Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own anything, nor do I get paid for it.

A/N Thank you for the wonderful response on the last chapter. This is an extra-long chapter but I didn't want to break it into two with all the events. Hope you don't mind.

Warning for character death in this chapter. Please consider yourselves warned. It's not the Doctor or Rose, though.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Twenty One

"Where have you been?" asked Rose when the Doctor finally returned. "And where's your uniform?"

"I gave up my rank," he said. "Just a commander now," he added, pointing down at his clothes.

An hour ago, they had landed outside Arcadia, where the Time Lords were preparing to battle the Daleks. The Doctor had left as soon as they had arrived, leaving Rose to speak with her commanders, which she would normally have been fine with, but it was now obvious that they were uncomfortable in her presence. She had thought that the Doctor had been exaggerating the significance of the chants and triumph of Rassilon's arrival, and Rose felt a bit foolish for having assumed that things wouldn't change.

Truth was, things had changed completely. There was a new sense of vigour in the air, but far from putting her at ease, it merely tightened the knots in her stomach. The vigour wasn't about ending the war or even just defeating the Daleks, it was about supreme control, about ultimate power. She now understood why the Doctor had looked so terrified the moment he had seen Rassilon. He had known that the tide was about to turn and not for the better.

When the plans for battle were being drawn, Rose realised that she and the Doctor were to be sent to one of the farthest posts from the main command post, and while it would have annoyed her before, it merely filled her with a sense of relief that she would be as far as possible from the Time Lords who had nothing but lust for power in their hearts. She had been waiting for the Doctor by the TARDIS and when he had come back, he was no longer in uniform.

"I wore this a while ago," he said, looking down at the navy leather pea coat which looked truly battered. His trousers and shirt were black, as far as she could tell, and she wondered if it was just her imagination or he truly looked more forbidding than he ever had in his uniform.

"Who's the General now?" asked Rose, trying to focus.

"Lord Verne," he said.

Rose remembered the bald, stoic man who said very little during Council meetings, but was known as a good strategist, if a little bit of a traditionalist. He had been next in line to be the Coordinator, had the job not gone to Braxiatel. She nodded quickly. "We are to lead from…" she began, only to have the Doctor interrupt her.

"Let me guess, from the furthest end?" he asked. At Rose's shrug, he rolled his eyes. "Yes, I suppose I expected that. Come on then, let us be on our way."

Rose followed him into the TARDIS and in no time, they were materialising at their new command post. The soldiers from the war looms were standing at attention when they arrived, and they barely had time to park the TARDIS and take inventory of their forces when the first round of Dalek attacks came.

The fight started in earnest then, energy weapons and vortex shields clashing with the Daleks' ray guns and Dalekanium shields. It was utter bloodbath, as numbers fell in equal measure on both sides. A quick check of the remaining command stations told Rose that theirs wasn't the only post being attacked.

"Doctor, we need another plan!" shouted Rose.

Abruptly, the Daleks around them stopped fighting. It was such an unprecedented and sudden occurrence that it halted the soldiers too, though if the noises were to be believed, the battle was going on in full force at other posts.

"DOC-TOR?" said one of them slowly and they only had a moment before the battle recommenced, but this time the Daleks were focused singlehandedly on getting to the Doctor.

Rose was doing her best to shield the Doctor, firing off the energy weapon and holding up a vortex shield as she tried to move him towards the TARDIS. It wouldn't hold the Daleks off permanently, but the Doctor would be out of the line of fire. He seemed to not care, however, and was fighting back furiously and unreservedly, sometimes locking his shield with Rose's, their combined life forces being more able to withstand collective attacks.

The whirring sound started low, but they all heard it. Even so many years later, that sound froze Rose up, and the Doctor had to pull her out of the line of fire before she got hit. The delta wave calibrated to full power and then blasted across all the posts around Arcadia in a single moment. Rose glanced at the Doctor, who looked horrified.

"Rassilon," he hissed under his breath, as he bent over trying to catch his breath.

It wasn't just him though, as nearly all Time Lords looked a little out of breath and slightly dazed. What confused her even more were the Daleks were rapidly becoming agitated that their ray guns were no longer functioning. Rose attempted to fire her energy weapon, but it too wouldn't fire.

"What did he do?" asked Rose, as the battle came to a literal standstill, the air still filled with Daleks screaming about their non-functional weapons. "It was a delta wave, wasn't it?"

The Doctor nodded. "It took out all the projectile weapons," he said. "No more guns, or cannons, or missiles. For either side. But that isn't the worst of it." He took another deep breath and Rose realised that the light abrasions he'd had on his hands during the battle had healed. "He's changed the atmospheric composition. It will cause Time Lords to heal faster."

"Isn't that good?" she couldn't help but ask.

The Doctor shook his head darkly. "It will also accelerate regeneration quicker. No regeneration sickness or even disorientation after regeneration. They'll be getting right back up and continuing to fight," he said. "It's wrong, it's so wrong."

Rose felt sickened, but the new Lord General announced that their new weapons were being transmatted over to them now, and Rose could have laughed in astonishment at the weapons that appeared at their post. The delta wave had taken out all the projectile weapons, which left only melee weapons and suddenly, the war had devolved into a bloody fight with the Time Lords wielding swords and clubs made of metals strong enough to break through Dalekanium casing, while Daleks were fighting back with using their plungers to kill their opponents when they came in close proximity.

The other posts seemed to be doing the same, and the Doctor and Rose were watching in horror as the war around them had gone from temporal and spatial warfare to a bloodbath in the middle ages quite quickly. The Lord General had already ordered all Commanders to stay out of the immediate fighting, and tasked them commanding from behind whatever shield they could muster up.

With all the rapid changes that had taken place, it took the Daleks a few minutes to focus back on the Doctor. But curiously enough, they did not try and attack him directly. Instead, they cleared a path between them and the Doctor. Rose barked out an order to the soldiers, asking them to block whatever was coming their way, but when the thing appeared, everyone was nearly frozen in shock.

It was a humanoid being, but entirely translucent, looking rather ghostly in appearance. It was laughing menacingly, swiping soldiers out of its path like they were nothing more than flies, and causing the soldiers to either start regenerating at once, or sending them to their knees, screaming in agony.

"What the…?" asked Rose as some of the soldiers, began to claw their own eyes out, screaming the entire time.

"The Apocalypse Device," said the Doctor. "Forget the shield. We have to fight, c'mon."

Rose had half a mind to hold the Doctor back, but she squashed it down and joined him as they picked up the antiquated weapons, doing their best to keep the Apocalypse Device from coming into contact with them. They both knew that there was no way to defeat the thing, and a part of Rose was preparing her for the possibility of this being where it all ended. The Doctor could regenerate, and maybe even escape, since the TARDIS was only a few yards away between them and the Apocalypse Device, who was slaughtering even the newly regenerated soldiers. The numbers were falling in high numbers on their side, when it finally happened.

Rose had honestly expected a crash, or perhaps a cataclysmic explosion, but when Arcadia fell, it was a simple matter of one Dalek entering through the sky trenches, before the bubble shimmered once and vanished completely. The fight didn't stop this time, but Daleks started their attempts to make it past the now-destroyed shield.

The obvious message of 'Arcadia has fallen' was being broadcast, but their post was honestly only concerned with holding back the Apocalypse Device. They were being sent more soldiers to help, but it was getting pointless. She and the Doctor were one of the few still left fighting, thanks to Rose wielding a shield she was projecting by channeling the vortex inside her. But she was getting steadily exhausted, and when her shield faltered for a moment, an angry swipe of the Apocalypse Dvice sent three soldiers crashing into her, flinging her across the field.

"ROSE!" shouted the Doctor, but the Apocalypse Device had no interest in her and was now advancing on him. He could feel its telepathic waves trying to find a way into his shields, and he was fighting with all his might.

"Kill...you…" it said, laughing in delight at the fear it could feel from the Doctor. "Kill...you...slowly…"

The Doctor knew it was futile, but he refused to stop fighting, feeling surprised when Rose hobbled up to him, trying in vain to project a shield. The Apocalypse Device batted the shield away without hesitation and just as they thought this was how it would end, the TARDIS door opened, and Susan ran out of it.

"SUSAN!" shouted the Doctor in horror, knowing that he had asked her to stay inside the Capitol in safety.

She ignored his shout and tossed a silver sphere at the Apocalypse Device, the sphere casting a blue energy mesh around it, trapping it temporarily.

"Susan, get away from it!" shouted the Doctor, but Susan was holding Rose's old vortex manipulator in her hand and was muttering to herself.

"Programming it into the nearest sun," she murmured and glanced at him for only a moment before pressing down the button, effectively encasing her and the Apocalypse Device into an energy cell together. She met his gaze tearfully. "Goodbye, Grandfather," she said and started vanishing slowly with the Apocalypse Device in tow.

A guttural scream escaped the Doctor and he lunged for her, but Rose reacted on instinct and threw herself in front of him, holding him back with all her strength. He screamed and struggled to escape and Rose could hear the vortex manipulator beeping sluggishly, presumably due to the Time Lock, but she knew Susan must have tweaked it a little for it to work now. She couldn't see Susan, her only view being the Doctor's solid chest which she was pushing back against, but she knew the moment she was gone, since the Doctor stopped struggling.

She turned around and saw that both Susan and the Apocalypse Device were indeed gone. The Doctor was staring at the empty space in silence with a blank look on his face, before he turned around abruptly and went into the TARDIS. It dematerialised a moment later.

Rose saw the Daleks trying to reconvene the battle, but she didn't care at this point. She took the first transmat device she found and went to the Capitol to find the Doctor.

Romana was looking at the woman sitting opposite her, her face holding the same impassive look that was mirrored on hers. Rassilon sat at the head of the table, the heavy sash resting around his neck, the magnificent staff held at his side and the key on his other hand. Romana had an insane urge to burst into hysterical laughter at the hypocrisy on show.

As long as she could remember, the President of Gallifrey was only ever allowed access to two of the artefacts belonging to Rassilon, typically the Sash of Rassilon and the Rod of Rassilon. Even in ceremonies, the Presidents were merely expected hold their hand over empty air when they spoke of the Great Key of Rassilon. The lore said that Rassilon had deemed that no one person should hold the combined power of all three of his artefacts, since it would lead to tyranny and destruction.

Of course, the reality was much simpler than that. Rassilon did not want a challenger to his power, and had there been time, Romana would have broken the Laws of Time herself to go back in time and scream at her own naive young self, who had believed the lie. There had been rumours of one other person holding all three artefacts at one time, and Romana remembered her beloved friend telling her that the Doctor had once held all three. But Leela was gone, back when this war had first started, and Romana would never get to ask her if the Doctor had really done that.

She could ask the Doctor himself, but she had been told that he had no memory of the incident. She didn't find it as hard to believe as she once might have had. If Rassilon had gone to such trouble to keep one of his artefacts out of the hands of all Presidents, he wouldn't want them to remember what that power felt like. She hoped her anger didn't show on her face, but the years had tempered her tempestuous countenance, and no one had an inkling of what she was thinking.

No one, except perhaps the woman sitting opposite her. Romana had been surprised when she had been resurrected by Rassilon, but it hadn't come as a surprise. The woman had died young, but had an abundance of wisdom, and it was common for most Presidents to seek her out in the Matrix and get her counsel. Romana herself had done it a lot of times, and when she had realised the woman's connection to Braxiatel and the Doctor, she had only been a little surprised.

What surprised her though, was how uncomfortable Braxiatel looked sitting next to the woman. His posture was tense, back ramrod straight and he was looking anywhere but at her. The woman seemed unconcerned at his discomfort, almost like she had expected it. In another time, Romana would have been fascinated by the dynamics between them.

"...and so it comes to this. Arcadia has fallen, and this remains our best and only choice," said Rassilon, building the anticipation before he revealed his grand plan. "The Final Sanction."

Romana pinched her own thigh so that she wouldn't get up and start screaming at Rassilon. Opposite her, the woman merely gave a sigh and Braxiatel's face remained unchanged as ever, but if Romana had to guess, he would be clenching his fists under the table.

"An excellent suggestion, my lord," said Valyes, joy and smugness radiating from him in degrees. "With it, Time Lords shall ascend beyond even the Eternals or the Guardians."

Rassilon seemed to bask in the approval as others nodded along to Valyes' words. Romana wished she could muster up shock, but she only felt resignation, and perhaps a little pity. How could they call themselves the superior power of the universe, if they were willing to destroy the universe and their own mortality to exist for eternity. How were they any different from the Daleks then, if they wanted to destroy everything else that wasn't them. Romana wanted to weep for her people, and she wished they could see what their fear of defeat had made of them.

"You do not agree, Lady Romanadvoratrelundar?"

Romana managed not to jump at being addressed directly by Rassilon. "It isn't my place to bestow approval, my lord," she said primly, years of Time Lord etiquette supplying the words automatically. "The President must do what they think is right."

Her words seemed to placate him and he nodded. Romana glanced at Braxiatel, who had tensed even more when Rassilon had spoken to her, and she knew he had been half-expecting her to forgo all etiquette and speak her mind. Romana could honestly say that she had been tempted to do just that, but her being dead would be of no use to anyone.

"Very well then," said Rassilon. "Let us reconvene in the morning. We shall discuss the technical aspects then."

Everyone stood up and bowed to him, and the chamber started to empty. Romana walked out woodenly, knowing that he was right behind her. Sure enough, when she entered her chambers, he followed her and secured the door behind him.

"It's too dangerous for us to be alone now," she said, looking out of the glass wall which showed the carnage happening outside their precious Capitol.

"Do I look like I care?" asked Braxiatel, walking up next to her.

"You should," she said, sounding a little harsh. "Rassilon is looking for an excuse to kill me. I would hate to bestow the same fate on you."

Braxiatel fell silent as they stared out of the glass wall together. "How soon do you think the Daleks will be here?" he asked finally.

"Soon," said Romana quietly. "I assume the Final Sanction will be enacted immediately after that. Which doesn't give me a lot of time, I admit."

"To do what?" he asked, looking alarmed.

Romana turned to him and shook her head. "A way to stop it," she said at Braxiatel's imploring look. "And then run."

"You're running?" he asked.

"I'm thinking of going to Lake Abydos," she said, her eyes far away. "It is a good place to die as any." At the look Braxiatel gave her, she smiled a little. "Rassilon is bound to kill me. I knew about his allegiance to Zagreus and the Neverpeople. The only reason I am still alive is because I have kept my head down and my mouth shut. When that changes, an energy blast from Rassilon's gauntlet is how I will die. Unless, I find a way to stop him and choose how I die."

Braxiatel sighed deeply. "I cannot change your mind?" he asked.

She shook her head. "You know the answer to that," she said and turned to look at him, knowing that this was perhaps the last time she would ever see him. "Braxiatel," she said softly and he looked at her. "I know we never said…"

"Don't, please," he said, recognising her tone. "Not now."

"There won't be another time," she said sadly. "I just wanted to say…"

"I know," he said. "And you know?"

"Yes," she said. "I know."

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, before Romana smiled widely at him and nodded. "Goodbye, Braxiatel," she said and raised her hand to rest it on his cheek.

He closed his eyes at the contact and grasped her wrist for a moment before opening his eyes and nodding firmly. "I will keep Valyes and the others away," he said. "Do what you have to."

Romana withdrew her hand and swallowed back words she wanted to say and walked past him before she lost her resolve. She felt his eyes on her back as she walked away, but she didn't turn around and this time, he didn't follow her.

Rose did her best to block out the screams of dying and regenerating Time Lords, the horrible sound echoing inside the nearly silent Capitol. All she wanted to do was curl up and howl in misery. The image of Susan in the energy cell with the Apocalypse Device kept flashing behind her eyes every time she even blinked, but the worst had been the Doctor's gut-wrenching scream.

She had heard him scream before, in pain, in joy, in the aftermath of a nightmare...but she had never heard that sound in her life. It made the hairs on her arms stand in fear, just thinking about it. She wouldn't forget that sound for as long as she lived, nor the desperate whimpers that had escaped his mouth when she had been holding him back.

The Time Lords out there were losing, and Rose felt sickened knowing about their manner of death. Rassilon's additions to the shields helped them regenerate faster, but the Daleks would kill them as soon as they were back. The battle had devolved into a bloody massacre where each side was scrambling for survival, and time was screaming in agony at the abuse they were inflicting on the universe by their mere existence. It was doing its best to wipe them out, but like everything else, even time had lost its control. The Time Lock was the only saving grace for now, but if it broke in the midst of a battle like this, the war would spill out into the universe and unleash the nightmares with it.

Her tracking device showed that the Doctor was currently in their quarters, no doubt trying to get the TARDIS to locate Susan's energy signature and look for a way to bring her back. Rose knew there was no chance of that happening. If the massive energy transfer hadn't killed Susan immediately, the sun she was aiming for would have burnt her up mere moments later. Even a Time Lord in the prime of their health wouldn't survive long enough to regenerate, and with Susan's frail state, Rose knew in her heart that she was dead.

Rose understood why she had done it. She could have stayed safe and wasted away slowly, dying a little everyday, until she was just a shadow of her former self. Or she could have taken the enemy head on and fought with her last breath. She knew the Doctor didn't want to hear it, but Rose could see that Susan had followed in his example, having chosen the safety of the universe over herself. And Rose couldn't help but admire her for it.

She was almost to the quarters, when she felt someone grab her arm and pull her through one of the doors lining the corridor. Rose reacted on instinct, grabbing the hand holding onto her and turning it around until she had her captor in a chokehold. However, upon seeing that it was Romana, Rose released her slowly.

"Don't ever do that," growled Rose, crossing her arms. "I could have killed you."

"Yes, I realise," said Romana, adjusting her robes and trying to regain her breath. "My mistake for trying to ambush a combat veteran."

"Don't call me that," said Rose, rolling her eyes. "You wanna tell me why we are meeting in what appears to be a dusty old office?"

"Privacy," said Romana, like it was obvious. "Rassilon has announced his plan."

Rose immediately went on alert. "What is it?" she asked.

"The Final Sanction," she said, giving a weight to the words that Rose didn't understand. Upon seeing her blank look, Romana shook her head. "Just trust me, it is as bad as it sounds."

"Alright," nodded Rose. "What are we doing about it?"

"And here I was thinking I would have to convince you to help," said Romana, drawing out a key from her robes.

"Is that the key to the Omega Arsenal?" asked Rose, her eyes going wide.

"So, you have heard of it? Good," said Romana.

"Yeah, I've heard of it," said Rose. "I thought we had used pretty much everything that was in there," she added, bitterness lacing her tone.

"All but one," said Romana. "It's called the Moment."

"And what?" asked Rose. "You want me to steal it? Hate to break it to you, but I can't get into the Omega Arsenal with its 'Only Time Lords allowed here' shields."

"Yes, which is why I need the Doctor to steal it," said Romana and took a deep breath before continuing. "And use it."

"What does it do?" asked Rose.

"It destroys everything within the Time Lock," said Romana. "In a single moment."

Rose fell silent and scrubbed her hands over her face. "Fine," she said finally, holding out her hand. "Give me the key."

Romana looked surprised, but gave her the key hastily. "I thought you would have more questions," she said.

"I do," said Rose, pocketing the key. "But I'm guessing your life is in more danger than anybody else's right now and you're in a hurry. Where will you go?"

Romana gave her a watery smile. "Lake Abydos," she said. "I used to take my summers there when I was young. It seems like a good place to await death."

Rose nodded sadly. "I guess this is goodbye then," she said.

"I suppose it is," said Romana. "It was very nice knowing you, Rose."

"And you," nodded Rose, and turned to leave

"Tell the Doctor…" said Romana, and Rose turned around. "Tell him he has to do it. For all of us. And the rest of the universe."

Rose gave her the most heartbreaking smile. "He knows," she said and walked out. She heard the sound of a dematerialising Time Ring and knew that Romana was gone as well. With the key feeling like it weighed a ton in her pocket, Rose walked towards their quarters.

The Doctor glared at the console furiously when the TARDIS refused to dematerialise once again. If he could just catch Susan before she could...he growled in anger and yanked a few more cables from the console. Far from berating him, the TARDIS merely remained silent. It irritated him even more when she was quiet, because it felt like pity, and he neither wanted nor cared for her pity. He wanted his granddaughter back.

The TARDIS stayed resolutely silent as he systematically pulled out cables and wiring from the console and used the sonic screwdriver to sever and solder odds and ends, hoping for a different outcome. But the TARDIS gave no response, not even when he stopped trying to dematerialise and was merely pulling out the wires hoping for something other than silence.

"Come on then," he shouted finally. "Say something, you old machine! You knew she was here, but you said NOTHING!" His words were followed by him violently yanking out a row of levers which controlled the stabilisers. He tossed them away in disgust and glared viciously at the rotor again.

"You could have told me," he hissed. "I could have kept her safe. She might still be alive. My little Susan…" For a moment it looked as if he would collapse in tears, but then he gave a roar of anger and started pulling out the wood panelling on the console with his bare hands. The splinters dug into his hands and drew blood but he didn't notice, or rather he didn't care. The TARDIS made no sound as the wood panelling was removed and the coral beneath it was visible.

The Doctor was panting with the effort of having nearly destroyed the TARDIS console. His hands were raw and bleeding, and he could see the glow of the TARDIS coral from where he had removed the wood panelling. The coral was too strong to be destroyed by hand but he didn't care as he lunged for it, fully intending to rip it out as well, even if it was more likely that he would shred his hands instead. He just wanted to hurt, wanted to blame someone...but before he could dig his hands into the console, he was pulled back quite roughly.

It took him a moment to register that it hadn't been the TARDIS who had finally decided to respond by throwing him away, but Rose who had walked into the TARDIS unnoticed and pulled him away. She was staring between him and the console in horror, and he just stared back defiantly, refusing to see the pity and understanding in her eyes.

"Leave," he said, looking back at the console. "It doesn't concern you."

"When you are ripping the TARDIS apart with your bare hands, believe me, it concerns me," said Rose, before her eyes drifted down to his hands. "You are bleeding," she said, reaching for them but he jerked away.

"GO. AWAY," he said, trying to lunge for the console again but Rose threw herself in front of him, just as she had before and pushed the Doctor back.

"You need to calm down," she said, sounding out of breath, but holding out her arms in front of herself as if approaching a wounded animal.

The Doctor glared viciously at her. "My granddaughter is dead, my ship refuses to help me save her, and you want me to CALM DOWN?" he demanded, advancing on her angrily.

Rose crossed her arms in front of her and held her ground. "You said it yourself, Doctor," she said softly. "She is dead. You can't change that. Susan made her choice."

"Don't you dare," he said, in a dangerous voice. "You didn't know her."

"You're right, I didn't," said Rose, managing not to flinch but just barely. "But I know you, and I know Susan loved you very much. She would never have chosen to die quietly when she could save the world instead. She was very much like you in that regard."

The Doctor was still trembling but Rose could see his anger abating. "She shouldn't have followed us," he said, his aggressive stance drooping.

"What should she have done instead?" asked Rose gently. "Waited quietly for death behind locked doors? She made her choice, Doctor, and as much as it hurts, you have to accept that."

He stayed silent, and when Rose approached him and took his hands, he let her. She carefully removed the splinters from them, and used the last bit of disinfectant and healing solution she had in her pockets to treat his wounds. It wasn't painful, but tears welled up in his eyes just the same and when she was done, the Doctor wrapped his arms around her and broke down.

Rose blinked back her own tears and held the Doctor to her chest as he wept bitterly, tears soaking into her dress, his hands holding onto her as if he was clutching onto his sanity. She pressed kisses into his head and let him grieve for his granddaughter. No words were spoken, and eventually, they sat down on the floor, leaning against the console, the Doctor's face still buried in her neck, though he was no longer crying. Rose still held him tightly, and ran her fingers through his hair in a soothing gesture.

"The war is lost," he said after a long while, his voice still thick with grief. "Arcadia has fallen, and the Daleks will be inside the Capitol soon. End of the Time Lords."

"Not if Rassilon has anything to do with it," she said, remembering what Romana had tasked them to do.

"Hope his plan involves blowing us all sky high along with all the Daleks," he said flatly, still speaking into Rose's neck instead of looking up.

"It's something called the Final Sanction," said Rose and nearly jumped when the Doctor pulled away abruptly and looked at her with bloodshot eyes wider than she had ever seen them.

"What?" he asked faintly. "What did you say?"

"That's what Romana called it," said Rose. "She told me…"

"She said the Final Sanction?" asked the Doctor, interrupting her. "Think! It wasn't anything else?"

"No, it wasn't," said Rose. "What is it?"

The Doctor looked startled for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't...it's too…" he stood up and started pacing frantically. "It's just too…"

"Too what?" asked Rose, getting to her feet and walking up to him, halting his pacing. "Doctor, tell me."

"They are going to destroy it," he said, looking pale. "The Final Sanction, some call it the Ultimate Sanction. It's a temporal paradox, so strong it can create a rupture in the space-time continuum enough to…enough to rip the Vortex apart."

Rose stared at him in horror. "Bu-but that would mean...everything would die," she said, looking aghast.

"The whole of creation, yes," he said. "Time Lords would survive though. But not in our corporeal forms." He shook his head, his eyes far away as he described the horrible fate to Rose. "Creatures of consciousness. An eternal existence in a dead universe," he added, disgust evident in his voice.

"Romana gave me this," said Rose, pulling out the key from her pocket and holding it to him.

"The key to the Omega Arsenal?" asked the Doctor in confusion as he took it. "What's even left there now?"

Rose took a deep breath. "Romana called it the Moment," she said and watched the Doctor's face tighten in anger.

"And she wants me to use it?" he demanded harshly. "Where is she? I have to give her a piece of my mind…"

"She's gone, Doctor," said Rose gently. "Her life was in danger the minute she told me about this."

The Doctor deflated visibly and nodded. "I can understand, but I cannot use the Moment," he said. "The Time Lords put it away in the Time Vaults for a reason."

"Which was?" asked Rose curiously.

"It's said the weapon developed sentience," he said, lips quirking up in a sad smile. "They were afraid of it. Afraid that the greatest weapon ever created could not be wielded by anyone because it would make its own judgment of what was right and wrong."

Rose grasped his hand and he looked at her in question. "The other option is to standby and do nothing," she said. "If this Final Sanction is what you said…"

The Doctor was shaking his head even before she had finished. "You don't know what you are asking, Rose," he said. "The Moment would destroy Gallifrey. Destroy the Time Lords. And it can never be changed. It will be firmly embedded in the scope of the cosmos." He tilted his head and sighed. "Though I suppose, there will be no cosmos left if Rassilon succeeds." He looked at Rose and smiled sadly. "You always knew," he said, and it wasn't a question.

Rose didn't bother to deny it. She was too tired. "I hoped different," she said instead.

He nodded in resignation. "I asked you never to tell me how it ends," he said. "Personally, I always thought the darkest possibility was the likeliest, even as I hoped otherwise. But I never thought it would fall to me to push that final button."

"You don't have to do it alone," said Rose, tears gathering in her eyes.

He shook his head and cupped her face. "I can't place the burden on you as well, Rose," he said.

"I'm not asking," she said firmly. "We said we would end the war together. That we would protect the universe. I don't break my promises."

He sighed and nodded finally. "Get the TARDIS prepared to leave. I doubt she wants me touching her right now," he said, glancing sorrowfully at the destroyed console. "I will break into the Omega Arsenal but it won't be long before the alerts are sounded. They will know it's me right away. We have to be ready to escape."

"Where should I aim for?" asked Rose.

"Far side of the planet," he said, running a hand over his face before moving towards the doors. "I'll be back soon."

Rose mustered up a small smile at the faux confidence in his voice and waved as he left. The Doctor moved through the Capitol stealthily, taking advantage of his knowledge of all the hidden passageways that he had discovered during his numerous escapes from the Time Lords throughout his lives. He reached the Vaults easily and gained access to the Omega Arsenal with Romana's key. The massive space was empty and he had to walk all the way into the depth of the chamber to find it.

When he saw it, he could have laughed. It was a small wooden box with gears all over it. So innocuous, almost artistic, yet strong. No one could look at that exterior and see it as the most dangerous weapon in existence. He didn't pause to admire it for long though, knowing that it would take him precisely eight minutes to get back to the TARDIS and the alarm would be sent off at four minutes. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the box and stuffed into a sack. He broke into a run a moment later, the sack thrown over his shoulder as he escaped. The alarm sounded just as he left the Vaults and he took off through one of the passageways leading into the Capitol.

He didn't know who would come after him, since most soldiers were fighting outside, but he didn't want to take a chance of one of the commanders catching him. It took him a while to maneuver through the maze of passageways and when he finally reached their quarters, he all but burst inside the TARDIS.

Rose took one look at him and at his nod, she started the dematerialisation sequence. The TARDIS vanished from the Capitol, just as the first Dalek got into the Citadel, and the High Council locked themselves into an emergency meeting.

The final day of the Last Great Time War had dawned.

A/N Thank you for reading. Let me know what you thought.

The rewrite of the 50th starts from the next chapter. It will be up next Saturday. See you then!