After sobbing into her mother's hair for what felt like an eternity Rose pulled away. She took one final sniff, stood up straight, then marched towards the sea. She could feel her mother begin to follow, clearly worried, before hearing Mickey whisper "give 'er a minute."
Rose stood where the salt water met the sand, letting it lap at her feet, ruining her shoes. She didn't care. She wanted to shout, scream, something grand and dramatic. That just wasn't her though. She was Rose Tyler: Bad Wolf, the stuff of legend. She would not crumble at the poor hand life had recently dealt her. She would pull herself together, toughen up, defend the Earth. Most important of all she would find him again. She didn't quite know how but the Doctor always had said she was far more brilliant than she ever gave herself credit for.
A strange tingling feeling hit Rose, staring at the tip of her nose, spreading to her temples and then throughout the rest of her body. She could taste this strange metallic like tang on her tongue. The sea ebbed and faded slightly. It was still there, only now it had faded into the background as something else dominated her vision. Bright lights stretched, cascading toward the horizon like string. Constantly moving, pulling, entwining just to drift away. A shudder passed through Rose's body as she realised the old Rose was gone, replaced with something new entirely.
It was as if a switch had been flipped in her brain. She just knew. A sense of belonging dawned on her, everything became clear, clicked into place. Rose's entire body was screaming at her, showing her the signs she had so callously brushed off in the past. She couldn't deny it now. She had changed, been in some sort of flux ever since game station. She could feel out time, taste it, sense it even. It was as if time continued to happen all around her yet she just stood there observing it. She was seperate from time itself, or so it felt. Rose Tyler was no longer pushed by time. She lived with it harmoniously, soaked up all of its secrets, for this was the curse of the Time Lords. An echo of a song long forgotten, yet never quite lost, played in her mind continuously. The edges of her vision turned gold before once again showing only the waves of the sea. Everything else she had witnessed - the timelines, the secrets to the universe - hid itself away within her mind, ready to access when need be.
With no trace of fear Rose silently accepted her fate. She could feel it in her bones; Rose Tyler was destined for greatness. She marched over to her not-quite-father, fixing him a steely glare.
"Take me to Torchwood. Show me exactly how you used to work the dimension cannon," she demanded.
"Rose, we can't go back," he explained to her gently.
"Not yet."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Pete furrowed his brows in question.
"C'mon Pete, just trust me on this, yeah?"
Pete wasn't buying it. He simply crossed his arms and looked at Rose sympathetically before clambering back into his jeep with a heavy sigh. Jackie came to Rose's side, gently stroking her shoulder.
"What is it, love?" she asked her daughter.
"A storm's approaching."