It was a tight squeeze inside the escape pod, and the three of them were constantly bumping up against each other.
"Could we be any more trapped?" Donna attempted to throw her hands in the air with frustration but couldn't raise her arms above her shoulders.
The Pyroviles began to blow fire at the pod, and the temperature inside was beginning to become unbearable.
"Gettin' a bit hot, innit?" Rose laughed nervously. The Doctor smiled at her comfortingly for a fleeting moment.
He turned back to the circuits and explained manically, "See? The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions." He managed to maneuver his hands through his hair.
"But can't you change it with these controls?" Donna asked, desperately. If this is a 'fixed point' or whatever, he should be able to stop the Pyroviles, right? She met Rose's eyes and saw a deep sorrow there.
"Of course, I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world.
"But you can change it back?" Donna pressed.
"Yes, but it would cause the eruption. We would be the ones to destroy Pompeii." Rose tried to spare her love the harsh news, but he added to her explanation anyway.
"I can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow up the Pyroviles, yes, but that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."
"Oh, my God." Donna gasped.
"If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history, it's me. I make it happen." Rose pulled the Doctor closer to her despite the heat. He sighed against her neck.
"We," Rose corrected. She knew all too well his ability to blame everything on himself. She knew he would never forgive himself for what happened to people, but he was not the only one in that pod who had committed genocide, in a way. She supposed there were still Daleks out there after the game station, but they had come from the void. Bad Wolf must have known they were not the last, but as far as Rose knew, she was killing the last of the Daleks.
Donna froze, then reached for his shoulders, "Doctor, the Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up."
He shook his head as he messed with the control, "Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty-four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it. Certainly not us."
"Never mind us." With tears in her eyes, Donna's voice was the softest Rose had ever heard from the feisty woman.
"Push this lever and it's over. Twenty thousand people." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair again, desperate to think of another solution. A solution that didn't involve another big red button of sorts, but there wasn't one. Vesuvius needed to erupt, and the Pyroviles needed to die.
With clenched teeth, the Doctor placed both hands on the stone lever. Rose wrapped one arm around his shoulders, leaning her head against him, and placed her other hand over his. Donna took a shaky breath and placed her hand over theirs as well. She smiled at Donna weakly, tears in her eyes, and the three of them pushed the lever together.
The ground trembled, far worse than it had in the days prior. The pod shook and shot into the sky along with terrible amounts of smoke and magma. While they could not hear the people below them screaming over the sound of the eruption, they felt the people's terror in their minds.
Finally, they landed and burst out of the pod. Now the screams they heard were real. Smoke blocked out the sun. People were running all around them desperately searching for loved ones and escape routes.
"It was an escape pod." The Doctor spoke with measured relief. They began to run too. The whole town was covered with ash, and it was continuing to fall.
Donna understood now why this had to happen, but she couldn't stop herself from yelling at the people around her, "Don't. Don't go to the beach. Don't go to the beach, go to the hills. Listen to me. Don't go to the beach, it's not safe. Listen to me." She spotted a little boy standing in the street crying. "Come here." She reached out for the boy.
Another woman came over and desperately reached for the boy, "Give him to me." Donna released him. The other woman picked him up and ran away.
Rose grabbed Donna's hand and pulled her along as the Doctor called to them, "Come on!"
Together they ran back through Pompeii to Caecilius's house. Their tears grew heavier as they passed children in the streets, knowing their fates. As they burst through the doors, they saw Caecilius and his family huddled together in the corner.
"Gods save us, Doctor." Caecilius called out.
The Doctor barely glanced at them as he ran to the TARDIS door.
"No! Doctor, you can't. Doctor!" Donna shouted at him. Donna and Rose heard him start running around the console, preparing to take off. "You told me-" She started to shout at Rose.
"I know." Rose answered simply as she entered the TARDIS. Donna followed her. "Doctor, stop." He looked up at her briefly but continued his work.
Rose hit a few controls to stop him from dematerializing, and he stared at her, "What are you doing, Rose? We have to go!"
"You can't just leave them!" Donna yelled. The Doctor turned to her.
"Don't you think I've done enough? History's back in place and everyone dies." He hung his head.
"You've got to bring them. Doctor, I am telling you, go get them. It's not fair." Donna pleaded.
"No, it's not." He agreed.
"But your own planet. It burned." Tears were freely flowing down Donna's cheeks. Rose went to the Doctor's side, knowing that was the last thing he wanted to hear.
He pushed Rose's comfort off, but when she reached for him again, he no longer had the strength to fight it, "That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't, I can't."
"I asked the TARDIS. It's alright for us to bring them with us. You owe this to her," she pointed at Donna, "And you owe it to yourself too." She whispered the last part in his ear. "Let yourself have this. Not everyone has to die."
The Doctor nodded, and with a grim smile, he walked to the door. He leaned out part way and held out his hand. "Come with me."
Caecilius and his family stared at him for just a moment before they rose to their feet and ran to the box. "What is this place?" They marveled, their heads turning all around.
The Doctor ran back to the console, and he and Rose piloted them away from Pompeii. They appeared on a hillside, where they could still see Pompeii in the distance. They all stepped outside and bore witness to the tragedy.
"It's never forgotten, Caecilius." The Doctor tilted his head to each side, "Oh, time will pass, men'll move on, and stories will fade. But one day, Pompeii will be found again, in thousands of years, and everyone will remember you."
Donna looked over to Evelina, "What about you, Evelina? Can you see anything?"
"The visions have gone." Evelina grasped her stone wrist.
"Let me see that." Donna worriedly glance between Rose and the Doctor as Rose's voice had a wispy echo to it and her eyes turned gold again. Evelina looked at her with trepidation but obeyed and held out her wrist. As Rose touched her wrist, the stone faded, and pale skin replaced it. Gold eyes faded back to brown.
The Doctor swallowed and gave Rose a nervous look, but he turned to explain, "The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time, just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore. You're free."
Metella spoke up, "But tell me. Who are you, Doctor? With your words, and your temple containing such size within? And you," She turned to Rose, "daughter of Apollo, with your gifts of light and healing?"
The Doctor looked at her with barely more than the corner of his eye, "Oh, we were never here. Don't tell anyone."
Caecilius stepped forward, "The great god Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of volcano. All those people." As he spoke, his family looked back toward Pompeii, and the three travelers slipped back into the TARDIS and dematerialized.
"Thank you," Donna said simply.
"Thank you," The Doctor replied, "For not letting me leave." He smiled at Donna and kissed Rose's forehead.
"I desperately need a shower, but then," Donna looked at them pointedly. "That trip brought up a lot of questions, and I will be getting answers." She walked off, and the Doctor and Rose looked at each other and laughed lightly.
"That'll be fun." Rose said into his neck. "We should probably go wash Vesuvius off ourselves too." He only nodded in response, causing his nose to brush through her hair. They walked closely together down the hall to their room.