"I guess we find our own way down then." Rita glanced at the Doctor while the two in front continued to sing with the rest of the people of the motorway.
"Me not 'we'" He corrected and then crouched down and started to sonic the floor to open a trap door.
"Doctor either I come with you or I will follow you" Rita sternly told him. "And you know I will just follow you."
"You are not coming with me." he protested looking at her.
"Do you seem to forget that I am a Time Lady?" She asked. "Because at times it seems like you do, I am as old as you. I am not a child Doctor."
He stopped looking at her so angrily and looked down then took in a deep breath and sighed. "You're right." She blinked for a moment not understanding what he meant. "But I care about you, if something happened to you then I don't know what I would do, after-" He swallowed. "After Rose and now this I realised that I can't always keep you or anyone one hundred percent safe."
"Doctor." She laughed. "Following you keeps me safe, it's what we do. We look out and keep each other safe, it's what we always have done, ever since the start."
"The start?"
"When you was telling Martha about Gallifrey in the TARDIS something clicked and I remembered something, someone but I couldn't link the name to a face."
He looked at her confused but his eyes showed somewhat hope. "But that name." She took in a sharp breath. "I can link it to a face now, all of the faces in fact and I remember."
"What do you remember?" He asked a tiny bit of fear in his eyes.
"You, Theta" His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as soon as the word entered his head. "I remember you" She smiled. "And I don't hate you for what you did, but we are going to talk about it later. I have to tell you why." She mumbled as he swallowed not thinking he would have to ever explain himself to her or hear her do the same to him. Not replying he continued to sonic at the trap door on the floor. Brannigan and Valerie turned around in horror just as the song ended gasping at the sight with their eyes wide.
"What do you think you're doing?" Brannigan asked.
"Finding our own way. we usually do." the trapdoor then flew open and the computer confirmed it for them: "Capsule open."
"Here we go." He then took his coat off and threw it over to Valerie, her face still held the shock and horror from before.
"Look after this. I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat."
"Take mine as well, no one gave it to me but still it's a nice jacket" Rita removed her leather jacket and threw it at Valerie.
"But you can't jump." She said in terror for them both.
"If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now, I'm having kittens."
"Oh, you just had to didn't you." Rita rolled her eyes at him.
"This Martha. She must mean an awful lot to you both." Brannigan said to them.
"Hardly know her. I was too busy showing off. And I lied to her."
"And I encouraged it, then I went along with his lie." Rita sighed. "Doctor?" She looked at him raising a brow and he nodded.
"Bye then." he dropped down onto the roof of the car below then looked up as Rita peered over. He opened his arms and shouted up. "Trust me!"
"As if I don't." She shouted while dropping from the roof and landing in the Doctors arms. "Nice catch glad I'm not laying flat across the roof with broken bones"
"That wouldn't be a pretty sight" He commented letting her stand and then used his sonic screwdriver on the car roof opening the hatch and jumping inside before helping Rita in.
"Capsule open." The car started and a man with completely white skin spun around in shock.
"Who the hell are you?" He said to them both.
"Sorry, Motorway Foot Patrol." The Doctor made up as Rita used her sonic on the trapdoor. "We're doing a survey. How are you enjoying your motorway?" The Doctor asked keeping the man busy while Rita opened the trapdoor.
"Well, not very much. Junction Five's been closed for three years."
"Thank you. Your comments have been noted. Have a nice day!" Rita smiled opening the trapdoor. The Doctor hung on the car as the next stopped underneath he then jumped down and repeated the process of catching the brunette yet again then soniced the trap door open.
"Capsule open."
He jumped in, helped Rita and headed straight for the trap door as two women looked around confused.
"Could we borrow these?" Rita held up two headscarves one black and one a purple colour. She tied one of them around her face as a mask and tied the Doctors on his while he opened the trapdoor.
"Thank you" he nodded to her after she finished.
"Capsule open."
The Doctor opened the door and then turned to the woman moving the mask headscarf to speak. "Thank you for your cooperation. Your comments have been noted." He looked down at the purple headscarf and muttered: "Not my colour, but thank you very much." Then jumped down to the next, helping Rita and then opened the hatch.
"Capsule open" they jumped into a nudist car and Rita jumped at the sight and turned around facing the other way almost instantly.
"Ooo! Don't mind us." The Doctor commented opening the trap door not even bothering to mention about the motorway patrol anymore. They continued to jump from car to car until jumping into the last one.
"Capsule open."
The Doctor helped Rita down who was coughing. "Excuse me, is that legal?" A man bowler in a hat and pinstripe suit asked.
"Sorry, Motorway Foot Patrol." The Doctor now started to cough himself. "Whatever. Have you got any water?"
"Certainly. Never let it be said I've lost my manners." He handed the Doctor two tiny cones of water. The Doctor handed one to Rita who accepted the drink and gulped it all down as he hastily drank his.
"I'm going to take a guess that this is the last layer?" Rita looked at the man who nodded.
"We're right at the bottom. Nothing below us but the fast lane." He replied.
"Can we drive down?" The Doctor suggested. "There are three of us"
"No way I'm not going down there" the man shook his head and the Doctor groaned a little and moved over to the trapdoor. "Then excuse us." He then opened it with his sonic screwdriver and the man's eyes widened.
"You can't jump. It's a thousand feet down."
"As much of an idiot that he can be at times, he isn't that much of an idiot." The Doctor looked up narrowing his eyes at Rita and mumbled something along the lines of 'cheeky' under his breath and then turned to the man. "No, I just want to look."
They peered through the hole now in the car and looked down into what was a thick layer of smoke below. There were lights glowing faintly below.
"What's that noise?" The Doctor asked.
"I try not to think about it." The man admitted.
Rita frowned then moved over to the cars monitor in the front and began to sonic it. "There has to be some kind of ventilation down there." She started to explain. "I just might be able to transmit a pulse through this, trip the system and have a nice lovely bit of air circulating below"
"Ah ha! The Doctor grinned. "You're a genius!"
"I try not to show it too much" she looked back at him. "Sometimes it ruins your ego a little too much and you get rude, already rude enough as it is" she hummed and opened the panel taking out the monitor. The Doctor then moved over and started to help her taking some wires.
"My ego is none of your concern Stone" he cheekily replied.
"Almost as big as planet Earth" she hummed mockingly.
The Doctor then connected the wires as Rita soniced them. They heard a noise of what seemed to be the ventilation kicking in. "That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit, give us a good look." The Doctor and Rita headed back and the man followed curiosity taking over him.
"What are those shapes?" He asked looking below at the shapes of millions of claws snapping up at them.
"They're alive." The Doctor muttered.
"What the hell are they?" The man gasped not able to take his eyes off of what he was seeing.
"They're called Macra." Rita told him.
The Doctor started to explain to the man looking very confused at them both. "The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."
"They don't exactly look like empire builders to me." He noted.
"That was billions of years ago" Rita informed him. "Now they're just beasts that happen to look a lot like crabs, Earth crabs. Not going to look at crabs the same way ever again, anyways they're clearly still hungry."
"And our friend's down there." There was a loud thud on the roof of the car and a body then climbed in.
"Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness's sake!" The man groaned.
"We've invented a sport." The Doctor looked over to Rita.
"Doctor, you're a hard man to find. Rita you are even harder" the cat woman who Rita remembered from somewhere spoke.
"No guns. I'm not having guns." The man protested pointing at the weapon.
"I only brought this in case of pirates. Doctor, Rita you've got to come with me."
"Do I know you?"
"Wait how do you know that name?" Rita question.
"That is the name you used when we met." The cat woman said to Rita."You both haven't aged at all. Time has been less kind to me."
The Doctors eyes widened. "Novice Hame!" He hugged her then frowned pushing her away. "No, hold on, get off. Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation."
"And I had my body stole," Rita muttered. "All better now, I also prefer to go by 'the Stone'"
"I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, Stone. For so many years, under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself."
"His? Whose?" Rita asked however the Doctor spoke above her shouting: "We're not going anywhere! You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra! And if our friend's still alive, she's stuck down there."
"You've got to come with me right now." She told them.
"Hame she is on her own all alone with people she does not even know! We are not going!" Rita protested.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, Stone. But the situation is even worse than you can imagine." She then grabbed both of their wrists and hit what looked like a bracelet.
"Transport."
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" The Doctor shouted before they were transported to another location.
"Oh, that was not fun." Rita groaned sitting up.
"Rough teleport. Ow." The Doctor sat up noticed Rita was okay then got up helping her to stand as well before turning to Hame. "You can go straight back down and teleport people out, starting with Martha."
"She only had power for just one trip." Rita sadly muttered. "Can't you get some more?"
"Sadly no." Hame replied.
"Where are we?" The Doctor asked
"High above, in the over-city." She replied.
"Good. Because you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word. They have got thousands of people trapped on the motorway. Millions!" He shouted at her.
"But you're inside the Senate, right now. May the goddess Santori bless them." She used her teleport bracelet to turn on the lights of the Senate. The building brightened and Rita's eyes travelled around the room along with the Doctor, both of them seeing skeletons scattered everywhere.
"They died, Doctor. The city died."
"How long has it been like this Hame?" Rita asked continuing to look around the area.
"Twenty-four years."
"All of them?" The Doctor asked. "Everyone? What happened?"
"A new chemical. A new mood. They called it Bliss." She went over and took one of the stickers from a skeleton. "Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished. Even the virus, in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. Stone They were saved."
"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic." The Doctor understood.
"There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."
"Who's we? How did you survive?"
"Now you ask" Rita rolled her eyes then noticed Hame was staring at her. "Sorry continue"
"He protected me. And he has waited for you both, these long years."
"Doctor, his Stone" Both of the Time Lords eyes widened and they ran off in a direction.
"The Face of Boe!" They both beamed at him both kneeling down touching the glass of the tank gently.
"I knew you two would come."
"Back in the old days, I was made his nurse as penance for my sin," Hame explained to them.
"Old friend, what happened to you?" The Doctor asked.
"Failing." He replied.
"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea."
"He saved all of those people" Rita smiled at the tank.
Hame nodded at Rita. "The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running."
"But there are millions of other planets that you could have called for help," Rita told Hame smiling a little.
"The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."
"So the two of you stayed here, on your own for all these years." The Doctor understood.
"We had no choice."
"Yes, you did." The Doctor protested.
"Save them, Doctor and Stone. Save them."
"I don't know about you Doctor but I can't go denying anyone any help," Rita said while running over to the computer and started to sonic it. "If I can just get this to just show me..." the Doctor ran over and watched over her shoulder then beamed when it showed the numbers they were looking for.
"Car four six five diamond six. It still registers!" He shouted pointing at it and hugging Rita. "That's Martha. I knew she was good."
"You're not the only one."
"Novice Hame, hold that in place." The Doctor handed her two cables together. "Think, think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it..."
"And feed it through the electricity grid!" Rita shouted
"There isn't enough power," Hame told them looking saddened.
"Oh, you've got power. You've got me and the Stone. I'm brilliant with computers, and she's even better, Just you watch." He sent a wink to Rita and she rolled her eyes.
"You can mess about later Doctor, for now, we have to get all those people out." She told him running over to the computer again. "She's still there. Come on Martha!"
"Hame, every switch on that bank up to maximum. We can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people." The Doctor ordered her.
"So what are you going to do?" She asked him.
"This!" He shouted and threw a big switch and the lights then went out.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no." The Doctor and Rita looked up.
"The transformers are blocked." Rita informed him while running over to assist him with some wires. "The signal can't get through."
"Doctor. Stone."
"Yeah, hold on, not now." The Doctor said.
"I give you my last..." they turned around and heard a weak wheezing as the power then came back on."
"Hame, look after him." The Doctor pointed at the Face of Boe. "Don't you go dying on us, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!" He pulled the switch again.
"Right then" Rita ran over to the computer again. "Time to make an announcement I think. Doctor?" She looked over her shoulder and he came standing behind her. "Ah ha, there we go."
"Sorry, no Sally Calypso. She was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor."
"And mines the Stone" Rita added.
"And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now." The Doctor told them.
"We've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you."
"The whole of the under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast! As fast as you can!" Rita said loudly.
"We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way." The Doctor told the.
"Oi! Car four six five diamond six."
"Miss Martha Jones!" Rita beamed. "Drive up!"
"That's the Doctor and the Stone!" They heard her scream and laugh.
"We can't go up! We'll hit the layer!" The man in the car protested.
"Just do what they say! Go up!"
"You've got access above. Now go!" The Doctor promised.
"It's daylight. Oh, my God, that's the sky. The real sky." The woman in the car with Martha cried.
"They did it! I told you, they did it!" Martha cheered.
"Did I tell you, Doctor? You're not bad, sir." Neither are you, Stone. Ma'am. You're not bad at all! Oh, yee-hah!" Brannigan shouted
"You keep driving, Brannigan. All the way up. Because it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York, and it's yours. And don't forget I want that coat back." The Doctor told him.
"I also want mine jacket. It's a nice jacket"
"I reckon that's a fair bargain, sir, ma'am"
"Car four six five diamond six, I've just sent you a flight path to us," Rita told them.
"On my way." They heard Martha through a radio.
"It's been quite a while since we saw you, Martha Jones."
"Too long I think"
"Doctor! Stone!" Hame shouted. They snapped their heads in her direction and saw a huge crack through the Face of Boes glass.
"No, no, no" Rita cried running over. "You can't die, not now" she cried out again. "We have to do something," she ran over to the wires and started to sonic them. The Doctor slowly walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, she knew that they couldn't do anything about it. But she wanted to at least try.
She let out a sniff and felt her eyes began to water. She knew who was dying because she remembered saying to them when she was human. Seeing she was distressed the Doctor pulled her into an embrace, her head rested against his chest and his on her head.
"I'm sorry Rita" he whispered softly rubbing her back.
"Rita, my old friend. It seems that you two are close now." she heard the Face of Boe or more specifically Captain Jack Harkness in her mind.
"The Doctors my Best friends." She swallowed thickly not wanting to cry. "You knew I was a Time Lady didn't you?" She asked.
"Indeed I did" he replied and she sighed allowing tear trickle down her face.
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"Doctor? Stone?" They heard Martha call.
"Over here." He called her over still holding Rita who had calmed down now. She wiped her eyes still a little red from before and sighed letting go of the Doctor who gave her a warm sad smile.
"Doctor! What happened out there?" She asked then noticed the Face of Boe whose glass had cracked and broke with him lying out of it. "What's that?" She asked.
"This is the Face of Boe." Rita smiled softly at Martha.
"It's all right. Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not us." The Doctor told her and she slowly walked over standing beside the two Time Lords.
"My Lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying," Hame told them.
"No, don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left." The Doctor told her.
"It's good to breathe the air once more." The Face of Boe said.
"Who is he?" Martha asked.
"I don't even know. The Stone must" he looked at her and she shook her head at him.
"Something I haven't said in a while" she gave a watery laugh. "Secrets Doctor"
"Ah" he nodded then continued. "Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."
"Everything has its time." Boe told the Doctor. "You know that, old friend, better than most."
"The legend says more." Hame started to explain but the Doctor interrupted.
"Don't. There's no need for that."
"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to two travellers."
"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?" He asked.
"I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you two are the last of yours, Doctor, Stone"
"And that's why we must survive together, the three of us." Rita's voice cracked a little feeling more tears about to start. "Please don't go."
"Goodbye Stone."
"Goodbye, Jack." She choked.
"I must." He finished allowed. "But know this, Time Lords. You are not alone." He whispered and then let out his breath for the final time while closing his eyes. The Doctor pulled Rita over to him again and she began to sob once more as Hame wept as well.
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"All closed down." The Doctor looked around Pharmacy Town and tapped one of the stall doors.
"Happy?" Martha asked.
"Happy happy." Rita smiled feeling a little better than she did earlier.
"New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs. Cats in charge." The Doctor said.
"Hopefully they don't have trampolines that want to take people's bodies" she shivered and the Doctor gave a laugh.
"Come on, time we were off."
"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe?" Martha asked slowing down a little. "You're not alone."
"I don't know."
"I wish I knew but I don't." Rita pursed her lips a little.
"You've got me. Is that what he meant?"
"Sorry Martha, but I don't think he did." Rita sadly smiled at the woman. "We may never know."
"Then what?" She asked.
"Doesn't matter. Back to the TARDIS, off we go." The Time Lords started to walk off, Martha took a chair lying on the ground straightened it and then sat cross-armed and legged.
"All right, are you staying?" The Doctor asked turning around.
"Till the both of you talk to me properly, yes. He said last of your kind. What does that mean?"
"Martha," Rita warned.
"It really doesn't matter." The Doctor added.
"You two don't talk. You never say. Why not?"
"Doctor" Rita looked at him as Martha looked up in awe hearing the city singing. "I can't keep lying to her. She's my friend now. We have to tell her" he swallowed and looked at her seeing the hurt and plead in her hazel eyes he sighed.
"They're singing." Martha smiled softly.
"I lied to you, because I liked it." the Doctor blurted out while the song played.
"And I went along with it, because I remembered and it hurt, we could pretend for just a bit. Imagine they were still all alive." She softly smiled looking into thin air.
"Underneath a burnt orange sky. We're not just Time Lords. We're the last of the Time Lords." The Doctor smiled at Rita and took her hand in his.
"The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else except us." Rita sighed.
"What happened?" Martha asked. The Doctor then let go of the brunette's hand and grabbed a chair, opened it up and gestured for Rita to sit down as he stood behind her his hands on her shoulders.
"There was a war. A Time War. The last Great Time War. Our people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky."
"I'm still here you idiot." Rita lightly hit his arm and he chuckled.
"Yeah you are, shame" he joked.
"Oi!" She looked up at him shaking her head then looked back as he continued to talk. "Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet." He smiled. "The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine." Rita then closed her eyes and memories filled her mind remembering when she was much younger, a child looking out of a window and seeing it all. "The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire."
"And when the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song." Rita murmured finishing from the Doctor, her eyes still closed remembering a time where she had snuck out and was laughing, running around with a much younger Doctor listings to the trees and the wind. "And it's all gone, they took it all and ruined it. Every last thing." Rita sighed and opened her eyes, Martha looked at them saddened, broken almost feeling pain for them both.
"How did you survive?" She asked.
Rita looked up at the Doctor. "That's a whole different story for another day." The Doctor patted her arm. He knew she wasn't going to let that conversation slip from him. "You look tired Martha, you can go sleep in my room if you want, I don't mind."
Martha looked up at the Doctor in question and he nodded. They then stood up and slowly walked back to the TARDIS.
"Now we need to talk Doctor" he swallowed slightly not quite sure what was going to happen next