Author's Note: Ok, now for my usual rubbish ending. At least I tried!

x x x

Epilogue

x x x

"The twenty-first century is when everything changes."

x x x

2009, somewhere in Chiswick.

"You know this is a load of bull!" Donna informed her friend over the phone, rather vehemently, "Come on! I mean, the lost city of Atlantis cannot have just crashed out of the sky and landed outside San Francisco! That's not even in the Atlantic!"

Her grandfather exchanged one of those significant looks with Donna's mother, then shook his head. He wouldn't be surprised if it had, and all.

x x x

Cardiff, Torchwood 3 hub.

"And it just blew up." Mickey was telling Martha, "No explanation. I can't see how something that big stayed in orbit in the first place." He seemed to have conveniently forgotten the way the Sycorax warship had hung in the air exactly the same way that bricks don't.

"Jack said it was a living ship." Martha retorted, "I wanna see for myself."

"Well we need to go to America, then, don't we?" Gwen said, as if it was obvious.

x x x

The Doctor was listening to the communications from the planet over the TARDIS' systems. He found it almost funny. This wasn't the first alien incursion into their world, not by a long shot, but it was the first time their ancient myths and legends had factored into it, and somehow that made it more real to the Earthlings than a bunch of homicidal metal-monsters armed with sink plungers had done.

Captain Jack and that other human were arguing over whether or not to go visit the Lantean city before the race was wiped out. The younger one was positive it would be worth the effort. The Captain was of the opinion that the Lanteans would be as interesting to his younger self as a certain Time Lord they both knew.

The Doctor actually muttered something in Gallifreyan that both heard and neither understood, but there was a derogatory tone that made it sound like he was retorting to Jack's last remark.

Kiari was sitting next to the Doctor, trying to follow what he was listening to. She picked up bits and pieces, but it was too jumbled for a human mind to process all of it at once.

She had seen a lot of beautiful worlds, and more than a few narrowly averted apocalypses in the last five months since she had joined the Doctor, but none of the things she had seen came close to the vastness of culture and diversity that she could pick up from the communications alone on the Earth.

"And so Torchwood, Stargate Command, UNIT, and a couple of other ones even I wasn't aware of, have all come out into the open." the Doctor announced to his companions.

"About time!" Jack laughed.

x x x

"You're sure you want to stay here?" the Doctor asked. Kiari nodded by way of an answer. "If you ever need help, just use this to call me." he handed her a modified cellphone.

"We'll take good care of her." Samantha Carter said, smiling brightly. She wouldn't be the first refugee from another world the SGC had resettled on Earth.

"Finally, the torture ends." the younger version of Jack muttered, once they had left the two women.

"What's that supposed to mean?" his older self asked, somehow amused by his younger self's irritation.

"Beautiful young woman wandering around the TARDIS with a penchant for skimpy clothing, and I'm not allowed near her."

"Be thankful you'll never remember, then." the Doctor said coldly.

"Aww, is it that time already?"

"Yes, it is." the Doctor said calmly.

"I'm beginning to think the Goa'uld was worth it for the fun we had together." the younger Jack said, looking at both the Doctor and his older self.

"Too bad." the Captain retorted, smirking faintly. It really had been almost like dealing with an entirely different person, rather than his own past self, since he had no memory of any of it. It had been fun, too.

x x x

"Jack..." the Doctor asked. The two were sitting alone in the TARDIS. The younger version of the Captain had been sent back to the Time Agency, unconscious. Easier that way, rather than trying to explain who they were to the man who no longer remembered them.

"Yeah?"

"In order to erase those memories, I had to go through them all..." the Doctor said, frowning noticeably. Whatever specific memories he was thinking of, he clearly disapproved.

"And?"

"If you wanted the better ones back, it could be arranged."

Jack's eyes lit up at that thought. Clearly, he had one memory in particular he wanted back. The Doctor could guess which one, too. Wral'tek had been correct in his snide remark about a certain swear word, when the two versions of Jack had first encountered each other.

"Just so long as the murder and torture is left out." Jack said, in as diplomatic a tone as possible.

The Doctor smiled, "Of course."

x x x

The End.