Chapter 39
"Yeah, I've tried calling her, but I can't get through. But she's still with the Doctor, I know that much, and the last time she phoned, it was from a planet called Midnight, made of diamonds", Wilf is explaining.
"What the hell are you all on about?", Sylvia asks, bewildered.
"Look, she's out there, sweetheart. Your daughter. She's travelling the stars with that Doctor. She always has been".
"Don't be ridiculous", she scoffs, but she gives me a sideways glance. I bet she's thinking, oh, right, this one could be an alien indeed.
"Oh, come on, open your eyes. Look at the sky. Look at, look at the Daleks. You can't start denying things now. Ask Zoe if you don't believe me".
"You're my last hope", Rose says. "If we can't find Donna, can't find the Doctor. Where is he?".
I shake my head. "I really have no other plan. Came here looking for a way to get in touch with them, same as you. I'm trying Jack again, but the line's not working". Jack, Gwen, Ianto, the tourist shop on Mermaid Quay, I'm calling everyone, no signal.
"But can't you do that mind thing the Doctor says", Wilf asks, gesturing.
Rose looks at me warily. I search the psychic link, but the Doctor's nowhere near Earth. Or, hiding.
"What, you are a telepath now?", Rose states. "You sure weren't one last time I saw you".
Last time we've met, must have been on the Game Station. I haven't seen her for… ages now, and she's very different. She looks older, which is normal, but her face is also harder, and overall she looks like a proper badass now. I wish I knew her better. Also, now I want the Doctor to come back fast because I can't wait for him to see her. Well, yes, I'm a cynic, and also a romantic.
"Turns out", I explain, "There was a lot I didn't know about myself back then." I pause, because I'm actually scared to tell her. "I'm a Time Lady".
"Haha", Rose says, laughing. "You're joking, right?", she pauses, thinking. "But you've…" she starts, a little stiff. "You've been traveling with them? The Doctor and Donna?". She glances at Donna's family who clearly knows me. I was here for tea no longer than a month ago.
"Rose" - seriously, it feels so strange to actually have a conversation with her - "a lot has happened since the last time we crossed path".
"Well I don't remember him being your biggest fan", she glares "Nor was I, if I may say. But I didn't know he could turn humans into Time Lords", she says, sadly- I'm sure she's wondering, why her? "like… vampires?". She's still trying to joke about it.
"He didn't-oh boy. I wasn't turned into a Time Lady, I already was. And I was set free. And not by the Doctor. But that's a really, really long story".
"Well there's not much we can do besides waiting", she shrugs. And she's right. Two dear beloved companions of the Doctor, and both useless. Why can't I get in touch with Torchwood? Are they all right? "So,", she sighs, "Is there a whole gang of Time Lords around now? He's not…". She stops.
Rose met the Doctor right after the end of the war. She has seen how lonely he was.
"The Master - he used to be a friend of the Doctor, and then he turned into his biggest enemy - he made me. But he's gone now".
She looks puzzled, taking in the information. "So it's only you and him left", she thinks aloud. She looks down, then at me, nervously. "and… are you two-".
Of course she asks. The Doctor said many times that travel between parallel worlds is impossible, and given the twenty-six planets around Earth, something must be very wrong with the universe in order for Rose to be here. But she vanished in Canary Wharf, that was a long time ago. She spent all this time trying to figure out how to come back, never doubting that she would find him again, waiting for her.
"Rose", I tell her, "No. And - he will be so happy to see you". I smile.
She weights my words, but then she smiles too.
A beeping sound gets us back to the present moment. I check my phone, but it's not it. We look around, it's Donna's laptop. The signal comes with interference first, then it gets clearer.
"Can anyone hear me? The Subwave Network is open. You should be able to hear my voice. Is there anyone there?".
"I know that voice", Rose jumps up, running to the laptop.
"Can anyone hear me? This message is of the utmost importance. We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?", the voice repeats.
The image on the screen gets clearer, and I recognize her too. "Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you. Now stand to attention, sir".
So she's talking to Jack too? I already feel relieved. "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister".
"Harriet, it's me! It's me. Oh, she can't hear me", Rose says, defeated when she doesn't get a reply.
"Have you got a webcam?", I ask Wilf, pulling out my laser screwdriver.
"No, she wouldn't let me. She said they're naughty", Wilf shrugs.
"Well we can't speak to her then, can we?", she looks at me.
"Is there a microphone?".
"What for?" Wilf asks.
Rose shakes her head. All we can do is listen and watch, as Harriet Jones patches everyone through the same channel. The screen splits into four. She's in one corner, and on the opposite one, Torchwood. Jack, Ianto and Gwen. I let out a deep breath. Another corner switches from static to a woman I don't know.
"Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman road".
"Yeah, yeah, I am here, yeah, that's me", she says.
The fourth corner is still static. "The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through", Harriet continues, "I'll boost the signal".
"That's us! Harriet, we're here!", Rose is sort of screaming into the screen now.
The fourth corner clears and Martha Jones in her UNIT spy suit, shows up. "Hello?".
I'm so relieved that everybody is okay that I almost don't care that we can't join the conversation.
"Haha", Jack says, cheerful as I am "Martha Jones!".
"Who's she? Why can't we get through?" Rose asks me, looking at the laser screwdriver in my hands.
"Martha is a good friend", I tell her. "And I can't do anything, there's nothing to boost. We can only receive".
"Martha, where are you?", Jack asks.
"I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought. One second I was in Manhattan, next second… Maybe Indigo tapped into my mind, because I ended up in the one place that I wanted to be: …home. And all of a sudden, it's like the laptop turned itself on".
"That was me", Harriet explains, then introduces herself to Martha and the others.
"Not now, Captain", she scolds Jack, "and Martha Jones, former companion to the Doctor".
"Oi, so was I", Rose says.
"But how did you find me?", Martha asks.
Harriet explains. "This, ladies and gentlemen, this is the Subwave Network. A sentient piece of software programmed to seek out anyone and everyone who can help to contact the Doctor.
"What if the Daleks can hear us?", Martha asks.
"No, that's the beauty of the Subwave. It's undetectable". She replies.
"And you invented it?", Sarah Jane asks.
"I developed it", Harriet continues. "It was created by the Mister Copper Foundation".
I know mr. Copper! He was the old man on the Titanic, who ended up stranded on Earth and super rich. Well done, Mr. Copper!.
"Yeah, but what we need right now is a weapon", Jack says. "Martha, back there at UNIT, what, what did they give you? What was that key thing?".
"The Osterhagen key", Martha says.
Harriet cuts in. "That key is not to be used, Doctor Jones. Not under any circumstances".
"But what is an Osterhagen key?" Jack insists.
"Forget about the key, and that's an order", she repeats, and she's standing her ground. "All we need is the Doctor".
"Only, excuse me, Harriet, but. Well, the thing is, if you're looking for the Doctor, didn't he depose you?", Sarah Jane asks.
"He did. And I've wondered about that for a long time, whether I was wrong", Harriet replies. "But I stand by my actions to this day, because I knew, I knew that one day, the Earth would be in danger, and the Doctor would fail to appear. I told him so myself, and he didn't listen".
"But I've been trying to find him. The Doctor's got my phone on the Tardis, but I can't get through". Martha says.
"Nor me, and I was there first", Rose says, a little annoyed.
"That's why we need the Subwave. To bring us all together. Combine forces. The Doctor's secret army".
Jack starts thinking aloud. "Wait a minute. We boost the signal. That's it. We transmit that telephone number through Torchwood itself, using all the power of the rift". Why didn't we think of that before?
"And we've got Mister Smith", Sarah Jane's son says. I understand that Mr. Smith is their… computer? "He can link up with every telephone exchange on the Earth. He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time", he explains, happily. Billions of phones, calling out all at once".
Ianto shows his face in the Torchwood cam. "Excuse me. Sorry. Sorry. Hello. Ianto Jones. Er, if we start transmitting, then this Subwave Network is going to become visible. I mean, to the Daleks.
"Yes, and they'll trace it back to me. But my life doesn't matter. Not if it saves the Earth".
Jack salutes her with respect. "Ma'am".
"Thank you, Captain", she replies, unfazed, "but there are people out there dying on the streets".
"Marvellous woman", says Wilf. "I voted for her."
"He did not", Sylvia says.
When the rift power is activated and the super computer is connected, Harriet opens the subway network.
"Mister Smith, make that call", Sarah Jane instructs.
"Calling the Doctor", the computer chirps.
Instinctively, I take my phone and try calling the Doctor again. So does Rose. So do Wilf and Sylvia.
"Aaaand sending", Jack says, opening the rift.
Of course, it doesn't work. Not immediately, I mean. At Torchwood everything is blasting with the overload of the rift energy. Sarah Jane's supercomputer is sparkling, and Gwen alerts Harriet that the Daleks have found her, since she was using the network to mask Torchwood's transmission.
"Captain, I'm transferring the Subwave Network to Torchwood. You're in charge now. And tell the Doctor from me", Harriet says. "He chose his companions well. It's been an honor"
Harriet's portion of the screen goes to static white noise. I look at Rose, Wilf and Sylvia, opening my mouth to speak, but no words come out.
And then, the Doctor and Donna appear in that quarter of the screen. I yelp with joy.
"Yes!", Rose whispers, her face raw with emotions, relief, and just genuinely, I'm guessing, comfort in finally seeing his face again after all this time.
"Where the hell have you been?", Jack shouts. "Doctor, it's the Daleks".
"It's the Daleks. They're taking people to their spaceship" Sarah Jane says.
"It's not just Dalek Caan", Martha is saying.
Sylvia jumps near the screen. "It's Donna!".
"That's my girl!", Wilf smiles, relieved.
I try the psychic link, but it's still too far away.
"Sarah Jane. Who's that boy? …That must be Torchwood. Oh, they're brilliant. Look at you all, you clever people", the Doctor is smiling in the screen.
"That's Martha", Donna says. "And who's he?".
"Captain Jack" he replies absentmindedly, then scolds her with his finger. "Don't. Just don't. Tell me Captain, is any version of Zoe with you lot?".
Rose looks at me, sad.
"Negative. She was- current Lady Zoe. She was getting to London when the planet was transported, so, she went looking for Donna's family, last I heard. Haven't been able to get in touch with her for a while now"-
"We're fine! We're okay!", Wilf cheers.
The Doctor nods, and I finally find a faint, distant trace of him through the psychic link. That I might follow. The time rings shines for an instant.
"Doctor, it's me, I came back", Rose whispers, looking at the screen.
"It's like an outer space Facebook", Donna says, smiling.
"Everyone except Rose", the Doctor says, bitterly.
"We've lost them" I hear Donna say, as static interference comes through the screen.
"No, no, no, no, no. There's another signal coming through. There's someone else out there. Hello? Can you hear me? Rose?". Aha. So now he does believe that Rose could come back.
"Your voice is different, and yet its arrogance is unchanged", a weak, nasty old voice says.
"No. But he's dead", Sarah Jane says. I'm making mental post-it notes of things to ask the Doctor when I find him. Who is Sarah Jane?
"Welcome to my new Empire" the ugly voice continues. "Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, lord and creator of the Dalek race".
"Doctor?" I hear Donna trying to comfort him.
"Have you nothing to say?" Davros continues, mocking him.
I hear Donna again. "Doctor, it's all right. We're, we're in the Tardis. We're safe".
The Doctor's voice is sad and worried, incredulous. "But you were destroyed. In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysium", I shiver at the mention of the war. "I saw your command ship fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you".
"But it took one stronger than you", Davros continues. "Dalek Caan himself". Another post-it: who's this Dalek Caan?
"I flew into the wild and fire. I danced and died a thousand times", a laughing Dalek voice chirps, more sinister than ever. I exchange glances with Rose.
"Emergency temporal shift took him back into the Time War itself", Davros explains.
"But that's impossible. The entire War is timelocked".
Now. I know that's not the right time, but this is at least the third time I hear of someone cheating the time lock on the last great Time War. I hope the time lock I installed at Torchwood actually works better than that.
"And yet he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine. A single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?".
"And you made a new race of Daleks".
"I gave myself to them, quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body. New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor. What do you have, now?".
The Doctor replies, whispering. "After all this time, everything we saw, everything we lost… I have only one thing to say to you", I feel his mood shifting. "Byyyyyye!", he shouts.
The subwave networks falls dead. Rose is already on the phone. "I'm calling mission control", she tells me, "They can lock me to the Tardis as soon as they land".
"We're going to find them", I turn to Sylvia and Wilf.
"Can I come with you?", Wilf says.
"Zoe", Rose calls. "There's no time- Wish us luck!", Rose says, gleefully.
"I'll do anything to bring her back", I tell Wilf and Sylvia, who's still looking at me suspiciously.
"Zoe!", Rose calls, before zapping in a flash into thin air.
"Oh", I say. "Guess we're taking two cars then".
I close my eyes, focusing on the ring and on the psychic link. I'm always a bit wary of the golden light - still can't know for sure where it will take me, but when I open my eyes again, I'm standing, without stumbling, in an almost deserted street.
The Tardis is there. And Donna. And the Doctor. And Rose.
And a Dalek.
In fact, as the Doctor and Rose are running towards each other with the happiest smiles I've ever seen, the Dalek charges.
"Exterminate".
Rose sees it. The Doctor sees it, and slows down, but he's hit anyway. My blaster is stuck again, but Jack teleports right by my side, and takes the Dalek out with a giant rifle. I should really find one of those too.
Rose is already rushing to the Doctor. "I've got you", she pants. "It missed you. Look, it's me, Doctor".
"Rose", he says, gulping.
"Hi".
"Long time no see", he pants.
Jack, Donna and I get to their side, Jack picks up Rose's rifle.
"Yeah. Been busy, you know. Don't die. Oh, my God. Don't die. Oh my god, don't die", Rose repeats.
"Let's get him into the Tardis, quick", I instruct. Ages ago, I did survive a Dalek ray. But even the Doctor couldn't explain how.
"Move!", Jack says.
We get inside - oh, I've missed this ship. We lay him on the floor.
"What, what do we do?. There must be some medicine or something", Donna says, panicking.
"Just step back. Rose, do as I say, and get back", Jack says.
I swallow hard. "He's dying. And Rose, you know what happens next". I start shivering. I hear his heartbeats in my mind.
"What do you mean? He can't", Donna says.
Rose cries now, whispering. "Oh, no. I came all this way".
"What do you mean, what happens next?", Donna asks, looking at me.
The Doctor lifts his right hand. It begins to glow. His eyes search mine. "It's starting", I tell Rose. "Come here", I insist, pulling Donna away from the Doctor as Jack pulls away Rose.
"Here we go. Good luck, Doctor", he says.
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?". Donna asks again.
I come back to the Doctor who's struggling to stand up.
"When he's dying, his… his body, it repairs itself. It changes". I remember the Master regenerating. It wasn't nice to see. "Every single cell on his body gets replaced, and he's… reborn a different man".
"But you can't!", Rose cries again.
"I'm sorry, it's too late. I'm regenerating", he pants, holding to the console. He nods at me, and I step back to the others.
I almost want to reassure her - the Doctor will be handsome and caring and funny even with his next face, but suddenly I realise I've never heard that Doctor mention Rose, not once.
The light starts shining from his body, blinding and hot, powerful, and I get ready to greet the floppy haired, hazel-eyed manic Doctor but then something unexpected happens. I look at his golden shape as he sort of struggles to channel the regeneration energy at Rose's feet - uh? No, not at her feet, at the hand in the jar.
And when the light stops, he's still the same Doctor.
What the f-
Jack looks at me, confused. I shrug. "I didn't know that was… an option".
"Now then, where were we?", the Doctor says, stretching his neck.