Wander of time: Darkness within (doctor who)

Chapter 48: Harold Saxon

They arrived back in present time, or rather Martha's present time, London. Jack's manipulator had taken them right where the Doctor wanted. Right where he knew they needed to be. It would be the same time period of which he knew the TARDIS would have taken the Master. Where the ship would be stuck. Well, stuck between the 21st century and the year hundred trillion. The Doctor leaned over with his hands on his knees for a bit, letting the side effects of travelling through time without a capsule pass. He heard the others groaning as well. Though, not Wanda. She merely rocked on her feet for a bit, blinking away her eyes as if clearing her vision. He supposed that she was used to travelling like that by now. Then, he had second thoughts as suddenly the Time Lady stumbled to the side and smacked her shoulder right into the brick wall of the alleyway they were in.

"Oh. I don't feel so good," she moaned, holding her stomach as she seemed to be trying to hold in sickness. "I've been really pushing myself today. Need a good proper rest after . . ." She sighed, shaking her head. The Doctor stood up straight, going over to her and helping her by leaning her against him.

"Here, I've got you. You all right?" he asked her gently.

"Yeah. You?" she replied, grabbing the hand that held her around her shoulders. Staring at him in concern, her emerald appeared so big and vulnerable.

"I'm always all right," he replied automatically.

"Liar. But I guess that means I'm a liar, too." Wanda lowered her gaze from his sad, worried eyes, leaning her head against him. She slowly hugged him tightly, letting herself shiver for a moment as she tried getting herself calm again. It was hard. No matter how many times she counted to three, it seemed she could not focus on keeping up her normal calm, happy self. She felt the Doctor kiss the top of her head before steering her down the way with him and the others.

Eventually, they ended up sitting in the middle of a centre shopping area, picking out some stone ledges to sit on right in the thick of the busy streets. The Doctor and Wanda sat close together, still holding hands tightly as each of them were lost within their own minds, thinking upon what their next move would be. Briefly, every few moments they would look at each other as if talking to one another. Then, one would nod and they would stare off once more. Martha and Jack, who sat across from each other, were not even fazed by this behaviour as they both knew the Time Lords were communicating the best way they could in a situation like this. Also, the companions knew it was a way the Time Lords were comforting each other. So, Martha and Jack simply talked with each other for a bit, going over what the Time Agency and Vortex manipulators were as Martha had no clue whatsoever. Luckily, Jack was more than happy to explain everything to the other companion.

"But this Master bloke, he's got the TARDIS. He could be anywhere in time and space," Martha spoke up after Jack had got done explaining everything about the Vortex manipulator and his past with the Time Agency.

"No, he's here. Trust me," the Doctor told the companion.

"Who is he, anyway?" Martha continued to question. "And that voice at the end, that wasn't the Professor."

"Changing-faces," Wanda answered. "Remember? That's what Time Lords can do. That's why you never see me with the same face that often. When Time Lords are close to the end, we cheat our deaths by regenerating. Gives us a whole new body, whole new personality, the works." Martha nodded, knowing that she should have realized what the Master had done from the start. It was something she had grown quite used to with Wanda, after all.

"Then how are we going to find him?" the companion wondered. Wanda glanced at the Doctor, seeing how he watched a homeless man sitting on the street side intently. She looked at the man across from them in the shopping area, seeing how the man tapped a rhythmic four-beats against his tin cup in hand. Over and over again, the same beat. The beating drums.