Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who that goes to the BBC
Vastra awoke on a dirt floor before she stood up hurriedly and saw Strax propped against a wide square column. She looked around and saw a window high up and the dark skies through it. The Silurian looked higher and saw the window was in the bottom row of three. The top window on the left was cracked and above them were backwards letters that read 'POLICE'.
As Vastra continued to look in amazement, she realised where they were, and that was inside the space between the inner and outer shells of the TARDIS.
"This base is surrounded!" Strax announced as he woke up and quickly stood up, "Lay down your weapons and your deaths will be merciful!"
"Jenny!" Vastra yelled as she saw her wife's body and rushed over to her before she kneeled beside her, "Jenny!"
"This planet is now property of the Sontaran Empire!" Strax went on, "Surrender your women and intellectuals."
"Strax, please!" Vastra called out to the Sontaran, "She's dead."
Strax then hurried over to them and pulled out a handheld device with his right hand and scanned Jenny's vital signs with it as it beeped.
"No heartbeat," Strax reported, "Complete cardio-collapse. Shock induced."
"Get her back for me!" Vastra pleaded with him as she gripped his shoulders with both of her hands, "Get her back for me, or I will cut you into pieces!"
"Unhand me, ridiculous reptile!" Strax ordered her before he shoved Vastra back, causing her to fall to the ground as he held the device over Jenny's chest and activated it, causing Jenny to cough as Vastra stroked her left cheek with her right hand, "There we go. Just applied an electro-cardio restart. She'll be fine."
"Are you all right, my love?" Vastra asked her wife as they looked at each other, "Can you hear me?" Jenny then nodded her head with confirmation.
"Oh, it is a relatively simple thing," Strax told them.
"I have not found it so," Vastra argued as she helped Jenny stand just as the Whisper Men approached with the Great Intelligence, using the body of Simeon as a host behind his Whisper Men.
"I see you have repaired your pet," the Great Intelligence told the Silurian as he walked past his Whisper Men towards the Paternoster Gang, "No matter, I was only attracting your attention. I presume I have it."
"Dr. Simeon," Vastra said with disbelief in her voice, "This is not possible."
"And yet here we are, meeting again," the Great Intelligence retorted, "So very far from home."
"But he died," Jenny told her wife with confusion in her voice, "You told me."
"Simeon died, but the creature that possessed him lived on," Vastra explained, "I take it I am now talking to the Great Intelligence?"
"Welcome to the final resting place of the cruel tyrants," the Great Intelligence told them as he walked across the room towards a doorway with his arms behind his back, "Of the slaughterers of the ten billion, and the vessels of the final darkness." The Whisper Men then walked behind the Paternoster Gang, causing them to turn around before the Great Intelligence stopped walking and turned around towards them, "Welcome to the tomb of the Doctor and his wife, Rose Smith."
The Doctor, Rose, Sydney, Jack and Clara walked through a doorway into a dark tunnel lined with invading roots as the Time Lord had found a torch and removed it from its sconce with him already having lit the torch.
"Where are we?" Clara asked them.
"Catacombs," the Doctor answered as he started to walk down the tunnel.
"Yes, we're in the catacombs of our tomb," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she glanced around at the dark root-lined tunnel before she followed him down the tunnel.
"From the look of it, it does look like one," Jack stated, agreeing with them as he looked around as well before he followed them down the tunnel as well.
"Yeah, it definitely feels like we're in the right place," Sydney muttered, agreeing with them as he also followed them down into the tunnel.
"I hate catacombs," Clara remarked as she followed them into the tunnel, "So how come I met your dead friend and wife?"
"Oh, well…" The Doctor began to answer, "You know how it is when you lose someone close to you. Me and Rose sort of made a back-up."
"It was something we discovered when we first met River from our perspective," Rose added, "It helped us keep her around in a way."
"Yeah, they told me about that not long after I first met River," Jack chuckled, "Trust them to come up with a clever plan like that."
"I've heard the story countless times growing up," Sydney told them before he looked at his parents, "You both also had a companion named Donna travelling with you at the time right?" It's an incredible tale."
"She was, Sid," Rose confirmed with a bit of sadness in her voice, "Donna was indeed travelling with us at the time when we were on that adventure."
"I died saving them," Clara suddenly heard River explain, causing her to turn around and look at her, "In return, he saved me to a database in the biggest library in the universe. They both left me like a book on a shelf. Neither of them didn't even say goodbye. They don't like endings."
A Whisper Man suddenly snarled as it walked right through River with its right hand reaching for Clara, causing the nanny to widen her eyes in shock.
"Come on, run! run!" The Doctor ordered Clara as he ran back towards her with Rose, Sydney and Jack following him as he grabbed Clara's right arm with his own right hand and pulled her along.
"Yeah, come on, Clara!" Rose urged the nanny, agreeing with her husband.
"They're right, Clara, run!" Jack said, agreeing with both older Gallifreyans.
"Run, Clara!" Sydney urged her, agreeing with them with concern and a hint of affection in his voice as they ran down the tunnel and began to evade the Whisper Man as another one was following them from behind the Whisper Man following the five time travellers.
"It was a minor skirmish by the Doctor and Rose's blood soaked standards," the Great Intelligence said as he looked over the cemetery from the main entrance of the TARDIS, "Not exactly the Time War for him, or for Rose losing her step-mother, but enough to finish them. In the end, it was too much for the old man and woman."
"Blood soaked?" Jenny repeated with confusion in her voice as the Great Intelligence turned around to face her, Vastra and Strax.
"The Doctor and Rose have been many things, but never blood soaked," Vastra told the Great Intelligence.
"For the Doctor, tell that to the leader of the Sycorax, or Solomon the trader, or the Cybermen, or the Daleks," the Great Intelligence retorted, "And for both of them together, tell that to the Empress of the Racnoss, the Family of Blood, and the Silence. The Doctor and Rose both live their life in darker hues, day upon day, And they will both have other names before the end. And for him, it will be The Storm, The Beast, and one he would have if they never reunited all those centuries ago would be The Valeyard. For her it will be The Fury, The Vengeance, and one she would have if she was never chameleon-arched and always travelled with the Doctor being The Obsidian. But rest assured, they'll stop each other from ever becoming so cruel that they're mere shadows of their former selves. A pity, really."
"Even if any of this were true, which I take the liberty of doubting, how did you come by this information?" Vastra asked the Great Intelligence.
"I am information," the Great Intelligence answered.
"You were a mind without a body, last time we met," Jenny retorted.
"And you were supposed to stay that way," Vastra added.
"Alas, I did," the Great Intelligence assured them.
The Great Intelligence then reached up towards the right side of his face with his left hand and peeled it away to reveal nothing within. He then removed his top hat with his right hand before his clothes fell to the ground. One of the Whisper Men then stepped into his place as its face changed to that of Simeon.
"As you can see," the Great Intelligence told them.
In the lower levels of the tomb, the Doctor opened a door with his left hand and burst through it with Rose, Clara, Sydney and Jack as they saw the walls around them were those of the TARDIS.
"Come on, quickly," the Doctor urged the nanny.
"He's right, Clara, hurry!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"They're right, Clara, let's move," Jack added, agreeing with them.
"Please, Clara, we need to keep moving," Sydney urged her, his voice carrying a hint of concern for her.
Clara followed the four of them, only to scream as she was suddenly grabbed by a Whisper Man with two other Whisper Men standing behind the Whisper Man as the Doctor reached for her hands with his own and pulled on them as he, Rose, Sydney and Jack turned towards her and the Whisper Men.
"Doctor! Rose!" Claa called out to both older Gallifreyans.
"Clara!" The Doctor, Rose, Sydney and Jack all called out towards her.
The Doctor then pulled Clara free with a grunt and pushed the door closed on the Whisper Man's hand. The Doctor leaned back against the door as the hand was pulled free, causing the door to close fully.
"Yowzah!" The Doctor muttered with a grunt.
"Haven't heard you say that for some time, love," Rose told her husband with a hint of a smile on her face.
"Well, desperate times call for old catchphrases," the Doctor chuckled lightly before he dropped the torch as they continued on through the corridors.
"Still a bit of a climb," the Doctor told Clara as he, Rose, Sydney, Jack and Clara climbed up some of the TARDIS' steps, "I think I remember the way."
"Yeah, I think I remember it as well," Rose added as they reached the top of the stairs and began to walk down the corridor of the ship that the stairs led to, "It's been quite a while since we've travelled through the TARDIS' corridors."
"I remember when we had to do this before," Sydney said with a smile, "Feels like a while ago now."
"When was that?" Jack asked them.
"A few weeks ago," the Doctor answered, "We had some trouble with the TARDIS. It was quite the adventure."
"Yeah, the TARDIS was malfunctioning, and we had to navigate through all sorts of hazards to fix it," Rose stated.
"It was a real maze," Sydney added, "But we managed to reset everything and stop it from happening. Quite an experience, really."
"Sounds like I missed all the fun," Jack told them as he rose his left eyebrow, "I'll have to make sure I'm around for the next one."
"Trust me, Jack, you really, wouldn't," Rose argued as she gave him a wry smile, "What we had to face wasn't exactly the kind of fun you're thinking of. More like a roller coaster through a house of horrors."
"A house of horrors, huh?" Jack chuckled, "Maybe it's a good thing I missed out then."
Suddenly, the four of them noticed that Clara had been quiet for some time and turned around towards her and saw that she was lagging behind.
"Clara! Clara!" The four of them called out to Clara as they ran over towards her as she staggered and leaned against a wall with her right hand placed on the wall.
"Hey! It's Okay. You're fine," the Doctor assured the nanny as he began to escort her through the corridor as the five of them continued to walk down the corridor, "The dimensioning forces this deep in the TARDIS, they can make you a bit giddy."
"I know, I know," Clara told him as she pulled away from the Doctor and looked at the five of them, "How do I know? How do I know that?"
"Clara, it's Okay," the Doctor assured her, "You're fine."
"Yeah, Clara, you're fine," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "Just take a deep breath."
"They're right, Clara," Sydney muttered, "It's nothing to worry about."
"What's happening to her?" Jack asked the three Gallifreyans with a mix of concern and confusion on his face as he looked at them.
"It's the dimensioning forces, just like the Doctor said," Rose answered, "They're messing with her balance and causing memories from the altered timeline to leak through. It's a lot for her to handle."
"Have we… have we done this before?" Clara asked them before she had flashes of memories from when she, Sydney, the Doctor and Rose were stuck in the TARDIS during the adventure with the Van Baalen Brothers, "We have! We have done this before, climbing through a wrecked TARDIS, you three said things. Things I'm not supposed to remember."
"We can't do this now," the Doctor told her, "The TARDIS is a ruin. The telepathic circuits are awakening memories you shouldn't even have."
"Why do me and Rose keep meeting you, while Sydney has only met you twice?" Clara remembered the Doctor asking her during the adventure when the two of them along with Rose, Sydney and the Van Baalen Brothers, Gregor and Tricky were heading towards the centre of the TARDIS.
"It's like a puzzle we can't solve," Rose said, agreeing with him.
"Yeah, we need to know," Sydney added, agreeing with his parents.
"Clara," the Doctor, Rose, Sydney and Jack called out to the nanny.
"The Dalek Asylum, there was a girl in a shipwreck and she died saving my and Rose's lives," Clara remembered the Doctor telling her from the altered timeline, "And she was you."
"And her name was Oswin Oswald," Rose added, "She shared the same surname as you and was converted into a Dalek. It was you, Clara."
"Clara?" The three Gallifreyans and Jack called out to the nanny again.
"Victorian London, there was a governess who was really a barmaid," Clara remembered the Doctor telling her, "And she died."
"Her death helped us stop the Great Intelligence," Rose told her, "And we also had help from some friends of ours."
"She was also a nanny to two children, just like you," Sydney added, "Her sacrifice saved us, the children and everyone on Earth."
"And she was you!" The Doctor told her.
"Clara! Clara, what's wrong?" The Doctor asked the nanny as she staggered to a grated wall.
"Yeah, Clara, are you okay?" Rose inquired, her voice filled with concern.
"Yeah, are you feeling all right?" Sydney said, agreeing with his parents.
"Clara, talk to us," Jack urged the nanny, "What's happening?"
"Doctor, Rose, Sydney, what do you three mean, you three keep meeting me?" Clara asked the three Gallifreyans as she grabbed the wall's grates with both of her hands, "You three said I died. How could I die?"
"That's from the altered timeline, I assume," Jack surmised as he looked at the three Gallifreyans.
"Yeah, Jack, it is," Rose confirmed, "Those are from when we were in the TARDIS' engine room with her."
"And that's not a conversation you should even remember," the Doctor told Clara as he walked up to her.
"What do you three mean I died?" Clara asked them as she looked at the three Gallifreyans with a confused look on her face.
"The girl who died they tried to save," they heard the Whisper Men chant nearby, "She'll die again inside their grave."
As they heard the Whisper Men speak, the Doctor, Rose, Sydney and Jack all peered through the wire fencing, trying to locate the Whisper Men.
"Run!" The Doctor ordered Clara as Sydney grabbed her left hand with his right hand, "Run!"
"Yeah, Clara, run!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Like they said, Clara, run!" Jack urged the nanny, agreeing with them.
"Let's go, Clara!" Sydney added, gripping her hand tightly as they ran through the corridor to another room of the tomb.
"The doors require a key," the Great Intelligence stated as he faced the main doors of the inner sanctum of the Doctor and Rose's grave, "The key is a word. And the word is the Doctor and Rose's."
The Great Intelligence then turned around just as the Doctor, Rose, Sydney, Clara and Jack arrived before both older Gallifreyans stepped in front of their friends and son, facing the Great Intelligence.
"Here we are," the Doctor greeted the Great Intelligence, "Late to our own funeral. Glad to see you could make it."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Jenny," the Doctor muttered as he and Rose looked at Jenny, who nodded her head in response.
"We thought we lost you," Rose told Jenny with relief in her voice, "But I'm so glad you're okay."
"Open the door, Doctor and Rose," the Great Intelligence ordered both older Gallifreyans, "Speak. And open your tomb."
"No," the Doctor protested.
"Absolutely not," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Because you both know what's in there?" the Great Intelligence surmised.
"I will not open those doors," the Doctor told him.
"And neither will I," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"The key is two words lost to time," the Great Intelligence stated, "A secret hidden in the deepest shadow and known to you both alone." The Doctor and Rose then strode forward until they were face-to-face with the Great Intelligence, "The answer to two questions."
"We will not open our tomb," the Doctor told him.
"And that's final," Rose added, agreeing with him.
"Doctor, Rose…" The Great Intelligence began to say as he looked at them, "What are your names?"
The Doctor and Rose didn't reply before the Great Intelligence gripped the Doctor's face with his gloved right hand. The Doctor stared it down as Rose stared at him before the Time Lord gripped his gloved hand in his own left hand and pulled it away.
"The Doctor and Rose's friends and their son!" The Great Intelligence announced as he walked around both older Gallifreyans and began heading towards the others before he turned back around to face the Doctor and Rose, "Stop their hearts!" He then raised left hand and made a fist with it.
The Whisper Men suddenly hissed, causing Clara, Sydney, Jack, Strax, Vastra and Jenny to whip around to face them.
"Madam, Captain, boys, girl, combat formation," Strax ordered everyone, "They are unarmed."
"So are we!" Jenny told him.
"Not quite," Jack argued as he patted his side where his pistol was holstered with his left hand, "But it went right through them last time, so I guess it's not much use here."
"Yeah, it didn't seem to affect them at all," Sydney added, agreeing with the ex-Time Agent.
"Do not divulge our military secrets," Strax ordered them as the Whisper Men advanced towards them with each of them having a hand outstretched.
"Stop this," the Doctor pleaded with them, "Leave them alone."
"As he said, leave them alone!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Your names, Doctor and Rose," the Great Intelligence told them, "Answer me."
"Doctor," Clara called out to the Time Lord, "Rose."
Strax picked up a pipe with his right hand as the Whisper Man in front of him snarled and with a cry, he struck the Whisper Man in front of him with it as the strike made a gash exposing emptiness between the Whisper Man's torso and legs, but it didn't stop it.
"Do you want me to do that again?" Strax asked the Whisper Man before like it did when Jack fired at them in the graveyard and repaired itself.
"Doctor who?" The Great Intelligence asked the Time Lord before he looked at Rose, "And who is this Rose Smith?"
The Doctor and Rose both looked around as Clara and Sydney closed their eyes as the Whisper Men in front of them began to reach their hands towards them before the Whisper Man in front of Strax reached into his chest with its right hand, causing him to groan in pain.
"Please," the Doctor pleaded with the Great Intelligence again, "Stop it."
"Show some mercy!" Rose demanded, her voice desperate.
"Doctor who?" The Great Intelligence asked the Time Lord as he continued to look at him and the Time Lady, "And who is this Rose Smith?"
"Unhand me, sir!" Strax ordered the Whisper Man in front of him, only for it to snarl as the Sontaran groaned in pain again.
"Leave him alone," the Doctor pleaded with the Great Intelligence, "Let him be."
"Listen to him," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "Leave him alone!"
"Don't worry, sir, ma'am," Strax assured both older Gallifreyans, "I think I've got him rattled."
"Strax, I don't think you actually do," Jack argued, his voice filled with concern.
"Doctor!" Clara grunted as the Whisper Man in front of her snarled, "Rose!"
"Mum!" Sydney called out to his mother as unbeknownst to everyone, she snuck behind the Great Intelligence towards the main doors to her and the Doctor's tomb and crouched in front of it, "Dad!"
"Doctor who?" The Great Intelligence asked the Time Lord, "And who is this Rose Smith?"
"Please!" The Doctor pleaded with him.
Behind the Doctor, the doors suddenly slid open. The Doctor slowly turned slowly and looked at the lit area within before he saw Rose with a shocked expression on his face. The Great Intelligence then raised his left hand before his Whisper Men snarled as they released the others.
"Doctor, I'm sorry," Rose apologised, her voice trembling as she ran back over to her husband and hugged him, "I did it out of fear. Fear of losing our son and friends. I couldn't bear it."
"I understand, Rose," the Doctor assured her softly as he hugged her back before he gently took her right hand with his own left hand and looked into her eyes, "You did what you thought best."
"The TARDIS can still hear Rose," River said with surprise as she walked around the others, "Lucky thing. Since him indoors is being so useless."
"Why did you open the door, sir?" Strax asked the Doctor as he began to stand back up, "I had them on the run."
"I didn't do it," the Doctor told the Sontaran, "I didn't say our names."
"It was me," Rose admitted softly as River walked in front of them, "I did it."
The Doctor and Rose both swallowed before they turned around to check on the others and help them stand back up.
"Is everyone all right?" The Doctor asked everyone as Strax and Jack stood back up, "Is everyone Okay?" Vastra and Jenny then hugged each other with gasps as the Doctor reached Clara, while Rose walked over to Sydney, "Clara? Clara?" The nanny then began coughing as he helped her up, "Are you Okay?"
"Sydney, are you all right?" Rose inquired, her voice filled with concern as she knelt beside him and brushed his hair back with her right hand as she helped him stand back up.
"Now, that was not nice," Clara told the Doctor.
"Yeah, Mum, I'm okay," Sydney replied, his voice slightly shaky as he looked up at his mother, "Just a bit shaken."
"No, no. Me and Rose both know," the Doctor assured Clara as he hugged her, "We're sorry."
"You don't need to worry about me," Jack told them as he dusted himself off with both of his hands and gave them a reassuring smile, "I've survived worse."
"Now then, Dr. Simeon. Or Mr. G Intelligence, whatever I call you!" The Doctor said as he released Clara before he and Rose walked over to face the Great Intelligence as Vastra and Jenny were now standing back up, "Do you know what's in there?"
"Yeah, do you actually know what's in there?" Rose asked the Great Intelligence.
"For me, peace at last," the Great Intelligence answered, "For the two of you, pain everlasting. Won't you both invite us in?" He then stepped aside for both older Gallifreyans.
The Doctor and Rose both looked over at Clara, Sydney and Jack before the Doctor sighed deeply, while Rose just shook her head in disbelief before the Time Lord setted his jaw and strode over to the door with Rose. The Doctor then stopped in front of the door and pushed the doors fully open with a groan as Rose helped him.
The console room of the Doctor and Rose's tomb had vines growing through it. The Doctor and Rose both climbed up the stairs as the cloister bell was ringing throughout the room. Clara, Sydney, Jack and the others followed them. In the centre of the room, where the console would be was a tower of light with different strands that were coloured a brilliant white rotating around each other.
"What's that?" Clara asked both older Gallifreyans.
"Mum, Dad, please explain what that is to us," Sydney urged his parents.
"What were you expecting? Two bodies?" The Doctor asked them, "Bodies are boring." As they reached the main level of the console room, the Great Intelligence and his Whisper Men appeared on the other side of the floor from them, "We've had loads of them. That's not what our tomb is for."
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as Clara, Sydney, Jack and the Paternoster Gang reached the main level with them, the Great Intelligence and his Whisper Men, "And it's something much more… significant."
"But what is the light?" Vastra asked them.
"It's beautiful," Jenny commented.
"Well, I've seen my share of strange and wonderful things, but this? This takes the cake," Jack muttered with a smirk on his face as he stared at the light, "It's like the universe decided to throw a light show in our honour."
"Should I destroy it?" Strax asked Vastra as he looked at her.
"Shut up, Strax," Vastra whispered to the Sontaran as she looked at him.
"Doctor, Rose, explain," Clara urged both older Gallifreyans as Vastra and Strax looked at the light again, "What is that?"
"The tracks of our tears," the Doctor answered.
"The echoes of our laughter and the shadows of our sorrows," Rose added, agreeing with him, "It's the essence of our journey, intertwined and eternal."
"Less poetry, Doctor and Rose," the Great Intelligence urged both older Gallifreyans, "Just tell them."
"Time travel is... damage. It's like a tear in the fabric of reality," the Doctor explained as he paces around the floor, "That is the scar tissue of our journey through the universe." He then stopped in front of where the TARDIS' door would be, "Our path through time and space. From Gallifrey to Trenzalore."
"And that's one reason why our people had a rule about cremation after we die if we refuse to regenerate or have no regenerations left," Rose added, her voice solemn as she approached her husband and stood beside him, "It's to prevent any further damage to the fabric of reality."
Rose then pulled her sonic screwdriver out from her jacket's inside pocket with her right hand before she aimed it at the light and sighed as she activated her screwdriver.
"Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension?" They heard the First Doctor's voice say before he began his travels through time and space.
"I am the Bad Wolf, I create myself," they heard the Second Rose's voice say from when she was chameleon-arched and on the Game Station after she absorbed the time vortex.
"Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen, they're still in the nursery compared to us…" they heard the Sixth Doctor's voice say when he was put on trial by the Valeyard.
"Do I have the right?" They heard the Fourth Doctor's voice say when he contemplated destroying the Daleks on Skaro before they could even threaten the universe.
"There are corners of the universe that have bred the most dangerous things," they heard the Second Doctor say from when he faced the Cybermen on Earth's moon in 2070.
"The Reality Bomb won't just affect everything non-Dalek. It will destroy all matter in the universe…" they heard the Third Rose say when she and the Tenth Doctor pleaded with Davros to cancel the Reality Bomb's detonation soon after her regeneration.
"Absolutely fantastic," they heard the Ninth Doctor say right before he regenerated in front of Rose's chameleon-arched self after he took the time vortex out of her as Rose deactivated her screwdriver and placed it back inside her jacket's inside pocket.
"Remember, class, Gallifrey's history is a tapestry woven through time itself," they heard the First Rose say from when she was a historian on Gallifrey, delivering a lecture to young Time Tots.
"So you see…" They heard the Fifth Doctor say faintly from when he and his companion, Peri were poisoned with Spectrox Tozaemia was heading back to Androzani Minor to rescue her from the mad scientist Sharez Jek.
"I'm from Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous," they heard the Tenth Doctor say from when he and the Second Rose introduced themselves to Rickston Slade and the others on the starship replica of the Titanic when it was crashing towards Earth on Christmas of 2008.
"Our own personal time tunnel," the Doctor stated.
"And when two Time Lords who are married and live together for a very long time, and die together, their time streams often merge into one," Rose added, "It's a testament to the bond they shared and the lives they led together. It's… brilliant, really."
"Hello, Stonehenge!" They heard the Eleventh Doctor say from when he spoke to the Alliance that consisted of his and Rose's enemies when they came to 102 AD for the Pandorica.
"It was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen," they heard the Third Doctor say faintly when he spoke to Jo about flowers and his childhood when they were on Atlantis, trying to stop the Master from gaining control the power of the Kronos Crystal to use its power to manipulate time and conquer the universe.
"All the days, even the ones that…" the Doctor began to say when he and Rose suddenly began to feel weak, "We, uh… even the ones that we haven't lived yet." He and Rose suddenly collapsed to the floor with grunts.
"Doctor!" Clara yelled as she ran over to him and Rose and kneeled beside them, "Rose!"
"Mum!" Sydney exclaimed as he and Jack ran over to them, "Dad!"
"Come on, you two. Stay with us," Jack urged both older Gallifreyans, his voice filled with concern and urgency as he knelt beside Rose, "You've both been through worse, and you both always make it out. Don't give up now."
"No! No. Which is why we shouldn't be here," the Doctor went on, "The paradox is... It's very bad."
"He's right. Us being close to our time stream… it's tearing us apart," Rose added, agreeing with him.
As the Time Lady finished speaking, the Great Intelligence began moving towards the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream.
"Uh, no," the Doctor muttered as he looked at the Great Intelligence walking towards his and Rose's shared time stream, "What are you doing? Somebody stop him!"
"Like he said, stop him!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she also looked at the Great Intelligence walking towards their shared time stream, "He can't go in there!"
"The Doctor and Rose's lives are an open wound," the Great Intelligence stated, "And an open wound can be entered."
"No, it would destroy you," the Doctor warned him.
"You have no idea what you're messing with!" Rose added, agreeing with him, "It's too dangerous for any being to enter our shared time stream."
"Not at all. It will kill me. It will destroy the two of you," the Great Intelligence argued, "I can rewrite your every living moment. I can turn every one of your victories into defeats. Poison every friendship. Prevent either of you from reuniting. Deliver pain to your every breaths."
"It will burn you up. Once you go through, you can't come back," the Doctor stated, "You'll be scattered along our shared timeline like confetti."
"It matters not, Doctor," the Great Intelligence argued, "You thwarted me at every turn. And Rose, you defeated me the only time we ever met in Victorian London. Now, both you will give me peace, as I take my revenge on every second of your lives. Goodbye. Goodbye, Doctor. Goodbye, Rose."
With that said, the Great Intelligence stepped backwards into the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream and screamed in pain. The Whisper Men suddenly disappeared as the Great Intelligence was consumed by the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream. On the floor, the Doctor and Rose both gasped and cried in pain.
"What's wrong with them?" Clara asked Vastra as she looked at her and the rest of the Paternoster Gang, "What's happening?"
"Yeah, what's happening to Mum and Dad?" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
"I suspect their past is changing," Jack surmised with a worried expression on his face, "The Great Intelligence is rewriting their timeline, and it's affecting them now."
"You're right, Captain, they're being rewritten," Vastra confirmed.
The Great Intelligence appeared throughout the Doctor and Rose's shared timeline, witnessing significant moments from their past incarnations. He saw the Fourth Doctor walking down a corridor of Gallifrey when he was Lord President of the Time Lords. He observed the Second Doctor battling his Yeti in the London Underground. He glimpsed the First Doctor in Aztec Mexico and the temple of Yetaxa and the Third Doctor driving down a countryside road in Bessie.
He then witnessed key moments from Rose's different incarnations. The Great Intelligence saw the Second Rose during her time with Martha during the Year that Never Was to overthrow the Master's rule over Earth. He witnessed the Third Rose when she and the Tenth Doctor were facing the resurrected Master, Rassilon and the Time Lords. He also saw the Fourth Rose when she and the Eleventh Doctor were at Demon's Run, battling against the Silence and the Headless Monks.
It then culminated when the Great Intelligence, in Simeon's body, was trying to kill the Eleventh Doctor in Victorian London, not long before he and the Fifth Rose went out of their temporary retirement to raise Sydney and began travelling again.
Back in the console room of the Doctor and Rose's tomb, images of their past incarnations circled around their shared time stream.
"Simeon is attacking their entire timeline," Vastra stated as she held her device in her left hand and looked at it, "They're dying all at once." The Doctor and Rose then began to whimper in pain from the Great Intelligence rewriting their past, "The Dalek Asylum. Androzani. Canary Wharf."
"What did you say?" Clara asked the Silurian with surprise in her voice as both Gallifreyans groaned in pain.
At the Dalek Asylum, a Dalek glided forward towards the Doctor and Rose, who were both backed against a door. They both then ran down a hallway as it exploded behind them.
"Did you say the Dalek Asylum?" Clara asked Vastra.
"Yeah, she did, Clara," Sydney answered.
"Now they're dying in London with us," Vastra told them as she continued to look at her device.
In Simeon's study in 1892, Simeon's right hand touched the Doctor's face, but this time, he had his left hand touching Rose's face as she laid next to her husband as steam rose from their skin as the heat left their bodies and their skin began to turn blue and cold.
Meanwhile on Gallifrey, the Great Intelligence stood in the distance behind the First Rose. She was wearing feminine robes in the colours of the Prydonian Chapter, their intricate patterns reflecting the heritage of her people. She was walking home, not noticing him as he held a futuristic gun in his right hand. He aimed it at her before firing it, causing her to collapse to the ground.
"It is done," the Great Intelligence announced with his voice echoing throughout the console room of the Doctor and Rose's grave before both older Gallifreyans writhed on the floor as he cried and groaned in pain when the light from their shared time stream suddenly turned from a brilliant white to a dark red.
"Oh, dear Goddess!" Vastra muttered to herself as Strax bowed his head in sadness.
"What's wrong?" Vastra asked her as she looked at her.
"A universe without the Doctor or even without Rose, there will be consequences," Vastra explained, "Jenny, with me." She then left the room with Jenny and Strax following her.
"The Dalek Asylum. You both said it was me that saved you two," Clara recalled as she looked at the Doctor and Rose, "How? Victorian London. How? How could I have been in Victorian London?"
"We were never really sure, Clara," Sydney told her as he looked at the nanny.
"And from what they've told me since they left their temporary retirement to raise Sydney in Victorian London, they were investigating why they kept running into different versions of you," Jack added, "With the first time they encountered a version of you was a converted Dalek who saved them at the Dalek Asylum."
"Ugh!" The Doctor groaned before he coughed, "No. Please, stop, my life…" Clara then looked up at the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream, "My whole life is burning."
"Make it stop…" Rose muttered in agony, "It's too much to bear. Please, help us."
Vastra, Jenny and Strax stepped outside of the Doctor and Rose's tomb as the Silurian continued to hold her device in her hands as it beeped.
"What are you scanning for?" Jenny asked her wife.
"Local star systems," Vastra answered as she held her device up to the sky.
"Why?" Strax asked her with confusion in his voice.
"Because they're disappearing," Vastra answered as the stairs in the sky above them began going out one by one.
"Disappearing how?" Jenny asked her with confusion in her voice.
"The Doctor and Rose's shared timeline has been corrupted. Their every victory reversed," Vastra explained, "Think how many lives that man and woman saved. How many worlds! They saved your life when we met." She then turned around to see that Jenny was now gone from the Great Intelligence's corruption of the Doctor and Rose's timeline and looked around for her, "Jenny?" She then stepped forward as Strax had his head down, "Please! Jenny! No!" Strax then looked up at her with a look of disgust on his face as she began punching buttons on her device with her right hand's index finger, "Oh, God! Oh, please, no!"
"Reptile scum!" Strax said with disgust in his voice, causing the Silurian to look up to see him with a long pipe in his hands, which he swung at her, only for her to back away from him as she gasped in shock, "You are an affront to Sontaran purity. Prepare to perish."
"We're friends," Vastra told him, "Strax, your past is changing. But I swear, we are comrades."
"Die, reptile!" Strax yelled at her as he moved the pipe he was holding backwards.
As the Sontaran moved towards her again, Vastra pulled out a futuristic gun with her right hand and fired it at him, only for Strax to disappear as he was suddenly affected by the Great Intelligence's corruption of the Doctor and Rose's timeline as well.
"Strax!" Vastra yelled as she rushed over to where the Sontaran was before he disappeared, "Strax!"
Back inside the console room of the Doctor and Rose's tomb, Clara was still kneeling beside the Doctor and Rose, who were lying on their backs with Sydney and Jack.
"I have to go in there," Clara realised as she continued to look at the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream.
"Clara, you're stronger than you know," Jack told her as he placed his right hand over her left shoulder, "If anyone can do this, it's you. Just be careful."
"Jack's right," Sydney said, agreeing with the Time Agent, "If we are to save Mum, Dad and fix the timeline, you just might have to do that. Just… come back safely, okay?"
"I will," Clara assured him as she gave him a reassuring look, "I promise."
"Please," the Doctor muttered to himself, "Please. No."
"Clara, it's too dangerous…" Rose said, agreeing with him.
"But this is what I've already done," Clara told them, "You've already seen me do it. I'm the Impossible Girl." She then looked up at the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream again, "And this is why…"
"She's right. If anyone can navigate this, it's Clara," Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny, "You both have to trust her. But I do understand the risks involved, it's incredibly dangerous for her. But that doesn't matter right now cos I believe in her."
"I haven't known Clara for long, but from what I've seen, she's capable of incredible things," Jack stated, agreeing with them, "Doctor, Rose, just trust in her. She can do this. I know that she can."
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't," River pleaded with Clara.
"If I step in there, what happens?" Clara asked the archeologist.
"The time winds will tear you into a million pieces," River explained, "A million versions of you, living and dying all over time and space. Like echoes."
"But the echoes could save the Doctor and Rose, right?" Clara asked her.
"But they won't be you," River stated, "The real you will die. They'll just be copies."
"But they'll be real enough to save them," Clara stated before she shrugged her shoulders, "Like my mum said, 'The soufflé isn't the soufflé, the soufflé is the recipe.'" She then looked down at the Doctor and caressed his face with her left hand, "It's the only way to save them, isn't it?" River then nodded her head with confirmation.
"Who are you talking to, Clara?" Jack asked her as he furrowed his right eyebrow in confusion.
"Yeah, Clara, who is it?" Sydney said, agreeing with him.
"It's River," Clara answered as she looked at them, "We're still linked from the conference call."
"River… My River," Jack muttered with shock in his face with a stunned and soft expression on his face, "I can't believe it. Even in death, she's still finding ways to help us."
"I wish I had a chance to meet her," Sydney said with a thoughtful expression on his face, "We could sure use her more here and probably wouldn't be in this mess if she were still alive."
Clara stood up and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She looked around the room, her eyes lingering on each of them, before finally resting on Sydney. She knew what she had to do, but that didn't make it any easier.
"Sydney," Clara said, her voice filled with determination and sadness with it wavering slightly as she looked deeply into his eyes, "I have to do this. It's the only way.
"Clara, I know you have to do this," Sydney stated as he stood up and moved closer towards her with his voice trembling, "But before you do, I need you to know… ever since we visited the Caliburn House, I've realised how much you mean to me. I love you. I can't bear the thought of losing you."
"I know," Clara replied with her eyes softening as she reached up to touch his right cheek with her left hand, "I've felt the same way since the four of us went to Caliburn House too. I love you, Sydney. More than words can say. But as you know, this is the only way to save your parents."
For a moment, they simply looked at each other, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on them. Then, Clara moved closer towards him, her eyes never leaving Sydney's before they leaned in towards each other. Slowly, their lips met in a passionate, heartfelt kiss, pouring all their emotions and unspoken words into that single moment. It was a long, lingering kiss filled with the weight of their shared experience and the uncertainty of their future. It was a promise, a goodbye, and a hope for the future, all in one.
"Promise me you'll come back," Sydney whispered to her, his voice breaking.
"I promise," Clara assured him, her voice filled with resolve, "But if I don't remember me. Remember us."
"Clara, you're gonna come back," Jack assured the nanny with a knowing smile on his face as he approached them as Clara and Sydney broke apart, "Remember what I said when you first met me? I said I met you in your future, my past. That means you're going to survive this. You've got so much more ahead of you. Trust me on this."
"I remember when you said," Clara muttered with a small smile on her face, "Thank you, Jack. That means a lot."
"You heard him, Clara," Sydney told Clara with a smile on his face, "You're going to come back." He then looked at the ex-Time Agent, "Thanks, Jack."
"No problem," Jack replied.
"I'll come back, Sydney," Clara assured Sydney, her voice soft but filled with conviction, "For you. For us."
"The stars are going out," they heard Vastra say as she reentered the room before they looked at her, "And Jenny and Strax are dead. There must be something we can do."
"Well, how about that?" Clara muttered to herself, "I'm Soufflé Girl after all."
"No... please…" The Doctor and Rose both muttered weakly.
"If this works, get out of here as fast as you can," Clara told them as she walked towards the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream, "And… spare me a thought now and then. Or if Jack's right, and I'll survive this, then, come and get me."
"No! Clara!" The Doctor pleaded with the nanny as he and Rose turned their heads towards her.
"Please… Don't do it!" Rose said, agreeing with him.
"In fact, you know what?" Clara asked them before she turned around towards them, "Run. Run, you clever pair. And remember me."
"No!" Both older Gallifreyans pleaded with her again, "Clara!"
Clara then ran into the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream and disappeared in a flash of light.
'I don't know where I am,' Clara thought to herself as she was now falling within the time vortex and the Doctor and Rose's shared personal timeline.
As she fell through the time stream, Clara felt a strange, tingling sensation beginning to spread through her body, almost like the initial pricks of a needle, indicating that something subtle was starting to unfold.
Then, as she continued to fall, the sensation intensified into sharp, searing pain coursing through her veins. It was as if the vortex itself was tearing apart and rebuilding her very essence. Each moment she passed through seemed to send a wave of agony through her, and her heartbeat felt irregular, almost as if it was trying to synchronise with something alien.
"CLARA!" The Doctor and Rose yelled from their future tomb's console room on Trenzalore.
'I just know I'm running,' Clara thought to herself as she continued to fall through the time vortex and the Doctor and Rose's shared timeline.
The pain in her body was becoming more pronounced, her internal temperature dropping to a level significantly cooler than what she was used to, and her perceptions becoming sharper. Yet, she couldn't quite grasp what was happening to her, only that it was affecting her in profound ways.
Her face contorted in pain, brows furrowed and eyes clenched shut, reflecting the intense struggle within her. Each moment felt like an eternity as the experience continued, leaving her to wonder what she would become on the other side.
'Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places,' Clara thought to herself as a mother in a house in the late 1800s stood by a window gently rocking a baby wrapped in blankets.
A few years passed, revealing a young girl standing at the same window looking out, revealing that she was none other than Clara's Victorian echo.
At the Rose & Crow, the pub was doing a good business as Clara's Victorian echo collected empty tankards on a tray with her right hand before she placed her right hand over her hip as she looked around the pub.
In the 51st Century, one of Clara's echoes looked out at the skyline of a city, and it was none other than the Library. In the distance ahead of her was the Tenth Doctor and Second Rose, standing next to each other.
'I'm born, I live, I die,' Clara thought to herself.
One of Clara's echoes suddenly found herself standing in a futuristic hallway, wearing 70s styled clothes.
'And always, there's the Doctor,' Clara thought to herself as the Sixth Doctor walked across a corridor behind her.
Another echo of Clara stood at the end of a corridor in the Citadel on Gallifrey to see the Fourth Doctor walking away.
Suddenly, another one of Clara's echoes found herself standing at the end of a corridor on Earth and saw the Fourth Rose walking with Rory in a museum.
'And Rose isn't always with him,' Clara thought to herself.
'Always, I'm running to save the Doctor and Rose,' Clara thought to herself as she continued to fall through the time vortex and the Doctor and Rose's shared personal timeline.
The searing pain in her veins was now joined by a sense of unfamiliar strength coursing through her. It felt as though her muscles were being restructured, growing denser and more resilient, adapting to a new level of endurance and power that was distinctly non-human.
Her vision started to sharpen, revealing details and nuances she had never noticed before, while her limbs felt both lighter and heavier at the same time, as if something powerful was awakening within her, yet still hiding just beneath the surface.
Her mind felt like it was expanding, processing thoughts at an astonishing speed, with a depth and clarity that seemed beyond human comprehension. It was as if her brain was adapting to new, more complex patterns of understanding, aligning with something alien yet familiar. The changes were undeniable, though still shrouded in mystery.
It was then that Clara realised she was undergoing a transformation, one that was altering her in ways she couldn't yet fully comprehend.
On the ice world of Svartos, the Seventh Doctor was hanging from a ledge by his umbrella.
On a 70s countryside on Earth, one of Clara's echoes, wearing 70s clothes, turned around as the Third Doctor, who was sitting inside Bessie and driving the car and sped past her.
'Again…' Clara thought to herself.
One of Clara's echoes, who was still in her 70s clothes, stood on a beach in California as the Eighth Doctor brushed past her.
'and again…' Clara thought to herself before her echo turned to look around as the Second Doctor in his fur coat rushed by her from the other direction, 'and again.'
At the Royal Hope Hospital, one of Clara's echoes, wearing patient attire, stood in a corridor as the Tenth Doctor and the Second Rose ran past her with the Time Lord carrying an unconscious Martha.
In an unknown location, one of Clara's echoes stood on a clear platform in front of what appeared to be a window and looked down on the Fifth Doctor as he floated in the Matrix on Gallifrey.
Meanwhile on Gallifrey, one of Clara's Gallifreyan echoes, dressed in simple yet practical attire, stood near the First Rose as she prepared to regenerate. The elderly woman laid on the ground, unconscious as she was developed in golden regeneration energy. Clara watched intently as the Time Lady's form rapidly began to change, the wrinkles and age spots smoothing away in an instant. Her body glowed brighter with each passing moment, while her grey hair started to shimmer and quickly transitioned to the blonde locks of a newborn.
As the regeneration progressed, the First Rose's eyes, once a piercing blue, swiftly shifted to a warm hazel-brown, reflecting the vitality of her new form. Her entire body shrank and reshaped within moments, becoming smaller and more delicate, until finally, the elderly woman was replaced by a newborn baby, glowing with the energy of new life.
'And it was always me who used a chameleon-arch on Rose and made sure she ended up on Earth in the mid-1980s, right on Jackie and Pete Tyler's doorstep,' Clara thought to herself as she picked up the newborn Second Rose, gently removing her from the now overgrown Prydonian robes.
On the street in London on December 23rd of 1892, Clara's Victorian echo followed the Eleventh Doctor, the Fifth Rose and Sydney as they wore their Victorian attire.
"Oi!" Clara's Victorian echo called out to the three Gallifreyans as she placed her left hand over her hip.
'And they hardly ever hear me,' Clara thought to herself as the Doctor, Rose and Sydney all stopped and turned around towards her.
'But I've always been there,' Clara thought to herself as one of her Gallifreyan echoes stood in the repair shop on Gallifrey near the First Doctor as he had his right hand on the doorframe of the entrance that led to one of the TARDISes as he looked around nervously before he entered the TARDIS he was standing in front of.
"Doctor?" Clara's Gallifreyan echo called out to the First Doctor.
"Yes, what is it?" The First Doctor asked her as he stopped and turned around towards her, "What do you want?"
'Right from the very beginning,' Clara thought to herself.
"Sorry, but you're about to make a very big mistake," Clara's Gallifreyan echo told him before she crossed her arms, "Don't steal that one, steal this one." She then leaned against the TARDIS next to her, "The navigation system is knackered, but you'll have much more fun."
'Right from the day he started running,' Clara thought to herself as the Doctor's TARDIS rode through the time vortex in its default appearance of a grey cylindrical structure, 'And even her when they both reunited.'
"Run, you clever pair," Oswin muttered to herself as she sat in the chair in the living quarters of her escape pod of Starship Alaska from her dream of it after she had been converted into a Dalek with her legs tucked up when she sacrificed herself for the Doctor and Rose at the Asylum of the Daleks.
"And remember me," Clara told the Doctor and Rose before she ran into their time stream.
Back in the Doctor and Rose's tomb, their shared time stream had returned to its normal glow. Strax and Jenny's deaths had been undone. They stood with Vastra on one side of the console room and the Doctor, Rose, Sydney and Jack stood on the opposite with both older Gallifreyans having their backs to them.
"It was an unprovoked and violent attack," Strax told Vastra and Jenny, "But that's no excuse."
"We are all restored," Vastra stated, "That is all that matters now."
"We are not all restored," the Doctor argued as he and Rose turned around towards them.
"The Doctor's right. Not everyone has been restored," Rose added, agreeing with her husband, "Clara is still out there, lost in our time stream. We need to do as she said and get her back."
"We can't leave her out there. Clara means everything to me," Sydney said, agreeing with his parents, "I love her, and I can't bear the thought of losing her. We have to bring her back."
"They're right," Jack stated, agreeing with them as the Doctor and Rose looked at their shared time stream, "Clara helped us in this crucial moment. And the Doctor and Rose need to get her back."
"You both can't go in there," River told both older Gallifreyans, "It's your own shared time stream for God's sake!"
"Like they said, we have to get her back," the Doctor stated as if he was speaking to River.
"Indeed, we won't leave her in our shared time stream," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Of course," River muttered, agreeing with them, "But not like this."
"But how?" Jenny asked both Gallifreyans.
"Is she still alive?" Vastra inquired, "It killed Dr. Simeon."
"Clara's got one advantage over the Great Intelligence," the Doctor told them.
"And it's more powerful than he could ever have," Rose added, agreeing with him.
"Which is?" Vastra asked them.
"Us," both Gallifreyans answered at the same time.
"And remember, I've met Clara's future self," Jack added, "That means she's still out there."
"And since he met her future self along with mine, it stems to reason that Clara is definitely still alive," Sydney added, agreeing with them, "She means too much to all of us to lose her now."
"Doctor, Rose, please listen to me," River pleaded with both older Gallifreyans, "At least hear me."
"Now, if we don't come back, and we might not…" the Doctor began to say.
"Doctor!" River exclaimed as she continued to look at both older Gallifreyans, "Rose!"
"Go to the TARDIS," the Doctor went on, "The fast return protocols should be on, she'll take you home, then shut herself down."
"That's Emergency programme One. It's a fail-safe designed to return you to the safest place possible," Rose explained before she turned towards Jack, "And Jack, if we don't come back, use your vortex manipulator to return to Earth in the 21st Century and continue defending the Earth with Torchwood and in our honours. This time not figuratively, but literally."
"There has to be another way," River stated as she stepped towards the Doctor and Rose, "Use the TARDIS, use something. Save her, yes, but for God's sake, be sensible!"
River then rose her right hand to slap the Doctor, only for him and Rose to turn around as he gripped her right hand's wrist with his own right hand.
"Hello, River," Rose greeted the archeologist with a smile on her face.
"How are you even doing that?" River asked the Time Lord before she looked at the Time Lady, "And Rose, how could you see me? I'm not really here."
"Let's just say, you are always here to us," the Doctor answered, "And we both always listen and we can always see you."
"It's a Time Lord quirk of ours," Rose added, "Since you're a very close friend of ours, we can always sense you, River."
"Then why didn't either of you speak to me?" River asked them.
"Because we thought it would hurt too much," the Doctor answered.
"And it would have hurt Jack even more than us," Rose added, "As much as Ianto's death hurt him during the 456 incident."
"I believe I could have coped," River assured them.
"No," the Doctor argued, "Like Rose said, we thought it would hurt Jack more than when he lost Ianto."
"Jack, we want you to see someone," Rose told Jack with a soft expression on her face as she looked at him.
"Who?" Jack asked her with confusion in his voice.
Rose gently placed her index fingers over Jack's temples and her thumbs over both sides of his jaw, establishing a psychic connection with him. She then stepped away from him. Jack widened his eyes as he suddenly saw River standing in front of him.
"River…" Jack breathed with shock in his voice.
"Hello, Sweetie," River replied with a smile on her face.
"River, is that really you?" Jack asked her, his voice filled with both awe and disbelief.
"Yes, Jack, it's really me," River confirmed.
"Doctor, Rose, is this who you were talking to?" Jack asked both older Gallifreyans as he turned towards them.
"Yes, it is," the Doctor confirmed with a soft expression on his face.
"Indeed," Rose added, agreeing with him, "We know how much she means to you."
"I've thought about you every day since you were pardoned from Stormcage, received your doctorate in archeology and work alone in the 51st Century," Jack confessed as he turned towards his wife with his eyes softening, "I never really got to say a proper goodbye."
"It was a difficult decision, but we're here now, Jack," River replied as her smile softened, "That's what matters."
"We never did have a goodbye kiss," Jack stated as his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Then let's make up for that now," River suggested in a whisper-sounding tone as she took his right hand in her left hand.
They then leaned in and kissed each other passionately, their love and longing evident in the embrace as the Paternoster Gang and Sydney exchanged puzzled looks on their faces, while the Doctor and Rose smiled at Jack and River.
"Since no one in this room but the Doctor and Rose can see you, I bet that looked pretty odd to everyone else," Jack told River as they broke away from their kiss.
"Indeed, there is a time to live and a time to sleep," the Doctor added as he stepped towards them, "You are an echo, River, like Clara, like all of us. In the end, my and Rose's faults, we know. But you should've faded by now."
"River, I know it's hard," Rose said, her voice carrying a mix of compassion and resolve, "But holding on like this isn't fair to you or anyone who loves you. It's time to let go."
"It's hard to leave when you haven't said goodbye," River stated with a smile on her face.
"How do we say goodbye, River?" Jack asked his wife.
"Jack's right," the Doctor said, agreeing with the ex-Time Agent, "How do we properly say goodbye to someone like you?"
"And you deserve a proper farewell, Rive," Rose added gently, "Tell us how."
"There's only one way I'd accept," River answered, "Jack, if you ever loved me." She then looked at the Doctor and Rose, "And if you both loved me as a friend as well, say it like you three are going to come back."
"Well then, see you around, Professor River Song," the Doctor told the archeologist.
"Safe travels, River," Rose replied, her voice a blend of warmth and resolve, "We'll meet again."
"Until we meet again, my love," Jack told River as he flashed his signature smile at her, "You know I'll be waiting."
"Till the next time, Doctor, Rose and Jack," River replied.
"We'll see you there," the Doctor assured her.
"Oh, there's one more thing," River told them.
"Isn't there always?" The Doctor remarked with a chuckle.
"As you're probably already aware, I was mentally linked with Clara," River told them, "If she's really dead then… How can I still be here?"
"OK," the Doctor muttered, "How?"
"Explain that, River," Rose said, narrowing her eyes slightly in thought, "How can you still be here?"
"Spoilers," River answered, "Goodbye, Doctor." She then looked at the Time Lady, "Goodbye, Rose." She then looked at Jack, "And goodbye, Sweetie." She then faded away.
"Sydney, come with us," Rose told her son, her voice firm yet caring as she looked at him, "We need you."
"Of course, Mum. I love Clara," Sydney replied with determination evident in his voice, "I need to find her."
"We know how much Clara means to you," the Doctor told him as he placed his right hand over Sydney's left shoulder in a reassuring manner, "We'll find her, Champ. We won't stop until we do."
"We'll bring her back, Sid," Rose assured her son with her expression filled with resolve, "I promise you that."
"Thank you," Sydney replied as he looked at his parents, his eyes filled with gratitude and determination, "I won't give up on her."
With that said, the Doctor and Rose slowly turned around towards their shared time stream. They both took a deep breath and stepped into their shared time stream with Sydney following them before they disappeared in a flash of light.
Inside the time vortex and the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream, Clara opened her eyes. The flames of the time vortex were reflected in them, casting a warm, golden glow. As she continued to fall down the time stream, her gaze remained steady, filled with determination and resolve. The transformation within her was reaching its final stages, her entire being adapting to the changes that had taken root
'I don't know where I am,' Clara thought to herself, 'I don't know where I'm going. Or where I've been. I was the born to save the Doctor and Rose. But the Doctor is safe now. I'm the Impossible Girl. And my story is done.'
Her mind now processed thoughts at an incredible speed, adapting to new, more complex patterns of understanding. The strength within her body felt almost overwhelming, yet perfectly controlled. Her skin, though cooler, exuded a sense of calm and resilience. Clara could sense that whatever she was becoming, it was intrinsically linked to the Doctor, Rose and Sydney and her role in their lives was far from over. The transformation was complete, and she was ready for whatever lay ahead.
Soon, Clara fell on a mist-shrouded ground. She sat up quickly and looked around in the dim light. As she did so, she felt a strange sensation, a subtle shift within her body. It was as if something had changed, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her heart rate felt faster than usual, and her skin felt cooler to the touch. Her thoughts felt clearer, sharper, as if her mind was processing information differently. Even her skeleton felt different, slightly more complex and resilient, with a sensation of additional bones and ribs. Confused and disoriented, she tried to make sense of these new sensations.
"Doctor? Rose? Sydney?" Clara muttered as she looked around before there was a loud thudding sound, "DOCTOR! ROSE! SYDNEY!" The thudding sound continued, causing Clara to curl up and lower her head to the ground as she began sobbing, "Please! Please! I don't know where I am. What's happened to me? I don't feel human anymore."
"Clara," the nanny suddenly heard the Doctor say, causing her to gasp as she stopped sobbing and lifted her head up, "You can hear me. I know you can."
"And I know you can hear me as well, Clara," she heard Rose add.
"I can't see either of you," Clara told both Gallifreyans.
"We're everywhere," the Doctor stated, "You're inside our shared time stream. Everything around you is us."
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "You're in our shared time stream, Clara. We're with you, through every moment, every heartbeat, and every breath."
Suddenly, the First Doctor walked past Clara with the First Rose on the opposite side of him as she watched them go by.
"I can see the two of you," Clara told them.
The Sixth Doctor then walked by in the opposite direction, causing Clara to stand back up. Then the Fifth Doctor and the Ninth Doctor ran past her, followed by the Third Rose and the Second Rose in the opposite direction.
"All your different faces, they're here," Clara added before the Fourth Doctor and the Fourth Rose ran past her in opposite directions.
"Those are our ghosts," the Doctor explained, "Our past. Every good day, every bad day."
"And even the ones we haven't yet lived," Rose added, her voice strong and compassionate, "Every moment we've had and will have. You're a part of our story, Clara. We won't let you get lost."
Suddenly, there were two loud cries of anguish, one masculine, and the other feminine, followed by a thunderclap, causing Clara to gasp and fall to the ground.
"What's wrong?" Clara asked them, "What's happening?"
"We're inside our own shared time stream with Sydney, it's collapsing in on itself," the Doctor explained.
"Well, get out then!" Clara ordered them.
"Not without you, Clara," Rose told her firmly.
"I don't even know who I am," Clara muttered to herself as she looked down, "Why do I feel so different? What have I become?"
"We're not sure what you mean, Clara," the Doctor told her, "But you're our Impossible Girl. We're sending you something, not from our pasts, from yours. Look up. Look." Suddenly a red coloured leaf fell from the sky, "This is you, Clara. Everything you were or will be. Take it." She then grabbed the leaf with her right hand, "You blew into the world on this leaf. Hold tight. It will take you home." Clara then began staggering along the path when she suddenly heard his voice echoing, "Clara. Clara. Come on."
Clara then turned around and saw the Doctor standing there with Rose and Sydney with the light of the Doctor and Rose's shared time stream next to them as it began closing in on itself., encouraging her to walk towards him.
"Come up to us now," the Doctor went on, encouraging her to walk towards them, "You can do it. I know you can."
"You've got this, Clara," Rose said, agreeing with her husband with her tone carrying a blend of determination and empathy, "We're right here with you."
"You can do it, Clara," Sydney said, agreeing with his parents with his voice being filled with care and support, "We're all with you."
"How?" Clara asked them.
"Because it's impossible," the Doctor answered as the light from his and Rose's time stream finally fully closed on itself, "And you're our Impossible Girl." Clara then continued to walk towards them, "How many times have you saved me and Rose, Clara? Just this once, just for the hell of it, let us save you. You have to trust us, Clara, we're real. Just one more step." Clara then reached them before they hugged her tightly, "Clara. Our Clara."
"You're like family to us, Clara," Rose whispered to her, her tone gentle yet strong, "We won't ever let you go."
"We care about you deeply, Clara," Sydney added, his voice filled with emotion as he gently kissed her on the head, "You mean the world to us. I love you."
As they held her close, the Doctor, Rose and Sydney slowly released Clara from their embrace with concern evident on their faces. They exchanged glances, feeling the unusual coolness of her skin, a stark contrast to the warmth they were accustomed to.
The Doctor gently took Clara's left hand with his right hand and felt the rapid, dual rhythm of her pulse, a sign of a binary vascular system instead of the single vascular system she had before. Rose touched Clara's right cheek with her left hand and sensed the cooler temperature that suggested something had fundamentally altered within her.
Sydney listened closely to Clara's breathing and noticed that the distinct pattern was different from her usual respiration and resembled their own Gallifreyan breaths.
As they focused on Clara, she felt a strange tingling sensation in her mind, almost like someone was trying to reach out to her telepathically. Clara shifted uncomfortably as the Doctor, Rose and Sydney continued their examination. She pulled her hand away from the Doctor's grasp and took a step back, her eyes wide with confusion and apprehension. Suddenly, the sensation grew stronger, like a gentle mental whisper, as if their thoughts were softly brushing against hers, seeking understanding.
"What are you doing?" Clara asked them, her voice trembling with fear as they examined her with her uneasiness growing, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Something's different, Clara," Rose answered in a calm yet concerned manner as she stepped closer, "You're skin, your breathing… We're just trying to understand what's happening."
"What does that mean?" Clara asked them, her eyes filling with panic, "Have I… changed?" She then noticed her thoughts were racing, processing information at a speed that felt almost overwhelming, and her skin felt cooler than usual, "My mind feels sharper, my skin's cooler, and my heart…" She then checked her pulse with her right hand, causing her to widen her eyes slightly, "It feels like I have two now. I can feel two beats."
The Doctor, Rose and Sydney exchanged worried glances as they completed their examination. The Doctor furrowed his right eyebrow as he considered the implications of Clara's words, his mind racing through possible explanations. Rose's expression softened with a mix of empathy and concern showing on her face. Sydney's eyes widened, filled with a mixture of surprise and apprehension. They each took a step closer towards Clara, trying to offer comfort and reassurance in the face of the unknown.
Suddenly, the Doctor, Rose and Sydney all felt an unfamiliar presence in their minds, a connection that hadn't been there before. They could sense Clara's emotions, her confusion, fear, and a glimmer of hope. It was as if their minds were intertwined, each thought and feeling echoing between them. They exchanged bewildered glances, trying to understand how this telepathic link had formed and why it was affecting them this way, almost as if there was another Gallifreyan out there.
"And I can feel something else," Clara added, her voice unsteady as her eyes darted between them, sensing their concern and confusion, "It's like… like you're inside my mind. I feel a telepathic connection with all of you."
Rose's eyes narrowed as she pieced everything together. She noticed the rapid rhythm of Clara's pulse, the cooler temperature of her skin, the distinct pattern of her breathing, and now the telepathic connection. The realisation began to dawn on her, her eyes widening as she looked at Clara.
"Clara, I think I know why you're feeling different," Rose said softly, her voice filled with empathy but tinged with determination, "Your cool skin, the two hearts, and the telepathic link… You've been turned into a Gallifreyan."
"A Gallifreyan?" The Doctor repeated with shock in his voice as he widened his eyes and processed his wife's words, "That explains the dual heartbeat and the telepathic link."
"Yes, that makes sense," Sydney said, agreeing with his parents as his expression mirrored his father's, "Clara, you've become the same species as us. But don't worry, we're all here for you, and we'll help you through this."
"Turned into a Gallifreyan?" Clara repeated with shock and disbelief in her voice, "But how… why… what does that mean for me?"
"It means something significant has happened to you, Clara," the Doctor answered softly as he stepped forward, his expression serious yet gentle, "But no matter what, we're here for you. You're not alone in this."
"What does that mean for us now?" Clara asked Sydney, her voice shaking with uncertainty as she looked at him, "Does this change everything?"
"It probably means that we have the same life expectancy now, Clara," Sydney answered, his voice filled with reassurance, "We'll have a long life together, facing the universe side by side, and our love will endure through it all. We could live together for centuries, even thousands of years now. You're part of our family, and we won't let you face this alone."
"I'm glad we'll have more time together," Clara told him, feeling a mixture of relief and apprehension as she looked at Sydney, "We would have had only a few decades together, but now we have so much more. But it's all so overwhelming. I don't know what to expect."
"How do you feel right now, Clara?" Rose asked the nanny, her tone a blend of empathy, determination and strength, "We need to know everything that's going on with you so we can help."
"I feel… I still feel like me, just with an alien upgrade," Clara answered as she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, "It's like my body's been reprogrammed, but I'm still Clara. Just with two hearts, more resilience, heightened senses, a bit of a chill too, and telepathy… it's new, but I can manage."
"It'll be all right, Clara," Rose assured her, giving her a reassuring smile, "We'll figure this out together. You're not alone in this."
"Mum's right, Clara," Sydney said, agreeing with his mother, "We'll get through this together, as a family."
"Don't worry, Clara, we'll check up on you as soon as we get back to the TARDIS…" The Doctor began to say before trailing off as he saw something behind Clara's right shoulder.
Behind Clara's shoulder was a masculine still figure with light skin and grey hair, who had his back to them. Rose then looked at the figure as well, causing her to widen her eyes in shock as she saw him. As both older Gallifreyans looked at the figure, Clara and Sydney looked at them with confusion as Clara turned around as she and Sydney looked at the figure.
"Who's that?" Clara asked them.
"Yeah, who is that?" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
"Never mind!" The Doctor told them, "Let's get back."
"Agreed," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "We need to get back to the TARDIS."
"But who is he?" Clara asked them.
"He's me," the Doctor answered, "There's only either one of us here, that's the point. Now, let's get back."
"But I never saw that one of either one of you," Clara told them, "I saw all of the two of you. Eleven faces, Doctor and Five faces, Roses so far, all of them the two of you." She then looked at both older Gallifreyans again, "You're the Eleventh Doctor and the Fifth Rose."
"He said he was him," Rose explained, "He never said he was the Doctor."
"But I don't understand," Clara admitted with confusion in her voice.
"And neither do I," Sydney said, agreeing with her.
"Look, my name, my real name…" The Doctor began to explain as he slapped his forehead with his right hand, "That is not the point. The name I chose is the Doctor. It's like how Rose chose her name after she opened her fob watch all those centuries ago. The name you choose, it's like a promise you make." The four of them then looked at the figure again, "He's the one who broke the promise."
"More than that, Clara," Rose added, her voice filled with a mix of sterness and sadness, reflecting the weight of her words, "He did something unforgivable, something that betrayed everything the name 'Doctor' stands for."
Clara suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Her vision blurred and her legs weakened. She could feel her hearts pounding in her chest, the dual beats creating a disorienting rhythm. Her mind, which had been processing everything so clearly, now felt overwhelmed by the flood of sensations.
Before anyone could react, Clara breathed heavily before fainted and fell against Sydney, the changes in her body overwhelming her senses.
"Clara? Clara! Clara!" Sydney exclaimed as he caught her just in time with a grunt as he widened his eyes with concern as he looked at his parents for guidance.
The Doctor and Rose were still focused on the mysterious figure as they both exchanged a look of urgency on their faces.
"He is our secret," the Doctor explained.
"And I'm the only one he's mentioned that incarnation to," Rose added, her voice carrying the weight of their shared history.
"Mum, Dad, what did he do?" Syney asked his parents with curiosity in his voice.
"We'll explain on the way out, Sid," Rose assured him.
"What I did, I did without choice," the man stated, his voice heavy with the weight of terrible actions and a tone that carried the burden of many years.
"I know," the Doctor told him.
"As do I," Rose daid, agreeing with him, "If I had an incarnation similar to yours and was with you during those years, I would view her the same way."
"In the name of peace and sanity," the man added.
"But not in the name of the Doctor," the Doctor told him.
The three of them then turned and walked away with Clara in Sydney's arms before they disappeared in a flash of light. The man then turned around to reveal that he was an older man, looking to be somewhere in his early seventies with brown eyes and sporting a trim grey Van Dyke beard. He wore a worn brown leather jacket over a dark green shirt, with a maroon scarf draped loosely around his neck, and carried a weathered look that spoke of countless battles.
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