The Daleks were in a state of panic. One rounded on Rose. "You know the Doctor and the Time Lady. You understand them. You will predict their actions!" it demanded.
"I don't know!" Rose retorted, "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell ya!"
The Dalek advanced on her. "Predict! Predict! Predict!" it demanded hysterically, backing Rose against the wall.
"TARDIS detected in flight." another Dalek announced.
"Launch missiles! Exterminate!" the first Dalek ordered.
"You can't!" Rose pleaded desperately, "The TARDIS hasn't got any defences, ya gonna kill 'em!"
"You have predicted correctly." the first Dalek retorted.
———————————————————————————
Two missiles blasted out of the Dalek flagship and shot towards the TARDIS, which was hurtling though space.
"We've got incoming!" Jack warned, checking the monitor while the Time Lords worked the controls.
The two missiles struck their target and exploded, only for the TARDIS to fly straight through the explosion completely unscathed.
"Okay, the extrapolator's working." the Artist said, working on the device in question, "We've got fully functioning forcefields."
"Try saying that when ya drunk." Jack smirked.
"And for my next trick..." the Doctor said, slamming a lever down.
———————————————————————————
On the Dalek flagship, Rose and the Daleks suddenly heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS materialising and they looked around. A breeze blew Rose's hair as she turned to see the faint outline of the TARDIS appearing around her. It surrounded her and one of the Daleks. The Doctor and the Artist's outlines became more and more distinct, standing either side of the console.
When the box appeared fully...
"Rose, get down!" the Doctor warned.
Rose floundered. The Dalek's eyestalk swivelled around.
"Get down, Rose!" the Artist hollered.
Rose hit the deck just as the Dalek yelled; "Exterminate!" and fired at Jack, who ducked, causing the shot to hit the wall. Then he returned fire with the defabricator, causing the Dalek to explode with a scream.
Once the smoke had settled, the Artist helped Rose to her feet. "You did it!" the blonde breathed in relief, throwing her arms around the Time Lady, "Feels like I haven't seen ya all in years."
"I told you we were coming to get you." the Artist answered as they pulled away.
"Never doubted it." Rose smiled.
"I did." the Doctor said, coming over and hugging Rose too, "You alright?"
"Yeah." Rose answered, "You two?"
"Not bad, been better." the Doctor replied nonchalantly, then he and the Artist went to examine the remains of the Dalek.
"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Jack said, coming over to join them.
"Oh, come here you!" Rose replied.
"I was talking to them." Jack joked, gesturing to the Time Lords. Both humans laughed and threw their arms around each other. "Welcome home." Jack said.
"Ohh, thought I'd never see ya all again." Rose said as they pulled apart.
"Oh, you were lucky. That was just a one-shot wonder." Jack said, "Drained the gun of it's power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk." He tossed the defabricator away and he and Rose went over to join the Time Lords.
The Doctor was scanning the remains of the Dalek with his sonic screwdriver. "You said they were extinct." Rose said, "How come they're still alive?"
"One minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space." Jack added.
"They had bigger fish to fry." the Artist answered, "They went off to fight the Time War."
"I though that was just a legend." a surprised Jack frowned.
"We were there." the Doctor replied grimly, "The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. Our people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them." He studied the smouldering remains of the Dalek. "I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turned out they died for nothing." he finished sadly.
The Artist took his hand. "We'll stop them." she said, "Even if it's the last thing we ever do, we'll stop them."
"There's thousands of 'em now." Rose pointed out, "We could hardly stop one. What're we gonna do?"
"No good standing here chin-wagging!" the Doctor spoke up, suddenly sounding cheerful, "Human race, you'd gossip all day. Daleks have all the answers, let's go and meet the neighbours." And he and the Artist headed off down the ramp towards the doors.
"You can't go out there...!" Rose called urgently.
The Time Lords just stepped out regards and found themselves surrounded by Daleks. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" they bellowed and opened fire. But their shots just reflected harmlessly off the forcefield surrounding the TARDIS, keeping the Doctor and the Artist safe, as well as Jack and Rose, who had cautiously popped their heads out behind the Time Lords. The Daleks gave up and the sounds of their guns faded into silence.
"Is that it?" the Doctor jeered, raising his hands mockingly, "Nul points!" He casually leaned against the TARDIS and turned to the Humans; "It's alright, come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything."
"Almost anything." Jack pointed out.
"Yeah, but we weren't gonna tell them that." the Artist grunted, gesturing to the Daleks.
"Sorry." Jack muttered sheepishly.
The Doctor stepped forward to address the Daleks; "D'yer know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek home-world? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed yer emotions... but I reckon that right down in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear." The Daleks' eyestalks twitched nervously, proving him right "Doesn't it just burn when you face me?" he continued, gloating, "So, tell me, how did yer survive the Time War?"
"They survived through me." a deep, booming voice sounded from somewhere on his left.
The Doctor and the Artist both turned and began to walk towards the source of the voice. The lights came on to reveal a massive Dalek, it's mutant sitting in a tank supported by open armour, looking almost like a throne, towering above them all. The Time Lords stared up at it in open-mouthed awe. "Rose... Captain..." the Doctor began, fear evident in his voice, "This is the Emperor of the Daleks."
"You destroyed us, Doctor." the Emperor boomed, "The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive."
"I get it." the Doctor said.
"Do not interrupt!" a Dalek screeched, and two more repeated the cry, all of them sounding like a deranged chorus.
The Doctor turned to them. "I think you're forgetting something." he said simply, "I'm the Doctor. And if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's gonna shut up, it's YOU!" he thundered, causing the Daleks to shuffle backwards slightly. The Doctor turned back to the Emperor; "Okey doke, where we we?"
"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding." the Emperor monologued, "Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed, they all came to us. The bodies were filleted, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."
"So, you created an army of Daleks out of the dead." the Doctor glared.
"I always knew Daleks were vile filth, but this is something else!" the Artist sneered in disgust.
"That makes 'em... half-human." Rose remarked, grimacing in disgust at what she'd just heard.
"Those words are blasphemy!" the Emperor roared.
"Do not blaspheme!" the Dalek chorus screeched.
"Everything human has been purged." the Emperor insisted, "I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek."
The Doctor looked around at the Daleks, clearly disturbed. "Since when did Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" he frowned.
"Yeah, that's not typical Dalek beliefs at all." the Artist agreed
"I reached into the dirt and made new life." the Emperor told them, "I am the God of all Daleks!"
"Worship him! Worship him! Worship him!" the Dalek chorus all chanted.
"They've gone crazy." the Artist realised, "Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that'd drive anyone round the bend."
"But it's worse than that." the Doctor agreed, staring intently at the Daleks, walking towards them, even pitying them. "Driven mad by yer own flesh. The stink of humanity." He shook his head. "You hate yer own existence. And that makes 'em more deadly than ever." He turned back to the Emperor. "We're going."
"You may not leave my presence!" the Emperor thundered.
The quartet ignored it and walked towards the TARDIS, none of the Daleks in power to stop them. "Stay where you are!" one demanded.
The Doctor just grinned mockingly at them before closing the door. "Exterminate!" the Daleks chorused and fired fruitlessly at the shielded TARDIS.
Once inside, the Doctor leaned his head against the door while the Artist slumped on the jump seat, her head buried between her knees, the sounds of the Daleks' weapons bringing back the horrible memories of the Time War and the deaths of all the Time Lords' families, friends and colleagues.
———————————————————————————
On the Game Station, Lynda was sitting on floor 500 deep in thought, waiting for the Doctor and the Artist to get back. She perked up when she heard the sound of the TARDIS' engines.
A second later, the Time Lords, Rose and Jack marched out of the box, which had materialised at one end of the floor, Jack carrying the extrapolator in his hands. "Turn everything up." the Doctor ordered, striding up to the controls, "All transmissions, wide open, full power. Now! Do it!"
"What does that do?" Davitch asked as he complied.
"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board." the Doctor answered, "How'd yer get on? Did yer contact Earth?"
"Well, we tried to warn 'em, but all they did was suspend our licence cos' we stopped the programmes." Davitch replied.
"The fools, they've no idea what's coming." the Artist shook her head in disbelief, then noticed that Lynda was still there. "Lynda, what're you still doing here?" She turned to Davitch. "We told you to evacuate everyone."
"She wouldn't go." Davitch told her.
"Didn't wanna leave ya." Lynda smiled, then turned to Rose. "You must be Rose. Nice to meet ya, I'm Lynda Moss." She held out her hand and Rose shook it, a little puzzled but deciding to be polite nevertheless.
"There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here." Nisha said, "We've got about a hundred people stranded on floor zero."
Just then, Davitch noticed something on the screen; "Oh, my god. The fleet is moving. They're on their way." Everyone looked, and sure enough, the Dalek fleet was beginning to move smoothly across space, destination: Earth.
The Doctor rushed over to the computer terminals and began to frantically rip out armfuls of wires from them. The others watched him, not knowing what he was trying to do. "Dalek plan, big mistake, cos' what've they left me with?" he asked quickly, "Anyone? Anyone? Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter, this station. If we can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?"
"Oh, of course!" the Artist realised.
"You've gotta be kidding." Jack exclaimed, also working it out.
"Give'em both a medal!" the Doctor beamed.
"A delta wave?" the Artist and Jack asked in unison.
"A delta wave!" the Doctor confirmed excitedly, and the Artist raced up to help him.
"What's a delta wave?" Rose asked.
"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy." Jack explained, "Fries ya brain. Stand in the way of a delta wave and ya head gets barbequed!"
"And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!" the Doctor grinned.
"Well, get started and do it then!" Lynda exclaimed cheerfully.
"There's just one thing." the Artist spoke up, "A wave this big, a building this big, a genius like the Doctor, should take about three days. How long till the fleet gets here?" she asked the programmers.
Davitch checked his screen. "22 minutes." he reported.
The Doctor turned to the Artist. "Good thing we've got you, then." he said. The Artist had a knack for electronics that surpassed even his, she was just too modest to admit it. And he knew that if anyone could build a delta wave in a shorter time, it was the both of them together.
While the Time Lords worked, Jack plugged the extrapolator into the station's systems and gathered the other humans around a computer. "We've now got a forcefield so they can't blast us out of the sky." Jack told them, "But that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading."
"Do they know about the delta wave?" Davitch asked.
"They'll have worked it out at the same time." Jack replied, "So, if they wanna stop the Doctor and the Artist, that means they'll gotta get to this level, 500." He indicated the diagram on the screen. "Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, 500 to 495. So, they'll penetrate the station below that at level 494 and fight their way up."
"Who're they fighting?" Davitch asked.
"Us."
"And... what're we fighting with?"
"The guards had guns with bastic bullets, that's enough to blow a Dalek wide open."
"There's five of us." Nisha pointed out sceptically.
"Rose, I need ya help." the Artist called from where she was working, "These wires need stripping bare." Rose went off to join her immediately.
"Right, now there's four of us!" Nisha huffed.
"Then let's move it!" Jack said, "Into the lift, isolate the lift controls."
The programmers rushed off to do so, while Lynda approached the Time Lords. "I, I just wanna say, um... thanks, I s'pose." she said, "And... I'll do my best."
"Us too." the Doctor replied. They rather awkwardly tried to decide on the best way of saying goodbye, eventually setting on a handshake. They both laughed embarrassedly, then Lynda hurried off, not noticing Rose glaring absolute daggers after her.
"And you can wipe that look off ya face, Rose." the Artist said, not looking up from her work, "Lynda's not replacing you. There's room for both of you in the TARDIS."
'If we survive this.' she thought to herself.
"Sorry." Rose mumbled and went back to work stripped a wire.
Jack approached the trio and stood before them, ready to say his goodbyes. "It's been fun!" he said, trying to keep it light, then went serious; "But I guess this is goodbye."
"Don't talk like that." Rose told him, "They're gonna do it. Just you watch 'em."
"Rose.." Jack cupped her face in both of his hands and looked her intently in the eyes. "You are worth fighting for." He gave her a small kiss and turned to the Artist. "And so are you, Biker Girl." He hugged the Time Lady.
"Good luck, Flirt Boy." the Artist smiled, hugging him back, "Do us proud."
"You bet I will." Jack smirked and turned to the Doctor. "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward." Both men shook hands and Jack made to leave. "See ya in hell." he grinned and went on his way.
The trio watched him leave, before Rose turned to the Time Lords. "He's gonna be alright..." she said, trying to make herself believe it. She received no answer. "Isn't he?"
Still no answer, the Time Lords just got back to work.
———————————————————————————
Jack was soon standing on a box on floor zero, surrounded by stranded contestants who were babbling away in panic. He fired a few shots in the air, silencing everyone. "One last time." he said, "Any volunteers?" Deadly silence. "There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to mount a defence!"
Rodrick pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Don't listen to him!" he said arrogantly, "There aren't any Daleks. They disappeared thousands of years ago!"
Not everyone shared his scepticism. The floor manager from The Weakest Link stepped forward to join Lynda, the programmers and the station's security guards, as did a few more contestants. "Thanks." Jack nodded to them and turned to the others, "As for the rest of you... the Daleks will enter the station at floor 494 and as far as I can tell they'll head up, not down. But that's not a promise. So here's a few words of advice; keep quiet. And if ya hear fighting up above... if you hear us dying... then tell me that the Daleks aren't real." He glared pointedly at Rodrick. "Don't make a sound." He turned to his volunteers. "Let's go." He jumped off the box and headed towards the lift, accompanied by his eight volunteers. They all bundled inside the lift and the doors closed.
———————————————————————————
The Doctor, the Artist and Rose were now the only people left on floor 500. Rose was stripped wires and handing them to the Artist, who soldered them into new positions with her sonic, while the Doctor tinkered with some parts. After a few minutes of working in a companionable silence, Rose spoke up; "Suppose..." But she didn't finish her sentence.
"What?" the Doctor asked after a moment.
"Nothing." Rose shook her head.
"No it isn't." the Artist said, "You were gonna say something."
"No, I was just thinking..." Rose began, "I mean, obviously ya can't, but... you've got a time machine. Why can't ya just go back to last week and warn 'em?"
"Soon as the TARDIS lands in that second, we become part of events." the Doctor replied, not looking up from his work, "Stuck in the timeline."
"Yeah, thought it'd be something like that." Rose sighed and went back to work.
"There's another thing the TARDIS could do..." the Doctor said, "It could take us away... We could leave. Let history take it's course. We could go to Marbella in 1989."
"Yeah, but you two would never do that." Rose smiled softly.
"No, but you could ask." the Artist pipped in. "Never even occurred to you, did it?" she smiled.
"Well, I'm just too good." Rose shrugged.
They carried on working for a moment, then the computer whirred in the background, attracting the Doctor's attention. "The delta wave's started building." he said, getting to his feet, "How long does it need?" He got to his feet and rushed over to the computers to find out. Rose followed him, while the Artist carried on with her work. The Doctor plonked himself on one of the chairs while Rose peered over his shoulder. He pressed a few buttons, stared at the monitor, then his face fell.
"Is that bad?" Rose asked. The Doctor didn't answer, his head sunk to his knees. "Okay, it's bad." Rose nodded "How bad is it?"
The Doctor suddenly perked up and leapt to his feet, eyes bright. "Rose Tyler, you're a genius!" he said gleefully and kissed Rose on the forehead, "We can do it! If we use the TARDIS to cross our own timelines... yes!" He shot off towards the TARDIS, Rose close behind.
The Artist watched them with heavy hearts. She knew what the Doctor was really doing.
The Doctor and Rose hurried over to the TARDIS console. "Hold that down and keep position." the Doctor instructed, indicating a lever.
"What's it do?" Rose asked.
"Cancels the buffers." the Doctor replied, looking busy at the computer, "If I'm very clever, and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant, I might just save the world. Or rip it apart..."
"I'd go for the first one." Rose said, holding the lever down as instructed.
"Me too." the Doctor replied, "Now, just gotta go and fetch Artist. Hold on!" He ran out of the TARDIS, full of energy.
The door shut behind him and then he stopped. He turned slowly round to look at the TARDIS, his face now sad. The Artist came up beside him and took his hand. What the Doctor was about to do was killing them both, but they knew it had to be done.
The Doctor raised his sonic and aimed it at the TARDIS.
———————————————————————————
Inside the box, the engines groaned into life and the rotor started to rise and fall. "Doctor, what're ya doing?" a startled Rose yelled in the direction of the doors, "Can I take my hand off? It's moving." She abandoned the lever and ran to the doors. "Doctor, Artist, let me out!" she shrieked frantically, hammering on the doors, "Let me out! Doctor, what've ya done?!"
———————————————————————————
Outside, the Time Lords watched solemnly as the box they called home dematerialised into nothingness, taking their friend with it. They gave each other sad smiles and went back to work.
———————————————————————————
Rose continued to pound helplessly on the doors as the TARDIS flew through the Time Vortex by itself. Suddenly, a pair of holograms appeared in front of the console, one of the Doctor, the other the Artist.
"This is emergency Program One." the holo-Doctor said, "Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can mean only one thing." Rose stared wide-eyed at the holograms. "We must be in danger and I mean fatal. We're both dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape."
"No!" Rose cried, lunging forwards.
"And that's okay, everything must die in the end." the holo-Artist spoke up, "But we promised we'd look after you and that's what we're doing. The TARDIS is taking you home."
"I won't let ya!" Rose protested, stopping at the top of the ramp.
"And I bet yer fussing and moaning now, typical." the holo-Doctor said, "But hold on and just listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for us. Emergency Program One means we're facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine."
"So this is what we want you to do." the holo-Artist took over, "Let the TARDIS die. Just lock the door, walk away and let her gather dust. No one can open her, no one will even notice her, she'll just be a funny little thing in the corner of the eye that everyone will ignore. And over the years, the world will move on and the TARDIS will be buried and forgotten about. And if you wanna remember us, then ya can do one thing. That's all, just this one thing..." The hologram stepped forward, her eyes full of compassion. "Have a good life."
The holo-Doctor stepped forward too, his eyes also full of compassion. "Do that for us, Rose. Have a Fantastic life." he finished. Both holograms smiled and flickered off into nothingness.
Rose stared for a moment. "You can't do this to me." she burst out, striding to the console, "You can't!" She started slamming down every available button and lever. "Take me back!" she yelled in desperation, "TAKE ME BACK!"
But the TARDIS was locked on course and Rose's meddling did nothing. The engines eventually died down and ground to a halt. Rose ran across the room, flung open the doors and rushed outside to find herself on a street near the Powell Estate on a grey and dismal day.
She ran back inside, refusing to accept what was happening. "Come on, fly." she raged, rattling the controls, "How d'ya fly? C'mon, HELP ME!" But to no avail.
Mickey Smith raced down the road towards the TARDIS just as a dejected Rose stepped out. "I knew it!" Mickey said, striding towards her, "I was all the way down Clifton Parade, and I heard the engines and I thought 'there's only one thing that makes a noise like that.'" As he got closer, he realised that Rose was in tears. "What is it?" he asked, concerned. Despite what she'd put him through, he still cared about her.
Rose didn't reply, she just threw her arms around him and clung to him tightly, sobbing.
———————————————————————————
Back on the Game Station, the Doctor and the Artist were both busy working when Jack contacted them over the intercom; "Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen, can ya read 'em out to me?"
"She's not here." the Doctor said plainly.
"Of all the times to take a leak!" Jack commented, "When she gets back, tell her to read me the codes."
"She's not coming back." the Artist sighed.
"What d'ya mean? Where'd she go?" a wrong-footed Jack asked.
"Just get on with yer work." the Doctor said bluntly.
"You took her home, didn't you?" Jack realised.
"We had to." the Artist answered.
Jack nodded his understanding, realising just how hopeless their situation was. "The delta wave... is it ever gonna be ready?"
Before either Time Lord could answer, a familiar booming voice interrupted; "Tell the truth, Time Lords." The Doctor and the Artist looked up to see the Dalek Emperor on screen. "There is every possibility that the delta wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The delta wave must kill every living thing in it's path, with no distinction between Human and Dalek. All things will die. By your hands." it sneered.
"Doctor, Arty... the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth." Jack pointed out.
"You would destroy Daleks and Humans together." the Emperor gloated, "If I am god, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Time Lords?"
"You are not a god!" the Artist snapped, "There's human colonies out there among the cosmos. The human race will survive regards of what happens on Earth. But you're the only Daleks in existence."
"The whole universe is in danger if we let you live." the Doctor agreed. "D'yer see, Jack? That's the decision we've gotta make for every living thing. Die as a Human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?" he appealed to his friend.
Jack thought for a moment. "You sent her home. She's safe. Keep working."
"But they will exterminate you!" the Emperor pointed out.
"Never doubted 'em, never will." Jack grinned.
The two Time Lords smiled at their friend's loyalty and trust, then the Doctor got up and strode across to the screen; "Now, you tell me, 'God of all Daleks', cos' there's one thing we never worked out. The words 'Bad Wolf', spread across time and space. Everywhere, drawing us in. How'd yer manage that?"
"I did nothing." the Emperor replied.
"Oh, come on." the Doctor scoffed, "There's no secrets now, yer worship."
"There are not part of my design." the Emperor insisted, "This is the truth of god."
The screen shut off and the Doctor raised his eyes to where 'Bad Wolf Corporation' was written in huge letters high on the wall.
———————————————————————————
In 2006 London, Rose, Jackie and Mickey were sat in a completely ordinary chip shop, Mickey and Jackie on one side of the table, Rose on the other, gazing out of the window, completely tuning out the conversation.
"And it's gone upmarket, this place." Jackie rambled, "They're doing little tubs of coleslaw now It's not very nice. Tastes a bit sorta clinical."
"Have ya tried that new pizza place on Minto Road?" Mickey asked, shovelling chips into his mouth.
"What's it selling?"
"Pizza."
"Oh, that's nice. Do they deliver?"
"Yeah."
Jackie finally noticed Rose's disinterest; "Oh, Rose, have something to eat..."
Rose finally spoke up, her voice trembling and her eyes not leaving the window; "Two hundred thousand years in the future, they're dying and there's nothing I can do."
"Well, like ya said, 200,000 years, it's way off." Jackie shrugged.
Rose finally looked at them. "But it's not! It's now! That fight is happening right now, and they're fighting for us! For the whole planet, and I'm just sitting here eating chips!"
"Listen to me." Jackie said seriously, "God knows I've hated that man, but right now, I love him, and that girl of his too, and d'ya know why? Because they did the right thing. They sent you back to me." And she went back to her food, considering the matter closed.
"But what do I do every day, Mum?" a desperate Rose ground out, "What do I do? Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home, eat chips and go to bed? Is that it?"
"That's what the rest of us do." Mickey said coldly.
"But I can't!" Rose burst out.
"Why, cos' ya better than us?" Mickey shot back.
"No, I didn't mean that!" Rose wailed in frustration, then took a calming breath. "But it was... it was a better life. And I, I don't mean all the travelling and... seeing aliens and spaceships and things, that don't matter. The Doctor and the Artist showed me a better way of living ya life. You know, they showed you too." she said to Mickey "That ya don't just give up. Ya don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else runs away, and I just can't..." She broke off, unable to carry on. She kicked the table in frustration and stormed out of the shop in despair.
———————————————————————————
On the observation deck of floor 56 of the Game Station, Jack had stationed Lynda on the at a computer terminal. "Right, Lynda, you are my eyes and ears." he told her, "When the Daleks get in, you can follow it on that screen and report it to me."
"Understood." Lynda nodded.
"They'll detect you, but the door's made of hydra combination. Should keep 'em out."
"Should?"
"It's the best I can do." Jack told her, then spoke into his Vortex Manipulator; "How long till the fleet arrives?"
"They've accelerated." Davitch answered.
Jack and Lynda looked out of the window and sure enough, the Dalek fleet came into view, surrounding the station and Earth. "This is it, ladies and gentlemen, we are war!" Jack said and hurried off to take up his position.
———————————————————————————
Hatches opened on the ships and half-a-million Daleks glided out in rows upon rows, some heading for the station, while the rest headed for the unsuspecting Earth below, ready to bring death and destruction on an unimaginable scale.
———————————————————————————
In 2006, Rose was sat staring into space on a bench on a playground near the Powell Estate. Mickey was standing over her. "Ya can't keep thinking about the Doctor and the Artist." he told her.
"But 'ow do I forget 'em?" Rose countered.
"You've gotta start living ya own life. Ya know, a proper life, like the kind they've never had. The sorta live you could have with me." But Rose's attention had already wandered.
She had noticed the words 'Bad Wolf' written in huge letters on the pavement in spray paint. Rose stood up to examine the words closely, then she noticed 'Bad Wolf' graffiti on the playground walls too. "Over here. It's over here as well!" she frowned.
"That's been there for years." Mickey called after her, "It's just a phrase, it's just words."
"I thought it was a warning... maybe it's the opposite." Rose mused, "Maybe it's a message. The same words written down now and 200,000 years in the future. It's a link between me and the Doctor and the Artist. Bad Wolf here... Bad Wolf there!"
"Yeah, but if it's a message, what's it saying?" Mickey asked.
"It's telling me I can get back!" Rose called back, running off, "Least I can do is help 'em escape!"
———————————————————————————
On the Game Station, the volunteers on floor 499 were readying themselves for the inevitable confrontation with the Daleks.
"Stand ya ground everyone." Jack instructed, "Follow my commands... and good luck."
———————————————————————————
On the observation deck of floor 56, Lynda was watching her screen. "You're right!" she said, "They're forcing the airlock on floor 494."
———————————————————————————
All over the station, everyone felt a violent shudder, then rows of Daleks glided smoothly across floor 494 in perfect formation.
———————————————————————————
In 2006 London, Rose and Mickey had returned to the TARDIS. "All the TARDIS needs to do is make a return trip." Rose said, "Just... reverse."
"Yeah, but we still can't do it." Mickey pointed out.
"The Doctor always said the TARDIS is telepathic." Rose told him, "This thing is alive. It can listen."
"It's not listening now, is it?"
"We need to get inside it. Last time I saw you, with the Slitheen, this middle bit opened, and there was this light. The Artist said it was the heart of the TARDIS. If we can open it, we can make contact. I can tell it what to do!"
"Rose, if ya go back, you're gonna die." Mickey said quietly.
"That's a risk I've gotta take." Rose said confidently, "Cos' there's nothing left for me here."
"Nothing?"
"No."
Mickey swallowed hard. It was official, he'd lost Rose forever. All he could do now was swallow his pride and help her. "Okay, if that's what you think..." he said with dignity, "Let's get this thing open."
———————————————————————————
On the Game Station, Lynda was monitoring the Dalek's progress on her screen. She watched the red lights that indicated the Daleks moving slowly down a corridor. "Okay, activate internal lasers." she heard Jack instruct some volunteers over the comms, "Slice 'em up."
"Defences 'ave gone offline." Lynda said nervously, "The Daleks 'ave overridden the lot."
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On floor 494, a row of Daleks moved dangerously down the corridor towards a group of volunteers, the floor manager amongst them. They readied their guns and got into position. They opened fire, but the bullets had absolutely no effect on the Daleks, they just melted away before they even touched the armour.
"YOU LIED TO ME!" the floor manager screamed into her communicator, "THE BULLETS DON'T WORK!"
The Daleks returned fire, exterminating the humans with ease.
———————————————————————————
In 2006 London, Mickey had connected a chain between the panel on the TARDIS console and his Mini. He released the handbrake and drove forward, hoping to pull the panel open.
Rose was standing by the console. "Faster!" she called as the slack on the chain tightened.
Mickey slammed his foot hard down on the accelerator, but the wheels just spun and the panel wouldn't budge. "Come on!" he yelled.
"It's not moving!" Rose called.
Mickey growled with the effort, the chain becoming more and more taught, but still to no avail. The chain shuddered and snapped. Rose yelped in frustration and kicked the console, then leaned down on it, head down in defeat.
———————————————————————————
On the Game Station, Jack had taken up a vantage point on floor 495. "Advance guard have made to 495." Lynda said over the comm.
"Jack, how're we doing?" the Doctor asked.
"495 should be good." Jack answered into his Vortex Manipulator, "I like 495."
Three Daleks glided onto floor 495, suddenly alerted. "Identify yourself!" one demanded to something.
It was the Anne-droid. "You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" it retorted and fired it's transmat beam in quick succession at the Daleks, sending them back to the ship where they belonged.
Jack had seen this from his vantage point. "Yes!" he cheered, punching the air in triumph.
His joy was short-lived however as another Dalek glided onto the floor. The Anne-droid cocked it's head towards it. "You are the weakest link..." it began, but the Dalek fired at it before it could finish and blew it's head off. "Goodbye" the Anne-droid managed to get out before it's power failed.
Jack had no choice but to flee upstairs.
"Proceed to next level." the Dalek ordered two of it's comrades and they glided forwards.
———————————————————————————
Lynda monitored their progress from her post on floor 56. "They've flying up the ventilations shafts!" she warned, the diagram on her screen showing the Daleks doing just that. "No... wait a minute... oh, my god! Why're they doing that? They're going down!"
And indeed, the screen showed a group of Daleks going down to floor zero. All Lynda could do was listen helplessly as the Daleks ruthlessly massacred everyone who was hiding on floor zero. Unable to take any more, she turned the sound off and put a hand to her mouth, fighting back the tears.
She opened communications again. "Floor zero. They killed them all." she sobbed.
———————————————————————————
Rose was slumped on the jump seat in the TARDIS, broken, defeated and staring into space.
"It was never gonna work, sweetheart." Jackie counselled, "And the Doctor and what's-her-name knew that. They just wanted you to be safe."
"I can't give up." Rose muttered.
"Lock the door, walk away." Jackie advised.
"Dad wouldn't give up."
"Well, he's not 'ere, is 'e?" Jackie countered, "And even if he was, he'd say the same."
"No, he wouldn't." Rose shot back, "He'd tell me to try anything. If I could save my friends' lives... try anything."
"Well, we're never gonna know."
"Well, I know. Cos' I met him. I met dad."
"Don't be ridiculous." Jackie said quietly.
"The Doctor and the Artist took me back in time, and I met dad." Rose insisted.
"Don't say that."
"Remember when dad died? There was someone with him. A girl, a blonde girl. She held his hand... You saw her from a distance, Mum! You saw her! Think about it! That was me. You saw me!"
"Stop it." Jackie said abruptly, but Rose was on a roll.
"That's how good the Doctor and the Artist are..."
"Stop it!" Jackie snapped, not wanting to hear this, "Just stop it!" She turned and ran from the TARDIS, leaving Rose sobbing alone.
———————————————————————————
"Lynda, what's happening on Earth?" the Doctor asked as he and the Artist continued to work on the delta wave.
"The fleet's descending." Lynda replied over the comms, "They're bombing whole continents. Europa... Pacifica... the New American Alliance... Australasia's just... gone."
———————————————————————————
Jack hurried onto floor 499, where the remaining volunteers were maintaining position behind their barricade. "Floor 499. We're the last defence." he told them, "The bullets should work if you concentrate them on the Daleks' eyestalks. I've got the forcefield at maximum so the Dalek firepower should be at it's weakest." He took up position with the others.
"I'm only here cos' of you." Davitch remarked to Nisha, "I joined the program cos' you were on it."
"Am I supposed to say, when this is all over and if we're still alive, maybe we could go out for a drink?" Nisha replied.
"That'd be nice."
"Yeah, well, tough."
Davitch looked at her and she winked, indicating that she was just pulling his leg, and they smiled at each other. Then they released the safety catches on their weapons, ready for the impending battle.
———————————————————————————
In 2006 London, Rose and Mickey were leaning against Mickey's car, looking at the TARDIS. "There's gotta be something else we can do." Mickey encouraged.
"Mum was right..." a dejected Rose shook her head, "Maybe we should lock the door and just walk away."
"I'm not having that." Mickey said determinedly, "I'm not having you just... just give up now. No way. We just need something stronger than my car..." His attention was caught by something coming down the road. "Something bigger... something like that!"
Rose looked round to see a huge yellow breakdown lorry coming down the road. The lorry stopped by them and Rose grinned when she saw Jackie hop out of the driver's seat. "Right, you've only got 'til 6:00, so get on with it." Jackie said firmly.
"Mum, where the hell did ya get that from?" Rose asked in amusement.
"Rodrigo, he owes me a favour." Jackie answered, "Never mind why, but you were right about ya Dad, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas, and this is exactly what he would've done." She tossed the keys to Mickey. "Now get on with it before I change my mind."
Mickey nodded his thanks and climbed into the lorry's cab while Rose ran back into the TARDIS.
———————————————————————————
On floor 499 of the Game Station, Jack and the remaining volunteers were waiting behind their barricade as the Daleks arrived. "Open fire!" Jack ordered, and they fired madly at the pepper pots.
———————————————————————————
On floor 500, the Time Lords heard the gunshots as they dashed around, working frantically.
———————————————————————————
Back on floor 499, the Daleks continued to advance, unaffected by the bullets. "It's not working!" Davitch called to Jack.
"Concentrate your fire!" Jack yelled back, "Eyestalk at 2:00!"
Everyone complied, concentrating their fire at the eyestalk of the nearest Dalek. One bullet got though and disabled the Dalek's eyestalk.
"My vison is impaired! I cannot see!" it wailed as it rolled helplessly around.
"We did it!" Nisha cheered, but everyone's joy was short-lived, for then, another Dalek exterminated Nisha.
"No! NOOOOO!" Davitch shouted with rage and stood up, firing madly over the top of the barricade, no longer caring about the consequences. He too was exterminated, while Jack carried on firing, roaring with anger.
———————————————————————————
On the observation deck of floor 56, Lynda's computer was beeping in warning. "I've got a problem..." she breathed, looking uneasily at the door.
"Human female detected." a Dalek's voice sounded from the other side.
"They've found me." Lynda trembled.
"You'll be alright, Lynda." the Doctor reassured her over the comm, "That side of the station's reinforced against meteors."
"Hope so. Ya know what they say about Earth workmanship." Lynda chuckled nervously.
Then, a flame appeared through the door. The Daleks were trying to cut through. There was worse to come.
Something in the corner of Lynda's eye caught her attention and she turned round to see three Daleks hovering into view outside. The dome lights on the head of one of the Daleks flashed four times, indicating four syllables... and it fired.
———————————————————————————
On floor 500, the Time Lords heard glass shattering and Lynda screaming. They knew what that meant; the Daleks had killed her. The Time Lords looked at each other in shock, tears in the Artist's eyes.
Then Jack's voice came over the comm. "Last man standing!" he yelled, "For god's sake, guys, finish that thing and kill them!"
Then the Dalek Emperor appeared on screen. "Finish that thing and kill mankind." it taunted.
"OH, SHUT UP, YA DERANGED SQUID!" the Artist roared and threw a tool at the screen, which just straight through the hologram. She took a calming breath and went back to work.
———————————————————————————
Rose had attached the breakdown lorry's chain to the panel on the TARDIS console and she watched as the chain stretched and stretched. "Keep going!" she shouted to Jackie, who was standing just outside.
"Put ya foot down!" Jackie called to Mickey.
Mickey slammed his foot hard down on the accelerator pedal and the lorry's powerful engine roared.
"Faster!" Rose called again.
"Give it some more, Mickey!" Jackie encouraged.
The TARDIS panel began to creak. "Keep going!" Rose urged.
"Come on, come on!" Jackie hollered.
The chain became more and more taught, the metal creaking in protest. Then, success!
The lorry jerked forward as the panel popped open and a blinding white-yellow light poured out. Rose stepped forward to look into the light and it began to flow into her eyes in two golden streams.
Mickey leapt out of the lorry. "Rose!" he yelled, rushing towards the TARDIS, but the doors slammed shut before he could reach it.
Both Jackie and Mickey could only watch as the TARDIS dematerialised before their eyes, taking Rose with her.
———————————————————————————
On floor 500 of the Game Station, Jack ran backwards down a corridor, shooting vainly at the Daleks advancing on him. "GUYS, YOU'VE GOT 20 SECONDS MAXIMUM!" he yelled into his Vortex Manipulator.
As he reached the end of the corridor, his rifle ran out of ammo, so he tossed it aside and produced a pistol. He fired at the Daleks, but to no avail. The evil pepper pots continued to advance, untouched by the bullets until finally the gun clicked, empty, and Jack was backed up against the wall, unarmed and surrounded by three Daleks. He faced them squarely, defiantly, ready to accept his fate.
"Exterminate!" the lead Dalek bellowed.
"I kinda figured that." Jack retorted and opened his arms, ready.
The Dalek fired and Jack slumped down against the wall.....dead.
———————————————————————————
The Artist quickly soldered the last few wires in position, while the Doctor pulled up a plunger on the device they'd rigged up to trigger the delta wave. "It's ready!" the Doctor cried and looked up as Daleks began to file into the room.
They advanced on the Time Lords, surrounding them as they stood their ground by the plunger.
"You really wanna think about this." the Doctor said, "Cos' if I activate the signal, every living creature dies."
"I am immortal." the Emperor sneered on the screen.
"Ya wanna bet?" the Artist retorted.
"I want to see you both become like me." the Emperor shot back, "Hail the Time Lords, the Great Exterminators!"
"I'll do it!" the Doctor snapped, placing his hands on the plunger.
"Then prove yourself, Doctor. What are you: coward or killer?"
The Doctor's hands were tense on the plunger. He was shaking, his face screwed up in pain. Then, his hands slipped off. "Coward. Any day." he sighed.
"And what are YOU?" the Emperor goaded the Artist.
"Coward." she sighed, bowing her head.
"Mankind will be harvested because of YOUR weaknesses." the Emperor gloated.
"And what about us?" the Doctor asked, "Are we becoming two of your angels?"
"You are the heathens. You will both be exterminated."
"Maybe it's time." the Doctor said in defeat. He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate, while the Artist stood in front of the plunger and looked the Daleks right in the eyestalks, silently daring them to fire. She was standing in such a position that if they shot her, she'd fall on the plunger and trigger the wave, so the Daleks would wipe themselves out. Of course, all life on Earth would be wiped out too, but that would be an act of mercy compared to what the Daleks would do to humanity.
Suddenly, the familiar wheezing and groaning of the TARDIS broke the stalemate. "Alert! TARDIS materialising!" a Dalek cried.
The Doctor's eyes snapped open and he and the Artist spun round in shock to see the box appear at the same spot where she had left.
"You will not escape!" the Emperor roared.
The TARDIS' doors flew open to reveal Rose standing there, bathed in blinding white-yellow light. She stepped forward, revealing her eyes glowing the same colour. "What've yer done?!" the Doctor cried, stumbling backwards.
"I looked into the TARDIS." Rose answered, her normal working-class London accent replaced by received English. "And the TARDIS looked into me."
"You looked into the Time Vortex!" the Artist exclaimed in horror, "Rose, no human's meant to see that!"
"This is the abomination!" the Emperor cried.
"Exterminate!" a Dalek cried and fired at Rose, who held up her hand. The bolt froze and reversed back into the Dalek's gun. The Time Lords watched in amazement, then looked intensely at Rose.
"I am the Bad Wolf." she announced, "I create myself. I take the words..." She waved her hand at the Bad Wolf Corporation sign on the wall. "I scatter them in time and space." The letters floated away. "A message to lead myself here."
"Rose, yer've got to stop this. Yer've got to stop this now!" the Doctor urged, "You've got the entire Vortex running through yer head. Yer gonna burn!"
"I want you both safe." Rose answered, "My friends. Protected from the false god."
"You cannot hurt me!" the Emperor snarled, "I am immortal!"
"You are tiny!" Rose retorted, "I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She raised her hand and the Dalek in the centre of the room dissolved into golden particles. "Everything must come to dust... all things." Rose announced, "Everything dies." She looked to the side, and the Daleks lined there were reduced to golden particles too. "The Time War ends."
"I will not die!" the Emperor roared in fear, "I cannot die!" But it could. The entire Dalek fleet was reduced to golden particles, dissolving away into oblivion.
"Rose, you've done it. Now stop!" the Artist hollered, "Just let go!"
"How can I let go of this?" Rose said blissfully, "I bring life..." She held up her hand and the Time Lords felt Jack take a huge intake of breath as his eyes snap open, his existence becoming a fixed point in time.
"But this is wrong!" the Doctor cried, "You can't control life and death!"
Rose looked at him. "But I can. The sun and the moon... the day and night." Her voice trembled. "But why do they hurt?"
"The power's killing you and it's my fault." the Artist said sadly, cursing herself for not putting a safeguard on the TARDIS. She should've known that Rose wouldn't just take being sent home lightly and do something rash.
"I can see everything." Rose continued, a tear falling down her cheek, "All that is... all that was... all that ever could be."
"That's what we see." the Doctor said understandingly, "All the time. Doesn't it drive yer mad?"
"My head..." Rose whimpered, "It's killing me."
"It'll be alright, Rose." the Artist said and moved to approach the blonde, but the Doctor stopped her.
"Let me." he said and turned to Rose; "I think you need a Doctor."
The Doctor and Rose stepped slowly around to face each other. The Doctor put his hands on Rose's temples and the Time Vortex flowed out of her eyes and into his. Rose blinked, her eyes back to their normal tawny, before they fluttered closed and she passed out in the Doctor's arms. He carefully passed her to the Artist then turned to face the TARDIS, his eyes now glowing. He exhaled slowly and the Time Vortex was expelled from his mouth and it streamed back through the doors and into the TARDIS console. The panel slammed shut and the doors closed quietly.
The Doctor stepped back, his eyes back to their normal blue. The Artist approached him, Rose in her arms. "Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.
"No, but I will be." he answered, "Get Rose inside. I'll just get the extrapolator and we'll go. No point in sticking around."
———————————————————————————
Groaning and wincing, Jack stood. He staggered forward and noticed the piles of dust on the floor where the Daleks had been. He knelt down and ran his hands though one of the piles in confusion. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the TARDIS' engines groaning to life and rushed off as fast as he could. He arrived in the control room just in time to see the TARDIS fade away, leaving him stranded. He stared after her, hurt and confused.
———————————————————————————
Inside the TARDIS, Rose awoke to find herself lying on the console room floor next to the console, where the Doctor and the Artist were working as usual. "What happened?" Rose asked, feeling very disorientated.
"Don't you remember?" the Artist asked her cautiously.
"It's like..." Rose sat up, rubbing her sore head. "There was this singing..."
"That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away." the Doctor said cheerily.
"I was at home..." Rose began, struggling to remember, "No, I wasn't, I was in the TARDIS, and..."
Unseen by Rose, the Doctor glanced down at his hand. The veins shimmered with a golden light for a few seconds, and then it was gone. The Artist saw it and knew exactly what was coming now.
"I can't remember anything else..." Rose frowned.
The Doctor turned to her. "Rose Tyler." He gave a small laugh. "We were gonna take yer to so many places. Barcelona, not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place, they've got dogs with no noses." He and the Artist both laughed at that, while Rose giggled, half rolling her eyes. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny!"
"Then, why can't we go?" Rose asked.
"Maybe yer will, and maybe I will. But not like this." the Doctor replied, his expression growing sombre.
"You're not making sense." Rose said, getting to her feet.
"I might never make sense again." the Doctor retorted lightly, "I might have two heads. Or no head!" He laughed at that. "Imagine me with no head! And don't say that's an improvement." he said to the Artist.
"I wasn't gonna." she retorted
The Doctor turned back to Rose and became serious again; "But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what yer gonna end up with..." He suddenly jolted backwards with a burst of golden light and clutched his stomach as if he'd been punched.
"Doctor!" Rose yelled, rushing forward, but the Artist held a hand out to stop her.
"No, Rose, you have to stay back." she warned.
"Tell me what's going on." Rose said nervously.
"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex and no one's meant to do that." the Doctor told her, trying to keep his tone light despite being in pain, "Every cell in my body's dying."
"Can't you do something?!" a horrified Rose gasped.
"Yeah, he's about to do it now." the Artist told her, "You see, us Time Lords have a little trick, a way of cheating death, except..."
"It means I'm gonna change." the Doctor took over, "And I'm not gonna see either of yer again, Not like this. Not with this daft old face." He gave a small laugh, not wanting to scare Rose. "And before I go..."
"Don't say that!" Rose protested, upset.
"Rose..." the Doctor cut her off, and she backed down, listening. "Before I go, I just wanna tell yer, you were fantastic." He smiled at her proudly. "Absolutely fantastic." He turned to the Artist. "Oh, Artist, you've been by my side these past 50 years, the light to my darkness. Thank you." he told her, "Thank you for being there for me. I'm so glad I have you." And he promptly kissed the Time Lady on the forehead.
"Me too." the Artist smiled, blushing slightly, then she moved to stand by Rose.
"And d'yer know something else?" the Doctor called, "I was fantastic too." And he gave both woman that cheeky grin of his for one last time, before he suddenly threw his head back and his arms out and orange energy exploded from his skin, blasting out of the neck his jumper, the sleeves of his jacket and the bottoms of his trousers.
The Artist pulled Rose behind a Y-beam for safety, both of them shielding their eyes from the intense glare of the energy. They both watched as the energy died away to reveal a different man standing in the Doctor's place and wearing his clothes. Gone was the familiar big-eared Northerner and in his place was a tall, thin man in his early thirties with spiky brown hair and brown eyes.
The man looked surprised for a moment, then turned to look at the women. "Hello!" he said, his accent a London one like Rose's, "Okay, ooh... new teeth. That's weird. So, where were we? Oh, that's right, Barcelona!"
Rose just stared at him with undisguised shock while the Artist studied him calmly, completely unfazed. The man grinned at them both, looking happy as could be.