I know you all hate me now. But I think I redeem myself with this chapter.
Rose slowly walked up to the dying form of the Doctor, tears streaming down her face.
"Silence all, for Rose's farewell," said the Master. Rose sank to her knees and held the Doctor close.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said to him. "I have to leave. But … this is yours." The Doctor couldn't reply. He just kept his eyes firmly on hers. But then, they slowly began to close. Rose swallowed the lump in her throat and whispered in the Doctor's ear.
"This belongs to you, and always will." She leant down to him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. When she sat up again, she gasped. The Doctor's eyes opened, and a huge grin was forming on his face.
"D-Doctor?" said Rose.
"G-get … back," said the Doctor. Rose stood up and moved back. She watched as the Doctor closed his eyes again. Suddenly, he was engulfed in an explosion of light. It was like he was on fire. Beneath the flame, he began to change form. When it finally died out, there was another man standing in his place. He was younger, he had big brown hair and a cheeky smile.
"No!" exclaimed the Master. "It's impossible! I won!" The Doctor took up his sword and walked towards the Master, who just stood there gaping.
"You are nothing," the Doctor said. "Oo, is that what I sound like now? Shame, I was enjoying that accent." He then touched his ears with his fingers. "Well, I am glad to have a new set of these. Anyway … let's get back to it." The Master, still in shock, took up his sword and went back to duelling. However, he wasn't putting in nearly as much effort as before. Rose turned to Jack.
"Jack, do you know what happened just then?" she asked. "What happened to the Doctor?"
"That is the Doctor," said Jack. "He's Gallifreyan, which means when he's about to die he changes his form. It's called regenerating."
"But … he's still the same man inside, right?" said Rose.
"Oh yeah," assured Jack. "Same memories and all that. His personality may be a little different too, but it's still him. I'm afraid I can't give you all the details, I don't know a whole lot about it." Rose nodded.
"So … what I … did just now … did nothing?" she said.
"Well, that's the weird thing," said Jack. "The Master said before that the formula his sword was soaked in inhibited the regeneration process. So, by that logic, the Doctor should be dead." Rose scratched her head. This was all a bit much for her. She turned her attention back to the Doctor and the Master.
"Come on Doctor, you can do it!" she exclaimed. Jack grinned and joined her.
"Yeah, you show him Doc! Show him who's boss!" he encouraged. The boys joined in. They called his name and applauded. The Doctor gained extra strength from their cries, while the Master looked around anxiously for some support. Suddenly, the humans' voices were joined by a dull monotone.
"DOC-TOR! DOC-TOR!" cried Dalek Smee.
"What the hell are you doing?" yelled the Master.
"THE DOC-TOR IS MUCH MORE POW-ER-FUL THAN YOU MAS-TER," said Dalek Smee. A Cyberman joined him.
"YES, HE MAKES ME WISH I HAD EMOTIONS," it said. Soon all the aliens were chanting the Doctor's name encouragingly. The Doctor forced the Master right to the edge of the ship, and held the blade of his sword against the Master's neck.
"I win," he said. "Do you surrender?" The Master sighed.
"I could not live life knowing I had surrendered," he said. "In fact, I no longer wish to live." He handed the Doctor his sword. "Kill me." The Doctor's eyes widened.
"I don't want to," he said.
"Doctor, I have nothing to live for," the Master said. "I have no purpose in life. Just kill me now." The Doctor's deep brown eyes looked at the Master. Despite everything they'd been through, he still hated to take a life.
"Goodbye Doctor," said the Master. The Doctor took a deep breath and plunged the sword into the Master, forcing him off the ship. His lifeless body fell to the ground below. The Doctor turned around, back to the others. Rose ran up to him and hugged him. He hugged back, his mind trying to process everything that had happened.
"Oh Doctor!" said Rose. "You did it! But please tell me – how come you're still alive? The Master said …"
"The Master stabbed me with a sword soaked in a formula of malice, jealousy, disappointment and hatred," said the Doctor. "When you kissed me, you gave me the one cure to all those things – love." Rose blushed.
"Yeah," she said meekly. "Doctor, I l-love you."
"And I love you too, Rose Tyler," said the Doctor. Tears of happiness came to Rose's eyes.
"However …" continued the Doctor, "… do you still want to go home?" At that moment, Rose's world shattered. It was true, she still missed her mum dreadfully. But now … after everything that happened …
"Oh Doctor, I don't know," she said. The Doctor pulled her into a hug.
"I mean … I don't want to leave you," Rose said. "But at the same time … my mum's all on her own …" The Doctor nodded.
"I understand," he said. "Believe me – I know the importance of family."
"And … I didn't even say goodbye to her," Rose said. "But I can't go back just to say goodbye, can I?"
"Only you can answer that," said the Doctor. "You have to make this decision for yourself. And remember – just because you aren't with me doesn't mean you can't have a fantastic life."
"Yeah, I suppose," said Rose.
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Only one small chapter to go now.