Chapter 14: Parting of the Ways

It opens with the Dalek saying Rose understands the Doctor and will predict his actions. Rose protests that she doesn't know before adding that she wouldn't tell them even if she did.

"You tell 'em Rose." Mickey grins.

"I suppose I could have just said he is going to do exactly what he said he would do." She returns the grin.

It repeats the order predict and a second Dalek says the TARDIS has been detected. The first orders the launch of missiles and Rose cries out the TARDIS has no defences, they will kill him. The Dalek says she has predicted correctly. On the TARDIS Jack says they have an incoming. The Dalek missiles strike the Tardis, and there is a big fireball in the vacuum of space.

"What was that?" Sarah Jane asks, looking impressed.

"We still have the extrapolator." Nine smirks.

"I thought it wasn't compatible." Donna points out.

"It can work to produce the forcefield on its own that's what it's for, I'm assuming he expanded it so it surrounded the TARDIS not just a single person." Jack explains.

Jack states the extrapolator is working and they have a fully functional forcefield, joking about saying that when you're drunk. The Doctor says for his next trick and the TARDIS materialises around Rose and the nearest Dalek.

"Good landing." Rose smiles at him.

The Doctor yells at Rose to get down. The Dalek calls out exterminate. It fires and misses then Jack takes out the Dalek with the defabricator. Rose cries out they did it and the Doctor hugs her. She says it feels like she hasn't seen him in years.

"Definitely too long." Nine agrees.

"Nice shot." Donna compliments Jack. "You got another half a million bullets?"

"Nope. That works on energy, probably only has a few shots in it."

The Doctor says he told her he would come and get her, Rose says she never doubted it. He replies that he did and asks if she is ok. She replies that she is and asks about him. He says he's not bad but been better. Jack comes over and asks if he gets a hug, Rose tells him to come here. Jack says he meant the Doctor before laughing and pulling Rose into a hug and welcoming her home.

"And to think I missed you." Rose rolls her eyes at Jack but grins at him too. He winks.

Rose says she thought she would never see him again and he points out she was lucky as the gun is now drained of energy and a useless bit of junk.

"Great, down to no weapons in the middle of a Dalek fleet. How come you haven't left yet?" Martha asks.

"Gotta go meet the neighbours." Nine smirks. "I wanna know how they survived anyway and what their end game is currently."

Outside the Daleks have surrounded the TARDIS. Inside they are examining the destroyed Dalek. Rose points out the Doctor told her they were extinct. Jack says that one minute they were the greatest threat to the universe and the next minute they were gone. The Doctor says they went off to fight a bigger war. Jack exclaims he thought that was just a legend.

"One of the greatest and most important wars in the Universe, reduced to a legend." Nine sighs. "Most species have forgotten the Time Lord, or believe they never existed."

"Well, you're definitely hard to forget." Mickey laughs. "Both of you."

The Doctor says he was there, his people were destroyed but they took the Daleks with them. He had thought it almost worth it and now they died for nothing.

Rose leans her head on Nine's shoulder.

Rose points out there are thousands of them and they could hardly stop one. She asks what they are going to do. This shakes the Doctor out of his revire and he says it's not good standing around chin wagging, they should go and meet the neighbours. He walks out the door as Rose calls at him not to go out there. As he emerges all the Daleks cry out exterminate and shoot at him. The rays are stopped by a forcefield extending a good 3 metres out from the TARDIS.

"Well, good thing you have the extrapolator." Donna mutters.

"I thought you said nobody could get in the TARDIS even if they tried." Martha points out.

"A few exceptions. Half a million Daleks are one of those exceptions." Ten shrugs. "A few on their own wouldn't be able to get in."

"That forcefield can hold them though?" Sarah Jane asks nervously.

"Sure." Nine grins.

The Doctor decides mocking them is a good idea, calling them useless and calling to the others they can come out as the forcefield can hold back anything. Jack corrects him almost anything. The Doctor smiles sarcastically and says he wasn't going to tell the Daleks that and Jack apologises.

Sniggers echo around the room. "Not the time to be pedantic." Mickey laughs.

The Doctor reminds them he is known as the Oncoming Storm in legends of the Dalek homeworld. He says that even though they have had all emotions removed but he reckons there is a tiny bit of fear left, deep down and that it burns when they see him. He asks how they survived. A Dalek offscreen says they survived through him. The lights come up to reveal a giant Dalek casing, and a blue-skinned one-eyed mutant is visible.

"The Emperor." Nine breathes.

"They have a hierarchy?" Mickey raises his eyebrows.

"Daleks are soldiers. They need someone to give the orders." Ten explains.

The Doctor tells Rose and Jack it is the Emperor. It says the Doctor destroyed them. The Dalek race died in his inferno.

"Obviously not." Donna rolls her eyes.

It explains that his ship survived, falling through time. The Doctor says he gets it but the other Daleks all tell him not to interrupt. The Doctor tells them if there is one thing he can do, it's talk.

"Tell me about it." Martha laughs.

"Hard to believe he actually thinks the one thing he can do is talk in that regeneration. It only gets worse." Donna agrees in amusement.

"Oi!" Ten protests. "I'm not that bad." Everyone gives him a look of disbelief and he mutters about being ganged up on.

He continues that he has five billion languages and they don't have a way of stopping him.

"Lord help us, he'll be there for years if they just let him talk." Sarah Jane grins.

He adds that if anyone is going to shut up, it's them. Readdressing the Emperor he asks where they were. The Emperor explains that they waited in the dark, rebuilding as they quietly infiltrated systems of Earth over centuries. They harvested the prisoners, refugees and they were filtered, pulped and sifted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured.

"Oh my god." Rose gasps. "They are actually part human. The last time one took any DNA from a human it went insane."

"I think these are insane." Nine corrects her gently.

The Doctor says they created an army from the dead and Rose points out they are half human. The Emperor says those words are blasphemy and all the Daleks chant at her not to blaspheme.

"Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" Donna raises an eyebrow.

"Not till now." Nine shrugs.

The Emperor states that everything human has been purged so that they are pure Dalek. The Doctor asks when Daleks grew a concept of blasphemy. The Emperor tells him that he made new life and that he is the God of all Daleks. Other Daleks all chant worship him. The Doctor realises they are all insane from hiding in silence for so long. He adds it's worse than that, they are driven mad by the stink of humanity and they hate their own existence, making them more deadly than ever.

"So it is sort of what happened with the one in the museum?" Sarah Jane asks.

"On a somewhat lesser scale and yet greater all at the same time. The one in the museum wanted to destroy itself because it began to feel emotions and it couldn't deal with them. These don't quite have emotions, they just hate the knowledge that they came from humans but it's not powerful enough to want to destroy themselves, just everything else. This also took centuries to occur. Obviously, some human concepts have remained, such as blasphemy and worship." Ten explains.

The Doctor says they are going and the Emperor says they may not leave his presence. A Dalek tells them to stay where they are and call out exterminate. The trio get back in the TARDIS, the Doctor giving them a smug smile as he closes the door and the Daleks start shooting at the forcefield. He leans against the doors inside for a few moments. The TARDIS materialises back on floor 500 and the Doctor instructs everyone to turn everything up and put the transmitters to full power. Snapping at them to do it now when nobody moves.

"They are going to follow you." Martha points out. "Why go back to the Satellite?"

"Because the Daleks will go there anyway and kill anyone left onboard. If I'm going to stop them, it needs to be from there." Nine shrugs.

"We have a bit of a headstart." Rose points out, trying to be optimistic.

Pavale asks what it does and the Doctor tells him it stops the Daleks transmatting on board. He asks how they got on with contacting Earth. Pavale explains that all they did was suspend their license for stopping the programmes.

"Oh my god." Donna snorts. "That's what humans are reduced to? Don't care if they die but stop the TV and bam that's awful."

The Doctor points out the planet is defenceless and then realises Lynda is still on board and asks why she is still there. She says she didn't want to leave him.

Ten mutters to himself under his breath. If she had gone she would have lived.

The woman points out there weren't enough shuttles. There are people stranded on level zero. On floor Zero, Rodrick is trying to get hold of his money, he clearly cares about nothing else.

"Urgh. What an idiot." Rose rolls her eyes.

Pavale says the fleet is moving. The Daleks are on their way. On the Dalek spaceship the Emperor orders them to purify the Earth with fire and states that the planet will become his temple.

"Hmmm. Daleks want temples now?" Rose looks confused.

"Even the Emperor himself is insane." Jack notes, wide-eyed.

On floor 500 the Doctor is pulling bits out of the conduits. He says the Daleks made a big mistake, asking what they have left him with. When nobody answers he states it's obvious, a big transmitter and if he can change the signal? Jack realises first and says he has to be kidding.

"You're not serious?" Jack looks at Nine.

"I most definitely am." He gives Jack his manic grin.

The Doctor looks up, grinning maniacally and says give the man a prize. Jack asks if he means a Delta Wave. The Doctor exclaims a Delta Wave. Rose asks what that is and Jack explains that it's a wave of Van Cassadyne energy that fries your brain. Your head gets barbequed.

"What about everyone on the station?" Donna asks.

"Should be fine once I refine the wave." Nine grins. Inwardly he is doing the same calculations and realising he will never been done in time. He grips Rose tighter reflexively. His older self said regeneration was coming up, he assumed that meant he didn't get this done in time and they stopped the Daleks some other way.

The Doctor confirms Satellite 5 can transmit a massive wave to wipe out the Daleks. Lynda tells him to get started and he points out that it should take about three days, while still frantically pulling wires out. He asks how long till the fleet arrive and Pavale says twenty two minutes.

"So that's not going to work then?" Martha states anxiously.

The Dalek fleet is showing flying through space. Then Jack says they now have a forcefield so the Daleks can't just blast them out of the sky. Pavale asks if they know about the Delta Wave and Jack says they will have worked it out at the same time. He states he can concentrate the extrapolator on the top five levels so they will have to board on level 494 and fight their way up. Pavale asks who they are fighting and Jack says them.

"They'll kill you!" Rose looks at him in horror.

"We need to buy enough time for the Doctor to get the Delta Wave ready or we all die." Jack tells her sadly.

Pavale asks what they are fighting with and Jack says they guards had guns with bastic bullets which is enough to blow a Dalek wide open.

"You need to focus on the eye stalk. The Dalek forcefield will melt the bullets." Nine tells him, anxious for the former conman.

The woman points out there are five of them and the Doctor calls Rose over to help him so she corrects herself, there are four of them.

"They are going to need all the help they can get." Rose points out.

"I'm going to need all the help I can get." The Doctor replies. "Do you really think I will be able to concentrate at all if you are down there fighting Daleks?"

Jack tells them to move it and isolate the lift controls as Lynda wanders over towards the Doctor. Pavale and the woman run off and Lynda tells the Doctor she just wanted to say thanks and she will do her best. He awkwardly looks at her and says he will too. They even more awkwardly shake hands and she moves away. Rose looks after her and then turns back to stripping wires, looking annoyed.

"Ah, you can be jealous later Rosie." Jack smirks at her.

"Na, I'll be too happy we are alive later, might as well get it in now." She laughs.

Jack now comes over and says it has been fun but he guesses this is goodbye. Rose tells him not to talk like that and that the Doctor is going to do it.

Rose looks at Jack now, tears in her eyes. Jack gives her a small smile.

"There are worse things to die for." He tells her.

"No." She mumbles.

He tells her she is worth fighting for and kisses her. Then he turns to the Doctor saying he wishes he had never met him as he was better off as a coward. Then he kisses the Doctor.

"Ha! I didn't need to buy you that drink after all." Jack smirks triumphantly.

"Caught me by surprise is all." Nine rolls his eyes, fighting back the sadness threatening to engulf him that more people were dying for him.

"So much for superior Time Lord reflexes." Rose teases, realising what the two men were doing.

Jack stands back and says see you in hell before running off. Rose turns to the Doctor saying he will be alright. When he doesn't answer she looks sad. On floor Zero, Jack is standing on a pile of crates and fires a machine gun to get everyone's attention. He calls one last time for any more volunteers, there is a small group of them already beside him, as there is an army about to invade. Rodrick tells everyone not to listen to him as the Daleks disappeared thousands of years ago. The Floor Manager volunteers.

"Rodrick really needs a reality check." Donna snorts.

"They wouldn't lie about an attack. Not when contestants and game show runners are all intermingled like that." Martha points out.

Jack thanks her and tells everyone that the Daleks will board on floor 494 and they will go up as far as he can tell. He adds that is not a promise so advices them to keep silent. He says if they hear fighting up above, if they hear them dying, then tell him Daleks aren't real. Jack, Lynda and the few volunteers all get in the lift.

"Problem is, there are so many the Daleks have enough to go up and down." Sarah Jane notes sadly.

Back on floor 500 Rose and the Doctor are working. She says suppose but trails off and he asks what. She dismisses it but he presses she said suppose. She says that obviously he can't but she was thinking why he can't go back to last week and warn them. He reminds her that as soon as the TARDIS lands he becomes part of events. She says she thought it would be something like that.

"So nothing we can do then?" Rose sighs.

"Not with the TARDIS. Don't need more reapers." Nine tells her. "Mind you, would be nice if they ate the Daleks.

The Doctor says there is another thing the TARDIS could do. It could take them away and let history take its course.

"You wouldn't do that." Martha frowns.

"No, I wouldn't. I was pointing out that Rose didn't even think of it. Most humans would have wanted to get out of there." Ten smiles softly.

"I'm not leaving you." Rose tells him hotly. His smiles dims a little.

Rose says he wouldn't do that and he points out that she could ask and that it never even occurred to her. She says she is just too good. The Doctor says the Delta Wave is building and wonders how long it needs. They run to a console. He reads the screen and then bows his head.

"That bad? Not going to be ready then?" Sarah Jane asks quietly. "You'll come up with something." She smiles confidently, knowing it isn't going to be that easy.

Rose asks how bad it is. Suddenly he turns to her and jumps up saying she is a genius, babbling about using the TARDIS to cross his old timeline.

"You just said you can't do that." Mickey points out. Nine looks at Rose guiltily. She frowns for a second and then realises exactly what he is planning.

"Don't you dare! Don't even think about it!" She shouts at him.

"Rose…" He pleads.

"No! No! This is not ok. I'm not leaving you to and Jack to die." She glances over at Jack who is looking relieved at the Doctor's decision. "You want him to do this?"

"If it's not going to be ready, we are all gonna die Rose. If he can save you it's worth it." Jack tells her gently.

"That's not fair. You both are going to stay and fight but send me away. I told you I'd never leave you!" She turns sits back, not leaning against Nine's side as she was before.

They go into the TARDIS and he tells her to hold a button down and keep position. She asks what it does and he replies it cancels the buffers. He adds that if he is clever, and he is more than clever, he might just save the world or rip it apart. Rose says she'd go for the first one and he agrees. He tells her he needs to power up the Game Station and to hold on.

"You're not even going to ask me!" She yells. "You're tricking me into being sent away!"

"I promised I'd protect you." He is yelling back now.

"It's my life and my choice. You don't get to make that decision for me!" Both of them are standing now, glaring at each other. Rose bites her lip and then moves over to sit with Mickey and Martha. Nine watches her before sinking sadly back onto the couch. Mickey wraps an arm around her.

The Doctor runs out and stops in the midst of his mares-nest of cables. He looks back at the Tardis then points the sonic screwdriver at it. The engines start. Rose calls out, asking if she can take her hand off as it's moving. She runs to the door begging him to let her out.

Rose puts her face in her hands and both Doctors flinch slightly.

The Doctor watches sadly as the TARDIS dematerialises with Rose yelling inside. In the TARDIS a hologram appears stating it is Emergency Programme One. It states that if the message is activated then he is about to die. Rose cries out but it keeps going telling her he promised to look after her so the TARDIS is taking her home. She runs up to the side of it.

Rose mutters under her breath and Mickey squeezes her gently. Sarah Jane gets up and sits down on Rose's other side. So the couch held Martha and Sarah Jane on the ends with Rose and Mickey in the middle. Jack gets up from the beanbag and goes to sit in Rose's spot between the two Doctors.

"You did what you had to." He says quietly, so Rose can't hear him.

"I know." Nine mumbles, his eyes still on Rose. "I wish there was another way. She'll never trust me again. I'll be lucky if she ever forgives me."

"Of course she will." Jack assures him. "That's just who Rose is. Let's get through this because I'm interested to see how on Earth you get out of this one. If it's bad enough you sent Rose away then I'm guessing you think there is no chance, yet we know you live, even if you have to regenerate, and we know she forgives you because she travelled with handsome number two." Ten winks at him. "Besides, you haven't even done it yet."

"But I would. She knows that. I'll never risk her life like that." Nine sighs.

The hologram says he bets she is fussing and moaning, calling it typical. He states that the programme means he is facing an enemy that should never get the TARDIS so let it die and gather dust. It says that if she wants to remember him then she can do one thing. He pauses and looks to the side exactly where she is standing and tells her to have a good life. He asks her to have a fantastic life for him.

"There is no fantastic life without you in it." Rose bites out harshly.

"Better than no life at all." Ten tells her gently.

"No it's not!" She yells.

The hologram flickers out. She stares at it for a second and then dashes to the console saying he can't do this to her. She tries to use the console, begging it to take her back but the engines stop. She runs outside into the Powell Estate and then back inside. She begs it to fly and to help her.

Both Doctors watch her sadly. She had sunk back into Mickey, face in her hands again but Nine spots her wiping her eye and realises she's crying. He desperately wants to go to her but knows he is the last person she wants right now. He needs to fix this but has no idea how. He can't even tell her he regrets what he will do because he doesn't and that will just upset her more.

Rose is torn. She wants to march right over there and slap him for sending her away and then hug him to make sure he is still beside her and not dying. Yet she can't bear to sit next to him when he sent her away. He had tricked her into being sent home where there was no life for her without him. She was furious, miserable and yet still so worried about him even though she knew he lived. The part of her not solely focused on the Doctor was also worried for Jack. The new Doctor hadn't mentioned whether Jack lived or died and that concerned her.

Rose finally gives up and goes outside. Mickey comes running down the road. He says he heard the engines and knew only one things makes that noise. He notices Rose is crying and asks her what's the matter. She doesn't respond but hugs him. On floor 494 Jack calls up to Rose that he has sent up some internal laser codes and asks if she can read them out to him. The Doctor says she's gone. Jack comments of all the times to take a leak.

Some muffled laughter breaks out around the room despite the thick tension.

"Better now than when they arrive." Donna says. Jack shrugs and agrees with her.

Jack, visible on a screen, tells the Doctor to tell Rose to read him the codes when she gets back. The Doctor informs him she isn't coming back. Jack asks where she is and the Doctor tells him to get on with his work. Jack realises he took her home.

"Didn't take me anywhere." Rose scowls. "Tricked me."

The Doctor agrees that he did and Jack asks if the Wave will ever be ready. The Emperor appears on another screen and tells the Doctor to give Jack the truth. It could easily be ready but no chance of refining it. The Delta Wave would kill every single thing in its path. It states all Daleks and humans will die by the Doctor's hand. Jack points out that the transmitter covers all of Earth.

"So you kill the Earth or leave them to be turned into Daleks?" Martha gasps.

"Those are the choices I have to make. Just like I did in the Time War." Nine tells her, his voice quiet and anguished. The sorrow in his voice broke Rose's temper. She looks at him and sees the pain etched across his face, along with his older self. With a nod to Mickey and Sarah Jane she gets up and walks back across to the other couch. Jack immediately jumps up and Rose pulls him into a desperate hug. He returns it.

"I know you hate him sending you away but he loves you too much to watch you die." He whispers in her ear. "And so do I." She smiles at him and kisses his cheek.

"Love you too. You are the brother I never had." She whispers back and then lets go of him. He sits back down on a beanbag and Rose settles between the two Doctors, She runs a hand gently over Nine's face and he breaks out of his revire.

"Rose." He breathes. His hand comes up and his fingertips brush away some stray tears. She tries for a smile. Her hand not on his face comes up to clutch his. Then they settle back against the couch.

"I'm still mad at you." She reminds him but her expression is soft and he lets out a light laugh.

"I expected as much." She then takes Ten's hand and he smiles at her.

The Emperor says if he is God, the creator of all things then what does that make the Doctor. The Doctor points out there are colonies of humans out there but they are the only Daleks. The whole Universe is in danger if he lets them live. He points out to Jack these are the decisions he has to make. He asks what Jack would do who replies that he sent Rose home, she is safe and then tells him to keep working. The Emperor points out it will exterminate Jack too who says he never doubted the Doctor and he never will. They grin at each other.

"I figured I was going to die anyway." Jack shrugs. None of it seems quite real yet. It might sink in if he has to see his own dead body but until then he isn't sure how to feel. He is glad that Rose is safe, he couldn't bear to watch her die, anymore than he wants to watch the Doctor die, regenerate, whatever he does.

The Doctor turns to the Emperor and asks about Bad Wolf. It denies having anything to do with it. He says there are no secrets now but it still denies it.

"Well that's weird. What could possibly be doing that then? Another force at work here?" Sarah Jane looks at the screen, confused.

"Maybe it was a warning." Mickey suggests.

"Yeah, but how did it get everywhere?" Donna asks. "If it wasn't the Doctor and it wasn't the Daleks? Who else is powerful enough to do that?" They all look at Ten who shrugs.

"That would ruin the surprise." He says with a small smile.

"Well at least you find out. One mystery down I suppose." Sarah Jane grins.

The Doctor looks up at the BadWolf Corporation sign on the wall. Whole chickens turn in a rotisserie. Jackie and Mickey are eating their meals out of polystyrene containers. Rose isn't eating, she stares out of the window. Jackie is talking about the fact the cafe sells tubs of coleslaw. Mickey and Jackie converse while Rose sits silently.

"What else is a pizza place going to sell? Hamburgers?" Donna rolls her eyes.

After a bit Jackie implores Rose to eat something and Rose turns around saying that he is dying two hundred thousand years in the future when she can do nothing. Jackie points out it's two hundred thousand years in the future and Rose states it is happening now. He is fighting for the whole planet while they sit there and eat chips. Jackie tells her that she loves the Doctor for doing the right thing and sending Rose back.

Nine shudders theatrically when Jackie declares she loves him. Rose lets out a quiet laugh, knowing he is really trying to cheer her up yet knowing she won't be happy till she is with him again.

"Explains how you ended up having Christmas dinner with Jackie." Donna snickers.

"Christmas dinner? With Jackie Tyler? My brain must have fried in that regeneration cycle." Nine groans.

"Oi! My brain is perfectly fine thank you very much." Ten protests indignantly.

Rose asks what she does everyday, go to work, come home and eat chips, asking if that is it. Mickey points out it's what everyone else does and Rose bursts out that she can't. Mickey asks if it's because she is better than them and she says she doesn't mean that.

"Once you've been out there, seeing the things we see and doing the things we do, it's very hard to go back to a normal life." Sarah Jane assures Mickey. "Took me years and I still went into investigating things like what happened at the school. You never forget." Ten looks at her guiltily and Mickey nods his understanding.

She explains that it was a better life. She doesn't mean the travelling and seeing aliens, that doesn't matter but the Doctor showed her a better way of living life. You don't give up, you make a stand and have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away.

"Not everyone is cut out for that life Rose." Nine tells her gently.

"I know, but I am and I can't go back to living any other way." She replies and he swallows nervously, not wanting to start another fight.

Rose runs out of the cafe. On the Observation deck, Jack tells Lynda she is his eyes and ears. When the Daleks get in she is to follow them on the screen and let him know. He tells her they will detect her but the door should keep them out. She questions the should and he tells her it's the best he can do.

"It's safer than pretty much anywhere else on the Station." Martha points out.

Jack asks his wrist computer how long till the fleet arrive and Pavale says they've accelerated. Jack says this is it, they are at war and runs out of the room. Daleks stream out of their spaceships, towards the Game Station.

Rose flinches and shrinks further into Nine's side. She then gestures for Jack to join them on the couch and he settles himself between Rose and Ten.

Mickey and Rose are in a park and he tells her she needs to forget about the Doctor.

"Well that's not going to happen." Jack snorts. "Not the most forgettable person."

Rose asks how she is supposed to forget him and Mickey tells her she needs to start living her own life, a proper life like the Doctor never had. The sort of life she could have with him. However Rose isn't listening, she has spotted large letters painted on the tarmac reading Bad Wolf. She looks around and it's painted on the wall as well.

"So not a warning then." Sarah Jane frowns. "Maybe a message?"

"It's a link between Rose and the Doctor. Maybe that means she can get back." Donna suggests.

"No!" Nine yelps. "You can't come back Rose. Besides, you can't run the TARDIS on your own, it must be something else."

"I'm so coming back. I hope I slap you for sending me away." Rose beams widely. Nine winces.

Mickey says it's been there for years and Rose says she thought it was a warning but realises it's a message. She calls it a link between her and the Doctor. Bad Wolf there and Bad Wolf in the future. Mickey asks what it's saying and she says it's telling her she can get back. The least she can do is help him escape.

"You wouldn't just leave me there would you?" Jack asks jokingly.

"Course not." Rose assures him.

On floor 499 they have made a barricade and people start handing out guns. Jack tells them to stand their ground and wishes them good luck. In the Observation gallery, Lynda informs them that the Daleks are forcing the airlock on floor 494. The satellite shakes and Daleks stream in.

Rose reaches out and grabs Jack's hand, worried she won't get back in time to get him out.

In the TARDIS Rose is saying that all the ship needs to do is make a return trip. Mickey points out they can't do it and Rose says that the ship is telepathic. It is alive and can listen but he points out it isn't listening now. Rose says they need to get inside it. She remembers what happened with Margaret the Slitheen.

"No! Don't you dare Rose Tyler. That could kill you!" Nine looks down at her furiously.

"It gave Margaret what she wanted. It can do the same for me." She points out.

"That's not how it works. It's raw time energy, nobody knows how it works. If you look into that it will drive you mad!" He snaps, nerves fraying every second he watches Rose get more confident in the idea. "Not to mention that means you need to rip my poor ship apart to do it." He adds, trying to lighten the mood.

"It took a rift in time to rip it open last time. Not sure you have one of those handy." Martha adds.

Mickey calls her name and says if she goes back she is going to die. She says that is a risk she needs to take as there is nothing left for her. Mickey looks hurt as he asks if there is nothing and she replies no instantly. He hesitates and then says they should get started getting it open.

"Mickey, I'm so sorry." Rose looks over at him guiltily.

"But it's true isn't it?" He asked with a sigh.

"You're my best mate. Always been there for me even when I don't deserve it but I can't have that life with you." She tells him and he nods.

The Daleks file down a corridor and Jack calls for them to activate internal lasers over a com link. The floor manager does so and Lynda says the Daleks have overridden the defences and caused them to go offline.

"Crap." Jack curses.

The Floor Manager and other volunteers start shooting at the approaching Daleks. The bullets are absorbed into a forcefield around each Dalek. She screams into the com link they he lied to her and the bullets don't work. She is the first to get exterminated.

Everyone looks down sadly, knowing that will be the first on many deaths.

Mickey has fastened a heavy chain to the tow hitch on his Mini. The other end is fastened to the Tardis console. He drives forward slowly, trying to pull it open. Rose yells at him to go faster.

"You are actually trying to pull my ship apart?" Ten looks at her incredulously. He knew she managed it somehow but watching it is even more incredible than thinking about it. He had been too busy trying to make sure she lived to think about how she had achieved it the first time around.

"Like they said, we don't have a handy rift around." Rose shrugs.

Jackie watches as the Mini burns rubber fruitlessly. Mickey growls at his car to come on and Rose calls out it's not moving. The chain breaks and Rose kicks the console in frustration.

"Hey, no need to treat her like that." Nine admonishes. Rose glares at him and he shuts up.

Lynda calls that the advanced guard have made it for 495 and the Doctor looks up from his wires to call to Jack. Jack says 495 should be safe, he likes that floor. Daleks file in and the Anne-droid is there. It vaporises three Daleks in quick succession. Jack cheers and then another Dalek emerges and shoots the Anne-droid, blowing its head off.

"Three down. Lots to go." Jack says cheerfully.

"You were incredibly quick putting up so many defences in about twenty minutes." Donna says, impressed.

"Thanks." He winks at her.

"A stray pretty boy who actually knows what he is doing." Nine smirks.

The Dalek says to proceed to the next level. Lynda calls that they are flying up the ventilation shafts and then corrects herself, they are going down.

"Oh no!" Martha gasps.

The Daleks enter and cause panic. Rodrick keeps babbling about how they can't do this. He won the game and should be rich.

"Oh my god." Rose wants desperately to roll her eyes. She feels horrible that she really wants him to shut up and yet in a few second he will be shut up forever.

Lynda turns off the sound on the console, her hands over her mouth. She states that the Daleks killed everyone on floor zero. In the TARDIS Jackie is telling Rose it was never going to work and the Doctor knew that.

"He doesn't know everything." Mickey smirks.

"Na, course not. Day I know everything will be a very boring day. Might as well stop then." Ten grins.

Rose says she can't give up and Jackie tells her to lock the door and walk away. Rose throws out that her dad would never have given up. Jackie is thrown for a second but replies that he isn't here and if he was he would say the same thing.

"Can't blame her for trying, but he wouldn't say that." Sarah Jane smiles. Just from one episode they all knew Pete Tyler would be helping Rose every way he could.

Rose denies this saying he would tell her to try anything. Jackie points out they are never going to know and Rose says she does know because she met him. Jackie looks at her and tells her not to be ridiculous. Rose presses that the Doctor took her back in time to meet her dad and points out that when her dad died someone was with him. Jackie keeps telling her to stop but Rose keeps saying that the blonde girl was her, that's how good the Doctor is. Jackie tells her to stop it another time before running out of the TARDIS.

Rose looks slightly guilty at upsetting her mum so much but can't help wishing Jackie would understand why she can't stay at home.

"Jackie'll come round." Mickey assures her. Rose smiles slightly hoping it's true.

The Doctor asks Lynda what's happening on Earth. She reports the fleet is descending and bombing whole continents.

"Well there isn't going to be much affected by the Delta Wave then if they've bombed all of Earth." Donna points out.

On the Dalek spaceship the Emperor states he has created Heaven on Earth. On floor 499 Jack is saying they are the last defence. He tells them to concentrate fire on the eyestalk. He also has the forcefield at maximum so Dalek firepower should be at its weakest.

Rose tightens her grip on Jack's hand.

Pavale tells the women he is only there because of her. He joined the programme because she was on it. She asks if she is supposed to say when it's all over and if they live they should go for a drink. He replies it would be nice. She says tough but winks at him. They ready their guns. Outside the TARDIS Mickey is saying there must be something else they can do. Rose wonders if her mum was right and they should just lock the door.

"No way. You're not giving up now." Mickey looks at her. "We are going to get you back."

"Thanks Micks." Rose smiles at him. Nine scowls, still hating this plan and counting in his head the amount of things that could go wrong.

Mickey tells her he isn't having that. They just need something stronger than his car. He looks behind Rose and says something like that. A big yellow recovery truck comes round the corner and stops by the Tardis. Jackie is driving.

Rose beams widely. Mickey smirks that he was right and Jackie came around to the idea of helping. "Not sure I wanna know how mum got her hands on that." Rose jokes.

"I can't believe my poor TARDIS is going to be ripped apart with the help of Jackie Tyler." Ten rolls his eyes but laughs anyway.

"That means it works." Rose latches on to his words. Ten covers his mouth and groans. "YES!" She cheers. This relaxes Nine ever so slightly as he realises doing this won't harm Rose.

Jackie says they have it until six. Rose asks where she got it and Jackie replies that Rodrigo owes her a favour, never mind why. She tells Rose she was right about Pete and hands Mickey the keys telling him to get on with it before she changes her mind. Jack yells at everyone to open fire as Daleks stream in. The Doctor hears the gunfire and begins rushing around faster.

"You're going to need more time." Jack groans.

"No. I think you've held them up nicely." Nine assures him.

The defenders are firing through slits in pieces of bulkhead. None of them hit and Pavale calls it's not working. Jack yells back to concentrate their fire. One Dalek's eyestalk stops working and it cries out it cannot see. The woman cries that they did it just before getting exterminated. Pavale is distraught and reveals himself, firing over the top of the barricade. He also gets exterminated.

"Get out of there Jack. Get back up with the Doctor." Rose begs.

"I can't Rosie. He needs as much time as possible."

On the observation deck Lynda notes she has a problem. A Dalek can be heard outside saying a human female has been detected. The Doctor says that side of the station is reinforced against meteors. She replies she hopes he is right and makes a joke about Earth workmanship.

"Look at her, joining in on insulting species." Donna jokes.

A Dalek with an oxy-acetylene torch instead of plunger starts cutting through the door. Then she turns to see four Daleks rising up outside the big window. One fires, breaking the glass. Lynda screams.

Both Doctors flinch as they remember their promise to keep her safe if she went with him. She had only stayed behind because she wanted to help him and that reinforced how glad he was he had sent Rose away. Everyone else looks down in sorrow.

The Doctor looks up when he hears the scream. Jack backs down a corridor firing at Daleks. He calls he is the last man standing and tells the Doctor to finish the things and kill them. The Emperor on the viewscreen tells him to finish it and kill mankind.

"Most of mankind is already dead. The rest will be turned into Daleks and that is worse than death." Martha urges Nine, seeing the conflict on his face.

Once again, Jackie watches as Rose and Mickey use a chain to try and pull the Tardis console open. Rose yells to keep going and Jackie calls to Mickey to put his foot down. The chain of yelling keeps going, Rose to Jackie to Mickey. Finally the console bursts open. Rose looks inside and golden energy streams into her eyes.

"Rose." Nine groans. He is awed and terrified by the lengths she will go to to save him.

Mickey yells her name but the TARDIS doors slam shut and it dematerialises.

"It worked!" Mickey cheers and Rose beams at him.

"Nothing beats Jackie Tyler." Sarah Jane chuckles.

Still backing up, Jack tells the Doctor he has twenty seconds maximum. The TARDIS hurtles through time, sending energy into Rose all the while.

"You can stop now. You're coming back. It'll kill you if you don't stop." Nine's terror rising despite knowing Rose lived anyway,

Jack runs out of bullets. He throws away the machine gun and takes out a pistol. Then that too is empty. The Dalek calls exterminate. Jack says he kind of figured that and stands tall before a blast throws him backwards into the lift.

"JACK!" Rose throws herself at the man sitting next to her. Everyone looks towards the man in question with looks of the utmost horror. Despite them all only knowing him for a couple of days he had become a friend to all of them.

"Oh god!" Martha gasps, hiding her face in Mickey's shoulder.

Jack's eyes remain fixed on the frozen screen that shows his lifeless body. He can't quite wrap his head around the idea that he will die so soon. He can hear people talking around him but the words don't form properly in his head, nothing makes sense. His arms had wrapped automatically around Rose as she threw herself at him but he is barely aware of her until he is no longer quite sure if his breathing trouble was from dying or from her hug.

"Rose, I need to breath or your going to be the death of me and that's much less heroic." He falls back on his usual joking manner. She pulls back but slaps his chest, tears streaking her face.

"That's not funny." She growls at him. He kisses her forehead.

"I told ya Rosie. Some things are worth dying for, You already know that." He reminds her gently. Focusing on someone else clears his head a little. It's nice to have someone who actually cares if he died. Before meeting these people, he had no one.

"Trust you to be making smart ass remarks to a Dalek when you are out of bullets." Donna gives a strangled laugh but she has a stray tear leaking down her cheek. He tries for a grin himself but he's not sure if he actually manages it. Judging by her laugh, he assumes not.

Ten remains silent. He wants to tell them but his own guilt at leaving his friend stranded eats away at him more than ever. He can list off plenty of excuses, but they are just that. Jack had ridden the TARDIS to the end of the world and they all got back. He would need a way to make the TARDIS ok with Jack, provided it ended up being necessary. If it wasn't though, so many things would change. The Face of Boe would never have sponsored the end of the world viewing he and Rose went to. He wouldn't give his life to save New New York when he went there with Martha. Nor would he be able to give him the warning about the Master. Maybe the Universe needed Jack to become the Face of Boe but that was too much to ask of his friend so he put it off, like he was good at doing.

"Come on, we need to finish this and find out how Rosie saves the day." Jack tells them all. They have all gathered around him at this point and as much as he appreciates it, he wants to get the episode finished and take a break to sort out his thoughts. They all nod and go back to their seat except Rose, who remains half in his lap.

The Doctor announces it is ready just as Daleks come streaming in from every side. He tells them they want to think about it as if he activates the signal every living creature dies. The Emperor says it is immortal and the Doctor asks if it wants to put that to the test. It replies it wants to see the Doctor become like it, calling him the great Exterminator. The Doctor puts both hands on the handle and cries that he will do it. The Emperor tells him to prove himself, asking if he is a coward or a killer.

"You're neither." Rose tells him firmly.

"But I am Rose. I'm both. A coward and a killer. I've been a killer for a very long time, no escaping that fact but now I'm a coward." Nine tells her, realising he cannot press the switch.

"Not killing every single living thing around isn't cowardice." Sarah Jane tells him firmly.

"It is. Half a million Daleks allowed to destroy the world. My people died so they would no longer torment the Universe and I can't finish it." Nine hangs his head. "I condemn all remaining humans to becoming Daleks.

He cannot throw the switch and claims to be a coward any day. The Emperor says mankind will be harvested because of his weakness and the Doctor asks if he will become one off its angels. It calls him a heathen and says he will be exterminated. The Doctor says that maybe it is time and closes his eyes just as the TARDIS begins materialising.

"Oh thank god." Rose breathes.

"Talk about perfect timing." Mickey grins weakly at her. That had been far too close.

A Dalek calls that the TARDIS is materialising. The Doctor whirls around as the doors open and Rose is silhouetted in golden light. He shields his eyes. He staggers backwards and falls down asking what she has done. She says in a voice not quite her own that she looked into the TARDIS as it looked in to her. He says that she looked into the Time Vortex and nobody is meant to see that. The Emperor calls her an abomination and one of the Daleks calls exterminate. Rose holds out a hand and stops the beam.

"Woah. Go Rosie." Jack whistles. She grins. Nine pulls her back towards him, needing to assure himself she didn't burn up as he realises what his future self meant by his regeneration being worth it.

"That's so cool." Rose looks at her onscreen self in amazement.

Rose says she is Bad Wolf. She creates herself, taking the words and scattering them through time and space as a message to lead herself there.

"Damn Rose." Mickey looks at her in astonishment.

"Well that's not the answer I expected, but a very good one." Sarah Jane smiles at Rose.

The Doctor worriedly tells her she needs to stop this. She has the entire vortex running through her head and she is going to burn. Rose looks at him and the golden light in eye eyes vanishes, leaving them brown as she says she wants him safe. Calls him her Doctor and she wants him protected from the false god. He looks confused and terrified.

"Oh Rose." Nine breathes.

"Of course I want you safe." She looks at him bemused.

The Emperor states she cannot hurt it as it is immortal. Rose turns to it and calls it tiny. She can see the whole of time and space. Her eyes turn gold again as she states she takes every atom of its existence and divides them. A Dalek disintegrates.

"Oh my god." Martha breathes.

"Rose is about to take out an entire Dalek fleet on her own." Jack grins widely. "That's our kickass Rosie."

"And don't you forget it, Mister." She winks at him.

"With a fair amount of help from the TARDIS." Ten corrects. No matter how many times he replays this scene in his head it never fails to blow his mind that Rose's deepest desire was to keep him safe.

She continues that everything must come to dust and everything dies. The other Daleks begin to disintegrate as she announces that the Time War ends. The Emperor cries that it will not die, it cannot die and the spaceship disappears in a golden wave. The Doctor tells Rose she has done it and to stop, she needs to let it go. Rose asks how she can let go of it and that she brings life. Jack breathes again.

"Holy…!" Jack exclaims.

"Jack! You're ok!" Rose cries out.

"You...I'm...what the hell?" He has barely even gotten the idea in his head that he died and now he is suddenly not dead. Jack finds he isn't sure how to deal with that either.

"Thank goodness you're alive." Martha grins over at him and he tries for a smile in return. It washes over him that she has all this power, so much running through her head and yet Rose still thought to bring him back. He swallows hard at the idea of someone caring about him that much. He wonders if she bought everyone back or just him.

"Thanks Rosie." He chokes out and then leans over to give her a hug. With Nine unwilling to let her go it ends up being a threeway hug. Eventually they all sit back.

The Doctor tells her it's wrong. She can't control life and death. Rose retorts that she can. The sun and moon, light and day. Then she pauses and asks why they hurt. He says the power is going to kill and it's all his fault, he hangs his head.

"It's not your fault. I chose this." Rose glares at him. "I wanted to do this. I wouldn't change it either."

She states she can see everything. He looks up at her in amazement. She continues that she can see all that is, was and all that could ever be. He stands up and says that is what he sees all the time. He asks if it drives her mad. Then Rose whimpers her head. He tells her to come her, grabbing her arms. She says it's killing her. He says he thinks she needs a Doctor.

Rose slaps his arm looking both exasperated and amused.

"Really Doc?" Jack can't stop himself from commenting.

"Rose always needs a Doctor. Well, one Doctor in particular." Donna smirks.

He kisses her and the golden energy transfers from her eyes to his. The nshe faints in his arms and he lowers her to the ground gently. He exhales the energy back into the TARDIS, the light vanishes and the doors close. Jack staggers to his feet and then wanders to where the Dalek was. He picks up a handful of dust and then runs when he hears the TARDIS. He's too late and it dematerialises, leaving him stranded. He looks anguished.

"What the hell?" He demands angrily, looking around at Ten. "After all that, you just leave me there? Are you even planning on coming back?"

"I'm so sorry Jack. So sorry. I was starting to regenerate, never a good process and Rose was unconscious. I'll explain later. It's best if you hear it in private." Ten tells him quietly, looking sadly at his friend. Jack looks like he wants to respond but just shakes his head and looks back fixedly at the screen. He sees Rose hit Nine's chest out of the corner of his eyes and forces himself not to smile slightly.

Rose wakes up on the floor of the TARDIS and asks what happened. He asks if she remembers and she says there was singing. He says he sang a song and the Daleks ran away.

"I've heard you sing, so I could actually believe that." Rose snorts.

"Oi! I have a wonderful voice." He protests.

She recalls being at home and then in the TARDIS with some light but she can't remember much else. The Doctor is watching his hand which has golden light flickering on the back. He looks at her and says he was going to take her to so many places like Barcelona. Informing her he means the planet not the city, where they have dogs with no noses. They both laugh, though Rose looks confused, and then she asks why they can't go. He says maybe she will, maybe he will but not like this.

"Really? This is how you tell me you're about to regenerate?" Rose looks at him in exasperation.

"Well, it's not the easiest topic." He winces. "I did think I'd have longer before needing to tell you." She rolls her eyes.

She tells him he isn't making any sense and he says he may never make sense again. He might have two heads or no heads, before quickly adding on not to say it's an improvement.

Laughter ripples around the room. "It'd be quieter if you had no head." Donna snickers.

"Oi!" Ten protests.

He tells her the process is a bit dodge and then double over in pain. She cries out and reaches for him but he yells at her to stay away. Rose asks him to tell her what is going on and he says he absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex and nobody is meant to do that. Every cell in his body is dying. She asks if there is anything he can do and he tells her he is doing it. He tries to explain that Time Lords cheat death and he is going to change. He won't see her again with his face.

"I like your daft old face." Rose mutters. She's crying again. Despite the fact she likes the new version of the Doctor, it's hard watching the man she loves dying. He was her first Doctor and the one she fell in love with. Even though he is still beside her, watching him about to change is so hard.

He says before he goes and Rose tells him not to talk like that. He says her name and starts again that before he goes he wants to tell her she was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic and then asks if she knows what. She shakes her head slightly still looking utterly bewildered. He adds 'So was I'.

Everybody laughs again. "That's such a Doctor thing to say right before he dies." Mickey rolls his eye in amusement.

"Well, I was." Nine smirks.

Golden light burst out of the Doctor's body. Everything changes very suddenly and the tenth Doctor is standing there. He says hello and then pauses looking surprised. He comments on having new teeth and then asks where he was. He remembers and says Barcelona before grinning widely and the screen goes black.

"Well, I think we all need a break after that. Let's have dinner and we can start this again tomorrow." Martha suggests. They all nod and slowly people start making their way over to the food that has just appeared.

"Come on, I'll explain." Ten grabs Jack's arm and walk towards the other end of the room. Rose heads over with them, eager to hear what exactly happened to Jack afterwards.