So, here it is! The Last Chapter! Hope you enjoy, and yes, I am planning at least one sequel.
Chapter 15
John and Martha sat on the floor of the TARDIS, the floor humming gently beneath them. John shook his head. "I don't know where to begin." He said. He thought for a moment, then said "I guess I should start with when I was born."
"When the Doctor was 265 years old, he married another Time Lord. I don't know her name. Somehow that was important enough to the Doctor that he kept it from me. Anyway, three years after they were married, I was born. I was the Doctor's first son. So it wasn't odd at all that I was to be presented to the Gallifreyan high counsel eight days after my birth. The strange part was that as soon as the oracle caught a glimpse of me, she started to whisper and tap and say all sorts of strange nonsense. The high counsel apparently knew what she wanted, because within five minutes, they had banished me to be brought up on Earth as a human. Earth seemed to be the fitting planet, considering that humans were the closest race to us as far as looks. The Doctor didn't understand and I don't think even the Counsel really knew why, they just knew I was going to be vital to the existence of the universe, whether in the future or past, and that I had to be hidden. Even at that time, rumors of an awful war were circulating. But, for whatever reason, it was done, and I was made a human and placed in the 21st century on Earth."
Martha held up a hand. "Hold on, how did they make you a human?"
John frowned. "Well...do you remember when the Doctor made himself human to trick the Family of Blood."
Martha nodded.
"Well, the Time Lords did almost the same thing to me. Except that instead of a fob watch, they changed me so that when I began to see the threats to time, I would start to reverse back to my Time Lord heritage. And I think they knew that whenever that was, it would be the Doctor's last adventure. They molded me so that I would inherit his memories. So, the Doctor was forbidden to ever contact me. If he had it would have triggered the Time Lord existence inside of me and time would have gone hectic. I grew up on Earth and was adopted by human parents. But about the time my adopted parents died, the Master finally figured out that I existed. He'd suspected that the stories the Time Lords were telling of a still birth or miscarriage were not true. That's why the attacks always seemed to center around us. Once he knew I was a Time Lord, it was easy to find me. He was trying to kidnap me to force the Doctor, who he had already caught while the Doctor was investigating the Master's spacestation, to help him. That's why I was able to find my way around the spacestation. The Doctor was feeding me his memories. And he was able to contact Sarah, who had a slight telepathic ability, and give her those visions. Anyone who hangs around with a Time Lord for any amount of time will have at least a minimum psychic ability.
"The Master's plan was to secure a weak parallel world and then make it collide with Earth. By doing so, he would effectively have time itself helping him. It's hard to explain, but let's just say that time can't have two of the same thing. And that is what a parallel world is, in a basic sense. Exactly the same as what we have now, just different on the surface. And that's why the Doctor gave his memories to the Time Stream. He had seen enough of this universe throughout time that the Time Stream could use his memories to fix itself. To be able to tell which world was which. But when he did that, it consumed him."
Martha jerked her head up. "So...he's..." She didn't finish, but John knew what she was asking.
He nodded. "In a human sense, yes. But as he did, his memories were implanted into my head. I'm still trying to figure out whose are whose. So, I guess I'm almost just a new regeneration. I am the Doctor."
Martha didn't answer. Finally, she shook her head and said, "It just doesn't seem like him, to give up so easily."
"I know what you mean. But I think he could feel that he was going to die ever since he saw the voids appear. At least, that's the impression I get from the memories."
They sat for a couple minutes, lost in thought. Martha broke the silence.
"And Sarah?"
"The TARDIS said it put her in its heart so she would be unaffected by time. Not quite sure what that means, but I do know that she isn't coming out of there. She's gone."
Martha nodded. "I'm sorry." An awkward silence extended for a few seconds before she broke it. "One more thing. How did you rescue the Doctor?"
John leaned back. "Do you remember right before we went out of the TARDIS onto the spacestation that I broke something off of the console?"
Martha nodded.
"Well, I didn't exactly break it. It was supposed to be taken off. That was an emergency beacon that the Doctor had created a little while before. Every time he was going somewhere he thought he might like to get away from quickly, he would take the beacon with him. When it was destroyed, the TARDIS would sense it and appear in that exact spot. Quite an effective defense, actually. One of his better ideas. He just couldn't bring himself to do anything to the TARDIS console, I guess. Sentimental old man..."
Martha nodded again, smiling. "What are you going to do now?"
John sighed. "I don't know, really. Probably just travel around like the Doctor. Re-familiarise myself with the universe. Maybe go see home one more time."
"UNIT would love to have you." Martha suggested.
John shook his head. "Thanks Martha, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I need to get used to being the Doctor. I need to go back home..."
She nodded. "Okay then." She said as she stood. "But if you ever need me, you know where to find me."
John smiled. "Thanks."
Martha returned the smile, then turned and left the TARDIS. She stopped outside and sighed. Then she smiled again. As she walked towards the barracks to join the celebration that was beginning, she sent a silent thought upward.
"You always win somehow, don't you?"
And her clear voice rang out in a joyous laugh.
Inside the TARDIS, John walked up to the console and steered the ship into the Time Vortex, now back to normal. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the Ood's final words to him.
"You are the Second Chapter."
Mary nestled close to him, his arms warming her through the cold wind. He had come. He was here. And all was well.
To be continued.
My sequel is posted. Age of Ice. Hope you'll read it and enjoy it! Thanks for sticking with my stories!