The first thing he realises…is that he feels cold. Very cold.
Arthur shivers, hugging himself to keep himself warm. First he starts walking forward, trying to figure out where he is. It looks entirely empty, nothing but mist and whiteness around.
Behind him, a creepy voice speaks. "Arthur Jonas…"
He quickly turns around and sees a figure in black robe floating. "How do you know me?"
"I take it this is your domain?" Another voice asks from his left. A woman in her 50s, wearing light blue trench coat and dark boot-cut pants. "Who are you? Why did you bring us here?"
"Nobody. I am nothing." it stated.
"Any chance you could be a bit less cryptic?"
"It's hard for me to make you understand. Ephemeral minds are so limited."
"You're an Eternal," Arthur realised as the figure put back its hood to reveal that it only had a mouth in its head.
"Indeed, Son of Timeless Child. As you can see, I have no self. I exist only to bring disorder. That is my purpose."
"But why?" the older woman demanded.
"Chaos is my blood and air and food. You two are the key to that chaos. I have been waiting, searching through time, for just the right person at just the right moment. I took you two to aid the coming of darkness."
"Where's Luke? Where is my son?"
"The Bane never came to Earth in the timeline that I have created. Luke Smith never existed."
"People who don't exist they end up here, don't they? So where is he? I demand to see my son!"
"He's lost in the forgotten places," Arthur answered grimly. "Way from our reach."
"But if I died all those years ago," she paused. "Never mind the Bane, what about the Slitheen, and the Gorgons, and the Patriarchs of the Tin Vagabond? I stopped them all from taking over the Earth. What happened to them?"
"I turned them all away. All I need is the meteor."
Arthur frowns. "Meteor?"
"There's a meteor going straight to Earth," she explained. "But why? What's so special about that?"
"Those other species, they invade for profit, power, revenge," the Eternal explained. "The meteor is pure chaos. The destruction of the Earth for no reason at all, just blind chance. This is food for me."
"Oh my God," Arthur muttered.
"You'll destroy all life on Earth…and you don't even care," she whispered.
"I care about you. You are…so wonderful, Sarah Jane Smith. Your life was so important and I found the right moment to snuff it out, with the help…of Andrea Yates."
Arthur takes a good look at the woman near him. Sarah Jane Smith? The Sarah Jane Smith?
"Andrea was my friend," Sarah Jane pointed out.
"She wished to save her own life. I could only remove you…with her consent."
"She agreed to it?"
"I don't think so," Arthur disagreed. He can't sense much in this place, but his guts tell him there's more to see. "You did something to make her agree."
The Eternal turns back. "I must go now. Events are moving towards their end."
"No, don't go!" Sarah Jane shouted.
"We're not finished with you!" Arthur added.
"I will return when the Earth is no more, and I will explore your potential further." It turns to Arthur. "In particular, your memories of the Doctor, Explorer."
"Don't bring him into this!" Arthur snapped, not catching the wide eyes on Sarah Jane after hearing his name. The person whom Delaney and Rose spoke with fondness, but with disdain from the Doctor.
"I can use you to find him. Imagine if the Doctor had never existed. What chaos there would be across the stars."
"Don't you dare!" Sarah Jane warned and it disappeared. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare!"
"Sarah Jane…" She turns back, shocked to find Arthur kneeling, holding his chest that rose up and down very quickly. "He did it. That thing interfered."
"How?" Sarah Jane asked, crouching beside him to help him sit down and calm down.
Their surroundings suddenly change. Instead of white nothingness, they seem to be inside an old tent.
"Donna," Arthur recognised the ginger. She and a fortune teller are sitting inside her tent, the fortune teller holding Donna's hands.
"The Doctor's companion?" Sarah Jane guessed, which Arthur replied with a nod.
"I see the future. Tell me the past...When did your lives cross?" the Fortune Teller asked.
"It's sort of complicated," Donna admitted. "I ended up in a spaceship on my wedding day. Long story."
"But what led you to that meeting?"
"All sorts of things. But my job, I suppose...it was on Earth, this planet called Earth, miles away...but I had this job, as a temp. I was a secretary at a place called HC Clements...sorry."
"It's the incense. Just...breathe deep. This job of yours, what choices led you there?"
"There was a choice...six months before...because the Agency offered me this contract with HC Clements…But there was this other job. My mum knew this man…"
"Your life could have gone one way or the other. What made you decide?"
"I just did…"
Something is creeping up behind Donna.
"She tried to change her choice," Sarah Jane realised in horror. "We had to stop her."
"This is just a vision," Arthur informed. His body feels very uncomfortable, as if a numb sensation slowly creep inside him. "We can't change it."
"But when was the moment? When did you choose?" the Fortune Teller demanded. "You turned left. But what if you turned right, what then…"
"Let go of my hands," Donna trembled.
"What if it changes, what if you go right, what if you could still go right?"
"Stop it!" She senses something creeping onto her back. "What's that? What's on my back? What is it, what...what's on my back?"
"Make the choice again, Donna Noble, and change your mind...turn right."
"I'm turning…"
"Turn right...turn right…turn right!" she whispered. "Turn right, and never meet that man. Turn right, and change the world!"
Everything dissolves back to normal, followed by a hollowing scream from Arthur. "What is it?" Sarah Jane inquired, trying to ease him as he kept screaming. Maria, who had heard his scream, ran to them, trying to help him too. "Arthur, what's wrong?"
"Time," he hissed as stabbing sensations hit his chest. "He messed up my timeline. I'm dying."
"Can't we do something?" Maria frantically asked Sarah Jane. "That creature changed that woman's past. And the meteor's coming."
"There must be something. There's always something," Sarah Jane agreed. "Arthur, tell me what we need to do!"
He left another scream as he disappeared, leaving Maria and Sarah Jane behind.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Donna is walking around a police barrier, where a crowd is pressing, watching something, and being restrained. She walks around to an army jeep, and stands there, hearing a UNIT private speaking to his commander on walkie-talkie. Not far from her, a man in a green hoodie watched the scene with a heavy expression.
"Trap 1 to Greyhound 15, what is your report? Over."
"From the evidence I'd say he managed to stop the creature," he responded. "Some sort of red spider. Blew up the base underneath the barrier, flooded the whole thing. Over."
"And where is he now? Over."
"We found a body, sir. Over."
A body, covered in a red blanket, is being carried into an ambulance. The brunette man quickly turns away and start to walk away as well.
"Is it him? Over."
"I think so. He just didn't make it out in time," the soldier informed. Donna watches as the arm of the body flops down, dropping the sonic screwdriver as his body is being loaded into an ambulance. "...the Doctor is dead. Must have happened too fast for him to regenerate."
Donna walks away down the street, noticing the man's standing on the street. His body was shaking badly.
A distant figure is running towards them. A blonde woman in a purple jacket. "What happened, what did they find?" She asked, looking at the man. "Arthur, did they find someone?"
"Auntie Wolf?" He whispered, shocked.
"What? No, I'm…Arthur, you know me! It's me!"
"I don't…I don't know."
Her face looked confused, before she gasped. "Oh! Oh! This is younger you! I forgot that you haven't met me yet. Wait," she shook her head. "Never mind that. Do either of you know where he is? The Doctor."
"They took him away. He's dead," Donna answered. Her face is shocked, yet somehow empty...sad. She turns away. "I'm sorry, did you know him? I mean...they didn't say his name. Could be any doctor."
"He's not any doctor, he's the Doctor," Arthur affirmed, winces. "It is him."
"I came so far," the blonde woman whispered, taking a good look at Donna as she helped Arthur stand up. "What's your name?"
"Donna. And you?"
"Oh, I was just passing by, I shouldn't even be here. This is...wrong. It's wrong. This is so wrong." Her eyes seem to be distracted by something on Donna's back. "Sorry, what was it? Donna what?"
"Noble," Arthur added, briefly looking at Donna's back, sensing something on it. But he can't see what it is. "Donna Noble."
"Why do you two keep looking at my back?" Donna asked.
"I'm not."
"Yes you are. You and this man keep looking behind me. You're doing it now!" Donna pointed out, tries to see her own back, but there's nothing. "What is it, what's there? Did someone put something on my back?"
But as she looks back, those two have disappeared.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
"So," Arthur began to speak after this girl, Rose Tyler, took him to a nearby hospital, where he's laying on a bed in a VIP room (that Rose somehow managed to hack the system). "If we know each other…how do you recognise this version of mine?"
She looked left and right, caution before answering. "I met you at the beginning of my journey…and you sorta give me a hint of this version of you."
"Oh? Can you give me a preview?"
"We saw Earth explode in the future."
Wow. He didn't know how to feel about that information. "I guess I didn't make a good impression with the Doctor?"
"Kinda like that. He...didn't like your habit of keeping secret," Rose hinted.
"That's the problem with meeting a time traveller. You have to be extra careful not to divulge something that hasn't happened yet," Arthur admitted. "Good job, not telling Donna anything."
"Was that a wise choice? Honestly, I'm not happy about having to conceal my identity."
"My abilities may be in disarray due to past changes, and the paradoxes of our timelines, but I'm sure Donna will know your identity eventually. Just…keep an eye on her and her family, okay? She's important. While you do that…I'll try to help Sarah Jane."
Rose immediately looks concerned. She seems to know Sarah Jane too. "Is she okay?"
"Someone tampered with her past, making her die in the past. Unlike Donna, I don't know how it happened. But the creature who's responsible for that has done the same towards the Doctor. We need to fix this issue—" he coughs. "And I clearly need some rest until my next—"
▪︎▪︎▪︎
"Jump," he finished, realising too late that he had jumped into the past. Oh, great. Just great! As if his timeline was in jeopardy, now his power is also in trouble.
"Where'd she go?" A young girl, Sarah Jane, asked not far from his landing, but they didn't see him arriving.
"Who cares? What a creep," the other girl, Andrea, commented, trying to open the gates.
"She said we shouldn't."
"Sarah Jane, don't be so dull."
"She was scared," Sarah Jane remarked. "It's weird. I sort of believed her."
"Yeah. You'd believe a Triffids going to come and get us. Just follow me. I'll look after you," Andrea said, forces open the chained-up gates enough to get through and they both step inside.
Arthur quickly stands up, running to stop them. "Stop!" He shouted, reaching his hand to grab them—
▪︎▪︎▪︎
And landed inside a cafe, scaring the hell out of a poor couple who enjoys their lunch. "Sorry," he whispered, then his brown eyes caught the news on TV, with the headline "Royal Hope Hospital vanishes in upward rain mystery".
"It sounds impossible, but the entire hospital has vanished," the reporter announced. "The Royal Hope no longer exists. It's not been destroyed, there's no wreckage, it's simply gone. Reports from bystanders say that the rain lifted up around the hospital—"
Arthur walks to the cashier. Ignoring the dull pain in his stomach, he kindly asks, "Sorry, what day is this?"
"Are you drunk?" He huffed. "March 31st, 2007."
"Three months," Arthur muttered before a loud bang and shake happened around him.
The reporter shares an update of the situation. "To confirm, the Royal Hope hospital has returned to it's original position, but with only one survivor. The only person left alive is medical student Oliver Morgenstern."
"And there were these creatures," Oliver shared. "Like rhinos, talking rhinos, in…in…in black leather…"
"Judoon," Arthur guessed.
"Hey!" A waitress called. "If you wanna order, order now!"
"Of course. One salad and one banana milkshake."
"We couldn't breathe," Oliver continued as Arthur sat down. "We were running out of air… a colleague of mine gave me the last oxygen tank. Martha, M-Martha Jones…and sh-she died."
Arthur plucked at the cuff of his flannel shirt. He remembers seeing Martha before. He might not know her personally, but Arthur knows sooner or later he shall meet her. But now…he's not sure he will.
But then, he hears the bad news as Oliver continue his story. "There was this woman who took control, said she-she knew what to do…said she could stop the MRI or something. Delaney, her name was. D-Delaney Redwood."
"Delaney Redwood was a friend of Martha Jones," the reporter informed. "Nobody exactly knows who she is, but sources confirmed that she was the last remaining descendant of Sir Robert MacLeish and Lady Isobel MacLeish, whose estate inspired the name for Torchwood institution. Her body was recovered from the hospital late this afternoon. She had brought two partners with her, former Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Steward of UNIT, and his sole daughter, Katherine, who also perished."
He didn't hear the news any longer.
He heard enough.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Donna is walking along the street at night, steps onto a path and sees a yellow flash of light accompanied by a grunt. Arthur winces, slowly stands up and walks from behind the alley and runs onto the road, where Donna walks over to him. "Blimey! Are you all right?" Donna asked. "What was that, fireworks or...?"
"Ah, just a simple mishap of time jump," he assured her, sensing something on her back, but can't tell what it is. But his focus immediately went to the numbing sensation all over his body. Time is dying. And sooner or later, if he can't fix this whole mess, he'll be dead too.
"Wait! You're that man, Arthur! Christmas Eve, I met you in town."
"Hello, Donna. Nice to see you," he greeted her. "You're looking good. How's things? What have you been up to?"
"You're doing it again."
"What?"
"Looking behind me. People keep on doing that. Looking at my back."
"Really? They see something behind your back?" Arthur pondered. What do you know, he's not the only one who has done that. But if it's everyone...is it because this is how this timeline wants to give him a clue? "Can you tell me why?"
"I dunno," Donna shrugs. "I just catch them sometimes, staring at me. Like they're looking at something. And then I get home, and I look, and there's nothing there."
"Perception filter?" Arthur guessed. "A subconscious message?"
"What?"
"Just some thoughts. Listen, ehm…I know this is weird, but I got a gift for you." Donna frowns as Arthur gives him a raffle ticket. "I bought one, thought to give it to you. Apparently, the winner gets a free holiday weekend in a nice hotel out of town for next Christmas. You can even bring your family as well."
"Why?"
"No harm to try."
"Have we met before?" Donna asked, narrowing her eyes. "Before Christmas Eve. Have we met?"
"Oh, we met at another time," Arthur replied with a sad smile. As strong as his desire to tell Donna was, it was better for Donna to live in ignorance. "But you can't remember."
Before Donna can ask what he meant by that, he left with a yellow flash.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Ross quickly ran into the main room, turning on the TV. "We have interrupted your programme to bring you breaking news."
Both Arthur and Rose, who had talks on their plan, quickly watch the emergency news with the headline "Titanic replica heading for London" inside UNIT base at Leeds in dread.
"Not sure how this is possible, but this footage is live and genuine. The object is falling on Central London. I repeat, this is not a hoax. A replica of the Titanic is falling out of the sky, and it's heading for Buckingham Palace. We're getting this footage from the Guinevere range of satellites."
"It's getting worse," Arthur muttered before his ears ringing. His hands take out his handkerchief as he coughs more, now in blood. His condition worsened.
"Good think you manage to send Donna and her family away in time," Rose remarked, trying to stay positive.
"Any update from Magambo?"
"Still no update. You?"
"Still can't time jump since I talked to Donna. The Time Vortex inside me slowly dying with the Tardis."
"Can't we just…asked Donna?"
"No!" He insisted. "We can't force her to do this. This is risky, Rose. Very risky. Maybe I had met her once, but I do not want to force a harsh circumstance on her." He shivers, shaking his head as Rose quickly sits him down. "We wait until she's ready."
▪︎▪︎▪︎
"America is in crisis, with over sixty million reported dead," an AMNN reporter informed, with the headline "Sixty million people dissolved into fat". "Sixty million people have dissolved into fat. And the fat is walking. People's fat has come to life and is walking through the streets. And there are spaceships. There are reports of spaceships over every major US city. The fat is flying. It's leaving. The fat creatures are being raised into the air…"
"I don't wanna know," Arthur mumbled as he and Rose watched the news of many Adipose roaming around the US. This might be the weirdest thing he had seen, and that's to say something with all the adventures he had for his life with aliens.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Arthur sat on a park bench at night, watching from above as Donna and Rose approached him. "Hi," he greeted Donna.
"You're okay?" She asked, realising how pale he looks.
"I'll always be," he smiles, patting the chair beside him. Rose sat at his left while Donna sat at his right. "It's the ATMOS devices. We're lucky it's not so bad here. Britain hasn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe, China, South Africa...they're getting choked by gas."
"Can anyone stop it?"
"Yeah, they're trying right now, this little band of fighters, on board the Sontaran ship," Rose said. "Any second now…"
Just as she says it, the sky gets aflame, then it goes dark again.
"And that was...?" Donna asked, stunned.
"That was the Torchwood team. Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, they gave their lives. And Captain Jack Harkness has transported to the Sontaran home world. There's no-one left."
"He's a...no normal man, the Captain," Arthur admitted, recalling the small conversation he had with the Scottish Doctor and Me about the man he briefly talked to before. No wonder his dad often warned him to not talked to him.
Donna takes a look at Rose. "You're always wearing the same clothes. Why won't you tell me your name?"
"None of this was meant to happen," Rose replied. "There was a man. This wonderful man, and he stopped it. The Titanic, the Adipose, the ATMOS, he stopped them all from happening."
"That...Doctor?"
Arthur nods. "You knew him."
"Did I? When?"
"I think you dream about him, sometimes. Or had a deja vu. A man in a suit. Tall man with long trench coat and sandshoes—"
"It's not sandshoes," Rose argued.
"Love to say triple 'what' and says 'allons-y.'"
Donna shook her head. "Who are you two?"
"I'm a time traveller, like the Doctor. She was like you, a companion," Arthur shared.
"You've travelled with him, Donna. You've travelled with the Doctor in a different world," Rose added.
"I never met him, and he's dead," Donna recalled.
"He died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve, but you were meant to be there. He needed someone to stop him, and that was you. You made him leave. You saved his life."
For a moment Donna seems to remember. But then, she stands up, angry and scared. "Stop it. I don't know what you're talking about, leave me alone!"
"Something's coming, Donna. Something worse," Arthur warned, coughs a bit.
"The whole world is stinking. How can anything be worse than this?!"
"Trust me. We need the Doctor more than ever," Rose informed, then sighs. "I've…I've been pulled across from a different universe, because every single universe is in danger. It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it."
"What is?"
"The darkness."
"Well, what do you two keep telling me for?" She snapped. "What am I supposed to do? I'm nothing special. I mean, I'm...I'm not, I'm nothing special, I'm a temp. I'm not even that, I'm nothing!"
"That's wrong!" Arthur disagreed. "Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the whole of creation. You just don't know it yet."
"Oh, don't," she muttered bitterly. "Just...don't. I'm tired. I'm so...tired."
"So am I. I don't blame you for it. For that…we won't be coming to you for 3 weeks and asking you to help us out."
"Why 3 weeks?"
"You'll know. Trust a psychic. And Donna…I want you to be absolutely certain. Because I had a feeling, a very strong one, between us both." He takes a sharp breath. "One of us will die."
Donna was stunned, unable to say something. Even as Rose and Arthur left her.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Three weeks later, Donna and Rose enter a huge warehouse type building. There is a circle of mirrors in the middle, and in the background there's the Tardis, a bunch of wires connecting it to the mirrors and a large computer. Arthur stands in front of it, typing very fast on the monitor.
"Loadstone testing now at 15.4. Repeat, 15.4."
Magambo salutes to Rose. "Ma'am."
"I've told you, don't salute."
"Well, if you're not going to tell us your name…"
"What, you don't know either?" Donna asked.
"I asked her not to tell her name," Arthur shared seriously. "She had crossed too many different realities. Small information will cause more problems that we have to deal with."
"He talks like that. A lot," Magambo remarked. "And you must be Miss Noble."
"Donna," she introduced.
"Captain Erisa Magambo. Thank you for this."
"I don't even know what I'm doing."
"I'm going to share crucial information on how all of this can happen," Arthur informed. "But before that…Rose, you can show her. The Tardis eager to see Donna again."
"That 'police box'?" Donna gestures to the Tardis.
"They salvaged it from underneath the Thames," Rose said. "Just go inside."
"What for?"
"Just go in!"
Both Rose and Arthur watch, smiling, as Donna enters the Tardis.
"No. Way!" Donna shouted. Mouth open, she gets out, walks around the box, back inside to see it's really that big, then she walks back to Rose, shocked.
"Do you wanna have a coffee?" Arthur suggested.
"Actually, I do need one," Donna admitted.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Rose, Arthur, and Donna are inside the TARDIS, Donna holding her coffee mug while Arthur's holding a glass of hot water.
"Time And Relative Dimension In Space," Rose said. "This room used to shine with light."
"She's dying," Arthur added glumly, gently rubbing the console and the rota rises a bit, telling the Tardis that he'll manage. "And she still wants to help us."
"And...and it belonged to the Doctor?" Donna askes.
"He was a Time Lord. Last of his kind," Rose replied, tilts her head at Arthur. "At least, until this guy shows up."
"But if he was so special, what was he doing with me?"
"He thought you were brilliant."
"Don't be stupid."
"But you are! It just took the Doctor to show you that, simply by being with him. He did the same to me. To everyone he touches."
"Were you and him...?"
Rose doesn't answer. Arthur can sense Rose clearly has a feeling for him and she doesn't know about River at all. He hasn't told her about his connection to the Doctor, and now, he's infinitely more glad that he didn't. Last thing he needs is breaking Rose's heart by telling her that she's not his biological mother.
Sensing the discomfort, Donna glances at Arthur. "You said…you're going to share crucial information on how all of this can happen."
"It's better for me to show you," Arthur sighs, rubbing his forehead.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Arthur and Donna are now standing in the centre of the circle of mirrors.
"Since the Tardis is dying, I had no choice but to use some of the part of the console to build this whole thing," Arthur informed sadly. "But first, I want to ask. Do you ever get the glimpse on your back?"
"Just a small glimpse," Donna shrugs.
"Small glimpse will be fine."
"It was…a creature. Like insects…but I don't know what."
"Out of the circle, please," Magambo instructed.
"He needs to be there," Rose insisted. "He can help Donna."
"His condition—"
"Are not any concern of yours, Captain Magambo," Arthur cut in. He respects UNIT quite a bit, but they can be annoying at times. "Do as I told you."
"Yes, sir."
Arthur looks at Donna again. "You just need a quick look, okay? Just a quick look at the creature. Don't look any longer."
"Ready? And...activate."
The lights around the circle turn on. Frightened, Donna closes her eyes, gripping his hand. "Is it there?" She asked.
"Yeah, open your eyes," Arthur said.
"I can't."
"It's part of you, Donna. A part of you that used your importance."
Slowly, Donna opens her eyes to see her back in the mirrors, where she sees a massive beetle clinging to her. She starts to spin around in panic, trying to get a better view, but Arthur turns her around to him. "Look at me, Donna. Just look at me!"
"What is it?" She cried. Arthur really didn't like this. But Donna had a right to know.
"A time beetle. A powerful one. It feeds off time by changing time, making someone's life take a different turn. Like someone's child never existed. Or losing a loved one instead. In your case…you never worked at HC Clement."
"And this whole thing…happened because of that?"
"Unfortunately. A dangerous creature kidnapped me, realising the Doctor's importance towards the universe. To create more chaos, he ordered his henchmen to latch it into you, sensing something's unique inside of you, creating this timeline," Arthur reported.
"Can you get rid of…of it?"
"I could try using my power, but since I'm connected to the Tardis—"
"You're dying too," Donna realised in horror.
"Yeah, but I'm still here. So long as the Tardis' still around, then I'll be fine."
Donna nods. "Turn it off. Please."
"Captain," Rose called.
"Power down," Magambo ordered.
The lights go off and Rose walks to Donna, touching her arm comfortingly. "It's... it's still there, though. What can I do...to get rid of it?" Donna asked.
"We're gonna travel in time," Arthur replied.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Donna is wearing a strange coat full of wires. Arthur, also wearing his hoodie that is full of wires, gently explains to her. "We set your destination on June 25th, 2007. One minute past ten in the morning. Your car was on Little Sutton Street leading to the Ealing Road, but you turned right, heading towards Griffin's Parade. You must change that. Make your younger self turn left, and head for the Chiswick High Road."
"Keep the jacket on at all times," Magambo added. "It's insulation against temporal feedback."
An officer puts a kind of watch on Donna's wrist.
"This watch will correspond to local time wherever you land," Arthur remarked, handing Donna a cup of water. "And here's your drink."
"What about you?" Donna asked after drinking the water. They both stood again in the centre of the circle of mirrors. "Where will you go?"
"I'll try to visit October 29th, 2007. I need to find a way to save a friend of the Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith. The creature I mentioned before had altered her past, causing her to die at a young age." He paused. "Normally, I can time jump without issue. But…I'm not in good condition. So," he shrugs at their surroundings. "We had to use this as a temporary time machine."
The gingers nod in understanding before pausing. "It's a time machine!?"
"It's a time machine," Rose repeated, can't help but smile with Donna's reaction.
"Powering up," Magambo instructed before the lights turned on.
"How d'you know it's gonna work?" Donna asked the brunette man.
"I had a hunch," he admitted.
"He always said that, but it ends up happening," Rose added with a tone of playful annoyance. "Just remember, when you get to the junction, change the car's direction by one minute past ten."
"How do I do that?"
"It's up to you."
"Well, I just have to...run up to myself and...have a good argument."
"I'd like to see that!"
"Activate loadstone," Magambo shouted.
"Good luck, Donna," Arthur said.
"You too," she smiles with hope.
"Activate!"
Sparkles fly, Donna and Arthur are engulfed in white light, then they both disappear.
Rose watches the spot they were before with conflict. "Please don't be true," she prayed, tears running down her cheeks.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Alan and Maria burst in the attic at the same time Arthur arrives.
"Oh my God!" Andrea yelped at the suddenness of his arrival.
"I'm back," Arthur mumbled, relieved…then winces as his head spinning like crazy.
"Sarah Jane!" Maria called at the mirror where Sarah Jane's in.
"That's her? She's only in the mirror. This didn't work," Alan said, gesturing at a device he's carrying.
"I can't get back while Andrea's here," Sarah Jane pointed out. "And I must get back, to save Luke. To save the world!"
"But what do we do?" Maria asked.
"The contract," Arthur responded, standing up, taking a good look at Andrea. "You made a deal with that creature. Therefore, only you could stop the meteor."
"It's why the creature got rid of Maria. She confronted you. She might have persuaded you to go back on your deal," Sarah Jane agreed. "This whole thing depends upon your agreement to my death all those years ago."
"If you break off the deal, Sarah Jane comes back. All you have to do is pull out of it. Say no!" Maria insisted.
Andrea looks at everyone. "I can't."
"If you don't, that meteor's going to hit. Is that what you want?" Alan retorted.
"You're asking her to kill herself," Arthur clarified. While he didn't agree with what she had done, he can't blame her for it. She's practically a child, she doesn't know the consequences of it. "I disagree with what you will condone the entire Earth for. But for what it's worth, many people will live because of you. Think about it."
"I'm sorry, Andrea, but you were meant to die," Maria emphasised.
But Andrea didn't like the implications, glaring at her. "Meant? Who says I'm meant to die? I was so young. I had so much to do, and I did it. Look at me. I lived every single moment, because I knew what it was worth!"
"So did I!" Sarah Jane encountered.
"And you're the chosen one, the golden girl?"
"Oh, nobody was chosen. It was stupid and pointless what happened that day, but this is worse. That thing twisted it. He used you!"
Andrea goes silent. "So I die…at 13."
"And my son gets a chance to live," Sarah Jane added. "He's lost out there, Andrea, somewhere terrible, and I am begging you. Please, save him. And save him too." She looks at Arthur. "Even now as we speak, he's dying."
She looks between him and her best friend. "If I do…what happens to my life? All the things I did as I grew up...they get scrubbed out? I get forgotten?"
"No, you were never forgotten, never. What I saw that day…it changed me forever. I saw how precious life is, and it made me fight to defend it all these years…because of you, Andrea. It was all because of you. My best friend."
"And I'll always appreciate the choice you made to save Earth, Andrea Yates," Arthur remarked. "I won't forget it."
The creature suddenly appears behind them.
"Is that him, the Trickster?" Alan asked.
"Dad, no!" Maria holds him, stopping her father from getting closer. "Don't go near him!"
"Andrea Yates. They want to kill you all over again. Remember your bargain with me," it reminded her.
Andrea steps closer. "You tricked me. You used a child, and now you're destroying the Earth."
"Chaos is good."
"Well, I say no. If there's one thing I can do with my life, I can put a stop to you for good. I've changed my mind. I'm taking the deal back!"
"Then you will die."
"I've been dead for 40 years" she takes one last good look at Arthur and Sarah Jane. "Been a good life. It's my birthday. Bye, Sarah Jane. I'm going now. And you're free!"
Andrea throws the box at the mirror and their surroundings disappear in a flash.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Donna appears on an ordinary street. She looks around, then throws her arms into the air, laughing in victory. But then, she takes a better look at her surroundings. "But...hold on...but this is...I'm not...this is Sutton Court! I'm half a mile away! I'm half a mile away!" She looks at her watch. It's 9:57. "Four minutes? Oh, my God…"
She starts to run as fast as she can. But even with all the strength she has…she still is not in the right place.
Donna, gasping, checking the watch in despair. "I'm not gonna get there," she said and realised what Arthur had said.
"One of us will die."
Donna sees a large blue van driving up the road. She's watching the van with resignation. "Please…"
She steps in front of the van…only to get pushed out of the road. By the time Donna looks up, try to understand what's going on, the driver is too late to stop Arthur's head crashing into the windshield, he gasps in pain before his body laying on the ground loudly.
Never in her life Donna Noble screamed in utter despair like this.
"I've got you!" The ginger assured him, kneeling, holding his hand. "I'm here! I'm here!"
"Bad Wolf…" he whispered.
"What?"
"Her name…Rose Tyler…Bad Wolf." His eyes close and his head falls to the side.
And the timeline reverses back.
Note: three reasons why I put Turn Left & Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane together: 1) Both episodes happened because of the Trickster's interference; 2) I wanted Arthur to meet Sarah Jane & Rose, making him officially meet/known/see all NuWho Companions; 3) I wanted to put the last scene to put a hint on what's gonna happen to Arthur.