Jack grabbed Tosh's hand pulling her alongside as they ran from the wolf. It was a maze of mazes that constantly changed after only minutes and there was no way of escape. No doors, no vortex. Nothing.
"He's playing with us Jack? How are we going to get out of here?" asked a flustered Toshiko.
Jack tried to catch his breath as they stopped. There was a howling from far away and Jack turned to it looking out with bloodshot eyes.
"We have to keep moving," he answered.
"I'm confused how did we end up on the rift you said?"
"The rift isn't an actual place Tosh it's time, you have to understand that. We are in time and Bilis Manger is manipulating it with full force. These walls aren't just walls their history and we're walking all over it. If we touched, scraped, even breathed on these walls of rift energy we'd change the entire course of history in one moment."
"And that wolf? What does it have to do with anything?"
Jack sighed. He never thought he'd be pouring his entire story under these circumstances.
"That wolf represents everything I am Tosh. Bad Wolf was originally a message sent throughout time to lead a certain woman to a certain point in history. In that moment she gave me life eternal. Tosh you know I can't die and it's because of her I can't. It's because of Bad Wolf I can't die."
"Why is it after us though?"
"I don't know, but it's not good. It's not her. I know someone who can help, but until I find him and he tells me what the hell is going on we have to keep moving."
"To where," she cried.
Jack looked around and then he saw it. The answer to their problems just past them. Unlike the shimmering walls of blue, a door of yellow rift energy was just ahead. The wolf howled and Jack turned to see it growling at them.
"Run. Run and don't look back," he yelled as it made towards them.
They passed shades of blue, wrinkles of time as the rift wolf howled after them. Jack wasn't sure what it was, but its intentions were far from good. Jack quickened his pace pulling Tosh alongside him towards the yellow daze, but every time they got near the maze they were in changed and in order to avoid changing history they had to change their direction and turn to find another way.
Tosh gasped as the wolf gained on them. Jack led them in a new direction. Their breaths were coming out fast. Jack had to keep Tosh going. It didn't matter what happened to him, but he wasn't about to lose another teammate or friend.
The wolf gained on them, but it didn't matter now because they were right there. The yellow swirl of time bloomed ever so close until it was on the tips of their fingers.
"Jump!" he yelled pulling Tosh alongside him.
The wolf jumped after them and disappeared behind them. Everything was a whirl. The familiar sensation of time echoed throughout Jack's veins and he felt so…alive. He yelled as the sensation filled him and held Tosh's hand tighter. She gasped as shock convulsed within her and unconsciously let go of Jack's hand.
Jack reached out and surprisingly he felt something solid and hard beneath his fingers. Were there solid things in the rift? In this one there was and held on to it for dear and endless life. He opened his eyes as rift energy cleared around and laughed at what he was holding on to. Tosh was holding on to his leg shaking and scared more than ever before.
"What is it?" she cried.
"Just hang on Tosh," he yelled as he pulled himself up more and banged on the big blue box.
"Now who could that be," asked a slightly flustered Doctor.
Rose ran to the door before the Doctor could protest and opened it. Peering out she couldn't see anything, but she screamed as something caught her foot.
"Jack!"
"Rose!"
"Doctor!"
"Jack!"
"Hold on Tosh!"
"Computer Geek!"
"Doctor Rude?"
"Doctor Rude? When did Doctor Who become Doctor Rude?"Rose questioned.
"Long story. Short version. It's all Jack's fault," the Doctor answered.
"You called her computer geek," Jack yelled.
"Doesn't make telling her to lump me one in order to make me more polite any more innocent and then that Ianto man of yours comes out with the new name," The Doctor yelled back.
"If our lives weren't on the line right now I'd lump you one myself," Jack muttered as the Doctor babbled.
Rose and the Doctor lifted the two into the TARDIS safely. Rose quickly shut the doors as Jack tried to regain his breath while pulling Rose into an airtight hug and giving her a small kiss of I missed you. Tosh was in awe of the TARDIS.
"I bet you ten quid she says it," Rose hits the Doctor lightly on the chest as Jack lets her go.
"I bet you fifteen she says it and then attempts to touch everything," The Doctor responded purring ever so lightly in her ear. Rose shivered and it no longer mattered who won the bet.
"Wow…this is…"
"Twenty quid says she faints before she can get a word out edgewise," Jack chimes in.
"You're on," The Doctor and Rose said in unison.
"This is…"Tosh collapsed and Jack caught her with a smug smile on his face. He carried her over to the sofa and laid her down to rest while he turned to the other two who had all of a sudden become quite fascinated with the wall.
"Pay up," he held out a hand.
"How did you know? She doesn't seem like the type who'd faint over something like this," asked Rose.
"She's not, but after running away from a wolf, coming face to face with Bilis Manger and seeing the TARDIS it's a lot to take in and not even Tosh can handle all of it. Anyways, what the hell is going on?"
"I can explain, but first things first you might want to sit down."
"Why?"
"Because there is something you need to know."
Jack did as the Doctor suggested and took a seat by the console. The Doctor gave Rose a look and she nodded knowing it was time to tell him.
"We found Gwen. She is alive and well, but there isn't much time."
Rose explained the rift situation to Jack as quickly as possible up until the point where she had found the Doctor again.
"Wait Rose you were in the parallel world how did…"
"The rift. I was able to travel to her safely without destroying two universes."
"And?"
"And somebody else is apparently."
"Who?"
"A woman Suzie," Rose offered.
"Suzie and Bilis," the words came out too quick.
"So that was your plan all along you manipulative son of a bitch," Jack said mostly to himself and then he spoke to Rose and the Doctor, "It was all part of his plan. Bilis'. He's going to bring about the end of the world."
"Two worlds," the Doctor chimed.
"But what about Suzie?"
"He's just using Suzie. Suzie's just a pawn in his scheme. All Suzie wants is revenge on…how fast can you take me to her!"
"Hang on," and the Doctor turned a knob and they were off.
"By the way how did you find me," he asked as he held on to something.
"Your signal came up. After I dropped Jackie, Pete and Baby Tyler off at your place they told me you had disappeared and later on I found a mysterious signal, checked it out and next thing I know you and my favorite computer geek are hanging on for dear life outside of my ship."
Tosh jumped as the TARDIS bumped along the journey.
"Where is she?" Jack inquired.
"The heart of the rift. I'm sure of it. She's in between two sides of hundreds of different universes."
"That would explain the rift's color," said Jack.
"What?"
"The rift. One minute it looks blue, the next it's yellow."
"Yeah that's right. Parallel world is yellow while your world is blue. Sometimes it clashes depending upon which universe you're travelling too. The Rift is connected through all space and time and if we don't hurry Gwen will soon be fragments of it because her mind is already so open to it.""You just can't stay dead can you," Gwen snarled.
"Oh I'm a fighter Gwen Cooper. I fight for my life."
"You're the one who chose to end it in the first place!"Gwen yelled, "You can end it now. You have a life of your own, move on."
Gwen sighed and looked at the figure in front of her. Suzie held no emotion and gave none away.
"Please Suzie. This has gone far enough."
Suzie laughed hating the bitterness of it. She sounded like the bad guy, but she wasn't. She couldn't be. What was so special about Gwen? She was not very attractive, not very smart, not very wise, but those were all the things she kept telling herself to keep her mind steady at night. Gwen cared, Gwen had a heart full of love even for people she hated and that's what Suzie hated the most about Gwen. Gwen could love under any circumstance and risk it all. Suzie couldn't. Suzie killed without looking back. Suzie was cold. She was weak compared to Gwen Cooper and had to end the entire universe just to prove it to herself that she wasn't, but she was…
Jack could've had it all with Gwen Cooper. One move and that was it, but he protected Gwen from himself where as he immediately gave into Suzie who had been left with nothing to show for it afterwards and Suzie hated that thought. He always chose Gwen no matter.
"Gwen I'm sorry, but I've come too far," Suzie told her taking out the life knife.
Gwen's eyes widened.
"What exactly are you going to do?"
"You're going to do exactly as I tell you."
"And what is it exactly that I'm supposed to do?" Gwen's words were harsh against her lips and the throbbing in her head didn't help either.
"Your mind is part of the rift. You stand in the center of the rift, your most vulnerable point. At any moment you will collapse losing control of all of it bringing about the collapse of the entire world."
"Not without a fight I won't."
"You don't have the energy to challenge me Gwen," said Suzie walking towards her.
Gwen backed away, but the pain was coming in faster than ever. Her knees buckled and she clutched her head. When she pulled her hand away she saw the blood stain red and knew what Suzie was saying was true. With the entire universe in her head, this would surely be the end.
No! She thought defiantly.
"There's something I never thought I'd hear myself say," said Gwen as her hands begun to shake.
"And what's that," Suzie asked with a small grin on her face.
"That you and I have something in common. You see Suzie. I am also a fighter. I fight for my life. I fight for my friends. I fight for the people I love and I fight for the world. All worlds."
Suzie's grin faded and Gwen stood up immediately ignoring the pain and focused only on the job at hand. Gwen's anger grew. The wind blew her hair as the rift became more powerful and gusts of it flew past her. She was putting the last of her energy into her intention of stopping Suzie.
Gwen could hear different worlds cracking. The skies were breaking, the stars were falling, the planets were crumbling and people and aliens were scared for their lives. Blood trickled mercilessly down her face, but she didn't care, not now. A dagger flew from the rift energy and Suzie glared at her.
"How? Where did that dagger come from" she questioned.
Gwen's voice was no longer her own. Her eyes burned a blue and yellow fire and rage seeped through her, "I control history. I can see time. I can see space. I can see you and I also see your destruction by my hand."
Suzie attacked with full force with the life knife, while Gwen held her off with the dagger. She kicked Suzie who grabbed her stomach and the knocked her in the jaw. Suzie dropped the life knife as Gwen made to plunge the dagger she held into Suzie's heart. Suzie rolled out of the way as Gwen made a hole in time. Light flared through and Gwen held her head as she could feel a disruption of history calculate throughout her mind. Looks like Caesar's going to reign for a long time.
Suzie took advantage of this and punched Gwen in the face. She wrapped both her hands around her neck hoping to speed up the process of the world destruction, but Gwen kicked her off and Suzie fell back. Gwen gripped the knife firmly and Suzie found the life knife again.
Both woman raised themselves up and gave each other a glare of death. They circled each other keeping their eyes instinctively focused on each other. Gwen's head seared with pain again and Suzie took advantage of this and headed right for her, but Gwen was too quick. She pulled away avoiding the knife, ducking and swerving and using her own dagger for protection.
Gwen head bonked her and spun. Suzie and she were face to face, chest to chest looking right into each other's eyes with all the hatred they could muster as one of the two pierced the other…
