The Doctor heard the sound of the death ray and tore the earpiece off. There was a stunned silence in Van Statten's office. "I killed her,"
"Doctor, I'm so sorry," Rose told him
"I told the Jedi order I'd protect her. She was only here because of me." He turned to Van Statten "I could've killed that Dalek in its cell. But you stopped me,"
"It was the prize of my collection!"
Rose became furious at his words "Your collection? But was it worth it? Worth all those men's deaths? Worth Tia?" There was silence in the room before the Doctor continued
"Let me tell you something, Van Statten. Mankind goes into space to explore. To be part of something greater,"
"Exactly!" Van Statten exclaimed as he stood in enthusiasm "I wanted to touch the stars!"
"You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt. And label them. You're about as far from the stars as you can get," The Doctor told him contemptuously, full of hate. His face, contorted with fury suddenly softened into a sad, grief-stricken expression "And you took her down with you." he stared into space "She was seventeen years old,"
***
Tiaalen had her eyes closed, ready for the Dalek to kill her. The Dalek approached but did nothing. It just stared at her as Tia opened her eyes cautiously and looked around. "Go on then, kill me." The Dalek was silent. "Why are you doing this?" Tiaalen asked angrily.
"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose," The Dalek said
"They're all dead because of you!"
"They are dead because of us,"
Tia was shaken into a short silence. "And now what?" she asked, "What're you waiting for?"
"I feel your fear,"
Tiaalen clenched her fists "What do you expect?!"
"Daleks do not fear. Must not fear," it shot its death ray wildly at the wall either side of Tia.
***
The Doctor rounded on Adam as he stepped out of the lift into Van Statten's office. "You were quick on your feet, leaving Tiaalen behind,"
"I'm not the one who sealed the vault!" Adam said indignantly.
Rose stepped between the two "It's not Adam's fault, Doctor. She pushed me through the bulkhead because I wasn't going to make it. It's my fault,"
The screen sprung into life. It showed Tia standing by the Dalek's side. "Open the bulkhead or the Jedi dies,"
The Doctor took a few steps towards the screen, an expression of joy and relief breaking onto his face. "You're alive!" he exclaimed
"Can't get rid of me," Tiaalen told him
"I thought you were dead,"
"Open the bulkhead!" The Dalek ordered
"Don't do it!" Tia shouted
"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"
The Doctor was stunned. He turned to Rose, who was looking at him, shocked. "I killed her once." he went to the computer "I can't-do it again," he hit the return key.
***
The bulkhead opened and the Dalek and Tiaalen slowly went through it.
***
"What do we do now?" Van Statten asked desperately "You bleeding heart, what the hell do we do?"
The Doctor stared at him wordlessly.
"Kill it when it gets here!" Adam exclaimed
"All the guns are useless," Goddard explained "and the alien weapons are in the vault,"
Rose turned to Adam "Only the cataloged ones," she noted.
Van Statten turned to Adam, eyebrows raised. Adam looked back at him apologetically.
***
The Doctor was in Adam's workshop, going through a basket of Adam's un-cataloged weapons. "Broken," he noted as he took one out and chucked it aside, took another. "Broken." chucked it aside, took another "Hairdryer,"
"Mr. Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff, and when he does he wipes their memory. I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day," Adam explained
"What, you in a fight?" The Doctor snorted
"I'd like to see that," Rose murmured
"What's he gonna do, throw his A-Levels at 'em?" The Doctor asked as he found a suitable weapon "Oh, yes. Lock and load,"
***
Tia and the Dalek were in the lift going up to Van Statten's office. The atmosphere was very tense. Tiaalen watched the Dalek's exterminator arm twitch slightly. "I'm begging you, don't kill them, you didn't kill me,"
The Dalek spun its eyepiece around to look at Tia so fast she had to duck out of the way to avoid her eye poked out. "But why not? Why are you alive? My function is to kill. What am I? What am I?"
The lift door opened and Van Statten was standing there, waiting "Don't move!" Tiaalen told him "Don't do anything, it's beginning to question itself,"
The Dalek advanced on Van Statten "Van Statten. You tortured me. Why?"
Van Statten backed away, terrified "I wanted to help you, I just...I don't know, I, I was just trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you...I wanted you better, I'm sorry." The Dalek still advanced, backing him against the wall "I'm sorry!" Van Statten exclaimed his voice rising shrilly "I swear! I just wanted you to talk!"
"Then hear me talk now. Exterminate! Exterminate!" Van Statten winced "Exterminate!"
Having enough Tia threw her hand out stopping the Dalek "Don't do it! Don't kill him!" The Dalek spun to face her. Tiaalen looked right into its eyepiece. "You don't have to do this anymore. There must be something else. Not just killing...what else is there? What d'you want?"
The Dalek turned back to Van Statten. Then back to Tia. "I want freedom,"
***
The Doctor ran up the stairs, holding the alien weapon, Rose following closely behind.
***
Tiaalen and the Dalek were on floor 01 in the base. The Dalek fired its death ray at the ceiling, making a hole through which the sunlight flooded, shining on the Dalek. "You're out. You made it." Tia smiled "Never thought I'd see the sunlight again,"
"How...does...it...feel?" The Dalek asked
Before an astonished Rose, the Dalek opened up it's casing to reveal the mutated creature inside. It stretched its feelers out to the sunlight. Tiaalen gazed at it until a voice behind her made her jump. "Get out of the way." The Doctor said. He was holding the gun, pointing it at the Dalek. Tia glared at him. She didn't move. "Tiaalen, get out of the way, now!"
"No! 'Cos I won't let you do this!" Tia growled
"That thing killed hundreds of people,"
"It's not the one pointing the gun at me,"
"I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left,"
"And that makes you no better than them or the Sith!" Tiaalen shouted "Just look at it," she stood aside and gestured to the Dalek who was feeling the sunlight.
"What's it doing?" Rose asked
"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants!"
"But it can't..." The Doctor said, his voice shaking.
"It couldn't kill Van Statten, it couldn't kill me, it's changing. What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?"
The Doctor finally lowered the gun. He looked completely lost. "I couldn't...I wasn't..." he looked at the Dalk, then back at Tiaalen "Oh, Tiaalen. They're all dead,"
"Why do we survive?" The Dalek asked
"I don't know," Tia whispered
"I am the last of the Daleks,"
"You're not even that." The Doctor told it "Rose did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You're mutating,"
"Into what?"
"Something new. I'm sorry,"
"Isn't that better?" Rose asked
"Not for a Dalek,"
"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness..." The Dalek turned to Rose "...Rose...give me orders!" Order me to die," It closed its eye. The Doctor looked from the Dalek to Rose
Rose shook her head "I can't-do that,"
"This is not life. This is sickness,"
Rose's face contorted with pity and disgust.
"I shall not be like you. I order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!"
Tia took a step towards the Dalek "Do it,"
The Dalek turned towards her "Are you frightened, Jedi?"
"Yeah,"
"So am I. Exterminate,"
Tiaalen stumbled backward and ran to the Doctor's side as the Dalek replaced its armor. It levitated into the air and the golden knobs detached themselves to surround the Dalek in a perfect sphere. The Dalek glowed briefly, and then exploded inside the sphere, vanishing into nothing. The Doctor stared at the place where it disappeared, stunned.
***
Tiaalen walked over to the Doctor who was standing by the TARDIS. The Doctor had his hand on it, looking up at it pensively.
"Little piece of home," The Doctor said sadly.
"Better than nothing," Tia told him causing him to look at her sadly. "Is that the end of it? The Time War?"
"I'm the only one left. I win. How about that,"
"The Dalek survived...maybe some of your people did too,"
"Would you know if your people survived..." The Doctor pointed out
"I'd know." she nodded "In here." she gestured to her head "Feels like there's no one,"
"Good thing I'm not going anywhere," The Doctor told her putting a hand on her shoulder, but she only shrugged it off heading into the TARDIS. "Yeah,"
Adam and Rose jogged up "We'd better get out. Van Statten's disappeared...they're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement! Like it never existed!"
"About time," Rose told him.
"I'll have to go back home,"
"Better hurry up then. Next flight to Heathrow leaves at 1500 hours," The Doctor told him
"Adam was saying that all his life he's wanted to see the stars..." Rose hinted
"Tell him to go and stand outside, then,"
"He's all on his own, Doctor. And he did help,"
"He left Tiaalen down there!"
"So did you," Rose pointed out.
"What're you talking about?" Adam asked the duo "We've got to leave!"
"Rose, he's a bit pretty," The Doctor told Rose.
"I hadn't noticed." Rose said innocently "Besides he's not for me,"
The Doctor raised his eyebrows skeptically and turned to the TARDIS "On your own head,"
"What're you doing?" Adam asked "She said 'cement'. She wasn't joking, we're going to get sealed in."
Both the Doctor and Rose disappeared into the TARDIS, leaving Adam standing outside.
"Doctor?" Adam asked, sounding genuinely concerned for their sanity "What're you doing standing inside a box?" Adam paused "Rose?" He peered through the doors and stepped inside. The engines started up and the TARDIS dematerialized.