Previously:
"NO!" the Doctor stood up. "Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her, I'm going to save Rose Tyler in a middle of a dalek fleet and then I'm going to save the Earth. And just to finish off I'm going to wipe every last stinking dalek out of the sky!"
"But you have no weapons, no defences and no plans!" the dalek argued.
"Yeah" the Doctor said with a dark grin on his face. "And doesn't that scare you to death? Rose?"
"Yes Doctor?" Rose called looking up at the Doctor with love and admiration.
"I'm going to get you" the Doctor promised turning of the screen with his sonic screwdriver.
Donna turned to face Jack. "We're doomed" she said.
The Doctor grabbed hold of Donna and pulled her along, Jack running after them as the Doctor marched determinedly to the TARDIS. The moment the three entered the Doctor began to bark orders.
"Jack, hold that down, Donna I want you to press that and when I say let go, press this" he said running to the console and starting the dematerialisation sequence. Within two minutes the TARDIS was shaking as it sped through space. "Donna let go!" the Doctor shouted and Donna immediately pressed down on the button he asked her to.
"We got incoming!" Jack shouted. Donna fell to the floor as the TARDIS shook harder than ever before. "The strapulator is working, we got a full working force field. Try saying that when drunk"
"I think Donna already has" the Doctor said. "Off we go"
The TARDIS slowly materialised and Rose's image with a dalek grew stronger. "Rose get down!" Donna shrieked.
"Get down, Rose!" the Doctor shouted, Rose ducked as the dalek cried out it battle cry and let out a laser, Jack using his gun deflected the laser and killed the dalek instantly. Rose shivered when she heard the dalek scream.
The Doctor walked up to Rose and silently pulled her into a hug as they began to mumble to each other quietly, Donna turned to Jack with a cheeky grin.
"If you put that gun down, you could hug me if you want" she said.
"Why hug you when I can do this?" Jack asked threading his fingers through her hair and kissing her firmly.
"OI! Enough of that!" the Doctor growled. "You can make out after we save the universe"
"Is that a promise?" Jack asked flirtatiously causing the Doctor to roll his eyes and then the two pulled apart and Donna ran to Rose and hugged her tightly.
"Don't ever do that to me, you terrified me!" she admonished the younger woman.
"Yeah don't I get a hug?" Jack asked. Rose pulled away from Donna and opened her arms for Jack. "No I was talking to him" Jack said jokingly while pointing to the Doctor who was examining the dead dalek. Rose laughed and pulled Jack into a tight hug.
"Oh I thought I would never see you lot again" Rose said.
"You're just lucky I'm an oneshot wonder" Jack said. "Had a real good power supply but killing the giant spider and the dalek made it a piece of junk."
"You said they were extinct, how come they're still alive?" Rose asked the Doctor as the three of them surrounded the Doctor as he examined the dalek.
"One moment they were the greatest threat in the universe and the next they vanished out of the entire time and space" Jack said.
"They went off to fight a bigger war. The Time War" the Doctor said darkly as he stood up slowly.
"I thought that was just a legend" Jack said in awe of the Doctor.
"I was there. The war between daleks and Time Lord, the whole creation at stake. My people were destroyed but they took the daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it. Now they died for nothing." The Doctor said staring at the dalek remains with empty eyes.
"Like cockroaches they are" Donna grumbled.
"They are thousands out there, we can barely stop one, what are we going to do?" Rose asked.
"No point standing around chin-wagging. Human race you go about it all day, Donna especially, daleks got the answers" the Doctor clapped his hands. "Let's go and meet the neighbours" he ran down the ramp.
"But you can't go out there!" Rose shouted after them as Jack and Donna ran after the Doctor.
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"They survived through me" it was a deep, croaky voice, one that Donna would have associated with a toad and yet it sent shivers down her spine as the Doctor turned looking horrified and shocked to face a giant dalek.
He took slow steps towards it with the other three trailing behind him. "Rose, Donna, Captain. This is the Emperor of the daleks" he said quietly.
"You destroyed us Doctor" the Emperor said. "The dalek race died in your inferno but my ship survived. Lost in time, crippled but alive"
"Oh Boo Hoo" Donna said sarcastically.
"I get it" the Doctor said coldly.
"Do not interrupt, do not interrupt, do not interrupt, do not interrupt" the daleks chanted.
"Can't you lot just say shut up like normal people?" Donna asked raising an eyebrow up.
"I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor and that is Donna Noble, is there one thing we can do is talk. Donna talks the most, never shuts up even if I ask her. I got five billion languages and no one is can stop me, so if anyone is going to shut up is YOU!" the Doctor roared the last word as he turned to face the daleks who rolled back in fear, he then turned back to face the Emperor. "Okey doke, so where were we?"
"We waited here, in the dark space. Damaged but rebuilding. Centuries past and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity, the prisoners, the refugees, the rest, they all came to us, the bodies were filtered and pumped and sifted, only one cell was worthy of being nurtured."
"That is revolting" Donna said disgusted.
"They made an army out of the dead" the Doctor stated.
"So that makes them...half human" Rose said quietly.
"Those words are blasphemy!" the Emperor roared.
"Do not blaspheme, do not blaspheme, do not blaspheme" the daleks chanted.
"Everything human has been purged" the Emperor said firmly. "I have cultivated pure and blessed dalek"
"Since when do the daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" the Doctor asked shocked.
"I reached into the dark and made new life. I am the god of all daleks" the Emperor shouted.
"Worship him, worship him, worship him" the daleks chanted.
"They're insane" the Doctor whispered.
"Nah, really? I would have never guessed" Donna said her voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Hiding for hundred of years in silence is enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that, driven insane but your own flesh, the stench of humanity. You hate your own existence and that makes them more deadly than ever" the Doctor's voice was filled with pity, he turned to the Emperor. "We're going" he said.
As the four left side by side into the TARDIS the Emperor roared after them. "You will not leave my presence!"
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They got back to the Gamestation, Earth has suspended the Gamestation licence and they can't send a message down. Earth was now defenceless. The Doctor ordered for the transmat beams to be shut down so the daleks couldn't go onboard. A hundred people were also stranded on floor zero and Donna noticed the jealous look on Rose's face when the Doctor acted concerned for Lynda, she gave her blonde friend a comforting squeeze on the hand.
The Doctor began to pull out wires and bits of metal and plastic excitedly explained how he was going to stop the daleks. By using a Delta Wave, something that was going to fry every living being's brains. Jack set up a force shield to stop the daleks from blowing the Gamestation out of the sky but it couldn't stop them from physically entering the Gamestation. However the Doctor's defence were four people with guns, Rose and Donna were requested to stay and assist the Doctor. Lynda said goodbye to the Doctor in her annoying hero worshipful way that had actually made Donna want to puke.
"It's been fun" Jack said. "But I guess this is goodbye"
"Don't talk like that!" Rose chided him as Donna tried not to tremble at the idea of never seeing Jack Harkness again. "The Doctor is going to stop it, you just watch and see"
"Rose" Jack said cupping Rose's head. "You are worth fighting for" he then pressed a kiss on her lips. Rose bit her lip. Jack turned to face the Doctor. "I wish I never met you Doctor" he cupped the Doctor's face. "I was much better off as a coward" he then pressed a kiss on the Doctor's lips before turning to Donna and pulling her into a tight hug. "You are worth every single star, I am proud to die for you Donna Noble" he whispered into her ear before kissing her.
She kissed back desperately, her hands pulling at his hair as his slipped under her t-shirt. The Doctor coughed loudly and they pulled away gasping and flushed.
"See you in hell" Jack said to the three of them before running off.
"He's going to be all right" Rose said trying to reassure Donna and herself. The Doctor turned to face Rose with a sad expression. "Isn't he?" Rose's voice squeaked.
Donna let one tear roll down her cheek before going back to business.
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They were fiddling with bits of metal when Rose spoke up. "Suppose..."
"What?" Donna asked watching Rose curiously.
"Nothing" Rose mumbled.
"You said suppose" Donna pressed Rose.
"No I was just thinking, I mean obviously the Doctor can't but...we have a time machine, why can't we go back to last week and warn them?" Rose blurted out quickly.
"Soon as the TARDIS lands it becomes part of the events, part of the timeline" the Doctor said calmly.
"Yeah thought it would be something like that" Rose mumbled.
"There's another thing the TARDIS can do" the Doctor said distractedly. "It can leave, we can let history take its course. Go to Marbella in 1989"
"Yeah but you'd never do that" Donna pointed out crossing her arms.
"No but one of you could ask" the Doctor said, he looked up at the pair. "It never occurred to the pair of you did it"
"No, maybe we're too good" Rose said shrugging. The Doctor smiled fondly at the pair when a small whooshing noise caught his attention.
"The Delta Wave has started building, how long does it need" he got up and ran to the controls, Donna and Rose following. He froze.
"Is it bad?" Rose asked. The Doctor flopped his head against the controls. "Ok it's bad, how bad is it?"
The Doctor suddenly got up and grinned. "Rose Tyler you're a genius!" he pressed a kiss on her forehead. "We can do it! If I use the TARDIS to cross my own timeline...yes!" he ran into the TARDIS, Rose and Donna following. "Hold that down into position, Donna you hold that down and don't even think of letting it go. Now since I'm clever, more than clever, I'm brilliantly clever I can save the world...or rip it apart"
"Fingers crossed for the first one then" Donna said rolling her eyes.
"Now I got to go out and power up the Gamestation, you two hold on" the Doctor ran out and the doors shut firmly behind him. It took four seconds the most when the TARDIS engines started.
"Son of a bitch!" Donna cursed letting go. "He's sending us home!" Rose flew down the ramp and began to bang her fists against the door.
"Doctor let me out! Let me out! Let me out, let me out, let me out!" she screamed, tears falling fast on her face.
Donna began to sob silently to herself when suddenly a hologram of the Doctor appeared. "This is emergency program one. Rose and Donna listen, this is important, if this message is active then it can only mean one thing, we're in danger and I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die with no chance of escape"
"NO!" both Rose and Donna shouted.
Donna went up to slap the hologram when the Doctor turned to face her general area. "You can't slap a hologram Donna. It's going to be ok, I hope it's a good death but I promised to look after you two. The TARDIS is going to take the pair of you home"
"Oh and you think we're going to sit back and relax do you Space-Man?" Donna retorted.
"I bet the pair of you are fussing and moaning, Donna has probably called me Space-Man along with some impolite names. Typical! Now listen closely, the TARDIS can never return to me, emergency program one means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. Now this is what you should do; let the TARDIS die, let this old box gather up dust. No one can open it and no one will notice it, let it become a strange little thing on a street corner and over the years the world will move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me then you can do one thing, that's all one thing" he suddenly turned his head to face Rose. "Have a good life. Do that for me Rose, have a fantastic life and keep Donna out of trouble"
"OI!" Donna squawked tearfully as the hologram disappeared.
"You can't do this to me" Rose whispered, she ran to the console and began to press and pull at levers. "Take me back! TAKE ME BACK!"
The engines stopped and Donna pulled Rose into an embrace as they mourned the man they loved in such different ways. Donna slowly led Rose out of the TARDIS when a pale old man looked at the TARDIS in shock.
"You said spaceship sweetheart but I didn't think blue box" Wilf Mott said to his granddaughter. Donna suddenly broke into tears and ran into his arms. "I have some guests, love" he murmured. "I think you know them"
She lifted her head up to see Jackie Tyler holding her daughter tightly and Mickey Smith looking shifty, not sure what to do or where to stand.
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It turns out that her grandfather's hill, the one that he favoured to sit on and watch the stars, was not that far from the Powell Estate, when Donna and Rose had left the estate after the Slitheen incident, Mickey had searched Donna and put Jackie in contact with Wilf. A sort of Relatives of the Doctor's Companions Association, Wilf had jokingly called it.
The five trudged to a nearby cafe not far from the estate, Jackie, Mickey and Rose sat at one booth as Jackie and Mickey tried to be normal for Rose who was staring into space with such dead eyes. While Wilf sat Donna in the booth next to them and practically forced a mug of strong coffee and a muffin down Donna's throat.
"Sugar is good for shock, you see love and you look to pale. I should order you a fry up or maybe just a plate of chips, or even just plain toast. What do you want love, shall I get you fry up?" Wilf babbled in concern.
Donna reached out and took her grandfather's hand. "I'm fine." She said quietly. "It's not just losing a close friend that hurts...Granddad, while I've been travelling...there has been someone"
"Oh..." Wilf said nervously, not sure how to handle this.
"I fell in love Granddad and he is out there fighting by the Doctor's side. He's going to die while I'm here with Rose in a cafe trying act like nothing ever happened"
"You can talk to me" Wilf said squeezing his granddaughter's hand. "You can talk to Jackie she's a lovely girl who accepts these sorts of things. You have Rose and Mickey to help you out"
Before Donna could say something Rose's shout could be heard from behind them. "You make a stand, you say no, you have the guts to do what's right while everyone else just runs away and I just can't- "
Rose suddenly got up and ran out of the cafe. Donna sighed sadly and got up. "I'll go after her" she said before running out after Rose.
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Donna sat next to Rose on the cold bench in a skate park of the Powell Estate. "I can't blame you for feeling this way darling, I feel it too but we can't spend the rest of our lives thinking about the Doctor" she said sadly. "No matter how much we want to."
"How do I forget him" Rose whispered.
"I have no idea. How do I forget Jack? I can't. But we can do this together" Donna said softly. Rose's eyes were following something on the pavement. "Rose?" Donna asked as Rose stood up.
"Over here" Rose said running towards a wall, spray painted in words...words that all said the same...Bad Wolf. "It's over here as well!"
"I thought it was a warning" Donna said gasping. "But what if it was the opposite?"
"It's a message! A link between us and the Doctor. Bad Wolf here, Bad Wolf there!"
"Rose if it's a message what is it saying?" Donna asked.
"That we can go back, that we can help" Rose shouted as she began to run.
It was hopeless, nothing Rose could do, whether it was using Mickey's car with a chain to open the Heart of the TARDIS or kick the console in a sulk. The TARDIS refused to open up, to take them back. Jackie tried to talk some sense into Rose but Rose told Jackie how she met her father and how she was the blonde girl that held his hand. Jackie shouted and ran out crying and nothing Donna could do would calm Rose down. When Rose finally did calm down she leaned against Mickey's car, finally about to admit defeat when Jackie came with a large yellow rescue truck.
Mickey attempted to use it first, but he wasn't fast or hard enough to do it. Donna pushed him out impatiently.
"Never let a guy do a girl's job" she said stamping hard and long on the accelerator causing it to go forward jerkily and quickly, the chain breaking and the TARDIS doors shutting. Donna ran out and tried to open them but they wouldn't budge, she began to rap on the doors. "Rose! Rose let me in! Rose please!"
The TARDIS began to dematerialise.
"NO! ROSE PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE DON'T GO WITHOUT ME!"
The TARDIS faded and Donna fell forwards, Jackie pulling her back as she screamed and wept.
She, Donna Noble, had been left behind.
Rose, Jack and the Doctor were all fighting a war while she was stuck here on Earth.
She was never going to see them again.