Utopia
We landed the TARDIS in Cardiff in front of the water tower in Roald Dahl Plass. As the Doctor and I prepared to start the refuling procedure, The Doctor told Martha where we were, "Cardiff."
"Cardiff?" asked Martha.
"The thing about Cardiff is that it's built on a rift in time and space-just like California and the San Andreas Fault," I said, "The rift bleeds energy. Every now and then we 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 20 sec.," said my uncle, "The rift's been active."
"Wait a minute. They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple years ago. Was that you two?" asked Martha.
I shook my head, "Not me…" I pointed at my uncle, "Him…"
"Bit of trouble with the Slitheen," he replied, "Long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then." Then there was a whir from the TARDIS, "Finito. All powered up."
I looked at the monitor and saw the external camera was on. There was a man running toward the TARDIS. "Doctor… Who's that?" He walked to me and looked at the screen. I looked at my uncle and a look of panic appeared on his face. Then he went about starting the TARDIS. "Doctor? What's wrong?"
Just then the console sparked, the TARDIS shuttered, and we were all thrown to the floor, "What's that?" asked Martha as she clung onto the console
The Doctor and I pulled ourselves up and looked at the monitor, "We're accelerating into the future!" I said, "The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. 50 trillion. What? The year 100 trillion. That's impossible!"
"Why? What happens then?" asked Martha.
"We're going to the end of the universe," said The Doctor.
We landed with a thud and we looked at each other, "Well, we've landed." I said.
"So what's out there?" asked Martha.
"I don't know." said my uncle.
"Say that again. That's rare."
"Not even the Time Lords came this far." I said.
"We should leave," said the Doctor.
"We should go."
"WE should really, really…go." Then we looked each other, then we looked at Martha for a moment before we all grinned at each other and rushed for the door.
Once we stepped outside all we saw was a bleak landscape. It was dark, cold, and silent. Then Martha called out, "Oh my God!" I looked and saw Martha running toward a man laying on the ground. It looked like the same man I saw in the TARDIS monitor, "Can't get a pulse. Hold on—you've got that medical kit thing." Then, Martha ran back into the TARDIS.
The Doctor and I walked over to the man, "Hello again. Oh, I'm sorry."
I started to get an odd feeling off of him. My instincts were telling me I should run away from this man. "Who is he, Doctor?"
Before he could answer Martha rushed back "Here we go. Out of the way." She shoved my uncle out of the way, so she could kneel next to the man "It's a bit odd, though. Not very 100 trillion—that coat's more like World War II."
"I think he came with us." said my uncle.
"How d'you mean? From Earth?" asked Martha.
"Must've been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS all the way through the vortex. Well, that very him."
"What? Do you know him?"
"Friend of mine. Used to travel with me. Back in the old days."
"But he's—I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead." Just then the man gasps and came back to life. Martha and I both screamed. The man grabbed Martha's arm and she said, "Oh well, so much for me. It's all right. Just breathe deep. I've got you now."
"Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?" asked the man.
"Martha Jones."
"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones."
"Oh, don't start!" said my uncle, as he rolled his eyes.
"I was just saying hello," said Jack.
"I don't mind." said Martha as she helped Jack up.
My uncle and Jack stared at each other coldly, "Doctor." said Jack.
"Captain." said The Doctor.
"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?"
"The police box kinda gives it away. I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me."
"Did I? Busy life. Moving on."
Jack rolled his eyes then he looked over at me and smiled, "And who is this lovely young lady?" He took my hand and kissed the back of it, "Captain Jack Harkness…"
I started to blush, "Teddy Duncan." I said with a smile.
"Oi!" said my uncle, "That's my niece!"
"Your niece?" said Jack, "I thought you were the last of The Time Lords?"
"Long story," I said, "I ran away from Gallifrey and hid on Earth as a human…"
"I see," said Jack, then he looked at my uncle, "Doctor, I've just gotta ask. The Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."
"Oh no! Sorry! She's alive!" Said my uncle.
"You're kidding?!" said Jack.
"She's in a parallel world safe and sound. Along with Mickey and her mom," I said.
"Oh yes!" said Jack, laughed Jack as he pulled us into a hug.
I looked over at Martha, she was smiling at us. She knew how much Rose meant to my uncle and me. In the short time, I knew her Rose became one of my closest friends and my uncle loved her with every fiber of his being. I grabbed Martha's hand and pulled her into the hug.
We decide to look around and see if we could find anybody. The Doctor and I lead the way while Jack and Martha talked behind us, "So there I was, stranded in the year 200,100, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me. But I had this," said Jack, "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."
"Oh, excuse me," said my uncle, "That is not time travel. It's like I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."
"Boys and their toys," laughed Martha.
"All right, so I bounced," said Jack, " I thought '21st century, best place to find the Doctor' except that I got it a little wrong. I arrived in 1869 and this thing burnt out so it was useless."
"Told you." said my uncle.
"I had to live through the entire 20th century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me."
All of the sudden all the feelings I was getting from Jack were making sense. I was getting the feeling that Jack was a fixed point in time and space. "That makes you more that 100 years old," said Martha.
'Doctor,' I said to my uncle telepathically, 'How can Jack be that old and not look a day over 40?'
'It was Rose,' replied my uncle, 'She looked into the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex. She brought him back to life but she couldn't control the power, so she accidentally made him immortal.' My eyes went big.
"And looking good, doncha think?" asked Jack ,"So I went to the time rift, based myself thing 'cause 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?" asked Martha.
"I was busy," said my uncle. But, I knew the real reason he left Jack behind. If I was in my uncle's shoes… I would have done the same think.
"Is that what happens, though? Seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?" asked Martha.
"Not if you're blonde," said Jack.
"Oh, she was blonde?" asked Martha, sarcastically, "Oh what a surprise?"
"You two!" snapped my uncle, "We're at the end of the universe. All right? We're at the edge of knowledge itself and you're busy…blogging! Come on."
I hit him on the shoulder, "Be nice…"
We reached the edge of a canyon that looked like it once held a city of some kind. "Is that a city?" asked Martha.
"A city or a hive." I said,
"Or a nest. Or a conglomeration. Looks like it was grown." Said My uncle.
"But look there. That's like pathways, roads…Must have been some sort of life. Long ago." I said.
"What killed it?" asked Martha.
"Time. Just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing."
"It must have an atmospheric shell," said Jack, "We should be frozen to death."
"Well, Martha, Teddy and I, maybe," said The Doctor, "Not so sure about you, Jack." He looked knowingly at Jack.
"What about the people?" asked Martha, "Does no one survive?"
"I suppose we have to hope," said The Doctor, "Life will find a way."
"Well, he's not doin' too bad," said Jack, as he pointed down to a man running along a path barely ahead of another group of people with flaming torches.
"Is it me, or does that look like a hunt?" I asked.
"Come on!" said The Doctor.
We ran down the road and down a hill, Jack laughed, "Oh, I've missed this!" We caught up to the man and Jack got a hold of him, "I've got you."
"We've gotta run!" said the man, "They're coming! They're coming!"
Jack handed the man to my uncle and then he pulled out a revolver and aimed it at the group chasing the man, "Jack, don't you dare!" shouted my uncle.
Jack fired into the air and the group stopped. "What the hell are they?" asked Martha. I looked at the people of the group they had tribal tattoos all over their body and teeth that looked like shark's teeth.
"There's more of them. We've got to keep going." said the man.
I looked at the man "We've got a ship nearby. It's safe. It's not far, it's just over there." I pointed in the direction we came and we saw more of the same creatures, "Or maybe not."
"We're close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we're safe." said the man.
The Doctor looked at Jack, Martha, and I "Silo?"
"Silo," said Jack.
"Silo," I said.
"Silo for me," said Martha.
The five us started to run for the silo followed by the creatures. We arrived at a gated area with watchtowers and guards, "It's the Futurekind!" shouted the man, "Open the gate!"
"Show me your teeth!" shouted the Guard as we reached the gate, "Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!"
"Show them your teeth," said the man.
We all grit our teeth in wide smiles. "Human! Let 'em in! Let 'em in!" They opened the gate and the five of us ran inside, "Close! Close! Close!" The guard fired his gun at the ground in front of the Futurekind.
"Humans," called one of the Futurekind, "Humani. Make feast."
"Go back to where you came from. I said go back! Go back!" said the guard and he aimed gun at them.
"Oh, don't tell him to put down his gun," said Jack.
"He's not my responsibility." said my uncle.
"And I am?" Jack scoffed, "That makes a change."
"Kind watch you. Kind hungry." said the Futurekind. He signaled the others and they backed away.
My uncle walked up to the guard, "Thanks for that."
"Right. Let's get you inside," said the guard.
"My name is Padrafet Shafekane," said the man we rescued, "Please tell me, can you take me to Utopia?"
"Oh yes, sir. Yes, I can," said the guard as he lead us into a large tunnel carved into a mountain.
A little while later we were talking to a Lt. Atillo about getting the TARDIS brought to us. "It's a box, a big blue box. I'm sorry, but I really need it back. It's stuck out there."
"I'm sorry," interrupted Padrafet, "but my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafekane. My brother is Beltone."
Lt. Atillo looked at Padrafet, "The computers are down but you can check the paperwork. Creet!" Just then a young boy who looked like he was 10 suck his head from around a corner, "Passenger needs help."
"Right. What d'you need?" asked Creet. Padrafet went over to the young boy and started to look at his clipboard.
Lt. Atillo turned toward us, "A blue box, you said."
"Yes," I replied, "Big, tall, wooden. Says 'Police Public Call Box'.
"We're driving out for a last water collection. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you," said my uncle.
"Come on," said Creet to Padrafet.
Martha walked up to the boy, "Sorry, but how old are you?"
"Old enough to work. This way." said Creet. We followed Creet down a corridor lined with people who have been camped out, "Kistane Shafekane. Kistane Shafekane. Kistane and Beltone Shafekane? Looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafekane."
"The Shafekanes anyone?" said Padrafet.
"Anyone? Kistane and Beltone Shefkane? Anyone know the Shefkane family? Anyone called Shafekane?"
"It's like a refugee camp." said Martha.
"Stinking," said Jack, as we passed a rather large man who stares at him, "Ooh, sorry. No offence."
"Don't you see that?" asked The Doctor, "The ripe old smell of humans. You survived."
"So much better than a million years evolving into clouds of gas," I said, "And then another million as downloads. But you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans."
"Kistane Shafekane." called out Creet.
"End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That's the word! Indomitable! Ha!" said the Doctor.
"Is there a Kistane Shafekane?"
Just then a woman stood, "That's me." she gasped when she saw Padrafet.
"Mother?" said Padrafet.
"Oh my God."
Padrafet saw his brother and said, "Beltone?" Then he ran to them and hugged them.
"It's not all bad news," said Martha.
As we walked down the corridor, Jack shook the hand of a very handsome man as he walked by, "Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?"
My uncle and I were examine a door, trying to use our sonic screwdrivers to try and open it., "Stop it." said my uncle. "Give us a hand with this." Jack reluctantly let go of the man's hand before he jointed the rest of us by the door.
"It's half deadlocked. See if you can overwrite the code." I asked Jack. He set to work on the keypad while The Doctor and continued to try to sonic the door open.
"Let's find out where we are," said the Doctor.
Just then the door slid open and he almost fell into the silo. Jack grabbed my uncle by the jacket and kept him from falling, "Gotcha."
"Thanks."
"How did you cope without me?"
"That's what I'm here for," I said. Jack laughed a little and I smiled.
"Now that is what I call a rocket," said Martha. We looked out of the opened door and inside the silo was a giant rocket.
"They're not refugees, they're passengers."
"He said they were going to Utopia."
"The perfect place. 100 trillion years, it's still the same old dream." said my uncle.
"Do either of you recognize those engines?" I asked Jack and The Doctor.
My uncle shook his head, Jack said, "Nope. Whatever it is, it's not rocket science. But it's hot, though."
"Boiling." said my uncle, as we stepped back and Jack closed the door, But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?"
Just then an old gentleman ran up to us he looked us all over and then settled on Jack, " The Doctor?"
"That's me," said my uncle.
The old man smiled, took my uncle, hand and started to lead him away, "Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good."
My uncle looked back at us as we followed, "It's good apparently."
I rolled my eyes, shook my head and laughed as we walked down the hall behind them. The man, who introduced himself to us as Professor Yana, took us down the hall and into a laboratory, where we met his assistant. She was blue and looked like an insect, "Chan—welcome—tho." The man showed The Doctor and I the launch system he created. But, honestly none of the what we were seeing mad sense to either one of us.
"And over here is the footprint impellor system. If you know anything about endtime gravity…" said the professor to The Doctor and I.
"Hello. Who are you?" Martha asked the professor's assistant.
"Chan—Chantho—tho." she replied.
"But we can't get it to harmonize!" said the professor to The Doctor and I
"Captain Jack Harkness." said Jack to Chantho.
"Stop it," said my uncle.
"Can't I say hello to anyone?"
"Chan—I do not protest—tho," replied Chantho.
"Maybe later, Blue," said Jack then he walked over to The Doctor, Professor Yana, and I, "So, what have we got here?"
When Jack reached us, I heard an odd sound coming from Jack's backpack.
"And all this feeds into the rocket?" I asked.
"Yeah," said the professor, "Except without a stable footprint we'll never achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?"
"Well, um, basically…sort of…not a clue." said my uncle.
"Nothing?"
"We're not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it. Sorry."
"No, no. I'm sorry," said the professor, sounding dejected, "It's my fault. There's been so little help."
"Oh my God." we heard Martha exclaim. We turned around and saw her pulling a bubbling container with a hand in it from Jack's bag, "You've got a hand. A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag."
"That's—that's my hand!" exclaimed my uncle.
"Your hand?" I asked as I looked at the hand.
"I said I had a Doctor detector." said Jack.
"Chan—is this a tradition amongst your people—tho?" asked Chantho.
"Not on my street," said Martha. "What d'you mean that's your hand? You've got both your hands, I can see them."
"Long story," said The Doctor, "I lost my hand Christmas Day. In a swordfight."
"What? And you grew another hand?"
"Um yeah. Yeah I did. Yeah. Hello." he said as he waved.
"Might I ask what species are you?" asked the professor.
"Time Lord. Me and Teddy Last of. Heard of them? Legend or anything? Not even a myth?" the professor and Chantho just looked at him, "Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."
I shook my head, "Like anything could make you humble.
"Chan—It is said that I am the last of my species too—tho," said Chantho.
"Sorry, what was your name?" asked my uncle.
"My assistant and good friend, Chantho," said the professor, "A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."
"The city outside, that was yours?"
"Chan—the conglomeration died—tho." replied Chantho.
"Conglomeration! That's what I said!"
"You're supposed to say sorry," said Jack.
"Oh, yes. Sorry."
"Chan—most grateful—tho."
"You grew another hand?" asked Martha.
The Doctor waved his fingers, "Hello again. It's fine. Look. Really, it's me." He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers before shaking her hand."
"I told you about regeneration," I said, Martha nodded, "Well, if we are injured with in the first 15 hours of our regeneration cycle we can heal ourselves without having to burn up another regeneration."
Martha laughed nervously, "All this time and you're still full of surprises." My uncle clicked his tongue and winked.
"Chan-you are most unusual—tho."
"You don't know the half of it," I said.
"Hey…" said my uncle.
"So what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?" asked Jack.
"We call them the Futurekind," said the professor, "Which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it is feared they are what we will become. Unless we reach Utopia."
"And Utopia is…" asked my uncle.
"Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?"
"Bit of a hermit."
"A hermit with friends?"
"We're Hermits United." I said with a smile, "We meet up every ten years."
"Swap stories about caves. It's good fun…for a hermit," said my uncle, "So, um, Utopia?"
The professor took us over to a computer that showed a navigational chart with a blinking red dot, "The call came from across the stars over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originated from that point."
"Where is that?" I asked.
"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?"
"I don'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. There's a good sign. Someone's out there."
"And that's…ooh, that's a navigation matrix, isn't it?" asked my uncle, "So you can fly without stars to guide you."
I looked at the Professor and saw he had scrunched up his face in pain, "Professor? Professor?"
"I—Right, that's enough talk," He said, "There's work to do. Now if you could leave. Thank you." Then he started to walk away.
"Are you all right?" I asked
"Yes. I'm fine! And busy!"
"Except that rocket's not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working."
"We'll find a way!"
"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there, hey still think they're gonna fly." said my uncle.
"Well, it's better to let them live in hope." said the professor.
"Quite right, too. And I must say, Professor…" said my uncle as he took off his coat and handed it to Jack, "Um, 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 I did this?" He picked up the circuit and used his sonic on it before he switched it on. Then, the room shook slightly as the power came on.
"Chan—it's working—tho!"
"But how did you do that?" asked the professor.
"Oh, we've been chatting away. I forgot to tell you, I'm brilliant."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
My uncle, Professor Yana and I were working on a large clear circuit board in the center of the lab, while Martha & Chantho when to get more circuit. Jack was looking at a computer monitor to keep in contact with other areas of the silo.
I picked up one of the cords and I could smell something, so I pulled it a little closer and took another sniff, "Is this..?"
"Yes, gluten extract. Binds the neutralino map together." said the professor.
"But that's food!" exclaimed my uncle, "You've built this system out of food, string and staples. Professor Yana, you're a genius."
"Says the man who made it work."
"Ooh…it's easy coming in at the end but…you're stellar. This is…this is magnificent. I don't often say that 'cause…well, 'cause of me."
"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."
"If you had been born in a different time, you'd be revered," I said. The Professor chuckled, "I mean it. Throughout the galaxies."
"Oh, those damned galaxies. They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice. 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 gotta be from here. You're staying behind."
"With Chantho. She won't leave without me. Simply refuses."
"You would give your life so they could fly."
"Oh, I think I'm a little too old for Utopia. Time I had some sleep."
"Professor, tell the Doctor we've found his blue box." said Lt. Atillo over the intercom.
"Ah!" said my uncle.
"Teddy… Doctor…" called Jack. The three of us walked over to Jack, I made sure to stand right next to him. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back, there was something about Jack that I liked. You know, even though Jack looked older than me… At that time, I was actually older than him by 15 years! We looked at the monitor and saw the TARDIS safe and sound in the silo.
My uncle patted the professor's sholder, " Professor, it's a wild stab in the dark, but I may just have found you a way out." My uncle ran out of the room and a few moments later the familiar sound of the TARDIS entered the lab. Once the box finished materializing my uncle, brought a long power line out of the TARDIS, "Extra power." He plugged it into a outlet, "Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro-feeds."
Just then Martha and Chantho returned, "Oh, am I glad to see that thing." said Martha.
Then I heard Chantho said, "Chan—Professor, are you all right—tho?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine," he replied sounding a little stronger, "I'm fine. Just get on with it."
"Connect those circuits into the spar—same as that last lot. But quicker," said Jack.
"Yes, sir," said Martha.
I walked over to the professor, "You don't have to keep working. We can handle it." I said.
"It's just a headache," he replied, "Just—Just noise inside my head. 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. Still, no rest for the wicked." He stood and went back to work.
I thought about what the professor said. The sound of drums in his head all his life… It made me think of someone…. Someone from my past… But, he was gone now… Just like the rest of my real family… except for The Doctor… Then I went back to work.
"Professor!" called Lt. Atillo, over the intercom, " Systems are… Professor, are you getting me?"
The professor walked over to a computer terminal and pressed a couple of buttons, "I'm here! We're ready! Now all you need to do is connect the couplings. Then we can launch. God sakes! This equipment! Needs rebooting all the time!"
"Anything I can do?" asked Martha, "I've finished that lot."
"Yes, if you could," he stood up so Martha could sit, "Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes out."
"Certainly, sir. Just don't ask me to do shorthand."
"Are you still there?" said Lt. Atillo as he came back on the screen.
"Ah, present and correct," said the professor, "Send your man inside. We'll keep the levels down from here."
"He's inside. And good luck to him."
The professor looked at Jack, "Captain, keep the levels below the red."
The Doctor and I walked over to the professor and Martha, "Where is that room?" I asked.
"It's underneath the rocket," said the professor, "Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation."
"Stet? Never heard of it," said my uncle.
"You wouldn't want to. But it's safe enough. We can hold the radiation back from here." Just then, an alarm start to sound, "It's rising…0.2. Keep it level!"
"Yes, sir!" said Jack.
More alarms started to go over, "Chan—we're losing power—tho!"
"Radiation's rising!" I said as I looked at the screen.
"We've lost control!" said Jack.
"The chamber's going to flood," said the professor.
"Jack! Override the vents!" said the Doctor.
Just then Jack grabbed a hold of two live cables, "We can jump start the override!"
My eyes went big, "No! Jack! Don't! It's going to flare!"
Jack pressed the cables together and screamed as the power flowed through his body. I could feel my eyes start to water as I watched him get electrocuted. Even though, I knew he was going to be ok, it was still hard to watch as he fell to the floor, dead.
Martha rushed to Jack, "I've got him."
"Chan—don't touch the cables—tho." she said as she pushed the cables aside.
The Doctor and I just stood there as we watched Martha start to give Jack mouth to mouth, "Oh, I'm so sorry." said the professor.
"The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?" asked The Doctor, unphased by what he saw.
"Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing!"
"Oh, I don't know." I said as I walked toward Martha, "Martha, leave him." I gently pulled her up.
"You've gotta let me try," said Martha.
"Come on," I said, "Come on. Just listen to me. Now leave him alone."
"It strikes me, Professor, you've got a room a man can't enter without dying. Is that correct?" asked my uncle.
"Yes," he replied.
"Well…" said the Doctor as Jack woke up with a gasp of breath, "I've got just the man."
"Was someone kissing me?" asked Jack. He looked at me and smiled, "Was it you?"
I smiled back and blushed. Jack and The Doctor then left to get to the coupling chamber, while the rest of us remained behind. I was sitting at the computer and said, "We lost picture when the wire flared up. Doctor, are you there?"
"Receiving, yeah. He's inside," said my uncle.
"And still alive?" I asked.
"Oh, yes," he said and I smiled.
"But he should evaporate. What sort of a man is he?" asked the professor.
"I've only just met him,' said Martha, "The Doctor and Teddy sort of travels through time and space and pick people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are."
"You travel in time?" the professor asked sounding distracted.
I nodded, "That's the TARDIS," I said as I pointed to the blue box, "The sports car of time travel my uncle like to call it."
Over the computer we heard The Doctor and Jack talking, "When did you first realize?" asked my uncle.
"Earth 1892," said Jack, "Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kinda strange. But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War I, World War II, poison, strangulation, 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…just looking at you Jack, 'cause you're wrong."
"Thanks."
"You are, I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time a 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."
"So what you're saying is that you're, uh, prejudiced?"
"I never thought of it like that."
"Yeah."
"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."
"I thought you sent her back home."
"She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex."
"What does that mean, exactly?"
"No one's ever mean 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."
"Yep."
"I went back to her estate, in the 90s, just once or twice. Watched her growing up. Never said hello, timelines and all that."
"Do you wanna die?"
"Oh, this one's a little stuck."
"Jack?"
"I thought I did. I dunno. But this lot, you see them out here surviving and that's fantastic."
"You may be out there somewhere."
"I could go meet myself."
"Well, the only man you're ever gonna be happy with."
"This new regeneration, it's kinda cheeky."
"Hmm."
"I never understand half the things he says," said Martha.
I smiled and turned to look at the professor, he was leaning heavily against a piece of equipment with tears in his eyes, "What's wrong?"
"Chan—Professor, what is it—tho?"
"Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? I'm just a stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked." My eyes got big when he pulled a fobwatch from his waistcoat pocket, "Time and time and time again. Always running out on me."
"Can I have a look at that?" asked Martha.
"Oh, it's only an old relic," chucked the professor, "Like me."
"Where did you get it?" I asked.
"Hm? I was found with it." said the professor.
"What do you mean?" asked Martha.
"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 never opened it?"
"It's stuck. It's old. It's not meant to be. I don't know."
Martha took the watch and turned it over. I couldn't believe my eyes had the same engravings as the watch The Doctor used to turn into John Smith. Martha and I both took a step back.
"Does it matter?" asked the professor as he took the watch back.
"No. It's…nothing," I said with a smiled, "It's…Listen, everything's fine up here. We are going see if The Doctor and Jack need help." and with that we ran out of the room.
We got to the control room and Martha and I saw The Doctor and Jack. I was glad to see that Jack was ok, "Ah, nearly there," said my uncle, "The footprint is a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It's gonna take the both of us to keep it stable."
MARTHA moves in front of him as he works.
"Doctor, it's the professor," said Martha, "He's got this watch. He's got a fobwatch. It's the same as yours. Same writing on it. Same…everything."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"I asked him," I said, "He said he's had it all his life."
"So he's got the same watch," said Jack.
"Yeah, but it's not a watch. It's this chameleon thing," said Martha.
"No, no, no," said The Doctor, "It's this… This thing, this device, it rewrites biology, changes a Time Lord into a human."
"And it's the same watch," said Martha.
"It can't be."
"But, it is…" I said.
An alarm blared and The Doctor tried to fix it.
"That means he could be a Time Lord," said Jack, "You and Teddy might not be the last ones."
"Jack, keep it level!" said The Doctor.
"But that's brilliant, isn't it?" asked Martha.
"Yes, it is. Course it is,"
"Depends which one it is," I said.
"Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Time Lords. All of them, they died."
"Not if he was human," said Jack.
"What did he say, Martha?" yelled my uncle, "What did he say?"
"He looked at the watch like he could hardly see it. Like that perception filter thing."
"What about now? Can he see it now?" asked The Doctor. I nodded.
"If he escaped the Time War then it's the perfect place to hide," said Jack, "The end of the universe."
"Think of what the Face of Boe said," said Martha, "His dying words. He said you are not alone…"
The Doctor slammed the button down that launched the rocket. A few moments later, he picked up a phone, "Lieutenant, have you achieved velocity? Have you done it? Lieutenant! Have you done it?"
"Affirmative," said Lt. Atillo, "We'll see you in Utopia."
"Good luck." said my uncle as he hung up the phone, then he ran out of the control room. The rest of us followed behind him. We ran as fast as we could down the hall. We reached the main doors only to find them locked. The Doctor and I took out our sonic, while Jack tried the keypad. "Get it open!" he yelled, "Get it open!"
Jack got the door opened and we continued running toward the lab. As we ran we saw the Futurekind, so we had to backtrack. They chased us through the corridors of the silo. We reached the locked doors of the lab and The Doctor and I started to pound on the window while Jack started to work on the keypad. "Professor!" said my uncle, "Professor, let us in! Let us in! Jack, get the door open!"
"Professor!" I called, "Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there?! Please, We need to explain! Please don't open that watch."
"They're coming!" said Martha, I turned and saw the Futurekind at the end of the hall.
"Professor!" said my uncle
"Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor! Please! Listen to me!" I called out.
"Open the door, please!"
We heard a shot ring out from the lab. Then, Jack smashed the keypad with the butt of his revolver and then the door opened. We rushed inside and stopped. At that moment, I started to sense another Time Lord… 'Uncle Theta… It's him…' I said telepathically.
'Who?' he asked.
'My other uncle… Uncle Koschei…' Uncle Koschi was better known to the rest of the universe as The Master. He married my birth mother's sister. At one point, my uncle's were friends. But, times changed and people changed. My whole life I knew that The Master was the most evil and corrupt beings the Time Lord race had ever produced.
The Doctor and I started to move toward The Master but he backed into the TARDIS and locked it. The Doctor tried his key but The Master deadlocked the door. "Let us in!" said The Doctor as he pounted on the door, "Let us in!"
"She's dead," said Martha as she checked on Chantho.
"I've broken the lock! Give me a hand!" said Jack, as he tried to keep the door closed. Martha went over to the door.
"I'm begging you!" I said, "Everything's changed! It's only the three of us! We're the only ones left! Just let us in!"
We looked up and saw the familiar orange-gold glow of regeneration energy filling the TARDIS windows. At that moment, the Futurekind arrived at the door. Martha and Jack tried to hold them back.
"Teddy! Doctor! You'd better think of something!" said Jack.
Just then a new voiced started to come out from the exterior speakers on the TARIDS, "Doctor! Teddy!—ooh, new voice." He tried a low register, "Hello," a high register, "Hello," then back to normal, "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 so!"
"Hold on! I know that voice!" said Martha.
"I'm asking you really properly!" said The Doctor, "Just stop! Just think!"
"Use my name," said The Master
"Master. I'm sorry."
"Tough!"
I could heard the sounds of TARDIS staring up. I quickly got out my sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the box.
"I can't hold out much longer, Doctor! Teddy!" called out Jack, as he and Martha tried to hold back the Futurekind.
"Oh, no you don't!" said The Master from inside the TARDIS, "End of the universe. Have fun. Bye bye!"
"Doctor! Teddy! stop him!" called out Martha.
But, it was too late, The Doctor and I could only stand there and watch as our beloved TARDIS dematerialized...
To be continued…
A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has either reviewed, favorite, or followed this story. I'm glad that so many people like this story. I can't help but wonder if any of you picked up on what I'm setting up for the future in this story. Give me a review if you think you know what it is. I think I made it pretty obvious.