Chapter 4: World's End

"Reset the computer!" Several people were shouting. Even 5 billion years in the future, the most likely solution to a problem was to switch it off and on again.

"Only the steward would know how." Said Jade.

"No." Said The Doctor. "We can do it manually. Come with me." They ran from the room, turned back on the way to tell the others and told them to chill for a little while.


"Earth death in two minutes."

They made much quicker progress through the service passages now that they had a sense of urgency to them. They quickly broke into the emergency control level, somewhat higher in the shaft than the platform they'd been before.

The Doctor scanned a panel to find where the emergency shutdown switch was, and promptly rolled his eyes at what he saw. The catwalk it was at the far end of was intersected by three fans, so that anyone walking along it would have to step through the gaps in the blades. Not particularly helpful when the rocketing temperatures were causing the fans to spin at an alarming pace.

Biting back several comments about the absurdity of this design, he pulled a brake on the wall, which slowed the fans to a crawl. A second after he let go however, the air conditioning short-circuited and the fans returned to crazy speed.

Jade grabbed the lever herself and held it down. "Go!" She shouted.

The Doctor saw that the tree was gasping for air and practically leaning on the lever for support. The heat was already affecting her. "The heat's gonna' filter through this place!" He said.

"I know."

"Jade, you're made of wood."

Jade gasped "Then stop wasting time, Time Lord."

"Heat levels critical."

There was no time to argue. The Doctor rushed up to the first fan. Even with the brake applied, they were still going much faster than he'd have liked and it took a great deal of courage, as well as timing, to step through.


"Shields malfunction"

The guests in the main chamber looked in horror as cracks began to appear in the solar shielding, they each dodged around in panic to avoid the narrow shafts of burning light which shot across the room. But this could be auto repaired. The far greater danger came from the asteroids, which were drifting in past the deflector limits. For now, any that hit the ship were small enough that the damage could be contained behind airtight-emergency doors. But the moment Earth went up, they would be flooded with millions of tons of its remains.


The fans were getting faster, making the gaps harder to find. The Doctor made a note to have a less-than-polite word with the engineers at some point. Though, he supposed that this situation had never occurred to them. Finally, he found the right moment and stepped through.

Jade was clinging on to the lever with all her strength, but her vision was blurring and tree sap was seeping from all over her body.

Finally, and inevitably, the heat became too intense and her arm burst into flame. She screamed in agony as she fell away from the lever.

The Doctor heard her screaming, but could do nothing to help, not with two fan wheels between him and her. What's more, he still had a third to get through ahead. But, with the brake gone, the fan blades were accelerating to the point where he could barely make out their outline. Much less judge when to step.


Rose huddled herself in the corner. There was more of the room flooded now that not and she felt like some magician's assistant, stuck in a box dodging swords. Except with the added bonus of chocking smoke and the smell of burning plastic everywhere.

Had anyone looked out, they would have seen the Earth's atmosphere trailing in a multicoloured cloud towards the sun, soon joined by the lighter surface materials as they boiled over. the pressure was lifting, and the intense heat was spreading deeper.


"Earth death in 10... 9..."

The final fan was now spinning like the drum of a washing machine. The Doctor knew that he'd have a roughly 50:50 chance to make it through, but survival instinct was screaming at him not to do it.

"8... 7..."

He closed his eyes. He thought of all those guests and the lives they had. He thought of his companion, who was only on her first trip. He thought of all those lives he'd been unable to save that day, not long ago. How he'd vowed to make amends. Well now was the time!

"... 6... 5..."

He took a deep breath and stepped forward. Hearing the computer announce "...4..." without getting smashed confirmed that he'd made it. He flung himself forward and pulled the emergency override shouting "RECHARGE SHIELDS!"


Asia and Europe had long melted into the mantle, Africa was gone now and the Americas, on the side facing away from the sun were a glowing orange. Meanwhile, the sun was boring through on the far side. Finally, the iron core vaporised and the mantle was blasted in all directions. Planet Earth was no more.

An unimaginable mass of rock was hurled at the ship but the deflector shields just managed to get up in time to stop it hitting. Though the damage the ship had already sustained left them in a weakened state. The whole platform to rock like an earthquake as the chunks deflected.

The guests in the main chamber saw the burning streams begin to ebb and retreat, meanwhile, the temperature was dropping. The crisis was over. It was too late for some though. The Mox of Balboon, for instance, had boiled the moment one of the beams hit him.

"Exoglass repaired."


The fans had slowed down now and The Doctor could march casually through them. Despite having saved the ship, the victory felt hollow with Jade having been lost. All he found of her was a pile of ash in a scorched dress. People willing to do things like this so casually had to be dealt with.


Rose returned to the main hall, to a scene of utter carnage. Most of the walls and the floors were scorched black and everyone who was still mobile was tending to the dead and injured.

The Doctor marched in after her, with a look of purpose on his face. He stepped past Rose and had a quick solemn word with the two surviving trees before returning to her.

"You alright?" She said.

"Yeah." He growled. "I'm full of ideas, me. Bristling with them. Idea 1: Anyone who can beam through 5 million degrees must have some kind of relay point. Idea 2: That point must be nearby." He snatched the ostrich egg off a plinth and smashed it, revealing a small device. "Idea 3: If you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed."

He pressed some buttons. There was a bright light and Cassandra appeared, in mid sentence. "... oh you should have seen them. The little alien faces."

"The last human." The Doctor said, with pure disgust.

"Oh... er. You've passed my test! This makes you eligable to join the er er er... human club!" She said awkwardly.

"People have died Cassandra!" He shouted.

She scowled "It depends on your definition of "people", and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court then, Doctor! Watch me smile and cry, and flutter..."

"And creak?"

"And what?"

"And creak. You're creaking."

She was indeed creaking. Pale, stretched patches were appearing on her skin."

"I'm drying out!" She gasped. "Moisturise me. Moisturise me!. Where are my servants? My lovely boys! It's too hot!"

"You raised the temperature." The Doctor said coldly.

"HAVE PITY!" She groaned. "MOISTURISE ME!"

"Help her." Rose said.

The Doctor didn't even flinch. "Everything has its time and everything dies."

Cassandra's drying skin was becoming noticeably stretched. "I'M. TOO. YOUNG." She groaned, before the stretching became too much and she split like a burst balloon, with pieces of her flying everywhere.


"Shuttles 4 and 6 now departing. The platform is closed for maintenance."

The guests and the staff had evacuated the platform. They would be fine for the large part, traumatised and singed, but better off than their late colegues.

Rose was the last to leave the auditorium. She stood by the huge window, staring at the remains of her world, swirling outside. She didn't even look as The Doctor returned from seeing the others off.

"The end of the Earth." She said. "It's gone. And no-one saw it 'cos we were too busy saving ourselves. All those years. All that history. And no-one even saw it go. It's just..." She couldn't bring herself to finish.

The Doctor took her hand. "Come with me." He said and gently led her back to the TARDIS.


The street they'd landed in was not particularly remarkable. No famous buildings or people or events. But at the same time, Rose looked at the life around her with a newfound sense of perspective. Families were out shopping. Friends were drinking outside pubs. A man was selling the big issue. None ever considering how lucky they were to be there.

"You think It'll last forever." Said The Doctor. "People and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day it's gone. Even the sky." He was silent for a long time. "My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust."

"What happened to it?" Said Rose.

"There was a war and we lost."

"A war with who?"

The Doctor avoided the question.

"What about your people?" Rose asked instead.

"They're all gone. I'm, a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. I'm left travelling on my own 'cos there's no-one else."

"There's me." Rose offered.

The Doctor thought for a moment. You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?"

Rose wasn't sure what to say. With what he'd just told her, he seemed so much more... human, if that was the term. She couldn't just leave him to march off alone again. But then she wasn't sure if she could cope with another adventure like the last.

Just then a wonderful smell came to her nostrils. "Oh, can you smell chips."

The Doctor smiled. "Yeah."

"I want chips. Really badly."

"You know what, so do I."

Suddenly, the dangers and culture shock didn't seem so hard. She had someone with her whom she could finally talk to on a reasonable level. A friend who could guide her along. Now that she wasn't isolated, travel in time and space would be fun again. And she had the feeling that The Doctor was thinking the same thing.

"Right then." She said. "Before I get back in that box, we're getting some chips. And you can pay."

"I've got no money."

"Tight wad. Alright then, chips are on me. Come on. We've only got 5 billion years 'till the shops close!"

Next Time: The Unquiet Dead.