Regeneration of Fate - Chapter 8: I am the Doctor! - Journey's End Part 7

Dalek Caan was a strange little creature. Declared an abomination by the Supreme Dalek, he was in fact the only reason why everything here today was possible. Without him, Davros would not have survived the Time War. And there would be no New Dalek Empire, no stolen planets, no Reality Bomb. Not only that, but he was the last Dalek left from the pre-Time War era, before Gallifrey's destruction had wiped out the remaining Daleks in one humungous inferno…

At this very moment, he squirmed and giggled insanely – something no true Dalek would ever do. To express this much emotion pretty much made him an outcast. And what a switch this was; first he was a member of the Cult of Skaro, then its leader and Dalek Sec's human transformation made him more human, to the last Dalek alive, and now this. He couldn't remember what turned him insane. His only memories that mattered to him right now was when he had fallen back in time to the Time War and received visions of the future.

That predicted future was of course, now the present. The prophecies he had unveiled to Davros had transpired exactly as he had foreseen, and now the final countdown to the detonation the Reality Bomb was at hand…

The sound of the intercom reached its highest point, when the Supreme Dalek droned; "THREE! TWO! ONE!"

The entire Vault suddenly shuddered – sparks flew from the roof much to everyone's surprise and a thunderous explosion sounded, causing alarms to blare uncontrollably. Just what had happened?!

In the background, Caan didn't stop giggling monstrously despite this unexpected change of events.

"SYSTEM ERROR! REALITY BOMB FUNCTIONALITY IMPAIRED!" Reported a lone Dalek, its domed head swinging around to face a bewildered Davros.

Not too long after, nearly every single control panel in the Vault suddenly sparked as well – something had caused their circuitry to malfunction!

"DAMAGE LEVELS INCREASING! MALFUNCTIONS REPORTED FROM ALL ACROSS THE CRUCIBLE!" Another Dalek reported, frantically moving away from the burning controls it had been working at.

To the amusement of the Doctor and his companions, the Supreme Dalek's speech from the intercom indicated that he was receiving the exact same reports; "EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN!"

Everyone else in the Vault, including the Meta-Crisis Doctor stared at the raggedy Doctor, whose smile had finally returned. He didn't seem quite sure what had happened either, but anything that gave hope to their situation was more than enough for him.

"And we're off!" The scruffy-haired Time Lord yelled triumphantly, just before the spotlights above every prisoner in the Vault faded alongside their holding cells.

Not wasting any time, most of the prisoners ran to each other's arms; Jackie especially hugged her daughter with immense relief, while Jack and Mickey knocked knuckles. Donna on the other hand, beamed at the brand-new Doctor even though she was confused about how this had happened.

"ENERGY FAILURE!" One agitated Dalek realised. "LEVELS TOO LOW TO SUPPORT HOLDING CELLS!"

"What-…." Rattled Davros, totally shocked at this sudden new advantage for the Doctor. "What have you done?!"

As the Doctor and his Meta-Crisis duplicate rushed towards the nearest Dalek workstation that was still functioning, Caan's giggles could still be heard. Looking from the crazed Dalek mutant to Davros, the Time Lord finally replied; "That's your problem, Davros. You don't look at every detail – everything and everyone is important! You thought Sarah and the others were going to use that Warp Star to destroy the Crucible. But you didn't realise that if connected to the right circuitry, I could just channel the energy into the Dalekanium interface, blowing the whole the system to smithereens. No system, no Reality Bomb!"

Furious beyond words, Davros shouted to one of his Dalek servants; "Exterminate them!"

But before they could even get close, the Daleks suddenly lost control of themselves, as they came in contact with the energy too!

"WEAPON NON-FUNCTIONAL! ARGHH….LOSS OF CONTROL!" Cried one of the metallic monstrosities as it began to spin in circles.

The meta-crisis Doctor was astonished; "How did you do that?!"

Grinning like a naughty schoolboy, the Eleventh Doctor gave a wink in Amy's direction as the red-head Scot stood up with a less dazed Rory and then explained; "I studied some of the Dalek controls back on the Saucer, then I just worked how to apply the same technique here!"

"Brilliant!" His predecessor lit up. "Now what's our next move?"

About to flick some switches, the scruffy-haired Doctor replied; "We send those 27 planets right back home! Activate Magnetron!"

Not about to watch the culmination of his genius fall to pieces for good, Davros glided forwards in his half-Dalek chair with immense determination and feral fury; "You will stop! Stop this at once!"

But unbeknownst to the Kaled Scientist, Captain Jack had anticipated his continued resistance to evil-scheme foiling and had collected both his defabricator weapon and Rose's giant laser gun from the refurbished TARDIS. Throwing the latter to Mickey, he kept on eye on every Dalek in the Vault.

Meanwhile, Rose's ex-boyfriend soon rushed up Davros, blocking the insane villain's path as he swung the gun's aim in his direction; "You stay right where you are, mister."

"Outta the way!" Jack yelled, as he joined in shoving Daleks with everyone else around the Vault.

What a seismic shift in tone the entire atmosphere of the Vault had witnessed; from desperate fear and regret to grins and laughter, such as that exemplified in Sarah Jane's friendly reunion with Rose – "Good to see you again!" "Oh you too!"

Even Martha and Donna had teamed up to create more panic among the Daleks, barely preventing themselves from laughing. Plus, Amy with a now recovered Rory began playing around with one Dalek's eyestalk, agitating it even further as tried to fire its weapon but to no avail. Jackie, on the other hand, felt more obligated to watch everything play out before her – though she understood how much of a threat the Daleks were, at this moment she saw them as a bit pathetic.

And while this was all going on, the Doctors had been busy flicking away at countless switches on the Dalek workstation, right up until they could now set the Magnetron to send the planets back to their rightful places.

"All r-r-r-right!" Exclaimed the Eleventh Doctor, bouncing around with two fingers in the air. "Ready Doctor?"

"Ready!" Boomed the previous Doctor with great emphasis on the enthusiasm he had been filled with.

"Aaand reverse!" The new Time Lord's voice echoed wildly across the Vault as he and his predecessor slammed the final switch simultaneously.

Already more vibrations from outside the Crucible began to shake the Vault – slowly but surely, planets were at last leaving the Medusa Cascade!

Still hard at work, the Doctors began naming the planets as they progressed far through the procedure. Despite the complexity of using Dalek technology to transport entire planets across time and space, there was almost a sense of the two Doctors enjoying their work!

"Au revoir Clom!" Yelled the raggedy Doctor.

Joining in, the spiky-haired Doctor exclaimed; "Back home Adipose 3!"

As planet by planet was returned to their correct location in space and time, all of the companions except the still-preoccupied Mickey gathered by the workstation, curious to find out the answers to the questions they'd been posing since the countdown had started.

"Is anyone gonna tell us? What the hell is going on?!" Rose demanded, the most confused out of all those in the room.

Staring at each other for a moment, the two Doctors turned their attention back to their companions and began their simplified explanations.

"Well first things first, I poured all some of my regeneration energy into my spare hand, then Donna and I touched the hand and he grew out of that!" The raggedy Doctor detailed, finally enabling everyone to understand the presence of the Meta-Crisis Doctor.

"But Doctor, wouldn't that mean…" Donna suddenly realised as she looked back and forth between the Doctors.

"Exactly!" The meta-crisis Doctor clicked his fingers at her in a congratulating manner. "Our first theory was wrong; I'm really part Time Lord, part human. So it was a human biological meta-crisis!"

"You mean you're like Jenny?" Martha asked innocently.

"Well…Sort of." The previous Doctor admitted somewhat awkwardly.

Amy and Rory on the other hand, were completely baffled. "Yeah sorry, I think we're both lagging behind Doct-I mean Doctors. Do you do this sort of thing often?" The scot stated truthfully.

"No, and before you ask…" The Time Lord gave a quick glance in Donna's direction; "We're not like worms!"

But Donna couldn't help but laugh a little; though they were calling her out for a comment she'd made before, it was fun to think what was going through Amy and Rory's heads at such a crazy moment.

Next, Jack tossed in his own question; "So what about the TARDIS, Doctor? You told us it'd been destroyed!"

While the Doctor answered the Captain's question, he did so rather casually for some reason. "Yeah, I lied. Sorry, all part of the plan." Normally he'd be totally focused on keeping his companions calm and reassured, but at this moment he seemed far more pre-occupied with eyeing Davros and Dalek Caan.

The Kaled scientist was utterly livid, not moving an inch his half-Dalek chair while Mickey kept him at gunpoint. He was like a chess piece about to be checkmated, but one determined to understand the meaning behind his opponents' victories. "But all of this is impossible! You could never have activated that Warp Star yourself, I had all of you trapped!"

"Doctor?" The Chiswick temp stared worriedly at her alien best friend. "I hate to say it, but he's got a point. I saw the look on your face before that thing blew. You can't have known this was coming!"

Stepping in, the meta-crisis Doctor grimly revealed his hypothesis on his successor's manner and thoughts; "I can't believe this either Donna but it's clear that he did."

Approaching the raggedy Time Lord, the previous Doctor seemed very disapproving of his actions; "You knew, and you lied to us – all of us."

In a somewhat protesting manner, the Eleventh Doctor snapped back; "It was the only way the plan could work!"

"What, not even telling me and Donna what you thought might happen?" His predecessor went wide-eyed.

But his successor shook his head; "I wasn't certain until the very end. But I had a suspicion that the timestream has been manipulated for ages. If Donna and I hadn't been trapped in the TARDIS, we might not have made this far. So I expected the unexpected!"

Even with the new Doctor's explanation, this revelation still angered the meta-crisis Doctor, who didn't seem to be alone in thinking the same. The expressions of Martha, Jackie, Mickey, Amy, Rory and especially Rose betrayed their mixture of appalment and confusion. None of them quite remembered the Doctors they'd known being like this before. It felt somewhat manipulative, and only Sarah Jane felt that this was a little familiar. Sometimes the Time Lord had been a conning brute..

In Donna's case, the Chiswick girl was conflicted. For a while now her concerns over getting used to the new Doctor had been diminished over the course of their journey back to the Crucible, this presented a new side to his current incarnation that she could've sworn wasn't present earlier. But everything would be alright in the end, wouldn't it?

Meanwhile, Davros interrupted everyone's thoughts on the Doctor when he asked perhaps the smartest question of the day; "But you promised me, Dalek Caan! Why did you not foresee this?"

For umpteenth time, Caan's disgusting bubbles of laughter echoed across the Vault, causing the flesh surrounding Davros' glowing blue robotic eye to widen considerably in realisation.

It seemed that the Doctor had picked up on this too – "Actually, I think he did. All that power and knowledge to see through time. That'd drive anyone mad. Still, doesn't mean he's bad at improvising!"

Confirming the Doctor's theory, Caan barked out in his electrified voice; "tHE dOcTOr IS COrrECt! i LiEd cREaToR! i KnEw ThIS WOuLD bE tHE EnD OF tHe dAlEkS!"

"You betrayed the Daleks!" Uttered Davros, extremely appalled that one of own creations had turned against him. It was the ultimate stab-in-back for Dalek kind!

"i SaW ThE dALeKS. wHaT wE hAvE dOnE, tHRoUgHoUt tImE aNd sPAcE. i SaW tHe TrUtH oF Us, cREaTOr, AnD i DECreeD: nO mOrE." Retorted Caan.

Due to the chaos in the higher levels of the Crucible, the Dalek Supreme had not heard the events unfolding in the Vault since the damage caused by the Warp Star.

The other Daleks in the Command Deck had struggled against the energy but only the Supreme had succeeded in resisting hard enough to regain control of its movements.

Now with enough strength, it declared in an arrogant tone; "I WILL DESCEND…TO THE VAULT!"

Everyone's attention flicked straight from Dalek Caan to the Supreme Dalek, who hovered downwards as if it were a giant smelly rat in a pipeline shaft.

"DAVROS! YOU HAVE BETRAYED US!" Roared the Supreme, jumping to hate-filled conclusions just as it was programmed to like any Dalek.

"It was Dalek Caan!" Insisted Davros, knowing full-well what the Supreme might do. The irony that his creations could overpower him had been present ever since their genesis on Skaro!

But the Supreme Dalek wouldn't listen to a word the Kaled scientist spoke. There was no excusing failure or betrayal, even if the one responsible had some deep ties to the Daleks; "THE VAULT WILL BE PURGED! YOU WILL ALL BE EXTERMINATED!"

"Heads up!" Jack cried – but the Supreme had already fired, its laser scorching and sizzling right into the work station that the two Doctors were working at.

"Like I was saying. Feel this!" Captain Jack leaped into action before the Supreme could cause any damage.

With a single blast of his Defabricator, Jack blew the Supreme Dalek to pieces! Its domed head burst into dancing flames of Inferno, before crashing to the ground like ashes as the rest of its body tumbled onto the ground, with the hover mode deactivated.

"We've lost the Magnatron!" Groaned the Eleventh Doctor, before he did a quick check on the remaining part of the workstation. "Hang on, oh of course…I should've known that would be the last planet left. But we can use the Tardis – Sandshoes, you know what to do!"

Though a tad reluctant to leave the new Doctor to own his devices considering both his recent manipulative actions and the scale of the task ahead of them, the meta-crisis Doctor nodded slowly and soon darted into the Type 40 capsule.

Meanwhile, the new Doctor made some last-minute adjustments on the workstation. If things went to plan, then transporting the Earth back to the 28th June 2009 in the Solar System would be perfectly possible. "Holding Earth stability, maintaining atmospheric shell-"

However, his speech was silenced, and the room went quiet as yet again a stuttering voice of mixed tones and impulses flooded across the Vault; "tHe pRoPhEcY mUsT cOmPlEtE."

For a moment, the new Doctor eyes became transfixed at the sight of Dalek Caan. He seemed to absorb the meaning of the abomination's words steadily as his demeanour fundamentally fractured.

Yet Donna was now beginning to get concerned about her best friend's behaviour. Whatever was going through his mind, she desperately wished that she could read it…

"Don't listen to him!" Demanded Davros, but his cries went unnoticed by his nemesis.

"i hAvE SEeN tHe EnD oF EVeRyThInG; iT MusT SuReLy HApPeN, dOCtOr." Stated the insane survivor of the Cult of Skaro with total certainty.

"He's right. This Dalek Empire's big enough to slaughter the entire cosmos. They've got to be stopped!" Boomed the Doctor, breathing heavier than he'd done in this incarnation so far.

From what Donna could guess from his movements, her best friend's two hearts were beating yet again, but in perhaps the most unnatural rhythm she'd ever seen. Panicking slightly, she quickly suggested to him; "No, let's just wait for the Doctor –"

Those were not the smartest of words to say to the Time Lord at this moment.

Insulted and defiant, he swivelled around on the spot in Donna's direction, firmly grasping some controls on the workstation. He was dead serious.

Right now, only two things seem to matter to the Time Lord. So what if he had a meta-crisis duplicate of his previous body? So what if he was in a new body, trying to adjust to all the changes? So what if his other self could potentially come to his assistance and help him to stop the Dalek Empire more efficiently and safely? The entire universe was at stake, and seeing as in his eyes he was the one and only Time Lord left to save it, he wasn't going to miss his chance to end this disaster once and for all.

"No. I am the Doctor!" The Doctor breathed fiercely.

"Maximising Dalekenium power feeds!" The scruffy-haired Time Lord flicked countless switches on the workstation. And then, as if it were the culmination of his new body's existence so far, he slammed down the levers at the controls. "We'll blast them back!"

The Doctor's companions, all worried about the Doctor's sudden erratic behaviour, stepped back as Daleks began exploding to pieces! Not in just in the Vault, but all across the Crucible and the Dalek Fleet!

Tumultuous and excruciating electrical cries of agony from the Daleks before their explosions grimly confirmed that the Doctor had gone mad. He was literally murdering Dalek after Dalek, each second!

Back in the TARDIS, the meta-crisis Doctor flinched from all the explosions outside and hurriedly rushed out to find out what had happened.

Immediately upon catching sight of the inferno now consuming the Vault, his fears were confirmed.

Furiously, he shouted his pre-occupied successor; "What have you done?"

"What must be done. The prophecy has been fulfilled!" Announced the scruffy-haired Doctor, thoroughly convinced he was doing the right thing for the universe.

"D'you know what you've done?! Now get in the Tardis! Everyone!" Growled the spiky-haired Doctor. "All of you inside! Run!"

Despite their shock at the Doctor's actions, everyone else manoeuvred towards the Police Box, herded by the meta-crisis Doctor. Amy and Rory turned back for a moment as they were near the doors, horrified beyond words at the mass destruction that their new friend had created. Eventually, Rory tugged Amy's arm and the pair retreated into the TARDIS.

"In! In! In! In! In! In!" The previous Doctor cried out to his companions, concentrating immensely as he counted them all.

"Micketty McMickey!" He joked when Mickey charged through the police box doors. But this brief bit of humour hardly relieved the half-human half-Time Lord from his anger at his successor's actions…

As the obliteration of the Crucible was reaching its climax, girders and rubble were falling from the centre of the Vault's roof. Within seconds it had formed a low barrier of tangled metal, separating the new Doctor from his arch-nemesis, who was barely visible through all the smoke and heat haze filling the area.

Feeling triumphant and somewhat relieved, the Doctor called out to Davros; "Davros! This is it! The end of the Daleks. But just come with me. I promise I can save you!"

But Davros had only one thing to say; "Never forget, Doctor. YOU DID THIS! I name you, forever: you, are The Destroyer of Worlds!" He boomed, cold and angry, pointing his metallic finger at the Doctor, before flames erupted in front of him, blocking him from the Time Lord's sight.

The Time Lord suddenly froze on the spot, emotionally captivated by the words Davros had said. And soon, a memory resurfaced in newly re-arranging brain…

On Skaro, in the midst of the Thousand Year War's aftermath, the Fourth incarnation of the Doctor, complete his crazily long scarf, was struggling to decide whether to destroy the Dalek race before they became the monstrosities he knew them as.

He knew Davros was an insane and power-hungry individual, so there was no convincing him to destroy his own creations. But making the decision himself turned out to be harder than he'd ever believed…

"What are you waiting for?" Sarah had asked him.

"Just touch these two strands together and the Daleks are finished. Have I that right?" The Doctor had replied, his eyes widening and his voice getting lower in horror of the enormous pressure he could feel.

"To destroy the Daleks? You can't doubt it." Sarah answered, knowing just how vile and destructive the Daleks would become in the future from what she'd seen on her travels.

"But, I do! You see, some things could be better with the Daleks. Many future worlds will become allies just because of their fear of the Daleks." The Doctor had insisted, worried his decision might be morally wrong.

"But it isn't like that!" Sarah had exclaimed.

"But the final responsibility is mine, and mine alone. Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?" The Doctor had asked her.

"We're talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented. You must destroy them! You must complete your mission for the Time Lords!" Sarah had reminded him.

"Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other and that's it. The Daleks cease to exist. Hundreds of millions of people, thousands of generations can live without fear, in peace, and never even know the word Dalek." It was a universe changing decision indeed, and not one the Doctor felt he could gloss over.

"Then why wait? If it was a disease or some sort of bacteria you were destroying, you wouldn't hesitate." Sarah had answered, staring into the Time Lord's eyes with great tension.

His hands trembling as he continued to hold the two wires close to each other, the Doctor gravely realised out loud; "But if I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent lifeform, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks!"

Everything was coming back to the Doctor. He stood in the midst of the consequences of his own actions, with Donna suddenly standing nearby and frantically pulling at his arm (presumably while shouting at him to get into the TARDIS).

The memory still rung in his head as loud as the TARDIS's cloister bell, signalling to him a vital moral message that had only occurred to him now. And now was too late; far too late.

"Oh no…What have I done?!" He murmured silently without reacting to the shudders of girders falling in front of him.

He now realised the full consequences of his mistake; almost the very same decision he had to make back then, he had just made now without a single thought. He had been foolish and incredibly selfish. No wonder that lone Dalek had told his Ninth Incarnation; "YOU WOULD MAKE A GOOD DALEK."

Trying not to be too distracted by this thought however, he rushed towards the newly repaired TARDIS, not hearing the ominous final words of the crazed Dalek Caan; "One will still die."

The new interior was a sight to behold! It had a similar colour scheme and console to the previous Console Room, but the layout was completely different.

There was now stairs leading up and down from the console, one to the Doors, one to the area below the Console, and more to different rooms. Yet one couldn't help but sense a grimmer and moodier atmosphere to the room, almost mirroring the raggedy Time Lord's own present thoughts.

Before the other companions could continue to marvel at the interior, the meta-crisis Doctor slammed back the de-materialisation lever, plunging the time machine out of the Crucible before it blasted apart into total oblivion.

"But what about the Earth? It's stuck in the wrong part of space!" Sarah Jane pointed out to the meta-crisis Doctor, who didn't even blink an eye as his successor slumped onto one of the chairs, sitting in the background.

"I'm on it!" Piped up the meta-crisis Doctor, who was now taking charge of the TARDIS for Earth's journey back to the Solar system.

Rushing towards the new retro-looking viewscreen (which was hanging from a frame attached to the central column), he called out; "Torchwood Hub! This is the Doctor! Are you receiving me?"

As a transmission fizzled in and Gwen Cooper's voice could be heard chatting to the duplicate Doctor, the real Doctor stared at the time rotor. Lost in thought yet again, he seemed to have purposely distanced himself from the action going on at the moment.

Just as his counterpart wasn't looking at him, he wasn't looking at him either, but mainly out of shame for what he'd just done. He was reminded again of Watcher figures that appeared to Time Lords, and couldn't help but be frozen on the spot for a moment in fear.

Was this self-inflicted punishment? Perhaps.

The fact that he was not even showing his new face to the Torchwood Hub or Sarah Jane's son Luke (whom the Doctor had called so that the computer Mr Smith would loop rift power around the TARDIS) was unusual. Sure, it saved some lengthy explanations, but his guilt was starting to make him feel like a stranger to himself.

Worse was that this was not the only time he'd felt like this in his lifetime. Memories of burning Gallifrey – what a time for them to come back and haunt him…

Unbeknownst to the raggedy Doctor, however, was that Donna was keeping an eye on him during his silence. She'd seen his predecessor in a depressed mood plenty of times, but the manner in which his successor was doing now surprised her even more.

She remembered what he had said aboard the Dalek saucer; that he wanted to prove himself as the Doctor in order to earn that title.

In her eyes he'd certainly been the Doctor to her since he'd set up his clever plan to return to the Crucible, but now she wasn't certain. She was shocked at him, but also felt sorry for him.

And she'd begun to realise just how stressful of an adventure this had been for him. Despite her lack of knowledge on regeneration, she got the feeling that he rarely had to deal with something this big when starting a new life. Still though, she knew that she'd soon have to decide on whether to continue her travels with the Doctor. This new Doctor!

Eventually, the spiky-haired Doctor had not only transferred the rift power to the TARDIS, but allowed for Mr Smith to successfully loop it around the Type 40 capsule via the ship's basecodes supplied by K9 MK IV. It was time for Earth to return home!

Giving everyone a position around the Console to operate the controls, he delved into a lengthy monologue; "Now then, you lot - Sarah, hold that down - Mickey, you hold that - Cos d'you know why this Tardis is always rattling about the place? Rose, that, there. It's designed to have six pilots. And I have to do it single handed! Martha, keep that level. But not anymore!"

Suddenly, in a few seconds, the Eleventh Doctor made a vital decision; he'd finally concluded that if he were truly to redeem himself and become the Doctor, then it was no use sitting out on the side-lines. This was his ship, and these were his companions. He had to settle things personally by taking part.

He quickly interrupted his predecessor's line of speech and began moving around the console in a sort of dance-type spin; "Exactly Doctor, now we can fly this baby as it's meant to be flown!"

Earning a quick frown and disconcerting expression from his still livid counterpart, the Doctor flung himself to Jack, to Jackie (whom he advised to stay back as it was best she didn't touch the controls) and finally Amy and Rory.

"Right, you two." He forced a smile to make sure everyone didn't get pre-occupied by his moody manner. "Go downstairs and keep flicking the longest levers by the cables. That ought to stabilise everything a bit."

Finally coming to a standstill once Amy and Rory had rushed to their positions below the Console, he took a deep breath. Before slamming the main lever, he cheerfully announced; "Okay! Let's get Planet Earth back home. Goodbye Medusa Cascade, hello Solar system. Off we go!"

SLAM. The force felt from that one movement of the lever combined with everybody aboard except Jackie operating the controls sent a tremendous surge of excitement and anticipation throughout the main deck of the ship. In these minutes, everyone's doubts, fears and queries vanished as they felt the weight of a planet they called home shifting across space, quite triumphantly to say the least.

The two Doctors carefully manoeuvred around the Console to make some final checks, giving advice to their friends and congratulating them on a job well done. After all those struggles and tension, this dark time in the Universe's history was finally coming to an end. And it had never felt better.

"Blimey Donna!" The new Doctor marvelled at one point, recognising how much effort Donna had put in to learning how to fly the TARDIS occasionally. "You're improving!"

A flattered Chiswick girl could only beam at him in reply, just as everyone else was at each other.

Once they had flown far enough, the raggedy Time Lord activated the brand-new secondary scanner that was in the wall to reveal that they were now fast approaching the Solar system, ready to drop the Earth off in its correct location.

Wild and heartfelt applause soon sounded the moment everyone saw the Earth suddenly go static, surrounded by the moon and a beautifully shining sun that was no doubt spreading widespread relief and celebration the world-over, marking a historic day in the planet's long history.

Everyone was happy; going in for multiple hugs with each other, whether it was Donna embracing the incredibly attractive Jack, Amy greeting the Doctor's other companions for the first time or Sarah Jane coming up to Mickey to express her admiration for his bravery as a fellow Smith throughout their adventure.

The joy of this well-deserved victory would go on for a while, but by now everyone was ready to head home and relax. Of course, there would have to be the mandatory farewells first…

In the midst of a packed park in London where human being after human being embraced the returned sunlight into their lives, the lone blue Police Box quietly faded into view. The leaves on the trees nearby bristled wonderfully as the wind applied a peaceful pressure.

Sarah Jane Smith stepped out first, taking in the fresh air before turning to her best friend. Seeing his depressed expression, she decided to comfort him.

"Whatever you do next Doctor, you don't have to be alone. Maybe you don't realise it, but you've got the biggest family of all – here on Earth. Consider yourself lucky."

The Time Lord nodded slowly. "Thanks Sarah, I appreciate it."

"Oh come on now Doctor, I know that look on your face." She reminded him. "You don't have to hide it from me, your friend Donna's seen it to."

The Doctor remained silent, staring down at his feet in a mixture of shame and appreciation of the sympathy he was receiving.

"Doctor, what you did back there was wrong, but I know you regret it. Don't forget that. Besides, you saved the Earth – I think you should be more grateful now."

Nodding in agreement, the Time Lord finally embraced his long-time former companion with immense joy, and watched as she made her departure for Bannerman Road.

"Gotta go. He's only 14. Long story. And thank you!" She remarked one last time before leaving.

"Good old Sarah Jane." Thought the Doctor. He knew he that every time they crossed paths that their long friendship could always counted on for warmth and comfort, no matter what face or personality had. After all, they were practically used to each other's antics!

"Well then!" The Eleventh Doctor slumped back down in his chair, facing Amy and Rory as they stood by the meta-crisis Doctor, who had just finished a rather tense looking conversation with them. "You two, I hope you've had fun. I certainly did, but…Y'know, this is only the beginning."

As he leaped up from his chair to begin talking to his new friends, his predecessor slowly went towards the handbrake lever and de-materialised the TARDIS for a destination which only he, Amy and Rory knew of.

"The beginning of what? I thought you were taking us home." Answered Rory, who legitimately sounded intrigued.

"Well it's your choice, but…" The Time Lord grasped his hands together, trying to look as honest as possible. "This is more than just a spaceship y'know. Sure sure, it's bigger on the inside, but it's also a ticket. A ticket to time and space!"

"So it's a time machine, a real time machine?" Amy marvelled for a moment, sounding excited.

"Exactamundo!" The new Doctor clapped his hands. "All of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will. So, want to check it out?"

Amy turned to Rory with a slight look of nervousness mixed with excitement. Rory was still intrigued as well as he and his girlfriend realised that he was asking them to travel with him!

For quite a while, they had really come round to the idea of doing so – not only was this Doctor friendly and helpful, but his adventurous spirit opened up numerous possibilities for adventures beyond one's imagination. And admittedly, their first taster of what that would be like had been amazing and fun!

Unfortunately, the expressions on their faces soon morphed into more grim and conflicted ones. The Doctor frowned, not understanding why their earlier enthusiasm and excitement (especially from Amy) wasn't overpowering any negative feelings that had plagued them during this ordeal.

And then it became clear. When the TARDIS landed with a more impactful thud than usual, the new Doctor caught eye of the look on his predecessor's face. The meta-crisis Doctor nodded at Amy and Rory with a look of sympathy for them to explain their apparent doubts.

"Doctor…" The Scottish red-head began to confess. "Everything you did back there, on the Dalek spaceship, it was extraordinary. I mean it, extraordinary…"

Worried with the tone she was using, the Doctor tried to appeal to her with excitement; "And there's loads more of where that came from, Amy. Come on, it's a time machine!"

Amy nodded, not trying to hide her enthusiasm for the concepts he was unveiling. "But tell me this, all those things that Davros guy said, was it true?"

The new Doctor was stunned; "But you weren't there – how'd you know?"

"Donna told me, and I told them." Revealed the meta-crisis Doctor, now leaning on the Console. He sounded domineering, as if he held more authority more than his successor. "They were frightened, Doctor. Frightened of you, for what you did. Keep that in mind."

The Doctor didn't know how to react. Instead, he just looked from his predecessor to Amy and Rory with a sudden surge of guilt. His mood was dampened further.

"Was it true then? Doctor?" Amy repeated, desperate to know what sort of man he was. Soon, everyone else in the TARDIS became tense in anticipation for the Doctor's answer; even Rose and Jackie, who had seen everything unfold in the Crucible's Vault.

Regretfully and truthfully, the Time Lord admitted his guilt with a slow nod. He understood now that Amy and Rory were overwhelmed by everything they'd learned about him during this adventure. Not only had people sacrificed their lives for him but it was clear that his new personality made him emotionally unstable at times, especially as evidenced by his vicious method of destroying the Daleks.

The Scot now looked horrified. "How could you do that? I know those Daleks were monsters, but surely you're not. Yet you massacred them just as they did to their prisoners. Why?"

Apologetically, the Time Lord placed his hand on Amy's shoulder. He could not muster enough strength to form a reply, only staring at his predecessor as if he were seeing a ghost.

Once he looked back at Amy, she shook her head and murmured silently to him; "I'm sorry Doctor. Goodbye."

Reluctantly obliging, the Doctor did not hesitate to embrace the Scot as a quick goodbye. Despite her criticisms of his actions, she did not seem angry with him but more so emotionally overwhelmed.

Rory was much more subtle in his goodbye to the Doctor; politely shaking his hand but surprisingly whispering a thank you, presumably for saving them from the Daleks.

"Are you sure you don't want to come Rory?" The Time Lord made one last offer, wondering if Rory could convince Amy to change her mind.

He shook his head sadly, and said; "Goodbye Doctor." He seemed more reluctant than Amy, perhaps more willing to forgive the Doctor, but still mainly in agreement with her.

And so, with one last glance at the youthful-looking Time Lord with rocket fin ears and a pointy chin, Amy Pond and Rory Williams walked out of the TARDIS and onto a street in London full of small houses.

"Come on." Amy spoke exhaustedly. "Let's go find your father."

The Doctor was devastated. He'd really enjoyed the company of Amy and Rory during this adventure, but their decline of his invitation to join him on his travels only increased his guilt and regret.

In a sense, he'd made a similar mistake to when he first met Donna, who'd also declined his offer at the time, only to change her mind when they reunited during the Adipose crisis. But he doubted that the pair would reconsider his offer, considering what he believed his counterpart had told them.

Relapsing into a task, the Doctor pretended to look normal as he de-materialised the TARDIS again. While Rose and Donna tried to comfort him, he barely processed their words.

He wasn't just sad that Amy and Rory had declined his offer, he seemed to be dreading something that was about to happen. Nevertheless, he tapped at a typewriter on the TARDIS console, quickly setting the coordinates. He was going to face to face with the consequences.

"Just time for one last trip. Darlig Ulv Stranden." He grunted aloud, making his voice sound as clear as possible.

Rose flinched as she heard that name, double-checking to know if she'd heard it correctly. Realising that she had, she stared at her mother, wondering why in the universe they were being taken there of all places…

Bad Wolf Bay hardly ever changed throughout the years of history in Norway. The tides continually ripped at surface of the sand, gobbling up the smallest of beach pebbles as if they were miniature organs.

The weather was as cold as ever; vast winds struck against the Norwegian cliffs as a few loose racks collapsed onto the beach in a rather unnatural fashion.

There was nobody about on a dreary day like this, just like every other day. Nobody came to Bad Wolf Bay because it wasn't ideal. The ocean was far too cold here for anyone to swim, the sun was almost never shining out in the right spot, and it wasn't a popular beach anyway.

Why would anyone come here then? Simply put, only if they'd been here before. And because it symbolised something important.

And so the winds became more violent, just as a sound that never been heard before in Bad Wolf Bay screeched in. The noise was a little more strained than it normally was, but it still rang high as it was followed by the appearance of the oddest object to turn up on the sands of the beach; a 1960s Police Telephone Box.

When the doors burst open, the inside of the Police Box was flooded by the air and particles of a world that it had only experienced once before, and one that it never had expected to sense again. The same applied to three of its occupants, whom manoeuvred their way onto the beach, taking in the surroundings with immense anticipation.

The other three occupants of the Police Box departed from its magical interior with a different reaction. For example in the case of Jackie Tyler, one of disappointment; "Well, fat lot of good, this is! Back of beyond. Bloody Norway! I'll have to phone your father, he's on the nursery run –"

Turning to the new Doctor, the first of the two to have stepped out, she reminded him; "I was pregnant, remember? Had a little baby boy."

"Ah yes!" The raggedy man remembered, having last heard it from Rose. "What's the little fella's name?"

"Doctor." She quipped with a slight grin.

"What?!" The scruffy-haired Time Lord frowned, unsure whether to believe her.

Shaking her head, she chuckled and revealed; "No, you plum. He's called Tony."

"Tony Tyler? Okay. That's a very nice name." The Time Lord acknowledged the information, before his predecessor walked further onto the beach, keeping an eye on him.

But Rose Tyler had concerns of her own. She looked back from the TARDIS to the beach, apparently confirming her suspicions. Puzzled why she'd been brought back here, she questioned the Doctor; "But hold on. This is the parallel universe, right?"

"Precisely. You're home now…" Replied the Time Lord, keeping very quiet for some reason. He seemed very upset to be doing this, but he was refusing to hesitate too much. "And the walls of this world are closing. Without the Reality Bomb there's no way for you travel across."

"But Doctor, that would mean she's trapped here! Wouldn't it?" Donna gasped, surprised at what her best friend was doing. He'd spent such a long time waiting for a possibility that Rose would return (even though he knew it was impossible due to the rules of dimension travelling), yet now he was leaving her behind? Just what was going in that Time Lord's brain?

"No, but I spent all that time, trying to find you. I'm not going back now." Rose protested, completely surprised that the Doctor was doing this to her.

"But you've got to. Because we saved the universe at a cost. And the cost is him." The meta-crisis Doctor intervened in the conversation. "He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. It's too dangerous for you to travel with him Rose – this regeneration's made him emotionally unstable."

"I made you." The Eleventh Doctor stared at his counterpart. Basically, all of this was his fault. Regenerating into a new body while also emptying a bit of regeneration into his spare hand had condemned him to leave Rose behind because of the dangers of his new unpredictable personality. It truly was self-inflicted punishment, but with a twist.

"You're forgetting that you were born in battle. Full of blood and anger and revenge. And you carried it out, without hesitation." The spiky-haired Doctor growled.

The new Doctor nodded sadly, distinctively upset at what was unfolding. "I'm sorry Rose, I really am. But he's right. You can't trust me. But you can trust him."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. Certainly, the Doctor had done some shocking things today in defeating the Daleks, but did he really believe that she could accept him banishing himself from her forever? "…But he's not you."

To an extent this was true, and the Doctor wouldn't deny it. But at the same time, he knew there was only room for one Doctor in one universe, at least in terms of the present. This was the other reason why he was leaving Rose behind.

"He needs you Rose. More than I'd want to admit. And if you think about it, you'll realise I'm giving you something more than that." He explained sorrowfully, but holding back any tears. His tone was not authoritative but apologetic.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose answered, then turning to the meta-crisis Doctor. "Are you-"

"I look like he did. And I think like him. Same memories, same thoughts, same everything, except... I've only got one heart." The spiky-haired Doctor revealed, comparing himself to both the Eleventh Doctor and the actual Tenth Doctor whose image he was made in.

Rose was still confused but intrigued. Truthfully she had become accustomed to the new Doctor well enough to want to keep travelling with him, but her dream had always been to reunite with his predecessor. It was a strange choice to be making, but she wanted to know more; "Which means?"

The meta-crisis Doctor spoke comfortingly; "I'm part Human. Specifically, the ageing part. I'll grow old. And never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I... could spend it with you. If you want."

"You'll grow old... at the same time as me?" Rose repeated, now understanding what gift the new Time Lord was giving her. It was a seemingly impossible life that the Doctor had spoken about before, now plainly in existence.

"Together." The meta-crisis Doctor replied affectionately, sounding much more like the actual Tenth Doctor than he had done so before.

"That's…" Rose was about to say something but cut herself off. She was definitely scared of what this presented, but at the same time she was tempted. Testing the meta-crisis Doctor's claim, she walked up to his chest and placed her hand to it.

In a very intimate moment, she felt the heartbeat very softly. She'd known the heart-beat of the Doctor very well ever since the regeneration of his Ninth incarnation left him in a coma, and while there was some familiarity, there was no doubt that he only had one heart. A strong one for sure, perhaps even stronger than a human heart, but nevertheless a single heart.

"Doctor…" Donna whispered to her best friend, still concerned at why he was allowing this to happen. "Are you really sure about this? I mean, Rose-"

"I have no choice." The Eleventh Doctor said very plainly. Nothing more from his mouth could explain the difficulty of him having to do this.

But soon, the raggedy man brushed his tie away as it blew in the wind, fetching a small chunk of coral from his pocket. Chucking into his counterpart's hand much to Rose's surprise as she'd been transfixed by the heartbeat, the new Doctor suggested; "Oh, and don't forget this! Even with Torchwood this universe is still in need of some defending. It's a chunk of the TARDIS. You can grow your own one."

Slightly stumped by the suggestion, the meta-crisis Doctor reminded his counterpart; "But that takes thousands of years."

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you'll find some way to accelerate the growth. Still, the Doctor. In the Tardis. With Rose Tyler. Just as it should be." The raggedy Doctor finally formed a big smile. While he was devastated at the thought of never seeing Rose again, he almost felt happy for her. This was the perfect life for her, even it wasn't for him.

"But what about you?" Rose started to become stressed as her options closed even further.

"I'll be fine. Trust me." The Doctor insisted, trying to convince her that he'd always find someone to travel with, no matter how many of his companions left.

What concerned Donna about this statement was that the Time Lord hadn't said whether she'd stay with him or not. Was the Doctor worried that she'd not want to travel with him anymore? She had to ask him about this soon, otherwise her life would go back to normal…

Everyone was distracted for a moment when the TARDIS groaned. For a brief few seconds, it faded out and then faded in again as if it were struggling to stay in the parallel universe.

Downheartedly, the scruffy-haired Doctor gloomily stated; "We've got to go. This reality is sealing itself off. Forever."

However, not ready to let him leave her life, Rose stepped forwards a little and called out; "But it's still not right. Cos the Doctor's still... you."

The Doctor was touched by his former companion's devotion to him, no matter whether he had changed his face/personality or not. It was a testament to the experiences from her travels with him that she'd learned to accept him changing, but this easily the biggest change she'd faced yet.

"Just as I was him." The Time Lord structured his sentence carefully. Rose understood that he was not denying his identity as the Doctor, but he still maintained that his counterpart was just as legitimate in having that title.

Rose was at a loss of words for a moment. This was the most important decision in her life, and she had to choose quickly. Taking control of the situation herself, she finally spoke out; "All right. Both of you. Answer me this. When I last stood here, on this beach, on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me?"

Neither of the Doctors spoke, so Rose started with the Eleventh Doctor. "Go on. What was it?"

As Rose tried to picture that very scene from a few years ago, as she stood freezing on the beach while the Tenth Doctor burned up a sun his universe just to send a projection of himself through to her, the current Time Lord merely answered; "I said 'Rose Tyler'."

Still not satisfied, Rose pressed him further; "Yeah, and how was that sentence gonna end?"

"I had my chance to say it. Besides, I think you know." The Eleventh Doctor replied guilefully.

Feeling tense, Rose turned to the meta-crisis Doctor, hoping for better results. She was not certain what to expect, but asked anyway; "And you. Doctor. What was the end of the sentence?"

The half-human half-Time Lord Doctor did not take his time in answering, but chose to be subtle. With perhaps the happiest smile he'd even shown to her, he leaned in close and gently whispered three simple yet powerful words into her ear. When Rose pulled back, and stared at him; awestruck and dazzled. It was as if she'd been waiting for a moment like this her entire life.

She had only one impulse left in order to react – by the lapel on his blue suit, she pulled the meta-crisis Tenth Doctor duplicate towards her and kissed him.

With a quick adjustment of his ripped swirly-patterned tie, the Eleventh Doctor took a deep breath and stared at the scene before him, totally heartbroken. Donna came closer to him, one hundred percent sympathetic. She had no words of comfort to say, not even sure how and whether he would react to them.

The Doctor always hated goodbyes. He preferred to slip away quietly. And together with Donna, that's exactly what he did.

As soon as the doors to the TARDIS slammed shut, Rose and the meta-crisis Doctor separated instantly as those anciently magnificent engines roared up, signifying what was possibly the departure to top all departures.

"…No-!" Rose Tyler ran a step forwards, nobody attempting to stop her. But it was too late – the TARDIS had gone. It was a rare sight in her life, but it was like the closure of a chapter in a book. And the beginning of a new chapter.

As Jackie Tyler stood by, watching her daughter stare at nothing, still extremely upset, she felt both relieved and a little miserable as well. At least life would be good, perhaps better than ever. She still had a husband and a daughter.

And Rose was not alone. The half human duplicate of the Doctor came to her side and reached out to her hand. Soon they leaned close to each other, and she took his hand. It was unclear how long they would stand there for, but it was not the end of the story. The story of Rose Tyler would go on for years to come.

Donna Noble manouevered cautiously around the new interior of the TARDIS, not yet wondering how many rooms there were or whether the swimming pool they'd landed in hours ago still existed, but rather about what her future with the Doctor would be. If at all there was one at all.

Though she'd phoned her family already to let them know she was okay and had survived the entire Dalek ordeal, she felt that they deserved a bit of time with her before she left with the Doctor on her travels for however long it would be.

Knowing she wouldn't get anywhere by staying quiet and thinking for too long, she walked up to the melancholy Time Lord as he was circling around the console, making some adjustments and constantly checking the viewscreen. She wanted to comfort him after his painful decision to leave Rose behind, but decided against it – the Doctor probably already had enough sadness at this point in time that reminding him of it would only make him feel worse.

"Doctor, can you take me home for a bit? I-…I want to see my family. I bet gramps is just dying to know what's been going on!" She requested innocently.

"Of course." The Time Lord answered, not deviating in his movement or tinkering with the controls. He quickly pointed to a part of the console near where was standing. "Just use those; telepathic circuits. Place your hands on those bad boys and just think of home."

Though she'd never used them before, Donna trusted the Doctor's judgement and followed his instructions. When her mind channeled towards the thought of Chiswick in London, she could almost sense the Type 40 capsule taking a U-Turn through the tunnels of the Time Vortex, increasing speed dramatically as if it were about to break the boundaries of travel altogether!

Suddenly – THUD. As soon as she sensed they had landed in her home street, Donna let go of the telepathic circuits in surprise, impressed by their capabilities.

"Woah. That is just wicked!" She remarked, before realising that the Doctor had moved away from the controls and was now lying down on one of the control deck chairs, looking incredibly exhausted.

Still concerned about his current mental state, the Chiswick temp approached the Time Lord and quickly asked; "Come on spaceman, don't you want to come in? I mean, at least just let them know how you've…Well.."

The Doctor leaned up, appreciative of her offer, but stated; "Sorry Donna, I'll just wait here. Besides, I've got to do something about this." He pointed to his ripped clothes, still bearing the imprint that remained of a spiky-haired man with intense energy and friendliness.

Donna sighed quietly, just as memories came flooding back. Especially after the departure of the meta-crisis Doctor, she was already missing the current Doctor's predecessor. Their friendship had really opened up numerous possibilities in her life, as she was taken to worlds and times that very few human beings could dream of. She owed a lot to the Tenth Doctor and he had remained her best friend until the very end. But this new Doctor had started out as almost a stranger to her, not quite being like the man she'd known so well until she finally saw a few key traits that really brought her back to the sense of adventure and friendship that she'd admired from his predecessor. The transition, however, remained incomplete still. Could she travel with a man whose personality could be naturally unstable and have disastrous consequences on those around him? She wasn't certain yet – and she had to decide.

"Alright Doctor. You can go bury yourself in your wardrobe, but remember who's gonna be back to judge them!" She quipped, trying to brighten his mood.

"Thanks…" The scruffy-haired Time Lord murmured tiredly but in a somewhat more happy manner. He got up from the chair and wondered up the stairs to try and find the wardrobe room again, whereever it had ended up in the TARDIS' new interior.

At the same time, the Chiswick girl finally manoeuvered out onto her street for the first time in a while, quietly taking in the air. She hadn't really been here since the ATMOS incident several months ago in her timestream, and admittedly it was refreshing to be on Earth at a time of peace. No crazy aliens flying in to ruin their day, no reprecrussions of accidentally messing with the history of someone important, just a nice short relaxation before the fun started again.

Inside the house, Donna's Grandfather; Wilfred and her Mother, Sylvia, were busy putting their furniture back after the whole Planet had been towed back to its original location.

Hearing the sound of the TARDIS, Wilfred stopped what he was doing and got up in excitement, rushing over to the door. "That must be her!"

Opening the door, Wilf embraced his granddaughter immediately. "Oh…Donna! That's my girl, ha ha!"

From then on Donna spent hours recounting everything that had happened to her since she had last called him from the Planet Midnight. Her mother Sylvia meanwhile constantly rolled her eyes or occasionally interrupted her story when she heard something that she didn't approve of. She had found it hard to believe the first time Wilfred had revealed to her that Donna had been travelling in time and space with the Doctor, but many of the things that she had been hearing from her daughter sounded prepostorous. Sure, everyone in the world had experienced space travel now, but comprehending much of the time travel shennanigans was difficult to say the least.

Eventually, Donna had reached the end of her story, by which time she finally addressed the elephant in the room; her concerns about whether to continue travelling with the new Doctor. The concept of regeneration was not quite as shocking to Wilf as it had been to Donna, but he did found it a bit fascinating.

"So it's still him, isn't it? Still the great man who took you away in that magical box, right?" He asked, curious to find out just how much the Time Lord had changed. Donna had not been completely specific during her story on the key differences, so now was the time to find out.

"Yeah Grandad, I guess he is. But – he just turned so….Violent and crazy at the end of all that. He destroyed so many Daleks…Like he was setting off a bomb or something and was loving it…" She spoke calmly, if still mildly worried.

"Well that doesn't sound like him, I thought he was against violence." Frowned Wilfred, trying remember how the Tenth Doctor had behaved during their previous encounters.

"I thought so too…" The Chiswick temp muttered softly, very conflicted by the situation.

Not wanting to see his granddaughter become too worried, Wilfred made a request; "Look. Just tell me sweetheart, did he regret it?"

Donna nodded – that she knew for sure.

Satisfied, Wilfred put his hand over her shoulder, and began to reassure her. "Now listen to me darling. That Doctor there, in his spaceship, no matter what he does, or how he looks, if you just teach him to keep being a good man, then it'll always be the same Doctor you knew! You understand me? That's my girl."

Feeling more motivated thanks to her grandfather's advice, Donna beamed and embraced him again, longer than she'd done so before. It was time to make her life as memorable and fulfilling as possible, and she knew just the way to ensure that…

After an equal amount of hours tossing clothes about and piling through different styles of fashion, the Doctor at last walked out of a doorway to the other rooms, heading back to the Console, in his brand-new attire.

Not too long afterwards, Donna emerged into the interior through the Police Box doors, finally taking the time to admire the new scenery. It was definitely homely and somewhat similar to the previous interior, she couldn't help but find it a tad more fascinating. Perhaps she could get used to it after all.

Observing the Time Lord as he began taping at the retro Typewriter once again, she noticed just how radically different his clothes were. No longer did he wear a brown pinstripe suit but instead a fancy coal-black trench coat with a similarly coloured waistcoat underneath accompanied by a smart patterned grey shirt and a simpler dark tie. His shoes were also black, though didn't quite have the shiny polish you'd expect them to. In addition, he had acquired a rather 1960s fedora, which suited the rest of his attire very neatly.

"Hm, not bad." Commented Donna, walking up the stairs to the Console. The new Doctor's sense of fashion was obviously also going to take some getting used to, but it did at least suit him decently.

"Oh, hello Donna! I didn't see you come in." Replied the Doctor, flipping levers on the controls. His expression was somewhat awkward, as if he wanted to apologise but had struggled to come up with a convincing statement. "Look, I know I've probably not made the best impression on you, with that craziness I demonstrated back on the Crucible, but –"

"Oh shut up." She interrupted. "I'm coming with you, stupid."

The Doctor suddenly gave a big smile. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I? New face or not, travelling with you is the trip of a lifetime!" Grinned Donna, excited again to continue her travels.

Amazed that Donna had apparently forgiven him for his errors, the Doctor soon realised something important. Like always, it was always a matter of him needing someone to stop him. And at least she had tried to do so aboard the Crucible. Giving him the benefit of the doubt didn't stop the Doctor from feeling personally responsible for his mistakes, but it did make him determined to keep himself under control.

"Alright then Miss Noble!" Replied the Doctor, bounding around the Console jollily while trying to keep his fedora on. "How about we choose…A random destination?"

"Sure, why not?" Replied Donna, moving to stand next to her new Doctor, very pleased.

"Roger that!" He then slammed the ignition lever, and the Type 40 Gallifreyian TARDIS burst into action! "GERONIMO!" He yelled in excitement, as the Time Rotor did its job.

And so, began a new dawn of adventure for the Eleventh Doctor, and his companion Donna Noble. Where would they travel next? As they say, only time would tell; it was a new beginning.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Woo hoo! That's finally the end of the Journey's End adaptation, it has certainly been a wild ride. This chapter in particular was difficult to get right, but despite the numerous amount of continuity to handle and story-changing decisions to make, I am hopeful that readers will satisfied at this climax. The 2nd Part of this Series continues in my 11th Doctor-centric adaptation of The Next Doctor. See you there! - THE CYBERMAN OF TELOS