We Will Rise |2| The Ascension

Chapter Twenty: Last Of The Time Lords

"Space lane traffic is advised to stay away from Sol Three, also known as Earth. Pilots are warned Sol Three is now entering terminal extinction. Planet Earth is closed. Planet Earth is closed. Planet Earth is closed."

***

1 year later...

Martha got out of a rowing boat onto the UK shore with a grim smile, walking up to the man who had signalled them in with an oil lamp. "What's your name, then?" she asked as they started walking up the beach.

"Tom Milligan," the man replied. "No need to ask who you are. The famous Martha Jones. How long since you were last in Britain?"

"Three hundred and sixty five days," Martha answered, sighing. "It's been a long year."

"So what's the plan?" Tom questioned.

"This Professor Docherty, I need to see her. Can you get me there?" Martha asked.

Tom nodded. "She works in a repair shed, Nuclear Plant Seven. I can get you inside." He paused as they got into his battered Range Rover. "What's all this for? What's so important about her?"

Martha smiled apologetically. "Sorry, the more you know, the more you're at risk."

"There's a lot of people depending on you," Tom shrugged, seeming to accept her answer. "You're a bit of a legend."

"What does the legend say?" Martha asked, raising her eyebrows. The ones who should be called legends were locked up on the valiant right now, and had been for a year. She couldn't begin to imagine what tortures the Master had concocted for them.

"That you sailed the Atlantic, walked across America," Tom replied. "That you were the only person to get out of Japan alive. Martha Jones, they say, she's going to save the world. Bit late for that."

Martha frowned, looking out the window as they drove. "How come you can drive? Don't you get stopped?"

"Medical staff," Tom explained. "Used to be in paediatrics back in the old days. But that gives me a licence to travel so I can help out other labour camps."

"Great," Martha rolled her eyes. "I'm travelling with a doctor."

Tom glanced at her hopefully. "Story goes that you're the only person on Earth who can kill him. That you, and you alone, can kill the Master stone dead."

Martha winced. She was a doctor: she was supposed to save lives, not take them. "Let's just drive."

***

"Citizens rejoice!" The Master's voice echoed through onto the flight deck of the Valiant. "Your lord and Master stands on high, playing track three." A track by the Scissor Sisters started playing, and he skipped into the flight deck, kissing Lucy before dancing with her a little. Francine, reduced to a mere maid, served tea, and the Master rang a ship's bell. The Doctor crawled out of his tent, only to be forced into a wheelchair and taken for a spin by the Master. "It's ready to rise, Doctor. The new Time Lord Empire. It's good, isn't it? Isn't it good? Anything? No? Anything?" The Master pouted as the Doctor just stared at him. "Oh, but they broke your hearts, didn't they, those Toclafane, ever since you worked out what they really are. They say Martha Jones has come back home. Now why would she do that?"

"Leave her alone," the Doctor growled.

"But you said something to her, didn't you?" the Master persisted. "On the day I took control. What did you tell her?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I have one thing to say to you. You know what it is."

The Master rolled his eyes, faking a yawn. "Oh no, you don't!" He pushed the Doctor's wheelchair away, where the Time Lord held three fingers against his thigh as Francine walked past.