Chapter 74

It was barely three days until the Earth would be moved through space and invaded by Daleks.

Threatened with the return to Valhalla, whatever that meant.

Harry was sitting outside on the porch watching the sun rise and eating some toast with honey.

He was also having a 'crisis of conscience' concerning the secrets he kept and the mistruths he was telling to people. He had put his faith in the science along with the cultural and population modelling. Everything suggested that despite them knowing when this would take place, informing the population would still lead to mass panic and hysteria and an ultimate downfall of society. Especially if it came out they were basing their information on a prophecy even if it turned out to be true.

There was a part of him that was still hoping it wouldn't come to fruition. That maybe he'd changed the timeline enough, shunted them onto a siding instead of ending up on the mainline.

But he doubted it was as simple as that. The web of time was never as simple as that. That's what the Doctor had often said, when he'd been trustworthy, when he hadn't deposed people who defended the planet.

His device, that which he'd use to threaten the Daleks just enough was ready, it just needed a final ingredient to make it active and a little bit dangerous.

Beacon Hill Research Establishment, formerly a Ministry of Technology site and had for the last 20 years been a Ministry of Defence site was kitted out with practically all the transmat technology and information they had.

The remainder of their transmat technology he had here, that he'd take with him. If they got that far.

So many 'ifs' and 'possibilities'. Too many if he was really honest with himself. But it was more information than they would have had at this point if they didn't know about the prophecy. Essentially it'd just be the Eternal's little ditty. He definitely felt better for knowing, even if what they knew wasn't a lot.

There was a timer on his kitchen table counting down. Their master timer, WOTAN and whatever else the boffins at Porton Down had used to scrape information from the sketches had it down to almost within 10 minutes.

It would be morning, early morning before anyone would really be out and about.

Harry smiled at the sunrise, enjoying it. Just in case everything went spectacularly pear shaped.

The news recently was full of the problems the 'fuel strikes' that were causing the country along with the tube strikes it was causing a significant slow down in the economy, supposedly.

Better that than dead.

Better that than people driving around like maniacs when it happened.

The force field tech was in place as were the energy weapons, both were plugged into the ships on the Thames. Neither had been adequately tested, the force fields especially were at least 10 years away from live fire testing and 20 years from actually being deployed. But some sort of defence was better than none. Or expecting the likes of UNIT and their Valiant to provide any sort of defence for them.

Additional power plants would be coming online or were already online in preparation of the demands on the National Grid, operating this equipment would demand. All alien tech was power thirsty and wouldn't run on just a little bit of power, power hungry was an understatement.

That's what he might think of UNIT, if he didn't know them of old, seemingly now they'd become power hungry megalomaniacs with their Osterhagen Project. It, the Osterhagen Project still chilled and scared him. Himself, Harry Pearce and Olivia Mansfield were already coming up with 'Osterhagen Protocols', named in honour of that project. Protocols to be ready in case UNIT or another large group that the UK was a part of did something equally stupid.

Harry had trouble imagining what was worse than using multiple nukes to destroy the world. Mansfield had admitted that scenario would be difficult to beat.

But she and Pearce had said when this crisis was over they'd set their junior intelligence officers on the idea, to come up with some scenarios under which the 'Osterhagen Protocols' would be enacted. Where the security services, the Defence force and Esoteric leagues like LPI would come together to prevent something ill considered.

How they'd cover this in a political legal sense Harry didn't know. But then again the UK had lost a few Prime Ministers recently and UNIT had not been far from each.

Pearce had mentioned they didn't want to follow ICIS's path. The Internal Counter-Intelligence Service Harry only knew vaguely about, from what he'd had time to read about they'd got involved in a coup of the UK and some nasty ethnic cleansing along the way.

Now, during his musings the sun had risen and it was a new day. One full of final planning meetings, discussions on how to use, if at all the British Territorial Army and other minor things like defending the planet. Just a normal day really.

They also somehow had to move the Valiant without letting UNIT know why. There was no way they could afford to have a military target like that over any populated city. Not with what was coming. It was something that they were leaving until the last moment. Just in case.

Just in case what they didn't know, just...just in case.

Once anyone found out about the Osterhagen Project they lost any trust with UNIT and realised they had to tread carefully. Any organisation that could conceive such a device was quite clearly unpredictable. Perhaps even insane.

-/ - \\-

Saturday.

His Temporal Extinction Device was set up and ready, it was already humming through the temporal spectrums, waiting for a few final additions to go critical. It was also ratcheted to the ground with a lot of straps as the astrophysicists they'd consulted had indicated that that moving a planet might produce some 'unforseen vibrations'. At least that was what they'd said after thinking they were insane. At that point when they'd called them 'insane' Harry had always wanted to tell them about the Osterhagen Project. That was true insanity.

Elsewhere in the countryside Beacon Hill Research Establishment was ready, everything that they had learnt from transmatting the Daleks' timeship had gone into crafting the transmat control systems there. It would still need someone to get to the Daleks' control ship to lay the transmat relays, but it was there.

Russia, America and the United Kingdom, the three space-going powers that had defended Earth during the International Electromatics crisis in the 70s were coming back together to defend the planet again.

"There's still a possibility it won't happen," Harry mused perhaps too hopefully as he looked up at the quite blue sky. There was some cloud tumbling in, but no sign of rain or thunder.

"Harry. You need to think like the Russians," Judith said beside him. She and Ioan would be going to the Beacon Hill Research Establishment along with some of the most capable SAS.

"It will happen and we're all going to die?" Ioan asked brightly.

"Exactly., Judith said as an alarm went off.

Approximately 2 hours.

"You'd best get going." Harry said to the pair.

"Don't die Harry," Judith said as she made for the road.

"Be careful." Ioan said with a smile.

"I intend to not die and be careful and finally get some answers about poetry," Harry called over to Judith whom he could hear begin to laugh.

-/

It started as a little rumble, coming from no where in particular, before building, like what he imagined a really long earthquake might feel like as it slowly built up.

Above him Harry could see the sky slowly wibbling and warping away, giving way to darkness.

Then the rumbling seemed to ramp up to full power, it felt like the whole world was getting ready to shake apart.

Harry fancied he blacked out, or maybe it was just the sudden shift to blackness.

No sketches, no drawings, no prophecy can really prepare you for the reality.

A chill formed down his back and remained there.

"This is going to mess people up," Harry said to himself looking up at the sky.

Then the comms channel 'rang'. Not that it was using the wireless network. Everything they were using for comms was hardwired cables, patched through the phone lines and other systems. Just in case wireless networks went down or radios ceased to function.

"Well. Potter. You were right," Baroness Blythe said from LPI London control, from the basement of the Post Office Tower. It was much less grand. But far more secure than the upper levels.

He had everything set up in the barn, the Temporal Extinction Device was in the middle of the courtyard. Ready to be used.

Tapping at his computer systems accessing his satellite array on the ground he began to scan the surrounding space. As would Beacon Hill, Jodrell Bank and countless other facilities.

"I'm already getting something, energy readings and communications traffic coming from a structure in space," he said to the Baroness.

"As are our tracking stations. Also detecting movement inbound Potter."

Another chill ran down his back. "I think this is it."

"I think you're right Potter. London defence coming online now. Naval fleets reporting green following transition." Baroness Blythe reported calmly.

-/

Around the country people would be finding their kettles taking much longer to boil or even failing entirely. National Grid controllers, under orders from sections of the government began redirecting power towards several new sub stations within London.

Ships' captains stood on the decks of their ships looking up at the sky, waiting for an enemy they knew was coming, yet had hoped it wouldn't.

"Two hundred objects inbound. Power is green. Defence London, active," said a voice over their communications systems.

Each ship's captain knew more than half the technology that had been brought onto their ships was experimental in the extreme. Ultimately they had a choice between them. Weapons or shields, they couldn't have both, they needed to manage it and they couldn't test it.

There were 'next-gen' AA guns on shore, the army and the Territorial Army ready on the streets.

They were as prepared as they could be while maintaining a secret in the nation's capital.

"Beware. Geneva announcing code red," said the same calm voice.

No one had explained exactly why UNIT was not trusted with the invasion information. Only there were good reasons for it.

The dark expressions when each captain had asked Potter or the others with him was enough for most.

-/

The Daleks were sending a communication at Earth.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Time to hear our invaders," he said to himself.

"Exterminate, Exterminate, Exterminate, Exterminate, Exterminate, Exterminate, Exterminate, Exterminate..." Harry sighed ending that line of communication.

"Dalek ships detected inflight. London Defence, active. Naval Defence active. All sites ready," said Baroness Blythe calmly. "Air forces on standby."

They'd had to bring in military strategists for this. Everyone had said that using the air force against the Daleks, if they were swarming would be ill advised.

Not that anyone really knew what that would be like. Harry was the only one who knew enough about them. Even he wasn't sure.

"Here they come," Harry said and pushed a button. Two of his mostly functioning Daleks powered up.

"Ready," they said, their lights lighting up the courtyard. They were his only defence if the Daleks decided to try and take him down.

Which he did think unlikely, everything about the Daleks suggested they'd take out military bases and facilities first.

His house was most definitely not a military base.

The only thing he was slightly worried about is if he threatened the Daleks, that they'd just kill him rather than removing him to their space station. Judith had indicated the latter was much more likely.

Neutralise the situation and then investigate.

Judith had also said not to 'blow too early', as wizards are want to do.

He couldn't threaten the Daleks immediately. Then they would neutralise him, them, everyone. He needed to wait, wait for them to gloat.

He'd be dedicating a whole chapter in his imaginary book to that; 'Dalek emotions – gloating'.

-/

In London multiple naval ships, those that would fit up the Thames powered up. Combinations of alien and human technology whirred and pulsed as power extracted from the National Grid fed their hungry capacitors. Force field generators were ready. Seamen with weapons forged from aliens attacking were ready to defend their country – their planet.

Anti-aircraft guns, loaded with ammunition never tested in war powered up and began to fire as the attackers swarmed on the city.

Daleks. Saucers and individual Daleks swarming down on the city.

"Begin firing," said one of the captains of one of the many ships.

Energy weapons weren't supposed to have recoil, but alien human hybrid weapons did.

As the weapons began to fire they pushed the ships into the river, the pulse from their weapons rocking the ships as they fired up at the sky. Fired at the attackers.

Defending their world, because no one, no alien, no unified force was willing to defend their planet in a way that would leave them with one to stand upon.

-/

"The Valiant is going down. Defences shot." Baroness Blythe stood in the command centre at the bottom of the Post Office Tower. She had become the coordinator of this defence of Earth, the United Kingdom contingent. It was just like managing a large company teleconference.

Only the stakes were far larger.

"Good thing we got that moved out of our airspace," Pearce said from his own bunker-like arrangement in Thames House. "People are still out in the street." The pained expression noticeable in his voice, even though he was on video as well.

They had tried to keep people off the street in the lead up to this. The government had given their full support. Except the PM who for operational reasons got to know nothing of this.

MI6 and MI5 had been creating a fuel shortage for weeks now. Tower Bridge had suffered a 'fault' forcing it open, the Millennium Bridge had been closed supposedly on advice from the MET office. Southwark and Lambeth had been closed for 'analysis of their listed status' supposedly that justification had been used for a lot of explanations.

There'd been tube strikes for the past week or so and no tube trains had run today at all. Pearce and the other sections within MI5 had closed all stations in central London citing a 'terrorist threat'. Their counterparts in France had closed the Channel Tunnel.

"Contact lost with Prime Minster's plane," said a communications signal.

"The real one or the decoy?" Blythe asked looking at the map of the world, trying to remain impassionate.

"Decoy. PM on route to Chequers."

In the future, if they survived this Jane was going to suggest the government utilise more esoteric options when moving the government out danger. If Potter and his mates could move almost instantaneously then there needed to be provisions for the government and other personnel.

-/

At Beacon Hill Research Institute Ioan and Judith stood adjusting the dishes that were present, attempting to get a transmat lock on the Daleks' space station.

"Negative on lock, realigning," Judith said to Ioan.

"Without relays we'll more likely scramble anyone who steps into that," Ioan said again gesturing back over to the mix of alien technology and whatever else Harry had sonicly welded together to form the transmat pad that Judith and two SAS men would be stepping onto.

When the time was right.

Only Judith and Harry really knew when that was, the two of them the only two who had any idea of Dalek tactics and battle psychology on the Earth.

If they mis-timed their major attacks on the Daleks they would have no weapons to fight them.

-/

"UNIT has announced an 'Ultimate Code Red'," Blythe reported calmly.

"Do we know what the difference is between 'Code Red' and 'Ultimate Code Red'?" Asked Potter from his house where he'd be setting off some sort of temporal bomb, from what Jane understood.

"The UN does like its little names. Mansfield would probably be able to enlighten," said Harry Pearce. "With their Osterhagen Project out of commission I don't think we should concern ourselves with anything the UN has to say."

"Indeed," Blythe turned. "Status on London Defences?"

-/

There were blast holes in the deck and two ships were taking on water. AA guns remained in operation, but were indicating overheating.

Daleks had moved to land ground forces.

"All ships, call for focused attack on saucer in coming on our 10 o'clock." Called one of the captains of the ships. "Reroute all power to weapons."

That was the choice they had with their weapons. Defensive measures or weapons. A choice, a balance between the two. Supposedly a computer was meant to be able to find the balance. But the computer hadn't been built yet.

-/

"Dalek saucers are coming in to land."

Harry looked at the screen that linked back to the communications command in London.

"I hope someone's going to start shooting at them," Harry said casually as he monitored Beacon Hill.

They were currently having no luck establishing a lock.

The Daleks landing ships on Earth was unexpected. But it was a possibility they had discussed. They also couldn't risk sneaking aboard. While he'd been on a ship here and there, trying to fly one to the space station to destroy it was filled with potential risk. This wasn't Independence Day they didn't have a ship lying around that they could use. Not one the Daleks wouldn't notice.

-/

"Reports from Territorial Army. Daleks landing taking prisoners."

"Attempt to stop," Blythe ordered.

-/

Harry felt disconnected and somewhat powerless as he heard across all communications an announcement from the United Nations.

"This is the Commander General of the United Nations calling the Dalek Fleet. We surrender. Repeat, we surrender. Planet Earth surrenders."

"Who gave them the right to surrender?" Harry wondered allowed.

"The same people who apparently gave them permission to destroy the world," said Pearce who was still on the line.

That was what they were doing, they were commanders, monitors, people not on the front line...until they needed to be. This wasn't a battle where he could just go running out into the street fighting Daleks.

That's not how the plan would go, how it was going to go.

Harry hated it. He hated it at the moment being a part of this big organisation, of organisations, groups and groups.

All because they didn't or couldn't trust the organisation that should have their backs; UNIT.

Because for whatever reason they had decided to construct the Osterhagen Project, that made them one of the least trustworthy organisations on this planet in their eyes.

No one should have the power to destroy the planet. That was no sort of defence.

"Potter. We're seeing some odd power draw from the National Grid." Pearce said distracting him from his musings.

"Location?"

"Cardiff." Pearce said his voice full of foreboding.

"What's Torchwood up to?" Harry asked as he tapped at his computer trying to contact Torchwood. He got the equivalent of engaged, it looked like outside of their secure communications network the telephone exchanges were under intense use throughout the country.

"Order the National Grid to isolate them. Cardiff can manage on Wales' power output. Our London Defences are more important I think?" He asked looking to the point on the screen that showed Blyhe.

"I agree Potter. Whatever Torchwood is up to they can do it without sacrificing our defences. Reroute the power," she ordered.

"It looks like Torchwood is sending a signal via the rift," Harry said, he'd been unsuccessful in contacting Torchwood but had accessed some of their systems. Theirs like others around the globe were monitoring the Dalek situation. Leaving them open to access, if you knew how.

"Signal?" Pearce asked.

"It's registering as having a temporal subwave," Harry frowned. "I don't know what a subwave is," Harry added distractedly. He was watching a Dalek saucer peel away from the main pack and head off into the countryside. "Where are you going?" He wondered to himself.

A few minutes later the same saucer seemed to move and decide to head toward Torchwood in Cardiff.

"Better alert anyone we have in Cardiff. They're going to need to try to take out a saucer." Harry said.

"Torchwood?"

"Attracting Daleks like wasps to honey," Harry smirked. Gwen he hoped would be fine. Captain Jack would be fine.

-/

Jane Blythe looked over as a call came in, a report from an Auxiliary Unit, a layover from World War II, something she'd been surprised still existed. The Great British paranoia, of Britain being invaded by the Germans, or the reds, or whoever else. Now those fears were realised and they like their previous engagements they'd known it was coming. Make do with what they had, combat the threat as they could.

"What is it?" She asked one of the people assisting her.

"Reports of Dalek patrols. TARDIS sighted in outer London. North. Images coming through. Report as follows," he continued from the Auxiliary Unit person who was on the ground. "Two individuals exited police box. Third woman in street. Materialisation of fourth man wearing great coat. First male individual hit by Dalek fire. Individuals have retreated to police box," he reported.

"Show me," Blythe said. The screen fizzed for a moment and displayed images taken with a phone camera. Jane Blythe had familiarised herself with anyone who might assist or otherwise in this invasion. The Doctor and his associates chief among them.

"Potter. It looks like the Doctor has arrived and is down."

-/

Harry looked up at the screen to Blythe.

"Explain," he said in a calm tone.

Harry looked at the photos as they came through, taken by some of their spies slash soldiers in the streets. The Auxiliary Units.

Harry wondered if this was why he hadn't been visited by any other Doctors of late. That his timeline intersected closely with the regeneration of this Doctor.

Half the Doctor's body was illuminated by the Dalek's energy weapon. It was very likely a fatal shot. Stun and paralyse, the oft underused other settings of a Dalek didn't look like that.

-/

Blythe watched as Potter digested the information. Much of their plan hinged on him putting his life at risk to board the Daleks' ship. Even though they were landing saucers, there were few that had landed long enough to even attack them, let alone board.

"This changes nothing," he said after a brief moment. "We may advance our schedule. What's happening with the Doctor?" Potter asked.

"Standby." Jane said looking to those around her.

"Report from AU, four Daleks approaching police box."

"Potter did you hear that?" Jane looked to the camera and screen showing his face. "Photo through now."

She watched recognition on Potter's face. "It's a temporal prison. It will contain the TARDIS for transport."

Blythe didn't bother asking Potter how he knew about Dalek technology.

"They will hopefully be smug now that they've captured the Doctor, it's what they always want to do." Potter paused. "I think we'll advance our schedule."

"If you think that's wise. Henlow Downs remains intact and ready. Russian and American sites have some damaged but are still ready for launch."

"Isn't it nice to know magic does work against Daleks?" He paused. "I'll contact Beacon Hill and confirm the change in schedule."

"Good luck Potter."

Potter briefly smiled before ending the transmission. He'd explained it as not wanting to leave any transmissions open that the Daleks could monitor.

-/

Judith looked over to the screen as Harry contacted them. "I'm moving the schedule up. The Doctor's been shot and the TARDIS captured by the Daleks. They should be in gloat mode."

Judith nodded. "We've not been able to co-opt the Daleks' transmats from here. We've located the main space station, so we can use a relay from here to there-"

"Once I get their attention," Harry grinned. "Once more and all that, see you...when I see you," he said with an awkwardly assuring grin and ended the transmission.

-/

Harry exhaled, calming himself and walked out to the Temporal Extinction Device and the computers hooked into the communication satellites in the paddocks near his house. It was all hooked through various bits of Dalek technology so he could push through and talk to them.

He'd also learnt his speech. In Dalek. He wanted to make sure they saw him as a credible threat.

Typing in the final commands he got a green light, the comms were open and going through.

Staring into the Dalek eyepiece that was serving as his camera for this he began.

"Harry Potter. Earth. Daleks. Return the planet Earth to its home system. Failure will result in your fleet's destruction. This is your only warning. You have 360 rels to comply. Transmission ends."

Harry exhaled. Nothing as complicated as 'flying winged creatures / insects' in that message.

360 rels was approximately 5 minutes. Enough time for the Daleks to have a bit of a think about what he might do. The Temporal Extinction Device, when he initiated it would take another 5 or 10 minutes to fully get up to steam. He had a few things to hasten the process.

'And what if it works and the Daleks don't budge?' Ioan had asked when he'd explained all this.

Then the device would go off. It would burn up his timeline and go on to take out the Daleks' timeline, rippling backwards through the timeline of everyone connected to the temporal extinction device, like one huge interconnected temporal nuclear weapon.

Hopefully it wouldn't get to that point.

He had felt a twinge of hope that the Doctor was here, but if he had been shot by a Dalek, then even if he regenerated, the Doctor in a post-regenerative state would be of little use immediately.

Certainly in no state to ensure the Earth and its people were defended. That was a role they needed to take in their own hands, they had been forewarned, now they needed to use that to defend themselves.

He'd not waited for a reply from them, or even opened the other end of his transmission to receive from their end. He didn't want to see who he was talking to.

Probably a Saucer Commander or a Supreme Dalek, maybe an Emperor decided to drop in.

No matter, it wasn't something he wanted to concern himself with in his opening gambit. He didn't want to allow them the possibility of tracing his transmission.

Not yet.

First he had to threaten them and get their attention, pique their interest.

When he next threatened them he would need to be serious, and allow them to know he could see them and not be afraid of them.

"One day I'm going to make a killing with my book on Dalek psychology," he said to himself. "Or maybe make myself a wanted man." He continued frowning.

-/

On board the Dalek Crucible, the Dalek Supreme waited. It had seen the threats made by the humans. Defence Zero Five would be engaged once the creator had satisfied his directive against the Doctor.

The abomination's predications were not considered.

If the Dalek Supreme had been created from stock that wasn't the same as the creator in the bowels of the ship it might have wondered further on the rogue transmission from the human fluent in the Dalek language.

But it was not, and had not considered the threat made by the human.

When the second transmission came through it relayed it to the Vault without a thought, considered or otherwise. The creator had talked often of the abomination's predictions.

-/

"This is Harry Potter. Earth. You have not obeyed. You will suffer," the man of the Dalek image screen paused.

Rose had heard that voice before. "That's Harry Potter, that kid who-"

"Time moves on Rose," the Doctor said darkly.

"What's he sayin' what's he speaking?" She asked the Doctor.

Davros looked over at the Doctor. "Yes Doctor, what is this, your companion speaking so eloquently?"

"Harry was never my companion he is my friend," he paused looking away. "He's speaking Dalek," the Doctor said in a calm yet dark tone.

"Dalek?" Rose asked.

"Yes. Dalek. How interesting. Dalek Caan?" Davros looked over at the shattered Dalek casing, but Caan was silent.

"Your pet not foresee this?" The Doctor looked over at it.

"How come we can't understand him?" Rose asked.

"He's making an effort to speak it," the Doctor said as he looked back to the screens.

"It's the Crucible or the Earth." Martha was saying.

Then there was a flash and her mum and Jack and Sarah and Mickey and Martha were with them.

"Yours and my options are few Daleks. You will be exterminated" Said Harry Potter, still in Dalek.

"He threatens well," Davros commented.

"I recognised that voice, and those words," Jack looked up at the screen.

"Guard them! On your knees, all of you. Surrender!" Davros shouted to the assembled group.

"Why can't we understand him?" Sarah asked.

"He's choosing to speak. Translation doesn't work with that," Jack explained.

"I will activate a Temporal Extinction Device. Goodbye Daleks. You will be exterminated. Now and forever," said Harry Potter on the screen above them.

Jack was muttering translations to Sarah and those nearby him.

"No! Harry! You can't!" The Doctor shouted.

"Sadly Doctor. I can. Defence comes at a cost," said Harry in English and visibly winced.

Then alarms all around them started going off.

"Emergency, Emergency, Emergency. Temporal device active on Earth surface. Emergency!" Cried one of the Daleks nearby.

"Trace the source. Emergency!" Said a deeper voice. The voice of the Supreme.

"What's a Temporal Extinction Device?" Asked Mickey.

"Something no one should have knowledge on how to create one." The Doctor looked over at Jack.

"Don't look at me. I didn't teach him how to build it," Jack protested from the ground beside them where he was kneeling with the others.

"Well what is it? I'd like to know how I'm going to die, if it isn't by the Daleks' hands," Sarah asked.

"It's a weapon. It burns through timelines. You need a critical mass of temporal energy to activate it," the Doctor said calmly.

"Yes Doctor?" Davros asked seemingly pleased looking at him.

"To threaten the Daleks he would need something significant. And he would need himself," the Doctor explained in a dull tone.

"He will burn himself. An ultimate weapon. Against the Daleks!" Davros cried.

"Temporal Extinction Device located!" Cried a Dalek.

"Engage defence Zero Two," said the voice of the Supreme Dalek.

There was a flash of light and a figure appeared with several pieces of technology. A few small basketball-sized spheres also appeared with him, rolling away as he stood up.

"Well. This is interesting," said the figure looking around, meeting the gaze of the Doctor.

-/

Harry winced as the transmat relays made a thud as they rolled away from his person and clunked against the edges of the room he was in.

The Doctor looked at him and briefly looked at the transmat relay spheres and met his gaze briefly. Harry shook his head in a minute way.

"Well. This is interesting," Harry said looking around.

"You, dare threatened the Daleks?" Said a figure Harry had only had described to him. A figure he'd read about from the Counter-Measures' report of the Shoreditch Incident. A figure he'd read about in Dalek history.

"Davros!" Harry exclaimed. "Creator of the Daleks," he breathed in deeply and tried to ignore his hand that was burning from contact with the Temporal Extinction Device and presumedly the time winds amongst other things.

"Harry Potter. A human. You would threaten the Daleks?" Asked Davros.

Harry stepped away from the sundry junk that had been transmatted with him.

"Guard him," Davros barked to the Daleks around him.

"No!" Harry shouted with equal force at the Daleks, in Dalek. "Return to your work."

Harry smiled as the Daleks shifted and said. "I obey." Turning around to return to its work.

Davros shifted too, slightly. "How?"

Harry shrugged. "Tone of voice perhaps? Maybe no one's ever made enough of a study of their language to try to understand them."

"Our language Harry Potter," Davros corrected, although made no attempt to stop Harry from looking around.

"No. Theirs." Harry pointed at the Daleks. "Yours is Kaled. Theirs is Dalek. There's I would imagine far fewer adjectives in Dalek than Kaled."

"Harry," the Doctor warned.

"Please Doctor. Your companion makes for intelligent conversation," Davros purred.

"Especially as we're all about to die. I've wanted to meet you for a while Davros," Harry said, trying not to look at any of the transmat relays and hoped that Judith and Ioan were working on utilising them. There was only so long he could bullshit his way with a psychopath like Davros.

Although he had nothing on Ginny, although Ginny was nicer to look at.

"You have?" Davros asked seemingly interested.

"The Doctor's told me all about you," Harry gestured with a vague wave at the Doctor. "And Sarah too. All that lovely time on Skaro."

"And where, Harry Potter did you acquire you knowledge of the Dalek language?" Davros asked curiously.

Harry smiled casually. "Here and there," he said wandering over to look at the Daleks and ignore Davros to see what he'd do. And also check on the people not surrounded by a force field.

"Are you Soldier or Scientist?" Harry asked in Dalek again to the Dalek watching the group they were guarding who all gave him an interesting look.

"Scientist," it answered looking at him briefly.

"Interesting," Harry said switching to English turning around back to Davros who was watching him.

Which was amazingly fortunate as he was sure the transmat relays were vibrating. They hadn't done that in any of their tests.

"You're surrounded by Scientists down here Davros. But there's no windows," Harry gesturing around and taking a few noisy steps around him.

"Dalek ships don't-" Rose interjected.

"Yes they do," Harry countered. "Or at least vision out into space. But here nothing." Harry said making another loud show of looking around.

"This is the Vault," the shattered Dalek casing and the Dalek on the plinth said in a calm yet crazed voice.

"And you are?" Harry asked curiously.

"Dalek Caan." The Doctor provided.

"Of the Cult of Skaro?" Harry arched an eyebrow.

"You know about them?" The Doctor looked at him.

"I only just learnt that they went on a temporal shift. I thought it was some temporally based toilet adventure," Harry commented as he noticed a shimmer appear near one of the transmat relays. Then an alarm went off.

"What is it?" Davros demanded while watching him.

Harry met the dead eyes of the Dalek's creator.

"Anomalous transmat signal," reported one of the Daleks.

"Probably the result of your dangerous Temporal Extinction Device Harry," the Doctor said after a moment's pause. "Overloaded their pitiful Dalek systems."

"Well?" Davros demanded.

Davros inched forward to look at the Scientist Daleks. As he did so the Doctor gave Harry a look, or looked past him, he wasn't sure. Harry didn't want to turn around and see if the Doctor was looking at something or not.

Judith and the two soldiers with her would be under invisibility cloaks. All their tests suggested that they would be invisible to Dalek vision.

"Why are there Daleks here at all?" Harry asked. "They should've been wiped out after the Time War." Harry commented. "Aside from those the Cult let out," he added.

"Davros created them," Rose explained.

"From my own cells of my own body." Davros continued.

Harry nodded. "Oh. That's disappointing," Harry sighed dramatically.

"What?" The Doctor said.

"These Daleks won't be able to answer my questions about Dalek poetry," Harry said with an exasperated sigh.

"What?" The Doctor questioned. "What do you mean?"

"They're not real Daleks," Harry said simply and attracted the attention of Davros and the Daleks, briefly turning their eye stalks around to look at him.

"Explain!" Davros gestured a finger at him.

"Daleks forged on Skaro were the result of the Thousand Year War and the Scientific Elite's projections of the final mutagenic form." Harry pointed back at Davros. "And your experimenting," he continued and began walking around the room. "Forged in the raw fire of the Thals' chemical weapons. Of radiation exposure. Within the Bunker. Entombed. They made the decision to exterminate you," Harry paused eyeing Davros. "You never forgot that. That's what led to the Imperial-Renegade war."

"You know your Dalek history," commented Jack from on the other side of the room where the group of them was watching his and Davros' exchange curiously.

"Explain Harry Potter before you die," Davros demanded. "The final prophecy is in place," Davros paused.

Then something exploded in the corner of the room. Harry dived behind a control panel.

"Your timing sucks," Harry said seemingly to no one.

"My timing is perfect," an invisible mass said in Judith's voice. "It's done. They should be launching already."

"Good. Get to the transmat. Activate it. I'll try and follow," Harry said and then stood up.

"Sorry. Force of habit. When an explosion goes off I dive for cover," Harry said when he realised there were several Daleks pointing their guns at him. He didn't bother to raise his hands.

"Harry! Now." Judith shouted across the room.

"Activate!" Harry shouted. Judith took off her cloak and looked at him. Harry shook his head. He'd go with plan B, C, D or somewhere down the alphabet. The important thing is they were doing something. The Doctor wasn't doing anything, caught behind that force field, standing there shouting at him.

Judith and the two men who would have been with her shimmered away.

Davros glided forward. "What did you do Harry Potter?" Davros then seemed to shrug. "No matter. Supreme Dalek," Davros' body language changed and Harry had to force himself not to comment out loud about Davros being easier to read than the Daleks.

As Davros spoke and seemed to lose interest in Harry he took the opportunity to edge back around the control banks so there was some semblance of cover between him and the Daleks who were still watching him.

"The time has come. The Doctor and his children all gathered as witness. Activate the reality bomb!"

"Activate planetary alignment field!" Shouted the Supreme Dalek just as an alarm was going off somewhere.

"Alert. Projectiles from Earth surface in flight," announced a Dalek.

"Destroy them," said the Supreme.

"Unable to destroy. Defence systems will not respond!" Cried a Dalek.

Harry couldn't help but smile, but was worried by what a reality bomb was.

"No matter," Davros said.

Harry was vaguely aware that the Doctor was shouting at Davros, but he'd ducked down and crawled along the edge of the room. He'd noticed another computer bank at the back of the room near what was probably a lift.

The Doctor could keep Davros busy while he did some snooping, all the other Daleks seemed busy by the 'reality bomb' and no one was paying attention to him any more.

"Nothing can stop the detonation. Nothing and no one!" Harry heard Davros exclaim.

Davros really was psychotic Harry thought to himself. He was exceptionally glad that in his dealings with the Daleks Davros wasn't, at least as far as he was aware in the background.

Then as he was inserting his newly adapted Dalek suction manipulator arm onto the computer interface there was a noise that everyone seemed surprised about.

In the background he could hear the Supreme counting down in rels. Even the Supreme sounded a bit fanatic.

Which as Harry activated it to start downloading the Daleks' database he realised he should have been surprised about too.

There was only one person who wasn't here. Donna Noble.

Although maybe she was piloting the TARDIS. Even Tegan managed a quick jaunt.

Standing up, because all the Daleks were looking at the TARDIS and he wanted to do something because crouching was not a good distraction from the burning sensation in his hand.

"What the fu-" Harry started to say but remembered he was meant staying silent and hidden from the Daleks. The Doctor, or a Doctor, whatever someone who looked like the Doctor was standing in the doorway of the TARDIS and started running out of it.

Harry took this moment to check his watch, he'd hit the stopwatch as soon as he'd seen Judith and again hit the lap button when the Daleks had detected the missiles in flight to their position.

Judith had done her bit, disabled or persuaded the Dalek systems that the incoming missiles weren't a threat and were friend, not foe. Not that Dalek systems really recognised the 'friend or foe' distinction, but Judith had explained it as being something like that.

Straining he could just about hear the Supreme continue to count down.

It was unfortunate then that the reality bomb, the 'universal reality detonation' which Harry really hoped wasn't as dangerous or as literal as it sounded, but it was the Daleks, psychotic Davros-created Daleks at that that were creating such a thing, so it probably was, would detonate before the missiles reached their destination.

Although, Harry mused as he craned around from his hiding place only to see this new Doctor that had come out of the TARDIS cut down by Davros, as he was currently crouching at the missiles destination, that was something to consider.

He didn't count on dying today, but it was always a possibility to keep the Earth defended.

Also, as the Doctor, Doctors were currently standing around here waiting for the end of the universe it was fortunate that they, the Earth and everyone on it had had some warning. That they had thought to stop UNIT from blowing up the world.

All up Harry considered they were giving it their best shot. Sorting out how to get the Earth back to their original place in space would be a problem. Especially as this place probably got it there. But they'd prevail. Somehow.

Donna had followed the Doctor, Harry winced as she too was cut down with some sort of lightning thing by Davros.

The Supreme was still counting down, he'd got to the 20s.

Harry grinned as his download finished. He pulled the interface off and slipped it back into one of his expanding pockets and grabbed a look around the other side of the computer console. There weren't any Daleks watching the Doctor exactly.

Slipping his own sonic screwdriver out of his pocket he looked around. The force field controls had to be somewhere near where the Doctor was. Even if Davros had the remote control.

One thing at a time Harry. Harry thought to himself as he snuck around from his hiding place as he mentally counted backwards in rels as he could barely hear the Supreme. He'd obviously turned off the tannoy.

Probably for dramatic effect.

Shifting around, he carefully walked in the shadows behind the group of Captain Jack, Sarah, Mickey and everyone else, very casually.

There didn't seem to be any of the Daleks watching him, or paying any attention to him.

Maybe that was the trick, Harry thought, bark orders at them and then become invisible to the Daleks.

Probably not. Harry thought as he lost count of the rels, it was definitely down into the teens. That was the problem with rels being not quite a second.

This Vault of the Daleks was grim, and badly lit. Harry thought to himself as he looked around for the power relay and aimed the sonic screwdriver at a large panel, opening it and pulling off the cover.

Now, he thought as the Supreme decided to turn the tannoy back on.

Not the teens. They were lower than that.

Passing the sonic screwdriver to his other time winds burnt hand he reached in with his good hand, aware that he could electrocute himself he reached around and grabbed a wad of wires. Most of them he was relatively sure controlled the force field and other control systems in this section.

Giving them a hard yank suddenly an alarm went off.

"That shouldn't have set off an alarm," Harry said out loud gaining him the attentions of Jack and Martha who were holding hands while they waited for the end of the universe.

Which was nice.

"Closing all Z-neutrino relay loops using an internalised synchronous back-feed reversal loop. That button there," said a voice that sounded like Donna Noble.

Harry stood up and gingerly patted the Doctor in the brown suit on the back.

He spun around puzzled to look at him but didn't move.

"Fore field's down," Harry said quietly.

The Doctor nodded but didn't move. "Donna you can't even change a plug."

"Do you want to bet, Time Boy?" Donna grinned from behind the console.

"You'll suffer for this!" Davros cried.

"Daleks!" Harry shouted deciding to try and push his luck. "Kill Davros. Destroy the creator," he said, nay shouted in Dalek pointing at Davros.

To their credit the Daleks did hesitate.

"Avada Kedavra." Harry running to take cover from behind the same console that Donna was behind.

"No!" The Doctor in the brown suit shouted at him as the spell found its purchase on Davros, pushing him backwards.

"I am not so easy to kill," Davros said levelling an arm at him, or at Donna. Harry couldn't tell. Harry hoped he wasn't a good shot, but Donna didn't seem fazed, she was busy hitting the Dalek sized keyboard.

"Exterminate her. Exterminate Harry Potter!" Davros was now shouting.

"No! Exterminate Davros! This order is from the Emperor of the Daleks!" Harry shouted again in Dalek. It was starting to get at him all this shouting. But Dalek orders were so much more effective-sounding at least when you shouted it.

Again the Daleks at least were paused in thought. Maybe invoking an Emperor was the trick.

Then one of the Daleks looked down at its weapon. "Weapons non-functional."

"Macrotransmission of a K-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix."

"Bafflegab," Harry commented and checked his watch.

Donna had stopped the destruction of the universe with some bafflegab and typing.

Detonation of the missiles incoming would still be in a few minutes. They might hit the ships near the space station first. Maybe.

"How did you work that out?" The Doctor was asking.

Harry let Donna answer as the Daleks weren't weapons-dangerous anymore he wandered across the room and aimed his sonic screwdriver at the other force field control and ripped out the power cables.

"Holding cells-" Donna was about to say.

"Don't worry." Harry held up his sonic screwdriver. "Done that a few minutes ago."

"Stop them! Get them away from the controls." Davros was demanding as the Daleks spun around.

"Best get a move on, whatever you're doing Doctor, Donna...Doctors." Splendid chaps and all of that. Harry said thinking of the Brigadier for a moment with a smile.

"Why?" The Doctors looked at him.

"What have you done Harry?" The Doctor in the blue suit looked at him.

"Defended the Earth. There's a few inter-space missiles. Due here in less than half a dozen minutes," Harry said casually as a Dalek crashed past them, pushed by Sarah and Rose.

"Missiles," the Doctor in the brown suit repeated. "How did you know even to be ready for this?"

Harry smiled. "Focus on whatever wizardry you're up to. Tell me if I can help."

"Because you've got a knack with the Daleks," the Doctor in the blue suit watched him darkly.

Harry nodded. "Everyone's got to have a hobby."

-/

Then half way into whatever the Doctors and Donna was doing he felt an explosion near by.

The Doctors spun around and looked at him. "That would be detonation."

"Still got power Time Boy."

"Back home Woman Wept," the Doctor was saying.

"Is anyone going to explain what's going on?" Rose asked.

"Which bit?" Harry asked as another explosion went off, this time nearer.

"What about the explosions? You seem to know what's going on with those Harry," Jack asked.

Harry shrugged. "They're just inter-space missiles fired from the Earth trying to destroy the Dalek fleet and this space station utilising calculations pioneered during the Cyber-invasion back in the day," Harry paused. "Next question."

"I think Rose meant the two Doctors," Sarah said.

"Oh, that." Harry mock slumped.

Jack patted him on the back. "I like your explosions Harry," he grinned.

"He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand. I touched the hand, and he grew out of that but that fed back into me. But, it just stayed dormant in my head till the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into life. Thank you, Davros! Part human, part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor. I got his mind." Donna explained in quick sentences.

"So there's three of you?" Asked Sarah.

"Three Doctors?" Asked Rose.

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now," Jack commented and winked at Harry.

"I'm sure it involves explosions." Harry met his gaze with a smirk.

Davros it seemed at this point to lose it with the explanations. "But you promised me, Dalek Caan. Why did you not foresee this?"

"Hang on, foresee?" Harry said after a moment.

"Prophecy," The Doctor in the brown suit intoned.

"A literal prophecy, made by a Dalek?" Harry mused. "Interesting," Harry said. "That makes sense, if it was so powerful to rip through the minds..." Harry trailed off thinking to himself.

While the Doctor, Dalek Caan and Davros had a little tête-à-tête it seemed no one noticed the Supreme Dalek descending into the Vault. It seemed a little wobbly on its elevation. No doubt from whatever Donna or the Doctors had been doing.

"Heads up!" Jack said priming his large gun.

"Glad to see someone's paying attention," Harry commented as he counted backwards the amount of explosions that had happened and that were still to come.

"Davros, you have betrayed us!" Cried the Supreme Dalek.

"Of course he betrayed you!" Harry exclaimed. "He's Davros." Harry shook his head and wondered if now was the time to ask the Supreme some questions about what betrayal meant. Aside from extermination. Or maybe that was it.

"The Vault will be purged. You will all be exterminated," the Supreme said firing on the main computer panel.

"Exterminate Davros, he's the betrayer," Harry said in a level tone with a sigh. It's not as though they'd done anything to betray the Daleks.

"...Feel this!" Jack shouted as he shot the Supreme Dalek.

"Oh, we've lost the magnetron. And there's only one planet left. Oh, guess which one. But we can use the TARDIS," the Doctor in the brown suit said as the Supreme exploded.

Harry ran after the Doctor into the TARDIS.

He was briefly caught by a wave of nostalgia and other things. It was unlike the TARDIS control room that the Doctor had when he and Draco had travelled with the Doctor, that was all green stairs and brass dials. Harry still remembered this TARDIS, from that time long ago when he'd been rescued by the Doctor and Martha.

But now he knew what some of these panels did, even if they looked a little different from his time in the TARDIS.

"What are you going to do? Materialise around the Earth?" Harry asked looking at what should have been the coordinate entry panel. "You could enlarge the zeppelin hangar."

The Doctor looked up surprised Harry'd followed him in. "Zeppelin hangar?" He shook his head. "Nah, way too much power needed for that. The old girl's just recovered. Tow rope. That's what we need." The Doctor explained.

Harry looked to the Doctor puzzled. "I thought you said the tractor beam burnt out."

"Oh...that was ages ago Harry. We've been through so much since then." Harry wasn't sure if the Doctor was talking about himself and Harry or himself and the TARDIS. Probably the latter.

"What can I do to help?" Harry said with a wince as he put his hand on the console, again forgetting about the burns from the time winds.

"Reroute power, we'll need everything to tow the Earth those-"

Harry cut him off. "I know how to do it."

"How'd you know how to do that?" The Doctor focused on him narrowing his eyes.

"You don't remember? Draco and I had to help after the Zodin got her talons into you," Harry explained puzzled.

He shook his head. "Must be in my future." He looked like he was about to say something when something exploded outside. He paused to look at Harry.

"That felt too big for our missiles," Harry said as the Doctor made to dash outside the TARDIS.

Harry looked up at the ceiling, a chill passing down his spine, being alone in the TARDIS did that.

It was nice, to be inside the TARDIS again, even in this situation.

Moving around the TARDIS he tried to project what the Doctor's TARDIS was like, the one he and Draco travelled with, with all its spiral staircase around the control room and the console with its brass, lights, dials and clean panels onto this TARDIS so he could adjust the energy flow. And also ignore the burning in his arm.

A moment or maybe it was a minute later people came rushing in. The Doctor however was standing outside the TARDIS shouting.

Finishing what he was doing Harry rushed to the doors.

"Come on Doctor," Harry shouted against the explosions.

Davros was shouting at the Doctor about him being the "Destroyer of worlds."

"Leave him Doctor," Harry shouted.

"One will still die," Dalek Caan croaked. Maybe that's what happened when you spent all your time shouting like a Dalek Harry wondered as he grabbed the Doctor in the brown suit and pulled him into the TARDIS.

Harry rushed after him and barely managed to grab the edge of the TARDIS console as it dematerialised. He winced and barely stopped himself from crying out as his time winds burns ached.

"What about the Earth? It's stuck in the wrong part of space," Sarah asked.

"I'm on it," the Doctor said pulling the screen around to where he was. "Harry did you finish-?"

Harry nodded pushing aside the pain in his hand for another moment. "Finished, the power's rerouted. Just like an alarm clock."

The Doctor grinned at him. "Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?"

Harry allowed himself to relax and made his way around the TARDIS and fell onto the chair that was opposite the console. Moving Jack's gun over a little bit in the process of sitting down heavily.

The Daleks were destroyed, Davros was dead and hopefully the Earth would be saved.

Harry felt himself wanting to shut his eyes, the ache in his hand was spreading along his arm and forced himself to stay awake through the pain.

He didn't really know what the effect was of touching the time winds, in amongst his illicit knowledge he'd gathered the outcomes of doing so for someone who wasn't a time sensitive was often death.

"Now then, you lot." The Doctor was dancing around the console. "Sarah, hold that down. Mickey, you hold that. Because you know why this TARDIS always is always rattling about the place?" Harry made to get up but the Doctor gave him a stern look. "Rose? That, there. It's designed to have six pilots, and I have to do it single handed. Martha, keep that level. But not any more. Jack, there you go. Steady that. Now we can fly this thing."

There was a shudder and the TARDIS seemed to grab at something. Then the Doctor was sitting by his side.

"Harry. What have you done to yourself?" He asked. The Doctor was aiming his sonic screwdriver at his arm the blue light illuminating burns on his hand and gently pulling off Harry's jacket.

Flashback...

"I will activate a Temporal Extinction Device. Goodbye Daleks. You will be exterminated. Now and forever," Harry said in Dalek as he pushed levers and switches down.

"No! Harry! You can't!" It was the Doctor's voice.

"Sadly Doctor. I can. Defence comes at a cost," Harry said, this time not in Dalek and slid his hand into the small receptacle.

If he'd constructed the Temporal Extinction Device properly it should be maelstrom of vortex energies, enough to start the Temporal Extinction Device. If not he had his handy bucket of Dalek remains that they'd collected following the Daleks' disintegration encountering the Dalek timeship. That should give it the kick it needed.

His biodata and timeline, the Daleks' timelines and temporal energies that he'd contained and concentrated here, plus everything that was going on around them, and something from their future. Enough temporal critical mass to do some get their attention and if not then hopefully do some damage.

He hadn't been prepared for the pain, it almost made him gasp at the sudden biting shock. It was so raw, so...it cut right through his being and then restructured to burn just his hand, the contact point.

-/

Present...

"That was stupid and dangerous Harry. Your timeline could have been torn to shreds," he chastised.

"We couldn't risk doing nothing," Harry said as he blinked.

The Doctor was rubbing something into his hand and arm.

It was a salve out of an old clay pot.

"Genuine Sisterhood Salve. Perfect for any injured Time Lord," the Doctor said as the TARDIS drifted from side to side. "Not much left. No way to get any more," he said, even more softly to himself.

"I..." Harry started.

"You're my friend, my oldest Harry," the Doctor looked at him seriously. "Just stupid this time."

"We couldn't risk you not turning up Doctor. Defence of this planet-" Harry was cut off by the Doctor.

"Defence? You've said that before Harry, why all this talk of defence?" The Doctor asked.

Harry flexed his fingers. "The Master," the Doctor winced. "That alternate timeline. I know what happened," the Doctor made to speak but Harry continued. "Harriet Jones. Defended the Earth you deposed her," he said in bursts. "Said the Earth was defended. But it wasn't then. Wasn't now."

The Doctor stared at him.

"I'm sorry," Harry felt he needed to say.

"No." The Doctor shook his head. "No. You've been brilliant Harry. Nothing to be sorry for," he said looking away to the TARDIS console.

Then there was a thud, maybe no time had passed, maybe he'd passed out for a moment. Harry didn't know. But suddenly the Doctor in the blue suit was hugging him and Sarah was looking slightly dazed.

Then the Doctor started dancing around the console again.

"There we go. Back to where we started. Matched the orbit up exact as well. No winding the clocks back or forward," he grinned and threw a leaver dematerialsing the TARDIS briefly.

Harry watched on the TARDIS's monitor screen as Sarah, Martha, Jack and Mickey left the TARDIS and got up. "I don't think I want to come with you guys back to that parallel world you were talking about," Harry said to Rose. "It was lovely to meet you again Rose." He offered her his hand as she pulled him into a hug.

"You surprised him," Rose said. "That was brilliant."

"I try," Harry said and looked to the Doctor in the blue suit. He just smiled at him.

Harry stepped out to where the Doctor was standing.

-/

"We got to that Osterhagen Project," Harry commented idly.

"What?" The Doctor looked at him.

"If they'd used the key, nothing would have happened. Got some spies to sabotage it. Very old school," Harry said to the Doctor.

"You shouldn't have been here Harry. This isn't League of Paranormal Investigations stuff. No magic in all of this." The Doctor watched him.

Harry nodded. "We got made aware of a prophecy. The Daleks in the sky, end of the universe. We had to get involved. The magic brought us into it."

The Doctor seemed surprised by this.

"I assume it's the temporal stuff, folding back through the timelines. Enough that even magical things saw it coming," Harry mused. "The web of time, spiders turning in its web."

"Probably," he pulled Harry into a hug. "Take care of yourself Harry. Not so much dangerous life threatening stuff."

"And you too Doctor. You won't always have a handy backup to save the day," Harry commented jokingly as he hugged the Doctor back and then they stepped back. "I won't salute. The Brigadier always wished you'd do that." He nodded towards the trio walking off whom he'd albeit mock saluted.

"Good ole Alistair, in Peru isn't he?" He asked.

"Off on some secret mission he won't tell me about," Harry grinned.

"You're still in contact with him?" The Doctor wondered before continuing. "Of course you are. Back and forth across the timelines, old Alistair's ahead of all that," the Doctor grinned.

"Now you're off?" Harry asked.

The Doctor nodded.

"Keep safe Doctor," Harry said seriously.

"And you Harry Potter," hHe stepped back into the TARDIS.

Harry stood, watching as it dematerialised.

Then his phone started to ring.

"Yes. Judith. No. Not dead. Yes. I imagine there are some questions to be answered. Would you and Ioan like to get a drink? I think we've earned it before we answer questions."

- / - \\-

A/N:

Minor edit done June 2021.

This chapter caused me so many problems, mostly due to timing.

As I noted in the author notes of chapter 72, that is a very linear chapter following The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky. Each event seen on screen is mostly linear, events happen one after the other and other scenes happening on screen pass at the same rate as other events elsewhere. So there's a consistent cut through of time.

But this chapter and the two stories The Stolen Earth and Journey's End don't have that.

It's minor things that become larger things when trying to tee everything up. A simple thing like the teleport which is fairly well established as being practically instantaneous. But the jump between Jack teleporting to the Doctor's location and actually arriving isn't. There's in fact a lot of footage between that scene when he departs the hub and actually arrives to destroy the Dalek.

Even with this rather liberal timing in these two episodes there were some things I didn't include just because had I done so it would've bogged down the action. The "dialling the Doctor" scenes and test firing the Reality Bomb were two things that just didn't fit, although I did try.

I did quite enjoy writing Harry into the action. Especially where Harry gets to be the not-Doctor and have a good chin wag with Davros.

I didn't want to use too much of the dialogue from Journey's End which is why Harry sort of drifts in and out of what's happening 'on screen' and also why Harry follows the Doctor into the TARDIS near the end, just so he's not outside when there's discussions happening which he couldn't add much to.

I also didn't want to completely rewrite what happens between the Doctor/s and everyone else who gets involved. But I also wanted Harry to get a little bit of the spotlight. So he does a little bit of stuff here and there, without detracting from what Donna does.