A/N: I don't own anything.
The prisoners, scared humans taken by the invading Daleks, were herded into a large chamber of metal and stone. They were in the Dalek Crucible, a spaceship with armies of kettlepot-like metal exterminators, most of the prisoners were afraid and confused about the whole situation. Sarah Jane, Mickey and Jake were amongst the crowd, this is where their plan to get to the Doctor had left them.
The light intensity of the Reality Bomb increased. Jake, Mickey and Sarah Jane watched in revulsion as the prisoners were dissolved into atoms from head to toe. The prisoners that once stood in the large chamber had been separated into atoms, killed.
"Test completed" A Dalek reported from outside the room that were keeping the three humans safe and alive. A noise that originated from behind of the humans distracted them from the window that they were looking through.
"Where are they going?" A hoarse voice asked. "How are we going to get back to the Doctor?" Rose turned to face the loud-mouth Temp, who had just come out of the house of late Harriet Jones, to see the Dalek ships leave the sky. Rose glanced at the TARDIS which stood tall in front of the house; a sign from above the alien ship distracted her.
It read:
BAD WOLF
Jake, Mickey and Sarah Jane turned to see an intruder enter the room through a vent that was cut into the wall. For two people in the room, the man was a familiar; however, to Jake the man was a complete stranger. He watched the black-haired man who was looking at them after picking himself off the ground, where he landed when he tumbled out of the vent.
"Just my luck." The man had an American accent, Jake learned. "I climb through two miles of ventilation shafts, chasing life signs on this thing" He gestured to his wrist where a device was attached. "and who do I find?" He asked them eyeing them, and then let his eyes rest on Mickey. "Mickey Mouse!" He said with slight disappointment in his voice.
"You can talk, Captain Cheesecake." Mickey shot back at the newcomer. The two men starred at each other before they started laughing and embraced each other in a manly hug.
"Good to see ya!" The Captain said with a giant smile on his face, he brought Mickey closer to him and looked down on him in a fake-threatening manner. "And that's beefcake."
"And that's enough hugging." Mickey announced as he escaped the other man's grip. He stepped back and joined Jake again, the American grinned at Jake.
"Captain Jack Harkness," he said extending his hand out to Jake, to be stopped by Mickey with a glance which said 'not the place or time'. He saluted Sarah Jane and greeted her before she joined the conversation.
"There is something we can do. You've got to understand – I have a son down there on Earth. He's only fourteen years old." Her voice filled with worry and panic. "I brought this." She dished out a necklace object from her pocket. It appeared to be a diamond necklace except the diamond shined with an unnatural brightness. "It was given to me by a Verron Soothsayer. He said…"this is for the end of days"." She continued and handed the object over to Jack, whose mouth was open in awe.
"Is that a Warp Star?" He asked curiously, inspected the object in his grasp. Her nod was the answer to his question.
"Gonna tell me what a Warp Star is?" Mickey suggested as he and Jake had no idea how this necklace could help in the situation that they were stuck in.
"A warpfold conjugation trapped in a carbonised shell." He responded without taking his eyes off the precious weapon "It's an explosion Mickey." He redirected his eyes to Sarah Jane and in a whisper added. "An explosion waiting to happen."
A holographic screen appeared in the Vault. The Doctor and Davros watched in interest as Martha Jones was the main focus of the screen. She was in a place that was unfamiliar to the Doctor but it was definitely on Earth. He let out a breath of relief as he realised that at least Martha was still alive and that the Daleks hadn't found her yet. But they would be able to trace this transmission back to her location. The Doctor shook his head of those thoughts; right now the Daleks were more interested in why this human girl would send a transmission to them.
"This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat: can you hear me?" She spoke through the transmission, unsure if she was actually getting through to the Daleks.
"Put me through!" The Doctor demanded Davros, his rage evident in his facial expression and body language.
"It begins as Dalek Caan foretold" The Dalek Creator was gloating over the position that he had forced his archenemy into. The hysterical and crazy voice of Dalek Caan mutter words of a prophecy "Children of Time" but the Doctor didn't pay attention to the deranged Dalek.
"Put me through!" The Timelord repeated.
"Doctor! I'm sorry, I had to." Martha said as soon as she received the transmission from the Dalek Crucible seeing the Doctor as a prisoner.
"Oh! But the Doctor is powerless – my prisoner." He said proudly of himself, glancing at the trapped Timelord. He turned around to the holographic screen and spoke to the human girl. "State your intent."
"I've got the Osterhagen Key." Martha pulled out an object which was square in shape and was obviously the Osterhagen Key that she was talking about. "Leave this planet and its people alone, or I'll use it." She threatened.
In confusion the Doctor spoke up, "Osterhagen what? What's an Osterhagen Key?"
"There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."
The Doctor looked appalled. "What? Who invented that?! Well – someone called Osterhagen, I suppose – but 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." She said, trying to convince the Doctor that it was the only option now.
"That is never the option." Even though the Daleks seemed to have the upper hand, good always came on top in the end. Well…in fairytales they do. Humans always seemed to survive; they could this time, couldn't they? The Doctor was reasoning with himself when Martha abruptly spoke against the Doctor.
"Don't argue with me, Doctor. 'Cos there's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these twenty-seven planets for something, but what if it becomes twenty-six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?" She directed this at the Daleks, having a logical reason for blowing up the Earth, hoping that she had some impact on the metal enemy.
"Second transmission internal." A Dalek reported.
"Display." Ordered the Supreme Dalek and his orders were obeyed. A second holographic screen appeared next to the one that was transmitted Martha's message. In this holographic screen, the Doctor recognized Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane and Jake from the parallel world. He noticed that Jack was holding an object that resembled a diamond necklace connected to a number of wires.
"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." Jack spoke up for his screen, holding the Warp Star up threatening.
"Mickey, Jake – hello haven't seen you in a while, I guess you came over with Mickey and…, Sarah Jane and Jack, what are you doing?" He asked, quite obviously skipping Rose's name because he couldn't bear to say it.
It was obvious that every one of the Doctor's companions noticed that he had to stumble over Rose's name and put on a strong front as they all reacted in some way. All different from each other, depending on how well they knew Rose. "I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe." Jack responded, although we wanted to grieve for Rose Tyler, the Daleks were threatening reality as they knew it. He had to put on a strong front like the Doctor and people like Mickey, Jake and Sarah Jane who knew Rose Tyler. "I break the shell…the entire Crucible goes up."
"You can't!" The Doctor looked at his friends like they had all gone completely mad. "Where did you get a Warp Star?!" He asked in disbelief, he couldn't believe that Jack wanted to blow up the Crucible and Martha wanted to blow up Earth. To save the Human Race and to end their suffering but also to commit mass murder at the same time.
"From me." Sarah Jane admitted to the Doctor, not feeling at all guilty for bringing it along. "We had no choice; we saw what happened to the prisoners."
Davros inspected the human woman more closely. "Impossible. That face…after all these years." He spoke as he recognised Sarah Jane from before the Time War.
"Davros" Sarah Jane whispered so quietly, that the people outside the room that she was in barely heard her. "That's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?" Her voice was cold and furious when she addressed the Dalek Creator.
"Oh! This is meant to be!" Davros said, looking positively revelling in the idea of having Sarah Jane Smith a part of the Children of Time. "The Circle of Time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation."
"And I've learnt how to fight since then. You let the Doctor go or this Warp Star – it gets opened!" She demanded, offering Davros with two options to act upon. The Doctor couldn't look at any of his friends. He hated what was happening, having to blow up the Crucible or the Earth and the expense of his release.
"I'll do it." Jack tweaked the necklace threateningly. "Don't imagine I wouldn't!"
Davros watched the Doctor, unable to meet his companions eyes. "And the prophecy unfolds."
"The Doctor's soul is revealed!" Dalek Caan's voice drifted in to the conversation, making laughing sounds like if he was cackling, if it was possible for a Dalek to cackle. "See him! See the heart of him!"
Martha, Jack, Jake, Mickey and Sarah Jane looked down on the Doctor through their transmissions. He stood their alone, eyes cast down on the ground, burdened with unbearable guilt.
"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor: you take ordinary people and you fashion THEM into weapons. Behold your Children of Time transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."
"They're trying to help." The Timelord said quietly in their defence.
"Already, I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the subwave network." Davros said taking lower blows at the Doctor by making himfeel more and more guilt. "Harriet Jones, I believe was her name." Davros gained the Doctor's eye contact before continuing. "I was told that there was another woman, the woman you loved, Rose Tyler." The Doctor eyes went visibly black, his body grew tense and his fists were clenched. He was the picture of the Oncoming Storm that the Daleks had made legends of. "How many more? Just think. How many more have died in your name?" He continued to taunt his enemy.
The Doctor couldn't help but obey Davros, he thought back to all the people that had died in his name. Not everyone but the people who had died after the Time War.
Jabe
The Controller
Lynda with a 'y'
Sir Robert
Mrs Moore
Mr Skinner
The Face of Boe
Chanto
Astrid
Luke
Jenny
River Song
The Hostess and Sky
Harriet Jones
Donna Noble
Rose.
The last one had a strong impact on the Doctor. A tear rolling down his cheek, in response he quickly wiped it away, trying to prevent Davros from seeing his weakness.
"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." Davros words were lost to the man.
"Enough." The Supreme Dalek ordered. "Engage defence zero-five."
"It's the Crucible or the Earth!" Martha reminded them holding the Osterhagen Key up in view of the transmission to the Daleks.
"Transmat engaged." A Dalek reported, and then Martha got snatched by the transmat through a beam of light, taking her from the Osterhagen station. "No!" She screamed as the Osterhagen Key fell to the floor of the now vacant room. On the other holographic screen, Jack, Jake, Mickey and Sarah Jane were taking by the same light which had taken Martha. Leaving the Warp Star to drop to the ground, just like the Osterhagen Key.
"It happened again." Donna announced as she looked at the blue box, which read 'Bad Wolf' like it had when Donna told the Doctor about the two words that Rose asked her to give to him. Rose starred at the TARDIS with 'Bad Wolf' written over it, if the message wasn't obvious before, it was now. Donna slowly opened both doors of the ship but neither woman entered it. It was black as night in the TARDIS apart from the light that had invaded the ship from outside – which wasn't a lot because there was no sun, and it smelt vaguely of smoke.
"The TARDIS is broken, like she is dead." Donna said sadly, "How are we going to get to the Doctor now? How were we going to drive this thing anyway? Do you know how to drive the TARDIS?" She asked Rose whose response was a shake of her head. "We could probably still drive better than the Doctor." She muttered to herself, trying to lighten up the mood.
"My Dimension Canon was destroyed at Harriet's." She spoke the name of her friend who had recently died quieter than the rest of the sentence. "Maybe we could get the TARDIS working again." Her voice slightly hopeful but was mostly dominated with fear and anxiety. Donna stepped into the dark ship, her shoes loud against the crated floor under her. She recalled the last time she was in this ship; she had lost all hope and thought that she was going to die. The thought of how she and the TARDIS escaped the Dalek Crucible was still unknown to her; she turned around to ask Rose of what she knew.
When Rose stepped into the TARDIS, as soon as her two feet were on the ground of the beloved ship, something out of the ordinary happened.
The TARDIS lights switched on and the door slammed shut behind her.
Donna watched on in horror as the door slamming brought back memories from earlier that day. The ship's engines started up and jolted her passengers from side to side as they started travelling.
Martha, Jack, Jake, Mickey and Sarah Jane appeared in the Vault and start to pick themselves off the ground. "Martha! I've got you, it's all right." Jack said as he gave Martha a helping hand.
"Don't move! All of you! Stay still!" The Doctor warned them, as Jake, Mickey and Sarah Jane advanced towards him. He held his hands out to stop them but was obstructed by the cell which was holding him, which rippled blue with his touch.
"Guard them! On your knees, all of you. Surrender!" Davros ordered as more Daleks came to help contain the extra prisoners which were added to the room.
"Do as he says." The Doctor advised. His companions, after a moment, kneeled down with their hands behind their heads. Mickey was the last to obey Davros but eventually did.
"The final prophecy is in place. The Doctor and his children all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek…the time has come!" His voice trembled with what one could guess was excitement. "Detonate the Reality Bomb!" He shouted, pointing a shaking finger upwards with a wild, evil grimace on his face.
"You can't Davros! Just listen to me! Just STOP!" The Doctor pleaded.
"Nothing can stop the detonation! Nothing! And no-one!" The Dalek Creator roared with laughter.
To the delight and surprise of everyone, the sound of was heard. The sound of an ancient ship's engines, as it materialised. The familiar grinding could be heard and a gentle wind could be felt. Davros and the rest of the Daleks were lost for words as they listened on.
A/N: Okay, this chapter is longer than others but it has a lot of dialogue from the episode that was necessary to add to set the scene. I will update hopefully again before the holidays end which is next Tuesday (14th). I have already started the next chapter. Thank you those who reviewed the last chapter and those who added my story to their favourites/alerts. Please review.