The Sun Sets On the Third Day

Rose, Donna and Martha slept heavily the next day and were only awoken by Donna's mobile phone.

"Hello?" she asked, sleepily, switching on the speaker button.

"Donna, aren't you up yet? Congratulations, girl, you did it!" said Wilf.

"Did what?" said Martha.

"You can't tell me you don't know! I've just seen the Doctor talking to his friend about getting himself hitched this afternoon!"

"WHAT?!" said Martha and Donna, shocked.

Rose was also stunned at this information.

"You know, he's getting married, love! Oh, Rose, good luck! I'll see you three in a bit. I won't miss this wedding, you can bet on it!"

He then hung up, leaving three shocked women open-mouthed. Rose then sprang up and grabbed some clothes before running down the halls of the TARDIS to the control room, followed by Martha and Donna, only to stop when they saw the Doctor and Jack with another woman.

"Well, I've got to hand it to you, Doctor. This mystery girl of yours does exist," said Jack. "And she's a beauty as well. Congratulations, Lucy."

What? Lucy? How can the Doctor think she's the girl who saved his life? That was me, not her! Rose thought. She wasn't even that beautiful.

"We'll be getting married as soon as possible," said the Doctor.

Donna and Martha inhaled sharply, clearly shocked at this information. Rose fought back tears as her heart broke.

"Well, these things do take time, Doc…"

"The ceremony takes place at sunset, in the old church in London."

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you're the Time Lord. Shall we go? I'll tell Rose about the wedding in an hour when she's awake."

The three of them left the TARDIS, leaving two women shocked and one heartbroken. Rose ran out of the TARDIS and watched her only love disappear in a black limo. She fell to the ground and leaned against the TARDIS, crying silently as Donna held her and Martha massaged her back.

"We're sorry, Rose," said Donna.

Rose just sniffled and mouthed, "Not your fault."

She wouldn't go to the wedding. Now she would be the Master's servant for a few years, she would be human again and the Master would have her voice forever. I never should've left Mum's. Heaven knew what her mother was doing right now. Rose heavily regretted parting with her mother on such painful terms. She went back inside the TARDIS and sent an e-mail apologizing for their fight and begging Jackie not to find her until she contacted her again.

If Rose could let out a cry of pain, she would have. The hours passed like minutes as she sat with Donna and Martha crying and listening to their conversation.

XXX

Wilf cheerfully hummed a wedding tune as he walked down the halls of the church. He heard singing coming from the bride's room that wasn't entirely Rose's, Donna's or even Martha's. And there was a man's voice as well. Curious, he looked until he found a window and peered inside.

There was an older woman in the room in a wedding gown.

"What a lovely little bride I'll make,

My dear I'll look divine,

Things are working out according

To our ultimate design," she sang,

Then someone came up from behind her and held her shoulders.


"Soon we'll have that little human

And great power will be ours!" sang a male voice.

"Well done, Lucy, my dear wife," he said.

"Thank you, Harry, or should I say Master?"

The two chuckled before sharing a kiss.

Wilf was horrified at this. But if the Master was here, the Doctor was falling into a trap! He had to warn Rose and the others! Quickly, he ran off to his car and sped off to Cardiff, where Donna said the TARDIS was, praying they were there.

XXX

Rose wiped away her tears and slowly stood up. She would move on one day. She had friends who wouldn't desert her and help her through the worst days.

"ROSE, MARTHA, DONNA!"

Rose looked to see Wilf, panting for breath as he ran out of his car and over to the three of them.

"Take it easy, catch your breath," said Martha.

"Granddad, what's wrong?" Donna asked.

"I was at the church and I saw a woman, Lucy or something."

"Yeah, the Doctor's marrying another girl, we know," said Martha.

"It's not just that! I saw the Master there as well!"

"The Master?" Donna repeated. "What in blazes was he doing?"

"He called her Lucy wife and she was singing with a stolen set of pipes! Do you hear what I'm telling you? The Master's tricking the Doctor into marrying his wife in disguise!"

"WHAT?!" Donna yelled. "Oh, heavens! We've got to do something!"

"Yeah, but what?" said Martha.

"Martha, you get Jackie. Tell her what's happening and get Torchwood help! Rose, you and I will get to the church with the TARDIS. Granddad, find a way to stall that wedding!" Donna ordered.

"Will do!" said Martha and Wilf in unison.

XXX

Rose ran inside the TARDIS and began fiddling with the controls. There had to be someway to pilot the ship!

You know, you don't have to do that, said a female voice in Rose's mind.

Rose was startled and Donna also looked a bit frightened.

It's okay, you two. It's me, the TARDIS. I'm telepathic. Just think what you want to say and I'll hear you.

We need to stop the Doctor. He's marrying the Master's wife and he's under some sort of mind control! Rose said. Will you get us to the church?

Of course I will.

Instantly, the TARDIS began moving and the two women clung to the railings.

"But if you're telepathic, why didn't you tell the Doctor or stop the Master's wife from taking over his mind?" Donna asked.

If I could've, I would. I wanted to tell him the minute you came onboard. He was so much happier than I've seen him in years and it was obvious at how much Rose and the Doctor were in love. But my dear Doctor often blocks me out when he wants privacy and I couldn't get through to him.

Does he block a lot of things? Rose asked.

Yes. That's why he didn't sense your Gallifreyen form when you first came onboard. I did. As for my actions with the Master's wife, she had a necklace that kept me out or I never would've let her onboard and I would've broken the control on the Doctor.

"So, how do we stop them now?" Donna asked.

I believe if you break the necklace, the control over our Doctor will break. And Rose, hurry. The Master wants our Doctor, my power and Torchwood. You must hurry before it's too late.

I'll try, Rose promised. She was blushing a bit as the TARDIS called the Doctor "theirs." And TARDIS; thank you.

You're Welcome. I can see I'll love having you onboard when all this is over. Rose, Donna, we've arrived.

XXX

Rose ran out of the TARDIS to see a huge wedding fiasco. The guests were fleeing for their lives as dozens of people with paintballs hit the room, the cake and champagne were destroyed, the Doctor was standing by the priest and looking like a zombie, and Jack—who had apparently discovered the truth—was fighting Lucy along with Wilf and Donna, who grabbed her necklace before tossing it to the ground, causing it to shatter.

Silver rays swirled around Rose and she felt her voice return and suddenly sang more beautifully and loudly than she ever had before.

The Doctor shook his head and then gazed at Rose. "Rose?" he gasped.

"Doctor," she said, glad she could finally speak.

"You can talk!" He ran over to her and took her hands. "Oh, how could I have been so blind? All this time it was you I was searching for. Rose, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Rose assured him. "Oh, Doctor, I've wanted to tell you—"

She cut herself off as she let out a cry of pain. The agony was worse than anything she'd ever experienced and she felt her physiology change back into a human's.

"You're too late!" cackled a voice.

Suddenly, the Master teleported into the room with his Toclafane. "You're too late!"

He grabbed Rose and Lucy and waved at the Doctor.

"Master!" he growled. "Let her go!"

"Oh, I think I won't, Doctor. So long, brother." he said.

"ROSE!" the Doctor yelled, trying to grab her hand.

But it was too late; they had teleported out into the storm and near the center of the rift.

XXX

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor, Jack and Donna were inside the TARDIS, trying to pinpoint Rose's location.

"Doc, we've got a lock on Rose!"

"Don't just sit there, drive!" Donna shrieked. "Doctor, do something!"

"Donna, I lost her once, I'm not going to lose her again!" the Doctor snapped.

As long as he was still breathing, he would save Rose.

XXX

"Let me go!" she yelled.

"I think not, Miss Tyler! Remember our little bargain? You're mine now! The Doctor didn't kiss you and you're just a weakling human now."

"You lying monster! You tricked me!"

"And yet you have no one to blame but yourself for making the deal. But it's not just you I'm after, I've got bigger fish to fry—"

"FREEZE!" yelled a voice.

Suddenly they were surrounded by dozens of Torchwood personnel. Jackie and Martha were in front of them with weapons and then the TARDIS appeared and the Doctor came flying out with Jack and Donna.

"Master, you are surrounded. Let your hostage go!" ordered the Captain.

"No," he said, flatly.

"Are you deaf? Do as he says," Jackie growled.

"There's no chance of escape! Let Rose go," said the Doctor.

"Not a chance, Doctor, she's mine now. We had a deal," said the Master, showing them the glowing contract. "Rose was so desperate to be with her beloved Doctor she agreed to give up her voice and become mine if the Doctor didn't kiss her before the sun set three days after the bargain was made. If he did, she would become a Gallifreyen forever."

The Doctor's eyes widened and everyone except for Jackie and Martha stared at Rose.

"Rose, is this true?" the Doctor asked.

Rose nodded sadly, tears streaming down her face. "Yes."

"But why did you do it?"

"Because I love you," she said. "I love you so much."

He didn't reply, he just stood there and gazed into her eyes before his own filled with tears.

The Master smiled sweetly. "Of course, I always was one with an eye for a bargain," he said. He held up his laser screwdriver and aimed it at Rose, making her legs frozen to their spot. "The lover of Time Lord and daughter of a former head of Torchwood is a great commodity, but I might be willing to make an exchange. The power of Torchwood and the TARDIS would be even better. So, Mrs. Tyler, Doctor, if one of you signs the contract, I'll hand Rose over to you. With Torchwood's technology and power, I'll still be able to get the TARDIS and if I have the TARDIS, I'll have enough power to take over Torchwood. Either way; you'll get what you want and I get what I want." He held up another contract. "Do we have a deal?"

"Mum, Doctor, don't! I'm not worth this, don't do it!" Rose cried, before Lucy held her hand over Rose's mouth.

"Do we have a deal?" the Master repeated.

The Doctor lunged forward, but Jackie beat him to it and signed the contract. Immediately, the personnel handed him their technology.

"It's done then!" The Master blew silver powder all over Jackie and the Torchwood personnel, turning them into the tiny figurines Rose had seen back at his home. "At last, it's mine. It's all mine." The weapons seemed to just melt into his laser screwdriver and his two Toclafane appeared. He aimed his laser screwdriver at the TARDIS, zapping it, making it disappeared into his screwdriver.

Rose found herself able to move and lunged at the Master.

"YOU MONSTER!"

The Master just grabbed her and flung her to the ground. "Don't toy with me, you stupid little ape. Contract or no contract, I'll still—ahh!"

The Doctor had hit him in the back with a laser. Jack, Martha and Donna had also shot little darts which had no effect on the Master.

"After them!" the Master ordered, keeping Rose pinned down.

"Doctor, guys, look out!" Rose yelled.

The two Toclafane went flying after them, but they shot them both and then Rose kicked the Master, making him let her go and she went running.

XXX

The storm worsened and soon Jack, Donna and Martha were separated from the Doctor and Rose, who had been flung into the water by a tornado.

Rose struggled to stay afloat as the Doctor grabbed her hands.

"Doctor, you've got to get away from here!" said Rose.

"No, I won't leave you!" the Doctor said.

Suddenly the Master appeared. He had somehow enlarged himself to three hundred feet in height and was wielding several weapons.

"You pitiful, insignificant fools!" he said.

"Rose, look out!"

Rose barely had time to dodge as the Master's laser screwdriver nearly hit her and caused much of the water to evaporate into steam. A huge wave caused Rose to be separated from the Doctor.

She tried clinging to a rock and crying out, "Doctor!" before she slid off the slippery rock and fell back into the water.

"Now I am the ruler of all the Earth! All of time and space obey my every whim, the toils of the world bow to my power!"

A whirlpool appeared, sending Rose down and on to the floor of the sea. She had to keep dodging as the Master nearly hit her several times with his laser screwdriver. Everywhere he missed, there was steaming hot area no one could touch without being severely burned or possibly killed.

The Master raised his sonic screwdriver once more. "So much for true love!" he cackled.

But before he could strike…

Rose, if you can hear me, focus on me and the Doctor, said the TARDIS, startling her.

TARDIS? said Rose, in disbelief. But how—?

There's no time to explain that! Rose, you've got to listen to me. You're the only one who can wield my power—you are the Bad Wolf.

But why am I the one to do it? I'm no one special.

That isn't true. You're the one the Doctor truly loves, Rose! It was you who saved his life before, and it was you who was willing to give up everything out of your love for the Doctor. You are the one. You and the Doctor can end this. The Doctor's the Oncoming Storm and with the two of you combined, you can destroy the Master and stop all of this. Now, please, focus!

Rose concentrated as hard as she could and felt a strange power flowing through her. She flew into the sky and felt the Doctor take her hand.

"We are the Oncoming Storm and Bad Wolf. We see everything. All that is, all that will be and all that can be. You are tiny, everything single atom of your existences and we divide them," said Rose and the Doctor in unison.

They waved their free hands and huge beams of power shot through them.

The Master let out a painful cry as rays of golden light shot out of him and he collapsed into the water, shrinking and then disappearing forever. He was gone.

XXX

The Doctor, exhausted from the use of power, collapsed on the shore and fell unconscious as the Master's power undid itself.

Those who had been transformed were turned back to their original form, the Master's home disappeared, Lucy was taken away by the authorities, the TARDIS reappeared by the Doctor's unconscious body, Donna and Martha's perception filters were gone and Rose found herself in good shape.

The storm was gone and the sun was shining beautifully. When Rose realized where she was, the first thing she did was hugged her freed mother tightly and cry a little into her shoulder as Torchwood left to give them some privacy.

"Oh, Mum, I'm so, so sorry. I swear, I never meant any of this to happen," she said. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Shush," said Jackie. She stroked her daughter's hair and held her tight. "You're safe and you're alright, that's all that matters to me. And there's nothing to forgive because I'm proud of you. You've proved to me that you're a responsible young woman who I am honored to have as my daughter and you've wrong about Torchwood and aliens. Not all of it is bad and what happened to your dad was no one's fault. I love you, Rose."

Rose smiled a little and hugged her again before calling for the TARDIS in her mind.

TARDIS, is the Doctor—?

He's fine. He's unconscious and lying on the beach, but he should be okay. My sensors also show that Jack and your friends are okay and there's no trace of the Master now. Only those who saw what happened will ever know about this. Rose, the two of you did really well tonight. I hope you know that.

That's good. TARDIS, am I still—?

I'm sorry, Rose. You're human again. Bad Wolf was only meant to be used once every two hundred years. If you use again so soon, it'll kill you. All that's left is the powdered remains which I don't think will have any effect on you.

So, I'll age and die and he'll stay the same and just regenerate. He'd be heartbroken. I can't put him through that kind of pain. But will I do now? Are you sure there's no way to turn me back?

If there was, I would've done it already. I'm sorry, Rose.

Rose knelt down and fingered the golden powder by her feet. She swallowed painfully. Where are you and the Doctor exactly?

We're on beach where you rescued him. I'm sorry, Rose.

Tears streamed down Rose's face as she ran over to the beach.