Chapter 11: End of the War

(*PRESENT DAY ON THE PARALLEL WORLD*)

Rose, Ariel, the Human Doctor, Gwen, and Ianto ran outside of the Torchwood Hub and into a battleground. Cybermen roamed the city. Panicked citizens frantically ran about under the night sky, though most were unsuccessful in avoiding the Cybermen's deadly laser blasts. Rose held the blue diamond in her hand and wondered how she could stop all this.

"How does this work?" Rose asked.

"We can figure that out after we find someplace to hide that's not in the open street." The Doctor said.

Suddenly, Ianto Jones fell to the ground.

"Ianto!" Gwen screamed.

The rest of the team looked around and saw a Cyberman aiming its wrist laser at them. It had killed Ianto and was advancing towards them.

"We have to go now!" The Doctor shouted.

The Doctor, Rose, Ariel, and a heartbroken Gwen ran away through the fiery streets until they found an empty alley that was untouched by the Cybermen. They promptly ran into it and were very well hidden in the shadows.

"I can't believe Ianto's dead." Gwen cried.

"We'll grieve for him after we stop the Cybermen." The Doctor said.

"That's assuming I can get this thing to work." Rose said referring to the blue diamond, the most powerful object in this universe.

"Just stay calm." Ariel said."Magic takes concentration."

Explosions and screams echoed through the city.

"It's a bit hard to focus with all this noise." Rose commented. "The Doctor would know what to do."

"I'm right here." The Human Doctor said.

"You know what I mean." Rose said.

"Do you really want to do this now?" The Doctor asked.

"Just let me think!" Rose yelled with anger in her voice.

The blue diamond suddenly began to glow.

"What did I do?" Rose asked.

"It must have responded to your emotion." Ariel said.

"What?" Rose questioned.

"Your emotions and your feelings. This thing seems to react to them." Ariel said.

"So the more angry Rose gets, the more powerful this thing is." Gwen said.

"She doesn't have to be angry." Ariel said. "She could be happy."

"What makes you happy Rose?" The Human Doctor asked.

"The Doctor." Rose said. "The real Gallifreyan Doctor. He changed my life. He showed me all of time and space. We went to such beautiful places together. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with him. Those years we were separated were some of the hardest for me. When I finally found him again, he gave me the gift of a human version of him." She turned to the human Doctor and gave him a smile. "I love you. I love that we can be together and I love that you're just as smart, funny, kind, and wonderful as the original Doctor. I've just never gotten over the Doctor who brought me to the stars. I think about him so often now. I wonder if he's alone or if he's regenerated or for some reason dead. The last time I saw him at Bad Wolf Bay, he and Donna disappeared into the TARDIS without so much as a goodbye. You told me about how she lost her memories and how the Doctor is alone, or was alone. I don't know. It's the not knowing that makes me nervous."

During this small speech, the blue diamond lit up brightly and illuminated the dark alley with a beautiful blue light, which also attracted the attention of the Cybermen.

"Rose!" Gwen shouted.

However, it was too late. The Cybermen had started to enter the alley and extend their wrist lasers. Rose, the Doctor, Ariel, and Gwen ran towards the other side of the alley, but were stopped by a brick wall. There was no way to escape the Cybermen now.

"Delete." The foremost Cyberman said from the other side of the alley as he, and the other metal men advanced further.

The Cyberman then fired a deadly laser that hit Gwen Cooper, causing her to fall the the ground dead.

"No!" Ariel screamed.

"Delete." The Cyberman repeated.

"No!" Rose confidently said.

The blonde girl then held the glowing, blue diamond in front of her and closed her eyes. When Rose opened her eyes, her eyeballs were glowing bright blue. Then, a powerful blue energy beam blasted out of the diamond and destroyed all the Cybermen in the alley. Rose shut her eyes. When they opened again, her eyeballs were normal.

"That was incredible!" Ariel said.

"Now what?" The Doctor asked.

"Now I end this war." Rose said.

Rose then stepped back out into the open street with Ariel and the Doctor behind her. She tried to clear her mind and focus (which was considerably difficult with all the explosions and screams booming around her). Rose held the blue diamond in her right hand and closed her eyes. Once they opened again, her entire eyeballs were glowing blue. Then, every Cyberman in Cardiff started glowing blue as well. The Doctor and Ariel watched in amazement and confusion. What they did not know was that this phenomenon was happening to every Cyberman on the planet. People on the streets of far away places such as New York, Beijing, Sydney, Cairo, and relatively closer places like Glasgow and London watched as the vast Cybermen military started to glow and radiate blue light. Rose then used her left hand and snapped her fingers. Then, Ariel and the Doctor watched as every Cyberman in Cardiff suddenly and violently exploded. The same thing occurred to every Cyberman in every country. All the Cybermen across the globe were destroyed in under a minute thanks to Rose Tyler and the blue diamond. After each and every Cyberman had died, Rose shut her eyes one more time. Once again, they reverted back to normal when she opened.

"Rose!" Ariel shouted. "You saved the city!"

The Doctor then stepped in front of Rose, pulled her closer to him, and passionately kissed her.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." Rose joyfully replied.

"You destroyed every Cyberman in the city." The Doctor commented.

"I did more than that. I destroyed every Cyberman on the planet!" Rose said.

"You're joking!" He shouted.

"No. Every Cyberman on the planet is gone." Rose said.

"So the war is finally over!" The Doctor shouted.

The Doctor and Rose then held each other tightly.

"I don't want to ruin this moment," Ariel said, "but may I please have the blue diamond now?"

The Doctor and Rose grew silent.

"Please." Ariel begged. "I need to bring it back to Pan or he'll kill Eric."

Rose could see that Ariel was holding back tears.

"Alright." Rose said. "I'll give you the diamond, if I can go back with you."

"What?" The Doctor and Ariel said simultaneously.

"You heard me." Rose said.

"What are you talking about?" The Human Doctor asked.

"Pan wants this diamond for something terrible. You've just seen the kind of power it has. If we keep it, then Ariel's love will die. I won't let that happen. If I go back with her, then I can try and stop Pan." Rose said.

"How do you plan on stopping Pan?" The Doctor angrily asked.

"He told Ariel to meet him in Cardiff. Not this Cardiff of course, but the one in my original universe. The last time I was in that universe, Jack, Gwen, and Ianto were still running a Torchwood base there. I'm sure they can help."

"I thought Gwen and Ianto died." Ariel said.

"It's a parallel world Ariel." Rose said. "Unfortunately, the Gwen and Ianto of this universe were killed, but the other versions of them should still be alive in the other universe."

"Why do you really want to go?" The Doctor asked.

"I told you I want to stop Pan." Rose said.

"I'm sure that's part of it," The Human Doctor said, "but I think the real reason you want to go back is so you can find the Doctor again."

Rose suddenly grew silent.

"I knew it." The Doctor said. "You're still in love with him. You've never loved me."

"Of course I love you." Rose said. "I just need to know that the original Doctor is doing alright. Then I'll be able to fully move on and we can finally live together happily now that this war is over."

"Rose," Ariel interrupted, "do you know anything about mermaids? We can only travel between worlds deep under water. You would die before I could even get to the right depth."

"I'll use the blue diamond to turn myself into a mermaid and then I'll just follow you and make myself a human again once we get to the other universe." Rose said.

"It's not that simple." Ariel said. "It takes years to be a master at traveling between worlds. I've been practicing my entire life. If you just do it for the first time, you could end up anywhere regardless of where you want to go."

"There has to be some way." Rose said.

Ariel took a moment to think before she spoke again. "There is a way. If you become a mermaid and hold my hand while I cross into the other universe, then I can literally pull you in with me."

"Yes!" Rose happily said.

"What about me?" The Doctor asked. "Am I supposed to just stay here while you run off to another universe? What about the life we built here Rose? What about our future?"

"It's not like I'm never coming back. Besides, if Ariel can pull me through, I don't see why she can't take you too." Rose said.

"I can't take him." Ariel said. "Combined, you're both too heavy. I can only pull one of you."

The Human Doctor looked right into Rose's eyes. "I want to have a life with you. I want you to be happy and worry free with me. If seeing the real Doctor again is the only way for that to happen, then I don't want to stand in the way."

"I love you. I promise I'll come back." Rose said.

The two then shared a hug. The next few minutes were silent as the trio walked to the beach. By the time they arrived, Rose was eager to leave, but sad that her human Doctor had to stay behind. She let go of his hand and followed Ariel into the water until their entire lower bodies were under the water. Ariel then removed the sparkling bracelet that Pan gave her. Within moments, a green mist surrounded her legs. Once the mist cleared, Ariel's legs had become a large, green tail and she promptly fell under the water. Her head soon reappeared as she waited for Rose to become a mermaid. Rose held the blue diamond and closed her eyes. Soon, they began to glow again. Then, a blue mist surrounded Rose's legs and turned them into a light blue tail, which also caused her to fall into the water. As Rose reappeared, she gave Ariel the diamond to keep safely in her small bag. Rose then looked back at the Human Doctor on the shore and waved.

"I'll be back soon." She yelled.

"I'll be here waiting." The Doctor said. "Make sure you stop Pan."

Ariel then grabbed Rose's hand.

"Are you ready?" She asked the blonde mermaid.

"Yes." Rose said.

Then the two women submerged themselves under the water. The Human Doctor was left alone on the beach as Rose and Ariel swam to another universe.