a/n2.: yes, i am alive and back. sorry for the 'slight' delay -- i accidentally deleted the almost finished story back in july, and couldn't be bothered to type it up again -(more than 7800 words, and english is not my first language). until now :)

a/n3.: direct reference to interludes 2 and 3, you might want to (re)read at least 'The son in the fireplace'

a/n4.: killing the author is bad, illegal and punished. keep that in mind while reading

enjoy the story

When he opened the door, he found himself in a basement-like room, but he barely noticed his surroundings. All he could see was the sign on the wall.

The Valiant.

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"Shit," was the only thing Sam could think of.

"Something like that, yeah," answered Alex while examining the console. Suddenly it shifted back to normal, causing the eldest to jump back. "Whoa. What the hell?" he questioned, but it was clear that he didn't expect an answer. Instead, he started switching, pulling and pushing things, while not looking away from the monitor.

Sam walked up to him and also started to frown at the readings. Serena, the only one who couldn't fly the Tardis or understand the readings properly, spoke up, "What's happening?"

Her brothers exchanged a look, then Sam turned to her and said, "There are two Tardises in the same place and time."

"So, that happened before. What's the problem?"

It was Alex who answered her question. "Rena. We are at the exact same spot. Around us there are two Tardises. In one shell. In the heart there are two vortexes. "

"And what does that mean?" she asked, fearing the answer. Alex and Sam looked scared, and that fact in turn scared her. She's always believed that there was nothing in the universe her father and brothers were truly afraid of.

"It'll blow up in twenty minutes," answered Alex curtly, his attention back on the console.

"And it'll probably take the 2/3 of the universe with it," added Sam with a grim expression on his face.

"So, how can I help you to stop it?" she asked upon seeing them working. They finally looked at her, then exchanged another look with each other. Alex nodded to Sam, then continued his work.

The middle child turned to his sister. "That's the problem. There is no real solution. We can't separate them, not when the younger one is...cannibalized. That'd kill her. So we have to make them become one..." he trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts.

"I hear a 'but' coming."

"Yeah. We have to decide which Tardis will be the dominant. If we choose ours, then we will cause a paradox by breaking the original paradox, and the universe will blow up. If we choose the younger one, ours will turn against us too. She will throw us out, right into the Master's arms. And he will surely have us meet Dad, and that will cause yet another paradox, and again, the universe will blow up," he finished.

"So basically it's a lose-lose situation?"

"It is. So let's make the best of it," announced Alex, finishing whatever he was doing at the console. "Follow me, I have an idea."

The younger ones did as they were told, and let the eldest lead the way down the never-ending corridors. After a few turns, he stopped, turned to face Serena and Sam, then pointed at the door behind him.

"Here's our best chance," he said, but couldn't explain what he meant because Sam cut him off.

"Are you crazy? Do you even know what this room is? We can't do this!"

"You're right. We can't. But the two of you can. It'll be alright. I'll keep you safe, I promise," defended himself Alex, while Serena just stood there, confused. She really didn't like to not know what was going on.

"It's not about keeping us safe, you moron! It's about the fact that it's an idiotic plan. First mistake. If you stay behind to keep us safe, he'll sense you, hunt you down and kill you, preferably in front of Dad. Then hello paradox... Second mistake, you told me about this plan. I'm not going to let you endanger yourself. If you stay, I stay with you," argued his point Sam in a harsh whisper. He wanted to yell at Alex, but didn't want to risk waking up the cannibalized Tardis again.

"No, you don't. I can pull this off. I can hide myself. So don't argue with me, because it's pointless. I'm the eldest, so it's my responsibility to keep the two of you safe."

"We're not children anymore, you don't have to risk yourself to protect us! We can make a decision. I did. So, stop being the worrying big brother and let me help you."

"You're wrong. You'll always be my first priority," answered Alex, ignoring his brother's comment 'I bet your wife would love to hear that'. "You've been since you were born, and nothing will change that. Ever. So stop arguing and go into the room."

Sam opened his mouth to argue –despite his brother's request--, but before he could make a sound, Serena interrupted him by clearing her throat.

"Okay. Now would either of you explain to me what the hell are you arguing about? Because you lost me. What's behind this door? What is so important that you have to waste precious minutes by arguing?" she asked, sounding really annoyed. Sam told Alex that they were adults, arguing about their ability to make decisions. Hypocrite with double standards. He practically ordered Alex to stop treating them like children, but he didn't even think about cluing her in, asking her opinion about the decision their brother wanted to make. Like she was a child unable to take care of herself.

After her outburst, Sam turned to her, ran a finger through his short brown hair, then explained, "This is the room where Dad stores the Chameleon Arch. Alex wants the two of us to use it."

Serena whirled around to face Alex. ''Are you crazy?" she echoed her brother. "And what about you?"

Again, it was Sam who answered. "He plans to hide our fob watches, then make a run for it, using his cloaking ability to evade the Master's attention."

"Okay. You are crazy, there is no doubt. That's suicide. And what cloaking ability?"

Alex sighed, then started speaking. "I can hide myself from other Time Lords. Well, not exactly hide, but make them think that I'm something else, not a gallifreyan."

"Oh. And how come you can do that? Wait, scratch that. Why can't Sam and I do it?"

"It's because of Mum. When she absorbed the Vortex, the Tardis started to change her genetic make-up. It was a very slow process. And actually that's the reason of the huge age gap between us. I was born at the beginning of the change, when she was a human with pieces of the Vortex floating in her. Then because of the change, she wasn't able to be pregnant with a gallifreyan child for decades, until she was finished, so to speak. You know the rest," he ranted off, nodding towards Sam.

"So because of her different genes, Sam and I are Time Lords, but you're more like a half-blood with the Time Vortex in you," concluded Serena, and Alex nodded in agreement.

"And why don't you tell her what do the others feel instead of a Time Lord mind?" spoke up Sam, clearly knowing the answer. "Come on Alex, tell her," he ordered. When the eldest started fiddling with the door instead of answering, he turned back to his sister and continued, "The Master will sense somebody very similar to Jack. Some kind of fact in time. And of course, he will investigate. He will think that you're immortal too. He'll kill you, then be disappointed that you don't 'gasp' back to life. And of course, without the Tardis you won't be able to regenerate," he finished his angry rant. Then, "You really don't care about that, do you?" he asked, the shock of the discovery evident in his voice . "You can't do that!"

Alex continued to ignore them. He opened the door, stalked into the room and powered up the Arch. The younger sibling reluctantly followed him in, Sam with a now really angry glare.

But much to their surprise, it was Serena who moved over to the machine. She strapped herself in without a word, then turned to Alex.

"Promise me something, please," she asked. When Alex asked what did she want, she continued, "I want you to use the Arch too. And before you start protesting, hear me out... I want you safe. And as a human you'll be."

"The Arch doesn't work on me like that. I'll still have traces of the vortex in me, but I won't be able to keep the two of you safe this way. You don't understand. Even if I'm hiding, I can still feel the two of you in my head. As a sort of human, I can't."

"We will be safe. Here on the Valiant," she announced, then waited for the explosion.

"WHAT?" chorused her older siblings.

"Sam and I will stay here. We will help Jack and Dad and the Jones'. You will go down to the planet, find Martha and walk the Earth with her, keeping her safe."

"Serena. The Master is on the Valiant. So is Dad and Jack. They will realize whose kids you are," said Alex.

"Yup. Not if we wear perception filters. The Master is only able to see through the ones that are connected to the Tardis."

"But.."

"No 'but'. You want to stick us into this thing," she gestured to the Arch, "to keep us safe? Okay. But I refuse to be left behind in a Torchwood safe-house –yes, I know that was your plan-- without my memories, while you're out there, risking your life to protect us. So, here's a deal, take it, or we're going with you," she finished, leaving no room for an argument.

After long seconds, Alex nodded. "I promise."

Serena sent a small smile in his way, then put the last piece of the machine on her head.

"I could force you to go along with my plan," remarked Alex quietly, while fiddling with the buttons. "You couldn't stop me."

"I know. But I trust you," answered Serena, "See you later, Alex."

"You too, Rena," whispered the eldest, then pulled the lever and tried to ignore his sisters pained screams. Sam turned away, he couldn't bear the sight. The whole procedure was over in twenty seconds, but to them it felt like twenty minutes.

Serena slowly opened her eyes, trying not to panic. She remembered everything, and for a moment she regretted asking Alex to let her keep her memories; because this way she was aware of everything she was missing. Her second heartbeat, the spin of Earth, the Vortex and the presence of her family in her mind.

"Good morning, Serena Jacobs, 20, maid, employed by Lucy Saxon," greeted her Sam. In his hands was the psychic paper, with the information written on it. She nodded, trying to sort out her brand new memories.

A few seconds later she was released, and Sam took her place in the Arch.

"If you make me into a damned dinner boy, I'm going to hit you," he warned his brother with a half serious smile on his face. Alex nodded, recognizing the olive branch, then pulled the lever. Sam's screams –though only after ten seconds--, too, filled the room, and Serena clamped her hand on her mouth to stop herself from joining him.

Again, twenty seconds later Sam was opening his eyes. Serena grabbed the psychic paper, and read aloud who her brother was.

"Samuel Michaels, 22, mechanic, employed by the chief engineer of Valiant."

"Any complain?" asked Alex dryly.

"Why not the chief engineer?" teased back Sam, his tone lighter than earlier. He was still furious with Alex for his big brother-complex, but now he was calmer and could understand the elder better. He would do anything to keep his siblings safe, too.

Alex helped him out of the chair, and was about the power the Arch off, when Serena cleared her throat pointedly, then shot a meaningful look to her brother.

"Okay, okay. Worth a try," he said. Like the others before him, he strapped himself in, then put the helmet on his head and waited for Sam to start the procedure. He managed to stay silent for nine whole second.

"You won," he muttered to Sam after opening his eyes. His brother grinned in response.

"Welcome to the world, Alex Smith, 26, medical student, travelling companion of Martha Jones," announced Serena. Alex only rolled his eyes; the next two months were going to be horrible. He's never gotten along with the ex-companion. The possibility of friendship between them died a quick and ugly death in Torchwood Three's cells in 2008 of the other timeline.

"Let's hope she'll arrive in one piece," commented Sam, who knew about the two's not-so loving relationship.

"How much time do we have?" spoke up Serena, reminding the boys of the possible destruction of the universe.

"Eight minutes. Come on. I've already programmed Tardis, she'll blend with her younger self, we'll have to be gone by then," said Alex, then ran into his room. A minute later he came out with a backpack. "Don't you want to take anything?" he questioned the others, who, instead of answering, hurried into their respective rooms.

Four minutes before deadline the siblings were standing in the Console Room, ready to go.

"It's just a couple of weeks. We'll be alright. You'll get to play maid to a lunatic and see Dad go up in pretty lights, and I'll get to... well, wander around like an idiot, telling fairy tales to scared to death humans. Oh, joy," told Alex to Serena, who was clinging to him stubbornly.

"Can't you stay with us?"

"He can't, Rena. The Master will sense the fob-watches if we keep them near him," answered Sam, pulling Serena off Alex, into his own arms. "He has to go. So do you," he added, "We can't be seen together. Go to the room the Tardis created for you, before the guards arrive. I can be here officially, but the maids can't come here," he finished.

Serena nodded with a teary smile, the hugged his older brother again. "Take care of yourself. I love you, Old Man."

"Love you too, Squirt," he answered, then let go of her.

With a last glance back, Serena exited the Tardis, and started her new –and hopefully temporary-- life as Lucy Saxon's maid.

"Two minutes, forty seconds," counted Sam quietly, while looking at the door.

Alex turned to his brother. He opened his mouth to speak several times, but always closed it without saying anything. Sam took care of the silence, breaking it with a question.

"What are you going to do?"

"I will go to Cardiff. Jack has a device in the Archives that creates time-bubbles. That'll protect the watches. The team's in London, so I don't have to worry about running into one of them. Then I'll go and find Martha."

"She's in America I think. How do you get there?"

"With the help of this." He held up a vortex-manipulator. "I got it from a drunk Time Agent on Kryss; the whole planet is a paradox, quite interesting place. John Hart was the bloke's name, or something like that. Jack wanted to keep an eye on him, so he'd asked me to switch the Hart's manipulator to a traceable one. I kept the original, thinking Rasillon knows when might I need it to escape my own home."

Sam laughed quietly. "One minute, thirty-two seconds. Which one of us is going to say it?"

"Want the honors?"

"No."

"Okay, then," he cleared his throat, "Take care of yourself. And Serena. Don't do anything stupid. Just lay low. Don't wander off. Be careful. The usual."

Sam just nodded, but didn't speak. Suddenly, he grabbed Alex's arm, and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Everything you said, Alex. They apply to you, too. Because if you get yourself killed in the next weeks, I swear to everything that I'll resurrect you, just to yell at you and kick your ass right back to your grave. Or, if the time reversal resurrects you, I'll just simply kill you," he promised.

Alex laughed quietly, and answered, "I love you, too, little brother."

"Wow. You've said those three little words two times in five minutes. Won't the universe explode? And back at you," teased Sam, trying to mask his worry. Alex'd never been a touchy-feely person; he had to be incredibly afraid of something, to open up like that.

"We evaded one explosion, but it won't be pretty if we don't leave in thirty seconds."

They let go of each other quite reluctantly, with sad smiles on their faces.

"Twenty seconds. Go Sam, the manipulator will set off the alarms."

Sam nodded and stepped out. When he turned back, he said, "Take care, really. Come back in one peace."

"I'll try. But if I don't... Tell everybody..." he trailed off.

"We know."

"Good. Run, Sammy."

The younger Time Lord did as he was told. As soon as he was out of sight, the clock on the Console reached zero, and the Tardis changed back into the red paradox machine. Immediately the intruder alarms went off.

Alex stepped out of the Tardis, and entered the coordinates into the manipulator, then activated the device.

A moment later he was in the rain-soaked Cardiff, on the Roald Dahl Plass, with the locked down Torchwood Hub in front of him.

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Getting into the Hub was surprisingly easy, though the team initiated a total lockdown before leaving for London, two weeks after they got back to Wales from the Himalayas. But as he thought about it, Alex realized that he wouldn't have had such an easy time if Jack didn't tell him the all codes back in 2010. The older man explained, that giving the codes to a non-Torchwood member ensured that the incident with Suzie wouldn't be repeated. In other words, if Jack were unavailable or dead, they could just call Alex, and wouldn't have to ask gloating police officers for help. One incident was embarassing enough.

Once he was inside, he fished a chocolate bar out of his backpack and threw it to Myfanwy, then made his way to the Archives. He was surprised when he found it locked. Alex wasn't expecting this, so he spent more time trying to open this door. The trickiest part of the whole thing was finding the device the Archives was locked down with. Ianto was a crafty bastard, it took Alex twelve minutes to locate the Nexusian device in the pterodactyl's nest. And it cost him another bar of chocolate to keep Torchwood's pet away from her nest while he was working on opening the lock.

Fortunately he finished his task before Myfanwy decided that she didn't like the stranger poking around in her home. He quickly climbed down and entered Ianto's domain. Everything was in alphabetical order, so he found the thing he was searching for without any problem.

He took the machine out of its box, then examined it, checking for damage. The device itself was actually a palm-sized hexagon with seven buttons on it. When he found everything functioning properly, he pressed two of the buttons and attached the device to the side box (on the inside), then he put the three fob-watches in there, as well. After this, he packed the box back to it's original place –Ianto would notice if he misplaced it, and would investigate-- , made sure that he bubble coated the whole room. He left the Archives, activated the lock, and walked out of the Hub, initiating the lockdown on his way out.

When he was outside again, he let himself relax a little. Phase one –hide the watches-- was down, two more was to go. He switched on the Vortex-Manipulator and started Phase Two –find Martha Jones, and keep her alive.

Of course he knew that the woman was capable of taking care of herself; she completed her mission without a travelling companion the first time around. But this time, thanks to the older Tardis crashing into the paradox and merging with her younger and changed self, the woman's situation went from bad to worse. Before the crash, the Master couldn't find Martha, because his stolen and cannibalized Tardis wasn't strong enough to get through her perception filter. But two Tardises would be able to find her with no problem.

When the manipulator beeped, he smiled. A moment later he was on his way to America.

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Before the deadline, after the rebellion

On the not particulary sunny day Serena J. Sigma-Tyler –now simply Jacobs--, 20, maid employed by Lucy Saxon wasn't a happy camper. For instance, her employer's husband was mad. Crazy. Insane. And said employer wasn't exactly sane either, but Rena honestly couldn't tell if it was because of some kind of mind control, or the woman was naturally one card short of a deck. And unfortunately, they were neither locked up, nor controlled in some way. Quite the opposite, actually.

They were in control of good old planet Earth and its inhabitants.

And to worsen her already bad mood, the lord of the house -- well, ship – announced that they were going to have special visitors the day after the next. And that meant that the employees (or in some cases slaves), had to make sure that every part of the ship had to shine.

Serena wondered about the importance of the order, but couldn't see the logic in the Master's newest idea. 'Why does the cleanness of the ship matter? If the guests are so special, they are most likely going to die, anyway.'

For a moment, her heart froze as an unsettling thought entered her mind. What if one of the guests was Alex? What if the Master realized who they all were and decided to kill, or worse, torture them before each other's eyes.

After a couple of minutes she banished the idea to to back of her mind. She was sure that even as a Chameleon arched human, she would've felt if something happened to her oldest brother.

For the rest of the day she forced herself to think happy thoughts; about her family and childhood.

Unaware that someone else was listening to her thoughts.

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Sam had received the message too earlier that day, but unlike his sister, he couldn't calm down so easily. His father's never liked to talk about the Master, Jack was the only one who had the tendency to mention the evil genius. The immortal told the stories of the insane Time Lord's escapades to both him and Alex, always trying to weave some eternal truth into the tales. When they were young, the stories were more like fairy tales about the good and the bad, but as they got older, Jack transformed the tales into lessons about knowing and not underestimating the enemy.

Sam remembered the stories vividly, as well as the nights when the nightmares they caused sent him to his older brother's room, who then calmed him down by explaining that the Master was gone and he couldn't hurt Sam. He grew up thinking that, so it was incredibly hard for him to face the man who was the bogeyman of his childhood.

He had learned at a young age how dangerous the Master was, so he spent the rest of the day worrying, not realizing that he wasn't alone in his head.

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The Master stood on the bridge with a gigantic grin on his face. He looked around and noted that all the VIP guests were present, and were reasonably uncomfortable and scared.

The Jones family was huddling together in one corner, and Freak was handcuffed and held at gunpoint in the other. He would be good for entertainment if there was something wrong with the main production, thought the Master. The Doctor was in his cage, which was placed on the Master's right. Lucy was hanging off his left arm, grinning insanely at the show she knew was coming.

He stepped forward, cleared his throat and started.

"Ladies and Gentl... er, sorry. Doctor, Freak and Joneses. I ordered you here to be witnesses to not only one, but two special events. I can assure you, neither of them will cause you to cry tears of joy, but honestly, what fun would it be if they made you happy? I like my toys miserable," he motioned towards the prisoners, indicating that they were the mentioned toys.

"So, the first surprise," he continued, "I believe you already know about my plans about creating my own empire. Based on me as a God, and you, inferior humans as my lowly slaves. I believe that I expressed my joy about having no real enemy to speak of, because everybody that could do anything against me, is already here or dead. So.."

"Have you already forgotten about Martha Jones?" interrupted the speech Jack with a defiant expression on his face.

The Master turned to him, "I didn't give you a permission to speak, did I, Freak?" He raised his gun to shoot the annoying captain, but thought again. "Oh, no. I won't kill you now. I don't want you to miss the surprise. And what a threat one woman could be?" he said, then turned his thoughts back to his speech.

"So, my dear toys, imagine my surprise and shock when I stumbled upon this piece of information. 'And what did you learn?' you might ask. And I'd answer, that I learned that my dear old friend, the always sorry hero, the Doctor here has been lying to me! He told me that they were all dead. Did you really believe that you could hide them from me?" he asked, continuously raising his voice and shouting the last part of the sentence in the Doctor's face.

"What are you talking about?" asked the creature that was once the Doctor quietly.

The Master didn't answer him, just regarded him without a word. Then, without a warning, he started to laugh.

"Oh, my dear Doctor. Trust you to spoil my big plan of revealing you as the schemer," he grinned and clapped excitedly. "But this is so much better! I get to watch your reaction as I introduce, then kill them."

"Kill who?" asked the Doctor warily.

"The lasts of the Time Lords," whispered the Master enigmatically.

"Don't joke about that. You know we are the lasts."

"Are you sure? After all, you didn't know about me 'til that Jones woman got me to open the fob-watch."

"You're lying," whispered the Doctor.

"Who are you trying to convict? Me or yourself?" asked the Master, then he motioned to his personal guards. The four man disappeared, but a moment later they came back, dragging two young humans with them.

"Look at them, Doctor. Aren't they familiar?" pressed the Master, but when the Doctor still couldn't focus on the two, he realized something. "Oh, I almost forgot. They're wearing perception filters. Take them off!" he ordered the guards.

A moment after the guards complied, two gasps filled the otherwise quiet control room.

"Oh my God!" voiced their common thought Jack. "That's impossible," he whispered, staring at the younger and slightly different versions of the Doctor and the long lost Rose Tyler.

The Doctor didn't say a word, but was staring wordlessly at the two. He watched as the boy moved to stand between the girl –his sister?- and the Master, trying to protect her. He ran his eyes over both of them, not noticing that they were doing the same thing to him until his eyes met the girls'. But when it happened, a familiar presence of a family made itself known in the back of his mind; it was somehow dimmer than the one he had been used to so long ago, but he soon realized that they must've been Chameleon Arched.

When the truth finally sank in, he gave them a small smile that broadened into a full grin when the girl waved at him shyly, mouthing "Hi, Dad!"

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The moment was rudely interrupted by the Master, who clearly didn't enjoy the slightly weird family reunion as much as Jack and the Doctor did.

"Hey, Freak and Doctor! I didn't bring them here to make you happy, remember? I believe I said something about killing the guests?"

The words sobered the Doctor up. "Master, you can't do this! They're our kind. You... you can't. Please."

"Old friend, while your words make me feel really fuzzy inside, I have to say no. What kind of Master would I be if I jumped to please my own prisoners?"

"Koshei, please don't take them away," pleaded the Doctor, but he soon regretted his words. The Master tore his cage open and roughly shook him.

"Don't you dare call me that! I am the Master! And I'll finally show you how does it feel to lose everything." And with that, he pushed the Doctor back into the cage and closed its door.

The Master took a moment to compose himself, then spoke up again. "I think it's time for the second surprise of the day. Guards!"

The four guards disappeared again, but the Doctor didn't notice it, as he was still trying to plead with the Master.

His attention was roughly snapped back to the scene when he heard Jack's cry of anguish.

"Ianto!" called out the immortal while struggling with his bonds. And really, the Doctor could see Ianto Jones of Torchwood Cardiff kneeling between the four guards.

While Jack only saw his lover, the Doctor, along with the rest of the room, noticed the second person struggling to stand up behind Ianto. He was lslightly taller as Jack's lover –maybe the same height as the immortal--, but other than that, they could've been mistaken for relatives. They both had dark hair with strong blue eyes, accompanied by a nose the women (and some men) would call cute.

The Doctor's attention was again pushed back to his somehow kids. Sam looked horrified, and Serena's mouth was open in a silent scream. He quickly realized that the children knew the newcomers. He looked back at man behind Mr. Jones, and saw that he was mouthing calming words to the youngests. It seemed perfectly normal; an adult trying to calm down the scared children, but to the Doctor something didn't quite add up.

The penny dropped quite soon for the Time Lord.

One, the man didn't look much older than his children.

Two, he was the man he had seen with Rose on the spaceship, and after the incident with Shakespeare. His hearts sunk at the thought of being in the same room with the man who got Rose.

Three, the words spoken were Gallifreyans.

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Sam and Serena watched with horror as their brother was dragged into the room by the guards. At first they didn't even notice their uncle with him.

'This wasn't supposed to happen. This can't be happening,' ran the thought through their minds.

"What is uncle Ianto doing here? He was supposed to stay with the team. If he dies here...," whispered Serena, unable to finish the thought. If their uncle died here, the reversal of time wouldn't bring him back to life.

"We changed history by crashing here. Anything can happen," explained Sam quietly before catching Alex's eyes.

'Don't panic, we'll be fine. Calm down Rena, and keep her out of the way. We have a way out,' he mouthed the Gallifreyan words. Then after a moment of thinking, he added, 'Martha's safe too,' but that wasn't meant for Sam. The younger noticed then that the Doctor also caught the exchange, and now was staring at them in shock.

Ignoring their father, Sam nodded. He didn't have to wait long for the plan, as right after his affirmation Alex reached behind his back and started fiddling with the cleverly hidden Vortex Manipulator. Sam saw him push a button, and immediately Ianto disappeared in a flash of blue light.

He grasped Serena's hand and waited for the uncomfortable sensation of being hurled through the vortex, but it never came. Instead of the awaited escape, only the light bulbs shattered.

Sam looked at Alex, but the eldest didn't look his way. The confusion was solved by the cackle of the Master.

"Did you really think that your escape plan would work?" he asked mockingly.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I had a bloke in front of me a moment ago," snarked back Alex.

"Oh, who cares about the Freak's sextoy. He was just a surprise. I was aiming to get you. Alex," he shrugged, emphasizing the eldest's name. "What? No smart quip?... Yeah, right. You're still shocked that I know your name. I have to tell you, big brother, that your siblings' heads are interesting places. I might have to visit them again, I'm afraid I couldn't get through all the blocks on the first try."

"Don't you dare, you bastard,'' growled Alex.

"Oh, here's the anger, and the voice thingy. Now I can believe that you're the Doctor's son," he grinned smugly, enjoying as the realization dawned on the Doctor.

"Son?" he whispered, feeling foolish. All things suddenly made sense. Everything that happened on the spaceship was a paradox. Alex must've seen him with Reinette in the garden even before he saw the boy talking to Rose. The talk caused the Doctor to go to the uncrowned queen, and their 'relationship' was the reason of the talk.
And in London, there must've been another version of himself, with Rose and their family. Alex was ill, but the delirium wasn't the reason the young man called him Dad; he just couldn't tell the difference between the versions of the Doctor.

"Yeah," answered Alex quietly. He caught the look on the Doctor's face, and realized the same thing. Now that their mental blocks were slightly lowered, he could feel his father's thoughts. He also realized that if all of them got out alive from the mess, he'd have some major groveling to do. After all, he spent decades blaming his father for something that was practically his own fault.

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The Master watched the exchange with interest, waiting for the perfect moment to drop the biggest bomb of the evening. He waited until the Doctor smiled at Alex, then he spoke up.

"I believe there's still the matter of killing them," he piped up, and enjoyed as all the heads snapped back towards him. "Ah, that's so much better," he sighed happily.

"You can't. Please Ko.., Master. Don't," begged the Doctor. Jack was held back by the four guards. When he refused to calm down, one of the armed man simply shoot him.

"I like the sound of that, you begging. But as I said earlier, I have to say no. I have an experiment to run," he announced. "Alex. Have you ever notice anything different about yourself?" inquired the Master.

"What do you mean?" asked back Alex, despite his reservations.

"Oh, I don't know. Ever felt like you shouldn't exist, felt 'wrong' in your own skin?" he pressed, and watched Alex pale a little.

"No, I didn't," answered the eldest sibling, but the Master could see through his lie.

"Yes, you did," corrected him gleefully the Master. "And you know why? Do you? Because you're a freak too!" he exclaimed.

"Oh come on! Who's not a freak in your eyes. So coming from you, it really doesn't mean anything, mate," answered Alex flippantly, but inwardly fearing the real reason, because he had a suspicion about it.

"Clever, but wrong! And you know it. And that's why I get to run the experiment of the universe --the unraveling of a living paradox by the help of my trusty Tardis."

"What the hell are you on, Master?" spoke up the revived Jack, trying to buy some time. He hoped that one of the non-evil Time Lords would come up with some kind of plan.

"Shut it, Freak. On a second thought, don't. I want you to choose. Who will die first? The father or the son?" he said in his best announcer voice. Jack paled.

"I... I can't," he stuttered. He knew he had to, but didn't know what to do. If he chose Alex, the Doctor'd never forgive him –if they got out alive of their prison. On the other hand, he couldn't choose the Doctor either. Though the kids looked like they really were the Doctor's, he could believe that the whole scene was another of the Master's sick games.

After not answering the question for long seconds, the Master got bored, "Oh, come on, Freak. We don't have the whole day. Some of us actually has things to do, continents to blow up, or..." he was cut off by a quiet interruption.

"Choose me!" said Alex, shocking the whole room into silence.

"I didn't ask you!"

"So? What will you do, kill me?" countered Alex, not turning to look at Jack, refusing to make eyecontact with anyone but his siblings. They both looked back with eyes filled with fear and approval. "I'm a paradox, Jack. Like you, but not exactly. I was the one to take Dad back to the parallel world. If you choose him, four of us will die. But pick me, and Dad will survive. Please Jack, the three of us will die either way. "

Jack shook his head. Even if it was just a ruse, he had no problem believing that the Master would kill the children just to see the others' reactions. But the look on Sam and Serena's face convicted him.

"Do it, Jack. Please," pleaded the middle child. Jack could see the determination in his eyes. Serena was grasping his hand tightly in hers, but despite her fear, she nodded in agreement.

He watched Alex looking at the spot Ianto had vanished from before turning back to his siblings once more, whispering calming nothings to them. 'Everything will be alright. We're going to be fine. Don't worry. Trust me.' The words didn't do anything to help, they were obviously lies, but Jack noticed that they still helped the younger ones. Sam had a fearless smile on his face, and Serena wasn't gripping her brother's hand so tightly anymore.

A moment later the obvious hit Jack. It wasn't just a charade, they really were the Doctor's kids, who were ready to sacrifice themselves for their father. He couldn't force himself to look at the Doctor, he wasn't ready to see the realization dawning on the older alien. The realization that another three people were going to die in his place.

He was still hesitating to give an answer, fearing the Doctor's reaction, when he accidentally caught Alex's eyes. For a moment he felt the young man's thoughts mingling with his owns, then he heard the words.

"If I die the paradox reverses and time rewrites itself. You won't remember your choice. He either," whispered the eldest son, and Jack realized that the boy somehow read his thoughts. "There will be no guilt."

Jack searched his eyes, and again, he could only find determination and worry for Sam and Serena.

He smiled sadly at the three, then turned to the Master.

"I made my choice. I want the Doctor alive," he announced, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw the tears in the Doctor's eyes.

The Master, who had been in the middle of aiming his gun at the tiny creature, kicked a chair in frustration, then pouted and exclaimed,

"Aaw, bugger. I was seeing forward to killing the Doctor. But I promised you the choice. So," he trailed off, and without a warning, shot Alex.

Jack didn't know what made him more nauseas, the amount of blood, the sight of the girl running over and cradling the dying form of her brother, or the last words of the young man.

He vaguely saw Sam joining his siblings, but all he could concentrate of were Alex's words.

"See you in hell, Koshei."

Before Jack could think about the meaning of the words, the golden mist of the time vortex washed his world away.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Aaw, bugger. I was seeing forward to killing the Doctor. But I promised you the choice. So,"

Sam didn't even have the time to comprehend the words before he heard the sound of a firing gun and saw his brother's body hitting the floor. He could only watch as Serena tore herself away from him and ran to cradle Alex.

It was so wrong to see his sister covered in their brother's blood. Even worse than just seeing Alex's blood. 'Of course, I've seen the latter before. After the disasterous trip to Azal lV. Dad wandered off with the ambassador, we got captured, and after Dad came back, Alex yelled at him, something about another Mme de Pompadour. I've never seen Dad so hurt before; he stalked off without a word. Thing's never been the same between them since that incident –trust issues--, but they're trying. Mom cried after he said it, and said something about Alex promising to never bringing that up again. I was thirteen, he made Mom cry, so I threw a screwdriver at him. He was caught off guard, so it hit him. There is so much more blood this time... Oh my God! He's dying, and I'm standing here remembering our fights.'

He forced himself to snap out of his shock, and joined Serena on the floor while the Master watched. He took his brother's hand, causing Alex to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I should've come up with a better plan, but there was no time," he whispered before coughing up some blood.

Sam just shook his head. 'You did everything,' he wanted to say so many things, but no words came out. 'It's not fair, you're not supposed to die. You are Alex, you are the one who protects us, you can't die. We need you. Mom will be heartbroken. And you have so much things to mend with Dad... I'm not ready to be you,' he pleaded, forgetting for a moment what was to come next.

"I'm so sorry," repeated the words the eldest, before turning his head to face the Master.

His last words, filled with conviction, caused Sam to shiver.

"See you in hell, Koshei."

A moment later, when he was floating in the golden river, he said his goodbyes quietly.

OoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOo

The Doctor looked at the scene with tears in his eyes. He wanted to get up and go over to them, but he couldn't. And it had nothing to do with the Master and his gun.

He felt everything change. While Alex was dying, the paradox machine was doing its work, destroying and reweaving every timeline Alex's had ever touched.

He heard the scream of his beloved Tardis, as she was trying to stop what she was forced to do.

He watched as his children's personal timelines disintegrated.

He sensed the vortex engulfing him before he saw the golden light.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

And as the mist bathed the universe in its golden light, for a moment the universe ripped itself apart, only to be woven back by the time vortex itself.

xxxxxxxx

"Dying in your arms. Happy now?"
"You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate."
"No."
"One little bullet. Come on."
"I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse."
"Regenerate! Just regenerate! Please. Please! Just regenerate! Come on!"
"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you?"
"You've got to! Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons, remember the Axons? And the Daleks. We're the only two left. Everyone else… REGENERATE!"
"How about that? I win. Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming? Will it stop?"

Three figures were watching the Master's body burning before walking away...

Noone noticed when someone retrieved a ring from among the ashes...

"Time was every single one of these people knew your name. Now they've all forgotten you."
"Good."

"And what about me? Can you fix that? Will I ever be able to die?"
"Nothing I can do. You're an impossible thing, Jack."
"Been called that before."

"OK, vanity. Sorry. Yeah, can't help it. Used to be a poster boy when I was a kid, living in the Boeshane Peninsula. Tiny little place. I was the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency. They were so proud of me. The Face of Boe, they called me. Huh. I'll see you."

"Hey kids, did you miss me?"

"Oh, do you have a team name? I love team names, go on! "
"Torchwood."
"Oh. Not Excalibur? Blizzard? Bikini Cops? No? Torchwood. Oh, dear."

"Are you going back to him?"
"I came back for you... er, ...all of you."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

This shifted, that moved, and millions of events were readjusted, so when woven back together, all the parts would fit again, even without the three missing pieces...

The End