The Master finished his speech, taunting us. The Doctor's face aghast in a horror I didn't understand. My own face displayed shock, but it was not like his. Something else must've happened after I left.
"What's he on about? What's he doing?" Wilf stammered. "D-Doctor, what does that mean?"
"A white-point star is only found on one planet," I explained. "Gallifrey." I felt the timelord begin to tremble in my arms.
"Which means: it's the timelords," my old friend quaked. "The timelords are returning." His body tensed as he shook. His breath was heavy, and his eyes pooled with more tears. I held him tighter in hopeless attempt to console him.
"Well, that's good isn't it?" Wilf wondered. "I mean, that's your people, you and Maverick." Without warning, the Doctor shrugged me off and grabbed the gun, and now fear stung in my hearts. He analyzed the weapon in a blurry rage, then he sprung up from his spot and hurried out the room. Wilf and I shared a look of great concern. I rose to follow him, not caring if the old human stayed behind.
Tut. Tut. Tut. Tut.
The noise signaled to me again, continuous and present. Repetitive but faint. It stayed.
I caught up to the Doctor who rushed to the PA system. He pressed a few buttons and the noise played over the whole craft. The Vinvocci were there.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
We all listened. I heard it twice, one coming from my ears, the other from my mind.
"What's that?" Addams asked. I looked at the monitor Rossiter stood before.
"It's coming from Earth," he explained. "It's on every wavelength." The timelord's face remained frozen in fright.
"It's a signal," my voice trembled as I too began to fill with fear. "It's the Master. He's bring back the timelords."
The old man hobbled in behind us. "But you said your people were dead! Past-tense," he countered. The Doctor rushed around the room, fussing with wires and cables.
"Inside the Time War," he fumed. "When the whole war was time-locked, like sealed inside a bubble."
"It's not a bubble," I argued. I had left Gallifrey after I heard the council discuss using it, and I suddenly became aware of why the Doctor was so terrified. I have an eavesdropping problem.
"Just think of it as a bubble," the Doctor growled. "Nothing can get in or get out of the time-lock. Do you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except—
"Except something that was already there," I concluded.
"The signal!" Wilfred exclaimed as he finally understood as well. "Since he was a kid!"
"If they can follow the signal, they can escape," my old friend spat out quickly. "Before they die."
"Well, then, big reunion! We'll have a party," the old man suggested. I shook my head.
"There will be no party!" The Doctor barked.
"But I've heard you talk about your people like they're wonderful," Wilf remembered.
"That's how I choose to remember them. The timelords of old," he explained. "But then they went to war, an endless war." He whizzed passed an buzzed a control box with his sonic screwdriver.
"It changed them, corrupted them. They must've gotten far worse since I left," I added.
"You seen my enemies, Wilf," the Doctor breathed. "The timelords are more dangerous than any of them." He frantically worked around the room, trying to get it functioning so we could get back to Earth.
"Timelords? What lords?" Addams questioned. "Anyone want to explain?"
"Right, yes, you!" The timelord chimed pointing his finger at her. "This is a salvage ship, yes? You were trawling the asteroid fields for junk."
"Yeah," she nodded. "What about it?"
"So you've got—
"Asteroid lasers!" I shrieked in excitement, jumping a little as I did. The Doctor flipped a switch on the wall, dancing about to face me.
"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," Rossiter argued.
"Consider them unfrazzled," the Doctor smirked at me, pushing up on a final lever fixing the laser functions. Two doors on each side of the room slid open, revealing the defense pods. "Addams! We're gonna need you on navigation! Maverick! Get in a laser pod!" He ordered. I squealed giddily as I scurried into the pod to get a feel for the interior. The Doctor approached Wilfred. "Wilfred!"
"Yeah?"
"Laser number two," he told the man. "The old soldier's got one more battle." Wilfred patted my friend's arm then made his way towards the second pod, but didn't enter.
"This ship can't move. It's dead!" Addams protested, glaring at the timelord.
"Fixed the heating," he sassed back, then shoved the starting beams down. The ship powered back up.
"But now they can see us!" Rossiter squeaked.
"Oh, yes!" He shouted. I chuckled madly. This was my kind of chaos.
"This is my ship," the Vinvocci woman fumed. "You are not moving it. Step away from the wheel!"
"There's an old Earth saying, Captain," he didn't move. "A phrase of great power and wisdom, and a consolation to the soul in times of need..."
"What's that then?" She sighed. The Doctor winked at me, and I beamed back at him, ready to cause trouble.
"Allons-y!" The madman hollered, then the craft took off like a shot, hurtling towards the Earth.
The ship rattled as it fought against the Earth's atmosphere. The ship's interior grew hotter as the around the shell fire broke out. A fiery meteor of metal charging down to the surface, holding us inside.
Wilfred and Rossiter clung to railings while the vessel jostled us around. "You are freaking, flipping mad!" Addams cried.
"Yes, he is," I answered, possibly with more lust in my voice than intended. The Doctor smirked at me.
"You two! lasers now!" He instructed Wilf and I. I grinned, practically hopping to the laser pod. Wilfred struggled to keep his balance as he hobbled towards the twin pod.
"What for?" Rossiter yelped.
"Because of the missiles!" I shouted back, before climbing down to the firing seat.
"We've got to fight off the entire planet!" The Doctor chuckled, keeping a expert hand on the steering wheel.
I heard a whistle as I buckled myself in and glanced over to see Wilf. "How does this thing work?" He asked.
"The tracking's automatic," I answered, surveying the controls simultaneously. "Just press the button on the joystick and it'll fire!"
The old man settled in and got himself used to the alien weapon. The barrel spun around a bit from the sensitivity as sounds of unfamiliarity escaped his mouth. I giggled a little at the sight of it.
I spotted three missiles rushing in our direction and I pressed the trigger thrice. Three laser beams shot out and collided with the missiles. The craft shook from the small explosions I sent off.
Another came from the other side, and the human fired at them. Shouts of triumph erupting from his pod. "Oh, I wish Donna could see me now!"
I spotted four more. Then another. Then more. Sixteen missiles flew towards us.I shot down three, before another hoard popped up. My grin fell. It's go time, I thought.
I released several missiles, and Wilf did the same, each missile bursting upon impact, but there were more still. Damn, they're too far apart for a chain reaction. Just keep firing! I thought.
The ship whizzed left and right to avoid the projectiles. The Doctor turned the ship hard as we corkscrewed through the air. Wilf was laughing, the missiles cleared out a little, and I began laughing again too.
I heard glass shatter above us, but no missile had hit us, so I didn't stress about it.
"Lock on navigation!" I heard the Doctor scream.
"Onto what?" Addams shouted.
"England! The Naismith mansion!"
Tut! Tut! Tut! Tut!
I could barely hear it over all the noise, but the closer we grew, the louder it became. Until it was all I could hear, but I kept my eyes alert.
The mansion grew nearer. I signaled to the soldier and we both scrambled out of our pods. Wilfred rushed to the Doctor. He said something, but all I could hear were the drums.
A conversation carried out that was silent to me. I shut my eyes trying to shut out the signal in my brain. I felt a hand grab my arm and blinked open my eyes. The Doctor was going to jump down. He wanted me to go with him, so I did.
Together we plummeted from the crafted towards the mansion. My old friend held me to his chest to shield me from the impact. We crashed through the glass ceiling. Shards sliced sallow cuts on my skin, but I didn't get a moment to process the pain before we slammed into the floor.
I scrambled up, ignoring the air knocked from my lungs and the near unbearable aches all over my body, and tended to the Doctor. His breath was heavy. Small cuts scattered his hands and face, and he grunted in pain. That idiot had broken my fall.
I tried to help him up, but he reached for the gun Wilf had given him rather than my hand. The Doctor attempted to aim it at what lie before us, but his hand fell back to the ground, so he gave in, and let me pull him upright. He leaned against me, still too weak to hold his own.
"My Lord Doctor," I finally peered up ahead. Rassilon. Lord President of Gallifrey. "My Lady Maverick." He stepped forwards from the bright pathway. Four more timelords stood behind him. The two nearer to him covered their eyes, posted in shame, and the last two stood tall. "Lord Master. We are gathered for the end."
I clung to the Doctor's helpless form. Our chests bobbed in synchronous labored breath. The drums in my mind subsided, and I glanced at my brother, wondering if his had gone too.
The Doctor's breath quickened as he tried to stand himself up. "Listen to me," he struggled. "You can't..."
"It's a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous children," Rassilon proclaimed, referring to the Master and I.
"Oh, he's not saving you," the Doctor forced out.
"And neither am I," I coughed, standing up before the idiot who saved me some pain, pulling him along.
"Don't you realize what he's doing?"
"Hey, no, hey!" My brother protested. "That's mine. Hush." He put a finger to his lips. "Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single timelord!" I held onto the Doctor, steadying both myself and him. "Oh, yes, Mr President, sir, standing there, all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're gonna look as me!"
He flashed a wicked smile at them, but Rassilon lift his gauntlet covered hand and reversed the doings of the immortality gate. Every clone Master shook their heads like once before as they transformed back into their unique human biologies. I allowed my lip to curl as I glowered at my twin.
"No, no! No, no!" The Master cried. "No, stop it! No, no!"
"Shut up!" I snapped at him. "Did you really think that would work? Man you are stupid." He snarled at me, as every human in the room gasped for air. All back to normal. My sly grin fell, turning back toward Rassilon.
"On your knees, mankind," he announced. And they all did, terrified and confused at the scene playing out before them.
"That's... that's fine. That's good," my brother stammered, still determined to claim a victory. "Because you said 'salvation.' I still saved you! Don't forget that." The President ignored him.
"The approach begins," he grumbled.
"Approach of what?" The Master inquired.
"Something is returning. Don't you ever listen?" The Doctor spat out. "That was the prophecy. Not someone, something."
"What is it?"
I shook my head in disbelief. "It's not just the timelords, brother. They're pulling back the planet! It's Gallifrey!"
The Earth shook from the sudden shift in gravity. Gallifrey was coming. I heard screaming outside, and peered up towards the sky. There it was. The orange pigment of the surface loomed over the Earth's sky. The humans in the chamber with us clambered to their feet and out the building. The stench of pure terror overwhelming.
"But I..." the Master let out. "I did this. I get the credit! I'm on your side!" Rassilon only gave an evil smile in response.
"Doctor? Maverick?" I heard a voice rise from the screams. It was Wilfred. What is he doing here!? He's gonna get himself killed! From the radiation box came frantic knocking, a man cried for someone to let him out. "Alright! I've got you mate!" He opened the door and pressed on the release button. No! You daft old man. I thought. The terrified scientist scrambled away. It was done.
"But, this is fantastic," the Master stammered. "Isn't it. The timelords restored!"
The Doctor pushed away from me a little. "You weren't there in the final days of the war. You never saw what was born." I furrowed my brow. What was born? "But if the time-lock's broken, then everything's coming through. Not just the Dalek's, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King and his army of meanwhiles and never-weres, the war turning to hell!" My brother stood there dumbfounded by it all, listening to our friend list off the monstrosities that were on the way. I gave the Doctor's hand a small squeeze. "And that's what you've opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending!"
I saw the terror flash behind my brother's eyes, but instead he just said,"my kind of world!"
"Just listen!" The Doctor snapped. "Because even the timelords can't survive that!" I pulled at his hand a little. I'd never admit it, but I was petrified.
The very war I'd run away from had come back to get me.
"We will initiate the Final Sanction," Rassilon sounded. "The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips the time vortex apart."
"That's suicide," I gasped at the President. The Doctor's head drooped when I glanced at him. The Master matched my face of twisted confusion and fear.
"We will ascend," Rassilon lifted his arms out in presentation. "To become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be."
My eyes looked like water-filled saucers and my hearts picked up pace. "Do you see now?" The Doctor asked my twin. "That's what they were planning in the final days of the war." The room seemed to spin. "I had to stop them," he finished.
Catching my brother's eyes, I pleaded for him to help us end this. "Then," the Master began. "Take me with you, Lord President. Let me ascend into glory!"
"No," I squeaked out. Tears poured down my face.
"You are diseased," Lord President sneered. "Albeit, a disease of our own making." My brother's confidence dwindled, tears forming in his own eyes now. "No more." Rassilon raised his gauntlet up.
I heard a click. Wilfred's revolver suddenly in my hands, ripped from the Doctor in a blind panic. Anger burned in my hearts. My childhood friend tugged at my hand, but I did not move. He didn't even seem to really want to stop me, he just wanted me to be sure.
The room was silent. I felt everyone's stares cut into me. "Choose your enemy well," Rassilon told me. "We are many. The Master is but one."
"But he's the President," my brother cut in. "Kill him and Gallifrey could be yours!" I trembled. I shut my eyes tight, and swiveled, now aiming the weapon at my other half. I saw panic in his eyes, on his face. "He's to blame, not me!" He pleaded. I didn't move, I wasn't angry with him. "Oh, of course. The link is inside my head." He smiled at me. "Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back." We just glared at each other. Both of us were drowning in our own thoughts. "You never would. You care too much about me." My jaw started hurting, and I realized it was because I had been clenching it. "Go on. Do it," he taunted me.
"No," I swallowed. "We're telepathically connected. If I destroy the link from your end, who's to say it won't just latch onto my mind." I swiveled back around to Lord President.
"Exactly!" The Master hissed. "It's not just me, it's him! He's the link! Kill him! Kill him!"
"God, will you just shut up?!" I snapped, shaking my head furiously. My vision was blurry from crying. My cheeks tingled with the memory of them running down my face.
"The Master and the Maverick," Rassilon announced. "The twins that never should have existed. Your destiny is soaked in the blood of betrayal, but who's blood will be the first to spill?"
My body shivered with mixed emotion of anger. Fear. Dread. Confusion. Curiosity... the timelords behind Rassilon looked up from their shunned poses. Their hands lowering from their faces. One of them, I didn't know, but she seemed so familiar. She eyed me, before her gaze settled on the Doctor behind me. The other... the other was the woman who had spent a lot of time with me in the academy. A role-model I should have looked up to, but never did. Maybe now. Maybe now I can use her lessons.
I spun one last time to face my brother. I could see it in his face, no... shhhh. I can hear him. I can hear his silent cries. He thinks I'm going to kill him. "Get out of the way," I ordered.
Oh, you're clever. I heard him think. A devilish smile spread across his face as he dashed to the side. With a deafening crack, I fired. Sparks flew from the transmitter holding the white-point star. Fire roared around us and I heard the Doctor cackle.
"The link is broken!" That old friend of ours declared. "Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell!"
"You'll die with me, Maverick!" The Lord President growled.
"Promise?" I grinned madly at the livid timelord. He lifted his gauntlet covered hand then—
"Get out of the way." I ducked as beam of electricity shot out from my brother's hand. The blow landed on Rassilon's chest, pushing him backwards gradually. "You did this to me!" My brother screamed. "All of my life!" He ended the first beam, and shot out a second. "You made me!" He sent another. "And then you tried to hurt my sister!"
"One!" His skin flashed a blue spectral skeleton again.
"Two!" He's killing himself!
"Three!" It flickered again.
"Koschei!" I screamed, accidentally letting his real name slip. I tried to grab him, pull him away, save him, but the Doctor held me back.
"Maverick! Maverick, stop!" He held me still as I squirmed to get away.
"Let me go! He's gonna kill himself!" I cried. The Doctor did not let me go. I hit him. I kicked. I pulled away, but he did not let go.
"FOUR!"
The ground shook as Gallifrey fell away from the Earth. Blinding light flooded the chamber, and an invisible force sent the Doctor and me backwards and to the floor. I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my head into my old friend's shoulder. His arms relaxed, but still he held on.
Pain washed over my whole body, still sore from the crash through the ceiling, and even more so now from the shock and anger and adrenaline running out of my body.
And once more, I sat there sobbing in his arms because of my twin.
~