Journey's End: The End

"9...8...7...6..."

They all looked over as the reality bomb shut off, the screen of the planets turning black as an alarm went off.

"Was that right?" Donna called as she pulled herself up from hiding behind the control panel she'd fallen against, "I think it was, was it?" she looked at the Doctor as she hit a button or two, not really sure what to do or why but just…going with it. Something in her gut telling her which ones to push, "To close all the Z-Neutrino relay loops?"

"Using an internalized synchronous back-feed reversal loop?" the Doctor stared at her as she hit a switch, "How do you even know that? Donna, you can't even change a plug!"

Donna looked at him, just a bit alarmed because, she DIDN'T know how she knew that, "I don't know."

"You will suffer for this…" Davros spat, lifting his arm to fire at her again.

Donna jolted forward and hit a button, and suddenly Davros's arm was electrified.

"Was that a bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion?" the New Doctor called.

"I think so?" she guessed.

"Exterminate her!" Davros shouted.

"Exterminate!" the Daleks turned on her, "Exterminate!" Donna lunged forwards, pressing what buttons she could, frantic, till the Daleks lowered their weapons and began to twitch, "Weapons non-functional!"

"And that's a macro-transmission of a K-filter wavelength!" the Doctor stared at her.

"Blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix," the New Doctor nodded.

"How did you work that out? You..."

"Time Lord," the New Doctor swallowed hard, recalling how Donna was doing it but why she didn't seem to know how she was, "Part Time Lord."

"Part Human!" Donna faltered, having been about to say she was part Doctor, part Donna, with a sprinkle of Angel. Oh God…Angel…she looked at the TARDIS, able to see inside it from the door she'd left open. Angel was lying there…unmoving…oh no…

She wasn't even breathing.

There was no sign of that orange regeneration energy either!

No!

She had to get the Doctor out of there, he had to do something, save Angel! She hit a button and the lights around the prisoners turned off, "Doctor…" she looked at him.

He seemed to snap out of his stunned silence, but not for the reason Donna hoped. It seemed the man was trusting that Angel was ok, that she was safe in the TARDIS, for he ran over to her, helping to get the controls working with the New Doctor. She eyed the man as the New Doctor stood in the path of the TARDIS, blocking the Doctor's sight of it. And she swallowed, he knew, had to have known that Angel had died. He was a doctor, of course he would have known how much time she'd have.

"Stop them!" Davros cried, "Get them away from the controls!"

"Ha!" the New Doctor laughed as the Daleks turned on them, hitting a button, having quiet a bit of fun making them spin in circles.

"Help me!" the Daleks shouted, helpless, "Help me."

"And...the other way!" he twisted a knob again and they went in two different directions, their upper and lower halves.

"What did you do?" the Doctor looked at him.

"Trip-stitch circuit-breaker in the psycho-kinetic threshold manipulator."

"Can you stop messing around?" he snapped, fun and games were all well and good but he needed to hurry, he had to get back to Angel.

"No need to shout."

"I bloody well will shout," he glared, "We need to send the planets back and stop the Daleks before Angel…" he trailed off, seeing his other self and Donna suddenly go silent, a solemn look on his face, tears appearing in Donna's eyes, "Where is she?" he asked, his voice starting to shake, feeling his body trembling, knowing what the only thing that could upset Donna so much would be, Angel, "What happened to her?" but they were quiet, "ANSWER ME!"

Donna winced as the New Doctor looked down, "She…" he swallowed, shaking his head as he bowed it, moving to the side so the Doctor could see Angel lying there…

Donna's heart broke at the expression on the Doctor's face, she didn't have to be Angel, either psychic or Mated to the man, to know what he was feeling, his expression gave it all away.

For the Doctor, though, it was so much worse.

The world went mute, the shouting of the Daleks, of Davros, the noise of it all…faded. It was just…gone as he stared at Angel's prone form, so close yet so far away. He couldn't breathe, he felt his chest constricting painfully at that sensation, at him not breathing, but his mind didn't register the true weight of it. He was shaking, he knew, he could feel his hands trembling on the controls he was still gripping, his knuckles turning white, the scarred knuckles Angel always kissed straining and stretched from his grip. He felt numb, he felt cold, he felt...empty. The world around him dimmed, becoming fuzzy in his vision, the only thing sharp any longer was Angel, the only thing he could see was her, lying there, without him, not glowing orange, not getting up, not moving or breathing...

He heard nothing, he saw nothing, nothing but Angel...gone.

She was gone.

She was dead.

And he hadn't been there.

He'd promised, he'd sworn that he would be there for her, that she wouldn't die alone.

And he'd broken it.

His vision of her blurred as he felt tears come to his eyes, hatred enter him, a dark, deep desire to wipe out the Daleks. It was THEIR fault he had been trapped away from his Mate. If they had just let him alone, he'd be with her, if they hadn't trapped him, he'd have been at her side. It was truly crushing the sorrow racing through him. He'd thought she'd died, burned to death in the TARDIS when it had disappeared, to see the box again, to have his hope renewed that there was still time...and then lose it once more...

Well that was his life wasn't it? That was his life before Angel and would be his life without her. Hopeless.

His world would be forever dark, dim, cold, lonely. It didn't matter that he had his companions around him, it didn't matter that the TARDIS was still alive, nothing mattered.

Because Angel wasn't there.

He'd once described her as the light in his darkness...and now it had been snuffed.

He closed his eyes, taking one single deep breath, before he immediately got to work, "Send the planets back," he ordered Donna and the New Doctor, a hint of a growl in his voice, "Now!"

His companions were there, yes, but they weren't his companions any longer. He didn't want them. He didn't want any of them. He just wanted Angel. But...despite that...they were still HER family. Her younger sister was there, with her older brother, her older sister, her best friend, her first companion, and even Sarah Jane he knew she had a fondness for...

If it was the last thing he did, he'd see them safely back where they belonged, on Earth, returned to where it should be, with the other planets too because Angel didn't like anyone to suffer, she wouldn't want the peoples of those other worlds to be scared, not even the residents of Clom or Pyrovillia.

This would be for her.

He would do this for her.

And then...

He'd find her again.

He barely registered Jack grabbing his large gun from the TARDIS along with Rose's, tossing it to Mickey, the two of them defending him from Davros as he worked, barely heard Sarah Jane and Martha and Rose asking what had happened, heard nothing of Donna and the New Doctor telling them what happened, was even deaf to their startled cries as they did the one thing he wanted to do but knew he wouldn't be able to bear doing...ran into the TARDIS and to Angel's side, holding her.

He couldn't.

He would break if he stepped into the TARDIS. He wanted to gather her in his arms, but...to feel her cold, unmoving, to not feel her hearts beating for him...would shatter him. And he needed to be whole enough to do what was coming next.

"Clom's off," the New Doctor reported, glancing at his original self as he was silent, not even acknowledging that he'd heard him, "And Adipose Three."

"Shallacatop," Donna added quietly, eyeing the Doctor in concern, he'd never been so silent before, "Pyrovillia, the Lost Moon of Poosh..."

But there was nothing, the Doctor just worked tirelessly.

The New Doctor stared at him, the man not wasting any time with chat, needing to send the last planet, Earth, home. He could see it in his eyes, the darkness that was held at bay by Angel's mere presence returned fully blown, all consuming. And he realized...the Doctor was lost.

And when the Doctor was lost, when he was in that dark place he went to when his Mate was harmed...without Angel there...there was no coming back.

He swallowed hard, feeling something stir in his stomach, and he knew, he just KNEW, what the Doctor was going to do next, "Earth," he finished, pulling a lever.

The Doctor stopped typing for only a moment, "Get them out of here," he ordered his human self.

The New Doctor didn't even have to ask who he was talking about as he turned and grabbed Donna, pulling her off with a cry of, "Jack! Mickey! With me!" running towards the TARDIS where the other women were.

The Doctor stood rigid for a moment, before typing again, oddly enough not bothering to ask the Daleks what had happened, how all the coincidence of Donna arose, not even curious. Why would he be? He didn't care. Whether or not Caan foresaw this, or helped, or betrayed the Daleks, he didn't care what was being shouted behind him...

It didn't matter.

Because with or without a Reality Bomb, the Dalek Empire was big enough to slaughter the cosmos.

And Angel loved the Universe, the guardian angel of it she was.

He winced, she WAS.

He could do this for her, he would do this for her, he would make sure that the Universe was safe from the Daleks, for her.

He only looked up for one brief moment, looking at the TARDIS, at those gathered in it, everyone was inside with Angel, crying and upset, the New Doctor at the doors looking at him, solemn. The New Doctor didn't bother to speak, to try and change his mind, to try and argue that he should come into the TARDIS. Because he knew, he was him, he knew what he was capable of when he'd reached his limit, reached his end.

He nodded at the man.

The New Doctor swallowed but nodded back, and shut the doors of the TARDIS.

He stared, watching as the blue box faded away, before he looked back at the controls, "Maximizing Dalekanium power feeds…" he muttered and hit a button...not even wincing as the Daleks exploded behind him, screaming in agony as they died.

Had Angel screamed when she died? Had the pain gotten to be too much? Or had she been strong, like she always was, and contained it, bit her lip and tried to smile so he wouldn't have known how terribly she felt? Or had she passed peacefully?

He didn't know.

He would never know.

And regardless of how she had passed...he would make the Daleks suffered for ensuring he couldn't be there with her.

He spun around as Davros began to cry out for his beloved children, the ship exploding around them from the detonations of the Daleks, "Never forget, Doctor, YOU did this! I name YOU, forever, YOU are the Destroyer of Worlds!"

The Doctor smiled, "I know," and pulled out the sonic, flashing it at the controls and holding it up, ready to activate it once more.

"You would not dare!" Davros screamed, knowing that one single sonic pulse to the adjustments he'd made in the controls would turn the entire Crucible into a bomb, "You would not end your life, the man who runs from death!"

"You Daleks," he just shook his head, seeming far, FAR too calm, worryingly calm, for someone about to blow a ship up with him still in it, "You underestimate everything. Humans, me, love..."

"Love is a weakness!"

"No," he shook his head, his smile growing soft, "It's the one, never-ending, source of strength in the Universe. No one has ever loved another as much as I do Angel," he looked at the sonic as he held it up more, "And this...this is how I'll see her again."

And with that...

He flicked it on.

~8~

The TARDIS shook violently as it flew off, away from the Crucible as it exploded, all the occupants silent, closing their eyes as they mourned, knowing what had happened, knowing who else had been lost. They all gathered together, holding each other close, not only had they lost Angel, but the Doctor too.

That man, he would NEVER leave his Mate, not even in death.

And the Universe seemed just a little more of a cold, hard, dangerous place as a result.

The TARDIS let out a pained groan, like a sick grinding noise, that pulled all their attention up.

"We need to hurry," the New Doctor said quietly, "I'm sorry," he looked at them, knowing they needed time to mourn, "Donna and I," he looked at her, "We got enough of the Doctor and Angel to keep this old box going a little while longer, but...we need to get you home," he looked at the humans, "And we need to get you back to Pete's World," he added to Rose.

Rose just swallowed, not arguing. There was no point anymore, was there? She'd come back to warn the Doctor and Angel, maybe to stay with them, but...they were gone, they were both gone and...she didn't want to be in the same Universe they died in. At least she had a way out, the others...they couldn't come with her, they couldn't live in a Universe where there was already a version of them.

She'd discovered that during her time in the parallel world, the reason why she and her mother and Mickey could last there without the world falling out of balance. If there were two versions of them, it would be too much, the world would be unbalanced. There had never been a Rose Tyler, save for the puppy who had sadly died during the first Cybermen attack, Jackie and Ricky had died as well which left a void for their replacements in her mum and Mickey, but also left them the option of leaving if they wanted as 'they' had died in that world so if they disappeared from it, the world would would still be balanced.

She got up and moved over to the New Doctor as he just stared at the rotor, unmoving despite his words, "What can we do to help?" she asked, taking his hand.

He looked down at her and just gave a sad smile, moving her to the console, setting her up before a lever and quietly explaining what it did and what she needed to do with it, before moving the others around as well, Rose, Sarah Jane, Mickey, Jack, Martha, Donna, and him. Jackie beside Angel, pulling her own jacket off to rest over the woman's body and face, tears in her eyes as she stared at the girl.

All the stories Rose had told her, made her feel like the girl really WAS her daughter and not just Rose's sister. And now she'd lost her. And so, she just sat there with Angel, holding her hand as the others piloted the TARDIS off.

~8~

They'd only made one stop on Earth, Torchwood, as they didn't think the box would last multiple trips to UNIT or Sarah Jane's house or Donna's home...they had to pick only one, and Torchwood was it, they would have the resources to get the others back home and...despite UNIT having had the Doctor work for them for so long...Torchwood felt more like where Angel would want to be than them, having met the small team, having saved them and become like a member of their family, more so than just as Jack's little sister.

It was fitting, UNIT had the Doctor, Torchwood had Angel.

The box was struggling to keep going though, but they couldn't leave and the box seemed about to fight them all tooth and nail to stay because the New Doctor and Rose and her family HAD to be there, had to stay with Torchwood just a little longer, for respect and to honor Angel.

The team had been devastated.

They'd stepped out of the TARDIS, all of them, to see the Torchwood team run out the doors as the sun just started its path to set, wide grins on their faces at having survived, at having the Earth returned, at having the Daleks destroyed...only to stop short at the sight before them.

Jack, standing there, with an umoving Angel in his arms, tears in his eyes and a devastated look on his face, matching, and quite a bit worse than, the solemn faces of those around him.

All he'd said was that they needed to build a pyre.

And so they had.

All of them knew how special Time Lords were, their body's natural abilities. They knew so many people would be after them, try to study Angel, dissect her, tear her apart to try and learn what made her tick, not just humans but aliens as well, and they REFUSED to see that happen to her. So Martha and Jack had explained that Time Lords, if killed before regeneration could set in, were burned, as the Doctor and Angel had done with the Master, like the Doctor had done for himself.

It was a small pyre, compared to the Master's, but it was just so Angel, she wouldn't have wanted anything extravagant, despite the fact that she would have deserved it. And she wouldn't have wanted a public spectacle, so it had been done just behind Torchwood, the bay in the background, at sunset, which was fitting. They had all come to share the Doctor's view that Angel was just a big old ray of sunshine in the dark, and, as the sun set and the daylight went out, so should Angel.

Jack hadn't been able to bring himself to light the pyre, just standing there as she laid on top of it, despite her being wrapped in a shroud they could all see Angel lying there. He'd held the lit torch, tears in his eyes reflecting the flickering light, no one urging him to do it, none of them wanting to believe Angel was truly gone, they still couldn't believe the Doctor was gone either.

It was like...if they just waited long enough, the Doctor would saunter out of the TARDIS with a wide grin and come up with some scientific ramble about how Angel would be fine. It was too sudden, how he'd died, in a single instant, in that explosion, he was gone. They couldn't process it, it was just too fast.

But with Angel, they were struggling. Because she was there, her body was there, and...to light that pyre...meant it was over. It meant she was really gone, it meant the Doctor was really gone as well.

Mickey took a breath, steeling himself, and gently took the torch from Jack, knowing the man must have been relieved to not have to be the one to light the pyre, to signal the official end of Angel's long lives. She hadn't even made it to 800 years old. Mickey approached the pyre, looking at the shroud a moment, before offering it a small, sad smile. Angel had made him a strong man, Angel had truly marked the start of his life as a real man, with her faith in him. She had done everything for him, he could do this for her, he could make sure she was never ever used or hurt ever again.

He looked down at the bottom of the pyre where some kindling had been set to start it, and lowered the torch...

He stepped back as the fire caught, leaving the torch with the pyre, and moved to the line of humans gathered around it in a semi circle, all of them just staring as the flames grew higher. He looked over as he heard a muffled sob and saw Martha Jones, the woman he'd been investigating, close her eyes tightly and try not to cry, try to be as strong as Angel always was. He reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly as she cried, others seeming to follow her lead. Donna stood beside Jack, his arm around her, his other arm around Ianto's shoulders. Sarah Jane and Rose stood with their arms linked tightly, Jackie rubbing Rose's back as she cried silently for her sister. Gwen stood stoically with Rhys beside her, though there were tears in her eyes as well as she clutched Rhys hand, Tosh openly crying on Owen's shoulder as he held her, rubbing her back as he tried to whisper calming words in her ear.

"It's fitting, isn't it?" Jack had to murmur.

"What?" Mickey swallowed, looking over.

"It's pitch black out," Jack began to smile, sunset had happened quickly it seemed, and now, with the flames growing, it was night officially.

"What of it?" Jackie asked.

Jack let out a little laugh, "She's still the light in the dark."

They looked over and couldn't help but smile, it was true. It was dark all around them yet Angel, her pyre, was providing light and warmth.

It really was fitting.

~8~

It had been difficult, for the small group of time travelers to cope, to move on from the death of their beloved Doctor and shining Angel, but if there was one thing to be said it was that travelling with the Doctor had made them stronger and knowing Angel had made them closer. In everything they did from that night on, Angel and the Doctor were always in their thoughts and actions.

Donna had joined Torchwood, moved out to Cardiff to help protect the Earth. It seemed she really had gotten a sprinkle of Angel, she'd been able to almost sense things now. She was truly an asset to the team, with a hint of the Doctor's mind and Angel's intuition, she would often lead the team exactly where they had to go, sense a danger looming or a trap set and warn them, and even help out with some alien tech. Oh she loved spending time with Tosh and Gwen though, Tosh was excited that someone else seemed to understand what she talked about when she got excited about new software or a new program, and loved teaching Donna things she wasn't sure of. Gwen had loved her sass and cheek, claiming it was great to finally have an even number of men and women, no more being overruled by Jack, Ianto, and Owen with Donna there. Owen found her amusing, how she put Jack in his place, almost acting like an older sister to him as well. And she LOVED teasing Ianto and Jack about their blooming relationship, claiming Angel would want them to have a healthy dose of teasing and love. She'd explained to her mother and grandfather, with some help from Jack, about what she was planning to do with her life.

No more temping, but fighting and hunting aliens.

Her mother had fainted...and then ranted about how no daughter of hers was going to go off and fight deadly aliens, showing her love and concern and worry for her daughter. Her grandfather had applauded her and encouraged her. But they had both quieted when she explained WHY she wanted to do it, what had happened to the Doctor and Angel that made her feel like she needed to step up, take responsibility, and do what she could to keep the Earth safe. It was something the Time Lords would have done and had always done. And so, to honor them, she would do it too. Her mother hadn't been able to counter that when Jack explained what the New Doctor had told them of the metacrisis, how Donna could have very easily died if not for Angel using the last of her strength to save her.

Martha and Mickey had done much the same, Mickey deciding to stay in their Universe instead of Pete's World. Something had happened between him and Martha during Angel's funeral, an understanding had been reached, both of them hurt in the same way for Angel, in a different way than the others. Mickey had decided to stay for her, Martha knew, and so she'd introduced him to UNIT, he'd been hired on the spot as soon as the words 'Colonel Mace, meet Mickey Smith, Angel's companion...' had come out of her mouth. Mickey had been surprised that UNIT would have so much faith in him just from that but he'd found himself ready to prove their faith was justified. Angel had taught him that, to not let others down, and that, in just trying your best, you could never let another down. They were often paired together, both having been someone important to Angel, both having much the same experiences. They'd bonded during that time, and everyone knew they would wed one day.

Sarah Jane had returned home, to her son Luke, and his friends, more determined than ever to defend the Earth. It was surprising how much more seriously one took something when suddenly the front line of defense instead of picking up what slipped through the cracks. Knowing the Doctor and Angel wouldn't ever be showing up just in time again, had made them all more cautious, more serious, more investigative. And it had made her appreciate her son and his friends all the more. Speaking with Martha and Donna and Jack and Rose had made her realize that Angel looked at them all as family, even her, and that she had been so strong and hung on so long for them. Everything that girl had done, everything she'd sacrificed, had been to protect her family. It had made her live each and every day with her son to the fullest, treasure every achievement, and brought them all the more closer for it.

Rose had kept true to her promise and left to go to Pete's World with her mother and the New Doctor. She couldn't bear to be in a Universe that had once had the Doctor and Angel but didn't any longer. The New Doctor had gone with her, claiming that THIS Earth would be protected, with UNIT and Torchwood and their new additions, but Pete's World would need something...more. The effects of the Crucible had been felt first in that world and so, if anything happened like that again, HE would better be able to determine what it was and help stop it, hopefully without having to build another Dimension Cannon. Rose had been both happy and sad that he'd volunteered to go with her. Sad because he looked so much like the Doctor and acted like both him and Angel and it was just a never-ending reminder that they weren't there anymore. But also happy because, in a way, it was like they were living on through him. She didn't know what the future might hold for her and the New Doctor, but she was a bit excited to see what it was, even if it meant the adventures were on Earth and not throughout the stars.

The TARDIS had done as always threatened by the Doctor, as soon as they had stepped out onto the beach in Parallel Norway, the box had just...shut down. The lights had gone dark and the power shut off, the doors locking behind them. But what had really shocked Rose, was that...the outside of the TARDIS had faded, become rock, just like the rocks around it. The New Doctor had just laughed and said 'Angel.' Apparently she HAD fixed the Chameleon Circuit, but on for the event of the TARDIS 'dying.' When the box shut down, officially and forever, she didn't want anyone to find it and disrespect the box's final resting place, so she'd rigged it to blend into the surroundings enough to not be bothered.

The Earth, the Earth of Martha and Mickey and Donna and Jack, was a safer place. It had its dangers, yes, but every challenge, every threat posed to the Earth, was met with fierce resistence from three sides, UNIT, Torchwood, and the Smiths. And every enemy who dared try and harm the humans was sent packing from their combined efforts. Between Donna and her intuition, UNIT and their army, and Mr. Smith and his databases, nothing that came to Earth for a hostile purpose lasted very long, not even when the 456 or the Master returned.

They fought on, all of them, in the memory of the Doctor and Angel, carrying on the legacy of their Time Lords.

The End

A/N: :'( I had a small scene at the end, like...ghosts of the Doctor/Angel watching over them and just so proud, but I felt that was a bit too much and too clichéd and I thought this was a good place to end :) So, this was the Alternate Ending to Journey's End, where Angel did not survive. I wanted to show the aftereffect of her death on the Doctor, but also on her family and on the future. I hope it was believable how the Earth might still be safe without the Time Lords there, between ALL of them working together, with hints of the Doctor and Angel among them, that I think they might do a pretty good job of it no matter what popped up along the way :)

Still so sad for the Doctor and Angel though :( I'm really glad I went with the other ending :)