And now the end of Evolution of the Daleks. This chapter goes a bit further off the storyline :D We hope you love it!
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"Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours. The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts," Sec explained to the Doctor.
"But you're the template. I thought they were getting a dose of you," the Doctor argued.
"I want to change the gene sequence," Sec informed him.
"To what?" Rose asked suspiciously. She still didn't trust this Dalek hybrid any more than she trusted the full Daleks inside their shells.
"To make them even more human?" the Doctor asked, having seemed to grasp what the ex-Dalek was getting at.
"Humans are the great survivors. We need that ability," Sec said, as if it were that simple.
"What, you can change DNA around just like that?" Rose asked.
"You've seen it before," the Doctor told her. "Several times, in fact. Species changing, adapting better defenses and abilities from other species."
"Yeah. But it's that easy?"" Rose asked.
"It can be. Depends," the Doctor replied with a look that Rose couldn't quite decipher. "But are they going to just let you do it?" he asked Sec, indicating the three Daleks.
"I am their leader," the Dalek hybrid explained.
"Oh, and that's enough for you, is it?" the Doctor asked the Daleks skeptically.
"Daleks must follow orders," one Dalek said.
"Dalek Sec commands. We obey," another Dalek agreed.
"If you don't help me, nothing will change," Sec pleaded.
"There's no room on Earth for another race of people," the Doctor argued.
"You have your TARDIS," Sec pointed out. "Take us across the stars. Find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again."
With his words, Rose knew the Doctor was going to help. He wouldn't be able to refuse. That was the same offer he'd given to so many, and so few took it. She looked to the Doctor, who looked back at her, and, with a nod, she let him know she agreed. She only hoped it was the right choice and they weren't just making a stronger race of Daleks to burn through the stars.
"When's that solar flare?" the Doctor asked.
"Eleven minutes," Sec replied automatically.
"Right then. Better get to work," the Doctor said as he did just that.
While Rose waited for him to need her for something, she decided to interrogate a Dalek to get more information, just in case. "So, how's this solar flare supposed to be drawn to the conductor?" she asked.
"It will come in the form of a lightning bolt," one Dalek answered. "The energy will skip across the atmospheric and magnetic shell of the Earth and gather as electricity."
"So, like Frankenstein, yeah?" Rose questioned.
"I do not understand the reference," the Dalek replied.
"Pretty much," the Doctor called as he compared solutions.
"Why're you lot missing bits of your armor?" Rose questioned, hoping she wasn't pushing too hard.
"Dalekanium panels were necessary," the Dalek responded in its monotone. "Between the electrical conduit and the final destination." It then rolled off, and Rose knew she wouldn't get anything else out of that one.
"There's no point in chromosomal grafting, it's too erratic. You need to split the genome and force the Dalek/human sequence right into the cortex," the Doctor reasoned, peering at a solution.
"We need more chromatin solution," Sec ordered one of the Daleks.
"The pig slaves have it," it replied. A few of the pig men came in, carrying a crate. Rose noticed that one of them was the one that was different. Tallulah's boyfriend, Laszlo.
"These pig slaves, what happens to them in the grand plan?" the Doctor wondered, looking right at Laszlo, who was coming over.
"Nothing. They're just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks," Sec explained as if it didn't mean anything that they'd killed these people. "Power up the line feeds," he ordered.
"Laszlo, I can't undo what they've done to you, but they won't do it to anyone else," the Doctor promised the man.
"Do you trust him?" Laszlo asked.
"I know that one man can change the course of history. Right idea in the right place at the right time, it's all it takes. I've got to believe it's possible," he answered.
Rose came over and touched the Doctor's skin. "I don't, not one bit," she told him. "Maybe Sec's okay, but the rest of them..."
"I know," he replied, "but I've got to give them a chance."
"They've got panels they need for the process near the energy conductor. Just in case," she informed him.
"Why so suspicious?" he questioned. She could tell that he was as well.
"They're Daleks. Even worse, they're Daleks who are playing with hybridization with human genes, and that's never worked out well in my experience," she replied. She sent him the image of what the Daleks had done while he'd been whispering with Laszlo. "They're planning something."
The Doctor studied her for a second, then nodded.
"The line feeds are ready," a Dalek announced.
"Then it's all systems go," the Doctor spoke up enthusiastically.
"The solar flare is imminent. The radiation will reach Earth in a matter of minutes," Sec worried.
"We'll be ready for it," the Doctor promised. He filled up a syringe with the liquid he'd been working on while he talked with everyone else. "That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern," he informed everyone. "Power up!"
Laszlo and one of the other pig men threw the breakers to power up the process.
"Start the line feeds," Sec ordered.
"There goes the gene solution,' the Doctor said.
"The life blood," Sec commented.
Everyone in the room watched the blue liquid bubble through the tubes and make its way to the bodies lying everywhere. Despite her misgivings, Rose watched in awe at the new lifeforms being created right in front of her. Something good could come out of the horrible mess.
Suddenly, an alarm went off.
"What's that?" the Doctor asked.
"What's happening? Is there a malfunction?" Sec queried the Daleks. "Answer me! " he commanded the Daleks, who remained silent. The Doctor rushed over and looked at the equipment.
"No, no, no. The gene feed! They're overriding the gene feed!" he exclaimed.
"Impossible. They cannot disobey orders," Sec denied.
"And, yet, they are," Rose told him.
"The Doctor will step away from the controls," the third Dalek ordered.
"Stop! You will not fire," Sec commanded.
"He is an enemy of the Daleks," the Dalek countered.
"And so are you," the second one added, pointing its laser weapon at the Dalek/human hybrid.
"I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec!" he explained in the loudest voice Rose had ever heard him use. Maybe that was all he could do anymore.
"You have lost your authority," the first Dalek said.
"You are no longer a Dalek," the third Dalek accused.
"What have you done with the gene feed?" the Doctor questioned while Rose got near him, ready to leg it out of there.
"The new bodies will be one hundred percent Dalek," one of them informed him. Rose thought it seemed almost smug.
"No. You can't do this!" Sec shouted.
"Pig slaves, restrain Dalek Sec, The Killer of the Emperor, and the Doctor," the first Dalek ordered. The pig slaves in the room, four in all, rushed to restrain the three of them. Laszlo grabbed the Doctor, so Rose knew he'd be okay. Two grabbed Sec, one at each arm.
"Release me. I created you. I am your master," he protested.
For her part, Rose darted out of the way of the pig man who was coming after her. A second later, an alarm sounded and the Daleks proclaimed that the flare was approaching. One of the slaves holding Sec let go of him and rushed to help capture Rose, leaving the half human standing there, being held on one arm by a slave.
Tallulah burst into the room from the tunnel, followed by Frank. "Laszlo!" she cried out.
"Intruder!" one of the Daleks screamed.
The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, and the Doctor gave a little nod. She could tell that he and Laszlo were trying to appear compliant.
Rose dodged the pig slaves that were trying to apprehend her and ran to the pig slave holding Sec, shoving him from behind to loosen its hold. Sec had been named an enemy of the Daleks, and an enemy of my enemy and all that. "Run, Sec!" she yelled at him
Almost immediately, the Doctor and Laszlo broke away towards Tallulah, Frank, and the lift. Rose followed, and Sec twisted his arm out of the pigman's grasp.
"They are escaping! Stop them!" the Daleks ordered.
"Exterminate!" one of the Daleks screamed. The door of the lift closed just before any of the fully converted pigmen could get inside, and the group saw one of the unfortunate slaves go down in the Dalek's beam.
The lift was a bit on the crowded side with Laszlo, Sec, Frank, Tallulah, The Doctor, and Rose inside. Laszlo and Tallulah were in the corner, holding one another. Frank was in another corner, waiting. Rose was next to the Doctor, who held her hand. Sec was watching everyone else's interactions.
"We've only got minutes before the gamma radiation reaches the Earth. We need to get to the top of the building," the Doctor told everyone.
"There are three panels of Dalekanium taken from Dalek Thay at the base of the lightning conductor," Sec told him. "They are bolted on, but if they can be removed in time, the army will be different when it awakes, more human."
"Laszlo, what's wrong?" Tallulah exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at the couple in the corner. Laszlo was leaning against the wall, breathing hard.
"Out of breath. It's nothing. We've escaped them, Sweetheart. That's all that matters," Laszlo said and stood up straight.
The lift doors opened up, and the Doctor and Rose were the first ones to step out.
"First floor, perfumery," the Doctor joked. While the others stepped out.
"Maybe you should lock that down so they can't follow us," Rose suggested, gesturing to the lift, which still had its doors open.
"Good idea!" the Doctor praised and pointed his screwdriver at the lift. There was a ding and a shower of sparks.
"There are other ways up," Sec pointed out.
"We need some kind of escape," Rose replied.
"Okay. Six minutes to go. I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits," the Doctor spoke up as he walked toward the unfinished section.
"Gammon radiation? What the heck is that?" Tallulah wondered as everyone followed the Doctor. They looked out of the building through the opening that would hold a very large window when it was finished.
"Oh, that's high. That's very. Blimey, that's high," the Doctor spoke fearfully, echoing the thoughts Rose had on the matter. She wasn't afraid of heights in general, but they were at an extreme height with nothing between them and the long fall.
"And we've got to move even higher," Rose commented, looking up the wooden ladder nearby. The Doctor joined her.
"Not we," the Doctor corrected. "I'm going up, I need you to stay here."
"There's no way I'm staying here and watching you," Rose fought back. Honestly, she thought he was getting better with this.
"I need you to stay here in case the Pig slaves or Daleks show up," he told her. "And then there's…" He nodded over to Sec, and Rose knew she had to keep an eye on the Dalek hybrid as well, just in case. She nodded, and the Doctor started up the ladder.
"So, there's still a chance of those pigs followin' us up here?" Frank wondered.
"Yeah, or even worse, Daleks," Rose replied.
"The Daleks won't come up here," Sec confidently informed them.
"Why's that, then?" Rose wondered.
"There are only five minutes until the wave reaches here. The Daleks are going to be far too busy to deal with you themselves. Especially when they are one short. I was supposed to be the controller. One of them will have to do it instead," Sec explained.
"So, we need to be ready to fight, just in case," Laszlo declared, and went to pick up the hammer he'd brought. Instead of picking it up, though, he fell against the marble covered pillar next to him.
"Laszlo? What is it?" Tallulah wondered, rushing to his side.
"No, it's nothing. I'm fine. Just leave me," Laszlo denied, but everyone could see that wasn't the case.
"Oh, Honey, you're burning up. What's wrong with you? Tell me!" Tallulah exclaimed.
"Great. One man down, we ain't even started yet," Frank grumbled.
"We don't even know if we need to fight, Frank," Rose told him.
"Nope," Frank agreed as they all heard the thunder and lightning of the storm building.
"Aw, you'll be alright, sweetheart. Don't you worry," Tallulah whispered to Laszlo as she held him.
The rest of the group gathered to discuss what could be done.
"There's still gonna be that lightning strike," Rose observed. "Could it be used?"
"If they arrived here in time," Sec replied, looking around. "I do not think we have enough pipe to reach the service elevator," he calculated.
"Arrival by stairs?" Rose asked.
"Highly unlikely," Sec replied. "They will want to be here before the strike if possible."
"Well," Rose stated and picked up a piece of pipe, giving it a little wiggle to test her grip. "Guess we're gonna have to do this the old fashioned way." She heard the other lift moving. "And the lift's coming."
Sec leaned down and picked up a slightly longer piece of pipe.
"I should have brought that gun," Frank said suddenly.
"Tallulah, stay back. You too, Rose. If they send pig slaves, they're trained to kill," Laszlo warned.
"Not going anywhere, Laszlo," Rose declared. "I'm not delicate."
"They're savages. I should know. They're trained to slit your throat with their bare teeth," Laszlo argued.
"Yeah? Well I can be wild when I wanna be too," Rose stated.
#########
On the top of the building, the Doctor was holding on to the lightning rod while he tried to loosen the bolts that held the three Dalekanium panels to the top of the building. The wind blew fierce, and he wondered how the humans who'd placed it had held on. They were very resilient.
He was to the last panel, when the cold and the rain made him drop his screwdriver. He could see where it landed, but there were only seconds before the strike came. In desperation, he grabbed the mast and wrapped himself around it.
Oh, he hoped he survived this with his face intact.
#############
The lightning struck the building, making it hard to see. Electricity crackled in the air, and Rose had an absurd thought about the metal ball thing she'd played with in school once, and how it made hair literally stand on end.
When the light faded, she blinked to get rid of the afterimage. There were still spots on her vision when the lift dinged and the doors opened. Six pig slaves came out, teeth bared.
The four people fighting each took their weapons and waited for the pig slaves to come to them down the hall. Rose stood to the side of the hallway's exit, pipe at the ready. Sec and Frank stood in full view, each wielding a pipe and a big hammer, respectively. Tallulah stood at the back, nearest Laszlo, who could barely stand. She held a longer pipe.
"They're dying anyway. They're dying anyway," Rose said to herself, then looked to Laszlo, understanding suddenly what was wrong with him. She didn't have long to grieve for the man, though, because the pigs were coming.
As soon as one poked its snout past the doorway, she swung, hitting the pigman in the throat and knocking him down. The others trampled him.
The battle between the four fighters and six pig slaves didn't last long. When everything died down, she realized she'd taken the lives of two of the former humans. She ran into a corner and threw up.
"It was them or us," Frank spoke. He had a cut on his chin, and a couple of bruises coming up.
"The Dalek masters killed them long ago," Laszlo explained.
"They were dying anyway," Sec told them dispassionately.
"The Doctor!" Rose shouted and ran to the ladder. He'd been up there when the strike happened. She went up the ladder as fast as she could. She didn't get far before she found the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, lying on a beam. She tried hard not to think about what that could mean.
When she got to the top, she saw the Doctor lying very still next to the mast. "No!" she screamed and went over there, forgetting just how high up they were and how dangerous it was to be there. She dropped on her knees beside him and cradled his head. "Oh, please, don't be dead," she whispered. Then, the Doctor moaned.
"Doctor!" she exclaimed. "I thought I'd lost you,"
"Can't get rid of me that easily," he joked, then winced. "Ow, my head." He finally opened his eyes and looked right at her. "Hello."
"Hi," she replied.
He focused on her shoulder, and Rose looked at what he was staring at. There was a gash. It wasn't deep, but it had bled freely.
"It's not as bad as it looks," she told him. It was true. It'd already stopped. She hadn't even felt it until just then, thanks to the adrenaline.
"What-?" he started.
"How about we get off of this tiny roof and somewhere a bit safer, first?" Rose asked.
"Right," he agreed. When they got back to the room at the base of the ladder, the Doctor set about fixing her shoulder up while everyone explained what happened.
"...and I found your sonic on the way up," she finished, holding it out to him. The Doctor took it from her and pocketed it. "So, what now?" she asked.
"The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewers, spreading the soldiers out underneath Manhattan," the Doctor explained.
"Yes. That was the plan," Sec agreed.
"Alright, so what's the plan now?" Rose questioned.
"How do we stop them?" Laszlo wondered doubtfully.
"There's only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping through me first," the Doctor told them.
"And how does that affect what they were doing?" Rose asked him, still upset with him about that little stunt.
"Hopefully, it'll have mixed up the genome a little bit. We need to draw fire. Before they can attack New York, I need to face them. Where can I draw them out? Think, think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space. Somewhere safe. Somewhere out of the way," the Doctor babbled frantically.
"Tallulah," Rose called.
"That's me. Three Ls and an H," she replied brightly, glad to be helpful with all this crazy stuff.
"Can you get us inside the theatre?" Rose suggested.
"The theatre! It's right above them, and, what, it's gone midnight? Brilliant idea, Rose!" the Doctor praised.
"Should be able to get in. Don't see why not," Tallulah told them.
"Everyone, into the service elevator! Allons-y!" the Doctor crowed.
It was definitely a tight fit for all of them, but they made it back down to ground level and ran to the theatre. It was cold and dark inside, now that everyone had gone for the night.
"There ain't nothing more creepy than a theatre in the dark," Tallulah whispered and became concerned when her boyfriend sat heavily in one of the seats. "Laszlo, what's wrong?"
"The slaves..." Sec began, but was cut off by Laszlo with a sharp look.
"Nothing. It's just so hot," he insisted.
"But it's freezing in here. Doctor, what's happening to him?" she questioned worriedly.
"Not now, Tallulah. Sorry," the Doctor told her dismissively. He didn't want to be so cold about it, but they didn't have time to deal with her reaction to Laszlo's fate right now. He used his sonic to try and signal the Daleks.
"You're calling them aren't you?" Rose realized. It was going to be another case of the Doctor trying to talk them to death.
"Yup! If the Daleks are going to war, they'll want to find their number one enemy. I'm just telling them where I am," he responded.
"They will come," Sec agreed. He knew exactly how they functioned and destroying the Doctor before moving on to the rest of the world would be their priority.
"Frank, could you take the ladies back to Hooverville?" the Doctor requested.
"Don't even think about it, Doctor. You know I'm not going anywhere," Rose protested.
"Yeah, what she said," Tallulah added, standing beside her stubbornly as they both crossed their arms.
"Rose," he began, grasping her upper arms. "I did the best I could to stop this, but I don't know if it will be enough."
"And how will we be any safer in the park than here if it didn't work? We're a team, Doctor. I can't leave you to face them alone. I love you too much to go," she argued.
"Oh, Rose," he sighed and hugged her tightly.
"Doctor! Oh, my God! Well, I guess that's them then, huh?" Tallulah cried as dozens of slack-faced humans marched into the room, each holding some kind of gun.
"These are that army you was talking about?" Frank guessed.
"It's alright, it's alright. Just stay calm. Don't antagonize them," the Doctor told his friends and pulled Rose protectively against his side.
"They will wait for orders," Sec informed them.
"But what of the Dalek masters? Where are they?" Laszlo wondered.
"They will come to face the Doctor," Sec replied.
They all sat in the middle of the seats, as far from the soldiers as they could manage. The creatures stared at them blankly with their guns aimed toward the group. It was only a few minutes before the Daleks blasted through the wall and onto the stage of the theatre.
"The Doctor will stand before the Daleks," one of them demanded.
He hopped up on a seat and climbed up to walk over the tops of the chairs. Rose stubbornly followed and stood right next to him, taking his hand in her own. He glanced down at her with an exasperated look, but he did have to admit to himself that she wouldn't be any safer away from him unless she were locked inside the TARDIS right now.
"You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age," the alien announced.
"Planet Earth will become New Skaro," the other Dalek on the stage added.
"Oh, and what a world. With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec. Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and you've exiled him from your own plans. Is that your new Empire, hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?" the Doctor questioned as he gestured to the hybrid beside them in the theatre.
"My Daleks, just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you," Sec tried pleading with them as he got up on the seats with the Doctor and Rose.
"Incorrect. We will always survive," one of them argued.
"Now we will destroy the Doctor's associate, so that we may see him suffer before following her into oblivion," the other threatened and aimed its weapon toward Rose.
"But the Doctor can help you. Spare them and let him help," Sec pleaded.
"Exterminate!" it shouted, as if Sec hadn't spoken at all. The weapon fired toward Rose. The Doctor hurled himself in front of her, but Sec threw himself ahead of both of them, vapourized instantly by the weapon.
The Doctor sighed a shuddering breath, trying to slow his frantic hearts as he looked over his shoulder to where Sec had died. "Your own leader. The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him. Do you see what they did? Huh? You see what a Dalek really is?" he announced to the new army that stood around them. "If we're going to die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek humans. Their first blood. Go on, baptise them."
"What are you doing?" she wondered, a wave of terror flowing freely from her mind to his.
"Don't worry," he told her. "I don't think they're going to shoot us."
"You don't think!" she replied. This was one of his crazy schemes. That thought calmed her somehow.
"Dalek humans, take aim." the Dalek on the right ordered. The lines of people on either side aimed their weapons, which looked like a cross between a Dalek's 's laser weapon and a Tommy gun, right at the Doctor and Rose.
"What are you waiting for? Give the command!" the Doctor yelled, flinging his arms out to the side to make himself a bigger target. Rose stood next to him, where he could wrap his arm around her if he wanted, but she didn't make herself a larger target like he did, she just fought the basic instinct to jump down off of the chair and hide.
"Exterminate!" the Dalek to the right ordered. Rose and the Doctor both tensed up, ready for the hits, but nothing happened.
"Exterminate!" the other Dalek ordered. Still, nothing happened. "Obey. Dalek humans will obey," it screamed.
"Oh," Rose realized. The Doctor had said that he hoped the genome got mixed up a bit.
"You will obey. Exterminate!" the Dalek on the left ordered, shaking back and forth.
"Why?" the first human hybrid to their right asked, looking at the two encased beings on the stage.
"Daleks do not question orders," the Dalek replied.
"But...why?" the same person haltingly asked again.
"You will stop this," the Dalek on the left commanded.
"But why?" the human asked stubbornly and more sure of himself.
Rose was reminded of the last time she'd had to watch her cousins. The twins were five years old at the time, and they both asked her the same question constantly. At the time, she couldn't wait for her mother to get home so she could escape the sticky buggers. She thought of her mother with a pang. The same mother she'd never see again thanks to the Daleks. These same Daleks on the stage. The same Daleks who'd killed the essences of people around her and turned them into...these unfortunate beings.
"You must not question," the Dalek ordered.
"But you are not our master. And we, we are not Daleks," the once fully human man declared.
"No, you're not. And you never will be," the Doctor said proudly. "Sorry, I got in the way of the lightning strike," he told the Daleks on the stage smugly and put his hands in his pockets. "Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom." He winked, and Rose's mouth dropped open.
All these people around them. They were mostly human, and a little bit Dalek too, but they also had Time Lord DNA in them. They were all, at least partly, his people.
"Oh, wow," Rose whispered reverently. It was brilliant.
"If they will not obey, then they must die," the Dalek to the right declared and shot the man who dared speak.
"Get down!" the Doctor yelled, pulling Rose down with him. Under the sticky seats, she could see the others taking cover.
The battle over their heads was noisy. The Daleks exclaimed their battle cry over and over again, the sounds of two different kinds of lasers could be heard. They heard one Dalek get blown up, followed shortly by the other, then the sounds stopped and Rose and the Doctor dared to look over the seats.
"It's all right. It's all right. It's all right. You did it. You're free," the Doctor assured the group of hybrids. He looked around him proudly. "Brilliant, all of you." He took Rose's hand and smiled at her.
Rose couldn't help but smile back. She could feel his elation. There was also sadness at the number of them that hadn't made it through the battle, but so many had.
Suddenly, there was a squealing sound, and all of the hybrids dropped their weapons, clutched their heads, and dropped to the ground. The Doctor let go of Rose's hand and ran to the nearest one.
"No! They can't! They can't! They can't! They can't!" he repeated in shock. He stood and looked down the row.
"What the hell happened?" Tallulah asked.
"They killed them, rather than let them live. An entire species. Genocide," the Doctor spoke, his anger just beneath the surface.
"Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed. One of the Dalek masters must still be alive," Laszlo reasoned.
"Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one," the Doctor said darkly and ran off.
Rose's anger and sorrow at what was done here and what was done in the past had transformed into rage. She picked up one of the weapons dropped by the hybrids and went to the laboratory, where she was sure the last Dalek was.
########
The Doctor ran into the laboratory, where the last Dalek was. As soon as he saw it, he slowed down.
"Now what?" he asked it.
"You will be exterminated," it claimed.
He rolled his eyes at the obvious Dalek answer to everything. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just think about it, Dalek what was your name?"
"Dalek Caan," the Dalek responded.
"Dalek Caan. Your entire species has been wiped out. And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated, leaving only you. Right now you're facing the only man in the universe who might show you some compassion. Because-"
"Dalek!" a familiar voice shouted suddenly. He heard footsteps running and turned to see Rose. She had run in and was holding one of the rifles the Dalek/human/Gallifreyan hybrids had dropped. She looked murderous.
"You just couldn't leave them alive, could you?" she asked from between clenched teeth. "You just couldn't let something live, no, you had to kill it, you have to kill everything!" She aimed the dalek weapon at the last Dalek. "You just take and take!"
The Doctor grabbed the barrel and pushed it upright. "I get it, I do, Rose," he said, remembering another time. He turned back to the Dalek and finished what he was going to say, "I've just seen one genocide. I won't cause another, and I won't watch another. Caan, let me help you," he pleaded. "What do you say?"
"Emergency temporal shift!" Caan shouted. There was a flash of bluish-white light, and the Dalek disappeared. Cables fell swinging from it.
The Doctor yelled, "No!" as the last Dalek disappeared from sight.
"Doctor! Doctor! He's sick!" Tallulah shouted as she led her boyfriend into the room. He was leaning on her heavily and having trouble breathing. "What is it, Doctor? What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe? What is it?"
"It's time, sweetheart," Laszlo told her weakly.
"What do you mean, time? What are you talking about?" she sobbed.
"None of the slaves survive for long. Most of them only live for a few weeks. I was lucky. I held on because I had you. But now, I'm dying, Tallulah," he explained.
"No, you're not. Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do something?" she pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks and smearing her makeup.
"Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H, just you watch me. What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory? Oh look, I've got one. Laszlo, just you hold on. There's been too many deaths today," the Doctor told him confidently and pulled the stethoscope from his pocket. "Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death! You got that? Not one. Tallulah, out of the way. The Doctor is in."
"Don't worry, Tallulah. He's extra brilliant when he gets like this," Rose assured her as they both watched him work his genius on saving their friend.
########################
"Well, I talked to them, and I told them what Solomon would've said, and I reckon I shamed one or two of them," Frank told the Doctor, Rose, Tallulah, and Laszlo. Laszlo was standing straight and strong, able to do so thanks to the Doctor fixing him up.
"What did they say?" the Doctor wondered.
"They said yes. They'll give you a home, Laszlo. I mean, er, don't imagine people ain't going to stare. I can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that is what Hooverville is for. People who ain't got nowhere else," Frank told him.
"Thank you. I can't thank you enough," Laszlo said, shaking his hand.
Rose and the Doctor made their way back to the TARDIS, which was still standing at the feet of Lady Liberty. Their pace was leisurely, their fingers entwined tightly, as if they were both holding on for dear life. Every encounter with the Daleks was terrifying and reminded them that all of it could come to an end at any moment.
"You think they'll be ok, Doctor?" Rose questioned.
"I don't know. Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York? That's what this city's good at. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe the odd pig slave Dalek mutant hybrid too," the Doctor told her with a laugh.
Rose giggled and bumped his shoulder with her own. "Just imagine their kids!"
He laughed with her at that and pulled out his key to unlock the door to the TARDIS.
"It just proves it, I suppose. There's someone for everyone," Rose said and gazed lovingly into his eyes.
"Yeah," he replied and gave her a small smile.
"We're gonna see it again, aren't we?" Rose questioned.
"Oh, yes. One day," he replied gravely, then brightened up. "Hopefully not too soon."