The Best of Times

by The Time Lord Oracle

The Doctor and Gazelle have survived The Year That Never Was and are now engaged. They reunite with Donna Noble, who joins them on their travels, and the trio look set to enjoy the best of the times, but behind the scenes, dark forces lurk in the shadows. Prophecies are being foretold and our intrepid heroes are in for some interesting challenges

12. The Stolen Earth

The Best of Times

The Stolen Earth

Thanks to Spiderflash1273 & emmymay96 for following and favouriting this story

The TARDIS landed in a quiet London suburban street. The Doctor, Gazelle and Donna all immediately rushed out. "It's fine." the Doctor breathed, looking at the peaceful surroundings "Everyfink's fine."

"Excuse me?" Gazelle called to a milkman on his rounds "But could ya tell us what day it is? We've lost track."

"Saturday." the milkman answered

"Saturday." the Doctor nodded "Good, I like Saturdays."

"So, I just met Rose Tyler?" Donna asked, the Time Lords having told her about Bad Wolf on the way from Shan Shen.

"Apparently." Gazelle replied, looking around. Everything seemed so quiet and normal, but both she and Doctor had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

"But she's locked away in a parallel world." Donna reminded

"Exactly." the Doctor replied seriously "If she can cross from 'er parallel world to your parallel world, then that means the walls of the universe are breakin' down."

"Which is disastrous." Gazelle agreed "All sorts of terrible things could come through. But how is it even possible?" she wandered. The trio went back inside the TARDIS to scan the area for anything untoward. Little did they know that as soon as they were inside, the Earth began to shake.

In the TARDIS, the Time Lords worked at the console, unaware that the liquid in the jar containing the Doctor's severed hand was starting to bubble "The thing is." Donna began, trying to lighten the ominous mood "No matter what's 'appening, an' I'm sure it's bad, I get that. But... Rose is comin' back. Isn't that good."

"Yeah." both Time Lord said shortly. They'd be lying if they said they weren't happy at the prospect of seeing their old friend again, but it depended on the cost.

Suddenly, the TARDIS shook violently, knocking everyone to the floor. "What the hell was that?!" Donna spluttered as they picked themselves up. She and the Doctor ran to the doors to find nothing but space and rocks outside. "But... we're in space." Donna burst out "How did that 'appen? What did you two do?!"

Gazelle checked the monitor "We haven't moved. We're still in the same spot." she said

"The TARDIS 'asn't moved but the Earth 'as gone." the Doctor realised "The entire planet, it's gone." the trio could only stare out at the empty space in horror and disbelief.

Far across the universe, in a U.N.I.T office in New York, Martha Jones recovered from the impact "What was that?" she groaned as she picked herself up and looked at the mess the room was in "Was it some sort of earthquake or... Jolanda, are you alright?" she asked a colleague

"Yeah, I'm alright." Jolanda confirmed

"Is anyone hurt?" Martha called as she got to her feet, her medical training kicking in "We've lost power, someone get the lights back on. DeCosta, see to it right now!" then she noticed another colleague looking worriedly out the window "Suzanne, are you ok?"

"Martha, look at the sky." Suzanne told her worriedly

"Why, what is it?"

"Just look at the sky!"

In the Torchwood hub in Cardiff, Jack Harkness got to his feet "Whoa! What happened?" he groaned as he looked at the state the room was in "Must be the rift. "Gwen, Ianto, you ok?" he called to his colleagues

Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones were both lying on the floor nearby "No broken bones." Ianto groaned, nursing his sore head "Slight loss of dignity. No chance there, then."

"The whole city must've felt that." Gwen mumbled, getting to her feet "The whole of South Wales."

"I'm gonna take a look outside." Jack said, heading for the hub's exit, while Gwen and Ianto checked their instruments.

"Bit bigger than South Wales." Ianto stared as he looked at his screen.

In the loft of 13 Bannerman Road, Ealing, London, Sarah Jane Smith and her adopted son Luke, a boy genius made by the Bane, recovered from the apparent earthquake "Luke, are you alright?" Sarah Jane asked her son

Luke nodded "Felt like some sort of cross-dimensional spatial transference." he noted as he got to his feet

Sarah Jane looked out of the window. It was dark outside. "But it's night." she frowned "It wasn't night, it was eight o'clock in the morning! Mr Smith, I need you." the chimney breast opened up to reveal a futuristic supercomputer, a fanfare playing "Can you just stop giving that fanfare?" Sarah Jane grumbled "You just tell me what happened."

"Sarah Jane, I think you should look outside." Mr Smith told her "I think you'll find the visual evidence most conclusive."

In Chiswick, Wilfred Mott and Sylvia Noble stood outside their house, Wilfred carrying a cricket bat "It's gone dark." he said grimly "It's them aliens, I'll bet my pension! What d'you want this time, you green swine?!" he yelled out to no one in particular

Sylvia looked to the sky "Dad..." she said worriedly

"Look, you get back inside, Sylvia." Wilfred told his daughter, his military training kicking in "They always want the women!"

"No, dad, just look. Oh my God, just look at the sky!" Sylvia urged him. Wilfred looked to the sky and his eyes widened in horror

"That's impossible." Sarah Jane breathed in horror as she and Luke looked out of their window at the sky

"That's just not possible." Jack murmured in shock as he looked at the sky

In New York, Martha and her team looked at the sky too "It can't be..." she whispered in shock and horror

In the place where the TARDIS had been, the milkman was looking at the sky too. Then he heard a strange electrical buzzing and he turned to see a blonde woman in a blue bomber jacket appear out of thin air, carrying an enormous futuristic-looking gun. It was Rose Tyler. She looked to the sky without a bit of surprise. "Right, now we're in trouble." she said grimly, cocking her gun "It's only just beginin'." the sky was pitch black and full of planets, so close to Earth that they could be seen with the naked eye.

In the TARDIS, Donna and the Time Lords were still in shock from the Earth's disappearance "But if the Earth's been moved, they've lost the sun!" Donna gasped in horror, tears forming in her eyes "What about my mum? An' granddad? They're dead, aren't they?"

"I'm sorry, Donna." Gazelle said, patting her shoulder "I wish we could give you answers, but we honestly don't know. We've never seen anything like this before. The Earth could be being kept inside an atmospheric shell, but it's impossible to say for sure."

"That's my family." Donna sniffled "My whole world."

"We've just gotta hope." Gazelle tried to reassure her "There's a chance they're all still alive."

"There's no readings." the Doctor said from where he was checking the scanner "Not a trace, not even a whisper. Oh, that is fearsome technology." he ran a hand through his hair to calm his stress levels

"So what do we do?" Donna asked

"We've gotta get 'elp." the Doctor decided, starting to type co-ordinates in the TARDIS, Gazelle coming over to help him

"From where?"

"Donna, we're takin' you to the Shadow Proclamation." the Doctor replied "Hold tight!" he and Gazelle set to work piloting the TARDIS. The ride was more rough then normal, but no one cared, they had more important things to worry about.

At Torchwood, Ianto was flipping through the TV channels. Naturally, the situation had made the headlines "The United Nations has issued an edict, asking the citizens of the Earth not to panic." Trinity Wells said on AMNN "So far, there has been no explanation of the 26 planets that have appeared in the sky."

On another channel, Professor Richard Dawkins was making a statement "... but it's an empirical fact, the planets didn't come to US, WE came to THEM! Just look at the stars. We're in a completely different region in space. We've travelled."

Ianto then flipped over to Channel 4, which was showing The Paul O'Grady Show "D'ya know what? I look up and there's all these moons and things. Have you seen 'em? Did ya see 'em? I thought 'What was I drinkin' last, furniture polish?!'"

Ianto couldn't help but laugh at that "Ianto, time and place." Jack scolded from where he was working on a computer terminal

"He is funny, though." Ianto said sheepishly

"Gwen, come and see." Jack called to his other colleague

Gwen came over, on the phone to her husband Rhys "Rhys, I have no idea, just stay indoors. And you can phone my mother. Tell her, um, I dunno, just tell her to take her pill and go to sleep. I'm gonna come home as soon as I can, I promise. I love you, you big idiot." she hung up

"Someone's established an artificial atmospheric shell." Jack said from his computer "Keeping the air and holding the heat."

"Whoever's done this wants the Human race alive." Ianto noted "That's a plus." he looked at another monitor "27 planets, including the Earth." he shook his head. Who could do this and why?

Then, Gwen noticed a blinking red dot in-between the planets "No, but what's that?" she pointed to it "That's not a planet."

In Bannerman Road, Sarah Jane had seen the red dot too "The reading seems to be artificial in construction." Mr Smith revealed

"Some sort of space station." Sarah Jane realised "Sitting at the heart of the web."

Luke came up, having contacted his friends on his mobile "They're fine. Maria and her dad, they're still in Cornwall. I told 'em to stay indoors. And Clyde's alright, he's with his mum."

"Sarah Jane, I have detected movement." Mr Smith said "Observe." and on screen, they could see multiple red dots moving.

"Spaceships!" Luke said hopefully. Sarah Jane didn't share her son's optimism, she had a bad feeling that the ships belonging to whoever was responsible for moving the Earth, and the chances of them being friendly were slim.

In New York, Martha's commanding officer, General Sanchez, entered the room "Tracking 200 objects. Earthbound trajectory." he announced "Geneva is calling a code red. Everyone to battle positions." he saw Martha on her mobile "Dr Jones, if you're not too busy." he said sarcastically

"I'm trying to phone the Doctor and Gazelle, sir." Martha replied

"And?"

"There's no signal. This number calls anywhere in the universe. It never breaks down. They must be blocking it. Whoever 'they' are." she looked at the screen, showing the red dots heading for Earth

"We're about to find out." Sanchez said "They're in orbit."

Rose walked down a London street. It was anarchy, with people running about in panic, looting and smashing things. "The end of the world, darlin!" a drunken man said to Rose "End of the stinkin' world!"

"Have one on me, mate." Rose replied wryly and pressed on with her mission. She walked into an electronics shop, which was being looted by two men "Right!" she called, catching their attention "You two. You can put that stuff down, or run for ya lives." she cocked her gun to prove her point. The men took the hint and ran off. Rose set up a laptop and plugged in a chip Mickey had given her that allowed her to hack into military databases. She was soon looking at the image of the 27 planets and the ships moving towards Earth.

In the Noble household, Sylvia was watching the news "We're now getting confirmed reports of spaceships." the newsreader said "The Pentagon has issued an emergency statement..."

"Dad." Sylvia called "Come and see. They're saying spaceships." Wilfred entered the room, mobile in his hand "Did you find her?" Sylvia asked him

"No, no, there's no reply." Wilfred replied "Where are you, Donna? Where are you, sweetheart?"

In the Torchwood hub, Gwen was monitoring the progress of the ships "3,000 miles and closing." she reported "But who are they?!"

Jack's mobile rang and he answered "Martha Jones! Voice of a nightingale! Tell me you put something in my drink."

"No such luck." Martha replied anxiously "Have you heard from the Doctor or Gazelle?"

"Not a word. Where are you?"

"New York."

"Hmm, nice for some."

"I've been promoted. Medical director on Project Indigo."

"Did ya get that thing working?"

Martha furrowed a brow at that "Indigo's top secret. No one's supposed to know about it."

"Oh, I met a soldier in a bar. Long story."

"When was that?" Ianto asked Jack suspiciously

"Strictly professional." Jack reassured him

"1500 miles, boys, and accelerating." Gwen called "They're almost here."

"I'm receiving a communication from the Earthbound ships." Mr Smith said "They have a message for the Human race."

"Put it through, let's hear it." Sarah Jane said apprehensively

Mr Smith played the transmission. It consisted of a very familiar harsh robotic voice saying one word repeatedly "Exterminate!" Sarah Jane's heart nearly stopped.

The same message was picked up at Torchwood. Jack went white as a sheet when he heard that voice "No." he whispered numbly "Oh no."

Martha got the message too. Her eyes widened in fear. All three Humans knew what the message meant. The Daleks were coming, and Humanity didn't stand a chance against them.

"What is it?" Gwen asked, puzzled to see Jack looking so frightened, and Ianto looked terrified too "Who are they? D'you know them, Jack?"

All Jack could do was pull his two colleagues into his arms and kiss the tops of their heads "There's nothing I can do." he said "I'm sorry. We're dead."

Sarah Jane had tears in her eyes as she heard the Dalek message "Oh God, you're so young!" she sobbed, hugging her son

Rose heard the message too. She should've known that the evil pepper pots were responsible for this. Swallowing hard, she left the shop and looked to the sky as a Dalek saucer loomed over head and opened fire on the city. With a heavy heart, she turned her back on the destruction and set off on her mission to find the Time Lords.

In New York, U.N.I.T were getting ready for action "Battle station!" Sanchez ordered "Geneva is declaring ultimate code red. Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war!"

The building shook suddenly and Martha looked out of the window to see hordes of Dalek saucers descending on the city and opening fire.

Blissfully unware of Earth's predicament, Donna spoke up "So go on then, what is the Shadow Proclamation anyway?"

"Basically an outer space police." Gazelle replied "I was gonna go to 'em that time when the Sycorax tried to invade Earth. Didn't need to in the end, though."

"Here we go!" the Doctor said as the TARDIS materialised aboard a space station. The trio stepped out to find themselves facing a group of Judoon with their weapons aimed at them

"Sco bo tro no flo jo ko to. To to!" the Judoon leader demanded

"No bo ho sho ko ro to so." the Doctor answered "Bo-ko-do-zo-go-bo-fo-po-jo." the Judoon lowered their guns "Mah ho." the Doctor finished

"What was that?" Donna asked Gazelle

"Judoon language." Gazelle replied "One of the few languages the TARDIS doesn't translate. Basically, the Doctor was telling them we seek an audience with the Shadow Architect."

The trio were soon standing before the Shadow Architect, a tall albino woman with pale skin and red eyes "Time Lords are the stuff of legends." she remarked "They belong in the myths and whispers of higher species." she eyed the two Time Lords "You two can't possibly exist."

"Yeah, more to the point, we've got a missing planet." the Doctor said. For once, he wasn't going to waste time having his ego stroked. Earth had gone missing and urgent action was needed.

"Then you're not as wise as the stories would say." the Architect said "The picture is far bigger than you imagine. The whole universe is in outrage, Doctor. 24 worlds have been taken from the sky."

"23?!" Gazelle stared

"Show us!" the Doctor urged, horrified at this revelation

The Architect showed them a computer read-out "Locations range far and wide." she told them "But all disappeared at the exact same moment. Leaving no trace."

The Time Lords looked at the screen "Callufrax minior." the Doctor read out "Jahoo, Shallacatopp, Woman Wept, Clom... Clom's gone?! Who'd want Clom?!"

"They're all different sizes." Gazelle frowned "Some are populated, some aren't. They're all unconnected. This doesn't make sense."

"What about Pyrovillia?" Donna piped in

"Who is the female?" the Architect asked in a condescending tone

"Donna." the Human glared "I'm a Human being. Maybe not the stuff of legend but every bit as important as the Time Lords, thank you." the two Time Lords watched her with proud smiles. Donna turned to them "Way back when we were in Pompeii, Lucius said Pyrovillia 'ad gone missing."

"Pyrovillia is cold case. Not relevant." the Judoon captain cut in

"How d'ya mean, cold case?" Donna questioned

"The planet Pyrovillia cannot be part of this." the Architect said sceptically "It disappeared over 2000 year ago."

"Yes, yes, 'ang on." Donna cut in, on a roll "But there's the Adipose breedin' planet too. Miss Foster said that was lost, but that must've been a long time ago."

"Oh, yeah." Gazelle nodded "And Sontar II, that's been lost as well. I thought it was just because of the Sontaran-Rutan war, but now..."

"That's it! Brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed in realisation "Planets are being taken out of time as well as space. Let's put this in 3D." he started fiddling with the computer and holographic images of the 23 missing planets popped up "Now, if we add Pyrovillia, Sontar II an' Adipose III... somefink missing. Where else, where else... lost, lost, lost... Oh! The lost moon of Poosh!" he remembered during his ill-fated bus trip on Midnight he'd spoken to a young student who'd been researching the lost moon of Poosh. He typed in commands and the four additional planets appeared

"What did you do?" the Architect questioned

"Nothing." the Doctor replied "The planets rearranged 'emselves in an optimal pattern. Oh, look at that! 27 planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous!"

"Oi, don't get all spaceman!" Donna scolded, in no mood for the Doctor's trademark inappropriate enthusiasm "Gazelle, what does it mean?"

"All these planets fit together like the parts of an engine." Gazelle replied, not sharing her husband's delight at the discovery "It's like a powerhouse, but for what?" she wandered

"Who could have designed such a thing?" the Architect asked

"Someone tried to move the Earth once before." the Doctor muttered thoughtfully "Long time ago. Can't be..."

On Earth, the Daleks' killing spree was well underway. In the Torchwood hub, the team could only listen helplessly to the distress calls of armed forces being overwhelmed "The shields are down!" they heard the captain of the Valiant say "There's too many of them! Abandon ship!"

"The Valiant's down!" Jack exclaimed in horror. That ship had been designed by a Time Lord. If the Valiant had been overwhelmed, then he knew there was no hope at all.

"Air force retreating across North Africa." Ianto reported from his screen "Daleks landing in Japan.

"We've lost contact with the Prime Minister's plane." Gwen added, then noticed something else "Jack, Manhattan!"

"Martha, get outta there!" Jack hollered into his phone, seeing that U.N.I.T's New York base was the Daleks' next target

Martha was bandaging a wounded soldier "I can't, Jack. I've got a job to do." she replied

"They're targeting military bases, and you're next on the list!" Jack told her

At that moment, Sanchez came over "Dr Jones, you will come with me." he ordered "Project Indigo is being activated. Quick march!" so Martha, Sanchez and a U.N.I.T private made their way through the building towards it's vault.

"But we can't use Project Indigo." Martha protested "It hasn't been tested, sir. We don't even know if it works!"

They reached the vault and the private opened it to reveal what looked like a black backpack with a computer on it "Put it on, fast as you can." Sanchez urged Martha

"Martha, I'm telling you, don't use Project Indigo!" Jack called over the phone "It's not safe."

"You take your orders from U.N.I.T, Dr Jones." Sanchez said sternly "Not from Torchwood."

"But why me?" Martha questioned

"You are our only hope of finding the Doctor." Sanchez replied "But failing that, if no help is coming, then with the power invested in me by the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, I authorise you to take this." he held a microchip in a plastic case "The Osterhagen Key."

"I can't take that, sir." Martha said fearfully, knowing what the key did.

"You know what to do. For the Human race." Sanchez insisted

Martha reluctantly took the key, just as an explosion shook the building, then she heard a Dalek's voice "Daleks one five reaching north corridor."

"Exterminate!" another Dalek cried, followed by the sound of it's laser

"Dr Jones... Good luck." Sanchez saluted her, then he and the private went to face the Daleks to buy her some time

Martha swallowed, knowing she had no choice "Bye, Jack." she said into her phone

"Martha, don't do it!" Jack pleaded over the phone

Martha just pulled the ripcords on the backpack and she disappeared in a blue flash just as Sanchez and the private were gunned down by the Daleks.

At Torchwood, Jack kicked a table in frustration and despair. "What's Project Indigo?" Ianto asked

"Experimental teleport." Jack replied "Salvaged from the Sontarans. But they haven't got co-ordinates, or stabilisation."

"So where is she? Gwen asked cautiously

"Scattered into atoms. Martha's down." Jack replied grimly. Gwen's eyes widened, while Ianto clapped a hand to his mouth in horror. They liked Martha, she'd worked with Torchwood a few times.

At the Shadow Proclamation, the Doctor and Gazelle were talking to the Shadow Architect, trying to figure out what was going on. Donna sat on some steps, mulling over what could have possibly happened to her home. She was pulled from her thoughts by an Albino servant giving her a drink "There was something on your back." the servant observed

"How d'ya know that?" Donna frowned

"You are something new." the servant continued

"Not me. I'm just a temp." Donna said dejectedly "Short'and, filing, 'undreds of words a minute, fat lotta good that is now. I'm no use to anyone."

"I'm sorry for your loss." the servant said

"Yeah." Donna sighed "My whole planet's gone."

"I mean the loss that is yet to come." the servant said quietly "God save you." she walked away, leaving Donna confused and unnerved.

Just then, the Doctor and Gazelle came over "Donna, you said you've been looking up strange happenings." Gazelle said "Did ya see anything that could've been a warning for this? Like electrical storms, freak weather or strange things in the sky?"

"How should I know?" Donna shrugged. Pretty much all of her investigations had all been dead ends. But there was one thing... "Although, there were the bees disappearing."

"The bees disappearing?" the Doctor asked rhetorically. He had been wandering over that. It was odd, but he didn't think it had anything to do with this. Then he had a moment of realisation "The bees disappearing!" he exclaimed and looked at Gazelle

"Oh!" she smacked herself on the forehead "It was staring us right in the face all the time!" they both raced back to the computer

"How is that significant?" the Architect asked them

"On Earth we 'ad these insects." Donna explained as she joined them "Some people said it was pollution or mobile phone signals."

"Or... they were goin' back 'ome." the Doctor said as he typed commands into the computer

"Back 'ome where?" Donna asked

"Planet Mellisa Majoria."

"Are ya sayin' bees are aliens?" Donna scoffed

"Not all of 'em." Gazelle replied "But the migrant bees might have sensed something coming and escaped... the Tandocca scale." she realised

"And what's that?" Donna asked

"Tandocca scale is the series of wavelengths used by migrant bees." the Doctor explained, typing things into the computer "Infinitely small, no wonder we didn't see it. Like lookin' for a speck of cinnamon in the Sahara, but look! There it is, the Tandocca trail. The transmat that moved the planets was usin' the same wavelength, we can follow the path!"

"And find the planets." Gazelle added

"Well, stop talkin' an' do it!" Donna said eagerly, racing back to the TARDIS

"We are!" the Doctor said as he and Gazelle followed hand-in-hand. Once inside the TARDIS, the two Time Lords started fiddling with some controls. "We're a bit late." the Doctor muttered as he worked "The signal's scattered, but it's a start." he ran back to the doors and poked his head outside "We've got a blip." he called to the Shadow Architect "It's just a blip, but definitely a blip!"

"Then according to the strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology." the Architect replied

"Oh, really? What for?" the Doctor asked, taken aback

"The planets were stolen with hostile intent. We are declaring war, Doctor. Right across the universe! And you will lead us into battle!"

"Right, yes, 'course I will." the Doctor nodded slowly, not too thrilled at that idea "I'll just go an'... get ya a key." he closed the door and nodded to Gazelle, who pulled a lever and the TARDIS dematerialised.

In Chiswick, the Daleks were rounding people up out of their homes "All Humans will leave their homes." one ordered as the Humans were marched out into the road with their hands behind their heads in surrender "The males, the females, the descendants. You will come with us." the Dalek continued "Resistance is useless."

"Where're you taking us?" a man asked, approaching the Dalek

"Daleks do not answer Human questions. Stand in line." the Dalek retorted and trundled closer, unaware of Wilfred and Sylvia peering out from the corner of the house behind it

"Dad, please come home." Sylvia begged "They're leaving our street alone."

"Yeah, I've got a weapon." Wilfred said, gesturing to an object in his hands

"It's a paint gun!"

"Exactly. Them Dalek things, they've only got one eye. Good splodge of paint, they'd be blinded."

"We're not going! D'ya 'ear me?!" the man shouted to the Dalek, then turned to his wife and son "Laura, get back inside the house. Simon, get inside. Go!" his family complied, while he picked up a brick from the pavement "Get back in the sky!" he yelled and lobbed the brick at the Dalek, which just ricocheted off it's casing "Go back where ya came from and leave us alone!" the man finished and ran back inside his house

"Dalek attack formation seven." the Dalek ordered as it and two others lined outside the house "Maximum extermination!" and the three Daleks opened fire on the house, no doubt killing it's occupants.

"They're monsters!" Wilfred breathed in horror at the sight

"Please, dad, come home." Sylvia begged and they both crept away. They turned a corner only to run into another Dalek

"Halt! You will come with me!" the Dalek ordered

"Will I 'eck!" Wilfred retorted, aiming his paint gun and firing. A splodge of yellow paint landed straight on the Dalek's eyestalk. For a moment, it appeared to work, but then the paint melted away.

"My vision is NOT impaired." the Dalek stated, almost mockingly

"I warned you, dad." Sylvia hissed

"Hostility will not be tolerated!" the Dalek snarled "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exter..." the Dalek's top half suddenly exploded, revealing Rose standing behind it with her gun

"D'you wanna swap?" Wilfred remarked as the blonde crossed over to them

"You're Donna Noble's family, right?" Rose asked them "I'm Rose Tyler, an' I need you."

Rose and the Nobles were soon in the Noble house. Wilfred and Rose were talking while Sylvia made tea "I tried calling her, but I can't get through." Wilfred told Rose "She's still with the Doctor and Gazelle, I know that much. The last time I saw 'em was last week. The Doctor and Gazelle got married. I walked her down the aisle."

"Wish I'd been there." Rose murmured. She'd been universe hoping for the past few months, but never seemed to reach the Time Lords. She'd gotten close to Gazelle once, when she'd appeared on the TARDIS' monitor, but it had only lasted a few seconds.

"What're you two going on about?" Sylvia questioned as she came back in the room

"Look, she's out there, sweetheart." Wilfred told her "She's travelling the stars with the Doctor and Gazelle. She always has been."

"Don't be ridiculous." Sylvia scoffed

"Oh, come on, open your eyes! Look at the sky! Look at the Daleks! You can't start denying things now!"

"You're my last hope." Rose sighed "If we can't find Donna, we can't find the Doctor an' Gazelle. Where are they?" she wandered. It was not like her friends to not be involved with their arch-nemesis wrecking havoc on Earth.

The TARDIS came to a halt. "She's stopped." the Doctor frowned

"What d'ya mean?" Donna questioned "Is that good or bad? Where are we?"

"The Medusa Cascade." Gazelle replied, checking the monitor

"I came 'ere when I was a kid." the Doctor remarked "90 years old. It was the centre of a rift in time an' space."

"So... where're the 27 planets?" Donna asked

"Nowhere." the Doctor sighed, slumping back against a y-beam "Tandocca trail stops dead. End of the line."

"So what do we do?" Donna asked "Doctor, Gazelle, what do we do?" she received no answer, both Time Lords were silent, with defeated looks on their faces "Now, don't do this to me!" Donna said "Not now. Tell me, what're we gonna do? You two never give up. Please."

"There's nothing we can do, Donna." Gazelle sighed "Whoever took those planets must've pulled 'em through the rift and closed it after them. We don't know how to get through."

Earth was now completely overwhelmed by the Daleks. The Torchwood team could only listen helplessly as the commander general of the UN made a transmission to the Daleks "This is the Commander General of the United Nations calling the Dalek fleet. We surrender. Repeat, we surrender. Planet Earth surrenders."

Sarah Jane and Luke listened despondently at the Daleks' response "Humans selected for Dalek testing will follow all instructions. The Daleks reign supreme. All hail the Daleks!"

Wilfred and Sylvia huddled on their settee while Rose slouched on a kitchen chair in defeat, while the Daleks continued to gloat "You will obey Dalek instructions without question. You will obey your Dalek mas.." the transmission was suddenly cut off by a bleeping sound from Rose's laptop, then a woman's voice came over the computer

"Can anyone hear me? The subwave network is open. You should be able to hear my voice. Is anyone there?"

"I know that voice." Rose frowned, going over to the computer to investigate

Sarah Jane and Luke could hear the voice too "Who's that?" Luke wandered

"Some poor soul calling for help." Sarah Jane sighed "There's nothing we can do."

"But look at Mr Smith." Luke said, pointing to the supercomputer

"Processing incoming subwave." Mr Smith stated, it's screen showing mostly static, but a figure could be made out through it

The message was being picked up in the Torchwood hub too "This message is of the utmost importance. We haven't got much time. Can anyone hear me?"

"Someone's trying to get through." Gwen said, going over to a computer to try and clear up the transmission.

"The whole world's crying out. Just leave it." Jack said dejectedly

"Captain Jack Harness, shame on you!" the voice scolded "Now stand to attention, sir!"

Startled, Jack rushed over to the screen, Ianto joining him "Who is that?" Jack wandered

The static cleared to reveal none other than Harriet Jones, sitting in front of a computer in her home "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister." she introduced, flashing her ID

"Yeah, I know who you are." Jack answered

"Harriet, it's me!" Rose called to her computer screen "Oh, she can't 'ear me. You got a webcam?" she asked the Nobles

"No, she wouldn't let me." Wilfred replied, pointing to Sylvia "She said they were naughty."

"Can't talk to 'er, then." Rose grunted "Just 'ave to listen."

"Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road, are you there?" Harriet asked, typing in some commands in her computer

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. That's me." Sarah Jane answered, going over to Mr Smith

"Good. Now let's see if we can talk to each other." Harriet said, typing in more commands, and all the screens divided into four squares, herself in one corner, Torchwood in another, Bannerman Road in the third, while the fourth was still static "The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through. I'll just boost the signal." Harriet typed in more commands and Martha appeared in the fourth square

"Hello?" Martha called

"Martha Jones!" Jack laughed in relief at seeing his friend alive and well

"The woman who walked the Earth." Rose murmured. During one of her universe hops, she'd ended up in The Year That Never Was. She was impressed at Martha's exploits during that time. The young doctor had single-handily roamed the Earth and saved it from the Master. "Wish I could get through." Rose sighed. She really wanted to get a chance to talk with everyone about the situation. It was even bigger than they realised.

"Martha, where are you?" Jack asked

"I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought." Martha said "One second I was in Manhattan, next second..." she glanced around at her family's living room "Maybe Indigo tapped into my head, because I ended up in the one place I wanted to be."

Francine Jones came up beside her daughter "You came home." she smiled "At the end of the world, you came back to me."

"But all of a sudden, it's like... the laptop turned itself on."

"It did, that was me." Harriet said and flashed her ID at the screen "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yes, I know you are." Martha replied

"I thought it was about time we all met, given the current crisis." Harriet explained "Torchwood, this is Sarah Jane Smith."

"I've been following your work." Jack said to Sarah Jane "Nice job with the Slitheen."

"Yeah, well, I've been staying away from you lot." Sarah Jane replied, nodding to her son at her side "Too many guns."

"All the same... Might I say, looking good ma'am."

"Really? Oh." a flattered Sarah Jane answered

"Not now, Captain." Harriet rolled her eyes. Jack Harkness' flirting was legendary "And Martha Jones, former companion to the Doctor and Gazelle."

"That makes two of us." Rose smiled

"But how did you find me?" Martha asked

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is a subwave network." Harriet explained "A sentient piece of software, programmed to seek out anyone and everyone who can help to contact the Doctor."

"What if the Daleks can hear us?" Martha questioned

"No. That's the beauty of the subwave. It's undetectable."

"A-and you invented it?" Sarah Jane asked, impressed

"I developed it." Harriet replied modestly "It was created by the Mr Copper Foundation."

"Yeah, but what we need right now is a weapon." Jack said "Martha, back there at U.N.I.T, what did they give you? What was that key thing?"

"The Osterhagen Key." Martha replied, holding it up

"That key is not to be used, Dr Jones." Harriet said sternly "Not under any circumstances!"

"But what is an Osterhagen Key?" Jack asked

"Forget about the key and that's an order!" Harriet demanded "All we need are the Doctor or Gazelle."

"Excuse me, Harriet." Sarah Jane spoke up "But well, the thing is.. if you're looking for the Doctor, didn't he depose you?"

"He did." Harriet confirmed "And I've wandered about that for a long time, whether I was wrong. But I stand by my actions, to this day. Because I knew, I knew that one day, the Earth would be in danger and the Doctor would fail to appear. I told him so myself, and he didn't listen."

"He regrets that now." Martha said, remembering the Time Lord telling her that shortly after they'd defeated the Master "But I've been trying to find him, the Doctor and Gazelle. They've got my phone on the TARDIS, but I can't get through."

"Nor me." Rose sighed. She still had her mobile with universal roaming, but it couldn't get through for some reason.

"That's why we need the subwave, to bring us all together." Harriet said "Combined forces, the Time Lords' secret army.

"Wait a minute." Jack had an idea "We boost the signal, that's it! We transmit that telephone number through Torchwood itself, using the power of the rift."

"And we've got Mr Smith." Luke pipped in "He can link up with every telephone exchange on Earth. He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time! Billions of phones, calling out, all at once!"

"Ha ha, brilliant!" Jack laughed "Who's the kid?"

"That's my son." Sarah Jane said proudly

"Excuse me." Ianto cut in, moving up to the camera "Sorry, sorry, hello, Ianto Jones. Um, if we start transmitting, then the subwave network is going to become visible. I mean, to the Daleks."

"Yes, and they'll trace it back to me." Harriet replied "But my life doesn't matter. Not if it saves the Earth."

"Ma'am." Jack saluted the noble former PM

"Thank you, captain. But there are people dying out there."

"Marvellous woman." Wilfred said from the settee "I voted for her."

"You did not!" Sylvia snorted

"Now, enough of words." Harriet said determinedly "Let's begin." and so everyone jumped to it.

"Rift power activated." Jack announced as he typed in commands at a console

"All terminals co-ordinated." Gwen piped in from her computer

"National grid online." Ianto added as he plugged a cable into the hub's rift manipulator "Giving you everything we've got.

"Connecting you to Mr Smith." Sarah Jane said as she and Luke worked at their super computer

"All telephones connected." Luke added

"Sending the number to you... now!" Martha said as she texted them the number of her old mobile

"Opening the subwave network to maximum." Harriet finished, typing in commands at her computer

"Mr Smith... make that call!" Sarah Jane ordered

"Calling the Doctor." Mr Smith said

"So am I!" Rose said, pulling out her mobile

"And sending!" Jack said, punching in a key command, and the signal was beamed out into space

In the TARDIS, Martha's old mobile suddenly rang "PHONE!" the Doctor yelled, snapping out of his lethargy

Gazelle, who was nearest to the console, grabbed the phone and answered it "Martha? Is that you?" she asked, only to hear a bleeping noise in response "It's a signal." she told the others

"Can we track it?" Donna asked hopefully

"Oh, just watch us!" the Doctor replied as Gazelle handed him the phone. He placed it on the console and put his stethoscope on it

"I think we got a fix!" Jack yelled as the equipment at Torchwood sparked from the punishment

"Mr Smith now at 200%." Sarah Jane announced as Mr Smith sparked too

Rose, Wilfred and Sylvia were frantically dialling the TARDIS too "Find us, Doctor. Find us, Gazelle, please." Rose prayed, holding her phone over her head

"Got it!" the Doctor shouted "Locking on!"

"Then what're we waiting for?!" Gazelle said, pulling a lever to set the TARDIS off

"Harriet, a saucer's locked in on your location." Gwen warned, checking her monitor "They've found you."

"I know, I'm using the network to mask your transmission." Harriet replied "Keep going!"

"Exterminate!" a Dalek's voice called from outside

The ride in the TARDIS was more violent than ever, with parts of the console room actually catching fire and the lights turning red "We're travelling through time!" the Doctor shouted over the noise "One second in the future! The phone call's pulling us through!"

"Captain, I'm transferring the subwave network to Torchwood." Harriet said "You're in charge, now. And tell the Doctor from me... he chose his companions well." Jack nodded sadly "It's been an honour." she got up and turned round to see three Daleks enter her house "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister." she said, flashing her ID

"Yes, we know who you are." a Dalek answered

"Oh, you know nothing of any Human." Harriet spat "And that will be your downfall."

"Exterminate!" the Dalek retorted

The others could only watch in horror as Harriet's screen turned to static

"THREE! TWO! ONE!" the Doctor shouted, and the TARDIS gave one last enormous jolt, then everything settled. The fires snuffed themselves out and the lights returned to normal.

"The 27 planets!" Donna said, as the trio all gathered around the monitor "An' there's the Earth! Why couldn't we see 'em?!"

"The entire Medusa Cascade has been put out of sync wiv the rest of the universe." the Doctor replied "The perfect 'iding place, tiny little pocket of time. But we found 'em!" he grinned

"Hang on, there's something else." Gazelle said, checking the console "Looks like a subwave network." she messed with some controls and the screen changed to show a four-way split screen. The trio in one square, Torchwood in another, Bannerman Road in the third and the Joneses in the fourth.

Jack laughed in relief at the sight of the trio "Where the hell have you two been?!" he said "Doctor, Gaz, it's the Daleks." both Time Lords stiffened at that. They should've know the Daleks would be behind this

"Ooh, he's a bit nice." Gwen's voice said from off-screen "I thought he'd be older."

"He's married." Ianto's voice told her

"It's the Daleks." Sarah Jane confirmed "They're taking people to their spaceship..." both she and Martha started talking at once

"... but it's not just Dalek Caan." Martha finished

"That's Donna!" Sylvia gasped, seeing her daughter standing beside the Time Lords

"That's my girl!" Wilfred said proudly, while Rose just looked at her two old friends with a small smile

"Sarah Jane!" the Doctor grinned, looking at his old companion "Who's that boy?"

"That must be Luke." Gazelle said, remembering Sarah Jane telling her about the boy during the Time Lords' wedding "And that must be Torchwood." she gestured to Jack's surroundings "Good people." she'd been looking up the exploits of Jack's team. Some impressive work they'd done.

"Look at you all, you clever people." the Doctor smiled proudly

"That's Martha." Donna said, as Martha waved "And Jack. Hello soldier!"

"Don't." the Doctor said pointedly "Just... don't." Jack and Donna had gotten rather too cosy during the wedding and it was rather disturbing

"It's like an outer space Facebook." Donna remarked

"Everyone except Rose." Gazelle remarked

"That's what you think." Rose smiled wryly

Suddenly, the screen went to static "We've lost 'em." Donna groaned, as the Time Lords started fiddling with controls

"No, there's another signal coming through." Gazelle said "Someone else is calling us."

The Doctor started fiddling "Hello? Can ya hear me?" he called, hoping it was Rose

"Your voice is different, but it's arrogance is unchanged." a deep, raspy voice said. Both Time Lords froze, recognising that voice

Sarah Jane recognised it too "No, but he's dead!" she breathed in horror.

All the screens cleared to reveal a Humanoid man sitting in a wheelchair that resembled the base of a Dalek. The man's skin was haggard with radiation burns, his eyes were fused shut and replaced by a cybernetic eye in his forehead, one hand was missing and replaced by a cybernetic one and he had a wire brace around his skull "Welcome to my new Empire, Doctor." the man crowed "It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, lord and creator of the Dalek race."

"Doctor? Gazelle?" Donna cautiously asked the Time Lords. The Doctor was ashen white in the face, while Gazelle was shaking in terror

"And this must be the lovely Gazelle." Davros continued "Have both of you nothing to say?"

"Doctor, Gazelle, it's alright." Donna soothed her two friends "We're in the TARDIS, we're safe."

"But you were destroyed." the Doctor found his voice "In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gate of Elysium. I saw your command ship fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you."

"But it took one stronger than you." Davros replied "Dalek Caan himself."

The shot changed to show Dalek Caan, it's casing ripped open, showing the mutant inside "I flew into the wild and fire." it said "I danced and died a thousand times."

"Emergency temporal shift took him back into the Time War itself." Davros explained

"But that's impossible!" the Doctor said "The entire war is time locked!"

"And yet, he succeeded." Davros smirked "Oh, it cost him his mind. But imagine, a single simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"

"And ya made a new race of Daleks?" the Doctor sneered

"I gave myself to them. Quite literally." Davros replied, pulling open his tunic to reveal all his flesh stripped away, and his hearts and ribs visible "Each one grown from a cell from my own body. New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Time Lords. What do you two have now?"

"We have each other." Gazelle spoke up "And that's all we need."

"After all this time, everyfink we saw, everyfink we lost, I have only thing to say to you." the Doctor said to Davros "Bye!" he cut off the transmission, then he and Gazelle got to work piloting the TARDIS to Earth.

At Torchwood, Jack was getting ready to leave, while Ianto checked his screen "Gwen, Dalek saucer heading for the bay. They've found us." he warned

"Martha, open that indigo device." Jack said into his phone "Now listen to me, lift the central panel, there's a string of numbers that keep changing. But the 4th number keeps oscillating between two different digits, tell me what they are."

"It's a four and a nine." Martha answered "We could never work out what that was."

"Yeah, that's a teleport base code." Jack replied, slipping his coat on "And that's all I need to get this thing working again." he started typing things into his vortex manipulator "Oscillating four and nine. Thank you, Martha Jones." he hung up and Gwen handed him his gun "I've gotta go." he told his team "I've gotta find the Doctor and Gazelle. I'll come back. I'm coming back!"

"Don't worry about us." Gwen reassured him "Just go."

"We'll be fine." Ianto added

"You'd better be." Jack smirked. He activated his vortex manipulator and disappeared. A second after he'd gone, the hub shook, and the others heard a Dalek's voice "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"They're here." Gwen said grimly

"TARDIS heading for vector 7, grid reference 665." Mr Smith reported, as Sarah Jane grabbed her jacket and car keys

"But there are Daleks out there!" Luke warned his mother

"I know, I'm sorry, but I've GOT to find the Doctor." Sarah Jane replied "Don't move, don't leave the house, don't do anything."

"I will protect the boy, Sarah Jane." Mr Smith reassured

"I love you." Sarah Jane said to Luke "Remember that." she hurried off to her car

In the Noble household, Rose was getting ready for action "Control? I need another shift." she said into her phone "Lock me onto the TARDIS, now!" she hung up and turned to the Nobles "Right, I'm gonna find 'em. Wish me luck."

"Oh, good luck." Sylvia said

"Yeah, good luck, sweetheart." Wilfred added, and Rose disappeared in a blue flash

The TARDIS materialised on a street outside a church. The street was deserted, with rubbish everywhere, cars abandoned and an eerie silence in the air. The Doctor, Gazelle and Donna stepped out of the box and looked around "It's like a ghost town." Donna shivered

"Sarah Jane said they were takin' people." the Doctor said thoughtfully "What for?"

Gazelle turned to the Human "Donna, when you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say to you?"

"Just the darkness is comin'." Donna replied

"Anyfink else?" the Doctor asked, turning to her as well

Donna looked over the Time Lords' shoulders and saw something "Why don't ya ask 'er yourselves?" she smiled

The Time Lords turned around to see Rose standing down the street, a huge smile on her face at the sight of her old friends. Hand-in-hand, the Doctor and Gazelle took off running down the street towards their old companion, while Rose towards them. Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, Gazelle saw a Dalek trundle up, it's weapon aimed at the Doctor, who hadn't seen it, too focussed on Rose "Exterminate!" the Dalek bellowed and opened fire

Gazelle immediately pushed the Doctor out of the way and hit the deck, but was too slow, and the shot caught her in the side. She crumpled to the floor just as Jack appeared and promptly blasted the Dalek with his gun. The Doctor was horrified at what had just happened "I'm sorry." he said as he cradled his injured wife "I'm so sorry. I didn't see it."

"It's alright." Gazelle said weakly "No one's perfect."

"Just hang in there." the Doctor told her gently "I've got you."

"Me too." Rose said, rushing up alongside them "It's me, look."

"Hello, old friend." Gazelle croaked, getting weaker by the moment "Long time no see."

"Been busy, ya know." Rose trembled, feeling terrible that she might have just killed her friend. Gazelle gave out a yell of pain, as her injury took hold.

"Rose, help me get her in the TARDIS, quick!" the Doctor ordered "Donna, get the door! Jack, cover us!" he and Rose helped Gazelle to her feet and led her to the TARDIS, Donna opening the door for them and Jack grabbing Rose's gun and covering them in case any more Daleks were around.

At Torchwood, Gwen came out of the armoury with two machine guns and handed one to Ianto "They don't work against Daleks." he pointed out, remembering Canary Wharf

"Yeah? Well, I'm going out fighting." Gwen said determinedly "Just like Owen and Tosh." their colleagues Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato had both sadly been killed in action recently "How about you?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Ianto said, readying the gun she'd given him

The Doctor and Rose had managed to get Gazelle into the TARDIS when her legs gave way and she fell onto the floor "What-what do we do?" Donna asked frantically "There must be some medicine or somefink!"

"Just step back." Jack advised "Rose, you too. She's dying and you know what happens next."

Rose came over to them "I came all this way." she sighed

Gazelle looked at her hand, which was now glowing gold "It's starting." she wheezed

"Save ya strength." the Doctor advised, gently stroking her hair "I'm here, I'm right 'ere."

Sarah Jane was driving along when she was forced to slam on her brakes when she saw two Daleks in front of her. They both turned to face her "All Human transport is forbidden!" the first Dalek said

"I surrender, I'm sorry!" Sarah Jane said, putting her hands up in surrender

"Daleks do not accept apologies!" the second Dalek retorted "You will be exterminated!"

"Exterminate!" both Daleks said together, aiming their weapons at the terrified Human

A Dalek trundled into the Torchwood hub "Exterminate!" it bellowed. Gwen and Ianto promptly opened fire on it.

The Doctor kissed Gazelle "I'm sorry." he said softly "It's all my fault. It should've been me. Oh, Gazelle, I'm so sorry. My beautiful wife."

"I... love you." Gazelle managed to croak out

"I love you too." the Doctor answered, kissing her again, and feeling terrible. His wife was regenerating all because he'd been so blind and careless.

"What's 'appening?" Donna asked the other two Humans "Is it that regeneration thing?" Gazelle had told her about regeneration when she'd come aboard the TARDIS after Adipose Industries.

"But you can't!" Rose said tearfully. The Doctor had regenerated because of her, now Gazelle was doing the same.

"It's... too late." Gazelle panted, struggling to her feet, the Doctor helping her "It's started. Goodbye my love." she said to the Doctor, who squeezed her hand in comfort

"Goodbye, Four." he said "I'll always love you, however you look like. Good luck." he stepped back to give her room to regenerate. Gazelle threw her head back and her arms out and bright orange regeneration energy exploded out of her, the others shielding their faces from the energy.

To be continued...

Author's notes: Bam! Bet ya weren't expecting that twist at the end! As for if Gazelle will regenerate fully or pull the same trick the Doctor did in the actual episode, you'll just have to wait and see. I can remember watching this episode on it's premiere in 2008. What a surprise that ending was! God, I miss the Russel T. Davies-era. Plot twists in that era were actually good. Episodes like this are the reason why I consider series 4 to be the golden age of Doctor Who. Hope you all like my adaption. See ya all next time!