Hey all, so we've reached the last chapter for 9 :'( I'm so sad about it but it's a step in learning more about Cerys and the relationship between her and Rose. There's a sweet moment between her and the Doctor as well. :)

The Doctor, Jack and I ran to the Tardis. Once we were all inside, the Doctor immediately went to the console and started to fly her with the help of Jack. I held onto the Y beam, feeling just a bit useless. "We've got incoming!" Jack said just before missiles hit the Tardis, leaving nothing but a big fire ball. "The extrapolator's working. We've got a fully functional force field. Try saying that when you're drunk."

"And now for my next trick," the Doctor said, his expression hardened and he cracked his knuckles. The Tardis began to materialize around Rose and a Dalek. The two men stood before me, Jack ready to take out the Dalek.

"Rose, get down! Get down Rose!" Rose threw herself to the right.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek shouted as it fired at us and missed. Jack took his aim and fired, killing it with his gun, a modified defabricator.

She stood. "You did it." The Doctor hugged Rose before releasing her. I ran over, squeezing her. "Feels like I haven't seen you in years."

"I know," I muttered, a bit of a smile on my face. "But he did say he'd come get you."

"Never doubted it."

"I did. You alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Not bad, been better."

"Hey, don't I get a hug?"

"Oh, come here," Rose laughed and went to go hug Jack as I returned to the captain's chair.

"I was talking to him." Jack laughed, pointing at the Doctor who had moved over to examine the Dalek. Either way, he hugged Rose. "Welcome home."

"Oh, I thought I'd never see you again."

"Oh, you were lucky. That was just a one shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk."

"You said they were extinct. How come they're still alive?" Rose asked as she stood beside me.

"One minute they're the greatest threat in the Universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space."

"They went off to fight a bigger war. The Time War."

"I thought that was just a legend."

"I was there. The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing."

"No, they didn't," I said, drawing the three's attention to me. "It needed to happen, Doctor. I've seen how they were, remember? They might have been amazing prior to the war but they became monsters." I stood and strode over to him, pulling the Time Lord into a much needed hug.

"There's thousands of them now," Rose started. "We could hardly stop one. What're we going to do?"

"No good standing round here chin wagging. Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers. Let's go and meet the neighbours." The Doctor said after he'd pulled away and held his hand out to me. I took it and we walked to the door.

"You can't go out there! Cerys!" We ignored Rose and walked out, staying close to the Tardis. Rose and Jack soon followed us out.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Daleks shot at us but thanks to the force field, it didn't do anything.

"Is that it? Useless! Nul points. It's all right, come on out. That force field can hold back anything."

"Almost anything."

"Yes, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks," he said humourlessly.

"Sorry."

"Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left… and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So tell me. How did you survive the Time War?"

"They survived through me," a voice in the dark said. We walked towards it, the lights came on to show a large apparatus that turned out to be a giant Dalek casing. There was a blue-skinned, one-eyed mutant that seemed happy to be seen on a throne.

"Rose, Cerys, Captain, this is the Emperor of Daleks."

"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive."

"I get it."

"Do not interrupt," one screamed before they all began to chant it.

"I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor, and if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's going to shut up, it's you!" he bellowed, turning to face the other Daleks before returning his attention to the Emperor. I felt the Doctor squeeze my hand, almost like an apology for scaring me, when I had jumped. "Okey doke. So, where were we?"

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding," the Emperor continued. "Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed. They all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

"So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead."

"That makes them half human," Rose concluded.

"Those words are blasphemy."

"Do not blaspheme." Again, the fleet began to chant.

"Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek."

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?"

"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!"

"Worship him. Worship him. Worship him."

"They've gone mad," I whispered.

"Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever. We're going."

"You may not leave my presence."

"Stay where you are."

"Exterminate!"

The four of us turned and walked back into the Tardis. As we did so, the Daleks, began to shoot at us, hitting nothing but the force field. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Worship him! You will be exterminated!" The Doctor stood by the door for a moment before returning to the console, bringing us back to Floor 500.

The Doctor ran out almost immediately after we had materialised. "Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open. Now! Do it!"

"What does this do?"

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board. How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?"

"Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes."

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless. Lynda, what're you still doing on board? I told you to evacuate everyone."

"She wouldn't go."

"Didn't want to leave you." Rose glanced at me but I turned away, not in the mood to answer whatever question she had.

"There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here. We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero," the Indian worker said.

"Oh, my God. The Fleet is moving. They're on their way."

I looked at Pavale, before I rushed over to the Doctor as he pulled things out of the conduits. I watched him intently before, going over to him and holding out my hand. He looked at it and handed me a pipe. "Dalek plan. Big mistake, because what have they left me with? Anyone? Anyone? Cerys?" I smiled, catching on. "Don't answer. Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter. This station. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Right, that's it, Jack."

"Give the man a medal."

"A Delta Wave?" he asked.

"A Delta Wave!"

"What's a Delta Wave?"

I looked at Jack, hoping he'd explain it to her, which he did. "A wave of Van Cassadyne energy. It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbequed."

"And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!"

"Well, get started and do it then," Lynda practically ordered him.

I looked up from the piping, giving her my attention, noticing Rose's annoyed expression. "But there's a problem, Lynda. It'll take a while, even for the Doctor."

"Oh, thanks, Cerys."

I shot him a quick smile. "Anytime."

"But she's right. A wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about, oh, three days? How long till the Fleet arrives?"

"Twenty two minutes."

The Doctor and I had finished taking all that we needed and were rerouting them. Even with the small amount of time we had, most of the work was completed. He looked up from his work at me. "How'd you figure it out?"

"I don't know. Like I said before, I have all this information in my head. All the useful stuff just pops up when I need it. I guess it's useful and all."

"It is," he replied, as he looked up from his work.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I'm reminding you of her again, aren't I?"

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault."

Jack, Rose, Lynda, the Indian woman, and Davitch stood around a control board monitor. "We've now got a force field so they can't blast us out of the sky, but that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading."

"Do they know about the Delta Wave?" Davitch asked.

"They'll have worked it out at the same time. So, they'll want to stop the Doctor. That means they've got to get to this level, five hundred. Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, five hundred to four nine five. So they'll penetrate the station below that at level four nine four and fight their way up."

"Who are they fighting?"

"Us."

"And what are we fighting with?"

"Bastic bullets," I replied.

"The guards had guns with bastic bullets. That's enough to blow a Dalek wide open," Jack agreed.

"There's five of us," the woman said.

"Rose, you can help me," the Doctor called. "I need all these wires stripping bare."

"Right. Now there's four of us."

I stood and walked over to Jack. "Five."

"Five? No, not happening, Cerys."

"Why not? I can fight."

"You're boyfriend needs your help."

"Not my boyfriend. Besides, he has Rose helping him. Look, you need someone else down there."

"Doctor?"

"Let her go. She can handle herself. Not like we could keep her from going."

I tilted my head, giving Jack a smug grin that faded as he glared at me. "If I say run, you hightail it up here as fast as you can. No playing hero, that's my job."

"Alright, Captain Harkness. I need a gun."

"Then let's move it. Into the lift. Isolate the lift controls," Jack ordered. Everyone else walked off besides me although that was because he had grabbed my arm. "I don't know what you're planning Cerys…"

"I'm not planning anything. I need to go help the others." I pulled out of his grip and ran over to the woman, offering whatever aid I could.

Pavale and the woman ran off while Lynda went over to the Doctor. "I just want to say, er, thanks, I suppose, and I'll do my best."

"Me too." After a bit of awkwardness, they shook hands and Lynda backed away and went to the lift, Rose watching her.

Jack and I went over to Rose and the Doctor. "It's been fun, but I guess this is goodbye. I'll keep Cerys safe."

"Don't talk like that. The Doctor's going to do it. You just watch him. And you better."

"Rose, you are worth fighting for." He cupped her face and kissed her, leaving her a bit dazed afterwards. "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward." He went and kissed him as well.

I quickly hugged Rose and went over to the Doctor. He was looking everywhere but at me. Irritated, I reached up and grabbed his face, moving it so that we were looking at each other. "Thank you for showing me the stars. It's been fun, eh? Do what you have to do, for Rose and the universe, no matter the outcome." I hugged him and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before going over to Jack.

"See you in hell," he smiled as we both walked off, leaving Rose and the Doctor to their task.

We quickly made our way to Floor Zero, hoping to recruit more people to help fight. Jumping on a pile of crates, Jack fired a machine gun in the air to get their attention. "One last time! Any more volunteers? There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to mount a defence."

"Don't listen to him. There aren't any Daleks. They disappeared thousands of years ago," a black man said.

"Right, and you would know this how? You weren't even born," I snapped at the man. His eyes swivelled to me but he said nothing. Then a woman stepped forward, the programme manager from The Weakest Link came forward. "Thank you."

"As for the rest of you, the Daleks will enter the station at floor four nine four and as far as I can tell, they'll head up, not down. But that's not a promise. So here's a few words of advice. Keep quiet." His gaze was specifically on the man I had snapped at. "And if you hear fighting up above, if you hear us dying, then tell me that the Daleks aren't real. Don't make a sound. Let's go." Jack, Lynda, and I turned and walked towards the elevator with the few volunteers we had.

We all went to Floor 494 and stationed ourselves in a typical defence formation. Jack and I were by the computer in the halls, talking to the Doctor. "Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen. Can you read them out to me?"

"She's not here."

I sighed, knowing he had sent her home. He'd done what Jackie and I had asked and I was happy for that, even if I knew she'd be beyond angry at me for plotting something behind her back. "Of all times to take a leak. When she gets back, tell her to read me the codes."

"She's not coming back."

"What do you mean? Where did she go?" he asked confused.

"Just get on with your work."

"You sent her home, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Why not Cerys?"

"She refused to go. Rose's safety is more important than her own."

Jack glanced at me, a sad expression crossing his face. Reluctantly, he turned back to the screen. "The Delta Wave. Is it ever going to be ready?"

"Tell him the truth, Doctor. There is every possibility the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path with no distinction between human and Dalek. All things will die by your hand."

"Doctor, the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth."

"You would destroy Daleks and Humans together. If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Doctor?"

"There are colonies out there. The Human Race would survive in some shape or form, but you're the only Daleks in existence. The whole Universe is in danger if I let you live. Do you see, Jack? That's the decision I've got to make for every living thing. Die as a human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?"

"You sent her home. She's safe. Keep working. I'm sending Cerys up."

"But he will exterminate you!"

"Never doubted him, never will," Jack stated as if it were an obvious fact.

I faced him, ignoring what the Dalek had said. "What? Why?"

"He needs your help. That's an order."

"I'm not a soldier."

"Cerys, I'm not doubting you're abilities but right now, he needs your help." I grimaced, not at all happy with the development, before I nodded and took off for the lift. When I reached Floor 500, the Doctor was still working on the Delta Wave. I quickly went over to help him, ignoring the look he gave me.

"I should have sent you with her."

"Shut up. Not now."

"You're not safe."

"Stop worrying and help me. Rose is safe. That's all that matters."

He cast me another glance, going to say something but shut his mouth. The station shook, almost throwing me to the floor. "Jack, how're we doing?"

"Four nine five should be good. I like four nine five."

I managed to chuckle a bit. "Lynda! What's happening on Earth?" the Doctor asked.

"The Fleet's descending. They're bombing whole continents. Europa, Pacifica, the New American Alliance. Australasia's just… gone." She was quiet for a moment. During that time, the Doctor and I worked to get the Delta Wave together, listening to the gunshots on the lower floor. With each shot, I flinched a bit, but I kept to my work. "I've got a problem. They've found me."

"You'll be all right, Lynda. That side of the station's reinforced against meteors."

"Hope so! You know what they say about Earth workmanship," she chuckled, scared, before there was the sound of glass breaking and a short scream. I shut my eyes, feeling tears start to well. She didn't deserve to die like that, to be honest, none of the people on the game station did.

"Last man standing! For God's sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them!"

"Finish that thing and kill mankind," the Dalek Emperor urged.

"Doctor, Cerys, you've got twenty seconds maximum!"

"Exterminate."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that," I heard Jack say before I heard the Dalek fire. My eyes immediately shut as I held back a sob.

"It's ready!" The Doctor exclaimed as the Daleks entered the room, circling us. We both stood, he held me next to him, his grip tightening around me. "You really want to think about this, because if I activate the signal, every living creature dies."

"I am immortal."

"Do you want to put that to the test?"

"I want to see you become like me. Hail the Doctor, the Great Exterminator."

"I'll do it!" He released me and threw his hands onto the levers, all the while keeping me behind him.

"Then prove yourself, Doctor. What are you, coward or killer?"

The Doctor looked down at me, an unreadable expression on his face before he took my hand and turned back to the screen. "Coward. Any day."

"Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness."

"And what about me? Am I becoming one of your angels?"

"You are the heathen. You will be exterminated."

"Maybe it's time?" He gave my hand a squeeze before closing his eyes. Suddenly the Tardis began to materialize behind us.

"Alert! Tardis materializing!"

"You will not escape!"

The Doctor and I looked at each other confused as the door opened. My confusion turned to worry at the sight of Rose. She was silhouetted in a golden light and energy tendrils snaked around her. "What've you done?"

"I looked into the Tardis, and the Tardis looked into me." Her voice was different, ethereal even, consisting of another layer that added a bit of an echo.

"You looked into the Time Vortex. Rose, no one's meant to see that."

"This is the Abomination!"

"Exterminate!" A Dalek shot at her but she stopped the beam with her hand, her eyes glowing.

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here."

"Rose, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now. You've got the entire vortex running through your head. You're going to burn."

"I want you safe. My Doctor and my sister. Protected from the false god."

"You cannot hurt me. I am immortal"

"You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She held up her hand and a Dalek began to slowly disintegrate. "Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies. The Time War ends." Then all the Daleks disappeared.

"I will not die. I cannot die!" The spaceship disappeared in a golden wave. I pulled myself from the Doctor's grip, latching onto her. I could feel the energy coursing from her through me.

"Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go."

"How can I let go of this? I bring life."

"Rose, please. It's wrong. You can't control life and death." She looked at me our eyes connecting. Suddenly the energy left her and entered me. As she was released, she collapsed into me. I gently set her onto the floor and turned to face the Doctor. "But I can. The sun and the moon, the day and night. I can see everything, the pain, the suffering, the love. But why do they hurt? It hurts so much." Tears began to fall from my eyes. There was so much pain and I could feel it all.

The Doctor stared at me, frantically thinking. "The power's going to kill you and it's my fault."

"No, it isn't. This is the path I have chosen. I can see it all. All that is, all that was, and that could be."

His eyes widened. "That's what I see. All the time. And doesn't it drive you mad?"

"My head. There's so much pain and my heart, it aches."

"Come here."

I walked over to him, openly crying. "They're killing me."

"I think you need a Doctor," he said as he gently cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I felt the time energy transfer from me to him. My knees buckled a bit but I was surprisingly able to keep my footing. He let go of me, and blew the energy back into the Tardis, stumbling a bit before he went to pick up Rose. I slowly followed, feeling as if all my energy had been drained.

Once we were inside the Tardis, the doors closed and he set her down. I went to sit in the captain's chair, waiting until Rose came to. When she finally did, I went and helped her up. "What happened?"

I looked away, not sure what to tell her. Luckily, the Doctor stepped in. "Don't you remember?"

"It's like there was this singing."

"That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."

"I was at home. No, I wasn't, I was in the Tardis, and there was this light. I can't remember anything else-"

I watched as his skin darkened. "Rose Tyler. I was going take you to so many places. Barcelona. Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses." He chuckled. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny."

"Then, why can't we go?"

"And Cerys," he said, not answering her question. "I finally figured it out, why you had those nightmares. Oh, the talking we were going to do. I was going to tell you everything, all about her. I was wrong, so wrong. You're more than like her, so much more."

"Why can't we?"

"Maybe you will, and maybe I will. But not like this."

"You're not making sense."

"I might never make sense again. I might have two heads, or no head. Imagine me with no head. And don't say that's an improvement. But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with-" he doubled over in pain, glowing gold. Rose and I moved to help him.

"Doctor!"

"Stay away!" He backed away from us. I glared at him and took a step towards him. "Cerys..." I took another and another until I was standing directly in front of him, ready to reach out and touch him.

"Doctor, tell us what's going on."

"He absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex."

"And no one's meant to do that. Every cell in my body's dying."

"Can't you do something?"

"Yeah, I'm doing it now. Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death. Except it means I'm going to change, and I'm not going to see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face."

"I like that daft old face," I whispered.

He smiled at me. "And before I go-"

"Don't say that."

"Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Same goes for you Cerys. As infuriating as you were, you were fantastic." He stopped talking, his eyes boring into mine. I nervously chewed on my lower lip debating for half a second before I grabbed his jacket and kissed him. The kiss was short and frantic and ended just moments after it had started. I backed away afterwards, leaving him with a big grin. "Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I." A golden light then erupted from him. Rose and I held each other as we watched him change. When the light faded, there was a handsome, younger looking, tall, slim man standing before us. "Hello." He stopped, his face becoming serious as he moved his tongue around his mouth. "Okay. Ooo, new teeth. That's weird. So, where was I?" He stopped, seeming to mull it over for a moment. "Oh, that's right. Barcelona," he said as a toothy grin came to his face.

So we have the emergence of 10! This means we are half done with this book. Pertaining to relationships, all I can say is that things will be getting interesting from now on. Not just with the Doctor and Cerys but with Rose as well. Things will be said and feelings hurt. If you think you know what 9 meant in his 'goodbye' monologue, send me a PM letting me know. As I've said before, I love hearing from you guys.