Just a short-ish author note before the chapter <3
Eeeeeeek 'The Destiny of Three' has reached 100 votes earlier today! Thank you everyone who has voted on every chapter they read and enjoy (you all know who you are) ;)
On with the chapter!
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The Doctor and the Stone ran out the TARDIS as soon as it materialised. They looked out and their eyes darted around , everything was as it should be, there were birds singing and a milkman was delivering to each house.
"It's fine." The Doctor breathed as the Stone ran a hand thought her hair. "Everything's fine."
"Nothing's wrong, everything is exactly as it should be." She muttered looking around.
"Excuse me!" The Doctor shouted to the milkman. "What day is it?"
"Saturday." He replied after looking at the Doctor a little strangely.
"Saturday." He nodded. "Good. Good, I like Saturdays."
"Sunday comes right after it." The Stone hummed smirking at the groan he made.
"So, I just met Rose Tyler?" Donna looked at them.
"Yeah." They both nodded.
"But she's locked away in a parallel world."
"Exactly. But if Rose can cross from her parallel world to your parallel world, traveling to and from multiple parallel worlds that means the walls of the universe are breaking down." She swallowed. "And that puts everything in danger, not just our world but every single world."
"But how?" The Doctor muttered running back into the TARDIS, the Stone and Donna both following. The Time Lords both started to mess with the console watching the scanner and frowning at it.
"The thing is, Doctor," Donna spoke up. "No matter what's happening, and I'm sure it's bad, I get that but, Rose is coming back." Donna spoke up. "Isn't that good?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to reply. However, the TARDIS shook before he could almost sending the three to the floor. "What the hell was that?" Donna gasped her eyes darting to the Time Lords her eyes filled with worry.
"Don't know."
"But it came from outside." The Stone ran to the doors pulling them open, her eyes widend in horror as the three looked out into space. "But we're in space." She looked at them. "How did that happen? What did you do?"
The Doctor ran back to the scanner looking at it's readings as the Stone shut the doors and looked over his shoulder Donna doing the same on the other side. "We haven't moved." He frowned. "We're fixed. It can't have. No. The Tardis is still in the same place, but the Earth has gone. The entire planet. It's gone."
"But if the Earth's been moved, they've lost the Sun." Donna looked at them in horror. "What about my Mum? And Granddad? They're dead, aren't they? Are they dead?"
"Donna we don't know." The Stone sighed truthfully telling her. "We don't know what happended.
"That's my family." She gasped. "My whole world."
"There's no readings." He frowned. "Nothing. Not a trace. Not even a whisper. Oh, that is fearsome technology."
"So what do we do?"
"Doctor we have to." The Stone looked at him. "I don't want to either they are the last people I would like to get help from trust me, we have no other choice."
"I know." He sighed.
"What do we do?" Donna looked at them both worryingly.
"Donna we've got to get help." The Stone looked at her.
"From where?"
"Donna, we're taking you to the Shadow Proclamation." He said. "Hold tight." The Time Lords moved around the TARDIS taking them to where they needed to be.
"So go on then, what is the Shadow Proclamation anyway?" Donna questioned them both.
"Posh name for police." The Doctor replied. "Outer space police."
"Not that I would call them that," the Stone scoffed, "more like out of space rebels, don't tell them I said that." She looked at the scanner for a moment. "Ah, it seems that the Judoon might feel a little threatened by us." She muttered as the Doctor moved over to look at the scanner, Donna did the same, her eyes widening at the sight. "Donna it's okay," she reassured, "just follow us and you will be fine."
"Ready?" The Doctor raised a brow. The two woman nodded before he stepped out of the TARDIS into a corridor. He raised his arms slightly shifting to stand a little in front of the Stone weary of the semi-circle the Judoon had formed in front of the TARDIS pointing their guns at the three. Donna copied the Time Lords just as the Stone said, raising her hands showing that they surrendered.
"Sco bo tro no flo jo ko fo to to." One of the Judoon announced.
"No bo ho sho ko ro to so." The Doctor then replied. The Stone bit her lip trying not to laugh, languages was most likely the only class the Doctor did pay attention to, whether it was because the Stone and himself were not in the same class or if it was because he got to learn not only about other languages but also cultures was another matter in itself. "Bo-ko-do-zo-go-bo-fo-po-jo."
The Judoon then stood down placing their guns away. the Doctor nodded. "Moho." He then lowered his arms the Stone smirking at him as he grinned at her in return. "You know I'm quite glad you actually paid attention in that class." She said. "Much better than I am."
"That's because I didn't have you or the Master in my class."
"Yeah, he always kept trying to distract me in mine, wouldn't stop pestering me about everything."
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"Time Lords are the stuff of legend." The tall Albino woman wearing black robes walked around. "They belong in the myths and whispers of the Higher Species. You cannot possibly exist."
"Yeah." The Doctor shifted slightly dragging out the word. "More to the point, we've got a missing planet."
"Then you're not as wise as the stories would say." She glanced at the two. "The picture is far bigger than you imagine. The whole universe is in outrage, Doctor, Stone. Twenty-four worlds have been taken from the sky."
"How many?" They both gaped at her as Donna watched on. They both then ran to the computer screen beside the woman. "Which ones? Show us."
"Locations range far and wide, but all disappeared at the exact same moment, leaving no trace." She said.
"Callufrax Minorr. Jahoo. Shallacatop." The Doctor read out the names from the screen after he slipped his glasses on.
"Woman Wept."
"Clom. Clom's gone?" The Doctor frowned. "Who'd want Clom?" The Time Lady rolled her eyes and swatted his arm making the Time Lord yelp slightly as she glared at him telling him to behave and not be so rude,
"All different sizes. Some populated, some not. But all unconnected."
"What about Pyrovillia?" Donna spoke up.
"Who is the female?" The Architect slightly narrowed her eyes at Donna.
"Donna. I'm a human being. Maybe not the stuff of legend but every bit as important as Time Lords, thank you." She glared at her making the Time Lords both smirk at the human woman not afraid to use sass. "Way back, when we were in Pompeii, Lucius said Pyrovillia had gone missing."
"Pyrovillia is cold case." One of the Judoon spoke up. "Not relevant."
"How do you mean, cold case?"
"The planet Pyrovillia cannot be part of this." The Architect announced. "It disappeared over two thousand years ago."
"Yes, yes, hang on." Donna said not finished. "But there's the Adipose breeding planet, too. Miss Foster said that was lost, but that must've been a long time ago."
"That's it!" The Doctor said gleefully.
"Oh, I get it!" The Stone laughed. "Okay, that is clever." She nodded. "Donna that is brilliant." The Architect frowned not understanding the meaning of their outburst.
"Planets are being taken out of time as well as space." The Doctor said. "Stone mind putting this into 3-D." He looked at her seeing the Time Lady already on the computer he smirked as the holograms of the missing planets started to fill the room.
"Now, if we add Pyrovillia..." She said typing it in. "and Adipose Three..."
"Something missing." The Doctor frowned looking at the planets then leant over the computer next to the Stone. "Where else, where else, where else? Where else lost, lost, lost, lost." He muttered. "Oh! The Lost Moon of Poosh." He then added it to the mix. The Time Lords both grinned high fiving each other then moved to stand in the middle of the planets after they reorganised themselves.
"What did you do?" The architect blinked at them.
"Nothing. The planets rearranged themselves into the optimum pattern." The Doctor grinned looking at them all. "Oh, look at that. Twenty-seven planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous."
"Beautiful." The Time Lady hummed.
"Oi, don't get all spaceman and Time Lady." Donna looked at them. "What does it mean?"
"All those worlds fit together like pieces of an engine." He said. "It's like a powerhouse. What for?"
"Who could design such a thing?"
The Stone quietened to a whisper looking at the Doctor. "Someone tried to move the Earth once before. Long time ago. But it can't be..." The Doctor looked at her quickly grabbing her hand hoping that she wasn't right with this one.
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Donna sat on the stairs while the Doctor and the Stone spoke to the Architect. She wiped her eyes sighing before she heard a faint sort of beat in the back of her head. Suddenly she snapped out of her daze as a woman looking similar to the Architect walked up to her with a small bowl. "You need sustenance. Take the water, it purifies."
"Thanks." Donna tried to be polite and took the bowl from the woman.
"There was something on your back."
"How do you know that?" Donna blinked in surprise.
"You are something new."
"Not me. I'm just a temp. Shorthand, filing, hundred words per minute. Fat lot of good that is now. I'm no use to anyone."
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
Donna sighed slowly nodding. "Yeah. My whole planet's gone."
"I mean the loss that is yet to come." She added. "God save you." The woman muttered before quickly heading up the stairs.
The Doctor then walked over leaning on the stairs speaking to Donna as the Stone watched from the computer. "Donna, come on, think. Earth. There must've been some sort of warning. Was anything happening back in your day, like electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the sky?"
"Well, how should I know?" She looked at him. "Er, no. I don't think so, no."
"Oh, okay, never mind." He went to head back before turning around when Donna spoke up again. "Although, there were the bees disappearing."
"The bees disappearing." He looked at her as if she was joking. "The bees disappearing."
"Doctor..." The Stone looked at him thinking it through in her head as it suddenly clicked in his mind.
"The bees disappearing!" He shouted running over to the blonde as she typed into the computer.
"How is that significant?" The Architect questioned as Donna ran over to them.
"On Earth, we had these insects. Some people said it was pollution or mobile phone signals."
"Or, they were going back home." The Doctor cut in.
"Back home where?"
"Planet Melissa Majoria." The Stone said continuing to type.
"Are you saying bees are aliens?" Donna looked at them shocked.
"Don't be so daft." The Doctor looked at Donna, the Stone paused for a moment hitting him around the back of the head making him wince. "Not all of them." He then grumbled. "But if the migrant bees felt something coming, some sort of danger, and escaped? Tandocca." He read the writing on the screen.
"The Tandocca Scale."
"Tandocca Scale is the series of wavelengths used as a carrier signals by migrant bees. Insanely small. No wonder we didn't see it." She looked at the Doctor who nodded. "It's like looking for a speck of cinnamon in the Sahara, but look, there it is." He pointed at the screen. "The Tandocca trail."
"The transmat that moved the planets was using the same wavelength, we can follow the path."
"And find the Earth?" Donna looked at them gleefully. "Well, stop talking and do it."
"We are!" They shouted back running into the TARDIS with Donna following.
"We're a bit late." The Doctor gritted his teeth a little looking at the scanner.
"The signal's scattered, but it's a start." The Stone added.
The Doctor then ran to the doors poking his head out the TARDIS doors. "We've got a blip. It's just a blip, But it's definitely a blip."
"Then according to the Strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology." The Architect said the Doctors face falling a little. "Oh, really? What for?"
"The planets were stolen with hostile intent. We are declaring war, Doctor, right across the universe, you and the Stone will lead us into battle."
"Right. Yes. Course we will." He slowly nodded. "I'll just go and get you the key." He quickly slipped back into the TARDIS moving around to see the Stone grinning at him. "How long did you know?"
"It's the outer space rebels." She scoffed. "Of course they wouldn't let us go without getting involved and making us lead them." She smirked. "Allons-y?"
"Allons-y" he smirked placing his hand on top of hers the two of them pulling down the lever as Donna laughed while they heard the screams of the Architect outside.
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The time rotor stopped wheezing and the TARDIS fell silent as the Doctor looked at the scanner. "It's stopped."
"What do you mean?" Donna looked at them both. "Is that good or bad? Where are we?"
"The Medusa Cascade." The Doctor wrapped an arm around the Stone's waist pulling her closer towards him. "We came here when we were just a kids, ninety years old. It was the centre of a rift in time and space."
"So, where are the twenty-seven planets?" Donna frowned not seeing anything but what looked like fog and slight colour on the scanner.
"Nowhere." The Stone quietly muttered.
"The Tandocca Trail stops dead. End of the line."
"So what do we do?" Donna looked at them. The Doctor and the Stone both stared at the scanner looking completely defeated. "Doctor, what do we do?" She looked at him. "Stone don't do this to me. No, don't." She pleaded. "Don't do this to me. Not now. Tell me, what are we going do? You two never give up. Please."
The Stone looked away from the scanner at the broken human staring at the Time Lords. "You're absolutely right." She said making the redhead blink. "You are right one hundred percent because we don't give up, I promise you that we will find the Earth and you will see it again." She said determination in her eyes, the Doctor looked at her smiling a little knowing that she was telling the truth and nothing was stopping her now. "But we can't do this alone, I just hope that our friends on Earth are being brilliant."
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Suddenly there was a ring. The Doctor and the Stones eyes shot up as they both shouted. "Phone!" the Doctor grabbed the phone holding it to his ear. "Martha, is that you? It's a signal."
"Can we follow it?" Donna looked at them. The Doctor brought out his stethoscope holding the end of it on the phone.
"Oh, just watch us." He grinned.
"And locking on!" The Stone shouted a moment later before the TARDIS started to jolt making the three of them grip onto the console as the room started to catch flames in area.
"We're travelling through time!" The Doctor shouted gripping the Stone's waist keeping her upright with him. "One second in the future. The phone call's pulling us through!"
"Like I said, they're brilliant!" She beamed laughing with joy. "Almost there..."
"Three, two, one." The Doctor counted down as the planets popped up on the scanner. The three screamed happily once more as the TARDIS stopped shaking.
"Twenty-seven planets. And there's the Earth." Donna pointed at it. "But why couldn't we see them?"
"The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. Perfect hiding place. Tiny little pocket of time. But we found them." The Doctor explained then frowned as the scanner began to fizz. "Ooo, ooo, ooo, what's that?"
"Hold on." The Stone muttered. "It's a sort of Subwave Network." She started to mess with the console before the screen popped up showing Martha, Jack and Sarah Jane with a young boy staring at them.
The Doctor and the Stone stared back at them all as Jack laughed then shouted them both. "Where the hell have you two been? Doctor, Stone it's the Daleks!"
"Oh, he's a bit nice." a woman popped up. "I thought he'd be older."
"He's not that young." Another man spoke up.
"It's the Daleks!" Sarah Jane said to the Doctor. "They're taking people to their spaceship." She said as the Time Lords began to beam.
"It's not just Dalek Caan!" Martha shouted.
"Sarah Jane!" The Doctor finally spoke. "Who's that boy?" He frowned.
"That must be Torchwood." The Stone pointed to the screen.
"Oh, they're brilliant." The Doctor grinned.
"Well, I did say so and Martha Jones!" She beamed.
"Look at you all, you clever people." The Doctor laughed hugging the Stone happily.
"And who's he?" Donna asked pointing at Jack.
"Captain Jack Harkness," the Stone introduced, "don't even think about it, Donna." She shook her head pointing at the woman before the Doctor wiggled his finger at her warningly. "Don't. Just don't."
"It's like an outer space Facebook." Donna laughed.
"Everyone except Rose." The Doctor muttered. The Stone looked over at him sadly and kissed his cheek. It hadn't crossed her mind that Rose was definitely coming back, she knew the young blonde would definitely be heartbroken knowing what had happened since her 'death'. She knew that Rose would definitely hate the Time Lady for that. She and the Doctor were engaged. Rose was going to be angry but now was not the Time for friendships to break.
"Sarah Jane!" The Time Lady smiled. "Last time I saw you I was human and we were in a school." She raised a brow. "Rita Stone ring a bell?"
"Oh my god..." she gasped. "But he said everyone died!"
"I ran away from it all, traveled through a parallel world, the Daleks pulled me back, well tried to use me as a weapon, pulled me through too late and I arrived way after the Time War, the Doctor found me on a Dalek ship, but I made myself human when I escaped."
"Oh my god..." she gasped before the scanner blackened, the Stone frowned not understanding what happened.
"We've lost them." Donna looked at the two.
"No, no, no, no, no." She shook her head. "There's another signal coming through."
"There's someone else out there. Hello?" The Doctor leant in. "Can you hear me?"
"Your voice is different, and yet its arrogance is unchanged." They heard the Doctor quickly tightened his grip on the Stone keeping her beside him as if she would be taken from him if she wasn't touching him. They stared at the scanner, the Stone shaking under the Doctor's grasp, fear horror and anger pouring through and out of her eyes.
"No. But he's dead." They heard Sarah Jane cry though the link.
"Welcome to my new Empire Doctor, Stone. It is only fitting that you two should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, lord and creator of the Dalek race." He cackled.
"Doctor?" Donna looked at him. "Stone?" She then flickered her gaze to the Time Lady seeing the pure rage in her eyes making the redhead only step back before the blonde grabbed the human womans hand pulling her beside her making sure she was safe with them.
"Of course, how could I forget the Stone." He cackled. "How's your younger brother?"
"You disgusting, vile..." She gritted her teeth forcing herself to stop. The Doctor pulled her closer towards him her head pressed against his chest forcing her to listen to his racing hearts hoping that the sound would ease her a little, feeling her shake with anger towards the creature on the screen.
"Have you nothing to say, Doctor?" Davros sniggered at him.
"Doctor, Stone, it's all right. We're, we're in the Tardis. We're safe." Donna whispered to them.
"But you were destroyed. In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysium..." the Doctor glanced down at the Stone remembering the look of anger in her eyes after he had told her what he tried to do. That was before she told him what he had done to her, she had refused to talk to him for almost a month, that was until she thought he died. "I saw your command ship fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you."
"But it took one stronger than you. Dalek Caan himself."
"I flew into the wild and fire. I danced and died a thousand times." Caan laughed.
"Emergency Temporal Shift took him back into the Time War itself."
"But that's impossible." The Stone muttered staring at the screen. "The entire War is time-locked."
"And yet he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine. A single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed." Davros cackled once more. "A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"
"And you made a new race of Daleks." The Doctor spat.
"I gave myself to them, quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body." He opened his tunic showing bare ribs with a couple of nerves and internal organs. "New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor, Stone. What do you have, now?"
"After all this time, everything we saw, everything we lost, we have only one thing to say to you." The Doctor said ignoring his question.
"Bye!" They both threw the lever the TARDIS then flew off disabling the connection.
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The Doctor cautiously stepped out the TARDIS, the Stone beside him as Donna stepped out last, they looked down the empty street with cars and rubbish scattered around in the dark. "Like a ghost town," Donna muttered.
"Sarah Jane said they were taking the people. What for?" The Doctor frowned. "Think, Donna. When you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?"
"Just, the darkness is coming."
"Anything else?"
Shifting her gaze slightly she looked past the Time Lords and grinned. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
Slowly they turned around, the Doctor's eyes widen as the Stone let out a small chuckle. His eyes then darted to the Stone who frowned at him briefly before she rolled her eyes at him. "Doctor if you don't go and give her a proper welcome back then I might just have to leave you at Torchwood with Jack for a whole week." She laughed as he quickly took off running down the street as the young blonde did the same a little slower due to the gun around her.
"Exterminate!" They heard the scream. Suddenly the Doctor lit up crying out in pain. The Stone took off running as fast as she could before diving to him not caring if the Dalek was there or not. She heard a faint blast and knew that the Dalek was no more. "shh" She tried to soothe not caring about the burning in her legs from the dive as she pulled the Doctor's head in her lap.
"It missed you." Rose ran up not understanding who the blonde holding the Doctor was. "Look, it's me, Doctor."
"Stone." He croaked while Rose frowned not understanding.
"Shh," She soothed. "It's okay I'm here."
"Okay?!" Rose gaped at her. "he's been shot by a Dalek?!"
"I know that Rose." The Stone almost glared at the woman. "Panicking won't help."
"Rose...?" The Doctor looked up at her softly smiling.
"Hi."
"Long time no see." He chuckled lightly then winced in pain.
"Yeah. Been busy, you know. Don't die." She cried out. "Oh, my God. Don't die. Oh my god, don't die."
"We have to get him to the TARDIS." The Stone looked up. "It's the only safe place." she looked around then spotted Jack moving towards them. "Jack!" She shouted as he ran over. "Help me take him into the TARDIS."
Quickly he helped the Stone and Rose carry him into the TARDIS while Donna ran around. The Stone knelt down beside him brushing his hair back leaning her forehead on his, whispering calming words in Gallifreyan. "What, what do we do?" Donna frantically asked watching them. "There must be some medicine or something." Rose stood on the other side clutching the Doctor's other hand powerless and not knowing what to do with herself.
"Just step back," Jack said. "Rose, do as I say, and get back. He's dying and you know what happens next."
"What do you mean?" Donna looked. "He can't."
"Oh, no. I came all this way." Rose cried out.
"What do you mean, what happens next?" Donna looked at them.
"Donna, this is regeneration." The Stone looked up at the woman. The Doctor raised his hand which began to glow a mix of orange and golden. "It's starting."
The Stone helped the Doctor up. "No matter what happens." She looked at him pulling him into her arms and hugging him tightly. "I love you." She whispered into his ear.
"Love you too."
"Stone," Jack warned after she didn't move.
"No." She shot a glare at him. "I'm a Time Lady Jack, it won't hurt me."
"Stone." the Doctor croaked.
"Doctor." She looked at him warningly, he wasn't going to dare suggest that she would back away, not now. He just wanted to say her name one last time.
"Here we go." Jack nodded. "Good luck, Doctor."
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Donna begged.
"When he's dying, his er, his body, it repairs itself." Rose tried to explain. "It changes. But you can't!"
"I'm sorry, it's too late. I'm regenerating."