
"Them being scared scares me. War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we hand the keys of the town over to chaos." Isaac says.
"Did you try to repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills…" I try saying.
"It really was very badly damaged." Jex cuts in.
"We evacuate the town. Our ship's just over the hills, room for everyone. I'll pop out, bring it back here, Robert's your uncle." The Doctor says.
"Really? Simple as that. No crazy schemes, no negotiations." Amy asks him.
"I've matured. I'm twelve hundred years old now. Plus I don't want to miss The Archers." The Doctor says but I knew he had other reasons.
"Oh, so you're not even a tiny bit curious?" Amy asks him.
"Why would I be curious? It's a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course, I'm not curious." The Doctor lies.
"Son? You've still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?" Isaac asks and the Doctor puts on the Stetson.
"With a little sleight of hand," I tell him and take the hat off walking out of the room with the Doctor and the others behind me.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
"Can I borrow your horse, please? It's official Marshal business." The Doctor asks the Preacher.
"He's called Joshua. It's from the Bible. It means the Deliverer." He answers.
"No, he isn't. I speak horse. He's called Susan, and he wants you to respect his life choices." I tell him and get on and the Doctor gets on behind me and we gallop out of town.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Angel's POV:
"When this is all done, do you want us to take you home?" I ask him.
"Thank you, but I've already given everything I have to the Kahler. My skills, energy, all that was good in me. Here, I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That's all I ever wanted to do, end suffering." Jex lies.
"Here," Amy says and she puts Isaac's coat over Jex's shoulders.
"You're a mother, aren't you," Jex asks Amy.
"How did you know?" Amy asks.
"There's kindness in your eyes. And sadness, but a ferocity too." Jex tells her.
"Life's not exactly straightforward." Amy answers.
"It seldom is." Jex reasons.
"And what about you? Are you a father?" I ask him.
"Yes. In a way, I suppose I am." Jex answers.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Frost's POV:
We gallop down the road when we slow up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yes, I know we're in a hurry. I just want to check something out. Two ticks." I tell Susan, I dismount and the Doctor gets down as well.
"There's something niggling me. Yes, yes, it could be important. Oi, don't swear." The Doctor says and he rummages in the dust and finds the shiny power cable that connects Jex's ship to the town. We ride on until we reach the source of the power covered in a tarpaulin. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yes, I wear a Stetson now." The Doctor uncovers the gleaming white egg-shaped object that was Jex's ship.
"Yes, a good point, Susan. Where is the damage?" I ask looking over the ship. The Doctor tries to get into Jex's ship. He uses his sonic screwdriver sets off an alarm then the hatch opens.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Angel's POV:
We all turn as we hear an alarm, it seems to come from a fair distance away. "That's the alarm on my ship," Jex says.
"Maybe the Doctor and Frost want to get it working again?" Amy asks.
"But that wasn't the plan. They're not following the plan." Jex says.
"Welcome to our world," I tell him.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Frost's POV:
The Doctor drops straight down into the pilot seat as I pop my head in, the Doctor pulls me in onto his lap. "Security breach. You have ten seconds to enter the pass code." The computer reads and the hatch closes shut, the Doctor starts waving the sonic screwdriver around aimlessly. "Or this vehicle will self-destruct. Thank you for choosing Baraka's Security software. Incinerating intruders for three centuries." I lean down getting out the wires as I figure it is deadlocked and start sparking the wires trying to override the system. "Nine, eight, seven. Self-destruct overridden."
"This is an awful lot of security for a titchy spacecraft." The Doctor comments.
"Awaiting command." The computer reads.
"Tell me everything you can about the Gunslinger." The Doctor asks.
"File not found. Please choose from Technical Specifications, Flight Recorder, Personal Files, Maps, and Charts." The computer reads.
"Personal files of Doctor Kahler-Jex." I tell it and a file comes up reading 'Experimental Cyborg Program Military Science Unit' with horrifying videos.
"Names of deceased subjects can be found on the drop-down menu." Jex's voice reads and screams of the subjects come from the screen and text scrolls across the screen as we read.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Angel's POV:
We enter the room to discover Jex pointing a revolver at our heads. "I'm sorry, Amy and Angel. They really should have followed the plan." Jex says, he didn't seem to be shaking, strange.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Frost's POV:
The Doctor pops out of the spaceship but pops right back inside briefly then out again, I get out behind him and see that the gunslinger is here. "Don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot. I know who you are, and who Jex is, too." The Doctor says and the Gunslinger powers down his weapon.
"Now, what we don't understand is why you haven't just walked into town and killed him," I ask him.
"People will get in the way." The gunslinger answers.
"You want justice, you deserve justice, but this isn't the way. We can put him on trial.." The Doctor tries reasoning.
"When he starts killing your people, you can use your justice." The Gunslinger says.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Angel's POV:
"Isaac says he doesn't care about my past, but things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so it's best we beat a hasty retreat," Jex says still pointing the revolver at us.
"We? We're coming with you?" I ask him.
"It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with you. As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary." Jex reasons.
"Oh, well, colour me reassured." Amy snaps and Jex opens the door and gets a gun in the back of his neck.
"Doc? What are you doing?" Isaac asks him.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Frost's POV:
"No more warning shots. I'll kill the next person to step over that line. Make sure it's Jex." The Gunslinger says and walks away, I turn to look at the Doctor and walk towards Susan.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Angel's POV:
"It was stupid of me, I realize that now. I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger. Perhaps if I left…" Jex tries saying, Mum and Dad enter the room.
"He's lying. Every word, every thing he says, it's all lies. This man is a murderer." Dad says angrily.
"I am a scientist," Jex argues.
"Sit down. Sit down! Tell them what you are." Dad shouts, I jump and Mum walks over to me pulling me behind her in a protective stance.
"What am I? A war hero." Jex reasons.
"Okay, somebody want to tell me what is going on?" Isaac asks.
"The Gunslinger is a Cyborg." Mum answers.
"A what?" Isaac asks.
"Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd been selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to kill." Mum answers.
"Okay. Why? Why would you do that, Doc?" Isaac asks Jex.
"We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?" Jex asks.
"And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage?" The Doctor asks him getting right in Jex's face.
"War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did." Jex argues.
"What happened then? How come you're here?" Rory asks.
"When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here." Jex says.
"So, what do we do with Jex?" Rory asks.
"What do we do with him?" Isaac repeats.
"Yeah. I mean, he's a war criminal." Rory reasons.
"No, he's the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light," Isaac argues.
"Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kind of creepy.." I state looking at Mum trying to get past her but she just gave me the look and I backed down.
"And still in the room." Jex jumps in.
"But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution." I finish.
"Another solution? It's him or us." Rory says.
"When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo? Doctor, tell him." Amy says.
"Hmm? Yes. I don't know. Whatever Amy said." Dad says distractedly.
"Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost. There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren't relying on you to save them." Jex says and I saw ice begin to form around Mum's hands and she leaps forward.
"No. No, but these people are. Out! Out! Out!" Mum shouts practically dragging Jex out the room and Dad follows them outside but Rory stops Amy and me at the door.
"Oh, you're really letting them do this?" Amy asks.
"Save us all? Yeah, I really am." Rory says.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Frost's POV:
"No!" Jex shouts and I push Jex along the street for everyone to see as the Doctor trails behind me.
"Go on." I raise my voice at him as the townsfolk follow us and I push Jex over the boundary. "Get over, and don't come back," I tell him and take out my blaster and point it at Jex as he tries to return.
"You wouldn't." Jex states.
"I would the Doctor I genuinely don't know," I tell him.
"Doctor. Doctor stop her." Isaac says as he knows only the Doctor or Angel can get through to me now. Angel gets a gun and fires it into the air.
"Let him come back, Mum," Angel says.
"Or what? You won't shoot me, Angel." I tell her.
"How do you know? Maybe I've changed. I mean, you've clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last." Angel cries and the gun fires again. "I didn't mean to do that." She says and Isaac fires to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone who isn't an American, drop your gun," Isaac says.
"We can end this right now. We could save everyone right now." I reason.
"This is not how we roll, and you know it. What happened to you, Mum? When did killing someone become an option?" Angel asks me.
"Jex has to answer for his crimes," I tell her.
"And what then? Are you going to hunt down everyone who's made a gun or a bullet or a bomb?" She asks me.
"But they coming back, don't you see? Every time we negotiate, we try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honour the victims first. His, the Master's, the Daleks, all the people who died because of our mercy!" I shout at her for the first time.
"You see, this is what happens when you two travel alone for too long. Well, listen to me, Mum. We can't be like him. We have to be better than him." Angel tells me.
"My Angel. Fine, fine. We think of something else. But frankly, I'm betting on the Gunslinger." I tell her and I give her my blaster and she puts it back in my bag.
"Jex, move over the line. Now." The Doctor says but Jex turns around to see the Gunslinger right behind him.
"Make peace with your gods." The Gunslinger tells him.
"Kahler-Tek, isn't it? I remember all your names, even now. I'll never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here." Jex tells him.
"Last chance. Make peace with your gods." The Gunslinger tells him.
"No!" Isaac shouts as he pushes Jex out of the way and takes the Gunslinger's shot instead.
"Isaac. Isaac. Isaac. It's okay, it's okay. We can get you to Jex's surgery. He can save you." The Doctor says trying to help but it was too late.
"Listen to me. You've got to stay. You've got to look after everyone." Isaac tells him.
"It won't come to that, Isaac." The Doctor says.
"Protect Jex. Protect my town. You're both good men. You just forget it sometimes." Isaac says his last words and I stand next to the Doctor and he stands up and pins it on his jacket.
"Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you'll have me to answer to." The Doctor says and Jex is escorted away. The Doctor turns to the Gunslinger. "This has gone on long enough."
"You are right. You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me or I'll kill you all." The Gunslinger says and vanishes.
"Oh, my god. You're the Marshal." I smile at him and hold out my hand to Angel, she rushes at me and hugs me tight.
"Yeah. And you're the Deputies." The Doctor says to us.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
It was bight. Someone hammers on the door. "Come in." The Doctor says.
"Marshal. Ma'ams. Fella. You need to come outside." The Preacher says.
"Why, what's wrong?" I ask as we get up from our seats.
"Just come outside. And you should put that on." He says pointing to the gun belt.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
We go outside to see the townsfolk have gathered. "What's going on?" The Doctor asks.
"He in there? Leave the keys and take a walk. By the time you get back, this'll all be done." The kid tells us.
"I promised Isaac I'd protect him." The Doctor argues.
"Protecting him got Isaac dead. Tomorrow, it's going to be us all, dead." The Kid says.
"We thought Isaac was right to fight, but it's different now. We've got to say, all right we lost, and give that thing what it wants." A man says.
"What it wants is to kill our friend." The Barmaid says.
"We don't got any ill feeling towards the Doc. We just thinking about our families. Hand him over and we all safe again." The Kid reasons.
"You know we can't do that," I tell them.
"We got us a problem." The kid says.
"Please don't do this." The Doctor says.
"Why, reckon you're quicker than me?" The kid asks as I put my hand close to the Doctor's gun.
"Oh, certainly not, but this? Lynch mobs? A town turning against itself? This is everything Isaac didn't want." The Doctor says and the kid draws his gun and cocks it.
"How old are you?" I ask him.
"Nearly nineteen." He answers and I walk slowly towards him.
"That's eighteen, then. Too young to have fought in the war, so I'm guessing you've never shot anyone before, have you?" I ask him.
"First time for everything." He answers.
"But that's how all this started. Jex turned someone into a weapon. Now that same story's going to make you a killer, too. Don't you see? Violence doesn't end violence, it extends it, and I don't think you want to do this. I don't think you want to become that man." The Doctor says.
"There's kids here." He says.
"I know, who I can save if you'll let me." The Doctor tells him.
"He really worth the risk?" The Kid asks.
"Don't know. But you are." I tell him and he lowers his gun and walks away making the crowd disperses.
"Frightened people. Give me a Dalek any day." The Doctor jokes and I hit him over the head walking into the marshal's office with Angel in hand with Amy and Rory behind us. "What did I say?"
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
The Doctor removes the gun belt once he walks in. "Fresh coffee, Marshal. For what it's worth, I know you're going to save us. Isaac made you Marshal for a reason, and if you're good enough for him, you're good enough for me. Reckon you should know that." Abraham says.
"Thank you." The Doctor says and Abraham continues to take his measurements.
"Oi. Get out of it." I laugh and he leaves.
"Let me guess. The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No one would blame you. You'd be a hero." Jex says.
"But I can't, can I. Because then Isaac's death would mean nothing. Just another casualty in your endless bloody war. Do you want me to hand you over? Is that what you want? Do you even know?" I ask him.
"You think I'm unaffected by what I did? That I don't hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who's dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I'm both bewilders you." Jex says.
"Oh, I know exactly what you are, and I see this reformation for what it really is. You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don't get me wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather, but, but justice doesn't work like that. You don't get to decide when and how your debt is paid." I tell him.
"In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people they killed. Isaac, he was my friend. Now his soul will be in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There's no shame in that. But you won't. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality." Jex says.
" We all carry our prisons with us. Ha!" The Doctor laugh. Oh god.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
It was getting close to high noon. Marshal Doctor is out on the street in front of the Bank. The townsfolk have gathered together to pray. "Help me. Help me to" The Preacher begins his prayer.
Angel's POV:
As we were inside the Marshal's office, Amy and Jex hear the whoosh of the Gunslinger dimension-shifting towards town. The clock strikes 12 as he would be stepping across the barrier. When it finishes striking, Dad brandishes the sonic screwdriver, disrupting his systems and ruining his aim. Several windows and the Bank clock suffer as Dad runs away.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
"Ready?" I ask as I unlock the cell.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Frost's POV:
"Ready?" Rory asks and he and the kid have replicas of Jex's identifying mark on their faces. So do several other men. They run, confusing the Gunslinger.
"Disengage. It's a trick." The Gunslinger mumbles, it's working.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
The Gunslinger hears something by the chapel and blasts his way in. People start screaming.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Jex hesitates at the sound. "Go! Just go! I can't save them while you're here." The Doctor tells him and Jex runs out of town and back to his little spaceship.
"Deactivate automatic targeting. Switch to manual." The Gunslinger says and the Doctor hides around the corner of a building as I hide beside him, he thought it was clever to put Jex's mark on his face too.
"Right," I say.
"Where is he?" The Gunslinger asks.
"He's gone," I answer.
"Where? Answer me." The Gunslinger demands.
"Away from here. Lookup. Any second now you'll see the vapour trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for your revenge. Lookup, go after him, take this battle away from.." I tell him.
"Kahler-Tek." Jex voice is heard. "Kahler-Tek."
"Jex. Coward," The Gunslinger shouts. "Where are you?"
"I'm in my ship." Jex answers.
"What are you doing? Just go!" The Doctor shouts.
"Where are you from? Where on Kahler?" Jex asks.
"Now? You're asking him this now?" I ask.
"Gabriah." The Gunslinger answers.
"I know it. It's beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back?" Jex asks.
"How can I? I am a monster now." The Gunslinger answers.
"So am I," Jex says.
"Just go! Finish this!" The Doctor shouts.
"I'll find you. If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you." The Gunslinger promises.
"I don't doubt that. You'll chase me to another planet And another race will be caught in the crossfire." Jex says.
"Face me!" The Gunslinger shouts.
"Countdown to self-destruct resumed." The computer reads.
"Face me!" The Gunslinger shouts.
"No. You've killed enough. I'm ending the war for you, too." Jex tells him.
"Countdown to self-destruct...Resumed." The computer reads.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Ten." The computer counts.
"The countdown. What's going on? Jex!" The Doctor shouts.
"Thank you, Doctor. I have to face the souls of those I've wronged." Jex says.
"Five." The computer counts.
"Perhaps they will be kind." Jex says and the computer finishes the countdown and a loud KaBOOM is heard and a black smoke rises above the rooftops. The Gunslinger bows his head.
"He behaved with honour at the end. Maybe more than me." The Gunslinger says.
"We could take you back to your world. You could help with the reconstruction." I tell him.
"I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I'm a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace." The Gunslinger says.
"Except maybe to protect it," I tell him.
=ANGEL'S JOURNAL=
Later on, the Doctor runs out of the Marshal's Office. The TARDIS is parked in the middle of the street, I stand waiting out front for him. "Okay, so, our next trip. Oh! You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the fifties and sixties? You will never guess what really happened to them." The Doctor says.
"Could we leave it a while? Our friends are going to start noticing that we're aging faster than them." Amy tells him.
"Another time? No worry." I tell her and Amy waves farewell to the kid and the Preacher, then she and Rory go into the TARDIS. The Doctor and the kid do a mock quick draw, which the Doctor wins, then he goes inside, I look to see Angel starring out into nothing. I walk towards her hugging her shoulders. "It gets better from here." I tell her she says nothing just nods and we walk into the TARDIS and she dematerialise.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Heart, Comment, Follow