Yo. Two-in-one day. Took five to six hours to write and I'm exhausted but hey, enjoy!

Chapter 14

::

When Rose Tyler next opened her eyes it wasn't a new Doctor she was staring at. It was the same man with wild brown hair who got overly excited and rambled things off faster than anyone could be expected to keep up with. He was gasping and leaning against one of the coral support struts but overall, besides some paleness and disheveled hair, he looked the same as he always did.

"Now then, where were we?" Chancing a glance up at Jack and Donna she saw they were still and as shocked as she was as the Doctor ran past them, bending down on his hands and knees in front of a hand that was in a jar. And really, this is why she never left him alone. He caused far too much trouble. Where did he find a hand in a jar?!

"There now," the Doctor smiled, blowing away the spare regeneration energy. Sitting up he looked over at his still stunned companions. "You see? Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but soon as I was done I didn't need to change. I didn't want to, why would I?" Here he adjusted his tie, smirking. Really he quite liked this body, he'd rather not part with it just yet. "Look at me! So, to stop the energy going all the way I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle, namely, my hand, my hand there, my handy spare hand-" He didn't get any further since he was suddenly tackled the rest of the way to the ground, Rose clinging to him and laughing.

"You daft, crazy old alien! You had me scared to death!" She had been terrified for a few seconds but then he had started rambling off as he always did, making no sense whatsoever, and she just couldn't stop herself anymore. She had been wanting to hug him for ages and dammit she was getting her hug!

"Ah, well, I tend to do that sometimes, bad habit, really," the Doctor smiled, pulling them up and wrapping his arms around Rose equally as tight, twirling her around for a moment. Trying to continue his explanation he shook his head, focusing. It was very hard when he had a warm and happy Rose Tyler finally hugging him again. "Uh, right, Christmas Day, remember? Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight?" Seeing Rose wasn't responding he rolled his eyes, chuckling. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, crazy alien," Rose sniffed, burying herself into the Doctor. After all this time he still smelled the same. He still smelled of time, tea, and- "Have you been using my apple grass shampoo?!"

"Ah, well..." And she could tell he was blushing just by the way he was fidgeting. "See, the thing is, I ran out, and the TARDIS, you know how she is, not liking things to go to waste and all, and so there was this inner-dimensional temporal-"

"I knew it. You just like it better than yours!" He had been trying to steal her shampoo since day one.

"That too." A few feet away Jack and Donna were smiling, happy that their friends were finally back together. Glancing over at the supposed Captain Donna smirked.

"You can hug me, if you want." At the laugh her face grew serious, "No, really, you can hug me!" Any response or joking of the others was cut short when the power went out, the Doctor finally letting Rose go and rushing over to the console, humans following after him.

"They've got us. Power's gone- Some kind of chronon loop..." TARDIS shuddering all of them clung to something for support and shared grim looks. As they all sat back Jack finally spoke up, voice subdued.

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the center of the planets, they're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination." Rose worried her lip between her teeth as she paced the floor, the Doctor watching her worriedly. His attention was drawn away when Donna spoke up.

"You said these planets were like an engine, but what for?" At that the Doctor blinked, ready to shake his head when his eyes widened. Of course.

"Rose!" Darting over to Rose's side, and stopping her pacing by putting his hands on her shoulders, he tapped her forehead to get her attention. "You've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this universe! You've seen the future, what is it?"

"It's the darkness," Rose spoke quietly, all of them feeling the heaviness in her words. "The end of everything." When she shuddered she felt the Doctor's grip on her tighten.

"The stars were going out," Donna murmured, remembering what Rose had said to her in that world. Rose nodded, eyes trained on the TARDIS's floor vents.

"One by one, we looked up at the sky, and they were just dying, time was dying." With her head tilted down no one noticed as her eyes flashed gold for a split second. Peeking up at the Doctor she smiled nervously. "Basically, well, we've um, we've been building this, well, this travel machine, this...this dimension canon. So I c- Well, so I could..." Seeing her pause the Doctor blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"So I could come back," Rose blushed, grinning when the Doctor only pulled her into a tight hug, cheek resting against her forehead as he chuckled. "Shut up," she smirked, hugging him back. "Anyways, suddenly, it started to work and the dimensions began to collapse. Not just in that world, not just in this one, but the whole of reality. Even the Void began to die. Something...it was destroying everything."

"In that parallel world..." Donna trailed off, Rose turning to look at her as the Doctor released her. "You said something about me."

'The dimension canon could measure timelines, and...Donna, they all converge on you." Jack and Donna's eyes widened when they saw gold in Rose's eyes, the woman tilting her head. "Time is moving around you, Donna Noble." Any question about the gold was cut off when they heard a beeping from the monitor, the Doctor leaning towards it and frowning.

"The Dalek Crucible. All aboard."

"Cheery, you are," Rose snorted, the Doctor throwing her a halfhearted glare that Rose only smirked at. When they felt the TARDIS land they all shared the same grim look, the Doctor walking towards the door when they heard one of the Daleks command for them to come out.

"We'll have to go out," the Doctor spoke up bitterly, eyes trained on the door. "Because if we don't they'll get in." At that Rose blinked, looking startled.

"Hold on, you told me nothing could get through those doors," she frowned, taking on a mock Northern accent that had Jack snorting behind her. "Not even the assembled hoards of Genghis Khan could get through that door- And believe me, they tried!"

"You've got extrapolator shielding," Jack pointed out, looking confused. The Doctor only shook his head, looking serious.

"Last time we fought the Daleks they were scavengers and hybrids and mad. But this is a fully-fledged Dalek Empire, at the height of it's power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything. Right now that wooden door...it's just wood." All three humans shared a look at that, looking scared.

"Isn't there any way we can get out of this?" Donna asked, hands nervously twitching. At the question Jack blinked, turning to Rose.

"What about your dimension jump?" Rose shook her head.

"It needs another 20 minutes, and anyways it only carries one and I'm not leaving. Not now." Not after she had found the Doctor again. The words weren't said but they were understood. The Doctor sighed, looking over to Jack.

"What about your teleport?"

"Went down with the power loss," Jack grumbled, shifting around in irritation. "Looks like we're all out of options then."

"Right then, all of us together, yeah?"

"Yeah," Donna smiled, sharing the look with Rose and Jack.

"Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek masters!"

"Daleks," Rose giggled, voice high-pitched. Jack laughed with her.

"Oh, God!" The Doctor saw the panic and memories in both their eyes, the two remembering the last time all three had faced Daleks together. It had been an experience none of them had wanted to repeat.

"It's been good, though, hasn't it?" The Doctor asked, memories of all of them swirling around in his head. "All of us, all of it. Everything we did..." Turning to Donna he smiled, "You were brilliant." Turning to Jack he grinned, "And you were brilliant." With the other two grinning he reached for Rose's hands, holding them gently and leaning their foreheads together. "And you...Rose Tyler..."

"Go on, then," Rose smiled, eyes watery, "What was I?"

"You were fantastic." At the stressed word Rose laughed, holding his hands tightly and looking ready to cry. "Absolutely fantastic."

"And so were you," Rose sniffed. Taking a deep breath the two parted, all four of them sharing a last look and heading for the TARDIS door. When they exited what they saw almost made them run back inside.

Daleks swarmed the ship they were on, echoing the Supreme Dalek and flying through the air, all watching the four on the ground.

"Behold, Doctor! Behold the might of the true Dalek race."

"Oh, yes, I'm beholding, alright," the Doctor nodded, absently moving to stand in front of Rose, which she only rolled her eyes at. All this time and still as overprotective as always. "Lovely to see you all again."

"Enough talk, Time Lord. Your TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed." At that all of them paled, the Doctor and Rose looking most shocked.

"What- No- Why?! You got me now, there's not reason to go and destroy her!" As he spoke a trap door opened underneath the TARDIS, Jack quickly catching Rose before she could try and lunge after it, the Doctor stalking up the Supreme Dalek, eyes blazing with anger. "What are you doing?! Bring her back! What've you done?! Where's she going?!"

"The Crucible has a heart of Z-Neutrino Energy. The TARDIS will be deposited into the core." At the news the Doctor jerked back as if he had been slapped, eyes wide in horror. Rose seemed to be the same way since she had gone limp in Jack's hold.

"You- You can't! You've taken the defenses down, she'll be torn apart!"

::

The TARDIS knew what was happening, how could she not know? But she didn't worry. Didn't panic. She only kept herself calm. She would not perish here, not yet. The others did not know it, the Daleks did not know it, but she had one plan left. One hope of rescue.

She had her Bad Wolf.

::

"The TARDIS will perish. Observe!" A holographic screen formed behind them, all turning to look as the Doctor walked forward, body drawn in and expression horrified. The TARDIS was bobbing in the energy field. It was only a second before Rose let out a shriek, body collapsing as she held her head.

"Rose!" Rushing over the Doctor took her from Jack, holding her close as she shook. "Rose, come on Rose, what's wrong?"

"My head. It's killin' me," Rose gritted out, clutching her eyes shut where gold was playing havoc. She could feel it. She could feel the TARDIS suffering and in pain. She could feel her cries. Around her she felt the Doctor go still, the man remember the last time he had heard Rose utter those words. Back when she had held time itself.

"The last child of Gallifrey is powerless."

::

When Rose next came to her senses she and the Doctor were being forced apart. She was ready to throw a temper tantrum that would put everyone to shame when she saw the Doctor's look, telling her to go along with it. Rose watched as spotlights came over all three, the woman twitching her nose as she smelled the sharp metallic smell and tasted it in the air. Donna pressed against her spotlight, a ripple of blue energy showing before she hissed at the slight burn it gave her. Sighing she rubbed her arms, "Too bad we can't do that whole particle-pulling-particle trick anymore, huh?"

"What?" Rose asked, blinking and looking confused as she tried to sort her mind, focus on what was happening now instead of things that were running through her head.

"Well, back when me and the Doctor first met I had been given a bunch of these particles, these, oh, what were they called?" she called, looking over to the Doctor, who was looking around the room before pausing and blinking at them.

"Huon particles?"

"That was it!" Donna declared, hissing as her hand brushed the sides of the holding cell again. "I was dosed up full of these huon particles and because of it I could do this thing where I could pull the TARDIS to me, particles pulling particles, he said." Rose nodded as she fell silent, mind racing. Where had she heard that phrase before? Huon particles? Hadn't...hadn't those been what changed her? Back when she was at the Gamestation-

"Excellent. Even when powerless a Time Lord is best contained," Davros spoke, rolling into view in front of them. Rose felt her body freeze as pure anger washed over her. She had seen Davros once before, back when she had been jumping through time and ran into a previous Doctor. "And his companion of course." Here he looked at Rose, who raised her lip in a snarl.

"Still scared of me, then?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, not noticing Rose's reactions. His mind was still reeling from the loss of his TARDIS, from the one who had been with him on his journey since he had first set out from Gallifrey all those centuries ago.

"It is time we talked, Doctor. After so very long-"

"No, no, no, no, no," the Doctor cut the alien off, looking annoyed as he spoke quickly. "We're not doing the nostalgia tour, I wanna know what's happening, right here, right now, 'cause the Supreme Dalek said Vault, yeah?" As the Doctor spoke both girls rolled their eyes as he spun around in his cell to make a show of it. "As in dungeon? Cellar? Prison? You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"

"We have...an arrangement," Davros spoke, voice hesitant.

"No, no, no, no," the Doctor laughed, looking amused. "I've got the word. You're the Dalek's pet!"

"So very full of fire, is he not?" Davros asked, voice angry as he moved over in front of Rose, staring at her. "And to think you crossed entire universes and time itself, striding parallel to parallel and era to era to find him again."

"Leave her alone," the Doctor bit out quietly, Davros not even sparing him a glance.

"She is mine, to do as I please." At that Rose might have let out a growl as she stared the monster down, hands clenching into fists. "We meet yet again, Rose Tyler."

"Again?" the Doctor blinked, looking at Rose, who was only glaring at one of his longest enemies. What did he mean they met before, Rose had never ran into Davros when they were traveling.

"I thought you would have learned by now, Davros," Rose smirked, blood welling to her fingertips as nails clenched her fists. "Something about cagin' wolves, yeah?"

"You must be here, though," Davros spoke, smile on his face. "It was foretold. Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophecies of Dalek Caan." Flipping a switch all three turned to look at the spotlight that was now on Dalek Caan, Rose's eyes widening in horror.

"So warm and bright and fierce, fire is coming, the endless flames of Time..."

"What is that thing..." Donna whispered, hands covering her mouth as she stared.

"The last of the Cult of Skaro," the Doctor muttered, glancing over to Rose and Donna, "It flew into the Time War, unprotected."

"Caan did more than that," Davros interrupted, "He saw time, it's infinite complexity and majesty, raging through his mind." At that Rose snorted, looking over at the broken and insane Dalek.

"Not so easy, is it, Caan? Having all that energy, all that power, in your head?" At the words both the Doctor and Donna looked startled. Rose only grinned. "It's hard, isn't it? You can't even tell who you are anymore. The Vortex itself gets inside, it rages through your mortal body and bit by bit it tears you down and then builds you back up into something impossible. It breaks you."

"Ahahaha, the wolf and the Doctor this I have foreseen," Caan giggled, sounding amused. "In the wild and the wind the two shall be here, as witness. Witness to the end of everything. Them and their precious Children of Time." The Dalek giggled, tentacles waving around in glee. "And one of them will die!"

"Shut up!" The Doctor snapped, hands slamming against the cage before he recoiled at the shock that went through him. "None of them will die, do you hear me?! None of them!"

"Oh, that's it!" Davros broke in, sounding excited. "The anger. The fire. The rage of a Time Lord who has butchered millions. There he is!" As the Doctor's eyes moved to look at Rose Davros continued. "Why so shy? Show your companions. Show them your true self... Dalek Caan has promised me that, too."

"I have seen," Dalek Caan spoke, voice lilting and high. "At the time of ending the Doctor's soul will be revealed."

"What does that mean?" The Doctor asked quietly, blinking as Davros spoke and drew his attention back to him.

"We will discover it together. Our final journey. Because the ending approaches...the testing begins."

"Testing of what?"

"The Reality Bomb."

::

Rose Tyler's head was a mess. She was trying to concentrate on what the Doctor and Donna were muttering about but she couldn't even concentrate for a few seconds. Her eyes were flashing gold and flashes of events she never should have known about were running through her head. Flashes of her Doctor, all versions she had seen, and three she hadn't. Old and young but at the same time young and old.

Beneath all that there was the voice of the TARDIS, whispering things to her that she had no idea on how to understand. The TARDIS had always been in her head, ever since day one, but this was different. Before it had been emotions and vague hints and answers to her questions, now she was whispering in a lyrical and musical language that she had no clue how to explain or decipher.

And laying under all that, as if just waiting to be released, there was energy. She could feel it. It was raw and golden and powerful and it burned. It felt as if she even let her mind go in the direction of that energy she would burn, and this time she had a feeling the Doctor wouldn't be able to save her.

"Rose?" Jerking at her name she looked over at the Doctor, who was frowning at her worriedly. "You alright?"

"Wha- Uh, y-yeah. Fine." Rose smiled, wincing at the spike of pain in her head. Her own time sense, something she had gained while traveling, was going mad. Each Dalek, human, and Time Lord she could see. All their time traces and timelines. She had to force herself to look away from the Doctor's and Donna's, both blazing with bright energy. In another portion of the ship she could feel something that set her on edge, a fixed point that was moving. "Oh...so that's what happened."

Jack and the Gamestation, and Bad Wolf brought life but she didn't know how to control it and- Oh. Oh god Jack. That was why, that look in his eyes that was so like the Doctor's. That look of living for hundreds of years. She-

"Rose, are you sure?" Donna asked, Rose nodding skittishly and staring at the ground as the Doctor and Donna shared a confused look over the top of her head. Hearing the girl mumble something Donna blinked, brows drawing together, "What was that?"

"Particles...pulling particles..." Before anything could be asked on that Davros was rolling back towards them, pressing a controller to show them a holographic screen.

"Behold, the apotheosis of my genius!" They all looked at the screen where there was a group of scared humans, hands over their heads and looking at something that was above them. The Doctor's eyes widened in shock.

"That's Z-Neutrino energy...flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single string." At the information Rose covered her mouth, looking horrified as the Doctor spun around to face Davros. "No! Davros! Davros, you can't! You can't! NO!" Once the test was completed Donna was looking scared and confused, looking towards the Doctor.

"What was it? Doctor? What did it do- What happened?!"

"Electrical energy, Miss Noble," Davros spoke, sounding pleased. "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field, the Reality Bomb cancels it out. Structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."

"Stars are going out," Rose mumbled, body shaking. "And Time is failing."

"The 27 planets," the Doctor spoke, eyes still staring at the screen. "They become one vast transmitter, blasting that wavelength-"

"Across the entire universe," Davros finished, sounding pleased. Never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars with become dust, and the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become...nothing."

"No- No!" Donna cried, looking terrified, "You can't do that!"

"Oh but we have," Davros continued, "The wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation! This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"

Seconds later and a screen appeared in front of them, all of them recognizing Martha's face, "This message is for the Dalek Crucible, repeat, can you hear me?"

"Put me through!" The Doctor ordered, glaring at Davros before turning back to look at the screen.

"It begins," Davros spoke, "As Dalek Caan foretold."

"The Children of Time with gather. And one of them will die!" Caan giggled.

"Stop saying that," the Doctor hissed, sparing a glare at the insane Dalek, "Put me through!"

"Doctor!" Martha cried, looking torn at seeing him. "I'm sorry. I had to."

"Oh, but the Doctor is powerless," Davros explained, rolling his chair towards the screen. "My prisoner. State your intent," he nodded, sounding like a ruler holding court. It was enough to make Rose feel sick.

"I've got the Osterhagen Key," Martha informed them, holding up what looked like a computer chip inside a plastic casing. "Leave this planet and it's people alone. Or I'll use it."

"Osterhagen what? What's an Osterhagen Key?!" the Doctor spoke, looking frantic. He could feel time shortening and stretching around them. Something was starting an he wasn't sure what it was.

"There's a chain of 25 nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use this key they detonate...and the Earth gets ripped apart."

"What?! Who invented that?!" The Doctor demanded, tilting his head back as he thought, "Well, someone called Osterhagen, I suppose. Martha, are you insane?!"

"The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the human race is so great, so without hope...that this becomes the final option."

"That's never an option!" The Doctor shouted as Rose and Donna shared a look, both looking tense at the information.

"Don't argue with me, Doctor! 'Cause it's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these 27 planets for something, but what happens if it becomes 26? What happens then? Daleks?! Would you risk it?" Tilting her head towards the Doctor Rose smiled.

"She's good." Trying to blow up the Earth? Bit extreme she admitted, but the way she negotiated? Rose had to give this Martha credit for that. She saw the Doctor shoot her an irritated look that she only brushed off. She was used to brushing off his irritated looks.

"Who's that?" Martha asked, looking curious.

"My name's Rose," Rose smiled, "Rose Tyler. It's nice to meet you, Martha Jones."

"Oh my God," Martha whispered, looking shocked, "He found you." Looking over to the Doctor Rose saw he was looking at her before glancing away, cheeks flushed.

"Aw, telling stories about me, Doctor?" At that the Doctor blushed even more, looking irritated as Donna choked on a laugh.

"In case you hadn't noticed we're kind of dealing with the end of everything, here."

"Yes but you're so cute when you blush," Rose smirked, seeing the blush worsen. So she was surrounded by Daleks, Davros, and a companion who was threatening to blow up the Earth. She hadn't seen her Doctor in a damn long time and she was going to tease the hell out of him if it killed her. "And it makes your freckles show up."

"Really, you two? Really?!" Donna snapped, looking irritated. Rose only shrugged while the Doctor sputtered.

"She's the one flirting, not me!"

"Yeah, but you like it," Rose winked, the Doctor rolling his eyes. Although Rose saw a small smile on his face. They were interrupted when a second screen showed up, this one showing Jack, Micky, Jackie, and Sarah Jane.

"Captain Jack Harkness, calling all Dalek boys and girls! Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off!"

"Oh my God he's alive," Donna gasped, covering her face. Rose only blinked, shaking her head.

"Like a cockroach, he is. You couldn't get rid of him if you tried- Mum?!"

"And Mickey-" The Doctor's eyes narrowed, "Captain, what are you doing?"

"I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe," Jack explained, voice sounding aged. "I break this shell the entire Crucible goes up."

"You can't!" The Doctor shook his head, looking more and more frantic, "Where did you get a Warp Star?!"

"From me," Sarah Jane spoke, stepping forward. "We have no choice! We saw what happened to the prisoners."

"Impossible," Davros spoke, rolling forward. "That face...after all these years." At the sight of the alien Sarah Jane's face grew cold.

"Davros. It's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith, remember?"

"Oh, this is meant to be," Davros crooned, smiling now. "The Circle of Time is closing. You were there, on Skaro, at the very beginning of my creation."

"And I've learned how to fight since then! You let them go or this Warp Star- it gets opened!" Rose glanced at the Doctor, seeing he was looking at the ground.

"I'll do it!" Jack smiled, tugging the Warp Star up, "Don't imagine I wouldn't."

"Now that's a ransom," Donna laughed, looking over at seeing the other two were quiet. "Doctor? Rose?"

"And the prophecy unfolds," Davros spoke.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed," Caan giggled, "See him! See the heart of him!"

"The man who abhors violence," Davros turned towards them, "Never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor. You take ordinary people and you fashion them into weapons." At each word Rose felt her anger grow and boil. That wasn't true. None of it was true. "Behold your Children of Time, transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."

"They're trying to help," the Doctor muttered, avoiding his gaze.

"Already I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the Subwave Network."

"Who was that?" the Doctor looked up shocked, looking to Rose for answers, who was almost growling at Davros.

"Harriet Jones," Rose bit out, body shaking. "She gave her life to get you here...she said you chose your companions well."

"How many more? Just think! How many have died in your name?" The Doctor wouldn't even be able to count them all. So many, ever since he had begun his journey. Centuries of friends and family lost, always saving him, always making sure he survived. He was so, so tired of being the one to survive. "The Doctor. The man who keeps running, never looking back, because he dare not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you...yourself-"

"ENOUGH!" Everyone, on screen and in the room, turned to look at Rose in shock, who was banging her fists on her cage, ignoring the shocks and burns that ran through her from contact with the cell walls. "ENOUGH, DAVROS! You know nothing!" With each yelled word her eyes blazed brighter and brighter. "None of it- None of that is TRUE!

"Do you know why he's called the Doctor?! Because he makes people better!" Rose screamed, eyes almost closed at the pain that was tearing through her body. "He takes people who are broken, or lost, or just stuck and he gives them a chance! He gives them a chance to grow and learn and be better! Don't you dare- Don't you dare say otherwise you-"

"Rose!" the Doctor just managed to stop himself from throwing himself at his own cell, watching as Rose crumpled to the floor and breathed heavily. The Doctor felt his body freeze as he saw the gold deep in her eyes, the time traces that always surrounded her dancing and blazing with righteous anger. "Rose...no..."

"You know nothing Davros. And that will be your end."

Things are about to get interesting. And Rose and the Doctor are terrible flirts, really.