Chapter Twelve: Home, somewhat.
Thawne looked out at the oncoming Daleks, at Grodd, and over at The Doctor, Barry, and Lyla.
Everything started to shake. Just before they could board the TARDIS, The Doctor reached for his sonic screwdriver, and yelled, "Grodd, catch!" He threw it at the huge gorilla, who caught it, and pointed it at the doors. The doors immediately slammed shut, blocking off the Daleks.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Thawne demanded. "I thought you were on my side!"
Grodd pointed the screwdriver at Thawne and said, telepathically, "The need to survive outweighs the need to conquer. You, with this much power, I have always felt that to be, unholy."
Grodd tossed the sonic back to The Doctor, who caught it and put it back in his pocket.
"Since when are you and Grodd friends?!" Barry asked, as he stood up.
"He's a telepathic monkey. I am a Timelord. We can both speak without saying words!"
"TRAITOR!" Thawne screamed at Grodd. "No matter, a gorilla and you simple humans are no match for five thousand Daleks!"
The Doctor stood up. "Well then. It's a good thing I am not a human, or have you forgotten?"
Thawne went running into the TARDIS, away from all of them, to think.
"Now where did he go, Doctor?" Lyla asked, also standing back up.
"He'll be lost for a while now," The Doctor replied. "Barry, do you mind?" The Doctor nodded at Barry as he chased Thawne through the TARDIS.
The Doctor looked at Lyla and said, "Do you have any ideas on how to defeat five thousand super speedster robots?"
"No. Do you?"
"Why, yes."
They heard the Daleks outside screaming, "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"
Grodd stayed by the door, ready to fight them off. "Grodd!" The Doctor shouted. "Send Barry a message! Tell him, run! Run as fast as he can!"
"Doctor, what have you got planned?" Lyla asked.
"Oh, just a little trick I picked up a few lives ago. When the cloister bell sound basically broke through time itself, the TARDIS shut down. Thawne wanted all the power. But what he didn't realize, was the power was gone. Drained. Mostly, anyways."
"What are you saying?" Lyla asked.
"My TARDIS is dead! Well, almost dead."
"You sound happy about that!"
"Oh I am! Sorry, old girl," he said to the TARDIS, "because that was when I knew. I knew we would be okay. Even if Thawne got my TARDIS, it would have looked like it had no power!"
"Doctor, you're a mad man! Does the TARDIS have power or not?!"
"No! And yes. You see, all of the remaining power after the overload transferred to right here, under this console. This, is the heart of the TARDIS. And today, it kept my TARDIS alive! Just enough power to keep the Daleks out, and the TARDIS alive."
"What about all the energy Thawne used getting into the TARDIS? That's Negative Speed Force energy, the opposite of Barry's Speed Force. Man made by Thawne through hatred and evil."
"Honestly, I have no idea. I sure hope the TARDIS doesn't try to kill me later in my lives! Anyways, with Thawne AND Barry, running all throughout the TARDIS, that is just the power boost I need to do this!"
He flipped a switch on the TARDIS. The lights got brighter, and the doors swung open.
"Doctor. The Daleks!"
"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" They tried to enter the TARDIS but they exploded upon impact. They stopped trying to enter after a dozen of them exploded.
"Twelve down, 4,988 to go!" The Doctor said with a grin.
"What is the meaning of this?" the Daleks asked The Doctor.
Grodd, who was standing by the door, looked at them, and telepathically talked to them. "Give up now, Daleks. Surrender!"
"THE DALEKS WILL NEVER SURRENDER!"
In a fit of anger, many more Daleks slammed into the ship.
"Keep talking to them, Grodd! You're doing great!" The Doctor laughed.
"How's Barry doing, Grodd?!" Lyla asked.
"Getting tired, I fear," Grodd said.
Red and yellow lightning filled the TARDIS. "I'm guessing the yellow one is Barry!" The Doctor said.
"Wow, Doctor you're so smart," Lyla laughed. "The yellow lightning is Barry, yes. That's energy from the Speed Force."
"Good!" The Doctor said. "All that evil red lightning talk was starting to worry me." The Doctor looked at Grodd. "Just a bit more time! Is Barry okay?"
"Barry says, normally, he would be tired, but after running for so long in the Speed Force, this is nothing. He did say that Thawne seems to be slowing down."
"Or maybe Barry is speeding up!" Lyla said.
"KEEP HIM RUNNING!" The Doctor yelled.
"What is the meaning of THIS now?!" Thawne's angry voice echoed through the TARDIS. "How do I get out of here?!" Trying to speed up, Thawne found himself even more lost.
"The TARDIS is telepathic too," The Doctor said. "He's gonna be running until the TARDIS says to stop. He's trapped himself!"
Grodd laughed.
"Looks like Grodd over here likes the telepathic justice Thawne has received."
"Sounds like a good fate," Lyla said.
"He is most definitely not staying in my TARDIS," The Doctor said.
As Thawne tried to run even faster, Barry stayed just behind him. He could run past him if he wanted now, but he wanted to keep up the illusion that Thawne was faster. "I guess the time in the Speed Force has really increased my speed," Barry thought.
"Doctor, not to ruin the fun, but how much power do you need to end this?" Lyla asked.
"This much!" The Doctor pressed buttons on the TARDIS console, and the TARDIS was now back to full power. "Well, a little more power couldn't hurt. Grodd. Tell Barry to just run, as fast as he can, forget about Thawne!"
"Run, Barry, Run!" The Doctor yelled.
Hearing The Doctor's message, Barry ran faster than Thawne, around the TARDIS, faster than he had ever run before. He ran through rooms of the TARDIS The Doctor hadn't even been in yet. He saw past TARDIS console rooms, future console rooms. He ran so fast, he eventually came back around, tripping Thawne in his tracks.
While Thawne was out of it from the fall, Barry took him by the arm and ran him back to the main room in the TARDIS.
The Doctor smiled. "Hello old friend."
Before Thawne could react, The Doctor flipped a lever, sending an energy pulse from the console, knocking Thawne out cold.
"I guess all your evil red energy had a use after all, Thawne. It turns out an overdose of it at the right frequency knocks you, and only you, out."
The Doctor then pressed a few more buttons. The TARDIS console was glowing brighter than it usually does.
"Oh no. So much extra energy! I wonder what else we can do with it?!" The Doctor smiled again.
He turned a few knobs on the TARDIS console. "Recalibrating to destroy anything immediately outside the TARDIS!" The Doctor looked on his monitor and saw Daleks. Thousands of them.
"Lyla, is there anybody else out here besides us and these Daleks?" The Doctor asked.
"Just the guards underground," she answered.
"Let me go check," Barry suggested. "I'll be fast."
"But those are speedster Daleks, Barry!" The Doctor said.
"I outran Thawne. A few thousand Daleks seems like a nice leisurely walk! But what about the Daleks in the Speed Force?"
"Good question." The Doctor thought for a moment. "Aren't they all connected to Thawne now through his Negative Speed Force? Just need to do a little more recalibrating of the energy pulse I plan on sending out. When all of these Daleks explode, and since the Daleks are all connected through Thawne, the impact should go through time, out of time, exploding all the remaining Daleks around the TARDIS and in the Speed Force. Creating the most epic domino effect you have ever seen! You guys sparked up ALOT of energy, Barry."
"I ran faster than I ever had before, Doctor!" Barry said.
"We have to time this perfectly. The second I lower that shield, you can get out, but the Daleks will be able to get in. I'll lower the shield, you run out, then I'm raising the shield again. You won't be able to come back in."
"I'm guessing I don't want to be anywhere near here when these Daleks explode?" Barry said.
"Barry Allen," The Doctor said, "it was a pleasure working with you."
"Come on now, Doctor, you'll see me again!"
"Quite right, someday, I think I will."
"Doctor, I'll be right back!"
"Doctor, what do you know?" Lyla asked.
The Doctor smiled at Barry, who finally understood what was about to happen.
"And don't worry, I'll take care of Thawne," The Doctor winked.
"Doctor. It was such a pleasure to work with you too. Do me a favor, find Iris, tell her I love her. Tell her, I will always love her."
The Doctor nodded.
"Doctor," Barry added, "I read some of your books while I was running. You know, had to slow down for Thawne. You have some very interesting languages in there."
"You read my books?!"
"I must say, you have lived very many tales. Many lives. I saw the kind of man you were, the kind of man you're going to be. Did you know some of your friends have left you notes throughout this machine? I saw the name Sarah Jane Smith many times. Oh and one more thing, Doctor. Don't blame yourself for everything. We are very alike. You can't control everything."
Barry looked at The Doctor, as if he saw something he shouldn't have. "Doctor, sometimes, you do have to stop running. I know, sounds funny, especially coming from me, what I'm about to do. But he's waiting for you. Doctor, I know you've heard this before, but though he knocks four times, you have the spark of hope to defeat him. Don't be afraid to sacrifice yourself, Doctor. It's not all that bad when you're saving the ones you love!"
The Doctor, not wanting to talk about such things, smiled at him and said, "Barry... RUN!"
Smiling back at The Doctor, Barry felt at peace knowing his world would be safe again. The Doctor lowered the shield, Barry ran through, he tried to reactivate the shield but it wouldn't work.
Grodd was ready to fight, as the Daleks started to attack.
Outside the TARDIS, Barry ran so fast, making sure no one was there besides the Daleks. He ran down to the lower level of the damaged A.R.G.U.S. building, and got all the guards out. He ran them all to safety. He ran even faster, around the city, finding all of the escaped inmates, including Killer Shark. He relocated them to another A.R.G.U.S. facility that Lyla had told him about. He then ran even faster, but back towards the TARDIS. He had done all of this in mere seconds.
Back at the TARDIS, two Daleks tried to enter. Grodd was ready to fight. Lyla pulled out her gun. Thawne was still on the ground, unconscious. The Doctor flipped a few more switches, and the shields were back online, slicing the two Daleks in half.
"Are we all clear?!" The Doctor asked.
Just then, The Doctor saw Barry outside the TARDIS behind all the Daleks. He looked at The Doctor, nodded, and then zoomed off.
The Doctor flipped more switches, and entered a code, and yelled, "Allons-y!"
The TARDIS doors slammed shut. Outside the TARDIS, all of the Daleks were still waiting to attack The Doctor.
The energy that was built up inside the TARDIS was about to overload the console, when The Doctor pressed a big red button. The energy was sent to the outer casing of the TARDIS.
The Doctor looked at a monitor that showed the outside of the TARDIS. All at once, the energy left the TARDIS, and every single Dalek exploded. For a good few minutes, you could hear explosion after explosion. Though the radius blast was initially no more than ten feet around the TARDIS, the domino effect took care of the rest of them as Dalek after Dalek exploded until every single one was gone.
"I'm glad that worked," The Doctor said. "I hope that took care of the Daleks in the Speed Force!" The Doctor thought. "If it didn't, Barry knows they are real now."
"Where is Barry?" Lyla asked.
"Back where he needs to be. The Speed Force still needs someone to stabilize it. But don't worry, as we speak, I am sure Barry's friends are finding a way to get him out."
Lyla nodded.
"What about your escaped inmates?" The Doctor asked.
"Barry knows of another A.R.G.U.S. location. He knew where to relocate them in case of an emergency like this."
"I'm glad his memories were in tact after having to run so long. He might not be so lucky next time," The Doctor frowned. "Well, I should be going. I've got places to be. Lyla, if you take care of the gorilla, I'll take care of that." He pointed to Thawne.
"My name is Grodd, Doctor."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Grodd. Oh before you go, I have something for you."
The Doctor reached into a drawer and pulled out some fruit. "It's like I say Grodd! Always take a banana to a party!" He tossed it at Grodd.
Grodd was furious, and yelled, "GRODD HATES BANANAS!"
He swatted it away, and Lyla shot The Doctor a look.
"What?!" he said.
Lyla looked at Grodd and said, "Thank you for helping us, Grodd. Can you help me clean up this mess, and we can discuss terms for your release from A.R.G.U.S. custody?
Grodd nodded.
The Doctor lowered the shield, and Grodd walked off the TARDIS.
"Take care of yourself, Doctor, wherever you're going." She stopped, and looked back. "What are you going to do with Thawne?"
"Don't worry," The Doctor said. "He won't be bothering anybody anymore. I'll be handing him over to The Shadow Proclamation. They are sort of like, outer space police."
"Sounds almost as scary as A.R.G.U.S.," Lyla joked. "Goodbye, Doctor." Lyla stepped off the TARDIS.
The Doctor set in new coordinates.
After handing Thawne over to The Shadow Proclamation, The Doctor thought about where he should go next. He wanted to listen to Barry. Whatever was waiting for him, it must be important. But he didn't want his song to end, as he was told. "Oh, blimey," The Doctor thought. "Whatever is waiting for me will still be waiting for me later. Soon. Not yet. I'm just not ready." He sighed. "Take me where I need to go," he whispered to The TARDIS. The Doctor thought about everything for a minute. He sighed again. Then he said, "Allons-y!" He pressed some buttons, flipped a switch, and was off to his next adventure.
The end.