Chapter 5: The Hunt

The fabric of the space-time continuum was in tatters. He could feel it, see it if he closed his eyes. Her careless toying with time was causing everything to fall apart. If she wasn't stopped, it would mean the end of everything.

But to kill her?

No! There had to be another way. He had to be able to save her. Somehow, someway, there had to be something he could do. There must be! He wouldn't even consider any other option. Couldn't consider it. She wasn't dead. He could save her.

"No!" he said, shaking his head violently. "We can't kill her." He silently cursed how his voice broke over the last two words.

Jack looked sympathetic, almost as if he felt the same way. But how could he? "Doctor, there is no other way. You said it yourself. The only way to reverse the change is to kill the vampire that bit her before the next full moon. Rose accelerated time. The change is permanent. The Rose we knew and" - Jack almost stumbled over the next word. - "loved is gone. She's dead, Doctor."

She wasn't dead. She wasn't! "She's not!" He could go back to the TARDIS, jump back three days... No. That wouldn't work. He couldn't do that. If he even tried, the Reapers would come and wipe out the timeline. He would risk a paradox.

Something in his expression must've decided the other man because he suddenly found himself in Jack's rough embrace. "I'm sorry, Doctor."

It felt as if his hearts had shattered inside him, but he managed to hold himself together. He wouldn't let this break him. He couldn't. He had work to do. However, he allowed himself a moment to hold onto Jack, to be nothing more than a grieving man. He'd lost Rose. His Rose. But he would be all right.

He was always all right.

He gently disengaged himself from the hug, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks, Jack," he said, for a moment letting his gratitude show before that, too, was hidden behind a mask. "We need to find the nest and quickly. I don't know if the typical means of destroying vampires will work on the Bad Wolf." It was easier, somehow, not to think of her in terms of Rose – oh, Rose – but in terms of what she'd become. What she was now rather than what she'd been. "However, we must try."

Jack nodded, gesturing toward Gwen. "Get over to Toshiko, tell her that her work has gained a new urgency and get her whatever she needs."

Without bothering to acknowledge Jack's orders beyond a brief nod, Gwen darted through the doors. What, he wondered, was Toshiko working on? No, that didn't matter. There were far more pressing matters that needed to be addressed.

Oh, Rose.

He knew what he'd do if they were dealing with normal, run of the mill vampires. Wooden stakes, garlic pills, and lots of faith would help. However, how could he be certain that it would work on someone who could control the power of the Vortex?

"C'mon, Doctor," Jack said, gesturing toward the door. "We can raid the armoury for anything that might be useful."

He suddenly got the impression that Jack had no intention of letting him face the Bad Wolf alone. Perhaps he should be thankful for that. He wasn't certain how he'd react to the sight of the woman he...

What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?

The Dalek's words had never before seemed so appropriate. He shook himself out of his contemplations. Fine. Jack could come along. "Docks, docks, docks. Why are directions always so vague? Warehouse. By the docks. That certainly narrows things down."

Jack frowned as they walked out of the room and down the corridor. "What're typical vampire habitats? Do they have a preferred type of location? Is the scenery important?"

He smiled slightly, feeling a stirring of pride within him at the questions. "Depends on their preferred style, really. Some vampires are rather fond of Bella Legosi and adopt the typical gothic battlements, decrepit castles, and dark, dank locations of his films. Some prefer graveyard crypts. Others prefer modern conveniences and prefer to stay within the city, near their food source, but in basements. Darkness is their ally. Any location that can stay dark, out of the sunlight, is an appropriate location."

The former Time Agent nodded thoughtfully. "It's likely that the warehouse we're looking for has been abandoned for, at the very least, a couple of months prior to when the attacks started."

Abandoned warehouses on the docks. He wanted to turn to Rose, make some sort of comment about the location, but he realised a moment later that he couldn't. She wasn't there. And probably wouldn't be there ever again.

What would he tell her mother? 'Sorry, Jackie, your daughter's dead. Well, not really, but you can't see her. She might try to bite you and that's never good.' Last time, it'd just been a slap. This time, he was certain, he'd be lucky to escape after losing a single regeneration. Then again, that was assuming he just didn't let her...

No.

He firmly ordered himself to pay attention to the current problem. He'd deal with Jackie later. Much later, really.

"So, choose your weapon," Jack said as he opened the double-doors just ahead of them.

He was surprised to find that they'd already reached the armoury. He'd been lost in his thoughts for longer than he'd realised.

The room was stacked with almost every type of weapon that had ever been conceived. Swords, katanas, staff weapons, spears, crossbows, shurikens, bows and arrows, and several alien weapons were arranged by type and use. He walked to the crossbows and selected one and several wooden bolts. If necessary, he could use the arrows as hand-held weapons.

Anything to get to...

No. She was gone.

Jack selected a similar weapon and slid a knife into a sheath at his waist. "We keep a list of the warehouses located near the wharf. You never know when one might be useful after all."

He could easily imagine that they would. Everything that he'd seen so far at Torchwood indicated that it was a highly influential and well-connected organisation. It was easy to believe that they would have some need for an abandoned warehouse or two to hide or otherwise disguise their activities.

UNIT had done something similar once or twice while he was still technically in their employ. Speaking of... "Where does UNIT fit into Torchwood?" he asked, suspecting that he already knew the answer.

"It doesn't," Jack replied. "This is a purely British operation." He didn't elaborate. Then again, he wasn't expecting the former Time Agent to do anything of the sort.

"Ah." Very interesting. He made a mental note to do some research into the purpose behind Torchwood sometime. That would have to wait.

Jack led the way out of the armoury once he'd directed Torchwood personnel to arm themselves in a similar manner should they leave the premises. "Better to be safe than sorry," he'd said in response to his questioning look.

He wasn't planning on leading a troop into the vampire nest. Besides, a typical nest should only have ten to twenty vampires. A city the size of Cardiff couldn't support more than that without attracting attention. Then again, judging by the number of attacks in the past few months, that wasn't something these particular vampires concerned themselves with.

However, considering what Bad Wolf was apparently doing, it was possible that they would have a smaller number of vampires to deal with. That would make things easy. Simple. Besides, he didn't need any more deaths on his conscience.

Needles and haystacks dominated his thoughts as he flipped through the lists of warehouses. Someone had thoughtfully – well, he amended, not so thoughtfully – arranged the lists alphabetically and by type. A red dot was placed next to those facilities that had gone bankrupt along with a date. He'd never realised just how many warehouses were in the Cardiff area. The Doctor and he had to read through the lists, determine if it'd been abandoned, what the address of each warehouse was, and then discard it if it wasn't situated near the docks.

It was a tedious task.

"Ha! Found one," the Doctor exclaimed, pulling out the pertinent list and sliding it across the table toward him. "Gerard & Co. The warehouse was one of their processing facilities for raw meat. According to this" - he tapped the sheet of paper. - "the warehouse has been abandoned for approximately six months."

That was definitely promising. However, there were five other such warehouses that they'd already found. They had a search ahead of them. And, when they found the right location, they would have a fight on their hands.

I'm so sorry, Rose.

He worried, though, just what having to kill Rose would do to the Doctor. The Time Lord was already breaking – he could see it in the new lines on the other man's face, the way he tilted his head, and the mask that was his current expression.

But he'd be damned if he was going to lose him too. Which meant that he'd have to be the one to pull the trigger. He was the one who would have to kill Rose. Never mind how it'd affect him, he had to spare the Doctor that particular pain. It'd be another layer of guilt on his conscience, but better him than the Time Lord. He loved Rose enough to let her go because Rose Tyler was dead. She'd died with the rise of the full moon.

He didn't want a large team with them. Much as he trusted his people, he didn't want them to see what would undoubtedly reveal the Doctor's true nature and the power of the Vortex. He didn't fancy having to explain to London just what he was thinking. Mostly because London's director was a manipulative woman who would do anything to get ahead of the game. No matter the cost.

Which meant it was down to the two of them as the point. The Doctor and Jack versus the Bad Wolf. It was almost a fair fight.

They could have at least one person stationed in the car for a quick getaway and as backup, if needed. That person would just have to guard against a vampire attack. A crossbow, enough ammunition, and lots of garlic should do the trick. Faith, too. But the only person he trusted well enough to guard their backs was Gwen.

He'd hoped that he could shelter her from this, but it was not to be. "I'll make the arrangements for a car and some backup."

The Doctor looked like he was about to object, but something seemed to change his mind. He was actually surprised that the Time Lord hadn't suggested using the TARDIS instead, yet he suspected that that wouldn't be a clever choice. If Rose could manipulate the space-time Vortex, there was no guarantee that she'd let them land anywhere near to her in space or in time.

Best to stick with mortal means of transportation. It took only a few short minutes to arrange for the car and to ask Gwen to come with them. She had no news on the Toshiko front to share, but he hadn't expected any. It was too soon for that, but there was always hope.

He led the Doctor back to the car park and, when they got there, he found that Gwen had already claimed one of the large black SUVs that Torchwood had designated as their field vehicle of choice. He climbed into the passenger seat while the Doctor took the back. "We'll start with Gerard & Co. Hopefully luck's with us."

A strange sense of disquiet filled the air as Gwen drove through the silent streets of Cardiff. There were a few people out and about, but those that he saw wore fearful expressions and moved quickly through the night. He knew that if he tuned to one of the local radio stations, it was likely that the radio DJ's words would be full of signs and portents. The end of the world was nigh and other such nonsense. Admittedly, in this case, that wasn't too far from the truth.

He had no doubts that if they couldn't stop Rose, the world as he knew it, the future, and all of time, would be destroyed. Which meant, of course, that they had to stop her.

Easier said than done.

Strangely, nothing tried to stop them as they headed for the docks. No attack of bats, no warping of time around them, nothing out of the ordinary. He couldn't believe that Rose hadn't known what they were planning. So, she was letting them come to her.

"This is too easy," he commented as he fitted an arrow to his crossbow.

Gwen nodded. "It does seem that way. Where're the legions of undead sent to stop us?"

"She wants me to come," the Doctor said, his voice tight with an unidentified emotion. "She's clearing a path for me."

He turned in his seat to look at the Time Lord and he could see that the other man's face was, once again, ashen. "Doctor, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, worried. Maybe it was a bad idea to have brought him along. Maybe.

"I have to," the Doctor replied, his tone brokering no argument. "It's me she wants."

Great. Just great. Which meant that he had something else to worry about. "Gwen, park us a short distance away from the warehouse. I'll check-in with you in thirty minutes. If something happens and I don't contact you, I want you to get the hell out of here. Got it?"

Gwen shook her head as she slowed the vehicle to a stop. "Like hell I'm going to leave you in there without backup, Jack. If I don't hear from you in thirty minutes, I'm coming in after you."

Damnit. Why did he always get stuck with the stubborn ones? "Gwen..."

"Don't even say it, got it? Now get in there and save the day." She smiled brightly at him, gesturing toward the warehouse.

He sighed but, before he could say anything, the gentle open and shut of the rear door indicated that the Doctor had already left. Shooting her a warning glance, he climbed out after him. "See you in hell," he told her just before he closed the door.

The Doctor was far enough ahead of him that he had to jog to catch up. When he did, he grabbed the other man's arm and pulled him to a stop. "Slow down," he told him, keeping his voice low. "Do you want to bring all of the vampires in Cardiff down on our heads?"

"I told you, she's clearing a path."

"And how do you know that?" he asked, holding his weapon at the ready.

"She told me," the Doctor replied. In the dim light cast by the sporadic lampposts, what he could see of the Time Lord's expression gave him little reassurance.

"Doctor," he said, refusing to either let go of the other man's arm or to move closer to the warehouse. "I need to know you're with me on this. Don't listen to whatever it is she's telling you, got it. I need your help. We all do. The entire human race. And, whatever she's saying, it doesn't matter. What matters is here and now and what we have to do."

The Time Lord blinked and he could see awareness, true awareness, flood back into his eyes. "You're right."

Good. One obstacle overcome. A whole bucket-load to come. Smiling faintly, he released his friend's arm and led the way toward the warehouse. Slowly, carefully, instinctively he stuck to the shadows though he suspected that that would matter little to the vampires that were undoubtedly keeping watch.

The windows of the warehouse were dark, but he had the feeling that dark cloth had been draped over them to obscure the interior from any passers-by and to protect them from the deadly light of the sun. The Doctor moved ahead of him to the side door, the familiar shape of the sonic screwdriver clutched in his hand. He could only hope that by choosing a more obscure entrance they would have an element of surprise on their side.

Somehow, he doubted it.

The whine of the sonic screwdriver seemed far too loud for comfort as it unlocked the door. It was only a momentary sound, but his heart pounded loudly in his ears all the same.

"Open sesame," the Doctor said softly, easing the door open.

The inside of the warehouse was as dark as he'd expected it to be. Only the faint light shed through the dark cloth covering the windows revealed any of the obstacles in their path. It was silent, however. Far, far too silent. He'd expected their path to be blocked somehow. By a vampire, by a crate, by something.

However, nothing revealed itself. He looked from side-to-side, peering into the darkness, and hoping to catch sight of something out of the ordinary. It was this motion that prevented him from realising that the Doctor had stopped just in front of him and he stumbled into the other man's back.

"We're not alone," the Time Lord cautioned.

A laugh – a very familiar laugh – filled the warehouse as a blaze of brilliant golden light appeared in front of them. In the swirl of the Vortex energy, he could see her. Rose Tyler. His heart clenched in agony as he saw the sharply pointed teeth marring her otherwise perfect smile.

"Welcome to hell," she said, and opened her arms as if she were about to embrace them.

To be continued...