Lost in the Universe

xix

"So there I was, strabded in the year 200100, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me," he explained. Nian frowned. I guess Daleks are still a thing here, she thought. "But I had this," he said. "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manupulator."

"Ew," Nina whispered as soon as she heard what Jack had. The Doctor snickered above her.

"He's not the only one who can time travel."

"Oh, excuse me," the Doctor exclaimed, turning around to point at his thing. "That is not time travel."

"I second that," Nina nodded, earning a frown from Jack. Martha had an amused look on her face.

"It's like I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper," the Doctor told him, a tone of almost disgust in his voice. Martha and Nina bursted out laughing.

"Boys and their toys!" Martha exclaimed.

"Alright, so I bounced," Jack gave in, realising he would not win this argument. "I thought: XXI century is the best place to find the Doctor. Except I got it a little wrong, arrived in 1869. This thing burned out, so it was useless." Nina frowned at how similar to her life his life had been.

"Told you," the Doctor singsonged. Martha scoffed.

"I had to live through the entire 20th century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me," Jack winned.

"Oh, stop whining," she told him, rolling hes eyes. "Could have been worse, trust me," she added more quietly. Only the Doctor heard her comment, and frowned, deciding not to push her now.

"That makes you more that 100 years old," Martha said, still not grasping the concept of immortality. She was literally the only one who aged bewteen the four of them.

"And looking good, doncha think?" He winked at Nina. She rolled her eyes at him. "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," Jack explained.

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

"I was busy," was all the Doctor had to say. Nina knew it was probably because Jack was just... wrong. He wasnt supposed to be alive anymore, not supposed to exist. A human is not supposed to live this long.

"Is that what happens, though? Seriously?" Martha asked him. "Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

"Not if you're blonde," Jack commented.

"Oh, she was blonde? Oh, what a surprise?" Martha yelled out sarcastically. Nina wished she had said something to stop their conversation before it got this far, she truly did, because she could feel the hurt coming out of the Doctor at the mention of this Rose again.

"You two! We're at the end of the universe," he exclaimed at the two of them, turning around. "All right? We're at the edge of knowledge itself and you're busy... blogging! Come on."

Nina grabbed his hand again and he squeezed it tightly, as if he needed it. Maybe he did. Nina held him close.

"You alright?" She asked him quietly. He looked down at her and wiggled his eyebrows humorously, but no smile whatsoever on his face.

"Peachy," he asnwered, using her own previous answer. She was about to ask him more when they arrived at the edge of a canyon. Inside, it looked like it had once had a city, full of life. But now? Now it was absolutely dead. Not one living soul living down there.

"Is that a city?" Martha asked as she looked down.

"Probably," the Doctor told her.

"City or a hive," Nina argued.

"Or a nest," he shot back.

"Or an conglomeration," she finally said. By the look on his face, he didn't have any more ideas, leaving the last word to her. Nina smiled, proud of herself.

"Looks like it was grown," he said. "But look there," he pointed to the city. "

"That's like pathways, roads..." Nina realized. "Must have been some sort of life."

"Long ago," the Doctor agreed.

"What killed it?" Martha asked him. Nina could see the sadness on the woman's face. She had probably never seen a dead planet before, not like this one.

"Time," Nina softly let out.

"Just time," the Doctor agreed with her. "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."

They looked at Jack, who was now staring directly at Nina. She raised her eyebrows when she realized she was being stared at. The Doctor cleared his throat and Nina almost laughed. Why was everyone so damn jealous of everyone.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to having two of you around," he said, smiling at Nina. "It must have an atmospheric shell," he said, coming back to the previous subject when he saw the warning on the Doctor's face. "We should be frozen to death," Jack reasoned.

"Well, Martha, Nina and I, maybe. Not so sure about you, Jack," he said, giving Jack a knowing look.

"What about the people? Does no one survive?" Martha asked. Nina could have slapped her forehead at Martha's obliviousness.

"I suppose we have to hope," the Doctor said. "Life will find a way."