The Fall of Arcadia (Book ONE)

Chapter 16

6 Months later, we were staying in Cardiff, much to Amy's protest, with some friends of mine. They didn't know how they knew me, they just did. Prolonged exposure to the Rift opens your mind considerably.

"Jack, any word on Rose Tyler yet?" I yelled down into the Hub. It was smoggy and disgusting outside, the ATMOS in all the cars choking the planet and I needed her to talk to Donna. She was supposed to anyway.

"Not yet, Writer, be patient. Please tell me Ianto did not make you coffee this morning!" He yelled back, his signature shirt, black trousers, belt and braces the same as the night before. He'd worked through the night and then this happened.

I laughed harshly and came down the stairs to help him. "He values his sex life, he has't made me coffee about 3 months. Plus the fact that Amy and Rory are threatening him as well. Where's Gwen and Rhys?"

"Here, went to get the things you text me, though I have no clue what you are planning to do with them, unless you plan to blow up the atmosphere." Gwen Cooper, my current best friend in the entire universe said, coming into the floor area, a massive trolley of equipment behind her. "Had to nick the trolley from the old B&Q near the centre, no way were we going to be able to get this lot back here without the car otherwise."

"Gwen, you know me so well, so you know that is exactly what I plan to do. And then the Sontaran ship after. But don't tell Amy, she'll stop me from doing it."

"i'm going to bloody well stop you! You need to stay alive, Writer, you know you do to find Donna and this Rose woman again. You can have the blowing up the atmosphere, we already know that it'll work, just not the ship, let Jack do that!"

On hearing his name, Jack looked up again. "She's right, Sera, you need to let me do it, I have a chance at survival. You don't and then we loose both Time Lords. Get to work, and I'll do mine."

DW

A couple of hours later, the machine was built and I was ready and poised to press the button on Jacks command. "Jack, people are dying, we need to get this done!"

"No, I do. You need to get to Leeds, Rose Tyler has been spotted there talking to your favourite woman, Donna Noble. Take my Manipulator, we've made a cannon that should be able to get me up there, and back down the moment I press the detonator."

I kissed his cheek and activated the device the moment it was on my wrist, landing a few feet away from Rose who was headed towards Donna. "Remember me?"

She turned, her eyes widening as she saw me, gun in holster and scars up my arms, fresh wounds over the top. "Alice?! That's Jacks, how did you get it?"

"He lent it to me. He's sorting out the atmosphere, while we sort out the Universe and get my Doctor back. It's centred around Donna, I know that much. All my visions are to do with her."

She looked at me for a minute, then nodded. "Yeah, it is. We've built a machine, me and UNIT, it's designed to read Time Lines, like how they move, and yours, the Doctors and hers are all the centre of everything. You and your baby."

"I don't have my baby at the moment. I never met him, so I never got pregnant. Now, lets go and save the Universe, yeah?"

We walked towards her, seeing Donna looking up at the poisoned sky. "Alice?! Oh, my God! You disappeared, the police were looking for you and everything!" She cried, hugging me close. She frowned and tutted at my arms, sitting me down next to her on the bench. Rose sat the other side of her, pointing to the sky.

"It's the ATMOS devices. We're lucky, it's not so bad here. Britain hasn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe, China, South Africa, they're getting choked by gas." She said softly, getting the attention off my madness.