CHAPTER 38

I do not own Doctor Who and I am making no profit off of this.

Thank you for all of your favorites, follows, story alerts, and reviews!

Author's Note: This chapter picks up exactly where The Adventures of Rose Tyler, Time Lady Chapter 122 left off and is the conclusion of the storyline started in It's Better With Two Chapter 57. Now it's time for the final wrap-up of the Brethren saga. I hope you'll enjoy it.

BAD WOLF VICTORIOUS PART 3

As Rose and the Doctor rushed towards Erebus hand in hand ready to make their last stand against him, the rest of their family held off his mother Amaya and kept her far too busy to help him. It was why they had brought them there in the first place of course because it was going to be hard enough fighting one power mad would-be deity much less two.

The Doctor now deftly dodged several lethal blasts of Vortex energy at once while rapidly closing in on Erebus as he said to Rose, "Whatever happens next I'm just glad that you're back to normal again. You were starting to worry me for a moment there. You were acting far too much like me which, believe it or not, isn't always as wonderful a thing as you might think that it is."

"What's the matter? Afraid you corrupted me?" Rose asked with a wide grin as she blocked yet another such deadly blast with a single outstretched hand.

"Well, I do tend to have that effect on people who travel with me. They wind up acting too much like me for their own good, and even I can't put up with another me for long. Even too much of my amazing brilliance can be a bad thing in concentrated doses," The Doctor said with a worried look.

Rose gave him a reassuring smile as she said, "It had nothing to do with you, okay? It's just that when I get really proper angry I tend to become much more alien than human. I didn't let it last long though because I didn't like myself like that. I was just all cocky, arrogant, and completely full of myself for a while there. So I guess I really was a bit too much like you, yeah?"

"Very funny," The Doctor said with a frown that quickly became a look of relief.

"I'm okay. I'm just really upset right now," Rose reassured him with a completely serious look as she deflected several barrages of energy straight back at Erebus causing him to cry out in sudden pain and surprise.

"Don't worry, Rose. I have a back-up plan that will hopefully fix all of this and bring Clara back again just in case you can't do it yourself," The Doctor reassured her as he used his sonic screwdriver to completely disperse one of Erebus' attacks long before it ever reached him.

Rose looked at him in surprise as she said, "I didn't know that you could do that with the sonic."

The Doctor looked at her with undisguised pride now as he said, "Yes, well I've been adding a few new settings lately because I knew that Erebus was probably going to be freed again sooner or later. I learned a long time ago that whenever I come across some ancient evil that's been held somewhere since time immemorial they almost always go free as soon as I hear about them for some reason. Now the sonic can safely disperse or drain Vortex energy in its immediate area and can even reverse its effects on someone or something in some cases."

"You were preparing yourself for a fight with an Erebus controlled version of me weren't you? You were going to try to save me," Rose realized as she began to give him a warm smile.

"Well, I thought that I should try saving you at least once," The Doctor said with a mischievous smile.

"Naw. Why change a winning strategy, eh?" Rose joked as she quickly kissed him.

This warm hearted moment was immediately interrupted however as Erebus suddenly grabbed Rose by the arm and violently wrenched her free of the Doctor's grasp.

I'm afraid that no one is going to save you this time, Arkytior. All of your running with the Doctor is finally at an end at last. There's no place left to run to this time. Erebus said telepathically.

"Excuse me but I was having a bit of a touching moment there if you don't mind, mate!" Rose shouted in anger as she suddenly teleported away from Erebus and reappeared hovering right in front of him and more than ready for a one on one battle.

"Rose, be careful. For all we know, he could still try to take your body next," The Doctor warned.

And have her use Ellie Oswald or any of a myriad of other trapped minds that I can sense floating within the Vortex to drive me off with once more? No, she's far more trouble than she's worth, Doctor. Now that I have Melinoe's near indestructible body I have exactly what I always needed at last. The only thing stopping me from completely rewriting all of time and space exactly like I want it is you and your meddling troublesome little family, and that's only a temporary distraction at best. Soon now you will all be completely wiped from the Web forever as if you never even existed. Erebus replied as he shook his head vehemently.

"Really? Everyone who's completely rebooted the Web of Time while it was falling apart all around you raise their hands. Not you? I don't see you raising your hand so I'm assuming that's a no. I suppose it's just me then. Well, I guess I have one up on you then, mate," Rose said with a smirk as she raised her hand highly.

It truly doesn't matter as far as I can see because I've always been a fast learner. Erebus replied with a wicked smile.

"Well, let's put that to the test then, yeah? School is officially in session as of right now," Rose said as she gestured at Erebus while glowing at full power.

Erebus immediately began to fade even as she did so, and the Doctor looked at Rose in amazement as he quickly realized what she was doing thanks to his time sense. She was actually attempting to alter a key moment in Erebus' timeline by making sure that he had never gained any power after being exposed to the Untempered Schism.

Even he had no idea that Rose could alter a person's history that extensively. She had always kept the full extent of her power completely to herself until now.

No wonder she had always been so afraid of her abilities he thought as he gave her a sympathetic look.

Even as he faded in and out of reality, however, Erebus refused to give up and continued to fight back against Rose's alteration of his history with all of his power. Rose could see right from the start that Erebus was more than capable of holding his own with her and then some. They were too evenly matched for her to stop him as easily as she had hoped that she could.

Erebus quickly regained his full solidity in a matter of moments now as he finally successfully prevented Rose from altering his timestream.

Well, it looks as if I've just taught you something doesn't it, Arkytior? Stick around. You may learn a great deal more before this day is over. Erebus replied smugly.

"Oh, that was just lesson number one. That's always the easiest part. Things are about to get a whole lot harder from now on though. Are you ready for the next test?" Rose said as she suddenly changed tactics.

Rose quickly teleported herself and Erebus right off of the Brethren's planet and straight into deep space before he could even try to stop her. Then just as he looked around him in surprise and struggled to regain his bearings, an enormous comet slammed right into him sending him hurtling across space.

Oops! Looks like you just stepped right into that comet's path. How clumsy of you! Rose said telepathically with amusement.

Then even as Erebus continued to spin out of control, he was suddenly hit by a massive shower of meteors. He was soon left helplessly bouncing back and forth off of each of them like a ping pong ball as he silently screamed in frustration.

And Mickey always said that I was no good at pool. I guess I showed him. Rose taunted as she watched Erebus being helplessly flung about like a rag doll with a huge smile of satisfaction on her face.

That smile was soon wiped away however by what happened next.

Enough! Erebus screamed in Rose's mind as the entire meteor shower suddenly dissolved into atoms all around him.

Then he glared at Rose as he gestured towards something behind him that she couldn't see. She had no idea what he was up to at first until the horrifying moment that she saw a massive planet that was easily bigger than both Jupiter and Saturn combined come flying straights towards her at incredible speed!

Heads up, Arkytior! Time to think fast! Erebus shouted in her brain.

Rose only had seconds to react before she was caught in the giant's gravitational pull but that was more than long enough. Thanks to a quick scan of the entire world with her enhanced senses, she could see that thankfully it was completely devoid of all life. Luckily for her, that made what she did next a completely guilt free action as a result.

Just before it could reach her, the entire monolithic planet exploded into billions of tiny little pieces. The resulting debris field went flying harmlessly by Rose a moment later as she sailed effortlessly past it with a triumphant grin.

I guess that lot can take the place of the meteor shower you just destroyed, yeah? Always try to maintain the universal balance if you can I say. Rose responded.

Erebus had his eyes closed now for a brief moment as if he was buried deep in thought and then he began to smile. Something about that look of pure delight in his eyes made Rose's blood immediately run cold.

There's only way that I can beat you. I can see that now. I have to use an attack that will instantly succeed in stopping you so that you don't have time to react it to it. It will have to be an attack that can bring the entire Web crashing down in a single moment, and I know exactly the right place to make it in. Good bye, Arkytior. I'm off to an old haunt of yours. Erebus taunted her as he vanished right in front of her eyes.

What?! What are you talking about? Rose responded in a horrified voice as she expanded her senses to their limits in a desperate attempt to track Erebus down before it was too late.

How inconsiderate of him not to tell you exactly what he had planned. Most of the people we run across are far more helpful. You usually can't get them to shut up about what they're about to do next. They enjoy telling everyone who will listen to them. The Doctor said to Rose through their link.

Rose was barely listening to him however because she was still searching throughout all of space to see if she could find any trace of where Erebus had gone. In the end, it was a nightmarish vision of the immediate future that finally told her everything that she needed to know and made her eyes widen in horror as she struggled not to completely panic at what she saw unfolding before her.

Oh, no! No, no, no! I know exactly where he's going, Doctor. I can already see exactly what he's going to do and what will happen because of it if I don't stop it right away. I'm going to need all of the help that I can get in a few minutes. You said you had a plan. I need you to put it into effect right now because I'm definitely going to need some kind of back-up. Erebus and I are too evenly matched just to rely on me to save the day. Rose immediately warned the Doctor through their link.

What is it? What did you see? The Doctor asked in alarm.

Erebus is going to attack the Maelstrom with everything that he's got. That will send the whole Web of Time crashing down all around him, and he'll be the only one that survives it because he'll just escape to another reality until it's all over. If we don't stop him soon, he'll restart the universe afterwards and remake it exactly as he wants it. Rose replied in a highly emotional tone.

The Maelstrom. Not even the Master at his worst was ever that mad. The Doctor responded in disbelief.

And exactly what is this Maelstrom that you two keep going on about, Old Man? Oswin's voice asked as it entered their heads.

Oi! How did you get in here? This is a private link you know? Rose replied indignantly.

I had my brain temporarily boosted by borrowing some of the mental ability of Clara's echoes so that I could become telepathic enough to join you. They still seem to be okay by the way but they're very confused because they can't reach Clara anymore. I can feel that pretty easily even if I can't contact them directly about it. Oswin replied in a sad tone.

So you can still take the echoes' abilities. Good. I wasn't sure if you would be able to or not without Clara here. That means that my plan might actually have a real chance of working then. The Doctor replied in a hopeful tone.

What plan? Would you stop being so mysterious and actually tell someone what's going on for once in your life, Old Man? Oswin complained.

Yeah, like that's going to happen. Rose responded with mental laughter.

The plan is so simple even a pudding brain could understand it, Oswin. Probably. You can borrow the abilities of the echoes and Clara could talk to them telepathically, but neither of you could ever do both at once. What I need is to change that. I need to find a way to enable you to communicate with all of the echoes at once like Clara could and get them all to give you every last bit of psychic energy that they possess. The Doctor explained.

So I can use it against Erebus? Oswin asked.

No, so that you can use it to accomplish the impossible. Then again that's what you Claras do isn't it? It's time to live up to your billing. The Doctor answered.

I'm still not following you. Oswin replied in confusion.

Don't worry. You will. And to answer your first question, the Maelstrom is an area of space that became completely destabilized by the use of an ancient super weapon long ago. It immediately became filled with millions of tiny rifts in time and space that completely erased entire worlds in a single instant and left the entire area uninhabitable forever. It was time looped by the Time Lords so that no one could ever go there again because one more powerful blast set off in that already unstable area would start a chain reaction that would destroy the entire universe. The Doctor explained.*

So no pressure, right? So how are you going to make it so I can contact the other Claras? Oswin asked.

We have several Guardians with us with incredible power over reality so I hope that will be enough to open a temporary link between you and them. I just hope that having all of those voices in your head at once doesn't instantly drive you as mad as they almost did Clara at first if it works. The Doctor responded.

You always make me feel so filled with confidence, Doctor. Your plans always sound so wonderful. Oswin replied with a mental sigh.

You two get to it right away then while I try to keep Erebus busy. Rose replied as she shut off the link and instantly teleported to Erebus' exact location.

She found him just a mile away from the Maelstrom and traveling as fast as he could towards it. She knew that she was rapidly running out of time and had to stall him for as long as she could in order to give the Doctor a chance to carry out his plan whatever it was.

She just hoped that it actually was a plan and not just a 'thing' in progress.

Erebus instantly felt her presence now but never even slowed down as he continued to race ahead of her. All that Rose heard from him was his mocking laughter echoing throughout her brain.

Rose knew that it was now or never so she steeled herself for what was still to come and made another quick teleportation jump that placed her directly in front of Erebus. Then before he had a chance to change course, Rose hit him with everything that she had at once as she unleashed every bit of power that she possessed against him in one massive blast.

Erebus screamed in unbearable agony as Rose's energy swept through his entire timestream and instantaneously attempted to overwrite it once again despite his best efforts to stop it. Images of a past that never was but was quickly replacing his old one quickly flashed through his memory in which he saw himself never gaining the power of the Huntsman in the first place and growing up as just an ordinary, regular Time Lord. He even saw himself meeting Melinoe, who never became an Angel in this new reality, under completely different circumstances and slowly falling in love with her all over again. He desperately tried to hold back his emotions now as he saw himself marrying her (with his mother's approval no less) and having a family that he loved dearly.

These new memories nearly threatened to overwhelm him as he struggled not to openly weep. In this new world, he was just an ordinary man who wasn't treated like a freak or looked at with ridicule or scorn because of something that wasn't his fault. He had everything that he had always wanted and hadn't spent his entire life in one kind of prison after another because of his father.

You could have the life that you always wanted, Erebus. Take it. I know you want to. Take it and stop all of this. Rose pleaded.

Erebus hesitated for a brief moment and thought of exactly how much he'd like that and how good that it would feel to actually hold Melinoe. He hadn't been able to hold or even touch anyone for billions of years and had completely forgotten what that was like. Having been trapped for an eternity with no interaction with other people of any kind save for the occasional telepathic communication with his mother had nearly driven him mad, and now that could be completely erased as if it had never happened.

It was so tempting.

My father still wouldn't be changed that much in this new world of yours though would he? You couldn't possibly change what type of man that he was or all of Time Lord history would be changed as a result. It was partially his ruthlessness that helped make them what they are today after all. Who is to say that my father would treat me any better in this new life than he did in the old one? He might just find something new to torment about instead. Erebus challenged her.

That's not what you're seeing right now though is it? That life actually has the two of you getting along. Rose insisted.

How do I know that's really what would happen though or just what you want me to see? And even if it isn't, it could always change couldn't it? You don't always know everything, Arkytior, and you don't always anticipate for every variable and how they might affect the future. I've already seen that by your failure to realize that arranging for the Brethren to meet Melinoe would lead to your being attacked by her later on at a crucial moment. No, I can't entrust my future to you. I have to make it for myself. Erebus replied stubbornly as he began to immediately fight back against her attempt to rewrite his timestream.

Doctor, hurry! I'm too weak to stop him now if he gets out of this one. Rose warned him through their link.

Then a moment later the very thing that Rose feared most happened as Erebus successfully resisted her attempt to rewrite his timestream with one final burst of strength. He now silently moved towards a badly weakened Rose with a victorious smile as he prepared to quickly finish her off.

You took a desperate gamble and lost, Arkytior, and now you're about to pay the final price for it. I've been almost completely drained of energy in my attempt to preserve my own history but nowhere near as badly as you have. I still have just enough power left to both kill you and set off the Maelstrom, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. It was a valiant effort, Arkytior, but always doomed to fail in the end. I suppose that's because you never really knew me at all. In my case, my hatred and fear of my father was far greater than anything else that I might feel. Now you've learned your final lesson at last. Love does not conquer all. Erebus replied as he placed a glowing hand on Rose's head while he prepared to completely burn her alive in the very next moment.

Oh, I beg to differ, Void Boy. A very familiar voice said in both of their minds.

What? That's not possible! Erebus shouted in disbelief as he turned his head to see a newly returned Clara Oswald directly behind him and still wearing her Presidential robes.

Hello! What part of Impossible Girl don't you understand? Clara responded as she poured a massive concentration of psychic energy from her echoes in addition to her own power straight into Erebus' head with a single gesture.

Erebus' screams of rage and frustration rang through both Rose and Clara's minds at such deafening levels that they both felt as if their heads might explode if they didn't stop. And then they were suddenly gone . . . and so was Erebus.

Rose could feel that Erebus' mind was now firmly trapped back in his original body in the Void once more and that Melinoe was back in her own body. This was confirmed when she instantly gave her a look of regret.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was just trying to help him. I honestly thought that he loved me. He just used me though. He instantly threw me away to get what he wanted without a second thought. Melinoe said telepathically in a mournful tone.

I actually think he did love you in his own way. Rose replied.

Yeah? Well, obviously he didn't quite love me enough. I'll never make that mistake again. From now on, I'm never going to trust anyone ever again! Melinoe responded in a bitter tone before quickly vanishing from Rose's sight in the literal blink of an eye.

I'm sorry too, Melinoe. Rose said to herself with regret.

Then she immediately brightened up because Clara was alive!

She immediately hugged Clara to her tightly and kissed the top of her head as her heart sung with joy at the sight of her. Clara eagerly smiled back at her and hugged her back just as tightly while she teleported them both back to Nibiru.

As soon as they arrived, they found a now unconscious Amaya lying on the floor and saw nothing but the battered smoking ruins of what was left of Nibiru all around them with no trace whatsoever of the Brethren anywhere in sight. Rose couldn't help but whistle in response. Apparently the others had been very busy while she was fighting with Erebus.

"Clara, are you okay?" Rose said with concern as she temporarily ignored the problem of the Brethren for the moment.

"I'm fine. In fact, I'm better than fine thanks to my echoes. The Old Man's plan actually managed to work. Cydonia, Jenny, and Hecuba were able to use their powers as Guardians to give Ozzie a temporary mental link with my echoes just like I have. She used that link and her ability to take their abilities to get them to give her all of their combined psychic power for a few minutes. Then she used that power to knock out Amaya and restore my body. She almost collapsed afterwards from the strain but she seems to be okay now. What's best of all is that the Claras made me as good as new again while they were bringing me back. Thanks to them, my mind's completely back to normal now. I remember Danny again, Rose. You have no idea how good that feels," Clara said happily as she hugged Rose once more.

And yet there was something in Clara's eyes that said that she wasn't quite as happy as she pretended Rose noted. She could see more than a trace of sadness there and possibly even regret.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"I don't know what you mean," Clara said.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Rose asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm just fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Clara asked as she smiled at her reassuringly.

"Maybe it's because you're giving us that sad smile of yours that you always do?" The Doctor noted.

"I'm not sad. I'm happy, Grimmy. I don't know how else I can convince you of that?" Clara said with a groan.

Rose immediately changed the subject as she said, "It doesn't really matter anyway right now. All that matters right now is that you're back, yeah?"

Then Rose embraced her and held her tightly as she said in a voice that was close to tears, "You're back."

"I'm okay," Clara said in a soft voice as she softly stroked Rose's hair.

"Clara, I – I just wanted to say . . ." The Doctor said and then stopped.

"It's good to see you again too, Magic Man," Clara said with a smile because of course she knew exactly what he was struggling to say.

"Good. I'm glad that we had this talk then," The Doctor said in relief.

"What talk? You didn't even speak a complete sentence," Oswin said with a grin.

"Ozzie, I just wanted to say thank you. I know that you must have gone through a lot to do what you did. I know I almost lost it when I first started talking to the echoes. I can only imagine what you went through," Clara said as she hugged Oswin with one arm instead of giving her a full hug because Rose was still holding onto her tightly and refusing to let go.

"Let's just say that it was even worse pain than being disintegrated by the Matriarch, and I definitely thought that was as bad as it could possibly get. It was more than worth it though just to see you smiling like that again," Oswin said as she struggled to retain her composure.

Then she finally broke down as she said through a veritable ocean of tears, "Don't you ever do that to me again."

"Like I had a choice?" Clara quipped.

Then she too started to cry as she said, "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that to help me."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You know that," Oswin said without hesitation.

Rose smiled as she finally let go of Clara at last and allowed the two sisters to embrace. This was quickly followed by an emotional hug from an extremely happy Cassiopeia who wouldn't let Clara go no matter how much she insisted.

"Hey! It's not like I'm going to fade away if you let me go," Clara protested.

"Do you promise?" Cassiopeia said in such a wounded tone that it made Clara's heart immediately go out to her.

She said nothing else to her from that moment on and let her hug her as long as she wanted.

Rose could feel that her power had fully restored itself by this point and became determined to make sure that Erebus and the Brethren would never be able to bother her again. Now that she was finally able to do something without Amaya being awake to stop her, she freely used her power to fully strip her of all of her Vortex abilities for good. Then she sent her and the rest of the Brethren straight to Shada.

She then fixed and strengthened the weakened barriers between her reality and the Void so that Erebus could never contact anyone else there again. She hated to do that to him because she knew just how horrible that it had been for him to be alone, but she truly felt as if she had no other choice.

Erebus was far too dangerous to be allowed to have any sort of a chance to break free once more.

Then Rose teleported all of her family and herself back to the House of Lungbarrow on Gallifrey as she left Nibiru far behind.

"What's going to happen to that planet of theirs?" Clara asked curiously.

"Now that we're not there anymore, I've disassembled it back into the hundreds of TARDISes that made it up and sent them all to Shada too. You see it was never just one TARDIS, yeah? They all grew together and became a physical and mental gestalt over the centuries," Rose explained.

"I thought that it would be a bit much for even a single TARDIS to become something as big as a planet," Clara said with a thoughtful look.

"Well, it's possible I suppose but it's never been done as far as I know," The Doctor said.

"So that's it then? It's finally all over at last?" Oswin asked.

"Not quite," Sarah Tyler said as she gave her mother an enigmatic smile.

Rose cringed as she said, "Is that what I look like when I know the future?"

"Yes," Both Clara and Oswin said at once making Rose instantly cringe even further.

"I hate that. I'll try not to do it anymore," Rose said sympathetically.

"Ha!" Sarah said with a snort of disbelief.

"Blimey! I'm not that bad am I?" Rose said in disbelief.

Her only answer was a hard stare from everyone there that made her instantly throw up her hands in surrender.

"I'll try to do better in the future. Honest," Rose pleaded.

Sarah now smiled at her gently as she said, "Don't worry about it, Mum. In fact, you should be more worried about other things at the moment."

"What do you mean by that?" Rose asked with concern.

And then she groaned in pain and held her stomach as she said, "Oh, I get you now."

"What is it, Rose? Are you alright?" The Doctor asked with alarm.

"Uh, yes and no," Rose said as she began to moan in pain.

"What does that mean?" The Doctor said as he began to look extremely worried.

"It means that I'm fine physically but I'm far from being alright, Doctor. I'm going into labor," Rose said between gritted teeth.

"Are you sure?" The Doctor said as he started to turn as white as a sheet.

Sarah smiled as she said, "I'm sure. This is my birthday after all and I mean that literally."

The Doctor immediately looked at her in shock as he tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. Then his eyes began to roll up in his head, and he started to sway back and forth as Cydonia sighed and immediately moved behind him to catch him.

"I'm definitely having a sense of déjà vu here. He always gets like this whenever Rose is pregnant," Cydonia said with a groan as the Doctor passed out in her arms.

"Me too. So who wants to help deliver the babies? I've already done it before myself. Anyone else care for a shot? I don't want to hog all of the glory," Clara asked with a grin.

Bella Tyler, Rose's cousin, immediately stepped up and said, "I'll be glad to do it. I once took training in childbirth back on my own Earth. I was always hoping that I'd get the chance to actually use it for someone."

"You might get the chance to use it for yourself too someday you know?" Rose said hopefully as she sat down on the floor while Bella started towards her.

"Maybe. If anyone can get past that whole former villain with cosmic powers thing that is," Bella said without much enthusiasm.

"Oh, that's definitely possible. Believe me. I used to think that way too once, but now I can see that I was totally wrong," Cassiopeia reassured her.

"Besides, you were never a villain anyway, Bella. You were possessed by the Black Guardian," Rose protested.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Sarah said to Bella who instantly brightened up and gave her a questioning look.

"Sorry, but I can't say anything else than that. Well, that and you'll get to use that training again someday but I won't give out any details," Sarah said with an evil grin.

"I don't think you have to. Thank you," Bella said with a content smile.

"Well, since you're about to deliver me it's the very least that I could do to pay you back really," Sarah said with a huge grin.

"And you call me a goofball," Jenny said as she rolled her eyes at her.

Moments later, the much younger version of Sarah was born first and was quickly followed by her brother Pete and her sister Clara (named after the original of course). Rose was soon holding Pete and Clara and looking down on them with a feeling of perfect peace and contentment in her heart for the first time in what seemed like ages. Bella meanwhile held the young Sarah in her arms with a shell-shocked look on her face as she looked at the adult Sarah and back to her again in complete astonishment.

"This is so beyond weird," Bella finally said.

"No, what's weird is watching yourself be born," Sarah said in an emotional voice.

"It wasn't that bad for me actually," The Doctor said in a nonchalant voice as he suddenly woke up again.

Ace snorted as she said, "Leave it to the Professor to be there to watch himself be born."

"It was completely by accident of course," The Doctor insisted.

"Of course," Ace said with clear disbelief written all over her features.

That was when Danny and Mary both ran into the room at once as Mary said, "There was a voice in my head that said that you were back again, Clara. I could hardly believe that it could be true."

"Oh, that was the House of Lungbarrow herself. She's happy to see me again. I can feel it," Clara said as she smiled at Mary.

"Not half as much as I am," Mary said as she eagerly embraced Clara and kissed her cheek.

Danny looked at Clara uncomfortably but said nothing at first until Clara finally looked at him with a huge smile and said, "And what are you waiting for, Mr. Pink? Come here, you!"

"You remember?" Danny asked with hope in his eyes.

"I remember everything," Clara said as she briefly looked at Mary.

Danny didn't seem to notice this glance however as a smile instantly filled his entire face, and he eagerly embraced Clara tightly while giving her a passionate kiss. Clara returned his kiss with just as much emotion, and yet she couldn't help but notice the forlorn look on Mary's face as she turned her head away from them.

It was hard not to wonder in that moment if she had unintentionally lied to Rose earlier when she had assured her that she was just as good as she ever was.

Those thoughts were soon quickly forgotten however as Chancellor Flavia's image appeared on the monitor in the room and she looked at Clara in utter disbelief as she said to her, "Your House told us that you were still alive somehow, Madam President, but I could scarcely believe it."

"Well, they don't call me impossible for nothing," Clara said with a pleased smile.

"And she fits every possible definition of that word. Believe me," The Doctor said.

"Zip it, Mr. Grim, before I decide to relieve you of a couple of regenerations in addition to deporting you when I fully become President," Clara said with an angry stare.

"Oh, let's not go into the fake threats again," The Doctor said with a frown.

"It won't be a fake hand slapping your face in a minute if you don't shut up, Old Man," Clara said with a barely concealed smile.

"Madam President, you really must return to complete the ceremony now that I've confirmed that you're still alive. Cardinal Astalan has been all too eager to accept the job and has almost convinced the Council to give up all hope of your return," Flavia said.

"I bet he has. He's going to be very disappointed when he finds out what just happened to his bosses I bet," Clara said with a smirk.

"Not half as disappointed as he will be at losing the Presidency I hope," Jenny said with a look of pure satisfaction.

"Hopefully I'll be giving it back to you very soon once you've cleared your brother of those fake charges against him, Jen," Clara said in an apologetic tone.

"I hope so too but at least I know that it's in safe hands until then," Jenny said.

"Thanks, Blondie. I really appreciate that," Clara said as she hugged her.

Then she immediately sprinted to the transmat pad in the room and was quickly taken back to the ceremonial dais that she had been standing on earlier that day. The Council all looked at her in stunned silence in that moment especially Astalan as she waved back at them with a warm smile.

"And hello again, my wonderful boys and girls. Did you miss me?" Clara said as she gave Astalan a defiant stare.

The Council instantly began clapping in unison then (including a visibly angry Astalan who was playing along for appearances) as they graciously welcomed her back once more.

Then as all of Gallifrey watched once more Clara once again took the oath of office and accepted the Sash and Rod of Rassilon. A moment later everyone seemed to hold their breath in silent anticipation as Flavia started to set the Crown of Rassilon on her head once more.

Everyone watching couldn't help but think the same question at once. Would the Matrix reject her once more?

This time however it was a completely different story from before as the Crown lighted up on top of Clara's head and seemingly buzzed in approval of her. It seemed as if the Matrix was more than overjoyed to accept Clara this time around.

Flavia smiled in approval as she said, "And now it is with great joy that I can officially declare you to be Lady President Clara Oswald, the supreme leader of Gallifrey."

Now another round of applause resounded throughout the room as the Council all stood up before Clara and bowed to her. Clara just smiled while she herself returned their bow and then curtseyed for good measure.

She could hardly believe that this was real. She was actually the ruler of an entire planet. When little Clara had dreamt about traveling one day while her mother read to her of all of the many places that she could go in the world, she would have never thought of something like this happening in her wildest dreams. And what made this moment even better was that Clara was almost sure thanks to Ellie's connection with Rose that her mother was watching her with pride at that very moment.

She was absolutely right of course.

Meanwhile somewhere in deep space at that very moment, the Brethren world of Nibiru suddenly reappeared out of nowhere, and Amaya Nox stood watching the ceremony with eyes filled with rage. Let them enjoy their moment of victory for now she thought to herself.

One day soon enough now they would discover that Nibiru's temporal reset button (which Amaya had long ago installed as a failsafe in case of her own capture) had automatically activated as soon as Rose had disassembled it, and within minutes it had completely retconned its own disassembly in addition to Amaya's subsequent depowering and imprisonment on Shada as if they had never even happened.

Time was not the master of the Brethren after all. They were the master of it just as they would be of the entire universe itself one day.

Unfortunately Amaya had been forced to leave the rest of her people behind on Shada however in order to avoid alerting the Bad Wolf (who would still remember that Amaya was supposed to be there as well due to the nature of her abilities) to her escape before she could put a huge distance between herself and Gallifrey, but that didn't mean that the Brethren were finished. No, this was far from the end Amaya promised herself. One day she would reform the Brethren and make it better and stronger than ever before, and on that day she would finally and permanently free Erebus at last.

And on that day, Rose Tyler would be made to beg for her mercy right before she completely shattered the Web of Time right before her grief ridden eyes.

THE END OF BAD WOLF VICTORIOUS

*This potential catastrophe was almost caused before by a fight between the Sontarans and the Rutans in Tales of Gallifrey Chapter 53 by the way.

Next: Now that the Brethren saga is finally over with (for now at least), our heroes can concentrate on far more important matters at last like continuing to journey through time and space. It's a siren call that Clara can't resist as she continues to join the Doctor and a recovering Rose on their travels despite being the President now. Mary also eagerly goes along with her now as they travel for the very first time together. Danny meanwhile is starting to get the idea that something isn't quite the same between him and Clara since her return. Could it be that Clara's feelings for Mary weren't quite so false after all? Plus next chapter sees the welcome return of Jane Austen who is more than happy to see Clara again because she desperately needs the Doctor's help when one of her seemingly innocent pranks seems to take on a life all of its own.

And by that I mean alien life of course.