Author's Note: This chapter was actually very hard for me to write. I found I had to rewrite it a few times before I felt comfortable with the flow. These next two chapters are actually a continuous theme, but the chapter was just getting so unwieldy and big I broke it up at what seemed to be a natural break in the action.
Please note that there is a rather gruesome character death as well, just wanted to give fair warning. Thank you again to all who have followed and commented, it definitely makes this story that much more fun to tell.
Ianto Jones was glued to the two monitors that showed the wharves where Cardiff PD was under siege, his gaze rapidly alternating between the mayhem on the docks and trying to follow the progress of the group in the warehouses while they moved from room to room.
He grumbled when they would move out of range of one camera and the next one in line would not respond with anything more than a dull flicker before he was forced to scan through all the other cameras to try to catch a glimpse of them once more.
He looked behind him at the monitor with the angel, noticing that it had moved halfway across the room and was facing the camera with its arms opened wide by its side. He cocked his head, feeling a prickling down his spine almost like the angel was looking right through the screen at him.
When he glanced back to the docks, he noticed that the ghostly battle had faded as if it had never been and for a moment it looked like Cardiff PD was able to gather its wits before the next onslaught whatever form that may take.
There were wounded though, men and women who had thought that they were going mad had fired their weapons wildly into the throng of ghosts only to have their shots fell their own colleagues.
He couldn't tell if anyone was dead, but the casualties were definitely a sign of what was to come and if his readings on the energy from the rift were any indication it was all going to come to a head very soon indeed.
He paused when he saw movement flash across the screen where he was cycling through the camera feeds, leaning forward with his breath held before he let it out in a sigh of relief when he saw Jack and company stumble through what looked to be an opening in the wall which the camera was mounted on.
The channel had gone silent for some reason, though he did hear the occasional flashes of conversation from one or another of the team members. His fingers continuously flowed over the keyboard, trying to stay ahead of the strange series of power failures that were cascading through the systems in the warehouse. He was determined to make sure that they had all the power they needed because the Doctor's words about these creatures and their movements in the dark still echoed dully through his mind.
Ianto paused when he heard the Doctor's voice ring out loud and clear in his ear, the power and fury in his words causing a shiver to race through his body just before his blood stopped cold at the emotionless voice that answered back.
The feed on the screen was plunged into darkness, Ianto jumping forward with a scream while his hands raced over the keyboard. "NO! Doctor, JACK! I've got you, hold on!"
He was screaming curses at the screen, fingers pounding over keys to try to hotwire the system back into some semblance of working order. He felt his heart slamming against his ribs when he heard shouts and gunfire coming in staccato bursts from his earpiece, the Doctor shouting for everyone to run, just keep running. There were stabbing beams of white light ricocheting off the walls and refracting off the camera lens, pinpoints of brilliance from weapons discharge before darkness would descend once more.
"Come on you bastards! Is this the best you can do?" He yelled, jumping when something seemed to get into the system ahead of him, the rewiring almost flying out of his hands before it took on a life of its own.
He blinked at the monitors around him, seeing ghostly after-images of the code from the Tardis scrawling through the monitors as the ship delved deeper into Torchwood's system in order to help Ianto stabilize the systems that were disintegrating faster than he could handle.
He continued to target the systems failure, but more and more the ship was there ahead of him, rewiring failing circuits and closing feedback loops before speeding onto the next weak spot.
He could only look at the screen completely dumbfounded, feeling slightly overwhelmed with the realization that he was most definitely not dealing with a simple piece of machinery here. Looking behind him at the blue box that stood in the center of the hub, he could almost feel the strange alien intelligence throbbing within those strange blue walls. This was by far the most surreal experience with any alien or alien tech he had ever had, all his preconceived notions were being systematically shattered by this Doctor for which Jack had spent centuries waiting.
Ianto stood rooted to the display just before he saw the lights flare back into life and the group lit in lurid detail halfway across a large space. He jumped with a whoop of delight when he realized power was restored in the basement, he was even more ecstatic to see all six members still alive and well. They hadn't been too slow, not this time at least.
The team stood resolutely facing back the way they had come and didn't move a single muscle before the Doctor stepped to the fore. He looked to be talking to someone just out of range of the camera, but for some reason the comms had fallen silent once more.
Ianto felt a faint brush of air against the back of his neck and turned just in time to see a ghostly image of the angel's hand reaching towards him, the hand moving so fast he never even felt it connect with his shoulder.
He screamed when he felt his body explode in agony, his shoulder felt like it had been pulverized just by that touch, impossible though it may be. He threw himself back from the control center, eyes bulging at the image that was staring back at him.
The angel that he had been monitoring on the other screen was suddenly standing in the control room inside the hub, its arms raised and fangs bared in preparation for that final lunge. The creature though was grainy just like the feed from the camera had been, its image flickering in and out of focus.
The scream lodged in his throat when his injured shoulder connected with the steel column behind him, his frightened gaze desperately trying to keep the creature in focus without looking into its eyes. The Doctor had said that its gaze was dangerous, deadly most likely but how did you NOT look at a creature that was poised to kill you without meeting its eyes?
He was panting against the pain that was radiating from his shoulder, wondering why its touch hadn't instantly killed him. He had thought truly that he was dead when he had realized what was standing behind him. With a frustrated growl, he realized he most likely was going to be dead in a few moments anyways.
He couldn't let the angels have the hub, the technology here with the rift manipulator would give them enough power to rip the earth to shreds in seconds should they so desire. Never mind the fact that the Doctor's ship was here as well, and the Doctor had already spoken about how he would make sure the ship destroyed itself before he would ever allow it to fall into their hands.
He was dimly aware of the crawl from the Tardis fading away from the other monitors, the feelers of consciousness melting back into the primary screen before that monitor too started to fade to black. It looked like whatever safeties the Doctor had programmed into his ship, even the presence of a semi-virtual angel were causing it to prepare for its final defense.
Ianto felt his thoughts beginning to scatter at the throbbing pain that was radiating out from his shoulder in dull waves, his body felt like it had been plunged into an icy sea before blinding waves of heat seared through every nerve. Whatever this thing was, its touch may not kill right away but it was definitely having an effect on him and he had a sinking feeling what the end result would be.
He couldn't stop the tears that were falling down his cheeks, the feeling of helplessness was almost more than he could handle at the searing burn he felt in his eyes. His time was running out because he was going to need to blink soon, and then it would all be too late.
"I'm not going out without a fight, you psychotic bastard. If I have to, I'll take you with me!"
He fumbled his weapon from its holster, sweat erupting from every pore at the movement because he found it was nearly impossible to not blink when one was in such agony. His hand was shaking as he held the weapon up, remembering well the Doctor's words that bullets didn't work on these creatures. However, this wasn't the creature, was it? It was a strange projection of the creature. Albeit one with some form of power and physical touch.
He was growling through the stabs of pain, taking careful aim at the monitor the creature had been displayed on before firing several shots right through the screen. The angel flickered just for a moment before it regained its shape and seemed to grow in strength.
Ianto licked bone dry lips, breath hitching when he reached up to key open the channel on his headset.
"Doctor, Jack, there is an angel in the hub, I repeat the angel is in the hub!"
The Doctor was instantly in motion when the basement was plunged into semi-darknes sonic held before him to try to use as a guide towards the rift that was surging in and out of existence just out of sight. Shafts of white light radiated out from the group in a crazy dancing display of flickering luminescence that would flash on an angel, freezing it mid-lunge before the light would flicker and the creature would be gone in the next blink.
The angels were having an effect on their torches though not as much of an effect as they had with hardwired electrical systems, but everyone knew that even that temporary safety would soon be taken from them.
Torchwood and the Cardiff police officers all had their weapons out and were firing back into the darkness, using the muzzle flashes to try to further illuminate the creatures and gain some precious time. The basement was huge, it probably ran under most of the warehouses in this area, but eventually they would run out of places to flee.
"Run! Everyone, keep running towards that energy rift! It's our only chance!"
The group turned nearly as one and fled deeper into the basement, Jack and Andy running backwards to the best of their ability to keep firing in a steady stream back towards the angels.
There were eight angels now, and they were moving so frighteningly fast that it was nearly impossible to track their fluid movements between the flashes of light. They were surging towards the archways, looking nothing more like a stop motion film before they were then through them and advancing towards the group in total, deadly silence.
Gwen was screaming while she was shooting at the angels, her eyes frantically searching the other shadows even while she blindly shot back to keep the angels locked in frozen flashes of time.
Donna was panting through clenched teeth, her eyes wild and mind raging because she could feel the gateway that the angels were building was near its completion. She no longer just saw flashes of other realities through the tear in the fabric of time, but one reality in particular where misshapen figures stood in a never ending sea waiting to come through to their promised land. The childlike laughter was so loud now it was nearly deafening, the fluttering of wings audible even when the angels in the room were quantum locked.
She was terrified, not for them because she now truly felt that they all would most likely have to die in order to stop these creatures. No, she was terrified that what they did here today would not be enough to stop these monsters and that they would tear across the face of the earth with no one the wiser, and no one strong enough to oppose them.
The Doctor was pressed firmly against her back, his sonic still flaring back towards the angels while he continued his readings of the rift. The blue glow of the sonic was enough to cast a dim light and help slow the angels, but it was not enough to stop them completely. He felt more than heard Donna's thoughts, knew that she was able to see into the other universe where a tidal wave of death was waiting to crash into this universe and he felt her calm acceptance that most likely none of them would make it out of this alive. He wasn't giving up yet, not by a long shot though the odds were definitely not in his favor.
With a grim sense of purpose, he let his mind reach out to hers opening himself to her though they stood in the midst of what could still become a bloodbath and let her feel his resolute sense of purpose that had driven him through terrors that would have broken most other beings. He let her feel the very real fear that was throbbing like a living thing within him, but also the hope within him that never truly died.
In the end, if they did have to give their lives to save untold trillions then it would be a sacrifice well worth making. They would not go quietly into the night, and they would make sure that their sacrifice would not be in vain.
Donna pressed tighter against his back in response to the rare glimpse he had given her of the blinding power that had forged him into the storm that he had become and that had been a beacon of hope across the universe for millennia. Though she felt a renewed sense of hope, the vision before her still caused tears to burn uncontrollably down her cheeks. The angels were so close, they could almost reach through the rift before them and they were starving.
Just as suddenly as the basement had been plunged into darkness, the lights flared back into life with a blinding flash of power which threw bright light over the huge space before them and stopped the angels in their tracks.
The smile on the Doctor's face was brilliant as the group all breathed a collective sigh of relief at the unexpected respite. Those with guns took this moment to reload spent clips and prepare more for the next rush, while the Doctor stepped forward to confront the angel that was in the lead.
Before he could speak though there was a squeal of static in all of their ears and Ianto's strained voice burst over the comm. "The angel is in the hub!"
The Doctor jerked at those words, dread stabbing through his hearts when he remembered that Ianto said he had brought the Tardis down into the hub for safe keeping. Jack however was already responding back. "What do you mean Ianto, are you all right? Has the hub been breached? How many?"
He could hear the strain in Ianto's voice when he responded, the words stuttering like his teeth were chattering. "It's only the angel I was monitoring, Sir. I think my shoulder's shattered, Sir, though it barely brushed me." His normally calm and matter of fact voice broke as he whispered. "It came through the screen. Almost like it climbed right out into the hub and is even now waiting for me to finally blink so it can finish the job."
The Doctor's head rose at those words, his mind racing back to the strange saying that Jack had told them all back in the car. He found himself murmuring. "That which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel."
The lights in the basement started to flicker in response to the Doctor's words, causing Gwen to raise her torch and gun once more in preparation to defend their retreat. Jack turned to the Doctor, a look of horror dawning on his face.
The Doctor palmed his walkie. "Ianto, I need you to focus. Is the angel physically in the room with you?"
There was a brief moment of pained breathing during which Jack quivered in anticipation of a response, his mind coming to the same impossible conclusion that the Doctor had already reached.
Donna was looking to the both of them, her hands held to her mouth when she felt the flash of understanding in the Doctor's mind. She quickly looked around the basement, spotting all the cameras lining the wall.
The Doctor caught her gaze with a grim nod, the flickering of the lights starting to grow more ominous with each passing second.
"No, Doctor. It looks almost like a television projection though it did manage to touch me. I think it's shattered my shoulder, but that was all it did. I don't understand why it didn't kill me."
The angels were moving slowly now that the light was flickering once more, their movements were more cautious though as if they were suddenly nervous of what the Doctor would do next. Andy and Daniel also took aim, hands steady in preparation to fire.
"It's the CCTV! Gods, I can't believe none of us saw that!" His eyes were manic when he let his gaze search across the basement, one hand rising to pull frantically at his hair while his mind raced through to the inevitable conclusion. "No wonder, there have never been any images captured of the angels. They would've wanted that! Like a sort of stasis pod, and now we gave them exactly what they wanted!" With that shout, the Doctor raised his sonic and with a flick of his thumb dialed it to maximum before sending a powerful surge towards the camera nearest to him. It exploded with a shriek before the power surge raced through the system, causing each camera to explode in a fiery cascade of sparks before it raced on to the next.
The angels stopped dead when the explosions began to race through the rooms, and the Doctor couldn't help the grin when he heard the voice of the angel in his ear. "That still won't work, Doctor. We're already in the system."
The Doctor just shook his head at that. "You don't understand, I'm very resourceful. I just destroyed every camera in this complex that has ever caught your image, and used that surge to make sure all recordings of you were also erased. You will not get out that easily."
Ianto's voice suddenly filled the silence. "It's still here, Jack, though it flickered for a moment when the cameras were destroyed. All the monitors are dead, but somehow it's still here."
The Doctor's mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to break the connection. It was obviously feeding on the energy that was still present in the hub, using that to maintain its form even though the images that were feeding it had been destroyed but he had no way of knowing if its physical powers had been diminished at all.
Jack looked to the Doctor before he touched his earpiece, keying open the channel and giving the one order that he had never wanted to give. The one order that would mean they truly were on their own down here. "Lock Torchwood down Ianto, activate emergency protocol one."
The Doctor turned to Jack, lips parted to ask Jack just what that was but was stopped by Jack's upraised finger. It was a gamble, probably the biggest one that they would make but it was the last chance they had. Letting the angels get their hands on Torchwood could be nearly as disastrous as letting them get their hands on the Tardis, they would have complete control of the rift and could use it to rip open all realities. Jack had taken an oath, back when Torchwood had actually meant something, it was an oath to protect the earth from hostile alien incursion at all cost.
There was a scream of static from all of their comms, before the channel suddenly went silent. "Ianto? Ianto! What happened, did it work?" The Doctor was frantic, positive that he had just heard the death of one of Jack's people.
They all stood rooted in spot, eyes glued to the angels to make sure that they did not advance any further though Donna was the only one who kept her gaze completely focused on the surging hole in reality that she alone was able to see.
The army was on the move, pressing closer in its haste to cross over into this realm and begin their reign of terror. So close. There's so many! Doctor, I'm so afraid.
The Doctor leaned his head back for a brief moment, letting his body melt into full contact with her own in a stolen moment of comfort. He knew she felt his own terror, though he refused to let it rule him. She felt his regret that once again he had thrust her into a dangerous situation and that quite possibly this time there would be no way out. He let her feel his regret that they had not had more time together, and that he had been too pigheaded to realize what she had meant to him before it had been too late. The man who regrets finally realizing that all those regrets carried a heavy price, and today would most likely be the day that the bill would be called due.
Donna's breath caught in her throat when she felt the calm acceptance within him, the final soothing embrace of his mind as it wrapped around her own. The unspoken promise that when the end came, they would face it together and he would leap into the void with her clasped tightly to him. She would not go into the dark alone, he would be there right beside her all the way until the end.
The tears continued to fall in an uncontrollable flow down her cheeks when they both felt the barriers between worlds finally begin to flex and tear under the strain, Donna's hand reaching blindly back to grab hold of the Doctor's in what she was certain would be her final goodbye, her breath rushing out in a hitching sob when she felt his fingers curl tightly about hers in response. In this, they would never be alone again.
Ianto stood rooted to the spot when he heard Jack's command over the earpiece, positive that he had misheard but there were no further instructions and the comm had once more fallen silent.
He was pressed tight against the gleaming steel column in the center of the hub, the angel growing in strength and stature even though the feeds from which it had first been formed had all been destroyed. He held his gun before him in a grip that was fast failing and he knew that if he didn't act soon, he wouldn't have enough presence of mind left to do what needed to be done.
Fingers groping blindly along the joints in the wall behind him, he slowly began to work his way across the platform and towards the stairs leading down. There would be a few moments when the angel was out of his line of sight and he wouldn't have a lot of time to enter the command codes to lock Torchwood down, he just hoped that the time that he did have would be enough. His teeth were chattering as he was hovering on the edge of shock, his mind slowly starting to drift back to the days when the hub had been filled with the voices and laughter of the rest of the team.
His eyes were watering with the strain of keeping his gaze locked on the angel, he made sure to keep his gaze riveted to the center of the creature's torso so as not to give it any foothold in his mind. He wondered if this was how Tosh and Owen had felt when they knew that death was coming for them, when they felt every precious second of life dripping away from them and were powerless to stop its flow.
He found though that he had no regrets, that he felt blessed that he had been able to lead the life that he had led with Torchwood and proud that he had also been able to love a man such as Jack Harkness. In the end, he knew that he had made a difference in the world and after the loss of his beloved Lisa, it had been enough to keep him from following her into the abyss. He was now all that stood between the angel and its desired goal and he would fight tooth and nail to keep that precious prize from its grasp.
There was a screaming rush of sound from behind him before a sudden bright white light flared into being, the angel froze in mid-stride when that light fell across it. Ianto risked looking away from the angel for a split second and saw that the light atop the Tardis was pulsing with a fierce rhythm, a strong wind rising within the hub itself as the box began to shimmer in place.
The light was too much for Ianto to bear, with a scream of anguish he squeezed his eyes shut and threw himself down the final few stairs to the opening that housed the rift manipulator. He nearly blacked out when he landed hard on his injured arm, the spurt of blood in his mouth telling him he had bitten nearly clean through his lip on impact. He lay gasping for a moment, trying to clear the stars from his vision before he spun about as best he could whilst laying on the ground, terrified the angel was right behind him. His frantic gaze scanned the area around him, but for a blessed moment it was completely empty. The howling wind from the Tardis was intensifying while the light was beginning to strobe in a painful cadence that was almost too painful to watch.
Hoping against hope that the angel had been distracted by the Tardis for just a moment, Ianto quickly flipped open the panel and punched in the command codes that would initiate the shutdown.
His whole body was quivering in anticipation of the killing blow, but he had a duty to perform and he would not let his fear keep him from completing that task.
The last prompt flashed across the screen and with a triumphant yell he hit the execute button, the giddy scream of relief when he heard the sirens suddenly blare through the cavernous space was nearly enough to drive him to his knees.
Ianto leaned against the rift manipulator for a few precious seconds, chest heaving with each tortured gasp that shifted the shattered bones in his shoulder. He blinked his eyes, trying to drag his thoughts back into some coherent order. The coruscating waves of hot and cold that were searing through his body were growing in strength and intensity, the rhythm nearly matching that of the strobing light coming from the space above him.
He staggered back up the steps, terrified that if he didn't keep the angel in his sights he would never know if the plan had worked and he would lay there in the darkness waiting for death to descend upon him.
His gaze was riveted on the tableau before him, the lurid flashes from the Tardis almost seemed to burn through the grainy essence of the angel. The creature had turned towards the blue box, most likely as soon as its light had started flashing and had advanced until its ghostly fingers were a mere hairsbreadth away from the worn wooden surface. Though Ianto couldn't see its face, he could almost feel the satisfaction that was pouring off the creature when it had recognized something that others of its kind had almost had in their possession.
A craft of unlimited power capable of destroying universes and ripping apart time itself, it had dismissed Ianto as the lesser threat and immediately turned towards the prize. A prize that would have fed them for eternity, whilst it carried them across the universe and into every reality.
The lights were beginning to wink out around the hub, systems shutting down and deadlocking in rapid succession with a series of bangs that chased themselves from level to level.
The angel had finally turned towards Ianto once more, its face twisted in what could only be called a snarl of rage as it realized just what was happening. He slid down against the railing, blinking against the agony that was rapidly rising beyond his control and suddenly found himself staring into the face of the angel just before it seemed to fly apart into nothingness.
The smile that turned his lips was cold. "See you in hell."
He took a deep shaking breath, head falling back to rest against the railing for a second while he gathered his wits about him. He pulled himself back up to shaky feet, his gaze searching the hub in the rapidly gathering gloom until he was positive that finally the deadlock had worked and the angel had been dispersed. He fumbled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Jack's number just as the Tardis disappeared and the hub was plunged into total darkness.
Something was happening, the Doctor was certain of it. The angels had been still for far too long even though they had had the chance to advance through the flickering of the light. The tension in the group was quickly growing, the screaming fear that was barely held in check would soon be too much for them to control and the panic would become a living thing with a life and will all its own.
"Jack?"
Jack was already shaking his head when there was the distinctive sound of a phone ringing in his pocket. Fumbling his gun in his haste, he took the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Ianto, did it work?"
The Doctor couldn't help the triumphant grin when he very clearly heard. "Yes, Sir. The angel has vanished, but Torchwood is down. I'm sorry I will no longer be able to assist you and the deadlock will not release until the temporal energy stabilizes as you already know. I'm sorry, Sir. You're on your own."
There was a rush of sound at those words, the angels had in the blink of an eye spread out into a loose semicircle that had the team in its cross hairs. Several of them had their arms upraised once more while others had their fangs bared in preparation for the final lunge.
The Doctor spun back towards them, sonic raised like a weapon while he waited for their next move. The torches were still flickering uncertainly, strobing an odd counterpoint to the flickering of the overhead lights
"You should not have done that, Doctor. It would have made things easier for us, but no matter. We'll still settle for ripping your bodies and minds apart before the gateway finally opens."
The cold, dead words were enough to cause each human in the group to shudder with renewed terror, their hands clenching tightly on torches and weapons alike while they prepared to meet death with a defiant scream. They would not fall victim to the gibbering terror that was crawling through them, it would not rule their actions though it scrambled madly for purchase. Each of them took a deep steadying breath, unable to close their eyes in a final prayer they merely whispered their goodbyes to the world around them, each in their own way.
With the loss of Ianto's help in maintaining the systems, the group was once more plunged into semi-darkness. "Run!"
Guns started erupting in rapid fire succession as the team surged towards the archways on the other side of the large open space, the torchlight faltering so that the angels were once more able to move in terrifyingly fast bursts that were nearly at the point of overtaking them before they stumbled into the next area and the light from the energy rift froze the angels once more in their tracks.
The space before them was by far the largest that they had come across, probably spreading through several warehouses above and nearly a half a million square feet, the space was lit in fitful starts by the pulsing of the energy rift before them. The golden ribbon of energy was undulating towards the far end of the space, fading in and out with each pulse of temporal power that was ripped from the rift and casting its glow over the group and the angels in pursuit.
The group paused with their backs against the arches, the Doctor and Jack facing back to the angels to make sure that they couldn't advance without warning while the rest of the group caught their breath and warily scanned the area in front of them.
Donna and Gwen were leaning close against each other, the both of them drawing strength from the other in order to better prepare themselves for the final confrontation that was before them. Gwen found herself wondering what Donna could see in the room before them, if she had some vision of the death that was awaiting them all and was merely doing them all a kindness by not saying anything.
She had never imagined that she would be facing death in this way. Yeah, working for Torchwood had prepared her for the unexpected but never anything like this. She felt like the angels were reaching into her mind and ripping her greatest fears out of her by their very essence, flashing them before her eyes and taunting her with her complete helplessness. Taunting her with the fact that Rhys and everyone she knew and loved would never know what hit them, all because she had been afraid to tell him about what she would be facing.
Gwen had kept so many secrets from him and it had only been recently that she had finally been able to come clean with him about the true nature of her job with Torchwood. She worried that she was being selfish because she was happy he was not there with her, that she would not have to deal with the worry of whether or not she would have to witness the death of her husband before her own soul was shredded from her body. She was completely unaware of the angry tears that streamed down her cheeks, the rage she felt at being cheated of the long life that she had promised to share with Rhys.
She could scarcely imagine how the Doctor and Donna felt, though they had made no mention of being in a relationship, she could tell that they were a unified front against all odds. That together they were standing strong against the onslaught and that most likely they would die here together today.
Donna shuddered against her, the touch of Gwen's back against hers unwillingly amplifying her anguish until Donna felt like she was drowning in a sea of rage and despair. Gwen's own feelings were merely a mirror of Donna's, her own sorrow at having just found herself and the Doctor once more and her anger that it would all be snatched from her grasp all too soon.
Donna had stood by him through truly terrible times, she had helped him make decisions that had doomed tens of thousands to death and she had made sure that he knew that those decisions were never his alone. That he was not the monster that he had always feared he was, and that in the end if he were a monster then she was one as well. She had not merely held his hands that day beneath Vesuvius, she had actively pushed that lever with him making sure that there could be no doubt that it had been the both of them that had become the destroyer that day.
And now they stood, faced with the same terrible decision as they had on that fateful day and she found she would not do anything differently. Not if it meant people like Gwen's Rhys, and her mom and Wilf and Martha and Mickey and Sarah Jane and all the countless, nameless others would have a chance at a glorious life. She was prepared to go screaming defiance into the void, just as long as she took these merciless bastards with her.
The Doctor was breathing heavily at the feeling of Donna's thoughts surging through him, her determination to stand with him in the face of this tide of destruction. That together they were stronger than anything these angels would ever be able to throw at them, and that in the end they would indeed choke the life from the monster.
He felt the calm focus and single minded purpose fill the entire group as each and every one of them thought of the loved ones for which they were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, and the Doctor knew that in the end they could not fail.
There was one more brief flash of static before the emotionless voice echoed from all their walkies. "We're done waiting, Doctor. The gateway is finally complete. It's time for us to feast!"
Donna screamed in rage when she felt that final barrier melt away and the army she had seen on the other side began to melt into this plane of existence, the space before them suddenly filled with a blinding white light that was nearly painful to witness.
"They're here, Doctor! They're coming through, we've got to do something NOW before it's too late!"
Over her screams, there was a sound none of them had ever expected to hear. It started with a faint breeze that shifted the still air of the basement fitfully before dying once more. A breeze that kicked up the dust that covered the floor, gaining in strength and intensity just as a whirring growl and blinding white light began to flare into life.
Their jaws dropped when they heard the unmistakable whine of the Tardis materializing across the basement, tucked neatly against the wall that was farthest from the rift. Its light flashing almost in greeting, before the box settled with a gentle thud against the ground.
The Doctor couldn't contain his grin when he felt the telepathic connection with his ship flare to life, her maddened rush of consciousness nearly overwhelming him while she excitedly let him know that his alterations to her program had indeed worked and allowed her to home right in on him.
Donna was nearly giddy with relief, her knees rubbery when she felt the adrenaline begin to pound in maddening fury through her body. The glimpses she had felt of the Doctor's plan finally began to make sense as the pieces slowly fell into place and she found herself laughing uncontrollably, because she knew that they had just been given a final chance to make all the difference in the world.
The rush of creatures through the rift paused in its tracks when the Tardis materialized, their heads slowly turning towards the box that was screaming at them with a rich feast of temporal energy. The forms were in all shapes and sizes, from full sized though misshapen lumps to child-like figures that seemed to scamper through the ranks of the larger creatures.
Their movements were nowhere near as fast as the angels that had been in this realm for weeks, but it was only a matter of time before they were fully restored and would be able move about at their leisure.
"We're surprised you were foolish enough to bring your Tardis here, Doctor. That box will be our chariot across the stars."
The Doctor was already shaking his head, his eyes burning back at the angels with barely concealed contempt. "You will never own the Tardis, Angel Bob. She would destroy herself before she would ever let you near her, but then again you won't find that out today!"
Not taking his gaze from the angels, he called over his shoulder to the rest of the group. "Run! Everyone to the Tardis, hurry! Donna open the doors and make sure everyone gets inside. NOW! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"
The group turned as one and with the desperation borne of near panic they scattered towards the Tardis, ducking and evading the misshapen angels that were coming through the temporal rift in a mad dash to stop them from reaching their escape.
The Doctor had flipped channels on his walkie, shouting orders into it as he ran. "Cardiff PD, this is the Doctor. Evacuate the area immediately! We are going to try to seal the rift and I don't know what the effects may be. RUN NOW! Just get the hell out of here!"
Hoping that the officers up top actually listened to him and vacated the area, the Doctor threw a glance over his shoulder to gauge the speed of the angels before he put on a fresh burst of speed and raced after the group towards the Tardis.
Donna was in the lead, her hand pulling the chain with the Tardis key from beneath her shirt so she could unlock the door as quickly as possible. Hands were reaching out towards them in slow motion, angels turning from their places this side of the rift to try to stop their mad dash to safety though she knew the other angels, the strong ones, were behind them and moving closer in an unstoppable tide of death.
She could feel the consciousness of the Tardis reaching out to her in a soothing welcome, her alien mind soothing the tortured visions of time and fractures in reality with blessed silence when Donna reached her doors. The Tardis' temporal field enveloped her in blissful solitude just before the key clicked and the doors flew open before her.
Daniel and Gwen were just a heartbeat behind, followed by Jack, The Doctor and Andy who were bringing up the rear. They were so close, they were going to make it!
Donna was grinning when she saw the look of glee on the Doctor's face, his arms pumping and feet pounding through the dust in that final dash to safety. She turned her gaze to the angels that were pouring out of the rift, the creatures stopping when her eyes fell upon them and it was then that she heard the startled gasp that stopped them all in their tracks.
Gwen had spun about just meters from the opening of the Tardis, the scream of denial erupting from her throat when she saw the sight before her.
Andy stood frozen in place, a fully formed angel had come up behind him and wrapped both arms about his body in an almost gentle embrace. His head was thrown back against the creature's shoulder while its arm was wrapped about his throat in preparation for the killing move. The angel's other arm was wrapped low over Andy's body, he was held tightly against the stone body behind him in a near lover's embrace.
Tears were leaking from his eyes and his breath was gasping through parted lips as the Doctor ran back to him with his sonic upraised, desperately trying to find a way to extricate the young human from the angel's clutches. "NO! Andy, I'll get you out of there. Just hang on!" Not like this. Gods, no NOT LIKE THIS! His mind was raging, the darkness that had been so close to the surface for so many centuries surged beyond his control and rose to completely consume him. Donna's soft sobs in his mind beat a desperate counterpoint to the screaming guilt and grief that seared through him when he stared into Andy's pain maddened gaze.
"NOOOO! Andy, NO!"
Jack barely had time to react to the blur of motion that threw itself past him, the scream of rage and denial was almost more than he could bear. He threw his arms around Gwen, pinning her back against his body while she heaved and kicked and clawed at him to be free.
"Damnit, Jack, let me go!" She was struggling like a mad thing against Jack's embrace, her legs rising to kick back against him in her desperate struggle to be free. Jack was silently crying while he held on to her with all his strength, his arms tightening about her even though it was breaking his heart to hold her back. He grunted every time a kick or blow connected, but he would never let her go, not when it meant she would be throwing herself to her death. "Andy, oh god Andy. No, please not him!"
Daniel had spun about as well, his gun raised to point unerringly at the angel's head even though he knew it was pointless to shoot a stone statue. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, his whole body vibrating with the maddening need to do something, to hurt something in the way that his friend was now being hurt. But there was nothing he could do except watch and wait for the end that he knew was coming. It was the most terrible moment of his life, knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to save his friend.
"Damn you, Angel Bob. Goddamn you to hell. You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?"
"We are hungry Doctor, and we promised you death. This is just the beginning."
Andy was sobbing at the Doctor's words, his gaze travelling to Gwen where she was wailing and fighting madly against Jack's desperate hold to keep her safe. He licked his lips, swallowing past the tight hold of the angel's arm about his neck so he could call out in a hoarse voice. "You keep her safe, Captain. Promise me. Don't let her follow me. Please Jack, I couldn't bear that."
Jack was sobbing openly at Andy's words, suddenly filled with a burning sense of shame at all the memories of when he had teased Gwen for the sometimes bumbling ways of the constable who was still madly in love with her. His breath shuddered through clenched teeth before he was able to find his voice once more. "I swear it, Andy. On all my lives, I swear it."
Gwen was wailing in aguish when she heard Jack's words, her hands clawing his arms in a desperate bid to be free just so that she could rush to Andy to say a final goodbye. "Please, Jack, just let me go. Please, please there has to be a way. Not like this, Andy. Please not like this."
The Doctor kept his gaze riveted on the young constable though inside his rage was growing into an inferno from which no one would escape unscathed. Martha had once said those who stood close to him got burned and truer words had never been uttered. Whether they were companion, friend or passing acquaintance they all got burned in the end and he was finally done with sitting passively by while others paid his price.
Andy looked to the Doctor, seeing for the first time the fire that had been so carefully banked within the man finally burst completely free from the tight reigns with which it had been leashed. Gone were the clever words and trickster ways that had saved so many in the past, gone was the sometimes pacifist who had derided them their guns and in that man's place stood a being of absolute, terrifying power. A being who he somehow inherently understood had stood in judgement before, and who had made the decision that had ended millions. The being who had been forged literally from the fires of hell and held himself to a strict code because he knew all too well what absolute power could do to someone, but that sometimes events pushed him beyond his breaking point and all the pent up fury would break free with the potential to destroy any and all in his path. Andy felt his stuttering heart swell with hope that his sacrifice would be just the catalyst that the Doctor needed to do what he needed to in order to save everything that Andy held dear, to make sure that these monsters were stopped in their tracks and that he would not have died in vain.
"Doctor, I'm pretty sure the angel broke my back when it grabbed me, I can't move and would only slow you all down even if it did let me go." He swallowed convulsively, his whole body quivering with agony while he struggled to meet the Doctor's piercing stare. "Save the others. Save the earth, Doctor and just please, don't let them forget me."
The Doctor looked at him, the sorrow and compassion for a moment overwhelming the towering fury within his gaze as he nodded his goodbye. "Rest well, Andy Davidson. You were brilliant."
The Doctor reached his hand out towards the young constable, determined to honor the memory of his courage until the end. The light in the basement flickered for just the briefest of instants, darkness swooped over them causing the Doctor to jerk when the loud crack of Andy's neck breaking echoed in the brief darkness before it was followed by the soft thud of his body hitting the floor.
Gwen's shrieking wail of loss cut him like a knife, the cry stabbing him with the harsh reminder that once more another had paid the price that should have been his to pay. Her body suddenly sagged in Jack's arms in a storm of racking sobs, Jack glanced to Daniel and nodded to him to help take Gwen into the safety of the doorway that Donna was holding open.
Daniel fought down his own grief and rage at the death of his good friend, shaking out of his paralysis and holstering his weapon before he stepped to Jack and took Gwen's weeping form into his arms. "Come on, Gwen. He would've wanted you to get to safety, let's go and let the Doctor do what he needs to do." She fell limply against him, her tear swollen eyes focusing dully on Donna's form as her hand reached out to pull her safely into the doorway of the Doctor's blue box.
Daniel barely had time to gawp at the inside of the box, his mind unable to grasp the sheer enormity of the room in which he found himself. His lips moved uselessly while he tried to find his voice, head whipping back to the doorway that Donna was standing in before turning back to look up at the cavernous space overhead. "It's… It's bigger on the inside!"
He shuddered at the impossibility of the sight around him, his steps staggering blindly before he fell back against what looked like a piece of coral. He hugged Gwen's sobbing form to his own body while he huddled in on himself in stunned disbelief, finally being shown in stark undeniable reality just how insignificant the human race truly was. After everything he had experienced today, this was the thing that seemed to finally shatter the fragile thread of control he had on himself and he found himself huddling over Gwen's form sobbing his own tears of frightened disbelief and unbelievable loss.
The Doctor straightened up before the angels that now stood defiantly before him, three still had their arms raised though the angel that had killed Andy still had a completely placid face as if that death had been of no moment. It hadn't even bared its fangs when it had grabbed him close, merely held him tight, taunting him with the fleeting hope of escape.
His eyes moved from each creature, memorizing well the terror that they would inflict on all creation should he show them even an ounce of mercy. There was no choice where they were concerned, and he would be the instrument of their destruction.
He raised the walkie to his mouth for the final time, palming open the channel to speak with deadly earnestness to the angels before him. "You promised us death, Angel Bob and you have delivered on that promise. Now I promise you something in return. You will never know peace." The horror of those words made all the more terrible by the fact that the Doctor uttered them in a cold dead voice, though the ice cold rage could be felt just beneath the surface.
"You will never be able to feed again, and you will starve to death in a hell of your own creation. I gave you a chance, and you squandered it." He lowered the walkie, though his thumb still held the channel open. "I will make sure that your screams will go unanswered for all eternity, while you waste away to dust and then even that dust will be scattered across the void. There will be nothing left of you and you will never again be able to touch this reality or any other." He stood up straighter before them, his body nearly vibrating with the full power and fury of the Destroyer. They knew no mercy, so he would show them none in return. "This I promise to you, until the end of days."
With that he thrust the walkie back into his pocket and motioned Jack to follow him, both of them bolting towards the wide open doors of the Tardis where Donna kept a careful watch with her arms outstretched in the dubious promise of safety.